Let's reach 250 Power Stones for an extra chapter
***
Gwen staggered forward, Digi-Gloves still humming with aftershock. Marcus lay crumpled in the rubble pile twenty feet away, tactical vest torn, chest heaving in shallow gasps. Blood trickled from his scarred cheek. He tried to push up once, groaned, and slumped back—done, at least for now.
Her eyes snapped to the bomb panel. 00:06:45. Beeps drilled into her skull like a countdown to blackout. The whole grid would fry if this went off. But Apemon's roar yanked her focus. The ape beast thrashed across the catwalk, bone club whistling past Kyubimon's flank.
Kyubimon dodged low, tails fanning blue flames. She circled tight, paws scraping sparks from grated steel. Apemon's red eyes dimmed just a hair—Shadowstone link fraying without Marcus barking orders.
Gwen's fingers flew to her Digivice. Shared inventory from Ethan glowed: Frozen Wind. Rare environmental card, blows a frozen gale. Perfect to counter Apemon's brute rush, play to Kyubimon's spirit-fire smarts over raw muscle.
"Kyubimon! Slot in—Frozen Wind!"
[FROZEN WIND: ACTIVATING]
Kyubimon's maw parted. Crystalline gales howled out, ripping through the humid air.
WHOOSH.
Frost exploded in a swirling vortex. It slammed Apemon mid-lunge, flash-freezing its golden fur into brittle spikes. Ice crackled along the bone club, locking joints mid-swing.
Apemon bellowed, primal fury turning frantic. It shattered a strut with its club—CRACK—but shards flew back as frozen shrapnel, peppering its own hide.
Kyubimon pressed, weaving serpentine through the tilting platforms. Blue flames licked her paws, contrasting the encroaching white. The ape's swings grew sloppy, club dragging heavy now, momentum stolen by cracking ice.
Gwen edged from cover, pulse thundering with the timer. 00:06:20. Police chatter crackled outside—"Monkey's slowing! Hold fire!"—but her Digi-Camo kept her ghosted, just a shimmer in the chaos.
Apemon reared, hurling iced quills. They shattered harmlessly mid-air. Kyubimon vaulted a railing, flames trailing like comet tails. The tactical shift hit home—Gwen wasn't just reacting anymore. She called shots, turned the beast's strength against it.
Ice climbed Apemon's legs, rooting it. The substation groaned, transformers whining under frost strain. Gwen felt it click: her growth, syncing with Kyubimon's wisdom. No more kid stuff—this was Tamer edge.
Apemon thrashed wildly now, club flailing desperate arcs. "Mega Bone Stick!" The swing cratered a platform, hurling frozen chunks that Kyubimon spun past effortlessly.
Gwen's breath caught amid the fracturing din. Digivice readout flickered: Apemon's Vaccine core shifting unstable under ice—data scrambling, agility choked. Physical beast, no mystic depth. Kyubimon's domain.
"Finish it!"
"Koenryū—Dragon Wheel!"
Kyubimon coiled tails into a blazing vortex. She spun savagely, flames erupting skyward.
ROARRR!
A fiery dragon surged forth, azure jaws wide. It engulfed Apemon's frosted form in cataclysmic bloom—ice shattering, quills splintering, fur charring. The ape convulsed, howled fading to digital static.
Apemon dissolved in shimmering pixels. A Digi-Egg tumbled across scorched grating, pulsing faint under floodlights. 00:05:30.
Gwen's breath caught sharp as the Digi-Egg gleamed amid scorched metal. Relief surged, hot and fleeting. But the bomb panel's red glow stabbed her eyes—00:03:12. NYPD bomb techs huddled close, clippers flashing, faces slick with sweat under helmets. Wires sparked futilely. One shook his head, muttering lockout codes too tangled for human hands.
Kyubimon padded to her side, nine tails curling low, blue flames guttering like dying stars. The substation whined, transformers humming overload. Gwen's jaw set. No time for doubt.
"Kyubimon—grab that bomb. Hurl it to the highest spire. Now!"
The fox spirit nodded once, eyes fierce. Tails lashed out, enfolding the device in a shimmering cradle of azure fire. Spiritual flames licked the casing, stabilizing volatile circuits with ethereal heat. Kyubimon vaulted a catwalk railing. Paws gripped grated steel. She bounded upward, wind whipping her golden fur.
00:02:30.
Police shouted below, beams sweeping shadows. "Evacuate! It's live!" Gwen melted into Digi-Camo's ripple, unseen ghost amid chaos. Marcus stirred in rubble, blue eyes cracking open, Shadowstone pulsing faint on his chest. He coughed blood, fingers twitching toward a knife. But Kyubimon climbed relentless, substation tower groaning under her grace.
Higher. Tails tightened, flames sealing seams against premature burst. City skyline sprawled vast below—neon veins pulsing through night. 00:01:45. Kyubimon's mane flowed wild, paws sure on swaying struts. She crested the spire, bomb secure in fiery grasp.
Zero.
BOOM.
Fireball bloomed distant, a harmless sun against velvet dark. Embers rained harmless, scattering on rooftops blocks away. Kyubimon leaped free, unscathed silhouette amid fading glow. She descended light as mist, landing soft beside Gwen. Tails released wisps of smoke.
Cheers erupted from below. Techs gaped upward, radios crackling awe. "What the hell was that? Bomb's... gone?" No one spotted the shimmer fading from Gwen's form. She scooped the Digi-Egg, pulse thundering triumph.
Marcus lurched up, knife glinting. "You... meddling kid." Kyubimon snarled, flames reigniting. Gwen pocketed the egg. Sirens swelled closer. Time to vanish.
* * *
-Gwen-
I perch on the shadowed rooftop's edge, an hour after the chaos at the substation. The night's chill seeps through my jacket, raising goosebumps on my arms. Renamon sits reverted beside me, her golden fur brushing my leg in quiet solidarity. Distant sirens fade into the city's endless hum, like the pulse of New York winding down.
My phone buzzes against my ear. Dad's voice crackles through, thick with that paternal relief he tries to hide.
"Gwen, you okay? Officers say they got Marcus Thorne in custody—Raze, that scarred operative everyone's whispering about. Substation's intact, no blackout. Damn fine work."
Pride swells in my chest, warm and steady. I recount how I channeled Apemon's Digi-Egg back through the Digital World rift right amid the exploding bomb's glow—Kyubimon's jaws clamping it mid-air, hurling it skyward before the timer hit zero. Dad chuckles, gratitude lacing every word.
"You saved lives tonight, kid. Just... promise me you'll call backup next time."
"I promise, Dad. Love you."
I end the call, thumbing open Ethan's texts. Knew you had it. Proud of you, partner.Texts from Peter too—guy's geeking out over your moves. A grin tugs my lips. His words ignite something warm in my core, chasing away the lingering aches from Marcus's knife swipe and the bomb's heat. Validation hits different when it comes from him.
I turn to Renamon. Her icy blue eyes meet mine under the stars.
"Thanks," I murmur. "Profoundly. We make an unbreakable team against whatever shadows are coming."
She nods, her usual cool composure cracking into a rare, soft smile. Fur ruffles in the breeze.
"Fealty eternal, Gwen. No trials will break our bond."
Our silhouettes merge against the starlit sprawl—girl and fox, Tamer and partner. Unyielding resolve settles over me.
***
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