[Told ya' I wouldn't be gone long. Anyway, it's good to see that people still have an interest. Now then, get ready, because this chapter will change the course of this battle as well as the entire future of the Digital World, and it will bring us one step closer to the end, which is not that far off.]
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Protomon bolted forward, crossing the distance between himself and NightmareOmnimon in about two seconds, but NightmareOmnimon seemed ready for this strategy, and he swung his Infernal Sword through Protomon's path. However, the very instant the blade should have cut through him, Protomon simply vanished. NightmareOmnimon's eyes darted back and forth for several seconds in search of Protomon. Finally, his eyes came to rest on his sword, which was still held outstretched at his side. Standing on the weapon was Protomon, his face emotionless. NightmareOmnimon tried to throw Protomon off, but the very instant he flipped his wrist, Protomon jumped up and just hung there despite NightmareOmnimon's efforts to get rid of him. His expression remained constant, unchanged in spite of the look of agitation that appeared in NightmareOmnimon's eyes.
"Crafty," said NightmareOmnimon. "But speed alone can not save you from me."
With a sudden burst of speed, NightmareOmnimon threw a powerful punch from his left hand at Protomon, which the powerful yet relatively small digimon was able to grab and stop dead in its tracks. Notwithstanding NightmareOmnimon's size and strength, Protomon had stopped his attack without being pushed back more than a few feet.
Meanwhile, the DigiDestined and their digimon had their eyes firmly fixed on the scene, paying almost no attention to the rest of the world. Perhaps the one exception was Jack, who had regained consciousness, if not total cognizance. He rubbed his aching temples, but made no sound. He was about to say something, but the others were all totally engrossed in the raging battle. As he looked around, Jack was suddenly horror-stricken when his eyes fell upon the small, familiar shape of Feramon, collapsed next to the gaping hole in the ground.
"Feramon…!" whispered Jack in alarm.
As quietly as he could, Jack tried to lift himself up to a standing position, but it was soon clear that there was no way he could manage it. Still, he was determined to reach his fallen friend, and with sheer grit he began to pull himself inch by inch along the ground. Jack was incredibly frustrated in those moments. He was angry that he couldn't reach Feramon faster, he was angry that he was in no shape to help anyone, and most of all he was angry with himself for what he had done while under the virus' influence. Still, he pushed onward. Some might say that it was his sense of honor that wouldn't let him give up, but whatever it was, it worked. Jack had reached Feramon.
"Feramon…" coughed Jack as he clutched the tiny digimon in his arms and gave him a gentle shake. "Speak to me buddy."
Feramon's eyes remained shut, but he began to stir.
"K-k…" Feramon began to say. "…Kizokumon…?"
"What?" asked Jack with a surprised look. "Come on buddy, wake up!"
Slowly, Feramon's eyes opened half way. They seemed dull and tired.
Feramon tried to smile a little. "Jack? Is that really you?"
"Yeah buddy…" said Jack. "It's me."
"Good, good," said Feramon with a hint of exhaustion in his voice. "I'm glad… that you're back to normal. I… missed you…"
Feramon's eyes began to slide shut again.
"Oh no you don't," said Jack urgently. "I won't let you quit on me now, you hear? You… you can't give up. Stay with me!"
Feramon just lay in Jack's arms without moving an inch.
"No…" shuddered Jack as wet pools began to form around the bottoms of his eyes. "No, you can't! You can't leave me! I, I don't want to lose you buddy. We… we've been *hic* through too much together! I won't *hic* let these last eight years end like this! Feramon! Feramon!"
Jack began to shake Feramon, but he still met with no results.
Meanwhile, NightmareOmnimon was still trying to get in a decent hit against Protomon, but he met with little success.
"I think it's time to end this," said Protomon, who hovered several dozen yards in front of the increasingly weary NightmareOmnimon.
"Do your worst," said NightmareOmnimon. "You can't touch me."
Brandishing his Gallant Sword, Protomon sped forward at NightmareOmnimon with a very serious expression on his face. NightmareOmnimon brought his Infernal Sword up to block, but his efforts instantly proved fruitless when Protomon accelerated to the point of being no more than a blur. When Protomon reappeared behind NightmareOmnimon, he had clearly done something. NightmareOmnimon's eyes shook with rage. A couple seconds later, it was revealed exactly what Protomon had been up to when NightmareOmnimon's suddenly blade fell to pieces. The show wasn't quite finished though, as another second later, a perfect, clean cut through NightmareOmnimon's right upper-arm could be seen. The entire severed part of the limb fell to the ground and burst into countless black spheroids. After dodging the deadly hail of projectiles, Protomon once again prepared to strike another flawless blow, but he was caught off guard when NightmareOmnimon rapidly spun around and slammed his remaining hand into Protomon from the side, knocking the great digimon face first into the sandy ground. Protomon casually stood up and allowed the sand to run off him, returning his cold gaze to NightmareOmnimon. However, as Protomon watched, shreds of flesh and metal began to form in the place where NightmareOmnimon's right arm had been. With amazing speed, the tiny patches grew into an entirely knew arm, identical to the last one down to the most minute detail. NightmareOmnimon took a brief look at his new arm before turning his sights on Protomon and once again releasing his Infernal Sword.
"Oh, I'm sorry," NightmareOmnimon quipped. "Did you think we were done here? Well I can assure you that things have only just begun…"
As Protomon and NightmareOmnimon continued their vicious duel, Jack held Feramon to his chest, silently shedding his tears. His body shook and his eyes were closed tight. He wanted to scream out everything at once, but he couldn't make anything happen. And then, he felt a kind hand come to rest on his shoulder. He opened one eye and took a peek over his shoulder, where he saw Kari, closely followed by Gatomon, Ken, and Wormmon.
"Go away…" said Jack in between sobs. "I *hic* I just want to be alone now."
"Listen to me Jack…" Kari said softly. "You can't beat yourself up about this. What's happened isn't your fault."
"She's right," said Gatomon. "If you want to blame someone, then blame the virus. He's the one that did all of this!"
"Just leave, *sniff* please," Jack choked. "I don't *hic* I don't want you to *hic* see me like this…"
"Jack, we're not leaving," said Ken. "We care about you. Even though we've only known each other for a short time, I consider myself to be your friend, and as your friend I can't let you do this to yourself."
Jack was silent for a moment, but he continued to quake with emotion.
"Jack, I know what you're going through," said Ken. "Believe me, I know it all too well. But now is the time to push forward. You can't give up; we won't let you."
"But…" started Jack. "But why does it have to be like this?! Why does everything I ever do go wrong?! Huh?! Why can't even one damn thing in my whole life go right for once?!"
"Jack, sometimes life deals you a bad hand," said Kari. "But you've got to roll with the punches if you want to make things work. I know that you can get through this, Jack."
"No… I can't…" said Jack. "I can't do this alone!"
"But you're not alone!" said Kari. "Don't forget that you have all of us! Ken and I, the other DigiDestined, all the digimon…"
"And me…" coughed a very weak, small voice.
Jack looked down at Feramon, and his expression softened once he saw the tiny digimon's eyes open once again.
"Feramon! You're alive!" said Jack.
"I *cough* really had you going there," said Feramon with a weak smile. "Hey, anyone *cough* got a bite to eat?"
"I'll tell you what," said Jack. "When we make it back home, I'll give you a steak twice the size of your head. Sound good?"
"Can't wait…" said Feramon.
Even though they didn't say another word to each other, Jack could see the truth in Feramon's eyes. They had always been somewhat in tune with each other, and even when neither of them said what they thought, they'd both be able to tell what was going on. The small digimon was dying.
"Jack, there's a way to save him," said Ken after a few seconds.
"What?!" asked Jack. "Tell me!"
"Our partners share our energy," said Ken. "That's how they can digivolve. If you help Feramon to digivolve, you'll give up some of your energy to him, and he just might recover…"
"Got it," said Jack, grabbing his digivice.
"Now hold it," said Ken. "I can't guarantee your safety if you do this. This might take a lot out of you. We could lose you both."
"It doesn't matter," said Jack. "I've got to do this."
Jack's digivice activated and began to glow.
Back at the battle, NightmareOmnimon showed increasing speed as he hacked and slashed at Protomon. Protomon was finding each attack more difficult to dodge than the one before it, but he was managing to do it all the same.
"You won't last forever," said NightmareOmnimon, swinging his blade in a long, horizontal slash. "Unlike me."
"It's time to end this before it gets out of hand," said Protomon.
Protomon quickly secured his Gallant Sword in his sash and charged at NightmareOmnimon at full speed. NightmareOmnimon tried to take him down with a punch from his right hand, but Protomon vanished from sight. An instant later, Protomon reappeared directly behind NightmareOmnimon with his right hand pointing at the center of NightmareOmnimon's back.
"Blazing Helix!" yelled Protomon.
A fiery glow momentarily surrounded Protomon's outstretched hand before a pair of swirling streams of flame shot from the appendage and bored a hole straight through the center of NightmareOmnimon's torso. NightmareOmnimon looked down at the wound for a few seconds before turning around to look at Protomon.
"You're not the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve," said Protomon.
The infuriated NightmareOmnimon swung his InfernalSword at Protomon, but the attack was dodged and Protomon reappeared on NightmareOmnimon's other side.
"And now for an old favorite of Azulongmon…" said Protomon. "Blue Lightning!"
A huge bolt of blue lightning shot from Protomon's hand and hurled NightmareOmnimon to the ground, shoving him over fifty yards through the sand before dissipating. NightmareOmnimon was singed by the last attack, but far from out. As he sat up, his wounds began to regenerate swiftly, and Protomon knew he was in trouble if he could not finish this quick.
"Iron Claw!" shouted Protomon as he charged once again.
NightmareOmnimon had just enough time to cross his arms in front of his face as a shield before Protomon's attack struck. The force of the impact gave off a sound louder than any thunderstorm and sent a massive wave of sheer force aimed at NightmareOmnimon, throwing acres of sand into the air. Protomon laid into NightmareOmnimon with one fist, continuing to press against his arms and pushing him back over half a mile, NightmareOmnimon's legs plowing backwards through the dry soil while he continued to stand, before Protomon finally let up. Protomon stared into NightmareOmnimon's eyes for several seconds after they came to rest. With a short laugh, NightmareOmnimon forcibly opened his arms again, throwing Protomon back in the process. Protomon did a back flip to reposition himself to land on the sand as gracefully as possible. He looked up at the hulking form of NightmareOmnimon, and then back at the small cluster of DigiDestined. He knew his course was now set in the only direction that even had a chance to gain victory against NightmareOmnimon.
"It's over, Protomon," said NightmareOmnimon. "I win again…"
Slowly, NightmareOmnimon's feet lifted from the sand, and his whole body took to the air, hovering about fifty feet up. Protomon made one more charge, but as he began to close in, NightmareOmnimon's left hand snapped open to reveal a fearsome cannon. NightmareOmnimon swiftly brought the weapon about to target Protomon and discharged his Cataclysm Gun, firing a pulse of purple energy directly at Protomon. Protomon was so taken off guard by this that he couldn't dodge in time. The attack hit him, but it did not explode. Instead, it pushed him back towards the ground. Even when Protomon was slammed to the ground, the ball did not explode. Instead, he was plowed through the ground and back into to subterranean base, where the attack finally destabilized and exploded. The force of the explosion was so impressive that it instantly vaporized everything within a hundred yards and caused the rest of the base to simply cave in, leaving a sizeable crater in the landscape.
"Protomon!" shouted TK, looking at the gaping chasm as tons of debris hovered over the scene.
"No!" yelled Tai.
"Finally!" NightmareOmnimon said with great enthusiasm. "I've finally done it! They said it couldn't be done, but here I stand!"
NightmareOmnimon began to cackle as only he could. His vile laughter echoed for miles around. The DigiDestined were hit with the sudden shock that they might very well have lost their only chance for victory.
"This… this can't be happening!" said Yolei.
"You're right, it isn't!" said a very powerful voice that came from every direction at once.
"WHAT?!" demanded NightmareOmnimon.
Before anyone could even blink an eye, Protomon materialized immediately in front of NightmareOmnimon. His body was covered in burns and his clothing was scorched, but he was still alive.
"No! You're dead!" yelled NightmareOmnimon.
"Not yet," said Protomon with a cold decisiveness.
Without warning, Protomon shoved his right, clawed hand into the very center of NightmareOmnimon's torso. He then dug his left hand and both feet into NightmareOmnimon's plated body to hold on. NightmareOmnimon screamed in agony at this sudden attack as a burst of evil, red energy shot from NightmareOmnimon's chest where the wound was and spilled over Protomon, tearing away more and more flesh by the second. Then, it looked like Protomon had a hold of something, and he began to pull, forcing even more of the glowing red energy out onto himself. Despite the clearly agonizing injuries Protomon was receiving, he was fully dedicated to the task at hand.
"NO!" screamed NightmareOmnimon in an increasingly distorted voice. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I WON'T ALLOW IT! NOOOO!!!"
Protomon gave one, great yell and pulled with all his might, removing a good chunk of NightmareOmnimon's chest, and more importantly, the Crest of Corruption. The crest swirled with demonic energies that sliced at Protomon's hand even as he dragged it from NightmareOmnimon's body. The red energy that had filled NightmareOmnimon seemed drawn to the crest, and it swirled about it. Protomon stared at the crest for a moment with utter contempt, and then in one motion, he crushed it completely, sending out a wave of dark energy that burned him even more. Once the sound of the crest's being destroyed rang out, the red energy within NightmareOmnimon seemed to thin out and then it disappeared altogether, like a puff of smoke. All was still for a moment as the sound of the crest's destruction continued to echo. After a few seconds, Protomon reopened his fist and looked at the dark, shattered remnants of the evil crest.
"It has been purified…" said Protomon.
Then, a point of light appeared above the remains. It was a good, clean light, and it drew other lights from inside the pieces of the Crest of Corruption. Once all the silvery lights had joined together, they formed into the Crest of Honor, fully restoring it to its proper form. Then, with an exhausted sigh, Protomon let his arm fall, and the remains of the dark crest dropped from his hand towards the sand far below. The Crest of Honor floated there for a second before vanishing and reappearing in the hand of Jack, who along with the fully restored Stormdramon, had rejoined the group of DigiDestined.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!" screamed NightmareOmnimon. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED?!"
"Of course I do," said Protomon in a very rough voice. "I've made your 'perfect' new body into your tomb."
"Protomon!" called Gabumon. "What's happening?!"
"DigiDestined!" shouted Protomon. "I have done my part, now it is up to you! The virus had bound itself to the crest for power, but now that the crest is destroyed, the virus will not be able to escape the body of NightmareOmnimon! Without the crest, he can no longer create a barrier around himself to deflect your attacks! Now is your chance!"
"But Protomon! What about you?!" called Matt.
"My time is at an end," said Protomon. "I must now pay the ultimate price in order to defend this world that I've fought so long to preserve. And now, even though it means my end once and for all, I will give my power to you. Use it wisely…"
Protomon's eyes closed one last time. His body began to glow pure white, and it quickly lost all substance. The glowing energy lost its form and became nothing more than a blur, but that blur quickly divided into seventeen distinct spheres, each of which shot in turn towards each of the DigiDestined digimon. One by one, each digimon was circled several times by the spheres before absorbing the incredible energy. In that moment, each digimon radiated a golden aura, and it was very clear that the course of this battle was about to change.