DarkFoxKit: Alright, here's another chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it, and hope you had a Happy Halloween.
ZAFT: Yep! I certainly had a lot of trick-or-treaters, but now let's focus on the story. We have some major changes coming down the line~ XD
DarkFoxKit: For now, our characters are lamenting the fact they'll have to leave the kids soon. Let's see how they do before the time comes.
ZAFT: And onto the chapter~ X3
DarkFoxKit: Oh, and as a warning for those who leave 'reviews' just to plug themselves, I will start reporting your butts. We already gave you warnings about leaving 'reviews' just to shamelessly plug yourselves, we want actual reviews, not people saying 'I'm an artist'.
ZAFT: Spam is not accepted on this website, so we will keep reporting you until you stop or are banned. Plus, get ACTUAL jobs instead of sitting around creating scummy AI art. XP
DarkFoxKit: Just to be clear, this has nothing to do with the people on Ao3, this is strictly on Fanfiction as we've been getting more of these types of spam on our reviews lately.
ZAFT: And to the one who put me on their author alert list, remove me as I am FLAT BROKE so I cannot pay you for your scummy art. XP
Chapter 16: The Beast of Light
Koji and Labramon arrived at the ruins, having left the cave to head there. Looking around, Koji gave a slight frown. "Now what? Where do we start looking? There could be any number of things here that point to the Spirit's location."
Labramon was looking around the stone pillars for a moment before she saw a carving. She walked over to the carving to study it. "Interesting… Koji, take a look at this carving. It looks like the symbol of light on your shoulder when you're Lobomon."
Koji made his way over and stared at it as well. "You're right… That is the same symbol!"
Koji then looked up at the stone pillar. "This must be where my Beast Spirit is supposed to be."
"Maybe you can look at your D-Tector? It was able to lead you this far after all," Labramon suggested.
Koji took out his D-Tector and began pushing buttons, but there was no reaction. "I'm not getting anything. Maybe the Spirit is dormant or can't be picked up right away for some reason."
"Then we'll just have to keep looking," Labramon said softly, though a part of him hoped to not find it, he also knew they had to.
It wasn't just because of what Tapirmon said, but this whole experience showed Labramon something important. They're not going to make it out if they ignore their Beast Spirits forever…
Meanwhile, back in the grassy fields, Takuya, Zoe, Tommy, JP, Patamon, Biyomon, Lopmon, and Kokuwmon were moving through the tall grass. Since the grass was so tall, Patamon, Biyomon, and Kokuwmon had to fly over it. Lopmon had to stay on Tommy's head to not be completely buried. The group were still looking for Koji and Labramon.
"Stupid thick grass…" JP grumbled as he pushed some of the grass aside. "I'd give anything for a lawn mower right now…"
"Ugh… and there go the complaints again." Zoe groaned.
"Hey, there's no need to complain or argue right now." Takuya said. "We need to keep looking for Koji and Labramon."
"Although I wonder why the grass here is so thick," Tommy remarked, since he was the shortest one in the group, the grass was up to his chest.
"It's pretty easy to trip over things like this," JP grumbled as he stumbled a bit after hitting a rock he couldn't see.
"At least we can fly," Biyomon remarked. "Though it gets exhausting having to flap my wings all the time."
"I feel kinda bad having to stand on someone's head," Lopmon admitted.
"I think you're fine up there," Tommy replied. "Don't worry about it."
"If you want, Biyomon, you could perch yourself on my shoulder or something," Zoe offered.
"Aren't I a little big for your shoulder though?" Biyomon asked.
"I don't think it will be a problem." Zoe replied. "I mean, it's not like you're a big bird of prey. You're small enough to fit."
Biyomon gave it some thought. "Alright, I'll give it a try."
Biyomon, carefully, landed on Zoe's shoulder, folding her wings back. "How's that? My talons aren't hurting you are they?"
"No, I think you have good pressure there." Zoe replied. "It feels fine, no need to worry. Just… don't squeeze too hard if we get startled or something, please."
JP looked at the pink bird on Zoe's shoulder. He looked back at Kokuwamon. Kokuwamon seemed to be pretty heavy, being made out of metal and all, but…
"If you want, Kokuwamon, you could probably attach yourself to my back or something," JP said.
"Are you sure, JP?" Kokuwamon asked. "I'm pretty much made of metal, so I don't want to hurt you."
"It'll be fine. It'll let me build up my muscles, and it'd be like having heavy armor on my back," JP replied.
"Okay… if you're sure…" Kokuwamon said, uncertainty in his voice before hovering over to JP's back and latching on.
"Ooof…" JP grunted. "Dang… that's heavy…"
"Is it too much?" Kokuwamon asked worriedly.
JP gave a small smirk. "Nah… this is nothing… Compared to the armor I wear as Beetlemon, you're a lightweight…"
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not," Kokuwamon replied.
"Hey, it means you're not fat at least," Patamon teased.
Takuya looked back at the group, noticing they all had their Digimon on them. He looked at Patamon in consideration.
"Hey, if you're tired, you can rest on my head if you want, Patamon." Takuya offered. "I'm sure flying for so long is probably wearing you down."
Patamon looked at Takuya. "Maybe a little. But tell me, are you asking me because you're concerned, or because everyone else is doing it?"
Patamon grinned, showing he was mostly teasing Takuya.
"It's both." Takuya huffed. "But mostly because I'm concerned and I don't want you to be too tired if we run into trouble."
"Sure, okay," Patamon chuckled before he flew over Takuya's head and plopped on top of it. "Actually, this feels kinda nice. I can see why Lopmon likes to do this a lot."
Takuya chuckled. "I guess a head of hair makes for a nice spot to rest." He joked.
"You're wearing a hat," Patamon pointed out.
Takuya snickered. "Maybe my hat is better than a head of hair then."
The group continued walking.
"Do you think Koji is alright?" Tommy asked.
"He's Koji, I'm sure he and Labramon are fine, but we should still make sure they're alright," Takuya replied. "Especially with Grumblemon on the loose."
"Yeah, we barely stood a chance against Grumblemon as a team." Zoe pointed out. "I'd hate to face down that gnome solo. He'd beat us so easily."
"It doesn't help that he's so much stronger than us…" JP frowned.
"Well, remember, we were on a mountainside when we fought him, the terrain put us all at a massive disadvantage," Tommy pointed out. "But… you are right in saying he's a lot stronger than us… if we're not careful, he could easily take one of us out."
"It might be good to try to think more positively," Kokuwamon said. "After all, going into a battle believing you've already lost, then you're guaranteed to lose."
"Kokuwamon is right. Grumblemon as Gigasmon is a lot stronger, but he's one big beast with power. If we could approach the battle smartly, we might be able to take him on," Lopmon said, thinking back on when they had to fight with all 5 of the Legendary Warriors last night.
"Hopefully we can." Takuya sighed. "But we can't just make up some plan either and hope it works. We have to actually consider more variables than just what he is capable of. Like what if there is a Digimon village close by? Or if he captures one of you Rookie Digimon as a hostage again?"
"You thought a lot about that since the last battle with him, huh?" Zoe noted.
"I'm not surprised, considering Gigasmon consumed the KaratsukiNumemon's Village and he took our friends as hostages… who's to say that won't happen again?" Tommy frowned.
"So yeah, we have to be more careful." Takuya admitted. He then looked down. "To be honest, that whole hostage situation kinda scared me…"
"It scared all of us, Takuya, not just you." Zoe admitted.
"Man, what a pain…" JP sighed. "It feels like no matter what we do, that walking, talking, caveman gnome got us beat."
"I'm sure we can figure something out." Biyomon said.
Takuya smiled a bit. "Yeah, we will. No need to be so down in the dumps, right? We learn from those experiences and get better. That's all we can do."
However, as they were moving, Grumblemon, who was taking a break from looking for Koji, was lying on a rock. He noticed the kids nearby, though they hadn't noticed him yet.
"Hmmm? So they still alive?" Grumblemon noted with some interest. He jumped to his feet. "Well, that not last long, and then I take all them Spirits from kids!"
Fractal code surrounded Grumblemon as he turned into his more powerful Beast Spirit form. "This be fun~!"
All at once, Patamon, Lopmon, Biyomon, and Kokuwamon sensed danger coming at them.
"It's Gigasmon! Move, move, move!" Lopmon shouted in warning.
Lopmon, Patamon, Biyomon, and Kokuwamon jumped away from the humans as Gigasmon jumped over them. Gigasmon was coming down with his hands wrapped up in a big fist together, ready to bring it down on all of them.
This caused the area to shake. Gotsumon, who had been looking for the red jewel, saw the earth under him split open. This allowed him access to where the jewel fell.
"Hey! It's the third jewel!" Gotsumon exclaimed as he reached for it. "Now I can release the beast and beat Grumblemon!"
At the same time, at the ruins, Koji and Labramon heard Gigasmon on the attack again and both turned just in time to see a large plume of dust and dirt get thrown into the air.
"That sounded like Gigasmon!" Koji exclaimed.
Labramon looked over. "But why is he attacking over there? There aren't any villages there."
Koji frowned as he suddenly got a bad feeling. Of course, the friends he made wouldn't just let him and Labramon go off on their own.
"I think… that may be Takuya and the others who are being attacked…" Koji murmured, a sinking feeling in his gut.
Koji always seemed standoffish towards the group. He hadn't wanted to get attached to anyone, other than Labramon. He always saw them as obnoxious brats who didn't know any better, and would just get in his way. But after working with Takuya and Tommy back on Toy Island, and with JP and Zoe when they battled Gigasmon at KaratsukiNumemon's mountain, he realized that they were a lot stronger and smarter than he first assumed. They had helped him too. Maybe it was time to stop trying to do things on his own and actually help them. Labramon had been right, even the strongest of people will need help some time.
"They need my help…" Koji murmured. "I can't just leave them to fight Gigasmon alone."
"What about your Beast Spirit?" Labramon asked. "Do you think you'll stand a chance against Gigasmon without it?"
"To be honest, no, but I can't leave the others to fight him alone either." Koji replied. "Besides, if we fight as a team, we may defeat him."
Labramon gave Koji a smile. "Okay, then let's get to the others."
Meanwhile, Gigasmon grinned as the area was covered in a cloud of dust. "Who want to be first victim!?"
Suddenly, something glowed in the cloud of dust. "I'll take you on!"
That was Zoe's voice.
"No, try me!" Takuya's voice shouted as another direction in the cloud of dust began to shine.
"You're not leaving me out of this!" JP's voice yelled as his glow was more in front of Gigasmon.
"You won't win against us so easily this time!" Tommy's voice called as the glow was behind Gigasmon.
Takuya held out his D-Tector and the blue digital form of his first Spirit appeared visible on the screen of his D-Tector as he formed the familiar fractal coding on his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital, and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. Red armor formed and latched onto his body as his hair changed to blonde and became long and wild. His height increased, as did his strength and agility. His eyes snapped open, now a brilliant blue instead of brown, and his teeth were sharper than a human's as well. He landed, crying out his name. "Agunimon!"
The magenta outline of Zoe's Spirit appeared visible on the screen of her D-Tector as she held it up. Fractal coding appeared on her left hand and she slammed the D-Tector against it as she brought the two together. Zoe then called out the familiar phrase she knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Her body became data as her clothes ripped away. Coding surrounded her in a cocoon of sorts and the power of her first Spirit flowed into her. Her hair became longer, flowing past her waist and turning a purple color. Her body grew in height, increasing her strength and speed. A bikini-like outfit appeared on her body as gloves, and high boots formed on her arms and legs, with shoulder guards appearing as well as a visor that covered her eyes. Butterfly-like wings appeared on her back and she landed, letting out a cry as she unleashed a kick before she came to a stop and said her name. "Kazemon!"
The green outline of JP's first Spirit became visible on the screen of his D-Tector as he held it up. JP then held up his left hand as fractal coding formed around it, his D-Tector held in his other hand. Slamming the device against the ring of coding, he brought the two together. JP then called out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Coding encircled him as his clothes ripped away and his body became data, the power of the Spirit flowing into him. Blue and yellow armor formed on his body as he grew in height and strength. On his back, wings formed before they were covered by two halves of a hard shell and on his head, a horn grew. His eyes became green as a faceplate covered his mouth and he felt the power of thunder flowing into his body. He landed, slamming his fists together as he cried out his name. "Beetlemon!"
The light green digital form of Tommy's first Spirit appeared on the screen of his D-Tector and he formed the familiar ring of fractal coding around his left hand. He swiped the D-Tector over the coding, calling out the familiar phrase he knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" His clothes ripped away as his body became digital and the process began. Coding surrounded him as the power of the Spirit flowed into his body. He lost his hair and his body became white as snow. His fingers became like paws almost and he gained a more cub-like appearance to his body. Green chest armor formed on his body and his feet gained green and red boots. A headband that had the image of a bear on it formed on his head, and he gained a shoulder pad on each side, but one was red while the other was gray in color. He slid down and landed as a mushy pile before he reformed and grinned, calling out his name. "Kumamon!"
Now Spirit Evolved, the four Legendary Warriors didn't hesitate to attack.
"Even with all 4 of you at once, you no match for me!" Gigasmon grinned.
"Do you think we should do something to help them?" Kokuwamon asked as he and the other Digimon were watching from a distance.
"No… there's not much we can do here. We have to watch and let it play out," Lopmon said. "If something… unusual happens, then and only then should we interfere."
Agunimon didn't hesitate to coat one of his fists in fire. "Pyro Punch!"
Kazemon let loose a flurry of pink wind from her hands. "Hurricane Wave!"
Beetlemon shot lightning out from his own hands. "Thunder Fist!"
Kumamon shot out cold snowballs from his gun at Gigasmon. "Blizzard Blaster!"
Gigasmon grinned before he blocked Agunimon and Beetlemon's attack with ease, he jumped at Kazemon and Kumamon, ignoring their attacks like they were nothing, and slammed into them. Having all 4 Legendary Warriors nearby gave Gigasmon the perfect counter. "Quagmire Twister!"
Gigasmon spun around in a fast circle, hitting all of them at once with his fists. Not only that, he had them all caught up in a twister, trapping them.
The Digimon who were watching, noticed Kumamon, who was defensively weaker than the other Legendary Warriors due to the lack of proper armor, was starting to lose his fractal code. There was a reason why Kumamon usually had to fight smarter than the others, and unfortunately, he got caught up in a powerful attack.
"He's about to take Tommy's Spirit… are you sure you can stand by and watch this?" Biyomon asked Lopmon.
"We knew this was going to happen…" Lopmon frowned, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Kumamon.
Kumamon groaned weakly, he knew he was in danger, but he couldn't move. He felt so weak, his body felt heavy. Gigasmon grinned, seeing his chance to seize one of the Spirits.
Lopmon gritted his teeth as he thought about his time with Tommy. The kid was younger than everyone else, but he was also trying very hard to be an important part of the team. Tommy had proven himself time and time again, even when the others saw him as a little kid. Lopmon saw himself in Tommy in a lot of ways. Despite knowing what must happen… Lopmon squeezed his claws together into a fist. You know what? Screw destiny!
Without warning, Lopmon ran forward and jumped into the twister, puffing out his ears to make it take him up towards the other Legendary Warriors.
"Lopmon!" Kokuwamon and Biyomon called out in shock.
"What are you doing!?" Patamon shouted in shock as well. "No… what aren't we doing? Let's go back him up!"
Patamon didn't hesitate to fly in as well. "Wait for me!"
Biyomon blinked before sighing. "Well, boys will be boys. I can't let them have all the fun."
As Biyomon flew into battle as well with Kokuwamon behind her.
"It's not about boys being boys, it's about wanting to protect those we care about," Kokuwamon said. "But either way, I'm with you too! What's the point of our mission if we can't change some things?"
Just as Gigasmon was about to grab Kumamon, Kazemon managed to fly over to Kumamon and push him out of the way. Gigasmon was about to grab Kazemon when Lopmon managed to fly up using the wind, and latched onto Gigasmon's nose.
"Huh!?" Gigasmon shouted in surprise.
"Blazing Ice!" Lopmon fired his icy breath right into Gigasmon's eyes.
"Ahhh! Cold!" Gigasmon cried out in pain, causing him to stop spinning and he grabbed at his eyes. The lack of spinning caused the twister to end, cutting the attack off.
The Legendary Warriors fell to the ground, causing grunts from Agunimon and Beetlemon, the Warrior of Thunder landing on top of the Warrior of Flame.
"Can't… breathe…" Agunimon grunted out, feeling the heavier Warrior moving around to get off of him.
"S-sorry!" Beetlemon quickly said, rolling off of poor Agunimon.
"We've got you!" Kokuwamon shouted as he landed onto Gigasmon's back, weighing him down. "Stun Shock!"
Using the electricity on his head like a taser, Kokuwamon shoved his head into Gigasmon's back, trying to shock the beast as much as he could.
"Bird Kick!" Biyomon dove in, using her talon to kick Gigasmon. Her talons scratched Gigasmon's chest a little.
"Patamon!" Lopmon called out as he jumped from Gigasmon's nose.
Patamon flew over to Lopmon and grabbed onto his arms. Patamon flew around, heading towards Gigasmon. "Boom Bubble!"
Patamon let go of Lopmon as he shot out the air bubble from his body. Lopmon used the Boom Bubble to propel himself at Gigasmon. "Tiny Twister!"
The propulsion caused the Tiny Twister to move much faster, and when Lopmon slammed into Gigasmon, his heavy body was caught up in the twister. It was just enough to pick him up a little bit before causing him to fall back down. Kokuwamon quickly flew off of Gigasmon's body before he fell.
Agunimon grunted as he sat up. "Wh-what the… Patamon and the others?" He asked in shock as he saw what was going on.
"They could get hurt!" Beetlemon exclaimed in alarm.
"They saved me back there," Kazemon noted. "And it looks like they were able to hurt Gigasmon a little."
"Don't let your guard down!" Lopmon shouted from the air. "He's still capable of fighting!"
"Quagmire Twister!"
Another large dust tornado raised up from the ground, quickly sucking Lopmon, Patamon, Biyomon, and Kokuwamon in as they were closer in the air.
"You 4 annoy me! Get rid you now!" Gigasmon shouted angrily.
Agunimon gasped as he got to his feet. "No! We can't let them get hurt!"
He ran to stop the attack. I hope this works! If he wants to fight with a twister, I will make one of my own!
Fire flickered from Agunimon's armor as he began to concentrate and form his own fiery tornado. "Pyro Tornado!"
"Wait! You'll hit the others!" Kazemon shouted.
Agunimon, hearing Kazemon's words, gasped and cut his attack. The fiery vortex flickered out and he landed on the ground, turning to face Kazemon. "Then what should we do?!" He snapped.
"All of our attacks could hit them!" Beetlemon frowned.
"Hey… where's Kumamon?" Kazemon asked.
Without hesitation, a white blur jumped into the Quagmire Twister. Lopmon hadn't been sure if what they did was a good idea. He had acted before thinking, he acted emotionally rather than logically. Now 4 of them were trapped in a Legendary Warrior's attack. If they were all strike down now…
Suddenly, Lopmon felt a cold hand grabbing him. He opened his eyes, shocked. He saw Kumamon looking at him with a sad smile on his face. Kumamon… knew what would happen if Gigasmon caught him, but he was doing this anyway.
Without saying anything, Kumamon took out his gun and fired fireballs at Biyomon, Kokuwamon, and Patamon. Not enough to hurt them, but enough force to shove them out of the twister. He looked back at Lopmon.
"I'm sorry…" Kumamon apologized.
"Kumamon?" Lopmon frowned.
Kumamon saw Gigasmon coming right at them. He quickly threw Lopmon and used his gun to fire snowballs at Lopmon, shoving him out of the twister. Lopmon's eyes went wide when he saw Kumamon getting a direct hit from Gigasmon's fists.
"NO! Kumamon!" Lopmon shouted.
Hearing Lopmon's cry, the other Legendary Warriors realized something was wrong. They could sense it, on a deeper level than anything they had ever picked up before. It was… like something was… being ripped from them.
"What… what is this feeling…?" Beetlemon muttered. "It's like… something is… ripped from me…"
"It… It's Kumamon…" Agunimon murmured.
"No…" Kazemon whispered.
Gigasmon grinned as Kumamon groaned again, his fractal code showing once more. This time the ring showed Kumamon's figurine. Gigasmon didn't hesitate to consume the figurine. As soon as Gigasmon did that, Tommy was forced back into his human form. Luckily his human form didn't sustain any damages his Digimon form did, but he looked exhausted. He began falling.
Kazemon, seeing this, immediately flew up to Tommy to catch him while Agunimon and Beetlemon jumped towards Gigasmon.
"Give that back!" Agunimon shouted angrily, fire flickering from his armor in his rage. "Pyro Punch!" He threw a fiery punch at Gigasmon as hard and quickly as he could.
"Thunder Fist!" Beetlemon was angry as well, he hated that he couldn't have stopped Gigasmon from taking one of the Spirits, especially from one of their friends.
Gigasmon smirked. "Tasty Spirit~"
A cocoon of fractal code surrounded Gigasmon. "Slide Evolution! Grumblemon!"
As Grumblemon, he made two sledgehammers on his hands, then he slammed the two sledgehammers right into Agunimon and Beetlemon's backs, stopping them painfully in their tracks.
Agunimon grunted as he fell to the ground, his back aching. He was pretty sure he had a good sized dent in his armor from that blow.
Beetlemon also fell to the ground, but his thicker armor held strong against the blow.
Both Agunimon and Beetlemon were stunned, enough to have their own fractal code beginning to show.
Agunimon felt his heart racing; this was what happened to Kumamon, leading to him losing his Spirit! He felt so helpless as he struggled to hold onto his Digimon form and his Spirit.
Beetlemon was in a similar situation, trying to keep his own fractal code from showing.
"More tasty Spirits~" Grumblemon snickered as he saw the code starting to form.
"Too strong…" Tommy groaned, still conscious enough to witness what was happening.
Kazemon frowned as well, she knew that it was only a matter of time before Grumblemon got her Spirit too. The other Digimon weren't strong enough to do much damage to him, even though they took him by surprise earlier. It resulted in Kumamon having to save them and losing his Spirit.
"We gambled, and we lost…" Lopmon hissed from the ground. "Things are worse than they were supposed to be…"
"It's not your fault." Patamon frowned.
"Yes it is! I was the one who went into the battle!" Lopmon snapped.
Before anything else could happen, Grumblemon was stopped by a sudden ray of light.
Looking up, Grumblemon and the others saw a very familiar Warrior of Light.
"Not on my watch!" Lobomon growled before he fired his attack. "Howling Laser!"
The laser shot hit Grumblemon directly in the nose.
Meanwhile, Gotsumon looked back, hearing the explosion from the fighting. He had the jewel in his hands. "That must be Grumblemon. Just you wait, I'll unseal the Spirit and you'll get your just desserts!"
Back at the battle site, Labramon ran over to the others. They all looked pretty beaten up. "Hang on, guys."
Labramon rushed over to Agunimon first. "Cure Liquor!"
Labramon shot out some kind of white water from her maw and soaked Agunimon, healing his injuries. Labramon then ran to Beetlemon, doing the same thing for him. Then she hurried to the other Digimon, helping them back on their feet.
"What happened?" Labramon asked, confused when she saw Kazemon holding onto a human Tommy. That… doesn't seem right.
"Tommy had his Spirit stolen." Kazemon replied, gripping Tommy gently. "He… saved the Rookie Digimon, but at a cost…"
"That gnome will pay for this…" Agunimon growled out, showing his sharp canine teeth in his anger.
"But we can't just rush in! Tommy lost his Spirit, do you want to lose yours as well?" Kazemon countered.
"We almost did earlier because we were reacting in anger…" Beetlemon frowned.
"I'm so sorry… it's my fault Tommy lost his Spirit…" Lopmon apologized, looking down in shame.
"It's not your fault, Lopmon… you were trying to help us…" Tommy replied a little tiredly.
"Lopmon… someone was bound to lose their Spirit regardless…" Biyomon said quietly. "You shouldn't blame yourself for this."
Lopmon didn't say anything back, he just kept looking down. The fact that someone other than the destined person lost their Spirit… it could cause possible changes that they never intended. Tapirmon wasn't interfering… at least not yet… so maybe it didn't derail too much… and that meant they may be able to get Tommy's Spirit back.
"Not all hope is lost." Patamon reassured Lopmon. "Besides, I don't blame you for wanting to act. I would've done the same thing."
Lopmon looked up. "This isn't the time for this… Grumblemon is still able to fight."
Lobomon quickly turned around, seeing the annoying gnome getting back up to his feet. Lopmon was right, they didn't have time for a conversation right now.
Lobomon quickly reached out and grabbed onto Grumblemon. "Hey you! Spit out that Spirit you devoured right now!"
"Why should I? Spirit mine now." Grumblemon snickered. "But not too bad for one not meant to hold Spirit."
"You don't want my Spirit anymore?" Lobomon questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't be too sure~" Grumblemon grinned as he took out his hammers.
Grumblemon tried to slam the two sledgehammers onto Lobomon's face. Thankfully, Lobomon reacted quickly enough to pull his head back, barely avoiding the sledgehammers from smashing his face in. In retaliation, Lobomon kicked Grumblemon in the face.
Grumblemon was knocked back as Lobomon let go of Grumblemon and jumped back so as to avoid any other sneaky moves from the other Digimon.
"You pay for that!" Grumblemon shouted as he got to his feet and fractal code surrounded Grumblemon again, turning him back into Gigasmon.
Lobomon saw the Beast Warrior Earth coming back, and turned to run. He wasn't about to fight the stronger Legendary Warrior head on like he had last time. I need to get some distance between us and find a place where I can fight smarter, not harder.
"Lobomon! Where are you going!?" Kazemon called out as he was running.
Labramon could see the direction Lobomon was going. Is he…? … I better go with him.
Labramon ran towards Lobomon as Grumblemon finished slide evolving into his Beast form. Now as Gigasmon, he jumped after Lobomon.
Despite Labramon healing them, the other 3 were still pretty exhausted from the beatdown they had with Gigasmon. They degenerated back to their human forms, now that the danger had passed, their Spirits needed to rest. Tommy was set down after Kazemon returned to being Zoe. Tommy was awake now, but he felt like something was missing.
"Are you okay, little buddy?" JP asked Tommy in concern.
Tommy frowned as he looked at his D-Tector. He couldn't see anything but a blank screen. "I'm… alright, but… I don't have Kumamon anymore."
Lopmon frowned as well. "You… shouldn't have tried to save us… you lost your Spirit because of that."
"I didn't want you guys to get hurt though…" Tommy admitted. "We could have lost you if I didn't do anything…"
Lopmon sighed. It reminded him that if he hadn't interfered, this wouldn't have happened. He knew he shouldn't have listened to his emotions.
"Hey…" Patamon spoke up. "This isn't over yet. We can still get his Spirit back, but we better hurry and help Lobomon. He won't be able to take out Gigasmon on his own."
Kokuwamon nodded. "Yeah, we did some damage to Gigasmon, so who's to say we can't keep that up?"
"Don't get too confident." Biyomon warned. "We need to help, but remember anything can happen in battle."
Takuya nodded. "Come on, let's go! We also need to get Kumamon's Spirit back from that big jerk!"
Zoe helped Tommy up to his feet. "Will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine, let's just go." Tommy replied. I won't be able to fight like this… but that doesn't mean I should just sit by and watch…
Lopmon looked up at Tommy. Despite just being a normal human again, he's still determined to help his friends… I understand that feeling all too well.
The group began running in the direction Lobomon, Labramon, and Gigasmon ran off too.
Meanwhile, Gotsumon was climbing up the stone pillar, trying to get to the top where the jewel he had was supposed to fit into. But because of how smooth the pillar was, Gotsumon was having some trouble climbing.
"This is so ridiculous!" Gotsumon grumbled as he looked at the jewel in his hand. "Why couldn't this jewel have been right here? Now I have to climb this pillar to insert it…"
Gotsumon slipped back down a bit due to not enough of a grip on the side of the pillar, but he did resume his climbing. "Stupid pillar… being too smooth is making this difficult…"
Gotsumon heard and felt a shockwave. He looked over the pillar he was climbing, and saw an enormous dust cloud. In the dust cloud, he could see Lobomon fighting with Gigasamon. Lobomon was using his lightsabers to fight, but Gigasmon's raw strength was proving to be too much for the Legendary Warrior of Light.
Labramon was running on the side, watching the battle go down. Her eyes were having trouble keeping up with the fight due to the dust cloud, but she could tell Lobomon wasn't doing too well.
"Hang on, Lobomon! Just move a little further!" Labramon called out.
Lobomon heard Labramon's words and jumped back, but he didn't turn his back to Gigasmon. Figuring a bit more power was needed, he gripped his lightsabers in his hands and channeled more of his element's energy into them. The swords pulsed as their glow got brighter.
Lobomon's eyes flashed once before he swung his swords and let loose his surprise. "Howling Shockwave!"
The shockwaves of light energy flew at Gigasmon without going off-target.
Gigasmon fell back a few feet. Labramon was surprised by this as well. Was that the new move he told us about?
"Not bad… you stronger than you appear… but not strong enough…" Gigasmon grinned before he began spinning around. "Quagmire Twister!"
Despite Lobomon's valiant effort, he couldn't stop the incoming twist. Gigasmon's fists slammed into Lobomon multiple times. Lobomon did his best to stand strong, but he soon got blown back by the force of the attack. He ended up hitting one of the stone pillars at the ruins where Gotsumon was.
"Lobomon!" Labramon cried out as she rushed towards him.
Gotsumon saw Lobomon in pain, and his fractal code was currently showing, which was a bad sign for any Digimon.
Seeing Gigasmon coming at him, Lobomon tried to keep his grip on his Digimon form. He didn't want to revert to human form while in the middle of a battle.
Gotsumon didn't want to see this Legendary Warrior lose his Spirit, not after fighting so hard to help his people and village. Without thinking about it, Gotsumon jumped off the pillar Lobomon had slammed into and caused rocks to form around himself. "Rock Fist!"
The rocks flew at Gigasmon and grabbed onto his body, stopping him in his tracks. Labramon, seeing this other Rookie Digimon, stopping such a strong monstrosity that was Gigasmon, decided to try her luck too. She took a deep breath.
"Retriever Bark!" Labramon let out a loud howling noise at Gigasmon to distract him, keeping him from focusing on breaking through the rocks Gotsumon summoned so easily.
Meanwhile, Lobomon's Spirit finally dissipated as Koji reverted back to his human form. Koji groaned as he opened his eyes to see what was going on.
"H-huh?" Koji saw something coming at him, only to catch it. It was a jewel, and Gotsumon had thrown it to him.
"Hey! Um… since I'm a little busy right now, why don't you put that into the statue!?" Gotsumon called out.
Koji was looking at Gotsumon, who was trying his best to hold back Gigasmon. He also heard Labramon's howling, seeing she was also trying to help Gotsumon hold Gigasmon back from finishing him off.
Koji looked at the jewel. "Why?"
"I don't have time to explain! But that jewel will be the key to awakening the Spirit that's sleeping inside the ruins!" Gotsumon strained himself as he explained. "Hurry, put it into the statue!"
"But… why would you do this for me?" Koji asked.
Gotsumon couldn't answer, Gigasmon was pounding his fists against Gotsumon's body. Despite being made of rock, Gotsumon was still a Rookie level Digimon. He would break before long if Gigasmon keeps pounding at him.
"S-stop it!" Koji called out.
Labramon stopped howling and shouted. "Koji! There's no time! Put that jewel into the statue's eye! Now!"
Koji realized what he had to do and nodded. He began to climb to the other side of the statue, even as his body ached painfully.
Koji made it to the other side where the opening for the jewel sat. He took the jewel and slid it into the opening, only for the jewel to start glowing as the statue, plus the other two that had red 'eyes' as well, began to rumble.
Koji yelped as he slid off of the statue, just before the three statues began to turn.
The boy could only watch in amazement as the three statues turned to face Gigasmon and Gotsumon, the red jewel eyes glowing.
"What's that!?" Gigasmon shouted when he saw the statues turning in his direction.
"Whoa…" Gotsumon looked on in awe.
Labramon, seeing that the stone pillars were facing in their direction, ran and jumped up towards Gigasmon and Gotsumon. She pounced Gotsumon, getting him off of Gigasmon. Both of them fell, and as soon as they did, the pillars all faced Gigasmon. The 3 eyes shot out some kind of red light at Gigasmon. Gigasmon let out a cry as he felt pain and fell to the ground.
The lights themselves were hitting the ground, seeming to be going into something that was underground in that area.
At the same time, Takuya's group managed to reach the battle site.
"Koji! Labramon!" Takuya called, only for the group to stop as they saw what was emerging from the ground.
"What the…?" Zoe murmured.
"That has to be my Beast Spirit!" Koji exclaimed as what looked like a white-armored wolf form on a hexagonal base emerged from the ground. As if to confirm it for the boy, his D-Tector began to react to the Spirit.
As Koji stared at the Spirit, waves of light energy seemed to form in his irises. Koji pointed his D-Tector at the figurine and a beam of light shot from the scanner to the Beast Spirit. "BEAST SPIRIT!"
The Beast Spirit flew over Gigasmon's head as well as Gotsumon's head.
"No fair! That Spirit mine!" Gigasmon shouted, but it was too late.
"I did it!" Gotsumon exclaimed. "I helped a Legendary Warrior and freed the Spirit inside the ruins!"
Labramon was watching too. He did it. He's got his Beast Spirit…
The Beast Spirit of Light entered Koji's D-Tector, the symbol of Light appearing on the screen.
Koji held up his left hand as a ball of fractal code appeared around his hand. The scanner on his D-tector lit up as well. The boy slammed the scanner against the ball of fractal code, scanning it as he did so. "Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution!" Koji cried out as the code surrounded him. Koji cried out as he felt the pure primal power of the Beast Spirit fill his body. His body became more lupine in appearance as he became quadruped. His senses became much sharper than even in his Human Spirit form as armor formed on his body and his eyes became a golden color. Landing, he called out his new name. "KendoGarurumon!"
The fractal code dissipated, revealing the new Spirit. As KendoGarurumon, Koji was now more like a wolf than when he was Lobomon. He gave a howl.
The others looked at this new form in awe.
"So Koji found his Beast Spirit?" JP asked, surprised.
"He looks so cool!" Zoe remarked.
"We might not want to stand too close…" Lopmon warned.
"Um… why do you say that?" Takuya asked as he stared at KendoGarurumon. The Beast of Light was looking at them in a very weird way. They noticed his eyes had a strange white and blue glow to them that didn't seem natural.
As if to answer Takuya's question, KendoGarurumon let out another howl before the wheels on the backs of his legs snapped into place, as did the blades on his back. He then fixed his unnatural gaze on the group and charged straight at them; it didn't matter who was in his way, he was attacking all he laid eyes on.
"Ah… Nice doggy!" Gigasmon gulped nervously.
"I was afraid of this! He can't control the Beast Spirit!" Lopmon shouted. "Look out!"
Everyone had to scatter as KendoGarurumon charged at them with the wheels on the back of his legs, and he ended up slamming into a tree trunk.
"Nobody told me that he wouldn't be able to control his Beast Spirit!" JP shouted as they were moving.
"Is it always going to be like this!?" Tommy yelled.
"N-no, he just has to learn how to control the Beast Spirit!" Biyomon called back.
"And how long will that take!?" Zoe shouted.
"Oh great! This is just awesome! We're just wolf chow right now!" Takuya groaned.
"Stop complaining and keep moving!" Patamon shouted.
KendoGarurumon stopped his charge as he caught movement in his glowing eyes, but it wasn't one of his previous prey. No, this was new prey, or was it another predator after his prey?
"You don't get to keep if no have control of Spirit!" Gigasmon shouted as he ran at KendoGarurumon.
With another howl, the Beast Warrior of Light turned his attention to the incoming Gigasmon. The two Beast Warriors charged at each other.
"Oh, this isn't gonna be good!" Labramon realized. "Gotsumon, move!"
Gotsumon snapped out of his aweness and quickly ran with Labramon. Just in the nick of time too, since as soon as the two beasts clashed with each other, there was a bright light, and an earthquake in the area. The ruins and the cliff all disintegrated. Gigasmon let out a scream as he was falling into the water below.
"KOJI!" The others cried out, worried for their friend.
Labramon looked back as the light finally dissipated. KendoGarurumon managed to cling onto the edge of the cliff that was destroyed, and used his paws to push himself back up. He let out a roar of pain, but he didn't revert to his human form yet. He let out a growl as he looked up, his eyes still glowing that unnatural light.
"Aw, c'mon!" Takuya growled out. "He's still on a rampage?"
"Beast Spirits are more powerful than Human Spirits, but also more primal." Patamon admitted. "If you're not careful, those primal instincts will take control of you."
"Some Beast Spirits are more aggressive than others," Lopmon warned, looking over at Takuya. "It's possible it'll make you go on an even bigger rampage than KendoGarurumon."
"... Why are you looking at me when you say that?" Takuya frowned.
"Oh, no reason… no reason at all," Lopmon replied innocently.
"What are we going to do about Koji though?" Tommy asked. "It'll be dangerous if he keeps going out of control!"
"He'll probably look at us and think we look tasty!" JP gulped.
As if to taunt JP, the Beast of Light turned his attention to the others, lingering on JP for a moment longer than the other kids.
"Scatter!" Patamon shouted as KendoGarurumon sped at the group again. Once more, the kids and Digimon in the group scattered to avoid the rampaging Legendary Warrior.
"Can't you Spirit Evolve!?" Kokuwamon shouted at JP as he was flying with JP.
"I've been trying! But my Spirit isn't activating!" JP replied.
"It must still be exhausted from that battle with Gigasmon!" Kokuwamon realized.
"W-what should we do? He's going on a rampage!" Gotsumon frowned.
Labramon frowned. This is different… I thought Koji was supposed to gain control over his Beast Spirit after taking down Gigasmon. Did something else change? What should we do? He'll hurt everyone at this rate…
Labramon had an idea. She wasn't sure if it was a good one, but it was the only one she had. "Gotsumon, can you use your Rock Fist to hold KendoGarurumon in place like you did with Gigasmon?"
Gotsumon blinked, but nodded. "I think so." He confirmed before summoning more rocks around himself. "Time for a timeout, doggy! Rock Fist!"
Gotsumon pinned the rocks onto KendoGarurumon. If KendoGarurumon was able to think logically, he would be able to slice through the rocks with ease, but because he was being driven on instinct right now, all he could do was struggle and growl.
"What're you doing?" Takuya asked, seeing what was going on.
"Hold on, they may have a plan," Patamon said.
"Let's see how this plays out," Lopmon suggested. "If they're in danger, we'll step in."
Labramon walked in front of KendoGarurumon, making sure he could see her. "KendoGarurumon? … No, Koji… hey, listen to me."
KendoGaururmon growled as he looked at Labramon.
"This isn't you… you know that, right? You aren't someone who goes around hurting others because you want to prove your dominance. You're strong, but you rather help people than hurt them, don't you?" Labramon stated. "The Koji I know would never try to attack everyone and everything. He would help others, even if they don't want his help, even if he doesn't want their help. So stop this behavior, it's making you look bad, you know?"
KendoGarurumon seemed to stop his struggling and the glow in his eyes began to diminish. A questioning growl escaped him as he tilted his head to the side, as if trying to figure out why Labramon looked so familiar to him.
"I know what it's like to want to prove your strength and dominance to others. I thought it got me popularity and power where I was, and it did for the most part. But what did it really get me? I didn't have any real friends, and they were waiting for me to fail so they could get to the top. And everyone I hurt wants to hurt me back, and they won't hesitate to do so as soon as they get the chance," Labramon continued. "Don't be like me, don't be like… how I was. You're better than this, Koji. You're not just a beast, you're a Legendary Warrior, and you're also my friend."
Slowly, the glow in KendoGarurumon's eyes faded completely as he finally shook his head. "Ugh… My head… It feels so fuzzy… Like it's… been hit so many times…"
"Koji?" Labramon asked, hearing KendoGarurumon speaking.
The others looked on, surprised that Labramon's speech was able to snap Koji out of the primal instinct he was running on.
"What happened, Labramon?" KendoGarurumon asked as his golden eyes landed on her. "Where's Gigasmon?"
"He fell into the water, but…" Labramon smiled as she approached KendoGarurumon and smiled. "It looks like you've managed to control your Beast Spirit."
Seeing this, Gotsumon released KendoGarurumon from his rocks, and sighed in relief. He hadn't been sure if he had enough energy to have kept holding onto another Beast Legendary Warrior.
"I mean, I'm glad I did too, but… for a while there, all I was running on was pure primal instinct." KendoGarurumon admitted. "I… did I hurt anyone?" His voice was a bit softer and more unsure with that last sentence as he lowered his head.
"No, everyone's fine," Labramon promised. "Though you did give us quite the scare there."
"I guess that's one good thing…" KendoGarurumon muttered. "But… I didn't think I'd lose control like that… It was… strange… Like I was primal and not myself mentally…"
"So… are we good now? You're not gonna look at us like food, are you?" JP asked as he and the others began walking towards KendoGarurumon and Labramon.
"Yeah… I'm good…" KendoGarurumon said before fractal code wrapped around his body, turning him back into Koji.
"I can't believe what I saw back there," Gotsumon remarked. "It wasn't just one big hero who saved the day, it was… everyone. A team effort."
"Yeah," Labramon replied. "It takes a team to be able to reach a goal."
"I think I learned a lesson about that today." Koji admitted. "Albeit the hard way, I suppose."
"Everyone I think learned that lesson." Takuya chuckled.
"I'm glad everything worked out," Zoe said before she gave a small frown. "But… that still leaves Kumamon's Spirit being taken by Gigasmon."
Tommy and Lopmon frowned. As of right now, Tommy was an ordinary human in this world.
"Well, we'll just have to get Tommy's Spirit back then!" Takuya said determinedly. "We know Grumblemon is after our Spirits, so he won't stop with just one of us. We could use those attempts to steal our Spirits as attempts for us to get Kumamon's Spirit back for Tommy."
"You say that like it's simple." JP grumbled. "We don't have the strength to handle Gigasmon one-on-one."
"But that was before we got a Beast Spirit on our side!" Takuya pointed out. "Now that we do, and with the rest of us backing him up, we should be able to take out Gigasmon!"
"I love your enthusiasm," Patamon said. "But be careful not to get too cocky."
Takuya felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I'm not getting cocky!" He protested. "I'm just saying we have a chance to hold our own now!"
"You do realize if Koji is incapacitated, we lose our one Warrior who can fight Gigasmon one-on-one, right?" Biyomon pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"W-well… That's why the rest of us will back him up." Takuya replied.
"Sure. I hope you have a back-up plan then." Biyomon retorted.
"Let's not be too harsh on him, Takuya's got a point," Lopmon spoke up.
"You think so?" Kokuwamon asked.
"We do have the upper hand now that Koji's found his Beast Spirit," Lopmon stated. "But we do need to be cautious. Koji isn't used to using his Beast Spirit yet, and who knows what else Gigasmon has up his rocky sleeves. I doubt he's going to just take this lying down, and despite his… speech pattern, I'm sure he's a lot smarter than he seems. He was able to take us hostage at one point, and was able to take Tommy's Spirit."
The kids looked down, realizing Lopmon was right. The whole hostage thing stuck out in their minds like a nightmare that could not be forgotten.
"We just need to plan better then." JP mused. "We're learning what Grumblemon is capable of, and we have new moves he hasn't seen yet."
"So it'll be smarter to keep what we have hidden as much as possible until we absolutely need it?" Zoe asked.
"I think so," Tommy answered. "I'm afraid I won't be of much help anymore until we get my Spirit back. But I'll try my best to see if there's anything I can do if a fight breaks out."
"You don't need to be strong to be useful, Tommy," Lopmon said. "We may not have the powers of a Legendary Warrior, but we've been able to help you guys come this far."
"Yeah, so if these little guys can be helpful, then there's probably a way for you to be helpful as well." Zoe reassured Tommy.
Tommy gave a small smile. "Thanks, guys."
Takuya put an arm around Tommy's shoulders. "Don't worry! You were a big help even before you got your Spirit! So there's nothing to worry about!"
Tommy chuckled. "I don't know about that, but thanks for the encouragement."
Koji sat down, he was feeling quite exhausted after using his Beast Spirit for the first time.
"Are you alright?" Labramon asked.
"Yeah… But using that Beast Spirit can take a lot out of a person." Koji admitted. "I feel the same way I did after using Lobomon's Spirit for the first time; tired and low on energy."
"Perhaps we should rest at the village for a while," Gotsumon suggested. "Now that Grumblemon is gone, and the plague seems to have been taken care of, it should be safe for you guys to bunker down there for a bit."
"A plague?" Zoe asked.
"There was a plague at the village?" Tommy asked.
"A-are you sure it's safe?" JP nervously questioned.
"Everyone seems to be recovering, and no travelers passing through have gotten sick since, so it's pretty much safe for you guys." Gotsumon reassured the children.
"Then we might as well take the offer, right?" Takuya suggested.
"Well… good, do you guys have anything to eat then? We haven't eaten since last night," JP asked.
"Sure, do you like rock stew made from the finest minerals around here?" Gotsumon replied.
"Um… We'll have to skip on the stew…" Zoe muttered. "Minerals and rocks don't mix well with humans that can't eat them…"
"Aw man! It's like the battery meal all over again!" JP cried out.
Gotsumon was laughing. "Oh man, you should've seen the looks on your faces!"
"What's so funny!?" Takuya yelled.
"We don't actually just eat rocks. It is something we do eat, but we also eat other things, like fruits, veggies, and whatever meat we can grow," Gotsumon chuckled.
"Oh wow, that's a good one, I'll have to try that on someone myself," Kokuwamon chuckled.
Koji chuckled. "It seems even Gotsumon can't resist a good prank. Not that I can blame him."
"I don't like pranks when it comes to food…" JP grumbled.
"At least the Gotsumon will be happy to know we ran off Grumblemon," Labramon said.
"Yeah, let's hope Grumblesmon doesn't terrorize the village again," Koji replied.
"Alright, come on! Let's go!" Gotsumon smiled. "It'll be my treat!"
"Finally, some real food!" JP smiled.
"You're always thinking with your stomach," Zoe grumbled.
Lopmon, Patamon, Biyomon, Kokuwamon, and Labramon walked behind the humans as they were chatting away and following Gotsumon. This gave them a good time to talk among each other.
"So… Koji's gotten his Beast Spirit now," Patamon noted.
"That's right… I did help him get it, but what choice did I have?" Labramon sighed. "Not only was Tapirmon's warning hanging over my head, but Gigasmon was going to finish us if Koji didn't get KendoGarurumon when he did."
"Well, whatever the reason, you did the right thing." Patamon reassured Labramon. "It may mean the countdown is now beginning, but we still have some time yet to try and change things."
"Yeah, it's not over until we give up." Kokuwamon agreed.
"But at the rate we're going, will we really be able to change anything?" Biyomon asked. "Anything we've tried just resulted in Tapirmon erasing all of our progress, and we were back to square one."
"It definitely feels like everything is stacked against us," Lopmon sighed. "I don't know, maybe it would've been easier if we hadn't gotten too close to the kids. It cost Tommy his Spirit, and I don't know what that'll mean for what's to come."
"Well, we can't quit. We just have to adapt to these new, changing parameters we have to face." Patamon said gently. "For all we know, we may be changing things because we got close to the kids."
"We may have changed a few things here and there, but we haven't changed the path," Lopmon pointed out. "We're still going on the path that the mastermind laid out for the group."
"Are you still blaming yourself with what happened to Tommy?" Kokuwamon asked.
"That's part of it, but we are still following the path, which is what worries me. Are we really making a difference?" Lopmon questioned.
"Well…" Labramon began. "Those sabotagers aren't making this easy. They were the ones who caused the disease in Gotsumon Village. But BlackGatomon was able to take care of it."
"BlackGatomon?" Biyomon asked. "You mean… she was here?"
"That's what I guessed based on what one of the Gotsumon mentioned when they described a couple of travelers that ended up helping them," Labramon explained.
"Then, isn't that a good thing?" Kokuwamon asked. "I mean, it can't be anything else, right?"
"BlackGatomon has her own mission, just as we have ours," Patamon remarked. "We should stay focus on our own mission."
"Right… then who's next to get their Beast Spirit?" Labramon asked.
"If things are going like how they were 'meant' to be, then that would be…" Lopmon began before he frowned as he looked in Takuya's direction. "Oh… oh no… not again…"
Patamon raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Lopmon?"
"Just… really bad memories…" Lopmon groaned.
"Um… should we be worried?" Biyomon asked.
"Probably," Lopmon grumbled before patting Patamon on the back. "Good luck trying to talk to your human friend out of his rampage without getting fileted alive."
Patamon raised an eyebrow before he felt a shiver run down his body. "Wait… You mean…" He muttered as he realized what was coming next. "Oh crap…"
"Is it really going to be that bad?" Labramon asked.
"It… it's not gonna be pretty, I can tell you that much," Kokuwamon sighed.
"Then what should we do? Maybe we can steer them away from that place?" Biyomon suggested. "It would help us change the path a little more, wouldn't it?"
"Well… maybe, but we may need to go there to get to Forest Terminal anyway, which is where we want to go to meet with Seraphimon," Lopmon sighed. "And maybe there's a Digimon at the Fortuneteller Village who could help us change their fate."
"So we have to head there?" Kokuwamon gulped. "I really don't do well with being close to high temperatures…"
"Well, maybe if we're lucky, we don't have to see Shamamon, that's where the Beast Spirit is if I remember correctly," Biyomon said.
"Why'd it have to be there of all places?" Patamon asked.
"Probably because that's where…" Lopmon began before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. We know where it is. Let's just see if we can get the help we need before having to resort to that."
"If you say so…" Biyomon sighed. "I'd hate to face down the Beast Spirit again."
"Hey, what are you guys whispering about?" Tommy asked, looking back at them.
"Ah, nothing important," Lopmon quickly said.
"We're just talking about Digimon chit-chat," Kokuwamon stated.
"So, nothing too important?" Tommy questioned.
"Nope, nothing for you to worry about." Biyomon replied.
Tommy raised an eyebrow. It wasn't the first time the Digimon were talking among themselves, and didn't seem to want to share it with the rest of them. The 'attack' last night was another thing that had been on Tommy's mind, but since they had been worried about Koji and Labramon, the boy decided that wasn't the best time to push it. But now he was getting suspicious again. He couldn't help but wonder what it was they were trying to hide from the rest of them.
"You know, you could talk to us about anything, right?" Tommy replied.
Lopmon frowned, remembering how it started out like that before Tapirmon completely screwed them over. And Tapirmon wasn't going to warn them again. They couldn't afford another false hope.
"Thanks, Tommy… we'll be sure to let you know if it does become important for you," Lopmon said softly. But for now, you're not allowed to know. And we rather not get kicked out of this world before we've done what we needed to do.
Tommy nodded. "Okay…" He accepted Lopmon's explanation, but something felt… off… like it was familiar to him, but he didn't know why.
"Since… we're on borrowed time… I want to spend some time with Koji," Labramon requested to the others. "Is that alright?"
"Yeah, we've pretty much said what we needed to anyway," Patamon sighed.
"Thanks…" Labramon said.
"You definitely have changed, Labramon," Lopmon complimented. "And I mean that in a good way. The Labramon we knew before wouldn't have dared get close to Koji, especially when he was going on a rampage as KendoGarurumon. You actually calmed him down."
"Yeah, who knew you had it in you?" Kokuwamon chuckled.
Labramon blushed a little as she smiled. "Yeah… I'm glad that I'm changing for the better… I can't apologize enough for how I acted before…"
"Hey, don't worry about it, just go enjoy yourself with Koji while you can," Patamon chuckled.
"Thanks," Labramon said before she rushed forward, going over to Koji.
"Do you think… after this is over, you want to tell her?" Lopmon asked Patamon. "She's bound to find out some of it once we have to leave the kids on their own anyways, but…"
"I mean that's different from…" Biyomon added.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Patamon sighed. "And… I don't know… maybe, I guess it depends on what happens from here on out."
"Does this include BlackGatomon?" Kokuwamon asked. "Would you tell her as well when this is all over?"
"Definitely." Patamon replied. "It's the least I can do to explain myself for what happened when… well… you know…"
"Let's just hope we all make it out of this in one piece then, and we manage to get them off the path before the… end goal is reached," Biyomon said.
"We will," Lopmon said. "Things may have gone off the rails, but that doesn't mean we can't still pick up the pieces."
Lopmon looked at Labramon, smiling as she was being petted by Koji. And if things do work out, we may have gotten two new allies for… what's to come.
Titanic X 21: ZAFT: Yep! We're approaching the divergence point~ XD