Digital Phantom Frontier

by DarkFoxKit

Takuya Kanbara was just a normal 12 year old Japanese boy, when he suddenly got a call to the Digital World. There, he meets new friends who were also called to the Digital World. They meet with some Digimon who are willing to guide them. But these Digimon seem to be hiding something from them.

6. Chapter 6: The Thunder of Rebellion

DarkFoxKit: Hello, everyone. We have another chapter for you, please enjoy and leave your thoughts about it in the comments below.

ZAFT: Please enjoy this chapter~ :3

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Chapter 6: The Thunder of Rebellion

Across the open landscape, a pink Trailmon could be seen crossing a bridge supported up by large rock pillars. On the other side, across from the bridge a fair distance away, Takuya stood with JP, Zoe, and Tommy as well as Patamon, Lopmon, and Biyomon.

The wind kicked up another cloud of sand, making the group cover their eyes to try and keep the sand out of their vision. Takuya grumbled. "That's the fifth time a sand cloud has kicked up. Next thing you know, our ears will be full of sand…"

"I think the only one who realistically should be worried about having their ears full of sand is Lopmon," Biyomon remarked.

"Oh hush," Lopmon grumbled. "My ears may be long, but they're covering the more sensitive inner parts just fine. Now sand in my eyes is much more annoying."

"Wow… I haven't been in a wind this strong since… well… as far back as I can remember." Tommy remarked, holding his hat in place on his head.

"Tell me about it." JP groaned. "I'm getting sand in my clothes!"

A train horn was heard just down the tracks ahead of the group. The group looked up, and realizing a Trailmon was barreling down the tracks towards them, darted to the left side to avoid getting run over.

"That was close…" JP gasped.

"Why do things in the Digital World come out of seemingly nowhere?" Takuya groaned, trying to calm his racing heart.

"I mean we are on train tracks," Patamon pointed out.

"So?" Takuya frowned.

"So where there's tracks there are trains, genius," Patamon grumbled.

"Zoe, you're the Warrior of Wind, can't you just… Spirit Evolve and make this wind stop?" JP asked.

"I could, but I still don't know how I evolved that first time." Zoe admitted. "It's like I was in a trance or something when I did it, so my memories of how I Spirit Evolved are blurry right now."

"You get used to it the more you use it," Tommy assured.

"So you're saying you're able to just Spirit Evolve whenever?" Zoe asked.

"Sort of. It's usually easy to do when we're about to fight or we're in danger," Tommy answered.

"And that is exactly why we need to talk about this once we reach a safer area…" Lopmon muttered.

"Talk about what?" Zoe asked.

"Something that might help you use your Digimon forms easier," Lopmon answered.

"You know of something that can help us do that?" Takuya asked.

"Only when we get to a safer area will we explain it better." Patamon replied, cutting off any more questions right then and there with his tone of voice.

"Besides, maybe we can stay there until the winds died down?" Biyomon suggested, pointing ahead. "I'm sure everyone's not in the best of moods right now until we get some rest and proper food."

Everyone looked ahead, seeing a large gate that led towards a building.

"Whoa…" Tommy breathed in awe. "What is that place? It looks like a huge factory!"

"This is the Wind Factory Corporation," Patamon stated as he was reading the book Bokomon gave him. "They create wind across this region of the Digital World. Though it also says they sell wind too, or at least a device that creates wind."

"So like a fan?" Lopmon deadpanned.

"Hush," Patamon grumbled as he closed the book and put it back into his belly warmer. "I was just reading what was in the book."

"Selling wind seems kinda difficult without a fan or something." Takuya noted. "You can't sell literal wind."

"That's why it mentions a device that can make wind." Patamon deadpanned. "Weren't you listening?"

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Takuya grumbled.

"Don't make me slap you," Patamon hissed.

"Alright, settle down you two hotheads," Zoe spoke up. "Jeez, didn't think you two would be the crankiest ones here."

Tommy was looking at the factory and frowned. He had a strange feeling like this place had been… important. But he was sure he had never been here before, so he wondered why he felt that way. Maybe it's… Kumamon who feels this way and it's leaking into me? I wonder if anyone else feels the same way…

"Hey… look!" Biyomon pointed with her wing, cutting off Tommy's line of thought.

They saw a line of some kind of mechanical Digimon marching across the land.

"Are those… Kokuwamon?" Lopmon frowned.

"They are!" Patamon realized. "Maybe… Maybe T-" Patamon burped out a small greenish cloud from his mouth. "Ah… Kokuwamon, the one we know, is here."

"What was that?" Takuya asked, seeing the small greenish cloud that came out of Patamon's mouth.

"Did you eat something… really bad and… green?" JP asked.

Patamon grumbled. "Yes, I ate some bad berries…"

"Well, be careful about which ones you eat." Zoe said. "Some can be poisonous."

Looking back at the Kokuwamon, the group was just in time to see the Kokuwamon line fall on top of one another due to the lead Kokuwamon tripping on a rock.

"Ouch… Talk about a domino effect." Takuya grimaced.

"I'd hate to be caught up in that." Zoe agreed.

Lopmon, Biyomon, and Patamon were looking at all the Kokuwamon and sweatdropped.

"How… Can we tell which one is our Kokuwamon?" Biyomon asked. "I hate to sound… uh… specest? But… they all look the same."

"Yeah… we don't even know if the Kokuwamon we know is even here in the first place," Patamon worriedly agreed.

"It might be in our best interest to explore the factory. If the Kokuwamon we know is here, then he'll recognize us right away," Lopmon suggested.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to take another detour? Don't we need to get to the Forest Terminal?" Takuya asked.

"Yeah, but… there's a lot of Digimon here, right?" Lopmon said before smiling. "You guys have been living off of berries and granola bars lately. There's bound to be food here. When was the last time we all had a proper meal?"

As if on cue, all of their stomachs growled in sync, causing a collective sweatdrop to come from the group.

"I'll… take that as it's been a while…" Patamon grumbled, feeling his cheeks burning with his blush beneath his fur.

Lopmon rolled his eyes. His words were meant to tempt Takuya and the others into exploring the factory, not cause everyone to get hungry.

"I'd like to see what's at this factory too," Tommy said. I want to know why I feel like I know this place.

Takuya then smiled. "Then let's have us a feast!"

"Hey… hold up!" JP spoke up. "We don't know what's going to be in there. What if we get attacked by a hostile Digimon again or something?"

"Hey, don't worry JP." Takuya said. "If there is a hostile Digimon here, Tommy, Zoe, and I can Spirit Evolve to handle it. Besides, we also have Lopmon, Patamon, and Biyomon with us for backup as well."

JP frowned, that didn't seem to make him feel that much better. "Well, it might be better if I stay out here then. Get me some order to go with extra everything."

"What? Hey, I'm not the Pizzamon!" Takuya huffed. "It's every stomach for itself!"

With that, Takuya turned and ran to get some food, the rest of the group following behind him, also eager to feast. Though Lopmon, Biyomon, and Patamon were more excited about finding their long lost friend. However, as they ran through the door, they heard an alarm going off.

"We triggered an alarm!" Biyomon shouted.

Takuya and the others stopped as something swung in front of them, and shouted in a high pitched voice.

"WARNING! WARNING! A warning from Minomon!" A little bagworm-like Digimon shouted as a string on its head kept it hanging in front of them. The string seemed to be attached to the building.

The group stared at the self-proclaimed Minomon, not sure what to make of this tiny Digimon. "Didn't you hear me? I said 'Warning! Warning!'"

"Minomon…" Patamon stated as he was looking at the book, even he didn't know every single Digimon. "It's a larvae Digimon. In-Training level, so even lower than Biyomon, Lopmon, and I."

"Hey, don't make us sound like we're weaklings!" Biyomon huffed at Patamon.

Patamon paled a bit below his fur. "I-I didn't mean it like that! I was just explaining things to the humans!"

"Well…we aren't exactly shining examples of strength and power…" Lopmon muttered.

"Warning! Intruders aren't allowed in the Wind Factory!" The Minomon shouted.

"Why are we being yelled at by a bagworm?" JP grumbled.

"We're not bagworms!" The Minomon exclaimed. "We will commence our fierce attack if you do not leave!"

"I'd hate to see this 'fierce attack'..." Biyomon muttered to Patamon and Lopmon.

Two more Minomon appeared next to the one shouting at them. "You have been warned, now leave stat! What we're trying to say is GEEEEEET OUUUUUUT!"

"Jeez, you are loud," Lopmon hissed, trying to cover his ears.

"Look, we aren't here to intrude!" Patamon spoke up. "We are here for…"

Patamon looked back at the group. "Uh… a tour. Yeah, we're here for a tour!"

The Minomon gathered together to talk for a moment in secrecy

"Are you sure that's going to work?" JP frowned at Patamon.

"Hey, I would've suggested it if he didn't," Zoe said. "After all, the Minomon were only yelling before they thought we were intruders."

"Yeah, cause walking in the front door totally means we're trying to sneak into the place like some petty thieves…" Tommy muttered sarcastically.

After a moment, the Minomon turned back to face the group. "Well, c'mon in then!"

"It actually worked…" JP stared, mouth agape.

"Good, maybe now we'll see if our friend is here," Lopmon said.

"I hope so." Biyomon said in agreement. "I'm worried about him."

"We'll see if we can find him while we're on the tour." Patamon said as the group was slowly being led into the factory.

The Minomon lead the group through the factory. The children felt like they were on a school field trip, they were pretty excited about this. It was also nice to get a break from walking in the Digital World and fighting other Digimon, while feeling a little more normal.

They came up to a glass window that showed Digimon working in another room. They saw more Kokuwamon, and some goblin-like Digimon putting some machine parts together.

"What kind of Digimon are those?" Zoe asked.

"They're called Goburimon," Minomon answered. "They supervise and sometimes help the Kokuwamon move some parts around. The Kokuwamon are the main workers of this factory. Their way of handling parts, and their electricity are a great help to make this factory thrive."

"Wow, I didn't think this place was so cool!" Tommy grinned. "It's like watching someone putting a puzzle together or something!"

"Yeah, and those Goburimon seem interesting as well." Takuya mused. "They're really close to the Kokuwamon."

While the kids were having fun, Lopmon, Biyomon, and Patamon frowned as they looked at the Goburimon supposedly helping the Kokuwamon. Biyomon's keen eye noticed one of the Goburimon grinning with a malicious intent as he put his club on his hand, like he was ready to hit someone. The Kokuwamon didn't have much of an expression as they just moved along like robots.

"Is this how… Kokuwamon work? Do they like it here?" Biyomon asked.

"But of course! The Kokuwamon live in a close community, and they get all the food they can eat here," Minomon replied cheerfully.

JP looked like he was sweating a little. "H-hey, um… do you have a bathroom? I really need to use it."

"Just down the hall and to the left." A Minomon replied. "It's easy to find!"

"Thanks!" JP yelled as he started rushing down the hall.

"W-wait! Is it safe for him to go off on his own?" Patamon asked.

"Well I'm not going with him," Zoe grumbled.

"I'll go with him," Lopmon spoke up before he ran after JP. "We'll meet up with you guys later!"

"Just don't get yourself into trouble again!" Patamon called after Lopmon.

JP found the bathroom, and quickly opened the door to go in. Lopmon caught up, but he wasn't going into the bathroom unless he had to.

Lopmon heard what sounded like screaming and thunder. A flash of light came from down the hall. Lopmon gasped as he looked at the dark hallway. "What… was that?"

Curious, Lopmon made his way down the hallway. He could hear the screams getting slightly louder the further down he went. Lopmon carefully moved closer, hoping he wasn't about to make a big mistake.

There was a rough voice shouting, and another flash of light and screaming. Lopmon saw, for a brief moment, more Kokuwamon, behind bars. They were gathered on a wall while Goburimon were shouting at them, making them release electricity from their head antennae.

Are those Goburimon… torturing them!? Lopmon frowned.

There was the sound of a toilet flushing before JP came out of the bathroom.

"Ah, that's better…" JP sighed with relief as he emerged from the bathroom, having just finished washing his hands.

JP took notice of Lopmon. "Hmm? What are you doing here?"

"I came to make sure you're alright. It's dangerous to go alone," Lopmon pointed out. "But-"

JP heard a loud sound, and light flashing down the hallway. "What was that?"

JP heard someone shouting. "Is that the best you can do!? Hurry up!"

There was the sound of something hard hitting the wall, and some screams before the bright flash of light lit up the hallway again.

JP almost yelled, but Lopmon quickly jumped onto JP's shoulder and shut his mouth with his ears. "Shhhhh! Don't let them hear you…"

JP nodded, not wanting to make the unknown attackers aware someone was on to them. He was feeling shaky, mostly because the voices that sounded scared were probably being scared for a reason, and he didn't want to know what those reasons were.

When Lopmon was sure JP wouldn't scream, he released JP's mouth before hopping off of the oldest kid's shoulder.

"What was that?" JP asked quietly.

"From what I could tell from the shadows, it looked like some of the workers, maybe the Goburimon, might be abusing the Kokuwamon to make them use their electricity," Lopmon deduced. "Probably to help power stuff for the factory."

JP shivered. "Seriously? That sounds messed up." He replied quietly. "It also sounds… wrong…" He then paused as a thought crossed his mind. "But… are you sure it's the Goburimon doing that to the Kokuwamon? I mean… wouldn't it be better to investigate it?"

Lopmon gave what JP said some thought. JP's right, it would be better to get proof that the Goburimon are doing what I think they are instead of assuming. And what if… he's here too? I need to know if this is why our friend never came back after he went to scout ahead before the children arrived in the Digital World.

"Alright… I doubt the Minomon will notice if a little Digimon like me went 'missing' from the group. I'm also dark colored, so I can blend in with the shadows easily," Lopmon stated. "You go back to the others. The Minomon will definitely wonder why you haven't returned if you stay gone for too long. Don't tell anyone else about this until you're out of the building, alright? We don't want to raise alarms here."

JP knew Lopmon raised a good point, so he nodded. "Okay. Just be careful. I'll be sure to tell the others after we leave."

"Until then, be careful yourselves," Lopmon said. "I'll be seeing you later."

"Okay, but… are you sure you'll be alright? You may be a Digimon, but you're still pretty… uh… small," JP hesitantly said.

"I may not be strong in battle, but I'm quick to think on my feet," Lopmon reassured. "I'll be alright. If I'm not out by nightfall… then go on without me."

JP wasn't sure how to react to that.

"You're stronger than you think, JP," Lopmon quietly said. "Even if you don't believe it yourself, the others do care about you. Maybe one day you can help them when they need it…"

With those words said, Lopmon walked away into the dark hallway without waiting for a response from JP.

JP sighed before turning and heading back to the others. He sincerely hoped Lopmon would be alright, and that what he said to JP was true.

JP then groaned. "Can't believe I'm listening to a chocolate bunny!"

"Yo! JP! What's the hold up!?" JP heard Takuya's voice calling to him.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" JP called back, running off to catch up with the others.

---

The rest of the tour went off just fine. The Minomon were showing off how the wind factory was making something 'high tech' and 'cutting edge', which just turned out to be a bunch of fans after all.

"Hey, JP, where's Lopmon? Wasn't he supposed to be with you?" Patamon asked after a while.

"Oh… He… will find his way back." JP replied. He realized Lopmon hadn't told him what to tell the others about where Lopmon had gotten to. Crud… I'll have to think of something from my bag of tricks…

"I can't believe the fans are what this factory considers 'high tech'," Zoe muttered as she was looking at the conveyor belts that were moving an endless supply of gray fans. "Especially when they're all the same boring color."

"Hey, it beats using a folded piece of paper!" A Minomon stated as he swung around the group on his string.

"I doubt it'd be a Digimon's ability to make wind though…" Biyomon muttered.

"That may be, but to do it constantly?" Minomon challenged.

Biyomon paused at the comment. "... Touche."

Patamon wasn't paying attention to that conversation, he still had his eyes on JP. "What do you mean he will 'find his way back'? Did he go somewhere?"

JP's stomach growled and blushed before an idea came to his mind. "Yeah! He went to find a cafeteria and some food." JP replied. Wow, I was saved by my stomach… Who'd have thought?

Patamon frowned. That's not like Lopmon to ditch just to find food on his own… Something must be up. Maybe it's too dangerous to ask about it here, especially if it has to do with the factory itself.

While Patamon had frowned at JP's excuse, the little orange Digimon didn't press the issue, much to JP's relief.

"Now, that concludes the tour!" Minomon spoke up. "Before you leave with our parting gifts, are there any questions?"

"Yeah!" The others, save for JP and Patamon, exclaimed. "Where's the cafeteria?"

Aw crud… I hope Lopmon is really at the cafeteria… JP thought nervously.

---

The Minomon led the group into the cafeteria. There were a lot of Kokuwamon there, though none of them seemed to recognize or acknowledge Patamon or Biyomon. There were tables and chairs in the cafeteria. Tommy was looking around the cafeteria, having a strange sense of deja vu, though he couldn't understand why. This looked nothing like his school's cafeteria, and nobody else seemed to be having a similar feeling to him.

The group sat down at some seats while a Gorbuimon pushed a cart towards them. There were covered platters on the cart. The group was pretty hungry, so they were anticipating something good.

"Bon appetit~" Goburimon grinned as he set the platters down, and opened the lid.

The 'food', if one could call it that, was revealed on the plates. There were… assorted batteries on the plates.

Takuya and the others deadpanned.

"Batteries?" Tommy wondered. "Is that what's on the menu for… lunch?"

"Enjoy~ The Kokuwamon can't get enough of them!" A Minomon said, sliding down its string in front of the group.

The others looked over at the Kokuwamon. They had some plugs into the sides of the batteries to absorb the electricity.

"Om nom nom… delicious!" The Kokuwamon said.

"Can… can you two eat batteries like that?" Zoe asked Patamon and Biyomon.

"Can we…?" Patamon asked Biyomon.

"Heck no! And even if we could, I'm not risking it, I'm no robot or mechanical Digimon," Biyomon huffed.

"These are pretty cool batteries, not gonna lie," JP noted as he looked at some of the batteries. "Some of these could keep a game console or a flashlight going for days."

"But they're batteries! We didn't come here to look for batteries, we came for food!" Takuya huffed, irritable that their promised meal turned out to be inedible, at least to them.

Tommy was poking at some of the batteries, disappointed from the lack of food himself, but his mind was elsewhere. I'm sure I've been here before… There were… other kids, like us… right? Or… am I going crazy?

A flash of an older, taller boy with orange hair in armor appeared in Tommy's mind. Wah!? Who… who was that boy? Why… did I suddenly picture an older kid in armor?

JP noticed Tommy seemed confused. "Hey, you okay, Tommy?"

"Huh?" Tommy blinked, looking up at JP. "Oh… I'm fine. I was just… probably hallucinating from hunger." Right? That has to be the only explanation. I don't know anyone who wears armor. He didn't look like he was Japanese either, and I've never been outside of Japan before, nor do I remember seeing any tourists like that. And yet… why did seeing him in my head make me feel… uneasy?

"Hey, don't worry about it." JP said reassuringly. "We'll find some real food somewhere."

"These are lovely batteries, Minomon, but don't you have something else?" Zoe requested.

"Yeah, you know, something we can actually eat?" Takuya added.

"Don't you have anything other than batteries, you know, for special guests?" Tommy asked slyly. "Like sugary treats?"

"How about Alkaline pie?" Minomon offered.

"Like… Alkaline batteries?" Biyomon muttered, feeling her left eye twitching.

"But of course, those are delicious!" Minomon smiled.

"You guys… are bug Digimon and not mechanical yourselves, right?" Patamon hesitantly asked. Then again, I think I remember reading somewhere some insects do actually eat electricity…

"We can't eat this stuff…" Takuya groaned. "It will kill us!"

"Shh! Don't be rude, Takuya!" Zoe hissed.

"What? It's true." Takuya protested. "I mean… I… Uh… Oh…" Takuya trailed off, realizing he may have upset the Minomon. "Um… I mean… We… can't eat electricity?"

"Oh, I'm very sorry about that. We've never had human tourists before," Minomon apologized.

"Maybe we should go, we might get lucky and find a food market or something," JP suggested, though he mostly wanted to get out to talk to them.

"Yeah, I think that would be best." Zoe agreed. "It was a wonderful tour and all, but we need to go."

Tommy looked around the tables, seeing Kokuwamon enjoying their meals of batteries.

"I do have one question," Tommy spoke up. "You said you've never had human tourists before? But… has any human at all before us come here before?"

"No, you guys are the first ones." Minomon replied. "We didn't think humans would come here at all, to be honest."

Then why do I feel like I've been here before with other humans? Tommy wondered. Maybe the hunger really is getting to me.

"Come on, Tommy, we should go," JP said.

---

Meanwhile, Lopmon was looking around the dark hallway. It took a few minutes, but his eyes finally adjusted to the dark. He saw jail cells in the hallway, and there were Kokuwamon in those cells. They looked tired and miserable, at least Lopmon believed they were, their faces weren't capable of showing a lot of expressions. But their bodies were laying or sitting down, and most of them didn't look like they wanted to move. Even without facial expressions, it was easy to tell they were not happy.

"Hey… psst! You over there!"

There was a faint voice that was whispering, but also trying to get his attention. With Lopmon's big ears, he was able to hear them. Lopmon turned to see where the whispering was coming from.

"Over here!" What looked like a crane pincer of some kind was waving out to Lopmon from a cell a little further down the hallway.

It was likely from a Kokuwamon. Of course, since every single cell seemed to be holding a group of Kokuwamon. But Lopmon was surprised one Kokuwamon didn't seem to be half dead.

Lopmon hurriedly approached the cell he saw the Kokuwamon's hand waving from.

"Hello?" Lopmon whispered when he reached the bars of the cell. "Who was whispering to me?"

"It's me!" The Kokuwamon said. "It's me, T-" Instead of the name he intended to say coming out, a small burp emitted from this Kokuwamon, along with a small electrical energy ball.

Lopmon blinked when he saw that, and recognition hit him. "You… it's you! Kokuwamon! How… why are you in this cell?"

"Blame those Goburimon." Kokuwamon grumbled. "They were the ones who caught me as I was scouting the area. I've been here ever since, but admittedly, it wasn't that long since I was able to avoid the Goburimon for a while."

"How did the Goburimon catch you?" Lopmon asked.

"Well, the Goburimon didn't catch me themselves exactly… I was taken down from the sky by a really big bug Digimon," Kokuwamon explained. "Apparently he thought I was trying to escape, despite never being here before. I guess with so many Kokuwamon here, it was easy to mistake me for one of their captive workers. I'm sorry if I worried you guys, but I couldn't find a way to escape. And the Goburimon didn't make it easy for me to save my strength."

"What are those Goburimon trying to do with the Kokuwamon?" Lopmon asked. "And are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but what the Goburimon are doing here is basically enslaving the Kokuwamon." Kokuwamon replied. "And I'm apparently supposed to be a slave too… How humiliating… But it's not just for slavery, the Goburimon are also using the Kokuwamon for their electricity."

"I knew it…" Lopmon frowned.

"I was put in here because I was starting to stir up some trouble," Kokuwamon explained. "I was the only one who was always putting up a fight, or was being stubborn about working. They think I would do better as an electricity provider since I can't really control that when I get startled very well yet. The other Kokuwamon usually stay in some crappy houses though when not put in a cell like this."

Lopmon frowned again. "Tell me more… I think if we have more information about this factory, we might be able to get you and the other Kokuwamon out."

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy. I don't have my usual devices to help me map out the place or hack into the security system," Kokuwamon sighed. "But I'll try my best to tell you what I know."

---

Meanwhile, the group of kids were walking out of the factory's doors. To say they were annoyed from a lack of a meal was putting it lightly. Though JP was more worried about Lopmon and what to do about the situation than food right now, which was rare for him. Tommy was still trying to figure out this strange familiar feeling, and that older kid in the suit of armor he saw in his head.

"Ugh… I can't believe we didn't get any real food!" Takuya groaned out, breaking the silence. "What a waste! Stupid batteries!" He exclaimed, kicking a random battery that had been left on the ground outside.

"I'm more worried about Lopmon." JP admitted. "He hasn't come back."

"Speaking of, where did Lopmon go?" Patamon asked as he eyed JP. "You said he went to look for the cafeteria, and yet he wasn't there."

"Maybe he got lost?" JP offered up nervously.

"Uh huh…" Patamon didn't look like he believed JP. "JP, what's going on? What happened to Lopmon? And what are you hiding?"

"Y-you think I'm hiding something?" JP nervously asked.

"You're making it pretty obvious," Biyomon pointed out. "And we know Lopmon. He doesn't get lost easily. Something had to happen."

JP took a deep breath and let it out. They were outside of the factory now, so maybe it was safe to tell them now. Lopmon only said to not tell them while they were in the building.

"Okay, Lopmon went off to do some investigating." JP admitted at last. "He was waiting for me outside of the bathroom, hearing some… strange noises and screams. It sounded like someone was tormenting someone else. Lopmon thought it was the Goburimon tormenting some Kokuwamon, and went to check it out."

"The Goburimon may be tormenting the Kokuwamon?" Zoe frowned. "Are you sure? It looked like they were getting along."

"I suggested to Lopmon to investigate to be sure." JP admitted. "If he hasn't come back yet, it seems it may either be true, or he didn't get out in time…"

"I better go find him," Patamon said.

"Wait, you can't go in there alone," Takuya quickly said. "What if you get caught too?"

"I can't leave Lopmon behind," Patamon replied.

"I'm willing to go back for him too," Tommy spoke up. "Lopmon's helped me through some things I've been going through too. And we shouldn't leave any of our friends behind."

"I agree with you, but…" Biyomon spoke up. "Look at where Takuya kicked that battery."

Biyomon pointed at some fences, and behind those fences were what looked like clay houses.

"I don't think any of us saw those houses when we came in earlier," Biyomon stated.

"Maybe we just didn't see them because of the angle of view we had when we first came in." Zoe noted.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, it's almost impossible to see those from the direction we came in." Takuya agreed.

"Why are you pointing it out now, Biyomon?" Zoe asked.

"I see Goburimon watching the place. And if what JP said is true, then it's possible that's where they're keeping the Kokuwamon," Biyomon replied. "Maybe we should check it out to be sure."

"What about Lopmon?" Patamon asked.

"I'm sure he's fine, you know that he can take care of himself. He's not going to leave until he finishes his investigation, knowing him," Biyomon said. "We should help with that investigation, shouldn't we?"

"I guess… but what about…" Patamon began to ask as he looked at Takuya and the other children.

"Here's the exit!" A Minomon spoke up, catching the group's attention.

They saw Lopmon coming out of the building.

"Thank you, sorry if I caused any inconvenience because I got lost and separated from the group," Lopmon sheepishly apologized to the Minomon.

"No, no. You didn't cause any inconvenience at all." The Minomon replied. "I'm just glad I could escort you out safely. Don't want to have one of our tourists get caught in the machinery, now do we?"

"That would be pretty bad. But thanks again, I'll go to my friends now," Lopmon said, waving to the Minomon before he hurried to the group.

"Lopmon! I'm glad you're okay!" Patamon said as he ran over to Lopmon.

"Of course I'm okay, you don't have to worry every time you don't see me, Patamon," Lopmon grumbled.

"Oh, yes I do!" Patamon scolded. "You always get into trouble!"

"Are you sure that's not you you're talking about?" Lopmon pointed out. "Nevermind that, I need to tell you guys something."

"I'm glad you're okay, Lopmon. I was pretty worried about you too," JP said in relief.

"At least we know you're okay," Tommy said.

"Yeah, I'm okay, but listen," Lopmon spoke up. "The Kokuwamon aren't okay. We… we should probably talk about this elsewhere."

"We were thinking about going to those houses over there before you showed up," Biyomon stated, pointing at the fence with the clay houses.

"Ah… that might be a good place then. Kokuwamon told me that's where most of the Kokuwamon are being kept," Lopmon said.

"Kokuwamon told you?" Takuya blinked.

"Yeah, there are more Kokuwamon being kept in cells," Lopmon explained. "And one of them told me where the others are being kept. I needed to see for myself though."

"Was this Kokuwamon who I'm hoping it is?" Patamon asked. "We haven't seen him since he went to scout the area ahead of us."

"Yes, it was," Lopmon confirmed. "That was why he couldn't come back. He was being held prisoner here."

"So that's it then." Biyomon frowned. "How is he?"

"He's alright. He might be a bit drained of energy, but he didn't seem any worse for wear," Lopmon assured.

"So your friend really is here then?" Takuya asked.

"That's right. He's the one who told me that the Goburimon and the owner of this factory are using the Kokuwamon…" Lopmon stopped. "Let's get to the clay houses before I say anymore."

The group nodded and began to head to the clay houses. As they got closer though, the group could see a wire fence around the clay houses, almost like some kind of prison. It gave each of them chills down their spines.

"Either the wire fence is to keep intruders out, or to keep the Kokuwamon in." Patamon noted with concern on his face.

"Well, whatever the reason, it feels like a prison of sorts." Takuya shivered.

"Uh… will the Goburimon even let us in?" Tommy asked.

"Maybe we can sneak our way in?" JP asked.

"We could try the direct approach and just ask them," Zoe pointed out. "I doubt they would want to stop us, because then that'll make us suspicious."

"Yeah, but I don't know…" Biyomon admitted. "They don't look like they would just let us in if we asked nicely."

"Well, what else could we do?" Zoe asked. "We have to at least try it."

"Then we'll leave it to you, you seem to be better at doing this stuff than the rest of us," Takuya chuckled sheepishly.

The group made their way to the clay houses, but were stopped by the Goburimon who were in front of the wire fence. "Halt. Who approaches the barracks?"

"Hey. we just came from the factory tour, and we were wondering if we could see this place for ourselves." Zoe said nicely. "It wasn't on the tour, and we think we missed this place or something."

"You tourists shouldn't be here. This is the barracks, this is where the workers go to rest and sleep," The Goburimon stated.

"Hey, we're special guests here, after all, how many humans do you see come to this place?" Zoe asked.

Tommy looked down, wondering if this would even work, when he noticed something bulging in JP's pocket. "What do you have in your pocket, JP? More chocolate?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I just took some of the rarer and bigger batteries," JP answered. "I figured if they were giving them to us to… well, eat, they were free for the taking."

Tommy blinked before he got an idea. "Remember how you bribed that Trailmon, and that Pagumon with chocolate before?"

"Yeah, and it didn't end so well," JP shuddered.

"This might work better since you're not giving them a new chocolate addiction," Tommy chuckled slightly. "Why not bribe the Goburimon with 'food'? I think they eat batteries too if they're working in the factory and that's all they serve to eat here."

JP looked at the battery in his hand. "I don't know if it will work, but it's not like we have anything else that would distract these guys."

He then walked up beside Zoe, and held out the battery to the Goburimon. "Hey, do you want some delicious batteries? If you let us in, you can have all the batteries I have with me."

Zoe and Takuya blinked as they looked at JP, but they decided to let him do this thing. Patamon, Lopmon, and Biyomon looked surprised, but they also stayed quiet.

"You have the chef's special!? They rarely let us eat that!" Goburimon said, drooling.

"Hey! Be serious, you moron!" The other Goburimon grumbled, bonking the drooling Goburimon in the head with his club.

"Hey, c'mon! The chef's special is the good stuff!" The first Goburimon whined. "I love the chef's special!"

"That's for the Kokuwamon, and you know it!" The other Goburimon huffed.

"No, it isn't, I took it to-go, but you can have it if you'll just let us see what the tour doesn't show. We promise we won't say anything." JP winked.

The two Goburimon gave it some thought.

"We haven't had our lunch break yet… so a snack would be good, and we get to eat something before all those greedy Kokuwamon eat all of the good stuff," The second Goburimon considered.

"You might never get this chance again~" Tommy added.

"We'll take it. Just remember to not say anything." The first Goburimon said.

JP grinned as he forked over all the batteries he had in his pockets. "There you guys go~ It's all on the house!"

The Goburimon quickly took the batteries and began crunching them like candies.

"Oh gosh, they're not just sapping electricity from the batteries, they're downright eating the whole thing…" Takuya gulped.

"Are you going to come or gawk at some cavemen eating batteries?" Zoe asked as she and the others were already going through the gate.

Takuya shook his head and followed the group. "I'm coming!" He called, chasing after the group.

The group managed to get in through the front gate of the wire-fence compound. It was so strange, being in amongst the clay houses and surrounded by wire fencing.

There were many Kokuwamon in the barracks, all either sitting in the sun, or trying to stay in the little shade offered by the clay houses.

"There are a lot of Kokuwamon here…" JP noted.

"Hello, Kokuwamon," Patamon spoke up. "We would like to talk to you."

The Kokuwamon was looking at the group curiously. They gathered up as one Kokuwamon stepped forward to look at them.

"Who are you?" The Kokuwamon asked.

"We're some friends." Takuya said with a smile. "We just want to know what's going on here. Seeing you out here is kinda odd to us, and we want to know why you guys are in these clay houses. They don't look very comfortable to be in."

Some small Digimon hopped closer to them, looking at them curiously.

"Ooh, you look funny!" The little Digimon bounced.

"What are those? They don't look like Kokuwamon," Zoe asked curiously.

"They're Kapurimon, they're the In-Training level Digimon of Kokuwamon, or at least they commonly are," Patamon explained.

"Wow, they have tails!" Zoe squealed. "They're so cute!"

"Uh… Yeah…" Takuya muttered as the boys all sweatdropped at Zoe's reaction to the cute Digimon.

"We need to stay focused, Zoe." Biyomon said gently, but firmly. "You can squeal over the cuteness of Kapurimon later."

JP snickered. "Seems like someone likes cute baby Digimon~"

"Well of course!" Zoe squeed

Biyomon looked at Zoe. "I'm usually the same way with animals- erm, animal type Digimon myself. I get where she's coming from."

"Zoe, we need to focus here." Takuya said. "We have to figure out what to do and what the heck is going on here."

"How about we discuss this inside?" Lopmon suggested, looking around, seeing Minomon and Goburimon moving around. "You never know who could be listening."

"If you want to know what's been going on, we will be happy to tell you," The front Kokuwamon said.

The Kokuwamon lead the group into one of the bigger clay houses. It looked pretty old inside, and there was no air conditioning either. The group had to either sit on the floor or on some wooden seats.

"Here…" The Kokuwamon held out what looked like wooden bowls with pieces of meat, carrots, and radishes. "It may not be much, or tasty, but we were able to find some food the Goburimon drop when they sneak their snacks into work."

"Hey, anything's better than batteries for lunch!" Takuya grinned as he saw the food. "My stomach's been aching for something to eat!"

"Thank you for this, really, our group has been pretty hungry," Lopmon said gratefully as the group took their bowls and began chowing down on food.

"I'll never complain about eating vegetables again!" Tommy said as he munched on the carrots.

"But why would you need to take food? Don't you get plenty to eat at the factory?" JP asked curiously as he was eating some of the meat in the bowl.

"We didn't originally intend to take food, but a new Kokuwamon who was captured a couple of weeks ago, kept insisting they rather eat 'real food' than the energy charging batteries they serve us here," Kokuwamon answered. "So while we don't really need to eat this food, the new Kokuwamon would starve himself if he didn't get this kind of food."

Patamon grumbled. "That definitely sounds like him." He muttered.

Biyomon blinked before concern crossed her face. "I normally don't like it when he eats meat, but to starve himself for lack of it? That's concerning."

"I mean you're a bird Digimon. If you only had access to a worm as a meal, would you do it or would you rather starve?" Lopmon asked as he looked at Biyomon. "It's not unheard of for a person to starve themselves rather than eat something they consider nasty."

Biyomon shuddered. "If I have to force feed that idiot meat myself to get him to eat, I will never live it down. But I'd rather do that than have him starve himself."

"Wait… your friend is a Kokuwamon too, right? Why wouldn't he want to eat the batteries then?" Tommy asked.

"He's… a bit different from other Kokuwamon," Patamon sheepishly said. "Let's just say he's never eaten batteries before. Even if he didn't mind eating that, he probably wouldn't know how to."

"Well… that's certainly different." Zoe said, unsure of what to make of this. "A Kokuwamon that doesn't like batteries? That's going to be a hard revelation to beat."

"A-Anyway, back on topic, what is going on here?" Takuya asked, deciding to change the subject back to the original topic at hand. It was getting awkward talking about the strange Kokuwamon's diet.

"And why are you guys here at this factory, staying in these clay houses behind barbed wire?" Zoe added. "It doesn't look very… well… inviting…"

"No kidding, this place looks more like prison," JP added.

"Well… you see, we once lived in the electric forest for generations," Kokuwamon explained. "We would feast on the electric trees, and play all day with each other. It was a peaceful time. But then suddenly, a large insectoid Digimon called Snimon invaded our home. It chopped up our trees, and had the Goburimon capture us in electric proof nets. Apparently, the wind factory hadn't been doing so well lately. The generator had run out of power, so Snimon had us rounded up and took us here to put us to work."

"That sounds horrible." Tommy frowned. "They kidnapped you and made you into slaves…"

"So Lopmon was right…" JP grumbled as he clenched his fists. "This kind of thing is just wrong!"

"You're telling me." Takuya agreed with a growl. "It's not fair they just kidnapped the Kokuwamon without any warning."

"Everything seemed so normal when we were touring the factory earlier," Zoe noted as she had a Kapurimon on her lap.

"Of course, they would never let guests see what's really going on in the factory," Biyomon pointed out. "It's the oldest tactic in the book when it comes to tourism. You only see what they want you to see."

"I'm afraid Biyomon is correct. We Kokuwamon are a timid breed in nature, but when we're frightened, we let out electricity of up to a million volts. So the Goburimon try to scare us constantly in order to harness our electricity. They would sometimes pour water on us so we'd short circuit, or hang us upside down so the charge would rush through our heads, then use the electricity for the factory,," Kokuwamon explained. "When their scare tactics start to wear off, they resort to new tactics to make sure we'll always produce electricity. They switch us out so we don't get too used to it."

"So that's what we witnessed before…" JP realized.

"I had a feeling…" Lopmon frowned. "My friend told me about this, they're keeping him locked up because the Goburimon are worried he'll cause a rebellion because of how difficult it is to scare him."

"But he is just one Kokuwamon, and he wasn't from where we lived," Kokuwamon explained.

"This place is horrible. We get hard work, no pay, and no vacation," Another Kokuwamon sighed. "When our young ones digivolve, they'll be forced to work too."

"Well… why don't you leave?" Tommy suggested.

"I agree, staying here isn't going to do you any favors, and sometimes it's best to just run away," JP said.

"Are you nuts?!" Takuya snapped back. "If the Kokuwamon just ran away, the Goburimon will just track them down and round them up all over again, and then the Kokuwamon would be back to square one!"

JP frowned at Takuya. "And what do you suggest then, wise guy? That the Kokuwamon should fight?"

"Guys, don't fight! Especially in front of the Kapurimon!" Zoe spoke up.

"Should we do something?" Biyomon asked.

"Nah, let them fight it out," Lopmon replied. "Sometimes that's the best way for people to resolve things."

"We're not really fighters…" The first Kokuwamon explained. "And running away is considered impossible because Goburimon security is just too tight."

"Well… it seems like those are your only two options." Takuya pointed out.

"I suppose… if we had to choose, we would choose the running option." The first Kokuwamon replied.

"Well, if you run now, you'll find you can never stop running, worrying about getting caught again for the whole time you are running." Takuya replied. "But if you fight back, then you can be free forever, and never have to worry about getting captured again."

Takuya took a breath before speaking again. "But you won't have to do it alone. We'll help you beat the Goburimon and their boss."

JP however, didn't like the decision. "Hey, who died and made you leader anyway? What if we don't want any part of this fight?"

"Well… fine then, what do you guys think?" Takuya asked, looking at Tommy, Zoe, Lopmon, Patamon, and Biyomon.

Zoe looked at the Kapurimon on her lap. The Kapurimon gave Zoe an innocent smile. Zoe picked up Kapurimon and nodded. "I'm totally in. I want to help free the Kapurimon and the Kokuwamon."

"I'm also in. These guys don't deserve a life of slavery, I know what it's-" Tommy said before stopping. Wait… what was I going to say? 'I know what it's like'? No I don't. I've never been anyone's slave… right? "Um… I know what it's like to be bullied."

"You already know we're in. Our friend was taken captive, so we want to save him too," Patamon said with determination.

"We're not leaving him here," Biyomon agreed.

"But we are making a plan before we go charging in there," Lopmon sternly stated.

Takuya sweatdropped at Lopmon's insistence. "Okay, okay! We'll make a plan. Geez… I'm not that stupid…"

"Says the boy who charged at Cerberumon without a plan." Patamon retorted.

"How many times are you going to bring that up?" Takuya huffed.

The other Kokuwamon seemed to be inspired by the group's determination to fight.

"If you think we'll be able to fight back, then we'll do it!" Kokuwamon cheered.

"This may be the most important moment in our lives!" Another Kokuwamon said.

The Kapurimon all jumped around excitedly. JP himself was the only one who wasn't into this. He was quickly reminded that he was the only one in the group who wasn't a Digimon, nor did he have the power or abilities of a Digimon. He was just… human.

Lopmon's ears twitched as he heard a high pitch voice near an open window. "I knew it, anyone who turned down Alkaline Pie is trouble! Snimon's not going to like this."

Lopmon nodded as he watched the Minomon quickly leave the area. "Okay, phase 1 is complete. The Minomon will alert their big boss about this rebellion. So we better take that into account."

"By 'big boss', do you mean Snimon?" Biyomon asked.

"Assuming this Snimon is the one in charge, yeah," Lopmon confirmed.

Patamon took the book out from his belly warmer and quickly flipped through the pages. "Ah… Snimon. It's an insectoid Digimon. He flies around and mainly uses his Twin Sickle attack to slice through his enemies. Says he's a Champion level Digimon, so he's gonna be quite tough."

"Hold on, why was 'phase 1' letting the enemy know what we're going to do?" JP asked.

"We want to draw out Snimon. If we want to fight back, we gotta make sure we take down the big boss or he'll just come after the Kokuwamon himself when they're ill prepared," Lopmon explained.

"Ah, so that's why you needed the Minomon to know!" Tommy exclaimed with a bit of a grin. "You're very smart, Lopmon!"

"And if we take out Snimon, there's no need for the Kokuwamon to come back here." Takuya added with a grin of his own. "And if we can cause enough damage to the factory, it will be useless to anyone else who tries to pull something similar like Snimon is doing here."

"Exactly." Lopmon smiled. "I also have faith that you guys will be able to defeat Snimon. You've taken on Digimon stronger than him after all."

"You mean Cerberumon?" Takuya asked. "What level was she at?"

"She was Ultimate level, higher than Champion, though I like to think we weakened her by the time you got to her," Patamon remarked.

"And you've fought with other Champion level Digimon, like Wizardmon and Woodmon, and the latter had that strange power backing them up," Biyomon added.

"I see why you think we'll be able to take on Snimon," Tommy said.

"Alright," Takuya said before he turned to the Kokuwamon. "Does anyone have a map of the factory? It'll help us lay down a good plan for this attack."

"Yes, we do have a map." The first Kokuwamon replied. "We were given one when we were brought here, so we could know the layout of the complex and the actual factory itself."

"Great! Then that will be helpful." Takuya grinned as the first Kokuwamon brought out the map and placed it on the… 'table' that was inside the clay house.

"Okay, we're going to do this tonight." Takuya began to explain as everyone gathered around him to peer at the map.

"Zoe is going to cause a distraction right here, at the main gate, with Biyomon helping her out." Takuya explained as he pointed at the main gate itself. "They are going to try to get as many of the Goburimon as possible over to the gate."

Takuya looked over at Zoe and Biyomon, who were standing next to each other. "Do you think you two can handle it?"

"No problem," Zoe replied.

"It'll be easy," Biyomon added.

"Okay, with that settled, the rest of us will head into the factory and destroy what we can while looking for Snimon. If we can make our way to the assembly line and destroy it, we will take out the factory." Takuya continued. "But, if what Lopmon is saying is correct, Snimon will be aware we're up to something, so we can't drop our guard."

"We will want to try to head into the prison cells near the bathrooms," Lopmon said as he hopped up onto the table Takuya was using for the map. "Right over here… Once we get there, we can release the Kokuwamon that are imprisoned there. They can help us fight back, including our friend. But if Snimon does find us before we can get to the Kokuwamon, we'll have to split into teams, one team fend off Snimon while the other team release the trapped Kokuwamon. Once the team manages to release the Kokuwamon, they will rejoin the defense team to take out Snimon."

"And who will be on the defense team against Snimon?" Tommy asked as he peered at the map as well. "Because we have only two of us to help against Snimon if Zoe and Biyomon are providing the distraction."

"Agunimon has the power to match a Champion Digimon, so he'll be leading the defense team," Lopmon said. "Patamon will go with him since he seems to work well with Aguniomn, wind makes his fire stronger after all. Meanwhile, Tommy, you and I will go release the trapped Kokuwamon. While you may not have the raw strength of Agunimon, you still have more than enough power to break through the cells."

Tommy nodded. "You got it!" He said. "I won't let you down, Lopmon!"

"Then I guess I will handle the big boss." Takuya joked with a grin. "This should be interesting."

"You'll definitely be needing my help with that attitude." Patamon said as he shook his head.

"And finally… JP, you're in charge of evacuating the Kokuwamon who don't wish to fight and the Kapurimon," Lopmon stated.

"Really? He's not coming to help us?" Takuya asked.

"He could, but…" Lopmon turned to JP. "Does he want to?"

"Lopmon's right, you know," JP said as he looked at Takuya. "I have no business of helping you with the battle. You guys don't need me, you probably don't even want me. I'd just get in the way. I can't become a Digimon like you guys, nor do I have any abilities that a Digimon could do…"

"H-Hey! It's not that JP." Takuya exclaimed. "It's just we don't want you to get hurt. I mean… you may find your Spirit soon, and we don't want you to get hurt so badly you can't use it."

"Oh sure, that's the reason why." JP grumbled.

"What are you saying, JP?" Takuya huffed.

"I'm saying you guys are on your own. You don't need me to help you with this, as I said." JP replied. "I'm just the human sidekick here, the one who doesn't do much of anything."

"We understand what JP is going through," The Kokuwamon spoke up. "Before you came along, we wouldn't dream of fighting back. The only one of us who thought of doing that was the strange one who refused to eat batteries. You gave us hope, it's something we haven't had in a long time."

"You showed us how strong we can be if we just believe in ourselves," Another Kokuwamon said.

JP sighed as he walked over to a wall. "It's never that easy…"

One of the Kapurimon looked at JP, frowning in concern.

"Should we do something about JP?" Biyomon asked in concern. "This kind of attitude may repel the Spirit…"

"It won't help if we try to interfere, he has to learn this on his own," Lopmon replied.

Patamon nodded. "Give it time. JP will come around. The ones chosen by the Spirits always do. They just need to be given a bit of room to grow first."

"And once he does… the whole gang will finally have their Spirits," Lopmon said quietly.

"And a step closer to…" Biyomon hesitated.

"Let's not think about that. We still have time before we have to worry about that. Let's focus on the upcoming battle," Patamon said softly, hoping to comfort his two friends.

"What are you three talking about?" Zoe asked. "You seem pretty confident that JP will get his Spirit soon."

"We just believe in JP, even if he doesn't believe in himself." Lopmon smiled. "Just as we believe in all of you."

Takuya grinned. "That's what I like to hear!"

"Don't let it get to your head." Patamon warned. "It will only inflate your hot ego even more."

Takuya deflated at Patamon's next words. "Aw man… You really know how to ruin a good mood…"

"Patamon's had his share of letting his ego inflate, which caused him to crash and burn~" Biyomon teasingly grinned.

Patamon grumbled. "You really ruined my mood…"

Lopmon snickered as he put his hand over his mouth.

"So when are we putting this plan into action?" Tommy asked.

"When the sun goes down. We want it to be dark so it'll be hard for the Goburimon to see," Takuya answered.

"Wow, I'm impressed you were able to come up with such plans, Takuya, even if you had some assistance from Lopmon," Zoe complimented.

Takuya blushed as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I… would make battle plans for my toy soldiers…" He admitted. But something about this felt familiar too, like he had done something similar before. But why? Why does this feel familiar? I'm sure this is the first time I'm doing something like this…

"I think that's cool!" Tommy smiled.

"Of course you would think it's cool," Zoe chuckled, being reminded that Tommy was an 8 year old boy.

Meanwhile, JP decided to walk outside for some air. He saw the sun was starting to set already. The winds blew his hair and his clothes a little.

Am I really that weak though? Lopmon and Tommy both seemed to think I'll get a Spirit of my own, but… how can I just believe that? Would someone like me really be worthy of a Spirit? And even if I do get one, would I be able to use it? If I'm supposedly destined for a Spirit… how long will it be until I get one? After all… everyone else has one, but I… I'm still just me… JP thought sourly to himself as he pulled out his D-Tector and looked at it. A lot of good this thing does for me when it doesn't have a Spirit…

"Hey, mister!" A childish voice spoke up from below JP.

JP looked down, seeing a Kapurimon looking up at him with big, wide, yet innocent, eyes. "Can we really go back to the forest tomorrow?"

Despite his misgivings, and his self pity, JP realized that these Kokuwamon and Kapurimon had it much rougher than he did. At least he wasn't a slave to some big Digimon. He bent down to Kapurimon and put a hand on its metal helmet. "Don't worry, kid. We'll make sure you guys get home."

"Gee, thanks mister!" Kapurimon giggled. "I can't wait until we get back home!"

JP wasn't sure why the Kapurimon wanted to come to him of all people for reassurance, JP hadn't exactly shown that he was the most confident of the group. But he felt better reassuring the kid in his own way. I just hope this plan works… for the Kokuwamon and Kapurimon's sake.

---

As the sun went down, the 3 moons rose up into the night sky, everyone had gathered up. JP stood with the Kapurimon and the other Kokuwamon who chose not to fight. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but some of the Kokuwamon had to flee so they could take care of the Kapurimon in case things didn't go well.

"Alright, it's go time, everyone!" Takuya said as he took out his D-Tector from his pocket. "Time to put the plan into motion!"

Takuya looked at Zoe and Tommy. "Are you guys ready?"

"Ready!" Zoe and Tommy both said at the same time.

"Good luck with the Kapurimon and Kokuwamon, JP." Tommy smiled. "We'll see you later, okay?"

"Uh… yeah, sure, just don't get hurt out there," JP replied, seeing how Tommy still seemed to believe in him.

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!"

Zoe followed Takuya's lead. The magenta outline of her Spirit appeared visible on the screen of her D-Tector as she held it up. Fractal coding appeared on her left hand and she slammed the D-Tector against it as she brought the two together. Zoe then called out the familiar phrase she knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Her body became data as her clothes ripped away. Coding surrounded her in a cocoon of sorts and the power of her first Spirit flowed into her. Her hair became longer, flowing past her waist and turning a purple color. Her body grew in height, increasing her strength and speed. A bikini-like outfit appeared on her body as gloves, and high boots formed on her arms and legs, with shoulder guards appearing as well as a visor that covered her eyes. Butterfly-like wings appeared on her back and she landed, letting out a cry as she unleashed a kick before she came to a stop and said her name. "Kazemon!"

Tommy followed Zoe's lead. The light green digital form of his first Spirit appeared on the screen of his D-Tector and he formed the familiar ring of fractal coding around 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. He lost his hair and his body became white as snow. His fingers became like paws almost and he gained a more cub-like appearance to his body. Green chest armor formed on his body and his feet gained green and red boots. A headband that had the image of a bear on it formed on his head, and he gained a shoulder pad on each side, but one was red while the other was gray in color. He slid down and landed as a mushy pile before he reformed and grinned, calling out his name. "Kumamon!"

JP felt a twinge of jealousy when he saw Agunimon, Kazemon, and Kumamon in place of Takuya, Zoe, and Tommy, but he had to focus on his part of the plan for the moment.

"Alright, let's go!" Patamon called out.

Kazemon and Biyomon flew towards the main gate. Like with Patamon's wind and Agunimon's flames, Kazemon built up her own wind while Biyomon prepared a fire attack.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shot out green flames from her beak that swirled around like a twister.

Kazemon shot out some wind to make the Spiral Twister attack much stronger, causing it to explode on the gate.

Sirens began to sound, as flames danced in front of the gate. Minomon came down on their strings from the tops of their heads, all shouting the same thing. "WARNING! WARNING!"

Kazemon rushed forwards, having heard enough of that. "Go away, you mouthy pinecones!" She snapped.

"Don't make us blast you!" Biyomon warned.

The Minomon yelped as they quickly scattered away.

"Time to make some noise," Biyomon said.

"You bet~" Kazemon grinned. "Let's start with the sirens!"

Kazemon summoned winds to her fingertips. "Hurricane Wave!" She unleashed the attack on the blaring sirens, destroying them easily.

Biyomon decided to add her fiery twister to the winds. "Spiral Twister!" Tee green flames were added to the pink winds, causing the actual gate structure itself to get destroyed. Kazemon ran through, with Biyomon following her, just as an explosion erupted behind the two of them.

"I think that has caused enough noise to wake the Goburimon~" Kazemon giggled.

"Oh yeah," Biyomon agreed. "And now for some taunting. Come out, come out, wherever you are! You've angered us with your crappy food, we demand to see the manager!"

"Oh, good one~" Kazemon grinned.

The Goburimon all started running out with their clubs in hand.

"Wow, they make a good team," Kumamon whispered as he, Agunimon, Patamon, Lopmon, and the Kokuwamon group were hiding behind some boulders.

"Yup, and that's our cue to move," Agunimon said. "Quick, follow us!"

Agunimon, Kumamon, Patamon, and Lopmon started running into the factory with the Kokuwamon flying behind them.

While this was going on, JP was leading the rest of the Kokuwamon and Kapurimon up a hill, getting away from the battle zone. JP, however, couldn't help but look back. He didn't feel good about leaving the others, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to help them much.

Back with the battle, Kazemon and Biyomon were having an easier time with the Goburimon, mostly because they could fly. Kazemon kicked one Goburimon away before doing a handstand and spinning around, kicking two more in the face in quick succession.

Biyomon was flying above one Goburimon, pecking away at his head like a woodpecker. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Inside the building, the Kokuwamon piled onto a group of Goburimon.

"Power Surge!" The Kokuwamon paralyzed the Goburimon with their electric attack.

"You want our electricity? Then take it! Power Surge!" The Kokuwamon destroyed the factory's generators with their attacks.

"Where are the cells located at?" Agunimon asked.

"I know where they are," Lopmon said.

They heard a loud buzzing sound not too far away.

"What was that?" Patamon asked.

"That might be Snimon," Kumamon answered. "It definitely sounded like a big bug."

"We'd better hurry and find the cells then." Agunimon noted. "If Snimon is getting close, we've got to move before he gets us."

Agunimon then looked at Kumamon. "You and Lopmon know what to do. Head to the cells and free the other Kokuwamon. Patamon and I are going to take on Snimon."

"Be careful, Snimon may not be alone," Lopmon warned.

"Don't worry, we'll be careful. You guys be careful too, just in case there are more guards at the cell," Patamon warned as well.

Both groups then split up, heading in their respective directions. The Kokuwamon split up as well, the ones brave enough to face Snimon went with Agunimon and Patamon, while the other Kokuwamon followed Kumamon and Lopmon.

"Patamon, are you sure we can take on this Snimon?" Agunimon asked as they were running down the hallway.

"If this is just a battle with Snimon, then yes," Patamon answered. "If he's got more Goburimon, then it'll be a lot harder, but maybe still doable. The real threat is if Snimon gets powered up by the unknown enemy like Woodmon did."

Agunimon shivered at the reminder of Woodmon. "Yeah… That felt just… wrong… what happened with Woodmon. It was like I… froze up because of the wrongness I felt. I just hope that doesn't happen again, because I'm gonna be in big trouble if it does."

"Don't worry about it. Instead, prepare for it," Patamon said. I doubt those guys will come back so soon. It seemed like it took a lot out of them to use the data that they did to power up Woodmon. But still, it would be best to be ready just in case.

They kept following the buzzing sound until they reached the room where the factory was making the fans. They saw a large, green, insectoid monster with sickles on its arms.

"What is this!? I was told humans were in the factory! You are clearly not human!" The Digimon, presumingly Snimon, hissed at Agunimon.

"Yeah, well too bad for you, since I'm your opponent." Agunimon growled back, getting into a fighting stance. I can't just rush in. I need to be careful since I don't know how Snimon will fight. If that… strange thing… happens again, I can't freeze up.

There were Goburimon in the room as well. Patamon looked around, trying to analyze the situation. I don't see any strange data being sent into Snimon… or the Goburimon. Good… it looks like we've avoided the worst case scenario. Though having to fight off all these Gorbuimon and Snimon will be no easy task either.

"We'll help you fight," Kokuwamon said.

"The Goburimon outnumber us, let's hope Kumamon's group can join us as soon as possible," Patamon said.

---

"Over here!" Lopmon called over to Kumamon.

"Whoa, that's a lot of cells," Kumamon noted.

"Power Surge!" The Kokuwamon were keeping the Goburimon guards at bay.

"I'll help you get them out," Lopmon said. "We better hurry."

"Right." Kumamon nodded before he took a deep breath. "Crystal Breeze!"

"Blazing Ice!"

The two ice attacks froze the bars on the cells, making it easy for the Kokuwamon to break through.

"Thank you!" One Kokuwamon exclaimed, running up to Lopmon. "It's about time you got us out of there!"

"It's so nice to be free again!" Another Kokuwamon said in relief. "No more being scared witless!"

"Kokuwamon! I'm glad you're okay!" Lopmon smiled at the Kokuwamon that ran up to him.

"Hey, so uh… maybe you should just call me 'Ko' while we're here. To prevent confusion and all," Lopmon's friend suggested.

"Yeah, that might help," Lopmon agreed.

"Hey, so… you're Lopmon's friend, right?" Kumamon asked, seeing Ko and Lopmon interacting with each other.

"That's right!" Ko replied, looking up at Kumamon. "Ah, you must be one of the Legendary Warriors I've heard about."

"Yup, this is Kumamon, the Warrior of Ice. Agunimon, the Warrior of Fire, and Patamon are fighting the big boss right now, so we're going to meet up with them," Lopmon quickly explained.

"You can count me in. I've been wanting to get a good shot at that overgrown fly for bringing me here and trying to get me to eat batteries of all things!" Ko grumbled.

"Yeah… that was definitely gross…" Kumamon admitted. Wow, he really doesn't like the batteries.

"Let's go, if we hurry, we may be able to give your friends the backup they need." Ko said determinedly. "Besides, Snimon may have Goburimon with him."

"We want to fight too. We want to get our freedom back and not always be scared!" The other Kokuwamon spoke up.

"Alright, then let's go!" Kumamon spoke up.

Everyone ran down the hallway. Some of the Kokuwamon stayed behind to keep the Goburimon busy, and to keep them from joining Snimon.

It didn't take long for the group to find Agunimon and Patamon in the large room. Agunimon was throwing his Pyro Darts at Snimon. Snimon was blocking the Pyro Darts with his sickles. Patamon flew over Snimon's head.

"Boom Bubble!" Patamon shot out a large air bubble at Snimon's head, hoping to knock him off balance.

Snimon was hit by the Boom Bubble, but as he was at the Champion level, it didn't do much other than knock him for a slight loop. "Hey! Cut that out, you little runt!" Snimon swung his sickle at Patamon.

Patamon yelped as he quickly moved away to avoid getting sliced in half.

"They need help, come on!" Lopmon quickly said.

Kumamon, Lopmon, Ko, and the other Kokuwamon started running and flying in, but the Goburimon quickly jumped them. Kumamon jumped away from a Goblin Strike fireball.

"Uh-oh… that's a lot more Goburimon than at the cells…" Ko gulped.

"Well, we can't just sit back and let Patamon and Agunimon get hurt." Kumamon said. "We have to help them!"

"Unfortunately, these Goburimon are making it impossible to get to them," Lopmon warned.

"Ready to play, teddy?" Goburimon grinned.

"Hey, if he was a real teddy, you'd all be dead where you stand," Lopmon hissed.

The Goburimon started laughing. "Oh, let's be afraid of the little teddy bear! He's gonna hurt us so much!" One Goburimon snickered.

"What's he talking about?" Kumamon asked Ko. "He doesn't actually mean a teddy bear, does he?"

"He's… got some past trauma with a teddy bear, don't ask," Ko sighed.

"You ain't getting near our boss!" The Goburimon shouted. "Goblin Strike!"

The Goburimon threw fire balls at the 3. Kumamon, Lopmon, and Ko quickly jumped out of the way. Kumamon wasn't used to having to fight against a bunch of enemies at once, but he knew he had to do something. He heard Agunimon yelling out, he was in trouble.

Maybe I can freeze multiple Goburimon at once… Kumamon thought.

Kumamon took a deep breath, ready to attack, when a familiar yet unfamiliar voice spoke in his head.

"That's right, Kumamon. Freeze them all, you're stronger than them, and I want you to make an example of them."

This caused Kumamon to stop and hesitate, which cost him.

One of the Goburimon saw Kumamon was hesitating and grinned, bringing to his hand a fireball. "Goblin Strike!" He threw the fireball at Kumamon directly, following it up with a swing of his club at the smaller Digimon.

Kumamon yelped as he was hit by the Goblin Strike attack, only to receive a blow to his stomach courtesy of the club that followed.

"Kumamon!" Lopmon yelled when he saw what happened. "You guys are gonna pay! Tiny Twister!"

Lopmon quickly spun around, turning into a little twister and began gathering up as much Goburimon as he could before he had to hop out of the twister he created. The Goburimon that were caught up in the twister yelled as they were being spun around.

"Shock them!" Lopmon called out to Ko and the other Kokuwamon who weren't busy fighting at the moment.

"You heard him guys!" Ko exclaimed. "Let's show these Goburimon we're not weak as they think we are!"

The Kokuwamon horde began to charge up their electrical attacks. "Power Surge!"

The combined electrical attacks zapped the Goburimon silly.

Of course, there were still more Goburimon, and Kumamon wasn't feeling at his best right now. Kumamon was able to get back on his feet, but he was hesitating too much.

What's wrong with me? Kumamon frowned. I know I'm not this slow…

Goburimon charged at Kumamon. Kumamon took his gun out from his back and started to fire snowballs at them, pushing them back.

"Good, Kumamon, keep it up. You're making me proud~" The mysterious voice said in Kumamon's head.

"Ack!" Kumamon hissed as he stopped firing his gun.

The other Goburimon saw this as an opportunity and ran at the little bear with their club.

"Tiny Twister!" Lopmon created another twister to push the Goburimon away from Kumamon.

Lopmon landed in front of Kumamon. "What's wrong? I know you're a better fighter than this!"

"I… I don't know…" Kumamon replied nervously. "I… keep having these memories… of a voice… and yet… while it sounds friendly… it's… like it's not… I feel scared to do what it wants."

"A voice?" Lopmon blinked. Is he… somehow remembering…?

Lopmon shook his head, they were in the middle of a battle. "You have to ignore that voice, Kumamon. You're not doing it for the voice, you're doing it to help the Kokuwamon. And Agunimon and Patamon need our help!"

Kumamon realized Lopmon was right. He had to remember that. More was at stake than just some voice's words. He had to remember he was fighting for something more, something bigger, than some voice's satisfaction. Slowly, Kumamon took in a deep breath before letting it out.

"You're right…" Kumamon said. "I can't get distracted now."

---

Meanwhile, JP was looking at Kazemon and Biyomon fighting against the Goburimon, and more Goburimon were coming. They were starting to get tired, and JP wondered if things were getting worse from the inside. They may be strong, but they were getting outnumbered.

JP looked down at his fists. I hate not being able to do anything! I hate being so useless! Why is everyone able to become a Digimon but me? Takuya's got the Spirit of Agunimon, Zoe has Kazemon, and even little Tommy has the ability to turn into Kumamon. Patamon, Lopmon, and Biyomon are able to do more than I could, and all the Kokuwamon… all I'm good for is just complaining and getting in the way. Why am I still here?

"Maybe I should've just headed home…" JP muttered.

One of the Kapurimon began to hop past JP, a Kokuwamon chasing after it.

"Wait! You can't go down there! It's too dangerous!" Kokuwamon exclaimed.

The Kokuwamon managed to grab Kapurimon's tail to keep him from going any further.

"I can't just stay here! I have to help too!" Kapurimon said.

"You're too small, you'll only get in the way," Kokuwamon warned.

"I know I'm small! But remember what those humans said? We just have to believe in ourselves! No matter how small we are, we can make a difference if we try!" Kapurimon argued.

"That's true, but you also must believe in others to fight when you can't." Kokuwamon replied. "If you just rush in, what is the point in believing if you don't make it back?"

JP looked down at little Kapurimon. Kapurimon wanted to fight against Snimon, who was a Champion level Digimon, but the little guy wouldn't last a moment against such a strong Digimon.

Making up his mind, JP walked forwards. "He may not be able to do anything, but I can."

Kapurimon looked up at JP who gave Kapurimon a reassuring smile before running down the hill. So what if I can't Spirit Evolve? What kind of person would I be if I didn't at least try to help the others out? I may be useless in the fight, but there has to be another way I can help!

"Go get them!" Kapurimon cheered as JP ran down the hill.

Kazemon and Biyomon had grown tired as the fight dragged on. Kazemon got sloppier as she grew tired, and one of the Goblin Strikes managed to hit her in the stomach. This caused her to start falling. Biyomon quickly flew down at Kazemon, using her talons to grab her shoulders and stabilized her in the air, allowing both of them to fly up into the sky.

"I think we need to retreat, you're getting banged up, and I'm also reaching my limit," Biyomon said to Kazemon.

Kazemon nodded. "Yeah… I can't take another hit like that." She agreed. "Let's get out of here while we can. I just hope we bought the boys enough time."

The two of them quickly flew away as the Goburimon started cheering, believing they won. Little did they know, the war was just getting started. While the Goburimon were too busy cheering over their victory, JP was running past them from behind. He knew Kazemon and Biyomon had to retreat, so this was his only chance to get into the factory. He didn't know what he could do, he just knew that something was pushing him to help… the ones he believed were his friends. The only friends he had.

Hang on, guys! Here comes reinforcements! JP thought determinedly as he ran into the factory. He was not going to abandon the people he was with. They were pretty much the only ones who could even begin to understand him, and he felt he had to do something to help them.

Meanwhile, back in the factory, things were starting to take a turn for the worst. Kumamon, Lopmon, Ko, and the other Kokuwamon were doing their best to fight back, but it was clear they were getting tired. Kumamon was not yet used to being a Digimon, or being in battles in general. And whatever was going on with Kumamon was messing with his head. More Goburimon kept showing up, one after the other.

"How many Goburimon does this guy have?" Lopmon frowned in exasperation.

Kumamon and Lopmon had to run from a horde of Goburimon chasing after them. Ko quickly flew over them, powering up his attack.

"Duck!" Ko called out before blasting out electricity from his head and hands. "Power Surge!"

Kumamon and Lopmon quickly dove to the ground as the electric attack went over them and zapped the Goburimon behind them.

The Goburimon behind Lopmon and Kumamon got shocked silly, crying out as their hair stood on end.

At the same time, Agunimon and Patamon were fighting Snimon, but like with Kumamon, Agunimon was not really used to being a Digimon yet. He was adapting faster than Kumamon, yes, but he still wasn't entirely sure of what he could and couldn't do in his Digimon form. Agunimon decided to go with one of his weaker attacks. Fire flared from his left wrist armor and he hurled bits of flame at Snimon. "Pyro Darts!"

Patamon flew at Snimon while he was trying to block Agunimon's Pyro Darts. "Petit Rush!"

Patamon flew straight at Snimon like a torpedo, and tackled the giant bug's head with all of his weight.

"Ow! You little rat!" Snimon hissed as he swatted at Patamon with one of his giant sickles.

This gave Agunimon an opening and he took it, rushing at Snimon. Agunimon tackled Snimon to the floor, giving Patamon some breathing room. Patamon quickly recovered from being swatted and didn't waste this opportunity to attack while Agunimon tackled Snimon.

"Boom Bubble!" Patamon shot out a giant air bubble.

Snimon was hit by the Boom Bubble attack, but he wasn't out yet. Angered now, Snimon used his strength to push Agunimon back, and the two sickles glowed red.

"Twin Sickles!" Snimon shot out two energy sickle attacks at Agunimon.

"Look out!" Patamon pushed Agunimon from behind, making Agunimon fall to the floor, with only bits of his hair getting cut from the energy sickles.

"Oof!" Agunimon hit the ground, the wind knocked from his lungs by the impact. He was briefly stunned, struggling to get air into his body so he could move.

Agunimon struggled to his feet, feeling his lungs screaming for air as he took deep breaths to try and get the aching to go away.

Unfortunately for Agunimon, Snimon saw him struggling to get to his feet and grinned evilly before unleashing another Twin Sickles attack at the Warrior of Flame.

Agunimon turned, sensing the attack incoming. He shakily held up his arms in a defensive move, concentrating his fiery energy into the shield move again. But his concentration was shaky at best, and the first energy sickle broke through the shield, penetrating it while the second energy sickle hit Agunimon right in the chest, throwing him back.

A cry of pain escaped Agunimon as he was sent flying back into the wall, causing a dent. His armor on his chest was burned where he had been hit by the Twin Sickle attack as well. Agunimon hissed in pain, feeling his chest aching. Agunimon saw Patamon moving towards Snimon, but the little Rookie couldn't get in close due to the Twin Sickle attack, Patamon had to dodge, he was far more vulnerable than Agunimon was. One strike from that attack could cost Patamon his life.

Meanwhile, JP was running down the hallway. He spotted some Kokuwamon who were putting the Goburimon they defeated into the cells.

"Hey, where are the others? I'm going to help them fight!" JP requested.

"They're in the central room last I saw." A Kokuwamon replied. "If you need help getting there, some of us can guide you there."

"That'd be appreciated," JP said.

"Then hurry, follow me. They're at the end of this hallway!" The Kokuwamon said as he flew ahead, and JP hurried after him.

All this running… I really have to get into shape… JP inwardly groaned.

JP made it into the central room. There, he saw Kumamon, Lopmon, and the Kokuwamon being surrounded by the Goburimon. They were backed up into a wall. Kumamon looked exhausted, and Lopmon didn't look much better. Most of the other Kokuwamon were knocked out. There was only one Kokuwamon left conscious on the battlefield, and it was surrounded as well.

Kumamon took a deep breath, trying to freeze the Goburimon, but his icy breath only made them a bit cold. His energy had run out. Kumamon may revert back to Tommy at any moment.

Agunimon and Patamon weren't faring much better. Snimon managed to kick Agunimon towards the railings, and Snimon was now trying to push Agunimon into the machinery below. Agunimon was doing everything he could to push back and not fall. Patamon was trying to help but tackling Snimon over and over again with his body, but Snimon was ignoring Patamon's attempts.

Agunimon gritted his teeth, trying to hold Snimon back with his enhanced strength, but it was all he could do to keep himself from being pushed over. This guy's… strong… Much stronger than I realized…

Agunimon could feel Snimon slowly overpowering him, meaning he had no time left. He had to think of a plan. Feeling the railing against his back, a desperate plan came to mind. Agunimon gripped Snimon's pincer/sickle arms tightly and began to slowly lean backwards, using the railing as a balancing force before he threw Snimon over his head and down towards the machinery.

Snimon hit the main support pillar of the machinery floor below, the throw having tossed him quite a distance. JP was running over, avoiding the Goburimon as they were mostly invested in the Digimon than in him. JP saw Snimon coming up from the machinery, holding out his sickles at Agunimon.

"Twin Sickles!" Snimon's sickles glowed red before he slammed the sickles into Agunimon, shoving him several feet away.

Patamon tried to come in with an attack, but Snimon was quick to react and used his tail to slam Patamon into the ground. Patamon couldn't move, his body was too injured. And Agunimon wasn't faring much better.

"Ugh… Patamon…" Agunimon grunted out as he saw Patamon on the ground. "He needs… my help…" Agunimon managed to get back to his feet. "I can't… let Patamon… die…"

"Look at what we have here, lunch meat~" Snimon grinned as he looked down at Patamon.

Lopmon looked up, seeing the situation was dire, but he also spotted JP nearby. He looked over at Ko.

"You're the only one here who's conscious and can fly. Hurry, go over to JP over there," Lopmon quickly said to Ko. "You might be able to help him help Agunimon and Patamon."

Ko nodded. "You got it." He then gulped as he flew up to where JP was. "I hope I make it in time…"

"Hey! JP!" Ko called as he approached the chubby boy. "Lopmon sent me to help you!"

"Huh?" JP blinked, seeing a Kokuwamon flying over to him. "Oh, perfect timing! Look, there's a crane over there."

JP pointed at the crane. "I'm gonna need you to give me a lift… Do you think you can do it?"

"I'll try." Ko replied. "I don't expect to have an easy time of it, but we have no time left. Snimon could get the victory if we don't move now."

Ko flew behind JP and grabbed the back of his outfit with one set of arms while grabbing JP under his arms with his main set of arms. "Ready?"

"N-not really, but… we have to do this," JP said, seeing that Agunimon and Patamon were in trouble.

Ko lifted JP up. Dang, he's heavy. Though I have no room to talk. At least I'm able to lift him.

Snimon was right in front of Patamon. Agunimon hissed as he was trying to do something, anything, to get Patamon out of there. But he knew if he made another move as he was now, he was likely going to revert back to Takuya.

"Almost there…" JP said as Ko got him close to the crane.

Ko quickly dropped JP into the crane.

"Whatever you plan to do, you better do it now!" Ko quickly said. "Our friends are about to become bug bait!"

JP nodded, looking over the controls for the crane quickly before he found the main lever controls. He grabbed the controls and pulled the levers, making the crane turn around. The crane itself slammed into Snimon, knocking him away from Agunimon and Patamon. Snimon hit the opposite wall, his sickles getting embedded in the wall itself.

The Goburimon saw this and got scared, they quickly began running away, not wanting to be hit by the crane themselves.

"Wow! Way to go, JP!" Kumamon smiled, seeing what just happened.

"Nice job getting JP there, Ko!" Lopmon called out.

Seeing that Snimon was further away, Agunimon quickly ran over to Patamon. Patamon managed to push himself up to his feet.

"I'm… I'm okay…" Patamon said softly, though he was pretty banged up.

"Are you sure?" Agunimon asked worriedly. "You took quite a bit of damage…" Although he was one to talk; Agunimon was just as banged up, if not more so.

"It's not… over yet," Patamon warned.

"Look out!" Ko warned JP.

Snimon held out one of his sickles, and had it fire out a red energy attack at the crane where JP was. Ko acted quickly and pushed JP out of the crane just before the red energy sickle sliced right through the crane.

"Whoa! T-thanks, Kokuwamon!" JP said gratefully that this Kokuwamon was brave enough to get him out before he got sliced like hot butter.

"No problem." Ko replied. "Oh, and by the way, you should call me Ko for now. I'm Lopmon's friend."

"You are? Well it's nice to meet you, Ko!" JP smiled.

They heard another crash. The crane fell on the wall Snimon was clinging onto, breaking it down. The debris and smoke covered Ko and JP as well. JP coughed and Ko quickly flew down to put JP down.

"Hey… look there!" Kumamon called out, seeing something glow brightly from behind the now busted wall.

"Is that…?" Lopmon asked, seeing the glowing figure as well.

"It's a Spirit…" Patamon weakly smiled, seeing it as well. "We… finally found it… The metal surrounding it… must've been too thick… for the D-Tectors to detect it."

Agunimon had never felt so relieved to hear that news. "If that was a pun… I'm not exactly going to complain about this one."

JP saw the object in front of him. "This… must be…" He trailed off as he stared at the Spirit, as if entering into a trance. Electricity appeared in JP's irises as he saw an image of a blue-armored beetle-like humanoid standing before him. Images in his mind showed him merging with this humanoid beetle.

With a cry, JP drew out his D-Tector and aimed it at the Spirit. "SPIRIT!"

The Spirit was sucked into his D-Tector, the symbol of Thunder appearing on the screen.

"It is time…" The female voice said.

JP took a moment to stare at the symbol of Thunder on his D-Tector's screen. He was shaking, he almost couldn't believe it.

Ko stood beside JP. "Don't just stand there, hurry and activate it! I don't think Mr. Bug is gonna stay asleep for long!"

JP held up his D-Tector as the green outline of his Spirit became visible on the screen of his D-Tector as he held it up. JP then held up his left hand as fractal coding formed around it, his D-Tector held in his other hand. Slamming the device against the ring of coding, he brought the two together. JP then called out the familiar phrase he would come to know by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Coding encircled him as his clothes ripped away and his body became data, the power of the Spirit flowing into him. Blue and yellow armor formed on his body as he grew in height and strength. On his back, wings formed before they were covered by two halves of a hard shell and on his head, a horn grew. His eyes became green as a faceplate covered his mouth and he felt the power of thunder flowing into his body. He landed, slamming his fists together as he cried out his name. "Beetlemon!"

The fractal code cocoon dissipated, revealing the new Legendary Warrior for all to see.

"Would you look at that? JP Spirit Evolved!" Agunimon said in awe.

"I knew he could do it!" Kumamon smiled.

"Heh, never doubted him for a second," Lopmon chuckled, proud to see JP managed to overcome his doubts.

Patamon sat down before taking the book out of his belly warmer. "Looks like JP managed to become Beetlemon, the Warrior of Thunder. … Why it's Warrior of Thunder and not Warrior of Lightning is beyond me. Thunder makes it sound like he's the Warrior of Loud Sounds…"

"Lightning does make a thunderous noise." Agunimon pointed out.

"But he uses electricity, not the sound of thunder…" Patamon muttered before closing the book and putting it back into his belly warmer. "Oh well, doesn't matter. I guess 'thunder' has a nicer ring to it."

"Look at you all draped in armor, and looking like a giant beetle," Ko chuckled as he looked at the newly evolved Beetlemon.

"I… I can't believe it! I'm Beetlemon! I actually Spirit Evolved!" Beetlemon exclaimed. "Yahoo!" He even did a little jumping dance in place, he was so excited.

"And Biyomon thinks I'm a dork," Ko chuckled.

"Aww, look at that! Enjoy your little dance, bug boy. Soon you will taste the fury of Snimon!" Snimon sneered as Beetlemon glared at him, annoyed at his little celebration being interrupted. "Although I can't say I understand why a human was able to be seen as worthy by a Legendary Warrior, but I won't let a human get away with messing up my factory!"

"Bring it on!" Beetlemon challenged.

Snimon charged at Beetlemon.

Beetlemon saw the incoming Snimon and charged as well, but he dodged the sickles coming down at him and kicked Snimon away as soon as he was behind the big green bug. Beetlemon had moved so fast, it was like it was trying to hit a bolt of electricity.

Ko flew up, to avoid getting hit by Snimon himself. Snimon turned back at Beetlemon and lashed out his sickles in an attempt to pierce through Beetlemon's armor like he did with Agunimon earlier. However, unlike with Agunimon, his sickles barely left a scratch on Beetlemon's armor. Beetlemon's armor was much thicker and stronger than Agunimon's armor was.

While Snimon was distracted, Ko flew behind Snimon. "Let's see how you like this. You wanted my electricity? Then here, have some! Power Surge!"

Ko shot out electricity from his hands and head at Snimon's spine. Snimon let out a yelp from the jolt.

Snimon glared at Ko. "You little insect! Take this! Twin Sickles!"

Twin energy sickles were let loose at Ko, who yelped and dodged, but barely. The red energy sickles came close to hitting him by mere inches.

Seeing Snimon was distracted, Beetlemon charged in, hitting Snimon with his horn and pushing Snimon into the base of the pillar.

Snimon grunted as he hit the pillar. Beetlemon grinned. "Beetlemon one, green guy nothing! Wahoo!"

Snimon regained his senses and charged at Beetlemon.

"Look out!" Ko warned Beetlemon.

Beetlemon saw the incoming Snimon and grinned before he spread his back covers, allowing his wings to come out. He crouched and then jumped up, taking flight above Snimon. "Missed me~"

"Wow, so he can fly!" Kumamon noted. "Now Kazemon isn't the only one."

The group were watching in awe as Beetlemon, with some help from Ko, was handling this pretty well. It was good, because they were all too tired or too injured to help much.

"Well, he is a beetle," Lopmon chuckled.

Snimon growled as his sickles glowed again. "Ultimate Twin Sickles!"

Snimon shot out 4 energy sickle attacks at Beetlemon. Ko held out his hands and quickly sent out electricity at the energy sickles, greatly weakening them as they hit Beetlemon. Due to Ko weakening the attack, and Beetlemon's heavy armor, the 4 energy sickles barely laid a scratch on Beetlemon before the energy broke and faded away.

"Now's your chance!" Ko called out.

Beetlemon nodded and let his energy flow. Electricity flowed over his fists as he held them up over his head and clasped his hands together.

"Let's end this fight!" Beetlemon declared as he brought his fists down towards Snimon as he descended down. "Thunder Fist!" His electrically charged fists slammed into Snimon's head directly.

Snimon let out a scream of pain as he fell back. Beetlemon landed in front of Snimon, seeing Snimon's fractal code coming out of his body.

"Where your power was once used for evil, let the power of thunder return you to good!" Beetlemon said as he held up his D-Tector. He pressed the button on the side, and the scanner lit up as the symbol of Thunder appeared on the screen. Beetlemon swung his arm, scanning the fractal code. "Fractal code… Digitize!"

The fractal code was collected, and once it was scanned, the scanner went dark as Beetlemon held his D-Tector to his chest. Snimon himself was turned into an egg, and the egg floated out of the building.

"Nice job! You did it!" Ko praised.

"Way to go, Beetlemon!" Kumamon called out.

"I knew you had it in you, big guy!" Lopmon smiled.

"Nice work!" Agunimon called out, a smile on his face.

Beetlemon looked like he would burst out glowing at the praise.

"We should get the Kokuwamon out of here. I doubt the factory's gonna be running any time soon until it gets new management," Lopmon said.

"Hopefully one who doesn't enslave Digimon for it to work," Patamon remarked.

The others nodded at Lopmon and Patamon's words.

"You heard them, guys!" Agunimon said. "Let's get out of this place."

"I'm with you on that one," Kumamon remarked. "What about the Goburimon?"

"They'll likely find a new job since their boss is… well, gone," Lopmon answered. "We shouldn't worry about them, they're already long gone."

"And the Minomon?" Beetlemon asked as he approached them.

"They're probably in the same boat," Lopmon replied. "Let's just focus on getting the Kokuwamon out of here, some of them lost consciousness during the battle."

The others nodded, agreeing the Kokuwamon came first. Though while the battle had been long and grueling, it was a relief to see they had won. Now the Kokuwamon could go back home, free from this factory.

---

Titanic X: DarkFoxKit: You'll just have to wait and see.

ZAFT: The names may be silly, but these guys are a threat to not underestimate. XD

pokemon fan 1991: DarkFoxKit: That's actually an interesting theory. Yeah, Duskmon is pretty cool, and ashamed we don't really get too much about him in the show.

ZAFT: You will see if that theory is true or not soon enough, but for now, just enjoy the next chapters. XD