Oh dear.

With a crack of thunder, lightning shot down, hitting one of the fireballs-

And then arcing to the rest of them in a display of giving absolutely no fucks in how either fire or lightning actually worked.

"Control yourself!" Azulongmon stated. "Can you not see that they only wish to help?"

"I see many things, Azulongmon! Megidramon, for one!"

"You only see what you want to see! Your own wilful ignorance has blinded you to anything else."

"And what would you have me do, Azulongmon?!" Zhuqiaomon shouted. "My duty is to the safety of our world! Right there is a threat to our world! Why do you not destroy it where it stands?!"

"Because he is not a threat!" Azulongmon's form crackled with energy again, the sky above us darkening as dark clouds seemingly spontaneously burst into existence. "You insist on the fact that they are, but they are not!"

The energy faded, the storm clouds vanishing soon after. "Give them a chance."

"A chance? A chance?!" Zhuqiaomon screeched. "You want me to give one of the greatest threats the Digital World has even faced a chance?!"

Azulongmon said nothing.

For a minute, the two stared at each other, silent and still, their eyes locked.

"You do." He realised. "You really do want me to give the Dragon of Armageddon a chance."

Azulongmon continued to stare at him.

"You are a fool, Azulongmon." Zhuqiaomon stated. "And when the Digital World faces destruction, I will blame you."

"I do not believe that it will come to that."

"Believe? You would risk the entire Digital World on a belief?" He asked. "Do not answer that. I already know what you will say. When this backfires on us, I only hope that I will be there to mock you for it."

His wings spread out, before he turned to face us. "For whatever reason, he truly does believe in you. I have my doubts, but if nothing else, then you may serve as an extra body to throw at the True Enemy." He spat. "You are strong enough for that."

"Does... that mean-"

"You have one chance." Zhuqiaomon interrupted. "I will be watching."

He turned again, and took off, heading back in the direction of his castle.

For a few moments, we watched him go.

"He's... very rude." Terriermon's voice came from MegaGargomon.

"Perhaps for good reason." I said. "But we can discuss that later."

"Indeed." Azulongmon rumbled. "Still, he has given his... approval. No matter how tentative it might be."

He turned away, heading off back closer to the ground.

After a moment, Megidramon followed him, soon joined by Sakuyamon and MegaGargomon.

Megidramon came to rest on the ground, before disintegrating in a column of red light, Takato and Guilmon walking forwards. Again, Sakuyamon and MegaGargmon soon joined him.

Azulongmon spun around, his body curling around itself again, turning to face us. "Your Mega Level forms," He began. "Were all surprisingly powerful."

His eyes turned to Takato and Guilmon. "Yours especially. Power that can challenge that of the any of the Sovereign's is rare. And yet, all of you have it."

"Rather interesting that, isn't it?" I bent space, appearing to the side of the children. "That all three of you have that kind of power. Power that most Digimon will never reach, but power that you, with your partners, wield with casual ease."

"Yes." Azulongmon nodded. "We Sovereigns were among the very first Digimon to have ever reached Mega. The power that we wield is not to be underestimated."

"And yet..." I looked up. "Rika, Renamon. As Sakuyamon, you were capable of blocking Zhuqiaomon's attack, and even managing to harm him. That you were both capable of that, despite the fact that Zhuqiaomon is much older, much more experienced, and holds an attribute advantage over you, says volumes of Sakuyamon's strength."

"Indeed."

"Henry, Terriermon. As MegaGargomon, you were able to wreak a surprising amount of damage upon Zhuqiaomon. Granted, yes, you hold an attribute advantage over him, but an attribute advantage is meaningless without the power to back it up."

"And you have that power."

"Takato, Guilmon. I... honestly do not believe that I need to say more. Megidramon is powerful, and feared."

"For good reason." Azulongmon's head came a little closer to the ground. "Exactly once before have I encountered a Megidramon."

Oh ho~

Takato's head snapped up, his eyes fixing on Azulongmon. There was an odd intensity in his gaze, curiosity and interest blooming in his Heart.

"It was a very long time ago, only soon after we became the Sovereigns." Azulongmon began. "It was also the hardest battle that I have ever had. I do not know how that Megidramon came to be, but what I do know is that when it appeared, it's existence distorted time and space, deteriorated reality, and began to break apart the very Digital World itself."

His eyes glazed for a moment, before he rose into the air again. "When it appeared, it went on a rampage, devouring data, gaining strength all the while. It wreaked such destruction that we first mistook it as the True Enemy, the... D-Reaper. Not because of its appearance, but because of the way that it acted. It consumed everything in its path, from Digimon to DigiGnomes, to water, to plants, to soil, to food, and even the very ground itself. All was devoured, all was converted into data, all used to fuel its strength to even greater heights."

He shook his head. "We were more naïve, then. We, Baihumon, Ebonwumon, Zhuqiaomon, and myself, went to confront it, seeking to destroy it." He paused.

And, a few moments later, he shivered. "It was the closest that any of us came to dying. It was only blind luck that we managed to survive, our power utterly meaningless in the face of that beast." He looked at us again. "Once, we had a fifth member."

Hold on, what?

"His name was Huanglongmon. He was the strongest of us all."

But Huanglongmong doesn't exist in Tam-

"He fought Megidramon." Azulongmon stated. "And was severely wounded as result. In turn, however, he wounded Megidramon enough that we were able to finish that beast off." Azulongmon shook his head. "When I said he was the strongest of us all, I did not mean that we were comparable to him. He outclassed us all, strong enough that he was more than capable of taking all of us at once, and winning. He was so strong that we would not have even been able to scratch his scales."

He paused. "And that Megidramon not only fought him, but hurt him to the point that he died of his wounds."

...

Holy shit.

"Megidramon was an evil the likes of which we had never seen before, and that none of us ever wanted to see again." His head came lower, stopping only just above the ground, all four of his eyes locked onto Takato and Guilmon. "We all remember that battle. We all fear Megidramon. And we fear him for good reason. Know this, Takato and Guilmon; the last Megidramon devoured more than half of the Digital World, and took the sacrifice of Huanglongmon to stop. If you ever become like that one, then none of us will hesitate to destroy you."

Takato looked down, slightly slumping.

And then, he looked back up, his eyes burning with determination. His hand came to rest on his partner's head, and Guilmon looked up, that same determination burning in his eyes. "We will never become a monster."

"Some might say that you already have." He noted. "But I know better." His head rose into the air again, his body lighting up with a blue aura. "Return to your world. Consider us allies against the True Enemy." A pair of small, white-blue lights appeared, shooting towards Takato.

He caught them, and the lights faded to reveal two small, oddly shaped devices.

"Those will be our communicators." He rose further into the air. "Do give one of those to the Monster Makers, would you?"

Then, he dipped forwards, flying down and out of sight, weaving into the mountains that were his castle.

"Well..." I walked over to them. "Wasn't that enlightening?"