“BZZZZZ!”

“Eff off!”

Chelydramon ducked as the chimera known as Buzz lunged towards her, spewing fiery orange fluid from its mouth. She roared and brought her head forwards, slamming it into the bird...slime...thing’s chest and sending it spiralling away. It responded angrily, spraying burning yellow liquid every which way as it tried to flap out of reach.

“Ah no you don’t! Mangrove Mace!”

The turtle roared and swung her flail over her shoulder, slamming the green orb into Buzz’s shoulder. The chimera descended, floating back and forth like a feather in the wind and letting out angry noises all the way. Chelydramon snorted in victory, but leaned back as Squeak rushed towards her straight away, its legs thumping against the ground.

“Ah crap.”

The spidery sorcerer slammed into her with the full impact of its body, swinging the bent sun staff in every direction possible and letting off furious squawks and mutters. A bolus of poison shot out and caught the turtle on one shoulder, sending her barrelling away with a hiss, but she shook it off and brought her own body forwards, headbutting the chimera in the middle of its chest. Face? Whichever it was, it was enough to cause the beast to stagger backwards, its many eyes blinking and its mouth drooling yellow and purple liquid.

(Because regular blood clearly wasn’t enough).

Chelydramon also backed away, also hissing at her opponent. “Come on then! Bring it on!”

Squeak shuddered violently, and thrust its head forwards. Chelydramon’s eyes widened as the tiny leering body of Gizamon swung in front of her vision, still chanting its programmed mantra.

“YOu...cAmE...FOr... meeE Eee...”

For a moment Chelydramon froze, stepping back. Squeak stole its advantage and thrust both arms out, blasting the giant turtle with waves of acidic flame. The flash fire arced around the clearing, catching everybody’s attention as it struck the turtle in the chest. Eleanor nearly rushed towards her partner, but was held back by Ursula as Crybaby came rushing past, letting off a sound like a steam engine. Eleanor resorted to calling out instead.

“Terramon!”

The turtle shook the flames off her body, eyes blazing as she stared at the roaring chimera.

“Right, you’re officially taking the piss now!”

Squeak veered back as the giant turtle came straight for it. It raised one limp hand and effortlessly blocked her right fist, but her left one came out and grabbed its left wrist before it could counter. The chimera shuffled, and the giant mouth on its chest opened up, but Chelydramon moved first, aiming straight for the ligament that held what was left of her old friend.

“Deadlock Jaw!”

Chelydramon’s mouth reached out in a second and snapped at the chimera’s dangling hat, shearing through fabric and bone with no effort whatsoever. Before Gizamon’s body had even dropped to the ground, Chelydramon swung again, slamming her fist into the tiny limp form and sending it hurtling into the undergrowth, far away from the battle. The turtle grimaced.

“There. Now we can have a proper fight without any distractions. You’re welcome.”

Squeak was slightly less appreciative of the loss of its swinging mascot, and it screamed in Chelydramon’s face, sending a barrage of bile right up towards her eyes. The turtle snapped again, and barged the multi-legged chimera with one shoulder, sending it careering backwards. The turtle rolled her shoulders, brushed a bit of acid from her shell, and raised her palms again, her eyes scouring the rest of the battlefield.

“These guys may be strong, but they’re all over the place with their movements. We can take ‘em.”

A few metres away, Manowarmon hissed as Gurgle held them by several tentacles, sending pulses of electricity in their direction. “That’s all well and good but it doesn’t help if they’ve already got me!”

“I’m on it!”

The jellyfish turned, watching as the comically tiny figure of Shrewmon sprinted forwards out of the undergrowth, building a fizzling pink energy within her mouth.

“Acid Splash!”

Gurgle flinched as a spray of noxious liquid struck it beneath the sunglasses, and Shrewmon scampered beneath its legs, slashing at its open legs with her savage claws. Manowarmon saw their chance, pulling their tentacles away and spinning in mid-air. Their hefty rearmost tendrils swung out and struck the chimera repeatedly while it was distracted, each blow sending several hundred volts through its body. It stumbled backwards, hissing as it avoided the jellyfish’s main attack. Manowarmon sighed, and looked down at Shrewmon.

“Thanks for that.”

The shrew gave a thumbs-up; first at the jellyfish, then aiming it towards the waiting humans. Lorelie gave a little clap, while Ursula just looked on, bemused.

“She does seem a little out of her depth...ow!”

She held her side, having just been elbowed by Lorelie, who was already typing.

“She’s doing her best! And she’s doing great! >:(”

“Ahem...”

Martin pointed behind the two girls, looking more than a little concerned. “I think we have company.”

There was a wail, and everyone leapt out of the way as Crybaby lumbered forwards, its vast gunbarrel swinging around erratically as it tried – and failed – to focus on more than one of them. Eleanor pointed out at the battlefield. “Hang on, this isn’t fair! You’re supposed to be fighting those guys!”

The barrel snapped towards her, and the crying promptly stopped. Ursula squinted. “Nice going. It knows where you are now.”

Eleanor didn’t have much in the way of a response, as she simply stared at the fire building in the back of Crybaby’s...throat? Barrel? It really didn’t make much difference at this distance.

“Sand Lancer!”

“Kicherndes Feuer!”

The creature’s blast flew wide, scorching the nearby treeline as sand and fire struck the side of the gunbarrel; doing little to affect the creature but at the very least distracting it. Ursula’s face lit up as Hinkymon scampered over the battlefield towards her, ignoring the chaos and the general confusion of the chimeras. He leapt into her arms, grinning up at her, with the metal of his lantern still glowing red hot.

“We found a man from outer space! He drew all over me and wanted to cut me open!”

Ursula double-took. “That’s...nice...”

Aardmon was slightly less graceful in her approach; nearly tripping over twice and reaching the others in a very out-of-breath state. She pointed up at the ship, which was still flashing wildly. “Callum’s inside. They’re dealing with a creepy alien dude. We got out. I guess you’re busy.”

Eleanor shrugged. “Well, it’s better than nothing.” She pointed up at Crybaby, who was shaking its head(?), trying to refocus on one particular noise as the blast brewed within once again. “I think you’ve upset it.”

Ursula held Hinkymon by the shoulders, feeling the burning sensation running up her back. “I think we can help, right?”

The goblin nodded, and flew at the chimera even as the burning energy chased after him.

“Hinkymon, Psyche Synchronise! Evolution Activate!”

“Kobolmon!”

Ursula clutched her knees as the energy coursed out of her, nearly overbalancing from the sheer force of it all. But it was enough; the newly-grown troll leapt forwards and grappled with the chimera’s huge bulk, his wheels spinning wildly in the sand. Crybaby wailed, and dug its tendrils into the earth, firing blasts of energy off wildly, but Kobolmon braced himself as flames erupted down his arms.

“Ansturm der Flamme!”

Crybaby went down with a smash, the flames burning hot enough to crystallise the dust within the clearing. It rolled sideways, stabbing upwards with its front shell and scraping the troll on the right shoulder. He reared backwards, balancing on his rear wheels, before raising his arms and locking his fists together. With an almighty yell he brought his flaming fists down upon the beast’s neck, crunching it inwards and causing the main barrel to splutter.

The troll didn’t have much time to celebrate though, as Buzz rushed over with a roar and a wild spurt of flame, launching itself forwards like a spring snare. Kobolmon raised his arms and flew backwards yet again, laughing as the mass of eyes and slime engulfed him.

Meanwhile, Chelydramon and Manowarmon found themselves back to back, as Squeak and Chatter circled wildly, steam erupting from both their bodies. Chatter groaned, and swung its fists in a wild windmill, managing to catch the turtle and beat it backwards, all the while yelling in her face. She held her forearms up, but the attacks were so rapid that she had no room or time to retaliate. She clenched her fists, her anger building.

Manowarmon rushed forwards, wrapping their body around Chatter and pulling backwards with all their might. It wasn’t quite enough, but it did do enough to distract the mountain of fur and muscle and bad temperament. While Chatter turned around and started on the jellyfish, Squeak took over its job on Chelydramon, grabbing her around the neck and opening up its chest for a point-blank shot.

“Acid Splash!”

The chimera reared back as Shrewmon’s fluid struck it in the face. Chelydramon saw her chance, opening her jaws wide and clenching her eyes shut.

“Deadlock JAW!”

The turtle’s mouth clamped shut around Squeak’s upper chest-jaw, slicing through the flesh like a knife through butter. Predictably, Squeak squeaked, hopping back and forth as strange auras enveloped the rest of its body. It froze solid, sending out a venomous wave that caught the turtle in the chest, but Manowarmon flew in before the creature could follow up its attack.

“Toxic Shocker!”

Manowarmon’s right arm opened up, and they fired a constant stream of electricity directly into Squeak’s gaping wound, right at the end of its tattered hat. It looked to Chatter for help, but the other monster was having its own issues with a tenacious little shrew clambering all over it, slashing at its tough hide with metal claws and screaming in its face a lot.

“You arsehole! You can’t kill me! You can’t even get hold of me! I won’t let you!”

Chatter let off a screech, and slammed its face into the ground, sending Shrewmon plummeting down with an impressive bounce. She got to her feet, and glanced back, scouring the edge of the battleground for Lorelie. She spotted her, and raised a claw.

“I...I can do this as well...am I doing eno-“

Chatter swung its orbed head sideways, knocking the shrew away effortlessly. The chimera snorted, and looked back at Squeak, who was having major trouble, with Manowarmon’s attack keeping it pinned down. Chelydramon was walking forwards, fury in her eyes and mace spinning wildly around her. Chatter tried to move, but the turtle caught its movement, sending the bolus sideways just for a fraction of a second straight into its right legs. There was a crack, and Chatter backed away, pain holding it back.

“Chelydramon! Now! I can’t...hold this forever!”

The turtle swung back towards the first chimera – the chimera that had defiled a Digimon she’d known and loved. She raised her arms above her head, the mace forming a green blur through the air.

“Mangrove Mace!”

Chelydramon roared, and brought the mace down over her head with a slam directly into Squeak’s chest-mouth. There was a crack as green energy pulsed through the body, spewing out from beneath its rags and from its wound at the neck. For a moment it pulsated, letting out a guttural hiss like a deflating balloon. Then, finally, it lay still, seeping data into the ground below.

At the edge of the clearing, Martin held his breath, his fist clenched over his mouth.

“That’s one down...”

“That still leaves four more to go.” Ursula’s eyes darted back and forth. “And the others keep getting up. I don’t like the looks of this.”

“Everyone’s still standing.”

“I know Lorelie, but we’re still outmatched.” Ursula pointed, at where Chatter and the newly revived Gurgle were ganging up on the turtle and the jellyfish even after their brief victory, while Kobolmon still struggled with a grounded Buzz and a half-singed Crybaby. Aardmon and Shrewmon were doing their very best to assist, but more and more they were just being swept aside like leaves on the breeze.

Ursula bit her lip, and turned to Eleanor. “We need another plan. What are we going to do?”

Eleanor didn’t seem to be fully paying attention. She squinted, turning her attention from the battlefield up to the ship.

“Does anyone else think it’s getting a little cold?”

The others looked up, seeing the lights bursting out through the spaceship’s windows. Even from this distance, they could feel the effects of the energy, and even over the animalistic noises of the battleground they could make out a few loud, confident words.

“Saxophmon...Psyche Synergise!”

Martin held his breath, and Lorelie tapped at her keypad, her screen showing wide eyes.

“Oh damn...”

Callum held tightly to his shoulder as his arm split open, the metalwork forcing its way through the skin and flesh like before as his partner was encased in a cocoon of spiralling blue light. Callum winced, the pain still agonising, but there was something different, as his body flowed with the energy rather than rejecting it. Every pang of pain was immediately soothed by the ice-cold threads running through his arm. It was actually working.

He took in a breath, and looked up at his partner, the cocoon unravelling almost as soon as it had emerged. The great bird stood once again, cramped in the chrome cockpit, but seemingly standing taller than he had before. A fine mist enveloped him, seeping out into the surrounding area, and he let out a low rumble.

“Ophicleimon!”

Graymon looked up in wonder and awe, a single stream of liquid falling from one nostril.

“So...huge...and powerful...and-“

He didn’t get to finish as Ophicleimon swung his entire body forwards, smacking him away with his great beak. The alien rolled with the blow, before poking his head out from a control panel, watching as the giant bird pawed the floor.

“I am not your plaything!”

Graymon leapt up onto the control panel as Ophicleimon charged, letting out a deep bass rumble as he did so. The movement was chaotic, shaking the entire ship and breaking even more expensive equipment, but the alien was now completely focused on the great auk before him. He reached up and swung out the way as Ophicleimon brought his beak down again, piercing the very floor of the ship.

The bird was halted just for a moment, giving Graymon enough time to swing around his body and clamp his four fingers onto the bird’s back. He reared back, calling up triumphantly at the ceiling.

“Plasmatrix!”

The field erupted around the auk, strong enough to stop him in his tracks even with his newfound power. The alien laughed, and raised all four arms at once, holding them wide.

“Why don’t you embrace this? Why don’t you embrace your destiny?”

Another rumble. Ophicleimon’s head creaked round, and the eye stared back into the alien’s face with a terrifying intensity.

“I’m sick to death of my destiny being decided by arseholes like YOU!”

“Erp...”

Graymon quailed as his hold on the giant penguin broke, and Ophicleimon rushed backwards, threatening to crush the alien against the wall of his own ship. He leapt sideways just in time, but was still caught in the explosion, sending him rolling across the floor with his arms flailing in every direction.

“Okay...time for another plan...”

The alien shook his head and readjusted his goggles, before looking up. Ophicleimon was facing him once again, his eyes glowing a bright blue, and with a brand new storm brewing around him.

“Oh shit...”

“Night in Antarctica!”

It was a more restrained call than the previous one, and the snowstorm stayed local to the bird’s body as he tried to restrain its power. But it was still a vicious one; causing great spikes of ice to burst from the computers and equipment and slicing away at the chrome walls like a saw-blade. Graymon could do very little but watch, his nostril still bleeding as a vast amount of his ship was ripped apart before his very eyes.

Callum kept himself back, feeling the raw intensity of the cold. His free arm was shaking, and he held onto a nearby pipe.

“Come on, you’ve got this.”

Graymon hopped up, wringing each of his arms in turn. “Plasmatr-“

He yelped, and ducked as a vast spike of ice flew past his head, leaving a trail of clear liquid where it scraped the flesh. The bird bent double towards him, and began to advance, the storm billowing and destroying the ship with each pace.

It was at this point where the alien’s euphoria over finding brand-spanking-new toys faded slightly, to be instantly replaced with a new and vested interest in self-preservation.

“Nope!”

Graymon slithered back, and pulled at a lever on the wall, sending the whole cockpit into a frenzy of red and white lights. One moment Ophicleimon was marching towards the alien, the next, the entire floor had disappeared, rolled back into the walls (save for a few panels which were bent out of all proportion.

The bird flapped meaninglessly as he descended, landing on the ground a short distance below. The alien smirked, only for his happiness to wane as he noticed the bird’s partner, still clinging on to a piece of the ruined laboratory. Callum was beside himself, gesturing rudely at the alien.

“Hey! What the hell, we were in the middle of something!”

With a quick wiggle, Graymon appeared next to the boy, grabbed him by the collar, and promptly threw him through the hole in the floor as well without even a clever or witty goodbye. The boy tumbled, and landed on top of his partner with a clang.

The ship groaned, dropping panels and rubble as it hummed into life. It jerked, and stalled, and there was the sound of muffled swearing from the cockpit, before the whole thing burst into life once again.

Slowly and incredibly shakily, it rose into the air, leaving the stunned Callum and Ophicleimon staring up and not quite sure what they were supposed to be doing. All around, the chimeras were equally confused, and the other children took the opportunity to run forward to where the final member of their group was lying.

Martin nodded. “Nice of you to join us.”

Callum leaned upwards, holding the back of his head and looking slightly dazed. “You look like you’ve been having fun.”

The ship sparked up above, and listed dangerously to one side, as Graymon poked his head out and waved a spindly arm.

“I’ve got a lot of useful things out of today but I think it’s time to scamper. I’ll be back though! Your lumber forms are of great interest to me and I shall create my greatest work with them some day!”

Eleanor blinked, and turned to Callum, who had stood up and was now holding his shoulder.

“Who the hell have you been fighting in there?”

“Best guess? Some kind of phenomenal pervert.”

“Seriously?”

“He kept wanting to play with our partners flesh or something.”

“Ew.”

“Exactly.”

A shadow fell over the two of them, and they looked over their shoulders to see Chelydramon stood at her full height, letting out a low growl from the depths of her throat.

“You’re telling me...that that’s the guy who’s been fucking everything up around here?”

Up above, Graymon waved, and pressed a few buttons on his central panel. “I’ll leave the members of the proper and advanced Digimon race to soften you up a little. Toodles!”

The ship let off a few putts and wobbled slightly higher into the air. Shrewmon jumped up on Lorelie’s shoulders, pointing upwards. “He’s gonna get away!”

“No he fucking isn’t...”

Graymon straddled the control panel at the front of his ship, tapping buttons and quivering from head to toe. “Sheesh, those guys are feral! Focus, Graymon, you can come back for them later-”

SMASH

Clunk

The alien lurched forwards as his ship ground to a halt in mid-flight, the drive stalling and letting off whimpering little puffs of energy.

“Now what?”

Gingerly the alien stuck his head out, and noticed a bright green bolus wrapped around one of the rearmost legs of the ship, holding it in place. Down below, Chelydramon had the cord wrapped around her body, digging in against the ground and emanating pure unbridled fury from her eyes.

“I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET YOU WIGGLY-ARMED SHITWEASEL!”

“Oooooh crap!” Graymon rushed back and jabbed at a hundred different buttons at once, his face twitching nervously. “Nooope! Nope nope nope nope nope NOPE!”

The ship whined. Something popped, and it veered from left to right, straining against Chelydramon’s strength. She inched forwards, her muscles flexing as she turned to the others.

“HELP me, you bastards! I ain’t letting him get away with anything else!”

Kobolmon and Manowarmon shot underneath and above the ship respectively, building energy and aiming directly at it.

“Toxic Shocker!”

“Loderndes Leuchtfeuer!”

“Outta the way!”

Ophicleimon stood beside Chelydramon, flapping his great wings as a black void built within his beak. Callum winced, and gently beckoned the others to back away.

“This...could get messy.”

Graymon peered out, seeing the great auk standing not two metres away from him. He quailed.

“...uh oh...”

“Mercy Melody!”

The black energy burst from Ophicleimon’s beak, striking the ship and piercing it straight through with a loud bang that resonated through the metalwork. Veins of black ice reached out and smothered every control panel in sight, and the blast exploded out the other side of the ship, reaching up far into the sky and almost towards the core itself.

The ship, clearly deciding that this onslaught was far beyond its capabilities, promptly stopped working and plummeted earthwards, striking the ground with an immense crash and a splintering of metal. The watching tamers held their arms up and covered their faces as the shockwave hit them.

Chelydramon retracted her mace and rushed forwards angrily, but she was quickly run down by four very eager (if very battered) chimeras, who sent every blast of energy they could muster straight into her torso. She was knocked back, and rolled in the dust, pushing herself slowly and unsteadily back to her feet as Kobolmon and Manowarmon stood themselves between her and the chimeras.

The chimeras, however, seemed to be less bothered with her right now. They chattered amongst themselves in a concerned manner as they stared down at the wreckage. The ship’s lights blinked, spluttered, and died, as thin wisps of smoke began to rise up. Ophicleimon clacked his beak, and looked behind him.

“That was...anticlimactic.”

“Wait for it...” said Manowarmor, hovering above with electric tendrils circulating around their forearms. “Knowing our luck, I don’t think he’s gone.”

Chelydramon pressed her hands together. “He’d better not be.”

“Blargh!”

Graymon’s head broke the wreckage, and he crawled out, gasping for breath. He sat up, and pointed quivering fingers at the assembled throng before him.

“You...have a LOT...to answer for!”

Eleanor folded her arms. “Funny. I gather we were thinking the same thing.”

Despite her confident stance, she was increasingly aware of the chimeras gathering around their creator, forming a protective barrier of sorts. It didn’t seem to deter her partner, but all the same...something was off. Graymon wasn’t going to go down without a fight; she could feel it.

Gurgle leant forwards, and nuzzled the alien with its snout. Graymon looked up, and stroked it beneath the chin, doing the same for the other three as they cooed and gurgled happily.

“You poor children...they’ve really beaten you up, haven’t they? But it’s alright. I can rebuild you. I promise.”

They nodded; unintelligible, but forever loyal, as Graymon’s hands caressed their faces. His palms spread out further and further with every touch, reaching over their eyes, into their mouths and into their minds. With each touch they grew more docile. More malleable. No longer the prototypes for the next generation of Digimon, but simply...flesh.

Graymon sighed sadly, as his marvellous creations turned to putty in his hands.

“Will you help me get rid of them once and for all?”

Callum started, finally twigging what was going on. He stepped forwards, shouting out. “Get them away from him! Now!”

It was too late.

“DNA Splice!”

Graymon’s four arms expanded, his palms engulfing the hulking chimeras one after the other, like a snake swallowing a gazelle. His arms expanded, and pulsated, glowing bright red just for a moment. Then the alien stood up, and his mass redistributed itself, spreading from the tips of his arms down through his chest to his feet. His vest stretched to breaking point, and as he rolled his neck, the faces of all the Digimon he’d absorbed – all the Digimon he’d killed – poked out through the skin of his collar, like some horrific ruff. And as he stood up, shaking out his body, so the myriad of forms pressed out through his pliable body. Dokugomon’s fuzzy legs. Monochromon’s armour. Birdramon’s wings, burning bright yet sealed beneath gelatinous skin. Even as Manowarmon and Kobolmon rushed forwards, bringing thunder and fire of their own, his growing body simply swatted them aside. He blinked, his eyes shining brightly even above the cacophony of horrors which he had become.

“Fate has smiled upon me! I am willing to make sacrifices, if it means I will get specimens as wonderful as all of you.”

The alien stumbled, and his arms twitched, cracking into position as they pulsed with napalm and sorcery; a deadly combination. He glared at the humans, and pointed a glowing finger towards them.

“First though, I should eliminate your parasites. They’ve caused me enough trouble already.”

“You leave them alone! Night in Antarctica!”

“Loderndes Leuchtfeuer!”

“Torpedo Coil!”

“Mangrove Mace!”

Energy coursed through the air as four vast Digimon shot forwards, preparing to attack the alien all at once. He bent double, and flexed, his flesh rippling.

“You’re mine now.”

In a move far quicker than his newfound bulk should have allowed, he swung to one side, avoiding the mace as it came crashing down beside him. One arm shot outwards, slamming into Chelydramon’s side, and the toxic chemicals and burning energy within his body reached a boiling point, exploding with the impact.

CRACK

“ARGH!”

The turtle rolled sideways, splinters falling from her cracked shell, but she dug her hands into the ground, her jaws opening all the wider. Graymon reared up, flexing his huge new arms and swinging them wide, sweeping Chelydramon off to one side. The alien smirked, before ducking as Manowarmon shot over his head, lashing out with electric tendrils. The jellyfish spun round, latching onto one shoulder and coursing one thousand volts through his opponent.

After his flesh stopped simmering, Graymon smiled.

“Good attempt. You’re an odd one, aren’t you? You’ll be very interesting to improve.”

He lunged upwards, but Manowarmon floated out of reach, charging up for another blow. They tried again and again to latch on, aiming for Graymon’s eyes, but each time they had to pull away. They grimaced. “He’s too fast! I can’t-“

The jellyfish slipped, one of the long swinging arms just grazing their body and putting them right in the firing range for the other two. Manowarmon’s eyes widened, and they tried to protect themselves as Graymon readied his own energy pulses, the tips of his fingers glowing brightly. He clicked his fingers, and explosions rocketed from his palms, pummelling into Manowarmon and sending them flying.

“NO!”

Martin yelled out as the jellyfish fell to the ground before him, rolling in the dust and shedding data as they did so. They finally stopped, and devolved to Polypmon, who stared up at the sky and coughed black smoke from their mouth.

“Sorry...”

“Loderndes Leuchtfeuer!”

Graymon held out an arm, grabbing at the fiery blast as it struck him. Through the flames, Kobolmon came running across the rough dirt, pawing against the dust and raising his flaming arms to tackle the creature.

“Ansturm der Flamme!”

Even as he saw the alien’s palm come towards him, Kobolmon didn’t stop, desperate to reach the alien first. But he wasn’t fast enough; the palm struck him on the side of the face and drove him into the ground, his shoulders letting off blasts of energy as he did so.

“That’s it...just rest...”

Kobolmon struggled for a brief moment, as the monster’s huge bulk pressed down. Then his wheels stopped spinning, and he lay there prone, his body steaming and already shrinking.

The children watched in horror as their partners were picked off one by one. Chelydramon stood up again and tried to rush the alien, but he just threw her to one side. Eleanor held her breath, and turned towards Callum. “This isn’t working! He’s too strong! Again!”

Callum winced, holding his D-Psyche as it trembled once again. In front of him, Ophicleimon rushed forwards, lights glinting in his eyes and snow swirling around him. He slammed his beak forwards, piercing the alien’s shoulder, but was met by two earth-shattering punches. Graymon shook his head.

“Think how much stronger you would be if you would just submit!”

He thrust an arm into Ophicleimon’s neck, and the great bird let out a roar, the ice sparkling all around him and growing in intensity.

“Mercy Melody!”

The auk opened his mouth and fired at point-blank range right into Graymon’s head. It did have an effect; the alien staggered backwards, holding two arms up to steady himself. But as Ophicleimon’s attack waned, so the alien stood up again; shakily at first as his eyes span with terrible visions, but growing in confidence and certainty once again. He blinked, reached up, and held his palms over his shoulders, the frost turning to steam as he did so.

“No...no mistakes...no regrets whatsoever. I just need you. I have to have you.”

The alien reached forwards, grabbing Ophicleimon at the wings, but the giant penguin refused to give up without a fight. He pushed forwards, frosty air billowing from his beak. Behind him, Callum held his D-Psyche, staring up at the goliath which, even now, was pushing his partner down towards the ground. There were tears in the boy’s eyes as he gritted his teeth together, the flesh of his shoulder turning grey from the intense coldness.

“I...I’m sorry...I can’t do this to you again...”

“Callum!”

Ophicleimon pressed forwards, tussling with the giant before him, but with each second it became harder to sustain the storm. He slashed left and right, but the alien’s explosions parried him effortlessly. Graymon closed his eyes.

“I think your parasite has reached his limit.”

Ophicleimon’s eyes widened, and he glanced backwards, at Callum who was struggling to stand, looking up pitifully.

“Callum...it’s okay...I can keep-“

BOOM

A fist struck the bird in the collarbone, and he reared back. Three more hits, one after the other. Then Graymon spun, building energy in one fist and striking Ophicleimon across the side of the head.

The D-Psyche let out a screech, and it burst, letting off sparks and sending Callum to his knees, where he lay, shaking. The effect was immediate; the penguin dissolved back to Saxophmon in seconds, then back down to Empermon. His saxophone rolled away over the ground, but he was no longer awake to notice.

Callum stared helplessly up at the others, sweat running down his face.

“I’m so sorry!”

Graymon stretched, feeling the energy rolling beneath his body as he sighed. “Ah, it’s nice to stretch once in a while. But I hope you see now what you can become. You just need the right bodies.”

He exhaled loudly, then slowly turned towards the watching humans, rolling each of his massive fingers in turn.

“And right now, we just need to get rid of your distractions.”

“Scrape Nail!”

“Sand Lancer!”

Aardmon and Shrewmon ran at the giant’s feet, attacking with as much energy as they could muster, but they couldn’t even break the skin. Shrewmon didn’t give up though; she turned and clung to the alien’s leg even as he kept walking, pulling herself up and striking at his skin with her claws. He looked down, bemused.

“I must admit, the smelly man-people do bring out a tenacity that I hadn’t considered.” He shrugged. “Perhaps I’ll keep one of them alive. For motivation. Yes, that’s an experiment worth considering.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut UP! DIE! JUST GODDAMN DIE! SCRAPE NAIL!”

Shrewmon cried as she struck repeatedly, just tearing the flesh, but nothing more. She looked down at the humans in desperation. “HELP ME! LORELIE, PLEASE HELP ME! I CAN TAKE HIM-“

Graymon’s hand passed over her, and she was blown away, straight into Aardmon as she charged forwards herself. They both went down, skidding along the ground.

“Deadlock Jaw!”

“Just submit already.”

Graymon whirled round and landed a flying punch on Chelydramon, knocking her to the ground once again, where she lay twitching. He shook his head, and stared down at the group of humans, not a few metres in front of him. He held up a hand, little explosions popping on his knuckles.

“You’ve made things incredibly annoying for me. But I suppose I should thank you for bringing these Digimon together. They will be just perfect for me to work on.”

The children stared up, terrified, yet defiant. Callum held his arm, the metal once again twisted and sparking. A blank-screened Lorelie held onto Ursula, who had her hand around the girl’s shoulder in return. Martin stood over Polypmon, his glasses shining white in the bright blue starlight.

Eleanor stood in front of them all, her feet apart, and her shoulders raised.

“So you’re just gonna carry on? Like we were never even here? You can carrying on ruining the lives of everyone around you? Is that all you care about?”

Graymon rolled his eyes. “Here we go. The ethics commission. I’ve heard it all, human, so save your breath. What’s left of it, anyway.”

Eleanor gritted her teeth together. “I still don’t like this world. But I can’t stand people like you. You think that you’re the only one that matters; anyone else, we’re just in the way. They’re just beneath you. They’re always just beneath you, and that means nothing to you.”

Graymon folded his top two arms. “I have a right to live my life the way I want to. My work is important. People like you? You wouldn’t understand if I told you.”

“So then I guess you can just kick us around. Like nearly everyone else we’ve found in this damn world. The whole place goes to shit, so you use that your excuse to be an arsehole rather than having the balls to stand up and do something good.”

“You’re not listening-“

“And YOU’RE not THINKING!” The girl raised her arms, her fists clenched and her face dark with rage. “You think you can do whatever the ever-loving fuck you want just because you think you’re better than everyone else? You can beat us down, you can insult us, you can burn our ears off with your first-year-philosophy bullshit, but you seriously think we’re gonna be okay with it? Are you FUCKING HIGH?”

The girl braced herself, her D-Psyche glowing bright green as she pointed up at the alien’s blank face.

“You may think you can do what the fuck you want but we are NOT gonna go quietly, you spandex-wearing murderous bloated sack of used steroids and shitty science textbooks FUCKFACE!”

The alien blinked, and raised a glowing finger. “You’re all saying some really hurtful things to me today. That’s not cool.”

He bent down, stretching out his finger as the napalm glowed behind the skin, pointing directly at the children.

“Oi, speedo-boy...”

A webbed hand clamped around Graymon’s arm, and he looked down to see Chelydramon, holding onto him and pushng his finger away from its targets.

“...we’re not finished yet...”

Graymon sighed, and punched the turtle in the face, sending her staggering back. “Yes we are.”

“No...we’re...NOT!”

“STAY DOWN!”

The alien gave an exasperated yell, and turned on his heels, reeling back and striking the turtle in the face.

A few seconds later he was sent sprawling, his oversized arms crashing against the dust. He blinked, not quite sure where he was as the blue sun was in his eyes.

“What the hell...”

Chelydramon stood up before him, breathing heavily, and hand held in front of her in a great balled fist. She was glowing. Bright, acidic green, shimmering on her scales, within her eyes, and over her shell. Eleanor stood behind her, and the girl was glowing as well; her D-Psyche juddering and cracking the ground around it. The metal expanded, sending out arms and hooks and wires that dug into the dust, sending trails of circuitry all around. The main body of the D-Psyche expanded as well, building up and up until it was lifting Eleanor’s body a few feet off the ground. She folded her arms, and grinned, seemingly unfazed by the whole experience.

“Now let’s see you be so smug, fuckface!”

The D-Psyche whirled beneath her, cradling her back and arms until she seemed to be sat atop some weird robotic tree, which glowed all around and began to spin, the green light growing ever more intense. The girl flinched, and a few trails of blood ran down the device, seeping into the ground below. But still she stood tall; furious, yet in complete control.

“Chelydramon...Psyche Synergise!”

The D-Psyche split apart, revealing a core of green light that stretched out, wrapping around the huge turtle in front of her like so many spider threads. The others backed away, staring up as the turtle began to shake, curling up in her shell, until only her eyes were visible in the great green orb.

“Evolution ACTIVATE!”

The verdant sphere pulsated, and expanded, growing twice – three times – no, four times as big, the glow growing more and more intense as it did so. Soon it was towering over Graymon and utterly dwarfing the others, including Eleanor, who looked up in awe and wonder as it rose skywards, supported on a thin pole, until it too resembled some kind of tree. The green glow flashed, and faded, disappearing into the atmosphere as the vast new creature unfurled herself.

Her main body was almost spherical, with great bejewelled and ridged shell-plates ordaining the back and a grid of pale golden ones beneath. There was no sign of a head, although the gap was there at the front of the shell, as if the creature was hiding inside. The limbs were very present though; long, sinuous arms and legs as thick as tree-trunks, each ending with grasping claws, and each draped with iridescent weed, like kelp or sargassum. She held on tightly to a long staff with all four hands; a staff which seemed like a huge piece of driftwood, with a hook at the top and a base that splayed out in a wooden web, like the roots of a mangrove tree. The new beast supported herself at the top of the staff, perfectly balanced and still. Only her tail moved; a long wisp of feathery scales, swishing back and forth in the rush of energy.

She swayed a little atop her staff, her body twisting and angling down towards Graymon. From deep within the darkness of the shell, two eyes opened; perfectly round, bright yellow, and staring with a silent intensity that seemed to hold every kindness and every fury the world had to offer.

“Minogamemon!”

Graymon stammered as he raised a trembling finger. “You’re...um...quite big now, aren’t you...”

The huge turtle didn’t answer. She simply closed her eyes, and spun, her body rolling down the outside of her staff and swinging out with a massive roundhouse kick into the alien’s shoulder. He went flying, scrabbling at the ground and running to one side, but Minogamemon landed in front of him and brought one knee up into his face.

“Bloody hell!”

Graymon staggered back, his flesh rippling wildly. He fumbled with each of his fingers in turn, trying to raise his palms as the turtle reared back to kick him a third time.

“Plasmatrix!”

White lights sparked from his fingers and he held all his hands out at once, stopping the giant turtle in mid-air. The alien let out a victory laugh, but the smile froze on his face as his opponent leaned towards him, her muscles straining against the energy. He could see the brights of her eyes from deep within her shell, still staring intensely at him.

“Looks like you’re reaching your limit, murderer.”

The energy shattered, and Minogamemon span on the spot, striking Graymon with another kick. Then back again, catching him with both legs and launching him skywards. The alien screeched and flailed wildly in the air as Minogamemon leapt upwards, hooking him into her knee with her staff, then spinning round and punching him earthwards, where he left a sizeable crater.

She landed heavily, causing the entire island to shake. Graymon was still trying to stand in front of her, his muscle mass looking decidedly more floppy as great wedges of data fell away, dissipating into the air and the earth around him. Still, he stood his ground, rubbing his hands together until they glowed yellow.

“You can’t keep this up forever! I’ll still find you! And I’ll still bring you down!”

Minogamemon sighed, and touched the hook end of her staff, her eyes flashing green just for a second.

“Primordial Staff!”

Her weapon glowed yellow as she rushed forwards, but Graymon was prepared, flinging his arms sideways and sending a barrage of explosions her way. He turned tail, jettisoning the rest of his borrowed data into the air around him and grinning to himself. “You’ll never be able to stop progress...”

He stumbled, something hard and hot hitting his leg, but he kept running, laughing as he did so. “Your generation will meet its end and the future of the Digital World shall belong-“

He tripped again, but this time he fell flat on his face. Trying to move, he could feel something wrapping around one spindly foot, but though he squinted with all his might, he couldn’t see what it was. A shadow fell over him, and Minogamemon was there, glancing at the end of her staff which still glowed a bright yellow.

“Not long to go...”

She lashed out, hitting Graymon on one arm. Then his torso, his neck, and finally directly into one eye, before leaping back. The alien picked himself up, holding one eye and glaring at her. “What are you playing at, you ridiculous tree-hugger, you?”

Minogamemon stood, counting on her fingers and nodding as she did so. “Five...that should do nicely...”

The light in her staff went out, and Graymon suddenly found himself feeling far more constrained than before. The dull areas of pain from where the turtle had stuck him suddenly felt far sharper, as if something was pulling at his skin. He looked around, and noticed five yellow glowing spots in the earth around him, each emitting faint trails that all seemed to end at his body. He craned his neck, the pain in his eye getting worse. “What is this? What have you done?”

“I guess I am a tree-hugger,” said Minogamemon, spinning her staff absentmindedly as she wandered towards the alien. The glow in the staff had now travelled to the root end, congregating in little sparkles at the tips. “But then we’ll all return to the Digital World one day. Even you. You’re not above that, no matter how much you might like to think you are.”

“What are you talking-“

The turtle tapped the ground with her staff, just for a second. The effect was immediate. Five great, wooden branches erupted from the dust, carrying glowing orbs on the end that pulled at the invisible threads holding Graymon, lifting him up as well. He screamed, the vines holding his body parts stretching at his skin and holding him firm. The growth slowed, and he stared down at the turtle, who was balancing upside down on her weapon, gently brushing the shining yellow dust over the roots.

“You feeling okay?”

“Get me down from here, this HURTS!”

Graymon’s free arms and legs waggled helplessly as he tried to strike his captor, but she had the complete advantage. She sighed, and rubbed some of the yellow glow between her fingers.

“I might have gone overboard; this one’s quite strong. I imagine it’ll knock me out when I’m done. But then again, it’ll mean you won’t be going anywhere ever again.”

“LET ME DOWN!”

The turtle’s eyes snapped towards him again. “Offer me anything?”

Graymon grinned. “Anything? God, yes, anything. I promise. Anything you want.” He swallowed. “That’s...that’s okay, isn’t it?”

Minogamemon leaned forwards. Her eyes still fixed on the alien, she extended her head from within her shell. Just the tiniest bit, so only he could see.

“Then give me Gizamon back.”

The grin froze on Graymon’s face. Minogamemon just stared, unblinking and unyielding as her pupils constricted.

“I mean it. Right now. You can do that, can’t you? Someone who creates life; it should be easy.”

There was silence all throughout the clearing, save for the weak, subdued whine that emanated from Graymon’s mouth. Finally he spoke, his voice vibrating.

“...G-Gizamon......which...which one...?”

Minogamemon leapt down with a bang, and raised her staff on high. Graymon babbled, wriggling back and forth as the vines constricted further around him, causing his flesh to turn black and begin to pop open like a balloon filled with jelly.

“WAIT!”

The turtle stopped, her movements almost mechanical as she waited for the alien to continue. Graymon gave a nervous laugh as the pain pulsated around his floppy body.

“You’re with the humans, aren’t you? I know humans. They’re good people. They wouldn’t want you to soil your conscience by killing.” He smiled up at the crowd beyond. “Right? I’m right though, aren’t I?”

The tamers looked at each other in turn. Eleanor blinked. “Are you fucking high? You’re a murderous psychopath creep!”

Martin shrugged, holding his palms up like a scale. “I mean it’s not my personal first choice but I can’t say I really have much call to intervene.”

“Fuck him up, Minogamemon!”

The turtle straightened up, and sighed wearily. “No, I’m afraid he’s right. I can’t in good conscience kill him in front of you. That wouldn’t be right.”

Graymon wheezed, sweat dripping down his neck as he laughed hysterically. “Thank you. Oh Yggdrasil, thank y-“

Minogamemon looked back at the crowd behind her.

“Would you all please turn around? And cover your ears.”

Graymon whimpered, watching as the children obliged. The turtle turned around one final time, the light in her staff as intense as the glow in her eyes.

“Release!”

The children did as they had been instructed, but it didn’t do much to help, as they felt the cracking of the earth, and heard the rushing of the leaves and Graymon’s final, blood-curdling scream. It only lasted for a few seconds, after which there was only silence, mixed with the fresh scent of pine.

Slowly they stood up, turning to look at the aftermath. A small copse of five trees stood, blending in perfectly with the forest around, and reaching up high into the sky. Their leaves were a shining yellow, and they were falling in little clusters, mixing with the tiny squares of fresh data that were dotted around. Graymon’s body had been completely annihilated, with only a few ragged strips of sweater vest to indicate he’d been there at all.

And there, at the base of the grove, lay a small, unconscious figure. Eleanor shook out her leg as she rushed forwards, reaching down and holding Terramon’s sleeping form.

The turtle seemed peaceful. But still, there were twin streams of tears falling down her face.

“Gizamon...”

The waves lapped against the shore as Eleanor stared out, thumbs hooked over the lip of her skirt as she thought to herself. In the distance she could make out the curving mass of the flying ocean, and on it the spiralling fleets of god knows how many of Motimon’s boats still looking for them. And up above, the constant blue hum of the Digital core, still too bright to make out anything going on inside.

It had been a very long day.

She heard footsteps beside her, and looked to her left to see Callum, rubbing his shoulder and wincing. Eleanor gave him a side-smile.

“How is she? Terramon, I mean.”

“Her eyes are fluttering. I don’t think it’ll be long before she wakes up.”

“Thanks.” The girl forced a half-smile. “You did well today. You kept in control.”

“Thanks. Though I think you did better.”

“Nah, it was all Terramon’s work.” Eleanor stuck her tongue out, and pulled a face. “Blegh, we’re sharing compliments now. This really is the worst thing that could have happened to us.”

“Yeah, well...” Callum placed his hand in his pocket, staring out. “Actually, no, frankly it could have been a lot worse.”

He looked up at the core himself, frowning. “You really think we’re ready to do this?”

“No. I don’t think we ever will be.” Eleanor sniffed. “But there’s a lot of bad people still out there who are gonna end up fucking up this world if we don’t do anything. Maybe one day the problem will fix itself, but the longer we leave it, the more people are gonna die in the meantime. We can’t let that keep happening.”

She turned, and walked away, shrugging. “Anyway, isn’t our world a little fucked at the moment as well? I think this is still pretty urgent.”

Callum snorted, and took one last lingering look up at the core. He had no idea what they would find up there. None of them did. It just hung there, tantalisingly close, with a million secrets to share.

And, somewhere in there, he knew the Funnyman was waiting for them as well.

“The fuckface to end all fuckfaces...”

Callum thought for a minute, before nodding to himself, and walking back to join the others.