Failsafe

by PhantomGalaxy13

"If you hear this message, then we have failed. To call this a final gambit would be a gross understatement for the situation we have forced you into. If I could apologize an infinite number of times, it will never be enough. But I AM sorry. Unfortunately, I—and by proxy, you—have little time. You must wake up! I left clues, but you must search for them! Befo—" 1stAnniv! SYOC 15/15

7. Eastern Thieves

Arshan leaned on the rails of Ancient Troiamon while Coro sat atop them. Both looked to the darkened skies, black waters, and strange floating billboards asking Digimon to buy sand. But they weren't there for sightseeing.

"I am so sorry, Sensei Karatenmon," Arshan exhaled.

"Karatenmon made his choice," Coro and Arshan turned to see Koji walking up to them. "He was a good Digimon and a great friend," The Warrior of Light fished his pockets, picking up a black feather. More than likely, it belonged to the Ultimate. "Originally, I met him as an enemy working under Ragna Lordmon's men."

"Really?" The two newcomers were surprised to hear that such a kind and patient Digimon worked for Ragna Lordmon.

"He was a tough opponent, able to read my mind and moves," Koji thought back to when he fought the Ultimate. In a one-on-one, Karatenmon outmaneuvered Lobomon. "I was able to win in the end, but we met again during the 6th Generation. He was far more jovial and a ruler of his own land. He became a dear ally after we sparred. ... I admit, with my friends gone, having him around who understood what I went through was... nice. "

"I'm sorry I-"

Koji interrupted Arshan. "You saved him, you know? Because you restored a Primary Village, he'll be able to come back. Sure, there may be a huge backlog since it's the only one in a long time, but make sure that when he returns, you can thank him properly for what he's done."

Arshan had forgotten he had fixed a part of the Digimon's life cycle. It had not even been a week, but so much had happened to make him forget.

Koji sighed before putting a hand on Arshan's shoulder. "Despite how you act, you remind me of another stubborn friend of mine. Since you won't be in my group, listen and obey Henry. He's the most sensible among the chosen, if not for Terriermon. That rabbit-dog-thing is too easily bored."

The teams were decided.

The South team consisted of Tai, Mimi, and Stefania.

The East team had Koji, Yuma, and Yoshi.

The West team consisted of Kari, Dorulumon, and Marc.

And for the North Team? Henry and Arshan would try to meet up with Izzy.

Even with some members returning into the fold, Arshan noticed the northern team was lacking a 3rd member sans the partners. He knew if Karatenmon was still alive, he'd more than likely be a part of their team, which was why he was moping in the first place. Thankfully, Koji saw this and decided to have some words with the young Restorer that wouldn't involve him being pushed off a cliff.

...Right?

"You be safe too, Koji. It must be scary that you have a chance to save your friends but have to stop yourself from getting too excited."

"That empath thing is somehow annoying," Koji muttered under his breath, not used to someone seeing right through him. "But while you are right that I can't let it get to my head, I... do want to see my brother and friends again. But we have to be patient. Ancient Troiamon was the easiest to purify."

What!? Are you callin' me weak!?

Koji rolled his eyes. "I'm not. Your core was the easiest to get to."

That still sounds like it!

"Just focus on getting us to land," Koji dismissed before turning back to Arshan. The Warrior of Light handed Arshan Karatenmon's feather. "Remember what he liked to say: surrender never leads to freedom."

"Excuse me?" The three turned to see Dorulumon walking up to them. "Koji, may I have a word with the two alone?"

The Warrior of Light looked over at Dorulumon before he nodded and gave the newcomer some space.

"Greetings. I am Dorulumon, one of the founders of Xros Heart." When he bowed, the two returned the gesture. "There is something I wish to confirm, especially after the Mega level you two reached. May I please take a look at Coro?"

Coro jumped off the rails as Dorulumon stepped closer to stare down the rookie. Arshan felt nervous about this while Coro tilted his head in confusion. "Hmm. No. You are not the Apollomon that served Bagramon. Still, that only brings more questions."

"What?" Coro asked, not knowing what most of that meant.

"Just satisfying my curiosity. Nothing important, I promise you," Dorulumon said. "I wish you luck on your journey, Arshan and Coro, especially since your actions may have caught Ragna Lordmon's attention."

The two stayed quiet for some moments before Arshan turned to his partner. "Do you have anything you want to say, Coro?" He asked, not knowing what to do now.

"Well, I feel like we should buy some sand, and I don't know why." Arshan closed his eyes and did his best not to exhale deeply while he knew they were passing by another random billboard trying to get them to buy sand.

Good Timing! Cause we've got landfall in t-minus 4 minutes! Get with your groups, Digidestined!

[Much later]

Thanks to the efforts of the Restorers, plant life had stabilized—as much as the Digital World allowed—throughout the planet. Dead trees bloomed once more, and forests of all sorts returned. The east group took a break deep within the clearing of one. The dark clouds loomed over them, but the greenery of the area around them was a more welcome sight than when the 7th generation first arrived.

Yoshino didn't remember much. She was helping Xros Heart with an area that detected movement from Ragna Lordmon's forces. She didn't expect the Bio-Hybrid, Nanami, to be there, attempting to sneak a strike force through a blindspot and into the main base of Xros Heart. A fight broke out, but the reason why the area was so barren was because of the high number of Eaters seen within the area. Their fight stirred an entire swarm of them to attack both of them and then...

The next thing she knew, she was waking up to the 7th generation. Xros Heart also failed against Ragna Lordmon and failed hard. Xros Heart was a fraction of what it was when she last saw it, which she had to admit was disconcerting considering the sizeable force it was. Then again, the same was said about her generation's last push against Ragna Lordmon.

She shivered when remembering the Moons.

What was more telling was what wasn't said. Yoshi noticed even Kari and Henry were tightlipped in telling her what happened after Xros Heart was defeated. Still, what happened to her friends after she got possessed by Eaters? Ultimately, none of the others knew what happened except for one, but they had to be out there somewhere.

Yoshi sighed as she leaned into the rock she was sitting on. At the very least, she was watching Yuma and Koji practice swordsmanship in their Digimon forms.

Koji as Lobomon embodied his element: light. He was graceful, swift, and powerful. He rushed forward while Yuma, as Mushamon, held his katana forward. Lobomon held two lightsabers and swung at the newbie: two downward slashes came down at the speed of blurs. Yuma dodged one but parried the other. He couldn't stop Lobomon from jabbing his right handle into his stomach. Yuma's form faltered as Koji knocked Mushamon's blade out of his arm in a clockwork flourish, making the sword clatter some distance near the lake they were all resting at.

"You're so fast," Yuma rubbed his stomach before bowing to his senior.

Koji returned the gesture as he disabled his sabers. "It's a good idea you fight fast opponents in practice before you face them for real. ...Even before I became Lobomon, I practiced kendo. Karatenmon and I noticed despite your Digimon instincts, you've never used a weapon before."

"H-How could you tell?"

"Your footwork, for one," Koji went to pick up Yuma's blade and handed it back to the Restorer. "Now, I didn't notice before, and since we're Digimon, we do technically have greater strength, but you need to loosen your grip around your right hand. The strength of your blade has to come from your left while the right..."

Yoshi zoned out as Koji instructed Yuma. She half wished she was with any of the others, especially the ones that had Arshan and Stefania as they had the same Digivice she did. She tried to teach the two all that she knew but would have preferred to help Arshan reach the higher levels the correct way. But the rolls were rolls. Then she turned over to Funbeemon. Although Yoshi knew the Restorers in less than a few days, their Digimon were a very... colored... bunch. Two claimed to be a God Dragon and future Queen of the Digital World, one had an odd quirk in laughing at the smallest thing she found funny, and the last had a very ballooned view of his partner.

Needless to say, Yoshi looked to see the boisterous Digimon look down in the dumps.

"Are you alright, Funbeemon?" Yoshi asked.

"What? Of course I am! As queen, it is my duty to remain on task for all my vassals!"

Lalamon floated over to the bee. She had a lot of experience with people claiming to be well, so she pressed on. "Are you sure you're alright? You don't have to keep strong for our sakes."

Funbeemon seemed to slacken her stance. Lalamon gave the future Queen of the Digital world a calm smile that eased the rookie. After fighting herself for a moment, and seeing Yuma focused heavily on a spar, she admitted, "It's just...I feel useless. Bibi has help from Marc's cards, a certain dingus can Digivolve, and Coro? I'm supposed to be at the same level as him, but we all saw him fight champions and even made an Ultimate such as Sensei Karatenmon take him seriously for a moment. I'm not even gonna say anything about how he skipped straight to Mega. Yuma? He's 4th generation, meaning that he doesn't even need me. His Digivice means that he'll get stronger while I remain the same."

Yoshi found herself staring, but Lalamon seemed confused.

"But you want to be Queen, don't you? You don't need to do the fighting yourself."

"I don't want to be that kind of Queen! I wanna be the one that inspires others! And hearing about King Shoutmon made me want to be a Queen who inspires by leading the charge!" The rookie admitted.

Yoshi could relate. There were many times she wanted to be similar to her friends, Marcus and Thomas. But then, a thought occurred to her. "There's more to being a queen than just fighting well."

Funbeemon turned to Yoshi. "What?"

While they were speaking, Koji let Yuma alone to practice his swings. Curious about something, Yuma gathered energy into his blade before firing a sword beam with the form Koji showed. The attack sailed past the trees and slammed into a bush near a cliff. "YEAOH!?"

Said bush screamed in pain...wait...

"OH! Ow! Uh! My back!" The "bush" in question yelled, but the sound of his voice paled to the sound of bones cracking alongside heavy thuds. The Eastern Group's eyes widened in alarm before all of them raced after the talking bush.

When they got to the bottom of the steep, jagged cliff they saw a Digimon that looked to be a combination of a lizard, humanoid, and slug mostly covered by greenery aside from his three horns. Yuma's Digivice showed the name: Ghilliedhumon. Ultimate Level.

"Uhhh," The old-sounding Digimon gasped in pain. "I am in so much pain. But my legs. Why can't I feel them?"

Yuma made the mistake of comparing the image on his Digivice with the poor mon sprawled in front of him. He did not want to ask if Ghilliedhumon's feet were naturally quadruple-jointed and faced the opposite direction.

The old Digimon started to cry. "I'm so sorry, my beloved Granddaughter! I've failed you! No! How can I protect my dear sweetheart now when I can't even move!? Alas, now I will be killed by these strange Digimon!" He sobbed louder.

"H-Hey. We're not going to hurt you," Yoshi blurted out before she realized they were far past that point already. "I-I mean it was an accident."

"I um," Yuma bowed his head in shame. "I am sorry for this! I want to make it up to you!"

"You're just saying that to lower my guard and ultimately end this life in betrayed horror, aren't you?" The old man Digimon spoke through sobs.

"N-No! I-I promise that I'll help. You have my word." Towards the end of that sentence, Yuma calmed down and did his best to sound noble.

"Really?" The old man glanced towards the others.

Koji felt torn in both sympathy and annoyance. "Yoshi, please tell me Lalamon can heal in her later stages."

Yoshi and Lalamon shook their heads while the old Digimon turned to Koji.

"We... will make it up to you." Koji fought the urge to sigh. He did want to make up for the problem they caused, but this was also setting them behind schedule.

"Promise me," Ghilliedhumon choked up. "Promise me you'll help me with my granddaughter before the eternal death cycle awaits me."

"We promise." Everyone agreed to varying levels of willingness.

"Thank you! That means that our mission isn't scrapped! We can still rob the queen!"

"Please rest, sir," Lalamon floated over. "If you're...wait. What did you just say?" Everyone else also had a mental record scratch when their brains just processed what the injured Digimon just said.

Ghillidehumon turned his gaze past the humans, making the East Group spot a town made of candy with a castle mixed with sweets and jewels. "See, here, I was profiling the security of that castle with my scope," Yoshi noticed near her foot was a sniper rifle. "Until something pushed me off a cliff! Now, with more people helping us, especially more Humans, we're sure to steal Queen Weddinmon's treasure hoard!"

"You're a thief!?" Yoshi cried out in disbelief.

"Thief is such a strong word. I prefer, "Aggressive Opportunist". But enough about me, we're wasting time! Quick, bring me up to my base where I can tell you and my granddaughter the change in our plans!" The old Digimon answered energetically despite his legs bending in ways they shouldn't.

"Unbelievable. Forget it," Koji felt a headache coming. "Come on, let's get going."

When the Warrior of Light turned away, the old Digimon asked, "You're leaving this poor, defenseless old man after critically injuring him?"

"You were trying to plan a heist. I wouldn't call that defenseless."

"Boo-hoo!" The old man started to cry, but by now, everyone gave the Digimon a deadpan glare. "How cruel is my end! I was going to split some of the treasure we got with you, maybe even that Crest-Tracking totem Weddinmon found, but alas!"

Koji froze mid-step and turned back to the old Digimon. "What was that about a Crest?"

The old Digimon sniffed. "I heard rumors that Weddinmon recently found a Totem from ancient times that could track down the 1st and 2nd Human Generation's Crests. The rumors said that she was going to hand it to the nearby Paladins the day after tomorrow, and Ranga Lordmon will use it to hunt down anyone from the first and second generations of Humans! But alas, if you want Ragna Lordmon to have it, then it's as good as his!"

"Oh no..." Yoshi paled as she heard all of that.

Yuma and Funbeemon looked confused. "What? What's a Crest?" Funbeemon asked.

"Their objects of power that are fueled by the first and second generation's emotions," Lalamon explained to the newcomers. " If Ragna Lordmon gets his hands on that Totem, then he can track down Kari, Mimi, and Tai even with all of our plans!"

Koji couldn't help it as he let out an annoyed groan after all. The idea that Ragna Lordmon or any of his Paladins finding and capturing Tai, Kari, or any of the Restorers with them was a worst-case scenario! "Fine! We'll help you. But only because of that Totem!"

"Oh! Thank you, kind strangers!" The old Digimon choked up with joy this time. "Now please, help me up. I can feel my arms, but they're only giving me immense pain right now."

Yuma turned to Yoshi and Koji. "D-Do we really have to? Can't you both just go Mega and take the object?"

"Bad idea. Mega Level Digimon have amazing auras that others can sense at a large distance. If there are Paladins on their way here, they'll sense us going Mega and tell Ragna Lordmon, allowing him to narrow down to the visions he needs to capture us," Yoshi answered Yuma. "And that's a BEST case scenario. They can potentially catch up and fight with us, causing another slew of problems. We're trying to lay low, so even going Ultimate is risky since ours tend to be stronger than regular Ultimates."

"And back at Tab Island, there were wards magically placed by Wizardmon and others to ensure even Zero's aura wouldn't be detected properly by Ancient Troaimon. That isn't the case here so unfortunately, we have to rely on the lower levels for this." Koji added along before he took out his Digivice. After turning into Lobomon, he lifted the mastermind Digimon as much as he could.

"I can't believe we're agreeing to a heist. I'm still a police officer!" Yoshi cried out.

"We're doing this to help Tai and the others," Koji said that not only for Yoshi and Yuma, but also for himself. It didn't mean he liked the situation they were in. If given the chance, he'd kick Ghilliedhumon off another cliff himself!

Koji exhaled. Maybe he was being too harsh; after all, they did accidentally knock him off a cliff.

"Now," Ghilliedhumon trailed off. "Where did I set up camp again?"

On second thought, Koji knew this was going to be a long day.

Luckily for him, Funbeemon seemed to finally realize something as she asked. "Hey wait. Did you say we're stealing from a queen?"

[Later.]

Eventually, Ghilliedhumon remembered where he set up camp and led the east-bound group to a humble hut hidden in a nearby swamp.

As Lobomon entered first with the old—VERY TALKATIVE—Digimon, Funbeemon, and Yuma looked towards Yoshi and Lalamon.

"Is it me, or is Ghilliedhumon..." Funbeemon tried to think of a political way to frame her question.

"Why is he insane?" Yuma had little of his partner's tact.

"Yuma! Be nice!" The bee exclaimed.

Yoshi sighed. "Actually, there IS a reason. See, with Ragna Lordmon plunging the Digital World into a stagnant war, not many Digimon like to travel long because of how dangerous everything is or can be. The ones that do are either stupid strong like the Paladins and Ragna Lordmon's enemies, or insane as..." Yoshi looked at the hut. Her silence allowed the two to assume Ghilliedhumon was in the latter half.

The four followed after Koji into the hut. Now, they were expecting the hut to be made of straw, grass, wood, dirty, and likely to be smelly. What they were not expecting was an organized headquarters with books, planned maps, a makeshift modeled kingdom made of cardboard, and a wall filled to the brim with string, pins, and newspaper clippings cluttered around a single picture of a Digimon with a crown and styled in a cake.

"What are you gawking around for? My granddaughter isn't here yet, so I'll have to bring you up to speed!" Ghilliedhumon, despite being in a wheelchair Koji helped him in, seemed to return control of his arms as he used his sniper rifle as a pointer to hit one of the corners of his model kingdom. "Alright, first, you need to know the layout of the kingdom and its patrols. There are 37 specific patrols around the castle in 24 hours. And you'll need to know each Digimon that does these patrols and how. That red book over there will have all my notes."

The book he pointed at looked more like a dictionary with how thick it was.

"Do we have to?" Lalamon asked, sweat already dripping down her head.

"Augh! The pain in my arms returned!" The old man whined. "No! I have failed my granddaughter!"

Lalamon slumped even though she was still in the air.

Koji, still in Lobomon's form, perked up as he turned towards the entrance. "Someone's coming."

"Granpaps!" An exuberant voice cried out before barging through the straw door. "You'll never believe who I found!"

Several things happened at once. First, a female humanoid Digimon wearing pig armor entered through. Yet, she dragged along—to the surprise of the east group—another human. The human looked like he was the same age as Arshan, 15 years old. He had short, spiky black hair, and blue eyes, but had a lot of bandages on him, even on his face. However, no one knew if he was wearing a headband around his head or if it was another bandage. He was on the short side and very skinny while his clothes consisted of black shorts, a black jacket, a white shirt, and black sneakers. His blue eyes looked around before his eyes noticed the screens on his watch: the ones that showed new Digimon data.

Following the human, there was another small Digimon, a small, white Ceratopsian (dinosaur) wearing a blue scarf. Yuma, Koji, and Yoshi's Digivices showed that the small one waddling in after the two was known as a Gammamon.

Now, the newcomer group pointed over to different things. The Digimon in pig armor pointed to Ghilliedhumon. The east group pointed at the new human. The new human pointed in their direction. And the Gammamon gasped in delight before pointing.

"Granpaps, what happened!?"

"Granddaughter!"

"Wait, humans!?"

"You're a human Digimon pair!"

"Does this mean we get an even bigger family?! You're pretty, you should join Baron's family too!"

"Excuse me!? I had to fight off one punk after Yoshi's honor, I will fight another!"

"Family? I am a Queen and these are my royal vassals!"

"Wait, there's another queen?! Do we steal from her too!?"

"It's not stealing, it's Aggressively-Borrowing-What-Others-Aren't-Using!"

So, there was a lot of chaos that happened within a few seconds. The first one to speak was the pig-armored Digimon, who the others found out was Cho-Hakkaimon, an Ultimate-level Digimon. She was worried about why her "grandpaps" was doing his best impression of an ugly pretzel in a wheelchair. Ghilliedhumon confirmed the strange female Digimon was indeed his "granddaughter". The new human was the 3rd to speak, noticing Yuma and Yoshi right away. As such, Yuma responded that the newcomer and the Gammamon were also a pair.

The fifth one speaking, Gammamon, was odd in that he focused on Yoshi. Lalamon reacted angrily wanting to protect her partner. But then Funbeemon felt offended that she would be part of a family when she viewed everyone to be part of her royal vassals. Her mention of being a queen made Cho-Hakkaimon react, and her reaction made Ghilliedhumon correct her from using the proper term.

Ultimately, a lot of chaos happened within a few seconds, making Koji close his eyes and exhale. "I miss my old group."

[After a lot of shouting and pointing.]

There was more arguing before everyone finally got on the same page. Turns out Ghilliedhumon wasn't the only one who stumbled across some humans. Cho-Hakkaimon found and picked up the two after they made contact with her.

"Uh, h-hi?" The new human looked over to the east group. "M-My name is Baron. And this is my friend, Goofy."

"Heya!" The little one waved before he spread out his little wings to meet up with Lalamon and Funbeemon.

Yoshi looked over at his watch. "Is that your Digivice? I've never seen that before."

"W-What?" Baron seemed to wince with more attention towards him. "I-I thought everyone h-had..."

Yuma scoffed, having lost patience. "Will you calm down? There's no reason to be nervous among us."

Baron only winced at the harsh tone and huddled into a corner. "Oh no, they don't like me. I knew it was a waste of time, Mr. Leaf Petal." Out of his jacket, Baron pulled out a sock puppet with googly eyes and a fake flower tapped poorly onto it.

"Don't be like that, Baron ol' boy! Keep your stiff up a lip, and you'll nary a cruisin' down the lane!" The puppet "spoke" while Baron's mouth moved from the corner of his lips.

"Wait. What?" Baron looked confused at his own hand. It was mildly concerning and impressive that he was able to bamboozle himself.

Koji pinched the bridge of his nose as he saw this. "Please tell me all of the 7th generation aren't oddballs."

Yuma had less patience than Koji. "You're a liability. If Ragna Lordmon or any of his men were to find you, you'd be captured instantly."

Seeing Baron flinch again, Funbeemon turned to her vassal. "Yuma! That's mean to say!" She flew over to the de-spirited Baron. "Fear not, Baron, I—the future queen of the Digital World—will lead us all to victory against Ragna Lordmon!"

"A fighting queen, huh? First I heard of that. Then again, there was that one King who tried to fight against the Tyrant..." Cho-Hakkaimon mentioned aloud before frowning.

Yoshi decided to change the topic. "Alright, so how is this heist going to work?" After clapping her hands together, Yoshi winced as she realized that as a cop, she just motioned for everyone to go back to planning a robbery.

Ghilliedhumon cleared his throat. "Alright, listen well. Our window of time is short, so I don't have time to go over this again."

[Night. Weddinmon's Castle.]

Ghilliedhumon's words echoed in the group's mind. "First thing to address is how we'll be entering. Like all castles, Weddinmon's has a large wall patrolled by Gladimon. Don't let their round and small appearances deceive you, they're champion-level. And even for Ultimates such as me and Cho here, there's a hundred or more patrolling the area. And no one wants to be swarmed by an army of Digimon. We'll split up into teams of three. The first team is gonna go straight to the draw bridge entrance."

"Halt!" A Gladimon raised his hand to stop the carriage coming their way. "Identify yourselves."

In the past, the shrubbery Ultimate pointed at Koji. "Turn into that form again. And tell the guards that you're..."

Back in the present time, Lobomon, wearing a cloak, removed his hood, and said, "I am..." Lobomon fought the urge to sigh.

"I am who?" A Gladimon asked with a raised brow.

"Say it!" A voice "whispered" from behind Lobomon. Koji wished with all his might that he just turn around and blast his carriage as Beowolfmon.

Back in the past, Koji frowned as Ghilliedhumon explained who he needed to pose as. "You're kidding."

"No, Weddinmon loves handsome Digimon. I know. I was going to pose as one before my timely accident. So you have to pose as a faraway suitor!"

Koji's left eyelid twitched. "I am NOT doing that."

"Then Ragna Lordmon gets the totem."

In the present time, Koji was at least glad that none of his friends from the 4th Generation were here. "I am... prince Lobomon of the Rugged Desert lands! I have... I have come for the fair maiden, Weddinmon, and her hand in marriage!" The moment they finished escaping with the totem, Koji was going to make sure Ghilliedhumon fell off an even more dangerous cliff.

"Oh my digigods. He IS handsome. W-Well, Weddinmon did say to let suitors come in." One of the two Gladimon said.

"Man, he's too good for her. Oww!" The other complained before being smacked by the first.

"Don't say that out loud!" The first one said before looking back. "Lower the draw bridge!"

"Excellent!" A whisper came from the back of the carriage. "I could have done better, but now we head to phase 2! The others should be doing their jobs now that we've got in!"

Lobomon motioned the self-powered carriage forward, despising how his heightened senses were picking up many whispers about him and Weddinmon.

In the past, the de facto leader of Ghilliedhumon's 10 pointed towards the eastern part of the castle, at one of its flanking towers. "Okay, so that's the first layer of walls. There's a second layer that houses the inner sanctum, that's where we'll have a second group enter. See, that tower is actually a storage unit instead of a housing center, which means it's the perfect place to create an escape route."

Yoshi, being carried by Sunflowmon, floated near the wall. While the two were doing their best to spot any incoming Gladimon, the loud sounds of metal hitting candy made Yoshi look back. "Hey! We don't want Digimon to come over; can you keep it down?!"

"I'mff morking as faff af fun canf!" See, Weddinmon's land was mostly made of candy. As such, Cho-Hakkaimon would have an easy time digging through the soft, delicious, tasty, mouth-watering... what was she doing again? Maybe she could eat some of the land while digging this hole-that should help her remember. And maybe take another bite. Or two. Or 12.

"Stop eating!" Yoshi whisper-shouted.

Before the infiltration, the mastermind Digimon continued his plan. "Now, for the last part. This took a while, but I found out there is a secret back door to Weddinmon's main keep. That's where the last group will make their way towards the treasure room while everyone else is doing their job."

Yuma pushed through the waffle-like walls until he spotted an odd symbol described by Ghillidehumon. It took him a moment before he pulled on that square, revealing a hidden path deeper into the castle. "Come on." He looked back.

"But I wanna eat more of these!" Goofy tried grabbing onto a gumdrop rock as Baron poorly tried to pull his partner away from it.

"Control your partner. We need to be quiet." Yuma didn't hold back his annoyance looking over at Baron.

"I-I-"

"Yuma!" Funbeemon shouted before looking back at Baron. "Just take your time. I need to have a word with my loyal vassal." With that, the rookie motioned the younger teen into the hidden path first.

When the two were ahead, Funbeemon asked. "Alright, you were never this harsh on even Arshan, what's going on Yuma?"

"Arshan understood what needed to be done. And when push came to shove, he more than rose to the occasion. That Baron guy does nothing but whine and complain over nothing."

Funbeemon sighed. "You can't just say that since it's the first time we met him and Goofy! They might even surprise us!" The Rookie sighed before the words of Yoshi rang in her head, the ones about a Queen being more than just fighting in the front lines. Funbeemon took a second before she realized something about what Yuma just said. "You respect Arshan." She wasn't asking, as she said that as a statement. But that statement made her realize something.

"You miss them, don't you?" Funbeemon realized it. Even though Yuma called Arshan out multiple times, Arshan never hated him or judged him for his honest but blunt feelings. There were times when the green-eyed teen just accepted what Yuma said and tried to work on it. Funbeemon noticed that Yuma seemed to relax a little more whenever Arshan never seemed bothered by what he said. But that wasn't the case now. Come to think of it, even when Koji was training him, Yuma was off. He looked like he was pushing himself recently.

Yuma broke eye contact first. It took him a second before he spoke again. "I... do. Arshan, Marcus, and even Stefnia... they quickly understood I was just trying to help in my own way. Even though... before them... it caused a lot of trouble. I was happy: I had people who knew I actually meant well," The younger teen winced and gripped his fist. "I know and respect Tai's decision. He was right: it was too dangerous for us to stay together with Ragna Lordmon himself chasing after us. But..."

"It's okay. I miss them too." Funbeemon admited. "Even that annoying god dragon... But you gotta remember that not everyone is the same. Look, Baron is now part of my royal vassal. And from where I used to come from, we have to work together to accomplish our goals. I'd rather you and him work together instead of pointing out all his flaws. Do what Koji and Sensei Karatenmon did for you: don't just point out flaws, offer advice to do better!"

Funbeemon's words gave time for Yuma to reflect. Yet, Baron came running towards the two with his hand clamped over Goofy.

"Guys," He said, sounding panicked. "We need to hurry with the plan. Something's wrong!"

[Lobomon and Ghilliedhumon]

While they did enter normally, part of the plan involved Lobomon parking the carriage in a blind spot. Koji, very begrudgingly if asked, pushed Ghilliedhumon's wheelchair forward while the old Digimon was in a full-body cast. Despite earlier attempts to dissuade the old Digimon, he was adamant about still being a part of the operation since he was the one who knew what the Totem and the treasure he and his granddaughter were after.

"Alright, so this next plan is key. I spent weeks making that sleep bomb you have in your hand. Knowing the schedules, it's around dinner time for a majority of the Gladimon. And most of them are gathered in the mess hall. Lucky us, the room isn't exactly the most ventilated area, so all you gotta do is throw that thing into the room, and bar the door while the gas does all the rest!" The fully cast Digimon said.

Koji had to at least admit that the annoying Digimon did his homework. However, his instincts told him something was amiss. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it until he and Ghillidehumon were reaching the mess hall doors.

Ghilliedhumon said they were all eating around this time... but why couldn't he hear anything, even with Lobomon's sharpened senses?

Actually... why did he smell smoke?

Ghilliedhumon watched Lobomon walk to the doors... and open them wide. "What in tarnation are you...do...ing...?"

Whatever anger the old Digimon had was quickly replaced with confusion followed by fear. Instead of seeing Digimon eating, he saw the result of a vicious fight. Everywhere Lobomon looked, he saw defeated Gladimon, broken tables, and chunks of candy walls melted or broken. But his eyes zeroed into the right at the same time he detected an attack.

Though, it wasn't aimed at him. Koji spotted a figure crashing into the center of the mess hall. The smoke cleared, and he could see a Climbmon—if his Digvice was showing him the right one. However, while the image on the Digivice showed a large roach-like creature with multiple limbs and climbing gear shaped into weapons, the being before him was nothing but his torso already fading away into nothing.

"Was that all you could do? So much for an Ultimate." Lobomon's mind paused as he heard that voice. He turned to the right, seeing two figures walking towards the defeated Ultimate.

"W-What? Climbmon was one of Weddinmon's personal bodyguards! There's no way he would have been defeated so easily!" The Digimon behind Lobomon shouted.

"I suppose he was right about that thing after all. But even without it, we still would have beaten him." The voice spoke out loud, but not in response to Ghilliedhumon.

When the smoke cleared on where Lobomon heard the voice, his eyes widened as he saw who was speaking.

"It's... you...!?"

[Yoshi, Lalamon, and Cho-Hakkaimon]

Yoshi started to get annoyed. No, annoyed wasn't the right word: in fact, she was starting to feel anxious. It's one thing if at least a single patrol were to come by the storage tower by now, but Yoshi and Sunflowmon still haven't spotted even the light of a single Gladimon.

"Something's not right," Yoshi's police instincts were kicking in. "At least someone should have come here by now."

"Hey, you! What are ya doin!?"

Yoshi and Sunflowmon flinched as they turned around. Instead of the tower, behind Cho-Hakkaimon's hole was a Digimon they didn't expect to see. While Ghilliedhumon was instructing everyone about his plan, he warned them about the few Ultimate Digimon that worked under Weddinmon. One of them, he warned, looked harmless and almost huggable, but they were warned not to encounter it multiple times due to how strong it was. Then again, even with the warnings, it was hard not to underestimate the Digimon from first impressions. After all, it looked like an adorable giant plush of a Tyrannomon, patched and buttoned up as any doll would be.

Yet, Yoshi's Digivice shined to reveal what she knew but had to reconfirm. "ExTyrannomon. Ultimate Level." She read the extra fluff about this specific Digimon and her eyes widened.

"O-Oh! I'm..." Cho-Hakkaimon paused as she saw the cuddly Ultimate. "Digging a hole? It's-It's great fun!"

"Really? Fun? I wanna have fun. But others tell me to go patrol the area. They said something wasn't right."

"Well, who cares what they think! You look like you work hard enough as is! Why don't you have some fun with me by helping me dig a hole!?" Cho-Hakkaimon knew that even an Ultimate, Extyrannomon was nigh-indestructible, to the point where the cuddly thing might actually be studier than 3 castles. Risking a fight now would endanger the others, who still needed to escape, so she had to think on her feet.

The eyes inside the dino plush became brighter. "Hey, you're right pig-thing!"

"I'm not a pig! I'm an angel! Well... former angel but still!" Cho-Hakkaimon corrected.

"It's no fun in there. Everyone always bossing me around. I wanna dig too and eat some candy."

"Great! You can help me dig faster! We'll even race! But we also have to be quiet! Don't want your mean co-workers to hear you having too much fun and ruin it." She gave the toy a shovel and put a finger near her mouth.

"Okay! Oops. Okay." The doll took the shovel and went down into the hole. Cho-Hakkaimon gave a thumbs up to Yoshi before jumping down after the Ultimate.

"She handled that well. I don't think even you as Lilamon could have injured him." Yoshi exhaled before looking back. "But I heard what Ex-Tyrannomon said: something was wrong in the castle? But what? I've got a bad feeling about this."

[Yuma and Baron.]

"What do you mean you heard fighting?" Yuma asked as all four of them raced through the secret entrance.

"While I was trying to pull Goofy off the giant candy, I heard Digimon screaming attacks at each other over the wall!" Baron huffed as he ran after Yuma and the two airborne Digimon.

Yuma remembered that Ghilliedhumon wanted to avoid fighting at all costs, so there was no way this was his part of the plan. He also couldn't imagine Yoshi or Koji messing up on their ends. But then what was going on? Either way, they were closing in on the exit. Yuma could feel a tension in the air that made him quickly take out his D-Tector. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!"

In a flash of light, Mushamon appeared and dashed forward. Baron could only gape, even though he knew that Koji and Yuma shared similar Digivices, seeing humans turn into Digimon was still an unbelievable experience.

Yuma sped to the exit, pushing the wall slightly open. His eyes widened when he saw around a dozen Gladimon defeated and beaten. However, his heightened senses told him that the tension did not abate. Yet, he couldn't see much beyond the crack. Gripping his blade, Yuma slowly opened the wall and stepped into the Keep's first floor.

Shing!

Instincts blared at Yuma to bring his sword and block... Yuma's eyes snapped open as he saw what...no... who attacked him!

"Hmm. According to this, you're a Mushamon." In his hand was a 5th Generation Digivice Burst, but a bright pale blue akin to ice. "Not the usual Gladimon, but my senpai didn't want anyone conscious."

Yuma couldn't believe what he was seeing: a human! He looked the same age as Arshan but with blue hair and bangs covering his right eye. Yuma took in more features with each millisecond: the light brown skin, the navy blue hoodie without sleeves but a mouth cover, wireless earbuds in his ears, long pants, and a shirt with a wolf skull on it. But that wasn't the unbelievable part! It's the fact that even though Yuma was a Digimon, he was being pushed back by some ornate kendo blade and—

"DNA Charge!?" Yuma heard of using DNA charge to empower punches, but never using it to empower a sword! Wait, some of the downed Gladimon had slashes on their armor with their weapons broken in half. Did this guy figure out a way to envelope DNA Charge on a weapon!?

"Wait. How do you know DNA Charge?" The lone eye on the human teen narrowed before he suddenly unleashed a flurry of strikes. Yuma was quick on the uptake, and he quickly recognized that the human was capable of kendo, much like Koji was! However, while the odd human was skilled, it didn't detract from the fact that Yuma was still a Digimon with superior strength. His mind went back to Sensei Karatenmon teaching him...

"While you lack formal training," The memory of the winged samurai began. "You have one advantage over other Mushamon: your emotions. Partnered Digimon are naturally empowered by their human's emotions and will. 4th Generation cuts the middle man in that bond. Sir Koji and other 4th Generation at their peak can defeat Ultimates even in their "Champion" forms. Granted, your form isn't related to that of the Digital World's primal elements, but all generations derive power from feelings. If you are in a bad situation, there may be a benefit to giving into your emotions."

The human attacking Yuma was fierce, but he was still human. Even with the other empowered by DNA charge, Yuma yelled as he used his Digimon strength to clash and push forward, imbalancing the attacker. The Samurai Digimon saw his chance and unleashed a side kick into the stomach of the human, sending him flying back.

Yuma gasped for air as he tried to steady his trembling arms. Even blocking, the strikes of DNA Charge felt so heavy!

"Koreshy!" A scream and a sudden burst of cold entered the room as one of the walls shattered. A mix of a dragon with ice and crystal wings appeared and flew over to the struck human. It then turned a glare at Yuma which was colder than the lowering temperature of the room and even made his bones shiver. "You'll pay for hurting him!"

"Yuma! Are you alright!? We heard fighting!" Funbeemon, Goofy, and Baron caught up and raced to the Mushamon before they all stopped when they saw the two across.

"Whoa!" Baron yelled before he looked at his wrist. "Paledramon. Champion Level! W-Whoa! It sounds powerful!"

"Yuma? That sounds like a-wait!" The other swordsman heard the name before he got up and motioned the Palderamon to stop. He then turned to Mushamon. "You're... a human?"

Yuma let his stance relax before he summoned his Digivice. "I am Yuma Yuragi. A Restorer wielding a 4th Generation Digivice. Funbeemon over there is my partner, and I've just met..." Yuma was about to introduce Baron until he recalled he never caught Baron's last name.

"4th generation?" The features of the other swordsman lit up for a second. "You can turn into Digimon? I have to admit: that sounds very interesting," A second passed as he also placed the blade into a scabbard. "I am Rikku Tokunaga, and this Paledramon is called Blue. He's usually a Blucomon. I am a Restorer wielding a 5th Generation Digivice. And you?"

"Um-errr. I," Baron didn't like all eyes on him. "I'm Baron. This is Goofy." He motioned to the flying dino next to him. "I don't know what generation my Digivice is. The others don't recognize it." He said as he showed his wristwatch.

"Hmmm. Maybe that was the true 7th Generation Digivice we were meant to have. Regardless, I apologize for attacking. I assumed you were with Weddinmon."

Yuma perked up as Rikku said that. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah. Sorry, you reminded me that I need to make my way towards the treasury. I don't want to upset my senpai; she's very scary. We cleared this floor; let's ascend, Blue."

"Да!" The champion grabbed Rikku by the waist before flying up a flight of stairs.

"Ah!" Baron pointed after them. "Don't we have to get to the treasury too!?"

Yuma blinked before he nodded, running after the other pair before his mind replayed what Rikku said.

"... Senpai? ... She?"

[Koji.]

Koji's eyes weren't playing tricks on him, especially since it was hard to fool Lobomon's senses. Violet eyes and ginger hair that went along with an icy glare for anyone who met her, even after becoming "close".

"Rika," Lobomon said her name, making Rika Nonaka, sometimes hailed as the Digimon Empress of the 3rd Generation, turn in his direction.

"Koji?" Rika didn't say that, but the nine-tailed fox beside her did. Koji knew and worked with Rika's partner, Renamon, multiple times. The Warrior of Light also knew this was her Champion form, Kyubimon. While Rika and Kyubimon working together in tandem with her cards can and have defeated Ultimate Digimon before, there was something off about the way the pair defeated Climbmon before he entered.

"Ah, Minamoto," Rika was a bit more formal in addressing the 4th Generation warrior. "Finding you was a lot easier than I thought it'd be."

"You were searching for me?" Lobomon asked, not entirely sure if they were here on friendly terms.

"Oh good! You guys are friends!" Koji momentarily forgot Ghilliedhumon was behind him. "Well, while you're catching up, I gotta check on the treasury! Come soon if I get into trouble!"

There was something impressive—and annoying—that the Digimon in a full cast broke his arms free of parts of the cast and wheeled himself away from the three of them.

"What's his deal?" Rika asked with a raised brow.

"We came here to steal a Totem that could track Tai's and the other's crests. I take it you're here for that too?"

"Even if it was a false ploy, we intended to cripple this kingdom as it was aligned with Ragna Lordmon," The redhead answered back. "But I don't like beating around the bush: you and your Restorer should join Blue Flare."

Koji perked up as he heard the name. He wasn't officially a part of Xros Heart after the loss of the 6th generation. He only worked with Tai as it was convenient in his attempts to figure out how to save his brother and the others. But before Koji reconnected with Tai on Tab Island, while he was stalking the Titans for potential weaknesses, he received the offer to officially join Blue Flare, an army also created around the same time as Xros Heart.

"I want Ragna Lordmon gone as much as the next person," Koji responded to Rika. "I admit: the first sales pitch almost got me. But I was focused on trying to free the Titans at that time. Maybe I'll agree, but I have a promise to keep first I'd rather see through." Koji did slightly agree with Blue Flare's more "aggressive" tactics, but after seeing the Restorers, he wasn't sure if it was right to continue trying to fight Ranga Lordmon, even if there was potential in the 7th Generation in bypassing that immortality. Karatenmon may have had a point: fighting Ragna Lordmon went nowhere. Healing the Digital World and figuring out the mystery between Ranga Lordmon and the Restorers was the best chance they had.

"I had a feeling you'd say that, but then again, knowing how shot Xros Heart is, I bet you don't know what's going eastward?"

"Going... eastward? Wait..." Lobomon's eyes widened as he looked at his Digivice. "You don't mean!"

Rika spoke without even blinking. "Yes. Wherever you are taking the Restorers to, Ragna Lordmon has a good guess in your directions. He sent Titans towards the remote corners of the Digital World, and guess which one is closest to us?"

Koji didn't need to guess. He focused on his Digivice before a familiar symbol appeared on it.

"... Tommy..."

[Yuma and Baron.]

Baron huffed for air as he climbed up the 4th stairs. "C-Can we... can we take a break!? I-I'm not a Digimon like you!"

Yuma clicked his tongue as he turned back. He was about to scold Baron again as even the others could keep up with him in something like this. However, he turned to Funbeemon and remembered her words.

"I'll carry you. We need to catch up with Rikku. I don't know how he's so fast in defeating all these Gladimon..." Yuma glanced at the floor they were on. As far as he could see, all these Champion-Level Digimon were defeated quickly. But how? Granted, even Tai said the Restorer's partners were oddly strong even for Champions. Then again, Yuma had this weird feeling about the weapon Rikku was using. DNA Charge was one thing, but that sword...

A loud crash above them made Yuma perk up. Without waiting, he picked up Baron and lifted him under his waist before bolting up the stairs with Funbeemon and Goofy flying after him. When they caught up to the floor above, they could see traces of ice around the area, no doubt from Blue's power. However, Yuma saw a Digimon in the distance, one that Ghilliedhumon talked about: Mamemon. He looked small and simple, but Ghilliedhumon warned that he was one of the most destructive among Weddinmon's bodyguards.

"I don't know who you punks are," The ball Digimon punched his fist together as he walked towards Rikku and Blue. "But no one gets past me unless you're the Queen!"

"Pffft!" Baron covered his mouth after hearing the squeaky voice of the small Digimon, making the small one glare in their direction.

"Mamemon. Ultimate Level." Rikku looked at his Digivice before putting it away. "It's time to test what Blue Flare gave us." He said as he pointed his blade. It was only then that Yuma noticed something off with the Paledramon. Compared to what the Digivice showed him, Blue had extra gear on him. For one, his left claw was covered with a punching glove of some kind. There was some shimmer around the ice Digimon neck, revealing a necklace that gave off a soft glow. And lastly, another shine caught Yuma's attention in a ring attached to one of Blue's other claws. That equipment stood out in the same way Rikku's blade did.

"Fancy gear you got there," It was hard to take Mamemon seriously with his squeaky voice. "A shame it won't do you any good! Smiley Bomber!"

"Thundra Strike!" Blue rushed forward, reclining the arm that had a gauntlet before punching with it. The two fists collided, creating a shockwave that cracked the area and broke any possible nearby windows.

"Wait, what!?" Mamemon and Yuma were shocked to see a Champion Digimon have the same power as an Ultimate.

"Haha! Looks like they work, koreshy!"

Yuma was shocked that Blue would do something like that. How was Blue fighting on par with an Ultimate?! Did it have something to do with those odd equipment?

"Grr!" Mamemon looked up to see Rikku attempting to attack him and jumped back.

"Hey," Yuma looked down at Baron, who spoke and asked. "Is it natural for us to fight with weapons like that?"

[Koji.]

He knew they were going to have to face the other Titans, but Koji should have expected Ragna Lordmon to make things harder on them. He felt conflicted, he truly wanted to head to this new Titan and purify it. Not only that, this was the Titan of Ice, which meant it held and imprisoned one of the 4th Generation, the youngest of them all, Tommy Himi. The poor child least deserved his current fate.

Lobomon gripped his Digvice tighter before looking back at Rika. "... The Restorers aren't prepared to fight the Titan of Ice. They still haven't reached Ultimate."

Rika perked up. "One of them reached Mega, didn't they?"

"Arshan was a special case. He found a loophole, but it comes with a deadly drawback. The others will have to train him how to reach Mega properly."

"Oh? So he's not with you? And Arshan is his name, huh? I gotta admit, I didn't believe someone reaching the Mega Level so soon after reaching the Digital World." While Rika said this, Koji had this uneasy feeling settle. Why was Rika, and Blue Flare, interested in Arshan? In fact, something else caught his attention.

"I've never seen that earring on Kyubimon before." Lobomon saw the purple ring shine in Kyubimon's right ear. As the Warrior of Light, he could sense... divine power coming off from it? But it felt... lobotomized? Whatever it was, it didn't make him feel safe.

"It's a Blue Flare trade secret, if you joined, I'd be glad to tell you," Rika gave a small smirk. "I will mention that we took a page out of Ragna Lordmon's book. Even with his amazing skill and power, he's using special tools to bolster his already amazing strength. And the phrase is a bit simple, but the point can't be argued: fight fire with fire."

Koji understood what Rika was implying. "Gears that boost Digimon abilities? But how could you make something like that?" That one question was more loaded than Koji could express. The resources required to not only conceive but make that idea a working reality was impossible considering the current state of the Digital World.

"Really? I thought you were smarter than that, Minamoto. Don't tell me chasing the Titans all the time has dulled you from making simple deductions."

Rika's standoffish tone made Koji pause. His eyes widened as he realized what they were talking about. "You were using the Restorers to make this stuff?"

"At least you're not a gogglehead," The ginger smirked. "They have the ability to restore destroyed lands. Our leader quickly saw their potential and put them to work. Honestly, you probably have the best one of all of them and you're just running tail with him?"

Koji knew Rika had a habit of saying what was on her mind, but the situation with Arshan was more than just him reaching the Mega level. At the same time, it was best never to argue with Rika. Although she was much better than when she first arrived, there were bits of her head-strong attitude. But there was this uncanny feeling that Koji had in the pit of the Light Spirit's core: it was screaming at him that something was off about the enhancing gear, but he couldn't understand why. But that feeling wasn't strong enough compared to the feeling of curiosity that came over Koji for another fact that caught his attention. "I never asked, because at the time I was busy. But how is Blue Flare still around? Aonuma Kiriha was captured by Ragna Lordmon after Taiki was."

Aonuma Kiriha was another of the 6th Generation, similar to Taiki. Like him, Kiriha created an Army known as Blue Flare. It was renowned for its reliance on sheer power and ability and was a force of reckoning during the early stages of the last great war. Towards the end, Blue Flare and Xros Heart combined forces to fight off Bagramon and Ragna Lordmon. However, they could only defeat the former while the latter proved to outlast their offensive. Koji recalled that after Shoutmon's Ultimate Fusion failed, Kiriha attempted to save his rival, Taiki, from Ragna Lordmon's clutches. However, he was intercepted by Ragna Lordmon's personal guard.

"Right, you weren't told what our group was doing. I was with another group of Digidestined to flank Ragna Lordmon's eastern side. But it was 2 fold. Taiki and Kiriha found out one of Ragna Lordmon's prisons was also hidden in the area. The plan was to create a jailbreak and usher the prisoners to bolster our flanking force."

Koji knew Ragna Lordmon took prisoners, especially if they were human. But even if they freed some of the captured Chosen, Koji imagined some of them getting caught again after the 6th Generation's loss. That implied whoever was leading them now was not only competent enough to escape Ragna Lordmon's best, but lead the defeated Digidestined. "Who did you find in there that could lead Blue Flare in Kiriha's stead?"

As Rika mouthed the name, Koji's eyes only widened.

He couldn't respond when he, Rika, and Kyubimon heard a loud explosion from the main keep of the castle.

[Yuma, Baron, and Rikku.]

Yuma watched with levels of awe at how Blue and Rikku were able to fight an Ultimate Digimon. Somehow, Blue was able to take on the blows of an Ultimate while Rikku came in to assist in any way he could. However, it looked like Mamemon was no slouch as he suddenly adapted. The Ultimate noticed the Digimon going on the defensive to protect his human whenever he attacked. And whenever he attempted to strike the Paledramon, the human went in and tried to flank him. Mamemon was fast enough to avoid swipes of that sword with the odd ice-colored fire. So, a thought came to him. He went in, attacking Blue again with Smiley Bomber. The Paledramon roared as he threw his gauntlet to the incoming punch—

Unfortunately, it was a feint.

Instead of attacking, Mamemon pulled his punch back and kicked forward, spinning to avoid the gauntlet and unleashing a second punch into the chest of the Champion. "Smile Impact!"

The blow from the ultimate sent Blue crashing into the nearby wall, gasping in pain from the pure power of the small Ultimate.

"Blue!?" Rikku yelled before he realized he looked away in a fig—

"Smile Impact!"

Rikku turned, only to see an incoming fist heading right towards him! Mamemon punched through—air? Rikku felt his world blur before he realized that he wasn't in pain. Rather, someone had tackled him out of the way of a potentially deadly attack and he looked up to see Yuma, as Mushamon, huffing for air and sweating as he stood back up with his blade pointed at the Ultimate.

"I'll ask about that odd gear later. For now, we need to defeat him!" Yuma screamed.

Rikku also got back up and mirrored the same sword stance as Yuma, creating the image of two swordsmen staring down a strong opponent... despite how Mamemon appeared. "Agreed. This one is a much better fighter than he looks."

"I heard that!" Mamemon stomped his foot at the cry before pointing to Mushamon. "That Digimon doesn't have those fancy gear! Which means he's easy to overpower!"

"He's fast!" Yuma's mind shrieked as Mamemon closed the distance and fired off another Smiley Bomber. This time, when he and Rikku dodged, the force of the punch exploded, destroying another wall behind the pair. Yuma went in for the counterattack, but Mamemon moved like a pinball, jumping around the remaining walls to avoid and counterattack himself.

"This guy is good. ... Still, not as skilled as Sensei Karatenmon and Koji. Compared to them, I can at least keep an eye on this guy's attacks!" Yuma thought to himself as he started charging his blade. His eyes picked up something beyond Mamemon, and a plan quickly formed. He only hoped it would work!

"Come and get me you squeaky toy!" Yuma yelled as he fired a sword beam that the Ultimate dodged without effort.

"Toy!? That's Ex-Tyrannomon's gimmick!" Mamemon returned as he rushed for Yuma.

Funbeemon expected Yuma to dodge, but her mind noticed that... he wasn't moving!?

"Smiley Bomber!" Mamemon yelled as he unleashed a literal explosive punch in front of the Mushamon.

"Yuma!?" Funbeemon shouted at her partner for taking such a heavy blow.

Mamemon smiled and turned his attention to Rikku. Or, he would have.

If not for an arm erupting from the smoke and grabbing his outstretched hand.

"What!?" Mamemon saw the smoke clear with Yuma, looking injured from taking the brunt of an Ultimate attack, but keeping his sword planted in the ground to keep him from being blown away from the force of the attack. Even injured, Yuma kept his smile as he refused to let go of Mamemon's wrist.

"Finally, you stopped moving. GET HIM NOW!" Yuma shouted to his right. Mamemon's eyes widened before he turned to see... Blue with his gauntlet reclined about to strike him!?

"Время окупаемости! (Payback time!)" The Russian ice Digimon screamed before unleashing the power of the gauntlet right into Mamemon's body. With Yuma holding on to his arm in a vice grip, the Ultimate was unable to dodge this move before being punched out one of the very walls he created, falling from a sizeable height.

Yuma gasped as he dropped to his knee. "Ultimates... are really no joke..."

"Agreed, though, I admit without you, Blue and I would have lost," Rikku exhaled before he walked up to Yuma and offered a hand. "You're pretty amazing."

Yuma smiled as he took the hand. "I could say the same for you. Fighting alongside your Digimon? I heard the great Marcus Damon was the only one who could pull that off, alongside his dad."

"Huh, he has a dad here? But yes, I heard about how he fought with his DNA Charge, so I was inspired to try it out myself. Turns out it worked. But I am amazed at what you just did." Rikku helped Yuma up.

"He was moving too fast for the both of us. I knew our only shot at beating him was to get him in one spot long enough for Blue to recover and nail him." The Mushamon exhaled.

"Yuma! That was amazing!" Funbeemon, Baron, and Goofy ran up to the other three. "You kicked butt even when there was a stronger opponent! I knew having you as my vassal was the right decision!"

"Yeah! I was so engrossed, but I wanna help fight too next!" Goofy shouted.

"W-Wait, you can fight!?" Baron looked over to his partner.

Blue gave a hearty laugh as he patted Yuma's shoulder. "For helping me and Rikku, you are now a comrade in my eyes!"

"Wrong, you're all going to be dead in mine!"

The voice that just screamed was nothing like Mamemon. It was a deeper, more commanding voice, even if it belonged to someone feminine. She stood out in the broken battlefield in a way that the darkened, smoking candy contrasted with her light pastel and regal look.

The three teens looked at their Digivices at the appearance of this new Digimon. "So this is Weddinmon herself," Rikku noted aloud.

"That is QUEEN to you, trespassers," Despite being a royal, she was close to crossing into feral territory with how venomously she spat the line. "I don't know what you are here for, but I will not allow you to hurt my vassals any longer!"

"If that's the case," Everyone was surprised when Funbeemon flew ahead of the group. "Why didn't you fight with them!? How can you call yourself a queen if you're just cooped up at the back lines!?"

Although they could not see her eyes, the wrathful scorn on her face, alongside the rising pressure, made the other realize this candy princess was about to erupt akin to a volcano. "You trespass into MY home, injure or maim those under me, and then proceed to lecture me about MY RULE?!"

"A queen moves with those she trusts! How can they be expected to lead otherwise!?" Funbeemon showed no fear despite facing against a powerful Ultimate.

"Hey," Rikku whispered to Yuma. "Why don't you Digivolve her? I admire her guts, but being a rookie isn't doing her any favors."

"..." Yuma frowned.

"..." Rikku's eyes widened when he realized what Yuma's silence meant. "Blue... get ready to snatch her out of there."

"W-What," Rikku and Yuma turned to Baron. The bandaged teen was shivering but seemed to take a step forward to line himself up with the other two. "What can I do?"

Yuma wanted to just say to hide. But Funbeemon's words came back to him: instead of condemn, teach. "Your emotions. You can evolve Goofy if you have a strong emotion and will."

"Focus on your Digivice," Rikku added along but kept his eyes on the two Queens arguing.

"I've suffered your insolence long enough! Prepare for your execution!" To the surprise of the group, they quickly spotted Weddinmon take out two fans as weapons.

Only Rikku and Yuma spotted the shine on the fans, meaning they were actually blades! "Funbeemon, get out of there!"

Despite wearing cake and jewelry, Weddinmon moved within the blink of an eye. She closed in the distance, intent to swing both fan blades at the rookie. Luckily for Funbeemon, Blue was ready and grabbed the Rookie before she got sliced in two. However, Weddinmon was not a slouch. Even if her first swing missed, she folded the fan in both her hands and made a throwing motion. Two blades flew out and hit Blue. One in his arm, and another on his wing.

"Gah!?" Blue yelled as the deceptively decorated blade pierced through his hide.

"Blue!" Rikku and Yuma dove in. However, despite having a large cake skirt, Weddinmon was nimble, dodging swipes while opening her fan blades. Yuma did his best. However, his injury from taking Mamemon's direct blow, alongside facing another strong Ultimate so soon made him wince in pain as he tried to dodge another blade and fall on his back.

Rikku went in, trying to help but Weddinmon's arms moved faster as she split another knife and threw one right into Rikku's upper right calf, stopping him from attacking her and leaving him to a roundhouse kick that sent him sliding into the candy floor.

"Break Claw!" Goofy flew in, shouting as he rushed at Weddinmon. Baron's eyes widened as he knew that even the best of them couldn't even touch Weddinmon, Goofy was as good as...

"No!" Baron's heart raced as he saw Goofy's attack easily dodged with Weddinmon poised to stab one of her blades right into the Rookie's back. "Goofy!" At that moment, Baron's Digivice started to light up. As Weddinmon attempted to bring her blade down, she was stopped by a swarm of energy that erupted from the Gammamon. The energy forced her back as Goofy changed his body into...

"Betel Gammamon!" Goofy's body grew, taking on more human-like aspects and having his entire body turn red.

Baron suddenly looked at his Digivice as he read the data of Gammamon's new champion form. He looked up and cried out, "Goofy, you did it! Y-You Digivolved!"

The red Digimon smiled and turned to Baron with a thumbs up. "Call me Sol, Baron!"

"Huh? Sol?" Baron didn't understand what was going on before the Champion shot forward. However, a stream of data crossed the bandaged boy's mind as he looked out and shouted, "Sor Shot!"

Goofy's new form unleashed bursts of dark fire towards Weddinmon. However, even with the new speedy form, the Ultimate still avoided each attack.

"You're pretty good!" The one calling himself Sol said before rushing forward into close combat. "But you've got an opening!"

He kicked forward, aiming for the Queen's head. Unfortunately for Sol, the fire attacks had softened the candy floor they were fighting on. As such, when Sol attempted to whip his foot into Weddinmon's head, his footing was bad and slowed his attack, allowing Weddinmon to dodge the blow. The Ultimate gritted her teeth as she twirled with the dodge, smashing her heel into Sol's chest and sending him tumbling back.

"Ooof!" Sol regained balance from the tumble and looked ahead with an excited smile. "That was my bad! Forgot about the area! I'm not doing that again!"

Betel Gammamon jumped into the air and fired more blasts of black fire. However, instead of dodging, Weddinmon stepped forward and threw her knives into the fire bolts. The speed of the knives was enough to pierce through the fireballs and create vacuums to cut through them. However, their speed also meant that Goofy could barely dodge them as some skinned his arms and legs.

"Whip Decoration!" Weddinmon was vicious, summoning a whip of candy and slamming it into Betel Gammamon's chest and knocking him... into one of the holes in the wall.

Baron's heart rate spiked as he saw his friend get pushed off the building similar to Mamemon. A slew of emotions flew through his mind, but he gripped his fist and shouted for his friend. In response to his strong feelings, Baron's Digivice shined again.

"Slide Digivolve!" In another flash of light, something raced up toward the cracked moons in the sky.

"Wait... what?" Yuma looked up. "He can Slide Digivolve? ... Kaus Gammamon? Champion?"

Baron, seeing his friend, could only smile at how amazing that he was safe. "Sol! You can fly!"

The flying Dinosaur motioned to himself with a thumb and a cocky grin. "It's Azure, Baron! The name's Azure!"

"Huh?!" Baron tilted his head in confusion as Goofy—no, Sol—wait, wasn't it Azure now—declared himself a different name. But then the blue airborne Digimon looked at the queen with a smile. "Whee! I can fly again! This is so much fun!" Odd, Azure acted a lot more childish again instead of the cool and collected personality he had when he was... Sol...

"Hey," Rikku got back up. "Is that Digimon gaining a new personality with each Digivolution?"

Again, like before, Baron suddenly felt a stream of data enter his mind as he called out, "Urda Impulse!" Azure flipped and suddenly—a burst of air escaped his kneecaps, giving him amazing speed to ram into an unsuspecting Weddinmon, landing the first blow on the pastel ruler. Azure blitzed past the Ultimate exiting through another hole to make use of the area outside the floor they fought on. Seeing Weddinmon get back up, another stream of data appeared in Baron's mind, making the partner of Azure shout, "Lamberta Kick!"

Again—perhaps even faster than before—Azure dove in foot first at the downed Weddinmon. However, Weddinmon was deceptive in that she was far stronger than the boys expected, even though they knew she was an Ultimate. She stood up fast, barely dodged the kick—but was close enough to clench her fist... and bring it down into Azure's head.

"I—" She punched Azure's head once again. "Am!" Her second punch shook and cracked the floor, "Sick of...!"

"Gear Stinger!" Weddinmon instinctively jumped away before she could finish her 3rd blow on Azure. She looked back to see only Funbeemon staring her down.

"Funbeemon! Gah!" Yuma got up but winced as he felt the pain from the attacks he received.

"I don't understand," Funbeemon started. "You're strong. I'd almost say worthy of being the ruler of this land. So why are you just hiding away in here?"

"Hiding away?" Weddinmon clenched her fist. "You think I'm hiding!? ... Who wouldn't be!? Once every month, I have to force my people into war! Do you think all of them can fight like me!? I just wanted to have cake and tea parties with them! ..." The Ultimate cast her face downward. "But if I don't force my people to fight, at least with another nearby kingdom... Ragna Lordmon and his men will destroy this place himself. You think I like fighting!? You think I like everyone just hurting each other?! I loathe it with every fiber of my being!" Weddinmon shouted at the Digidestined.

As she gasped for air, Weddinmon fell to her knees and banged the candy floor. "But I can't do anything. Ragna Lordmon is the ruler by right of conquest. No one can oppose him, and those that have will always be defeated. I haven't had a tea party in ages... I don't know what to do."

Funbeemon sighed as she floated towards Weddinmon. She put a kind limb on the hair of the female Digimon. "Hey, it's okay. I take back what I said, I think you're an amazing queen."

"What?"

"That is why, when I become the new Ruler of the Digital World, I'll make sure everyone won't suffer the same way again!" Funbeemon declared. In a way, she was starting to see what Yoshi meant in that Queens weren't all about strength.

"D-Didn't you hear what I just said!? Even you must know that Ragna Lordmon IS invincible!" Weddinmon asked.

"I have seen him. I've seen his power, and more frighteningly: the fear he imposes on everyone. Even without his immortality, I can't imagine him losing." Funbeemon thought back to that moment. For all her boasts about overthrowing Ragna Lordmon, seeing him in person, seeing him defeat one of the Digital World's strongest Megas in one shot... it scared her to the core. If it wasn't for Arshan and Coro defiantly trying to save Tai and Zero, she would have remained horrified at the memory of his overwhelming strength. "I won't lie: fighting him now means we'll lose. But we won't give up! We'll find the secret to his immortality and defeat him!"

"You? But you're just a rookie!" Weddinmon shouted again.

"I am," Funbeemon turned to everyone behind her and specifically looked back at Yuma. "But I am also a Queen! I'm not going to be alone in taking on the Tyrant. I will help lead the new generation of humans to overthrow him once and for all! It'll be easy too! Each one of them has shown to be amazing in their own right!" Funbeemon wondered if this was what Yoshi meant. Maybe she wouldn't be fighting, but she'd be helping lead such an amazing group of vassals against the Tyrant.

Rikku exhaled as he saw Funbeemon's declaration. "She has guts to scream that, I'll give her that."

"But more importantly," Funbeemon turned back to Weddinmon with a kind smile. "I know what it's like to feel powerless. I hate it too. That's why I want to work harder to beat it!"

Weddinmon was silent for a moment, taking in the words of this stranger. It was odd that she felt like she could believe in those words, her conviction. In a way, she imagined Funbeemon being Queen.

But a moment of sobriety brought her back to reality. "... Wait. Why were all of you here in the first place?"

"Agh!" Funbeemon winced as she forgot the reason they were here was to steal from Weddinmon. "Uhhhhhh, well. There's no easy way to say this: but that totem you're going to give to Ranga Lordmon? It's going to help him hunt down my friends who are trying to hide from him. C-Can we please have it?"

"That thing?" Weddinmon asked aloud before she seemed puzzled. "...How did you know about that? The only one who knew about the contents of the treasury was my retired advisor, Ghilliedhumon."

...

"I'm sorry." Yuma stood to his full height, ignoring the pain as he focused on what he just heard. "Did you say, Ghilliedhumon?"

Weddinmon tilted her head in confusion. "Yes? He was my most trusted advisor until he retired to take care of an injured Digimon he found. He had this odd habit of planning heists after hearing stories about it."

Yuma's eyelid twitched uncontrollably as he gripped his sword tighter.

"Aha!" A familiar voice made everyone turn around to see a Digimon in a full body cast wheeling towards them. "I saw you guys take down Mamemon! Well done! I made sure he stayed down with my sleeping gas! Now, let's get to the vault before the Queen wakes up from her..."

Ghilliedhumon stopped speaking as he saw Weddinmon standing in front of a very angry group of Digidestined, except Rikku and Blue.

"... Blast. I was so close to pulling one off!"

Weddinmon understood entirely whose fault this was. "Ghilliedhumon? Come here, your former Queen would like a word with you."

Unsurprisingly, there were no actual words. But Koji would later learn that he was beaten to the punch when Weddinmon lifted the old Digimon's wheelchair and threw him off the 5th floor.

[Later.]

Turns out, Climbmon did not in fact fade away from being deleted and instead used his camouflage powers to hide from Rika. It helped soften the blow that the 3rd Generation Digidestined did not kill an "innocent" Digimon.

Ghilliedhumon's body cast turned into a cast prison. Now he was basically trapped in an orb of medicine and would unlikely do anything more than speak and blink for the near future. The East Group found justice in this, perhaps more than they should have. Though, considering what they were roped into, they put their moralities on hold.

Weddinmon handed Yuma the Totem, an intricate wooden artifact that bore all the symbols of the first two Generations. "I believe you came here for this?"

Yuma turned to Koji, who only sighed and nodded. With a change back into Mushamon, Yuma slashed the Totem into pieces, rendering its power moot.

"And for you, dear," Weddinmon turned to Cho-Hakkaimon. She took out a single golden ring with faded inscriptions on it. "My foolish advisor was aiming for this the whole time."

"Ooh! I thought I lost this! You knew where it was this whole time, Granpaps?!"

"It took me a while, but I found out Weddinmon here picked it up after it was lost." The ball spoke, even if he was a bit muffled.

"What's that ring?" Baron asked as he looked over to it.

"It's... a gift from a friend... from my old days..." Cho-Hakkaimon said before she put it away. "Thanks for finding it, Grandpaps!"

"Now, that this has all been established..." Weddinmon looked back at the holes in her garden, the broken keep, and the still many unconscious Gladimon littering the field with chunks of ice. She then turned back to the DigiDestined. "Kindly leave my castle."

"WE ARE SO SORRY!"

[Outside Weddinmon's castle.]

"That was a colossal waste of time." Koji muttered before glaring at the old Digimon being rolled like a gym ball.

"I thought it was fun! I got to make new friends and eat some delicious cake!" Cho-Hakkaimon exclaimed as she pushed her grandfather's ball forward.

"I-It wasn't that bad, was it?" Yoshi looked over to Yuma and Rikku, both of who had bandages from where Weddinmon stabbed them. Neither looked impressed. "I mean, it could have... I'll be quiet now."

Luckily for the two, Baron was oddly practiced in medicine and making salves, allowing the two to get patched up somewhat. Rika herself held cards that allowed Renamon access to Healing abilities, helping the likes of Blue and Goofy. Of course, refusing to heal Ghillidehumon.

"With that out of the way," Rika turned to the rest of the east group. "I suppose it's time."

"Time? Time for what?" Baron asked, a bit nervous.

Rika went straight to the point. "All of you abandon Xros Heart and join Blue Flare. We have a plan to bring the fight to Ragna Lordmon. And it involves taking down and purifying the other Titans."

"Whoa, wait." Yoshi looked on with shock. "You're asking us to fight against Ragna Lordmon? But the 7th Generation hasn't even reached Ultimate yet! And Arshan does not count! Koji!"

The Warrior of Light was oddly silent before he turned to Yuma and Baron. "It's your choice if you want to join them or not."

"What!?" Yoshi and Lalamon cried out. "But Koji, what about the plan?!"

"Don't worry, trust me." He told the reddish-pink-haired young woman.

"I admit, we made a pretty good team," Rikku said. "It would be nice to have another swordsman in the group."

Yuma thought about it before he looked at Funbeemon. His partner also seemed to think about what it could mean for them if they joined: they could also be given special equipment that would give them an immediate power boost to rival Ultimates. And that power would only increase as they reached the higher levels. Yet... "I... decline. It's not that I disagree with what you stand for. But I would like to trust in the path set before me already. Ragna Lordmon chases after us because we're a part of his plan, and perhaps his weakness. I feel as if there is potential in having him be the one who chases after us. After all, we only knew the Restoration Program works on him because he personally attempted to capture us. I believe he'll continue to let secrets slip about his immortality if we continue down this path."

Yuma turned to Baron. "What about you?"

"I uhh... I think I'll stay with these guys. No offense or anything, but you guys scare me."

Rika narrowed her eyes at Baron, causing the boy to shrink behind Yuma, who was younger than him.

However, the ginger sighed after hearing the answers. "What a waste. Come on, Rikku, Blue. We have our main orders."

"Well, how about we spar again sometime?" Rikku looked to Yuma, who only nodded once in response. "Looking forward to that."

With Rika and Rikku leaving, the group traveled their way until reaching the outskirts of Weddinmon's kingdom.

"That reminds me," Yuma turned to Baron. "I didn't get the chance to ask, but why is it that you never told anyone your last name?"

"I... don't have one," Baron admitted. "I uhh, grew up in an orphanage before coming here."

"Oh, I see," Yuma and the others were surprised to hear that. "I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories."

"No, it's fine. I... well..."

"What's an orphanage?" The humans looked over to Cho-Hakkaimon, who tilted her head in confusion. Similarly, most of the other Digimon except Goofy did not recognize it.

"It's... hard to explain," Yoshi rubbed the back of her head.

"Ah!" Cho-Hakkaimon hammered her palm as she realized something. "Is that why Goofy here asked to be part of a family?"

"Yeah! I want Baron to have the biggest family in the Digital World!" The little dino shouted with elation.

"Goofy!" Baron looked to his partner.

"Well, I said yes to that, so why not!?" Cho-Hakkaimon patted Ghilliedmon's ball. "What about it, grampaps?"

"Oh! I'd love to have another grandchild! It means I get more time to plan another heist!" Yoshi and Koji narrowed their eyes at the injured Digimon in the cast and silently swore to ensure he'd stay in that.

"R-Really!?" Tears started to flow from Baron's eyes after hearing that. "You'd be part of my family?!"

"Those two, maybe," Koji said. "But we'll just settle for being your friends."

"Friends too!?" Baron looked shocked, poor kid must have had a rough time.

"Baron," Yuma stepped forward. "You... are..." He looked back to Funbeemon before back to the bandaged teen. "You need a lot of work. As do I. But yeah, I'm willing to be your friend."

"Oh! Oh!" Tears of joy started to pour out of Baron's eyes as he took out a notebook labeled friends and family and started writing down in it. "I finally have family and friends! I can't wait to tell Mr. Leaf Petal about this!"

"I'm feeling a hug coming!" Cho-Hakkaimon extended her arms outward. "Come on everybody, let's do a great big family hug!"

Koji sighed, feeling another migraine coming. "Do we have—"

SLASH.

...

...

...

Cho-Hakkaimon... looked down. She thought it was odd: why was there a black spike protruding from her chest? And also...why... was... her vision... fa...ding...?

Everyone stared horrified as something ran through and stabbed Cho-Hakkaimon's chest, piercing her core and causing her body to turn into energy.

But the horror did not end. Another black tendril stabbed through Ghilliedmon's cast, causing the old Digimon to gasp before his bindings broke and shattered into dust. At the same time, two tendrils attacked both Yoshi and Koji. Although they had enough instinct to avoid a fatal blow, they were too slow to react to more black tendrils slamming them into nearby swamp trees and covering them in black ooze. Lalamon didn't have time to scream for Yoshi as she too was caught by a sudden burst of black vines.

"Koji! Yoshi!" Yuma reached for his Digivice before something hit his wrist, making him scream in pain and drop his D-Tector.

Meanwhile... poor Baron stared at where both Cho-Hakkaimon and Ghilliedhumon were. They, who promised to be his new family... gone and taken away without him even getting a chance to enjoy it...

"B-Baron?" Goofy looked at his friend, who looked frozen as more black vines surrounded him, Baron, an injured Yuma, and an alarmed Funbeemon.

"My my. How quaint."

Yuma and Funbeemon looked ahead their eyes widened when they saw the shadows form. It was a human? Wait, no! Yuma recognized her.

"Y-You!" He hissed as he held his hand to try to mitigate the pain. "You're that Paladin! You're Nanami!" It was the blonde woman styled in gothic lolita clothes.

"Ah? So you were paying attention. It seems that this new generation isn't filled with the usual idiots." The crimson-eyed woman casually strode forward as the dark vines swarmed around her and trapped the East group.

"Now then," She said, putting a finger near her mouth in an attempt to be cute. "I'm so glad I decided to lay a trap after all. I'm disappointed you weren't the group with the one called Arshan Dillion in it, but I'm sure Ragna Lordmon will be pleased with 2 Restorers."

At her own success, Nanami laughed as dark vines closed in on the eastern group.

[Author Notes]

Finally! I finished this chapter! It took longer because I had to scrap my original idea for the chapter.

Now, I'd like to introduce SenotStone's characters: Baron and Goofy, the Gammamon! They're a bit tricky for me to write, but I hope I can do better with them in the future if I didn't do well now. Welcome to the story!

So, I do really, really want to show off more of the characters I sent. But the bad news is that my writing style is peculiar, so the best I can do is introduce them slowly to fit my style of writing, even if it has so many flaws.

Ah screw it. I made this story for fun, not for something perfect. I hope you enjoyed reading it as well.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you leave a review!