Chapter 23: War Comes Home

We all left Rex's castle after that, it was hard to get used to having Astamon with us after he… ya know… tried to kill us last time? But it seemed Kate had somehow managed to get him under control, and he managed to beat Lucemon so I can't say I'm that upset really.

We met the Nightmare Soldiers forces outside, they had somehow managed to win their fight with their former faction mates, Karatenmon approached us, "So… is it done? Is the king dead?" He asked.

Astamon however shook his head, "He escaped at the last minute, but I think it's safe to say we've won back our territory," He said, Karatenmon despite being disappointed that the king had escaped, seemed satisfied they were at least able to reclaim their faction, as he went to inform everyone of the good news.

All of us Digidestined gathered in a circle, "Now what?" Ethan asked, but this time, I had no clue how to answer, what do we do now? Yeah the Digimon King was still out there somewhere, but we had no clue where to even begin to look.

Ross crossed his arms, "From the looks of things, it seems like we're done here, the Digimon King has no kingdom, no army, he may still be alive but he's pretty toothless now," Said Ross.

I didn't know how to feel about that to be honest, I should be relieved shouldn't I? We managed to overthrow the Digimon King, save the Digital World, and managed to get everyone through it alive to boot. But… something didn't seem… right. I felt empty, like I hadn't really accomplished anything.

It was clear the others felt the same given their faces, "Maybe we should head back to the rebel camp? Get Kenatrousmon's take," Suggested Kate, "Besides he might be our only way back to the real world," She added.

It was about a good a plan as any, to be honest it felt so anticlimactic to come all this way just to scare the Digimon King off his throne, but what else was there to do? So with that we said our goodbyes to the Nightmare Soldiers, and began the long trek back to Kentarousmon's camp.

The walk was awkward, silent, it still didn't feel like we had just saved the Digital World, it felt more like we had just run an errand and were headed back home, it was hard not to feel disappointed, I guess being a gamer I expected this huge final boss fight with the Digimon King, complete with multiple forms and dramatic god choirs, but instead, we got this. Oh well, at least I'm not dead right?

Soon the day gave way to nightfall, we all set up camp in the middle of the forest, we had all earned a little rest after overthrowing a mad king and all, it was still weird using the camping gear we'd gotten from Toyland, but since Datamon was dead and the Digimon King wasn't really a king anymore, it was kinda moot now wasn't it? "Jason, permission to speak?" Commandramon suddenly said.

I had learned to just accept Commandramon treating me like his commanding officer, being casual wasn't exactly in his programming after all, "What's up?" I asked him, this was the first time Commandramon had spoken since we left the Nightmare Soldiers, I had no clue what could have been going on in that cybernetic mind of his right now.

"With the mission complete sir, does that mean you're going to be returning to the real world?" He asked me, I noticed a faint hint of sadness in his voice, it was only now that it dawned on me that my adventures with Commandramon were basically over, after we went back to the rebel camp we'd probably be saying goodbye to our Digimon partners for good, I doubt being from completely different realities we'd be seeing each other much after that.

The idea made me a bit sad, over the course of our little adventure Commandramon had sort of become one of my best friends, sure I didn't have much in the way of friends before this little vacation to the Digital World, but still, it was hard to process not seeing him again, "I guess so," I said, not hiding how depressed I was about it very well.

Commandramon looked off sadly to the side, you could almost hear his heart breaking, "Oh… I see," He said, it seemed he felt the same way I did, just as unwilling to say goodbye as I was, "But… if that's the case… it was a pleasure serving with you Jason," He said with a small smile, but I could tell that hurt for him to say.

All I could do was nod, it wasn't just Commandramon I was upset about having to say goodbye to, everyone else in our little group had become almost like family over the course of this crazy little adventure of ours, and since everyone here was from different countries, I doubted I'd be seeing much of them after this either, maybe Ethan if I were lucky, it was a painful pill to swallow, but we all had our places to be, our own lives to return to.

It only dawned on me now that I hadn't thought much of my life back home, too busy worrying about dying or saving this bizarre world I found myself in. I wonder how long I'd been gone? Did this world even run off similar time as my own? Or was this like Narnia rules where it wouldn't have even been a minute? I personally hoped it was the latter, I doubted I'd ever be able to come up with a good enough explanation for this long of an absence.

"Jason, you never told me much about your life in the real world,"

I was suddenly pulled from my introspection by Commandramon, he was right, I'd never really told him about my life before the Digital World, "Well, there really isn't much to talk about, I was just some comic geek with a dead end job, living with his mother and little brother," I said.

Commandramon sat himself down, "You miss them? Your mother and brother I mean," He asked me, I doubted Commandramon knew much about family, being a cyborg literally built in a factory, but he seemed genuinely curious.

I sat myself down next to him, "Sometimes, the three of us had always been close since… losing dad, but there were times where they drove me nuts, especially Shaun. But you know… they're my family, and I wouldn't trade them for the world," I explained.

Commandramon nodded, "It must be nice… having a family to go back to, I don't know what I'm going to do after you and the other humans go back home," He said, another thing I hadn't really thought about until now, what was he going to do after I left? He was basically a rouge Commandramon designed to serve an empire that no longer existed.

I sighed, "I'm sure you'll figure something out, I'd bring you home with me if I could, but I doubt I'd ever be able to explain you to my mom, she won't even let us have a dog, let alone a cybernetic soldier dinosaur," I said, and I meant it too, I wouldn't mind bringing him with me, but I knew better, I knew his place was in the Digital World, as mine was in the real world.

Commandramon looked down at the ground, "I understand, but part of me just… wishes you didn't have to go, that this didn't have to end, it was nice you know, having friends, finally being treated like my own Digimon instead of just a mindless machine," He said, I could swear he was trying to fight back tears, Commandramon hadn't exactly struck me as a Digimon who could cry, but it was hard to deny that looking at him right now.

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, "I'd be lying if I didn't feel the same way, but… we all have lives beyond this," I said, trying my best to be a sympathetic friend, but not exactly knowing how to cheer him up from something I myself was feeling.

However Commandramon just sort of looked away, "All except me," He said before getting up and walking away, I wanted to go after him, but I knew it would probably be better to let him settle this on his own.

I heard footsteps approach, "What's up with him?" Bridget asked me, I doubted Bridget of all people would be able to help me out here, she never really struck me as the type of person you confided in when you were blue.

I sighed, "Commandramon's not taking our inevitable departure well," I tried to explain, I didn't know what she'd think, but she did work with Commandramon before, so maybe she'd know something about them I didn't.

Bridget shook her head, "No wonder, he's got nothing to go back to unlike the rest of us, his unit is in shambles, his creator dead, I doubt the Metal Empire will be able to recover like the Nightmare Soldiers," She said. Great, thanks Bridget, now I feel worse. "Don't worry about it, he'll figure it out," She said before walking off.

Yeah I don't think that was as helpful as she thought it was, what was I going to do? It didn't feel right to leave him with no place in the world, but I couldn't spend the rest of my life here either, and even if I could, well we would just have the same problem only with me along for the ride. I hoped that we'd figure something out before leaving, the last thing I wanted was to leave Commandramon with nothing left to live for… he deserved better.

The rest of the night came and went, the was a somber air that hung over all of us, Commandramon didn't so much as say a peep the whole night, just sort of sadly staring into space as the rest of us talked, only making me worry about him even more. It was definitely taking it's tole on me, because I knew there was nothing I could do for him, I was powerless, even after saving an entire world I still found myself unable to help a friend.

I didn't feel like I'd just completed a great quest, I felt like a jerk who was about to abandon a friend to a life with no meaning or purpose, to aimlessly roam the Digital World with no place to call home. It was a happy ending for everyone except him, and that was so messed up.

Suffice to say, sleeping that night was a tall order, my mind was swirling with guilt over my Digimon partner's ultimate fate, a guilt that would probably haunt me to my dying day, as I'd probably never know if he ever found a place in the Digital World.

But eventually, I did manage to fall asleep, crippling guilt could only keep you awake so long after all…

Morning…

I woke up feeling just as bad as I had felt when asleep, I didn't even really want to get up, but I knew I had to, I had to face the inevitable, so I got up, Commandramon was already gone, he always did manage to get up before me, I didn't even want to think about what kind of mood he was in right now.

I left the tent to find everyone packing up the camping supplies, the somber mood still existed, no one had even the slightest smile on their face, looking at us, you'd never think we had just saved the Digital World, I think it was clear no one in the group was looking forward to saying goodbye to our Digimon friends.

I looked to see Commandramon helping everyone pack up the supplies, his expression was blank, withdrawn, I doubted he felt any better than he did last night, but at least he was keeping himself occupied… god I felt like such a jerk for leaving him like this, but it's not like I had a choice.

However, my inner self loathing was put on hold when a figure emerged from the woods, he was some kind of blue lizard creature in golden armor, he seemed relieved to see us, "Finally! I thought I was never going to find you," He said, bending over to catch his breath.

No one in the camp knew what to make of this, who was this guy? And why was he looking for us? Was he here to send us back home? God I hope not, I don't think I was ready to go yet. The gold clad Digimon stood up, "Digidestined, forgive me for intruding, but I have an urgent message from the head Royal Knight Omnimon! Something that may be of great concern to you all," He said.

It seemed our visitor had connections to the Royal Knights, but something didn't seem to add up, why did he sound like he was about to tell us the sky was falling? Shouldn't he be a bit more… ya know… upbeat? We did just defeat the Digimon King after all, sure he wasn't dead, but it wasn't like he had any sway over the Digital World anymore.

I decided to be the one to ask the important question, "What's going on? What message?" I asked, I had a feeling I wasn't going to like the answer, but whatever this message was, it had to be important.

The Digimon took a moment before answering, "We believe the Digimon King is about to attack the real world," He said, cutting right to the point.

All of us were taken back by this revelation, how the hell did we not think of this?! The Digimon King was a human after all… kinda, so it's not like he didn't know of the human world, and we really should have known better than to think he would have stayed quiet for long.

Bridget was the first to speak after this revelation, "How? Rex couldn't bring his digital form into the real world before," She said, and if anyone here knew that for sure, it was Bridget.

The Digimon shook his head, "It seems there was much about the Digimon King even we didn't know, come… Omnimon will explain," He said, he then suddenly produced some kind of glowing orb from his armor, tossing it like a grenade to the ground where some kind of portal appeared in it's place.

Ross rolled his eyes, "Well, that would have been nice to have during our little adventure," He commented, but no one seemed to care as we all just sort of followed the armored Digimon through the portal.

We soon found ourselves in a pure white void, but we weren't alone, as we were met with a group of knight like Digimon, I recognized Gallentmon and Kentarousmon from the group, these had to be the Royal Knights.

One knight stood in front of the rest, dressed in white armor, his "hands" were simply heads attached to it's rather thin arms, one was of an orange dinosaur like creature, the other a blue wolf, it didn't take much to realize this had to be that Omnimon guy our golden friend had mentioned.

Omnimon approached us, "Thank you Magnamon," He said to his friend, finally giving the golden armored Digimon a name. He then turned to us, "I apologize for having to summon you all on such short notice after what must have been a grueling battle with the Digimon King," He said. "But as I'm sure Magnamon explained before bringing you here, this is a matter of grave importance," He said.

No kidding, "He said that the Digimon King was about to attack our world, is that true?" I asked, I needed to confirm this, I was hoping against hope he would say no, I didn't want to leave Commandramon, but I also didn't want my family along with the rest of my world to be sucked into this whole thing.

But, to my dismay, Omnimon nodded, "I'm afraid so Jason, I understand your worry, it was never our intention to bring our war to your world, but it seems that there are more things at play here than any of us could imagine," He said.

Kate decided to step forward, "Does this have anything to do with that woman I saw when we beat Lucemon? The one who took him away?" She asked.

Omnimon, again, nodded, "That was more than likely Lilithmon, one of the seven Demon Lords," He said, Demon Lords? Who the hell where the Demon Lords?! And why were we never told about them until now?! "The Demon Lords were a group of evil Digimon far more powerful than any ordinary Mega level Digimon in the Digital World, once long ago, before any of you were even born, they attempted to overthrow King Yggdrasil, and take the Digital World for themselves, they were lead by Lucemon, by far the most powerful among them, who sought the power Yggdrasil had over the Digital World," He began to explain, "But we Royal Knights managed to defeat them, and stop them from destroying the King before it was too late," He added.

Kentarousmon then stepped forward, "Or so we thought, we thought we had managed to seal them away in the deepest, darkest depths of the Digital World, never to torment the Digital World again. But it seems that Lucemon had somehow managed to escape, and somehow merged with Rex Nexion to become the Digimon King," He said.

Ross decided to ask his own question, "How do you know they're attacking the human world? Or if they're even free?" He asked, it was a good question, how did they know any of this was happening?

Gallentmon decided to be the one to answer that question, "King Yggdrasil sensed them breaking through the barriers between the worlds, and he is rarely wrong," He said, normally I'd find that explanation to be a bit much, but considering how the Digital World seemed to scoff in the face of logic, I'd buy anything at that point.

Omnimon stepped forward, "Their goals in your world we do not know, but whatever they may be must not be allowed to come to fruition! Which is why we must return you to your world with your Digimon partners so you can work to stop this invasion before it begins," He said.

Well good news was I didn't have to go home worrying about Commandramon anymore, bad news was I instead had to worry about everyone and everything I had ever cared about in the real world! I couldn't even begin to guess what these Demon Lord dudes were hoping to gain from wrecking the real world, but I wasn't about to sit there and watch it happen either!

Ethan however, "Wait… you said you guys stopped them before, why aren't you going there to stop them?" He asked, it was a fair point sure, but I'd rather not sit on the sidelines hoping for someone else to save everything I held dear!

Omnimon shook his head, "Because we can't go through the barrier, Digimon of our power are nearly impossible to get through the barrier that separates our worlds, and we must make sure the Digital World is protected, we don't know what they plan for it or your own world," He explained.

Omnimon then threw another one of those portal ball things onto the ground, "We return you to your world, where you were before we summoned you here, but I fear the rest will be on you, we wish you luck Digidestined," He said before the portal opened up before us.

One by one we each entered, god how the hell were we going to pull this off? We all lived in different countries! God where would we even begin to look for the Demon Lords? I doubted they would stay quiet for long, but still, this wasn't going to be a very fun return home…

Later…

My eyes opened, my vision was fuzzy but eventually returned to focus, I was met with a sight I didn't think I'd see for a long time, my own room, or to be more accurate, the ceiling of my room. Everything was exactly as I'd left it, my computer was still on, showing the usual desktop, the only thing that seemed different was that it was daylight now, making me wonder if everything before now had been a dream.

However one look to the unconscious Digimon laid next to me trashed that theory, he laid on the floor motionless apart from his rising and falling chest, letting me know he was still alive. I looked closer at my computer screen to check the date, I was shocked to see not even a day had passed since I had been dumped into the Digital World, well at least I wouldn't have to explain my absence to my mother.

I slowly got to my feet, no clue at all how to proceeded, I knew the looming threat of the Demon Lords was coming, I looked outside my bedroom window expecting to see Sanford burning only to find everything was perfectly peaceful, calm, and serene, I guess whatever horrors the Demon Lords wished to inflict upon our world hadn't materialized yet, or at least hadn't reached Maine yet.

I was startled by a sudden knocking on my door, "Jason? Honey it's nearly ten o'clock, you plan on sleeping all day or are you actually going to join your brother and I in the waking world?" Asked my mother from behind the bedroom door.

My heart began to race as I looked back to my still unconscious Digimon, if mom saw him she'd lose her marbles! I quickly rushed to Commandramon, and began to drag his unconscious body to my bedroom closet, god was he heavy! My heart nearly stopped when I heard the doorknob begin to turn, oh no... oh no please god no!

I quickly, and rather violently, shoved Commandramon into the closet, leaning against the door before my mother came into my room, "Jason? Honey you don't usually sleep in that late, something happen last night?" She asked me.

I felt like I was in a really bad sitcom right now, specifically that scene where I try to come up with a lame excuse and the canned audience laughs, but the thing was, my mother was smart, she'd know if I were hiding something, considering she was a reporter and it was her job to uncover the truth, I was kinda up a creak here, "Oh… you know… rough night at work, nothing big," I lied, I even did the stupid fake laugh, god I'm screwed.

And… yup she isn't buying it, as she gave me the much dreaded and feared "look", the "look" is what my brother and I called that look on her face when she wasn't buying a word that came out of our mouths, complete with hands on hips and raised eyebrow, "Why are you leaning against your closet door like that?" She asked me.

Oh god how could this get any worse? "Jason? Sir? Are you there? I can't see a thing here, is your world normally this dark?" I heard Commandramon's voice ask from behind the closet door, of course he had to wake up now right? God it was like this scene was ripped right out of a bad kids film! Mom would end up discovering Commandramon, and lose her mind, and then I'd learn some kind of lesson about honesty or something, and we'd close out on a cheesy eighties song as everyone laughed, and that, would be when I realized I had become Dennis the Menace.

Mom approached, "Jason Marcus Allen, you know better than to try to keep secrets from me, I uncover secrets for a living you know," She said, I was trying my best not to show fear, but was failing miserably. I've come face to face with powerful Digimon, fearsome overlords, and crazed hotel managers, but yet my mom was still the most frightening thing I've faced.

I had to think fast, "It's nothing mom really! I'm just… uh…" I began to fumble, this was not going well for me right now, my mind was drawing a complete blank, what would I even say? God I suck!

Suddenly I felt the closet door swing from behind me, sending me stumbling forward, Commandramon stumbling out like a drunk man out of the bathroom, it seemed that Commandramon didn't take too kindly to his confinement as he apparently had powered his way out, man was he strong!

There was about a minute of shocked silence as my mother and Commandramon shared frightened glances, I figured that Commandramon was beginning to realize a little too late why I had shoved him in my closet. "M… Ms. Allen I presume?" Commandramon said nervously.

Suddenly mom straight up punted Commandramon like a football! Catching the poor cyborg Digimon right in the jaw, sending him tumbling right back into the closet before she grabbed me by the shoulders "Get behind me Jason!" she said, oh man this had gone from bad to worse in a nanosecond! Forget the Demon Lords! My mom was about to take Commandramon down for them! Mom moved me behind her before grabbing one of my toy light sabers from the floor, activating it with that signature light saber sound, this situation couldn't be more ridiculous if it tried, a middle aged woman threatening a cybernetic Digimon with a plastic laser sword.

As poor Commandramon emerged once again from my closet he was instantly met with a few hard whacks upside the head from mom's plastic light saber, making a pathetic thunk noise every time the toy struck Commandramon's helmet as the cyborg tried to throw his arms up to defend himself, I doubted any of these blows hurt him any, but still. "Get the hell out of my son's closet you mutant freak!" She yelled as she continued to beat my Digimon with the toy weapon, the toy making light saber sounds every time it hit Commandramon only making this more ridiculous, you could almost hear Duel of the Fates playing as this incredibly stupid scene unfolded.

The force was clearly not with Commandramon in this situation, as he struggled to keep the plastic sword from bonking him on the head repeatedly, she even got him in the snout a few times. "Ma'am! Ma'am please! Stop it!… STOP IT!" He pleaded, only getting more smacks to the head for his trouble.

I had to stop this before she either broke my light saber, or my Digimon, "Mom! MOM! Stop it! It's cool! He's a friend! DUDE STOP!" I pleaded, trying to get the light saber out of my mom's hands, I hadn't even been back in the real world for ten minutes and everything has already descended into chaos! Worst… Digidestined… ever.

I finally managed to get the light saber out of her hands, she turned towards me, "Jason! What the hell is that thing?! And what is it doing in your closet?!" She snapped at me, god was this going to take a lot of explaining, an explanation which, would probably make me sound like a crazy person, but still.

I tossed the light saber aside, the toy making one last comical light saber sound as it hit the floor, "Okay… last night, I got this disc from some guy at work, when I inserted it into my computer, it sucked me into a parallel world, which is where he's from, and me and a group of other people with Digimon like him had to stop this guy, and now he's got a band of buddies who are trying to destroy and/or attack this world," I explained, it was an abridged version to say the least, but it was all I had.

My mom had the reaction you'd expect, giving me that look that you give to someone who just told you they just saw little green men, in her defense though, if you had told me the same thing about a month ago, I would have probably had the same reaction. She just sort of stared at me for an uncomfortably long time before turning towards Commandramon, giving him the same look.

Commandramon stood up, "What Jason is trying to say ma'am is that, I'm his Digimon partner, and we need to stop a group of evil Digimon before they attack your world," He said, putting it a bit more elegantly than I had, but it still sounded insane from an outside perspective.

Mom still seemed to be trying to process this, as she just sort of buried her face in her hands, "Oh god… I need to stop drinking before bed..." She said. Neither me nor Commandramon really knew how to proceed here, this had to be a lot to take in for her…

A/N- Well, that was a thing that happened, hopefully the other Digidestined's returns home will be a little less… insane.