The battle between Sandalwood and Jet Set rages on, but it was a difficult battle for both sides.
Whilst Sandalwood had the terrain advantage, Jet's new partner and its evolutions were proving to be rather difficult to deal with. Currently, Jet had just Digivolved into the Ultimate Level Digimon. Matadormon. The razor sharp Digimon spun around, his claws and bladed feet swishing through the air as Petaldramon stared him down.
"I hope you're ready," Matadormon laughed. "Because it's about time I cut you down to size."
Over in the foyer, Sandal's friends watched and were just as shocked as Sandal.
"Another completely new Digimon," Micro could only whisper. "Dracmon, Sangloupmon and now Matadormon. I don't think I wanna know what its Mega looks like." Twilight tried to bring up Matadormon's stats, but it was just as difficult as when she tried to bring up the data on the other Digimon.
Name: Matadormon
Level: Ultimate
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Undead
Family: Dark Area, Nightmare Soldiers
Flash frowned. "Sandal's gonna have his work cut out for him." Matadormon then charged forward, his claws at the ready whilst Petaldramon tried to counter.
"Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon leapt onto his back legs and started spinning the leaves on his head.
But Matadormon rushed forward at high speed, getting too close for the Leaf Cyclone to hit him. He then leapt up, the blades sticking out of his robes extending. "Assault of Arrows!" He started thrusting the tips of the blades towards Petaldramon, stabbing him several times.
"Gyah!" Petaldramon roared, as he felt his chest getting pierced several times.
Matadormon: 3-100%
Petaldramon: 3-55%
Petaldramon staggered back, as Matadormon leapt backwards and landed upon the crystal grass blade. "Pathetic," he growled with a chuckle. "The Legendary Warrior of Wood. What a joke. Against true strength, you don't stand a chance."
Petaldramon landed on his legs, his chest still stinging from all the stabs. He glared at Matadormon, refusing to let himself get outclassed like that again. "Thorn Jab!" He thrust his tails into the ground and seconds later, the ground erupted with giant roots flying into the air around Matadormon.
"Ha!" He swung around and slashed one of the roots in half, but another managed to grab him around the waist. "Gaaah!" He was lifted into the air, but quickly swung his leg around and cut through the root. As he fell, more roots flew up and tried to catch him.
He rapidly swung his legs around, cutting them to ribbons. But this allowed Petaldramon to rush forward. And before Matadormon could react, Petaldramon slammed his head into the Digimon and knocked him flying backwards.
Matadormon: 3-90%
Petaldramon: 3-55%
"Gaaah!" Matadormon fell towards the ground, but two roots flew up and caught him around the arms, waist and legs. "Augh!" He struggled, but the roots had him held in such a way that he couldn't cut himself free. "Dang it!"
"Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon leapt onto his back legs and unleashed the tornado, which flew towards the undead Digimon and slammed into him. The leaves slashed into him, cutting up his clothes as he could do nothing but let them slash at him.
Matadormon: 3-60%
Petaldramon: 3-55%
As they cut into him, they also cut into the root around his waist and arms and caused it to slowly be torn apart. And once it was weak enough, Matadormon let out a roar and pushed against the root. It finally gave way and Matadormon's arms were freed, allowing him to swing around and shift his feet to cut into the other root.
Now free, he let himself fly through the tornado until he landed atop a crystal flower. Said flower curved backwards, Petaldramon realising what he was doing and running away. Matadormon then leapt off the flower and it bounced back, bending forward and shattering against the ground.
Crystal shards went everywhere, some digging into Petaldramon's side and making him flinch.
Matadormon: 3-60%
Petaldramon: 3-45%
He staggered around, as Matadormon charged. But before he could strike with his bladed feet, Petaldramon grabbed a pair of crystal flower petals in his back roots and lifted them up.
The undead Digimon kicked them, cutting them to pieces. But Petaldramon then used a weaker Leaf Cyclone to blow those pieces into him. "AUGH!" He cried, getting stabbed several times.
Matadormon: 3-40%
Petaldramon: 3-45%
He fell back and crashed into the ground, as Petaldramon stabbed his tail into the ground. "Thorn Jab!" Several roots quickly sprouted up around Matadormon, who was currently brushing his front down to remove the crystal shards. The roots then came crashing down towards him.
Matadormon looked up, as the roots prepared to crush him beneath them. But at the last moment, he started jabbing his claws upwards and cut the roots to pieces. But as they fell around him, he looked over to see Petaldramon stalking away.
The Beast of Wood quickly marched through the crystal garden, spotting a faint glow through the blades of grass.
Pushing his way through it, he spotted an SP Coin and smiled before marching over to it. But as he got close, Matadormon leapt onto the top of a grass blade and looked down at him. "Trying to run away?" He leapt into the air, "I don't think so!" Petaldramon saw him coming and reached out with his back root, grabbing the coin at the last moment. But as he did, Matadormon slashed at him with his metal foot.
"GYAH!" He cried, staggering back as his SP rose but his HP dropped.
Matadormon: 3-40%
Petaldramon: 3-30%
He reacted by spinning around and smashing his tails into one of the crystal grass blades, shattering it and sending the shards falling towards Matadormon.
The undead Digimon slashed at most of them, but several still hit him.
Matadormon: 3-25%
Petaldramon: 3-30%
"Leaf Cyclone!" Petaldramon roared, unleashing a blast of wind from his nostrils that blasted Matadormon and knocked him flying back. The Ultimate crashed into another grass blade, smashing through it and causing several more fragments to fall into him.
Matadormon: 3-10%
Petaldramon: 3-30%
Matadormon laid on his back, groaning as crystal shards jabbed into his back.
Inside the Digimon, Jet groaned whilst Dracmon frowned. "I know our deal is that I keep my mouth shut, but you should really listen to what I have to say."
Jet groaned, "and what would that be?"
"Keep moving," Dracmon announced. "Don't stop, even for a second. No matter what happens, always be in motion. Matadormon should never remain in the same spot for more than a second."
Jet sighed, letting those words sink into his head before he focused back on the battle they were in.
He picked himself up and as the crystals fell off him, he started jumping on the spot. He then jumped from left to right, as Petaldramon watched him move.
"What's he doing now?" Veemon asked.
The others were wondering the same thing, but Flash had a bad feeling he knew. "I think he's getting into the swing of being that Digimon." The others turned to him, "he's figuring out the best way to be Matadormon. It's clear he's not used to that Digimon, so this isn't him at his best."
"You're right," Twilight realised. "But how'd he figure it out so quickly?"
Micro frowned. "I know this is probably unlikely, but you think Dracmon's giving him advice?" They all frowned at this, wishing they could figure out what Jet's deal was. He goes on and on about not needing a partner, then suddenly has one he's actually listening to.
"What is with this guy?" Flash asked, as Matadormon rushed forward.
Petaldramon summoned more roots and created a wall of them between him and the undead Digimon.
Matadormon side-stepped one as it tried to crush him, then dodged another and kept dancing around whilst using his feet to cut through the forest of roots. Eventually, he got in close to Petaldramon and leapt into the air.
"Earth-Shattering Stomp!" He cried, spinning forward several times before smashing his metal foot into Petaldramon's head. The force of the impact made him roar in pain, as he was smashed into the ground and caused it to shake.
Matadormon: 3-10%
Petaldramon: 3-5%
Matadormon quickly leapt back, as Petaldramon pushed himself up and staggered around. Matadormon was constantly jumping from side to side, staying on his toes whilst going in for another attack.
Petaldramon spun around and swept his tail around, but Matadormon leapt into the air and did several spins before thrusting his claws into Petaldramon's tail. "GYAH!"
Matadormon: 3-10%
Petaldramon: 3-0%
Matadormon then leapt straight up. But this turned out to be his undoing, as at that moment the sun came out from behind the clouds again. "Huh?" He looked up, as the light shone down from the sky and struck one of the grass blades. "Oh no."
The light refracted off the blade and bounced around the place, more and more lasers forming and bouncing around them.
Petaldramon shook his head, as he recovered from the last attack, and quickly used his Thorn Jab attack, the roots spreading around him and forming a cocoon. This protected him from the lasers, which continued to ricochet off the many crystal plants.
Matadormon leapt around, trying to avoid them as best he could. But eventually, one of the lasers struck him in the back. "GYAH!"
Matadormon: 3-0%
Petaldramon: 2-100%
He fell to the ground and groaned as he tried to get up, only for another laser to almost hit him. He staggered around, barely dodging the incoming blasts. But then, the sun went behind another cloud and the lasers slowly faded. "Damn this battlefield." He then turned towards the cocoon, waiting for Petaldramon to come out. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
The cocoon remained there, Matadormon and the watchers wondering if Sandal had given up.
"We can't just sit here all day!" He finally charged, spinning his feet around. "If you won't come out, I'll make you!" He cut through the roots and opened the cocoon, only to find Petaldramon was gone.
In this place was a large hole, freshly dug by the giant Digimon.
"Impossible!" He looked around, trying to figure out where Petaldramon had gone.
In another part of the battlefield, the ground exploded as Petaldramon pulled himself out of the ground.
He panted, exhausted after the effort of digging through so much dirt. But he knew Matadormon wouldn't be far behind and started marching, whilst looking at his Digivolution Gauge. It was close to being full, but still wouldn't be for a while. Not unless he got a Digivolution Coin.
But as he searched for one, the sound of clanging filled the air.
He looked back and saw Matadormon, leaping from grass blade to grass blade with his metal feet dinging on the crystal. As he leapt up, he spotted Petaldramon and began to position himself to head towards him.
But Petaldramon wouldn't let that happen and jumped onto his back legs. "Leaf Cyclone!" The tornado exploded into the air and shot towards Matadormon, slamming into him and threatening to push him back. But Matadormon crossed his arms and embraced the attack, as he flew through the powerful wind and let the leafs slice into him.
Matadormon: 2-75%
Petaldramon: 2-100%
Eventually, Matadormon broke through the wind and flew down towards Petaldramon. "Assault of Arrows!" Before Petaldramon could respond, he was suddenly jabbed a bunch of times with the rapier blades.
"Gyah!" He fell backwards, as Matadormon did several back flips through the air.
Matadormon: 2-75%
Petaldramon: 2-60%
As Petaldramon fell to the ground, Matadormon landed and smirked. But then, the ground shook and he noticed the plant dragon's tails were stuck in the ground.
"Thorn Jab!" The ground exploded and a single vine flew out and wrapped around the Ultimate's neck.
"Gaaah!" Matadormon choked, as the root pulled him up and swung him around before he could retaliate. It then let him go, sending him rolling through the air until he crashed through a grass blade and got cut up.
Matadormon: 2-60%
Petaldramon: 2-60%
As this was happening, Petaldramon rolled back onto his front and looked around. Eventually, he spotted what he was looking for. A flower bud that likely had a Digivolution Coin in it.
He rushed over to it and as Matadormon picked himself up, he used his vines to pry the crystal bloom open. "NO!" Matadormon rushed towards him, but Petaldramon reached into the bloom with his vine.
"Got it!" He smirked, feeling the Coin's energy flow into him whilst the gauge filled up. As it did, Matadormon leapt towards him ready to slash him with his foot. But before he could, Petaldramon leapt back and he missed.
"Dang it!" He cried, as the Beast of Wood skidded along the ground to a stop.
"Petaldramon, Mega Digivolve to..." His body began to grow larger, as his neck suddenly extended. All but two of the roots on his back retracted, those two roots growing larger and changing shape until they looked like a pair of wing-frames. Inside those frames, multiple leaves started growing out and filling the gaps. As this was happening, his front legs grew longer and everything below the knee started becoming covered in wooden gauntlets with root-like claws sticking out the front.
His new neck gave him an extra two meters and his tails grew longer to accommodate this, said neck being almost completely covered in moss with the exception of the front. His head also began to change, the petals around it falling away as wooden horns grew out of his head and snout like a triceratops. He also started growing vines out the bottom of his chin, giving him the appearance of having a beard.
Finally, the moss on the back of his body spread to cover his chest, as flowers started blooming along the mossy parts of his body. He spread his new wings and took to the air, roaring as he did so. "DRACHLOROMON!"
Everybody watching was amazed by what they were seeing, Flash and Veemon more than most. "Is that..."
"Mangoramon's Mega Level?" Micro asked, "you bet it is." Twilight brought up Drachloromon's biopage, showing it to Flash and Veemon. They looked it over, amazed by the stats and abilities they had.
Name: Drachloromon
Level: Mega
Type: Data
Attribute: Plant
Species: Flora Dragon
Family: Nature Spirits, Jungle Troopers, Wind Guardians, Dragon's Roar
"This is just the edge Sandal needed," Tawnimon smiled. In that moment, Drachloromon spread his wings and started flapping them. Despite these wings having nothing but leaves within them, they were still able to pick him up and leg him fly up into the air.
Matadormon stared up at the Mega Level, not impressed by the transformation.
"You think that scares me?" He asked, as he raced forward. "You're dead wrong!" He leapt onto a grass blade and as it bent down, he crossed his arms ready to slice him to bits. The blade bounced back up and he was sent flying towards Drachloromon, but the Mega Level spread his wing.
"Floral Hurricane!" He beat his wings and unleashed a powerful gale of wind, which blew a bunch of leaves off them and sent them flying towards Matadormon. The leaves grew back the second they left, allowing him to continue flying as the wind slammed into Matadormon.
"Gaaaah!" The undead Digimon was pushed back towards the ground, the leaves slicing into him as he tried to defend himself.
Matadormon: 2-30%
Drachloromon: 2-60%
"Ahhhh!" He crashed into the ground, as Drachloromon dived down ready to deal some serious damage. "Alright," he pushed himself up, "let's try this again." He leapt forward and as Drachloromon got within reach, he spun around. "Earth-Shattering Stomp!" But Drachloromon managed to dodge the attack, Matadormon flying past him as the dragon's tails swung around.
"Splinter Strike!" The twin tails slammed into him, the wood covering them bothsplintering off and digging into Matadormon's body.
Matadormon: 2-15%
Drachloromon: 2-60%
The force of the strike knocked Matadormon flying backwards, smashing him through three different grass blades and shattering his security.
Matadormon: 2-0%
Drachloromon: 2-60%
Inside Jet's mind, Dracmon looked worried. "This guy's strong. He's Mega Level. The gap between that and an Ultimate is greater than any other stage."
"I know," Jet groaned as he picked himself up. "I have to get out of here. I can't win in a head to head fight." Drachloromon roared as he flew back up, looking ready to unleash another Floral Hurricane. "There's only one way I can survive this." He started running, "I have to find a Digivolution Coin!"
The plant dragon saw him running and chased after him, able to keep up with him no issue. "Should we start powering up?" Mangoramon asked.
Sandal thought about it and nodded. "Alright. Let's do it." He spread his wings as wide as they would go, allowing the leaves that made them to soak up as much energy as they could. "It'd help if the sun came out to play."
Matadormon continued to run through the garden, not daring to go above the grass.
He soon came to a crystal flower and looked up at it. But found there wasn't a Digivolution Coin on it. "Come on!" He kept running, trying to keep as low a profile as possible. He also kept an eye out of the sun, knowing it could come out from behind the clouds at any moment.
He quickly came to a stop and changed direction, hoping to throw Drachloromon off his scent as he searched for another Digivolution Coin. And as he came out of the grass into an open area, he spotted another flower bloom. "Yes!" But as he ran towards it, Drachloromon appeared in the air.
"There you are!" He cried, as his wings shined brightly. "Time to give it everything we've got." The light in the wings began to fade, as it transferred up his body and into his mouth. "SOLAR CANNON!" The light exploded from his mouth and flew down in a powerful beam, which slammed down on the ground right where Matadormon had been a second again.
The explosion rocked the entire field, slamming into Matadormon and sending him flying as he screamed out.
Matadormon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-60%
He struck the ground rolling and eventually came to a stop, whilst all the crystal plants were threatened to be blown away. Several shattered and fell to the ground, whilst Matadormon laid there.
Everyone watched as the Ultimate remained still, all wondering if he was okay. "You think that's it?" Flash asked. "Think Jet's down for the count?"
Micro hummed. "He was lucky he didn't get directly hit by that blast. That would have taken him out for sure. Too bad Solar Cannon takes forever to charge up." Then, Matadormon began to pick himself up and dragged himself along the ground towards the flower bloom.
"Hurry!" Twilight told Sandal. "Finish him off."
Drachloromon flew up and prepared to unleash his Floral, Hurricane attack.
But Matadormon reached the flower and ripped it open, revealing the Digivolution Coin within it. And as the flower dragon beat his wings, the undead Digimon grabbed the coin before ripping the entire flower out of the ground.
He then spun around and raised it up, using it like a shield as his metal feet dug into the ground.
The wind slammed into him and he barely managed to keep himself from being blown back, as the crystal flower protected him from the leaves. And when the wind finally died down, he threw the crystal away as his body began to glow.
"Oh no," Drachloromon cried. The light completely enveloped Matadormon, beginning his transformation.
"Matadormon, Mega Digivolve to..." He grew larger. Even larger than Drachloromon. His body shape changed again, as he gained a centaur-like form whilst something jutted out from above his front legs.
Slowly, the light faded to reveal a demonic centaur with a pair of black wings sticking out the back of his body's curve. His lower half was covered in red fur, with blue areas along the back. He had black feet and his humanoid body was covered in red leather. The bat-wings wrapped around him like a collar and he had blonde hair and a blue mask covering his face, whilst a pair of horns stuck out of his head. A pair of shark head-like protrusions stuck out of his legs, each having razor sharp teeth and a long tongue.
The giant Digimon was a few feet taller than Drachloromon and let out a roar from all three of its mouths. "GRANDRACMON!"
Everyone in Codex stared at the beast that had just appeared.
Many looked terrified at the sight, fearing something like that actually existed somewhere out in the Digital World. And sure enough, when Twilight tried to bring its stats up, she had a hard time. "What are these Digimon?" She asked, as the biopage finally appeared. "Why have we never seen any of them?" She looked over the sparse info page.
Name: GranDracmon
Level: Mega
Type: Virus
Attribute: Dark
Species: Demon Beast
Family: Dark Area, Nightmare Soldiers
"Where the heck did Jet find this thing?" Flash asked, as the giant Digimon turned towards Drachloromon.
"DEATH SCREAM!" It roared, unleashing a high pitched scream from all three of its mouths.
The sonic waves flew through the battlefield, causing the crystals around it to shake. Some even began to crack and as the noise struck Drachloromon, he roared in pain. "GYAH!" He tried to cover his ears, but the sound was just too strong to block out.
GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-40%
The sound was so powerful, it made moving his wings in time tricky and he started falling to the ground. And as he did, GranDracmon galloped forward and intercepted him. The noise finally stopped, but only because the Mega Demon Beast pulled back a fist before throwing it forward and into Drachloromon's chest.
"AUGH!" He was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground, skidding along it before finally coming to a stop atop a pile of crystals.
GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-25%
He pushed himself up, only for GranDracmon to rush over to him. As it did, Drachloromon clawed at him. "Splinter Strike!" His wooden claws almost racked across the Digimon, but GranDracmon managed to pull back at the last moment before leaping onto his back feet and thrusting the front ones forward. "Aaaaah!" They slammed into his chest and knocked him back.
GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-15%
As Drachloromon fell to the ground, GranDracmon moved around him. "Now you see it. The power difference between the pair of us. Against my Digimon's might, yours has no hope of defeating me."
Drachloromon groaned. "I'll admit it. Your Digimon is strong. I don't know where you found him, but he's tough." He picked himself up and stood on all fours. "But I know I can still win." He spread his wings and looked ready to charge, whilst GranDracmon's leg mouths snapped opened and shut.
As this was going on, something was happening at GranDracmon's feet.
Unbeknownst to everyone watching, every time the Digimon took a step, the ground he had been on glitched and sparked. But the two Digimon were so big, they didn't notice this.
The glitches slowly spread, causing some of the grass blades to glitch as well. It was only then that the Codex Commander watching was made aware of the situation, but it was too late.
The two rushed forward, roaring as they drew closer and closer together. And eventually, they met as GranDracmon's steps caused more glitches in the stadium. And as the pair collided, a brilliant light exploded out of the ground where GranDracmon had stood.
That light filled the battlefield, blinding the cameras as more of the battlefield glitched out and some of the plants just vanished. Everyone watching saw nothing but white light, whilst the Codex Commanders had no idea what was going on.
Sandal groaned as he opened his eyes, only to look down and see he was back in his human body. "What the..."
"Sandal!" He looked around and saw Mangoramon, floating beside him looking as confused as him. "What's happening?" Sandal wasn't sure, another light then catching his attention and making him look ahead to see Jet and Dracmon floating in front of them.
"What did you do?" Jet asked, but Sandal just shrugged as they looked around and saw they were in some kind of white voice. And before Sandal or Jet could say anything, a roar made them look down and see the void around them disappear.
Now, they were floating above an open rockscape. And down below, a bunch of Digimon were running as fast as they could. They looked familiar, but something wasn't right about them.
"Are those...Monochromon?" The herd looked like the rhino-like Digimon, but there was something different about them. Their unarmored sections were as dark as their armored parts and instead of a normal horn, they had what appeared to be a giant buster sword on their noses. Their claws were large and white, whilst their tails ended in a scythe-like blade.
"What is going on?" Jet asked, as another group also appeared. This one was a Digimon he had never seen before, being a flying Digimon that appeared robotic. It seemed to resemble a giant wasp, as it was a black and yellow creature with a large rear end that ended in a stinger of some kind.
More Digimon appeared, all of them appearing to be running in the same direction. Some were Digimon they had never seen before, whilst others were Digimon they recognised but had more of an...edge to them. "What is this?" Jet asked, whilst Sandal happened to catch Dracmon's expression.
The Rookie was staring down at the scene below them, looking horrified as if he was reliving a horrible memory.
Then, suddenly, a loud roar filled the air. One that made them look in the direction the Digimon were coming from. And from behind some mountains, a large dark cloud appeared and made its way towards the fleeing Digimon. And as it got closer, they realised it was a cloud. It was a giant flock of Digimon, which were flying as fast as they could towards them.
"Now what?" Mangoramon asked, only for movement to catch their eye and make them turn to see a quartet of Digimon appear flying over the crowd of fleeing Digimon.
Three of them were Digimon they knew, with Sandal and Mangoramon having met one of them, whilst the fourth was a complete mystery. Four knightly Digimon, looking ready to fight the oncoming horde. But the three they recognised looked different than normal.
The four charged forward, all ready to defeat the monsters that were coming to destroy them. And as they reached the large flock, the world around them went white again.
The light then faded to reveal they were floating above a large forest, the moon shining down through the trees and illuminating the darkness. And as it did, they noticed movement down below. But it was so dark, they could barely see what was going on.
Then, they heard a cry of pain coming from the area where the movement came from. And suddenly, a Digimon shot out of the trees and was illuminated by the darkness. Matadormon.
The undead Digimon flew through the air and landed upon a tree, holding his side as a small cut ran through it.
Everyone turned to Dracmon, who stared at the situation in shock. And before they could ask anything, another Digimon leapt out of the shadows and swung his claws at Matadormon. "Shadow Claw!" But the Ultimate leapt away, barely managing to avoid what was happening.
This also revealed the Digimon's identity, as BlackWereGarurumon.
The humanoid wolf landed on the tree and clung to the trunk, glaring at Matadormon as he swung back and forth. "Give it to me!" He leapt at Matadormon and the two fell into the trees, both arriving at an area of open forest so the others could watch.
As BlackWereGarurumon attacked, Matadormon countered with his own attack. "Assault of Arrows!" He viciously stabbed into the wolf, making him howl in pain and causing him to stagger backwards. And he eventually hit a tree and slid down, sitting at its base.
Matadormon also fell to the ground, looking exhausted whilst his wound leaked data.
The pair remained like this for several moments, those watching curious about what was going to happen. "I just wanted to survive," BlackWereGarurumon sighed.
Matadormon looked up. "Taking it from me wouldn't have helped you survive. It would have just put a larger target on your back."
"Don't give me that," the wolf growled. "We're only in this mess, because of Digimon like you. If you hadn't shown up, none of this would have happened."
Matadormon growled. "I didn't ask to be created. Don't go blaming me for something that wasn't my fault." As he said that, BlackWereGarurumon's body started to disintegrate. "What's the point of all this? If you hadn't gotten to me, something else would have. If not another Digimon, then one of those...things." He picked himself up and made his way over to him. "I'll give it to you." He looked ready to reach into his wound and rip something out. But in that moment, the wolf stopped him.
"No," he shook his head, "don't."
"Why not? You wanted it before."
"I didn't want it. I just didn't want to die."
"Then take it!"
"No. Keep it. And fight. Find a way to survive. Show those things they're wasting their time."
"Why should I?"
"Because your very existence is proof anything can happen. You weren't chosen, but you're still standing here. If something like that is possible, maybe defeating them is just as possible." His body was starting to disappear. "Find a way to stop this. The whole Digital World might very well be counting on you." With that, he vanished and the lights he became disappeared into the sky.
Matadormon watched him vanish, but could only look down in sorrow. "Yeah, right. This world is doomed. And the rest of us are just as ill fated." He turned to walk away. And as he did, those watching heard a growl.
They looked around and saw something in the sky. Hidden in the darkness, they couldn't make out anything aside from a pair of dangerous looking wings.
The beast snarled down and Matadormon looked up, gasping as he began to run for his life. He ran and ran and ran, but the creature continued to chase him. It then fired a blast of something that impacted the ground and blasted Matadormon flying, obliterating the trees and anything else in the vicinity.
He crashed into the ground, his body being cut in several places. But he forced himself back to his feet and forced himself forward, as the creature kept chasing after him. More and more projectiles were shot down towards the ground and Matadormon barely managed to avoid getting blasted by them all, as he reached the top of a hill.
It was then that he tripped and began to fall, causing him to go tumbling down the steep slope until he crashed through a tree and the bottom of it.
He simply lay there, as the beast flew overhead letting out a menacing roar. He wanted to simply give up, but BlackWereGarurumon's words echoed in his mind and he pushed himself up. As he did, he noticed a light coming through the darkness and looked up.
Ahead of him was a cave, hidden in the side of another hill that headed back up the way he came. A small light was shining within it.
The others weren't at a good enough angle to see what exactly that light was. All they could do, was watch as Matadormon staggered forward and into the cave. "What are you doing?" Jet cried, "you'll be trapped. But, of course, the Digimon didn't hear him and disappeared into the rocky tunnel. As he did, another light exploded out of the cave and blinded them all.
They screamed, forced to cover their eyes for fear of going blind. And as they did, the world around them burned away and they returned to the white void.
Back in Codex, everyone was still waiting to see what had happened in the battle.
Then, the screen started coming back into focus and both Drachloromon and GranDracmon could be seen laying on the ground. Both groaned, as they began to pick themselves up. "What happened?" Flash asked, but everyone was as stumped as him.
Once they were back on their feet, they shook their heads to try and clear the fuzziness they had.
"Sandal," Mangoramon called out, "you did see what I just saw, right?" Sandal was still a little confused, as he remembered everything he had seen.
"Yeah," he nodded before turning to GranDracmon. "What the heck was that?" The Mega turned to him, as if raising an eyebrow. "Dracmon had something to do with that. Don't deny it."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." GranDracmon picked himself up. "And I'd appreciate it, if you didn't go accusing my partner of things you have no proof of. Now," he stood tall, "let's finish this battle!"
"Are you insane?" Drachloromon cried. "After what just happened? You can't seriously-" He didn't get to finish, as GranDracmon rushed forward with a roar. Before Drachloromon could respond, he was tackled to the ground and skidded through several crystal blades.
GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 2-0%
"If you're not gonna fight, then just lay there and let me beat you!" GranDracmon opened his mouth and prepared to unleash another Death Scream, but Drachloromon jumped to his feet.
"Fine!" He yelled, spreading his wings. "Floral Hurricane!" He flapped his wings and unleashed the powerful air blast, which sent the leaves flying at GranDracmon. But the Mega leapt into the air, over the wind before falling back towards Drachloromon.
The wood dragon jumped back, GranDracmon's feet barely missing him. But before Drachloromon could unleash another attack, the leg mouths opened up and started spraying out a freezing cold air. "CRYSTAL REVOLUTION!" Multiple ice spikes appeared around him with a single thrust of his hands, GranDracmon sent them flying towards his opponent.
Drachloromon gasped as he was suddenly struck by the icicles, which ripped through him and tore through his leaf wings. "GYAH!"
GranDracmon: 1-60%
Drachloromon: 1-50%
He fell to the ground and flinched at the biting chill he was feeling from his wounds, whilst GranDracmon charged.
Once near him, he leapt onto his back legs and tried to stomp on Drachloromon. But at the last moment, the wood dragon rolled onto his back and grabbed the feet in his wooden claws. He groaned, as GranDracmon was seriously heavy. But he managed to hold him up long enough, so his leaves grew back into his wings.
GranDracmon looked like he was about to use his Death Scream. But before he could the wooden tails swung upwards. "Splinter Strike!" They whipped into GranDracmon's rear, making him roar in pain.
GranDracmon: 1-40%
Drachloromon: 1-50%
This gave Drachloromon the opening to throw GranDracmon away, then spread his newly repaired wings and take to the air. And as he did, the sun appeared from out of the clouds.
The light flew down onto the field, but many of the crystals around the Digimon had been broken and unable to refract the light down. However, it allowed Drachloromon to absorb a butt ton of light super fast. His wings glowed brightly and were fully charged in a matter of moments. And at the same time, the leg mouths on GranDracmon unleashed the frozen mist and the ice spikes started forming.
"SOLAR CANNON/CRYSTAL REVOLUTION!" The two attacks launched at the same time, the laser shooting down towards GranDracmon whilst the ice spike soared up towards Drachloromon.
One of the spikes slammed into the laser and was pushed back, but the others flew up and smashed into Drachloromon. "GYAH!"
GranDracmon: 1-40%
Drachloromon: 1-0%
GranDracmon saw the ice spike fly back towards him and grabbed it, pushing it back up in an attempt to shield himself from the laser. But as the beam battered into the icicle, the heat from it caused it to start melting in his hands. Slowly, the ice grew smaller and smaller with the water running down GranDracmon's arms.
He held out as long as he could, but eventually the icicle was completely destroyed and the beam pushed forward and smashed into his chest. "AUGH!" He screamed, feeling his chest being burned by the intense solar laser. And slowly, his HP dropped until the laser finally gave out.
GranDracmon: 1-5%
Drachloromon: 0-0%
Attacks finished, the pair just stayed where they were and let the damage they had taken sink in. Both felt exhausted and wanted to take a nap, but they didn't want to give up and let the other one win.
And so, the pair completely out of SP, Drachloromon dived down whilst GranDracmon rushed forward ready to end this battle. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" They roared, as they got closer and closer to one another. But at the last moment, one of them suddenly felt their bodies give out.
"Augh!" Drachloromon cried, as his wings stopped working and he smashed into the ground. He slid along the ground and with his securities all gone, all it took was a single shard of crystal to scratch him.
His body exploded into light, Sandalwood and Mangoramon falling to the ground at GranDracmon's feet.
They just laid there, whilst the Demon Beast Digimon stared down at them and smirked. He then raised one of his giant feet, as if he was going to crush them. But before he could, the battlefield exploded into light.
"Battle, over. Winner, Jet Set!" GranDracmon reverted back to human form, as the stadium formed around them.
Sandal groaned as he sat himself up, feeling sore all over. He then looked over at Jet Set, as the teen removed his Digivice from the podium and Dracmon hung off his shoulder. "Looks like you're as pathetic as I thought you were," Jet chuckled. "Couldn't even stay airborne long enough to let me deal the finishing blow."
Sandal glared at him, as he picked Mangoramon up. And as Jet turned to leave, he called out to them. "Dracmon!" They stopped and looked around. "What was that before? Just tell me. What did we see?"
Dracmon stared at him, Jet clearly annoyed by this question. But Sandal could see the indecision on the Digimon's face, which made Sandal wonder if it was something that frightened the Digimon.
"No idea," Dracmon finally stated. "Don't go blaming me for all this. I'm as clueless as you are. And that's saying a lot." Jet laughed at this before they left the room, Sandal and Mangoramon still curious about the vision they had seen. They knew Dracmon was lying. He knew what that all was. But it wasn't like they could force an answer out of him.
Mangoramon turned to Sandal. "What are you thinking?"
Sandal sighed. "I'm thinking something big's coming. And we're gonna need to be ready when it does."
In the giant void that the Codex Commanders worked in, the lot of them were furiously trying to figure out what the heck had happened.
"This data is insane," the Mexican Gennai announced. "What the heck happened during that battle? We're getting warning flags all over the place." Sure enough, another glitch had been detected in the system. They had been popping up all over the place, ever since GranDracmon showed up.
"Massive amounts of unknown data," the Russian Gennai stated. "Flowing into the server. Whatever that Digimon was, something about it caused the system to go into overload. But I can't figure out what."
Gennai typed away at his console and had a scan of GranDracmon up on the screen. A line was running up and down the Digimon, searching every piece of data for some explanation about what the heck just happened.
Then, he found something that made him raise an eyebrow. "Hello. What's this?"
"Did you find something?" The Chinese version of him asked. Gennai didn't say anything at first, focusing on what he had found. Then, he brought it up.
"There's some kind of program inside this Digimon." He did the same scan to the other three Digimon Jet Set had used. "They all have it. Going Mega caused this program to start overriding our own systems."
"What is it?" The French Gennai asked.
"I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it seems to be connected to Dracmon's core programming. It's affecting everything. From Dracmon's battle strength to his Digivolution Lines."
"And it's affecting our systems?" The Japanese Gennai asked. "That's bad. We need to take action."
"The system's scanning this program now," Gennai stated. "Once that's done, we should be able to reinforce our systems so they can't be affected by...whatever this is again."
"And what about Dracmon?" Mexican Gennai asked. "What should we do about him?"
Gennai wondered. "I don't think he did this on purpose. We shouldn't punish him for something that he's doing by accident. We should keep an eye on him and see if he tries anything. If he doesn't, we leave him alone. If he does...we deal with it then."
They all nodded and got to work on the patch needed to undo and protect the system from further damage. As they did, Gennai stared at the image of Dracmon and frowned.
"What are you? And where did you come from?" During his time as a Codex Commander, he had seen many Digimon species come and go. Some had simply appeared through Digivolution, whilst others had been formed from human data that had mutated into a living thing. But all those times, Gennai had been able to find the source of those Digimon.
Dracmon and his evolutions simply came out of nowhere. And that made Gennai very worried.
Sandal sighed as he made his way through Codex, eventually arriving at the foyer.
He spotted his friends there, the lot of them looking worried. "Hey," Flash waved him over, "you okay?" Sandal sighed as he sat down, the loss still stinging. "Yeah, we get it. Losing is bad enough. But losing to Jet...that really bites."
"We still think you were awesome," Veemon told them. He turned to Mangoramon, "your Mega Level looks awesome."
"Thanks," Mangoramon smiled. "And we're okay. It's not losing that's got us annoyed." The others wondered what was wrong, Sandal leaning forward and putting his arms on the table.
"It's what happened when Jet Digivolved to Mega."
"You mean that weird light?" Twilight asked. "What was with that? The screens just went blank. Since the two of you didn't lose any life points, I'm guessing whatever it was stopped the battle."
"It did more than that," Sandal cried. He started explaining what happened during their vision, Flash and the others Listening intently. He told them about the horde of strange Digimon, running from something they hadn't gotten a good enough look at.
He told them about the Royal Knights he had seen, along with the strange new knight he had never seen before. And how the knights he did know were different from how he knew them.
He then told them about the vision they had seen involving Matadormon, along with the way Dracmon had looked through the entire event. "So what?" Micro asked, "you think you were seeing into Dracmon's memories or something?"
"I don't know," Sandal shrugged. "All I know is, that Digimon is hiding something. He comes out of nowhere, has never been seen before and when we fought, I get a strange vision involving a bunch of different Digimon I've never seen."
Mangoramon nodded. "And when Sandalwood asked about it, Dracmon got all defensive."
"So what do you think?" Twilight looked worried. "That Dracmon might be up to no good?" Sandal didn't answer, obviously not wanting to make any accusations without proof.
"I don't know. I just hope Jet hasn't gotten in over his head."
"So what if he has?" Veemon asked. "If Dracmon's really up to no good, let Jet fall into the middle of it. He deserves it after all the problems he's caused us." They all wanted to agree, but were worried. Despite all the trouble he had caused for them, there was no telling what Dracmon's secret was. And nobody deserved to be in danger. Not even Jet.
"What do you think?" Flash asked. "Should we warn Gennai and the other commanders?"
"It's not like they can do anything," Twilight sighed. "I mean, we still have no proof Dracmon's guilty of anything. In a way, he's just like Veemon. Veemon came out of nowhere and we don't know anything about what happened to him before he was stuck under the Digimental. What, should we be suspicious of him because we don't know anything about his past?"
Veemon suddenly felt very small, whilst the others thought about it.
"I guess not," Flash sighed. "Even so, Dracmon still worries me."
"It's okay to be cautious around him," Tawnimon agreed. "But Twilight's right. We shouldn't judge someone for something they haven't done. if he is up to no good, we'll deal with it when he actually shows his true colours."
"I just hope it's not too late by then." Flash looked around, wondering where Jet Set was. Despite being a jerk, Flash knew Jet wasn't an idiot. If he really did see what Sandal saw, he had to be just as curious about it as them. Which meant he was either willing to turn a blind eye to whatever Dracmon was up to, or he was actively planning on helping. And given who Jet was, Flash wouldn't put it past the teen.
In a dark corner of the Digital World, Jet Set and Dracmon were inside a bar.
They both stepped up to the bar and sat down, Jet signalling to the barkeep Digimon. Moments later, two large pints of juice slid across the bar and landed in the two's hands. They quickly took a swig of the liquid, sighing once they had consumed half of it. And when they did, Jet glanced at Dracmon.
"So," he asked, "are we going to just sit here? Or are you going to actually tell me what the heck happened back there?"
"Don't know what you're talking about," Dracmon stated.
Jet took another sip. "I know we're not partners, in the same way that all those other idiots and their Digimon are. But if this is going to work out, we still need some level of trust. Which means I need to know if anything big is going down." He glanced at Dracmon. "So...is it?"
"How should I know?" Dracmon sipped his own drink. But Jet kept staring at him, clearly having no intention of letting this go until he got some kind of answer. "Alright. Let's say I had a secret. One I didn't want anybody knowing about. What would it take to keep that secret and still make you happy?"
"Tell me the basics without giving any details away," Jet replied. "For example. Are you planning on causing anything big? Yes, or no?"
"No," Dracmon replied. "All I want, is to live my life free of strife and difficulty. I don't want to conquer the world or become the leader of an evil army of Digimon that will destroy everything. Honestly, that all sounds like too much work. All I want is a way to live without having to worry about finding food, or a safe place to rest my head."
"And that's why you chose to join me," Jet realised. "Well, can't say I'm upset. This is purely a business arrangement."
"Exactly." They both took another sip.
"But that thing we saw. What are the chances of it showing up?"
Dracmon frowned, clearly unsure how to answer that. "Honestly. I don't know. If I had it my way, I'd say we'd never have to worry about it showing up. But...life is never that easy." Jet nodded and the pair chose to sit in silence, enjoying their drinks.
Dracmon was a mysterious Digimon, with a mysterious past. But in time, the Digital World would come to learn everything there was about him. And when that happened, nothing would ever be the same again.