Chapter
5: The Ultimate Evil
by
Silver
*All too Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Digimon's creatures or characters. The original concept of ArcaDemon comes from the V-Tamers Japanese manga (comic book), so they own the rights to him. All crystal Digimon are my creations, however, so please don't use them without my permission.*
Author's Note: I'm afraid I told a slight fib at the end of the last chapter. This isn't the final chapter of "Caring Hearts." As I was writing, I realized that this chapter would be far too long, so I decided to write one more chapter after this one. Sorry for the misinformation.
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Harpymon's hand became encased in
dark energy as she powered up to finish Davis. Davis was still lying prone on
the ground, cursing his luck. I can't die
here. I have to help Kari. I promised I'd get TK and Gatomon back! Davis
knew he wasn't always the most reliable of people, but he always fought hard to
keep his promises; and his promise to Kari was one of the most important
priorities in his life.
He clenched his hands into fists and
shut his eyes. I'm not going to die here!
I'm not going to give up! I'll find a way out of this even if I have to fight
Harpymon myself! Davis could feel his heart growing hot. Something inside
of him was burning. I'm not going to die.
I WON'T LOSE!
"What?" Harpymon's voice was filled
with surprise and confusion. Davis opened his eyes and saw that a small light
was shinning beneath him. Davis managed to peer down at his chest and saw that
the light was emanating from his heart. Across the way, Veemon was also
starting to glow. His whole body glimmered with white light. He stirred and sat
up with a confused look on his face.
It
couldn't be, could it? Davis remembered Tai and the older kids telling the
newer Digidestined about their battle with Apocalymon. Even though their crests
and tags had been destroyed, the older Digidestined had found a way to get
their Digimon to digivolve to Ultimate by using the power of the crests within
their hearts. Maybe… just maybe…
Veemon looked up, "Davis? What's going on?"
Davis called out, "Veemon! Crystal
armor energize!" The light in Davis' heart flashed into a blinding radiance.
Veemon's form became a silhouette in the light.
"Veemon crystal digivolve to…
Diamon: The Strength of Will!" Veemon's crystal form emerged from the light.
Harpymon, who was still too stunned
to actually move and finish Davis off, became even more astounded. "Diamon? He
crystal digivolved without the Crystal?"
Diamon held up his golden claws.
"Harpymon, it's time to finish this. I'm taking you down."
Harpymon scowled, "I doubt that.
I'll kill you and then I'll finish off these other weaklings!" Without another
word, Harpymon kicked off into the air and flew strait for Diamon. Diamon
ignited the thrusters on his back and flew to meet his opponent. The two
crystal Digimon met head on in a flurry of punches and kicks.
"Gold Claw!" Diamon's right hand
claws extended as he slashed at Harpymon. The blow scrapped against her leg as
she flew up higher. Diamon pursued.
"Darkness Void!" Harpymon fired an
orb of energy at Diamon.
"Diamond Ray!" Diamon's counterattack created a huge explosion that temporarily blinded Davis and the others.
If this keeps up, Davis thought, those two could wipe out the whole area. But
we can't back down. This is our best chance. "Diamon! Go for it!"
* * * * * * * *
The darkness continued to consume her. She could
feel herself slipping away, moment by moment. It was an odd sensation to have
one's mind drain away. She couldn't tell if she liked it or not.
As she her thoughts left her, she could feel another
presence just beyond her own. It was even darker than the surrounding veil that
consumed her. She could feel hunger radiating off it, as well as an urge to
destroy. Was that the being known as ArcaDemon? Was that the being that fit the
name she remembered?
There was another presence just beyond ArcaDemon's.
It was smaller and more repressed, but it somehow felt familiar. It was warm,
and gentle. She felt better knowing it was there somehow. A name slowly began
to come to her, but it was only comprised of two letters. JB? TF? TC? TK, his
name was TK, her oldest friend. She could feel her mind beginning to awaken as
memories returned of her friendship with this boy, and all the dangers they had
shared. But those other names, the misspelled versions of TK, brought back
another name to her mind. Davis, one of her best friends. She remembered how
kind he'd been when TK had been taken away, and how much his friendship meant
to her.
Davis and TK, two of the most important people in
her life. She couldn't stand the thought of losing either of them, and she was
sure they'd be sad if she went away. I… I
can't go. I can't lose myself. People are waiting for me, and I want to be with
them. A tiny light shown in the distance. She began to struggle and reach
for the light while trying to resist the strong pull of the darkness. It was
like swimming through a whirlpool of oil; yet somehow she could feel herself
drawing closer to light.
As she neared the light, her mind began to clear. Kari, my name is Kari Kamiya.
* * * * * * * *
Demon couldn't stop laughing as his plans began to
fall in place. ArcaDemon's organic sack was pulsating and bulging. He'd emerge
within moments. Demon wasn't quite sure what would happen to the children of
hope and light when their crest power was drained. They'd most likely die, but
that was of small consequence. Their purpose would be served. Soon, soon I shall rule over the Digital
World and plunge everything into darkness once again. He'd been dreaming of
this day since he had first been born as Apocalymon.
Suddenly, the control spire holding the child of
light stopped sending power to the organic sack. "What?" A pink light began to
glow at its base. Demon was stunned to see the child of light emerge from the
spire. She was once again glowing as her powers filled the cavern with a
hideously bright light. The girl stumbled and dragged herself towards the other
control spire. Most of her energy had been drained by the spires, yet she was
still able to move. She's stronger than I
thought. Demon considered flying down to stop her, but he wanted to see
just how much power she had. Besides, ArcaDemon was about to emerge, and it
would be dangerous to be near the new Digimon while it remained uncontrolled.
ArcaDemon had yet to feast on a strong power source outside of the two
Digidestined and the Digivolution Crystal, which meant that he would still
require a large amount of energy.
The child of light reached the second control spire
and pressed against its surface. With the child of hope already held prisoner
within, the spire did not try to pull the girl inside. Instead, its surface
remained solid and blocked the child of light from entering.
"TK!" The girl's light intensified. Demon had never
seen such power. What had awakened such power within this girl? To Demon's
amazement, the control spire's surface began to give way, and the girl's hand
seeped inside the spire.
* * * * * * * *
TK floated both in darkness and despair. He'd
failed. He'd sent Kari to her death inside the spire, and soon he would join
her. Despite the control ruby on his forehead, tears were flowing down his
face. Kari, I'm sorry. I never meant to
hurt you. TK
almost wanted to wish himself dead for what he'd done. How would he be able to
face Tai, Davis, and the others after what he'd done? Not that he'd get the chance.
He could feel his energy leaving him. He'd be gone very soon.
"TK!" A light shattered the darkness, and a hand in
a pink glove reached for him. Kari?
TK could feel the ruby's control over him slacken, and he reached numbly for
the outstretched hand. Even though he couldn't grasp Kari's hand, her very
touch was warm and comforting. TK could feel Kari's grip become solid as she
yanked back and began to pull him into the light.
* * * * * * * *
Demon couldn't believe his eyes. Despite all the
precautionary measures he'd taken, the child of light had pulled the child of
hope out of the control spire and was now cradling his slumped body. The girl
pressed her hand to the ruby, as if she was doing so without even thinking. The
light around her hand intensified and the ruby shattered.
The child of hope blinked a few times as his gaze
returned to normal. "K-Kari?" The girl's light faded away.
The child of light let out a slight sob as she
wrapped her arms around the boys neck and hugged him tightly. "I finally got
you back." The child of hope returned the hug with tears in his eyes as well.
Demon scowled, Sickening.
This was not good. The children of hope and light
had been freed before their bodies had been drained of all their crest power.
That meant that ArcaDemon's defenses against holy powers were not fully
complete. Demon was just about to fly down and force them back into the spires
when a loud ripping sound came from above. A large spider-like leg had broken
through the organic sack. YES! He has
awakened! ArcaDemon poked yet another leg through the opening. Fluids
gushed out of the sack onto the floor as ArcaDemon's container began to give
way. The end of the Digital World is at
hand.
* * * * * * * *
Kari felt so relieved to have TK back. It wasn't
until she was holding him that she realized how much she missed her best
friend. She leaned back, "Let's get outta here, TK. Davis and the others are
waiting."
TK nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready to leave this place."
Suddenly, a loud shriek filled the
chamber. Kari looked up to see a huge… something hanging from the half-torn
embryonic sack. It was gray with slightly paler gray legs and a teardrop-shaped
body. Its six thing legs ended in sharp points, almost like spikes, and two
black oval-shaped eyes could be seen at the round front of the creature's body.
Is that ArcaDemon? He didn't look
like much, but Kari wasn't willing to see how strong it really was. "Come on,
TK!" She half-pulled, half-dragged TK towards the slope of the pit; but when
she got there, she realized that there was no way up. There was no slope to the
wall. Neither Kari nor TK had the strength to climb up that far, and Demon
would be waiting for them at the top. It occurred to Kari that there wouldn't
be any need for Demon to climb up since he could fly. And a vertical wall was
perfect for containing ArcaDemon. Kari's first impulse was to slump to her
knees and give up, but she knew that wasn't the answer. She'd given up too many
times in the past, and TK was too weak from the spire's drain to protect
himself. She'd have to look out for both of them since her powers had
reenergized her somewhat. I won't give
up.
Demon laughed from up above. "You
may have freed yourselves, but you are still going to die. ArcaDemon has
awakened! Now, witness my ascension!" He raised his hand, and the entire cavern
began to shudder and rumble. Dust fell from the ceiling and it felt as though
the whole ground was moving upwards.
Kari looked back at ArcaDemon as it
began to untangle itself from the sack. Kari realized that this was too big for
any one person to handle on her own. Kari didn't feel any shame over that,
though. She realized that a person couldn't always handle every situation by
himself or herself. That was why the Digidestined were a team. They all helped
each other when one member was in too deep; and Kari was very deep in trouble.
She needed her friends. Davis, guys, I
need your help.
* * * * * * * *
"Darkness Void!" Diamon used his
shield claws to defend himself against Harpymon's blast. This is taking too long. I have to finish this now!
Harpymon dove in again with her
claws outstretched. "There's no way you can beat me, Diamon!"
Diamon dodged Harpymon's claws, then
used his thrusters to spin himself in midair and brought his diamond-armored
shin up into Harpymon's head. The kick knocked Harpymon off balance. Diamon
went into a flip and brought his feet up under Harpymon's chin. Harpymon began
to fall, but Diamon speed up her decent by bringing his claws together and
delivering a pile driver to Harpymon's gut. The dark crystal Digimon fell to
the ground with a loud thud. She's
weakening, but I have to get the ruby off her first. Unfortunately, Diamon
did see an opening for a shot at the ruby. Harymon was guarding it almost as if
by instinct. I'll have to create an
opportunity myself. Diamon looked over at Stingmon, who was depositing Ken
on the ground after surviving Harpymon's barrage. An idea formed in his mind.
Harpymon shrieked in anger and flew
up again at Diamon. Diamon laughed, "It's over, Harpymon. I now have a secret
weapon that you can't beat!"
Harpymon lunged at him, "And what is
that?"
"My friends!" Diamon slipped under
Harpymon's blow and brought his arms up underneath Harpymon's armpits. He
pinned her to his body as she struggled and thrashed about. "Stingmon!"
Realizing Diamon's plan, Stingmon
took to the air and made a beeline strait for Harpymon's head. "Spiking
Finish!"
"NOOO!!!" Harpymon continued to
struggle, but Diamon held her fast. Stingmon's energy stinger glanced off of
Harpymon's head and cleaved the control ruby in two. The ruby halves dissolved
into clouds of data as they fell.
Harpymon screamed as dark energy
flowed out of her. Her body began to glow dark purple and her form began to
shrink back. When all the dark energy left her body, Gatomon could be seen
where Harpymon had once been. Diamon quickly caught the small Digimon as she
began to fall to the ground. "Gatomon, are you alright?"
Gatomon moaned and opened her eyes,
"V-Veemon?"
Diamon smiled, "Close. How do you
feel?"
"Lousy." Gatomon looked around,
"Kari? Where's Kari?"
Diamon frowned, "Gatomon, don't you
remember anything?"
Gatomon held her head in her paws,
"I remember… bits and pieces. It was like I was having one long nightmare.
Diamon, I'm so sorry I attacked you. I couldn't control myself."
Diamon replied, "Don't worry about
it. We know it wasn't your fault. Now, let's go get Kari." Diamon and Stingmon
flew down to join the others.
"Welcome back, Gatomon!" Yolei
picked up the cat-like Digimon and held her.
Gatomon gave a weak smile. "Thank
you, everyone."
Patamon came flying up, "Guys! Guys!"
Davis waved, "Patamon! There you
are!" They'd lost sight of Patamon when Harpymon had fired her barrage.
Patamon said, "I got knocked back
against a tree and was buried under some dirt. It took a little while to dig
myself out. Gatomon, I'm glad you're back."
Gatomon nodded, "Same here."
Yolei asked, "Davis, how'd Veemon
crystal digivolve without the Digivolution Crystal?"
Davis shrugged. "I dunno. I just
kept swearing that I wouldn't lose to Harpymon, and then Veemon just
digivolved. I'm not sure how."
Cody pondered for a moment, "Maybe
it was because you weren't willing to give up that Veemon could crystal
digivolve. Maybe the link between you and Veemon that was established by the
Crystal is still there. And if Veemon can crystal digivolve, then maybe our
Digimon can do the same. We might not need the crystal anymore."
Davis opened his mouth to reply but
all he could say was a surprised cry as the ground began to shake once again.
"Not again!"
The Digidestined fell to their hands
and knees as the ground began to shake and crumble.
Yolei held up her D3. "Hawkmon,
digivolve and get us out of here!"
Ken nodded, "Stingmon, you help
too."
Suddenly, Stingmon flashed yellow
and reverted back to Wormmon. "Um, Ken? I think I have a little problem."
"Why'd you revert, Wormmon?
Digivolve again!"
"Wormmon digivolve to…"
"Hawkmon digivolve to…" The light
from the D3's died out.
"Wormmon. I'm still Wormmon!"
"Hawkmon. Oh dear…"
Davis gapped, "What is going on
here? Hawkmon and Wormmon can't go to Champion?" Another shudder ran through
the ground and forced Davis to flop onto his belly. "Diamon, get us outta
here!"
Diamon scooped up Davis and Cody,
but he had no room for the others. "Yolei, try to make Hawkmon armor
digivolve!"
"Right! Digiarmor energize!"
"Hawkmon armor digivolve to…
Halsemon: The Wings of Love!" Yolei and Ken hopped onto Halsemon's back while
Patamon rode on Yolei's head. Halsemon lifted up and picked up Armadillomon
with his claws. "Let's go!" Diamon and Halsemon took to the air just before the
ground broke and tumbled into a black abyss.
The Digidestined watched from far
above where the Dark Forest had once rested. Now, there was nothing but a huge
black pit. Yolei blinked in disbelief. "The entire forest is gone…"
Cody pointed, "Look! Something
coming up!"
A huge castle, built with jagged
edges and spikes, rose from the darkness. It was easily as big as Ken's former
mobile base, but the castle was more triangular in shape and had no open
windows or doors. As the castle rose, clouds began to gather, turning the sky
to an angry shade of black and gray.
Yolei shivered, "I've got a bad
feeling about this."
Ken noticed, "That castle is made
out of control spires! Demon must have used them to build his new base, and he
reinstated their program to suppress digivolving. That's why Wormmon and
Hawkmon couldn't digivolve into Champions."
Davis nodded. "So only armor Digimon
can fight. Good thing Diamon isn't affected."
Gatomon pointed, "Kari and TK are in
there with Demon! I know just where they'll be. Please, guys, we have to save
them now!"
Davis said, "Okay, but we have to do
this right. Ken, I want you and Wormmon to check in with the Vee and the
Veedramon clan."
Ken nodded, "I understand. If
Wormmon can't digivolve then we'll just be in the way."
Davis shook his head, "That's not
it. I want to make sure that the Veedramon don't start blasting away while
we're in there." Davis looked at Cody. "Cody, you and Armadillomon are going to
wait outside of the castle. If we run into trouble, you'll be our backup."
Cody nodded, "You can count on me."
Davis said, "Diamon, Yolei,
Halsemon, and I will go in along with Patamon and Gatomon. We'll need Halsemon
to carry TK and Kari out. Everyone know what to do?" The others nodded. "Okay,
then. Let's get our friends back!"
* * * * * * * *
ArcaDemon dangled over the pit from
the remains of its sack as it let out another ear-piercing shriek. Kari stood
in front of the still-weakened TK, although she felt like she might collapse
herself. Demon stood over them, laughing.
Kari watched the newly born Digimon
above her. ArcaDemon looked from TK and Kari to Demon. It seemed to be sizing
them up. It's looking for the highest power source to consume. With
another loud cry, ArcaDemon leaped at his creator will all of his spidery legs
poised to strike.
Demon stopped laughing and held up
his palm. "Chaos Fire!" The ensure inferno hit ArcaDemon head-on and knocked
the creature to the ground. To Kari's amazement, there wasn't even a burn mark
on ArcaDemon. His baby form was strong enough to withstand a Mega's attack. We're
in big trouble. If this creature reached full power, it would mean the end
of the Digital World.
Demon said, "Now, now, my pet. You
must first feast upon the children of hope and light to gain more strength. You
will be free as soon as you are more compliant." ArcaDemon simply shrieked
again and jumped at the wall. It clawed and jumped against the vertical rocks
and control spire material, but it could not climb up. Apparently, ArcaDemon
didn't have the strength to escape just yet. Demon planned this from the
start. He knew that ArcaDemon would turn on him at the first chance it had; so
he purposely left it weak at birth. He'll gain control of ArcaDemon and then
feed it other Digimon so that it will gain power. Once ArcaDemon obeyed him,
there'd be nothing for Demon to fear. That was where Avatar would have come
in. We have to destroy ArcaDemon before Demon gains complete control over
it.
It was a good idea, but Kari wasn't
sure how she destroy such a powerful Digimon. All she could do was protect TK
and hope that the others would show up soon.
Meanwhile, ArcaDemon had given up on
trying to reach Demon and had decided to go for the second prize, Kari and TK.
It skittered to left as it watched Kari and TK with hungry eyes. Kari stood
between ArcaDemon and TK and held her arms wide in a protective stance. "Stay
back."
TK said, "Kari, get away! That
things gonna kill you!"
Kari didn't look over her shoulder.
"If I move, it'll kill you instead. I'm not going to lose you again." ArcaDemon
crouched down, poised to strike. A large gap opened along ArcaDemon's back to
reveal a set of tiny teeth. To Kari's surprise, it's mouth was located on the
top of the creature. ArcaDemon screamed as it moved forward to devour TK and
Kari. Although she was trying to be brave, Kari could feel the fear rising
inside of her. Davis, where are you?
A loud rumbling drifted in from the
opposite side of the chamber. With a crash, a section of the wall fell away and
a shinning blur dove in strait towards TK and Kari. "WHAT?" was all that Kari
could get out before something scooped her and TK up. Kari suffered a momentary
feeling of vertigo as she soared up away from ArcaDemon's grasp and onto the
ledge above.
Kari stumbled to her knees when her
unknown savior let her down. She looked over to her right. TK was on his hands
and knees too. He looked a little pale and was thoroughly exhausted, but he was
alive. Kari looked behind her. "Diamon?"
Diamon smiled down at her, "Hi,
Kari. Sorry we're late."
"Kari! TK!" Kari looked over to see
Davis, Yolei, Gatomon, and Patamon flying in on Halsemon. ArcaDemon screamed
and jumped at them, but it was too low to reach them.
Yolei spotted the strange Digimon
below them. "What is that?"
Kari stood up and waved, "Davis!
Yolei! You made it!"
Demon scowled, "Annoying pests." He
took a step towards TK and Kari, but Diamon blocked his path in a heartbeat.
Demon smirked, "The crystal Digimon that started it all. How did you digivolve
without the Crystal?"
Diamon said, "You've got bigger
things to worry about."
"Such as?"
"Me." Diamon took up a fighting
stance.
Halsemon touched down and Gatomon
leaped up in to Kari's arms. "KARI!"
Kari wrapped her arms around Gatomon
and sank back to the floor with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Gatomon, I'm so sorry.
Can you ever forgive me?"
Gatomon smiled with tears in her
eyes as well. "Only if you'll forgive me too. I missed you so much, Kari."
"TK!" Patamon flew over to his best
friend. TK gave Patamon a hug so strong it could have shattered Diamon's armor.
"Patamon, I'm so glad to see you
again. I was going out of my mind worrying about you."
Patamon said, "I never wanna lose
you again, TK. I missed you too much."
Davis smiled at both of them. "I'm
glad you two are back."
TK
said, "Thanks, Davis. Thanks for coming to save us. You too, Yolei."
Kari smiled at Davis, "You brought
Gatomon back, just like you promised. Thank you, Davis."
Yolei said, "I hate to break up a
tender moment here, but what the heck is going on? What is that thing in the
pit?"
Kari replied, "That's ArcaDemon.
It's a super-powerful Digimon created by Demon. If he reaches full power, he'll
destroy everything!"
Before anyone else could comment, a
large explosion blossomed near the Digidestined. Diamon and Demon were battling
hand-to-hand and pushing both their powers to their limits. To Kari's surprise,
Demon was actually holding his own against Diamon.
"Diamond Ray!"
"Chaos Fire!" The two energy attacks
collided and mixed together before expanding into a plume of fire and smoke.
Diamon jumped over the flames and attacked from above, but Demon was not
standing where he should have been. "I'm here." Diamon looked over his shoulder
just in time to feel Demon deliver a pile driver to his back. Diamon fell to
the ground but managed to rebound off the floor and land on his feet.
Leaping back at Demon, Diamon
brought his claws up. "Gold Claw!" Diamon raked his claws against Demons face.
Demon cried out as black blood oozed out from his forehead. "You will pay for
that! Chaos Fire!" Diamon was thrown back in a river of fire.
"I can't believe it," said Davis.
"Demon is actually standing up to Diamon. I didn't think anyone could beat a
crystal Digimon!"
Kari said, "Demon isn't a normal
Digimon. He's the reborn form of Apocalymon, one of the most powerful Digimon
of all. Diamon might not be able to win."
Davis shook his head, "No, Diamon can
win. We've beaten the odds before and we're gonna do it again! Diamon, kick his
butt!" As Davis spoke, a light shinned over his heart. Diamon's armor began to
shine in tandem with Davis' heart.
Demon dove down at Diamon, who still
lay prone on the ground. Diamon's armor gave a bright burst of light and he
used his thrusters to flip backwards just in time to dodge Demon's punch.
Diamon landed on the ground and brought his claw shields up. "Diamond Ray!" The
beam shot out twice as powerful as before and screamed in at Demon.
Demon brought his arms up to block
the blast, but the force of the beam pushed him back towards the pit. Davis
shouted, "Diamon, keep it up!" Diamon's beam grew even more powerful as his
armor began to shine even more brightly. Demon was still shielding himself, but
his strength was obviously ebbing.
Suddenly, Demon vanished as he fell
over the ledge leading down to ArcaDemon's pit. Diamon's beam shot out and
punched through the Control Spire wall as if it were tissue paper. Diamon's
armor ceased to shine and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Wow." Kari whispered, "He beat
Demon. Even without the crystal, Diamon was able to gain strength from Davis'
stubbornness."
Davis frowned, "Stubbornness? Don't
you mean, 'strength of will?'"
Kari shook her head. "No, I think
stubborn describes you pretty well."
Yolei nodded, "Yeah. Stubborn sounds
good to me."
TK said, "Me too."
"Ouch…" Davis' shoulders slumped.
Kari patted him on the back. "Davis,
your stubbornness isn't a bad thing. You saved us all. Thank you." It was then
that Kari heard the scream.
* * * * * * * *
Demon's head still pounded from the
energy of Diamon's attack. Such power. Is this the power of a crystal
Digimon? When ArcaDemon digivolves, his power will…Demon's line of thought
trailed off as he realized where he was.
ArcaDemon let out a shrill cry of
hunger as he jumped at Demon and pinned him to the ground. ArcaDemon's large
mouth opened along the back of its body, and long strands of what appeared to
silk sprang out and wrapped around Demon's body. The strands glowed red and
Demon could feel his strength leave him. NO! I am the master! I should not
die. "NOOOOOO!!!!"
Demon returned to the darkness from
whence he had been born.
* * * * * * * *
Kari heard Demon's scream. It was
the cry of a dying man in mortal terror. Kari remembered ArcaDemon's hunger. He's
already dead by now.
Davis said, "Diamon, let's go squash
that bug, ArcaDemon."
"NO!" Kari's shout gained everyone's
attention. "Davis, you can't have Diamon fight ArcaDemon, we don't know what
it's capable of. Demon said that ArcaDemon would be the most powerful Digimon
in existence, and he absorbed the power of the Digivolution Crystal. That means
that ArcaDemon will be the most powerful crystal Digimon as well."
Davis said, "Then we should take
care of it before it has a chance to crystal digivolve."
Kari shook her head, "We need to
attack ArcaDemon in unison. We'll need Ken and Cody's help as well. Let's go
get them before we fight ArcaDemon."
Davis nodded reluctantly. "Okay.
We'll go get Ken and Cody; but then we're gonna come right back and finish
this!"
A loud shriek brought everyone's
attention to the ledge. ArcaDemon's legs were reaching up over the edge as it
pulled itself out of the pit. It was already far stronger than it had been at
birth.
Kari shouted, "Let's go. NOW!" She
hopped up on Halsemon with Yolei, Gatomon, and Patamon. Diamon scooped up Davis
and TK and they flew down the tunnel. Gatomon directed them to the hidden exit
using her memories of Harpymon. The exit looked like any other wall, except
that it rippled and faded as the Digidestined passed through it. An
illusion. Clever. As the Digidestined reached the sunlight, Kari couldn't
stop her heart from beating so fast. Deep down, Kari knew. Things are going
to get worse before they get better.
* * * * * * * *
Ken pulled out his d-terminal as the
e-mail alert chimed. Vee looked down, "What is it, Ken?"
Ken replied, "It's from Davis. He
and Yolei have rescued TK and Kari. We can destroy the castle now." Ken could
already see the other Digidestined moving towards them on their Digimon.
Vee smiled. "Excellent." He let out
a loud roar to signal the attack. Instantly, the sky became aglow as almost a
hundred V-Nova Blasts rained down destruction on Demon's base.
Ken took a moment to admire the
organization of the Veedramon. They were the most family-based Digimon he'd
ever seen. This would make a fascinating paper. Too bad no one would ever
believe me… Ken returned his attention to the control spire castle.
The V-Nova Blasts broke off section
after section of the castle. It's walls began to tumble and dissolve into
broken data as the structure collapsed under the barrage. Several blasts struck
the base of the castle and the structure began to fall under its own weight.
Within moments, the castle was nothing more than boulders and gravel. The
control spires had all been destroyed.
Ken let out a deep breath. Finally,
he was free. All the control spires, his creations, his mistake, his sins, were
gone. Now I can move on. He allowed himself a brief smile and went to
meet the others with Wormmon.
* * * * * * * *
"2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate? Us!
Us!" Davis and Yolei chanted as they jumped for joy. Cody was talking with TK,
who was slowly regaining his strength. Ken stood slightly aloof and admired the
pile of boulders that remained after the control spires were gone. All the
Digidestined felt relieved and overjoyed at the destruction of the control
spires and Demon's defeat. They have finally accomplished the mission that they
had begun while battling the Digimon Emperor.
Kari, however, was not yet ready to
celebrate. "Guys, I hate to break things up, but we're not done yet. We still
have to defeat ArcaDemon."
Davis waved a hand. "C'mon, Kari,
ArcaDemon can't be alive. You saw what the Veedramon did. Even if ArcaDemon
survived the explosions, he'd still be crushed under all that rubble.
Ken nodded, "It does seem unlikely
that he'd survive."
Kari shook her head. "If ArcaDemon
is everything that Demon said it'd be, then it can't be dead yet."
As if to affirm Kari's doubts, a
loud shriek came from the remains of Demon's stronghold. ArcaDemon rolled a
boulder aside and jumped out from the ruins. Davis' jaw hit the floor. "It's
still alive???"
Kari said, "You can't underestimate
it, Davis. It's supposed to be even stronger than Demon. It killed a Mega even
though it's only at its infant stage."
TK noted, "That's one big infant.
He's almost as big as Pegasusmon."
Davis said, "It's high time we
squashed this bud. Diamon, you ready?"
Diamon raised his claws. "You bet!"
He flew in at ArcaDemon.
Kari said, "Davis! I keep telling
you that we have to be careful with ArcaDemon. We can't underestimate him. "
Davis replied, "Kari, Diamon can
beat anybody. And it'd be better if we beat ArcaDemon now before he has the
chance to digivolve, right?"
Kari nodded hesitantly, "I guess…"
Davis continued, "And Diamon is the
strongest Digimon we have on hand. So I think he should take the first shot. If
he and I run into trouble, you guys can bail us out. Okay?"
Kari could only say, "I still have
doubts."
TK said, "Let's at least try. Davis
is right, Diamon is our best chance."
Davis ran after Diamon, who began
his assault on ArcaDemon. "Diamond Ray!" The bright white beam soared in and
was dead-on in its aim. But just as the beam was about to strike, an invisible
shield sprung up in front of ArcaDemon and deflected the blast. The
Digidestined gaped in amazement as ArcaDemon jumped up and rammed Diamon in the
chest, knocking him to the ground.
Cody said, "That's amazing! He
blocked Diamon's attack!"
Yolei shivered, "You mean he's
stronger than a crystal Digimon?"
Kari remembered Demon throwing the
Digivolution Crystal to ArcaDemon's sack. "No. He is a Crystal Digimon
that is powered by the pain and loneliness of Apocalymon, and has a resistance
to holy and light attacks. Diamon can't compete with that kind of power."
ArcaDemon landed on top of Diamon
and pinned him beneath ArcaDemon's body. Diamon struggled to shove the evil
Digimon off, but could not force him away. ArcaDemon's mouth opened again, and
the silk fibers wrapped around Diamon and began to drain his energy away.
"Diamon!" Davis ran to help his
partner. ArcaDemon looked at Davis and flung another set of threads that
wrapped around Davis' body. The threads glowed red and Davis' knees began to
weaken. Kari starred in horror as his face grew paler and his muscles began to
weaken.
"DAVIS!"
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*The final battle begins and ends in the next chapter of "Caring Hearts." Coming soon, hopefully.*
Author's Note: Man, I really seem to put Davis in a lot of near-death situations, don't I? First he's about to be killed by Harpymon, now he's getting drained by ArcaDemon. I guess I like the concept of a suffering hero who somehow survives no matter what the odds.
ArcaDemon's infant form is taken directly from the V-Tamers manga. In V-Tamers, ArcaDemon is the most powerful Digimon ever. His infant form defeated and absorbed Piedmon so that he could digivolve into his Rookie form. His Rookie form was able to defeat Seraphimon, and then he digivolved to Champion and Ultimate. If you'd like to see pictures of ArcaDemon, you can look in the "Tamers" section of Megchan's message board (www.megchan.com/digimon/bbs.html), which were posted by the very generous "Canaryangemon." ArcaDemon's infant and Rookie stages can be seen when you join Megchan's mailing list. It's free to join, and since Megchan is the person who translates Digimon's scripts for the dubbers, she's always one of the first people to have accurate information.
I promise that it will be the absolutely final chapter of the Crystal Digimon Saga. In the meantime, I'd appreciate some reviews. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.