MPC 77C /77X : In needs of Heroes

"Desmond!" A cry could be heard from far away somewhere in the Binary Archipelago. Just above water, Demi was on the edge of a small boat with his tiny arms extended to the ocean. Just below him was Desmond being held down by a large Dagomon slowly dragging him further and further away from the surface. The blond tamer did not manage to catch any single breath of air before getting pulled out of his boat and his consciousness was quickly fading. His eyes were fixated to the light that was darkening and could barely hear his name being shouted by his partner.

"Desmond! I'm coming!" The DemiMeramon was about to jump off the boat but stopped midway, too afraid of the never-ending water. He began crying feeling powerless. It would take him three seconds to be able to take a leap and hit the water. His whole body made the water bubble around him, blocking his view. All he could see was the one he considered as a brother sinking downward. The human's left hand was trying to reach out but they were too far away. And within a few seconds later, Demi was forced to rise up to breathe leaving Desmond into the depths of the ocean.

The little fireball climbed back into the boat and tried one last time to see if he could locate his tamer. It was no use, the Frenchman was now way too deep to the Digimon to see him. "Desmond! Please, come back!" The Digimon cried over and over again. It was of no use, Demi had lost his tamer.

Desmond was barely conscious as his eyes saw the mass of bubbles that was Demi for a split second. His body was completely numb but his mind was still racing. He could see Demi smiling and waving next to him. He could see Sam sleeping while smiling next to him. He could see Hawk making fun of him. And then, it all went darker and darker. There was no use trying to fight back anymore, Desmond was now dead.

However, death wouldn't be the end for him. The tamer opened his eyes to something very strange. He was in front of a shadowy form of a man that looked a lot like him who slowly extended his left hand to help him stand up. His clothing was soaking wet and the skin on his hands was very pale. Desmond began shivering, there was a constant breeze around him, it would have been a delicate one if it weren't for his soaked clothing. "Where... Am I?" The tamer asked while looking around him. The two men were alone on a very little patch of sand. It was barely large enough for the two of them.

"Dead." The shadow answered. "You have drowned exactly a minute ago." Desmond opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't find the will to say anything. He was just so cold and confused. "You will get used to the cold in a few seconds, don't worry." The blond tamer nodded instinctively as his body became warmer and warmer and he stopped shivering after a few more seconds. It still felt very weird, he could still feel like he was drowning. He had a hard time breathing and his mind wasn't very clear. "Take deep breaths, you'll be fine." Again, he nodded and tried to breathe normally for what felt like a very long moment. It would take him a bit longer before feeling, alive. "Do you remember anything?" The shadow asked.

"I was on a boat..." Desmond looked around him for any kind of clue of where he was exactly. It was all water surrounding them. "There was a... Something and it pulled me into the water..." His eyes then widened in fear. "Demi..." He whispered. He could see that globe of bubbles that was Demi trying to reach him. "Is he..." To that, the shadow shook his head. "He's alive." The tamer felt lighter now that he heard that his partner did not end like him. He would have smiled but he still felt, dead. So he just stayed silent and motionless. He wanted to ask so many questions but he kind of felt like none of them mattered right now.

It took him a while before speaking. "What is going to happen to me?" He slowly asked while staring at his feet. He couldn't see the shadowy form smiling. "Well, that is the fun part." His voice had a bit of a happy tone in it. Desmond slowly raised his eyes clearly confused. "See, when a Digimon dies, they are reborn. However, you are not a Digimon. Luckily, you died in our world so now you are... Data." The human didn't say nor move. "You can choose to stay dead. Or, you can be reborn but you will never be able to go back to your world, And I do mean, never."

"You will be reborn every time you die. You will always be in your current form but you will be simply put, never dead for more than a minute." For some reason, Desmond felt that there was certainly some sort of pact he would have to sign. It seemed too simple. "What if I decide to stay dead..." The shadow laughed. "Do you really want to stay dead?" He was right, he didn't want to stay dead. He wanted to go back to Demi. "Think of it, you could take the bullet for someone over and over again. You could change a lot of lives." That sentence alone convinced the human. If he were to never die, he could indeed save a lot of people. However, he would be forever stuck in the Digital Wolrd. But then, that seemed like a small price to pay, he wasn't going to let that stop him.

"Anything else I need to know?" The Frenchman asked still feeling a bit numb. "Well, you see, that Digimon that killed you, it has been terrorizing some Digimon some for a long time now. It has minions everywhere and I need someone to take care of it." And there was that hidden condition. "Take care of them and you will save all of your friends, and even more." He paused with a smile on his lips. "Deal?"

"Deal." Desmond didn't even have to think twice. He could be a hero, he could save people. "Then it is done! I will contact you via your Digivice, you will know exactly where and when that Dagomon and its minions will strike next. You will know what to do next." The shadowy form extended his hand and the tamer shook his hand. "Now, go."

"Desmond!" A voice could be heard next to him. "You're back!" Desmond opened his eyes feeling very tired. "Demi?" He slowly moved his head to look at the smiling fireball. "You're back!" The human looked confused for a second before hearing a small beeping sound. His hand went to get his Digivice out of his pocket and saw flashing blue dot to the east and then everything came back to him. That was his cue, it was time to act. He rose to his feet and smiled. "Time to go now, Demi." The Digimon looked at him and nodded with a smile. Pressing the buttons on the Digivice, a portal opened in front of the duo. The two nodded to each other and crossed the portal.

Desmond and Demi would end up fighting various Digimons all over the Digital World for the coming year. Every time they defeated one of Dagomon's minions, another would appear someplace else. At first, both tamer and partner would feel like heroes. They were saving Digimon by going through portals after portals. With time, they would be known as pure legends. Some would talk about a mysterious man with glasses that appears and disappears every now and then. They would say that he wanders the world with his partner but that he wasn't a human at all. Were they some kind of avenging ghosts? That was a question many asked themselves. To be honest, Desmond kind of liked it knowing that he was saving lives and so did Demi. Even if they were only there for a few minutes, seeing Digimons smiling just before going to another portal was more than enough for them.

After nearly four and a half months for fighting those evil Digimon, the human was now someone different than what he was before. There was a certain melancholy surrounding him. Deep down, he knew that he was doing what was right. But then, a portion of him felt like he was losing the war. Even after all this time, he wasn't even sure that they were fighting the right Digimons. They did act like villains and did see them delete more than a hundred of other Digimons but was there an end to all this? The duo would spend very little time enjoying what was around them before getting a signal that they were needed someplace else. It was a neverending circle that would wear them slowly but surely.

Another four months has passed but something changed. The Dagomon surely knew of them for a long while now as he has been attacking people at various places at the same time forcing the two heroes to choose where to go next. They just couldn't save everyone anymore, they were going to have to face their own demons. Fear, failure, guilt. It came to a point that it wasn't possible anymore to be the heroes. Desmond did his best to stay strong knowing that he couldn't be deleted. Demi, on the other hand, could. The fireball was getting tired physically and emotionally from having to fight again and again. The fights were getting longer and the Digimon felt like he was losing that fire inside of him.

Then came the day where they were too late. After a gruesome battle, the duo tried to go to the other site but however, they just didn't make it in time. The village of beginnings, it was in ruin. The Cherrymon was gone, most of the eggs were gone and only a few Digi-Tamas was remaining mourning over what used to be such a lively place. As Desmond got closer to the remaining baby Digimons, one of them asked him a question that would destroy whatever he had in him. "Where were you?" They asked. "Why weren't you here? You were supposed to save us." The tamer didn't know what to say. He felt that it was his fault. He felt that it was his responsibility to save everyone and that he failed them. Not knowing what to do, he made a portal to someplace else and ran away from the Village.

After this day, Desmond wasn't sure if it was worth fighting anymore. He saw Demi getting weaker and weaker while he was still perfectly fine, physically. While he was mentally exhausted, his body didn't felt any fatigue at all. He could go on but he was useless with his partner. Knowing that there will be a day where they would ultimately lose, the Frenchman had to make a choice. Would it be selfish of him to keep going on or would it be selfish to give up? Taking a moment to breathe after a hard fight, the human approached the DemiMeramon. "Demi?" He slowly said his name. "Yes, Desmond?" The fireball titled his head and saw such sadness in his tamer's eyes. "Do... Should... We... No... You did your best."

"Do you want to stop? " Demi hesitated. Part of him was screaming no, he didn't want to stop. He wasn't just doing it to save everyone, he was doing it because Desmond was doing it as well. Now, he was feeling that his tamer didn't want to go on anymore and it made him doubt himself. "Should we?" He asked a question back to the human. Desmond didn't know the answer to this question. He was brought back from the dead to do what they were doing but he never gave Demi a choice in this. Both stood silent for a moment looking at each other. Desmond could see that Demi was still ready to go on, he had to believe in his partner.

"No." Desmond then said after a long sigh. "We should not stop." To this, Demi smiled and went to hug his tamer. "Let's find that Dagomon and finish it." The two shared the hug in silence. "We might need some help though..." The human said. "It's time to rally some allies." The fireball nodded with enthusiasm. "But where?" He asked. "Anywhere. We are going to ask everyone we meet to fight back. And bring peace once more." He paused and stood up, lifting his partner in his arms. "This world needs heroes. And we are going to find them."

Rallying Digimon to fight with them was harder than they thought. It started with one that followed them for one fight. It would take several days for them to get half a dozen. And then, something happened. They met one brave Digimon that lead a group of fighters. With their help, they now had enough people around the Digital World to fight back the Dagomon's minions. And before they knew it, the big evil Digimon would appear. However, he was far from being alone. He had a whole army with him. Outnumbered, Desmond had doubts for a second but hearing all the Digimons behind him roaring made him brave. This is where it ends.

The two armies clashed into each other. There were all kinds of projectiles flying into the air. The evil Digimons were ruthless but Desmond and his army had hope. The battle raged on for minutes after minutes with no real victors. A terrible scream was then heard. A large temple emerged from the ground and the Dagomon had entered the battlefield. The giant made the duo shiver for a moment. Taking a deep breath, Demi was now in his Mega form, the SaintMeramon. With Desmond on his shoulder, the two dashed toward the Evil God Digimon.

However, the Dagomon had a better tactic. He retreated into the temple with a burst of evil laughter, mocking them, baiting them into his home. Demi and Desmond went in as fast as they could into the dark temple. Fortunately, Demi's body of fire gave them enough light to navigate in what seemed like a corridor that never ends. With each step, they could hear the evil god laughing. After what seemed like an eternity, the heroes finally came face to face with the Dagomon. "Finally!" The God Digimon shouted. "And I thought we would never have the chance to play."

"It ends here, Dagomon." Desmond said as Demi helped him to get to the ground. "You are trapped." Dagomon laughed once more. "No. You are trapped." The whole temple began trembling and the way behind them collapsed. "Did you really think that you could stop me? You are a real thorn but you are still human." The blond tamer took a step back and took out his cards. "Ouryuken!" He slashed the card into his Digivice and the large weapon appeared in Demi's hands. The SaintMeramon dashed forward with the Ouryuken but as soon he got close, the Dagomon disappeared into the darkness only to appear behind Desmond.

Grabbing the tamer with his tentacles, the evil Digimon lifted him up and mocked the Meramon. "Surrender and he might live." He crackled. The human didn't try to escape through. He was afraid but he also knew that he couldn't die and Dagomon didn't seem to know that. "Demi, strike!." However, his partner flinched. It was too risky. "Demi! Now!" Shaking his head, the fire giant made one step forward and the evil Digimon tightened his grip making Desmond shake in pain. "Demi! Now!" He shouted once more. "Do it! Strike him!"

Demi grit his teeth and with a huge swing, he threw the Ouryuken at the Dagomon. Seeing the weapon being thrown, the Dagomon squeezed the human and then disappeared back into the shadow only to reemerge behind Demi. "Fool! You will watch your tamer die!" As Demi turned around, he heard bones getting crushed, and then, the Dagomon let the human fall on the ground. Demi screamed in horror and got on his knees before reverting into a DemiMeramon. He tried to lift Desmond's head to see if he was still alive. "Desmond!" He shouted his name with tears in his eyes.

"Yes, stay here and die with him." The sinister voice echoed around them as the temple began to rumble. "Well, enjoy your stay here! You will come to like it... Forever." And the Dagomon vanished into the ground and the room began crumbling down on the duo. "Demi..." Desmond weakly said. "Listen..." The fireball nodded while crying. "You must go... Finish the fight for me..." Demi was about to say something but stopped midway. "They are counting on us, they are counting on you..." His shaky hands pressed the button on his Digivice and a portal was created but it seemed unstable. "Go..." After saying that word, his body began flashing, and slowly, it became data. Demi cried for a bit longer before taking the Digivice with him and jumping into the portal.

They ended up winning the fight by some kind of miracle. A lot of them didn't make it but they did manage to fend off the minions, most of them. A few days as passed since then, there wasn't any sign of the Dagomon so far. Demi was in the Village, newly reconstructed. With some of his friends and allies, they were looking at the newly formed eggs. The DemiMeramon was holding the Digivice when it started beeping. Looking at the tiny screen, he saw that the blue dot was just behind him. He slowly turned around and then, he saw him.

Desmond was standing there with a smile and his arms crossed. "You did it." He simply said. Demi smiled back and began floating toward him. He wanted to ask how he got here but felt that he didn't need to find a reason for that. "Let's go now." Desmond said as he picked up Demi into his arms.

Word Count: 3072