Digimon: World Break | Episode 9: Ashes and Aftermath
Title: Digimon: World Break
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen/Adventure
Word Count: 3354
Pairings or Characters:Tai, Koji, Henry, Davis, Ken, Takato, Takuya, and Matt + their digimon
Warnings: Spoilers for all seasons.
Summary: The core of all digital worlds is in danger of being consumed by chaos. The only ones who can save it are the Chosen Children.
Note: Eventually this will involve seasons 1-4 of digimon, but it may contain elements from other seasons/aspects of Digimon. It can also be followed here.
Previously: Episode 01 ,Episode 02 ,Episode 03 , Episode 04,
Episode 05, Episode 06, Episode 07, Episode 08
Episode 09: Ashes and Aftermath
A figure deep in the shade of the trees watched the trio of boys wander away. He had witnessed the entire fight and while his face was hidden by his robe and the shade of the trees, his very aura spoke of frustration and rage. He was NOT happy with the results and as soon as the boys and their digimon were far enough away he stepped forward, crossing the clearing to where SkullMeramon laid unconscious.
"You pathetic worm. I ask you to commit one simple task as one of my soldiers and all you can manage is this?" The voice was the same gravely one that has given Flybeemon the command to execute plan Delta-One. The figure reached down and grabbed the large SkullMeramon easily by the throat hefting him up, "Wake up you fool! I will not let you die just yet."
SkullMeramon stirred, though he didn't want to. His head was buzzing and everything was fuzzy. "Where? Huh?" The brutal digimon from earlier looked dazed and a little less vicious.
The robed figure growled, eyes glowing deep within the shadows of his cloak and something strange happened. His glowing eyes matched with his aura, a deep, dark red. This glow passed from him to SkullMeramon and the digimon's demeanor immediately changed. His eyes snapped back into focus and he looked down at the figure holding him by the throat, torn between anger and fear as to what this robed figure was going to do to him. "Master! Let me go! I can explain what happened! You must know about the children."
"I already know about the children you fool. I saw you incompetently fight them and lose to a mere boy." SkullMeramon opened his mouth to say something but all he managed was a strangled gurgle as the figure tightened his hand around the digimon's throat, "No, I am not done speaking. I SAW that the boy managed to summon a digisoul. I do not care what that means only that you failed to snuff it out before it could grant him his true power. You should have known better than to fail at crushing them SkullMeramon. I gave you all the resources you would need. I should be standing over the charred remains of this forest and perhaps even the charred remains of a few digidestined and instead I must now deal with them discovering the untapped power Yggdrasil has blessed them with."
The figure's red aura pulsed dangerously. True, he had the power to destroy them and he had let them walk away, but he did not want to reveal himself in this early stage. If they had been destroyed in SkullMeramon's flames it would have been easier, but the figure had his own plans and they were very complicated indeed. After all, he had a war to start and there were many ways to go about it. He knew that he would have an opportunity to snuff them out again once they reached Apollomon's palace. What troubled him was the boy with the power of flames. It seemed too soon for them to be getting their powers, but perhaps he had misread the signs. Perhaps Yggdrasil was getting more desperate to make a move against the growing darkness than they had given him credit for, after all the god was not exactly known for acting swiftly.
He turned his eyes back up to SkullMeramon. The digidestined aside, he would need to deal with this failure first. SkullMeramon was expendable and if he could not use his power as he was supposed to then the figure would just have to take it from him. Without warning the robed figure deleted SkullMeramon and the blue data floated before him in the air before being absorbed by him, his dark red aura glowing brightly for a brief moment before it returned to a dull, aching throb. See? SkullMeramon could still be useful for aiding to his own power. "Conquer or die. That is the motto you should have remembered, SkullMeramon."
A buzzing sound interrupted his thoughts and he looked up to see Flybeemon descending from the sky. She saluted once before speaking, "What are your orders, Master?"
"Call off the attack and tell them to head back to Tartarus. The village is wiped from the earth and we have made our point enough. Everyone will know where those digimon originated from and the war should start just as planned. We must spread discord on both sides if we want this to turn out as brutal as possible."
Flybeemon bowed and then took off into the skies again. The figure watched her leave before turning to go as well. He had somewhere else he needed to be, especially if he was going to outwit and outmaneuver the children.
Elsewhere in the forest, just outside the remains of Asphodel Village, Koji followed Matt and Henry into the woods. They had seen the fires spreading there and knew that Tai and the others were still out there somewhere. All three of them were worried since they knew that despite Greymon's and Growlmon's size they should have made it to the village by now. While none of them wanted to say it, they had a feeling that the boys had been ambushed during the fire attack.
Koji frowned and resisted the urge to look over his shoulder at the burned out village. He'd seen entire sections of the Digital World wiped out in the blink of an eye, but somehow seeing an entire village burn at the hands of other digimon was worse. It was...unsettling how brutal and uncaring the whole army had been. It was one thing for there to be one or two evil digimon, but Koji had a hard time believing that so many would act so vicious like that. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right about it but didn't say anything because he wouldn't be able to explain why he felt that way exactly. This was a new Digital World after all, what did he know about how it operated?
The other two boys were strangely quiet as well, except when one of them called out for Tai or Takato. Terriermon was perched atop Henry's head and Gabumon walked next to Matt, as both sniffed the air for signs of their friends. Koji doubted they could smell anything over all the scent of burnt trees and the like, but kept this to himself as well. Even though he appeared calm, he couldn't help but also be worried about Takuya. His friend had been acting strange lately and now he, Tai, and Takato were nowhere to be found. What if something had happened to them during the attack? It was possible they'd been ambushed by the army that had infiltrated the forest. Koji liked to believe that Takuya could handle anything, but it was difficult to reassure himself of that when Takuya had seemed so odd earlier.
"Look!" Terriermon shouted, pointing one of his small paws towards the sky. On command all three boys and Gabumon followed Terriermon's gaze towards the sky. Several Birdramon carrying various fire digimon in their claws were flying back towards the village and past it, presumably towards the desert and Apollomon's lands.
Koji frowned, "I thought they were planning to burn the forest down." He looked back to his two companions and they appeared just as troubled as he was.
"I thought so too. They aren't stopping at the village either. I guess we left Ken and Davis back there for nothing," Henry muttered, following the path of the digimon as they flew over them. It was like a mass retreat. It didn't make sense to retreat though. What opposition had they had?
"Maybe Dianamon intervened," Gabumon finally said, his voice optimistic.
"It could be," Matt replied, "but let's get back to our own search. This just means we don't have to worry about Tai or the others getting attacked."
"Unless they already were attacked," Koji muttered, loud enough to be heard.
"You have so much faith in me, Koji," a voice replied. The boys turned and broke into grins as they saw Tai, Takuya, and Takato coming out of the woodwork. The smiles fell a little, however, when they saw that Tai was carrying Agumon and Takuya and Takato had Guilmon hefted between them.
Terriermon hopped down from Henry's head and popped over to the three, landing in front of Guilmon, "What happened to him? I didn't' think anything could take Guilmon out. His head is thicker than concrete"
Takato gave a strained smile, trying to stay upbeat despite the state of his partner, "He'll be okay. He's just exhausted from fighting I think." Only a half truth, Takato had seen the beating Guilmon had taken and just didn't want to talk about it. "We should get to the village though and rest, get him something to eat."
A strained silence fell over Koji and the others. Tai sensed it and looked to Matt, "What happened?"
Matt looked Tai straight in the eyes. There was no point beating around the bush, "There is no village." A stunned silence fell over the three, they had seen the smoke of course but they had figured there might still be some parts of the village left. There was nothing that could be said and the boys and the digimon stood somberly wondering what they were supposed to do next.
It was Tai that finally spoke up. They couldn't just stand here. He adjusted his hold on Agumon and then looked at each of the others, "We have a lot to talk about and our digimon are injured. The village might be gone but we should head there anyway." He paused and looked at Matt, "I'm assuming Ken and Davis are there?" Matt nodded so Tai continued, "We'll meet up with them there and discuss our next move. If we can...maybe we can help some of the villagers with their injuries as well."
The group returned to the village remains in a somber mood. True the attacks were over and the fires were mostly put out, but each of them still felt the weight of the loss. The forest was so quiet now and the smell of smoke and ash did little to comfort them. Matt and the others hadn't gone far from the village and were greeted by the sight of Ken and Davis standing near a broken wall with their digimon, plus Superstarmon and Grizzlymon. Davis perked up as soon as he saw his older counterpart, "Tai! Hey, you're okay!" He made to run forward but hesitated when he saw the state of the digimon. His expression changed from one of happiness to one of determination and he ran over, "Is everything okay? What happened to you guys?"
Tai glanced at the two younger boys who had been with him before setting Agumon down. "We ran into a little trouble in the forest...but thanks to Agumon, Guilmon, and Takuya we managed it." Tai glanced down at Agumon as the rookie digimon rubbed his head, "Feeling any better?"
"Yeah, thanks for carrying me Tai."
"No problem." Tai looked to Guilmon and his partner and smiled, "Hey it looks like he's waking up."
Takato jerked his attention to Guilmon as the large red dinosaur stirred between him and Takuya. He let out a low groan, his nose twitching, "Takato...Guilmon is hungry." As if in response to this comment Guilmon's stomach let out a long, loud growl. Takato couldn't help it, he started laughing. He knew the situation was a somber one and they were standing right outside the remains of a village that had been attacked and ravaged...but hearing his partner utter his usual complaint just made Takato feel ten times better. Before too long the others were laughing or chuckling too, even Koji and Matt were cracking small smiles. It was nice to release the tension in the air.
It was Superstarmon that finally interrupted the brief moment of reprieve. "Well, as glad as I am that we're all in one peace...we still gotta tell Dianamon what happened here today if she doesn't already know."
Grizzlymon nodded, "We will also need to seek out those that fled the village and make sure they are safe." The large bear digimon sighed, looking up at the darkening sky as Yggdrasil's light started to soften into what passed for darkness in this world. "I believe, however, that such a task will have to wait for morning." She looked at the boys, "I thank you for your help today, Superstarmon and I could not have dealt with such numbers if not for you. Davis and Ken told us you were sent here by Dianamon to replenish yourselves before setting off for the desert. I am afraid we cannot offer you the same hospitality she would want us to, but we can still try to make your night as comfortable as possible."
The boys exchanged glances. There were mixed feelings all around as some of the boys didn't want to impose on a village that had just lost everything, but others knew they couldn't press on without some rest. Their digimon had been fighting for so long today and digimon like Guilmon and Agumon had taken a pretty bad beating. "Thanks, we need to talk about some things tonight anyway." Tai finally said, speaking up for everyone. Superstarmon and Grizzlymon nodded.
"We'll go see what we can get for some dinner round here. Grizzlymon and I know the woods pretty well so it won't take us long. You guys can work on settin' up a camp site. Come on Grizzlymon, we might find some of our friends while we're out." The star digimon started walking back into the forest, followed by Grizzlymon.
As soon as they were out of sight, Tai turned to the group, "Let's find a place to sit down and clear away debris. Takuya and I have a lot to tell you and I want to hear about what happened here while we were stuck in the woods."
The boys finally settled in a collection of buildings on the outskirts of the village that were made of stone and had not completely collapsed during the fire barrage. They still had to clean out some debris, but it would be a decent place to sleep for the night and Dianamon had provided them with mats to sleep on during their travels so at least they would have something between them and the ground. Despite the fact that most of the boys had seen more than enough fire for the day, Tai had Agumon start a mini-camp fire so that they could cook whatever Superstarmon and Grizzlymon brought back and also to light their way.
Once the camp was set up, Matt began to tell Tai what had happened during their separation, with help from Henry who was the one that had figured out it was a diversion. Tai and Takuya picked up from there, relating the events against SkullMeramon. Everyone was amazed by what Takuya had done, even Koji. But, after a moment, Koji looked over to Takuya, "It's not the first time you've done that though, Takuya."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Takuya was pretty sure he would have remembered bursting into flames before without being a digimon.
Koji sighed; it was a difficult memory for him. "Back during our first trip...when we first became Susanoomon after Koichi gave me the spirits of Darkness. I was a little preoccupied at the time, but I do remember you summoning the power of fire and surrounding us in it just before we became Susanoomon. I don't know if this is the same, but it is a time when you called flames without being in a digimon form."
"Oh yeah, I remember that now. I guess I always thought it was because I was about to become a new digimon that I burst into flames like that. So, you think the two are related? But, I still don't get how I was able to do it. And it wasn't just controlling the flames, I was able to sense the fire earlier too, remember."
"You were always better about that sensing the elements stuff though," Koji replied.
"Regardless," Henry interrupted, he didn't know much about Koji or Takuya's adventure but he still felt that this was different, "I think this has more to do with what Dianamon told us. You and Koji are part digimon so it will be easier for you to access whatever hidden powers she was talking about...what I want to know is how it's going to affect the rest of us. Usually we just act as support for our digimon...but does this mean we're going to have to fight directly?"
Takato, who was rubbing Guilmon's head as the digimon slept, looked up, "Well that's not true Henry. We've been more than just support before too." Everyone looked at him now and Takato hesitated. He didn't like being the center of attention sometimes, but he continued, "I mean. Henry and I, in the past, we were able to digivolve with our digimon. I don't know what hidden power Dianamon might have been talking about, but I have a feeling it might be related to that where we're concerned." Henry looked skeptical so Takato added, "I know we haven't TRIED to become Gallantmon or MegaGargomon but we're in the digital world so it SHOULD be possible right?" Takato could tell that Henry didn't have an answer for that.
Things were so different here that it might NOT be possible for humans and digimon to become one. Takato glanced at Takuya and Koji, there presence and ability, however, gave him hope that he WOULD be able to do it eventually. He rested his hand on Guilmon's head; he had to have faith in his partner. Dianamon had emphasized the fact that they had to trust each other and that trust would lead them towards the awakening of their new powers. Takato just wished he had a better idea of what those abilities or powers might be.
Davis shook his head, "Man you guys are so lucky. Getting to turn IN to Digimon, fighting with your digimon. I wish I could help Veemon like that."
Veemon gave his partner a sympathetic smile, "But you do help, Davish. I couldn't armor digivolve or DNA digivolve with Wormmon if it weren't for you."
Ken nodded, "It must have been pretty frightening for them too. Can you imagine fighting in half of the battles we did as digimon?" Ken shuddered at the thought, but Davis still felt like he would like to fight with Veemon instead of just being support and a source of strength.
Henry saw the look in his eyes and sighed, "It was pretty scary sometimes, and dangerous, but I can kind of see where Davis is coming from. Sometimes just watching Terriermon fight and giving him boost cards wasn't enough."
Before much more could be said, Grizzlymon and Superstarmon returned with food. It was mostly vegetables and fruit they had collected and the group quickly dug in. Everyone was hungry after the day they had just had and after the meeting all of them were left with their own thoughts as they ate.
Grizzlymon and Superstarmon sensed the tension in the air among the boys, so they too remained silent as they ate. Despite the state of their village they were quite pleased, during their gathering of food they had run into a number of digimon who had formerly lived in the village and who were planning to return in the morning to start rebuilding. There were many who had been lost, but it was reassuring to know that the villagers had not been completely wiped out. They had even found someone willing to go to Dianamon's fort and give her an update on what had happened.
After everyone was finished eating, they all settled in for a long and restless night.
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen/Adventure
Word Count: 3354
Pairings or Characters:Tai, Koji, Henry, Davis, Ken, Takato, Takuya, and Matt + their digimon
Warnings: Spoilers for all seasons.
Summary: The core of all digital worlds is in danger of being consumed by chaos. The only ones who can save it are the Chosen Children.
Note: Eventually this will involve seasons 1-4 of digimon, but it may contain elements from other seasons/aspects of Digimon. It can also be followed here.
Previously: Episode 01 ,Episode 02 ,Episode 03 , Episode 04,
Episode 05, Episode 06, Episode 07, Episode 08
Episode 09: Ashes and Aftermath
A figure deep in the shade of the trees watched the trio of boys wander away. He had witnessed the entire fight and while his face was hidden by his robe and the shade of the trees, his very aura spoke of frustration and rage. He was NOT happy with the results and as soon as the boys and their digimon were far enough away he stepped forward, crossing the clearing to where SkullMeramon laid unconscious.
"You pathetic worm. I ask you to commit one simple task as one of my soldiers and all you can manage is this?" The voice was the same gravely one that has given Flybeemon the command to execute plan Delta-One. The figure reached down and grabbed the large SkullMeramon easily by the throat hefting him up, "Wake up you fool! I will not let you die just yet."
SkullMeramon stirred, though he didn't want to. His head was buzzing and everything was fuzzy. "Where? Huh?" The brutal digimon from earlier looked dazed and a little less vicious.
The robed figure growled, eyes glowing deep within the shadows of his cloak and something strange happened. His glowing eyes matched with his aura, a deep, dark red. This glow passed from him to SkullMeramon and the digimon's demeanor immediately changed. His eyes snapped back into focus and he looked down at the figure holding him by the throat, torn between anger and fear as to what this robed figure was going to do to him. "Master! Let me go! I can explain what happened! You must know about the children."
"I already know about the children you fool. I saw you incompetently fight them and lose to a mere boy." SkullMeramon opened his mouth to say something but all he managed was a strangled gurgle as the figure tightened his hand around the digimon's throat, "No, I am not done speaking. I SAW that the boy managed to summon a digisoul. I do not care what that means only that you failed to snuff it out before it could grant him his true power. You should have known better than to fail at crushing them SkullMeramon. I gave you all the resources you would need. I should be standing over the charred remains of this forest and perhaps even the charred remains of a few digidestined and instead I must now deal with them discovering the untapped power Yggdrasil has blessed them with."
The figure's red aura pulsed dangerously. True, he had the power to destroy them and he had let them walk away, but he did not want to reveal himself in this early stage. If they had been destroyed in SkullMeramon's flames it would have been easier, but the figure had his own plans and they were very complicated indeed. After all, he had a war to start and there were many ways to go about it. He knew that he would have an opportunity to snuff them out again once they reached Apollomon's palace. What troubled him was the boy with the power of flames. It seemed too soon for them to be getting their powers, but perhaps he had misread the signs. Perhaps Yggdrasil was getting more desperate to make a move against the growing darkness than they had given him credit for, after all the god was not exactly known for acting swiftly.
He turned his eyes back up to SkullMeramon. The digidestined aside, he would need to deal with this failure first. SkullMeramon was expendable and if he could not use his power as he was supposed to then the figure would just have to take it from him. Without warning the robed figure deleted SkullMeramon and the blue data floated before him in the air before being absorbed by him, his dark red aura glowing brightly for a brief moment before it returned to a dull, aching throb. See? SkullMeramon could still be useful for aiding to his own power. "Conquer or die. That is the motto you should have remembered, SkullMeramon."
A buzzing sound interrupted his thoughts and he looked up to see Flybeemon descending from the sky. She saluted once before speaking, "What are your orders, Master?"
"Call off the attack and tell them to head back to Tartarus. The village is wiped from the earth and we have made our point enough. Everyone will know where those digimon originated from and the war should start just as planned. We must spread discord on both sides if we want this to turn out as brutal as possible."
Flybeemon bowed and then took off into the skies again. The figure watched her leave before turning to go as well. He had somewhere else he needed to be, especially if he was going to outwit and outmaneuver the children.
Elsewhere in the forest, just outside the remains of Asphodel Village, Koji followed Matt and Henry into the woods. They had seen the fires spreading there and knew that Tai and the others were still out there somewhere. All three of them were worried since they knew that despite Greymon's and Growlmon's size they should have made it to the village by now. While none of them wanted to say it, they had a feeling that the boys had been ambushed during the fire attack.
Koji frowned and resisted the urge to look over his shoulder at the burned out village. He'd seen entire sections of the Digital World wiped out in the blink of an eye, but somehow seeing an entire village burn at the hands of other digimon was worse. It was...unsettling how brutal and uncaring the whole army had been. It was one thing for there to be one or two evil digimon, but Koji had a hard time believing that so many would act so vicious like that. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right about it but didn't say anything because he wouldn't be able to explain why he felt that way exactly. This was a new Digital World after all, what did he know about how it operated?
The other two boys were strangely quiet as well, except when one of them called out for Tai or Takato. Terriermon was perched atop Henry's head and Gabumon walked next to Matt, as both sniffed the air for signs of their friends. Koji doubted they could smell anything over all the scent of burnt trees and the like, but kept this to himself as well. Even though he appeared calm, he couldn't help but also be worried about Takuya. His friend had been acting strange lately and now he, Tai, and Takato were nowhere to be found. What if something had happened to them during the attack? It was possible they'd been ambushed by the army that had infiltrated the forest. Koji liked to believe that Takuya could handle anything, but it was difficult to reassure himself of that when Takuya had seemed so odd earlier.
"Look!" Terriermon shouted, pointing one of his small paws towards the sky. On command all three boys and Gabumon followed Terriermon's gaze towards the sky. Several Birdramon carrying various fire digimon in their claws were flying back towards the village and past it, presumably towards the desert and Apollomon's lands.
Koji frowned, "I thought they were planning to burn the forest down." He looked back to his two companions and they appeared just as troubled as he was.
"I thought so too. They aren't stopping at the village either. I guess we left Ken and Davis back there for nothing," Henry muttered, following the path of the digimon as they flew over them. It was like a mass retreat. It didn't make sense to retreat though. What opposition had they had?
"Maybe Dianamon intervened," Gabumon finally said, his voice optimistic.
"It could be," Matt replied, "but let's get back to our own search. This just means we don't have to worry about Tai or the others getting attacked."
"Unless they already were attacked," Koji muttered, loud enough to be heard.
"You have so much faith in me, Koji," a voice replied. The boys turned and broke into grins as they saw Tai, Takuya, and Takato coming out of the woodwork. The smiles fell a little, however, when they saw that Tai was carrying Agumon and Takuya and Takato had Guilmon hefted between them.
Terriermon hopped down from Henry's head and popped over to the three, landing in front of Guilmon, "What happened to him? I didn't' think anything could take Guilmon out. His head is thicker than concrete"
Takato gave a strained smile, trying to stay upbeat despite the state of his partner, "He'll be okay. He's just exhausted from fighting I think." Only a half truth, Takato had seen the beating Guilmon had taken and just didn't want to talk about it. "We should get to the village though and rest, get him something to eat."
A strained silence fell over Koji and the others. Tai sensed it and looked to Matt, "What happened?"
Matt looked Tai straight in the eyes. There was no point beating around the bush, "There is no village." A stunned silence fell over the three, they had seen the smoke of course but they had figured there might still be some parts of the village left. There was nothing that could be said and the boys and the digimon stood somberly wondering what they were supposed to do next.
It was Tai that finally spoke up. They couldn't just stand here. He adjusted his hold on Agumon and then looked at each of the others, "We have a lot to talk about and our digimon are injured. The village might be gone but we should head there anyway." He paused and looked at Matt, "I'm assuming Ken and Davis are there?" Matt nodded so Tai continued, "We'll meet up with them there and discuss our next move. If we can...maybe we can help some of the villagers with their injuries as well."
The group returned to the village remains in a somber mood. True the attacks were over and the fires were mostly put out, but each of them still felt the weight of the loss. The forest was so quiet now and the smell of smoke and ash did little to comfort them. Matt and the others hadn't gone far from the village and were greeted by the sight of Ken and Davis standing near a broken wall with their digimon, plus Superstarmon and Grizzlymon. Davis perked up as soon as he saw his older counterpart, "Tai! Hey, you're okay!" He made to run forward but hesitated when he saw the state of the digimon. His expression changed from one of happiness to one of determination and he ran over, "Is everything okay? What happened to you guys?"
Tai glanced at the two younger boys who had been with him before setting Agumon down. "We ran into a little trouble in the forest...but thanks to Agumon, Guilmon, and Takuya we managed it." Tai glanced down at Agumon as the rookie digimon rubbed his head, "Feeling any better?"
"Yeah, thanks for carrying me Tai."
"No problem." Tai looked to Guilmon and his partner and smiled, "Hey it looks like he's waking up."
Takato jerked his attention to Guilmon as the large red dinosaur stirred between him and Takuya. He let out a low groan, his nose twitching, "Takato...Guilmon is hungry." As if in response to this comment Guilmon's stomach let out a long, loud growl. Takato couldn't help it, he started laughing. He knew the situation was a somber one and they were standing right outside the remains of a village that had been attacked and ravaged...but hearing his partner utter his usual complaint just made Takato feel ten times better. Before too long the others were laughing or chuckling too, even Koji and Matt were cracking small smiles. It was nice to release the tension in the air.
It was Superstarmon that finally interrupted the brief moment of reprieve. "Well, as glad as I am that we're all in one peace...we still gotta tell Dianamon what happened here today if she doesn't already know."
Grizzlymon nodded, "We will also need to seek out those that fled the village and make sure they are safe." The large bear digimon sighed, looking up at the darkening sky as Yggdrasil's light started to soften into what passed for darkness in this world. "I believe, however, that such a task will have to wait for morning." She looked at the boys, "I thank you for your help today, Superstarmon and I could not have dealt with such numbers if not for you. Davis and Ken told us you were sent here by Dianamon to replenish yourselves before setting off for the desert. I am afraid we cannot offer you the same hospitality she would want us to, but we can still try to make your night as comfortable as possible."
The boys exchanged glances. There were mixed feelings all around as some of the boys didn't want to impose on a village that had just lost everything, but others knew they couldn't press on without some rest. Their digimon had been fighting for so long today and digimon like Guilmon and Agumon had taken a pretty bad beating. "Thanks, we need to talk about some things tonight anyway." Tai finally said, speaking up for everyone. Superstarmon and Grizzlymon nodded.
"We'll go see what we can get for some dinner round here. Grizzlymon and I know the woods pretty well so it won't take us long. You guys can work on settin' up a camp site. Come on Grizzlymon, we might find some of our friends while we're out." The star digimon started walking back into the forest, followed by Grizzlymon.
As soon as they were out of sight, Tai turned to the group, "Let's find a place to sit down and clear away debris. Takuya and I have a lot to tell you and I want to hear about what happened here while we were stuck in the woods."
The boys finally settled in a collection of buildings on the outskirts of the village that were made of stone and had not completely collapsed during the fire barrage. They still had to clean out some debris, but it would be a decent place to sleep for the night and Dianamon had provided them with mats to sleep on during their travels so at least they would have something between them and the ground. Despite the fact that most of the boys had seen more than enough fire for the day, Tai had Agumon start a mini-camp fire so that they could cook whatever Superstarmon and Grizzlymon brought back and also to light their way.
Once the camp was set up, Matt began to tell Tai what had happened during their separation, with help from Henry who was the one that had figured out it was a diversion. Tai and Takuya picked up from there, relating the events against SkullMeramon. Everyone was amazed by what Takuya had done, even Koji. But, after a moment, Koji looked over to Takuya, "It's not the first time you've done that though, Takuya."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Takuya was pretty sure he would have remembered bursting into flames before without being a digimon.
Koji sighed; it was a difficult memory for him. "Back during our first trip...when we first became Susanoomon after Koichi gave me the spirits of Darkness. I was a little preoccupied at the time, but I do remember you summoning the power of fire and surrounding us in it just before we became Susanoomon. I don't know if this is the same, but it is a time when you called flames without being in a digimon form."
"Oh yeah, I remember that now. I guess I always thought it was because I was about to become a new digimon that I burst into flames like that. So, you think the two are related? But, I still don't get how I was able to do it. And it wasn't just controlling the flames, I was able to sense the fire earlier too, remember."
"You were always better about that sensing the elements stuff though," Koji replied.
"Regardless," Henry interrupted, he didn't know much about Koji or Takuya's adventure but he still felt that this was different, "I think this has more to do with what Dianamon told us. You and Koji are part digimon so it will be easier for you to access whatever hidden powers she was talking about...what I want to know is how it's going to affect the rest of us. Usually we just act as support for our digimon...but does this mean we're going to have to fight directly?"
Takato, who was rubbing Guilmon's head as the digimon slept, looked up, "Well that's not true Henry. We've been more than just support before too." Everyone looked at him now and Takato hesitated. He didn't like being the center of attention sometimes, but he continued, "I mean. Henry and I, in the past, we were able to digivolve with our digimon. I don't know what hidden power Dianamon might have been talking about, but I have a feeling it might be related to that where we're concerned." Henry looked skeptical so Takato added, "I know we haven't TRIED to become Gallantmon or MegaGargomon but we're in the digital world so it SHOULD be possible right?" Takato could tell that Henry didn't have an answer for that.
Things were so different here that it might NOT be possible for humans and digimon to become one. Takato glanced at Takuya and Koji, there presence and ability, however, gave him hope that he WOULD be able to do it eventually. He rested his hand on Guilmon's head; he had to have faith in his partner. Dianamon had emphasized the fact that they had to trust each other and that trust would lead them towards the awakening of their new powers. Takato just wished he had a better idea of what those abilities or powers might be.
Davis shook his head, "Man you guys are so lucky. Getting to turn IN to Digimon, fighting with your digimon. I wish I could help Veemon like that."
Veemon gave his partner a sympathetic smile, "But you do help, Davish. I couldn't armor digivolve or DNA digivolve with Wormmon if it weren't for you."
Ken nodded, "It must have been pretty frightening for them too. Can you imagine fighting in half of the battles we did as digimon?" Ken shuddered at the thought, but Davis still felt like he would like to fight with Veemon instead of just being support and a source of strength.
Henry saw the look in his eyes and sighed, "It was pretty scary sometimes, and dangerous, but I can kind of see where Davis is coming from. Sometimes just watching Terriermon fight and giving him boost cards wasn't enough."
Before much more could be said, Grizzlymon and Superstarmon returned with food. It was mostly vegetables and fruit they had collected and the group quickly dug in. Everyone was hungry after the day they had just had and after the meeting all of them were left with their own thoughts as they ate.
Grizzlymon and Superstarmon sensed the tension in the air among the boys, so they too remained silent as they ate. Despite the state of their village they were quite pleased, during their gathering of food they had run into a number of digimon who had formerly lived in the village and who were planning to return in the morning to start rebuilding. There were many who had been lost, but it was reassuring to know that the villagers had not been completely wiped out. They had even found someone willing to go to Dianamon's fort and give her an update on what had happened.
After everyone was finished eating, they all settled in for a long and restless night.