[On-screen!]
At the moment those four ominous silhouettes closed in, ready to push this play titled "Death Date" to its finale—
A shrill whistling split the fog.
"Everyone, stop!"
A blinding pink energy burst appeared out of thin air like a tiny sun. It slammed into Piedmon and forced him half a step back.
The kids stared up in shock.
A tiny Digimon in a pointed hat, clutching a little magic wand.
Piximon.
He hovered in midair, panting, using his small body to block the children.
"You're… Piximon!" said Tai Yagami.
Piedmon halted and eyed the uninvited guest with amusement. "Oh? A lost little bug, here to play hero?"
"I am not a bug!" Piximon mustered his courage and shouted. "And I'm not here to play hero! I'm here to expose you!"
He turned and screamed with everything he had at the kids whose hearts fear had gripped.
"Listen up! Your enemies aren't some clown! And they aren't ordinary Mega-level Digimon!"
"They are the nightmare that rules the entire Digital World! The incarnation of darkness!"
"MetalSeadramon!"
"Puppetmon!"
"Machinedramon!"
"And… Piedmon!"
"They are the Dark Masters!"
Each name landed like a lead weight on the children's hearts.
[Cyber Sleuth World]
"I see." Kyoko Kuremi set down her coffee. Sharp streams of data flashed across her lenses. "Not simple dark contamination, but the rule-makers themselves."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Nokia Shiramine screamed. "That's GM-tier mobs?! How do you even fight that?!"
Arata Sanada took his hands off the keyboard and slumped back. "You don't… On the data layer they are the 'world.' Any outside interference is flagged as a 'bug' and ruthlessly deleted."
[Savers World]
"The Dark Masters…" rumbled Craniummon, voice heavy with caution.
Alphamon said nothing, just watched the screen.
Gallantmon Crimson Mode gripped his holy lance. "So this… is darkness enough to upend the world's balance."
"Ha! Sounds like a challenge!" Marcus Damon cracked his knuckles, not afraid but fired up. "Dark Masters or whatever—if they're enemies, I'll punch them out!"
Beside him, Agumon S pumped his claws. "Yeah! Leave it to Boss and me!"
[Pokémon World]
"Dark Masters? Sounds tough." Ash clenched his fist, eyes serious. "But Tai and the others won't give up!"
"Ash, this isn't the same league." Brock pushed up his glasses, face more solemn than ever. "They're that world's rulers. That's basically… fighting the entire world."
Misty and Dawn stared at the screen, barely daring to breathe.
At the lab, Professor Oak frowned at the analytics on-screen. "Incredible energy readings… This goes beyond what we mean by 'strong.'"
On the screen—
Piximon's voice continued.
"You're not their match yet! But you have a chance to beat them!"
"Listen! This is my last hint!"
"If you find the thing you're missing, you'll defeat them!"
He looked at Tai and Matt Ishida.
"Especially you two!"
Tai froze.
Matt froze too.
The thing… we're missing?
Courage?
Friendship?
Piedmon flicked his hand, impatient. "Noisy little bug. Your part is over."
A card popped from his fingertip and became a lance of white light, shooting at Piximon.
Just then—
Tai lunged forward and shoved Piximon aside.
"Tai!"
"Big brother!"
Everyone cried out.
"I…" Tai glanced at his bare chest, where the Crest of Courage should have hung.
Is what he lacks… courage?
No.
That's not it.
He lifted his head and looked at Matt.
Matt was looking back, his eyes no longer confused or wavering.
"Matt…"
"Tai…"
Matt's chest was bare too.
Friendship.
They had lost the things that mattered most.
But—
Tai's gaze hardened.
"I'm not alone!"
Matt stepped up beside him.
"We're not alone!"
In that instant, the boys' hearts drew closer than ever.
No extra words.
One look said it all.
Vmmm!
Vmmm!
The two Digivices on their belts erupted with unprecedented radiance.
Light speared upward, ripping the fog, illuminating the land smothered by despair.
"Agumon!"
"Gabumon!"
"Let's go!"
"Right!"
Light of evolution surged around Agumon and Gabumon.
"Agumon, warp digivolve!"
"WarGreymon!"
Golden Digi-chrome armor covered his body. A shield engraved with the Crest of Courage hung on his back. Twin Dramon Destroyers blazed with lethal chill. A figure of awe and fighting spirit stood before them.
"Gabumon, warp digivolve!"
"MetalGarurumon!"
A silver-white metal body radiated future tech. Weapon bays along his frame glowed a dangerous red. He dropped to all fours and loosed a soul-shaking howl.
[01 World]
"Wh-what is that?!" Future-Mimi clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Agumon and Gabumon's… Mega forms?" Future-Izzy stared, fingers flying over his keyboard, but no data would come up.
"S-so cool…" Future T.K. and Kari's eyes sparkled.
Matt's clenched fist eased a little as he stared at MetalGarurumon on the screen, eyes full of shock.
In Tai's pupils, WarGreymon's form burned. He felt it—courage blazing out of the screen, a fire that would not die.
"Go for it… the other me…"
[Adventure 2020 World]
"Whoa! Agumon's so cool!" Mimi Tachikawa jumped up.
Palmon waved her vines. "Amazing! Amazing!"
"So that's… a Mega?" T.K. looked up in awe. Beside him, Angemon's eyes shone with yearning.
Kari clutched Angewomon's arm and whispered, "Such overwhelming power…"
Tai Yagami grinned at the boy who shared his name, and at WarGreymon beside him.
"Go, Agumon! Show them what you've got!"
[Tamers World]
"So this… is the power of the fabled DigiDestined?" Takato Matsuki couldn't look away.
Guilmon nuzzled in his arms. "Takato, I wanna be like that too!"
"Hmph. Looks decent." Rika Nonaka crossed her arms, but the corner of her mouth lifted.
Renamon flicked her tails. "Indeed. Imposing."
Henry Wong and Ryo Akiyama traded a look. In each other's eyes they saw both gravity and excitement.
On screen, the battle was about to explode.
"WarGreymon!"
"MetalGarurumon!"
Tai and Matt shouted together.
"Go!"
WarGreymon launched first, carving a golden arc through the air, twin arms raised high.
Every particle in the atmosphere drew to his palms, coalescing into a blazing sphere that could incinerate anything.
"Terra Force!"
At the same time, MetalGarurumon howled to the sky. Hatches along his belly yawned open and a storm of micro-missiles poured out as he opened his jaws wide.
"Cocytus Breath!"
A blue beam at absolute zero chased the sun-hot sphere, weaving with the hail of missiles, and roared toward the four figures ahead.
Two ultimate extremes—one heat, one cold—intertwined into a storm of annihilation, vowing to purge the darkness before them.
[02 World]
"Charge! Let's go, WarGreymon-senpai!" Davis pumped his fist.
Veemon flipped on his head. "So cool! So cool!"
"So this is… the true power of Tai-senpai and Matt-senpai…" Ken Ichijouji murmured.
BlackWarGreymon stared in silence at that golden figure, eyes complicated.
Azulongmon's colossal head dipped, his voice solemn. "The seed of Hope has finally sprouted."
However—
A heartbeat later—
Every smile froze.
Piedmon's body simply blurred. He reappeared outside the attack's range, the same mocking smile on his face.
MetalSeadramon didn't even bother to dodge. He let the terrifying storm hammer his long metal body.
KRA-THOOOM!
When the smoke cleared—
Not a scratch.
"What?!" Tai and Matt shouted together.
Machinedramon raised the twin cannons on his shoulders and took aim at the fading afterglow of Terra Force.
"Infinity Cannon!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Two even thicker, wilder blasts crushed Terra Force's remnants and shoved them back.
Puppetmon merely twitched a finger. Nearly invisible strands wrapped MetalGarurumon's four legs and pinned him in place.
"Damn it!" MetalGarurumon strained, but couldn't tear free.
"Don't underestimate us!"
WarGreymon roared. His claws crossed and spun into a golden cyclone as he charged MetalSeadramon.
"Brave Tornado!"
He would rip through that armor with his indomitable Dramon Destroyers.
Screeech! Screeech! Screeech!
Metal ground on metal. Sparks fountained.
WarGreymon gave it everything he had… and left only a few shallow white scratches on MetalSeadramon's shell.
"That all?" MetalSeadramon sneered. His giant tail fin whipped out.
WHUD!
The blow smashed into WarGreymon's abdomen. Sparks burst from his armor. His massive body tumbled helplessly and slammed into the ground.
"WarGreymon!" Tai's heart clenched.
"Damn!"
MetalGarurumon roared and finally snapped Puppetmon's strings, jaws opening to fire again—
But Piedmon was already in front of him.
"Your opponent is me."
Four swords had appeared in his hand at some point, twirling between his fingers like a juggler's toys.
"Trump Sword!"
The blades turned into four streaks of white, stabbing from four vicious angles.
MetalGarurumon couldn't evade. Armor at his shoulder and leg was pierced and erupted in a chain of explosions.
"Grr—!"
He dropped to one knee.
[Digimon tri World]
"No… the gap is too big," Jesmon said, voice leaden.
Alphamon stayed silent. The silence itself was assent.
"This is the Dark Masters' true power…" "Gennai" (impostor) smiled with sickly delight.
Tai stared at the two figures on screen—freshly evolved, supposed to be unstoppable, now battered and reeling. An invisible hand squeezed his heart until he could hardly breathe.
[Xros Wars World]
"H-how can this be…" Akari Hinomoto went pale.
"You've got to be joking. Megas, shut down that easily…" Zenjirou Tsurugi trailed off.
Taiki Kudo glared at the screen, brow knotted tight. "No… there has to be a way…"
Shoutmon rumbled low beside him, full of unease.
[Frontier World]
"Hey, hey, hey—how are they supposed to fight that?" Takuya Kanbara couldn't hold back.
"Their attacks… are completely ineffective," Kouji Minamoto said, voice cold.
Zoe Orimoto and the others could only watch as the two heroes were toyed with in the Dark Masters' palms.
In the darkness, Lucemon's evil will chuckled. "See? This is absolute power. Any courage or friendship before it is a laughable garnish."
On screen, the situation was critical.
In just a few exchanges, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon were battered head to toe. Energy plummeted. Even standing was hard.
The strength granted by evolution looked pitiful before the Dark Masters.
"It's over," Machinedramon declared, icy, cannons training on the fallen WarGreymon.
"What a boring farce." MetalSeadramon yawned his jaws, ready to deliver the final blow.
Puppetmon hefted his hammer toward MetalGarurumon.
Piedmon spread his hands with elegance, ready to write the period at the end of this play.
Despair.
Deeper than before, it blanketed everyone again.
Just then—
"I will never… let you have your way!"
Piximon burst out once more.
He flew above the children and their partners and threw his arms wide.
"Final… Fairy Dance!"
His tiny body began to glow. Brighter. Brighter—until he became a vast pink data sphere that wrapped every child and every partner within.
"Piximon!" Tai shouted.
"Go!" Piximon's voice rang in their minds, tinged with relief. "I've sent you to the Dark Masters' base—Spiral Mountain! The terrain is complex. It's your only chance!"
"No! We go together!" Mimi cried.
"I'm sorry… I only have enough power to send you." Piximon's voice grew faint. "Remember… find… what you're… missing…"
Outside the protective shell, the Dark Masters' attacks slammed in.
BOOM!
The pink barrier shuddered violently. Cracks spider-webbed across it.
Through the fissures, the kids saw Piximon's face—turning translucent, still smiling.
A beat later—
The shell shattered.
But the children and their partners also became a streak of light and vanished.
"Hmph. Fleeing to our lair—hoping to die with a little ceremony?" Piedmon's cold laugh chased the fading glow on the wind.
The light dispersed.
The kids and Digimon dropped from midair and crashed hard onto a range of cold, twisted black mountains.
All around, jagged peaks clawed at the sky like grasping talons.
This was the nest of darkness.
Spiral Mountain.
(End of Chapter)
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[[email protected]/Zukooo]
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