Digimon ND, Book 3; ShadowEmpressmon's Evil Game. Chapters Ten and Eleven are Up!!

[Stigma_Horrizone]

Take your time

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

BUMP

[legendhiro]

not quite all of book two, but a bit more of it.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Eleven]

 

 

The Final Core; Machinedramon’s Underground Complex

 

 

 

We were depressed. We were stunned. But most of all, we were mad. We were mad at Tyranterramon, and we were mad at ourselves. We’d failed now on five different occasions to defeat Tyranterramon. Each time, despite how much stronger we’d become, Tyranterramon managed to survive. Even though deep down we knew that Tyranterramon’s actions weren’t our fault, we still took it out on ourselves, and to a lesser extent each other. The only thing keeping us going was the knowledge that with four of the five Digital Cores destroyed, we only had one more chance to defeat Tyranterramon and restore this world to what it once was. If we failed again, everything would be lost.

 

 

The night after our most recent loss, my band and I stopped for the night to rest and recuperate. But before bed, we circled up to discuss our situation over dinner. With the numbers we’d amassed, it took almost an hour to find enough food for everyone. I waited to speak until everyone had finished eating, letting myself bask in the seemingly endless silence. Then finally I spoke.

 

 

“This isn’t working,” I said simply, in a matter of fact tone.

 

 

“Well that’s obvious,” said Jeremy, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice. I chose to ignore him.

 

 

“Its obvious that fighting at the sight of each core has afforded us certain advantages. The power of the Desert Core Digivolved Dukugamon and Tuskmon. The Forest Core gave of the Power of Unity, and the Mountain Core helped Chickmon and TechnoPupmon reach Ultimate. But benefits aside, standing against Tyranterramon at the sight of each core is obviously the wrong strategy. As strong as Tyranterramon will likely be the next time he awakens, if we’re anywhere near the core next time, we’ll almost surely lose it as well. We have to fight him before he gets to the core, regardless of the disadvantage that it places us at.”

 

 

“For that to work,” said Mechmon, “we’ll need to increase our power. The fastest way to do so would be to increase our numbers.”

 

 

“Machinedramon and his army would help us,” said TechnoPupmon. “He won’t have completely restored his forces by now, but he’ll have enough soldiers to at least make a difference. I’m actually surprised that he hasn’t made a move already.”

 

 

Jijimon smiled, “So you already know Machinedramon, huh? That will make things easier.”

 

 

“Why’s that?” I asked.

 

 

“Because,” Babamon chimed in, “The Final Core, also known as the Metal Core, is the best hidden. It is concealed deep beneath the Machine Citadel in a hidden control complex. Machinedramon and his entire army would gladly give their lives to defend it.”

 

 

“Why put the core under the Citadel?” Amanda asked.

 

 

I was the one to answer, “The cores came before the Citadel. That means that the Citadel was built over the Metal Core.”

 

 

“Correct,” said Babamon. “The ancient Guardian of the Metal Core was Millenniummon, a Chimera-Dragon with traits of many types of Digimon. This gave him power over the rest of us guardians.”

 

 

“He was as strong as I was in my home region,” said Garudamon. “He was our leader, an unshakable force.”

 

 

Jijimon nodded, “But like all non-robotic Digimon, Millenniummon was subject to the passage of time. Most Digimon find themselves ready to die, but Millenniummon had a city-state to run. Without him, the greatest organized force in the Digital World would cease to function. So Millenniummon used the Citadel’s technology combined with energy borrowed from the Ocean Core, the core with the power of life and rebirth, to build himself a living robotic body, modeled after a machine Digimon with similar capabilities to Millenniummon. Millenniummon became this Digimon, known as Machinedramon.”

 

 

“So Machinedramon is a Guardian as well?” Jen asked.

 

 

“The weakened form of one, yes,” Babamon replied.

 

 

“Then it’s settles,” I said. “We’ll sleep through the night and at dawn we’ll leave for Machine Citadel!”

 

 

 

Mechmon and TechnoPupmon woke us the next morning at sunrise. We packed up and began moving further into the northern forest, the portion of the forest that was governed not by the energy of the Forest Core, but by the energy of the Metal Core. On foot the journey would take a day or more, so we seceded to fly. Our Digimon Digivolved to their largest winged forms, and they and Garudamon carried everyone in our makeshift group through the air. We arrived at Machine Citadel within the hour.

 

 

 

We touched down outside of Machine Citadel opposite the entrance gate. The Digimon de-Digivolved and we circled the massive structure on foot, keeping close to the tall metallic wall. I looked up over the wall at the dozens and dozens of irregular pointed buildings that made up the Citadel’s interior. We passed a section of the wall that resembled a patchwork quilt of metal. It took me a second to realize that this was the section that had been damaged during our battle with ViralManipulamon. It wasn’t much longer before we reached the gate. There was a tower to either side of the massive metal doors. Atop each tower was a machine Digimon guard.

 

 

“Halt!” one of the guards, a Guardromon, called down to us. The brown, square-bodied robot stood opposite a Mekanorimon, a machine with a rectangular chrome body, with a dome where its head should be and a face on its chest.

 

 

“You know us,” I said. “We’re the Digidestined, and we’re here to see Machinedramon.”

 

 

 

The robot guards opened the gate and let us through. We made our way immediately down the main street to the Central Tower, Machinedramon’s home. We stepped through the massive doorway into Machinedramon’s control room. There stood Machinedramon, in all of his glory. He was a massive wingless robotic dragon with a head and posture usually attributed to a Tyrannosaurus Rex. His arms were thick and strong, each ending in a different claw-like weapon, and he had two huge cannons on his back. He was connected to the Central Tower’s computer network by a series of retractable cables, and holographic display screens swarmed around his face. Even with his many distractions, he was not too busy to acknowledge our arrival.

 

 

“It’s good to see you again Digidestined,” the giant machine said. The holographic displays disappeared, and the massive machine bent down, looking directly at us. “I see that it’s true. You have amassed quite a fighting force.” He looked from Babamon to Jijimon, and from Jijimon to Garudamon. “It is good to see you again my fellow Guardians. I only wish that our reunion could be under better circumstances.”

 

 

“I take it then that you know about Tyranterramon and his plan?” Jeremy asked.

 

 

“Yes,” said Machinedramon. “I’ve been readying my forces as hastily as possible to intercept Tyranterramon’s next advance. I wish I could have fought him earlier, but my army was not yet ready. Of course Tyranterramon will be on his way here next. According to my rather extensive calculations we have until tomorrow before Tyranterramon will awaken from his hibernation. My time to prepare is drawing to a close.”

 

 

“Do you have a plan?” I asked.

 

 

“Yes,” Machinedramon answered. “The energy of my Metal Core is nearly impossible to detect, and thankfully Tyranterramon does not know the location of the Citadel. He likely doesn’t even know that the Citadel exists. Even with the power of the first four Digital Cores, Tyranterramon will need to return to the point in this world where the energies of all five cores once intersected. The point to which all underlying data flows. Only then will he be able to detect the Final Core.”

 

 

“Where’s this place?” Jen asked.

 

 

“The place where the veil between worlds is thinnest,” Machinedramon replied, “the former site of the Desert Tower. When Tyranterramon awakens tomorrow, he will make his way to the Desert Region. He’ll remain there for at least twenty-three minutes. I will amass my forces tomorrow morning and we will move to intercept him before he can reach the Citadel.”

 

 

“We’ll help of course,” I said, speaking for my team, Digimon and human alike.

 

 

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Machinedramon. “There’s something that I’d like your opinion on.” He looked into my eyes, “Leader of the Digidestined, please come with me.”

 

 

Suddenly the floor behind Machinedramon’s perch descended in increments, forming a massive staircase. Machinedramon disconnected himself from his control room computers and began his descent. The stairs were much too high for me to traverse myself. Thankfully a grouping of cables descended from the ceiling, lifted me up, and carried me down to the bottom of the stairs, releasing me in the midst of the commotion to which it led. I looked around, surveying my surroundings.

 

 

I was standing next to Machinedramon in a massive underground chamber as large as the Citadel itself. To my left, taking up nearly two thirds of the space was a massive construction complex. There were machines that were processing what looked like pieces of raw data and converting them into Machine Digimon parts. Others were assembling these parts into recognizable forms. The finished machines were then carried to the surface by way of several industrial sized platform elevators. The process was overseen by hoards of small Machine Digimon laborers. To my right was quite a different sight. Ringing the entire wall along the remaining third of the room was a long string of computers, each manned by one of the gear-like Child Digimon, Hagurumon. In the center of the room was a crystal that gave off silver light.

 

 

Machinedramon and I stepped closer to the line of computers. Above them was a massive monitor, obviously designed for Machinedramon himself. The monitor clicked on in response to the machine general’s approach. The only thing pictured on the monitor was a simple block of words:

 

 

When the Greatest Powers of Ancient Times reunite

 

Their strength will be restored to what it once was

 

And through their efforts, the Heroes will reach their full potential

 

And finally facilitate my rebirth into this world

 

HEED THE WORDS OF YOUR SOVEREIGN, PROTECTORMON!

 

 

I should have commented on the expansiveness of the room in which I found myself, but all I could focus on were those words.

 

 

“As soon as the Ocean Core was destroyed,” Machinedramon said, noticing where my attention was directed, “the remaining four cores began transmitting a signal. My Metal Core is transmitting it now as we speak. The message embedded in that signal is always the same. Upon translating it, we get this, for lack of a better word, prophesy. I want to ask you, what do you think this message means?”

 

 

I read it over again twice, and took a minute to think, but no matter how I looked at it, only one thing came to mind. “Stop me if this sounds stupid,” I said, “but from where I’m standing, it looks like it says that when the Sovereign, this Protectormon, faded away, he set it up so that he could be reborn when the Guardians were once again reunited. It looks to me like he designed a means for the Guardians to summon him back from the dead.”

 

 

Machinedramon nodded his immense metal head, “That was my interpretation as well. Even utilizing the vast stores of knowledge at my disposal, I can discern no other meaning. This presents a certain problem-.”

 

 

“Yeah,” I said grimly. “If reuniting all of the Guardians is really the key to winning the coming battle, we could be in some serious trouble.”

 

 

“This is why I need your help. I’d like you to utilize the library computer to research this prophesy. See if you can come up with any other possible meanings.”

 

 

"Why me?" I wondered.

 

 

"I have been a machine for a long time," Machinedramon answered. "My thoughts are patterned. It is hard for me to think in a creative way. But you are human, a very imaginative species, and a smart human at that. If anyone can do what I ask, it is you."

 

 

I sighed, “I’ll do my best.”

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Twelve]

 

 

The Prophesy of Protectormon

 

 

 

It had been dark for hours. My friends had eaten and had been happily tucked away in bed for at least as long. Yet here I was, tired and hungry, standing at one of the computers in Machinedramon’s underground complex sifting through the rather extensive, yet somehow still limited recorded history of the Digital World. Most of what I found I already knew. So far I’d made no progress finding another meaning of Protectormon’s prophesy. I was desperate to find something. Anything. I kept thinking back to something that Machinedramon had told me before leaving me to my work:

 

 

 

“I don’t know if this will help, but there are a few pieces of information that you won’t find in the computer. Each of the Digital Cores represents a different trait. Ocean equals life. Forest equals unity. Mountain, power. Desert, stamina. Metal, wisdom. Additionally, each core harbors energy that can lead to a type of Digivolution that is related to the property that it represents. The Desert Core promotes Digivolution to the next level up, the Forest Core promotes the union of humans and Digimon through a process called Bio-Merge, the Ocean Core promotes life and gives the Digimon of this world the power to be reconfigured, or reborn, when they die, the Mountain Core promotes Digivolution straight to the Ultimate Level, and the Metal Core promotes DNA Digivolution.”

 

 

 

Even though knowing the hidden powers of the cores didn’t seem to offer any answers, something that Machinedramon had said was bugging me. I just couldn’t put my finger on what that something was.

 

 

“What are you doing?” asked a familiar voice from behind me. I turned, “Oh hey, Serpentmon. What are you doing up?” I looked around. Except for the clanging of the automated construction equipment in the opposite end of the cavernous room, the underground complex was quiet. Its Machine Digimon attendants had abandoned it for the night without me even realizing it.

 

 

“Just wanted to see how you’re doin’.” My friend answered. “Machinedramon told us what you’re tryin’ to do. It sounded hard.”

 

 

“It’s more frustrating than hard,” I said. “The Prophesy of Protectormon seems to be saying that only bringing all six of the Five Regions’ Guardians together will allow us to defeat Tyranterramon. It specifically refers to the ‘Greatest Power’ and ‘Heroes’. It can’t mean anyone but the Guardians. They were sometimes called the ‘Heroes of the Five Regions’, and almost everyone at the time knew them collectively as the ‘Greatest Power’.”

 

 

“I thought the Sovereign was stronger?” Serpentmon wondered.

 

 

“He was,” I said, “but according to the texts I’ve read, Protectormon was referred to as either the ‘Great Protector’ or the ‘Greater Than the Greatest Power’. Since this so called prophesy was left behind by Protectormon himself, I’m gonna assume that the terminology is correct. That means that the only way to defeat Tyranterramon is to bring the Guardians together again, allowing them to restore their former strength and then seemingly go beyond that. That will somehow allow Protectormon to be reborn, and he’ll take care of Tyranterramon himself.”

 

 

“So what’s the problem?”

 

 

“Well,” I said, taking a deep breath, “first of all, we don’t know where the weakened form of Pharaohmon is, if he was even reborn. There’s also the issue of MetalSeadramon. He was still alive and kicking and guarding the Ocean Core when Tyranterramon attacked it. Unless Tyranterramon was feeling merciful at the time, we have to assume that MetalSeadramon was killed. And until the Ocean Core is restored, Digimon won’t have the power to be reborn. That means there’s no chance that he was reconfigured somewhere. It’s hopeless.”

 

 

“So are you giving up?” Serpentmon asked.

 

 

“Of course not,” I replied hastily.

 

 

“It sounds like you are. You keep using words like ‘hopeless’. The John I know, the John that stood against ViralManipulamon, and who fought against an Ultimate Digimon and held his own, would never use words like hopeless. He’d smile wide, even if he was scared, and he’d lead his team of very loyal friends and allies into battle to defend the world that has become his second home. Even if he knew that he’d die, and even if he had to go it alone, he’d continue to fight because it’s the right thing to do.” I found myself speechless as I looked into my friend’s eyes. He looked angry now, and more serious than I’d ever seen him. He continued, “The John I know would never give up, even if he was beaten again and again until it looked like he could never win. Instead he’d lift up his chin and keep fighting until he’d found a way to overcome the odds and defeat the enemy.”

 

 

I was stunned. I took a deep breath, and very slowly I smiled a confident smile. “You’re right Serpentmon,” I said. “Even if the situation does seem grim, and even if we don’t stand a chance, we have to fight. No evil Digimon no matter how strong can ever get the best of us! So what if we can’t fulfill the prophesy. There has to be another way to win. We just have to find it.”

 

 

Even without true lips, the black snake managed to smile. “Come on,” I said. “We have work to do tomorrow. We should get some sleep.”

 

 

So Serpentmon jumped onto my shoulder, wrapping his tail loosely around my neck, and we made our way to the foot of the massive stairs. Cables from the control room above lifted us up, and we were directed to our room by a couple of helpful Guardromon. I removed my jeans and climbed into bed, grasping at a fleeting chance at sleep.

 

 

 

The next morning I repeated my words from the previous night in front of my friends and allies, including Machinedramon and his men. Even the cool and logical mechanical Guardian seemed inspired. No one disagreed with me that even if we didn’t stand the slightest chance of victory, we couldn’t back down. Tyranterramon could not be allowed to advance unhindered. Not while a single Digidestined or good Digimon remained alive to oppose him. Machinedramon had assembled his entire force of twelve Mekanorimon, seven Guardromon, and six Tankmon, machines that resembled robotic torsos with machine gun arms and cannons for heads affixed to tank treads. They were all that Machinedramon had to offer, save a group of defenders who would remain behind and protect the Citadel in case we failed. Machinedramon also presented me, Jen, Sarah, and Jeremy with four Mekanorimon bodies which had not yet been given personality data. We could use them as combat suites, giving us a chance to actually join in the battle. Yet another Mekanorimon, one with a personality but limited weapons, would act as the guardian of the two youngest members of my team. Every one of my allies joined Machinedramon’s intrepid troupe, save the Otamamon and Gekomon. They decided that it would be best if they remained behind.

 

 

We were preparing to march when two scouts, Child Level robotic insect Digimon known as Kokuwamon, appeared almost out of nowhere and set down ahead of their general. They bowed lightly as a sign of respect, and then one of them spoke. “Machinedramon,” he said, “I have bad news to report. It seems that Tyranterramon arrived at the desert much earlier than expected. He’s close to completing his scan!”

 

 

Machinedramon let out a frustrated, mechanical growl and said, “If that’s the case, we won’t reach him until he’s more than two thirds the way here. We’ll have to fly. It’s the only way we’ll be able to intercept the enemy in time.”

 

 

At Machinedramon’s command the total of thirteen Mekanorimon grabbed onto the six Tankmon and seven Guardromon and rose into the air. The Digimon Digivolved and took on as many passengers as they could carry. Finally Garudamon and MagnaBrauntomon grabbed onto Machinedramon’s cannons and lifted him into the air. The joystick-based controls that Jeremy, Jen, Sarah and I found beneath our Mekanorimon bodies’ domes were rather simple. Anyone who had ever played a video game would've been able to use them. It was a cinch for us to join our allies in the sky.

 

 

Decimatormon carried SkullMeramon, and with Machinedramon, Garudamon and MagnaBrauntomon in the lead, we headed out toward the final battle.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Thirteen]

 

 

Birth of the Courageous Soldier

 

 

 

As we approached the still-ruined but much less turbulent Desert Region, I called up my Mekanorimon shells sensors. A holographic map appeared, displaying the entire region in real time. It wasn’t long before I detected Tyranterramon, just beginning to move. “Everyone set down,” I said, taking the lead out of habit. “I’m going to lead all flying forces in a surprise attack. Hopefully it’ll give the ground based Digimon a chance to get in close without being seen. All Mekanorimon, break into four wings of two. Jeremy, Sarah, Jen and I will act as wing leaders. We’ll fly distraction for the more powerful flying Digimon.” As I spoke the Mekanorimon set their passengers down and obediently formed up behind the members of my team. The four wings peeled away from each other and circled around to come at Tyranterramon from four different directions. We flew at full speed toward the enemy, the remaining flying Digimon close behind.

 

 

 

As we flew, I made sure to check each of my Mekanorimon battle suites controls, making sure that I knew all of their functions. Then I relayed what I learned to Jeremy, Jen and Sarah. Like I said before, the controls were simple. Jeremy and Jen picked up on it immediately, and Sarah didn’t take much longer.

 

 

As Tyranterramon came into view, it became apparent that he had undergone yet another significant change.

 

 

“Are those wings?” Sarah asked in disbelief.

 

 

I couldn’t believe it either, but from Tyranterramon’s back hung two massive red-brown-feathered wings. I was worried that he might even be able to fly now, but we couldn’t afford to change our plans at this point. Tyranterramon was concentrating hard on where he was going, and he didn’t see or hear our approach. We circled around behind our target. I clicked a button on the joystick that controlled my Mekanorimon as I called out, “Fire!” My and every other Mekanorimon in our formation fired, hitting Tyranterramon in the back, and in the back of the head. Tyranterramon turned around, “Who dares attack Tyranterramon from behind?”

 

 

I kicked my Mekanorimon’s rockets up to full power and shot strait at Tyranterramon’s face. I swung my Mekanorimon’s metal fist, punching the foe between the eyes, causing Tyranterramon to stumble back. “I do,” I said. “You remember me right? I don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced. My name’s John.”

 

 

“I don’t know where you found these mechanized allies,” said Tyranterramon, “or where you got a robotic weapon suite of your own, but if you think either will help you defeat me, you are quite mistaken.” Tyranterramon’s fist burned with a powerful red aura, and he wound up to launch one huge finishing attack, but he was interrupted by a massive bird-shaped flame and a barrage of missiles launched by Garudamon and MagnaBrauntomon. The angels released their attacks next, hitting Tyranterramon square in the chest. Finally Decimatormon released a wave of beams and missiles that impacted multiple points on Tyranterramon’s body. The combined force of the successive attacks nearly threw the massive fiend off of his feet, but he caught himself.

 

 

However, while Tyranterramon was occupied and still off balance, I shot forward and punched him again. This time he did fall, only to rise a moment later. He swung his left arm wide, crushing several of the Mekanorimon, wound up, and prepared to strike. He punched, and like an idiot, I moved to meet his attack with one of my own. The burning aura returned and Tyranterramon called, “Burning Tyrant-Fist!” Waves of energy spread from his knuckles, vaporizing my Mekanorimon battle suite. I felt the energy waves tearing at my body as I fell through the sky, but I survived, protected by the light of my two Crests. I suddenly found myself wearing light weight golden armor over my chest. A Shield emblazoned with the Neo Crest of Friendship appeared in my left hand, and a cape cascaded down my back. A sword, still in its sheath, appeared strapped to my waist.

 

 

An aura flared up around me and I stopped falling. I was flying, but I realized that I couldn’t really move. So in a moment of inspiration I projected the aura around my shield and dropped it down below my feet. Using the shield as a hover board, I moved through the air with ease.

 

 

InfernoKnightmon flew over my head, followed by Decimatormon, Garudamon, MagnaBrauntomon, MechAngemon, and TechAngewomon. The five mighty Digimon unleashed their attacks, but Tyranterramon wrapped his wings around his body, using them as a very effective shield. As Sarah, Jen, Jeremy, the Digimon, the remaining Mekanorimon and I circled Tyranterramon, he threw open his wings, nearly knocking us all to the ground. Then Tyranterramon raised his wings and called, “Feather Shards!” The feathers in his wing tips glowed, and from them fired a barrage of feather-shaped energy blades that threatened to rip us to shreds. I swung my sword, releasing a wave of heat that cancelled out enough of the blades that I was able to survive the barrage unharmed. The others followed suite, but while we were occupied, Tyranterramon launched his Feather Shards attack again. We didn’t have time to react. We were only saved by an equally extensive barrage of missiles and bullets that cancelled the attack out. I looked toward the source of our salvation, and I saw a legion of Tankmon and Guardromon emerge from the trees, followed by the machine general, Machinedramon.

 

 

I watched as Arukenimon, Mummymon, Babamon, Jijimon, SkullMeramon and CyberGarurumon ran ahead, approaching us at high speed. CyberGarurumon moved even faster than the others. “Let’s get this over with,” he said, jumping up into a tree, using it as a springboard, launching himself toward his foe. Just as he reached the apex of his jump, he removed his sash, letting his wolf skin cloak flutter free. His missiles fired as he called, “Cyber Wolf-Bite!”

 

 

Tyranterramon swung an aura-charged fist, slinging energy at the missiles, destroying them all. But destroying the missiles distracted Tyranterramon long enough for MagnaBrauntomon, Decimatormon, and Garudamon to get into position and attack from behind. Tyranterramon stumbled forward and fell onto one knee.

 

 

“How dare you strike me when my back is turned?” Tyranterramon demanded. “I am your RULER!” Tyranterramon screamed up at the sky and swung his fist as hard as he could. He sent waves flying right at Machinedramon, who had no way to dodge. In a desperate attempt to save Machinedramon, one of the legendary Guardians, my old friends Arukenimon and Mummymon threw themselves in the way of Tyranterramon’s attack, knowing that they would never survive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Chapter The Desert Guardian Reborn

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

....................................................................................

 

WHAT AN UPDATE!!!

 

I really liked the chapters! Really do!

 

But when, oh WHEN, will the Specials start? Hope you haven't forgotten?

[Stigma_Horrizone]

sweet, it's smexy!

[legendhiro]

....................................................................................

 

WHAT AN UPDATE!!!

 

I really liked the chapters! Really do!

 

But when' date=' oh WHEN, will the Specials start? Hope you haven't forgotten?

[/quote']

 

both specials will take place after this book. the first will be the one without your characters, then it will be the one with them. both will inly be five to six chapters.

[Stigma_Horrizone]

cant wait!!

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

Me neither!

[legendhiro]

just wanted to let you guys know that i have book two finished in microsoft word, and as soon as i can get to a computer that lets me use flash drives in it, i'll have the rest of the chapters up.

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

Wohoo! I can barely contain myself!

[legendhiro]

once again i finally managed to sieze a computer for a few minutes, but i didn't have the flash drive containing the remaining chapters with me. but i figured that this was as good a time as any for a bump. also, my internet should be up again reletively soon.

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

Thank dear god! I've been dying here!

[Stigma_Horrizone]

oh god, please be up soon

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

BUMP

[legendhiro]

good news my friends. i'm going to go back and do some last minute editing and then the rest of book two will be up! expect it tonight. thaks for all of your patience.

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

WOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

 

Just a quick question: Are the specials part of Book 2, or are they later?

 

Another one: Have you written the Specials yet?

[legendhiro]

here are chapters fourteen through twenty-two. twenty-three will be up within the hour. its later than i thought. my internet crashed again, but the problem wasn't nearly as serious this time.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Fourteen]

 

 

The Desert Guardian Reborn

 

 

 

Tyranterramon’s attack was only a few feet away from Arukenimon and Mummymon when something amazing happened.

 

 

“We have to stop this!” said Arukenimon.

 

 

“We’ll combine our strength!” declared Mummymon.

 

 

They took each others’ hands, and there was a flash. Suddenly two of our oldest friends became one being. He was tall, wearing a pharaoh’s headdress, wrapped in bandages, carrying a shield made from the lid of his own sarcophagus. Behind his shield he carried a staff shaped like an ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life, “Arukenimon, Mummymon, DNA Digivolve to…”

 

 

The new appearance raised his shield, straining to deflect the oncoming attack. He stood at Garudamon’s height, facing Tyranterramon. He looked himself over and said, in Arukenimon’s voice, “Now I know why I knew so much about the Guardians!” Then he spoke in Mummymon’s voice, “And why I recognized Babamon and Jijimon!”

 

 

The new appearance looked up into his opponent’s eyes and spoke with the voices of both of his halves as one, “I am the Desert Guardian reborn. I am Pharaohmon! I’ve returned to fight you again, Tyranterramon.”

 

 

“You can fight,” said Tyranterramon, “but you can’t win!” He swung his fist, calling “Tyranterra Fist!”

 

 

Pharaohmon punched as well, calling, “Fist of the Nile!”

 

 

The two punch attacks met. Pharaohmon strained to match his foe’s strength. But Tyranterramon was ready. He swung his left fist like a hammer, but it was deflected by a cannon blast from over Pharaohmon’s shoulder, compliments of Machinedramon.

 

 

Garudamon flew at from Tyranterramon from behind Machinedramon, calling, “Wing Blade!” She called her attack, releasing a fiery bird. Pharaohmon dropped his shield and twirled his ankh-staff. A cloud of dark mist formed around the top end of his staff. He swung his staff, slinging the mist at Tyranterramon, calling, “Necro Mist!”

 

 

“You can’t hurt me!” Tyranterramon declared, flapping his wings and blowing the two attacks away. “It’s interesting,” said Tyranterramon. Five of the six Five Regions’ Guardians have returned to face me yet again. Too bad I left the Ocean Guardian in his sea cave to die. Otherwise it would have been a real party.” He laughed, and something occurred to me. Tyranterramon didn’t kill the Ocean Guardian? I remembered Machinedramon telling me about the powers of the individual cores. He’d said that the Ocean Core possessed the power of life. If MetalSeadramon had absorbed even some of the core’s energy before it was destroyed, there was a chance that he was still alive!

 

 

I flew over to Jeremy, “Take charge here. Let Tyranterramon push you back to the river. I’ll meet you there. I have an idea that might just win this for us.”

 

 

“What is it?” Jeremy asked.

 

 

“No time,” I said, “just make sure you get to the river as soon as you can, but make it look like Tyranterramon’s in control of the situation, or else he might catch on to what I’m doing. Trust me.”

 

 

I tuned away from Jeremy before he could ask any more questions and flew right past my Digimon, just as he deflected an attack, and said, “Follow me. I have an idea.”

 

 

“What are you thinking?” he asked, even as he turned to following through the air, above the treetops.

 

 

“I’ll tell you as we fly,” I told him, focusing at the time on escaping the battle and nothing else. InfernoKnightmon nodded and we sped off, shooting toward the ocean.

 

 

 

Jeremy

 

 

 

I watched as John and his Digimon disappeared over the tops of the trees. He was gone, InfernoKnightmon, our strongest warrior, gone along with him, to God knows where. I hated his attitude. He treated our battles like games, even though he knew as well as I did that conflicts in the Digital World were just as deadly as ones in the real world. He was reckless, charging at greater opponents and trying to overcome them with his will alone. It was childish and irresponsible.

 

 

I turned back to the battle. The Digimon were holding there own against the tireless behemoth that was the day’s opponent, but the Digimon were not as resilient as Tyranterramon. They were being worn down. They would last awhile, but not forever, and this newest form of Tyranterramon was even more invulnerable than the previous one. How was I supposed to let Tyranterramon push us back to the river without allowing him to realize that we were losing ground on purpose? And what if our ranks were to break as we moved and Tyranterramon were able to break through? Then the battle would be lost. John was irresponsible, leaving us behind without any more instruction. But still I trusted him. I trusted that he would not leave unless he really thought it was the right course of action. Even if he did think this was some king of game, he was a great strategist, and even at games he did everything not to lose. He had never let us down before, and I didn’t think he ever would.

 

 

So all I could do was trust him and do as he said. I thought up a semi-plausible reason why we would pull back when we had held in one place for so long, flew down beside Machinedramon and said, “We need to fall back to the forest. We’ll have more cover there.”

 

 

“You sure?” Machinedramon asked. For a second I considered ignoring John’s orders and staying put, but then I repeated John’s last words to me; “Trust me.”

 

 

“Good enough for me,” said Machinedramon, and he called, “All forces, fall back to the forest’s edge and take cover!”

 

 

As we turned and charged toward the forest, I looked in the direction of John’s flight and thought, John, whatever you’ve got planned, it had better work.

 

 

 

John

 

 

 

On this relatively small continent, the edge, and therefore the ocean, was fairly close to anywhere. With my newfound powers of armor and, more importantly, flight, the journey to the Ocean Region of the Digital World File Two would be relatively quick. There my Digimon and I would search for MetalSeadramon’s cave, and MetalSeadramon himself. We would free him, and travel with him along Digital River. We would meet up with the others, reuniting the “Greatest Power”. Their powers would be restored, and Tyranterramon would be defeated.

 

 

I felt a bit guilty leaving Jeremy in charge with so little to go on, but I trusted that he would be able to make it to the river before Tyranterramon could figure out what I was up to. I knew Jeremy thought I took things too lightly, as if I were playing a game, and I knew that my leaving so abruptly would only reinforce those conclusions, but I had no choice. My lighthearted attitude was only a means for me to get into a more strategic mindset. It was the only way I knew to trigger the part of my mind that made me good at leading and planning. I knew I could be stubborn, and I knew I could be reckless, but that’s just part of who I am. If I were to give up any of those qualities, I might lose what it was that made me the leader chosen by the Sovereign to wield the Neo Crests of Courage and Friendship. That was something that I couldn’t let happen.

 

 

So I forced myself to remain satisfied with my plan, and I pressed forward, explaining my plan to InfernoKnightmon as we flew. He merely nodded as I concluded my explanation. We increased our speed, rushing toward the first and most devastated region, and our last hope for survival.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Fifteen]

 

 

The Devastated Ocean Region

 

 

 

It was less than an hour before InfernoKnightmon and I reached the edge of the Ocean Region. We stopped above the tattered beach, now nothing but shattered rock, and stared dumbstruck at the ocean ahead. Hundreds of distant twisters rose from the turbulent surface of the water as far as the eye could see, filling the air with mist and feeding a constant supply of water to the dark clouds overhead, creating a constant torrential downpour as well as a great amount of lightning. The other damaged regions had begun to calm down since their cores had been destroyed, as if waiting, hushed, for the Final Core to fall as well. But the Ocean Region seemed to be getting worse by the second. Because the waters of the ocean continued to fuel the storms, the storms were allowed to expand and grow in fury. We had to fight winds of nearing one hundred MPH just to stay in one place. This region was actively tearing itself apart.

 

 

“Quick, Partner,” I said to my Digimon, yelling over the howl of the wind, “let’s get going. We’ll head up the coast, watching for any grouping of rocks that might conceal a cavern. And remember, we’re running out of time.”

 

 

InfernoKnightmon gave a sharp nod, and we were off.

 

 

 

Jeremy

 

 

 

“TechAngewomon, strike now!” I called. The robotic angel took aim with her arm-mounted crossbow and fired, knocking a distracted Tyranterramon’s swinging fist off course. Frustrated, Tyranterramon released a sound akin to a growl and swung his fist in the direction of TechAngewomon, aiming to knock her out of the air.

 

 

“Interference team!” I called, and SkullMeramon ran his shoulder into Tyranterramon’s midsection, causing the massive foe to stumble back to regain his balance. Then MagnaBrauntomon and Garudamon rose up from within the trees and grabbed Tyranterramon’s fist, pulling it up over his head, toppling him onto his back. His right wing was caught under his full weight, and I couldn’t help but smile a bit when Tyranterramon was forced to grit his teeth against the resulting pain.

 

 

“Attack teams,” I commanded, “strike now!” The remaining flightless Digimon emerged from the forest edge, releasing their attacks, followed close by the attacks from the many flying Digimon. Most of the attacks hit Tyranterramon on his indestructible arms, but the rest made it through to his torso, dealing him damage, as minor as it was. Tyranterramon sat up and crouched, prepared to rise. But before he could, Machinedramon, Pharaohmon, and Garudamon resealed their attacks side by side, tearing at Tyranterramon’s right arm, torso and face. Tyranterramon managed to keep from falling over again, but it was clear that he was shaken. He gritted his teeth again and, with great effort, raised both of his wings. He fired his Feather Shards at the three Guardians. Garudamon summoned up a ball of flames, Pharaohmon spun his staff, and Machinedramon expelled a wave of energy from his cannons, dispelling their foe’s attack with no apparently great effort.

 

 

“My turn,” I said. I clicked the “Fire” button and called, “Twin Beams!” as my armored body released its attack, hitting Tyranterramon in the head. He shook it off and rose to his full height.

 

 

“Again,” I said. “Twin Beams!” I fired again.

 

 

“Me too,” said Decimatormon, taking aim with his arm-mounted guns, “Cutting Beams!”

 

 

Our two attacks converged, augmenting each others’ strength, but it still wasn’t enough. Tyranterramon raised his fist, catching the combo attack with the back of his hand. The point of impact was blackened and smoking, but I couldn’t see any sign of lasting damage. Tyranterramon raised that same seared, smoking hand and punched, releasing an attack that my Digimon and I barely managed to dodge. The attack sailed past, into the forest, impacting the ground with enough force to throw debris one hundred yards into the air and leave behind a crater fifty yards deep and almost three times as wide.

 

 

“We’re not getting anywhere like this,” said CyberGarurumon from his perch in a nearby tree.

 

 

“I agree,” Machinedramon called back to me.

 

 

I scowled, “So do I.” Then I called out, “Fall back deeper into the forest. Fall back as far as the river; we’ll make our stand there!”

 

 

I watched the rather extensive forces move to follow my orders. This was it, I thought. We’d reach the river before long with Tyranterramon at our heels. The outcome of this entire battle is about to come down to the success of John’s plan. I just hope a person can plan a miracle.

 

 

 

John

 

 

 

Even struggling against the fierce winds, mine and InfernoKnightmon’s search for MetalSeadramon’s cavern didn’t take long. About twenty-five minutes into our search we spotted a crumpled pile of rocks that seemed to sink into the ground, right along the water’s edge. I scanned it with the Digicomp Handheld. Sure enough it was a cavern, though most of it was collapsed. I detected one large Digimon signal inside the cavern, and even though the storms prevented me from identifying the signal as that of the fallen Ocean Guardian, I was still confident that it was him. No Digimon except a Guardian would be able to survive these conditions for so long.

 

 

“He’s in there,” I told InfernoKnightmon. “Now we just have to get him out.”

 

 

“Leave that to me,” my Digimon declared. He dropped from the sky, plunging strait through the rocks and rubble, emerging moments later. In his arms he carried a one hundred-foot-long robotic sea serpent, his body made of golden components as hard as the Chrome Digizoid metal components used to construct Machine Citadel. The sea serpent, MetalSeadramon, was unconscious and badly injured. Multitudes of cables and panels were hanging loose from his head to his tail, and bits of data were leaking from his various wounds. Now that he was free of the cavern I was able to get a better reading of his condition. I swore under my breath and then said, “He’s taken damage all the way down to his fractal code. It’s a miracle that he managed to hold on this long.”

 

 

“Will your plan still work?” InfernoKnightmon asked.

 

 

“I think so,” I said, “but we have to act fast.”

 

 

 

It was twenty minutes later when MetalSeadramon woke up, He, Snakemon, BlackMainemon, and I were on a relatively stable section of the rocky beach.

 

 

“What happened,” MetalSeadramon asked in a deep raspy voice He was laying on his side with the three of us sitting around his head.

 

 

Tyranterramon beat on you bad and left you to die,” I said. “You’re lucky we found you when you did. Your fractal code was about to come apart, but I was able to use the AI program contained within this device,” I held up the Digicomp, “to write a program to stitch it back up. Then I fed it to your matrix using my Digivice.”

 

 

MetalSeadramon growled, lifting his head, “Tyranterramon. I honestly never expected him to return. He caught me by surprise. If I had seen him coming I would have put up a better fight.”

 

 

“Don’t worry,” I said. “You’ll get a chance to get Tyranterramon back for what he did to you. Follow me along Digital River. We’ll meet up with my team and the other Guardians near Digital Bridge.”

 

 

MetalSeadramon looked into my eyes, a look of surprise in his. “By Guardians,” he asked, “do you mean…?”

 

 

A smile was my only response.

 

 

“Who are you?” MetalSeadramon asked, his eyes wide.

 

 

“I’m John,” I replied, “the leader of the Digidestined.”

 

 

 

Jeremy

 

 

 

It wasn’t long before we reached the river. “All teams,” I commanded, “hold him here!”

 

 

I looked again in the direction of John’s earlier retreat, Hurry up, John. Whatever you’ve got cooking, it had better work. We’re running out of time.

 

 

 

John

 

 

 

“Snakemon, Direct Digivolve to! WingedDragonterramon!”

 

 

“Come on BlackMainemon,” I said, hopping onto WingedDragonterramon’s back. BlackMainemon jumped up behind me, settling himself in the crook of the dragon’s tail and holding onto one of WingedDragonterramon’s spikes with his teeth. I drew my sword, for good measure, and we were off. We followed the beach until we came to the Digital River Delta. Then we followed the river, keeping close to the water bound MetalSeadramon. I smiled. My plan was coming together. As we flew I cried out, “Tyranterramon, we’re coming for you!”

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Sixteen]

 

 

The Five Regions’ Guardians Reunited

 

 

 

Jeremy

 

 

 

Tyranterramon swung his fist. I dropped down and wove around his attack. Then I spun my Mekanorimon battle suite around to face Tyranterramon and fired, hitting him in the shoulder and neck. He jerked her fist back, clipping my armor, severing its right arm and causing me to lose control.

 

 

As I fell, my Digimon rose up and caught me. He fired up his rockets, sliding sideways through the air, firing shots from his left arm-mounted gun and his shoulder-mounted cannon, hitting Tyranterramon in the chest.

 

 

Meanwhile, Babamon and Jijimon launched their attacks from within the threes below, while the angels attacked Tyranterramon from behind. Ahead of Tyranterramon, SkullMeramon and Pharaohmon jumped up, level with Tyranterramon’s head.

 

 

“Blue Fireball,” called SkullMeramon, flinging a ball of blue and white flames at his foe.

 

 

“Fist of the Nile,” called Pharaohmon, sending an energy pulse from his fist alongside his ally’s attack. The too attacks hit, but all they did was serve to make Tyranterramon more angry. He swung his fist wildly, missing Pharaohmon by a hair, but hitting SkullMeramon in the dead center of his chest. The fire warrior depixalized. I stared at the place where he had been, stunned.

 

 

“No,” I said, “he’s gone.”

 

 

Garudamon hung in the air, a stunned expression on her face. Stun turned to anger, and anger turned to rage. She cried out at the top of her lungs, “You’ll pay for that Tyranterramon!” There was a loud BOOM, and Garudamon was wreathed in fire. She called out, “Wing Blade!” and flew at Tyranterramon, using her entire body as a fiery weapon. The flames that had been wreathing her body hung on Tyranterramon, swirling around him and bringing him to his knees. He encircled himself with his wings and then through them open, dispelling the attack. He regained his footing and rose to his full, imposing height.

 

 

“I have told you before,” Tyranterramon said, “that your attacks cannot deal me lasting harm. Surrender and I will consider letting you live to see the birth of my new world.”

 

 

“Shut up Tyranterramon,” said Sarah.

 

 

“We’d rather die than surrender to you,” said Jen.

 

 

A wicked look filled Tyranterramon’s eyes, and even though he wore a face plate it was clear that he was smiling an evil smile. “That,” he said, “can be arranged.”

 

 

He lunged at Jen and Sarah, swinging both fists. They had no hope of dodging. I flew toward them, but I was simply too far away.

 

 

Just then a thick beam of yellow light burst through the forest, mowing a path through the trees, coming from the direction of the river. It hit Tyranterramon in the chest with enough force to knock him to the ground. I turned my damaged armor and scanned the area from which the attack had come, and I saw a large golden mechanical sea serpent with a glowing nose approaching along the river. Above the golden snake flew a familiar form; WingedDragonterramon, with John and BlackMainemon on his back.

 

 

Well, I thought, smiling, it’s about time!

 

 

 

John

 

 

 

“Alright guys, let’s go,” I said, jumping from my Digimon’s back onto my shield. BlackMainemon became encased in data which cleared away, revealing BlackColtmon.

 

 

“Initiate,” I said, swiping my Digiplayer on the Digidisks of Courage and Friendship, “Warp Digivolution!”

 

 

“BlackColtmon, Warp Digivolve to! Knighthramon!”

 

 

“WingedDragonterramon, Mega Digivolve to! MetalDragonterramon!”

 

 

MetalDragonterramon flew ahead, hammering the foe with fireballs. Knighthramon dropped down close to the ground before summoning his hover board and lance.

 

 

“Knight Slash!” called Knighthramon, slinging energy from his lance.

 

 

“River of Power!” called MetalSeadramon, firing a thick yellow energy beam from his nose.

 

 

The two attacks hit, and Tyranterramon stumbled back. Not because he was hurt, but because he was utterly surprised. He looked at MetalSeadramon, his eyes wide, “Impossible! You can’t be here. I killed you!”

 

 

“Apparently not,” said MetalSeadramon, “because here I am.”

 

 

“Look around you Tyranterramon,” said Jijimon. “The six Five Regions’ Guardians have reunited.”

 

 

“Do you know the Prophesy of Protectormon, Tyranterramon?” Machinedramon asked. Without waiting for an answer, he continued on, “It states that upon your return, the Five Regions’ Guardians will reunite and their powers will be restored. Not only that, but we will gain a greater power. The power to restore Protectormon himself to life!”

 

 

Tyranterramon laughed loudly. “Protectormon cannot defeat me,” he said. “The last time he and I fought, the best he could do was seal me away. Even if you feeble and outdated old fools could summon Protectormon from the dead, what makes you think he could defeat me?”

 

 

“Protectormon could have defeated you those many years ago,” said Garudamon, “but he sealed you away, choosing to leave you alive in the hopes that you could one day be rehabilitated. But I think it’s been proven that you will never be anything but a monster!”

 

 

“It’s true,” said Pharaohmon thoughtfully, “that any hope that you will reform has no foundation in reality.” As he spoke, I heard the voices of my friends Arukenimon and Mummymon in his and I smiled.

 

 

As the Guardians spoke, they moved to surround Tyranterramon. I actually saw a look of genuine fear in the massive Digimon’s eyes. But I knew that he would never back down. His ambitions were too grand.

 

 

“It’s time,” said Machinedramon. “Guardians, pool your strength!” At Machinedramon’s command, the Guardians summoned up their inner strength. Babamon and Jijimon glowed green, Pharaohmon glowed golden yellow, Garudamon glowed red, MetalSeadramon glowed blue, and Machinedramon glowed the same silvery color as the Metal Core. The light from their bodies swirled together, creating a bright white flash that left Tyranterramon temporarily blind.

 

 

Babamon and Jijimon glowed even brighter. “Jijimon,” said the elderly male Digimon, “Slide Evolution!” He grew taller, reaching a height of about six feet five inches. His potato-sack garbs were replaced by glowing leaf green and gold armor, and a forest green cape cascaded down his back. His beard disappeared and his hair grew longer, changing color from gray to pale purple. His staff became ordained with gold, and the stuffed animal paw was replaced by a purple crystal. He twirled his staff and called, “Oberomon!”

 

 

“Babamon,” the witch-like Digimon declared, “Slide Evolution!” She grew until she was just shorter than her husband. Though the largest of the pink pearls from her necklace remained, her other garbs were replaced by a form fitting red suite that left little to the imagination. Yellow, thorn-covered vines grew down her arms. One stiffened, becoming rigid like a sword, while the other remained limp, like a whip. A rose bud appeared over her eyes and head like a helm. She spun her whip and pointed her sword, “Rosemon!”

 

 

“Garudamon,” my old friend declared, “Mega Digivolve to!” She grew even larger, becoming a massive gold and red eagle with four broad wings, wearing a metal helm with harsh edges. She let out a screeching cry and became wreathed in fire, “Phoenixmon!”

 

 

“Machinedramon,” the massive metallic general declared, “Slide Evolution!” He became a black wingless dragon with four long arms, with a mass of energy on its back in the shape of Machinedramon’s head and back. Attached to his back were Machinedramon’s back-mounted cannons.

 

 

The Metal Core Guardian in his new form roared, his aura pouring from him. It was so strong that I was nearly flattened under the pressure. The other Guardians reacted to their leader’s outburst, taking it as a signal to attack. MetalSeadramon fired his nose cannon as Phoenixmon, Pharaohmon, Oberomon, and Rosemon charged. Millenniummon turned and looked back at us and said, “This fight belongs to the Guardians now. Leave this one to us.”

 

 

Millenniummon turned back toward Tyranterramon and charged forward to join the battle. Rosemon and Oberomon jumped up, moving so fast that I couldn’t follow. Rosemon spread her arms wide, and the pink pearl glowed. She called out, “Forbidden Temptation!” A swirling wave of pink petals made of energy burst forth from the pearl. Oberomon raised his staff, and the crystal in its tip glowed purple. He called out “Heart of the Forest!” and swung his staff, releasing a wave of purple light.

 

 

The two attacks converged, each amplifying the power of the other, and hit Tyranterramon, blasting half of his face plate away. He stumbled back, clutching his face.

 

 

I smiled again, It looks like this battle has only just begun.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Seventeen]

 

 

Battle at Digital River; The Five Regions’ Guardians vs. Tyranterramon

 

 

 

Tyranterramon tried to regain his balance following Oberomon’s and Rosemon’s attack, but before he could, he was hit by a barrage of cannon fire from Millenniummon, causing him to fall over backwards. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, only to have his arm knocked out from beneath him by MetalSeadramon’s attack. He fell back again, hard.

 

 

Phoenixmon rose up over her foe and spread her massive golden wings. “Die you fiend!” she cried out, still enraged over the loss of her friend. She called out, “Crimson Flame!!” Wave after wave of brilliant red shining flames poured over Tyranterramon, obscuring him from view. The Guardians were moving fast and hitting hard. The amount of collateral damage was becoming greater and greater as the Guardians displayed a level of speed and power that was beyond anything I’d ever seen.

 

 

I turned to the members of my team. Jen, Jeremy and Sarah were still in their Mekanorimon battle suites. Jeremy’s was badly damaged. Kris and Amanda were still standing together within the Mekanorimon that was acting as their guardian. The Digimon were standing all around us, still ready to fight if need be.

 

 

“The Guardians asked us to leave this one to them,” I said, “and if we’re to believe the Prophesy of Protectormon, our part in this is done. I think we should de-Digivolve and regain a little strength, just in case we’re needed again. If something were to happen, we can Digivolve again in an instant.”

 

 

“Sounds good,” said Jeremy. As he spoke, I noticed that Machinedramon’s (now Millenniummon’s) remaining forces had joined us. At this point only one Guardromon and one Tankmon remained, but both were damaged so severely that it was unlikely that they could still fight. In other words, the only force left that could oppose Tyranterramon consisted of us and the Guardians.

 

 

I watched as the Digimon reverted to their Child forms.

 

 

“I say we fall back for now,” said Jen.

 

 

“Yeah,” I said, “okay.” We moved away from the fight, carrying our Digimon with us through the air while Guardromon and Tankmon followed from below. We were only a few yards away from our starting point when a wave of stray flames destroyed the ground where we had been standing. I looked over at Jen and said, “Good call.”

 

 

She smiled a proud smile.

 

 

We settled down on a high cliff a good ways away, up river. There we could rest and recover while we watched the battle being conducted below. Tyranterramon had yet to tire, or to absorb anything but superficial damage. But the Guardians were also doing well. They were dodging and deflecting every attack sent their way, no matter how powerful, and striking back at every opportunity.

 

 

I watched as Tyranterramon surrounded his fist with his burning red aura and swung at the ground, aiming for Rosemon. She jumped up and twirled mid-air, slashing rapidly with her sword, calling, “Rose Rapier!” She flung a barrage of razor sharp energy blades from the tip of her sword, scoring multiple hits against Tyranterramon’s arm and torso. Meanwhile, Oberomon planted his staff in the ground near a grouping of especially large trees. His body was surrounded by a purple aura, which passed to the threes themselves. Oberomon brandished his staff in the direction of Tyranterramon, and the trees began to grow, reaching toward the foe. They curled around his waist and arms. Tyranterramon struggled, but he was unable to move.

 

 

MetalSeadramon’s options were limited, since he couldn’t leave the river, but even a stationary attacker could hit an unmoving target. He, Phoenixmon, and Millenniummon took aim while their foe was hindered, the flames from Phoenixmon’s wings combining with the energy from Millenniummon’s and MetalSeadramon’s cannons. The attacks augmented each other, growing in strength. The mass of heat and energy engulfed Tyranterramon completely, burning away the trees that were holding him. He fell over, smoke rolling off of his body.

 

 

Pharaohmon was up next. He jumped up and landed on Tyranterramon’s chest. He called out, “Fist of the Nile!” He punched Tyranterramon in the face, smashing away what remained of the giant’s faceplate. Pharaohmon wound up to punch again, but Tyranterramon grabbed him and threw him. He would probably have died if Oberomon and Rosemon hadn’t caught him.

 

 

Tyranterramon pushed himself back up, but he was slow. He was obviously still in pain. He was part way to his feet when Millenniummon called out, “Guardians, attack!”

 

 

Oberomon and Rosemon rose into the air, joined hands and called, “Nature Force!” They released their finishing attacks as one, the strength of each increased by the other.

 

 

Phoenixmon spread her wings, “Crimson Flame!” A stream of fire poured from her body.

 

 

Pharaohmon wound up, energy building around his hand, punched and called, “Fist of the Nile!” A wave of energy burst forth from his fist.

 

 

MetalSeadramon’s nose cannon glowed yellow, and he called, “River of Power!” He fired a thick, powerful beam of energy, brighter and wider than the others.

 

 

The four attacks converged, combining and building power. They flew strait at Tyranterramon. As they did, Millenniummon called out, “Dimension Destroyer!” He fired a burst of special energy from his cannons. Energy so powerful that it warped the world around it. The energy merged with that of the other Guardians’ attacks and they tripled in intensity. The power of the lesser five Guardians times three, combined with all of the reality warping power of Millenniummon, struck Tyranterramon full on before he even had a hope of defending. He cried out in fear, and then in pain. When the attack dissipated, Tyranterramon just stood there, moaning. Then moaning became something terrifying. Moaning became laughter as before our eyes the scorching that now covered Tyranterramon’s body disappeared.

 

 

Tyranterramon spread his arms, spread his wings, and cried out triumphantly while the Guardians looked on in disbelief. “What do we do now, Millenniummon?” Phoenixmon asked.

 

 

“According to the Prophesy, we carry within us the data needed to resurrect Protectormon,” Millenniummon answered. “I think that before he died, he split up his matrix and gave each of us a piece. We must reach deep, find those pieces, and bring them out.”

 

 

“Go ahead,” said Tyranterramon. “After dealing with weaklings for so long, I could use a good fight.”

 

 

“You can’t defeat Protectormon,” said Millenniummon, “no matter how strong you’ve become.”

 

 

Tyranterramon smiled, “We’ll see.”

 

 

The Guardians circled up, and a dome of energy appeared around them, acting as a defensive barrier. A distinct string of code poured from each of them. Six codes converged, and there was a flash. The air crackled, and for a half second, I thought I saw a humanoid form at the convergence point. But then it was gone.

 

 

The Guardians looked around. They seemed confused. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized that something was wrong. “What’s going on?” Oberomon demanded as the protective barrier disappeared.

 

 

“I don’t know,” Rosemon answered.

 

 

“I could feel it,” said Phoenixmon. “I could feel the data that Protectormon hid inside me.”

 

 

“So could I,” said Pharaohmon.

 

 

“Then what happened!?” MetalSeadramon demanded.

 

 

“We had some of Protectormon’s data,” said Millenniummon, “but not all of it. He must have hidden the rest of his data somewhere else!” Millenniummon was about to continue when the Guardians’ conversation was interrupted by more of Tyranterramon’s roaring laughter.

 

 

“I can’t believe this,” said Tyranterramon. “I was actually worried for a second there! Looks like you six were all talk. And if the so called ‘Great Protector’ isn’t coming out to play today, that means I can take my time and have some fun killing all of you,” He turned his head and looked right at me, “starting with those annoying little humans.”

 

 

“Oh God,” I said, “I was wrong. I was wrong about the Prophesy, and now Tyranterramon can’t be stopped. And he knows where we are.”

 

 

Tyranterramon turned to face me and my team, “So what now Human?” he asked. “Will you make some futile attempt to defy me?”

 

 

“John,” Jeremy asked, “what should we do?”

 

 

“Or will you finally realize your place and die like the dogs you are?”

 

 

“John,” Jeremy demanded, “what should we do?”

 

 

I shook my head, “I-I don’t know. I was wrong.”

 

 

Tyranterramon took a step toward us. “Leave them alone!” Phoenixmon cried, and she moved to attack, the other Guardians following her lead. They struck, but Tyranterramon was too strong. He struck back, and before I even knew what was happening, the Guardians were dead.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Eighteen]

 

 

Birth of a New Power

 

 

 

MetalSeadramon was first. He fired, But Tyranterramon simply swatted his attack away, raised his wing, and released one of his Feather Shard attacks. He was confident in his abilities now, and his attack hit its mark. The top third of MetalSeadramon’s body was cut to bits. Pharaohmon was the next up. He tried to make the best of his ally’s demise and catch Tyranterramon with a killing attack while he was unaware. He twirled his staff, but before he could strike, Tyranterramon caught the staff and pushed, impaling the staff through its wielder’s abdomen.

 

 

“You monster!” cried the still angry Phoenixmon. “I’ll make you pay!” She wreathed her body in flames and rushed Tyranterramon, who caught her head, crushing it against the ground. Oberomon and Rosemon tried to save their friend, but they were too late to save her, or themselves. Tyranterramon summoned up a mighty aura and swung his fist, vaporizing them both.

 

 

Millenniummon was speechless. Finally he managed to choke out, “You’re truly a fiend, and if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll kill you for what you’re done today.” His cannons flashed, and he called out, “Dimension Destroyer!”

 

 

“Too late,” said Tyranterramon, arrogantly. Before Millenniummon could fire Tyranterramon punched the ground, sending seismic waves at Millenniummon, throwing him into the air. Tyranterramon ran at him, punching with both fists at once. The force of the attack rippled the air and tore Millenniummon apart.

 

 

No! I thought. I pinched myself to make sure I was awake. I realized that I was, and the situation suddenly became much more real. The same three words kept screaming in my mind, It’s my fault!

 

 

I shook my head vigorously, and thought, I was wrong. I was wrong about what the Prophesy meant. I told Machinedramon and the others that they had everything that they needed to win, but I was wrong, and now the Guardians are dead! They depended on what I told them. They trusted me!

 

 

I was stunned, I only stared while Amanda cried and Jen, Jeremy and Sarah tried to pull me to my feet and out of Tyranterramon’s path of attack. But as Tyranterramon bore down on us, time seemed to stop, and spectral images of the six Guardians appeared before us.

 

 

Digitestined, came the voices of the Guardians in tandem, do not feel guilt over our passing. Our time has long since passed, and now that we have died and become pure data, we know that it was our destiny to parish in this battle. Along with a portion of his data, Protectormon left us a series of latent memories that would only be awakened upon our demise. When he looked into the future and saw that Tyranterramon would return to complete his scheme, Protectormon gave his own life, separating seventy percent of his data from the other thirty. He then broke that lesser thirty percent into the six portions that he gave to us, as well as seven portions that became the Neo Crests. The remaining seventy percent was split in two and incorporated into two unborn Digitama, linking them together forever.

 

 

The Prophesy said that when the Greatest Power came together again, it would unlock a power beyond what it had known, which would lead to Protectormon’s rebirth. We, the 'Greatest Power', will now give our data, including that belonging to Protectormon, to you. It will unlock a power that you possess beyond anything we could ever hope to achieve, and the prophesy will have come true. With that power, all you will need is the two core Digimon to facilitate Protectormon’s return.

 

 

“Who are the core Digimon?” I asked.

 

 

We do not know, the Guardians answered. All we know is that you will already know them. Their possession of the Guardian's data will assure that they were drawn to you. Their fates, human, have been intertwined with yours. They hold the key to defeating Tyranterramon, but they can only succeed if you humans can first discover who they are!

 

 

And with that the images of the six Five Regions’ Guardians changed, becoming six strands of code. Those codes flew towards us and were absorbed through our cloths and into our Digiplayers. We took then out of our pockets and watched as they changed shape. Now, instead of miniature disk players, they were some sort of chip readers, each with two slots in the top just big enough for a crest. There was a flash in front of each of us, and six small crest-sized chips appeared floating in the air. We each reached out and grabbed one. I turned the chip over in my hand. On it was a picture of Millenniummon firing his cannons. Jen’s chip depicted Oberomon raising his staff, Sarah’s depicted Rosemon summoning her killing attack, Amanda’s depicted Pharaohmon, his fist alight, Kristin’s depicted MetalSeadramon, his cannon glowing, and Jeremy’s depicted Phoenixmon with her wings ablaze.

 

 

Time resumed, and Tyranterramon approached us. But our hopes were restored, fueled by our anger, and by the seven traits that gave us power.

 

 

Tyranterramon reached us and stopped, looking me in the eye, “Any last words Human?”

 

 

“Yeah,” I said, looking up at him, my eyes burning, Jen and Sarah stepping up beside me, joined by Serpentmon, Coltmon, and Ponymon. We spoke in unison, “Initiate Bio-Merge!”

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Nineteen]

 

 

A Second Bio-Merge

 

 

 

“Initiate,” we said, our auras burning around us, “Bio-Merge!”

 

 

“Serpentmon, Bio-Merge to…”

 

 

“Coltmon, Bio-Merge to…”

 

 

“Ponymon, Bio-Merge to…”

 

 

My armor disappeared as we merged with our Digimon partners. I felt my heartbeat synchronize with Serpentmon’s, and we became one vastly powerful being. Jen and Sarah merged with their Digimon as well.

 

 

“…Vipramon!”

 

 

“…Samuraimon!”

 

 

“…Druidmon!”

 

 

The three of us stood atop the cliff, our stances peaceful, staring down our massive foe.

 

 

“Jeremy,” I said, “take the others and fall back. Keep resting and rebuilding your strength. We’ll fight him as long as we can.”

 

 

“Is this a joke?” Tyranterramon demanded. “I withstood these forms once before. What makes you think you can win this time?

 

 

“We can win,” I said, “because we have something you never will. We have hope. Hope that gives us a purpose. Our purpose, to make this world better.”

 

 

“Hope,” said Tyranterramon, “purpose. These things are only the foolish ideals of the naive. They cannot help you in the face of power. Power is the only thing that really matters.”

 

 

I smiled, “We’ll see.” Then to my allies I said, “Attack!” Samuraimon and Druidmon jumped into the air like two rockets.

 

 

Samuraimon’s sash extended, ensnaring Tyranterramon’s right arm and leg. Druidmon waved her staff, and vines sprouted from the ground, ensnaring Tyranterramon’s left arm and leg. Druidmon and Samuraimon reached the apex of their jump. They brandished their weapons, preparing to attack. They released their attacks. They landed at the foot of the cliff just as the blasts hits. I raised and pointed my double-pointed snake fang lance and called out, “Vipra Strike!” My attack, the massive serpent made of acid green light, erupted from the lance. It wrapped Tyranterramon’s torso and wings. Then it opened its mouth and bit down on Tyranterramon’s right shoulder. But Tyranterramon wouldn’t be beaten so easily.

 

 

Tyranterramon roared at the sky and threw open his arms and wings, breaking the vines and sash and dissipating my attack. He raised his fist and punched, but we jumped out of the way, moving so fast that we seemed to disappear. I shot right past Tyranterramon, calling, “Venom Lance!” I was wreathed in green light, shooting through the air like a green comet. I slashed with my lance, and a gash appeared crossing Tyranterramon’s chest and left shoulder. He cried out and grasped at the wound. Samuraimon landed beside me and jumped back up, slicing Tyranterramon in the face, leaving a gash over his left eye. He stumbled back.

 

 

I jumped up and flipped, kicking off of the cliff side and propelling myself through the air. I stabbed, but Tyranterramon backhanded my, throwing me to the ground. Druidmon and Samuraimon combined their power and caught Tyranterramon in the chest, but he didn’t seem hurt so much as enraged.

 

 

Tyranterramon spread his wings, calling, “Wing Shards!” We deflected the resulting red projectiles with some effort. Samuraimon looked over at me and said, “Well, he was right about one thing. Power is a pretty big deal.”

 

 

“No matter how much power he has,” I said, “we have to keep fighting. We’ll try and surround him. Hit him from all sides.” Samuraimon and Druidmon nodded and the three of us seemed to disappear, only to reappear in a triangular formation around our foe.

 

 

I jumped up, dodging a burst of energy from Tyranterramon’s fist. The three of us struck. Tyranterramon raised his arms and his wings, using them to protect his body. So we attacked again. This time the snake that I conjured was twice the size. I poured everything I had into it. The others did as well. The attacks hit, exploding so bright that for several seconds I couldn’t see. When I could again, Tyranterramon was most obviously still standing, and more furious than ever. His aura flared forming a pillar that reached up into the sky. The ground shook, and the cliff behind us collapsed. Good thing the others were long gone, hidden somewhere in the surrounding forest. Rocks fell toward me, but I avoided then with ease and looked up at Tyranterramon, who was still alight with power.

 

 

“He’s stronger than us,” said Driudmon. “I don’t think we can win.”

 

 

I ignored her and looked directly into Tyranterramon’s eyes. He looked back into mine. “Tyranterramon,” I said, “I’m going to destroy you!”

 

 

I jumped at the enemy, my two allies joining me reluctantly at my side. We summoned our attacks and prepared to strike.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Twenty]

 

 

Bio-Merge Defeated

 

 

 

Before we could even release our attacks Tyranterramon swung his wings and swatted us out of the air like flies. I hit the ground hard. A bone in my arm cracked, but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t raise my arm. Being a Digimon meant that I could handle a lot more than I ever could as a human. I recovered quickly and jumped up level with Tyranterramon’s head. I aimed my lance and called out, “Vipra Strike!” The green serpent appeared again, reaching toward Tyranterramon. He punched, calling, “Burning Tyrant-Fist!” and a burst of red energy hit the serpent, cancelling it out.

 

 

Tyranterramon raised his wings, aiming his wingtips at the three of us and called, “Feather Shards!” The red shards exploded outward. Three hit me; two in my left shoulder and one in my right thigh. Samuraimon deflected all but two, which hit him in his left arm. Druidmon was hit multiple times. She collapsed, becoming Sarah and Ponymon again.

 

 

“We have to stop him,” Samuraimon cried.

 

 

“I know,” I said, pulling the last shard from my leg. “I’ll keep him busy. You get Sarah and Ponymon to safety.”

 

 

Samuraimon nodded and leapt over to land by their side, scooped them up, and leapt to the top of the cliff.

 

 

I ran toward Tyranterramon, jumped, and swung my lance. Tyranterramon caught my lance arm in his left hand, held me up, and punched me as hard as he could with his right. I nearly blacked out. Needless to say, I wasn’t in any condition to brake my fall when Tyranterramon finally let go. I fell, splitting into my two separate forms.

 

 

This is it, I thought. When I hit the ground, I’m going to die.

 

 

But before Serpentmon and I could complete our fatal fall, we were snatched out of the air by a man in a wolf-skin cloak.

 

 

I looked up at the man groggily and asked, “CyberGarurumon?” My head was ringing.

 

 

“You didn’t think we’d let you three have all of the fun, did you?” CyberGarurumon asked as we landed beneath the canopy of one of the larger trees. I looked up through the leaves and saw two large shapes fly overhead. Decimatormon and MagnaBrauntomon?

 

 

Decimatormon took aim, “Decimation Assault!” He fired multiple energy bursts and release wave after wave of missiles.

 

 

“Braunto Blaster!” called MagnaBrauntomon, firing the missiles embedded in his robotic fingers.

 

 

The two attacks converged on Tyranterramon. He was hit, but he seemed un-phased. Tyranterramon swung a fiery fist, knocking both of his assailants out of the sky. They fell heavily to the ground.

 

 

CyberGarurumon ran us a good ways into the woods before he stopped. “I’m leaving you here,” he told me as he set Serpentmon and I down next to an unconscious Jen and Coltmon, and Sarah and Ponymon.

 

 

“What happened to Samuraimon?” I asked. “He was still on his feet the last time I saw him.”

 

 

“He found us, dropped Sarah and Ponymon off, and then collapsed. He de-Digivolved right after that.” CyberGarurumon turned as he finished speaking and moved to rejoin the fight.

 

 

“John!” cried BlackColtmon. He led Jeremy and the others over to my side.

 

 

“You okay?” Jeremy asked. I nodded. As I did, I noticed Jen wake and sit up beside me, holding her head. Coltmon woke next, followed by Sarah, and then Ponymon, her legs shaking as she tried to stand. Serpentmon regained consciousness next, screaming, “Owwww, that hurt!”

 

 

I ignored him, watching through a gap in the treetops as the Ultimate Level Digimon attacked Tyranterramon again and again with every ounce of their power. Every attack left him unharmed. He punched, but the Digimon dodged. Jeremy, Amanda, and Kristin stood up and faced the battle, their Crests and Digiplayers glowing. An aura appeared around Jeremy, the same aura appearing around Decimatormon half a second later. He started flying faster and hitting harder. I looked from him to Jeremy, and something hit me.

 

 

“Amazing,” I said. “You’ve connected with Decimatormon on a whole new level! He’s drawing on your inner strength to increase his speed and power!”

 

 

As I watched, amazed, I noticed that CyberGarurumon and MagnaBrauntomon were moving faster as well. This must have something to do with the power the Guardians gave us. This might be just the break we needed!

 

 

The Digimon dodged another attack and took aim. But before they could fire, Tyranterramon swung open his wings, cutting a gash across Decimatormon’s chest. Jeremy grasped his own chest and cried out.

 

 

“Looks like we pay a price for using this new power,” Jeremy said. “If our Digimon are hurt, we feel the same pain.”

 

 

“Kind of a double-edged sword,” I said. “but still, it’s well worth it.”

 

 

Amanda whimpered, her eyes wide, “Speak for yourself.” But she kept on feeding MagnaBrauntomon her energy. It wasn’t the first time that I was amazed by how much she’d changed. Then MagnaBrauntomon was hit, and Amanda cried out, falling to her knees.

 

 

“We have to stay strong for our Digimon,” said Jeremy. Amanda gritted her teeth, blinked back tears, and nodded.

 

 

Just then CyberGarurumon was hit dead on by a Burning Tyrant-Fist. He collapsed, struggling even to rise to his knees. Kris yelped and fell onto her back, unconscious. Just as she did, CyberGarurumon reverted to his Child state and fell unconscious as well.

 

 

“It looks like we can give them power,” said Jeremy, “but once we become too weak, they loose their power.”

 

 

“This power could be dangerous,” I said. “I wish we’d had more time to get used to it before being forced to use it.” I struggled to my feet. I’d rested long enough.

 

 

Decimatormon was next to get hit. He landed hard, bounced, and de-Digivolved. Jeremy coughed once and then fainted.

 

 

“MagnaBrauntomon!” Amanda cried. He was hit by a sweeping wing, flipped, and slammed into the cliff face. Amanda winced, and MagnaBrauntomon slid down the side of the cliff, landing on his feet. He raised his left hand, taking aim with his missiles and preparing to fire, but Tyranterramon backhanded him. He rolled, and by the time he stopped he’d de-Digivolved to Chickomon. Amanda fell onto her face and blacked out.

 

 

“We’re the only ones left,” said Sarah.

 

 

“And we can barely stand,” said Jen.

 

 

Gritting my teeth against the immense pain that I felt, grasping my injured arm with one hand and my abdomen with my other, I managed to take a step forward. “I don’t care how bad I’m hurt,” I said, “or how tired I am. I’m going to keep on fighting. I’m drawing the final line here.”

 

 

“You’re right,” said Jen, she, Coltmon, Serpentmon, and BlackColtmon joining me at my side.

 

 

“I won’t give up either,” said Sarah, Ponymon helping her forward.

 

 

“Tyranterramon,” I announced, “this is far from over!”

 

 

I connected my Digivice with my Digiplayer. Jen and Sarah did the same. My crests began to glow. We passed our hands over our tags and our crests floated into our hands. We plugged them into the slots in our Digiplayers, “Initiate Warp Digivolution!”

 

 

“Serpentmon, Warp Digivolve to…”

 

 

“BlackColtmon, Warp Digivolve to…”

 

 

“Coltmon, Warp Digivolve to…”

 

 

“Ponymon, Warp Digivolve to…”

 

 

They jumped up, launching themselves at the foe as they reached their Ultimate Forms.

 

 

“MetalDragonterramon!”

 

 

“Knighthramon!”

 

 

“MechAngemon!”

 

 

TechAngewomon!”

 

 

Our Digimon hung in the air, the three of us standing just behind them. Auras flared around us, and around our Digimon. “It’s time to finish this,” I said. I placed my hand at my waist where a sword might be, and my armor appeared. I drew my sword and pointed at the rather amused-looking foe and cried out, “Charge!”

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Twenty-One]

 

 

DNA Digivolution Revisited

 

 

 

MechAngemon and TechAngewomon shot strait at Tyranterramon. To my Digimon I said, “Let’s kick things up a notch. Initiate DNA Digivolution!”

 

 

“MetalDragonterramon…”

 

 

“Knighthramon…”

 

 

“…DNA Digivolve to…”

 

 

“InfernoKnightmon!”

 

 

My Digimon flapped his draconic wings, just as the angels were hit and sent flying right past him. He swung his sword, sending an energy blade flying strait at his enemy’s face. Tyranterramon deflected it, but InfernoKnightmon was ready. He slid to the side, circling his foe, firing shot after shot from his cannon. He raised his cannon up over his head and summoned massive amount of power into it, forming an immense ball of light. He fired, just as Tyranterramon struck with his burning fist. The two attacks met in a blaze of power that sent InfernoKnightmon plummeting to the ground. He stood up and shook himself off, completely unharmed.

 

 

“Even borrowing power from us,” I said, “they aren’t strong enough to hurt him. He's at a whole other level.”

 

 

“Then let’s power them up,” said Jen.

 

 

“Try this out,” said Sarah.

 

 

The two of them inserted the chips left to them by the Guardians into their Digiplayers and said, “Upload Digichip!”

 

 

MechAngemon’s sword glowed purple, and he swung it, calling, “Heart of the Forest!” A massive wave of purple light erupted from the edge of his blade.

 

 

TechAngewomon aimed an empty crossbow at Tyranterramon and called, “Forbidden Temptation!” A more intense version of Rosemon’s killing attack burst from the barrel of her weapon. The two attacks converged, growing in strength, and hit their mark. Tyranterramon had to throw his arms up over his face to save himself from serious harm.

 

 

“My turn,” I said. I plugged Millenniummon’s chip into my Digiplayer and called, “Upload Digichip!” InfernoKnightmon took aim with his cannon and called, “Dimension Destroyer!”

 

 

A wave of energy so strong that it nearly tore the sky apart hit Tyranterramon in his exposed torso. He fell to one knee, hurt and stunned.

 

 

“One more time,” said InfernoKnightmon. “Dimension Destroyer!” He fired again and Tyranterramon collapsed under the force of the attack.

 

 

Come on, I urged silently, let that be it. Let it be over.

 

 

But before my eyes, Tyranterramon rose to his feet with a groan. He seemed hurt, but still far from defeated. He laughed, “I have to congratulate you three. Those last attacks actually tickled!” He looked down at us humans, ignoring our Digimon, “Surrender whelps. I’ve grown tired of this game. Give in now and I promise to make your deaths relatively painless.”

 

 

“We’ll never give up,” I said, shaking my head disbelievingly. “We’ve said it enough times that I thought it would have gotten through to you by now. We. Will. Not. Surrender. You, Tyranterramon, are the opposite of everything we believe in. It’s our nature to oppose you.”

 

 

“If you win,” said Jen, “billions of people in our world and every Digimon in this world will die. We’re the only thing standing between them and their fate. We have to fight.”

 

 

Sarah yelled up at him, “We won’t let our friends and our families down!”

 

 

Jen’s and Sarah’s Crests emerged from their tags. Jen and Sarah stood back to back, connecting Sarah’s Digivice with Jen’s Digiplayer and holding the devices up above their heads. The Crests slid into the slots in the Digiplayer, and Jen and Sarah declared as one, “Initiate DNA Digivolution!”

 

 

The angels rose up and hung in the air next to each other, their bodies glowing.

 

 

“MechAngemon…”

 

 

“TechAngewomon…”

 

 

“…DNA Digivolve to,” they merged, becoming a single tall mechanical humanoid figure with ten shining metal wings, as flexible as any real wings could ever be. He carried a staff with two stacked gears positioned at one end, and a blade attached to the other, “GeroAngemon!”

 

 

The new figure shone brightly as he rose into the air, leveling out above Tyranterramon’s head. He held out his staff and called, “Divine Array!” A ball of light appeared at the end of his staff, above the two gears, and he flung it at Tyranterramon’s feet. It blossomed out, forming a circular white array beneath Tyranterramon that held him frozen in place.

 

 

GeroAngemon spun his staff, which glowed brightly, and called, “Celestial-Tech Staff!” He stopped his staff spinning abruptly and swung the bladed end. A wave of crackling light flew from the staff tip, hitting Tyranterramon in the chest. Tyranterramon cried out in pain and his fiery aura began to fade, but then it flared up, brighter than before, shattering the array at his feet. He punched, catching GeroAngemon in the chest. I heard the sound of crunching metal, and the mighty mechanical angel fell out of the sky.

 

 

Tyranterramon punched toward his latest foe, aiming to crush him, but he was stopped when his arm was slashed open by InfernoKnightmon’s burning sword. Tyranterramon screamed and grabbed his arm. He began swinging his fists wildly. InfernoKnightmon dodged one punch, two punches, but the third punch hit him dead on. He crumpled.

 

 

InfernoKnightmon and GeroAngemon stood up, sparks shooting from gaps in GeroAngemon’s armor. “This is ridiculous. We are two powerful DNA Digivolved Ultimate Level Digimon, and still we are no match for Tyranterramon.”

 

 

“Of course you aren’t,” said Tyranterramon. He aimed his wingtips at the Digimon and called, “Feather Shards!”

 

 

“Look out!” GeroAngemon cried. He threw InfernoKnightmon behind him, raised his palm and called, “Divine Array!” The circular array appeared, this time as a shield that vaporized the oncoming projectiles. He dropped his hand, and the array disappeared. GeroAngemon jumped up, slamming the geared end of his staff into Tyranterramon’s jaw. Then he flipped the staff over and swung his blade, but his weapon was caught and snapped in half like a twig.

 

 

“You really should stop doing that,” said Tyranterramon. He grabbed GeroAngemon by the head and threw him to the ground. He de-Digivolved to Baby II Level and fell unconscious.

 

 

“And then,” said Tyranterramon, “there was one.”

 

 

Dammit, I said, this is bad. I backed away slowly, my eyes wide with fear. This is worse than it’s ever been. The Child Digimon are all down for the count, and right in crossfire!

 

 

I turned to Jen and Sarah and said, “I’m going down there. I have to try and get the Digimon to safety.”

 

 

Before they could protest I dropped my shield and jumped on, gliding across the ground. I swerved expertly as I made my way to the first of my fallen friends, noting the location of each explosion above. The battle was still going on, and from the look of things, InfernoKnightmon was barely holding his own. It took me fifteen minutes to gather all five Digimon, but with some creativity I was able to carry all of them at once. I moved back up the cliff and into the forest where my friends were waiting. I noticed that Jeremy was finally awake.

 

 

“’Bout time you woke up,” I said, and I turned my attention back on the fight. Win or lose, this was going to be quite a battle.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Twenty-Two]

 

 

InfernoKnightmon’s Power Grows

 

 

 

I rose into the air, my aura flaring, my Crest glowing. InfernoKnightmon deflected one of Tyranterramon’s stronger attacks and, and the two faced each other, staring each other down. InfernoKnightmon summoned a massive energy orb into his cannon, and Tyranterramon wreathed his fist in a fiery aura. They struck, and their attacks met. There was a flash, and the two Digimon were forced apart.

 

 

I winced. It was strange to feel the same impacts that my Digimon felt. But I’d be fine. I knew that this power hand its risks, but I was willing to take them if it meant giving us a chance at victory.

 

 

Both Digimon were physically very strong, but Tyranterramon had an advantage in size and weight. He punched. InfernoKnightmon crossed his arms, absorbing the impact. It sent him sliding backward through the air. Tyranterramon swung again, but just before his attack could hit, I shot toward my Digimon, slamming into him and throwing him out of the way. Tyranterramon mistimed his attack and the inertia threw him off balance. InfernoKnightmon saw his opportunity and took it. He and I flew past Tyranterramon, slashing with our swords, catching him in the sides of his face. He grasped his face and fell to his knees, crying out in pain.

 

 

“Enough!” cried Tyranterramon, rising to his feet. “Now you’ve really made me mad!” He focused, hard, and his aura grew massive, gaining width and height. He spread his wings, and with great effort rose into the air. I watched as he rose above the clouds.

 

 

“I know what he’s doing,” I said, “and it’s not good. We have to get out of here!” InfernoKnightmon and I turned and flew back toward the others. The others didn’t have time to get back into their Mekanorimon suites, so InfernoKnightmon and I grabbed them and carried them with us. I didn’t know how far we’d need to go, so I just kept flying until I heard Tyranterramon scream, “Obliterating Impact!” He dropped like a comet into the ground below him. There was a massive explosion and an even bigger shockwave. It knocked us clean out of the sky and leveled several miles of forest.

 

 

“W-We can’t beat something that can do that,” said Amanda. “Who could beat something that can do that?”

 

 

I bit my lip, thinking hard, Come on, Protectormon said in his Prophesy that he would be reborn. That means it’ll happen, as long as I can figure out who the two core Digimon are that possesses seventy percent of Protectormon’s data! We have our Protectormon data in our Crests, and we have the Guardian Digichips which should also contain their portions of the data. Now we just need the two Digimon.

 

 

I thought back, remembering what the Guardians said about two Digimon who were destined to remain linked together no matter what, and it hit me. It was only a theory, but we had no choice but to try. Tyranterramon may have just plummeted to the earth, at breakneck speed and created a crater over two miles wide, but he wasn’t one to commit suicide. He would only launch such a massive attack if he knew he could survive the aftermath.

 

 

“John, look,” said Jeremy, pointing to the crater’s edge. There, rising slowly from deep within the crater, was Tyranterramon, floating on his own aura. Once her was level with the ground again, he stepped forward.

 

 

I’m out of time, I realized. Either my plan works, or it doesn’t Tyranterramon was growing closer. I tried to raise my blade, but I was too hurt and too tired. Even if I was right, I had to tell the others what I was planning, and we had to try and figure out how to pull it off.

 

 

“InfernoKnightmon,” I said, “I can’t fight. Can you hold him off for a little while longer? I have a plan.”

 

 

“I’m not sure,” my Digimon said, straitening himself out, “but I can try.” He jumped into the air and sailed toward his foe, building energy in his cannon. He aimed and fired, calling, “Stati-Shot!”

 

 

InfernoKnightmon fired, after first dodging a barrage of punches, and hitting Tyranterramon in the face. Tyranterramon lashed out, but InfernoKnightmon ducked and slashed Tyranterramon across the chest. Then InfernoKnightmon jumped up and spun, kicking Tyranterramon in the side of the head. Tyranterramon tried to grab my Digimon so that he could either crush or throw him, but InfernoKnightmon slid out of his foe's grip. He spun again, smacking the side of Tyranterramon's helm, right over his ear, with the flat of his sword, producing a loud, piercing sound.

 

 

Tyranterramon was stunned. InfernoKnightmon thrust the three claws that ringed his cannon, cutting Tyranterramon across the chest yet again. At first Tyranterramon stood there, motionless. Then his aura flared. Time was up. I looked to the others. I had an idea, but did I have the confidence to tell them? After all of the mistakes I'd made recently, did I have that much faith in myself. After all, if I was wrong, and we gave Protectormon's code to the wrong Digimon, we might not be able to get it back. Then again, I did believe in these two Digimon.

 

 

I have to go through with my idea, I told myself as InfernoKnightmon continued to struggle above me. We don't exactly have another choice. I just hope I got this right, because if this fails too, we really will be dead.

 

We were being forced once again to improvise, and like so many times since we'd come to this world, all we could do was take the chance and hope for the best.

 

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

NICE CHAPTERS MAN!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!

 

But where's the rest of Chapter twenty-three?

 

And when's the first Special goona be? You already written them?

[legendhiro]

and here it is, the conclusion!

 

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Twenty-Three]

 

 

The Prophesy Fulfilled

 

 

 

Tyranterramon ran after InfernoKnightmon, punching left and right, slinging energy from his fists that hit InfernoKnightmon dead on. He was thrown sprawling through the air.

 

 

“No,” I said under my breath. “We just need a little more time!”

 

 

“Leave it to us!” said the now conscious Mechmon. He and the other Child Digimon, including Coltmon and Ponymon who had regained their Child Forms, ran forward and began attacking Tyranterramon from below, creating a distraction. Tyranterramon wouldn’t die in the face of their attacks, but because they were aiming for his wounds, they were hurting him. He left InfernoKnightmon alone and focused on destroying the much smaller, very elusive foes. It wasn’t long before InfernoKnightmon managed to get back to his feet.

 

 

"Guys," I said, "I think I know who the two Digimon are! Now that I know, we can plan on how to bring Protectormon back!"

 

 

“We can’t plan out how to summon a Digimon from the dead,” said Jeremy. “It will just have to come naturally, like Digivolving to the Perfect Level.”

 

 

"Besides," said Jen, "just knowing who they are might be enough to bring them to us anyway. Who knows with this place."

 

 

"You don't get it," I began, but I was distracted as Tyranterramon swung his hand, held flat, so hard that the gust of wind that the motion created assaulted the Child Digimon and sent them sprawling. He turned back to my Digimon

 

 

No! InfernoKnightmon! Tyranterramon swung, but his fist was deflected at the last second by a glowing dome of pure energy that surrounded my Digimon. It was just like the one projected by the Guardians when they were trying to summon the Protector. I looked around at the others. Their Crests were glowing white. I looked down. My Crests were glowing as well. The Guardian Digichips started to glow too, and a massive strand of fractal code formed over our heads. It poured into InfernoKnightmon, and there was a flash of light second only to the sun. The light began to fade, and when all I saw in the light’s center was InfernoKnightmon’s silhouette, I thought that we’d failed. Then, while the light still lingered, Tyranterramon punched at the figure’s head, and the figure reached up his one hand and stopped Tyranterramon’s attack dead. The light finished fading, and finally I could see the details of the figure. It looked like InfernoKnightmon, but in golden metallic armor decorated with silver trim and engravings. In his right hand he carried a decorated golden sword. In his left hand he carried a decorated, golden shield. He wore a woven metal cape.

 

 

I smiled, I was right!

 

 

The newly arrived Digimon pushed on Tyranterramon’s fist, knocking him off balance. “Finally,” the Digimon said, “I have returned! I remember it all. Everything that happened before when I was Protectormon the first time, and everything that happened since then with the humans. I am the Sovereign, the Core Saver, and I’m so much more. I am Protectormon!”

 

 

“It’s about time you showed up,” said Tyranterramon. “The only reason that I allowed these pathetic humans to live so long was because I was hoping against all hope that they would figure out how to revive you. I never would have guessed though that you would have hidden the bulk of your data in two of their Digimon pets.”

 

 

“I’m surprised you didn’t see the resemblance,” said Protectormon. “InfernoKnightmon and I look a lot alike.”

 

 

“I guess I did notice some similarities,” Tyranterramon replied thoughtfully, “but I wrote them off as coincidence. If anything like this ever happens again, I’ll be sure to pay better attention.”

 

 

“You won’t get the chance,” said Protectormon. “Tyranterramon, I was foolish to think that you would change. This time, I’m putting you down.”

 

 

Tyranterramon readied himself, “We’ll see.”

 

 

The two Digimon faced each other, sizing each other up. I can’t believe this, I thought. I was right! InfernoKnightmon was the key. The key to restoring Protectormon was right under our noses this entire time!

 

 

That’s when it began. The two Digimon lunged at each other. Tyranterramon punched, hitting Protectormon in the face. He was thrown through the air, but he recovered quickly, unscathed.

 

 

“You’re as strong as ever, Tyranterramon,” said Protectormon, “and in the past, you would have defeated me, but this world that you have wronged cries out for your defeat, and the Digital Cores within you call out to me. My return has given this world itself new hope, and its making you weak.” He swung his sword and called, “Sword of the Protector!” An energy wave flew from the edge of his blade, strait toward the foe. Tyranterramon crossed his arms, catching the attack against them, holding it at bay until it dissipated on its own. Then he threw his arms open wide and cried out to the sky. Protectormon attacked again, nearly pushing Tyranterramon over the crater’s edge.

 

 

Tyranterramon wound up and called, “Burning Tyrant-Fist!” He punched, but Protectormon seemed to disappear and the attack missed.

 

 

“Tyranterramon,” said Protectormon, “you were given a chance for redemption, and you turned it down. You wish to destroy all worlds to further your own selfish desire to rule with ultimate power and authority. For the sake of every living thing everywhere, you must be destroyed.”

 

 

Protectormon raised his blade. It glowed, energy running across it, increasing its length. He raised the sword over his head and then swung it down, calling, “Blade of the Saver!” The mighty blade passed through Tyranterramon from head to toe. At first he seemed fine, but then he split in half and turned to digital dust. It was over.

 

 

My Digivice and Digiplayer came online, and a beam projected from them, scanning the data of my fallen foe. A Digichip was created from that data. It fell into my outstretched hand.

 

 

In the place where Tyranterramon had been only moments before there appeared four different colored orbs that shot off in four different directions.

 

 

“The Digital Cores will be restored,” said Protectormon, “along with the Digital World. Things will soon be what they once were.”

 

 

My Digimon landed at me side, and we stood together, staring off into the clearing horizon.

 

 

 

 

next up, after a short break, will be the next two specials.

---

 

the first special is written, but the second isn't finished yet.

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

Dang it...my chars have to wait...:(

 

Can't wait to read the first special anyways!

[Stigma_Horrizone]

Good ones, it's been long since the hiatus! also what's the plot for the next one?

[legendhiro]

its not stated in this book, but before protectormon de-digivolves, he tells the digidestined two things: he can only be summoned once, maybe twice more before his power disappears, and that he's set in motion the birth of new guardians, including one as powerful as him, who will one day replace the digidestined as champions of the digital world (this is all explained in the next book, unless i decide to add another chapter to this one, which i still might). in the next book the kids receive a message from one of andromon's men (yes, when millenniummon died, him troops put his body into a hagurumon body and it digivolved into andromon) claiming that in one day's time a group of evil digimon with great power and the power to control other digimon have killed all but the strongest digimon in file two and enslaved the rest. the leader of these digimon breaks the crests with her dark magic, essentially killing the digidestined digimon's perfect and ultimate level forms. but when protectormon used his data to make the crests, hidden in that data was the data of an even more powerful digimon. using the power of that data the digidestined discover an all new form of digivolution that helps them fight on. but the evil digimon have set up an rpg type quest, casting themselves as the bosses, and the digidestined must defeat each of these ten digimon in turn before they even get a shot at the leader. and each time a boss digimon falls, the others become more powerful!

[.:Abarai Renji:.]

Nice man!

 

But now, I'll wait for the Specials! XD

[Stigma_Horrizone]

its not stated in this book' date=' but before protectormon de-digivolves, he tells the digidestined two things: he can only be summoned once, maybe twice more before his power disappears, and that he's set in motion the birth of new guardians, including one as powerful as him, who will one day replace the digidestined as champions of the digital world (this is all explained in the next book, unless i decide to add another chapter to this one, which i still might). in the next book the kids receive a message from one of andromon's men (yes, when millenniummon died, him troops put his body into a hagurumon body and it digivolved into andromon) claiming that in one day's time a group of evil digimon with great power and the power to control other digimon have killed all but the strongest digimon in file two and enslaved the rest. the leader of these digimon breaks the crests with her dark magic, essentially killing the digidestined digimon's perfect and ultimate level forms. but when protectormon used his data to make the crests, hidden in that data was the data of an even more powerful digimon. using the power of that data the digidestined discover an all new form of digivolution that helps them fight on. but the evil digimon have set up an rpg type quest, casting themselves as the bosses, and the digidestined must defeat each of these ten digimon in turn before they even get a shot at the leader. and each time a boss digimon falls, the others become more powerful!

[/quote']

 

sweet

[legendhiro]

i decided to post the "lost" final chapter. remember, this was originally the end of my digimon fic, and it still might be. either way, i'll still right the specials that i promised.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter Twenty-Four]

 

The End

 

 

I sat on a rock overlooking the crater, the massive scar that Tyranterramon’s most devastating attack had forever left on this continent. But even though I was aware that the crater was there, it was the sky that held my interest. It was clear, when it hadn’t been for what seemed like so long. I still wasn’t used to it. The others were resting. Even with a full two days behind the battle, we still felt the need to recover. But I couldn’t rest. Not for the first time since Protectormon’s appearance, his last words before de-Digivolving echoed in my mind. I went over that conversation again in my head:

 

 

“So what now,” I asked.

 

“Now you wait,” Protectormon replied. “The data from the cores has already begun to re-establish itself. This world will soon begin to heel. Though the immediate effects of that process will be extreme, but the complete process will take a long time.”

 

“How long?” asked Jeremy.

 

“I honestly don’t know,” Protectormon answered.

 

“What if someone else like Tyranterramon emerges,” I asked, “especially before this world heals? Can we call on you again?”

 

“Once, maybe twice, but them my data will disappear for good.”

 

“What about your memories?”

 

“The nature of the process used to restore me will take most of if not all of my memories away when I return to my earlier form. But soon my power and experience will no longer be needed. I have already put into motion the birth of new Guardians. One of them, there leader, will be comparable to me in strength. Once they are born, this world will be forever safe and you will be free to return to your lives.”

 

I nodded. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but I knew a lot about Protectormon, and I knew that his judgment was to be trusted.

 

“Why did you choose us,” I asked, “and why did you choose the Digimon that you chose to be our partners?”

 

“I chose you for the reasons that the Digicomp told you. I saw that you exhibited traits that were right for partnership with the Neo Crests. You were beyond perfect. You had a strength of character that few modern humans possess, and your prior bond meant that you would already know how to work well together. It seemed to me that this was your destiny. As for your Digimon, I did nothing to choose them specifically. It was this world itself that led your Digimon to take the forms that were best suited for you.”

 

“So it really was us then,” I said.

 

“Yes,” said Protectormon. Your Digimon partners saved this world, but without you none of it would have been possible. You and your Digimon were the only ones who could have accomplished what you did.”

 

 

That’s when he’d changed back. Snakemon and BlackMainemon were still asleep, regaining their strength. Becoming something so powerful had taken a lot out of them. I sat there alone running over the Great Protector’s words until the sun had set and the others were fast asleep. With a deep sigh I turned in for the night.

 

 

I woke up the next morning, expecting to still feel out of place as I had since the end of the battle. But today the feeling had finally dissolved. I took a deep breath, sat up to face my already conscious allies and said, “We’ve been sulking long enough. Time to go home.”

 

“I wasn’t sulking,” said Sarah. “We kicked Tyranterramon’s but. I was celebrating. I was just to worn out to do a very good job of it.”

 

“Yeah,” said Jen, “come on. John, only you could sulk right after our greatest victory.”

 

“I wasn’t sulking either,” I said. “I was being profound.”

 

“Yeah right.”

 

I stood up and rolled up my bed mat, fastening it to my Gekomon created pack. The others did the same, and within thirty minutes, we were on our way. It wasn’t long before Snakemon and BlackMainemon Digivolved to their Child forms, and everything was right again. Everything was just as it should be. Just as I’d come to expect it to be.

 

“Is it really okay for you to come back with us,” Amanda asked her Digimon. The Digimon had told us earlier that they would be coming back to the real world with us.

 

“I wouldn’t have said it was if it wasn’t true,” said Chickomon. “Our place is with you humans, no matter where you go. Besides, I’m looking forward to seeing more of what life is like in your world.”

 

“Don’t worry,” said Coltmon, “once we get back to Earth we’ll stay under the radar.”

 

“Good,” I said, “because if anyone saw you they’d totally freak, especially if they found out you could talk.”

 

“Where are we supposed to be going?” asked Sarah.

 

“Home,” I said.

 

“Duh,” she replied. “I meant within this world, where are we going?”

 

“The Desert Tower of course. It’s the only place in this world where we can open a Digiport to the real world.”

 

“But the Tower was destroyed,” said Sarah.

 

“Ah,” I said, “but the place wasn’t.”

 

“Are you sure we can still open a Port from there?” Jen asked.

 

“Not at all,” I answered, “but I figure it’s worth a try.”

 

 

We arrived at the former site of Desert Tower, and the current site of the Desert Ruins, by mid day the next day. I had spent the last day pretending to be my normal cheerful self, but in truth I was scared. As painful as my time in this world had often been, I’d come to think of it as my home. This place offered adventure and excitement the likes of which my world never would, and part of me wanted to stay. But I knew that it was a good bet that by the time a new threat arose, we wouldn’t be needed anymore.

 

As if reading my mind, Serpentmon, who was draped over my shoulders, said, “Don’t worry John. This world will always be here. You can always come back just for the fun of it.”

 

I nodded. I hadn’t thought of that. For all his aloofness, Serpentmon was a wise person sometimes.

 

I turned to my friends and said, “This is it, our work here is finally done. We’ve fought and we’ve suffered, but it was all worth it because we made a real difference. And even though school and growing up to getting jobs may not sound very exciting after what we’ve been through, it’s time for us to move on with our lives. So let’s do what we do. Let’s press forward toward our goal.” I turned to face the torn scattered rubble of the tower, raised my Digivice and said, “One more time, Digiport open!”