"Well, here we are..." Leomon grumbled as he and his three companions were standing in front of the chasm that surrounded Zhuqiaomon's palace.
Sheperdmon gave her reptilian friend an uncertain look. "You think he'll... he'll be glad to see you again?"
Compsomon snorted. "I have yet to see a day where Zhuqiaomon was glad about something that didn't include mistrust or conspiracies..."
"Well, he did help our children against the D-Reaper," Sheperdmon pointed out.
"Yes, but only after sending all of his Deva to several suicide missions just because he couldn't grasp the concept of trusting the humans," Taomon muttered.
"Besides, he never completely forgave me after I abandoned my original mission and settled down in the human world," Mie sighed. "As his agent, I was supposed to gather information about these beings that created us..."
"Still I think he's one paranoid bird!" Taomon grumbled.
"Careful there, Roshi!" Mie frowned. "I might not like him very much, but he's still my patron, and I have to pay him my respects... as should everyone who enters his domain!"
Taomon grimaced, but decided to stay quiet for now. They followed their saurian friend over the bridge.
Sheperdmon felt a bit uneasy... after all, it had been her daughter who attacked Zhuqiaomon first in that battle a few years ago, allowing her and Terriermon the evolution to MegaGargomon...
"I've never realized how silent it is ever since the Deva aren't protecting this place anymore..." Compsomon mumbled. "Antylamon always guarded the bridge... Sinduramon was perched atop that spire... Majiramon would circle the palace in the skies... and Vajramon was the gatekeeper..."
"Their devotion to Zhuqiaomon was admirable, but in the end, it caused their downfall," Leomon grumbled. "If they had overcome their pride, and worked together with the humans, they would have achieved great things..."
The massive doors opened as soon as they stepped in front of them. Still, they didn't meet a single soul until they reached the central room of the palace, Zhuqiaomon's residence.
They could already feel the Souvereign's presence throughout the palace, but as soon as they entered the central chamber, his blazing power overwhelmed them and made them drop to their knees.
"My Souvereign Zhuqiaomon..." Mie said in a calm voice. "I have returned."
The enormous fire bird was hovering over them, surrounded by a corona of celestial flames. He watched each of the four humanoid Digimon kneeling in front of him carefully. He realized, these were the parents of the children that had attacked him within his own palace some time ago...
He gave his champion the hint of a smile. "Compsomon, welcome back! I am pleased to see that your loyalty still lies with me."
He then looked at the other three. "Greetings, Leomon, Champion of Baihumon... Sheperdmon, Champion of Ebonwumon... and Taomon, Champion of Azulongmon! May the Digital World always be sacred with the presence of your three patrons!"
After he gave them his formal speech, Compsomon stood up from the ground, indicating to her friends that it was safe to speak.
"My lord Zhuqiaomon... I am standing here in front of you today because something terrible has happened: The Seven Great Demon Lords have arrived in the human world."
"Yes, I know!" Zhuqiaomon nodded. "We Souvereigns have predicted their arrival and know of the terror they are spreading among the Digimon residents of that world."
Taomon felt a jolt of anger at the arrogant Mega Digimon's words. The only one who had predicted the arrival was Azulongmon, and he was wise enough to warn the humans by telling the children that had once saved both worlds from the D-Reaper.
Still, it bothered him that he had to learn it from his daughter. Did his patron trust him enough to tell him first that his father had become one of the Demon Lords?
That's one of the reasons why he was standing in Zhuqiaomon's palace right now, instead of Azulongmon's.
"Then you must know that the human known as Yamaki has one of the Demon Lords under his command," Leomon said. "He is controlling it with a certain device that had been constructed by the very same man whose had already threatened both humans and Digimon."
"I am very well aware of that fact," Zhuqiaomon stated coldly. "But this human, the so-called 'doctor' McCoy... along with his Hybrid abominations, he has been taken care of a long time ago. So what remains is his legacy. I never really trusted the human named Yamaki. He will have to pay for his insolence. But still, as long as the Lord of Sloth is in his grasp, it won't side with its brethren. Maybe we can even use this to our advantage..."
"My lord, do you have a plan?" Sheperdmon asked.
"Yes, indeed!" Zhuqiaomon nodded. "As you might know, it was Azulongmon's idea to turn the power of digivolution into a Digimon... the Digimon known as Calumon!"
Taomon looked up in surprise. It wasn't like Zhuqiaomon to admit that his dragon counterpart had achieved something the other Souvereigns didn't come up with in the first place.
"After Dr. McCoy's Hybrids were locked behind bars, I took care of their own source of energy for digivolution myself. It is an artificial amount of digital power, an almost identical copy to what Calumon had once been, before his transfiguration into a Digimon. I will give this power to you. It will be our key to victory over teh Seven Demon Lords."
"My lord," Sheperdmon gasped. "Are you suggesting that we should use it to digivolve?"
"No," Zhuqiaomon said. "This energy is too much focussed on entities that are only Digimon to an extent. The only ones that will be affected by it are Hybrids."
"So what are you suggesting?" Taomon asked.
"Taomon, surely you remember that young child that Azulongmon decided to take in after it lost everything that was dear to her?"
Taomon looked at the fire bird in surprise. "You mean... that girl?"
"Well, you know what to do with her, right?" Zhuqiaomon asked. All four of the champions nodded.
The Souvereign smiled. "Excellent! Now, I may not always have the same kind of attitude towards the humans as Azulongmon has, but I have grown to accept them. Not as equals, but as creatures that... are worthy to live. That is the main reason why I accepted the fact that you got engaged with that human, Compsomon!"
Compsomon noticed that her patron never mentioned her two sons or the fact that they had once attacked him.
"But I'd be the last to deny that Azulongmon has had a few intriguing ideas, every now and then. Thus I took the liberty of using his own idea for our all advantage..."
Compsomon gasped. "You mean, you did the same as he did and...?"
Zhuqiaomon looked in a dark corner of the room. "You may come forth!"
From the shadows, a small Digimon came floating. It's huge ears, the silly grin and its stubby limbs looked very familiar to Mie.
Still, there were a few differences: His skin was grey, not white. And the symbol on his forehead was upside-down.
The small creature smiled at them. "Hello," it said in a mischievous-sounding voice. "I am BioCalumon!"
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(Posted Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:25)
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