[Wow, I'm really movin' now. Okay, before we get started, there's a few questions to answer. For Silver Warrior, I'll clarify the whole Daemon thing. After he was defeated by the first DigiDestined, Daemon reverted back to his egg form and was banished to the dark ocean. He began digivolving again over time, and so he actually was Dragomon when he was first seen in the series. He later became Daemon again, and that's when he managed to break free. For Roby Murphy, this is far from the last story. There's still quite a few to go. As for how they'll get back to the Digital World, well… you'll just have to read and find out. Now then, before I can use any more of your time, here we go…]
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"Corrupter, I suggest you listen well, because I won't repeat myself," said Protomon. "Stand down now, or suffer the consequences of your actions."
"You can't order me around," said Geno. "No one can do that… NO ONE!"
"I will not extend another chance to surrender," said Protomon. "Don't push your luck."
"You'll be destroyed just like all the others!" said Geno. "I can't be stopped! You hear me?! I am PERFECT!"
"So be it…" said Protomon, as an expression of great anger came over his face.
"Blackwargreymon! Blackmetalgarurumon!" shouted Geno. "Take him down NOW!"
Blackwargreymon started to move forward to attack, but before he could even take one step, Protomon moved in and shoved his right elbow up into Blackwargreymon's gut. The power of the blow was so great that just that single hit caused Blackwargreymon to cough up a mouthful of black blood. Protomon quickly swiveled his torso and hit Blackwargreymon in the face with a palm strike that launched him back across the room and buried him in the wall. Blackmetalgarurumon dove at Protomon from behind, but while he was still in the air, Protomon leaped straight up and struck him across the face with a spinning kick that threw him to the wall opposite Blackwargreymon.
"I certainly hope that's not the best you can offer," said Protomon. "I didn't even break a sweat."
Geno looked on in absolute terror. His jaw hung open and his eyes bulged. He tried to back away from Protomon, but the great digimon advanced towards him at the same pace that Geno stepped backwards.
"Do you see it now?!" demanded Protomon. "Can you feel it?! Do you understand what it's like to fear for your life?! This is the very same feeling you've forced on not only my digimon, but also upon these children here!"
"No!" said Geno. "Stay back you monster! Stay away from me!"
"You are beyond redemption," said Protomon very coldly.
Protomon took a step closer, but before he could take another he sensed Blackwargreymon's charging. He lifted his hand just in time to catch Blackwargreymon's claw before it struck him. Blackwargreymon looked down at Protomon with beastly savagery, but Protomon returned only an emotionless glance before hurling the evil creature across the room once again, this time landing him on Blackmetalgarurumon, who had only begun to recover. Once those two were taken care of, Protomon returned his gaze to Geno.
"Y-you wouldn't h-hurt me," whimpered Geno. "You don't want to harm this body, do you?"
"I have more effective ways of dealing with you than harming the boy," said Protomon. "You should never have underestimated me."
"Face it, virus," said Ken, who had now removed all of the Emperor's outfit, and was back to his normal self. "You've lost, and have only yourself to blame."
"This… this is not acceptable!" screamed the virus, amidst what appeared to be tears forming in his eyes. "This isn't how it was supposed to happen!"
"Hey Matt," whispered TK. "Is it just me, or is Geno actually crying?"
"I know…" said Matt. "I can't believe it either."
"You are too late," said Protomon. "What you have done can never be forgiven. You are the enemy of all who live, and so you must be dealt with before you can follow through on your most wicked of designs."
"Mark my words, Protomon," Geno grumbled as he shut his eyes tight to stem the increasing flow of tears. "One of these days, he will be reborn, and then you'll pay. You'll pay the ULTIMATE price. You and your precious Digital World will all be destroyed!"
"We are finished here," said Protomon. "And so are you."
"Think again, Protomon!" shouted Geno.
Geno's eyes suddenly shot open, revealing that they were once again glowing pure white. His Crest of Corruption activated and created a shell or red energy around him. Protomon was caught off guard by the sudden release of energy, but held his ground despite the strong winds. He crossed his arms in front of his face like a shield and dug his clawed toes into the floor to hold himself in position.
"Digimon, come to me!" yelled Geno.
Blackwargreymon and Blackmetalgarurumon sprang to life and swiftly rejoined their master while everyone else was occupied.
"Blackwargreymon! Exit!" Geno commanded.
Without a word, Blackwargreymon leaped straight up and began spinning like a drill, using his Black Tornado attack to burrow up through the ceiling.
"Well, it's been fun," said Geno. "However I really must be going. Before I leave though, I must say I'm surprised how easily you all fell for that little ploy there. Your gullibility gave me just enough time to build up my power. Now that that's said, I bid you all adieu."
The glowing sphere of light around Geno picked him and Blackmetalgarurumon off the ground and carried them up through the hole made by Blackwargreymon.
"Jack! No!" yelled Bahadramon. "Come back!"
Without a moment of hesitation, Bahadramon ran forward and stepped around Protomon. He launched himself upward through the large, circular hole in hot pursuit of Geno and his digimon.
"Bahadramon! Wait!" shouted Kari.
"It's too late," said Protomon. "He is taking his fate in his own hands now."
"Can't we do anything?!" yelled Davis.
"Of course we can," said Protomon, glancing back at the DigiDestined. "But first, I must insist that you all leave immediately."
"Not a chance!" said Tai.
"What…?" asked Protomon.
"Look, I don't care if you ARE the ruler of the whole Digital World," said Tai. "We're still DigiDestined, and we aren't leaving until it's all over!"
"Is… this how you all feel?" asked Protomon.
The other DigiDestined and their digimon nodded solemnly.
"Perhaps I underestimated your dedication," said Protomon.
"We just want to see things through," said Tai.
"I like you, young man," said Protomon. "You've convinced me to let you stay."
"Hold on just one second!" said Mimi.
Everyone turned to look at the girl, and then they saw the unconscious Piximon in her hands.
"This is really dangerous!" said Mimi, on the brink of tears. "Now I know that most of us have to be there… I've accepted that. But I won't let anyone go out there that we don't absolutely need. We've already lost a dear friend today. I don't want any more of our friends to sacrifice themselves for our fight like Andromon did…"
"Hey, Mimi," said Ogremon. "It's not just your fight! It's ours too. This is our world, and I want to defend it right alongside you."
"No, Ogremon," said Wizardmon. "She's right. We wouldn't be any help at all up there. We just need to stay back and pray that they can pull off another miracle."
"C'mon," said Meramon. "They can handle this. I trust them."
"Alright," said Ogremon. "But we'd better move fast to get out of here."
"Just a second," said Mimi. "Can one of you take Piximon?"
"Give him here," said Wizardmon.
Mimi gently handed the seemingly fragile little digimon over to Wizardmon and the three digimon headed for the exit. Wizardmon stopped before stepping out, though, and turned back to the group.
"Coming, Infermon?" asked Wizardmon.
"No…" said Infermon. "Stay with the programmer. Fight for him. Stay and fight with… friends."
"Alright then," said Wizardmon. "Just don't get yourself killed."
"Good luck, Wizardmon," said Angewomon.
"Right back at you," said Wizardmon, before stepping out the door and heading for the exit.
"Everybody ready now?" asked Protomon.
"Seems like it," said Ken as he rejoined the group.
"Actually, one second," said Yolei.
Yolei walked up to Ken, looked him right in the eye, and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. Ken was, needless to say, quite surprised.
"THAT was for being such a JERK!" said Yolei.
But then, she wrapped her arms around Ken's neck and hugged him as tightly as she could.
"And that's for coming to your senses…" said Yolei.
Ken was even more shocked than he was after the slap, but he certainly had no objections. Although he gave no outward sign of it, Protomon was more touched by all this than anyone else there. It was at that moment that he truly knew that all his efforts to put the spirit of goodness into the Digital World had paid off. Even in the darkest times, there was still happiness to be found here and there.
"Time to go," said Protomon. "Bahadramon will need our help."
As all this went on, Bahadramon had made it up onto the surface, where Geno and his two digimon awaited him. There was nothing but sand dunes as far as the eye could see. The storm clouds overhead blocked out the sun, so that only one or two rays would show through, and even then they would only be for a second. A fairly strong wind ran along the ground, kicking up the sand and chilling the skin.
"You've been a fool to follow us," said Geno. "But then, you never were all that bright. Despite my orders, it would still seem you digivolved to Mega."
"Leave Jack's body!" commanded Bahadramon. "You can have mine instead, but leave him out of this!"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't do that," said Geno. "I've got other plans…"
"Jack!" shouted Bahadramon. "Fight that thing! Don't let it control you any more!"
"I'm sorry, but Jack's not here right now," said Geno. "Can I take a message?"
Bahadramon let out a low, beastly growl and looked as though he was about to charge. Blackwargreymon and Blackmetalgarurumon immediately stepped in front of Geno.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Geno. "My little pets don't take kindly to digimon that try to attack me."
"If those abominations of yours intend to get in my way, then so be it," said Bahadramon. "I'll tear them apart if it means getting to YOU!"
Bahadramon darted forward, coming at Blackwargreymon with his left fist outstretched, but Blackwargreymon ducked under the attack and rammed his shoulder into Bahadramon's chest. Bahadramon was knocked back, but he managed to land with both feet in the sand. Before he could reorient himself though, Blackmetalgarurumon came at him full force, slamming his huge bulk into Bahadramon's body and throwing him back even farther. While Bahadramon was down, Blackmetalgarurumon snapped open his many, many weapon ports.
"Black Wolf Bite!" shouted Blackmetalgarurumon.
A huge barrage of missiles fired from all over Blackmetalgarurumon's body and they all locked on to Bahadramon. Acting quickly, Bahadramon leaped up high into the air, but the missiles all changed course to follow him. They drew closer and closer, so Bahadramon did the first thing that came to mind. He pulled his wings back as far as he could, and with one mighty thrust he forced them all the way forward, creating a gust of air strong enough to throw the missiles off course, and sending them crashing back down to the sandy ground below. Now, it was Bahadramon's turn to go on the offensive. He folded his wings and let himself drop like a stone, landing hard on Blackmetalgarurumon's back, burying the evil digimon in the sand. Bahadramon used Blackmetalgarurumon like a springboard to hurl himself at his next target: Blackwargreymon. Blackwargreymon drew a claw back to strike at Bahadramon, but he wasn't nearly fast enough, for Bahadramon slammed his feet into the evil digimon's chest before he could make his move. Blackwargreymon was thrown to the ground, stunned by the attack.
"Alright Geno!" shouted Bahadramon. "Now it's your turn!"
"Think again!" said Geno, quickly retrieving the Crest of Corruption from around his neck.
Bahadramon tried to move in, but he wasn't nearly fast enough. Geno aimed the crest at him and it released a huge bolt of red lightning that hurled Bahadramon all the way back to the gaping hole in the ground. The surging energy of the crest continued to swarm around Bahadramon's body, inducing severe pain.
"Reverse digivolve!" yelled Geno.
The electricity running all over Bahadramon surged up at once, causing a terrible scream from him. When the light around him died down, he had been reduced down to his In-Training form, Feramon.
"One down…" said Geno as his dark digimon shook off their injuries and rejoined him.
Suddenly, a great white light shot up from the huge hole in the ground, soaring up into the sky like a great pilling, and splitting the clouds around it. Geno quaked at the sight of the pillar and more importantly, what was inside it, for out from the gleaming light stepped the DigiDestined along with their digimon partners and of course, Protomon himself.
"I was wondering when you'd all show up," said Geno nervously. "I was starting to get a little bored."
"We've had enough, Geno!" said Davis. "Now we're gonna' make you pay!"
"Attack!" said Lillymon.
Lillymon, Infermon, Magna Angemon, Angewomon, and Birdramon all charged at Geno at once.
"No! Stay back!" yelled Geno.
Another surge shot from his crest, slamming into the advancing digimon. They were thrown right back at their partners, and the blast had drained them all back down to their Rookie levels.
"I warned you!" said Geno.
"Virus, this has gone on for too long," said Protomon. "Consider my face to be the last thing you will ever see."
Protomon laid his hand on the hilt of his powerful sword, drawing it very slowly. Even in the dim light, it seemed to shimmer with power.
"Blackwargreymon! Kill that fool!" yelled Geno.
With utter obedience, Blackwargreymon charged forward, but so did Protomon. Whatever happened when they met was far too quick to be seen with the naked eye. They landed opposite where they had started. Protomon had his eyes closed, and seemed to present a quiet dignity. Blackwargreymon just stood there motionless.
"And on the day of reckoning, he shall come with a blazing sword," Protomon quoted from an ancient digimon legend.
Blackwargreymon's body completely disintegrated, leaving only his helmet to fall to the ground. Blackmetalgarurumon came at Protomon with vicious intent, but Protomon sidestepped his charge and knocked the beast to the ground. Blackmetalgarurumon lay with his face in the sand as Protomon approached.
"The wicked will be punished for their misdeeds," said Protomon, placing his blade against Blackmetalgarurumon's neck. "And his power will once again restore peace and order to this world."
One, quick thrust severed Blackmetalgarurumon's head. His body disintegrated instantly, leaving only his helmet in the sand. Protomon turned to Geno very calmly.
"On the day of his return, the Corrupter will fall," said Protomon. "And tranquility will once again win against the forces of chaos."
Protomon took another step towards Geno.
"I have waited for a thousand years," said Protomon. "I have been forced to bear witness to the growing presence of evil in this world. Well today, I strike back against you."
"I take it you don't remember how that legend ends…" said Geno.
"Of course I remember," said Geno. "But there is nothing that can change what must be done. I will continue to fight against you until the very end."
"Well then, the end may be closer than you think!" said Geno.
Geno gripped his crest harder than ever, lifting it above his head. It's hellish light shone through the narrow openings of his hand, and the ground began to shake below him. Surging bolts of red electricity curled around his fist, and the helmets of both Blackwargreymon and Blackmetalgarurumon lifted from the sand and floated over to him.
"It has finally begun," said Geno. "The end of all life starts now."