Chaos.
That's the only thing that could describe the situation occuring on what used to be simple and pacific village in one of the Digital World's many deserts.
It had been sudden, out of nowhere. One moment, the Digimon were going through their lives as normal and then in the next second, something appeared from the sky and started bombing everything on their way. The inhabitants of the town all ran away in fear as their town burned to ashes. The monster bringing the destruction of their town opening his massive jaws to let out an infernal blast of green fire.
Behind the terrible harbinger of death, a giant fortress made of stone flew slowly while leaving behind Control Tower after Control Tower. They inexplicably appeared out of nowhere, spawning into existence behind the ship as a trail and a reminder of the true responsible of this carnage was: The Digimon Emperor.
On the control room of that ship, the tyrant observed the destruction his creation was causing with sadistic glee. His chuckles turning to cackles and his cackles into laughter. He observed the footage of the Digimon running, trying to find some secure place that could hide them from Kimeramon... But such place didn't exist, for he was the ruler of this world and Kimeramon his herald of death.
"Hahahaha! That's right, run! Hide from me, it won't matter, I will find you!" He gloated. "Fear me! Fear me for I am your ruler! The Digital World is on the palm of my hands, and nothing can stop me now! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
From behind, Wormmon watched with fear in his eyes at his partner. Or... Or whatever was left of him... 'Ken... Is this truly what you desire?'
From mountains on the side of the town. The Digidestined, Killua and Mystimon could only observed in impotence how the town was destroyed without any kind of mercy. All day they've been keeping track of the Emperor's base after their last encounter yesterday. Yet because of their lack of strength to take on Kimeramon, they've been unable to act.
"Damnit!" Davis cursed loudly. "That monster, how much damage is he going to cause until he is satisfied?!" At this point, one had to wonder if he was talking about Kimeramon or his creator.
"He is going to pay, Davis. I can assure you that," Raidramon said, glaring at the figure of the abomination ahead of them.
"He has no reasons to continue attacking at this point," Pteramon said. "He is just doing it for fun."
FlyBeemon clenched his fist in anger. "For him, our world is nothing more than a playground!"
"He won't stop... Until everything is burn to ashes, is he?" Cody asked, his knuckles white at the injustice occurring right in front of him. He felt sick at the actions of the boy.
"We can't allow that, no way Jose!" Yolei declared, pumping her fists in determination.
T.K nodded at their words. "This is simply unforgivable. Kimeramon's existence in the first place is something unforgivable, and the usage he's giving him even more."
"We have to stop it, no matter what!" Kari said, eyes narrowed.
"But how?" Nefertimon asked. "Our attacks on him didn't worked last time."
"The only way... Would be our Ultra forms... But with the towers around, we can't access them," Pegasusmon said, completely sure that if he was MagnaAngemon he could take on the monster.
"We can't beat it on a frontal assault," Killua said. Sure he has taken big Digimon before, but that thing had a cover for almost everything on itself with all of its parts. He was certain that thing could destroy SkullGreymon without effort, and wasn't that a scary thought. "On what we can focus for now it's on the base. If the monster doesn't have a place to recharge, then eventually it'll ran out of juice."
"I wonder where is he exactly planning to go now..." Mystimon mumbled. Even as an Ultra, there was little he could do against such a monstrosity.
The phrase the wizard warrior said, made them all look around in the desert trying to find something that could stop the course of the Emperor. This place was a perfect battlefield, they were on an open area where they could crash the base without getting any innocent hurt. But if Ken continued to look for more village to destroy, then they would lose their edge.
Looking around, Cody spot something a few meters ahead of them. A pipe. A long pipe that stretched along the way. It looked industrial, and it reminded him of a certain place they've visited a while back. "Guys..." He said calling their attention. "I think I might have an idea."
The others got close to the boy as he relayed his plan.
On the campsite of the real world, the three boys covering their younger counterparts just received a message from the scouting team. They were images of the new enemy they had to deal with. "So that's Kimeramon..." Tai mumbled, feeling goosebumps at the sight of such bizarre creature.
"Angemon and Airdramon's wings, the head of Kabuterimon..." Izzy started listing, looking at different shots of the creature.
"Garurumon's legs and a Monochromon's tail," Matt continued, his eyes narrowed in disgust.
"Greymon's torso and... Is that MetalGreymon's hair?" Tai raised an eyebrow, not knowing why would the Emperor would add something like that.
"And three pair of arms and eyes. The arms of SkullGreymon, Devimon and Kuwagamon. And the eyes are from Birdramon, Gatomon and Greymon," Izzy said. "Those eyes allow it to see in every direction, and since those Digimon are based on predators they have a keen vision of it."
"That brat," Matt sneered. "Who does he think he is? God or Doctor Frankenstein?"
"He's head sure must be inflated if he thinks he can get away with something like this," Tai said, arms crosses and eyes narrowed. "But as much as I hate to admit, it looks strong. How can we beat it?"
"We start by taking down the mobile fortress," Izzy said. He pressed a button of his laptop and an image of the base appeared. "But... It looks really sturdy. It even received two of Kimeramon's stray attacks and it's still on one piece. To stop it, they'll have to attack from the inside."
"Okay then the question is, how do they all get inside that thing again?" Matt asked, feeling nervous for his little brother and the others safety at getting on the brat's flying piece of rock.
"That... Part is the hard one..." Izzy sighed. He perked up when his computer received a mail. "Humm it's from Cody... 'We found a pipe in the way of the fortress, could you check what its contents are and see if it can be of use, please?'" He read.
"A pipe?" Matt asked. "As in a... Drain pipe?" He looked and sounded skeptical at the thought of that being of any help.
"In the middle of a desert?" Tai asked, raising an eyebrow. "We've seen stranger things but... I mean," He said, trying to find the correct words at the randomness of the pipe.
"Hmm... Let's see," Izzy typed and looked all over the map of the Digital World to see to what the pipe was connected. "Ah! Look!" The image showed the oil ring where the others were trapped a few weeks ago. "A pipe with oil... In the way of the base... It could work!"
"What could work?" Tai asked, feeling out of the loop.
"I think I know what they're planning," Izzy said. "If it works it could stop the fortress! But... One of them would have to stay down to make it work." He started to type down rapidly. "'Guys, use any fire attack you have at your disposal, like Flamedramon's. Your plan could be a total success.'"
The other two teens exchanged looks, before looking at the map and realizing what the plan was. Oil and fire... That would certainly stop the base.
The Emperor smiled as he saw the remainings of the town. He could have take prisoners and new slaves, sure... But where was the fun in that? He didn't need any other Digimon now, he had his creation, Kimeramon, and with him there was nothing in this world that could stop him now. The Digidestined had tries and fail, and he was sure that even Zoldyck would fall against his greatness.
Now, the next town was a few kilometers away, just on the outskirts of this forsaken desert. Kimeramon was recharging energy, a small flaw but no a lethal one, his creation just needed a little bit of training to gain stamina, nothing too serious. He could gain that by absorbing the data of the ants he crushed on his awake. And the incoming town was next on the menu.
He let out a triumphant chuckled, but stopped himself as another one resonated on his head. His eyes widened as he recognized the voice, it was the same one he heard on the whirlpool. It was cold... Cruel and frightening. It bounced and echoed on his head, causing the headache he's been feeling since yesterday to come back. His knees buckled and he fell down to the floor, panting.
"Ken!" Wormmon jumped to his side, looking at him with worried eyes. "What's wrong? Do you need something?"
"I... Don't need your help!" He growled out, fighting the pain on his head. "I'm fine!" Despite his words, he was panting hard and sweating cold.
"Maybe... I suggest you should rest for a bit," Wormmon said. "You've been up all night."
"I'm fine!" He snapped, swatting the bug to the side. "I'm fine! There's nothing wrong with me. I'm okay!"
"Oh... Are you know?" The voice asked with a sinister chuckle. "You'll never be able to take back the things you've done. To escape from the darkness you've brought."
"What... What are you taking about?!" The Emperor asked. He didn't know what was happening, the voice was sending shivers to his spine, making it feel like it was made of ice. He... He never experimented something like this before...
"K-Ken..." Wormmon struggled to get up after the impact. "Tell me... What's wrong? Tell me!" He was getting worried, he's never seen Ken so shaken, even after his fights with Zoldyck.
The voice chuckles again. "Look at your feet... Take a good look into the darkness..."
The Emperor felt a gust of icy wind strike him on the face. He looked down at his feet, only for his eyes to get wide with horror. A large hole was at his feet, full of a grey water, and at the bottom was a dark abyss that threatened to swallow him hole. He could feel it, something was down there, something truly evil. Something... That wanted to crawl out and consume him.
He let out a blood curling scream of horror, unable to tear his gaze away from the bottom of the pool.
"Ken... Ken!" Wormmon was shaking his arms with a frightened expression. "Are you okay?! Answer me, please!"
The Emperor took deep breaths to calm himself. That was... Horrible, yet at the same time... Exhilarating. That... That was a challenge! The darkness wanted to consume him? He wouldn't let it! He would consume it! He would take control of that power and make it his own!
He stood up and looked at his monitor, seeing his great creation floating in front of his base. "Go Kimeramon. Give me this world. I will become its king! Soon it will be a reality! And nothing will stand in my way!" He cackled with a maniac glee as he conviced himself that nothing could stop him. That anything that put itself on his way will be exterminated.
Yet for those who observed him closely, line Wormmon, they would see nothing but a mad boy with tired bags under his eyes.
Mystic scurried in the middle of the night to get to the pipeline. After explaining the plan and realizing someone had to stay down to activate the distraction, he offered himself to do it. After all, aside from Flamedramon, he was the only one with a fire related attack.
"I sure hope this works..." He lookes to the chain of mountains behind him. "The others must be in position by now."
He peeked up to see the Emperor's position. He flinched a bit when he saw Kimeramon leading the base, the sight of the creature was enough to remind him a bit of VenomMyotismon. "Damn monster..."
He stood low and let the abomination pass over head, so it wouldn't detect him. He casted an illusory spell on himself just in case, so those six eyes wouldn't see him. Once the beast passed, he put started to play his part.
"Let's do this..." He said with a nervous sigh. He hoped on the pipeline and started to turn the wheel. A torrent of oil shot upwards like a magnificent fountain, just in the way of the base's course. Mystimon took out his sword and lit it up. "Blast Fire!" He unleashed a wave of fire that lit up the liquid.
The fountain turned into a raging inferno that collided with the Emperor's base.
"What the-?!" The Emperor shot to his feet as he saw the fire impacting with his base. "What are these bugs doing?!"
"I'll activate the security system to put the fire down!" Wormmon said, hopping away from the throne room.
The Emperor stares angrily at the screen. His fist clenching and his aura seeping out. "You meddling worms!"
Still covered in flames, the base passed by a chain of mountains. The exact place where the Digidestined were waiting for their chance to hop in.
All of them, except for Killua, were mounted on their respective partners as they watched the immense rocky base to pass by. Cody looked at the side of the base before spotting the right place. "There, that's the entrance I used last time!"
The others nodded at this, with Killua taking a step forward. "Here I go, get ready." He started pacing back to gain some distance, then he dashed forward and gave a mighty jump that allowed him to reach the entrance to the base. "Okay! Davis, you next, then the rest that can fly!"
"I could have gotten in first," Davis mumbled under his breath. "You know... To lead." Raidramon took the leap and landed where the Hunter was.
T.K couldn't help the smile at Davis' pouting. "Well it made sense Killua went first, he's the leader."
"Ignore him, he's still salty about that," Yolei said while waving her hand on a dismissive motion.
With that, the flyers all floated calmly towards the entrance. The step one of the plan had been a complete success.
Mystimon closed the wheel and the shot of fire finally stopped. He sighed and watched the base go. "This is all I can do for now..." He mumbled. "Even with my ability to fly, I don't think I'll be able to reach the base. It's all up to you guys, good luck."
He put illusions all around him and walked away, praying all the way to his pseudo-home that his old-time friend and the Digidestined will be able to pull through and end the Emperor's reign of terror to an end.
"Another message from Cody," Izzy said. "The plan worked, they're in."
Matt frowned and crossed their arms. "I'm still worried. I'm not saying they can't do it, but... They are in enemy territory now. Who knows what the brat has in there..."
"I agree, but for now all we can do is hope," Tai said with a sigh. Fearing for his little sister's safety, for his former leader, and for all the kids burdened with the mission. "This is certainly going to be a long night. For us, for them, and I hope for the Emperor too..." He said, looking up at the stars in the sky.
The cavern was certain a big contrast with what the group was expecting, with all the lights coming out of the base at night the group was expecting every inch of the base to be covered in high tech metal or machines. Yet all around them in the narrowed passage was nothing more than rocky walls.
It was a little cramped already so before entering, FlyBeemon had to regress to Hawkmon and then turn into Shurimon, so Pteramon could fit in a bit more easily.
"Oh look, the light at the end of the tunnel," Killua drawled, keeping his Ten up at all times just in case of a sneak attack.
When they crossed the exit of the cave, they finally found something meeting with their expectations. Large metal walls covered every inch of the room they found themselves in. And in the center was a large window that lead to a room with a giant pillar in the middle, with many bridge connected to it.
"What's that?" Davis asked as they got close to the window.
"Must be the engine room," T.K said, a bit awed at the size of the pillar. It reached the top and the bottom of the base.
"If we stop it, we can make this thing stop once and for all," Killua said. "Just have to find a way in."
On the throne room, Wormmon observed a screen that showed the position of the Digidestined at the moment. "Ken... They're here."
The Emperor smiled and crossed his arms. "What a surprise, didn't expected to see them again so soon," He said. "Let's give them a warm welcoming, shall we?"
A door suddenly opened and the Digidestined turned to see an army of Bakemon arriving. All of them with Dark Rings on their torso.
"Oh goody, the welcome committee," Killua said, taking out his yo-yos. "Ken must know we're already here."
"That was fast," Yolei mumbled, as Shurimon put defensively in front of her.
"But at this point Ichijouji must've know that we aren't backing down!" Davis said, glaring at the ghosts. "Raidramon, go!"
"You got it!" The armored Digimon said, charging forward. The spikes on his back started to crackle and form electricity. "Blue Thunder!"
The attack caught many Bakemon. All of them twitching in pain, before their rings started to break apart. The others soon followed the lead and commence the counterattack.
Shurimon's shurikens started spinning and he launched his spring arms forward. "Flying Chainsaw!" The rotatory blades cut through the rings like a hot knife through butter.
Many Bakemon tried to surround Pteramon, seeing that he didn't have much mobility inside of the room. But the pterodactyl still opened his wings and let out his weaponry at them. "Missile Storm!" He sent out the smallest projectiles, all of them crashing against the ghost and freeing them from their chains.
"Needle Rain!"
"Nile Jewels!"
Like always, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon worked in tandem. Covering each other's back and blasting the rings on the possessed Digimon's torso.
Killua launched his yo-yos forward, managing to wrap them around a large group of ghosts and sending a great deal of his electric aura to them. The ghosts all shrieked in pain, but mercifully it stopped when their rings broke down. The boy retreated the toys and looked around with before giving a nod. "All clear, let's move!"
With that order the Digidestined nodded, following after the Hunter to the next room.
The Emperor rolled his eyes as he saw his slaves being beaten so easily. "Of course they would fail," He pressed the intercom on his gauntlet with a growing smirk. "Kimeramon~ I have some new toys for you... Go fetch."
Outside, all of Kimeramon's eyes glowed red and he turned around to charge towards his master's enemies.
The group ran across the hallways of the base, before reaching a new door. The place was a maze, something T.K and Killua could attest to after going out to hunt the Emperor, but they finally found another door.
They opened and found themselves in a far more open space, enough to let Pteramon move more freely, another window leading to the machine room with the big pillar. "Where are we?" Davis asked.
"Looks like a hangar," Cody mumbled, looking at all the crates in the room.
Suddenly the ceiling started cracking and breaking. Killua noticed and turned to the rest. "Heads up!"
They covered their heads in time when the ceiling collapsed. When they uncovered, they found themselves face to face with the Emperor's own Digimon, Kimeramon. All six of his eyes glaring at them.
"Kimeramon..." Killua and Davis mumbled together, one in anger the other with nervousness.
The monster growled and from the crates more Bakemon appeared, locating themselves in front of Kimeramon. Not that they could be of any help for the monster, but the Emperor was probably ordering them to act to overwhelm the group.
"Dang it, the engine room was just ahead of us..." Killua said, looking at the window and the chains that lead down to the room.
"Davis, get off my back for the moment," Raidramon said. "We all need to attack together if we want to defeat Kimeramon."
"Uh, but..." Davis was surprised and a bit reluctant to do so. He saw the logic but... He wanted to do a bit more.
"T.K, Raidramon is right," Pegasusmon said. "We will deal with it, but we don't want you to get hurt."
"Pegasusmon..." T.K muttered, bitting his lip. He understands, but at seeing the monster and the number of Bakemon.
All of the other armored Digimon shared the sentiment. "It's going to be okay, Kari," Nefertimon reassured.
"But..." Kari clenched her fist, she looked up at Kimeramon's hideous face and could only sigh in resignation.
"Don't worry, we'll be okay," Pteramon reassured.
"Stay behind the crates," Shurimon ordered softly to her partner.
Raidramon turned to look at Killua. "And you..."
"Don't even think about it," The Hunter said. "I can at least deal with the Bakemon," His Ren exploded around him and got his yo-yos out again.
The rest of the Digidestined, very reluctantly, got away from their partners and leader to hide behind the crates. The five Digimon and the former assassin all assuming battle stances.
Killua narrowed his eyes. "Godspeed..." He went for everything now, activating his trump card. "Let's go!" All of the combatants launched themselves at their enemies, the Bakemon charging back at them to worn them out before they went after Kimeramon.
Killua lashes his yo-yos at an amazing speed. The end of the toys hitting the rings with a destructive force that shattered on one impact, and at a speed that only left them be seen as nothing but blurs. The rest of the Digimon all charged as well, launching their best attacks to free the possessed Digimon to deal with the beast, who stood behind the army patiently.
"Blue Thunder!"
"Nile Jewels!"
"Flying Chainsaw!"
"Needle Rain!"
Attacks came from all directions, not giving the poor ghosts a chance to even fight back. Trying to gain some advantage, part of the ghost tried to attack the Digidestined from behind. Yet it proved to be useless as Pteramon asked fast and attacked the incoming ghosts. "Missile Storm!" The projectiles impacted with the ghosts and destroyed the ring, leaving them unconscious.
"Thank you, Pteramon," Cody said with a smile.
"I got you covered, don't worry," The armored Digimon said with a nod.
Killua landed in front of the group of armored Digimon, their attacks having thinned down the numbers of Bakemon around the monster. "Now it's our chance! Attack that monster at once!"
"Rodger!"
Everyone jumped towards the monster to take it down at once. But Kimeramon, disregarding completely the lives of the Bakemon, oppened his mouth and let out a powerful Heat Viper attack. All of the armored Digimon and Killua. However, the attack made impact with the floor when they dodge and only the impact of the blast caused a shockwave that sent them all flying all around the room, slamming against walls and the ceiling.
"Dang it... That thing is strong..." Davis cursed.
Kari narrowed her eyes and scowled at the monster. "All of those Bakemon..."
T.K imitated her, glaring at the monstrosity with disgust. "He got rid of them without a second thought."
Killua bounced of the wall, but didn't took long to reincorporate himself. 'Whirlwind,' He used shifted to Godspeed's second technique and dashed towards Kimeramon. The monster roared and launched various blast at him, but Whirlwind kicked in and Killua's body vanished automatically to dodge the blasts.
He reappeared in front of the monster and jab his hands forward to attack. He dug his nails on the beast's torso and let out a current of electricity that coursed all over its body. However, if it affected Kimeramon or not the beast didn't showed it, the beast brought all of its arms together to squash the white haired bug. Whirlwind kicked in and the boy vanished before the hands could caught him.
Killua landed a few meters away from Kimeramon and growled in annoyance. "Too resilient..." He grumbled as he noticed the monster's resistance.
Kimeramon roared and charged another blast on its mouth.
Something was wrong... Kimeramon was being more aggressive than intended. His attacks more rash and reckless, aimless. He was still pointing at the Digidestined's pets, and to Zoldyck too — The fool who thought he could take on his creation — but he also eliminated the Bakemon sent to help... That wasn't planned.
"Ken, at this rate it—... He'll destroy the base," Wormmon warned, correcting himself in the way to address Kimeramon.
"I know," The Emperor said in annoyance. He will tell Kimeramon to stop... Once he destroys his enemies.
"Blue Thunder!" Raidramon has recovered and along with the rest of the Digimon had joined Killua on the offensive. He launched his signature attack, in hopes that with the others' they can bring the monster down.
"Missile Storm!"
"Flying Chainsaw!"
"Rosetta Stone!"
"Shooting Stars!"
"Narukami!" Even Killua added his own technique by concentrating his lighting in the point of his fingertips and launching it at the beast.
All six attacks collided against the monster. Cue the typical explosion that lefts behind a cloud of smoke that covered the enemy. Everything seemed to stay still after that, the Digimon and Human present all watching the smoke.
"Did we got it?!" Shurimon asked.
"I sure hope so, 'cause I'm running out of—" At that moment the electric aura left Killua, causing him to sigh. "—Juice..."
Unfortunately for everyone in that room, the smoke cleared and Kimeramon's condition was shown in full display: The monster was completely unharmed. It gave a roar of superiority, as if mocking the attempts of the group to damage them.
"Damnit!" Killua growled in frustration.
"It didn't worked?!" Kari's eyes were wide with disbelief at seeing the abomination in perfect condition.
"It's a fucking monster..." David cursed, watching the beast with frustration and anger.
Cody clenched his fists nervously. "It's strong... Too strong..."
"Even with all of their attacks together they didn't even make a scratch," Yolei was starting to feel the fear on her stomach growling as the monster continued to resist every attack against it.
T.K slammed his hands on the crate. "What can we do to defeat it?!" He asked in frustration.
Kimeramon's mouth lit up with a green light and it started launching constant blasts of its signature move. The hellish green fire of the Heat Viper being the only warning the combatants received before it was launched.
"Hit the deck!" Killua said as him and all the Digimon started moving away from the blasts.
Yet despite their efforts, just by being near the attack upon impact was enough to sent the Digimon and Killua flying around the room. All of the six eyes on the monster's head locked on each of them and launched blast on their direction.
The first one to receive a direct blast was Raidramon, who crashed against a wall and left a sizable crack upon impact. Then Pegasusmon who was slammed against the ceiling, causing a piece of it to fall on him, burying him on debris. Then Nefertimon who crashed against crates. Shurimon who was sent bouncing across the room. And finally Pteramon who got the same treatment as Raidramon, getting slammed against the wall.
Killua had miraculously dodged the blasts, but with now only one target left, Kimeramon focused all of its attention on the Hunter. It launched consecutive blasts against the boy, who managed to zigzag to avoid them, but one of them got to close and caused the boy to be sent flying. "Gah!"
He bounced on the ground and slowly tried to get up, but Kimeramon wasn't going to waste that chance. It charged one last blast all reserved for the boy and fired it. Killua turned in time to see it getting shot. "Fuck!" He swore, trying to get up.
"KILLUA!" He could hear the others screaming, but at this point he could only see the incoming fireball of doom coming straight at him.
Suddenly someone tackled him out of the way, and the blast only impacted against the floor, causing a shockwave that sent Killua and his savior flying against crates. Killua's back crashes against the object, his Ten protecting him from serious damage. "Hey sparky, you okay?"
Killua looked down to see Davis touching his head with a grimace, the blast also caused his goggles to crack. "Yeah, I'm good," Killua nods.
Davis humphed a bit. "Saying thanks won't kill you. This guys took the hit for you," He said, gesturing to the cracked square goggles.
"I don't thank my... Friends! Crap, the others!" He said, remembering the downed Digimon.
Davis gasps and looks around, finding Raidramon's weakened form against a wall. "Raidramon!"
"S-Sorry, Davis... I can't continue," Blue light envelops him and he regresses back to Demiveemon.
Pteramon struggled to get up but failed misebly. "It's... To strong..." He collapsed and went back to being Upamon.
"Sorry, Yolei..." Shurimon mumbled before regressing to being Poromon.
"Poromon/Upamon!" Both children called for their poor partners. Their face being a mix of surprise and horror.
"We just... Can't," Nefertimon said, before reverting back to Salamon.
Poor Pegasusmon couldn't even say anything as he reverted back, the debris pinning him to the ground as he reverted to Patamon.
"Patamon!/No, Salamon!" Both veterans called for their partners.
"Hold on... I-... I've seen those creatures before..." The Emperor mumbled, seeing the downed forms of Upamon, Poromon and Demiveemon. "But where..."
The Emperor wracked his brain to try and locate where he saw those Digimon for the first time... He.. They... They must've been with the Digidestined at some point but where... He never see them when they came to bother him in the Digital World, so where?!
... Wait... No. No... That was impossible. "T-the... The football game?" He muttered in sheet disbelief. That didn't make sense, how could a bunch of 0 and 1 be in the human world? It was ridiculous.
"They'll never hold up at this rate," Wormmon muttered. "They even reverted to their In-Training forms... As weak as babies."
Babies?
The Emperor looked at the screen for a moment. They... They really looked like babies, he never saw Digimon so small and defenseless before, not even Wormmon. He only found Rookies that could fight. He knows that Digimon are babies, he knows about the elusive Primary Village, but to see one it was...
"Kimeramon, halt," He ordered and the monster stopped as commanded.
"Ken?" Wormmon asked, a bit confused by the action.
The Emperor was confused himself. Why stop? He has them where he wants them, just one last blast and they will be gone so why?
'What am I...?' He wondered, his face softening. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck and shook his head, his condescending glare coming back. "Pffhe, what's the fun on finishing enemies in this pitiful state?" He turned around and let his aura flow. "I'll finish them myself." Wormmon was quick to follow him.
The group was puzzled by Kimeramon's sudden stop. "What is it doing?" Yolei asked.
"Who cares? The others, we have to help!" Kari said, running towards her partner.
Everyone scooped their respective partners on their arms and gathered behind some of the crates that remained, most of them having the same idea in mind.
"We have to retreat," Killua said, crossing his arms with a frown.
"Uh? What do you mean 'retreat'?!" Davis asked, already showing his discomfort with the idea.
"Face the facts, Davis," T.K said, cradling Patamon with care. "As long as Kimeramon stays in the way we won't be able to get to the engine room."
"And can't you blast that thing away sparky? While it isn't moving!" David suggested, looking at the immobile aberration.
"First off: I'm drained," Killua said, lifting his hands and showing poor sparks of electricity. "So I won't be able to get to that thing without risking being crushed with its arms. And second off: That thing proved to resist my lightning... And basically everything thrown at it."
"There's no other choice, Davis... We have to retreat," Kari looked completely crushed at the prospect of leaving.
Davis gaze softened, for a moment considering leaving... But then he frowned again. "No... Sorry, but I can't."
"Davis-" Killua tried to talk sense in him.
"No, listen Killua!" Davis said, calling him by his name, which came as a surprise. "I know it's stupid, and I know you guys think I'm stupid for thinking it! But... entering here in the first place was hard enough. We can't just leave and waste it... Or else they'll just go back to attack the Digital World and innocent towns," Davis turned to glare at the paralyzed monster. "I'm not completely sure we can take the base down... But damnit we have to try!"
"But the monster might start moving again," Kari said. "What we'll we do then? Our partners are all tired... We won't be able to fight."
"... Well it isn't moving right now is it?" Davis said, glaring at the monster. "We can go down that chain behind it and bust the core with what we have!"
Demiveemon opened his eyes and looked at his parner, having heard each word. "Davith... I..."
"I can't stand it guys..." Davis said, frowning as he remembered the events of earlier that night. "And I'm sure you guys can't either...I won't be able to forgive myself if I see another town destroyed by this guy, knowing that we could have stopped them." He turned to glare at the unmoving creature before turning to the others. "I'll go by myself if I have to. Now that I've come so far, I can't back down."
Everyone was quiet as they heard the sheer determination on Davis voice. Some might confused it by simple, stupid stubbornness, and it probably was, but the shine he had on his eyes was something no one, not even Killua could fight off.
In fact, Killua's mind wandered to memory lane as he heard the words from Davis.
"I won't be satisfied just by winning! I want to defeat him completely, obtain a total victory!"
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair 'Goddamnit, why do I gather with such a stubborn group of people?' He walked to Davis and proceeded to punch him in the arm.
"OW! Da heck, sparky?!" David complained, while the others blinked at sudden action from the leader.
"That was a love tap, something you deserve from being so damn stubborn," The boy said and then he bonked his own head. "And that is for me being stupid enough to agree with this."
"Uh?" Davis blinked.
"Someone has to cover your back if you're going in for that thing, and if Ken sees you it might be bad news," Killua looked around, as if looking for something. "With how much technology this place has, there must be somewhere where I can recharge."
"S-Sparky..." Davis mumbled in surprise. Out of everyone it was one of his self-imposed rivals one to follow his idea.
Demiveemon moved from Davis arms and crawled to his head. "Then... Let's do this, Davith."
"Demiveemon...?"
"If you go, I'll go," The small creature said.
Davis smiled gratefully at the small Digimon. "Aw thanks partner! Okay then... Let's go down there," He said, pointing at the chain that lead down to the engine room.
"Very well, go ahead," Killua said. "I'll caught up in a bit."
The boy nodded and ran pass the frozen Frankenstein Digimon and towards the chain. He grabbed one end of it and with his weight it started going down.
Killua turned to the others while Davis went down. "You guys can go and regroup with Mystimon. Then think of a better plan... Or stay and find a safe place for them," He gestured to the Digimon. "We'll catch up to you anyways!" He said turning around to catch up with Davis. Though, afterwards he added in his mind a silent, 'I hope.'
Davis descended with the help of the chain. He felt a small sense of vertigo when he dared to look down. He gulped and when he thought they were close enough he let go of the chain. Though he made a miscalculation when he did this and instead of landing neatly on the bridge, he ended up almost falling to the abyss had he not grabbed the edge of the platform. "Ugh... That was close..."
"Be careful Davith..." Demiveemon said, holding to the boy's hair.
Killua saw this from above and sighed before leaping down. Focusing Nen on his feet to cushion his fall. He walked to Davis and offered his hand. "Here."
"Thanks," He said, accepting the help.
The others all exchanged looks. "What do we do then?" Cody asked.
"... I say we stay," Kari said. "It's not fair that they stay here to face all of this by themselves." Otherwise, why did she started training. When they get out of this, he was going to ask Killua to unlock her Nen. She wanted to be able to help and not sit on the sidelines.
"I agree," T.K said with a nod. "We can't just depend on one of us to always be fixing everything," He needed to be able to do things on his own. He had to depend on Killua to take care of Ken yesterday when he wanted to confront him.
"Well then, I guess the decision is made," Yolei said with a smile. "I still want to find the Emperor and give him a piece of my mind."
"Me too," Cody said. "I want to make sure he gets what he deserves!"
With an unanimous decisions they all moved to join with their friends on the bridged. However, an annoyingly familiar voice stopped them on their tracks.
"Kimeramon! Stop them!" The Emperor ordered from an elevated platform on the opposite side of the engine room.
Kimeramon started moving again and turned its head to look at the four Digidestined. They all froze, fearing for what the monster might do while they were defenseless.
But, to their surprise, Kimeramon started to float upwards to the same hole where it crashed in. Completely ignoring the order the Emperor gave to it.
"Hey, where are you going?!" The Emperor demanded. "Get back here! Kimeramon! KIMERAMON!" He roared at seeing his creation ignoring him.
A chuckle started echoing out of nowhere all around the room, and the Emperor's eyes shrank to the size of pinpricks before collapsing to his knees and started to pant.
"W-what is that voice?" T.K asked, feeling a shiver as he heard it. The others having similar reactions.
Wormmon walked to the Emperor with worry. "Ken, maybe we should go back and-"
"Shut. Up!" He growled as he suddenly started to hear waves crashing against his ears. 'I'm not scared of the powers of the dark, I'm not afraid of anything! I'm the king of this world, I will control those dark forces!' He declared while shakily getting back to his feet.
Wormmon watched him with sadness and worry. That expression on Ken's face... It wasn't something he was used to seeing. 'I should have tried something else when he wanted to collect the data of Devimon. I should have stood my ground... I am the only one that can help him at the moment.' He decided, looking down at the bridge.
T.K narrowed his eyes at the Emperor. "Like I thought... He never knew how to control the forces of the dark, and now it's all backfiring on him," He sighed and turned around. "C'mon guys, we need to reunite with Davis and Killua."
Everyone nodded and looked for a new way to go down to the giant pillar.
The Emperor observed this actions and seethed with rage. He turned around and got his Digivice out. "Wormmon, deal with this pests! I'm going to make sure Kimeramon, that ungrateful waste of DNA, remembers his place!" He said, pointing his Digivice at Wormmon.
"Wormmon Digivolves to... Stigmon!"
Stigmon floated over the bridges and observed Ken go down the corridor. He sighed and started to float down, his decision made.
Killua observed how the Emperor seemed to ran away. However, he also saw how Kimeramon got out from the hole on the ceiling and put two and two together. "Shit... Davis."
"Yeah?" The boy said, having been too occupied observing the place where Kimeramon had been for fear it would suddenly come back.
"Find a way to destroy the room," He said, sharpening his nails. "I'll deal with Stigmon and go after Ken."
"O-okay..." Davis said with a nod before turning back to reach the center of the pilar.
"Wait!" The deep voice of the giant voice said as he lowered himself to their level, his arms raised as a sign of peace. "I'm not going to fight you... And that door needs a password."
Both boys blinked and exchanged looks, before glaring at the Digimon. "Why should we believe you?" Killua asked, keeping his guard up.
"Yeah, you want to trick us, don't ya?!" Davis accused, taking Demiveemon off his head and keeping him safe on his arm.
Stigmon's normally expressionless face seemed to frown. "I am not! What I want is to protect Ken!"
Both boys grew confused. How can he protect the Emperor by helping them?
"Kimeramon is a mistake. I have this... Feeling that if Ken continues down this path, I won't be able to follow him anymore," He explained, looking down. "That's why... Kimeramon has to be stopped and destroyed!" He bowed and his voice almost cracked. "Please... Please believe me..."
The two boys were taken back. One of the Emperor's lapdogs was actually asking them to put a stop to his plans. It was... Crazy! Demiveemon for his part looked at Stigmon, his innocent eyes looking at the supposedd enemy with a sense of something akin to... Companionship. "Okay!" He chirped.
"Eh?!" Both boys yelped. "Demiveemon?!"
"Davith I can feel he is honest," Demiveemon said. "I know that if something bad happened to you, I would also would like someone to help me help you," He said, his eloquence with words being almost as not existant, but the feeling was there. "I say we help him... And we need the password too."
Davis looked at his partner, then at Killua and then at Stigmon. He mulled all of this over and saw that they didn't really had much of a choice if they really wanted a chance to stop the Frankenstein Digimon. "Fine..." He sighed.
Killua looked at Stigmon and then at his two friends. He was still skeptical about the deal, but they needed to open that door. "... I'll still go after Ken, to prevent him from regaining control of Kimeramon," He turned to Stigmon. "If you do something to them... I will end you."
To his credit Stigmon didn't seemed intimidated or scared. Either he was really brave, confident, or had no reason to fear the threat. "I understand..." He said. "Before you go, I have something else to ask you... To you specifically, Killua Zoldyck."
The boy growled in frustration at the hold up. "What?"
"... I remember your last fight with Ken..." He said. "Please... Just stop him from reaching Kimeramon... Don't hurt him."
Killua glared at the bug for a moment before sighing. "If he attacks me, I'll have no other choice but to defend myself. Otherwise, I'll just try to restrain him."
Stigmon sighed. "Fair enough... Go."
Killua nodded and ran to the end of the bridge before focusing Nen on his feet and using the propeller technique to jump all the way up to the platform where Ken was standing moments ago.
When he reached it, he started to run down the hallway while also stabbing his claws against the wall. The cables and electric circuits of the base all zapping Killua and recharging his aura to allow him to be at full power again. "Soon this'll all be over... Get ready, Ken!"
Davis stood in front of the door that will lead to the core of the engine. "Okay... What's the password?"
"It's... 10-05-86," Stigmon said and Davis typed the numbers quickly.
The doors opened and Davis had to shield himself from the heat it emanated. When it died down, he looked inside. He was expecting the core to be filled with computers, gears and stuff, but what he found was an object on a pedestal, giving out a soft, golden glow.
"What is this?" He asked, walking inside.
"This base used to be part of a mountain. Ken built everything around the golden object to use it as a power source," Stigmon explained from outside.
"Davith," Demiveemon said. "I feel... Something coming from it," He said, pointing to the object in the pedestal
"You do?" Davis asked as he approached it. "And what is-" he was cut off when the object suddenly started floating.
The lights went off and the base suddenly stopped moving.
The Emperor stopped his running to reach his creation when he felt his base stop. "What?! How?! How did they removed the power source?!"
A few meters behind him, Killua also stopped as he noticed the change. "So he wasn't lying... Then I hope I can keep up my part," He said, before returning to chasing the Emperor.
The Digidestined also noticed the stop of the base. "It stopped?" Yolei looked around, trying to check if it was real.
"Davis and Killua did it!" Kari cheered, a big grin on her face as she hugged a recently awakened Salamon.
"We have to meet up with them then," T.K said. "Now we do have an edge to beat Kimeramon!"
They nodded and resumed the running.
"Davith, look!" Demiveemon said as he pointed at the object, on the center of it was now a pink symbol that Davis didn't recognized.
The object's glow intensified. Demiveemon jumped off Davis head and started glowing and growing and soon enough, V-Mon was back with all his strength.
Davis blinked. "Y-you evolved? How?!" Davis questioned.
The glowing of the object became so intense that the chamber where it was in disappeared. All of the presents covered their eyes as the black exterior broke apart and revealed the object's true form. "Is that... A Digi-egg?!" Davis exclaimed. "I thought we had them all..."
It radiated with an incredible power and floated softly on Davis hands. "It's mine?" He asked softly. He hardened his eyes and looked at his partner. "V-Mon! Let's use it!"
"Say the words, Davith!" V-Mon said, pumping his fists.
"DIGIMENTAL UP!" The boy yelled as he raised the new egg high above his head.
"V-Mon Armor Digivolves to..." Instead of the egg breaking apart and forming an armor, the egg gave a brilliant light that engulfed V-Mon completely. When it died down, a new Digimon was floating above Davis and Stigmon. Much like Flamedramon it looked like a grownup version of V-Mon covered in armor, the armor itself being of a magnificent golden color that covered his head, arms, legs and upper torso. "MAGNAMON! THE MIRACLE WARRIOR!"
Davis could only stare at his partner in pure awe. This evolution put all the other versions of his partner to shame with the sheer power it was giving. "Magna...Mon..."
Even Stigmon seemed surprise at the smaller Digimon. "Amazing..."
This new evolution... Was nothing short of a miracle. Shining like the raising sun, and bathing the world with light.
The final battle with the Digimon Emperor has begun.