Playtime is over

The only thing capable of stopping the massive fire produced by Jazz was an equally enormous (or bigger) barrage of shadows. That was exactly what Void had managed to create. The mass of darkness started engulfing the fire, dimming it out. The Chohakkaimon was no different, the darkness was slowly starting to get to her. Once the fire had been put out, the cloud lifted her from the ground, the tendrils finally started to take brutal swings at her, one after the other. Void wasn’t trying to hurt her anymore. He was trying to end her with each blow. The Digitamamon wanted to decompose the Chohakkaimon’s body.

Jazz was helpless now. She couldn’t keep clobbering; she couldn’t keep resisting. She was completely trapped by Void’s darkness and the only thing left was to feel this brutal pain munching on every bit of her data, slowly tearing her apart. There was no more fighting left to do. She kept thrashing and trying to break free, but she somehow knew this was it. Her road was over.

---

The light that had blinded her upon entering the fire finally disappeared to reveal her next location. Katherine was inside a room. The walls were of a bright orange color. Waves of what seemed to be fire moved through them, almost as if she were inside a burning house. However, she didn’t feel any heat. Four figures started materializing in front of her eyes. They seemed like silhouettes. Their shape was… somewhat familiar. It only took some seconds for Katherine to realize who they were.

“W-What are you doing… here?”

Akane. Kiriha. Gongkoru. Honozaru.

The silhouette of Akane was the first to speak, letting out a yawn before doing so.

“We aren’t really here. We have materialized with the help of Jaenryu. You could say we’re doing a type of call.” The Youkomon explained, with her same over-relaxed tone of voice. No doubt this was the Kane she knew.

Katherine took a look at all of the silhouettes. Could it be that Gongkoru and Honozaru had fully recovered from the battle? It was still a bit scary to look at them, considering how they had been their enemies when they were controlled by Void.
“But… how?” The teenager only managed to mutter.

“Before you left, Jaenryu decided it would be a good idea to keep track of you. He inserted a wisp of fire into Jazz’s body, which was a piece of his data. This has allowed us to track you two during all of this time. We know what you have been through.” Kiriha explained. “We couldn’t communicate with you two, though. We needed the fire to be stronger for that. It was just now, when Jazz woke that fire up, that we’ve been able to reach you.”

“So that’s why she’s growing fire out of her now.” Katherine’s eyes widened.
“It was a risky bet, but we knew whenever Void found you Jazz would wake that fire inside of her.” Akane contributed to the explanation. “Unfortunately, we can only be here while that fire keeps burning inside of Jazz. So we need to hurry.”

“By now, I'm sure you're aware that Void’s weakness is light. Am I right, Mrs. Jasso?” Kiriha inquired.
“Y-Yes.” She nodded. “But… Jazz’s fire can’t bring enough light to fight Void. His darkness is too strong.”
“That’s why you need to surpass your limits. You need her to reach the next stage.” The Blackgarurumon noted.

Silence. Katherine lowered her gaze. “I know.” Her voice had acquired a sad ring to it. “But… I can’t. I can’t make her evolve. Even if I have that Digimental I found back at the inn, she’s just not ready.
“You’re wrong.” Akane stated, firmly. Katherine raised her gaze towards the fox. “What’s keeping Jazz from reaching her next stage is fear."
“B-But I’m scared of Void too! How can I make her forget about those fears if Void terrifies me so much?” Katherine’s green eyes started filling up with tears. Frustration was slowly consuming her again

“It’s not like that, Mrs. Jasso. Jazz is not afraid of losing to Void.” Kiriha said, letting a pause get in the way of his words. “Jaenryu can show us Jazz deepest feelings. Your partner has been feeling like you might not love her for who she is for a while. Ever since she found out she was not a part of that illusion your mind created when Void attacked you back in the lake.” Now, Kiriha’s tone of voice denoted preoccupation.

Katherine took both hands to her mouth, trying to contain her crying. She knew they were telling her the truth. She trusted them. She trusted their words. If Jazz had been feeling like this ever since then, it meant she had ignored her partner’s feelings for so long! What kind of tamer was she?

“In other words, Jazz is afraid of losing you.” Akane finished Kiriha’s idea.

Slowly, Katherine crouched down, trying to take all of this.

“Unfortunately, there's no time for that, Mrs. Jasso.” The wolf’s tone of voice seemed a lot more determined right now, almost as if he was scolding the human. “Your partner is dying out there. You need to make her evolve, right now.”
“We’ll be always watching you, Katherine,” Akane added. Her silhouette swirled around Katherine in what could be seen as a gesture full of affection. “You just need to trust in the bond you and your partner hold.”

Slowly, Katherine started standing up again. “Our… bond?” Her eyes tried to go to Akane, but… she wasn’t there anymore. Actually, none of that was there anymore. The fire had extinguished, the room had disappeared and she was back at the dark, murky warehouse.

In front of her, Jazz was being consumed by shadows. The darkness had engulfed her and the green-eyed was barely able to see her pink suit anymore. The dark tendrils struck her body over and over again. Void was in front of her partner, completely determined to end her for good.

Katherine knew once she spoke and made her presence known, Void’s tendrils would strike her in a matter of seconds. Would her words be able to reach Jazz? Would she be able to do good enough to clear those doubts off her partner’s head? What kind of bond was that she shared with Jazz? 

Well, just like Jazz, she was going to die trying, at least.

“Jazz!” The teenager took the Digimental out of her backpack and grabbed it with both hands. She also took a deep breath and shouted with every bit of air inside her lungs. “I don’t know if you’ve been betrayed before!” By now, if Void tried to throw his own set of tendrils towards Katherine, he would notice there was… a glow of light swirling around her. Even if, for a second, it could seem like it was coming from her, it was actually coming from the Digimental. The light was protecting her. It wasn’t enough to harm the Digitiamamon, but it was more than able to keep those hideous tendrils away while she spoke.

Katherine’s green eyes went to the Digimental for a second. Was she actually transferring her energy into this thing? Well, she better kept this up. It might be their only hope.

“But I swear you’re the most important thing in the world for me! You’re my best friend. The first I ever had!” Those tears were finally starting to come out. “The reason you weren’t in Void’s illusion is because that was meant to be a nightmare! A place where I was miserable!” She was almost shouting her lungs out here. “What you saw was my life before I found you. You saved me!” The light coming from the Digimental had started to fade. “... And ... if I can’t save you now…”

The teenager fell to her knees. Her tears had started to blur her vision.

“... If you die here…” She didn’t have energies to shout anymore. “… I’ll go back… there.” She ended up muttering, crying all of her tears out. The light coming from the digimental had stopped shinning. "Because the truth is..." Between sobbing, her words had turned into almost a whisper. "... you're my family."

…


A blowout. Something inside the tendrils had exploded. A burst of light was coming out from the center of the cocoon. It was bigger than any light that had shone that night. It illuminated just about everything around them. It was intense. More intense than anything Katherine had ever seen. And still, for some reason, it wasn’t blinding her. She could perfectly see how the darkness engulfing Jazz was vanishing. The tendrils thrashed, as if they were living beings burning down. They didn’t stand a chance against this amount of light. The luminosity burned each and every one of those tendrils circling around them, and a new creature emerged. Jazz wasn’t a Chohakkaimon anymore.



Jazz had turned into a gryphon. A majestic creature with huge wings, a beak and the feet of a bird. The rest of her body was the one of a beast, like a horse.

If Void thought that Jazz was being annoying up to now, this shinning beast could probably represent a bigger problem than what he could handle.

In the end, it didn’t matter how much Void talked. It didn’t matter how much he had laughed and mocked the duo or how much he boasted about his own power. He wasn’t able to stop Jazz from evolving. It had happened; thanks to Katherine and with the help of the beastly protectors. Now… would Jazz’s new form be enough to defeat the evil egg? That remained to be seen.

The Digitamamon didn’t lose any time. Almost as if that change of form hadn’t even happened, he made his dark tendrils charge against Jazz again. This time they seemed a lot more aggressive than when they had attacked Katherine just now. They were aiming to terminate the digimon, after all.

Jazz panicked. She didn’t let Void notice, but she panicked alright? A bunch of tendrils was coming her way and she had just been in this form for around ten seconds. Well, time to go with her instincts!

… Light! She felt she could produce light. Just like that, the gryphon closed her eyes and a burst of light came out of her body. It was bright. It was intense. So intense it would immediately destroy those tendrils!

Katherine, who had initially gasped at Void’s sudden attacked just stared flabbergasted at such development. For some reason, just looking at Jazz in this form, brought her a sense of peace. Immediately, she took her D-Terminal out of her backpack to scan her partner’s new form. If Void tried to attack her during any of this, more bursts of light would come out around her, protecting the teenager. Hippogriffomon. That was the name of this creature. It looked majestic and powerful.

Without any time to hesitate, Jazz started fluttering her wings, gaining some height. She felt that, if she could get high enough and concentrate, maybe she could eradicate all of that hideous darkness. She didn’t need to gain too much height before feeling ready. The gryphon opened her wings and everything around her lightened up. Light covered every inch of space around the warehouse, looking to burn all of the shadows that lurked around it. The burst of light kept coming out of the Hippogriffomon and it wouldn’t stop until all of the darkness was gone. What effect would this have on Void?

---

——Light World: By waving its wings, flying, Hippogriffomon covers her whole environment in light, lighting up any dark areas and making everything completely visible, like it was plain daylight. This effect lasts for 3 turns. 3 posts cooldown.

Unable to keep her head off the environment, Katherine raised her gaze to see the windows of the buildings above them. What if someone saw Jazz? That would be major trouble! There were people looking through their windows. The Spaniard could actually hear them talking

‘What is this?'

‘W-What’s going on? I can’t see a thing!'

‘The light is too bright.'

What was blinding for everyone else and Void, was perfectly see-through for Katherine. She could tell the intensity of Jazz’s technique was overwhelming, but this didn’t stop her from seeing everything happening.

Void, though? He was having trouble to even stand on his two feet. All of the shadows that were previously lurking around Katherine and her partner had disappeared. Not a single trace of darkness could be seen anymore. It all had burned down.

To see the Digitamamon looking for an escape route once again, infuriated Jazz. However, Katherine’s partner seemed to be a lot calmer and more mature in this form. Still fluttering her wings some meters above the egg, the griffin started lowering her height, landing aggressively in front of the villain. In a swift movement, she swung her left paw and wrapped her claws around the former chef.

“You’re trying to escape again.” The Hippogriffomon had spoken for the first time. Her voice was mature and woman-like. She spoke at a calm pace and seemed to be completely in control of everything now. She just gave a feeling of reassurance to Katherine. This was the magic of evolution.

Slowly, Jazz shook her head. “Darkness was all you had.” She said, looking around her. “And although powerful, this was all you relied on.” The griffin spoke slowly. Even if she wasn’t yelling, she still sounded powerful, imposing. Probably even terrifying to Void. “I am not much stronger than you, Void.” Her eyes widened, looking intensively into the inside of the egg's shell. “But I am exactly what you fear the most. A light warrior. I am your antithesis. And I was born to defeat you."

Katherine took a step forward. Her worriedness slowly transformed into shocking. She was right. Jazz was exactly what could destroy Void: a being that created light. In a swift movement, Jazz tightened the grip on her claw to then throw the Digitamamon into the air with might. She opened up her wings. A whirlwind of energy started forming around them. A reflection of the universe started showing inside. Shining balls of different colors could be seen, swirling in the outer space.

“Stars…?” Katherine managed to utter

The Hipogriffomon started fluttering her wings. Katherine protected her face and grabbed her hair. A brutal gust of wind was being released. But, most importantly, stars were flying in Void’s direction. A whole swarm of them. Upon contact, each of them would explode into more bursts of light, looking to cause even more damage into the Digitamamon.

Would this be enough to end the egg for good, or did he still have any fighting left in him?

It was over.

It was actually over.

This had not been one of those battles where the control of the bout was exchanged between the parts over and over again until one of them came out victorious. This had been absolute suffering until the very end. They were losing all the time, being on the verge of dying and looking helpless, until Jazz had evolved. Unable to keep standing, Katherine just fell on her rear, letting out a sigh.

Jazz, who didn’t seem a tad exhausted now, just watched Void disintegrate into the air.

“Is he… ever coming back?” The teenager asked, raising her gaze to look at her partner.

Looking at the gem laying on the ground, the Griffin answered. “I don’t think so. I don’t think his data would be able to find a way into the Village of the Beginnings, considering he was inside of this world when he died.”

Katherine managed to reincorporate, closing the distance between her and the majestic digimon and making a gesture for her to lower her head. Jazz’s eyes widened. She stared at her partner for a second and then abode. Katherine just caressed her head.

“You look beautiful.” She claimed. A pause ensued. “Listen… I am sorry, about everything. I was so worried about defeating Void and everything we were going through I forgot about your feelings, and it was almost too late for us.”

Jazz moved her head endearingly, letting herself be caressed. “I’m sorry too.” She apologized. “I should have told you how I felt. I’m just… very scared to show how I feel, most of the times. I should’ve trusted you since the beginning, Kath.”

So no more ‘Jasso’ huh? At least not while she was in this form. Katherine showed a smile to her partner. The beast seemed concerned about something.

“But… how did you know?” She asked.

“Kiriha and Akane." Katherine answered immediately. "Jeanryu inserted a portion of his data into you, so he could track us. That’s the reason why fire came out of you. They managed to use that fire to communicate with me. Since that portion of Jaernyu had been living inside of you, he knew how you felt.” It was almost funny how they had managed to contact her just in time. But at the same time, everything seemed very well planned.

Jazz stared incredulously at her partner for a moment. “That’s… amazing.” To think there was a part of Jaenryu living inside of her! “I would’ve liked to see Kiriha and Akane again.” She noted, lowering her head. Only a few days had passed, and yet it felt like an eternity.

“Who knows, maybe we can find a way to communicate with them now.” Katherine walked forward to pick up the gem from the floor. She stared at it for a while, holding in her right hand. The Erin Zoid Gem. They had four now. Only one was left.

“K-Kath…!” Jazz called for her partner. Katherine’s green eyes shifted to glare at her, only to find the Hipogriffimon showing a horrified expression. “S-Something is coming…!” There was a digimon coming their way. It was a very strong presence.

Just like the first time she saw it. Luke’s presence never ceased to be terrifying for Katherine. When they met on top of the train going through Cipher Jungle along Miyu. When he approached her and Ooi after the race. And now, in this old, abandoned open warehouse. Every time she saw him, he was able to bring chills down her spine. This time was no different. Or maybe it was.

The Valkyrimon’s firsts sentences had been enough to discern it was him. His voice, his sole presence was truly enervating. By the sole fact of him standing in front of them, Katherine could feel like the gravity around her had risen its intensity. It was as if the ground was pulling her with greater strength. It was as if air was being sucked from the environment. She had trouble to breathe and her chest raised and fell, her heart beating wildly.

The wind swirled around The Valkyrimon's body. The feeling of his presence was more like when he appeared on the train prepared to fight than when he appeared on the beach and he had come to talk. This digimon was not just powerful, he was power.

Katherine was making a huge effort to remain standing. A horrified expression had made its way to her face. Jazz, on her side, seemed paralyzed, her eyes affixed onto the digimon. Then, it became clear to her. Amy was right.

Luke had left her alive only for her to collect the gems he needed. He wasn’t expecting Void would engage in such a personal feud with them, but now that they had ended him, they were becoming a problem for him. It was time to eliminate them.

“Why do you want the gems, Luke? What are you planning to do at the Drum Sanctuary?” Jazz’s voice made Katherine snap out of her own appalling thoughts. She had taken a defensive stand, positioning in front of the curly-haired teenager. If her partner was showing courage, why shouldn’t she? Katherine placed the Erin Zoid Gem inside her backpack and held the bag wrapping both arms around it.

Jazz growled, getting ready to protect her partner should Luke try to get close to her. Katherine tried to think on possible escape routes, although much like Void some seconds ago, they were just a cornered cat right now. How well could Jazz fair off against this monster?

That actually didn’t matter right now, because… After coming so far? They couldn’t go down without a fight. No way.

This time around, Jazz didn’t hesitate. She opened up her wings wide and received an impulse from her hind legs, standing up. That small piece of the galaxy appeared again, almost as if it hadn’t totally closed before. A star shower was shot against Luke, illuminating the dark, murky warehouse.

Nothing. It did absolutely nothing to the Valkyrimon. With a single movement of his arm, he rejected the technique, making the stars vanish. Jazz had not lost any strength, the stars still exploded with might, they just weren’t doing any harm to her enemy. The Hippogriffomon's expression started turning into one of fear.

Something else. She had to try something else.

Katherine could see a mass of black energy forming around Luke, trying to crush him on high pressure. As soon as it touched his body, it disappeared. It burst as if it had touched something that made it implode from inside. It just scattered into small bits of obscure data.

A gust of wind followed, akin to those Jazz was able to produce in her Chohakkaimon form. Another movement of Luke’s hand was enough to make it vanish as if it had never been formed.

It was too late now. Luke had reached Jazz. He wasn’t stopping. The Hippogriffomon charged against him. Her body was covered in light, making her lighter, faster. But none of that was enough. It was as if he was able to predict her movements. He dodged her tackle, moving away from the grasp of her claws, smashing her against the floor. The earth trembled, Katherine stumbled and fell on her knees and her partner impacted the ground, breaking the concrete. It had been an aggressive, brutal blow. Jazz laid on the floor, unconscious, her eyes blank, no pupils. Luke kept walking until he reached the teenager.

The sole attempt to remain conscious was almost impossible to accomplish for Katherine. Being in front of the amount of power this creature bestowed was overwhelming. The fear of death was burning every nerve of her body. This wasn’t like that time with Ebirdramon back at the race. It was much worse. She not only felt she was going to die, she felt she was going to go through the most horrible of deaths. The sole presence of this monster made her feel her life was over and there was no way of resisting that. There was nothing she could do to stop it.

Her dreams, her goals. None of that matter right now. She just wanted to live the next second. She let go of the gems, letting the backpack fall to the floor. He could take that. He could take whatever he wanted and leave.

But…

“N-No…” Jazz. Again.

Slowly, the digimon was reincorporating, standing behind Luke. A gust of wind moved the backpack in front of Katherine, placing it behind the teenager's body, so he couldn’t reach it just yet.

“You won’t… take those.” Jazz’s pupils were barely there. Only a dim glimmer remained where her dark eyes should be. It took her some seconds to even be able to stand on her four legs. Her limbs were trembling, just like her whole body. She coughed a purple, thick substance.

“Jazz!” Katherine shouted her lungs out. Back at the train, the cave or the forest, she always believed they had to fight until the end. This time was different. This much was clear for her. Now more than ever.

“WE CAN’T WIN.”

Those words echoed throughout the buildings of that small area inside the residential district of Shibuya.

But Jazz was pushing forward. She couldn’t even listen to Katherine. The desire to protect those gems was engraved in her code. The Hippogriffomon was surrounded by light and took a leap towards Luke.

… Knowing it would be her last one.

It didn’t matter if Jazz had been hit once. Or twice. Time after time she had slammed the ground as a consequence of Luke’s brutal attacks. The concrete that laid below the whole warehouse had visibly cracked throughout its whole layout, caused by Jazz aggressively hitting it over and over again. She wasn’t going to beg, she couldn’t. Simply because she couldn’t let those gems go. Memories of everything they had done to get those went through her head. The adventure in Rococo Village, the fight around the Trailmon, the all-out race, and the nightmare they lived in that forest.

She couldn’t give up now. Not only because of everything she and her partner had been through but because it would mean neglecting the effort of all of those digimon who worked so hard so they could get them. The will of each and all of their friends was engraved in those gems inside Katherine’s backpack. Alraumon, Okimi, Arthur, Liquid, Garmore, Kiriha and Akane. They all had fought hard for them to get those. They all have poured their wills and their souls in the tasks that led them to find those gems and have them in their grasp right now. She couldn’t turn back. She had to respect their wills and fight until the end.

Even if Katherine knew it was better to live another day to honor their efforts, Jazz couldn’t see it that way. And the tamer knew it. She knew Jazz wasn’t going to stop. And that’s what made all of this worse. The Hippogriffomon had taken her final leap. After so many hits and having stood up once more, she knew the next blow could very well end her for good.

For Katherine, every incoming moment seemed to elapse in slow motion as if her partner’s whole life was going through her eyes. She was shouting, crying, but none of this would stop her. These were the consequences of every choice they had made up to this moment.

They had lost.

This is how it ended.

…

It was almost as if time had frozen. Or at least lowered its pace heavily. A blue glow got to Katherine's green eyes. It was coming from right behind her. She turned her head to see the backpack she had dropped. Something inside of it was shining. Thanks to its color and its intensity, she immediately recognized this glow: the Lazuli Zoid Gem. The one that had got her to her room before, shining above the rest of the gems. It was accompanied by another glow, this one was green, the same that came out of Void every time he used the Erin Zoid Gem’s power. This time, however, a voice could be heard.

“Hey! Kairu!” It called for someone. It was a feminine, delicate voice, like the one of a teenager. “Kai~ru! Come on, wake up!” She called again. When she spoke, the green light flickered as if it was indicating the voice was coming from the Erin Zoid Gem. The gem was… talking?

“… What do you want, ‘Riana?” A male voice responded. “You know it’s hard for me to communicate in this form. I hope it’s important.” This time, it was the blue light that flickered when he spoke.

“I want to help this human!”
“You… what?”
“What you heard, Nono! She and her partner have been fighting so hard to gather all of the gems. I feel they have bonded with so many digimon and their will is pure. Let’s help them nonoroku their way out of this!”
“She is too far away. I can’t use my power from here without draining almost all of my energy.”
“Kairu, if we don’t save them now, we don’t know what might happen to the Digital World. If they don’t live another day, no one is ever going to be able to get those back.”

Who were these people? They were living… inside the gems? Right now, Katherine couldn’t even put two and two together. Silence ensued these words. Then, 'Riana's peer finally answered.

“... Ugh. Okay. I’ll do it.” He hissed. “Hey, little girl. I’m going to get you two out of here.”

Katherine’s eyes widened up. What did he say? He was going to… save them?

“I sure hope you come back for us! Now… think fast!”

The male voice ordered, the blue glow started getting stronger, brighter, overwhelming the green glow and everything around them. The light was so hard it became almost blinding. She had to think, quick. If this was actually the power of the Lazuli Zoid Gem, it was going to teleport them out of here. She had to think of a place, somewhere she and Jazz could be safe.

But… could she really picture it? And even if she could, did that place exist, even? With the very short time she had, the Spaniard tried to think long and hard of a place where she and Jazz would feel safe, completely out of danger. When was the last time she felt like that, even? She hadn’t feel completely safe for a while.

Almost unwillingly, the green-eyed looked for a sensation, rather than a physical location. The sensation of being secure, protected from what could be coming at her. She had to go back a bit… but she managed to find it.

Katherine and Jazz’s body started disappearing, being consumed by the light engulfing them, which had probably blinded Luke too. Soon enough, they were gone, right before the Griffin made contact with the Valkyrimon, right before it was over. They had left Luke, the gems, and that obscure alley in Shibuya's Residential District behind. They weren’t there anymore. Only their enemy would remain standing right there, the backpack with the four Zoid Gems behind him.

They had managed to preserve their lives through almost miraculous circumstances. But no doubt should remain in their minds… they had lost.

---

So… where did the human's thoughts and the Lazuli Zoid Gem's power had taken Katherine and Jazz?

When she opened up her eyes, now that the light had stopped blinding her, she found herself in a white, simple bedroom. It was fairly organized, not really any relevant feature to be pointed out. There was a rug where she was sitting and a bed in front of her. Jazz, now in her Lopmon form, laid unconscious next to her. Katherine’s eyes were wide open. Her gaze leered around the layout of the room to find… someone, leisurely sitting on the bed. It didn’t take her long to recognize her.

In the end, she had used a sensation for the gem to get her out of there. Obeying to her thoughts, the gem had brought her to the last 'place' where she actually felt safe. It had been a while ago, but that moment was engraved on her memory. In the end, this girl was a safety zone for Katherine. Someone who she thought would always be there for her, no matter what.

Apparently, that meetup they had both appointed for next Saturday to celebrate Katherine's birthday, had been forwarded.

Amelie Saboro was sitting in front of her.

---