I had not updated this in a while, and I do want to backlog more of this so I can get it complete. This is probably going to end up being long, but I do hope I can get more people interested in it too. I am open to constructive criticism though! OCs can be tough balancing right.

7. The Light of Armour-Evolution

Tai could feel it. He could feel the sharp edge of the sword coming closer to his own body but before it could hit, something jumped in front of him being sent flying back instead.

A loud painful cry left the creature as he fell to the ground, his body a mixture of red and blue. The dragon was hard to identify with the blood covering its body but somehow it still managed on shaky legs to stand despite his injuries.

"Are you nuts?!" The dragon snapped at him. "Are you really so willing to die? You won't be able to save anyone if you die!"

"I…" Tai didn't know how to explain what he was thinking. He had thought maybe Omnimon would retract the attack or move his sword in another direction if he remembered something. He did pick up the dragon and move out of the way as Omnimon returned to destroying the city. Am I supposed to just accept this? Am I supposed to just accept that I won't be able to get my best friend back? He didn't think he had it in him to lose Agumon, not again. It had taken a long time for his bond with his best friend to be restored, there had to be something…anything he could do.

"Tai, are you okay?" Matt's voice snapped him out of his thoughts as everyone surrounded him. Tai watched his best friend for a moment, seeing how pale his face was and realised where he was, his best friend having pulled him into a small corner. Omnimon was further away now, and they were safe for the moment, but it didn't change the simple fact that he had failed. He had failed to reach his friend – to get through to him. All they had been through meant nothing.

"Are you?" Tai asked back, not really answering Matt's question to whether he was okay or not. He thought the answer was obvious that he wasn't.

Matt averted his gaze. "No."

Well, at least Matt hadn't tried to pretend anymore like he would have tried to when they were kids, although at this stage, Tai wasn't sure if that was better or worse. The situation was getting worse by the second.

"He didn't hear my voice, Mimi," Tai said softly, turning to his wife as his face fell even further. "He said this was the purpose they were made for. Why does he think that? What's happened to him?"

The dragon in his arms shifted. "Isn't it obvious he's not the friend you remember?"

"A lot has changed in the digital world," A calico-coloured cat spoke up who looked remarkably like Gatomon. "Your partners have been through a lot. But that isn't the point here. We need to do something."

"I don't think any of us can do anything against Omnimon," DemiDevimon spoke up and Tai blinked, realising for the first time that he was there.

"Wait a minute, what in the Digiworld is a DemiDevimon doing over here?" Tai asked sharply and MJ frowned at him, pulling DemiDevimon into her arms.

"He happens to be my partner, Uncle Tai," MJ said, lips pursing, and Tai frowned now, glancing at T.K. and Noriko, who both shook their heads. He dropped it – now really wasn't the time for anything like that. He would ask what on earth was going on once they weren't in danger of being crushed by his former partner.

"We need to work out what to do," Tai said, glancing at Davis. "We can't stay hidden here forever. Omnimon is going to eventually reach us, and he doesn't recognise me, so I'm not sure Matt will have a whole lot more luck in that department. The digimon are right – there's not a lot we know right now."

The little blue dragon in his arms squirmed. "I can fight him! I've fought my way all the way here, so I can definitely take on Omnimon!"

"That's reckless," Tai said softly to the digimon in his arms.

"Uncle Tai is right," Dai said approaching the small little dragon. "I know you want to help but Omnimon is really big and since he was Uncle Tai and Matt's partner, I think they know how strong he is."

"Maybe we can help?" DemiDevimon suggested. "What do you think, Mikemon?"

Mikemon frowned. "I'm not sure we'll have any better luck, but we could try."

The blue dragon squirmed more, and Tai was beginning to have a harder time holding him back from breaking free, his grip slipping. Damn it.

"I can handle it!" The digimon cried, managing to get loose and run forward, ignoring the fact that he stumbled with each step that he ended up taking.

"Hey, wait a minute, little guy!" Dai moved forward, making to rush out after him but Tai grabbed his nephew's arm before he could.

"Daichi, don't," Tai said firmly. "It's too dangerous."

"I can't let him fight alone," Dai insisted stubbornly. "I may not be able to do anything, but I have to try! Please, Uncle Tai!"

"Daichi Motomiya, you listen to your Uncle right now," Kari said softly, voice cracking slightly as she attempted to sound stern but her voice broke and Tai could tell that his sister was hurting seeing Agumon like this as much as he was. "It's too dangerous out there."

"I have to help," Dai insisted. "I have to do something. Besides, it's not like anyone has a better plan and Omnimon will reach us soon anyway."

"I hate to admit it," Kaito spoke up, having been quietly trying to console his father up until then. "But Daichi has a point. Omnimon will see us soon and then try to attack."

Tai tightened his grip around his struggling nephew's arm, eyes locked with Davis's who nodded at him.

"DemiDevimon, Mikemon, do you think you can help that digimon?" Tai finally asked. He waited for them to nod, before continuing. "Maybe Matt and I could try again. I don't want to accept there's no way to help Omnimon. I know our friend is still in there, but that digimon is right too. We won't be able to help him if we get hurt before we can even reach him. Dai, you can go with your Dad to go help that Digimon while Mikemon and DemiDevimon cover him, okay, but don't be as reckless as your Dad, ok?" He winked slightly at his brother-in-law, trying to find some lightness in the situation, even if there really wasn't any.

Davis rolled his eyes. "I resent that. Recklessness is charming on me, right Kari?"

Kari didn't reply but instead reached out and gave Dai a quick hug. "Be careful, ok?" She let him go, waiting for him to nod before letting him go and allowing him to run out as Mikemon and DemiDevimon attacked to give a chance for the other blue digimon to run away. Tai could tell his sister was nervous and as he looked around at Matt, Sora, Mimi, Davis, T.K. and Noriko, he knew the feelings were the same with all of them. Two rookies and one Champion level probably didn't stand even a small chance against a Mega level like Omnimon. But right now, with the friend he once loved as a looming threat over all their heads, this was the only choice they had.

Dai ran forward, cradling the blue dragon in his arms, inwardly wincing at how injured the little creature was. He could feel the blood getting onto him and if he was honest, it made him a little sick. Kaito and Kei were always calling him naïve because he wanted to believe that kindness trumped cruelty but seeing this creature like this, a part of him wondered if he had been naïve after all.

"You know, if you keep rushing at Omnimon, you could end up worse than you already are," Dai said, trying to talk sense into the creature.

"And if I don't stop him, I could end up dead, along with everyone else in the digital world," The digimon said coughing. "Look, kid, just stay out of this. I can handle my own fights."

"Can you?" Dai said raising an eyebrow. "You can barely stand. What's your name anyway?" Maybe distracting it by talking to it would make him realise how insane this was. That creature…his Uncle's partner digimon was like fifty times the size of the little digimon in his arms.

"Gumdramon," He managed to cough out. "And I've been through worse…I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Dai argued stubbornly. "Let us help you and quit being so stubborn." Geez! And MJ said he was stubborn – but he had nothing on Gumdramon. His grip tightened slightly around him, about to pick him up against his will and take him away from here when a bright light surrounded the both of them. What in the world? He didn't even notice as Mikemon was thrown back or anything going on around him. All he noticed was a strange red and white coloured watch appearing around his wrist as the glow began to get brighter, healing away the injuries on Gumdramon's smaller body.

Gumdramon blinked, staring at the human in awe. "How did you do that?" He moved, looking down at his body and looked back at him.

Dai had no clue how that had happened; however, he wasn't going to let Gumdramon know that. "Well, it was the only one to stop you from being stubborn, wasn't it? If you're so insistent on wanting to fight back, the least I could do was heal your injuries."

Gumdramon stared at him, before starting to chuckle a bit. "You have no idea what happened either, do you?"

"Of course I do!" Dai huffed, crossing his arms.

"Dai, get out of there!" His father's scream made Dai's blood turn cold. Due to the strange device that had appeared and wanting to help Gumdramon, he had momentarily forgotten about the danger surrounding them. The fact that the giant digimon wanted to turn them all into street pizza and not the edible type either. Dai quickly stood up, making to grab Gumdramon's paw and pull him to run as well, but the digimon stepped in front of him.

"It's my turn to protect you now," Gumdramon said simply. "I kind of owe you anyway."

"Wait Gumdramon -!" Dai's words died down in his throat as he stumbled back, heart beginning to race. He felt his father pulling him away, but he couldn't move. He knew running was the best thing he could do right now – he stood no chance against Omnimon. Omnimon was large, chaotic and didn't care who he destroyed in his onslaught but still somehow, he felt he couldn't move. If Gumdramon gets caught – he might either die or be forced to go back to the digital world. I have to do something! But…I'm just…I'm just a normal kid…what can I do?

"I'm sorry, Dad, but I can't!" Dai broke free of his father and stepped closer, wincing as Gumdramon was thrown back. "Hey big guy! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" He managed to find a medium sized stick, chucking at Omnimon. Okay, so it wasn't the best idea he had ever had but it was better than nothing.

"Dai!" Everyone's screams mixed together, and Dai couldn't tell one scream as distinguished from another although that might also be because well, for one, Omnimon had turned back to him and was preparing an attack. And secondly, his new strange looking watch was glowing so brightly that it blinded pretty much everything, and he had to shield his eyes, barely able to see that Gumdramon was being bathed in that same light.

"Gumdramon armourdigivolve to... Veedramon!"

When the light faded, there stood a larger digimon in place of where the smaller one had been. Protecting him, a humongous blue dragon stood, his fearsome red eyes focused on the larger presence of Omnimon. His porcelain white horns almost glowing in their presence, and his sharp claws extended out, a growl escaping his lips.

"Dai, are you alright?" Veedramon spoke. Dai was staring, mouth wide open at the creature that stood before him. That was Gumdramon? How had he changed? Was it because of something he had done? He looked to his father who placed a hand on his shoulder, only now noticing the others that were surrounding him.

"He's okay, Veedramon," His father said. "You digivolved to protect my son…"

Veedramon grinned. "You can tell me how cool I am for that later. I gotta deal with this, ok?" His cheerful expression died as he turned back to Omnimon, the two digimon facing each other when a voice broke out.

"Omnimon, return," A cold, cruel voice spoke up and Dai noticed that his father turned pale at the sound of it. "You are not to face Veedramon until we instruct you to."

Omnimon blocked the attack but did not make any further moves to attack further, his gaze stopping at Tai and Matt.

"Give up," Omnimon said, his voice cold and sending a shiver down Dai's spine, so he could only imagine what his Uncle and Matt were feeling right about now. "Things have changed from what they once used to be." Those were the last words that he spoke before he vanished, almost as if disappearing into thin air as if he had never been there. All the broken buildings told that he clearly had though. Man, Omnimon had really made a mess of things.

Veedramon shrunk down but he didn't turn back into Gumdramon. Instead, he had become much smaller, now being a digimon with two tiny blue legs on each side as well as blue ears the same shape he had as Gumdramon but smaller in size.

Dai reached over to pick up the little digimon. "Gumdramon?" He certainly didn't look like Gumdramon, but what did he know about the digimon in the first place?

"I'm Doyomon now," The little digimon chirped. "I lost a lot of energy fighting for so long, so I reverted to my In-training form. I'm kinda tired so can I sleep now?"

Dai chuckled. "Sure thing, bud. Go on and get some rest. I'll hold onto you." He smiled as he watched Doyomon yawn and do just that before turning to the other adults. He winced – Kaito was grasping Matt's arm, who was so pale and quiet that Dai was worried he might pass out or throw up or something. Taysuke, on the other hand had wrapped his arms around his Dad in a fierce hug.

"Should we get out of here?" Dai asked turning to his mother. "I mean, Omnimon's gone, and I think you guys still have a lot to tell us."

It wasn't his mother who answered but Sora, stepping forward and speaking up.

"I've talked to Izzy," Sora said. "The threat may have passed but he's created a digital barrier in his house as a safe space where we can meet up and talk about everything that happened here." She also took Matt's hand. "I know it isn't easy right now, but we do need a plan. Izzy's also the best person to explain things, well, as much as we know from our past. Tai, what do you think?"

Tai was holding Taysuke closely in a hug and didn't seem inclined to let go anytime soon. Dai had never seen his Uncle like this – he didn't think his Uncle could ever look so uncertain, as if he didn't know what to think of what was going on. And he thought he was the one who was confused – like – he had just met a digimon, somehow watched him change into an even more awesome digimon and fought an even scarier looking digimon. It was a lot to process! He definitely had a lot of questions and this time; he wouldn't let it go without getting some answers. Although, seeing the looks on Hana, Taysuke, Kaito, MJ and Yuki's faces, he knew that this was one thing they would all support him in, no matter what happened next.

"Tai?" Mimi asked, snapping Dai out of his thoughts, and making him realise that Tai still hadn't answered Sora.

Tai exhaled a little. "Okay, let's all meet up at Izzy's house."