Chapter Text
Chapter 53 – A Bridge Too Far
The sun beamed down on the gang as they worked hard, fixing up a bridge that had been badly damaged by one of the Digimon Emperors previous attacks.
Not that anyone would say this out loud, as the person in question was here, sitting on his knees between Diana and Yolei. All three were chatting away as they worked on placing down the loose rocks in the correct order into the soft digi-cement.
Said mixture were being made by the others, as their Digimon partners worked on bringing over materials or carrying the heavy stuff the children couldn’t carry.
Shurimon and Flamedramon suddenly leaped over their heads, before letting more rocks fall from their arms that they had gathered.
“Perfect-O!” Yolei grinned, reaching for a rock and turning it around in her hands to inspect it. The girl had removed her hat and gloves, dirt and digi-cement smeared all over, but she didn’t seem to care.
Diana was in a similar state with her own jacket and gloves removed as she worked. In fact, all the Digidestined were. “Phew, I think we need to take a break. We’ve been at this for hours.”
“I can keep working.” Ken said softly, his hands and shirt filthy from the cement. A look of guilt flickered on his face, showing that the teen was taking repairing this bridge as some kind of retribution for his past crimes.
“Nonsense Ken!” Yolei grinned and slapped his back, almost sending the poor guy face first into the freshly laid digi-cement. “We all need to take a break. Keep pushing yourself like this, you’re going to hurt yourself.
He looked up at the spectacled girl in surprise, as if not expecting her concern for his wellbeing.
Behind him, Diana gave Yolei the double thumbs up which caused her to blush, knowing full well her friend still had a crush on the ex-Digimon Emperor, and was terrible at hiding it. On the other side, Shurimon watched the exchange and narrowed his eyes.
Together, they left the bridge and made their way to the grassy bank.
Willis lay on his back and spread out his arms, Gigimon and Terriermon on either side of him. “Ah… this is nice. Nice sunny weather.”
“I’ll admit, it is rather nice.” Cody admitted as snacks and drinks were past along. “To wake up on a cold autumn day, to then coming here where it’s warm.”
Diana grinned as she flopped down next to TK, before leaning against him as he blushed. “That’s the Digital World for you. One place will always pretty much have the same weather. I remember one time while I was travelling with Yuuko and the others, we went from being in this strange desert full of these weird objects that looked like… ummm…” She clicked her fingers, trying to think of the names.
“Computer servers.” Veemon grinned as he sat down next to her. “I remember this.”
“That’s it!” Diana beamed at him, before continuing on. “It was so warm, then suddenly, whoosh! Snow started falling and I was up to my chest in freezing cold snow! It was horrible.”
Willis kicked up his legs, then used the momentum to sit up, looking enthralled. “Woah, that’s crazy. The Digital World is so cool! There’s so much to learn about this place, I can see what Izzy meant now.”
“Oh! Tell them about Toy Town TK!” Patamon spoke up after swallowing his mouthful of crisps.
His partner coughed suddenly and slammed his fist against his chest, his eyes wide as everyone turned to look at him. Even Kari.
“That place huh? Ugh…” TK said after gaining his breath, not looking too thrilled about talking about a place called Toy Town. “The buildings were made of colourful playing blocks, and giant toys everywhere. We ended up in trouble with Monzaemon who was infected with a black gear.”
“A… black gear?” Ken said, a strange expression on his face.
The blonde boy gave him a peculiar look before slowly nodded. It wasn’t missed on anyone what had Ken looking like that. There was a strange similarity between black gears and his own creation, the dark rings. “Yup, it made the usually sweet Monzaemon into a monster. He messed with our heads, then locked away our Digimon so they couldn’t save us. Of course we beat him in the end, and Toy Town was kinda fun then. At the beginning though, it was creepy.”
Hawkmon shivered. “I dread to think about it.”
Then to everyone’s surprise, Ken spoke up. He looked nervous and kept his eyes down, his hands clasped around his can of soda. “I remember visiting Central Kingdom with Wormmon for the first time during our first adventure… when it was still standing.” A soft expression filled his face as his eyes gain a faraway look. “You’ve never seen anything like it, it was straight out of a fairy tale. Houses everywhere, cobblestone streets filled with Digimon of every description. Bunten flags of every colour hung from every lamp post and building. A huge market place, where Digimon sold everything you could imagine, it truly was amazing.”
Everyone watched him as he spoke, hanging onto every word.
Wormon stopped eating and smiled, which seem sad and full of longing. “I remember the main area, just before the castle. Music was always playing, and Digimon would dance and celebrate, with plenty of feasts and drinking. No matter what you looked like, everyone was welcomed there.”
“Woah…” Yolei said, being the one to speak up as she stared. Then she sat back and wrinkled her nose, a sad expression forming on her face. “I… can’t help but feel sorry, you know? The Digital World sounded so alive back then, I guess I never realised just how much has been lost over the years due to…” She trailed off.
Not that anyone needed her to continue, they all knew how her sentence was going to end.
Cody narrowed his eyes slightly. “Amazing how you went from saving the Digital World, to enslaving it while thinking it was all a game.”
“C-Cody!” Kari gasped as a stunned silence fell over the group.
Everyone avoided their eyes, as Ken lowered his head. Wormmon froze, then gave Cody an unusual look of anger, but kept quiet as he placed one of his claws on his partner knee for comfort.
“Not cool dude!” Diana huffed, feeling disappointed at Cody’s comment. “Ken is one of us now, don’t be so-!”
Ken raised his hand, silencing her. “No, he has a point. I don’t blame him for not trusting me.” He raised his head, smiling a sad smile, his eyes full of guilt. “I don’t know why I changed so much, only that it started after I… after I lost my brother, Sam.”
The vibe of the group changed, the awkwardness now changing into something more sombre.
Wormmon crawled onto his partner’s lap and curled up, as Ken smiled and placed his hand on his head before continuing. “I’ve only told this to Diana, but you all deserve an explanation after all the terrible things I’ve done to you. Not long after my brother’s funeral, I… I received an email from an unknown sender. It seemed so stupid now, but back then I was just a kid who was grieving. Weirdest thing was, despite being sent to Sam’s inbox, the email was address to me.”
He closed his eyes, growing slightly pale, as if remembering the memories were causing him some kind of distress. “It was like something in my head was telling me to use my Digivice, so I did… but I didn’t end up in the Digital World.” Ken opened his eyes and looked up. “I ended up in the Dark World instead, right at the shore of the dark ocean.”
There was a collective gasp of surprise, as Kari raised her hands to her mouth, looking horrified. There was a strange look in the girl’s eyes, a kind of familiarity and understanding.
Ken sighed, as his partner snuggled up. “It was like I was mesmerized, like I knew what to do without really thinking about it. I went on my knees, then dipped my Digivice into the ocean’s dark waters. Then it changed, into the D3 you all know. A dark D3. After that, it was like every shred of kindness just vanished, and my perception on reality became more and more warped as time went on.”
“Thus, the Digimon Emperor was born.” Hawkmon spoke up, frowning. “I’ll admit, the situation sounds peculiar and rather worrisome.”
“No kidding.” Yolei agreed, looking thoughtful herself as she crossed her arms.
Willis sat up, with both his partners sitting on his lap. “Hold up, the dark world? What’s that?”
Diana rubbed the back of her head. “Not a summer vacation spot, that’s for sure. I’ll fill you in later. It’s kinda a long story.”
“Dark ocean changed your Digivice?” TK muttered, looking concerned. “If that placed messed with you, no wonder you went around enslaving Digimon. Still though, something doesn’t seem right.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Ken nodded. “Example, I’ve always believed the control spires and dark rings were of my own creation, but ever since you guys helped to clear my mind, things that made sense, seem so confusing now. The blueprints of my creations, are foreign to me. If you ask me to make a tower or ring now, I’ll have no idea where to even begin.”
His partner looked up. “You’re still a genius to me Ken, even if things don’t make sense to you anymore.”
The dark-haired teen smiled softly. “Thank pal. I'm glad you still have faith in me. Now I just have to have faith in myself, and work hard on fixing my mistakes.”
“Together Ken.” Wormmon smiled. “Together. You’re not alone anymore.”
“Wormmon is right!” Diana grinned as she playfully punched Ken on the shoulder, making him wince. “We’re friends remember? We’re figure this out, and save this world while we’re at it. Just you watch!” She laughed and pointed to the sky.
Veemon grinned. “Yeah!”
“Hear hear.” Armadillomon cheered, before turning his head slightly. “Right Cody?”
Cody hesitated for a movement, that look of distrust still plastered over his face. Then his expression seemed to soften slightly as he nodded. “We all want to save this world.” He finally spoke, the accusation no longer in his voice.
Diana smiled at him, then noticed the snacks were gone. Just a pile of empty packets in the middle of the group. “You know, if anyone is still hungry, me and Veevee made chocolate brownies this morning.” Everyone snapped their faces towards her, especially the Digimon who looked like they just gave themselves whiplash. “They’re in a container inside my bag.”
She pointed over to the pile of bags where they had all left their belongings when they arrived here to start working.
“Ooooh.” Yolei said, clicking her fingers with a look of glee. “No wonder your bag looks so bulky and… hey!”
Armadillmon had rushed off, followed by Gigimon who was practically drooling.
“Don’t you dare! They’re for everyone!” Veemon growled before giving chase with Hawkmon and Terriermon in tow.
TK laughed and shook his head as he watched. “Digimon, I swear they go crazy when your cooking is involved Dia. They’re like little kids, right Pata… Patamon?” He turned his head to see his partner was gone.
When he looked over, his partner was flying through the air. “Save some for me, guys!”
The others began to laugh at the sight. The only Digimon who didn’t rush over was Gatomon, who looked like she was struggling to resist as she sat next to her partner.
Kari giggled. “I highly doubt we’ll be getting these brownies Dia.”
“I know.” Diana smirked, as she nodded at Yolei who pulled out a second container from her own bag, just as planned. “That’s why I made a second batch. Veevee is my wingman, he’ll distract them while we get our munchies on.” She rubbed her hands together and cackled, before blushing when TK leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“You’re so adorable.” He chuckled.
Once there was nothing left, and all rubbish had been placed in a black bin bag, the gang dived back into repairing the bridge with renewed energy.
Hours later, it was finally done. It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be as long as it serves its purpose.
Diana couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as she linked arms with TK and leaned against them, all of them splattered and covered in dirt and dried Digi-cement.
“It seems sturdy enough.” Cody said, as they all stood on one side of the river to admire their work.
Gigimon giggled as she began to run around in excitement. “This was fun! Fun! Fun!”
“Yeah, it was!” Terriermon beamed as he began to give chase after his little sister who was laughing with joy.
Their partner, Willis, watched them with a soft smile as fondness filled his face. It only grew as Veemon and Wormmon joined in to play, the four laughing merrily. “You know?” He spoke up, turning towards Diana. “It’s nice seeing them having so much fun. Makes me glad Homeros chose me.”
It was Ken who spoke up, his eyes on Wormmon. “It’s nice seeing Wormmon having fun too. Being like this, it reminds me of the days when I was here with Ryo.” He raised a hand to his chest.
Diana looked between the two, then grinned. “Well, I’m happy you’re both here too. I mean, look what we accomplish when we work together, instead of alone.”
She looked towards the bridge with the intention of nodding her head. Instead she stopped as her mouth opened slightly, watching as a bull like Digimon marched up the path towards the bridge on the other side, their eyes oddly blank. “Huh? What does he think he's doing? The bridge isn’t ready yet!”
“Maybe he's just admiring the detailed architecture?” Cody suggested, looking uncertain. Then he paused and narrowed his eyes. “Wait… you don’t think…”
Before their very eyes, the bull like Digimon stomped their way onto the bridge before slamming down the large drill that it had instead of a hand. Chucks of stone and semi-dry digi-cement went flying.
“OI!” Veemon yelled angrily, waving his fist. “We worked hard on that!”
“Yeah! Stop it you big meanie!” Gigimon growled.
TK frowned, thinking hard. “I think, if I’m not mistaken… that’s Minotarumon, right?” He glanced at his partner for confirmation.
“Yup, that’s Minotarumon alright, but you never see those guys around here.” Patamon nodded, wearing an identical frown.
Ken narrowed his eyes, a dark look on his face. “It has to be one of them, a control spire! I recognise those blank eyes anywhere.”
His partner nodded, looking serious. “We took down our fair share of them before now. Oooooh… just when we were enjoying ourselves too.”
“I’m gonna make mince meat out of him!” Yolei growled as she rolled up her sleeves. “Come on Hawkmon, let’s show this guy what happens when you mess with us!”
“Hear hear.” Her partner nodded, glaring.
“Hawkmon, digivolve to… Aquilamon!”
Veemon growled before turning towards Diana. “Dia, you know what to do.”
Diana grinned and raised her D3. “You got it Veevee, Digi-armour Energize!”
“Veemon, Armour Digivolve to...Raidramon!”
Just as Diana climbed onto her partner and held on, another Minotarumon appeared with the same blank expression. He joined his twin, his drill spinning and ready to cause damage. “Looks like his friend decided to join the party. Let’s go show them a good time.” She grinned.
Raidramon began to charge as Aquilamon followed in the air.
“Blue Thunder!”
The arch of blue lighting fired from Raidramon and hit the first Minotarumon, yet it hardly seemed to do much damage apart from peel away some of the fake skin. Instead, it stopped drilling holes in the bridge and swung its drill, smacking Raidramon as he ran over, sending both Digimon and Diana into the river with a splash.
Aquilamon dived bombed the second Digimon, and grabbed him with his talons, before tossing him into the river from the other side of where Diana and Raidramon had landed.
“Diana!” TK yelled, running over as Patamon followed.
Diana’s head broke the surface of the water. “Ugh! What is it with me and water lately! Can’t I come to the Digital World once without getting wet!” She complained angrily.
With a sigh of relief, TK turned to his partner and raised his D3, as Kari, Cody and Willis did the same thing.
“Patamon, armour Digivolve to… Pegasusmon!”
“Gatomon, armour Digivolve to… Nefertimon!”
“Terriermon, digivolve to… Gargomon!”
“We’ll handle the Minotarumon on the bridge!” Kari called out as she and TK climbed onto their partners. They took the air as Gargomon followed from behind on the ground as they headed for the bridge where the fake Digimon had resumed drilling holes.
Cody and Ken glanced at each other, that awkwardness still there, but they gave each other a stiff curt nod before raising their own D3’s.
“Wormmon, digivolve to… Stingmon!”
“Armadillomon, armour digivolve to… Digmon!”
“Heee-haw! Let’s get ‘em boys!” Digmon cheered before rushing over as Stingmon followed from before. Both were aiming for the second Minotarumon who had now climbed out of the river.
The Digimon barely had a moment to return its attention onto the bridge when Digmon, Stingmon and Aquilamon attacked at the same time, their combined power making short work of the enemy who exploded in a shower of black dust and smoke.
On the bridge. Nefertimon and Pegasusmon used their Golden Noose attack to in capitate the other fake Digimon, who was render defenceless as Gargomon aimed and attacked with a barrage of energy bullets. Within seconds, the first Minotarumon exploded like his twin.
Raidramon got underneath Diana, then climbed out of the river with his partner on his back, both soaked and dripping.
“Awww man, we completely flopped with that one.” Diana complained as she hugged her partner around his neck, shivering slightly. “We missed out of the action…”
“I’m sorry Dia.” Raidramon responded, sounding guilty as he turned his head to look at her. “Are you hurt?”
She smiled and hugged him tighter. “Nah, I’m fine.”
He seemed to perk up at that, as he nuzzled his head against hers.
Then she glanced over to the bridge and felt her heart drop. Despite the fact the Digimon had took out the fakes quickly with ease, the bridge still had considerable damage done to it by their drills.
Still, something didn’t feel right. This had been too easy with deal with, way too easy. Didn’t make sense for Akemi’s lackeys to purpose target the bridge to mess with them. That seemed too petty.
Yolei came over, her face like thunder as she stared at the bridge. “It looks like they took a big bite out of it! Ooooh those darn Minotarumon! Real or fake, this has seriously annoyed me, we worked so hard on that!” She waved her arms as her glasses slid down her nose slightly.
“Don’t worry Yolei.” Ken said as he walked over, causing Yolei to instantly lower her arms as she became flustered. “We can rebuild it in no time. The damage is minimal, it’ll be easier this time.”
Stingmon and Aquilamon flew over and reverted as they returned to their partners sides.
“We still have plenty of materials left Yolei, no need to fret.” Hawkmon said, smiling as he raised his wing.
“And of course with all of us helping, the job will be done quicker.” Wormmon said happily, before crawling up Ken’s leg to cling to his shoulder.
The others came over as well, with their partners reverting back to their previous forms.
TK walked over and reached out, helping Diana off her partner, who then reverted back to Veemon once she was off safely. “Just seems so petty, to randomly attack a bridge that we had just fixed up, you know?”
Ken nodded as he turned and looked towards the direction where the Minotarumon had appeared from. In the distance, there had been two towers, now they were gone. “That man in the red suit… he has to be nearby. Just be careful, I have a feeling he might still be lurking around.”
Just then, Cody’s D-Terminal began to ping with an incoming message. With a glance at the others who were now watching him, he pulled out his device and read the text. “It’s… from Izzy.”
“Izzy? Everything ok?” Diana frowned, not liking the look on the boy’s face, nor the sudden alarm in his eyes as he read the message.
After a few seconds, Cody looked up, looking grim. “Izzy says there’s a real bizarre signal not far from here. Some kind of energy spike and it’s…” He trailed off and glanced at Ken, before looking back and continuing. “It’s in the same sector where the Digimon Emperors base fell.”
Ken went pale. “Oh no… I think I might know what it is.”
“What do you mean Ken?” TK asked with a cautious expression.
The darked haired teen bit his lip, then turned towards Diana who was shivering from being wet from the river. “Do you remember when you were Veedramon in the base, and you found the Crest of Kindness and Miracles?”
Diana tilted her head, remembering that moment perfectly. “Yeah, me and Veevee took them from this weird container, then the whole base began to fall.”
“Not only did the engine room use those Crests to supply power to the base, it was…” Ken swallowed, as if whatever he needed to say next wasn’t pleasant. “I can’t remember how it all works now, it’s like the knowledge has been stripped from my brain… but, I remember it being the same place where I made my control spires. The engine room is connected to the Dark World.”
Silence fell over the group as they stared, utterly shocked.
Then Diana clicked her fingers, a grim expression on her face as she suddenly realised something. “Ken… is it possible you made the controls spires and dark rings from the dark ocean itself? The same stuff that changed your Digivice? It’s just… I remember thinking before just how similar all of them felt. They all have the same vibe coming from them.”
Ken raised a hand and rubbed his face, looking like he was struggling. “I c-can’t remember, but I believe the connection between my old base and the Dark World must still be active. Without the Crests to stabilise it, it must be going haywire.”
“Ummm, Ken?” Yolei gulped, looking nervous. “If that’s true, what does that mean?”
It was Willis who spoke up, surprisingly. “Kaboom.” He said darkly as everyone looked at him in dismay. “Ken, back when he was the Digimon Emperor must have somehow created a gateway tied to his base. If the Crests were used as some kind of stabilizer, then in theory the gateway must be growing more and more unstable. If we don’t sever that connection, then boom! Big massive explosion.”
“Yikes…” Gigimon said as she clung to her partner’s shoulder. “Scary…”
“T-This is bad!” Cody gasped, looking alarm. “We have no idea how big that explosion could be, or how much damage it could cause!”
“Sounds serious, so what shall we do?” Armadillomon asked, looking around the group.
“We stop it of course.” Gatomon responded. “If there’s a gateway to the Dark World there, the explosion could cause untold damage, maybe even rip open the gateway even wider.
Diana hit her fist against her hand. “Gatomon’s right. We have to go there and stop it before it’s too late.”
“Hold up.” Willis interjected as he raised his hands. “This is extremely dangerous. There’s no way we’ll survive if we get caught up in the blast.” Then he turned towards Diana with a serious expression. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I highly advise you of all people to stay away. If you die, the whole Digital World will collapse instantly.”
Diana winced, as Veemon growled slightly and hugged her leg. There was truth in his words, but still... she couldn’t ignore this.
“I’ll go.”
Everyone looked over at Ken who spoke up, a dark expression on his face. “This is my problem to solve. I can’t ask you all to risk your lives for a mistake I made, it’s not fair.” He turned away and raised his D3. “Let’s go Wormmon.”
His partner nodded and leaped off his shoulder.
“Wormmon, digivolve to… Stingmon!”
“Woah Ken! Hold on!” Diana said as she rushed over, grabbing his wrist before the boy could climb onto his partners back. “We’re a team remember? Yeah, it’s dangerous, and Willis has a point… but we’ll have a better chance of solving this together! We’re your friends Ken, and friends help each out. You’re not alone anymore.”
Ken looked back as his eyes widen at her words. Then he blushed slightly and lowered his face, unable to keep eye contact. “Diana…”
TK walked over and placed his hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder, nodding at her before looking at the dark-haired boy. “As much as I want to protect Dia, she’s right. We’re a team now, no one has to deal with their problems alone here.”
Kari giggled as she placed her hands behind her back. “You’re one of us now, whenever you like it or not. Now then, shall we all get going?” She looked around, as if checking to see if anyone would object.
No one did, not even Willis who shrugged and grinned. “Can’t disagree with a beautiful lady.” He winked at Diana who rolled her eyes.
TK glared at him.
“Awesome!” Diana cheered. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
By the time the gang arrived at the area where the base had crashed, the situation was not looking good at all. The half-destroyed fortress lay half embedded in the sandy beach by the ocean, with fire and smoke spewing into the air.
There was a small explosion, as more smoke began rise along with the flicker of flames.
Ken looked ashamed and horrified as he looked over the wreckage of his creation, after Stingmon placed him down. “Hard to believe I made this… evidence of my sins.”
Aquilamon landed next to him with Yolei on his back. “Yikes, it doesn’t look good does it?”
Nefertimon gracefully landed next, as Kari glanced over with Cody and Armadillomon sitting in front of her. She shivered and hugged herself, looking uncomfortable. “I can sense the darkness from here… I hear it whispering my name.”
“Ignore it.” Diana said, sitting in the arms of ExVeemon who held her closely and securely in one arm, while carrying Willis and his partners in the other. “If that Dark World tries to mess with you again, they’ll have Veedramon to answer to, right big bro?”
ExVeemon nodded, glaring at the base. “You got that right.”
Kari looked over and gave them a soft smile. “Thanks.”
Another explosion, louder then the last rocked through the air, the noise making them all jump.
“It's getting worse!” Yolei said, now looking alarmed. “If we’re going to do something, we need to do it now!”
Before they could act, a swirling white and black portal suddenly manifested right before them, as the familiar man in the red suit stepped through. The moment he appeared, he smirked as the portal closed.
“Well, well, well. You children are so terribly late to the main event. I hope my Minotarumon gave you all a decent warm up.” He tiled his head as he glanced at Diana, his shades obscuring his eyes. “Still, I’m surprised you’re allowing the princess to come here. Very risky indeed~”
“Shut up!” Diana huffed, hating that title as ExVeemon bristled up with protective anger, his eyes glaring at the red suited man.
“You.” Ken said with a kind of deadly calm in his voice. “Enough games, why do you keep messing with us? How are you even able to use my control spire to make fake Digimon?”
Just then, ExVeemon, Stingmon and Aquilamon suddenly devolved back to their rookie forms, both looking confused at this.
Diana dropped to the sands with Willis and his partners, feeling just as confused as her partner, before she spotted at these three control spire still standing.
Somehow, they must have become active. Somehow, she had a feeling it was related to the man before them, trying to mess with them.
“Your control spires?” The red suit man said as he raised an eyebrow, before bursting into mocking laughter. “Oh my goodness! How hilarious! You actually think all of this!” he stretched out his arms, gesturing towards the towers and wretched base. “All came from your mind? How adorable you still believe that.”
Ken had grown pale, a look of horror and fear on his face. “W-What do you mean?”
“Don’t listen to him Ken!” Wormmon said as he glared at the red suit man. “He’s just trying to mess with you, like before!”
“Yeah! Now beat it you creep! We have a situation to deal with!” Yolei snapped as she shook her fist.
Hawkmon quickly stood in front of her and raised a wing. “Calm down Yolei, we don’t know how dangerous this human can be.”
The red suit man laughed again. “A human? You guys really don’t see the bigger picture here, do you? But I digress, let’s move on to why I’m here.” He smirked, placing his hand on his chest. “Very soon, the Digimon Emperor’s base will explode, creating a tear between this world and the Dark World. Normally an incident like this would trigger the Digital Worlds self-repair program but...”
“It won’t.” Willis spoke up with sudden realisation and horror on his face. “With Yggdrasil being unstable, and the Host in auto-mode, there’s a high chance the self-repair will malfunction or not activate at all.”
“What!?”
“That’s right, I see you’re pretty smart.” The red suit man smirked. “The result will be... catastrophic. As in, this whole area will cease to stop working and disappear, along with every Digimon who lives here. So, my little Chosen Children... let’s see how you handle this ordeal. Of course, I can’t allow this to be too easy for you.”
With that, he reached up and grabbed a few strands of his silver hair, which he plucked out with ease. Bizarrely, the strands of hair suddenly straighten out once they were free, resembling long needles.
The sight of them made Diana shiver, as she sensed a strangeness about this man. This feeling... it wasn’t quite human, but it wasn’t quite like a Digimon either.
It was almost like... they were mixed to create something new, something that shouldn’t be possible. But what?
“Spirit Needle!” The man yelled, letting go of the needle like hair that seemed to fly out of his hand by their own accord.
The group watched in morbid fascination, as the hair flew towards the three control towers. They embedded themselves and sank in deep as the surface of the tower seem to ripple.
Then, those ripples began to spread as the towers ripped themselves out of the ground and began to morph together, twisting and bubbling as they began to take on the form of an insect looking Digimon.
“So that’s how he did it!” Cody huffed, his hands clenching into fists.
Armadillomon stood in front of his partner, glaring. “Ain’t no way that rotten apple is a human, be careful everyone!”
“Say hello to Okuwamon.” The red suit man grinned, showing off sharpened teeth. “Thanks to the control spires they’re made from, they’re much stronger then your average Ultimate level Digimon. Time is ticking you little brats, have fun trying to take them down before KABOOM!” with that, he burst into laughter and stepped back, as that swirling portal of white and black swallowed him up.
“Well, now I’ve seen it all.” Kari said, glaring at Okuwamon who hissed down at them from the air. “Armadillomon is right, that man can’t be human.”
“He’s not a Digimon either, not fully.” Diana responded, feeling the pressure. They had to take this thing down quickly before it was too late. “It's showtime, guys! Let’s squash this bug and stop that fortress from exploding!”
“Yeah!”
“Veemon, Digivolve to...ExVeemon!”
“Hawkmon, Digivolve to...Aquilamon!”
“Armadillomon, Digivolve to...Ankylomon!”
“Wormmon, Digivolve to… Stingmon!”
“You too Terriermon!” Willis grinned as he quickly scooped up Gigimon and held her.
“Terriermon, Digivolve to… Gargomon!”
Gigimon squirmed and struggled in her partner’s grip. “Noooooo! I wanna fight too! Please Willis?”
“I’m afraid not, you still have some growing up to do.” He smiled, holding her close. “Don’t worry, your time will come.”
The In-Training Digimon gave up struggling and began to sulk. “Okaaaaaaaay…”
“V-Laser!” Ex-Veemon roared, crossing his arms across his broad chest, before pulling them away as the V pattern on his chest emitted a powerful blast.
“Blast Rings!” Aquilamon yelled, attacking at the same time.
Okuwamon hissed and swiftly dodged the attacks, their beating wings creating a symphony of angry buzzing. Despite their large size, the giant bug like Digimon was able to move through the air with ease.
“Try this on for size! Tail Hammer!” Ankylomon growled, swinging his tail away with incredible speed and force.
“Gargo Pellets!” Gargomon added, dashing to the side as he aimed and fired.
“Don’t forget about me!” Stingmon said, pulling back his fist as a spike made of energy formed. “Spiking Strike!”
Once again, Okuwamon easily dodged their incoming attacks and swung out its claws, knocking Aquilamon out of the sky and into Gargomon. Both crumpled to the ground with a yelp of pain.
Then with a glow, they reverted back to their rookie forms.
“Hawkmon!” Yolei yelled.
“I’m sorry… Yolei.” Her partner grunted as he struggled to get off Armadillomon who was groaning. “It seems we’re running out of steam.”
“Double Scissor Claw!”
The giant bug dive-bombed ExVeemon and attacked, narrowly missing him as the blue dragon dodged out of the way.
Gatomon hissed, her fur bristling before she turned to Kari. “Okuwamon is already a powerful Digimon without being made from control spires, we have to help too, before he turns us all into kitty kibble!”
“Me too!” Patamon said as he glared. “Come on TK, let me at ‘em!”
They both nodded and raised their D3’s.
“Digi-Armour Energize!”
“Gatomon, armour digivolve to… Nefertimon!”
“Patamon, armour digivolve to… Pegasusmon!”
Both went soaring towards Okuwamon. “Golden Noose!” A dazzling rope of gold appeared between them, which they pulled taut with the intention of trapping the insect fake Digimon.
“Double Scissor Claw!”
Okuwamon snapped the noose with his claw attack, as if it was nothing more then a wet piece of noodle. Then with another powerful swipe, sent Nefertimon and Pegasusmon crashing to the ground, where they glowed before reverting.
“S-So… powerful…” Gatomon hissed, trying to get up as Kari and TK rushed over. “If only… I can digivolve to Angewomon…”
They watched helpless as one by one, the fake yet powerful Digimon took their partners down one by one, until only Exveemon and Stingmon remained, though they were starting to look roughed up.
Another explosion burst from the side of the wretched fortress, as if to remain them all that they were running out of time.
Ken seemed to recognise this more then anyone, a look of determine and resignation on his face. “I’ll stay with Stingmon and try to keep Okuwamon busy for as long as we can, while the rest of you head inside.” He turned his head to look at Diana. “Use our Crests, they should stabilise the engine room just long enough for you to sever the connection to the Dark World.”
With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the pink precious item, which he tossed towards the goggle wearing girl.
Diana reached out and caught the Crest in her gloved hand, feeling the power radiate from the item. Gentle yet powerful. “Are you serious Ken? That thing will kill you and Stingmon!”
“This is my responsibility! I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me.” Ken said, refusing to look at her as his hands shook.
His partner, Stingmon, turned towards and nodded. “Get going, I can take it from here. I’ll keep the big guy busy as long as I can.”
“Are you nuts?!” ExVeemon snapped, looking appalled and almost… disappointment as he dodged a swipe from the fake Digimon. “He’s an Ultimate! He’ll tear you apart in seconds!”
“Ken, don’t be stupid. We can’t leave you and Stingmon alone with Okuwamon!” TK said, looking annoyed. “Didn’t we just talk about this earlier? You’re part of the team now, no one gets left behind.”
“I know!” Ken yelled, spinning around to face them. Beneath the stubbornness on his face, everyone could see the guilt and fear. “It's my crest, my base, my fault. No one else is going to die for my mistakes, understand? Have you forgotten I was the Digimon Emperor? I was a monster!”
“And I am as guilty as Ken. I didn't stop him.” Stingmon spoke up, his voice raw with emotion.
Were they being serious right now? Didn’t they understand how a team worked? Yet as Diana stared in disbelief, she was struck with a realization. Ken didn’t understand. Sure, he travelled with Ryo in the past, but from what the older teen had said, they were separated for most of the journey.
And there had only been two of them. Ken has never worked with a large group like theirs, didn’t understand that burdens were shared. They helped each other, like a single unit. They were more then mere teammates, they were friends.
Before TK could stop her, Diana marched over and pulled back her hand. At the same time, ExVeemon flew over to Stingmon with his fist pulled back.
SMACK!
The combined slap and punch echoed, making everyone wince. Ken’s head snapped to the side as his eyes widen, his cheek growing red. Up above, Stingmon reeled back and placed a hand to his own cheek.
“We’re friends!” Diana yelled, feeling furious. “Do you seriously believe sacrificing yourself will make things better?! No! It won’t!”
“She’s right!” ExVeemon growled at Stingmon. “That just makes you a coward!”
Stingmon hung his head, looking ashamed.
Okuwamon stared them intently with a hiss, making no moves to attack. No doubt waiting for them to try and get close to the fortress, which they seem to be guarding.
“Don’t you understand? If you want to make up for your mistakes, then you have to live. If your burdens are too heavy, then rely on us to help you carry them, just… just like I rely on them to help me with mine.” Diana said, now smiling as she glanced at the others.
They smiled back at her, touched by her words.
“To be honest? I’m terrified about the future, but as long as Veevee and everyone else is with me, I know I’ll be ok. That’s what it means to be a team, what it means to be friends.” She then turned back to Ken who had been watching her, and then held out her hand towards him. “Don’t do this alone Ken. I’ve made mistake before too, but I’ve never given up, so don’t you either. Together, remember?”
Ken stared at the hand, then his face scrunched up with pure emotion as he reached out and took her hand. Tears began to drip down his cheeks as he sucked in a breath. “Y-You’re right, I’m sorry.”
Then, everything changed. A bright light, gold and pink began to emit from their D3’s which began to flash.
Ba-dum… Ba-dum…
Huh? I can hear my heartbeat? No… that’s… Kens! I can hear and feel Ken’s heartbeat! Diana thought in wonder, as the glow grew brighter and brighter. Then, they synchronized as ExVeemon and Stingmon began to glow as well.
“ExVeemon!”
“Stingmon!”
“DNA Digivolve to...Paildramon!”
Where the two had been, was now a single entity as the data cocoon shattered, revealing their new powerful form.
“W-Woah…” Diana said, staring up in awe. “They Digivolved into one seriously cool mon!” Ken simply stared with his mouth open, eyes widen in shock and disbelief.
Everyone stared in amazement as well, as TK looked between Diana and Ken with a strange unreadable look.