Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In a certain area at night, a small creature with wings was standing next to a tree. It had a similar silhouette to a child, except without shoes. The few people that passed by this figure wondered briefly why a child would be here in the middle of the night, before continuing with their own lives. Then, at the time when none could see it, the figure vanished in an instant.
Shortly after, another figure—this one , a Digimon— appeared, looking troubled. She resembled a human, but geared with purple armor, helmet, boots, and shoulder pads. She also had on a black skintight outfit, and wielded a long staff.

“This is bad,” the Digimon remarked to herself. “They need to know. Something powerful is coming.”

The Digimon jumped away into the darkness that covered the town.

Back at Hazakura Boys’ Dormitory, Hiro was fast asleep with Gammamon and Espimon. Unbeknownst to the three of them, there was another presence in the room. However, once Hiro made a slight movement in his sleep, it dissipated quickly.

**

“HIroo!” Gammamon called out to his human partner the next morning. “I want my champions!”

“You’re always eating those,” Espimon remarked.

“Okay, okay, Gammamon,” Hiro said, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. “Let’s go to the convenience store then.”

“I’ll stay behind,” Espimon said, lying down on Hiro’s bed.

Gammamon released his small black wings and flew next to Hiro, then face his human partner. The Digimon was white in color, with three black-tipped horns atop his head. On the back of his head were five more webbed horns with red tips. Adorned around his neck was a blue handkerchief, which was actually a scrap of Hokuto’s sleeve. On his left hand was a red strip; both of his hands had three claws, while his feet had one claw each.

Espimon was, on the other hand, a cyborg Digimon. He had a bright blue head with two bear ears (though no one should never call them bear ears). Below that was his cyborg body, was the same color as his head. He had with three electric plugs as claws. On his feet were three lights that could and propel him over great distances, and on his back were rocket wings.

As Hiro and Gammamon headed to the convenience store, the two spotted Ruli. She was with her two friends, Aoi and Mika, along with Angoramon in hidden mode. Hiro waved over to Ruli, who noticed the gesture and waved back. Ruli exchanged a few words to her friends and then made her way to Hiro, followed by Anfgoramon.

“Hey, Hiro, what do you say to a picnic together with Higacchi?” Ruli suddenly asked.

“Picnic!” Gammamon called out, flying out of Hiro’s backpack. “Champions! Champions! Let’s go, Hiroo!”

“Alright, alright, Gammamon,” Hiro said. “Let’s go on a picnic. I’ll let Senpai know.”

“Alright then!” Ruli said with glee. “Let’s plan it for next Sunday at Odaiba Seaside Park, around 11 AM.”

“Got it.”

**

Hiro returned to the dorm with Gammamon and a box of chocolate in hand. As the two walked around, they finally found Kiyoshiro in his room with Jellymon. Hiro knocked on the door, Kiyoshiro answered, and Hiro and Gammamon went inside..

“Hey, Senpai, Ruli wants to go on a picnic next Sunday. How about it?” Hiro asked.

“Next Sunday? Hmm…” Kiyoshiro looked through his calendar. “Nope, got a meeting with the prime minister about the new building for Arcadia next Sunday,”

“I want to go to the picnic, Darling,” Jellymon said, wrapping her tentacles around Kiyoshiro’s neck. “Let’s goo.”

“I caaan’t, Jellymon-sama,” Kiyoshiro said, trying to wring his Digimon’s grip on his neck. “We have to do this meeting next weekend.”

“It’s okay, Senpai. We’ll have another picnic some other time,” Hiro said. “Let’s go, Gammamon.”

Upon returning to their room, Hiro sat at his desk while Gammamon started eating his chocolate. Espimon hovered over Hiro for a bit, but then settled down on the floor.

“So, next Sunday is the picnic, right?” Espimon asked.

“Yeah.”

“There’s a Digimon meetup then, so I’ll be there,” Espimon said, sounding slightly forlorn.

“Can you make an exception to come with us?” Hiro asked, detecting the emotion.

“No… Angoramon is the same; we’re both needed there.”

“Wait, Angoramon too?”

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you that?”

“No. Wait… Then we’ll be alone.” Hiro flushed lightly, but it went away quickly. “Well, Gammamon will be there too. That’s okay, then, Espimon. We have plenty of other times for respite .”

“Well, good luck to you two—or three, technically.”

**

On the day of the picnic, Hiro packed a bag of chocolates for Gammamon, as well as a few snacks for him and Ruli along. He also brought along some desserts as a gift for Ruli. With the stash in row, Gammamon flew next to Hiro as the two of them took the subway to the park. Ruli was there with a picnic cloth, sitting with her legs under her, and food already set on the cloth. She was wearing her beige jacket and light brown scarf over her school uniform. When Hiro arrived, she removed the coat and scarf.

“Higacchi’s not coming?” Ruli asked curiously, looking over Hiro and Gammamon.

“Senpai said he has a meeting with the prime minister,” Hiro explained. “And Espimon is—”

“—With the Digimon meeting, right?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Hiro sat down on the picnic cloth and laid out his own food with what Ruli had brought with her. Gammamon’s treats from both Ruli and Hiro were all chocolate. The other desserts were for Ruli: a cheesecake, strawberry- covered croissants, chocolate- covered strawberries, and glazed and sprinkles-covered donuts. On the less sweet side, there were a couple of sandwiches, hot dogs, and a few crepes (sweet and savory).

“Let’s dig in!” Ruli said, clapping her hands together in front of her before grabbing one of the sweet crepes. “Mmm, this is good.”

“That’s good,” Hiro said, nodding. “Come on, Gammamon—oh, you’ve already started eating. Of course.” Hiro grabbed a sandwich and bit down on it. It tasted rather delicious, showing either Ruli’s parents were a good cook, or she was… The thought caused him to flush, though the blush quickly faded.

“How are the sandwiches, Hiro?” Ruli asked in between bites.

“They’re really good.” Hiro nodded as he finished the first sandwich. He reached out for a hot dog, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. Gripping his head, he felt faintish. Noticing Ruli was doing the same, he knew something was going on with them.

“What… is going on…?” Hiro struggled to say.

‘Be careful… something powerful is encroaching on your world… and Arcadia.’

Just as that message went through, the voice disappeared. The two returned to normal. They released their grips on their heads and exchanged glances— but they quickly looked away simultaneously. The two blushed, while Gammamon looked between the two with a confused expression.

“Hiro? Ruli? Why aren’t you talking?”

Ruli bit her lip for a moment. “Did… you hear a voice?”

“Yeah, I did. About something powerful coming, right?”

“I’m worried. We should tell Angoramon.”

“I agree. And let’s find out if Senpai heard the voice too.”

“You think he’d hear it? But isn’t he in his meeting?”

“Right.”

The two were silent for a while, while Gammamon continued eating his chocolate. He noticed the chocolate-covered strawberries, grabbed one, then stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes sparkled like he just found something brand new.

“New champion!” Gammamon cried out suddenly, interrupting the two’s silence.

“Ahh! The chocolate- covered strawberries!” Ruli exclaimed.

“Does Ruli like champion too?” Gammamon asked innocently.

“Uh… Yes!” Ruli said happily. “Champion is good.”

“Yay! Ruli likes champion! Champion is best!” Gammamon said blithely.

**

Meanwhile, Kiyoshiro was in the restroom when he felt the headache and heard the voice suddenly speak to him. He panicked and ran out only to run into the manager of the hotel. He apologized profusely, then sought out Jellymon, to see if she knew what that voice was about. He was afraid it could Quantumon.

“Jellymon-samaaa,” Kiyoshiro called out desperately.

The jellyfish-like Digimon showed up in front of Kiyoshiro, giggling to herself as she settled on her partner’s head. She transformed into smaller form, not sitting on him as her larger self.

“What is it, Darling?” Jellymon asked.

“I-I-I heard a voice when I was in the bathroom! Did you hear it?!” Kiyoshiro asked hysterically.

“Nope, not at all.”

That was when Kiyoshiro felt his phone vibrate. He quickly opened it and noticed a messagei. It was from Amanokawa and Tsukiyono. Swiping it open, the message said: ‘Did you hear a voice, too, Senpai? Like a warning about Arcadia? Please respond.’

“Ahhh! They heard it too! Oh no, what will we do? What’s going to happen to Arcadia?!” Kiyoshiro ran around in circles, pulling at his hair despite looks from nearby people. “Jellymon-sama, help!”

“Calm down, Darling!” Jellymon shocked Kiyoshiro, causing him to fall to the ground, but looking calmer than before. “Tell Hiro and Ruli!”

“Okay, okay, Jellymon-sama,” Kiyoshi quickly typed a response to Hiro.

‘Hiro: You heard the voice too? That’s… worrisome.
Kiyoshiro: It’s a ghooost! Help me, Amanokawa-kun!
Hiro: You know I can’t. You’re in a meeting right now, aren’t you?
Kiyoshiro: That can wait! Arcadia is in danger! But how am I going to explain it to the other leaders? I can’t just go “hey I just heard a voice warning me about danger to Arcadia,” now, can I?
Hiro: Hm… Let me think it over.
Kiyoshirio: Help, Amanokawa-kun!
Hiro: Just continue what you’re doing while we figure something out.’

Kiyoshiro pocketed his phone and slowly walked back to the meeting room. He dragged his feet, looking far weariery than before. He only hoped Amanokawa and Tsukiyono could figure something out about this ghost.

**

Back at the parkt, Hiro and Ruli, tried to brainstorm over the voice that was warning them. Was it an enemy? If it was, why were they warning them? Or was it an enemy of the main enemy? Or was it actually an ally that they hadn’t met yet? Maybe it was Quantumon. Too many questions, not enough answers.

Hiro placed a hand on his forehead, trying to think of answers for the questions, but nothing came to mind. Ruli was doing the same, even disregarding the desserts in favor of deep thought. Gammamon, on the other hand, was eating the chocolate Hiro and Ruli brought, as well as most of the chocolate-covered strawberries.

Ruli suddenly eyed Gammamon. She looked at the chocolate strawberries’ plate, and noticed it was almost empty.

“Aaah, Gammamon! You ate too much!” Ruli exclaimed tearfully.

“Gammamon!” Hiro chided the small, dinosaur-like Digimon.

Gammamon put both hands on its head, looking down uiltily. “Champion was very good.”

Ruli sighed.

“I can’t be mad at you, Gammamon.” She patted the Digimon on the head, with a slight smile. She glanced over to Hiro, realizing he was looking at her.

“Yay! Ruli isn’t mad at me!” Gammamon said happily. “Champion champion!”

“Hehe,” Ruli giggled. “Chocolate is good.”

“Don’t eat Ruli’s share though, Gammamon,” Hiro said sternly.

“Champion…” Gammamon said sadly.

“We can share, Gammamon,” said Ruli, still patting his head.

Watching Ruli eating with Gammamon brought some warm feelings inside Hiro’s chest, which confused him. He had never felt this way before. He watched Gammamon eat through the box of chocolate, while Ruli started on the glazed donuts. As Ruli was sharing with Gammamon, Hiro continued eating his hot dog.

“So, what was that voice…?” Hiro contemplated. “If only we could get in touch with Quatumon. Maybe Senpai knows a way?”

“We can try. Wait, did Higacchi hear the voice, too?”

“Yeah. He was panicking outside the meeting office,” Hiro confirmed.

Ruli laughed.

That laugh was like a melody to Hiro— which further confused him. It wasn’t as though it was his first time hearing Ruli laugh. But this time he felt a high inside, like he… what was the word? He couldn’t think of the exact word that would describe what he was feeling. That was when Ruli interrupted his thoughts.

“Hiro? Is something wrong?”

“Oh, sorry, yeah, it was pretty funny,” Hiro laughed, scratching the back of his head with a hand.

“You’re not paying attention.” Ruli frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, really.” Hiro shook his head.

“Okay, if you say so.”

Ruli cut the cheesecake, then bit into a slice. “Mmm! This is really good, Hiro! Where did you get it?”

“Oh, Senpai told me about this café near our dorm that’ is really good,” Hiro explained.

“I have to check that out myself!” Ruli clapped her hands in front of her. Then she picked up the plate again and finished the slice. As she cut another piece, Gammamon went over to the cheesecake.

Pointing at the cheesecake, Gammamon asked, “What is this? Not champion!”

“It’s a cheesecake!” Ruli gloated in between bites. “Gammamon should try it.”

“Gammamon will! Hirooo, I want cheesecake!”

“Alright, alright, Gammamon,” Hiro said. He grabbed a plate and cut a slice onto it, before handing it to the greedy Digimon. He also grabbed a fork for Gammamon— but slice was already eaten into before the fork could be given.

“Gammamon, don’t use your hands,” Hiro admonished.

“It’s okay from time to time,” Ruli said, waving her hand dismissively.

“What are we going to do with what the voice told us?” Hiro asked.

“We can try to go to Arcadia and see what the others think,” Ruli suggested.

“That’s a good idea! Let’s get Ginryumon, if he’s available,” Hiro agreed.

He called Ginryumon with a specific whistle. The Digimon arrived within a couple of seconds. He was a four-legged creature with a black body and tail. The tail ended with a golden touch, while his head was decorated with black. His feet were golden in color, and his thighs were covered with armori resembling of barrels. He landed near the group of three, then rested his legs.

“How may I help you, Gammamon?”

“We’ll like to go to Arcadia to make sure nothing has happened— or is about to happen,” Hiro said.

“Let’s pack up, Hiro.”

The two packed up the food into a box, separating Gammamon’s chocolate into another compartment in the backpack. Hiro put on the backpack while Gammamon flew next to him. Ruli climbed onto Ginryumon’s back. in a few moments, Hiro, also, climbed onto Ginryumon’s back.

“Let’s get going then!”

In a flash, the group soared through the skies at an incredible speed otherwise unknown to mankind. Hiro gripped on Gammamon, who was holding onto Ginryumon, while Ruli held onto Hiro, squeezing him. On their ride, the two flushed profusely—both were relieved that the other could not see their own faces.

Upon arriving at Arcadia, the skies were nearly clear, with only a handful clouds over the nation. A few Digimon were running back and forth, both big and small, violent and peaceful. Ginryunmon landed on a patch of grass that was free from other Digimon. The three climbed off their flying guide Ginryumon and looked around the area.

Everything appeared peaceful, without any danger lurking. Nonetheless, they had to be careful because of the telepathic warning. There was also the anonymity of the voice; how much couldan they trust them, and why were they warning them?

“Hiiro , are we in trouble?” Gammamon asked innocently.

“We don’t know yet, Gammamon,” Hiro replied gently. He turned to face Ruli. “Should we split up to see if there’s anything suspicious around?”

“Yeah, we should,” Ruli started to say.

As Ruli was agreeing, a large silhouette was hovered over them, They looked up and saw Angoramon and Espimon. The two Digimon landed on the floor around the others.

“Angoramon!” Ruli ran to her rabbit Digimon, giving him a huge hug.

“Ruli, how have things been?” Angoramon smiled.

“Espimon! There were new champions!” Gammamon said gleefully.

“Oh! Angoramon, Hiro and I would like to share something with you… in private,” Ruli said, suddenly remembering the voice they heard in the park.

“Okay,” Angoramon said as he nodded . “Let’s go to the cherry blossom tree at the top of the park.

Angoramon picked up Ruli, then started flying toward the park. Meanwhile, Espimon evolved into HoverEspimon and carried Hiro and Gammamon to the park. Upon arriving , Hiro, Ruli and Gammamon jumped off and faced Angoramon and HoverEspimon.

“While we were having ourthe picnic, we suddenly heard a voice warning us about a great and powerful enemy that will endanger this land and Arcadia. We were concerned if it was Quantumon; we don’t know how to reach her,” Hiro explained.

“And Higacchi heard the same, even though when he was in Tokyo,” Ruli added. “What do you think, Angoramon?”

“True, there has been unrest with the Digimon in Arcadia; some even snuck past the security and escaped into the real world, quickly causing destruction.”

“I witnessed the same. There is a culprit out there, but what can we do?” HoverEspimon asked.

“We were going to split up to search for anyone suspicious in Arcadia,” Ruli noted.

“That sounds like a good plan.” Angoramon nodded.

“Let’s meet up at this tree again, when we’re done.” Angoramon instructed. He picked up Ruli in his arms, then flew off into the distance.

Hiro and Gammamon hopped onto HoverEspimon, and headed rin the opposite direction from Ruli. The two groups flew around Arcadia, but neither found anything out of the ordinary. Just as Hiro thought that, he spotted a suspicious Digimon on a corner near a florist. Hiro quickly nudged his Digimonm to use his x-ray eyes to check what was happening inside Digimon. HoverEspimone activated his eyes, and saw a mysterious box inside the Digimon.

“I think it’s… an explosion!” HoverEspimon shouted, before realizing he just gave their location to the enemy. The opponent turned, to stare at Hiro, and then jumped away from them, going towards the opposite side of the nation.

HoverEspimon and his passengers sped their way to follow the curious Digimon. Along the way, they noticed Ruli and Angoramon standing by the tree. As they got closer, Hiro leaned forward and shouted to them.

“Watch out, Ruli! A dangerous Digimon is going toward you!”

“Hiro?!” Ruli exclaimed, stepping backward as Angoramon went in front of her..

“I’m getting bad vibes!” Gammamon shouted as he stomped his foot on HoverEspimon.

“Hey! Don’t forget where you’re at!” HoverEspimon shouted.

“It’s Evilmon! He’s a hardcore loser, and will do whatever he can to you without actually hitting you. Beware of his special move, or you’ll be stuck in a nightmare!

“Gammamon warp evolve to…!”

Hiro’s Digivice lit up with Gammamon’s vitals shining. He was surrounded by what looked like strands of DNA. As he spun around, a larger Digimon took his place. A blueprint-like figure revealed a dragon’s head and the tips of his wings. On top of his head were two red horns, with a red underbelly. The rest of his body was white, including the top of his wings, whnile the other side of the wings were red. His long tail was red with blue stripes. He also had long white arms and feet, with three long, red claws.

“Canoweissmon!”

“Angoramon warp evolve to…!”

A golden light surrounds the large rabbit-like Digimon, as figurative flames him. Strands of DNA floated around as Angoramon spun, this time with literal flame surround the large rabbit. His ears bent upright and increased by two. There were two small wings with sharp edges attached to his upper arms. His full body was yellow in color, while his face was a brown. Adorned on his back were two longswords. All four of his feet were clad in armor, with three claws on each foot.

“Lamortmon!”

“Dragonia!

At the very moment he materialized, Canoweissmon flew up to the sky with his wings closed. Then, without a word, he charged tforward the enemy like a bullet of light. He flew to the side as Lamortmon grabbed a hold of this mysterious Digimon.

“Kaisaiso!”

Lamportmon sliced at the enemy’s belly with a longword, but the Digimon pushed Lamortmom away and jumped up into the air. Lamortmon fell backward, but immediately recovered, and blocked any attacks made to Ruli.

“Kohebatto!”

Lamportmon jumped into the air with his two longswords and knocked the opponent down to the floor. He landed on the being and started pulverizing the enemy mercilessly. As he was beating down his opponent, Ruli was about to call out to Lamortmon, but then she noticed small robotics parts flying everywhere.

“Meteor Lux!”

Canoweissmon lowered himself and spread its wings, allowing light rain of light to fall over the area, including over the Digimon. The light created a scenery akin to a meteor shower.

The enemy suddenly fell over, motionless. Hiro tapped HoverEspimon on the head. The Digimon knew what to do. He scanned the motionless creature. The box was still there, but it looked to be inactive now. They agreed to dismantle the creature, which turned out to be a robotic Digimon.

Canoweissmon and Lamortmon returned to their previous forms, the walked over to the robot, with their partners. Gammamon poked it with a claw, and then looked up at Hiro.

“What is that, Hiro?”

“It’s… how do I say it? A fake Digimon.”

“Fake? What’s fake?”

“It’s not real, but it’s made to trick us— and likely to harm us, if it was a walking time bomb. Literally,” Ruli said, shivering. Angoramon held Ruli with a fuzzy arm.

“Did you notice the same thing, Ruli?” Hiro spoke up. “That there were small robotic pieces flying around?”

“I did, that’s why I didn’t call Lamortmon back.”

“Hm… Why are they here? And it was only one of them. And why was it… robotic?” Hiro said, his hand on his chin.

“And this was the only one we’ve found,” Angoramon added.

“Who’s doing this, and why? Is this only—”

Suddenly, Ruli and Hiro felt a sharp pain in their heads,just like earlier that day. The pain lasted longer, and this time, the voice sounded further away, so they couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was. Just as quick as it came, it left.

“What…”
“…was that…?”

“Hirooo?” Gammamon looked up at Hiro.

“Are you okay, Ruli?” Angoramon asked with a concerned on his expression.

“We’re okay,” Ruli answered for the both of them. “It’s just… The same voice tried to reach us, but I didn’t hear any words. Did you, Hiro?”

“Not at all,” Hiro replied.

“I’m worried.”

“I’ll be here, Ruli. I’ll protect you.”

“I know, Angoramon,” Ruli said, smiling.

Chapter Text

A few days passed since the fake Digimon infiltrated Arcadia. Security was increased, but it looked to be unnecessary; that is, until a blast occurred somewhere in Arcadia. Two Guardromon went to check on the explosion, while two others stayed behind. As the Guardromon approached the mess, there was another explosion on the spot. The remaining Guardriomons were shocked, and were about to walk over to the explosion spot when another Digimon showed up.

“Don’t.” It was a humanoid Digimon. She wore purple attire from top to bottom, with white at her abdomen and a staff wielded in her hand.

“It’s going to explode again.”

“Kuzuhamon?” o ne of the Guardromon asked.

“Yes.”

The Guardromon stood at the entrance while Kuzuhamon floated above Arcadia. Taking out her staff, she tapped the bottom once and started chanting under her breath. A bluish wisp floated around the dark skies, wrapping around the nation of Arcadia. Finished, Kuzuhamon floated back down. From behind, she struck the guard Digimon, causing them to fall over and dissipate into DigiEggs.

Kuzuhamon teleported to Hazakura Boys Dormitory and watched Hiro in his sleep. As Kuzuhamon reached out a hand, Gammamon turned around, startling the humanoid Digimon. Gammamon blinked a few times before he spoke.

“Kuzuhamon?”

Kuzuhamon merely nodded.

Hiro woke up. “Kuzuhamon? What brings you here?”

“Something’s happening in Arcadia.” Her words were succinct and straight to the point. “Do you mind coming along to checking it out?”

“Of course,” Hiro nodded. “Let me text Ruli and Senpai so they know where we’re at.”

Kuzuhamon twitched, but didn’t move. She couldn’t stop him lest he notice any suspicious movements. As soon as Hiro put away his phone, Kuzuhamon suddenly grabbed Hiro. She was about to teleport away when Gammamon jumped onto Hiro, resulting in all of them being teleported.

The three landed on a hill in Arcadia, surprising Hiro and Gammamon. She dropped the two onto the ground, before floating up by herself. She took out her staff and shook it. A small blue barrier was erected around the two on the ground.

“I can’t have you interrupting my plans now, can I?” Kuzuhamon smirked.

“Kuzuhamon?!” Hiro exclaimed.

“You will not interfere.”

“What are you talking about?”

Without a word, Kuzuhamon disappeared.

The barrier appeared with light bluish flames surrounding it, ending at the very top. Its design was square in shape all over.

“What is going on?” Hiro asked no one in particular.

“I’m getting bad vibes!” Gammamon exclaimed.

“Let’s go, Gammamon!”

“Gammamon evolve to…!”

A golden light surrounded the white dinosaur-like Digimon as he spun around in the environment of DNA strands. As he spun, Gammamon started changing in size. His head turned red in color, with three horns forming with black tips, and red horns behind with yellow tips, alongside a white muzzle. A scarf was wrapped around his neck, tied at the back. Gammamon had grown bigger and longer, with longer arms colored red and white. He was mostly red in color, with a white underbelly that went down the front of his feet, which were white in color and had three claws.

“BetelGammamon!”

“Sorshot!”

BelelGammamon dashed toward the barrier with a black and orange fireball in his hand. He threw the fireball into the barrier, but there was no sign of indentation.

“Sorshot!”

He jumped up and fired another flame ball at the barrier; but again, it remained as sturdy as ever.

BetelGammamon slumped on the ground, punching it.

“What’s going on? And why is Kuzuhamon acting like that?” Hiro muttered to no one in particular .

BetelGammamon reverted back to Gammamon and walked over to Hiro. “Hirooo, I have bad vibes.”

“I know, I know, Gammamon, but what can we do?”

“Let’s try KausGammamon!”

“Okay, Gammamon!”

“Gammamon evolve to…!”

Gammamon was surrounded by bright light as the DNA strands surround him. He spun around in the light, as blue arms jutted out with glider-like wings, yellow at bottom. He was blue in color with a white underbelly, and had white feet with three claws. He had five horns on his head with yellow tips, as well as a blue scarf tied behind his neck.

“KausGammamon!”

“Urda Impulse!”

KausGammamon glided up into the sky, then rammed into the ceiling. It didn’t make a single indent. He glided up the other side and struck the top again, but to no avail.

“This isn’t working…” Hiro said slowly.

“We’re not done yet, Hiro!”

“Understood.”

“Gaemmamon evolve to…!”

Hiro’s Digivice glowed again, surrounding Gammamon completely. As he spun around the DNA strands, the light gave way to a larger Digimon. It resembled a large dinosaur, dull green in color with long blue cannons on the top of his head. His body grew larger in size, with his tail going all the way to the end, which became a hook shape. He had four legs, all four with cannons for paws .

“WezenGammamon!”

“Sedna!”

WezenGammamon readied himself as his tail dug into the ground. After a short pause, he fired multiple shots from his cannons on his head and feet toward the barrier. Again, it was invincible. There was no way to break it.

WezenGammamon reverted to Gammamon and sat there on the ground. Hiro ran over to Gammamon and picked him up.

“It’s okay, Gammamon. I’m sure things will work out,” Hiro tried to reassure himself and Gammamon. But there wasn’t much hope as it stood.

“Ruli and Senpai might get here and find a way to escape.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice came through. Gammamon’s yellow eyes turned black.

“Hey, Bro.”

“GulusGammamon?!”

“Don’t act surprised. I can help you here. You and Gammamon won’t get out of here otherwise.”

“…”

Hiro was speechless. It was impossible to know if things would work out if he allowed GulusGammamon to return; but, at the same time, he may just be the one who could do it. He remembered how, during the first time GulusGammamon came to being, he was about to break the digital field. Doubt filled his head, when a more familiar voice came back through.

“Hirooo, it’ll be okay. Remember the deal I struck the deal with the other me. It’ll go okay, Hiro!” Gammamon reassured Hiro.

“Alright then. I will trust you, Gammamon.”

Hiro put up his Digivice and the screen lit up, a circular light slowly filling up to the other end before it reversed.

“Gammamon evolve to…!”

A golden light surrounded Gammamo. He was about to be surrounded by what resembled DNA strands, when the light was swallowed whole by flames of darkness. Two long black arms came out of the flare with red claws, followed by yellow clawed feet. Purple lines were on his arms, legs, and body. He had a black head, with three horns behind his back with purple tips, and one main horn on the front. He had red dots for pupils with black sclera. Behind him was a ragged blue cape tied from the front. At the front of his chest was a red diamond. Dark flames surrounded him as he evolved.

“GulusGammamon!”

“Desdemona!”

A bluish ball of flames grew and grew in GulusGammamon’s hand as he raised it up into the air. He rushed to the top and pushed it against the barrier. It started to break just slightly, but not enough to shatter it.

“Desdemona!”

The flames only grew brighter and stronger, until it finally shattered the ceiling of the barrier. GulusGammamon reverted to Gammamon, who fell from the ceiling. Hiro rushed over to catch his Digimon.

“You did good, Gammamon,” Hiro remarked.

“Do I get a champion after this?” Gammamon asked.

Hiro smiled. “Of course.”

“Hiro!”
“Amanokawa-kun!”

Hiro looked up and saw his two friends approaching him, being carried by Angoramon. As Ruli ran over, she grabbed Hiro by the arm, as his hands were still carrying Gammamon.

“Why did I see GulusGammamon earlier?”

“I… Kuzuhamon—or whoever that was dressed like Kuzuhamon—brought Gammamon and me here, and then imprisoned us in this small barrier. We weren’t able to break the barrier without GulusGammamon’s help.”

“Is he going to attack again?” Kiyoshiro asked, paranoid.

“I don’t think so. Gammamon reassured me that things will be okay, and they were.”

Realizing what she’d done with Hiro, Ruli’s face flushed, and she immediately released her grip on his arm. At the same time, Gammamon woke up, looking like his usual self and not GulusGammamon. He spread his wings and floated beside Hiro, wondering what was happening.

“Why would Kuzuhamon do that?” Hiro questioned.

“Kuzuhamon makes me want to go kaboom!” Gammamon exclaimed.

“Wait, Gammamon. While Ruli or Senpai weren’t here when I got captured, I think the Kuzuhamon I met wasn’t the same one as the one we met back then.”

“What?!” Ruli looked aghast.

“It could be a fake,” Hiro suggested.

“A-A-A fake?!” Kiyoshiro panicked.

“Darling, we’ll be okay,” Jellymon reassured her partner.

“Like that Evilmon…” Ruli looked scared, shivering. “But this time she’s a mega…”

Angoramon pulled Ruli closer. “We need to find where she is.”

“I remember her telling me not to interrupt her. But I don’t have a clue what it means,” Hiro admitted.

“We can do it! I know we can do it if we all combine our powers!” Gammamon chimed in, interrupting their negative thoughts with positivism.

“Gammamon…” Hiro said, touched. “Yeah, we can do it!”

“Yeah!” Ruli said, pumped.

“Y-Y-Y-Yeah!” Kiyoshiro attempted to sound more optimistic, but his tone betrayed him.

“Let’s disperse for the night—well, day, technically,” Hiro said.

Hiro and Gammamon were on duty for the town square and eastern part of the city. Kiysohiro and Jellymon were to explore the western and northern part of the city, and Ruli and Angoramon were to take the southern part.

As Hiro and Gammamon started walking toward the town square, they noticed a field of flowers. Curious, Gammamon suddenly flew toward the field, leaving Hiro to chase after the Digimon.

“Gammamon, where are going? That’s not where the town square is.” Hiro continued chasing.

“I smell something nice,” Gammamon simply said.

As the two reached the flowers, there was a familiar silhouette a bit farther from them. Upon closer inspection, Hiro recognized it was Ruli and Angoramon, though Angoramon was flying soo he didn’t damage the flowers. Ruli was twirling with the flowers’ swaying, with the wind blowing around her summer uniform dress.

“Hiro, why are you blushing?”

Hiro suddenly froze and looked down at Gammamon. “Ii-I’m not, Gammamon!”

“Let’s go see them, Hiro!”

Gammamon left the blushing boy and flew to where Ruli was twirling around. “Ruli pretty!”

“Ah!” Ruli exclaimed, startled. “U-Um… Thank you, Gammamon.”

Hiro’s face turned bright red by the time Gammamon reached Ruli, and was speechless with the sight in front of him. Hiro struggled to find the right words. “Um…. Yeah, that was really… nice…”

Ruli looked at Hiro, her face flushing deeply as well. “A-Ah, thank you, Hiro.”

“…We should get back to… investigation.” Hiro’s voice was filled with uncertainty.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right.”

The two still avoided each other’s glances, fidgeting in place.

Gammamon flew up to Angoramon’s eye level and asked, “W is Hiro and Ruli’s faces red? Are they having the sneezes?”

“It’s best not to ask them,” Angoramon said. “Just leave them be and they’ll be okay.”

Just as Hiro turned around, Ruli called out to him. “Um… Let’s have some ice cream after all of this! You, me, and Higacchi!”

Hiro turned around, face still flushed. “T-That sounds like a good idea.”

“Let’s go then!”

The two separated, with Hiro and Gammamon continuing to the town square. There were Digimon and humans walking side-by-side, though some were just walking in the same direction for their own separate reasons. It was the main area of the nation, where people could take the local subway or trains to further locations or the human world.

Hiro and Gammamon found nothing at the town square that would look remotely like any danger. Relieved of that, the two continued toward the eastern part of the country by taking the bullet train to the city of Florence. Hiro sat next to a window, staring at the passing scenery, while Gammamon watched with sparkling eyes and excitement in his body.

“Hirooo, look at the pretty flowers! It looks like pretty Ruli!”

Hiro immediately blushed, remembering what transpired in the field. “W-Wha? What was that all of a sudden, Gammamon?”

“Hiro is sneezy again.” Gammamon tilted his head up at Hiro.

“Am not.” Hiro’s flushed face betrayed his words.

Meanwhile, in Samara, Kiyoshiro and Jellymon were searching for any suspicious humans or Digimon around. Jellymon wanted to go off on her own, but Kiyoshiro clung to her desperately, not wanting to be alone in case another fake Digimon showed up and he had to deal with them alone.

“Please, don’t go off your own, Jellymon-sama,” Kiyoshiro pleaded desperately.

“You’ll be fine, darling.” Jellymon pulled away. “I need to see where I can start a business around here.”

“No, I won’t! What if some strong fake Digimon shows up?!”’

Jellymon sighed. “Alright, alright, darling.”

“Okay then, let’s get to searching,” Kiyoshiro said, looking like his ordinary self again.

“This city is big; how are we to find a suspicious person?” Kiyoshiro asked.

Just as Kiyoshiro said that, a large Digimon appeared. Unlike the Evilmon Hiro fought the other day, this was an obvious fake Chimeramon, with loose screws around its legs and arms. The Digimon itself had a large head encased in metallic armor with one horn jutting out on top, reddish hair behind its head, and an orange-haired chest. On its shoulders were two long arms like Devimon’s, which were long black arms with clawed hands. Below the arms were another skeletal arm on one side, and a redbug-like arm on the other. Behind the Digimon were two white wings, and underneath those were another pair of orange wings. It had Garurumon’s legs, which were white -and -blue striped canine legs with four canine claws.

“It’s here, Jellymon-sama! Let’s do this!”

“Jellymon evolve to…!”

Jellymon was enclosed into a bright ball of light with DNA strands surrounding her. Spinning around and around, her jellyfish head turned blue and purple with two ears on top, a pink mouth, and blue and green hair coming down her neck. Pink arms came down to yellow lightning sparks, along with a pink bottom, revealing blue pants-like armor and two black shoes. Two pairs of purple tentacles were on her upper back and lower back.

“TeslaJellymon!”

“Punishune!”

Electricity came from TeslaJellymon’s body, and she dashed toward the large Digimon. Using the built-up electricity, she pressed her hands on Chimeramon. Shockwaves coursed throughout the chimeric Digimon’s body. It roared in pain, and attempted to ward her off, but TeslaJellymon simply jumped away.

“Physalist”

Electricity formed around TeslaJellymon’s hand. She focused on her palms as the electric flow grew bigger and bigger, before it flew toward the chimera Digimon’s body. Electric shocks flew everywhere in her hands as she dashed, before it struck Chimeramon’s vitals, causing it to fall over.

Chimeramon’s data started to shake before it disassembled into smaller metallic parts. Kiyoshiro sighed in relief as TeslaJellymon returned to her child form. Kiyoshiro approached the machine parts slowly, as though it could come back to life, when Hiro and Ruli arrived.

“You found one, Higacchi?”

“I did, and it was—and still is—pretty tough.” Kiyoshiro sighed.

“But we did it, darling!” Jellymon strutted about.

“Now you’re up to date, Senpai,” Hiro said.

“I should have brought some of my charms with me!” Kiyoshiro despaired.

“It looks like Arcadia is safe right now,” Ruli reported.

“Then what is that ‘Kuzuhamon’ up to…” Hiro contemplated with his hand under his chin, staring into space. “And who WAS that Kuzuhamon?”

That was a question for the trio to answer, but there were no answers in sight. The Digimon were worried, too, as they didn’t know what was going on either. A fake Digimon that might include an Ultimate did not bode well for everyone in Arcadia.