Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Eternal Life ( Chapter 21 )

Digimon / Digital Monsters and all related trademarks belong are copyright to Bandai/ Toei animation / Saban entertainment. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

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"All right, end of the line! Everybody off!" The Trailmon ordered, letting out a long whistle as he backed out of the station and quickly disappeared from view.

"Gee, what a dump." Janet muttered. "I can see why no one else stayed on this line till the end."

The station platform she currently stood on was old, worn down and dusty. Its colors were faded and its paint peeling in many places. The surrounding area was no less gloomy, being a dark forest overlooked by a dim and cloudy sky. The trees too were bare and dying.

"OK, following the directions the message gave me..." Janet brought up her Digivice and flicked on its holographic map. "There!"

The glowing arrow pointed towards a long, leaf-covered dirt path which led into the forest. Beyond that were several large hills.

Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the distance. Jan gasped upon seeing a large building located on top of one of the hills.

"Well, seems that's where I'm going. Swell..." She shivered. "Hey, what am I afraid of?! All I need to do is flick my Digivice here and I become one kick-ass Mega Digimon!"

Reassured of herself, Janet caught her breath and began her long trek in.

However, she hadn't really been alone on the train. Because moments after she left, a claw reached up and pulled himself up onto the platform.

Grinning, Dynamo rubbed his claws together.

"This is gonna be fun!"

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"Your ability certainly is fascinating." A strong female voice rang out.

Zoe spun round to face the top of the stairs. There, stood Dinobeemon, together with another Digimon recognizable as D'Arcmon.

"Are you the 'Master'?" Zoe demanded, snapping into a fighting stance.

"If that's what you'll call me, yes." D'Arcmon laughed, calmly descending the stairs.

"What's going on here?! This place is....the air itself seems to boil with anger!"

"A psychic such as yourself should've figured it out by now."

Zoe glanced down the row of 'statues' until her eyes fell upon a familiar one.

That Aero V-dramon! Aeromaru?! And all those emotions I've felt. Wait, then this means....

"These....these are living Digimon!!" She stuttered.

"Incased in a special film." D'Arcmon waved. "They have no need to fight, no need to hunt or eat. Free from the hardships of life, free to enjoy the happiness of eternal life."

"You're insane you b**ch!!!"

"Humph, just like that red dragon before. You'll never understand, so there's no point in trying to convince you. Dinobeemon, dispose of her."

"With pleasure!" The insect growled.

Zoe rolled away as he came charging down.

"Damn! I knew there was something fishy about you from the start!" Zoe yelled.

"Hey, sorry lady, I really do think you're cute." He smirked. "But business is business, so sorry about this! Hell Masquerade!!"

Jumping into the air, he spread his 4 wings and sped towards Zoe. Although she managed to dodge the first attack, he came back almost immediately and struck her from the side. Zoe was struggling to her feet when he came again, slamming her into a wall.

"Gargh! Grrr...." The XV-mon muttered.

Dinobeemon was circling her position, his special ability making his image 'trail' along so it seemed as if there were multiple copies of her opponent.

How do I tell which is the real one?!

Zoe closed her eyes, charging her X-laser at the same time. She was trying to listen for the movement of her opponent, but that was what Dinobeemon had been waiting for.

"Irritant Buzz!"

Beating his wings in a different manner, he let off a loud buzzing noise that made Zoe cry out and cover her ears. Dinobeemon took that opportunity to attack again, knocking her down and sending her X-laser way off target.

It shattered one of the smaller lights on the ceiling and Zoe covered her head when the glass shards came crashing down on the ground around her.

"Got ya now!!" Dinobeemon taunted, letting loose with another round of his ear-splitting buzzing. The sound seemed to affect her mind as well her eardrums, forcing her to her knees.

This is not good! Zoe thought. Unless I can disrupt that technique, I haven't got a chance. But what can I do against noise itself?

As Zoe struggled to stand, she happened to glance up and spot a glass chandelier hanging overhead. Suddenly, a sneaky idea snapped into her head.

With a roar, she fired upwards, blasting the supports of the chandelier. Dinobeemon was swift enough to avoid the falling object, but not able to prevent what happened next.

The chandelier hit the ground and shattered in a series of high-pitched crashes.

"CRAP!!" Dinobeemon cursed, pulling to a stop now that his attack was useless.

Zoe saw her chance, and moved in while her opponent was distracted. Now it was her turn to hurl Dinobeemon into the wall, leaving an impression of his body on it.

"XV-mon evolves…Paildramon!" Zoe called, activating her Digivice.

Dinobeemon staggered to his feet to find a new, larger dragon standing before him.

"Desperado Bla...."

"No you don't!" Dinobeemon lunged, knocking Zoe's waist mounted cannons away before she could fire.

The two combatants got into a fierce struggle, but Dinobeemon was faster and managed to shove Zoe to the ground, pinning her body down with his legs and grasping both his claws around her neck.

"Argh!! Gargh!!!" Zoe gasped as he began to choke her.

"This time, you're finished!!" He declared, shifting his position slightly.

The movement, however, gave some leeway to Zoe's right leg.

Hey...if this worked on Sekata, it had better work on him!

"Hargh!!"

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"GGMMPPHHH!! FFFUUMMPPP!!!!" Steve had awakened to find himself in another bad situation.

He'd apparently fallen asleep on the truck, but now he was still gagged and stuck in a block of cement up to his neck. And in addition, 'he' was moving.

Hey!! Huh?! WHAT?!

To be more specific, he was lying on his back on a conveyer belt, along with many other cement blocks.

Damn!! Where's Siavon?! He's supposed to get me out of this mess!! And...ugh-oh!!!

From his position of facing upwards, he saw that conveyer belt led to a strange machine up ahead. And it was enlarging the cement blocks by spraying more, fresh cement onto their surfaces.

NNO!!! HEY!!!! This is a really stupid way to die!!! Ending up on someone's wall??!! He cried, struggling in vain from within his 'prison'. Crap!! Siavon!!! Where are you??!!!

Not that there was anyone to answer his silent, but desperate squeals. And so the conveyer belt moved him on until he was right beneath the hose.

NNNNO!!!!!!!

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"OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Dinobeemon's 'girly' scream ran out as Zoe kneed him in the groin.

The insect rolled off her, clutching his groin in agony. Zoe immediately rolled up, punched him in the face and kicked him further down the corridor. Dinobeemon ended up sprawled across the floor and lay still, unconscious.

"Hmmm...not bad, but you can't win!" D'Arcmon told a panting Zoe.

"Desperado Blaster!"

"Hah!" D'Arcmon somersaulted behind Zoe and knocked her aside.

Zoe rolled to a kneeling position, taking aim with her blasters.

"Careful, I'm sure you don't want to cause any accidents here." D'Arcmon waved one of her swords towards the petrified Digimon behind her.

"Damn!" Zoe hesitated a moment too long.

D'Arcmon brought out her staff and shot Zoe with a blast of electrical energy, sending her flying against the stairs. Zoe managed to recover in time to dodge a second attack, leaping up the flight of stairs.

"I told you not to stay here!" A soft voice whispered.

Zoe turned towards the door to see a Wormmon, peering in.

"You...you're the one who helped me?!"

"Yes...but look out!!"

Wormmon was tossed aside as D'Arcmon hit Zoe with another energy blast. Zoe was forcefully thrown out the door and against the adjacent wall. Stunned, Zoe felt a flat object, covered by a piece of cloth, fall off the wall and into her claws.

"DIE!!!" D'Arcmon yelled, raising her staff to shoot again.

Instinctively, Zoe held the object up. The lightning bolt bounced off it, but also set the thin cloth on fire. Zoe whipped the flaming material off, revealing a mirror beneath.

"NO!!" D'Arcmon cried, covering her face. "Get that way from me!!"

"Oh, not too fond of your own reflection, are you?!" Zoe grinned, holding her newfound weapon out.

"Stop it you fool!!"

"RRAARGGHH!!!!" Zoe sprang forward, grasping one arm around D'Arcmon's shoulder and shoving the mirror into her face.

"AARRRRRGHHHHH!!!" The warrior Digimon screamed, stumbling back and falling down the long flight of stairs.

Even in mid-fall, her beautiful features began to melt away. The Digimon she began to transform into was a demonic creature, with red-bat wings and a serpent-like tail. It had robes wrapped around its body, it chest armor and shoulder pads being designed to look like the heads of birds. The face changed too, becoming old and wrinkled, but was partially covered by a golden mask.

This Digimon was in fact, the demon lord Murmuxmon.

"My youth!! My spell!!" He roared. "Look at what you've done!!!"

"Posing as a lady certainly didn't suit you, old man." Zoe growled, confidently striding down the stairs. "Ready to finish this?!"

"Hell Masquerade!!" All of a sudden, Dinobeemon leapt up behind her, lashing out with his claws.

"GGGAARRRGHH!!!" Zoe screamed.

"Gehena Flame!!" Murmuxmon raised his arms and summoned a huge column of flame around the unfortunate Paildramon, tossing her into the air, slamming her against the ceiling and back down again, leaving her on a charred spot on the floor.

Drained, Zoe reverted to her Champion, XV-mon form.

"Boss, I...." Dinobeemon began.

"Fool!! You should've finished her off quicker!" Murmuxmon shouted.

"But boss...I'm in agony here!" Dinobeemon moaned, holding his claws over his groin area. "I think she's made me impotent..."

"Shut up!! My spell of youth has been completely disrupted thanks to your incompetence!!"

"But..."

"Nevermind, I'll just have to perform the summoning earlier then." Murmuxmon decided. "Just add her to the rest of them and I'll carry out the summoning immediately."

"Erm...right now?"

"DO I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF?!"

Dinobeemon didn't need any more encouragement to carry out his master's orders. He dashed over and dragged a half conscious Zoe to the far side of the hallway, where a caterpillar-shaped machine stood. Throwing her against the wall, he grabbed a control box from the side and turned the 'head' of the worm towards Zoe.

"Gugh...." Zoe was still too dazed to move as the machine fired a round of sticky white thread, wrapping it completely around her body and snout.

In horror, Zoe realized what was happening, but it was too late. Her body had already been immobilized. However, her eyes hadn't been covered yet, giving her full view of Dinobeemon maneuvering the machine for another round.

"MMMMUUUPPHHHHH!!!!" Her screams came out as nothing more than muffled gasps.

"Guess you'll make one spiffy figurine, eh?" Dinobeemon laughed, before hitting the trigger, turning Zoe's world into a complete mass of white fog.

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Just as the machine released its contents, a side panel shot out, knocking Steve's cement block off the conveyer belt and down onto the floor below, shattering with a loud crash.

"Gargh!! Rargh!! Ugh...." Steve moaned, ripping the gag off and coughing up cement powder.

His head was still spinning from the fall and he was dirty and itchy all over, but at least he was free of his confinement.

"Goddamit! Siavon couldn't have cut it any closer, could he?!" He muttered, dusting himself off with one hand and scratching with the other. "Next time I hear from that old geezer, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!!"

"Oh, so would you have rather ended up as a permanent resident?"

"Huh?! Siavon?! Where are you?!"

"Listen kid, I'm actually watching you from 5 floors above, at the window."

Steve glanced upwards, but couldn't make out anything with all the moving machinery around.

"Then how are you talking to me?" Steve asked.

"Feel that small metal piece near your right ear?"

"Yeah, I do." Steve nodded, tapping the side of his head.

"It's a short range nano-communications chip. I tired to tell you about it earlier in the truck, but you fell asleep and refused to wake up."

"Erm...sorry! But what's going on here? And where is this place for that matter?"

"It's a factory, under the smuggler's control. An exchange of the Dragon Artifacts is due to take place here, but you'll have to be careful. There are guards everywhere."

"Yeah, I'm running around naked here." Steve added in. Not that it really affected his modesty now that he was a Flamedramon. "But I can't use any special attacks without my gear!! Tell me you brought it, please!"

"Relax, it's in the furthest locker in the male restroom on Basement Level 2, east wing. But you'll have to get to it yourself. I'm rather occupied at the moment."

"And what am I supposed to do without my armor and my Digivice?! I can't fight like this!!"

"Then improvise. I have to break contact now, but I'll meet up with you later. Just get going!"

"Man..." Steve slapped his head as the comn-link clicked off. "Why does everything always happen to me??!!"

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Slowly, Zoe's blurred world began to return to reality. She was prepared for the worst, but the shock of being partially able to see and hear, yet not able to move a muscle really put her mind in a state of panic.

All right....try to...calm down....and think...

She soon became aware of where she was. Her immobilized statue form had been placed on a platform in the alcove of the wall. As it was also directly across from the long stairway leading up, it gave her a relatively good view of the figure standing in the middle of the hallway.

It was Murmuxmon, standing over a large black cauldron. He seemed to be chanting in some strange language, and was tossing items from a table nearby into the cauldron.

Summoning? There was something about a summoning spell of his? She thought. However, there was nothing she, or any of the other petrified Digimon could do about it right now.

Then, Zoe remembered she had one ability the others did not, her telepathic powers. As long as her mind still worked, she might be able to do something.

Focusing, Zoe relaxed her mind as much as she could. Carefully, she let her consciousness 'wander', searching amongst all the other trapped souls in the room. It was difficult, trying to 'push' past their emotions, any of anger, despair, rage, anxiety and some she couldn't even describe.

Finally, Zoe found the one found the one she was looking for.

<Aeromaru!! It's me Zoe!! Can you hear this!! Can you answer?! Anything?!>

When she didn't receive any response, she feared that her friend was as lost as the others. But it then hit her that he didn't have her powers, and he probably couldn't reply.

<Listen, I'll explain this later, but for now, relax, open your mind and let me read your thoughts.>

It was an arduous mental task, but Zoe pushed on with every ounce of her willpower, and partially out of desperation too.

That's the...first comforting thing...I've heard in quite some time... Aeromaru's 'voice' was weak and haggard, but it somehow carried his usual tone about it. Guess you found out about my nickname, huh?

<How are you doing?>

Barely...keeping my sanity intact. I thought all was lost when I saw you petrified and stuck on the platform next to me.

<I guess I should say 'don't get your hopes up yet'.> Zoe told him grimly. <But do you know what Murmuxmon is doing? What's that summoning thing he's talking about?>

Hell yeah, I've been stuck here along enough to hear that freak talk about it. From what I can make out, it's about reviving this ancient bird Digimon, Ornismon. He seems to believe he can gain eternal life by fusing with Ornismon.

<Then why not just summon the bird itself?>

Cause Ornismon has been long extinct. Murmuxmon, however, does have traces of Ornismon's data, but it's not enough for him to use. And he's going to use our souls and bodies to give Ornismon a physical form.

<What?! That's crazy!!> Zoe yelled. <Then our minds...we'll all be trapped in there!!>

It's eternal life all right, but not the kind I'd like. Aeromaru said dryly.

<Hey, I think something's happening!!>

He's beginning...

Murmuxmon was now repeating some foreign words in a much louder voice than before. All around, the 'statues' began to glow.

Zoe gasped, feeling as if she were being grabbed and lifted up. Her viewpoint moved from its fixed spot on the ground, to hovering in the air, and slowly moving towards a growing ball of light above the black cauldron.

She blinked as she was dragged into the blinding light.

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Steve pushed open the door and peered out.

All clear...

He dashed out into the corridor with the intention of quickly running across it. However, he spotted an electronic map of the building and paused to catch his bearings.

"OK...so I have to turn here, up this staircase and....oh crap!"

The door at the far end of the corridor slid open with an electronic hum. Steve didn't even wait to see figures before sprinting through the nearest door.

It opened into a large area overlooking the machinery room that he'd bee trapped in earlier. A wide bridge extended from the platform he was standing on to the other side.

The only problem was that two Tankmon soldiers patrolled the bridge, but were fortunately on the other side or else he would've been caught. The guards were coming in his direction and Steve was considering running back into the previous hallway when the door clicked, indicating that it was being opened from the other side.

Not good! Not good!

With no other options in mind, Steve jumped over the side of the bridge and grabbed on to the edge with his fingers, barely in time to avoid being seen when the two Tankmon patrols met.

As the guards began talking quietly amongst themselves, Steve started to shimmy across, grabbing the lower sections where the railings met the platform in turn and pushing himself forward. It was strenuous work and it wasn't long before his arm muscles were screaming in protest.

Meanwhile, the Tankmon had finished their conversation and two of them started going back across the bridge. One very conveniently rolled right over Steve's fingers.

"Gugrgh!!" It took a lot to hold on, but Steve simply couldn't keep from crying out.

"Did you hear that?" One guard asked.

"I think it was from this side."

Oh shit! Come on! Think!

Steve swung his legs up, grasping the railing of the other side with his toes. He quickly released his arms, so he was dangling over the abyss, hanging literally by the tips of his toes.

ARGH!! I'm so high up!! Dammit!! OK, don't look! Don't look!!

Steve covered his eyes, trying not to let his fears get the better of him.

"Nothing on this side." The first guard reported, glancing over the side. "How about your side?"

CRAP!!!

Steve swung his upper body up, grabbing the railings he'd been holding onto earlier and releasing his toes.

"Nope, nothing here either." The second guard replied. "Hmmm...don't you think something's rather fishy?"

"Yeah. All right, on 3, we look over both sides at once!"

Please! Gimme a break!! Steve silently pleaded.

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No...I can't...can't let this...happen! Zoe declared. There has to be...something...something I can do!

When she opened her eyes, Zoe found herself standing on a white background. It was like floating in outer space, for there was no definite floor or ceiling amongst the strange dimension. An odd gray mist was also hovering about, giving her an eerie feeling.

"What is this?!" Zoe wondered out loud.

"I think it's the body of Ornismon."

"Aeromaru!!" Zoe flew towards the glowing, semi-transparent image of the Aero V-dramon, only to have her claws pass right through him.

The XV-mon stared down at her hands, realizing that her body too was in the same state of partial existence.

"It's no use..." Aero muttered as his form gradually began to break up, merging with the gray mist around the area.

"We may have a chance!" Zoe yelled, a plan forming in her head. "If we can take control of Ornismon's mind, we may be able to pull through!!"

"You...can fight. But I....can't...."

"NO, that's not true!!" Zoe insisted, continuing to reach out for his hand.

"I don't have...your powers. Haven't got....the strength..."

"One thing I've learnt about being on the spiritual realm is that the strongest mind wins! You've got to have the will to exist warrior!! Come on, I need your help!! I might not be able to wrestle Ornismon's mind alone!!"

Aero closed his eyes as if he had given up. Then, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Zoe's hand with a firm grip. Smiling, Zoe pulled him down as the rest of his body began to reform.

"Thanks." He breathed. "You're right, all the other Digimon here are depending on us."

"I feel it's this way." Zoe pointed.

Together, the pair flew down a winding column of light, which grew smaller and smaller as it went on.

"There!" Zoe gestured towards a swirling black vortex. "That's Ornismon's mind! I just know it, somehow!!"

"Being on this plane of existence seems to amplify your gift." Aero commented. "Huh? Watch out!!"

Dozens of white tentacles suddenly burst from the walls, lashing out and entangling the two heroes.

"Strong Crunch!!" Zoe snapped at several tentacles with her jaws.

"V-Wing Blade!!" Aero fired off a burst of energy, disintegrating several more. Unfortunately, there were many others to make up for it, wrapping them around his body. "Garghh!!"

"RRAGHH!!!" Zoe was having no better luck, all her limbs being hopelessly ensnared.

"Zoe! Your X-laser!" Aero ordered. "Free my upper body! Hurry!!"

Swinging her body, Zoe angled her chest towards her comrade and fired.

"Yes!!" With his arms and wings free, Aeromaru clawed at the tentacles around his feet, cutting them away as he somersaulted backwards. "Dragon Impulse!!"

Spreading his wings, Aero burst into white flames. Those took on the shape of a blazing creature with a phoenix's head and the Aero V-dramon's wings.

As the phoenix charged, Zoe closed her eyes. However, not a single bit of the flames touched her, instead burning off the tentacles holding her down.

"Go!!" Aero yelled.

Zoe kicked off one of the burning tentacles and sprang forward. She skillfully dodged two more appendages and dove headfirst into the swirling vortex.

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"At last! It awakens!" Murmuxmon declared.

Dinobeemon backed away as the lights began to take shape. It was a massive blue bird with a green mane running along its back. Its head was purple, as was the feathers at the edges of its wings. However, the creature also possessed a long, reptilian tail.

"Ornismon!" Murmuxmon beckoned, raising his clawed hands. "Come to me!!"

Ornismon's head turned towards the source of his voice. The ancient bird began to move towards him, but suddenly, Ornismon's eyes went wide as it began threshing about, screeching wildly.

"What?! Ornismon, you will obey me!!" Murmuxmon yelled angrily, snatching a bottled potion off the table.

Ornismon lashed out with its tail, shattering the bottle in the sorcerer's hands.

"I thought you had this thing under control boss!" Dinobeemon muttered.

"It's supposed to work! What's interfering?!"

"Sorry boys, this little birdie ain't dancing to your schemes!!" Zoe's voice growled.

"Who the...it's you!!" Murmuxmon realized. "Seems I've underestimated your abilities, female."

Ornismon's eyes glowed with a blue light as Zoe spoke through its body.

"I won't let you win!! Using me in your little experiment will be the last mistake you'll ever make!" She snarled.

"Boss, what do we do?!" Dinobeemon panicked.

"Attack it you idiot!"

"Against that thing?! No way!!"

"Cosmic Ray!" Ornismon turned its head and released a brilliant destructive light ray from its mouth.

The beam tore through Dinobeemon, vaporizing the startled insect with a loud scream of pain. Murmuxmon however, wasn't out of tricks yet, reaching into his robes and tossing off a bunch of green ropes.

The lashings sprung to life, wrapping themselves round Ornismon's body, wings, mouth and dragging it down towards the sorcerer.

"Gehena Flame!!"

A vast column of flames surrounded Ornismon, causing it to screech in agony.

"You can't stop me girl!" Murmuxmon taunted. "Ornismon will be mine and....garghh!!!!"

The ancient bird clawed him in the face with one of its talons. Murmuxmon stumbled, releasing his ropes and clutching his face in pain.

"Fool! This distraction won't stop me if I know where you'll attack from! Gehena Flame!" Murmuxmon tossed the fire spell behind him, only to find he'd burnt nothing more than the brick wall. "What?! Where?!"

"Cosmic Ray!!"

"Huh?! AAARRRRGGHHHH!!!!!"

Instead, the beam came down from above, where Ornismon had pressed itself against the ceiling. Murmuxmon exploded in a cloud of dark energy, but Ornismon remained, howling and flailing like a maddened beast.

This thing's mind...its power! I...can't control it!! Zoe thought.

It must be the souls of the other Digimon trapped within! Aero's voice came. They don't know you mean them good.

What should I do then?! I can't take this much longer! RRAGGHH!!!!

You have to get them back to their own bodies somehow!

How?! Zoe wondered. All our bodies were broken into data and used to form Ornismon...but...wait!!

She'd just realized that the hardened films which had been used to encase them still stood on the platforms lining the hallway. They were empty now, but Zoe decided that she could use them as 'molds' to reform their bodies.

To do that, Zoe would have to break Ornismon's physical form up. But with her own mind currently connected to the beast's, it was like ripping her own body apart.

Give me strength....just a little more....!!!!

Ornismon began to glow, its shape splitting into a white radiance. From that source, points of light formed, spreading out and heading for each of the 'statues' lining the hallway in turn.

Zoe! You're doing it! I don't believe it!! You're actually doing it!! Aero called excitedly.

Yeah...you'd better go, or you won't make it back to your own body...

What about you Zoe?! Zoe!!

I...I...

Zoe!! Zoe!!!

At that point, the last of Ornismon's body disintegrated in a blinding burst of energy.

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"1...2...3!"

Both Tankmon peered over their respective sides, only to find nothing there.

"Well, guess it was our imagination after all."

Steve made sure the sounds of their tires had faded away before finally taking a breath. He was precariously clinging onto the bars the made up the bottom of the bridge, with his back to the bottom of the bridge, his arms grabbing one bar and legs pushing against another.

Hah, got the better of them. He thought triumphantly. Gurgh! Dammit!! My arms! I can't...hold on...NNNNOOO!!!!

The Flamedramon's arms gave way, sending him plunging towards the level below.

AARRGGHH!! I'm gonna die!! I'm gonna die!!! I'm GONNA DDDDDIIIIEEEE!!! AAAGGHHH!!!!

THUMP!!

"ARGH!! HELP!! I'm dead!! I'm dead!! ARRGHH!!!"

Steve stopped, felt himself over and finally realized he'd fallen straight into a cart of soft garbage, which had cushioned his fall.

"Saved by trash...man...now I stink too." He gasped, pulling himself out of the cart. "But I'm alive and..."

The Flamedramon surveyed his surrounds and moaned, collapsing.

"I'm right back where I started!! DAMMIT!!!! I have to do everything all over again!!! AARRRGGHHH!!!!" He roared, banging his head against the wall.

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"Zoe! Wake up! Please! Zoe!!"

"Ugh....Sekata...?"

"Zoe!!"

"Gargh!!"

Zoe sprang up, grabbing Aero's shoulders.

"Whoa! Whoa! I'm happy to see you too, fellow blue dragon." The Aero V-dramon blushed.

"Where are....?" Zoe looked up and saw that they were lying in the middle of the hallway of petrified Digimon.

"We're free if you're wondering. Thanks to this guy here." Aero gestured towards the Wormmon standing nearby. "I was kinda freaked cause everything was quite and I thought we were really going to be standing here forever. But this little guy said that you contacted him and told him to free us."

"Yeah, your telepathic stuff was pretty scary." Wormmon nodded.

"Weird, I don't even remember doing it." Zoe muttered. "But how did you get us out Wormmon?"

"The film used on you was a synthetic chemical made out of several solidifying substances, fixating agents, preservative chemicals and well, some of my silk threads too." He said softly. "That was probably why they kept me around. Erm, anyway, I used another chemical to dissolve the film, but there was only enough for the two of you."

"So, the others are still petrified?" Zoe asked, glancing around. "Can you make more?"

"Certainly...but...."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid. I am partially responsible for their situation and..."

"That's not true." Aero said firmly, reaching out to rub a bruise mark on Wormmon's side. "While I was stuck here, I could see that you didn't have a choice. Those two bullies were really abusing you."

"And don't worry, the Digimon here aren't angry anymore, and definitely not at you." Zoe assured. "I can feel it, in more ways than one."

"OK, I'll get started right away!" Wormmon said with much more confidence. "The lab's this way."

"I'll help you out." Aero smiled. "Just give me a little while."

As Wormmon left, the Aero V-dramon turned towards Zoe.

"You want to ask me about Sekata, right? Doesn't take a telepath to figure that out."

"Aero, is he?"

"He was here, petrified with me. But they took him away, some time ago." He whispered softly. "I don't know where to. I'm sorry."

Zoe turned away, wiping a tear out of her eye.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"I'll be fine." Zoe nodded firmly. "I haven't given up yet! He needs me now, more than ever. I have to spread my own wings, and fly on my own."

"Yeah, you can guarantee that I'll help you out, especially now that the mystery of the Wild Ones attacks in this region is pretty much solved." Aero gave a thumbs-up.

"Thanks, and by the way, that was a really cool move you used back there."

"Oh, the Dragon Impulse?" He winked. "Heh, it's a secret technique handed down by my great-great grandfather."

"I see." Zoe nodded. "Well, you'd better go help Wormmon out."

"And you should get some rest. You've really exerted your powers a lot."

"No, not yet." Zoe walked over to the nearest petrified Digimon and placed her claw to its face. "These guys need a little comforting too."

I'll be there soon Sekata. Just hold on a while longer...