Ken, Ryo, Willis, and their partners stood watching the Apemons run around gearing up for battle. They filled the carriages with their bone staffs, shields, and armor. They were also caring for the Monochromon that would pull their modes of transport by feeding them and placing armor around their bodies.
Terriermon whistled at the sight of the dinosaur Digimon covered in armor.
"This must be serious."
"That's because it is, Terriermon," Willis told his partner.
They thought about what they were getting into. They're about to go and fight one of the strongest Digimon they have ever faced. A Digimon that has wreaked havoc on a kingdom, terrorized innocent Digimon and kidnapped their friends. It was terrifying to think about.
A Digimon that was on a level that none of them could reach. A Digimon that has them preparing for battle with soldiers she has defeated twice. A monster that kidnapped babies and could brainwash any innocent Digimon to do her bidding.
They were scared to fight her, but they won't back down. They were summoned to this world to protect and they weren't going to run when things got tough. Rosemon needed to face some retribution for all the crimes she had committed.
"So, what's the plan?" Ryo asked while scratching his head.
Even though they psyched themselves up for their upcoming battle, they haven't devised a plan to defeat Rosemon. They don't know the layout of her base, and outside of Angemon, they have no idea how to hurt her. They were going into this fight blind and that was the last thing they wanted.
"I say we attack her head-on and destroy the base," Monodramon suggested and everyone rejected it.
"She has hostages, remember!?" Willis exclaimed. "I don't want to be responsible for the deaths of the innocent Digimon and our friend that are trapped inside."
"I'm not hearing you coming up with anything, wise guy," Monodramon muttered under his breath.
"What was that dragon breath?" Terriermon insulted Monodramon in defense of his partner. The lizard Digimon growled and got in the face of the dog Digimon. Willis, Lopmon, and Ryo quickly separated the two before anything could happen.
"Shouldn't we wait for TK and the others? He and Patamon have probably done this before," Wormmon spoke up to change the topic and ease the building tension.
Ken hummed with a thought. They haven't seen TK, Chloe, or their partners after the meeting with the king. He thought they would've been right behind them to plan their attack, but they must've had other ideas.
"I'll go look for them. We're about to leave so they must be close," Ken said. He didn't get far because the friends he was looking for walked into the garage. He let out a loud snort when he saw TK. The others heard it and when they saw what caused it they tried their best to hold back their laughter.
TK stood there looking unamused as he watched his friends try, and fail at hiding their snickers. He couldn't blame them because he knew he looked silly. Chloe tied his hair up into spikes and painted hearts, stars, and bubbles all over his face. A missing big red nose was keeping him from looking like a clown.
"Yeah, yeah, let it out. I know I look dumb," TK said and he was instantly drowned in laughter. He allowed it to go on for a couple of minutes as he straightened out his hair and did his best to wipe away the face paint. "You guys done now?"
"One minute. You just look really stupid," Terriermon said between laughs and Willis quickly reprimanded him.
"Why did you do that to yourself?" Wormmon asked after being the first one to calm down. TK motioned to speak, but Chloe and the others came up behind him and stopped him before he could open his mouth.
"He allowed me to do anything I wanted and I wanted to relive some memories of going to school festivals and doing my sister's hair," Chloe answered before frowning when she saw TK had wiped away most of the paint. "Though I wished you kept the hearts."
Everyone snickered again and TK rolled his eyes before rubbing away the rest of the paint.
"Ok, ok, you guys had your fun. Can we please figure out how to beat Rosemon?" TK asked and everyone calmed down. "Thank you, now have any of you come up with a plan?"
"Outside of a head-on attack we have nothing," Ryo said and TK hummed.
"What we need is to know what her base looks like?" Willis spoke up. "Is there some kind of secret entrance we can exploit or will we have to attack her head-on?"
They didn't want to do a direct attack. They didn't want to risk putting Catherine, Floramon, or any innocent Digimon in danger. But the longer they think about it, it seems like that's what they're going to have to do. They'll try to keep the fight away from Rosemon's base, but unless they learn some way to sneak into her base, innocent people will likely get hurt.
There was a loud cough and everyone turned to the source. It was a Gizamon carrying supplies on its back.
"I overheard you wanting to know about Rosemon's base," Gizamon said.
"Do you know something? It'll be a great help if you do," Lopmon said and the Gizamon solemnly nodded.
"I was part of the second attack and one of the seven that made it back alive. I don't like talking about it but if it'll put an end to Rosemon's reign of terror," Gizamon said with a shaky voice. "When Rosemon unleashed her army they came at us through a giant disguised door on her base."
"I guess we will have to attack them directly then," Ryo said and Gizamon shook their head.
"Not exactly; when Rosemon got involved I saw her fly down from the roof of her base. I assume she has some sort of entrance up there."
TK hummed as he digested what the Gizamon told them. He was forming a plan in his mind and the look on his friends' faces told him they were thinking the same thing. He thanked Gizamon for their help before huddling together with his friends to discuss their plan.
"We have our in," Ryo said confidently, but Ken appeared unsure.
"I don't feel comfortable leaving the Apemons to fight alone."
"Then why don't we split up? Some stay and fight along with the Apemons while the others go in and get Catherine and Floramon," Willis suggested.
"I'll stay out and fight!" Monodramon declared with no pushback.
"I'm going in," Chloe instantly volunteered. "I'm not going to let my sister suffer any longer."
"I'll go with you to make sure you don't do anything stupid," TK said before looking at Patamon and smiling. "And to keep you and Penguinmon safe if we run into Rosemon."
"But what if Rosemon attacks the Apemon army? Shouldn't you stay out and fight alongside them if that happens?" Ken questioned and TK paused to think about it.
He has no clue what Rosemon is planning. He knows she has an army but what if she doesn't use it in this fight? What if she decided to fight alone and take them out before they could even save their friends? There were so many variables to worry about but he couldn't.
He can only be concerned with what he knows and scheme with what he has.
"We can alter the plan when we get there, but right now, Chloe and I sneak into Rosemon's base and rescue Catherine and Floramon, while you guys fight alongside the Apemons. If Rosemon is fighting with her army then Willis will take my place and help Chloe," TK said and the others nodded in agreement.
"I can fly you guys up so Patamon doesn't waste any energy," Wormmon offered and TK nodded.
They broke apart and headed to their chariot. TK stayed back to breathe for a minute. He thought about his first adventure and how his friends did their best to keep him out of the big battles. He always ended up getting involved anyway but now no one is going to protect him.
He wasn't inexperienced with fighting strong Digimon. He and Patamon have defeated many of them, but now he has to do it without the help of his brother or old friends. He has to protect his friends now. No one is coming to save them if he fails.
He can only hope for the best.
After Rosemon caught them she dragged them deep into the bowels of her base. Catherine didn't know how deep they went but she knew it was further than the dungeon. She tried breaking free by squirming and gnawing at her bindings, but the whip never loosened once. Floramon couldn't even attack because her arms were trapped to her side.
They were at the complete mercy of Rosemon.
Catherine was scared. She didn't know what was awaiting her in the deepest parts of this Hell. She didn't know if she'd be in excruciating pain or meet her end. All she could do was wait with bated breath and think about good memories.
It was something she found herself doing a lot during her time in the Digital World. She thought about how proud her family was when she first sang for them, or when she and Chloe would stay up late talking about whatever was on their minds. She even thought about the prank war she and TK got into and laughed at some of the stuff they did to each other. But there was one memory she cherished the most.
Every Christmas her family would always go to the Christmas markets. It was one big magical wonderland to her. She loved seeing all the different shops and eating all sorts of delicious food. But the thing she loved the most was seeing all the different lights light up the night.
She was always amazed by them, even if they were the same as years prior. She would always imagine each light was a little star shining brightly just for her. She would always make a wish on the brightest one, hoping one day it would come true. It never did and now it might never happen.
Catherine silently cried. She didn't want to give Rosemon any satisfaction by hearing her despair.
"Don't worry Catherine, I'll get us out of here," Floramon promised as she struggled to break free. Catherine smiled at her partner's determination but she knew she was fighting a losing battle.
Catherine soon found herself in a dimly lit room filled with sand, a deep hole, and a lone barrel. She was then roughly dropped onto the ground. She felt her binds loosen and was freed within a few seconds. She looked at Rosemon, stumped about what the rose Digimon wanted.
"What's going on?" All Rosemon did was point at the barrel. Confused, Catherine walked over to the barrel and looked inside. It was empty but the walls were covered with scratch marks. Catherine shivered when she heard Rosemon chuckle behind her.
"When a Digimon dies their body turns into pixels and flies away like dust in the wind. It's breathtaking, to say the least," Rosemon continued to chuckle and Catherine felt her stomach drop. "But you're human and your body won't disappear. It'll stay and stink up the place."
It didn't take Catherine long to figure out what Rosemon was implying.
"I won't do it!" Catherine yelled defiantly.
"Oh, you thought you had a choice?"
Floramon screamed out in pain as Rosemon tightened the whip around her body.
"Floramon!"
"Don't worry, Catherine, I can handle it," Floramon seethed, clearly in pain.
Catherine started panicking, unsure if she should do what Rosemon wanted or let her partner suffer. Floramon tried smiling through the pain but her eyes betrayed her. Another loud shriek from her partner made her decide in a heartbeat.
"ALL RIGHT I'LL DO IT!"
"Good girl," Rosemon said before loosening the bindings on Floramon.
Catherine hesitated as she stared at what awaited her. She heard Floramon pleading for her not to do it, but she was drowned out by her heartbeat beating in her ears. She took a deep breath and climbed into the barrel.
Rosemon then sauntered over to the barrel and peered into it. She smiled at her prisoner and Catherine glared at her.
"My friends will defeat you."
"I'm sure they will," Rosemon mocked her. She then grabbed the lid and sealed her prisoner into her tomb.
Rosemon then turned to Floramon who glared at the mega-level Digimon.
"You won't get away with this," Floramon told her. Rosemon rolled her eyes and freed the floral Digimon from her binds.
"Foolish Digimon, with her Digivice…" Floramon charged at Rosemon, but the mega whipped her before she got close. "I already have."
Floramon slowly rose from the ground with her eyes glowing pink. Rosemon then heard a beep and held up the stolen Digivice. It showed four red dots and one yellow dot heading for her base.
"Bury her will you? I have to prepare for some guests."
Rosemon walked out of the room as Floramon made her way to the barrel. She then kicked the barrel into the hole and started filling it with sand, unaware of who was trapped inside.
In the barrel, Catherine kept her breathing short and steady to not waste the limited oxygen she had. She heard the sand being piled onto her and she couldn't stop herself from crying.
"M-My friends will c-come. My f-friends will s-save m-me. My friends w-will c-come. M-My f-friends w-will save me."
Catherine placed her head on her knees and silently prayed for her friends to save her as she repeated her mantra over and over again.
The Digidestined peered over the dune they were hiding behind and saw Rosemon's base. The giant cactus was standing proud as the only form of vegetation for miles. It was also eerily quiet with no sign of the mega Digimon.
"Do you think she's in there?" Lopmon asked and the Digidestined shrugged their shoulders.
They show up at her base with an army and she's not even there; it felt too good to be true. She must have set up some traps around the perimeter, right? There was no way she left her base unguarded with no one to keep a lookout for anything.
The Apemon army was getting restless behind them. They were all clamoring to charge in, rescue all the hostages, and destroy the place before she got back. Ryo and Monodramon agreed with their sentiment.
"This might be our best chance," Ryo said as he got his Digivice ready. "We can easily get the upper hand before she even realizes it."
TK shook his head.
"It's too risky. Let's wait at least five minutes before we make our first steps toward her base," TK said before looking at his Digivice. He saw Catherine's dot on the screen but it wasn't stationary. It was moving all around and it caused him to worry. "For all we know she could still be in there waiting for us."
"And if she's not then we wasted valuable time we could've used to save everyone!" Monodramon growled.
TK agreed with what the dragon Digimon said, but the possible risks outweighed the reward. They have the numbers advantage but if they charged in and it was a trap then they could easily become her prisoners.
As TK was pondering what to do, Ken continued looking at the base. It appeared completely barren with no sign of anyone around. He was for the idea of charging in until he saw something jump out the top of the cactus and land in front of it.
"Guys," Ken said, bringing attention to what he saw.
Standing in front of her base with her whip drawn was Rosemon. She was staring directly at their hiding spot causing them to worry. They slid behind the dunes to give themselves a little bit of protection from the mega Digimon.
"Do you think she saw us?" Lopmon asked while breathing heavily.
"It's like she knew we were coming!" Terriermon exclaimed.
Chloe looked down at her Digivice and saw her sister's marker. She then peeked her head over her hiding spot to look at Rosemon. She compared the positioning between the Digimon and her sister's marker. She let out a loud gasp when she noticed something serious.
"She has Catherine's Digivice!"
Everyone's eyes widened by the revelation. Their heads shot up from their hiding spot and they stared at the mega Digimon. They couldn't see it clearly but they could see the glint of Catherine's Digivice in Rosemon's hand.
"Oh no…" TK muttered under his breath.
If Rosemon had Catherine's Digivice then that means she's in serious danger. He wanted to charge in and save her but there was a powerful mega blocking his way. He knew how dangerous that would be even with Patamon being able to reach ultimate.
Seconds passed but it felt like hours during their stare-down. The Digidestined were too nervous to make the first move and Rosemon waited for them to do anything. She must have grown impatient because she whipped the ground and a large opening on her base opened behind her. They couldn't see what they were, but the Digidestined could see a lot of small objects roll, crawl, or bounce out of the opening.
"What are those things?" Willis concernedly asked. It didn't take long because one of the Apemons pushed past them with worry in their eyes.
"It's the children!"
The Digidestined paid closer attention and were able to make out the army of Koromon, Yokomon, and Pagumon forming around her. They were also able to see some Agumon, Biyomon, Gazimon, and Gizamon as they all had glowing pink eyes. They managed to make out Rosemon's smirk as she extended the hand that held Catherine's Digivice.
"Don't tell me she's doing what I think she's doing," TK said almost speechless by what he was watching. Patamon flew up behind him, sharing the same concerns as his partner.
"But it shouldn't be possible."
All the in-training Digimon were basked in darkness as they evolved into their new forms. The Yokomon and Pagumon all Digivolved into normal Biyomon, Gazimon, and Gizamon but the Koromon changed into something different. Instead of the normal orange-skinned Agumon that they'd seen at Leaton, they were all black.
Before they could react to Rosemon being able to force other Digimon to Digivolve, all of her slaves were basked into the darkness once again. Not only did they all grow in size, but they fused with their respective species to turn into massive Digimon. There was a massive Kokatorimon and a ginormous Greymon with blue skin, black stripes, and a black helmet.
"I thought it was a myth," Wormmon said, gaining everyone's attention.
"What do you mean, Wormmon?" Ken asked his partner.
"What we saw wasn't a normal Digivolution. It was Digifusion," Wormmon said and the Digimon were shocked while the Digidestined didn't understand what he was talking about. "It's where multiple Digimon fuse together to make a more powerful Digimon."
They were speechless. Not only did Rosemon figure out how to use the Digivice to make other Digimon Digivolve, but she also figured out a form of Digivolution that they'd never heard of.
TK looked at the four titans they'd be facing in a matter of minutes. He recognized two, even if Greymon was a different color, but the other two were completely new to him. One looked like a Tyrannomon but with more muscles, black skin, and leather belts wrapped around its left hand. The other was a giant blue dinosaur that had a metal serpent head for one hand and a dinosaur skull for the other.
"Patamon, who are those Digimon?" TK asked his partner.
"That's DarkTyrannomon and Deltamon," Patamon answered after swallowing hard. "DarkTyrannomon are related to Tyrannomon, but they were infected by a virus that turned them into frenzied beasts. Deltamon only has a mind for destruction and will destroy anything that crosses their path."
They all felt a shiver crawl up their spines, frightened by the two goliaths Rosemon had under her control.
Happy with her warriors, Rosemon whipped the ground, and the four slowly marched toward them. They weren't halfway to the Digidestineds' hiding spot before Greymon shot a torrential flow of blue flames at them. They all jumped out of the way before the flames hit. Once the smoke cleared they saw the sand dune was now a huge chunk of glass.
The Apemon army rushed in to attack while the Digidestined collected their bearings. Once they did, they didn't hesitate to spring into action. The boys grabbed their Digivices and helped their partners Digivolve.
Strikedramon didn't waste time charging after Deltamon. Deltamon used its serpent head to wipe out the few soldiers that attacked it as Strikedramon ran behind the three-headed lizard. Strikedramon's body burst into flames, sprung up from the ground, and directed his attack at the middle head.
"STRIKE FANG!"
Before he could get close the serpent head suddenly swung around and lunged at him. Strikedramon's forward momentum trapped him to his fate. But as he closed his eyes, Gargomon tackled him out of the way before the serpent head's jaws slammed shut upon him.
"You can't just go charging in, buddy," Gargomon told him.
Strikedramon pushed him aside with a growl before charging back into the fight. Gargomon rolled his eyes and followed his friend back into battle. He knew Strikedramon was going to need his help a lot during this fight.
Flying overhead, Stingmon looked for an opening to get his friends inside Rosemon's base. He couldn't find it yet, but he spotted DarkTyrannomon laying waste to the small army of Apemons. He used claws to eviscerate some of them and used his tail to send the others flying away. Any that were left were scorched in a sea of fire.
He jetted to the beast with his blade ready to protect any survivors.
"Spiking Strike!"
He pierced DarkTyrannomon's skin and the beast responded by swinging at the flying Digimon. Stingmon quickly retracted his weapon and flew back to avoid the attack.
"Glad to have your attention," Stingmon said. DarkTyrannomon responded by swinging its tail at him. Stingmon easily avoided the attack and started flying away from the base. "Now follow me."
Stingmon led DarkTyrannomon away from the base, allowing Turuiemon a clear path to Kokatorimon, who already turned the majority of the Apemons into stone. She charged at Kokatorimon but quickly jumped out of the way when the bird Digimon shot a light beam at her. She knew that if that light touched her she would turn into stone.
"I need to figure out how to get close without getting hit by that beam."
Back in the sky, Angemon flew straight at his target, Rosemon. He knew if he took her out and got Catherine's Digivice, he would be able to end the whole fight. He dove straight for her, but before he could even get close to the mega Digimon, Greymon jumped in the way.
"Out of my way. I don't want to hurt you," he warned the blue version of his friend.
Greymon charged at him and Angemon flew up before his horns could pierce him. He saw Rosemon looking at him and she blew him a kiss. Before he could react he felt himself being thrown into the chunk of glass, which shattered on impact.
"Angemon!" The Angel Digimon looked up and saw TK running up to him. "Are you ok?"
Angemon slowly got up with a grunt. He felt the glass shards trickle off him and saw Greymon huffing with disgust. He looked past them and saw Rosemon chuckling to herself.
"Do you want to give it a try?"
Angemon saw TK holding up his Digivice with determination. He shook his head and glared at Rosemon behind his helmet. He was going to save it for when he faced her and he wasn't going to let a newly Digivolved Digimon tire him out. He tore threw the air with one goal in mind.
His staff shrunk in his hand as it glowed in a holy light. He saw Greymon rearing their head back for their attack and Angemon whispered something under his breath. Greymon shot out his blue fire as Angemon punched out his holy beam. The beam pierced through the flame and made direct contact with Greymon as it was sent flying past Rosemon and her base.
It landed with a loud thud as it was basked in a bright light and began to de-digivolve. All that was left was a pile of Koromon and Rosemon frowned at the sight of it.
"I thought they would've put up more of a fight, but I guess it's my fault for thinking a bunch of babies could handle you," she sighed. Angemon got his staff ready and Rosemon frowned. She disappointedly shook her head as she tugged her whip. "Guess you're not one for small talk."
The Digidestined watched as the two stared each other down. TK tensely gripped his Digivice without taking his eyes off of the two Digimon. He was going to be ready to help his partner at a moment's notice.
Willis, on the other hand, was quick to set their plan in motion.
"Chloe, get ready. Ken, call Stingmon over," Willis ordered and Ken looked uncertain.
Stingmon was still occupied by DarkTyrannomon. Outside of his initial attack, Stingmon spent most of the fight on defense. He led DarkTyrannomon quite a distance away from the base, but Ken didn't know if he was far enough to come back and fly Willis and Chloe to the entrance before DarkTyrannomon got close again.
"I don't think I can right now. DarkTyrannomon won't let him escape," Ken answered and Willis impatiently bit his lip.
He looked back at Rosemon and Agemon. They were still staring each other down, and Willis knew this was the perfect time to sneak in. If Stingmon couldn't get back and take them in then they might not get a better opportunity later.
Ryo also saw their opportunity dwindling. He watched Stingmon and DarkTyrannomon fighting and he remembered his first day in the Digital World. He knew what he needed to do.
"Ken, call Stingmon."
"But he's—"
"I know, and I'm going to do something about that," Ryo interrupted him as he walked over to the two battling Digimon.
"What are you going to do?" Chloe asked worriedly.
"Something crazy."
Ryo then raced over to the two Digimon, picking up a shard of glass on the way. He ignored his friends' fretful cries but he heard Ken calling for Stingmon. The bug Digimon did listen to his partner and flew over to the group. DarkTyrannomon chased after him and that was what Ryo was hoping for.
He did a big wind-up and threw the glass as hard as he could. It hit the dinosaur Digimon below the eye, but it had the effect Ryo wanted. Now, DarkTyrannomon had its full attention on him.
"Down here, big boy! I ain't afraid of ya!"
DarkTyrannomon let out a rumbling roar and ran at Ryo. He kindly responded by running away from his friends and the base as fast as possible. The shaking ground made it hard to keep his balance, but he made sure to stay out of the Digimon's range.
Ken watched the whole thing happen and hastily urged Stingmon to hurry up. His partner nodded and took off with Chloe, Willis, and Penguinmon in his arms. He flew as fast as he could but he had to avoid Kokatorimon's beam and Gargomon's pellets.
Rosemon saw him flying overhead. Angemon noticed this and sprung into action when she aimed her whip at his friends. He swung his staff down onto her wrist, getting a loud yelp for his troubles.
"Your fight is with me," Angemon said.
Rosemon shook her wrist to ease the pain. She scowled after she saw Stingmon land on her but regained her composure. She licked her lips as she stared down her opponent.
"I haven't forgotten about you, handsome. But are you sure you want to fight me alone?" She questioned the angel. She tried reaching a hand out to him but he quickly aimed his staff at her.
"I'm never alone."
Suddenly, Agemon was covered in a bright light. Rosemon stared past him to see TK holding his glowing Digivice in the sky.