Chapters Execute! Spirit Evolution!
On the whole, Canterlot was a decent place to live. A nice high school with competent faculty, a prestigious private school further in the city, nice people and places to see. One just has to ignore the recent string of magical things happening that cause damage to things on occasion. Actually, most take the magic stuff in stride, seeing it as just another quirk of the city. Like that portal to another world in front of Canterlot High.
But that is not the start of this tale. This tale starts in a mansion in the rich part of Canterlot. A mansion owned by the family of Twilight Sparkle. Within its spacious gym, the repetitive clacking sound of hard blunt objects striking each other filled the air. Twilight held one, and was squaring off with her friend Flash Sentry, who held the other. Twilight stood in a relaxed fencing stance, her prop saber held in her right hand; while Flash stood in an offensive stance with his own saber in a two handed grip.
Flash came on hard, his blows swift and powerful, but easily deflected by Twilight's relaxed footwork, so relaxed that she appeared to be dancing. Finally, Twilight caught Flash's saber in a bind and twisted it out of his hand, catching it in her left hand. "Not bad, Flash. But you still can't beat me."
Flash laughed as she handed him back his saber. "One of these days, Twilight," he replied as they were approached by Sunset Shimmer, the bacon haired girl holding out chilled bottles of water for them. "Thanks, Sunset."
"I still never pegged you for a Star Wars nerd, Flash," Sunset teased with a smile. "Guess everybody has their guilty pleasures."
"Yeah," Flash answered with a chuckle and small blush as he smiled at Sunset.
The air was suddenly cut by a trio of rings. All their phones had received messages at the same time. "Okay that was weird," Twilight said as she pulled out her phone and looked at the message. "Would you like to join a game?"
"I've got that too," Sunset said.
"Same here," Flash added, confusion in his voice. "What do you girls think?"
"Well there's no sender ID, no number to call back, just a question with an answer yes or no," Sunset muttered. "That doesn't sound like a scam at all."
Twilight ignored the sarcasm as she worked her techno magic to try and trace the texts. "I can't trace them either. Even though this does sound like a scam, I'm actually a little curious." Typing in 'What sort of game' she hit send and almost immediately received a reply. "A game to determine your future."
"Well that doesn't sound ominous at all," Flash muttered sarcastically.
"Well I have my geode's magic if it's a setup," Twilight said before she received a repeat of the question if she would join the game. Typing 'yes', she hit send and received a reply immediately. "Go to the subway station and take the elevator down to the basement."
"Well I'm not letting you go alone," Sunset said as she replied 'yes' to her own message and got the same instructions. "Same destination."
Flash answered 'yes' as well. "Looks like these are from the same person."
"Well let's go see what this is all about!" Twilight declared, leading the way out to the garage where Flash had parked his car and Sunset her bike. While Sunset got on her bike, Twilight joined Flash in his car, the trio setting out together for the subway station to solve this mystery.
In another part of the city, at a small karaoke club, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy were in a private room for some quality song time. And Rainbow was up at present, finishing a new addition to the soundtrack.
I'm a cursed black cat! I'm an albatross! I'm a mirror broken! Sad to say, I'm your bad luck charm!
Rainbow laughed as the music ended and she set the mike down. "I love that song!"
"I must say, despite my initial opinions, RWBY really is a show worth watching," Rarity said with a smile. "And such a nicely made soundtrack."
"Poor Qrow," Fluttershy said before her phone vibrated. "Hm?" Pulling out her phone, she saw an odd text. "Would you like to join a game?"
Rarity and Rainbow's phones noted received texts as well, and turned out to say the same.
"This sounds like Saw to me," Rainbow said. "Hope this is just a prank and not some psycho trying to play out a Saw movie."
"That sounds scary," Fluttershy muttered.
"Hey between my speed and Rarity's diamond things, we can handle any trouble," Rainbow said. "Want to check it out?"
"It sounds like a setup to me," Rarity said. "But at the same time, I'm rather curious."
"Want to go together then?" Rainbow asked with a cocky grin.
"Well... I guess there's no harm in looking," Fluttershy replied.
"We'll be fine if we stick together," Rarity added.
"Together then!" Rainbow said as they all replied 'yes' and received directions.
Meanwhile, at the Sweet Apple Acres orchard, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, newly found cousins, were looking through and comparing family photo albums, seeing how close their families were connected. Which was interrupted by the simultaneous ringing of their phones' text notifications.
"Wonder who it is," Applejack said as she checked her message. "Weird. No name or number. Just askin' if I wanna join a game."
"Mine too!" Pinkie said excitedly. "Maybe it's a super secret sweepstakes for a chance to sample a brand new, never before tasted cupcake frosting! Or maybe it's a secret summons to another world of monsters and data and moral ambiguity!"
Applejack just stared at her cousin in confusion. "Let's uh... Go with that first one, sugarcube."
"I definitely want a new frosting flavor!" Pinkie replied as she answered 'yes!' "Huh. Weird place to hold a sweepstakes. The basement at the subway station?"
"Okay I'm goin' with ya to make sure nothin' happens," Applejack said, typing in 'yes' and receiving the same destination. "Weird messages. Kinda creeps me out."
"Come on, cousin! To frosting!" Pinkie declared as she dragged Applejack along out of the house.
Pinkie dragged Applejack all the way through their path in the subway station to the elevator and hit the basement button. "Frosting here we come!" she cheered as the elevator began descending, the floor indicators above them lighting up in sequence as they reached the basement, and then the light went past them into the metal itself, as though taking them down many more floors.
"That ain't supposed ta happen!" Applejack said in surprise, wondering just what her cousin had gotten them into. After a tense minute, the elevator stopped and opened to reveal...
"A train station?!" Pinkie gaped in shock. "A secret underground train station?!"
"This is gettin' super weird by the second," Applejack said as they stepped out. As her eyes scanned the station, they settled on three familiar figures. "Twilight! Sunset! Flash!"
The trio turned to face them with surprised looks. "Applejack! Pinkie Pie!" Sunset greeted with a smile. "I'm guessing you got a weird text asking if you wanted to join a game too?"
"Sure did," Applejack confirmed. "Pinkie thought it was some frosting sweepstakes."
"Classic Pinkie," Flash commented with a chuckle as the elevator opened again, letting out Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.
"Now the gang's all here," Twilight commented as she adjusted her glasses. "I doubt this is a coincidence. True coincidences are rare." Their phones all chimed at once. Drawing her phone, Twilight looked at the message. "Now you must board the train." The other seven quickly confirmed that they too had received that message.
"If we're going to do this, we should do it together," Rarity said as she put her phone away.
"Yeah! Nobody left behind! We're strongest together after all," Rainbow agreed.
"Together is safest," Fluttershy added.
When nobody objected to boarding, Sunset nodded. "That's decided then. Together." Walking to the sole train in the station, the eight friends stepped aboard, the doors closing behind them before the train started moving.
"Ooh... Ominous!" Pinkie said as the train entered the tunnel before it. Right before her body twitched a bit. "Ooh! Pinkie Sense! There are new friends to meet on this train!"
"New friends?" Rainbow asked before her attention was pointed to a pair of teens in the next car up.
All curious, the friends moved into the next car to meet the strangers. One was a girl with pale skin similar to Rarity's, two tone blue hair with a pink bow atop her head, and she regarded them with icy blue eyes that were accented with purple eye shadow. Her outfit was a simple one. A bluish white blouse and dark blue jeans that hugged her legs, with black boots.
Across from her was a boy with skin a darker blue than Rainbow's own skin, black hair with silver streaks through it, and as he opened his eyes from his meditation, he revealed them to be red. In contrast to the girl, he was best described as sharp dressed as far as casual clothes went. He wore black pants and shoes, a red button up shirt, and a black suit jacket with a matching trilby atop his head.
For the first few moments, nobody spoke. Which was fine with Twilight, as she was busy staring at those red eyes. She didn't even blink as she and he held eye contact. Her heart was racing in her chest, and her face heating up as she felt herself almost being drawn in by his gaze. Until at last he broke the silence. "Flash Sentry, and the Rainbooms. So you were called as well." That voice! Twilight nearly swooned then and there. His voice was a low, gravely, baritone that dripped with power.
None of the others really took notice of what Twilight was experiencing as Sunset approached. "So you know who we are. What are your names?"
"Sapphire Valley," the girl replied with a slight inclination of her head.
"Facet," the boy said, his gaze falling to Twilight again. "Ten all together. Wonder what makes us special enough to call upon for our mysterious host."
Twilight finally pulled Rarity into the previous car for a private chat, shutting the door behind them. "Rarity. You believe in love at first sight, right?"
"Yes. Why, darling? I thought you didn't," Rarity replied with an arched eyebrow.
Twilight looked through the window at Facet, who was now conversing with Flash. "I do now..."
Rarity followed her friend's gaze and smiled. "Well first impressions tell me he's a nice, if gruff fellow. And he certainly knows how to dress."
Twilight turned to Rarity. "What should I do? I've never been in love before. I don't know what to do!"
"First you need to calm yourself, darling," Rarity said, putting a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "And when you're calm, you need to start with simple conversation. Natural conversation. Don't try to force talks. Just focus on learning about him, tell him about yourself. Let the relationship, if one will come, bloom on its own."
Twilight nodded as she breathed deeply, slowly calming down. "Okay. I'm calm."
"Just be yourself, darling," Rarity advised. "Make sure he loves the real you."
"Right," Twilight said, schooling her features before returning to the rest of the group with Rarity. Just as she was about to sit beside Facet to strike up a conversation, the train suddenly accelerated, surprising everybody.
"The hell?!" Sapphire yelled as she steadied herself. Right before the train suddenly turned upward 90 degrees. "What the fuck kind of train is this?!" she demanded as everybody was pressed against the rear of the car, Twilight very happy that she and Rarity had shut the door.
As the train kept moving upward, Twilight caught flashes of figures over her companions. Humanoid animals of some kind by the look of them, but she brushed it off as a trick of her mind.
When the train suddenly righted itself, they were all thrown forward into a pile. "Get off of me!" Sapphire growled as the train finally stopped.
"End of the line," a booming voice that seemed to come from the train itself said as the doors opened.
"Did this train just talk?" Facet asked as he extricated himself from the pile and dusted himself off while disembarking. "It did!"
"Impossible!" Twilight protested as she got off the train and found that it, to her shock, had a face. "What kind of train is this?!"
"I'm not a train!" the train protested. "I'm a Trailmon!"
"Trailmon?" Flash asked as he and the rest of the group got off. "What's a Trailmon?"
"I'm a digimon," Trailmon said. "Short for digital monster. Welcome to the Digital World."
"Wowie zowie!" Pinkie yelped. "My second guess was right! We're in that kind of story!"
"What is she talking about?" Sapphire asked as she regarded Pinkie with an arched eyebrow.
"It's Pinkie Pie. Don't question it," Rainbow said as the Trailmon shut its doors and went to sleep.
Sunset reached into her pocket for her phone and gasped as she pulled it out. "My phone!" In place of her smartphone was a strange red and black device. "What is this thing?!"
The other nine all pulled out their phones and found that they too had been transformed into such devices. The only differences being color scheme. "Well this is an unexpected turn," Twilight said as she looked hers over. "Fascinating though."
"What's fascinating is the presence of humans in the Digital World," said a voice behind them. Turning, they beheld a diminutive creature with white fur, black fur around its mouth that resembled a beard, a pink striped sash around its waist, and three claws on each of its hands and feet. "I am Bokomon, a scholar." He looked at the devices in their hands. "D-Tectors. Then you are the ones Azulongmon spoke of."
"Who's Azulongmon?" Fluttershy asked as she stepped over to Bokomon and knelt beside him, smiling at how adorable he was.
In answer to Fluttershy's question, the screen on Sunset's D-Tector lit up and displayed a blue eye symbol. "I am Azulongmon. One of the four Digimon Sovereigns. It was I that summoned you to the Digital World and transformed your mobile phones into D-Tectors. Bokomon will guide you to where your path should begin. With any luck, you ten will be able to free this world from the grip of the Three." Before any could question him, the screen faded to black.
"The Three?" Facet asked with an arched eyebrow.
"That would be a reference to the Celestial Digimon," Bokomon explained. "Ophanimon, Cherubimon, and Seraphimon. Once the protectors of the Digital World. Now its tyrants."
"So this Azulongmon wants us to save the Digital World?" Rainbow asked. Grinning, she smacked her right fist into her left palm. "Let's kick some ass!"
Rainbow's exclamation was answered by an explosion at the cliff side outside where the tracks came to the Digital World from the Real World.
"Volcano Strike!" another explosion rocked the ground outside before it turned into data that was sucked into the maw of a large gray and black digimon that resembled a mix of a dinosaur and rhino.
"Well there go the tracks," Sapphire muttered with a frown. "So much for going home."
"What is that thing?!" Flash asked Bokomon.
"Monochromon! A servant of the Celestial Digimon!" Bokomon answered. "He's been a problem here for weeks. Eating the data of the nearby forest and trapping us in the Village of Flames."
Rainbow's grin widened. "Let's go get him then!" Touching the gem attached to her necklace, she suddenly took off at high speed, running circles around the much slower Monochromon to confuse it. While she did that, Applejack ran at the beast and jumped at it, fist cocking back before shooting forward in a punch that sent Monochromon sliding back in pain, a crack appearing in its armored skull.
"What?! A human managed to hurt me with a punch?!" Monochromon spoke in disbelief. "What kind of humans are you?!"
"The kind that's gonna kick your ass, Monochromon!" Rainbow answered with a cocky grin. "
"Volcano Strike!" Monochromon launched a fireball at the duo, Rainbow catching Applejack and getting her out of harm's way thanks to her speed. This in turn allowed the fireball to strike a furnace near the rest of the group, and it was only thanks to Rarity's quick reflexes that they were protected by her diamond shields.
As the smoke cleared, Sunset saw a light through it, a bust like object of a warrior. A warrior with red horned armor. She wasn't sure why, but she felt something from it. Almost like it was calling to her. Deciding to follow her gut, Sunset pulled out her D-Tector and, as though she had always known the workings of the odd device, pointed it at the bust and pressed the button on the side.
A beam of light shot out of her D-Tector and hit the bust, drawing it toward her, shrinking down within the light until it was absorbed into the D-Tector, a red symbol appearing on the screen. "The time is now, Sunset Shimmer." The voice of Azulongmon came from the D-Tector, helping steel Sunset's will even further.
Walking toward Monochromon, Sunset knew exactly what she needed to do. Ribbons of data gathered around Sunset in an egg shape as the bust she'd absorbed into her D-Tector appeared on the screen. Raising her left hand, a small ring of data appeared around it. Raising her D-Tector to the ring, Sunset scanned it. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Data formed closer around Sunset, pieces of armor starting to overlay over her body before closing in around her and physically transforming her into the warrior the bust was made in the image of. Fire swirled around her as she flexed her new form's muscles, feeling as though she had been born into this body, a name coming to her as the data around her cleared. "Agunimon!"
All eyes were on the transformed Sunset for better or worse now.
"Awesome..." Rainbow muttered, Applejack agreeing with a nod.
"What did Sunset just turn into?" Twilight asked in confusion.
"That is Agunimon," Bokomon answered. "One of the Ten Legendary Warriors, specifically the Warrior of Fire."
Agunimon charged at Monochromon with a battle cry, jumping into the air as fire gathered around her fist, aiming her strike at the crack Applejack's punch had made in its armor. "Burning Salamander!" Her fist struck the crack dead center and channeled a blazing fire dragon directly into Monochromon, eliciting a roar of agony from it as it was thrown back, landing on its back and going limp as a ring of code appeared around it. Following her gut once again, Agunimon brandished her D-Tector and scanned the ring. "Fractal Code, digitize!" As the fractal code was absorbed by her D-Tector, Monochromon's body faded and all that remained was a bit of data in an egg shape, which flew away from the area toward parts unknown.
Pointing her D-Tector at the ground, Agunimon released the data she'd taken from Monochromon, which soon restored the train tracks and the forest connecting the village to the rest of the Digital World. As the data settled and solidified, data formed around Agunimon, dispersing to reveal Sunset, who fell to her knees slightly panting as her friends and Facet ran over to her.
"Sunset that was awesome!" Rainbow cheered as she smacked Sunset on the back.
"Be gentle with her, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity chastised. "She just went through something clearly tiring after all."
"I'm alright," Sunset assured as she got to her feet. "I'm okay. That was... That was something. Not sure how I knew everything that I did."
"It seems the ten of you truly are Azulongmon's chosen," Bokomon said from behind them, prompting the group to face him. "Come. There are things to discuss."
While the ten humans were escorted by Bokomon to his home, far away, in another part of the Digital World, a meeting was taking place.
"Humans?" A deep, reverberating voice asked. Its owner was a massive digimon with dark blue skin, long ears, yellow eyes, and three horns in a triangle pattern atop its head. "Is Azulongmon so desperate that he would reach out to the Human World?"
"Well he is the only one of the Sovereigns that remains active." This voice was feminine, belonging to a slender being coated head to toe in armor with four golden, demonic looking wings, a flaming scythe brandished in its right hand. "It matters not. These humans have interfered with our work, and become foes to be destroyed!"
"Indeed," the beastly digimon agreed. "We must destroy them before they find the rest of the Warrior Spirits."
"I will go destroy them at once!" the feminine one said before the third of the trio spoke up.
"Patience, Ophanimon, Cherubimon." The owner of this calm, commanding voice was clad in imposing metallic green armor with ten demonic wings. "Perhaps these humans can be conscripted to our cause. We will test them first."
"Always thinking of the big picture, aren't you, ShadowSeraphimon?" Cherubimon asked. "Fine. I'll humor you for now."
"If you believe they can be shown the correct path, then I will defer to your judgment, ShadowSeraphimon," Ophanimon said, bowing her head to him.
"Excellent," ShadowSeraphimon said. "We shall begin the trials now."
While the digimon in the Village of Flames celebrated the restoration of the forest that connected them to the rest of the Digital World, the ten humans were in Bokomon's house being served tea by the short digimon. Some were seated at his table, while others stood around the room. All were awaiting answers to their questions though.
"Let's start with the history that led up to the Digital World's current state," Twilight said as she adjusted her glasses, looking at Bokomon while sipping her tea.
Bokomon nodded. "Of course. It all began long ago, when the Digital World was first given form by Yggdrasil, the Mother Computer. At first the Digital World was peaceful. This peace however, did not last. Eventually, seven rose up against this order and plunged the Digital World into chaos. These seven, Lilithmon, Beelzemon, Barbamon, Belphemon, Daemon, Leviamon, and Lucemon, came to be called the Seven Great Demon Lords." Bokomon paused in his story to sip his tea. "For a time, it seemed they would conquer the Digital World. But Yggdrasil had not been idle. Though she could not directly intervene, she was able to provide the Digital World with champions of light.
"She appointed Imperialdramon as her general to lead the war against the Demon Lords, and he in turn appointed a group of thirteen to serve as his lieutenants. These thirteen were Alphamon, Craniamon, Crusadermon, Dynasmon, Examon, Dukemon, Gankoomon, Jesmon, Kentaurosmon, Leopardmon, Magnamon, UlforceVeedramon, and Omegamon. Together they were known as the Royal Knights."
Bokomon paused again to let the information sink in, sipping his tea after talking at length. "With Imperialdramon and the Royal Knights leading the fight, the Demon Lords were defeated and imprisoned within the darkest depths of the Digital World, never to see the light of day again. The Royal Knights and Imperialdramon dispersed and vanished after their victory, as they considered themselves a symbol of war. To ensure the protection of the Digital World in times of peace, Yggdrasil created the Digimon Sovereigns, of which Azulongmon is a member. Each rules one of the four quarters to the Digital World. Azulongmon rules the East, Baihumon rules the West, Zhuqiaomon rules the South, and Ebonwumon rules the North.
"The four of them gave power to the Three Celestial Digimon, Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon, to watch over and protect the Digital World in its day to day affairs. And for a time, there was peace. The Three commanded their champions, the Ten Legendary Warriors, in protecting this world."
"Well they obviously aren't protecting it now ," Sunset quipped. "What went wrong? And if the Legendary Warriors were their subordinates, why do I apparently have the spirit of one of them?"
"Over time, The Three were corrupted by their power, and fell into darkness," Bokomon explained. "The Legendary Warriors tried to stop them, but were struck down in their efforts. They would have been corrupted by the Three themselves if not for the intervention of the Sovereigns. Since then, the Celestial Digimon and the Sovereigns have been locked in a war, with the Digital World itself as the prize. However..."
"However?" Applejack asked with a nervous tone.
Bokomon sighed. "We are losing this war. Baihumon, Zhuqiaomon, and Ebonwumon have fallen, and their subordinates with them. Azulongmon, the wisest of them all, does all in his power to stop the Three, but every day, more ground and digimon are lost." He looked at the ten teenagers. "Azulongmon has remained hidden, but there's no telling how long that will be the case. If his castle should fall, if we lose Azulongmon, then all is lost. Azulongmon had one final gambit in mind. Reaching out to your world, he called to those who would be capable of wielding the power of the Ten Legendary Warriors." Bokomon looked at them in desperation. "I have only the utmost faith in Azulongmon's judgment. You humans are our last hope. On behalf of the Digital World, I beg of you to take up the mantle of the Ten and fight to save this world!"
For a moment, there was only silence, then Rainbow slammed her palm on the table. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'll fight! There's no way I'm letting these Celestial Digimon or whatever have their way with innocent people!"
"Rainbow, should we really do this?" Applejack asked. "Sounds like the stakes are pretty high. Higher than we've ever faced."
"Of course we should!" Rainbow insisted. "You heard Bokomon and saw Sunset! We can do this! We have to! There's nobody else that can!"
"I agree with Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said. "The Celestial Digimon have become nothing but bullies picking on those weaker than them. I won't deny that this is really scary..." She looked at them with hard eyes. "But I won't ignore the suffering of innocents."
"Neither will I darling," Rarity said as she stood from the table. "This world sounds like a beautiful one, and I won't let it be destroyed."
One by one, the rest of the Rainbooms and Flash nodded their agreement. Turning to the newcomers, Facet and Sapphire Valley, they fixed them with questioning looks.
Facet pushed away from the wall. "I may not know anything of this world, but I've never been able to turn a blind eye to injustice. I will fight too."
"How exactly is this our problem?" Sapphire asked. "The tracks are fixed. What's stopping us from going home and living our lives. We don't owe this world anything."
"Actually, there's a more pragmatic reason that Azulongmon chose humans to wield the power of the Ten," Bokomon said. "He has seen what will happen if the Three conquer the Digital World. They will turn their gaze to the Human World next. They will use their amassed power to invade your world, intent on ruling both. And Humanity will not be able to stand against them."
Sapphire stood in silence for several seconds as this new information was digested by the group. "Guess it's our problem after all. Fine. I'm in too."
Twilight looked at Bokomon. "Where do we start, Bokomon? Azulongmon did say you'd show us the way."
Bokomon nodded and finished his tea. "The first step is to find the other nine Spirits. But be warned, the Spirits will make you targets for the Three." He stood from the table and walked toward the door. "Before you arrived, Azulongmon informed me that he had sent two of the Spirits to this village, where they lie hidden, waiting for their wielders. You have already found the Spirit of Fire. What the other one is, I do not know. Nor do I know its location."
"Then how do we find them?" Pinkie asked.
"Trust your D-Tectors," Bokomon said. "They will show you the way."
"So they have a radar function?" Twilight asked. "Makes sense, considering Azulongmon can apparently speak to us through them."
A beep rent the air as though on cue from Flash's pocket. Pulling out his D-Tector, a holographic globe appeared over the screen, a pink sphere at the top moving in a direction to point him. "Guess I'll just follow the dot then."
As Flash left to follow his D-Tector's directions, the rest of the group started dispersing to consider what they'd learned. Twilight and Facet stayed to question Bokomon further, Rainbow Dash and Applejack went looking around, Pinkie followed after Flash with Rarity, Sapphire went off alone while Fluttershy went to get to know the various cute digimon around the village and help them get settled back into their forest homes. As for Sunset, she trailed after Fluttershy in deep thought, looking at the image of Agunimon on her D-Tector's screen.
Outside the forest bordering the Village of Flame, on a hill overlooking both, stood a large green digimon with multiple piercings, a grinning maw filled with sharp teeth, a flowing white mane of hair, and a large bone club brandished in its right hand. Behind him stood a large raiding party of smaller goblin like digimon with wooden clubs.
Ogremon turned to his Goblimon subordinates with his grin widening. "Take all the data you can find, and Lord Cherubimon has promised a great prize to whoever brings the great ones the Spirits."
The Goblimon all cheered and started heading into the forest toward the village, eager for the prize of bringing the Spirits to their lords and lady.
Fluttershy giggled as she followed the group of young digimon around her. Koromon she heard them called, and they were the most adorable things she'd ever laid eyes on. "This forest is so beautiful. All that's really missing are all the critters I'm used to seeing."
"They are pretty cute," Sunset agreed as she looked around. "This forest is almost the same as the ones in the Human World, or even Equestria."
"Equestria?" one of the Koromon asked. "What's Equestria?"
"Equestria is where I'm from," Sunset answered with a smile. "It's sort of like the human world, but replace humans with colorful ponies and technology with magic."
"That sounds really neat!" Koromon said as several others gathered around Sunset with him. "Tell us more!"
Sunset was about to oblige when she was interrupted by the sound of bushes rustling nearby. She and Fluttershy looked at the bushes. "Hello? It's alright. We won't hurt you," Fluttershy said in a soft, motherly tone.
They had expected a skittish Koromon to emerge from the bushes. What instead emerged was a hostile Goblimon.
Fluttershy screamed as she narrowly dodged the Goblimon's club. "What is that?! Why is it attacking?!"
"Must work for the Celestial Digimon!" Sunset said as she pulled out her D-Tector, data gathering around her as she scanned a ring of fractal code around her left hand. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" For the second time that day, she was clad in the form of a digimon, the data clearing away after mere moments. "Agunimon!" Agunimon rushed forward and punched Goblimon out of the air before he could hit Fluttershy. "Fluttershy take the Koromon and run! Find the others! I'll cover you!"
Fluttershy nodded and ushered the Koromon back toward the village, leaving Agunimon to face Goblimon. Surrounded by woodland, Agunimon couldn't use any of her big attacks, and so went pure physical, punching Goblimon again and picking him up, jumping up above the trees and throwing him up. With no woods to worry about, she cocked her fist back. "Burning Salamander!" The flaming dragon that erupted from her fist engulfed Goblimon, causing him to yell out in pain.
While Agunimon landed on her feet, Goblimon fell in a charred heap, his fractal code appearing. Brandishing her D-Tector, Agunimon swiped it over the ring. "Fractal Code, Digitize!" Within seconds, Goblimon was reduced to an egg of data that flew off into the sky and out of sight. Agunimon's moment of triumph was short lived, as she found herself surrounded by at least twenty more Goblimon. Her reaction to this development was a single time honored word. "Shit."
The Goblimon attacked as one, fireballs forming in their hands. "Goburi Strike!" The fireballs were all launched at once, sending Agunimon flying from the sheer force of the combined explosion, though the flames had no effect on her. Skidding to a halt, Agunimon got to her feet, shaking her head to clear away the daze before retaliating, dodging more fireballs and attacking the Goblimon up close to eliminate that. "Salamander Break!" A great blaze whipped up around Agunimon in a fiery tornado as she whipped around, her foot striking ten Goblimon and sending them flying into a pile that a fractal code appeared around. Acting quickly, she digitized the code and removed the Goblimon in the pile from the equation.
Before she could continue her attack, data gathered around her and quickly broke away, revealing Sunset's human form. Her reaction was more emphatic than the reveal of many Goblimon minutes earlier. "Shit!" She tried to run for the village, but the Goblimon shut that down by dog piling her and restraining her. "Get off!" she yelled as her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles tied together, one of the Goblimon fishing in her pocket and confiscating her D-Tector. "Hey give that back!"
The Goblimon were suddenly knocked off of Sunset by a rainbow blur rushing past, striking the hapless digimon faster than they could react. "Sunset!" Applejack called as she ran toward her. "Ya alright, sugarcube?!" she asked as she tore away the ropes binding Sunset's hands and feet.
"One of these things has my D-Tector!" Sunset answered as she looked around for the thief, allowing Applejack and Rainbow to hold off the Goblimon, keeping an eye for the D-Tector themselves.
"These things aren't so tough!" Rainbow gloated as she digitized the pile of Goblimon she and Applejack had beaten the fractal code out of. "Come on! I need a challenge!"
"Tyrant Fist!" A blast of dark energy hit the ground near Rainbow's feet, knocking her flat on her ass as Ogremon came at her while she was down, bone club raised above his head. "Bone Club!" Only Applejack's timely intervention prevented Rainbow from being reduced to a smear on the dirt, with the force of Ogremon's blocked strike still cracking the ground around Applejack's feet as she struggled with the boss of the Goblimon.
Ogremon's arrival was not alone, as he was accompanied by the rest of his raiding party, who jumped in and quickly subdued the girls, taking Applejack and Rainbow's jewel necklaces after having seen them glow, and grinning that they lost their respective strength and speed.
Before her hands could be restrained again, Sunset grabbed onto Ogremon's arm, looking into his mind.
Sunset saw through Ogremon's eyes as he knelt before a trio of holograms of angelic digimon. The Celestial Digimon she realized as the center one with ten wings began to speak.
"You will find two of the Spirits in the Village of Flame. Bring them to us and the humans as well. Alive and unspoiled."
"It will be done, Lord ShadowSeraphimon," Ogremon replied.
"Do not fail us, Ogremon, lest you require punishment," the one female of the three warned in a harsh tone. This one must have been Ophanimon. Meaning the third was Cherubimon.
"I will not fail," Ogremon vowed with a solemn, reverent tone.
"Do not neglect the data of the forest and Village of Flame either." Even through the secondhand filter of a memory, Cherubimon's deep, menacing voice sent chills down Sunset's spine. "I will see to it that whoever brings us the Spirits will be well rewarded. More so if you manage to follow ShadowSeraphimon's order that the humans be delivered alive and unspoiled."
Sunset saw no more as her crystal necklace was torn away and her arms and legs tied up again. But she'd seen enough to know the faces and voices of their enemies.
"Sure hope the others are okay," Rainbow muttered as they were hoisted over shoulders and carried toward the village, their D-Tectors confiscated.
When Fluttershy came running warning everybody of the Goblimon, Twilight directed them to stay together as she, Facet, Sapphire, and Fluttershy searched for Rarity, Pinkie, and Flash in the expansive tunnels beneath the Village of Flame. Twilight's hands were glowing lavender, her telekinetic magic prepared to slam attacks around like ragdolls at a moment's notice.
"This place is like a damn labyrinth!" Sapphire complained as they all kept their eyes peeled for Goblimon.
"Yeah. I've been trying to figure out if our D-Tectors are still phones after the change," Facet said, fingers dancing over the buttons on his D-Tector as he tried to raise any of their missing companions. "Wish these things came with manuals."
"Goburi Strike!" The fireball impacted mere feet in front of the four and sent them flying back, Facet's D-Tector knocked from his grip and into the hands of one of the Goblimon as its fellows joined it in surrounding the teens.
Twilight's hands glowed again, several of the Goblimon having their clubs ripped from their hands and used to bash them in the heads, Twilight's keen eyes and analytical mind allowing her to block and parry attacks made against them and respond in kind. Until she was painfully reminded that the Goblimon had weapons besides their clubs.
"Goburi Strike!" More fireballs struck and knocked her and her friends from their feet, their skin feeling hot and somewhat blistering from the heat of the fireballs. Before they could recover, they were restrained, their D-Tectors and Twilight and Fluttershy's necklaces confiscated.
"Seven down, three to go," Ogremon gloated with a chuckle as he looked over his band. The humans were surprisingly effective fighters, most of them were. Of the thirty Goblimon he'd brought with him, only nine remained. "Five of you stay with the humans. The rest of you come with me. We're going after the last ones."
Flash looked at the wall in front of him, curious as to his Spirit being past it. "According to my D-Tector, my Spirit's behind this wall."
"Oh! I got this!" Pinkie chirped as she pulled a bottle of sprinkles from her hair and shook some into her hand, throwing them at the wall and blowing a hole in it. The smoke cleared to reveal a bust of a warrior in meditation that emitted a bright white light that momentarily blinded the three.
"A clever hiding spot considering the importance of these Spirits," Rarity commented with a smile.
"Yeah," Flash agreed as he lifted his D-Tector and pushed the button on the side, a beam of light shooting out and drawing the Spirit into the device. "Now I can actually do something useful when some big bad guy comes along and not just be dead weight."
"Goburi Strike!" Mere moments before the fireballs hit, Rarity had erected a shield to protect them. The cleared smoke revealed Ogremon and the four Goblimon that had accompanied him. "So we arrive too late to prevent them from claiming the second Spirit. No matter. We'll just take them by force." He cocked his fist back with a sadistic grin. "Tyrant Fist!" The dark energy impacted against Rarity's shield with greater force than the Goblimons' fireballs, making Rarity grimace as a crack spread across it, which she quickly repaired.
"Flash, darling! If you're going to do something, please do it now!" Rarity implored.
Flash nodded as his Spirit appeared on the screen of his D-Tector, a ring of fractal code appearing around his left hand as data gathered around him. Raising his D-Tector to the fractal code, he scanned it. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Data gathered closer around Flash, indents of his body appearing in the data along with pieces of white and purple armor that overlaid over his body, closing in and engulfing him. The data dispersed to reveal him clad in the form of the white and purple armored warrior, only his eyes and mouth exposed. "Lobomon!"
Ogremon grinned as Lobomon jumped through a briefly opened hole in Rarity's shield. Looking at the Goblimon, he gestured with his head toward the shield. "Break it down."
"Goburi Strike!" Four more fireballs struck the shield in different spots, followed quickly by another volley.
"Not on my watch!" Lobomon said as he reached behind his waist. "Licht Sieger!" He whipped out one of the pair of cylinders kept behind his waist, a beam of blueish white light extending from it with a sound that he found was identical to a lightsaber. He dashed at the Goblimon to stop them, only for Ogremon to step into his way and block his Licht Schwert.
"Don't forget about me, Warrior of Light," Ogremon mocked as he pushed Lobomon back. "If you want to stop my band, you'll have to get past me! Tyrant Fist!"
Lobomon dodged out of the way of Ogremon's attack, rushing in with his blade and slashing at Ogremon with powerful blows, mixing in punches and kicks to keep Ogremon off balance. He needed to win quickly so he could help his friends. Ogremon wasn't making it easy. He had less refined technique, but he made up for it with pure power and sheer pragmatism. He fought just as dirty as Lobomon, his club delivering a number of crushing blows.
Unable to meet Ogremon strength to strength, Lobomon changed tack. He no longer tried to block Ogremon's strikes, but rather to guide them slanting away. And all the while, Rarity's barrier was shelled with fireballs by the Goblimon. She was holding it steady, but cracks were appearing in it, slowly but surely. It wouldn't be much longer before the barrier gave way and the girls would be exposed.
Gritting his teeth as he was forced into a bind by Ogremon, Lobomon angled his left forearm more forward as he struggled against his opponent. Lucky for him, the Licht Schwert were not his only weapons. "Licht Kugel!" A beam of light the same color as the Licht Schwert fired from the apparatus on his left arm, right into Ogremon's face. With Ogremon off balance, Lobomon reached for his second Licht Schwert, "Zwei Sieger!" Now using both blades, Lobomon tore into Ogremon with multiple slashes all across his body. As Ogremon's fractal code was exposed, Lobomon sheathed his blades and pulled out his D-Tector, scanning the code. "Fractal Code: Digitize!"
Seeing their commander fall, the Goblimon broke off their attack and started running, only to take lasers to the backs, their fractal codes digitized in short order as Lobomon ran back the way Ogremon and his flunkies had come, finding the remaining five Goblimon standing guard over the others. "Licht Kugel!" Five lasers each hit one Goblimon forehead, knocking their fractal codes out. As they were scanned, the stolen D-Tectors and necklaces fell to the floor, quickly being reclaimed by their rightful owners.
"Wow... Is that you, Flash?" Sunset asked as she looked at Lobomon.
Data surrounded Lobomon and dispersed to reveal Flash. "Yeah. That was me alright," he said as he met Sunset's eyes with a small blush.
"Well... Clearly our enemy isn't fucking around," Sapphire said. "We need to be on our toes from now on."
"Yeah," Twilight agreed. "Most of us were so easily captured even with our access to magic. Until the rest of us find our Spirits, we're vulnerable." As the rest voiced their agreement, a noise came from Twilight's D-Tector. Pulling it out, she saw the emblem of Azulongmon on the screen. "I assume you have some instructions for us, Azulongmon."
"I see you have obtained the Spirits of Fire and Light," Azulongmon said. "The Celestial Digimon will indeed be relentless in their hunt. Return to your own world. I have unlocked the D-Tectors' ability to open gates between the Real and Digital Worlds. Any computer can be used to form a gate from the Real World. Additionally, your D-Tectors can be used to communicate even from the different worlds and unaffected by most forms of interference. Even when not in the Digital World, remain vigilant. Our enemy will not be idle."
His instructions given, the screen went blank, leaving them in silence. "Well that's that," Facet said as he held up his D-Tector, a light shining from the screen and opening a gateway before them. "Let's go home and wait for further instructions. All we really can do at the moment."
"I agree," Sunset said. "Keep your ears to the ground, guys. No telling what to expect."
Agreements voiced, the ten chosen humans stepped through the gateway and exited the Digital World, not knowing that their passage was being watched.
Two weeks had passed since the Rainbooms and their new friends had first entered the Digital World, and in that time things had been oddly quiet. Both in the Real World and the Digital World. Within the walls of Twilight Sparkle's mansion, the ten had gathered together to discuss this very oddity.
"So Azulongmon said our enemy wouldn't be idle," Sapphire said. "He said they'd be relentless. Well it's been two fucking weeks and we haven't really had any trouble."
"That's really weird," Twilight said as she connected her D-Tector to her computer, pulling up her map of the Digital World, courtesy of Azulongmon. "It seems like the Celestial Digimon have been backing off on a lot of their campaigns, focusing their attention on something else. What it is, I couldn't even begin to guess. But I'm sure it's nothing good."
"Maybe they're planning something for the Real World?" Facet suggested. "From what Sunset saw in Ogremon's mind, I don't think they'll be content to wait until they've fully conquered the Digital World to start getting footholds in this one."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Twilight said as she smiled at him with a blush. "I was hoping it's not, but logic is hard to dispute."
Facet looked over the map intently. "Two weeks and thus far only token attacks are made that require calling in Sunset or Flash to deal with. Something to try to keep our attention."
"So let's go find out what they're up to and kick the shit out of them," Sapphire suggested as she leaned on a wall.
"We can't afford to be reckless, sister," Facet replied. "Especially when only two of us have Spirits in their possession."
Sapphire scoffed and pushed off the wall before walking out of the room.
"Should somebody go after her?" Fluttershy meekly asked.
"Leave her be," Facet said. "My sister doesn't like inaction. Especially when she feels threatened. Just give her some time."
"So all we can really do is just keep going about our business until something changes," Sunset said. "Still. It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on Sapphire."
"I would appreciate that, Sunset," Facet said as he kept poring over the map. "I feel like something big is about to happen. And these gut feelings tend to be right. None of us should go around alone if possible. Least of all those of us without Spirits."
"I'll follow her," Sunset said before leaving as well, using her D-Tector to track Sapphire's.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, the basement area of an apartment complex was being explored by Canterlot High's resident fools Snips and Snails.
"Wonder what we'll find down here," Snails said as they walked around, looking at some of the things that were in storage down there.
"No telling. People keep some weird stuff in their basements," Snips replied as they reached the boiler room. Snips' gaze then feel on something that did not belong. "What's that?!"
Before them was what looked like TV static forming in thin air. Static that was slowly widening into some manner of portal. A fog started forming in the boiler room as the portal appeared to stabilize, revealing a laboratory of some sort on the other side. Standing before the portal from the lab side was a strange looking robot thing with its right eye covered by a yellow lens, while the left eye was exposed. Its head was a cylindrical dome that exposed its brain to sight, and it walked on four legs, its long arms and dexterous hands examining the portal. "Stable for the moment just being open," it spoke in an intelligent, if somewhat comically high pitched, voice. "Hm..." It reached out to stick its hand through the portal, which caused the portal to fluctuate chaotically for a briefly moment before it pulled its hand back. "Not strong enough to let Ultimates through just yet."
"As long as we can get through, it'll be fine right now!" An irritated voice out of sight came up. "And what about witnesses?"
"Well there's a couple of humans watching the portal," the machine creature said. "If you can't pass through, I'll just close the portal."
Move it, Datamon!" the irritated voice demanded.
"Be mindful of your manners, Candlemon," Datamon warned in a suddenly menacing tone.
"Right! Right! Sorry!" Candlemon quickly apologized before revealing itself, a living candle with a lit flame atop a candlestick. A flame that was grinning just as wide as the one on the candle. Sticking a hand through the portal, which didn't fluctuate this time, it grinned and hopped through. "Hey there, humans! How's it going?"
Snips and Snails didn't answer, being far too frightened to even move.
"Candlemon, the next test please," Datamon prompted.
"Right," Candlemon said before streams of data started gathering around it in an egg shape. "Candlemon digivolve to... Meramon!" The data scattered to reveal what could be best described as a man shaped creature made of fire. The room's temperature suddenly shot up, Snips and Snails starting to profusely sweat. Turning to the portal, Meramon stuck its arm through, the portal remaining stable.
"Right. Looks like the portal can allow anything below Ultimate through at present," Datamon said as it turned to another creature and knelt in respect. "Given more time and data, I can make it stable enough to let Ultimates through, and in time, Megas as well."
"Well done, Datamon," a deep, reverberating voice that sent chills up Snips and Snails' spines spoke. "You once again demonstrate why you are our chief scientist."
"I live to serve, Lord Cherubimon," Datamon replied. "What of the human witnesses?" Snips and Snails flinched in fear at that question.
"Do with them what you will," Cherubimon said in a dismissive tone as he turned and departed the lab.
Datamon chuckled as several more Candlemon jumped through the portal into the Real World. "Do with them as I will... Wonderful."
Snips and Snails finally made a break for it, rushing to escape these monsters. "Crimson Flame!" A wall of fire sprang up in the doorway of the boiler room, blocking their escape and raising the temperature even further, the Candlemon closing in around them with grins on their faces.
"You can stop trying to hide, Sunset." Sapphire Valley's words surprised Sunset, who came up and started walking with Sapphire. "I figured out the tracking feature too," she said in answer to the unspoken question.
"Right..." Sunset muttered, wondering why she thought she wouldn't be noticed.
"Did my brother send you?"
"No. I decided to follow you myself. Facet said none of us should go anywhere alone."
"He's always been the practical one," Sapphire muttered. "I used to get into all sorts of trouble, and he was always there to get me out of it."
"Sounds like you two are close," Sunset said with a smile, thinking of her own brother back in Equestria.
"Sure," Sapphire said dismissively before looking at Sunset with a frown. "By no means does this make us friends."
"So what will make us friends?" Sunset asked before the sound of sirens cut the air.
"Police, ambulance, and fire trucks," Sapphire said. "Something big is happening. Like a wreck or something."
Their D-Tectors beeping got their attention. Pulling hers out, Sunset saw Azulongmon's emblem on the screen. "What's going on, Azulongmon?"
"A portal from the Digital World has opened in the Real World not far from your location," Azulongmon answered. "It is the enemy."
"Well then what are we waiting for?" Sapphire asked. "Time to kick some ass!"
Sunset received a beacon pointing toward the portal. "Let's go then." Following the beacon, Sunset and Sapphire were soon led to its location, and gasped in horror. They had been led to an apartment building. And that building was in flames. The police had blocked off the area so that the fire fighters could work more easily, but it almost seemed like the blaze was fighting back.
Sapphire looked around. "I see a back way to get close to the building. Come on." Against Sunset's protests, she led her to a part of the building that wasn't burning yet, and an open door. "We can get in through here."
"You mean I can get in through here," Sunset said. "You don't have your Spirit yet, so just wait here." Lifting her left hand, Sunset formed a ring of fractal code and scanned it as data gathered around her. "Execute! Spirit Evolution! Agunimon!" Now clad in the form of the Warrior of Fire, Agunimon broke the door down and entered the building, soon finding the parts that were burning. And why the fire was fighting back. There were Candlemon everywhere feeding and taking potshots at the emergency workers from within the flames.
What really made her nauseous though was the immolated corpses she could see. And there were other bodies as well that had died from smoke inhalation. Gritting her teeth in fury, Agunimon charged the nearest Candlemon and started using it as a bludgeon against its fellows, digitizing them as she went and making things more workable for the fire fighters.
Wait outside, she said. She doesn't have her Spirit yet, she said. Well Sapphire Valley wasn't one to sit idle and let other people fight. So here she was making her way through the burning building, hair tied back, rag over her face as a mask against the smoke, fire extinguisher in hand putting out any Candlemon she came across and digitizing them.
"Stop! You'll kill me!" Her latest victim protested.
"That's the idea," Sapphire coldly replied. "Like I'm sure the idea behind this attack was to kill humans." Once the Candlemon's fractal code revealed itself, Sapphire lowered the extinguisher and pulled out her D-Tector and digitized the Candlemon. "Next?"
"Burning Fist!" Sapphire rolled out of the way of the fireball that whizzed past her and hit a wall.
"Calling your attacks makes you horrible at sneak attacks," Sapphire noted as she stood and faced the new one. Not a Candlemon, but a Meramon. "You the head honcho of this attack?"
"That doesn't concern you, human," Meramon replied as he walked toward her.
Sapphire raised her fire extinguisher and pulled the trigger, only to discover to her horror that it was now empty. "Aw shit!"
Right before Meramon could attack, Agunimon burst through the wall and tackled Meramon. "Sapphire get out of here! It's too dangerous!"
Meramon punching Agunimon kept her from saying more, but Sapphire saw a beacon come up on her D-Tector, pointing her toward what she really hoped was her Spirit. Following the beacon, she was led further in, where it got hotter. Sweating, she kept low to avoid the smoke, and soon found a storage room that, oddly, was covered in ice that the flames weren't melting. The reason was encased in a block of ice and broke that ice away to reveal a bust of what looked like a snow bear in green armor.
"My Spirit!" Sapphire breathed. Pointing her D-Tector at it, she pushed the scan button and drew the Spirit into her D-Tector. Grinning, data gathered around her as she formed a ring of fractal code around her left hand and scanned it. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" The heat ceased affecting her as green armor overlaid itself around her before enclosing her and changing her form. The data scattered to reveal her new form, a short bear in green body armor that seemed made of snow, with a rocket launcher of sorts on its back. "Kumamon!"
Kumamon looked at herself and sighed. "Of course I'm a fucking snow bear," she muttered in dejection. Hearing the hopping of a Candlemon behind her, Kumamon whipped around while drawing her rocket launcher. "Snow Bomber!" She fired a barraged of supercooled snowballs from the launcher at the Candlemon, quickly subduing it and digitizing it. "There's just no end to these things. Gotta cut them off at the source."
Agunimon bursting through a wall courtesy of Meramon knocked Kumamon from her thoughts. "Sapphire?!" Agunimon asked when she saw her.
"Kumamon," she corrected as she looked at Meramon. "Find where these digimon are coming from and see if you can cut it off. I got this."
Agunimon nodded. "Right. I can't hurt them with my attacks anyway." As she ran off to find where the Candlemon were coming from, Kumamon looked eyes with Meramon, the intense heat not even bothering her in the slightest. After a few tense seconds, they moved at the same time.
"Snow Bomber!"
"Burning Fist!"
The two attacks met in midair and made a cloud of steam. Which Kumamon took immediate advantage of. "Crystal Breeze!" Sucking in a deep breath, she exhaled a frigid wind that cooled the walls around and froze them, killing the flames nearby, even forming ice on Meramon.
Growling, Meramon flared up. "Crimson Flame!" Under the increased heat, the ice on its body melted along with what had formed around it and Kumamon. "Magma Bomb!" A superheated rock launched from Meramon's hand at Kumamon, who jumped up to dodge it, letting it impact the floor and knock a hole in it. Kumamon's dodge had placed her directly above Meramon.
"Tsurarara!" Turning her body from the neck down into a sharp icicle, Kumamon drove down into Meramon's back and knocked it down through the hole in the floor down a couple of stories.
"Crimson Flame!" Meramon flared up again, knocking Kumamon away and back into her normal form. Drawing her launcher, Kumamon took aim as Meramon was getting up. "Snow Bomber!" The supercooled snowballs were melted by Meramon's fire aura as it got to its feet.
"Crystal Breeze!" Kumamon exhaled another frigid wind that iced up the hallway and Meramon, who quickly melted the ice.
Agunimon finally made it down to the boiler room, where she found the portal that linked the Digital World to the Real World. "Found the portal. Now how do I close it?"
"Oh there's no closing that portal without my say or if the one holding it open, like Meramon is, is digitized."
Agunimon looked at the source of the voice and saw Datamon. What truly horrified her though, was the sight of Snips and Snails strapped to vertically tilted operation tables with what looked electrodes and heart monitors attached to them. "Let them go!" She yelled as she jumped toward the portal, knocking aside the Candlemon that attempted to stop her.
Datamon simply glanced at her out the corner of its eye and lifted its empty left hand. "Plug Bomb!" Its four fingers opened and released a quartet of dart sized missiles that impacted against Agunimon with greater impact than their size suggested and threw her back against the wall opposite the portal. "Now now, Warrior of Fire. I just acquired these two. I can't just release them. I have so many tests to perform, hypotheses to refine."
"What did they do to you?!" Agunimon demanded as she got to her feet, a glare on her face.
"Oh nothing at all," Datamon replied. "They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. For them anyway. Experimentation, observation, and documentation. That's all a scientist cares about. And I am a scientist." Reaching over to a console, it pushed a button. "And now I must close the portal so I can continue refining it."
"But we still have digimon out there!" a Candlemon protested.
"Do I look like I care?" Datamon asked as the portal began to slowly collapse. "Rookies and even Champions are expendable and easily replaced. More importantly, I cannot have that Warrior continuing to attack me and risk damage to my laboratory and more importantly distracting me from my work."
Agunimon dashed at the portal again. She could grab Snips and Snails, then open her own portal back to the Real World. Just as she jumped at the closing portal, another Plug Bomb salvo knocked her back, and by the time she had recovered from the shock, the portal finished closing. "NO!!!" Gritting her teeth, Agunimon began taking her rage out on the Candlemon surrounding her, beating them to pulp and digitizing them.
Working her way around the complex, Agunimon found Kumamon right as she was digitizing Meramon. "Kumamon! We need to get out of here! There's something we need to tell the others!"
Kumamon nodded and together they made their way out of the complex, Kumamon taking the time to freeze any flaming areas around to help out the fire fighters.
"Datamon why would you abandon our comrades?!" A Candlemon demanded of the scientist as it typed on a massive computer that looked more like a pipe organ, even the keyboards being keys of such an instrument.
"All I care about is my work," Datamon said as it kept typing. "Our lords and lady require only that I get results for them. And I have done so repeatedly. I am above reproach by any but them, and I am valuable enough that they will turn blind eyes to anything I do to any of my lessers or superiors besides themselves so long as I continue producing results. Now begone. I'm busy."
"You could have at least let the Candlemon come back through before-" further protests were silenced by an offhand Plug Bomb, Datamon absorbing the Candlemon's data into itself before continuing to type.
"It's impossible to find help that's nice and quiet to let me work," Datamon lamented as it saved a file and turned to its newest subjects of experimentation. Snips and Snails were trembling in terror as they watched it approach them, their terror causing them to shed some tears. "Now now. No need to fear me. I'm not going to kill you. No. I'm have too much data to obtain from you for that. Now then. Which one to start with..." Its gaze fell on Snails, who froze under its eyes. "Yes. You'll do nicely. Now then, let's have a look at your fractal code."
With a flip of a switch, Snails was made to fill the lab with his screams as he was electrocuted.
Within Twilight's lab, the TV was tuned into a news report on the apartment fire the Candlemon and Meramon had started.
"Authorities are baffled by the blaze that consumed this apartment complex," the on scene reporter said. "Though they have determined the fire to have started in the boiler room, no signs of arson have been found, and there is damage not consistent with a simple fire. This on top of the numerous hallways that were covered in ice that did not melt under the flames. The ice is currently being collected for study. As for the nearly 200 residents, only 50 survived, and only because they were away at the time of the fire. Anybody within the complex was killed by the fire and smoke, however some look as though they were directly cremated in a way that doesn't match the spread of the flames. We will continue to follow this story as more information is-" Rainbow cut the TV off in frustration.
"Dammit!" Rainbow slammed her fist down on a table. "So all this time they were getting ready to attack us here!"
"Rainbow calm down!" Applejack insisted as she took her stetson off.
"Calm down?! Applejack you heard that reporter! Nearly 150 people died in just the first attack!"
"And Snips and Snails have been turned into prisoners on top of that," Sunset said from her seat. "Not just prisoners. Lab rats..."
"Datamon have never been known for much sense of ethics, but the one that acts as the Celestial Digimons' top scientist is particularly unscrupulous." Bokomon's voice came from the computer, Azulongmon having directed Twilight in linking it to the Digital World for ease of communication. "I cannot begin to imagine what he plans to do to those unfortunate boys."
"He's so small... I thought I could take him but he just basically backhanded me!" Sunset said, running her hands through her hair.
"To be expected. Agunimon is merely a Champion level digimon, while Datamon is an Ultimate," Bokomon said. "You were simply outclassed."
"Digimon have levels now?!" Rainbow asked incredulously.
"Have you not been paying attention the last couple of weeks?" Facet asked. "They have six power tiers. Fresh, In Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and Mega. Mega being the Celestial Digimon and Sovereigns for example. Raw power alone won't see us through this."
"Dammit!" Sunset snapped as she clenched her fists. "I expected an ultimate to be larger, but Datamon's so small I mistook it for a Rookie... And now Snips and Snails are paying for that mistake."
Fluttershy set her hands on Sunset's, prompting Sunset to look her in the eye. Fluttershy's gaze was hard and determined. "We'll get them back. And make Datamon pay for hurting them."
Sunset visibly cheered up at the voices of agreement to rescue Snips and Snails. "Yeah. We'll get stronger. We have to."
"On that note I will put feelers out for your Beast Spirits as well as your Human Spirits," Bokomon said. "The Beast Spirits are on the level of Ultimates, and so will be of more use down the road."
"Speaking of Human Spirits," Twilight said as she started typing. "I've finally put together a program that can locate the Human Spirits. I'll do a scan for them. Unfortunately, it can only track one at a time." After several minutes, the scan locked onto a signal in the Digital World. "Got it. Found one in a place called Flower Village."
"Ah. It's quite famous for its plant life, hence the name," Bokomon said as Twilight typed, sending out the signal to link it to one of the D-Tectors. A beeping from Fluttershy's indicated it was hers.
"Now we can proactively hunt our Spirits," Twilight said with a smirk.
"I'll go with her," Flash said. "I need to blow off some steam, and we're sure to face opposition."
"I'll go too," Applejack said. "Same reason."
"Same," Rainbow said as she stood up.
Twilight nodded and stepped away from her computer, holding up her D-Tector and opening the gate for them. "Be careful."
