Digimon: Warriors by Circumstance

[//Zeromaru//]

[center][font="Comic Sans MS"]Despite the previous failures, I have convinced the council to bring another set of humans to our world.
Hopefully this group won't meet as... unfortunate an end as the last one.
I believe that eight is a good number, so that is how many were "[i]In the prophecy[/i]" foretold. I wish there was a prophecy this time.
I really do.[/font]
Wizardmon - 1 day before the war[/center]
[spoiler=Introduction - The Meeting of Light]
The Temple of the Sovereigns sat upon the highest mountain, nestled above the clouds, beyond the view of all. Its white walls shone with crystal like brilliance and its cylindrical appearance was beautiful in its simplicity. Despite its name, the Temple of the Sovereigns was actually a meeting hall. A place where the four Digimon could speak of the world they lived in. No one but the Sovereigns and their servants were usually able to reach it, but it was a special occasion and the Temple was filled to capacity. The Sovereigns had invited every member of every ruling group in the Digital World, except the Demon Lords, to their temple. It was a matter that they believed to be of the greatest importance.

The Demon Lords had blocked all communication in and out of the Dark Area, the place they called their home. Digimon had been seen flocking there as well. All of them were known to be members of the Nightmare Soldiers, an army that the Demon Lords had created to serve them at all costs. Azulongmon, Azure Dragon of the East and de facto leader of the Sovereigns, believed it to be an invasion force and the meeting he had called was to discuss a course of action.

The Digimon in attendance were loud and rumours as to the true reason they had been called were running wild.

"Can't we just start?" A voice whispered to the glowing form of Azulongmon. It was Baihumon, White Tiger of the West and another of the Digimon Sovereigns. The Tiger was the youngest of the Sovereigns and had not yet learnt the patience that came with millennia of wisdom.

"Soon my impetuous friend. But we cannot start till the last of the Knights get here," As Azulongmon spoke the large wooden doors that led into the cavernous room creaked open and two more Digimon strode in rapidly. The dragon smiled as he saw the last of his guests, "Ah. Speak of the Devimon. Omnimon, Dynasmon, did you manage to find him?"

"No. We did not." Dynasmon stated quietly. The white armoured Digimon nodded to his partner and flew up to meet the other Royal Knights. Omnimon continued to stand in the middle of the hall. No one spoke, they were all waiting for Omnimon to move or say something. It was the quietist the temple had been since the first of the Digimon had arrived there.

"Are you ready to discuss what the Demon Lords are planning Omnimon?" Azulongmon asked.

"There is nothing to discuss!" Omnimon shouted. He flew up so that everyone could see him. "The Demon Lords have attacked the western boundary of the Metal Empire. It can only be seen as an act of war. I have made arrangements for our armies to gather in response we will march at once!" Omnimon turned to leave and the other Royal Knights began to move out as well.

"Stop there knight!" The echoing voice of Azulongmon boomed out to every corner. Omnimon turned to see that the Azure dragon had moved to within touching distance. The Royal Knight could feel the breath of the Sovereign blowing his cape. "There will be no talk of war until we know the facts!"

The two Digimon stared into each others eyes, neither one backing down. But Omnimon knew when he was beaten and sighed. "Very well." Omnimon continued his gaze as he took his place among the other Royal Knights. Azulongmon also returned to his position. "As I said, the Demon Lords commanded their forces to attack the Metal Empire. From what I and Dynasmon saw, they have only taken the most outlying village. I do not think that they will leave it at that."

"Who led the attack?" Spoke a regal voice from the other side of the hall. All eyes turned to look at this newest speaker. Seraphimon, Seraphim type Digimon and lord of the Great Angels, stood in front of the other angelic Digimon that he commanded. His armour shone with a silver light and his wings stretched out above him. Omnimon gave a short bow to the Digimon who had addressed him.

"It was Belphemon my lord. We didn't see him, but his seal was being flown."

"If Belphemon did indeed command that army then it is likely he was told to. He is powerful, but he would never think to take an army with him." The Digimon in attendance nodded their agreement, "And he would never work with anyone other than his brethren."

"Then I was right, they were planning on invading. Though it appears they have done it sooner than expected." The dragon's long moustache billowed with his own energy and his long body writhed in the air. The look on his face was solemn as was the look on everyone else’s. "The last time the Demon Lords worked together was long ago. During the last of the Dark Times. And we all know the consequences of that era in our history."

"The Royal Knights would not be here if it weren't for that sacrifice." Omnimon stated.

The dragon nodded. "Then there was at least one good thing that came from it. Imperialdramon Paladin Mode's gift to our world has not and will never be forgotten. But to think of that brings to my mind something much worse."

"You mean the fact that it took all of his strength to defeat them?" Seraphimon asked.

"Yes. I do. He was one of the most powerful warriors in our history and even he had barely enough strength to stop them."

"He was powerful, but he didn't have half as many soldiers then as we do. Neither the Royal Knights or the Virus Busters had been founded and those of us who were around in the Dark Times are so much more powerful now." Omnimon told, "We can win."

"No. You cannot." A voice shouted from the ground below. The doors slammed shut as a gust of wind blew through the temple. A single human-like Digimon stood in the centre of the hall, his cape and pointed hat ruffling in the slight breeze as the winds died down. "I have you one word for you Ladies and Gentlemons... Ogudomon."[/spoiler][spoiler=Chapter 1 - A Few Introductions]On a school field in England two teams were facing off against one another. One team, wearing dark blue and maroon, the other team were wearing green. It was a football match between schools. The green team, also the home side, were losing 1-0. It was a tense game, whoever won this would go on to the final. The crowds were going wild, but the players on the bench were quiet. They were all nervous for the result. They were half way through the second half and it didn't look good.

"Come on Dame," Shouted an excited blonde girl. She was wearing loose legged white trousers that got tighter around the waist and hips. Her pink t-shirt was similar in that it was loose at the bottom, but the top seemed oddly tight. "The games almost over, but I don't think Ian’s played yet."

"Ian?" Damien said loudly. "It's bad enough that you're dragging me to watch football. You never told me Ian's there as well." Damien's blue hoody stood out against the waves of green that the rest of the crowd was wearing. It, along with his jeans, was faded as if it had seen too much wear time and his red trainers were just noticeably dirty. It seemed as if Damien was going for a rough look, but his face lied. It was soft and caring despite the mildly angered look upon it. He turned and was about to leave when the girls hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Becki, let me go."

"No." Damien looked at her face and noticed her eyes. They had that stubborn look in them and he knew he didn't have a choice to argue. Still, he wouldn't give up without a fight. His mouth opened as if to say something, but Becki beat him to it. "It's not as if you have to talk to him. He doesn't even have to know you're there. Just stay there for me okay?" Once again Damien opened his mouth to speak. This time he was interrupted by the cheers of joy from the crowd and the jeers from the other side. Becki grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the front.

They got there just in time to see the players in green running up to one of their own to congratulate him. Something was wrong. The player was holding his knee and shaking his head. He was injured. Whispers spread through the crowd.
"[i]It's his knee. He dislocated last year you know[/i]". "[i]Yeh he only just got back into the game[/i]". "[i]I hope he's all right[/i]". "[i]He will be, but what about the game. he's our best player[/i]". The teams coach strolled over to him and looked carefully at his leg. From where Becki and Damien were standing they could just hear what was being said.

"Okay it's not too bad. You can't play on it though." The coach told the injured player bluntly, "Dawson. You’re up." A blonde haired boy, with extreme good looks, got up from the seats laid out for the substitutes. He ran straight onto the pitch.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Damien cursed under his breath. Becki didn't hear him and shouted over to the pitch.

"Go on Ian! You can win this!" The blonde boy, Ian looked over to the calls and gave a short wave before hesitating as he saw the orange hair of Damien. Still Ian gave a reluctant smile and continued his wave before concentrating on the match. The Ref blew the whistle for the game to restart and it remained even for a good few minutes. Nether team gained the advantage. But then a misplaced pass changed things. The ball flew from down field right up to Ian. He ran straight for the goal, he was completely focused on his target. He didn't notice the Maroon and Blue suited footballer running towards him. Ian was sent flying and the Ref called for a foul. Ian looked at where he was, inside the penalty box. A smile formed on his lips.

"Piece of cake." Ian missed the shot and lost the game for his school. The opposing Goalkeeper caught the ball and kicked it down pitch for his team to score. Ian was left sat in the sub seats when everyone had left. The only people who had stayed were Damien and Becki and even then Damien left when Becki talked to the severely disappointed player.

"You okay?" She asked softly, giving him a hug at the same time.

"Oh yeh. I'm fantastic."

"Don't get sarcastic."

"Sorry... I thought I had it."

"Well, you didn't. But what does it matter? Winning isn't everything you know." Ian didn't say anything. He just looked at her, shook his head and walked back to the changing rooms.
[hr]
"What do you mean Trickster?" Demanded Seraphimon. Everyone was on edge with the words that had just been spoken. A few of the Digimon even had their weapons pointed at the newest guest.

"See there you go again. I do have a name. I would never have thought the leader of all angel Digimon could be so rude."

"What do you mean by saying that name here Wizardmon?" Azulongmon asked calmly.

"Now there is a greeting I can take." Said Wizardmon. He beckoned the Ancient dragon down, Azulongmon obliged and moved close enough for Wizardmon to whisper. "I don't think that I should talk about it in front of the erm... locals."

"Very well Wizardmon. We shall speak in the antechamber."

Despite its name, the antechamber was actually closer to a basement. Located below the main meeting hall and inside the rocks of the mountain itself, the room was actually very brightly lit. It was much smaller than the room above it, but there was still a great deal of space to manoeuvre even with the dragon Sovereign occupying it. Wizardmon entered the room closely followed by Seraphimon, Omnimon and two others. Wizardmon looked mildly annoyed that he was being followed.

"I thought you said [i]we[/i] were going to talk?" The Demon Man Digimon asked Azulongmon.

"Yes I did." Azulongmon replied, "[i]We[/i], as in the leaders of the forces of Light. Now tell me why did you bring up that name?"

"What? Ogudomon? Founder of the Seven Great Demon Lords? Lord of Darkness? Creator of the Dark Area? Master of all Shadow? Why did I bring him up?" Wizardmon questioned back pedantically. He stood there with a small smile on his face while picking some dust from his staff.

"We don't have time for this Trickster. Answer the question!" Demanded Seraphimon. His wings were shaking with anger and his fists were clenched.

"I'm sorry I thought I was talking to Azulongmon? Maybe you'll get your turn when the grown ups having finished their chat." Taunted the wizard.

"You will address all of us." The Azure dragon told. "Now why did you say Ogudomon?" Wizardmon clicked his fingers for an umbrella stand and a hat stand appeared beside him. He carefully placed his staff inside and clicked his fingers again. This time a wing backed chair appeared as the wizard sat down. Seraphimon was about to step over to the magician, but a warning glare was given by Azulongmon. Finally Wizardmon raised his hands and a tea cup complete with saucer popped into existence. "Well?"

"Can't you guess?" Wizardmon asked, "The Dark Lord is returning to the Digital World." No one spoke as Wizardmon raised the cup to his lips and sipped at the hot tea he had just created. They all eyed him warily. "He has planned his resurrection for two weeks tomorrow. And in all likelihood I think he will succeed, even if your armies interfere."

Omnimon stepped over to the Digimon and extended his sword. "You lie Trickster. I should finish you here and now for wasting precious time."

"Are you sure you want to take that chance, oh most temporary of leaders?" The wizard stared at the knight smirking. Omnimon raised the blade to strike, but stopped halfway through the motion. "Leave here and do not return."

"Did you not wonder how I got here in the first place?" Wizardmon probed. Omnimon said nothing. "If you can only find this place if a Sovereign wants you here, then how did I find it? Surely then, one of the Sovereigns must have allowed me to get to this place? I have just as much right to be here as you." The Royal Knight stabbed his sword in front of the chair Wizardmon was sat on. The two glared at each other neither breaking the gaze. The Wizardmon smiled once more and took another mouthful of tea. "When I arrived you thought you could defeat the Demon Lord forces. As it is now you would win hands and claws down. There would be no contest, but you would have no chance of finishing the fight in two weeks. By then Ogudomon will have returned and you would be destroyed."

"What do you mean?" Said Seraphimon. He had taken the short walk to the other side of the chair and was now standing beneath Azulongmon.

"The Demon Lords may have power, but without their master to boost them they're nothing." Wizardmon finished the tea with a satisfied sigh. With a gentle wave of his hand the cup filled once more. "Just like last time, the Demon Lords could be defeated by a handful of Digimon with mangoes and guava halves... if you had mangoes and guava halves."

"What are you talking about?" Omnimon said retracting his blade, "It took all of Imperialdramon Paladin Mode his life to defeat them."

"No. It took him all of his [b]power[/b] to defeat [b]Ogudomon[/b]. He didn't die, as such; he simply reverted to Digi-Egg form. He was just so powerful he turned into separate Digimon." Explained the sitting wizard, "He sacrificed himself to stop Ogudomon from taking over the Digital World. Once that had been done the Demon Lords fell within a matter of days."

"Then why do the records state otherwise?"

"Because I changed them."

"You changed them?" Azulongmon asked, "You're only a champion. Surely you would be a mega by now?"

"I was back then. I was reformatted. I don't know how I retained my memories, but I did." Azulongmon stared at Wizardmon long and hard. Wizardmon did the same back, but not with the anger he showed Omnimon or the defiance to Seraphimon. This time he showed actual respect, willing for them to see what he said.

"You tell the truth Wizardmon."

Seraphimon and Omnimon couldn't believe what they had heard. The angel was shaking his head incredulously and Omnimon just stared angrily at the floor.

"If that is so," Said a deep voice from behind Wizardmon, "Then how does Ogudomon plan on facilitating his resurrection?" Wizardmon turned around craning his neck to see past the chair. Before his eyes stood what seemed like a man wearing the pelt of a Garurumon and wielding a sharp dagger made from bone.

"Merukimon! I didn't even know you were here!" Wizardmon laughed, "Could Jupitermon not come see me himself?"

"He still feels a small amount of embarrassment after what you did to him at the Chessmon coronation." Merukimon told. He walked over to the chair and extended his hand which Wizardmon took, "The rest of us though believe you should do it again. Now please, how does intend to do it?"

"Very well. Years ago a number of Digimon came into being during the Festival of Change. No one could figure out where they had come from, they hadn't been reformatted and they hadn't hatched from Digi-eggs. They simply appeared. And to top it off they literally embodied the very elements that they were born from."

"You are correct." Said Azulongmon, "They were also unbelievably powerful, and being near each other seemed to make them... unstable. They dubbed themselves the Elemental Guardians. We asked them if they would be willing to part ways for their own safety and for the safety of the entire Digital World and they agreed."

"Yes, but what even they didn't know was that they could manipulate the element that they represented."

"So what? Ogudomon plans on capturing them?"

"No. That's why the Demon Lords have gathered their forces. Ogudomon is trapped in some sort of nexus. By getting the Demon Lords to bring him the Digicores of the Guardians, and therefore their powers, he hopes to gain power over the Digital World. Allowing him to be freed."

"We've got to stop him!" Seraphimon shouted, "He can't be allowed to do this!"

"How do we stop him?" Asked Merukimon walking over to the angel, "We have no idea where the Elemental Guardians are. And even if we did, Ogudomon must be able to channel some of his energy into other Digimon. How else could Belphemon have taken a Metal Empire settlement so easily?"

"Actually..." Wizardmon chimed in. He was standing now and the chair he was on disappeared, "I do have a plan to stop him. I just wanted your consent to bring it into action."[/spoiler]

[The Warden]

Interesting. I can't say the plot is wholly original, but the overal style is pleasing to read. I give it a thumbs up, since I know Wizardmon will inevitably become Baalmon.

Though next time alert the union, no doubt we would be interested to read it.

[//Zeromaru//]

The next chapter is here.
[spoiler=Chapter 2 - Schedules]Six chairs surrounded an ornate table. The wood was of the darkest ebony and the chairs were made of the same. A strange pattern or whirls, thorny vines and DigiCode covered the wood with confusing intricacy. Laid into the centre of the table was a bowl filled to the brim with a foul black liquid. It didn't shine in the flickering of the torches lining the walls or because of the light emitting form the dark blue swirling portal directly above. The table, chairs and bowl were located in a dark, dungeon-like room. The blackness of the room did nothing to conceal the five figures seated there, the shadow inside the blue portal or the dark red eye staring out of the liquid in the bowl.

A phantom like image of a horned creature appeared before the six shadows and the eye. It stood there breathing heavily and said nothing. A handsome young man sat forwards from one of the chairs and rested his elbows on the table, his fingers were steeped and his face had a small smirk. His eyes though were filled with rage and showed his true feelings. No one spoke until the young man flicked a strand of hair from his face and sighed.

"Well?" Was all he said.

"Lord Lucemon. Our border with the Metal Empire has successfully been breached. We are now in control of the Cobalt village," The bear said. It had bowed when the young man Lucemon had spoken and was still on his knees. "What are our orders?"

Lucemon turned his head to another sat at the table. The shadow moved forward and showed an old man wearing a gold mask. Its nose was elongated to almost comical proportions and the skin that showed on its ears and clawed hands was a sick blue colour. One of his hands was stroking a long dirty grey beard and the other was clasped around a skull tipped cane. He tapped his chin before nodding his head.

"I believe, that best course of action would be to take a direct route to assault the Imperial Fortress." The old man continued stroking his beard and stared off into the distance, "But... there would be a danger that the City of Bessemer would strike from the side and incapacitate our forces."

"So what would suggest instead Barbamon?" Lucemon asked the old man. The old man leant further forward in his seat and laid a palm on the table.

"A split assault. The majority of the forces attack the Fortress and weaken its defences, while Belphemon and a select few soldiers attack Bessemer." After finishing his plan Barbamon nodded his head as if agreeing with his own words and sat back in his chair.

"Very well," commanded Lucemon, "You heard the plan Belphemon. And when you get to the city, leave no building standing and no survivors to tell the tale." The phantom image of Belphemon stood up and nodded before flickering away. Lucemon gave an evil grin and a light chuckle. "The conquest is going quicker than we had originally planned. That is... quite acceptable."

"No," A voice boomed from every crevice of the dark room, "We must move exactly as planned. No sooner, no later. The Metal Empire shall fall in two days and not before." The room shook as the voice seemed to shout the last three words. Lucemon winced as the voice finished as if it had physically wounded him. He gave a small nod and slumped back in his chair.[hr]
The air started to get cold as the clouds turned black. The wind picked up and caught in the playground of the ugly brick building that was the school. As the wind became trapped it lifted the dead leaves that had settled into the air along with the leftover sandwich wrappers from lunchtime. Despite the flying debris and the ominous howl of the wind a boy was sleeping on a wooden bench. His black hair blew back and forth over his pale face and his jacket was being tugged at viciously. He was snoring gently and he was slowly tipping over. Just before he did, the bell rang for the end of the day and the boy with black hair jolted awake.

The boy with black hair rubbed his eyes to wake himself fully and saw the outburst of children from the doors. A few of them weren't wearing uniforms and he looked each of them over till he got to the person he wanted.

"Lauren!" He shouted over the noisy crowd, "Hey Lauren. Over here!" The girl turned her head to see who was shouting her and immediately smiled when she saw who it was. She pushed her way through the smaller children surrounding her and made her way to the boy with the black hair. As soon as she got over to him she placed her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

"Oliver Dean Smith! Where have you been lately?" She shouted at him as she let him go and looked him up and down, "It's been ages since I saw you!"

"It is much too long a story to tell you now." Ollie told her matter of factly, "But I do have a question for you."

"Okay... What is it?" She asked him cautiously.

"Will you help me?"

"Sure what is it?"

Ollie lifted a number of books from his bag and showed them each to Lauren, "IT. Maths. Physics. I [i]really[/i] need your help in catching up. If I don't then I'm getting kicked out for certain." He pleaded with his friend using his eyes to try and convince her. Lauren gave an exasperated sigh and placed her arm in the crook of his elbow. She turned him around and started to walk with him.

"You can stop it with those eyes. You know all you have to do is ask me for help." She told him. Ollie began putting his books back into his bag with a happy grin. "Why are you putting them away? If you have to catch up on all of those then we have some serious work to do."

"Yeh. But I thought-"

"No buts," Lauren interrupted directing him with her arm. She had him a tight arm lock that he couldn't break from. Partly because she was a girl and Ollie would never use force on a girl and partly because she had always been able to beat him in a fight. "We're going to the common room. They keep it open till six o'clock so we can work till then and then I'll tell you what to read up on when you're home."

Ollie tried to pull his arm free, but Lauren was having none of it. They kept on walking towards the common room, but a loud shout echoed from round the corner and a young boy wearing the schools uniform ran out. He held something in his hand and another boy wearing a jumper and a yellow shirt was running after him. The first kid ran past Lauren's arm and the second almost did, but the girl grabbed his arm before he could get any further.

"Lauren let me go! That kid owes me money!" He shouted while still trying to pull away.

"Ben are you doing kids homework for money again?" She asked.

"Yeh. And that little rat just ran off with my money!"

"You know I don't like you doing that, you could into some serious trouble if anyone found out." Lauren told Ben softly, "But if you are going to do it then you could at least make them pay you before you give them the work." Ben stopped and looked over at Ollie. He considered the boy and then laughed coldly.

"Ollie what are you doing back here? I thought you had been kicked out."

"No I haven't. Not yet at least." Ollie countered with a smile. He lifted his hand up and Ben took it in a handshake.

"Ben, you do Advanced Physics right?" Lauren asked. Without giving him a chance to reply, Lauren dragged both boys to the common room.
[hr]
Wizardmon was tapping furiously on a keyboard. It was connected to a large machine that sparked at random intervals and was luminous gold in colour. It seemed to be made of metal scraps and other machines all welded together. Cables snaked their way across the floor, up the walls and hung from place to place. All in all the room was a mess, only one corner seemed to be immune to the chaos. In it a large metal box with its wall cut away was glowing with a sickly green light. There was also a small desk littered with papers and Wizardmon's staff leant against it.

A small screen hung from a number of cables on the ceiling and showed what appeared to be a map of Earth. A few red dots flickered and flashed on the screen. Some went out and some new ones lit up. Red boxes appeared above any dot that lasted for more than five seconds; they shrank down and disappeared when the dot they were attached to went out. Wizardmon's eyes were constantly darting across the screen every time a box appeared. He noticed one that appeared and shrank down. He skimmed his eyes across it then left it, but he had to do a double take as it continued to shrink down. Soon it had shrunken down too far and the computerised Earth zoomed in. The box reappeared at the sides of the screen; it focused in on one of the few red dots that were blinking in that area. Wizardmon took his eyes away from the screen for a short while to look on a large map of Earth he had on his desk.

"That place is... England?" Wizardmon couldn't believe the location the computer showed him, "Nobody ever seems to come from England!"

The box kept on getting smaller and the dot kept on getting bigger. It kept on doing this until it was so close the dot deformed into several other dots, but the box kept on shrinking. Then it stopped.

"NO!" Screamed the wizard, "They're too far apart. I need them to get closer." He continued to tap on the keyboard and a screen in screen picture of the computerised Earth appeared it was the same picture from before with dots and squares appearing disappearing again and again. Wizardmon began to smile as the dots on the bigger picture moved closer to each other.

"Yes. Yes keep on moving!" The dots were close enough for the square to shrink again and the picture grew to accommodate it. They were almost in the same room. A few seconds more and they had moved close enough. The machine that Wizardmon's keyboard and screen were connected to began to make grinding noises as it started to work. The metal box's green light began to dim and then grew brighter then dim again.

"It's working!" He proclaimed. He turned to see what the box was doing as eight laser grids of what seemed to be humanoid shapes appeared inside of it.[/spoiler]