ZAFT: Wednesday update. Haven't done that in a while. ^^'
DarkFoxKit: Apologies for updating so late. I was going through some tough times. I lost my oldest dog a few days ago. He was 14 years old, and he had a bloating problem, which we think is what ultimately killed him. Rico was his name, and he was a Chihuahua. I've been having trouble focusing on anything. But I'll start to swing back into things soon.
ZAFT: Let's get on to the chapter then.
(Two symbols, one red, and one blue, spin before colliding and flaring with light as they do so, showing the title)
Digital Phantom!
(Shows several forms in shadow before they are revealed to be Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Takuya Kanbara, Andy Fenton and Lopmon, and Jazz Fenton)
Falling into destiny
(A swirling green portal is shown, followed by the sky and cities of the living world before a computer monitor is zoomed in on, revealing another world of lush greenery through that)
Reaching across new boundaries
(Andy Fenton appears with Jazz beside him. Takuya Kanbara appears behind him as well, the form of Agunimon appearing behind Takuya himself)
Let our stories come together
(Andy is shown with the form of Phantom beside him, his twin brother Danny Fenton behind the ghost boy)
Growing stronger
(Andy looks on at Phantom fighting before running to help the ghost boy by taking out his Fenton Rod)
Our pasts intertwine
(Six glowing orbs of light are shown, each of a different color (red, teal, lavender, dark purple, white, and yellow) before the red orb speeds towards Takuya)
Showing our future
(Takuya holds up his D-Tector before fractal code surrounds him, dissipating as fire erupts from it, revealing him as Agunimon, lunging out from the fire as Plasmius fires off ecto-rays at him, only for a glowing orange orb to appear around Agunimon and deflect the beams)
As we evolve
(The blasts speed past the screen as Tucker is shown with a Fenton Wrist ray being fired at a ghost, a shadowed form behind him)
Let's go… EVOLUTION
(Sam is shown with her Fenton Lipstick, firing it at a different ghost, a shadowed form behind her)
As our worlds collide
(Jazz is shown beside Andy, the form of Lopmon behind Andy while a shadowed form is behind Jazz)
We stand as one
(Jack and Maddie Fenton are shown, with the Fenton Works logo behind them as it glows green)
Growing strong
(A shadowed draconic form is shown with blue eyes and wings before fire flares from it, covering the form's visage in flames)
As we move along
(Danny is shown walking down the street with those closest to him appearing one by one; Andy and Lopmon, Tucker, Sam, Takuya, and Jazz.)
CHOU… SHINKA!
(Fractal code is shown before it dissipates to reveal Agunimon lunging out of the dissipating data, fire around his left fist)
Let's go… EVOLUTION!
(The group is shown facing down Plasmius, who looms above them with hands outstretched as a dark form appears behind Plasmius himself.)
Nothing will stand in our way!
(Andy, Lopmon, Danny, Tucker, Sam, Jazz, and Takuya all appear with ribbons of fractal code streaming out from behind them, a swirling green orb behind the ribbons of fractal code.)
Digital Phantom!
Chapter 34: What it Means to be a Partner
Danny, Andy, Takuya, Tucker, Sam, and their Digimon partners were taking a bit of a break. They were still quite a ways away from their destination.
Danny groaned. "Geez… The Flame Terminal is quite far, even for walking. Makes me envious of Valerie a bit… even though… well… you know…"
Tucker was on his back panting. "Yeah… At least… we'll get… there soon… I hope…"
Sam just sighed at Tucker's over dramatic reaction to walking for so long. "Hey, at least you can say you are getting better endurance from all this walking."
Takuya chuckled. "And the ladies love a man who is fit from exercise."
"I know that… but… exercise is hard work…" Tucker groaned.
"Are you sure this is the best thing we can do?" Biyomon asked in worry.
"Yeah, while we're taking our time getting to the Flame Terminal, that monster is out there wrecking the Digital World," Kokuwamon pointed out.
"There isn't much else we can do right now," Lopmon pointed out. "The fastest way we're gonna get anywhere in the Digital World is by Trailmon, and we need to get them back online if we want to find that messed up Megadramon."
"If only I could digivolve any time I wanted, this may not be a problem," Biyomon pouted.
"True, but even as Birdramon, would you have been able to carry all of us?" Kokuwamon pointed out.
"It would've been better than having to take the slow way back…" Biyomon grumbled.
Lopmon looked at Patamon. "You've been quiet for a while. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Patamon replied. "I just wish we didn't need to take frequent breaks."
"Well, until we can get the Trailmon up and running, walking is the only thing we can do." Danny said, feeling a bit helpless. He wanted to help the Digimon at the Flame Terminal, and the Trailmon, but there was little he could do at the moment; he was not sure he could even use his ghost form in the Digital World.
"I'm just worried about the Digital World." Patamon frowned. "We've been away for too long in the real world. I don't know how the other Legendary Warriors are doing, or what the state of the world is right now. With the green fog coming in and corrupting Digimon and players… I fear for what's happening right now."
"That green fog… do you really think it might be coming from the Ghost Zone?" Lopmon questioned.
"It's difficult to say," Kokuwamon said. "The worlds should be separated from each other."
"What happens when ghosts start coming into the Digital World?" Andy frowned.
Nobody had an answer for that.
"Probably nothing good, I'm guessing," Tucker shrugged. "I mean look at the mess they leave in our own world, and we don't go all glitchy if a ghost touches us."
"No need to remind us about how messy things get with ghosts in our world, Tucker." Danny grumbled. "We all know it isn't a good time."
Takuya was looking down in thought. "It's odd though. The ghostly fog coming in… It's like something is weakening the barriers between both worlds."
"You're definitely right, Takuya," Patamon said. "Something is weakening the barriers between the worlds."
"Isn't there anything we can do to fix it?" Lopmon asked.
"We don't know what's weakening the barrier to begin with, or why," Patamon replied. "My only guess is that it's possible the barrier was weakened because of…"
Before Patamon could finish his answer, they heard voices approaching them.
Everyone got to their feet when they saw a group of people approaching them. A few people looked unfamiliar, but the one they recognized was one of the people in the group who looked like Kwan. But other than Kwan, the other person who stood out to them was a tall person wearing some kind of black armor.
Takuya froze. "I don't think we're alone…" He said to the twins, Sam, Tucker, and their Digimon partners. What's Kwan doing with them?
"What do we have here?" The tall guy in the black armor questioned.
"Sir Michael, they're just a group of losers, we don't need to worry about them," Kwan stated.
"Hey, who are you calling a group of losers?" Sam grumbled.
"Hah! The goth girl thinks her and her group are not losers! How quaint." The black-armored guy, Sir Michael, taunted.
"Something tells me these guys are not to be messed with." Takuya growled.
"We're not here to cause trouble. We'll just be on our way once we rest up." Danny said, trying to avoid a fight if they could.
Andy was looking at the other group's Digimon. He knew a fight was likely to break out, especially if these players were the type to only see this as a game. Kwan had a Vegimon at his side. This Vegimon had a yellow body all over, and two wines that were acting as arm-like limbs. The eyes were red, and it had a mouth of sharp and pointy teeth. There were red lines on its head that were just above its eyes. On its head were six feather-like extensions sticking up; the top color was light blue, then the middle was a darker blue, and the final color at the bottom was red.
The guy in the armor, presumingly the leader of the group, had a Digimon with an almost cyborg like appearance, but mixed with knightly armor. Its body was black, and it had a golden visor covering where its eyes would be. There was a large spike on top of its head, and it had gold accents all over its body, mostly on its gloves and shield. It held a lance in its left hand, and the shield in its right hand.
The other 3 people had Digimon as well. Andy checked his D-Arc to get their names. Kwan had a Vegiemon, which was a Virus type, and a Champion level Digimon. The one the guy in armor had was called a PawnChessmon, Virus type, and a Rookie level.
One of the others had a centipede-like Digimon with a big stinger on its tail called Kunemon, also a Virus type, and a Rookie level. Another guy had a green slimy Digimon, with stalk eyes, and a tongue sticking out of it. It was called Numemon, a Virus type, and a Champion level Digimon. The last Digimon with the last guy in the group looked like it was on fire, but was blue in color, and appeared to have a flaming hat on. It was called Ghostmon, and it was a Rookie level virus type Digimon.
Andy noticed that the other Digimon seemed to be standing as far away as possible from the Ghostmon, however, almost like they were uneasy. Though the humans didn't seem to notice or care.
Danny was looking at the Ghostmon himself. His ghost sense didn't go off, but he felt something like a chill with that particular Digimon that reminded him of ghosts. Although the Digimon was literally called Ghostmon, so it was likely it was one of those Digimon that was born from data and ectoplasm.
"Apologies. I'm looking for recruits to join my future guild," The person in armor, the one Kwan called 'Sir Michael', explained. "Once I have enough members, we will begin working on a guild for training and eating. We will get these Digimon to higher, stronger levels. Until they will be strong enough to overthrow the Rose Morning Star's guild."
"So you're asking us if we want to join you?" Danny questioned.
"Of course." Sir Michael replied with a grin, but something about the grin on his face made Danny uneasy.
"Um… what would happen if we say 'no'... err… hypothetically?" Tucker asked, also feeling uneasy.
"If you do refuse, then we will have to eliminate you," Sir Michael answered. "If we let you go, you'll eventually become competition, and we can't have that. There can't be too many rulers of the Digital World."
"So you plan to eliminate anyone who doesn't join you, huh?" Andy spoke up as he walked up to Sir Michael, surprising the others.
"Andy, what-"
Andy held up his hand at Takuya. "Shhh! I'm talking!"
Andy looked back at Sir Michael. "You seem like a smart kind of guy. What would the purpose of eliminating competition be? So you can have it easy on your way to the top? So you don't have to worry about being challenged? Isn't that the whole point of a game? If you take out possible competition, what's there left to do once you reach the top? Or are you scared? Scared that you won't be able to defeat those who are on your level?"
"Oh please. Newbies like you wouldn't stand a chance against my guild." Sir Michael mocked Andy. "I'm not scared of your threats. I just do not want anyone to stop me."
"Threats? Who says I'm threatening you? I'm only stating facts," Andy replied. "And you just proved my point by saying you don't want anyone to stop you. Oh, Michael, there's always going to be someone to stop you."
Kwan was looking sheepishly at Michael, as were the others.
"Should we take out the boy with the mouth, Sir Michael?" One of the group asked.
"No," Michael replied. "I'll handle him since he seems to think he's so funny. The rest of you take out the group."
"Way to go, Andy, you just made things worse!" Sam frowned.
"What else were you expecting? To say 'yes' to his offer?" Andy asked. "This was going to be the outcome either way."
Danny groaned. "Well, I guess we can't just weasel our way out of this. If we have to fight, we have to fight."
Tucker sighed. "Well, there goes an easy trip to Flame Terminal…"
"Don't worry, Andy, I have your back!" Lopmon said.
Kwan and Vegiemon were facing against Sam and Biyomon. The player with the Numemon was facing against Tucker and Kokuwamon. The player with the Kunemon was facing Takuya. And the player with the Ghostmon was looking at Danny and Patamon.
"What gives, huh? You don't even have a Digimon partner!" The player with the Kunemon pointed out at Takuya. "This isn't even going to be a challenge."
Takuya grinned as he held up his D-Tector. "Oh really? I think you'll be saying otherwise after this~" He said as he held up his left hand. He held out his D-Tector and the blue digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen of his D-Tector as he formed the familiar fractal coding on his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. Red armor formed and latched onto his body as his hair changed to blonde, becoming long and wild. His height increased, as did his strength and agility. His eyes snapped open, now a brilliant blue instead of brown, and his canine teeth were sharper than a human's as well. He landed, crying out his name. "Agunimon!"
The fractal code cocoon dissipated, revealing the Legendary Warrior of Flame, who grinned at his opponent cheekily.
"What the heck!? How did you do that!?" The player shouted in shock. "Oh, I get it, you're one of those Digimon who disguise themselves as humans. How amusing."
Agunimon frowned a little when he heard that. As far as he knew, he was not a true Digimon, but then he realized that was probably how the players saw him and the other Legendary Warriors. He smirked a bit. "So you say. But you'll find I'm a much tougher opponent than you think."
"Well I can say the same thing, you big phony!" The player snapped.
"Eew, what is that nasty thing?" Tucker scrunched his face at the slimy Digimon.
"That's Numemon, although it's a Champion level Digimon, it's not usually very strong," Kokuwamon answered. "A very disgusting Digimon."
"Who are you calling disgusting, you talking calculator?" Numemon snapped.
"Hey! That wasn't very nice!" Tucker growled, feeling like Kokuwamon was being insulted.
"I will not let such an insult get to me." Kokuwamon said seriously.
"To be fair, you two were insulting Numemon first," The player pointed out in a feminine voice. "Besides, I think Numemon is cute."
"Wait… are you a girl?" Tucker blinked, surprised.
"You got a problem with that?" The player frowned.
"No! You just…" Tucker frowned.
"Don't look very feminine," Kokuwamon bluntly stated.
"... Take them down, Numemon," The girl player grumbled.
"Oh with pleasure!" Numemon grinned.
Sam and Biyomon were looking at Kwan and Vegiemon.
"How'd you get roped into this? I thought you were going to join up with Calvin and Dash," Sam questioned.
"Sir Michael recruited me first. As fun as it would be with Dash and Calvin, Sir Michael is one of the strongest players so far." Kwan replied. "He also has a very strong Digimon, and is an excellent battler as well. No offense to Calvin, but he's not… exactly the brightest bulb, even as a gamer… and Dash hasn't even started playing yet. I don't want to get stuck with a new player."
"A new player would only slow us down!" Vegiemon agreed.
"Shows how much of a friend you all are," Sam huffed.
"Hey! Don't go talking crap about us! Besides, my little flowery Digimon digivolved recently into Vegiemon! Vegiemon will kick your cute little pink bird any day!" Kwan grinned.
"I'd like to see you and your lemon of a partner try!" Biyomon snapped.
Danny and Patamon were looking at the player with the Ghostmon. The player themselves appeared to be gothic like Sam, though they seemed even more dreary. They had pale skin, and wore a black hoodie covering most of their head.
"What's your deal?" Danny asked.
"Fight… get stronger," The hooded player replied, not saying much.
Patamon frowned as he looked at Ghostmon smiling creepily at them. "There's something odd about you."
"Why thank you~" Ghostmon said in an eerie voice. "I try~"
Danny felt shivers run down his back at Ghostmon's response. "Something tells me we're going to be in over our heads if we're not careful…"
Patamon was frowning as well, he wasn't entirely sure how he would be able to handle a Digimon that was naturally mixed with ectoplasm. Normally, holy type Digimon were the best counter for these undead type Digimon. Patamon knew his digivolution line usually had holy type Digimon, but he wasn't able to access them right now. As he was now, he knew he was vulnerable to undead Digimon. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. He had a duty to his world, and he was going to fulfill it.
Andy and Lopmon were staring down Michael and PawnChessmon. Andy couldn't see what Michael looked like under that helmet he was wearing, he couldn't tell if this was an adult or a really tall teenager.
"Why do you want to be the ruler of the Digital World?" Andy asked. "You must have some reason to go out of your way for such a lofty goal other than because it's part of the game's goal."
"To prove I am the strongest." Michael replied. "No one will be able to stop me once I become ruler of the Digital World. Everyone will bow down to me and my power. This way, I can make anyone do anything I say. I will become the strongest to prove I am not some weakling."
Andy raised an eyebrow. "You're doing this for strength? Aren't you worried about hurting the Digimon?"
"They're nothing but 0s and 1s, design to battle, to consume each other, to get stronger," Michael snorted. "Don't tell me you truly believe these creatures are real. Besides, PawnChessmon agrees with me, don't you?"
"Yes, Master. My powers and abilities are for you to use how you see fit," PawnChessmon stated.
"Hah, what a mindless robot," Lopmon sneered. "That's not a partner, that's just a slave!"
Michael didn't like hearing that. "Says the chocolate rabbit." He countered with a sneer of his own.
That made Lopmon twitch. "I am not a chocolate rabbit!"
"You're nothing more than a program designed to look cute and friendly. It shows just how soft your partner is," Michael stated coldly, looking at Andy. "I guess you really are too soft. And yet, you have Dash scared of you because of a stupid prank."
Andy blinked. "How do you know Dash? And that prank? … How do you know me? Who are you under that mask?"
"I am Sir Michael, the soon-to-be ruler of the Digital World. That is all you need to know about me." Michael retorted.
PawnChessmon held out his spear at Lopmon. "Do battle with me now!"
"Fine, I'll be glad to!" Lopmon snapped back.
Michael grinned. "Heh, I'd like to imagine what that coward Dash would do if he was facing a situation like this right now."
"I can't believe I'm facing such a dangerous situation like this right now!" Dash gulped.
The village of Flame Terminal was currently burning, perhaps becoming a bit too literal to the name now. He and Valerie had their canine Digimon facing off against a big, fire breathing, winged lion bent on killing them.
"To be honest, I can't either," Valerie admitted. "I would've thought you'd run away."
"I wasn't just going to leave Labramon to fight this lion thing alone." Dash admitted. "I mean… I owe her one for saving me… many times…"
"It was only a couple of times actually," Labramon said, though she didn't take her eyes off of Firamon.
"But still, you got hurt when you did," Dash pointed out. "When you didn't have to."
"Focus on the battle," Salamon said. "Firamon is strong, we'll need to be cautious."
Valerie nodded at Salamon's words. "Right. We need to defeat Firamon before he hurts anyone else, or even destroys the Flame Terminal."
"But how? He's a Champion level Digimon, and much stronger than Labramon and Salamon." Dash pointed out.
"Then it's a good thing they're not fighting alone," Valerie said before she called back her hoverboard. "This thing likes fighting in the air, so I'll be sure to give it to him."
Firamon began charging at Labramon and Salamon, his claws heating up. "Fira Claw!"
Firamon lashed out his claws. Labramon and Salamon jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the claws. Dash yelped as he jumped to the side too, not wanting to get shishkabob by the claws.
Valerie began firing some kind of green lasers at Firamon's back while he was distracted. Firamon let out a feral, angry roar.
"Puppy Howling!"
"Retriever-Bark!"
Both dogs let out a loud, barking and howling sound from their maws at Firamon, hitting him with their soundwaves.
Dash saw how Firamon reacted, as he seemed to be in serious pain from the dual sound-wave attacks; the barking and howling attacks were already making his human ears hurt, so it had to probably be even more painful for a Digimon.
Looking around, Dash saw a large basketball-sized rock and picked it up. He then threw the large rock at Firamon, who had tried to move away to try to escape the loud howling and barking.
Firamon hissed as the rock hit him. Firamon quickly flew up into the sky and began creating a fireball, but it wasn't just one fireball, it was many. Firamon intended to bomb the entire area with Fira Bomb to make sure none of them could escape.
Valerie tried firing the lasers at Firamon, but the Digimon didn't flinch. He was determined to keep going until he burned them all. Seeing this, Valerie quickly flew her hoverboard down and grabbed Dash.
"Get away!" Valerie quickly said to Salamon and Labramon.
The two dogs began running to get out of range. Labramon's legs were a lot longer, and she was able to run much faster. Salamon, however, was much smaller and had trouble keeping up.
Labramon didn't even notice Salamon was struggling, and just assumed she was right behind her. "We're almost out of danger!"
"Fira Bomb!" Firamon shouted as several fireballs began to rain down into the area.
Dash yelped as he hung on to Valerie's shoulders tightly while she was trying to get them away from the fireballs in the air. Labramon managed to dodge the Fira Bombs until she was out of range.
"Okay, we're…" Labramon panted in relief until she turned around, seeing Salamon was far behind. "... Oh no…"
Salamon was running as fast as her little feet could carry her, but she ended up stumbling. A Fira Bomb came down on her, exploding. Salamon let out a scream as she was blasted a few feet.
Labramon ran back into the danger zone, jumping up to grab onto the injured Salamon's fur with her mouth, and quickly ran while carrying her.
Dash looked back as Firamon was destroying the very village he wanted to save.
"This guy is insane! He's just destroying the Flame Terminal!" Dash exclaimed in worry. "That will leave many Digimon homeless, won't it?"
"We can't worry about that right now," Valerie replied. "Our main concern is getting through this battle alive!"
Valerie flew down to Labramon and Salamon. Firamon would definitely need a moment to recover after using so many of his attacks at once.
"Salamon!" Valerie gasped when she saw the rough shape Salamon was in after Labramon put her down.
Valerie landed and retracted her hoverboard back into her shoes, causing Dash to fall to the ground, before she ran over to Salamon in concern.
"Ow! Geez… give me some warning next time you retract that board of yours, will ya?" Dash grumbled as he rubbed his butt where he had landed. However, his little insulting landing was forgotten when he saw the shape Salamon was in. "Oh no…"
Salamon had similar burns that Labramon did earlier when she took a hit from Firamon's Fira Bomb attack.
"Salamon! Are you okay?" Valerie asked in concern before she looked up at Dash. "Hey! You have some food left, don't you? Can't you use those to help her?"
"I-" Dash began to say when Labramon spoke up.
"It'll be alright," Labramon assured. "I can heal her."
"You can?" Valerie blinked in surprise.
"Cure Liquor!" Labramon licked Salamon's cheeks, and the liquid on Salamon's cheeks glowed, healing Salamon's wounds and burns.
Valerie was relieved when she saw Salamon's injuries were healing. "Wow… That's some trick." She said with a bit of a smile on her face. "That really comes in handy."
Labramon blushed at the praise as she continued to heal Salamon.
"She did the same to me earlier when I got hurt," Dash noted. "But she says she can't use it to heal herself. That's why I have a lot of food for her."
Salamon opened her eyes, feeling most of her wounds healing. "Thank you, Labramon. I should be fine now."
Labramon backed off as Salamon got to her paws.
"How do you feel, Salamon?" Valerie asked in concern. "You almost took a direct hit back there."
"I feel a bit sore, but I'll live," Salamon replied. "But we still have a problem. Firamon is very strong, even for a newly evolved Champion level Digimon."
"It must be all the fractal code he had been absorbing over the past several months while trying to rebuild the Flame Terminal," Labramon noted. "He was already strong for a Rookie level. I suppose when he digivolved, he was filled with all of that power."
"So you don't think we can beat him?" Dash frowned.
"Not as we are, not alone." Salamon frowned. "If this keeps up, Firamon might destroy a large chunk of the Flame Terminal and us with it."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Labramon questioned. "Are we to run away?"
"It's not like Firamon would let us go without a fight." Valerie grumbled. "He would just chase us down anyways, so we have to fight no matter what."
"How can you say that? You almost lost Salamon back there!" Dash pointed out. "Labramon might not be able to heal her the next time, and then what do we do?"
Valerie looked down. "I get that… But Firamon is not going to give up on us. We need to either find a way to beat him with just our Rookie-level Digimon, or we find someone who can beat him as we run from him. Both options are dangerous… We could lose if we fight, and if we run… others may get hurt as well…"
Dash frowned. He was always the one in charge of others, and those who watched him needed to know their place. If he was aiming for a specific nerd, he would chase them down. If they got away, they would believe they could do it again. Firamon may very well be in that mindset right now. But Dash rarely had to face a situation where he was the nerd on the run. Except for when that Fenton kid turned into a dragon. It was the first time Dash truly felt helpless and terrified.
And yet… despite the danger, and with little hope of winning…
"It's my responsibility. I should've stopped him before he started this twisted idea of his," Labramon said.
"Even if it would be wiser to run, you still plan to face him?" Salamon questioned.
"Yes. Someone has to stand up to him, to keep the others safe…" Labramon looked to the side.
Dash followed Labramon's eyes, seeing the Poyomon that had helped them before watching from behind the bushes and rocks, looking terrified. They could see their homes burning in the flames.
Dash felt his heart going out to the smaller Poyomon, feeling bad for them. Dang it… this is just the worst… but we can't back down… Labramon doesn't want to… and she will need all the support she can get.
Feeling a sense of determination welling up in his chest, Dash stood next to Labramon. "I'm with you, Labramon."
"Are you sure? Firamon may kill you if you stay with me," Labramon asked. "You don't have to stay here. You could run, you could hide, you could forget about this place and Firamon."
"No way. I'm not about to leave you just like that." Dash replied. "If anything, I… I don't want to see anyone else get hurt. If we are the only ones who can prevent more damage, we should at least try." Not to mention I don't want to be feeling so helpless… This feeling is not exactly the greatest to experience…
Valerie was watching. She almost couldn't believe this was Dash, and it was just someone who was using Dash's avatar. Because the Dash she knew wouldn't care if other people got hurt, in fact, he usually caused pain in Casper High. Although, ever since Andy's dragon prank, Dash hadn't really been doing a lot of bullying lately. She wondered how much had Andy's prank affected him.
Firamon was flying higher into the sky, cloaking himself with flames.
"It seems he's recovered enough strength to fight again," Salamon grimly noted.
"Firamon! Please stop this!" Labramon shouted, trying to get Firamon to see reason. "You're causing more damage to the Flame Terminal than the humans ever did!"
"And humans will be how we rebuild the Flame Terminal!" Firamon shot back. "You should have just let me do what I need to do, not interfere!"
"Says the one who is just attacking innocent people who arrive!" Salamon shot back at Firamon.
"You wouldn't understand! None of you do!" Firamon shouted as he began to dive at them. "Flame Dive!"
"Look out!" Valerie warned.
Instead of dodging, however, Labramon took the attack head on. Dash gasped as he fell back from the intense heat. Labramon's claws dug into the ground as she attempted to stand her ground. Unfortunately, Labramon was too weak to keep holding back the Flame Dive attack, and was soon tackled into the air. Labramon let out a shout of pain, and a whimper of agony from the flames burning her fur.
"Labramon!" Dash shouted as he ran to catch her from hitting the ground, despite being on fire.
Dash hissed in pain as his palms were burned when he caught Labramon, and quickly patted out the flames. "Why did you do that?"
"Couldn't… let Firamon… destroy… the land… again…" Labramon weakly answered.
"But you got hurt again…" Dash noted with concern and frowned at what he was seeing for Labramon's injuries.
"I won't… let Firamon… destroy Flame Terminal… anymore than he has…" Labramon pointed out.
"Foolish Labramon! If you truly betrayed me by teaming up with this player, then you shall die along with him!" Firamon growled.
Valerie and Salamon quickly ran in front of Dash and Labramon.
"You'll have to go through us first!" Valerie warned as she held out her bazooka.
Valerie and Salamon ran at Firamon, firing off the bazooka and attack. Salamon was doing the best she could with her Puppy Howling, and Valerie was trying her best to hit the fire lion. Valerie called out her hoverboard, letting Salamon hop on so they could take the battle to the sky, trying to avoid damaging the land any further.
While they were fighting, Dash took out a salve from his backpack while the Poyomon began to gather around them. Dash wasn't sure if this would be enough to heal Labramon, she took quite a blow when she tried to stop Firamon's Flame Dive from hitting the ground.
"I know this place is important to you… but why do you risk your life like that?" Dash asked as he began to rub the salve on Labramon's head that took most of the attack.
"What… do you… fight for?" Labramon weakly asked. "If… it's for… something… or someone… important… you always… fight… with everything… you have… If Firamon… hit the ground… he would've… hit the core… fractal code… destroying… our village… and the station…"
"You were… fighting to protect your home…" Dash realized. He looked down, not sure how to answer the question he had been asked. What do I fight for… I've… never had to think about that before… It's not like I really considered it to be honest…
Finally, Dash sighed. "I… I can't really answer that question, Labramon. It's… It's not something a human like me normally tends to think about…"
"Are you sure?" Labramon asked as the salve began to heal some of her wounds.
"Why?" Dash blinked.
"Because… if you really didn't… have anything to fight for… why are you still here? Trying to help me? Knowing you could… easily be destroyed by Firamon," Labramon pointed out.
Dash paused. Why was he trying so hard to help Labramon? This wasn't his home, heck, this wasn't his world. And yet…
"I think… maybe… maybe I want to fight for something… other than myself," Dash admitted, having come to a realization.
Ever since Andy's 'maybe' prank, Dash had been in a slump. He had always been the top dog at school, even during middle school. He was born with the natural athletic talent, able to run laps faster and longer than most of his classmates, he was able to lift weights easier than most of his classmates, he was the star quarterback of his school, even though he may not always win a football game. But at Casper High, he was the king, nobody could touch him, not even the teachers. It was only when Andy turned into a dragon that showed Dash what being helpless was like. It gave Dash a wake-up call. It made Dash question if what he had now was what he truly wanted. Because eventually, he would leave school, his domain, and have to face the real world.
Dash looked into Labramon's eyes. He could feel a connection. Labramon likely thought the same thing in her past life, when she only wanted power. She was only fighting for herself, not caring who got hurt in the process. And that was why she was fighting so hard to protect her home, and the Digimon that lived there. Dash saw how the Poyomon were looking at Labramon in concern. Clearly, Labramon and the Poyomon were pretty close.
Was it too late for Dash to change? Could he still change to be a better person? To be… the partner someone like Labramon deserved?
Valerie and Salamon were shot down from the sky, the hoverboard burning from the flames. Dash and Labramon didn't have much time before Firamon set his fiery sights on them next.
"I… I think… maybe… No… I do want to fight for something… something other than myself… I do want to help you… to protect your home…" Dash admitted slowly. "It… It would be a good start at least… to find out if I can change… Change like you did…"
Labramon gave a smile before her body started to glow a bright golden color. "Huh?"
The Poyomon all looked surprised.
"Ugh…" Labramon groaned as she began to shake.
"Labramon?" Dash frowned, concerned. "What's happening? What's wrong?"
"I don't think anything's wrong, I'm just filled with power all of a sudden!" Labramon replied as she stood up. "I can feel it, your wish, your desire, to grow as a better person. To want something to fight for! And to stop Firamon!"
Fractal code surrounded Labramon. "Labramon, digivolve to…" Labramon's fur and skin ripped away from her form. Then, her fur reformed and turned a black color on her upper body. Her belly and paws became a dark brown color, with silver blades emerging from her ankles on her front and rear legs. On her shoulders and hips were red eye-like accents, and a sharp, spiked collar appeared around her neck. Her eyes turned red as her head became shaped more like a Doberman dog's head as well. "Dobermon!"
The fractal code dissipated, revealing the new Digimon to Dash.
"Labramon? You… uh… got bigger! And… became a different dog?" Dash blinked in shock.
"I'm Dobermon now. Thanks to your desire to want to be a better person, I was able to digivolve," Dobermon informed. "I guess this means we're officially partners, otherwise this wouldn't have been possible."
Dash blinked before he blushed a bit at the praise. He hadn't expected to have Labramon as his partner Digimon, but… after everything they had been through, having another Digimon as his partner didn't feel quite right.
"Heh… I hope I can live up to those expectations then…" Dash said sheepishly before he remembered about the danger they were in. "What about Firamon? Will this be enough to beat him?"
Firamon let out a roar. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU BETRAYED ME! LABRAMON!"
The Poyomon quickly ran back into hiding as Firamon was coming down at them.
"Looks like we're about to find out," Dobermon replied as she looked up at Firamon.
"You will pay for this, traitor!" Firamon roared. "FIRA CLAW!" His claws were coated in flames as he made to strike Dobermon.
Moving quickly, Dobermon grabbed Dash's shirt with her teeth and jumped away from the fiery claws, and tossed Dash up into the air, letting him land on her back.
"Stay on me, it's the easiest way I can protect you from Firamon," Dobermon instructed.
Dash nodded. "Right… I'll hang on…" He said as he gripped the spikes of her collar.
Dobermon began to run faster, just as Firamon's attack hit the ground and threw up smoke and rubble. "YOU TRAITOROUS SCUM! GET BACK HERE!" The fiery lion roared. "FIRA BOMB!"
The point on Firamon's forehead began to glow as a massive fireball began to form above it.
"I think that's enough of that. Gray Noise!" Dobermon let out a howling sound that sent a chill down Dash's spine, it was like listening to a hellhound's howl.
The flame on Firamon's forehead suddenly petered out.
"W-what?! What did you do?!" Firamon shouted. "How dare you do this to me!"
"I sealed away your abilities for a short time," Dobermon replied. "Let's see how fire crazy you are when you can't use your abilities."
While his fiery abilities were sealed, Firamon was still stronger physically as well due to the fractal code in his body. "You may have weakened me by sealing my powers, but I am still physically stronger than you!" He shouted as he flew at Dobermon, intending on knocking her down with his bigger body.
"Hold on." Dobermon instructed Dash.
Dobermon wasn't able to fly, but she was fast on her feet. She moved quickly, dodging Firamon's attempt at body slamming her and Dash into the ground. Dash was gripping onto Dobermon's collar spikes, trying not to get thrown off of her back.
Firamon was launching himself at Dobermon.
Dobermon looked back, seeing the lion was coming in closer. "Firamon! I'll give you one last chance! Stop this senseless battle, and stop trying to kill players when they come into this world! We can rebuild the Flame Terminal together, without any of those sacrifices!"
"You will not stop me! All humans must pay for what has happened, and their fractal code will be how they pay us back!" Firamon shouted back, not letting up.
Dobermon, upon hearing Firamon's words, knew her old friend was beyond reasoning now. He left her with no choice; she didn't want to use her next move, but at this point, it was all but certain Firamon was beyond reasoning with.
Dobermon sighed. "You had your chance, Firamon. I didn't want to use this, but you've left me with no choice."
Valerie and Salamon were recovering from their crash landing earlier. Valerie knew it was going to take some time for the hoverboard to repair itself from that last attack.
Salamon was watching the battle between Dobermon and Firamon. She had felt the massive spike in power when Labramon digivolved earlier. "It's over."
Valerie blinked, looking at her partner. "Firamon's that powerful?"
"No…" Salamon replied. "It's over for Firamon."
Before Valerie could ask, Dobermon stopped running away from Firamon, and turned around. She jumped at Firamon instead, aiming her maw at the lion's chest. "I'm sorry about this, old friend. But it's time to release all the fractal codes you absorbed."
Dobermon's mouth began to build up a concentrated energy that turned black. "Black Beam."
A piercing black beam shot out of Dobermon's maw, and went straight through Firamon's chest. Firamon gasped before spitting out data from his own maw. Firamon didn't even get a chance to roar or shout, all he could do was look at Dobermon in the eyes for a second before his body disintegrated into data. The data that Firamon exploded into reformed together, creating an egg. The egg flew off into the sky.
"What the?" Dash blinked, trying to make sense of what just happened.
"It's alright… Firamon's no more… he'll be reborn into a new Digimon… with no memory of his past life. His egg is heading to Primary Village to be raised until a new family picks him up… hopefully they'll raise him right," Dobermon explained, though her voice sounded melancholic.
"No… I mean… Aw geez… this must be hard on you, having to… do… well… whatever you did… to him." Dash said awkwardly.
"It… had to be done…" Dobermon sighed, lowering her head. "If only I stopped him sooner…"
Valerie was awestruck at what just happened. "Labramon digivolved? And she defeated Firamon? How? I mean, I'm glad she was able to, but… I thought Firamon was stronger than the average Champion level Digimon due to all the fractal codes he absorbed!"
"That's true, for a natural digivolution," Salamon explained. "But when a Digimon digivolves with a human partner, their evolution is much stronger. It also depends on the human's strength as well. Spiritual and mental strength I mean. Dobermon's last attack pierced through Firamon's Digi-Core and destroyed it, so it was an instant death."
Valerie's eyes went wide. "Wait… Really? That's… I didn't think a Digimon could have that kind of an attack… well… at the Champion level anyway… Talk about a scary attack…"
"Heh, you'd be surprised at what a Digimon can do at any level," Salamon chuckled.
Valerie frowned a little. She was surprised that Dash was able to have Labramon digivolve so soon, they weren't even sure if they were partners yet. But Valerie had been partnered with Salamon for almost a month, several months if she counted the digital world's time, but she hadn't been able to get Salamon to the Champion level yet. She didn't know if she was doing something wrong, but surely Salamon would digivolve soon considering Andy, Sam, and even a meat head like Dash were able to get their partners to digivolve.
"Will… Will you be okay, Dobermon?" Dash asked the black dog Digimon.
"I'll be fine," Dobermon assured as Dash got off of her back. "I'm just glad we stopped Firamon before he could destroy what's left of the Flame Terminal…"
Dobermon's body was covered in fractal code as the adrenaline began to wear off. Dash watched in surprise as Dobermon shrank before the fractal code dispersed, revealing Labramon again.
"You're Labramon again!" Dash noted.
"Yeah… apparently we get a lot stronger much quicker with a human partner, but in return, we can't really stay in a Champion form or higher forever," Labramon explained. "If I had digivolved naturally into Dobermon, I would've been able to stay like that. But I probably wouldn't have been able to take down Firamon."
"So… digivolving due to a human partner is like a big boost of power that then wears off, is that right?" Dash asked, wanting to be sure he was getting this correct.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Labramon replied. "I've heard about that with players and their partner Digimon, though this is the first time I'm experiencing it myself. It really is quite the experience. You and I seem to have a lot in common, I guess that's why we became partners so easily. Never thought I'd have a human partner, especially not the one I decided to save from Coronamon."
"Same here. I didn't think you would be my partner either, but I guess it worked out in the end." Dash said with a small smile.
The Poyomon all came out of hiding, seeing how the fighting was over. They looked over at their houses, which were destroyed and burned down. They gave some sad sounding noises to each other.
Labramon frowned as she looked at what was left of the Flame Terminal. "Firamon really did a number to our home."
Dash frowned as well. "Isn't there any way to fix it?"
Labramon looked up. "Maybe, if we're lucky. See that stream of code up there?"
Dash looked up as well. "Yeah… I do. Is that this fractal code I've been hearing about?"
"Yes. Everything in our world is made up of fractal code," Labramon explained. "That fractal code you see up there is what's leftover from Firamon's data. After his own data dispersed and reformed into an egg, all the fractal code he absorbed were released."
Salamon noticed the stream of fractal codes in the sky as well. She explained to Valerie what the fractal codes were as well.
"So does that mean we can use those leftover fractal codes to fix the village and the station?" Valerie asked.
"We can use it to fix a big part of the station and the village," Salamon answered. "But… these fractal codes contain the data from the humans who tried to log in before. The new players Coronamon took in to end their games before they got started."
Valerie frowned. "Maybe, but… those aren't the actual people who logged into the game, right? There hadn't been any reports of comatose people who played the game or anything like that."
"You're right, they're not the actual people who logged in. But they do contain the memories of the people that logged in but were taken out by Coronamon," Salamon explained. "The fractal code is essentially intelligent. If we leave it alone, they'll likely form into new Digi-Eggs, giving life to new Digimon. But if we take the fractal code and use it to rebuild the Flame Terminal, we'd be denying the fractal code life."
Labramon came to the same conclusion as Salamon, and had told the same thing to Dash.
Dash frowned when he heard that. "So… in short… we'd be no better than Coronamon?"
"If you see it that way, then I guess so," Labramon replied, frowning. "But… this fractal code could help us rebuild our home and the Trailmon station. Would it matter if we didn't let the fractal code become a few new Digimon when we could help so many others by using it to rebuild the station?"
Valerie groaned. "One evil for another, huh? I guess we should focus on the lesser of the two evils then if that's how it's going to be."
Dash grimaced. He didn't like the idea any more than Valerie did, and she did have a point. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
"What would the lesser of the two evils be?" Salamon asked.
Dash looked up as Valerie and Salamon walked over to them, knowing the situation.
"We should…" Dash hesitated as he looked at the fractal code in the air, and the Poyomon that were looking at their burnt down homes. "... let the fractal code go."
Valerie blinked. "H-huh?" She hadn't expected that from Dash. "W-why?"
"Because if we take that fractal code and use it for our own purposes, we'd be no better than Firamon. We'd be dooming essentially babies into becoming nothing more than land, train tracks, and buildings," Dash explained.
Valerie frowned. "I get what you're saying, but what about the babies that are here now without a home?"
Dash looked down at the Poyomon, then at Labramon, before he looked back at Valerie and smiled. "Who says they have to be without a home? Come on, we should be able to rebuild this place. It may not be our fault that it was burned down, but it's our responsibility as players, right?"
Valerie blinked, but then smiled. "So we help rebuild this place? I think that works out, since that was one of the reasons I came here, to see how, or if, the rebuilding was coming along." She grinned. "I guess things worked out in a way, because this place will be rebuilt anyway, even after a fight like that."
"But would we be able to rebuild all this?" Labramon frowned. "Look at the damages. It could take years to rebuild everything from scratch."
"It's not impossible," Salamon said. "Coronamon had the right idea. We can use fractal codes to rebuild places much quicker, he just went about it the wrong way."
"What do you mean?" Dash asked.
"You know how you humans use wood from trees to build a house?" Salamon asked. "You can take a tree's fractal code, and use that code to make it into a house. No constructions required, just a know-how on code manipulation."
"Really?" Dash blinked. "That… sounds a bit complicated actually… I'm not much of a coding guy."
"That's why we have 'nerds'." Valerie smirked. "As long as you don't start bullying them, I'm sure we'll have a tech nerd coming soon to help us out with that."
"What? Really? Who is it? Mikey?" Dash asked, blinking in surprise. "I didn't think nerds were interested in video games. I always thought their lives revolved around homework, books, extracurricular activities, and nerd poker."
"Nope, not at all." Valerie replied. "You'd be surprised at how many nerds are hard-core gamers. And as for who is coming… Let's just say it's not Mikey. I'm not even sure he is playing the game."
"Until then, we can work on gathering the environment's fractal code that can spare those codes," Labramon suggested. "Poyomon, will you be helping us?"
The Poyomon all hopped up and down cheerfully.
"We'll also have to clean out the ruins of the village. It would be hazardous to try to build new houses over the burnt ashes of the village," Salamon stated.
"Sure." Valerie said. "How about this? Salamon and I can gather up the fractal codes while Dash and Labramon help with the more physical work?" Valerie then paused. "Wait… my hoverboard is trashed… crap…"
Dash chuckled. "Kinda got caught up in the moment there, huh?"
"Well, it would be nice to have some help with the clean up at least," Labramon remarked.
Some of the Poyomon hopped in front of the group, smiling at them. They gathered together before their bodies glowed, and surrounded by fractal code. The group was surprised to see the group of Poyomon had digivolved.
When the fractal code dissipated, there was now a group of Digimon that looked like they were based on some kind of water animal. They had red tufts of hair from their foreheads, blue eyes, and gray bodies with white stomachs. These new Digimon looked like miniature seals in a way.
"Whoa… who are these Digimon?" Dash asked in surprise.
"They're Bukamon, aquatic type Digimon. I'm surprised, I didn't know you little guys were close to digivolution," Labramon noted.
"We wanted to help," One of the Bukamon said.
"We can help soak the burnt areas to make them easier to clean," Another Bukamon added.
"We'll do what we can to make rebuilding go by faster until help arrives." Another Bukamon smiled.
"Any help would be appreciated." Valerie said with a relieved grin. "The more help, the better, right?"
Salamon was smiling now, pleased with how things were going. It made her happy to see other Digimon were stepping up to help.
"Alright, then Labramon and I will handle most of the labor work," Dash decided. "The Bukamon will help with clean up. Valerie… uh… what do you and Salamon plan to do?"
"I was hoping Salamon and I could help with that fractal code, but my hoverboard is trashed right now…" Valerie grumbled. "I can't exactly get back to the others to let them know where I am now anyway since my board is a bit of a wreck right now."
"You can help with gathering food then," Labramon suggested. "Everyone's going to be hungry while we try to clean everything up. And the food in Dash's backpack can only feed so many Digimon."
Valerie sighed. "Well, it's better than just sitting around." She admitted. "Okay, Salamon and I will help look for food. That shouldn't be too hard."
"And if you find any Pagumon, help them back over here," Dash suggested. "I doubt all of them got swallowed up by that weird fog."
Valerie and Salamon froze.
"Weird fog? What weird fog?" Valerie frowned.
Titanic X: ZAFT: Yep! We wanted to involve Dash somehow, but we figured a Digimon partner would be a better route this time. :3
Pokemon fan 1991: DarkFoxKit: We like trying to extend Dash's personality outside of just being a stereotypical bully to the main character. I know in season 3 he had a dog, which did show a bit of a softer side to him, but the show didn't really do anything with it. And we also didn't want to rush Dash's development like we did in the previous story. We felt he needed some time to come to terms that he's not invincible, and the 'losers' he picks on can, and will, fight back. And now he's finally understood what a bully and being bullied means. Labramon has similar thoughts, being reminded by others of how bad she was in her past life, and how she wishes she could do the right thing and make up for it. She unintentionally showed Dash what it means to redeem oneself after going down a regrettable path, and that's why they ended up as partners with each other.
We don't plan to focus on the other popular kids. Dash was just an old favorite of mine to make character development for. But we'll see if we can do something with Paulina and Star, since you seem to really be pushing for Star for whatever reason.
ZAFT: He's a big Star/Danny fan. ^^' But some development for her would be good to give her more of a character than just being Paulina's 'satellite'. And no Teddy Bears on Andy! XD