Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ DigiTerra: The Digital Earth ❯ Chapter 1: Global Digivolve! A New Fire Burns ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I am Gennai. I have been here since before the first, and I shall
be here until after the last.

Once upon a time, there were seven children who came to the
Digital World. With Digivices and Digimon who could share their
power and use it to digivolve, they fought off the evil Virus
Digimon that had plagued both the Digital World and Earth.

Soon, the seven became eight and they began their fight against
the Dark Masters upon the peaks of Spiral Mountain. The
Digidestined won their battle, but did not win the war. The True
Darkness, Apocalymon, appeared and defeated the Digidestined, in
the process destroying the tags and crests they had labored to find.

However, this was not to be the end, as the Digidestined returned
from the pixilization they had been sentenced to. Their crests
now fully integrated with their bodies, they destroyed Apocalymon
once and for all.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to happen....

+ + +

The Firewall.

A cave deep in the darkest recesses of the Digital World. Many
could approach, but none could pass through the pillars of flame
that eternally erupted forth from it in all directions. The heat
was sweltering. Nothing living could survive within or beyond the
flames, as the utter barrenness of the cave attested to.

It was the Digital World's equivalent of Hell.

And something within it moved.

Apocalymon's body cube pushed through the flames. The creature
made of pain and sadness cried out as its flesh was scorched...
but this external pain was nothing compared to that which burned
in his soul. His revenge would be sweet. All those Digimon who
had succeeded at Digivolving... those who believed themselves
somehow more pure and better than the others... those special
heroes who would be chosen to "save" the world from his coming...
they would all be sacrificed to appease his pain. Nothing
would stop his revenge.

Not even the small Champion-level Digimon standing in front of
him, on the other side of the Firewall.

"I am... Apocalymon," he announced to the stranger. "You who
stand before me, you shall be destroyed first, and ease the pain
within me."

The other Digimon was a small, human-sized being with tattered
purple wings sprouting from his back who wore red samurai battle
armor. He looked over his shoulder before speaking, his voice
sounding soft and almost sad.

"It will begin now. Your breach of the wall will set free those
who will challenge the Digidestined... Devimon... Myotismon...
The Dark Masters... but yet, when the battles end, the balance
will be lost."

Apocalymon looked down at him and scowled. "Your words mean
nothing to me. What does your balance mean in comparison to the
pain of all those who are lost because of the greed of those in
the light?"

The other Digimon raised his sword, which he held in his right
hand. It was a simple weapon, and yet, it seemed to contain a
great power. The face beneath the red helmet and hideous oni mask
remained neutral as he spoke. "There is a greater pain coming.
Eight souls will need The Darkness for balance to be restored.
Thus, you must now die, so that darkness and chaos may be born."

Apocalymon growled and threw back his cape. "I do not understand
your babble," he said, "but I know that you shall not stand in my
way! DARK CLAW!"

The dome below Apocalymon erupted as a giant metal claw attached
to a helix-shaped chain shot forth from one of the holes within
it, rocketing toward the Champion Digimon at high speed.

The other Digimon suddenly leaped with a speed that far exceeded
what should have been possible for his power level, and landed on
the chain. He raced up it before Apocalymon, who was still far
weaker than he realized from his crossing through the Firewall,
could react. The sword glowed with a mysterious power as the
Champion swung towards the bigger Digimon's main body. "SHOGUN
SWORD!"

Apocalymon screamed in pain from the impact. It was so fast he
wasn't even sure where the blow had landed. But he knew that it
had hurt him, and that the pain of the wound was fierce.

Just before his body pixilated into a cloud of black data, he
heard the other Digimon land on the ground behind him and speak.
"I am Musyamon. Know that in your destruction."

Musyamon turned around. Where Apocalymon had once been, there
now rested eight small, black devices with gold screens. He
picked up the new Digivices and walked out of the cave.

"And so it begins..." he whispered to the wind.

+ + +

Apocalymon, after the defeat of Piedmon, did not appear to battle
the Digidestined. All that could be done was to send them and
their Digimon home, together, until the day that the final danger
arrived. And in the meantime, things appeared to have righted
themselves. Surely the great heroes had earned the reward of
returning to Earth to spend their lives together with their
Digimon friends.

But an imbalance remained. Though no truly evil viral Digimon has
appeared, I can not help but grow worried as time continues to
pass at a rate dangerously faster than it does on Earth. The
Digital World does not respond well to imbalances.

This imbalance may soon right itself... and I worry about how it
shall be done, and what affect it shall have on both our worlds.

+ + +

Musyamon meditated on a hill top. His eyes were closed as he
focused on the balance in all things, the balance it was his
sworn duty to defend and maintain at all costs.

That balance would soon be forever tipped. Musyamon stood as he
heard a loud crash in the distance and adjusted his sword on his
back as he ran toward the violent sound. His path through the
forest surrounding the hill was surprisingly silent as he moved
through the trees and brush, making only the smallest of
disturbances.

He soon came upon a large, dark green object. It was something
from the Human World... a van, he believed it was called. It had
crash-landed into a tree, the spinning wheels indicating its
motion had been arrested suddenly.

Musyamon approached the vehicle, mindful of the sounds of
groaning inside. He reached for the large door on the side and
ripped it off, throwing the twisted hunk of metal aside before
gazing into the mysterious van.

From inside, seven human children looked up at him. Five of them
were of the kind called 'boys' and two were 'girls'. They all
looked surprisingly unafraid as they watched an older human
female who was seated behind the wheel of the van slowly die. The
large shard of glass that must have flown inward from the
windshield and embedded itself in her neck had sealed her fate.
Musyamon supposed the elder female was the children's mother.
Her stomach was large with pregnancy.

He walked past the quiet children toward the mother, who
looked up, her eyes meeting his. "Do not worry," he said softly,
as he drew his sword, "Your child will live."

He then turned to the other children and said, "Leave. You do
not yet need to see such bloodshed."

The children, still quiet, walked out without tears or protest.

Her eyes almost seemed to be conveying thanks as Musyamon raised
his sword.

+ + +

The seven children looked up as they heard the cries of a newborn
coming from the van. Musyamon soon joined them, carrying in his
arms a baby girl still covered in the blood of her mother's womb.

Musyamon, while cradling the baby in his left arm, reached down
and held out the devices he'd retrieved from the slain Apocalymon
with his right. "These are yours," he said calmly. "They are
your destiny."

The oldest boy, his unkempt black hair falling in his eyes, took
one of the devices and looked at it. "Dark... Digivice..." he
said, as if enchanted by the little thing. "Domination...."

He then looked up at Musyamon, his eyes growing hard and cold as
he made a single demand. "Where is my Digimon?"

+ + +
DigiTerra: The Digital Earth

A Digimon: Digital Monsters Fanfic by Christian Rogers (AKA The
Flashman) and Alicia Ashby (AKA Lynxara)

Aided and abetted by: Damien Karolev, Shelby Scott,
Ben-San Arizona and Jeff Yang

Digimon is copyright Toei Studios, Saban, and FOX Kids.
+ + +

Chapter 1: Global Digivolve! A New Fire Burns

+ + +

Earth, 2006 C.E.
Tokyo, Japan
Odaiba Ward

Hi.

My name's Hikari Kamiya, though everyone just calls me Kari. I'm
currently in math class, thinking of anything but how X times V
equals 26 cubed or something like that. I'm wishing I was at
that picnic. I miss my friends and the other Digimon, and I
don't get to talk to Tai as much as I used to. He's been training
a lot harder since his athletics scholarship at the university
went through. Fortunately, TK is here in class with me. He
looks just as bored as I am... or maybe he's asleep. I can't
tell since he's got his hat brim down and his eyes are covered.
The subject matter is certainly dull enough, and the teacher's
special way of droning on doesn't help much either.

I sneak a look out the window and can see that familiar flash of
white fur in the brush right outside as Gatomon ducks down. I
know Patamon must be close by as well... unless she tricked him
into raiding the cafeteria by himself again. Gatomon's gotten
friendlier over the years, but there are still times she feels
she has to remind everyone she's the Big Bad Lone Digimon.

The bell rings and the entire class breathes a sigh of relief. We
get a good ten minute break before the next teacher gets to take
his pound of brain matter. I stand and stretch a little and
elbow TK, who snorts and then looks up. So he WAS asleep after
all!

He looks up at me and smiles one of those cute, embarrassed grins
at me. For a moment, I wonder if perhaps he's been having trouble
sleeping at night, too.

The terrible dreams... they haunt me every night. It's been like
this for the last few months, becoming more intense and detailed
every night. What they are... I think I'm going to bring them up
at the picnic. They... I feel like they must mean something.
Maybe that final enemy Gennai warned us about so long ago...

When I'm dreaming, I see two dark shadows facing each other. One
is gigantic... its body is just a big sphere with chains and
claws attached. The other is much smaller. If I didn't,
somehow, know that it was a Digimon, I would have sworn that it
couldn't have been anything but a human in some kind of bright
red armor.

The two talk, their words not reaching my ears as I watch their
lips move. Then, suddenly, everything goes completely black. For
a moment, all that's there is the sound of my breathing. Then
there is a momentary streak of light, and I can see the two
figures again. The larger one screams in pain. I can hear it
echoing in my head even after the dream end. Before he vanishes,
his body breaks apart into a big cloud of Darkness that turn into
eight black spheres.

The armored figure picks up the orbs and then, they begin to
grow. They turn into what looks like... human figures. Then they
grow larger, much larger, their features becoming monstrous.
Sharp fangs glint in the overwhelming darkness and their red eyes
become demonic. I suddenly realize I'm not invisible anymore
and they're coming for me. They promise me a long death filled
with pain in their screams, and the largest of them wraps its
dark fingers around my throat....

"Earth to Kari! Earth to Kari! Are you okay?"

... Oh, no. Not him. Not now.

As I shake off the last remaining memories of the dreams, I turn
around and come face-to-face with someone who I sometimes wish
WAS a dream. Davis Motomiya, the self-proclaimed star of the
school soccer team.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate him. In fact, I'd be lying
if I didn't admit that there IS something confidence-boosting in
the fact that a high-ranked school athlete like Davis finds me
attractive. I just wish he wouldn't be so forceful about it... he
scares me sometimes and he's probably only doing it because he
wants a pretty girl to stand by his side and tell him how cool
he is. Granted, the concept of ME, little Miss Sickly, being
thought of as a status-boosting "pretty girl" by someone who
seems popular isn't exactly bad for my ego, either.

"I'm fine, Davis," I say, trying to be polite but hinting that
I'm not interested in a prolonged conversation.

Naturally, this flies right over his head. Or maybe his skull is
so thick, it just bounces right off of it. "Man, it was like the
teacher sucked out your brains at the end of the class and you
were a walking zombie!"

"A condition," TK says, looking up from his chair, "you're
probably really familiar with, Davis."

"I wasn't talking to you, TS!" I just KNOW he's doing that on
purpose. "I was TALKING to Kari!"

"Even you should have been able to figure it out by now," TK
says, standing up from his chair. "Kari doesn't WANT to talk to
you!"

"Well, with YOU always stalking around after her, it's not like
she gets the chance to talk to anyone else anyway!" Davis scowls
at him.

And there they go again. While I have some time, maybe I should
explain a little about the picnic thing I mentioned before.

A few years ago, after defeating the Dark Masters, Gennai told us
that there was still something wrong with the Digital World...
but he didn't have a clue what and said we could go home with
our Digimon friends until whatever it was came around. After
that day, we all agreed to keep meeting in the Park once a month
to plan and prepare for whatever could be awaiting us.

Now once a month has become once or maybe twice a year. Our
normal lives have begun to separate us more and more. Tai's got
that soccer scholarship... and his crush on Sora that seems to
get a little bit worse every day. Sora's been slowly taking over
the day-to-day operations of her mother's flower shop, plus
looking into local colleges for business courses... and her crush
on Matt is getting rather intense. Matt, meanwhile, is apparently
trying to decide if he wants to be a rock star or a manga artist.
He's pretty good at both, if you ask me. Oh, and technically this
isn't anything but a guess... but I'm almost positive Matt has a
crush of his own on Tai.

Don't ask me to tell you more about that right now. If I stopped
to try and explain, we'd be here for a long time.

Joe's managed to convince his dad that he doesn't want to be a
doctor and now he works as a librarian. Mimi's had to move back
to America with her parents but she sends postcards and
calls every now and then. But the phone bills afterward are
always really painful.

Izzy... no one is quite sure what happened to him. About two
years ago... I had a different dream. It was Izzy, looking at
me. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. In the dream,
I always asked him to speak louder... but even when it was
obvious that he was shouting, still no sound passed his lips.
Then, his face turned sad... and then angry... and then he just
sort of... faded away.

I tried calling him but his line was always busy. It's probably
his modem, but it still worries me that to this day that not a
single one of us has been able to contact him at all. Everyone
talks about just going over to his house to talk to him, but no
one's ever really been brave enough. Besides, why wouldn't Izzy
come and talk to us himself?

"Hi Kari! TK! Davis!"

Oh good! The rescue squad's finally arrived.

She almost appears out of nowhere. Yolie Inoue's nothing but a
big bundle of smiles with wire-rim glasses. She's a very nice
girl, but I can't say I know her very well. I'm not very close to
her. I'm not really close to anyone but TK anymore. Most normal
people just don't understand.

Yolie somehow manages to worm her way between TK and Davis -
they're almost face-to-face arguing now! - and separates them.
"You guys really need to learn to back down a little... or at
least not stand so close to each other when you're arguing," she
says, casting a mock-frown at both of them. "You'll get people
thinking that it's not Kari you're fighting about."

Both Davis and TK's eyes increase about three times in size at
that particular thought and begin shouting some very funny, very
loud denials. Yolie just smiles and flashes what she calls her
"bingo" sign at me, pointing her index finger high in the air and
winking. Then all of us are covered by a long, large shadow as
the esteemed captain of our Kendo Club, Cody Hida, walks by and
drags Davis off by the arm. "If you'll excuse us, we need to use
the remaining free time between classes to discuss business
matters relating to the Athletics Department." Cody's only a
freshman, but he's won so many tournaments that even the seniors
wanted to make him the team captain as soon as he started going
to our school.

"Hey!" Davis complains, looking up. "I was talking to Kari,
and..." Davis trails off as Cody... just kinda looks at him, in a
very serious and intense way. It's not anything hostile, but
it's the sort of look that says he's not going to put up with
anything foolish. It even gets through to Davis. "... Okay."

TK lets out a quiet whistle and says, "Man... I remember him
being a lot smaller in junior high. Remind me to never get on
his bad side in the future."

"Oh," Yolie says with a dismissive wave, "don't worry about it.
He may be a lot taller than he used to be, but Cody's still a
total sweetheart! He wouldn't hurt anybody."

TK smirks a little as he says, "Not even Davis?"

"TK," I say giving him a serious look of my own. "Now that's just
mean."

TK blushes a little at that and murmurs an apology as we head
toward our next class. We take our seats, and then the teacher
enters to begin the class.

... that's when everyone starts screaming and a big black hand
smashes through the wall.

+ + +

"I am NOT going to the cafeteria until YOU lead the way," Patamon
said, a pout coming over his face as he landed back on the tree
branch. "You spend WAY too much time alone and I'm not gonna let
you trick me again."

"Your concern warms my heart," Gatomon replied, rolling her eyes.

It wasn't that she hated Patamon. As a matter of fact, she
rather enjoyed the company of her fellow Digimon very much. It
was just that, at times, she was so used to being by herself that
she felt... uneasy after being in the company of others for too
long. Sometimes, she still needed some time for herself.

"Good," the winged Digimon replied, obviously missing the less
than genuine undertone to Gatomon's words. "Now we're getting
somewhere." Gatomon slapped her forehead, hard. "What's wrong?"
Patamon asked, his expression quickly slipping back from a smile
into concern. "Is it a fly?"

"No," Gatomon muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "although
it's something just as annoying."

"What is it?" Patamon asked in all innocence.

Gatomon almost told him, but at the last second, she regained her
composure and turned around, smiling at the other Digimon as she
said, "I'm just a little hungry, I guess. Do you think you
could go visit the cafeteria and pick something up for me?"

"Sure," Patamon said, smiling and starting to leave before
pausing in mid-wing flap. "... HEY! You're just trying to make me
go away again!"

"Aw, crap," Gatomon muttered, her smile disintegrating into a
scowl.

Patamon's eyes went wide. "I'm telling Kari! You're not
supposed to use words like that!"

"Whatever," Gatomon growled. "If I worried about my language all
the time I'd have worried away six of my lives by now."

"Indeed. And there is something much more important the two of
you should BOTH be worried about."

Blinking in surprise, the two Digimon turned their heads towards
the source of the voice. It came from directly above them, high
in the sky. A black giant with long, distended arms, and a red
bat-like symbol on his chest swooped down and smashed the trunk
of the tree where Gatomon and Patamon were perched. They fell to
the ground and rolled, the remains of the tree landing nearby.
The two staggered up and tried to face their attacker. His red
eyes burned with malicious hatred in a face crowned by two horns.

"... that's impossible!" Patamon exclaimed in horror. "What's
Devimon doing here?!"

"So that's the guy you've always told me about?" Gatomon asked,
her eyes narrowing as she regarded their foe. "He doesn't look so
tough. He's just a Champion, like me!"

"But that's not the point," Patamon said. "He shouldn't have been
reborn like this! And why is he here on Earth?"

"The 'why' seems pretty obvious," Gatomon added, picking up on
Patamon's line of reasoning. "HOW he got here is a better
question!"

"They are all excellent questions," Devimon said, his tattered
wings still able to hold him aloft as he sneered down at the
other Digimon. "Suffice it to say, for now, that you are going to
carry the burden of Digidestiny once more. As for your doubts
about my power... face me in battle and see for yourself how very
wrong you are, little kitten."

With that, Devimon laughed darkly and dove toward Patamon and
Gatomon.

"Boom Bubble..." Patamon said, his body inflating before
releasing it in a ball of compressed air. "... POP!"

Devimon did not so much as grunt as the ball struck him. He kept
coming, the attack bouncing off his extended hand. Gatomon had
quickly bounded up another nearby tree as Patamon attacked and
leapt off the top branch, extending her claws as she aimed a fist
at Devimon's face. "Lightning PAW!"

Devimon's arm was a blur of darkness as Gatomon was batted out of
the air and sent crashing back to the ground, her body colliding
forcefully with Patamon's.

"I thought cats were supposed to land on their feet," Patamon
groaned.

"Oh, shut up," Gatomon growled back.

Devimon laughed as he said, "This is far too easy. I expected a
greater challenge from the greatest of my foes. Digivolve from
this useless state, Patamon! I want to fight Angemon, not a
pathetic child!" A slow smile spread over his face as he
continued. "But that's right. You can't, can you? Not alone,
anyway. You need your partner to act as an energy source. Allow
me to fetch him for you!" With that, Devimon whipped his arm down
toward the school's wall and smashed his fist through it. Rubble
and smoke exploded outward from the impact, all of them bouncing
harmlessly off of Devimon's body. But any human struck by the
falling chunks of wood and concrete couldn't be expected to be so
lucky....

"TK!" Patamon screamed, flying forward at full speed.

"KARI!" Gatomon cried, her voice filled with the same concern.

"BOOM BUBBLE... POP!" Patamon shrieked in protective fury. This
bubble was larger, and flew more forcefully at Devimon's back.
He winced from the impact and flew back from the wall, watching
and waiting. He had waited patiently for a very long time to
have his rematch and seek vengeance. A few moments more would
mean nothing.

Kari and TK stumbled out through the pile of rubble that had
heaped itself in the hole that now connected the classroom to the
outside. "What's going on out here?" TK shouted. "Patamon? Where
are you?"

"Gatomon?" Kari called out. "Are you here? Are you okay?"

The two Digimon quickly ran to their humans, leaping into their
arms and hugging them as best as they could. "WE were the ones
worried about YOU," Patamon said. "When Devimon knocked down the
wall, you could have really been hurt...."

"Devimon?!" TK exclaimed, his eyes bulging wide. "Is that
who...." He trailed off as he looked up into the air and saw the
dark and terrible truth with his own eyes. Oddly enough, through
his shock and confusion, he found himself strangely comforted by
the fact that at least Devimon wasn't as BIG as he'd been in
their last confrontation. Now he was no taller than Angemon
himself.

"It's been a while," Kari said as her Digivice began to beep and
her Crest began to glow. "But I think it's time you guys
Digivolved!"

"Well?" Devimon growled. "Come on then and do it! I grow bored.
If I am not provided with a suitable opponent, then I may have to
seek my entertainment in the city itself. So many victims...."
Devimon bore his fangs as he grinned wickedly, his sentence
trailing off into cruel, demonic laughter.

Patamon and Gatomon leapt into the air in perfect unison at that.
Their bodies were enveloped by the white glow that signified
their holy power.

"Patamon, Digivolve TO..." Patamon's aura grew, quickly
developing into an orb of light that gradually increased in size
and radiance. In the blink of an eye, it became a great ovoid
shape that shed glimmering sparks of light. Those sparks
assumed the form of drifting feathers as the egg of light was
torn apart from within. In the place of Patamon, who resembled
nothing so much as a plump guinea pig with wings, there now stood
a tall and majestic humanoid figure. His body was white, with
six great feathery wings sprouting from his back. The holy symbol
of the cross was etched on his boots and the silvery helmet that
covered his eyes and should have rendered him blind. But there
was no denying that this new Digimon was a holy warrior,
completely aware of his surroundings thanks to the aid of senses
that no other Digimon save one could hope to possess or
understand. "... ANGEMON!"

"Gatomon, Digivole TO..." Even from without the orb of pinkish
light that surrounded her form as it digivolved, Gatomon's feline
form could be seen growing into that of an equally tall and
majestic female humanoid. The white patches on her body more
closely resembled a bodysuit, with more flesh-colored patched
showing through. A feathery boa wrapped itself about her arms
and shoulders as her six feathery wings sprouted from her back
and her long blonde hair grew. The clawed paw-gloves became long,
elegant white gloves that graced very human hands. A helmet
identical to Angemon's formed last, marking her as the only other
Digimon with abilities of the same type and magnitude as his.
"... ANGEWOMON!"

Now at the Champion and Ultimate level, respectively, the two
Digimon spread their white wings and flew unerringly toward
Devimon. A long golden staff materialized in Angemon's hand,
which he swung brutally at Devimon's head. Devimon ducked the
swing and darted quickly to the side to avoid the forward thrust
that followed the missed blow. The Demon Digimon then threw a
sweeping backhand of his own at the side of his archrival's head.
Angemon swiftly backed away and threw his right fist forward. An
aura of golden power materialized around it and surged forward in
a blast of raw holy energy as he cried, "HAND OF FATE!"

Devimon twisted his body, flying gracefully over the scorching
beam of golden energy. A dark, vicious energy gathered around
his own unnaturally large hand as he raised it above his head and
unleashed a beam of pure malevolent power at the Angel Digimon who
opposed him. "TOUCH OF EVIL!"

Angemon quickly twirled his staff in front of him, turned it into
an impromptu shield that broke the beam of unholy energy into
nothingness. However, Angemon still felt himself reeling back
from the force of the blow. "He's even stronger than last time,"
he thought grimly to himself.

"CELESTIAL ARROW!"

Devimon, still focusing all his energy on battering down
Angemon's defenses, was unable to dodge in time. An arrow formed
from pure white energy struck him squarely in the side, prompting
a howl of pure agony from the Demon Digimon. He spiraled
awkwardly in the air before his wings stretched out to stop his
fall and bear him back and away from the warrior angels that
opposed him.

Devimon emitted another growl of pain and glared at the two
angels as they swooped relentlessly toward him. "Ah," he said,
"the power of team-work. The favorite trick of the
Digidestined..."

"DARKNESS WAVE!"

Devimon's face twisted into a mocking sneer as he watched both
Angemon and Angewomon scream in agony. The incoming energy wave
was composed of millions of tiny black bats that swarmed over
them. Unholy energy tore at the flesh of the Angels every time
one of the malevolent bats collided into them. The source of the
sudden attack was a very female humanoid Digimon whose body
coloring much resembled Devimon's, with patches torn away from her
black costume to accentuate her sultry figure. A skull-and-crossbones
design was etched over her heart, and long, white hair flowed from the
back of her cowl-like mask. The chains wrapped around her right
arm clanked whenever she moved.

"Oh no!" Kari exclaimed, "That's Lady Devimon!"

"How'd she and Devimon get together?" TK asked in panic.
"Computer dating?!"

The two devils chuckled as they watched their angelic opponents
recover. "Now, now," Lady Devimon scolded, waving a long finger
at Devimon. "You weren't going to hog ALL the fun, were you?"

"I would never DREAM of doing such a thing," Devimon replied.
"Shall we destroy them together, my dear?"

Lady Devimon smirked. "Let's."

"I do not understand what has caused such an unholy union,"
Angemon said, readying his staff, "but we will not allow your
evil to continue!"

"You can't stop it, Angemon, not anymore," Devimon said, his fist
glowing with dark power once again. "The Digi-Destiny has been
re-written! The prophecies are meaningless! TOUCH OF EVIL!"

Angemon and Angewomon swerved away from each other to dodge the
blast. However, Devimon rocketed forward immediately after
launching his energy attack, slamming his shoulder into Angemon's
chest and forcing him further away from his counterpart.
Angewomon was unable to come to his aid this time. She was
pinned down, forced to fire another Celestial Arrow at the
onrushing Lady Devimon. She spiraled to the side, mocking
laughter escaping her lips as she twirled gracefully away from the
attack and launched another Darkness Wave of malevolent bats.
This time, Angewomon was ready, and swooped easily over the
flying horde.

Angemon retaliated, swinging his fist up into Devimon's nose.
Devimon staggered back, senses blurred by pain. Angemon
followed up with another swing from his staff that connected
with the side of Devimon's head, causing his body to spin around
in mid-air. However, Devimon continued with the spin and turned
into a vicious attack, a double ax-handle punch delivered by his
enormous hands connecting full-force with the side of Angemon's
head. As Angemon fell back, Devimon raised his still-clasped hands
and brought them powerfully down across the back of Angemon's
neck, sending the angel crashing down to the ground.

Angewomon continued her projectile war with Lady Devimon, their
energy attacks colliding with and nullifying each other
repeatedly. The resulting shockwaves knocked both of them back
each time, but both pressed on, driven by the relentless hatred
they bore toward the other for even daring to exist. Eventually,
Lady Devimon growled in frustration and swooped in towards
Angewomon, holding the arm that supported her clawed, oversized
hand out to grab at Angewomon's throat. "C'mere, blondie," she
taunted. "I'm going to pull your hair out by the roots and see if
you got it from a bottle!"

Angewomon darted to the side and narrowly managed to avoid her
razor-sharp claws, slamming her knee upward into Lady Devimon's
chin as they passed each other by in midair. Lady Devimon grunted
and rolled with the blow so that her high-heeled foot could slam into
Angewomon's neck and send her crashing into the school's roof.

Angemon was dazed as he tried to sit up. He found himself raised
into the air as long, thin fingers wrapped around his neck,
tightening with the relentless desire to slowly choke the life
out of him. "A pity," Devimon said as continued to apply
pressure to the stranglehold. "To think that YOU have been my
rival. The one who I have waited countless years to destroy...
and yet now that the moment has arrived for me to have my
revenge... I am disappointed at how very easy it is!"

Angemon gasped for breath, but still found the strength to reply.
"Don't... be!"

Before Devimon could even think to react, Angemon raised his hand
and unleashed a Hand of Fate, at point blank range, into
Devimon's face.

It wasn't at full power, but it was more than enough to make
Devimon release him and howl in unimaginable pain. Angemon
swooped away as Devimon clutched his face in agony, using the
moment to breathe and recharge his energy. Angemon gathered all
of his strength into the golden power that infused his glowing
fist as he rose into the air above Devimon.

"This ends now!" Angemon pronounced. "HAND OF FATE!"

The resulting blast sent the evil Digimon reeling, his entire
body lost in the light of Angemon's power. Smoke rose as the
grass caught fire and the ground itself began to dissolve under
the scorching heat of the holy power. Angemon took deep, gasping
breaths once he finally relented and allowed his hand to drop to
his side. Sweat poured down his exposed face from the inside of
his mask.

"TOUCH OF EVIL!"

Now it was Angemon who found no strength to react as the unholy
beam of Darkness lanced forth and crashed into his torso. The
terrible, black power froze his flesh until it felt like it was
burning as it knocked him out of the air and to the ground. Both
he and Devimon struggled to do so much as rise up onto their
knees.

"This..." Devimon said through gritted teeth, "is FAR from over."

Angewomon used her wings to slow her fall, and narrowly managed
to avoid a collision with the school. She rose into the air,
her back to Lady Devimon. As the devil Digimon relentlessly
closed in, Angewomon spun around to reveal her arms glowing with
an infusion of pink energy. She spread her arms wide, the energy
taking on the shape of a cross and surging forward at
Lady Devimon. "HEAVEN'S CHARM!"

Lady Devimon was engulfed by the cross-shaped energy, too close to
successfully dodge. However, even as Lady Devimon felt the last
of her strength fading, she put all her remaining power into a
final Darkness Wave of her own that caught the exhausted
Angewomon off-guard. Both of them plummeted to the ground.

"Angemon!" TK cried. He couldn't remember Angemon ever receiving
a beating so bad!

"Angewomon!" Kari shouted. She began to run forward toward her
partner, TK following her closely.

Even as Kari and TK shouted, the bodies of all four combatant
Digimon were enveloped by light and began to... shrink.

The humans stopped short. They had figured Patamon and Gatomon
de-digivolved once they ran out of power... but the sight of the
enemy Digimon doing the same gave them pause. Their surprise
turned into utter confusion as they watched two children no older
than five, both with long black hair and wearing pathetically
tattered rags, run over to where the former Devimon and
Lady Devimon lay.

"Hey!" Kari called out to the strange children. "Stay back! They
could be dangerous!"

The boy reached down and picked up a round, blue Rookie Digimon
with crow's feet and small bat wings growing out of the side of
the sphere that served as both its head and body. The Digimon
smirked as it said, "Ya hear that, Kevin? She thinks we're
dangerous! We didn't do so bad after all!"

TK and Kari both blinked and spoke in unison, their voices
similarly shocked. "DemiDevimon?!"

"That's riiiiii-iiight," DemiDevimon chuckled from within the
boy's protective arms.

The girl, meanwhile, recovered what appeared to be a Gatomon with
pitch-black fur that snarled and yowled savagely at the older
humans before allowing her human friend to quiet her. As they
stood side-by-side, TK and Kari both noticed how similar the two
strangers looked. Their noses, the cast of their eyes, the
general shape of their faces... all of it pointing to a deeper
bond of some kind. Could the children be brother and sister?

"And now, if you'll excuse us," DemiDevimon said, "we gotta get
goin' now an' so do you. If ya wanna know what this was all
about, I suggest ya go find yer friends in the park. Toodles!"

"Hey..." Gatomon groaned as she pulled herself groggily to her
feet. "We aren't finished yet... get back here and fight!"

"Gatomon," Kari said soothingly, "It's okay... we'll get another
chance! You can barely stand...."

"Kaaaaaaarrrrrrriiiiiiiiiii!"

Kari winced a little as she turned her head to look back at the
school. She saw Davis standing there, a look of utter shock and
amazement on his face. Oh, no... how much of the fight had he
seen?

"What the HELL was THAT?!" Davis exclaimed, pointing frantically
from Gatomon to Patamon and back again. "What's up with those...
those weird monsters and why were they attacking the school and
why is one talking to you and are you okay?!"

"I'm... okay," Kari said, calmly. "But I gotta go now."

"Hey... wait!" Davis said. "Lemme go, too! I dunno what's going
on but I can definitely tell the good guys from the bad guys here
and I wanna help... those devil-lookin' monsters acted like they
wanted to hurt you!"

"I'm fine, Davis," Kari replied, suddenly feeling a headache
coming on. "And I think it'd be better if you stayed here and
helped see if anyone got injured in the fight and needs medical
attention. Please, Davis?"

"Well..." Davis blinked in slight bafflement back at Kari. The
desperate urge to help her somehow, anyhow, was clearly written in
his wide brown eyes. "If you're sure that you'll be okay..."

"She's FINE, Davis!" TK snapped impatiently. "And for your
information, what just happened out here is none of your
business! Just forget about it and don't try to get involved!
You'll only manage to get in the way and get yourself hurt."

With that, TK tightened his grip on Patamon and ran off from the
school building, heading toward the park where he knew the annual
picnic was taking place. Kari scooped Gatomon up into her arms
and ran off after him, sparing only a second to deliver a polite
but curt nod to Davis.

+ + +

Jesus... that TR is SUCH a JERK!

"None of your business" and "stay out of it" and "you'll just get
in the way". Yeah, right! I'm not as big an idiot as everyone
thinks I am. I can read between the lines.

Dammit, what gives HIM the right to just march in and tell me
what HE thinks is best for me, let alone Kari? It's obviously
clear he doesn't give a damn about what SHE thinks. I know he
thinks I'm less than dirt compared to his perfect self. Self-
righteous jerk!

Oh... by the way, in case you haven't guessed by now, my name is
Davis Motomiya and I REALLY, really like Kari Kamiya. Sometimes I
think I might be in love with her, but I'm not sure I could tell
either way. And it's not like it'll matter until I get her away
from stupid PJ long enough for her to actually get to know me.

What? You think that just because I'm some kinda jock I can't
like a girl who doesn't bounce around in a shirt three sizes too
small? I'm not allowed to be interested in someone who actually
has a brain and a personality that includes more than mindlessly
giggling and chomping bubble gum?!

... Oh, that wasn't it? Sorry, I get a little defensive about
this... and the way RJ treats her sometimes just really pisses me
off. She's the nicest girl - no, the nicest *person* I've ever
met, period. She deserves the best of absolutely everything, to
be treated like a Princess all the time! And since I know that
much, I think I'm more qualified to be her Prince Charming than
anybody else, right? Right.

But anyway... I guess this is where I tell you about what's
happened to the class room that got trashed when that... whatever
crushed the wall and took a lot of the classroom out with it.

I remember Yolie coming to get me after FP and Kari were long
gone. I think Cody was with her, too, or maybe he just caught up
to us later. I dunno. She told me to quit staring and do
something useful. I tried to tell her about what just happened
and she said that she saw it too, and that taking care of
everybody that was hurt was more important than trying to figure
out what it meant. I know she's right, but... but she doesn't
have to rub it in like that! I ended up followed her back
inside.

We started checking on the other students as best we could. But
it's not like we're doctors or anything, so there's not much we
can do. That doesn't mean we're not obligated to try anyway,
though. I mean, besides Kari and CJ, me and Yolie and Cody
seemed to be the only ones who escaped without getting hurt.
Yolie got the first aid kit out and started putting bandaids and
stuff on the kids who just had bad cuts and scrapes while Cody's
trying to move what looked like a really big piece of wall that
landed on a kid's desk before the kid could get away. I feel
really bad for whoever that is.

I could feel my stomach clench up as I saw the blood pooling
around the desk. The kid's leg was trapped. Cody looked up and
waved me over. I've never seen that much blood before... but I
know I can't just stand here, so I go to help him move the rock.

Besides, I made a promise to Kari. A promise that damn KT didn't
let me finish, but still!

"Couldn't you just judo flip this thing out of the way or
something?" I grunted as I helped push. Man, that thing was a lot
heavier than it looked.

"It doesn't really work like that," Cody said, real quiet, as he
strained against it.

Cody's really, really TALL, but he doesn't seem to have much
muscle to him. He's a real fast, skinny guy, and he can hit
stuff really hard - I've seen him do the whole board-breaking
thing, like you see in movies! - but with something like this,
where you're lifting a dead weight, he's not so good. He
doesn't have the muscle for it. I'm trying to help, and I'm in
pretty good shape, if I say so myself, but it's still hard going.
We finally managed to lift it, and I had to hold it up while Cody
moved the smashed desk and puled the kid out. Man, I was so
afraid I was gonna drop that big chunk of rock on them. I've
still got all these little cuts on my hand from it. That thing
was heavy! But Cody managed to get the kid's out in time and
bandage him up. I'm glad somebody managed to stay awake in First
Aid class!

The rest of the afternoon was pretty much me talking to another
kid who got hit on the head by a piece of brick and was fighting
to stay awake since he had a concussion... I didn't find out
until a long time later that he died in the ambulance. Guess he
had more than just a concussion. I can't remember his name. I feel
really bad about that. All I remember now was that he played all
the same video games I did and wanted me to come over to his
house when he got better.

That night, as I sat in my room watching TV, I found out that a
whole lot of people had died. It was a major disaster that hit
all over Tokyo. All sorts of strange battles between all kinds
of monsters happened. It was like a Godzilla movie, except a lot
more scary because it was real! I remember seeing footage of
these two big bugs monsters fighting at this apartment building
across town, and this fight in Shibuya between this one monster
that looked like... I dunno, a fairy or something, and another
one that looked like a big tree! There was another really big
fight at the park, too... I remember seeing these two big
dinosaurs going at it. One looked like a skeleton in the natural
history museum had decided to get up and walk around, and the
other looked like it was some kinda cyborg dinosaur or something!
And there was this big blue werewolf and a big black werewolf,
this weird thing with a big hammer, and a big werebird and
somethin' that looked like a cross between a squid and that devil
thing that attacked the school, and this other REALLY weird thing
that... well, I dunno how to describe what it looked like but I
know I'll never, ever forget it. I'll never forget any of them.

One image that really stuck with me was this story about some
really smart kid, a computer genius who went to the expensive
genius school across town... I think his name was Ken... yeah,
that's it! Ken Ichijouji. He was crying, and I can't blame him...
his parents got killed when a giant monster that sounds like the
skeleton dinosaur that fought in the park crashed into his
apartment building and basically just pushed it over.

I didn't sleep well that night. The images of that Ken guy
crying over those two bodies with the sheets covering them... and
just imagining that kid I talked to... and I'd never even known
his name... just imagining his body going all cold and stiff...
and Kari... how was she involved in all of this? Was she okay?
I can't imagine that monster she had was one of the ones that was
out destroying things and killing people. Maybe she's got a good
monster that's trying to fight the bad monsters! I can see her
getting mixed up in something like that. Hell, maybe I'd just
wake up in the morning and find out it was all a crazy dream
brought on by too many late-night cartoons. Or would I wake up
and find out she was dead too?

I kept tossing and turning in my bed. I don't usually obsess
about what's gonna happen tomorrow, but for once, my mind was
focused on the future.

+ + +

It happened at 11:45 A.M.

It was almost unnoticeable at first. There was no great herald
of light or colors in the sky. There was no wrenching of the
ground or great upheaval of the ocean. It simply... happened.

It happened all over the world.

In Africa, a hunting party of natives turned their heads,
watching in awe as a herd of Elephants and Monochromon stampeded
side-by-side.

In the Arctic, seal hunters ducked a return volley of spears from
annoyed Divermon.

In the North Pacific, a whale poacher's boat felt the wrath of
Whamon as members of Greenpeace cheered from their tiny wooden
boats. A Seadramon, annoyed at having his nap interrupted,
arose from the sea behind them.

In Arizona, a bunch of teenagers undergoing a hallucinogenic
experience involving peyote watched a Togemon amble by. They
laughed.

In Australia, a zoologist gawked through his binoculars as baby
Digimon tried to crawl into the pouches of startled kangaroos.

The Arc D'Triomph in Paris collapsed as a Drimogimon dug up from
below it.

The British Royal Guards finally broke their motionless stances
as a seemingly unending number of Numemon threw ... "sludge" at
them.

Confusion and chaos reigned as the inhabitants of Earth and the
Digital World were suddenly forced to exist on the same planet,
at the same time.

+ + +

Cody's legs hurt.

This wasn't all that unusual, since, at the age of fourteen, he'd
been experiencing quite a bit of an early growth spurt. Now well
over six feet in height, sitting behind a school desk
obviously designed for someone much smaller was murder for him.
He had to constantly shift around, flexing and stretching the
muscles in his legs to keep the discomfort manageable as he tried
to pay attention to the lecture the teacher was giving.

Fortunately, class soon ended and it was lunch time. He stood
and worked the kinks out of his legs, grunting in pain as his
long, thin hands rubbed over his knees. He was aware of the
stares of the other students, the same looks he'd been getting
since the start of the semester and the ones he'd probably get
the rest of his life, as he walked to the cafeteria.
Fortunately, at least for now, the attack on the school yesterday
would probably be more interesting to everyone than his freakish
height.

He stopped for a moment to mutter a small prayer as he passed by
the door of his former class room. After ordering his food -
quite a bit of it, since he needed to keep up with his rapid
metabolism - he balanced his full tray out into the main
cafeteria area and looked for a place to sit down.

"Cody!" a familiar, welcome voice called out, "Over here!"

The tall boy smiled as he saw a familiar girl with long,
lilac-colored hair stand up from where she was sitting and wave
him over. Easily shifting through the minor bustle of the other
students around him, he sat down in the free seat that his best
friend since elementary school, Yolie, had saved for him.

Sitting across from the two of them, was another boy that Cody
was only passingly acquainted with, mostly from the occasional
pep rallies that the sports clubs were made to attend.
Although, most of the school knew him anyway - it's hard to
ignore a boy that, rain, shine, or anything else, always wears a
pair of goggles on top of his head. Cody had heard that some
soccer star had given them to him when he was in middle school,
and that he'd never been seen without them in public ever since.
The boy stared at Cody's stuffed tray before breaking out in
amused, but not quite derisive laughter. "Get enough?"

Yolie glared at him. "Leave him alone, Davis." She then smiled
comfortingly up at Cody. "After all, he IS a growing boy. And
he's done more growing than anyone else in his class!"

"I had the most growing to do," Cody added with a smile.

"Yeah, and if you grow much more," Davis added, "you'll start
breaking the ceiling!" He suddenly winced a little as he
realized how incredibly bad that sounded. Cody decided not to
say anything about it. Davis had been through plenty yesterday,
and had a reputation for saying incredibly stupid things anyway.

"At least then," Cody retorted, his voice soft as he tried to
return the mood to its previous lightness, "Maybe they'd think
about getting seats that fit."

Davis smirked half-heartedly as Yolie giggled a little. The
sound was like little bells to Cody's ears. He was also aware of
the sweet scent of perfume drifting up to his nose from her
beautiful hair and he felt his heart fill with warmth as he
smiled back down at his childhood friend. Her glasses shimmered
winsomely in the light. He wondered, vaguely, why he hadn't
noticed these sorts of things about her before...

... and then all hell broke loose for the second day in a row.

Screams erupted from all around them as brown, fuzzy, frog-
shaped... things with horns on their heads suddenly materialized
out of nowhere. For a moment, the... animals? Monsters?
Whatever they were, they seemed to be as confused as the humans.
But then, one of them opened its mouth and shouted, "Alright! I
don't know what's going on, but we Gizamon claim this area for
US! So get out or else!"

The terrified youngsters, for the most part, took the monster's
words to heart, and ran for their lives as the Gizamon bit at
their heels.

Cody, Yolie and Davis rapidly scrambled up from their seats,
gawking in surprise at the creatures. "MORE monsters? What the
heck are THESE things?!" Davis asked.

"Trouble," Cody said simply, adjusting his glasses.

Yolie had taken her glasses off entirely, cleaned them with her
sweater, and put them back on before she allowed herself to
react. "Well," she said, "They're real, whatever they are."

"We gotta do something!" Davis said, frowning. "I dunno how they
got here, but we just can't let them hurt people and take over
our school without a fight!"

"I left my bokken in my locker," Cody mused aloud. "Maybe if I
can find a broom or something...."

"Cody, NO!" Yolie said. "I don't care how many championships
you've won, there's no way you're going to try to fight those
things! We don't have any idea what they can do!"

"Yeah, I think a stick is gonna be kind of a sucky weapon right
now," Davis added as he watched the Gizamon scurry about the
room.

"We'll have to at least get through them if we want to get out of
here," Cody replied. "And I don't want to see any of you hurt."

"Well, we've gotta do something FAST! They know we didn't leave
and they're getting CLOSER!" Davis shouted urgently. The
Gizamon were beginning to hop toward their table, ready to do
whatever it took to force these unwelcome outsiders away from
their new home.

"Don't worry," a childlike and strangely determined voice said.
"You won't be the onesh getting hurt! VEE HEADBUTT!"

All three children blinked, as a blue blur zipped forward from
behind them and smashed into the foremost Gizamon that was
hopping toward them. The Gizamon screamed in pain as it crashed
backward into several of its companions. The blur resolved itself
into a little blue... humanoid... dinosaur thing, roughly three
feet tall, with a white stomach and a little gold 'V' on it's
forehead. It reminded Davis of some sort of little baby dragon,
like you might see in a cartoon.

The... thing, as the Gizamon scurried away in momentary fear and
confusion, then padded over to Davis and extended his
four-fingered hand. "Nice ta meet ya," it said happily. "My
name'sh Veemon! I'm a legendary dragon Digimon who bringsh good
luck!"

"... Digi-wha?" Davis managed, after a long moment of slack-jawed
staring.

"I'm your Digimon!" Veemon laughed and smiled jubilantly. "You
and me are gonna be partnersh now, Davish!"

"... Partners?" Davis asked, continuing to gawk down at Veemon.
"How do you even know my name?"

"I told it to him."

The humans turned around, looking at... what appeared to be a
grey-skinned man with four arms, each adorned with a large golden
wrist bracelet. Golden prayer beads hung around his neck, and he
wore what appeared to be shrine wards as a belt, with a long red
loin cloth hanging down from the belt's front. His hair spiked
upwards, resembling flames. Fire also emanated from his hands
and feet. His face was actually three faces, each one covered by
a mask of a different color. The sight was bewildering, like
something out of a Hindu temple. A wall of flame that emanated
from its body drove the Gizamon even farther away from the children.

Standing next to him was an armadillo with a red-violet
jewel-shaped marking on it's forehead and a bipedal eagle wearing
a headband with a single feather sticking up from it. The strange
man who couldn't possibly be human smiled at them. "The one on
my left is Armadillomon, the Warrior of the Earth, and the one on
my right is Hawkmon, the Guardian of the Sky. I am called
Asuramon. I am a Wizard Digimon of the Ultimate level, and the
guardian of the balance here in this new Digital Earth."

Cody arched an eyebrow. "Digital... Earth?"

"Two worlds have become one, and now humans and Digimon must face
that which created them and that which they created. To explain
further would require more time than we have," Asuramon replied
cryptically. "Now, there is only time for you to answer a
question: are you willing to fight for this world and those that
dwell in it?"

"You know it!" Davis shouted, without hesitation.

Cody's response was more quiet and carefully considered, but no
less emphatic. "... if I must... then yes, I will fight."

"Well... of course I would... I mean, if I thought I could do
anything!" Yolie added with a nod.

Hawkmon fluttered to Yolie's side, a pleased smile on his beak.
"Well, you won't be able to do much by yourself, Miss Yolie. But
together, there's no limit to what we'll be able to accomplish!"

Armadillomon made his way toward Cody at a more leisurely pace.
"Ah think we'll be gettin' along just fine. Don't think Ah could
handle a human who did things all hasty-like."

Asuramon's voice answered the question clearly written across
Yolie and Cody's faces before they could even ask it. "Hawkmon
and Armadillomon will be your partners now, just as Veemon will
be Davis'. Together, you have both the will and the power
to fight for this world."

"... wait... you mean they're our Digimon? Just like Kari had...
um... the cat-thing?" Davis asked.

Asuramon's three-faced head nodded. "Yes."

"Alright!" Davis cheered. "Well, go on, Veemon! Turn into
AngeButtStompingmon and go take those frog-thingies OUT!"

"Um... it doesn't work like that," Veemon responded, smiling
nervously back at his new human.

Asuramon laughed. "The power of the Angels will never be yours,
Davis Motomiya. Your heart is that of the dragon."

"... oh," Davis couldn't help but sound vaguely disappointed.
"... well... I can live with that! Dragons are kickass monsters!"

"And I guess that means I'm a hawk! Cool!" Yolie grinned.

Cody's eyes widened, and he stared down at his new partner
incredulously. "... I'm an armadillo?"

His partner blinked back up at him, mildly. "An' what's wrong
with armadillas?"

"So... uh, how do we make them do the whole butt-kicking thing?"
Davis asked Asuramon, eagerly.

"There are many ways to help your partner achieve Digivolution,"
Asuramon replied. "Yours will always be special. For now, it
will be sufficient for you to find an answer to this question:
why do you wish to fight for this world? What is the desire of
your heart?"

Davis stared back at him, blankly. "... uh..."

"... that's a little vague," Cody pointed out.

"Well..." Yolie began, hesitantly. She was glancing down, her
eyes narrowed in thought. "... I remember all the suffering those
monsters caused at the school yesterday. All those people we
lost... no one should have to lose someone they care about. No
one should take somebody's friends and family away from them!
It's not right, it's not FAIR!" Yolie's voice increased in
strength as she spoke. As she did so, a pale pink radiance
began to gather and coalesce in her open hand.

"Then you will fight for the sake of Love," Asuramon stated, his
three faces smiling enigmatically.

As he spoke, the pink radiance solidified and took on the form of
a steel egg with a violet heart emblazoned upon it, and a steel
blade jutting out of either side. In her other hand, a strange
red and white device the size of a PalmPilot computer formed.
But they were the least startling elements of her sudden
transformation. Seemingly out of nowhere, a strange outfit
formed in bits and pieces around her body, almost as if it was
pixelating around her. A brown helmet wrapped around her head, a
violet shirt with long sleeves around her torso and arms,
followed by a brown vest and white gloves. Bright, shiny red
pants wrapped around her legs. White boots wrapped around her
feet and ankles.

Yolie blinked at all of her strange new acquirements. "...
um..."

"Cool! Yolie, you just got a real-life transformation sequence!"
Davis exclaimed in wonder.

"... I think I understand," Cody nodded, taking a sharp breath
inward as he watched Yolie... change. "All I know about why I
want to fight is that everything could get destroyed if we don't.
What's the point of studying when you don't know if the school
will be there tomorrow? What's the point of anything if
civilization just... falls apart?"

"And you will fight to protect Knowledge." Cody's transformation
began as Asuramon made his pronouncement. A haze of violet
radiance coalesced in Cody's hand into a yellow egg with a strange
violet symbol that resembled a pair of circles emblazoned on it, as a
yellow and white computer-like device materialized in his other hand.
Data wrapped itself around his body to create an outfit that resembled
the formal-looking school uniforms that many boys who went to other
schools were required to wear. But this outfit was brown, with a small
triangular violet jewel serving as the button that closed the flap over his
chest.

Cody tugged experimentally at the outfit's high collar with a
spare finger, and then blinked. "I assume this is going to help
us fight somehow...."

"Well, then, um..." Davis' mind raced to find some way to
articulate how he felt inside. It wasn't something that he was
precisely good at. "... I just... I watched all these people die
and stuff yesterday, and people kept telling me I couldn't do
anything about it... and I'm not gonna believe it! There's no
way I'm just gonna sit here while people are getting killed and
hurt! I'd rather die than not try and stop it! And if there's
anyway I can fight for them, then that's what I'm gonna do, and
NOTHING's gonna stop me!"

"And you will fight... because your Courage gives you no other
choice," Asuramon finished, pleasure in his voice. A violent flash
of crimson light solidified into a bright red egg with a golden sun-
symbol emblazoned upon it and a sharp spike sticking out of it in
Davis' hand, along with a white and blue computer device. A
simple white shirt and khaki shorts replaced his school uniform,
followed by a pair of bright yellow gloves and a flashy red and blue
jacket with stylized flames running along the middle of its sleeves
and body and a high, furry white collar.

"... way cool!" Davis grinned in approval as he glanced down at
his new threads. "Feel real sorry for whatever had to lay this
egg, though."

"So how do we use this stuff?" Yolie asked.

"Lift your Digimental high and shout 'Digi-Armor, Energize!' to
unlock its power. I fear my time here has run out, and now you
must fend off your enemies on your own," Asuramon finished, as
his body began dissolving into flames. The wall of fire that held
back the Gizamon was beginning to break down as well, and the
angry Digimon could be seen glowering through it at the strange
humans and little Digimon that dared to defy them. "We will meet
again, Digidestined. I lay the burden of leadership on you, Davis
Motomiya - I expect you shall not disappoint me." With that,
Asuramon vanished entirely, and the Gizamon begin advancing once
more upon their enemy.

"This all seems so farfetched..." Cody muttered aloud as Asuramon
vanished.

"Just go with it, Cody!" Yolie said, "When a guy with four arms
asks you to be a superhero, then be a superhero!"

"Right!" Davis added, trying to sound authoritative and
aggressive. "And that means it's finally time to kick some butt!
You guys ready?"

The Rookie Digimon let out quick shouts of agreement - they
seemed eager to fight. The other two humans paused for a moment,
and then added in their own strong affirmations. They were ready
to fight for their world, whatever it had become.

"DIGI-ARMOR, ENER... GIZE!"

+ + +
To be continued...
+ + +