Once again, still don't own. I repeat: I DON'T OWN DIGIMON.
Also, sorry for not updating yesterday, but I was at a renaissance/fantasy faire with one of my best friends ALL DAY, and then slept over at her house. Sorry for the delay.

Chapter Nine: Between Light and Darkness

Outside, Beelzemon and Kuzuhamon had gotten back on the bike and left again.

"Where are we going now?" Kuzuha asked.

"It's a surprise," he told her.

They rode on for a few more minutes before he turned the bike into a forest and continued on before stopping just outside a beautiful meadow. Kuzuha looked at it in wonder, then ran off into it like a small girl would.

"So…like it?" Beelzemon asked.

"Yes, thank you!" she said happily.

And it was. The meadow was filled with flowers of many different kinds, and the sky was clear, so hundreds of stars shone in the sky along with a moon that was just about full. It was a perfect place for a Digimon used to living in natural areas to visit.

Kuzuha leaned back and stared at the sky in awe. "This place is so beautiful…"

And so are you…Beelzemon thought. "Well, I've seen this place a few times, and figured you might like it."

Kuzuhamon got up and hugged Beelzemon tightly, feeling extremely happy that he'd done all this to cheer her up after the previous night. "Thank you. You have no idea how happy this makes me…"

Beelzemon just smiled at her then said, "Ya know, I've wanted to do this for a while now…"

"Hm? What's that?"

Beelzemon kissed her intensely, wrapping his arms around the slender fox girl's shoulders. And then, slowly, she began returning it. The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes, and just when Beelzemon would have started something else…

"Mega Missile!" a roar sounded, and dark energy missiles struck the two down.

"Kuzuhamon! Are you okay?" Beelzemon asked.

"I-I'm fine!" she said.

"01 Crusher!" another voice yelled, attacking with three spears of darkness. This time Beelzemon and Kuzuhamon were ready, and dodged it.

"Who's doing this?!" Kuzuha yelled.

Blackmegagargomon and Chaosgallantmon appeared and landed in front of the two human-formed Digimon.

"Gazimon…Blackagumon…no!" she said in horror.

"Why did you betray us, Kudamon?" Chaosgallantmon asked. "We could have been the strongest…but Lord Barbamon says we can't have ultimate power unless we're all together."

"Yeah! We were supposed to be the best!" Blackmegagargomon said.

"He's been using us for some twisted experiment!" Kuzuhamon tried to reason. "We're nothing but his pawns!"

"You just betrayed us!" Chaosgallantmon shouted. "You traitor, you're trying to steal our powers! Chaos Shot!" he roared, attacking Kuzuha with his lance. Kuzuhamon made no move to run away, though.

"Kuzuhamon! Darkness Claw!" Beelzemon shouted, striking Chaosgallantmon's lance away. "Leave Kuzuhamon alone!"

"You……" Blackmegagargomon said. "You're Beelzemon! Why is one of the Demon Lords with this traitor?!"

"She never betrayed you, you idiots. You two betrayed her!" Beelzemon shouted. "If you idiots hadn't been so concerned about being the strongest, you might have realized that Barbamon's been using you!"

"He gave us power!" Blackmegagargomon challenged. "That's all that matters!"

"If we didn't have power, then we'd always have no defense against those bully Digimon in our village," Chaosgallantmon said.

"Yeah, I thought power was the only thing that mattered, too. Then I learned that some things in life are more important!" Beelzemon shouted. "Demon Blast!" Kuzuhamon's brainwashed friends were struck down by the energy.

"We'll delete you, too, then!" Chaosgallantmon said, struggling to get up.

Beelzemon snarled at the 'knight', and his eyes began glowing. "Come on…" he whispered to himself. A Fractal DigiEgg appeared around him, and when it faded, he was in his 'perfect' form. He was really unchanged, except for the metal parts of his outfit – where before they'd been dark grey, they were now silver. Also, Berenjena was attached to his right arm, and he had large black angel wings on his back – two main ones for flying, and two smaller ones for speed. His eyes had also turned from red to green. He looked every inch the Demon Lord he was supposed to be. Kuzuhamon was awestruck by his beauty. "All right you chumps, let's see you try an' take down a Demon Lord!"

"Beelzemon…" Kuzuha said.

"I'll take care of this, Kuzuha," he said, smiling at her. The Demon Lord attacked Chaosgallantmon and Blackmegagargomon, and the two were hard-pressed to fight back. They tried hard to fight him, but every attack was blocked by the Demon Lord's superior attack skills.

"He's too strong, Chaosgallantmon!" Blackmegagargomon said.

"We can take him. Besides, everyone has a weakness! Chaos Joust!" he shouted, aiming the attack at Kuzuhamon.

"Kuzuha, run!" Beelzemon shouted. The holy Digimon stood her ground and took out her staff. "That isn't gonna protect you! You still aren't strong enough!"

"It will," she said as the attack drew ever closer.

"Die, traitor!" Chaosgallantmon screamed.

"Kuzuhamon!" Beelzemon yelled. He felt his whole world shatter as the attack exploded and consumed both target and attacker. "No…NO!"

"Reverse Izuna!" a female voice cried out. The attack turned back and struck Chaosgallantmon, severely injuring him. "Shine Slash!" she yelled, hitting Blackmegagargomon. Kuzuha was still in her human form, and had a few scratches, but was otherwise unhurt.

"You…Kuzuha…" Beelzemon said in disbelief.

"You'll pay for that!" Chaosgallantmon yelled, attacking. Blackmegagargomon joined into the attack.

"Gazimon…Blackagumon…" Kuzuha said. "I am so sorry…Illuminator!" she cried, sending a massive light blast at them, striking the two down. "I just wish…we could go back to the village. They're mourning us, you know. They think we're dead."

"Liar!" Blackmegagargomon said.

"You're trying to trick us!" Chaosgallantmon said.

"No, I wasn't. Please forgive me…" she said before raising her staff. "Fatal Cross!" she cried, engulfing herself and her two friends in a brilliant white light. Blackmegagargomon and Chaosgallantmon screamed in agony.

"Kuzuhamon!" Beelzemon cried, sinking to the ground, world crashing in all around him.


Dun...dun......DUN! Cliffhanger! Is Kuzuha alive, or not? Here's a preview of next chapter:

"Fractal Code, Digitize!"

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