Neo Digimon:
Digital War

Episode 25 - Adrift

Chibi-Koushiro walks up. "Hi," he waves. "This series is NOT FOR KIDS. It is rated R for a reason. It was not arbitrarily assigned. If you are under 18 years old, and your parents won't let you see a rated R movie-- then you should NOT be reading this either."

Chibi-Koushiro coughed. "Anyway. The characters are properties of Toei Animation Inc., Akiyoshi Hongo and others. They are used without consent. Archive is only borrowing them for an indefinite amount of time.

"Strict Japanese spelling for all names when possible. If an English name for a digimon or his attack is used and you know what the name is supposed to be in Japanese-- please tell Archive so it can be corrected."

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"A few short months ago, nine kids on a school trip to Tokyo Tower got sucked into another dimension like we were all part of some whacked out anime. The elder half of us were immediately greeted by strange creatures called digimon, who said they were our partners and that they would gain strength from us. And get stronger they did by evolving into much stronger and bigger, but also temporary, forms," Taichi recalled.

"With some guidance from a strange old man named Gennai, we went in search of Digimentals. With the exception of my sister, Hikari, these egg-shaped items gave the younger members of our rag tag group their digimon and an alternate adult evolution called an armor form. Daisuke not only managed to get two digimon during the search, but was chosen to be our leader.

"Once we had obtained all the digimentals and digimon we could, we turned our focus to fighting the evil ruler of File Island, Devimon. We battled against his dark minions and even managed to beat his Perfection level general, Panjyamon. That victory was short lived as Devimon appeared in his more powerful and evolved form of Skull Satamon.

"I was seriously wounded in that final battle against Skull Satamon. In retaliation, Daisuke managed to join his two digimon together in jogress evolution to Paildramon and combined his attacks with the rest of the team and defeated the evil fucker once and for all.

"We didn't get much chance to recuperate from our injuries before Gennai contacted us again to let us know about our next mission: to acquire the eight crests. We quickly found the Crest of Courage and an even more powerful dark lord, King Etemon.

"Trying to escape from the mockery of the monkey king, we fled into the desert. There we found another crest and a lot more trouble. But that trouble netted us a ship that could cruise on the desert sands. We began to feel that no matter what the threat was, that even if we failed, we would survive it.

"In our attempt to grab the third crest, we walked right into a trap. We found ourselves inside an arena and we were the main event. Four evil Perfection digimon against us, and we were losing... badly. After Koushiro lost his lower legs, Daisuke called out a challenge to King Etemon to fight an honor duel, one-on-one. King Etemon personally accepted it. While Daisuke and Paildramon fought that bastard, the rest of us escaped." Taichi's voice quivered. "It must have been a spectacular battle. An enormous dragon appeared that had to be the evolved form of Paildramon... but... that digimon's wail. A sound of such horrid loss that confirmed what we suspected when Daisuke's digimentals appeared on Hikari's and Takeru's D-Terminals just a moment before. We knew then that Daisuke had died. All we could do was watch in the growing distance as the dragon savagely battled... and lost."

Taichi sobbed. "This is no longer a game. We can't deny the proof. We are at war and we can die. What are we supposed to do now?"

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Yamato peeked into the ship's infirmary and saw Mimi fretting around, looking for something to do while Miyako had knelt next to Koushiro's bed and held his hand while he slept. Ishida asked, "How's the patient?"

Mimi's face seemed to have a frown permanently etched on it. "He still hasn't woken up." She sighed. "We really aren't human now."

Yamato blinked. "What do you mean?"

Mimi pointed at the comatose boy. "His legs just... end. It kind of looks like they were amputated just above the knees years ago, not crushed today."

Yamato shook his head. "Unfortunately we can be deleted just like any of those digimon we've fought."

"I guess so," Mimi replied. "Has Daisuke made it back yet?"

Yamato hung his head. "He's not coming back."

Mimi blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Daisuke's dead," Yamato replied.

"What?!" chorused Mimi and Miyako.

Yamato closed his eyes. "We were all at the back of the ship waiting for signs that Daisuke was returning... or King Etemon coming after us. Suddenly Daisuke's digimentals appeared on Hikari's and Takeru's D-terminals and an enormous dragon appeared at the arena. The dragon had to be Paildramon evolved. We could see him laying waste to the arena and hear him howling in anger and sadness. Then we saw him delete. He must've hurt King Etemon as there are no signs of pursuit yet."

Mimi grabbed Yamato's shirt. "We have to go back and get Daisuke. He's probably just hurt. He can't be dead."

Yamato grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her hands off his shirt. "Mimi, we saw the battle. There is nothing left of the arena. Takeru and Hikari have inherited his digimentals. We heard the dragon's wail. There is nothing for us to find there. Probably not even his body. He's dead."

Mimi collapsed to the floor in tears. She may not have liked the perverted jerk, but she never wanted to see him dead. He was younger than she was. He had so much to live for. He couldn't possibly dead. Especially not that way. It just wasn't right.

Yamato turned away and walked off.

Miyako clenched Koushiro's hand tighter. "Don't you leave me, Koushiro."

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Takeru was still at the back of the ship, fighting the urge to return to the arena to search for his best friend. The new digimental on his D-Terminal said all he needed to know, yet some part of him wanted more proof.

Patamon landed on the boy's head. "I'm sorry, Takeru."

"It's not your fault," Takeru replied. "He died saving us. Too bad he never got his wish."

"Wish?" Patamon asked.

Takeru let out a hollow laugh. "Yeah. To not die a virgin."

"Oh." Patamon then looked confused. "What's a virgin?"

Takeru smirked. "A virgin is someone who hasn't mated before."

"Ah!" Patamon replied. "He certainly tried."

"Yep. In all the wrong ways." Takeru sighed. "Goodbye, my friend. I hope I don't see you any time soon."

Hikari gave the pair a sad smile. At least she had granted Daisuke his wish. But she couldn't believe it. He just couldn't be dead. She loved him so much and now he was just gone. Erased from her future by proving once and for all what she had always known, that he was a true hero. He died protecting them. She would always love and remember him. There could be no one else for her but her beloved Daisuke.

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"Ding dong, the king is dead! The wicked king! The stupid king!" merrily sang a group of Gazimon as they danced cheerfully around a large computer room.

Suddenly the largest monitor sprang to life. The Gazimon stopped their celebrating and stared in shock at the sight of their king, covered in shadows. "Where are the Chosen?!" demanded the monkey lord.

The Gazimon immediately stopped what they were doing and scrambled to various computer terminals. The their jovial sounds from momments before were now replaced by those of the frantic typing of keys.

"My king, the Chosen are on the cruise ship headed for the Rocky Sea," one Gazimon reported.

The shadow nodded. "Good. See that they get a rocky reception when they arrive there." The screen went blank.

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"Pico Devimon, report," demanded the dark shadow of Vamdemon.

"King Etemon has succeeded in killing on of the Chosen," the demonic bowling ball with wings replied.

"Which one?" Vamdemon growled.

"Their leader. Daisuke, I believe his name was," Pico Devimon replied.

"Good. He was of no concern to me." Vamdemon paused. "How is the Child of Light?"

"She has begun to remember her nightmares," Pico Devimon answered.

The shadow of Vamdemon loomed closer to the little devil. "Return to the castle."

Pico Devimon nodded as the shadow faded.

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"Well, aren't you a sorry-looking fellow," commented a pink furry ball with wings a minature spear in his hands.

Taichi glanced at the diminutive digimon. "Don't tell me you're one of King Etemon's minions? Doubt he'd use someone so cute."

"Wrong! I'm here to help you! I'm Piccolomon, at your service," the pink digimon told the boy cheerfully.

"Know how to bring back the dead?" Taichi groused.

Piccolomon was taken aback by that. "One of your digimon should just be reborn shortly after dying."

"But what about us humans?" Taichi pressed.

"One of you has died?!" Piccolomon cried out in shock. "How in the two worlds did THAT happen?!"

"He fought King Etemon so we could escape to safety." Taichi sighed. "He was a true leader. Something I'll never be."

Piccolomon laughed. "You never know what you're capable of until you try. But first things, first. You'll need to change course."

"Why? We need the Crest of Hope," Taichi retorted.

"I'm sure you do. But I'm also sure you don't want to run straight into that lousy monkey's army, who are waiting for you. Not to mention I know where the Well of Wisdom lies which holds the Crests of Friendship and Knowledge," Piccolomon retorted.

"How do I know you're not leading us into a trap?" Taichi questioned.

"It's up to you if you wish to heed my advice. Ask the other Chosen their thoughts on the matter. Put it to a vote. The choice is yours," Piccolomon returned. "Besides, I wouldn't need to set up a trap if I wanted you all dead. Bit Bomb." A small winged ball appeared in his hands, and he casually pitched at a few cacti in the path of the ship. With a thundering boom, the cacti and a previously unseen rock were obliterated.

"Damn." Taichi stared at the damge from that one small attack. "I'll get the others...."

Piccolomon smiled. "You do that."

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A Gazimon rubbed his paws together while chuckling viciously. "Oh, what a warm welcome those children will have. The carnage. The chaos. The-"

"The Chosen started to change course and then we lost them," another Gazimon commented, looking over a computer monitor.

"WHAT?! They can't run away from my magnificent slaughter! I drew every digimon to this area just to butcher those brats! They can't do this!" the first Gazimon ranted.

"Well, they did." The second Gazimon shrugged. "What are you going to tell the King?"

The first Gazimon folded his arms. "_I_ am not going to tell him anything. You are." He then walked off, ignoring the other Gazimon's stuttering protests.

_________________

Upon the ruined grounds of a once great arena laid a seemingly dead young boy and two large eggs. A shadow appeared over them.

"Such a waste," the Digimon Kaiser commented before laughing maniacally.

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Author's Notes:

I had meant to get more into Piccolomon's home. Hence why the earlier reference for this chapter was called 'Safe Ground.' However, if I were to continue into that here, this chapter would at least double in length.

Coming Next:
Episode 26 - Recovery
Safely inside Piccolomon's domain, the Chosen learn more about their mission and deal with their loss.

Omake! Omake! Omake! Omake! Omake! Omake! Omake! Omake! Omake!

A lone figure sat upon a throne. Massive armor completely covered every inch of him, save the black void that would be his face. "Hello, I'm Lord Archive. This special installment continues the Neo Digimon Omake series that has the Digimon casts looking at the fanfiction their show has generated.

"Despite the long break since Neo Digimon 23, the Adventures crew are still not done reading all the ficts devoted to their season."

"Fict sign! Oh, here's a gem, it's a lemon fict," Taichi called out.

"Oh, great. Who do I have sex with in that one?" Hikari questioned rhetorically.

Taichi flipped through the fict. "I think it's better to ask who you do NOT fuck. What the hell is it with people writing about me screwing you?"

Hikari sighed. "I don't want to know."

"Ahem." Lord Archive cleared his throat. "It's time for the Tamers to relate their thoughts on their fandom."

Ruki (Rika) looked ready to kill. "I AM NOT A WHINING LITTLE CRY BABY! Have you ONCE, even ONCE seen me shed one fucking tear? NO! I don't fucking cry, you morons! I certainly wouldn't cry over a 'scrapped knee!' I'm not some damsel in distress." The redhead grabbed a brown-haired girl. "Juri is! If you want Takato or whoever playing shining knight to the fucking rescue, SHE is the one to play that stupid part. NOT ME!"

Juri (Jeri) giggled nervously. "Why do I keep getting paired off with Jenrya? Why do we get paired off at all? Especially in the ficts where we're still ten."

Lord Archive tried to whistle innocently, but failed. Miserably.

Jenrya (Henry) shrugged, ignoring Archive. "I have no clue. We barely talked. I guess if they want to pair up Takato and Ruki, they thought it'd be nice to give you somebody to be with. No clue why they want to pair us all off, either."

Ruki glared daggers. "That's another thing! Where do you idiots get any idea that I even like that wimp? Oh, sure Takato got stronger as a fighter, but he's still a doormat personality wise. I'd walk all over him and he'd just take it. I'd want someone who can challenge me. Takato needs to grow up a LOT first before he'd fit that bill."

"Would I be that challenge?" Ryo questioned.

"As if," Ruki scoffed.

Ryo shrugged. "Now I know the American audience isn't privy to even half of my background story covered in the Japanese Wonderswan games. But would it hurt to at least do a LITTLE research on the subject? You know, learn about the minor things like that I'm originally from Adventures world and that I'm the guy with Ken in his flashback scenes where he remembered his first trip to the Digital World, I just don't remember any of that because of amnesia. Or that the uncontrollable nature of Cyber Dramon stems from the fact he's half Milleniumon, who in turn is half the dark master Mugen Dramon."

"WHAT'S WITH THE JURI BASHING!" Takato howled. "Just because she can't recover from her digimon dying in a few DAYS and gets mentally raped by the D-Reaper, you deem her to be a weak little brat?! She's STRONG! Stronger than any of you! If you went through half the shit she did at the end of Tamers, you would've killed yourself.

"And Ruki might be pretty," Takato added, then stared to sweat as Ruki glared at him for calling her that. "But she's a friend. That's it! Why does just about every 'Rukato' fict ignore the fact that I told Juri that I love her IN SERIES!?"

Juri blushed. "You did?!"

"Well, to that agent clone of you," Jenrya corrected in a whisper.

"I'm not saying something couldn't happen IN THE FUTURE," Takato continued. "Just, jeez, Juri is my first love. My feelings for her will never just 'go away.' Even if things don't work out, I'll always remember her. Ignoring that is just plain insulting to me, that I'd be so fickle to drop her cold as if she never meant a damn thing to me."

"Why aren't we involved in this?" Hirokazu stormed in. "We're important characters too!"

"RIGHT!" agreed Kenta and Shuichon.

"And what about the digimon? Shouldn't they have a say?" Hirokazu pressed.

Renamon appeared. "Terriermon got bored. Impmon stared setting fire to the ficts. Guilmon tried eating them. And I'm still trying to figure out how I'm supposed to mate with all of them and Jenrya."

Lord Archive raised his hand. "I could explain it to you."

"No." Renamon glared angry death, figuring he meant that as a rather _physical_ explaination.

"Anyway..." Hirokazu sweat-dropped. "We should be in this discussion!"

"Why? You're barely in any ficts worth note," Ruki retorted.

"That's my point!" Hirokazu returned. "Either I'm some selfish jerk or I'm not there at all! That isn't right!"

"Go ahead and rant all you want," Lord Archive intoned.

"Thank you," Hirokazu grinned. "First, I'd-"

Lord Archive has turned off the omake.