Chapter 10- In Return

          Before they could continue the battle any further, Kari ran to the front, startling Davis and TK, who had, instinctively, backed up to protect her.

          "Stop!" She cried. "This was not foreordained! You cannot be here, doing this. Turn back now, and they will not punish you. You know the words of the prophecy. It is not the time for this battle. This that is happening here is forbidden, and you know it."

          OmniApocalymon started, but quickly recovered. "You are telling me what to do? You seem to forget who I am, Majesty. What is forbidden and what is not does not matter to me." He cackled. "And now, Total Destru-"

          Kari interrupted him. "Wait!" She said. "I'll make you a deal. If you spare this world, and the others, and the life in them, in return you can have mine." TK ran to her but she stopped him with a small, sad smile. "Do you accept?"

          He looked at her with a measuring look. "And why are you so willing to give your own life for these" Here he emphasized the word. "million?"

          Kari gave a resigned sigh. "They are my people, every one of these things under this same sky. I cannot let them die. Every one of them is loved for it's own particular qualities, and every one of them deserves a full life. So do you or do you not accept my terms?" She had been dreading this moment forever, and now that it was here she took it with an almost frightening calmness.

          Davis was shocked. "Kari, that's crazy! Not only would he be unwilling to take one life for a million, we won't let you!"

          Kari looked at him. "We have no choice."

          OmniApocalymon considered the small person standing bravely before him. "Yes … One divine life for a million …" TK got a shock from that. "All right, Digital Queen." He said with a sneer. "I accept. And since I'm feeling generous, I'll let you have a minute to say goodbye to your little friends."

          Kari nodded, and turned to say good bye. Davis was the first one the speak. "Kari, you were the Digital Queen all along, and you never told us!" He said. "You could have saved us all this trouble, and yourself!"

          Kari didn't speak. Yolei walked to her, and in a very un-Yolei-like gesture, hugged her tightly. "You're crazy." She hissed.

          "I know." Kari responded. Yolei released her with tears pooling in her eyes. Sora hugged her too, and Cody said a tearful (can you believe it!) goodbye. Matt then said good bye in his own way.

          "I hope you know what I'm going get from Tai if I tell him I lost his little sister!" He chided, before breaking into tears (Yes, really!). Kari was like the sister he never had, and she had grown close to him.

          Davis too was crying, and soon everyone was. "Guys, guys." Kari said gently. "I've only got a few minutes." MagnaDramon flew down to the ground and Kari hugged her furry body. "Good bye, Gatomon." She said, tears coming to her own eyes. "I'll miss you." And then, turning to the group, she said, "There's a chance that my information won't be scattered to far apart, and they can reassemble it. In other words, there's a chance I might be able to come back." She choked up. "Good bye everyone. Send my love to Tai, and don't forget me." As she turned back to OmniApocalymon she wiped the tears away. Kari walked to the edge of the cliff the evil Digimon had created, before remembering something. 'TK…'

          She turned and ran back to the group. Everyone turned to look as she threw her arms around TK, her love, her one and only, and kissed him. Davis nearly fainted at the sight, and even MagnaDramon, Seraphimon and Matt, who had known it would happen sooner or later, were surprised. "Love you TK." She whispered, before running towards the edge of the cliff. Once reaching it, she didn't stop, but instead leaped right off of it, and a change started to come all over Kari.

          She hung in midair, and her crest slowly began to glow inside her body. When it reached the brightest light possible, the Crest of Light grew and grew, until it enveloped Kari completely. Suddenly the glowing symbol burst like a balloon, and revealed Kari in her true form. The form of the higher being, the higher authority. The form of the ruler. Higher than the Digital Queen.

          The Archangel.

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A/N And now you know why it's called In Return. Bet you were wondering all this time, huh? Admit it, you were! Okay, so maybe you weren't …