The Trailmon came to a stop. Peter Venkman looked out the window, both glad the voyage was apparently over and he was one step closer to getting back to his own world, his own life, and his own age ("Being fourteen would seriously set back my social life. Dana'd feel like a pedophile or something" he joked with Winston at one point)...but having been a longtime train enthusiast, the living digital train was cool beyond words, and if there was anything in this screwy place he'd miss this was it.
"End of the line." the Trailmon informed them. "We have arrived at the Rose Morning Star."
Venkman, Winston, Louis (in the body of a Bokomon), Slimer (in the body of a Neemon), and their three new Digimon allies--Hanumon, Thunderballmon, and Palmon--all got off the train.
"About time you got here." a very familiar voice called out to them.
They were relieved to see all three of their other companions--Egon, Janine, and Ray--along with one Digimon they'd travelled with earlier--Veemon--and three more that were new: Patamon, Falcomon, and Tentomon.
Ray laughed. "Don't let Janine fool you, Peter--we all just got here."
"So this is the place where that Ophanimon person is?" Winston asked.
"That is correct." Patamon answered. "She is the Celestial of Light, my fellow Celestial Angel and...what?" He realized most of the newcomers were gawking at him.
"You sound just like Janine." Louis noted.
Venkman was looking ready to double over with laughter.
"You sound like you know what's going on..." Winston mused.
Ray blinked a couple of times. "Patamon! Of course! And you were with Egon and Janine--you're what's left of Lord Seraphimon!"
"Correct." Patamon nodded sadly. "When Etemon stole most of my power, I was regressed to my Rookie form."
"Just like TK's Patamon, and the one in the Frontier cartoon!" Ray said excitedy. "He Digivolved from Patamon to Angemon, MagnaAngemon, and then to Seraphimon!"
"So if we beat KingEtemon, you get your power back and we get to go home?" Venkman asked.
"Thank you, Mister Plot Exposition." Veemon joked.
"I've had a lot to deal with, Blue Boy! Venkman barked back. "Just making sure I remember all this crap straight!"
"Lady Ophanimon is our only hope now." Patamon told them. "But we must hurry--if KingEtemon gets to her first, all is lost..."
"Then we must go go go!" Hanumon shouted, and started running toward the castle. Thunderballmon followed quickly behind, singing the Speed Racer theme.
"He's always like this..." Palmon sighed.
"Lovely pink castle..." Venkman noted. Whereas Seraphimon's fortress resembled Castle MacMillan in Scotland, Ophanimon's more resembled the one at the Magic Kingdom--save for it being pink, and sporting a curious eight-pointed design.
"The Crest of Light?" Ray remarked. "Kari Kamiya had it in the show, but her Digimon didn't Digivolve to Ophanimon, she turned into Magnadramon."
"You did say this place seemed to be a bit of a mash-up from the different seasons..." Louis reminded him.
"Should we Digivolve?" Egon asked.
"What does it matter?" Janine answered. "That stupid monkey can just cancel them out anyway." And the less time I spend as Bondage Tinkerbell the better...
The Digivices began to static and crackle. "Hurry, my DigiDestined! The Master is..." There was loud squalking, and just before the connection went completely dead, there was a distinct, familiar Elvis-like laugh.
"KingEtemon! He's here!!!" Patamon shouted.
They all started to run.
"Huh?" Ray stopped, as his Digivice began to flash.
All of the Digivices spontaneously shot beams of energy, each latching onto one of the other devices. A beam of red light shot from Egon's to Venkman; in turn, a bluish light went from Venkman's to Ray's. Winston's shot a pinkish beam to Janine's; hers in turn sent a white one to Winston's.
"What the codes just happened?" Falcomon asked.
"Those thingamajigs we got from Korikakumon and Zephyrmon..." Winston mentioned.
"The Beast Spirits?!" Ray said excitedly. "Egon, Janine, did you run into BurningGreymon and KendoGarurumon?"
"Yes..." Egon answered, still looking at his device. Unlike the others, it was making a buzzing noise, and still flashing purple. "It appears to be detecting something of interest..."
Ray looked at Tentomon. "The Thunder Spirit!"
Tentomon sighed. "I had hoped it wouldn't be so soon..." he pulled out the Beast Spirit of Thunder, and as he did it digitized to a beam of violet light that shot into Egon's Digivice.
"The guys on TV had trouble controlling their Beast Spirits..." Ray shook his head. "But I don't think we have a choice! The Beast Spirits are more powerful, and we need all the power we can get!"
"You're the expert on this place, Ray..." Winston nodded. Egon, Janine, and Venkman nodded in agreement too.
"Follow my lead..." Ray grinned. "EXECUTE--BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION!!!"
"Burning Greymon!!!"
"KendoGarurumon!!!"
"MetalKabuterimon!!!"
"Zephyrmon!!!"
"Korikakumon!!!"
"Heh...not great, but better..." Zephyrmon quipped.
"Huh...huh huh huh...Egon got tanked..." BurningGreymon chortled.
"Grow up, Peter. Sometime." MetalKabuterimon retorted.
"How much kendo can I do on all fours?" KendoGarurumon mused.
"Okay if I join the party?" Veemon grinned, triggering his Digivolution into Veedramon.
"Sehr sehr gut..." Falcomon gushed. "Now if only I can remember how to...Falcomon, Digivolve to..." he was replaced by a larger, prehistoric birdlike form. "Diatrymon!!!"
"Diatrymiformes! Awesome!" Korikakumon said.
"Gesundheit" BurningGreymon quipped.
"It's official." Tentomon grumbled. "I'm the third most useless person here."
"The plan is simple..." MetalKabuterimon rumbled as the fivesome and their allies hurtled through the hallways. "When we find Etemon, we have to hit fast, hard, and decisively."
"If he gets the change to use Dark Network Concert Crush on us again, we lose. It's just that simple." Korikakumon added. "He's a Mega now, and way more powerful..."
"Then let's show this gold-plated sock monkey how we do things downtown!!!" BurningGreymon joked as they moved along.
Palmon, Slimer and Louis were hanging onto KendoGarurumon's back for dear life. "I got a bad feeling about this..." Louis whined.
When they finally made it to the castle's throne room, Hanumon and Thunderballmon were lying on the floor in beaten-up heaps. KingEtemon was standing over Hanumon, ready to pound his face again. "Ah admit you have an extremely awesome voice, Hanumon, but that ain't gonna save you from my wrath..."
"Hammer Punch!!!"
Veedramon was the fastest of the newcomers; he got there first, rushing the distracted Mega and throwing all of his mass into the punch. Due to the surprise and the distraction, KingEtemon staggered back.
KendoGarurumon and Zephyrmon were next. KendoGarurumon hit with a fierce slashing attack with the double blades on his back; Zephyrmon's Hurricane Yell attack literally knocked the wind out of him, throwing him into the reach of the massive Korikakumon.
Korikakumon grabbed him, slammed him to the ground, and jumped away. "NOW!!!"
"Wildfire Tsunami!!!"
"Wolf Fang Laser!!!"
"Avalanche Axes!!!"
"Electron Cannon!!!"
"Plasma Rod!!"
"Destruction Roar!!!"
"Vee Nova Blast!!!"
The fussilade of digital destructive fury slammed into the off-balance armored gorilla.
"Did that do it?" Palmon dared ask.
The smoke surrounding KingEtemon cleared. An evil laugh reverberated throughout the room. "Eh hah hah hah hah hah!!! You call that an attack?!"
"I think this is a no." Tentomon remarked drolly.
"No!" Patamon called out. "Where's Ophanimon?"
"HIT HIM!!!" Ray yelled. "BEFORE..."
KingEtemon twirled his microphone. He began singing "Don't Be Cruel."
"We're not enough..." MetalKabuterimon admonished, himself as much as anyone, as he slumped to the floor, beginning to turn back into Egon Spengler.
"Crap..." Veemon snarled.
"Now for a little bonus performance!!!" KingEtemon gloated, sweeping one arm to fill the room with flying monkey wrenches. Perhaps because the attack was so diffused, perhaps because he just didn't take his opponents seriously anymore, nobody met Leomon's fate of discorporation. But they were all knocked back and wounded, save for Bokomon, Neemon, Palmon, Patamon, and Tentomon, hiding behind the doorway.
"I feel so useless..." Bokomon whined.
Neemon cried out for Peter, but Palmon stopped him from running out. "It'd be suicide going out there!"
"Or staying here might just be delaying the inevitable..." Tentomon quipped helpfully.
"Now where was I..." KingEtemon chuckled. He turned to the woozy Celestial of Light. "Oh yeah...I was about to take gleeful advantage of Miss Ophanimon over here. The girls just can't resist a handsome, talented man like me..."
"You will never obtain my power, evil one..." Ophanimon said defiantly as he roughly grabbed her.
"Aw, just shut up, lie back, and maybe you'll enjoy it..." KingEtemon leered, licking his lips. He twirled his microphone dramatically. "Fractal Code Digitize!!!"
In his grip, Ophanimon's mouth turned into an enigmatic smirk.
She derezzed like a bad monitor picture, and suddenly KingEtemon was gripping thin air. A much smaller form rolled to the floor.
"What in the Codes is this?!" KingEtemon snarled. "An illusion...Your energy...where is your energy, Woman?!"
The small form that fell out of the illusion of Ophanimon uncurled from the floor. The statuesque Celestial of Light had been replaced by a white furred cat, almost indistinguishable from a "real" cat save for it's upright posture and clawed gloves about her hands/forepaws.
"You will never have the power of the Light, KingEtemon." Gatomon said defiantly. "I gave up most of my power long before you arrived, indeed, when your plans were put into motion."
KingEtemon's features twisted with genuine rage. For the first time, he was truly angry. "Where is it, you poofy little bitch?! I have not come this far to be denied now!!!"
"It was carefully hidden close to where it would be needed." Gatomon answered. "Until the time was right, it was concealed in the form of something so utterly beneath your attention that you would not give it a second look. In the forms of the most unlikely champions of them all."
"What does she mean by that?" Tentomon mused.
"I feel funny..." Louis realized, suddenly feeling like he was about to hurl. Then his vision was filled with golden light.
Neemon babbled excitely. Bokomon was starting to glow.
"Let the Golden Radiance come forth!!!" Gatomon called out. Bokomon fell to the floor, the light about him congealing into a glowing, incandescent polygon.
Ray blinked through his pain. "The Golden Digimental of Miracles!!!"
"And also hidden nearby, one born of the ancient bloodlines...to harness it's power!!!"
The glowing golden polygon flew to the side of the woozy Veemon.
Gatomon gestured. "GOLDEN ARMOR ENER-GIZE!!!"
"Whoooooooaaaaa!!!!" Veemon shouted as the light surrounded him.
The room filled with a glow, as though the sun itself had somehow appeared.
"Veemon...Golden Armor Digivolve To..."
The light faded; the figure in Veemon's place had smoke coming off of his body as though it were still hot from it's transformation. He was now human sized and proportioned, with only small patches of blue skin and his tail showing from underneath his angular, golden armor.
"Magnamon, the Royal Knight of Miracles!!!"
KingEtemon stepped back, but his voice nevertheless started to regain it's bluster. "You think this pathetic fool can challenge me? Dark Network Concert Crush!!!" He started to sing "Blue Suede Shoes"...
And got punched in the mouth.
"Oh yeah..." Magnamon said, his voice much deeper and richer than as Veemon or even Veedramon. "This is as cool as it gets."
"Armor Digivolution is immune to the effects of the Dark Network Concert Crush." Gatomon explained. "You will now have the power of a Royal Knight to contend with!!!"
"Plasma Shot, Buttf***er!!!" Magnamon shouted, launching his attack on KingEtemon.
The surprised enemy howled in pain and rage. Gatomon sprinted to where the Ghostbusters still lay injured.
"Neemon! I need you over here!!!" Gatomon called out.
Neemon/Slimer babbled uncomfortably, but obeyed. Patamon was close behind.
"That was a nifty trick, Gatomon!" Patamon said.
"I got one more up my sleeve too, Patamon..." she winked at her Celestial comrade. "Even Magnamon will not be able to stand against KingEtemon long, not when he still has Seraphimon's power. But Magnamon has the power to defy the Dark Network--long enough to allow us to activate the other surprise..."
"Magna Blast!!!" Magnamon shouted, hitting KingEtemon with a golden blast of power. The microphone clattered from KingEtemon's grasp--Magnamon kicked it to the far side of the room. "I'm more of a J-Pop mon myself..."
"Ghostbusters of Earth...join in a circle with your mascot..." Gatomon commanded.
Venkman grumbled as, of course, Neemon grabbed him first.
"The other power hidden away...the power to unlock the full power of the spirits..." Gatomon continued. "The power of Man and Beast working as one!!!"
Another golden light surrounded them. They each heard their Digivices begin to beep and hum.
The five Digivices began to change. Venkman's was no longer black and red...it was brown, with greenish-blue trim. Winston's changed from white and blue to aqua with red. Ray's from white and green to tan and brown. Egon's from blue and yellow to blue and pink; and Janine's from purple and lavendar to the same blue as Egon's, but with orange trim.
"Well, we finally got the colors right..." Venkman quipped.
"Unite the power!!!" Gatomon called. "Execute--Fusion Spirit Evolution!!!"
The red light swirled around Venkman like an inferno...when it faded, he was transformed into a larger, more powerful looking Digimon than either Agnimon or BurningGreymon, though with some features of both.
"Ardhamon!!!
The white light around Winston left him transformed, similarly, into something resembling both Lobomon and KendoGarurumon, but more distinct from both at the same time, carrying KendoGarurumon's blades as a single, double-bladed sword.
"Beowulfmon!!!"
The electric crackle around Egon left him assuming the shape of giant, robotic insect, bristling with armor and a giant horn over it's face.
"RhinoKabuterimon!!!"
Tentomon looked at RhinoKabuterimon. "I admit...I'm impressed." he told Palmon.
The whirling energy around Janine faded to reveal a lithe form greatly reminiscant of Kazemon, though with more of Zephyrmon's hair and skin tone. Oddly enough, she was carrying a giant pinwheel and wore a helmet resembling an airplane.
"JetSylphimon!!!". Which was immediately followed by "Oh f'cryin' out loud!!! Why can't I ever get a good one?!?!"
The power around Ray produced perhaps the most unexpected result. A cartoony penguin carrying two giant popsickles.
Yes. I said a cartoony penguin carrying two giant popsickles.
"Daipenmon!!!"
"Okay." JetSylphimon admitted. "At least I'm only second lamest this time..."
"Just wait until later, when I tell Peter what Ardhanarisvara really was..." RhinoKabuterimon told her, with just a hint of impish mischief.
"Even with the power of one of the Royal Knights, you're no match for me!!!" KingEtemon howled, grabbing Magnamon and piledriving him. "Not when the power of a Celestial is still mine, Baby!!!"
"Hey, Kingy...look over there!" Magnamon said, pointing to where the five Fusion Hybrids were getting ready to attack.
"Eh-ha ha ha ha ha!!! You think I'm gonna fall for a lame trick like that?" KingEtemon replied, laughing.
"Suit yerself...." Magnamon shrugged, breaking out of KingEtemon's grapple and jumping back.
KingEtemon had a moment of horrified realization...
"Oh sh..."
...Before the attacks hit.
"Atomic Inferno!!!"
"Cleansing Light!"
"Thunder Laser!"
"Ultra Turbulence!"
"Strawberry Death!!!"
Everyone turned to look at Daipenmon.
"I didn't choose the attacks!!!" Ray protested.
"And another Magna Blast for good measure, Spanky!!!"
The battered, burned KingEtemon was thrown to the floor. But as his luck would seem to have it, he was almost within reaching distance of...
"My microphone!" KingEtemon called, starting to reach for it.
"Oh no!" Patamon shouted. "If he reaches it, he can recharge...and reactivate the Dark Network..."
"Eh-ha ha ha ha..." KingEtemon chuckled. His hand was almost closed around the item...
...When a green foot stepped on his hand.
KingEtemon looked up to see... "Ogremon? Boy am I glad to see you..."
Ogremon picked up the microphone.
The whole room was the proverbial pin-drop quiet.
"What are you waitin' for, Ogre? Give the the mic!!!"
"We had a deal." Ogremon finally said. "You get to do whatever you want with the Celestials, I get to defeat Leomon. I wanted him defeated and embarrassed--not destroyed! You not only didn't let me defeat him, you destroyed him yourself! Now what am I gonna do with my life? You broke the deal!!!"
Ogremon tossed the microphone; Patamon fluttered to catch it.
"NOOOOOOO!!!!" KingEtemon shouted.
The instant the microphone dropped into Patamon's stubby forepaws, the little Digimon was surrounded by swirling fractal codes.
KingEtemon shouted obscenties as he was also surrounded by the swirling codes. They began to fly away from KingEtemon, and to Patamon.
"Patamon...Warp Digivolve to..."
"Seraphimon!!!"
There were several expressions of shock and surprise from Tentomon, Falcomon, and Palmon.
KingEtemon slumped to the floor, now just Etemon once more. "Ah was so close..."
The stately Celestial of Hope stood before Etemon. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"The Darkness will continue to grow..." Etemon sneered. "Even if you destroy me, it is only a matter of time before another rises in my place. Apocalymon will be released from his confinement..."
"What do you mean by that?" RhinoKabuterimon rumbled.
"A computer virus." Daipenmon mused. "We were right all along--a computer virus infected my Digimon files, and it created this world from the information on them. It wants to open the Containment Unit to spread chaos!"
"Time grows short..." Gatomon said. She gestured, and the fractal codes surrounded her, as well as Magnamon and the five Ghostbusters. When they faded, the five Ghostbusters were human once more, and Ophanimon and Veemon stood in Gatomon and Magnamon's places.
"It is time for you to return home." Seraphimon said, a sword appearing from his right arm guard. He traced the shape of a circle in mid-air, causing a doorway to appear. "You must go back to your world, and shut down this program. It is the only way."
"But what will happen to you?" Ray asked. "If we shut down the program, even if we restart it data might be lost. Or even..."
"Or even what?" Venkman asked.
"Whatever property brought them to life may be lost." Ray said reluctantly. "When switched back on, they may only be soulless copies..."
"That is not your concern." Ophanimon replied. She gestured again, and the five Digivices emitted their two spirits apiece. "New bearers of the spirits will soon be chosen...save one exception, who has already proven worthy."
The Thunder Spirits, Beetlemon and MetalKabuterimon, flew to Tentomon.
"I did promise he'd get MetalK back..." Ray chuckled.
"I...I'm gonna miss you guys." Hanumon blubbered, kissing the terrified Slimer.
"Auf Wiedersehen, Mein Friends..." Falcomon said.
"So does this mean I get their stereo?" Thunderballmon asked excitedly.
"Aw, get out of here before you mooks corrupt my evil ways even further..." Ogremon said, holding up a dismissive hand.
"I'm gonna enjoy being an adult again." Winston said.
"I dunno...could we maybe arrange to split the difference or something?" Janine quipped.
Venkman smirked, unable to resist the old line. "See you on the other side, Ray..."
They stepped through the gate, and the world vanished into a haze of fractal light...
"We're...we're back!!!" Ray said, taking a moment to readjust to being back on the other side of thirty and a fair amount heavier.
"Be ready..." Seraphimon's voice came from Egon's Digivice, which was derezzing back into the familiar shape of his PKE Meter.
"I'll shut down the computer--the rest of you, proton packs, quickly!!!" Egon barked.
As Egon called up the window to shut down the computer, there was a shout and the disembodied, ghostly form of Etemon was tossed from the glowing gate. The gate then derezzed and vanished.
"So what? You're all just a bunch of human with no power, now..." Etemon gloated. "And old humans at that..."
The room was filled with the simultaneous sound of three proton packs being brought up to full charge.
"You're on our turf now, Spanky..." Venkman quipped.
"It may not be spirit evolution, but here you're just another ghost..." Ray smirked. "And that's our specialty."
Three proton beams slammed into Etemon. The spectral sock monkey writhed and howled.
Janine took great relish in setting down a ghost trap, kicking it under Etemon, and grinding the heel of one blue pump into the foot pad to draw the cursing digital primate into it's innards. "Oh Priscilla, what has become of me???"
"I guess a better ending than dying of an overdose on the crapper." Venkman joked.
"Computer shut down." Egon said, exhaling.
Louis was sitting nearby, realizing..."Oh wow look I'm human again....just wait until I tell Lawrence about this...he's gonna be so jealous..."
Janine gave Egon a long, close hug. The physicist blushed, but made no effort to break her grip. "About time." she said. "I was startin' to feel like a damn cradle robber..."
Slimer, meanwhile, was giving Venkman slobbery, slimey kisses. "Gah! At least Neemon couldn't slime me!!!"
"What about the Digimon?" Winston asked.
"We'll know when we fire the computer back up..." Ray said, shaking his head. "But first, since Etemon was so interested in our Containment Unit, what say we let him get a closer look at it than he ever would've wanted?"
