Chapter 39: Escape From All For One World

Morty Shin and Owarimon step out of a Kommondomon that had just re-entered All For One World HQ. Morty held a dark golden sphere in his hand. This was Belphemon's DigiCore. Morty looked left and right, holding the dark golden sphere in his right hand and having his left hand nestled in his pocket. Owarimon noticed him looking back and forth. He wondered what he was looking for. "All of this….this base, these Kommondomon, the Gizumon, the Gizumon/Human hybrids…all of this was so that I could achieve peace. Owarimon….you know what our organization's name stands for, right?" Morty said as his head turned as he looked around at the contents of the Kommondomon garage. He had his back to her, so he didn't see Owarimon's sheepish demeanor. "You want to destroy all worlds except for one, right?" Owarimon said. Morty turned back and looked at her with a grin on his face. "That's right. And you will be my agent of destruction." Morty said. Morty's face then turned dour. He turned and looked up with a sad look on his face. "However…those Digidestined brats…those so-called Elemental Four…they're a genuine threat to my plan. If they're able to help Harmonymon regain her true form, we might not be able to stop them." Morty then turned and showed Belphemon's DigiCore to her. "You must be wondering why I'm collecting these DigiCores. This is a backup plan of mine in case you are not able to achieve your Mega form in time. There is another Digimon besides your final form that is unstoppable, and its name….is Ogudomon. Ogudomon is like Harmonymon in that it's the DNA Digivolution of many Digimon. Do you know which Digimon DNA Digivolve into Ogudomon?" Morty asked. "The Seven Demon Lords." Owarimon said. It was a guess, but a good one. "Right, and this Digimon is quite strange." Morty said as he looked down at Belphemon's DigiCore, smiling. "It is said that it bears all of the sins ever committed in the Digital World, but it also has the power to atone for them all. Even a Digimon with a slight hint of malice in its heart cannot destroy it. Ogudomon will be my backup plan in case Harmonymon makes an early appearance."

Owarimon looked down at the DigiCore. She worried about whether or not Taylor and her group could save the multiverse. Part of her hoped Morty was wrong about Ogudomon. On the other hand, the part about Ogudomon being able to atone for sins sounded quite attractive to her. She remembered how she mercilessly cut down Wizardmon and Witchmon on 404 Island, how she came dangerously close to ending the lives of The Elemental Four, and how she murdered Beelzemon and Beelstarmon, leaving a little Impmon orphaned. These scenes played as flashbacks in her mind's eye. If Ogudomon could really wipe away that slate, maybe it would be good for it to make an appearance. But then she thought, if he is really unstoppable, then it might be best if he didn't. But she wondered how she could ever live the rest of her life with all of the blood on her hands.

Morty then began walking up some stairs to a door leading into the main building of All For One World HQ. "That's enough chit-chat. I need to square this beauty away. I'm actually kind of hoping the remaining two are cut down now so I can see this unstoppable monster for myself." Morty said. "M-Master." Owarimon spoke. Morty turned back to her to see what she wanted. "I-It's good that you have a backup plan…in case I'm a disappointment to you. But…what will you do if you can't control that thing? It could end up being a double edged sword." Owarimon asked. Morty grinned. He held up a hand and made it glow red. Then he made a Red Ring appear. "You see this? This is called a Red Ring. It's like The Red Stones, but 10 times more powerful. It takes the combined power of many Red Stones to just barely control a Mega Level Digimon. Honestly, I'm surprised Emily pulled it off with Jijimon. But with this Red Ring, I can control even Ultra level Digimon. In fact….I can even control creatures who aren't Digimon at all." Morty explained. Owarimon's eyes widened. "That's…..incredible! How did you-" She asked, but was cut off by Morty answering. "Right after Emily came here, I learned how. Watching her reminded me of what went into making a Red Stone. I simply took that knowledge and built upon it. Science and magic aren't all that different. Both must build upon knowledge already gained to make progress." Morty explained. Morty then turned and walked up the steps and through the door. Owarimon followed.

Sometime later that day, Emily and Lopmon were sitting in the motel room esque place that Morty had assigned them inside the base. They had a chess board with pieces arranged on it. Emily sat there with her head resting in her hands, her elbows on the table. She sat on the side of her bed while Lopmon was sitting on a wooden stool. Lopmon put her hands on her hips and smiled confidently with her eyes closed. "You can think all day, but there's still no way you're getting out of this one." Lopmon said. Emily sighed. "I'm still not sure we're even playing this correctly. The least Morty could have done was leave a rulebook." Emily said. "Are you disliking my completely made up rules because you're losing?" Lopmon asked, opening her eyes and pointing at her partner. Just then, they heard a knock at the door. Emily and Lopmon looked over in the direction of the door and said "Come in." in unison. The door opened, revealing Owarimon. Emily looked surprised. "You? You're that artificial Digimon Morty made." Emily said. Owarimon frowned. "I'm…..here to help you escape." Owarimon said monotonously. Emily and Lopmon both had a look of skepticism on their faces. "Yeah, right. And I'm a three headed autistic dyslexic chicken named Jannet." Emily said sarcastically, returning her attention to the chess board in front of her.

Owarimon looked left and right outside the door, hoping no one heard her. She then closed the door behind them. "I know you don't believe me, but I'm not a artificially created Digimon. My name is Haruka Abe. I'm an 11 year old human from one of the Japans in one of these various universes. Morty kidnapped me after my mother was killed when another universes' battle ships dropped bombs on our city. He took me to this base and used the power of the Red Stones to fuse me with my Digimon partner. Then he erased my memories and brainwashed me into thinking I was nothing but an agent of destruction." Owarimon explained. Emily scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Nice story. Maybe you should write sci-fi novels after you're done ending 99% of life in existence." Emily said, continuing to drip with sarcasm. Owarimon sighed, sadness both across her face and in her sigh. She walked over and took a seat in a chair on the other side of the small room. She folded her hands and started twiddling her thumbs. "It was them. It was The Elemental Four who convinced me of what I just told you. In my second battle with them, I had these strange flashbacks that I couldn't explain at the time. Then in my third battle, I had even more flashbacks. Those children and their Digimon told me all of this, but I didn't believe them. I tried to hold onto the belief that I was just a weapon of All For One World. But the more flashbacks I had, and the more interactions I had with those Digidestined….eventually, I couldn't deny the truth any longer." Owarimon said in a sad tone of voice. Owarimon then began crying. "I should have listened before! I've killed so many Digimon because of the deception I was under! When I realized the truth, I tried to kill myself, but Snakemon wouldn't let me! I wish she had! This guilt I bare is suffocating! I've become the monster Morty wanted me to be!" Owarimon said through her tears. Then she began sobbing bitterly.

Emily's smug look turned to one of a mixture of confusion and compassion. Was she just a really good actor? No, this was sincere. Emily knew what raw remorse looked like. She experienced it after she decided to stop being The Digimon Ruler. She felt it even now, even after 27 years. Lopmon was thinking the same thing. For Lopmon, it was like watching Emily all over again. Emily stood up and walked over to her. She placed a hand on her shoulder. This took Owarimon by surprise as she didn't know Emily was approaching her. She was crying with her face in her hands. "Haruka….you're….just like me." She said. Owarimon looked up to look her in the eyes, now seeing a look of compassion and sympathy in the blonde woman's eyes. "We were both changed into monsters by The Red Stones. They changed me into The Digimon Ruler, and they changed you into Owarimon." Emily said. "You….believe me?" Owarimon said in surprise. Emily nodded. "I know the look of raw remorse. I know how crippling guilt can be. You think your continued existence is an injustice; that just breathing, waking up every morning, is a wrong that must be righted. It's like a voice in your head telling you that any happiness you might experience is one of the many things wrong with the world." Emily said before tears started streaming out of her own eyes. However, she was smiling. "But even though I still struggle with these feelings of guilt, I stopped hating myself a long time ago. How could I hate myself when so many others care about me? Evander, Jessica, Mario, Flora, Zai, not to mention all of their Digimon, Lopmon….and most importantly….my son; Emmett. He's made it clear to me that I'm the whole world to him. Every time he calls me 'Mom' or tells me that he loves me, my heart heals just a little bit more. My existence is not a wrong that must be righted. It would be wrong if I were to die and be removed from the lives of all those who love me."

Owarimon lowered her head and continued sobbing. "Good for you. But I have no one." Owarimon said. Emily embraced her. "Right now. You have me." Emily said softly. Lopmon ran up beside Owarimon and looked up at her. "And me too!" She added. Owarimon back away and wiped the tears from her eyes. Emily did the same. "Now that I believe you, take me home." Emily said. "Couuntry roooooads!" Lopmon said. Emily sweatdropped with a deadpan expression. "Now's not the time, Lopmon." Owarimon giggled. It occurred to her that this was the first time she's laughed in a long time.

Then the three stood up, walked out the door. Owarimon wrapped up Emily's hands behind her back, and whispered into her ear, "I have to pretend I'm taking you somewhere on Morty's orders." Emily nodded. They walked down the hallway. So far, no one thought anything suspicious was going on. There were All For One World agents walking up and down the hall. Some of them were just standing around talking. Emily walked in front of Owarimon with her hands behind her back. She was still wearing her adult Digimon Ruler outfit. Emily's eyes darted back and forth, hoping to catch anyone eyeing them with suspicion, hoping no one would and make a report.

They kept walking with no one being suspicious. "So…is it true that you made something more powerful than the Red Stones?" Owarimon whispered. Emily looked surprised. "What?" She exclaimed. "Morty has taken spells needed to concoct Red Stones and modified them to make something called Red Rings. He plans on using them to control a Digimon called Ogudomon; a jogress of the Seven Demon Lords." Owarimon whispered in reply. Emily looked shocked. "But…he told me he didn't know how to make Red Stones at all. How could he make something more powerful?" Emily whispered. "I'm guessing he just memorized the incantation by watching you so many times." Owarimon softly conjectured. Emily planned on telling all of this to World For Us All when…or if…they escaped.

Just then, they came across someone Owarimon hoped they wouldn't come across; Morty Shin. He was standing there in the hallway with both of his hands in his pockets. A look of suspicion was on his face. "Where are you headed, Owarimon? Or should I say….Haruka?" Morty asked. Owarimon's eyes widened. "Why….do you call me by that name?" She asked. Morty grinned. "I have Emily's place video monitored at all times. There is nothing she says or does that I don't hear. Nothing." Morty explained. Emily looked surprised. She wasn't aware of this. Morty chuckled. "Don't give me that look, Emily. Your bathroom is only bugged with a microphone, no cameras. I'm not a pervert." He said. It came as a relief to Emily that he wasn't watching her shower. Still, he knew they planned to escape and they were in big trouble. Owarimon was secretly untying the binds she had put over Emily's wrist. Emily and Lopmon exchanged glances. Ideally, they would fight. But Emily was forced to leave her digivice at home just like her friends who were taken off by the Seven Demon Lords. Morty snapped his fingers and suddenly, lots of Gizumon XT came from around the corridors! "What are we going to do, Emily!? I can't digivolve!" Lopmon said.

Owarimon took out her sword and took a battle stance. "I'm an Ultimate level Digimon. I can hold these guys off while you escape." Owarimon said, facing down Morty and his army of Gizumon XT with a determined look on her face. Owarimon was standing in front of Emily and Lopmon. Morty laughed a little. "You think you can take on an entire organization by yourself? Don't make me laugh!" Morty taunted. "I don't have to defeat you. I just have to keep you busy for a while." Owarimon said before jumping up and holding her sword high into the air. Black energy formed around her sword. "Super Thanatos Strike!" Owarimon shouted, swinging her sword and causing the black energy that formed around it to be released in a vertical energy attack. She took out three Gizumon XT all at the same time!

Emily and Lopmon took off running. Morty took his hand out of his pocket and faced in the direction they were running. "After her! Don't let her escape! No…on second thought, kill her! I have no need for her anymore." Morty said. The Gizumon XT then began to pursue the blonde middle aged woman and her little brown bunny Digimon. They fired several red laser beams, all of which missed. "We've got to get back to the Millennium Falcon." Emily jested, making reference to the fact that it felt like they were dodging Storm Trooper fire. Lopmon chuckled. "Laugh it up, fuzz ball." Emily said. They tried to turn a corner, but when they did, they found the entire way blocked by Gizumon XT! They turned the other direction to take off running, but that hallway was likewise wall to wall with Gizumon XTs! "It's no good! We're surrounded!" Lopmon exclaimed. The first thought that went through Emily's mind was Emmett. She would never see him again. An All For One World Agent ran down the hallway. He had short brown hair and the usual All For One World uniform. He had his head down so that the brim of his cap didn't show his face. He smiled as he reached into his pocket and brought out a light blue and green D-Tector. The man made it to Emily and Lopmon's location. "Stop right there! I think you guys need to chill out!" He said before making his other hand manifest fractal code.

The mysterious man put the D-Tector digivice to the fractal code in his other hand. "Execute! Fusion Evolution….Daipenmon!" Emily and Lopmon looked in shock. "He turned into a Digimon!" Lopmon exclaimed. In place of the mysterious man was now a 40 foot tall gigantic purple penguin with two large popsicles in his hands! The popsicle in his left hand was pink. The popsicle in his right hand was blue. The giant penguin's belly was white and he had yellow feet. This was Daipenmon. Daipenmon aimed the blue popsicle at the Gizumon blocking the way to the Kommondomon Garrage. "Blue Hawaii Death!" He shouted! He instantly froze many of them. Then he began spinning around and slammed into the frozen Gizumon XT like a drill. "Storm Hammer Breaker!" He shouted. Multiple Gizumon were deleted. Daipenmon stopped spinning and turned to face Emily and Lopmon. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Yeah, but who are you?" Emily asked. Daipenmon smiled. "In this form, I'm known as Daipenmon; legendary warrior of ice. But in my human form, I'm called Tommy Himi. I'm just one of the many secret double agents who work for World For Us All." He explained.

Just then, more Gizumon came upon them. "Don't worry. I've got this." Daipenmon said. He pointed both of his popsicles at the Gizumon XT horde and fired a bunch of ice shards at them while shouting "Kakikaki-Kun Blast!" The Gizumon XT were struck with the multiple ice shards. Some were destroyed, while others were just badly damage. One of the Gizumon XT tried firing a laser at Daipenmon, but he deflected it with one of his large popsicles. "Get to the Kommondomon! Now!" He exclaimed. "But what about you?" Lopmon asked. "Don't worry about me, I'll get there when I can. But be ready to take off just in case." Daipemon replied.

Emily and Lopmon nodded and continued taking off running. They turned a corner and yet again, more Gizumon XT appeared, startling Emily and Lopmon. "Darn it! We're never getting out of here!" Emily exclaimed. Then they heard a voice say, "Don't be so sure about that!" They looked over and saw a man in a All For One World uniform. He appeared to be a bit on the heavy side. He took out a blue and yellow D-Tector. Emily and Lopmon looked surprised. "Another one!" Emily exclaimed. The husky man made a fractal code surrounding the hand he wasn't holding the D-Tector in.

"Execute! Fusion Evolution….RhinoKabuterimon!"

In the man's place was a large insectoid Digimon. "Condenser Storm!" RhinoKabuterimon shouted. He shot out multiple bolts of lightning that he stored up in his horn. He took out multiple Gizumon XTs. "Alright! Thanks to Seraphimon finally making it back to the Mega Level, Takky and Koji aren't the only ones who can fusion evolve. This is awesome!" RhinoKabuterimon exclaimed.

Back in his version of the Digital World, at holy angel castle, Seraphimon sneased. A Wisemon was standing nearby. Under his hood, a smile came across the Wisemon's face. "Gesundheit. My boy, it seems someone is talking about you." Said Wisemon. "You think so, Papa-Mom?" Serpaphimon asked.

Back at All For One World HQ, Emily and Lopmon continued running. "Thank you, ummm…" "RhinoKabuterimon, but also J.P!" "Thank you, J.P." Emily said.

Emily and Lopmon made it into the Kommondomon garage. Emily and Lopmon looked back as they ran. No Gizumon XT were pursuing them. Daipenmon and RhinoKabuterimon must be keeping every one of them occupied, not to mention Owarimon. Emily stopped right in her tracks. Lopmon stopped and looked back at her with a perplexed and intense look on her face. "Why'd you stop?" Lopmon asked. "I'm worried about Haruka." Emily said. "She'll be fine. If nothing else, she's got two Digidestined back there fighting." Lopmon said. Emily knew she had to get back home to her son, so she and Lopmon entered the Kommondomon.

They sat on the couch inside the Kommondomon at the far back. They both looked out the window over in the direction of the door. They wanted their new companions to rush out that door and go with them. After all, after Fusion Evolving and fighting the Gizumon XT, Tommy and JP would surely be in deep trouble with Morty. Their cover was blown! Moreover, Owarimon hadn't returned. Emily believed Owarimon was telling the truth, and the fact that Owarimon's consciousness was that of a child just made things worse. Emily wondered what kind of PTSD this Haruka Abe would experience after this was all over. She knew all too well the kind of post trauma she herself experienced. But at least she brought it on herself, Emily thought to herself. Emily was willing to allow the Red Stones to take over her. Emily went down the road to darkness and, in retrospect, saw several signs along the way screaming at her to go back, like a voice in her head. But she refused. Emily remembered back to that time. And the stones' power corrupted her heart more and more until she became the vicious Digimon Ruler. Owarimon…Haruka… was different, however. Haruka had been memory wiped, gaslighted, and brainwashed. She had not only had her body messed up through Morty's experiments, but her mind as well. Emily's heart broke for her. Emily thought that Morty might as well have raped Haruka. Would it have been any less of a violation? What Morty did to Haruka seemed several times more diabolical than rape. As Emily sat with her Lopmon watching the door in eager anticipation, she vowed that she would help Haruka in any way she could. Not only did she feel compassion for this girl, she felt Haruka was a kindred spirit. She also felt a sense of anger rising up in her towards Morty for doing such a thing to a deep child. Maybe she'd sick Evander on him. He did have the Crest Of Justice after all.

All of a sudden, the back wall leading into one of the hallways blew open! Something had blasted it open! Emily and Lopmon gasped as they saw Owarimon standing next to a grinning Morty Shin. Owarimon had a Red Ring around her neck and looked like she was in a trance. The Snakemon protruding from her back also had a red ring around her neck. Additionally, Owarimon was holding an injured Tommy and J.P! She held them by her sides, supporting each of them by only one arm! "Owarimon….has a red ring around her!" Emily exclaimed. "And she's got Tommy and J.P too!" Lopmon exclaimed. Morty Shin had his hands in his pockets. It seemed to be a habit of his. He looked to the left and to the right. There were about a dozen Kommondomon in this garage. Any one of them could be harboring the former Digimon Ruler and her partner. "Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!" Morty taunted. He knew they were still here. The front side hadn't opened yet. "How touching? You waited for your new friends? Touching…but very stupid." Morty taunted. Morty held his hand up in front of Owarimon, gesturing towards the Red Ring around her neck. "I don't know if Owarimon told you yet, but this is called a Red Ring. It can control any Digimon of any level perfectly. Owarimon has regained her memories and decided to betray me…but free will is so overrated. As long as I get what I want, her loyalty means nothing to me." Morty said. There was no sign of Emily and Lopmon coming out of any of the Kommondomon. Morty sighed, putting his hand back into his jacket pocket.

"Emily….I can't let you escape with the knowledge you now have. But I'm feeling merciful. Let me cut you a deal; I know you feel bad about your previous life as The Digimon Ruler. Don't you want a chance to redeem yourself? If you join me and help my cause, you'll be preventing the extinction of all life! My world is sparsely populated, but there are enough people to repopulate the planets. There are enough people to begin anew. If all of these other universes continue to exist, wars will continue to wage. As a result, more and more lives will be lost. If you join me, I'll be sure to make a place in my universe for you, your friends, and especially your son. So what do you say?" Morty said.

Emily and Lopmon continued to be silent in the Kommondomon. They wondered if they should make a run for it or not. "If we make a run for it, they'll just send Gizumon XT after us like they did when Ryo escaped." Lopmon said. "But if we just stay here and do nothing, they'll find us and kill us." Emily said. Just then, a man in an All For One World Uniform with long bluish black hair came up and kicked Morty Shin in the back, knocking him down. "Emily! Get out of here!" He shouted. The Wormmon jumped off of Ken's shoulder. Owarimon swung her sword at the man who had kicked Morty, but he jumped back! His clothes getting cut and his skin just getting nicked. "Ken! Digivolve me!" The Wormmon said to the man in the All For One World uniform and the long bluish black hair. He took out a black D-3 and pointed it towards Wormmon.

"Wormmon digivolve to….Stingmon!"

In Wormmon's place was a tall, green bi-pedal muscular insectoid Digimon with big red eyes and white spikes on his body. Stingmon extended a long red blade from his right arm and lunged at Owarimon, shouting "Spiking Strike!" Owarimon parried the attack with her blade. Morty Shin got off the ground and wiped some blood from his mouth. Apparently, he busted his mouth when he hit the floor. Morty looked angry. He raised his hand in Ken's direction and red energy surrounded it. He lifted Ken off the ground as though by telekensis! "How many of you World For Us All rats have infested my base!? Huh!? Tell me!" Morty shouted angrily. Ken looked over in the direction of the various Kommondomon. "Emily! Go! Now! Please!" He pleaded.

Emily looked up and said, "Kommondomon! Let's go!" The Kommondomon she was in let out a loud bark and then the garage door opened. The Kommondomon then started running into inter-dimensional space of The Mother Universe outside.

Stingmon and Owarimon parried blades. Clash! Clash! Clash! Clash! Owarimon then jumped back and caused black energy to surround her blade. "Super Thanatos Strike!" Owarimon shouted, swinging the sword and unleashing all the energy. Stingmon got hit and got knocked back! He landed on his back several feet away. He slowly sat up and looked over to Ken, his partner. "Ken! We can't defeat her without Davis and ExVeemon!" Stingmon exclaimed. Ken looked frustrated. It was true. He needed Davis and ExVeemon for Stingmon to digivolve to his Ultimate level, as his Ultimate level was a jogress. Ken had sometimes thought Stingmon could digivolve to some other ultimate level Digimon that isn't a Jogress if he had his Crest Of Kindness. However, his crest was kind of busy keeping his former base as The Digimon Emperor from exploding! "We don't need to defeat them, we just need to hold them off!" Ken said. "But Ken, what about your wife, Yolei? What about your children?" Stingmon asked. "Stingmon, this mission is bigger than us!" Ken replied.

Morty let Ken down and then motioned towards some Gizumon XT to follow after them. "I don't have many Gizumon left, but it won't matter soon." He thought to himself. The Gizumon XT chased after the Kommondomon carrying Emily. Stingmon pursued them. "Spiking Strike! Spiking Strike! Spiking Strike! Spiking Strike!" Stingmon shouted as he attacked over and over, destroying one Gizumon XT after another. Afterwards, Stingmon flew back over to engage Owarimon.

"I think we're going to make it out." Emily said. "I sure hope so." Lopmon said.

Back at the base, Stingmon unleashed a series of rapid kicks at Owarimon and although she got hit, she didn't seem to be too phased by the attacks. "Hyper Chest Beam!" Owarimon shouted, shooting a powerful laser blast from the Red Stone on her chest. Stingmon got hit with it and took major damage! He flew back and de-digivolved to Wormmon. Wormmon slowly sat up and looked over at his partner. "Ken! What….are we going….to do?" He asked. Suddenly, everyone felt the base shake and heard a large boom! Ken smirked. "What did you just do?!" Morty demanded. "Bombs away." Ken replied smugly. Just then, the Kommondomon garage began to collapse right from underneath them! Tommy and J.P slowly regained consciousness and began to panic! Everyone began falling into the inter-dimensional space! "Stingmon! Grab Tommy and I and take us to one of the Kommondomon!" Ken shouted. Stingmon did so, he grabbed Ken and Tommy. J.P, on the other hand, took out his D-Dector and touched it to a fractal code circle surrounding his hand. "Execute! Spirit Evolution! ……Beetlemon!" J.P had just spirit evolved into a Digimon that could fly; Beetlemon. He appeared to be a humanoid insect covered in yellow and blue armor from head to toe. Stingmon carrying the two humans, and Beetlemon all flew over to a Kommondomon and entered it.

The Kommondomon were endowed with the ability to fly through interdimensional space, after all, so they would be safe once they got inside one of those. Moreover, they'd be able to escape. "Darn it!" Morty exclaimed in frustration. He used his magic to grab Owarimon and take himself back to a part of the garage that hadn't collapsed.

Owarimon shook his fist in anger as he watched the Kommondomon with Stingmon, Tommy, J.P, and Ken take off in the same direction as the one who held Emily and Lopmon.