“Awesome Altormon”

By

CreativeDemi64

and

Shelli-Jo Pelletier

* * *

~~~ Skye's P.O.V. ~~~

Well, while we were off looking for a base, we came across an amusement park. Although it did seem a little suspicious, we went ahead and took advantage of the opportunity and had ourselves a little fun. We really should have gone with our instincts on this one, because it all turned out to be a trap set by Marajamon. It's a good thing MegaDracomon showed up. Now that creepy Cleopatra wannabe is digi-dust! One down, Two more to go!

* * *

After the battle with Marajamon and Sphinxmon they had to relax a bit away from the cursed area of where the amusement park was. The sun was about midway in the sky and a pretty nice temperature for the relaxing Digidestined. However, even if the weather was nice, there was still a bit of planning going on about where they were to make a base.

"Why couldn’t we have just made Marajamon's castle our base?" Tania asked.

"Because," Jenn began, "it needed to be destroyed. We want nothing to do with that place." She pulled her legs into her chest and rested her head on her knees, letting out a small sigh. The others just shrugged their shoulders, muttering. They understood Jenn's reasons, but still thought it would have been a time saver. They just decided to leave it at that and not start any arguments.

"At least we have some food now." Dani reached into her pockets to pull out a bag of candy, only to find it had disappeared.

"It all must have disappeared when Marajamon reversed the cloaking spell," said Samee.

"Samee, don't you still have some magic powers? Can't you cast a spell that'll make a large pizza appear or something?" Dani pleaded, holding her gurgling stomach.

Samee looked at her reluctantly. "I could try." She traced her memory for a spell of some kind. Sadly most of that stuff went with Queen Sonomi after she left Samee's body. "Sorry, I got nothing," Samee replied sadly, after a few minutes of trying. She lowered her head, a bit disappointed in herself for not being very helpful.

Just then, Emily remembered what the Digi Princess said just before she transformed back into Skye. “Skye!”

“Hmm?” Skye looked over to Emily who seemed to have an idea flash in her eyes. “Wha-what?” It was a very strange look.

“Can’t you summon the Digi Princess?”

“Yeah!” Jenn joined in when the whole group looked to Skye.

“Ah—uh . . . um, I think so.” She bit her lip and started to think about what to do. “Don’t you think we’d be bugging her?”

“Yeah. . . ?” Everyone looked to Samee, who looked a bit nervous about facing the Digi Princess again.

“It’d be okay. I mean, it is kind of an emergency. Dani is diabetic and she might die if we don’t get some food into her.” Skye looks to Dani, who smiled with an expression both ashamed and thankful.

Sighing, Skye gave in, taking hold of her locket. She held it close to her chest and started to chant words that the kids couldn’t understand, but seemed to come naturally to Skye. Suddenly in Skye's place the Digi Princess stood once more. Her eyes were aglow with kindness and love, and a warm feeling flowed through everyone as they were graced in the presence of the Digi Princess. Even Samee felt relaxed around her. She now realized that even if could never forgive herself for what she had done, the feeling she got from the princess was soothing.

The Digi Princess smiled and spoke to the children. "How may I help you?" she asked them.

"We're very sorry to bother you, Your Highness, but we have no food and if we don't eat something soon our friend here will get really sick," Emily explained, gesturing to Dani.

"So I see," the Digi Princess replied. Smiling once more, after a bit of thought she told them of a path that can lead them to Secondary Village.

“If you follow that path, you will find a wonderful haven. There is where you will find food and shelter. There are also other lessons to be learned there. The Secondary Village is a place of much knowledge.” The Princess smiled mysteriously and would say no more.

“Thank you!” The group of Digidestined and Digimon did a traditional Japanese bow of thanks to her as she smiled and began to glow. Then their normal friend Skye was standing in her place.

* * *

Meanwhile, Duodramon and Lordessmon stood before a mirror with the scene displayed in the silver surface. A black cloud of mist surrounded the two of them as they stood, expressions of annoyance on their faces.

"Marajamon has been defeated,” Lordessmon sneered as she gritted her teeth. “That women was worthless!”

Duodramon gave a half smirk; he wasn’t all that annoyed that Marajamon was now gone. If it were up to him, he'd destroy Lordessmon too. Then he could have all the fun to himself. Of course, their master forbade it. How frustrating. . . .

“So now she’s gone. Can I have another shot at them?” the bestial Digimon demanded harshly.

Lordessmon looked to him. “Will you finally be able to put at least a pebble’s worth of damage on them this time? Or are you planning to be destroyed too?”

“Don’t be stupid. I won’t be defeated this time. I’ll destroy them!” Drool began to leak from the side of his mouth as he thought about devouring the children and their little Rookie Digimon.

“Fine! If you think you can do it, then you better make sure that you don’t screw up again!” she growled. Duodramon chuckled and grinned, happy to know that he now had another chance at getting rid of the kids.

However, a crooked smile crossed Lordessmon’s face as the thought came to mind that Duodramon would lose. That would mean it would be her turn to fight with them, while they were weakened from their battle with Duodramon.

The four-legged beast didn’t see the devious smirk on Lordessmon. His back was already turned as he headed off to his prey.

* * *

Lexxy had her trusty laptop out in front of her as she walked, reading the map to match up with the Princess’s directions.

"Secondary Village is just over these hills," she announced confidently. Her body had gotten used to hiking, and she had plenty of energy. The Digimon, on the other hand, were panting away, exhausted from all the walking and the lack of food. The other Digidestined nodded in response to what Lexxy had announced and prepared themselves for another long hike up the hills before them.

“Can we rest first? Please?” Foximon asked, tugging on Jenn’s pant leg with her paw.

Jenn looked over the tired Digimon, a sweatdrop appearing on her head. “Of course! Sorry about that guys. I forgot how exhausted you get when you haven’t eaten for a while.” She turned to the others to address everyone. “We’ll have a little break here, before we tackle those hills.”

Lexxy nodded, resigned, and put away her laptop. Everyone else looked relieved for the break. The Digimon cheered weakly and plopped down wherever they were standing, focused on catching their breaths.

As everyone found a spot to relax, Alex and Nerimon sat down under the shade of a tree. Alex watched Erica dreamily, as she stretched out her sore muscles. He leaned over to his partner, Nerimon. “Neri . . . I think . . . I think I might be falling for her,” he whispered quietly, so only his Digimon would hear.

Nerimon looked concerned, because Alex’s expression had turned gloomy. “What’s wrong with that?” asked the dinosaur Digimon.

“I can’t really be with her, buddy. What about when we go back to our world? I live in London and she lives in Texas, for crying out loud!”

Nerimon doesn’t quite understand the problem. “Um . . . so?”

“You don’t understand. Here.” Alex picked up a stick and drew some squiggly lines in the dirt, trying to get the shapes of Europe and the United States correct. “Look, this is London, and all the way over here is Texas.”

Nerimon’s blue eyes studied the little drawing. “They don’t look that far to me. . . .”

Alex sighed. "I guess you'd have to be there to understand. All I’ll say is that it’s a really, really long way apart. So we can’t really be together after we leave this world," he said to the confused Digimon.

"Hmm. . . . Maybe I’ll go with you and see for myself someday," his Digimon smiled innocently at his human friend. Alex just patted him on the head and laughed. He knew he would probably never get to take Nerimon home with him, but it wouldn’t hurt to let the little Digimon think what he pleased. Whatever little things it took to help them all get through this adventure was always welcomed.

Just then, Nerimon sat up straight and looked around. He sensed something in the air. "Alex.” He stood up. “I think its time to go."

"Relax, Nerimon. Let everyone have some time to rest." Alex stretched out his arms and leaned contently against the tree. He didn’t really notice that everyone else was getting ready to go, ready to head to Secondary Village.

"Heh heh. How about an eternal rest?" spoke out a deep, dark voice from behind the tree. Alex would never forget that voice from the last time they faced off. It was Duodramon! He leaped out in front of Alex and Nerimon. The other Digidestined quickly scrambled to their feet. The Digimon, however, were still so tired and hungry. They weren’t sure if they could digivolve to protect their partners.

“Magimon digivolve to . . . Athenamon!”

As her tail ring began to glow, giving her an extra boost of power, Magimon became the beautiful Athenamon. “This isn’t over that easy!” the feline growled, wings spread to leap into the air. But even she knew one little Ultimate Digimon might not be able to drive off the large evil Digimon, much less destroy him. Still, she wouldn’t give up! She would protect her friends, even if she were the only one able to fight! The winged feline sprang into the air and flew straight at Duodramon, determined to give her friends time enough to escape.

Alex saw what Athenamon was doing and instantly understood. “She’s trying to lure him away, Nerimon!” he told his partner. “We can’t let her do that alone!”

Neriomon nodded in complete agreement. “I don’t think I can digivolve . . . but let’s help!” said the red Rookie. They ran after Athenamon as the other Digidestined ran in the opposite direction, so focused on getting their weak partners to safety that they missed that the two boys weren’t following them.

Alex and Nerimon ran as close to Duodramon as they dares, while the large beast was still distracted by Athenamon circling around him. The boys grabbed the only thing available to them, rocks and sticks on the ground, and chucked them at the evil Digimon to get his attention.

“What’s this? Rocks?” The angry Duodramon turned to see Alex and Nerimon throwing forest debris at him. Irritated, he went after them.

“Oh no you don’t! Empress Claw!” Athenamon stuck close and attacked her enemy. She wouldn’t let him at the defenseless Rookie and human. Alex took the opportunity to back away, but Nerimon suddenly fell to the ground in exhaustion.

“Alex, run! Get out of here. . . .” he yelled out to his partner weakly.

“Nerimon, quit acting so heroic!” the human responded. He could never leave his partner Digimon in that condition.

Nerimon gave Alex an annoyed look. If only the human would listen for once in their partnership. “I would only be heroic if I could do something!” retorted the Rookie.

“I can tell you’re trying! You’re trying to send me away and sacrifice yourself! I’m not dumb you know!” Alex ran back to his Digimon friend to help him.

“Oh, how touching,” sneered Duodramon sarcastically. “I think I’m about to cry.” He laughed instead and reached for the two boys with his sharp claws.

Athenamon decided their diversion had lasted long enough. She swooped down right between Duodramon’s grasping hands, scooping up Alex and Nerimon.

"Hang in there, buddy!" Alex tried to reassure his tired digimon. “We’re getting out of here!”

“No you’re not! Acid Strike!” Athenamon flipped in the air, dodging the putrid green goo that flew at them. Duodramon growled angrily. “Acid Strike! Acid Flail! Acid Strike!” Duodramon threw attacks left and right.

With the grace of an acrobat, Athenamon evaded the blows. But Duodramon shot out his clawed hand and struck her just as she was dodging a strike from his second, snake-like head. With Alex and Nerimon clinging to her back desperately, she plummeted out of the air and hit the ground hard. Unconscious as she struck the dirt, the feline de-digivolved back to Magimon. Duodramon circled the three of them, licking his chops. His eyes focused on the human.

Alex had looked up and noticed the large evil Digimon circling them, claws and fangs bared. He leaned against his arms that held him up from the ground. Shaking a bit from the shock of the fall, he tried to think of a way to save him and the two Digimon. Just then, Alex noticed the gleam of Magimon’s tail ring as she woke and propped herself up. In that instant, an idea struck him. "Magimon, can I see your tail ring?" he asked quickly.

Magimon blinked at him, then realized what he was planning. She quickly pulled it off and handed her tail ring over to Alex. He had remembered a while back, when Magimon was explaining how it gave her the power and strength to digivolve further, so he thought that it just might work with his Digimon too. It was a long shot, but it was their only option left.

Just as Duodramon’s snake head reared back to spit a glob of acid down on them, Alex placed the ring on the tip of Nerimon’s thick tail. The dazed and weak Digimon suddenly began to glow brightly, beams of light shooting all around him and past all the others. A voice came out from the light and signified that he was evolving.

“Nerimon digivolve to . . . Nedikismon!” The light shifted somehow and had then grew even brighter. “Nedikismon digivolve to . . . Altormon!” With that the light dropped and a giant dinosaur type Digimon stood before them. He looked similar to Nedikismon, but his hands were encased in thick metal gloves, with mechanical wires running up his arms. His face was frightening, but somehow reliable too. He stood before Alex and Magimon, ready and prepared to protect them.

Duodramon welcomed the fight, his teeth brightly showing out as his mane went up with excitement. "Bring it on!" he said to the Ultimate.

“Burning Punch!” Altormon began his attack, using brute strength as his gloves became encased in flames.

Doudramon howled in pain as the gloves struck his body. “Acid Strike!” He hurled his own attack, but Altormon shrugged it off as if it were a mere annoyance. The fight continued this way, and quickly Duodramon felt himself running out of energy. He couldn’t understand how this Ultimate Digimon could be defeating him, since these Digimon relied on the weak humans as their source of power. However, his pride was more valuable to him, so he tried harder to defeat the Ultimate Digimon. With a roar he lunged forward and delivered his attack combo, “Acid Strike! Acid Flail! Acid Strike!”

Magimon noticed Doudramon’s new strength, which was beginning to push Altormon back. She looked around for something that could help Altormon win. Fortunately, fate was on her side and she noticed something in the woods close to them. A briar patch!

She raced past the two battling beasts and toward the patch of thorns, waving her paws in the air as she ran. She was behind Duodramon now, and he couldn’t see her. But Altormon could. His sharp eyes saw the little Champion Digimon, and she was running toward. . . !

With a roar Altormon suddenly rammed his gigantic head up against Duodramon's body, clamping onto his shoulders with his metal-gloved claws. His thick legs dug in the dirt as he churned the soil, pushing until Duodramon slid backward. He ignored the evil Digimon’s raged growls, and the snake head’s infuriated hissing and the acid it threw on him. With a lash of his long red tail, Altormon shoved with all his might. Magimon dived out of the way as Duodramon stumbled backward, directly into the briar of thorns.

Doudramon howled in pain as the thorns stuck all over his body. As he struggled to get out, he only pulled himself deeper and deeper until he is totally trapped in the thorns. He was very much alive, unfortunately, but Altormon didn’t attack again. He only wanted the thorns to hold the evil Digimon long enough for him to gather the other Digimon and their human partners, and quickly get out of the area.

* * *

Later, after the entire group had been carried out of sight, almost completely over the range of hills, Altormon di-digivolved back into Nerimon and made sure Magimon’s tail ring was safely back where it belonged. “Thanks for the loan,” he chuckled.

“Anytime,” she giggled at the dino, who looked tired but elated to have saved the day once again.

“I knew you could do it, buddy.” Alex hugged his friend. “Your Ultimate form is totally awesome!”

Jenn also had kind words of praise for Nerimon and Alex. “What you two did was pretty foolish, but it was really brave too. We saw you were fighting, and we wanted to help, but we knew we would be useless in that fight. I couldn’t let anyone get killed or seriously hurt, though we all wanted to join in your battle. . . .”

“We couldn’t figure out HOW you digivolved, Neri!” Foximon added. “If we could have digivolved too, we would have helped fight!”

“It was all thanks to Magimon this time,” the red Rookie said modestly.

“It was all three of you,” Jenn said firmly.

Alex grinned. Relaxing a bit from the warmth of his friends he looked to his partner and smiled, knowing that they have just gotten closer to completing their adventure.

“Let’s get going!” Lexxy said happily. “This trail we’re on leads right to Secondary Village!”

Everyone groaned. “Not all of us like hiking, Lexxy,” grumbled Tania.

“But all of us like the meals that will be waiting for us there,” the black-haired girl pointed out.

She had a point. The group of Digidestined and Digimon began walking once again, hurrying down the trail to Secondary Village.