Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Rite of Passage ( Chapter 39 )

Digimon / Digital Monsters and all related trademarks belong to Bandai. 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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Rite of Passage

By nightdragon0

 

 

 

“Huh?” Vritramon snapped his head up.

The explosions occurring all around were pretty much an expected thing for the past few minutes. However, this series of blasts caught his attention in particular.

The dragon knight, Dynasmon, had not only blow his `controllers' away, but also disrupted the battle between Makuramon's and Dynamo's groups. From what he saw, Majiramon had been buried under a pile of rubble while Mihiramon lay moaning off to the side. Dynasmon and the Raptordramon had fallen down to a lower level when the aforementioned dragon knight had blown the floor out.

Junon and Dynamo had backed out of the fight in the midst of the confusion. That left the monkey Deva, still in control of Sekata's XV-mon friend.

“Chaotic. Now that's a whole lot of fun.” The armored red dragon laughed, reaching for his belt pouch.

“Hey, what are you doing with me?” Sekata's voice sounded.

“Well that depends on what you see it as.”

“Grrrr! AncientGreymon! It's my body you want, isn't it?”

“My boy, you're far too shallow. And you expect me to spill out all my plans?” AncientGreymon, in Sekata's Vritramon body, laughed. “I'm not your typical villain you know? Anyway, I wouldn't really want or need your body since I'm technically already in it.”

“Then what's your objective?”

“To get my own.”

“Huh?” Sekata gasped.

“Oops, probably said too much.” Vritramon lifted Sekata's puppet form and turned him around. “Look there, see anything familiar?”

“Zoe!” Sekata stared.

Makuramon was recovering from Steve's frenzied attack earlier, with Zoe's real body still under his control.

“I'll give you a little update. The spell's effect ties in with the full moon, which will be disappearing pretty soon.” Vritramon explained. “So, Makuramon's gonna need to perform his ritual soon if he wants to keep control of your bodies.”

“And you're telling me this because?” Sekata queried.

“He obviously can't get the others back, so why not just settle for one?”

“Zoe…”

“Seems you need another favor from me.” Vritramon folded his arms and cracked his neck. “Ouch, they certainly left your body very stiff.”

“You know I despise you with every form of my being.” Sekata hissed.

“Well, I'll take that as a compliment.” Vritramon unceremoniously shoved the puppet Sekata back into the belt pouch and leapt down onto the scene.

“Hmm?” Makuramon brought his head up just as Vritramon fired on him with his arm blasters. “Urgh!”

The monkey half jumped and half rolled away, clutching his side in pain.

“Sekata? Is that you?” Zoe's voice sounded from the toy Makuramon was holding.

“You…how'd you get free?” Makuramon demanded.

“Like I said before, your plan has flaws.” The armored dragon grinned, readying his weapons.

 

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Pain…it was the first thing that hit his mind.

Steve felt that he was lying on his back on the cold metal flooring. Slowly, he remembered his struggle, the bits and pieces that had brought him here. He was back in Flamedramon form too, and probably on one of the lower levels of the ancient city.

It was strangely quiet, as if the sounds of the battle had either died down or were too far above to be heard. Water was dripping from close by, and Steve could hear those splashes next to his ear.

The pain coursed through his body again. Steve felt that he was covered in blood, wounds and scars. He felt…but dared not open his eyes or even move. Could he still move? Was he too badly injured? Or did he merely dread finding out the truth?

“Steve…Steve…please answer me!”

The voice…it was…

But what if he tried and couldn't? It had taken so much just to move his own arm earlier. However, something else came into Steve's mind.

What does it represent?

Yes, the symbol of courage. Steve had been entrusted with that…and he had already failed once. He would not do so again, not if there was still hope. And with that resolution, Steve forced the feelings into his battered body.

“Ugh…Jan?” Steve managed.

“Steve! You're alive!”

“Jan…just so you know, that wasn't really me back there.” Steve whispered.

“I know.” Janet's voice replied. “In those last moments, I could see it from my position.

“I'm sorry. That's really all that I can say, accept it or not.”

“Steve, this all started after that incident where Arkadimon stabbed you, didn't it?” Janet confirmed. “We didn't mean to leave you alone like that.”

“Haha, that's something I should've realized much earlier.” Steve let off a long sigh. “But still…I'd be lying if I said that I didn't doubt you.”

“I have to say the same.” Janet admitted. “Guess we both have things to be sorry for.”

“But it was my bitterness…that they used against you guys. Now everyone's like this…and I'm the one to blame.”

“The spell won't last much longer, according to Zoe. Just a while more and I'll be free of this puppet's body!”

“There might not be enough time.” Steve took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes.

The room around him was a relatively dark and partially collapsed storage room. The water he'd heard dripping was coming from a broken pipe, and sparks occasionally fizzled from the open circuits on the gray walls.

Steve spotted the Strikedramon puppet lying amongst the rubble and Zelia's limp form slumped against the wall. The Raptordramon seemed to be breathing, but her cybernetic components were crackling with electricity. Right next to Zelia was a power box, marked with a thunderbolt-shaped icon.

It was agonizing for the Flamedramon to even move a muscle, however it hit Steve that at least the metallic implants along his spine and bones had done some good.

“Steve, are you…” Janet began.

“It hurts bad.” Steve gritted his fangs, trying to keep his brain from screaming out. With a great deal of effort, Steve flipped himself over onto his stomach. “You think…Zelia could help us?”

“She's the only one who can actually fight right now, but seems like she's shorted out.” Janet remarked.

“That's what I figured.” Steve painstakingly moved his arms and legs, slowly dragging his battered body towards the power box on the wall.

It was hard for Janet to simply watch and not be able to do anything about it. Completely focused on his own task, Steve kept on crawling. Upon reaching his target, Steve raised his claws and ripped the box open.

“What are you going to do?” Janet gasped.

“Charge Zelia up.” Steve responded weakly. “They put a series of metal implants into my back. Those will serve as conductors to her.”

Steve indicated Zelia's body with his snout as he started pulling on the wires inside the power box.

“You don't know how strong the current could be!” Janet cried. “It could kill you!”

“If it doesn't, then Zelia or one of the others might.” Steve said softly.

“Don't say that Steve! You can still come back to us!”

“No…I'm too far gone…this time.” Steve continued. He shifted his tail and placed it on top of Zelia's chestplate. “But if there's a last thing I want to do, it'll be something to help everyone…for once.”

“Steve NO!”

“Tell them, I'm sorry.” Steve finished.

With that, the Flamedramon plunged both his claws deep into the power box…and screamed in pain as the electrical charges flowed through his entire body.

 

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With a snarl, Zoe's XV-mon body moved in to intercept Vritramon's attack. Makuramon leapt away as the two dragons clashed, holding tightly onto the toy that he was using to control Zoe.

The XV-mon swung at Vritramon, with one of her fists catching him in the chest. The red dragon blocked a second attack, but was knocked back by a tail swing.

“Hmm…not bad.” Vritramon hissed.

“Hey, don't hurt her!” Sekata whispered from his belt.

“Oh I wouldn't worry so much about that! Hargh!”

Vritramon used her shoulders as a support and flipped over her as the XV-mon charged. The blue dragon turned and threw a clumsy punch, which allowed Vritramon to catch her wrist. He shifted his body and twisted her arm, flinging the XV-mon onto the floor.

With his opponent downed for a few moments, Vritramon turned his arm blasters on Makuramon and fired. Though the agile Deva sprinted away, Vritramon was swift enough to fire in two different directions.

The first shot caused an explosion at the monkey's feet that stopped him in his tracks. A second shot was aimed at an old building nearby, which collapsed and sent tons of sand and rubble raining down upon them.

“Gargh! Argh!” Makuramon screeched in panic.

AncientGreymon let off a ferocious roar and pushed off the ground, slamming into the Deva with full force. The screaming monkey was sent rolling into the rubble as Vritramon emerged holding Zoe's puppet in hand.

“You could probably learn a lot from me.” He smirked, with a wink that was obviously meant for Sekata.

The latter was about to respond when Zoe's voice spoke up.

“Sekata? Is that you?”

“In a way.” Vritramon quipped. “You all right?”

“Yeah I guess.”

Sekata desperately wanted to say something. But that would mean revealing that the Vritramon there wasn't really him, but the secret essence of AncientGreymon that dwelled within him. Sekata didn't want to drag Zoe into his problems, which was one of the reasons why he'd kept all this to himself.

The other reason was that he didn't want her constantly worrying about him.

However, Sekata couldn't contemplate his situation for much longer, because Vritramon used a hand and shoved his puppet form deeper into the pouch, muffling out anything he could've tried to say.

“Your body seems fine too.” Vritramon knelt down beside the motionless XV-mon form, which had remained that way since Makuramon lost control of Zoe's toy.

“That's good to hear.” Zoe replied, with somewhat of an upbeat tone in her voice.

“The spell will be over soon.” Vritramon continued. “Very soon…”

Sekata felt the Vritramon claw tightening around his puppet form. AncientGreymon was plotting something…and Sekata knew it all too well that the ancient dragon never undertook something that resulted in zero gains for himself.

He could just perform that ritual for himself and take our bodies as his own! Sekata realized. What horrified him even more was that both Zoe and himself would be as helpless to stop it as they would've been in the hands of Makuramon.

His fate was to be decided by his greatest nemesis.

However, there was no more time for thoughts as the `huge' claw lifted his tiny puppet form out of the belt pouch.

 

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Janet watched in a mixture of shock and awe as the electrical currents flowed right through Steve and into Zelia's body. She could actually see the energy crackling as it gave off a light blue glow.

Zelia's eyes suddenly opened and the raptor begun howling as well. The underground room suddenly became as bright as day, the flash blinding Janet for the moment as she had no way to close her eyes.

Next followed several moments of snarling and loud bashing sounds from close by. When Janet could finally see again, the situation did not look good.

Zelia was up, and keeping Steve pinned down against the ground. Her velociraptor killer claw was poised inches above Steve's neck, whilst the Flamedramon had both hands pressed against its edge. Steve was still conscious, but was either too weak or simply had no will to fight back.

“Grrrrr…” Zelia hissed. “You!”

“Zelia! No!” Janet shouted. “Don't do it! You don't understand!”

“You…you have a good reason for being mad at me.” Steve grunted weakly. “I'll understand if you use that thing…”

“Steve was under control of the Devas then!” Janet interrupted. “I heard the whole story from him just now! It wasn't his fault!”

“What if it's just another trick?” Zelia growled, unwavering. “You're so quick to believe it, but you don't really know, do you?”

“I…” Janet staggered.

“I can't undo the past.” Steve spoke up. “And neither can you. Even if my death would…”

“Steve! Will you shut up about that?” Janet snapped. “Is that all you can think of? Slipping into your own depression?”

Zelia seemed surprised to see Steve's eyes widen in reaction, and released her claw slightly.

“You fought through it once, and it helped save our butts for a while! You can fight through it again if you'll only let yourself!” Janet continued. “I know this because….there are….just some things you have to look into your heart to see.”

“Look into…one's heart?” Zelia whispered, rubbing her chest. The raptor released her hold and backed away as Steve gasped for breath. “Do I…even have one?”

“It's not just about that physical heart inside of you.” Janet tried her best to explain. “There's another heart…one that you can only feel.”

“Feel?”

“You'll never see it, but you'll know it's there.”

“I…” Zelia touched the left side of her chest again. “Aero knew it was there. And I…I know it too. I never really understood what he meant. But now, I can hear him telling me to trust in my heart.”

“Is that…perhaps that's what I'd really lost.” Steve panted. “My heart…and my will to keep fighting.”

“Will you be all right?” Zelia turned towards him.

“Yeah.” Steve managed a slight nod.

“My heart chooses to trust you.” Zelia spoke. “And so does Aero….even from in here.”

“In where?” Janet asked, confused.

“Well, I'm afraid I had a little accident while carrying that sphere in my mouth. And…”

“Zelia! You swallowed him?” Janet blurted out.

“Oh gross.” Steve muttered.

“I didn't intend to.” Zelia replied. “But I have a strange feeling that I need to look for his body.”

“That's probably just indigestion.” Steve laughed.

“Steve!” Janet snapped. “How can you make jokes at a time like this?”

“Just to prove that it's really me now?”

“Oh I give up.” Janet sighed. “Zelia, I think you'd better go. The spell will be wearing off soon, and you need to get Aero back to his body ASAP.”

“And how about you?” Steve asked.

“I have a feeling I know who's taking care of mine.” Janet growled. “Just hurry Zelia.”

“Affirmative.” Zelia glanced towards the opening in the ceiling, then moved over to belt pouch that was lying on the floor. “Are you three still there?”

“Bloody sick and really dizzy.” Came Adrian's voice.

“If that's your definition of OK.” Moaned Cimons. “We'll live.”

Nodding, Zelia took several steps back and leapt, bounding against the wall and springing up through the opening.

“At least you're all right now.” Steve staggered to his feet. “But I…I…”

Suddenly, the Flamedramon collapsed, hitting the cold floor with a loud thud.

“Steve!” Janet screamed. “Steve!”

“Hmm?” Katsu spoke up. “Something's happening!”

Indeed, the bag containing the toys of the trio had begun to glow with a bluish light. In a bright flash, three beams of light shot out, flying out through the opening and into the night sky.

Janet didn't have time to scream or view the spectacle for much longer, for she too found her world engulfed within blinding lights.

And then, she was flying.

 

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“AAARRRRRGGGGHHH!” Katsu stopped screaming and suddenly found himself struggling.

Clamped close to him in the darkness were the wiggling forms of Adrian and Cimons. That was the way it'd been for the period of time they'd been stuck inside that bag, only now that it felt a little different.

“Hey! I can feel my body!” The Shadramon cried. “We're…we're back to normal!”

“Yeah we figured that much…” Adrian cut in. “Now let's just figure out where we are.”

“And more importantly, how to get out of here!” Cimons continued. “I've spent enough time stuck within 3 feet of the two of you!”

“Right back at ya pal!” Adrian snarled.

“Quit fighting you two.” Katsu yelled. “Looks like they stuffed us inside one of the broom closets.”

“How can you tell?” Adrian queried.

“Because there's a broom stuck in my face. Can you blast us out of here?” Katsu grunted. “My hands are still stuck between the two of you.”

“Sorry, not if you want to eat a Spinning Needle in the chest.”

“Great! How about you Cimons?”

“Adrian's tail is holding my head down!” Cimons muttered. “Although, I'm quite tempted to fire.”

“Oh don't you dare!” Adrian hissed.

“I just…ugh.” Cimons heard an odd growling noise from his stomach. “Uh guys, my stomach doesn't feel too good.”

“Not now you moron!” Adrian cried in dismay.

“Uh-oh…” Katsu moaned.

And the purple dino farted.

“GGGGAAARRRRGGGHHHH! IT STINKS!”

 

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Elsewhere in the ancient city, the spell was beginning to wear off on Sekata and Zoe. Vritramon realized this too and smirked to himself.

AncientGreymon in control of Sekata's Vritramon body had both puppets clutched in different hands. However, just as they were beginning to glow with their bluish aura, he dropped one down onto Zoe's XV-mon body.

In spite of the nauseating sensation, Sekata could suddenly feel himself falling.

The next instant, he could actually feel his aching body as he groaned and rolling into a kneeling position. But something didn't seem right. The coughing and panting didn't sound like his voice, plus the body felt quite different.

When Sekata opened his eyes, he found himself staring down at a pair of blue colored claws.

Wait a minute! Blue?

“What?” He gasped. Sekata started upon hearing `his' voice…because it was a female's instead. “Oh no!”

“Erm, is that you Sekata?” Vritramon stumbled over. However, the look in the eyes was completely different this time.”

“Zoe?” Sekata stared. “You…you're me!”

“I should say the same for you.” Zoe muttered. “Somehow we ended up in the wrong bodies.”

“I know. But how…”

Damn you AncientGreymon! What do you have to gain from all this? Haven't you screwed around with me enough already?

“Heck if I know.” Zoe sighed, shaking the head of her Vritramon form.

Sekata almost felt as if it was yet another person using his voice and identity. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when a series of laser bolts flew over their heads. The ancient city's defense systems were still running, and firing at practically anything that moved.

“We've got to find some better cover.” Zoe suggested as they both ducked.

“I completely agree with that.” Sekata acknowledged.

First, he reached over and picked up the two puppets which they'd just been freed from. Sekata shook both a little and made sure there was no response. He'd half expected that AncientGreymon was still in control of his Vritramon body and had left Zoe trapped as a puppet.

“What are you doing?” Zoe asked him.

“Nothing. Just making sure.” Sekata replied. He opened a pouch section of the utility belt on Zoe's waist and slipped the two puppets inside. “Let's hurry then.”

“Yeah…ugh!” Zoe stood up and begun to run, but tripped and landed on her face.

“Hey careful.” Sekata rushed to her side. “My normal form is heavier than yours. It might take a while to get used to.”

A laser bolt whizzed towards the pair and caught Sekata in the right side, sending the XV-mon sprawling over in pain.

“And I don't have armor like you normally do.” Zoe extended a Vritramon claw and helped him to his feet.

“This is really going to take some getting used to.” Sekata moaned as more laser bolts flew in their direction.

 

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Zelia dashed through the ancient city, carefully avoiding both the rubble and the various defense systems. All the running she'd been doing was quickly wearing her down, and the injuries to her left knee had only made it worse.

She came to a low wall and leapt into the air, attempting to use her wings to guide her descent. However, she'd forgotten that her left wing had been twisted in an earlier battle, leaving it nearly useless. As a result, Zelia dropped clumsily out of the sky and hit the dirt hard.

“Gurgh…” Zelia gritted her teeth and got to her feet. “Just…where are you Aero?”

After several minutes of trying to pick up his scent trail, Zelia locked on to her target and moved like the wind, all the while feeling an odd sensation from the sphere that she'd accidentally swallowed. It led to a scene of an earlier fight, where the Aero V-dramon lay face-down on the ground.

“Aero…” Zelia nudged his body with her muzzle, then flipped him over.

The Aero V-dramon looked battered and bruised, but he was breathing…a good sign. Zelia suddenly felt a great amount of pain in her stomach and started shaking uncontrollably. As she roared in pain, a blue light shot out of her mouth and entered Aero's body.

Immediately, the blue dragon stirred and let off a loud scream. It took Aero several moments to re-orientate himself before he became aware of his surroundings….and of Zelia.

“Are you….back to normal too?” Zelia queried.

“I don't believe it! You ate me!” Aero literally screamed, sitting upright.

“That wasn't intentional.”

“I know, but still that was disgusting.” Aero muttered, shaking his head. “I'm trying not to remember what I saw in there. Still, it's a refreshing feeling not to be spherical. And I guess I have you to thank for that.”

“I did what you always told me to….follow my heart.”

“Haha, I knew you could.” Aero patted her shoulder. “I…”

A sudden mechanical whirl alerted the pair to the danger nearby, in the form of a couple of laser cannons. Aero was touching his Digivice to make sure it was still there when Zelia leapt out in front of him.

The Raptordramon was suddenly engulfed in a blue vortex of Digicode and her form changed, becoming humanoid in shape. Clad in golden armor with red patterns and a reptilian-shaped helmet, Zelia's Ultimate Digimon form of Grademon took to the field.

In the blink of an eye, she'd dispatched the two laser cannons with a swift stroke. Zelia then somersaulted up onto a higher platform and took out two more weapons with an outwards sweep. In front of Aero's astonished eyes, she landed in front of him and sheathed her swords, giving the blue dragon a wide grin.

One final laser cannon suddenly arose from a pile of stones behind her and Aero opened his mouth to shout a warning.

“Cross Blade!” Zelia drew both her fencing swords in an `X' motion, which sent out an energy wave that took the laser cannon apart.

“Nice form.” Aero commented.

“I used it to help you before.” Zelia replied. “But you were unconscious back then.”

Before Aero could say anything else, he felt a slight gust of wind behind him and was suddenly rammed from behind. Majiramon the dragon Deva made another round and landed facing Zelia and the downed Aero V-Dramon.

“Damn, why is so hard for you to just die?” The dragon snarled.

“I'm difficult.” Zelia growled. “Unless you want to do the dirty work yourself for once. Hargh!”

The dino knight charged and slashed at Majiramon, who backed away to evade the swipes and lashed out with his tail. The surprise blow caught Zelia beneath the chin and sent her spinning backwards.

“Actually, I think I should.” Majiramon declared, putting his claws together and chanting.

The green, serpentine dragon shrouded himself in a green aura and began to grow. In a matter of seconds, Majiramon had enlarged himself more than twice fold. He now stood over 6 stories high, towering way above the pair. And because Zelia had taken out all the defenses in the immediate vicinity, there was nothing to interfere with his stomping on the smaller pair.

Zelia easily moved away and struck back, firing off energy waves from her blades. Majiramon had to defend his face with his huge claws. However, Zelia suddenly lurched over and clutched her side, as if in great pain.

“Zelia! Watch out!” Aero shouted.

Majiramon took Zelia down with a single swing of his tail, tossing the dino knight around like a rag doll. She hit a wall with an ear-splitting crunch and flopped down against the floor, unmoving.

“NO!” Aero roared. Spreading his wings, Aero attacked in a fit of rage, firing a stream of energy shots from his wings, his V-Wing Blade ability.

The huge dragon Deva blocked most of the shots, but swung his claws and delfected the last V-Wing Blade right into Aero. The blue dragon howled in pain and spun in mid-air, but managed to keep in flight.

That didn't help however, as Majiramon attacked him with a barrage of claws and tail slashes, knocking the hapless Aero V-dramon up and down before tossing him to the ground. Battered and bruised, Aero groaned and staggered to his feet.

“Is that…all….you've got?” Aero shouted.

WHAM! WHAM! BAM!

Majiramon pounded him again, knocking the blue dragon down hard.

“You're beaten. Give it up!” Majiramon taunted.

“I won't give up….” Aero panted. “I won't lose! I can't! For Zelia…”

Aeromaru eyed Zelia's motionless form, and then raised the bracelet-like Digivice strapped around his right wrist.

“Matrix Evolution!”

 

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“Hey princess? You there?” Dynamo poked at the unresponsive Strikedramon body of Janet's.

“Not much use after you lost that puppet used to control her body.” Junon remarked.

“You're saying that like it's my fault.” Dynamo snapped, lifting up Janet's body in his arms.

“Well, isn't it?”

“What? I was busy fighting! You weren't doing anything, so you would obviously have been the one to watch my back!”

“Didn't they ever teach you that you have to watch all sides during combat?”

“Aw forget it!” Dynamo huffed. “No one ever wins an argument with you Junon.”

“Then our course of action should be to find Metallix and regroup.” Junon instructed. “As much as I dislike him, the wolf can be useful at times.”

“Yeah, as cannon fodder.” Dynamo muttered. “But he's probably still buried under all that rubble. Can't we just leave him? He can dig his own way out.”

“Why? Need someone to challenge your record of digging?”

“Hey! I'd like to see you try it Miss Perfect!” Dynamo retorted.

In the midst of his argument with Junon, Dynamo never noticed Janet's body slowly stirring and moaning softly. Janet opened her eyes to find herself in Dynamo's arms…with the dark knight looking down at her.

“Grrrr…” Janet hissed.

“Hm? What was…” Dynamo gasped. “Hey! You…”

“You!” The Strikedramon growled, forcing her way out of Dynamo's grip.

“Hey princess, glad to see you're back to normal.” Dynamo smiled cheerfully.

“You pervert!” Janet yelled, sending a full-forced kick between Dynamo's legs.

“OOOOWWWW! Not the groin!” Dynamo's eyes went wide.

“Oh you like that? How about this?” Janet whipped Dynamo's shin with her barbed tail, then sent off a second kick.

“Gargh! Argh! My groin…Again…oooooowwwww…”

BOMP! Dynamo hit the floor groaning.

“Humph!” Junon immediately sprung into action, throwing out her ribbons and tying Janet's hands and legs together.

“Uargh!” Janet choked as Junon threw another ribbon around her neck and pulled it tight.

The Strikedramon twisted and turned, pulling Junon off balance with a strong heave. Junon's grip loosened slightly, giving Janet enough space to bite through the ribbons with her fangs. That maneuver freed her claws, which she used to cut the remaining ribbons, sending Junon stumbling backwards.

“Hmm…not bad for someone who's been out of their own shoes for a while.” Junon taunted, steadying her stance.

“I don't have time for you.” Janet said softly. “I need to get to Steve. He could be…”

“Jan!” The much welcomed sight of a Paildramon and a Vritramon greeted Janet, taking up battle positions beside her.

“Sekata! Zoe! Good to see you guys back too.” Janet looked up.

“Not entirely back, but pretty much.” The red armored Vritramon replied.

“Look, you guys have to take care of this fight.” Janet hurriedly told them. “I'll explain more later, but Steve was under the control of the Devas earlier, and I have to get to him quickly.”

Janet's companions gave her confused glances as the Strikedramon sprinted off without another word.

“Well, hope you're ready for this Zoe.” Sekata in Zoe's XV-mon body muttered.

“I'll make do with it.” Zoe nodded, raising Sekata's D-Dragon.

“NO! Erm, I mean no, don't use that just yet.” Sekata put an arm on her shoulder.

“How come?”

“Er…it…well…takes a lot of energy out of you.” Sekata was a bit hesitant in his reply. “Even I can't handle it sometimes.”

“All right.” Zoe agreed. “We'll do this the hard way.”

Is it just me, or is Sekata acting rather strangely? Zoe thought. I mean, I feel weird too that we're in each other's bodies…but there's just that something else that doesn't seem quite right…

 

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“Steve! Steve Where are you?” Janet shouted.

Small stones crunched beneath her feet as the dull thumps of her footsteps rang out in her ears. Janet frantically glanced around, trying to figure out where to find Steve. She hadn't exactly left her friend on her own accord and getting back to him was proving to be quite a task.

“What am I kidding myself?” Janet stopped, panting, and checked the reading on the D-Dragon's screen.

Steve's reading was showing up from close-by, but that was provided that the Digivice was actually with him. Janet couldn't remember, but she had to take that chance and approached a large hole in the ground.

It seemed like the pit she remembered falling down into, only now that it was completely dark.

Charging Zelia up probably shorted the power out as well. Janet told herself as she leapt down.

It then occurred to her that she couldn't see anywhere to land and hit the ground hard. However, a stabbing pain ran through her foot as Janet howled and flicked her D-Dragon's light on.

A spike-like metal shard had pierced into her right foot, which was now covered with blood. Gritting her teeth, Janet ripped the shard out with a scream.

“Damn, gargh!” Janet was wearing a black, sleeveless vest in addition to her normal Strikedramon gear, and ripped some of the dark leather off to make a bandage. Red fluid stained the makeshift bandage as she pulled it tight.

It hurt like hell, but Janet pushed it aside.

“Steve! Answer me!” She yelled.

Something glittered in the light of her Digivice and Janet limped over to see. Steve's orange and gold D-Dragon was there….with Steve a couple of feet away and lying on his back.

“Steve!” Janet grabbed Steve's Digivice and ran to Steve's side.

She felt a sudden jolt and started as she touched Steve's body. The Flamedramon was convulsing and still charged with strong static electricity that shocked Janet every time she tried to touch him.

“Grrr!” Janet took a deep breath and grabbed on tight.

The electrical shocks stung badly, but something else happened too. Both of the pair's D-Dragons were glowing, a single image showing up on their screens. It was a shimmering blue orb with a couple of light blue and red rings within it…the X-antibody.

“This…Steve used this to help save me once.” Janet recalled.

The sight flashed in her mind of herself, screaming in pain. Then, Steve had held the orb out to her. She also remembered the strong grip of his claw. He didn't let go then, and he wouldn't even now.

After what I went through to get that thing for you, don't you dare die on me! Steve's voice rang out in her mind.

The shimmering lights grew brighter, piercing the darkness like day. And Steve's body absorbed that glow too. With a roar of agony, he suddenly sprang up, throwing Janet off him.

As she stared in awe, the Flamedramon began to change.

His size and body mass increased by at least twice fold, and became clad in a familiar set of golden and silver armor. It was undoubtedly Wargreymon's, with several modifications.

The shield plates on his back were smaller and the armor in general seemed to have a `rougher' look to it. There were blue, glowing stones embedded in various parts of his body, including his horn, the chestplate and the upper sections of his claws.

It was the X-antibody version: Wargreymon X.

 

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Now completely in his new form, Steve roared and slashed his claws about wildly. In his fit of madness, he knocked Janet aside, throwing her into a wall and leaving the impression on her body in it.

“Ugh…Steve…what are you doing? It's me! Jan!” She staggered to her feet. “Get a hold of yourself!”

Steve simply roared again and attacked, swinging his gleaming claws at her. Janet was forced to back away and dodge, the killer weapons missing her by inches. The new Wargreymon grew exhausted and dropped to his knees.

“Steve…” Janet approached.

All of a sudden, Steve slashed at her. Janet let off a scream and stumbled on her bad foot, landing hard on her back. Placing a palm to her neck, Janet felt a bit of blood and a small scar there. A little more and she would've had her head separated from her shoulders.

There wasn't much time to think as Steve attempted to stomp her, forcing Janet to roll away.

“I'm not going to fight you Steve!” Janet insisted. “They've been forcing you to go against us for so long! I don't want to add to that suffering!”

Janet realized that she'd lost track of Steve in the darkness and brought her D-Dragon's torch up to look for him. That was when he pounced on her from behind, pinning her face-first to the ground and raising his claw to strike.

“NNOO!” Janet struggled frantically, unable to free herself.

CLANG! That was the last sound Janet expected to hear.

However, it wasn't Steve stabbing his claw down, but instead another figure slapping Steve's clawed hand off target. There was a blur of black as the armored Digimon knocked the berserked Wargreymon into the wall.

There came a mechanical humming and the lights flicked on, revealing her rescuer to be Siavon the BlackWargreymon.

“I seem to have a penchant for stumbling into your most insane matters.” The old warrior growled.

“Siavon!” Janet gasped. “How'd you…”

With an enraged howl, Steve lashed back at his newfound foe. Sparks flew as their claws clashed in a series of spirited blows. Siavon however, was at a slight disadvantage because he only had one claw weapon against Steve's two.

“All these energy charges must be affecting Steve.” Siavon panted. “He's just hurt, confused…and attacking in rage! RARGH!”

Siavon's only claw weapon was knocked off his hand during Steve's latest barrage, forcing Siavon to leap away. Steve rushed at him and Siavon dropped into a sliding kick, taking Steve off his feet.

With his opponent down for a moment, Siavon had enough time to draw the second weapon he possessed, a huge samurai sword that had been in a sheath across his back.

As Steve attacked, Siavon swung the blade and knocked both of Steve's hands to the side. He then spun around and smacked Steve's helmet with the flat side of his blade. The Wargreymon X seemed even more infuriated then hurt and charged once more.

“Gurgh!” Siavon grunted as his blade clashed with Steve's claws, the pair struggling against each other's strength.

“Can we snap him out of it?” Janet asked desperately.

“If we get him to calm down, but I'll need your help to take him down first!” Siavon called back. “He's too much for me in this form!”

“But I can't!” Janet cried. “I can't fight Steve! Not after all he's been through! What if he never recovers from all of this?”

“You have to! And you will if you truly care about him!” Siavon turned his head towards her.

“I…I…just…”

Steve suddenly twisted his claws and kicked Siavon repeatedly in the chest. The BlackWargreymon jerked back and lost hold of his weapon, the blade clattering noisily against the ground. Stunned and defenseless at close range, Siavon received a hard blow to his chest, throwing him roughly against the corner of the room.

The shaking caused a heavy pillar to fall from the ceiling, slamming onto Siavon's chest and pinning him down. The old warrior heaved as hard as he could, but didn't have the strength to push the pillar off.

And Steve was approaching with both of his dragon claws raised.

“Steve! No!” Janet shouted, to no avail.

I can't let this go on! Janet thought. I can't get through to Steve by voice alone, and if I don't do anything, then Siavon…

“RARRGHH! Garrhh! Arrrgghh!” Siavon struggled wildly, glancing up at the approaching Steve.

I can't just watch Even if it means Steve…no, Steve would want me to do this. Back then, everyone fought against me in Megidramon form, even though they knew there were hurting me. Janet clenched her fists. I am a dragon warrior! And I have act like one!

“Hey! Over here!” Janet roared, dashing and switching to her Ultimate level Cyberdramon form at the same time. “Erase Claw!”

BOOM! The blue energy burst exploded against Steve's back, causing the frenzied dragon to pause and turn around.

Janet's stride broke into a roll, during which she retrieved Siavon's samurai sword and sprang back to her feet, continuing her charge without any hesitation. As she took those steps, Janet felt a new power growing within herself.

The X-antibody, the blade and her body were all reacting…and transforming.

“Matrix Evolution!”

Janet felt her form changing, and opened her eyes against the glow to see the results. To describe it simply, it was like BlackWargreymon clad in a set of black samurai armor.

The body shape and armor structure were all similar to the Wargreymon series, including the gray colored helmet with silver horns. However, there were hints of an oriental Japanese design, with the samurai style shoulder pads and the specially decorated chestplate.

In her claws now were not one, but two sleek, curved and deadly blades. Janet could feel the raw power behind this X-antibody dragon warrior, and called out the name of her new Mega form.

“Gaioumon!”