DarkFoxKit: Alright, here's another chapter. Sorry that it's late again. I've been having a lot of stuff to do lately. ^^' It got kinda easy to forget about updating.
ZAFT: Yeah, busy with work and other things… ^^' We did remember earlier this time though. But enough about that, onto the chapter!
(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 and Patamon, 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, Kokuwamon shown behind him)
Let's go… EVOLUTION
(Sam is shown with her Fenton Lipstick, firing it at a different ghost, with Biyomon shown 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
(Ghosts are shown flying all around Amity Park as the shadowy form of Walker is shown atop a building and sneering down)
As we move along
(Danny is shown walking down the street with those closest to him appearing one by one; Andy and Lopmon, Patamon, 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 60: A Troublesome Situation
While Meramon was handing out newly cooked food for Jazz, Jack, and Takuya to eat, Jack placed the meat apple into his pocket, wanting to save it for later. Maybe he'll put it next to the ham in the fridge at home.
Now that Jazz had time to eat and recover from her little crisis about her dad being smarter than he made himself out to be, she was able to think a little clearer.
"You said earlier that you were used to players chasing you with slave collars?" Jazz asked Veemon. "As in… it was a common occurrence?"
"Pretty much." Veemon replied, "I am a rare Digimon, so many players wanted to catch me for their own use. I may not look like it right now, but my species has some very strong evolutions, especially towards the higher levels. But there aren't many Digimon that usually digivolve into Veemon, or hatch into a Digimon that could become a Veemon, so that's why I'm pretty rare."
"So you're rare and you have the potential to become something really powerful, no wonder you're so sought after by a lot of players," Takuya noted. "Are there more like you?"
"I guess, maybe," Veemon replied. "Though I'm more concerned about myself than about the other Digimon who are possibly like me. I used to be scared for my life, but since it's been happening a lot, I figured I might as well have fun with it. It also helped me get away from players and their slave collars."
Jack frowned. "That doesn't sound like much of a life to live." He noted with some concern in his voice. He couldn't believe players wanted to take this poor little guy and make him a slave. How could anyone do such a thing to a happy, outgoing Digimon like Veemon?
Veemon may have been a bit mischievous and laid back, but Jack could tell this Digimon didn't mean any real harm. If he did, he would've attacked them the moment he saw them at the door. And he couldn't deny that he liked seeing a fellow food connoisseur. His own kids didn't like his Fenton Jerky so that won Veemon some brownie points.
Takuya was having his own thoughts about this. Veemon was being hunted for being a rare and potentially strong Digimon, just like how Tommy was when Tommy didn't understand just how strong, or one-of-a-kind, Kumamon actually was. Takuya's heart went out to the poor boy, and he hoped Tommy was doing well with his family.
"I… don't know what to say…" Takuya admitted at last. "But… I think I can kind of understand how hard it is for you… since a friend of mine… was in a similar situation…"
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Veemon said.
"I hope that friend of yours is doing alright," Jazz said. Who knows what all of those events could do to a child's psyche.
"Yeah… I think he's doing okay so far. He seemed happier when I last saw him." Takuya reassured Jazz and Veemon both.
"It's no fun being hunted down, but…" Veemon gave a shrug. "That's just life I suppose. I was kind of the odd child in my family, so not a lot of Digimon really liked me."
"You didn't eat their food, did you?" Jazz questioned.
"Heh, if only that was the case," Veemon chuckled. "You'd be surprised by how some Digimon would react if you're different from them. Being chased by players may be bad, but I also saw it as actually being wanted, so… it wasn't all bad for me. And it was fun dodging their slave collars and hearing their frustrations when they couldn't catch me."
"Your family didn't want you for being… different?" Jack blinked.
"Remember how I said I was a pretty rare Digimon?" Veemon sighed. "There's a reason for that. My family believed that one of the Royal Knights may have been a Veemon, and they didn't want to deal with that possibility. They were scared that having a 'Royal Knight' would bring them nothing but bad luck, especially since players are looking for such strong Digimon."
"I take it these 'Royal Knights' are similar to the Legendary Warriors in a sense?" Jack asked.
Takuya spoke up next. "In a way. They are a group of 13 strong Digimon, but not of the same kind of power as the Legendary Warriors. There's a whole story and lore about them that I don't want to get into right now."
"There are a lot of powerful Digimon that appeared in the history of the Digital World. The Legendary Warriors are the only ones that have artifacts that represent their spirits that anyone could inherit if they are chosen by the spirit," Veemon explained. "But the others, like the Royal Knights, and the 4 Sovereigns, are Digimon who had lived for a long time, and are likely reborn as new Digimon who lived out their entire life cycle without knowing who they once were, before they're reborn again and just continue living without knowing."
"So they may have been lost in time," Jazz summarized.
"Basically." Veemon nodded. "I don't know if I was a Royal Knight in a past life or not, but that doesn't really matter to me here and now. After I was promptly kicked out, I learned how to survive on my own. It's why I favor food so much, starvation isn't pretty."
Jack felt his heart going out to Veemon. He didn't like that Veemon had to struggle, and all because his family didn't want to take a chance he was a 'Royal Knight'. If anything, it was stupid in Jack's mind. If he had been in Veemon's family, he'd have been thrilled at the possibility of Veemon being such a strong Digimon.
"So that's why you didn't mind it that much when players started hunting you down," Jazz noted. "It was nice having people wanting you rather than being ignored by those around you."
"Yeah, though I still rather not be a slave," Veemon chuckled.
"What do you plan to do now though?" Jack asked.
"Eh, I don't really know. I might see if I can find a job in another town or something, and see if I can buy a house to stay in," Veemon shrugged. "I don't have any real plans. But I will say, there is this one player in particular who's been really chasing me down. He refuses to give up, he's quite persistent."
Jack frowned. "And who is the player?" He asked. "Maybe someone needs to teach this person a thing or two about knowing when to give up."
Takuya blinked. He had only heard his uncle speak in such a stern, paternal tone a few times before, so to hear Jack Fenton speaking in that tone made him wonder if Jack was becoming attached to Veemon.
"Are you serious?" Veemon blinked. "You'd fight a fellow player just for me?"
"No one, not even you, deserves to be enslaved." Jack replied seriously. "I don't know why, but I just feel like… I have to help you, you know?"
Jazz and Takuya raised an eyebrow, though they didn't disagree, they didn't want to leave Veemon to the fate of a player who was determined to chase Veemon down.
"Well… I never really had anyone who cared that much about me before," Veemon awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not sure what to say. But… if you're really willing to help me out, I wouldn't say no."
While Jack was getting along with Veemon, Jazz leaned over to Takuya and whispered. "Dad seems to be taking all of this just fine. He's already befriending a Digimon."
"What's so odd about that?" Takuya whispered back.
"It's just… whenever he saw something that wasn't human, he would shout how it's a ghost, and then go after it like an excited puppy chasing after his first mailman. I don't know, I guess I always thought he'd just hunt down anything that isn't human or a normal animal," Jazz admitted.
"I guess this shows even Uncle Jack doesn't think everything is a ghost." Takuya whispered back. "But I will admit… while this is a good thing, it's also kinda…weird… for me to see as well." But it does give me some hope that perhaps we can change Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie's minds about ghosts one day too.
"I'm hoping that this means there's hope Mom and Dad will use this to see that ghosts aren't so different from us and Digimon," Jazz said, unintentionally agreeing with Takuya.
"It might be difficult to change their minds, but… not impossible, right?" Takuya asked.
Jazz smiled. "I see you're learning a thing or two about psychology now~"
Takuya grumbled. "Only because I'm always around you and Andy. You two seem to use psychology a lot of the time against our enemies."
"Hey, it's interesting to learn about!" Jazz huffed. "And it does have its uses too."
"I'm not disagreeing, I'm just saying I'm exposed to it nearly daily," Takuya chuckled. "I'm bound to learn something."
"So, do you know the name of the human who keeps chasing you?" Jack asked Veemon.
"Um… well he likes shouting his name out a lot, so it's pretty hard to miss. I think he says his name is Theodore the Great or something. But I like calling him Thud, because that's the sound he makes when he falls off of his fancy vehicle," Veemon answered.
"Well, we at least have a name now." Jazz noted as she looked at Takuya before frowning at observing his reaction.
Takuya, upon hearing that name and description, groaned. "Oh great… It's that kid again…" Why is it always him? He seems to never quit in his quest to find a strong Digimon partner…
Takuya remembered the last time he saw Theodore, and how much of a hard time he gave to Tommy when he was still trying to figure out his Kumamon form and why he had it. Now that he thought back on that incident, it made Takuya angrier, at both himself and Theodore. Theodore tried to hunt Tommy, and turn him and Zoe against the kid when he was only defending himself and was still confused.
I think it's time someone taught Theodore a lesson… Takuya thought to himself as he clenched his fist. He was mad at himself, but also at Theodore for scaring Tommy as well. He will pay for what he did to Tommy…
Jazz frowned when she saw Takuya clenching his fists, wondering what was making him so angry. "Takuya… are you okay? You seem kind of… well… angrier than usual…"
Takuya let out a sigh, trying to calm himself down. "I guess… you could say I have some issues with Theodore…"
"You know the guy?" Veemon asked.
"Not well… but I have encountered him a few times." Takuya admitted. "One time he was after an Airdramon, and the next time… he was after a Legendary Warrior…" Kumamon, or more like Tommy, to be exact…
"What a moron if he really thinks he could capture a Legendary Warrior," Veemon grumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Moron or not, it still makes him quite dangerous, especially if he somehow succeeds," Takuya warned.
"So what should we do?" Veemon asked. "Beat him up? I don't think that's going to stop him."
"Well, what else do you suggest we do?" Takuya retorted. "I mean, if we don't do something, he will just keep coming after you."
"Not everything has to be solved through violence." Jazz spoke up. "Maybe we can convince Theodore that Veemon is actually a partner Digimon of someone else."
"I don't think that will stop Theodore." Veemon muttered.
"At the very least, fighting him off will slow him down," Jack said.
"I agree with you, getting him off my back, even for a little while, would be great." Veemon smiled.
"So I'm guessing we're going to find Theodore, and then worry about our home?" Jazz asked.
"For now, yes." Jack replied. "This situation cannot be allowed to go on. Besides, I don't think this will be too hard, but we can't be careless either."
While Jack and Veemon were getting pumped up, Takuya began to wonder where one of the Legendary Warriors was. At least one of them usually looked after the castle or the forest, but he hadn't seen any of them around here yet. Maybe they were patrolling the forest?
I swear… Koichi should've been here at the very least… Takuya frowned. But… there hasn't been any sign of him, or the others… Did… Did something happen to them? I sure hope not… That would not be fun… Or good in any way for us…
Jazz noticed Takuya's worried look. "Something on your mind?"
Takuya sighed. "There… should've been one of the Legendary Warriors here…" He admitted at last. "But… I haven't seen any of them here. I'm wondering if… something happened to them…"
"I'm sure they're fine," Jazz reassured Takuya. "It's possible they're just somewhere in the castle. Or maybe they're investigating something somewhere else for the time being."
"Yeah… you're probably right." Takuya sighed again. "I shouldn't worry too much. It makes things worse if I think about something bad that probably hasn't happened yet."
Takuya then groaned when he realized what he had just said. "And there I go, spouting off something psychological…"
"I'm so proud." Jazz smiled.
Jack, Veemon, Jazz, and Takuya were walking out of the castle. Takuya hoped Patamon would be alright, but since this was practically his home, he knew Patamon would be well cared for here, better than on the streets in Amity Park at least.
"Where do you think this Theodore would be?" Jack asked.
Veemon shrugged. "He's usually the one who finds me."
"Then we need to look for any incoming slave collars." Takuya noted. "Theodore likes to throw those at Digimon he thinks would be perfect for him. If we see one incoming, then we know he may be in the area."
"We can't assume it will be Theodore though. It may be another player too." Jazz pointed out.
"Well, we just listen for someone calling themselves Theodore the Great or whatever after the slave collar is thrown." Takiya shrugged.
The group started to walk around the forest. Jack looked around. "You know, it's been a while since our family went on a camping trip. A place like this would be great for a camping trip, don't you think?"
"Dad, you know Andy isn't a fan of the outdoors, don't you?" Jazz pointed out.
"Who doesn't love the outdoors? The fresh air, the wonders of nature, you can get food for free, and you can run around as much as you want!" Veemon smiled.
"True." Takuya chuckled. "But I think Andy would like camping out here, since there aren't any tiny bugs that suck your blood. Aside from the occasional Digimon attack, this may be a good spot to try camping one day."
"We'll have to talk about it later," Jazz said. "After we figure out the situation at home, and when Mom, and my brothers, are safely back with us."
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Takuya conceded. "But jeez… I hope those ghosts leave soon, or at least aren't as numerous when we get back."
"Well, if they are, we can fight them off!" Jack grinned. "The whole Fenton clan, fighting off ghosts! That will teach those ectoplasmic scum to never mess with our home!"
Takuya gave a grimace. Yeah… It seems we have some work when it comes to convincing Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie not all ghosts are bad or evil… A lot of work…
"Um… Yeah… Great, Dad…" Jazz sweatdropped at Jack's eagerness to fight off the ghosts.
"Don't worry, kids! We'll handle those ghosts in no time!" Jack declared with a big grin on his face.
"Um… yeah, after we get Theodore off of Veemon's back for a while." Takuya agreed hesitantly.
"Of course. I didn't mean right away." Jack clarified.
Veemon was watching the banter between the Fentons with a look of amusement on his face the whole time.
After a while of walking, the group of 4 decided to sit down and rest for a while.
"I wonder if Theodore decided to go somewhere else to look for me?" Veemon wondered.
It kind of reminds me of Tommy, when we couldn't find the one hunting for him. Takuya couldn't help but compare.
"Hey, maybe that's a good thing, maybe that means he'll leave you alone for a while," Jazz optimistically pointed out.
"Or he's looking for a new unlucky slave to try to grab me," Veemon remarked.
Takuya groaned at that. "And knowing our luck, it may be a strong Digimon too…"
Jack frowned at Takuya's comment. "You've faced a stronger Digimon?"
"Quite a few…" Takuya muttered. "But I doubt the Digimon Theodore may have will be that strong."
"There you are! I finally found you!"
A familiar, sneasely voice shouted from the distance, and had closed in rather quickly. The chubby boy was riding on his floating vehicle, glaring at Veemon.
"You won't get away from me again!" Theodore shouted.
"I got away from you about 17 times now," Veemon replied. "Wanna make this the 18th?"
Theodore looked like he swallowed a sour warhead candy at Veemon's cheeky remark.
"Looks like Veemon's bad luck found us." Takuya grumbled as his hand went to his D-Tector which was in his pocket.
"So you're the kid who's been harassing Veemon?" Jack spoke up.
"Huh? What's it to you, boulder?" Theodore growled. "Don't tell me you're trying to get this Digimon too!"
"Not the way you are!" Jack growled back as he stood up to face Theodore. Now Jack Fenton was a big man, and it was impressive Theodore wasn't so intimidated by the larger man's body size and height. "I would never resort to using those 'slave collars' you kids seem to like throwing around."
Wow… I know Uncle Jack is a big man, but… he looks… quite intimidating right now… Takuya gulped.
Theodore didn't seem to care, then again, he had been chasing down monsters that were far larger, and more intimidating, than Jack. "You're definitely a noob adult. You shouldn't be playing this game, it's not for old people like you. Besides, if you don't use the collars, how do you expect to use your Digimon effectively?"
Jack frowned. This kid was definitely not a good person. "Do you even have a Digimon partner of your own?"
"Oh I have plenty stored away, when I'm ready to raise them up to be the strongest team of Digimon, capable of taking down even the strongest players at the Rose Morning Star guild!" Theodore said proudly. "But I'm only looking for the rarest, toughest, and the best of the best! I realized I was jumping the gun when going after Champion or stronger level Digimon. Their powers are too much for the current slave collars to handle, at least until the devs release a new patch or new upgrades or something. So it's best to start with Baby, In-Training, or Rookie level, and work my way up. Evolving these little guys wouldn't take long, and I can ensure their loyalty to me~ It's quite brilliant, especially since the younger they are, the less reason they have to want to leave me even if their slave collar gets broken."
"Someone likes to tout their 'brilliance'..." Takuya muttered under his breath.
"But he has a point… the younger the Digimon, the less likely they'd leave him. He's practically their parent…" Jazz frowned.
Jack clenched his fists. He didn't fully understand this world, or what these… ranks… whatever they were, meant, but if what Jazz was saying was true… then it stood to reason that the ranks mentioned were… like children… Jack didn't like hearing about kids being hurt, and despite being a big guy, he was actually a huge softy at heart. But this pushed his buttons in just the right order, enough to make him angry at this kid. Jack found he didn't know what to say, this was so… messed up.
"So… it looks like the 3 of you don't even have Digimon," Theodore noted. "How pathetic. Don't get in my way then if you don't want to get hurt!"
Takuya wondered if Theodore didn't remember him. Then again, it was pretty dark when Theodore went over to him with the scared act that Kumamon was attacking him, and Takuya wouldn't put it past Theodore to forget about him.
Veemon frowned. "Are you seriously going to use that Digimon to hurt them? Trying to catch me is one thing, but hurting other humans… isn't that against the rules or something?"
"There is no rule regarding Digimon attacking other players," Theodore remarked.
"There really should be." Jazz frowned.
"W-what Digimon is Theodore going to use?" Takuya asked, feeling nervous. Crap… if this Digimon is strong… I may have to evolve…
Theodore grinned. "You know… I ended up talking to one of the devs who made this game, and he was kind enough to give me his first new slave collar prototype to test it out on quite a powerful Digimon. It seems to be a bit glitchy though, so I don't always have full control. But once the bugs are worked out, I'm sure there will be no more issues. I just need him to catch this slippery Veemon for me."
Someone was running to the group, they appeared to be in a hurry.
I knew it… they're here. I have to warn them!
"Don't think we're going to just let you and your enslaved monster take Veemon," Jack warned.
"Do you really think you can stop me, gramps?" Theodore questioned.
"Stop calling me 'gramps'!" Jack snapped. "You're worse than that Johnny guy!"
Theodore grinned. "Then I think I like this Johnny guy you dislike so much~"
Takuya was getting a bad feeling as well as a flash of heat creeping down his spine. Aw man… Why am I sensing a Digimon now?!
Jazz noticed Takuya was tense and a feeling of dread began to creep down her spine.
Something rushed out of the bushes. "Watch out!"
"Wah?"
The thing ran at Jazz, tackling her down, and using two long string-like appendages to grab Jack and Takuya's waists and pull them to the ground. They barely avoided a blast of energy that seemed to have come out of nowhere.
"Whoa, what the heck was that!?" Takuya yelped.
Jazz blinked, looking at what just tackled her. "F-Floramon? What happened to you?"
It was indeed Floramon, but she looked to be injured and tired.
"I… was attacked… by this… player." Floramon panted. "He… has a… strong Digimon… at his side… A slave Digimon…"
"Floramon!?" Veemon shouted in shock. "Are you okay? I told you not to try to fight him while I ran!"
"You were… a guest… I didn't want… you getting hurt…" Floramon replied.
"That stupid flower, again?" Theodore hissed. "I thought he got rid of her already!"
"Who would try to get rid of Floramon?" Takuya growled. He was so itching to evolve now!
Jazz was hugging Floramon close to her chest, trying to keep her partner safe. "I'll get you something to eat to help you heal those wounds…"
Jack could see how in distress Jazz was for this poor flower creature, it was clear that Jazz shared a close bond with her. This only angered him more.
"He's coming… the Legendary… Warrior…" Floramon weakly warned.
Upon hearing that, Takuya's face turned pale. Shit! Shit, shit shit! This is bad… Very bad… I need to evolve… like now! Takuya didn't want to just run off though, because that would worry his uncle.
Thinking fast, Takuya came up with a quick lie. "Um… I… I will go see if I can find some help! A Legendary Warrior is not an opponent to take lightly!"
"Wait, where would you go? The castle's too far!" Jack asked.
"Come to me, my loyal servant!" Theodore called out.
"Uh-oh, here comes the stiff." Veemon frowned.
The brush moved aside as what looked like a man in white armor and a white body suit came out. But his eyes were glowing completely red, and on his neck was what looked like a crimson red collar, it looked different from most of the other slave collars, but it was also glowing lightly. He had out a glowing white sword made of light, and the symbol on his shoulder armor gleamed in the light as well.
"Fuck…" Takuya swore. Koji?! This guy caught Koji?! Now I really have to evolve!
"This is my newest, and most loyal servant, Lobomon, the Legendary Warrior of Light!" Theodore announced proudly. "Quite the catch, isn't he~?"
"Uncle Jack… please… let me go get some help! I can get to the castle quickly! Or barring that, any Digimon I see that may be able to match his power!" Takuya pleaded. Please say yes! I can't stay here when Agunimon's power is needed!
Looking at Takuya, Jack could see how panicked his nephew looked. It was rare for Takuya to show fear so openly, and that was only when his fear of clowns kicked in. Jack frowned. He knew of the story of the Legendary Warriors, but if Takuya was this panicked over facing down one of them, then their power was probably beyond what a normal Digimon could handle.
Jack frowned, wondering if it would be best if they all ran instead. That flora Digimon was injured, Veemon was clearly no match for this Legendary Warrior, it would be foolish to stay.
"We should all run," Jack said.
"You can run, but I'm not letting that little blue Digimon go anywhere!" Theodore hissed. "Lobomon, Legendary Warrior of Light, do not fail me again. Catch that Veemon!"
Veemon gulped, he had trouble getting away from Lobomon. The only reason he got away before was because Floramon was distracting Lobomon giving Veemon enough time to escape.
Jack froze when he heard that Veemon was the target. He didn't want to leave Veemon behind. "No! I won't let you!" He snapped to Theodore and the enslaved Lobomon.
"Then it will be my pleasure to have Lobomon cut you down~" Theodore grinned sinisterly.
Lobomon ran at Jack and Veemon without hesitation, his glowing sword drawn back for a strike. Jack was quick to grab Veemon and jump to his left, barely avoiding the blow.
While this was going on, Takuya looked at Jazz. "Jazz, I need to get away to evolve…" He whispered to her. "Agunimon is the only one who could help us here. Can you cover for me if Uncle Jack sees I'm missing?"
"Yes, just hurry and go!" Jazz urgently replied. "Dad is a little busy right now anyways, now go!"
Takuya didn't hesitate to run, he knew he had to hurry. The boy ran into the nearest bushes to conceal himself, and hoped that he was far enough away to Spirit Evolve without being seen.
Takuya 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 and became 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!"
Now evolved, Agunimon knew what he had to do.
Jack was struggling to keep Veemon, whom he was now holding in his arms, away from Lobomon, but it wasn't going so well. Jack was finding that just dodging Lobomon's strikes was difficult by itself.
No wonder this Digimon is called a Legendary Warrior… His reflexes surpass those of a human, and his physical power is… definitely not to mess around with either… Jack noted as he panted, finding himself on the losing end of a battle for once.
"How does it feel to be outmatched, gramps?" Theodore taunted.
Jack wanted to retort, but he was too focused on trying to keep Veemon safe and from Lobomon.
Lobomon moved in for the next hit, drawing back his lightsaber. Jack had a gut feeling he wouldn't be able to dodge this next blow, but he wasn't about to let Veemon down either.
However, before the blow could strike Jack, a red and black form with long, wild blonde hair intercepted the blow instead. "Plasma Sphere!"
The lightsaber ended up hitting something solid, and wasn't able to cut through it. Lobomon grunted a little, but didn't make much of a reaction.
Theodore on the other hand was both frustrated, but also quite excited. "Another Legendary Warrior! I've been waiting to see you again!"
Jack looked up, having turned away from the incoming blow, only to see a Digimon he had seen a few times before. There, in front of him, was Agunimon. A glowing reddish orange, transparent sphere was surrounding not only Agunimon, but also Jack and Veemon.
While Theodore looked excited and Jack felt relief, Agunimon himself was not happy to see his fellow Legendary Warrior as a slave to this kid.
"Is that so?" Agunimon retorted, anger in his voice. "You have the nerve to enslave one of my fellow Legendary Warriors?!"
"Agunimon?" Jack asked, surprised and relieved to see the other Legendary Warrior was here.
"Yeah. It's me." Agunimon replied to Jack without even looking back at him. "I'm just glad I got here when I did."
"Boy am I glad to see you!" Jack smiled.
"As am I," Theodore said. "Now I can get the Veemon and another one of the Legendary Warriors!"
Jazz was quickly giving Floramon some leftovers she got from breakfast, hoping the food will help heal her. Floramon was quickly horking down the food as quickly as she could.
Veemon was looking at the situation. He could run during the chaos, but… he already left Floramon before, and look at what happened to her. Could he keep running like how he was, knowing that those around him would get hurt in the process?
"If you want Veemon, then you'll have to get past me first!" Agunimon growled.
Agunimon dissipated his Plasma Sphere before he quickly grabbed Lobomon's sword arm and then delivered a punch to Lobomon's face to force the Warrior of Light to back off and get away from Jack and Veemon. "You won't get to either of them!"
With that exclamation. Agunimon then threw a roundhouse kick towards the side of Lobomon's head, but the Warrior of Light blocked the kick with his arm before swinging down his sword at Agunimon who threw up his arms in defense to stop the blade from hitting him.
"Veemon, you should get out of here while you can," Jack said to Veemon.
Veemon frowned. Logically, it was a good idea. If he stuck around, Lobomon could easily knock him out and catch him. But… he looked over at Floramon.
"But… I'm always running…" Veemon said. "What good is running going to do if I have to keep running away like a coward?"
Agunimon grunted as the lightsaber slashed through his armor on his right forearm, drawing blood. "Dang it… I have to find a way to get that collar off…" He muttered to himself. Agunimon then saw Lobomon had his second lightsaber out and that was coming down at his head. Thinking fast, Agunimon ducked down and then kicked out at Lobomon's feet in a sweeping kick, hoping to knock Lobomon's feet out from under him.
Jack frowned as he looked at Veemon. "Why wouldn't you run? It's too dangerous here for you."
Even though Agunimon and Lobomon were about equal in terms of strength, power, and ability, Lobomon had more experience than Agunimon had. Lobomon was able to slash through Agunimon's defenses with his lightsabers. Agunimon cried out in pain, but he also fought back just as hard, using his Pyro Darts and Pyro Punch to do some damage on Lobomon.
Floramon managed to recover some after scarfing down some food. She wasn't fully healed, but she was healed enough to get back on her feet.
"I've got to help Agunimon!" Floramon said. "Lobomon is too powerful to take on alone!"
"Are you sure you can fight as you are now, Floramon?" Jazz asked in concern for her partner.
"I have to…" Floramon admitted. "I won't let one of the Digital World's defenders be used as a slave like this. It's not only wrong, but it's also insulting to the Legendary Warriors."
Jazz frowned. "Yeah, but… can you fight despite what Lobomon did to you?"
"Yes. I can." Floramon replied with determination in her voice.
Jazz nodded, seeing the determination in her partner's eyes. "Okay… then we'll fight too. I can't let Takuya fight alone… and my Dad… I don't want him to get hurt either."
"Then we'll protect them," Floramon said.
Jazz and Floramon ran over to the battlefield.
"Jazz? What are you doing?" Jack asked in worry.
"Dad… this is Floramon, she's my Digimon partner," Jazz explained. "She needs me to be here to help her become strong enough to fight. I can't let Agunimon take on this opponent alone. You get Veemon and get out of here."
"Jazz, I can't leave you here to fend for yourself," Jack said.
"If you want to keep Veemon safe, you have to, Dad," Jazz replied. "Please… Floramon and I are more than capable of handling ourselves."
"I know you want to protect your daughter, but you have to trust her to handle herself sometimes." Floramon added. "I promise I will protect Jazz, no matter what."
Jack frowned. "No offense to Floramon, Jazz, but I don't think such a small Digimon would be able to stand up to such a powerful Legendary Warrior."
"That's okay… she doesn't have to be small," Jazz replied. "Floramon… you know what to do!"
Floramon grinned. "Time for this little flower to bloom~" She said as fractal code surrounded her "Floramon, digivolve to…" Floramon's skin peeled away from her body, as well as her arms and legs. Then her legs had the skin form back on them, but they were more like a bird's legs now. Her body had brown fur form on it, but with the lack of arms. Her head had a white helmet covering the top of her head, and a beak formed as well. Leaf-like hair formed from below the white helmet, and her eyes turned green as well. "Kiwimon!"
The fractal code dissipated, revealing Kiwimon in Floramon's place. "Now we have more of a chance of freeing Lobomon from that collar."
Jack was staring in shock, he hadn't anticipated the little flora to become an ostrich-like creature. Jazz quickly jumped onto Kiwimon's back.
"Jazz, what are you doing?" Jack asked.
"There's a chance Theodore will send Lobomon to attack me during the battle to distract Agunimon and Kiwimon. At least this way, Kiwimon can keep me safe and close to her," Jazz replied. "Dad, I know you love and care about me, but you need to get Veemon and leave, hurry!"
Jack frowned. He didn't like the idea of leaving Jazz to fight off this Legendary Warrior, even if Agunimon was there to help. As it stood, it seemed best to leave this fight to Agunimon. However, as Jack looked at the fight between Agunimon and Lobomon, it was clear who had the upper hand. Agunimon was struggling against Lobomon, which didn't bode well to Jack. It made him feel torn on what to do.
"I…" Jack started to say, not sure what to do. Finally, as Jack looked into Jazz's eyes, and Kiwimon's eyes, he could see both were determined to help Agunimon, and that they would do so even if he said 'no'. His mind made up, Jack finally gave a solemn nod. "Just be careful…"
Jack looked over at Veemon.
"Are we… really running?" Veemon asked.
"We have to trust Jazz and Kiwimon." Jack sighed. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but… this is too much for you to handle. And I don't even have a Digimon partner of my own."
Jack heard an explosion behind him, and he quickly picked up Veemon and began running, he didn't have time to argue. Veemon gasped as he watched the battle going on behind them. Jack, however, thought to himself… was it really okay to leave his daughter and nephew behind to take care of this on their own? Wait, where is Takuya?
Jack wanted to run back to find Takuya, but he shook his head. Takuya was a smart boy, he knew to get away from the dangerous fight. I have to trust Takuya is safe. He's a smart kid. He'll know what to do to avoid a fight. Jack reminded himself. Takuya has been here before, so I have to trust he knows how to stay safe.
As Jack ran, he made a mental note to be sure to scold Takuya for just running off without telling him when he saw his nephew again.
"We'll be safer if we get further away from the fight." Jack told Veemon. "Jazz, Kiwimon, and Agunimon know what they're doing."
Veemon frowned before he struggled out of Jack's hold, and jumped out. He turned to Jack. "I can't believe this! You're really running away? I've been running away all this time because I had nobody else to look out for other than number 1. But now… I've made actual friends! I can't just… leave them! And you… you're Jazz's father, right? How could you just leave her like that?"
"She… she trusted me to get you to safety." Jack replied, but to his surprise, it felt… hollow and empty. He realized Veemon was right. He was Jazz's father. If anything, he should be the one doing the protecting, not her! Jack was mentally kicking himself for not putting up much more of a fight and standing his ground.
"But… You're right…" Jack admitted.
"You can't be wishy washy about this!" Veemon spoke up. "You can run away like a coward and leave them to get hurt, like I did with Floramon. Or you can go back and help them, take responsibility. I know it's going to be scary, especially without your own Digimon partner to back you up, but… can you really live with yourself knowing there could've been something you could've done to stop them from getting hurt?"
Jack shook his head. "No… I wouldn't be able to live with myself if my family got hurt…" He admitted. "They are everything to me. I would do anything to protect them, even fight the most powerful ghost in existence."
"So, if you can fight ghosts… Why should Digimon be any different?" Veemon asked.
Jack frowned, but he couldn't deny that Veemon had a point. Not only that, Jack didn't want Jazz or Takuya to get hurt. They may be used to this, more than he was, but he was still the adult here, and while he didn't always act like it, he knew he needed to take responsibility.
After what happened to Vlad, Jack knew that had been his fault. He also learned how to use weapons to combat ghosts in case there ever came a time he needed to protect those he cared about from such vile creatures. While Digimon hadn't been something he knew existed until now, that shouldn't be an excuse for him to run away while his own child, and nephew, were trying to fight back to protect him. What kind of father was he?
"You… may have a point…" Jack conceded. "I shouldn't have to run away. I'm the adult here, and I need to take responsibility for my daughter and nephew." He had a look of determination on his face. "If Jazz and Takuya don't like it, well… too bad, because I'm not leaving them alone."
Veemon smiled. "I couldn't agree with you more. Let's go back!"
Jack knew this probably wasn't the smartest idea, but both he and Veemon didn't like to use their heads to think about stuff like this, but rather their hearts.
Meanwhile, Agunimon was trying to keep Lobomon busy. It looked like this fat boy didn't bring any other Digimon with him, probably because he could only control one Digimon at a time in battle. Kiwimon was being very helpful, with her speed, she was able to dodge Lobomon's Howling Laser whenever he aimed for her and Jazz. Whenever Lobomon had to face Agunimon, Kiwimon was able to run at Lobomon and kick him hard in the back.
"Hey! That's not fair! Two against one is cheating!" Theodore shouted angrily.
"Then you shouldn't have attacked, and enslaved, one of my friends!" Agunimon retorted back, showing his sharp canine teeth in his anger. However, he was forced back to the battle at hand when Lobomon used one of his lightsabers to try to slash Agunimon across the back. Agunimon turned and was barely able to block the blow, but it did slash through his armor on his other forearm.
This isn't good… Agunimon thought as he dodged Lobomon's next few blows. We need to get that collar off of Koji, but… He's stronger than me due to being a Legendary Warrior longer than I have been…
"Pummel Peck!" Kiwimon opened her beak and shot out a couple of tiny Kiwimon which attacked Lobomon.
While Lobomon was busy dealing with the chibi Kiwimon, Kiwimon ran over to Agunimon.
"We need a plan," Jazz said. "Lobomon is strong, and we have the upper hand, but I don't think knocking him out is going to save him."
"I know… We need to get rid of that collar on his neck." Agunimon replied. "That's what's controlling him. If we can do that, then Theodore loses his newest slave."
"The collars usually aren't that hard to destroy, but it's difficult just to hit it. His neck is barely exposed, and he moves so fast." Kiwimon frowned.
"Maybe… if you could hold him down long enough for us to get to his neck, we might be able to free him," Jazz suggested.
"Maybe, but he's got more experience than me." Agunimon admitted. "I've been at this for only a few months, but he's been doing this longer than I have."
"Lobomon, don't just stand there! It's time to get serious now!" Theodore shouted.
Lobomon used his lightsabers to destroy the little Kiwimon, and he ran at Agunimon and Kiwimon.
Seeing the Warrior of Light running at them, Agunimon knew he had to do something. He braced himself and called on his shield move. "Plasma Sphere!" The shield formed, blocking the lightsabers from hitting Jazz and Kiwimon, as well as himself.
Lobomon began slamming his lightsabers over and over again against the sphere.
"Damn it… We're on the defensive here!" Agunimon growled out. "If I let the shield down… he will hurt us, badly too…"
"Can you let the shield down from the back?" Jazz asked. "Kiwimon and I might be able to get the jump on him while he's trying to break through your barrier."
Agunimon frowned. "I… I've never tried that before…" He admitted.
"Wait, if you've never tried, then let's try something else before you accidentally let down the entire barrier," Kiwimon quickly said.
"I have a back-up plan," Jazz said. "When I say 'now', I want you to release the barrier. Kiwimon will have her attack ready and slow Lobomon enough to let us get back."
Agunimon blinked, but nodded. "Okay… Just… make sure you hit him quickly and hard. I don't know how much time you'll have to pull it off."
"Don't worry, this will work," Jazz reassured. "Okay, do it, Kiwimon."
"Pummel Peck!" Kiwimon unleashed several mini Kiwimon from her beak.
The mini Kiwimon appeared to be sentient enough to not mindlessly attack Agunimon's barrier from the inside, instead, they were flying just in front of it, waiting. Kiwimon produced more until she felt there was enough to make a decent size swarm that should slow Lobomon down.
"Okay… Agunimon…" Jazz said as she had her hand raised, then she brought her hand down. "Now!"
Agunimon released his Plasma Sphere, allowing the mini Kiwimon to fly at Lobomon in a swarm. The number of mini Kiwimon surprised Lobomon, and Theodore, the latter of whom did not look very happy.
Lobomon let out grunts as he was trying to whack the mini Kiwimon that had surrounded him. Kiwimon jumped up, landing behind Lobomon.
"High Jumping Kick!" Kiwimon knocked Lobomon down with her powerful foot.
"Now hold him down!" Jazz quickly instructed to Agunimon.
Agunimon was immediately on top of Lobomon, pinning the other Legendary Warrior down. "Better hurry… I don't know how long I can hold him down!"
"No fair! You're cheating!" Theodore whined from on his hoverboard. "I worked hard to catch that Digimon!"
"Okay! Kiwimon, aim for that red collar!" Jazz quickly said.
"With pleasure!" Kiwimon said as she lifted up her talons, ready to tear that collar into pieces.
Theodore frowned, he didn't want to do this, because he was warned the prototype wasn't ready to control that amount of power yet. But it was either risk it, or lose the Legendary Warrior he worked hard to get to this girl, her flightless stupid bird, and the goodie-two-shoes Legendary Warrior.
Theodore opened up a virtual menu. "It's time, bring out the beast!"
A cocoon of data wrapped around Lobomon, blinding Agunimon, Jazz, and Kiwimon.
Agunimon was forced to back off, as was Kiwimon.
"Oh no…" Agunimon murmured as he felt dread racing down his spine in an icy chill. "Please don't tell me…"
The cocoon dissipated, revealing a wolf-like Digimon in Lobomon's place. This Digimon had large golden blade-like wings on its back, with white armor that had golden and blue accents on it. The Digimon had golden claws on its front and rear paws, and had golden eyes as well as a mouth full of sharp teeth. The golden eyes then turned pure red all over and the Digimon howled as the collar around its neck stood out, a red blight on the truly impressive beast before the threesome.
"W-what Digimon is that?!" Jazz asked in worry. He doesn't look human anymore, he just looks like an animal.
The wolf Digimon let out a howl that shook them to their core.
Agunimon heard a voice in his head, telling him the Digimon's name.
"That's... KendoGarurumon… The Beast Warrior of Light…" Agunimon murmured. "Lobomon has his Beast Spirit… This… This is not good… We're outmatched here…"
"You mean… He's stronger now?" Jazz asked with a frown.
"And much harder to defeat…" Agunimom admitted grimly. "I have my own Beast Spirit, but it's… not easy to control… or defeat…"
Kiwimon shivered, she was still weakened from her last encounter, and using her attacks was taking up more of her energy. Not only that, but they had to contend with the Beast Spirit of a Legendary Warrior. Things were looking pretty bad for them right now.
"Now destroy them!" Theodore ordered.
However, instead of obeying Theodore's orders, KendoGarurumon turned his head over at Theodore and growled, his sharp teeth showing.
"W-what are you doing?!" Theodore demanded, sounding a bit nervous now. "I gave you an order! You are to destroy those three!"
KendoGarurumon let out a roar before firing out a blast of light energy from his mouth at Theodore. Theodore yelped as he quickly pushed a button on his machine that made a barrier for himself. The light energy hit the machine's barrier, pushing it back several feet.
"We have to stop the Beast Warrior of Light…" Agunimon muttered, but he was looking quite nervous about doing such a thing, especially when he didn't even have control over his own Beast Spirit.
Agunimon never had to face up against another Legendary Warrior's Beast form before. He couldn't remember his time as a beast himself, so seeing KendoGarurumon and feeling the powerful, feral aura coming off of him made Agunimon feel like he was the prey to this wolf's predator. He wondered if this was how Andy and the others felt when he lost control of his Beast Spirit.
KendoGarurumon stopped firing his attack, and turned his sights on Agunimon, likely sensing the presence of another Legendary Warrior. However, instead of seeing him as a comrade, KendoGarurumon let out another roar at him. Little wheels came out from the back of his paws, and shot him across the area and pounced Agunimon into the ground.
"A-Agunimon!" Jazz and Kiwimon yelped in shock at how fast KendoGarurumon was.
Agunimon looked up at KendoGarurumon, seeing those sharp teeth all exposed and aimed right at him. Fear was racing down the Warrior of Flame's spine, and he was visibly shaking. "W-wait! Please, stop this!" Agunimon pleaded, feeling like his body was frozen in fear. In fact, it was all he could do, he was that scared. KendoGarurumon just growled at Agunimon, not even hesitating to draw back a paw and the sharp, golden claws on it were aimed at Agunimon's neck.
Kiwimon tried to shoot out her Pummel Peck attack, but she was so tired she could only manage to fire out a couple of mini Kiwimon. They were nothing more than annoying flies to KendoGarurumon, he just destroyed the two mini Kiwimon with his tail.
In a desperate attempt to save Agunimon, Jazz had Kiwimon run at KendoGarurumon. Kiwimon was going to try to kick the beast down to give Agunimon a chance to get away. However, KendoGarurumon's instincts as a beast were too good. He turned around and bit down on Kiwimon's leg. Kiwimon let out a shout of pain as Jazz was thrown off of her back and hit the ground pretty hard.
KendoGarurumon tossed Kiwimon like a chew toy, and Kiwimon hit the ground, immediately degenerating back into Floramon. The leg that got bitten was leaking out some kind of liquid substance that could be something like blood.
With those two down and out, KendoGarurumon focused his attention back on his original prey.
Agunimon realized he had to act. Jazz and Kiwimon had just tried to save him, but got hurt… and all because he froze up. Gritting his teeth, Agunimon knew he had to fight back. I'm sorry, Koji… but… I have to do this!
Agunimon could see the red collar on KendoGarurumon's neck. If I can just hit that collar…
"Vee Headbutt!"
Just before Agunimon could do anything else, a blue blur shot at KendoGarurumon. KendoGaurumon let out an annoyed growl as the blue thing hit his neck with enough force to cause him to lose his balance a bit, loosening his grip on Agunimon enough for the Warrior of Flame to quickly crawl away.
Looking back over his shoulder, Agunimon saw the one who had saved him, and his eyes went wide. Wait… I thought… What's Veemon doing here?!
"Nice hit, Veemon!" A familiar booming voice exclaimed.
Agunimon felt fear and dread run down his spine at hearing his uncle's voice. Oh no… No, no, no! He can't be here! It's too dangerous!
"Jazz!" Jack called out in worry, seeing Jazz lying on the ground, looking hurt.
KendoGarurumon growled as he looked at Veemon.
"Uh-oh, I think we made the big dog angry," Veemon gulped.
"What the heck are you two doing here?!" Agunimon exclaimed as he got to his feet. "It's too dangerous!"
"No more dangerous than my daughter fighting with her Digimon!" Jack argued back before he hurried over to Jazz. "Jazz… sweetie, are you okay?"
"Dad…?" Jazz groaned. "What… are you doing… here?"
"Do you think a responsible parent would leave his child in danger like this?" Jack replied. "Come on, your old man may not be as experienced in this world as you, but that doesn't mean I'm completely useless here."
"And he has me too!" Veemon exclaimed. "I'm not going to be running away anymore."
KendoGarurumon growled as he walked closer to Veemon, and Veemon gulped. "M-maybe just this once."
Veemon yelled as he was running to avoid getting chewed on by KendoGarurumon. "What's wrong? Am I too slippery for ya!?"
Agunimon actually sweatdropped at Veemon's quip. Even when he's running scared, Veemon likes to make quips… However, an idea then hit Agunimon. Wait… I think… we may still be able to free Koji… It's a long shot but… I think we can do this.
"Floramon… is she… okay…?" Jazz weakly asked in concern.
"She's lying over there," Jack said, noticing the poor flower creature looking a little worse for wear.
Agunimon, using his enhanced eyesight, could see the collar had a few cracks in it. "I think… we can get that collar off." He said. "It's a long shot… but if we can get Veemon to headbutt it again… we may be able to destroy it. He damaged it with that last headbutt, so this could work."
Jack looked over at Agunimon. "But how? It only worked before because that wolf was distracted with you."
"And he will be again." Agunimon explained. "Out of all of us here, I stand the best chance of being the bait. I know it's dangerous, but it's our best shot at this."
Jack frowned as he looked the Legendary Warrior over. It was clear Agunimon had a few severe slashes in his armor, and he seemed to have some other wounds as well. "Are you sure about this?"
"It's the best way we can go about this," Agunimon said as he struggled to stand on his feet. It's either that or I go beast as well, but that'll put everyone in more danger.
Jack looked at Veemon, seeing that Veemon was pretty good at avoiding being caught, but even he had his limits. KendoGarurumon was fast, and Veemon could only keep dodging his sharp teeth for so long.
"Alright, let's do this," Jack quickly said.
KendoGarurumon put one of his paws on Veemon's back, pinning him to the ground to stop him from running.
"And quickly!" Jack urgently added.
Agunimon didn't hesitate to run towards KendoGarurumon. "Hey! You want someone?! I'm right here!" He exclaimed as he jumped onto KendoGarurumon's back.
Upon feeling Agunimon on his back, KendoGarurumon pulled his paw off of Veemon and tried to knock Agunimon off so he could get at his prey.
Veemon quickly ran further away while KendoGarurumon was trying to buck Agunimon off his back before he spread out the blades on his back, pushing Agunimon off. Agunimon was glad he had armor, because those blades likely would've cut through him pretty easily if he was just flesh and bones.
While this was going on, Jack quickly brought Jazz over to Floramon.
"You stay with Floramon, sweetie. I'll see if I can help Agunimon release his friend from that collar's control," Jack said gently to Jazz.
Jazz frowned, but she knew she had to trust her dad. "Okay… Just… be careful… the Warrior of Light is more powerful now…"
"Don't worry, Jazzypants… I will be." Jack reassured Jazz with a smile.
After Jack put Jazz down, he rushed closer to the battlefield.
Jazz looked down at Floramon, who was hurt, but still conscious. Jazz saw Floramon's leg was not looking too good. Jazz dug into her backpack for any emergency first aid stuff she may have brought with her.
"I'm sorry I let you get hurt like this, Floramon…" Jazz apologized.
"It's not… your fault…" Floramon weakly said. "I failed… to protect you… You got hurt… too…"
"Not as bad as you were…" Jazz frowned. "You did your best… That's all I can ask. You were already hurt, so having to fight again wasn't exactly the best option, but we had no choice…"
Agunimon was forced onto the defensive as KendoGarurumon tried to use his claws and teeth on the Warrior of Flame. Agunimon had put up his Plasma Sphere again, and found himself cornered. Damn it… This can't get any worse! I'm cornered… and Koji's not showing any sign of slowing down…
Floramon looked over at Agunimon, she could see he was at KendoGarurumon's mercy. I… I have to help…
Jazz frowned, knowing her cousin was in danger. There had to be something they could do, something that didn't involve using Floramon's feet… Jazz looked at Floramon's 'hands'.
"Floramon, can you use Poison Ivy to trip KendoGarurumon up?" Jazz asked.
"I can try," Floramon said.
Floramon aimed with her flowery hands. "Poison Ivy."
Floramon shot out the vines from her hands, and one of the two vines wrapped around KendoGarurumon's front paw, while the other vine wrapped around his back paw. This caused KendoGarurumon to lose his balance from the sudden shift in weight, and the inability to move his paws the way he wanted to.
Seeing this, Agunimon dropped his shield and tackled KendoGarurumon to the ground, struggling to hold down the Beast Warrior of Light. Agunimon glanced at Veemon, who was now at Jack's side, with one of his eyes. "Veemon! That collar! Headbutt it! Hurry!"
"Already on it!" Veemon shouted as he was running at KendoGarurumon. "Hold still, boy, this won't hurt a bit! Vee Headbutt!"
Veemon jumped at KendoGarurumon's neck headfirst with precision. Veemon's head came into contact with the red collar. The collar cracked more, and as KendoGarurumon struggled harder, the cracks spread through the rest of the collar until it finally shattered.
Seeing the collar shatter, Agunimon let go of KendoGarurumon, who seemed to be in a daze as his eyes stopped glowing red, showing their usual golden color instead.
"I… I think… we did it…" Agunimon panted as he slowly stood up.
KendoGarurumon seemed to groan before he managed to sit up, shaking his head. "Ugh… Why does everything feel like I was in a daze…?"
"You did it, Veemon!" Jack cheered.
"Alright!" Veemon smiled.
Jazz and Floramon smiled in relief as well, seeing that KendoGarurumon was back to his normal self.
Wait… where did Theodore go? He seems to have disappeared during the fight. Jazz noticed.
"It's… a long story…" Agunimon sighed. "But to summarize it, you were… some portly kid managed to get a slave collar on you…"
KendoGarurumon was on all four feet quickly. "What?! Where is that brat?! I will make him pay for what he did to me!"
Agunimon perked up when he realized he hadn't seen Theodore in a while. Looking around, Agunimon couldn't see any sign of the portly boy. "I think he's gone…"
"That little sneak…" KendoGarurumon growled. "He came up to me earlier, claiming that he was a lost child. I was Lobomon at the time, and I thought I would just take him to the nearest town, and the next thing I knew I had that blasted collar on me!"
"Yeah… we noticed." Agunimon frowned. "This… We'll… have to be more careful from here on. If those slave collars can be used on us… we can't take any chances…"
"Um…" Jack hesitated.
Veemon was chuckling sheepishly.
KendoGarurumon noticed them, and he noticed the injured Floramon and Jazz not too far away. "... We better get them some treatment. And… you need to tell me who the big orange papa bear is, and who the Digimon that is with him is."
Agunimon sighed. "I guess some explanation is in order…" He began before he nearly collapsed himself. "Fighting you in your Beast Form… wasn't exactly easy…"
"Hmph… it wasn't like I wanted to attack you," KendoGarurumon grumbled. "You, big orange guy, can you bring that girl and her Floramon onto my back? I can get them back to the castle easier and quicker that way."
Jack nodded. "Of course." He said as he made his way to where Jazz and Floramon were. Veemon followed after Jack to help out as well.
It took a bit of time, but Jack and Veemon were able to get Jazz and Floramon onto KendoGarurumon's back.
"We'll meet you at the castle, Jazzypants." Jack said to Jazz gently. "Just hold on to this big guy's back so you and Floramon don't fall off."
"Thanks," Jazz said as she made sure to hold onto KendoGarurumon's back with Floramon. It's so weird to suddenly be on the same back of the Digimon that almost killed us earlier. Though I know it wasn't his fault, it's just kinda weird.
KendoGarurumon then began to run back to the castle with Jazz and Floramon.
Jack, Veemon, and Agunimon watched them head down the path before Agunimon sighed. "I never want to do that again…"
"I get the feeling it'll be part of the norm, considering that Theodore kid is quite stubborn," Veemon remarked.
"What will you do now, Veemon?" Jack asked. "I'm going to head back to the castle to make sure Jazz and her Digimon are alright."
"I'll go back too… I owe it to Floramon after she helped me get away before, and got hurt for it," Veemon answered.
Jack blinked before he gave a deep rumbling laugh. "That's alright by me."
Agunimon chuckled as well. "I owe you one, Veemon. You helped save one of the Legendary Warriors. Not many Digimon can say that."
Veemon smiled. "Hey, maybe that'll make me popular among other Digimon too!"
"Don't get your hopes up too high, that would mean you'll have an even bigger target on your back," Jack pointed out.
"... Way to blow the wind out of my sails…" Veemon grumbled.
Agunimon chuckled again at seeing Veemon pout. Agunimon then nearly collapsed again, only managing to catch himself by putting a hand on the nearest tree.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good." Jack frowned in concern when he noticed Agunimon was leaning back against a tree.
"It's just the fight… It was… harder than I expected…" Agunimon admitted. "Especially since Lobomon is more experienced than I am…"
Jack frowned before he looked down at the shards of the collar. He bent down to pick up some with his gloved hand. "I should study this later, maybe there's something I can invent to prevent Digimon from being controlled by this thing…"
"Can you do that?" Veemon asked.
"I can try. I've never tried to make anything that didn't relate to ghosts in some way though," Jack admitted before he looked over at Agunimon. "You should probably get to wherever it is you usually go to recover then. I need to find Takuya and head back to the castle."
Agunimon seemed to tense up before he spoke. "I… actually sent Takuya to the castle… He… He was looking for help and somehow found me. When he told me what was going on, I told him to get back there for his safety."
"Oh, I'm surprised he listened to you and did not come back himself, he can be a bit headstrong," Jack chuckled.
"Like you?" Agunimon raised an eyebrow.
Jack laughed. "You got me there! He really does have Fenton genes after all!"
Agunimon sighed, but it was more of an amused sigh. "I guess he does…"
"Come on, let's go to the castle. I wanna see if Floramon and your daughter are doing alright, and… that battle also made me hungry, so I'd like some food too," Veemon said.
Jack laughed. "You really are a fellow foodie, Veemon!"
Agunimon chuckled as well. "You two really are alike. You both are headstrong, you both like food, I think Veemon would be a good partner Digimon to you."
"A partner Digimon?" Jack asked.
"Really?" Veemon questioned as well. "It never crossed my mind to have a human partner, especially after being chased around by so many."
"If you think about it, it would help keep Veemon safe." Agunimon pointed out. "As far as I know, partner Digimon can't be enslaved."
"We'll definitely talk about it later," Jack promised. "For now, you better go recover. We'll see you later, most likely."
"You're not… going to ask me questions?" Agunimon asked.
"There's a time and place for that, and your health is more important than questions right now," Jack said. "I can't say I know what it is you were doing when you were helping the ghost boy in Amity Park, but I'm sure you've had your reasons."
Agunimon blinked before he smiled a bit. "Yeah… I did. And… thanks… for helping me save Lobomon…"
"Thanks for saving my daughter and nephew," Jack replied back.
Agunimon gave a nod before he turned and made his way into the woods, down the path to the castle. It was clear he was exhausted, but he managed to get out of sight of Jack and Veemon.
Once out of sight, Agunimon let his evolution go, returning to his human form. Takuya sighed and groaned as he felt his body aching. Ow… The long walk won't help… but I gotta get back before Uncle Jack does…
Meanwhile, in another part of the Digital World, Maddie, Danny, Andy, and Lopmon were leaving the Beast Slayer Guild behind. Andy was relieved to be out of there.
However, before they could fully leave, Wes came running out to them.
"Hey!"
"What is it?" Andy asked.
"I didn't think you guys would be taking off this quickly," Wes remarked. "I wanted you to meet Terriermon."
"We were in the middle of something before we got teleported in the guild," Danny explained. "We really need to get back before we're missed."
A small, white, and green creature walked out from behind Wes. "Is that them?"
Lopmon looked down at the creature in surprise before he jumped down from Andy's head to get a better look at this Digimon.
"Wow… This guy looks similar to me, just different colors and with only one horn." Lopmon noted with interest.
The two rabbit-like Digimon lifted up their ears together, reflecting off each other like they were mirror images.
"And you look like a chocolate version of me, with two more horns, that's kinda freaky. Hey, we could be twins!" The white and green Digimon replied with a grin.
The two little rabbit Digimon looked closer at each other.
Maddie was trying to keep herself composed, she was not going to act like a little girl and squeal at how cute these two were. She was a self controlled adult.
Andy blinked before he looked at Danny. "... Why wasn't your Digimon a Terriermon, bro? We could've had twin Digimon."
Danny pouted. "It's not like I chose Patamon to be my partner Digimon. He just… bonded with me."
"A twin Digimon would've been fun to have." Lopmon remarked. "I'd be just like Andy and Danny then."
"Nah, you wouldn't want to be like us. We usually end up causing a lot of trouble," Andy remarked. "Especially this knuckleheaded brother of mine."
"H-hey! What does that mean?" Danny pouted.
Maddie was trying not to laugh at their banter. She missed being a part of this.
"You sure you guys don't want to stay? This guild could provide you partners, and help train you guys to be strong too," Wes asked. "And I think Terriermon's already taken a liking to Lopmon."
"As nice as the offer is, my brother and I are not ready to join a guild yet." Danny admitted. "We're… still trying to decide on if we should join one or not."
"We'll at least consider it," Andy added. "Good luck on your next basketball game by the way."
"Thanks. And maybe Terriermon and I will see if we can find you guys later." Wes smiled. "It'll be good to see how strong Lopmon is compared to Terriermon."
"I'm sure it will be," Andy chuckled sheepishly. "But for now, we should get going."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Wes," Maddie said.
"Come on, Lopmon, you can stare at your not-reflection later," Andy said as he picked up Lopmon, who had been still curiously looking at Terriermon.
Lopmon pouted. "Awww… I was enjoying my reflection too…"
"Oi! I'm not your reflection! You're my reflection!" Terriermon retorted. "I'm totally the original one here."
"No you're not, you're the minty one," Lopmon replied.
Terriermon pouted while Wes laughed sheepishly. "Well, uh… I guess I'll see you later then."
"Thank you again, Wes." Maddie said before waving goodbye. "C'mon, boys, Lopmon! We need to find a way back home."
The group left the Beast Slayer Guild's headquarters, with Wes and Terriermon waving goodbye as well.
"... Wes, we need to have a Lopmon here. I want a twin too!" Terriermon whined.
Wes sighed. "Look, it's not up to me if Andy decides to join or not."
Terriermon huffed. "I know…"
pokemon fan 1991: DarkFoxKit: We have plans for Veemon, but no, he's just good at dodging people. As for Maddie, yeah, we did some stuff with her.
Hehe, yeah, Patamon having to struggle between his bond with Danny and his duty as a Celestial Digimon is tearing him apart. Now he wants there to be an alternative way, when before he was certain killing the person from the prophecy was the only way.
That sounds like an interesting fanfiction. I hope you'll get far in it.
ZAFT: Thanks for the review, and I hope your fic is successful as well!
Titanic X: ZAFT: You will see who is Maddie's partner! And Jack with Veemon is too cute! XD
DarkFoxKit: I'm glad you like Jack with Veemon too. Originally it might've been an Agumon or a Gabumon, but we decided on a different duo.