„But I won't help you!"
"And why not, d'arcmon?" Romi asked. She then sighed. "Oh, right… mind control…"
"You are the bad guys that want to hurt my mommy, right?" ChibiD'arcmon asked. "And you beat up poor Manami. I won't help you! Helping evil people is bad!"
'Let's try this the psychological way,' Chaochungmon asked. She lowered her shield and smiled at the young angel. "Sweetie, listen… we are not the bad guys around here. We just want to help turn everything and everyone back to normal… so that everyone's happy again! You do want everyone to be happy, don't you?"
"Yes," ChibiD'Arcmon nodded. "But mommy is making everyone happy. And you want to hurt mommy… so you don't want everyone to be happy."
"This is going to be tougher than I thought," Chaochungmon groaned.
"Aw, why can't we give her a good spanking?" Senshimon growled. He never liked Magnadramon's general either…
"Stop that, we can't solve everything with violence!" Turuiemon sternly said.
"Ah, but why not?" Kobomon spoke up from above. "She's on their side, so doesn't that make her a villain? The perfect time for a mini-boss, I'd say…"
"Since when does a mini-boss battle come directly after a boss battle?" Gargomon frowned.
"Enough! Mind control and transformation or not, she's still a little child and we won't attack her!" Chaochungmon ordered. "Even if she won't help us, she won't be a danger either."
"Yeah, look at her!" Yui nodded. "I mean, she's all alone."
"She's not alone!" a pair of voices spoke up as two figures came flying in on leather wings, landing left and right to the little angel. "She's got us, her bro and sis!"
"Who are they?" Gargomon wondered.
"Guys…" Henry muttered.
"They are your enemies! Attack them!" Kobomon said.
"Would you shut your trap for a minute or two?" Senshimon angrily snapped.
"Guys… listen…" Henry spoke up again.
"They are also children… Rookies. We won't hurt them!" Chaochungmon insisted.
"Hey, how about we tie up the other bad guy first before she can flee or something?" Yui suggested.
"GUYS!" Henry shouted, finally getting everyone's attention. "I wanted to say… I really advise you to save your game right now."
"Save… our game? Now?" Yui blinked. "But we just beat a boss!"
"Stop it with that video game crap already," Senshimon groaned. "I mean, did you EVER needed to save?"
"No, we never died up to now," Gargomon said. "Come to think about it, I'm rather glad we never did…"
"But I really, REALLY think you should save your game right NOW!" Henry raised his voice.
"Well, okay… we'll save our game," Suzie nodded towards her brother, who sighed with relief. For a moment, the triangle on his forehead lit up like a streetlight. "Done…"
"You really are bad people," LassDramon said. "You broke into our house, beat up Manami and you want to hurt mommy."
"Yeah, but we'll show mommy we're good children," LadDramon smiled. "We'll stop you!"
"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that?" Senshimon asked.
ChibiD'Arcmon grinned. "We'll sic our pets on you! Fluffy…"
"Sweetie…"
"His name is SPIKE!"
A sigh. "Oh whatever…"
And then, the doors opened wider than ever when the darkness came into the room… in the form of two massive Mega beast Digimon… a four-legged, savage wolf creature and a gigantic dragon with a serpentine lower body.
"Me… Megidramon?" Gargomon gasped.
"No… that can't be…" Suzie muttered. "Not Guilmon…"
"We all knew it had to come to this…" Romi grumbled. "We knew they had Megidramon under the control ever since he attacked the rebel base. It was just a matter of time before we would have to fight him…"
"But… but that's Guilmon!" Suzie protested, pointing at the dragon monster. "And who knows what they did to Takato…"
She didn't get to finish her sentence, as Megidramon opened his muzzle and shot a massive lance of fire at her. She gasped and raised her shield at the very last moment. At the same time, Garmon leapt into battle and tried taking a bite from Turuiemon's leg.
"Bad dog!" she shouted and kicked him back. It felt like her foot hit a wall. She winced. "Two Megas at once… how will we ever do this…"
"Fight back! Use every bit of power you have! Kill them! It's your only choice!" Kobomon yelled. "Kill or be killed!"
"Can't we just switch her off somehow?" Senshimon growled while firing a beam of brightly colored hearts at Garmon. Kobomon was really beginning to get on her nerves.
"Ryo?" the green little dragon whelp asked, pushing part of the eggshell that was covering his head up. "No, I'm Hatchmon… or am I? I dunno…" He looked back at the cavern he was sitting in. "Say, do you know what happened to my mom? She kinda disappeared…"
"Yeah, that's what happened to our parents too," Fluffmon nodded. "So now we're searching for them."
"Hey, do you all… I dunno… think it's strange all these names pop up in our heads, all of a sudden?" Viximon wondered.
"It's strange," Kitmon nodded. "But also convenient. And fun. I'm a lil' Kitmon called Rika! Teehee!" And she bounced up and down.
"Okay… I'll come with you guys, it's boring here all on my own," Ryo/Hatchmon nodded. He then pushed against the barrier with his paws. "Um, how do I get through this thing?"
"Just dig underneath it," Fluffmon explained.
Soon enough, the group of In-Training Digimon was on its way again, this time with their numbers increased to four.
"Which way?" Kitmon asked again.
"This way!" Fluffmon said and pointed in a direction.
"Hey, that's what you said earlier!" Viximon shouted.
"So? I know I'm right this time," Fluffmon pouted, sticking out her tongue at the little vixen.
Kitmon looked around herself while they, once again, followed the little lion cub through the savannah. "This… feels familiar," she said.
Hatchmon gave of a muffled response.
"I can't understand you when you're under that thing," Kitmon complained.
Hatchmon pushed the eggshell back up again. "I said: Why do you think so?"
"I… I dunno… I mean… group of little kids… wandering through unknown territory… searching for someone… feels like something like that happened to me before. But where? And when? And how do I know all these hard words now?"
"Those are good questions," Hatchmon nodded, not really knowing the answers himself. "But you're smart, you'll figure it out."
"Huh? But you don't even know me!" Kitmon said in a confused voice.
"But it feels like I know you," Hatchmon said.
"Guys! Another shimmery wall!" Fluffmon said as she climbed up a dried up tree. Half-way up, she found a knothole through which she was able to see the now familiar barrier. "And what are those things on the other side?"
Kitmon climbed up as well and pushed Fluffmon aside.
"Hey, no pushing!"
"But I wanna see…"
The two cubs wrestled a bit, until Kitmon was able to peer into the knothole. On the other side of the barrier, she saw what looked like a human kitchen with furniture like chairs, a table and more.
"Feels like home…" she muttered. She then squeaked when, out of nowhere, a furry little shape appeared in front of her nose. She tumbled down the tree and landed right on her little furry behind. "Owie…"
"Hey, I was right!" the little floppy-eared puppy on the other side grinned. "I had the feeling someone would come. I'm Pupmon!"
"Harmony!" Fluffmon said, shouting out the first name that came to mind.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Pupmon nodded. "And you're Jeri?"
"Yup, that's my name!" Fluffmon grinned. "And those are Rika, Ryo and…"
"I know," Pupmon said. "Don't know why, but I just know. You guys do know that these areas are not real, do you?"
"What?" Fluffmon protested. "What makes you say that?"
Pupmon shrugged. "I first felt something was off when my owner disappeared. She wanted to fed me… dog biscuits, yum! But the way she flickered and vanished… reminds me of a hologram."
"Really?" Kitmon asked as she climbed back up and pushed against Fluffmon, trying to get a better view on the little dog. "Wait, I know what that is? That's right! The way mommy disappeared… reminds me of a hologram, too."
"Yeah, that's another point," Pupmon nodded. "We seem to be getting some sort of memories back, bit by bit. I don't know how or why, but everything around here is fake. And I really want to get out of here… I don't like being in a fake place."
"You can dig underneath the barrier," Fluffmon said.
"I know," Pupmon replied. "But I had the feeling I had to wait for someone… and now you guys showed up. So, let's get out of here together."
"Wait a minute…" Viximon shouted from down below. "I'm not really that bothered that mommy is not real… as strange as that may sound… but if our parents are all fake… how could you follow the trail of your daddy's scent?" she asked Fluffmon.
"Um… I took a really good guess," Fluffmon replied with a weak grin.
"Admit it, you didn't know at all where you were going," Kitmon said.
"Well, okay… but I had a feeling this was right," Fluffmon defended herself. "Anyways, if this is not real, then can we find the real world, please? I wanna find my real dad!"
"Yeah, let's go," Pupmon nodded before she dug her way through to meet her friends.
They didn't know that some people were watching them… on a monitor of a PC.
"Is that really a good idea, Kei?" Eiko asked while feeding little Tanemon with a bottle. "Sounds like a huge plothole to me, just making them feel something is wrong."
"Yeah, so what?" Kei shrugged. "A lot of modern RPGs are full of plotholes. I have friends and a world to save, Eiko… I have no time to waste precious time on a silly thing like a subplot that will never be important again. So the little In-Trainings have the feeling the place around them is fake and they have to go somewhere together… it's the best way we can get them back into action! We're lucky enough that we were able to find them… or rather, HolyCalumon found them." She smiled at the face of the little artificial being, which smiled back at her from the corner of the monitor.
"It was really just luck… but spending the Maker Points for changing the event for them was a smart move, Kei. I have a bad feeling, though… it's almost as if someone or something was trying to hide them from me. And I'm not talking about Lucemon… It's almost as if he was back…"
"Now you're being silly!" Eiko smirked. "BioCalumon's busted! He won't be a problem to us anymore." She was somehow feeling more glad about that fact than any other person. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he wanted to use her to get at the RPG Maker program… and he nearly succeeded, too.
"Take cover!" Senshimon shouted as she evaded a burst of darkness which Garmon fired out of his mouth. It barely missed her and Yui.
"Why you… I'll whip you!" the female Meramon shouted as she swung around her fire whip. "Animal training, ya!"
"This is no game!" Senshimon shouted. "Focus or you'll be killed!"
"Don't worry, there are more than enough Healing Discs left," Yui said with a smirk as she flicked her whip into Garmon's direction. "Stay back, you ugly mutt!"
"Stupid child… you can't rely on those things all the time. When in a fight, only the battle matters! Free your mind of everything else… that's how I managed to survive all these years, performing mission after mission for the Sovereign…"
"Oh yeah, you're SO special…" Yui groaned and rolled her eyes. She looked back at him with a frown. "If you're so good, then how come you're now running around in a…"
"LOOK OUT!" Senshimon shouted when the feral hound came running at her. The vulpin magic heroine leapt into action and intercepted Garmon with a solid kick, which sent him flying.
Both Romi and Yui panted heavily. "Th-thanks…" Yui muttered. "That kinda took me by surprise…" She winced when Romi glared at her angrily.
"NEVER take your eyes off the enemy in battle! Understood?" Not even waiting for her reply, he turned back to face Garmon.
Yui flinched under Romi's stern voice. She had to remind herself that this was actually an adult, and she a schoolgirl… it was so easy to forget, as they both looked as if they were the same age.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team was having a hard time with Megidramon. The mighty beast roared and breathed streams of hot fire at its enemies… and those who got too close at him were in danger of being smashed by his giant arms… or worse, torn apart by his claws.
"Focus your powers on his head!" Turuiemon shouted. "Maybe we can blind him and subdue him without having to delete him."
"Are you kidding?" Gargomon grunted. "I'm having a hard time doing any damage to him at all… dang… if only I could digivolve… I wish Harmony was here."
Henry, who was forced to helplessly watch the battle, sighed as he was reminded that in this reality, Harmony was Gargomon's true tamer. Or maybe they both were… but in Gargomon's memory, there was only Harmony.
"GAH!" Turuiemon shouted when Megidramon suddenly snatched her whole body up with his huge hand. "He got me!"
"Turuiemon!" Shaochungmon gasped. "Oh no… spirits of the Deva… please help me in this fight… to save my partner and friend…"
Once again, she felt as if somebody was answering to her call. She felt how power radiated from her shield and streamed towards Henry. The triangle on his Calumon body lit up and shot a beam of bright light at Suzie's Champion body. Suzie could feel how she was changing once again…
"Shaochungmon digivolve to… Amaterasumon!"
Suzie fell on all fours. Her tail stretched and changed appearance from a rabbit's tail into a wolf tail, while her teeth changed into fangs. On her back, she felt how two additional limbs were growing, a pair of white wings. The rest of her fur was colored in shades of violet, purple and white. She grew until she was the size of a Kiyubimon. The bronze Zodiac shield was mounted on her right shoulder and several kanji tattoos were on her body.
Amaterasumon, the wolfish rabbit, growled as she leapt up in front of the monstrosity. "Sakura Festival!" Out of nowhere, she summoned twelve pink flowers that spun around and fired brightly colored beams at Megidramon. They hit his chest, his lower torso and the arm he was using to hold Turuiemon. He roared in pain and let go of the lapine warrior.
Turuiemon skillfully landed on her feet, right next to Amaterasumon. She looked at her now more bestial-looking partner. "Suzie… you digivolved again?"
"Yeah," Suzie nodded. "Though I don't know how often I can do that… and he's still a Mega."
"Even if you all digivolved, you couldn't defeat Spike!" LadDramon shouted. "He's too strong. And we're the good guys, so it's natural that we win."
While all of this was happening, no one noticed how Manami was slowly getting back up to her feet and began limping out of the room. She made her way up to the highest chamber of the tower, where she fell down on the floor, in front of the huge chair in front of her.
"L-lady Lucemon…" she gasped. "Ai… forgive me… I couldn't stop them… I failed! I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
But the Lady Lucemon smiled. "Do not worry too much, dear Manami," she said from her seat. "You did good. You fought with all your strength and stayed loyal until the end. You make me proud, dearest follower… my closest friend. Please leave the rest to my precious children… and even if they manage to somehow defeat their pets, they can never stand up against me. I am all that is good for this world… and they are just the replacement for the true Tamers. And they will never find their way out of the wonderful dream worlds I made for them. Be patient, everything will turn out just fine."
Manami looked up at her mistress and friend, relief and joy in her face. "Yes… yes, you're right. They will fail… how could I ever believe otherwise?"
"It's this way," Pupmon shouted as she ran ahead of the rest of the furry little Digimon cubs. "Hurry!"
They were running along a long, very narrow shaft that was made of metal. After realizing that they only could find more of the pocket realities (although they didn't know that name) by running ahead, they decided to keep digging until they found the true exit. And somewhere, deep beneath the illusion of Fluffmon's savannah home simulation, they found a hatch… a hatch that lead them into the same shaft they were now following. It was a maze… but as they had the mind of children, finding the exit was like a game to them… nothing but a small mini-game. And they were all guided by their feelings… the feelings that somewhere, they would find the place they were supposed to be. At first, these feelings had become stronger in Pupmon and Fluffmon, but later on, also in Kitmon and the rest of them. They were a little gang of children, enjoying their dangerless adventure, friends that knew they could count on each other. By now, they were even calling each other by the names they felt were their true names.
"Rika… du you think we'll find the exit soon?" Viximon asked her younger sister.
Kitmon smiled. "Sure thing. Cause if we're right and there are more friends out there, we can have so much fun with them… and maybe we'll find our real parents, too."
Parents… the idea felt somehow unfamiliar to Viximon. But… at the same time, also strangely comforting. The feeling of attachment she had felt towards that illusion was growing weaker and weaker. But she was certain that out there was a family waiting for her and her little sister…
"Hey, there's something up ahead!" Pupmon shouted. "A bright light…" She ran until she reached the exit… a squarish hole that was covered with a metal grating. She pushed her little paws against it. "Can't move it…"
"What are you, a Puddingmon?" Hatchmon laughed. "Let me at it, boys are stronger than girls." And after pushing Pupmon back, he tried ramming the grate with all his strength. But it didn't even budge. The only thing that was getting a little crack was the eggshell on his head.
"That sucks…" he whined and rubbed his nose. "Now we found the exit and can't get through."
"What's down there?" Kitmon wondered and crawled next to him. Together, they looked down and saw… a huge dragon creature, a black dog and a group of Digimon that fought them.
"How… scary…" she whimpered. Pupmon shivered too, and the two friends cuddled close together. "If that's outside, I wanna stay here…"
"Maybe it was the wrong way after all?" Fluffmon wondered.
Kitmon shook her head. "Nu-uh… this is the right spot. I feel we're s'posed to be here… as scary as it is."
"It is scary, true!" someone said. And suddenly, a big, yellow face appeared in front of the grating. The cubs squeaked in fright and crawled backwards.
Kobomon laughed. "Don't worry, I don't bite. I'm a friend. You can… trust me!" And she winked at the In-Trainings.
"Wh-who are you?" Kitmon whimpered.
"Me? Oh, I'm just someone who wants to put things right. And you want things to be right again as well, don't you? Well, the only way we can accomplish that is by getting you down there… your friends need your help."
"Friends?" Kitmon wondered and looked down at the battle. "Those are our friends?"
"Why, indeed!" Kobomon nodded. "And they are in danger. If you want to help them, you have to make a decision… right now."
Kei gritted her teeth. "That Kobomon again… who is that Digimon? Why does she think she can act as a guide? I didn't put her in the game… and for some reason, none of my commands affect her. I can see no information about her, not even in the character menu. All I see are her picture and lots of question marks."
"It worries me that she wants to influence everyone she runs into," HolyCalumon spoke up. "First Suzie's team, now Rika and the others. She seems to know a lot about what we are doing, too… and then there's her willingness to kill."
"Let's just hope our friends can make their own decisions…" Kei muttered. "They just can't kill Megidramon… they don't even know that he is not only Guilmon, but also Takato at the same time. And they don't know either that Garmon is Impmon. Allowing Suzie to digivolve one more time is the only thing I could come up with… but nothing allows me to let them reach the Mega level. We need Rika and the others back…"
"You put the right thoughts into their heads," Eiko smiled as she reassuringly put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You have to trust them. They will make the right choice, I know it."
Kei looked at the LadyVampimon in surprise. "That was surprisingly wise, coming from you."
"I… learned a thing or two during this adventure," Eiko sighed. "I don't wanna say I grew up… but I certainly understand that not everything is about games and laughter."
Kei nodded at that and focussed back on the RPG Maker… hoping to find a solution. She had to save her cousin somehow, come what may.
„Listen up," Kobomon told the little In-Trainings as she pointed down at Megidramon and Garmon. "If you want to save your friends, there's only one thing you can do: You have to go down there and help them! Protect them from those bad guys that want to hurt them!"
"Protect them?" Kitmon wondered. "But how? We're just little kids… and those guys are scary." She whimpered when she saw the flaming form of Yui, the snarling form of Suzie and the gun-weilding form of Gargomon.
"You can do it… you have great powers hidden within you," Kobomon said with a mischievous smirk. "Once you stand in front of your friends, the evil ones won't be able to hurt you. Now, the decision you have to make is: Do you want to bravely jump down and help your friends… or not?"
Kitmon took a careful look down at the towering form of Megidramon. He was scary, true, but the longer she looked at him… the more she could feel something familiar about him. She somehow felt that Kobomon was right… he was her friend. Next to her, Pupmon and Fluffmon peered down as well and had similar thoughts.
"We'll do it!" they then said as once.
Hatchmon blinked in surprise. "Are… are you sure? I mean, there's this dangerous fight going on and you just wanna jump down there, in-between them?"
"Well, if that is your decision… feel free to do it!" Kobomon smiled and pulled the grating open with her claws.
"All right… here goes!" Kitmon yelled and jumped. Pupmon and Fluffmon followed her.
Hatchmon and Viximon gasped. "Sis!" Viximon shouted as she looked after her sister.
"Well, one thing's for sure," Hatchmon said. "Either that yellow thing is right… or they're in reeeaaal trouble now!"
Amaterasumon bared her fangs as she was about to attack Garmon… when all of a sudden, three little In-Training Digimon came falling down from the ceiling. "Stop your attacks!" she shouted to her friends as she recognized them.
"Hey, what are those little tykes doing there?" Yui asked in annoyance.
"I don't believe it…" Gargomon muttered. He recognized them as well. "Harmony? Rika? Jeri?"
Rika turned around to face them. She glared at them angrily, even though it looked nothing but cute. "Y-you leave my friends alone, you big meanies!" she shouted.
"Yeah, or we'll pound you good!" Jeri nodded.
"Guys… don't yu recognize us?" Gargomon asked in surprise. "Harmony, it's me… Gargomon!"
"It's no use…" Senshimon muttered. "They've been brainwashed, too…" She gritted her teeth as she looked at the tiny Digimon her daughter had been turned into. Behind her were her opponents… but she couldn't attack now. Not with Rika in the way.
"Now we'll show you our true power!" Rika yelled. She smiled to herself, proud at how awesome she must have sounded. She closed her eyes, waiting for something to happen… but there was nothing. "C'mon, cool powers, you gotta show up now…" she muttered and concentrated really hard. She didn't really know what she had to concentrate on, but she knew that the awesome powers Kobomon said they had had to activate any second now.
Jeri looked at the others nervously. "Um… it's not gonna happen, right? We're still the same…"
"Kobomon lied to us!" Harmony shouted.
Senshimon sweatdropped. "Don't tell me you've listened to that idiot…"
A deep growl and rumbling snarl made the In-Trainings turn around. They looked up at the savage forms of Megidramon and Garmon, who approached them menacingly.
Rika gulped. "M-maybe… we made a mistake…"
"Oh noooooo, we're gonna die…" Jeri whimpered as she closed her eyes in fright.
Garmon let out a loud growl and leapt at them… only to be stopped by the massive claw of Megidramon that slammed into his side and threw him against the wall.
"What the… he protected them!" Henry gasped.
He was right. Megidramon didn't look like he wanted to fight any of them anymore. The mighty dragon calmly looked down at the tiny forms of his friends. Rika, Jeri and Harmony looked back up at them with big eyes, into his own eyes.
And in his eyes, they saw something… something they recognized.
"Takato…" Jeri murmured.
"Guilmon…" Rika added quietly.
And then, the Mega Dragon lit up in a light so bright that the little In-Trainings had to close their eyes. And when they reopened them…
"Takato! Guilmon!" they shouted happily.
The human boy and his Digimon brother blinked in confusion. They were disoriented for a moment, staggering against each other. "Wh-what happened?" Takato muttered weakly.
"I dunno, bro," Guilmon groaned. "But I think we… just saved our friends?" They looked around the room and saw their friends… three of which were in their In-Training forms.
Takato smirked. "Hey Rika… got yourself regressed again?"
"Like you weren't, goggle-boy!" the Kitmon shouted.
Guilmon smirked. "Yep, that's our Rika!"
"Does… that mean you're all back to normal now?" Turuiemon asked. "But how?"
"Is that important?" Gargomon said with a wide grin on his face. He scooped up the little body of Pupmon and pressed her to his bulky body. "Harmony!"
Harmony laughed. "Hey hey, you're crushing me!"
"Oh, sorry… but I'm so glad nothing happened to you!"
"Hey, mou-man-tai!" Harmony grinned. "You can't get rid of me that easily."
Senshimon just looked at his daughter and sighed. "I'm glad you're not hurt…" she then said.
"Uh… do I know you?" Rika asked in a dumbfounded voice.
Henry chuckled. "That's your Dad, Rika!"
"Oh… really?" she muttered. "And… who are you?"
"He's Henry, I'm Eiko's sister Yui and rabbit-wolf over there is Suzie," Yui quickly explained. "Now I hate to interrupt reunions, but we still have doggy over there to take care of."
She pointed at Garmon, who had come back to his feet. Chibi D'Arcmon and the dragon twins were standing behind him.
"You took Sweetie away from us!" LassDramon shouted.
"You mean Spike… but still, you'll pay for this!" LadDramon added. "But Fluffy will take care of you!"
"No… he won't…"
The dragon twins looked at Chibi D'Arcmon in surprise. "What are you talking about?" LadDramon wondered.
"We're winning!" LassDramon shouted. "C'moooon!"
But the Rookie angel was looking down at the floor. A single tear was running down her face. "I… I can't… fight them. I can never… attack little children…"
Neither the twins nor the Tamers could tell what was going on in D'Arcmon's mind right now. In her past, she had been a warrior, an angel fighting for the glory of her goddess… but ever since she became a mother, that had changed… ever since that day, she had fought for the safety of her children. She turned from a warrior into a protector… and every time she saw how a child was put in immediate danger, she felt she had to protect them… as she always saw her own children in their places. And when Kitmon, Fluffmon and Pupmon had been standing in front of the enormous Megidramon… her motherly instincts had forcefully resurfaced. Not even the brainwashing of a Demon Lord was enough to destroy those feelings. And now she knew, for certain… what she had been doing… was wrong.
"I can't let his go on," she said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. "No more…" And she raised her hands… and let her angelic powers sweep across the assembled group. The Tamers shouted out in surprise, and the dragon twins raised their arms, but that didn't stop the light… it was the purifying light of an Angel Digimon, which could dispel any enchantment and transformation… and when the light was gone, so were LadDramon and LassDramon… and in their places stood two adults.
Takato blinked and then smiled when he recognized the human man and the Digimon woman. "Mom! Dad!"
Rika took a moment to realize that she, Harmony and Jeri were back in their human bodies. She grinned. "All right! Back in business!"
Compsomon felt her body as if she wanted to reassure herself that she was back to normal. She then let out a sigh of relief. She smirked at the group of Tamers – the original and the replacement Tamers – and smirked. "Good job, kids!"
"Mie… I'm not a kid!" Senshimon grumbled, her eyebrow twitching.
Mie giggled as she knelt next to her and squeezed her cheek. "Aw, but you're so adorable, Romi-chan!" Everyone laughed at that.
Rika then turned to face D'Arcmon… and was surprised. Not only because she was still in the form of ChibiD'Arcmon, but also because Garmon had turned into…
"Impmon?" she wondered.
ChibiD'Arcmon looked at the confused Impmon pleadingly. "I beg of you… you are the only one who can do this… she is your Tamer… please, bring my little angel back to me…"
Impmon looked at her for a moment. All the time he had been living in D'Arcmon's household, she had never really accepted him… this was the first time she honestly addressed him as the Digimon partner of her children. Which made Impmon wonder where Mako was at the moment… as for Ai, there was only one thing he could answer.
"Leave everything to me and my pals!" he said in a very serious voice. "We'll get Ai back… I promise!"
Rika stood next to him and nodded. "Yeah, we'll go up there and make sure things turn back to normal… and not just Ai… everything!"
Impmon looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "How come you're so confident all of a sudden, girl?" he asked.
Rika smirked. "Hey, I'm the protagonist… it's my job to bring this game to a good end!"
"That's fine and all, but can someone turn us back to normal now?" a voice from above shouted.
Everyone looked up and saw Hatchmon and Viximon, still sitting in the ventilation shaft. "I dunno, Ryo…" Rika chuckled. "I think that eggshell suits you."
"Oh, hardy har har, very funny, Rika!" the dragon whelp grumbled. He and Viximon jumped down, and Rika and Jeri caught them.
"Can you turn them back, too?" Jeri asked ChibiD'Arcmon.
The Rookie angel nodded and let her light shine on Hatchmon and Viximon… and in no time, they transformed back into Ryo and Renamon.
"Well, I'm glad that's over!" Ryo sighed. "Now to find Monodramon and Minidramon…"
"We'll find them when we get up there," Takato said. "I'm sure Ai is keeping them somewhere… Mom, you take Dad out of here!"
"Consider it done, son!" Compsomon smiled.
"I'll go with you, too!" Yui said. "I really don't think I'm up to this…" She didn't want to admit it, but the fight against Garmon had made her realize that this was a job best left to the pros.
Compsomon then turned to face Romi. "Roshi… I know you probably want to go along with them and…"
"Actually," Senshimon said. "I think this is a job best left for the kids."
Now everyone looked at her in surprise. "Dad?" Rika blurted out. This was something she never thought she'd hear her father say.
"Well, I… I am one of the Champions of the Sovereigns, but… I now believe that our time as saviours of the world is best left to the next generation… if this whole story taught me one thing, then it's that."
Renamon smiled. She was proud of the man she could now easily see as her father. "Looks like someone changed while we were away."
"He is right, you know?" Henry said. "This is still a game… and you are the true heroes of the game." He nodded at Takato, Guilmon, Rika, Renamon, Harmony, Gargomon and Ryo. "Suzie and the others… they were replacement heroes. But if Ai is really the last boss of the game… she has to be defeated by the true heroes."
"But… I can still help Harmony!" Suzie protested as she walked up to her in her quadrupal form. "I just reached my Ultimate level, I have the Zodiac shield and I'm really strong."
"Suzie… I believe that you are a good fighter in this form… and right now you've got the mind of an adult and everything… but… I really think you should leave this to us," Harmony said.
Suzie sighed. "All right… but come back safely, you hear?"
Harmony smiled and gave her sister a hug around her furry neck. "I promise!" She then looked at the floating form of Henry and winked. "Come on over here! Family hug time!"
"I… Harmony, do you really think I…" Henry stuttered.
"Oh, just get over here!" his female twin grinned and scooped him up in a hug. "You're as much family as she is, believe it or not!"
Henry still felt a bit uncomfortable as he felt his small body being squished against his twin sister's female chest, but he still had to smile.
Harmony then looked down at him. "You know what, bro? You really should find yourself a better body than this."
"Maybe… but for now, this BioCalumon body is all we have as a guide who can help us with hints and tell us when to save," Gargomon spoke up.
"Which reminds me… where's that Kobomon creep?" Rika wondered as she looked around. "Who was that anyway?"
"Ah, forget her… just some idiot who doesn't know when to shut up…" Senshimon grumbled. "I believe you've got more important problems to take care of, honey."
Rika looked at her. "You… just called me honey, Dad…"
"I did? W-well… is that so wrong for a father to call his daughter honey?" Senshimon asked with a blush.
"You know, as far as I recall, that is the first time I hear you call her that," Renamon smiled.
Rika smiled and gave him a hug. "Aww, I love you too, Daddy!"
"Rika… everyone's watching…" Romi grimaced, now as red as a tomato.
"Awwwww… that's soooo sweet!" Mie gushed.
Senshimon coughed once her daughter let go of her. She straightened her sailor fuku and muttered: "W-well, what are you waiting for… go up there and show them what a Nonaka is made of! Mie, let's go…"
"Good luck, kids!" Mie shouted as she, Takehiro, Romi, Yui and Suzie left the room. Before D'Arcmon followed them, she faced Impmon and the others one last time and said: "Help her…" before she, too, left.
Rika noticed how Takato, Guilmon and Ryo were smirking at her. "Wh-what are you looking at?" she snapped.
"Oh, nothing!" Takato grinned. "Nothing at all!"
"Yeah, everything's fine… honey!" Guilmon chuckled.
Rika crossed her arms and sighed. "Boys…" she muttered.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:42)
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