Chapter 14 – From The Ashes
Imperialdramon's Positron laser blast blindsided Wargreymon, who at that moment had been deflecting a series of punches from MetalEtemon. Tai wanted to cry out in shock as his friend was sent barrelling down the street, his Brave Shield skittering away after him, but the words wouldn't come. Turning back to Imperialdramon, Tai looked over at Davis and Ken. "What gives guys?" he shouted. They pointed to Imperialdramon's back, where for the first time Tai could see another Digimon holding on tightly. What the hell was that Tai wondered. As he raised his digivice to check, near him Justimon was now taking on both Puppetmon and MetalEtemon alone. Though clearly the better fighter, Justimon found himself continually hampered by the two Digimon's teamwork, as between them whenever he found an opening to strike at one enemy, he would find the other ready to guard against his attack. It wasn't long before the tide began to turn and Justimon was forced on the defensive from the onslaught of their attacks.
Looking down at his digivice, Tai began to read to himself. "Parasimon- Mega level virus type. Powerless on its own, but with the ability to overpower and control other Digimon." Tai looked up at Justimon, who now was locked in a grapple with his two opponents, slowly being pushed towards the ground by the weight of Puppetmon's mallet while MetalEtemon gripped onto his power-arm. He had his hands full. Turning, Tai called down the street and shouted as loud as he could. "TK, we need you, attack Imperialdramon's back!" Down the street, TK heard this and raising from his and Jeri's hiding place beside the burnt-out car, he raised his Digivice to the sky. Beside him, Patamon flew into the air, his little features fixed into an expression of concentration.
"PATAMON, DIGIVOLVE TO…ANGEMON…ANGEMON, DIGIVOLVE TO…MAGNAANGEMON!"
In a flash the armoured angel flew towards Imperialdramon, who turned to guard himself against the oncoming onslaught. MagnaAngemon slashed away at Imperialdramon with his blade, attempting with every cut to get closer to Parasimon. But Imperialdramon's body was too huge and heavily armoured to be overcome, and soon he lashed out with a closed fist which connected hard against MagnaAngemon's body, sending the angel flying down and impacting hard against the concrete. As he attempted to recover, Imperialdramon raised his cannon and fired. A lesser digimon would have been destroyed then and there, but MagnaAngemon raised the beam shield on his left arm at the last moment. His smoking body bounced off the car TK was standing next to, and though he briefly attempted to rise again, he then collapsed in a heap and lay still. TK knelt, pulling MagnaAngemon's head into his lap as tears began to brim in his eyes. "MagnaAngemon…Patamon, are you ok?! Please speak to me!". Shaking the angel again and again, TK got no response from his partner. Near him, Jeri simply stared down at TK, her eyes dim and unfocused as if she was trapped in a bad memory.
Turning back to Justimon, Parasimon was able to watch through Imperialdramon's eyes as MetalEtemon ripped a street sign from the road and threw it at Justimon, who at that moment had just dodged to avoid one of Puppetmon's hammer blows. The metal sign struck him hard, sending him flying into the wall behind. As he recovered, Puppetmon shouted "Puppet Pummel" sending a gunpowder-infused explosive blow with his hammer right at Justimon, who was blown through the wall. Tai watched all this with mounting horror as Puppetmon and MetalEtemon turned their attention towards them. He was defenceless. With evil smiles on their faces, the two mega-level monsters advanced on Tai.
Standing tall and not showing a hint of fear, Tai raised his fists in defiance. The two Digimon were only able to laugh in mockery for a moment before Garudamon barrelled into both with Sora on her back, her claws snatching them and driving them through the dirt. As their bodies ground into the asphalt of the street, Garudamon punctuated this by flying high above them and shouting "Wing Blade" sending a furious fiery bird of energy onto the pair. She must have hit a gas pip underneath the street because this caused an explosion which rocked the buildings around them and sent a column of angry flames high into the sky. Tai watched all this with shock and awe, an emotion trumped only by what he experienced when he saw the expression on Sora's face. From Garudamon's back she wore an expression of pure unrelenting fury and ferocity. Tai's heart thrummed in his chest as he watched her.
The smoke and rising flames of the explosion created a fiery wall which blocked off the other side of the street, temporarily sealing Tai, Sora, and Garudamon off from their enemies. Breaking from the trance that Sora' valiant defence of him had temporarily put him in, Tai looked down the street at WarGreymon, who was now rising on unsteady legs, supporting himself by burying the claws of one of his gauntlets in the street for leverage. The armour on the right side of his body had been shattered by Imperialdramon's attack, and as he slowly limped down the street towards Tai it became obvious that he was in no condition to continue fighting. Tai again felt a rising anxiety. Where was their backup? Minutes away surely. They just had to survive the next few minutes. It was as this fleeting reassurance flew through Tai's head that the wall of flame in front of them was suddenly parted by another salvo of Imperialdramon's Positronic Laser. The beam hit Garudamon squarely in her muscular chest, sending the Ultimate-level flame bird and Sora flying backwards. Her body tore up the street as she barrelled down it, only stopping when she was caught by WarGreymon.
Tai cried out, but his heart was beating so loud in his ears that even his own voice was silent to him. He ran down the street, leaping over cracks and furrows in the asphalt until he got to Sora, who was lying where she had landed when she was thrown from Garudamon's back. Vaguely further down the street Tai could see Taomon and Rapidmon leading a large stampede of Digimon towards their location, but in that moment he didn't care. Pulling Sora into his arms, Tai shook her, his voice cracking as he said "Sora- are you ok? Please, please be ok." Her eyes were shut, and a small trickle of blood made its way down her face from a cut on her forehead. As he watched the red line of blood illuminated by the fire, Tai felt tears well in his eyes. The ground shook as Imperialdramon advanced through the flames, with a singed but otherwise unharmed Puppetmon and MetalEtemon joining him. Tai only looked down at Sora though, at that moment nothing else mattered to him. Leaning into her, Tai drew Sora closer to him in a tight embrace and said "I hope you can hear me right now, because I have something important to tell you…" he whispered these words in her ear, "O need you to know…that I love you. I've always loved you, and I always will. You're my best friend, and you're everything that makes the world special for me."
Leaning back, Tai saw through his tears that one of Sora's eyes was now open. "…I know, you big dummy. I've always known. I love you too." She whispered with a sly smile. Despite everything Tai laughed, hugging her close to him. In that moment, a beautiful pink light shone from Sora's chest. For a moment they both stared at it, perplexed. Then, the light dimmed and reformed, taking the familiar shape of her Crest of Love. A great crash ounded behind them, and turning they watched in amazement as Garudamon rose from her crater, not with a shuddering body bearing the marks of pain but with greater strength and purpose than ever before. Extending out her wings, she began to rise into the sky, trails of pink energy wrapping around her body. Down next to Tai, Sora clutched her digivice to her Crest of Love, and looking Tai in the eye, she smiled. With that, a cocoon of bright pink light surrounded Garudamon.
"GARUDAMON DIGIVOLVE TO…PHOENIXMON!"
The cocoon of light turned from pink to gold instantaneously and then burst open, revealing a great bird Digimon with four gigantic golden wings and a muscular body covered in golden feathers. Her face wore a bronze helmet covering a mane of red feathers, and her ankles were adorned with golden rings. Her talons were gleaming black and a sharp as blades, and as she descended from on high Tai felt he had never seen a more intimidating or awe-inspiring Digimon. Beating her gigantic wings, Phoenixmon hung in the air for a moment before letting out a great cry that dissipated all the flames engulfing the street at once. Now Tai could see that Digimon were approaching from all directions, a great herd standing watching the awesome sight unfolding before them. For a moment Imperialdramon simply looked up at Pheonixmon, then he raised his cannon and fired. In almost instant response, Phoenixmon cried out "Crimson Flare" and sent an almighty blast of surging flame down to meet the attack. A few moments after making contact the two attacks cancelled each other out, creating a blastwave that lit up the street. Before anyone could react, Phoenixmon flew even higher and spreading her four wings, she called out "Starlight Explosion!". Her wings lit up with a golden light which then shot out in every direction, falling to ground as small golden particles.
Tai wondered what kind of attack this was but did not need to wonder for long as soon a few of the particles landed on Imperialdramon, who lurched forward almost instantly, gripping his own head. Wait, Tai thought. He turned towards the Digimon who had assembled at either end of the street and noticed that many of them were doing the same. Turning back to Imperialdramon, Tai felt a surge of joy as he watched Imperialdramon reach around to his own back and drive his claws into Parasimon's thick carapace. The bug Digimon squealed in pain and terror as he was dragged off the now-freed Imperialdramon's back, those terrible cries only increasing as Imperialdramon hauled him high into the air and raised his other arm to point his cannon directly at Parasimon's panicked single eye. Then he unleashed a final blast and ended Parasimon's existence.
Turning his attention to MetalEtemon, Imperialdramon span his body in an almighty roundhouse kick and sending the overgrown metal monkey flying. Behind him, Puppetmon raised his mallet to attack, but at that moment WarGreymon surged forward and slashed at the puppet with his clawed gauntlet. Those three gleaming silver claws ended Puppetmon there and then, who let out a cry before bursting into a stream of data. As this attack had taken the last of his strength, WarGreymon quickly collapsed and turned back into Agumon. MetalEtemon rose and turning back towards Tai and Sora, he ran forward in one final desperate attack. He never made it closer than twenty feet, as Phoenixmon descending on him effortlessly, her four wings folding gracefully as she landed on top of the prostrate monkey. As he struggled beneath her foot, Phoenixmon raised one talon high than the others and then drove it down, piercing through MetalEtemon's chest. He let out a momentary cry and was gone.
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Phoenixmon's Starlight Explosion had expelled whatever dark influence Barbamon had put over the majority of the Digimon remaining in the city, and the rest who had come willingly were now too scared of their enemy to create any further opposition. The destruction of Parasimon, Puppetmon, and MetalEtemon had as it turned out been a wonderful piece of theatre to discourage the remaining evil Digimon from further attacks. Now Tai watched as MegaGargomon and Imperialdramon forced the Digimon into orderly lines and shepherded them out of the business district and towards the park. Among them, clearly evil Digimon like Vilemon and Infermon kept their eyes pointed towards the ground and marched in step with the rest. Tai could not help but smile at this. Next to him, Sora held on tightly to his right arm and smiled sweetly as Phoenixmon bore them both on her back towards the park. To his left, Agumon sat happily looking out over the city skyline. They had made it, they had beaten the odds and won. Tai doubted this day could get any better.
But how fate enjoyed proving Tai Kamiya wrong. They had all agreed to head towards the park because Yamaki had radioed in and told them to come there as quickly as possible and to redirect any Digimon they could there too. He had not explained why before cutting off the communication, but now as Phoenixmon flapped her four great golden wings to land in the park Tai saw the last two people he expected. Kari was sitting on a swing set while Ophanimon stood a few feet away watching her. Looking up and seeing Phoenixmon land, Kari flashed a smile brighter and warmer than Tai had ever seen. Sliding down off Phoenixmon's back, Tai sprinted the last few feet to his little sister and lifted her high into the air in the biggest hug he could muster. Kari's laughter as he spun her around in the air was tinged with occasional happy sobs, and soon Tai became aware that he was crying tears of joy too. Finally setting Kari back down on the ground and letting go of her, Tai placed his hands on her shoulders and said "I'm so sorry Kari…" his voice cracked with these words. But in response Kari simply buried her head in his chest and said "You've got nothing to be sorry for big bro!"
Behind them, Ophanimon cleared her throat, and both siblings turned to look at her. "I'm sorry to interrupt Kari, but I think we have some company." She gestured to the far end of the park, where the great convoy of Digimon of every stripe was now heading towards them. "If you want to vacate the area, I'll do what we came here for!". Nodding, Kari grabbed Tai by the hand and rushed him off to the side, giving Ophanimon her space. Even when they were a safe distance away, Kari kept a tight grip on Tai's hand, something that made him feel infinitely better. Sora joined them and together they watched as Ophanimon used her lance to open a doorway to the Digital World. She then struck that open doorway with her shield and made it open at least five times as wide. The huge gateway hung in the air spilling out light and energy before stabilising and forming a clear path straight back to The Digital World big enough for any Digimon to go through. And they did, one by one great herds of Digimon made their way through the portal and back to their world. Some grumbled about it, but by this point many seemed thoroughly happy to be going home. The Digidestined and Tamers presided over their return and made sure every single Digimon had gone through the portal before giving Ophanimon the all-clear to close it.
Soon there was much celebration. Soldiers cheered in the street as civilians began to make their way out of shelters and refugee camps and back to what remained of their homes. In the park, Henry Wong shook Tai's hand and thanked him on behalf of his family for the good deed he and his friends had done. Next to him, Rika Nonaka seemed to be having some sort of entirely uncharacteristic fangirl moment due to Sora and Pheonixmon. The normally cool and taciturn young girl was positively enchanted by Phoenixmon, declaring that she had always been her favourite Digimon, something her own partner Renamon seemed utterly shocked and appalled by. Ryo Akiyama shot Ken and Davis a cool and non-committal salute, something cut short by the entirely genuine and vulnerable hug that Ken gave him in return, something Ryo seemed initially shocked by but then returned happily.
It was as they were all preparing to say their fond farewells that Ophanimon interjected. "I'm sorry, but this is not yet over." As all assembled turned towards her, Izzy was the first to ask "What do you mean?" Turning to him, Ophanimon replied "I mean Daemon has been let loose, and he still has Takato. We will need to defeat Daemon and save him." Sora raised her hand, and Ophanimon gestured her to go ahead. "Where do we find them?". Turning away, Ophanimon opened a portal with her lance, saying "We will be going back to your Digital World, where The Digimon Sovereign will be waiting for us." She turned to the tamers, "I will not demand your help, but I will request it. Will you help us?". Rika was the first to respond, "If it means saving Takato, then we're there!". Henry nodded in agreement, "Rika's right, we need to save our friend. And besides, you helped us when you had your own problems, we should return the favour."
Smiling, Tai nodded, accepting their new allies gratefully. "Ok guys, then let's go back to the Digital World!" he said turning and leading the way. Behind him, Sora and Kari's eyes met as they both watched him go. Their old goggle-head had not changed a bit, and they both thanked whatever god there may be for that.
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Authors note: Hi, thank you for reading. A review would be very much appreciated as my analytics aren't working atm so I have no idea if people are reading or not.