Duftmon's Awakening

Slowly, painfully, Wargreymon withdrew his claws from Astamon’s body. A spray of fragmented data shards arced through the air and for a moment the ultimate was still, his eyes wide, able only to emit a soft whimper from his lips.

And then he fell.

Taylor felt like his body was moving on autopilot as he started running. Astamon’s body flashed brightly and now it was Phascomon falling, tumbling like a stone. Taylor stumbled, tripped over his own feet, grabbed the koala and cried out as they both hit the ground.

“Tell him!” Wargreymon roared, his eyes blazing with fury. “Tell him what you did!”

Gingerly Taylor pulled himself up onto his knees, cradling Phascomon in his arms. The rookie’s eyes were closed, his breathing harsh, loose data seeping from the heavy wound on his body. And yet he still managed a weak half-smile.

“I…I did something bad, Kid”, he croaked. “Real bad”.

Taylor shook his head.

“Stop it”, he said, his voice firm but shaky at the same time. “I don’t care!”

“Nah”. Phascomon tried to chuckle but it came out as a hoarse choke and he shuddered, his brows knotting in pain. “This…This is something ya g-gotta know…”

“That’s right”, Wargreymon hissed. “Murderer!”

Taylor swallowed heavily, his grip on Phascomon tightening. He knew what was coming. Had suspected it ever since they first saw Agumon and he’d felt that strange fluttering in his chest. Every time he’d gotten the feeling that something wasn’t quite right with the partnership between himself and Phascomon. Something that danced on the tip of his tongue but he refused to vocalize. Because saying it meant he was acknowledging it, and that was too much to bear.

“Agumon was supposed to be my partner”, he said, voice barely above a trembling whisper.

“Heh…so you f-figured it out…” Phascomon rasped. “I…I knew you were smart, Kid”.

Wargreymon raised his hands, glowing, fiery energy forming around his claws and coalescing into a ball that began to grow, bright and burning like a star.

“I waited for you”, he growled, glaring at Taylor. “I waited so long. My fated partner, bound to me by destiny! We were going to save this world! And then, when you finally came, so did he”.

His gaze shifted to Phascomon. The koala trembled, his body flickering like a glitched image on a computer screen.

“W-What can I say?” He gasped. “Guess I…I wanted to be special too…”

“N-No…”

Tears slipped down Taylor’s cheeks and dampened Phascomon’s fur. Wargreymon’s energy ball was still growing, far too over-the-top when the rookie was already dying. But Phascomon supposed he deserved that.

“Sorry, Kid”, he said. “T-This whole thing, you an…and me…was just a lie…”

Taylor held Phascomon close. 

“You’re wrong”, he replied in a small, trembling voice. “All those times you looked out for me, protected me, saved me…that wasn’t a lie. And…you evolved, didn’t you? If we weren’t friends, or at least some sort of partners, that couldn’t happen, could it? So something had to be right! It had to be!”

“Kid…”

Phascomon forced his eyes open and they were shimmering with tears of his own.

“Taylor”, he corrected himself. “You…”

“ENOUGH!”

Wargreymon reared back, his attack ready, and let out a shriek of pure animalistic rage. It was a sound unfitting of such a noble looking Digimon, but this was a beast blinded by his anger and hatred and he no longer cared. Taylor gasped and squeezed his eyes shut, pressing Phascomon to his chest.

“I love you, Phascomon”, he whimpered.

Phascomon laughed.

“L-Love you too, Taylor…”

“TERRA FORCE!”

A blinding explosion rocked the earth, an inferno of fire and pure digital power. 

Wargreymon hovered above, muscles tense and heart racing. And then he saw something. A shining point of white light in the heart of the flames. It flashed and grew with sudden, frightening speed, pushing away the flames and extinguishing them so that nothing more than a thin, fading smoke remained. 

Within the smoke, something glowed.

Armour of brown and gold and white. A flowing mane of gold. Wings feathered and white with twin ribbons of bright, royal red flowing from the back. He was holding a sword, the blade gleaming in the sunlight, and as he raised it in front of his face he let out an amused snort.

“So this is the power of bonds, huh?” He said. “Well I’ll be damned”.

Within him, floating in a ball of radiant digital light, Taylor nodded. The boy could feel the power this new form exuded. Power not just from Phascomon but from himself too. The union of human and Digimon.

“We’re fighting together now”, he said, raising his fists. “So let’s show this asshole just what our false partnership is capable of!”

The Digimon - Duftmon - grinned and spread his wings, feathers scattering around him. For a brief moment Wargreymon was frozen in shock, but he quickly snapped to his senses and readied his claws.

“You can’t beat me!” He snarled. “Your bonds are built on a lie!”

“Sounds like somebody’s jealous~” Duftmon sing-songed, and his voice was a strange echoing mix of both Phascomon and Taylor. 

He readied his sword, flapped his wings and took to the sky.

“Come on, then. Let’s party!”