THE MYSTIC KNIGHT

By

Gregory P. Wong

It has been three years since Hypnos, the Monster Makers, the Tamers, and their Digimon banished the malevolent, nihilistic electronic entity known as the D-Reaper back into a dark core of the Digital World, neutralized and a threat to no one.

The Tamers have been reunited with their Digimon, and have overcome their most recent adversary, the Parismon Invasion Swarm. They are continuing their lives, happy to be together once more.

The Digital World has been slowly recovering from the decimation caused by the D-Reaper. The Digimon Sovereigns, Azulongmon, Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon, and Ebonwumon, exhausted from their battle with the D-Reaper, had entered a state of hibernation. It is not known when they will emerge from their slumber.

Before they entered their sleep, the Four created and charged the Celestials, Royal Knights, Great Dragons, and Digiworld Wardens to safeguard the Digital World.

The Royal Knights, led by Alphamon King Dragon, count among their number Omnimon, Gallantmon, Magnamon, UlforceVeedramon, Dynasmon, Crusadermon, Kentarosmon, and Craniummon. Alphamon still awaits the day when he can complete the circle of Thirteen Royal Knights.

However, something has been moving in the shadows. Something that bears a terrible hunger, a terrifying thirst for vengeance.

It is only a matter of time.

Dynasmon yawned and rubbed his eyes. And then his right shoulder. Sovereigns, it ached as if a battalion of Magnamon's Raidramon had just galloped all over his body. When he wasn't in his armor. And the Raidramon were in a hurry. While wearing lead shoes. With spikes. Ugh.

He tossed the bed covers from his body and stalked over to his jagged, grayish armor, which was mounted on a rack, and began to snap it on over his muscular, jet-black body. Snug yet comfortable, like any decent armor should be. It was a good feel

Almost. His right shoulder felt like it wanted to detach from his body, crawl into a dark corner, curl up, and die. He'd have to thank Crusadermon for that.

Hmm, it had been a rather good sparring bout yesterday. Crusadermon, of course, was rather unspectacular in the brute strength area—for a Royal Knight, that is—but she was blisteringly fast. While, perhaps, the other knight couldn't attain the sheer speed of Magnamon or UlforceVeedramon, Crusadermon could turn on a dime and fly rings around anyone else. In addition, the female knight's skill with those ribbon-blades was excellent to the point that victims—or sparring partners—saw little else but golden blurs.

He, on the other hand, was at best mediocre in terms of speed and agility. By that same token, though, he was—in terms of pure physical strength—the strongest of the nine Royal Knights. Granted, he was not the most powerful of the nine Royal Knights—those positions were held by Lord Alphamon, Omnimon, and Gallantmon—but he could throw some very nasty physical strikes. His magic-based attacks, like Dragon Thrower, DNA Disintegrator, or the awesome Breath of Wyvern, were not insubstantial, either.

He was still getting acclimated to his new attack, Dragon's Gust. It was a magic-augmented physical attack that was completely different from any of his other attacks, so he had nothing to "practice" with.

Oh, why the understatement? He was trying to get used to his new body.

It had been, what? A bare two weeks ago when Lord Alphamon had bestowed one of the rare X-Antibodies on him. The programs, which has somehow spontaneously formed during the D-Reaper's awakening and massacre, not only made a Digimon more resistant to its death-touch, but also made a Digimon stronger, fitter. When he'd absorbed that little glowing orb, he hadn't taken to it as well as, say, Magnamon or UlforceVeedramon, so he'd had a constant headache for two days straight. That had not been fun, but he'd endured. After all, the end results were entirely satisfactory. He was stronger, faster, and... larger. He'd always been on the large side of the Thirteen, but now he was veritably huge. Well, exaggeration, but not by much. He was nearly nine feet tall, and very broad proportionally, which was very broad, period. The next tallest Knight, Omnimon, was half a foot shorter than him, with the others around seven to eight feet in height.

It was very odd to have to look down at the others, especially Lord Alphamon.

Being the first to be chosen by Imperialdramon Paladin Mode—a herald of the Four Sovereigns, who had to hibernate after their efforts to banish the D-Reaper—Alphamon was the leader of the Royal Knights, and most senior. Gallantmon and Omnimon—both of whom also had X-Antibodies—were technically the same rank as every other knight, save Alphamon, but the others, himself included, paid the other two special respect. For their credit, Gallantmon—who was a different individual from Guilmon-evolved Gallantmon of Takato Matsuki—and Omnimon took the esteem nonchalantly.

He finished placing the lower-body armor—the greaves, fauld and armored boots—and started on his upper body.

Just like getting used to a newer body an new attacks, the armor was... different. The lower fauld went just to his stomach, and the cuirass—chest armor—went down just below his pectorals. Effectively, his body armor came in two parts, upper and lower, which was far different from his old armor, which practically had covered his entire body. To make matters... well, not worse, but different, the fauld and cuirass were connected together on the back via a flexible, hinged stalk, no thicker than his forearm, that glowed with the eerie blue light of the X-Antibody. He took hold of the upper portion of his armor and settled it over his chest. This new configuration left a good portion of his torso uncovered, but oh well.

Finally, he snapped on his pauldrons, vambraces, and clawed, jeweled gauntlets.

Then, of course the horned helmet. It too was... different. It looked like a Sovereigns-damned demon face rather than his old dragonish one! At least he didn't have to look at it all the time, since it was on his face. He might get used to it. Crusadermon had given him some grief over it, but that was a while back, and the female knight actually seemed to like it.

Now, time to "finish" the armor. He opened his mind and allowed his magic energies to flow. The gems on the armor powered on, glowing the same eerie blue of the X-Antibody. The main gem suspended over his torso glowed bright, and after a... shimmer, his exposed flesh went transparent. Now it appeared as if his body was no more than that stalk on his back.

Ugh, Magnadramon and Crusadermon had really not liked that at first. He showed that his body wasn't really as thick as a tree branch, but it still took them a moment to get used to.

Well, that done, he had better get on with his duties. He tapped the wooden door of his personal chamber. It burst into pixilated data and oozed away. He stepped through and looked back; as usual, the door reformed and again looked like a thick oak door.

Well, this might be a "castle", but it was as advanced as anything else used by the forces aligned with the Sovereigns. He traveled to his main chamber.

Oh? Outside the main doors was his second-in-command, a Mystimon.

"My lord?" The Mystimon, Shar'las asked. "We have a visitor."

"Ah?"

He watched his regent grin ever so slightly. "Lady Crusadermon arrived half an hour ago, sir. She requested to see you."

He cocked an eyebrow, even though under his armor his regent wouldn't see it. "Why didn't you awaken me?"

"Lady Crusadermon said not to, my lord. Her exact words were 'the poor knight needs to rest those bruises.' It was a short time before you normally awaken, so I decided not to inform you. It seemed a good idea at the time, sir."

He chuckled. "Very well. Inform Lady Crusadermon that I will meet her at the southern battlements."

Shar'las gave a bow. "Yes, sir."

He gave a slight bow back, and walked to an exterior entrance where he could wait.

Dynasmon liked to come outside to the battlements every other morning or so, especially during this season. The sun was very nice today. It was mid-spring, and the wind was light, the sun warm, the light bamboo thickets green, and—

"Ah, hello, dearie," he heard a deep, throaty soprano come from above.

He grinned. "Hello Crusadermon. How are you today?"

The female knight landed beside him. "Very good, very good. I do hope you're still not sore from yesterday? Your regent was going to wake you, but I asked him not to."

Something seemed strange. Crusadermon sounded cheerful, yes, but it seemed... strained, somehow. "He told me. All told, I feel fine, except for my right shoulder. It's still aching a bit."

Crusadermon gave a light laugh that sounded... what? Nervous? "That's where I managed to land a Fist of Athena, yes?"

He chucked. "Yes, definitely. I'm not going to forget getting hit by that."

While Crusadermon's fighting didn't revolve around brute strength, Fist of Athena hurt if it landed, even with his chrome Digizoid armor protecting him.

Still, the fight wasn't nearly as one-sided as the other knight was implying.

"But enough about me," he said, grinning behind his mask. "I do remember after you punched me, I punched you with a well-aimed Dragon's Gust."

He watched Crusadermon shift a bit, so he could see that the other knight was jokingly indignant. Yet, something was wrong...

The female Digimon snorted. "Hah, hardly. A bare brush on my right arm."

"For a 'bare brush', you seem to be favoring it today."

"Because a brush from you bloody hurts."

Laughter. It died away quickly, though.

What was on Crusadermon's mind? While it wasn't unusual for them to visit each other and talk, Crusadermon didn't seem so distracted when she did. She was a very sociable Digimon, and this was a very... limited for her.

"Crusadermon... what is it?" he asked quietly.

The other knight looked at him.

"Dynasmon... we..." he saw Crusadermon look away. "It's Magnadramon."

Ice in veins. "What!?"

"Magnadramon was patrolling the borders of Kentarosmon's area, and... she never reported back to her own keep."

He had to... he had to get there now. He moved. But a hand had gripping his upper arm.

"Dynasmon, wait. Kentarosmon thought you should know. He asked that we meet up with him at his stronghold. Alphamon and Omnimon have been alerted as well, and will meet us there."

Why would he care? He needed to get there... now!

"Regent!" he bellowed. The Mystimon was there in under ten seconds.

"Yes, my—"

"You have command!" he snapped, and took the skies, heading northwest, to Kentarosmon's domain.

"Dynasmon, I am not sure what happened," Dynasmon heard Kentarosmon try to say to him. He was honestly too distracted to fully pick everything out. "My own scouts had finished sweeps of the areas, and up to my borders we were sure nothing hostile was there."

After the fall of the D-Reaper, the numbers of dark-aligned Digimon had inexplicably begun to steadily climb upward. The Wardens, Knights, Dragons, and Celestials had been formed to combat them, and there had yet to be any major battle.

But dammit...

"Where was she last seen?" he asked the centaroid knight tersely.

"Dynasmon, I already said, the far north, near the glacial areas. However, the patrols—"

He stopped listening. He had to find Magnadramon, damnation!

He'd met Magnadramon, then a Gatomon X, when he'd been wandering the land, as a Wizardmon. His personality was very much like her own, so they'd... bonded quickly. After he'd been selected to become a Knight, and she had been chosen to become a Dragon, they'd kept the romance alive. May the Sovereigns save anyone who might have hurt her, because no one else would be able to...

He moved past Kentarosmon and Crusadermon, towards the door that led out of the Kentarosmon's main chamber.

But it dissolved into data as it "opened". In trotted one of Kentarosmon's Reppamon scouts.

"Sir!" the Champion barked.

"Yes, what is it?" he heard Kentarosmon calmly ask the scout. Ugh. Calm. Calm! He was not calm right now, Dark Ocean!

"Lord Dorugoramon is en route to our castle, sir, but will not arrive for several hours. Also, Lords Alphamon and Omnimon have arrived."

"Have they been advised on the situation?"

"Sir, Regent Reskonto met them in the air and briefed them. They are coming to the chamber to speak and coordinate with you."

"Very good. If they are there, show them in."

Yes, sir," the Reppamon replied. The beast gave a bow and left.

"I don't have time for this," he growled after the door had closed. "I need to go now."

"Dynasmon, please," he heard Crusadermon say softly. "Bulling headlong into the wilderness will help no one, including her."

Yes, Crusadermon's words had some wisdom to them. But...

He heard the door dissolve/open behind him. He turned around. Ah, there were Lord Alphamon and Omnimon, escorted by whom he assumed to be Kentarosmon's regent, Reskonto.

He gave a slight bow. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Kentarosmon and Crusadermon had done the same. Alphamon gave nod back and they all straightened.

"Kentarosmon, any new developments?"

"Reskonto?" Kentarosmon said to the regent.

"None, Lord Alphamon," the Chirin said. "I have my scout squadrons combing the area where Lady Magnadramon was last reported to have been, but we have found no traces of her or her escorts."

He hissed a curse under his breath. Dark Ocean, would they stop talking and do something!?

"Why not dispatch some of the garrison forces to look?" he heard Crusadermon say from beside him. "And, is Dorugoramon coming with search parties?"

He saw the Ultimate look at his friend. "Yes, ma'am, Lord Dorugoramon is coming with a fully company, but it would be unwise to dispatch any more of the castle's garrison. In addition, a blizzard is going to roll in approximately two hours from now, and we will have to recall the searchers"

What? "Why?" he snapped at Kentarosmon's regent. "If she has been injured, the blizzard could seriously harm her, not to mention what might have hurt—"

"We have no indication that she was brought down by any hostile action, Dynasmon," he heard Omnimon say tersely.

"But why else would she fail to return to her keep?" he asked.

"I do not know. But Kentarosmon's scouts reported no hostile forces, so odds are that whatever happened was an accident."

"What difference does it make?" he huffed angrily. Damnation, he wasn't normally like this, but... argh. "Enemy action or an accident, we have to find her before that blizzard blows in!"

"And we do that... how?" he heard Omnimon grunt. "This is not my castle," he watched Omnimon give a respectful nod to Kentarosmon, "but I would advise against sending anyone else out."

"Why?" he ground out.

"Because it would leave this castle vulnerable. If it was enemy action, the enemy would try to lead us away with a useful distraction, wouldn't they?"

"She is not a 'distraction', Omnimon," he hissed.

The Unified Knight just stared back into his eyes. "I would see why you feel this way, Dynasmon. Perhaps that is why you shouldn't be making decisions on this matter."

By the Sovereigns... "Omnimon, she—"

"She will have to wait," Omnimon snapped. "No one individual, no matter their status, meaning myself, you, Kentarosmon, or even Magnadramon, are more valuable than the strategic advantages of a keep. Damnation, Dynasmon, she simply is not important enough to—"

He'd stopped listening, and Omnimon had stopped talking.

Since he had just reached out and latched a gauntleted hand around Omnimon's cybernetic throat and lifted him into the air.

Everyone in the main room froze as Dynasmon lifted Omnimon from the floor by the other knight's throat. Dynasmon's right fist was cocked back, ready to launch a powerful, murderous blow into Omnimon's face.

Hot fury burned in the larger knight's eyes, so unlike his usual self. Once a Wizardmon, he was polite, compassionate, and slow to anger. As Dynasmon, it was fortunate that his own substantial power was kept in check by a personality that was as kindly and calm as his.

But when the fury breeched the dam of his self-control...

Rage burned through his mind, but not a murderous rage. It was a rage born of fear, fear for someone whom he loved. And that, indeed, could be the type of fury that could do the most harm.

In the space of a time that felt like minutes, but was only a few seconds, Dynasmon's anger began to ebb from his system. He looked around him.

Crusadermon was shocked, but amid the alarm, she understood the pain her friend was going through right now. While she had yet to find someone she could consider a true love, she knew what it was like to have the life of someone you cherished threatened.

Kentarosmon and Regent Reskonto, too, were stunned. Kentarosmon was unsure of what to do, of whether to talk Dynasmon down or to tackle his fellow knight. The Qilinmon, on the other hand, was frozen. This was out of his league, so he trusted his commander and lord to make a decision for him.

Alphamon was surprised, but he carefully kept any emotions from Dynasmon. This was a very... delicate situation.

Dynasmon saw the others frozen around him and turned his gaze back to Omnimon.

Omnimon was very powerful, even by Royal Knight standards, and Dynasmon had no doubt that despite that if he landed a blow it would seriously injure Omnimon. He was also equally sure that Omnimon would not allow another blow to be landed.

But Omnimon had down nothing. The other knight, except for reflexively grabbing onto the arm holding his throat with the mouth-clasp of his Garurumon arm, did nothing to defend himself. Neither the rune-embellished Transcendent Sword nor the powerful Supreme Cannon had been deployed.

Horror began to replace Dynasmon's rage. Omnimon had chosen to do nothing, despite the fact that he could cause grievous harm with even the single punch he could land.

In Omnimon's eyes, he saw no anger. Wariness, yes, but nothing that suggested that Omnimon was enraged as he was.

While Dynasmon was the strongest of the knights, his margin of superiority over Omnimon was slight. Couple that with Omnimon's own speed and fighting skill... It meant Omnimon had let him do that this easily.

Damnation, what was he doing!? Attempting to strike another knight was not helping anyone, least of all Magnadramon. And Dark Ocean take him if he was going to do this simply because Omnimon was being practical.

Horrified, Dyasmon uncurled his fist, and then gently lowered his fellow knight to the floor.

He collapsed to one knee, head bowed.

"Lord Omnimon," Dynasmon choked. "I... I cry your pardon."

What in Dark Ocean had he done? Sovereigns, his anger had never gotten that out of control before!

Sovereigns, Sovereigns, Sovereigns...

"Lord Omnimon," he said, more strongly this time, "I have threatened serious harm upon you without reason. I cry your pardon."

He felt a heavy object lightly clamp his shoulder.

"Rise, Lord Dynasmon. It is forgiven."

He rose to his feet. It was hard, but he met Omnimon's eyes.

And then... What?

Omnimon had dropped to one knee, head also bowed.

"Lord Dyasmon," Omnimon said clearly, "I cry your pardon."

Wha... "For what?" he stammered.

"I am not known for my... tact, and even less so for my consideration in personal matters. I can only imagine the pain you are going through right now, with the doubt and fear. I should not have spoken of Lady Magnadramon in such a senseless fashion, nor should I consider someone a strategic object. I cry your pardon.

"I... It's..." He mentally shook himself. He placed a hand on Omnimon's shoulder. "Lord Omnimon, rise, it is forgiven.

He watched the other knight rise, and he stared into the cybernetic knight's eyes for a few moments.

"All is taken care of, then," he heard Lord Alphamon say softly.

His eyes widened. He'd forgotten that—

"Dynasmon, it is between you and Omnimon, and you and Omnimon only."

Was it really? He just nodded.

"Now, Kentarosmon," Alphamon said to the beast knight, "how many more can we spare to search?"

A pair of half-shut eyes stared as Kentarosmon's castle began to dispatch flights of Reppamon and Chirinmon.

Good, the bait had been taken.

With a sleepy growl, the owner of those eyes barked orders to his subordinates.

"Lord Dynasmon!" one of the Chirinmon officers called out to him via his communicator in his helmet.

"Yes?"

"Sir, take a look!"

He nodded. He still felt... guilty about what he'd almost done, not to mentioned disgusted at how it might it have turned out. Crusadermon, who was helping him search, was carefully avoiding the subject.

He flew to where the Chirinmon was hovering amid the swirling, falling snow.

"Lord Dynasmon, I detected... something there," the beast said, pointing with a horn towards a large land-locked glacier. "It resembles Lady Magnadramon's distinct data signature. The trouble is that it appears to be under the ice."

Hope. Maybe...? "Can we dig quickly?"

"It's only ice, sir, but it's thick. I would say no less than three hundred feet thick at the thinnest section, plus it's been compacted by the weight of other ice over the centuries, so it's hard, as well. And we haven't found an entrance in."

Humph. As if ice could stop him.

"Dynasmon and I will begun excavating," he heard Crusadermon say. "Get the others here."

"Ma'am," the Ultimate rapped out, and glided off.

"Something's not right," he said softly. "That's three hundred feet under ice. We have to be careful when we—"

Suddenly he heard the thundering bellow of dozens of Chirinmon and Reppamon sounding battle cries.

"Contact!" he heard the voice of Kentarosmon bellow out of his communicator. "We have unknown numbers of Astamon, SkullBarukimon, and Devidramon attempting to force their ways into the castle! All scout patrols, fall back!"

"Oh, bollocks!" he heard Crusadermon snarl. He looked at her. Magnadramon was down there, he was sure of it. But it was his... insistence that had weakened the garrison. Damn! He turned towards the castle.

Eh? A hand had just taken a hold of his wrist. Crusadermon?

"No, I'll go. Between myself, Kentarosmon, Omnimon, Lord Alphamon, and the forces that Dorugoramon is bringing, we'll hold. Rescue her."

And then his friend turned in midair and darted off towards Kentarosmon's keep.

He mentally thanked her. Friends were such a valuable gift...

But there was something else to worry about. Hmm... Three hundred feet of solid ice. Eh, this was going to sting.

The object that was hurtling from the sky was a grayish bolt of jagged armor and glowing crystals.

Having begun the dive from four thousand feet up or so, the plummeting being was moving very, very fast.

Dynasmon, fists stretched out ahead of his body, watched the ice get bigger and bigger and—

Ouch, that had done more than simply sting.

Dynasmon shook his head to clear the spots away—he's lost consciousness for a second after battering through the last few dozen or so feet of ice.

He looked around. After literally smashing through all that ice, he found himself in a large, spacious cavern inside the glacier. Odd. Being in the middle of a hunk of ice meant that it should be dark, but it wasn't, not really. Some type of light was lining the walls, like a glowing lichen. It was obvious that cavern had to have been—

By the Sovereigns, yes, YES!

He dashed forward. There! Magnadramon was lying on the ice. Even from a hundred feet away, he could see the rhythmic up-down movement of breathing. Alive!

So scared... He remembered that not too long ago, the youngest of the Thirteen, Magnamon, had lost a lover to a Kimeramon. To think that Magnadramon could have... also... no don't think like that, dammit. She was alive, that's all that mattered.

He came up to Magnadramon's prone form and knelt beside it.

He couldn't see anything wrong outwardly, but the dragon looked unconscious. He ran his hands over the lithe, furry body, made stronger and more muscular by the X-Antibody, to make sure there were no injuries before he tried to wake her. There was no serious bleeding that he could see, and her limbs seemed fine. There was a nasty bruise on her head, between her horns, though. Could be a concussion. Maybe—

Oh, damn.

Three of Magnadramon's ten wings were broken. Thankfully, the breaks looked clean, but, still...

If he found out who had done this to her, that particular Digimon was going to have a very up-close conversation with him. So close that he would—

No. Stop. This rage that bubbled around was not helping anyone. He shook his head.

He gently gripped Magnadramon's shoulder and shook it gently. He could move her while she was unconscious, but he wanted to be sure that nothing was wrong. And Magnadramon couldn't tell him what hurt if she wasn't conscious.

"Uhhhn," the dragon moaned. He could see her eyes moving rapidly beneath closed lids. Coma was ruled out, and probably if there was a concussion it would be a minor one.

"Magnadramon? Magnadramon, it's me," he said softly. "Wake up, please."

"Duh... Dynasmon?" his lover rasped. "How... what...?"

"Shh... don't worry. I'm here. Do you feel any internal injuries?"

"N-no, love, but where am I?"

"Inside a glacier. Luckily, Kentaros—"

"No! NO!" Magnadramon bawled as he saw her eyes fly wide open in shock and... fear? "He's here!

"Magnadramon, who's here? What's—"

"It's a trap!"

So overjoyed at finding his lover alive and relatively unhurt, Dynasmon was not keeping track of his surroundings. His training would have dictated otherwise, but he was not exactly thinking about how to handle the situation. That would be the only way to explain how a rotund, somewhat cherubic, furry Digimon floated up behind the pair.

The new Digimon, still half-asleep, cracked open its eyes.

"Ah, splendid, glad you could join us, Knight."

Dynasmon twisted his head around, still cradling Magnadramon.

"What the—" was all Dynasmon had time to day before a gust of energy from Belphemon Sleep Mode slammed into him.

Uhn!

Dynasmon felt the Magnadramon's furry body part from his as a blast from something struck him full on his back.

He slammed into an icy wall, and suddenly there were these extremely vivid stars buzzing everywhere. Ooh, look, a pretty pink—

Ugh.

Shake head, clear it, look at what had... attacked... him...

Sovereigns preserve them.

A Demon Lord.

Impossible! Especially this one. They'd heard rumors that Leviamon had arisen, but...

"You're supposed to be dead," he whispered.

"Well, apparently, I am not," the floating furry ball squeaked.

He wasn't sure whether to laugh hysterically or cringe. This was Belphemon, fabled Demon Lord of Sloth, and it squeaked. But... This was Belphemon, fabled Demon Lord of Sloth, which wasn't exactly a good thing. Not very good at all. It would mean that a very real force opposed to the Sovereigns was forming. This made two Demon Lords sighted and confirmed.

This just made the fact that Belphemon was right here somehow worse.

He had to move now. Belphemon was in the weaker Sleep Mode, so if was going to break past this Mega and get Magnadramon out of here, it was now. He was very much out of his league. He raised his arms.

"Dragon Thrower!" he cried, focusing his magical energy into the palms of his hands and blasting beams of light at the evil Digimon. The hovering Demon Lord squealed and wobbled back a few yards, but otherwise his attack did no real damage.

He cursed. Even in a resting mode, the Demon Lord was powerful. Dark Ocean take it!

In addition, he needed to get Magnadramon out of here now. He needed a distraction. Oh. They were inside an ice cavern, and ice was frozen water, so...

"Dragon Thrower!" he cried again, aiming the beams of mystic force at the floor and walls. There was hissing whistle as the beams converted the ice directly into steam.

Steam which would come in handy as a smokescreen.

There, that should be enough. He flicked off the beams and ran back to where Magnadramon lay.

And... Grr...

He could see that the blast that had blown them apart had knocked her into a wall, onto her broken wings. He could see pain clouding those dark green eyes. By the Sovereigns, once he had gotten Magnadramon to safety, he was going to come back down her to—

"Dynasmon! Look out!" he heard his lover screech.

He turned around... Gah!

He ducked just in time for Belphemon to hurtle past him. Dark Ocean, that had been close!

But it was an opening. He again leveled his hands at the rotund Mega.

"DNA Disintegrator!" he roared, and this time the magic pillars of force that came roaring from his palm-crystals twisted into a perfect double-helix pattern. Come on, come on, let his aim be true...

He watched the dancing beams wash over Belphemon, who was clumsily trying to come about after having missed the first tackle. The Demon Lord screeched and rebounded off the walls.

Damn, and he thought he wasn't a good flyer.

Time was short. He knelt besides Magnadramon again and picked her up carefully. He did his best, but the pink dragon hissed in pain. Damn.

It was a pick between immediate comfort and survival, and Magnadramon knew that—

A massive weight fell on his shoulder. It gripped and spun him around.

"You made me angry, Knight, and you won't like me when I'm angry."

He stared in horror as he recognized the horned, feral face of Belphemon Rage Mode.

The completely awakened Demon Lord allowed the knight to take in the sight of his enraged visage before he rammed a fist into Dynasmon's face. The knight lost his grip on Magnadramon as he was hurled back by the force of the blow.

Stars danced in front of the knight's field of vision.

And then it all went into a white haze as another savage blow crunched into his armored helmet. Dynasmon felt himself crash through a wall. The knight groaned and his blurred vision slowly cleared—incompletely, as it was—as he struggled to his feet.

The Demon Lord stalked through the hole the knight had just made. Belphemon's lips twisted into a mocking smile as he looked down on the Royal Knight. Like all the others, he had a deep, burning hatred for the Knights and all who united with the Sovereigns against his master. Although he was a bit... irritable after having to wake up so quickly, he actually quite enjoyed punching one of the high-and-mighty Knights. It was normal for him to be angry, as it were. It was not "Rage Mode" for nothing.

Dynasmon, meanwhile, slowly looked up at the Demon Lord. The Viral Mega was taller than him by at least half a head, and much broader, proportionally, than even he was.

He felt a twinge of fear. The Demon Lords were powerful bordering on mythical, which wasn't far from the truth, since up until only recently it was believed that the group of evil Digimon was extinct. But, ever since the report of Cherubimon had been circulating, it was painfully aware that the Demon Lords were no legend. And at least one more of them was very painfully real.

Dynasmon clenched his fists. He didn't like the odds, but damn him to Dark Ocean if he was letting the evil Mega get anywhere close to Magnadramon.

The knight gave a grunt and channeled power into his gauntlets. Magical fire leapt from his palms to engulf his forearms and hands. The mystic flames were proof against blades and made his strikes more powerful.

Belphemon gave a mental sigh. Was this foolish creature really willing to challenge him? His power eclipsed by far whatever this fool could bring to bear. Granted, he was newly awakened, and not to his full power levels, but that meant nothing. He did not need his fully power to crush this bug.

Dynasmon charged Belphemon and arrowed a fist towards the demonic Digimon's jaw. But he saw Belphemon smirk and bring up an arm to block.

Damn! He'd made the punch far too easy to telegraph! He watched Belphemon draw back an arm. Oh—

Stars again. He tried to lever himself off the ice.

"Lampranthus!" Belphemon roared, and dark chains lashed around him. He stumbled back as the dark-charged whips battered his body.

Had to.. concentrate. The Demon Lord would... kill him down here if he didn't... put up a better damned fight. He watched Belphemon lazily stride forward.

"You know, Dynasmon, I was hoping you would actually put up a fight." He watched Belphemon reach down and clamp a chain-wrapped claw around his shoulder. Lifted, looking into Belphemon's startling red eyes. "Really, now, knight."

He had to break the hold on his shoulder, get that hand off before—

UHHHN!

Stomach... on fire... Ugh.

"Oh. Odd," he semi-heard the Demon Lord say inquisitively. "So you do have a torso, it's just invisible. Ah, all for the better. I was afraid I would snap that little stem on the back of your armor and end it far too quickly."

All he could do was gasp. He aimed a punch at Belphemon's neck, but the Demon Lord laughed and knocked his fist away.

Ahh! Another punch to his gut.

"Really, most interesting. I feel resistance when I try to punch you there, Dynasmon," he heard Belphemon drawl lazily. "Invisible magical armor to shield your invisible stomach? Astounding."

He felt himself flying... and then hitting a wall. Thrown... Uhhn...

Belphemon stood over him, looking down with a sneer. He had to...

An opening! At this angle, Belphemon's torso was unprotected. He had this one shot.

"Dragon's Gust!" he roared, and immediately the magical flames protecting his gauntlets roared into the shape of snarling dragon heads. He lunged forward, putting all his energy into this punch. He felt the impact... and suddenly Belphemon was no longer there.

He'd just knocked the Demon Lord across the room and through a wall.

His vision blurred. Argh. Hopefully, he'd stunned Belphemon enough to—

"Gift of Darkness" he heard a voice howl.

A sledgehammer impacted on his back, and then he blacked out.

Whaa...? What had happened?

Dynasmon looked up at Belphemon. Why was he on his back?

Oh, wait, Belphemon had blasted him. And, if it was possible, the Demon Lord looked even more angry.

"That hurt, knight," the demonic beast hissed. "And you've made me even angrier."

Had to... think of... something...

"I'm through playing now, knight," he heard Belphemon growl. The Demon Lord's left paw wrapped around his armored neck. "A pity, though. I had wanted to be entertained, and I truly found you boring, Dynasmon. Oh, well."

Fuzzy... hard to see... but he did see the Viral Mega look contemplative for a second. Then a malicious smile twisted the Demon Lord's lips.

"Speaking of entertainment, I know just the thing. After I cave in your skull, I think I'll have my way with your poor, injured lover. She's actually quite a beautiful specimen, you know."

Wait... what?

"Of course, lust isn't my sin of expertise, but I'm sure Lilithmon won't hold it against me." He saw Belphemon's other fist rise into the air. "Right before I kill her, I'll make sure to tell Magnadramon that you were a pathetic weakling, although I doubt she'll hear me over her screams."

Shock settled over Dynasmon's mind as the knight fully absorbed those words.

But only for a moment.

Because, almost instantly, blinding, all-consuming rage turned his vision red. The digital version of adrenaline pumped through Dynasmon's system. His self-control flooded with power, his eyes literally blazed as magical fire leaked from them.

But this rage was far different from what he'd experienced with Omnimon. Back there, it was an unthinking rage, an anger stemming from frustration and fear for a loved one.

This anger... now this anger also involved a loved one, but this time it was mixed with justified wrath and fierce determination. If his death meant that terrible, unspeakable things would happen to his love, he was not going to die.

Belphemon's chain-wrapped paw descended in a blow that would even crush Digizoid.

It neared Dynasmon's head...

...And stopped as the knight stopped it with a single hand. The Demon Lord was astonished.

"You think you've seen anger, Demon?" the knight spat. "I'll show you anger!"

Dynasmon's other fist blurred forward and crashed into Belphemon's skull, tumbling the Demon Lord.

Stars—an unaccustomed sight—danced in front of his vision. Was the knight going to make this more difficult than—

Belphemon gave a low gasp as he saw Dynasmon standing not ten feet away from him, all traces of injury and fatigue seemingly gone.

Or ignored.

Worst of all, he saw that blazing, terrifying anger in the knight's burning eyes.

The anger was back with a vengeance.

And this time it wasn't that aimless, frustrated anger that Dynasmon had felt when he had nearly brawled with Omnimon.

No. This... was something very new.

It was fiercer, stronger, and deadlier, if that made sense. But it also felt... right, pure. That was a strange feeling to be getting when talking about anger, but it was what he was feeling.

Which meant that his rage was completely justified. Oh, yes, this Demon Lord had said the exact wrong thing.

"Kill me, would you?" he snarled, advancing on the Viral Mega. "Use my death to torture her as you violated her, would you?"

He watched Belphemon sneer and draw himself up.

"I have absolutely no regret in telling you that that's not happening!" he bellowed and darted a right cross into the Demon Lord's cheek. He heard a yelp of pain as Belphemon staggered backwards and slammed, hard, into an ice wall. He watched the horned Mega shake his head—to clear it, obviously—and come charging back at him with a snarl.

A fist battered his helmet. His fist cracked off a horn. A knee dug itself into his transparent stomach. A throw propelled the Demon Lord through a wall. A kick sent him flying through a wall. A punch sent Belphemon staggering backwards. A backhand sent chunks of Digizoid armor spinning away.

"Lampranthus!"

"Dragon Thrower!"

His clawed gauntlets opened up shallow wounds on Belphemon's furry hide. His wings were punctured by feral claws. The other Mega's nose was bloodied by a double-handed hammerfist. He augured into the ground from a downward punch. Belphemon flew into the air from an uppercut.

"Gift of Darkness!"

"Dragon's Gust!"

And then it because so fast that he lost track of it all.

The titanic struggle between the two Mega Digimon had left the interior of the glacier holed and shattered. What had once been collections of separate rooms were now all connected by vaguely Belphemon- or Dynasmon-shaped holes.

They had ended up back in the main chamber where Dynasmon had found Magnadramon, where a three-hundred foot long tunnel was bored down through the ice.

The fighting was savage, and the combatants looked too evenly matched. For every blow there was a counterblow that rocked the glacier itself.

But then something happened.

Dynasmon stumbled on a block of ice, and Belphemon used the opportunity to rocket a fist into Dynasmon's shoulder, sending the knight stumbling backwards. All at once, the Demon Lord had pinned the knight with his heavy bulk, large, clawed hands clamping down on articulated neck-armor. And then they began to squeeze...

The choking Data Mega tried to wrest the clamped digits from his throat, tried to shove the Demon Lord back with his prodigious strength, but to no avail. Belphemon's position was too good.

Dynasmon's vision began to fill with black spots as Belphemon choked the life from him.

"You gave a decent account of yourself, knight, I'll give you that," Dynasmon half-heard Belphemon through the ringing that was filling his ears. "But you were doomed from the start, did you know that?"

He weakly tugged on the large, clawed fingers, but... nothing. He... couldn't...

"Yes. For every second that I am in my Rage Mode, I gain back the power that makes even the vaunted Sovereigns think twice. For every moment that I gain back my strength, you lose yours. No mere lackey can hope to match the power given to me by my master."

Slowly... sinking...

"Die, now, and know that your pretty little dragon friend is going to be a tasty prize after this admittedly annoying task of killing you, you weak, pathetic—"

"To begI take objection to that," he barely heard a familiar alto say. Then there was a growl.

Wait.

A dragonish growl?

"Fire Tornado!"

The Demon Lord bellowed in pain as dragonfire washed over his body. Not only did it burn with intense heat that only dragons could generate, but it was also a light-based Vaccine attack, the closest thing to holy flame in the digital world. The fire caused agony in his very being.

But as excruciating as it was, it was not crippling in its force. The blows and magical blasts from the pathetic, beaten knight he had been facing had done equal or greater damage.

And he was very angry.

"Lampranthus!" he snarled, and dark chains leaped away from his body to whip across the body of the injured dragon. Magnadramon, who had focused what little energy she had to that blast of flame, screamed as scourges of metal bruised and slashed her already weakened body. The painful fire ended abruptly. Ah, excellent. Now, to show this stupid creature that paltry tendrils of flame were nothing compared to his own immense power—plus the darkness granted to him by his true master.

But Magnadramon was done. Her love still wasn't moving, and she knew that she could not hold out for much longer.

She leaped up to the Viral Mega and raked his muscular chest with her talons. Belphemon grunted in pain and surprise, astounded by the fact that this battered, exhausted Digimon would still attack a superior entity with such ferocity.

Of course, the Demon Lord's astonishment only lasted a moment, and then he backhanded the pink, catlike dragon across her face.

"Humph," Belphemon grunted at the barely-conscious form of Magnadramon. "I suppose if I break your jaw and your limbs, you won't be much of a problem. Although... you won't be able to scream as loudly if I break your jaw. Hmm... compromises, compromises..."

What... What had?

Belphemon had been choking him, and had almost finished it too, until.

Wait...!

Magnadramon!

The Demon Lord stomped towards the dazed Vaccine.

Until he was stopped by two large, armored hands on his shoulders.

"What—"

"I. Don't. Think. So," whispered Dynasmon.

Then Dynasmon began to whirl. Belphemon, take by surprise, could do nothing. All he could do was snarl in fury and outrage as Dynasmon picked up momentum.

"Let's take this outside," the knight growled.

And then Dynasmon flung Belphemon through the tunnel he had made in the ice.

The Demon Lord's hulking body careened off the walls of the tunnel, striking painfully against jutting shelves and protuberances. So disoriented was he that he barely noticed that he had been flung out of the glacier's interior and was several hundred feet up in the air.

He was only slightly more aware of the fact that Dynasmon was right behind him.

Dynasmon knew he had to finish this... and quickly. It was no mistruth what Belphemon had said. The more time he allowed the Demon Lord to gather back his former, Rage Mode power levels, the less of a chance he had to defeat the Viral Mega.

And, to be honest, he wanted to beat Belphemon into a pulp.

The Demon Lord still looked stunned as he closed in. The battering Belphemon had taken after being flung through a three-hundred-foot tunnel must have been disorienting enough for him to finally end this.

He approached the tumbling Demon Lord just as the other Mega unfurled batlike wings and gained control.

Until he slammed his fist into Belphemon's muzzle. He pounded the Demon Lord's face until it was a bruised, bloody mess.

Not done yet.

"Dragon's Gust!" he cried, and the magical dragon heads appeared on his gauntleted fists. With grunt he hammered his right fist into the other Mega's face, knocking the Demon Lord towards the ground.

And so that evil creature was plummeting towards rock-hard ice from a height of seven hundred feet, with the energy from his full strength blow to make the final velocity... even faster.

He saw the Demon Lord auger into the ice, digging out a crater in a spectacular spray of ice.

Oh, but he still wasn't done...

"BREATH OF WYVERN!"

Belphemon groaned and massaged his head. That last flurry from Dynasmon—not to mention being thrown through a glacier before subsequently being pounded into one—were certainly annoying. Simple death was too quick a release for Dynasmon now, oh yes it was. The Mega snuffled. Yes, he knew what he could do.

He would break Dynasmon's arms. And legs. Wings, too. Then he'd break that knight's spine. Not fatally, but enough that Dynasmon couldn't do more than breathe and blink.

Then he'd have his fun with Magnadramon, while that infuriating knight watched. Then he'd kill them both, preferably by slow strangulation. Then, he'd take a very long and decidedly deserved nap. After that,he'd take their bodies and—

The Demon Lord blinked. It had been getting steadily darker as the blizzard began to blow in. His master had actually ordered this ambush to correspond with one of the regular blizzards in the northern regions, so that the attack could be covered up by the violent winds and swirling ice.

Strangely, though, the area around the Demon Lord was getting steadily brighter.

Belphemon darted his gaze towards the heavens, and saw Dynasmon diving towards him, fists outstretched. Nothing particularly amazing there.

What was amazing was the enormous dragon of magical white fire that was surrounding Dynasmon has he plummeted towards Belphemon.

And then a quarter of the glacier vaporized as Dynasmon—and Breath of Wyvern—slammed right into Belphemon.

Dynasmon crawled along the shattered ice of the glacier, looking for Magnadramon.

Where could she be? Ws she safe?

Well, from the likes of Belphemon, for now, at least. That blast probably hadn't been enough to ultimately destroy the demonic Mega, but at least Belphemon wasn't hurting anyone for now.

Magnadramon, where could she be? He got back to his feet. Ugh, it felt like his legs were made of flimsy rubber. Press on, damnation, press on.

He began lifting boulders that were as large as he was and tossing them away. Hopefully this way he could...

There!

He stumbled over to the furry dragon. Was she breathing? Was she... gone?

He looked down. Oh, thank the Sovereigns! Magnadramon's breathing was shallow, but regular. No serious wounds. She would be fine.

Hmm? What was that sound? Sounded like... flapping.

He looked up into the sky.

He saw a massive host of Chirinmon and Dorugremon, led by Dorugoramon, Alphamon, Kentarosmon, Omnimon, and Crusadermon rapidly closing in on his position.

Ah, his comrades and friends.

Good, since he... was so... tired...

Black.

Mmm... this blanket was so soft. Very downy, too. And warm, as if it were a heated blanket. Very cozy. Come to think of it...

Dynasmon cracked open an eye slightly. Ah, a pinkish-purple blanket. While not exactly "his" color, it could be bright neon green for all he cared, as long as it was this comfy. Maybe Crusadermon or Magnadramon had... dropped it off...

Magnadramon!

He jerked upright in the bed. Magnadramon! Was she safe! Were the injuries serious? How had—?

Huh?

The pink furry blanket had given a little yelp, and was now staring at him.

Ah, not a blanket. Magnadramon's head. He looked down at the dragon, or technically, towards his feet, since he was on his back.

Oh, thank the Sovereigns that she was all right. He wrapped his arms—which, like the rest of his body, were bare—around her.

"Magnadramon, are you all right? Did everything heal correctly? Your wings, are they—eh? What's wrong"

Magnadramon had just started crying. What did he...?

"Two things. They aren't, well, wrong, they're just..." his love seemed at a loss for words. Then he watched her sigh. "Dynasmon, you've been in a coma for at least a week already. We weren't sure if you were going to wake up."

A week? He'd been out... for a week!?

"But what else, though... did you know what shape Kentarosmon's forces found you in?"

"Er, no, I don't." Magnadramon stared at him. "Was it bad?"

"Dynasmon... your left leg was broken, you were suffering from internal bleeding, three of the fingers on your right hand were broken, several ribs cracked, your left wing broken, right wing shredded, countless bruises and abrasions, and you had a fractured skull!"

Oh. Very bad. Still, he was recovering—in a sense, since he felt like one big bruise—so why was Magnadramon crying? From joy, assuredly, but there was something else there, too. What was it?

"Oh, Dynasmon, Dynasmon," he heard the other Mega murmur. "You care so much for others. You put others ahead of yourself. I think... I think that is what's so shocking about how... angry you can become."

She had heard? Where—?

Magnadramon must have seen the look on his face. "Crusadermon told me. All of it, including the part where you lifted Omnimon into the air by his throat."

He looked away. "That was... out of character of me."

He watched Magnadramon nod in agreement. "True. I'm used to seeing Dynasmon, gentle warrior, not a Dynasmon who can let loose a rage that would cower a Demon Lord himself. But, my love, you know why I don't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with it?

"No, I don't."

"It's because when you do become that... enraged, it's for a good reason. It's not blind."

He nodded, though he still felt unsure.

"Still, Magnadramon, I don't... like it much. It's... too different."

"In a way, yes. But it's a part of who you are, and that... righteous rage that you felt—I did catch a bit of what Blephemon had planned for me—was all that saved me. You battled a Demon Lord to a standstill, Dynasmon!"

"I didn't want him to hurt you," he said quietly.

"And that's why your anger cannot be considered a bad thing, my love."

There was some contemplative silence, since he wanted to think about the past few days. He had come so close to losing someone he loved. Maybe Magnadramon was right.

He settled his head back on the pillow.

"Good, you should get some more bed rest, Dynasmon."

He nodded, then grinned. Speaking of beds...

"Well, you know, this bed is very comfortable, and, well..."

Heh. Magnadramon gave a spluttering snort followed by a giggle.

"The healer said rest, Dynasmon, not... other things."

"Oh?"

"It is, as the humans say, what the doctor ordered."

"Humph."

"Fine, will you settle for, er, cuddling, then?" his lover asked with a mock hesitant expression.

"Well, I'm not in armor, so I guess that will be a fair enough substitute," he said with a grin. "So, when can we...?"

"When you've regained your strength."

"Ah, incentive."

They laughed.

After a while, Magnadramon was draped over him, asleep. He worried.

Magnadramon had told him that Kentarosmon's and Dorugoramon's forces hadn't found any Mega-level malignant data... which meant Belphemon hadn't been discorporated, and was still alive.

And with all that time to build up back to previous power levels... Not a pleasant thought.

He looked down at the sleeping dragon next to his body. So beautiful, so understanding, so kind. Sovereigns, this is why he fought, who he fought for. He fought for every Digimon who was like her or would be like her.

And if—no, when—Belphemon resurfaced, he'd be ready.

For he was a Royal Knight.