Growlmon looked down the ravine to see nothing but darkness. He turns to Sunflowmon.
"Nothing…" He says, his voice laced with despair.
"Do you think it's safe to go down there and look for them?" Sunflowmon asks. Growlmon shakes his head.
"If we all go down there, there's a chance nobody is coming back up. I think a safer option is to go look for somebody who can help us."
"In a forest? Who are we even going to find?"
"I don't know! Maybe some birds could help us?" Growlmon suggests. Sunflowmon facepalms herself.
Coronamon looks down the newly made ravine, tears welling in his eyes.
"Whispered…" He says as he drops to his knees. Sunflowmon crouches down next to him.
"They'll be alright, besides they're the original digimon and human partner." She picks up Coronamon. "We can do our part though and try to save them, but crying isn't gonna help, okay?" She smiles.
"Alright…" Coronamon fights back the tears. Sunflowmon looks to Growlmon.
"We'll go further in and look, but if things get messy, we need to leave and come back here. Got it?"
"Got it!" Growlmon says. The three of them take off into the forest, hoping to find some help.
(With me)
Whispered backs up. "Hey there…" He says nervously. "How've ya been?" He asks, backing away. I finally see the figure. It walks on four legs. It has a red body with yellow stripes and a blue underbelly. It has two blue tusks near its mouth and a white helmet with a heart on it. It has green hair going across its back.
"You…" It growls and is depicted to have a more masculine voice. He slowly walks towards us.
"Yep…it's me Sethmon…" Whispered laughs. So that's the digimon's name, Sethmon. I wonder how Whispered knows him.
"You traitor!" Sethmon growls stalking towards Whispered even more. "You left me for dead! You left everyone for dead!" he yells. Whispered chokes out nothing but a small sound. My face twists into one of confusion.
"What's he talking about Whispered?" I ask turning to look at Whispered.
"Yeah tell him! Tell him of all the horrible and monstrous things you did when you were a dark general! Tell him how you tried destroying a whole hell field to kill everyone in it, including human children and your higher ups!" Sethmon scoffs. "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He smirks. All fear or nervousness leaves Whispered's face, replaced by overboiling anger.
"What did you just say to me?!" He snarls, going up to Sethmon's face.
"You're no better than Axeknightmon. The way you would use people or destroy anything if things got tough. You made a horrid beast to swallow the whole underworld up and guess who was caught up in it?! Me and many other of your loyal soldiers! You know what?!" He yells back.
"What?!" Whispered demands.
"You're worse than Axeknightmon!" Sethmon said. Something snapped in Whispered, making him glow ominously. The energy around him was dark and was nothing like when he digivolved to Firamon or recently Flaremon. Sethmon backed away. "What the fuck…" He whispers. The small rookie digimon screamed loudly.
"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME!" He screamed again as the darkness overtook his body. My head started ringing, so I clutched my hands around it.
"Ahh…" I whimper, falling to my knees, hoping the pain would go away.
"Coronamon Whispered digivolve to…Lynxmon Whispered!" He yells. My vision is blurry but I'm able to make out Whispered's new form. He now looks like a black and blue fiery lynx with yellow eyes and outlines on his ears. Unlike Firamon, he has no wings but wears a nasty attitude instead.
Sethmon backs up before growling.
"So it's like that, huh? Fine." He charges at Whispered. "Tusk Buster!" He tries hitting Whispered with the two large blue tusks.
"Thermal Mane!" Whispered yells, as an explosion occurs, sending me backwards as I hit my chest on a rock, making another throbbing pain occur. I gasp out in pain. I look over and see Whispered being Sethmon to a pulp. He scratches at his body anywhere that isn't protected, ripping hair out and biting his neck. When Sethmon finally looks like he can't stand anymore, Whispered slowly walks up to him, his mane glowing again.
"Mercy!" Sethmon pleads and Whispered just stands there.
"Thermal Mane!" He causes another explosion, killing Sethmon. The heat wave affects me greatly as my eyes begin closing. However right before they do, I see Whispered look at me then run off. My head slams against the hard floor once more as I fall into unconsciousness.
(With the other three)
"There's gotta be something here…" Growlmon says, pushing branches out of the way as he walks through the forest. Coronamon sits in between Growlmon's two horns, holding them like handles. "Say, what if we get a lot of vines and make a rope?" Growlmon suggests, smiling.
"First of all, we don't know how deep the ravine is. Second of all, how do we know they're gonna grab the rope? There's probably a lot of digimon down there." Sunflowmon said.
"That's like the fifth idea you've turned down, Sunflowmon." Coronamon said as he bounces slightly on Growlmon's head.
"That's because they're all equally stupid." Remarks Sunflowmon, smirking. The three of them keep going on a path before Coronamon tugs on Growlmon's horns.
"What is it?" Growlmon asks.
"Look! It's an Aquilamon! He should be able to help us!" Coronamon says, pointing to a nearby tree with a smaller Aquilamon resting on a thick branch.
"Finally! A good idea! Great job Coronamon!" Sunflowmon says as Growlmon glares at her. The three walk close to the Aquilamon.
"Hello there! We could really use your help!" Coronamon says. The Aquilamon looks at Coronamon and smirks.
"And what do you need?" Aquilamon answers.
"Our friends fell down a ravine and we were wondering if you could help us get them. We'll promise to repay you. One of our friends has some bits you could have." Sunflowmon says.
"You know what? You've got yourself a deal. But hey, let me help you. I'll carry that little Coronamon if you want." Aquilamon adds. Growlmon looks up at Coronamon.
"Sure! I've always wanted to fly!" Coronamon says and Aquilamon picks him up with his large talons.
"Lead the way," Aquilamon says. Sunflowmon turns around, ready to retrace her steps along with Growlmon. "Suckers!" Aquilamon yells as he darts off with Coronamon still in claw.
"Huh?! Get back here!" Growlmon yells as he chases after Aquilamon, Sunflowmon following suit. They chase him into the thick forest.
(With me)
I wake for what it seems hours later. I stand up, rubbing my temples. Most of the pain from earlier has subsided but the most important thing was finding Whispered. I start to travel down the rocky and skinny pathway from where Whispered was. I follow the torches placed along the walls as I look around the cave. I wander aimlessly, even passing a few candle like digimon who hop away when I get too close. I see a group of them huddled near something and when I run up to them, they disperse. I look down to see Whispered, in his rookie form again. He is asleep, so I gently sit down beside him. I look at him.
"At least I know you're okay…" I whisper, letting him sleep.
(Whispered's dreams. Whispered's POV. Headcanon alert)
Axeknightmon walks into the south pillar of the Bagra fortress. He walks up a set of stairs. He turns on the light to reveal a huge spacious room with only a large glass ball in the middle.
"Finally." Another voice says. The other digimon looks to be a dark samurai, covered in thick black armor with red flames on it. His helmet covers his face and there is a horn sticking out in the middle. He also wears a dark blue cape.
"Trying to become nocturnal, Tactimon?" Axeknightmon says.
"Now's not the time for jokes, dark knight. I'm only here to lend you some of my power so that your "Best creation yet" Can be made." Tactimon says, crossing his arms under his chest.
"I'm dearly sorry about wasting your time. You must got a date with Blastmon or something" Axeknightmon answers dramatically and Tactimon grumbles.
"Let's just get this over with." Tactimon says. Axeknightmon grabs a ball of pure negative energy and throws it into the glass ball. Axeknightmon and Tactimon stand side by side and focus on creating each of their own pure magic. After a few moments, they combine them and toss it in as well. Axeknightmon quickly seals the ball as everything mixes together. Suddenly, the glass ball starts shaking and soon fills the glass ball with black mist. A pair of eyes and a wide spiky mouth emerges.
"Finally! My best creation yet! Welcome to the world…Whispered…" Axeknightmon says as Tactimon grumbles and leaves.
/The dream flashes off and then back on to a different scene/
Whispered stands as a spirit of some sort behind Apollomon, who is sitting on a throne.
"Huh?! Where am I?!" Whispered questions, recognizing the castle around him. "Bright Land's…castle? But Bright Land was reformed into something different…all the lands were." Whispered mutters, confused. He walks around the throne and turns around to see Apollomon. "Apollomon..? But how, you're Coronamon…" Whispered looks down at his hands and realizes they're the ones of his mega form. Realization hits him. "I remember now…this is the past…" Whispered trails off. "They're making me resee all of this shit…" He falls to his knees and looks at Apollomon once more. He smiles. "I remember being planted inside you…being able to feel what you really felt, but I could never see it in action."
"Lord Apollomon." A voice speaks from behind Whispered. Whispered turns around, his eyes widening.
"Marsmon..?" Whispered says, standing upright. Marsmon was one of Apollomon's main captains. He was a bipedal digimon who represented a leopard. With baggy red pants and toned abs, and wore a leopard mask with a horn on it, having holes for eyes.
"What is it, Marsmon?" Apollomon spoke, crossing one leg over the other.
"We have reported a few deaths of the trapped digimon down below." Marsmon says, hanging his head low. Whispered frowns and looks at Apollomon, who's eyes fill with sadness.
"Thank you for alerting me, Marsmon. Continue with your duties." Apollomon orders.
"Right, sir." Marsmon exits the room. Apollomon sighs and stands up.
"What have I become…" Apollomon mutters, looking down towards the ground. Whispered walks over to Apollomon.
"Don't be too hard on yourself…it wasn't your choice." Whispered says but is ignored as Apollomon leaves his throne room. "Apollomon?" He says, following Apollomon. Apollomon enters his master bedroom, his long flowing blonde hair following. Whispered watches Apollomon pull out a sharp blade with a sun symbol on the side.
"This is for my citizens…" Apollomon says as he uses the knife to put a deep cut in his right arm. Whispered gasps.
"Apollomon!" He runs to his side and sits next to him."Stop! You're only hurting yourself…" Whispered pauses as he watches Apollomon stay still as data leaks out. "You're too good for this world…even after everything, you still try to do the right thing. Even if it hurts you…" Whispered says. His mind blurs.
/
Whispered opens his eyes to see a world full of sheer agony. Fields of spikes, pools of lava, every place was meant to be a digimon's worst nightmare.
"It's the underworld…" Whispered mutters. "Which means..!" He knew he already consumed Apollomon at this point. "Apollomon…" He says weakly. He turns around at the sound of footsteps. He sees a young blonde boy wear a white shirt with dark plaid overalls. "Ewan!" He says, but is ignored. Behind Ewan is Tuwarmon, a yellow armored digimon assigned to watch over the naive boy.
"Everything is going according to plan! Laylamon and Axeknightmon are almost done dealing with the main forces and Whispered is taking care of Christopher!" The boy cheers, feeling happy with his choice of strategy. Whispered's eyes widen as he ignores the others, racing out of the castle to see his old self. As he runs to the spike field, he sees something running back at him. He is shocked to see himself and Sethmon running towards the castle. He stops and stands still as his old self passes through him. He turns and watches his old self run away. His vision begins to blur again.
/
He opens his eyes to find himself on a glowing green platform. He looks ahead and sees himself, darkness loader in hand. He watches as his past self makes that horrid Laylamon beast mode.
"Stop!" He screams but the platform begins moving up as he realizes it is already done. "I betrayed everyone…" He is transported back to Bright Land.
"That takes care of those wretched brats." The old Whispered says, walking forward to the castle. "Now I can finally become the ruler of the DigiWorld!"
Whispered lets out a deep chuckle, knowing the irony of the situation. He follows his old self. He watches him sit down, knowing what will happen next. One side of him glitches and becomes Apollomon again. Apollomon whimpers and grunts in pain.
"Why…we could've been allies with Mikey and the Fusion Fighters!" Apollomon gasps out.
"So naive…you're a fool if you think your plan was going to work out."
"Did you…?" Apollomon starts, his eyes widening even more. The old Whispered laughs.
"Took you long enough to find out. Now we'll be second in command of the Bagra army! Thanks for lending me this body though, couldn't have done it without you." Whispered chuckles sinisterly.
"How dare you!" Apollomon bellows. That's the last thing Whispered chose to hear before getting lost in his thoughts.
"Wow…I was such a prick…" Whispered says, turning away from his old self. "Though, I'd never hurt Apollomon or Coronamon like I did before. Would I?" Whispered's vision blurs again, this time showing a montage of his two deaths right before his eyes. He watches himself be blown into pieces after the fusion fighters pushed him into oblivion. His memory laps back to the next death right after…at the hands of not only the fusion fighters, but Apollomon. The traitorous Olegmon had already joined the red general's side. The other loyal dark generals stand beside Whispered, already hating him for being a dick. As he sits there and watches himself get destroyed by Apollomon everything goes black around him.
"Alright I get it!" He yells. "I did horrible things. I hurt a digimon who just wanted justice and took his last sense of hope and shattered it into a million pieces. I lost the respect and trust of my comrades by trying to be better than them and letting my own selfish ways flood my mind! I deserve the fate everyone thought happened to me, to be gone forever. And yet they teach me lessons and forgive me. And let me tell you one thing, I don't deserve it but it's pushing me to at least try to become a semblance of someone better. But why…why did he forgive me..?" Whispered asks, dropping down to his knees. His vision blurs once more.
/
Whispered now stands in the middle of Primary village. By his feet are two digieggs and recognizes them to be his and Coronamon's. When they hatch two little Sunmon comes out. His screams and cries while Coronamon's just stays still. Elecmon comes out and Whispered smiles to see someone else familiar. Though as soon as the baby Sunmon are fed, his vision glitches out and starts again with him and Coronamon just becoming rookie level digimon.
"Before Derin…we would get tortured by the other digimon for being so horrible." Whispered admits. "It made me mad and I wanted to tear everyone to shreds right then and there. Though instead of you trying to reason and get everyone against me, like any vengeful person might do, you protected me and offered to be my friend. You showed me kindness that I don't deserve." Whispered starts doing something he thought he'd never do…cry…
His tears fall to the ground as he watches as he and Coronamon would play endlessly and enjoy each other's presence. It made him feel something, and it wasn't anger or annoyance. It was a more peaceful feeling, and he respected the hell out of Coronamon for making such a horrible digimon like him be able to feel that. And in return, he began being protective over Coronamon, not being able to trust anyone else.
"Whispered? Are you alright?" A voice said to him. Whispered gasps and looks over, seeing Derin before him. He doesn't answer even when Derin shakes his leg. "Whispered?"
(Back to me)
I shake Whispered's body softly.
"Whispered! Wake up!" I shake him a hit harder. His body was shaking and he was whimpering in his sleep and clawing at the ground and his fur. I finally startled him awake.
"Derin, quit shaking me!" he says, trying to push me away. I soon sit him up and back away a bit.
"You were the one shaking and crying in your sleep. I didn't want you in that kind of distress much longer." I argue and he smiles.
"Thanks for caring then." He stands up. "But the thing is, thank you for being my human partner, even if I'm insufferable." Whispered laughs. "I don't know where I'd be without you. I promise to never lash out like that again. And I'm sorry for all that trauma I must have caused you…" He slumps down and I sigh and smile softly.
"Never thought I'd hear that from you." I admit, crossing my arms.
"It's rare, that's for sure." He says. "Now let's focus on getting back to the others. Okay buddy?" Whispered says, determined. My eyes light up when he calls me buddy (in his own Whispered kind of way) and my fusion loader glows.
"Okay!" I hold my fusion loader towards him. "Whispered! Digivolve!"
"Coronamon Whispered warp digivolve to…Flaremon Whispered." Whispered puts out his hand and I hopped on. He puts me on his shoulder as he begins jumping up super high, starting to hop in between the narrow walls, soon reaching the top.
"Where are the others?" I ask. Whispered looks around, seeing that some high grass was stomped down and multiple trees had bitemarks.
"I think they went to get help. Let's go!" Whispered says as he runs along the marked path, deeper into the woods.
(With the other three)
Sunflowmon and Growlmon chase Aquilamon into an abandoned looking cave. They stop at the entrance before Aquilamon flies back out, without Coronamon.
"Where's Coronamon, bird brain?!" Growlmon demands, snarling at the bird.
"He's helping my friend Dokugumon with lunch!" Aquilamon laughs before he flies off. Growlmon tries to chase him but Sunflowmon grasps at his tail, pulling him back.
"We need to get Coronamon first! We can worry about him later!" Sunflowmon said before going into the cave.
"Right!" Growlmon said, following Sunflowmon. There in the middle of the cave is a huge spider web. In the middle is Coronamon, wrapped in sticky silk. Dokugumon comes out from on top of the ceiling. Dokugumon is a spider digimon with a black body with a skull on it. It has orange hair and a yellow helmet that showed two horns and nine ugly looking green eyes. Dokugumon charges for Sunflowmon, the seemingly easier target.
"Poison Cobweb!" Dokugumon screeches as it fires a poisonous blast straight from its mouth.
"Sunshine Beam!" Sunflowmon yells in retaliation, firing the huge ray of sunshine to counter. The attacks meet and cause a bright light, blinding Sunflowmon and Growlmon for a moment.
"Poison Thread!" Dokugumon says, shooting webs at Growlmon and Sunflowmon, confining them in the same stickiness Coronamon was in. Dokugumon moves them to the side with its horns and pays its attention back to Coronamon. It gets back on the net, ready to drain the lift energy out of Coronamon.
"Agh! Help me!" Coronamon screams.
"Guren Juuouha!" Someone yells as a fiery lion spirit comes into the cave and knocks Dokugumon against a wall, knocking it out.
"Whispered! Derin!" Coronamon yells as me and Whispered rush in there. I manage to get Coronamon out and Whispered frees the others, who return to their rookie forms.
"Come on! Let's get out of here before Dokugumon wakes up! Lalamon, Guilmon! Return!" I yell and Lalamon and Guilmon return back into my fusion loader. I get on Whispered's shoulder and Coronamon sit on his other shoulder. "Onward!" I yell as we make a run out of the cave and away into the forest. We soon find another huge boulder and decide to take a rest.
"Thank you so much!" Coronamon says. "But what happened down in that ravine?" He asks. I look at Whispered, who glows and returns to his rookie form.
"It's a long story, Coro." He chuckles, leaving Coronamon confused.
"Huh? Tell me! Tell me!"