Chapter 3: Coalmon Ignites!

It was after school, Martin and Naturemon were sitting at K-Cafe at Nakano Broadway, a shopping mall in Nakano, just as Taylor had said. The previous night, Taylor had told Martin to meet at this cafe so she could meet his Digimon. Sacchan, the maid who worked there, walked up to their table. She had a maid outfit on, but had no cat ears and cat tail like she had used to wear. With the mass immigration of many alien races, including Felinciuses and Demi-Felinciuses, maids wearing cat ears and tails were eventually deemed offensive and politically incorrect. Many Demi-Felinciuses considered it equivalent to wearing black face. "Meow, how may I serve you master? Whoops. Sorry, sir. Old habit!" She said. Martin smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not like those overly sensitive fur balls. I for one believe cultural appropriation can be seen as a respect for one's culture." Martin said. Sacchan took a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir. What will you have?" Sacchan asked. "Four coffees." Martin said. "Four coffees! Coming right up!" Sacchan said. "Can I have donuts?" Naturemon asked. "Sure. That order comes up to 10,000 yen." Sacchan replied. Naturemon looked worried. "Uh oh. Money? I don't have any." Naturemon said. Martin looked over to Naturemon and smiled. "Don't worry. I'm paying for all of it." Martin said. Naturemon smiled brightly. "Oh really!? Thank you Marty Hearty! Thank you!" Naturemon said in a very cheerful voice before embracing him and giving many consecutive kisses on the cheeks. The blonde maid smiled and giggled. "Your girlfriend is adorable." She said before turning around and walking away to get the order. Martin looked back and reached out his hand in the blonde maid's direction. "Wait, she's not my…" Naturemon kept showering him with kisses.

Taylor opened the door, and she and Sharkmon walked into the K-Kafe. She walked over to the table where Martin and Naturemon were sitting. Taylor looked a bit surprised. "Oh my! I didn't realize you were on a date with your girlfriend. Should I leave you too alone and come back another time?" She teased. Martin pushed Naturemon back and his face grew bright red. "Nononononononononono! You've got it all wrong! It's not what you think! This is Naturemon, my Digimon partner! I definitely don't have a girlfriend or anything! I'm as single as I can be. Yep. Single, single single! Believe me, Taylor, I'm completely available." Martin said, speaking rapidly, and moving his hands rapidly while blushing severely.

Taylor smiled and started laughing. She pulled out a chair and sat down in the one directly facing Martin. Sharkmon hopped up in the chair directly facing Naturemon. When Taylor stopped laughing, she said "Geez! Calm down. I know who she is. I saw her fight with Triceramon on the news. And why are you so adamant about proving your availability to me?" Taylor said. Martin's blushing reached maximum redness. "N-n-n-n-n-n-n-no reason." Martin's heart started beating rapidly. Surely Taylor couldn't have figured out that he was into her. No, she must have. Taylor closed her eyes and smiled, raising one finger. "You like the waitress, don't you?" Taylor said. Martin felt a sense of relief coming over him. He laughed nervously. "Heh heh. Yeah. You got me." He said. "She's way too old for you." Taylor said. Martin gave some more nervous laughter and rubbed the back of his head. "Guess you're right. Guess I should keep looking." He said.

Taylor looked over to Naturemon and smiled. "So, you're Naturemon, huh? It's nice to meet you. My name is Taylor." Taylor said. "And I'm Sharkmon. Taylor tried to poison me last night." Sharkmon said. Taylor's face went down and she gave Sharkmon a noogie. "I told you it was an accident." She said. Taylor then looked Martin in the eyes. "Martin, did your parents recognize Naturemon? Have they ever seen a member of her species before?" Taylor asked. Martin shook his head. "No. My Dad even got out his Digimon Analyzer and Naturemon's data was nowhere to be found." Martin said. Taylor cupped her finger and her thumb over her chin and her eyes darted over to Sharkmon. "The same thing happened with Sharkmon. None of my parent's Digimon recognized them, and their Digivices had no analyzer data on him." Taylor took her thumb and index finger off of her face and began petting Sharkmon. Sharkmon looked delighted to be petted. "Naturemon, do you remember where you come from? Like, what you were doing before you came to this world?" Taylor asked. Naturemon shook her head. "Nope! I almost didn't even remember that I'm a Digimon. I inferred that because my name ends with Mon and the Digimon I spoke to in this world also had names ending in Mon. I do remember a giant tree, massive walls of flames, and….oh! There was this Brunette woman named Kari pleading for me to run and hide! But these are just little blips." Naturemon said.

The finger and thumb went back over Taylor's chin. "Fascinating." She said. She slammed her fist on her lap. "Damn it!" She said. Sharkmon looked over at Taylor, surprised at her sudden outburst. "What's wrong?" He asked. Taylor sighed with her eyes closed. "I'm acting just like my Dad when he's trying to solve a mystery." Taylor responded.

"And that's a bad thing?" came a voice from nowhere? They looked to see a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, pink sunglasses sitting on top of her head, a white long button shirt, and black hot pants. "Kyoko Kuremi?" Taylor said, identifying the woman. Kyoko placed her elbow in one hand, which was covered in a black glove. "I overheard your conversation. Your dad told me all about Sharkmon and your digivices. I didn't know there was a second one until now. The Triceramon on the news that MotherNaturemon fought had a red mark on it. I asked Evander about it and he said that when he was about your age, he fought Digimon who were being controlled by an evil girl called The Digimon Ruler. Those Digimon rampaged, fully aware of what they were doing, but unable to stop their actions. Later, I got some intel that that same Triceramon was later killed by a large mechanical Digimon matching the description of Gizumon XT who Jawsmon fought. No DigiEgg was left behind and the data appeared to be absorbed by the mechanical creature. The eyewitness claimed to see several men with a logo bearing the initials of C.A.D on their suits." Kyoko explained. Everyone looked stunned.

Sacchan came with their order and set them on the table. "Another Gizumon XT?" Taylor said, looking down into her cup of coffee. Naturemon looked sad. "Triceramon's dead?" She said looking like she was about to cry. Naturemon barely knew this Digimon, but it didn't matter. Her heart was one filled with love and compassion. Martin hugged her. "I'm afraid so." He said. Sharkmon pulled the plate of donuts over to him and was about to devour them whole. Naturemon got a glimpse of this, and she did not hesitate to cause a thorny vine to come out of her back and smack Sharkmon's hands. "Not for you!" She scolded. She escaped Martin's embrace and began stuffing her face with the donuts. "These are so good! I'm so sad! But these are so good!" She said.

Kyoko placed one hand on her hip. "Your dad and I are working the case. We'll do what we can to uncover what's going on here. But I have a feeling your Digimon's amnesia, the Red Mark, and the Gizumon incidents are all related somehow." Kyoko said. Taylor took a sip of her coffee. She had mixed feelings about her dad getting involved with this. She knew they needed to find out who these C.A.D people were and why they wanted to get rid of Digimon, but she also figured that this would just be more work for him and she'd see even less of him…if that were possible.

Sometime later…

Taylor and Martin were standing on the beach with their Digimon. Taylor looked hesitant. Martin and Naturemon were both wearing diving suits similar to the one Drusilla used a few days ago. Martin looked over to Taylor who had an uncertain expression on her face. "Are….you going into the water?" Martin asked. "You said you wanted to hang out with me at Plankton Park, but you've just been standing there for two minutes. Aren't you going to assume your mermaid form?"

Taylor looked down at the sand and kicked it. "I….it's….kind of embarrassing." She said. Martin asked "You're not embarrassed about taking your shirt off in front of me are you?". They heard a familiar voice from behind her. "Hardly. We mermaids are the last people in the universe who are afraid of showing a little skin." They looked to see who spoke and it was Jessica Glovion! "Hi, Mom." Taylor said. Jessica was wearing an Aqualian loin cloth and pink clam shells over her breasts. She walked over and looked Martin in the eye. "As you probably know by now, Taylor is of mixed blood. She inherited the ability to grow a tail and gills from me, but she got her father's hair and eyes. As a result, she can't tolerate salt water getting in them. To go under, she'll have to wear goggles. It's embarrassing for her." Jessica explained. Martin looked down at the sand below. "I see." He then looked back up at Taylor and blushed. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about. Mixed races often have some kind of issue like that. Look at me! I have two sets of ears!" He said, putting his hand on the cat ears protruding out of the top of his head and then putting his hands over the humanlike ears on the sides of his head, where ears normally are on a human. "These cat ears are my mother's, and these human ears are my father's. When I look in the mirror, I'm reminded that I'm their child. I'm reminded of how much they love me, and these features make me think 'Wow! My Mom and Dad loved each other so much that they made me!'" Taylor looked relieved. She was afraid that Martin might make fun of her. "Your dual features remind you of how much your parents love each other? I….never thought of it that way." Taylor responded. She then gave a big smile and brought the goggles down over her eyes. "Well, then, let's get swimming!" She said enthusiastically. She then took off her shirt and shorts. Martin looked over to Jessica. "Mrs. Glovion. Given your attire, I'm guessing you're coming with us?" He observed. Jessica nodded. "Yep. You bet. I'd like to get to know my daughter's friend a little more. Especially since you're the son of one of my own friends. I was there when you were born, and I met you once when you were three, but those were the only times I've ever actually seen you." Jessica responded. They went out to sea, and both Taylor and Jessica assumed their mermaid forms.

Elsewhere….

Dusilla walked out of the door of her house. Her house was right in between Taylor's and Martin's. A silvery skinned woman with dark gray hair in a ponytail stood behind her. It was Zaiaku; Drusilla's mother. Though she preferred to go by "Zai" for short. Zai was wearing a black t-shirt with a dark purple stripe going down the right side. She wore gray colored shorts, and teal blue wrist bands.

Today, Drusilla planned to spend the rest of the afternoon just soaring the skies above Tokyo with her mother, doing whatever came to mind. Drusilla looked back and saw Zai's BlackGatomon walking out the door behind her. "Aw man, Syn's coming along?" Drusilla said, not happy at that realization for some reason. Syn made a pouty face. "What do you mean?! Of course I'm coming along!" Then her dour disposition turned into a happy and excited one, and she said" I LOOOOOOVE flying! It's so much, fun fun fun fun fun fun!" Then she started jumping up and down "Fun! Fun! Funny fun fun!" Drusilla sighed. "I guess that means you're going to digivolve. Your personality, no matter what form you take, just drives me…" She smiled and flapped her batlike wings a little. "Batty." Zai started laughing. "Was that pun on purpose?" Zai's demeanour used to be rather expressionless and stoic on average. However, she's much more chipper in her personality having spent a decade on Earth away from her own kind, and in the company of friends; Evander and Jessica. Not to mention her husband, Jake, Drusilla's father. Surrounded by all the love and gentleness, the hard exterior Zai had increasingly crumbled over time. Additionally, Zai oddly acquired a taste for puns somewhere along the way. No one really knows how or why Zai started liking puns so much, but Drusilla likes making her mother laugh by making one every now and then. So, yes, Drusilla did make that pun on purpose.

Zai stopped laughing and then took out her black D-Smartphone. The words "DIGIVOLUTION" came across them in big green letters. The symbol for Zai's Crest of Balance was underneath it, which looked like balanced scales. A beam of light came out of Zai's digivice and struck Syn. Syn glew in a white light. "BlackGatomon Digivolve to….LadyDevimon!" In place of the little black cat Digimon stood a womanly figure with dark tattered batlike wings, and a black skin tight suit that covered a large portion of her body, except her left leg and left arm. She had some large breasts, and over her left breast was an imprint of a skull on the suit. LadyDevimon had long silvery gray hair and glowing red eyes. She wore a mask on that covered the top of her head and went over her eyes. LadyDevimon put her arm around Drusilla. "We're going to have so much fun together. We're bound to see lots of Digimon who I'll rip to shreds in battle." Syn said.

Syn's personality changed when she digivolved to her Ultimate and Mega forms. The hyperactive childish BlackGatomon became the borderline psychotic LadyDevimon and Lillithmon. She wasn't evil, but the virus in her caused her to act a little crazy. The majority of LadyDevimons and Lillithmons ARE evil. Indeed, one very famous Lillithmon was a member of the Seven Demon Lords; a team of 7 demonic Mega level Digimon. But Digimon have free will. None of them have to be good or evil. They can choose. Their attributes or species characteristics might incline them one way or the other, whether slightly or heavily, but nothing forces them to do what they do. In Syn's case, she chose to fight for good and justice. That is why Homeostasis chose her to be a Digidestined's Digimon.

Zai folded her arms. "Syn, you're not getting into any more brawls. You got in big trouble the last time." She said. Syn moved Drusilla in closer while giving her noogies. Drusilla's face was being smooshed into Syn's left boob. "Come on, Zai. That other LadyDevimon didn't die or anything." Syn said. "That other 'LadyDevimon' was a cosplayer. You hospitalized her and got charged with assault and battery. You're lucky she survived or the court might have reverted you back to a DigiEgg." Zai said. LadyDevimon let go of Zai and shrugged. "Hey, if she didn't want to get into fights with Digimon, she shouldn't make herself look like one." Syn the LadyDevimon said.

They all took off flying. They went higher and higher until all the houses looked tiny. Drusilla got a little nervous. "Umm…Mom? Maybe we should stop. I'm not used to flying higher than 200 feet." Drusilla said. "Ara Ara! A little acrophobic, are we? Don't worry, if you fall, I'll be sure to retrieve your corpse." Syn teased. Zai shot Syn a mean look. She had a bit of sick sense of humor in higher digivolution stages. Joking about her daughter dying was not funny. Zai got closer to Drusilla. "It's fine, we won't go any higher than this." Zai said. "Besides, Syn's so battle hungry as a LadyDevimon, she might try to pick a fight with an airliner." Drusilla laughed. Syn scoffed and looked off to the side, blushing a little. "You mistake one air liner for a metal empire Digimon and they never let you live it down." Syn muttered.

After surveying their surroundings from up high, Zai threw her fist in the air and said "Let's go cruisin'!" Zai pulled her wings in and dove straight down. She was diving straight for the ground. It happened without warning. "Hey! Wait for me!" Drusilla said before also pulling her wings in, and diving straight down, with Syn/LadyDevimon following suit. Before Zai, Drusilla, and Syn hit the ground head first, they opened their wings and picked up the wind, gliding over the heads of some surprised onlookers. They then started flying upward again at a 45 degree angle, probably traveling at 45 miles per hour as well. "WHOO HOO!!!" Zai shouted. She felt so free flying through Earth's skies. She did a bit of a loopty loop. Drusilla thought about doing it as well, but she still wasn't confident enough in her flying skills to start doing tricks. It had only been a couple of years that she just mastered the basics. She thought that if she tried, Syn might have to retrieve her corpse for real. Syn got in close to Drusilla. "You know, if you really want to try it, you can. If anything goes wrong, I'll catch you with my Darkness Wave attack." Syn said. Darkness Wave was when LadyDevimon opened up a portal from the abyss and about a few hundred or so bats flew out to strike the opponent. Drusilla still looked unsure. Syn smiled. "Trust me." So Drusilla tried it, unfortunately, it happened just like she thought it might, she lost control and started hurtling towards the ground. Syn did as she said. Syn swooped down below Drusilla and cried out "Darkness Wave!" Drusilla landed on a large cluster of bats surrounded by a dark aura. Syn let out a laugh. "Looks like you need more practice." She said. Drusilla smiled and nodded. "Yeah." She stood up on the cluster of bats and used them as a launching pad to regain flight. Zai looked back at Syn and gave her a thumbs up while smiling. "Thanks, Syn!" She said.

The three batlike women were flying fast and far. They soon found themselves over Arakwaka Saiko Park; a large patch of green space some distance from their house. Drusilla reached into her phone and took a picture. The park looked big even from as high up as they were. She sent it to Taylor.

Back in the ocean, Taylor and her Mom were racing on the Plankton Park race track. "I'm gonna beat ya!" Taylor said, looking over at her Mom. "I hope you know that if you win, it's only because I choose not to use the powers of Poseidon." Jessica said with a smug look. Just then, Sharkmon surpassed them both with his "Rolling Shark!" attack. Taylor and Jessica both looked surprised. "What!?" They exclaimed in unison. Sharkmon reached the end of the finish line and then turned around and began going back the other way. "Ah, to heck with handicaps!" Jessica said. Jessica's body started glowing in a golden light and her blue eyes started radiating blue light. She zipped to the finish line and back to the starting line at such a blinding light speed that the naked eye couldn't spot them. Jessica made it to the finish line, touching the poll. Sharkmon came in second. Sharkmon looked appalled. "Hey, no fair!" Jessica wagged her finger while closing her eyes and smiling. "Hey, if you can use YOUR powers, Sharkmon, then I can use mine." Jessica said. Taylor finally got back to the starting line. She did not look happy. "Oh yeah? And what about those of us without any powers at all? The powers of Poseidon skip a generation, remember?" Taylor complained. Jessica made a face that conveyed that realizes she made a boo boo. "Whoops! Sorry, sweetie. I was just so focused on winning." Jessica said.

The race supervisor handed her her prize toy. Turns out it was an action figure based on herself. It had her long orange hair, her clam shell breasts coverings, and removable green tail. The tail could be swapped out for legs. And it also came with small Gabumon, Leormon, and Pawnchessmon figurines. Jessica Glovion was pretty famous. "Oh wow! A mini me!." Jessica said. Jessica handed the figure to Taylor. "Here, I want you to have this. I have no use for it and I feel bad for cheating." Jessica said.

At that moment, Taylor's phone made a ding sound. She took the phone out of her satchel on her waist. Because mermaids didn't wear much clothing while in mermaid form, their only way of carrying items on their person was through satchels or fanny packs. It was the text Drusilla had sent. She opened it up and it was Arakawa Saiko Park. Taylor showed it to Naturemon, who instantly got all excited. She loved green space. In fact, right before school earlier that day, Martin took her to Florist Hanasho; the floral shop where his mother, Flora, works. Naturemon looked over to Martin and said "Tomorrow, take me to Arakawa Saiko Park!" Martin smiled and nodded. "Sure thing." Martin had spent the whole time just chilling on the ocean floor watching Taylor race. He was admiring her beauty from afar. This was the first time he had seen her mermaid form and he was entranced.

Back at Arakawa Saiko Park, Zai, Drusilla, and LadyDevimon landed. Zai smiled. "This place brings me happy memories." She said while looking out at the nearby Arakawa river. She sat down on the grass. "This is where I first met your father."

FLASHBACK….

It was February 14th 2024, and Zai was walking in the park at night with Syn, her BlackGatomon. Zai looked up at the sky. "Well, I got a job, bought a house, paid the first mortgage, and had to convince the people across the street that I didn't need to be exorcised. So, I guess that's an accomplishment." Zai said monotonously. The little BlackGatomon was sniffing the ground for some reason. "Yeppers. That priest guy was scary!" She said. Zai folded her hands back behind her head. "I guess I do look like something out of a horror movie. I don't blame them. My kind is the source of lots of monster myths on this planet. Vampires, witches, and even artistic depictions of Satan are all based on people from Devillis." Zai said in a monotonous tone, looking expressionless. "Depictions of….but wait, you guys call yourselves fallen angels. So which came first?" Syn asked. "We started calling ourselves that because my people were quite glad that they spread such fear and terror that they thought identifying themselves with the enemies of God was an honor." Zai explained.

Zai stopped and looked out at Arakawa River. She looked like she had a lot on her mind. "We're not all bad. I mean…." She had a flashback of her mother. Zai's mother had a gentle and kind facial expression on her face. "My mother was kind and gentle. That's how she raised me to be. And some of my friends back of Devillis were not that bad either. But…." She looked down at her milky white hand, contemplating her existence and origins. "But more of them are bad than they are good. A person like me doesn't fit in with people who only love to destroy, kill, and fight." Zai sounded like she was being a misanthrope for her species, but she wasn't wrong. They had a reputation in the galaxy for being a violent species. And they instigated more wars with other planets than any historian could keep track of. There wasn't even a law against murder. In the eyes of Devillis government, if you got killed by another person, it's because you were too weak to survive. Essentially, you got what you had coming to you. Zai's mother raised her to be different, but spending nearly 30 years on Devillis, with only brief breaks when she traveled to the Digital World (like when she was 14) wasn't enough. She felt like the world around her was changing her in spite of her mother's intentions. She had to get away. She had to escape. She couldn't let her own people turn her into a monster like them. Zai started crying. "Mom….I promise. I won't let your death be in vain. I'll be the gentle and kind person you wanted me to be." Zai said. Although it was night, the place was lit up by a very bright full moon.

A man with black hair and glasses wearing a suit was walking towards her. He looked nervous. He stopped within a couple of feet of Zai. "Mam, I was wondering if I could use your cell phone to call an Uber. Mine went dead." He said. Zai turned around and looked at him. The man looked fearful as he saw how silvery gray her skin was, and the large bat-like wings that were protruding from her back. He hadn't noticed before because although the moon light made it bright enough to see where you were going, it didn't illuminate quite well enough, and Zai was standing in a rather shady spot before. There was a tree there, causing a shadow. But when Zai stepped out from the shadows, he saw all these features. He freaked out "V-V-V-Vampire!" He yelled as he started to turn around and run. Zai reached out for him. "Wait! Don't be afraid!" She said. The man tripped over one of his shoelaces that had come untied and went tumbling downhill into the river. The man struggled to keep his head above water as he was being swept downstream. "Help! I can't swim!" He cried out. Zai sighed. "What an idiot." She said monotonously. She spread her wings, swooped down and lifted the guy out of the water. She then flew him to safety.

The man looked up at her. "Not letting your snack get away from you, huh!? Well, I'm not having my blood drained by anyone! I've trained for this!" He reached into his pocket and took out some garlic incense. He started wafting it around. Zai held her nose. "Ok, you idiot. Listen. I'm not going to eat you. I'm not going to drink your blood. And if you need to call an uber, I'm more than happy to help." Zai said. The man was shivering, his teeth were chattering, and his breathing was rapid. Zai sighed. "You humans. You're going to get hypothermia." Zai took her jacket off and handed it to the man she just saved. "Put this on. I need to fly you home so you can get into warmer clothes. This should keep you warm enough until then." Zai said. "Y-y-y-y-you're not going to eat me? But aren't you a vampire? I've read many books about vampires." he said. Zai sighed.

Zai picked the man up and flew high into the air. "Where do you live?" He told her where he lived. She then went there.

FLASHBACK OVER….

Zai stood up and smiled. "I explained to him that the vampire myth came from my kind, and that while some who visited this planet did indeed feast on blood, it wasn't a necessity for us. Just as humans can choose whether to eat meat or be vegan, we can choose our sources of sustenance as well. He was very grateful to me for saving him. And after telling him a bit about myself, he asked me out. I was conditioned on my planet to not show emotions. Anyone who expressed happiness, sadness, or fear were persecuted. Emotions were seen as a sign of weakness. Ever since I met him, I've been able to open up more and more. I can laugh, I can cry, I can joke around. It's not a weakness. It's what makes us alive!" Zai said. She looked so happy reminiscing about Jake Gray.

Syn/LadyDevimon sat down. She was tired of standing. "Yep. I remember how stoic you used to be. Now, you laugh and smile on a regular basis. It's kind of creepy." Syn said.

At that moment, a large red glimmering stone came flying down from the sky. It hit Syn on the head. "Ow!" She said before rubbing the spot that the rock hit. She looked over at the rock that hit her. Suddenly, Syn reached out and took a swipe at Zai! Zai cried out in pain as claw marks appeared on her arm and flood flew out of the wounds. Zai stood up and jumped back. Drusilla gasped and covered her mouth. "Syn! What the heck was that for!?" Zai shouted angrily. Syn was silent. Zai's eyes widened with shock as she saw that on top of her LadyDevimon's head was a Red Mark! "No! It….can't be! When did that happen!?" Zai said in shock.

Evander had communicated with Zai over Skype previously, and he had informed her of the Red Mark Triceramon that Martin and Naturemon took down, as well as the Gizumon that Taylor and Sharkmon took down. She knew the Red Mark was back. That's not what took her by shock. What shocked her was that her own partner was now marked! But when did it happen? She then remembered hearing Syn go "Ow". She looked over and saw a red stone lying on the ground. She put two and two together.

Zai looked over at her daughter distraught. "Drusilla! Something's wrong with Syn! Get out of here! It's dangerous!" She said. Syn grabbed Zai and held her up by the throat. Drusilla was breathing heavily in fear. She turned around and took off running. She reached into her pocket and got her phone out. "I've got to call Taylor! I need someone with a Digimon! Syn's lost it!" Drusilla said. But as she was about to start typing, Drusilla tripped over something. She fell to the ground and her phone went flying. The bat winged 11 year old girl groaned and got back up. She was about to resume running when she realized just what it was that she tripped on. "A big black rock?" She observed. The rock turned around and it had a face! Feminine looking eyes and pink lips! "Rock? Don't be so rude! I'm Coalmon! And excuse you for tripping on me!"

Drusilla didn't have time to process this. "Coalmon? If you're a Digimon, please help me! My mom is in danger! Her Digimon has turned on her! I think she's been Red Marked!" Drusilla said. Coalmon sighed. "Well, crap. I can't even remember who I am or where I come from, and I need to help YOU? I've got my own problems. Buuuuut I can't turn my back on someone in need. Let's go." Coalmon said. Drusilla nodded. "Right." She picked Coalmon up and started running in the direction of her mother. "By the way, I'm Drusilla." She said. "Nice to meet you, Drusilla." Coalmon said.

Drusilla and Coalmon ended up back where Syn and Zai were. Syn was now choking the life out of Zai. "Mom! Mom! Please don't die!" Drusilla cried out. Coalmon tucked her arms in and started rolling towards the black fallen angel Digimon. "Coal Roll!" She shouted. She hit the LadyDevimon in the shin, causing her to drop Zai. Zai coughed and coughed while holding her throat. Zai used her arms and legs to scoot back away from her berserk Digimon. Drusilla ran over to Zai, who was still coughing and trying to catch her breath. "Mom! Are you ok?" Drusilla asked, panicked. "I told you to run." Zai said.

Syn roared and grabbed Coalmon by the arm. Syn swung Coalmon around before letting go and sending her flying into a tree. Coalmon grunted as she hit the tree. Coalmon began rolling towards Syn again. "Coal Roll!" Coalmon shouted. "Darkness Wave!" Syn shouted while sending out a plethora of bats covered in dark auras. The bats hit Coalmon and did some major damage! Coalmon shouted in pain. The bats were burning Coalmon! Drusilla looked afraid. She knew her mom's Digimon was strong and she wasn't sure if this little one had what it took. "Coalmon! You can do it!" Drusilla cheered on. She wasn't really sure if Coalmon could do it, but she wanted to boost her morale. Zai stood up and took a deep breath. She had recovered from choking. "Coalmon! Aim for the Red Mark on LadyDevimon's head!" Zai shouted.

Coalmon put both of her rocky hands on the ground and lunged herself into the air at a 45 degree angle towards LadyDevimon. "Coal Clobber!" Coalmon shouted before punching the Red Mark on LadyDevimon's head 5 consecutive times. The Red Mark wasn't destroyed. Zai's eyebrows furrowed and she frowned. She was afraid that might happen. Back in the mid 2000s when they fought the original Red Mark Digimon, it seemed to be that the higher the level of the Digimon, the more difficult it was to destroy its red mark. With Syn being at her Ultimate (or Perfect) level, she wondered how many hits it would take. How powerful would the hits even need to be?

LadyDevimon grunted in pain mildly as she was being clobbered. She grabbed Coalmon and slammed her to the ground. "Stun Whip!" LadyDevimon used her chain to wrap around Coalmon. Once the chain was around Coalmon, she sent an electrical shock through the chain to electrocute Coalmon. Coalmon cried out in pain. LadyDevimon then transformed her hand into a long black spike and lunged towards Coalmon to impale her. "Darkness Spear! Darkness Spear! Darkness Spear! Darkness Spear!" Coalmon used her buff rocky arms to jump from side to side to dodge each of LadyDevimon's thrusts. "Tiny Flame!" Coalmon shouted before she sent a small fireball at LadyDevimon. LadyDevimon smacked the fireball away with her long black spike. "Gah!" LadyDevimon grunted.

"Darkness Spear! Darkness Spear! Darkness Spear! Darkness Spear!" Coalmon used her buff rocky arms to jump from side to side to dodge each of LadyDevimon's thrusts. "Tiny Flame!" Coalmon shouted before she sent a small fireball at LadyDevimon. LadyDevimon smacked the fireball away with her long black spike. LadyDevimon went in for another strike, but Drusilla had run up to her and grabbed her arm to prevent her from impaling the small black Digimon. "Syn! Please don't! Listen to me! You're under the control of someone! Mom told me that the Red Mark has returned! You need to fight it!" LadyDevimon growled, she turned around and was about to use her big black spike to run Drusilla through. "DRUSILLA! NO!!" Zai screamed. Just as Syn's blade was mere inches away from Drusilla's chest, she stopped! Drusilla looked at her Mom's Digimon. The LadyDevimon was trembling. "Can't…..control…..myself! Run!" Syn had gained just enough control over herself to stop her from impaling her Digidestined partner's daughter.

Drusilla turned and ran about 30 feet away from Syn. "Good…..girl." Syn said, struggling to speak while under the Red Mark's influence. "Coal Roll!" Coalmon shouted. Coalmon rammed into LadyDevimon's head. The Red Mark still wasn't destroyed. "Stun Whip!" LadyDevimon used her chain to wrap around Coalmon. However, Coalmon managed to evade the attack this time. "Stun Whip!" LadyDevimon attacked again. Coalmon once again evaded the attack.

"Darkness Wave!" Coalmon got hit with more bat shaped energy creatures. "Aaahh!!" Coalmon screamed as the dark energy burned her. When the bats dissipated, Coalmon was very badly hurt. Her body started glitching in and out. Drusilla ran over to Coalmon and picked her up. "Coalmon, no! Coalmon! I'm sorry! You don't even know me and yet you tried to help me! It's my fault! I never should have asked you to do this! My mother's Digimon is too strong!" Drusilla said, embracing the soccer ball sized Digimon. Coalmon groaned in pain. "But….I….wanted…to….help." Coalmon said, trying to stay conscious. At that moment, Drusilla felt so guilty. She had caused this innocent Digimon to get hurt. But she knew that if she didn't get Coalmon to fight, her Mom would likely be dead by now. Evander, Jessica, and Taylor weren't in the habit of carrying DigiWorm phones, so it's not like they could just warp to their location. This was a situation where no choice made was the right one. She also felt bad for Syn. Syn was being used to attack her own partner. Drusilla thought about how much emotional distress Syn must be under being the puppet of someone else, someone whose identity they were still trying to figure out.

Drusilla felt an intense desire to get rid of the Red Mark on her mom's Digimon overwhelm her. Suddenly, a bright light appeared!. The light was in the form of a white orb. It descended down from about 10 feet in the air and landed in the bat winged girl's right hand. The light faded, revealing a small technological device. It had a small square screen, a rubber sphere in the center like the rubber balls that used to be at the bottom of computer mice. The square screen and the 90s computer mouse esqe ball were surrounded by red plastic that made a sort of U shape. And on the sides were rubber grips that were also red. Drusilla realized. "This Digivice!" She had a flashback of when Taylor got her Digivice when they were fighting Gizumon XT in the Pacific Ocean. This Digivice was exactly the same as Taylor's, except hers was red instead of blue.

Drusilla set Coalmon down on the ground. Then she held her red digivice up high above her head. "Coalmon, it's time to digivolve!" The words "DIGIVOLUTION" scrolled across Drusilla's digivice. Then a bright light shot out of her digivice and enveloped Coalmon!

"Coalmon Digivolve to…CoalGolemon!"

When the light subsided, standing in Coalmon's place was a massive golem made of coal. In between cracks in the coal were molten magma. And CoalGolemon's eyes were magma as well. CoalGolemon looked down at her body. "Wow! I digivolved! That's convenient!" She said. Her voice was deep and raspy, but it was still a female voice. Syn lunged at CoalGolemon to continue her attack. CoalGolemon held her hands out in front of her. "Molten Blast!" Molten lava sprayed out of her hands and mouth. The lava hit Syn and she screamed in pain as she was sent back in a river of lava! The lava quickly cooled and trapped LadyDevimon. She struggled to get free. CoalGolemon ran over to LadyDevimon, across the hardened lava she had created. "Mega Coal Clobber!" CoalGolemon shouted. CoalGolemon smashed LadyDevimon's head with her large fist. The Red Mark still hadn't vanished. "Mega Coal Clobber! Mega Coal Clobber! Mega Coal Clobber! Mega Coal Clobber!" CoalGolemon shouted as she attacked over and over. After several blows, the Red Mark started glitching and fading in and out. "One more ought to do it!" CoalGolemon said before giving Syn's head one more whack! The Red Mark disappeared!

Drusilla jumped for joy, literally! She ran over to CoalGolemon. "You did it, CoalGolemon!" Drusilla shouted. She was going to hug her Digimon but CoalGolemon shouted, "Don't touch me! My body is literally thousands of degrees in fahrenheit!" Drusilla stopped.

LadyDevimon groaned. "Aaaaaahhhh….my head is POUNDING! Anyone got Aspirin?" She complained. Syn then dedigivolved back to BlackGatomon. "Whooooooo! Pretty stars!" Syn said. CoalGolemon broke the coal around Syn's body to enable her to get free. Syn looked sad. "Guys. I'm sorry." She said. Zai picked her Digimon up and hugged her. "It's not your fault. You know that." She said. CoalGolemon then dedigivolved back to Coalmon. Coalmon looked disappointed at her de-digivolution. "Ah man! I finally had legs!" She complained. Drusilla giggled at Coalmon's comment. Zai went over and hugged her daughter. "I'm so glad everyone is safe." She said. After she pulled back from her embrace. Zai looked down at the red digivice her daughter was holding. "So…another one, huh?" Zai said. Zai smiled and then looked her daughter in the eyes and said, "I'm glad that I was here when it happened."