...
Before any of us could say or do anything, two enormous shadows flew overhead, causing a strong wind that nearly swept us all away.
Even with my eyes half-closed, I could make out the enormous forms of Kabuterimon and Birdramon landing right next to Piximon's house. Without a second thought, BlackGarurumon, Piximon, Filmon, and I ran back to the now-destroyed entrance of the house.
Sora and Joe climbed down from Birdramon, while a nervous Izzy climbed down from Kabuterimon as he looked around cautiously. The laptop was clutched tightly under his arm.
"Guys, are you okay?!" Sora exclaimed as she knelt down next to TK and began to examine him closely.
"Mostly," Matt replied through clenched teeth as he looked at the house, now riddled with holes and cuts in what used to be walls. "Although the house may have seen better days..."
"There don't seem to be any more Digimon around, but the geography around us has changed; it's strange, the desert surrounds the forest and the river as if this place had always been here... of course! It's not a pocket dimension as such, but a point in space that separates the outside world from the inside world! It's a dimension suppressed over space itself!" Izzy muttered thoughtfully as he typed quickly on his laptop before stopping and scratching his head in confusion. "But... how did they manage to break the barrier? Wasn't it supposed to be indestructible and undetectable?"
At that question, even though Izzy didn't direct it at her, we all looked at Piximon demanding an explanation.
The fairy simply let out an unusual grunt as she rose with difficulty into the air with a frustrated expression on her face and began to stare at the sky with narrowed eyes.
"Wizardmon... Witchelny... Of all the possible Digimon, of course Vamdemon would have one of the few originals from that place in his possession, pi!" Piximon kicked the air with her feet before looking up at the sky and letting out a long sigh. An information screen appeared in front of me, but I quickly dismissed it. It wasn't the time to read. "This is serious, pi, I'll need at least a couple of months to rebuild the barrier, maybe more, pi..."
"So we'll be unprotected for all that time? What if Vamdemon and his people come to attack us again?" Joe asked with a shudder as he rubbed his temples with his fingers; he seemed particularly exhausted, his skin slightly paler than normal and small dark circles beginning to appear under his eyes. He had been the first to go out in search of his Emblem, and unfortunately, it seemed he had not managed to locate it, let alone obtain it.
His words weighed heavily on the group as the discussions and murmurs about what to do grew louder and louder.
I stood silently next to Matt with a frown. I really had nothing to contribute to the budding discussion, or at least nothing I said would be of much help right now; instead, I focused on my Digimon partner.
'How are you feeling?' I asked, feeling a sudden sense of surprise before a cheerful presence filled a small part of my mind. It seemed that I had managed to surprise him with the sudden question.
'I feel great; my claws feel a little sharper than before! I don't know what MadLeomon's claws were made of, but they were hard!' Filmon exclaimed in my mind as I watched and felt Filmon's spikes sharpen for a split second.
I let out a silent snort, which earned me a confused look from Matt, who simply dismissed it with a gesture. 'That's great, but I feel like you're a little upset about something.'
'Well... MadLeomon escaping was annoying; I was curious to know which one of us cut better!' Filmon replied as he received what I mentally classified as a pout.
'Well...' The memory of MadLeomon's arm being cut like butter came to mind; Filmon's confident smile as his reddish claws glowed brightly, tearing everything in their path, came to mind. '...I think I know who cuts better.'
I thought with a slight smile, causing Filmon to burst out laughing before I refocused on the conversation.
"We can set up guards at night and make sure they don't come to attack us; if something unexpected happens, we can always activate the emergency call. We can still stay here or find another safer place, considering that Vamdemon knows this location; the second option would be the safest." Izzy's voice was the first thing I heard when my attention returned to them.
"Neither of those options." A stern voice spoke behind BlackGarurumon, causing everyone to pay attention to the old man approaching with slow steps. "All of you must go immediately to Vamdemon's Castle."
The discussion seemed to freeze in time as everyone's gaze fell on Gennai; it was as if someone had suddenly pulled the handbrake. It only took a few seconds for the words to sink in.
"Have you lost your mind, old man?" Matt scoffed, crossing his arms and stepping forward. "You saw the damn army that came to attack us, right? Sure, I don't doubt we can fight them, but MadLeomon, Eyesmon, and that Wizardmon guy are a problem, not to mention Vamdemon himself."
"I'm old, not senile. And no, I'm not joking. Vamdemon now has all the Cards in his possession; it's only a matter of time before he manages to establish a connection with the Human World and invades it."
My mind went blank for a brief moment as my gaze focused on Gennai and no one else.
'...What?'
"His last general came after me and managed to take the Card from me without me being able to do anything." Gennai muttered quietly before lowering his head in resignation. "Unlike you Humans or Digimon, I have no physical combat abilities. I was programmed to be a simple guide for God's Chosen Ones, an indifferent observer."
A new tab of information appeared, but I simply ignored it as I took a step toward Gennai.
"But how are we supposed to face Vamdemon? We haven't even managed to draw power from any of our Emblems yet!" I exclaimed loudly as my head began to spin thinking about the new development the conversation had taken. "You saw what a single Perfect Digimon did to us, right?"
Too sudden.
Too unexpected.
It didn't make sense.
"You'll have to learn as you go, then. In your hands lies the power to save not only this World, but also your own," Gennai replied impassively before looking at the little fairy. "Piximon."
The fairy remained silent as she looked at Gennai with resilience before shaking her head. "It's a little too far for me right now, pi. But I can get you pretty close, pi!"
We all stared at each other; this wasn't what we expected; it was too soon, too sudden. But hadn't this whole trip been sudden? Being swept away by a tsunami and taken to a parallel world against our will with a prophecy calling us the saviors of this place, wasn't that sudden?
And now we found ourselves right in the jaws of the wolf, or in this case, the vampire.
I couldn't say I liked it, but what choice did I have?
"We're going to kick Vamdemon's butt!" TK exclaimed with his fist raised. We all looked at each other with different expressions on our faces, some confident, others indecisive.
But finally, we all nodded at TK's words.
I looked at Piximon as I made sure I had my Emblem on my chest and my Digivice in my hand. I gave BlackGarurumon one last meaningful look, which made the jet-black wolf nod with a growl and take a step back, standing next to Gennai and Piximon.
I had a strange feeling about the whole situation, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
The little pink fairy giggled before snapping her fingers; a large portal opened beneath us all and sucked us in without warning.
And suddenly, we were falling from the sky toward a huge castle.
...
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