Digimon Soul Spark- The Path of Seven Steps

by Pot8oo

Summary:

The Royal Knights are off to the city of Salamander's Rest, where Belphemon is suspected to reemerge after a thousand years. With the help of a new companion, they make preparations and lie in wait for the dreadful battle to come.

But Leopardmon is here on a quest for redemption, and that desire rubs up against the Royal Knights, though he does not tell them. Will he be able to conquer his demons, and become the leader he's always wanted to be?

Chapter 1: Tremors

Sunset settled over the valley, painting the land in red and orange hues. Gallantmon flew on Grani’s back, enjoying the crisp fall breeze as they went. He directed Grani toward a gathering of clouds, his wing tip touching it and dragging the wisps along. Gallantmon giggled, adjusting the positioning of his feet as a new idea came to mind.

“Ready, Grani?”

“Wait, you’re not going to-?”

Gallantmon jumped off, launching higher into the air. He flipped backwards as Grani scrambled to catch him. His landing on Grani’s back was rather shaky, but it was still a success in his book. Gallantmon’s giggles evolved into full laughter. There was nothing like the freedom of the sky, was there?

“You really ought to take this more seriously,” Grani chided him. “We’re on a reconnaissance mission for the city of Salamander’s Rest, remember?”

“Oh, lighten up. We can enjoy ourselves a little bit during the trip, can’t we?”

“They sounded pretty worried on the comms. Maybe there’s-”

A knot of pain suddenly built up in Gallantmon’s chest. He knelt down, taking quick breaths. He looked down at the symbols on the back of his hands, his stomach lurching as he found them glowing.

“Gallantmon? It’s-It’s not the Digital Hazard, is it?”

“Take me back! Quickly!”

Grani drove him over to one of the cliffs, setting down on it. The glowing went away, and Gallantmon found himself breathing easier. He got off of Grani, peering over the rocks in the distance. From here, they could find some kind of crater within the valley, a dark miasma surrounding it. Gallantmon felt ill just looking at it.

“That doesn’t look like your usual Digital Hazard Event,” Gallantmon muttered.

“The normal ones don’t make your Hazard react like that. What if there’s-”

The ground suddenly trembled beneath them, putting them off balance. Cracks grew in the rocks, and strange creatures emerged from them. These ones took the corrupted forms of Digimon, spirals coalescing into something of a coherent shape. They surrounded the pair, hunger in their eyes.

"I definitely don't like this !" Grani shouted. "What are those things!?"

It was never a good sign when Grani couldn't tell him what something was. Gallantmon summoned his shield and lance, drawing closer to Grani. "Stick close!"

A stringy creature lunged at Gallantmon, but he destroyed it with his lance. Grani shot fireballs from his maw, destroying three gear creatures. A claw creature grabbed Gallantmon's foot, and he kicked it off. He hopped onto Grani's back as three stringy creatures lunged for him. Claw creatures grabbed Grani's wings, digging into his metal plating. Gallantmon fired a beam from his shield, clearing a path for escape.

They took to the air as more creatures filled the gaps they cleared. Gallantmon hacked the claw creatures on Grani's wings, pushing them off.

"Set course for Salamander's Rest," Gallantmon told Grani. "We'll need to call the others to help us-"

"Gallantmon, look up."

Gallantmon did. His heart dropped into his stomach, finding swarms of the strange creatures blocked the setting sun. They practically infested the valley. Gallantmon had never seen such terrifying creatures in his life. The people of Salamander's Rest hadn't mentioned anything like this when they asked for his reconnaissance.

Gallantmon turned his head to find the swarm from the cliffs chasing after them. He adjusted his position on Grani, turning around and firing another blast from his shield. Gallantmon told Grani to fly, and he continued firing at the creatures. They hurried back the way they came, fending off the creatures as they went.

But it was a futile effort. For every ten creatures that Gallantmon destroyed, twenty came to replace their numbers. It was all the pair could do to keep from being surrounded.

"We're going to bring the swarm to the city at this rate," Grani cried. "We have to try something else."

"Are any of your readings helpful for us?"

"I'm not sure. These readings… some of them seem awfully close to normal Digimon!"

Digimon? They seemed more like drones. They reminded Gallantmon more of the deathdorugreymons- or the mecha rogues. They certainly swarmed around like those two examples. There had to be a way to fend them off. They just-

Electricity arced over their heads, destroying the creatures above them. Gallantom glanced back, finding a brown-clad Digimon hovering behind them. Feathered wings sat by his shoulders, and his long golden mane flowed in the breeze. He looked like some kind of vigilant ronin.

“I thought it was farther away than this,” the ronin muttered.

“Huh?” Gallantmon asked.

“The Digital Hazard. That’s what the Spirals are looking for.”

Gallantmon fired another beam at the approaching swarm, placing a hand on his chest- over the symbol emblazoned on the front of his armor. “The… Digital Hazard, you say?”

The ronin fired more pulses from the tip of his sword, destroying a few smaller creatures. “They’ll back off if we either neutralize the Hazard or nullify it.”

Nullify it, huh? “Are you ready, Grani?”

“Not really, but go ahead.”

Gallantmon tossed his lance away, placing his hand on Grani’s head. Their bodies broke apart into pixels, swirling and coalescing together. Two became one, and a knight fully clad in armor took the lead. Six sets of wings sat on their back, and a lance of light fit into their hands. Their body burned with an intense heat, one that seemed to intimidate the swarm.

“Let’s clean up shop,” they said, Gallantmon and Grani’s voices echoing in unison.

They charged forward, slicing the creatures apart. Each one easily fell away with a single strike of their lance, and not even their sheer numbers could stand a chance against this powerful warrior. The remaining number of the swarm quickly fled away from them.

Which was a good thing- because the warrior could not maintain their form much longer.

Their body broke down, reassembling into Gallantmon and Grani. They plummeted to the earth, the last thing they saw being the ronin chasing after them.

---

 

Leopardmon barely caught the knight and zero arm before they hit the valley floor. With his meek frame, it was rather difficult for him to hold them both. He lowered them to the ground before collapsing onto his knees, gasping for breath.

He looked up at the cliffs, finding the Spirals retreating back there. He thought that they would have stuck around for a little longer, especially if there was a Digital Hazard nearby. Leopardmon had found data for a Hazard Event forming several miles away from this site, but maybe he was wrong.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

But then he glanced over at the knight, noting the symbols on his armor. Those couldn’t be a coincidence. And the knight demonstrated considerable power when jogressed with his mount. They were almost as powerful as…

Leopardmon balked, staring down at the unconscious duo. No, there was no way he saved members of…

He let out a sigh. They still needed his aid, whether they were with… them … or not.

---

 

Leopardmon dragged them into the nearby woods, setting up camp there. The sun had fallen below the horizon by the time he was done, and the stars were beginning to come out- though the canopy made them hard to see. The growing darkness of the woods was comforting for Leopardmon. He had excellent vision at night, and without a campfire going, nothing could find him out here.

He tapped a key on his wrist, bringing up his Digi UI- a special hologram system that let him scan and record data. Leopardmon scrolled through the files he had recorded, searching for the information he had gathered from this region. He thought he had found traces of Hazards in this valley, ones that matched his previous quarries. He didn’t make a mistake somewhere, did he? Perhaps he accidentally logged something in the wrong file, or…

Leopardmon’s eyes threatened to close. He picked his head up, rubbing his eyes to try and wake himself up. He thought the cold air would keep him awake, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect. The heat of late summer was also lovely at trying to knock him out.

Or maybe it was just because he was tired all the time.

He heard a groan behind him. Leopardmon turned around, finding the pair waking up.

“Rrgh… Grani?” the knight grumbled.

“Right here, Gallantmon.”

The knight glanced over at his mount before clutching his head. “Ugh, I’ve never enjoyed the crash after the high.”

Leopardmon cocked his head at them. “Are you feeling alright?”

The knight- Gallantmon- nodded. “Yeah. Th… Thank you, by the way. For not leaving us.”

The mount- Grani- hovered up. He nudged his way toward Leopardmon, his eyes curled up in a sort of smile. “Ah, my scanners are still working. You are a leopardmon!”

Leopardmon could only give him a curt nod. “And I believe you are a zero arms unit. I didn’t think there were any still in use.”

“Hm, I suppose you’re right about that. This is probably the first time you’ve ever seen one.”

Leopardmon looked back at the knight. “You’re not… Royal Knights, are you?”

“What would you think if we were?” Gallantmon asked.

“The details don’t interest me. I just know there are a myriad of ways I could get in trouble if I overstepped my bounds with them.”

Gallantmon sat up, stretching. “You don’t have to worry about that. We appreciate you coming in when you did. What did you call those things before? Spirals?”

Leopardmon nodded, pulling up the file on his UI. “I’ve only started seeing them recently myself. Me and a few others who’ve visited the Frames, anyway.”

“You mean… the Frames between Old and New Ymir?”

“That’s right. The working theory is that the Spirals were once Digimon that got trapped between versions of this Server after the Reboot that ended the X Crisis- but that doesn’t really work for me. The Spirals would have to carry the X Virus in that case, and I’ve never encountered one that did.”

Grani poked his nose at the hologram screen. “And you do this with these… thingies? What are these for?”

“It’s a Digi UI. You haven’t seen it?”

“Apparently there’s a lot we haven’t seen recently.”

“They’ve been developing them in the bigger cities across the Server. Mine is just a prototype, but it lets me scan and analyze data like a zero arms unit, as well as organize the data it’s collected for easy use.”

Grani scoffed. “It can do all that?! I hardly think you were that interested in seeing any zero arms, then!”

Gallantmon chuckled, patting him on the head. “Don’t worry, Grani. That shiny thing couldn’t replace you. I mean, it doesn’t even have any offensive capabilities.”

Leopardmon shook his head. “Unfortunately. It would certainly be easier for me to travel alone like this if it did.”

“And… what are you doing out here, exactly? Something tells me you’re not just studying Spirals.”

How much should he tell them? Leopardmon’s quarry was the exact kind that warriors like the Royal Knights would snatch up. He could see it now- Gallantmon would say something like ‘this is too much for you’ and chase him out. Or worse, keep him on only as a consultant, and then bench him once the action started.

No one else could take on this foe except for Leopardmon.

His redemption depended on it.

Leopardmon pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. The Royal Knights weren’t the kind of Digimon he could chase away with a few excuses. They had to be here on a mission already- and perhaps their missions were linked. It wasn’t worth the energy to chase them away.

“It’s… Spiral research is incidental,” Leopardmon began. “I’ve noticed that Spirals tend to gather near sites with developing Digital Hazard Events. I’ve been tracking and eliminating such events, all in an effort to track down something terrible.”

Grani backed away, blinking in surprise. “That miasma in the valley. You don’t think it was…?”

Leopardmon looked over at him. “Show me.”

Grani brought up a hologram, depicting the valley from earlier. A dark miasma filled a crater deep within. Leopardmon drew his own hologram over it, scanning the depicted environment to track down its coordinates. It pinged him with a response.

The same site he had predicted earlier today.

He hadn’t been wrong after all.

“No, these coordinates…,” Gallantmon gasped. “This was where Belphemon’s Tower once stood."

Chapter 2: All This Time

Gallantmon and Grani returned to Salamander’s Rest that night, with their new ally in tow. They made their way to the city’s Market Ward, noting the townsfolk heading back to their homes. The shops were closing, but the “Lucky Cat” Inn was still open. They appeared to be changing staff when the group made their way in. The gatomon receptionist made their way upstairs, and a mikemon receptionist took their place.

Gallantmon walked up to the desk. “We’d… We’d like a room, please.”

The mikemon looked up at him in surprise. “Sir Gallantmon? I heard you were visiting the city, but I didn’t think you were staying long. Is there-?”

“That’s for the Royal Knights to concern themselves with. Trust me.”

The mikemon peered over the desk, counting the members of Gallantmon’s group. They pulled out a key, handing it over. “I’m afraid we only have a two-Digimon room available at the moment. I hope that’s alright.”

“It’s not a problem,” Grani insisted. “I don’t use beds, anyway.”

Gallantmon took the key, leading the group upstairs. He found the door printed with the same number as the room key, and opened the way for them. The room was sparsely decorated, having only two beds against each wall and a single desk at the center. But it seemed to be a decently-sized room, which was better than what Gallantmon was expecting.

They made their way inside. Leopardmon immediately planted himself at the desk, bringing up his “UI” gizmo. Gallantmon sat at the edge of one of the beds, watching him click away at the keys. He noted Leopardmon’s slumped shoulders and drooping eyelids, and wondered if he felt the need to push himself with this information.

“You should put that away and get some sleep,” Gallantmon insisted. “We’ll need all the strength we can muster for this mission.”

Leopardmon turned toward him with a glare. “Do you really intend for me to cooperate with you? I will not be taken out of this fight.”

His tone was rather chilling. It was a stark contrast to the quiet and amicable Digimon that Gallantmon conversed with earlier. “It’s not going to be an easy fight-”

“I’ve done my research. I know what I’m getting into, I promise you.”

“...but I’m sure we’ll need every mon we can get.”

Leopardmon nodded, turning back toward the hologram. He finished clicking on the keys, and gave Grani a more pleasant look. “Grani, does nine days sound accurate to you?”

Grani turned away, making his own calculations. He finished shortly, wincing with a gulp. “That’s right. Not counting today, we have nine days before Belphemon emerges from his slumber. I can hardly believe it.”

Leopardmon went back to clicking at the keys for his hologram. “Then that means we have nine days to gather information and prepare our counterattack.”

Gallantmon got up with a sigh. He placed the keys on the desk, saying, “I’m heading outside. Keep the door unlocked for me?”

Leopardmon nodded, keeping his gaze fixed on his work.

Gallantmon left the room, walking down the hall until he found the balcony. He looked around for a moment, making sure none of the other residents were still wandering about, and made his way over to the railing. He leaned against it, bringing up the screen for his Ley Line Connection. Magnamon was the only one who connected back, which didn’t surprise him too much- in fact, he was more surprised that someone back home was still awake at this hour. He told Magnamon what their findings were.

As expected, he didn’t take it well.

“Are-Are you sure it’s him?” Magnamon asked. “Did you double-check?”

“Grani’s made it a game to check Leopardmon’s work,” Gallantmon insisted. “And the timing is right, don’t you think? It’s really the only thing that makes sense.”

“...It’s really been a thousand years already, huh? Feels like it’s been longer, actually. I’m guessing you want us to come down to Salamander’s Rest in the morning?”

“I want you to write it down, if you have to. We have to do everything in our power to keep him from rampaging through the valley.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m not forgetting about Belphemon. We’ll be on the first locomon in the morning, just you wait.”

“Appreciate it.”

Gallantmon cut the connection. He made his way back to the room, opening the door. Grani hurried up to him, hovering expectantly.

“Gallantmon, I need assistance.”

He looked over at the desk. Leopardmon had fallen asleep there, his head planted on his UI’s keys, typing out some script. Gallantmon picked him up, trying to shoo the holograms away. How was he supposed to turn them off? Gallantmon shook his head with a sigh, carrying Leopardmon to the other bed. Leopardmon didn’t wake at all, immediately curling up in the mattress. Gallantmon drew the covers over him, and the holograms blinked off shortly after. That was certainly convenient, wasn’t it?

“Glad you took my advice,” Gallantmon whispered to the sleeping Digimon. “Sleep tight, okay?”

Gallantmon got into bed shortly after. Grani settled beside the bed, and Gallantmon placed a hand on his back. Sleep always came easier to him when he could feel him closeby.

---

 

The last of the wargreymon holograms broke apart, and the simulation ended. Leopardmon swung his arm around in order to stretch his shoulder, glancing at the terrace on the wall. A warrior in black watched him, his brow furrowed in thought. Leopardmon could never tell what he was thinking.

"Well?" Leopardmon called up.

"Are you that desperate for praise?" the warrior asked him. "No one's going to bow to you for a standard training session like that."

"I'm sure I'd get praise for completing one of the higher level simulations. If you ever let me do one, of course."

The warrior scoffed.

Leopardmon crossed his arms. "Haven't I proven myself enough, Tactimon? I mean, you have to be getting bored watching me demolish the basic sims, right?"

Tactimon turned his head up toward him. "Get some water. We'll start again in fifteen minutes."

Leopardmon made his way through the door, heading back into the waiting room. Two Digimon sat in seats next to a vending machine. One of them was a blue-clad warrior with dog-like features. The other was a mage with cat-like features and a long cape. They were MirageGaogamon and Rasielmon - his friends in his unit.

"Sounds like you did well," Rasielmon noted, her arms crossed. "General Tactimon is putting you in the advanced sim."

Leopardmon grabbed a water bottle from the vending machine. "With any luck. If you ask me, it's been too long. Do you think they're dragging out our training on purpose?"

"I'm sure there's a method to their madness," MirageGaogamon insisted. "They want to make sure we're fully prepared before we see combat."

Leopardmon took a seat next to Rasielmon. "If we see combat. I'm not getting my hopes up. Floatia hasn't seen any sort of danger since the X Crisis."

Rasielmon crossed her arms. "That can't be true. I watched soldiers head to the Floating Gates every day when I was little."

"Did you ever hear about them finding anything?"

Rasielmon shrugged.

The speakers overhead came to life, and Tactimon's voice said, "MirageGaogamon, you're up."

MirageGaogamon got up, heading for the door. "Wish me luck."

They did. They waved to him as he walked through the door -

 

-And Leopardmon felt someone shaking him.

He found himself a bit disoriented as he woke up. His head was rather foggy, and he sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. Leopardmon looked over to find Gallantmon standing over him.

That's right. The Royal Knights were threatening to steal his quarry.

"Good morning," Gallantmon greeted him pleasantly. "Did you sleep okay?"

He slept better than he had been recently. It was one of the rare nights when he didn't have a nightmare. "I slept well enough."

Grani chuckled from the other side of the room. "You certainly slept deeply. You're worse than Gallantmon."

Gallantmon whipped his head toward him. "Hey!"

"But it's true sometimes, Gallantmon. I mean, just now, it took me forever to get you up."

Leopardmon paid no heed to their bickering. He pulled up his UI, looking for the notes he took before falling asleep. He winced as he found a long line of text clogging up the page. Leopardmon promptly cleared it away.

"Leopardmon?" Gallantmon asked.

Leopardmon closed the UI. "Are you done with your little spat?"

He looked away sheepishly. "Y-Yeah. Let's go down for breakfast."

Leopardmon followed the two of them out of the room. They made their way downstairs, taking a place at the table in the main room. Several other Digimon sat at the tables as well, yammering on about their lives or whatever. Seated at the center of the crowd, Leopardmon found himself rather overwhelmed. He hated the way sounds echoed in the inn, and he hated the lights overhead, and he could detect this musty odor around them. He would've preferred to eat outside.

But he kept his mouth shut. It wouldn't do well to complain.

A meicoomon waitress came to their table. "What does everyone want this morning?"

Gallantmon drummed his fingers on the table - that also seemed to bother Leopardmon. "Oh ho! I'll definitely want every pastry you have available! Brocken Toast, cinnamon rolls, the works!"

Grani frowned at him. "Don't forget you still need protein."

"Yeah yeah, I was getting to that. Also, I will need every meat item you have available. Every type of sausage, bacon…"

Goodness, was this Digimon's stomach just an endless void?

The meicoomon took Gallantmon's order, and then looked over at Gallantmon. "And what would you like?"

"Just toast. Don't put anything on it." He certainly wasn't going to be a glutton.

Grani gasped, apparently scandalized. " Just toast!? You're not going to get anything else!?"

Leopardmon glanced at him. "That's all I want."

"No, I won't stand for it! You need protein, too."

Leopardmon sighed. "Very well. I'll also have a small plate of scrambled eggs. Don't put anything on that, either."

The meicoomon nodded, jotting that down. "We'll get that to you shortly."

Gallantmon thanked the meicoomon before she went on her way. Leopardmon propped his arms up on the table, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. He could feel a headache coming on. And was there something slimy on the table? He didn't see anything slimy on it when they walked in. He prayed that it was just the varnish he was feeling.

“So what is the plan for today?” Grani asked.

“Magnamon said he and the others would be arriving here on a locomon today. Right now, the plan is to wait for them.”

"Just that? I don't feel well just sitting around for them."

"Well the other plan was to gather information, right? That's what Leopardmon said. Isn't that right, Leopardmon?"

Leopardmon looked up, nodding.

Grani shivered. "I'm not keen on going back to that crater just yet."

"I figured I'd have the others check it out when they arrived. It's not like I can go back there. Leopardmon, would you want to take scans of the area when the others get here?"

Would they actually let him work? Leopardmon nodded curtly. He found that he couldn't say anything else.

Their orders came in shortly after. Gallantmon's order came on two plates, one for the meats, and the other for the pastries. It was a sickening amount of food. Leopardmon picked up his humble plate of eggs and toast, eating his meal that way. The table felt too gross for him to eat off of, even if the texture was just the varnish. Looking at Gallantmon eating would only make him feel more ill.

He inevitably finished eating before Gallantmon did. Leopardmon left his plate on the table and got up, heading out.

"Where are you going?" Gallantmon asked.

Leopardmon looked back. "Library," he managed to say.

Grani floated over. "Why don't I accompany you? We'll see what information we can glean together."

Gallantmon nodded. "I think that's a great idea. I'll lead the others to you once they get here."

Leopardmon raised his brow at them. You're sure you don't need to babysit him, Grani? 

He still couldn't open his mouth to speak effectively. Shame. Grani would probably enjoy that little joke.

Leopardmon made his way out, with Grani trailing just behind him.

Chapter 3: The Ninth Day

“This is Locomon 102, taking you all through the Great Valley."

The Royal Knights were gathered in the back of the last locomon car. Omnimon kept his gaze to the window, looking out at the valley surrounding them. This place had been quiet even during the X Crisis. The Digimon living here had enjoyed several years of peace. He didn't like the idea of Belphemon destroying that peace.

"Alright, alright, hang on," Dynasmon insisted. "If you guys faced off against Belphemon all that time ago, that would mean you're all over a thousand years old."

"I'm surprised you haven't picked up on that yet," Alphamon teased him.

Through the reflection on the glass, Omnimon could see Dynasmon grab his forehead. "It's not as extreme as that, Dynasmon. Yggdrasil kept us in stasis for a few centuries when it was developing the X Crisis. It doesn't really feel like we're a thousand years old."

"Stasis? Why would Yggdrasil do that to you?"

Omnimon shook his head. "I've given up trying to figure out its motivations."

"And a thousand years isn't really a long time considering the age of the Digital World itself," Magnamon insisted. "Many Digimon across the four Servers are far older than the rest of us. Great Azulongmon is millennia older than every other Digimon combined."

Dynasmon let out a friendly chuckle. "So which of you is the oldest?"

Alphamon and Magnamon answered, "Gallantmon."

They were all being too friendly, given the circumstances. But Omnimon wasn't about to be a killjoy. The following week would be one of endless stress.

Alphamon nudged him with his elbow. Omnimon looked over at him, blinking. "Hm?"

"Are you doing alright?" Alphamon asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I just… I'm not looking forward to facing off against another Demon Lord."

Magnamon touched his chin in thought. "Yeah, Belphemon was an intense opponent."

"Well I'm not exactly happy having to fight any of them again. I wonder how many others are lying in the shadows for us?"

"At least there are two we don't have to worry about. That is… you guys are still on good terms with him , right?"

Omnimon nodded. "Of course. He loves Gallantmon. They run off to the Magma Flats at least once a month."

"Oh! Do you think he'd help us with this one!?"

Now there was an idea.

Dynasmon looked over at Magnamon. "Who are you talking about?"

Magnamon crossed his arms. "A very old friend of ours. He was one an enemy, but -"

The locomon announced, "We will be arriving at Salamander's Rest in three minutes."

Magnamon shrugged. "Gallantmon can tell you more about him."

They arrived at the terminal shortly after. Omnimon was first to get off, spotting Gallantmon waiting by the benches. He made his way over to him, noting how ill he appeared. Magnamon wasn’t too far behind, and he skipped over to the bench once he saw him.

“Oh no! H-Hey, we made it!” Magnamon insisted. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”

Gallantmon shook his head. “It’s not that. I’m just a bit bloated, is all.”

Omnimon rolled his eyes. “Had too much for breakfast, did you? I’m not covering your tab, you know.”

Alphamon and Dynasmon made their way over soon enough. The black knight spoke, “It’s always a bad idea to send Gallantmon patrolling on his own. If he’s not goofing off, he’s gorging himself on local delicacies. And what was it you said, Gallantmon? ‘I’ll be fine, Grani will keep me honest’?”

Omnimon looked around, noting the growing crowd around them. “Where is Grani, by the way?”

“He and Leopardmon went to the library. I told them we’d meet them there.”

Dynasmon ducked behind Alphamon, gripping his shoulders tightly. “I-I don’t like the way they’re looking at us.”

Alphamon patted his hand. “They’re more worried than anything else. The Royal Knights don’t normally all group together outside of the Midlands unless something big is happening. They’re probably expecting the worst.”

Magnamon shrugged. “Isn’t it kind of the wors-?”

Omnimon tapped him on the shoulder, warning him to quiet down. “We should continue this in private. Lead the way, Gallantmon?”

Gallantmon nodded. He stood up, stifling a burp, and led the group out of the terminal.

---

 

The library was far more comfortable than the noisy inn. The place was warmly lit, and the tables had soft covers on them. Many Digimon still crowded around here, especially in the back where the computers were kept, but they did not raise their voices. The library was a place of etiquette, unlike the rest of the raucous Digital World, and the staff were not afraid to uphold the rules.

Additionally, there were plenty of nooks to hide in if one wished, and Leopardmon stashed himself into one of these as soon as he found one. Cozy cots provided nice places to sit, and there was the comfortable aroma of aging paper. Leopardmon, of course, had borrowed several old history books, sorting through the information available within. If they had anything of note to say about Belphemon, even if the information was redundant, it was fair game.

Though that wasn’t to say that there was much to be gained. Any information the books had on the Demon Lords was sparse. None of the Demon Lords had such sparse summaries as Belphemon, however. The poor glitch didn’t even have a single passage dedicated to him, instead receiving only brief mentions as Lucemon’s favorite pet.

He figured Lucemon’s favorite pet would have been Daemon.

Leopardmon shivered at the thought.

He sighed as he placed a book to the side, flicking his tail in irritation. Floatia and Iceberg’s Ridge had more information than this city did. Perhaps he should have questioned his previous quarry for information. But then again, he would not have lasted long trying to attempt such a thing.

Grani hovered into his corner, humming in surprise. “There you are! I was wondering where you went!”

Leopardmon put his finger up to shoosh him.

Grani dipped his head low. “Right. Sorry.”

Leopardmon leaned back, his arms crossed. “And where did you go?”

“The computers. I thought we were both heading there.”

He glanced over at his book stack. “I suppose books wouldn’t be of much use to you, would they?”

“Maybe if I could pick them up. And in any case, I figured the computer archives would have more relevant data.”

“Did they?”

Grani winced. “Nothing but the basic stuff. It described Belphemon as a strong foe whose powers needed to be sealed away, but nothing on what his powers actually were or how to counter them.”

Leopardmon sat up, a question coming to mind. “Wait, shouldn’t you already have information on him in your memory files?”

“Nothing but the basic stuff, as I’ve said. I wasn’t with the group that defeated Belphemon, so I wasn’t able to gather any data on him. Magnamon could probably tell us more once he arrives.”

They heard footsteps nearby. Leopardmon turned to find Gallantmon heading up the stairs with a gold-clad lizard. Gallantmon yipped as the pair walked over to them.

“Speak of the devimon!” Grani cheered.

Leopardmon shushed him again.

The gold-clad lizard- Magnamon- cocked his head at the two of them. “Looks like you two found a nice spot to hide away in.”

What was the proper etiquette for this meeting? Should he offer to shake his hand? Then again, he hadn’t shaken Gallantmon’s hand when they properly addressed one another. Was Leopardmon doing something wrong somewhere?

He put his hand up anyway. “It’s… nice to meet you. I’m Leopardmon.”

Magnamon stared at his hand for a moment before shaking it- a reaction that Leopardmon wasn’t hoping for. “I’m Magnamon. Gallantmon said quite a few nice things about you.”

Did he? That was… unexpected.

“Where are the others?” Grani asked.

“They’re waiting outside,” Gallantmon explained. “We decided it wouldn’t do well to crowd the library. Our gathered presence is already starting to alarm the townsfolk.”

Leopardmon furrowed his brow. “They should be alarmed. Something big is coming for them.”

Magnamon shrugged. “Not necessarily. There’s still plenty of things we can do to keep the fight away from the city.”

“Once we find a proper meeting space,” Gallantmon elaborated. “I have a feeling the ‘Lucky Cat’ Inn is going to be too small for us.”

Leopardmon got up. “We could head for one of the towers along the city wall. I’m sure they won’t argue with letting us camp there for the next week.”

“Not a bad idea. I’ll pass it on to Omnimon.”

---

 

Just as Leopardmon predicted, the town guards allowed them to stay in one of the towers along the city wall. Actually, once they explained the situation, the guards were more than eager to show them in personally.

“What do you need us to do?” a guardromon asked. “Should we evacuate the town? Should we put up the shields? Should we-”

Omnimon waved him off. “We’re still gathering information. We have nine days to figure it out, so we’ll let you know.”

Gallantmon shrugged. “A little less than that, I think, if we need time to evacuate them.”

The guardromon nodded, heading on his way. Leopardmon followed the Royal Knights into the barracks. The Knights gathered in the center of the room, while Leopardmon kept to a bed in a corner. It seemed a bit too crowded for him there. This spot was more than comfortable.

“Well, with any luck, we won’t have to evacuate the townsfolk,” Magnamon suggested. “You guys said the Digital Hazard event was several miles out from here, right?”

“Yes,” Leopardmon replied. “If we keep Belphemon in the deepest part of the valley for the fight, then Salamander’s Rest will not be at risk.”

“That’s a pretty big ‘if’,” Omnimon argued, his arms crossed. “We’d need to find a way to confine him there.”

“You Royal Knights have your methods, don’t you?”

“A few of us, maybe, but our strength isn’t infinite. Belphemon’s power could far exceed ours. We’d have to work together to maintain some sort of barrier, but then that would leave a small group alone to take him on.”

Leopardmon scoffed, propping his arm up on the bed frame. “I’m more than capable of handling him on my own.”

“Don’t get cocky. You’ve never seen Belphemon in action the way the rest of us have.”

Don’t get cocky. This wasn’t him being cocky. It was him having a mission. Leopardmon had to take him on alone.

Grani looked over at Magnamon. “There were three of you on that mission, correct? You all needed to work together to take Belphemon down.”

Magnamon nodded, his head drooped down forlornly. “...with Craniamon and Crusadermon.”

“Alright, so we need at least three people down there while the rest of us keep the fight contained?” Dynasmon asked. “That should be simple enough to do.”

“Their power would need to be comparable to ours,” Alphamon insisted. “They need the best chance of taking Belphemon down.”- he nudged Gallantmon with his elbow- “I think you’d know a good candidate.”

Gallantmon set a finger to his chin. “Yeah, he would be. Plus, he could have information on Belphemon that would really help us out.”

Dynasmon stood up, flapping his wings. “Who is it!? Who is it!? Don’t keep me in suspense!”

Leopardmon frowned. “We don’t need anyone else. I can-”

Gallantmon stepped forward. “I’m surprised they didn’t tell you any stories, Dynasmon. Well, his name is Beelzemon, and we’ve been friends for years.”

Leopardmon stiffened up, blinking. “...Beelzemon?”

Gallantmon nodded. “He used to work with the Demon Lords. He’d know more about Belphemon’s abilities than any of us. Beelzemon would be a great asset in this fight.”

Gallantmon’s old friend didn’t just “work” with the Demon Lords. Leopardmon had been studying him for months, and he knew of Beelzemon’s rank in their numbers. 

He was also on Leopardmon’s hit list.

He could hardly imagine the Royal Knights eagerly working with a monster like that. Especially if they were going to replace Leopardmon with him. However, this did provide an excellent opportunity.

“Go ahead and call him,” Leopardmon decided.

Gallantmon cocked his head at him. “Yeah? You seemed eager to fight alone before.”

“Safety in numbers. And if Beelzemon is as knowledgeable as you say, then his presence can only be an asset. All I ask is that you let me take on Belphemon beside him.” 

Plus, I’ll be able to take him out once everything calms down.

“Do we know where he is, though?” Magnamon asked.

“I can call them,” Grani insisted. “I’m sure they’ll drop everything in order to help us. I’ll do it first thing tomorrow.”

Omnimon looked over at Leopardmon. “Then we’ll spend the rest of the night assessing our new friend here.”

Leopardmon crossed his arms. “You don’t need to do that.”

“If you’re insisting on being in the center of the fray, then we need to properly assess your abilities.”

“I’m sure Gallantmon and Grani already told you of my fighting capabilities.”

“Against a swarm of bugs. Belphemon isn’t going to be anything like that.”

“And he’s not going to be anything like you. Therefore, assessing me will be a waste of time.”

Dynasmon shrugged. “We could just spar. It doesn’t have to be so serious.”

Omnimon sighed. “Very well. That should work just as well.”

Dynasmon jumped up excitedly. “Yeah! Let’s head out there, then!”

Leopardmon glanced over at Omnimon, noting how diligently he kept his eye on him. The Royal Knights were going to use this match to assess his capabilities. Leopardmon knew that well enough. It seemed like there was no getting out of this, then. Leopardmon got up, following Dynasmon out of the barracks.

---

 

The two of them met up in the training yard, the setting sun painting the landscape. Neither of them used their powers for this simple exercise, though that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be any scrapes. Dynasmon consistently used his claws, doing his best to attack Leopardmon. Leopardmon, meanwhile, dodged each attack, or used his sword to block those he couldn’t get away from. His sword strikes were nothing more than simple parries.

But this was just the information gathering stage of the fight.

Dynasmon was an earnest, if simple Digimon. He was a big Digimon who preferred to throw his weight around haphazardly, twisting himself about to try and trip up his opponent. And there was also this awkwardness to his gait, as if he would rather take to the air to continue the fight, rather than stick to the ground. It was an easy exploitation.

Leopardmon ducked behind him, kicking his foot into his leg. Dynasmon toppled over, and Leopardmon jumped to the side as he fell onto his back. He pointed his sword at Dynasmon’s chest, claiming victory.

“Lucky shot,” Dynasmon scoffed.

“Luck has nothing to do with it. You’re just easy to read.”

Leopardmon glanced behind himself, looking toward the other Knights watching from the wall. He felt Dynasmon knock his sword out of his hand before pouncing forward. Dynasmon scooped him up, carrying him upside down. Leopardmon shouted, kicking his face with his foot, but he would not let go. He watched Omnimon stride over with a chuckle.

“You can let him go, Dynasmon.”

Dynasmon dropped him onto the grass. Leopardmon stood up, fists clenched. “Dirty cheat!”

Omnimon crossed his arms. “That’s on you, kiddo. Don’t assume your opponent is defeated just because they’re down.”

“There are rules to sparring! He clearly ignored the proper etiquette!”

“And do you think Belphemon is going to care about that?”

Leopardmon stepped back, speechless.

Omnimon nodded. “Don’t get cocky. Dynasmon, I’d like you on the front lines with him. Help him keep focus.”

Dynasmon blinked. “You don’t think it’s too early to start planning formations?”

“I have a feeling we’re going to need you up there anyway. But it is still early enough to change things if we need to.”

Leopardmon kicked the grass, marching back inside. These meddlesome Digimon were going to take his quarry. He couldn’t let that happen.

Chapter 4: The Eighth Day

Early morning broke out. Gallantmon and Grani made their way to the main gate. They looked at the sky, noting how the gray, wispy clouds melded perfectly with the pink hues. It seemed like a good day for flying.

They looked over to find Omnimon walking toward them. Gallantmon leaned against the wall, taking him in.

“It’s a bit early to be up, don’t you think?” Gallantmon asked. “Or did you pull another all-nighter?”

Omnimon didn’t say anything.

Gallantmon cuffed him on the shoulder. “You’ll ruin your health that way, you know.”

“I need to talk to you about Leopardmon.”

His playfulness evaporated. “Oh.”

“Did you see him at all when you went to bed last night? I couldn’t find him anywhere. I’m worried he went out to find Belphemon.”

“Belphemon’s not coming out until he’s ready. Leopardmon knows that. He’s not going to waste time trying to find things.”

“Do you blame me for thinking that, though? With how stubborn and arrogant he is? I know you were trying to value his wishes, but I swear he’s going to be a liability in that fight. His glory-seeking is going to get us all killed.”

Gallantmon crossed his arms. “Aren’t you the one who says that Digimon are the masters of their own destinies? If Leopardmon wants this fight, we can’t just chase him out.”

“No, but we can offer counsel. And the people of Salamader’s Rest asked us for help.”

“We still have time. We’ll find a way to make Leopardmon a team player.”

Omnimon frowned. “And if he’s not, we’re booting him from the mission.”

“Fine.”

Omnimon looked over at Grani. “So are you two heading out soon?”

“With any luck,” Grani told him. “I sent a message to Behemoth, but neither of them have responded yet. Something tells me they’ll want to meet with us, first. That’s usually how it goes.”

A button pinged on Grani’s console. He answered it, listening in on a message that only he could hear. “Well speak of the devimon, that was them. They want us to come to Fireball Bar.”

“That’s a few miles south of here, right? Come back soon, alright?”

Gallantmon nodded, hopping on Grani’s back. “We’ll let you know when we’re on our way.”

“And remember not to drink too much. Though I’m sure Beelzemon wouldn’t mind covering your tab- or guiding you to the toilet.”

Gallantmon rolled his eyes, and he and Grani took to the air.

---

 

Meanwhile, Leopardmon sat on a table outside of a cafe. He looked at his Digi UI, searching for the tab with his currency on it. He found it, and sighed after finding that he only had eight hundred bits available. That would definitely not be enough for him to buy the equipment he wanted to find.

He rubbed at his eyes. Staying up all night in a city like this wasn’t fun when everything closed so early. Where was he supposed to go to gather information? At this point, gathering information on Belphemon didn’t matter much, so long as he had something to exercise his mind with.

And whatever kept him best hidden from the Royal Knights was more than okay in his book. Actually, he’d like nothing more than to just dissolve and ensure no one in the city looked at him ever again. The last thing he wanted to do was make a base of operations in a place inhabited by Digimon.

He couldn’t stand anyone looking at someone like him.

Leopardmon sighed, closing the UI. His mission was falling out of his fingers like loose sand. How could he let the Royal Knights impose themselves on him so easily? He had to drive them out somehow. He had to take back control.

If they were allowed to fight…

If Leopardmon was allowed to fight alongside others…

He screwed his eyes shut, shaking his head. No. He had to be the only one out there. 

It would be fine if he was the only one who got hurt.

Leopardmon got up, walking down the street. The library had to be open by now. Maybe he could read something there. He’d have to change hiding places, though. The Royal Knights knew where his old one was.

Who was he kidding? They wouldn’t be looking for him. Leopardmon was sure they were trying to boot him from the mission right now.

Leopardmon made his way back to the library, pausing as he found two familiar Knights waiting outside. Alphamon and Magnamon appeared to be in deep conversation, but they halted as Leopardmon arrived. Leopardmon tried backing away, but Magnamon caught up to him before he could leave.

“There you are!” Magnamon gasped. “You kinda disappeared after the sparring session. Where did you go?”

Leopardmon crossed his arms. “Does it matter? My presence doesn’t seem to be needed.”

Alphamon rubbed the back of his neck. “I get it if you’re upset about that. That was kind of a low blow- I’m not sure why Omnimon encouraged that.”

Magnamon shrugged. “I don’t know. Omnimon kind of had a point. Belphemon isn’t going to play fair, so neither should we.”

Leopardmon flicked his tail, frowning at them. “Did you come looking for me just to deride me some more? Go back to planning with your allies if you need something to do.”

“No, right now, we’re looking for ways to kill time,” Alphamon insisted. “Gallantmon and Grani left to fetch Beelzemon, and there’s not much we can do until they get back. We could find something to do together.”

Leopardmon raised a brow at them. “With me, you mean?”

“If you want.”

He tipped his head up toward the sky, exhausted, and then walked away. “No thanks.”

Magnamon crossed his arms with a frown. "You don't have to react like that."

Like how? Leopardmon kept going, shaking his head. It didn't matter. They could see him however they wanted to. He wasn’t interested in making friends.

---

 

Midday came, and Leopardmon hid himself in a gazebo in the city’s garden district. With the library ruined for him, this was the only other place he could hide. He busied himself by checking over previous data he had gathered, reviewing that of the previous targets he had eliminated.

Leviamon had been quite a challenge. It was difficult to fight him within that submerged well. Leopardmon had nearly died in the encounter. (It wouldn’t have been the worst way to end his mission).

Barbamon had tried to be imposing, but his love of treasure had been far too strong. All Leopardmon had to do was manipulate it.

And Daemon…

Leopardmon shivered, turning off the UI. He screwed his eyes shut, rubbing his eyes with the bottom of his palms. Those memories threatened to come back up, and he couldn’t let them.

“So there you are.”

Leopardmon looked over, finding Omnimon approaching him. Was nowhere in this city sacred for him? Leopardmon got up, attempting to leave, only for Omnimon to corner him.

“What were you thinking, insulting my friends earlier?” Omnimon huffed.

“Insulted? I didn’t think it was mandatory for me to hang out with them.”

“You need to watch your tone. This arrangement isn’t going to work out if you-”

Leopardmon whipped around to face him, his fists clenched. “What arrangement? All you’ve done is hijack my mission! You’ve already booted me from it, I can tell!”

“I’m seriously considering it. Gallantmon told me you were much nicer than this, but I have no idea what he was talking about. Why is this so important to you, anyway?”

“Why? Because I was here first! You have no right to take this away from me!”

“So you really are hunting for glory, are you? There’s no glory to be had in your death.”

“And what does my death matter?! It’s fine so long as no one else gets hurt!”

Omnimon stepped back, blinking in surprise. Leopardmon didn’t understand why he had to be surprised by it. Certainly the tale had crossed the whole Server by now…

“Leopardmon, it was the Royal Knights who defeated Belphemon before,” Omnimon insisted. “You’re the one who’s out of his depth.”

They really weren’t going to listen to him unless he spilled the contents of his project, huh? Leopardmon opened his UI, pulling up the relevant information, before quickly looking away. He couldn’t stomach looking at it- looking at Daemon’s file. He already felt sick thinking about it. Omnimon was silent for a long time before speaking up again.

“Is… is this accurate? You’ve eliminated three of them?”

Leopardmon nodded curtly. 

“Hang on, Leviamon and Barbamon don’t have the same fractal codes as the ones we fought. Which is a load off my back, honestly- I was certain those two had died a long time ago.”

“They were still just as dangerous. None of their ilk are allowed to live.”

“So… this is some sort of vengeance quest, then?”

“They attacked my ho… my birthplace. I can’t let them hurt anyone else.”

“You don’t have to throw your life away to do it.”

Yes he did. Daemon’s demise wasn’t Leopardmon’s first time fighting…

Oh no, now his stomach turned up in knots. Leopardmon knelt down, bowling over to cushion the pain. Omnimon tried to touch him, but he nudged his gauntlet out of the way. That was the last thing he needed right now.

“If you’re going to work with us, you need to learn how to work as part of a team,” Omnimon explained. “You may have gotten this far, but Belphemon will be too much for you on your own. Especially if you’re going to disregard your life in this way.”

Leopardmon glared at him. “What would you even know about my life?”

Omnimon crossed his arms. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

Leopardmon didn’t reply.

“I’d suggest that you lie down for a bit. You’ll feel better with some rest.”

Perhaps they’d leave him alone, then. Leopardmon sighed, getting up and following Omnimon back to the tower.

---

 

Sleep turned out to come very easily to him. Maybe it was the all-nighter that exhausted him, or maybe it was just the stress of having to deal with the Royal Knights. Maybe it was both.

Whatever it was, it made Leopardmon pass out on the bed in the corner. He had a dreamless sleep, which was quite a rarity for him. When Leopardmon awoke next, it was sunset, and his stomach still hurt. Then it growled, which only made it hurt more. Right, he hadn’t eaten all day. He didn’t think he could eat anything right now.

Well, he had to try, didn’t he?

Leopardmon wandered over to the kitchen, pausing as he found the last wayward knight rummaging through there. Dynasmon gathered an assortment of fruits and veggies into his arms, snacking on a few of them before placing them on the counter. He looked over to find Leopardmon arriving.

“Hey, long time no see,” Dynasmon said. “I’m fixing dinner for myself, but if there’s anything you want, I can make it.”

Leopardmon didn’t trust that offer. Not after last night. “I’m just getting something light to snack on.”

He made his way over to the cupboard, pulling out a sleeve of crackers. His stomach growled again, and the pain seemed to ebb away. Leopardmon took the sleeve of crackers to a table, opening it up and nibbling on one. He didn’t feel so ill afterward. But all the while, he could feel Dynasmon’s gaze boring into him.

“What is it?” Leopardmon asked.

“That’s not all you’re having for dinner, is it?”

“I… don’t know. I was feeling kind of off, earlier.”

“Are you getting sick? Shoot, I wish Grani hadn’t left this morning. He could figure out a way to help you. But maybe Magnamon can-”

Leopardmon cringed. “Don’t bring him into this. And in any case, I’m feeling better now.”

Dynasmon peered over his shoulder. “Well that’s good. So… would you want me to make something for you after all? Since you’re well enough to eat, anyway?”

Leopardmon glanced at him. “Is this your form of an apology?”

Dynasmon shrugged. “I just thought it would be nice, but if you want it to be an apology, that’s okay too.”

It was interesting that Dynasmon didn’t press for further explanation on what the “apology” was for. How far should he take this? “Can… Can you make omelet rice?”

Dynasmon crossed his arms, deep in thought. “I think so. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

What Dynasmon ended up making was an omelet with a serving of rice on the side. Leopardmon discovered cheese and spinach in the omelet when he cut it open. The rice was topped with a (thankfully) mild curry, which spilled across half the plate and made his coding crawl. Leopardmon didn’t always mind curry on his rice (in fact, sometimes rice needed curry), but having it drizzle onto everything else was too much for him to handle. He couldn’t take it with any sort of sauce or topping, even the syrup drizzled onto eggs. How other Digimon could stomach their foods touching, he didn’t know. The dish that Dynasmon presented him was quite the nightmare.

Although technically he had made what Leopardmon asked him for.

Still, Leopardmon had to ask, “Have… you ever seen omelet rice before?”

“This doesn’t look like it?”

So the answer was “no”, then. Leopardmon pulled up his Digi UI, finding a picture of the dish in question and showing it to him. Dynasmon sucked in a breath, cringing.

“Definitely haven’t seen that before. I’m sorry.”

“I should have specified. And I... still appreciate this.”

Leopardmon carefully cut around the omelet, banishing the parts of it that were touched by the curry. But having a warm meal presented before him made him realize how hungry he was. Leopardmon managed to finish most of the omelet, and none of the rice was spared. He set the plate aside with a comfortable sigh, full and satisfied.

“Your cooking skills aren’t half bad,” Leopardmon noted.

Dynasmon flapped his wings excitedly. “You really mean that? I’ve been practicing for quite a while!”

Leopardmon nodded.

Dynasmon turned back toward the counter. “That’s great! I’ll definitely have to cook something for the others soon!”

“You’ve been practicing for them?”

“There’s nothing like receiving a meal from someone you love, right?”

It was certainly up there. Leopardmon couldn’t remember the last time anyone made him a meal.

He definitely didn’t deserve to have a meal made for him. He had done too much wrong for that kind of privilege. Maybe he had made a mistake by accepting Dynasmon’s offer to cook for him.

Leopardmon sighed, folding his arms on the table. “I don’t know how I’m going to apologize to everyone.”

“You can just say you were having a bad day. That would probably do well enough.”

“Apologies are ruined by excuses.”

“Excuses? But that’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“Maybe, but it’s still an excuse.”

Dynasmon sat across from him, having prepared a strange kind of stir fry for himself. “I don’t think it’s that much of an excuse. I’m sure the others could tell you were having a bad day. I know Alphamon isn’t one to hold grudges. I think it’ll be fine if you just say what you mean.”

It wouldn’t be fine. Leopardmon had gone through this enough times to know. “I’ll… figure it out.”

Dynasmon nodded, his head dipped down. “And I should probably say it for real. I’m… sorry about last night.”

Leopardmon blinked at him.

“I just wanted to have a fun sparring match with you. I’m not sure why Omnimon thought I was trying to teach you something. But regardless, I still played a part in upsetting you, so… I’m sorry.”

Leopardmon nodded with a scoff. “So you enjoy sparring matches, huh?”

Dynasmon eagerly flapped his wings, stabbing some vegetables with his fork. “Yeah! It’s fun to rough around in the dirt!”

“That’s not really fun for me.” He preferred the training simulations when it came to getting stronger. The bumps and scrapes from sparring matches were only ever tolerated, to prepare one for those of actual battle- those ones couldn’t be avoided, after all. But even that tolerance had its limits.

“So you’re the quiet type that likes his space, then?”

Leopardmon nodded.

“Maybe all of our clamoring today overwhelmed you, then. I can let the others know, and maybe that will help.”

He wanted to help, even after all the trouble Leopardmon had given everyone? “You… You don’t have to go that far.”

“Sure I do. We’re all working together. So we have to meet your needs as well.”

That wasn’t their job. It was Leopardmon’s job to sit down and shut up. That was the only way his mission could move forward. 

Nonetheless, Leopardmon sighed and nodded. “You’re welcome to try.”

Chapter 5: The Seventh Day

Gallantmon and Grani arrived at Fireball Bar late the previous night. A strange motorcycle sat outside of the establishment. It revved to life the moment it saw them arrive, driving over to them. Grani nudged Gallantmon, prompting him to climb off. Gallantmon folded his arms as he watched Grani chase the motorcycle around.

“It’s been way too long, Behemoth!” Grani cheered. “I hope you and Beelzemon have been doing well!”

Behemoth reared up excitedly, her version of a nod. 

“I’m heading inside,” Gallantmon announced. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Grani nodded, and continued playing with his old friend.

Gallantmon walked into the bar, skirting around the crowds of fire Digimon inhabiting it. Everyone was wrapped up in raucous conversations, and the overhead music blared across the whole establishment. It kind of made it difficult for Gallantmon to think. But he found his way to the very back, where a familiar black-winged ally sat. Beelzemon engaged a skullmeramon in an arm wrestling match, surrounded by a crowd of cheering bluemeramons. Beelzemon ultimately triumphed over his opponent, and the cheers and jeers only increased in volume. Gallantmon cut his way through the crowd, walking over to him. Beelzemon looked over, smiling as his friend arrived.

“Finally! What kept you?” Beelzemon asked. “I think I’ve trounced every worthy opponent in here by now.”

“You know, it wouldn’t have taken us so long to meet up if you came to Salamander’s Rest right away,” Gallantmon reminded him.

Beelzemon kicked his feet up on the table, crossing his arms behind his back. “Ah, none of those guys are any fun. They go down too easily in a wrestling match, and they do not enjoy drinking at all.”

“Is that what you’re here for? Just to kick back for a few laughs?”

Beelzemon frowned at him. “You do know what you asked of me, right?”

Gallantmon sighed, setting his hand on the back of the chair. “I get it. This whole thing is overwhelming me, too. I hoped that I wouldn’t have to come across another Demon Lord ever again. Well, I mean-”

“No no, that’s fine. I wasn’t exactly a Demon Lord in the end, remember?”

Gallantmon nodded.

“I just wanted to get a drink before we started. This is the only decent bar in the whole region. None of the bars in Salamander’s Rest have any kick to them, if you know what I mean.”

“I doubt any bar on this Server could best your constitution.”

Beelzemon shrugged. “I’ve been to some that have gotten close. I need to take you to this one place in the Great North- the Digimon up there do not mess around with their alcohol.”

“And I assume you’re inviting me to a drink right now?”

“Figured you could use a load-off too, before we get started. Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve hung out. We need to catch up.”

Gallantmon certainly wasn’t opposed to that. “Can we head outside for it? My head is kind of hurting from the noise.”

Beelzemon got up. “Yeah, mine too. And I haven’t created the necessary buzz to block it out.”

---

 

Omnimon met up with the two of them early the next morning. Though Beelzemon appeared only slightly buzzed, Gallantmon was clearly hungover. It was good that their vehicles were sentient, otherwise they could have gotten into serious trouble.

“I knew you’d find a way to overdo it,” Omnimon chuckled.

“Come on, we only had seven drinks,” Beelzemon argued. “Quite a paltry effort on our end, though. But we do need to be alert for this mission, so I suppose holding back was necessary.”

Gallantmon clutched his head. “Please. Be quieter,” he whispered.

“Oh, are you going back to bed, then?”

Gallantmon nodded. He skirted next to Omnimon, saying, “Make sure no one bothers me.” He then promptly walked into the tower without another word.

Beelzemon stretched, flapping his wings. “So, we have about… seven days now?”

“That’s right,” Omnimon continued. “We could use your help for the fight. Whatever information you have on Belphemon would also be appreciated.”

“I wouldn’t be too worried about handling Belphemon. He’s only dangerous when someone is giving him orders. On his own, he’s pretty much useless. He just throws his weight around until he gets tired.”

“But he’s still dangerous before that point. Should we evacuate the city before he awakens?”

Belphemon shrugged. “Depends. Where is he?”

Grani hovered forward. “I could show you. I need to return to the site anyway in order to conduct readings. Oh, but we should fetch Leopardmon first. I know he wanted to go.”

Omnimon nodded. “Then we’ll head out once he wakes up.”

---

 

Leopardmon found Tactimon on the main terrace late one night. The old mon seemed to be having tea alone. Leopardmon promptly seated himself at the table next to him, crossing his arms. Tactimon gave him a glance over, and finished his sip before speaking.

“You want to argue with me about your recent test scores?”

“You failed me on purpose. I accessed the simulation room’s database and found out that I successfully completed every mark. Not that I needed to check- I’ve seen veterans complete the advanced sims many times to know how to do it.”

“So you hacked our files?”

“Why would I need to hack them? They’re not encrypted. Anyone who wanted to look at those files could easily do so.”

“Leopardmon, those files are off-limits to rookies.”

Leopardmon pounded his fist on the table. “Just admit you want me to fail!”

Tactimon calmly placed his cup on the table. “You think I want you to fail?”

“Rasielmon and MirageGaogamon performed exactly as well as me, and you didn’t fail either of them. You have something against me.”

“Leopardmon, why did you join the army?”

He blinked. “Why does that matter?”

“It matters because I joined the army to protect the city of Floatia and its people. You and your friends were not around for the previous eras of chaos that the Digital World experienced. You do not know how bad things can get. Floatia is the oldest city in the world, and it only got this way because of the focus and determination of its citizens. For it to continue rising in the sky, its descendents must share that same focus and determination. And frankly, I’m not sure that you do.”

Leopardmon scoffed.

“Fighting doesn’t seem to interest you much. And you seem much more comfortable working in the library.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re trying to push me back into the library?”

“I want you to go where your skills are most valued. And if that’s in the-”

“My skills are more valuable than me , then? Why should I bother working in the library, then, if someone else can easily replace me? Meanwhile, there aren’t too many Digimon that can lead armies the way you can.”

Tactimon crossed his arms. “So that is your ambition, then? To lead an army?”

Leopardmon nodded.

“You’re not going to get there on your current path. You’re too stubborn and impetuous. At this stage, you’re more likely to get someone killed. When you’re leading an army, you have to consider the safety of your soldiers, and do everything in your power to protect them all.”

“You can’t save them all. That’s how war is.”

“No. But you still have to try.”

 

 

 

You’re going to get someone killed.

You’re going to get someone killed.

YOU'RE GOING TO-

 

 

Leopardmon sat up, his heart pounding in his chest. He took in his surroundings, relaxing as he found himself in the tower barracks. He pressed his fingers to his temples, trying to push away the headache. Guess it was time for the nightmares to come back.

Why didn’t he listen to Tactimon sooner?

Were the others awake yet? Leopardmon got out of bed, making his way to the kitchen. He paused as he found Omnimon there, talking with someone new. Leopardmon had seen this stranger’s figure in various files, but never with the giant black wings. The Royal Knight was currently making coffee, the bitter smell filling the air. He gave a cup to the stranger, who took a sip, scrunching his nose as he did so.

“This coffee tastes awful,” the stranger said.

“Well, I didn’t put any alcohol in it, so it’s probably that,” Omnimon scoffed.

Leopardmon stepped forward cautiously, taking in the scene. Omnimon looked over at him, cocking his head curiously. “Good morning, Leopardmon. Do you want me to make you some coffee?”

Leopardmon shook his head. “I-I don’t like coffee. That’s not… That’s not ‘Beelzemon’ is it?”

The stranger held up two fingers toward him. “Yo. Nice to meet you.”

“You can properly introduce yourself, you know,” Omnimon insisted.

“Yeah yeah. Technically my title is ‘Beelzemon: Blast Mode’, but that’s a bit of a mouthful. Just ‘Beelzemon’ will do.”

Leopardmon rubbed his temples. “And… supposedly you’re the same ‘Demon Lord Beelzemon’ that the Royal Knights don’t have any issues with?”

“Hey, the Demon Lords booted me from the pack. My wishes didn’t align with theirs- Gallantmon and the others helped me realize that.”

So this Digimon had completely repented? That means he’s not part of my quarry after all…

Omnimon walked over to the fridge. “Leopardmon, what do you usually drink in the mornings?”

“Uh, just milk,” Leopardmon muttered.

The fridge opened up. “Milk? You don’t like orange juice?”

“I don’t like the pulp.”

“The label on this bottle says there isn’t any pulp in it.”

“Yeah, well the label can say whatever it wants. There’s always pulp in it.”

Beelzemon sat up. “Yeah, you always get a few bits no matter what.”

Omnimon nodded, pulling out a carton of milk. He prepared a glass for Leopardmon, saying, “When we’re done here, we are going to head to the crater that Grani saw. I know you two wanted to gather data on the site. It’ll give Beelzemon a chance to make a proper assessment, as well.”

Leopardmon nodded, taking a sip. This was going to be an interesting excursion.

---

 

The four of them flew out to the crater, minding their surroundings. The strange Spiral creatures watched them from the cliffs, curious about their presence. Though they were not particularly strong, they still made Leopardmon uneasy. It was like they were the…

He shook his head. He couldn’t think about that now. The visions had just stopped haunting him.

The crater turned out to be much larger in person. It was several feet wide, and several more feet deep. It was less of a crater and more of a foundation, likely for the tower that Belphemon once inhabited. The thick miasma floated within the crater like a deep fog, making the entire party feel ill. Leopardmon and Grani could only do their readings from a distance.

“You want to evacuate the city when Belphemon is this far away?” Beelzemon scoffed. “He’s not going to wander that far out.”

“We don’t know how the battle will progress,” Omnimon insisted. “Or how bad the tremors of it will be.”

“We’re in the valley region. I’m sure the people of Salamander’s Rest are familiar with tremors. All we have to do is warn them about those and keep the battle here- which I’m sure you were already planning.”

Leopardmon finished his scans. He was able to find the slumbering Belphemon deep under the ground, and get the scans of his awakened form. When active, Belphemon would tower several feet above the Royal Knights, as well as those who participated in the fight. The strength of his arms could break the cliffs apart, and the strength of his flame could do serious damage to those who fought him. Just thinking about it made him uneasy. Leopardmon looked over at Grani, finding him finishing up the scans. His grim face indicated that he had reached the same conclusion.

“We’re done,” Leopardmon announced. “We should head back. This place makes me feel awful.”

“Oof, I didn’t realize how terrible Belphemon truly was,” Grani shivered. “I can’t believe Magnamon and the others survived his assault.”

Omnimon crossed his arms, looking up at the cliffs where the Spirals gathered. “Do you think those creatures up there will be a problem?”

Leopardmon winced. “Potentially. The Spirals might flood the crater when the Digital Hazard finally manifests. They’d prove to be a nuisance during a time when we need to focus.”

“...Such as setting up a barrier. So we’ll need someone to look after us while we do that, as well as guarding us while we maintain it. You’re right, we should head back now. We’ll need to discuss this with the others.”

They turned around, heading back through the valley. Leopardmon gave the crater one last look, his stomach sinking as he wondered what kind of fight would be in store for him.

---

 

Alphamon fell flat on his back, Dynasmon pinning him down. He struggled under his opponent’s weight, but it wouldn’t let up. He slammed his hands on the ground, giving up. Dynasmon stood up, jumping excitedly.

“Gotcha again!” Dynasmon cheered, offering his hand.

Alphamon took his hand, letting him help him up. “You’re definitely a tough one to wrestle with.”

Magnamon nodded curtly from the corner of the training room, messing with a code circle. “You’re better with magic attacks anyway, Alphamon.”

Alphamon made his way over to him, panting heavily. He took a seat next to Magnamon, catching his breath and cooling off in the shade. The brisk fall hair didn’t matter at all when one was exercising. “What are you working on?”

“Seeing if I can still access data from the Akashic Server,” Magnamon explained. “I thought I could find data on Belphemon that way.”

“Don’t you need to scan the Digimon in question before you can get their data?”

“I mean, sometimes I can- hey wait, there’s an idea!”

Magnamon got up, standing in front of Alphamon. He tapped the code circle’s screen, and then turned it around so Alphamon could read what was on it. DigiCode on the screen read “Scan in process”.

“Be sure to hit the button when it’s done,” Magnamon told him.

Alphamon nodded. Soon, the code circle pinged, and DigiCode scrawled over saying, “Scan complete. Review data?” Alphamon hit the button, and various files came up- all of them about Magnamon.

“Did it work?” Magnamon asked.

“They’re all about you. Is that what you wanted?”

Magnamon took the code circle back, looking over the files. “That’s right. We need data on Belphemon in order to fight him, but we’d get better results if we had an actual fight to review. So I figured-”

“-That you’d look at your own files pertaining to your fight with him. That’s very clever.”

Alphamon got up, walking over to Magnamon as he pulled up a new file. This one had a video of Magnamon’s fight with Belphemon. He, Craniamon and Crusadermon charged after the terrifying beast, weathering blow after terrible blow. Crusadermon held the beast back with their ribbons, Craniamon tackled it with his spear, and Magnamon launched a barrage of pulse blasts at its head. Alphamon looked over at Magnamon, noting how morose he seemed when watching the file.

Alphamon tried thinking back to the missing Knights. The most he could find was a fuzzy memory of Crusadermon looking after him, but even then, he couldn’t figure out the context of that moment. He felt a distance between him and Magnamon, the latter torn up over his own recollection of their lost friends. A recollection that Alphamon couldn’t share.

Even so, he gave Magnamon a friendly nudge with his shoulder. “Hey. I miss them, too.”

Magnamon leaned into his arm. “This doesn’t feel right without them.”

“I know. But I think they’d be glad that you’re continuing the fight. They’d be glad that you’re not alone.”

Magnamon nodded.

They heard a commotion behind them, and turned around to find the traveling party returning. Alphamon, Magnamon and Dynasmon went to meet up with them. The stunned glances of Leopardmon and Grani did not go unnoticed by them.

“I’m guessing it’s pretty bad?” Alphamon asked.

Grani nodded. “We should expect a pretty intense fight.”

Magnamon tentatively turned the code circle around to face them. “I pulled up more data on Belphemon. Hopefully this helps us as well.”

He played the video for them again. Leopardmon brought up his strange UI device, recording said video. His eyes seemed tired, and there was a slight tremble to his hand as he pressed the UI’s buttons. Eventually the video finished playing, and Leopardmon excused himself into the tower. Alphamon watched him go, and then turned his attention back to the others.

“It’s probably dawning on him what kind of foe Belphemon is,” Omnimon explained. “Hopefully that does something to curb his impulsiveness.”

“The way he looked, it was like Leopardmon was considering backing away from the fight,” Alphamon insisted.

Omnimon nodded.

Beelzemon stretched, flapping his wings. “I know you’re all probably eager to have another meeting, but I can’t do that on an empty stomach. I think there’s a halfway decent hot pot restaurant around here that we can go to.”

Omnimon scoffed, crossing his arms. “Hot pot, you say?”

“Mm hm. I’m craving hot pot.”

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have lunch before we started our discussions. It’s probably a good time to wake up Gallantmon, too.”

Alphamon nodded. “I can fetch him. I’ll also ask Leopardmon if he wants to come along.”

“Of course. It wouldn’t be as much fun without him.”

Alphamon excused himself, heading into the tower. He made his way into the barracks, taking in the scene. Gallantmon and Leopardmon sat at almost opposite ends of the room. Leopardmon hid in a corner, messing with his Digi UI. Gallantmon hid himself under a nest of blankets and sheets, visible only by the mound they made. Alphamon made his way over there first, placing his hand on the mound and shaking it. Gallantmon slowly poked his head out from underneath, blinking blearily at him.

“...You better have a good reason for waking me,” he grumbled.

“It’s almost lunchtime. Are you feeling better?”

Gallantmon sat up, rubbing his eyes. “My head still hurts, but it’s not as bad as before.”

“Are you well enough to go to a restaurant? Beelzemon suggested going out for hot pot.”

He chuckled. “Sounds like him. I think I’ll be okay if we find somewhere quiet to sit. Just give me a minute to wake up.”

Alphamon nodded, and looked over to where Leopardmon was sitting. “Did you get that, Leopardmon? The offer extends to you as well.”

Leopardmon looked up briefly from his work, taking them in. He then looked back down, his wings hitched up to hide himself. Was he still embarrassed about the other day? Alphamon walked over to his bed, leaning against the wall next to it.

“I get it if this mission is starting to feel overwhelming. And I think it would be better for you if you spent time with us instead of wallowing alone. I understand wanting some space, but complete isolation isn’t good for you. You don’t even have to stay long, if you really don’t want to.”

Leopardmon sighed, turning off his UI. He got up, giving Alphamon a curt nod. Alphamon looked back at Gallantmon, who was climbing out of bed. Satisfied with his efforts, Alphamon made his way out of the room, with the other two following close behind.

---

 

Leopardmon wasn’t sure why he accepted Alphamon’s invitation this time. He certainly wasn’t ready to be around others by the time he did. He would’ve preferred having time to properly mull over his thoughts. Maybe it was something Alphamon said about isolation that convinced him to go. No matter how overwhelming the excursion was, something within Leopardmon didn’t want him to be alone.

Luckily for him, the restaurant experience wasn’t the same sensory nightmare that the inn had been. It was still plenty crowded and busy inside, but the Royal Knights’ party found seating outside on the patio, which was comparatively less busy. The outside sunlight was easy on Leopardmon’s eyes, and the umbrella above the table made him feel even more relaxed. The table even had a cloth with a nice texture over it.

Given the size of the party, he was still bunched up tightly with everyone else. His elbows constantly brushed up against Gallantmon and Magnamon, each touch sending shivers up his spine. There was very little to be done about it, though- it was a miracle the restaurant had a table big enough to seat all of them together. There were worse people he could be seated next to- he almost didn’t mind being so close to Gallantmon.

And there was a decent amount of food for the hot pot as well, enough for everyone to have what they wanted. Everything was precooked, so they could fix their own personal dishes. Leopardmon stole two bowls of broth before everyone got started, collecting what ingredients he wanted from it. He wasn’t a fan of soups with too many things floating in it- that same problem of having the foods touching. But he also wasn’t sure if he wanted a noodle soup over a tofu soup, so he stole two bowls of broth to make one of each. He also stole some slices of meat on the side, nibbling on one while he waited for his soups to be ready.

It was interesting seeing what kind of ingredients each of the party members preferred, and Leopardmon briefly wondered what that said about them. Dynasmon made something with a mix of meats and vegetables. Omnimon made something similar to that, but added noodles to the mix. Alphamon waited until the fish was ready before scooping that into a bowl. Magnamon contentedly took tofu pieces from the pot and dunked them into various sauces. Beelzemon did much the same with the meats. And Gallantmon, of course, had a variation of everything.

“Remember to slow down, Gallantmon,” Grani warned him. “I think the restaurant staff would be pleased if you took leftovers.”

Gallantmon nodded, brushing off his concern.

Leopardmon couldn’t remember the last time he shared a hot pot meal. The usual hot pot parties back home were never this big. He’d tried going to a bigger one once, but no one had waited before putting everything into the pot, and then Leopardmon couldn’t stomach eating anything. And then some kind of argument started and… well, he preferred the smaller parties with Rasielmon and MirageGaogamon anyway. It was much more calm and intimate.

He certainly missed those days.

But this party wasn’t so bad.

“So Beelzemon,” Dynasmon began, his mouth partially full, “what made you leave the Demon Lords?”

“I didn’t exactly leave. I was more booted. I mean, I really wish I could have left on my own accord- give a formal resignation in the form of a swift punch to Lucemon’s smug grin, you know?”

“So they tried to kill you, you mean?”

Beelzemon nodded. “Gallantmon saved me from that little scrap, along with Magnamon and Crusadermon. Speaking of which, I noticed you were missing a few members of your Order. Where did the other two go?”

Omnimon sighed, shaking his head. “They went missing at the end of the X Crisis. We’ve been looking for them whenever we have extra time, but we haven’t discovered anything about their condition, one way or the other. I just hope they’re okay, wherever they are.”

Beelzemon hummed, dunking a piece of meat into soy sauce. “That’s disappointing. I’m sure they’d love to have another go-around with Belphemon.”

Magnamon shook his head. “Can we not talk about that right now? I thought we came here to have a break from that.”

“Right, sorry. Dynasmon, any other stories you want from me?”

Dynasmon nodded, swallowing. “My next question was going to be what got you booted out.”

“Yes yes. It’s a bit of a story. There wasn’t exactly one thing that made me change my mind, but-”

“There’s one thing that got you booted, right?”

“It was a long time in the making. They were all getting suspicious of me, and insisted that I was changing somehow. They were right, of course- Gallantmon was responsible for that.”

Gallantmon propped his arm on the table with a nod. “I’m not sure I recognized you as a Demon Lord at the time. You certainly didn’t have the attitude of the others. They all acted so high and mighty, meanwhile you were absolutely irreverent.”

Beelzemon took a bite of meat, swallowing it with a smirk. “Yeah, they were all a bunch of killjoys. Well, except for… ‘you-know-who’. I think he’d just prefer to be left alone.”

“You were very comforting to be around. Whenever the war got too stressful, I’d invariably find my way to you. I was worried what the others would think if they knew about us- that they’d think I was turning on them- but I cared about our friendship.”

“And you , on the other hand, were very uncomfortable to be around.”

Gallantmon blinked. “Me?”

Beelzemon nodded with a scoff. “You were, after a while. But that was okay. I needed to be uncomfortable. It helped me realize what was really going on.”

Leopardmon took a spoonful of broth up to his mouth. “What do you mean by ‘uncomfortable’? You seem to like each other well enough.”

“Well, Gallantmon was fun to be around, and our various hangout sessions were a blast. But each one would end with a rant about ‘justice’ and ‘balance’ and all of that. He insisted on having beliefs about things, and it really grated on me. He was eager for me to tell him what I actually believed in, and time and again, I’d say I believed in power.”

Gallantmon grabbed a bunch of noodles with his chopsticks. “You didn’t say anything else beyond that, though. You never said what power meant to you. You only ever said what limits you would take that power.”

Beelzemon nodded. “I told you I wouldn’t use my power on the weak. And that really struck a chord with you. You insisted that I was doing that anyway. And at some point… I realized what you meant. I myself wasn’t hurting the weak, but I was still helping the other Demon Lords do the same. And after that, I realized… I didn’t really know what I wanted from being part of their group. The power they gave me was nice, but beyond that…”

Leopardmon scoffed. “Seeking power above all else? That’s quite selfish.”

“Yeah, well, I found my way eventually. Which leads to the event that Lucemon ‘said’ was why he booted me.”

Dynasmon sat forward. “What happened?”

“You’ve seen the old Primary Tower in Ygg’s Path, right? That’s where the citizens in that area used to raise their young in safety. Well, one day it was attacked- by none other than Daemon.”

Leopardmon choked on his soup. Daemon? He fought Daemon?

“And you fought back against him?” Dynasmon asked.

“That’s right,” Beelzemon nodded. “The rest of the Royal Knights were out on other missions at the time, and the guards stationed at the Primary Tower were barely holding their own. I was the only one in the area with the power to push back against Daemon, so I rushed in to help. And well, he certainly didn’t appreciate my deviance. He didn’t even let me get a good hit in before fleeing with his tail between his legs. But we paid him back eventually, didn’t we, Alphamon.”

Alphamon looked up, blinking in confusion. He swallowed, saying, “Y-Yeah, we did.”

Leopardmon frowned. “You didn’t kill him.”

“They destroyed his Dark Core, which was our goal at the time,” Omnimon elaborated. “With those things gathered together, Lucemon could have destroyed the whole Digital World. And destroying the Dark Core sealed his powers away for a time. We didn’t get a chance to finish things before the X Crisis started.”

“It would have been a miracle if we managed to kill him,” Gallantmon nodded. “The Demon Lords were pretty stubborn jerks. I still can’t believe we killed Lucemon, after everything that happened.”

Leopardmon looked down at his soup. He wasn’t sure if he could stomach eating the tofu anymore. He was doing everything in his power not to think about…

Magnamon cleared his throat, saying, “I bet you two have some pretty good stories from after the war, right?”

“Totally,” Beelzemon nodded, looking over at a nearby server. “There’s one I have in mind- but first I need to order us some sake.”

Omnimon looked over at him, incredulous. “Sake? Didn’t you just have a wild night at the bar?”

“Hot pot’s not the same without some sake.”

Dynasmon cocked his head. “What does that taste like?”

“Depends on how it’s made,” Alphamon shrugged. “We probably shouldn’t have one that’s too sweet after this meal.”

Beelzemon smugly crossed his arms. “Hear that, Omnimon. Your boys want some sake. Anyone else up for it?”

“I’d like some, if you’re offering,” Magnamon nodded.

Gallantmon waved him off, pressing his forehead. “No thanks. I’ve only just recovered from the hangover.”

“You’re not getting me drunk,” Omnimon spat.

“I don’t drink at all,” Leopardmon added.

Beelzemon pushed his chair out, raising his hand for the server to see. “More for the four of us, then.”

The conversation became much more pleasant with the introduction of alcohol. Instead of dreary war stories, it was embarrassing hijinks. A buzzed Beelzemon had trouble focusing on his tales, but a buzzed Magnamon was an absolute motormouth- and a buzzed Alphamon found everything hilarious. Dynasmon only had one drink, but he seemed to enjoy the atmosphere anyway. Leopardmon certainly did. He wasn’t one for alcohol, but he enjoyed how it could change the atmosphere like this. Now he was able to finish his soups without getting sick.

Chapter 6: Stability

Omnimon sighed. He knew adding sake to the meal was a bad idea.

Alphamon and Magnamon passed out immediately upon returning to the barracks, leaning against one another in one of the beds. The mix of alcohol and warm food had been too much for them. And though Beelzemon was still standing, he was also clearly eager to join them.

Even Omnimon was a little sleepy- and he hadn’t had anything to drink.

“We still have time, Omnimon,” Gallantmon reassured him. “You can let them have a moment to rest.”

Maybe he could. But they made an agreement to discuss the mission after the meal. They should have at least considered that.

Omnimon shook his head, letting it go. Belphemon wasn’t going to emerge any faster, no matter how much they planned and discussed. Alphamon and Magnamon could sleep until the final day, for how little it mattered.

Leopardmon and Dynasmon entered the barracks, discussing something. Leopardmon had his UI open, cataloging data on it. The two of them were discussing something as they walked, pausing as they looked at the others in the room.

“Beelzemon, can you come with me out to the training yard?” Leopardmon asked. “I’d like to get data on your fighting abilities.”

Beelzemon nodded, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, sparring sounds like a good idea. Keep me from passing out.”

“It’s not exactly sparring. I want you to attack a bunch of training dummies.”

“Same difference. It’ll get my blood pumping. Right now, it feels like everything is slowing down.”

Omnimon scoffed, crossing his arms. “That’s the sake poisoning your brain. And what do you need data on him for, Leopardmon? You’re not fighting him.”

Leopardmon fidgeted with the UI. “I’m building a battle simulation. I have adequate data on Belphemon to replicate his fighting prowess, and now I need data from the rest of you in order to do the same.”

“That thing can make a simulation?”

“It’s more like a short movie that plays out a potential battle. It’s not like the usual sessions you would play in a simulation room. But it should still give us an idea on what the battle will look like. I figured if we weren’t having the meeting right away, I could still prepare this for us. Dynasmon just finished up helping me.”

Omnimon nodded. “I see. Do you need me to queue up for you?”

Dynasmon shook his head, stepping forward. “I need your help with something first.”

“I’ll come get you once I’m ready for you.”

Mockup fights didn’t seem like such a bad idea to spend the afternoon. Maybe it would be better to have the meeting later anyway. “Alright. Have fun.”

Gallantmon stepped forward. “I’ll come with you. I’d like to watch.”

Omnimon bid them well as they left the barracks. Dynasmon stepped right up to Omnimon, flapping his wings expectantly. Omnimon gently nudged him back. That was a bit too close for him.

“What do you need?” Omnimon asked.

“Can you help me in the kitchen?”

He stepped back, his shoulders hitched up. “You can’t be hungry already.”

“No no, I need practice cooking. Do you know how to make omelet rice?”

“Omelet rice? It’s been a while since I’ve made it. What made you interested in omelet rice?”

“I want to make one for Leopardmon. I tried cooking for him yesterday, but what I made for him wasn’t the omelet rice he wanted. I want to figure out how to make it properly.”

“I see. Let’s see if we can’t figure it out together.”

So they went into the kitchen, putting the ingredients together for the omelet rice. While the rice cooked, they diced vegetables and separated egg yolks from egg whites. The hard part was neatly putting the rice into the omelet. Omnimon’s attempts weren’t pretty, and Dynasmon’s were even worse. After a while, they managed to make something that looked like proper omelet rice, but by then, they were out of ingredients.

“We’ll have to help the guards gather more rice and eggs tomorrow,” Omnimon sighed. “I hope they don’t see us as a bother.”

“We’re helping them solve a problem, right?” Dynasmon asked. “I’m sure they don’t mind whatever we do.”

“I know, but we can still mind our manners while we’re here. Gathering ingredients for them is only polite.”

Dynasmon nodded. He pulled a box of plastic wrap out of the cupboard, and began wrapping the plates of failed omelet rice.

“What are you doing?”

“They’re still edible, even if they aren’t pretty. We can eat them later.”

“That’s a lot of omelet rice.”

“We’ll take some with us when we go home. We’ll send the plates back when we’re done.”

Omnimon sighed, shaking his head. He grabbed some plastic wrap, helping him with the process. “You said you were making this for Leopardmon?”

Dynasmon nodded.

“...Does that mean he likes you?”

“I think he’s started getting comfortable around me. He seemed to appreciate me cooking for him last night. He didn’t finish his plate, but that’s okay.”

“You’re not always supposed to finish your plate. In some places, not finishing a meal is a sign of respect.”

“I feel like he did it on purpose, though. Like he didn’t want to touch the eggs that got curry on them.”

Omnimon chuckled. “Curry? I wouldn’t have touched those eggs either.”

Dynasmon cuffed him. “Hey, it was a mild curry. Ketchup has more of a kick than what I used.”

“Well, at least you’re considering what your recipient likes. That makes a meal even more special for them.”

Dynasmon nodded, smiling in response.

Omnimon dipped his head down. “It’s good that Leopardmon’s starting to get along with us. Dynasmon, can I… can I be honest for a moment?”

“You still don’t want him in the fight? I mean, if he’s getting along with everyone by then-”

“That’s not it. I mean, I don’t want him in the fight, but… I think it would be bad for his health if he joined us.”

“Fighting is generally dangerous.”

“N-No I mean… Dynasmon, he said something very concerning to me the other day. I don’t know how much I should divulge without his permission. But I’m worried that this fight is meant for Leopardmon to accomplish… something else. He’s going to throw himself into it regardless of what the consequences will be for him. Maybe… maybe he’s even hoping for consequences.”

Dynasmon furrowed his brow, his wings hitched up. “I… I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Maybe it would make more sense if you heard it from him. What I’m trying to say is that I want to make sure he doesn’t get hurt. So… look after him, okay? I’ll do what I can, but you might be the only one right now who he’ll listen to.”

Dynasmon nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

---

 

Beelzemon certainly had an impressive skill set. He could graciously fly into the air, shoot a barrage of attacks from his blasters, and slash the training dummies with his claws. Each attack held deadly force in it, obliterating each of the training dummies he unleashed his power onto. Leopardmon was glad for the force field that separated them.

He was also glad for the amount of data this exercise yielded him. Leopardmon pressed a few keys into the Digi UI, creating a small unit of Beelzemon. Once he had them gathered together, he could start the battle simulation proper.

“That’s good, Beelzemon,” Leopardmon told him. “You can stop now.”

Beelzemon landed on the ground, walking past the force field. He stretched his arms and wings, saying, “Ah, that was a good workout. Thanks for getting my blood pumping, kid.”

Leopardmon looked over at Gallantmon, who sat against the wall with his arms crossed. “Gallantmon, could you come up for me now?”

Gallantmon got up, cringing. “Uh, y-you don’t need to bother with me. My data will be useless for your little project.”

“We need everyone to help take down Belphemon, don’t we? So come up here.”

Gallantmon shook his head. “Let me rephrase that. I will be useless.”

Beelzemon nodded, his arms crossed. “Right, there’s not much you can do with that Hazard of yours.”

Gallantmon carried a Digital Hazard? Guess that explained why the Spirals were so interested in him before. But he had done well enough to suppress it at the time.

“Can’t you just make that jogress with Grani again?” Leopardmon asked.

Gallantmon leaned against the wall again, his head dipped down. “You saw how quickly we burned out when in Crimson Mode. It wouldn’t last long in an actual fight. Plus, we’d have to consider how we’d even get to the crater. We’d burn through our energy from the trip alone.”

“How long does it usually last?”

“Usually about three minutes. I was able to stretch it out to ten at least once, but not without severe consequences. I was out for days, and it was a miracle that Grani even survived.”

Leopardmon touched his chin in thought. This certainly put a wrench into his plans.

“What about your X-Antibody?” Beelzemon asked. “What does that do to dampen your Hazard?”

Gallantmon blinked at him. “I actually haven’t thought to try it with my X-Antibody active.”

“Then we’ll head out in the morning to test it.”

“That-That seems pretty dangerous.”

“We’ll figure out the contingency plan before we go. I won’t let anything happen, I promise.”

Gallantmon sighed. “Alright. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

Leopardmon focused on his UI’s settings. Hopefully whatever they did would work. It wouldn’t do for the party to be short one member.

---

 

A pair of travelers arrived at the gates of Salamander’s Rest. The eldest of the two was a wise, black-armored warrior. The younger one was a cat-like mage with a long cape. The two of them took in the sights with great anticipation.

“You really think he’s here?” the mage asked.

“This is where my evidence pointed to,” the warrior replied. “I can’t imagine anywhere else he would have gone, at the moment.”

“I hope you’re right. And I hope he’s okay.”

Chapter 7: The Sixth Day

Notes:

This is the depressing one.

“He’s really out there, then?” MirageGaogamon asked. “Daemon is out there?”

Leopardmon showed him the data he had gathered on the Digi UI. “I’ve read several reports of the area saying that he’s emerged from the crags. And I’ve also detected signs that a Digital Hazard Event is forming there. It has to be Daemon.”

Rasielmon frowned at him, her arms folded on the table. “And where did you get that thing? You’re going to get in trouble if Tactimon catches you stealing from the labs.”

“The scientists have already moved on to the next model. Not sure why- this one is sufficient enough for my purposes.”

MirageGaogamon stood up. “So what do we do with this? Do we tell the generals to go after him?”

Leopardmon shook his head. “Floatia is still miles out from the source of the Digital Hazard Event. The generals won’t do anything about it until it reaches their doors. No, we should go out there ourselves.”

“And have the three of us take on Daemon!?” Rasielmon shouted. “Are you kidding!?”

Leopardmon shushed her. “You don’t want anyone hearing us, do you!?”

Rasielmon got up and turned away. “I’m not having any part of this. This is too dangerous.”

Leopardmon watched her walk out the door, his arms crossed. He shouted, “Then why are you part of the army!?”

He looked over at MirageGaogamon, who had his head dipped down in thought. “Mirage, you know what I’m saying, don’t you?”

“She has a point. We’d need more Digimon with us in order to stand a chance. Still… we can’t let that Hazard fester.”

“Exactly. Daemon is going to hurt so many others before he gets to Floatia. Since we know about him now, we should do something right now.”

MirageGaogamon sighed. “I… know a couple of mons who might be interested. Half of them are more eager for a fight than you are. I’ll get their help before we go anywhere.”

Leopardmon clapped him on the back. “I knew I could count on you!”

 

 

 

He didn’t know how it happened.

Leopardmon had made a good formation for their party to be in for the fight. He had found the perfect position for them to sneak up on their foe. But it was all for naught. 

Daemon saw them coming a mile away.

Fires burned all around them. Soldiers fell with a swift scrape of Daemon’s claws. Leopardmon himself lay on the rocks, his arm broken and his leg badly immolated. Pixels of fallen Digimon floated in the air, evidence of his folly. How could this happen? How could he let this happen?

MirageGaogamon led the charge, holding the line for the remainder of their forces to flee. “Head for the valley! He can’t leave this place!”

Leopardmon struggled to sit up as MirageGaogamon ran over to him. He too was badly burnt, shakily standing. But he kept his resolve, and helped Leopardmon to his feet. They hurried away together, struggling to move with Leopardmon’s broken body. And all the while, Daemon kept throwing bolts of fire at them.

“Mirage, you need to go,” Leopardmon croaked. “Just go.”

“No way. We’re getting out of here together. Just hold on.”

MirageGaogamon hoisted him onto his shoulders, charging toward the crag. He pushed onward, as fast as he could run in his state. Daemon slammed his fist into the ground, creating a tremor that sent them both to the ground. But before he could press the attack, a blast of elemental energy hit his face, disorienting him.

Leopardmon craned his head, finding Rasielmon before them. A group of angemons followed her, gathering around the wounded Digimon to help them up.

“Rasielmon?” Leopardmon gasped.

“We brought the relief forces. Let’s get you boys out of here.”

Rasielmon covered them as they made their escape, and they fled for the valley together. Leopardmon took one last look at the crag, pixels swirling together with ash. Everything that had happened here was his fault.

Why was he allowed to get away from the mess?

---

 

Leopardmon sat up in bed, his heart pounding. The barracks were quite dark, and the other Digimon here were fast asleep. Bile rose in his throat, and Leopardmon covered his mouth to keep it from coming out. He managed to swallow it down, his hands trembling. The memory unsettled him quite a bit.

He wasn’t repeating his mistakes, was he? He wasn’t going to endanger the Royal Knights in the same way, right?

His mouth tasted awful. Leopardmon shakily climbed out of bed, quietly stepping out of the barracks. He made his way to the kitchen, surprised to find the lights on. Omnimon was in there, sitting at the table with a game of solitaire. Leopardmon thought everyone was in bed at this point. Omnimon’s presence didn’t stop him from going to the fridge, though.

“Hey, are you doing alright?” Omnimon asked him.

“I’m just getting some water,” Leopardmon scoffed, opening the fridge. “I shouldn’t think it would be such a big deal.”

“It’s just late, is all.”

“Apparently not too late for you to play solitaire.”

Omnimon scrambled to hide his game. “This is just… I thought it would tire me out.”

Leopardmon poured himself a glass of water. “If you want to tire yourself out, you can have a go at the training dummies.”

“It’s too cramped around here for me. I don’t want to risk waking the others.”

“They won’t wake up. Night patrols come in and out of this place all the time. It’s never bothered them once.”

Omnimon raised his brow at him, suspicious. “Figured that out from your own all-nighters, then?”

Leopardmon drank his water, refusing to answer.

“Well since you’re here, maybe we can turn this into a game of ‘Go Fish’. Maybe we can tire each other out.”

Leopardmon made his way over to the table, sitting across from him. Omnimon dealt the cards, and the game commenced. They played for about fifteen minutes, with Leopardmon’s concentration waning toward the end. At least he was tired again.

“H-Hey, Leopardmon,” Omnimon began. “I’d like to know more about the attack on your home.”

Well never mind. “What do you mean?”

“You’re doing all of this because someone attacked your home, right?”

“I told you they attacked my birthplace.”

“That’s the same thing.”

“No it isn’t. A birthplace is where you are born. A home is where you live. And I don’t live there anymore.”

“You still have an attachment to that place, right? Those feelings make it home. Why else are you doing all of this, then?”

It didn’t matter how Leopardmon felt. Floatia wasn’t home anymore. Not after what he did. “You think you have a right to know?”

“We’re supposed to be working together, remember? It would help if we knew a little bit more about you, that way we can properly get along.”

Leopardmon placed his cards face-down on the table. “Why didn’t you kill him?”

“What do you mean?”

“Daemon. The X Crisis proved that you were willing to kill anyone who stood in your way- and yet, all of your old enemies were left standing by the end. Why did your might of justice pass over them?”

Omnimon frowned at him. “You think what we did during that time was justice? It was blind devotion. Yggdrasil instructed us on who to kill, and we blindly followed it off the cliff. It sought only destruction- which is likely why it kept Daemon and his ilk alive, perhaps. It’s still not an excuse for the crimes we committed.”

And having them execute Daemon during the Crisis wouldn’t have prevented Leopardmon’s hubris. But maybe it would have kept him from driving so many into the jaws of a deadly foe.

“Is that why you have such an issue with us?”

Leopardmon blinked. “Hm?”

“You’re mad at us because we allowed Daemon to attack your home, aren’t you?”

That wasn’t it. He was mad at them for getting in his way. Not that anything could be done about that now.

“Leopardmon, I’m sorry we weren’t there. I… I’m sorry we created this world you were born into. But we’re not giving up until we atone for our mistakes. We’re going to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. We’re not letting the remaining Demon Lords hurt anyone else- including you.”

Leopardmon got up, placing his cup in the sink. “I’m going to try and get some more sleep. You should too.”

Omnimon nodded, collecting the cards. He followed Leopardmon out of the kitchen, shutting the light behind him.

---

 

Gallantmon, Beelzemon and Grani flew out to the valley that morning. Gallantmon had assumed his shining X-Antibody form, flying next to the pair instead of on Grani. Being able to fly alone was one of the perks of this form, though he couldn’t quite enjoy the feeling. His heart pounded harder the closer they got to the site. So far he felt fine, but anything could change at any time.

“This is farther than we got the first time,” Grani noted. “We might-”

“Don’t say anything,” Gallantmon warned him. “The last thing we need to do is jinx it.”

They stopped in front of the crater, staring out at the miasma. Once again, Gallantmon felt ill in its presence, as did his companions. He didn’t sense any of the telltale signs of his Digital Hazard activating. His X-Antibody form didn’t have any of the hazard symbols on it, so he couldn’t tell that way, but…

“Are you feeling alright?” Beelzemon asked.

“Not any worse than usual. Which is to say… this just might work.”

“Let’s head back, then. We’ll give Leopardmon the data he needs, and hopefully figure out a plan of attack.”

They turned back around, skirting past the cliffs. Spirals watched them curiously as they went, refusing to make a move. It was nice that they weren’t chasing after Gallantmon anymore. Maybe the X-Antibody really would help them during the fight. Gallantmon certainly couldn’t stand being useless.

---

 

Meanwhile, Leopardmon was struggling to acquire Alphamon’s data.

“Ugh, it glitched out again!”

Alphamon paused in the middle of hitting a training dummy. “It’s not broken is it?”

Leopardmon whacked the Digi UI to clear out the static, and then began the recalibration process. “I haven’t had any issues with it so far. It’s like it has a problem with you.”

“Well, I have broken quite a few scanners. Tell me when you’re ready, and we’ll go slowly.”

The recalibration process finished up. Leopardmon ran a few short codes in it, making sure everything was working. He activated the scanners, saying, “Go.”

Alphamon summoned a sword of light, hitting one of the dummies. The UI didn’t face any issues.

Alphamon summoned a fireball in his hand, hitting one of the dummies. The UI didn’t face any issues.

Alphamon summoned a green code circle- and the UI glitched up.

“Dang it!” Leopardmon cursed, hitting the device again.

“It’s my fault. No scanner I’ve encountered has ever been able to read my Alpha Inforce. We’ve never been able to figure out why.”

“That certainly doesn’t help me.”

“We don’t absolutely need my data, do we? I’m probably going to be making the barrier, anyway.”

Leopardmon shut off the UI, clenching his fist. “Yes we do. We need the data of everyone who’s going to participate in the fight, no matter how small their involvement turns out to be. I will be simulating every possible formation, every possible element, and the simulation could place any of you anywhere. We can’t do anything by halves.”

“Leopardmon, the scanner won’t work on me.”

“It has to! If we don’t get this working, then we won’t have any idea what the battle will look like! And then we’ll go in without a plan, and then everyone will die, and it’ll be all my fault!”

Dynasmon walked into the training yard. “Hey, do you want-?”

Leopardmon whipped around to face him. “SHUT UP!”

Dynasmon stepped back, his wings hitched. His hurt expression immediately made Leopardmon feel guilty. He unclenched his fists, dipping into a curt bow.

“I-I’m sorry,” Leopardmon muttered. “Things aren’t… going well.”

Dynasmon nodded curtly. “We’ll talk when you’re feeling better, then.”

Leopardmon excused himself, heading back into the tower. He certainly bungled things again. How were they ever going to do this if Leopardmon kept screwing up like this?

He made his way to the shower room, spending half an hour under scalding water. It felt nice on his plating, resembling something akin to a hug. Leopardmon didn’t always enjoy physical contact, but he liked accepting hugs from a few specific individuals. None of those individuals were around anymore- and it wasn’t like he deserved to be hugged, either.

It had been a while since his last attempt at bathing, so streams of dirt and grime washed off of him. He lazily watched these streams wash down the drain. If only his sins could be washed away in such a manner. The shower room didn’t have anything in the way of bathtubs- members were expected to stand up and shower around other people. Leopardmon had never been able to do so, even back in the army.

He briefly wondered what good a bathtub would do him. How long he could sit in one, submerged beneath the water, before disappearing from this world. Would it feel the way his near-death at the hands of Leviamon did?

The void had been calling to him quite a bit ever since that encounter. He couldn’t accept it yet, as much as he didn’t deserve to continue living.

Leopardmon eventually turned the water off, wringing out his hair. He searched around for a while, but couldn’t find any towels. No, they only had the air fans on the walls, which one was meant to stand under in order to dry off. Bathrooms and shower rooms were havens for oppressive sounds. Even here, the sound of his footsteps echoed across the room. The whirring of the air fans was bad enough without the echo. 

He couldn’t let himself drip water across the whole tower. But he couldn’t use the fan. Maybe he ought to, as a means of punishment. Leopardmon immediately shot that idea down. He was supposed to return to the Royal Knights in a better mood. The fan would ruin his mood- and then he would be punishing the Knights.

So Leopardmon resigned himself to drying off in the stagnant air of the shower room. He passed the time by opening up his Digi UI, looking at the device’s settings for the scanners. Their power was of the standard for other modern scanners- but not good enough for his purposes. Was there a way to upgrade them? Leopardmon set about writing code, trying to amplify their utility. Eventually he was able to make another scanner program with enhanced powers compared to the older one. Hopefully this one would work better for him.

A knock on the door echoed through the room. Gallantmon’s voice rang out, “Can I come in?”

Leopardmon felt dry enough now. “I’m coming!”

He made his way over to the door, opening it. Gallantmon’s current form was much more spiky than his previous one, a side effect of the X-Antibody. Leopardmon crossed his arms, raising his brow.

“Interesting look. Is it going to work for our purposes?”

“It should. Nothing happened to me when we were out there. This form is a bit tricky to use, but it’s not as unwieldy as Crimson Mode is. Do you want to head out to the training yard?”

He ought to test the new scanner. But that scanner was for Alphamon, and if it didn’t work, his efforts would be worthless. And after what happened in the training yard earlier…

Leopardmon shook his head. “I think we need to save it for tomorrow.”

“Bad day, huh?”

He didn’t respond.

“Well, it’s about lunchtime anyway. I think Omnimon wanted to make everyone curry. Let’s head to the kitchen.”

He couldn’t fathom showing his face to the others right now. But Leopardmon let Gallantmon lead him through the tower all the same. He had to figure out how to work with them, no matter what his current mood was.

The sharp scent of peppers and spices immediately hit Leopardmon’s nose when they arrived in the kitchen. It overwhelmed every one of his other senses. Leopardmon could barely look around at the others waiting at the table. He tentatively took a seat, keeping his gaze on the table. His energy evaporated immediately the moment he sat down, making any form of escape impossible.

“Nice to see you two,” he heard Omnimon say. “I think the curry’s just about done.”

They really were going to make him eat it. Leopardmon shut his eyes, trying to psych himself up. It wasn’t his first time eating something he didn’t want to eat. How else could he get along with others in the army? He had to do this. If Leopardmon was going to work with the Royal Knights, then he had to shut up, do as they said, and eat the spicy curry.

He felt Gallantmon sit next to him. “Leopardmon, are you okay?”

Leopardmon opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His heart pounded in his chest. He couldn’t speak. Gallantmon needed him to speak, but he couldn’t. What was he going to do?

“Do you… want to eat later?”

Were they going to let him do that? Leopardmon nodded curtly.

He let Gallantmon pick him up. “Sorry Omnimon, I’ll be right back.”

---

 

Leopardmon stayed in bed for the rest of the day. He hid under the covers, shutting out the light. The events of the day ran through his mind. He just couldn’t avoid mucking things up, could he?

He heard footsteps nearby. Leopardmon poked his head out from the covers, finding Gallantmon making his way over. His heart dropped into his stomach the moment he saw him.

“Hey there,” Gallantmon said. “Feeling any better?”

Leopardmon dove back under the covers. “I’m sorry for ruining lunch.”

“You didn’t ruin lunch. It’s okay that you weren’t feeling up to it. It was just a bad day.”

“It’s always a bad day. No matter where I go or what I do, it’s always bad.”

He felt the mattress shift as Gallantmon seated himself at the edge of the bed. “It’ll get better. You… you can have a brighter future. You just have to keep fighting for it.”

He didn’t have a future at all. Not after what he did. Gallantmon didn’t know what he was talking about.

Gallantmon got up. “I’ll check on you in the morning, alright?”

Leopardmon kept himself under the covers.

Chapter 8: The Fifth Day

“Oh, that guy?” the guardromon guard said. “He’s currently working with the Royal Knights. They’re in one of the guard towers right now.”

The mage backed up in surprise. “The Royal Knights? You mean the Royal Knights? Are you sure?”

"I see them in the training yard all the time."

The warrior walked up to the guardromon. "We would like you to escort us to the Royal Knights' current place of residence."

The guardromon cringed. "They might not want to see any strangers right now."

"They will see me. Tell them that Tactimon wants to see them."

---

 

Leopardmon woke up to find a rice ball near his bed, carefully wrapped up. He opened it up to find nothing inside. No leeks, no bean paste, nothing.

Just how he preferred surprise rice ball offerings.

Leopardmon ate it right away. The wrapping kept it from going stale, but he thought it would have tasted better if eaten warm. Nothing to be done about that now. Leopardmon wondered who it was that left the rice ball for him. Was it Gallantmon? Dynasmon?

No, probably not him. Not after Leopardmon yelled at him yesterday. Especially not after he flaked out on lunch.

This mission was turning out to be a real disaster. Maybe it really would be better if Leopardmon got out of their way.

He made his way to the kitchen, finding Dynasmon and Magnamon cooking together. Leopardmon froze when he saw them. He wasn't quite ready to talk to them again- which certainly would not help the mission efforts. Even now, Leopardmon could not put his issues aside for the sake of the party.

Dynasmon turned his head and one moment, noticing Leopardmon waiting by the doorway. He smiled, saying, "Hey, good morning! Are you feeling better?"

He didn't sound mad. Leopardmon guessed that was alright. "...A little better. I'm… I'm sorry about yesterday. I just caused all sorts of problems for everyone. I'll try not to behave like that again."

"That's alright. Today's a new day. As long as you're feeling better, that's all we care about."

He really didn't sound mad. Leopardmon didn't get it. Somehow Dynasmon had the patience of a saint.

Magnamon nudged Dynasmon with his elbow. "Dynasmon, watch the eggs."

Dynasmon jumped, returning to his work. "Right! Right! Thank you!"

Leopardmon took a seat at the table. "What are you two making, anyway?"

"It's for you, actually," Dynasmon explained. "Well, half of it is for you. Magnamon saw me trying to make omelet rice, and he asked if he could help me."

Leopardmon blinked in surprise. "Omelet rice?"

"I haven't had it myself in a while," Magnamon insisted. "Figured I could make one for myself while I helped Dynasmon. I think we're just about done, too."

They were making omelet rice. It was strange that Leopardmon's simple request had spurred them to practice making it. Maybe he inadvertently gave them the craving for omelet rice. But then why was Dynasmon still making one for him? He had already repaid the debt to him.

Unless Dynasmon thought that the bungled request nullified the payment.

And why had Leopardmon insisted on making him apologize for the sparring session, anyway? It was his own fault for getting huffy in the first place.

He had to stop this before it got out of hand. Leopardmon got up, putting his hands up. "W-Wait, Dynasmon, you don't have to-"

But the pair brought the plates to the table before he could say anything. They arranged them neatly based on where they were going to sit. Leopardmon could immediately tell which ones were made by Dynasmon. Magnamon's personal omelet rice was neatly crafted, while both of his were rather wobbly in appearance. Still, this was indeed the omelet rice that Leopardmon had been thinking of when he made the request. With more practice, Dynasmon could make an omelet rice that wouldn't be out of place in a cafe.

Leopardmon sighed, returning to the table. It would be rude not to eat it, right? He couldn't let the earnest Digimon's hard work go to waste. He would eat this omelet rice, and then tell Dynasmon not to cook for him ever again. In fact, he would explain that he now owed Dynasmon a favor.

Before Leopardmon could dig in, Magnamon got up. "Hang on, we're missing something."

He walked over to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of ketchup. Leopardmon's heart sank. His omelet rice was going to be ruined by ketchup, wasn't it?

"You're putting that on your meal?" Dynasmon asked.

"Yeah, you've never seen how they do it? In places where they serve it, the waiters will make little doodles on the omelet rice with ketchup. What kind of design do you want?"

Oh, they were going to ask? Maybe Leopardmon could still save himself after all.

Dynasmon held his plate up. "Can you draw a little wyvern?"

Magnamon stepped over, squirting ketchup all over his meal. "Leopardmon, what do you-?"

Leopardmon wolfed his food down. In three seconds, half of the omelet rice was gone.

Magnamon blinked in surprise. "I… guess you didn't want to wait?"

"Doesn't surprise me," Dynasmon said. "He didn't have dinner last night. He's probably super hungry."

Magnamon set the bottle down, crossing his arms in thought. After a moment he asked, "Leopardmon, do you not like condiments?"

Leopardmon paused mid-bite, looking up nervously.

"I just thought about the hot pot. You didn't use any sauce for your meal. Didn't even let the meat soak in the broth."

Oh no, he was being found out. He should have forced himself to eat everything he hated that day. "N-no… I'm just… indifferent to it. I don't immediately think about putting sauce or condiments on my food. That's it."

Magnamon furrowed his brow. Oh no, he didn't believe him.

"That's the truth. I just don't think about it."

Dynasmon cocked his head in curiosity. "You can be honest. It'll be better for me if I know how you like your food to be made."

Leopardmon shook his head. "No no, that's the truth. And-And you don't have to cook for me anymore, Dynasmon. You don't have any more apologies to make for me. In fact, I'll cook for you, to make up for ruining your day yesterday."

"But you didn't-"

Leopardmon got up, scarfing down the rest of his meal. It was a bit tricky to swallow, but he managed to do it. "I should get started on gathering more data. I need to finish the battle simulation, you know. I appreciated the meal, and I'll see you around."

He hurried out of the room before they could say anything else. A burp erupted from him as he crossed the hall, indigestion setting in. If only he could have taken his time eating.

---

 

Luckily the events in the training yard were not as bad as yesterday. He was able to get scans of Omnimon and Gallantmon, and even scanned Grani for good measure.

"I'm not sure it's necessary to scan me," Grani insisted. "I doubt there's much I can do against Belphemon."

"We need everyone's participation, no matter how small," Leopardmon insisted. "We'll find a place for you that compliments your abilities."

Omnimon crossed his arms in thought. "To be honest, I'm not sure this battle simulation will be necessary. I know my friends' strengths very well. I know what positions they ought to take in the fight. If there's anyone I don't know about, it's you."

That was a fair point. Leopardmon looked down at the Digi UI, at the data he had gathered. He had yet to test his new scanner program on Alphamon today, so he was the only one among the Knights who he was missing. But the battle simulation didn't have any data on Leopardmon's abilities.

He hadn't seen any use for it.

"Hey Gallantmon, can you come over here?" Leopardmon asked.

Gallantmon walked over to him, cluing in on what he wanted. Leopardmon gave him a brief instruction on the UI's scanner ability, and then proceeded behind the force field. He summoned a sword into each of his hands, and marched into the session. One sword created an energy wave that knocked several dummies back. The other fired off a black pulse that broke them apart. He attacked the dummies at every angle, pretending that this was a true battle. He had to put everything he had into this, or else they wouldn't win.

"I think that's good enough, Leopardmon," Gallantmon called over.

Leopardmon stopped, letting his swords dissipate. He returned to Gallantmon's side, looking at the results of the scan. Every scrap of data seemed to be coherently collected.

"Excellent work, Gallantmon," Leopardmon chirped. "You did very well."

Omnimon didn't look impressed. "Sure, he got the data you wanted. But that can't make up for lived-through experience. You haven't actually fought alongside us, even in a training session."

Leopardmon crossed his arms with a frown. "I fought with Gallantmon."

"You watched Crimson Mode clear out a swarm of bugs. That's hardly the same thing."

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Alphamon and a guardromon guard. Alphamon took Omnimon to the side, whispering something to him. He furrowed his brow in concern, and he looked back over to Gallantmon.

"Can you find Magnamon for me?" Omnimon asked. "The three of us have to head out."

Leopardmon blinked at them. "Head out? What's going on?"

"There's… a meeting we have to attend. Alphamon, look after things here while we're gone, alright?"

Omnimon made his way out of the training yard, while Gallantmon hurried into the tower to look for Magnamon. Leopardmon stepped over to Alphamon, with Grani trailing just behind him.

"So who asked for the Knights?" Leopardmon asked.

Alphamon rubbed the back of his neck. "An old government official from Floatia."

Leopardmon's blood ran cold. "F… Floatia?"

"The Royal Knights have been on bad terms with them since the Crisis ended. We're hoping none of them try to get in the way of the mission."

Grani hummed in thought. "Floatia, huh? They haven't crossed this way in a while. I kind of thought they were still located in the Data Desert. Quite a long way to go to get here."

It sure was. The official in question wasn't… him… was it?

Leopardmon shook his head, putting the thought aside for the moment. "Alphamon, can I have you step into the training yard for a moment?"

Alphamon crossed his arms. "The scanner's not going to work on me. I don't want you getting frustrated again."

Like a petulant child. "I made a new scanner that I want to test out. If it doesn't work, I won't press the issue further."

Alphamon sighed, moving behind the force field. "You better keep him to it, Grani."

Grani nodded, stepping aside.

Leopardmon fiddled with the Digi UI, creating a separate folder for Alphamon's data. If this new scanner worked where every other one had failed, there was no telling what it could do to the UI's other files. Once he finished, he turned the new scanner on and pointed the device at Alphamon. "Ready!"

They went slowly once again. Alphamon summoned his sword, hitting a dummy. The UI didn't face any issues.

Alphamon summoned a fireball and shot it at a dummy. The UI didn't face any issues.

Alphamon summoned his code circle- and a stream of data kept pouring in. Leopardmon shut his eyes as it did so, certain that it would short him out like it would short out the device.

And short out it did, shutting off in the middle of the scanning process. Leopardmon waited a moment before turning the UI back on. The device rebooted, and a pop up helpfully informed him that the data he was collecting was too large for the device to handle.

It was certainly quite interesting. He didn't realize how complex Alphamon's Inforce truly was. He would need another, more powerful Digi UI to calculate the data.

In other words, it was useless for Leopardmon's current project.

Alphamon stepped out from behind the force field. "I didn't break it, did I?"

Leopardmon shook his head. He opened up the folder, noting the data it managed to gather. "It's fine. It even collected a portion of data from your Inforce. But I can't use it for the battle simulation."

Grani looked over at him, appearing incredulous. "Wait, you actually got data on his Inforce ?"

Leopardmon dropped to his knees in disappointment. "This battle simulation was supposed to work. I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"You made a scanner that can collect data on Alphamon's Inforce ? The thing that scientists, scholars, and even the Royal Knights themselves have been fighting to understand for centuries!?"

Leopardmon glared at him. "What? Like it's hard? It's not any less complicated than changing between evolutions."

Alphamon knelt down next to him. "Look at you. This is why I didn't want to do this again."

Leopardmon got up, walking away. "No, I should have listened to you before. I should have listened to Omnimon when he said that this wouldn't work. I'm just… bad at listening."

Alphamon caught him on the shoulder, sending shivers down his spine. The touch made him want to peel his plating off. Leopardmon looked over at him, his head bowed down in shame.

"Leopardmon, before you go to hide," Alphamon began, "I just… I've been thinking about what you said yesterday. I know you're worried about the fight, and you want to use the simulation to cover all of our bases, but it doesn't all fall on you."

"Of course it does. I'm the one making the plan."

"You're making the plan with all of us. You don't exist in a vacuum. We all need to do our part to keep each other safe. I hope you'll believe me when I say that I won't let anyone die. I'm incapable of it."

Sure, he wouldn't "let" anyone die. Leopardmon was sure he would do everything he could to protect them. And he was just as sure that they would die, despite his best efforts.

But Alphamon was ultimately trying to make him feel better, so he couldn't voice that. Instead he said, "Thanks. I'll… try to keep it in mind."

He made his way into the tower, passing Gallantmon and Magnamon on their way out.

---

 

The other Knights had gathered in the barracks later, conversing with one another. Leopardmon kept to himself in the corner, fiddling with the Digi UI. The blasted thing had given him nothing but grief the past two days, but he didn't have another way to busy himself. He looked at the devices schematics with a sigh. Leopardmon had briefly considered upgrading the UI somehow, but its issues were embedded in the hardware. It would take more time than they had to build a new one.

And it wouldn't be worth the effort after the mission. Leopardmon didn't need a stronger device for the rest of his quarry.

Beelzemon walked in, guns at his sides. "Who wants to help me squash some Spirals?"

Alphamon looked over at him. "You want to fight them?"

"Figured we should clear some out before the big day. I destroyed a bulk of the little ones just fine, but then a bigger one popped up shortly after. It looks like a chrysalimon - you'll know it when you see it."

"So you just want the rest of us to cover you?"

"If you feel like it. Beats sitting around waiting for the others to come back, if you ask me."

Alphamon looked over at the others. "How do you all feel about it?"

Dynasmon nodded. "Sounds good to me. I was wondering what we should be doing to prepare."

"I can use the opportunity to gather more data on the creatures," Grani agreed.

Leopardmon curtly nodded at them. This would be a good opportunity for them to work together in a fight.

So they went out to the cliffs in the valley. When they got there, they found several Spirals that resembled Champion Level Digimon. Leopardmon and Dynasmon worked together to clear away the smaller Spirals, while Alphamon and Beelzemon tackled the newcomers. Grani hid nearby, scanning as many of the creatures as he could.

"This is still very strange," Grani noted. "It's like they're formed from the wires that hold Digimon up."

Beelzemon blasted the head off of a larger Spiral, breaking it apart. "Maybe they're ghosts trying to become Digimon."

Leopardmon wasn't sure how they were able to hold a conversation in the middle of battle. There was enough going on that Leopardmon had trouble keeping track of.

But they were able to hold their own well enough. Beelzemon told them to leave once their numbers had cleared away enough. They made their way back through the valley, ruminating on the encounter.

"I don't like that the Spirals are increasing in strength," Grani muttered. "It will be bad if they attack us while we're setting up the barrier. Leopardmon, how strong do they normally get?"

Despite his exhaustion, Leopardmon was able to speak. "I've never seen them take on forms beyond Ultimate. I don't expect them to do so during the fight."

"Ultimate level Spirals!? I definitely don't like that!"

Beelzemon scoffed. "Still better than a Spiral Belphemon. Now how does everyone feel about burgers? I think I know a good place around here."

"You're always eager to eat out, aren't you?" Alphamon asked him.

"Don't look so surprised, kid. So what do you say?"

"I think it's a bit early for dinner. We can wait for the others to come back and -"

Dynasmon shook his head. "If their meeting has taken this long, it'll probably be midnight before they get back. Just comm one of them and ask if they can go."

"And interrupt their meeting? I don't think that's a good idea considering who the meeting is with."

"Then let's not waste time and just go."

Beelzemon glanced over at Leopardmon. "What do you think?"

Meals were too much for a gamble now. Especially if they were having burgers. The Royal Knights were likely to put condiments and other toppings on the burger, and Leopardmon would be expected to do the same. Dynasmon was already starting to perceive him as a freak when it came to food. If he wanted to appear normal, he'd have to eat the whole thing- pickles and all.

And he didn’t think he had the energy to handle dinner. He didn’t want to freeze up and ruin everything like he did yesterday.

“I… I’m a bit too tired for it,” Leopardmon muttered. “I think I’m probably going to head back to the barracks.”

“Suit yourself,” Beelzemon said. “We’ll bring something back for you.”

“N-No, that’s not necessary. I’ll feed myself when I get back.”

Beelzemon shrugged, but he didn’t press the issue further.

Leopardmon made it back to the tower, with Grani trailing just behind him. He went inside, finding that Omnimon and the others hadn’t returned yet. What was keeping them? He remembered Alphamon mentioning the official from Floatia, and his blood ran cold again. What if it really was… him ? What if they were discussing Leopardmon?

Leopardmon had to find a way to make himself useful.

He hid himself in the corner of the room, sitting up in bed. He turned on the Digi UI-

“Are you sure you should be doing that right now?” Grani asked him. “You seem pretty tired.”

He turned the Digi UI off, glaring at him. “And why aren’t you with the others?”

“I don’t exactly need to eat, do I? But you really should rest. Your heart rate is quite high, around the same time as when you went to bed yesterday. It didn’t level out for hours.”

“You scanned me in my sleep?”

Grani dipped his head down, guilty. “...I was worried. You looked exactly how Gallantmon did when he had bad days. I kind of picked up the habit from him.”

Leopardmon crossed his arms. “Does the Digital Hazard activate when he sleeps?”

“No. It never has. But I thought I couldn’t be too careful. If anything happened, he’d want me to tell him. But things haven’t been that bad for a really long time.”

Speaking of the Digital Hazard… “How much did he scare all of you back then? Was he violent? Caustic? Fastidious?”

“You make it sound like he was some kind of monster.”

“That’s what the Hazard does to Digimon, doesn’t it?”

“I can’t say our thoughts toward Gallantmon were always positive. But no one was afraid of him more- no one hated him more- than Gallantmon himself. And we knew that, and we did everything we could to help him. And I believe things have worked out in our favor.”

It probably explained why the Royal Knights were so patient with Leopardmon. But that well of patience had to run out at some point. It did for everyone else Leopardmon had met, even before the incident that destroyed his life. It was only a matter of time.

Leopardmon sighed, getting under the covers. “Get me up in an hour.”

“Very well. Oh, one last thing, if you don’t mind. Sorry to bother you.”

Leopardmon glanced at him.

“Could you give me a copy of that scanner you made?”

“You want to see my wires?”

“I wouldn’t do anything so obscene. I just need to stay in the game. With the advancements of current technology, I’m falling behind. If I’m going to keep assisting Gallantmon and the others, I need to continue improving where I can. Which means an upgraded scanner is an absolute must for me to have.”

An idea came to mind. “Sure, I’ll do that. And… I’d like you to follow me around town for a bunch of errands.”

“So you want me to scan you?”

“You monitored Gallantmon’s vitals, right? You can monitor mine while we’re out. There’s… I’ve always had problems getting… overwhelmed in public. I don’t know why that is, but it’s always caused problems for everyone around me.”

“Does that pertain to your shifts in mood?”

Leopardmon nodded. “But if you can tell me what’s happening, that’ll explain some things.”

Grani nodded. “If that’s what you want, then we’ll do that tomorrow. I don’t know about you, but a daytime outing will do wonders to ease my stress.”

A daytime outing would only increase Leopardmon’s stress, but it couldn’t be helped. If he was going to figure out why he was like this, why he was the way he was, then he had to push himself.

He had to figure out why he was doomed to destroy everything.

 

Chapter 9: Deserter

Omnimon and the others met Tactimon outside of a cafe. The general sat calmly at one of the tables, hands folded together. A cat-like mage stood beside his chair, taking in the newcomers with surprise and awe. Omnimon and the others took their seats across from him, wondering what kind of conversation would unfold.

“It’s so good to see you here,” Tactimon said dryly. “Although you seem to be missing a few members.”

“I gathered everyone you had the most issues with,” Omnimon replied. “I figured that would be sufficient for you.”

“It almost is. But the group you’ve assembled is less… purple and pink than I expected.”

Magnamon clutched his hands under the table. Gallantmon set one hand over his hand, reminding him to remain calm.

The mage dipped her head down. “S-So you really are the Royal Knights. I… I’m meeting the Royal Knights.”

Gallantmon nodded. “And am I correct to assume you are a rasielmon?”

She nodded. “It’s… very weird to meet you.”

Omnimon folded his arms on the table. “I suspect it would be. Are you Tactimon’s assistant?”

“N-No, I’m… I’m in training to be a commander.”

“A commander at your age?”

Tactimon crossed his arms. “There isn’t anyone older for the position. I’m sure you know the reason why.”

Omnimon and Magnamon glanced away.

“But luckily for you, we’re not here to discuss that. We’re here because we believe you are collaborating with someone we’re looking for.”

Gallantmon cocked his head. “What do you mean by that?”

“Rasielmon and I have been looking for an army deserter for a few months now. He’s been tricky to track down, but he seems to be targeting Digimon with the forms of the Demon Lords. Are you familiar with the Path of Seven Steps?”

“Is that like the Eightfold Path?”

“Not quite. This one is a bit more… grisly. In Floatia, there is an old legend about the cleansing of sins. If a Digimon can conquer the Seven Demon Lords on their own, their sins can be washed away. The task is impossible these days, with most of the original members being either dead or reformed, but the legend still echoes throughout the city nonetheless.”

Leopardmon’s prior targets had taken the forms of the Demon Lords. Only one of them had been part of the original group. “What are you trying to say?” Omnimon asked.

“I’m saying that Leopardmon- the Digimon you are collaborating with- is not of the right mind. He is desperate to be cleansed, and he may attack the innocent in order to do so.”

Rasielmon looked at Tactimon. “But none of the Digimon he went after were innocent,” she insisted. “They were hurting civilians for months before he took them down.”

“That may be true, but his desperation may lead him to depravity. If left unchecked, Leopardmon could harm others- and himself.”

Tactimon stood up, placing his hands flat on the table. He looked Omnimon square in the eyes, saying, “Leopardmon’s safety is of utmost concern to me, at the moment. If you care about his wellbeing at all, you will take him off your current mission and turn him in to us.”

Magnamon cringed, looking up at him. “I’m not sure we can do that.”

Tactimon turned toward him. “So you’re going to try bartering with me? You don’t exactly have any ground to stand on.”

“No, I mean… it feels like you’re leaving some stuff out. If you’re concerned about Leopardmon, shouldn’t we have full context for what happened?”

“Why, I’m surprised you haven’t tried looking into it yet.”

Omnimon stood up. “You’re not going to scare us into giving in to your demands.”

Tactimon stepped away from the table. “If I did the proper research, you have less than five days to change your mind. We will be in the area waiting for you.”

With that, he got up from the table. Rasielmon followed him, giving the Royal Knights one last glance. Omnimon and the others watched them go, and sat in silence for several more minutes. After that, they made their way out of the cafe, ruminating over what they were told.

Leopardmon. The Path of Seven Steps. The Demon Lords. What exactly was going on?

“I really like that he didn’t answer our questions,” Magnamon huffed.

“Army generals aren’t exactly the most patient with us these days,” Omnimon insisted. “Not that I blame them.”

Gallantmon looked over at him, his arms folded. “What are we going to do, then? About Leopardmon and the others, I mean?”

Omnimon sighed, looking up. “I suppose we have no choice but to look into this. Magnamon, can you find Daemon’s data in the Akashic Server?”

Magnamon shrugged. “Maybe in a roundabout way. Gallantmon, can you contact Beelzemon for us?”

Gallantmon nodded, accessing his comms. He got on, wincing as if someone were shouting at him. They went back and forth for a full minute before he turned them off.

“...Is anyone hungry for burgers?”

---

 

They met up with the others just outside of the restaurant. The group found a booth at the far end that was big enough to seat all of them, though it was admittedly a tight squeeze. A burgamon server came to get their orders. Omnimon cut ahead of Gallantmon, telling them to make the red knight “a tiny plate of sliders”. 

“I can order for myself, you know,” Gallantmon insisted.

“I know. I’ve seen you do it,” Omnimon scoffed. “You’re going to fill up on fries before you ever touch the deluxe burger- and you’re still going to stuff it in anyway.”

“Hey, you’ve seen how well I can stuff them in.”

“At what cost, though?”

Magnamon ignored them, and turned toward Beelzemon. “So Leopardmon didn’t come?”

“He said he was too tired,” Beelzemon replied. “Looked pretty tired, too. Grani’s with him, if you’re worried about him being lonely.”

Magnamon nodded, feeling just a bit relieved. If anything that Tactimon said was true, and Leopardmon was in some sort of danger, then at least they could rely on Grani to look after him. “Part of me was worried he didn’t want to come because of the food.”

“You think he doesn’t like burgers? Who doesn’t like burgers?”

“It’s more the condiments I was thinking of.”

“He can just ask them to take stuff off.”

“Well I… I feel like he thinks we’re going to force him to eat stuff.”

Gallantmon crossed his arms, pouting in the corner. “You do force people to eat stuff.”

“Oh shut up,” Omnimon spat, rolling his eyes. “You’ve chosen what you wanted to eat all week, and it’s done nothing but give you indigestion. Someday soon, you’re going to make yourself sick, and then you’ll wish you had settled for just the sliders.”

“It’s the allure of a new place, I think,” Alphamon chuckled. “He has to try everything they have.”

Magnamon folded his arms on the table. “I don’t think Leopardmon likes spicy foods, either. He practically froze up around your curry, Omnimon.”

Dynasmon winced. “It’s probably for the best that he didn’t eat it. That curry had a bit too much kick to it.”

“I like to think I made an excellent curry,” Omnimon insisted.

“I’m not sure he’ll find that quip as funny as you do. He thinks he ruined our day yesterday.”

Omnimon sighed, leaning back on the cushion. “...I suppose that brings us to the topic at hand. Beelzemon, you didn’t tell the others what the meeting concerned, did you?”

Alphamon scoffed, cocking his head. “Tactimon didn’t come here for Leopardmon, did he? That’s unbelievable.”

“He mentioned him by name. And he also perfectly described his mission. I mean, the only reason they thought to come here was because he had to know we were preparing to fight Belphemon.”

Magnamon nodded curtly. “I did find it weird when Gallantmon told me. Floatia isn’t currently around here, remember Alphamon?”

Alphamon folded his hands on the table, his brow furrowed. “So what exactly is the plan?”

Magnamon looked at Beelzemon. “I’d like to see you in the back, if you don’t mind.”

Beelzemon winced, his wings hitched. “...What exactly does this entail?”

“It’s not an invasive scan, I promise. I just need to look for data on your time with Daemon.”

“What’s he got to do with this?”

“Now isn’t that the question?”

Beelzemon sighed, giving in. The group shuffled about, allowing the two of them to get out of the booth. Magnamon and Beelzemon made their way outside of the restaurant, hiding in the back toward the alleyway. Magnamon created a golden code circle, setting it before Beelzemon. Before long, he had the data he wanted. And once Beelzemon heard that news, he made his way back around the building.

“Hey! Where are you going!?”

Beelzemon frowned at him. “I’m heading back to eat. Because I’m sure whatever you’re looking for is going to make me lose my appetite.”

Magnamon huffed, but he didn’t stop him. He found the file on Beelzemon’s former status as a Demon Lord, and after that, the file for the group as a whole. From there, he was able to access Daemon’s folder and…

 

An array of ballistas sat on the cliffs above Daemon’s crag. Each of the bolt tips was coated in a slimy purple poison, said to be able to kill ten spinomons. They were set to go after one target.

Daemon thrashed about in the crag, still struggling to get out. Given the size of the cracks around him, it was only a matter of time until he did so. He seemed quite busy with this task, and did not see Leopardmon on the cliffs near the ballistas.

That he did not immediately spot Leopardmon this time was fortunate. Maybe a little too much so. But he would not survive this battle alone without the element of surprise.

Leopardmon pressed a button on his Digi UI, and each ballista went off. Every bolt found its place in Daemon’s leathery hide, and he thrashed about in pain. He pulled himself out of the crag, setting his sights on the Digimon at the edge of the cliffs. He lunged toward him, his movements sluggish from the poison. Leopardmon dodged his claw swipe, and retaliated with a barrage of shock waves and black pulses. Again and again he attacked, putting everything he had into this encounter. Daemon stumbled into the other cliff, disoriented.

Leopardmon charged forward, aiming for his chest. He furiously carved into it, his ferocity comparable to a hungry deathdorugreymon. Daemon’s DigiCore revealed itself to him, and Leopardmon drove his sword into it. Again and again he stabbed, each one faster and more desperate, until it and Daemon’s body broke into pixels.

And then Leopardmon was left hovering in the air, left to ponder the monumental task he just completed. He landed on the rocks below, and crumpled into a ball, tears streaming down his face.

 

Magnamon stopped the video. It was quite the fight to witness. That ballista setup had to have taken weeks to set up, and even then, Leopardmon would have needed caution to do so. That he still somehow destroyed Daemon on his own, when the Royal Knights had failed to do the same…

The ferocity he had in that fight was also a lot to take in. It wasn’t the way Leopardmon had demonstrated himself earlier in the valley. And despite how grumpy he could be, he had never been so violently angry toward anyone. It was actually hard to watch.

But it still didn’t give Magnamon all of the answers. It only gave him more concerns.

He shrank the code circle, pocketing it and heading inside. He would have to show Omnimon after dinner. Maybe they could discuss things more then.

Chapter 10: The Fourth Day

Leopardmon stepped onto the main street of Salamander’s Rest, Grani trailing just behind him. The city had never seemed so daunting before. He had managed to visit specific places, but a complete outing was so far beyond him. The air was a bit too crisp this early in the morning, sending shivers through him, and only making him more nervous.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Grani asked him. “You don’t seem so certain anymore.”

Leopardmon took a deep breath, psyching himself up. This was his one chance to truly understand himself, before he lost it forever. He had to try.

“Let’s go,” Leopardmon announced.

And so off they went.

---

 

They stopped by the Lucky Cat Inn first, Leopardmon attempting to repeat his first morning here. The breakfast rush was just as busy as before, already overwhelming him. He took a seat in the middle of everything, with Grani diligently hovering beside him. A meicoomon waitress came up to the table, a big smile on her face.

“Good morning. What would you like for breakfast?”

What was the worst thing for him to eat? Too many options came to mind, but perhaps he ought to start simple. “Eggs and toast with sausage. I want peppers mixed in with the eggs, and I want syrup covering everything.”

“Got it. We’ll get that to you in a moment.”

The cooks at the inn performed more than admirably. The eggs practically scattered across his plate, touching both the toast and the sausage. The peppers were bigger than pebbles, and everything was absolutely drenched in thick, sticky syrup. The toast practically fell apart when he tried to pick it up, and he had to be careful not to drip it onto the table. The sausage had a kick to it, and the peppers were quite intense. Leopardmon forced himself to eat every bite, gagging at every step. Despite using utensils, his fingers were sticky with syrup, and using the napkin did little to clean it off.

And once the meal was done, the harsh lights and awful noises came in for him, as well as the slimy feeling of the table.

“Grani, what’s that coating the table?” Leopardmon asked.

“I believe it is a type of varnish. Why do you ask?”

“I wasn’t sure before.”

Leopardmon got up from the table, leaving a tip behind for the servers. He and Grani made their way out of the inn. To say that it was an immediate relief would only be half true. Leopardmon felt better to be around smaller crowds, and to be under less harsh light. But he felt sick to his stomach, which always happened when he ate something spicy or slimy or sticky- or if the stupid foods were mixed together and touching. He only hoped it would let him continue the outing unimpeded.

---

 

Leopardmon was never one for botanical greenhouses- which is exactly why it was their next stop. Sure, public gardens had flowers, but they were also not insulated. Within the walls of the greenhouse, the scent of flowers clogged his nose, and the air felt quite sticky and muggy. The place made Leopardmon want to jump out of his skin.

“It always interests me how there can still be flowers this time of year,” Grani noted.

Leopardmon balled up his fists. “You expect me to make something of that?”

Grani dipped his head down. “Perhaps… we should go.”

“No, we need to stay here. You knew I might potentially get grumpy while we were out.”

“Sure, but I don’t want you to push yourself.”

“I’m fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve… ahh…”

A fit of sneezes interrupted his statement. He could feel the other visitors staring at him.

---

 

The crafting store wasn’t normally a site of bothersome sights, smells or sounds, but there was a smattering of uncomfortable textures. Leopardmon made his way to the fabric section, touching everything they had on offer. Rough leather, scratchy linens, none of it was off limits. Here, he could feel himself wanting to move in a certain way, either by tapping his foot or flicking his tail about- he used to do it all the time as a child. But he forced himself to remain still. Leopardmon looked strange enough fondling the fabric, and he didn’t want to look…

“Grani, this doesn’t seem inappropriate, does it?”

“It looks like you’re browsing.”

“This seems a bit excessive for browsing, though.”

“Do you really need to concern yourself with the opinions of a few passersby?”

That was the point, though. Ever since he was little, Leopardmon was a disruption for others. He had to make sure he didn’t bother them.

They made one last stop to the bathroom before leaving the store. It had the same qualities as the shower room in the tower, including the awful air fan. Leopardmon waited in the stall for several minutes, listening as people dried their hands under the loud fan, the sound echoing across the walls. He washed his hands when he got out, even though he didn’t go- one always needed to wash their hands after leaving the bathroom after all.

---

 

“Leopardmon, can you hear me?”

He could, but he couldn’t say anything. He was too tired to do so. And his head hurt too much. And his limbs felt so heavy.

The crowd in the streets was much bigger now thanks to the lunch rush. Everyone was chatting and grouping up next to each other. They skirted around the pair, their arms brushing against Leopardmon’s. His plating crawled with every touch, but he couldn’t do anything about it except screw his eyes shut, as if he could will them away.

“Leopardmon, look at me.”

He opened one eye, finding Grani right in front of him. Grani frowned determinedly- Leopardmon hoped he wasn’t mad at him.

“We’re going back to the barracks,” Grani said, his voice low. “I won’t take no for an answer. I’m sure you’d love to push yourself through to the evening, but that will not be happening. I can show you the scans later. What you need right now is rest. You can ride on me if you want. Does that sound like a good idea?”

Yeah. Yeah, that did sound like a good idea. He probably couldn’t make it on his own, anyway. Leopardmon set his hand on Grani’s back, and-

Wait, there was someone else in the crowd. She was just a few feet away from them, standing by a little corner shop. She was a rasielmon, seemingly enjoying her day out. But then she glanced around the crowd, and she set her gaze forward.

At Leopardmon.

Leopardmon hauled himself on Grani’s back, slapping his head repeatedly. She couldn’t speak with him now. Not while the well was filled to bursting.

“Ow! You don’t have to do that!” Grani shouted.

For better or worse- maybe for worse- Leopardmon found his voice again. “TAKE ME BACK! TAKE ME BACK RIGHT NOW! GO!”

“Okay! Okay! Sorry!”

Grani pushed forward, driving them through the crowd. Leopardmon didn’t care that everyone was watching him. He just had to get away from her.

---

 

The video finished playing again. Omnimon managed to hold himself back from asking for another replay. This had to be the fifth time he watched it.

“I don’t think it’ll be any more clear if you watch it again,” Magnamon snarked.

“I-I know, I just… can’t believe it. If only we found him sooner.”

“Does that look healthy for him?”

That was a fair point. And it was probably why Tactimon told them to remove him from the mission. But what prompted such an attack from Leopardmon? And what were they supposed to do right now?

They didn’t have any more time to question it before Leopardmon charged into the barracks. His hair was a mess, as if it had been blown in the wind, and he was screaming incoherently. He grabbed Omnimon and shoved him out of the room. He shoved Magnamon away in a similar manner. Leopardmon loudly shut them out, pushing something against the door. A violent banging sounded on the walls. Omnimon rushed to the door, trying to push it open, but found no luck. He’d have to break it open if he was to get in.

“What’s this all about?” Magnamon gasped. “What’s he thinking shoving us around like that?”

Grani hurried down the hall to meet with them. “I know it looks bad, but please don’t be mad at Leopardmon. We passed a dangerous threshold today.”

“You sure did!”

“No, I mean- look at this!”

Grani pulled up a hologram, detailing biometric scans. Brain waves, adrenaline levels, none of it was left out. There was even a long list of notes with time stamps next to them.

“You were getting Leopardmon’s biometrics?” Omnimon asked.

“He… he asked me to join him for an outing, to figure out what overwhelmed him. Although I’m pretty sure he had a very good idea for it, and I told him constantly that we could stop and return to the barracks. But… I did gather useful data from this outing, for better or worse.”

Magnamon drew his finger toward the list, staring at it. “You… put peppers on this list.”

“Leopardmon made it a point to seek his triggers out, so I wrote down everything he went after. Something tells me this isn’t an exhaustive list- not that I want to repeat this little exercise.”

The banging stopped. Everything in Omnimon was screaming at him to knock the door down, to check if Leopardmon was okay. “So… this happens whenever he reaches that ‘threshold’?”

“Maybe not every time. On good days, he may not react this way. On better days, he may not reach the threshold at all. But if he does, it’s sure to drain him physically and emotionally. Before this episode, he had difficulty communicating with me.”

So the spicy curry brought him over that threshold, then. Maybe every other time he got grumpy was him reaching the precipice. Was Tactimon aware of this? Was that why he wanted Leopardmon off the mission?

“Grani, are you… are you able to scan him through the walls?”

Grani nodded. He floated over to the wall, activating his scanners. “He’s lying down now. I can monitor him from here.”

Magnamon nodded curtly. “It would probably be best to give him space for now.”

Omnimon nodded back. He excused himself, making his way out of the tower.

---

 

Rasielmon hurried into the cafe, finding Tactimon sitting at the table in the corner. She hurried over, propping her hands on one of the chairs. “General, I saw him! I saw Leopardmon!”

Tactimon looked up in surprise. “You did?”

“Right by the corner store. He was with a zero arms unit- did you know they still existed?”

“The unit likely belongs to Gallantmon. But were you able to speak with them?”

Rasielmon dipped her head down. “N-No. They fled when they saw me.”

“Hmph. If the boy can’t confront his own guilt, then he can’t be out there fighting Belphemon.”

“Don’t you remember-?”

Footsteps sounded off behind her. Rasielmon turned around, jumping as she found Omnimon approaching. She meekly stepped to the side, allowing him to come up to the table.

“I was hoping you’d still be here,” Omnimon said.

Tactimon nodded. “I tried to make myself easy for you to find. So, have you come to see my side of the issue?”

“...What happened with Leopardmon?”

“And here I thought you had figured it out, if you were coming back to me. I didn’t think you were so simple, Omnimon. It isn’t my place to say, so if you haven’t figured it out-”

Omnimon slammed his gauntlets on the table. “Like the Dark Area it isn’t your place to say! You were his general! You held command over him! If it’s anyone’s place to say, it’s yours! I know I’m your least favorite Digimon, but if you truly care about Leopardmon, then you can lower yourself down to tell me.”

Tactimon folded his hands on the table with a sigh. “Perhaps you’ve noticed certain… quirks about Leopardmon. His difficulty with others. His resistance to following orders. His stubbornness and impetuousness. Some of these quirks he needs to grow from, and others… are things he is unable to change. They make him unfit for battle, though that doesn’t stop him from wanting to charge out there.”

“He did well enough against Daemon.”

“The second time, maybe.”

Omnimon blinked. “...Second time?”

Tactimon nodded. “I’m sure you know how much Leopardmon loves scouring for data. Sometimes his devotion makes me think of a chrysalimon, with how fervent he is about it. Well, that habit led him to finding the sight where Daemon emerged. He thought he could lead an army against the Demon Lord, but he charged in too quickly. Most of the young soldiers he led there died at Daemon’s hands.”

Omnimon stared at the table.

“That little army left without permission from any authorities. We were forced to discharge the survivors, but… circumstances led us to delaying such things for Leopardmon.”

“He left for revenge.”

“Revenge. Atonement. Whatever it was, he was not in the appropriate mental state to carry it out. And I am not ashamed to admit that I bear some responsibility for the incident. Before that point, I was trying to nudge Leopardmon out of the army. He would not drop out on his own, and I did not want to dishonor him with an undue discharge- though he cannot handle battle, he doesn’t technically have conditions that bar him from being part of the army. Leopardmon signed up under the notion that the army would make him useful, where his quirks could somehow be an asset. But there are other, more appropriate places for him to work, and I was trying to lead him to those.”

“I tried that once with Alphamon. Trust me, you need to be explicit about these things.”

“Being explicit probably would have made things worse. Leopardmon doesn’t have the best handle on his emotions on the best of days- we likely wouldn’t be here if he did. Being explicit likely would have brought on a tantrum from him, and I wanted to spare him that humiliation. Even so, if I had gone about it differently, maybe Leopardmon wouldn’t have found the desire to prove himself.”

Omnimon said nothing.

“It’s true that most Digimon have an itch to fight within them, whether that be from wrestling or from fierce battle like we engage in. But not all Digimon are meant for such things. There are some things we can accomplish with effort and hard work, and there are some things that we can never hope to do. And I am afraid battle is such an impossibility for Leopardmon. It will be better for the sake of his mental health if you make him let this go. I will ask you again, Omnimon. Take him off the mission, and turn him over to us. We will help him through this, of that I can assure you.”

Rasielmon kept her head down. It felt like there was something she had to say. Something that was missing. But in the end, she kept her mouth shut. What made her think that she had to get in between two great warriors like this?

Omnimon got up from the table. “I’ll… consider what you said.” 

And with that, he was gone.

---

 

Omnimon returned to the tower, a great burden set on his shoulders. He made his way to the kitchen, pausing as he smelled something cooking. He walked in to find Dynasmon cooking, rice bags and egg baskets on the counter. It seemed like he was not done trying to perfect his omelet rice just yet.

“Is that for Leopardmon?” he asked.

Dynasmon nodded. “I heard he had a bad day. I thought this would help cheer him up.”

“He might not want to eat. I’m sure he’d appreciate the gesture, though.”

Dynasmon turned the stove off. “I’ll wrap it up for him to have later.”

Omnimon peered over his shoulder. The omelet rice came out nicely, if a bit wobbly-looking. Apparently Magnamon’s instructions had helped him greatly. If only Omnimon had been able to do as well.

Dynasmon set the omelet rice on a plate, covering it in plastic wrap. He put it in the fridge, saying, “We should get some ice cream for him.”

“Ice cream?”

“Sweet things always make me feel better when I have a bad day. What do you think he likes?”

“I… I don’t know. Like I said, he might not want to eat right now.”

Dynasmon cocked his head at him, his brow furrowed in concern. “You look like you could use some ice cream right now.”

Omnimon scoffed. “Yeah. Maybe.”

Dynasmon set his hand on Omnimon’s back. “What’s going on with you?”

Omnimon sighed, shaking his head. “I… I don’t know what to do. Tactimon wants us to hand Leopardmon over to him, insisting that he can take care of him. I’m not so sure. I mean, the way he said it, it didn’t sound like he took very good care of him before. How can I trust that he can do a better job now?”

“Then don’t turn him over.”

“But then it’s not like we can take care of him right now, either. And maybe… and maybe he needs more help than we’re capable of giving him.”

“Well, do we have to help him immediately?”

“Things are pretty bad right now, Dynasmon.”

“Grani has been watching him all day. We can just keep letting Grani watch him. And once the business with Belphemon is over, we can take care of Leopardmon full time. If this is something you want to do, then we should put everything we have into it.”

“We also already have a full-time job of watching after the Server. We can’t just drop everything to tend to Leopardmon’s needs.”

“We each have a few Court members who can take over when we can’t. Omnimon, you told me to look after him, remember?”

“I know, but I meant-”

“So that’s what I’m going to do. Whatever it takes.”

Omnimon nodded. “Of course, Dynasmon. That’s exactly the kind of Digimon you are.”

Omnimon filled a glass of water, carrying it across the hall. He made his way to the door for the barracks, his gaze drawing toward Grani. The zero arms unit was diligently watching the door, just as he had been instructed.

“Can you tell if he’s awake?” Omnimon asked.

“...He appears to be.”

Omnimon tapped on the door. “Leopardmon, it’s Omnimon. Can you speak to me?”

There wasn’t a response.

“Alright, let’s do this. Knock once for yes, twice for no. Can you hear me?”

One knock.

“Okay. I’d like to come in, if you don’t mind. I’ll try not to take up too much of your space, if you still need to be left alone. I thought that you might need some water. Can I come in?”

There was the sound of shifting wood. And then came a single knock. Omnimon opened the door, stepping in. He didn’t see Leopardmon immediately- instead he saw one of the bunk beds was missing. He looked down to find it on the ground, on the wall next to the door. And next to that was Leopardmon, curled up in a ball. White patches of pixels rested on his leg guards and elbows, and his knuckles were caked in dried blood.

And suddenly Omnimon didn’t see Leopardmon anymore. He saw someone else, hurting his knuckles in a similar fashion. He saw him sleeping on the hard ground instead of on a bedroll, or forcing himself to stay awake entirely. He saw him pushing himself during training, refusing to take a sparring partner, or yelling at everyone to stay far away from him. He saw someone punishing himself, who saw himself as a monster.

And Omnimon couldn’t give up on him.

Omnimon shut the door. He eased himself onto the ground, his legs crossed. He didn’t look directly at Leopardmon just yet, in case that would unsettle him. “Are you feeling any better?”

“...No,” Leopardmon whispered, his voice hoarse.

“Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“What did he say to you?”

“Grani, you mean?”

“No. Your ‘government friend from Floatia’.”

Omnimon blinked. “What makes you think he said anything about you?”

“I saw her in town. She came with him.”

“You’re talking about Rasielmon.”

Leopardmon nodded.

“She… She seemed worried about you. They both did.”

“You’re wrong. They want nothing to do with me. They’re only here because they didn’t get to discharge me in time. I… I was so awful to her… last time we spoke…”

Omnimon stared at the glass. “We don’t always say the right things when we’re upset or overwhelmed. I’m sure she knows you didn’t mean it.”

Leopardmon sat up shakily. “...I hit Grani.”

“And he doesn’t-”

Tears streamed down his face. “...And I shoved you and Magnamon, and I forced Dynasmon to feed me, and I made Alphamon perform for a stupid scan that didn’t even work, and I still haven’t even apologized to them for the rude thing I said before- I don’t even know how it upset them, or what I said wrong, but I still haven’t apologized. And Gallantmon probably said a lot of stuff about how smart I was, or how much help I’d be, and I just ended up humiliating him in the end.”

“Leopardmon-”

“You should boot me from the mission. I know you’ve been eager to do it. You know your Royal Knight friends well enough to coordinate the fight on your own. All I’ve done is get in the way. I can’t get along with the others, no matter what I do. I tried, and I failed. So just boot me already. I’ll find my own way.”

Omnimon looked over at him, his gauntlet hovering toward him. He hesitated to set his gauntlet on him, in case that made things worse. “Is that… really what you want? You seemed pretty upset about us hijacking the mission before.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I thought it was pretty important to you before.”

Leopardmon sniffled. “...I don’t know. It just… felt right.”

“It gave you something to hold on to.”

Leopardmon nodded, and then hid his face behind his knees. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“We’re not beat yet, Leopardmon. We have three more days to get ready. We’ll have a plan in place, we’ll create a team synergy- I mean, it seems like we’re getting along so far. Beelzemon said you did well helping him and the others fight Spirals in the valley.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“Why not? It’s important to keep their numbers low so they don’t overwhelm us during the fight with Belphemon. And even disregarding that, it’s good to get along for the smaller fights, that way we can depend on each other for the bigger fights.”

Leopardmon peered at him from over his knees.

“What was it you told Grani the other day? We’ll need everyone to fight Belphemon, no matter how small their involvement. Given certain triggers of yours, I’m not sure you can fight on the front lines like you want, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help out in other ways. You’re not a burden to us, Leopardmon.”

Leopardmon looked away.

“You know, I’d like to see that battle simulation, when it’s ready. I know you were looking forward to showing it off.”

“It’s not happening. I couldn’t make it work.”

“You’re only missing Alphamon’s data.”

“That’s why it won’t work.”

“And why won’t it work?”

“There’s a piece missing. I can’t make it work without all the pieces.”

“Does it need to be our Alphamon’s data? Can we use data from someone else? Can we use a different form of Alphamon’s in order to make it work? I know it’s not exactly what you want, but we’ll have to make it work with something else. I know you were looking forward to putting the battle simulation together, and I want you to have that.”

Leopardmon buried his face again, sniffling.

“And… And don’t feel bad about Dynasmon feeding you, okay? Or accepting favors from anyone else.”

“I made him feed me.”

“He was going to feed you anyway. That’s what Dynasmon does- he makes little favors that he thinks will brighten people’s day. He knows you’re a good Digimon. We all do. You can let people help you and care about you. They want to help you and care about you. Letting them do so does not make you a burden.”

Omnimon nudged the glass of water over to him. Leopardmon tentatively took it.

“We’re going to make this work. I’m not giving up, and neither should you.”

Leopardmon nodded, taking a sip.

Omnimon looked around the barracks, frowning. “This isn’t exactly an appropriate place for you to hide when you’re overwhelmed, is it?”

“It can’t be helped,” Leopardmon muttered. “There isn’t anywhere better here.”

Omnimon got up, placing his gauntlets on his hips. “Well, I’ll see about that.”

And Omnimon did. He found an old storage room within the tower that hadn’t seen use in ages. He set about tidying it up, placing a comfy cot in the corner. He also placed a collection of books and floppy disks next to it, certain that Leopardmon would enjoy going through them. Guiding him there was a bit of a challenge in his current state, but they managed to bring him there anyway.

Leopardmon seemed to brighten a bit when introduced to the space. He settled into the cot easily enough, promptly dozing off. The storage room setup ultimately reminded Omnimon of that certain Digimon, although this experience seemed to be a more positive one. He set a blanket over Leopardmon’s shoulders before leaving for the night.

Chapter 11: The Third Day

The group gathered in the training yard, assembled in a circle. Leopardmon played a hologram from his Digi UI, presenting it to the group. The hologram depicted the crater in the valley, with smaller holograms of the group fighting against a Belphemon hologram. A few simulations played out, depicting different arrangements for the party to engage in. Only a handful played out a positive outcome for them, but that was more than enough to help.

“...So to summarize, our best strategy is as follows,” Omnimon began. “Alphamon and Magnamon shall create the barrier to close out the battle from the rest of the valley. Leopardmon and I will stand guard, to defend them against any Spirals that might come our way. The rest of you will engage Belphemon, and do whatever you can to hold him back and deliver the final blow.”

“That certainly is a neat little device,” Grani noted. “To think we could have been using something like that all this time.”

Leopardmon shut off the hologram. “This thing needs an upgrade. It will be insufficient for future engagements.”

“Future engagements, huh? Is someone wanting to stick around?”

Leopardmon blinked at him. It did kind of sound like he said that, didn’t it? The notion of the future was rather strange coming from him. He hadn’t thought about the future in a long time, at least not beyond the immediate next day.

Beelzemon stretched his wings. “So if everything’s set, does that mean we can take a break?”

“We still need to engage in practice matches to ensure that we’ll get along,” Omnimon insisted. “We are coming down to the wire.”

“There’s still time for ice cream, isn’t there?”

Omnimon’s gaze trailed over to Dynasmon. “We don’t need feel-better ice cream anymore. Everything’s fine now.”

Dynasmon crossed his arms. “You didn’t get to have it yesterday. You need to make up for it now.”

Leopardmon cocked his head. “You mean for the two of us to have it?”

“That’s right.”

Gallantmon cocked his head. “Do you mind if I come along? I didn’t get to check on you yesterday.”

So the plan really was to go for ice cream, then. Leopardmon rubbed the back of his neck, saying, “It shouldn’t be a problem, as long as it’s quiet.”

Dynasmon nodded. “Don’t worry about that. Beelzemon and I scoped the place out. It should work out fine. And you don’t need to be afraid to say anything if you need a break, got it?”

It was hard to believe that they were trying to make him comfortable. Most other people got frustrated with his issues, insisting that he had to get over them like a proper Digimon. That someone would make sure a place was comfortable for him, without shame or ridicule…

Leopardmon could only nod curtly.

Omnimon shook his head, but he didn’t seem to be annoyed. “Then we’ll try not to be away for too long.”

The five of them headed out, saying their goodbyes to the others.

---

 

It turned out that Dynasmon and Beelzemon had found a small ice cream parlor on the corner of the street. It was the definition of a local business- a place that didn’t get a lot of traffic, but still seemed well-loved by those that visited. When they went, there appeared to be one parent and child, and one elder chatting with the sparse staff. The lights were dim, with the bulk of light coming from the windows- which Leopardmon definitely preferred to the harsh fluorescents that plagued every other business.

Their group found seats in the back, separating at two tables- Omnimon, Gallantmon and Beelzemon at one, and Leopardmon and Dynasmon at the other. Leopardmon sat at the edge of the arrangement, glad that he wouldn’t have to brush up against anyone’s elbows. A server came to see them, and the table of three argued over what to order. It felt like Leopardmon was missing context over there.

The trio was still arguing by the time Leopardmon and Dynasmon got their orders. Dynasmon received a bowl of strawberry ice cream, with bits of the fruit showing in it. Leopardmon got a simple chocolate and vanilla sundae. The texture of it was quite nice, too.

“You certainly did well finding this place,” Leopardmon nodded.

Dynasmon nodded. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"You know, the atmosphere here kind of reminds me of this bar I went to back home."

"A bar? I thought you didn't like alcohol."

"They had good food. And most of the time, I went there after hours."

"After hours? You could do that?"

Leopardmon nodded. "MirageGaogamon made that arrangement. Every other place in Floatia was too busy for me during the day. He talked with the manager, and arranged for us to come by after hours. Yeah, Mirage was good with things like that."

"So you were able to make that place your hangout spot?"

"Yeah, we had the whole run of the place mostly- we just had to make sure not to mess everything up. We'd invite Rasielmon, and we'd play with the karaoke machine in the back."

"You sing, too?"

"Not very well. But you're not supposed to sing well during karaoke."

Dynasmon nodded. "Sounds like MirageGaogamon was a pretty cool Digimon."

Leopardmon folded his arms on the table. "He was the best. We met in the university, a few years before joining the army. The time before was pretty rough- everyone else had their own friend groups. But Mirage never left anyone behind."

"Is he still around?"

Leopardmon shrugged. "As far as I know. I didn't stick around long after the… incident. He probably hates me for it."

"I don't believe that. A Digimon like him probably has a hard time hating anyone. I bet he's even worried about you."

"... They haven't told you what I did, have they?"

Dynasmon shrugged. "I get the impression that you screwed up pretty bad somehow. And that doesn't bother me. I've had a few screw ups in my time. You just need to remember what went wrong so you don't do it again, and then move forward with that knowledge."

"My 'screw up' is a lot bigger than that, Dynasmon."

"Well, sometimes the only thing you can do is let go and move forward, no matter how bad you mess up. The alternative is being miserable forever, and that doesn't sound very fun."

Sure, but wasn’t that something Leopardmon deserved? Even after everything the Royal Knights were doing for him, he still couldn’t shake the notion that he deserved to be punished. He had to face some kind of retribution for letting everyone die.

He decided not to mention it to Dynasmon, and hoped that the notion would go away with time.

The child started crying partway through their time here. Leopardmon watched as the parent scolded them for this, insisting that the tantrum was inappropriate. He couldn’t help but think of every other time his guardians scolded him as a child. Every time he sat under harsh lights, or had to touch scratchy carpets, or had to sit in a crowded classroom with the overly loud ticking clock in the corner, he was scolded for his outbursts. He didn’t know why he acted out like that. Sometimes the world was so overwhelming that he just… had to. And despite knowing how inappropriate it was, he couldn’t stop doing it.

How did that child feel, in the ice cream parlor? Did they feel like a burden, just as much as Leopardmon did?

Leopardmon was determined not to be the same selfish brat that let people die.

---

 

Alphamon collapsed flat on his back in the training yard. Magnamon stalked over to him, planting his foot on his chest. He claimed victory over their little sparring match, and Alphamon could sense a smirk under the golden knight’s mask. Magnamon soon took his foot off, giving Alphamon a hand up. Alphamon took it, although he could pick himself up just fine. Despite his size, Magnamon was capable of taking on the largest of foes. Alphamon certainly appreciated the reminder.

“You did good,” Alphamon nodded.

“Thanks. So did you. Should we take a break, for the moment?”

Alphamon looked around the yard. “Sounds good to me. We should probably get some water.”

They made their way toward the tower entrance, only for Grani to cross the yard to meet them. The zero arms face contorted in concern, and he looked up eagerly at the two Knights.

“What is it?” Magnamon asked. “Are the others back yet?”

“No, it’s… I think there’s someone here to see you?”

Alphamon sighed, making his way across the yard. “It better not be Tactimon. If he demands to come over here to mess with our mission…”

Magnamon followed him over to the edge of the yard. They found someone standing near the city wall, just a few feet away. It was a cat-like woman with a long cape, her big claws awkwardly clutching her shoulder. Alphamon looked over at Magnamon, who seemed to recognize her. Magnamon marched forward, and Alphamon ended up following him to meet the stranger. Given the looks the two of them gave each other upon meeting, Alphamon figured that this stranger had accompanied Tactimon into the city.

“What do you want, Rasielmon?” Magnamon huffed, his arms crossed. “We don’t want Tactimon getting in our way.”

Rasielmon stared at her feet. “Tactimon doesn’t know I’m here. I… I want to help you fight Belphemon. I want to do what I can to protect Leopardmon.”

Magnamon blinked. “You don’t expect us to turn him over?”

“It would probably be worse if you did. Leopardmon can be quite stubborn at times. He wants to do everything he can to prove himself. Even if you booted him from the mission, he would probably run off on his own to fight Belphemon, no matter how reckless that was. But I can’t stand the idea of not doing anything for him. Not now that he’s so close. I’ll follow every order you give me to the letter. Just… I want to be able to do this.”

Alphamon stroked his chin in thought. “I think… that depends on how Leopardmon feels. He might not be ready to see you.”

“That’s… That’s alright. Is it okay if I wait for him?”

“So long as you’re certain that Tactimon won’t come this way.”

“I told him I was running a few errands around town. I’m sure he trusts me enough not to chase after me.”

They waited in silence for a while, finding it difficult to look directly at one another. Magnamon glanced toward the street, spotting someone arriving near the tower. He hurried off to meet up with them. Alphamon tried to look as well, although the figure was still half-obscured behind a building. He deeply hoped that it wasn’t Tactimon.

“So…,” Alphamon muttered, “what exactly is your relationship to Leopardmon?”

“We were in geography class together in university. Although, we didn’t really speak with one another until MirageGaogamon asked us to sit together during lunch. We got closer then, and eventually ended up joining the army together. But… I’m not sure the Floatia army is the place for me to be.”

Alphamon cocked his head. “Really?”

“I’ve been thinking about it since the Daemon incident. About the manner in which everyone was discharged. I understand the mindset Tactimon was in at the time, and you certainly want to drill into their heads that they need to be careful about these things, but also… maybe he should have understood that they watched half of their friends die. They knew what kind of mistake they made, and still…”

“So there’s something Tactimon didn’t tell Omnimon, then?”

Rasielmon looked up at him, her brow furrowed in worry. “I… I don’t think it’s a good idea for you guys to hand Leopardmon over to him. Not if he’s still carrying the weight of what happened.”

Alphamon nodded curtly. Then it was a good thing they had no intention of handing Leopardmon over.

Magnamon soon returned. Along with him were the other Knights, Beelzemon and Leopardmon. Leopardmon hung close to Dynasmon, his eyes locked on Rasielmon. The two of them took each other in for a long moment, as if time froze around them.

“Hey,” Rasielmon muttered.

“H… Hey.”

“...Can we talk? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”

“I… I want to get Grani first. And then we’ll go somewhere quiet.”

“Okay.”

---

 

They met on one of the wall parapets, looking out at the valley beyond. Well, Leopardmon had his gaze fixed on the valley, anyway. He refused to look properly at Rasielmon, feeling as though he’d fall apart if he tried. This experience was harrowing enough. He couldn’t mess up this one chance at reconciliation.

The only thing giving him relief was Grani’s presence at the doorway. If something went wrong, at least he could run toward him.

It took a moment for either of them to say anything, the weight of this meeting burdening them both. Inevitably, it was Rasielmon who spoke up first, asking, “Are the Royal Knights treating you well?”

“Better than I deserve. I don’t know why they decided to take care of me like they have, but… I am grateful for it.”

“That’s good. There are certainly worse Digimon that could’ve found you.”

“How… How is Mirage? Are you in contact with him?”

“We talk all the time. At least once a week. I think he was wandering the Server as a bounty hunter last time we spoke.”

Leopardmon curled his fingers against the stone of the wall. A bounty hunter, huh? Did such a job really make him happy? “It’s… It’s good that you two are still talking.”

“He asks about you all the time.”

He brought his head up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. He’s always asking if I’ve heard anything from you, and if you’re doing well. He was pretty worried when you disappeared.”

That didn’t make sense to Leopardmon. He was the one who ruined MirageGaogamon’s life.

“I can get you two in touch if you want. I’m sure he’d like to speak with you directly.”

Leopardmon dipped his head back down. “N-No, that’s okay. I don’t think I’d have much to say to him, anyway.”

Rasielmon scoffed. “Not much to say? After months of hunting down Demon Lord Digimon?”

“A fruitless endeavor. Even those that were hurting people weren’t the true Demon Lords of the past. I knew they wouldn’t give me the proper Path of Seven Steps, but I still pursued them anyway. I’m nowhere closer to where I want to be than before I started.”

“And where is that?”

He paused. Where was that? Was it the solitude of death? Leopardmon certainly couldn’t say that to Rasielmon. But it also didn’t feel true anymore. At least, not as true as it did a few weeks ago. The treatment that the Royal Knights gave him, their kindness and support, made the world feel a little less dark. It made him feel a little less filthy. He didn’t deserve their kindness, but he wanted to deserve it, if that made any sense.

“I think… I want to be somewhere I can have a future,” Leopardmon muttered. “Where I’m not the Digimon that killed dozens of young soldiers. Where I can redeem myself for that failure. Where I can… move on.”

“Moving on involves letting go,” Rasielmon said. “You need to recognize that you can’t change what happened. You need to accept your faults and resolve to do better. And it seems like you’ve completed half of that work. You know not to rush into conflicts like with Daemon, and you’re dedicating yourself to protecting people. You’re just missing the actual ‘letting go’ part.”

That was almost exactly what Dynasmon had said earlier. “...I don’t think I know how to do that.”

Rasielmon nodded, biting her lip. “It takes a long time to figure out. But you won’t have to do it alone. I’ll be there for you. So will MirageGaogamon, and so will the Royal Knights.”

“Helping me move on will take away from your work in the Floatia army. I don’t want you to have to do that.”

Rasielmon studied her claws, her brow furrowed in thought. “I’ve been thinking… after everything that happened… maybe I don’t want to be part of the army anymore.”

Leopardmon blinked. “Don’t say that because of me.”

“It’s not just because of you. It’s because of Mirage. It’s because of everyone who got discharged that night. The way you were all treated was awful. I stuck around for a while thinking I could change things if I rose in rank, but every inch of that system is corrupt. We’d need to change everything from the ground up in order to fix things.”

“Then go and do that. Go back to Floatia and become an activist for that kind of change. If that’s something you’re really passionate about, you should fight for it.”

She smiled. “There’s an idea. After we defeat Belphemon, then. I’ll go back to Floatia and do what I can to make changes there. You just have to promise me something.”

“Yeah.”

“Stay with the Royal Knights, if they’ll let you. They seem to be good to you. And in that way, even if we’re apart, I’ll at least know where you are.”

Was that really a possibility for him? To stay with the Royal Knights? Living with them in Ygg’s Path, continuing to help them out…

Becoming one of them…?

Maybe that last one was a stretch, but Leopardmon had trouble getting the idea out of his head. Himself, a Royal Knight, working toward atonement by protecting the Ymir Server as a whole.

In that way, he could almost imagine a future for himself.

“I’ll see what they have to say,” Leopardmon promised. “I’m… I’m glad you’re here, Rasielmon.”

“Me too,” she replied, lifting her hand up. “Erm, can I?”

Leopardmon nodded. Rasielmon set her hand on his back, rubbing circles on it. Though there was only so much physical contact Leopardmon could take day to day, there were some people he yearned to seek it from, Rasielmon included. His plating prickled at first, having not felt the warmth of a gentle touch in months, but it quickly went away as he soaked the affection in. He almost cried as well. Maybe he wasn’t as doomed as he thought he was.

Chapter 12: The Second Day

The night was spent running through practice drills, especially now that Rasielmon had been added to the lineup. She was due to join the team directly confronting Belphemon, using her magic to aid them from inside the shield. Even with extra assistance, the group was still worried about what the actual confrontation would look like. Especially Leopardmon, who stayed up late going through new battle sims in order to make sure everything would work.

Of course, there was another reason he couldn’t readily fall asleep.

As they went out to observe the crater, Leopardmon kept revolving the question in his head. He kept glancing at the Royal Knights, reciting that question to himself. Excuse me, but would it be too much for you to let me into your Order? I’ll do everything I can to make myself useful. Plenty of opportunities arose during the trip there, but he could never get it out. Was this mission even the appropriate time to pop the question? Should he wait until after they’ve dealt with Belphemon?

What if the worst came to pass, and there wasn’t an after?

A tremor shook the earth as they arrived, bigger than the ones they’ve experienced previously during their stay. The miasma emanating from the crater had only grown in size and intensity. The group had to stand farther away from the crater than they did in their initial scouting. Even just looking at it made them sick.

“It won’t be long now,” Omnimon muttered grimly. “Do you have an exact time down, Grani?”

“That’s rather hard to calculate. The data keeps fluctuating. Right now, my estimate is between the middle of the night tonight, and sometime the next morning.”

Beelzemon scoffed, hands behind his head. “I’d guess closer to mid-afternoon. Belphemon never liked early mornings.”

Omnimon squinted at him. “You could take this a little more seriously, couldn’t you?”

“Hey, who’s the Demon Lord expert here?”

Omnimon shook his head. “Regardless, we should monitor the area closely. Check for any fluctuations in data, that way we don’t give Belphemon a single chance of endangering the people of Salamander’s Rest.”

Leopardmon craned his head to look the way they came. “We need to work on a barrier, right? I feel like we need to block off the whole valley.”

“Yeah, I’d say the same,” Beelzemon nodded. “You don’t want to give Belphemon a chance to corner you.”

Magnamon crossed his arms. “So those are our objectives today? To mark out the site for our barrier, and monitor the valley?”

“Pretty much,” Omnimon said. “We’ll probably need to gather camping supplies for the excursion, too.”

“I can go back into town for that,” Gallantmon insisted. “Maybe I can clean up the barracks a little, too.”

Would it be easier to talk to just Gallantmon? “I’ll go with you,” Leopardmon insisted. “You’ll need help carrying stuff, right?”

“Sure, I don’t mind having you along.”

Rasielmon quickly accessed her comms, shrinking back in shock. She gave a few quick responses to the person on the other end, and then got off of her comms to look at the group. “I need to go for now. I’ll be back later tonight, I promise.”

“Is it Tactimon?” Omnimon asked nervously.

“I didn’t tell him where I went this morning. He probably expects me to help him continue the search for Leopardmon- and I’m not about to give him any leads.”

Gallantmon turned to look at Leopardmon. “Do you still want to go back to town, then?”

Honestly, Leopardmon didn’t like the idea of running into his old general again. It was hard enough just running into Rasielmon. How could he face the mon that he angered and disappointed so thoroughly? He thought that such a meeting might destroy him.

Even so… “I’ll be okay if I’m with you.”

“Alright. Just let me know if you need to go back, and I’ll get you back to camp.”

---

 

It was a brisk flight back to town, almost calming in contrast to the tension in the valley. Gallantmon paused before they passed through the gates, beckoning Leopardmon over. Leopardmon followed him, and Gallantmon handed him a pair of earplugs. 

"I found these the other day," Gallantmon helpfully explained. "Try them out, see if they're comfortable."

Leopardmon put the earplugs in his ears. They fit comfortably. "Are these meant to dampen sounds for me?"

"With any luck. Grani and I discussed things, trying to figure out how best to help you with your condition. Still haven't come up with a solution for the crowds, yet. Just stick close to me for now."

Leopardmon found his heart breaking, and he didn’t know why. That Gallantmon would try to accommodate him like this was… touching. He fell into step next to Gallantmon, and they made their way into town. 

It wasn't as busy today as it had been when Leopardmon was exploring with Grani. The crowds were rather sparse, and the few Digimon they passed seemed rather nervous. That ominous feeling was back again. 

"It looks like the townsfolk are preparing to evacuate," Leopardmon noted. 

Gallantmon touched a finger to his chin. "Oof, I hope there's still a shop open that will give us what we need. I'm wondering if we should have prepared sooner."

Leopardmon winced. "That's not… my fault, is it?"

"No. Why would it be?"

"I mean… you've all been trying to figure out how to fit me into this fight…"

"Because it was your fight to start with. You're not in the way at all. And don't worry about the supplies. If worse comes to worse, we'll figure something out."

He sounded so certain. Leopardmon didn’t think he could share that feeling. 

Luckily, they found a shop that was still open, although the gotsumon vendor was in the process of packing things away. He paused as Gallantmon and Leopardmon made their way in.

"Sorry to bother you," Gallantmon said. "We were hoping you could sell us some camping supplies."

The gotsumon frowned in thought. "What do you need?"

Gallantmon looked down at his hands, counting on his fingers. “Er… three tents and… seven bedrolls? Yeah, seven should be good.”

“I’ll see if I have any in the back. One moment, please.”

They watched the gotsumon walk to the back of the shop. As they waited, they heard the bell above the door chime as it opened. Gallantmon quickly stood in front of Leopardmon, and Leopardmon caught a glimpse of the reason why.

Tactimon had just entered the shop.

“...Fancy seeing you here,” Gallantmon muttered.

Tactimon crossed his arms. “It’s coming down to the wire now, don’t you think? Just one more day for you to turn Leopardmon over to us.”

“You know, you could help us fight Belphemon. He’s a threat to everyone in this city- maybe even this region. Your skills would be beneficial for taking him down.”

“I might be persuaded to do that- so long as you take Leopardmon off of the mission.”

Leopardmon winced, his stomach turning in knots. He hated being in the presence of his old general.

Tactimon stepped forward, grabbing Gallantmon’s hands. “I will remind you again that Leopardmon is not of sound mind. And as I told Omnimon before, his condition prior to the tragedy prevents him from being a skillful warrior. Forcing him to take on this mission is nothing short of cruel. If you take him off the mission, then I will take his place. I will protect him from further heartache.”

“What makes you think we’re forcing him? What if this is something Leopardmon needs to do in order to heal?”

“You think this is ‘healing’? Throwing himself into impossible battles at the high risk of his death?”

Gallantmon shrugged. “I’m just thinking about some of the more traumatic moments in my life- those I can remember, at least. After those events, I’d sometimes try to seek out similar moments, replicate them as close as I could. And maybe then, if something like that happened again, I’d know that I could handle it better. Here, Leopardmon is working with a team of warriors, trying to take down another Demon Lord, collaborating with them on the perfect plan. He needs reassurance that he won’t fail in the same way.”

“This isn’t a sufficient way of healing.”

“No, but at least he’s not alone.”

Gallantmon pulled his hands away from Tactimon. “Leopardmon’s pretty stubborn. I doubt he’d leave even if we forced him out. So it’s better to keep him close, to keep an eye on him. And he actually is a pretty good warrior- I wouldn’t be here right now if he didn’t come to help me. And the fact of the matter is that we need everyone we can get in order to defeat Belphemon. It wouldn’t do us any good to cast out someone who is willing to help.”

Leopardmon winced as he caught Tactimon’s frown. The general couldn’t see him, could he?

“The offer stands, Tactimon,” Gallantmon insisted. “You can always help us fight Belphemon.”

Tactimon turned away, heading out of the shop.

The gotsumon returned with the items they had requested. Gallantmon looked over at him. “This might be a long shot, but do you have any food available?”

“Mostly jerky. I don’t want to dig out the good stuff until after the crisis is averted.”

“We’ll take some of that, and I’ll let my friends know what’s going on.”

Gallantmon paid for everything they bought. The tents and bedrolls went into two backpacks, with them each taking one. Leopardmon grabbed Gallantmon’s arm as they made their way out of the shop. He couldn’t speak, despite deeply wanting to vent his new anxiety. He also felt sick to his stomach again. This wasn’t the kind of condition he should be in for the upcoming battle.

“That should be it,” Gallantmon noted. “Let’s get out of here, shall we?”

Leopardmon nodded. It was the only thing he could do.

---

 

Sunset fell on the valley, and the Royal Knights gathered on the cliffs overlooking it. Beelzemon caught a giant boar for them to eat, with Alphamon and Magnamon gathering wild vegetables for them to put into a stew. The meat tasted odd to Leopardmon, though he didn’t find it unpleasant. It must have been the fat and blood- Digi Meat didn’t have the internal substances that wild animals did. He was thankful that he was able to keep it down. After the confrontation with Tactimon, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to eat at all.

What would he do if Tactimon somehow showed up for the battle? It would severely throw off the plan they had calculated, not only for his unaccounted presence, but for how said presence would affect Leopardmon. If even one member of the plan was off their game, it could spell disaster for everyone.

Even now, Leopardmon was still the weakest link.

They finished setting up the tents after dinner, delineating where everyone was going to go. Leopardmon was placed in the same tent as Magnamon, the two of them small enough that they would not brush up against one another. Leopardmon had mentioned his discomfort with physical touch before, so this had to be their way to mitigate that. Again, they were doing so much to accommodate the weak link in their party.

As soon as the tents were finished, Leopardmon retired to his tent. If he could fall asleep early, then maybe he’d be rested enough for the battle. Magnamon crawled into the tent not too long after.

“You’re not hanging out with us?” Magnamon asked.

Leopardmon shook his head. He found that he still couldn’t speak, even after the encounter.

“I see. Is there anything on your mind that you want to get out to me? I know I’m feeling nervous, but sharing it might help.”

It was useless if he couldn’t even speak. How was he supposed to communicate during the battle? 

Leopardmon looked at the dirt next to his bedroll. Could he write? He dug his finger through it, his shaky hand managing to get out a message.

“I don’t want to let everyone down again,” he wrote.

Magnamon looked at the message, and then back at Leopardmon with a sympathetic gaze. “Well, I’m not going to jinx us by saying that nothing will go wrong. But it doesn’t all fall on you. You have all of us working together on this mission. Omnimon and Grani will be right there with you helping us on the barrier, and I know everyone else will do a good job fighting Belphemon himself.”

He too seemed confident. Leopardmon wiped away the message, and then wrote, “I feel like a burden. Why are you all helping me to do this?”

Magnamon looked down at the message, and then said, “Because this is how you’re going to get closure. And… because you remind us a little of Gallantmon.”

Leopardmon blinked, and, surprised to hear his own voice, said, “Gallantmon?”

“He’s our best friend. We love him more than anything. But he has a hard time seeing that, on occasion. A long time ago, he treated himself like a monster, insisting that he couldn’t do anything good, no matter how much he wanted to. And that got worse when he found out about a condition that he had that seemed to be a roadblock for making the positive impact he wanted to make.”

“The Digital Hazard, you mean?”

“That’s part of it, but… This isn’t really something I should go into detail about without Gallantmon’s permission. But that condition affects his memory sometimes, and it makes it hard for him to do his work. But we knew he was a good Digimon, and we did everything we could to help him. And now, things are working out very well.”

Leopardmon brought his knees up to his chest. “And… you all think I’m a good Digimon like him?”

“Yeah. And you’re worth the effort, Leopardmon. Just like Gallantmon is. We never gave up on him- we’ll never give up on him, no matter what happens. So we’re not going to give up on you, either.”

He couldn’t stop himself from crying. Magnamon drew his hand toward him. Leopardmon gave him a nod, allowing him to place his hand on his back. This touch didn’t hurt him like most others seemed to. In fact, it helped calm him down a little. 

Whatever happened, they would be okay. He had to hold on to that hope.

Chapter 13: The Final Day (Part One)

Summary:

Happy new year, everyone. Things are going down in this chapter.

It was hard for Beelzemon to settle down inside of the tent. There was enough room for him and Gallantmon in the tent- plenty of space for his wings- yet somehow he couldn’t relax. It certainly wasn’t Gallantmon’s snoring that was the issue. He always found that relaxing, in a weird way. His gaze kept drawing toward the opening of the tent, as if he expected something to break in and attack them.

How many sleepless nights did Belphemon experience, burdened by his immense power? How much pain did he experience trying to hold it back?

Ah. Maybe that was it.

Beelzemon got up, doing his best not to disturb Gallantmon as he made his way out of the tent. He spotted Omnimon and Grani looking out over the cliff. Beelzemon stretched his wings, walking over to join them.

“Figured you’d be asleep by now,” Omnimon muttered.

“Yeah, well you should be.”

Omnimon kept his gaze on the moon. “Someone needs to keep Grani company.”

Grani shook his head. “I don’t need company. I’m fine keeping watch on my own. Honestly, Omnimon, it’s more important for you to get enough sleep for the battle.”

Beelzemon set his hands behind his neck. “So what’s keeping you up, then?”

Omnimon shook his head. “Too much. What about you? You never struck me as an insomniac.”

Beelzemon glanced toward the valley where Belphemon was set to emerge. “You know, we’ve been making all of these preparations, getting ready for the big day, and I don’t think I really know what exactly we’re doing . Are we… killing him?”

“If Belphemon could be killed, he’d already be dead. Our best bet is to just depower him again.”

Beelzemon nodded curtly. “Ah.”

“You don’t want him dead, do you?”

“I…”

“You don’t have to hide it from us. I’m sure you have some lingering fondness for your old allies.”

Beelzemon set his arms down, tucking his wings in. “Don’t be silly. I hated every single one of those guys. Except… I always felt kind of bad for Belphemon. You probably wouldn’t believe me, but he was the only one who couldn’t control the Digital Hazard within him. And it wasn’t for lack of trying, but for some reason, none of the methods we used to control ours ever worked for him. The only time he could do it was when he entered Sleep Mode.”

Grani cocked his head. “Really? You know, I never did get the chance to analyze Belphemon back in the day. I could never find a good opportunity to get close.”

“He used to be able to switch between the two modes, you know? It was harder for him to do it in Rage Mode, of course, but it was possible. Ol’ Lucy, though, decided that Belphemon was better as a glorified attack dog, and controlled him that way. I… I don’t know how much control he had over his actions, in the end.”

Omnimon glanced at him. “And you think he deserves a chance to atone?”

“...Yeah. I feel like he would accept it, if he had the ability to.”

“Well, almost all of us here are just as guilty as he is. If the opportunity arises, we’ll do what we can to offer Belphemon that chance.”

The conversation seemed to do the trick for Beelzemon. He yawned, stretching. “Cool. Now I’m going to try and get some sleep before the big battle.”

Grani nudged Omnimon with his nose. “Yes. You both get some sleep. Especially you, Omnimon. At the very least, just close your eyes for a little bit. That’s better than nothing.”

“And you’re really fine staying up all night?” Omnimon asked.

“I’ve activated my backup battery. I can handle one all-nighter.”

---

 

The ground trembled at the inn where Rasielmon was staying. It didn’t seem to disturb any of the guests that had decided to stay, but she knew what kind of omen it was. She climbed out of bed as quietly as she could, leaving the room and heading down the hall. Belphemon was coming, and her allies would need her soon.

But just as she reached the stairs, a voice behind her asked, “Going somewhere, Rasielmon?”

---

 

The great trembling woke Leopardmon. He climbed out of the tent with Magnamon, gathering with the rest of the group at the edge of the cliff. The sun barely peaked over the horizon. The cloud of miasma in the crater billowed toward the sky, strong enough to make him feel sick even from this distance.

“We only have about ten minutes before Belphemon finally emerges,” Grani warned them. “Maybe less.”

“Then let’s not waste time,” Omnimon announced. “Everyone get into your positions.”

Leopardmon looked around, dread filling in his heart. “W-Wait, Rasielmon isn’t here yet! What about the plan!?”

“We’ll have to switch things around a bit, if she doesn’t get here in time. But we have to move out now.”

Leopardmon took a deep breath. Of course. If he was too rigid, then he’d fall apart at the first sign of trouble. He couldn’t let that happen again.

They all took to the air, flying after the crater. Most eyes fell on Gallantmon, waiting to see if his X-Antibody would still hold even under this intense miasma. It seemed to- Gallantmon didn’t appear to be having any difficulties functioning, and he probably would have stayed behind otherwise. Leopardmon joined Omnimon, Grani, Magnamon and Alphamon on the cliffs overlooking the crater. Everyone else waited just below them.

“How are you feeling, Dynasmon?” Gallantmon asked.

Dynasmon grimaced. “I feel like I should be asking you that. But I’m fine, for the most part. More nervous than anything else.”

“We just have to watch each other’s backs. That’s how we’ll get through this.”

A voice called out to them. Leopardmon turned around, his heart sinking as he saw the Digimon approaching them. Rasielmon was here- along with Tactimon. The two of them approached the group, looking out at the crater.

“Ooh, that really does look bad,” Rasielmon muttered. “Let’s not waste time then, right?”

She joined Gallantmon and the others, descending into the valley. Alphamon and Magnamon flew off, heading back toward the far cliffs to set up the barrier. Omnimon glanced at Tactimon, his arms crossed.

“And what exactly are you doing here?” Omnimon spat.

“I’m here to aid in the battle against Belphemon, at Gallantmon’s request,” Tactimon said plainly. “He seemed to think you needed all of the help you could get.”

“You’re sure that’s the only reason?”

Grani winced, alerting everyone’s attention to him. “I’m detecting a large presence approaching the crater. It must be another Spiral entity. It’s…”

They looked out at the highest cliff, the site where Grani pointed out the presence. A massive, draconic creature approached, carrying a large sphere in its claws. Wire frames twisted within this creature, creating the most complex Spiral that Leopardmon had ever seen.

And several feet away from the Digimon assigned to the barrier.

In all of their deliberation, they had never considered that the ground team would be the ones that would need protection.

Chapter 14: The Final Day (Part Two)

Rasielmon finally made her way to the base’s medbay. MirageGaogamon leaned against the wall, keeping a close watch on Leopardmon. She barely paid attention to that, instead grabbing MirageGaogamon by the collar of his armor.

“I hope you two know what your little stunt cost,” Rasielmon insisted. “Everyone that went to join you is being discharged. I’m sure you two are up next on the chopping block. Honestly, though? Maybe you two deserve-”

“Rasielmon, not now.”

Her gaze finally drew toward Leopardmon. He stared blankly at the ground, his head bowed down in sorrow. It didn’t seem like he was processing anything around him. Rasielmon released MirageGaogamon, suddenly guilty. What kind of punishment could be worse than the way they felt right now?

Tactimon seemed to know a way. He marched into the medbay, grabbing Leopardmon by the collar of his armor. “What were you thinking!? Do you have any idea of the damage you’ve caused!? The lives you sacrificed on this ego trip!? Was it not enough to burden the army with your weakness, but to strip it of its finest and youngest members before they had a chance to shine?! Did you value yourself over your fellow soldier so much that you had to send them to die!? Did anything I was trying to teach you get through that thick head of yours!?”

Leopardmon tipped his head up, his gaze focused. “...You have to kill me.”

Tactimon blinked. “What’s that?”

“I… I get it now. I am a Digital Hazard. I am a burden to everyone around me. My only purpose is to destroy everything I come across. You have to kill me. You have to end this.”

Tactimon released him. “Leopardmon, that’s-”

Leopardmon reached for Tactimon’s sheathed blade. “No! I get it now! I get what you were trying to tell me all along! I should have listened! I should have taken the hint and left when you told me to! Now everyone’s dead and it’s all my fault! You have to stop me before I destroy Floatia! You have to-”

Tactimon grabbed him, shoving his knee into Leopardmon’s stomach. The force was strong enough to knock him out. Rasielmon hurried over to Leopardmon as he slumped to the ground. She looked up at Tactimon, trembling.

“You… you really didn’t have to do that,” Rasielmon muttered.

“Leopardmon is unfit for active duty. I should never have allowed him into the army. Take him back to your home, Rasielmon. We’ll figure out what to do with him there.”

She set him over his shoulder, carrying him out of the medbay. She barely made it out of the base before Leopardmon began stirring. Rasielmon set him on the ground, giving him the proper space to come to.

“Leopardmon, listen…,” she began. “It’s… It’s going to be okay.”

Leopardmon stood up shakily, glaring at her. “You do it, then.”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

“Someone has to! It’s what I deserve after killing everyone!”

“Leopardmon, you’re not the first Digimon who led a disastrous battle against a Demon Lord. I’m sure Tactimon has thousands of similar failures under his belt.”

“Except he’s not a Digital Hazard like me. He’s capable of functioning like a normal Digimon. I’ve been deficient my entire life, and I finally know why. And you’re stupid for trying to help me!”

He flew off before she could stop him.

She searched the city all night in an effort to track him down. The only thing she could find was a shop owner, who had sold supplies to Leopardmon as he mentioned ‘The Path of Seven Steps’.

---

 

The Spiral was bigger than any that Leopardmon had seen before, cast in the menacing image of a former Demon Lord. He didn’t imagine that the creature’s powers would be exactly as strong as Lucemon: Satan Mode’s. 

Only close enough to matter.

He noted the shock and horror in Omnimon’s eyes, noted his frightened stance. The white knight just stared at the creature, muttering, “It… It can’t be…”

“It’s not moving at all,” Tactimon noted. “It must be waiting for something.”

“It’s waiting for Belphemon.”

“You think it’s cognizant enough for that?”

Omnimon glanced over at him. “Beelzemon said that Lucemon treated him like an attack dog. If the Spiral caught some trace of his data, it could have an unprecedented level of control over him.”

“That’s certainly a lot to speculate.”

Grani nudged his way between them. “We’re running out of time! We need to think of something!”

It was bad enough for them to fight one Demon Lord, but two? They had to give the ground team space to fight. There was only one thing for it.

Leopardmon marched forward, hands clenched, doing his best to control the trembling. “Grani, you need to look after Alphamon and Magnamon. Tell them to set up the barrier. The three of us will take care of that Spiral.”

Tactimon scoffed. “The three of us? I don’t think you can-”

Leopardmon stomped toward him, glaring. “ Yes , the three of us! I’m not giving that Spiral the slightest chance of throwing off the ground team! Their focus should be on fending off Belphemon!”

Tactimon blinked at him in surprise. He stepped away, arms folded behind his back. “You’ve developed quite the strong focus.”

Leopardmon took a deep breath, and continued, “Omnimon, you should confront the Spiral head on. Tactimon, attack it from the rear. I’ll cover whatever gaps are missing.”

Another great tremor rose from the ground. Without wasting any more time, they took to the air. Grani split away from them, and Leopardmon and the others flew off to face the Spiral.

---

 

Grani regrouped with Alphamon and Magnamon. The tremors in the ground grew worse and worse. There was no more time for delay. Alphamon and Magnamon looked at each other, and then they combined their powers.

The green aura of the Alpha Inforce wove together with the gold power of the Miracle Digimental. They combined into a great force field that covered the whole valley, sealing it off from the city of Salamander’s rest. It could be seen for miles.

The townsfolk gathered closeby, watching in anticipation for the battle ahead.

The ground team also waited in anticipation, hovering at the edge of the crater. With one final tremor, the ground broke before them. A massive Digimon arose from the ground, some unholy combination of goat and wolf. His horns curled behind his head, and his menacing red eyes fell on the Digimon gathered before him. He let out a rage-filled howl that echoed through the valley and into the heavens.

Belphemon had finally awoken.

“Spread out!” Gallantmon shouted. “We don’t want to be clumped together like this!”

They moved out of the way as Belphemon launched a blast of black fire at them. The fire melted the rocks away, leaving another grisly crater in its wake. Gallantmon fired a beam of light from his lance, launching it into Belphemon’s shoulder. It knocked him back, if only briefly. Dynasmon followed up with a Breath of Wyvern attack. The flaming wyvern flew into Belphemon’s chest, clawing at him. Belphemon regained his composure, slamming the flaming wyvern into the ground.

Beelzemon flew up from behind, landing a powerful blast from his guns on the back of his head. Belphemon whipped his head to face him, a cognizant fury in his eyes. He grabbed Beelzemon and shoved him into the ground, leaving him in a crater. Beelzemon, stunned, could only look up as Belphemon prepared to send his flaming knuckles down at him.

Just as he threw the punch, though, Dynasmon intercepted the attack. With a purple aura surrounding him, Dynasmon held Belphemon’s massive fist. Though he was much smaller, Dynasmon was somehow able to keep him in place, if only for a moment. That was all they needed for Rasielmon to swoop in and pull Beelzemon out of the crater.

Rasielmon brought a healing aura over Beelzemon’s worst wounds. “Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah. That attack felt… personal.”

Belphemon finally managed to shove Dynasmon back, though he couldn’t completely push him down. The force of the shove churned up the earth before them, but still Dynasmon stood. The intense flames on Belphemon’s knuckles clashed with the flames of Dynasmon’s aura, doing everything they could to overpower him. Gallantmon swooped in, firing several laser blasts at Belphemon’s back, getting the heat off of his ally. Belphemon grabbed one of his chains, whipping it at Gallantmon. Gallantmon managed to dodge the chains, but the black fire caught on his cape. He threw his cape off, but the distraction allowed Belphemon to ram into him with his horns. The force sent Gallantmon flying across the valley, crashing into the wall of the barrier.

He barely had time to dodge the stray fire blast that shot at him.

Gallantmon swerved out of the way, looking up at the cliffs as a frightening Spiral monster looked down at him. But a blast from Omnimon’s cannon drew its attention back at him.

Omnimon seemed to have this covered. He needed to focus on fighting Belphemon. Gallantmon dusted himself off, flying back into the fray.

Chapter 15: The Final Day (Part Three)

Leopardmon kept to the shadows, watching Omnimon and Tactimon fight the menacing Spiral. He had done his research on the Demon Lords, and this Spiral’s attacks seemed to reflect those of the former Demon Lord of Pride’s. It seemed to favor the beam attacks, though, which Omnimon deftly dodged with ease. It didn’t seem to care about Tactimon bashing it with his sheathed sword.

The Spiral flared its wings out, seven lights appearing in an arc. It was a pale imitation of the original attack, but one that would give them trouble all the same. Leopardmon leapt forward, slashing his sword in a matching arc. The wave it created blocked the beams from the Spiral’s attack. The force of the explosion knocked all three of them to the ground. Leopardmon fell against a rock pillar on his descent, briefly stunned.

He picked himself up and-

Leopardmon himself lay on the rocks, his arm broken and his leg badly immolated. Pixels of fallen Digimon floated in the air, evidence of his folly.

Leopardmon focused on his breathing. No no, he had to keep it together. He-

He saw the Spiral’s tail knock Tactimon back. It threw its claws at Omnimon. He blocked them with his Grey Sword, digging his heels in as it shoved him back. Tactimon didn’t seem to be moving.

“Mirage, you need to go,” Leopardmon croaked. “Just go.”

“No way. We’re getting out of here together. Just hold on.”

Leopardmon hurried forward. He dodged a swipe of the Spiral’s claws, scrambling over to Tactimon. The old general started to pick himself up, but Leopardmon helped him the rest of the way.

“Are you alright?” Leopardmon asked.

“Rrgh… Take a… closer look.”

Leopardmon noticed the cloud of miasma surrounding the claws on the tip of the Spiral’s tail. He looked over and found a gash in Tactimon’s side, finding a similar miasma beginning to form.

“I suppose… the Royal Knight’s theory… was correct after all,” Tactimon muttered. “We… We’ll have to fall back.”

“Fall back? From this thing?”

“Look at him. He’s… barely holding on.”

There was some truth to that. With the two of them gone, Omnimon could barely keep up with the Spiral. The only things he could do were to dodge and block each attack. And he was absolutely screwed if another seven-beam attack came his way.

But all they needed to do was get back into the flow of things, right?

Leopardmon led Tactimon over to the rocks, setting him down. “Stay hidden. I’ll fix this.”

“You can’t! You’ll…!”

But Leopardmon was already off. He fired a barrage of blasts from his sword, striking the Spiral’s head. The Spiral turned to face him, growling.

“Omnimon, hit it from behind!” Leopardmon shouted. “I’m going to lead it away from here!”

Omnimon blinked at him. “Leopardmon, wait-!”

Leopardmon began running. The Spiral chased after him, clambering over rocks and spires. Leopardmon fired more blasts at the creature, making sure it kept its focus on him.

“That’s right! It’s me you want, isn’t it!?” Leopardmon shouted. “Come and get it!”

He stopped at the edge of the barrier, facing down against the Spiral. The Spiral launched another seven-beam attack at him, which he deflected with a wave attack. The resulting explosion shoved them both to the ground. Leopardmon fell to his knees, keeping his sights on the Spiral. The Spiral recovered quickly, slashing its claws at him. Leopardmon plopped to the ground, feeling the creature catch his hair. He slashed the ends of his hair off before the creature could drag him around.

The creature then let out a pained cry, and Leopardmon found its tail chopped off. Omnimon rushed in, firing several ice blasts at the Spiral’s head. Leopardmon got up, following up with a few blasts from his sword. The Spiral could not withstand the onslaught from them both, and soon fell apart into a cloud of pixels.

The two of them waited for a moment, watching the cloud disperse, anticipating another terrible round of fighting. But they only heard the sounds of the fight with Belphemon. Leopardmon’s knees trembled, and Omnimon hurried over to him.

“You don’t need to say it,” Leopardmon muttered. “I know what I did was reckless.”

“I… I wasn’t going to say that at all.”

Leopardmon looked up, searching for the place he had left Tactimon. “Go regroup with the ground team. They’re going to need your strength. I need to look after Tactimon.”

Omnimon nodded. He waited until Leopardmon left, and then took off for the crater below.

---

 

Rasielmon threw blast after elemental blast at Belphemon’s head. She narrowly avoided his jaws as he tried to bite at her- an attack like that would surely cleave her in two. Dynasmon launched fiery blasts at Belphemon’s back, stepping out of the way as Gallantmon returned to the fight. Gallantmon increased the length of his lance’s light, stabbing it into Belphemon’s side. Belphemon swung his chains at them once again. Dynasmon summoned another Breath of Wyvern attack, using that to knock the chains away. The chains fell into the side of the cliffs, leaving a crater where they fell.

Beelzemon swooped in, firing another round of blasts at Belphemon’s head. Once again, Belphemon forgot about the others and charged for Beelzemon. Beelzemon kept his distance, leading the rage-filled Demon Lord through the valley. He swerved out of the way at the last minute, allowing Belphemon to crash into the side of the cliff. A shower of rocks and boulders fell on him, trapping him for a moment.

“Are you done, yet?” Beelzemon panted. “Do you want to talk?”

Belphemon picked his head up, glowering at him.

“Do you really hate me ? Or are you just projecting your anger onto me because Ol’ Lucy is gone? Does it matter to you at all?”

Belphemon blinked at him. A brief glimmer of understanding flickered in his eyes. Beelzemon floated onto a spire before him, lowering his guns, but keeping his guard up.

“I’m sorry I didn’t do right by you. If you give me the chance, I’ll do everything I can to make it up to you.”

Belphemon drew his head back. Did he really…?

Something white collided into Beelzemon. It carried him into the air, and that was when Beelzemon saw Belphemon lose control again. Dark pulses of energy danced across his body, and at the center of his chest was the symbol for the Digital Hazard. Beelzemon turned his head, looking into Omnimon’s eyes.

“Heh. Figured you were busy,” Beelzemon scoffed playfully.

“I had a feeling I was needed. That blast would have destroyed you.”

They gathered on the clifftops, regrouping with the others. They watched as Belphemon charged through the valley, tearing up the ground before him. The dark pulses around his body were too overwhelming, refusing to let them anywhere near him.

“I-I think I’ve got it!” Gallantmon said. “That’s the Digital Hazard manifesting outside of his body. We have to destroy that in order to stop this!”

“Destroy a Digital Hazard?” Rasielmon asked. “Is that even possible?”

Omnimon kept his gaze on Belphemon, and the others followed it as well. He seemed to be leaving the crater battlefield in favor of the rest of the valley. Was he trying to get to Salamander’s Rest? They still had the barrier up, but how long would it hold against the full force of a Digital Hazard?

“We’ll need to stop him, first,” Omnimon said. “The only way we can destroy that Digital Hazard is to keep him still.”

“I don’t know about keeping him still, but I can probably lure him back,” Beelzemon insisted. “If he’s still cognizant enough to focus on me, anyway.”

Rasielmon looked down at her hands. “I-I might have something, in the form of my stronger spells. I’m not sure exactly how that will manifest, though.”

“We certainly won’t be picky,” Omnimon insisted. “Beelzemon, remember to keep your distance. The rest of us will cover you until Rasielmon’s spell is ready.”

Beelzemon nodded. He took off, flying after Belphemon. He cornered him at the edge of the valley, which was blocked off by the barrier. Cracks formed in it as Belphemon punched at it. Green and gold energy formed by the cracks, trying to seal them off, but more formed in the attempt. Alphamon and Magnamon’s energy must have been waning, then. There wasn’t any time to waste.

Beelzemon pulled his guns out, firing blast after blast at Belphemon’s head. Belphemon turned to face him, letting out another roar.

“It’s me you want, remember!?” Beelzemon yelled. “I’m the bad guy! Come and get a load of me!”

That seemed to do the trick. Belphemon charged for him. Beelzemon turned away, flying as fast as he could back into the valley. He caught sight of Gallantmon and Dynasmon in the corners of his eyes, each of them deflecting the volleys of fire that Belphemon unleashed at him. Beelzemon curled up, flying higher into the air. Belphemon stopped his chase, trying to reach for him. 

“Not tall enough to get me, huh?” Beelzemon mocked him. “Even at your size? That’s pretty sad, don’t you think?”

Belphemon grabbed his chains, prepared to whip them at him. But suddenly, the rocky ground took hold of the chains, swallowing them up. Belphemon tried pulling them out, but the rocks began to swallow and encase his legs. Beelzemon noted the strange aura surrounding them, and turned toward the cliffs, where Rasielmon was casting her magic. Without another moment, Beelzemon flew closer to Belphemon, keeping away from the dark pulses. Belphemon continued struggling with his chains, turning his attention to Beelzemon on occasion. 

Trapped and confused, Belphemon was nothing but a sitting duck. And with his Digital Hazard exposed for all to see, Omnimon swooped in, stabbing the Grey Sword into it.

And that was all Beelzemon remembered before a powerful blast took him out.

 

Chapter 16: The Dust Settles

Leopardmon wasn’t much for healing programs. But with a scrap of data from the Spiral’s Fading Form, he was able to make a program that purged the miasma from Tactimon’s systems. That really was the worst part of the wound. Tactimon recovered quickly once that was gone.

“That was quite a well-crafted program,” Tactimon nodded. “Maybe you would have done well as a medic.”

Leopardmon wasn’t sure how to interpret that compliment.

He didn’t have long to dwell on it before feeling a powerful gust on his back. The slight tremor in the ground afterward had to have come from a powerful blast. And not too shortly after that, the protective barrier came down. Somehow he and Tactimon avoided the worst of whatever that was.

Fearing the worst, Leopardmon descended into the valley, flying forward in search of Omnimon and the ground team. With great relief, he found them all collapsed on the churned-up rocks, seemingly unconscious. They surrounded a large crater, one that no doubt held Belphemon within it- Leopardmon didn’t think he was brave enough to look down there just yet.

Instead, he approached Gallantmon’s unconscious body. His spiky X-Antibody form had faded, leaving him in the look Leopardmon had met him in- he had trouble recognizing him like that. The sigils on his armor glowed briefly before fading, no doubt from the lingering presence of a Digital Hazard. Leopardmon knelt down next to him, shaking him. Gallantmon let out a groan, bringing a hand to his face.

“Are you alright?” Leopardmon asked. “That blast looked pretty bad.”

“Fine. Tired, mostly. I don’t envy Magnamon at all, for fighting him before.”

Gallantmon let out a chuckle as he said this. Somehow, Leopardmon was compelled to chuckle with him. He helped Gallantmon sit up, and watched as the crimson knight accessed his comms.

“Yeah, Grani, I’m fine. What about the others?” He paused, hearing the answer, and then went, “That’s good. They’ve certainly earned their break.”

“Is that about Alphamon and Magnamon?” Leopardmon asked.

Gallantmon nodded. “Belphemon’s attacks on the barrier put a lot of stress on them, apparently. But Grani says they’re doing alright.”

They sat together for a moment, waiting for everyone around them to recover and regain their bearings. Not too long after that, they heard movement coming from the newly-formed crater. They all stood up, watching it warily as they waited for the Demon Lord to emerge from it.

And emerge from the crater he did- significantly smaller than before. Now, Belphemon seemed closer in size to all of them. He lumbered forward, looking around at the Digimon gathered before him. And then he dipped his head down in shame.

Beelzemon put his guns away, carefully approaching him. “Hey, it’s alright. I’ve got you.”

Belphemon tentatively approached him. He plopped his head onto Beelzemon’s chest, letting out pathetic little sniffles. Beelzemon cradled his head in his arms, gently stroking his chin.

“It’s alright. I’m not mad at you, Belphy. You’re going to be okay, now.”

Leopardmon wasn’t sure what it was about the scene that hit him so hard. That a terrible monster like Belphemon could be lovingly embraced like that was nothing short of incredible. Leopardmon leaned into Gallantmon, closing his eyes as he let out a few tears. He leaned in closer as Gallantmon wrapped his arm around him.

---

 

The Royal Knights remained in Salamander’s Rest a day after the battle. They checked on the townsfolk to make sure they were all okay. They also finally cleaned up the guards' barracks like they promised to. (Leopardmon found that the guards didn't seem annoyed with the mess they made.) For the most part, it seemed like everything was back to normal. 

"Are you sure it's wise to travel around the Digital World with that thing?" Tactimon asked. 

Beelzemon leaned against his strange motorcycle, keeping watch over Belphemon. The depowered Demon Lord had taken on a smaller, cuter form, and playfully bobbed in circles around him. Honestly, it was hard to imagine that this was the same Belphemon capable of so much destruction before. 

"You're really scared?" Beelzemon scoffed. "I'm not about to deny him the world. He's waited a thousand years to see it. And I made a promise to take care of him."

"Sure, he seems to be stable now, but I think there should be a time for observation to ensure-"

Rasielmon grabbed his arm. "I think you’re worrying too much, sir. I don't sense any negative energy in Belphemon at all."

"It's better to be overly cautious than overly lax."

Gallantmon crossed his arms, looking fondly at Beelzemon. "Well, I can't think of anyone better to look after Belphemon. You guys should come to Ygg’s Path soon, got that?"

Beelzemon smirked, nodding at him. "I'm going to drink you under the table."

With that, they climbed onto the motorcycle, driving off and away from the city. Once they were gone, Tactimon drew his attention to Leopardmon. 

"So you really want to go with them, do you?" he asked. 

Leopardmon nodded. "I feel like I do my best work when I'm with the Royal Knights. This is where I'm meant to be."

"I… suppose there's some truth to that. I've never seen you more focused than you were in this recent battle. Just… make sure they're not your only company."

Leopardmon never had an easy time making friends. Really, it was through a fluke that he got the Royal Knights to like him. Even so, he said, “I’ll do my best.”

Rasielmon gave Gallantmon a friendly nudge on the arm. “Take good care of him, alright? He means a lot to me.”

Gallantmon nodded. “Of course.”

With a couple more farewells, Leopardmon and Gallantmon saw the two of them off. They started walking back into town, heading back to the guards’ tower to regroup with the rest of the Knights. Gallantmon gave Leopardmon a friendly nudge on the arm as they went.

“So you want to be a Royal Knight, huh?”

Leopardmon nodded, cringing in embarrassment. “I-I know it will probably be a long time before I can join your ranks. But I feel like if I can do that, then… it would make me really happy.”

Gallantmon’s eyes curled up with a smile. “You just need a little more experience under your belt. But to me, you’re well on your way to becoming a Royal Knight.”

It warmed Leopardmon’s heart to hear that. He had a spring in his step on the way back to the tower.

Chapter 17: Epilogue: A New Future

“This is Locomon 102. We will be arriving at the Ygg’s Path terminal shortly.”

Leopardmon cracked his eyes open, his head fuzzy with sleep. He wasn’t sure how he managed to do so on a rough-moving locomon like this. Maybe it came from the stress of the past few weeks- or maybe the past few months. Whatever it was, it certainly felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. And Leopardmon was glad for the impromptu nap- he always felt sick whenever he had to use any sort of transportation.

He had fallen against Gallantmon’s side on the trip to Ygg’s Path. The crimson knight was dead asleep, unbothered even by the locomon’s loud announcement. Grani hovered over to him, poking his nose into his leg.

“We’re almost there, Gallantmon,” Grani said. “You should get up.”

Gallantmon finally woke up. He rubbed his eyes with a yawn. “Thank you, Grani.”

Leopardmon studied his hands, trying to focus on them instead of looking out the windows, in case he got sick on the final leg of the trip. He managed to look over at Gallantmon, who gave him a pleasant smile.

“So we’re almost there, then,” he chirped. “Ready to see what your new home is like?”

Leopardmon nodded, although he wasn’t sure “ready” was the proper term he should use. Honestly, he didn’t expect to ever have another home. It was difficult to process, no matter how happy it made him feel.

The locomon finally arrived at the terminal. They allowed the other Royal Knights to get out ahead of them. Leopardmon held onto Gallantmon’s arm as they made their way through the terminal. He found that if he wore his helm over his eyes, he could block out the harsh terminal lights. The earplugs that Gallantmon had given him also helped to block out the worst of the noise, but the cluster of Digimon was still a problem. Maybe someday, they’d find a solution to that.

Someday. It had been a long time since Leopardmon could think of “someday”. There was something freeing about it.

They got out of the terminal, and into the city before them. But Leopardmon didn’t get to see that as his first view. Instead, his first view was a blue blur barreling into him. 

Despite the distance between them, Leopardmon still knew what MirageGaogamon’s embrace felt like.

“Y-You’re here,” Leopardmon gasped. “I knew Rasielmon was going to tell you where I was staying, but I didn’t expect you to get here so soon.”

MirageGaogamon released him, taking him in. “Are you kidding? As soon as she finished telling me, I dropped everything to come here. Honestly, I was expecting you to beat me here. How are you doing? How are you feeling? Tell me everything!”

Leopardmon couldn’t help but laugh. “Let me start by introducing you to Gallantmon…”

 

Notes:

And that's it for this addition of Digimon: Soul Spark. Thanks again to everyone who's been reading, and I'll see you again soon.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of Digimon Soul Spark