In a strange, unknown location, six figures stood around a strange orb of light.
That orb was showing various battles, that had taken place throughout the Digital World. One scene was of Flamedramon, battling against Monochromon. The next showed Veedramon, battling against a Shellmon on the beach. It then changed to show Flamedramon, battling alongside an Agunimon against Armormon and a Landramon. And finally, it showed ExVeemon as he wrestled against a Stingmon.
Each of these scenarios had one thing in common. They were all ones involving Flash's Veemon.
"The long lost line has finally been restored," one of the figures stated. "The Codex Commanders have already scanned him and placed his Data back into the Data Stream. Digimon will finally be able to Digivolve into him and his evolutions."
"Our numbers can finally become whole again," a female voice answered. "But it will still take time."
"Time which we may not have," a gruff voice stated. "The Digital World is entering a new stage of conflict. It won't be long before the Dragon Soul Stones begin to appear. We must be at full power to aid in their retrieval."
"Then we must find a way to convince this Digimon to join our ranks," a rather posh voice stated.
"But he has a human partner now," the only non-humanoid figure stated. "You know a Digimon with a partner can't permanently Digivolve past Rookie. Even if he has the power, their system won't allow it."
"Humans," the gruff voice growled, "they've been an issue since they first got here."
"That's a bit harsh," the final, winged, member stated. "The humans might have caused a few problems, but they've helped a lot as well. I mean...watch them." They watched the orb, as the humans and Digimon helped free the Monmon from their captors. "I'm sure if we talked to them, the human and his partner will see the importance of Veemon joining."
"And how exactly would we talk to them?" The female figure asked. "Even if we invite them here, what reason would they have to trust us?"
"You forget, I have an in with him." They looked up and watched, as Veedramon and Kabuterimon fought against the aquatic Digimon. The scene then changed to show Flash and Micro. "I can get them to trust us." He turned to the first figure, "what do you say?"
The figure stepped closer to the orb, its light finally illuminating him as a around fifteen foot tall individual whose body was composed of white armor. His arms were either blue or orange and instead of a hand, each arm had the head of a wolf or dragon on it. A red cape flowed down his back.
The figure stared at the image of Flash and Veemon. "I say we had better get in contact with the Codex Commanders."
It was another fun-filled day at Codex and everyone was enjoying themselves.
Flash, Micro, Sandal, Trixie, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Thorax and their Digimon were all gathered. They were currently celebrating a string of wins from several of them, with Flash, Fluttershy and Thorax enjoying the use of their new Digimon to claim victory.
Pinkie was currently making a joke that got them all laughing, as they enjoyed the burgers and fries they could eat without needing to worry about calories.
But their excitement was cut short, when a beam of light appeared beside them. This caught their attention, as Gennai stepped out of the light. "Greetings, Codex Players."
"Hey Gennai," Flash smirked. "You come to celebrate with us?"
"Sadly, no. The work of a Codex Commander is never ending, so we don't really get to party like you players all do."
"That's horrible," Pinkie gasped. "You guys should unionize and demand paid vacation." She seemed to be forgetting that the Codex Commanders had no bosses to demand that from.
"Maybe we will. But right now, I'm here on Digimon business." A holographic screen appeared in front of him and he pressed a few buttons, causing Flash and Micro's Digivices to beep. "You two have been invited to a meeting in the Digital World."
"A meeting?" Flash asked, as he and Micro checked their Digivices.
"Some-mon in the Digital World wants to meet you. They asked us to act as the go between, since a random Digimon inviting a human somewhere might be seen as sketchy."
"Who wants to meet them?" Twilight asked, curious why Flash and Micro of all people would be invited.
"I've been asked not to say. But, I can assure you they can be trusted. I'd suggest going to see them, since you could end up getting quite a rare scan of them." The group became interested at this statement, the lot smiling as Gennai bid a farewell and teleported away.
"What do you think?" Flash asked Micro and the Digimon.
Micro hummed, but Veemon stood up. "I say we go. They invited us and Gennai said they could be trusted. It'd be rude to ignore them." Tentomon nodded as Micro thought about it some more.
"Yeah," he finally nodded, "let's go." Flash nodded as Micro checked the invite. "Says here we're both allowed to bring one friends and their Digimon."
"Really?" Flash looked at the invite and saw he was right. "What is this, a Digimon cocktail party?"
"Who cares!?" Trixie cried, "who you gonna bring?" Flash and Micro hummed, unsure who should come with them. The others were all giving them a look that said they wanted to go and neither of them could pick one, Twilight eventually having an idea.
"Let's play Data, Virus, Vaccine." Flash was confused by this until Twilight took out her Digivice, the others doing the same.
"Data, Virus, Vaccine?" He asked Micro, as the group paired up and started fiddling with their Digivices. Micro smirked as he held up his Digivice.
"It's like Rock, Paper, Scissors, only you use Digimon types instead." They watched as Twilight and Trixie showed each other their Digivice, Trixie cheering when her MagnaAngemon scan trounced a Betamon scan. The others all played and cut the number in half.
The winners kept playing against one another until, finally, only two were left. "YEAH!" Trixie, Sandal and their Digimon cheered, having won the chance to go wherever the heck they had been invited to. The others all looked bummed, but respected the game.
"Okay then," Flash led them all to the Digi-Port. "You guys all ready?" They nodded as Flash turned to the others, "we'll tell you what happens later." They nodded and once Flash and Micro sent the other two a transport link, they ported to the location.
In a bright flash of light, the four and their Digimon all appeared in a rocky environment.
As the light faded, they looked around and saw they were standing atop a large mountain. The word large wasn't even the proper word to describe it, as the mountain was absolutely huge. It wasn't insanely tall, probably around ten miles, but the size of it was enough to fit an entire city top it. And there was.
Truth be told, it was more like a massive castle. It was a large stone structure that was so large and pointed, you could mistake it for being the tip of the mountain. It was surrounded by a large stone wall that looked like it could survive a nucular bomb, with a single drawbridge entrance at the front of it.
"Wow," they all whispered in amazement. They never thought such an extravagant castle could exist, even in the Digital World. But despite how incredible it looked, Micro pulled his eyes away and looked around to take a glance at the surrounding environment.
"Wait a minute," he stated whilst taking a closer look. The others turned to him and watched, as he started pointing at spots in the distance and mumbling to himself. "If that's...and that's...then this is...I know this area."
"You do?" Trixie asked.
"Yeah, I've been here before. Heck, Tentomon and I have climbed this mountain."
Tentomon gasped, "you're right. But there wasn't a castle here last time."
"There wasn't anything here last time," Micro agreed. "We thought we'd find a really strong Digimon, but there wasn't anything here. Which was odd, since this place felt like a great area to claim." They turned back to the castle, "and this was not here last time. I would have noticed."
They all hummed at this, curious what could be going on. Then, Flash had a thought. "Do you think it's possible the castle's hidden? Like the jungle Veemon and I went to before. It looked like there was nothing but a huge desert, but when we found the entrance the jungle appeared. But it only appears when you go through that entrance."
"This place must be really special if it needs protection like that," Lunamon stated as Trixie squealed.
"Which means there must be a really strong Digimon inside!" They all stared up at the castle, excited to see what was inside. However, they quickly realised getting inside was gonna be an issue.
The section of the mountain they were on was broken away from the main top. Looking down over the edge, they saw a sixty foot drop going in a V formation, connecting it to the rest of the mountain. The gap between the two sections was almost as large as the wall was tall.
It was then that they realised the reason for the drawbridge, as in that moment the metal contraption slowly began to lower.
They all stepped backwards, as the drawbridge came down with the end slamming down on the rock. In the real world, this would have caused the section of the rock to shake and maybe break apart. But in the digital one, the rock didn't even shudder.
The pairs stepped across the drawbridge, on guard in case something leapt out at them.
They eventually reached the other side and passed through the gate, finding themselves in a large courtyard so big Flash's school could fit inside of it. And to their surprise, multiple Digimon could be found there.
Some were a bunch of round Digimon in metal armor, covered in leather vests with pummelled ponytails and dual wielding curved rapiers. Some were large fox-like Digimon, with bladed zig zag tails and adornments one would only see on a buddhist priest. And some looked like metal stars with eyes in the centre along with arms and legs.
Wizardmon also made up a part of the group, the Digimon all fighting against one another.
But it wasn't in a malicious way, it being clear from watching that they were simply sparing against one another. The sight of so many Digimon, training hard to fight in order to get stronger, was something Flash and his friends were all amazed to see.
They stepped into the courtyard and as they did, the Digimon stopped their spars and turned to them.
One of the Gladimon rushed forward, pointing his swords at them. "Who are you? Why did you come here?" The humans gulped as the Digimon prepared for a fight, Flash not wanting this to be how their introductions began.
"Hold on!" Flash told them, "we were invited here." The Digimon looked at them, suspiciously. But before they could decide whether to believe them or not, a voice called out to them.
"Lower your blade." They all looked around and saw another Digimon step out of the entrance to the castle. This Digimon was a tall humanoid wearing silver knight armor, with a sword and shield strapped to his back.
"Our lords are expecting them," the Digimon announced. The Champions all nodded at this and stepped aside, creating a path that the visitors could walk through. "Welcome," he told them. "My lords will be happy to learn you accepted their invitation." He gestured to the building. "Please, follow me."
The eight of them headed into the castle, the Digimon known as Knightmon leading them towards its great hall. "This place is amazing!" Micro cried, "look at the architecture of the place."
"The King of England doesn't even live in such an amazing place," Trixie smiled. "How the heck did we not know this place existed?"
"Only a select few are allowed in here," Knightmon explained. "Our lords require their privacy in order to conduct their work to the best of their ability."
"Your lords?" Veemon asked, "they're the ones that asked us to come here?" Knightmon nodded, as they began to ascend a flight of stairs. "Who are they? And why did they want us to come here?" The others were hoping they would also get the answers to those questions.
"You'll see soon enough." Knightmon then looked down at him. "But they're very excited to see you in particular." This didn't surprise them, given Veemon's status as a rare and long lost Digimon. They arrived at the top of the stairs and found themselves at a set of large doors, which were just as well detailed as the rest of the castle. "Here we are."
"So the ones who invited us here are behind these doors?" Flash asked, Knightmon nodding.
"I must leave you now. I wish you all a good day. And...good luck." He walked off, leaving the humans and their partners to stare up at the doorway. They were all a little nervous, fearing what they might find on the other side.
"Well," Trixie turned to them, "we can't stand here all day." The boys sighed, knowing she was right. As such, Flash lead the march towards the doors. And as they approached, the doors began to open on their own.
As they opened, a bright light filled the air and the group were blinded as they stepped forward. But despite the light, they were able to look ahead and see a bunch of stone thrones located inside the room. And as they got closer, they realised six of the thrones had someone sitting in them.
The figures in the large thrones were all staring down at them, as they reached the centre of the throom.
"Welcome," one of them spoke in a booming voice, "we are glad to see you accepted our invitation. Now that you're here, we can get down to business."
"Right," Flash was still trying to see who was even taking, "but before that...could you maybe turn down the lights? We have no idea who we're actually talking too." The figure who spoke raised an arm and as they did, the windows that were unleashing the light had blinds lowered.
This darkened the room, but enough light still filled it to allow them to see. And when they all looked up, they were shocked by who they were staring at.
They were all knightly Digimon in appearance, each of them wearing armor with some carrying weapons on them. They all stood between fifteen and twenty meters in height, giving them a serious presence.
The first was a purple Digimon in dark blue armor, with black trim and skull emblems covering it. He was carrying a double ended spear and a large shield on his back, with the same skull emblem as his armor.
The next Digimon was also purple, only he seemed to be wearing white armor with gold trim. On his back were a pair of purple dragon wings, whilst large red orbs could be seen on the palms of his large purple clawed hands.
The third Digimon was white in colour, but was almost completely covered in pink armor that had long yellow ribbons coming off of their back and shoulders that were made entirely of flexible metal. On her right arm was a large yellow shield, with a blue gem in the centre and a pinkie cross around it.
After that was a Digimon in brown and white armor, looking like a victorian suit, with a pair of small white wings on their back. Their helmet was shaped like a big cat's and a red sash was tied around their waist. This sash was also holding a silver rapier.
Then there was the least humanoid of the Digimon, this one appearing more like a centaur. They appeared to be a large three-legged horse, with the horse's head forming the chest as the arms stuck out the side and the Digimon's real head appearing to also be horse-like. It had a large waft of purple hair and a long white tail, with a large shield covering its right arm and crossbow strapped to its left.
FInally, there was the sixth member of the group. A Digimon that any fan worth their salt would recognise in the blink of an eye. The almost robotic Digimon with differently colours arms. "Omnimon," Flash could hardly believe it. The others were just as amazed, taking in the sight of each Digimon.
"Craniamon and Dynasmon," Micro whispered seeing the first two.
"Crusadermon and Duftmon," Trixie continued.
"And Kentaurosmon too," Sandal finished. The Digimon all stared down at them, as everything suddenly clicked into place for them. The Digimon training outside were all Digimon that could turn into a specific group. A group famous in the Digital World.
"The Royal Knights," Flash could hardly believe it. Their Digimon all looked just as amazed as their partners, whilst Omnimon stood up.
"As you said, we are the Royal Knights. The Digimon who protect the Digital World from all manner of devastating threats. We welcome you here, to our domain."
"A castle," Trixie looked around. "We probably should have seen this coming."
"I just never thought we'd actually get to meet the real Royal Knights," Micro stated. "You guys are legends. There's not a single Codex Player with a scan of any of you guys."
"We are Digimon of great power," Crusadermon explained. "We do not let that power be given to anyone so easily." She crossed her arms, "you are the first humans to ever set foot in this castle." The four looked at one another, amazed by that announcement.
"Um..." Flash looked back at them, "we're...honoured."
Dynasmon stood up and stepped forward, moving over to them as his body glowed. After a few moments, he began to shrink down until he was roughly fifteen feet tall. This surprised them, not realising Digimon had that ability, whilst Dynasmon knelt in front of one of them.
"Micro Chips," he stated in an almost cheerful manner. "It's good to see you again."
Micro was shocked by this announcement. "Um...have we met before?"
"Come now. I know I've changed, but do you really not recognise me? After all that time we were together in the Castle of Dark Illusion." Micro let those words sink in and his eyes went wide, as he realised who this Digimon must have been.
"Mistymon?"
He laughed and stood up. "That is what I used to be called, but now I am Dynasmon. A Royal Knight who protects the Digital World. I am glad we were able to meet again."
"Same here," Tentomon stated. "We were worried about you after you vanished." The other Royal Knights all stood up and started glowing, resulting in them all shrinking down to be between twelve and seventeen feet. "Since when can Digimon do that?"
"Being Royal Knights gives us certain privileges," Craniamon announced. "But we did not summon you here for small talk or to show off our abilities."
Omnimon stepped forward and knelt down in front of Veemon. "We have been watching you for a long time. Since the day you were released from beneath the Digimental."
"You were?" Veemon asked, "why?"
"What do you know of your species?" Omnimon asked, but Veemon frowned showing he didn't know anything. "Aside from being an ancient and rare Digimon, your heritage has a strong connection to the Royal Knights."
"It does?" Veemon asked, "how?" Omnimon stood up and turned to the other Knights, the lot of them nodding before they all stepped towards their thrones. The others had a feeling they should also step aside, quickly moving over to stand beside the knights.
Moments later, the floor in the room began to descend. It split into sections and one by one, they moved downwards to create a stone staircase, which connected to another staircase beneath the throne room. As soon as the last step was lowered into place, the knights moved towards it and began to descend.
The others followed after, finding that each step was at least six foot tall. This caused them to need to sit and slowly lower themselves down so as to not break anything, meaning it took them a while to reach the bottom with the rest of the knights.
Once at the bottom, they were lead down a tunnel light by torches and eventually came to a set of stone doors.
Said stone doors were large and each had six stone squares carved into it, with a different emblem inside each one. Some of the emblems were the same as the emblems on the Royal Knights, such as Craniamon's skull, Kentaurosmon's S and Omnimon's fusion of the Crest of Courage and another Crest.
They stared at the emblems that weren't on the Royal Knights, like a strange M-shaped one and another that were four triangles put together to make a fifth pyramid. They had a feeling those belonged to the other Royal Knights, wondering which one was which.
The doors began to open and the Royal Knights lead them inside. They soon found themselves in a large circular room, with many square tablets lining the wall that had images carved into them. "What is this place?" Micro asked, as Dynasmon stepped over to one of them.
"This is the chamber that holds our history. How the Royal Knights came to be. We tell it to all our members so we never forget where we came from." They nodded, as Dynasmon gestured to what they assumed was the first tablet in the story. This tablet showed a strange looking tree, which was covered in light. "Long ago, when the Digital World was young, it was governed by a wise and mighty ruler. Yggdrasil."
"Yggdrasil?" Lunamon whispered, "I've never heard of that Digimon."
"He wasn't a Digimon," Duftmon explained. "He was a being beyond a mere Digimon. The one who made sure the Digital World ran smoothly and was a place where Digimon could live without worry."
Omnimon nodded as he carried on the story. "Yggdrasil kept the world safe, allowing any Digimon to live so long as it did not endanger the balance of the world. But when a Digimon did become a threat, Yggdrasil used his power to delete them and bring order back to the world."
"I'm not sure if that makes him a tyrant or not," Trixie gulped. "You said it was the ruler of the world. But it's not anymore?" The knights nodded, "what happened to him?"
"We're getting to that," Crusadermon replied. "One day, an evil Digimon appeared that was destruction incarnate." She showed them a tablet that had some kind of creature on it, its body appearing long with many spindly legs. "It was known as the World Breaker and nothing Yggdrasil did could destroy it."
"Seriously?" Flash asked, "the most powerful creature in the Digital World and it couldn't stop this thing? How powerful was it?"
"Very," Dynasmon explained. "But its power wasn't the issue. It had some way of blocking Yggdrasil's ability to delete Digimon with a snap of its finger. Yggdrasil could have destroyed it, if it descended upon the Digital World. But doing so, would have likely ripped the world apart." They gulped again at this. "Instead, Yggdrasil did the only thing it could. It created a Digimon, powerful enough to protect the Digital World from the World Breaker. One it would entrust almost all its power to, along with the ability to wield it without destroying the world."
Omnimon stepped up to a tablet, showing what appeared to be a knightly looking figure with wings, a sword and light flowing off its body. "And thus, Imperialdramon was born."
Veemon stared at the image, amazed as he felt a sense of connection to it. "Imperialdramon."
"That's right," Duftmon nodded. "Imperialdramon descended upon the world in its darkest hour and with its mighty light, it was able to destroy the World Breaker and save the Digital World. But in doing so, Yggdrasil was lost. With most of its power gone, the great being faded from existence."
"Yikes," Flash nodded. "So what happened to Imperialdramon? With all that power, it must have felt a lot of pressure to carry on its master's duty."
"Exactly," Craniamon nodded. "Imperialdramon became the new protector of the Digital World. But without the same omnipotence that Yggdrasil possessed, he was unable to counter an evil before it could become a problem. Many dark and dangerous Digimon, came into existence and caused great mayhem to the world before Imperialdramon could stop it. So to protect their home, other Digimon began to fight back against the evil."
Kentaurosmon then trotted over to another tablet, showing three other Digimon. Two of them looked humanoid and another looked slightly rabbit-like. "Some of these Digimon were the three Celestial Angels. Seraphimon, Ophanimon and Cherubimon. Imperialdramon met them, as they were doing battle against an evil Digimon." The players and their Digimon looked at the next tablet.
This one showed the female member of the group on the ground, looking like it was about to be destroyed by a dark shadow. They then checked the next tablet and saw it showing Imperialdramon protecting the female angel, destroying the evil Digimon.
"Imperialdramon saved Ophanimon's life," Crusadermon explained. "And the three Celestial Angels joined forces with him to protect the Digital World." The next tablet then showed Imperialdramon and Ophanimon together, holding hands with three eggs around them. "In time, Ophanimon came to love her savoir and Imperialdramon loved her back. They came together and bore three children."
"Wait," Flash hadn't been expecting that, "Digimon can breed!?" The Royal Knights rolled their eyes.
"Of course we can breed," Craniamon stated. "How do you think so many different Digimon Variants exist? Digimon breed and create a new Digimon, which is a combo of its parents data. Usually, this just creates a Digimon that looks like one parent's rookie with the colours or assets of the other."
"Huh," Flash was surprised by this, "cool."
"Anyway," Omnimon pointed at the tablet. "The eggs hatched into a trio of Digimon. One of them eventually evolved into a Salamon, whilst the other two became...Veemon."
"What?" Veemon gasped, "how?"
"Imperialdramon is a dragonic Digimon by nature," Dynasmon replied. "Despite never being a Rookie, it's likely he passed on his data to his sons, who both used it to create the form you now exist in. Whether it is also Imperialdramon's Rookie, we don't know."
"So Veemon could Digivolve into an Imperialdramon?" Trixie asked, the knights nodding.
"Yes, though nobody knows which Ultimate Level he is able to Digivolve into it from." Duftmon continued the story. "Imperialdramon and Ophanimon raised their children, as they protected the Digital World. Many believed that Salamon would eventually Digivolve into Ophanimon, like her mother. But instead, she Digivolved into an entirely new Digimon." He showed them another tablet with a beastly dragon Digimon.
"Magnadramon," Flash realised.
"Yes." Crusadermon nodded. "Likely through inheriting her father's dragonic data, she created a new Mega Form that was a dragonic angel. She and her mother worked together to govern the world, whilst the Veemon watched as their father protected it from evil. But as time went on, Imperialdramon's power began to grow weaker. The power Yggdrasil gave him, slowly began to fade from him and he had a harder time protecting the Digital World."
"Ouch," Sandal flinched, "guess even Digimon can get old. So what happened?" Craniamon pointed at another tablet, showing the two Veemon fighting against one another.
"The Veemon, seeing their father's plight, began to train, so that they might Digivolve into warriors strong enough to protect their world, alongside their father." He pointed to another tablet, this one showing four Digimon with three of them being ones they all recognised. "The oldest discovered a great power within him. One that allowed him to overwrite his own data in times of great distress. This power became known as the Ulforce and with it, he was able to Digivolve faster than many Digimon should."
Veemon stepped up to the tablet and stared at the image that looked just like him. Behind him was Veedramon, with AeroVeedramon besides his champion. And behind them was a knightly figure that looked so incredibly powerful.
"Ulforce...Veedramon," he realised the name before he could even think.
"That's right," Omnimon nodded. Suddenly, the centre of the room open up and projected something into the air. That something was a holographic version of the Digimon that was on the tablet. Everyone was amazed by the sight before them, seeing the majesty of the Digimon in question.
"Wow," Flash couldn't believe it, "this is Veedramon's Mega Level?"
"That's right," Omnimon nodded. "And one of the first two Royal Knights to come into existence, along with his brother." The hologram changed to show what looked like Flamedramon, only his armor had been replaced by a set of golden armor that shined. "Magnamon."
"Magnamon?" Micro asked, "I've never heard of that Digimon. What's it's Ultimate and Champion forms?"
"It has none," Dynasmon explained. "Magnamon may have the power of a Mega, but he's actually an Armor Digimon." This amazed them, as Dynasmon turned to a tablet showing a Veemon standing next to a glowing rock. "The other brother, didn't inherit any great power and feared being left behind by his father and brother. Instead, he set out to find his own way to evolve into a great warrior."
"That was when he discovered a mysterious metal," Kentaurosmon explained as they stared at a tablet showing Veemon with a hammer. "With this mysterious golden metal, he crafted himself a set of armor. In a way, you could call it the first Battle Gear." The next tablet showed Veemon wearing the armor, with Magnamon standing behind him. "As soon as he adorned it, the armor's power flowed into him and he Digivolved into Magnamon."
Duftmon pointed to the next tablet, as the hologram of Magnamon vanished. "The two brothers, now strong enough to fight beside their father, entered the fray and proved themselves to be great warriors and heroes. So much so, that their father realised they could become greater guardians of the Digital World than him. As such, he chose to give the two a portion of Yggdrasil's power. In doing so, the pair were granted the title of Royal Knights."
"Wow," Flash smirked before turning to Veemon, "I guess heroics is in your code. Two of your possible evolutions are Royal Knights and you might even be able to Digivolve into the founder himself."
"I doubt that last part," Omnimon told him. "But you're right about Veemon being a Digimon with justice coded into his heart." He gestured to another tablet, showing outlines of other Digimon. "Seeing the great work the first two Royal Knights accomplished, Imperialdramon set out to find others that shared the ambition of protecting the Digital World. When he met a Digimon he felt he could trust the world's safety with, he granted them a small part of Yggdrasil's remaining power. And eventually, the Royal Knights were ten Digimon strong."
This confused the humans, as they looked around and Trixie started counting. "Omnimon, Craniamon, Crusadermon, Dynasmon, Duftmon and Kentaurosmon. Then there's Magnamon and UlforceVeedramon. That makes eight. So who are the other two?"
Omnimon chuckled. "Gallantmon, Gankoomon and Examon."
"But that's three?" Lunamon reminded. "You said there were ten."
"There were ten," Omnimon answered. "But another Royal Knight eventually came into being." He gestured to another tablet, showing Imperialdramon. The image didn't look as vibrant as before, as Imperialdramon now lacked the glow he had and was using his sword to keep himself up. "With every new knight he created, Imperialdramon's power diminished. Many begged him to stop, but he knew the Digital World needed the Royal Knights more than it needed him. But even he knew he was close to his limit and giving just two or three more Digimon the title of Royal Knight, could mean the end of him."
"So what happened?" Mangoramon asked, as Dynasmon pointed at another tablet. This one showed the image of a WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon.
"Two Mega Level Digimon, asked to join the Royal Knights. Both hoped to aspire to further Digivolve or be given the title as they were, but neither of them had what it took. Imperialdramon knew they both had potential, but lacked something that could make them a Royal Knight. But even without being Royal Knights, they vowed to protect the Digital World and travelled beside Imperialdramon, in order to protect those in need."
Omnimon stepped over to a tablet, which showed the image of a large horde of black figures. They were fighting against Imperialdramon, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, those staring at it unable to tell who was winning.
"Then, one day, they discovered a great danger had awakened. A Digimon that wished to cause utter devastation appeared. Imperialdramon recognised it as a descendant of the World Breaker. It was either a reincarnation or the remains of the World Breaker given form. It began to multiply and overwhelmed the Royal Knights, who were unable to find the original and were trapped facing the fakes."
They stepped over to the next tablet, showing Imperialdramon being stabbed by one of the evil figures. "Imperialdramon lost?" Flash asked, as the Knights nodded.
"Had he been in his prime, the monster wouldn't have had a chance." Omnimon stared at the tablet, "but after so many years and giving his power to so many others, he just couldn't stand up to the threat. He fell and was slowly being deleted. And as he did, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon fought against the evil only to be overwhelmed by the numbers and power."
The next tablet then showed the two Megas, fighting the dark figure. But they were being badly defeated, whilst Imperialdramon lay on the ground. After that, there was a tablet showing Imperialdramon glowing once again. The light seemed to be flowing off of him and into the two Megas.
"What's going on?" Veemon asked.
"Imperialdramon knew his end had arrived," Omnimon explained. "But instead of letting the power of Yggdrasil that remained be lost, he chose to give it all to the WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon." The next tablet showed the two Megas glowing, as a large figure was standing behind them. "It was in that moment, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon realised that what they were missing to become knights, was a quality the other possessed. And so, with the power granted to them, they performed the world's first DNA Digivolution."
They all stared at the next tablet, which showed Omnimon in all his glory.
"You?" Flash asked, turning to Omnimon. But the DNA Digimon shook his head.
"No. The first Omnimon was deleted a long time ago, much like the other Royal Knights. Maybe I was the original, but if I was, I don't remember being one." He gestured to another tablet, showing Omnimon destroying the dark figure. "The original Omnimon destroyed the evil Digimon and saved the Digital World, but the Royal Knights lost their greatest hero." The final tablet showed Imperialdramon, surrounded by the eleven Digimon knights. "Imperialdramon could not be saved and for his final act, he entrusted leadership of the Knights to Omnimon before being deleted."
The four humans and their Digimon stared at the final tablet in shock. "That's it?" Tentomon asked, "that's the end of the story?"
"Of course," Craniamon nodded. "What, you were expecting a happy ending? This isn't a fairytale. This is history. Everything you've seen really happened."
"Imperialdramon really gave his life, to let Omnimon come into existence?" Veemon realised.
"Exactly," Kentaurosmon knelt down next to him. "And since that day, the Royal Knights have protected the Digital World. But it hasn't always been easy."
"What happened to Imperialdramon?" Flash asked, "did he reincarnate in Primary Village."
"We don't know," Omnimon replied. "When a Digimon is deleted, they're reverted back to the egg and hatch into their Fresh Form with no memories of their former life. But there are many ways a Fresh Digimon can Digivolve. It's possible Imperialdramon Digivolved into a Veemon and might have even replaced his sons as Magnamon or UlforceVeedramon, after they were deleted. But it's also possible, he became an entirely different Digimon. I hate to say it, but he might have even Digivolved into an evil Digimon."
"I hope not," Trixie frowned. "That'd certainly be fall from grace." The others nodded, as Craniamon turned to Veemon.
"So now that you've learned of your heritage, will you follow in their footsteps?" This confused Veemon, as Kentaurosmon stood up.
"We didn't simply invite you here to learn the origins of the Royal Knights," he explained. "We wish for you to join us." That statement shocked them all, as Omnimon explained.
"We've tried to keep our ranks filled, but have not been whole for many centuries. We don't know why, but the Veemon line vanished. And with them, the only Digimon we knew that could become Magnamon or UlforceVeedramon. With your return, the Veemon species has been restored. New Chibimon and DemiVeemon have come into being, but they are many centuries from becoming their Mega Levels. But you have shown incredible strength, since being freed from the Digimental. We are sure that given time, you could become a mighty UlforceVeedramon."
"Um..." Veemon stepped backwards, "thanks...but I'm really not interested." He stepped up next to his partner. "Flash and I made a promise to stick together. We're gonna become the best team Codex has ever seen."
The Royal Knights did not look happy. "You would turn away from such an honour, just the play around with a human?" Duftmon asked, "don't you understand what we're offering you?"
"The chance to be one of the strongest Digimon that ever lived," Crusadermon stated. "A Digimon that no other will be able to become in your life time."
"Huh?" Trixie asked, "what are you talking about?"
"The Digital World can only hold one Royal Knight at a time," Dynasmon explained before he turned to Micro, "you knew me as Mistymon. But there have been many Dynasmon before me. Same with the rest of us. The Digital World only allows one Royal Knight to come into existence at once. Other Digimon that can potentially become Dynasmon, now have that path blocked until I myself am deleted. And the same will be true for Veemon if he Digivolves into a Royal Knight."
"But Veemon isn't guaranteed to become UlforceVeedramon," Flash pointed out. "His natural Champion is ExVeemon. Sure, he could become AeroVeedramon. But what if he becomes Cyberdramon instead?"
"He'll become UlforceVeedramon with training," Omnimon explained. "As long as a Digimon focuses, he can determine what his next form will be. The same happened to all of us. We could have become something else, but our determination to become heroes allowed us to Digivolve into what you see before you."
"That's cool," Veemon nodded. "But I'm still gonna say no. I don't wanna leave Flash's side. Sorry."
Omnimon sighed, "we can't force you. Just know that if you ever change your mind, our doors will always be open to you."
"Got it," Veemon nodded. "And if you ever need a hand saving the Digital World, just let us know." The others nodded, as the Royal Knights seemed to accept this They then all headed back the way they came.
It took a while to get back up the stairs, but they eventually arrived back in the throne room where Knightmon was waiting for them. "My lords," he bowed. "Will our guests be staying the night?" The others wondered what he was talking about, but then looked out the window and realised the sun was beginning to set.
"That's up to them," Omnimon explained. "They're welcome to stay or return to where they come from. As I'm aware, you humans can exist in both this world and the world you come from. But we understand if you would rather return to your place of origin."
Everyone shared a look and had a mental conversation, eventually nodding. "We'll stick around," Flash told him. "But we should probably send a message to our real selves." Omnimon nodded, as they all took out their Digivices and began to message their real life counterparts. They couldn't wait to see their reactions.
Once that was done, the Royal Knights left the throne room as Knightmon began to lead the humans someplace they could freshen up for dinner.
But as they made their way through the castle, they started hearing explosions and rumbling. "What was that?" Sandal asked, Mangoramon getting on edge, as Knightmon chuckled.
"That would be some of our more powerful recruits, continuing their training."
"Recruits?" Micro asked, "like they wanted to make Veemon?"
"Indeed," Knightmon nodded. "This castle was designed to not only be the Royal Knight's base, but also be their training ground. So that future knights may train and work to become strong enough, to one day claim that title. We all long for the day we can have that chance, but also dread it."
"Why?" Trixie asked, as Lunamon leapt onto her shoulder.
"Don't you remember? There can only be one Royal Knight. So if Knightmon's future form are the ones that already have a Royal Knight, the only way he'll get to become one is after the Royal Knight is deleted. To claim the title of knight, he has to wait for the demise of his lord."
"Exactly," Knightmon nodded. "You understand how this can be both a privilege and a burden."
"Yeah," Flash nodded. "Having to be the one to replace someone you respect. It's probably a lot of pressure." Knightmon nodded as the booming sound filled the air again.
"My word. He must really be putting him through his paces."
"One of your recruits?" Sandal asked, Knightmon nodding as they made their way up a flight of stairs. When they reached the top, they passed a window that allowed them to see out onto a training ground. And as they passed, a large smoke cloud flew passed along with an explosion.
They all rushed towards the window and looked outside, as something shot passed it.
That something was a large blue dragonoid Digimon, with large wings that were connected to its back in a way that made them resemble a hang-glider. A large spear was on its back and in each of its claws, it was carrying a yellow orb.
The Digimon flew through the air, staring down at a Digimon on the ground.
They then looked down, seeing the Digimon and being amazed. This one appeared to be a mechanical brachiosaur, with large mechanical arms that ended in digger shovels and drills covering its back, nose and the end of its two long tails.
"I don't think I recognise those Digimon," Flash stated as the flying Digimon unleashed a blast of fire from its mouth. But the machine Digimon used its large shovel claws to protect itself. "They're knight recruits too?"
"Indeed," Knightmon nodded. "One day, they'll become the most legendary of the Royal Knights. One so powerful, it requires two Digimon to create. Examon."
"Cool," Veemon cried as they watched the pair continue to spar. They all wondered what this Examon Digimon looked like and what made it so powerful. If they were lucky, they might get to see it before they left.
Knightmon lead them through the castle and they eventually arrived at a hallway with several doors. "We hope you find your accommodations acceptable. Each room is designed to reshape itself to fit the Digimon, or human, that stays in it. Simply place your hands on the handle and it will build your room the way you want it."
They were all surprised by this and each stepped towards a door, placing their hands on the handle as the carvings on the wood lit up.
This amazed them all, as the light eventually vanished and they opened the doors. "Wow," was the only word they all said as they looked inside.
Flash and Veemon's room was just like Flash's back home, only it was larger and the bed was a giant fourposter one. A bunch of different musical instruments filled the room and another door lead to a bathroom with a tub big enough to fit six people in it.
Veemon rushed over and leapt onto the bed, laughing as he bounced up and down on it whilst Flash picked up a guitar and found it didn't even need tuning. "Yeah!" Flash played a tune and Veemon smirked. "Man, this place is awesome. You sure you don't wanna stay here?"
"Nah!" Veemon smirked. "It's cool and all, but training to be a Royal Knight sounds like a lot of work. I don't mind helping when I can, but being responsible for saving the entire Digital World would be way too much stress." Flash nodded as he sat down next to him. "I'd rather just train with you and work to be the best players Codex has ever seen."
"Heck yeah," Flash nodded. "And the Royal Knights are doing fine as they are. They don't need our help." Veemon couldn't agree more.
Meanwhile, the Royal Knights were back in the throne room.
They were all sitting on their thrones, discussing the situation they were now in. "Well that was a massive waste of time," Craniamon sighed. "I was certain we would have UlforceVeedramon or Magnamon back in our ranks."
"We couldn't force him to join us," Kentaurosmon told him. "The Royal Knights were founded to allow all Digimon to live the lives they wanted. To take that away from him, would be a violation of everything we stand for."
"Maybe so," Crusadermon nodded. "But the simple fact is, it may be a long time before either of those Digimon can join us. The Veemon race may have returned to the Digital World, but it will take time for it to grow strong enough for them to join us."
"It's a shame," Kentaurosmon nodded. "I may be fast, but UlforceVeedramon's speed is unparalleled."
"We will need to refocus our efforts," Omnimon stated. "Wingdramon and Breakdramon's training has been going well. Once Wingdramon Digivolves, we'll be able to bring Examon into the Digital World for the first time in centuries. With its power, the Royal Knights will be stronger than ever before."
"We'd be even stronger if Gankoomon was around," Craniamon grumbled. "Have we heard anything from him?"
"Not since his last check in," Dynasmon replied. "I'm sure he's working on something important. Once he finds what he's looking for, he'll return and the Royal Knights will be back to full power."
"Indeed," Omnimon nodded. "The Royal Knights have not been at this level of power in centuries. Once Examon is born, all we'll be missing from our ranks is UlforceVeedramon, Magnamon and Gallantmon. If we can find them, we will be whole again." The other knights nodded.
"The Digital World's time of peace is coming to an end," Duftmon stated. "To protect it, the Royal Knights will need all the power we can afford. Only then, will we be ready to face the darkness that threatens to destroy our realm."
Many miles away, in a forested mountain area, several Plant Digimon were preparing for bed.
This included a group of two different Digimon, both of them looking like a cross between a bird and a piece of fruit. One looked like a pink upside down pineapple, with purple feet and a purple beak with green eyes. The other looked like a large kiwi bird, only instead of feathers its skin was that of the fruit sharing the bird's name. It also had green leafy hair and a silver mask covering its entire face and upper beak.
These Digimon were all hard at work, preparing nests to sleep in. They all looked rather sleepy and would enjoy a good night's sleep. But just as they were about to lay in the nests, the ground began to shake.
They all cried out as they leapt to attention and started running, getting up in the trees where they thought it would be safe. But not long after they did, the ground beneath the trees exploded and toppled them.
The birds all squawked in fear, as they fell towards the ground. Many quickly found themselves trapped under the fallen trees, unable to escape and forced to watch as something slithered out of the ground.
That something was a giant Digimon. with many different heads. It was serpentine in appearance, having one normal snake head that was connected to a long snake-like body. A sphere of fur was around the middle of its body and from out of it, a bunch of robotics snake heads could be seen.
The trapped Digimon were all terrified at the sight of this abomination, as they tried to pull themselves free. But it was hopeless. multi-headed Digimon soon looked down and saw them, quickly opening its many mouths and bringing them down towards them.
The screams of many Digimon filled the air before being untimely silenced.