Chapter 23:
Never Alone

“Bear Fist!”

A power-packed energy blast slammed into the wall, leaving nothing behind.

Kodamon glared murderously at the undamaged wall and tried again. “Bear Fist!”

Again, the energy blast left nothing on the wall, not even a dent.

Kodamon growled in frustration.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Gazimon muttered, stifling a yawn.

Kodamon ignored him. She looked around at the tiny, windowless room they were imprisoned in. The walls were made of cold, dark stone, and there was no door. The only source of light was from a tiny, battered lamp hanging from the ceiling.

With a shout, Kodamon attacked the walls again. This time, her attacks bounced off. One of them slammed into her face, knocking her across the room.

“Ow…”

“Under any other circumstances,” Gazimon said lightly, “that would have been utterly hilarious.”

“Shut up!” Kodamon screamed, “You’re not helping at all!”

“Neither are you, with all that screaming,” Gazimon replied.

Kodamon let out a huff. “Well, at least I’m doing something – anything at all – to try and get us out of this death trap. What about you? Are you just going to sit there and rot?”

Gazimon didn’t answer. He leaned against a wall, eyes closed, and smirked.

To Kodamon, seeing that just pissed her off even more. She let out an angry roar, and kicked at the ground. “Oh, I have so had it with you!” she shouted, “You, this stupid room, and all those psychopathic wolves who put us in here to begin with! I swear, if I ever get out of here and see any of them again, I’ll kill them with my bare hands!”

“Uh-huh…” Gazimon murmured nonchalantly, nodding his head.

Kodamon angrily snapped her attention back to him. “YOU-”

“SHUT UP!!”

Kodamon yelped in surprise, as a portion of the floor shimmered and a small trap door appeared, revealing an enraged Fenrimon guard with his claws clamped over his ears.

“You’d better quit that screaming right now, and let me guard you in peace, or else I’ll rip both of your throats!” the guard bellowed.

At that, Gazimon’s eyes snapped open, and a feral smile appeared on his face. He sprang up, paws filling with electricity, and promptly clubbed the guard over the head.

“Electric Stun Blast!”

The guard wobbled stupidly for a few moments. Kodamon, finally realizing what was going on, blasted the guard with her own attack.

“Bear Fist!”

The punch smacked him in the face, and he promptly keeled over, unconscious. The trap door was still open.

Gazimon laughed. “Perfect!” Kodamon could only stare at him in disbelief.

They both jumped through the hole, landing in a large, darkened hallway. From the looks of everything, it appeared that they were in a large castle of some sort.

Gazimon looked back at Kodamon with a smug smile. “That was what I was waiting for,” he said proudly, “I knew that there had to be someone around to guard us, so I just waited around for that person to show up, and then attack him and get the hell out! Of course…” He smirked. “Your screaming and shouting and carrying on was just a plus. It got the guard in there faster than I ever imagined!”

“Humph!” Kodamon glared at him and turned away.

Gazimon laughed again. “So, does that mean I get a thank you, or some sort of apology?” he asked.

No answer.

“Kodamon?”

Gazimon turned in Kodamon’s direction, and saw that she had disappeared.

“Hey!” he shouted, starting to run, “Kodamon!” He looked around, and not seeing her anywhere, he sighed in frustration. “That idiot…” he muttered under his breath.


Meanwhile, up in the higher reaches of the castle, Kei and Terriermon were wandering down a deserted corridor. Kei walked silently ahead, her face like a thundercloud. Terriermon walked beside her, hesitant and insecure.

“Kei…” Terriermon murmured, after a long silence.

“I don’t want to talk,” Kei answered hotly.

“Listen,” Terriermon began, “I know you’re upset, but-”

“Of course I’m upset!” Kei shouted, “How could I not be? You’re basically accusing Rion of working with the bad guys, and tricking us all into coming here so we’d be trapped!” Her eyes narrowed. “He’s my friend, and I know he wouldn’t do something that terrible! And Guilmon’s nice!” She whipped around to face Terriermon. “You saw how nice they were!”

Terriermon took a deep breath. “I know what I saw,” he said firmly, “There was someone in the corner of that room, who set that trap on us. It didn’t just happen.” He sighed, and continued. “And I was able to get a quick look at the person’s face. It was a boy, with really cold, dark eyes. And it didn’t look like Seita or Jun.”

“So right away, you blame it on Rion.” Kei answered coldly.

Terriermon opened his mouth to answer, but stopped.

“Yuka and Lopmon didn’t trust Rion either,” Kei added, scowling. “They didn’t say anything, but I could see it in their faces!”

Terriermon fell silent then. There was no way he could convince Kei while she was in that state of mind, so he decided to try again later, after they’d gotten out of this mess.

If they could.

Terriermon shook off that hopeless thought, and kept on walking. Then, suddenly, Kei stopped, and Terriermon bumped right into her leg.

“Kei?” Terriermon asked, “What is it?”

“I thought I saw something…” Kei answered softly. There was a faint, disbelieving smile on her face. She took a couple of running steps, and turned around a corner, ending up at the edge of another long hallway. She squinted her eyes, and gasped.

“What?” Terriermon called out, catching up with her.

“Akira!”

Sure enough, Akira was at the far end of the hallway. She didn’t seem to have heard Kei at all. She was alone – Kodamon was nowhere in sight – and she was wandering around, slowly and calmly, with no sign of worry or agitation or stress.

Something about that bothered Terriermon. Why or how, he wasn’t quite sure.

Kei giggled, and took a couple of quick steps toward Akira.

“Wait a minute!” Terriermon shouted, “Kei, come back!”

Kei turned around for a moment, puzzled and a little exasperated. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t just go rushing in like that!” Terriermon said sharply, “You never know what could happen!”

Kei glared at him. “What are you talking about?” she replied in annoyance, “It’s Akira, right?”

Terriermon was about to reply, but Kei spoke right over him.

“So now you don’t trust Akira either, do you?” she spat.

“Kei-”

“Quit being so paranoid!” Kei interrupted, turning away and storming down the hall. She could still see Akira a few paces away.

At that moment, realization hit Terriermon.

Right now, Akira was acting calm and relaxed. Akira was never calm and relaxed, not at times like these, with a hundred terrible things happening to everyone all at once. She was also never alone – Kodamon was always with her. And as for her just walking around aimlessly, right out in the open…

It was as if she was just waiting for someone to find her.

It was a setup.

Terriermon looked back at Kei, just a few feet away from Akira. “Kei!” he shouted frantically, “Stop!! That’s not–” But Kei didn’t hear.

“Akira!” Kei shouted, running toward her.

Akira turned at the noise, and smiled. “Kei!”

Then, a split second later, her smile changed. It became a sneer, and for just a moment, her eyes glittered red. Her right hand twitched, and moved slowly toward something behind her back.

Terriermon gasped, and quickly glided toward the scene.

After that, everything was a blur – The violent beeping of a Digivice… a blast of yellow-green light…

All in the few seconds it took for Akira to pull something out and shoot.

“Watch out!” Galgomon rushed over to Kei and shoved her away, knocking her to the ground. The shot hit him square in the chest, with a massive shock.

“Galgomon!” Kei screamed, getting up and trying to catch him as he fell. Then, she looked up. “Akira-”

But she was interrupted by a silver seed gun pointed directly at her.

Akira laughed. “This was almost too easy, even if there was an interruption.” She smiled evilly at Kei, and her image slowly faded away to reveal a tall, shaggy werewolf with red eyes.

Kei’s eyes widened in shock, and she gave a tiny, fearful squeak. “You’re… you’re not Akira!”

The wolf laughed. “Of course I’m not.”

“Who are you, then?”

“Lupimon,” the wolf answered with a sly smile, “Assassin extraordinaire, and your worst nightmare!”

Kei was too terrified to comment on how corny that statement had sounded. “W-why are you doing this?” she stammered hysterically, “What do you want?”

Lupimon laughed again, waving the seed gun up and down. “Nothing really,” she replied, “I just want to give you a shot. You’re dreadfully sick, and I’ve been dying to know just how well the medicine in here will work on you!”

Kei looked at the seed gun in fright, then looked at Galgomon, with massive waves of energy and fragmented data enveloping him.

“Are you insane?!” Kei screamed at Lupimon, “That’s not medicine!”

“Perhaps not to you,” Lupimon replied pleasantly, “You’re filled all the way up with innocence, sweetness, kindness… And just one shot of these little seeds I have in this gun will drain it all out of you, and leave you miserable until you die!” She laughed – a high, cold, cruel laugh. “And that, to me, is the perfect cure!”

Listening to this, Kei's expression changed, from fear to a look of pure anger.

“You sick monster…”

Lupimon immediately stopped laughing. Her expression was blank.

“How can you say that and laugh about it?” Kei demanded angrily, “You're as loopy as your name says!”

At that, Lupimon pinned Kei to the wall and pushed the seed gun dangerously close to her throat. Her ‘Akira’ disguise flickered on for a moment, and Kei winced as she saw the evil look in her eyes.

“Just for saying that, I'll make sure you never make it out of this room alive!” Lupimon snarled.

“Stop it…” Kei pleaded, faintly. Tears fell from her eyes. “Stop trying to look like my sister…”

Lupimon smiled evilly, and aimed the seed gun at Kei again, just about to pull the trigger. Then…

“Bear Fist!”

A light blue energy blast came out of nowhere and knocked it out of her hand. Lupimon let go of Kei with a shout, and her ‘Akira’ disguise flickered off.

“Stay away from her!” a high, angry voice erupted.

Kei looked past Lupimon in the direction of the voice. “Kodamon!”

Kodamon was standing in the doorway of the room, the light shining behind her. “Get out of here!” she called out to Kei.

Kei didn’t need to be told twice – she got up, helped Galgomon up, and they both ran off.

“You won’t be terrorizing them any more, Lupimon!” Kodamon shouted. “This time, you deal with me!”

Lupimon laughed. “If you insist!” Her claws shined bright red. “I’ll deal with you… in the fullest sense!” She swung her claws in an arc. “Crimson Saber!”

Kodamon dodged the attack, and fired her own. “Bear Fist!”

The attack bounced off of Lupimon, not leaving a scratch. Kodamon growled, and fired again.

“Bear Fist!”

“Crimson Saber!”

The attacks collided in midair, but Lupimon’s broke through and hit Kodamon directly.

“Aaaah!” Kodamon skidded across the floor, and painfully tried to get up again. Mid-way, she looked up to see another red-bladed barrage moving straight toward her.

“Crimson Saber!”

Kodamon screamed and shut her eyes, expecting to die at any moment, but… nothing happened. She looked up to see a dangerously thin shield surrounding her. Gazimon was in front of her, struggling to hold Lupimon’s attack at bay.

“Gazimon!” Kodamon yelled hysterically, “What are you doing?! You’re not strong enough!”

“Neither are you…” Gazimon said under ragged breaths, “She was going to delete you… I couldn’t let that happen!”

“But, Gazimon-”

“You idiot!” he shouted, making her flinch. “Why did you take her on all by yourself? I’m here too! We’re a team! We should have done this together!” He staggered, and the shield flickered dangerously, but he managed to get up again.

“Gazimon…”

“Did you think…” he continued weakly, “that after everything we’ve been through… I’d just leave you alone?” He looked to her, still struggling, and managed a smile.

Tears streamed down Kodamon’s face. She looked back at him for a moment, amazed. Then, she roughly wiped away her tears, powered up her paws, and placed them against the shield.

“Let’s get this over with…” she said hoarsely, looking straight ahead.

Gazimon smiled again, relieved. “All right…” he murmured. His paws shined and crackled slightly with electric bolts. “On three… One!”

“Two!” Kodamon’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Lupimon.

“Three!” Gazimon and Kodamon’s paws lit up with electrical pulses and concentrated energy, and the shield immediately dropped, merging into the combo attack in a massive ball. In a brilliant light show, the power ball broke through Lupimon’s attack and slammed right into her, knocking her down.

“Yes!” Gazimon shouted.

“We did it!” Kodamon added with glee.

“Not bad,” Gazimon said proudly, giving Kodamon a high five.

But then, with a low growl, Lupimon slowly picked herself back up, glaring back at them murderously.

“Crimson… Saber!”

The red energy blades, larger than before, blasted toward Kodamon and Gazimon. Just before impact, Gazimon managed to thrust himself in front of Kodamon in an attempt to shield her.

They both screamed out as the blades sent them flying through the air, landing them on the cold, hard stone floor. None of them moved.

Lupimon cackled. “Too easy.” She turned on her heel, and swiftly ran off, leaving the two unconscious Digimon behind.


Meanwhile, Kei was quickly growing exhausted, struggling to help Galgomon while at the same time trying to move as fast as she could. Galgomon was still suffering from his Dark Seed injury, and occasional streams of wild electricity flowed from him. One of them shocked Kei, making her stumble and fall, pulling Galgomon with her.

Kei got up slowly, wincing, and took a few exhausted breaths. Then she looked down at Galgomon sprawled on the ground, and began to cry.

“Galgomon!” she sobbed, “I’m sorry… I should have listened to you before…”

“It’s okay…” Galgomon said weakly, “At least you’re safe…” His voice faded, and he took a couple of ragged breaths. Parts of his data flickered.

“Galgomon!” Kei screamed, hugging her tight, “Please, hold on! Please be all right!”

“Don’t count on it,” a hard voice said from behind her.

Kei froze. She turned around slowly, and saw Lupimon towering over them.

“I've delayed long enough,” Lupimon said, spreading her claws. “This ends now!” Her claws turned a deep red.

Suddenly, Galgomon’s eyes snapped open. Pushing Kei away, he lifted one of his cannon arms and a massive shot blasted out, thrusting Lupimon several feet away.

“I’m not down yet…” Galgomon murmured weakly, his cannon arm smoking. He was interrupted by another cascade of electrical interference.

“You-” Lupimon snarled, immediately springing up. She lunged at Galgomon, claws shining red.

“Watch out!” Kei screamed.

Just then, a sudden blast of yellow light erupted from around her neck. She gasped, and pulled out her Crest from under her shirt. It shined brightly.

At the same time, Galgomon felt a warm surge of energy, and smiled.

“Galgomon, super evolve to…”

Galgomon’s form changed, to become a more robotic version of himself, shining a deep, metallic green. Then, it short-circuited, causing a cascade of electricity. He staggered, partially reverting back to herself.

Kei gasped. “Hang in there!” she shouted. Her hands gripped her Crest tightly.

The Crest shined again, brighter and more brilliant than before. Galgomon’s half-evolved form took in the extra energy and shined just as bright.

“Galgomon, super evolve to… Rapidmon!”

The light faded away to reveal the robotic Digimon that Galgomon had tried to evolve to, but instead of being a metallic green, Rapidmon was now a brilliant gold, with traces of light pink, red, and magenta – the colors of a beautiful sunset.

Kei stared at Rapidmon in awe. “Pretty…”

Rapidmon raised one golden-cannoned arm, pointing it at Lupimon.

“Rapid Fire!”

A shower of golden missiles blasted from the cannon, many of them hitting Lupimon directly. She landed on the ground in a heap, and didn’t move.

“Yeah!” Kei shouted, “You got her!” She took a few steps toward Lupimon’s still form, just to make sure.

She was less than a foot away when Lupimon suddenly sprang up, teeth bared and claws unsheathed. Kei screamed.

“Crimson Saber!”

The red blades missed Kei by just a millimeter, slamming into the opposite wall.

“Rapid Fire!”

More golden missiles headed Lupimon’s way, and knocked her clear across the room. But even then, Lupimon didn’t weaken very easily.

Then, Rapidmon closed her eyes and focused. He glowed a bright gold, and a faint triangular-shaped light appeared in the air in front of him. The triangle grew brighter and brighter, almost blinding.

“Golden Triangle!”

The triangular light morphed into a brilliant beam of energy. It sliced through the air and right into Lupimon. She let out a scream, and dissolved into tiny bits of data.

Kei could do nothing but stare after that, at both Rapidmon and where Lupimon used to be. “Amazing…” She gazed at Rapidmon’s brilliant gold form in renewed awe, and smiled.

Then, with a flash of light, Rapidmon reverted to Terriermon. With a weak, sickened moan, he fluttered to the ground.

“Terriermon!” Kei shouted, running over to him and carefully picking him up. Terriermon looked back at her, weakly, and Kei was horrified to see the fragmented data and electrical cascades return with renewed ferocity.

“You’re… you’re still hurt!” Kei murmured in fright, “But why? Why didn’t your evolution heal you?”

“It’s because of the Dark Seed,” a strong, cold voice answered.

Kei looked up to see Rion standing there, with Guilmon. He stared at her, dark-eyed, with an unreadable expression.

“Rion…” Kei spoke up, “How- why-”

“I’m surprised that he’s lasted this long,” he murmured to himself, looking at Terriermon. “From what I heard, just one Seed means instant deletion for a Digimon. For a human… well, we don’t know.”

Kei merely stared at him, shocked and confused. A million questions swirled in her head.

“Damn Lupimon…” he said disdainfully, “She wasn’t supposed to shoot the Digimon. She was supposed to shoot the…” He hesitated, and looked back at Kei.

At this, Kei’s insides turned to ice. She stared back at him, horrified. “You…” she said faintly, “you’re behind all this?”

Rion sighed, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were a lighter brown, Kei could see just a little bit of anguish.

“Of all the kids chosen to fight here… why did one of them have to be you?”


“Kowakunai…”

In the depths of the castle’s basement, Yuka and Lopmon wandered around, quietly. The only audible noise was from Yuka, murmuring the same phrase over and over in a sing-song voice.

“Kowakunai…”

It was a special phrase, one she hadn’t thought of in years, until now. As she walked, she could almost hear the very conversation that started it…

Seita…” a three-year-old Yuka sobbed, clinging onto her brother for dear life.

What happened?”

The monsters…” Yuka cried, “The monsters came back! I could see them in the closet!!” She took a few ragged breaths. “I want to sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s room tonight!”

Seita held her for a few moments as she cried. A thoughtful look appeared on his face.

I have a better idea,” he said finally, “Those monsters really like scaring you, don’t they?”

Yuka just shrugged.

Well…” He smiled evilly. “Then you show them that you’re not scared. When you see those monsters again,” he began, “you walk right up to them, stare them straight in the eyes, and give them the scariest look you can give them.” He got up, doing everything as he spoke. “And then,” he continued, “you tell them this, as loud as you can…” He took a deep breath. “Kowakunai!” he shouted.

Yuka giggled.

Seita laughed. “Do that, and you’ll scare them ! You’ll scare them so bad they’ll never come back to bother you again!”

But…” Yuka frowned, “What if it doesn’t work?”

Seita looked at her slyly. “Then you call me. I’ll beat the crap out of them!” He took a fighting stance. “Like this!” He demonstrated a few punches and kicks. “Hai! Hah! Hai-yah!” He then made a kick, overshot it, and wobbled. “Whoa!” He lost his balance and fell to the floor with a thud, with Yuka giggling.

But what if you’re not there?” Yuka asked after getting her giggles under control.

Of course I’ll be there,” Seita answered, ruffling Yuka’s hair. “I’ll rescue you from anything, whether you like it or not!”

Yuka smiled. “Kowakunai… kowakunai…”

“What’s that?” Lopmon asked.

“It’s something Seita taught me to say, a long time ago, whenever something bad happens,” Yuka answered, smiling to herself. “It means, ‘I’m not scared!’”

After that, she was silent again. Her expression changed from a smile to an almost-frown.

“But, you know…” she said slowly, “To tell you the truth, I am scared. I’m always scared.” She closed her eyes. “Before, when I was little, it was ghosts and monsters and nightmares I never understood. And now it’s Digimon.” She was silent for a moment, and laughed bleakly. “And now that I think about it, those monsters were probably evil Digimon too. They knew me even when I was little! Can you believe that?”

“Yuka…” Lopmon murmured worriedly.

“I’ve noticed a lot of things, too,” Yuka continued on, as if she hadn’t heard her. “Ever since we came to this place and met all of you. I’ve had weird feelings… bad feelings… stuff like that. It would always be right before something terrible would happen to us, and I’d never say a word.”

Lopmon thought about this, and remembered all the times when Yuka would look troubled and scared, and tell her it was nothing. “Why didn’t you?”

“I told you,” Yuka answered in a dead voice. “I was scared.” She laughed that same bleak laugh. “I seem to know everything, right before it happens, and I’m so scared that I can’t do anything about it, even when it does happen. Too scared to say anything. Too scared to act. Too scared to try and help.” She smiled sadly. “I’m even too scared to run, whenever I’m in trouble. I’m so weak, and I’ve always needed someone else to save me. The others must think I’m a bother.”

Lopmon stared back at her for several seconds, horrified. “But you’re not a bother!” she said forcefully. You’re an important part of the team! We both are! We’re the guardians of Light. Darkness can never touch us! We could…” She hesitated a moment. “We could even drive evil things away just by thinking about it, if we tried hard enough!”

Yuka looked back at her in surprise. It wasn’t like Lopmon to be so forceful. She shook her head. “It never felt like that to me,” she replied faintly.

“But it’s true,” Lopmon answered.

Yuka said nothing else in reply, and they continued walking. They turned a corner, and found themselves in a large circular room, carved straight out of hard, black rock. A large ice-blue stone stood at the center, hovering and blazing with bright, blue waves of energy.

Yuka stepped closer to the stone, eyes widened. “A Meterostone…”

“Another one,” Lopmon murmured, “Maybe that explains why it’s snowing outside…”

Yuka continued to stare at the Meterostone, not saying another word. Then, something else caught her eye. She frowned and narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look.

“What is it?” Lopmon whispered.

Yuka squinted, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Seita…”

She started walking away, slowly.

Seita was standing quietly at the far end of the room, alone. He didn’t notice her approach.

Yuka’s eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. Something major, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

“Seita?” she asked softly.

Seita’s head went up, hearing her voice, and he turned around to face her. “Yuka,” he answered, smiling.

Calmly. Too calmly.

Yuka’s eyes widened, and she took a couple of steps back.

“Yuka, what’s wrong?”

“You’re not Seita,” Yuka said firmly. “Who are you?”

“What are you talking about, Yuka?” he asked, “Of course I’m Seita.”

“No.” Yuka shook her head. “You’re not. The real Seita would have been going crazy with worry by the time I’d see him again,” she stated. “And he wouldn’t be alone. Gazimon’s always with him. Or Akira, or anyone else.”

‘Seita’ laughed. “Smart kid.” His eyes flashed, and glowed a deep green. “You saw right through me. So…” He reached behind him.

Lopmon nudged Yuka and gave her a warning look. Yuka nodded fearfully.

“I guess that means,” ‘Seita’ continued, “I can just go ahead and finish you off!” He pulled out a silver gun, and his human disguise immediately faded away to reveal a shaggy, brown wolf Digimon.

“Blazing Ice!”

Lopmon’s attack knocked the silver gun right out of his hands, before he could shoot.

Yuka pulled out her Digivice and pointed it at him. “Who are you and what do you want?” she asked shakily. Her arm shivered a little.

The Digimon stared back at her with emerald green eyes. “Fenrimon,” he replied coldly, “and as for what I want…” He smirked. “You won’t live long enough to know!”

He suddenly rushed toward her, scooping up the silver gun. Yuka took a few frightened steps back, and stumbled to the floor. She stared at Fenrimon with panic-stricken eyes, and her breath caught in her throat. She was frozen, too scared to move.

I’m not scared I’m not scared

The closer Fenrimon got to her, the more panicked her thoughts became.

I’m not scared

She saw Fenrimon aim the silver gun.

I’m scared … nii-chan…

She shut her eyes and braced herself for the pain that would come…

“Yuka!” Lopmon called, shooting toward her.

Yuka’s Digivice lit up, and a bright pink light surrounded Lopmon in mid-air. She landed as Turuiemon, just in time for her to grab Fenrimon’s wrist, slash the gun out of his hand and shove her long, steel claws dangerously close to his face. The silver gun clattered to the floor, in small, twisted fragments of metal.

Yuka opened her eyes and looked at Turuiemon in shock. Her eyes wandered toward the twisted remains of the silver gun, and back.

“If you’re going to fight,” Turuiemon intoned, “let it be with me.”

Fenrimon laughed harshly. “If that’s what you want!” He shoved away Turuiemon’s bladed hands like they were nothing, and blasted her away with a flash of green light.

“Emerald Saber!”

Turuiemon jumped up, and lunged toward Fenrimon, arm raised.

“Swift Secret Punch!”

The punch hit Fenrimon in the shoulder, but he just shrugged it off. He sent out another round of blades, which hit Turuiemon again.

Through all of this, Yuka did nothing but watch, terrified and rooted to the spot.

It’s happening again, Yuka thought frantically, she’s fighting her hardest to protect me… getting hurt… and all I can do is just stand!

She flinched as Turuiemon was blasted to the ground again. Turuiemon staggered, trying to get up again, but she was too weak. Fenrimon towered over her.

As Fenrimon raised his claws for one final blow, Yuka shut her eyes and screamed.

“Turuiemon!”

Suddenly, a bright pink light erupted from the crest around her neck.

The same pink light blasted around Turuiemon, making Fenrimon stagger back and shield his eyes.

“Turuiemon, super evolve to… Antiramon!”

The light disappeared, revealing a large, long-armed rabbit Digimon.

“Antiramon…” Yuka murmured.

Antiramon looked down at Yuka, and smiled, gently placing an enormous paw around her shoulders.

“It’s all right,” Antiramon said softly, “As long as you believe, everything will be all right. We’ll make it out of this.” She turned away from Yuka and stepped closer to Fenrimon. “As long as the light still shines, the darkness can never stay.”

Fenrimon rolled his eyes and laughed. “So cliché.” Bright green light erupted from his paws, and he once again swung them in an arc. “Emerald Saber!”

The green blades shot out, heading straight toward Antiramon. For a moment, Antiramon simply watched as the blades sped toward her. Then, very calmly, she lifted a paw and focused. A pink light shined from it, growing brighter and brighter. Then, right before the emerald blades hit her, she swung her brightened paw and released a massive ball of energy.

“Mantra Chant!”

The pink energy ball slammed into the blades, knocking them away, and afterward slammed into Fenrimon, hurling him across the room. He got up, unfazed, and hurled more blades at Antiramon. He missed her every time.

Fenrimon roared in frustration, then glanced at Yuka, who was staring speechless at the entire thing. He sneered, and sent a few emerald blades toward her.

Yuka turned around and saw the blades, but it was too late for her to do anything-

Until the blades simply stopped in mid-air and disappeared, as if they had collided with an invisible wall. Looking closely, Yuka could see a faint shimmer of pink light surrounding her, and she finally understood – Antiramon had sealed her in an energy shield.

Antiramon then lifted both of her arms, and she glowed a bright pink. Her paws flashed, and became sharp, silver crescent-shaped blades. She began to spin around violently, moving toward Fenrimon at breakneck speed.

“Ashipatravana!”

Fenrimon didn’t stand a chance – Antiramon’s wild pink tornado blasted right into him.

Yuka gasped as she saw Fenrimon sail into the air, and land with a sickening crunch. Fragments of damaged data and energy discharge cascaded over him. He opened his eyes painfully, without saying a word, and gave Yuka the most hateful, loathsome look she had ever seen. He took a few deep, tortured breaths, and closed his eyes. Then, he simply disappeared in a cloud of data.

Yuka watched as the data flowed away, and the shield around her disappeared. Antiramon glowed, reverting back to Lopmon, and she and Yuka looked at each other quietly, understandingly.

“I never knew you could be that strong,” Yuka said softly.

“It was because of you,” Lopmon answered, beaming. “Your courage, strength, power – whatever you name it – it helped.”

Yuka frowned.

“You might think you’re weak and you’re a scaredy-cat or a coward, but you’re one of the bravest and strongest people I know,” Lopmon continued, “You have… something, some power, that none of the others have. I’ve noticed it. You could be scared to death, but you let out so much light that it can scare away evil things for miles! And when that light reaches me…” Lopmon smiled. “Then I can be strong too, and wipe out whoever’s crazy enough to stay behind!”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Lopmon said reassuringly, “So don’t give up on yourself so quickly!”

Yuka smiled.

Then, one of Lopmon’s ears perked up, and she moved in front of Yuka protectively.

“Who’s there?” she said, sharply but softly. She stared into the shadows, where a small figure stood, concealed.

Yuka pulled out her Digivice. “Kei?” she asked shakily.

The shadowed figure didn’t answer.

Yuka gulped. “R-Rion?”

The figure then stepped closer, into the light. Seeing who it was, Yuka gasped, and she lowered her Digivice.

“You…” Yuka said softly.

A girl stood before them, taller than Yuka, with long black hair, and violet eyes. She wore clear-lensed yellow goggles.

I came to make sure things didn’t get out of hand,” the girl said faintly, “But it seems you handled yourselves just fine.” She smiled at them radiantly. “Nothing less from the guardians of Light!”

Yuka looked back at her desperately. “But-”

Naoko shook her head, waving Yuka’s protest away. “Don’t worry so much!” she said brightly, “It’s just as Lopmon said. You’re strong in your own special way. As long as you believe in that hidden power of yours – as long as your light still shines – everything will turn out all right in the end.”

Yuka nodded.

At that, Naoko smiled, and turned away, walking toward the Meterostone hovering in the center of the room. She looked up at it thoughtfully, raised a hand, and placed it palm-first near the stone. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

The stone immediately grew brighter, and hummed for a few moments. Then it returned to normal.

“What are you doing?” Yuka asked, walking up to her with Lopmon.

Making it warmer,” Naoko answered, smiling. “So no one will catch a cold!”

“So no one will catch a cold…” Yuka repeated, frowning. She was immediately reminded of Kei.

Then, there was a faint rumbling, and what sounded like bombs or energy beams echoing through space. The ceiling shook, and small traces of dust and fragments of stone fell. After that, silence.

Naoko looked up at the ceiling, a suspicious glare on her face.

“What’s that?” Yuka asked fearfully.

Trouble.” She looked down at Yuka again, seriously. “I have to get going.”

“It’s Rion, isn’t it?” Yuka asked, looking down. “He’s the one behind all of this, right?”

Naoko didn’t answer.

“Let us come with you,” Lopmon said firmly, “If Kei and Terriermon are in trouble…”

Yuka nodded in agreement.

Naoko looked at them for a long moment, then nodded. “All right. Take my hands, both of you, and hold tight.”

They did so, and Naoko closed her eyes. She concentrated, and a large, shimmering blue sphere surrounded them all. It lifted a few feet in the air, and hovered there for a moment.

“Where are we going?” Yuka asked nervously.

Up…” Naoko said softly, her eyes still closed.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and the sphere became a beam, catapulting them up – through ceiling, floor, wall, and space. Everything they passed was nothing but a high-speed blur.

Then, they stopped, with a sudden lurch. The blue beam faded away, and while Naoko stood perfectly straight, Yuka and Lopmon wobbled, struggling to get their bearings.

They had landed in a large, cold room near the very top of the castle. It was empty, save for a few familiar faces – Kei, cradling a severely damaged Terriermon, a sad-looking Guilmon, and Rion.

“You again!” Rion shouted, glaring daggers at Naoko.

Hello to you, too,” Naoko answered, staring back at him coldly. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”


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