Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Fragments of Memories ( Chapter 47 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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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Fragments of Memories

By nightdragon0

The aftermath of the grand battle was a scene of great chaos and destruction. While the old castle still stood, much of its interior rooms were damaged, not to mention the various holes in the walls and towers.

It was in one of the upper rooms, however, that they lay. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed, burying the remains of Chaosdramon and Death-Xmon.

Amidst the rubble, it seemed like both bodies had been twisted into mere fragments of their former selves.

However, something moved.

A red claw suddenly shot out, throwing broken tiles and stones away. A deep growling, accompanied by grunts and creaks of its mechanism followed. A head was the next to emerge, bearing a dragon-like shape, but more sleek and shiny than the original.

Its body took on the same, dinosaur-like structure, standing upright and being supported by a massive tail. There were more patterns on its red armor, with black covering its horns, lower arms, thighs and tail.

The gleaming silver cannons on the back were much longer now, and the creature possessed an additional horn on its nose. In addition, its formerly three fingered claws now seemed like small cannons themselves, with a hole in the center of each `palm' for the laser.

Finally, the eyes, though black at first, suddenly lit up with a shimmering red.

Chaosdramon X…

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Sekata awoke to a soft snoring.

He immediately recognized the familiar surroundings of his room. The blinds were open, allowing some of the morning sun to stream through.

The bedding felt different and Sekata realized that it had been changed to some sort of rubber-like material. Whatever it was, it prevented the pointed tips of his Dorugoramon wings from cutting through.

Zoe was asleep in the chair nearby and resting her head on the table. The XV-mon's tail swished back and forth with her breathing, as did her folded wings.

Smiling, Sekata stroked the side of her head. The blue dragon grunted softly and slowly opened her eyes.

“Hey…” Sekata whispered.

“Hey yourself.” Zoe replied weakly, rubbing her face. “You feeling better?”

“Yeah.” The silver armored dragon nodded, touching the bandage that went around his chest. “You guys brought me back here?”

“The others did. I was too worn out myself.”

“Have you been watching over me?”

“Well…yes I have.” Zoe told him. “You've been out for the last couple of days.”

“Erm…Zoe…” Sekata hesitated. “Thanks for getting me out of that explosion. Don't think I could've made it on my own.”

“You'd do the same for me.” She smiled.

“I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have to. You're nowhere as reckless as me.”

The two burst out laughing.

“What do…you remember after that?” Sekata suddenly asked.

“Not much, but I recall feeling your touch.” Zoe looked down. “It was…very relieving…knowing you were….all right.”

“And?”

Did she know? Did she acknowledge me? Sekata wondered. But am I rushing things? I can't possibly expect too much, can I?

“I…I…don't really remember.” Zoe blurted. “Why?”

No, that didn't come out right! The XV-mon mentally slapped herself. I should tell him! But I…I just can't…

“You were…were….just groaning a bit.” Sekata finished. “I thought that….you might've been hurt too.”

“Exhausted most likely.”

“Yes…” Sekata nodded. “And…back during the battle, you said that you had to tell me something important, didn't you?”

“That…” The blue dragon closed her eyes. “Well, it's hard to explain, but…”

“But?”

“I think we were meant to be here, in this world.”

“What do you mean?” Sekata sat up fully.

“Try this, tell me something about your past. Don't think, just say whatever comes to mind.”

“Wha…”

“Just try it!”

“Fighter…” The Dorugoramon shot out, surprising himself at the same time. “Battle cards…I was a champion.”

“How true are all those?” Zoe leaned forward. “Now, think about your human past specifically.”

“Well…I was one of the tops in Digimon Battle Cards. I won a few tournaments here and there.” Sekata said after a while. “But fighter? An underground pit fighter? I…rarrgghh! That can't be right!”

“Perhaps not in our original human realities, but they could be in this one.” Zoe suggested. “Our Digimon realities.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember back at Daemon? When I heard the voice telling us that realities had shifted, erasing our presence from the human world?”

“Go on…”

“It could have done more than just than alter our present and future.” Zoe concluded. “It could have altered our past as well!”

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“You sure this is what he would want?” Aero queried.

“Definite.” Steve nodded. “I mean, he pretty much told you himself, didn't he?”

“Yes, he did.”

The Aero V-dramon and Flamedramon were standing on a hill outside their base. It was a quiet spot, with a circle of flowers under the shade of a cherry tree.

Beneath it was a simple tablet that served as a memorial to Zelia, Siavon and Cimons. Siavon's petrified form had been placed there and Aero hung both the locket and Evza's crystal around the stone statue's neck.

“It's a good spot.” Katsu nodded, walking up with Adrian in tow.

“You doing all right, Adrian?” Aero asked.

“Yeah, I'll be fine.” The Airdramon sniffed.

“We all know Cimons was your buddy.” Aero patted him on the shoulder. “It's tough on us too.”

Steve took one final look at the stoned Siavon. According to Zoe, any presence within had sine disappeared, leaving nothing but a cold, empty shell.

He was sure that the old dragon had found his peace at least.

With that, Steve left the other three to their quiet exchange and returned to the base. He still had a mystery of his own to solve.

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Sekata was silent for over a full minute before finding his voice.

“What does that mean? That we now have a past in this world instead?”

“You remember when I got turned into a V-mon kid?” Zoe muttered. “Rain mentioned that I though Steve and I were his younger siblings.”

“But you're actually an only child if I remember.”

“In the human reality. But here, I sort of remember being adopted into a family with a couple of V-mon. They were my stepbrothers of sorts, and that image just kept sticking in my mind.”

“Even though you're back to your proper age now?”

“Yeah…” The XV-mon nodded. “Somehow, I think we were supposed to lose our human memories when we came here.”

“But we didn't, and now we have all these Digimon memories being stirred up.” Sekata noted. “Things that we've supposedly gone through before.”

“I was thinking similarly too. The reality shift isn't fully complete yet, but its effects are becoming more prominent.”

“And that's the reason why we're feeling more and more of them.” Sekata finished.

“I tried this with Janet too.” Zoe continued after a while. “The impression she gave me is that she was a mechanic in her Digimon past. But as for Steve, I haven't…”

“So that's it!” Steve suddenly burst into the room.

“Speak of the devil.” Sekata muttered under his breath.

“Hey! Steve!” Janet followed him in, waving her claws about.

“I understand now…” Steve muttered, pulling off his Flamedramon mask and staring hard at it.

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1 Day Ago…

“Feeling better bro?” Rain looked up from his seat on the couch.

“The good night's sleep did wonders.” Steve flopped down in the chair next to him.

After the previous day's encounters, it was nice to just take a relaxing afternoon off, snoozing lazily in the living room of the base.

“You know…” Rain began. “It was kinda interesting when you two got shrunken into kids.”

“In what sense? All the pranks we pulled on you?”

“No, it's that big bro and me really did have a sister back then.”

“Hmm? You've never told me before.”

“Well, I remember she was adopted. She was around big bro's age, but I was told she ran away one day and never came back.” Rain closed his eyes, lost in thought. “I was still pretty young back then, so I don't recall much about her other than the fact that she was a V-mon too…”

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BOOM! A sudden explosion rocked the area, snapping everyone in the room to alert mode.

“What the hell?” Janet blurted out.

“Aero's sending a distress signal.” Zoe looked down at her D-Dragon. “And he's just outside!”

“Let's go then!” Sekata swung himself out of bed and involuntarily clutched his chest in pain.

“You'd better…” Zoe started.

“No, I'm not sitting this one out!” Sekata grunted, charging down the stairs.

His companions had no choice but to follow and were met at the entrance by a panting Shadramon and Airdramon.

“Big trouble…” Katsu pointed down the path.

“Damn, that thing is tough!” Adrian added in.

Sekata sprinted down the road and stopped short once the attacker came into view.

“No…” He gasped. “Not possible…”

“Wasn't that…” Steve stared. “Your Chaosdramon body?”

“It's gotten an upgrade.” Janet noted. “Chaosdramon X.”

It was the same red mechanical dragon Sekata had temporarily bound his soul to. Only now it was raving mad and swiping wildly at Aero and Rain, both of whom were darting around their opponent.

“My saber could barely penetrate its armor.” Aero, in Alforce V-dramon form, jumped back.

“Please tell me what the heck is going on here!” Rain added in, retreating to a safe distance.

Chaosdramon X turned its head and glared at Sekata in rage.

“So, you're back!” It hissed. “You! The one who deserted me!”

Sekata was momentarily stunned at hearing the mechanical voice that sounded just like his own. However, he spotted something as the machine spoke.

“The binding symbol!” He realized. The enchanted marking was still engraved on the creature's upper jaw. “It's still there!”

“Surprised?” Chaosdramon X laughed. “Well even after you left me, it gave me a second lease at life!”

“Could it be?” Zoe stepped up. “That the binding symbol left an imprint of your soul in the machine?”

“So what does that mean?” Janet queried.

“That thing is like a copy of Sekata's mind.”

“Of course, how did you think I knew where to find you?” Chaosdramon growled.

“What do you want with us then?” Sekata demanded.

“It's what I want with you!” The mechanical dragon pointed a claw. “As long as you exist, I'll always be nothing more than your copy! That's why you must die! Hyper Mugen Cannon!”

Everyone jumped in different directions activating their evolution sequences at the same time.

“Imperialdramon, Fighter Mode!” Zoe cocked her wrist mounted cannon.

“Gaioumon!” Janet withdrew her twin samurai blades.

“Wargreymon!” Steve snapped his claw weapons on and slashed them together.

“Typical, another guy who wants me dead.” Sekata unsheathed the Ryuukonken and held it up to his Dorugoramon face. “Well, bring it on!”

Chaosdramon roared and fired its shoulder cannons. In response, Sekata swung his sword at the beams with a backhanded stroke, slicing the large beams into many smaller ones that swerved away harmlessly.

Zoe fired a laser, which Chaosdramon ducked beneath. For something its size, the mechanical dragon was surprisingly agile, rushing forward and blocking both Steve's and Janet's weapon attacks. Using its superior bulk and strength, Chaosdramon easily threw them back.

Sekata leapt forward and engaged it with a series of fierce slashes that met his foe's claws, sending sparks flying everywhere. Using the distracting, Aero attempted an attack from behind that met only with a firm blow from Chaosdramon's tail. The Alforce V-dramon was sent spinning into a distant tree.

However, Aero dropped a shiny object, which rolled between Chaosdramon's legs.

“Oh no! The Chaos Shard!” Zoe gasped.

The dark colored crystal suddenly began emitting bolts of energy, which swirled around Chaosdramon X's body and caused it to howl in agony. Forced to shield his eyes, Sekata realized that the same energy was shooting out of Chaosdramon's interior.

The Chaos Shard that Death-Xmon consumed! Chaosdramon must've absorbed its powers when he came into contact with it! Sekata thought.

He felt Zoe tugging his arm, who'd apparently come to the same conclusion.

“What's going on?” Rain yelled, running up to Steve and Janet.

“It's something that isn't good.” Steve muttered.

“Guys, get out of there!” Aero called from the distance. “It's gonna blow!”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth did a blinding explosion consume the rest of the party. If Aero had been looking up instead of shielding his head, he would've seen the dark vortex that had been created.

Some complex reaction had occurred between the two Chaos Shards and Chaosdramon's energy, opening a rift for a brief instant.

“Guys?” Aero opened his eyes once all the commotion had died down.

Upon seeing nobody around, he instinctively went to the Digivice bracelet around his wrist. However, that too came up with nothing.

No signs or any traces of them. The only signs of the earlier battle were the charred spots and burning vegetation.

Where are they?

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Sekata groaned, turning in his bed.

Back here again… He sighed. I've got to stop letting the others drag me back here after every…huh? What the?

Something seemed different. He felt his body was different for that matter. And it was a feeling that he hadn't experienced for a long time.

Could it be?

All at once, Sekata shoved his aching body up and forced his eyes open. And that left him staring down at a hand.

A human hand.

“What the hell?” He yelled, scrambling out of bed. Unfortunately, that ended up with him hitting the carpeted floor face-first instead.

Rolling to a kneeling position, the confused man glanced around the room.

It was definitely `his' room. But as to which of his rooms, Sekata couldn't tell. He couldn't even remember what his room back in the human world had looked like and kept relating this room to his one in the Digital World.

The arrangements, the furniture…everything's the same as in the base! The now human dragon noted.

There was a full length mirror on the wall and Sekata took a deep breath before looking into it.

Was this how I looked as a human? God, I can't even remember!

Sekata was bare-bodied, but had a pair of purple shorts on. The neck length black hair was messy and unkempt. He blinked his brown eyes and examined his well built, muscular body.

I seem like I've been working out in the gym everyday! And I look at least 24 or 25! I definitely wasn't like this before! How…

The young man's gaze then fell upon the trophy cabinet and the plaques hanging on the wall beside it.

“World Kendo Championship 2004? And 2005?” Sekata read out loud. “Battle Card Regional Champion? Battle Card International Champion? They all…belong to…ME?”

Still in much of a daze, Sekata dashed to the window and threw it open. Down below was a busy street, with dozens of cars and humans walking about.

This street…I think this is the place I lived at while I was in America!

A sudden feeling of weariness came over him and Sekata dropped down onto the bed. His hand unconsciously went for the spot where he normally left the Ryuukonken…and felt it there.

AncientGreymon!

“Hey you! What did you do to me this time?” Sekata snatched the sword up and stared at it in shock. It was a wooden sword, the kind used for the Japanese sword art, Kendo.

“AncientGreymon! Hey! Answer me!” The morph hurled his pillow at the wardrobe in frustration.

The doors swung open, revealing a set of Kendo armor within. Next to it was a silver and purple suit, and a cell phone.

Touching his right hand, Sekata now realized that his D-Dragon was no longer there. Immediately, he snatched the cell phone and scanned through the contact list.

Zoe's name and number!

Heart pounding, Sekata dialed the number and waited impatiently as the phone begun to ring.

“Hello?”

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“Hello? Zoe is that you?” Sekata asked.

“Who? Sekata? It's you isn't it?” Zoe practically screamed from the other side. “Where are you?”

“I'm in some house that looks suspiciously familiar to the one I once had. And I'm human!”

“Same here.” Zoe replied. “Plus, I look and feel like I'm 22 or something! This is too weird…”

“I know.” Sekata sighed. “Have you managed to reach Steve or Janet?”

“Well, I've only got Janet's number on my phone, but she's not answering at the moment.”

“Zoe, I'll meet up with you first then.” Sekata decided. “Do you know your address?”

“Erm…I see a Street 27 below my window.”

“Hmm, I'm at a Street 25.” Sekata shot a quick glance outside. “I'm guessing that it should be a couple of blocks down. Stay put, I'll be there soon!”

“Hurry.” Zoe urged. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“So do I, Zoe…so do I.”

Sekata was about to charge out when he remembered that he couldn't exactly leave the house the way he was now. Hastily, he grabbed the silver set of clothes and forced it on. The long trousers were silver, with purple streaks running down the sides while the silver T-shirt had long sleeves that were purple colored.

The same as my Dorugoramon colors…

Something else was glittering on the desk and Sekata saw that it was a car's key. Grabbing that and the cell phone, he scrambled down the stairs into a living room that looked so much like their base in the Digital World.

Not wasting any time, the black haired man threw the door open…and found a silver Mercedes parked in the driveway.

Ok, I know how to use this. Sekata told himself, leaping into the driver's seat. I learnt to drive a landrover in the Digital World…I can handle this too!

However, it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.

Dammit, only two pedals? Where is the clutch? And where's the ignition switch for that matter? Is this the handbrake or the gear?

“Gargh!” Sekata pounded the dashboard in frustration.

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“I don't believe this.” Steve glanced around. “This place is a mansion.”

He was now a 22 year old, blond haired man dressed in blue jeans and an orange singlet. Over that was a blue jacket with flame patterns around the back, and a pair of sunglasses hanging around his neck.

This place kinda reminds me of the interior of the Digimetal Knights' castle.

“Gargh! Ow! Argh!” A figure dressed completely in black suddenly came rolling down the hall's main stairway.

“Hey, are you all right?” Steve dashed to his side.

“Ugh…huh…hey! Is that you Steve?” The youth looked up.

“Who…” Steve stopped short, eyes wide.

“It's me, Rain!” The teen jumped up and shook him. “What am I anyway? I don't understand how you're supposed to walk upright without a tail for support! Steve? Steve!”

Steve could only continue staring with a distressed look on his face. The figure before him had those same looks. The same shade of blond hair and that calm look in his brown eyes.

No, he's…he's… Steve's thought ran wildly in his mind. No, it's Rain! It's Rain! He's a Raindramon dammit! A Digimon! He's not my brother!

SLAP! That single motion snapped Steve out of his trance as Rain withdrew his hand.

“I'm sorry.” Rain whispered. “Steve, please talk to me!”

One of the side doors suddenly creaked open and an elderly gentleman dressed in a formal suit approached. Even in his half-stunned state of mind, it occurred to Steve that he looked much like a butler.

“Good day Master Steve and Master Rain.” The strange man bowed. “Is something the matter? I believe that there was some shouting earlier.”

“Erm…no, we're fine.” Steve managed. “Thanks.”

“Very well, do call if you need anything.” The butler bowed again before departing.

“Ok, the last thing I remember is being sucked into that explosion and now, I'm…” Rain began.

“In my world.” Steve finished for him. “Or at least, some strange distortion of it.”

“I'd ask what you mean, but I guess you don't really know either, huh?”

“It's like a bit of your world, and a bit of mine.” Steve sat down on the stairs.

“Like…this is some sort of…mixed reality?”

“Wouldn't put it past that.”

“And what's wrong with you?” Rain put a hand on Steve's shoulder. “The way you were staring at me earlier.”

“Yeah…” Steve took a deep breath. “You look just like my older brother did when he was around 17 or so.”

“Oh…” Rain looked down. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stir up any bad memories.”

“No, it's…” Steve paused. “Hey, look there!”

He dragged his human-turned Raindramon companion over to a set of pictures on the wall.

“Is that…us?” Rain stuttered. “What we look like now at least.”

“As humans…”

The framed pictured detailed a family of four, with two parents and two youths…Steve and Rain. Steve looked hard at the pictures and recognized his parents, feeling the pain in his heart.

No, this can't be real. I can't really be home. Steve told himself. Sure, I miss them, but…this isn't the way I wanted to come back…

“You don't have an older brother who died…not in this world.” Rain suddenly spoke. “And neither do I…”

“Yeah, we're brothers here.” Steve added in. “And I'm the older one!”

“But who's this?” Rain gestured.

One of the pictures had a young girl none of the others had. She was very cheerful looking, with a smooth complexion, brown hair and beautiful blue eyes.

In the picture, she was standing between the younger human versions of Steve and Rain, with their hands over each other's shoulders.

“I know her…” Steve gasped. “It's Zoe!”

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Sekata steered the car into the parking lot and looked up at the set of apartments before him. Zoe had given him a more detailed description of `her' house along the way, nearly causing him to crash because he'd been using the cell phone while driving.

This has got to be it! He jumped out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut. Unfortunately with the key locked inside.

“Dammit!” Sekata kicked the door in fury.

However, that action had given the young man a look in his side mirror, alerting him to a figure standing behind him. Sensing that something was wrong with the intruder, Sekata quickly snapped into a defensive stance

The man looked to be in his 30s, dressed completely in a black suit and tie with a white shirt visible beneath. His brown hair was neatly combed and tucked back.

A stern expression was locked on his face and partially hidden by the pair of sunglasses he wore. That expression didn't waiver a single bit as he approached.

“Who are you?” Sekata demanded.

Without warning, the man attacked. Sekata immediately blocked the first two punches and threw one of his own. The blow connected with his opponent's lower jaws, setting him off balance.

Sekata made a spinning maneuver, intending to take his foe down using his tail. A little too late, the morph realized that he didn't have his tail anymore. Besides making him look quite stupid, it also got Sekata a hard kick in the chest that sent him crashing into a nearby car.

“Gargghh…” Sekata pulled his aching body from the wreckage. The car had apparently taken more damage than him, with a large dent its hood that matched the shape of Sekata's body.

Wiping his bleeding hands on his trousers, the enraged human pushed off the car and rocketed into the black suit. The attacker was smashed into another car with similar results, but got up just as quickly.

A second, similar-looking man dressed in black suddenly emerged from the shadows, somersaulting over to Sekata's position.

Being more agile was a plus to Sekata's traits, allowing him to flip over a low kick from his new attacker. Whilst still in mid-air, the defender lashed out with a fist to his opponent's face. It utterly startled him when the black suit caught his arm, holding his weight up for a couple of seconds before hurling him into the wall.

A series of cracks appeared in the concrete as the morph made contact.

“Grrrr…” Sekata growled, pulling himself to his feet. “Now I'm angry!”

As the martial artist raised his right fist, a strange fiery mark appeared on its back. It was a symbol that clearly resembled a dragon's head.

“Sekata!” A car pulled up, being driven by a black haired woman of at least 22 years. “Here! Get in!”

The morph followed his instincts and decided to trust the lady, who was dressed in a green mechanic's overalls. It didn't take him long to leap into the passenger seat.

The driver quickly sped off, leaving the two black suits in the dust.

“I see they got to you too.” The mechanic breathed. “I would've gotten here sooner, but I somehow woke up in a vehicle repair shop whose manager thought I was sleeping on the job.”

“I'm assuming that it's you Janet.” Sekata panted.

“You got that right. I managed to get in touch with Zoe, and she told me where to find you.”

“Zoe? Is she all right?”

“She left her apartment and I agreed to meet her at this diner.” Janet told him. “But last I heard from her, she was trying to evade another of those strange guys in black suits.”

“Please be safe Zoe…” Sekata gripped the door's handle tightly, feeling the sweat trickling down his face.

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Zoe ducked behind the pillar and waited, trying to control her breathing as much as possible. The subway station was packed and she was hoping that it would serve to deter her pursuer.

An odd European man in a black suit had attacked her shortly after leaving her apartment. The morph had been able to break away and disappear into the crowd, but Zoe was certain that she was still being followed.

Along the way, she'd managed to contact Janet via cell phone and explained everything. Panting, Zoe brushed back her brown hair and wiped the sweat off her brow.

Perhaps I should've had the insight to put on more than just a blue pair of shorts and a white T-shirt! She sighed. I must look so out of place here!

And she felt very out of place too. But she had wanted this, hadn't she? To return to her original world. But no, this couldn't be the same world she'd left behind. Not one where she was a university student working part-time and living by herself.

“Hey.”

The distracted girl started as she felt a firm grip on her arm. Whirling around, Zoe found a black haired man dressed in a red sweater and gray jeans.

“Who…” She began.

“Shhh! Duck.” The stranger pulled her into a crouching position just as the black suit walked past. He was the same one who'd been following Zoe earlier.

Quietly, the man gestured for her to follow and Zoe complied, sneaking into an empty corridor which led to the toilets.

“That was a close one Zoe.” Her companion gasped.

“Yeah, thanks.” Zoe nodded. “But how…”

“Hey, it's me Sekata! Well, I guess you wouldn't recognize me now that I'm…”

“No, it's all right.” The female shook her head. “I'm just a little overwhelmed right now.”

“Wait, look there!”

“Where?”

As Zoe turned her head, it just flicked into her mind that something felt wrong. Those were her last thoughts before the morph took a hard blow to the back of her head.

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Fumbling with the cell phone, Sekata managed to get it upright as it rang, displaying Zoe's number on the screen.

“Hello? Zoe?”

“She's not available at the moment, I'm afraid.” A male voice sounded from the other end.

“Hey who is this?” Sekata demanded. “Where's Zoe?”

“I'm surprised you haven't guessed yet, since it seems that you and I were the cause of this whole thing in the first place.”

“Who…” Sekata stopped short. The voice was familiar…so similar to his own. “Chaosdramon?”

“Well, if you want the girl back, you'll come to the row of warehouses along the East Docks. I'm sure you can't miss that.”

“Wait! Hello? Hey!” Sekata yelled. “Damn, he hung the phone up!”

“Chaosdramon's here too?” Janet asked from the driver's seat.

“Yes, and he's got Zoe.”

“Seems that he's back with a vengeance. We'd better…whoa! What the?”

Janet slammed the brakes, causing the vehicle to screech to an abrupt halt. The road ahead of them was covered in a mysterious gray fog.

“I recognize this…” Sekata stared. “It's a Digital Field!”

The ground begun to shake as a huge creature stomped into view. It was a blue dinosaur that stood upright, with its right upper limb ending in a metallic dinosaur head and its left ending in a lizard-like skull.

“It's a Digimon.” Janet realized. “Deltamon!”

“RRROOOGGGAARGGHH!” The dinosaur roared as it glared straight at the vehicle.

“Oh crap! Bail!” Janet yelled.

The pair barely made it out before Deltamon unleashed its Triple Forces ability, firing a laser beam from its head and both arms. The energy burst was more than enough to blow the car to smithereens.

Sekata was thrown into a pile of trash cans by the explosive force and lay there, groaning.

“How the hell did this Digimon get here?” Janet wondered from the other side of the road.

“You…” Sekata growled, staggering to his feet. “I don't have time to deal with you!”

As the young warrior's anger welled up within, the dragon head symbol on his right fist glowed once again. Deltamon hardly seemed to take note as it continued firing its lasers about wildly, forcing Sekata to run and avoid the falling debris.

Janet watched in awe as Sekata's dragon symbol emitted a brilliant flash of light. A ring of Digicode also formed around his left hand and Sekata brought the two together.

“Matrix Evolution!”

Immediately, Sekata felt the transformation begin. Turning his hands over, Sekata watched as his five fingers merged into three fingered claws. A layer of silver lined the harder nails while the scales beneath were purple.

“Now…you're gonna get it!” Sekata spoke as his jaws elongated into a snout lined with sharp fangs. His tongue also morphed to become long and lizard-like, making his words come out as more of a hiss.

His eyes changed, glowing with a deep red as the morph stared intimidatingly at his target.

The transformation followed his body downwards as a pair of purple leathery wings erupted from his back, ripping his shirt apart. His shoulders broadened to match the head's silver armor and purple scales. That continued as a tail emerged, even though the remainder of his pants melded into the purple scales instead of being simply ripped apart.

Three-toed talons were the last to emerge, tearing his shoes off in the process.

“Dorugoramon!” The dragon roared. Suddenly, Sekata felt so much more alive.

Deltamon definitely took note of this dragon's sudden appearance and responded to the challenge. It fired its lasers without much hesitation.

Sekata jumped over the shots and planted a kick straight in the dinosaur's face, knocking it over. The wild Digimon hit the ground hard, smashing part of a nearby building in the process. Deltamon wasn't defeated yet and lashed out with its tail.

Utilizing his powerful arms, Sekata stood firm and blocked the blow. While the Dorugoramon barely felt any pain, the impact was enough to send him skidding across the street. Fortunately, the dragon managed to keep himself upright by digging his talons into the street.

Janet went scrambling for cover as pieces of tar and concrete were indiscriminately tossed in all directions.

Deltamon jumped to its feet and raised its arms to fire. Sekata went down on all fours and pushed off the ground, smashing into his opponent. The force of the blow sent Deltamon's lasers firing wide, making holes in several other buildings.

“Brave Metal!” Sekata's body glowed as flames enshrouded his draconic form.

With a savage cry, he slammed into the downed Deltamon, reducing it to data particles.

“Man, that thing stood no chance at all.” Janet whistled.

“No…I can't…hold…it…” Sekata grunted. The roaring Dorugoramon dropped to his knees and changed back into Sekata's human form in a flash of Digicode.

“Sekata!” Janet dashed over and helped her exhausted comrade to his feet. He was left in nothing but the tatters of his former clothing.

“Zoe…” Sekata muttered. “We've…got to…”

“We've got to get out of here first.” Janet shouldered the dazzled man as police sirens blared in the distance.

“Zoe…”

----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------

“Bro, take a look at this!” Rain pointed.

Steve ran from his desk over to the window and gasped. A bright pillar of blue light was visible from deep within the city.

The duo had spent some time searching around `their' mansion, trying not to seem too out of place while they were at it. From what they could tell, the mansion was located on the outskirts of town and had been purchased only recently.

Steve had been considering that this was sort of a possible future if he had remained in his original world. But the blue light stirred up a lot of emotions. For Steve knew only too well that it was a light of evolution.

“It could be Sekata or the others.” Steve remarked.

“Look, your hand!” Rain gestured.

Raising his left palm, Steve flipped it over to find a glowing dragon-head symbol there.

Is this my D-Dragon? He wondered. Does it still exist here too? And if that's the case, so should our evolution powers.

“Shouldn't we go after them?” Rain queried.

“I…” Steve mumbled, staring at the ground.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” The youth turned away. “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'd forgotten that this is what you've been searching for all this time, and you don't want to just go back to…”

“No, it's not like that.” Steve shook his head. “I mean, I like the Digital World and all, despite its problems. And I like hanging out with you guys. But…”

“You miss your original world.”

“Yeah, I guess. As much as I try to put it behind me.”

“I kinda feel the same way.” Rain admitted. “Now that I'm here and it's your world instead.”

“I don't really think it is.”

“Huh?”

“It is my world…but at the same time not the one I remember.” Steve looked up. “It could be the future, but there are just too many things out of place. As much as I want to just accept it, I know I can't!”

“Bro…”

“I have to do what's right.” Steve grinned, pushing the bedroom's door open. “We both do.”

Rain responded with a firm smile.

“Great, then let's go find the others!” Steve declared.

----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------

This sucks… Was the first thought that came to Zoe's mind. If there's one of us who always gets captured or kidnapped for being off guard, it's none other than me!

Zoe opened her eyes to find herself in a dark warehouse. At least, it seemed like one from the stacks of crates lining every corner. She felt her hands fastened to the wall above and tugged on them, rattling the chains.

“You shouldn't bother, they're quite tight.”

A lamp flicked on, revealing the man dressed in red and gray. He was calmly leaning against the wall and waiting.

“You…you're not Sekata.” Zoe muttered.

“Humph.”

“Chaosdramon I presume?” She continued. “I should've known. Since you're a copy of Sekata, coming into this reality made you in his likeness as well.”

“That's a lot coming from someone who hasn't seen him as a human before.” Chaosdramon snapped, slamming his fist into the wall.

Zoe was taken aback, but managed to gather enough of her senses to carry on with the conversation.

“You have Sekata's memories too?” She asked.

“Only some.” Chaosdramon closed his eyes. “Probably what was on top of his mind at that time.”

“I see…so, the duplication wasn't perfect…”

“That's the reason!” The black haired man growled. “The reason why I need him out of the way! Gugghh…what…is this feeling?”

Zoe saw that his hand was bleeding, probably having being cut by the uneven welding on the wall.

“You're human now.” She told him. “That's why you can feel the pain.”

“Pain?” The Digimon in human form held his bleeding hand up.

“I understand that you were created a machine. And even that creation was an accident…”

“Shut up!”

“You're hurt! You're feeling lost and alone! Those are emotions you don't understand yet.”

“I am a machine! I don't have emotions!”

“Then how do you explain what you're feeling now?” Zoe asked.

“I…” Chaosdramon gritted his teeth. “Don't try showing sympathy for me!”

“And I'm not! That's because I can see that you're more than just a machine! You can think, understand and learn!” Zoe yelled back. “That's why I want you to understand that you don't have to fight Sekata! There's a better way!”

“…”

“None of us have to fight!”

“We all…” Chaosdramon stopped as a door creaked open.

It was one of the last people Zoe expected to see however…the black suited man from before.

“Grrr….” Chaosdramon snarled, as if sensing his hostility.

In a flash, the strange man literally flew across the room and kicked Chaosdramon into a stack of crates. A key fell from his hands and landed right by Zoe's legs. Using both her feet, the morph took hold of the key and flipped it up into her hands.

Chaosdramon had pulled himself up by this time and charged into his attacker, throwing both to the ground. That left Zoe undisturbed as she clicked the key and undid the chains binding her hands.

Quickly, Zoe rolled into the shadows and eyed the door the black suit had come in by.

The mysterious man was still struggling with Chaosdramon's human form and the latter managed to shove his opponent off. As Chaosdramon turned to face her, Zoe pushed a crate into his face.

Distracted, Chaosdramon's shin was an easy target for Zoe, who kicked the spot and left the older human's furious screams behind. Clutching his leg in pain, Chaosdramon was unable to give chase as Zoe fled.

Ahead of her was a line of docks and Zoe dashed towards the nearest one. She almost jumped off, but managed to stop herself just in time.

“Crap! Forgot that I don't have my wings!” Zoe cursed, glancing frantically around.

A small motorboat presented an opportunity that Zoe took up. Fortunately, the boat was neither chained nor locked, allowing her to start the motor and speed off into the night.