"Huh?" Caelus looks extremely confused as he holds the phone. Theo froze as he felt the energy flowing out of the device before feeling the energy connected to him.
"That's a cool-looking phone," March says as she takes a closer look. "I didn't know you had one."
"I...don't," Caelus responds, still feeling confused.
"Digi-Vice..." Theo mutters in shock. So, he was meant to be Caelus' partner? Theo feels unsure about his current predicament. He honestly thought he might be an independent Digimon, and with how he gained a Digi-Egg from Nous (albeit unintentionally), he wasn't expecting to have a human partner anytime soon.
Now that he thinks about it, can Caelus be considered a human? He may look like one, but his body can store Stellaron and even access Path powers like Digimon Trading Cards.
"You know what that is, Theo?" Himeko asks curiously.
"Short answer, it's a device that acts as a manifestation of the bond between Digimon and their chosen partner. With it, you can help Digimon gain power to evolve into their stronger form. We like to call it Digivolution." Theo explains, which surprises everyone.
"...so, your species ignores everything we know about basic biology," Himeko muses. "You'll definitely attract a lot of Genius Society members."
"...great," Theo mutters as he remembers Herta. He hopes she won't drag him into random experiments that might delete his ass from this universe.
Wait, isn't that what Irontomb did during the Amphoreus Saga?
"Theo, you okay?" March asks in concern, snapping Theo out of his thought. "You look pale..."
"I'm fine..." Theo brushes it off, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"...I doubt Madam Herta would go that far if she ever plans on doing any experiment on you," Dan Heng says, earning a disbelief look from March.
"T-that's not how you reassure people, you-! Oh, my Aeons..." March groans, slapping her face as Himeko chuckles before patting Theo's head.
"Don't worry too much about it, Theo. Madam Herta is considered to be the kindest of all Geniuses." Himeko says.
"I'll...take your words for it," Theo replies weakly before he is scooped by a pair of hands. causing him to flail in panic. "W-what the-!?!"
"He's so cute!" A new voice squeals as Theo feels the arm wrapping around him getting tighter.
"L-Lady, I-I would appreciate it if you don't squeeze the air out of my lungs!" Theo exclaims in panic as he feels the hug getting looser before letting out a sigh of relief.
"I have never seen you in Space Station, where are you from?" The person hugging Theo asks curiously.
"Far, far away," Theo mutters, a bit tired from everything that just happened.
"Miss Asta, sorry to interrupt, but we still have an invasion to deal with," Himeko decides to save the poor reptile. "Perhaps we should deal with the rest of the Legion and then talk?"
"O-oh, right. Sorry," The young woman, Asta, apologizes before gently placing Theo down. "S-so, how are we-!?!"
ROAR!!!
"...that roar," Himeko says tensely before suddenly, the holographic screen displays an 'alert' sign and footage of a giant silver-armored beast resembling a dragon from a fantasy story holding an orb flying in space.
"...the Doomsday beast." Dan Heng mutters warily, gripping the spear with both hands.
"...do any of you guys have some sort of OP superpowers or a highly advanced tech to help deal with this thing?" Theo asks meekly.
"I do have an orbital cannon, but I'd rather not use it, or I'll end up blowing the entire Space Station," Himeko says as Theo pales before shaking his head.
"Let's not blow the Space Station," Theo says quickly.
"I don't intend to," Himeko says reassuringly.
"Good to know," Theo sighs in relief. How many times has he done this? "But we still have no idea how to deal with it."
"We can face it head-on," Dan Heng says as he and March prepare to fight. Theo stares at them incredulously as Caelus joins them with his bat.
He knows the Astral Express can win against the beast, with Caelus ending up almost exploding the entire Space Station due to his Stellaron destabilization, but seeing the real thing made him nervous. It didn't help that the timeline had gone off-rail, or in Destiny Slave's case, off-script.
He fears the alternate timeline leads to a terrible ending, all because he shouldn't be here. The fear that everything might go wrong has slowly taken over his mind until Himeko gently pats his head, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Don't worry about it," Himeko says reassuringly. "This isn't the first time we've faced the Antimatter Legion, and it won't be our last."
"Indeed, that beast may look intimidating and has the power to match its appearance, but it's not unbeatable," Dan Heng says as Theo looks at him in surprise, not expecting his confidence.
"I guess beating a monster that can swallow stars with a single spear strike makes you confident," March mutters. Theo widened his eyes in disbelief. So, Himeko's character story wasn't trying to exaggerate Dan Heng's feats!?!
"..." Caelus pats Dan Heng's shoulder, his face turns serious. "Dan Heng, we'll be relying on you beating it."
"..." Dan Heng stares at him blankly, unsure how to respond to Caelus' words. Why does it feel like Caelus let him do all of the work himself?
"We're gonna need a strategy to deal with this thing." Theo sweatdrops at Caelus, and March silently agrees that Dan Heng will be the one to deal with it before looking at Himeko and Asta. "Can you guys tell me more about this Doomsday Beast and what it can do?"
Theo can't simply rely on game knowledge to deal with the Doomsday beast. There's a little lore about it (or maybe he missed the majority of it), and games tend to exaggerate stuff with their animations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later
ROAR!!!
"How could the voice travel through space and into the Space Station?" Theo mutters as the beast slowly flies towards the Space Station.
"Do you think the strategy will work?" Dan Heng asks as he takes a defensive stance.
"Well, if you guys have any strategy, then say it," Theo responded. "Or maybe, you want to go solo like March and Caelus suggest?"
"Hey, we didn't suggest that!" March exclaims indignantly.
"March, I saw you nodding silently when Caelus subtly suggested it," Theo deadpans. Dan Heng looked at March in disbelief.
"L-lies! Slander!! I did no such thing!" March exclaims, trying to deny the accusation.
"Kids, please focus on our current task," Himeko says, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"I wish we had more time, so we could make backup plans in case your plan might fail," Dan Heng says.
"Look, I know I was a cowardly weakling who just started fighting after being gazed upon by a supercomputer that has ascended into godhood, but show a bit of faith in me, will ya?" Theo asks as Dan Heng went silent. Before their conversation could continue, the beast had breached the station's barrier and landed.
Without any more words, Theo pulls out his DigiEgg, taking a deep breath as he points the egg forward.
"Digimental UP!" With that command, the DigiEgg in his hand starts to glow before it detaches and flies towards Theo, blinding everyone. When the light dissipates, the Astral Express Crew and Caelus are greeted with Honeybeemon.
"A bee?" Himeko mutters in confusion.
"Your fellow crewmates were being racist when they first saw me, calling me a Sting of all things." Theo huffs, causing March to stutter while Dan Heng freezes. "Anyways, let's proceed with our plan."
With a single swipe of his hand, several holographic screens appear right in front of Theo as the visor covers his eyes.
Theo remembers when he first gained access to a power similar to Silver Wolf's Aether Editing, teleporting a few Voidrangers away to the unknown. He had zero idea how to use it again, but when he received the gaze of Nous and the DigiEgg of Knowledge, it allowed him to understand his new powers more.
The function is similar to Aether Editing, but with some key differences. First, using it consumes the data he had absorbed, which is why he was super hungry earlier. If he had used it more, he would consume a piece of his body, given that he is physically made of data.
Thankfully, he had gained a lot of data when he connected to Herta's Space Station, so the risk of losing his body isn't gonna happen anytime soon. Second, he may gain control over reality, but since he isn't the Emanator of Elation, the control is severely limited to teleportation, creation, and changing an item's property.
Theo honestly thought it's suck, but with the possibility of DigiEggs and his future evo, he shouldn't be complaining.
"Um, Theo, you might want to hurry up with your plan," March says nervously as several light orbs form around the Doomsday Beast. She summons her Six-Phased Ice and creates a huge shield in front of her and her team.
Before the Doomsday Beast could unleash hellfire upon them, the core in its hand suddenly glitched out before disappearing from the world. This causes the energy orbs to dissipate like a dying candle, and the colossal body collapses into the Space Station floor like a puppet with its strings cut off. The Astral Express Crew blinks owlishly as the beast tries and struggles to get up before turning around to look at Theo, who simply grins widely while holding his holographic screen with something written on it. Dan Heng squints his eyes, trying to see what's written in it.
[Command:
"Hehehe..." Theo cackles as several light blue pixels start entering his body, feeling the information about the engine and even its schematics flowing into his brain.
One thing Theo had found out about his power was the loophole. Converging the item into data he can absorb allows him to use his new ability more.
"Now that the beast loses its engine, it loses the majority of its strength," Theo says as he gets rid of the holographic screen. "Now, how about we take care of this beast?"
Caelus approached the beast without hesitation, gripping his baseball bat, his face shadowed except for his gleaming eyes and wide grin. Dan Heng would never guess that a Doomsday Beast is capable of whimpering. He probably should add this to the Express' Data Bank.
Also, didn't Caelus ask him to beat the beast for him? So, why is he the one eagerly doing it now? Dan Heng decides to join in, gripping his spear tightly.
March expects a lot of things in her adventure with the Astral Express, but feeling pity towards a Doomsday Beast isn't one of them. And why does she feel like she and her friends are the villains here instead? She glanced at Theo, hoping maybe Theo would be the sane one.
Nope, he's grinning widely as Caelus and Dan Heng beat the living shit out of the beast. He's as crazy as the boys.
To be Continued