Chapter 96: Welcome to my Nightmare

Flamedramon

 

My eyes opened, slowly at first. Cautiously, I looked around; no matter which way I turned, there was nothing but blackness. And yet, when I looked down, I could see myself as clear as day. What’s going on? What is this place? I…was attacked by DeathPhantomon…Did I die? My entire body ached all over, so I was fairly certain I was still alive. A flame twisted around my arm, but still, I could not see anything. I could hear someone running behind me; I turned around and saw a young boy toward me. His hair seemed rather long for his age — he looked to be close to ten years of age — and his face…I nearly fainted when I saw it. That…that’s…me! Back when I was a Human! I turned to completely face they boy. What the hell is going on?! If that is me…then chasing me would be… I knelt down as the boy continued running toward me, and yet, he did not stop. He kept running and running…until he ran right through me. “…I see. So this is…a dream…right?”

Coming into sight now was a huge, angry mob consisting of various Humans and Digimon. Subconsciously, I launched a stream of flames at the approaching mob, and yet, as I anticipated, they passed right through the flames unsinged. I watched in awe as person after person ran right past me or through me, not seeming to notice me at all. In no time, the entire mob had run past me, relentlessly pursuing the boy, and I was left alone in the dark silence, pondering what had just happened…if it really had happened.

“It is because you carry the mark that you are treated this way.” I turned around, and once again, I nearly fainted; standing behind me was myself once again, only this time…

“You…why do you look like me?! Who are you?!” I asked.

“I am Flamedramon…as you are.”

“What is this? What is going on?!”

“It is because of me you carry the mark.”

“What do you mean?! Are you telling me that I must blame myself for that accursed mark?!”

“…Let’s follow after them, shall we?” Without warning, both of us lifted up in the air, and flew in the direction the mob had run. In the blink of an eye, the dark scenery changed to that of a city. The two of us were on the ground.

“I’m so glad you came here, John,” a young girl’s voice said below us. “It gets lonely, not having any friends to talk to.”

That girl…that’s—!

“I’m glad I came here too, Abby,” my past self said to the girl. “I promise to always treasure the time I spend in this city with you.

…Abigail…When she was a child…By the Goddess, she’s adorable! The young Abigail smiled at my Human self. She wore a simple grey dress, and had her long, blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. So…this is Cyclamen City…

“What do you mean? Are you going somewhere?” young Abigail asked.

“…I have to leave this place soon, Abby,” John said.

“What? Why? We’re friends, aren’t we? Or did I…” Abigail looked down to the ground. “Did I make you mad?”

“No. You could never make me mad, Abby,” John said. “People from my home village, Iris, are chasing me. That’s why I came here, Abby; to hide.”

“…Why are they chasing you?”

“Because…I carry the Mark.” My younger self took off his traveling gloves and rolled up his sleeves. “This…is why they are chasing me.” John held up his arm, showing Abigail the Marked’s symbol on his left forearm. Abigail looked at the mark with a shocked expression.

“You have that too?!”

“…What do you mean too?! Abby…” Abigail lifted up her dress, revealing that she too had the Marked’s symbol on her stomach, just above her navel.

“N—no way! You carry this cursed mark?!” My younger self reached over and gently brushed his fingers across Abigail’s belly, feeling the mark just after feeling his own. “It’s real…Abby…”

“We’re the same, you and I,” Abigail said, letting her dress back down. “We…we belong together, don’tcha think?”

John’s face had gone completely pale, his eyes wide with fear. “…I shouldn’t have come here,” he said, walking away from Abigail. “Abby…there is no reason for you to involve yourself with someone like me.”

“John, what are you talking about?” Abigail asked. “John…c’mon, John! Let me stay with you!”

“No. I told you; we shouldn’t have been together for as long as we had!” John began to run away, but Abigail grabbed his arm. “Those people that were chasing me; they chase me because of this mark. They’re out to kill me, Abby; don’t you understand that if you stay with me, then they’ll kill you, too?!”

“John, please! Don’t leave me alone here! I don’t want to be left alone in this place!” Abigail begged tearfully, clinging tighter to John’s arm.

“Let GO!” John shoved his elbow into Abigail’s ribs, making the girl fall to the ground. “And don’t even think about following me! I…I hate you, Abigail!”

“But…John…” It was too late for her to speak; John was long gone. “I…I love you…” Tears fell from her eyes, wetting the ground as she cried out, more from sadness than from the pain of being shoved.

All of this happened right before my eyes. Reliving the memories…they were awful.

“No way to treat a lady,” the other Flamedramon said to me.

“I…was just trying to protect her,” I mumbled. “I didn’t really hate her…I just didn’t want her to stay with me. If she did…”

“And yet, when she heard of your death, the poor dear continued to cry herself to sleep every night until she was turned into one of those Bio Hybrids. Far too good for you, I’d say.” My body moved on its own once again; I attacked the other Flamedramon, but my flames passed through his body. He simply shook his head.

“Let’s see where you went after that, shall we?” Once again, the two of us lifted up into the air, flying in the direction John had run until we reached a large, old-looking fortress that stood in the forest.

“Lachesis…”

“You burned this place down, didn’t you?” the ‘other’ asked. “Because of that, the members of that organization are forced to seek refuge in the house belonging to a now-deceased knight. Speaking of…he carried the Mark as well, didn’t he? You noticed…when you first met him.” Without thinking, I walked into the fortress of Lachesis, where I saw John speaking to Apollomon, Dianamon, SlashAngemon, and BlackGaomon.

“Who is chasing you, little one?” Dianamon asked.

“Who would try to hurt a child?” SlashAngemon asked.

“They’re chasing me…because of this mark…” John showed the four Digimon the symbol on his arm.

“That hardly seems a suitable reason to chase somebody,” Apollomon said.

“It is because of what I am that I carry this mark,” John said. “It is because I have the blood of Humans and Digimon inside of me that I carry this mark.” BlackGaomon, Dianamon, and SlashAngemon all gasped. Apollomon, meanwhile, stared intently at John.

“You’ve gone through hell, haven’t you?” Apollomon asked. “All because of something you cannot control.”

I looked up at the fiery Mega Digimon, wide-eyed, but…happy. Happy that I had someone to turn to. I remember the exact words I said to him next. I said them simultaneously with my Human self.

“What if I’m not worth protecting, because of what I am?”

“Anyone pure of heart is worth protecting,” was what he told me. He said it exactly as I remembered. The look in his eyes…it was so sincere, I just couldn’t stop myself from breaking down and crying at that very moment. Both as John, and as Flamedramon. Dianamon lovingly cradled John in her arms as he cried himself to sleep.

“That was the promise they made to you,” said the ‘other’. “You put all of your hope and faith in them, and how did they repay you?”

“You don’t need to tell me what—”

“By letting you down. By failing to protect you when they said they would.” I glared at him; he stood right next to me, with his arms crossed, calmly observing the scene before him. “Oh, they did indeed try; you cannot fault them for that. But…they were unsuccessful.” Without my notice, the scene had changed to that of a small, poorly built house, set completely ablaze. Far away in a corner stood John, surrounded by two rather large men.

“This is where you die, kid,” said one of the men.

“For insulting the goddess that gave us all life just by existing, we sentence you to a swift death,” the other man said.

“Solblaster!” A huge fireball tore through the side of the house and struck the two men dead in an instant.

“Apollomon…I remember this,” I said. “This is where…”

“John…I’m sorry…none of this would have happened if we had been watching you at all times,” Apollomon said, calmly stepping into the blazing house. He offered me his hand, which John was about to take when Apollomon was struck from behind by a Digimon. The Mega Digimon hit the floor, unconscious, and John was left standing, facing a Meramon. The Flame Digimon walked up to John, his fiery body roaring in anger, and grabbed him by his arm, the one with the mark, and hoisted him into the air.

“Hangman is coming down from the gallows, kid, and you don’t have very long,” Meramon said. The Champion walked John out of the house, past the unconscious body of Apollomon, and up the stairs of a crudely made gallows, in front of which stood a large crowd of Humans and Digimon, all of which were yelling and cursing at John. A rope was fastened around his neck. A lever was moved. The floor underneath him opened up, and it was over in an instant. John was dead.

“All of this happened because of me.” I turned and looked at the other.

“Are you…a ghost?”

“…I suppose you could say that.” The other turned to look at me; though we were the same height, it seemed as though he were looking down at me. “I became known as the first Digimon to ever fall in love with a Human.” The other turned back to look at the lifeless body of John. “How tragic…simply because you were not like them, this happened to you…When you were given a second chance at life, this is what you became.” Once again, flames surrounded us, and this time, a third Flamedramon stood before us.

“That’s…me?” My past self was cornering a young woman outside a burning building.

“Why? Why are you doing this?!” the woman asked.

“If I am going to continue to be rejected…then the only thing I can do is reject the world,” my past self said. “Anyone else remaining in this wretched village…will share the same fate.” A twist of flames coiled around my past self’s arm.

“No…please, don’t; I’m preg—” the woman suddenly began screaming, completely enveloped by my flames. My past self looked on with a cold hatred in his eyes, and I with horror in mine.

“Yes, I know,” said my past self. “You would not be the first to make such a claim.” The burned woman fell to the ground, dead.

“This…did I…really do this?” I asked.

“You did.” I looked over at the other. “This is what you became.”

“WHAT ARE YOU?! WHO ARE YOU TO ME?!”

“That Human woman and I…we didn’t know what would happen, but still, we had a child. The child looked Human, but had the mark, just like yours. After that, the two of us discovered we as well carried it.”

“You…are you telling me that you’re my—”

“It seems unlikely that you were that child,” the other said. “But…who’s stopping you from being a descendant of mine? So you see, Flamedramon; it is my fault you carry the mark. It is my fault you look the way you do now.”

“Why I look…Why was I…brought back?”

“The Goddess does things in a mysterious way. Perhaps she simply felt sorry for the both of us,” Flamedramon said. “You see, it seems that while you were killed, I was on the verge of death myself for reasons pertaining to our mark. It seems that we now share the same body; you were given my body and powers, and I was given your consciousness — hence why it took until now for you to become aware of me. Flamedramon…we are…the same person now.”

“…But…why…Who are you?”

“Still don’t know? You remember Apollomon and SlashAngemon, do you not?” Somehow, I was able to make my head nod. “They were part of a group known as the Celestial Vanguard, a group of twelve of the strongest Digimon who worked tirelessly and flawlessly at defeating Lilithmon and her allies five hundred years ago. I was one of those Digimon.” I stared silently at the other Flamedramon. “It seems that this dream is a curse brought about by one of those Digimon — rather, a nightmare, I should say. You…you still have the mark, don’t you?” I looked at the center of my right claw…at the mark.

“Yes. I do. But it is in a different place than the one I had as John…is this where yours is?” Flamedramon nodded.

“As long as you carry it…you will forever be surrounded with sadness as long as people see you as a violation of the Goddess’s teachings. You are doomed to be forever persecuted, hated, scorned…unloved, even. If that little girl is still alive, she will no doubt suffer the same fate, but for a long time, due to the Digimon blood in her.”

“No…no! I can’t…How do we get rid of this cursed mark?!”

“There is no way. Flamedramon…as soon as you were born, you were both doomed to be treated this way. It is an unfair and unjust world we live in, but that is the way things are, and the way the people are, it is unlikely to change for many centuries.”

“…Why?! Why would you—”

“It was selfish of me, I know, to love a woman of the other species without thinking of the consequences it could bring, but because of this, you and that girl are doomed to eternal sorrow.” Once more, I mindlessly attacked the other Flamedramon in a blind rage.

“You should know by now that that won’t hurt me,” Flamedramon said, appearing behind me. I looked closer into the flames; someone was caught in the blaze, but it wasn’t the other Flamedramon.

“ABIGAIL!” The flames instantly dissipated when I screamed her name, leaving her horridly burned body in its wake. “ABIGAIL! ABIGAIL!” The woman slowly raised her arm up to stroke my face, and as I gently reached to place my hand over hers, she faded into dust, carried off by the wind. I turned back and glared at the other Flamedramon as tears began to well in my eyes.

“Why do you look to me, as if it’s my fault?” Flamedramon asked. “This is one of DeathPhantomon’s nightmares, after all; I am quite familiar with them. He did the same to me; making me think I had brought harm to the woman I had loved.” I looked off in the distance as tears began to fall down my face.

“Abigail…Abigail…”

“…I see that there is no reasoning with you,” Flamedramon said. “How did I end up sharing the same body with such a hard-headed individual?” His words fell on deaf ears, as I continued looking away, mindlessly repeating Abigail’s name.

“Flamedramon…it’s okay…”

“I’m right here, Flamedramon. I’m right here…” I felt an unseeable hand stroke my face, the last thing I remember before becoming completely surrounded by the darkness once more.

Chapter 95: Sword of the Storm

Thomas Kasuto

Yew

20 Minutes

 

Here lies Victoria,

A mother and swordswoman without peer.

Her beauty was matched only by that of her own heart.

 

I stared down unblinkingly at the grave that lay before me, just outside the military HQ that had burned down during Apollomon’s fight against BioBlackWarGreymon. Atop it lay a sheathed blade that had belonged to Victoria. Zelda placed a hand over my shoulder, snapping me out of my trance.

“…It’s…so hard to believe,” Statuedramon said quietly. “I really thought…she’d be staying with us forever in Lachesis…”

“Well, she’s not, okay?” I bent down and picked up her sword.

“…What made you think to get her sword?” Zelda asked.

“…Something happened to me…not long after I started training with her,” I said.

“You mean about the time your leg got injured?” Statuedramon asked. I nodded.

“What happened?” Zelda asked quietly.

“…It happened when we were training, in Valneva Province.”

~~~

“We’re almost done. Just a few more,” Victoria said.

“…Yes, mother.”

“Mother…no need to be so formal, Tommy,” Victoria laughed. “You can…call me mom…or mommy…” I held on tight to the sword she had given to me for my training. I carefully eyed the row of empty wine bottles sitting atop a wood fence. I swung once. At first, I thought I had missed, but… “Tommy…you…you really did it!” I had cleanly sliced through the five bottles, without any of them shattering. It had taken me many, many attempts; I had lost count of how many. “Oh, I’m so proud of you!” She picked me up, and hugged me. It was very tight; I couldn’t even breathe. But she was so warm, and it had been a particularly cold day, so I didn’t complain. “Just wait ‘til Statch hears about this; he’ll be so jealous!” She placed me down, and gazed into my eyes. “You’ve gotten so…skilled…in such a short amount of time.” She was crying tears of joy. At the time, I didn’t understand why she had gotten so emotional, but now I know…I was the same age as her son…Michalis. “Oh, wait right here! I’ll go get him!”

Victoria ran off, leaving me alone with five broken bottles of wine and a sword. I sat down on the fence, and I waited. I waited for about ten minutes, but still, she did not return. I sighed, and stood up. I looked up at the sky. I felt the temperature of the air rise steadily. I picked up my sword, and looked around. Nothing. A surge of flames rushed out from the forest and surrounded me. It was a lounge of Flarerizamon. They didn’t speak; they barely even stopped moving. One of them lunged out at me, and tore into my right leg with his claws. I fell to the ground. My leg was bleeding heavily, and the wound from the Flarerizamon’s claws burned; it felt like my entire leg was on fire. The flames closed in on me…which was when Victoria returned. She hit a Flarerizamon from behind, and instantly killed it. They all turned to face her. Two of them ran off, but four remained behind. They all rushed at her; she swung her blade, and killed another. She tried to attack the other three, but they had backed away, and they began attacking her from a distance. She wasn’t able to fight back as well as it seems she would have been able to, and she seemed like she was having trouble anticipating where they would attack. Another attack grazed past her leg, and she fell. The three Flarerizamon surrounded her, and out of desperation, she swung her sword…and all of a sudden, it began to rain. Neither of us knew what had happened; the sky was clear only moments before, but as soon as she swung her blade, a heavy deluge poured down on the Flarerizamon while the sword began to glow. With the three Digimon subdued, she ran and sliced through them, and killed them. As soon as they disappeared, the rain cleared up. We looked up at the sky; it was clear once again, as if it had never rained.

~~~

“It wasn’t until Wisemon described Susanoomon’s blades, what they could do, that I remembered what had happened on that day,” I said.

“You think this could be one of Susanoomon’s two swords?” Statuedramon asked.

“Who knows? It may have just been a coincidence,” I said. “But…if I don’t at least try, then we’ll never know.” I looked down at the lone grave. “I’m sorry…Victoria…but I’m going to need to borrow this. I hope you don’t mind…”

“She wouldn’t have,” Statuedramon said. “She would…be glad to help us in a time like this…right?”

“…Yeah…she would…” I let out a long sigh, giving the grave one final look before turning around and walking over to a pair of graves nearby. “…This…is where Saias and Lector are…right?”

“Yeah, Saias’s is right there,” Statuedramon said, reaching a hand into the mouth design on his shield and pulling a sword out. “Here you go.”

Taking the sword, I gently placed it down atop Saias’s grave. “..They…may not have been allies at the very end of it all…but they were still our friends,” I said. “Saias…who allowed us to stay in his house, even after his death, and Lector…he was the one to bury Victoria here…”

“We’ll stop them,” Zelda said. “For Saias, Lector, and Victoria’s sakes…and for Anna, and Neptunemon, too…”

“…Shall we get going, then?” I asked. “Let’s go home; Pheragas and the others must be getting impatient by now…”

Saias’s Villa

20 Minutes

 

“So, Belphemon’s really gone,” Luna said absently. All of us sat around the living room.

“And Neptunemon is gone as vell,” Pheragas added. He sighed gruffly, running his fingers across the blade of his axe. “And Apollomon still has not returned to us…”

“Damn it, where are they?!” Statuedramon asked.

“Maybe…do you think they’re fighting against the Order of the Enchantress without us?” Zelda asked.

“I find that unlikely,” I said. “Everything we heard from Wisemon, Apollomon knows. There’s no way…he would do this without the help of his friends…”

“But Dianamon, BlackGaomon, and maybe even Seraphimon are all with Mr. Apollomon,” Chrysania said. “There’s no way anything really really bad would happen to Mr. Apollomon that way!”

“So, vut do ve do now?” Pheragas asked. “Do ve vait? Or do ve disobey and take action?” With an unfamiliar unease, I noticed that the large man was looking at me.

“Why are you staring at me, Pheragas?”

“We want you to make that decision for us, Thomas,” Luna said.

I took a step back. “What?! Why me?! You and Pheragas have been here longer, either of you two should be the one to—”

“The two of us have talked it over, and we just feel like you’re better suited than us for being in charge until Apollomon returns.” Luna, sitting on a couch opposite from me, smiled and winked at me. I looked over at Pheragas, who nodded reassuringly at me.

“Ve ah at a loss of vut to do vitout a leader,” Pheragas said. “I…am incapable at making a rational decision in a critical situation…”

“Strategic planning isn’t really my thing,” Luna shrugged. “Soooo….I’m all for letting our Assassin boss us around.”

“Chrissy has faith in you, Tommy!” Chrysania said eagerly, smiling doe-eyed at me in the manner a younger sister would.

“This is…all very sudden,” I said. I looked at everyone in the room and into their eyes. All of them truly seemed all for having me as their leader.

“Ve vould have told you earlier, but you vere gone for so long,” Pheragas said.

“You’ve got a crafty mind, buddy,” Statuedramon said. “Remember when you tricked DeathPhantomon into revealing his weaknesses to you? That was…amazing…especially if you consider that DeathPhantomon himself is supposed to be a highly intelligent Digimon. You’re always the one Zelda and I come to when we want to know what to do; it’s gotten to where I do this without thinking, but now that Pheragas mentions it…you do seem to be the leader of our little threesome. We…need someone like you to guide us until Apollomon returns.”

“No, not someone like him,” Zelda said. “It has to be exactly him. I have faith in you, Thomas.”

“Go ahead...give me my hard, strict orders, Mr. Boss Man,” Luna said teasingly.

“Tell us vut ve vill be doing vile vaiting for Apollomon,” Pheragas said. “Do ve go after Lilithmon or not?”

“So…whatever I decide to do is what everyone is fine with doing, right?” I asked.

“Well, if you suggest something that would put Chrysania in danger, I’m afraid I would have to refuse,” Luna said. “I might even curse you.”

“Just give us guidance,” Statuedramon said. “Tell us what to do.”

I looked up and said, “…Okay. The only member of the Order that we can account for is SkullCaliphmon, in his desert castle. He is immortal under the light of the moon, but only while he stands inside his castle, which is filled with traps. We need some way to lure him out…”

“He doesn’t seem very bright; maybe we can just trick him out,” Statch suggested.

“Well, we can’t go now; by the time we get there, it’ll be night. That would make it harder for us to trick him out.”

“So, ve should go at night?” Pheragas asked. “Ven ve get dare, it vill be day; is dat vut you ah saying?”

“It would take a little more than a day to get to Primrose Village from here…It’s late afternoon right now…We wouldn’t have enough time to trick him out of his castle if we left now. Furthermore, we don’t know our way around the castle, and if we got lost in there, we might never get out. Maybe we ought to wait until Apollomon returns before going after him…What do you think, Statch?”

“Thomas, you’re the one in charge, remember?” Luna asked.

“…In that case…We wait…see what develops. If nothing happens in a week’s time…if Apollomon has not returned within that time…we will go to SkullCaliphmon’s castle. That should give us enough time to think of a plan of how to proceed with going about in his castle.”

“Dat is a good plan,” Pheragas said. “I knew you vould make a good leader.”

“Well, I’m not so sure about that,” I said.

“You want us to wait, right? That’s what we’ll do, then,” Luna said. “It is always better to wait and think of a strategy like you suggested than to foolishly rush in and get us all killed. That’s why you were chosen, Thomas, and not Statuedramon.”

“Hey!”

“Oh, come on, Statuedramon; even you have to admit that you do that,” Luna said.

“No, not that,” Statch said. “I…felt the ground shaking…”

“…No, not again…” Cautiously, I stepped outside onto the villa’s porch; far away on the horizon, I made out the figure of Hydramon slowly getting closer and closer. “Hydramon’s here!” Statuedramon and Zelda ran up behind me just as the Mega Digimon stepped onto the front lawn.

“Hey, you guys are looking lively,” Hydramon said. His three heads, all with eyes glowing yellow, looked down at me, tongues flickering occasionally, giving me an idea.

“…Rumor has it all of you heads aren’t on the best of terms,” I said.

“I’ll have you know that we are all the best of friends!” Hydramon’s right head said.

“Shut up; I do all the talking!” the center head yelled.

“How did someone like you get to be one of the most deadly Digimon in the history of Arcadia?” I asked.

“I’d bet he can’t even fight,” Statuedramon said. “They’d be too busy arguing to do any damage!”

“You shouldn’t judge us by how we heads interact with one another,” Hydramon said. I sighed.

“…Do you know what this is?” I asked, holding up Victoria’s sword.

“Ach, that is most definitely a sword, ya moron, ya!” Hydramon’s left head said.

“This is the sword that once belonged to my mother, Victoria, before she…before she was murdered,” I said. “This sword…is one of the two remaining swords from your fight with Susanoomon.” The three heads flinched backward, eyeing the sword with fear.

“…Yeah, that’s one of them, all right; I can tell from its stench,” Hydramon’s right head said.

“I told yeh we shouldn’t a’ come!” the left head said.

“Oi, I’m not in the mood for this,” the right head sighed. “The other heads thought I’d be best to go up…right. Oi, ’d they ever pick the wrong head for this one, then…”

“Are you going to talk or fight?” Statuedramon asked. “I bet you’re all scared; not that I blame you, having to fight someone using the same weapon that killed you five hundred years ago.”

“…Silence, Rookie,” Hydramon’s center head spat in an eerily calm manner. “Lernaean Inferno!”

All right; here’s my chance! All three of Hydramon’s heads reared up, with orange flames rising up from their mouths. I eyed each of them quickly and carefully as I jumped up, taking a swing at one of the heads with Victoria’s sword. The stricken head, the one on the right, coughed up flames as blood came spilling out the wound I inflicted. The other two halted their attacked and looked to see what was happening as I swung again, lopping off the head completely and watching it fall to the ground in a dead, bloody heap as blood poured out his open neck. The center head, which was the largest one and the one with the darkest scales, peered over at me as I wiped the blood from my sword. He almost seemed to be grinning.

“Don’t think this automatically means I’ve lost,” Hydramon said. “I’ve six more heads for you to deal with before I die for good!”

“Den allow me to help!” Pheragas’s huge axe flew through the air and struck Hydramon’s left head, cutting through it in a single, clean motion, and both weapon and head hit the ground at the same time. Hydramon’s remaining head quickly looked over at Pheragas as he walked over to his axe and picked it up out of the puddle of blood.

“How did you do that?!” Hydramon asked. “How could a mere Human with a regular weapon cut through my scales so easily?! The kid with Susanoomon’s sword, I can understand, but this?! Are you—”

“Dis is noting more dan an ordinary axe,” Pheragas said. “And I am noting more dan an ordinary man.”

“An ordinary man who can tear a tree out of the earth with his bare hands!” Statuedramon said proudly.

“Statuedramon, I keep telling you, dat was not a tree,” Pheragas sighed. “Dat was…oh, never mind…” Pheragas and I looked at the huge Mega as a crackling sound resonated through the air, as if from a fire. In the blink of an eye, four more heads popped out around Hydramon’s remaining head.

“Oh, thank the Goddess those two are dead,” one of the heads said. “I couldn’t take much more of their bitching!”

“Like you’re one to talk!” another head sneered.

“Yeah, that’s all we hear from you, after all!” a third head spoke up.

“Now, don’t you two start acting like you’re all innocent in all of this!” the first head snapped.

“WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP?!?!” Hydramon’s center head shouted. “AND YOU — WAKE UP!!!” the fourth and final head, which was drooped over the center head, shot straight up and looked around with half-open eyes.

“Aw, why’d you have to wake me?” the head asked. “I was having such a nice dream…”

“You can sleep all you want after we burn them!”

“Don’t you dare go tellin’ us what to do, now!” the second head said.

“Well, let’s get started, shall we?” I whispered to Statch.

“No, I wanna keep watching them; this is kinda funny,” Statuedramon said.

“Statuedramon…I order you to help me and Pheragas murder him.”

“Fine, fine…”

“And me.” I turned and saw that behind me stood Vajramon, with Zelda holding his Talisman close beside him. Next to her was Luna, shrouded in a golden light that obscured her body from view.

“We’re ready to help you with this,” Luna said.

“Lernaean Inferno!” With all of his heads facing a different direction, Hydramon spewed out limitless amounts of orange flames from his mouths in every direction.

“What the…he’s not even aiming at us!” Statuedramon said.

“You’re right,” I said. “He knows he doesn’t have much longer to live, so he’s just destroying as much as he can before he goes.” Hydramon’s flames burned through nearly everything around us; the lawn, the trees, even the pavement.

“If he had any sense of accuracy, he’d have hit our house,” Statch said.

“I’ll stop him before he gets that far,” Luna said. “Freezing Blizzard!” A chilling breeze escaped from Luna’s hands, freezing over four of Hydramon’s heads. The fire he had produced also suffered the same fate, freezing before shattering. Vajramon subsequently swung his two swords, firing off a Deva Blade which hit two of the heads, causing them to shatter as well.

“No! My brothers!” Hydramon looked on in horror as Statuedramon and Pheragas struck down two more of his heads until only his one, center head was left. My fingers tightened around the hilt of Victoria’s sword as I looked up at the enormous beast. The Digimon stared back, eyeing me carefully and with great spite in his eyes. “Herculean Slicer!” Hydramon’s tail shot down, striking my own sword just as I had begun to raise it higher.

“I wonder…how much longer will you last against this sword?” I asked. I glanced up, noticing the sky was beginning to darken as thick clouds hastened to cover it. Looks like the rumors about this sword were true.

“I don’t care!” Hydramon snapped. His voice was shaking from exhaustion, and it was reflected in his face as he continued to struggle against my sword. “You…you killed my brothers! You murdered Belphemon! You will all be destroyed!”

“…I guess there’s no avoiding it.” With a small effort, I pushed harder against Hydramon’s tail, slicing clear through it. The blade tip hit the ground in a puddle of blood. When Hydramon noticed, his face went blank with shock as I jumped up, aiming my sword at his final head.

“N—no way…” Hydramon howled. He roared in pain as I cut through the last head, separating it from his body. Both hit the ground, and both dissolved into nothingness. At that instant, rain began to fall from the sky, washing away the blood from the grass.

“…That’s two down,” I said to myself, wiping Hydramon’s blood off Victoria’s sword with my bare hands.

“Meaning dare ah ten left,” Pheragas pondered.

“And one more; Sephyrus is still working with them,” Statch added. “He might be just as dangerous as DeathPhantomon with his ability to turn into whoever he wants.”

“What now, Mr. Boss Man?” Luna asked.

“I believe it would still be best if we wait until Apollomon returns before we act,” I said. “But our plan remains the same; if he does not return within a week’s time, we will go after SkullCaliphmon, and during that time spent waiting, we will continue thinking of a plan.” I looked south, in the direction of the desert. Just wait, SkullCaliphmon…we will put an end to you and the others.

SkullCaliphmon

Cyprus Desert

2 Hours

 

I sat atop my sand and dust covered throne…as usual. I looked around my castle; sunlight shone through where the roof would be had I not demolished it ages ago, filling the room with its bright, nauseatingly luminous gleam. Oh, how I hated the sunlight…in that regard, I reminded myself of Myotismon. However, I needed the moon’s light to remain immortal, so this was a sacrifice that I was more than willing to make. I lifted my head and sighed. Man…I’m bored outta my skull just sitting here! But…I can’t leave; what if they find me wandering around outside the castle? I won’t be immortal…and they could very easily…no, what am I thinking? There’s no way a few Humans could defeat the Skeleton King! Lost in my thoughts, I failed to hear the footsteps of someone or something approaching me.

“I’m glad I was able to find you, your grace.” Had I a heart, it would have leapt out of my chest in surprise. Surprise and…happiness, I suppose you could say, upon recognizing the voice that had spoken.

“T…Tactimon? Tactimon…that is you, is it not?”

“Your grace, it has been far too long since our last meeting,” Tactimon said, kneeling before me. “Forgive me…I should have been at your side when you fought SlashAngemon all those years ago.”

“Don’t worry yourself about it, Tactimon,” I said. “So…what have you been doing these past five hundred years?”

“I have done nothing more than hone my skill with my blade, all while awaiting your return,” Tactimon said. “I knew you would be back someday, your grace, and it was only recently that I learned of your return. I knew this would be where you would come, so I came here as fast as I could when I heard of your arrival from the Dark Area.”

“How…noble of you, Tactimon,” I said.

“It was the least I could do for you, your grace. I would do anything you ask of me. You know that.”

“…Yes, I do. Tactimon…there are a few people attempting to keep us from keeping our freedom,” I said. “We deserve our freedom as much as they, and yet, they are trying mercilessly to take it from us.”

“They will be stopped!” Tactimon said indignantly, standing straight up.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” A tall and Human-shaped Digimon flew down through my open roof, landing next to Tactimon.

“Myotismon…what may I help you with?” I asked.

“Oh, surely you’ve heard?” Myotismon asked. “About Belphemon and Hydramon?”

“…What about them?”

“Seems like you haven’t been told yet. SkullCaliphmon…both Belphemon and Hydramon are dead.”

“What?!” I jabbed my sword into the ground.

“Belphemon was killed a few days ago by those Humans, and Hydramon fell a mere few hours ago.”

“…This…is not good,” I said. “They’re killing us off too quickly for us to retaliate, and with each death, the rest of us grow weaker…”

“You’re right. They need to be dealt with,” Myotismon mused. “But how…?”

“…Myotismon…do you think you would be capable of finishing them off?” I asked. “Horusmon told me their leader and Seraphimon were buried in a landslide in the Black Rose Mountains. Do you think you could—”

“I would be honored,” Myotismon said.

Heh. Guess the kid still looks up to me. Flattering.

“SkullCaliphmon, I will not let you down,” Myotismon said. “In a few days’ time, both those Humans and Yew will fall!”

“Yew? Why Yew?”

“I have to do something to get their attention, don’t I?” Myotismon shrugged. “Those Humans…just thinking about them makes my blood boil!”

“Yes. Let your anger grow…let it strike like lightning. Leave nothing of them.”

“I fully intend to.”

Chapter 94: Wisemon the Seer

Thomas Kasuto

Yew

 

“So, this is where Wisemon lives, huh?” Statuedramon asked, eyeing the house before us. Compared to the other houses on this street, this one was rather small. “When Andromon said next door, I didn’t think he…literally…meant…the house right next to that warehouse he was in…”

“How many other ways could he have meant it?” I asked. I reached up and knocked on the house’s front door, which opened immediately. A pair of yellow, glowing eyes peeked out from behind the door.

“You…I had a vision of your arrival…”

“Are you Wisemon?” I asked.

“Yes! Yes, I am! Please, come in, won’t you?” The door opened wider, and the tall Digimon gestured for us to come into his house. When we entered, the first, and only, things we saw were books. Piles and piles of books, shelves crammed against each other against the wall, with each shelf crammed to bursting with more and more books. The only things in sight that weren’t a book or a bookshelf were a small round table and a single wooden chair. “So, you’ve come to learn of a way to defeat Lilithmon once and for all, correct?” Wisemon’s face could not be seen, but from his tone of voice, I was certain that he would be smiling ear to ear.

“Yes, sir, we would all greatly appreciate any information you would be willing to give us,” Zelda said.

“Well, to tell you the truth, young lady…I’m afraid I don’t know for sure a way to get rid of her,” Wisemon said, sitting down.

“You don’t?! Then why are we here if you don’t know a way?!” Statuedramon yelled. I placed a hand on his shoulder to attempt to calm him down.

“I said I didn’t know for sure, with emphasis on the ‘for sure,’ indicating that I have knowledge of a way that could defeat her and her allies, but a way that I am unsure of being fully accurate.”

“…Well, could you tell us anyway?” I asked. “Any information we could get on them would be incredibly useful, and very much appreciated.”

“It would be an honor to do so, Thomas Kasuto.”

My eyes widened, and I felt my heartbeat quicken. He…knows my last name? Victoria’s…

“But it would make sense if I tell you their entire story,” Wisemon said. “You haven’t been told the story of each of their demises, correct?”

“No, sir,” Zelda said.

“Then it would be best for me to tell you,” Wisemon said. He tapped a pencil on his table and looked up at us. “As you know, Lilithmon and her eleven friends make up a group called the Order of the Enchantress. Each member is an incredibly powerful, deadly, and evil Digimon, each with a power unique to only them as individuals, as opposed to species. Each member was targeted by a member of the Celestial Vanguard, led by Seraphimon.”

“We already know this!” Statuedramon said impatiently.

“It is always easiest to begin at the beginning,” Wisemon said patiently. “Most of the members of the Celestial Vanguard had a weapon; for example, Neptunemon with his trident that young lady is holding on to.” Wisemon pointed at Zelda, and she held up the lance that was in her lap.

“When I stuck it into Belphemon’s leg, he was thrashing around in agony, more so than a lance this size should have done to a Digimon as large as he was,” I said.

“That is because…after their first deaths, the members of the Order developed something akin to a weakness to the weapons of the Vanguard, and anything affiliated with them, including abilities like fire, or even descendants of the one who killed them,” Wisemon said.

“A weakness? To a certain weapon?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“Belphemon was taken down by Neptunemon’s sentient spear, King’s Bite. As such, he developed a weakness not to spears, but to that spear. The fact that it caused him such pain proves that that lance is, without any shadow of a doubt, Neptunemon’s spear. Even if the weapon has become reforged into a different weapon altogether, or even if it were not a weapon at all, it will still cause them intense, agonizing pain when struck by it.”

“That’s…incredible,” Zelda said breathlessly.

“So, all we need to do is find all those weapons, and we’ll be set!” Statuedramon said.

“That…may work. But remember; not all of the members of the Vanguard carried a weapon; take Apollomon, for example,” Wisemon said. “Anyway…Lucemon was the first of them to be defeated. His opponent was a Digimon known as Crusadermon, who also happens to be…the mother of your friend, Dianamon.”  

“Dianamon?! She’s the daughter of one of them?!” Statch exclaimed.

“Yes…she never told you, it seems,” Wisemon said. “No one seems to know where Crusadermon went, but I do know for sure that she is still alive. Either her or Dianamon would be capable of flawlessly destroying Lucemon again.”

“But…we don’t know where Dianamon is, either,” I said. “She was with Apollomon and BlackGaomon, and they still haven’t returned home yet…”

“The next to be lost was SkullCaliphmon. As you know, the one to defeat him was—”

“SlashAngemon, we know,” Statch interrupted. “But…SlashAngemon is dead now, and I don’t think he ever had—”

“SkullCaliphmon is among the stronger members,” Wisemon continued. “He is immortal, but only in the light of the moon, and only within his castle.”

“But…looking back, the part of the castle we were in had no roof,” I said.

“Yes…I do not believe his castle has one…anywhere. You’ll just have to find a way to fight him when he isn’t exposed to the moon’s light, but even so, he won’t be an easy opponent; his sword created thin blades of air that strike as fast and powerfully as a hurricane.”

“And his castle has all those traps in it,” I said. “We’ll have to be careful with him…”

“Horusmon was the next to go, when he was defeated at the hands of MirageGaogamon,” Wisemon said. “As was the case with Crusadermon, nobody is sure where he is, nor does he appear to have any descendants like Crusadermon did.”

“Meaning we’ll have to defeat Horusmon all by ourselves again,” Statuedramon said.

“Horusmon is extremely versatile; not only are his attacks immensely destructive, but he is also incredibly fast, enabling him to dodge most attacks — and the few attacks that do hit him, he is capable of rendering useless with his healing attack.”

“So…we’ll need to hit him hard and fast,” I said. “Just like Deckerdramon told us…”

“The next was Machinedramon, who was felled by EmperorGreymon,” Wisemon continued. “Like Neptunemon, he gave up fighting, and gave his sword away to be recreated for someone else. Nothing is known about his current location. Machinedramon himself is a tireless machine, capable of running nonstop for all eternity…and unless he is stopped, he will not stop destroying everything in his line of sight.”

“Well, we’ll just make him stop, then!” Statuedramon said.

“That’s the spirit,” Wisemon said. “The next one was DeathPhantomon, and as you were told, he was defeated by a Flamedramon, evidently of no relation to the one you are all familiar with, from what I am able to see. If, by some miracle, you find Flamedramon, then DeathPhantomon will be no problem.”

“But…we already did find him,” Zelda said. “And…DeathPhantomon sealed him in an eternal nightmare…”

“Once DeathPhantomon is defeated, all those afflicted by his curse and his darkness will return,” Wisemon said. “Oh…but…you need him in order to defeat DeathPhantomon…well…this is certainly puzzling…”

“If his necklace is destroyed then he will die,” I said.

“…He will? I…I didn’t know that,” Wisemon said.

“DeathPhantomon told me himself while I was conning a little information out of him.”

“…Information that I didn’t know…how utterly FASCINATING!” Wisemon exclaimed. “Oh, I’m going to need to write this down, and—”

“Wisemon!”

“Wha—? Oh, yes…anyway, Generalmon was defeated next at the hands of Omnimon,” Wisemon said. “Omnimon…is in this very city.”

“Seriously?! Where is he?!” Statch asked.

“He is presently guarding the royal family of Yew, the king, queen, and their children. It will be impossible to ask for him to leave and help you; he wasn’t the sort to do so voluntarily, even at the request of others in the Celestial Vanguard, so help from him could never be expected.”

“Isn’t there any way we could convince him?” I asked. “Surely, if he knew the situation—”

“He did back then, and he didn’t help,” Wisemon said. “Well, he did, but only because Generalmon went to him, and he merely did his duty of protecting the royal family. Generalmon fled all the way to Acacia, but Omnimon hunted him down and killed him. It was quite easy for him, really; shame he doesn’t associate with anyone outside that family…”

“Well, I’ll make him—”

“NO! Do not ask him for help!” Wisemon said, interrupting Statch. “Doing so…can often times create a more perilous situation than the problem that requires his assistance…unless you’re the princess of this province; Omnimon’s always had a bit of a soft spot for the royal ladies, no matter the temperament…”

“…Then…maybe if I—” Zelda began.

“No, pretending to be a princess would not help,” Wisemon said, interrupting her. “He would know right away, and he may even attack you.” Zelda looked down at the floor in embarrassment. “Anyway, about Generalmon…his armor is tough, but not impenetrable. If, by some miracle, you are able to chip parts of it away, then you may have an advantage.”

“Challenge accepted,” Statuedramon said.

“Next was Lupinemon, who was done in by MetalGarurumon. Again, nothing is known of his whereabouts, or if he has any living descendents or not.”

“She fell into an icy crevasse into the ocean in Nymphaea a few days ago,” Statch said. “Is it safe to assume that that killed her?”

“No.”

“I told you,” I said.

“Each song she howls in her Digimon form, or plays on the flute in her Human form, has a different effect. The unpredictability of what she may do makes her as dangerous as any of the others, but she is not without limitations. If she can be worn out, then it may be possible to subdue her.”

“Shouldn’t be that hard to outrun a fat girl,” Statch snorted.

“As Thomas explained three days ago, Linoan wasn’t fat, but merely—” Zelda began.

“Incapable of compressing her data, I know…”

“The next to go would be Hydramon, who was taken out by a Digimon called Susanoomon. Like most of the others, nothing is known about where he might be, but it is possible one of his swords is among us today.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Rumor has it his single blade split itself into as many as ten during his battle against Hydramon to combat the beast’s many heads. Apparently, most of the swords were lost, but some say that two remain in existence; one red, and one blue. Some say that when one of these blades is swung…a powerful storm would make itself known somewhere on the continent, as if their very existence upsets nature. Perhaps this is why there is a perpetual blizzard in Nymphaea? I shall have to make note of this…”

A storm…could it be—?!

“Hydramon used to be an Orochimon, didn’t he?” Zelda asked. Wisemon nodded. “Shouldn’t he have more than three heads?”

“Yes…but, upon reaching the Mega level, it seems that each of his previously fake heads have gained a mind of their own. As such, when too many are present, they all begin to bicker and squabble. I’m certain you can make use out of that particular weakness.”

“I fully intent to,” I said.

“Myotismon was next; the one to defeat him was a Digimon called Beowulfmon. Again, nothing is known of his whereabouts, or if he has any descendents willing to assist us, so it seems that you will have to deal with Myotismon on your own. Like others of his species, he has control of a large number of bats which suck the blood clean out of their victims. Between them, his red lightning, and his special golden flames, Myotismon will not be an easy opponent.”

“Nobody ever said this would be easy,” Zelda said.

“Aside from Lilithmon, the last one to die was Belphemon, but as he is already dead, I do not believe it necessary to go into detail about him.”

“Wisemon…what about Cherubimon?” I asked.

“Cherubimon…he was never killed,” Wisemon said. “That was supposed to be Apollomon’s job, but from what I’ve heard, Cherubimon managed to escape him. Even if you are ever able to find him, Cherubimon does not suffer the same weakness the others do, as he was never killed.” I sighed.

“That…leaves Lilithmon…” I said.

“Lilithmon…the mastermind behind all these events,” Wisemon said, shaking his head. “She was supposedly killed by Seraphimon, but in truth…she killed herself instead. Therefore, like Cherubimon, she does not share the other’s weakness. Her right claw can decay and erode away anything it touches. Lilithmon herself is capable of manipulating space to her advantage. DeathPhantomon aside, Lilithmon is easily the most dangerous and powerful of the Order, even if she is to be fought last.”

“She used to be Ophanimon, didn’t she?” Zelda asked. “Maybe…we could use that to our advantage? Maybe even convince her to—”

“Don’t count on anything like that working,” Wisemon interrupted. “Her heart has been in the darkness for too long now…even Seraphimon could not bring her back to the way she was beforehand. As for using her past life to your own advantage, don’t; Lilithmon flies into an unspeakable rage when reminded of her life as Ophanimon by anyone other than Cherubimon.”

“We defeated her last time, though,” Statuedramon said. “Dynasmon killed her in a single attack, too!”

“Killed…yes. But destroyed? No.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was killed and sent to the Dark Area twice; once five hundred years ago, and again last month. But, she was able to come back. This time…she must be destroyed…something which Digimon Spirits are incapable of doing. Lilithmon must be permanently destroyed at the hands of the living, lest she continue to return and poison Arcadia with her evil.”

“…I’ll do it,” I said.

“Are you feeling up to the challenge?” Wisemon asked.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I? Lilithmon must be destroyed…so I shall be the one to do it.”

“…I see. I am beginning to understand just the kind of person you are, Thomas,” Wisemon said. “That is…all the information I have for you, I’m afraid.”

“I understand. Thank you for all your information, Wisemon,” I said.

“Where will you go now?” Wisemon asked.

“…If we’re going to fight against the Order of then Enchantress…then there’s something I need to go get,” I said. “It should be here in the city.”

“I wish you luck in your journey,” Wisemon said. “May the grace of the Goddess smile down on you and all those helping you in this quest.”

Chapter 93: Elegy of Linoan

Thomas Kasuto

Nymphaea Province

 

“We…we actually got one of them,” Statuedramon said.

“Yes…And now…only eleven remain,” I said. “And with one gone, their power diminishes.”

“So you think,” said a celestial and feminine voice.

I turned around and saw a pair of glowing, golden eyes staring down at us from atop an icy slope.

“The fact that Belphemon has been killed…does not slow our plans down in the slightest,” Lupinemon said. “Nor does said fact weaken us.”

“Step back, beast!” Gallantmon said, pointing his lance at threateningly Lupinemon.

“You really want to know something interesting?” Lupinemon asked. “Belphemon…was actually the weakest of us. Next time you decide to engage us in combat…it will not be so easy, even with one of our number deceased.”

“Next time? You mean…you aren’t going to fight us?” Statuedramon asked.

“Here, in this song, is gathered the emotions stirred by Arcadia’s bloody history of greed and hatred,” Lupinemon sang, ignoring Statuedramon. “‘Twas the same history that claimed this girl’s life in the midst of the futile war. Now, listen to her sad elegy…the Elegy of Linoan…” Lupinemon sat down, wailing a mournful and eerie, yet entrancing wolf’s howl at the cloud-covered sky. Her singing voice was lovely, but this howling was absolutely mesmerizing. In a moment, Lupinemon was hidden from sight by a pure white gleam of light, and where she had stood was now Linoan.

“That was you in that village?!” Statuedramon exclaimed.

“It seems that this poor child lost her life in that war, year 157,” Linoan said, walking down the slope toward us. The voice of the Human and the Digimon were identical. “And now…she and I are one and the same. Her spirit eternally lies within me…and I am able to change my shape to match hers whenever I desire.”

“What do you want with us?” I asked.

“I heard from DeathPhantomon that you escaped SkullCaliphmon’s castle. How, may I ask?” Ignoring her, I drew my sword and pointed it at her chest. “…You surprise me, Human. You would really turn your weapon on me, even in this form? Would you really make this poor girl suffer another death she did not deserve?”

“Your outer form is unimportant. It is who you are on the inside that defines who you truly are, and not a misperception of malice.”

“…Inside?”

“If you’d hold still so I can cut you open, I’d be happy to show you exactly what I mean!” I swung my blade at the woman, but missed when she jumped out of the way in a deft manner that an ordinary Human could not have done. I had to remind myself that she was still a Digimon.

“You forget…even in this form, I still have the strength of a Mega level Digimon!” Linoan said. Beneath her bare feet, cracks began to form in the ice, which went unnoticed by her. I smiled.

“It seems that you have forgotten something as well,” I said. “Your Human form may look small and petite…but that is all that has changed. Your Human form of Linoan seems to weigh exactly the same amount as your Digimon form of Lupinemon.” Linoan looked down and noticed the rather large cracks she caused to form in the ice beneath her.

“What…do you mean?” Slowly, she stepped away from the cracked ice, but as soon as she set her foot down, more cracks began to appear. A look of horror and realization appeared on her usually emotionless face.

“I saw it when we were in Primrose Village; Zelda and Statuedramon did not produce footprints in that dirt road, but you did. Linoan, or Lupinemon, or whatever the hell you want to call yourself…you are incapable of compressing your weight when you change shape, and in a place like this, atop ice that could split open at any given moment…there isn’t a greater weakness to have for a shapeshifter to have than the inability to change even one trivial thing about themselves.” A surge of rage flashed in her eyes; she ran at me, but doing so caused the ice she stood on to crack wide open. Linoan fell into the icy crevasse, plunging deeper and deeper until she would eventually hit the saltwater of the ocean. I looked down the icy crevasse. The ocean surface couldn’t even be seen, and the ice looked thinner where Linoan had stood when compared to the ice we stood on.

“…Huh…so…her being fat saved our lives,” Statuedramon said.

“I just explained it, Statch; she wasn’t actually fat. She just weighed as much as her Digimon form.”

“But…she fell through the ice! And it wasn’t exactly thin, either…” Statuedramon looked down the crevasse. “Well, anyway, she got just what she deserved for making us fall down a pitfall into SkullCaliphmon’s castle like that!”

“Let’s go back to the villa, shall we?” Zelda asked, clutching Hanna’s spear close to her chest. “We need to tell Pheragas that we managed to defeat one of Lilithmon’s allies!”

“Two, if you include Lupinemon!” Statch added. 

“No, she wouldn’t have died so easily,” I said. “It’ll take more than falling into a near-freezing ocean to kill one of them.”

“Well, I bet that at least did some damage to her! Landing in water from that high up is like landing on bricks!”

“…About going back to the villa…there’s something I want to do first,” I said.

“Thomas, I wanna go home!” Statuedramon whined. “C’mon, let’s get out of this frozen hellhole!”

“Where do you want to go?” Zelda asked.

“There’s something I need to go do in Yew. I don’t know if I’ll find what I’m looking for, but I figure it’s better than sitting at home and waiting for Apollomon to come back.”

“Oh, all right, I’ll go with you,” Statch sighed.

Yew

3 Days

 

“…This is where you wanted to go?” Statuedramon sneered. People were walking around us, not even seeming to notice our presence. All the buildings in sight were intact, save for the one we stood before.

“There’s someone that’s been on my mind for a while now,” I replied. Ahead of us lay what was left of Braig’s old laboratory. “I figure now is the best chance to try and find him, and since Braig’s lab was frozen over by IceDevimon last month, it seems the only place he would be is in one of these neighboring abandoned buildings.”

“Who are you looking for?” Zelda asked.

“…His name was Andromon. They had attempted to turn him into a Bio Hybrid, but they failed, and he was stuck in the Digimon form for the rest of his life. I haven’t seen him since he and Flamedramon helped us escape from Adrian and Abigail, and I figured that since we’re all fighting for our lives, I would try to convince him to help us.”

“What if he isn’t here?” she asked.

“I don’t know where else he would be; I didn’t know him too well. If he isn’t here, we’ll go home.” In front of me was a building resembling a small warehouse, completely gray in color. I looked to my right, at Braig’s old laboratory, still encased in the ice that showed no signs of melting anytime soon. I sighed and opened the door to the warehouse. After ensuring there was nobody immediately in sight, I walked in first, followed by Statuedramon and Zelda. The entire building was dark, with only a few windows allowing sunlight to shine through. After hearing the sound of voices, I came to a stop.

“What is it?” Statch asked.

“…I heard someone,” I whispered. “…Two people…in a conversation…” I quietly walked over to where the two voices were speaking, hiding behind a door.

“…Why won’t you join us?” the first voice asked.

Sounds like…Myotismon! I motioned for Statch and Zelda to keep quiet.

“I…have grown weary of mindlessly serving others…” another voice replied.

“Now that’s a good trick, seeing as you do not experience true emotions,” Myotismon said. “You are a hollow shell of a Digimon, but an exceptionally powerful shell at that. Andromon, it would do us great service to have you join our ranks.”

“…And? I would be receiving something in return for my services, would I not?” Andromon asked.

“What do you mean?! You aren’t Human; you aren’t Digimon; what could you possibly need?! You have no emotions, nor have you a mind of your own with which to make decisions!” Myotismon’s voice was beginning to sound impatient. “Honestly, if we did give you something, what would you do with it?!” Andromon said nothing. “You see?! You only want something in return for helping others because you think it will make you real. But you are not real…you’re a sham, a worthless machine, unlike our ally, Machinedramon!”

“Machinedramon…is a mechanical Digimon?” Andromon asked.

…How can he not tell from the name?!

“Yes, but unlike you, he is real,” Myotismon said. “Machinedramon possess true emotions…unlike you!”

“…Why…do you keep saying that?” Andromon asked. “Repeat the same words over and over, you do, but why?”

“Why? Does it hurt your ‘feelings?’ Does that make you want to cry?” Myotismon asked. “More pain for you means more fun for me!”

“…You would…attack me?”

“What?! No! Whatever gave you that idea?!”

“…I thought so…You…do not believe yourself of being strong enough to defeat me,” Andromon said. “And so, strong enough to beat me, you are not—”

“Crimson Lightning!” A flash of red was all I saw, and the sound of metal hitting the floor was all I heard. “Do not misunderstand, Andromon; I will not kill you. You see…we may still have a use for you, after all. Do you…perhaps…need more convincing?”

Okay, I’m done hiding! Nobody threatens MY friends and gets away with it! I ran out of the shadows, quietly and unnoticed, and struck Myotismon in the back of his right shoulder with my blade. Myotismon turned his head around, glaring at me.

“You again…” Myotismon grabbed the tip of my sword that protruded from his chest and pushed it out his back. “I am not in the mood to fight you three again!”

“Well, I’m more than ready to fight you,” I said. “What better way to celebrate Belphemon’s death than by murdering one of his allies?”

“…Belphemon? He’s dead?” I said nothing, and smirked at the Ultimate Digimon. “Okay…have it your way.” Myotismon waved his hand in the air, and a thin wall of gold-colored flames leaped up from the floor between us. “If it were any other time, I’d be more than happy to fight, but now, I must take my leave of you!” A blast of red lightning struck the wall, and Myotismon flew out, leaving his wall of flames to extinguish upon his exit.

“Thomas…encountered you in a while, have I not,” Andromon said, walking up to me. “You’ve been well, I trust?”

“Andromon, what happened to you?” I asked. “The last time I saw you, you and Flamedramon were fighting off the Bio Hybrids, and I haven’t seen you since!”

“Major events…occur, did they not,” Andromon said. “Defeated the Bio Hybrids with ease, we did, and afterwards, Flamedramon departed for areas unknown to me. I remained here, for I have a place none better to go to after the laboratory was encased in ice.”

“…Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” I said. “Andromon, I’ve got a favor to ask of you—”

“Wish to request my aid, do you?” I nodded. “And my aid you shall have…most likely.”

“Most likely? What do you mean?”

“Not sure, I am…but say this, I will,” Andromon said. “Seek out Wisemon, you should. If you truly wish to defeat those Digimon, Wisemon will know of a way.”

“Wisemon…do you know where he lives?”

“…Right next door. How else would I know about him?”

“Right…well…I’ll go pay Wisemon a visit, then,” I said. “Is there…anything I should know about him before I go to see him?”

“…Very thorough in his explanations, he either is or is not,” Andromon said. “Depending on the question you ask…you may get more than what you needed…or not enough.”

“Okay…well, I’ll just…go visit him, then…” I turned to look behind me; Zelda and Statuedramon both nodded, though Zelda did so more happily and with a smile, as opposed to Statuedramon, who did so more reluctantly.