Chapter 103: Andromon Joins

Thomas Kasuto

Saias’s Villa

20 Minutes

 

Zelda immediately threw her arms around me as Statch and I walked into the villa. I was surprised at first, but I returned her loving embrace. Luna, Chrysania, and Pheragas crowded behind her. “Welcome back,” she whispered. “None of you got hurt, right?”

“It’s nothing we can’t handle,” Statuedramon said. “I got kicked into a building, so I guess I’m a little bruised up, and Thomas is still cut up from when Andromon attacked the house, and—”

“That was Andromon who did that?” Zelda asked.

“Yeah…did we not tell her…?” Statch looked up at me.

“No. We just walked outside and spoke to Andromon before going to Yew,” I said. We were probably gone for about an hour; no wonder everybody looks so worried…

“I’ll get you a concoction for all those cuts; I’ll see if I can find anything for Statch, too,” Luna said, heading upstairs.

“Is Andromon okay?” Zelda asked. I turned to glance behind me; Andromon stood motionless on the lawn, giving the entire villa a guilty stare.

“You can come in if you’d like,” I said. Reluctantly, Andromon’s eyes glanced up at me, but he slowly walked toward us.

“It’s good to see you again, Andromon,” Zelda said, smiling sweetly at the Digimon.

“Apologize immediately, I must,” Andromon said quietly. “‘Twas I who attacked—”

“Yeah, Tommy just now told us you were the one who attacked us,” Chrysania said. “You don’t need to feel sad about it; you’re still traveling with Tommy, so you must be a good guy!”

“He already promised us that he would help us rebuild,” Statuedramon said.

“Vut’s done is done,” Pheragas said, nodding. “If you ah helping us, den you really ah an ally.” Andromon looked at the five of us. His eyes began to well with tears.

“…Everybody…I thank you…from the bottom of my nonexistent heart…”

“Don’t cry, man; you’ll just rust,” Statuedramon said. I opened my mouth to speak, but my words came out as a partially stifled yell. There was a searing pain on my back, as if there was melted steel being poured on it.

“Stop complaining; if it hurts, that just means it’s working,” Luna said. “I’ll have the tears on the backs of your shirt and coat looked at later.” The sorceress walked over to Statuedramon and took hold of his arm, slathering a putrid, green potion on a large gash, making the Digimon howl in pain. Ignoring him, Luna looked up at Andromon. “Are you hurt, big guy?” Andromon glanced at Statch and me.

“…No…harmed, I am not,” he said slowly.

“Suit yourself. Make sure you come to me the next time you start bleeding.” Luna began slowly lapping the mixture of mine and Statch’s blood off the tips of her dainty fingers with a look of calm but crazed joy in her eyes. “I’ll make sure to have you…dealt with…” Andromon slowly backed away from the sorceress.

“It should stop burning in about ten minutes,” Zelda whispered to me when Luna was looking the other way.

“You didn’t get hurt too bad, did you?” I asked.

“No, I’m…fine…” She gave me a worried look as I quietly removed a shard of glass from the side of my right arm.

“Well, Machinedramon’s dead,” Statuedramon said.

“Dat is very good!” Pheragas exclaimed. “Dat leaves us vith seven left, no?”

“Is Mr. Andromon going to join Lachesis?!” Chrysania asked, excitedly jumping up and down. Unsurprisingly, she slipped and nearly fell, but Pheragas caught her in his large arms.

“You need to calm down, little vun.”

“I’ve been trying to, but I can’t do it when I’m really super happy!”

“But you ah alvays happy.”

“Oh, yeah…”

“Have a place to go, I do not,” Andromon said solemnly. “Stay here, I will…if you’d let me…”

“YESYESYESYES! Oh, please say you’ll join us!”

“Very well…I…shall,” Andromon said. Chrysania squealed with sheer delight; throwing her arms up in the air, she hugged Andromon.

“THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU THANKYOU!” Chrysania began bouncing up and down, nearly making her hat fall off.

“It’s almost time for dinner; would you like to join us, Andromon?” Luna asked.

“Required to eat, I am not,” Andromon said. “Not eaten in four years, I have, nor do I feel the urge to do so.”

“Would you like to join us?” Luna repeated.

“…I would.”

“Great! The dining room is this way…”

“Would you like me to give you a hand, Luna?” I asked.

“I was going to make you, anyway; glad to see you’re volunteering.” The witch smiled at me.

“HALT!” All of us turned to face Andromon. His eyes were open wide. “Someone…is approaching…”

“What do you mean?” Statch asked.

“Approaching this house, somebody is,” Andromon said. His head turned around completely, and looked out the open door. “There…in the sky…” The rest of Andromon’s body turned around, and the Android Digimon stepped outside. Nervously, Zelda and I followed after him in time to see a rather tall Digimon descend from the sky onto the villa’s lawn.

“Greetings, members of the guild known as Lachesis,” the Digimon said in a dull, monotone voice. “I believe this is the first time you have met Lucemon, is it not?”

“You’re a member of the Order of the Enchantress,” I said.

“Yes, Lucemon is a part of that group.” The Digimon stood silently, staring at us. “Do you…need something from Lucemon?”

“Uh…you were the one that came to us,” Statuedramon said.

“…Yes…Lucemon did come here…But he cannot remember why…”

“How’d a guy this dumb almost kill Dianamon?” I whispered to Statch.

“Lucemon heard you.” The Digimon was suddenly two inches away from my face. “Lucemon hears everything. He also just remembered why he came here.”

“…Well? Why did you come here?” Zelda asked.

“Lucemon came here…because…he knows where Apollomon is.”

“Apollomon?! Where is he, you bastard?!” Statuedramon asked.

“Apollomon is with Dianamon, BlackGaomon, and Seraphimon in the Black Rose Mountains,” Lucemon said. “They were buried in a landslide, but are still alive.” Without a moment’s hesitation, I ran out the door, only to be stopped by Andromon.

“A trap, this could be,” he warned.

“I am not going to risk the lives of my friends over the chance that what he says could be a lie!” I said. “Even if it is a trap — even if Lucemon is just going to take us away somewhere and attempt to kill us — that’s okay. We’d have to fight him eventually, so it’s just as well that he showed himself now, rather than later.”

“What Lucemon has told you is not a lie; your friends are in the Black Rose Mountains,” Lucemon said.

“Could be,” I said. I looked up at the orange sky. “Andromon, you come with me.”

“Me…? Go with you?” Andromon asked.

“It’s getting late, and I’m sure the others are getting tired and hungry,” I said. “Also…while Apollomon is away, I’m in charge, so I’m ordering you to come with me.”

“U—understood…” Andromon spoke nervously, though he smiled at me.

“Would you like me to go with you?” Zelda asked quietly.

“No. It’ll be dark by the time we reach the mountains; I don’t know what might be waiting for us there, or if that’s where we’ll be going at all,” I said. “Please…stay here where it’s safe.”

“…Okay…please be careful…”

“We will.” I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll both be back before you know it.” Lucemon placed his arms around mine and Andromon’s waists and hoisted us up into the sky.

Chapter 102: Lucemon's Decision

Thomas Kasuto

Saias’s Villa

 

The windows shattered, sending shards of broken glass flying everywhere as we hit the floor. I quickly grabbed Zelda and lay over her to shield her from the attack with my body, and Luna did the same for Chrysania. I lifted my head just high enough to get a look around, my ears ringing. The entire room was filled with smoke from the explosion, but luckily, there didn’t seem to be any flames. Statuedramon stood in front of all of us, holding up his shield to protect us from any additional oncoming attacks as Pheragas placed himself between Luna and the new hole in the wall to protect them.

“Is everybody okay?!” Statuedramon asked.

“Damn it! They just keep coming, one after another,” I muttered. “Who is it this time?!”

“I can’t tell; I’m going out!” Statch nervously walked up to the smoldering hole. Zelda and I both carefully sat up; we were surrounded by shards of broken glass, and we were both covered in small cuts that stang when we moved.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, anticipating what I would say. There was a particularly large cut on the side of her left arm. Blood welled forth from it, staining her sleeve. I clenched my fist, looking down at the floor.

I am so fucking sick of seeing her get hurt! She’s been through so much in her life, but all of our enemies find it necessary to do things like this to her! I unclenched my fist when I realized I had torn open the skin of my knuckles in doing so. I’m going to kill that bastard in the most painful way I know how for doing this to her! I placed a quick kiss on Zelda’s forehead, then ran through the smoke and outside after Statuedramon. “Who is it? Who’s the bastard who hurt her?!”

“Is she okay?!” Statch asked.

“She’s fine,” I replied.

Shaking his head, he looked around. “I can’t see anyone through all this smoke!”

“Two voices…familiar to me, they are.” A form finally began to materialize in the smoke. The voice of the person who had spoken was familiar. “Oh, dear…a terrible mistake, I have made…”

“…Andromon? Andromon, is that you?!” I asked. The prototype Bio Hybrid walked through the smoke. “Andromon, what the hell are you doing here?!”

“This place…is where you live,” Andromon said to himself. “I had not been made aware of such fact.”

“What are you talking about?” Statuedramon asked.

“Asked to come here, I was. Ordered to eliminate this building and all its residents, was I.”

“…Someone made you come here?” Statch asked. “Your speech pattern’s kind of confusing me…”

“…He was right, though,” Andromon said. “Told me I would feel emotions for the first time when I came here, did he. And emotions, I do feel…not the ones he promised me, but emotions nonetheless.”

“And who is he?” I asked, suddenly feeling less angry. I guess I can’t really be mad at Andromon if he wasn’t told we were here…

“Machinedramon is his name. Ally of Myotismon, he is.”

“Machinedramon…he’s one of Lilithmon’s allies,” Statuedramon said.

“Andromon, do you know where he is?” I asked. The anger that had vanished was suddenly renewed. Andromon looked down at me.

“…You would…trust me?” he asked. “After I…attacked you?”

“C’mon; it’s obvious you didn’t know this was where we all lived. You haven’t attacked since you realized that.” In spite of the circumstances, I did my best to smile at Andromon. “Also…you said you felt emotions for the first time…what do you feel, seeing what you’ve done?”

“…I feel…what you would call…despair,” Andromon said. “Guilt.”

“Then, that’s all the more reason we have to trust you, Andromon. You obviously didn’t want to hurt me or my friends,” I said. “Please…take us to where Machinedramon is.” Andromon stared at me for the longest time.

“…Very well. Wish to make up for what I have done, I do. Take you to him, I shall.”

Yew

20 Minutes

 

“Almost there, we are,” Andromon said. Statuedramon and I were the only ones who had gone with him. Luna was with the others, treating their cuts and wounds from the broken glass with her potions and spells.

“You shouldn’t have come with me,” Statuedramon said. “I’m okay because of my shield, but you’re pretty badly cut up from protecting Zelda.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “It’s only on my back. If you’re worried, I’ll have Luna take a look at it after we’ve killed Machinedramon.”

“Your hand’s bleeding, too.”

“That was from clenching my fist too hard.” Statuedramon grimaced, taking a few steps away from me.

“I apologize,” Andromon said. “If I…if I hadn’t—”

“Andromon, I told you; you have nothing to apologize for,” I said, giving him what I hoped was a friendly smile. Andromon nodded understandingly, but the look in his eyes made it seem like he wasn’t fully convinced yet. “…Tell you what; if you still feel bad about it, then you can help us fix up the villa. Deal?”

“…Yes, of course,” Andromon said. “Thomas…the first person to not treat me any differently after I turned into this form, you were. Do anything to help you and your friends, I would.”

“Glad to hear it, buddy.”

“We’ve reached Braig’s lab,” Statuedramon said. “This is where he’s at, right?”

“Told me he would be waiting here, he did,” Andromon said. “But see him, I do not…”

“This was where he was freed from the Dark Area by Sephyrus, wasn’t it?” I asked.

“So he has told me.” The ground trembled. Somebody was slowly approaching us. Somebody big.

“Think that’s him?” Statch whispered. I nodded. The three of us turned around as the giant, mechanical Digimon came into view. In spite of his large size and the length of each of his strides, it seemed to take him ages to finally walk over to the frozen lab.

“Andromon…back so soon?” he asked. “Good job! How did it go? Did you find the emotions you sought?”

“…Not exactly,” Andromon said, giving Statuedramon and me a rather confused look.

…Doesn’t Machinedramon see us?

“I discovered the way emotions feel…for the first time,” Andromon said. “Machinedramon…you promised me joy…I felt sorrow…guilt…”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Machinedramon said, sounding truly remorseful. “Were you successful in killing them?”

“…No. I found that I could not do it.”

“I understand; if it is the first time, it is always a little overwhelming,” Machinedramon said sympathetically. “Now…who are these two?”

“You don’t remember us?!” Statuedramon exclaimed. “I killed you, like, two or three weeks ago!”

“…I do not remember,” Machinedramon said. “Wait…are you from that Lachesis group?”

“YES!!!”

“Oh, now I see. Andromon, why did you bring them with you?”

“We are here to kill you, Machinedramon,” Andromon replied.

“…Kill me? After everything I’ve done to try to help you, Andromon, you’d do that to me?”

“Tell me my friends lived in that house, you did not! Kill you, we will!”

“…I see.” Machinedramon lowered his large head to face Andromon specifically. “I, Machinedramon, will not yield to the frail heart of an infantile coward! Don’t resist; it’ll make your deaths faster and more painless!”

“I’d like to say the same to you!” Statuedramon said. “Seeing as how I killed you last time and all…”

“My power has no limits!” Machinedramon roared. “I will crush you! Giga Cannon!” Statch held up his shield as Machinedramon fired off his attacks. Not aimed at him, Machinedramon’s attacks soared over Statch’s head and blew up Braig’s old laboratory. After over a month of being frozen in place, the ice finally shattered as the building collapsed in place. Statuedramon was left transfixed, staring, at the now burning building, as Machinedramon struck him from behind with his right arm’s Dragon Fire attack, sending the Rookie hurtling through the air and into the rubble of a demolished house.

“Lighting Blade!” Andromon joined in the fight, firing off several energy blades at the titanic Machinedramon, though all of his attacks bounced and broke apart as they hit his steel body. “Speak to Wisemon, did you not? How was Machinedramon defeated ages past, I wonder?”

“He was killed by a Digimon called EmperorGreymon,” I said. “Like most of the others from the Celestial Vanguard, nobody seems to know where he went, so we’re going to have to try to defeat Machinedramon by ourselves!”

“Giga Cannon!”

“Watch out!” Andromon pulled me to the ground just as Machinedramon attacked again. The attack passed harmlessly over our heads, eventually vanishing from sight.

“Just give up!” Machinedramon said. “You can’t run; I’ll just chase you down until I catch you!”

“We’re not running away,” I said. “My job is to kill people like you on a daily basis. I couldn’t look at myself in the fucking mirror if I turned away now!” Statuedramon finally climbed out of the rubble, and ran over to us.

“Yeah, you’d better believe we’d die before surrendering!” he yelled.

“Permission granted. Giga Cannon!”

“Gatling Attack!” Andromon’s chest plate opened up and fired two missiles into Machinedramon’s cannons before he could attack. The cannons exploded, consuming Machinedramon in a ball of flames.

“Holy shit!” Statch exclaimed.

“Andromon…”

“Stop him, that will not,” Andromon said. “Prepared for him, you must be.” As if on cue, Machinedramon stomped through the flames, heavily burnt with several wires drooping all over him. Bits and pieces of his steel armor had melted away, and as he walked, he left behind puddles of molten iron. The cannons on his back had simply vanished.

“I misjudged you,” Machinedramon said. “But you will not be so lucky again; Dragon Fire!” Machinedramon brought his claw down on us as Andromon shoved Statch and me out of the way, grabbing Machinedramon’s arm midair before it hit the ground. Andromon hit the ground in a matter of seconds, becoming trapped under Machinedramon’s claw. “You were too much trouble.”

“Lightning Blade!” With his free arm, Andromon fired another energy blade, this one piercing clear through Machinedramon’s arm. After a loud, metallic creak broke the silence that followed, Machinedramon’s arm fell off, freeing Andromon. Machinedramon took another step forward as Andromon attacked him once again, sending a Lightning Blade through the larger Digimon’s chest. Machinedramon came to a sudden stop; various mechanical bits and screws fell through the hole in his chest, followed by some melted iron and torn wires.

“Well…it seems…you have beaten me,” Machinedramon said, his voice and his body creaking loudly. “But the Order of the Enchantress shall triumph! I may perish…but sooner or later…the Darkness of the Dark Area…it will billow forth and devour this continent!” With a final creak, Machinedramon’s head fell off and hit the ground with a resonating thud, sending small scraps of iron flying into the air as his body disappeared, leaving nothing behind. Andromon sighed with relief, falling back down to the ground.

“Andromon, are you okay?” I asked.

“Be fine…I will,” Andromon said, breathing heavily. “That…wore me out…”

“When we get back home, we’ll have our witch brew you up a potion; they snatch the exhaustion right out of you,” Statuedramon said enthusiastically. “You are…coming with us, aren’t you?”

“Still…owe you a debt, I do,” Andromon said. “Fix your house, I shall.” I smiled.

Horusmon

 

“…And so…the fifth flame dies out…” I sighed. Machinedramon…you were so powerful, too; how could they be this strong?! Or…is it that we’re getting weaker? I looked down at the city of Yew from the sky. Thomas, Statuedramon, and Andromon were leaving. I could…attack them right now…but…that would not be an honorable victory. I wish to fight them at their strongest.

“Horusmon!” I turned around. Flying up to me was Lucemon.

Oh, great; him. Even DeathPhantomon would be better than him…

“Lucemon wishes to know what you are doing,” Lucemon said, his monotoned voice as dull and creepy as ever.

“Just observing the battlefield from afar.”

“Like a vulture, waiting to pick clean the bones of the fallen.”

I looked at Lucemon. “Is there a point to your visit?” I asked.

“Lilithmon told Lucemon that you were the last to see Apollomon and Seraphimon alive,” Lucemon said. “Was her statement a truth, or was it a falsity?”

“No. She speaks the truth. For once.” I looked to the north. “I buried them in a landslide in the Black Rose Mountains a while ago. I have no doubt that they are still alive, but they will all die at some point.”

“LUCEMON WANTS TO BE THE ONE TO KILL THEM!”

“…You really are an oddity, Lucemon,” I said. “I’ll take you to where they were buried. How’s that?”

“Lucemon wants to kill the other members, too,” Lucemon said. “You will take Lucemon to where they were buried, then Lucemon will find the other members and kill them all at once.”

“Got it.” Freak.

Chapter 101: True Emotions

Andromon

2 Days

 

I had heard rumors of his presence in this city. Myotismon’s words continued to ring in my ears as I walked through the moonlit streets of Yew, and even though word of his demise came to me a while ago — along with his destruction of the northernmost part of this city — they continued to haunt me. I know I had no emotions with which to feel this way — they died with my humanity when I became Andromon. Neither Human, nor completely a Digimon, either. But even so, his words…they continued to unease me, confuse me. Could it be that my heart is actually beginning to remember how to feel? I wasn’t even sure if I had a heart anymore. Probably not. But if I did…that would certainly explain the emotions I was told I wasn’t supposed to have…by everyone I have met ever since I became this form.

“Everyone…except for Thomas,” I muttered. “The only one who has yet to berate me, he is…him and his friends…” My thoughts turned immediately to the three…They had never really specifically mentioned anything about whether or not I should feel emotions; however, they also haven’t said that I couldn’t…I quickly pushed all of these thoughts from my head. I had to focus on the task at hand. I had to find him. Even if he kills me as soon as he sees me, I had to find him. The chance that my questions would be answered was something I was more than willing to risk my very existence over, and I wouldn’t give up until I found him. After about an hour of walking, the scent of carnage caught my attention. “Odd…in the northern part of the city, I am not…yet the aroma of death lingers fresh on the air…”

“Who goes there?!” An enormous Digimon glared down at me. He stood on the ground, and yet he was taller than every building around. “There should be no survivors…who are you?!”

“You have been sought out intentionally…There are questions for you, I have,” I said. “My name is Andromon.”

“…A Machine Digimon? Or perhaps—”

“Not a Digimon at all, I am,” I interrupted. “Or, so I have been told since turning into this monstrosity you see before you.”

“Why have you come here?” His voice sounded less angered, and truly curious by this point. “What questions did you have for me?”

“…Your ally…Myotismon…Told me about you, he did,” I said. “A Machine Digimon, you are, and yet you possess emotions. Please…tell me…how I can get my own emotions, Machinedramon.”

“…Emotions…are not something you can simply ‘get,’” Machinedramon said. “You either have them or you don’t. Nothing to it.”

“But it’s different for us!” I yelled. “We’re machines; just hunks of steel! Some of us have emotions, and some of us don’t!”

“Which is exactly what I meant by ‘you either have them or you don’t,’” Machinedramon said.

“And I…I’m a step further from different,” I said. “Created…in a lab, I was…the researchers…they forcefully combined a Human with Digimon DNA. They failed…and thus, I was created, doomed to never be either race ever again…”

“Oh…so, you were a prototype for those Bio Hybrids Lilithmon has working for her…” Machinedramon stared down at me silently for a few seconds. “…Myotismon…said you have no possessions because of your origins, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Not the only one, he was, but his words sting the most.”

“That’s probably what I hate the most about that bastard; he’s never direct with someone unless he’s insulting them,” Machinedramon spat.

“You do not like him?”

“Hardly! I hate him even more than DeathPhantomon and Lilithmon! That is definitely saying something!” Machinedramon said.

“He told me you have true emotions…what do you do…to experience yours?”

“You want to prove him wrong, don’t you?” I nodded. “…I feel happiest…when I am destroying things. Rampaging through a city like this one, killing innocent people, seeing the streets stained red with all the blood…nothing makes me happier than seeing something so artistic. If you want to prove Myotismon wrong…then do as I do, Andromon.”

“Do as…you…” I turned to a building beside me, opening up my chest plate and preparing to fire a Gatling Attack.

“No, not that one,” Machinedramon interrupted. “Not just any building. If you want my advice, if you want my help, then you will go after a particular building. If you can get rid of that one, then you may be at my side as much as you wish.”

“At your…side?”

“We both hate Myotismon. We are both mechanical Digimon. Furthermore, to be honest, I do not particularly mind your company, Andromon,” Machinedramon said. “Destroy this one building for me…you will experience emotions as I do…this is beneficial to both of us.”

“…Where is this building?”

Thomas Kasuto

Saias’s Villa

5 Hours

 

“You killed him?!” Statch gazed at me in awe. Zelda and I had just returned home. Statuedramon was the first to greet us, and his first words were ‘where the hell did you two go off to?! Do you know how worried we’ve been?!’ as he dragged us into the living room, where Luna, Chrysania, and Pheragas sat. “You actually did it?! How?!”

“I thought the plan was to wait a little longer for Apollomon to return,” Luna said.

“…I take it this means they haven’t returned yet,” I said. Luna shook her head sadly.

“They’ll be okay, mommy,” Chrysania said, placing her arms around the sorceress’s slim waist. Luna reached down and patted her on the head. “Mr. Apollomon’s really super strong, and, and he’s got Dianamon and BlackGaomon with them…they’ll be okay…”

“…Sure they will, sweetie…”

“So, vhy is it you two decided to go to de desert, den?” Pheragas asked. “And how did you get back so quickly?”

“Well, we didn’t really decide to go,” I said. “SkullCaliphmon just kind of showed up and took us to his castle without our consent.”

“He used one of his attacks to take us there in only a few hours, rather than days. It seemed like an instant to all of us, though” Zelda added. “After Thomas…after he killed him, we had to walk all the way back.”

“Wait, you killed him?” Statch asked.

“All I did was punch him in the skull,” I shrugged. “He was…saying some terrible things about her…I just got so mad that I punched him. He flew over his throne and landed in its shadow, and next thing I know, the part of his skull where I hit him broke apart and left a big hole, and he died.”

“You punched his skull in,” Statch said. “You literally fractured his skull…with your bare hands…Remind me to never piss you off again…”

“It seems your title of ‘The Assassin’ is well deserved, indeed,” Luna said. “You permanently killed an unkillable man. Twice.”

“And now, ve ah left vith eight to kill,” Pheragas said. “Vut ah your orders, Thomas?”

“…I really think we should go looking for Apollomon,” I said. “But we don’t have any idea where they went; we don’t even know where Seraphimon is…”

“If we find him, he might be able to tell us where Apollomon, Dianamon, and BlackGaomon are,” Luna suggested.

“I think one wild-goose chase is enough; I say we focus more on Apollomon than Seraphimon,” Statuedramon said. “If we decide to go searching for them, that is!”

“We’ll all go along with whatever you decide to do, sweetie,” Zelda said, gently squeezing my hand.

“…Luna…you fought Generalmon, right? Did he tell you anything in particular that might reveal where he might be?” I asked.

“Actually, he did; he seemed to have a pretty deep grudge against the entire city of Acacia,” Luna said. “I don’t know what would drive someone to hate an entire city like that, but I’d be willing to bet that if he’s anywhere, that’s where he’d be.”

“And this Generalmon…is he strong?” I asked. “I know you fought him on your own, Luna, but how strong do you think he is? Would we be fine as a group?”

“I think so,” Luna shrugged. “I’m not even that strong, and I killed him by myself. Though, he did break a few of my ribs in the process…”

“…Okay, here’s the plan,” I said after a moment’s thought. I opened my mouth to speak again when Statuedramon suddenly sprung up.

“I hear something!” he said frantically.

“What is it?” Luna asked.

“…Sounds like…” he gasped. “Everyone, get down!” Without hesitation, all of us hit the floor as two missiles soared through the air and crashed through the windows, exploding.