Chapter 15

Welcome to My Parlor…

"Where is that creepy old lady?" Daisuke grumbled, his voice echoing through the hall. They were deep into the mountain—the tunnels were small. Cramped.—but Anyamon hadn't lied. Nefertimon would be able to fit, but she'd have to duck the further in they went.

As cramped as it was, Hikari was keenly away that their numbers had shrunken. It shouldn't feel that strange—Ken had only recently begun regularly traveling with them, and she'd only journeyed with Kouji once. But they were gone. Ken…no one had noticed him leave. Only a short, but telling email had assured them that he had indeed gotten home.

Kouji…

"Arukenimon is your problem." He said bluntly, "I'm not going to stick around while you insult my friends. Especially when they saved your lives."

Takuya—no, Flamemon had been limping as they left. She bit her lip, remembering the way Miyako had yelled back.

"Good! We don't need any help from murderers."

Hikari curled her hands into fists. She knew how Miyako got. She would regret it—probably did regret it even now, but the damage had been done. It just wasn't fair. Yes Anyamon and Flamemon had been the ones to delete the Dokugumon—with Halsemon's help on the second one. Hawkmon was still disturbingly quiet, doing his best to not bring up his involvement—but it had been Angewomon who deleted Arachnemon.

"Yeah, but she wouldn't have needed to if it weren't for the others." Miyako had responded vehemently when Hikari had brought up that point, "Arachnemon—she—she just ate them 'Kari. She needed to be stopped. But the Dokugumon—we could have run! Especially if Anyamon and Flamemon—or whatever he evolved into—kept them busy! If they hadn't killed the Dokugumon…Arukenimon must have duped them somehow—we saw what she did in the house."

But there had been no music. No glowing eyes. No one was willing to bring that up.

Iori's silent support went to Miyako. Daisuke…Hikari had seen him watching Kouji and Flamemon as they left, indecisive. No one tried to argue that Flamemon hadn't save his life.

At least Takeru understood. Takeru always understood her. He'd laced his fingers with hers, giving them a tight squeeze of reassurance.

"They will understand someday, you'll see."

I know that, TK. She thought back to the memory, shaking her head, I only worry it will be too late. We've been lucky so far.

Lucky. She almost wanted to laugh. Wanted to cry. Lucky.

"Right now…Light needs to shine."

In the end Daisuke did what he did best, he pushed everything aside and rallied the troops. The offensive push from the digimon left a swath of broken spires almost to the foot of the mountain itself. No wonder it had taken so long for Ken to catch up and send them back. Why had they let them rush ahead so?

There wasn't a sign of the seemingly endless number of insect digimon that had assailed them only a short hour ago—had it really only been an hour? Nothing so much as twitched among the black stone obelisks, no buzz of wings. It had seemed as if the sky had been filled. Where did they all go?

Regardless of how they got here, here they were—five kids and five digimon all crammed into a hallway like sardines in a can. The main five back together. Just like old times. Except old times would have them chasing the Digimon Kaiser, and wouldn't have a quiet but dependable hole in their midst. Old times wouldn't leave a bitter feeling in the air from driving away someone who'd only meant to help.

She only wondered how it would have gone if she hadn't caught Kouji's hand, hadn't stopped him from raising his digivice after Takuya had gone to help Daisuke. She had known what Kouji was trying to do, and it wasn't to evolve Anyamon. She hadn't told anyone. She'd promised. She'd promised, and that promise made her ache inside as everyone grumbled about how they didn't need him anyway.

She hadn't told anyone about Lowemon. She hadn't told anyone about Wolfmon. No one else would know how similar Flamemon's evolution had looked in design to the other two warriors—and she was certain if she took her D-3 to Izzy they would discover the red and gold armored warrior was the Warrior of Fire.

They didn't know. They couldn't know. They couldn't know that they'd driven away three powerful allies.

She looked down at Tailmon. Her digimon was still weakened from the evolution, but she'd stubbornly declared she could walk herself. Tailmon walked a little ahead of Hikari, just behind Takeru. Patamon was hovering at a slow pace at her side, chatting amicably. The other three Chosen were clustered further ahead, the noticeable separation between the two groups telling in its own way.

Four technically. Everyone thought this battle was in the bag. They had Angewomon after all.

"Right now…Light needs to shine."

But…it hadn't been Hikari alone that had let her digivolve. What use was she, when her own digimon needed someone else? What use was she, when no one wanted to listen to her? What use was she, when she couldn't say anything?

x-x-x

"Well—can't you just take it out?"Kouji asked impatiently as Gennai studied the D-Scanner, flicking through the screens. Hikari watched, amazed, as the digivice projected countless screens into the air, letting Gennai peruse the coding and content at his leisure. She wished Izzy were here—he would have a field day. He'd always been interested in the workings of the digivices—even going so far as to plugging his own into his computer and messing with the programming. "Put it in…one of those weird machines of yours. You said it needs to be connected to the network in order for it to work right."

"It does. In order to run passively, the source must be able to connect to the entire digital world at once—as I understand it, the sanctums were built as an interface for that exact purpose. Light must have been a backup—it couldn't have been active…not if it was to stay hidden there…Anyway, as it is, contained in your digivice, it is isolated." Gennai hummed, "But it resonates with Tailmon when you three are within a certain radius. Tailmon's tail ring—I still cannot believe she received another—seems to store some of that potential energy. I assume she'd be able to digivolve again, given the right conditions. No. I won't remove it from your digivice."

"It isn't safe there. If LordKnightmon manages to scan my data—it's stupid to leave this…thing where he could get it. It would be better if you could hide it. Plug it in. Whatever."

Hikari and Tailmon watched the argument go back and forth. Back and forth. Kouji wanted the Essence out of his D-Scanner ASAP, and Gennai refused to do it.

"We would lose two very effective weapons if I removed it!" Gennai silenced all protest at last, exasperated, "I've been studying the data Hikari's D-3 scanned from Beowolfmon—he's equivalent to a Mega! And Angewomon's strength—as a Holy Digimon—is boosted exponentially just from the mere presence of the essence! It would be foolish to remove such an advantage—and if we could get Patamon to evolve to MagnaAngemon? It would triple our chances!"

Kouji stood up suddenly. He wavered momentarily, steadying himself with a hand on the back of his chair, "It's always about power—isn't it? LordKnightmon won't let me keep it. He beat me soundly when we first fought—even with Takuya and all the other warriors backing me up. I'll be your dice if you insist on gambling, but take my warning to heart. He's powerful."

Then he walked out. Anyamon rose slowly. "If this…essence powers up Kouji and Tailmon…whose to say the other seven won't power up him?"

And then he followed his partner.

"Gennai…" Hikari asked quietly once the others were gone, drawing the old man's attention, "We've always been underpowered against our opponents, but we've always been able to win. Why are you so worried about levels and strength now?"

Gennai paused, and turned away from them, staring into the fire in the sitting room. His arms were clasped behind his back, and to her surprise, she noticed them trembling. "Because." He said at last, not turning around, "You've always had potential. The digimon partnered to the Chosen Children have one advantage against all odds. They can grow. Most digimon never reach Ultimate, much less Mega even after numerous life cycles."

Tailmon was usually still in the silence that followed. Her tail even stopped twitching. Gennai took a breath and shook his head, "After three months, you all had two Megas…TWO. And every one of your digimon could reach ultimate. Even the younger generation—DNA Evolution is a remarkable thing…" He shook his head again at the wandering thoughts.

"Right now, LordKnightmon has hit on the one thing that might actually work. He disabled the sanctums—rerouting the forces of evolution. For what purpose I shudder to think about. But the Essence of Light is the only method we have to unlock the potential that is the Chosen's greatest weapon… Even if hiding it would keep it safe…if I did that… I would be taking away our only chance. You all would be able to digivolve to champion, but Ultimate requires much more power. Much more concentration. Without the crests, which are gone—or another source of power, say the Essence…" He trailed off. Hikari tightened her grip on Tailmon as the guardian sighed, turning around to look at them.

"Right now…Light needs to shine. It can't shine when locked away, no matter the good intentions for it."

x-x-x

"Alright Arukenimon! Your time is up!" Daisuke liked to think his entrance was rather dramatic, kicking in the wooden door and looking as heroic as possible as he did so. It didn't matter that it had been cracked open already. It didn't matter that he'd heard Arukenimon talking to someone—probably Mummymon. The bandaged idiot was never far from his "pumpkin."

All he wanted to do was finish this. This day. This quest. This arc in the history of the Digital World. They'd been chasing Arukenimon from almost the moment they'd defeated the Digimon Kaiser—they couldn't deal with her on top of the newest fruitcake to join the "Let's mess with the Digital World" party.

"Oh. It appears we have an uninvited guest." She wasn't even playing at being human this time. She looked exactly like Arachnemon—it was creepy—same bulbous striped body, same bandaged legs, same hunched woman-based torso with obscenely gangly arms…He honestly wouldn't even call her a woman at this point. The only difference was that this one was red. This one was the menace they'd been one step behind every time they'd ran into her. This digimon was the one who had kept Ken's nightmare going, even as the rest of them just wanted to put the Digimon Kaiser and his Dark Spires to rest. "I hope you do not mind if I entertain them. They killed some of my children when I threw them a welcoming party."

"By all means, go ahead." Definitly not Mummymon—Arukenimon treated the poor guy like dirt—not with this weird sort of respect. Daisuke couldn't find who she was talking to. But she turned away from whatever it was. She leered down at the chosen, who'd all managed to clear the hallway. Daisuke saw Miyako flinch at the word kill. He really didn't like the idea either, but…now wasn't the time. They had to finish this.

His hand tightened on his D-3, and Veemon nodded at him, leaping a step ahead, "I'm ready whenever you are Daisuke!"

Veemon. Good old Veemon. Daisuke couldn't help but smile at the thumbs up the dragon digimon sent him. Daisuke eyed the hall they'd stumbled into. It had a high ceiling—good. He'd been worried they would be limited. This room appeared to be a gathering hall of some sort, which was a great improvement over the passages they had taken to get here, or even the rooms they'd explored on the way. Not that Digmon wouldn't be able to make more room if they needed to.

They had her this time. Daisuke could sense it. She was trapped under a mountain. Maybe they didn't have Paildramon this time, but they were stronger. They were wiser. They had Angewomon.

Not that he was going to rely on that, but it was comforting to know they had another ace if they needed it.

"Oh, you children are too cute. You actually think you can win." The spider-woman laughed that same infuriating laugh Daisuke had heard as she'd had Digmon and Stingmon dancing to her tune. She crouched, arms spreading wide, "But your wings have been clipped—haven't they? Only one of you is a threat, and I've been ordered to take the light. You have no chance."

"You aren't going to lay one disgusting claw on Hikari!" Daisuke bristled, "C'mon Veemon. Let's show her what we can do."

"Right!"

Four voices rose with his, "Armor evolution…!"

"Flamedramon!"

"Shurimon!"

"Digmon!"

"Pegasusmon!"

"Nice trick." Arukenimon sneered, "But I've seen it all before. Spider Thread!"

The digimon scattered, the threads whipping wildly through the air.

"What's the matter?" Arukenimon's voice hung over the melee as it dissolved int 1. Arukenimon seemed just as unconcerned as ever, her manic grin never faltering as she showed surprising agility for such an unwieldy body. Those attacks that did connect barely even fazed her. "Where's Paildramon? Sylphimon? Shakkoumon? Come now, Chosen, digivolve!"

She spun in midair, whipping thousands of threads around her—creating a shield that easily deflected everything from a Fire Rocket to a Gold Rush. She landed on the stone wall, claws digging deep into the stone to anchor herself near the ceiling. She leered down at them, her lank white hair flicking back and forth as her humanoid torso swayed, "Just digivolve, and all of our troubles are washed away! Hah! You can't this time." She inhaled as the digimon rushed her, "Acid Mist!"

Shurimon—being the fastest of the current digimon—took the full brunt of the attack. He grunted, but otherwise didn't make a sound. The acid bubbled against his leaf cloak, hissing, steaming. He had to fall back, limping, as the others quickly dodged to avoid the hanging cloud of poison. Arukenimon threw out her near invisible wires, tossing her head and laughing as they shredded Pegasusmon's wings—the confined space severely cut down the flying digimon's maneuverability. Torn feathers fell from the sky.

"Gotcha!" Flamedramon caught the falling Patamon with a leap, raising a wall of fire to ward off the bloodthirsty threads. He cradled the rookie in one claw, "Pull back! She's got a position advantage!"

Highground, and she'd just taken out their air support. Digmon and Flamedramon stood protectively around Shurimon, who had managed to throw off most of the acid. He trembled, but clenched his shuriken in defiance—they would never give up, Daisuke knew. He bit his lip and turned to Hikari, "They'll keep going as long as they can, but…"

We need Angewomon.

Flamedramon passed the injured Patamon to Takeru, who'd dashed out there at the first sign of danger for his partner. He cradled the small winged digimon.

"If only I could digivolve…" Patamon muttered, wincing as every movement caused something to flare in pain. "I'd show her…Heaven's Knuckle to the face…"

Hikari looked between the digimon, Takeru, Daisuke, and Tailmon. She bit her lip. She looked down at the digivice in her hand, it was dark. "But…"

"How does it feel, children? How does it feel to have your toy taken away?" Arukenimon was going on the attack now, sending her Spider Threads throughout the entire room. They stuck to the walls, slowly cutting down the room available to the other digimon. Flamedramon hissed as he accidently brushed against a strand, sending it quivering. It left a red gash on his arm, "Don't touch it! It's still sharp."

Arukenimon lurked in the corner of the room, in the center of the funnel web she was spinning. She was beginning to glow. "How does it feel to have your own weapon turned against you?"

Was she—"Damn it—she's digivolving! First Dokugumon—I thought Gennai said no one would be able to digivolve with the sanctums gone!" We need Angewomon now.

"Should I tell you, children?" Arukenimon's voice warped and she quickly spun a cocoon of webbing surrounding her, blocking the attacks that were suddenly homing in on her. Flamedramon, Digmon, and Shurimon were frantically trying to interrupt the evolution. That's not right! Why were they blocked from evolving, and now they had two—two enemies digivolve right in front of them? They'd never had to deal with this before! The Digimon Kaiser forced Agumon to evolve but…Ken was Chosen. He had the same abilities they did.

"Stop playing around. I grow impatient." The no-nonsense voice rang through the hall. Daisuke jumped—he'd forgotten about who-ever Arukenimon had been speaking with. He still couldn't find the source, even as the words echoed eerily in the web filled hallway.

"Hikari!"

"Hikari!"

"'Kari!"

"I can't!" The girl screamed, sinking to her knees. Her eyes screwed shut, her head in her hands, "I don't have the Light! I can't."

The voice just laughed, "Of course you don't. You are weak."

"I can't…" Hikari whispered her D-3 clattering to the stone floor. It lay staring up at them all, its dim screen damning.

x-x-x

'I can't…'

Hikari's anguished words echoed in Tailmon's head. Hikari shouldn't be sad. Nothing should make Hikari sad.

Exhaustion lay heavy upon Tailmon's shoulders, but she held them up, straight and proud. She took the steps to Hikari's side. She lay her paw on her partner's knee. She looked up into tear filled eyes.

"You can't." Tailmon agreed. She didn't quite know where the words were coming from, "But we can."

She could feel the power burning inside of her. The same power she'd felt that day on the Lighthouse. Just as she'd felt looking down at Arachnemon—knowing that she couldn't let the digimon get away with what she'd done. Her rings were burning. Both of them.

The world felt sluggish, her reserves were low. Very low. But…

Gennai said the holy rings stored the energy. She had two.

"Help me, Hikari. Only you can."

She placed the D-3 into Hikari's trembling hands.

Kouji might be the one with the essence, but Hikari was special. Hikari was hers. When she was with Hikari, she could do anything. Even dredge up every last bit of her power, just so she wouldn't let her partner down.

x-x-x

"Angewomon!"

The holy radiance burned away the spider web. It healed her friends. It gave them strength. Patamon perked up, his wounds eased. The others moved forward, throwing their all into the attacks they sent at the cocoon of webbing. It burned away—leaving behind an empty corner.

She was gone.

"You are mine now!"

A heavy weight drilled into her back, and Angewomon staggered, crying out. Long tendrils snaked out, constricting, curling around and trapping her arms, her neck. They burned where they touched, digging into exposed skin. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Everything was heavy. It was as if her mind was swimming in muck, dragging her down.

But she wasn't falling.

That was the scary part. She wasn't falling.

x-x-x

A/N: I think cliffhangers are required by now. I was worried I might have tense moments too often, but then I remembered that it only seems that way because I toss them in to the end of every chapter—woo.

And someone asked about a bonus Christmas chapter…I was thinking about it, but then I realized that I didn't want to ruin the impact of the one I have scheduled for that day. Next week is the last chapter in this arc. And that usually means you guys would get a transition chapter on the following Monday anyway. I might have to push the next transition set back a little—but I promise there will be a chapter on Christmas!

This is a really short chapter… Sorry! I didn't realize it was so short. The next chapter is like 7.5k words though so I feel that makes up for it. I guess ya'll will be getting a lengthy Christmas present.

I'm glad you guys liked the fight at the end of last chapter! I was worried I wouldn't be able to get it right—that was definitely one of the scenes from the last fic I had to keep. Even if I changed it a bit.

And now…I need to be sad for a bit. The flashdrive I've been using to carry around my story has been throwing an I/O error, which I think means there's something wrong with the hardware. I can't access it. Luckily, I had a copy on a separate one, but I lost a decent amount of progress. It is depressing. I really liked some of the edits I did. Not to mention I need to start chapter 21 all over again.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this one! Sorry I was late on my review responses—I'm going to post this at work since I'm waiting for someone and then I'll respond to the reviews for the last chapter once I get home!