Chapter 34

Biyomon warp digivolve to... Gryphonmon!

Hawkmon digivolve to... Aquilamon!

Bokomon, Neemon and Calumon scrambled onto Aquilamon first, while everyone else squeezed themselves onto him and Gryphonmon, some humans opting to carry their partners where possible. Heavily burdened, the two of them glided down off the platform, towards the edge where the plain began, and the army awaited them.

As they landed, the digimon moved forwards in a line, their partners behind them. Aquilamon spread his wings and swiftly took off up into the sky, and while the spire was still untouched, he made to roost at the very top while he still could.

Ken and Davis looked between each nervously before glancing at Veemon, to which he and Wormmon answered curiously.

'We gonna go to Imperialdramon, or what, Davis?'

Davis looked slightly confused as he thought, Ken answering for him. 'I'm not entirely sure. Imperialdramon would be effective, especially against Ghoulmon, but... we might need him for Barbamon.'

Davis nodded in reluctant agreement. 'You may be right, Ken... but - wouldn't Veemon be safer as Imperialdramon?'

'Not really.' Wormmon murmured admittedly. 'We would just make a bigger target.'

Ken studied Veemon confidently. 'I think Veedramon will be able to help the others long enough for you to use your full power against Barbamon.'

As Veemon became rather nervous, Davis exhaled heavily and gripped his shoulder encouragingly. 'Don't worry, Veemon. I believe in you, too, and I'll be right by your side.'

Veemon grinned warmly to himself, and nodded. 'OK. Stay safe, you guys...'

In unison, the digivices activated.

Veemon digivolve to... Veedramon.

Wormmon digivolve to... Stingmon.

Stingmon digivolve to... JewelBeemon!

Gomamon digivolve to... Ikkakumon.

Ikkakumon digivolve to... Zudomon!

Palmon digivolve to... Togemon.

Togemon digivolve to... Lillymon!

Tentomon digivolve to... Kabuterimon.

Kabuterimon digivolve to... MegaKabuterimon!

Armadillomon digivolve to... Ankylomon!

Patamon digivolve to... Angemon.

Angemon digivolve to... MagnaAngemon!

Gatomon warp digivolve to... Ophanimon!

Gabumon warp digivolve to... ZeedGarurumon!

Renamon warp digivolve to... Sakuyamon!

Guilmon warp digivolve to... Gallantmon!

ZeedGarurumon immediately stepped forward to test the effectiveness of his choice.

'Zeed Cannon!'

The Ghoulmon heading for them scrambled to avoid the coming blast, but their sheer number prevented them from moving into an effective formation and the massive energy blast ploughed through several dozen within their sight, leaving no trace of their data.

'Wow.' Matt gaped slightly, before nodding in satisfaction. 'I'm glad we've got this guy now.'

'Spirit Fire!'

'Solo Roar!'

The small cloud of blue fire which erupted from Agumon's mouth quickly swelled under the force of Gryphonmon's Solo Roar, and the blue fire travelled in a wide wave through many Ghoulmon as well, leaving behind small flame patches burning on the ground. As the flames died away, the three digimon's eyes widened in pleasant surprise at the relatively clear path through the Ghoulmon, but it was fast being filled up by more pouring in from the sides, as well as reinforcements from behind in Barbamon's direction. Zudomon and Joe helped keep them at bay as they charged.

'Vulcan's Hammer!'

Zudomon swung his hammer at nearby Ghoulmon, pushing them back, and was able to deflect their lasers off his hammer. He stayed behind the trio of megas, however, not wanting to take too many chances.

'Come on!' Tai urged. 'We've got to push forward! If we don't, we'll get overrun before we can get to Barbamon!'

Tai froze as a Ghoulmon crept up behind him. Whipping around, he shot his arm forward with the digivice, and a light beam projected straight into its eye. Agumon had already been running towards Tai, and easily destroyed the Ghoulmon as it was stunned by Tai's beam. Tai grinned at the digivice in his hand briefly. 'Thank you, digivice!' He boasted with approval.

Seeing what Tai had done, every human quickly began to help their partners by stunning Ghoulmon and allowing their partners to deal a fatal attack, or by stopping one that was about to land one on their digimon.

With that, Agumon, Gryphonmon and ZeedGarurumon focused all their effort into clearing the Ghoulmon in front of them. Lillymon, MegaKabuterimon and Sakuyamon quickly moved in behind them to help stall or destroy Ghoulmon attacking the group from the sides.

'Amethyst Wind!'

The large cloud of cherry blossoms released from Sakuyamon's Kongou Staff quickly halted a large platoon of Ghoulmon charging on their left, and Lillymon and MegaKabuterimon carefully aimed their shots towards the Ghoulmon's eyes.

'Flower... Cannon!'

'Horn Buster!'

The two attacks were enough to take one Ghoulmon out, however the three soon realised they would need another strategy to stop the Ghoulmon, who were advancing on them quickly despite some of them being destroyed, and the field of red blossoms could only delay them for so long.

'Lillymon!' Sakuyamon called out forcefully. 'Do you have any methods specifically in dealing with virus digimon?'

Lillymon's eyes widened surprise briefly before answering. 'I do, but... I'm not sure how useful it'll be. I'm only an ultimate.'

'Anything may help.' Sakuyamon approached Lillymon's side whilst keeping the blossoms swirling rapidly. 'Do it. Now!'

'But... you don't even know...'

Sakuyamon calmly smiled at her. 'I believe I can make it work.'

Lillymon frowned determinedly. 'All right. Here goes.'

Eyeing Sakuyamon's staff, she drew her palms together and drew out a large string of joined petals, looping them around the head of the staff to fall entwined through its cross-like pattern. Sakuyamon examined it in fascination.

'I see. A ward, of some sort.'

Sakuyamon focused her energy into her staff, and allowed her cloud of blossoms to fall, temporarily releasing the Ghoulmon to advance forward. MegaKabuterimon and Lillymon glanced at her in alarm.

'Sakuyamon, you're about to...!'

Sakuyamon smirked confidently in response to MegaKabuterimon's protest.

'Amethyst Mandala!'

A bright wall of light burst from the tip of her staff, enveloping all the digidestined within it. Everyone halted in surprise, before seeing the Ghoulmon halt as well when they approached the barrier, some even touching it, but large flashes of light seemed to burn away some of their flesh as they did, and they instantly recoiled.

Sakuyamon stood up and glanced at Lillymon with approval. 'It seems my shield is augmented slightly with your help. Without it, it could not have been this size, or protect against so many digimon at once. Thank you.'

Lillymon grinned with slight embarrassment. 'Why, thank you... but we really should get going. Enough staring at the pretty barrier, guys! Though it is quite lovely, I'll admit...'

MegaKabuterimon quickly cut her off before she could get into the descriptions. 'This barrier will only last so long! We have to get to Barbamon now!'

The digidestined huddled together within the barrier and surged forward, MegaKabuterimon helping ram aside any Ghoulmon that managed to pass through the barrier. They quickly built up speed as the Ghoulmon became unable to retaliate against their attacks, as everyone's moves were able to pass through the barrier one way to strike the Ghoulmon, but any of their attempts to return shots were simply deflected to the side.

Despite her success, Sakuyamon became anxious as she reached out towards Barbamon's mind for a second, and felt it drawing closer as they pushed forward. Even though this was their goal, she knew that her barrier would quickly fall once they encountered Barbamon. More concerning was the fact that Barbamon didn't seem to be participating in the battle at all, despite his close proximity.

'Why isn't he helping them?' She wondered under her breath. 'I don't like this...'

Lillymon nodded in agreement as she listened. 'I know. We should keep our guard up. You should focus on the barrier; we'll all protect you.'

Aquilamon had been waiting for just the right moment to take off, seeing the Ghoulmon clamber up the sides of the spire like giant ants. He fought furiously against his desire to just take off and fly, but he had to wait for the right moment, otherwise he would be mowed down by the lasers as soon as he launched himself away. He was waiting until the majority of the Ghoulmon were between the basin and the next level up, which contained the longest path for them traverse.

'Can we go yet?' Neemon asked, which seemed like the millionth time.

Yolei gritted her teeth nervously. 'I know how you feel, but we have a responsibility to keep the three of you safe. If we can't fight, we might as well do this.'

Calumon was helping Aquilamon by looking over the other side, and between him, Yolei and Aquilamon, they managed to maintain full awareness of the storey below in case any Ghoulmon tried to sneak up on them. Bokomon was still flicking through his book, trying to find any more information on Ghoulmon or Barbamon that could help them, despite already having looked through it several times and found nothing, which Neemon was consistently pointing out.

'Bokomon, why are you still doing that?' He squeaked in protest, joining Calumon on watch. 'You should help us watch those... uh... Ghoul things!'

Bokomon frowned condescendingly. 'We've mentioned several times already that they're called Ghoulmon. And I have a strange nagging feeling that I've missed something, that's all...'

'Guys!' Yolei called out sharply as she spotted the last Ghoulmon disappear under the dome. 'Now's our chance!'

Calumon was the first to climb up, quickly helping up Neemon and putting an effort to pulling Bokomon up when he refused to put his book away. As soon as he felt everyone's feet on his back, he began to take off as everyone grabbed onto his horns, with Neemon grabbing on to Bokomon in the process.

Neemon frowned in slight frustration as he did. 'Bokomon, quit being so heavy!'

Bokomon flushed in embarrassment before frowning. 'Well, excuse me! I'd have though a hare-brained idiot would have stronger legs, at least.'

Yolei frowned with frustration and almost shrieked at them. 'Guys! Now's not the time. Can't you just... get along for once?'

The severity of her statement stunned the two of them, and Yolei immediately looked away guiltily. She knew she had gone too far - they didn't argue as much as she implied. And yet, it reminded her of her own sister, and the arguments they had. She grinned wryly to herself. Which is worse - this situation, or being in the same room with Chizuru? A tiny voice in her head was quick to point out how ridiculous the question was, and another, stubborn part of her quickly got angry even thinking about her. She glanced back at them, and saw Neemon help Bokomon up to grab onto Aquilamon's horn, to which Bokomon returned a grateful smile.

Those two argue so much... but they're still friends. Could... could I ever be like that with my sister?

She quickly shook her head obstinately. That never works. I've already tried to be nice to her, but she always treats me the same. The way she talks down to me, trying to order me around... just because she's a few minutes older than me she's got some strange idea I'm beneath her! That just... grr! I can't stand it! So annoying... always complaining about the things I do for her, the help I give with homework... and comparing our looks all the time! So what if I wear glasses? So what if I don't blow-dry my hair every day? She doesn't have to blatantly point it out to everyone!

Aquilamon eyed her in confusion. 'Is something troubling you, Yolei?'

She forced herself to exhale and calm herself. 'It's nothing. Don't worry - just stay out of range of those Ghoulmon, but try to stay near the others as much as you can!'

Aquilamon studied her for a second before nodding, and diving slightly towards the battle ahead. '...of course.'

Calumon and Yolei quickly began to study the battlefield. There wasn't too much to see right now, except for the large, moving barrier that surrounded the group, and neither of them knew where it had come from, but it seemed to be protecting their friends.

Bokomon studied the mass of grey bodies surrounding the small group within the shimmering barrier. 'Once that barrier runs out, we'll need to help them any way we can.'

Calumon frowned worriedly. 'How can we do that? You know, without getting too close?'

Yolei snapped her fingers affirmatively. 'We can contact them on their digivices if we spot anything unusual! Like Barbamon, right?'

Neemon blanched slightly at the name, and slowly raised his short arm to a figure in the distance, where there was a large, almost circular absence of writhing grey bodies. 'Like that?'

Yolei's eyes widened in alarm as they watched the figure raise something towards the barrier.

She hastily linked her digivice to Tai's, as she cried out warningly. 'Tai! I think Barbamon's about to - '

A massive black line seemed to appear between Barbamon and the digidestined as they Ghoulmon leapt aside, and a massive blood-red beam sped towards the barrier.

'Look out!'

At Tai's cry, everyone instinctively ducked, while Sakuyamon remained upright, focusing all her remaining energy to block the blast, for she knew it was too large to be avoided. The shimmering envelope split at the rear and shrunk towards the front as the beam deflected in several directions against it, before the barrier quickly imploded out of existence, leaving the area suddenly dark. The Ghoulmon quickly resumed their attack, and everyone quickly moved to defend Sakuyamon.

Sakuyamon gasped for air and quickly collapsed forward onto her knees. Gallantmon quickly ran up and knelt beside her to examine her.

'Sakuyamon! Can you still fight?'

Frowning determinedly, Sakuyamon leaned on her staff and attempted to pull herself up. She strained for second before collapsing again, and she quickly glowed and shrunk as she degenerated.

Gallantmon hastily stood up to impale a Ghoulmon who had just leapt towards them, and called for help. 'Renamon needs out!'

Gryphonmon quickly whipped around and leapt towards them. Gallantmon moved to join MagnaAngemon, Myotismon and Ankylomon, as they were struggling to hold their position. Renamon coughed painfully, and slowly crept towards Gryphonmon. She quickly gathered Renamon in her claws, and gently, but swiftly, carried her towards Aquilamon. Within a minute, she had arrived, and hovered above Aquilamon to release Renamon. Calumon gasped with concern, and hovered over to Renamon as she attempted to lower herself onto Aquilamon. As soon as Renamon was securely riding Aquilamon, Gryphonmon sped back down towards the battle.

'Renamon! What happened to you?'

Renamon steadied her breathing before answering. 'I... didn't realise he was that powerful...'

'Who?' Yolei asked frantically. 'Barbamon? That was him, right?'

Renamon nodded gravely. '...I... fear for the others now.'

They all looked down towards the field and saw the digidestined quickly descend into disarray. However, the Ghoulmon were still suffering major casualties as ZeedGarurumon's blasts continued, along with Agumon's attacks once again combined with Solo Roar. Yolei could also spot MegaKabuterimon shielding them when necessary, and Lillymon was slowing them down while hovering above the group. She quickly warned Tai when she spotted the group split into two, divided by the Ghoulmon onslaught.

'Tai! You've got to get your group back with the others! They've broken off!'

There were sounds of fire and slashing sounds before Tai answered. 'Who, Yolei!?'

She squinted as she examined the digimon. 'The other group's got MagnaAngemon, JewelBeemon, Myotismon, Gallantmon, Ankylomon, Ophanimon and Veedramon. They seem to be handling themselves alright, but I'm not sure how long they can last.'

Tai thought for a second, before speaking up. 'Don't worry, Yolei. We'll get back to them, if we can. Which direction should we go?'

'East-North-East. They seem to be approaching a large structure; I'm guessing they'll take cover in it. Hurry!'

The second group was holding well. Ankylomon surprised them all, especially; not by fighting the Ghoulmon directly, but he was able to constantly stun and slow down the Ghoulmon by using the terrain, creating shockwaves that knocked them back with Tail Hammer. Until now, none of them had noticed the small scattered ruins about the plain, and just as well, since the Ghoulmon had crushed the smaller ones under their feet. However, some structures still standing over a storey high caught their attention. One particular structure was a two-storey building, with solid rock walls still standing strong, which could carry the large digimon easily.

'TK!' Yolei's voice sounded out of his digivice urgently. 'Are you OK?'

TK nodded. 'We're fine - but please, keep it quick. I need this thing to help the others.'

'I know.' Yolei stated shortly. 'Tai's group is fighting towards you. That building to your northeast will be useful for you to use until they get to you. Be careful!'

TK opened his mouth to question her, but her voice cut out quickly, and he remembered what he had just told her. He resumed hampering the Ghoulmon with the digivice as the group fought towards the building when Myotismon had spotted it for them, and Gallantmon charged forward, slashing away fiercely at any Ghoulmon which stood in his way.

'Die, you fiends! Stop getting in our way!'

The humans briefly glanced at him in concern as they heard hatred in his voice before returning their attention to holding back the Ghoulmon. It was working well; TK, Ken, Cody, Kari and Davis were able to consistently focus their digivices' light beams between the digimon's positions, keeping too many Ghoulmon from engaging their partners at one time.

The digimon were slightly concerned as they heard Gallantmon's voice rising gradually and began yelling bloodthirsty shouts and taunts, and his attacks became ever more frenzied. The only benefit was the Ghoulmon's numbers falling even faster, and allowed them to advance towards the structure faster.

Despite Gallantmon, the others supported him and prevented him from getting surrounded. Ophanimon guarded the rear was able to destroy many Ghoulmon in waves of two or three as Kari, Davis and Veedramon stayed by her side and prevented more than three approaching her at the same time. Veedramon felt far more worried about Ophanimon than himself; something seemed to change in the Ghoulmon whenever they looked upon her, and similar to Gallantmon, attacked her with heightened ferocity.

They were slightly relieved as they arrived at the structure. It's layout was very simple; only two storeys, the lower level containing little but the stair to the next level, which was half degraded already, with an open top. However, the humans found useful positions around the top wall as there were many openings with which they could use to project their digi-beams. As they did so, MagnaAngemon, Ophanimon and Veedramon ascended to the upper level, and Ankylomon found a useful area on the ground next to Ophanimon, with Kari and Cody in the wall above. He concentrated on stopping the Ghoulmon which came for him and Ophanimon, allowing her to destroy them in the brief period in which they ignored Ankylomon and shot at her. Cody and Kari helped him by pushing back any Ghoulmon that got too close, before Ophanimon dispatched them.

MagnaAngemon and Veedramon focused on hit and run tactics, unleashing their powerful attacks on the Ghoulmon before taking cover as they retaliated with their red lasers, knowing the two of them were weak to the element of darkness. Gallantmon and JewelBeemon stayed near the entrance and used their armour to their advantage; only attacking when the Ghoulmon were off balance as they got close. Gallantmon kept them away at range with his lance, and when they got too close he swept his shield in front, stunning several Ghoulmon at once before he swiped his lance through them. The Ghoulmon seemed to come apart like butter from the lance, and its lightning crackled constantly in conjunction with Gallantmon's frenzy.

Myotismon stayed directly behind them and assisted them by immobilising groups of Ghoulmon next to JewelBeemon, who managed to destroy some before Gallantmon quickly destroyed them, usually with Shield of the Just. He seemed wary of being so close to Gallantmon, however, and JewelBeemon also felt strange feelings of terror when he studied Gallantmon.

'You demons! You shall all die by my hand, once I'm through with your master!'

'What?' JewelBeemon objected with an effort, steel keeping the Ghoulmon back. 'We're not going to destroy them all unless we have to! What are you talking about?'

Gallantmon's helmet quickly turned towards him. 'There's no other way to deal with these creatures! And they still must answer for what they've done!'

Myotismon frowned and shook his head. 'No. They are being controlled by Barbamon. They are not much different from myself and Barbamon's other victims.'

He gasped in fear as Gallantmon spun around towards him, earning objections from the other humans as the Ghoulmon began to fill up the area. MagnaAngemon and Ophanimon quickly intervened, but were put under immediate pressure trying to protect Gallantmon's flank and Ankylomon at the same time. Gallantmon's gaze pierced Myotismon as he glared at him venomously.

'Who are you to question me!? You're made of darkness too! It makes sense you would sympathize with them!' Myotismon's eyes widened as Gallantmon raised his lance. 'I should destroy you as well!'

JewelBeemon quickly used his own lance to deflect Gallantmon's weapon away from Myotismon. 'Listen to what you're saying! Don't you remember anything? What's wrong with you!?'

JewelBeemon inwardly recoiled as Gallantmon's eyes flashed dangerously, turning his gaze to him. Gallantmon raised his lance to knock JewelBeemon's aside, and aimed it at him instead. As the two of them stared at him guardedly, he inched his lance between them. He was unmoved as he glared at them, but hesitated as everyone exclaimed frantic pleas for him to stop. His eyes seemed to clear slightly as he heard Kari.

'Guilmon, please! Don't do this. We need you! Please don't - turn... otherwise... I don't know what will happen to us...'

Her soft voice seemed to give him pause, stirring other voices from his memory, seemingly detaching his consciousness from his immediate surroundings.

'... I just can't take anymore, Takato... I can't...'

'Jeri?' His own voice sounded softly when he recognised his friend's voice, along with another.

'I know, I don't like it either...'

'T-Takatomon?' He was confused as to why they sounded so sad.

'Stop!'

'Huh?'

'Don't come near me. Guilmon was so sweet and cute... and look what you did to him.'

'What... Takato did? What?'

The voices died down for a little while. There were faint voices in the background, along with rumbling. Takato's voice sounded again, very clear.

'Guilmon was always Guilmon until I messed him up. No matter how big he got he was always my friend, my partner, but I let him down. I acted like a fool, I really wanted Beelzemon to suffer for what he had done, it wasn't enough to just defeat him - he had to hurt. It's bad enough that I felt that way, but it's worse for Guilmon. I made him a monster.'

Anger simmered slightly through him as he remembered. 'Monster... Beelzemon... what he did... I can't believe it...'

He stared at the image of Beelzemon burned into his memory, standing there and brandishing his weapons, ready to fire at him and Takato, who were defenseless. Takato's voice slowly returned to him.

'...you were about as real as they come, I don't understand why Rika thought that data couldn't be real, you were real! Wasn't that proof enough? You were my friend.'

His eyes widened as he heard his own voice. 'We'll always be friends, Takatomon - and that's pretty real.'

Gallantmon felt some of his hostility ebb away as he remembered what had happened. 'Takato... because of our... friendship... that's what helped us. But... what was I doing? I don't...'

He gasped slightly as the image of Beelzemon shifted and changed into Myotismon, who was backing away from his pointed lance in terror.

'Friends...'

He glanced around at the others, all regarding him in a similar fashion, half of them frantically moving in and out of his sight. His gaze returned to Myotismon, regarding him sympathy and sorrow.

'He is... they're all my friends. I can't let Takato down...'

They're expressions quickly expressed relief, but were almost instantly replaced with alarm.

'Gallantmon, watch out!' Ken called out.

He quickly swept around and was face to face with the army of Ghoulmon. One's eye was almost in his face before he swept his lance through it.

As he remembered everything which had happened just before, he glanced away from everyone in shame. 'I'm sorry...' He whispered.

Myotismon still regarded him with terror, and stayed far away from him, but went to assist Ankylomon instead. The others were relatively silent, instead directing their attention to the battle, which had deteriorated since Gallantmon's mental lapse.

Ophanimon and MagnaAngemon were significantly exhausted, and unable to move as effectively as they were. Even with Gallantmon back, the Ghoulmon were slowly pressing harder on all sides. The humans started in alarm and their heads shot around as they heard the back wall of their base being struck by the Ghoulmon's claws, and moved to the back portion of the level to hold the Ghoulmon back as long as possible. It proved rather feeble; the moment they had caught one of the Ghoulmon with their beams, another knocked the first one aside to take its place. Since their digimon were preoccupied, the wall was coming down fast.

Davis looked around to find any digimon that could help. His eyes chanced upon Veedramon, who was holding back, unable to help the other groups without becoming a hindrance. Davis gulped worriedly, but knew he had to help.

'Veedramon! We need your help over here!'

Veedramon turned to look at him briefly as Davis ran down towards the wall, before pointing at the position with which it was about to give way. 'I... need you to help me delay them... as long as possible.'

Veedramon could see the concern in his eyes, but didn't hesitate as he approached the wall and braced himself. Kari glanced at them worriedly, but quickly returned to protecting Ankylomon and Myotismon.

Davis and Veedramon stood ready, with Davis' digivice ready, watching the cracks in the wall get wider and thicker.

When it was finally breached, Veedramon rushed forward to block the single Ghoulmon in an arm lock. When it responded by readying its laser, Davis quickly shone his beam into its eye. Veedramon strained with effort just to hold it there, and a bead of sweat ran down Davis' scalp. 'Come on, come on, Tai... where are you guys?'

They kept up with the defence for another minute. And another. The muscles in Veedramon arms were tensing dangerously and his eyes were closed shut, as if waiting for the inevitable to happen. Davis frowned tensely, desperately trying to keep the Ghoulmon from killing Veedramon, but he could see the light beam growing weaker the longer he kept it on.

'No... it can't all end here... can it? Tai, Matt... anyone... please...'

Calumon's eyes widened. 'What?'

Bokomon raised an eyebrow, turning to glance at Calumon. 'Did you say something, my boy?'

'Davis... he's in trouble!'

'I know!' Yolei answered frantically. 'Those Ghoulmon seemed to be overrunning them!'

Calumon leaned forward to stare at them desperately. 'We've got to get closer! I've got to help them! I've got to help - Veedramon.'

Aquilamon nodded in understanding almost immediately. 'Yes... for him to digivolve. Let's go.'

'...Davis!'

Davis' eyes snapped open as he looked to the source of the voice. 'T-Tai?' His eyes widened when he instead spotted the glowing Zero Unit on Calumon's forehead, and the grin on Calumon's face.

'No, silly! I'm here to help you and Veedramon!'

Davis' eyes shot to Veedramon, and he smiled. 'Are you sure it'll work?'

'I have to try!'

Davis nodded, and made sure to keep his beam focused as Veedramon gradually strengthened his hold on the Ghoulmon. 'It's working! Come on, Calumon! Veedramon!'

Despite Veedramon's grip, the Ghoulmon seemed to be inching forward, ever so slightly. Davis' eyes widened in alarm as he saw the other sections of the wall begin to collapse in the same manner as the first.

'Calumon, hurry!' He pleaded into the sky.

Calumon frowned with frustration. 'I'm trying! I rarely do this by my choosing, you know!'

Veedramon let out a guttural cry in alarm as the wall gave way and two other Ghoulmon leaped through the wall, knocking Veedramon heavily to the ground, trampling him as their sights were set on Ophanimon. Davis leapt backwards, trying to keep a Ghoulmon at bay, all the while running for his life towards the stairs.

'Look out, Ophanimon!' Veedramon managed to cough loudly as he got up.

Ophanimon turned just in time to see the red beams and narrowly avoided them, but became off balance in the air as the Ghoulmon primed their beams again. Veedramon frowned determinedly and quickly approached the three, stiffening his tail behind him before sweeping the three Ghoulmon over. Ophanimon quickly aimed her Javelin at them before they could get up.

'Eden's Javelin!'

'V-Breath Arrow!'

The two attacks were enough to destroy the three, but Ophanimon raised her head to see the other Ghoulmon pouring through the broken back wall. Davis immediately locked one down, but the others just knocked it aside towards the stairs where he was standing, and called out to Veedramon warningly.

'Veedramon!'

He turned before getting trampled again, and one of them stopped briefly to drive their claw into Veedramon's back, causing him to howl in pain. Davis flinched as he watched, as if feeling the injury himself.

Calumon yelped in distress as he frantically focused again, shutting his eyes firmly. I have to help him! If I can't... he'll die, and... maybe the rest of us as well. I can't fail!

Veedramon raised his head slightly to spot several Ghoulmon around him looking up at Ophanimon. He tried to call for help, but he was so winded he could only moan weakly. Spotting Calumon's Zero Unit in the distance, he exhaled slowly, focusing his energy, preparing himself to digivolve again, and his eyes snapped open as Calumon's Zero energy finally transferred to him.

Veedramon digivolve to... AeroVeedramon!

The light shone so brightly before pulsing, sending all nearby Ghoulmon tumbling away, projecting several through the walls, and partially collapsing the upper level even further. TK found himself almost falling off but MagnaAngemon was able to carry him to safety on the small stable platform that was left, in the brief moment when AeroVeedramon's light held the Ghoulmon back. That time was quickly fading as the Ghoulmon soon resumed their attack, also focused on this new intruder. AeroVeedramon was ready, however.

'Wind Guardian!'

He quickly flapped his wings and wind gusts surrounded the structure, slowing any Ghoulmon that moved through it. The other digimon retreated inwards to the structure to try and strike the Ghoulmon down as they were caught in the gale.

AeroVeedramon turned to face the incoming Ghoulmon through the broken wall with renewed confidence. He took a deep breath before unleashing a large, V-shaped beam.

'V-Breath Arrow!'

The attack was far more potent than Veedramon's, the tip of the arrow piercing a Ghoulmon's eye and vaporising it, the edges grazing the two next to it, causing them to stagger backwards and hold up the others behind it. Davis exclaimed elatedly as he watched.

'That's awesome, AeroVeedramon! I knew Veedramon would have his uses!'

Even with Veedramon digivolved, the group could only hold the Ghoulmon for a bit longer. MagnaAngemon and Ophanimon's attacks were no longer one-shotting the Ghoulmon, due to them missing the weak points more often as their attacks became unfocused.

AeroVeedramon suddenly heard a faint chanting. Looking around for the source, he soon realised that the Ghoulmon each projected a faint voice, and was all the more disturbed because of it. JewelBeemon's head turned to Myotismon as he collapsed onto his knees at the sound.

'Myotismon? What's wrong?'

'It's the voices! Can't you hear them?' AeroVeedramon addressed JewelBeemon, who only shook his head.

'I don't...'

He stopped as the chanting grew louder.

'Destroy the Archangels. Destroy the Archangels. Destroy the Archangels...'

'Davis!' Yolei's voice sounded from his digivice. 'There are some BlackGhoulmon in there!'

'What?' Davis exclaimed in disbelief. 'Like we need that right now!'

Veedramon eyed Ophanimon urgently before taking to the sky, and approached Ophanimon before turning his back to him as if to guard her. MagnaAngemon wasn't far behind as he did the same. The two of the watched as the surrounding Ghoulmon began to ignore the others further, even Gallantmon, as they looked up at the trio.

Ophanimon's voice sounded solemnly as she addressed them. 'Please. Leave me, both of you. The two of you shouldn't have to die to protect me. Go to your partners! They are more important than I am!'

MagnaAngemon shook his head vehemently. 'I know that... but you're my friend too. I can't just abandon you, especially when those Ghoulmon are all focused on you!'

AeroVeedramon nodded in hearty agreement. 'He's right. You will die if we leave you!'

The chanting ceased briefly and they spotted several BlackGhoulmon stop beneath them. The other Ghoulmon's beams separated the three briefly as they tried to dodge, and one stray beam grazed MagnaAngemon's wing as he tried to block Ophanimon. TK cried out in alarm as MagnaAngemon fell away, and was in the process of righting himself, but a multitude of thicker beams, coming from the BlackGhoulmon, projected into a locus towards Ophanimon. Kari watched in horror as the beams continued, and Ophanimon had no chance to dodge it. That didn't stop her screaming out to her.

'Ophanimon! Get down - !'

It was too late, and they both knew it. Ophanimon seemed to accept her fate, and calmly faced the beams. She gaped when AeroVeedramon moved in front of her without hesitation. Davis and Gallantmon, still fighting below, glanced up in shock as he saw the beams headed for AeroVeedramon.

'No!' They cried out in unison, as the beams struck him in the chest.

AeroVeedramon seemed to slow down in front of Ophanimon. She stared at him in fright as blood gushed briefly from his chest, before he began falling backwards. This was all too familiar to her as similar images in her memory flashed before her eyes.

No... please... not again...Wizardmon...I can't...

She was frozen in place as she watched AeroVeedramon's body descend to the ground, and hit the cold dirt with a heavy thud. She felt tears seep from beneath her mask.

'...Ophanimon!'

At the edge of her hearing, she heard Tai's voice calling out to her, and she glanced up slowly to see Tai's group fighting furiously towards them in a display of clouds of fire and energy beams. As she detected the red beams entering her vision, she saw the Ghoulmon below shoot up at her again, and heard Gallantmon cry out in anguish before his shield began to light up as he held it out in front of him. Her vision darkened and she swayed in place from fatigue, and she felt dull pain wring her entire body and the cold air brushing against her as she began to fall.

Will I follow him this time?

Davis walked forward towards AeroVeedramon in disbelief, unable to process what had just happened. AeroVeedramon's form quickly shrunk down as he degenerated back into Veemon. Davis slowly knelt next to him and stared at the bloody wound in his chest, which looked severely burned, and still had blood seeping from some areas.

Kari ran toward Gatomon as she fell as well, catching her and embracing in her arms when she knew Gatomon was still alive and conscious.

Gallantmon and the other digimon took one look at Veemon before turning angrily towards the remaining Ghoulmon and striking them down furiously. Their numbers were thinning quickly now, and the area seemed almost silent as the other humans gathered around Davis and Veemon, all wearing distraught and sympathetic expressions.

Kari studied Gatomon, who still had her eyes shut tightly, making distressed meowing noises.

'Gatomon, open your eyes! You're alright!' Kari pleaded, and Gatomon reluctantly opened her eyes to stare up at her.

'I'm alive? What... happened?'

Kari glanced at Veemon solemnly. 'Veemon protected you, but... the BlackGhoulmon still managed to hit you. Gallantmon stopped two of them, and damaged the others, but their beams still got through. I think he and MagnaAngemon... have destroyed them by now.'

Gatomon's eyelids fell slightly as she turned her head towards Veemon, and almost looked away as she saw his gaping wound. Kari glanced over to Veemon as well, despair adorning her face as she read Gatomon's thoughts.

'It's... just like Wizardmon again, isn't it?'

Gatomon shook her head slowly, shutting her eyes. 'I can't face it again, Kari. I just can't.'

Kari nodded in understanding, but returned her gaze with a serious expression.

'We have to, Gatomon. We owe him that much... and as much as I may hate to say it, Veemon... he would like to see you. Before...' She choked back a sob. 'We gave Wizardmon peace. I think... we should try to do the same for them.'

At Gatomon's solemn expression, she had another troubling thought. Poor Davis. I don't know if he can deal with this...

Gatomon inclined her head briefly before Kari let her land on the ground, and the two of them made their way to join the others with Davis and Veemon.

Davis slowly put his arm around Veemon's shoulders and gently lifted his head towards him. 'Veemon?' He murmured weakly.

Veemon stirred briefly as he opened his eyes and managed a wry grin. 'Heh... we sure showed them.'

Davis could only shake his head sadly, but tried to adopt a positive tone. 'I know. You were... awesome, Veemon.'

Davis' mouth dropped in alarm as Veemon tried to speak and coughed up some blood, dripping down the side of his mouth. 'I guess... giving it my all didn't quite cut it this time...'

The silence eventually enveloped the group as Tai's team joined them, then Aquilamon's as they saw the coast was clear. At first, they were happy that they had driven off the Ghoulmon, but their expressions grew shocked as they saw Veemon.

'Tai? What's going on?' Agumon's voice echoed throughout the silence. 'What's everyone looking at?'

The digimon, now degenerated in the small reprieve they had, edged their way through the human bodies. Agumon's eyes fell on Veemon as he got to the front, and instantly fell.

'...Veemon?' He reached his claw forward in disbelief. 'No...'

Veemon's maroon eyes sidled over to view Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon and the rest of the rookies in Tai's group. 'Hey, guys. You handled yourself alright?' Seeing the numerous cuts and bruises on them all, he grinned contentedly. 'I guess you're not as soft as I thought, Agumon.'

Agumon shook his head in shock. 'Veemon... you... why?'

Guilmon watched them, slightly afar, ashamed to show his face. This may never have happened if it wasn't for me. He perked his head up when he felt Renamon's soft paw touch his shoulder comfortingly. Neither of them said anything as they watched. Myotismon, Calumon, Bokomon and Neemon also joined the small group apart from the others.

Gatomon slowly walked up to Veemon, and knelt on the opposite side of Davis, all the while Veemon's eyes were focused on her. He smiled warmly at her as she approached. 'I'm glad... you're OK, Gatomon.'

Tears began pouring down her cheeks as she continued to stare at his face. 'I... told you to leave me. Why didn't you leave!? I... can't keep losing friends like this...'

She lowered her head as she no longer found words to express her regret. Veemon studied her with concern despite his own predicament.

'I would gladly risk my life for you, Gatomon. And I would again.'

Gatomon recalled when Wizardmon had moved to shield without hesitation. She bit her lip as she looked up at Veemon again, and was about to apologise, but refrained.

'Don't be sorry. I don't have any regrets. If I hadn't met you, my life would've had no meaning... I'm glad that you and I were friends.'

Warmth flowed through her slightly as she regarded Veemon's kind expression. 'Did you save me because... we're friends? '

Veemon glanced away, almost nervously, which confused Gatomon. He closed his eyes as he shook his head. 'Not... exactly...'

Gatomon raised her eyebrow ever so slightly. 'Then why? Why am I so important to you?'

A strange feeling came to her gut as Veemon turned his head to face her and stare with affectionate eyes.

'Because... I love you, Gatomon. I always have.'

Her voice caught in her throat so much she could barely respond.

'What?'

A final smile from Veemon was her only answer before his expression loosened and he closed his eyes.