Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon: Apocalypse ❯ Armageddon: Chapter 3 ( Chapter 28 )

My name is Taichi Yagami, and it’s the end of the world. This whole thing started when a large number of our former team mates were joining a group called Digitalatri to save themselves from the Second Black Death. Then the Demon Lords showed up, attacking young women who began to display strange powers. Their leader, Cahiti, used a device called the Soul Catcher to take their powers and destroy the Digital World.

But we were manipulated from the very beginning, all of us. Digitalatri’s Priestess, my cousin Miayag, had been used by the Digital God, a demon named GranDracmon, to give him the strength to break free of the Dark Area, where he had been trapped since the beginning of the Digital World, and the Demon Lords were used to destroy the Digital World, allowing him to escape.

He’s killed so many of our friends, and now, we’re all that’s standing between him and completing his plans. We have to win, no matter what! ----------------------------------------------------------- The Book of Armageddon: Chapter 3 ------------------------------------------------------------

GranDracm on stood atop the building roof, staring up the night sky, the mysterious cloud of energy above his head. He grinned. “Tell me Seraphimon, Ophanimon, Cherubimon, can you see me from your graves, and know that I won? That your brilliant schemes failed, that I survived! I live on, I am immortal!”

He blinked and turned his head slightly. “So, I am to assume that my Horsemen have fallen?”

He turned completely around and saw six Mega digimon hovering in the sky before him. He glanced at each one, “Wargreymon X, Metalgarurumon X, Kuzuhamon, you I know, but Hououmon, Pleisomon and Apocalymon? Truly unique evolutions…”

“Shove your compliments up your ass!” Apocalymon shouted.

Kuzuhamon mentioned to the cloud of dark energy in the sky. “What have you been doing?”

The demon chuckled. “As you probably are aware, I have been trapped within the Dark Area for untold years, my strength is diminishing, so I have been gathering energy to recharge, it is not yet complete…” His mouth twisted into a grin, “But I still have more then enough power to defeat you…”

Each Mega digimon prepared themselves to attack. “This is it!” Metalgarurumon X shouted.

Wargreymon X pointed his bladed gauntlet at the demon, “You fucking vampire, you’re going down!”

GranDracmon laughed and stretched out his arms. “Then let us see who will survive!”

Wargreymon X was the first to strike. He shot forward, swinging his bladed gauntlet into the vampire’s head. GranDracmon swung his arm around, using the back of his forearm to protect his head. He swung his other arm around, slamming his fist into the dinosaur’s stomach, causing him to wince in pain. Before Wargreymon X could form a counter-attack, Kuzuhamon shot in from the side, swinging her staff around to bash him in the side of the head, but he quickly pulled his head back and the fox woman’s staff whacked into Wargreymon X.

“Sorry, Juukeitei!” she gasped. She instinctively flew to his side, but that left her open for GranDracmon’s attack. He swung his fist forward, ready to smash her…

“Sand Water Blast!”

Once his fist reached Kuzuhamon, instead of punching her, he opened his fists and grabbed her by the ankle and swung her around, using her as a shield to block Plesiomon’s attack. The fox woman was pelted with waves of sand and water. He swung her into Wargreymon X, tangling them into an in-are pretzel.

“Damn it!” Plesiomon shouted.

GranDracmon chuckled and flexed his muscles. “You bastard,” the Deep Saver muttered. She shot forward, waves of sound screaming from her mouth, “Sorrow Blue!”

The vampire winced slightly as the sound waves battered him. Apocalymon took this opportunity to assault his enemy. His claws flew from his cubed-body, whipping around him. He began to swing them forward, first one, then two. GranDracmon dodged them as best he could, but soon all eight claws were assaulting him. With Plsiomon’s attack, he was not able to fully concentrate, but when he spied a claw coming at him from the left, he shot his hand around and grabbed hold of it. Apocalymon kept swinging his claws, however, and GranDracmon used his other hand to grab another one. The Dark Area digimon did not care, he still had six claws left. GranDracmon, however, pulled his left arm back as hard as he could, and Apocalymon was jerked to the left, his swinging claws bashing into Plesiomon, silencing her sonic attack.

“Much better,” he said, cracking his neck.

He heard a loud screeching sound and turned his attention to the sky to see Hououmon shooting down towards him. Her wings were flurried out, her eyes glowing red with flames. Her mouth opened, “Starlight…”

Before she could finish, GranDracmon grabbed her neck and began to squeeze. She struggled to free herself, but the vampire’s grip was stronger then iron.

“Garuru Tomahawk!”

Metalgarurumon X’s attack struck him in the shoulder, but it was the wrong side, and his grip on Hououmon remained. His eyes turned to the side and saw the metal wolf flying towards him. He swung the giant bird into him, knocking both of them to the ground.

“Reverse Rice Cord!”

GranDracmon glanced to the sky to watch as Kuzuhamon began to spin her staff in a tight circle. Four nearly transparent foxes left from the circle and bashed into the vampire’s face. Before he could recover, Wargreymon X shot around, his bladed gauntlets aiming for GranDracmon’s head. The vampire swung his arms around and managed to smack him.

“Starlight Explosion!”

The vampire winced in pain as he took Hououmon’s attack at full force. She swarmed in closer for a quick attack with her feet, but that left her open for GranDracmon’s arms, which were able to grab her and slam her into the roof of the building. He kicked her as hard as he could, sending her sliding off of the roof, where she fluttered around before gaining her gravity-defining lift once more.

He cracked his knuckles together. “Ah, I had truly forgotten how much fun this actually is. The glory of combat, yes, and to think I was afraid that being trapped within the god-forsaken Dark Area would have reduced my strength.”

“Talk talk talk!” Plesiomon shouted, “That’s all you do! I’m gonna make sure you never talk again! Water Tail Blast!”

The vampire outstretched his hand and the Deep Savor’s attack struck his palm, which was all it took to deflected the stream of water down into the street, where, the people who had gathered to watch the amazing battle were quick to run to safety.

“Oh damn it!” Plesiomon gasped, “When the hell did they show up?”

“I’ve got more bad news,” Apocalymon said, mentioning over his shoulder, were more then a dozen new helicopters had arrived.

The vampire demon grinned. “Just more distractions for you, and more victims for me! Crystal Revolution!”

“Look out!” Metalgarurumon X shouted.

The group of mega digimon instinctively leapt to the side to avoid being hit, but GranDracmon’s attack struck one of the helicopters, turning it and all inside instantly to crystal. It began to fall rapidly.

“Don’t let it shatter!” Kuzuhamon shouted.

“Hououmon!” Wargreymon X cried. The giant Holy Beast caught the falling object within her talons and gently placed it on the street. The people ran for cover, yet did not run completely.

GranDracmon laughed as he watched his enemies gather before him once more. “And you are the self-proclaimed protectors of Earth? Ha! Your world is truly doomed!”

“You think you scare us?” Wargreymon X shouted, “We’ve faced scum like you hundreds of times before and we always won!”

The vampire continued to grin. “Trust me, you have not encountered anyone like me before, I am the ultimate darkness.”

“You think you know darkness?” Plesiomon shouted.

“I am darkness, pure, unbridled darkness.”

“Darkness is not evil!” the Deep Savor protested, “Don’t try to contaminate it with your fucking filth.”

The demon nodded. “Ah, part of you is Noriko Kawada, the Daughter of Darkness, isn’t it?”

“What if it is?”

He held up his hands. “Nothing was meant by that! I was only curious.”

Hououmon flapped her wings to stay afloat. “Don’t try to act so fucking pleasant! Not after everything you did!”

“And what would that be, my dear? I simply am what I am.”

“That excuse will not work,” Kuzuhamon interrupted, “You have done nothing that could even be considered beneficial, you have only worked to fulfill your own selfish desires!”

“The desire to be free is not a selfish one.” He stared at the fox woman, then at the massive figure of Apocalymon hovering behind them. “Nor is the desire to be healthy…”

They both narrowed their eyes at him. “All right, are you done yet?” Wargreymon X asked.

GranDracmon shrugged. “Sure, whenever you’re ready…”

This time, Metalgarurumon X led the attack. He fired all of his missile chambers. “Garuru Burst!”

GranDracmon threw his arms in front of his face to shield himself as the metal wolf laid down a steady stream of missiles. This bought the other human/digimon hybrids cover and they took full advantage. Hououmon began to fly overhead She flapped her wings quickly and breathed out a wave of fire. “Starlight Explosion!”

The demon could not risk removing his arms, so he allowed the Holy Beast’s attack to strike him in the shoulder. Plesiomon’s Water Tail Blaster smashed into his other shoulder. He could not believe it, he actually felt intense pain from that! He never suspected that these pathetic creatures would harm him. He felt a wave of panic and he threw his arms open, the shockwave sent Metalgarurumon X’s missiles back towards him. With his arms now free, Apocalymon whipped his claws around, smashing three of them into GranDracmon, sending him skidding backwards. He was able to stop before he would have slid off of the roof.

“Reverse Rice Cord!”

He shot his head up as Kuzuhamon’s attack bashed into him with such force that his front side actually lifted into the air. Wargreymon X placed both of his arms together and began to spin at an incredible rate. “Great Tornado!”

His physical technique slammed into GranDracmon’s torso area, spinning and bashing until the demon was flung from the building roof and sailed to the street below. Most of the people had already fled when the battle had begun, but those that remained saw the shadow of the giant demon flying towards them. GranDracmon smashed into the ground, causing a large earth quake, shattering the building windows and flattening countless numbers of cars below him.

Wargreymon X and Kuzhuamon hovered over the building roof, staring down at their enemy. “Did we get him?” the dinosaur asked, “I think we got him…I’m pretty sure we got him…”

“He is not moving,” Kuzuhamon replied.

Down below, GarnDracmon lay in the street. “How, how can this be? I am the supreme might! I am the God of the Digital World! How could I have been defeated by mere mortals?! How?!”

He slowly turned his head to stare up at the building roof, where his enemies were gathered. As he did, he noticed the large collection of dark energy he had gathered before the fight began. Of course, that is why they had beaten him, he was not yet at full strength. He jumped to his feet and pointed his hands towards the sky.

“What’s he doing now?” Metalgarurumon X asked.

Kuzuhamon gasped and twisted around just in time to watch as the collaboration shot past them. “Oh no!” she exclaimed.

The ball of dark energy flowed down the sky, slamming into the vampire’s chest. He winced as the energy flowed through him, his injuries melted away. He threw his arms into the air and screamed in triumph.

“I think we’re in trouble now,” Plesiomon muttered.

GranDracmon’s body was radiating with power. He shot back into the air, where before he had not displayed any flying capabilities. He flew towards them like a missile, swinging his arm into Wargreymon X’s stomach, sending the dinosaur flying backwards, where he smashed through three buildings before finally stopping.

“Oh shit,” Plesiomon gasped.

GranDracmon laughed as he stretched his muscles. “All right, time for round two!”

Kuzuhamon shot forward, swinging her staff into the right side of the vampire’s head. He once again raised his arm, but instead of blocking it, he grabbed the weapon and held it tightly. The fox woman was too shocked to release her grip and his arm shot up the weapon and grabbed her arm, holding it tight. He brought his other fist up and slammed it into Kuzuhamon’s face as hard as he could. Her eyes shot open, he slammed her once again, and she screamed in pain.

“Kuzuhamon!” Apocalymon shouted. He whipped his claws around, heading for the vampire demon. GranDracmon kept his grip on Kuzuhamon’s arms, but with his other hand he grabbed the claw by its chain. He yanked as hard as he could, pulling the giant digimon forward. Once Apocalymon was close enough, he threw the claw as hard as he could, bashing into the giant mega’s head. He then turned his attention back to Kuzuhamon.

Metalgarurumon X watched as the giant demon slammed his fist into the fox woman’s face once again. “That’s it!” he said, “We can’t hold back anymore!”

Hououmon stared at him. “But…what about the city?”

“If we don’t get rid of him, there won’t be a city left!” he shouted, “I’m going to save Kuzuhamon, cover me!”

The Holy Beast nodded. “You got it.”

Metalgarurumon X shot around the giant beast and Hououmon pulled her neck back and unleashed a wave of crimson fire, larger then anything she had produced before. “Starlight Explosion!” The wave of fire coursed over his face, blinding him momentarily. It was all the time Metalgarurumon X needed. He fired a Garuru Tomahawk into GranDracmon’s shoulder, causing him to release his grip. Kuzuhamon slowly descended towards the ground. She quickly regained herself and flew back into the sky. She was panting heavily and her face mask was chipped and cracked.

“Holy shit!” Plesiomon gasped, “Are you all right?”

“I have been better,” she responded, “But I will not rest until he is dead!”

GranDracmon chuckled. “Then I hope you enjoy insomnia!”

Hououmon glanced over her shoulder and smiled as Wargreymon X flew back to the battle. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he growled, “I just want to rip his fucking head off!”

GranDracmon opened his arms. “Then come and get me.”

The dinosaur roared and shot forward. “Don’t!” Hououmon shouted, but to no avail, Wargreymon X’s temper had gotten the better of him. He pulled his bladed gauntlet back, ready to shove it into the demon’s eyes. He flew closer, but the mouth that comprised his right leg joint opened its mouth and a forked-tong whipped out like a snake.

“Wargreymon, look out!” Hououmon shouted.

The dinosaur twisted out of the way with inches to spare. The tongue whipped from behind, and Wargreymon X twisted around, using the blades on his gauntlets to slice the red snake in half.

“Hope you learned something.”

He just grumbled. “All right, Metalgarurumon is right, we’ve got to take him out right now! No matter what…”

He turned to the others, “Hit him with everything you’ve got.”

“What about you?” Plesiomon asked.

“I need to gather energy for my attack,” he explained.

Apocalymon hovered over. “What about me?”

The dinosaur turned to him. “You’re strong, too strong. I don’t want to risk losing half the city…not yet. Just hang back for now.”

He crossed his arms. “Fine.”

Wargreymon X shouted, “All right, let’s do it!” He shot to the street below, which had been vacated by the people, who had moved to a safe distance. He slammed into the ground with enough force to cause the pavement to crack. He positioned his arms above his head and waves of red magma flew from the crack and began to collect into a ball within his palms.

Above him, Metalgarurumon X spread out his arms and legs, opening all of his missile chambers. “Garuru Burst!”

“Oh, not this again,” GranDracmon chuckled. He hugged himself and allowed the missiles to impact across his lower body before the projectiles moved up to his torso. He flung his arms open, creating a wave of force that sent the missiles sailing in all directions. Some blasted into the streets, other shot through building windows, annihilating entire floors.

None of the Chosen digimon had time to wonder if anyone had been harmed, they could not afford that luxury at the moment. Plesiomon whipped her tail up and fired a geysers of water into GranDracmon’s face while Kuzuhamon whipped her staff into two semi-circles of energy.

“Water Tail Blaster!”

“Womb World Mandala!”

Both attacks sailed towards the massive demon, but he screamed as loud as he could, dissolving the energy attacks into nothingness. Down below, Wargreymon X was watching the battle with anticipation. He kept his attention on the gathering magma above his head. “Come on…come on…”

Up above, Plesiomon fired another blast of her Water Tail Blaster, but this time, Metalgarurumon X used his Cocytus Breath to free it into a jagged cyclone of ice that struck GranDracmon in the chest. Kuzuhamon unleashed her Reverse Rice Cord, attacking his injured chest with her four magical foxes. The combo was ended with Hououmon’s Starlight Explosion.

The four digimon panted heavily, staring at the smoked-covered vampire digimon. To their dismay, GranDracmon was unharmed. “If you can do no better then that, then your world truly is doomed.”

Down below, Wargreymon X had finally finished gathering his magma energy. “Get out of the way!” he screamed and threw the ball of liquid heat as hard as he could. The Chosen digimon shot out of the way, allowing the magma ball to find its target.

GranDracmon simply smirked. He raised his palm, and Wargreymon X’s attack struck his open fist, exploding in such an intense mixture of heat that the metal on the adjacent building began to bow and the glass melted.

“Damn it!” the dinosaur shouted, “Fuck…”

“Come on!” Apocalymon said, cracking his knuckles, “Send me in coach, I can do it!”

He glanced up at the gigantic digimon hovering in the night sky. “All right Apocalymon, it’s your turn.”

The Dark Area digimon chuckled as the other digimon floated to the side. “I knew it was all coming down to me in the end. Heh…”

“Arrogant son of a bitch, isn’t he?” Plesiomon muttered.

GranDracmon cracked his neck. “Send whomever you want, I will defeat them all.”

“Now who’s the arrogant one?” Apocalymon chuckled.

“Is it arrogance if you speak the truth?” the demon asked.

Apocalymon stared at him for what seemed like hours before he whipped three of his claws into the air and pointed them at GranDracmon. They all twisted and morphed into images of Mugen Dramon, the cannons pointed directly at the demon.

GranDracmon smirked. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Apocalymon grinned. “Infinity Cannon!”

The resulting explosion was enough to turn the night sky bright as day, adjacent buildings were annihilated instantly; even the mega digimon defenders of Earth were caught in the maelstrom.

Hououmon managed to regain control of herself by flapping her wings rapidly. She watched in growing horror as similar explosions exploded around the city in mere moments. Apocalymon and GranDracmon were tearing into each other as they blasted through buildings and destroyed the natural Earth.

“I don’t believe this!” the Holy Beast gasped.

“I know,” Wargreymon X growled, “This is why I didn’t want him fighting! Damn it!”

Kuzuhamon hovered beside them. “Let us just be content that most of these buildings have already been evacuated.”

Hououmon stared at her. “Most?”

The two Dark Area digimon continued to battle with increasing intensity. Apocalymon’s plan of attack was to use his claws’ morphing ability to assault the demon vampire. A claw morphed into Metalseadramon and fired his Infinity Stream into GranDracmon’s shoulder, another claw turned into Piedmon, who executed the Final Spell technique. Two more claws twisted into position: the left one turned into Wargreymon X, while the right one turned into Metalgaruurmon X. The dinosaur-doppelganger fired his Gaia Force, while the wolf-doppelganger fired his Garu Tomahawk.

“How does he know those?” Metalgarurumon X gasped.

Wargreymon X crossed his arms. “Because he watched us do it…”

Both of Apocalymon-clones attacked GranDracmon with their energy-based techniques smashed into the vampire, throwing even him into the street. The demon threw car after car at Apocalymon. The sea of cars had long since been abandoned, but if they were occupied, it would not have mattered to him at all. The Dark Area digimon used his claws to bat them aside. GranDracmon continued his assault, until Apocalymon began to fire a barrage of laser grenades at the demon below. GranDracmon blocked the assault with a passenger bus, but Apocalymon’s attack instantly tore it to shreds.

Apocalymon shot one of his claws into the pavement and used it like elastic to pull himself closer to the ground. He began to whip his claws like a multi-armed boxer, bashing and jabbing, it was all the demon could do to shield his face. With the majority of his claws, he continued the assault, but two claws sneaked through the maelstrom and grabbed GranDracmon’s arms and pulled them apart, revealing his face.

Apocalymon chuckled as he stared at the vampire’s face. “All right, you sack of shit, not so tough now, are you?”

The vampire struggled to free himself. “Look at you, you’re pathetic!” Apocalymon exclaimed, “So much for your great power, you’ve completely given up!”

GranDracmon smirked. “Actually, I was just waiting for you to get close enough.”

Apocalymon blinked. “What?”

The vampire laughed. “Eye of the Gorgon!”

“Eye of the Gorgon?” Pelsiomon gasped.

Kuzhuamon narrowed her eyes. “I think this is bad, very, very bad!”

They watched in confusion as Apocalymon slowly rose back into the night sky. GranDracmon leapt back to his feet and hovered into the air as well. The vampire lord laughed as he crossed his arms. “Chosen of Earth, please meet my new servant, Apocalymon!”

He turned to the Dark Area digimon. “Now, destroy them!”

“Oh shit,” Metalgarurumon X muttered.

Apocalymon roared and fired his claws forward. Two of the appendages once again morphed into likenesses of Mugen Dramon and promptly fired his Infinity Cannons, directly into Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X, throwing them through the pavement and into the sewers.

“Wargreymon!” Hououmon screamed.

“Metalgarurumon!” Plesiomon shouted.

“They will be fine,” Kuzuhamon said, gripping her staff, “However, I fear that is a condition we will not be enjoying soon…”

Apocalymon chuckled. “Still talking so high-and-mighty, huh?”

The fox woman stared at him. “Stop this at once! I am commanding you as your Priestess!”

“You’re not telling us what to do anymore!” he shouted. Four of his claws surrounded the three mega digimon, twisting and morphing until they had taken on the likeness of the four digimon partners of the four remaining members of the Digitalatri: Metalseadramon, Mugen Dramon, Pinocchimon and Piedmon.

Hououmon and Plesimon stared forward, each ones eyes darting to the giant crater in the city streets. “Keep your eyes forward,” Kuzuhamon ordered, “We will not survive for long if we are distracted.”

Before either of them could respond, the four Dark Master-claws attacked. Metalseadramon attacked with Infinity Stream, aiming for Plesiomon and Pinocchimon aimed for Hououmon with his Magic Hammer. Mugen Dramon’s Infinity Cannon and Piedmon’s Final Spell were aimed directly at Kuzuhamon.

Plesiomon fired her Water Tail Blaster, both her and Metalseadramon’s attacks slammed into each other, however, the Dark Master-doppelganger was too powerful from Plesiomon’s attack, and it was only by twisting out of the way did she avoid being sliced into two. As for Hououmon, she was able to avoid Pinocchimon’s attack simply by flying higher into the air, but a second round of his Magic Hammer at her wing was enough to send her into a tailspin where she smashed into one of the buildings surrounding the battlefield.

Kuzuhamon was able to easily maneuver her way through Mugen Dramon and Piedmon’s attacks…easily because she had full knowledge of their attacks, but when an un-morphed claw struck her from behind, she was thrown forward. She stopped herself inches before another claw would have grabbed her. She shot into the air, the claw following her.

She growled slightly as she watched Apocalymon’s claw gaining closer and closer. Out of the corner of her eye she spied another claw moving to intercept her. She grinned slightly to herself and quickly darted aside, the claw that had been following her smashed into the claw that was moving to intercept her and the two became tangled.

She stared at Apocalymon, still smiling. “A truly stupid move, I taught you better…”

While he was untangling himself, Kuzuhamon turned to GranDracmon, who was now resting atop another building, “Why don’t you fight yourself?”

The demon vampire began to laugh, “You are only 19 years of age, there is still much for you to learn. First rule of advice I shall give you, never do anything if there is someone you can…convince to do it for you.”

“Forced, you mean!” Kuzuhamon noticed that Pelsiomon and Hououmon had floated over to join her, but she kept her gaze firmly on the self-proclaimed God of the Digital World.

“Or manipulation works just as well…you should know that better then anyone. Ah, I see that Apocalymon is ready for his next attack.”

The trio turned their attention to the gigantic digimon, whose claws were like mouths, ready to attack. “Why don’cha just fight yourself?” Plesiomon asked, “Are you scare or something?”

“Plesiomon!” Hououmon gasped.

GranDracmon continued to smirk. “All digimon are born with the ability to manipulate energy and matter, rarely together, and rarely on a planet-wide scale I’ll grant you, but all digimon have these techniques, one of mine is simply to manipulate the atoms and chemicals within a living brain, in this case, Apocalymon’s.” His smile grew, “But Apocalymon…he has the ability to use all digimon’s attacks…and I do mean ALL, right?”

The Dark Area digimon grinned and one of his claws shot in front of Kuzuhamon, Hououmon and Plesiomon. The claw began to twist and morph into a likeness of non-other then GranDracmon himself.

“Oh shit,” Plesiomon muttered.

The GranDracmon-doppelganger threw his hands above his head and a white sphere of light began to from within his palms. Hououmon stared in horror. “Isn’t that…”

“Move!” Kuzhuamon ordered, “Now!”

Thanks to her warning, the GranDracmon-doppelganger’s Crystal Revolution completely missed the trio of digimon, instead, it struck a skyscraper, completely transforming it into crystal.

“How the hell are we gonna beat him?” Plesiomon gasped, “GranDracmon was hard enough, but now we’ve got him too!”

“We are going to have to use whatever force is necessary,” Kuzuhamon replied.

“That’s it?” Hououmon gasped, “They’re you teammates, and you’re just going to kill them?”

“What else would you have me do?” she asked, “This entire world is at risk.”

The Holy Beast turned her attention back to the giant crater in the street, “Wargreymon…”

Kuzuhamon gripped her staff tightly. “If you do not wish to aid me, then stay behind.” She shot forward and tremendous speed, hopping to pass through Apocalymon’s claws and strike his face, but his sharp appendages continued to jab at her. She twisted her staff around at quick speed, sending one of the claws twirling backwards where it knocked into Apocalymon’s nose. She leapt onto another claw and ran up its DNA-shaped chain and landed on his giant cubed body. She was about to run to his actual body when she felt the shadow of one of the claws overhead.

“Starlight Explosion!”

The fox woman blinked in surprise as Hououmon’s attack struck the claw with enough force to actually destroy it. She grinned at the Holy Beast. “Thank you.”

“Just hurry up before I change my mind!” she shouted, “We’ll cover you!”

Kuzuhamon nodded and charged towards Apocalymon’s organic body. “Stay back!” he shouted.

The fox woman continued on her path. “Aren’t you going to fight back?” she shouted, “Come on, I thought you were going to defeat us, turn us into crystals just like the others?”

He raised his arms into the air. “You don’t know when the shut up do you? Crystal Revolution!”

He fired the double of GranDracmon’s attack at the approaching fox woman. She grinned. “Perfect.” She twisted the edge of her staff around and the Crystal Revolution struck the tip at full force. She was deflecting enough of the beam to continue to run forward, but the majority was flowing around her weapon, striking her armored body. Still she pressed on, until she had come close enough to Apocalymon’s organic body to shove the crystalline wave into his chest, now his own attack was covering him as well. The wave soon overtook Kuzuhamon, transforming her into crystal, but the portion she deflected was enough to turn Apocalymon to glass as well. The Dark Area digimon’s transformed body smashed into a building roof, he and Kuzuhamon, statues locked in battle for all eternity.

“Kuzuhamon,” Plesiomon gasped.

“That was her plan all along,” Hououmon exclaimed in realization.

Before Plesiomon could respond, both digimon heard a roar of laughter. They twisted around to stare at the God of the Digital World.

“Don’t think this means you’ve won,” GranDracmon chuckled.

“We don’t stand a chance, do we?” Plesiomon asked.

“Probably not,” Hououmon responded, “But that doesn’t mean we’re not going down without a fight! On three…one…two…three! Starlight Explosion!”

“Water Tail Blaster!”

Both attacks shot forward at incredible speed, Hououmon’s from the right and Plesiomon’s from the left. GranDracmon held his arms out, each one in the path of an attack. He groaned slightly, exerting his power. Suddenly, both attacks twisted around as soon as they came close enough to his hands.

“Oh shit!” Hououmon shouted.

Plesiomon’s Water Tail Blaster struck Hououmon directly in the beak, while Hououmon’s Starlight Explosion bashed into Plesiomon’s neck. Both digimon were thrown onto a building roof. GranDracmon darted above them, a white glow forming in his outstretched arms. “Crystal Revolution!”

“Gaia Force!”

“Garuru Tomahawk!”

GranDracmon glanced to both sides as Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X’s attacks smashed into his shoulders, causing him to cease his attack on the two fallen digimon.

“So, you’re still alive?” he asked, staring down the two X-digimon.

“You’re damn right we are!” Metalgarurumon X shouted.

“There you go with that mouth again,” he replied, shaking his head.

“Shut up!” Wargreymon X shouted. He glanced down at Hououmon and Plesiomon, “Are you two allright?”

They struggled to stand. “Yeah,” the Holy Bird answered, “We’ll be fine.”

GranDracmon smirked. “Crystal Revolution!”

Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X braced themselves for his attack, but were horrified as he directed his crystal wave at Hououmon and Plesiomon, trapping them in crystal statues. They were locked in pose of attempting to stand, their face displaying a look of weakness and horror.

Wargreymon X screamed, “GranDracmon! I’ll make you pay for this!”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” he laughed, “You cannot win! I have centuries…millennia of might and power! You are nothing to me! Nothing at all!”

“And you don’t get it!” Wargreymon X shouted, “We’ve never lost, not once! No matter what, we’ll beat you!”

He smirked. “And you call me arrogant…”

“That’s because you are,” Metalgarurumon X replied.

“Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black…”

“Or maybe…”

“Would you two shut up already?!” Wargreymon X shouted, clenching his fists, “I don’t want to talk him to death, I just want to kill him!”

“So eager to dish out death, aren’t you?”

“Stop talking like you’re so fucking high and mighty!”

“But am I!” he said, “You still do not understand, I am the God of the Digital World! I am power incarnate! I am…”

He was cut off abruptly when Metalgarurumon X’s Garuru Tomahawk smashed into his face, throwing his head back. “Sorry,” the wolf said, “But someone had to shut you up!”

GranDracmon roared. “I’ve had enough of this! Crystal Revolution!”

Both X-digimon twisted out of the way to avoid the attack, but continued forward. Metalgarurumon X began to fire a stream of bullets from his shotguns, laying down a cover fire for Wargreymon X to shoot in from the right, aiming his bladed gauntlets at GranDracmon’s neck. “Come on…come on…” he muttered as he shot closer, “Just a little more…”

He pulled his arm back, waiting for his opportunity. He took a deep breath and swung…

…but missed as GranDracmon ducked at the last second to avoid a missile blast from Metalgarurumon X.

“Damn it!” the dinosaur man shouted.

GranDracmon laughed. “So, that was your plan, was it? If you are resulting to such obvious distraction tactics, then you truly are doomed.”

Both X-digimon hovered near each other, staring at the demon. “I’m running low, how ‘bout you?” Metalgarurumon X asked.

“I was exhausted two hours ago,” he said, “But we’ve got to keep going, we’re the only ones left now.”

He smiled. “I never had any intention of giving up.”

“On three?”

He nodded. “One…two…three!”

Both X-digimon shot forward as fast as they could, but Metalgarurumon X reached him first. He was about to pummel him with a physical attack, but GranDracmon punched him as hard as he could in his stomach. Wargreymon X screeched to a halt, staring in horror as his friend screamed out in pain; he was certain that he would be finishing this fight on his own…with what little strength he had left.

GranDracmon grabbed Metalgarurumon X by his legs and flung him into Wargreymon X with enough force that sent both of them crashing into a building roof; the metallic wolf lying motionless atop the dinosaur man’s stomach.

Wargreymon X struggled to move, “Metalgarurumon!” he shouted.

“I…I can’t move at all,” he muttered, “I…I’m paralyzed!”

“Shit,” the dinosaur gasped, “He’s coming!”

“I…I’m sorry…”

GranDracmon laughed as he hovered above them. “I see you finally understand,” he laughed, “There is nothing you could do anyway, I am simple invincible, I am immortal! Digimon do eventually die, their data becomes too corrupted to stand together, but I will live on! Your world will fall before me, even those Chosen that will be foolish enough to challenge me will fail. You have fought well, and for that, I will honor you…your statues will sit at the entrance to my castle, a reminder to those that dare oppose me!”

He raised his hands above his head, and a ball of white energy began to appear. Wargreymon X struggled as hard as he could, but it was no use, Metalgarurumon X’s cyborg body was simply too heavy for him to lift…especially with his legs tangled beneath his torso.

GranDracmon smiled slightly. “Farewell. Crystal Revolution!”

He flung the ball of energy forward, it sailed through the sky before enveloping the two X-digimon. Metalgarurumon X did not move as his body was transformed into crystal, and Wargreymon X could only stare up at the night sky as the wave crept over his eyes, blocking his vision forever.

GranDracmon roared with laughter. “I have won! I have defeated them! I am supreme!” He twisted around and stared at the city before him, he was even able to see across the city boundaries to the land surrounding it. “This entire country will be mine before long, and I will use it to conquer the planet! Hahaha!”

And the Chosen and digimon defenders of Earth, could do nothing, they were trapped in statues, for all time…

Taichi and Yamato, along with their digimon partners, who had been regressed back to the Baby forms, had suddenly found themselves floating within a void of complete and absolute white, a glow that seemed the emanate from all directions, a place surrounded by nothingness. Completely empty…all saved them.

Taichi crossed his arms as he hovered in the void. “Well, anyone got any ideas?”

“We’ve got to get out of here first,” Koromon suggested.

“But where exactly are we?” Tsunomon asked, “I mean, we could be…anywhere.”

“This is the void of those trapped in crystal.”

The quartet spun around and saw an assemblage of nine being, nine humans female, nine that they knew well. “M…Miayag,” Taichi gasped, “Sora, Anna…M…Maria, Keeya”

Yamato was equally as surprised. “Noriko, Lynna, Catherine, Iduia? But...how…?”

“As I have just said,” Miayag answered, “We are now in a void, a place created by GranDracmon’s Crystal Revolution, here is where all turned to statues are sent.”

“Okay,” Yamato said, “But what about Catherine and the others? They weren’t…” He suddenly became aware of the changes in the French woman’s appearance…her hair had returned, her locks of curly blond hair were now once more flowing across her shoulders.

She was not the only one who was starkly different, Keeya’s missing had had been returned to her, Maria once more had legs, and Iduia…Iduia was no longer a mess of implants and machines.

“We’re dead?” Yamato gasped.

“No,” Catherine smiled, “We four are, but you are not, not yet…”

“But then how…?”

Keeya turned to Sora, then mentioned to her and Maria. “Our queen called us here…”

Catherine placed a hand on Iduia’s shoulder and mentioned to Noriko. “As did our Princess.”

“But why?” Koromon asked.

“To urge you not to give up,” Anna said.

“Yeah,” Lynna nodded, “Ya can’t quit now!”

Taichi smiled. “We never had any intention of giving up, we just need to figure out how to win.”

“But the first thing we need to do is get out of here!” Koromon exclaimed, mentioning with his arms.

Miayag thought for a moment. “Perhaps if you had enough strength, you could break free.”

“But we’re already at Mega levels,” Tsunomon protested, “How could we get stronger then that?”

Sora and Noriko glanced at each other, then nodded. “We’ll do it.”

“Do what?” Yamato asked.

“We’ll just give you more of our power,” Sora explained, “We’ll give you everything we have if we have too.”

“No!” Taichi shouted, “Sora, you can’t…I mean…remember what happened to…to…”

“Then we’ll help too!” Lynna interrupted, “Me and Anna ain’t gonna sit on the sidelines now!”

“You can’t!” Yamato protested, “You’re all still….still alive! And if you give your power now, you’ll die!”

“We can’t just let it end like this!” Noriko said, “We can’t!”

Iduia smiled and spoke for the first time any of them had heard. Her voice was a melody tone, a Brazilian voice that could have rivaled any singer. “Then maybe we should all help.”

“Yes,” Keeya smiled, “We will give you our energy as well.”

“But how can you?” Tsunomon asked.

“My power of Forrest still exists in Mimi,” the African woman explained.

“And Metal is in Michael,” Iduia said.

“My power of Light iz still wi’t you, Yamato,” Catherine added.

“And my power of Earth is with you Taichi,” Maria giggled.

Anna turned to Taichi. “And I will give you Wind.”

Lynna nodded to Yamato. “And I’ll give ya Water.”

“And the last power,” Miayag said, “My power, shall be given to you both.”

“Your power?” Taichi gasped.

She nodded. “Yuushi was a First Chosen as well, and I hold his power of Fate, I too, am a Daughter of the First.”

Taichi turned to the others. “This…this might work…this could work…”

“Of course it’ll work,” Koromon said, “It has to!”

Yamato grinned. “Yeah, will all of your behind us, there’s no way we can lose!”

Miayag nodded. “Taichi Yagami, who has taught us Courage, and Yamato Ishida, who has taught us Friendship, you are the last hope, you must not fail!”

Iduia smiled as she faced Yamato, a glow of gray light emerging from her hands. “Metal.”

“Tsunomon evolve to Gabumon X!”

Keeya turned to Taichi as a green glow emanated from her palms, “ Forest.”

“Koromon evolve to Agumon X!”

Lynna grinned. “Water.”

“Gabumon X evolve to Garurumon X!”

Anna nodded. “Wind.”

“Agumon X evolve to Greymon X!”

Catherine was next. “Light.”

“Garurumon X evolve to Weregarurumon X!”

Maria grinned. “Earth.”

“Greymon X evolve to Metalgreymon X!”

Noriko bowed slightly at Yamato. “Darkness.”

“Weregarurumon X evolve to Metalgarurumon X!”

Sora grinned at Taichi. “Fire.”

“Metalgreymon X evolve to Wargreymon X!”

Miayag now stared at the two Mega digimon, the fusions of Taichi and Agumon X and Yamato and Gabumon X. She raised her palms and a golden light ushered forth, merging with both digimon, causing them to glow gold as well. “Fate.”

Wargreymon X nodded. “With Forest, Wind, Earth, Fire…”

Metalgarurumon X echoed his statement, “With Metal, Water, Light and Darkness…”

“With Fate,” they both said at once, turning their heads upwards, “GranDracmon, you’re finished!”

-----------

GranDracmon grinned as she stretched his arms. “Citizens of Tokyo,” he said, “Prepare to meet thy maker.”

He suddenly became aware of a bright glow exploding from behind him. He turned and saw that the frozen statues of Metalgarurumon X and Wargreymon X were glowing brightly. “You are truly the most stubborn beings I have ever encountered!” he shouted, “But if you must continue to be taught the same lesson, then so be it!”

From below, he saw suddenly aware that the statues of Kuzuhamon, Plesiomon and Hououmon were glowing in gold, light blue and black, and dark blue and orange. From far in the distance, at the park which housed the statue of the remaining X-Chosen, although he was unaware of it, Mimi’s statue was glowing green, and Michael’s statue was glowing gray. The light from these statues suddenly burst forth, flying through the air before smashing into the statues of Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X, exploding in bright light. GranDracmon was forced to shield his eyes, from the pure light.

However, had he been able to, he would have seen the two digimon changing into odd forms, like two giant arms. Gray light formed a lower right leg, green light formed a lower right leg, light blue light created an upper right leg, dark blue light created a upper leg left, bright light formed a lower right torso, brown light created a lower left torso, dark light created a right shoulder, a orange light created a left shoulder, and a gold light formed a helmeted head. The rainbow of light exploded, revealing a majestic figure standing the pre-dawn light. “Omegamon X!”

GranDracmon stared in horror. “O…Omegamon X….Omegamon X? How…how? A…A Royal Knight? How can a Royal Knight be here? You can’t be here!” He narrowed his eyes, “But you’re arrival cannot be mere chance…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Omegamon X spoke, “But you’re not going to distract me from destroying you.”

The demon smirked. “Just because you evolved into a Royal Knight, don’t think that you are superior to me. Crystal Revolution!”

Omegamon X remained in place as the demon’s attack struck him in the chest, trapping him within another sheet of crystal. He smirked. “All the showmanship in evolving and for nothing.”

The crystal sheet suddenly exploded, revealing that the mysterious Royal Knight was completely unharmed. “Sorry,” he said, “You’ll have to do better then that.”

He stared in horror. “H…How can this be?”

“GranDracmon, you who hold us in contempt, prepare yourself.”

The demon narrowed his eyes, but before he could react, Omegamon X shot forward, slamming his left-handed Wargreymon X head into the side of his head, actually knocking him off of the roof and only by forcing himself to stop, did he stop from slamming into the middle section of an apartment building. He twisted around and began to fire blasts of dark energy from his hands, a barrage of explosive missiles.

Omegamon X used his Metalgarurumon X head arm to bat them away, showering the ground. As the pavement exploded beneath them, the Royal Knight shot forward again, spinning around and smacking both of his feet into the demon’s head. Before GranDracmon could recover, Omegamon X raised both of his arms above his head and slammed down onto the demon’s head as hard as he could, smashing GranDracmon into the pavement.

The Royal Knight hovered in the sky and readied himself to continue his barrage, when GranDracmon whipped a passenger bus at him. He quickly darted out of the way, but when he turned back, the maniacal vampire was gone.

“GranDracmon!” he shouted, slamming into the ground, “GranDracmon! I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the Earth if I have to!”

“Surprise!” the demon laughed, bashing through a building. As the brick and mortar fell onto the Royal Knight, GranDracmon shot forward and began to assail him with a barrage of punches, smashing him across the chest. Omegamon X opened his arms, then threw them into the demon’s head. The vampire began to stumble as the pain from his head overwhelmed his body. Omegamon X brought his arms up, and charged forward, but before he could finish his attack, GranDracmon whipped around, grabbed the Royal Knight by his cape and flipped him onto the ground. He raised his fists and began to bash him with repeated assaults. Omegamon X whipped his Wargreymon X-head around, jabbing one of the horns into GranDracmon’s side. The demon vampire winced back, and the Royal Knight was about to jump to his feet, but the mouth that comprised GranDracmon’s lower shoulder opened wide and clamped around Omegamon X’s torso. The Royal Knight broke feet and stumbled backwards, clutching his injured side.

He removed his arm, a large section of his torso was missing…worse, the area around the hole was beginning to shimmer and scatter. GranDracmon laughed. “So, even you’re not invincible, huh?” He stared at the missing section of his body, “That’s a pretty bad gash, and your data is beginning to break apart, it’s going to spread to your Digicore soon…”

He narrowed his eyes. “Then I’ll just have to end this before that happens!” He charged forward, his arms outstretched. GranDracmon ran forward and threw his arms out as well. Both of their appendages bashed into each other, both combatants unleashed all of their might, trying to overpower the other. As GranDracmon began to push forward, Omegamon X shifted his legs to give him more leverage, but the demon started to push even more. The Royal Knight pulled his head back, then swung it forward, bashing it into the vampire’s face. He released his grip on Omegamon X’s arms and the Royal Knight punched him as hard as he could before darting back into the air. GranDracmon began to whip cars at him again, and he darted between them with surprising ease before dropping from the sky as hard as he could, slamming into GranDracmon’s back with all of his might. The demon roared in pain, before twisting around, grabbing Omegamon X by his legs and his neck. He raised him above his head, then swung down, crushing his back against his knee. He swung him into a building, before leaping atop another building roof.

He panted heavily, watching as Omegamon X shot through the roof and hovered in the pre-dawn sky. The two combatants stared at one another, before Omegamon X smiled slightly. “You’re losing.”

“What?” GranDracmon gasped, “What?”

“You’ve lost…you’re losing energy…”

“And what about you?!” he snapped back, “That injury’s getting bigger!”

Omegamon X did not look down at his growing wound, instead, he stared at the demonic vampire. “GranDracmon, you who hold us in contempt, prepare for death!”

He raised his Metalgarurumon X arm, the mouth of the wolf opening to allow a large cannon to appear. “Garuru Cannon!”

A massive explosion of energy shot forth. GranDracmon tensed his muscles to weather the attack, but as the Royal Knight’s energy enveloped around him, he screamed in intense pain. His skin was being torn from his bone, but his true horror was yet to come, as Omegamon X raised his Wargreymon X arm, a massive sword erupting forth. “Grey Sword!”

GranDracmon watched as the Royal Knight shot forward, the sword glimmering in the rising sun. “How can this be? How have I lost?”

He continued to stare at Omegamon X as he rushed forward. He narrowed his eyes and could see Taichi and Yamato, along with Agumon X and Gabumon X, but behind them, he was able to see each and every Daughter of the First: Sora of Fire and Piyomon, Noriko of Darkness and Plotmon, Maria of Earth and Patamon, Catherine of Light and Floramon, Anna of Wind and Penmon, Lynna of Water and Gizamon, Keeya of Forest and Mushmon, and Iduia of Metal and Kokuwamon. Even Miayag and her Plotmon were there as well.

GranDracmon sighed deeply. “I understand. Cahiti, you knew this, didn’t you? That is why you drew the other Demon Lords to you…isn’t it?”

He glanced up and saw a transparent image of the Demon Lord of Pride, who was hovering in the air, his arms crossed. He smirked slightly and jerked his head to the right. GranDracmon felt an overwhelming explosion of pain as Omegamon X jabbed his sword deep into the demon’s face, squarely between his eyes.

The Royal Knight yanked the weapon out and held it up into the sky. It began to glow bright, shimmering in the pre-dawn light. “All Delete.”

Despite his injury, the demon began to chuckle. “F…fool! B…by gathering your energy…y…that wound will k…k…kill you…”

The Royal Knight stared down at him, “If that is the price to save this world and those that I love, so bit it!”

He slammed the sword deep into GranDracmon’s lower torso with enough force to cause all the windows in the immediate area to shatter. The demon’s body was suddenly covered by dark energy. His body shimmered for a moment before his data exploded apart, scattering into the sky.

His data flowed far and wide, eventually raining to the ground. The explosion of particles eventually reached even the park. They littered across the frozen Chosen, each one trapped in stone. The crystal layer began to crack, before each and every one shattered, and the Chosen were freed.

Dingo fell onto his knees, panting heavily. “W…what the hell happened?”

Jyou glanced around. “And where is GranDracmon?”

“GranDracmon!” Hikari gasped, “He…he turned us into crystals! I…I remember….” Her eyes shot open, “Taichi! Where’s Taichi?”

---

Back at the battlefield, the statues of the frozen Chosen shattered as well, the fused digimon returning to their previous forms. As the crystal surrounding Hououmon shattered, Sora fell onto her stomach, being off-balance due to her missing leg. She blinked. “W…we’re free?”

“Sora!” Piyomon cried, “We won!”

A smile slowly crept over the redhead’s face, “We won…”

“Sora!” she heard Noriko scream, “Look into the sky!”

She, along with the other freed Chosen and digimon, twisted their heads to the sky. Omegamon X was still standing in the same position he had been in when he defeated GranDracmon, the rising sun glinting off of his armor, his cape billowing in the wind.

“Wow,” Lynna said, “That’s one fuckin’ kick-ass digimon!”

Noriko’s eyes focused on the gapping hole in the side, but before she could say anything, he began to fall…fast. His body glowed brightly before splitting into his primary forms: Agumon X and Gabumon X vanished instantly, their data scattering into the sky. Taichi and Yamato continued to fall, and by the way their bodies remained so still, it was obvious to all that they were not even conscious…and to even greater horror of the assembled Chosen, their bodies were beginning to shimmer and phase out of this world.

Sora twirled to face her partner. “Piyomon!”

The pink bird nodded. “Piyomon evolve to….evolve to….” She stared at her remaining wing in horror. “I…I can’t!”

“You’re too low on energy…” she said in almost overwhelming horror, so overwhelming that her body could not comprehend it at once.

The group continued to stare in hopeless helplessness as Taichi and Yamato fell to the ground; the blond man falling to the right, while Taichi continued to fall directly above them.

“Yamato!” Noriko screamed, “Yamato, wake up! Wake up!” The others soon joined her, but it was not any use, neither Taichi nor Yamato had awoken. Matters only became worse as Yamato’s body began to glow slightly; his arms were beginning to dissolve. As he began to fall faster, his body suddenly vanished in a burst of light, particles scattering across the sky.

Noriko felt her heart rip from her chest, but Sora could not comfort her, as her attention was focused squarely on the falling Taichi. His body was beginning to glow in the same ethereal light as Yamato. She was about to call out to him, when she noticed a blur shooting towards him in the sky.

Miayag kept her eyes focused on Taichi as she saddled herself on Witchmon’s broom. “Hurry!” she shouted, “Faster!”

Her partner did not respond, only willed her broom to fly as fast as it could. They reached Taichi in little time, and Miayag reached out to catch him. She reached her arms out and he fell into her grasp. She began to pull him into her embrace, but his body soon vanished into a burst of light as well.

The Priestess stared in horror as she watched what was left of Taichi’s body shoot through the sky like gravity-defying comets. “No!”

Sora and Noriko were still in shock, staring up at the sky. After what seemed like ages, their emotions finally overwhelmed them. “Yamato!” Noriko screamed, “Yamato!”

Sora began to pound her fists into the building roof. “Taichi….Taichi!” She turned her head to the sky and screamed as loud as she could, “Come on, Taichi! Come back….Taichi!”

---

In the park, the Chosen were still recovering from GranDracmon’s attack, when Hikari suddenly gasped loudly. She clutched her heart and stared into the sky. “What is it?” Plotmon X asked.

She ignored her partner and continued to stare forward. Her voice began to quiver. “O…Oniichan, h…have you left me too?”

Mimi shot her head towards the other brown-haired woman. “Hikari?”

The younger woman fell into her arms, sobbing loudly.

---

The day was beautiful, the sky was a prefect blue, the sun was shining brightly, casting its rays down on the church below. Clouds were absent, birds were chirping, the trees were a multitude of green. It was a beautiful day.

It was a beautiful day, despite the event occurring within the cemetery. The Chosen, along with their families and partners, were standing before the elegantly designed headstones. Their bodies may have been deleted, but the families and friends of Taichi and Yamato still wanted a place where they felt the spirits of the two fallen could rest in peace.

Noriko was speaking to Yamato’s parents, while Sora and Hikari had been speaking to Mr. and Mrs. Yagami. The middle-aged woman had finally awoken from her coma, but the news that her son had died was too much for her to bear. She suffered another breakdown, and was now standing by her husband’s side, staring blankly into the distance.

Hikari turned to the redheaded woman. “Sora…I…I just want you to know how sorry I am….”

She blinked. “You’re sorry? But Hikari, he was your brother…”

The younger woman sniffled, “Yeah, but he really…lo….loved….” She could not even finish, as the sight of Sora’s tears was too much for her.

Off in the distance, hiding amongst the trees and shrubs, stood Miayag and her Plotmon. They had been invited, but they both felt that after what had happened, it would be best if they declined. Yet, the Priestess could not ignore the ceremony to honor the fallen.

Plotmon sniffled. “This is so sad.”

“Yes, it is,” Miayag responded, sighing deeply, “And unfortunately, this is what occurs in war. It is not honorable, it is not heroic, it is not romantic, it is war, it is death. It is pain and suffering, all for the sake of the desires of a few…or a one…”

She gripped her staff tightly. “This war…was because of me, because I brought this horror upon the Digital World.”

She did not speak for the next few moments, but suddenly spoke out, “There is one answer I believe I have arrived at…”

“What’s that?” Plotmon asked.

“Religion,” she said, “There may be many different beliefs, but with varying degrees, each one holds the hope of a life beyond this one, whether it is simply to live again, or to ascend to a heavenly realm, they hope for more then what we see. And I hope will all of my soul, that is truly the case, for I can think of no one more deserving of paradise then Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida, for in order to save this world, and all that reside within it, they gave up all they could, they gave up their very lives. Yamato, Taichi, may you rest in peace.”

She turned and began to exit the cemetery. “Come, Plotmon,” she said, “Let us now find our place within this world.”

------------

The next few days were a blur to Sora and Noriko, they were bombarded with families and friends, giving their condolences and promises to be there whenever the needed them, but, how could they know?

Sora sat at her artists’ easel, staring down at the blank page. The money from her latest design had almost run out, she had to sell more creations, but her heart simply was not there any longer. She was certain that her inspiration would return to her, but now..? Now, her heart was crowded with the image of a bushy-haired young man.

“Oh Taichi,” she cried, “Why did you have to leave me? Why…?”

She collapsed onto her easel, “Taichi…”

---------------

Life would have to go on, as it always had. Hikari returned to her profession, and the smiles and laughs of the children brought her comfort in her depression. She chose not to stay at home as much as possible, as the apartment was now so empty.

Mimi and Michael returned to America, Mimi starting her cooking show once again and Michael once again was thrown into the stress of television production. They would often find themselves wishing to escape to the Digital World, only to remind themselves that it was no longer there.

Jyou continued his internship, and despite the stress and headache that came from hospital work, when he saw the smiles on the faces of his patients, he knew that he had made the right choice.

Noriko remained in Yamato’s apartment, but without any way of paying the rent, she was forced to start to look for work, unfortunately, without any skills, she had to find work at the local fast food restaurant and with her temper, she was a natural.

The woman sighed in annoyance and tapped her foot on the ground. “I’ve been waiting for hours!”

Noriko rolled her eyes, “First of all, watch your tone, and second of all, you’ve only been waiting five minutes.”

The woman began to shake, “W…what…I want to speak to your manager!”

Noriko shrugged. “Go ahead, what do I care?”

And Sora struggled as best she could, but her heart continued to ache every time she looked up to the sky.

As for the Digitalatri, they eventually continued with their own lives, separating into their own futures; Hiroshi and Keiko vanished into the population of northern Japan, Takashi continued with his education, eventually becoming a police officer, and James returned to England, eventually securing a position as a bank manager. As for Miayag, she choose to wander the Earth, seeking absolution from her sins, but she wished with all her heart, that she could bring Taichi and Yamato back, but she knew that was impossible. Death was final, and it was eternal.

-----------

During the fight with GranDracmon, much of the city had suffered extensive damage, but the area directly within the battle had been almost completely destroyed. The city had sent its workers to begun to clean the debris, but due to the damage, they first had to clear a path to the epicenter, which took five days to do so. However, that gave enough time for mysterious eggs to appear within the damaged infrastructure. These eggs had formed when mysterious particles began to collect together, and they remained un-touched for all this time.

Now, as the sun began to set, one egg, an egg covered with an-off colored brown, slowly began to crack, and a very human hand began to reach towards the sky… ……Mistakes of a past forgotten…… ……Creatures born of science and sorcery…… ……A soul torn apart…… ……Why did you leave?…… ……This was not supposed to happen…… ...The Digital Gate is the key…… ……You’ve lied to me all this time…… ……I am a Chosen that has fallen…… ……Those weapons will be mine…… ……I am not the person I once was…… …...A great evil has awakened…… ...Returned from beyond…….. ...The tenth………. ...Katana of Fire…….. ...Shotguns of Light…… …..Staff of Fate……. ...Flail of Chance….. ……First Chosen... ……Rebirth……. ……..Digimon: Gog……..

Author’s Note: I choose this ending, because I feel it fits well with the theme of this tale, that of loss, and the question, ‘What would you give up to achieve what you want?’ For Miayag and the Digitalatri, they wanted to be cured of the Second Black Death more then anything, and they turned their backs on everything they had been taught for it. As for Taichi and Yamato, they wanted to save the world, and they were willing to give up their lives for it.

So the question I leave you, Would you be willing to give up your lives to save the ones you love?

And that mysterious set of lines after the end of the story….well, you’ll just have to see…

See ya later.