Akira had never taken this kind of ride in her life. Even
though she has taken the airplane when she’s young, it had never been so
intense. Unlike the airplane, where you are seated finely within something
confined and safe, this…
She’s riding a BIRD!
A freaking FLAMING BIRD!
She couldn’t believe this, and neither does the Glademon
behind him that’s looking at one Triceramon getting carried by another
Birdramon… with a puzzled look on his face – and fear. Fear that the Birdramon
couldn’t suppose his weight and fall down, or the earth down below him and how
will he turn into if he were to fall. And he was trying so hard not to scream,
or cry because he’s a MAN. He should deal with this as a MAN. He shall not show
any weaknesses, albeit how much he feared for the worst.
Well, not that he’s able to hide them all though.
This made Akira to think back how did they got into this
in the first place.
She remembered how Mahogana told them to go to the City
of Luminas, and the fact that the money they earned was for the pass to go to
the Empyrean Skies. It was not really easy for anyone to go there, especially
when they do not have the transport to go, since the Empyrean Skies was
situated above the clouds. Sure, MetalGreymon X and RizeGreymon were able to
fly, but they couldn’t go pass the security check as it’s pretty much illegal
for them to arrive to the sky in that way – it wasn’t a law before, but it is
right now, after the destruction of several places in the Digital World by some
digital terrorists.
At that same time, Enjin also told them all about his
client – Magnum the ClavisAngemon (who seemed to be connected to the source of
information of Mahogana) and what he asked him to do – to go along with the
other client’s plan, and reach the Whitewater City. From there, they will
unravel some mysteries regarding the Dragon’s Tear. However, it did not specify
why Sora’s client was willing to pay for the Dragon’s Tear. How could he not
know that it was not possible? Or maybe he KNEW that it was not possible, that’s
why he let them do it? Perhaps they have planned for Akira to turn into a
dragon, and use the Dragon’s Tear to control her – albeit it’s a fake one
(since the fake one was able to control a Super Mega… why not?).
After some while, they deduced that City of Luminas is
the best choice for now, as the fake Dragon’s Tears seemed to be sold in the
Dark Area, and not much holy Digimons were able to go through that place – as
the people from Dark Area were unable to crossover to the holy area.
And that’s how they got here – flying in the air with the
Birdra Transport Corp. Shiro and Kuro were having fun in their ride though –
awing at all the beauties down below, calling “Mino~~~” to view the pretty
sceneries beneath them… but of course, Minoru seemed to be a little bit
overwhelmed by all of these and not sure what to feel anymore – from awe, to
fear, to happiness, to depression… all in one pack together as his mind
wandered through all the possible worst case scenarios while the reality kind
of fought with the negative thoughts. Sora was sitting with Akira, and he had a
very serious and calm-looking demeanor – looking far forward towards the city
in the sky. However, if you see closely, you could see his trembles and cold
sweats coming down from his face… and his pupils dilated a lot.
Akira was the same though. Even though she has experience
on clinging onto some flying Digimons into battles before, riding a Birdramon
to fly in such a speed and going so high above the ground… this is really her
first time. She wanted to close her eyes and just enjoy the wind and the ride,
but part of her wanted her to enjoy all of these views in front of her – it’s a
“once in a lifetime” kind of thing, and she didn’t want to miss. So, she forced
down her fears, and be positive about this journey…
…until some DexDorugamon appeared in front of them and
started to blast metal balls at them – or at Akira’s Birdramon, to be precise.
“GET DOWN!”
The Birdramons screamed as they attempt to evade all
those attacks.
“HOLD ON TIGHT!”
The Birdramons went on a faster speed and tried to
outspeed them – which was possible if there’s nothing standing in front of
them.
Yatagaramons.
“KREEEEEEEE!!!”
“Holy Arrow!”
“Heaven’s
Knuckle!”
Beams of lights rammed towards the attackers, and safely
secured the Birdra Transport Corp along with the passengers. Most of the
Birdramons have broken through the attack range – well, because they were not
the targets of these attackers. However, there were still some of them being
held up by the attackers.
“Hurry up. We shall fight them back.”
“There will be D’Arcmons guiding you guys back to the
City of Luminas.”
“KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
The Birdramons did not waste their time to thank them,
and just shot faster into the safe space of the radiant Empyrean Skies, and
entered the space of Avalon Fields. In the field, it was an absolutely gorgeous
field of crystal-like flowers and shining golden trees, lined with the most
beautiful of ruby red apples that any mortals had EVER laid eyes on. It wasn’t
securely guarded by a lot of Angel Digimons usually, but today, it seemed that
there’s a huge pack of angelic guards standing by and fending off any intruders
that intent to harm their citizens and visitors. And as the Angel guards that
helped them below, a D’Arcmon was there, waiting for them – with a huge pack of
angelic bodyguards readied.
“You must be the Dragon Bearer, and the party. Please,
follow me.”
The Birdramons – along with the misfit party on board –
followed the D’Arcmon and the angel guards. Soon, they reached a majestic,
holy, much golden and many white lights, LUMINOUS city. Truly, the City of
Luminas – it definitely lived up to its name. The D’Arcmon showed the
Birdramons the way, and after unloading the passengers, they rested and waited
for their second shirt. The misfit party followed the D’Arcmon, while they
looked around the City of Luminas.
The inside was actually very similar to Terminal City –
the only difference was that, this is more golden and white, and… holier. In a
lot of sense. There were no senses of pressures, malice, or any slight of
sinister thoughts. Everything here is purely peaceful. There are no crimes and
violence – they are NONEXISTENT within these bright golden walls. The residence
of this city mostly consist of angel Digimons, as well as the better natured
Digimons – especially Vaccine-typed. There were some virus-typed Digimons
dwelling around here as well, but they seemed to be pretty rare. Also, their
faces and aura were a lot of friendlier and docile. Even the normally
bad-looking Daemon and RAREMON. RAREMON – even the RAREMON – seemed so docile
and cute in this city! Could you believe that?! Imagine a friendly Raremon
guiding you through the sewer, and the Garbagemons were helping out in keeping
the cleanliness of the city… Well, rumors said that City of Luminas is the
holier twin of Terminal City. In this case, it’s actually very much true.
Soon, they came into a huge palace of gold and white –
which pretty much reminded them of how Christian’s heaven looks like. They were
greeted by a MagnaAngemon, who guided them inside. They couldn’t look straight
into the holy buildings, since they were too shiny and too bright for their
eyes (or their pitiful souls). Soon, they came into a large building, where a
ClavisAngemon stood in within, waiting for their arrival.
“You must be Seieiki Akira,” The great angel with a large
keyblade walked forward, and greeted the group. “Yamanaka Sora, Chan Minoru,
Kuro the BlackAgumon, Shiro the WhiteAgumon, and Enjin the BushiAgumon,” He
acknowledged everyone, and personally escorted them into a private meeting
room. “Here, have a seat.”
“So, you’re… Magnum, the ClavisAngemon,” Sora spoke,
right after they have been seated.
“Yes I am,” The angel Digimon nodded. “I am the client of
Enjin, the BushiAgumon, and also an enemy to your client, Domino, the
Dorbickmon.”
“Dorbickmon?”
“Yes,” A few Tailmon came into the room and served teas
to everybody, where Magnum took the leisure and took a sip. “He is a
Dorbickmon, and one of the descendants of the True Dragon Bearer.”
“You mean, the ones that has related to the Dragon’s Tear
or something.”
“Correct,” Magnum nodded in delight as they were quick to
catch up. “And… I am also one of them.”
“…YOU WHAT?!”
“B-B-But you’re not… dragon!” Minoru was the first who
voiced out the question.
“Yeah! You’re an angel!” This time, it’s Kuro.
“Human-raised, don’t you know that angel Digimons could
Digivolve into a dragon as well?” Enjin, the only one with the superior Digimon
knowledge, explained. “And, look, even a bug can digivolve into a dragon as
well, like Dinobeemon into Imperialdramon, or an Angewomon into a Magnadramon.
There were also cases of aquatic creatures digivolving into dragons too, like
Betamon to Seadramon, or Gazimon to Ebidramon-”
“Wait, Ebidramon is a Dragon?”
“I thought it’s a prawn or something.”
The ClavisAngemon just sat there and grinned, feeling
pretty amused at the different discoveries of the humans along with their
Digimon that has less knowledge of their own mother world. He just drank his
tea, and watched the entertaining scene in front of him. He didn’t even try to
stop them or correct them, and left the explanation of their world and their
different possibilities in Digivolution to the BushiAgumon. However, the blonde
man was not as amused as they were, and just focused his attention onto him.
“Does it mean that… you can use the power of the Dragon’s
Tear as well?”
That question brought everyone into silence again, and
waited for the ClavisAngemon to speak.
“To be honest… yes, yes I could.”
“WHAT?!”
“But,” The angel Digimon sighed, putting the cup down. “I
have been trying to destroy every single one I found, since my mother’s death.”
The party blinked at the sudden emo-ness and be quiet
again.
“This… goes back to twenty years ago…”
==============
~ FLASHBACK ~
==============
Back then, I was just a small Patamon, Domino was a
Guilmon X. We were close friends – our parents were, too, best friends. We were
connected in a way that we are both descendant of the True Dragon Bearers –
which is actually pretty rare nowadays. Since young, we have always been
interested in the Dragon’s Tear, and the ways to make it happen, despite the
fact that our parents actually disagree with our attempts… which was funny,
because they did researches about the Dragon’s Tear as well – albeit for
different reasons, perhaps.
In a way, Domino and I were very fond of Dragon’s Tear in
a passage, that we were researching and trying very hard to study and revive
the black arts that created this. Who knows, it might benefit us someday! So,
one day, we stole our parent’s sealed Dragon Tear and experimented on it. But
then, our researches have gone wrong and the Dragon’s Tear that we had was
releasing so much crimson lightning bolts that we had no idea how to stop it.
My mother – a Magnadramon – came in and try to stop whatever was happening, but
instead was possessed by the Dragon’s Tear and went on a rampage. It was weird,
because my mother was supposed to be the descendant of the bloodline – by
theory, she should be able to control the Dragon’s Tear and remained as
herself!
But she’s not the descendant, my father was.
Though, during that time, my father was already dead…
then what kind of researches were Domino’s dad and my mom was doing? I have no
idea, until my berserk mom went and destroyed the palace and killed a lot of
innocent people. Domino’s father – a Gallantmon – noticed the event and quickly
set out to stop the rampage. However, he could not do so without killing my
mother. He revealed that they have been trying to revive my father through the
Dragon’s Tear, but instead, the Dragon’s Tear was having its own conscious and
started to possess objects – of course, it failed. They realized this, and
sealed it within a box – which Domino and I had released.
In the end, Domino’s father could not stop or even kill
my own mother. He decided to do a suicidal attack against my mom, which it
worked, and temporary peace has come back. Still, this event gave a huge impact
towards everyone that witnessed it, or listened to the story. From that day
onwards, I swore to destroy all Dragon’s Tears, while Domino went and continued
on his researches in how to control the Dragon’s Tear, and also allow any
creatures to use the Dragon’s Tear without any penalty. This way, everyone
could remain their conscious. I tried to convince him that it will not be
possible, but it did not work.
Soon, we parted ways. Domino became more obsessed in
researching the Dragon’s Tear, to never let anyone to go berserk, and become
stronger. I was trying all I could to collect every single Dragon’s Tear – that
may or may not be the gem – and destroy them. At the same time, I found out
ways to destroy the Dragon’s Tear without using the Dragon Slayers, while
giving protections to those that wasn’t part of the Dragon Bearer to not be
able to use it, but able to contain it. I thought my plans were successful, and
I could do this and eradicate all Dragon’s Tear from this world! However,
unbeknownst to me, the Dragon’s Tear that took over my mother’s body that day,
was taken by Domino.
==================
~ END FLASHBACK ~
==================
“…When I realized it, I brought a huge corp of Digimons
and even hired mercenaries to hunt him down before it’s too late. Alas, that
coward fled into the Dark Area, and continued his research until today. It also
seemed that he has found out ways to enhance the Dragon’s Tear – in order to
defend himself against me, I guess. He also made a lot of copies of the
Dragon’s Tear. He has hired mercenaries to acquire some of the Dragon’s Tears,
while selling the fake ones as research materials towards the others. The fake
ones, while considerably weaker than the original, are still devastating when
it comes into the hand of non-Dragon Digimons. They will turn into dragons, and
start to destroy everything in their area. We tried to contain them, but it was
getting too hard.”
Kuro seemed to be sleeping already as the story of the
ClavisAngemon seemed to be pretty long, but was awakened by Shiro’s vigorous
shook. He tried to yell, but was silenced by Enjin’s glare.
“Cheh…” The BlackAgumon grumpily sit straight. Why all of
these people are so serious about this long grandma story anyway? They could
have just asked for the main point, and figure out the rest, or something!
“It also seemed that he has deprived from his original
goal of enhancing the Dragon’s Tear. I heard that he has started to create
manipulation devices in the Dark Area.”
“What?!”
“That’s… I can’t believe it. It’s actually possible?!”
Enjin was very shocked by this news. “I thought he needed a lot more Dragon’s
Tear for that!”
“It seemed that by copying the Dragon’s Tear, he was able
to take in the souls of those that used the ‘traps’ and provide more energy for
the original,” Magnum sighed, and took a sip of the tea as he got a bit tired
from telling his tale. “I have no idea that the Dark Area could affect an
originally pure-hearted Digimon into such… monster…”
This made the group to raise their eyebrows against such… comments towards the
possibly final evil boss of the story. How was he pure-hearted anyway? “…or
maybe it was because of the Dragon’s Tear, which wanted to exist forever and
does not want to be destroyed…?”
“…wait, what do you mean by that?” Sora stopped his
tea-sipping, and asked a question.
“Well, perhaps from the failed experiment of both our
parents, they have given the Dragon’s Tear self-awareness. Perhaps the gem
realized that I was set to destroy all of the Dragon’s Tears – including
itself. It does not want to be destroyed, thus, slowly possessed Domino and
gradually corrupt him into the wrong path. Perhaps, in the end, the gem would
consume Domino’s soul, and became an individual being… To exist eternally and
never die…”
“Is that even possible-”
“Excuse me,” A Sakuyamon entered the private room in all
of the sudden. “I heard that the Dragon Bearer was here. May I request her
presence in the shrine?” Even though her voice sounded compromised, the tone
was eager and enthusiastic. It seemed that she was in a hurry, or delighted
that Akira was finally here?
“Ah, yes, I forgot to mention,” The ClavisAngemon stood
up, and greeted the Sakuyamon. “This is Reimu, the Sakuyamon. She is the
apprentice of my personal seer – Yakumo the Sanzomon.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Hurry, the seer wants to meet her!” Finally the
Sakuyamon could not contain her eagerness, and wanted to hasten this lengthy
introduction.
“Ah, ok…” Magnum chuckled slightly, before he turned
towards Akira. “Miss Seieiki, could you please follow her to meet Yakumo?”
Seeing that the rest are ready to go as well, the Sakuyamon stopped them.
“I’m very sorry, but, this is personal, so only
Seieiki-san could come with us,” The miko-Digimon spoke. “Are you ok with
that?”
“S-Sure… I guess…?” Akira blinked – it’s not like she has
a choice actually – while wondering why the seer wants to meet her –
personally, that is. “Let’s go?”
= = =
After going through a long passage of white with
blue-digital linings on the side, they came to a sanctuary-like hall. A holy
Digimon sat in the middle of the sanctuary, meditating. Her eyes opened as soon
as Akira stepped into the hall, and she gave a warm stare with her golden eyes.
It was very mesmerizing, and clear… as if you’re willing to tell her anything
that troubles you. The Sakuyamon walked towards the side, and left Akira and
the Sanzomon alone.
“Seieiki Akira.”
Sanzomon’s voice pierced through the whole body of Akira,
and made her kneel in front of the divine Digimon. Her voice was very clear
even though her mouth is being covered by the red-colored sutra, acting as a
muffler around her neck. Even though she has her bosoms revealed, it did not
hinder the fact that she’s a very pure and holy Digimon, and an elderly one
that was to be respected without a doubt.
“I… am Yakumo, the Sanzomon. I am the seer of Lord
Magnum, the ClavisAngemon. And I…” The Sanzomon looked into Akira’s own red
orbs. “…am the one who brought you here.”
“W…what?” Normally Akira would be yelling, but in front
of this Digimon, she just couldn’t be rude or dynamic. She just… muttered her
own surprises in form of whisper.
“I was the one that contacted with your D-Tector, and
brought you here. Though, this is a little bit unfeasible… But…” The Sanzomon
looked into the redhead’s eyes. “You are from the future.”
“…the future… what?”
“I will explain about that later. The reason I brought
you here… was this,” The Sanzomon closed her eyes, and gave out a golden aura.
She started to float, and she made Akira to float with her. In the next instance,
they were in a totally different place – another dimension – which images
started to flow.
“In this timeline, you were not present,” Yakumo narrated
as she showed the scenes where Enjin and the other party battled the Vitramon,
without Akira being there. However, due to the lack of innocents here, they did
not get along to secure anyone at all, and just focused on themselves and how
to let the other party die. The Dragon’s Tear eventually consumed the Vitramon,
and empowered him greatly. He became a Megidramon, killing everyone in that
battle and started to destroy cities by cities. Domino, the Dorbickmon, found
him, and managed to control the rampaging dragon with his own enhanced Dragon’s
Tear. He consumed the Megidramon, and became more powerful. He successfully
conquered the whole world with his army of superior dragons, turning the
Digital World into a horrifying hell filled with chaos. Soon, Domino’s soul was
consumed by the Dragon’s Tear that he owned, and the gems merged together with
his body, taking over him. They forever existed in the Digital World, and
planned to eradicate the human world next, as they fear that the humans would
eventually came up with a program and reset or destroy the Digital World,
including the Dragon’s Tear themselves.
“G-God…” Overwhelmed by the possible bad-ending for the
Digital World, Akira couldn’t help but limped down with horror in her eyes. “What…
Why… How…?!”
“Now, do you understand the importance of your role in
the current timeline?” In another instance, they were back to the original
sanctuary of white and blue linings. Akira was mentally exhausted by the
horrifying images and the possible future of the Digital World, panting heavily
as the weight began to sink into her body.
“W-Why… Why me…?”
“You are the only human that made contact with the
ancient Dragon Bearer,” Yakumo closed her eyes and tried to explain. “A human
would be most likely able to fight back the dragon’s impulses to destroy, and
the Dragon’s Tear’s influences as you are not a pure Digimon yourself. You are
not just a normal human that would prefer destructions, especially not after you
have experience the horror of destructions yourself.”
“Y-You…!” Akira was even more surprised that the seer
actually knew what happened to her before all of these adventures. That one
thing that she has yet to get over, and has never told anyone before. “How did
you-”
“I am a seer, and I have long researched about you before
I chose you to be the savior,” The Sanzomon gave the
redhead a warm stare once again. “I knew about all your past, and how you felt.
This is why I took you in after you gone through your first stage of
depression, and started to live a much more normal life. This is when I think
you have the most qualification to go through the challenges in this world once
again. The ‘you’ right now would not be able to comprehend such madness.”
“…then you should know that I would not want to be a
savior, even now…!” Akira clenched on her fist tightly. She was reluctant to
rage at anyone about this, but she couldn’t contain her angers and her
depression any longer. “You would understand my fear and my pain to go through
that nightmare again! Why… Why me?! I
am nobody. I lost my humanity to that beast,
and was forced away from my most loved ones! How many nights you think I have
relived that hellish moments again?!
Do you really understood how afraid I
am, to go through the whole ordeal again?!”
Yakumo did not speak a single word. She just let the teen
lashed it out on her – verbally, that is. Akira was furious, but not more than
her fears. She just ranted and let her inner feelings out, telling the divine
Digimon how much she could not bear with the consequences, and had to go
through the same phase as she did in the first place, before she managed to be
a human again, to survive her days
while coping with her nightmares. She has been keeping all of these negative
emotions and thoughts within herself, and told no one about it. The Digimon
felt that it was appropriate to at least listen to her, rather than forcefully
convince her.
That would definitely backfire.
“How… How could I…?! No. What happened if I actually gave
into my bestial side?! What happened if I actually hurt those that I’m close
to?! No… No! I’m telling you, no. I am not going to be your
savior. I just want to be normal, ok? I just want… to live my life as a normal
person and… And… And… URGH. Just remove this… nightmare from me!”
“…” Yakumo sighed. She knew that this was going to
happen. Still, she hoped that she could change her mind… even by a little. “I
could not help with your bestial side – however – Lord Magnum should be able to
remove the Dragon’s Tear from you.”
“Then, what about the Dragon Spirit-”
“You do not have your D-Tector with you, don’t you?”
“…you knew.”
“Then you should not worry about that,” The Sanzomon gave
a little smile through the muffler, which eased the young girl’s heart a little
bit.
“…then… You will not force me… to…”
“No, I will not force anyone,” Yakumo went forward to
trembling girl, and gave a light pat on her head, easing her more. Slowly, the
girl calmed down, though her tears started to roll. “Even though you’re the
best choice, I will not force you.”
“…thank you…”
= = =
When Akira came back to the private meeting room, her
eyes were red – not that it wasn’t red-colored in the first place – and the
group was a bit curious about what happened in the “sanctuary”.
“A-Are you ok, Aki-nee-san?” The young boy immediately
rushed towards his cousin’s side, and hold onto her hands. The redhead only
smiled towards her affectionate cousin, patting on his head, and telling him
that she’s fine. Through time, their bond has grown deeper and Akira has
allowed Minoru to call her by her nickname ‘Aki’ instead of her full first
name. Though, the respectful cousin still preferred to add on the honorifics,
which Akira did not stop him.
“Aki-nee! Did that seer bullied you or anything?!” Even
Kuro got pretty close to her by now, along with Shiro. Still, Minoru was the
top of their heart, and no one could ever replace that.
“Hahaha, gosh you guys. I’m really fine!” Their worries
made the redhead to chuckle – until she realized that Enjin and Sora shared the
same worries as the others, she had to laugh. “GOD! Not you guys too!”
“Human girl. Do not let the others bully you away from my
sight.”
“Akira-san, please, if anything happened-”
“God! I’m really fine! Sheesh… I never knew you guys
could be such worrywarts!” It was funny. First, they only treat her like a
delivery item. Then, through the adventures that they have gone through, they
started to bond with each other and start to do things for each other. She saved Minoru’s lives plenty of times,
while the cousin cared for her the most throughout the whole journey. Akira
respected and appreciated both Enjin’s and Sora’s talents, while the other two
taught her a lot of stuffs and find themselves rather joyful in doing so. The
two contrasting-colored Agumons were only grateful to Akira at first, before
they found out that she could be a very good company for funs and laughters.
It was through this journey that she got to meet all of
them, bond with all of them, and appreciate each other. So no, she would not be
the whatsoever savior and risk their lives in the process.
“So… What was your answer, miss Seieiki?” Magnum,
obviously being the boss of Yakumo should already knew why she asked for
Akira’s presence secretly in her sanctuary, asked her a question that puzzled
the rest of the people in the room.
“What answer?”
“What?”
“Akira-san?”
“…the answer is…” The redhead slowly raised her palm out,
showing the ruby towards the ClavisAngemon. “Please remove this nightmare from my body.”
“…sigh. Very well then,” The angel Digimon gave a
defeated smile, but was willing to comply with her decision. He stood up, and
so was everyone else as he walked towards the door. He gestured for everyone to
follow him.
“Now… Please follow me to the Spring of Life.”
= = =
Past the Avalon Gardens lies a massive stone fountain
adorned with several smaller statues of the Royal Knights – a group of thirteen
Mega-level Holy Knight Digimons, who are also named as the Digital World’s sacred
guardians. Most of the Royal Knights seemed to be humanoids like Dukemon and
Omnimon, though they were a few with bestial forms like Examon and
Kentaurosmon. They were overlooked by a statue of the fallen Yggdrasil. The
fountain of the Springs of Life is constantly flowing a brightly glowing,
amethyst-colored, liquid-like data that was almost similar to wine in
appearance. It captured the misfit group’s attention to the beauty of the
fountain.
Of course, they did not forget their purpose of being here.
“This is the Spring of Life,” Magnum introduced, as he
brought them to the fountain. “Drinking these liquids will heal and revitalize
the drinker’s energy and stamina, and curing them of any bodily ailments.
However, those of a darker or more sinister nature who drank it will suddenly
be wracked with a horrible, bodily pain.”
“…ouch,” Kuro was planning to take a sip, but hearing
that, he wondered if he qualified in that “dark natured” category, and stopped
his tracks under Shiro and Minoru’s watchful eyes.
“Well, I don’t assume that you’re going to just heal us
by being here, right?”
“Of course,” The angel Digimon continued. “We shall be
conducting the ritual within the fountain itself.”
“Eh?”
“…won’t that dirties the fountain-”
“Of course not. The holy liquids will cleanse anything
dirty and sooth all evils that came into contact,” He smiled at the group, and
looked at Akira. “That is why we require miss Seieiki to bath within the water,
while I conduct this ritual.”
“Uhh… Does it mean that I need to strip in front of them,
like, again?” Akira remembered when she first came back to the Digital World,
they accused of her for having the parcel, and made her strip.
“Holy Azulong- Of course not. Unless you’re willing to,
that is,” The ClavisAngemon found that thought a little bit disturbing and was
embarrassed by it. “You just need to step inside the fountain, and let the
water cleanse you.”
“…ok…” Reluctantly, Akira stepped into the fountain with
her bare feet – well, at least she need to take off her shoes, right? It’s
disrespectful even though the water COULD clean her shoes for her (for free
even), after putting her jacket aside. “So… How long should I… uh, bath?”
“Until the ritual is complete. Please do not move around
and remain inside the water.”
“O-Ok…”
Akira’s full body sunk into the water, leaving only the
head on the surface – to breath, of course. The amethyst liquids had an
immediate effect on her body – soothing her fears and chasing away her
troubles. She felt very relaxed and refreshing within the water. Her palm felt
a little bit hot, though it’s in a way that it’s warm and welcoming, not the
heat that would threaten people.
“The water from the Spring of Life was one of the way
that I found out that could protect any bearer from harm – even if they’re not
the natural Dragon Bearers,” Magnum started to explain, while waiting for Akira
to fully sink into the water’s grace. “The water could quell any negative
emotions and sooth all evils, which includes the Dragon’s Tear. With that, the
Dragon’s Tear shall be pure and without any ill-intend. They will not
forcefully turn anyone into a dragon to punish them, or control the bearer in
order to survive. This allows us to extract it from the bearers without any
punishments to the bearers themselves.”
The party nodded as they understood the explanation.
Soon, the ClavisAngemon casted a spell, and removed the ruby from the redhead’s
palm. Nothing happened after that, and there’s no holes in Akira’s palm as well
(Minoru was relieved by that). After that, Magnum took the ruby and went to a
special room to destroy it. Enjin and Sora went along with him to witness the
procedure. The rest were released to the city and rest, while they waited for
the result.
= = =
As soon as they
reached the city, Akira saw a very familiar face that caused a lot of emotions
within her that starts to run – happy, guilty, fear, sadness, yearning, and
escaping… all at once. The bluish white silky hair, along with that azure
dress. It was no doubt that that was the person that she has been thinking a
lot throughout the journey.
“Sa…pphira.”
“Aki-nee-san?”
“Aki-sama…!”
She lost her chance
to run away as the older lady’s sight connected towards her own. Akira watched
frozenly as the sapphire lady noticed her presence and ran over to her, hugging
her tightly. The redhead had no idea how to react at all. She was conflicted by
her inner emotions and thoughts that she couldn’t give a proper response
towards the sapphire lady.
“Sa…Sapphira… I…”
“Do you have any
idea how worried I am? What if you got caught by some weird ojii-san or
obaa-san and got xxooxoxo and oooxoxooxoxo?!”
“…W-W-W-WHAT?!
SAPPHIRA! WHAT ARE YOU?!”
“Uhh… Aki-nee-san?”
Minoru couldn’t help but make a curious voice. This girl was getting a little
bit too close to his cousin, and… he’s just too curious about it.
“…ho…” Sapphira
blinked as she finally realized that Minoru was standing right beside her
mistress, and… she didn’t enjoy it that much, to be honest. However, she did
not let out her dissatisfaction, and just put on a nice smile on her face. With
a touch of ice, that is. “Aki-sama, so this is your girlfriend? How cute…”
“H-Huh?!”
“No Saph! This is not
what you think!” The redhead waved her arms violently. For god’s sake, how many
people have mistaken Minoru for a girl already?! Even though he properly
dressed up as a guy this time… Sheesh! “This is Chan Minoru, my cousin. And
he’s a guy.”
“…oh. I was wrong.
I am so sorry Minoru-sama.”
“I-It’s fine…”
Minoru waved his own arms as well. “I-I thought you’re my cousin’s girlfriend
instead…”
“W-What?!” Akira’s
face suddenly went beet red. “I-I-I-I-It’s not…! I mean, I wish--- NO! I-I-I
mean…!”
“Well, it would be
a great joy to be Aki-sama’s girlfriend,” Sapphira chuckled, having so much fun
seeing her mistress’ embarrassed face. It has been so long… “But to be precise,
I am her servant – Sapphira the Arakuni.”
“S-S-Servant…!”
“Oooh~ Kinky~”
“K-Kuro! What are
you thinking?!”
“NO! I-I-IT’S NOT
LIKE THAT-”
The happy moments
did not last long as they heard explosions in the city. As they turned around,
they saw armies of angelic guards flying out non-stop to meet with the enemies.
Quickly, Sapphira held onto Akira’s hand, and dragged her into a safer place.
“Mistress, please
stay here,” The taller lady spoke to her on the ear with a smile of a trickster
– which made Akira a bit flustered despite being in this crucial situation. “I
shall handle them for you.”
“W-Wait! Sapphira!”
“Kuro, Shiro! Go!”
Minoru took out his digivice, and pointed at the twin Agumons – whom started to
digivolve into their ultimate forms.
“BlackMetalGreymon X!”
“WhiteShineGreymon!”
Sapphira’s body
started to distort a little as she shifted from her human form into her Digimon
form. The sapphire Arukenimon was very different than the ordinary Arukenimons,
whom seemed to be much beautiful than her normal counterparts.
“Sapphira! Don’t
destroy the city!”
Knowing the spider
lady, she probably would bring down the buildings as long as the enemies were
brought down along with them, and to secure her own mistress in the best way
possible. However, having that command on her forced her to shift that tactic a
little bit.
Of course, it was
nothing for the Arukenimon.
“Yes, my mistress.”
With a seductive
smile, she leaped and started to web the buildings to her liking, right before
the enemies barged into the scene. Kuro and Shiro were already fighting a
BlackMegaGargomon, having a little bit of a bad time because of the massive
size and the weaponries of the gigantic Digimon. A BlackMetalGarurumon entered
the scene, and shooting blasts at them, before they were intercepted by a group
of MagnaAngemons and Angewomons.
“Miss Seieiki, please,
to the hall! Hurry!”
“We shall fend them
off from here! Go now!”
Seeing that they
have cleared a way out for all of them, and it seemed that it was urgent, the
group plus Sapphira ditched the enemies and went straight towards the hall of
Luminas.
Along the way, they
have seen a lot of attacks on the golden white city buildings, and a lot of
innocents’ lives were ruined. Was it all because of a single Dragon’s Tear?
Akira couldn’t watch this, and couldn’t imagine that her existence brought pain
towards the others…!
“Mistress.”
Suddenly, Sapphira
took the redhead up – who seemed to be very light at this moment – and carried
her in a bridal style. She gave her a warm smile with a tint of seduction
within, as she kept on going.
“S-Sapphira…!”
“You are not a
burden.”
Akira’s eyes
widened as she heard that from her. How did she guessed what was in her mind?
Well, then again, Sapphira has been with her for quite a long time – even after
she went to find the Beast Spirit. However, after that incident, she closed her
heart away from Sapphira and asked her to leave her… in a very aggressive
commanding tone. It probably hurt Sapphira’s feelings as well, since she
couldn’t do anything for her mistress, whom exit harshly. Still…
Hearing this from
her, it makes Akira wanted to cry out a little.
They reached the
hall in quite a short time, and Magnum was already there waiting for them along
with Enjin and Sora.
“I am sorry, Miss
Seieiki, but it seemed that Domino has found out about this and sent his army
here,” Magnum explained.
“A HiAndromon
hacked the servers in the city and brought down all the defenses,” Sora pushed
his glasses. “Perhaps it was done by an insider.”
“Never mind that
right now, we could handle those ourselves, just…” The ClavisAngemon walked
towards Akira. “…I am very sorry that I could not finish my job in time. So, in
order for this Dragon’s Tear to not fall in other people’s hands, I wished for
you to carry it.”
“W-What…?!” Akira’s
eyes widened, and she was ready to refuse, but another explosion in the city
revoke her chance to do so.
“Please! You are
our only hope! There was no one else-” And another explosion. The whole City of
Luminas was SHAKING!
“God Fanglongmon,
we have not much time left…! Please Seieiki Akira!” He placed his hands onto
Akira’s shoulders – the pendant dangled from his hand. “Do not let more lives
be sacrificed!”
“…I…” Akira’s eyes
were wavering, and hesitating. Her whole body trembled with fear and anxiety.
The great pressure weighted on her whole body as she saw the pendant. She
looked at Enjin and Sora, who seemed to hope for her to take the pendant. Her
eyes went towards Minoru, Shiro, and Kuro, who hoped for Akira’s best future.
Then, she felt a hand holding onto hers – it was Sapphira.
“I will protect you,
no matter what.”
Was what she
whispered.
The redhead gulped
upon that, and closed her eyes. Sapphira’s normally very cold like her tone color,
but this time, her hand was very warm. It gave Akira enough courage to calm
down and think of the possibilities. She heard the screams coming from the
city, and the screams from her nightmare – they overlapped each other. One was
when she’s a monster, and one was when she’s human. Even though she’s a human
now, she still couldn’t stop the terrors from happening in front of her.
She might as well
take the gamble.
“…fine,” Her hand
took over the pendant, and looked into the ClavisAngemon’s… helmet. “I will do
it. But… teach me how to use this thing, and become a controlled dragon.”
The ClavisAngemon
was a bit surprised at her request, but more of joy that she actually took the
responsibility. “Understood.”
= = =
The misfit gang and
the angels went to battle the intruders, hoping to buy some time for Akira to
learn all she could about the ruby. Sapphira stayed back to watch over them,
while giving some comfort towards her mistress.
The angel told her
the methods, and Akira attempted it. The ruby started to glow, and it engulfed
her whole body. She began to grow bigger, into a Leomon’s height, and her hair
grew longer. She could feel the familiar power rushing back to her, along with
one extra source of energy that’s possibly from the Dragon’s Tear. She felt
more powerful than ever, and she opened her eyes, realizing that she has
transformed back to her Human Spirit form:
Ryuujinmon.
She could see her
scales, and felt her coat. The flaming tail was whipping behind her, and her
strong body was ready to fight.
Seieiki Akira is
back in the town.
Sapphira smiled as
she watched her mistress was back to her old self – albeit just the appearance
– while Magnum was happy that she has chosen this path.
“Please, defeat
Domino on my behalf.”
“Heh, I will…”
They rushed out to
the city, and attempted to fight their way through. A Valkyriemon was seen
exchanging blows with the BlackMetalGarurumon, while a Magnadramon, a
Majiramon, and a Makuramon was holding back the BlackMegaGargomon, Canondramon,
Bulbmon, and a Bolgmon. Magnum was caught up with the issues in the city, but
he had a batch of angel guards to escort the misfit gang up and out from the
City of Luminas - down to the earth. However, during the fight, Sapphira was
caught up by the explosions, forcing her to part ways with them and did not
follow them up to the sky.
“SAPPHIRAAAAA!!!”
“Aki-sama!!!”
The Ryuujinmon
tried to grab onto the Arukenimon’s hand, but failed as they were already
leaving and the enemies were right behind them. If they were to slow down, they
would never get through this and get out from the Empyrean Skies.
“No…!”
“STEADY! AKIRA!”
Missiles came,
flying into their position, and the ShineGreymon managed to dodge the first
batches. They encountered a group of airborne fighters, and the sky battle has
started. A Kongoumon flew along with its golden companion – Magnamon, the only
Royal Knight on board – to fight against a JewelBeemon, a Hisyaryuumon, and an
AeroVeedramon. A Knightmon riding a Hippogriffomon entered the battle alongside
with them, while battling a DexDoruGreymon. The Super Mega Dominomon and
Goldramon were fighting off the Okuwamon, DarkRapidmon, Shadowmon, Karatenmon,
Parrotmon, and an Eaglemon.
“GO!”
They made paths for
the misfit group to move on, but they were forced to face against some more
Digimons. Kuro and Shiro exchanged blasts with the Cyberdramon and Kimeramon
duo. Their battles were very matched, as they cooperated almost the same way as
they did. Sora, in his Ice Insect Spirit: GrandisKuwagamon form – a large black
humanoid beetle with huge claws – fought against his bestial counterpart: a
GranKuwagamon. Enjin was holding back a SkullBaluchimon, and it wasn’t a pretty
sight.
“Ugh…!”
Unlike any other
Digimons he fought before, this skeleton beast Digimon fully reacted through
its instincts and felt no pain. He did not stop even though Enjin had caused
immense damages that would probably stop a Digimon from moving on, or scream
pain. However, the SkullBaluchimon just went forward, mowing down Glademon’s
defenses again and again. However, the fact that the SkullBaluchimon felt no
pain has caused himself to not realize that he could not go further, and he
slowly dissolved into datas from the immense injuries he sustained from the
Glademon’s tactical attacks.
Just as when the
Glademon wanted to help out the others, a challenger arrived: It was a
Buraimon, a bird samurai with a fiery attire.
“I have seen you
fight,” The Buraimon spoke, looking at the Glademon without even drawing his
swords. “I normally do not fight by my own self, but it seemed that you are a
worthy opponent that could match my blades.”
“…heh,” Enjin was
quite honored to be praised of his battle skills, but now is really not the
time to accept such challenges. “I am truly honored, but, I don’t think this is
the best time to fight,” Especially after fighting an exhausting opponent – the
SkullBaluchimon.
“No,” The Buraimon
grinned, with a dark look. “This is the best time to fight.”
The bird samurai
charged towards the golden warrior, and drew his both swords. In a reply to his
challenge, Glademon was forced to take out his swords as well. They exchanged blows
from the east to the west, soaring over the sky as their own personal
battlefield – ignoring the other ongoing battles as they have their eyes on
each other. The Buraimon, though a Champion Digimon, managed to match
Glademon’s swords. Perhaps he has sustained too much damage from the skull
Digimon previously, and he could not fight with his full strength. However, he
still managed to pressure his opponents with his devastating techniques as he
unleashed the rage upon the bird samurai. The bird samurai was forced back by
the technique, and was nearly decapitated by the blades of the golden warrior
if he had reacted slightly a bit later.
“I had to admit,
you are very good…” The Buraimon smirked, thought that he could win this
Ultimate at this stage with himself as a Champion. “Sadly, I have a job to be
done… and you’re a fearsome opponent that I cannot let lose…” Slowly, his body
started to glow, and he let out a loud shriek.
“Oh no…!” The
Glademon noticed what was going on – his eyes filled with dread as he tried to
reach the cocoon of data before it hatches. Sadly, the Buraimon has managed to
complete his digivolution, and pushed the Glademon away with a shockwave. The
crimson red mechanical samurai was huge, larger than the Glademon himself. With
a burst of speed from his wings, the Butenmon charged towards Enjin, with his
halberd in hand.
“HRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
The Glademon tried
to block the attack with his dual swords, but found it impossible as he was
forced back by the sheer power of the red samurai. He can’t win this opponent
like this!
I need… more power…!
Once again, this
reminded him when he lacked of the power to defeat the were-Fangmons. This
situation was about the same, albeit this time, the Butenmon was at the same
stage as he is… of course, Enjin was brutally injured by the beast Digimon, but
there’s no excuse to this!
Still, he had hoped
to have a fair fight with a Digimon of such league.
However, looking
past the red samurai, he noticed the struggles of Kuro and Shiro against the
other two draconic Digimons, while the angel Digimons were not able to fight
back their enemies who rained them down with their sheer numbers.
Perhaps, this was
not the time to hang onto his pride… he had a job to do too!
“I’m sorry, but…”
The Glademon spoke through his clenched teeth, still trying to fight back the
Butenmon’s halberd. “I… have a job to do too…!”
His resolution to
protect his allies granted him a massive burst of power from his body. Nope,
the damages to his body should not be anything to be compared to the others,
and he WILL protect these weaklings!
But first, he shall
defeat this cowardly opponent, who stroked him during his weakest!
“HaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”
He managed to
overcome the Butenmon’s strength, and pushed the halberd away from him. His
body was heating up, and he felt the same thing as he first attained his
Ultimate form again. This might be it, the strength that he will be attaining!
The key to victory!
“Get… lost!!!” With
the twin blades, he sliced and diced the Butenmon’s attacks, while feeling that
his own core started to grew. His armor started to crack as his body mass
increased. His helmet started to change – to grow and to reform and prepare for
the next stage. He felt his twin blades burning up, starting to crack with
glows as if they were reacting to the Glademon’s transformation. Soon, his
armor’s color started to fade, and to be replaced with shining, onyx black. His
form started to stabilize as he grew into the same size as the Butenmon, and
his form started to distort and reform. His twin swords burst and what he held
onto seemed to be a mass of energy, trying to stabilize and solidify. Soon, he
let out a great shockwave, as his transformation into a Mega Digimon was
complete:
“Gaioumon!”
He yelled out his
new form’s name, and was very proud of what he had digivolved into – his
ancestor’s best form, and also the forms that every Agumons in the family have
wished to attain. Holding into the odd-shaped katanas, he raged towards the
Butenmon through the sky, and gave a nice cut on its halberd.
“W-What…?!”
The red samurai was
shocked by such surprising outcome of the Glademon – and he thought he had got
him good there, and the burst of strength was just a sacrificial resolution, his
last attack! But no, he has attained Digivolution into his Mega level, which
was something that Butenmon couldn’t defeat, at all!
“No…! NO!”
With the halberd
split into half, he had to swung it differently – however, due to his ineptness
in using the weapon in another way, he was quickly cut down by another slash
from the Kikurin – Gaioumon’s katana.
“Y-You…!”
“Hmph, weakling.”
The Gaioumon looked
at the fallen Butenmon with an arrogant face, before he dismissed him and move
onto the two Ultimates that gave the two Greymons a bad time, only to find that
they managed to outwit their enemies and bring them down in a nick. They joined
in the rest of the battle, and fought the attackers off. Soon, they were free
from the ordeal and moved on to the Dark Area. The angel Digimons could not
follow them to the end, as the dark energies were not pleasant to their skin.
They prefer to go back to the Empyrean Skies, after wishing the misfit group a
good luck and gave them each a vial of water from the Spring of Life.
Now, they are on
their own.
“Sapphira…” Akira’s
head was all about the sapphire lady that she had left behind. Will she be ok?
Will the City of Luminas be safe? Will Akira
herself be safe? She agreed to come to the Dark Area because Sapphira
gave her strength to move on, but right now… right now, there’s no more
Sapphira. Could she finish this without the sapphire Arachne?
“Aki-nee-san…!”
Minoru moved closer to the Ryuujinmon, while pulling a little on her coat.
“It’s ok, Sapphira-san will surely be fine! W-We’ll just need to get rid of
Domino, and that’s all?”
“Do you think it’s
easy…?” The redhead turned around, finding herself unable to cope with the
emotions that’s rushing through her ever since she failed to catch onto
Sapphira’s hand. “Do you think… we can just barge into their mass of army, with
just the five… no, six of us?!”
“A-Aki-nee-san!”
“Even if I count
you in there won’t even be any difference isn’t it? They’re still going to run
us down with their numbers! Look at what they sent to us – an ARMY! An army
that’s not even just Champions… it’s with Ultimates, Megas, and at least one
Super Mega was in there if I’m not mistaken…! How can we fought against such
numbers, how could we even agreed to them to do this shit?! No… NO! I… I don’t
want to… You guys are gonna die if we’re gonna continue this…!”
“Akira! Calm down!”
“Akira!”
“NO! This is… this
is not going to work! I’m scared… The beast within me… I… No! You know what?
Let’s just go back already, or you guys go back and I’ll just go a suicide
mission against them- no that won’t work. He’ll definitely manipulate me!
T-This is not a good idea either! Either way I’ll still hurt all of you! This…
I should just… die already-”
“AKIRA!”
*SLAP!*
Everyone’s (safe
Enjin) eyes widened as they witnessed Sora slapped against Akira. Akira has
long lost her dragon state since she started to lose her faith – the slap
definitely got across her face and marked a clear red on the cheek. In that
instance, she stopped thinking about anything, only with her eyes widened in
surprise.
“Good. You
stopped,” Sora gave a sigh, and ran his hand to his head to clear off the
bangs. “Listen, Akira, I know this is hard, but none of us has the intention to
die here,” He gave a stern look at the redhead through his own amber eyes. “I
might not know you that much, but being with you for almost half a year I
understand that you’re not that kind of person that would just give into death.
Look, look at Minoru,” Sora turned the girl around to face her own cousin.
“Look at him. Think of how many times you have saved him, as a human. Now look
at Kuro and Shiro. You saved their master, and gave them assurance to fight
with their best efforts. You did not betray their trust in you, even when
you’re requested to be sacrificed. You did more for them and they will do the
same for you.You let them fight so that all of us can be more secured. Now look
back at me.”
He forced the girl
to turn over to face back to him – her eyes seemed clearer than before. “You
have gave me good ideas and warnings every time when things were about to go
wrong. I learned to think more out of the box rather than being confined. If
you’re not there to save my skin, I would’ve rot outside somewhere already. And
I’m pretty sure everyone else thought the same as well. Even Enjin – you
managed to even secure his alliance with us, and you trusted him as he trusted
all of us.”
“Shut up human,
this is so embarrassing,” The black samurai looked away, before he decided to
move forward and grabbed the girl’s shoulders. “But the strategist’s right,
Akira. Don’t think of death when you’re a hope for all of us. Perhaps none of
us are prepared to die here, but if it’s necessary, we will make sure anything
for you to finish your job.”
“Hmph, of course,
I’ll make sure that I’ll still survive, and everyone of us,” Sora grinned
darkly as he pushed his glasses up – though, he seemed pretty assuring despite
that darkness.
“Y-Yes!” Minoru
jumped out from the side and entered the circle. He caught onto Akira’s hands,
and looked into her eyes. “We’ll be fine, Akira-nee-san! I’m sure of that! And
don’t you dare to die… B-Because if you die… I… I… Maybe I’ll die as well…”
“GAH! MINO! WHAT
ARE YOU SAYING?!”
“That’s right Mino,
we’ll not let you, or anyone die!”
“And remember,”
Enjin smirked, giving a pat towards the two Agumon’s head. “Do not waste on
those lives that have been slain. If you truly want to amend to them, you
should walk forward.”
“And you’re not
alone, Aki-nee-san!” Minoru gave the girl a huge grin, despite a moment ago he
was the one that’s shivering in fear while encouraging his own cousin.
“I…” The redhead
could only blink at the misfit people who actually managed to talk her through.
Her worries remained, but her fear subsided a lot. It gave her strength to at
least stand up and face the challenges that are waiting for her in the future.
“Thank you guys…”
She concentrated on
the pendant, and draws out the power within the Dragon’s Tear. Her body started
to grow as her mind was filled with courage. She became Ryuujinmon once again,
and step forward with a more determined face.
“Let’s do this,
guys.”
With everyone
smiled at her, they moved forward into the darkness, despite that each of them
knew that at least one of them is going to die in here. Still, they will make
the necessary sacrifices, for Akira to move forward, even though she herself
had the same worry as they did. All of them are ready to die, but not until
they are meant to die. They will mow through all the challenges as far as they
go, and help each other out to succeed like usual.
They will battle,
to the end, and for the future.
