"My gods… MY GODS! W-what have I done?"
"Tch, what have you done indeed… Do you understand now why the rules exist?"
"Ngh…"
"That's some crazy level of shit though… For someone to resort to such craziness, they must be hiding something. Something very big, I mean"
"I-I… I thought I would… I-I… I failed you… I failed them…! They will find me and-"
"No, they will not. C'mon, stop crying and shaking, this won't help at all! Stand aside and let me take care of all that. Calm down, everything will be okay, okay?"
In the end… Everything went downhill…
Komet opens her eyes. She is in a dark area - her headspace. Ahead of her, she sees black flames with a pair of red eyes and sharp teeth - Nightmare.
"You came by yourself" says Nightmare, surprised
"I'm here to end this once and for all!" yells Komet
She grins. "Oh? Are you finally gonna accept who you are?"
"Yes, I will"
"Who are you? Who am I? What are we?"
"You are just a horrible monster that exists to torment my life! I am someone else, entirely different from you! I am nothing like you!"
Nightmare growls.
"All you do is drag me down whenever I try to move forward… So I'll put an end to all this once for all. I'm gonna kill you!"
"Kill me? Heh, you can't just kill me!"
"Yes, I can! I'll remove you and everything related to you from my head! Now, begone!"
"So, you will resort to this yet again… You can't keep sweeping everything under the rug forever, Tayna!"
"I said BEGONE!" She swipes her arm, making the black frames dissipate.
"This won't help you… As long as you live, I live with you… And life will always give me a way to resurface…" she says, as her flamy body disappears in the air.
"OUCH!" screams Lua
Komet snaps her eyes open and quickly sits up. She sees Lua on the floor with a bowl on her face and water spilled all over her.
The bunny sits up and removes the bowl. "Why did you slap me that hard?"
"H-Huh? Sorry! I just… Ahm… Woke up" She places her hand on her head, feeling it pulsing in pain.
Sonne stands up and walks towards her. "Good afternoon. You have been unconscious for around 30 hours, an improvement from the first time we fused to Icarumon. We managed to leave old Caelux territory, thus we are currently somewhat safe. About the events that unfolded after the fusion was broken…" He tells her what happened after.
She nods, pensive. "So they chose to follow their heart, huh…I'm glad things worked better than expected"
"Why are you treating Icarumon like a different person? It's just you as Digimon, isn't it?" says Lua
"Well, yes, but also no… I am the active force, sure… But I realized that your minds are also there, intertwined with mine, influencing my actions, opening the door to a wider range of ways of thinking and acting, and… I'll be honest, it's a bit scary, especially because you two can have very different opinions regarding the same topic, sometimes conflicting even"
"'Sometimes' is an understatement, Komet" says Sonne
"Maybe this is why we can't fuse without you!" says Lua
"Perhaps, and because of that, I can't take all the credit for what Icarumon does. I, or Icarumon for that matter, becomes a different entity made from the three of us, not just me. Changing the topic a bit now, I'll call Anpu. We must talk about this assault the Angels are planning on launching on my world" says Komet, clenching her fists. She looks at her smartwatch and calls the jackal. It doesn't take long for his bust to be projected.
"Good morning, Team Twilight. I was waiting for your call. We have a lot to talk about today, and I know exactly the topic you want to start with, so I tell you in advance that you don't need to be alarmed by that unpleasant surprise" says Anpu
Komet scowls. "Oh, sure! 'Don't be alarmed! It's just a bunch of powerful monsters alien to your world that can easily one shot most of your defenses and kill everyone in a blink of an eye!' Yep, definitely something to not worry too much about!"
"Please, I need you to calm down first. The situation is yet not as dire as it sounds"
She growls, but she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
"Let me tell you everything, after all, it's better to hear from the primary source, right?" says a feminine voice they don't recognize
"Who are you?"
Komet's device projects the bust of a cat masked angel next to Anpu. "I am Rasielmon of the Angel Army, and Anpu's partner for this whole Corrosion Virus investigation ordeal. I understand you don't think it's nice to meet me"
The trio gets shocked. "An angel? You were partnering with an angel? This angel doesn't even talk like an Angel! What on Earth is going on? That doesn't make sense!" says Lua
"I'll go straight to the point and drop the bomb. Firamon, the Valiant Sun! Or I should just call you 'Sonne'. I believe Darcmon mentioned it already, but you are actually a creation of the Angel Army, not of Anpu. You are one of us"
Sonne's eyes widen in shock. He looks at Anpu, expecting him to deny it, but instead the jackal nods.
Rasielmon continues. "You were created by Seraphimon, the leader of the Three Archangels, the angels at the top of the hierarchy. Your purpose was to gather intel on humankind's weaknesses and find an effective and safe way for the Army to travel to that world. You were expected to return as Adult with all the information we needed"
Lua looks at Anpu in disbelief. "So you lied to us about our origins! Why? That doesn't make sense!"
"So that Sonne could have free will and make his own choices, decisions and judgement" answers the angel
Sonne, still in shock, looks at them in confusion. "I fail to understand it"
"As a creation of Seraphimon himself, you would just follow your mission to a T, obeying his orders without questioning, just like the majority of the Angel Army. I am against their invasion plan because of the lack of concrete proof that 'all humans are fiends', but I can't just oppose the Three Archangels, despite theoretically being in the same hierarchy as them. I don't want us doing the wrong thing, so when I came to Anubismon to ask for help to send the egg of the Valiant Sun to the Human World, I also asked him to create an egg that would grow into the opposite of the Valiant Sun, so that it would be a 'bad influence' to the half-holy Digimon"
"From that egg, Lua was born. Only she had the idea of investigating the Corrosion Virus registered in her memory. As you can see, the plan worked well, as you weren't even aware that you are a familiar of the Angel Army" says Anpu.
"The investigation was not even my idea by the way, all I wanted to know is whether the humans were purposefully infecting our world or not. Anubismon decided to do that behind my back, that rascal!"
"I am… A member of the Angel Army… I was not even given the ability to make my own choices…" Sonne looks at Komet and frowns. "The real purpose of my creation was to exterminate you and everyone from your species… Komet, forgive me-"
"Shh, shh, shh…" Komet crouches, looks him in the eyes and pets his mane to comfort him. "You have nothing to apologize for. Your origin doesn't change who you are now. I won't think any different of you just because we got to learn this!"
Lua nods. "She is right! You are not part of Angel Army, you are part of Team Twilight! And, hey, that explains your urge to obey and protect your master at all cost and willing to be punished for any minor thing, which is kind of funny!"
The lass lifts her left arm again and looks at the projections bitterly. "Care to explain why you hid the Angels' intention from me, Anpu? I also would love to know why the Angels chose such a 'benevolent' path as killing a whole species to solve a problem!"
"Rasielmon made me take an oath that we would keep it secret from everyone else. I simply couldn't break it when I had so much at stake" says Anpu, shaking his head in disappointment. "Even if this wasn't the case, telling you that would just bring more worries to you when the danger is not real yet"
"How is the danger not real yet? If you could send Sonne and Lua to my world and they could bring me here, then what is exactly stopping the Army from going to my world?"
"The Dark Area"
"What about it?"
"Like I mentioned in our first contact, you can reach your world's Dark Web after crossing the Dark Area. However, the Dark Area is not just another place. It's the home of devils and other evil creatures. It's full of darkness and malice. The path between the Dark Area is long, and you still have to break a barrier in the end, an impossible task for monsters who are not aware of the existence of 'the other side'. Dark Area is an extremely dangerous place for ordinary Digimon already, so someone with so much light such as any member of the Angel Army would be obliterated as soon as they set their foot there. Irrelevant to the subject, but this is the reason why Anubismon are still the ones responsible to take care of the gate to the Dark Area, not Angels"
"I know what you are wondering: how could the Valiant Sun be sent if he has holiness in him? Simple, see how he mostly uses fire, but not many light attacks? Seraphimon made him not entirely holy, and since he was also just a little egg, Anubismon could make them cross the Dark Area mostly unnoticed" says Rasielmon
"So, if Sonne doesn't return to them, then the Angels have nothing to work with, huh? Good to know 'the Final Judgment' can still be delayed indefinitely. But why kill all humans? Didn't it cross your minds that even if this is being caused by us, maybe it's just one person, not all of us? And yet, Darcmon said that humans are a threat to the Digital World. Why?" asks Komet
Rasielmon grits her teeth and lowers her head. "It did cross my mind, which is why I'm doing this! For the reasoning… It is… A bit complicated. The Angels-"
Lua chimes in. "If you are gonna use the 'we don't change our minds easily' excuse, then you can stop right there, Darcmon already said that. We want new info! Is the infection really the only thing that convinced you of that?"
"No… There was something else, something that tried to- I'm sorry, I can't go into details about that, it's classified information"
Komet groans in frustration and shakes her head. "Even the supposedly allied angel gives more headache than solution"
"Be grateful that I'm your ally, you brat, or you would be dead in the Village of Beginning!" she fires back
"What are you talking about? You are literally the reason why they almost got killed there!" yells Anpu
Rasielmon looks at him shocked, then she groans low. "Look, let's end this topic at once. Sonne, Lua, Komet, unfortunately I can't do much for you, but I'll not tell the Army about your whereabouts. I'll tell you whenever they come up with a new plan to go to your world, which won't be anytime soon, hopefully. I'll leave the investigation of the Corrosion Virus in Anpu's and your hands. Please, find a solution and a cure! If you manage to do that, the Three Archangels will probably change their minds and leave your world alone. Sorry for the trouble, and good luck!" Her projection disappears
"Is she just going to run away like a coward like that?" asks Lua
Anpu sighs. "I understand they just want to protect the Digital World, but they let their light blind themselves more often than not. Rasielmon wants to do things differently, but only recently she noticed how much like her kin she is still acting like"
"She and the rest of the Angel Army can go to hell for all I care!"
"Shall we start our next topic then? I see you changed your minds and fused once again. I'll call Bokomon first"
Komet removes her smartwatch and gives it to Lua. "Take this. I won't join this conversation. I need some time to process the information we just got"
"Oh…" Lua carefully takes the device and starts walking away. "If you need anything, yell our names! We will be right back!"
She nods and waves at them. Then she lowers her head, looking gloomy. She hugs her legs and lies her head on her knees. "What the hell is this…? Why do I need to add 'save the world from an army of angels' in my to-do list?" She sighs, distraught. "My world is in danger… The more we walk, the harder the path gets… More things are getting in my way to give Hydra the closure he deserves…"
She spends a long time agonizing over what to do when they return to her world, which also causes her to overthink cases of failure. Fortunately, Sonne and Lua return before she spirals even deeper in her unpleasant thoughts, and start talking about the call to distract her mind.
"Yep! Prof. Bokomon called you by your name for the first time! He's also respecting you more! Isn't that amazing?" says Lua
"Huh" says Komet
"Professor Bokomon believes we fused more correctly this time, stated by the fact that Lua and I could recollect the events as Icarumon better, by your awareness as three minds working together and the shorter time to recover after unfusing. However… What is the current state of your body?" asks Sonne
"Ahm… Sore, very sore. And some injuries and bruises on my body too… They weren't there before the fusion"
"So Professor Bokomon's theory was correct. Your body degrades when you keep the fusion for too long. For the first minutes, it is like overdoing physical exercises, but the longer you stay, the more you actually harm your body"
"I think you figured it out already, but the loss of feathers is an indication that you are overextending yourself!"
"Yep, I figured" Komet scratches the back of her head. "So I guess pulling extra power when fused is like overclocking, huh? This is one more thing we need to watch out for next time we fuse then"
"Aha! So you changed your mind about that, huh?"
Komet nods. "I'll not let inner monsters stop me again. Whenever becoming Icarumon is necessary, we will do so!"
Sonne sighs
"Hm? Something wrong?"
"My origin and the Angel Army's motivation… I have deep concerns about myself…"
Komet sighs, then opens a sweet smile. "Look, like I said, this won't change what I think about you. You are one of us, not of them. It doesn't matter what they programmed in your core, it's your soul that makes you you, and this and our bond are stronger than that. If they try anything funny with you, we will protect you until the very end."
"I really hope my actions go beyond your expectations"
"Well, if anything go wrong, I'm always here to be a bad influence to you~" says Lua
Komet laughs. "She is right, she is great at being a bother after all!"
"Hey!"
Sonne looks at them for some time, and then opens a smile.
The lass smiles back. "In the meantime, I'll try my best to not get overwhelmed by the possibility of an Angel attack in my world. It's been more than a year since they 'declared war' after all, and it seems they can't make much progress without Sonne. But that also means we might have to change the priorities of our plans in my world…" She gets up, wincing in pain. "Let's continue our journey"
Two days pass. Sonne's wings are still too injured for flight, so they only travel by land. Fortunately for them, no angels, Infected or an extremely territorial monster crossed their path. The only real danger was a close call, when they didn't notice they were in the way of a turf war between a giant green triceratops and a giant black two-legged dinosaur with red stripes. They were almost hit by the stray fireball launched by the dino, when the triceratops charged at it and used its horns to lift the dino and performed a back throw.
The team currently walks through a temperate forest. As usual, Komet is riding Sonne. Some clouds can be seen in the skies, while the temperature is nice enough to not need a sweater. As they keep walking, they see less trees, a path leading somewhere and a sign written in Digimoji. It is all calm until…
"Apples For You!"
A bottle breaks in front of them and sets the area on fire. Komet immediately summons the bone club and stays on alert. Lua looks around, looking for the attacker. Then another Molotov cocktail is flung close to them. Sonne jumps away, since the smoke is starting to make it hard to see and to breathe.
Then, a silhouette of a humanoid creature emerges from the smoke, revealing a blond girl-looking doll, wearing a red hooded cape, holding a grinning basket in one of her hands and a Molotov cocktail in the other. She looks directly at Komet. "What a big horn you have!"
The lass gives the doll a serious look and no answer. Lua checks around to see if they are not cornered, while Sonne awaits for commands.
"Didn't your grandma teach you how dangerous the forest can be? No? Well, then I'll make you learn it!" The hooded doll grins and readies another attack
"Sonne! Lua! Run!"
The two Digimon run on command, but the red hooded monster runs after them, throwing more cocktails behind them. She is about to throw another bottle when a different monster shouts.
"We located her! Get her!"
Suddenly, three slender red wolves appear from the horizon, quickly running past Team Twilight. They growl and bark while rushing towards the doll, who grits her teeth and rushes deeper into the forest, quickly disappearing from their sight. Then, they hear the same voice shouting again, followed by the sound of horses galloping.
"Fear not, my friends! You are now safe!"
The team looks towards the approaching monsters: two fully armored centaurs, one clad in black and the other in white, both holding a giant dart each.
"We are Knight Chessmon, the sentries of the Central Area, specifically of the path to the Princedom of Fabales. We apologize for the inconvenience the foe caused to you" says the white one
Komet sighs in relief. "Thanks for helping us. May I ask something?"
The sentries stares at her for some time, and the black one nods. "Of course!"
"Do you know the safest path to Central Network Palace?"
They look at each other and whisper something between them. Then they look back at her. "Oh, you are planning to go to Quettas? Unfortunately the metropolis is off-limits right now. They have closed it a month ago, no one can enter or leave without special permission, and there's no expected date for it to reopen to everyone again" says the black knight
She grits her teeth. "A lockdown…? This is not good…"
"Nonetheless, His Highness, Prince Mamemon, might be able to grant an exception for you. I'm sure he will be willing to hear from you!" says the white knight
Komet looks at Sonne and Lua, swallows hard and looks back at the Knight Chessmon. "With… The prince… Okay. How do I request an audience with him?"
"You just need to follow us! It's also safer to stay there rather than here in the wild. You two-legged monsters can ride us!"
The girls nod and each one mount a different centaur. Then, all three four-legged Digimon run down the path to Fabales. Ahead of them, they see a valley with a city fortified by thick stone walls, which looks like a medieval fortress. They also see some other red wolves walking around.
"Ah, the Princedom of Fabales, the place where you find the 'happily ever after' for your 'once upon a time'. A beautiful and safe place, ruled by a radiant prince, so radiant that His Highness received a decoration from the Angel Army for his deeds and bravery" says the white Knight Chessmon
"In his elegant red mantle, shining golden body and unbreakable smile, His Highness faces Infecteds like no one does, having a high kill count against these dangerous foes, and keeping his people safe from the Corrosion Virus" says the black Knight Chessmon
"Thanks to his honorable acts, he was given the title 'The Infected Slayer' and a higher level of sovereignty, so high that the Angels don't need to come, since His Highness is as radiant as them. Sometimes it feels like he is even more radiant than them"
Lua yawns, getting bored from listening to so much adulation, while Komet raises one eyebrow. "Okay…? So I guess he holds so much power that he has influence over cities on lockdowns"
The black Knight Chessmon nods. "After all, it's being held by one of the Three Archangels themselves. They are probably feeling lucky for having Cherubimon there, but that's just because they don't know the grace of being ruled by Prince Mamemon!"
"Dammit… A high ranked Angel… I really need to think of a way of requesting access without revealing our identity, assuming the prince doesn't know it already…" She looks at her partners, and they both nod, understanding that they should be ready for anything.
The two Knight Chessmon keep going on talking about the wonderfulness of the princedom and the amazingness of the prince. After a few minutes, they approach the gate. Two huge armored golem-like Digimon stand sentinel, one is clad in black and the other in white.
"Good afternoon, Rook Chessmon! Could you call Pawn Chessmon to accompany this sweet damsel and her retainers to a meeting with His Highness?"
Lua scowls. "We are not her-"
Sonne knocks her down to prevent her from talking further. Meanwhile, the golem looks at the centaur and nods. It opens the gate and gestures to someone. Two fully armored small soldiers come out running, holding shields and lances. As expected, one is black and the other is white.
The white Pawn Chessmon stands in front of them. "Yes sir- Oooh, I see! Welcome to the Princedom of Fabales~! I hope we live up to your expectations. Follow us!"
The Knight Chessmon wave at Team Twilight. "We wish you the best of the best! We are sure His Highness will provide that!"
As soon as they go in, they see what they expected: a medieval city. The houses and the streets look very beautiful and tidy. They see Digimon that look like gray peas - as big as a basketball - wearing red gloves, with big wide eyes. Most of them just goof around or bully or boss Digimon from different species, sometimes even with kicks and punches, to do work around the city. The non-peas look tired but don't stop working.
Komet stops, feeling uncomfortable with that. "What's going on here?"
"Oh, don't worry about that! The Mamemon are just exercising their right as relatives of the great Prince Mamemon. The non-Mamemon don't have royal blood running in their veins, therefore they belong to a lower class" says one of the pawns.
Komet does her best to not show disgust, while Sonne lets out a low growl. Lua just scowls, but she feels like punching the chess piece monster in the face.
"They all know their places and they accept it! You can even ask the peasants about that!" he continues. He looks at a green worm-like Digimon. "Hey, you! Come here! What do you think about the Great Princedom of Fabales and His Highness Prince Mamemon?"
The worm approaches timidly. "T-The prince is great, of course! T-thanks to his radiance, we have a beautiful princedom and we are safe from the horrors of the Corrosion Virus! W-we are very grateful for everything he does for us, and we will do everything to please him! After all, t-those who show ingratitude are thrown in the colosseum-"
"Thanks for your input!" interrupts Pawn Chessmon, pushing the worm away. "So, shall we keep going? I'm sure His Highness will be pleased to meet you!"
"Gah, another red flag" whispers Lua to Sonne, angrily
Sonne nods. "Unfortunately there is nothing we can do at the moment. Perhaps another day, a chance to do justice for them arises…"
Komet does her best to hide that she is very disgusted by that, at the same time feeling very bad for having to ignore the problem. She sighs. "Priorities…" Then she looks ahead and sees the place they are heading to: a big and fancy castle.
And after a very long walk, they finally reach it. As expected, there are two Digimon at the gate, one black and one white, both slightly taller than them. They both hold maces, wear purple tabards and capes.
"Lemme guess… Those are Bishop Chessmon" says Komet, unamused at this point
Despite not having their faces visible, it is pretty easy to tell that the Pawn Chessmon opened big smiles upon hearing that. "Wow! You know about the Chessmon Guard! His Highness will appreciate this a lot! We will be right back and ask for the bridge to be lowered"
While the small chess pieces leave, Lua looks at Komet with a big grin. The bunny knows very well why seeing chess-themed monsters is bothering her. "What's up, lady hero? Are you afraid that your boss will appear here and ask you for another match of chess?"
She rolls her eyes. "I'll never understand why Mr. Smith asks me to play a game of chess against him so often. It's not like I've ever beaten him or something!"
"Perhaps you are a challenge for him despite constant defeats. Or maybe he was willing to teach you important lessons while you played. I believe you have gained something from this" asks Sonne
"Yeah, a zero percent win ratio and more chess experience I guess"
"Have you never thought that this might have improved your abilities in planning, solving problems and other skills related to that?"
"Hmm… Maaaybe? But he still whooped my ass, so it didn't feel I was getting something from it"
"I'm sure it did! You do stuff very well and fast when not trying to reach perfection, you know?" says Lua
"If this is what he wanted to accomplish, good for him, and for me too I guess. But losing all the time still sucks" She thinks about one of the chess matches at Diamlock Tech against Gabriel and groans in frustration.
"Well, have you tried saying 'no' to his request?"
"Uuh… No…?" She opens a nervous smile. "I think my brain wanted to beat him at least once in my life, so before I realized, I already accepted the challenge again. Then I guess I won't stop until I finally beat him, huh"
"So, no complaints, girl!"
"Would you accept my request to play chess against you?" asks Sonne
"Sonne!" Komet facepalms. "You can't even hold the pieces like that!"
"We know very well the way to solve this problem" he smirks
She starts making up excuses instead of straight saying 'no', and the two Digimon laugh. Then, they see the bridge being lowered. One of the Bishop Chessmon approaches them, accompanied by one of the Pawn Chessmon from earlier.
"Welcome to the home of the ruler of the great Princedom of Fabales, the land of Happily Ever After! You don't need to say anything, I know you came for His Highness. Follow me!"
The team follows them, without lowering their guards.
The interior is what someone would expect from a royalty: a place full of fancy things. The floor is checked like a chessboard. The bishop starts babbling about the amazingness of Prince Mamemon, but the trio is already tired of hearing about it. They also notice something very peculiar about the central hall. The paints on the wall, the statues, the fountain… They all depict the same creature: a yellow pea wearing a royal mantle and a crown, flashing a confident smile. There is an unhealthy amount of these around the castle.
"Oh gods, no…" she thinks.
In the end of the hall, she sees a red carpet leading to a room, which seems to lead to a throne. As soon as they approach the room, they hear someone complaining about the food, followed by the noise of glass shattering.
"Your Highness, may I request your attention?" asks Bishop Chessmon
"What? Don't you see I'm busy right now?"
Lua grimaces and looks at both Sonne and Komet. "It's still not too late to leave, you know?" she whispers
The royalty stomps towards them, and as soon as he sees Komet, he completely changes his attitude. "Oh, good afternoon madam! I am Prince Mamemon, the ruler of the incredible Princedom of Fabales. But you can just call me 'my prince'. What could be destiny's reason to bring you to me?" He carefully holds her hand and kisses it.
Komet slowly takes her hand away from him, feeling uncomfortable. "Well… I… Uhh… I'm Tayna, and I've been told that I have permission to have an audience with you, 'my prince'"
He blushes and opens a big smile. "Oh, of course you do, sweetie! Come, I have some things to show you." He takes her hand and pulls her to the great hall, and starts babbling about his 'beauty', deeds, all the 'masterpieces' of him, his 'fine tastes' for food, drink and art and any other thing about himself. For every finished sentence, he looks at her face to see her reaction, but she just looks at him unamused.
"Prince, I actually would like to know how-"
"I see" he interrupts. "I need to prove myself, huh? I'll show you I can live up to your expectations, m'lady"
She cringes. "What-"
He raises his hands and claps twice. "I demand the best banquet for two, NOW!"
"But-"
Prince Mamemon interrupts her once again to talk about how he is radiant enough to have the trust of the Angels to protect his lands, since he is 'a certified Infected slayer' and 'has proved it over and over again'. Komet looks at her friends, and all she sees is Lua giving a nervous smile and Sonne pitying her, since she hasn't asked for their help yet.
The food quickly gets done. The prince's servants quickly set up the table and place a lot of meals on it. The prince holds Komet's hand again, which makes her shudder. "Let's go, only you and me. Your retainers can wait here" he says, winking at her.
Sonne and Lua immediately look at her, not approving that. She nods. "No, I would like their presence there too"
Prince Mamemon's smile twitches, but he keeps his composure. "Oh, of course, as long as they don't interfere with our moment!" He takes her by her hand and gently caresses it, but all this does is to make her wish she could just kick the stupid royal giant golden pea away.
He gently pulls the chair to make her sit, and sits on the chair on the other side of the table. In the back, an orchestra starts playing classic romantic music, and the prince starts talking about beautiful places they can visit and all the amazing things he can do for someone he loves. Then, a long time later, he finally decides to ask about her.
"Oh, thank you for remembering me!" she says, looking very annoyed. "Look, I appreciate your attempt to… Ahm… Get to know each other and stuff… But… The reason I came is because one of your Chessmon guards told me that I could request for your help to access Central Network Palace"
He forces his smile up. "'Central Network Palace…? Where-"
"Aaaah!" interrupts Pawn Chessmon. "That beautiful place- Of course, not as beautiful as the Princedom of Fabales - located in Quettas, where the data flows from the heavens to the ground, right?"
"Oh yeah, yeah! That place!" he nods, still keeping his smile unbroken but clearly getting angry. He breathes in and out to remove any trace of anger in his face. "Why go there, though? You could stay here and enjoy everything I have to offer-"
"I have important things to do" she firmly states.
His smile starts to fade, but he forces it in his face again. "Sure, I can help you, of course! But you should know that things like this don't come for free, right?"
Lua growls and gives two steps ahead. "You better not-"
Komet places her arm in front of Lua, interrupting her. "What do I need to do, 'my prince'?" she asks
He smiles for real now. "I'm so glad you asked! It's a tradition that runs in every royal blooded monster. An elevated method to solve disputes, done by the rightful kings and heirs to the thrones. If you win, I will grant you permission to access Quettas. But if you lose, you have to stay and be my princess, and stay by my side at all times!"
Sonne and Lua growl low, while Komet grunts. At this point she starts having trouble keeping her cool.
"I warn you already, this might bring shame to you for generations, so I suggest that you give up already and accept loss"
"So, what is it?"
"You need to beat me, the Great Prince of the Princedom of Fabales, in a game of chess!"
She looks surprised. "Huh?"
Sonne and Lua also drop their stern expression, changing to a more calm, yet concerned expression.
"For gods' sake… Wait… Actually, this is great! It's my chance to get it done already. I accept your challenge"
Prince Mamemon smiles confidently. "Then I get that you want to become my princess the hard way, huh? You have no idea how that makes me excited!" He raises his hands and claps twice. "Bring the royal chess table, NOW!"
Komet exchanges looks with her friends. She discreetly shakes her head and rolls her eyes. The two Digimon gesture some positivity back to her, and she smiles back at them, feeling more confident.
Meanwhile, his servants quickly follow his order, and in a matter of seconds, they set up the fancy table, placing the chess pieces on the board, which are miniature versions of all kinds of Chessmon, except that the kings are replaced by miniatures of Prince Mamemon.
Komet quickly gets up her chair and sits in front of the board before the prince has the chance to be a gentleman. Then, one servant pulls the chair for the prince, while the other two hold his mantle. He sits down too.
"I'd love to let you start, but you chose the blacks by yourself, so allow me to make my move" he says. He moves a pawn.
Komet obviously also starts moving a pawn. In a matter of minutes, a lot of pieces are spread around the center, disputing control over the board. Then, Komet starts capturing more pieces, granting her a big lead over Prince Mamemon. He swallows hard but keeps flashing his smile, until…
"Checkmate" says Komet, smiling confidently at him
The prince's smile starts to fade. He looks shocked at first, then he scowls and starts to get red in anger. Then he starts to shake. "T-This can't be!" He whips almost his whole body towards the Chessmon and gives them a threatening look, waiting for them to say something.
Pawn Chessmon flinches. "A-Ah! S-she cheated, Your Highness!"
"What? No, I didn't-"
"I can confirm it, Your Highness, she cheated" says Bishop Chessmon
"There was no instance of cheating!" growls Sonne
"And even if she did, why did you decide to mention it only now?" yells Lua
"Because we believed in his ability to win even with her dirty trick" says the Bishop
"I didn't cheat!" yells Komet, getting up her chair
Prince Mamemon recovers his smile before it fully fades away. "Oh, of course! This is why an awesome and skilled player like me lost! There's no way that could have happened under normal circumstances, huh? GUARDS! Capture them!"
Around five Pawn and Bishop Chessmon appear around the corner and run towards Team Twilight, cornering them. Komet grits her teeth and summons Darcmon's sword. "Sonne, you still can't fly, correct?"
Sonne shakes his head very disappointed.
Suddenly, behind them, the door bursts open, revealing a handful of Digimon, including a bipedal plant with red petals for the head, a blue dinosaur with feathers on its head, a bipedal yellow fox and many small pink rats.
"Take them away!" shouts the flower
Prince Mamemon looks at it in shock. "CAPTURE EVERYONE! Get the cheaters first!"
Everything becomes a mess, a battle royale. Team Twilight tries to take the opportunity to run away, but Sonne and Komet get captured by the bishops. Sonne is punched in the guts into submission by the pawns, while Komet is tied down.
Lua tries to run towards them, but the flower Digimon sprays pollen on her face, making her cough. She still tries to move towards her teammates, but the dinosaur blocks her way.
"Bring them here, and go after the others!" orders Prince Mamemon
Komet and Sonne get dragged around the corner. She glances at Lua, and the last thing she sees is the bunny falling unconscious and being taken away by strangers.