Here is the second part, as promised. Enjoy!

Vengeance and Dark Hearts Pt III continued (sec 2)

The sheet descended again. Curtis ducked Piedmon's latest attack and lunged at the Dark Master with a swing of his axe. Piedmon parried the blow and sent the smaller Curtis stumbling over the edge of their small rooftop, forcing the Meditative Knight to clutch onto the roof's ledge at the last second to prevent himself from falling the fifty or so stories down to the ground.

"Curtis!" He heard his partner yell out. He felt the roof began to shake with the force of several giant footfalls as Taps ran over to where he was hanging.

"Taps, I'm alright! Get Machinedramon!" Curtis pulled himself back up, but not before taking a quick glance down at Rosa's progress on the lower rooftop and seeing that she was beginning to lose in her battle with Puppetmon. "I have to go help Rosa!"

"What? And leave me here with these two by myself?!"

"Not quite." Curtis pointed to two flying figures heading towards them in the air: Clara, with Terence suspended in her arms.

The two came into a landing on the rooftop, throwing attacks before they even touched down and knocking both Piedmon and Machinedramon back and nearly over the edge.

"Bro!" Terence called out. "How's it going here?"

"Not good!" answered Curtis. "Rosa's in trouble!"

Terence looked around between taking mace swings at Piedmon. "I don't see her."

"She's not up here!"

"Then where?" Asked Clara. There was a bit of a frenetic quality to her voice as she looked around for her cousin.

"On top of a lower building! Clara, give me a ride down! I'll show you!"

Clara wasted no time in running over and grabbing Curtis by the hand before they both leapt from the roof.

"Wait!" Terence hollered as they descended away. "What about me and Taps?!"

"Just hold them off!" Curtis called back. "We'll be right back!"

He heard Terence shout a few choice curses, but ignored them and guided Clara down to where Rosa was battling Puppetmon. They landed on the smaller rooftop just in time to see the vengeful young girl get knocked across it and slam into a metal vent housing. She got to her feet slowly, her breaths coming hard and heavy while sweat poured down her face. Curtis noticed that Puppetmon didn't look much better, but it was obvious he had taken the upper hand in the fight.

"Come on little girl." The wooden digimon jeered. "Is that the best you got? That's how you avenge your friend's deaths?"

Rosa entered back into a fighting stance, but she seemed fatigued and slightly off balance. "I'm not done with you."

"Oh, I think you are." Puppetmon raised his mallet and began to charge.

With a quickness that Curtis didn't know she possessed, Clara zoomed over and took up a position between the two combatants. Then, with a wave of her arm, she released a wide crimson flame attack that knocked Puppetmon back a good twenty feet into the brick wall lining the sides of the roof.

"Clara!" Exclaimed Rosa angrily. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Clara raised a brow and looked over her shoulder at her enraged cousin. "I thought I was helping."

"Well you're not, damn it! Now, with you guys here, he's going to try to run away before I can kill him!"

Curtis noticed that Rosa's energy level now seemed considerably higher than it was just a few seconds earlier. He surmised that she must have been faking fatigue before, in order to lure Puppetmon into opening himself up to a killing strike. It was very smart strategy, Curtis had to admit, but he knew it was ultimately flawed.

Rosa moved around Clara and began to run towards Puppetmon once again. Curtis took this moment to step into her path, knowing it could very well prove suicidal for him.

"You too?!" Rosa exclaimed as she came to a sudden stop. "What the hell is wrong with you two? Don't you see? I have to kill him!"

"Rosa I-" Curtis did his best not to be thrown off by the look of absolute loathing in his girlfriend's eyes. "You can't kill him."

"What? Are you serious? Did you forget what he did to Mr. Chan?"

"No, of course not. But I also see what he's doing to you-"

"Shut-up!" Rosa swung hard at Curtis and knocked him into the metal side of the building's rooftop maintenance shed. He slumped to the ground there and had to be helped up from the surprising blow by a concerned Clara.

"I'm okay." Curtis assured her; though he had to feel his jaw to be sure it was still attached.

"I don't get it." Said Clara. "What's wrong with her?"

The two turned to look at Rosa while she continued her charge towards Puppetmon.

"I don't know. I suppose it's the same thing that's wrong with everyone else tonight that has revenge on their minds."

"What?"

"Didn't you see how everyone tore off on their own agendas as soon as this battle started, especially her and Tai? I swear, it's like they were brainwashed or something."

Clara nodded. "So then, what do we do?"

Curtis shook his head. "Hell if I know. How can someone stop a mega evolved Knight on a rampage?"

Clara shrugged. "We could just let her kill him."

"That won't do anything to help her. Something is really wrong with tonight. I can feel it. Plus, it's not like she can actually kill him anyway."

"Are you kidding me? Why not?"

"Because he-"

Rosa's sudden scream broke Clara and Curtis's conversation. She had dropped her guard while approaching her recovering enemy and taken a surprise hit in the stomach from Puppetmon's mallet. The blow had sent her skidding diagonally across the roof surface, and when she came to a stop, she had a noticeably hard time getting back up from it.

"You're not the only one that can play possum!" Puppetmon cackled, his voice echoing. He raised his mallet over his head in a victorious pose, as if to welcome any new challengers.

"She's hurt." Clara said. She crouched, ready to take off and intervene on her cousin's behalf again, but was interrupted when the spot where Puppetmon was standing suddenly exploded into smoke and flames with a bright flash. The force of the blast actually knocked she and Curtis back a small distance.

"What was that?" She exclaimed frantically. "Where did that attack come from?"

Curtis spied something hovering over the opposite edge of their rooftop. "There." He pointed. "Some type of aircraft."

"One of the mercenaries maybe?" Clara suggested. "They missed?"

"No. The thing's way to high tech for them. Look how it shimmers with the surrounding light patterns. That's cutting edge stealth technology."

"Then who's piloting it?"

The craft's cockpit compartment began to open, giving Cutis and Clara a closer look at the woman inside.

"No." Cody breathed. "It can't be…"

"Oh yes it can." Clara's face broke into a wide grin and she grabbed Curtis by the arm. "That's Ms. Lee! Come on!"

With Clara pulling and flying, they reached the edge of the rooftop nearest the plane in a flash.

"Ms. Lee!" She gushed. "What are you doing here?"

Krista looked at Clara and simply nodded. "Sanchez." She undid her seat straps, stood up in her hovering craft, and neatly leapt down to the roof surface. She then walked over to the blackened crater where Puppetmon had been standing moments before and inspected it closely.

"Did I get him? Is he dead?"

Clara and Curtis shared a look. Apparently, whatever was going on tonight wasn't only affecting the Knights.

"I don't know." Curtis said honestly. "From my experience, when digimon die there's usually some pixellation."

Krista cut a stare at him. "And?"

"And…" Curtis didn't answer immediately, instead opting to go to Rosa's side as she approached the scene. Upon seeing that her reception to him was about as apathetic as Ms. Lee's had been, he spoke again. "I didn't really see any."

"So what are you saying Curtis?" Rosa demanded. "He could still be alive?"

Curtis remained silent. He knew his lack of response would be all the answer she needed.

"No!" Rosa let out a scream and fell to her knees. She looked at Krista accusingly. "Why couldn't you just stay out of it? I had him! I could've made sure he was dead!"

"You couldn't have done a damn thing." Krista said coldly. "I saw how your fight was going. Only I am worthy of avenging Xian."

"Bitch!" Rosa attempted to lunge forward at Krista, but Curtis grabbed her around the waist. She turned around and gave him a furious glare. "Let me go!"

"Rosa," he pleaded. "He could very well be dead! We just don't know!"

Krista reached down to her waist and pulled out a rather impressive looking plasma pistol. "Or he could still be somewhere around here, hiding. He can still be killed."

"I will kill him." Rosa tried to push Curtis away, but he responded by holding her even tighter. "Curtis, I said let go of me."

"No. This is stupid. You can't kill Puppetmon anyway."

"Curtis, let go of me right now." Rosa's words were quiet, but the fist she balled her hand into provided her statement with more than enough exclamation points.

"Or what, you're going to hit me? I'd rather you punch me than keep on acting like this."

"I'll knock you off of this roof. You can't fly."

The Meditative Knight looked at her skeptically. "You would do that? You would kill me?"

"No, I would do that, then keep my cousin from saving you. That would kill you."

"Bull." Curtis let go of Rosa and instead stood in front of her, blocking her path. "I don't believe you. Do it."

"Curtis." Said Clara in a warning tone. "She's not herself right now."

"No, Clara. I want to see this. I don't think she's capable of this."

"Those will be your last words." Rosa reared her fist back and took a step towards Curtis.

"Then what are you waiting for? Oops, now I guess those will be my last words."

"I'll do it." Rosa's fist started to shake violently. Her eyes narrowed and her breathing quickened. She pursed her lips. "I swear, Curtis. I'll kill you."

"No, you won't."

Rosa stepped forward again and it looked like the movement physically pained her. She grimaced and sweat formed profusely on her brow. Her fist remained raised however, though now it was shaking more than ever.

Curtis decided to grasp the opportunity and try something else. "You won't, because I love you, Rosa."

At that, the Willful Knight fell to her knees and tears began to pour from her eyes in an unyielding torrent. She sobbed, her body wracking, and wrapped her arms around Curtis's legs. He reached down and stroked a comforting hand through her hair.

"It's okay." He said soothingly, stooping down to wrap his arms around her. He'd have never believed in a million years that Rosa would ever display such vulnerability. "I know you wouldn't have done it."

"I-I love you too Curtis. I-I don't know what happened to me. I just didn't have control."

Curtis nodded. He knew that a lack of control over her own actions might very well have been the most frightening thing Rosa had ever faced in her life. "It wasn't your fault. Something is using our emotions against us tonight, taking people's desires to the extreme. I know that you only wanted to avenge Xian and do him justice."

"But I didn't. I lost my mind, and instead we don't even know if Puppetmon's dead or got away." Rosa slammed a fist into the ground and several cracks shot out from the impact in all directions.

"Look, it doesn't really matter, Rosa. As long as Hitachi's around, Puppetmon can't truly be killed. His techs have his data on file, along with all the Dark Masters. Any time we kill them, they'll just keep reconstructing their data and bringing them back."

"What?" Rosa looked up at Cutis with an expression of surprise that transformed into confusion. "Why have you never told me this before?"

"Because, you were always too angry to hear it. It would only have made you madder and more bloodthirsty if I had told you this before tonight."

A long shadow descended over the couple and Curtis looked up to see Rosemon coming in for a landing beside them. "What happened?" He asked immediately after taking in Rosa's state. "Is she alright?"

Curtis nodded. "She is now." He helped Rosa rise back to her feet and smiled when she began to furiously wipe any evidence of tears from her face.

"Yeah, I'm okay Rosemon." She mumbled. "Just…got a little winded."

Quiet footsteps approached Curtis from behind and he turned around to see Krista there.

"Is that true?" She asked. "What you said, we have to take down Hitachi before we can kill Puppetmon or any of the Dark Masters?"

Curtis nodded. "Yeah, it's like they say, cut off the head,"

"And the body shall die." Everyone else finished the well-practiced statement in unison.

Clara walked over to the group. "And the only way we can go after Hitachi is if we all start looking out for each other and get out of tonight alive and in one piece."

"How about we start up there then?" Rosemon suggested.

Everyone's gazes followed his pointing finger up to a higher tower, where Terence and Taps were still taking on Piedmon and Machinedramon, plus a newly arrived MetalSeadramon.

"Crap!" Curtis yelled. "I forgot! We have to get up there and help them!"

Krista immediately began running back to her plane. "Alright then Knights, you know the drill! Let's move!"

A blurred, fragmented world slowly began to come into focus. As soon as he realized he was conscious once again, Cody's eyes popped open. He bolted upright from where he lay on a carpeted floor and took in his surroundings. He was in an office building, from the looks of it, still Atuma's office tower, just a lower story. The windows in the room flashed and glowed with every attack that was being launched in the ongoing fight outside and the walls rumbled with every explosion.

Cody gingerly rose to his feet and did his best to ignore the multiple epicenters of pain coursing throughout his body. Not even in his roughest kendo tournament had his body ever felt so abused. He began to scan the room, searching for a way out. How had he gotten here? The last thing Cody remembered was seeing that thing heading for him; that thing that had interrupted his fight with Jade, his chance for vengeance. The notion of his father's killer immediately caused his thoughts to become more narrowed. He began to move faster around the room. He had to get out of here, hunt her down again- Cody suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The silhouette of a giant beast stood near the room's doorway.

"About time you woke up." The shadowed being growled.

Cody resisted the instinct building up within him to run. He'd prepared himself for the possibility of this meeting when he was first making his way from the Chamber to Atuma's office.

"Are you….Sato? Sato Kobe?"

The creature nodded and moved more toward the middle of the room, where the light from the windows could reach him. Cody stifled a gasp as he took in the creature's scaly orange skin, reptilian head, and dominating physique.

"So you figured it out eh," The thing muttered in a raspy voice. To Cody, its sound was reminiscent of a combination of a snake's hiss and a lion's roar, if that made any sense. "The fact that Hitachi was using prisoners t' make us?"

"Um, yeah. With the help of my friends. Kai- The Assassin told me what they did to you, how they set you up to take the fall for my father's murder."

"They only did what I allowed them to do. They manipulated me because of my anger. I was blinded by my own rage, my own desire for vengeance. That factory of mine the councilman had bulldozed, it was my livelihood, my only source of income."

"Money." Cody shook his head. Something about that just didn't add up. "You allowed them to use you, to convince you to kill a man, just for money?"

"People have killed for less, kid. And it wasn't really about the money anyway. It was about my wife. I needed every cent I earned to pay for an experimental procedure to remove an inoperable brain tumor she had. Docs had given her about three months to live, 'cause it had been discovered way too late." Sato laughed sadly, but it sounded more like a loud cough in his animal-like voice. "'Make sure she's comfortable' they told me, as if I was supposed to just sit there and take it. Well, that wasn't me. I kept searching for another way until someone approached me about a radical new procedure offered by a brand new medical corporation, GenTech."

"Hitachi's company?"

Sato nodded, conveying all the sorrow his limited features could muster. "They were playing me from the very beginning. There was never any procedure. They set the price well above my financial means, forcing me to double production at my factory if I wanted to meet their demands before my wife died. I mean, they just don't give out loans for the type of cash these guys were asking for. A couple days later, I received a cease and desist order from the government telling me I had to move my factory. I'd never make my necessary quota by the shutdown date they gave me. I snapped. And that's when The Assassin came along…"

"I know what happened from there. Did your wife-?"

"Passed while I was on trial."

"I-I'm sorry."

"It was my mistake. I have to live with it. The only part I regret is that an innocent man died as well."

"It wasn't your fault." Cody turned and looked out of the window as even more rage and anger filled him than before. "It was theirs."

"No kid. You can't do that. I didn't save you so you could go around, acting just like I did. They'll use it against you. Just like when you were fighting that woman upstairs, not knowing that she had sent a silent command signal for me to come help her."

Cody raised a brow at that particular fact.

"Look, you gotta be smart. You kids give me hope, you and your friends. You give the world hope. You can stop all this. You got real power and no one tells you what to do or buys you off. Maybe, just maybe, if you come out of all this on top, everything can turn right again. And then maybe I can get this reversed." Sato looked down upon the abomination that was now his body. "Go back and be a father to my kids, if they'll have me. I still got a chance if I can just make things right."

Cody gave Sato a slightly confused look. "But you're on the inside. You can do more than any of us."

"Nah. I can't even tell you where HQ is. I'm genetically imprinted to follow their voice commands. If the Assassin showed up right now and told me to kill you, I'd do it in a second. I got no control. None of us mutants do. That's why they were willing to put the Bayside Butcher in charge of our outfit."

"Bayside Butcher? The guy that killed all those people down by the docks a few years ago? He's the Red mutant? A serial killer?"

Sato nodded. "And it don't matter to them how crazy he is, as long as they can control him."

"They're absolutely sick and twisted. They don't care how much blood they shed, how many innocent lives are taken, to get what they want." Cody felt his burning desire to find Jade return in full force and his voice dropped a few octaves. "They have to be stopped."

"Did you listen to anything I said kid? You can't go running into this stuff all crazy and half-cocked. You know what that'll make you?"

"What?"

"A dupe. Nothing more than their dupe. Is that what you want?"

Cody simply stood there and seethed rather than providing an answer.

Sato went on. "Because I was a willing dupe, y'know. Oikawa was a willing dupe. And now you're falling into the same trap, kid. Don't let 'em control you. They use people, use their emotions. Hitachi used Jade and the Assassin, then they used me, so they could all use Oikawa, and then even he used your friend Ken. You gotta stop the cycle."

"But my father's murderer is somewhere in this building, possibly only a few floors away from me."

"And your friends are out there, and you know exactly where they are." Sato reached out and presented Cody with his improvised weapon and his father's sword. Cody supposed that Sato must have grabbed them during his fall. The well-crafted blade and iron bar seemed tiny when nestled between the mutant's massive fingertips. Cody snatched the weapons up and looked back out of the window, down to the street level, as Sato continued. "The decision is yours. Just make sure it's the right one for you, not them."

Cody considered his words as he peered closely out into the battle. After a moment, he spied a certain ebony haired young girl down at street level, cowering in fear as attacks flew over her head, left and right, and armed men ran back and forth all around her. His decision was made.

"I'm going down there." Cody sheathed his weapons and began to sprint across the room, towards a door outside that had a stairwell symbol painted on its front.

"Wait!" Sato reached down to the utility belt on his thigh and pulled out a couple of gleaming, silver firearms. "You'll need more than just that sword."

Cody paused at the door and shook his head. "No I don't. Guns killed my father and started this mess. I refuse to resort to using them."

"I suppose I can understand that." Sato replaced the weapons. "Then go. And be careful, Cody."

"I will. You do the same." With one last glance back at the former convict, Cody burst through the door and began tearing down the stairwell on the other side.

She closed her ears against them, closed her heart against the terrified and anguished screams of the people. Noriko felt the iciness building up within her soul, tearing at who she was, at everything she'd built herself up to be over the past seven years. She couldn't escape. She wouldn't be able to, not this time. Noriko had felt this before. She was well acquainted with the unyielding grip of torment that the dark spore held over her. She knew what was happening better than anyone. None of the others could help her. That's why she'd left them. She was alone in her private hell, once again.

At the moment she'd given up hope, a familiar voice called out to Noriko and pulled her out of her dark reverie with a jolt. Noriko jerked her head around and looked upon who had beckoned her. Impeccable stature, carried a sword in one hand, another blunt ended weapon in the other. Both weapons were suspended from well built arms that extended upwards into a pair of broad shoulders, a steady countenance. And a set of powerfully concentrated coal black eyes.

"C-Cody?"

The person nodded.

Noriko felt a cold chill descend around her, an encouraging sign of her mind's separation from the dark atmosphere that had penetrated it. She could still feel the influence of the spore within her, but now found its effect tempered by the arrival of an anchor to reality, a savior. Noriko gratefully ran to Cody and clasped her arms around him.

"Don't leave me, please."

"I won't." he assured her with a gentle stoke through her hair. "But we need to get you out of here, okay?"

Noriko nodded. "Okay. Please, just don't leave me."

The sudden sound of rapid gunfire on the air interrupted Noriko's voice and thoughts, causing her to bury her head deeper into Cody. Even as he guided her to safety, she sought comfort in his warmth, his scent. He was real. He was her anchor. She would never let him go.

Izzy and Joe grunted in unison as they dragged yet another Odaiba police officer out of the street and to the relative safety of the sidewalks.

"Mimi!" Joe shouted over his shoulder. The girl in question ran to his side, her arms laden with medical supplies.

"Compress please, and hurry."

Mimi shuffled through what was in her arms as fast as her nervous hands could manage until she finally found the right package. She thrust it towards Joe, who took the small bag with a mumbled thanks and pressed it firmly against the man's shoulder wound.

He wiped a hand across his forehead and motioned to Izzy, who stood nearby. "Here, hold this." Joe indicated the compress with a nod. "They're pulling in more policemen down there. Just hold this right here and slow down the bleeding. I'll be back."

Izzy nodded and dutifully took up Joe's position, allowing the digidestined of Reliability to sprint down the sidewalk as fast as he could to where Matt and Sora were dragging a rather portly patrolman out of the street.

"What-" A nearby explosion caused the three to flinch in unison. "What's going on here?"

Sora shrugged. "We're not sure. He was collapsed in the street but we couldn't find any wounds or signs of trauma."

"Okay." Joe bent down to check more closely on the unconscious man, who seemed to be laboring greatly just to breathe. "I believe may just be having exhaustion issues. Likely passed out due to a mixture of exertion and anxiety. We need to get him out of the street and sit him upright against one of the buildings."

The experienced doctor then turned and let out a shrill whistle. "Izzy, hand that compress to Mimi! We need your help over here! And bring the smelling salts from the kit!" He turned to Matt. "You and Izzy move him and make sure he sits up against the wall there. Sora, come help me find more wounded."

Sora nodded and began looking around. "Yeah okay-" She paused. "Hey, where are the others?"

Joe grimaced and adjusted his shoulder sling. "I sent them to take cover. Ken, Kari, and Noriko were just too far out of it to be of any use here. TK and Yolei are looking after them."

"Damn it, Joe." Sora sighed. "We have to look after them. We shouldn't split up."

"Sora, you're not their mother and these aren't the old days. They'll be okay."

"I'll be the judge of that." She left, sprinting across the street and out of Joe's vision around a pile of rubble.

Joe turned around with a shrug and began scanning the streets for more wounded. He had to act quickly before he lost yet another assistant. It would be only a few moments before Matt noticed Sora's absence and went to find her.

Yolei looked across from the car she and Ken had taken cover behind, to where TK was kneeling and holding the entranced Kari as they huddled beside a toppled bus.

"Is there any way to properly quantify just how stupid this was?" Yolei yelled over the din of several explosions.

"But we had to come-" TK ducked when a bullet ricocheted off of the ground mere feet away from him. "We had to come to help! All these people Joe and the guys are saving would have been killed!"

"And we'll get killed, soon enough!"

Ken let out a groan and Yolei pulled him closer to her. She nodded towards Kari. "I don't suppose she's in any shape to DNA digivolve?"

TK shook his head. "But I am. Unfortunately, I have no idea where the hell Cody is."

The mention of Cody brought another alarming absence to Yolei's mind. She looked around frantically. "Where's Noriko?" She asked. "Oh my God, she was just right here!"

Yolei released Ken and looked up over the car behind her. "I can't see her anywhere!" Her voice grew gradually more hysterical. ""No, no, no, oh no, she's in trouble! We have to find her!"

"Yolei!" TK shouted. "Yolei! Stop! We can't do anything for her! What, you want us to just leave Ken and Kari?"

"We can't just let her wander out into the middle of all this, alone. She'll be killed, if she isn't already-"

"Who'll be killed?" A voice interrupted Yolei's panicked postulations.

Sora had arrived back onto the scene. Her hair had become matted and her skin glistened with sweat. She took a look around as Yolei struggled to give her an answer. "Where's Noriko?"

"We don't know." TK responded. "She was here one second, then things really got hectic and we couldn't keep track of everything-" Sora's raised hand stalled him from speaking any further.

"I'm going to find her." The Digidestined of Love looked around for a moment, as if forming a plan of action, then, in a sudden movement, resolutely reached down to Ken's waist and removed one of his firearms.

TK protested. "Sora, you can't. Stay here, I'll go."

"No, TK, you have to protect Kari." Sora took the safety off the way Ken had showed them earlier and held the weapon out, pointing away from the group. "The both of you are where you're supposed to be. I'll go find her."

With that, Sora ran around the edge of TK and Kari's bus and back out into the streets. Yolei barely had time to register the girl's departure before another of the digidestined ran up behind her.

She now found herself looking up at a matted blonde mane and a pair of concerned blue eyes that practically mirrored TK's.

"Matt?"

"Yeah." Matt huffed. He looked much like Sora had, out of breath and covered with sweat. "You guys okay here?"

Both Yolei and TK nodded.

"Good. Where's Sora?"

Yolei glanced in the direction that Sora had gone, only seconds before. Matt acknowledged her glance and took off before she had a chance to give him a response.

"Don't worry," he called back over his shoulder as he ran. "I'll be back! I just need to make sure she's okay!" He disappeared around a corner into the night.

An incredulous expression blanketed Yolei's face as she looked in the direction that Matt had disappeared. She turned to TK. "Is that- is that what they were like…before?"

"Yeah," answered TK offhandedly as he peered around his cover to catch a glimpse of his brother. "Especially Sora. I'm telling you, Yolei," He turned his attention back to his entranced girlfriend and flinched as a loud pop rang out over the air. "It's starting to feel just like old times."

"I take it that isn't a good thing."

TK shook his head. "That's never a good thing."

"Taps, man this is so messed up." Terence and Taps both jumped as MetalSeadramon swept his digizoid armored tail across the entire surface of their rooftop, then darted to the sides to avoid yet another of Piedmon's sheets and a volley of Machinedramon's missiles.

"Tell me about it." The huge Boltmon growled.

"I mean, seriously." Terence was able to leap forward at Piedmon and deliver a crushing punch to the clown digimon's face. He had to immediately jump backwards however, as one of MetalSeadramon's River of Power attacks almost hit him dead on and instead took out a chunk of the roof surface. "How the hell can Curtis and Clara just leave us here and expect us to get out of this, two against three?"

"Simple!" Someone shouted. "We don't!"

Terence turned towards the sound of the voice and saw his brother hovering in the air, a few feet away from the roof.

"When did that boy get the ability to fly?" Piedmon snarled.

Curtis shrugged. "Never did. But it's not me you should be worrying about."

Three figures, two human and one digimon, descended down upon the fight like hell from above. Rosa and Clara both slammed into an unprepared Machinedramon at full force and knocked the robotic dragon well clear of the edge of the roof. He fell, limbs flailing, with a desperate metallic roar that eventually ended with a faint crash.

Meanwhile, Rosemon grabbed the now fleeing MetalSeadramon by the tail with his thorned whip attack and swung the giant serpent android around his head before releasing him forward like a shot put. The Dark Master screamed when he flew out of control and crashed into a set of high voltage power lines some distance away, creating quite a spectacular show of lights, then fell down into the streets below with only a whimper.

Curtis then jumped onto the roof and joined the others as they began to encircle Piedmon. Terence was shocked when he saw what had been giving his brother the illusion of flight. He had been standing atop a small stealth jet, a jet that appeared to be being piloted by what Terence could have sworn was a very familiar looking woman. "Tell me that is not Krista. No friggin' way!"

"It is sweetheart." Clara assured him. "Now would you mind helping out over here?"

Terence quelled his surprise and ran over to her side, filling in the last gap in the circle the others had formed around Piedmon.

"So you think you have me beaten, don't you?" The clown jeered.

With a grin, Terence cracked his knuckles. "No, the beating hasn't quite started yet."

Piedmon made a face. "Then I'll have to take my leave of you all."

Everyone in the circle stepped back when the Dark Master began to spin at an extremely high rate of speed and created a mini tornado out of the air around him.

"I've read about this in the CADE files!" Shouted Curtis over the noise. "It's a technique that allows him to transport laterally up to fifty feet!"

Terence processed the information and came up with a plan of action. "Everyone turn around and face outwards! Let's see where this bastard pops up!"

They all did so, and after only a few seconds had passed, Taps shouted, "I see something!"

Everyone else keyed in on the direction he was facing, all with their arms raised and at the ready. There was a disturbance in the midair there, a small distance away from the roof, like a blurring of the air and light, then Piedmon's form suddenly took shape and appeared. The leader of the Dark masters wore a small grin on his face as he initially apparated, but quickly allowed that to transform into a frown when he saw his enemies already waiting to attack him.

"Hit him now!" Terence yelled.

Blasts, energy weapons, and even missiles streaked out towards Piedmon at once, all hitting him together in a brilliant flash of light and explosion of force. When it all dissipated, there was nothing left in the area but a trail of smoke identifying the trajectory which Piedmon's body had fallen from the sky.

Everyone on the roof looked at one another and shared expressions of relief.

Curtis walked over to the edge and looked down. "Well, so much for them."

"Can you believe it?" Terence grinned as he walked over and draped an arm around his brother's shoulders. "The nerd came though y'all."

"Funny." Curtis allowed himself a small smile. "Now what?"

A mechanical whirring signaled that the pilot compartment to Krista's aircraft was opening. When it did, she called out, "We must help the others!"

Terence nodded and turned serious again. "Right. Whatever happened to Puppetmon?"

"The same thing that just happened to the other three Dark Masters." Rosa answered.

"Damn. We took them all out?"

"For now." Said Curtis. "They'll be back, of course, and by that time Apocalymon will probably have recovered from his injuries enough to join them."

"Joykill."

Clara ran up beside Terence at the edge of the roof. "Need a ride down?"

"You kiddin'?" He said, nodding towards the high tech jet hovering in front of them. "I'm riding down on that thing with Curtis."

The Protective Knight gave him a slight smile. "You're such a kid."

Together Clara and Terence looked down at all of the flashes and explosions transpiring far below, down in the streets. Screams and gunshots wafted up to them as they echoed off of the surrounding buildings.

Curtis and Rosa joined the couple in their solemn observance of the ongoing battle.

"It sounds really bad down there." Curtis observed. He turned to Rosa. "You sure you're ready?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She levitated into the air. "Let's do it."

Terence leapt from the roof onto one of the wings of Krista's craft. The plane rocked a bit with the sudden addition of his weight, but steadied when Curtis came down on the other wing. Krista gently banked the plane away from the roof and Rosa and Clara flanked it. Rosemon, holding Taps, brought up the rear.

"Alright y'all!" Terence shouted when the group began to go into a dive. "It's time to take control of this damn fight! Let's ride!"

"Come on. This way. Don't worry, I won't let you go." Cody continually spoke the comforting words to Noriko as she kept her arms tightly wrapped around his waist. He supported her and carefully guided her through the horrific maze of fallen soldiers, mutants, and debris that littered the street. Cody wasn't sure what their destination was, just that they were heading away from the Assassin's tower, which stood at the center of the night's chaos.

"C-Cody, promise you'll stay, th-that you'll never leave. I need you."

"Trust me Noriko, I'm not going anywhere. Just hold on okay?"

"Mm-hmm." Noriko's grip grew even tighter, if that were possible.

Cody gritted his teeth against the bite of the cold wind and tried to shut the menagerie of noises around them out of his head. He had one goal. He had to get her to safety, no matter what. At some point, all of the motivations and emotions that had been running through him throughout the night had been replaced by this one, singular ideal.

There was a disturbance. Cody felt it before he saw anything. A silent figure, approaching from behind them quickly, with stealthy footfalls that steadily increased in their frequency. Mustering up every ounce of instinct he had, Cody forcefully pushed Noriko to the ground and dove on top of her just before the shing of a metal blade slicing through the air rang out and Jade's katana passed over the top of them. Cody wasted no time in rolling to his feet and drawing his sword and rod. He stood in front of Noriko in a protective stance.

Jade grinned. "What is she to you, your lover?"

Blood still trickled from the cut on her forehead, but she smiled nonetheless, even licking a stray rivulet that ran near her mouth. "I wonder how enraged you will be once you have witnessed my blade cleave through her throat."

"This has nothing to do with her, murderer. I'm your problem, not the girl."

"Oh I'm well past the point of simply desiring your death, boy. I will see you suffer in every way imaginable before I extinguish your life. I started with your father, and I'll continue with her."

Cody stared down his adversary and remained mindful of Sato's words. He had to stay in control. She could make all the threats against Noriko she wanted, but the only way she'd be able to follow up on any of them was through him.

"Well then," Cody said. "I suppose I'll just have to stop you then."

Jade wasted not another breath and came forward, swinging her blade in a wide swath.

Cody ducked the arching strike easily and swung for Jade's feet with his own blade. Predictably, she jumped to avoid the blow, allowing him to swing upwards with the bar and catch her in her side before she landed. Jade took the hit full on and fell backwards, but rolled back to her feet quickly. Her eyes began to dart back and forth as she kept her body oriented towards Cody.

"Looking for a digimon to charge your sword, aren't you?" He observed.

"Shut-up, boy."

Jade swung and Cody leapt back to avoid it.

"I promise," She said. "I will kill her just as easily as your father."

Jade then feinted towards Noriko and Cody quickly reacted by knocking her katana aside with his rod before spinning into a strike with his own sword, which Jade was forced to back-flip to avoid.

"Your weakness in dangerously apparent." Jade's eyes darted from Cody to Noriko and back. Her tongue passed slowly over her lips, languishing there as she allowed her face to contort into a small grin. "It's only a matter of time. I have plenty."

Cody poised his weapon in front of him and angled it so that its point was aimed directly at Jade's head. "So do I."

"Perhaps," Her infuriating smile never wavered. "but she doesn't."

Almost on cue, Noriko let out a small whimper and doubled over. Cody glanced at her on instinct and immediately knew he had done the wrong thing. Even during the split second that his eyes darted to Noriko, Cody could feel Jade's weapon already heading for his neck, ready to cleanly separate his head form his body and punish him for his momentary lapse.

A loud crack rang out.

Cody turned to see Jade's katana blade, mere millimeters from his neck, drop away from him as his adversary began to slowly back away. The ruthless mercenary was staring at something behind Cody very intently as she continued to step backwards. Cautiously Cody moved himself and Noriko out of the deadly killer's range before turning around to see what had so raptly grabbed her attention. Cody did his best to squelch his surprise at seeing Sora standing there, smoking gun in hand. She kept her face stern and her eyes never wavered from Jade.

"One move lady, and I promise I won't miss next time."

Cody allowed his moment of incredulity to pass, placed an arm around Noriko's shoulders and guided her to where Sora stood

"You guys alright?" The Digidestined of Love asked, sparing Noriko a worried glance.

"Yeah, we need to get her out of here though."

"I know. Who's the woman?"

"My father's murderer."

"What?"

"Long story. What's important right now is Noriko."

"Okay." Sora sounded a little unsure and she kept her weapon trained on Jade. "I agree. So what do we do with her?"

Jade stood in the street with her katana hanging limply at her side. She remained calm and leveled her gaze at the two digidestined without any real expression of emotion. Cody knew she was just biding her time until help arrived.

"Take Noriko to safety." He told Sora. "I'll handle her."

"No!" Noriko clasped her arms around Cody once again and tears began to cascade down her cheeks. "Don't leave me! I need you!"

Cody and Sora shared a look of desperate exasperation.

"You can't Cody. She needs you to stay with her. Ken's going through the same thing that she is and Yolei can't leave his side either."

Cody gave Sora a confused frown. "But Ken and Yolei are-"

A bright flash, accompanied by a loud explosion interrupted his next words, just before a jeep full of black-cloaked mercenaries rounded a nearby corner.

"Right there!" Cody heard one of the men shout. Immediately, the vehicle screeched to a halt and several men leapt out with their weapons already drawn.

Cody wasted no time. Having sheathed his sword as soon as he saw the jeep approaching, he grabbed Noriko around the waist and carried her to the nearest curb. Sora followed right on his heels. No sooner had the three taken cover behind the burned out husk of an upturned van that did their shielding begin to be wracked by the automatic machine gun rounds of the mercenary soldiers.

Cody kept Noriko down and covered her as best he could with his arms.

"Now what?" Sora exclaimed.

Bits of metal and ricocheting bullets flew dangerously around them.

"I don't know! We need help!"

"Damn." Sora put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "We're in serious trouble." She looked at Noriko, who was cowering in Cody's arms, and her expression immediately transformed from one of forlorn to one of set determination.

"We're getting her back to safety."

She situated herself toward the end of the burning car.

"Sora, what are you doing?"

"I don't know, trying something out."

She raised her firearm and peeked around the edge of their cover, then jerked back just before several bullets ripped through the steel frame where her head had been.

"Sora, you're being stupid! Don't get yourself killed!"

Sora didn't appear to have heard Cody. Instead she glanced down at the base of their cover, originally the top of the van, and dove down to the ground. She peered through the partially crushed driver's side window frame, then brought her gun up in front of her face and sighted through it.

"I think I have a shot at them through here."

"Sora, come on-"

BLAM!

Sora cursed as her shot apparently missed its target. She wasted no time in shooting again, accompanied by another curse.

"Sora, they're going to figure out how you're shooting at them soon."

"I know." She fired again and grimaced.

"This was a lot easier for the guy in that movie."

"A movie?!" Cody exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?! You're going to get us killed because you're trying something you saw in a movie?!" His eyes flared.

Sora ignored him and set her sight once again. "Quiet. They just spotted me. I have one last shot." She squeezed the trigger again, emitting another loud blast.

"Sora, please-"

A loud explosion interrupted Cody's next words. He ducked down and shielded Noriko as several shards of glass, hot metal, and a couple of smoking bodies, sailed over their heads.

"What the-?"

"Shot the jeep's gas tank." Sora explained. A fleeting smile crossed her face and she holstered her weapon before rising to her feet again and offering Cody a hand. "Come on. We need to get out of here before more of them come."

She helped Cody and Noriko to their feet and together the trio began to head off.

"Stop right there." The deadly, even keeled, voice prompted Cody and Sora to turn around immediately.

"Amusing trick, girl." Jade said. "But I have yet to perish."

She no longer held her trademark katana, having replaced the old fashioned weapon with a high tech alternative, one of the mercenaries' Sub Machineguns. "I've really tired of your persistence. This game is over. You and your friends can die now."

Everything moved in slow motion for Cody as he watched Jade's finger flex fractionally over her weapon's trigger. There was no time to react this time, no reserve of martial arts training or instinct that would allow him to dodge a bullet, much less hundreds of automatic rounds released in a wide spray.

An ear-crushing boom echoed over the area, accompanied by a violent, earth-quaking shockwave that knocked everyone standing off of their feet. Cody protected Noriko as best he could during the event, then looked up as soon as the tremors faded away.

Between he, Sora, and Jade now stood a giant hulking beast. Surrounding the giant's clawed feet were a pair of massive craters in the concrete street from which several jets of steam and water shot from various broken underground pipes. Cody peered closely at the digimon, whose turtle-like, shelled back was turned to him, and sighed in relief. "Ankylomon."

"You guys alright?" Boomed Cody's champion-evolved partner.

"Yeah, I think." Cody looked at Sora, who was grimacing and rubbing her lower back.

She noticed his look and assured him that she would live with a small nod.

"Move beast!" Jade hollered up at Ankylomon defiantly. She got up and walked right up to him. "Before I kill you along with them."

"What are you, nuts? Cody, who is this crazy little woman?"

Cody considered how he would answer the question, then glanced at the vulnerable girl in his arms and decided that he had more pressing matters at hand. "No one." He said. "Just some soldier."

"Do not brush me aside boy!" Jade yelled. She leveled her gun again and squeezed off several rounds. She had no line of sight with Ankylomon standing in front of her, so the bullets simply ricocheted harmlessly off of the asphalt street.

Ankylomon let out a furious roar at Jade's action, and started to swing his massive clubbed tail around at the woman. With alarm, Cody noticed that Jade didn't seem ready to dodge the attack. Instead, she was reaching down to her side, where her empowered sword was sheathed. Cody realized what she was trying to do immediately. "Ankylomon, no!"

His shout came too late. Cody's partner continued his attack, and predictably, Jade pulled out the sword the Assassin had given her and easily blocked it at the last second. The blade began glowing brilliantly almost as soon as it came into contact with Ankylomon's tail.

The giant digimon recoiled in surprise at the way Jade was able to fend off his attack. "What? How did you-?"

"Out of the way, fool." Jade swung her weapon and the resulting shockwave practically picked Ankylomon up off of the ground before slamming him into the side of the building directly behind Cody and Noriko.

Cody reacted quickly. He picked up Noriko and dove forward into Sora, knocking all three of them clear of the brick and mortar falling as a result of his partner's crash. Jade was already drawing her sword back for a second strike at them as they all recovered back to their feet. Cody looked around. No options. He could dodge Jade's attack, but it was dicey how Sora would fare. Noriko was completely out of the question.

A loud bang rang out and Jade jerked her sword back to block an incoming bullet. Several more shots came. Jade blocked a few of them, but was forced to dodge and run when the onslaught continued and Sora joined in. She took off down the street and disappeared around the side of a building.

Cody turned to catch a glimpse of the first shooter. He saw Matt standing behind Sora, his arm raised and holding a smoking Beretta.

"Cody," He said, still staring in the direction Jade had gone. "You'd better go grab Armadillomon before that crazy lady with the weird sword comes back."

Cody simply nodded; he no longer felt surprised by these unexpected rescues. This was just an incredibly insane night. After assuring Noriko that he would be back, he ran over and picked up his unconscious devolved partner from the rubble surrounding him. Matt had been optimistic. Jade's attack was so strong that it had actually knocked Ankylomon all the way back to his in-training level of Upamon.

Cody quickly returned and allowed Noriko to grab onto one of his arms while holding the unconscious Upamon in the other. The group began to head off with Matt and Sora taking flanking positions and looking out for any incoming threats. They didn't get far, however. Only a couple of minutes had passed before a group of six gray mutants appeared out of nowhere and blocked their path. Matt and Sora opened fire as soon as the interlopers showed up, but were only able to take out a couple before all of their rounds were exhausted. The group tightened up as the remaining four mutants began to surround them.

"Okay, I'm all out of ideas." Matt said. "Anyone got any suggestions?"

"Yes." Cody coaxed Noriko towards Sora and left Upamon in her arms, then stepped forward and drew his sword once again. If these creatures' hides could be pierced by bullets, then they would certainly succumb to the finely crafted edge of his father's blade. "Stay out of the way."

One of the mutants immediately began to laugh as he closed in on Cody. The laugh quickly turned into a hacking cough, then a sick gurgling, before he fell to the ground, silent. It was likely he never even felt the cold steel of Cody's sword as it sliced cleanly through its neck. Cody knew what these things were now. They were convicted killers and rapists that had probably already taken at least five lives each on this very night. Cody kept a mental count of their ranks. There were three left. He would not hold back. He whirled, barely dodging a lightning fast punch from one of the mutants, and plunged his sword directly into another that was attempting to sneak up behind him. Two. As that one fell, Cody used his bar to block an attack from another mutant approaching from his side. Though blocked, the force of the blow still almost knocked Cody completely off of his feet. These creatures were incredibly strong, but fortunately, not invulnerable. Cody spun off of the blocked blow and caught the attacking mutant in the side with his sword's edge. One. As the creature howled in pain and fell to the ground, Cody jerked his weapon free of it a scanned for the last one.

"Look out!" Matt yelled.

Cody moved, but Matt's shout had come a half-second too late. A clawed hand raking across Cody's back told him exactly where the last mutant had gone. He screamed out and stumbled forward initially, but forced the pain aside and spun around, sword held out, using every ounce of force and quickness he had left in his reserves. The mutant was unable to react before Cody's blade cleanly separated its head from its body.

None.

Cody's back felt as if were absolutely on fire. He knew it had to be bleeding profusely. He turned to glance at Noriko and saw a hint of horror in her already pained expression. Whether it was a result of his fighting performance or his current condition, Cody didn't know. But the last thing he wanted to do was give her cause to worry. He straightened up and held back his grimace as best he could while Matt and Sora ran over to him.

"That was amazing, Cody." Said Matt. "Even the knights don't take care of those guys that quickly."

"I think they were made to withstand blunt things, like punches and attacks from powered up digimon," Cody explained. "Not weapons as precise as bullets and sword edges. Precision is always more deadly than force."

"Sounds like one of your Grandpa's sayings."

"Yeah-" Cody winced as a wave of fire passed up his spine.

"You okay? I saw that one get you from behind. Looked like he missed though-"

Cody waved Matt off. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. We should get back to wherever the others are."

"You're right." Matt didn't seem entirely convinced by Cody's bravado and kept a concerned eye trained on him. "Alright, let's get going."

It took the group only a few moments to reach the makeshift sheltered alcove between a car and an overturned bus where they found Ken, Yolei, Kari, and TK huddled together.

"You're back!" Yolei exclaimed upon seeing the group. "And you found Noriko and Cody? Good job."

"How are Ken and Kari?" Sora asked as she helped Noriko take a seat up against the bus, near TK. Cody settled down next to Noriko, careful to keep his burning back turned away from everyone, and allowed himself a furtive grimace.

"Still out of it." Yolei answered. "Ken keeps mumbling something about 'the God's return,' or something of the like. I dunno."

"And Kari keeps saying that 'it ends here.'" TK added. "Whatever that means."

"That's weird," said Matt. "I don't like the sound of it."

"Tell me about it-"

TK's words were cut off when some kind of dark, pervasive, substance began to surround the car Yolei and Ken sat up against.

"Guys, look out!" He yelled.

Yolei turned around and let out a scream when she saw that the vehicle had turned a completely liquid black. With Matt and Sora's help she was able to move herself and Ken away from it, just before the vehicle was picked up by an invisible force and tossed aside through the air like a children's toy.

"What the-? What's going on?"

"Oh no."

A large mega evolved digimon descended down upon them from midair. He sported an elaborate tunic, a pair of impressive horns that jutted out from beneath it, and a hood that concealed everything but his glaring yellow eyes.

"Daemon…"

The Dark Ocean master chuckled as he looked over their assembly. "Fortune smiles upon me. I have been longing for my chance for vengeance against all those that defeated me when I was here last, and to find you all huddled together like this, like cockroaches trying to escape the cold? I will not let this opportunity pass."

Cody, because of a mixture of fatigue and blood loss, found himself drained of the ability to display any more fear on this night. He could only watch dispassionately as his latest opponent lifted his arms to form an attack. It only made sense that Daemon would show up here. He, Ken, TK, Yolei, and Kari were prime targets on the vengeful digimon's hit list. Cody cursed quietly and his back lit up with pain like a Christmas tree. Had he come this far tonight, only for them all to die here, like this?

"You forgot one, asshole!"

Something small, dark, and seemingly moving at the speed of light, slammed into Daemon from the air and drove the mega digimon right through the surface of the street with a massive crash, into a subway tunnel below. Before the gravel kicked up by the impact had even fallen back to the earth, Kuri landed right in the midst of the group of stunned digidestined with a sudden gust of wind.

"Yeah, that was Davis." She said as she immediately pulled out a glowing purple crossbow from her back. "He's pretty pissed. Are any of you hurt?"

"We're okay, for the most part." Matt answered. He glanced at Cody out of the corner of his eye.

"Good. I'll stay here and protect you." Kuri loaded the bow and began scanning for any attackers.

"Um, what about Davis?" Yolei asked.

"Did you see Davis? Well, I guess not, at the speed he was going, but trust me, he'll be fine. I'm staying out of his way for now. If he needs me, I'll know."

Cody leaned back and let out a sigh of relief. With Kuri and Davis here, they would be all right. Noriko would be safe and taken care of. He could stop fighting now and finally succumb to what had been calling out to him for a while now. Cody allowed his eyes to close and the pain in his back immediately began to ebb away. Everything began to ebb away and the world started to pass from his consciousness. At first there was darkness, nice and welcoming; And then…nothing.

The Catacombs

The malformed beast that was Hitachi held Scott high in the air while his darkly blotted arms gleamed with an aura of palpable malevolent energy.

"Mr. Barke, it would appear you have a decision to make. Would you like to stand up for your son, take position as one of the few people foolish enough to stand between myself and my ultimate goal? Or, will you stand at my side and support my eradication of this blight on your otherwise immaculate reputation?"

Barke just stood there, uselessly glancing between his boss and his son. His expression was unreadable.

"Save him, you bastard!" Hatori shouted. He struggled futilely against the grip of his captor. "He's your son!"

"My…son." Barke glanced at Hatori for a moment, and then looked to Hitachi and Scott. "My son."

"Dad, don't let him control you. You can break his hold on your mind. Try to remember!"

Hitachi began to chuckle quietly, but offered no words of argument to Scott's plea.

"My son. My blood…" Barke's eyes narrowed. Hatori could see recognition dawning upon him. "Traitor to my blood!"

"What?"

"I've done nothing but raise you proper, cultivate you to be a worthy heir to the Barke empire; so that you could take your place as a leader in our New World Order, and this is how you repay me?"

"Dad, I-"

"You joined with my enemies! You're in league with the very people that want to tear down everything I've worked so hard to build. How can you call me dad, claim me as a father? I was foolish before, when you betrayed me in Spain, when you began associating yourself with digimon sympathizers. I thought you were confused, that you would change once you saw the true path. But no more. I wash my hands of you. The New Order won't have any room for such treacherous disloyalty."

Hatori recognized exactly what those words meant and knew that he didn't have much time. He strained forward as hard as he could, but still had no luck in gaining any leeway from the guard's hold. Instead, he was forced to look on while Hitachi's eyes faded into complete inky blackness and watched as Scott's skin turned a mottled gray and an aura of dark shadow enveloped his entire body.

"Hitachi! Don't do this! He's only a boy!" Hatori knew it was no use, pleading on a basis of ethic principle to a man already responsible for the deaths of millions of innocents, but he had no other options.

Hitachi's face contorted into a grin and his coal black eyes narrowed. "Burn."

Scott screamed, loud and absolutely blood curdling, as the entire surface area of his grayed skin was suddenly covered in malignant boils. They pulsated and grew large, popping here and there and oozing black pus.

"What are you doing to him? Barke!"

The screaming continued for a couple of minutes and all the while, Hatori kept fighting unsuccessfully against his captor's hold. Then, just as suddenly as Hitachi's twisted torture of Scott had begun, it suddenly came to an abrupt halt and the boy's incessant screams gradually quieted into low groans.

"What's happening?"

Scott's body hung limply in the mutated dictator's hands. The inky black liquid dripped from his skin in a slow, molasses-like flow. Hatori watched as the barely recognizable young man's head lolled from side, like a fish stranded ashore. A barely audible mumbling noise permeated the room. He was still trying to speak.

"D-daaad…"

Hatori turned an angered gaze upon Barke, who looked upon the scene with a wholly impassive expression.

"Do you believe the punishment has fit the crime, Mr. Barke?" Hitachi, still maintaining his cruel fanged grin, glanced at his second in command.

"Yes sir. I believe he has thoroughly learned his lesson tonight."

Hatori's stare between the two men hardened. Was that what they viewed as "punishment?" Using an incredibly painful mutating process to transform Barke's own son into some otherworldly, unrecognizable creature? It was by far the sickest thing he'd ever seen in his life.

"Good." Hitachi said. "Then I shall end this."

With those words and no further warning, there was a thunderous clap and Scott's body suddenly exploded into a fine mist of black liquid and blood. The spray covered the walls and everyone standing in the lab, save for Hitachi and Barke.

Even the hired mercenaries seemed taken aback by the unexpected event. The guard holding Hatori faltered in his grip, allowing the special ops veteran to easily twist out of his hold. In one swift move, Hatori reached back, wrapped his arms around the man's head, and twisted until he heard a loud snap. He then dove over a lab table just before the other men opened up fire. He knew he had to get out of there. He had to get his newfound information to the Knights. They were the only ones that could possibly stand up to Hitachi now. He owed it to Scott.

"Men, I must leave this situation in your hands." Hatori heard Hitachi say over the sound of the guards' automatic gunfire. "I have more pressing matters to attend to now on the other side of downtown. Do not fail me."

"Yes sir!" One of the mercenaries responded.

There was a wooshing noise, signifying another of Hitachi's portals opening and closing as he left.

As he crouched behind the lab table, his mind still reeling at what he'd just witnessed while bullets whizzed around him, Hatori inspected the materials underneath the table. Vials, slides, disinfectants- then he spotted something useful; A canister of propane intended for the Bunsen burners above. Hatori quickly calculated a plan. If he threw the canister into the air, Hitachi's trigger-happy goons would surely fire upon it. The only question was whether he could reach the laboratory exit before the resulting explosion's flames engulfed him. Hatori pulled himself up into a crouching stance. He would try. He had to.

Kuri did her best to pick off any incoming mercenaries, mutants, and digimon, but even she was finding herself overwhelmed by the sheer number of her enemies. She hadn't spotted any of the Dark Masters in a while, which was good, but it didn't change the fact that the others were beginning to swarm the streets like a plague of locusts. It seemed that the inevitable had happened and Hitachi's army had finally worked their way through the relatively meager resistance of the Odaiba Police Department. They were closing in more and more, and for every cluster Kuri took out with her arrows, more kept showing up.

"God," She muttered as she continued loading and firing at a rapid pace. "The digimon aren't done with those damn evacuations yet?"

Just as she uttered the words, several combat vehicles turned a corner up the street and began weaving through debris and soldiers as they bore down on her. The walls and street around Kuri became filled with the pockmarks of countless bullets from the vehicles' roof mounted machine guns. Kuri turned her sights onto the cluster of jeeps and fired, only managing to knock one of the vehicles slightly of course.

"Damn." She reloaded her weapon. "Sure could use one of those timely saves right about now."

At that moment, a camouflaged jet streaked down over the street and launched a couple missiles from its wing bays right into the advancing horde. They fell back amid cries of confusion and fear and began to scatter in all directions. The plane began to bank away, around the corner of a high rise, but not before a shadowy figure leapt down from one of its wings. The figure was joined by three more from the air, and together the four began beating back Hitachi's army.

"Humph." Kuri looked at the scene in mild surprise. "I guess I should have added something about winning the lottery too."

Abruptly, something grabbed Kuri's attention; footsteps approaching her from behind. She whirled around with her crossbow at the ready to take out whoever was attacking.

"Whoa Kuri!" Clara exclaimed as she came to a sudden halt and put her hands up in a defensive gesture. Her eyes didn't waver from the archaic digital weapon held in the girl's hand. "We're the good guys."

Terence, who was beside Clara, held his hands up as well. "I'm not aiming to be a shish kabob either!"

Kuri sighed and let her guard down a little. "Terence, Clara, it's about time some of you others showed up."

"Yeah, nice to see you too."

There was a sudden scream, followed by the three Knights being rocked off of their feet by something smashing into the ground at incredible velocity. The impact created a shockwave that knocked back even Hitachi's forces and sent fissures racing up and down the street.

Terence looked around. "Anybody know what in the hell that was?"

Kuri looked into the air in the direction the thing came from. What she saw there confirmed her fears. "It was Keyan. He knocked her down."

Clara and Terence both turned to look up at the Assassin as he descended down towards the street. The former digital Guardian looked absolutely God-like as he came in for a landing. With electric arcs and a swirling wind surrounding him, he made his way over to the crater that Keyan's crash had created.

"Hey!" Kuri yelled out in an attempt to get the powerful being's attention. "Over here!"

The Assassin paused and turned towards Kuri incrementally.

"The hell are you doing that for?" Terence exclaimed. "You feel like we haven't received enough ass kickings tonight?"

Kuri ignored him and leveled her cross bow right at The Assassin's face.

"Smile." She whispered, before letting loose an arrow and watching it streak across the air while leaving behind trail of pure electricity. When it reached its target however, the Assassin knocked the powerful attack aside as if swatting a fly. He turned his attention back to the young avatar lying at the bottom of the huge crater before him.

Kuri frowned. "Well, damn."

"He's going to kill her!" Clara shouted. "We have to do something!" She started to take off towards the Assassin but Terence grabbed her by the arm and pointed into the air.

"Here comes the cavalry."

"Assassin!" A dual voiced shout came from the air. A figure cloaked completely in white was streaking down toward the scene.

"Are Tai and Jun that fusioned evolution thing again?" Clara asked as she watched J'ai dive down towards the street.

Kuri nodded. "But I'm not sure if even they're, er- its, powerful enough to take this thing on."

The Assassin turned to face his newest challenger and echoed her thoughts. "And what will you do, fool? You must know that you can't possibly do any real damage to me."

"No." J'ai responded with a shake of its head. "Because I won't have to."

J'ai darted to the side milliseconds before a large and dark sphere streaked across the spot where he had been hovering. The attack continued on and slammed directly into The Assassin with a terrific blast. The one time guardian was blown back and crashed though the side of his own shipping tower.

"No!" Ineg suddenly dove down into the fray and landed on the sidewalk near the hole The Assassin's crash had created. "I didn't mean to-" He turned from the damage and looked at J'ai with genuine anger. "Resorting to cute tricks to stay afloat in this battle now?"

"It is preferable to falling for them."

Terence chuckled. "Sounds just like something Tai or Jun would say."

Before either J'ai or Ineg could throw an attack, the ground between the two powerful combatants burst open and a digimon cloaked in red came flying out, trailed by hundreds of chunks of rock and gravel. The being's body flew through the air in a high arc before it came back down on the street hard, on its back, some distance away. Davis came zooming out of the newly created hole in the street and immediately began firing positron blasts as soon as he saw where Damon's body had landed.

"This is crazy." Sora said as she took in the unfolding scene with wide eyes.

Matt nodded his head in agreement. "Absolute chaos."

Even Kuri had to forcibly remind herself to stop gawking at what was going on in front of her and reload her crossbow. Ineg, The Assassin, and Daemon were the three most powerful beings the Knights had ever faced, and they were all in this area. She had to be ready.

Ineg screamed and launched himself at J'ai, who dodged the punch the dark guardian threw and drew his sais in one swift move. He turned and fired at Gennai's darker half, but barely missed. Ineg turned around and fired back, but the quicker J'ai easily avoided the attack.

"I'm tired of your games!" Ineg screamed out. "Stop your running and face me!"

Just as he said this, a disheveled looking Keyan climbed out of the crater that her fall had created. Her face bore a look of fury and her eyes were glowing brightly. Since The Assassin was nowhere to be seen, she seemed ready to take her frustrations out on the first opponent available. "I'll face you."

Ineg began to back away from her. "Avatar, I-"

"Shut-up!" Keyan flung herself right into the Dark Guardian, who was forced to go on the defensive and flee as both she and J'ai began launching attacks at him. As their fight continued out of her field of vision, Kuri turned her attention towards an alarming movement. The Assassin was crawling out of the smoking hole his crash had created in the building and his expression looked every bit as angry as Keyan's had. He stared directly across the street at Kuri and the others.

"Uh, Clara," Terence said. "You're on."

"Are you kidding me?" Clara looked at him incredulously. "I've never blocked anything that powerful before."

"Well, you're about to," said Kuri. She didn't at all like how The Assassin was beginning to approach them while raising his hands.

"But-"

Terence grasped Clara's hand. "You can do this, Clara. When the stakes are higher, you step up to the plate."

"Stakes couldn't be much higher right now." Kuri used a tone meant to urge Clara to hurry up.

"I know you can do this." Terence pointed to the digidestineds huddling behind them. "Look at them, they need you to protect them. They need you to do what you know full well you can."

"But we don't know if I can-"

"Yeah, yeah." Kuri interrupted while loading another arrow. "If we're screwed, we're screwed, but I'd appreciate it if you at least tried to save our asses sometime soon."

Both Terence and Clara spared Kuri a cross glare.

"Okay," Terence took Clara's hand into his. "You don't have a choice. Go to work."

With a sigh, Clara closed her eyes and bowed her head. Immediately, her shield began to glow brilliantly and a bright yellow dome appeared around them. Kuri noticed the Assassin wielding a white energy sphere and sent out a warning. "Alright, here it comes!"

He reared back and launched the attack forward with a loud roar. It streaked through the air and collided with Clara's shield with an ear splitting blast. The girl was launched backwards, but Terence managed to keep his grip on her arm and prevented her from flying back and colliding into the others.

Kuri fired an arrow at the still approaching Assassin, which the super-powered guardian knocked aside without even breaking stride.

Kuri grumbled. "What the hell is the point of even evolving when we're facing these guys? Clara, we're gonna need another shield."

"I can't." Clara was on her knees and gripping Terence's hand. "I don't think I've ever felt anything like that before. I can't take another one."

Kuri looked at the Protective Knight with surprise. "Clara, you don't have much of a choice-"

Terence shook his head and stopped her from going any further. Her turned to his stricken mate and helped her back to her feet. "That's okay, sweetheart. I understand. We'll just have to fight him ourselves. I know we won't stand too much of a chance against him, and there's a good chance he'll get through to hurt the rest of these guys, but we're Knights. This is our duty, right?"

"I know what you're trying to do," said Clara. Her shield was already beginning to glow brightly again.

Terence smirked upon seeing how set her expression was as she began to measure their oncoming enemy. "Looks like it's working."

"It is." Clara gripped his hand and closed her eyes again. The yellow barrier reappeared.

This time, Kuri put away her ineffective crossbow and pulled out her energy sword. If The Assassin blew away Clara's shield again he'd be close enough for melee fighting. He was already building up another attack.

Kuri called out another warning. "Here comes round 2!"

The Assassin swung again and launched another energy sphere at them. This one collided with Clara's shield with even more force than the last, but the effect was different this time. Instead of disappearing, the barrier shook a bit, abruptly turned orange, then to a deep shade of red.

"What's going on?" Kuri turned around and saw that Clara and Terence's shields had formed a connection of light, much like hers and Davis's often did. "You both can form shields now?"

"No." Terence responded. His voice sounded much more intimidating than usual and his even his eyes had taken on a slightly red glow. He stepped forward. "I think I can do something different."

He raised his hands and the shield quickly coalesced into a single sphere of intensely red light overhead. Terence then thrust his arms forward and the ball shot forward like a bullet before slamming right into The Assassin's chest. Kuri could tell fallen Guardian clearly hadn't expected the blow, as he wore an expression of complete shock just before the blast knocked him all the way back through the outer wall of his own tower once again.

Kuri looked at Terence and raised an impressed brow. "Threw his attack back at him?" She sheathed her sword and drew her crossbow again. "Nice."

"Nice?" Terence sounded insulted. "That's it? You can't tell me that's not the most badass shield combo power yet!"

Kuri allowed herself a small smile. "Really? Because, you know, Tai and Jun can morph into a single person."

"Yeah, well…" Terence shrugged. "Anyway, we need to get these guys out of here before he comes back. Let's-"

A scream interrupted him. Everyone turned to look upon the owner of the startling yell, a hysterical Noriko.

Clara rushed to the panicked girl's side. "What's wrong?"

"It's C-Cody! H-He's not-"

Gunshots raked the side of the bus, cutting Noriko off as Clara forced her down and erected another shield. Kuri tore her attention away from the girl, back to the streets. The mixed army of mutants and mercenaries was advancing again. Curtis and Rosa were doing their best to hold them back, along with Rosemon and Taps, but weren't having much luck against the advancing horde. The plane from earlier made another pass over and unloaded another two missiles into their midst, this time with much less effect than before. The throng immediately scattered and fired back at the craft. A few of their shots clipped its wing, causing it to veer off course and disappear around the side of a building.

Kuri grimaced and turned back toward the others. "This isn't looking too good guys! We're going to need more support if we want to get them out of here!"

"I-I don't think that will be a problem." Said TK.

"What?"

TK pointed down the street in the opposite direction and Kuri's gaze followed the gesture. What she saw there filled her with a new level of hope and determination; all of the digimon had finished their evacuations and were marching down the street to rejoin in the battle with SaberGreymon at their lead. Kuri did a quick count of their ranks and came up with about fifteen heads, more than enough to give the Knights the edge in their fight.

She smiled. "Clara, I don't think that shield will be necessary. We're about to take care of these guys, once and for-"

The sudden feeling of a cold wind seeping to her very core cut off the end of Kuri's sentence. She doubled over and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to force out the invasive presence. Noriko let out an extremely high pitched, ear splitting scream and Ken collapsed to the ground, moaning terribly, as if he were at death's very doorstep. Kuri forced her eyes open again and tried to take and inventory of what was going on. The others looked much the same as she did, and Clara's shield around them wavered greatly for a moment before disappearing altogether. Kuri noticed that the only person that wasn't affected by the new mysterious force seemed to be Kari. Instead, the Child of Light continued to stare straight forward into space, as if nothing had changed at all.

"Regroup! Regroup!" The shouts came from J'ai, who was hovering in the air over the middle of the two warring factions. The fusioned being wobbled in the air momentarily, then fell straight down to the ground only a few yards away from Kuri. She started to go help her leader, but stopped when a light surrounded J'ai and the being split apart into its two separate components. Kuri could hardly make out the forms of Tai and Jun before Curtis and Taps fell from the air to roughly land on the ground beside them. Rosa and Rosemon, who had apparently carried them there, then joined the two on the ground and immediately dropped to their knees. Rosemon immediately devolved back into Gotsumon.

"W-wh-what's going on?" Kuri wasn't directing the question at anyone in particular, but instead addressing the incredible alarm and fear she felt building up within herself. She had never felt such a pervasive intangible presence before. It affected her to her very core, draining her strength and even causing her to question her very existence. Kuri fell forward a bit, so that she now was supported only by her hands and knees.

"He's here!" Someone shouted. "The Dark One is here!"

Kuri looked upwards out of the corner of her eye and saw The Assassin, Ineg, and Daemon streaking through the air, away from their respective battles. They were heading back toward the crowd of mutants and mercenaries, but at an upwards angle. Whatever they were rushing toward had to be in the air. Kuri used as much of her remaining strength as she could and forced her head to tilt upwards, in the direction they were heading. There, she saw something entirely disturbing; a creature, perhaps a man, but most likely not, was hovering over Hitachi's assembled forces. His body was especially well built, covered in black. His eyes seemed to either be entirely black, or completely nonexistent. Kuri couldn't help but feel that within the creature existed the capacity for pure evil. All of the mutants, Dark digimon, and guardians were gathering around the figure as if it were some sort of deity that required their worship.

"Welcome, my subjects!" The thing's booming voice echoed off of all the surrounding buildings as if it were coming everywhere at once. "Witness the power of only the first stage of the transformation!"

The creature's next words were cut off as Kuri suddenly felt something underneath her arm, pulling her. She looked up was overjoyed upon seeing that it was Davis. Like Kari, he seemed entirely unaffected by what was going on.

"Get up." He whispered.

Kuri did so, using his arm for support. "Wh-what is that thing?" She asked, trembling with the effort it took her to stand. "Another one of Hitachi's mutants?"

"I believe that is Hitachi."

"What? How do you know that?"

"I'm…" A look of confusion crossed Davis's countenance. "not sure."

"Okay, fine. B-but how do we fight him?"

Davis looked up at the creature he claimed to be Hitachi and Kuri did the same.

"This battle was not expected tonight!" The dark being's echoing voice continued. "But you have acquitted yourselves well! It will not be long now before all of our plans come to fruition and this world crumbles at our feet!"

A ferocious cheer went up among all of Hitachi's followers and shots rang out from guns wielded by particularly festive mercenaries.

"But first, there is an order of business that must be taken care of…"

The creature turned his attention to Davis, Kuri, and the other Knights. Kuri felt a restrictive force around her body such as she had never imagined. She couldn't move any part of her own body, even the smallest extremity, and the constricting grip seemed to be growing progressively tighter.

Come with me.

It was Davis, communicating to her through their connection.

What?

Come with me.

Davis, in case you hadn't noticed, none of us can go anywhere. We can't move. If something doesn't change soon, we're going to die.

Davis didn't seem overly concerned with this. That is why you must come with me.

Come with you where?

Do you trust me?

Yes.

Then we will go.

Kuri's vision began to glow brightly and world blurred before her eyes. Everything turned completely white, as if in a slow motion camera flash. The glow never quite fade away afterwards. Instead, Kuri found herself immersed in a world without boundaries, no walls, ceilings, or floors; just an endless white emptiness. She noticed that her freedom of movement had returned and took a look around. Davis was beside her, as expected, suspended in the void just as she was, but he looked markedly different. His expression now looked much the way Kari's had, blank and devoid, and his eyes had taken on a glowing gold coloration.

"Davis?" Kuri asked unsurely, "Where are we?"

"Do not worry." He answered.

Kuri did just the opposite. Davis's voice sounded in no way his own. His body was still there, but it was as if something, some other being, had overtaken it. Kuri performed a quick mental scan for their connection and found it still there, but somehow compromised, as if nothing was on the other end.

"What is happening?"

"Quiet. She approaches."

Kuri followed Davis's blank stare out into the vast expanse and noticed a figure there. As it came closer, it became larger and more familiar looking.

Kuri squinted, as if that would help in this strange place. "Is that…Kari?"

The figure eventually hovered close enough that Kuri could confirm her hunch. It was Kari, or some kind of approximation of her. Like Davis, her face was completely devoid of emotion, and her eyes radiated a brilliant white glow, rather than gold.

"Why is Compassion accompanying you?" She asked in the same type of bland voice that Davis was speaking in. "Hope is not here."

"She's necessary to me." Davis replied.

"Very well. Why are you here?"

"Darkness has found his way into this world. He no longer has to use digimon."

"I am aware of this."

"And?"

"That does not concern me."

"It used to."

"I have absolved myself of this purposeless struggle."

"Then you have absolved yourself of me?"

Kari hovered there for a long period of time before providing a reply. "No. But this has become a hopeless situation. We have created the tags, the crests, the guardians…all of them perfect, and yet, when all is taken into account, because of their imperfections, all have ultimately failed."

"Because your intentions were not perfect."

"Lies!" Though the anger in Kari's voice was apparent, her expression never changed.

"Truth."

"What is it that you want from me?"

"I want you to help them."

"I have told you-"

"I can't overcome such powerful darkness alone. He is here. I need you to grant me the means by which to defeat Him."

"I cannot grant you those means. If I could, this problem would not exist." Kari's gaze shifted to Kuri for a moment, then to Davis again. "You are their champion."

"And you are their goal. Will you forsake them in their time of need?"

"They have forsaken me countless times."

"Light, I implore you."

Kari looked away. She seemed to delve into her own thoughts, as if in the throes of a very involving daydream. To Kuri, it seemed that an eternity passed before the girl finally responded. "Very well. This once, because of my love for you, I shall grant you the means to break from His grasp. But know this, this will be my last involvement in this futile fight."

"Understood."

Everything went white once again and suddenly Kuri felt the sensation of being back within her own body in a world with air, gravity, and dimensions. The cold of the atmosphere and hopelessness of their situation came crashing back down around her like an insurmountable weight. She still could not move, and neither could the others. But this time, there was something in her periphery, something that was growing brighter by the second, something that was emanating from the spot where Davis should have been.

The dark being that was binding them saw it as well. His expression transformed from one of menace to that of surprise and fear. He began to back away. The light that Davis was emitting continued to get brighter, blinding even, and just when Kuri felt the need to close her eyes, lest she lose her eyesight forever, control of her body was returned to her. She felt her energy restored to a higher level than it was at even before the being had taken control. She looked around to see how everyone else was doing.

Tai was the first to get back to his feet and all of the others quickly followed his lead. "Okay, I don't know what just happened," he shouted, "but I know I didn't like it! Knights, let's take this bastard down!"

Kuri forced aside her confusion at what she had just witnessed and reached down for her digivice so she could evolve once again. The action proved unnecessary however, as Hitachi's forces and their dark god immediately began to retreat.

"The time is not right!" The being bellowed. "We must return to the original plan!"

He raised both of his arms in to the air, and with a single sweeping gesture, he and his entire army disappeared into the night.

The streets were now completely deserted, save for the bodies of countless policemen, mutants, and rescue workers lying in the streets. It was as if they had never been there at all. The only sounds remaining were the crackling of many fires as they consumed various overturned cars and partially destroyed buildings and the distant wails of police and ambulance sirens approaching the scene.

"Okay." Terence scratched his head. "Anyone want to tell me what the hell just happened?"

"Me too, while you're at it," said Davis, rubbing one of his temples.

"What?" Kuri looked at him, startled. "You mean you don't know?"

Davis glanced at her. "Should I?"

"I-I don't know." Kuri looked down in consternation. "Maybe not."

Clara walked over to Kuri and put a hand on her shoulder. "Kuri, is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"Yes, but…" Kuri looked around the empty streets, at all of the people lying there in need of medical attention and help. She turned back to the group, over half of which was looking back at her curiously, and her gaze lingered for a while on Kari. Kuri shook her head, hoping to free the disturbing thoughts seeping into it. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to help these people."

The sounds of footsteps carried over to the group and saved Kuri from having to answer any follow up questions.

"Is everyone okay?" Joe asked as he, Mimi, and Izzy ran over to the group while carrying a bunch of medical supplies. "Somehow, we were temporarily paralyzed back there."

"Yeah, so were we," said Tai. "I think we're all okay though."

"Check Ken and Noriko." Matt suggested. "They were the ones having the most trouble earlier."

Joe did as he suggested and walked over to check on Noriko, then dropped the supplies he was carrying and gasped. "Cody!"

Everyone turned towards the scene. What they saw was horrifying. Cody was lying on the ground, next to a quietly weeping Noriko, in a pool of his own blood.

"No." Tai ran over to the two, with Yolei and Sora right behind him. "No... Joe, is there anything you can-"

Joe cut him off with a shake of his head. "No. It's too late-"

Noriko let out a wail that seemed to pierce all of them to their very cores.

"I told them." WarGreymon bellowed with a shake of his massive head. "I told them…"

Kuri felt an incredibly powerful wave of guilt wash over her. It was a transferred emotion from Davis. She immediately went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He had shown Cody the truth about his father's death, prompting him to come here and set tonight's events in motion. Kuri wanted to tell Davis that he couldn't blame himself, but that would be pointless and ineffectual at the moment. The most she could do was continue to hold him, to let him know that she was there.

Everyone remained silent as Noriko and Yolei sobbed over Cody's immobile form. The sirens in the background grew louder and louder, and by the time emergency vehicles arrived on the scene, it seemed no one cared to take notice that they were even there. They had lost one of their own. Nothing else seemed to matter.

"War is hell." A voice said.

Kuri whirled around and saw a completely dismantled and beaten looking Hatori Kageru approaching the gathered assembly of digidestined and Knights. Even his uniform was singed and torn in several places. He ignored many of their accusing glares and limped as he forced his way through the group, only stopping once he had managed to get a clear view of Cody's body.

"Bring him to the Chamber." He said.

Joe stood up. "We can't. He's –"

"Just do it, no questions. And hurry. He doesn't have much time."

"Time for what? It's too late-"

"No, it's not. Just do as I say, if you ever want to see him alive again. We don't have much time."

Kuri immediately went into action. She pulled out her digivice. "Peko!"

The multicolored Patamon immediately flew to her side. "Yes Kuri?"

"I'm going to evolve you to Prairiemon. Can you get Cody to the Chamber as fast as possible?"

"Of course."

Kuri pressed her digivice and Peko immediately flashed into the Champion level evolution. Kuri nodded. "Okay, go."

Peko gently scooped up Cody's body n her arms, ignoring the blood that trickled from his back onto her fur. As soon as she had him stable, Peko disappeared in a gust of wind.

"What makes you think you can save him?" Joe asked Hatori. Kuri knew that he meant to sound skeptical, but the hope in his voice seeped though. It was almost tangible.

Hatori shook his head. "Nothing really. His chances are slim, but our medical technology is very advanced. It wouldn't be the first time we brought someone back from over the brink."

"Yet another thing you've kept from us." Said Jun. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and it was obvious that it took her some effort from her just to formulate words.

"I know." Hatori hung his head and Kuri could see that his own tears had begun to fall. "The secrets have to end here, tonight. I don't want anyone else to end up like Scott."

"Scott? Scott Barke?" Said Curtis. "What happened to him?"

"CADE staged a secret raid on one of Hitachi's strongholds tonight. It was unsuccessful."

Curtis continued to give Hatori a questioning look. "And Scott?"

"Hitachi happened. That's all I have to say."

The words were more than enough to illustrate to everyone what must have happened to the young Barke Construction heir. Curtis need not push him any further. Silence descended upon the group once again.

"Something happened to transform Hitachi," said Terence after a moment. "He's stronger than any of us would have ever thought he could be."

"He has joined with a very powerful darkness," said Keyan, who had been keeping a fuming silence up until that point. "And a very ancient one, at that."

"Then we must face the facts," Said Tai, his voiced sounding very heavy and weary, "tonight was an unmitigated loss for all of us. The only reason that we survived was because, for some reason, Hitachi let us. If don't find a way to combat him, and soon, nights like this one will become the norm, rather than the exception. Hatori, it's time we and CADE saw eye to eye."

Hatori nodded slowly. Kuri couldn't shake the notion that the man seemed broken, beaten, and defeated. "I agree, because as of right now, there is no CADE here. There is only us, a group of people that want to save the world from the tyranny of one evil man."

The sound of approaching helicopters drifted over to the group.

"Media." Kuri grumbled. "Some authorities must have given out an all clear."

"We should be at the Chamber, praying for Cody." Noriko said quietly. Her voice sounded incredibly hoarse and desperate. "If what Mr. Hatori said is true, he still has a chance."

"She's right. Let's get out of here, people." Tai ordered. .

Davis evolved Veemon, and those that could fit climbed onto Imperialdramon's back. The rest hitched rides with other flying digimon. Before a throng of reporters and city officials could descend upon them like vultures circling a kill, they all took off into the waning night, entirely unsure of what tomorrow would hold for any of them.

Davis carried Kuri in his arms as he flew, and she kept her arms wrapped around his neck. She looked at him, thought about what had almost happened to them, what would have happened had that mysterious presence not overtaken Davis and saved all of their lives. He truly was the key, and he didn't even know it. Kuri reflected on what Kari had said in the other dimension. She, the Light, was ready to give up on their fight, ready to throw in the towel and leave humanity to its own devices. Kuri knew that was something that Davis would never do. He loved his fellow man too much to ever give up on anyone. No matter how strong Hitachi became, no matter how invincible his forces seemed, Kuri believed that as long as Davis remained the key to defeating them, the world would be in good hands. She would have to believe that, because after tonight, that was all any of them really had left to hang onto.

To be continued…

Next up: Seppuku. Now trapped in a war that they cannot find their place in, or figure out how to win, the Knights are confronted with a crucial decision that may cost them their very lives. How far will they be willing go to achieve their goals and what ultimate price will they have to pay? Find out in the next chapter of Digital Knights!

Additional AN: Ideally, there should be about five chapters left to this story. (Seppuku, plus an ending three-parter and an epilogue. Ideally. I have a flair for writing more than originally intended, so we'll see if it stays that way.) (Additional AN, post final editing (2012): This is so friggin' hilarious in hindsight, knowing that there are 13 more chapters after this. lol)

Don't forget to review! I'm really interested who all have stuck around for this entire tale so far. I hope you're pleased with it!