Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ New Gennai Order ❯ NGO -- Episode 01: "Newfound Allies, Part 1" ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"New Gennai Order" -- Episode 01: "Newfound Allies"
(C) May 2001, Ryan Berke
http://ryanberke.cjb.net/


((DEDICATION: This installment is dedicated to FFN's very own shimmercat. Without her support and motivation, it would've taken a lot longer to complete. Anyone interested, feel free to check out her sketch of WarAgumon, her review of This Series, or just plain her site in general))

((DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor do I claim to own, any of the Digimon characters (heck, I refuse to claim even the ones I made up! Feel free to steal them!) They are all property of FoxKids, Toei, and Bandai. I haven't received any permission ahead of time, but then this wouldn't be a Fanfic, would it? Likewise, I do not own the song "What If?" by Creed))

((ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER: This story is not Copywritten, as implied by the heading. (c) stands for "completed," allowing me to know when I wrote it.))


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Even Takeru had to admit, in all his time as a digidestined, he'd seen a lot. He'd lived through battle after battle, faced Devimon, survived Etemon, conquered Myotismon, and fought the Dark Masters. He'd been through Gennai's riddles and Piximon's training, all the while with Patamon to protect him to the Data World and back. But if anyone had told him he'd see WarGreymon, even a smaller version of him, cry, he'd've laughed out loud.

No one was laughing now.

"If Only..." Kami sighed once more. "He was our last hope."

"Last hope?" WarAgumon demanded, blinking back tears, "Last hope? You can't just reduce his life down to nothing! He's not just some figurehead or a statistic--Joe was a person. And people aren't numbers on a page."

"He was the last of our kind." she replied.

"What kind?" he snapped, "A human, a spirit, and a digimon? Three misfits from a world that never should have happened?"

"Three WARRIORS," she corrected, "Defending peace in a world under a tyrant's rule."

"And I suppose that's make his death that of a soldier's on a battlefield," he sneered, applying the metaphor.

"An unfortunate gap in our combat tactics." she agreed, extending it. "His death came too easy. Our carelessness has lost us this war. Without humans, there is no digivolution, and you aren't strong enough to fight on your own."

"But he's not alone." Daisuke chimed in. "'Cause we're here to help!"

Idiot. Takeru mentally scolded his peer. You could at least let them grieve...

"Are you willing to adopt our cause?" Kami turned, facing the goggle-headed boy. "You are aware that once you do, there is no turning back."

"After everything you've told us," Daisuke replied, "How can't we?"

"Daisuke!" Iori hissed.

"Don't we get any say in this?" Miyako added.

"But c'mon, guys! This is the chance of a lifetime--and these guys NEED us.""

"People have died over there trying to fight Gennai." Iori returned. "You have to realize just how dangerous it is, and we'll only be putting BOTH worlds in jeopardy if we aren't here anymore to save this one."

"But if we stay here, we'll just be letting the forces of darkness run free." Takeru argued. "If I've been keeping count right, they've only had four Digivices to work with, and they're down to their last one. If we don't help them, no one will."

"But if there's only one left, aren't we condemning ourselves?" Miyako observed, "I mean, how would we get back when we're done?"

"So you're more worried about your personal well-being than saving the world?" Daisuke mocked. "Some digidestined you turned out to be."

Miyako fumed, "Just you take that back!"

V-mon decided it was about time a digimon took a stand in this arguement, and if no one else would, he'd be the first to do it. "Yeah? Well what if Daisuke doesn't want to?"

"Cool down!" Iori yelled. "It's two for, and two against. Let's see what Hikari has to say."

"Me?" Hikari asked, nervously. They looked to her, expectantly, nodding their heads.

"Uh, do any of you older Digidestined have any comments?" she asked, trying her best not to stall too obviously.

"Well, it wouldn't make sense for any of us to go." Jyou commented, "Seeing as none of us would be able to digivolve in their world"

"In which case, we'd be here anyway, and could chip in around here if you left." Koushiro noted, finishing the thought.

"Do what you think is right, Hikari." Taichi urged. "No one would think any less of you if you decided to stay."

She sighed. No one was going to decide this one for her; it was entirely her call. "Well, seeing as light is all about sacrificing for the greater good," she said cautiously, "The what kind of a Child of Light would I be if I didn't help out? I'm in."

Daisuke and Takeru brightened noticably, and even Iori seemed to nod appreciatively. Miyako didn't seem any happier, but she wasn't really upset either. Hikari probably couldn't've asked for a better result.

Kami took the last Digivice, Joe's Digivice, in her palm. Fingers enclosed it, and her grip tightened. Slowly, a brilliant-blue portal materialized, a near-perfect facsimile of it's predecessor the day before.

"Come on," she invited, "We've only a few minutes before the portal closes."

The newest team of Digidestined looked back on their mentors, wordlessly conveying their farewells. Their sentiments were returned similarly, and they were ready to go. They turned to Kami, who lead them forth, stepping into the light. Flanked by WarAgumon, within moments they were gone.

---------------

"So, this is the other world." Daisuke commented offhandedly, taking in his surroundings. He looked around, and all he saw was BLACK. The ground, the sky, the baren cliffs, the empty plains--all black. It was all wrong; he could see around perfectly fine, it wasn't like it was dark, just... black. In the distance, an observatory lay parked on a particularly high-rising cliff, pointed downwards at the rest of the word below.

"It's just like the top of Spiral Mountain!" Takeru noticed.

"THIS is what Spiral Mountain looked like?" Miyako asked, in disbelief. As digidestined, they'd been told the stories, but she'd never imagined this. She looked expectantly for an answer, which Hikari satisfied with a solemn nod. Out of respect, she joined in the silence of her more-experienced peers. Iori seemed to have done so too.

Daisuke didn't, quipping, "Not too shabby, if you ask me."

"Indeed." Kami agreed, ending the shouts of protest Miyako seemed ready to give. "We haven't much time. Takeru, Piedmon will be here any minute. Have Patamon digivolve to Ultimate, and that'll be one more problem out of our way."

"We sort of...can't." Takeru replied quietly. "None of our digimon can digivolve to Ultimate without a huge burst of power, like the one Hikari had fighting the Scubamons."

"So we don't have MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny." Kami replied. Her words were definitely not a question. "Perfect." she spat in sarcastic disgust, "Well, do what you can to get ready for a fight. It promises to be a big one. Let's hope we're big enough for it."

"Alright guys, you know what to do!" Daisuke commanded, "DigiArmor, Energize!"

V-Mon, Armor Digivolve into... Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!
Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve into... Shyurimon, the Samarai of Sincerity!
Armadillomon, Armor Digivolve into... Digmon, the Drill of Power!
Gatomon, Armor Digivolve into... Nefertimon, The Angel of Light!
Patamon, Armor Digivolve into... Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!

"Armor Digimon, eh?" WarAgumon asked. "Impressive."

"It's not as good as it looks." Kami replied cynically, in that all-knowing way of hers. "They're barely any stronger than a Champion digimon; it's not like they stand a chance against a Mega."

"Why not?" he returned. "If what you say is right, they'd have been strong enough if one of them was an Ultimate. Why can't five of them do the same?"

Piedmon's voice cut in, sneering, "Perhaps you'd rather put it to the test." Everyone looked around for the source, and in a puff of smoke, he revealed it to them. He stood alone, facing off against the lot of them, confidence in his stance.

WarAgumon lunged forward, jabbing with his claws. No matter where he punched, it wouldn't connect:

He punched left, Piedmon dodged right.
He punched right, Piedmon dodged left.
He jabbed high, Piedmon ducked.
He uppercut from below, and Piedmon blocked.

"WarAgumon, look out!" a friendly voice warned from above. It was joined by a second, as in unison they cried, "Golden Noose!"

Piedmon looked up at his oncoming foes, giving WarAgumon the time to duck low, and dive between Piedmon's legs and out the other side. He twisted his head to follow the Mini-Mega, only to have his attention drawn again by the call of "Double Stars!"

Piedmon laughed as the stars bounced off harmlessly, as did the Fire Rocket and Gold Rush moments behind. Barely flexing a muscle, he snapped the noose tying his arms down, grabbed either end, and pulled it's masters into range.

"Trump Sword!"

The swords hit their marks dead-on, leaving the Digidestined minus two Armored 'mons, but plus a Rookie and a Champion.

Daisuke gulped, "Watch out, Flamedramon! Don't let him do the same to you?"

"You mean like this?" Piedmon announced, grabbing Flamedramon by the throat. Holding him in mid-air, Piedmon reached behind his back, unsheathing another blade. He moved to stab forward, but dropped the knife as his arm was rammed by Digmon's hard head. Flamedramon took advantage of the situation, raised his feet, and kicked the clown full in the chest.

"Do you realize I could kill you all, right where you stand?" Piedmon demanded. "Why bother with these pitiful games? I'm sure Master Gennai would have spared your lives had you chosen to swear your allegiance to him."

"You just don't understand us, Piedmon!" Iori yelled. "We won't back down for anybody; we're here to save the world, and it's what we're going to do."

"Nah. I just think he doesn't understand. Anything." joked WarAgumon, coming up behind Piedmon, knocking him over with a flying kick.

"Enough of this!" Piedmon yelled, notably angered. He rose to his feet, fingering all four sabers from his back. Then he crossed his arms over his chest, two swords in each hand. He drew back, and unleashed. "TRUMP SWORD!!!"

The first two hit Flamedramon and Digmon each almost immediately, sending them into smalled forms, and total exhaustion. Shyurimon fared somewhat better, deflecting one blow before taking another as the fourth assault veered.

"Just you and me, WarAgumon, one on one." Piedmon challenged. "Darth Gennai knew you'd be foolish enough to come back; who'd've known he'd be right?"

"I guess I'm just a sucker like that." WarAgumon agreed, accepting the challenge in a fighting stance.

Wordlessly, the two paused a moment, digging deep within themselves for all the power they had left. Then, in unison, both charged forward, caught up in the individual melee. The digidestined watched in horror; Takeru covered Iori's eyes, unable to look away himself. Unconscious, their Digimon needed no such protection.

The two surged forwards, faster and faster, streaking towards the inevitable dead of one of them, though more likely both. Closer and closer they became, entil they were within full reach of each other...

And bounced off harmlessly.

"Huh?" Daisuke wondered aloud, scratching his head in confusion. "How'd that happen?"

"It's like some barrier came between them and stopped the fight." Hikari observed.

"Not just any barrier." a familiar voice offered. The group turned to face it, finding he'd been standing among their ranks for a while now.

"Izzy?" Kami asked, honestly as surprised as the rest of them, "You're alive?"

"Though a little worse for wear." he confirmed.

They looked him over; it was an understatement at best. He looked to be in his later teens, which for Izzy could mean as high as twenty. Like Joe before him, his face had collected quite a growth of hair; he had a full beard, red-brown to match his hair. Though even more than the beard, they saw his left leg. Things really HAD changed in this other world.

"Oh, this old thing?" he asked, prompted by their stares. "It was crippled in the escape from Machinedramon; I had to build myself a new one from scratch. I never could resist a challenge; and had my work cut out on this one. But come, you must have questions of your own to ask; you've missed a lot in the past five years."

"Five?" Kami asked. "We just saw you a little over one, at best."

"Like I said, you've missed a lot." he replied, grinning somewhat. "You coming, or not?"

They fell into step behind him. He called a similar invitation to WarAgumon, who grudgingly obliged. All the while, Piedmon made his venomous cat-calls from behind.

"Come back here you cowards! One day, you'll die for this insult!"

---------------

"It all started just after you left." he explained, leading his newfound companions into a nearby safehouse, just below surface level. He paused briefly as the last of them stepped through the camouflaged door, pressing a button to seal it behind them. It hissed into place, followed by an ominous clash of metal-on-metal as a lock slid into place. The floor shifted slightly, as it began it's descent.

"With three of his four Knights out of commission, Darth Gennai decided he needed some backup, and quick. Although the only forces available to you were Joe and yourselves," he paused briefly, nodding to Kami and WarAgumon, "He was sure you'd return, as you now have proven." He stopped and laughed nervously, but composed himself, "You'll have to excuse me; this is everything we've been hoping for."

"We?" Hikari asked. Somehow, 'we' didn't quite fit the story they'd been given before they'd agreed to this. But then, niether had Izzy's life.

"The Resistance." he replied, "The one you all abandoned. Through me it is now reborn, both those who fought alongside against Puppetmon and Machinedramon, and a few more."

"Piedmon still lives." Kami noted coldly. "If you haven't been beating back Gennai's forces, what have you been doing?"

"Slow down, I'm getting to that!" Izzy insisted. He may have looked older, but some things never changed, among them his desire to explain things fully and logically. "So, anyways, Gennai wanted more backup, but had no reserves to draw from. He quickly reinitiated the time differential between our world and those not aligned to it, which explains part of why I appear as I do now.

"With his warp in place, he began seeking out new candidates that he'd one day forge into his ultimate servants of evil: the Gennai knights. Given a strict training protocol, numerous rookies were chosen for upbringing into such a position. Not all survived, but we're unsure of the numbers that did or didn't. We're not even sure how many hace completed training, and how many are still undergoing it. What we do know, is the first member of this new breed: Lord Dramon.

"Back then, the restistance had yet to form. My leg was crippled and beyond repair. I was left with little choice but to limp around, using whatever I could for support. Finally, I met an underground clan of Gazimon, hiding from the aftermath of the village he'd razed. Together, we built and designed me a replacement to my damaged limb, and aided by a Wizardmon, installed it.

"By then two years had passed; Lord Dramon had risen to power quickly, and I've no idea how long his own evolution took place. He was Mega, so he must've been nearly Champion when he began training, if our analysts' theories are correct."

He stopped, as if concentrating. The floor ceased it's movement, and the open shaft above stretched into visual infinity. He tapped a few buttons on a keypad, and a door in front opened.

"Hurry," he warned, "The lift is precisely timed; after twenty seconds it'll close, and the arsenal we've packed into the above shaft will detonate. The explosion could break the shell of a Digitamamon, if need be; hope you never have to imagine what it'd do to you."

"Why install a lift if you're only going to use it once?" Iori speculated. "Wouldn't it be more efficient to reuse it?"

Izzy herded them into a solid steel chamber barely any larger than the lift itself. "It would be," he agreed, "But that shaft leads straight back to us. We used to use it for intelligence purposes all the time, but now that the top door has been opened, we're not about to take any chances."

Iori seemed to meditate on that, staring at his reflection on the near-spotless floor beneath him. Takeru seemed about to add some thoughts of his own, but any words were drowned out by a deafening explosion from behind. The unmistakeable sound of falling rubble accompanies the noise within seconds, and the burnt odor of explosive remnants leaked through the door. The apparently sourceless lighting dimmed, but then returned to normal status.

"We're cleared." Izzy declared, opening a new keypad and typing into it.

"How do you--" Hikari was inable to complete the query, as the next and final set of doors opened, leaving her in awe. Before them lay an immense cavern, spreading vertically as much as three floors, and horizontally twice that. A Meramon stirred a cauldron carefully, as a Gotsumon and a Numemon poured an identical one into molds. Searing hot metal steamed out of the pot, settling into it's newfound purpose, only to be carted aside by a Frigimon to let cool. In another area, Gazimon techs moved focussedly, coordinating intelligence reports between border reconnaissance and the center of their data, Izzy's Pineapple Laptop. Still someplace else, Pixiemon was drilling assorted Rookies in the arts of war, while Andromon trained others for Flight Combat. There was still more to see: other doors beyond the chamber lead to quarters, restrooms, infirmaries, recruiting, supplies--and that was only floor one.

The visitors couldn't help but stand there daftly, in utter silence for fear of breaking the overall essense of hard work and determination all others present seemed to radiate.

"Welcome," Izzy invited, feeling proud of himself, "To 'Ground Zero'."

---------------

If there was any one nerve-center to the Resistance, Ground Zero was it. From here all orders were sent, all troops quartered, and all supplies requisitioned. Due to the nature of the Resistance, it doubled more as a refugee camp than an actual military installation; it's forces to date were purely defensive, only straying as far as counter-attacks (which technically met the same needs). Everyone lived in borderline luxury; the residents were all hard-working victims of a tyrant's rule, living together in a community where they could carry out their lives uninterfered by the iron fist of evil.

Not that the cavern was a good representation of that. While true, no actual offenses were launched from there, it easilly could be used for such within a short period of time. Between Piximon and Andromon's trainings, the Gazimons' intel, and the manufacturing area, it wouldn't take much, given the manpower to carry it out.

"You see," Izzy began again, adding to his previously shortened explanation, "After the realms meshed together between Piedmon's and Machinedramon's domains, neither one could recede as Puppetmon's and MetalSeadramon's had. Naturally, with Machinedramon gone, his robot army switched ofline. Then-useless, they were discarded and abandoned, which is how they became under our employ.

"While all we ever saw around the cities in our original exploits seemed to be all fighting mecha, there was an entire working class we were completely unaware of. With access to those, we were able to carve out our vast network of tunnels--including that elevator shaft we entered from. We've got lookout points all over the digital world, though none as conveinient as we'd prefer. But then, such sacrifices must be made for the sake of secrecy.

"And speaking of sacrifices," Izzy digressed, "Whatever happened to Joe? Fell prey to his own designs?"

"Joe was a hero." WarAgumon grumbled. "He's lead us through more battles than any of us can count, and gave his life to bring reinforcements when all that wasn't working out."

"Maybe to you." Izzy snapped, "But you never had to worry about being left behind, did you? Wherever Joe went, he always had his Agumon with him--a trophy of past leaderships, letting everyone knew who the boss was. But what about me? I've been left behind too. Joe lead me for two years before he abandoned me here, condemning me to live in fear and darkness."

"That's not fair." WarAgumon protested, "You volunteered to stay."

"But how much longer would I have lasted?" Izzy returned. "You saw what he did to Sora. He left her behind. The whole 2 years I was with him all he ever seemed to do was lose people. How many of you were left that year after I wasn't? Gomamon died, that's for sure; some partner Joe turned out to be."

"He did it for the good of the team." WarAgumon replied. "You think he WANTED to do all that? You think he wanted to go against every ounce of Reliability he held within him? The one trait he held dear?"

"Reliability? Now there's a joke if I ever heard one." Izzy sneered. "Him, being Mr. Reliable, when all he ever did was lose people. Well, I've led these people three more years than he did me, and not one of them has ever had to ask themselves if they're in good hands while they're here. They're all safe, and many of them are returning my favor by volunteering their time to stop unfortunate fates from happening to other 'mons like them."

"Will you quit it with the abondonment already?!?" WarAgumon snapped.

"I most certainly will not!" Izzy interrupted, emphasizing his point. He calmed, composed himself, and let out a small sigh. "This isn't getting us anywhere. How about I give you a tour of our facilities, and you can decide whether you agree with our cause or not."

"Fine by us." Daisuke agreed, happy to be part of the conversation again. Chibimon hopped onto the goggle-boy's shoulder, and the visitors followed Izzy into their free tour.

---------------

"And this," Izzy's appointed Gazimon guide announced, after countless other rooms, "Is our sickbay. Normally I wouldn't leave you alone by yourselves here, but I think it'll be okay."

"Huh?" Daisuke mused aloud, "Someone's trusting ME with something important?"

"It's not what you think." the Gazimon replied simply, and walked away.

Daisuke sat on the hard floor, tucking his knees. "Great," he moaned, "Even in worlds where I never existed, people still think I'm a jerk."

"It's nothing personal." V-mon said, trying to cheer his partner up. "Seeing as no one in our world thought too highly of you either."

Daisuke groaned some more, and tucked his head further into his lap.

Cold steel patted him on the back, and he was jolted somewhat by the touch. The friendly gesture was accompanied by WarAgumon's voice. "Cheer up," he recommended, "It can always be worse."

Daisuke looked up at the Digidestined's newest friend. Even in a world so dark, a world where everthing that could go wrong had, compassion still existed in the hearts of those who sought it. It gave all-new meaning to the saviors of the world; his world's digidestined answered to it, but these truly fought the good fight for it. After what, thirty-seven years on Gennai's dominance? Quite an impressive feat.

The door to the last room opened inward, depriving Daisuke of his back support. He fell backwards, finding himself looking up at one of the last people he'd've expected to see.

"Mimi?" he exclaimed, not-exactly-understanding. "But Joe said you were dead."

"Actually, I think he said he had to leave before he could find out." Takeru amended.

"Then it IS true." Mimi gasped, hands shaking. "Kami was right all along. There truly ARE other worlds to draw from."

"Oh yeah?" Daisuke resisted, "Well what makes you so sure I'm not from your world, and helping out from this side?"

"We MADE WarAgumon." Mimi pointed out. "There's no way else he'd be here unless he'd came back."

"And here I thought I'd outsmarted someone..." Daisuke sighed.

Takeru ignored him, cutting in with a few questions of his own. "You survived." he noted. "Joe was almost sure you wouldn't have."

"I guess Joe didn't give me all the credit I deserved." she shrugged. "But no matter what Izzy says, I know he was trying to help us, with everything he did. I saw how hurt he was to leave people behind."

"But you joined Izzy's cause anyway?" Miyako asked. "If he's such a jerk in this world, not that the (remarkably cute) computer genius from our world is, then why work for him?"

"To find out if any of the others lived through it all." Mimi explained. "Izzy has access to networks Joe couldn't possibly have imagined. And since me, Izzy, and Palmon are still around, that means some of the others could be too."

"How?" Iori asked. "Weren't they all destroyed?"

"Not necessarilly." Mimi bit her lip, thinking. She collected her thoughts, and explained, "You see, we haven't exactly SEEN very many fatalities. Tai, Matt, and Hikari are all corpses, and we saw Metal Etemon kill Gabu- and Gatomon. But everyone else was lost in retreats, circumstance, or the group's separation. For all we know, Angemon might never have died, as unlikely as it seems. Five deaths aren't really all that much to base their condemnation on."

"Six." Kami inserted.

"Beg pardon?" Mimi asked.

"Joe died trying to recruit us." Hikari explained. "In our world, the digimon are enslaved by an evil emperor, who controls them through dark rings--collars, of sorts. He ambushed us while Joe was explaining your story, and he barely managed to finish it before he met his own demise."

"I see." Mimi said blankly, the sounds of their words stinging even her eyes. Tears welled up, and though she fought them back, trickled down her cheeks.

The digidestined glanced at one-another. Daisuke held his hands up--he was no counselor, and knew better than to even try. Takeru nodded, though whether out of acknowledgement or agreement none could be sure. Yolie poked her tongue in her cheek, regretfully staying back. That left Hikari and Iori; one of them had to say something.

"Mimi--" Hikari offered.

"Izzy's asked me to let you stay here tonight, on the infirmary beds, until other quarters can be arranged." she squeaked, choking on her own sobs. "Get a good night's sleep; he'll want to speak to you again come morning, and you'd be best not to shrug it off as trivial. I'll be at the front desk if you need me."

"Are you sure?" Hikari asked.

"I'll be fine." she lied. "But go on. After all, you've got a big day ahead of you."


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To Be Continued
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