Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Polar Opposites ❯ The Unknown Digital Gate Opens! Battle for Tokyo ( Chapter 2 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Tailmon, 2nd Guardian of Love 
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Post-apocalyptic / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.11.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 347 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Post-apocalyptic / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.11.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 347 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I'm not making any money off of this...So it must not be mine.
The Unknown Digital Gate Opens! Battle for Tokyo
Of all the Chosen, it was Takeru who first noticed the problem. He had been watching TV with Patamon, when the program they were watching was interrupted by a special news bulletin.
Takeru sighed and got up to raid the kitchen for snacks, when he heard Patamon's frantic voice calling for him.
"Takeru!"
"What's wrong, Patamon?" he asked, opening a can of soda as he flopped back onto the couch.
"...like the attacks six years ago. Again, police urge all citizens to remain indoors until this threat can be dealt with."
Takeru gasped in shock as pictures of digimon, some familiar and some not, appeared on the screen. He reached over and grabbed the phone, dialing his cousins' house.
***
"Checkmate." Tailmon grinned and swept Hikari's chess pieces toward herself.
Hikari groaned. "One of these days, I'm going to figure out how you do it."
"No secret. I'm just good at strategy. Comes from my time in the Catacombs." Tailmon shivered briefly, but the ringing telephone interrupted her darkening thoughts. She watched Hikari get up and answer.
"Moshi moshi, Yagami household. May I ask who's calling?"
"It's Takeru. Hikari, I need you, Tailmon, Agumon, and Taichi to come over. Bring your digivices and Crests; we've got big trouble."
Hikari gasped, drawing Tailmon's attention to her. "What's wrong?"
"How bad is it?" the girl asked nervously.
"Just turn on the news; you'll see."
Heeding her cousin's instructions, she grabbed the remote, turning on the TV.
Tailmon's fists clenched, the claws digging into her palms. "That's LadyDevimon," she hissed.
The two partners continued to watch for a few minutes, then Hikari reached for the phone again.
"Takeru, Tailmon and I will be there as soon as we can."
"Okay, great. What about Taichi and Agumon?"
"They're not here right now, Takeru..."
"...They're over at Koushiro's. Yeah, should have thought of that."
***
Takeru and Hikari raced down the empty street, their partners on their heels. As they reached the area where two of the Virus digimon had been reported, they grabbed their digivices from their pockets. The small machines were already beginning to beep and vibrate.
"Patamon, evolve..."
A golden aura of light quickly surrounded her tiny body, and she began to change. Her body became much larger then before, and golden metal formed around her legs and chest. A gold mask formed on her face, while a golden mane and tail flowed in the wind that accompanied her evolution.
"...PEGASMON!"
"Tailmon, super evolve..."
Transparent fuchsia light formed a sphere around Tailmon's body, allowing her friends to watch her transformation take place. Her tail and ears shrank into her body, which twisted, quickly growing into the figure of a human-like woman. Long golden hair flowed from her head. Bright blue cat's eyes were briefly visible before her mask came down, hiding the upper half of her face from view. Eight feathery white wings sprouted from her back. A lavender ribbon wrapped around her arms, looping over her head. Her left hand was covered with a white glove, while her body was covered with an outfit of white cloth.
"...ANGEWOMON!"
***
"Hurry up, Pegasmon!" Takeru urged his partner.
"I'm trying, Takeru," she grunted, her breath coming hard. The Avatar of Hope could feel her sides heaving from the strain.
"It just HAD to be Devimon, didn't it? I have to stop him...can't let him hurt innocent people..." he muttered.
An explosion went off near their destination.
Takeru shielded his face from the heat, as Pegasmon reared back in the air. She whinnied in pain as a shard of glass embedded itself into her stomach.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded, her muscles relaxing slightly. "I'll recover. What's important now is protecting the people in the hospital."
Takeru's eyes widened at that. "He's attacking the HOSPITAL?!"
Pegasmon snorted. "And you're SURPRISED?"
"...No," he admitted. "Not really."
***
Devimon extended one massive hand, black energy crackling around his fingers. "Death Claw!"
The black rays of energy that lanced from his sharp claws tore long furrows in the pavement. The dark power smashed into the crowd of people standing on the concrete steps, who had watched the devil digimon's arrival with fear. His call broke their trance, and the ones who were still able to stand ran for the temporary safety of the interior of the hospital.
"Pegasmon, take him out!" Takeru shouted as they came in sight of the damaged hospital building.
"Shooting Star!" Pegasmon spread her wings wide, and the golden feathers turned blue-black, representing a star- spangled night sky. She sent a wave of silver energy in the shape of stars toward their old enemy.
Devimon dodged the beam of starry silver energy, then turned toward the golden-winged horse, smiling coldly. "Death Claw!"
Pegasmon screamed in pain as the black energy slammed into her side, and sent her crashing into the side of the building.
"Pegasmon!" Takeru called to his partner in alarm.
She moaned as she struggled to peel herself away from the impression her body had made in the concrete. There was something wrong with one of her legs-it was bleeding heavily and wasn't moving well.
Takeru's fists clenched as he remembered that long-ago day when Pegasmon had sacrificed herself to save him.
*I was so little...I didn't understand that she would come back. But that was then...and this is now.*
"Don't worry, we've come to help you out!" Ichijouji Ken called, riding on Stingmon's back.
The blue-haired boy dropped from his partner's back, landing on the pavement next to Takeru. Stingmon wasted no time in attacking Devimon from behind.
"Spiking Finish!" The lance mounted on Stingmon's forearm glowed with a fuchsia energy and extended as he lunged forward, burying the weapon in Devimon's shoulder.
Devimon growled in pain, turning around and shoving his fist into Stingmon's stomach. "Death Claw!"
However, the insect digimon was protected by dark green armor, and felt almost nothing.
Meanwhile, Pegasmon pulled away from the building with a great effort, awkwardly trying to remain airborne.
Devimon noticed this, and quickly took advantage of her weakness, before Stingmon could stop him. "Death Claw!"
Pegasmon screamed as her already-injured body was struck by the crackling black energy. She hadn't had enough time to recover from the first attack, and slammed hard into the street, rolling several times before her body came to a stop.
"Pegasmon!" Takeru shouted. "Stay AWAY from her!" He stooped, grabbed up a piece of concrete rubble, and threw it at Devimon, hitting him in the shoulder.
The Adult Virus turned to glare down at the human standing in the middle of the street. "Death Claw!"
Before he had a chance to fire his attack at Takeru, Stingmon plowed into him from the side, knocking him a safe distance away.
Takeru raced toward his fallen friend, who was in the process of devolving. When he reached her, he took her limp body in his arms, frantically trying to get her to open her eyes. "Patamon, come on...Please wake up!"
The small Child stirred slightly and whimpered softly.
Takeru relaxed, hugging her in relief. "You're going to be okay now, Patamon," he said. "Let's get back to Hikari and Tailmon."
"I hope she's okay," Ken said anxiously. "With all these Viral digimon attacking Tokyo all at once, she could get hurt...or even..."
"Don't say that, Ken," Takeru ordered. "If I know my cousin at all, she'll be fine. She's tougher then she looks. And she's got Tailmon to watch out for her."
"It's just that..." Ken trailed off.
"I know," Takeru replied, acknowledging the other boy's unspoken words.
After attacking Stingmon with a final Death Claw, Devimon rose higher into the air, flapping his massive black wings as he began to fly away.
Stingmon was surrounded by deep pink light as he devolved. Wormmon hung suspended in the air for a moment, then tumbled into Ken's outstretched arms.
Takeru and Ken ran off as emergency vehicles and personnel began to arrive, joined by paramedics who had been in the hospital when Devimon had attacked.
***
As Kawada Noriko watched her partner fight the angel digimon who had suddenly appeared, she realized that an older child, a girl with light brown hair, was also watching the two women fight.
"Darkness Wave!" LadyDevimon raised her oversized hand over her head, flying backwards as waves of dark power streamed from her tattered wings.
Angewomon was forced to quickly respond with a Holy Arrow to nullify the Virus's attack.
They continued attacking and nullifying each other's attacks. The shockwaves created by the collision of their power drove them back repeatedly, but both of the women refused to give up. They hated each other for even existing.
LadyDevimon extended her oversized arm, reaching for Angewomon's throat with her massive hand. "C'mere, blondie," she hissed. "Let me pay you back for killing Vamdemon."
Angewomon brought her leg up, slamming her foot into her opponent's chin as she dodged her claws.
LadyDevimon darted to the side, then used the same trick against the Perfect Vaccine. She drove her foot downward into Angewomon's back, intent on sending her crashing to the ground.
But Angewomon was able to spread her wings just in time to avoid slamming into the street. She rose back into the air, her back to LadyDevimon.
As the Viral woman closed in on her, she spun around and raised her arms over her head, as a circle of golden light formed above her. "Heaven's Charm!"
Sparkling rainbow energy began to drift downward in waves, surrounding both women with the holy power. Angewomon was unaffected, but LadyDevimon let out a scream of horrible pain as the multi-colored particles burned into her skin.
Hikari blinked as she noticed a little girl of about five standing not far away, also watching the battle. She especially seemed concentrated on LadyDevimon.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked the younger girl. "It's dangerous. You shouldn't be out here."
Hikari reached for her hand, intent on leading her to safety, but paused in confusion as she saw the little girl's lower lip begin to tremble.
"LadyDevimon..." she whispered, as tears welled in her eyes.
The demon woman had thrown her tattered wings in front of her body, using them as a shield of defense. Angewomon was firing an unrelenting barrage of Holy Arrows at her opponent, each attack driving the quickly weakening Virus further back.
The sound of her name being whispered by the little girl, however, seemed to give the fallen angel new strength.
Hikari's gaze was wrenched back to the aerial battle as she heard Angewomon scream in pain. The Perfect angel clutched her arm as blood poured from a wound that must have been caused by LadyDevimon's Puwazon.
"Angewomon!"
The angel digimon turned her hidden gaze down to her human partner, her face filled with pain. "Hikari..." she managed to get out. "I'll be all right..."
LadyDevimon turned abruptly in mid-air, spreading her wings to their full length. The demon woman began flying away from Hikari and Angewomon, who was in the process of devolving.
Without hesitation, Noriko pulled free from Hikari's grasp and ran off, following the path of the female Virus, as Takeru and Patamon came racing up, having finished their own battle with a Devimon.
Close behind them were Ken and Wormmon. Hikari greeted them with a smile and a wave.
"Are you okay, Hikari?" Ken asked anxiously, moving over to her.
"I'll be fine." She glanced down at her partner, holding her in her arms. "But will Tailmon be okay? LadyDevimon hurt her pretty badly."
"I'm sure she'll be okay, Hikari," Ken said. He took Tailmon from Hikari, then wrapped his winter scarf around her wounded arm, pressing his hand against the place where it was bleeding most heavily. "She's survived worse with no problem."
"Hey, who's that?" Takeru asked his cousin, watching the little black-haired girl as she ran off down the street. "And why is she following that LadyDevimon?"
"I don't know," Hikari replied as she stared in the direction the little girl had taken. "But...there was something wrong about her..."
Tailmon nodded in agreement. "There WAS something strange...about both LadyDevimon and that girl. Almost as if they were...connected somehow." She shook her head. "Maybe I'm just imagining things. Thanks for your help, Ken. But what about your scarf? How will you get the blood out of it?"
"Don't worry, Tailmon," he said, reaching down and giving his friend a scratch on her head. "I've got others."
***
Elsewhere in the city of Tokyo, the other Chosen were fighting their own, similar battles.
"Dread Fire!"
XV-mon shouted in pain as DarkLizamon's attack drove him backward into the side of the apartment building.
They released attack after attack at each other, neither quite managing to seriously injure his opponent. Finally, though, the two reptilian digimon were forced to back off slightly, both glaring fiercely at each other as they did so.
Then, DarkLizamon turned toward the apartment building where the Motomiya family lived, and raised both arms, black spheres of energy forming in his hands. "Dread Fire!"
The black energy collided with the building, causing an explosion that blew the entire upper half of the structure to pieces. Smoke rose around what was left, hiding the horrible scene from view.
Daisuke shook off the shock he was feeling and called to his partner. "XV-mon, I'm going to grab some stuff from the apartment!"
The blue-skinned dragon nodded in understanding. "Right!"
"Be careful!" Daisuke shouted back over his shoulder.
"Don't worry about me; I can take this guy!" With a roar, XV- mon charged his opponent.
***
Jun met Daisuke at the door of their apartment. "What's going on, Daisuke? And where's V-mon?"
"I don't have time to explain," he said, rushing past her, not even bothering to take his shoes off, "but I've got to go. If you find Mom and Dad, tell them I'm okay."
There wasn't nearly as much time as he would have liked, but when both worlds were at stake, it was only to be expected. He raced around the apartment, shoving the things he would need into the duffel bag he normally used for soccer.
Daisuke knew that he, V-mon, and the rest of the Chosen would have to go to the Digital World after the stray digimon in the city were taken of. When something like this happened, it was only a symptom of much larger problems.
*Clothes, first-aid supplies, some canned food, and bottled water...I think that's it.*
"What are you doing?" his sister asked from the doorway of his room. "Why are you packing?"
"It's none of your business."
"You're not going back to the Digital World, are you? I thought you and your friends won all those battles!"
Daisuke ignored her as he zipped his bag closed and slung it over his shoulder. He started out of the apartment, then turned back when he heard his older sister scream.
"Daisuke, XV-mon's in big trouble!"
He dropped his bag and joined her at the window.
Outside, his partner was being driven back, barely able to defend himself from the attacks of a recovered DarkLizamon.
She turned frightened eyes to her brother. "Daisuke, what's going ON?!"
"I wish I could answer that, but I don't know, either. I've got to go, Jun. Tell Mom and Dad I'm okay."
"But you can't go out there! It's dangerous-I don't want you to get hurt!"
"I'm fine, Jun. Just stay here and see if anyone got injured in the fight and needs help."
"Oh..." His older sister sighed in frustration. "I REALLY wish I had a digimon friend so we could help you guys out!"
As he raced down the hall, he called back over his shoulder. "I want you to get out of this building-I don't know how long it can stand."
***
Kawada Kosaku grinned as he looked up at the high-rise apartment complex. "Are the two of you ready?" he asked the giant lizard and spider.
The towering blue lizard nodded as his open mouth began to glow with black fire. He crouched, aiming at the building, then attacked. "Black Flame!"
The ball of fiery black energy collided with the structure, causing the entire building to shake.
BlueGreymon turned his head toward his partner. "Now what?" he asked, in a rough, gravelly voice.
Kosaku grinned. "Now we wait."
***
"Agumon, evolve..."
The small orange dinosaur's body grew much taller. A dull black horned helmet formed over his head. Blue stripes formed on his orange skin, giving the impression of tiger's stripes.
"...GREYMON!"
"Tentomon, evolve..."
His red carapace was ripped away, leaving soft grayish-brown skin exposed. His spine twisted into a sharp steel lance protruding from the base of his back. A metallic helmet formed, almost completely covering his head. A second pair of arms grew from below the first, the hands ending in vicious claws. Four insect-like wings sprouted from his back, completing his transformation.
"...KABUTERIMON!"
The dinosaur and the armored insect wasted no time, rushing forward to attack the BlueGreymon.
"Mega Flame!" A ball of fire roared out from Greymon's open mouth toward his opponent.
"Mega Blaster!" Kabuterimon crossed his four arms over his chest, then threw them open, releasing a wave of purplish- white electricity.
BlueGreymon laughed, then retaliated with another Black Flame.
Kabuterimon rose over the attack, but Greymon wasn't so lucky. He slammed backward into the granite wall surrounding the apartment complex.
Kabuterimon was unable to help his friend; a Dokugumon jumped onto his back, knocking him to the ground. She quickly used her spinnerets to wrap him in webbing so he wouldn't be able to attack.
Taichi clenched his fists. "What's going on?! How did all these digimon get here, anyway?"
Koushiro shrugged. "All I know is that a Digital Gate opened. But who opened it, or why, I have no idea."
Greymon heaved himself up from the pavement, turning to his friend's aid. He used the sharp claws on his hands to slash apart the webs Kabuterimon had been bound with.
Kabuterimon launched himself into the air, hovering above the enemy Dokugumon. His wings created a buzzing sound as he dodged back and forth to avoid the venomous spider's Stinger Pollations, occasionally answering with a Mega Blaster of his own.
Meanwhile, Greymon continued his own battle with the Virus Greymon.
"Mega Flame!"
BlueGreymon snarled as the sphere of fire hit its target, shoving him backward down the street. He was able to get in a final shot before the last of his strength ran out. "Black Flame!"
Kabuterimon and Greymon's bodies glowed with bright white light, reverting to Agumon and Tentomon. They fell to the concrete of the sidewalk, exhausted.
All four friends' jaws fell open as BlueGreymon and Dokugumon were surrounded by a dark green glow as they devolved, leaving a BlackAgumon and a Kunemon in the place where the Viral Adults had stood only a minute ago.
They could only stare in confusion as the BlackAgumon and Kunemon were joined by a black-haired boy of about twelve and a blond girl of about eleven. They scooped up the Virus digimon and ran off together.
Taichi slowly turned to Koushiro. "Did you just see what I saw? Or am I imagining it?"
***
Sora looked up from the kettle of tea she was boiling on the stove. Miyako had also paused, in the act of hand-feeding Piyomon a rice ball.
"Did you hear that?" Chizuru asked, looking up from the book she was reading. "Or am I imagining things?"
"No, I heard it, too," Piyomon said. "It sounded like...footsteps. But what could make the ground shake just by walking? There's no way a digimon could have gotten to Earth...At least there shouldn't be."
Miyako's oldest sister, Momoe, leaned over to glance out the window. Her face paled. "It's a bad thing when there's a giant blue lizard on the street outside, isn't it?" she asked no one in particular.
"That's a Deltamon! Hawkmon, are you up for an evolution?" Miyako asked, turning to her partner.
The miniature hawk nodded.
"Um-Miyako, don't you think she should do that outside?" Chizuru asked. "I don't think Aquillamon will fit in here."
The girl's face turned red. "Oh. Right. Sorry."
***
"Hawkmon, evolve..."
Her body grew to five times the size it had been. Two long, black horns jutted forward from both sides of her head. Twin streaks of red appeared on the white feathers beneath her eyes. The rest of her body remained virtually the same.
"...AQUILLAMON!"
"Piyomon, evolve..."
The long pink and blue feather that grew from the top of her head disappeared, as did the bracelet around her left ankle. Her feathers changed from their bright pink color to a deep orange. On the edges of her beak, teeth formed in a way that caused them to jut outwards. Her small wings were replaced with much larger ones. Long, flowing tail feathers formed at the base of her spine. Her entire body gave the impression of being wreathed in flames.
"...BIRDRAMON!"
"Triplex Force!" Deltamon raised the heads on the ends of her arms, and opened her mouth. Three streams of green energy burst out, streaking toward Aquillamon and Birdramon.
The two Adult avians swerved away from each other, evading the attack, then prepared to retaliate with their own attacks.
"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon spread her fiery wings wide. Balls of fire formed, then shot toward Deltamon with a flap of her wings.
"Blast Laser!" Aquillamon opened her beak, sending fuchsia rings of power spiraling towards her rival.
The two attacks converged, forming a beam of orange-pink energy that collided with Deltamon's chest, shoving her slightly backward.
***
"Gabumon, evolve..."
The little digimon's body expanded rapidly. The lizard traits of his Child form vanished, replaced by distinctly lupine features. Tufts of fur that resembled feathers sprouted from his shoulders. His muzzle lengthened, his jaw becoming stronger and the fangs longer and sharper.
"...GARURUMON!"
"Gomamon, evolve..."
The aquatic digimon's body twisted and grew into a large walrus-like form. His front flippers turned into strong legs, while his back legs remained nearly the same. Two large tusks sprouted from the sides of his mouth, and a large black horn grew from his forehead. Thick white fur covered his entire body.
"...IKKAKUMON!"
"Harpoon Vulcan!"
Ikkakumon lowered his massive head, then fired off the horn growing from his head at the Gesomon who had attacked the ferry.
Gesomon snarled with the pain of the connecting attack, retaliating with his own. "Devil Bashing!"
His tentacles lashed out, twining around Ikkakumon's horn and neck to prevent him from attacking again. Using his leverage, Gesomon swung the walrus digimon into the side of the ferry, tearing a large gash along the side.
On the hastily-abandoned bridge above the aquatic battle, Garurumon was fighting a black Virus Garurumon.
The Viral Garurumon lunged at his opponent, intent on tearing his throat out. Garurumon avoided the lunge, snarling at his Viral counterpart.
"Fox Fire!" He jumped forward, opening his mouth to release a river of blue fire in the Virus's direction.
The black-furred wolf sprang forward, howling a similar attack. "Black Fire!"
Once again, Garurumon and the Viral Garurumon leaped at each other, this time rolling in a living wheel along the length of the bridge, each trying to get the better of his opponent.
The battle came to an end when Garurumon's skull slammed against one of the bridge's support pylons. Both exhausted, the two digimon reverted to their lower forms. Gabumon was suddenly faced with a near mirror-image of himself, only with a cover of black fur.
Below the bridge, in the water, the two water digimon were also devolving. Gomamon and the Gizamon had only enough strength to crawl onto the bay shore, then collapsed, exhausted.
The Unknown Digital Gate Opens! Battle for Tokyo
Of all the Chosen, it was Takeru who first noticed the problem. He had been watching TV with Patamon, when the program they were watching was interrupted by a special news bulletin.
Takeru sighed and got up to raid the kitchen for snacks, when he heard Patamon's frantic voice calling for him.
"Takeru!"
"What's wrong, Patamon?" he asked, opening a can of soda as he flopped back onto the couch.
"...like the attacks six years ago. Again, police urge all citizens to remain indoors until this threat can be dealt with."
Takeru gasped in shock as pictures of digimon, some familiar and some not, appeared on the screen. He reached over and grabbed the phone, dialing his cousins' house.
***
"Checkmate." Tailmon grinned and swept Hikari's chess pieces toward herself.
Hikari groaned. "One of these days, I'm going to figure out how you do it."
"No secret. I'm just good at strategy. Comes from my time in the Catacombs." Tailmon shivered briefly, but the ringing telephone interrupted her darkening thoughts. She watched Hikari get up and answer.
"Moshi moshi, Yagami household. May I ask who's calling?"
"It's Takeru. Hikari, I need you, Tailmon, Agumon, and Taichi to come over. Bring your digivices and Crests; we've got big trouble."
Hikari gasped, drawing Tailmon's attention to her. "What's wrong?"
"How bad is it?" the girl asked nervously.
"Just turn on the news; you'll see."
Heeding her cousin's instructions, she grabbed the remote, turning on the TV.
Tailmon's fists clenched, the claws digging into her palms. "That's LadyDevimon," she hissed.
The two partners continued to watch for a few minutes, then Hikari reached for the phone again.
"Takeru, Tailmon and I will be there as soon as we can."
"Okay, great. What about Taichi and Agumon?"
"They're not here right now, Takeru..."
"...They're over at Koushiro's. Yeah, should have thought of that."
***
Takeru and Hikari raced down the empty street, their partners on their heels. As they reached the area where two of the Virus digimon had been reported, they grabbed their digivices from their pockets. The small machines were already beginning to beep and vibrate.
"Patamon, evolve..."
A golden aura of light quickly surrounded her tiny body, and she began to change. Her body became much larger then before, and golden metal formed around her legs and chest. A gold mask formed on her face, while a golden mane and tail flowed in the wind that accompanied her evolution.
"...PEGASMON!"
"Tailmon, super evolve..."
Transparent fuchsia light formed a sphere around Tailmon's body, allowing her friends to watch her transformation take place. Her tail and ears shrank into her body, which twisted, quickly growing into the figure of a human-like woman. Long golden hair flowed from her head. Bright blue cat's eyes were briefly visible before her mask came down, hiding the upper half of her face from view. Eight feathery white wings sprouted from her back. A lavender ribbon wrapped around her arms, looping over her head. Her left hand was covered with a white glove, while her body was covered with an outfit of white cloth.
"...ANGEWOMON!"
***
"Hurry up, Pegasmon!" Takeru urged his partner.
"I'm trying, Takeru," she grunted, her breath coming hard. The Avatar of Hope could feel her sides heaving from the strain.
"It just HAD to be Devimon, didn't it? I have to stop him...can't let him hurt innocent people..." he muttered.
An explosion went off near their destination.
Takeru shielded his face from the heat, as Pegasmon reared back in the air. She whinnied in pain as a shard of glass embedded itself into her stomach.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded, her muscles relaxing slightly. "I'll recover. What's important now is protecting the people in the hospital."
Takeru's eyes widened at that. "He's attacking the HOSPITAL?!"
Pegasmon snorted. "And you're SURPRISED?"
"...No," he admitted. "Not really."
***
Devimon extended one massive hand, black energy crackling around his fingers. "Death Claw!"
The black rays of energy that lanced from his sharp claws tore long furrows in the pavement. The dark power smashed into the crowd of people standing on the concrete steps, who had watched the devil digimon's arrival with fear. His call broke their trance, and the ones who were still able to stand ran for the temporary safety of the interior of the hospital.
"Pegasmon, take him out!" Takeru shouted as they came in sight of the damaged hospital building.
"Shooting Star!" Pegasmon spread her wings wide, and the golden feathers turned blue-black, representing a star- spangled night sky. She sent a wave of silver energy in the shape of stars toward their old enemy.
Devimon dodged the beam of starry silver energy, then turned toward the golden-winged horse, smiling coldly. "Death Claw!"
Pegasmon screamed in pain as the black energy slammed into her side, and sent her crashing into the side of the building.
"Pegasmon!" Takeru called to his partner in alarm.
She moaned as she struggled to peel herself away from the impression her body had made in the concrete. There was something wrong with one of her legs-it was bleeding heavily and wasn't moving well.
Takeru's fists clenched as he remembered that long-ago day when Pegasmon had sacrificed herself to save him.
*I was so little...I didn't understand that she would come back. But that was then...and this is now.*
"Don't worry, we've come to help you out!" Ichijouji Ken called, riding on Stingmon's back.
The blue-haired boy dropped from his partner's back, landing on the pavement next to Takeru. Stingmon wasted no time in attacking Devimon from behind.
"Spiking Finish!" The lance mounted on Stingmon's forearm glowed with a fuchsia energy and extended as he lunged forward, burying the weapon in Devimon's shoulder.
Devimon growled in pain, turning around and shoving his fist into Stingmon's stomach. "Death Claw!"
However, the insect digimon was protected by dark green armor, and felt almost nothing.
Meanwhile, Pegasmon pulled away from the building with a great effort, awkwardly trying to remain airborne.
Devimon noticed this, and quickly took advantage of her weakness, before Stingmon could stop him. "Death Claw!"
Pegasmon screamed as her already-injured body was struck by the crackling black energy. She hadn't had enough time to recover from the first attack, and slammed hard into the street, rolling several times before her body came to a stop.
"Pegasmon!" Takeru shouted. "Stay AWAY from her!" He stooped, grabbed up a piece of concrete rubble, and threw it at Devimon, hitting him in the shoulder.
The Adult Virus turned to glare down at the human standing in the middle of the street. "Death Claw!"
Before he had a chance to fire his attack at Takeru, Stingmon plowed into him from the side, knocking him a safe distance away.
Takeru raced toward his fallen friend, who was in the process of devolving. When he reached her, he took her limp body in his arms, frantically trying to get her to open her eyes. "Patamon, come on...Please wake up!"
The small Child stirred slightly and whimpered softly.
Takeru relaxed, hugging her in relief. "You're going to be okay now, Patamon," he said. "Let's get back to Hikari and Tailmon."
"I hope she's okay," Ken said anxiously. "With all these Viral digimon attacking Tokyo all at once, she could get hurt...or even..."
"Don't say that, Ken," Takeru ordered. "If I know my cousin at all, she'll be fine. She's tougher then she looks. And she's got Tailmon to watch out for her."
"It's just that..." Ken trailed off.
"I know," Takeru replied, acknowledging the other boy's unspoken words.
After attacking Stingmon with a final Death Claw, Devimon rose higher into the air, flapping his massive black wings as he began to fly away.
Stingmon was surrounded by deep pink light as he devolved. Wormmon hung suspended in the air for a moment, then tumbled into Ken's outstretched arms.
Takeru and Ken ran off as emergency vehicles and personnel began to arrive, joined by paramedics who had been in the hospital when Devimon had attacked.
***
As Kawada Noriko watched her partner fight the angel digimon who had suddenly appeared, she realized that an older child, a girl with light brown hair, was also watching the two women fight.
"Darkness Wave!" LadyDevimon raised her oversized hand over her head, flying backwards as waves of dark power streamed from her tattered wings.
Angewomon was forced to quickly respond with a Holy Arrow to nullify the Virus's attack.
They continued attacking and nullifying each other's attacks. The shockwaves created by the collision of their power drove them back repeatedly, but both of the women refused to give up. They hated each other for even existing.
LadyDevimon extended her oversized arm, reaching for Angewomon's throat with her massive hand. "C'mere, blondie," she hissed. "Let me pay you back for killing Vamdemon."
Angewomon brought her leg up, slamming her foot into her opponent's chin as she dodged her claws.
LadyDevimon darted to the side, then used the same trick against the Perfect Vaccine. She drove her foot downward into Angewomon's back, intent on sending her crashing to the ground.
But Angewomon was able to spread her wings just in time to avoid slamming into the street. She rose back into the air, her back to LadyDevimon.
As the Viral woman closed in on her, she spun around and raised her arms over her head, as a circle of golden light formed above her. "Heaven's Charm!"
Sparkling rainbow energy began to drift downward in waves, surrounding both women with the holy power. Angewomon was unaffected, but LadyDevimon let out a scream of horrible pain as the multi-colored particles burned into her skin.
Hikari blinked as she noticed a little girl of about five standing not far away, also watching the battle. She especially seemed concentrated on LadyDevimon.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked the younger girl. "It's dangerous. You shouldn't be out here."
Hikari reached for her hand, intent on leading her to safety, but paused in confusion as she saw the little girl's lower lip begin to tremble.
"LadyDevimon..." she whispered, as tears welled in her eyes.
The demon woman had thrown her tattered wings in front of her body, using them as a shield of defense. Angewomon was firing an unrelenting barrage of Holy Arrows at her opponent, each attack driving the quickly weakening Virus further back.
The sound of her name being whispered by the little girl, however, seemed to give the fallen angel new strength.
Hikari's gaze was wrenched back to the aerial battle as she heard Angewomon scream in pain. The Perfect angel clutched her arm as blood poured from a wound that must have been caused by LadyDevimon's Puwazon.
"Angewomon!"
The angel digimon turned her hidden gaze down to her human partner, her face filled with pain. "Hikari..." she managed to get out. "I'll be all right..."
LadyDevimon turned abruptly in mid-air, spreading her wings to their full length. The demon woman began flying away from Hikari and Angewomon, who was in the process of devolving.
Without hesitation, Noriko pulled free from Hikari's grasp and ran off, following the path of the female Virus, as Takeru and Patamon came racing up, having finished their own battle with a Devimon.
Close behind them were Ken and Wormmon. Hikari greeted them with a smile and a wave.
"Are you okay, Hikari?" Ken asked anxiously, moving over to her.
"I'll be fine." She glanced down at her partner, holding her in her arms. "But will Tailmon be okay? LadyDevimon hurt her pretty badly."
"I'm sure she'll be okay, Hikari," Ken said. He took Tailmon from Hikari, then wrapped his winter scarf around her wounded arm, pressing his hand against the place where it was bleeding most heavily. "She's survived worse with no problem."
"Hey, who's that?" Takeru asked his cousin, watching the little black-haired girl as she ran off down the street. "And why is she following that LadyDevimon?"
"I don't know," Hikari replied as she stared in the direction the little girl had taken. "But...there was something wrong about her..."
Tailmon nodded in agreement. "There WAS something strange...about both LadyDevimon and that girl. Almost as if they were...connected somehow." She shook her head. "Maybe I'm just imagining things. Thanks for your help, Ken. But what about your scarf? How will you get the blood out of it?"
"Don't worry, Tailmon," he said, reaching down and giving his friend a scratch on her head. "I've got others."
***
Elsewhere in the city of Tokyo, the other Chosen were fighting their own, similar battles.
"Dread Fire!"
XV-mon shouted in pain as DarkLizamon's attack drove him backward into the side of the apartment building.
They released attack after attack at each other, neither quite managing to seriously injure his opponent. Finally, though, the two reptilian digimon were forced to back off slightly, both glaring fiercely at each other as they did so.
Then, DarkLizamon turned toward the apartment building where the Motomiya family lived, and raised both arms, black spheres of energy forming in his hands. "Dread Fire!"
The black energy collided with the building, causing an explosion that blew the entire upper half of the structure to pieces. Smoke rose around what was left, hiding the horrible scene from view.
Daisuke shook off the shock he was feeling and called to his partner. "XV-mon, I'm going to grab some stuff from the apartment!"
The blue-skinned dragon nodded in understanding. "Right!"
"Be careful!" Daisuke shouted back over his shoulder.
"Don't worry about me; I can take this guy!" With a roar, XV- mon charged his opponent.
***
Jun met Daisuke at the door of their apartment. "What's going on, Daisuke? And where's V-mon?"
"I don't have time to explain," he said, rushing past her, not even bothering to take his shoes off, "but I've got to go. If you find Mom and Dad, tell them I'm okay."
There wasn't nearly as much time as he would have liked, but when both worlds were at stake, it was only to be expected. He raced around the apartment, shoving the things he would need into the duffel bag he normally used for soccer.
Daisuke knew that he, V-mon, and the rest of the Chosen would have to go to the Digital World after the stray digimon in the city were taken of. When something like this happened, it was only a symptom of much larger problems.
*Clothes, first-aid supplies, some canned food, and bottled water...I think that's it.*
"What are you doing?" his sister asked from the doorway of his room. "Why are you packing?"
"It's none of your business."
"You're not going back to the Digital World, are you? I thought you and your friends won all those battles!"
Daisuke ignored her as he zipped his bag closed and slung it over his shoulder. He started out of the apartment, then turned back when he heard his older sister scream.
"Daisuke, XV-mon's in big trouble!"
He dropped his bag and joined her at the window.
Outside, his partner was being driven back, barely able to defend himself from the attacks of a recovered DarkLizamon.
She turned frightened eyes to her brother. "Daisuke, what's going ON?!"
"I wish I could answer that, but I don't know, either. I've got to go, Jun. Tell Mom and Dad I'm okay."
"But you can't go out there! It's dangerous-I don't want you to get hurt!"
"I'm fine, Jun. Just stay here and see if anyone got injured in the fight and needs help."
"Oh..." His older sister sighed in frustration. "I REALLY wish I had a digimon friend so we could help you guys out!"
As he raced down the hall, he called back over his shoulder. "I want you to get out of this building-I don't know how long it can stand."
***
Kawada Kosaku grinned as he looked up at the high-rise apartment complex. "Are the two of you ready?" he asked the giant lizard and spider.
The towering blue lizard nodded as his open mouth began to glow with black fire. He crouched, aiming at the building, then attacked. "Black Flame!"
The ball of fiery black energy collided with the structure, causing the entire building to shake.
BlueGreymon turned his head toward his partner. "Now what?" he asked, in a rough, gravelly voice.
Kosaku grinned. "Now we wait."
***
"Agumon, evolve..."
The small orange dinosaur's body grew much taller. A dull black horned helmet formed over his head. Blue stripes formed on his orange skin, giving the impression of tiger's stripes.
"...GREYMON!"
"Tentomon, evolve..."
His red carapace was ripped away, leaving soft grayish-brown skin exposed. His spine twisted into a sharp steel lance protruding from the base of his back. A metallic helmet formed, almost completely covering his head. A second pair of arms grew from below the first, the hands ending in vicious claws. Four insect-like wings sprouted from his back, completing his transformation.
"...KABUTERIMON!"
The dinosaur and the armored insect wasted no time, rushing forward to attack the BlueGreymon.
"Mega Flame!" A ball of fire roared out from Greymon's open mouth toward his opponent.
"Mega Blaster!" Kabuterimon crossed his four arms over his chest, then threw them open, releasing a wave of purplish- white electricity.
BlueGreymon laughed, then retaliated with another Black Flame.
Kabuterimon rose over the attack, but Greymon wasn't so lucky. He slammed backward into the granite wall surrounding the apartment complex.
Kabuterimon was unable to help his friend; a Dokugumon jumped onto his back, knocking him to the ground. She quickly used her spinnerets to wrap him in webbing so he wouldn't be able to attack.
Taichi clenched his fists. "What's going on?! How did all these digimon get here, anyway?"
Koushiro shrugged. "All I know is that a Digital Gate opened. But who opened it, or why, I have no idea."
Greymon heaved himself up from the pavement, turning to his friend's aid. He used the sharp claws on his hands to slash apart the webs Kabuterimon had been bound with.
Kabuterimon launched himself into the air, hovering above the enemy Dokugumon. His wings created a buzzing sound as he dodged back and forth to avoid the venomous spider's Stinger Pollations, occasionally answering with a Mega Blaster of his own.
Meanwhile, Greymon continued his own battle with the Virus Greymon.
"Mega Flame!"
BlueGreymon snarled as the sphere of fire hit its target, shoving him backward down the street. He was able to get in a final shot before the last of his strength ran out. "Black Flame!"
Kabuterimon and Greymon's bodies glowed with bright white light, reverting to Agumon and Tentomon. They fell to the concrete of the sidewalk, exhausted.
All four friends' jaws fell open as BlueGreymon and Dokugumon were surrounded by a dark green glow as they devolved, leaving a BlackAgumon and a Kunemon in the place where the Viral Adults had stood only a minute ago.
They could only stare in confusion as the BlackAgumon and Kunemon were joined by a black-haired boy of about twelve and a blond girl of about eleven. They scooped up the Virus digimon and ran off together.
Taichi slowly turned to Koushiro. "Did you just see what I saw? Or am I imagining it?"
***
Sora looked up from the kettle of tea she was boiling on the stove. Miyako had also paused, in the act of hand-feeding Piyomon a rice ball.
"Did you hear that?" Chizuru asked, looking up from the book she was reading. "Or am I imagining things?"
"No, I heard it, too," Piyomon said. "It sounded like...footsteps. But what could make the ground shake just by walking? There's no way a digimon could have gotten to Earth...At least there shouldn't be."
Miyako's oldest sister, Momoe, leaned over to glance out the window. Her face paled. "It's a bad thing when there's a giant blue lizard on the street outside, isn't it?" she asked no one in particular.
"That's a Deltamon! Hawkmon, are you up for an evolution?" Miyako asked, turning to her partner.
The miniature hawk nodded.
"Um-Miyako, don't you think she should do that outside?" Chizuru asked. "I don't think Aquillamon will fit in here."
The girl's face turned red. "Oh. Right. Sorry."
***
"Hawkmon, evolve..."
Her body grew to five times the size it had been. Two long, black horns jutted forward from both sides of her head. Twin streaks of red appeared on the white feathers beneath her eyes. The rest of her body remained virtually the same.
"...AQUILLAMON!"
"Piyomon, evolve..."
The long pink and blue feather that grew from the top of her head disappeared, as did the bracelet around her left ankle. Her feathers changed from their bright pink color to a deep orange. On the edges of her beak, teeth formed in a way that caused them to jut outwards. Her small wings were replaced with much larger ones. Long, flowing tail feathers formed at the base of her spine. Her entire body gave the impression of being wreathed in flames.
"...BIRDRAMON!"
"Triplex Force!" Deltamon raised the heads on the ends of her arms, and opened her mouth. Three streams of green energy burst out, streaking toward Aquillamon and Birdramon.
The two Adult avians swerved away from each other, evading the attack, then prepared to retaliate with their own attacks.
"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon spread her fiery wings wide. Balls of fire formed, then shot toward Deltamon with a flap of her wings.
"Blast Laser!" Aquillamon opened her beak, sending fuchsia rings of power spiraling towards her rival.
The two attacks converged, forming a beam of orange-pink energy that collided with Deltamon's chest, shoving her slightly backward.
***
"Gabumon, evolve..."
The little digimon's body expanded rapidly. The lizard traits of his Child form vanished, replaced by distinctly lupine features. Tufts of fur that resembled feathers sprouted from his shoulders. His muzzle lengthened, his jaw becoming stronger and the fangs longer and sharper.
"...GARURUMON!"
"Gomamon, evolve..."
The aquatic digimon's body twisted and grew into a large walrus-like form. His front flippers turned into strong legs, while his back legs remained nearly the same. Two large tusks sprouted from the sides of his mouth, and a large black horn grew from his forehead. Thick white fur covered his entire body.
"...IKKAKUMON!"
"Harpoon Vulcan!"
Ikkakumon lowered his massive head, then fired off the horn growing from his head at the Gesomon who had attacked the ferry.
Gesomon snarled with the pain of the connecting attack, retaliating with his own. "Devil Bashing!"
His tentacles lashed out, twining around Ikkakumon's horn and neck to prevent him from attacking again. Using his leverage, Gesomon swung the walrus digimon into the side of the ferry, tearing a large gash along the side.
On the hastily-abandoned bridge above the aquatic battle, Garurumon was fighting a black Virus Garurumon.
The Viral Garurumon lunged at his opponent, intent on tearing his throat out. Garurumon avoided the lunge, snarling at his Viral counterpart.
"Fox Fire!" He jumped forward, opening his mouth to release a river of blue fire in the Virus's direction.
The black-furred wolf sprang forward, howling a similar attack. "Black Fire!"
Once again, Garurumon and the Viral Garurumon leaped at each other, this time rolling in a living wheel along the length of the bridge, each trying to get the better of his opponent.
The battle came to an end when Garurumon's skull slammed against one of the bridge's support pylons. Both exhausted, the two digimon reverted to their lower forms. Gabumon was suddenly faced with a near mirror-image of himself, only with a cover of black fur.
Below the bridge, in the water, the two water digimon were also devolving. Gomamon and the Gizamon had only enough strength to crawl onto the bay shore, then collapsed, exhausted.