Digimon Tamers Zero Two

by MasterCaedus

Tasuke, or Taj, was raised by his 'Uncle' Henry Wong, ever since his parents left when he was very young. In that time, Taj has come to hate his parents and anything related to them. Especially Digimon, the fictional creatures his parents had loved when they were around. But when he gets a real Digimon, Taj must fight Digi-agents of other countries for a chance to find his parents.

46. War of Worlds:Truth or Pefection?

AN: Okay, I was wrong. I thought this would take two months, but I got lucky. The first week of my classes was really light. The next weeks won't be, so the next chapter actually will take a while. I won't have as much time, and I kind of want to make sure I don't burn out this close to the end of the fight with Lucemon. Still, I have the general chapter mapped out so I'll work on it every so often.

Anyways, I really like how I open this chapter and I'm sure you'll all see why. I'd had this chapter opening planned forever. It's fun. I think the focus is on Taj and Henry here, but I had fun doing everyone else too. And even if everything is looking bad, some things are bright – Jeri might be a bit happy, for instance. I hope the why is implied clearly enough, but I think you'll like it too.

So, for my responses:

To Ironic-Chuckaboo- I feed on your cliffhanger-hate. It helped generate this chapter much faster.

Enjoy.

Episode 46: War of Worlds: Truth or Perfection?

I had had the same weird nightmare on and off for years; about as long as I can remember, really. Some of the specific details of the characters in it have changed as my own imagination has aged, but it was always recognizable for what it was. I'm sitting in a desert with a velociraptor, watching the sky go red. Mom and Dad are there with a fox and a dragon, along with some people I don't recognize. A guy and a girl who are my age who have a hedgehog with goggles and the ugliest purple dog I'd ever seen. And then there's this older guy, too. He's got this dog with long ears and a laughing bark.

But then, there's also this... huge thing. It's responsible for the sky turning red, for this pit of fear I get in my gut even after I wake up. It kills everyone, one by one. Mom is the first to go, then the kids and their animals. Eaten whole while the thing laughs. Dad and his dragon turn into a monster, thrashing against the monster to keep me safe but he dies too. Head cut off. Mom's fox tries to save me, but we get thrown and eaten whole. The guy and his dog vanish – I... I get really sad he's gone. Just like when Mom and Dad die in the dream. And then it's just me and the velociraptor. It gives me a hug... and then I wake up just as a huge mouth looms over me.

I don't scream this time, but I do jolt straight up in my bed. Sweat drenches the sheets and I start to pant. Why do I keep seeing this? I take a few more breaths, then climb down to get to my desk underneath it. I grab my phone before wandering over to the window. Sun isn't out yet, but I decided to make the most of it. I throw on my shorts and a shirt, then creep out of the house. The sky is just starting to turn a nice purple when I make it down from Dad's family's house for the Okinawan sunrise. The sun begins to crest over the horizon, shimmering across the surface of the water. I sit down on the beach and rub my arms, keeping warm before the sun starts to warm everything up. It's...

It's perfect.

"Tasuke!"

I turned and look over my shoulder. Mom had just woken up, dressed for a morning run. Me and Dad tried not to wake up early, but she was not one for lazing around. She came down to sit by me when I waved back. "What are you doing up so early?" she asked, ruffling my hair before sitting down with me.

"Enjoying the sunrise." I spread out and dig my toes in the sand, enjoying the feeling. "You and Cousin Kai keep telling me and Dad to check it out before the trip's over."

"Takato is not an early riser. He was almost late to our wedding day, you know," Mom said, an old joke. Well, given how late Dad was to everything else, maybe that was true. She raised an eyebrow at the face I was making. "Five minutes before the service, he charges in with his tie backwards. He's lucky he's adorable."

"Ew, Mom! Stop!" I said, pushing her shoulder.

She smirked at me, then turned back to the horizon. "Looks like it'll be a perfect day," she said, a faraway look on her face.

"Better get on my run," she said after another second. She pushed up to her feet and nodded towards Cousin Kai's house. "Want to run with me, or help the Gogglehead bake breakfast?"

Gogglehead... I blinked hard. "Uh... breakfast," I said, shrugging off this weird feeling. "Definitely breakfast."

X X X

"Remember, Revelamon is far stronger than any Digimon you have ever encountered. Even with this... burst mode, you will not be able to defeat him," Datamon explained as he handed Henry his Digivice. "You can only delay him and give the Digidestined a chance to escape. If he loses access to their Digivices, there is a slim chance he can be defeated." He reached over to his terminal again and compiled data into a card. "Your card was destroyed when Ogudomon attacked you, but I have managed to recompile it here."

Henry felt his spirits fall a bit as he took the Digi-Egg of Destiny card from Datamon. The card had been Tasuke's, and Henry was sure that Tasuke had grabbed it specifically to help him and no one else. A personal item, gone forever. "You still in there, Henry?" Terriermon asked, knocking on Henry's temple like it was a door. "Whoa, echo! Echo...Echo..."

"Terriermon..." Henry sighed after a second.

"Momentai, I'm just kidding!" Terriermon exclaimed. He grinned at Henry and leaped off of his shoulder, gliding to the ground on his ears. "Ready when you are, Brainiac."

"Okay, Flopsymon. Let's go." He lifted the card up to his Digivice and readied to swipe it.

"Hey! Where's the drama, Henry? This is the big time, so let's go big!"

Henry glared at Terriermon, but let out a laugh and nodded. "You know... you're right. Let's take a trip down memory lane." Henry held his Digivice above his head in his left hand and the card over his hard in his right. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Digi-Modify!" He brought his Digivice down and performed a series of quick martial arts movements with it, raising the card and swiping it through as the last punch ended. "Digi-Egg of Destiny, activate!"

"Terriermon, Armor-Digivolve to..." Terriermon shouted. The Digi-Egg appeared around his body. His skin dissolved, replaced with a wireframe growing to his familiar shape of Rapidmon. The Digi-Egg began separating and slamming into the wireframe, creating brilliant golden armor as his fur was recompiled. "GoldRapidmon!"

Datamon stared at the pair and rolled his eyes. "What a waste of precious seconds," he remarked, using a stage whisper to make sure they could both hear him.

GoldRapidmon narrowed his eyes at Datamon. "You know, Pillbug, you're doing a good job of wasting our goodwill."

"Additionally," Datamon said, ignoring GoldRapidmon entirely, "I am unsure of where you will be transported. Without the Digital World proper, you will be moved straight to Revelamon himself. However... I am unsure of where exactly that is. The Boundary between the Digital World and your world has been significantly damaged by the destruction of the Firewall, and what little information I have gleaned from the damaged human network is that he has been sighted everywhere on your world. A figure pushing from the sky and raining fire. Whether the same will be true for you... I am unsure."

"Then I guess we'll have to figure it out as we go," Henry said. He placed the card in his shirt's chest pocket, buttoning it closed so it would stay put. He looked up at GoldRapidmon, fighting off his sadness as he realized this would be the last time they saw one another. He impulsively yanked his phone out and took a picture.

"A candid, Henry!? I could have done something -"

"It's perfect," Henry replied, looking at the surprised look his partner was giving him in the photo. He clenched the phone and shut the screen off before pocketing it. "Okay. Let's go."

Datamon looked at the both of them and, finally, had emotion in his voice. He was scared, but hopeful too: "Good luck, Monster Maker."

He turned back to his terminal and pulled up the Node, altering the information. "Target lock... transportation engaged."

Suddenly, Henry was falling through the sky. There was a massive creature beneath him, larger than he could have imagined. Revelamon made Ogudomon seem... insignificant in comparison. Tiny. He was pushing against the very fabric of reality, two huge claws gripping a shifting series of images that displayed every city, every small town, every location with even a single connection to the Digital World. He had long, flowing blonde hair from which a pair of massive sheep horns that curled around in a full circle with the tips pointing forward. Three pairs of gleaming white wings with six different colored circles made up of different colored feathers were arrayed on his back. A glowing, golden halo was burning behind his head like a crown. His body had five pulsing cells on his collarbones; on the left were a blue and a gold one, and on the right crimson, purple, and bronze. His body was mostly human, but the snow-like flesh abruptly became black and violet scales that turned his legs into reptilian legs with reversed knees and a pair of black tails that spread from the base of his spine.

"Henry!" GoldRapidmon shot towards him, grabbing hold of the human and letting him rest on his back. They continued to rocket towards Revelamon... and he didn't look like he was getting larger. "Holy cow... I thought I was moving at full speed!"

"He's just that big. Even at your speed he doesn't look bigger because the change in perspective compared to his size is... nothing." Henry felt his mouth get dry. He and Terriermon were supposed to hold this thing back all alone?

"Yeah, I'm, uh, nervous too, Henry," GoldRapidmon said.

Henry grabbed one of his partner's ears. "... We can do this. We will." He took a deep breath and activated the BioMerge. As he felt himself and GoldRapidmon fuse, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU, TASUKE!"

"GoldRapidmon Burst Biomerge Digivolve to...!" GoldRapidmon shouted. His body and Henry's melted away, replaced by a pair of DigiCores that swirled around one another. A golden wireframe began to build around the body, taking the familiar shape of MegaGargomon for a moment before exploding in size. The plane wing ears curved forward, becoming the wings of advanced fighter jets. The spartan horn on his helmet shifted forward and flattened into an aerodynamic plane nose over his forehead. The missile silos on his shoulders dissolved and became a series of interlocked hydraulic joints that lined his arms down to updated gauntlets, which had folded back claws with six prongs that could shoot out and grab whatever was in the Digimon's hands. The armor on his torso shifted, slamming down to connect with the belt. A pair of huge metallic pillars exploded from his back and fell down at a diagonal. His legs gained massive hydraulics and fortifying grips at the sides to grip the ground and push back against massive force even harder. Gold began to spiral around his body, slowly turning the wireframe into a full Digimon. What once was green was now brilliant gold and what once was black was shining crimson. Instead of a winged design on his armored skirt was a massive crest of Destiny. "SaintMegaGargomon!" He shouted, raising his fists together above his head and slamming them into Revelamon's head.

The massive creature reeled back in surprise, suddenly releasing his grip on reality itself. But SaintMegaGargomon didn't let up, instead reaching out to grab the horns before jumping back down to place his feet between Revelamon's shoulder blades, arms telescoping and pulling the head back with him.

"What are you!?" Revelamon snapped, voice shaking SaintMegaGargomon's body with the sheer power and size of it. A huge, clawed fist with black and violet scales shot back, reaching for whatever was grabbing him. There was a moment of silence as the figure strained to reach the figure right at the center of its back. Then: "Wong. Kind of you to come to me instead of making me hunt you down!"

SaintMegaGargomon ignored Revelamon. He could feel his time was very limited already, and he refused to waste any of it trading barbs with his enemy. "Tasuke! Tasuke, it's Henry! You have to wake up!"

"He is dead, Wong!" Revelamon snarled, flames and smoke rising from his jaws.

A tail crept up and wrapped around SaintMegaGargomon's neck, yanking him up and tossing him into the air. The golden warrior turned as he rose, reaching back to pull the metal pillars over his shoulders. Bright energy began to charge, visible in vents along the sides. "Saint Howitzer!" The energy in the cannons condensed suddenly and blasted in twin needles at Revelamon.

The flames in his jaws exploded upward in response. "Voice of the Dragon!" The flames crashed into SaintMegaGargomon's attack, the two struggling against one another just long enough for SaintMegaGargomon to jet out of the way and fly down towards Revelamon again. Revelamon's stronger attack destroyed the attack a massive explosion that shook the fabric of this boundary dimension.

SaintMegaGargomon came from the front this time, slamming his fists up into Revelamon's chin to force it to stay up. He held the chin up with both arms, his claws just barely finding purchase when the spikes extended out to puncture Revelamon's flesh. The cannons on his back shot forward, aimed squarely at Revelamon's voice box.

"That will not be enough, Wong. I am a god!" Revelamon's arms shot up to wrench SaintMegaGargomon from his throat. "And even with the power that Datamon has somehow given you, that is not enough to defeat me. When I Load you, I will have even more power! Thank you for delivering that to me!"

SaintMegaGargomon jumped out, the grips on his feet shooting out and hydraulics locking on the incoming wrists The immense pressure that SaintMegaGargomon suddenly felt was insane; he could feel his hydraulics whining and sparking in his body just to keep up with Revelamon's strength. "Davis! May! Tasuke! WAKE UP!" He screamed. "SAINT HOWITZER!" The attack smashed right into Revelamon this time and the pressure gave for a half second, only for it to come back in full. Or maybe more. "Tasuke... Takato! Rika! Anyone, please, fight it!"

X X X

Jeri watched the Digital Field grow more and more dense outside. Ever since that other Digimon had showed up in the sky, the first monster's Loading of the Real World had stopped, giving them a reprieve. But that didn't mean much, not yet. The fires falling from the sky had apparently been falling all over the world, and their destructive power only began with their impact. It turns out that the asteroids were more, they were monsters. Not Digimon, no, monsters. Creatures of wires and horrific teeth. It was awful, seeing those creatures again. D-Reaper drones. The only benefits, she supposed, were that it wasn't her face staring down at the many victims and that it had forced the children with new Digimon partners to work with HYPNOS' agents. For some it was an opportunity to protect the world, and for others it was just self preservation and necessity. But it was something.

She turned her gaze up to the creatures battling in the sky. The huge, MegaGargomon like Digimon had to be Henry. She had no way to confirm it, as the battle was just so far away... but she knew, from deep in her bones. Henry was the only thing standing between some horrifying creature controlling the D-Reaper... and the end of the world. Alone. Which meant Takato, Rika, and the kids were...

She winced as a light from below shined in her face. "What the -" she began, looking down at her... her Digivice in her hands. The screen was glowing bright white, with an almost physical energy flowing out for the first time since... since Leomon's death. Something in her felt different, now. Like part of her had been fixed, in some way that she had forgotten or ignored for decades.

Jeri...

The door flew open, and the other Tamers charged in. Their eyes were puffy red, and salt burns from their tears traced down their faces. "Did you hear it?" Kazu asked, hoarse. He ran up to the window and stared up into the sky. "Haha! Einstein, I don't know what you did but... Damn!"

"Hear what?" Jeri asked, surprised by their sudden appearance. They were completely different, with brightness back in their eyes as they all pressed up against the glass and watched the fight.

Jeri..!

Jeri looked down at her Digivice. "Leo...mon..?" she asked the device, still glowing as it had when she first received it as a child. She breathed heavily, energy and emotions she couldn't fully understand in the moment running through every nerve. So she turned and sprinted from the room, her feet carrying her somewhere she didn't understand. Where was she going? Where was she running? Why?! She ran through the hallways, devoid of agents that were now on the ground fighting to give the city as much time as possible.

Her feet carried her up a half dozen flights of stairs, some other footsteps trailing her. She crashed into a door and fumbled with the handle for a few moments before finally wrenching it open and rushing out, standing on top of the building. She realized she could have used the elevator to get up here, but it didn't matter: she was there already. The other Tamers charged up jut a few steps behind her, and the group settled at the edge of the building. "What are we doing up here, Jeri?" Kenta asked, casting a half-concerned look over the sky scraper's edge. Parts of the roof were already Loaded, leading to sudden erosion and holes into the stairwell. But safety didn't matter.

Jeri looked down at her Digivice. What was she doing here? What had compelled her to sprint to the roof with emotions turning every muscle to steel and her bones to jelly. What?

Jeri!

"I'm here, Leomon!" She shouted, shutting her eyes and raising her Digivice above her head.

"Yeah. That's what you heard!" Kazu shouted, jubilant. Like his greatest hope had been confirmed he and the others let out loud cheers and raised their own Digivices as she opened her eyes.

From the screen of her Digivice was shooting out a solid beam of yellow energy, building a bridge across the universe up into the battle going on above. "LEOMON! HELP HENRY!" Jeri screamed at the beam. "Please help us!"

"Guadromon, kick his ass!" Orange energy exploded from Kazu's Digivice, swirling around Jeri's beam and pushing them both further.

"Keep him alive, MarineAngemon!" Pink energy coiled with the others. It got closer and closer to the battle.

"Impmon, don't let this guy win!" Ai exclaimed.

"You're too good for this loser!" Mako shouted at the same time. Purple energy joined the others. The coiled energy collided with... something, grinding against some kind of barrier, stuck just beyond reaching the other side.

"Break through..." Jeri whispered, praying something would happen. She had to help the kids, she had to help Henry, she had to help Leomon.

Jeri, you still have the heart of a lion.

Jeri didn't know how or why this was happening. She just let tears stream down her face, overjoyed at one more chance to fight beside Leomon. Beside her one and only partner. A Tamer with a Lion's Heart.

X X X

"Digi-Modify! Energy, activate!" Suzie exclaimed, taking a deep breath as she watched her partner shimmer with energy. She recovered from all the wounds she had gained while protecting people from some nasty looking D-Reaper things. She'd already seen a few people get... Loaded. It made her worry even more about the Digital Fog surrounding them, like the Earth itself was going to be Loaded by the monster in the sky.

"Thank you, Suzie!" Antylamon acknowledged before jumping back into the fray, landing between a monster and a family, carving the creature apart with her Bunny Blades.

Suzie nodded, then looked back up at the sky. Her brother – because what else could that GoldMegaGargomon thingie be? - was struggling against the big monster. There was some type of coiling rainbow drilling against the barrier that separated their world from Earth, coming from far to the west. She wished she could help him, but she was stuck down here. But – and she hated to admit it - that thing looked a little out of Antylamon's league.

She focused on Antylamon again. They had their own people to help and problems to fix anyways. She clutched her Digivice tight, fighting off that desire to go fight beside her brother, even still. She looked around and gasped. "Look out!" she cried, rushing towards a family and tackling them, barely managing to get them out of the way of a laser blast from one creature. Debris crashed down, hitting a car. Someone screamed, and Suzie had to push that from her mind too. Another Digimon flw in and grabbed the creature, breathing flames into its face as they flew into the sky.

Suzie jumped to her feet and for a moment wished that the bad guy had at least waited until she was wearing pants to try to destroy the world – she was still in her dress and tights from the ad she'd started with D-CARD, and it was not the most comfortable 'save the world' outfit. Antylamon shot over, carving through a pair of monsters as she moved. "Suzie, you must be more careful!" she demanded angrily.

"Suzie?"

Suzie and Antylamon turned to the voice, surprised that the family Suzie had saved was... her own. Jaarin and two of her kids – her husband rushed in with the others in his arms. He had the oldest hold the youngest's hand for a moment, then reached down and pulled his family up to their feet. "We need to hurry into the building," he said, pulling his wife along with him.

Jaarin and Suzie watched each other as they separated. "...Help Henry. Help my daughter," she begged before she was gone, pulled into the crowd.

Help him? Suzie looked down at her Digivice. How? "Suzie, we have to keep fighting." Antylamon turned towards the monsters advancing on them and the D-CARD agents holding them at bay.

Suzie nodded, but looked down at her Digivice. Please, Henry. Be strong. Hr Digivice began to glow in her hands, shooting a pink stream of energy upward. Suzie watched with wide eyes before laughing. "Of course! It sends emotions and dreams!" She held it high. "Henry... May... Taj... Davis... Come back to us."

The pink energy swirled up, faster than she could comprehend, and coiled with the rainbow above. Finally, the drill shattered the sky and even carved into the chest of the giant monster. And in that moment, Suzie could... feel them. May, Tasuke, Davis... She shut her eyes and focused. "Kids... come home safe."

X X X

I had the nightmare again. But it was... different. Something was … different. The velociraptor was different, less thin and startlingly familiar. He was watching me. Never blinking. Just... just watching me. "Wake up!"

I flinched and turned to the source of the voice. The man with the long eared dog. But now it... it was standing upright. It wasn't a dog, it was something else. "Tasuke, wake up, please! Fight it!"

My eyes shot open as the man did. "Whoa, you okay?" Dad asked, glancing over from the kitchen where he was waiting for breakfast to finish in the oven. Mom looked up from her phone at the table, concerned as he was. I could barely notice them, the nightmare playing over and over in my head.

Kai sighed and walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Did you have that nightmare again? Your parents show you Godzilla one time -"

"Dad," I said, jumping to my feet and rushing past Kai. I stopped at the edge of the kitchen. "Dad... who's Henry? He's your friend, right? Blue hair, serious face?"

Everyone went quiet, then Dad chuckled. "Uh, yeah. He was, but that was a long time ago," he explained. He checked the oven again. "Did you see one of our old photos somewhere before we left?"

"Beat me out as best man at your parents' wedding," Kai said, fake hurt on his face.

Takat – Uh, Dad, I mean – rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, Kai. Not my fault only one of you could make sure I'd only be five minutes late." He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you remember him. He hasn't visited from America in... Rika?"

Mom thought for a second. "Twelve years ago, now," she said. "His Facebook says he's a teacher out in America now, so I doubt we'll see him for a long time."

That... made me sad. More than it should – this guy was a stranger I hadn't seen since I was four. Even knowing that, I couldn't help but feel like it hurt to hear. Still, that had to be why I remembered him. Some photo back home or in our cloud. But... I forced myself to look up at Mom and Dad. "I think I'll go take a swim before breakfast," I said. Maybe it would clear my head. "That nap gave me too much energy!"

"Well, just make sure you don't go too far. It gets deep out there!" Dad called as I rushed to my room to change. I tossed him a wave, mind running too fast to think about anything else. When done, I rushed outside and tossed my shirt away before jumping into the ocean. I was running, but I wasn't sure from what.

I pumped my arms and kicked my legs in the water, focusing on the movements. Usually focusing on this, or drawing, or... anything other than that dumb game my parents liked as kids, it helped me focus. But now? I couldn't help but think about things I didn't know, or didn't care about. Who the hell was this Henry guy and why did I care? Why did my mind keep going back to that dumb show, Digimon, even though it was such an old, lame nostalgia trip for my parents? I brought my arms around one after the other, then turned to breathe. Then I repeated it all again. Left,right, breathe, left right, breathe. It didn't help.

I was so wrapped up in the weird thoughts that I didn't notice that there was something else in the water. Not until it bumped up against me.

I immediately began to flounder, the sudden touch sending terror running through my body. It must have been a shark, or a crocodile, or something that actually lived near here– or... I don't know, but it couldn't be good! I floundered and the water went over my head, leaving me without sound, with dimmer and dimmer light. The creature in the water sun around, swinging a powerful tail to push through. Alligator or crocodile suddenly sounded disturbingly right. I tried to swim away, twisting but losing all control. The creature got closer and closer, glowing yellow eyes locked on mine. -aj. A black reptile, with red patterns all over its body.

It was... it was familiar... I reached out, screaming internally to stop. That thing was getting closer and closer, it was going to bite me! It was -

I sputtered and coughed as I was yanked out of the water, slamming into a wooden floor. Water flooded from my mouth and I heaved for a few minutes before struggling to get any air. "What – what..?"

"You need to be more careful, Tasuke!" Kai exclaimed, casting a worried glare out at the water. His eyes followed the black thing perfectly, tracking it as it moved around and under the small canoe he'd brought out. Kai held the oar tight, then took a deep breath and sit across from me. He examined me for a few minutes,then shook his head. "You're okay, so who cares? We'll just let this be our secret, right?"

I clutched my chest, still heaving. "Th-thanks," I agreed quietly. "It'd freak – freak Mom and Dad out..."

"It isn't usually like this, you know?" Kai supplied. He looked out at the horizon and shut his eyes, appreciating the breeze. Little cold for me, but he seemed happy. "Life's just perfect here. I wish your parents would decide to stay longer. Heck, even move here! It's way better than the city with how busy it is."

"Perfect, yeah," I agreed, half-lying. It definitely seemed perfect, but something about it just rubbed me the wrong way. My eyes drift to the thing in the water, moving much slower and less erratic than before. I moved around to stare up at me, glowing yellow eyes fixed on mine through my reflection. The thing's ears were like small wings, and the pattern of red scales looked almost... mathematical. Intentional.

And familiar.

I raised my hand and reached out again, ignoring the screaming voice in my head telling me it would bite my hand off – it was some kind of scary water monster, after all. Wow, maybe my parents shouldn't have shown me Godzilla as a kid.

Kai grabbed my wrist and yanked me back. "The water is dangerous, Taj. Don't risk this perfect life for something in there."

I felt my blood freeze. Taj? No one called me that, no one. And yet, it seemed familiar. Not right, not coming from him, but natural otherwise. Someone important called me that, I knew that much – lots of important people. "What did you call me?" I asked, hoarse.

"Tasuke, you're being weird. Especially when I kept your hand on your wrist," Kai said. "You probably just need to go home and rest. Drowning is pretty scary, you know."

It sounded right. Everything he said sounded like it was right and logical. But I just didn't believe it at all. "You called me Taj," I said. Kai narrowed his eyes, letting out a... dangerous vibe. "Only my friends call me Taj. Friends. Friends like..." My gaze was pulled towards the creature again. "Like..."

"Then I'll make him part of this, would that make you happy?"

I snapped my head back. Kai was gone, replaced with a tall, blonde man with dangerous eyes and dressed in a very expensive suit. "Gethen!" I snapped, then grabbed my mouth. "W-who?"

I scrambled back to the other edge of the canoe, as far from this Gethen guy as I could get. I looked back at the thing in the water. "B...G? BG! How could I forget my best friend?!" I turned back to the guy in the canoe and started getting even more scared. The sky, just a moment ago a vibrant blue, was turning gray. Not cloudy, just gray. The canoe was losing color, the water, the sun, the fish. Everything but me, the guy, and BG. "What's going on here?"

Gethen stared at me, then stood up and held his hands out. "I can give you everything you have ever wanted, Tasuke. You've seen it – your family, whole. The family you always wanted. Parents, grandparents, friends. The things you asked for as a lost child screaming and alone," he explained, words weighty and pressing on me. My family? I loved my family. "I can alter this a little. Give you back your partner, make you a hero." He waved his hand, and a full color MegaSeadramon was drawn into the water. MegaSeadramon? What was that thing? A Digimon... "A hero." Color began to flow into the world. The sky was blue, the sun shining. "A Digidestined." I reached up in surprise as an unfamiliar weight landed on my head. Goggles? Y-yeah. Goggles, that sounded right.

"You can have everything. And when I become a god, I will be able to give you a happily ever after. A hero standing on the hill, supported by all the people you love. Who would never leave you. No one will ever leave you." Gethen reached out to me, palm up. "Perfection is not real, but when I make a new world, it will be. A truly perfect life for someone who deserves it! All you need to do is let me help you,Tasuke. To save you."

Yeah. It sounded good. It sounded right. Yes. Yes, this seemed right. I raised my hand, reaching out to him. A perfect life. My parents, me, BG. I froze. My parents, me, BG... and...and...

Suddenly, BG flew out of the water accompanied by the roar of a lion. He slammed into Gethen's chest and landed in front of me. The color in the world vanished, and we were stuck in a greyscale painting. "A world where you win is a world worse than nothing!" he snarled. BG looked over his shoulder at me. "Taj, we agreed it'd be you and me against the world. If this loser is the world, then screw the world, right?!"

I felt Gethen's control... snap. Everything came back to me. My parents, my friends, the Digital World, Lucemon... and Henry. I grabbed BG's head and ruffled his ears. I was grateful – he had kept me from making another dumb mistake. "You and me," I agreed resolutely. The air between us began to glow vibrant crimson. "Against the world."

"NO!" Lucemon shrieked, his facade vanishing to reveal his Digimon form. He lunged forward, reaching for my throat, fingers wrapping around me. "Your friends, they accepted my deal. They've abandoned you, as everyone abandons you! Now, when I devour you again, I will make sure you never have a moment of happiness! You will suffer forever at my hand!"

"Better – ach – than not trying, Jackass."

"Bond Level: X. X-Biomerge Digivolution activated." My Digivice appeared midair, blasting Lucemon off the canoe and into the frozen water.

"I don't really care if we win, Lucemon." I grabbed the Digivice and felt myself and BG begin to merge, flooded with so much more power than before. "But you're definitely going to lose."

"BlackGuilmon, X-Biomerge to...!"

X X X

Mayumi Anderson was basically blocking the entire world out as she coded in her office, focused intently on the computer screen. In the decade since high school had ended, she had never gotten any less obsessed with a problem when she was working on it. Not the best habit to have when someone is trying to tell you something important, but working on her own startup it was suddenly very useful. Consumed in her work, she was always able to break through the problems that her team had been struggling with. Her dog, Dory, didn't seem happy with it, though. She'd been yipping at May nonstop for at least ten minutes now, though that was only the time that May had actually heard it. Given how deeply she'd been engrossed, it might have been longer.

"Sorry, Girl," Mayumi told her dog as she pushed back from her desk. Her arms shot up and she stretched, hearing her elbows pop and release a bundle of tension in her shoulders. "KayKay... that's better."

Dory glared at her for a while, then whined and walked up, nuzzling Mayumi's leg. "Hey, I'm sorry. You want a treat?" Dory bounced up and down, excited by the prospect. Right up until Mayumi grabbed a dog treat from her desk and offered it. The dog's excitement vanished in an instant, like the treat was a punishment. Dory met her eyes and gave a very human groan before laying down in a huff and occasionally letting out a shrill yap that seemed to annoy herself more than it annoyed Mayumi.

"Well... fine," Mayumi muttered. She returned the treat to the container and looked back at her computer, waiting for the program to update in the central repository so the testing team could use it on a larger dataset than the one she used for development. That desire to be consumed in her work came back, and it was no longer a benefit when all she could do was wait on others to do their part. "Ugh..."

Dory was suddenly on her feet, running up to the door and yapping angrily. The barking turned quickly to a low, dangerous growl that did not match her completely non-threatening exterior. "Knock knock!"

"Daniel!" Mayumi shouted, rushing to the door to open it and let her younger brother into her office.

Her younger brother grinned and held up a bag of takeout, brown eyes twinkling. "I was thinking you could use a pick me up, Mayumi!"

Mayumi nodded and pulled him in, only for Dory to jump up and begin snarling louder. She leaped at Daniel's feet, trying to bite through hi shoes. "Hey! I know your dog's never liked me, but this is a bit much!" he exclaimed, pulling his leg away. Mayumi bent down and yanked her pet off the ground, struggling against the growling, enraged pup. "Jeez... she woke up on the wrong side of the dog house."

"I don't know what her problem is!" Mayumi exclaimed as she shoved the door shut with her hip and struggled against the unusually strong dog. "Hey, do I need to kennel you?"

The dog stopped barking andd looked back at her, hurt by the prospect. "KayKay... then calm down," he said before placing Dory on the ground. The dog cast a glance at Daniel, who smiled back at the incoming snarl. "Don't taunt her, Daniel."

"I'm not taunting her," Daniel replied dryly. He sat on one side of her desk and began unpacking the Chinese food. "It's not as good as Grandpa used to make, but it isn't too bad."

Mayumi chuckled and made her way over to her chair, only pausing to put Dory down and order the dog to sit and stay away from Daniel. Dory stared u in disbelief, yipping to ask a question. Mayumi just scratched behind her ears and sat down across from Daniel. Mayumi grabbed one of the takeout boxes and cracked it open, scooping the food out with chopsticks and inhaling it. "How long has it been since you ate?" Daniel asked, slightly disgusted.

"Mf-fn-mf!"

"Ew," he muttered. He pushed his food to the side, appetite completely gone. "So... how's the whole project going?"

Mayumi swallowed her food. "It's great! I just finished up a new functionality. I'm thinking that if we can get that contract with the nanotech company we could use it to build anything! It'd be pretty cool if we could make buildings, cars, weapons... anything!"

"Not bad," Daniel said, letting out a low whistle.

"And how are you? Got any news on the girlfriend?" Mayumi asked. She gave her brother a look and he chuckled.

"Yeah, we're getting married," he said, looking away slightly. "I was planning on telling everybody when we're all together, but... well, you asked, right?"

Mayumi grinned wide. "Hey! Congrats, Dan!" she said, using his old diminutive as she reached over to ruffle his hair. He was taller than her now, so it took a bit of a stretch. "You and -"

Her computer dinged, breaking her focus. Mayumi at down and pulled the messaging app open. "Just a sec. This might be about the -" She trailed off, growing confused. This definitely wasn't a work conversation, or if it was somebody was going to be fired.

There was a glowing, pink emoji heart flashing around an 'H' for the profile pic, which was weird enough. She had no idea who someone that general that could be. Whoever it was, the message made even less sense: "DAVIS! MAY! TASUKE! WAKE UP!"

Daniel scoffed. Shaking his head, he began, "Mayumi, come on. You are so obsessed with computers you can't even have a five minute conversation with your brother?" She didn't respond, focused on the message that sent some kind of fear down her spine. "Mayumi. Mayumi, turn it off. Now."

Dory couldn't take it anymore, leaping up onto May's lap, then bounding onto the desk. She began to bare her teeth at Daniel. A surprisingly dangerous growl was rumbling from her throat as she placed herself right in the path of Daniel's arm heading towards the monitor. It was like she was telling him to back off. Mayumi looked up from the message at the interaction, wondering why Dory was acting up like this?

"Be quiet, you ugly dog!" Daniel growled back, slamming his palm down on the table.

"Hey, leave Dorimon alone!" Mayumi snapped, surging to her feet. Dory turned around to her, growl becoming a wide and expectant smile. "Wait, that's... Dorimon?"

"Yeah! Yeah, May, that's me!"

Mayumi stared at her dog... and was torn between the urge to scream at how scared she was of her talking dog, and incredible relief that she was finally talking. So she stood in silence, staring dumbfounded at the dog. Dory didn't seem to mind: she hadn't shut up since she started talking. "Oh my gosh, you can't believe how bad it was, May! I kept talking and talking and talking but you couldn't understand me! I keep asking you why you look so old now and why you weren't giving me any licorice. I mean come on, I need my fix May! And I told you a bajillion times not to trust this guy because Lucemon is really bad at pretending to be Dan, even a jerky grown up Dan!"

"Wait... Luce -" May gasped and grabbed her own throat. Her voice, why was it higher now? Younger? Her hair felt odd, held up in a way sh didn't remember having it for years. Then... She wheeled on Lucas Gethen, sitting in the other chair with a slightly annoyed glare on his face. "Lucemon!" Memories flashed through her mind: the Digital World, Biomerging... the fight. "Where are Taj and Davis!?"

Gethen let out a sigh and crossed his legs. He clasped his hands in his lap as the world slowly drained of its color. "You are remembering a war. You look at me and think that it is my fault, that I fought you. That is true. We fought, a brutal battle and one I enjoyed winning, I will not lie about that. A war that the world you come from decided should be fought by children. Infants, in the case of your partner," he started, offering a nod to Dorimon as he said the last part. May glanced at Dorimon, begrudgingly admitting he had a point. She'd been chosen to fight Lucemon when she was only fifteen and Dorumon was a couple days old. And Davis? He'd been twelve. "Yes, I fought you, but that could be your last fight. Ever. You could live a life of peace and use your mind to create success as you dreamed here. Dorimon, sitting at your side without a care."

"... May..." Dorimon warned, not liking the sound of any of it. But... but why not? May thought that kind of life sounded nice. Fighting had never been something she sought out, it had been forced on her. All of this had been forced on her.

The world around them began to change, turning into a living room. "Davis, your family." They appeared in the room, laughing at something on TV. May wandered over to them, reaching out before pulling away. "Safe and at peace. Imagine, a life without war, or pain. We do not have to be enemies, because I want to give you what you want. Everything you have ever wanted." He held his hand out. "It will not be a struggle, it will not be a fight. You just have to let it happen. Do not get in your own way."

May could hear the laughter of the people around her. She wanted to join in. She just wanted to... to be happy. She didn't want to fight, unlike Taj. She just wanted to keep her family safe, and he was offering her a life where they were safe without having to sacrifice anything dear to her. She looked over at Gethen, who stood and moved towards her with his hand extended for a shake.

"Shut up, Blonde Jerkmon!" A purple ball leaped up, jaws slamming shut on his hand. Gethen didn't flinch at the teeth that clasped around his arm, but a flash of annoyance ran through his eyes.

"Be quiet you annoying creature, and take what you are given before it is no longer offered," he hissed, moving his arm and tossing her against the ground.

"Screw you, Lucy Goosey!" Dorimon snapped as she turtled on her back. "May isn't selfish enough to let you eat the world just to keep me and her family safe!"

May flinched and looked down at her partner, surprised by the surety in the Digimon's voice. She pulled her hand back and rubbed her arm. She was that selfish, though. "If you win, you get everything! You get to decide everything! May knows she doesn't need to keep me safe from everything, so letting you have that isn't worth never fighting again! And definitely not worth being this small all the time!"

May clenched her fist. "Thanks for reminding me, Dorimon," she said. She let out a breath she'd been holding. She'd forgotten that she and Dorimon needed to trust each other to get as strong as they had. Taking the easy way out? She'd do it, but not when the cost was this high. Not when it meant that the world would be like this illusion – everyone but her just a puppet for Lucemon to wave around.

Dorimon grinned as May picked her up. "We're in it together, right? Even if we have to fight, I'm with you, not hiding behind you!" There was a violet flash between the two.

"I know you're just saying this so you can be big," May said, clearly joking. She grinned. "But I want to be big, too. I'm with you."

"And what hope do you have now? Your friends have already agreed to this, would you deny them their perfect worlds? You alone cannot defeat me, and they will never forgive you for stealing this from them," Lucemon snapped, eyes growing wild as he readied to attack.

"No way," May said. She and Dorimon stuck their tongue out at Lucemon. "Taj won't do that again. And Davis has four years of payback to get out of you." She tapped her chin. "You know, for the Devil, you're not that great a liar."

He was blasted back by another pulse of light."Bond Level: X. X-Biomerge Digivolution activated."

"Dorumon, X-Biomerge to...!"

X X X

"Merry Christmas, Son."

Davis looked up at his father with wide eyes, excitement covering his face as the man pulled out a small box wrapped in brown paper to hand his son. The lights twinkled bright all around them, and the tree reflected it all in its decorations. Davis' mother smiled and took a sip of her coffee as she waited for their son to open his gift. His father walked over and sat beside her, his brown hair drifting into his green eyes as he grinned at his wife. "I think he'll like it," he told her before grabbing her hand.

Davis carefully took the box... then tore into it with all the patience that any other five year old would have. The paper went flying, eliciting a laugh from his mother that turned into a gasp of annoyed pain – coffee had flown from her nose. His dad tried to hide his laughter at what happened to his wife, turning and coughing into his fist. Davis ignored them and tossed the box's top away so he could reach in with one little hand and pull out. "Awesome! Thanks Dad!" He rushed over to his dad and hugged him tight before he held the toy up and grinned wide. It was a Digimon toy, one of the ones that you could unfold to Digivolve. This one was a Huckmon that could unfold into a Jesmon, and Davis quickly sat down to figure out how to do it.

When he finally managed to make his toy become Jesmon, he laughed and ran around with it held out like it was flying. He made whooshing and slashing noises like he was fighting monsters. He made the Jesmon flip and slashed at an imaginary bad guy with the tail. He ran around a few more times, coming dangerously close to knocking over decorations, but eventually moved over to the couch and changed the toy again back to Huckmon. For some reason, he thought as he sat huddled up in his mom's arms watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, it was more right that way. It fit better in is hands, and he imagined it made the toy feel more comfortable.

"Daddy, can you go get me a cookie?" Davis asked when he suddenly got hungry as Rudolph met the misfit toys.

Davis' father looked over. "Well... fine. But only one. You still need to eat dinner, you know," he said before ruffling his son's hair. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen.

At which point, Rudolph and the Misfit Toys stopped their song and all turned to the screen. "Davis! May! Tasuke! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Davis asked, looking up from his Huckmon toy and staring in surprise as the song continued. "Mommy, did you hear that?"

"It's just a song, Mijo," she said. "'Nobody wants to face rejection' isn't that bad."

Davis blinked. "Oh," he nodded, sure his mom was right and he'd misheard. She wouldn't lie to him. "Okay." The toy in his hands was cold for a moment, but he decided he was imagining that, too.

It was at that point that Davis' father came in with the cookies and turned off the movie. "Okay," he began, handing off the gingerbread man to his son, "I'm going to go make dinner soon, so it's the only one."

Davis stared at the gingerbread man, the feeling of... wrong coming back. Mom always made the food, because – why? And what he heard in that song, it didn't feel like it wasn't real. He ran a finger along the back of his new toy, but it made him feel more worried. Why would someone want him to wake up? He was already awake... "I... I'm going to go to my room," Davis muttered, pushing off the couch and giving his parents hugs. He felt old, way older than five. Why? It didn't make any sense... maybe he was tired.

He grabbed his toy and went up the stairs, turning into his room and jumping on his messy racecar bed. He tossed around on it, eventually just laying back and looking at the ceiling. What was going on? He turned to the toy and smiled. "Whaddya think, Huckmon?" He ran his hand along the toy's back and frowned. There was something he didn't remember sticking out of the back, beneath the cloak. He sat up and pulled the cloak back, staring at the small, rusty gear. "That's not right..."

He twisted the gear on a whim and flinched back, tossing the toy away. Why? Because it had turned its head, staring directly into his eyes, and said in an eerily familiar voice, "Davis, wake up! We have to save May, Taj, your mom, everybody!"

Davis stared at the toy. "Taj? May... Mom!" Davis surged to his feet, snapping the slats of the toy bed as the teenager weight appeared all at once. He remembered now... everything. His fists clenched and he snarled. Lucemon would pretend to use his father? His mother? Oh, he'd kill the mon.

Huckmon on the bed exploded outward to full size, turning the rest of the bed into scraps. "Ach!Ew, everything tastes like plastic, Davis!"

"We'll pay him back for it," Davis said. He watched color drain from the world around him and growled again. "We need to get out of here." He stopped as he reached the door, then crouched and turned around. "Thanks, Huckmon. For waking me up."

"Hey, Guardromon and Henry helped," he said. Davis raised an eyebrow in surprise at the mention of those two, but shook it off and patted Huckmon's head.

"Then let's go," he said. He took a breath, turned, and threw the door open. "Hey! Lucemon!" Davis marched out, moving down the stairs slow, ready for a fight.

Lucemon walked out of the kitchen, where Davis "dad" had been. He was using his old face as Director Gethen... making Davis' blood boil. "Davis...can't you see this is all for you? You have carried the weight of the world for too long, as only a child. With me, you could -"

"Oh, shut it!" Davis and Huckmon snapped, surprising Gethen enough he took a half step back. Huckmon continued, "You can't play us twice, G-Man. We've outgrown bribes from you – and you know, you never got my favorite chocolate right! Always bought the wrong brand!"

"He's right. I'm not letting you hold my mom hostage anymore," Davis agreed. Brown-bronze energy flashed between him and his partner. "And you can't tear us apart – I trust Huckmon. I screwed up on Christmas with this, I'm not doing this whole thing again."

"Bond Level: X. X-Biomerge Digivolution activated."

Gethen's face became demonic and he slammed his hand through the fake version of Davis' mom. Davis forced himself not to flinch at the image of his mom's head exploding. It wasn't real, it wasn't true. He'd still kill Lucemon for it. "Your friends will not be there to help you, they -"

"They'd be right here if that was the case," Davis said, voice quivering with rage. He shook his head to cool off. "You taught me how to lie and trick people. You wouldn't have made two or three or more stupid TV sets like this if you could make one and throw us all in it. You kept us separate to keep us quiet. But Henry got through to me. Me? May and Taj are his family – if I'm not the last out, we're all just realizing it together."

"Huckmon, X-Biomerge to..."

X X X

SaintMegaGargomon let out a pained gasp as he fought against the pressure of Revelamon's arms and neck. He couldn't do this alone, so he called out again. It had been useless, and but he hoped it wouldn't stay that way. He had to keep hoping. Could they even hear him calling for them? He gently pushed that idea from his mind, pulling himself back to the basic lessons of Tai Chi. He had to remain confident, but it could only happen if he allowed nature to take its course. His mind drifted as he shouted to those he cared for the most. Suzie, holding down the fort and protecting the real world behind him. Jaarin, waiting desperately for her child to return. The other Tamers, probably terrified by the loss of their partners with the Digital World. Even Jeri, who needed to protect the children – her patients – from evil. Thinking of them made a warmth blossom in his Digicore, giving him the strength to go on.

But more than that, SaintMegaGargomon forgot until it was glowing in a spiral drill above him. A gleaming swirl of lights and energy that made every bit of his data explode with energy. Voices began to spiral through his mind. Jeri, shouting for Leomon to help and receiving a roar of courage in agreement. Ai and Mako were telling Impmon they were waiting for him to come home, andhe told them he wouldn't keep them waiting longer. Kenta was stammering, like he had all those years ago as a kid, only for MarineAngemon's noises to calm him. Kazu – Kazu was as he always was, brashly telling Guardromon that they were going to 'kick this big lug's ass...' with Guardromon echoing the sentiment word for word.

And then, finally, Suzie. "Henry... May... Taj... Davis... Come back to us."

The swirl of lights drilled above SaintMegaGargomon's head, the point a glowing and deadly star. SaintMegaGargomon realized this was his one chance, and so did Revelamon. The pulling became so much stronger as he tried to escape, to dodge the incoming attack. SaintMegaGargomon felt the gears and hydraulics in his arms and legs scream in protest, some breaking down and releasing smoke. But he wasn't just some robot, some thing that could break. SaintMegaGargomon – Henry and Terriermon – were more than that. They held on, glowing light burning down their limbs as they hld his head in place with all their strength. Their claws shattered from the force, nearly freeing Revelamon, but they grabbed on with their fingers and blasted an attack into his throat again. "DAVIS! MAY! TASUKE!" They screamed as their limbs gave out and the world went dark. "WAKE UP!"

There was a bright flash. SaintMegagargomon was blasted backwards, eyes open and body frozen from pain. The lights had collided right with Revelamon's head, burrowing deep within but never exiting from the back. Everything was quiet for a moment as the energy began to slowly stop flowing, tapering off until no more light collided with the demon.

"What?" Revelamon began. "No. No! Stop it, this is perfect – this is what you want!" Energy pulsed in three of the five gems on his collarbones. "Peace!" He grabbed at the three gems and held them tight, fist shaking. "Love!" The energy pulsed again, traveling up his arm and sending it flying away, data like blood flowing into the air. "A perfect world! WHY WOULD YOU -"

The energy pulsed again, and the three gems began to shine rays of red, violet, and bronze light out like laserbeams.

"X- BIOMERGE TO..!" six voices shouted. The gems -no, the Digi-eggs – exploded. All at once.

From the bronze egg shot a shining warrior of red, gold, and white. Brilliant blue gems lined his armor and the five swords on his wrists, tail, and feet. A pair of hands made from golden energy with swords for fingers erupted from his back like wings from beneath his cloak. He bounced across the air, puddles of energy allowing him to fly through this space between worlds, and giving brief glances of the much more angular and sleek shape of his armor. "Jesmon X!"

The creature from the violet egg was the most recognizable, complete with black and gold armor that reflected light with a brilliant polish. Clasped in her right hand was a massive sword as tall as she was, and flared behind her, beating to push her forward on feathers of flame, were glowing golden wings. She slashed in front of her in time with Jesmon, carving through an incoming claw grasping for them, and coming out the other side. "Alphamon Ouryuken!"

And finally, from the scarlet egg... The wings on his helmet had lengthened into a pair massive, purple dragon antlers. Green crystals formed eyes in the helmet above the glowing gold of his own eyes, crested by silver protrusions like teeth above and below his eyes. The gray hair coming from the top of his helmet had grown, reaching the middle of his back and turning into a deep ebony. His armor, once silvery gray, was now a cool platinum with sharp violet protrusions. His pauldrons had grown much larger, protecting down his entire upper arm. His feet were adorned with a single violet wing at either heel, and similarly colored hook blades coming from the front of either foot, allowing him to fly as the others now could. His shield was massive, with a huge violet crystal adorned with the Digital Hazard at its center like a dark star. And erupting from a large gauntlet on his right hand, focused through violet crystals that was embedded in his shield... was a deadly blade of pure, violet plasma. "Fafnir's Edge!" The blade on his arm shot to an astronomical size as he dragged it upward in the blink of an eye, severing another claw as he and the others came to a stop in front of SaintMegaGargomon. "ChaosGallantmon X."

The three turned around to glare at Revelamon, energy dancing all around them. They were much smaller than either of the other combatants, barely larger than their old Biomerged forms had been. Compared to Revelamon – SaintMegaGargomon's mind went numb as he looked over at his enemy.

He was... shrinking. He remained massive, easily twice SaintMegaGargomon's massive size, but still... he was weaker. Massive compared to any of them, but... "I gave you perfection!" Revelamon screamed, voice shaking the fabric of reality again.

The three knights before SaintMegaGargomon simply floated and glared up at him. "I knew he was lying," ChaosGallantmon said first. He deactivated the plasma cutter on his arm and decompiled the shield on his other before he placed a hand around either of the others' shoulders. "As if you guys would let him win."

"Gave you the same spiel, huh?" Jesmon asked with a laugh.

Alphamon chuckled and grabbed them both. "I'd never let this big jerk win."

The three chuckled before turning back to Revelamon, though ChaosGallantmon turned back to SaintMegaGargomon after just a moment. "Thank for saving us, Henry," he said quietly. He shut his eyes and nodded. "I... I couldn't have gotten out without you. You saved the world."

"You got that right," Jesmon said, pumping one of his swords.

"KayKay – let's exorcise this jerkmon!" Alphamon exclaimed. She hefted her sword effortlessly in one hand.

"I will Load your data... and you will suffer when I remake this world!" Revelamon screamed, voice cracking with minor data glitches. "Fuel that I will toss away when you are useless! I will torture your families! I will shred every innocent for whom you care! I will unleash my justice on all you have every loved, and then I will make them my slaves!"

"What a whiny loser."

Then the three shot forward, the hopes of the world at their backs. They would win, SaintMegaGargomon knew. And so,he let his eyes drift shut. It was time to... rest.

X X X

ChaosGallantmon X, the Black Knight Digimon and carrier of the X-Antibody. He has become a warrior devoted to ensuring that, even in defeat, the enemy would never win. By fighting for this reason, he eventually drew the loyalty and hopes of other Digimon to whom he became a lone avenger that absorbed the X-Antibody and was blessed with supreme sacred armor, lance, and shield forged from all forms of Digizoid. The demonic lance Balmung was purified in lightning that amplified into plasma. His mantle has become a forested green, a token meant to evoke the one who changed his path. By channeling his increased power into Balmung, he can elongate the plasma blade into the attack of Fafnir's Edge to cut through any material from nearly a mile away. If an enemy becomes the target of his full vengeance, he will unleash an unending power to burn away their life with Gorgon using the attack Judecca Prison.

SaintMegaGargomon, a Holy Machine Digimon. A Digimon so large that he dwarfs even his prior form of MegaGargomon. He has sacrificed a vast majority of his firepower in order to become the ultimate wall to prevent the advance of evil. His hydraulics are capable of extending and unleashing claws to grab hard against anything before him, with similar grip on his feet to use the ground to aid in holding back any force that could have otherwise overwhelmed him. The power of the DigiEgg of Destiny can be seen in how his strength can stand up to even Digimon that would defeat great Archangels with ease, as well as in his single attack that channels the power of his very soul into a single blast from the cannons on his shoulders: Saint Howitzer. Once all of his energy has been used, this singularity of hope and destiny will vanish, for such power comes only at the cost of his own life.

The fight with Lucemon for the fate of the world ends... in the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.