//------------------------------// // Burying the Hatchet // Story: Digimon Codex // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Target Mountain, the location of the second Dragon Soul Stone. Many miles away from the mountain, the Royal Knights could do nothing but stand around waiting. One of them, UlforceVeedramon, stepped forward and placed his hand against an invisible barrier, but was unable to push past it. "Come on." "It's no use," Omnimon told him. "The Dragon Soul Stone prevents Mega Level Digimon from getting close to it. It's a defence mechanism, to make sure an already powerful Digimon doesn't find a way to take its power and become unstoppable. Until its power has been claimed, all we can do is wait." "I hate this," Craniamon growled. "We're supposed to be the protectors of the Digital World, but all we can do is sit around and wait to see what the fate of that world will be." "I hate it too," Dynasmon nodded. "But what other choice do we have? We just have to trust in the Digimon already in there. And the humans that were summoned to protect the stone from evil." They all nodded, as they continued to watch the battle take place between the two forces. Hopefully, the forces of good were winning. "Aerial Attack!" Unimon cried, blasting another Flymon with a sphere of light. At the same time, HooTawnimon flew past and slashed an IceDevimon with his wings. But as he did, he panted from exhaustion. And he wasn't the only one. The rest of their friends were all tiring. And no matter how many of these Digimon they defeated, more kept showing up. The only Digimon not currently exhausting themselves were those that managed to go Ultimate, the lot of them revitalised by the evolution. "Ice Kingdom!" Khionemon slammed her staff into the ground and caused a circle of icicle spikes to explode out of the savannah floor around her, with all the Virus Digimon surrounding her being surrounded by ice. Showing her skill, the Digimon on Khionemon's side were exempt from the attack. Crescemon then leapt around the ice field, jumping from ice spike to ice spike and cutting into any that had a Digimon in them. "Thorn Jab!" Petaldramon roared, as the spiked roots exploded out of the ground and wrapped around several Virus Digimon. Gokuwmon leapt up and slammed his staffs into them all as he did, whilst MegaKabuterimon and MetalSnimon flew overhead. "Horn Buster!" The lightning exploded off his horn and fried the flying Digimon, whilst MetalSnimon slashed through several more with his chainsaw hands. Dinobeemon buzzed around at high speed and knocked down several Viruses, whilst Mistymon slashed even more with his sword. The Ultimates were showing no mercy to these Digimon, tearing through them like they were nothing. But they all knew this wouldn't last forever. Up atop the mountain, Cyberdramon and Fumamon danced around one another. "Cyber Nails!" The Vaccine Digimon slashed at Fumamon, but the ninja virus blocked it with his swords. "Nice try!" He jumped up and spun around, slamming his foot into Cyberdramon's chest. "Ahhh!" Cyberdramon staggered back, but managed to regain his balance and stood tall. He sighed and glared at Fumamon. "Why are you doing this? What could you possibly get out of destroying the Digital World?" "It's hard to explain," Fumamon told him. "Let's just say that I have my reasons. Now let's get back to the fight." "Why do we even have to fight? What kind of enjoyment could you get out of hurting others?" "You're good, I'm evil. It's a pretty simple concept." "You're insane." "Now now. Let's not say something we'll regret. Especially since I'm the one with the swords." He shot forward, moving at incredible speed. Cyberdramon responded with his own super speed attack, the two becoming a blur that slammed into one another multiple times before landing. When they did, Cyberdramon kept his defences up. He glanced towards the centre of the mountain, hoping his friends had managed to get there. "Flash. I hope you're okay." "RAAAAAAH!" Paildramon unleashed his Cable Catcher attack and wrapped it around Armormon. He pulled the mechanised centaur into the air, away from the large rock piles that his partner was currently trapped under. "Let me go!" Armormon cried, firing his shoulder lasers and slammed them into Paildramon. This forced him to let Armormon go, the Ultimate Cyborg Digimon falling down. He landed on the top of the central ring, as Nefertimon flew Gatomon up beside Paildramon. "We can't let him get near that rock pile," Gatomon cried, as Nefertimon unleashed her Rosetta Stone attack. Armormon used his Justice Strike attack to destroy the incoming stones fragments, then fired his shoulder lasers at Nefertimon. The Armor Digimon pulled to the side and barely managed to avoid the incoming attack, as Gatomon flew down. "Lightning Paw!" She threw the attack, but Armormon dodged it before raising his front legs in an attempt to crush her beneath him. But before he could, Paildramon flew down. "Sting Strike!" The blade in his gauntlets extended and stabbed into Armormon's chest, knocking him backwards as he roared in pain. He skidded to a stop and glared at them, Paildramon retracting his blade as he landed next to the girls. They all shared a looked and nodded, Nefertimon and Gatomon charging whilst Paildramon glanced back at the stone covered hole. He hated leaving Flash trapped down there, but he had to make sure Armormon didn't do anything and make sure WarGrowlmon never got his hands on the Dragon Soul Stone. "Stay strong, partner!" Flash was in serious trouble. He was trapped underground, his friends were fighting against evil Virus Digimon and the Digital World might be about to end. And the worst part, he was trapped with an Ultimate Level Digimon that wanted him deleted. He could only stare in horror, as Megadramon's roar shook the cavern and caused a few rocks from the ceiling to fall. Luckily, the rest of the pile blocking the hole remained where they were and the Digimon stopped roaring. He then flinched, as the clutched parts of his body that had been damaged when they fell into the hole. "Raaah." He tried to spread his wings, but couldn't. Flash frowned, feeling a little sorry for him. "Are you okay?" Megadramon seemed surprised and looked down at him, this clearly being the first time he realised he wasn't alone. "What are you doing here?" He growled, making Flash frown. "I fell, just like you did. I was that Lobomon you tried blasting." Megadramon growled, but seemed to accept this. "Looks like you took a bit of damage." "Like you care." Flash rolled his eyes and sat down, a little confused. "I was kind of expecting you to try and blast me when you saw me. Or eat me?" "Don't tempt me," Megadramon replied before looking him over. As he did, his cyborg eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness. "Wait...I know you from somewhere?" He took a closer look at Flash, who gulped as he simply stood there hoping he wouldn't trying anything. "We've met before." "I don't think so," Flash told him. "I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting you." "No," he stated, "you definitely look familiar." Then, slowly, Megadramon seemed to realize who he was. "You!" Flash gulped, "you attacked me!" "When?" "When I was an Airdramon." That caused Flash's eyes to go wide, the memory of the day he met Twilight flowing through his head. In that memory, they had been chasing an Airdramon in a hopes of scanning it. In doing so, they ended up having to fight it. "That was you?" Flash could barely believe it, as Megadramon pulled away from him. "Wow. You got...bigger." "I Digivolved," Megadramon stated. "And you stayed the same." "Actually, I'd say I'm a lot stronger than the last time we met." Flash then shook his head, "wait a minute. You can't be that Airdramon." Megadramon gave him a look. "That Airdramon was newly Digivolved. How the heck could you get from that to this is such a short amount of time? I've met other Digimon that have done nothing but fight, but were unable to Digivolve." Megadramon growled. "Most Digimon don't do what I did." He turned his back to Flash and looked over at his tail, which was trapped beneath some rocks. He started smashing them apart, allowing him to pull his tail free. As he did, Flash wondered what he meant when he said that. Back above ground, WarGrowlmon continued to do battle against the two Angel Digimon and their two wolf companions. "Excalibur!" MagnaAngemon flew down and thrust his sword at WarGrowlmon, but the cyborg dinosaur used the blades on his arms to block the attack. "Nice try!" He swung the blade around and knocked him flying backwards, only for Angewomon to fly behind him. "Heaven's Charm!" She raised her arms and created a ring of light around them, which she threw down towards WarGrowlmon. The ring surrounded him and began to shrink, trapping his arms against his side. "Augh!" He struggled against the light and did everything he could to break himself free. And as he did, Garurumon and Gaogamon leapt at him. "Howling Blaster/Spiral Blow!" They unleashed their attacks and collided with the Digimon. But WarGrowlmon simply endured it as he struggled against the bindings. "RAAAAAAAAAH!" He ripped the energy ring off of him before swinging his Assault Balancer around, causing the two attacks to be blown away. He then shot forward with his arms crossed. "Radiation Blade!" As he reached the wolves, he swung his arms around and cut into them with the pendulum blades. Garurumon and Gaogamon howled in pain, as they were deleted right before the Angel's eyes. "You monster!" Angewomon growled. "Pot calling the kettle black," WarGrowlmon told her. "How many of my forces have you deleted?" Angewomon frowned. She didn't want any Digimon deleted. "This is war. If you can't handle that, you're in the wrong fight sweetheart." As he said that, MagnaAngemon charged with his sword drawn. He slashed at WarGrowlmon, who blocked with his arm blades before slashing at him with his Assault Balancer. MagnaAngemon blocked with his shield. "Soul Vanisher!" He stabbed the sword into the ground and from it, a powerful shockwave exploded out towards WarGrowlmon. The Cyborg Digimon leapt up, his rockets lifting him into the air, as the shockwave past under him. As he did, Angewomon summoned an arrow of light. "Celestial Arrow!" She fired, but WarGrowlmon deflected with his arm blade. Angewomon growled at this, as MagnaAngemon charged again. She was about to fire another arrow, when she suddenly heard her sister's voice. "Cat's Eye Beam!" She glanced around and saw Nefertimon firing at Armormon, as she, Gatomon and Paildramon fought against him atop the mountain's flat surface. Armormon dodged the attack and unleashed a barrage from his stomach guns, which struck her and made her cry out. "Nefertimon!" "Stay focused!" MagnaAngemon roared, as WarGrowlmon deflected his attack and used his Assault Balancer to wrap around him. "Take your own advice!" He spun around, smashing MagnaAngemon into the side of the mountain. He then flew around, dragging the angel against the rock as they circled the area. MagnaAngemon roared in pain until WarGrowlmon finally released him, sending him flying until he crash into the ground. WarGrowlmon laughed, only for Angewomon to fly in and try to deal a kick to his head. But WarGrowlmon blocked with his gauntlets and pushed her away. As he did, the hazard symbol on his chest began to spark and he thrust his chest forward. "Megalo Spark!" A blast of lightning flew out of the symbol and struck Angewomon, making her scream as she was thrown back. Nefertimon picked herself up as she happened, allowing her to see Angewomon fall. She gasped, "sister!" But then she heard Gatomon cry out as well, as she was thrown backwards by Armormon's backhand. Paildramon fired his Desperado Blasters, forcing Armormon away. "I've got this," he told her. "Go help her!" Nefertimon turned to Gatomon, who nodded as she picked herself up. She then turned towards the battle and shot down, flying towards WarGrowlmon as he approached the downed Angewomon. He raised his arm blade and prepared to cut her in two. But before he could, Nefertimon's gauntlets glowed. "Queen's Paw!" She fired a bunch of gems at WarGrowlmon, who saw them coming and raised his arm blades to protect himself. "Nefertimon!?" Angewomon stood up, as the Armor Digimon landed next to her. "Sister. We can do this together." Angewomon smiled and nodded, the pair then turning their attention on WarGrowlmon. They then charged, as he rushed forward. At the same time, MagnaAngemon began to pick himself up. He was still badly injured and looked up towards the Dragon Soul Stone. He then turned to the others and saw them distracting the Virus Digimon. If they kept him distracted, they wouldn't notice him make his way over to the stone. As such, he carefully dragged himself along the ground. "This is it. Just keep him distracted long enough. And I will fulfil my destiny." Cyberdramon and Fumamon kept battling atop the outermost ring of the mountain, Fumamon stabbing at him whilst Cyberdramon slashed at him. Fumemon blocked Cyberdramon's attacks with his swords and then did a back-flip, kicking Cyberdramon in the chin with his clawed feet as he did so. Cyberdramon roared as he was knocked staggering back, whilst Fumamon landed on the ground. "Ha," he laughed, "this is the best Codex Player?" He flipped his swords in the air. "I have to say, I'm disappointed." Cyberdramon growled as he picked himself up. He could feel his Digimon's battle instincts starting to kick in. He had to say calm and not lose control. "Battle Gear, BOOST!" A light surrounded his clawed hand and when it faded away, it revealed a metal tube that covered everything up to his elbow. From out the end of the tube, a laser extended in the shape of a cutlass blade. "Buster Blade!" Fumamon frowned, as Cyberdramon rushed forward. When he reached him, he swung his sword around and Fumamon blocked with his own. But the heat from the blade was seriously hurting. "Augh!" "Like it?" Cyberdramon asked. "This weapon can only be wielded by a Virus Buster. I'm guessing you've figured out what it does." Fumamon growled. "You think you're so clever?" He pushed Cyberdramon back and leapt into the air, sheaving his blades as he reached for a pair of scrolls on his hip. "Yomi-Modoshi!" He threw the scroll towards the ground and when they unfurled, a puff of smoke exploded out of them. And from out of that smoke, a bunch of Troopmon rushed out ready to attack Cyberdramon. The Ultimate Digimon slashed through one, deleting it, then through another and another, whilst Fumamon jumped back and watched. Cyberdramon was quickly beginning to tire himself out. If he wasn't careful, he would eventually leave himself wide open. Like right now. One of the Troopmon managed to pull its blaster out and fired, Cyberdramon forced to jump back to avoid the attack. But as he did, he was left vulnerable to a surprise attack. And sure enough, Fumamon shot forward and dealt a slash right to his side. "Ahhhh!" Cyberdramon cried, swinging his sword around with Fumamon jumping back. The other Troopmon began to fire at him, but Cyberdramon was able to avoid their shots as he hit the ground. Seeing no other option, Cyberdramon pointed his sword at them and the laser shot off. It hit one of them and exploded, the energy consuming the other Troopmon and destroying them. But it left Cyberdramon's Buster Blade out of power, a bar on the side of it emptying out and slowly filling back up. Until it was, Cyberdramon was without a weapon. And with his side now bleeding data, he was in serious trouble. "RAAAAH!" Fumamon rushed forward, his twin blades ready to cut the righteous Digimon down. But Shining and Monodramon weren't going to let that happen. Down below, Unimon and the others were completely spent. The Champions were barely able to move, with even Hudiemon's healing abilities at their limit, most having to fall back to keep from getting caught in the crossfire of the battles actually taking place. Meanwhile, the Ultimates were also growing tired. Khionemon froze a few more Virus Digimon and had to rest of her staff to catch her breath. "This is getting tricky." "Just hold on a little longer," Mistymon stated. "I'm sure the others will get to the Dragon Soul Stone soon." But he also couldn't help but notice, how exhausted everyone else was getting. If they couldn't get a handle on these Virus Digimon soon, they were going to get overwhelmed. One of the few Champion Digimon that hadn't begun to tire was Leomon, who cut his way through several more Raremon as he leapt over to Gokuwmon. "Remember. The more of the Virus Digimon we defeat now, the less we'll have to defeat the next time we face off against this army." "That's if we ever actually face off against them again," Pteryxmon stated. "Between you and me, I'm hoping they manage to delete WarGrowlmon so nobody else can try and get that Stone." "I wouldn't be so sure about that," Unimon stated as she flew overhead. "WarGrowlmon's probably not the only Digimon that can become Megidramon. If WarGrowlmon does get deleted, another Digimon will probably take his place." An IceDevimon tried to attack her, but HooTawnimon and Dinobeemon attacked and destroyed it. ToyGreymon fired another plastic blast at an Ogremon and knocked it back, allowing Gatormon to bite into it and freeze the Virus solid before throwing it away. They continued to fight as best they could but even more Virus Digimon kept appearing. There was no way they could keep this up forever. "Flash," Unimon gasped as she blasted a Bakemon away. "Whatever you're doing in there, please hurry up." Back underground, Megadramon finished pulling his tail out of the rocks and turned to look back up at the rock ceiling. He spread his wings to try and fly, but flinched as his wings were clearly still injured from the fall. "You okay?" Flash asked, making Megadramon growl. "I'm fine. But I'm clearly not going to be flying out of here." He looked around, but the place was too dark to see anything else. "Typical. This stupid body couldn't have come with night vision?" Flash noticed the way he said that and took out his Digivice, then held the screen up. The light of the screen filled the chamber and improved the lighting situation, though not by much. "I think there's a tunnel down there." Flash noticed a hole in the wall, but it was a good five meters off the ground. Flash moved over to it and Megadramon slithered after him, the pair reaching the hole with Megadramon unable to see where it went. "It's too dark." "Lift me up," Flash suggested. Megadramon frowned, but let out a sigh and reached down to let Flash climb onto his metal claw. He then lifted him up and Flash pointed the light of his Digivice down into the hole. "I think it goes upwards." "Good," Megadramon lifted him higher and eventually placed him on his head. "You get me out of here, then we're even." "Even for what?" "You're the reason I'm like this," Megadramon growled as he pulled himself into the hole. It was a tight squeeze, but the Ultimate was able to tuck in his wings and crawl through the tunnel. "All I wanted to do was Digivolve and see the world. When I became Airdramon, I thought everything would be perfect. I could fly and the world was open to me." "Okay," Flash nodded, "so what does that have to do with me?" "After you and your friends attacked me, I was terrified the rest of the world would be that dangerous. So I decided to hole myself up in that mountain's cave until I was stronger. And when I did, a bunch of Vilemon appeared and attacked me." "Vilemon?" Flash had heard of those thing, but never got to see them. "How many were there?" "I lost count after a hundred." The tunnel began to curve upwards. "That cave was probably their territory or something. I don't care. I just destroyed them all and loaded their data so I could get stronger." Flash frowned, knowing that loading a Digimon's data meant they couldn't revive until Megadramon was deleted. "I thought that was the end of it. But the next day, more of them showed up." "More Vilemon?" Flash wondered how many there were in the Digital World. "I don't get it either. Every time I destroyed them, more kept showing up. Their numbers slowly whittled down, but I kept loading more and more of their data. Then, one day, I found I was suddenly Digivolving. I thought I would become something similar to Airdramon. Our Seadramon guardian had told us about how they could become MegaSeadramon. I thought I'd become something like that. A better Airdramon. But instead...I became this." "You loaded so much Virus Data, it must have forced your Digivolution down the Virus route. Either that or this was always meant to be you Ultimate Form." Megadramon growled at this. "Well you're not that much different from Airdramon. You've pretty much got the same body, just with arms. And you've got cool metal claws that can probably tear through anything. So you kind of are a better Airdramon" "Except I became a Virus Type," Megadramon stated as the tunnel evened out again. "Do you have any idea what being a Virus is like? I finally left the cave and began to explore the Digital World. But then I discovered that I wasn't welcome there. Everywhere I went, the Digimon there either ran screaming or tried to attack me." "Why?" "Because I'm a Virus," Megadramon growled. "That's all anyone cares about. That I exist to just destroy data. That I'm nothing but evil." He sighed, "and maybe they're right." "That's not true," Flash told him. "Just because you're a Virus, that doesn't mean you're evil. There are plenty of Virus Digimon who aren't evil. Look at the Royal Knights." "The Royal Knights?" "Yeah. Crusadermon is a member of the greatest protectors of the Digital World. And she's a Virus Digimon. And there's another Digimon called Examon. He used to be a Virus Digimon called Breakdramon. He used to think he couldn't be a Royal Knight, because he was a Virus. He was even willing to sacrifice his life so another could become a knight. But he proved himself worthy and joined the Royal Knights when he Digivolved." Megadramon let this info sink in, as they came to a fork in the tunnel. "WarGrowlmon told me that a Virus' only reason to exist was to destroy." "WarGrowlmon was lying," Flash told him. "Nobody is born with a reason to exist. When you became a Virus, your destiny wasn't set in stone. We carve our own destinies. WarGrowlmon chose to be a destroyer. But you don't have to follow his example. You can be whatever you want to be." Megadramon began to head up a tunnel that went upwards, whilst thinking about what Flash had said. "I don't want the Digital World to be destroyed. But I have nowhere else to go other than WarGrowlmon's army." "I'm sure that's not true," Flash told him. "Maybe the Royal Knights can take you in. I don't know if you can become a knight, but I'm pretty tight with them. If you promise to help protect the Digital World, they might be willing to let you join their ranks." Megadramon seemed surprised by this. "You would be willing to risk your relationship with the Royal Knights, just to try and help me. After I tried to destroy you?" "We all make mistakes," Flash stated. "Besides, I technically started it when I was hunting you." Megadramon smiled as they reached the end of the tunnel. When they did, they found it was a dead end. "Ahh. Great. I'm gonna have to go back." There was no way for him to turn, meaning he would have to move backwards. "That's not gonna be fun." Flash frowned, only to then hear something. "Wait a minutes." He listened, "can you hear that?" Megadramon raised an eyebrow, "a whistle." He gestured Megadramon to move closer to the wall, the Cyborg doing so. And he did, Flash tapped the wall until he came across the source of the sound. A hole. "I think this wall has something behind it. There's a breeze blowing against it." Megadramon smirked at this and pulled back, then thrust his claw into the wall. The force of it smashed the rock and caused it to crumble, the two fearing they might bring the whole tunnel down on them. But then the wall fell away and revealed another tunnel, the two smirking and quickly moving through it before the roof could cave in. "Not bad, kid." "Things aren't always as they seem," Flash told him. "If you look closely, you'll find the true worth of something you think can only be one thing. Whether it's a stone wall...or a Digimon." Megadramon smiled, understanding what Flash had told him. Maybe...maybe there was more to him than he realised. Maybe he didn't have to be a destroyer. Back above ground, Angewomon and Nefertimon charged forward and attempted to strike WarGrowlmon. The Cyborg Digimon swung his Assault Balance around, attempting to cut the two in half. Nefertimon flew up whilst Angewomon flew down, the blade flying between them as they got closer. "Cat's Eye Beam!" The laser flew out of the ornament on her head, but WarGrowlmon blocked it. "Pathetic!" He laughed, as Angewomon flew in close. "Holy Slap!" She swung around and used one of her now glowing wings to slap WarGrowlmon in the face. But the Digimon just took the hit and chuckled. The next thing Angewomon knew, he reached up and grabbed both her arms in his claws. "Hey!" She pulled on them, but WarGrowlmon refused to let go. "Fools. Thinking you could ever stop me. You will never wipe out the Virus Digimon. Just accept that." "I don't want to wipe them out," Angewomon groaned. "I want them to see there's more to them than mindless destruction." "Please. It is our destiny to destroy." "Not if they don't want to destroy," Angewomon groaned. "You tricked so many into following your monstrous ideals. So many Digimon, losing their way because they allowed themselves to be tricked by your venomous words. It's despicable." As she said that, Nefertimon flew up and used her claws to stab into WarGrowlmon's shoulder. He roared, losing his grip on the angel. Angewomon pulled her arm free and quickly fired a blast of light right into WarGrowlmon's eyes. The Cyborg Digimon was blinded and knocked staggering back, Angewomon freeing her other arm. His roar also caught Armormon's attention, the Ultimate barely managing to block Paildramon's String Strike followed by Gatomon's Lightning Paw. He noticed WarGrowlmon blinking, his sight clearly impaired by the light. And as he was, Angewomon and Nefertimon fired a Celestial Arrow and Rosetta Stone at him. He roared at the impacts, but managed to jump away as they attacked again. Armormon dodged another of Paildramon's Desperado Blasts and as he did, an idea formed in his head. "Yes!" His shoulder blasters folded up and his opponents got ready to avoid the attack. But when he fired, the lasers shot past the two and headed straight for another target. "Look out!" Gatomon screamed, but her warning came too late and the lasers struck both Angewomon and Nefertimon in the backs. The two screamed as they were blown forwards, WarGrowlmon hearing this and knowing he had an opening. Despite being slightly blind, he pointed his chest at the pair and charged up his most powerful attack. "ATOMIC BLASTER!" He fired and the energy beam shot towards them both, ready to delete anything that wasn't at least Ultimate Level. Angewomon gasped and despite her back injury, flew forward and grabbed her sister. She hugged her and shielded her, as the blast slammed into them both. Their screams caught everyone's attention and made Paildramon and Gatomon gasp, Armormon laughing and using the opening to unleash another Justice Strike upon them. Paildramon groaned as the bullets damaged his armor, whilst Gatomon was gunned down and blasted off the edge of the rock. "NO!" Paildramon leapt down after her and caught the transformed human, seeing she was barely conscious. "Rarity!" He then heard a thudding sound and looked around to see Angewomon and Nefertimon hit the ground, both looking badly burned but Angewomon had taken most of the damage. Nefertimon and Gatomon both De-Digivolved, Rarity letting out a moan as she laid in Paildramon's hands. Salamon shrank down and opened her eyes, where she saw her sister in a terrible state. "NO!" She pushed herself up and rushed to her head, "get up!" She heard laughing and turned to WarGrowlmon, who smiled down at her as he landed. "Now do you see? Protecting those weaker than you, will only ever lead to your own defeat. Only the strong can survive in this world." Salamon growled at him, whilst Armormon leapt off the mountain and came crashing down. As he did, he spotted something and gasped. "Master, the stone!" WarGrowlmon spun around, expecting the stone to be glowing. But instead, he saw MagnaAngemon only a foot or so away from it. "NO!" He rushed over and as MagnaAngemon tried to grab it, he used his Assault Balancer to wrap around his arm. "You thought you could sneak by me!?" He pulled MagnaAngemon away from the stone, lifting him into the air before smashing him into the ground. MagnaAngemon roared in pain, then was lifted up into the air and smashed into the ground again. Paildramon tried to help him, but Armormon unleashing a hail of bullets again that he was forced to defend Rarity from. This allowed WarGrowlmon to smash MagnaAngemon into the ground several more times. "Never forget what you are!" He spun around and around and around before letting the angel go, sending him flying. "A WEAKLING!" MagnaAngemon spun through the air and smashed into the wall, screaming in pain as he did. "No!" Salamon gasped, as WarGrowlmon moved over to finish him. But then, Angewomon began to move and picked herself up. "Sister?" WarGrowlmon saw this and chuckled. "Still want some more?" He turned his attention to her. "Fine, then you'll be the first to go." Angewomon growled at him. "You may destroy me. But so long as there are Digimon out there with good in their hearts, you will never truly win." She glanced back at Salamon, who seemed to understand what her sister was saying. Could she... "Doesn't matter how many good Digimon there are." WarGrowlmon raised his bladed whip. "I'll just destroy them all." Angewomon tried to summon her power to counter attack, but couldn't. All she could do was brace herself. "Sister!" Salamon screamed, tears filling her eyes. Paildramon growled and attempted to push his way through the bullets, but in that moment Armormon fired his shoulder lasers and hit him in the chest. "Gyah!" He was knocked back and slammed into the wall, Rarity falling from his grasp. Armormon saw this and laughed, pointing his machine gun at the girl and preparing to fire. At the same time, WarGrowlmon prepared to do the same with Angewomon. But as they prepared to deal the final strike, the ground around them began to shake. "What?" WarGrowlmon looked around, the others doing the same. For a moment, the shaking stopped and WarGrowlmon returned his focus to Angewomon. But before he could strike again, the ground shook harder and louder. "What is that?" The others were just as confused. But then, as the ground shook again, part of the surrounding wall began to crack apart. It was at this moment that Rarity began to come around, being shaken away by the ground's vibrations. And then, with a loud boom, the wall exploded as a fish missile flew through it. The missile exploded and the force knocked WarGrowlmon away from Angewomon, as something else broke through the now much larger hole in the wall. Megadramon. The Ultimate Virus let out a roar, as he flew out of the tunnel and took to the air. As he did, Paildramon saw someone riding him. "FLASH!" The others were shocked by this, whilst Flash looked down and smiled at them. Then, he noticed WarGrowlmon and Armormon. The Ultimate Cyborgs both glared at their cohort, wondering why he was letting that filthy human on his back. "Megadramon, you fool!" Armormon yelled. "You got in the way of our master's work." Megadramon looked down and growled. "He is no longer my master." He flew down and landed defensively in front of Angewomon. "This human has helped me see I was a fool for joining you in the first place." He raised an arm and prepared to fire. "I'm not letting you get that Dragon Soul Stone." WarGrowlmon glared at him. "So that's it. You want the Dragon Soul Stone for yourself." "What?" MagnaAngemon picked himself up, then turned to Megadramon. "I told you having him in our army was a mistake," Armormon stated. "He wants to become Megidramon." Everyone's eyes went wide at this, with even Megadramon appearing surprised. "What, you didn't know? There are four types of Digimon capable of becoming Megidramon with a Dragon Soul Stone. And you're one of them. You...are nothing but a destroyer!" Megadramon looked upset by this news, as Armormon prepared his gatling guns. "Hey, shut up!" He looked up at Flash, who glared at Armormon before looking down at Megadramon. "Don't listen to him. He has no idea what he's talking about. Remember what we talked about. A person's destiny isn't set in stone! You might be a Virus Type and Megidramon might be one of your evolutions, but that doesn't make you who you are." "Yes...but..." "He's right." He looked over at Angewomon. "Don't let what others say, decide what you want to be." She stood up, giving him a serious look. "Tell me, do you actually want the Digital World to be destroyed?" "Of course not!" "Then don't let it. Show the Digital World who you truly are." He and Angewomon stared at one another, a silent conversation taking place between them. He then smiled and nodded. "I will." He turned back to WarGrowlmon, "you're not getting that Dragon Soul Stone. And neither am I. It's going to a Digimon that deserves it!" With that, he charged forward and tackled WarGrowlmon. Flash had leapt off him as he did, taking out his Digivice and summoning the light. "Biomerge!" The light flowed over him and he transformed into his fire Rookie. "Flamemon, Digivolve to...AGUNIMON!" The Fire Warrior leapt out of the light, as Armormon pointed at Megadramon. "Oh no you don't!" He quickly leapt forward, "Battle Gear...BOOST!" A burst of fire appeared in his hand and when it faded, he was carrying a knife. "Ignislash!" He channelled his fire power into it and slashed at Armormon. "RAAAH!" Armormon's gatling gun was cut at the barrel, Agunimon smirking at him. "You brat!" He pointed his other barrel at him, but Agunimon leapt up and avoided the barrage. As he did, WarGrowlmon and Megadramon struggled against each other. "You traitor!" WarGrowlmon roared, as Megadramon wrapped his tail around his body. "Call me what you want," Megadramon told him. "I'm doing what I know to be right." And as he said that, something happened. The Dragon Soul Stone began to glow, the light catching everyone's attention. Megadramon stared at it and as he did, he suddenly felt a great desire to touch it. As he did, an image appeared in his head. An image of a large red Dragon Digimon, whose very presence screamed destruction. A Digimon that Megadramon could become. A Digimon with the power to destroy the Digital World. "That stone is mine!" WarGrowlmon pulled against him, snapping Megadramon out of his daydream. The Ultimate Level wrapped his tail tightly around WarGrowlmon and used all his strength to pull him away from the stone, but the struggle wasn't an easy one. "Hurry!" He cried, "I can't hold him forever!" "Let him go!" Armormon tried to blast him, but Agunimon was able to kick his legs out from under him. This knocked him off balance and made him fall over, whilst both MagnaAngemon and Angewomon tried to get to the stone. But the pair were still too injured, MagnaAngemon falling over. Angewomon was about to do the same, but Paildramon caught her. "I gotcha!" He placed his arm around her waist and her arm around his neck. "Come on!" "But...MagnaAngemon-" "Doesn't deserve it as much as you do," Paildramon helped her move over to the stone. WarGrowlmon saw this and gasped. "NOOOO!" He used his tail blade and stabbed Megadramon, the Dragon Digimon roaring but still not letting go. Angewomon saw this and smiled. "That Virus Digimon. He might have fallen to the wrong path before, but his heart is true." They reached the stone, "I must thank him for this." With that, she reached out and touched the stone. WarGrowlmon screamed again, as the stone exploded with light. Paildramon was forced to let Angewomon go and stagger back, shielding his eyes along with the others. Megadramon finally lost his grip and WarGrowlmon pulled himself free, rushing over as if trying to still get the stone. But the light was too bright and burned him, forcing him to stagger back. The light exploded into a column that flew into the sky, causing everyone outside the inner ring to stop their fighting and turn to it. This included Cyberdramon and Fumamon, who both watched as the new Great Dragon was born. "Come on," Fumamon stated. "Be WarGrowlmon." In the inner ring, the light was so bright it blinded everyone there. All except one, who force her eyes open to look over at her sister. Salamon could only watch, as Angewomon was lifted into the air by the orb of light. The sight before her was truly magnificent. "That's my sister." "Angewomon!" They then heard the Ultimate Angel announce, "Mega Digivolve to..." Her clothes exploded off of her, as the light began to constrict and reshape itself. It soon morphed into a beastly form, with claws, horns and a long tail. The light then began to fade and when it did, Angewomon's new form was revealed. It was a large pink furred cat-like Digimon. Her head was more dog-like, with long ears, a pair of black and red horns and a mane around her neck. Her pink tail was even longer than her body, whilst five pairs of pink angel wings sprouted from her back. Her fangs and claws were sharp, but she still had a slight elegance to her. The last of the light exploded off of her and she flew above the ring. "MAGNADRAMON!" Everyone stared at the Mega Level in awe, her beauty breathtaking as she looked down at them all. She smiled at Agunimon, Paildramon, Rarity, Salamon and Megadramon. She glanced at MagnaAngemon and could see he was angry, but didn't give him a second glance. Then she turned to WarGrowlmon and Armormon and let out a very beastly growl. "You have caused great harm to those I have sworn to protect. And now, I will make you pay!" She flew upwards and in a circle, causing storm clouds to appear. "Paildramon, Megadramon. Shield the others!" The two didn't need telling twice and flew over to the others, Paildramon picking up Agunimon whilst Megadramon lifted the girls up and shielded them with his body. "What's she doing?" Rarity asked, as the cloud began to spark. "Unleashing one heck of a blast!" Agunimon smirked, as the Mega Level called out. "DRAGON FIRE!" The energy inside the cloud exploded towards WarGrowlmon and Armormon, the bolts striking the ground and exploding to send the pair flying backwards. "GYAH!" WarGrowlmon roared, slamming into the wall. Armormon was also slammed into it, as the cloud began to disappear. The pair laid there, not looking in the best of shape. They groaned as they began to pick themselves up, as Magnadramon floated down with the others getting ready to fight as well. "Master," Armormon groaned. "We need to escape. The battle is lost." "I will not be defeated again," WarGrowlmon stated. But then, a portal opened in the sky. A portal Azulongmon flew out of, looking ready to join the battle. This made him growl as he realised he had no choice. Luckily, Fumamon chose that moment to leap into the inner circle and landed in front of them. "Master, it's time we got out of here!" Cyberdramon flew down and Fumamon took out some pellets, throwing them and creating a combo of smoke and a flash bang. WarGrowlmon then called out to Megadramon, "you'll regret this. Those Digimon will never accept you and if we see you again, you will be deleted. You have nowhere to go." The smoke and light faded, right as a warp gate closed and they were alone in the rings. Megadramon sighed as he looked down, wondering if WarGrowlmon was correct. And sure enough, MagnaAngemon suddenly flew towards him with his sword drawn. "Surrender now!" "What are you doing?" Agunimon cried, seeing the angel about to attack his new friend. Paildramon aimed his blasters at MagnaAngemon, who glared at them. "I'm eliminating a threat to the Digital World." He pointed at Megadramon. "You heard what they said. This abomination can Digivolve into Megidramon. We have to destroy him so that can't happen." Megadramon looked down in shame, looking ready to accept this. But before MagnaAngemon could do it, Magnadramon spoke up. "Absolutely not," she curled her tail around Megadramon protectively. "This Digimon is the only reason I was able to Digivolve. He's the reason WarGrowlmon didn't get the stone. I will not allow you to harm him." "Magnadramon is right," Azulongmon nodded. "You can't condemn a Digimon for something they might do. We can only judge them on their actions." "And his actions are good," Flash stated as he turned back from Agunimon. "Didn't he attack us?" Salamon asked, the others looking to Megadramon for confirmation. "It's not his fault," Flash told them. "He was an Airdramon and accidently Digivolved into Megadramon. When that happened, all the other Digimon shunned him. The only ones that would let him anywhere near them were WarGrowlmon's group." "I see," Cyberdramon nodded before splitting into Shining and Monodramon. He then turned to Megadramon. "I'm sorry that happened to you. But you did the right thing. Being a Virus Digimon, doesn't make you evil." "I know," Megadramon nodded. "Flash helped me realize that. But still, WarGrowlmon is right. I have nowhere to go." "Wrong," Magnadramon stated. "You helped us keep the Dragon Soul Stone out of WarGrowlmon's evil hands. Your strength is something we desperately need. So, will you please join us in our fight against WarGrowlmon?" Megadramon looked shocked by this, MagnaAngemon appearing outraged. "You can't be serious. He's a Virus Digimon." "And he can be a message to all the other Virus Digimon out there," Azulongmon stated. "That just because you're a Virus Digimon, that doesn't make you our enemy. There may be other Digimon in WarGrowlmon's army, that feel the same way as Megadramon. That being in his forces is the only option they have. But if they see we are accepting of Virus Digimon...they may desert him." "That's great!" Flash smirked as Paildramon De-Digivolved into DemiVeemon. As he picked his partner up, Flash smiled at Megadramon. "Isn't that awesome? You can have a place in the Digital World." "Yes," Megadramon nodded before turning to Magnadramon and bowing his head. "I devote myself to your cause. I swear that no matter what is needed of me, I will fulfil whatever duty you entrust me with. I will help protect the Digital World, even if it costs me my life." "Don't go too far," Magnadramon stated. "But, your devotion is noted. I look forward to seeing how hard you work. And as long as you continue to protect this world and its Digimon, you will be under my protection. I promise you that." Megadramon smiled, whilst MagnaAngemon looked outraged. "This Digimon will betray us, just like it betrayed WarGrowlmon. You can't trust him." The others glared at him, looking ready to tell him to shut up. But Megadramon spoke up first. "If I ever look like I'm about to betray you, you may delete me. Nobody will punish you for it. All I'm asking for is a chance to prove myself." MagnaAngemon glared at him, clearly not happy about this. Before anyone could say anything else, many flying Digimon appeared from over the mountain. Unimon and HooTawnimon were at the front of that group, carrying Rainbow, Pinkie, Kamemon and Dilemon. Dinobeemon was carrying Leomon, Trixie, Moonmon and a few others, whilst Sunflowmon was carrying Labramon, Fluttershy and Terriermon. MegaKabuterimon was carrying Micro, Sandal and Sproutmon. Even the Royal Knights were flying in, ready to fight any evil that had stayed behind. They all cheered at the sight of Magnadramon, but those smiles faded when they saw Megadramon. Luckily, Magnadramon and Azulongmon being close to him seemed to lessen their worry as they all landed. When they did, the humans turned Digimon reverted back to normal whilst the Partner Digimon all returned to their Rookie and In-Training forms. "Are you okay!?" Twilight rushed over to see Flash and Rarity, looking a little scuffed up, then looked up at Megadramon. "What's going on?" Magnadramon flew up and addressed them. "My friends. We have claimed victory this day and it is all thanks to you. Though WarGrowlmon was able to escape, he failed in acquiring the Dragon Soul Stone. And though I can see we have lost Digimon in this fight, their sacrifice will not be forgotten. Our battle continues and despite losing allies, we've gained new ones." She looked down at Megadramon, who smiled back at him. "Like Azulongmon, I can't promise to be a perfect leader. I may make mistakes, but I will do everything in my power to protect this world and the Digimon in it. Will you follow me?" The Digimon cheered and happily accepted her. The only Digimon not happy was MagnaAngemon, who glared at the two Great Dragons that had stolen his moments. "I won't let anyone get in my way again. Next time, no matter what, I will Digivolve into Goldramon." He glared at Megadramon, "and my power will cleanse this world of all its filth. In their hidden lair, WarGrowlmon was being repaired alongside Armormon. Fumamon watched from the sides and saw that they did not look happy. "How many of our forces remain?" WarGrowlmon asked, as Fumamon took out a list and went through the names of the Digimon that hadn't returned. "We're down to about twenty-five percent of our original number." "That won't be enough," Armormon stated. "How are we supposed to wage a battle with such little troops?" "It's a miracle we were able to save that many," Fumamon told them. "When I saw Magnadramon, I ordered the retreat. Many of the Digimon were taken down before they could escape through the portals. The Royal Knights approaching didn't help." WarGrowlmon snarled. "We need a new strategy. When the final Dragon Soul Stone appears, we'll need to be ready if we wanna get out hands on it." "And what do you suggest?" WarGrowlmon asked. "Instead of quantity, let's improve quality. Get the Strongest Virus Digimon we can find. And make ourselves stronger as well." "You wanna make us stronger?" Armormon asked, "how?" "I know a guy who's a wiz with Battle Gears. And I think he can be...persuaded to join our cause." The two stared at him, wondering what he had planned. But at this point, they needed all the help they could get. Those fools would soon come to regret crossing them. And Megadramon would realize the mistake he made, only it would be too late to fix it. Having told everyone what had happened, the army had returned to their headquarters to heal up whilst the Royal Knights had returned to their castle. The Digimon had been a little wary of Megadramon at first, but they began to open up to him when they saw how serious he was about protecting the Digital World. Now, Flash, Shining and their friends were climbing up the stairs leading to the Great Dragon's Temple. "Seriously?" Twilight looked shocked. "Megadramon is that Airdramon we fought?" "Yup," Flash nodded. "It's...kind of our fault he Digivolved the way he did. We made him scared of coming out into the world, so he stayed in a cave fighting Vilemon. Eventually, he absorbed so many he Digivolved into Megadramon." "You shouldn't blame yourself," Shining told him. "What happened is in the past and everything's better now. You were able to help Megadramon and that's what matters." Flash smiled at this, as they entered the temple and found Azulongmon and Magnadramon on their pillar thrones waiting for them. Megadramon was also there, since a large Digimon like him didn't really fit in the underground base. As they stepped into the room, Azulongmon smiled. "It seems we owe you a debt once again, Flash." The teen smirked. "Not only did you help stop WarGrowlmon, you were able to help this lost Digimon find the path he needed." "Happy to be of service," Flash smiled. "We couldn't just sit around and let WarGrowlmon do whatever he liked." The others nodded, as Flash turned to Megadramon. "If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask. We'll be here whenever you need us." "Thank you," Megadramon smiled. "You have no idea how much this means to me." Flash nodded, as Megadramon had an idea. "If you want, you can do that scan thing on me. I'm not sure what you'll want it for, but you already have my Airdramon form. Might as well improve the collection." Flash was amazed by this, "are you sure?" Megadramon nodded and Flash took out his Digivice, scanning him and smiling as he saw Megadramon's data appear. He couldn't wait to try this out later. Magnadramon flew down off her pillar, as Rarity and Salamon stepped up to her. "The two of you fought bravely this day. I'm very proud of you both." They smiled. "And Megadramon is right. You scanned my Champion and Ultimate Forms. Might as well add my Mega Form to it." Rarity gasped at this and quickly took out her Digivice, scanning Magnadramon and completing the Magnadramon set. "I hope you use those scans well." Rarity nodded, "we will." She then frowned. "However, it's clear we need to get stronger. If Megadramon hadn't joined our side, we would not have won that battle." "She's right," Shining nodded. "This victory was partly luck. We have to get stronger if we wanna defeat WarGrowlmon and whoever decides to cause problems for the Digital World." They all nodded. This battle had been a tough one and they were only going to get tougher. They had to improve, no matter what might show up. In another part of the Digital World, in a rocky forest, something was happening. A large rock wall was sticking out of the ground, covered in moss and vines. It looked like a perfectly ordinary wall and most of the time, it was. But something was about to change that. At the base of the wall, a small triangular opening could be seen. With opening was so small, a child would have trouble getting through it. It appeared to only got a few feet in and looked perfectly normal. But suddenly, a spark appeared inside the opening. This was followed by another, then another and another. And eventually, light completely filled the hole. That light radiated outwards and did nothing else. And then, something came out of the gap. A blue arm, with sharp red nails on the fingers and a leather strap around the wrist. And on the palm of the hand, was a green eye. This arm reached out and grabbed the rock around the gap, allowing it to pull the rest of its body free. And as they did, they let out a sinister laugh that only spelled trouble. Trouble for the entire Digital World.