Rosemon watched the angel Digimon transform. She tried stopping it by whipping at him, but the light shielded him from her attack. She watched with concern as the transformation was almost done until she realized something. A devilish smirk grew across her face as she turned her whip into a spear.
"If I can't hit you now, then how about I take out that human partner of yours."
Rosemon raced past the digivolving Angemon and to the Digidestined's hiding spot. Ken started panicking, but TK remained steadfast. He glared at her defiantly as she got closer. He didn't move no matter how loud Ken's protests were.
Ken tried pulling him away, but TK wouldn't move. Whether it was from fear or defiance, TK remained where he stood.
Rosemon reared her spear back, and TK closed his eyes in anticipation. He held his breath, waiting for the attack to land, but it never did. He slowly opened his eyes to see Rosemon's spear redirected to the ground by a purple light blade. He let out a sigh of relief and smiled at his savior.
They were an angel Digimon with eight wings, a golden ribbon wrapped around them, and a long purple helmet adorned on their head. On their left arm, they had a purple shield, and on their right arm, was a golden ring on their wrist that held their blade.
"You really like cutting it close, MagnaAngemon."
MagnaAngemon smiled at his partner before kicking Rosemon away. The mega Digimon flew across the ground as MagnaAngemon retracted his blade.
"I always liked making a grand entrance."
TK chuckled as he felt his legs turn into jelly. He didn't know where he got his burst of courage from, but he knew he would never do that again. Ken supported him, and he thanked him for his help.
As TK straightened himself out, his Digivice had shined brightly once again. It flew out of his hand and onto his left wrist. Two bands grew from both sides of the device and wrapped around his wrist, and it became more circular as the screen grew. When the light faded, TK's Digivice was now yellow with one big screen and two white straps around his wrist.
"What happened?" Ken asked, bewildered by what happened.
"I think my Digivice Digivolved," TK answered.
Before they could figure out anything about the change with the blond's Digivice, a whip crack rang in their ears. They saw Rosemon slowly walking toward them as she retracted her weapon. She stopped halfway as she gave them a mix of a disappointed and offended look.
"Did you forget about me? And just when we started getting to know each other."
MagnaAngemon scowled as he clenched his fists. He flew over to her but kept his distance to remain out of her whip's reach. He then drew out his sword Excalibur and Rosemon had a wicked grin at the site of it.
"Good, I don't like being ignored."
Her whip then straightened out into a spear as the two Digimon remained at a standstill, waiting for the other to make the first move.
As that was happening, Ryo was still running for his life. He was surprised he was outrunning the giant dinosaur Digimon but chose not to overthink it. He did see Stingmon fly up Rosemon's base, so he knew it was only a matter of time until they returned. He just needed to keep DarkTyrannomon busy for a little longer.
But he didn't know how much longer he could do that. It was hard running in the sand, and he could feel his legs turning into jelly. DarkTyrannomon's shadow was also gaining on him as the ground beneath him shook. Ryo was quietly begging for anyone to help him.
He was starting to think of ways how he could get away from the giant Digimon. He could try to juke them or run into the battlefield and pass them off to one of the other Digimon. There were other possibilities, but those were the two he could think of in his situation.
Then it got dark.
Ryo turned his head, and his legs were caught against each other, and he crashed into the ground. He slowly turned on his back to assess the damage but caught his breath when he saw DarkTyrannomon towering over him. He tried scooting backward, but DarkTyrannomon took another step forward, freezing him in place.
"H-Hey, big guy. Pretty nice weather we're having," Ryo said to befriend the beast.
Under Rosemon's control, DarkTyrannomon couldn't understand what he said. They let out a bellowing roar that could've sent Ryo flying, but because of his position in the sand, the roar pushed him deeper into the ground. Ryo let out a terrified chuckle as his hearing returned.
"I guess y-you don't care about the weather. I-I didn't either back home unless it was snowing."
DarkTyrannomon remained unfazed, and Ryo bit his lip. He tried not to cry, but he had a feeling in his gut telling him this was the end. Of all the ways that he thought he would die, this was the most surprising, but he wouldn't complain. If he was going to die young, then he wanted to go out in a cool way, and nothing's cooler than being killed by a dinosaur.
DarkTyrannomon reared their claw back, preparing to attack. Ryo thought about giving up but made one last effort to live. He wouldn't be able to move out of the way fast enough, but he could use his mouth to call for help. So, taking a deep breath, Ryo cocked his head back and yelled out his plea to anyone who heard him.
"HEEEEEELLLLLP!"
Hearing his partner's voice, Strikedramon peered away from Deltamon to see DarkTyrannomon getting ready to attack his partner. He wanted to keep fighting, but he couldn't let his partner get killed. He tried to get to his partner, but Deltamon used their serpent head to block his path.
Strikedramon growled and ignited into a flame. Gargomon saw this and tried to calm his friend down.
"Ease up a little. I can't have you running in blind."
"Just give me an opening so I can get to Ryo! Hit me over to him if you have to!" Strikedramon growled.
Gargomon saw what Strikedramon was talking about and instantly understood what he had to do. He nodded at his partner, and Strikedramon jumped into the air with Gargomon following him shortly thereafter. He used his left Gatling gun to uppercut Strikedramon's feet to give him more air and used his right Gatling gun to remain close to the flaming Digimon. When they got to a high enough altitude, Gargomon used both of his hands to launch Strikedramon to his partner.
Deltamon saw its opponent soaring through the air. It lunged its serpent head at Strikedramon, but it was blasted by pellets. It turned and saw Gargomon smirking while falling to the ground.
"Don't forget about me, big guy."
Deltamon responded to Gargomon's taunt by swinging their skull head at him. Gargomon used his Gatling guns to dodge the attack. When he landed, he made a big jump backward to avoid Deltamon's serpent head.
"Please hurry, Strikedramon. Deltamon isn't the type of Digimon to fight alone."
Ryo slowly realized that no one was coming to save him, whether because they weren't fast enough or they couldn't hear him. That's fine. At least he'd have a cool death to brag about in the afterlife. His only hope is that it'll be fast and painless. So, resigning to his fate, Ryo closed his eyes and waited for the end to come.
"STRIKE FANG!"
Ryo opened his eyes to see Strikedramon holding onto DarkTyrannomon's claw.
"Strikedramon?"
Ryo then felt a pair of hands helping him onto his feet. He saw they belonged to TK and Ken and were trying to get him out of the fray.
"Come on, we need to get to somewhere safe," he heard Ken say.
He hasn't fully absorbed his surroundings yet, but he did follow the two away from the fight. They ran to an intact dune that was a safe distance away from all the fighting. It allowed them to catch their breath and regain their bearings.
"I hope Willis, Chloe, and Penguinmon are doing fine in there," TK said as he stared at the battlefield.
Running through the hallways of Rosemon's base, Willis could confidently say they were lost. The moment they touched down on the cactus base, Chloe ran in like a girl on a mission. He warned her of the possibilities of traps and other mind-controlled Digimon roaming the base on the way up, but she obviously didn't heed his warning, and he couldn't fully blame her for it. It didn't matter who or what was in her way she was going to find Catherine.
He wished she would slow down, though. He and Penguinmon were trying to keep pace with Chloe the whole time they were there. She also didn't take her time searching each room they came across. She only opened the door and instantly closed it when she didn't see any signs of her sister.
It was a big reason why he and Penguinmon were lagging behind. They at least took a few seconds to look in the rooms before racing after her. It wasn't as long as he wanted to look, but it was longer than what Chloe was doing.
What's worse is they were nearing the end of the top floor. He wanted to save Catherine too, but he also wanted to find something that could help them beat Rosemon.
There was one more door left before the stairwell, and Chloe was standing in front of it. He couldn't allow her to rush through another room search. He watched Chloe reach for the door handle, and he made his move.
Willis ran as fast as he could and tackled Chloe to the ground. He held her tightly as Penguinmon caught up.
"Are you guys OK?" Penguinmon asked.
Willis didn't let go. Chloe scratched, kicked, and elbowed him in the gut to break free, but he didn't let go. It wasn't until she bit his hand that she was finally able to free herself.
"What's your problem!? Didn't your parents tell you you're not supposed to hit a girl?" Chloe yelled at Willis.
The boy, the target of her ire, slowly got up as he shook his injury. He made sure to cover any escape routes that Chloe could take as she stood up, though he had a feeling she wasn't going to run away. She was angry and wanted some answers for his actions.
"They did, and I'm sorry, but you need to calm down," Willis told her, and she rolled her eyes.
"Sorry for not being happy about being tackled. It hurt, and you could've broken something," Chloe said sarcastically, and Willis sighed.
"You can be angry about that, but what I'm talking about is rushing through here. Look at all the rooms you breezed by."
Chloe peered behind Willis and saw all the slightly opened doors behind him. She didn't see what the big deal was. Catherine wasn't in any of them, so she deemed them as pointless.
"I know we came in here to save your sister, and we will, but our friends are out there fighting Rosemon and her army. We should try to find something that will help them beat her."
"I don't care! Catherine's the most important thing right now, and you're not going to stop me from finding her!"
Willis sighed. He wished the others had forced Chloe to stay outside and fight, but he knew she would've found a way in.
"Look, I understand she's your sister, and she comes first, but–!"
"Then you don't understand! If you did, then you wouldn't have tackled me earlier!"
Willis pinched the bridge of his nose before grabbing Chloe's shoulders. He was going to tell her something important and he wanted to make sure she heard it.
"TK told me that he said this to you, but he wanted me to remind you if you started acting up again. You're not alone. You have friends out there and in here who want to help, but we can't do that if you don't help us. We're here risking our lives to not only save Catherine and Floramon but the lives of so many innocent Digimon. So please, calm down and work with me so we can beat Rosemon."
Chloe looked away. Willis was worried she didn't listen to him and was going to run the first chance she got. It wasn't until Penguinmon hugged Chloe's leg that he noticed a change in her emotions.
"Please, Chloe, I don't like seeing you act like this," the penguin Digimon said.
Chloe shook and sniveled. Willis saw her crying and decided to join Penguinmon in the hug. He gave her a few friendly pats on the back as she cried into his shoulder.
He ignored the rumbles that shook the building and blocked out the explosions that echoed in the halls. All he cared about was soothing his friend.
"I know…" Chloe said after calming down a little.
Willis remained quiet and allowed Chloe to compose herself.
"Being a twin is like being born with your best friend. We did everything together growing up from learning how to ride bikes to doing each other's makeup. Even when we had different hobbies, we would always try to find a way to mix the two. It's part of why I started dancing so I could perform with my sister."
Chloe then broke away from Willis and straightened out her clothes. She gave Penguinmon a solemn pat on the head as she wiped away a stray tear.
"She was the only friend I had until I met TK. I know I seem outgoing, but it's a mask that I wear because I'm scared about people judging me."
"But what about when you first talked to TK? You said Catherine wasn't there," Willis rebutted.
"It was easy to approach him and you guys, because you're all from different countries. To you guys, I'm just some random girl, but to everyone else back home I'm Catherine's weird sister."
Chloe then slid down the hallway's wall and placed her head in her arms.
Chloe hated talking about the negatives of her life. It made her think about how lonely she was in school when Catherine wasn't around. She tried to make friends, but the thoughts in her head always stopped her from talking to people. It was both frustrating and heartbreaking.
Sometimes she wonders if maybe her sister would've been better off if she wasn't around. She wouldn't have to deal with her awkward sister and she wouldn't have to drag her along to meet her friends.
Catherine wouldn't have been in this mess to begin with if it wasn't for her. Rosemon wanted her and Catherine got in the way.
"You're not weird."
Chloe looked up to see Willis joining her on the floor.
"You're right, when I first met you, you were just some random girl. But then I got to know you, and you're more than that. Sure, you're a little weird, but you're also funny, kind, loyal, and pretty. And if anyone can't see that then it's their loss," Willis told her.
"Yeah, Chloe. I couldn't ask for a better partner. I love it when you pat my head and teach me new dance moves," Penguinmon added.
Chloe hid her face to hide her blush. She was happy and embarrassed by the compliments her friends gave her. She wasn't used to anyone complimenting her, outside of her family and TK of course.
Willis then stood up and extended a hand out to her.
"Now, come on. If you promise me that we'll take our time searching this room then I promise we'll search every room as fast as we can."
Chloe looked over and saw Penguinmon encouraging her to take his offer. After quickly mulling over it, she grabbed his hand and he helped her up. Penguinmon walked up to them and Chloe rubbed the fuzz on her partner's head to thank her.
Willis allowed them to have their moment as he got to work. He went into the unchecked room and checked it out. He instantly deduced that it must've been Rosemon's bedroom because of the red walls and carpet, rose-themed bed, pink vanity, white dresser, closet, and roses all around the room. He first went to the closet because it was one of the two places to store things in the room.
It was filled with dresses, coats, and other formal clothes. He wondered why a Digimon needed so many clothes. He hasn't seen many Digimon wearing clothes and the ones that did got their clothes from digivolving.
"Find anything?" Chloe asked, coming up behind Willis.
He responded by pulling out a pink and white dress. Chloe arched an eyebrow, unsure about how Willis wanted her to respond. Penguinmon saved her by dragging a flipper across the dress.
"It's very pretty and soft."
"I guess, but don't you think it's too small for Rosemon?" Willis asked.
To emphasize his point, Willis held the dress up to his chest. The hem of the dress barely made it past his waist. He then pulled out some more clothes and they were all a little bigger than the dress. He then pulled out another dress that looked exactly like the one from earlier, except it was bigger.
"Why do you think she has these? I think they'd only fit Floramon," Chloe commented and Willis shrugged.
There were a lot of questions he had about Rosemon, and the size of her wardrobe wasn't one of them.
He put the clothes back and they all moved around the room. Penguinmon went to the bed while Chloe and Willis checked the vanity and dresser. Almost all the drawers on the dresser were empty, except for the top one. It held a pink cowgirl hat with a white drawstring.
"At least this is something that'll fit."
Chloe didn't say anything about his remark. She was getting frustrated because they didn't learn anything about Rosemon, except that she had a lot of small clothes. She would've considered this whole thing a bust if she hadn't found a set of keys in the vanity drawer.
'Don't worry, Catherine. I'm coming.'