I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to complete, but I had to make sure it was just right. It's an important chapter, and I hope you're as happy with it as I am.

The next few minutes were quiet. WarriorSetomon was still trying to put what had happened together and SamuSetomon was intent on moving further in. She crept quickly up the slowly-curving passages beyond the first chamber. She artfully negotiated the coal-black, high-sloped tunnel, no more than four or five feet wide. WarriorSetomon took up the rear, following as closely as he could for fear of losing her in this place. His head throbbed to think of what had just happened.

"How could you do that to him?"

SamuSetomon remained composed and utterly focused on pressing inward.

"That was Guilmon," WarriorSetomon went on. "Guilmon. Our friend."

"That was Megidramon, and he tried to kill you."

"I don't know how, but that was him. Believe me."

"I thought you said he was already dead."

"Then I guess I was wrong, because that was him. He said so himself."

"He was only trying to trick you to get you to pull out your sword. If you had he would have turned around and eaten you in a heartbeat. Killing him was the only way to keep you from doing something stupid."

"How can you be so calm? He was my friend and you killed him!"

"Keep it down or back away. I don't need you announcing to this whole place exactly where I am."

"I don't care! I really don't! Let the whole world come! Let them know that you killed my best friend!"

"Your best friend was already dead. You said it yourself. That was just another enemy standing in your way. How many just like him have you already killed?"

WarriorSetomon just glared at her, or what he thought was her. Again, the darkness made it nearly impossible to tell.

"But he was different," WarriorSetomon said after a minute. "He wasn't bad…"

"How many of those fighting outside do you think really are evil? They all have a reason to be here, most of them very different. Maybe they've been lied to or cheated, threatened, possessed, or any number of things. Your blade fell as swiftly on one as on the next, regardless of their reasons for being here. All you knew was that they were trying to keep you from fulfilling your own reason to be here, your purpose."

"But none of them were my friends. Guilmon was."

"That was not Guilmon, it was Megidramon."

"What's the difference? They're both the same digimon inside!"

"And if that was Guilmon? Would you want him to live like that? His body and mind twisted by the Destroyer into a weapon, condemned to servitude, to suffering…"

"It wasn't up to you."

"Well I did it anyway. Now stay sharp, we can't be distracted now."

"I'm not going to drop this. Guilmon could have been saved from the Destroyer, just like I was. He could have been himself again."

SamuSetomon let out a long, drawn-out sigh, but her steady pace went on without an instant of hesitation. "It never should have come to this, you know."

"What?"

"Guilmon only left your side so that you would be safe. You should have done what you were supposed to and gone back to File Island."

"What I was supposed to?"

"You have a bad habit of ignoring fate, pup. This right here is the last place you ought to have ended up at, but here you are. You should be safe back on your island, or dead a dozen times over, or even just another puppet of the Destroyer."

"But I am none of those."

"I can only assume there must be some deeper reason for it to have come to this."

"As far as I'm concerned, the only reason I'm here is because the Destroyer just couldn't leave me alone."

"What?"

"That monster…he's hounded me my whole life. Even in my dreams I can't escape him. He took everything from me, including Guilmon. And now I finally had a chance to get him back, to undo even a small part of what that bastard has done to me, and you just can't let me have it."

SamuSetomon stayed silent.

"I don't expect your pity; I gave up on your having that long ago. I don't expect you to bring him back, or that you'll even say you're sorry."

"So what do you expect to come from this?"

"Nothing. I don't even know why I bother."

"I just think you want me to feel as bad about this as you do."

"Maybe."

"Well I'm not going to; at least not right now. Like it or not there is work to be done here and feeling bad is only going to get in the way of that."

"I can't believe you anymore. All this time I thought that deep down you had feelings, but you really are just a cold, angry bitch."

"Sounds like the pup has finally found his tongue."

"Don't call me that anymore. I'm not the dumb, weak little kid you knew."

"Maybe, but you're still dumb and weak."

"Why the hell did I ever put up with you for this long?"

"Because I was always saving your life, just like I'm doing right now. Face it, you will not leave this place alive without me."

"Maybe I'm willing to take that chance."

"If you want to fight I would absolutely love to at a more convenient time, but in case you had forgotten we have more important matters to deal with right now. Now shut up, I think there's something up ahead."

"This is not over."

They walked the next few feet in silence before emerging into a second colossal chamber. Fortunately, this room was made visible by hundreds upon hundreds of flickering candles, some clustered together on the floor, others set up on candleholders of all possible heights, styles and configurations. Short candles, tall candles, thick and narrow candles; some nearly melted, others freshly-lit, all of them dancing to the tune of the darkness. Beneath their unsteady gaze glowed the ornately-worked floor which held a series of radiating circles, some with carved writing in them, others with crafted relief scenes, always building outward from one to the next, neglected and drowned in melting wax. The ceiling stretched well beyond the reach of the hundreds of tiny flames, leaving a great void overhead, like a night with neither stars nor a moon, black and terrible. Though the candles seemed to be mostly arranged at random around the center of the room, there was a path about four feet wide cutting through the middle, stretching from the doorway WarriorSetomon looked out from to the other end of the room where another doorway stood.

"Is it too much to ask that things be easy just once?" asked WarriorSetomon.

"Maybe nobody's home," said SamuSetomon.

"As if we could be that lucky."

"Well hanging back here won't do us any good. Now come on; I'll take the lead, you follow ten paces behind me."

"Got it."

SamuSetomon drew her katana in her left hand and held it straight, down and away from her, ready for action in the blink of an eye. One foot in front of the other, she skulked out into the open room. Her ears perked up, listening closely to the sounds of melting wax and burning wicks. When she'd gone about ten paces out, WarriorSetomon began to move forward, his right hand reaching over his shoulder to the hilt of his sheathed sword. His feet fell softly on the old stone floor, his eyes and ears hunted in the darkness for signs of the next foe. But for all the caution, all the searching the two of them displayed, it was for naught.

"It took you long enough," said a dark voice from the opposite end of the room.

The two Setomon froze in place, their muscles tense with anticipation. A lumbering figure moved forward from the far passage, out of the shadow and into the dim candlelight. It was a strange digimon, like a horse and rider fused together, but not quite a centaur. Its upper body was like that of a man, but at the waist it became a horse, complete with a head. But while the horse body was black, the head was skeletal and crimson with a dagger-like horn protruding from the top. From head to hoof the bizarre knight was decked out in full, golden samurai armor. A heavy, orange cape cascaded down the digimon's back and its long, black tail swished at imaginary flies. He held a sword in each hand, a thin, swift katana in his left and a long, broad, golden sword with engraved red lettering in his right. Adorning his helmet was an enormous crescent moon, golden like the rest of his armor.

"And you are?" WarriorSetomon asked from well behind SamuSetomon.

"I am Zanbamon the Cruel, and I am here to see to it that you never lay eyes on my father, the Destroyer."

"The Destroyer's son?" WarriorSetomon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We don't care who you are," said SamuSetomon. "Nobody stands in our path."

"Then I'll let my blades speak for me," Zanbamon said as he tightened his grip on his weapons.

Zanbamon burst into a charge. With terrible speed he closed in on SamuSetomon. He brought his katana to her head, but her own blade deflected the attack and stopped his great weight in its tracks. Undeterred, Zanbamon reared up on his back hooves, kicking at SamuSetomon's face. She pulled back to avoid the blows, but that gave Zanbamon enough room to move in again, slashing at her with his katana. She backed away with every swipe, closing the distance between herself and the as-of-yet stationary WarriorSetomon.

Then she saw her chance. When Zanbamon slashed to the inside she reached out with her right hand and grabbed his wrist, holding it and its sword in place. Flipping her katana upside down in her other hand, she spun around to her left, intending to shove her blade right through Zanbamon's neck and end it in a single, clean thrust. Zanbamon had other plans though, swinging the broad side of his other, larger sword right into her head. The crushing blow knocked SamuSetomon clear across the room and headfirst into the stone wall. She fell there, unconscious.

"Pathetic," said Zanbamon. "Just pathetic."

"You bastard," WarriorSetomon said with a snarl.

"What's this?" asked Zanbamon. "Think you can do any better?"

WarriorSetomon didn't waste another second. He came in low and fast, not drawing his sword until the last second. Then he jumped, clearing Zanbamon's swift swords, clearing the top of his head. He landed hard and fast behind the colossal fiend; his strike was just like his landing, gouging the tendons just above Zanbamon's rear hooves. It was a fearsome blow to the dark digimon, but his retaliation was swift and brutal. WarriorSetomon was dealt a mighty kick to the face from Zanbamon's massive hooves. He was tossed through the air and tumbled along the ground for a couple yards before coming to a rest. He was back on his feet right away, keeping his eyes on Zanbamon even as he spit out a couple teeth.

Zanbamon had trouble turning around after WarriorSetomon's attack, but that the digimon couldn't charge anymore didn't make his swords any less sharp. Zanbamon was a dangerous opponent, very strong and certainly vicious; demon spawn to be sure. Even so, WarriorSetomon could tell there was something wrong here.

"I would have expected better," said WarriorSetomon.

"Oh I assure you, I am the best."

"We'll see about that…"

WarriorSetomon charged again, swinging his sword up to meet Zanbamon, but Zanbamon countered by knocking his swing away with his own great blade. WarriorSetomon swung back and Zanbamon parried again. Then WarriorSetomon tried bringing his sword down from above; Zanbamon deflected it again and kicked at WarriorSetomon with his heavy front hooves. WarriorSetomon bent and twisted out of the way of Zanbamon's furious kicks until he saw his chance and grabbed one of the hooves in his left hand and shoved Zanbamon back with all his might. Zanbamon quickly lost his balance and fell over backwards; before WarriorSetomon could deliver a finishing blow though Zanbamon reached out with his larger sword and tripped his enemy's legs out from under him, giving himself enough time to right himself with a few violent bucks. WarriorSetomon was back on his feet just as fast.

"Just like dear old dad says," Zanbamon said with an unseen toothy smirk. "You would have made a fine addition to our ranks. It's too bad you chose death over joining us."

"If I die today, it will not be at your hands," said WarriorSetomon.

"You will never see the Destroyer, boy. Your time is up."

"You may hit like a train, but you're about as subtle," WarriorSetomon said with a look of disgust. "You don't know the first thing about combat."

"You'll be singing a different tune when I crush your head beneath my hooves, runt," Zanbamon retorted, drool flinging out from his mask.

"At this rate, you will be dead with three more swings of my sword," said WarriorSetomon. "I'll count them just so you know when you're going to die."

"Count this! Cross Slash!"

Zanbamon swung his swords in front of him in an x-pattern, sending out a wave of energy straight toward WarriorSetomon. The warrior stood his ground unflinchingly, calmly raising his sword upright in front of him. Zanbamon's attack split the air with tremendous speed and collided with WarriorSetomon's blade. The attack hit hard, but against WarriorSetomon it simply split apart, rending the ground on either side of its target but leaving the hero unharmed.

WarriorSetomon took advantage of Zanbamon's untrained surprise and leapt in with all his strength behind his sword. He swung down hard and fast; Zanbamon raised his katana to parry the blow, but so forceful was WarriorSetomon's sword that Zanbamon's weapon shattered under it and the greater bulk of the blade was sent flying into the darkness.

"One," WarriorSetomon said in a sharp, clear tone.

"You have already lost," Zanbamon grunted. "There is no hope."

Zanbamon raised his remaining weapon high overhead and brought it crashing down hard and fast, but with his usual grace and speed WarriorSetomon rolled out of the way. Zanbamon never raised his weapon again, as WarriorSetomon rapidly moved in to make his counterattack; with a swift, precise slash he severed Zanbamon's arm at the shoulder, cutting through nearly two feet of heavy armor, flesh and bone. Zanbamon's shriek was as terrible and vengeful as any WarriorSetomon had ever laid ears on.

"Two," WarriorSetomon announced with renewed clarity of mind.

"And if you kill me?" asked Zanbamon with a heavy groan and more spit, holding his bleeding stump with his left hand after having dropped the broken remains of his katana. "Will you go running off to face dear old dad? He will make you wish you had sat down before me and offered me your neck."

"I'll see for myself. In the mean time, I'll just take yours."

WarriorSetomon gripped his sword firmly in hand and executed a full-body spin. Zanbamon instinctively raised his remaining arm to protect himself, but it did him no good. WarriorSetomon's blade carried enough torque to cleave right through it and continue on to its main target. The blow struck with incredible speed; more speed than WarriorSetomon had been willing to reveal thus far. Zanbamon's left hand and his head were thrown clear of his body, and before either hit the ground, Zanbamon had completely disintegrated.

"Three," WarriorSetomon said to himself as he lowered his sword to his side, wiping the blood on his jeans.

"Nicely done."

WarriorSetomon's ears perked up, but he knew right away it was only SamuSetomon.

"Are you alright?" he asked without looking back to her.

"Neck's a little stiff, but otherwise unharmed," she assured him as she approached closer. "Those were some nice moves back there."

"He wasn't worth them. If he'd been a better fighter I might have actually needed your help."

"I can't believe I let him get the drop on me like that. Just don't let it get to your head that you beat him when I didn't."

"I have no doubt you'd have made short work of him."

"Probably shorter than you did, but you still did well for a pup," she said from directly behind him now.

"The Destroyer will push us to our limits, so the tougher you are the better."

"I'm glad you feel that way."

Suddenly all the candles WarriorSetomon could see bent away from him as if caught in a strong gust of wind. With only an instant to react, he made the right move. The sound of metal clashing against metal rang in his ears. He had jolted his arm up over his back with sword in tow, and it had saved his life. His sword still rung against the cold, black metal of SamuSetomon's katana, frozen only inches from WarriorSetomon's neck. WarriorSetomon's backlash had drawn the candles back toward him while those behind him were still flung forward by SamuSetomon's swing; the flames joined and peaked at the middle where the swords met.

WarriorSetomon would have liked to stay there and let the moment take him, but his instincts were too finely honed. He shoved SamuSetomon's blade back with his own as he rolled into a somersault, turning as he completed it to face his new enemy. She only stared at him, her expression a cold fury. Her weapon was still outstretched toward him, a few of his red hairs draped over its rigid edge. For a moment their eyes were locked, searching one another.

"You just won't quit…" SamuSetomon said almost sadly as she drew her smaller blade in her right hand. "You refuse every attempt to save you."

"What have you done?"

"You won't even let me give you a quick, easy death."

"Why did you do that?"

"You ignore every warning, every chance to escape."

"How could you do that?"

"You've brought it to this yourself; you've left me no choice."

"Who are you?"

SamuSetomon looked at him with those cunning, yellow eyes of hers. They were just like his in shape, size and color, but their eyes were truly different.

"I am SamuSetomon, formerly Setomon, formerly Jenomon. I have saved you from everything from starvation to Mephismon. I have been your friend and confidant, your savior, your overseer. But of all the things I have been, one came first, and will persist to the last: I am the Destroyer's daughter."

WarriorSetomon's face refused to give voice to his heart, but his quivering words told all. "You…you be-betrayed m-me…"

"Never."

"You have!"

"I was never loyal to you to begin with."

"You lie!"

"I have only ever served my father. He was the one that ordered me to keep an eye on you."

"No!"

"He was the one that ordered me to protect you."

"It's not true!"

"He was the one that ordered me to send him Guilmon."

WarriorSetomon's face froze.

"And now he is the one that has ordered me to kill you."

"You gave him Guilmon?"

"My father has been reluctant to have you killed."

"My friend!"

"He even pitted Mephismon and I against one another to decide whether or not you would have one more chance to join us."

"…So he could turn him into that THING!"

"He has shown you unique generosity, pup. And you spit in his eye for it."

"ENOUGH!" WarriorSetomon roared. "SamuSetomon, what you've done to me and to Guilmon is something I will never forgive you for! No matter the cost, I will kill you!"

"Then show me your sword and I'll show you why you're still a pup!"

WarriorSetomon charged, leading with his free hand and holding his sword out to his side. SamuSetomon rose up on the balls of her feet, holding her dagger underhanded and her katana straight forward. WarriorSetomon stopped just as he reached her and thrust his blade; she wrapped her sword around his and yanked it down and out of the way, meanwhile spinning around to jab her dagger into his neck. He ducked beneath the attack and slid his left foot forward into her shin to trip her. She fell forward but caught herself with her right hand. She used the force of the fall to force he lower body up and over to spin-kick WarriorSetomon in the face. He took the blow and fell away from her. She completed her flip and landed on her feet just as WarriorSetomon was getting his footing again. She saw her chance and swiped at his neck with her katana, but his lightning-fast reflexes served him well and he pulled back just far enough to save himself. He countered immediately, thrusting his sword at her chest. She reacted as fast as he had, catching his sword between her two blades and holding it, only inches from her chest.

"He wanted it this way," she said as she pressed back against WarriorSetomon's insistent thrust.

"Guilmon would never want this."

"Power was all he ever asked of my father, and that is what he got."

SamuSetomon pushed back hard, sending the locked blades up to WarriorSetomon's throat, but rather than lose his head he rolled back. SamuSetomon rolled up onto him and with a foot to her chest he tossed her onto her head. Even still on the ground he took a swing at her, but her lithe frame dodged just barely out of the way. They both righted themselves quickly and stared one another down again.

"That's what they all want."

"Not me," said WarriorSetomon.

SamuSetomon came in fast with a downward chop, but WarriorSetomon deflected it off his sword, holding the hilt in one hand and the tip in the other. SamuSetomon came again, very fast from the side. WarriorSetomon took a step back and deflected it again like before. This continued, her swinging fast and hard, again and again and again too fast for the human eye to see; he blocked, dodged, bobbed and weaved every attack, backing away every time. She advanced, he retreated, she struck, he defended. The sound of metal clashing with metal rang out so fast and loud that one blow would blend into the next without end. Each swing would send the candles flickering away from it. Then on one particularly heavy over-handed swing WarriorSetomon saw a chance. As her blade slammed into his he shoved the hilt-end forward, knocking her sword-arm back just enough for him to land a powerful spin kick on the side of her head. She was tossed into the field of candles, but landed on her right hand and repelled into a flip that landed her firmly on her feet.

"You don't care about anyone but yourself!" WarriorSetomon shouted. "You'll kill friends and allies as soon as you would your enemy!"

"Alliances are only as strong as their weakest members."

"You killed Guilmon! He was your friend and he was on your side, but you killed him all the same!"

"If he could be beaten by you then he was useless all along. Kuroittou Shuurai!"

SamuSetomon leapt forward faster than WarriorSetomon had ever seen her move. Her blade was outstretched and aimed right at him; he had less than a heartbeat to react but even for him that wasn't enough. He tried to fall back out of the way of the attack, but he just wasn't fast enough. The razor-sharp weapon caught the edge of his face as he tried to duck, running its edge up the right side, slicing through his tough flesh like it was nothing.

WarriorSetomon fell to the ground and instinctively held his hand to his face. He didn't have even an instant's rest though, as when his eyes reopened he saw SamuSetomon's katana striking down toward his neck. He rolled out of the way and up onto his heels as her sword struck stone. Still crouched, he swung his sword back at her, which she dodged easily enough. WarriorSetomon reluctantly removed his hand from his face; it was covered with blood and a long, broken slice ran through his lip and forehead, missing his right eye by millimeters.

"You sat there and let me kill your brother, Zanbamon."

SamuSetomon smirked back at him. "Zanbamon was no brother of mine; merely a stand-in for me so I could watch you fight."

"Still, you just threw his life away like it was nothing."

"In here or out there, he was destined to die either way."

WarriorSetomon blitzed SamuSetomon again, staying close to the ground for his first broad slash; she deflected it and retorted with a swipe of her own, but he dodged and made a long slice upwards, which she parried with her dagger before making another downward thrust with her katana. WarriorSetomon twisted his sword, knocking her right hand into her left and breaking her attack. He lunged upward with all his might, but she blocked his sword with her blades, holding them strong against his deadly might. Their bodies trembled as they pushed as hard as they could against one another.

"He would have died out there just like all the others," SamuSetomon said slyly.

WarriorSetomon only stared back at her, fully immersed in the struggle.

"That is why Omnimon was allowed to gather his forces. Now that they are all here my father can wipe them all out at once."

"Not if I wipe him out first!"

WarriorSetomon moved his sword and watched his and her blades slide off one another. Before she could act he brought his blade around and chopped hard and fast from above. She managed to catch his attack between her katana and dagger as she put her foot to his chest and kicked him back. He fell, rolled, and hopped back up on his feet just in time to deflect her latest attack away from his chest. As he spun to deflect with one hand he came around with the other and slapped the back of her head as hard as he could. She headed down, but stopped herself right away by jamming her dagger into his left arm just below the shoulder. He dropped to his knees with a fearsome growl. The strength of his right arm faltered, giving SamuSetomon a chance to free her sword from his and a clean shot at his neck. She took it.

With no time to think, WarriorSetomon did exactly what Bahadramon had trained him to do: he improvised. As the blade drew in he dropped his head and opened his mouth. The blade went in but not through, as he clamped his vice-like jaw down hard on the black metal. He could taste blood right away, oozing from his tongue and the sides of his mouth, but he held tight.

"There is nothing you can do, nowhere to run now, pup. You will die here by my hand. That is your purpose."

With renewed strength, WarriorSetomon slammed his left elbow into SamuSetomon's sternum three times in rapid succession. Even with the wind knocked out of her she held fast to his shoulder and to her katana. She tried to kick him away, but it was nearly impossible to get any strength into a blow from that range. WarriorSetomon took the advantage and grabbed her by the throat with his left hand. With her fully immobilized he quickly brought his right hand up to meet his left, along with the long edge of his sword. SamuSetomon knew she had to surrender a weapon or surrender her life, so before he could slash her throat wide open she let go of her katana and grabbed WarriorSetomon's right wrist.

WarriorSetomon saw his chance. He jerked his head sharply to the right, which pulled the katana in his mouth along with it. The tip of the blade sliced into SamuSetomon's left arm, drawing a long, red line through her off-white, wrapped shirt. She immediately pulled away, taking her dagger with her. She knew it was a mistake right away, and that was confirmed a second later when WarriorSetomon rose to his feet and took her sword in his left hand.

"Do you have what it taketh?" WarriorSetomon asked with a bleeding tongue. "Can you fight off thomeone with two thworth when all you have ith that dagger?"

"Pup, against you I could win with a feather-duster."

WarriorSetomon spit out a mouthful of blood. "Your overconfidenthe will kill you thomeday. I intend to make that day today."

"Your odds of winning are even less now with those swords, pup. It's simply a matter of adjusting my tactics!"

SamuSetomon moved in lightning-fast. Before WarriorSetomon could even make a move she was right up against him. She shoved her right forearm hard up into his throat, put her dagger to his back and used her left leg to pull his right foot out from under him. WarriorSetomon fell right over backwards with SamuSetomon right on top of him and her dagger pointing up at his back. They landed with a heavy thud.

But the blade did not pierce WarriorSetomon's back. He had landed hard under their combined weight, and he had done so entirely on his elbows, stretched as far behind him as he could get them. It had saved him from being impaled, but it hadn't done his arms much good.

SamuSetomon eyed him, not about to let him get away with surviving. She moved to shove the blade in herself, but WarriorSetomon lashed his tail around her hand and yanked it and the dagger away. That gave him the chance to throw his right forearm into her face and roll her over, bending her arm behind her in the process. She immediately responded with three very tough head-butts that forced him away just enough that she could free her arm and punch him in the jaw. He fell back, but in the struggle they kicked SamuSetomon's dagger away while WarriorSetomon maintained his hold on both swords.

SamuSetomon slashed at him with her deadly, curved claws, but he rolled and ducked back out of the way while she continued to advance. After a few seconds he was able to get his footing strong enough to make a counterattack with her katana, which she dodged easily enough. Still, it gave her enough pause to let WarriorSetomon gain a little much-needed distance. She was right after all; at extremely close range he couldn't counter with two swords. Still, instead of ditching one of the blades and giving SamuSetomon a chance to grab a weapon again, he would simply have to keep her from getting into extremely close range.

"I'm beginning to see why my father wanted you so badly," SamuSetomon said with a stern gaze. "You can be trained to fight after all."

WarriorSetomon's only response was to spit out another mouthful of blood.

"Your eyes are so full of hate…"

"That'th all I got left for you."

"Your hands smell of so much blood…"

"Blood you forthed me to thpill."

"So much anger, pain, passion…"

"I wanted none of it."

"And still you refuse to submit."

"Never!"

"We are not in the wrong here, pup! We are merely cleaning away the filth that has corrupted this world. We are merely preparing the way for the Fifth Eye to return."

"You betrayed uth! How many more would you kill? How many have to die before you thee what you have done? How many liveth will it take to make you thee?"

"My eyes are clear! I am the right hand of righteous destruction, the herald of this world's rebirth! I am without peer among the mundane warriors in this world, and I will prove it to you now!"

"I will cut you down before you can get clothe enough to touch me!"

"This is my lesson to you, pup: a true warrior is never caught without a contingency."

With a steely look in her eyes, SamuSetomon reached back over her shoulder and took the wooden pole of her flag in her hand. She slid it slowly, easily from where it was strapped to her back, and when it was freed she grabbed it in both hands. Though most of the tips were blunted, the bottom of the long section came to a sharp point. On closer inspection, WarriorSetomon realized that the item he previously believed to be purely decorative was in fact very well-built, solid, and a weapon in its own right. The crimson and black flag flapped in the thick air as SamuSetomon shifted her weapon in her hands.

"You are weak, pup. You may have a warrior's skill, but you lack the instinct. You have no drive, no desire, no talent for this kind of life."

"I don't want to do thith; I have to."

"Then why are you still holding back? Come on, let me see all you have to offer! Let me rest easy knowing you gave me everything you had and I still crushed you!"

"I hate you. I hate you even more than the Dethtroyer that hath ruined my life. At leatht he wath honetht about it. But you…I'm going to enjoy making you pay."

"Then let's end this nonsense! Let your hate be your weapon!"

"Time to die."

WarriorSetomon charged, leading off with a high slash from his broadsword, followed by a complete spin that brought his katana in right behind it. SamuSetomon deflected both attacks with her standard and quickly shoved the pointed tip at WarriorSetomon's exposed Achilles tendon. He managed to kick her weapon away and slammed his broadsword hard up against her standard to paralyze her movements. He then pulled back his left hand, aiming the katana for her chest, and thrust forward. She responded immediately, overcoming WarriorSetomon's domineering strength and swinging her banner up to deflect the katana and at the same time wrench WarriorSetomon's right arm from the force of the twist.

The Destroyer let loose a great, sinister cackle as he watched over the battle raging below. WarriorSetomon's fate was sealed; Omnimon's legion would soon be a stain on the red earth; victory was a certainty from now on.

"You seem to be doing well for yourself," said a figure from the shadows.

The Destroyer eyed the intruder briefly. "What, is the Vanguard here to spoil my fun?"

"Just reminding you to continue according to plan. We do not want you losing your head."

"You believe I would stop now?"

"I believe you care more about yourself than the Grand Scheme."

"I assure you, my loyalties are far stronger than your own. I was made for this. I am fulfilling my purpose."

"That animal downstairs was made for one purpose and has rejected it. If he can do so, I wonder why you could not do the same."

"There is no escaping fate," the Destroyer said with a sinister snicker. "The hatred running in his veins is so strong; stronger even than the corruption I programmed into him. If he loses, he dies and SamuSetomon will have proven herself my most powerful student."

"And if he should win?"

"He will have to kill SamuSetomon to do so. And when he does, it will destroy whatever will he has left. He will replace my daughter beside me, and I shall have an even more powerful student to take up my standard."

"So then you have thought of everything as usual."

"How well you know. Make note of this day, as it signals the beginning of the end. Once Omnimon and his little band of ruffians are routed, the Guardians stand exposed, and the greatest cities in each quadrant are reduced to ruins, the sun will set on this age of order, and we will witness a second age of chaos. Though the past millennium may have been pitiful, at least it will end in glory."