For the most part, the Legendary Warriors had come back together even after dividing to take a deep breath and sigh with relief that the battle against the Royal Knights was over. They only wound up needing a few minutes before they were back to being up and ready once again, and Koji found it shockingly easy to gather everyone that he needed to speak to about Koichi's peculiar behavior.
Hinoka was stroking Salamon between the ears, and the small dog Digimon was humming gently at the contact, clearly infatuated with the affection that Hinoka had to provide her with. There were were a few other members of the group watching them both, and one of them was Mayumi. By this point, the party had primarily split off into two prominent groups, and Koji was relieved beyond imagination that the three people he was targeting were all together.
Izumi, Saki, Junpei, and Haroi could also be found in this group, and Patamon was perched gently in Izumi's arms as she gave him similar doses of physical care to what Hinoka was doing with Salamon. The other three Digimon, along with the other five humans in the group, were together a short distance away. Koji didn't give them much of his focus, instead steeling himself to ask the difficult question.
"Can we talk for a minute?" Koji questioned once he could finally force the words to form. He had shoved his hands haphazardly into his pockets because he was desperate to feel something between his fingers. He worked the fabric inside of the pockets over between his pointer finger and thumb, allowing the subtle motion to ground him as he prepared for the nerve-wracking answer that he feared he was about to receive.
Hinoka didn't even seem to notice that Koji was talking to her at first. She was so caught up in looking down at Salamon that she didn't recognize Koji was watching her until after Saki had tapped her on the shoulder before pointing in the direction of the Warrior of Light. Hinoka immediately snapped to attention, though Koji had to admit that she seemed significantly less tense than he was used to seeing from her. "What is it?" she questioned as she continued to stroke at the back of Salamon's head with a deliberate, careful touch.
"Have... Have you noticed that Koichi has been acting off lately?" Koji asked. Hinoka's eyes glassed over with concern, and he took that as a cue to continue. He was too nervous to stay quiet for too long anyways. "He seemed fine when we were all together before the fight against Alphamon, but when we came back together... I don't know. He just seemed different, and I have a really bad feeling about it. Did something happen while you, Mayumi, and Salamon were with him to make him act like this?"
Mayumi was the one who responded to his inquiry first. She shrugged as an anxious smile spread across her lips, and Koji couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it was her way of softening the blow. "I honestly don't know what to tell you... He just started acting off when we first got to Rubrum. He seemed to be distracted by something, but I don't think I would be able to tell you exactly what it was. He and Salamon wound up splitting away from me and Hinoka since we were trying to find a way off the moon. Salamon, did you notice anything off about him when you two were alone together?" she questioned.
Salamon was slow to offer an answer, and each passing second where the silence hung in the air made Koji feel a little more nauseous. "I don't know what to tell you there... He just sort of started acting that way after we got to the moon. He decided to try and make contact with the original Warrior of Darkness while we were there since Rubrum holds the tombs of the Legendary Warriors. He didn't make any progress in reaching out the first time that we went to the Temple of Darkness though," Salamon explained.
"What happened after the fight then?" Koji questioned, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice and failing. Nothing about this was sitting well with him, and he needed answers as soon as possible. It didn't make sense to him that Koichi, someone who had been so open and sincere up to that point, would suddenly close away from the world. It was anxiety-inducing at best and utterly terrifying at worst.
"We went back to the tomb of the Warrior of Darkness," Hinoka began. "Koichi seemed to think that there was a chance his previous incarnation would be able to find a way for us to get off Rubrum. Since there aren't any Digimon on the moon aside from the souls of the Legendary Warriors, it was our only option. He seemed a bit off before then, but..."
"The changes really became noticeable after we had finished up in the temple," Mayumi finished, crossing her arms over her chest as a frown settled in across her expression. "The change was huge. It was like his world had been shattered, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it. If he doesn't want to discuss it, I don't want to make him, but... It's weird that he would suddenly change so much seemingly out of nowhere."
"None of us went into the temple with him when he tried to reach out to the original Warrior of Darkness. If he wanted space, then we were going to give it to him," Salamon continued. "He said that he was going to need to focus, so we decided to give him all the time that he needed... But when he came out, it was like he was a different person."
That at least started to help the pieces slide into place in Koji's mind. As far as he could tell, Koichi had heard something that he wasn't anticipating when he was connecting with the original Warrior of Darkness. Still, if that was the case, what could have been bothering him prior to the time where he was able to make contact?
"We can say for sure that he was able to talk with the Warrior of Darkness for at least a little while though," Hinoka said next, pulling Koji away from his rapid thought process once again. "The Warrior of Darkness was how we were able to get off Rubrum at all. He created a portal that dropped us off back here on the surface of the Digital World, and from there, all we had to do was move in the direction where the rest of you were gathered. We found you during the Alphamon fight, and after that, everything happened while we were back together as a team."
"I see," Koji murmured, trying his best to calm the hurricane of concerns rocketing through his mind at breakneck speed. He didn't know what could even be said. Koichi was clearly struggling under the weight of something, but Koji didn't have any ideas as to what the cause was. It must have been something that happened both before and after the fight with Leopardmon on Rubrum, but Koji couldn't think of anything that fit the description. He had heard a small amount of the story regarding what had happened on Rubrum, but if there was much more to it than what he already knew, Koji surely would have been told about it. There was no way that something significant could have happened aside from the time where Koichi was alone in the Temple of Darkness with his previous incarnation. That simply begged the question of what could have gotten to Koichi to make him so afraid and closed away seemingly out of nowhere, and Koji had no idea where to start as far as looking for the answer was concerned.
Saki wasn't hesitant in releasing a sigh, and all of the eyes in the group suddenly shifted towards them. "Something is going on here, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it," they muttered. "We can't afford for Koichi to be distracted if something else comes up. It's only going to make it harder for him to fight, and that could easily lead to any one of us getting hurt. We have to resolve this here and now."
Koji hadn't ever seen Saki looking quite this assertive, and while it caught him by surprise, he wasn't at all opposed to it. He watched with wide, stunned eyes as the Warrior of Steel walked over to where Koichi was sitting on the sand watching the waves roll. Koji couldn't hear what Saki told his brother, but he was positive that they weren't going to be taking no for an answer. Koichi rose to his feet a moment later, though something about him seemed unsteady and anxious. Still, he managed to shelve his feelings as he followed Saki over to where the rest of the group was watching him.
Koichi and Saki arrived back with the small group a few moments later, and Koji couldn't help but feel sick at the anxious glaze that had passed over his brother's eyes. Koichi realized that Koji was staring and averted his gave towards the ground in an attempt to seem less guilty than he was. Still, Koji wouldn't be able to forget the sight of how nervous his brother had been, and he found himself swallowing dryly to try and get his anxiety to leave him the hell alone.
"We can tell that something is wrong," Saki told Koichi. Their voice was blunt, but it wasn't uncaring in the slightest. Instead, it simply seemed as if they were concerned in their own way regardless of how different it was from the actions of the other members of the group. "We aren't trying to harass you or anything, Koichi. We simply want to know what's wrong so that we can eliminate this issue before it can grow any worse."
The look in Koichi's eyes almost reminded Koji of a caged animal. Koichi glanced back and forth between the members of the group, seeing the concern mirrored in their gazes as he fumbled for the words necessary to respond. No matter how many times he tried to start the sentence, he was never quite able to get the ball rolling. Koji remembered what he had heard of his brother's past and realized that this was likely due to how habitual it had become for Koichi to hide his emotions from the rest of the world. Even if he was getting better about it, old habits still refused to go down without a fight.
"What's going on over here?"
The sound of Takuya's voice briefly pulled Koji away from his concern, and he glanced up to see that the members of the other group were walking towards him. Takuya was nudging Bokomon along as the small white Digimon looked passionately through his large yellow book. Chihiro's hands were tucked up behind their head as they did their best to keep Neemon moving. Tomoki and Yumiko were both paying full attention to Lopmon, but they still followed after their companions without a beat of hesitation.
The entire party was gathered together with their arrival, and Koichi's fearful gaze only seemed to grow worse. He seemed more boxed-in than ever before, and his hand was suddenly stretching out towards his brother's in a sudden, desperate effort. "Can we talk about this privately?" Koichi questioned in a hurry, unable to keep the panic out of his voice.
Koji was so relieved that he nodded without a second thought. "Of course," he told Koichi. He could feel Saki's piercing gaze on him, asking why Koji hadn't insisted on Koichi telling all of the members in the group what was going on, but Koji did his best to shrug it off. He followed Koichi back towards the beach, knowing that the others were watching but not bringing himself to care.
Koichi was quick in settling down on the sand, and he swallowed nervously before turning his attention towards his brother. "I learned something while I was on Rubrum," he finally explained. "I don't have a physical form in the Digital World. The body that I have right now is made of data that was partially translated improperly when I came here and partially made by the original Warrior of Darkness."
Koji mulled over his words for a long moment before nodding slowly. "I suppose that makes sense... You said that you didn't come to the Digital World on a Trailmon like the rest of us did," he said softly. Some part of his mind in the back of his head was screaming that something was horribly wrong, but he did his best to stifle his own internal shrieks. He had to stay calm.
"That's one way of putting it," Koichi told him with a light shrug. "I don't know what happened to my body. It's likely back on Earth, but that's about all I can say. I don't remember how I got to the Digital World in full. I was on Earth, something happened, and then I was here. Cherubimon was talking to me as soon as I arrived, and he didn't seem keen on offering anything resembling an explanation. I don't know what happened to my body, and..."
"It's been scaring you to think about," Koji concluded. He reached out one hand and took Koichi's fingers between his own. "You don't need to be so afraid of talking about this. We want to help you. We're your friends, Koichi... We're your family. If there's anything that's bothering you, then we'll do what we can to fix it as soon as possible. It's what we've always done, and that's going to ring true forever."
Koichi nodded. "I understand," he said softly. He didn't say anything for a while after that, and the sound of the waves crashing together filled Koji's ears. He was feeling far calmer after having been given a moment to process this information, but he still had an awful feeling about this that he couldn't quite place.
When the silence was finally broken, it was Koichi who spoke up. "Do you think we could stay here for a little bit longer?" Koichi questioned gently. "As much as I love everyone, I... I think I need a little more time to think about all of this. Saki is right; if anything else is going to happen, I can't afford to be distracted, but..."
"Take all the time you need," Koji interrupted. He looked over to his brother after having been watching the horizon for an endless moment. The two shared a brief smile before their gazes fell back on the nearby sea. The waves clashed with the shore in a gentle battle, washing away the top layer of sand in the process. The brothers continued to watch the soft exchange of motion until long after their thoughts had gone numb and only the water was left to fill their hearts and minds.
Koji and Koichi weren't talking as quietly as they thought, and this was something Saki learned quickly.
They hadn't moved an inch closer to the two brothers since they had decided to depart from the main team, but Saki could still hear everything that they were saying. They were by far the closest out of the party's members, but that didn't change the fact that every word that left either one of their mouths reached Saki's ears not long afterwards. They kept their expression as straight as possible to keep anyone from noticing, and as far as they could tell, nobody had picked up on it.
Nobody had dared to say a word, leaving the air thick with silence. It appeared that everyone else was just as concerned about Koji and Koichi as Saki was. The Warrior of Steel let out a small hiss of a sigh through gritted teeth as Koichi said that he wanted a bit more time to himself. They knew what this meant. Koichi was going to try and keep everyone else from finding out. Even if it wasn't a deliberate effort, his instincts were going to do their best to ensure that the secret was kept under as close guard as possible.
Saki could feel something twisting in their stomach, and they knew that there was something else coming. It was an evaluation they made in the blink of an eye, and they turned their gaze towards the rest of the group. There would be enemies upon them soon enough, but before that happened, Saki was going to tell them what they had heard. It was certainly easier than asking Koichi to explain it himself. The rest of the group could gripe with Saki about if this was morally right or not at another time; all that they cared about was that there was something coming, and this conversation was going to have to be brief.
"Koichi doesn't have a physical form in the Digital World," Saki suddenly said, and everyone's eyes shifted upwards to watch them. "That's what he just told Koji." They didn't elaborate further quite yet, wanting to see everyone else's reactions before they started listing off the pieces of fact that slid into place with this truth revealed.
"Wait... His soul was torn from his body?" Takuya questioned, and Saki didn't think that they had ever seen him looking so pale. "That can't be good at all... I know he said that he didn't get on a Trailmon to come here, but... If he's here, then where is his body? If it's back on Earth, then how did he get here to the Digital World without it?"
"I don't like the sound of that either..." Izumi whispered. She was toying nervously with the edges of her blonde hair, trying to seem less anxious than she really was. "For all we know, that could mean that something really bad has happened. I think that we'll have to be careful until we can figure this whole thing out."
"This makes a lot of sense, you know," Saki chimed in. Their anxious feeling was only getting worse, and speeding along the conversation had suddenly become a necessity rather than simply a preference. "Think about everything that has made Koichi different from the rest of us all this time. He didn't come to the Digital World on a Trailmon, and his Spirits were corrupted by Cherubimon's dark powers, causing them to take a completely different form. That doesn't apply to anybody who we know has a body here in the Digital World."
"The false Spirits of Darkness... Back when we first realized that Duskmon was not a true Legendary Warrior, there were questions about why Koichi was the only one corrupted," Bokomon commented. "We were all curious as to what made him so special. Even if Darkness had become Cherubimon's strongest element, one would have expected him to at least attempt the same with the other Fallen Warriors under his command. Instead, it was only an issue with Koichi..."
"If he didn't have a body, then his soul would have been easier to corrupt," Takuya concluded. "It happened to me with the Dark Trailmon. I was left to fall to pieces when my soul was pulled from my body. I was living in a nightmare of my own creation. Cherubimon simply took that corruption and funneled it through Koichi in a way that allowed Duskmon and the other falsified Spirits of Darkness to take physical form."
"That's why he wasn't hurt when we were attacked by the Royal Knights!" Hinoka gasped, and dawning realization spread across her features in the blink of an eye. "He seemed upset after we wound up on Rubrum, and after the fight with Leopardmon, he was still acting off. I bet it's because he realized that he wasn't taking any damage from the Royal Knights. Given that the rest of us were so easily hurt by what our enemies were doing, it's only natural that it would have started to upset him when he began to recognize that something was wrong."
"That would also explain the news that he heard from the ancient Warrior of Darkness," Mayumi said with a light nod. "I don't really know what we can do about this though... You know, unless there's some kind of way to connect his spirit to his body once again. I mean, I'm sure that there's a way to do that, but we don't know what it is."
"It all makes sense with this explanation," Junpei announced, crossing his arms over his chest. "But that still certainly begs the question of what could have happened when he was separated from his body in the first place. Something must have sparked such a drastic shift, and figuring out specifically what it was that changed everything is going to be key to finding a solution."
"Did you see anything during your trip with the Dark Trailmon that would be able to help us figure this out, Takuya?" Tomoki questioned, turning his gaze up to the Warrior of Fire. "It seemed to me like what happened while you were with the Dark Trailmon was a mix of reality and your own personal issues. Maybe the part of reality will be able to tell us about what happened."
"Everything that I saw while under the influence of the Dark Trailmon was somehow centered around one of the other members of the team regardless of if I knew them yet or not," Takuya began to say. "I did see Koichi while I was there, and the same applied to Hinoka and Saki long before I had actually encountered their human forms. Koichi was trying to find Koji, but he wasn't able to get into the elevator that led down to the Trailmon station below Shibuya. I didn't see what happened to him in full, but I do know that he ran towards the stairs when he failed to catch the elevator. After that... I actually don't know what could have happened to him after the fact. He just disappeared from view, and if something did go wrong, it must have been after he rounded the corner."
"That wouldn't have been too long after we all started our journey into the Digital World..." Yumiko murmured. "Something must have taken place after he left your line of sight. It's certainly something for us to consider, but... I still don't know what we're supposed to do about all of this. Even if we know that Koichi's body was separated from his soul, it's going to take a lot of time and effort to figure out how we can form that connection again, especially if we're trying to keep him from knowing that we're aware of what he was told."
"To hell with subtlety," Saki declared without a beat of hesitation. "Even if he doesn't want us to know about it, we're aware of what happened. We can't change that fact, but we can help him to figure out a solution. This is a dark set of circumstances, and we're not going to get anything done if we keep dancing around the subject. We'll do what we can to help him, and if he has to find out that we learned behind his back, then that'll simply be that. We have far more important things to focus on, especially if we're going to do something to fix all of this."
The collective cringe that passed over the rest of the group was so close to being palpable that it almost hurt to imagine. Saki held back a wince as they realized that they certainly could have phrased that with a bit more care, but they quickly shoved such thoughts aside upon realizing that they had most certainly made a solid point. They were going to have to be as efficient as possible if they were going to help Koichi, and if they had to say that they heard about this through eavesdropping, then so be it. Saki was willing to put up with the consequences of that when the time came, but for the time being, they had to stay as focused as they could manage. Koichi was counting on it, and the rest of the Digital World was too.
The sinking feeling inside of Saki was only growing worse as the seconds crawled by, and they belatedly recognized that it was likely partially to blame for their outburst a few moments prior. Saki couldn't help but focus on the festering nerves that made their stomach churn with something sinister, uncertain of what was coming but positive that it was far from being anything they wanted. Saki was starting to think they were perhaps more right than they ever could have anticipated in saying that they believed something else was going to wind up coming their way even after Lucemon's revival had seemingly been prevented.
They did their best to calm down for the time being as they turned their attention towards the spot where Koichi and Koji had settled down together. They were still quiet, simply watching the waves roll by seemingly without a care in the world. It was jarring to see them so calm such a short span of time after they had been so tense. Saki's gaze fell on the ocean as well, and they wondered how a world that looked so beautiful in some places could be so empty in others.
The vast chasm that rested beside the ocean was something that Saki couldn't ignore no matter how hard they tried to. The egg of Alphamon had descended inside of it less than two hours prior, and the other remnants of the Royal Knights had followed the same pattern. It was yet another cue that something was wrong, leaving Saki with an odd itch of anxiety that refused to be quelled. After being so in control of their emotions for so many years, it was strange to suddenly have something that was out of their sense of overreaching dominion. Saki snidely wondered if perhaps the other members of the group were to blame with their blatant emotionality rubbing off on Saki who was so used to keeping everything shoved inside a neat little box without a second thought.
"In any case, we should focus our attention on the next fight for the time being," Junpei suddenly said, pulling the group out of the heavy silence that followed Saki's rather harsh philosophies. "We aren't going to be able to do anything if we wind up hurt or worse in the next string of attacks. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had this awful sinking feeling for a while now that something is about to go wrong. We should be as careful as possible as we see what's next for us in the coming string of fights."
Haroi's response was immediate even though he had been silent up to that point. His eyebrows raised in a show of blatant anxiety. "You feel it too?" he questioned. His hands instinctively curled around his stomach, and Saki could tell between that and the look in his eyes that he was feeling nauseous at the realization.
Nobody offered an immediate response, but the unease written across all of their faces was too clear to be ignored. On one hand, Saki was relieved that they were all feeling it so that it wasn't just a problem with them personally. On the other, the fact that all of them were anxious over the same thing was far from being anything positive. Whatever was coming was bound to be particularly awful.
Saki was fully aware that none of them were as human as they once had been. Times had changed, and Spirit Evolution had brought with it all sorts of consequences. When Saki concentrated in the silence, they could have sworn that the Digital World itself was bowing to their every whim. It was a strange sensation, but that didn't mean in the slightest that it was unwanted. In fact, it seemed to fit in perfectly with everything that they had become since first Spirit Evolving to form Lyramon for the first time. It was a new feeling that they never wanted to part with.
The repeated process of Spirit Evolution was undoubtedly what had offered this incredible sense of instinct. Humans regularly lacked the power to sense things on the level of animals, and, as Saki had previously learned, Digimon. All of that had been tossed aside the instant that the Legendary Warriors first allowed themselves to become one with the Spirits, and they would certainly be feeling the pull of their elements for the rest of their lives.
Saki turned their attention back towards the nearby void, and they let out a small breath. "We're going to have to be careful. I don't know what we're going to be seeing next, but it can't be good," they declared. They reached for their D-Tector, desperate to just feel the familiar smooth surface beneath their fingers. Even in a world of uncertainty, there were at least a few familiar things, and their D-Tector was the one beacon that seemed to be able to fend off even the fires of hell itself.
Something changed in the seconds that followed this simple action. Saki's eyes shot open, and they felt their shoulders grow tense. Without even glancing over in the direction of their companions, Saki realized that everyone else was going through something similar. Koichi and Koji, the only two Legendary Warriors who were in Saki's line of sight, were both suddenly openly anxious and still as statues. Saki could feel something unsettling start to crawl up their spine, taking them hostage for a few fleeting moments. Their breath seemed to leave their lungs without any will of their own, and Saki could have sworn that they saw black at the edges of their vision.
The Digital World strained along with them. It seemed as if the realm itself bowed to some unseen force, and Saki could feel the pull of the outside influence as they stood near the edge of the beach's shore. The world seemed to tilt and shake. Saki couldn't tell if they stumbled or not, but everything seemed to be in chaos. They were vaguely aware of the rest of the group crying out in surprise, but Saki couldn't bring themselves to turn around. They saw Koji and Koichi rise to their feet and begin to look around in panic before retreating to the same region as the rest of the group.
"Something is wrong," Saki whispered. That seemed obvious, but speaking was far more appealing than staying silent. They glanced down and saw that the earth was trembling wildly, but this was far from being a typical quake. It wasn't simply the ground that was shaking; it was the whole of the Digital World. Saki didn't have any evidence to prove this theory, but they were positive that there was something going on that was going to have an impact on the entire world as they knew it.
Saki began to feel the ground shifting, and they realized belatedly that they were sinking. One foot started to slide down below the other, and their eyes shot wide open in shock. Saki wasn't sure of how to find purchase or leverage, so they reached for their D-Tector and thought of scanning Fractal Code across the top of device. Taking to the air would certainly be helpful in keeping from sinking beneath the surface of the Digital World.
The glow of Fractal Code entered their field of vision, but Saki realized immediately that it wasn't from their D-Tector. In fact, none of them had yet been able to call upon their Digimon forms. The light of Fractal Code was coming from the ground below, and the edges of the nearby beach were starting to shrink away towards the center of the small area that they had made their temporary home. Saki's eyes shot open with shock, and they realized that some outside figure was trying to take away the Fractal Code of everything that remained in the Digital World at once. They weren't sure where the idea came from, but they were somehow positive that it was true.
Yellow light suddenly appeared in Saki's peripheral vision, and they glanced over to see that Patamon was starting to glow with a bright illumination that nearly stole their vision when they accidentally looked directly at him. The same applied to both Salamon and Lopmon, though they were pink and purple respectively as opposed to yellow. All three of them had determination written on their faces, and they began to float up into the air. Saki couldn't help but wonder how they looked so calm when this was far from being a normal situation, but they recognized that being sarcastic wasn't going to help anyone, so they held back their comments from being released.
The D-Tectors responded next. Purple light shot forth from the screen of Saki's device, and they held it up as they realized that all of the D-Tectors were doing something similar. It appeared as if they were creating sides of a large cube. Patamon, Salamon, and Lopmon marked three sides of the shape, and their light filled in the gaps of the shape's formation.
Saki wasn't aware of how close together everyone was until after Koichi brushed up against their arm. They gave him a fleeting glance and saw just how pale and petrified he was. Saki belatedly realized that not everyone was coping with this situation as well as they were, and a brief, sweeping gaze over the rest of the group told them that they were probably responding to this the best despite their initial sense of panic. They gripped their D-Tector a little bit tighter simply because it gave them something to do rather than think about how awful this was.
Saki's eyes soon found something far more intriguing than the other members of their team as they glanced down to the Digital World below. The cube that had been created by the D-Tectors and reincarnated Celestial Three was starting to float away from the surface of the planet, and that gave Saki a full view of the horizon. They pressed their hands against the nearest face of the cube, surprised at how solid the energy was beneath their fingers. Their D-Tector remained planted firmly between their fingers.
Just as they had suspected, the Digital World was starting to disappear in one fell swoop. No matter where Saki looked, all they could see was Fractal Code. As soon as the data consolidated enough, it began hurtling towards the center of the Digital World. One area after another, the Fractal Code disappeared from view. Saki allowed their hearing to grow dull and unfocused to blur out the cries of distant Digimon who were being forced to flee for their lives, unaware that there was no place to run or hide.
Saki felt as if their heart was being torn from their chest and then stomped on a thousand times over. Their entire body was tense, and moving seemed to be next to impossible all of a sudden. Saki was used to being relaxed, used to responding well under pressure, but this was something that they never could have seen coming. Saki had been anticipating another attack from another minion sent to try and aid in Lucemon's revival, but instead, they had seen something far more. The Digital World's connection to them was powerful, and it pulled at every piece of their body with an endless ferocity that seemed ready to tear them in half. A headache began to pound at the back of their mind, but they barely felt it, too focused on the constant screaming of their heart in their chest.
All too quickly, it was over.
Saki felt weak as the final segment of Fractal Code disappeared from view, retreating towards itself in a sudden motion before vanishing into the center of the Digital World. No matter where they looked, they couldn't see anything that would indicate there was any life remaining on the Digital World. The only pieces of earth that still remained were small floating pieces that had been torn away from the base of the planet during the quake that preceded the collection of the Fractal Code. Trailmon tracks crossed ominously across a planet that no longer existed, marking the places where life should have been. There were no living creatures in sight, and everything felt dead all at once.
Saki couldn't tell if they were breathing or not as they realized what had happened. Aside from the pounding of their own heart, all they could hear was silence. The rest of the Legendary Warriors had gone quiet, though none of them had taken to examining the Digital World as closely as Saki themselves had. All eyes were locked on what remained of the Digital World. There was a single sphere resting at the heart of the planet, and it churned with shadows that seemed to stir without any outside influence. Saki was positive that the Fractal Code had all been sent through the orb that stared back at them mockingly.
"It's gone," Tomoki whispered. He was the first to break the silence, and he sounded so horrifically heartbroken that Saki felt their heart twist in response. They would have turned to look at him if they had the strength to make themselves move against every instinct that screamed in their body.
Saki felt something wet slide down their cheeks, and they realized belatedly that they had started to cry. Their connection to the Digital World was far stronger than any of them could have anticipated, it seemed. Watching the world end was too much for anyone regardless of how strong they were on the battlefield. Besides, their previous incarnations had already seen this happen once before when they charged off to war with Lucemon, albeit in a different way. This simply touched all the wrong notes, leaving discord to hang heavy and impermeable in the air.
Saki heard sniffles over their shoulder, and they realized that they were far from being the only one who was crying. They finally managed to force themselves to move, and they turned to see that the rest of the Legendary Warriors had responded in much the same way as they had. All of them were stunned into silence, eyes wide with terror and fear. Bokomon and Neemon were holding tightly to each other, trying their best to not cry. They were the ones who had caused Saki to turn around due to the noise they were making, but neither one of them seemed to care. After all, the only home they had ever known was gone with no chance of salvation.
"After all that we did... It still wasn't enough?" Izumi questioned. She was still as a statue, and for a moment, Saki remembered seeing the illusion of her collapsed on beachside sands with the appearance of a corpse. They did their best to shake the vision free, but it left unpleasant whispers in the back of their mind that they weren't able to fully escape no matter how hard they tried.
Saki did their best to compose themselves for the sake of their companions, knowing that they were going to have to do something to help them if everyone was too broken-hearted to be able to pull the pieces together on their own. They pressed their shoulders back despite the tears on their face and responded, surprised at how foreign and unfamiliar their own voice sounded. "Lucemon didn't need the whole Digital World," they explained grimly. "He only needed enough data to reform his body and break free of the prison that he was trapped inside of for so many years. The Royal Knights gave him everything that he needed, and he was able to do everything else. By the time that we caught up with the Royal Knights, the damage had already been done."
"Lucemon used the data that they sent him to take back his control, and after that, he was able to pull the rest of the Digital World in towards him," Koji murmured. "No matter what we did, we wouldn't have been able to keep this from happening. The added data that was sent to Lucemon because we defeated the Royal Knights probably helped to tip it over the edge, but... We had no way of knowing that. What were we supposed to do?"
The area fell silent for a while, and Saki turned to look back out at the Digital World. There wasn't much left of it, but for a brief time, it had been home. In a way, Saki felt more comfortable in the Digital World than they ever had on Earth. Back on Earth, they had been a misfit, tossed aside because they didn't fit the standards that had been placed on their shoulders all too early. In the Digital World, they had been able to find happiness alongside others who were struggling to locate their place in the universe. They had been free for a little while, and Saki had loved it far more than they could ever describe in mere words.
As far as Saki was concerned, the choice of what to do next was obvious. If Lucemon had destroyed the Digital World, then they were simply going to have to destroy him. Saki was more than willing to fight until the bitter end for their convictions, and Lucemon was going to have to pay for all the suffering that he had visited upon the Digital World.
Their fingers clenched into a fist, and Saki gave a glance back to the other Legendary Warriors. "This might not have been the outcome that we expected, but... That doesn't change a thing for me," they declared. "No matter what happens, I'm going to do what I can to fight for the Digital World. This is what the Digital World deserves. It's part of us now, and we aren't going to be able to let that go. Returning to Earth now... It would leave me feeling hollow, and I'm not about to advocate for something so foolish. I'm going to stand and fight no matter what Lucemon tries to bring to us. Who's with me?"
The other Legendary Warriors were silent upon hearing their words, and Saki allowed one of their tears to roll free of their cheek before falling to the bottom of the cube of energy that they were currently staying in. They swept their gaze over everyone else in the space, and they knew already that the rest of the group's members were going to make the same decision. They thought of it as a gut instinct, though part of them wondered if perhaps there was a bit more to it than that, like the promise of companionship had become too much for them to ignore.
Takuya was the first one to move, and an easy smile appeared on his face as he pulled his goggles down from their place on his forehead to rest over his eyes. "I know what I want to do," he agreed. He reached for his D-Tector, and he pressed the activation button. There was a glaze to his eyes that seemed almost infectious, a determination that had won him a thousand battles and would help him to triumph through a million more. Three rings of Fractal Code surrounded his fingers before Takuya pressed the button once again, allowing them to disappear. He walked over to Saki's side and turned to face the other members of the group. "What do you say, everyone?"
"I'm with you," Izumi said immediately. She smiled with pure sincerity as she reached out and took Takuya's hands between her own. "You've helped us to survive hell and back for the sake of the Digital World. We need to save this place, and I'll follow you no matter what comes next. I'm not going to let Lucemon do what he pleases with this place." Saki's internalized vision of Izumi on the sands of the beach where she first became Zephyrmon disappeared, and they couldn't help but smile to themselves. If Izumi was a corpse, she was the most determined and headstrong corpse Saki had ever seen.
"I'm in too!" Tomoki chirped. He swallowed back his nerves before continuing. "I've changed a lot since I first came here, and I know that it's all thanks to you and the rest of the group. I don't know what I would do without you. The Digital World has meant so much to all of us since we got here, and I'm not going to let all of the Digimon who live there suffer because of Lucemon. If he won't accept defeat, then... Then we'll just give it to him again!" Tomoki was far more passionate and confident in that moment than he ever had been before, and Saki's heart, despite all of its rapid pounding, began to soothe itself once again.
"Do you really think that I'd let the rest of you go off and do this without me?" Junpei questioned with a light snort. He rolled his eyes in a playful display as he walked a bit closer. "We've been together since the beginning, and somebody has to make sure that you don't get into trouble." He was met with a playful nudge on the arm from Izumi, and he started to laugh soon afterwards. Smiles seemed to buzz in the air even more naturally than the presence of oxygen itself.
Chihiro was the next to respond, and they reached for their D-Tector before brushing a lazy finger over the surface of its screen. "I think that my answer should be obvious," they declared. They didn't say much of anything after that, instead choosing to stare off at the darkened core of the Digital World. The cube was silent for a moment, but when Chihiro glanced back to the rest of the group, they had a smile that spoke of mischief that could never be counted. "Let's give Lucemon the thrashing of a lifetime."
"Don't think that you all can rush off and be all heroic without me!" Mayumi cried out, placing her hands on her hips as she pouted dramatically. "You have to know me better than that to just assume that I would let you run away to fight against Lucemon. Of course not! We've been in this together from the very beginning, and I'm going to stick through with it until it's done. Besides, I have more than a few choice words for this digital demon myself, and I can't exactly give him a piece of my mind if I'm on the first Trailmon back to Earth."
"I'm going to help out as well," Haroi announced with a nod. "This is the least that we can do for the Digital World. We've been trying to protect it for so long, and... I think that we can fight for its restoration now that it's gone. We may not have been able to keep it from being destroyed at Lucemon's hands, but that doesn't mean that we can't do everything in our power to save it now."
Yumiko was oddly confident when she offered her response, and Saki had to admit that they rather enjoyed seeing her so upfront and bold. "I want to do everything that I possibly can to aid the Digital World as well. So much has happened since we first arrived here, and after everything that we've done... Defeating Lucemon feels like the least that we can do to save the Digital World from its previous pain. We've come this far, and I don't want to give up yet," she said firmly.
"I'm in too!" Hinoka cried out, and she clasped her hands together tightly at her chest. Her grip at her fingers quickly grew strong enough to be white-knuckled, and while Saki expected to see her shaking from her nerves, they were pleasantly surprised to see that she was almost completely unbothered by her declaration. Hinoka, who had once been so timid and afraid of the world, had found her place, and she wasn't going to be letting go of the happiness that she had found anytime soon.
Saki's gaze easily found the final two members of the Legendary Warriors group who hadn't yet responded, though they were confident in what both of them were going to say. Sure enough, it didn't take long for Koji to step forward, the fire of infinite suns burning in his eyes. "I'll do everything that I can to stop Lucemon," he announced. He reached for his D-Tector and allowed himself to look down at his Spirits for a brief moment before shifting his gaze back upwards, a battle-hardened determination filling every part of his body.
Koichi was the last to say anything, and he nodded carefully. He still seemed rather rattled given all that had taken place, and Saki wasn't able to blame him in the slightest for his nerves. However, Koichi was still able to shelve them to the best of his ability, and he smiled anxiously to the rest of the group. "It looks like we're going to be killing a god then," he said softly. He didn't further comment on it, and his words hung in the air for what felt like an entire generation.
"We've already toppled Cherubimon and the Royal Knights. Lucemon is the next natural step, and after all that we've accomplished, I'm confident that we can do it," Takuya declared. The rest of the group seemed to agree, and a chorus of nods passed over the remaining members of the party.
Takuya took a small step forward, and his gaze dropped to the floor as he eyed Bokomon and Neemon. "I know that there's not exactly a place for either one of you to go and wait all of this out... The Digital World is gone, and we don't know how many other Digimon managed to survive. Besides, even if you did have the option to stay back here and wait, I don't think that you would want to," he commented, an easy grin spreading across his face. "If you want to come with us, then we'd be happy to have you."
"Of course we want to come!" Bokomon cried out, almost offended that it was a question at all. "Do you really think that we would miss something like this? Even if we can't fight, we'll do everything in our power to help you in the fight against Lucemon. He destroyed our home and made everything that we've worked so hard for fall apart in the blink of an eye. The least we can do is be there to witness his eventual demise."
"I want to be there too," Neemon agreed with a firm nod. It was strange to see someone who was normally so casual and laidback overtaken by a sudden display of bluntness, but Saki found that they weren't opposed to it in the slightest. They watched as Neemon pointed up to Patamon before changing his focus to both Salamon and Lopmon. "I think that they want to come along as well."
Patamon, Salamon, and Lopmon showed that they had all been listening in when they nodded in response to Neemon's words. Saki couldn't help but smile at the idea that, once again, the Celestial Three were fighting side by side. This time though, the battle would determine the fate of the Digital World itself. Despite their youth, none of the three seemed at all nervous or put off, and their determination hung in the air as heavily as a promise.
"It seems like we know what we're doing then," Takuya announced. He left one of his hands open in a waiting palm before slamming his fist into it. "Patamon, Salamon, Lopmon, take us to the center of the Digital World! Lucemon won't know what hit him!"
The cube began to shift, and Saki found themselves smiling. Even in the face of hopeless odds, they were doing everything they could to stay positive, and they were going to continue fighting tooth and nail until nothing remained but the memory of the fallen angel known as Lucemon.
Lucemon's sudden return to full strength surprised even him, he had to confess. He unfurled one hand from a fist to an open palm, and he watched as the elements crackled beneath his influence. His eyes were wide with what many others would have perceived as madness, but he thought of it as no such thing. Instead, he was simply returning to his rightful position of power, and this was most certainly what he deserved.
His power had been growing naturally since the day that he was first sealed inside of the Dark Heart. He was finally back to the strength levels that he had been used to before the Legendary Warriors intervened with his rule, and the Royal Knights had been just enough to tip him over the threshold. Breaking through the lock that the Grand Spirit had placed upon the Dark Heart was all too easy, and it was only a matter of time before all of the remaining Fractal Code in the Digital World found a home in his hand.
Lucemon could still hear the screaming of the Digimon when he closed his eyes, and he relished in every single shriek of fear and pain. This was what the Digimon deserved for casting him aside and presenting themselves before new leaders. Lucemon was the one true king of the Digital World, and all those who dared to ignore him deserved to face the consequences of their actions. He was simply the agent of justice to show them that this was what they were meant to experience the instant they turned their backs on him.
Lucemon frowned as he realized that there were a few figures who weren't in his impressive collection of Fractal Code. The Legendary Warriors, the ones who had been thorns in his side for so long, were absent. However, Lucemon couldn't help but wonder if it mattered at all. Besides, after all they had done, the Legendary Warriors had grown confident, and each new victory emboldened them in ways that he never could have imagined. He was confident that they weren't going to be able to ignore the call of a fight with him. They were going to come rushing in his direction, and he would grant them the fight of the millennia before absorbing their Fractal Code and leaving the Legendary Warriors as nothing more than a distant memory.
Lucemon shook his head as he looked at the writhing orb of data that he had conjured. It would be so easy for him to simply merge with it then and there, to show himself what he was capable of, but he told himself to hold back. He wanted to put on a grand show for the Legendary Warriors for their last few minutes of life. They deserved at least that much after all they had done to inconvenience him. If they were going to cause problems that he would have to clean up, then they would be the first ones to experience the full extent of his returned power.
From there, the next step was easy to determine. Earth would be his target after the Digital World's final occupants had been eviscerated. The Celestial Three had opened a gateway there to call the Legendary Warriors to the Digital World, but they had all been killed before they could close the rift. Ophanimon had been the final one to decide to open the floodgates, but she was gone with the tides, no more than ash on the wind. The same applied to Seraphimon and Cherubimon, the only other creatures capable of closing the gateway. The opening to Earth wasn't even something that was regularly possible, and it was a sign of how broken the barrier surrounding the Digital World had become. No creature had ever managed to make contact with Earth while the gate between realms was fully intact, and as far as Lucemon was concerned, no one ever would.
After all, there was nothing left of the Digital World. The Light Heart and moons were all that remained, but they would be gone soon enough. The Dark Heart would become part of his body soon enough as well, and he would take the power of the very space that had been used to imprison him for so long. All he had to do was give a simple flick of the wrist, and everything that still remained of the Digital World would disappear.
Lucemon hummed to himself as he closed his eyes. He imagined the moons of the Digital World falling away, and he snapped his fingers together. He could feel the Fractal Code getting closer, and when he cracked his eyes open once again, he could see the string of data from the moons traveling towards his orb of data. Once again, Lucemon could hear distant screaming when he allowed himself to give in fully to the dark thoughts that came with such a conquest. Just as before, he thought of it as nothing more than retribution for all the centuries that he had suffered through while locked inside of the Dark Heart. The Digimon had turned their backs on him, so it was only natural that they died in the name of his resurrection.
The Light and Dark Heart were all that had survived Lucemon's complete destruction of the Digital World, but he wasn't concerned in the slightest. He would be able to take in those parts of the realm soon enough. After all, the Dark Heart seemed like the perfect battlefield for the final battle in his eyes. It would be an incredible background for the last step of his defeat of the Digital World. In one fell swoop, he would be able to crush the Legendary Warriors, the final line of paltry defense that stood between him and the defeat of every world that existed. They would fall soon enough, and Lucemon wouldn't give a damn to create tombs for them the way that the Digimon of ancient times had constructed temples for their previous incarnations. After all, he was going to be the one and only king, and he bowed to no creature, Legendary Warrior or otherwise.
He could feel them getting closer, but Lucemon didn't care much for such details. After all, they would arrive soon enough, and when they did, all of them would come to understand the reasons that he had been so feared and respected for many generations. Lucemon had changed the Digital World forever by solving the war of Human and Beast Digimon from generations ago. He had taken advantage of the chaos that was born as a result of the era's conclusion, and he rose to power with a charismatic smile on his face that sucked all his subjects in without question. He had been sealed away from the world, but yet another era was about to draw to an end. The Celestial Three were dead, and the Legendary Warriors would be soon enough.
Lucemon straightened out his posture and turned to face the direction that he suspected his foes were coming from. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the Digital World fell, and the Legendary Warriors were going to be merely the first step on his road to multidimensional conquest. No living creature would ever be able to stand up to him again, and he would have nothing less than pure control.
It was what everyone deserved for daring t defy a god.
The final battle is upon us, everyone! Holy shit, we're finally there!
This chapter is the last bit of padding of sorts between we head into the true endgame. The three chapters that remain will be dedicated completely to the fight against Lucemon, so I decided to take this as the chance to wrap up loose ends and get ready for what's to come. After all, everything that's left is going to be, to put it simply, as intense as it gets.
Let's go over this chapter first, and then I've got a few little fun facts for you guys about this story. First and foremost, the truth about Koichi is out now. Since I chose to handle it differently from canon, there are quite a few differences between how it was revealed. Bokomon didn't unveil it; Saki did. Rather than having Crusadermon explain it, Koichi learned the truth from AncientSphinxmon back on Rubrum. I know that there are probably a few people who are going to call Saki an asshole for this, and I can't blame them at all. Saki has minimal tolerance for this sort of thing, and it's all done out of love in their own way, though, Saki is far from being the best when it comes to emotions. As I stated last time, this is why Takuya is the leader of the team as opposed to Saki.
The destruction of the Digital World was always something that I was planning on having happen. The Royal Knights arc in canon was certainly a fail arc where the protagonists failed no matter what they tried, so it's framed very differently here. Instead, the Royal Knights simply gave Lucemon enough energy to return to his proper physical form after being a Spirit inside of the Dark Heart for ages. From there, he was able to use his newfound power to take all of the remaining Fractal Code and return to his full strength. The Legendary Warriors felt the consequences of that because of their connection to the Digital World, and that was why they had a sinking feeling the whole chapter.
I absolutely loved writing the scene where they all decided to fight for the Digital World. It's easily one of my favorites in this book since it has all of them together and fighting for the same cause. Given how much discord there was between them earlier in the story between the Risen vs. Fallen Warriors, it's nice to have them all on the same side. I absolutely love this cast, and that scene has got to be one of the best because of everything that it represents given what they've been through.
Lucemon's scene at the end was also an interesting one, and it sort of follows up on what happened last chapter rather than making it a one-off. Lucemon is also an incredibly captivating villain in my eyes in this rewrite because of his emphasis on thinking two steps ahead. He's like Lyramon on steroids when it comes to being ahead of his enemies, and I think that's incredibly fun to write for. Also, this scene establishes that his fall from grace wasn't entirely due to him becoming corrupted by the power he was given; he was always aiming for the top in a way. It wasn't his primary intention when he was first given the chance to take over the Digital World and save it from chaos, but there was definitely part of him that always wanted something like this to happen because of how power-hungry he is.
Now, let's get into some fun facts about this story! First off, I want to touch on the whole idea of Takuya vs. Saki as the leader of the group. Takuya might be the leader of this generation of the Legendary Warriors, but the original Warrior of Steel, AncientWisemon, was actually the one running the show in the first group. AncientGreymon took over as team captain after AncientWisemon was killed in battle, though in the end, only AncientGreymon and AncientGarurumon wound up surviving to the end of the war. They laid everybody's souls to rest before passing away themselves.
Next fun fact! I think that I've mentioned this one in the story before, but there are three groups of Legendary Warriors at the start of this story. Takuya, Koji, Tomoki, Izumi, and Junpei are all the Risen Warriors. Koichi, Chihiro, Yumiko, Hinoka, and Saki made up the Fallen Warriors. Mayumi and Haroi are referred to as the Lost Warriors given that they weren't even meant to come to the Digital World at all. That wasn't part of Ophanimon's plan, but we should be glad that they did come. They killed two of the Royal Knights!
Finally, I have a fun fact about Duskmon on the subject of the Fallen Warriors. He isn't the true Warrior of Darkness at all. However, his connection with Koichi has sort of made him half of a Legendary Warrior, though he only really manifests for Koichi and would disappear after Koichi died because he isn't a true Warrior and doesn't have any Spirits. What I'm trying to say here is that Koichi could call upon Duskmon, Velgemon, and Malkakomon if he so chose to, but he chooses not to because he prefers the purified Spirits of Darkness. However, Duskmon's trio doesn't go by the title of Warrior of Darkness at all. Instead, he has the title of the Warrior of Void, though this isn't an official station like with the other members of the team.
Speaking of titles, I'll have a little tidbit about those in a future chapter, but for now, that should be all that I have to say. When we next meet, the final battle against Lucemon will be starting and kicking into full swing. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital