Tavaras stretched and opened his eyes. Yawning, he sat up in bed, legs sore from all the walking he did the day before. He had to admit, albeit reluctantly, this place was actually quite interesting. If he had nothing waiting for him back home, he might want to stay for some time.

That, and if they didn't have the constant threat of death looming over their heads. Tavaras was an adventurous guy, but even this was getting to be too much.

They were getting closer and closer to finding a way home; he felt good about Cherrymon and Wisemon. They didn't want him here, and he didn't want to be here. Having other people so focused on getting them back could only be a good thing.

ROOT was getting suspicious for nothing. These guys were straight up and honest with them, a far cry from the other Digimon like Jijimon. Would the old guy even let them go back if he could make them stay? Tavaras could hear the Keeper’s almost strict, to the point, voice telling him to be wary.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Her voice seemed almost too clear. Slowly he turned his head. Deon was sitting on his bed, eating. Where did he... Tavaras almost groaned out loud. Next to the moppy brown hair sat a woman with striking red eyes and an iron helmet. She stopped mid sentence, feeling Tavaras's eyes on her.

"Good morning Tavaras."

Tavaras crashed back down on his bed. "This is the boy's quarters ROOT." He didn't particularly care, but he really didn't want the first thing he saw in the morning to be the Keeper.

"Don't get too excited, big guy." She said, "Wouldn't want you to pop a blood vessel."

"Was that... A joke?" Tavaras sat back up and eyed her cautiously. "I thought you had no sense of humour."

"There's a lot about me you don't know. What, did you think I'm just a soulless librarian?"

"Nooo, of course not. Soulless for sure, but I've never met a librarian so irritating." ROOT smirked.

"Aww, is this pretty face too much for you?" Tavaras looked around the room exaggerating his movements.

"Pretty face? Where?" ROOT rolled her eyes. "Anyways, why are you here?" Tavaras asked the question burning in his mind.

"I wanted to talk with Deon about the Church." Tavaras pressed his eyes closed, and got out of bed. There was the motivation he needed to not stay. Walking towards the washroom, he heard Dorumon jump off the top bunk behind him.

Just as he got to the door he glimpsed Veemon lying above Deon. "What happened to Veemon?" He asked. The blue little imp, despite sleeping soundly, looked drained.

"Senna and I got into a fight chasing Palmon yesterday." The young boy said quietly. "Veemon got hurt quite badly."

"Was it Devimon?" Tavaras felt on edge. Was the Devil himself chasing them? To his shame, he felt relief when Deon shook his head.

"Just some random Digimon looking for their next meal."

"This village is well protected." ROOT mused. "Devimon wouldn't try anything in such close proximity. Not even counting the Perfects, Jijimon and Babamon are a lot stronger than you would think." That somewhat put Tavaras's mind at ease, yet he couldn't shake the feeling of inadequacy at the relief.

"Speaking of meals, where's Edward? He's usually holed up in here."

"He went with the girls to look for Palmon." Tavaras cocked an eyebrow. Did he actually start to grow a spine?

Deon looked worried though. Tavaras shrugged. Those three were strong enough to handle themselves against these wild Digimon.

—

"Interesting." Deon's mind raced as he munched on a turnip, ROOT's suspicion gnawing at him. There was no religious equivalent in his world, at least none that he could think of.

The voice though, nothing new there. Plenty of people claimed to hear voices talking to them, wisdom of the Universe or Gods or whatever guiding their paths.

Deon broke out of his thoughts as Tavaras came back from the washroom, dressed in his black shirt and ready to head out.

"I'm gonna hang out with Tyrannomon and the guys. You in? Or you gonna geek out with the pretty faced librarian here?" Deon grimaced. Did he have to be so antagonistic towards ROOT?

"I'll stay. I want to be with Veemon, and I would like to learn more about what you guys saw." Tavaras shrugged and took a piece of roasted meat from his platter before he walked away.

"Kay, have fun I guess." Deon stared longingly at his plate. He was saving that cut for last.

"A single artifact... That was it." ROOT thought out loud. "Everything from that. What could it possibly be?"

"Did you feel anything coming from it?" Deon asked. In his time here, he knew there were things beyond the 5 senses. ROOT shook her head.

"Nothing." Her eyes widened. "Nothing . It felt like it didn't even exist. I don't know what that means, exactly, but everything here is made of data. Me, this tree, even you."

"Everything except that artifact." Deon finished her thoughts. "So what role does that thing play?" The Keeper of the Chronicles stared at him, and Deon found himself feeling self conscious. He touched his cheeks, did he have something on his face?

ROOT smiled and poked him in the shoulder. "I'm glad I came to talk with you. You may be quiet, but when you talk you make it count." Deon blushed, his conversation with Senna coming to mind.

"As for your question, I don't know." Her smile faded. "Everything I know about this world falls flat when I think about this Church of Nothing."

Deon got up suddenly, getting excited. "Maybe we can find something in the library, now that we know what we're looking for."

ROOT pursed her lips. "If I don't know about it, there's probably nothing." Deon slumped forward. She smiled again. "However, if there's something I learned over the past few days it's that I'm not infallible. Maybe you can parse something together." His face lit up, and gently grabbed a sleeping Veemon.

"Can you bring some of the linen for him?" He asked her, "I feel like we're gonna be spending some time there."

—

Tavaras and Dorumon stood in the dining room wolfing down some late breakfast. Meat and fruit consumed as if it were about to go bad; if the day was anything like before they needed their energy.

"Yeah!" Dorumon flexed after finishing his meal. "Ready to go buddy!" Tavaras grinned and slapped his partner on the back. Learning from last time, Tavaras had the foresight to take the backpack Babamon had given him before and fill it with some more fruit, meat, and water.

The sun was getting high and the two could feel the heat beating down on them as they walked, the now familiar crunch of the ground below him. The marks on the ground from the dragging logs were clear, and Tavaras was able to easily find his way back to where they worked on their first few days in the village.

"You're excited, huh?" Dorumon said.

"I need something to do. And besides, they're my boys!" Tavaras loved those blue-collar Digimon. Down to earth and working; people he could relate to. Academic people like Deon were important and all, and he liked the little guy, but there's something different about just zoning out and doing shit.

Dorumon pumped his fist into the air. "Let's show them how much stronger we got!" A smile touched the young man's face. Dorumon was such a showoff, but in reality Tavaras himself wanted to make Tyrannomon eat his words from earlier.

"Oh, did the runts wanna prove it?" A booming voice called from just ahead. Coming into view, Tavaras saw the large, red Dinosaur with a huge grin on his snout.

"Tyrannomon, be nice to the human." Greymon admonished. "He looks even skinnier than last time." The two of them roared with laughter.

"And you look even fatter." Tavaras shot back. "Come on, Dorumon. There's a good sized log over there!" Throwing his backpack to the ground, he marched over to the lone log right in front of the two dinosaurs. Cracking his neck, Tavaras bent down with his knees and gripped the log. He grunted as he lifted, Dorumon matching him on the other side.

Nothing.

That was weird. It was tiny, this should have been a quick little warm up. He tried again, and nothing. Tyrannomon and Greymon both fell on the ground, tears coming to their eyes.

"This is a trick!" Tavaras pointed at the two.

"No it's not." Tyrannomon shot back.

"We wouldn't do that to you." Greymon looked offended.

"Oh yeah? You try to lift it then!" Greymon shrugged his shoulders and walked up to the log.

"Here I go." With barely any effort, he grabbed the top with both hands and lifted, grinning ear to ear. "See? Easy." He dropped it with a thud as the orange and red dinosaurs laughed again.

"Hey Tav, grab it again!" Dorumon said. He was holding the other end up. Tavaras grinned; the small purple dinosaur must have caught the log as Greymon dropped it. Picking it up, Tavaras and his partner lifted it with ease.

"Pfft." Tyrannomon snorted. "Greymon dislodged it for you."

"Nuh uh." Dorumon wrinkled his nose. "Why don't you come up, Woodmon " Tavaras looked at his partner confused, when the ground beneath the log shifted and two wooden arms shot out. Woodmon lifted himself up out of the ground. "Hah! I knew it, cheaters!"

"Aww, why didn't you bathe?" Greymon looked at the small wooden Digimon in mock disappointment.

"Screw you!" Woodmon retorted. "I was under there for hours for this little prank!" Tavaras fell on the ground, himself in tears laughing.

"You... you morons." He found it hard to talk between the laughter. "You morons actually sat here all morning." Tavaras coughed. "I didn't even mean to sleep in, but holy shit remind me to thank Cherrymon for keeping me away till late."

Tyrannomon rolled his eyes. "Whatever softy, come on let's get back to work before Monochromon yells at us again."

"HAHAHA." Monochromon burst out laughing as Tavaras and the others walked to where the real work was taking place. "You guys wasted the whole morning and Tavaras and Dorumon still got the log. They're one up on you louts." Tavaras grinned, and with a grunt he and his partner dropped the log in the pile the grey, quadruped dinosaur was hooked up to.

"You should be able to carry this one with you, big guy."

"Ha! The human knows how to work." Slowly, Monochromon began walking towards the village, the dragging logs making more indentations in the ground.

"What a mudball." Tyrannomon muttered, walking ahead to another area. Greymon shrugged his shoulders and went in a different direction.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Hey, come help us out,'' Woodmon eagerly told Tavaras. "We find the best stuff, and with you two helping we'll demolish both the Greymon's and the Tyrannomon's put together!" Tavaras clapped his hands together and followed the wooden Digimon.

"Fuck yeah!" He was eager to get started; a little friendly competition to spice up the work never hurt anyone. Getting to the work area, Tavaras saw a pile of wood forming and another Monochromon hooked up to it waiting. He perked up when Tavaras got there.

"Ha, there you are! About time, get lost?" Tavaras rolled his eyes.

"I was sleeping. Don't wanna end up looking like you lot."

"W-what are they doing here?" A shrill voice called out. Confused, Tavaras looked around the pile and saw four Woodmon there. Two of them looked happy to see him, one seemed ambivalent, but the other was shaking.

"What's your problem bro?" The Woodmon who pulled the prank walked up to his four brothers. "Tavaras and Dorumon are one of us!"

"He was there when Kiwimon died!" Angry Woodmon shouted. Tavaras's stomach dropped, reliving that moment.

"You're that one who screamed for help." He remembered flying past a Woodmon. "You're with the Church!"

"Jijimon told us all what happened." One of the other brothers said. "We know he was there, why are you so angry brother?"

"His friends killed the Gotsumon, Thundermon, and Kiwimon! And you still show your face to us?"

"Hey! Fuck you buddy!" Tavaras shot back.

"Yeah! Your friends attacked us first." Dorumon ran in front of Tavaras. The angry Woodmon was shaking and he stepped forward.

"You. You humans should just die!" Two of his brothers ran to hold him back.

"Whoa, hold on here. What's gotten into you?"

"Yeah." Tavaras was getting angry. "Cherrymon himself took me to visit that shrine of yours and told me all about your church. You're supposed to be a religion of peace. What's your deal?"

"Cherrymon's an old fool whose pacifist ways are going to get us all killed!" The other Church-affiliated Woodmon screamed, eyes starting to glow red, and stretched his arms out towards Tavaras. Suddenly he found himself on the ground with Dorumon lying on top of him. Jumping back to their feet, Tavaras saw the brothers grappling with each other, two of them with red eyes slugging it out with the other three.

"Stop this at once!" Monochromon shouted. He struggled to get moving, but could only manage slow steps while still hooked up to the logs.

"Stay out of this!" The possessed Woodmon in unison extended their branches, stabbing Monochromon on either side. The large dinosaur fell to the ground with a scream. Growling loudly, they then overpowered their sane brothers and slapped them aside with extended arms.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Tavaras yelled as the two rounded on him. "You. I'm not dying to you lousy, rotten wood chips!"

Dorumon glowed and raced towards them, getting larger and growing wings as he went.

"DORUMON DIGIVOLVE"

DORUgamon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/e/e3/Dorugamon.jpg/320px-Dorugamon.jpg]

"Dorugamon!" The larger dragon headbutt one of the Woodmon, and with his tail knocked the other one into a tree. "Why are you going against the teachings of your own Church?"

"Stop this brothers!" The Woodmon closest to Tavaras struggled to his feet. "Ever since you joined that Church you've been nothing but annoying, but this is too far!"

"RAHH!" The enemy Woodmon bounced back up themselves. "These humans are enslaving these Digimon to their will! Don't you see that... that Creature?" They pointed at Dorugamon.

"So what?" The other two sane Woodmon joined their brother by Tavaras's side. "They're just as much our bros as you are! They've shown they're good people!"

"THEY CAUSED THIS" The red-eyed brothers pointed up to the sky. "They're causing the destruction of this world!"

"Who told you that bullshit?"

"Everyone in the Church!"

"Fuck off with that nonsense!" Tavaras screamed. "Like I said, Cherrymon and Wisemon themselves told me all the church wanted was to get us back home! The only ones who want us dead are Devim-" His eyes widened, and a knot formed in his stomach. A shudder went down his spine as the world slowed down around him. Tavaras could feel how vulnerable he was, standing there surrounded by nothing but giant trees. Endless spaces where Devimon could be hiding.

Tavaras gritted his teeth, fear and the shame of feeling that fear threatening to make him sick. "Where is he?" His voice was a hoarse whisper. "WHERE IS DEVIMON?"

"Is that true?" The good Woodmon stared at their dark brothers, judgment in their eyes. "Are you working with the Nightmare Soldiers?"

The two red-eyed Woodmon stumbled back. "T-they're the only ones who seem to care about this world. Jijimon, Cherrymon, those old coots are letting these humans roam free!"

Dorugamon growled. "You fools, they want us dead so we can't stop them from getting free!" The Woodmon gripped their shaking heads, moaning.

"Liars! Devimon and SkullSatamon both said the meteors would stop if you left, and the best way of doing that is killing you."

"They're using you, brothers!" The Woodmon closest to Tavaras tried reasoning. "Just go back to the village. Let the council deal with all this world ending shit." The opposing Woodmon looked up, eyes starting to lose their red glow.

"That... makes sense. GAHHH!" They roared up in unison. "What am I supposed to believe?"

"Believe us, your brothers." A gentle calming voice came from beside Tavaras.

"NO! DO YOU WANT TO DIE???" A dark wind blew over the Woodmon, and they began to glow. Tavaras's mouth went dry, Devimon's attack from that night playing back in his mind.

"DEVIMON! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Tavaras shouted, and like an arrow Dorugamon shot towards the black wind.

Both the evil Woodmon glowed with dark energy, and small pellets shot from their growing bodies towards Dorugamon as he tried evading at the last second. Not enough time. A few small explosions hit the purple dragon and he fell just in front of the now blue and white birds. Their newly evolved enemies wore golden crowns and had a green bush growing out their backs. Their eyes glowed red, reminiscent of Devimon himself.

Deramon [https://wikimon.net/images/5/58/Delumon.jpg]

"Dorugamon!" Tavaras ran to his partner's side, as the three Woodmon ran up to their evolved brothers.

"What's going on with you? How did you just evolve into Deramon?" The two birds squawked unintelligibly and ran towards their adult form brothers, pecking at them. The Woodmon all spit sharp leaves from their mouths to try and slow them down, but the attacks bounced harmlessly off the Deramon as the force of the pecks sent the wooden Digimon flying back.

"Shit!" Tavaras looked around at the damage. All the Woodmon and Monochromon were out of commission. He stepped back, feeling the raw power from the crazed birds. This was insane, if they gained sense this could get dangerous fast. Just as he thought that, one of the staggering birds made eye contact with him and slowly started heading his way.

Struggling to his feet, Dorugamon gathered energy in his mouth. The dragon recoiled back from the force of his attack, and Tavaras heard a sonic boom erupt as the iron ball shot towards Deramon. The blue bird stumbled forward as it impacted him in the rear, but shrugged it off, continuing to walk forward.

Tavaras found himself stepping back, heart dropping as his back touched the tree behind him. "Tavaras!" Dorugamon rushed forward, but just as he reached Deramon, the other one slammed into the dragon, sending him tumbling to the side and into an unconscious Monochromon.

"What's going on?" The two Tyrannomon came barging onto the scene. "Tavaras! Who are these peacocks?" The red dinosaurs looked around the area, noticing their fallen friends. Anger grew on their faces, and the Tyrannomon shot red flames at the Deramon. Tavaras could feel the heat as the fire engulfed the Digimon.

Like a demon out of a horror film, the Deramon kept walking forward, red eyes outshining the flames surrounding them. Dorugamon screamed as he struggled back to his feet. He spread his wings for another assault, but slumped down, injuries getting to him. Red claws gripped the dirt as he kept struggling.

Deramon gained on Tavaras, both of them now single-mindedly focused on the young man.

"Don't ignore us pussy!" The Tyrannomon both charged towards the Deramon, reaching out with red arms. Grabbing the birds, long, sharp claws sunk into green bush and Tyrannomon lifted them up. Tavaras breathed a sigh of relief; they weren't all talk after all.

Small objects that looked like nuts flew from the bushes, and dozens of explosions rang out, drowning out the screams from large, red beasts. The Deramon fell back to the ground on their feet as Tavaras's friends stumbled backwards, grabbing their own faces. The earth shook as they fell.

And then, just like Frigimon before them, Tyrannomon disintegrated into data right in front of Tavaras's eyes.

Just like that, they were gone. His boys. They tried to save him, just like Leomon. He wasn't strong enough to fight back. Again. Again he failed.

Tears of anger and shame welled in his dark eyes. Again he just sat there. What kind of man was he?

The laughter of Tyrannomon rang in his ears. The ribbing, the teasing, the friendly banter. They had accepted him as one of their own. Protected him as one of their own.

Protected him like a little brother.

"RAHHHH!" Dorugamon's screams echoed Tavaras's own soul. With the last of his strength, Dorugamon stumbled up and launched towards Deramon, claws extended.

This time, he was not ignored. One of the Deramon turned to face him, and the bush on his back rustled.

And then he flew back, the force of a strong punch impacting the bird before it could strike back at Dorugamon. A swift kick sent the Deramon focused on Tavaras back, and before him stood a warrior of blue and white. Jeans and spikes adorned the bipedal wolf.

WereGarurumon had arrived.

WereGarurumon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/8/8f/Weregarurumon.jpg/320px-Weregarurumon.jpg]

"W-what are you doing here?" Tavaras was shocked; usually the Perfect level Digimon hung around inside the village.

"Jijimon sensed evil growing here and by the river, and so dispatched MetalGreymon and myself." He looked around, somberly, and hung his head apologetically. "I arrived too late, I am sorry my friends." He whispered. The Deramon jumped back to their feet, both of them now focused on the werewolf. Their backs rustled and nuts flew towards them. WereGarurumon grabbed Tavaras and jumped out of the way, deafening explosions ringing beneath.

As Tavaras was set down next to Dorugamon, WereGarurumon moved like a blur and jabbed Deramon with a strong punch, sending the bird flying back and shattering it back to Woodmon. Immediately pivoting, he kicked the air, sending forth a blade of energy shaped like a crescent moon.

The final Deramon screamed and shattered back into Woodmon, collapsing to the ground.

"Are you alright?" WereGarurumon walked back towards Tavaras, who averted the gaze of their savior, tears stinging his eyes. He had to be protected again. Gulping, he hugged his injured partner. The wolf-man sighed. "This is becoming more dangerous than we foresaw. If the Nightmare Soldiers have a reach extending this far..." His face suddenly shot up and he growled.

"Wolf Claw!" He spun around, red blades of energy emanating from his claws parrying an incoming strike from a wooden staff.

Tavaras looked up and felt more fear from the owner of the staff than from even Devimon. Staring back at him was the owner of the wooden staff - a brown skeletal creature, with the same helmet and tattered wings as the black Devil.

SkullSatamon [https://wikimon.net/images/f/fe/Skullsatamon.jpg]

WereGarurumon took a step back. "SkullSatamon." He growled.

"So you've heard of me." A shrill laughter came from the creature. "Killing you will be a nice little bonus, WereGarurumon. And then, mark my words, I will take control of the rest of your friends here. And hunt your entire village down!" Spinning his staff overhead, he struck out at WereGarurumon again with the hooked end, who parried with a powerful kick. The wolf countered with a punch, just missing the side of SkullSatamon's head as the Nightmare Soldier struck with the side of his staff, sending WereGarurumon crashing to the ground.

The werewolf jumped just as a beam of light shot towards him from the yellow-orbed end of the staff, and countered with a crescent blade kick. Blocking the attack, SkullSatamon flew towards WereGarurumon and knocked him back into a tree, the wolf barely managing to block the brunt of the attack in time.

"Hahaha, you may be the strongest Digimon of this age but you're weak compared to those of a millennia ago." SkullSatamon taunted. He turned to Tavaras and Dorugamon. "Oh don't you worry. I'll get to you once I finish him off. You can run if you want to."

Run? Is that what he's been reduced to? Running while others fight his battles for him? SkullSatamon turned his back to him and started slowly floating towards WereGarurumon.

It was always like this! When shit hit the fan, he just sat there, letting stronger people fight his battles. He glanced at Dorugamon, his will to fight shining through as he struggled to get up.

SkullSatamon shot another beam of light at WereGarurumon, who deftly evaded it. The impacted tree started distorting, struggling to stay together.

Why couldn't he be like them? It was a losing battle but WereGarurumon, Leomon, Tyrannomon, they all fought! They all fought opponents stronger than them, and didn't rely on others to save them!

WereGarurumon roared and slashed at the Nightmare Soldier with claws of red energy. SkullSatamon flew over the attack and knocked the werewolf to the ground.

He was in danger, and Tavaras was sitting there powerless. No more! He will grab the power he needs!

Dorugamon stood up, glowing with an energy far greater than he had before. SkullSatamon turned his head sharply and looked their way.

"Oh no you don't!" With blinding speed, he flew towards Tavaras, staff outstretched for the kill.

The glowing figure, now on two legs, jumped in front of his partner. Catching the staff, a cape bellowed from his back and spikes jutted from his back.

It threw SkullSatamon back, and two swords appeared on its waist. The light dissipated, and in the purple dragon's place stood a warrior clad in gold, with a deep blue cape and swords sheathed in green.

Grademon [https://wikimon.net/images/thumb/7/78/Grademon.jpg/320px-Grademon.jpg]

"Grademon."

The noon sun glinted off steel blades as his partner's new form drew his blades. "With this power, we will never have to sit by again."

Tavaras looked on in amazement as Grademon leapt up and swung his swords down on his enemies head. Growling, SkullSatamon blocked both blades and pushed the golden warrior off, only to be sent reeling from a kick by WereGarurumon. The Wolf and the Warrior stood side-by-side and nodded to each other, jumping as one, straight on the heels of Demon's Lieutenant.

SkullSatamon took off flying through the treetops, chased closely by the two jumping from branch to branch. Shooting a beam of light, he destroyed the large branch they landed on, forcing Grademon and WereGarurumon to split up. Grinning, SkullSatamon swung down at Grademon, who parried with duel swords.

" Ugh," Grademon winced as the force of the attack sent him crashing into the side of a tree. As SkullSatamon prepared to attack again, the demon suddenly flew up, evading a punch from an incoming WereGarurumon.

SkullSatamon retreated. "You got lucky this time, but we will chase you wherever you go, boy . Don't think you will be able to keep Lord Demon from returning." With that the Nightmare Lieutenant flew off, Grademon and WereGarurumon looking on, unable to give chase.

Tavaras let out his breath and dropped to his knees, surveying the damage around him. Monochromon was thankfully getting back to his feet, eyes struggling to open, but the Woodmon were all knocked out cold.

And the Tyrannomon dead.

Tavaras shot up.

"WereGarurumon! You said something was happening by a river too?" The wolf nodded.

"Do not worry too much, MetalGreymon was sent there."

"B-but." He had a feeling that's where Imogen and the others went. "If it took both of you to fight off just this one guy?" Grademon landed in front of Tavaras, nodding.

"Then we will go help!" Just as he was about to pick the young man up, the warrior of gold shone and turned back into Dorumon. The small purple dragon collapsed into Tavaras's arms, unconscious and covered in injuries.

"Trust your friends, Tavaras." WereGarurumon looked back to the village. "They are strong, just as you are. For now, take your partner back to the village. I will stay here and aid those who remain."