I don't own Digimon.

Well guys here's the next chapter. Sorry if it came out a little later than intended. I had work today and I got out late. I don't normally work on weekends. In this chapter some of your long asked questions will be answered but I'm sure that it'll also leave you with more questions.

I won't say anymore since I'm sure that you're all eager to read. Enjoy!

Once A Leader…

Chapter 35: The Power of Miracles

Lucemon silently watched as Mr. Piedmon knelt down in front of the girl with brown hair and placed his hand on her chest. He whispered something that he couldn't here and then they both went still. He wasn't sure what Mr. Piedmon doing but perhaps he was taking back the Light that the girl had stolen from him.

It was strange, even after Mr. Piedmon took him in, Lucemon felt as if he was missing something. Not just one something but two. He felt empty inside and if getting his Light back helped him feel whole then he would be even more indebted to Mr. Piedmon. When he first met Mr. Piedmon, Lucemon felt fear. He was scared beyond anything that he could ever remember, not that he could remember much. But after spending time with Mr. Piedmon, Lucemon wasn't scared of him anymore. He was grateful that Mr. Piedmon had rescued him from his prison and he would do anything to pay him back.

"Lightning Joust!"

The crackle of lightning broke Lucemon's train of thought and he instinctively jumped in front of Mr. Piedmon. A shield of light enveloped them both and the lightning attack broke over the shield. When the attack was over, Lucemon felt himself drained from the ordeal and he fell down to his hands and knees.

"Get away from her!"

Lucemon couldn't see who had attacked them he heard them shout at Mr. Piedmon. Anger boiled over him from somewhere deep within his little frame. How dare they shout at Mr. Piedmon! Didn't they know that he was the good guy? Didn't they know that the girl was evil? That she was a thief?

No, Lucemon wouldn't let them get away with it. He would make them pay for getting in the way of Mr. Piedmon's plans. They would regret it!

Forcing himself to rise, Lucemon looked up at the Digimon that attacked them and saw that he wasn't alone. There were two of them standing a few yards away. The first was a Digimon as tall as Mr. Piedmon that wore white armor and a red cape. The second was just as tall and he looked like a lion man Digimon wearing crimson armor with a long golden hair. Both were watching him with just a small bit of fear in their eyes.

"I won't let you hurt Mr. Piedmon!" Lucemon rose slightly in the air and fired off ten orbs of light. "Grand Cross!"

The two Digimon jumped out of the way and charged from both directions. Lucemon didn't know which one to focus on first and as a result waited too long before the lion like Digimon appeared before him and aimed a punch toward his head. Lucemon flinched and closed his eyes as he waited for the blow to hit but it never came. Opening his eyes, Lucemon saw that Mr. Piedmon was standing in front of him. In his left hand Mr. Piedmon held back the tip of a large lance and in his right he held back a fiery fist.

"Don't you know that it's rude to attack a defenseless child?" Mr. Piedmon asked them, sending an even glare in their direction.

/\(-\/-)/\

Piedmon glared at the two Digimon that stood before. He knew both them, though he wasn't sure how one of them was still alive since their data was inside of him. Gallantmon and Apollomon, a Royal Knight and an Olympus XII. Perhaps it was his age but Piedmon was losing his touch at mass genocide.

"Well? Do you have anything to say for yourselves?" He asked them. He released them and they immediately jumped back to a safer distance. "Do you have any idea what you two just interrupted?"

They couldn't have come at a worse time. The events that played out in Kari's mindscape were still fresh on his mind. If only he had had a little more time, then he would've been truly unstoppable.

"Piedmon, get away from her!" Gallantmon shouted as he aimed his lance at him.

Choosing to ignore him, Piedmon turned toward Apollomon. "I am rather curious as to how you survived my last attack, Apollomon. Tell me, did Dianamon and Anubismon survive as well?"

"We survived because Anubismon sacrificed himself for us. And even then we would've died if it weren't for the Tamers." Apollomon told him.

"Ah. Thought so." Piedmon said as he turned toward Gallantmon. "That would make you the newest Tamer then, wouldn't it? Tell me, do you have any idea who I am?"

"I know who you are, clown. You're evil and I'm going to stop you!" Gallantmon shouted before lunging at the Dark Master.

"They never learn…" Piedmon muttered before he sidestepped the attack.

Gallantmon was quick though, quicker than his previous incarnation. When the stab failed, the Royal Knight Digimon summoned his round shield in his left arm and attempted to bash him. Piedmon leapt over the bash attack and was forced to block a punch that was aimed at his head by Apollomon. The two Digimon began to attack him in unison and Piedmon was forced to actually pay attention. But despite his best efforts, Piedmon couldn't get the events within Kari's mind out of his thoughts.

Piedmon drifted thru a void of memories and emotions, none of which were of particular interest to him. Piedmon was after a much grander prize. Before long he reached a door which he knew would lead him directly to Kari's mindscape. It was here that the Light was stored and it was there that Kari would know true terror.

Piedmon drew his swords and used them to parry rapid stabs from Gallantmon while Apollomon fired a barrage of flame arrows at him.

Opening the door, Piedmon was surprised to see that it wasn't Kari who was waiting for him. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Get out."

"Is that anyway to treat a guest?" Piedmon asked him. "That's not very neighborly of you."

"I won't tell you again, Piedmon!" The person repeated.

"And what makes you believe that you can stop me?" Piedmon asked him. "You're dead. You're no more a threat to me than the rest of you little friends."

"I might not be alive anymore but I'm still not dead." The person said, taking a step toward him. "So long as my friends need me, I'll always be there."

"Ah, a true bearer of the Crest of Friendship." Piedmon said. "But it's too bad that it still doesn't change the fact that you can't stop me. No one can."

"I'll stop you."

"Shield of the Just/Solblaster! The two attacks were launched from opposite sides with Piedmon in the middle. Clenching his right hand, Piedmon summoned the arm of Omnimon's Grey sword. From within the WarGreymon head, the powerful Grey sword came out and Piedmon sliced thru both incoming attacks.

The boy stood defiantly against him, standing in his way from achieving his goal. Piedmon could feel the power of Miracles within him despite the boy having died. It was a power that hadn't been seen since the Victory Tamer first arrived in the Digital World many centuries ago. Not since before the Dark Masters ever existed. It was a power that Piedmon had never gone up against.

"And what makes you so special?" Piedmon asked, genuinely curious. Many had stood before him and they had all fallen before him. But this boy's eyes…they were very familiar. They reminded him of Tai's eyes. They both had the same fire burning deep within.

"I'm not." The boy said. "But you're threatening the one I love above all else and for that reason alone I will stop you."

"And how will you accomplish that?"

"By shielding her from you." The boy said. "Take the Light if you want but leave her alone. I'll keep her alive until Tai and the others kick your ass and take the Light back."

"So you know that if I forcibly remove the light from her that she would die? Clever boy…" Piedmon mused. "So that's your plan? You will let me take the Light but only if I don't harm Kari? Tell me, what's to stop me from killing her once I have the Light from the outside?"

"Because if she dies then so does the Light." The boy said calmly. "But you already knew that, didn't you? If Kari dies then the Light dies with her. It will be years before it's reincarnated in someone else and you don't have the patience to wait that long. It's the same reason why you sent LadyDevimon against Kari and Gatomon. You wanted LadyDevimon to tire them out so that Kari's mental defenses would be weak enough that she wouldn't be able to resist when you entered her mind."

"Clever boy…" Piedmon said. "And what if I wanted to take the power of Miracles from you?"

"You can try…" the Boy said. "But if you'll find that I'm much harder to kill the second time around."

Wielding the Grey Sword, Piedmon threw himself at Gallantmon, forcing the Royal Knight on the defensive. Every now and then Piedmon would block an attack from Apollomon but for the most part his focus was on Gallantmon. He wanted to inflict as much pain as possible on the Digimon for interrupting.

"Tell me, Davis, do you have any idea who I am?" Piedmon asked him, wondering how this child could be so arrogant. "Do you have any idea of what I can do to you, even in this form of existence?"

"Do you?" Davis asked him before a golden aura erupted around him and Piedmon was forced to shield himself from the radiant light.

"Do you have any idea what you just interrupted?" Piedmon asked Gallantmon as he knocked his lance away. "Do you have any idea of the power that you just denied me?" With another swipe he knocked away Gallantmon's shield.

"No but judging from your reacting then I'm guessing it was important." Gallantmon said cheekily. This earned him a painful stab in the shoulder courtesy of Piedmon.

"I'm going to enjoy tearing you piece by piece like your predecessor before you." Piedmon growled. He plunged the sword deeper into Gallantmon's shoulder.

Piedmon opened his eyes and was shocked to see Davis standing a few yards away with the golden aura burning around him like a flame. Energy cracked and popped around him and the very air seemed to vibrate from just his power alone.

"This is the power of Miracles, Piedmon." Davis said as he glared at the Dark Master. "And if you want it then come and get it!"

Piedmon pulled out his sword and leapt back as an arrow of ice flew thru the space he had just vacated. Looking over toward the temple, Piedmon saw that Dianamon and Justimon were making their way over to them. While he was confident he could take them all on, thoughts from his previous encounter still plagued his mind. There were answers that he needed before he continued the next part of his plan. His encounter with the DigiDestined of Miracles had shown Piedmon one thing and that was that the power of Miracles could not be underestimated. It was unlike anything he had ever faced before and that alone was enough to worry him.

"Where are you getting this power from!?" Piedmon demanded as Davis's aura held him in place.

"The Power of Miracles comes from a being that is even greater than the Sovereign. It comes from a being that has the power to destroy you, Piedmon. And real soon, a True Hero will rise to defeat you!" Davis told him. "I'm just sorry that I won't be me who finally kicks your ass."

The aura flared up once more and Piedmon got a glimpse of what was behind that power. It was a presence that was vast and ancient. One of untold time and power. It was a presence that Piedmon had never felt before and for the first time in Piedmon's life, he felt fear.

End of chapter.