Day 18

The smell of sulfur and ash hung in the darkness. Only a few torches lined the stone halls of that ancient place. They burned with an unusually red light, devoid of any warmth. The demon digimon that now walked this passage had expected no less from his new employer, if indeed he was whom the messenger had claimed.

The demon, a beast in the form of a satyr with purple fur, two great horns, and a pair of black wings, reached the final doorway. A single Phantomon guarded it.

"Ah, I am pleased you have arrived, grandmaster. The high lord resides within."

"Enough platitudes," the demon said in a hostile, growling voice. "Open the door if you want to hold onto your miserable un-life."

The Phantomon said not a word but immediately obliged. The great doors swung open and the demon found himself walking into a large chamber with a domed roof, lava pits in the floor, and the sweet aroma of decay. The doors closed behind him.

"Why have you called me here?" he asked nonchalantly.

There was no response, but he could feel an immensely evil presence moving around him in the darkness, seemingly everywhere at once. It slithered all around him, just out of his range of sight.

"Well?" he asked, taking a few more steps into the room.

"Few are so arrogant," said that raspy, venomous voice, "as to speak to ME when they have not been addressed first."

"And why should I believe you are who you say you are?"

The creature laughed in the darkness. "Smart. You do not believe everything you're told, especially from mere lackeys. You truly do deserve your birthright, Mephismon."

"You're yet to offer me any proof," said the great satyr, Mephismon.

"Proof?" Something slithered in closer. "I'll give you proof…"

Something like a bony whip flew out of the darkness and lashed itself around Mephismon's wrist. Its razor-sharp edges tore into his flesh and made him choke with pain. It then hurled him through the air, deep into the chamber. Mephismon landed with a thud on the hard stone. As he began to push himself back up, he could sense the presence immediately before him, but all was still dark. He could feel its movements and hear its breathing. And then, two eyes appeared up in the air, unlike any Mephismon had seen before. They were like clouds of living energy, white at the center and growing darker into a red haze out from the core.

"Bathe in my presence, child. I am destruction incarnate, the taker of life and the unquestionable master of all demon digimon. My voice courses through your very soul. You knew since you came to this place that it was I who summoned you."

"Yes, I do believe I could tell. And though you may be my superior by both strength and birthright, I will not be talked down to. I've worked too hard for my position."

"Ah, yes. Your vaunted position as grandmaster…of a cadre of mercenaries, rogues and assassins. If you ever want to be taken seriously in this world you must reach far beyond those insignificant whelps. I am your only chance."

"Alright, Destroyer. What is it you offer?"

"Power. I will elevate you to the position of one of my highest generals, just as I did for one of your ancestors all those centuries ago. I shall also give you the means to complete your evolution and achieve your ideal level of strength. You may carve out your own realm in this world, and then other worlds as well."

"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't appealing. But I'm no fool. What's my part of the bargain?"

"You will do what you love and what you're best at. You will kill. There are many targets still out there left over from your predecessors. In order to win my favor, you must slaughter the digimon throughout this world who were paired with humans before the gate was sealed. Kill them all, but leave two for me."

"Any specific two?"

"Yes, but I doubt you would try to attack them anyway. They are much stronger than you are, I'm afraid, and I doubt you would be foolish enough to make an attempt on either of them. If you did your death would be well deserved."

"But other than that it's open season?"

"Most definitely. Kill to your heart's content. And remember, I will be watching."

Far removed from that sinister meeting, Angemon continued his studies in the Ivory Tower. Although it had been more than a week since his arrival he had not encountered Angewomon and he worried about where she might be. But he did not spend all of his time looking for her. On the contrary, he spent most of his waking hours in the enormous library or sometimes in the class taught by Goldramon.

On this occasion he was in the library again. A table stood before him covered in piles upon piles of books. The volumes before him all made reference to the Fifth Eye in one way or another. Oddly enough, though there were many of them, not one was written less than two hundred years earlier. The most recent texts were mostly works of fiction and made only a passing mention of the phrase, never explaining it. Apparently it had been a popular symbol centuries ago in literary circles, and usually signified something sinister from what Angemon could determine. His attempts at unearthing the origins of the phrase were showing little promise. What he really wanted was a much older book, ideally one from around the time Protomon made his prophecy, but unfortunately such texts were extraordinarily rare. The library held only a handful of books more than six hundred years old and Angemon had no idea if they made any mention of the Fifth Eye.

"I've been working much too hard," Angemon said to himself after closing another book without any answers for him. He cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms. "Who'd have thought it would be so hard to solve such a simple riddle?"

Angemon then heard someone approach from behind him. "Busy day?"

Angemon turned his head and saw a digimon he was unfamiliar with. "It sure is."

The digimon was similar to many angel digimon. His helmet, golden blonde hair, and pale face were like those of any Angemon. He had four white wings neatly folded behind him and he wore a simple green tunic over his lightly armored frame. His armor was all thin steel, but it was spaced out to make it very flexible. Simple leather gauntlets with plates to cover the backs of his hands guarded both of his fists. In his right hand he carried a tall wooden staff.

"Doing important research?"

"I sure hope so. What are you doing here?"

"I take care of the plants. I felt like stopping to chat with someone."

"Well pull up a chair."

"Don't mind if I do." The digimon sat down across from Angemon.

"Well I guess I'll start. I'm Angemon. And you are?"

"No name? Must be an outsider."

"As a matter of fact, I am."

"I see. But please, forgive my rudeness. I am known as Kuzamon."

"You don't have a name either, I take it."

"No point when you're the only one of your kind."

"The only one? And what 'kind' are you?"

"Well, I am a simple Champion digimon, an angel type like all others here. As I mentioned, I take care of the plants."

"I'll bet that's fulfilling work."

"It keeps me busy. But what about you? What's your story, outsider?"

"Well, do you want the short version or the long?"

"Definitely the long. I'm something of an explorer, you see. And I find there's no better way to explore the world than through someone else's eyes."

"Okay then, Kuzamon. First of all, I'm here doing some things for Omnimon. He and I are old friends from way back and now he needs my help. I'm here to learn about something called the Fifth Eye and to meet with Lucemon."

"A friend of Omnimon, you say?"

"Oh yeah. I hatched with the two digimon that joined to create him. We were all close friends, and once we met our human partners we only got closer. I don't know if you've heard of us, but we were the DigiDestined, sworn protectors of this world."

"Yes, we have heard a great deal about you brave warriors from the east."

"Great, then I won't have to explain. Anyway, after what seemed like an eternity of constantly fighting for our lives, it all came to an end ten years ago. The evil computer virus was destroyed. Omnimon had risen to become this world's protector. Life was finally peaceful. It's funny; in those troubled times we were all so close, but now I don't even know where most of my old friends are or how they're doing. To be honest I came up here more to see Gatomon than to help out Omnimon."

"Gatomon?"

"She was one of us and my closest friend other than my human partner, TK. I guess she'd have to be an Angewomon now if she really does live in this tower."

"Fascinating. It is hard to believe one with such a distinguished past could walk about in this or any other place with so little notice."

"I actually prefer it. I only wish I knew where Gatomon was. I hope she's alright."

"Oh she's just fine. If she's on schedule she should be back in a few hours."

Angemon jumped to attention…literally. He knocked his chair over when he stood up so suddenly. "What?!"

"I know of whom you speak. She is a good friend of mine and she told me a great deal about you. You know, I pictured you as being taller."

"Wha…but…how…? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because then I couldn't have seen this expression of yours." Kuzamon let out a pleased laugh.

"So Gatomon is coming here?"

"She's been Angewomon as long as I've known her, but yes. I met her just as I met you, seeking to learn about the outside through her eyes. We've been friends since shortly after she arrived. She's been away nearly a month now and she said she would return today after a quick visit to another of your old friends, a Palmon I believe, out in one of those beautiful forest communities."

"Palmon? Palmon is up here as well?"

"I understand she runs a flower shop. I made Angewomon promise to bring me some of her beautiful blue roses."

"I've got to go to them!"

"Calm down, Angemon. How long has it been since you arrived in the tower?"

"Nine days."

"Then I imagine you can wait a few more hours."

"But I—"

"Sit. Learn to take your time and smell the roses, Angemon. If you're always rushing off to the next thing you'll never be able to enjoy the moment. Besides, I believe you still owe me the rest of your story. The long version."

Angemon sighed. He knew he was beaten, so he picked up his chair, sat down, and began to tell his life's story in great detail.

In spite of Guilmon's advice to return to File Island, Jenomon had pressed on. But things hadn't been the same since he'd lost his friend. For the first time, life seemed bittersweet. Jenomon was unaccustomed to sadness; it was a heavy weight on his heart.

He was walking west through a shady valley. It was a lush, green place between two parallel mountain ranges. A river ran through the center and Jenomon often followed alongside it. He walked with a slight limp now, having twisted a muscle in his left leg during the fight with the Snimon. It served as a constant reminder of his great loss, not that he needed it.

When the sun was at its highest overhead he sat down in a shady spot by the side of the river to rest his leg and get a drink of water. He allowed his tail to drag in the river in hopes that a fish might grow curious about it and he'd have fresh meat for lunch. Unfortunately, pickings looked like they would be slim. As sat, his mind began to wander back to the same place it had been going for two days.

"Guilmon…" he said in a nearly dreaming state. "Why?"

Jenomon leaned back on the grass and felt his eyes begin to close. He rarely slept as of late, partly because he feared being attacked as he dozed, but mostly because of the unsettling dreams he had been having. He had been to that dark place with the red light and the skeletal tentacles several times already, and he was not eager to go back. Still, he had to sleep eventually, and this seemed like it was it. Or so he thought.

He awoke with a start, or perhaps he had never even fallen asleep. In any case, his eyes opened to find an odd digimon hovering over him, reaching for the digivice he held in his hand. The two of them simply stared at one another, frozen in time.

"Get back!" Jenomon finally cried out, pushing himself away.

The other digimon also sprung back, although much more skillfully. His body was essentially a head/torso combination with two arms and two legs coming off of it. He wore a brown mask and carried a sheathed short blade on his back. His large red eyes and serious expression did little to cast doubt on Jenomon's first impression of him.

"Who are you?" Jenomon demanded, now on his feet and holding his digivice close.

"I am Ninjamon and that's all you need to know," the digimon said in a hostile, yet immature-sounding voice.

Before Jenomon could respond, Ninjamon charged at him, his sword drawn. Jenomon turned and stepped out of Ninjamon's way as quickly as he could. However he was still hampered by his leg and cut it a little more closely than he had intended. He escaped harm by less than an inch.

"What do you want from me?"

Ninjamon turned and slashed again, but Jenomon dodged.

"Your device! Hand it over now or die!" He chopped but was evaded for the third time.

"No way!" Jenomon struck back with a punch, but Ninjamon deflected it with his weapon.

"Have it your way!" Ninjamon gripped his sword with both hands and began to slash wildly.

Jenomon tried to dodge, but with his hurt leg he could only do so much. Pretty soon he had to try deflecting the blows with his forearms and received many nicks and cuts in the process.

"Surrender!" Ninjamon shouted.

"Never!" was Jenomon's reply.

Ninjamon thrust his sword at Jenomon's chest, but Jenomon twisted out of the way and sent his fist right for Ninjamon's nose. The blow landed hard, knocking Ninjamon over and sending two streams of blood down the sinister digimon's face. Jenomon turned as fast as he could and tried to make a break for it. Once again his leg slowed him down, though, and Ninjamon was back on his feet in no time. He wiped the blood from off his mouth and turned to Jenomon with an angry sneer.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ninjamon plucked a throwing star from his body and took careful aim. Jenomon never saw it coming. The blade sliced through the air, making a loud whistle as it went. It hit its target precisely. Jenomon cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

"That'll teach you," said Ninjamon.

Ninjamon casually walked over to where Jenomon had fallen. The star was still stuck there, right in Jenomon's left hip where Ninjamon had intended. Blood was flowing freely from the wound. Jenomon lay facedown, his eyes shut tight and his teeth clamped down in agony. His digivice lay a yard in front of him. That was Ninjamon's target, and it was that which he went to retrieve.

"You know," Ninjamon said as he cleaned off the digivice, "that was awfully easy. I can't believe how much time I wasted in hunting you."

"Wh…why…?" Jenomon managed to choke out.

"Because I was expecting a tougher—oh, duh. You want to know why I'm after you. It was orders, nothing more. See ya later…if that flesh wound doesn't get infected and kill you. Ha!"

Ninjamon leaped toward the trees, but before he even touched the first branch something came out of nowhere and went right through him. By the time he landed the digivice was gone and he had been sliced in two. Jenomon was so shocked by the sudden change that he almost completely forgot about the pain. Ninjamon's body disintegrated, but his data did not disappear. Instead it was pulled back to something behind Jenomon, something he was unable to look back at.

"You should really be embarrassed after losing to such a weakling," said a tough, female voice.

"Huh?" asked Jenomon.

"It was barely worth absorbing his data. Oh by the way, I believe this is yours," the digivice dropped in front of his face, "Nari."

"Jenomon?" He tried to turn to look up at his savior, but he only caught a glimpse before the pain overcame him. He was definitely certain that it was not Jenomon, though.

"I was when last we met. I've done some evolving since then," she said calmly as she moved around to where he could see her.

The digimon over him was very large and walked on all fours. She was very muscular but clearly built more for speed than strength. Her underbelly was covered in white fur while most of her body was covered in orange. Finally, she had a mane of red hair running from just over her brow to the middle of her back, and there was more red hair in a tuft at the end of her long tail. She had three toes on each foot, all of which were covered in white fur and had a long, black claw. Her face was wolfish with white fur on the lower parts and orange fur on her heavy brow and over the top of her muzzle. Her eyes were bright yellow, just as they had been before. The only thing about her that was not of her own body were three golden rings placed next to each other at the end of her tail.

"I should've known it was you," said Jenomon.

"Miss me?" she asked, her tail swishing back and forth subconsciously.

"Of course not!" said Jenomon. "Hey, just what are you doing here? Are you following me or something."

"What? You're the one who's been right behind me all day long. I could smell you a mile up the road."

"It couldn't have been tough with that giant snout of yours."

"Actually it was your own personal stink, which is pretty amazing considering I was upwind of you."

"Yeah? Well you're—ouch—upwind of my foot."

"Ooh. Clever."

"And by the way, I know what 'Nari' means. Guilmon told me."

"I think it's pretty apt considering how quickly you lost."

"You know, YOU'RE a girl."

"No way. I'm a lady, and more importantly I'm a warrior."

"So what am I—OW—supposed to call you now, o great warrior?"

"Great warrior? I like that. It certainly suits me better than it does you. But I suppose Setomon should do just fine."

"Setomon, huh? Do you suppose I'll—AH—end up in that form too?"

"You? At this rate you'll be lucky to live long enough to run back home to mommy. No way you'll ever make it to my level."

"Hey, I'm doing just—YEOW—fine for myself."

"I can certainly tell."

"Alright, alright, so I—agh—got a little stabbed. What's it to you?"

"Aw, poor baby," Setomon cooed, ignoring Jenomon's question. "Is that widdle ol' butter knife hurting you?"

"It's…it's fine."

"Yeah right, baby."

"I'm NOT a baby!"

"Oh good. I guess I can just leave then."

"You just can't make this easy."

"No. I really can't."

"Fine. Just pull it out or something."

"You sure? That's really gonna bleed."

"Well I don't want to get it worked in there any deeper."

"And you're clearly such an expert on medical care."

"Do you expect me to walk around with this thing in my leg?"

"No way. You're not going to be able to walk for at least a week."

"Terrific. Any suggestions, then?"

"Well, I hear there's a healer not too far from here. I bet you can cut that time in half if you can get there."

"Am I the only one here who sees a minor problem with this plan?"

"Hey, I'm just passing through…unless of course you need help or something."

"No way!" said Jenomon. "I can handle this—urgh—on my own!" Jenomon tried to push himself up onto his feet but the second he moved his left hip he fell again and tears began to spill from his eyes. "Ow! Yama hama!"

"Say it."

"Why couldn't I have been saved by a rabid Monochromon or something?"

"Say it or I'm leaving."

"Why did it have to be you?"

"Okay. I'm leaving now…"

"Alright! All right already…" he said in a defeated tone. "You win. I need your help."

"Now wasn't that easy?"

"So how are you going to get me there?" he asked in between sobs.

"Let me deal with that. You just try to stop looking so pathetic."

"You're trying my patience, Setomon!" he said as his body was overwhelmed by another surge of pain from his hip.

"Okay, here we go…!"

"Wait! What are you—?"

Before Jenomon could get out another word he found himself hoisted up by the loose skin at the back of his neck. That of course sent another wave of agony up his leg, but he was starting to expect that.

"Are you nuts?!" He reached down and gripped his leg with his paws.

"Relax," she said through gritted teeth, "this is the best way to do this."

"You're carrying me in your MOUTH?"

"Believe me, it's no picnic for me either. Blech! Have you ever had a bath?"

"Oh I imagine this looks really dignified."

"Don't worry. I don't think you could get any more pathetic. But then I could be wrong…"

They both looked at their reflection in the water. Jenomon looked like a lion cub being carried somewhere safe by his mother. He grew increasingly annoyed by Setomon's laughing through her closed mouth.

"This is so embarrassing." He folded his arms in front of his chest and put on a pouting expression.

"I think it's cute."

"This is NOT cute."

"Sounds like a certain little baby is getting cranky."

"Shut up."

"What's that? You'd rather walk?"

Jenomon remained silent.

"Better."

"And I'm not a baby," Jenomon said under his breath.

"You know, we could always have Guilmon carry you if you want. At the very least I wouldn't be coughing up hairballs for a month. Where is he by the way?"

Jenomon's expression suddenly changed and Setomon knew something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's…Guilmon."

"What about Guilmon?"

"Guilmon is…Guilmon is gone."

"He's gone? Where?"

"Just…gone."

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry, Jenomon."

"It's alright. You didn't know."

"So how did it…" she began asking before she thought better of it. For now it just wasn't important. "Sorry."

Jenomon didn't say a word. He just stared at the ground. Setomon closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for Guilmon.

For the first time since they'd met one another, they were both quiet. After a long moment, Setomon began to walk forward along the river toward the healer's home. It would be a trying day.

But even as Jenomon was carried off, a battle was ready to take place far away. There were two opponents, neither of which had even seen one another yet. They had caught each other's scent on the winds. Both were eager to encounter a strong enemy, and thus it seemed to be fate that had brought them closer and closer. The place they would have for their battle was in the middle of a great wasteland. No geological features could be seen on the horizon; the soil was reddish brown and very dry so that its entire surface was marred by cracks. In the middle of all this was a deep canyon, the result of an ancient earthquake, filled with sharp rocks and worn away by the wind. It was this place where Mephismon believed he had found his first victim.

The sun scorched the red earth underfoot. Waves of heat could be seen rising up in every direction, and there was absolutely no wind to bring relief. The only sound came from Mephismon's heavy footsteps on the rough, dry soil. Stopping at the canyon's edge, he sniffed the air and began to listen carefully. An evil smirk crossed his face.

"I know you're here," he said in a voice that boomed across the expanse and throughout the canyon. "Show yourself."

Mephismon's words were met only by the whistling wind as it coursed through the chasm. His opponent was good, very good. But Mephismon knew he was better. He took a step back as if to turn around; still nothing. This digimon was a master of the ambush. Mephismon shifted his weight and started to turn. That's when his rival shot up over the canyon wall and struck out with the speed and force of a bolt of lightning. Mephismon was ready though. He'd brought up his arm to block the fantastic punch just in time. The two of them looked one another over for a moment. That was the first time they had seen one another. On one hand there was Mephismon, of course; one of the oldest and most vicious types of demon digimon, sadistic and corrupt to the core, a true monster. And on the opposite end of the fight was the graceless but undeniably powerful Cyberdramon.

Both fighters backed away from each other. There was no need for words. Both of them understood why they were there and what they fought for.

Cyberdramon made the first move, coming in fast with a punch. Mephismon backed out of the way and brought his knee up into Cyberdamon's chest in the process. Cyberdramon was stunned just long enough for Mephismon to give him a hearty head-butt. The clashing of Mephismon's horns against Cyberdramon's thick metal mask created a loud ringing noise and left both opponents sore. Cyberdramon fell back and decided on an attack suitable for a longer distance.

"Deletion Claw!" he shouted.

Cyberdramon swung both claws forward and unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of blue blasts. Mephismon was no fool, so he bounded to the side an instant before Cyberdramon's attack shredded the ground where he had stood. Mephismon then leapt high into the air as Cyberdramon tried to follow him with his attacks but Mephismon's movements were simply too fast. It was all he could do to jump back out of the way before Mephismon landed right on top of him. Mephismon hit the ground hard, driving his knee deep into the red earth, turning it into dust beneath him. He immediately shot back to his feet and came at Cyberdramon with a punch. Cyberdramon caught Mephismon's punch and held it. Both fighters stood, locked in that position, pressing against one another with all their might. The ground started to give away beneath them, but still they pressed on, evenly matched it seemed.

"You're pretty tough," Mephismon said as he visibly struggled, sweat running down his brow, his muscles bulging, focussing all his energy into that one arm.

Cyberdramon gripped his working arm with his free hand, reinforcing his strength. "You won't win here…"

They both began to push even harder, surpassing their breaking points and still going. They had to constantly shift their footing to keep the ground below them from turning to dust.

"You can't hold out forever!" said Mephismon.

"Neither can you!"

Their expressions grew more and more intense as they put more and more stress on their bodies. They could hear one another's bones creaking, hear their own tendons stretching to where they were ready to snap. That was when Cyberdramon made his move. He dug into Mephismon's hand with his claw and yanked him closer, throwing Mephismon completely off balance. He then reached out before Mephismon could recover and clawed his face. Mephismon recoiled with pain and kicked Cyberdramon away.

"Clever boy…" said Mephismon, not even bothering to wipe the blood from his face and hand.

Cyberdramon just stood there with blood dripping from his claws and a strange little grin on his face.

"I'll teach you to mess with a grandmaster of the deadly arts," Mephismon said with a snarl. "Death Cloud!"

Mephismon leapt into the air and right over Cyberdramon's head. By the time Cyberdramon turned to look he had already moved somewhere else. Soon Cyberdramon was looking two or three moves behind his circling enemy.

"No games!" said Cyberdramon.

"Oh this is no game…" said a voice that came from every direction at once.

Then, a purple mist began to rise up on all sides of Cyberdramon, drawn into a whirlwind by Mephismon's circling. Before Cyberdramon knew what was happening it had him entirely surrounded; it had become a raging miasmic maelstrom. As the cloud drew closer, Cyberdramon began to feel its deadly effects. The gas burned his lungs and drained his strength. He knew right away that some terrible poison had entered his system, but even worse were its visible effects. The noxious fluid quickly began to corrode his very body. His metallic aspects started to melt and bubble. His biological parts started to show signs of increasingly severe burns.

"Oh I just love this part…" said Mephismon. "I can't wait until you get the full dose and your entire body fails you all at once."

Cyberdramon, never the type to go down easily, mustered his remaining strength. He knew he'd only have one shot at this, but years upon years of training led him to believe he could pull it off.

"Deletion Claw!"

He went all out with another barrage fired directly into the cloud at the very point where he had been predicting Mephismon would land at just that moment. The gas parted before Cyberdamon's blasts just in time to reveal the shocked expression on Mephismon's face. The attacks struck their mark and hit Mephismon with such a force that he was thrown back over fifty feet and took his Death Cloud with him. With Mephismon having halted his movements, the mist quickly dissipated in the open air. The two opponents were left standing there once again, although Mephismon was now left with three large open wounds on his chest where the Deletion Claw had hit.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Although the melting and blistering had come to a stop, steam still poured from Cyberdramon's body. Mephismon had likewise been left with grievous but recoverable wounds. Once again they were at a standoff.

"Unacceptable," said Mephismon.

"Finally, a worthy opponent…" Cyberdramon growled.

They both charged. Mephismon kneed Cyberdramon in the gut but Cyberdramon responded with a spiked elbow to the back. They landed again.

"No rank amateur will ever challenge me again…" Mephismon said in a threatening voice.

Cyberdramon came at him again with more vicious slashes from his claws. Mephismon deflected them and gave Cyberdramon a punch to the face. They continued like that for some time. They clawed at one another for hours. By the end they were completely spent of their energy and both had lost great amounts of blood, which now stained the dry earth. They both knew that they were not strong enough to continue, and certainly lacked the energy to finish off one another. And so, unceremoniously and without a single word, they turned from one another and walked off in separate directions. They knew they would have to meet again, and until then they would have to get stronger for any chance at victory.