The Crucible seemed to go on forever like a never ending tunnel, with no sign of light what so ever, and continuous sounds of stretching came from everywhere, it was almost like nails on a chalkboard, Takajin lay in the middle of tunnel face down, he slowly say up and groan as he did so, he put his hand to his mouth and came away with blood, he couldn't remember what had hit, he touched his face again and felt it was puck mark with bruises, where were the others, where were Hikaru, Mikuni, Vergil, Huang, Sorami, Tajiri, and even that new kid Leoben. He tried to think of the events leading to him being left alone in the middle of the crucible, his head hurting didn't help things. He took a deep breath and exhale, then did so again, trying to think of when they all arrived there, at the citadel that was now the complete tower, and he had to reach the top of the tower before Lilithmon could reach the door of endings to annul the world. He cleared his mind and thought about missing memories. That's when he heard a voice, he could barely make out what it was talking about, even who it was talking to, and the voice that he heard did sound familiar.

-Unknown Hours prior-

The mirror appeared at the foot of the tower, the rocks at the base, that have been clinging to the bottom of the tower since the day it rose into the air, it black encrusted purple surface glimmering the light of the sun, but there was weird shadow coming off the rocks like it was blocking out the sun for some reason. The digidestined exited the mirror mostly one at a time. But instead of a normal view of the sky they were looking downwards at it, every time the cloud cover cleared suddenly they could see land, its unmistakable green in the luminous clouds of white and grey, the tower was upside down.

"it may look like down but that is up, to the tower now, the tower can be anyway it wants, I have read up on this" Virgil said, even though he was feeling a bit of vertigo looking down at the planet while he felt like he was standing right side up"

"That's fascinating, where is the entrance?" Tajiri said, pointing towards the tower, where the door that had been there was gone.

Takajin had a feeling this would work even though it was likely Lilithmon had sealed the door, he pulled out his digichip, and walked over to the wall and touched it with it, the wall quivered, and opened, he exhaled with excitement, he gestured to the newly reopened entrance "Open says me" he said, chuckling. Even though it wasn't the right time to do so, since they had to play catch to Lilithmon, and her Kurokami brigade.

Entering the tower, that looked a purple and black intestine, the crucible was ahead of them and wanted all of them dead.

"The Crucible is three parts, first it's the ever changing labyrinth, and then it's the null, then the third part is activated when any of the three Great Old ones are at the top of the tower, the forest of endings which looks like personality of who is there" Virgil said, looking around like he was on a tourist trip and he was site seeing.

The tower then shifted, and all of the Digidestined slid into the void, the darkness overtaking them like they were devoured by the darkness itself.

Digimon Sync Episode 54 "Fear and Loathing in the Crucible!"

When there part of the crucible stopped, and each digidestined landed, each of them looked around to see where they were, that's when a weird noise came from Takajin Digivice, he pulled out while the others watched, and a small glowing image of Lorrimon appeared.

"Testing! Testing 1, 2, 3, do you hear this signal, it can't be retained for too… Long… I have a message to give… you… those digidestined… that lost… their digichips… Once… a Power… has been… given… Unless relinquished or deemed… unworthy… by the chip… itself… the power is still… within you… as a Digidestined, the chip was, only meant, to make amply… that power… goodbye and good luck…" Lorrimon said, before the image vanished, and darkness of the area retook the area.

Tajiri brushed himself off "Did she just say the digichip is pointless?" he said looking intensely at Takajin, but only because he was holding the digivice that Lorrimon's message had just come out of.

"No I don't think that's what she meant, we shouldn't focus on that and continue on, we need to get the door and stop Lilithmon" Virgil said, gesturing towards the tunnel in front of them, where the shift had deposited them. Tajiri grudging nodded that Virgil was right and they shouldn't focus on thing like that now. Instead they continued, each digidestined that had been captive here had their gruesome recollection of events, with the exception of Tajiri made them anxious, it was like this monster that was welcoming them back after they escaped it the first time, and was now hunting them, with the possibility of ripping them all to shreds. Even those of them that hadn't been there before just wanted to be away from it, they wanted out.

They went several feet before the noise that let them know the crucible was shifting once again, its pulsating nails on chalkboard shriek that still hurt all their ears. It was like this whole thing was alive somehow, but this time it wasn't as loud as before since it wasn't their tunnel that was being changed. This wasn't helping them find their way to the top of the tower, or leading them to the next part of the crucible which was the null.

"How are you feeling" Takajin asked, Hikaru knowing fully well she couldn't handle the dark that well, he gave her a look of concern.

"If this had happened months ago, before the pilgrimage with the sages, I would have been freaking out, worse off if it happened before the wild woods incident where Kitsumon messed with me, even more so if it where the caves in Crispin village, it still bothers me you can't fully ever get rid of those kinds of fears, I am find" Hikaru said, rubbing her hands together in a somewhat nervous gesture.

"It doesn't bother me at all, before me and my friend Echo met Scythe, we went from one creepy hiding spot to another to live, people would have tried to kill her if we were spotted and I couldn't allow harm to Echo" Leoben said, giving a meek brave smile, showing that this did bother him and he was trying to help everyone by putting on a brave face.

"Let's show this crucible what it truly means to be a champion of justice, it will not scare me" Mikuni said, even though her face looked determined, the undertone of her voice showed there was a fear deep within even her.

It was like they were walking through a field of incendiary devices, and any wrong step would engulf them in flames, so it was slow going, with Tajiri in the lead, who seemed almost fearless, unlike his daughter Sorami who seemed like she would jump out of her skin at any moment, he would side glance her like she was an embarrassment to him, but she seemed to not notice that at all. The further they all went the more the color seemed to bleed out of the world around them. The atmosphere seemed to get more eerie as well.

"There seems to be this wrongness, I felt this before, but can't place my finger on" Sorami said, looking around her before her eyes widened in recollection "Karone, and her fellow voices of Ankou give of this feeling too, maybe it's because dwell mostly in this tower, when it was the citadel, the darkness of it infected them?"

"They have given themselves over to Lilithmon's evil, and they extensions of her darkness" Tajiri said, answering his daughter's question, as best as he knew he could, and believed was the right answer.

Everyone went silent before they continued to lead the way through the wavy never ending tunnels that every few feet changed once again with a nails to chalkboard, which was just starting to really hurt everyone's ears, symbolized by the blood coming out of Leoben's ears.

Out of nowhere a bright tracing its way along the wall glinting as it went, the whole tunnel lit up, looking now like a distorted mirror, that lined the wall as far as they could see, and the mirror pulsated to life and a bright emanated from making everyone close their eyes.

Takajin was now standing alone, Lilithmon's symbol traced itself in the floor, and standing in front of him was Juniko, exactly like he remembered before she had turned into Lilithmon, she turned and ran towards him, wrapping her arms around him, she embraced in a tight hug.

"You have come, to rescue me" Juniko said, hugging Takajin even tighter than before.

"is this really you, I thought I would never see you again, you were gone and all that was left was Lilithmon, and you were no longer, or even never existed in the first place" Takajin said, putting his arms around Juniko and returning the hug, tears of happiness sprouting from his eyes.

-Hikaru-

Hikaru stood over the lifeless form of Takajin, she was shrieking at his now dead body, she turned and noticed the other digidestined were dead too, she was alone, in the crucible surrounded by dead bodies, it unhinged her, she was looking at her worst fears, wondering why that light hadn't killed her too, she rather be dead then see those she cared so much about dead. "Please kill me now" she screamed. She had to get away, she began to run, but the corpses seemed to chase after her, they now taunted with whispers.

-Huang-

Huang found himself with none of the other digidestined in sight, in front of him was Migoku, and he had his hands around the older man's neck, he looked at him with complete hatred. "Die, you son of a bitch" he screamed in Migoku's face. He squeezed tighter on his throat "You kill my parents, I am going to kill you"

-Virgil-

Virgil was on his knees, and before him was the graves of his former sage mentors, and further on was the archive was in flames, this was all the graves started whispering to him, about him being a failure as sage and how useless he was. He should put an end to his life so he could join them.

-Leoben-

Standing in front of him was Echo, and a digimon appeared in her arms, it was a turquoise insect one, she now seemed to be very happy.

"Look my digimon partner appeared, it was late, but I am not a cursed I am cured you don't have to protect me anymore, how do you like my Dokunemon, we now have each other to protect, I no longer need you, go away"

"What do you mean you don't need me around, aren't I your friend?" Leoben asked, he was now beyond confused.

"Go away, and die somewhere, my digimon partner is my friend now, she is all the friend I'll ever need, I am done with you" Echo said, while smirking evilly at Leoben. "Don't ever call me Echo again its Sakura"

"Please don't, I don't want to lose you as a friend, you mean the world to me" Leoben pleaded with Sakura, with her turning her back to him instead of responded.

-Sorami-

Sorami was holding the mask, she had seen her father wearing, she was surrounded by laughing children, and each one of them was holding digichips, all of them clearly had been driven insane by them, she turned the mask over, and was raising it to her face, she was now putting it on. All the kids around her exploded into blood mist. "I am my father's daughter destined to take his place doing atrocities" he said with coldness in her tone.

-Tajiri & Mikuni-

"What is going on with them?" Mikuni said, as she gestured to the unconscious forms of Takajin, Hikaru, Virgil, Sorami, and Leoben.

"This was the message, in that story Lilithmon mentioned in Lorrimon's story, the one about that clan that venture through the crucible, and then entered the door killing themselves whatever they are seeing now will convince them that the door will give them what they want either an end to their life or to give them their deepest desire" Tajiri said, picking up his Daughter, "You can stay here with them, I am continuing"

"You can't go alone, you need all of us to defeat Lilithmon, all the digidestined together" Mikuni said, sternly toward Tajiri, she and stood in his path spreading arms wide.

"You know nothing, I know what I am doing, I have something as backup" Tajiri said, giving Mikuni a threatening look.

"No matter what you have it won't protect your daughter, and it will take us all to defeat Lilithmon" Mikuni said, pointing at Sorami who he was holding. "You will have kill me to get to her without you waiting for them to wake up first" Lopmon ran up and stood beside her digimon as GuardiAngemon did the same with his digidestined. "We aren't moving" Mikuni and Lopmon said in unison.

A smile crossed the face of Tajiri "You have some pair on you too, you would make great guardians once this is all over" he said stopping and gently putting Sorami down back with the others "but hopefully they wake up soon we can't wait long"

-Takajin-

He stilled hugged Juniko, she smiled and hummed sweetly in his ear, it was awhile since he saw his best friend, it was odd not having her around, they had grown up together from childhood, now she was there and he could hear the pounding of her heart, she was very real, he didn't want to ever let go of his friend ever again, the one that protected him, not the one that had been getting ready to destroy the world.

"We can be together forever, all we have to do is walk through the door, and we can see each other in another life" Juniko whispered into Takajin's ear. "The World is already dying, we just have to escape through the door"

-Hikaru-

She stood there as the bodies started to moan, sounding like they were giving off their final breath "Join us in the afterlife, you just have to walk through the door, you are alone now, you need not be alone walk through the door" all the corpse said, in a moaning voice all at once.

"Nooooooooo, please come back to life, I don't want to be alone" Hikaru screamed, as she dropped to her knees, and sobbed uncontrollably

-Huang-

He continued to press down on the throat of Migoku, even though he was cutting off the man's air he was still able to speak for some reason "Sorry if you really want me to die, take me through the door, you'll kill me and get to see your parents again" Migoku said, without showing that his breath was impeded in anyway.

"No I have family, I have two brothers that need me" Huang said, shoving Migoku, relinquishing his grasp on his throat. In that moment he woke up, and standing over him was Mikuni and Tajiri, and on the ground beside him was Takajin, Hikaru, Leoben, and Sorami. "What the heck is going on?" he tried to make sense of the previous things he had seen they had been so real to him.

"Thank goodness you, you have finally awake from you cat nap, you lazy bum" Mikuni said, with a slight mocking tone, under toned by relief, before helping him up. "the tower was enthralling you to walk through the door, by showing you either your worst fear or most wanted desire, how did you break free?"

"it showed me Migoku, one of the people that murdered my parents, he told me that the only way to kill him was to take him through the door, so he dies and I get to see my parents again, I remember my brothers and how they needed me to stay alive" Huang said, looking up at the ceiling of the tunnel.

At that moment Virgil started to stir, and awaken, he was as confused as Huang had been moments ago "had that just been the tower tempting me through the door?" he said, with everyone nodding in response "it had my late mentors calling me a failure, and wanted to see me, and all I had to do is walk through the door" he inhaled and exhale in ragged breaths "I was very tempted to join them, then I remembered I had to help you guys stop Lilithmon and I said no then I woke up here"

"Those that need to wake up now is Takajin, Hikaru, Leoben, and my daughter Sorami, who knows what it's showing now, the only ones unaffected were me and Mikuni" Tajiri said, looking down at Sorami. That noise that meant that the labyrinth was moving again, making all who were conscious cover their eyes as the ground started to shift, all of them sliding in the direction it was like the whole tower was flipping. When the tunnel settled everyone came to a halt, once again. Virgil checked on the condition of the unconscious digidestined, he sighed with relief.

"it's like we are inside a giant serpent, as it slithers along" Virgil said, wiping the sweat from his brow "its kind of humid in here too" he takes some notes of how he is currently feeling.

-Hikaru-

Laying in Fetal position, and crying uncontrollably, everyone she cared about was dead, she could hear the buzzing of carrion insects all around her, they had come for her decaying flesh of those that were dead near her, she covered her ears trying to block them out but they only got louder.

"Come on, go through the door, you will see you those you care about again" a buzzing voice said, from all around Hikaru "we will take their bodies but you can see them again in the afterlife"

"Leave me alone" Hikaru shouted in a nearly shrieking tone of voice. She started to wave her hands around frantically.

-Tajiri, Mikuni, Virgil, Huang-

They couldn't wait much longer, each person balanced up one unconscious digidestined, and was carrying them through the labyrinth, it was slow moving but it was better than standing still waiting for the tunnel to move again, it was heavy carrying someone slumped over your shoulder, that seemed to be in an almost lifeless state. And this was only the first zone, they had two more to go. When the tunnel they tried to keep their footing, but feel over from the weight of those unconscious, when it settled again, picked them and continued. A seemingly never ending traverse, which was starting to lower moral and tempers.

"Can you please get lighter" Mikuni shouted uncharacteristically at Takajin, she looked angrily at Virgil, who drew the lucky straw to carry Leoben, and Huang was better off than her carrying Hikaru, she knew she couldn't talk Tajiri into trading Sorami to her.

"Calm down this is part of the labyrinths effects, its wearing you down mentally so it could try again enthralling you to the door, like you know is happening to them, don't let it win" Tajiri said, trying to motivate but sound exhausted himself.

"What is the use, the tunnel keeps changing, and changing, and changing over and over again these no end in sight since there isn't one at all, just end the world oh great and powerful..." Huang said, as his eyes glazed over and looked like he was going to go out again, when Tajiri viciously slapped him across face, leaving a purple bruise in the process. Which throbbed on his cheek, he completely came out of the stupor, but he was angry, eyes glaring a hole in the one who struck him, who just ignored him, and his expression and continued on.

"Despair, sorrow, anger, and fear they are our enemy here, please don't let them control you, you might not snap out of it like before" Mikuni said, after she herself had grasped her composure again. "Like we were warned this place is malevolent, and feeds off our anguish, I wasn't effect before because I don't have anything I fear or want, everything I ever lost is still in my heart, those who died are dead and never ever going to return"

The shrieking noise return like it always did this time the ground split apart, ground seemingly fell from underneath Mikuni, leaving her falling, but before she could go a few inches, something grabbed her, it was Tajiri, he pulled her and Takajin, where the others were before it sealed up behind them, all the conscious digidestined were panting and out of breath, that had been a very close.

"I almost lost my daughter in that" Tajiri said, before taking a deep breath, and exhaling "This thing really doesn't want us here, we better keep moving"

"Why do you hate Lilithmon, other than, you father fought and defeated her, I know she is evil, but she was…?" Mikuni said, before a hand gesture of stop, made her cut off before finishing the question.

"My father saw the threat in the rest of her order, and vow to wipe it out before it could revive her, they hid in the shadows waiting for the very day they could do so, he died before he could fulfil this, and I promised to finish what he started, in Tartarus name I vowed, his hate became mine, I'll do the same for my daughter if I pass now" Tajiri said, clenching his fist.

"My uncle always told me that you should remember the past, but let go of the hatred of the past, there is no point in lingering on it, which would only lead to ruination" Mikuni said, trying to talk reason into Tajiri.

"And the Order of the Nazar were a peaceful group of priests, your father drove them underground where they festered and became the Kurokami Brigade, the violent zealots you know today" Virgil said, looking harshly at Tajiri.

"They were never peaceful, they plotted to reset the world, and you will never convince me there was no dark purpose for those deceivers!" Tajiri said, through gritted teeth. "My guardians were never deceitful"

"Donica Skies was a member of your guardians, and she did all those sick things to people, driving them insane so she could have a digimon partner" Virgil said, jabbing his finger into Tajiri's chest, before it was grabbed by him, and Virgil went face first into the ground.

"One who knows nothing can understand nothing" Tajiri said, calm, collected and cold, his expression was of someone looking down on those he talked too. He raised his foot over the back of Virgil's neck as he lay on the ground, and was getting ready to drop it in a kicking downward motion, that would snap his neck and kill, he was interrupted by Mikuni knocking him off his feet with a leg sweep, and then pulling Virgil to safety.

"This is what the crucible wants, us fighting and killing each other so it doesn't have to, you need to fight the building anger within you" Mikuni said, as she helped Virgil to his feet, looking over at Tajiri with wary eyes like something had just clicked in her mind. "You are Abaddon, you have no right to refer to anyone as deceiver as that will make you a hypocrite"

Tajiri eyes widened like he had been fully slapped in the face, and then back to usual expression "I do what I need to save this world, I don't care how I am judge, in the end I'll be the hero" he said, with a smirk on his face.

-Sorami-

"You will never be like your father, you might as well walk through, maybe in the next life you can be a great hero like him" said the mask, Sorami was holding.

"I'll be myself" Sorami shouted, crushing the mask in her hands, its shards sparkling as they fell to the ground. She closed and opened her eyes, to see her father arguing about something. She stood up and wonder over, and realized her father had just been outed as the leader of Paradigm shift. "Father why did you try to kill me?"

"We have no time to talk about this now, from the sound of things it's about to shift again, the labyrinth seems to be changing quicker, maybe that's a sign that the end is closer" Tajiri said, breaking into a sprint, as the shrieking noise began, this time the tunnel started to spin, with them all now seemingly standing on the ceiling looking down at the floor. "Don't look down it will give you vertigo, keep going"

-Hikaru-

One of the bodies stood, it was her brother Takajin, and he stared at Hikaru with black eyes, void of any sign of life "Why are you still here, please you need to walk through the door, we all want to see you again" he said unflinching and without blinking. "You were the one that let me die, by not stopping me from leaving Digitopia, you knew I wasn't strong enough to fight the evil, that we had to face, and it killed me and the others" he started moving towards Hikaru, till he was within arm's length

"No I need to stop Lilithmon, she must be stopped before she walks through that door" Hikaru shrieked, at her dead brother. "But I cannot move"

"You know the world means nothing without me, there is another way you can take my hand, and come with me" Takajin said, reaching out with his left hand, which was starting to be coated with dark purple like the tower itself was reaching towards her, and trying to take her hand.

"Go away I will not let you take me away from my duty as a digidestined" Hikaru yelled, and shoved away the thing that looked like her brother, she then woke up on the back of Virgil, and she looked up to see that they now upside down. She realized she had been dreaming, and everyone was alive, but it seemed so real.

"Do we really know what would happen if Lilithmon is completely destroyed?" Virgil asked, out of nowhere "Maybe we don't have to, theres a one way transportation mirror near the door of endings, we can push her through, and while she is disorientated knock her out and seal her away like what had happened to Erebosmon, killing her could be the worst thing we could do"

"No, and double no, if she isn't defeated outright, her Kurokami brigade would do everything it to bring her back, what if then there weren't any digidestined" Tajiri said, being completely blunt.

"That's your opinion, we should vote on this, as we are all important" Virgil said, looking around at the other conscious digidestined.

"We can't do that Takajin isn't awake yet, we need all of us conscious" Mikuni said, giving Tajiri the stink eye "I know my vote, it's the opposite of whatever Tajiri chooses because I know longer believe hes a champion of justice"

"I did it all for the greater good, even though it seemed very evil, it was all down to save this world. And the only way to do that is complete eradication of this world's cancer, which is Lilithmon, sealing her away won't do that" Tajiri said, stopping halting everyone else. "You will do what I say even if I have knock sense into all" he took a swing at Mikuni, but instead got the unconscious Takajin full on in the face, making her drop him" she instantly took on defense posture.

"Bring it, I wanted this since when your daughter left us in the hands of the Kurokami brigade, and then more so when you were just revealed as a fraud, people think of you as protector of mankind, and the guardians will save them from the evil instead you were involved in stuff that did harm to innocent people, I don't care what your reasons, you are just as bad as the Kurokami brigade, maybe even worse than them" Mikuni said, before spitting at Tajiri's feet. She went to leg sweep Tajiri and he dodged with ease, she had to dodge at the same time and incoming GuardiAngemon, she rolled out of the way, barely making it.

"You are fighting the wrong person, digidestined should not fight each other, do you want to be another Ankou, he betrayed the other digidestined and look what happened to him, why do you think he wears that mask, he is disfigured beyond belief, and my father gave him quite the beating" Tajiri said, with a smug smirk on his face, before it was wiped from his face, impacting uppercut punch to the face from Mikuni knocking him temporally off his feet. He rubbed his jaw as he stood up "Your justice is so fixated, on one absolute kind of justice, when dark things are needed to keep people even though some people have to be sacrificed to make that happen, people that were experiment on didn't die though at least by anything I did, I didn't kill any of them those that died were killed by their own actions" he suddenly went limp like something struck him, and he went down like a ton of brick, standing behind him was Sorami, she had struck her father, catching him off guard.

"I am sorry, but you have gone too far, you can't be trusted to see things without eyes clouded with hate I see that now" Sorami said, tears springing forth from her eyes, as she tied up her own father, her actions had also knocked out GuardiAngemon, who she tied up too. Hopefully she hadn't just condemned them to death. Before she could pick him up or react the ground started splitting and Tajiri and his digimon partner, but along with him went Takajin and his digimon partner Sunmon.

-Takajin-

He was still hugging Juniko, he would never let go, he loved his best friend with all his heart, even though there was something off about her, something he couldn't place his finger. He also didn't care if she kept talking about death, maybe he would join her and walk through that door so they could be together forever to escape this mad world they lived in.

"Every soul returns to the door from which it came, we will never be apart ever again" Juniko said, whispering it into Takajin's ear.

Takajin felt like he was being absorb into Juniko, like they were becoming one being, their pulses aligning, he felt wrongness overwhelming, he suddenly pulled away from the embrace "Who the hell are you, you were harming me somehow, Juniko the real one wouldn't harm, I don't know if she wouldn't harm me as Lilithmon but you aren't Lilithmon either, you are showing emotion" he said, watching Juniko impersonator.

"How cleaver of you, I didn't think you were that smart, to notice" The Imposter said, before turning into a different little girl, this time Arukeni from Crispin Village "I don't know who I am, please stay with me, I can be whatever you want"

"Get away from me" Takajin shouted, and woke up on the floor of a tunnel, he groaned, he touched his mouth and came with his fingers covered in blood, he looked down the tunnel that seemed to go on forever, that's when he heard a voice that sounded familiar, he fought to stand up, his body was like a spider web of pain, with ever motion he winced in agony making his way toward who was talking, he could not make out what they were saying. When he got around the corner the talking stopped, and for a second there was a circling snake symbol on the wall, and then the wall opening, on the other side was a city, he covered his eyes the light hurt them, which made him wonder how long had he been in the labyrinth, this must be the null, somehow he made it through, possibly carried through it, where was everyone else, he put that question out of his mind, and exited into the null, there were people there all around him, doing their daily routines, it dawned on him suddenly that this was Lilithia, the tower had destroyed this place over a hundred years ago. He tried to pick up something and his hand went through.

"The Null is a buffer, where the living are stuck in perdition, till uploaded through the door" a voice said in front of Takajin.

Takajin looked up and standing in front of him was Ankou, and his digimon partner ShadowWereGarurumon, he instantly pulled out his digivice, and Sunmon hopped up to his side, he wanted so much to strike down this man, that has pretty much ruined his life.

"You aren't getting passed me, Lilithmon must go through the door, and all life must end. This world is falling apart" Ankou said, running his left hand over his mask "This world is poison and its running through all our vain"

"The world is not beyond redemption, you have given into despair, please come to your senses, you can see the world can be healed" Takajin said, pleading Ankou "You were once like me, a digidestined"

"That boy died, a long time ago, I am now protector of destruction and rebirth, you are one of the twisted children" Ankou said, revealing he was holding a D-saber, they both charged toward each other.

Sunmon digivolved into Apollomon "I am going to make you burn" he said before charging, an already charging ShadowWereGarurumon, they collided briefly, ShadowWereGarurumon was knocked backwards off Apollomon like a ricocheting bullet, the opposite happened with Takajin and Ankou, with Takajin landing on his butt.

"I am powered by the great one herself, now digivolve ShadowWereGarurumon" Ankou said, his digimon partner was engulfed in a sphere of violet "I love her with all my heart"

When the sphere dissipated instead of ShadowWereGarurumon, it was Merukimon, a man wolf digimon carrying a sword, who instantly vanishes, and appears behind Apollomon, and rapidly punches taking him off guard, knocking off his feet. Apollomon tried getting up but was knocked down again.

"Lilithmon's love makes me invincible, you cannot defeat the power of a great old one, I'll die before I let anyone past me" Ankou screamed, while his digimon partner picked up Apollomon, and Ankou himself picked up Takajin and in unison they punched each other's opponent in the stomach, knocking the air out of their lungs, both then spin kicked them into the ground, when Apollomon hit the ground it caused a mini tremor, when Takajin hit the ground he coughed up blood "Just give up my power and love is greater than yours, you have no chance against me!" he watched as Takajin struggled to stand up and failed, then tried again managing to get to his knees, then finally after ten minutes got to his feet again. "You have some spunk left in you, for the love my Lilithmon I'll beat it out of you"

"You said the null is a buffer, what is a buffer for, and you also said perdition to be uploaded through the door, are we surrounded by the dead?" Takajin said, breathing the wind being driving, his breath punctuated by wheezes.

"This is the Vale of Lilithia, the tower absorbed it, when it went through the planet, those people are neither living or dead, they have to pass through the doors for then to be truly dead, this is what happened when annulment was interrupted when Lilithmon was defeated the first, they are oblivious to the fact over a hundred years have passed. None of aged a day since it happened" Ankou said, halting his digimon's attack. "I better hurry up and kill you, before the Kharons show and make us both forever residents of the null, they are the antibodies that keep people from getting to the door, and they won't touch Lilithmon though or her hybrids"

"The Kharons, what the heck are those?" Takajin said, looking around for something, but not knowing what to look for.

"Just look around, see if anyone doesn't look like everyone else, they probably tried to get to the door, and reapers got them, they are now stuck here" Ankou said, giving a wide gesture.

Takajin looked around, till he spotted someone in weird warrior's garb, who looked dumb found, and completely out of place, he thought about that story about the tribe of warriors that tried to get to the door to destroy it, this might have been one of them. "How do I know they have arrived, to get me?"

"You won't know it will just happen" Ankou said, before Merukimon charged at Apollomon, punching him in the face and takes a huge arcing swipe at him too, but Apollomon managed to dodge the incoming blade. Apollomon launched at fire sphere at Merukimon, who dodged that attack and came around with his sword, which impacted on a fire sphere, which exploded in a concussive blast which knocked Takajin off his feet, and barely moved Ankou himself. Apollomon pulls back on what seems like a bow and arrow that filled like fire that shaped into the form of an arrow fired them directly at Merukimon, who dodged almost all of them, one impacting his shoulder, driving him backwards, but vanished again, appearing behind Apollomon, who was ready this time, and dodged his barrage of electric fists, sending another volley of fire arrows into Merukimon's face. Merukimon ducks all of them this time, he vanished appearing behind Apollomon, when he turned ready for an attack Merukimon vanished again, to be behind Apollomon again, hitting him with a barrage of punches.

Takajin let out a scream of agony this time, but steeled himself and stopped "I am getting through even if I have to kill, you would understand this as you were a digidestined at one point, you fought things that had threatened the world" he said, staring at Ankou with renewed intensity.

"I have seen those eyes before, when I was looking in a mirror, but that boy like I said before is dead, he died when his true love was taken from him, it will happen again to you, maybe by your own hands, you kill Lilithmon, which is not going to happen because you aren't getting passed me, but if you did Juniko would die with her, how important was she to you?" Ankou said, with the sound from behind the mask that showed he was smirking.

"I care more than you think, I know she wouldn't want this world to end, and I don't know what has happened to her to make her want to, I know her, she would want me to stop her no matter what, even if it kills her" Takajin said, before making a beeline for Ankou, and went to drive his fist into his gut, but was driven face first into the ground.

"I feel sorry for you, I would never sacrifice one who I care about to save this decaying world of ours, but I am willing to sacrifice myself to take those that threaten my love, they should be here soon" Ankou said, as something grey enveloped him, and his digimon partner, before Takajin could react something appeared in front of him it resembled a skeleton in a cloak, then it enveloped him, and he was gone, and so was Apollomon.

Hikaru screamed as she ran toward, where Takajin, had been and reach for him right before he vanished, she crumpled to her knees and began to cry, only to be grabbed Virgil and pulled to her feet, and forced into a sprint, followed closely by Moonmon, and Starmon "We need to get out of here" he shouted, as Kharon appeared, and they had to dodge it.

-To be Concluded-

Is Takajin trapped in perdition will he be able to get out, and will the digidestined get to Lilithmon in time to stop her from getting to the door, to answer these questions and more please tune into the next Digimon digital monsters