[Well you have all been very patient, so here it is at long last. The final battle with the Corrupter is about to begin. The face of both the Digital World and the real world hangs in tha balance as we ge ready to see the full potential of what these opposing forces can do. Don't blink, because you just might miss something. And so, without further ado, I give you "The Ultimate Duel: Shattered Reflections"…
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The bright flash had overwhelmed Tai, but as quickly as it had hit him it faded into utter darkness. He felt like he was floating once again; it was like being underwater, and he would have thought just that if it weren't for the biting cold air all around him. His heart began to race. He was having difficulty thinking straight. Suddenly his feet came into contact with a hard, gritty surface and he collapsed. He realized that the darkness before him was due to the fact that his eyes were closed, which he hadn't even realized. It was like his whole body had been numb and now he was slowly coming out of it. As his eyes began to open again he grabbed at the ground and found it to be covered in a gritty powder. Once his sight began to focus he noticed that he was lying on a slab of granite, covered in a gray rock dust. As he looked up he realized that the slab came to an abrupt edge only two yards ahead of him. Beyond lay absolutely nothing. From what he could surmise he was in an enormous sphere, the radius of which he couldn't even begin to guess at. The outer wall was like a swirling, chaotic, deep purple mass. Small bits of debris floated throughout this place with scattered pieces of larger debris of virtually any kind of material imaginable. Positioned at seemingly random places were more platforms like the one on which Tai himself stood, floating in this sea of debris; they were sections of rock that looked like they had been cut from the ground with a smooth upper surface and jutting, irregular undersides. These platforms varied widely in size from only a few feet across to nearly half a mile.
"Weird…" Tai said, being taken aback by the remarkably long echo of his own voice.
Tai stood up again, noticing that whenever something moved it left a trail behind it, like a series of afterimages all run together that took a couple seconds to fade.
"Tai? Is that you?" asked Sora's voice, echoing much like Tai's voice had done.
"Sora?" asked Tai. "Where are you?"
"I… I don't know," said Sora. "I can barely see. Where are you?"
"Hang on, Sora," said Tai, trying to take a step, but finding it to be a whole new experience in this place.
It was like trying to walk when one was both nauseous and completely numb. Tai immediately fell to the ground. The trails left by everything had his eyes very confused, and the echo of his fall rang in his head. He lay there for a moment, feeling absolutely sick to his stomach.
"Tai? What was that?" Sora called.
"Nothing…" Tai groaned, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees.
As he turned to look around, Tai's gaze fell upon Sora. She was only a couple of yards away on the same platform as him. She sat in an awkward position, still trying to get her bearings.
"Sora! Over here!" Tai groaned.
Sora began to look all around thanks to the echo, but after a few seconds she was finally able to locate Tai.
"Oh there you are," Sora said with a sigh of relief. "What is this place?"
"That's a very good question," said a voice from above.
Tai and Sora looked up to see another platform about twenty feet above them. Matt's face appeared over the edge, looking down at them.
"Hey Matt!" Sora called out.
"Hang on, I'm coming down," said Matt.
"Are you crazy?" asked Tai. "You'll break your neck."
Before Tai's message could sink in, Matt had hopped over the edge, falling with an unusual lightness toward the platform below, landing softly next to the other two DigiDestined.
"Wow," said Matt. "Looks like the normal rules of physicas need not apply around here."
"You seem awfully spry," Tai said, holding his head to keep everything from spinning.
"I was dizzy at first too, but I was feeling better in only a couple of seconds," Matt remarked.
"You'll excuse us if we don't cheer for you," said Sora, rubbing her temples.
"Hey guys!" shouted a voice from off to the right.
All six eyes turned and saw Mimi on another rocky surface about fifty feet away. She was waving to them and was accompanied by Jack, Michael, and Yolei; the latter three ranged in condition from nauseous to barely cognizant.
"Hey Mimi!" Matt returned.
"I think I'm gonna hurl…" Jack said as he stuck his head over the side of the landing in preparation for the worst.
"Oh don't be such a baby," Yolei said as she shakily began to slowly stand.
"You ladies have quite the constitutions," said Michael, still sitting.
"Hey, I think I'm feeling a little bit better," Tai remarked as his head began to clear.
"Whoop-dee-doo…" Sora groaned sarcastically.
"Where's the party?" Willis called from below.
All eyes turned toward the slab of rock below which held Joe, Cody, Willis, and Izzy.
"Prodigious…" Izzy said in awe as he looked at his surroundings. "It's like some kind of… some kind of… some kind of something."
"I'd say it looks like a temporal trash heap," said Willis. "Perhaps some kind of temporal anomaly."
"This is so weird," said Cody.
"Perfect," said Joe, flat on his back from being so sick. "I think I'm allergic to temporal anomalies."
"Just don't sneeze," said Jack, who still looked rather green around the gills. "I don't think my ears would ever stop ringing."
"Hey, now I'm feeling a little better too," said Sora.
"Me too," said Michael.
"Hey! Don't tell me everyone forgot about us!" shouted the indignant voice of Davis.
The others tried to find the source for a few seconds before finally seeing the small slab nearly a hundred feet away from any of them. On it stood Davis, supporting Ken on his shoulder, and also TK and Kari, who looked dazed but not too bad.
"We're all here," said Tai.
"Not all of us," said Ken. "Where are the digimon?"
"Worry no more," said a commanding voice from the heavens.
A brilliant light shone down from overhead and several large, dark shapes appeared within. GrandKuwagamon materialized first, swooping down in the middle of the group. Wargreymon, Metalgarurumon, and Imperialdramon followed after them, all coming to a stop close to their partners. Then came Rosemon, Valkyrimon, Vikemon, Phoenixmon, and Metalseadremon. After those five came MegaGargomon, Kerpymon, and Diaboromon along with HerculesKabuterimon, Preciomon, Bahadramon, Magnadramon and Seraphimon. All of the digimon came in close to their partners, happy to be reunited again.
"Where were you guys?" asked Tai.
"I don't know, really," said Wargreymon. "It was all a very strange experience."
"I hear that," Tai said sympathetically.
"You feeling okay, Jack?" asked Bahadramon.
"Yeah," Jack said as he rose cautiously to his feet. "I don't know. Something about this place makes me a little queasy."
"Izzy, do you have any thoughts on what all this is?" asked HerculesKabuterimon.
"I could only make guesses," said Izzy, still utterly fascinated by the remarkable properties of this place. "Without further research, one guess is as good as another."
"So where's NightmareOmnimon?" asked TK.
"We'd hoped you knew," said Magnadramon.
"Let's be careful. This is probably a trap of some kind," Kari speculated.
"Without a doubt," said Seraphimon. "And that means that now is the time to play our trump card."
"What?" asked Davis.
"Have you been holding out on us?" asked Ken.
"Not quite," said Seraphimon. "It was more about cautious hesitation than anything else."
"Well don't keep us waiting any longer!" Matt yelled, having overheard the conversation. "What's the plan?"
"Alright, everyone pay attention!" Seraphimon called out. "There's no time to spare. Protomon entrusted all of us with his great power, but it's quite obvious that we have not been faring well against NightmareOmnimon. I did not want to do this, but Protomon's powers must be recombined."
"Will that be enough to win?" asked Vikemon.
"I don't know," said Seraphimon. "Under normal circumstances we'd be able to face NightmareOmnimon on a level playing field, but his power has been growing exponentially since he was formed. After acquiring the last piece of code he needed from the D-Reaper [see ch.30], he was able to bring his true weapon online, which will allow him to delete any digital information with ease, thus making him unimaginably more dangerous. On the other hand, we have the power of Protomon on our side, and that awesome energy is not to be taken lightly. When all of that power is recombined, it just might be enough to put a stop to this."
"So let's do it!" said Davis.
"But who gets all the power?" asked Magnadramon.
"That's what we have to decide," said Seraphimon.
Suddenly, everything began to shake violently, nearly throwing most of the DigiDestined from their platforms. Sparks of energy like bolts of lightning shot from the distant walls of the immense arena, tearing through whatever they touched. Everything grew darker, brightened only by the intermittent bolts of energy. Before the whole group appeared a pillar of searing white light, stretching up and down as far as the eye could see. The column pulsated irregularly with the violent, surging power that could only belong to NightmareOmnimon.
"Quickly! There's no time!" Seraphimon shouted.
"I will take it!" said Bahadramon. "Let me have it!"
"No, it must be the strongest warrior we have!" said Magnadramon. "Any extra boost of strength counts in this battle!"
"Then it should be Seraphimon!" said Rosemon.
"Impossible," said Seraphimon. "I must be the one to perform the transfer, so I can't take on the power myself."
"Well what about Imperialdramon?" Davis called. "If he performs a mode change—"
"I'm not strong enough to perform that on my own," said Imperialdramon. "I would have to DNA digivolve."
The silhouette of NightmareOmnimon appeared within the pillar, his deadly gaze staring at the DigiDestined.
"I don't know if my tail ring could sustain a DNA digivolution with the addition of Protomon's power," said Magnadramon. "It might be overloaded. The only safe way to do it would be—"
The spire of light vanished in a brilliant flash, leaving NightmareOmnimon there, his great red cape billowing and his black armor glinting in the flashes of light.
"I told you not to follow me…" NightmareOmnimon's booming voice echoed just like the voices of all the others. "Now you will pay for all you've done to me!"
NightmareOmnimon lifted his left arm. The mouth of the BlackMetalgarurumon head that served as his hand popped open and revealed his Cataclysm Gun. Red sparks curled around the cold weapon, indicating that it was being used in conjunction with his own special weapon so it would delete whatever it touched.
"Oh no you don't!" Bahadramon yelled as he charged forth at full speed.
Before NightmareOmnimon could squeeze off a shot, Bahadramon rammed his full strength against the underside of the massive gun, throwing NightmareOmnimon's aim off. NightmareOmnimon discharged his weapon a moment later and the shot went wildly off course, heading to the far edge of the battlefield and generating a world-shattering explosion.
"I help!" Diaboromon shouted, leaping into the fray.
"Whatever you're gonna' do, make it quick!" Kerpymon ordered as he headed forth at full speed.
"The only way is if I sacrifice my tail ring all together!" Magnadramon finished.
"What?" asked Kari.
"If my ring is embedded within the fused digimon entirely, it will form a nearly unbreakable bond! It should be more than enough to contain Protomon's power, and we'll have a chance to win!"
"I have an idea!" said Davis. "If we can do DNA digivolving again we can get both Omnimon and Imperialdramon, and then Omnimon can give his power to Imperialdramon so he can mode change to Imperialdramon Paladin Mode!"
Kerpymon gave NightmareOmnimon a kick to the head, only to find it minimally effective. Diaboromon tore at NightmareOmnimon tooth and nail, but was getting nowhere. Bahadramon slashed at the Cataclysm Gun, desperate to disable it.
"That won't work!" said Magnadramon. "The ring can only be used once at the beginning of the process. It must be either Imperialdramon Fighter Mode or Omnimon that will fight!"
"Better pick fast!" said Rosemon. "Those three won't be able to hold him off for long!"
"Then it's obvious who it has to be," said Ken. "We all know Imperialdramon may be powerful, but Omnimon is stronger by far."
"I hate to admit it, but he's right," said Davis.
"So what do we have to do?" asked Metalseadramon.
"Just be ready to get really small, really fast," said Seraphimon as he locked his hands together and began focussing his energy.
With a swoop from his arm, NightmareOmnimon cleared away Bahadramon and Diaboromon. With a knee to the gut, Kerpymon went down.
"You three go first," said NightmareOmnimon as his Infernal Sword sprung forth, an evil red aura running over it.
"Wargreymon! Metalgarurumon! Get ready!" shouted Magnadramon.
"All set!" said Wargreymon.
"Let 'er rip!" said Metalgarurumon.
Magnadramon opened her claw upward. In a burst of golden light, the small tail ring appeared in her palm. She didn't waste a second, immediately hurling it at the space directly between Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon. As the ring drew closer to the two it began to glow intensely. Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon shut their eyes tight, sensing their lives were about to change forever. In the very instant that the golden ring was directly between the two digimon, they both exploded in golden light and were sucked into the middle where the ring was.
NightmareOmnimon stood poised to strike down Kerpymon, Bahadramon and Diaboromon, but the flash of light caused him to hesitate, allowing Diaboromon just enough time to fire his Web Wrecker at the dark knight's face, stunning him for a few seconds. Bahadramon caught Diaboromon by the shoulders and spread his wings, flying back to the group with all speed possible. Kerpymon used a rocky platform to rebound back toward the others, flying alongside Bahadramon and Diaboromon. As NightmareOmnimon finished wiping the smoke from his eyes, he saw the glowing golden ball of light that pierced his dark aura.
"This is it!" Seraphimon shouted.
Suddenly, each digimon was engulfed in a field of blue energy, allowing only their sillhouettes to be seen. One by one, the energy that had engulfed each digimon abandoned them and headed straight toward the burgeoning knight of justice. As the light left the digimon they were drained of not only the powers gifted to them by Protomon, but most of their own power as well, draining each of them in turn down to their Fresh forms. Even Bahadramon, Diaboromon, and Kerpymon reverted while still in the air. Luckily enough though they all plopped right into the arms of their partners. Seraphimon was the last to lose his light. As he reverted to Poyomon, he left eith the parting words: "We have done all we can. The rest is up to you now…"
Now energized with immense energy, the holy kinght was ready to take shape once again. First came the arms, bathed in a golden glow; then came legs, his torso, his head, and his glorious cape. With an explosion of energy, the light left the newly formed Omnimon, shooting out and even damaging NightmareOmnimon as it passed through him, causing him to cry out in pain.
And there it was. Standing not a hundred feet from one another where two incredibly powerful digimon of nearly identical design. They both knew that this battle had been brewing for a long time, and now it had come. They looked each other up and down, trying to gauge each others true power.
"So this is what it has come to," said NightmareOmnimon with a wicked sneer. "This is the toughest opponent I ever need face. Pathetic."
"I shall not let you win," said Omnimon. "For the sake of all life everywhere, I will defeat you."
"I don't know what Protomon was thinking," said NightmareOmnimon. "He could have beaten me, but he chose to entrust you fools with that duty. And now it has cost him everything."
"Actually, I could tell you what he was thinking," said Omnimon. "I have more than his power within me. Protomon's mind lives on in my own. His memories and wisdom guide my hand. I know more about you than you yourself do, virus."
"Laughable!" NightmareOmnimon scoffed. "No one knows more than me!"
"Well I do," said Omnimon. "I know everything about you now. I know the source of all that vaunted knowledge of yours. I know your strengths. I know your weaknesses. I know the scope of the Grand Scheme, and I know that killing you here and now will take us one giant step forward in stopping your plans once and for all."
"Enough talk!" NightmareOmnimon barked. "I thirst for your BLOOD!"
"Then come and take a drink… if you can…"
NightmareOmnimon bolted forward with his Infernal Sword ready, but Omnimon quickly readied his Transcended Sword and hit the attack away, quickly spinning completely around and slashing NightmareOmnimon across the chest. NightmareOmnimon yelped and backed off in pain. He didn't even see the brutal kick to the face that came at him a second later. NightmareOmnimon was hurled back through the empty space of the arena with Omnimon in hot pursuit. NightmareOmnimon tried to take a shot with his Cataclysm Gun, but Omnimon dodged and the shot missed by a mile. Luckily for NightmareOmnimon, he came upon on another rocky platform, much larger than most, and landed firmly. Omnimon landed on the same slab a few seconds later. NightmareOmnimon charged with his blade ready, but Omnimon blocked with his own weapon and counterattacked. NightmareOmnimon's amazing reflexes allowed him to dodge the blow and come in for another swing that Omnimon was able to duck under, but just barely. Omnimon tried to thrust his sword up into NightmareOmnimon's chest, but the dark digimon bent way back, causing Omnimon's blade to pass over his belly by a matter of inches. NightmareOmnimon used this awkward position to throw his foot against Omnimon's head, catapulting him off the platform. Of course, all of this was nearly indecipherable to the DigiDestined and other digimon because all movement left those strange trails in this place, yet the two Omnimon seemed strangely comfortable with it. Omnimon fell for at least three hundred feet before he managed to catch his right arm on another giant slab of rock. With a mighty rush of strength, Omnimon forced himself up onto the landing. He rested on his hands and knees for a moment, but that was all NightmareOmnimon needed. The black knight lept from his own perch, his blade glistening with red energy and pointed directly downward. Omnimon sense the approach of his nemesis just in time and rolled out of the way mere milliseconds before NightmareOmnimon came crashing down, his Infernal Sword piercing all the way through the stone stage and becoming wedged. Omnimon gracefully came out of his roll, standing up and turning to face his nemesis with such speed that his feet were still sliding along the ground. He took swift aim with his Supreme Cannon and fired. NightmareOmnimon desperately tried to free his sword as the bolt approached, but he was not fast enough. The attack struck him directly in the face, snapping his sword of at the hilt and launching him backward into the abyss. Omnimon dug his own sword into the surface on which he stood to bring himself to a halt before taking off running and jumped after NightmareOmnimon.
"Get 'im Omnimon!" Tai cheered.
"You can do it!" said Matt.
"Keep that guard up!" Chibimon warned.
"Yeah!" Nyokimon chimed in.
Omnimon hutled forward into a seemingly empty void, uncertain of NightmareOmnimon's location. But suddenly, NightmareOmnimon was coming at him like a bat out of hell. Omnimon didn't even have time to raise a defense before NightmareOmnimon rammed his forehead into Omnimon's face, stunning the latter and bringing the former to a halt. Acting quickly, NightmareOmnimon grabbed Omnimon by the right arm with both hands and flipped him over his shoulder, throwing him downward at an incredible velocity. Once Omnimon was on his way, NightmareOmnimon discharged his Cataclysm Gun several times in Omnimon's direction. By that point Omnimon had regained his senses and saw the approaching bolts. He immediately withrew his weapons and folded his arms in front of his chest. Omnimon was just barely able to dodge the first two attacks, but the third stuck him head-on. Omnimon was engulfed in the immense explosion and hurled downward evern faster. Luckily for him, there were several more platforms to break his fall, but with all the speed Omnimon had picked up, he smashed through the first three all too easily, just barely managing to stop from going straight through the fourth. Reddish smoke rose off Omnimon's armor as he kneeled on the ground. He knew he was very lucky to have survived that last attack, but the battle was far from over. NightmareOmnimon landed on a nearby platform a second later, observing Omnimon with keen interest.
"You're stronger than I gave you credit for," said NightmareOmnimon. "I didn't think any digital lifeform could overpower my deletion mode ability."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises," Omnimon panted.
"Actually, I won't," said NightmareOmnimon. "Instead I think I'll just kill you right here and now!"
NightmareOmnimon fired his Cataclysm Gun at the platform on which Omnimon stood, but Omnimon lept into the air just in time and flipped over to where NightmareOmnimon stood, landing immediately behind him. Before NightmareOmnimon could make a move, Omnimon elbowed him in the side, causing him to yelp in pain. Omnimon then spun around with his left foot outstretched, smashing his leg into the left side of NightmareOmnimon's head and driving him from the perch they shared, ending with NightmareOmnimon's smashing into another stone slab some distance away. Omnimon didn't waste a second; he bounded over to where NightmareOmnimon lay and shoved his Transcended Sword through NightmareOmnimon's back, causing the dark digimon to cry out in agony. Omnimon lifted his skewered opponent up and placed his Supreme Cannon against NightmareOmnimon's back.
"I've got news for you," said Omnimon. "All nightmares come to an end in the clear light of day."
Omnimon fired his cannon into NightmareOmnimon's back. The initial blast burst all the way through his body, but the second wave sent him soaring through the sky and smashing through anything in his path. Eventually, the immensely evil warrior came to rest on a platform dangerously close to the DigiDestined and other digimon. Omnimon appeared direclty over NightmareOmnimon slamming his heel into the knight's back, throwing him down onto another landing. NightmareOmnimon lay there, motionless, a gaping hole through his breast and cape.
"Yeah!" cheered YukimiBotamon.
"Take THAT you bucket of bolts!" shouted Geromon.
"Take him down!" Joe yelled.
Omnimon landed behind the fallen NightmareOmnimon. He wasn't entirely certain whether or not NightmareOmnimon was down for the count, but he couldn't take the risk that he was just playing opossum. He took aim with his Supreme Cannon again, but before he could fire NightmareOmnimon shot straight up into the air, spun around, and gave Omnimon a powerful kick to the face. NightmareOmnimon's eyes glowed fiercely as his wounded torso repaired itself. Omnimon landed again on a lower slab, never taking his eyes off his nemesis for an instant. NightmareOmnimon took off after his rival with his sword ready. He brought his sword up over his head and slammed it back down again as he got in close, but Omnimon blocked with his own sword. The force behind NightmareOmnimon's attack was so great that it propelled the two halfway across the platform and sent cracks through the stone slab. NightmareOmnimon and Omnimon parted from one another once the force behind NightmareOmnimon's attack ran dry. They looked at each other again for a few moments. Then NightmareOmnimon lunged. The impending duel was incredible. Both digimon hacked, slashed, blocked, and dodged with unimaginable speed. Their swords blazed, their feet shifted back and forth too quickly to be followed, their limbs flailed wildly. There were blows being struck, but it was impossible to tell who was giving them and who was receiving them. As they battled the ground underfoot grew increasingly unstable until it finally just shattered into rubble. And still they dueled. Shock waves were sent out with every blow, damaging all nearby rocky platforms with their force. The violent tremors caused many of the rocky slabs to shift and buck up and down. One particular blow was strong enough to turn most of the platforms up on edge, throwing many of the DigiDestined for a loop.
"Mimi!" called Michael.
Michael had managed grab onto the edge of the platform he stood on as it began to turn vertical, but Mimi was not so lucky. She began to slip away from him, trying desperately to find a handhold on the smooth surface.
"Grab my hand!" shouted Michael as he stretched to reach her as hard as he could.
"I'm slipping!" said Mimi as she slid even further out of reach.
"Then grab my legs!" said Michael.
In one last desperate grab, Mimi took ahold of Michael's ankles. She strained to remain attached to him as Michael fought to keep his grip.
"Thank goodness," said Mimi, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was sure we were goners."
"Don't rule that out yet!" said Michael, his face red and his musacles twitching from the strain of supporting both himself and Mimi.
"Wait! Where're Jack and Yolei?! Where are our digimon?!"
"Oh don't worry about us," said Jack's voice sarcastically from below the two of them. "We're just hanging out."
Michael and Mimi turned their heads to look down. What they saw was Jack, desperately holding onto the very bottom edge of the upturned platform with the tips of his fingers, grabbing at even the slightest handhold. Geromon, Pururumon, Yuramon and Botamon were all huddled closely around his face, and Yolei clung tenaciously to his legs for dear life.
"I want off this ride!" Yolei cried.
"Not helping!" shouted Jack as his fingers began to slip.
"We have to rescue them!" said Mimi.
"I don't think we can!" said Michael.
"Well do SOMETHING!" Jack pleaded, his face turning red as sweat dripped down his temples. "I can't hold on forever!"
"I can promise not to drop onto you," said Michael. "But that's about it."
"Michael! Do you think you can climb up higher?!" Mimi asked.
"Maybe."
"Then do it!" Mimi ordered. "There's not much time!"
Mustering all of his remaining strength, Michael began to pull Mimi and himself up. Inch by inch, he crept closer to being on top of the platform. He gritted his teeth and pushed his muscles to the breaking point, but it paid off when he finally made it high enough for Mimi to climb off his legs and for both of them to get to the top.
"Now hurry and lean over the other side with me!" said Mimi. "If we can counter the weight of Jack and Yolei, we might be able to bring this thing level again!"
"Please hurry!" Yolei shouted.
"Okay, let's do it!" said Michael.
Together, the two of them, dropped over the other side, doing their best to pull the rocky surface down with them. Slowly, painfully slowly, the stone slab began to creak back toward its original position. Mimi and Michael scrambled back to the top to keep from becoming two more victims of gravity, and ran to help Jack and Yolei up along with the four Fresh digimon.
Omnimon and NightmareOmnimon continued trading blows. They bounded from platform to platform, smashing all they touched. By that point much of the area was filled with hovering rubble. The sounds of the battle pounded incessently in the ears of everyone there. NightmareOmnimon took one grand slice, but Omnimon dodged and the shock wave from the attack had nowhere to go but straight through a floating boulder, splintering it into dozens of extremely dangerous shards that were tossed in every direction.
"Sora! Down!" Matt shouted.
He tackled Sora just as a long shard of rock passed through where she had been standing.
"Sora! Are you okay?!" asked Tai.
"I'll be fine," said Sora, breathing heavily.
"We can't let this go on any longer!" said Matt. "It's gotten way out of hand!"
"Omnimon! You've got to end this!" TK shouted.
"Come on! Hurry!" Kari chimed in.
"He's already fighting at his best," said Izzy. "How can we expect any more?"
"But NightmareOmnimon's doing the same," said Cody.
"This is bad," said Joe. "Very bad."
"Come on! Where's your spirit?" asked Davis. "They only way we can lose is we lose faith in Omnimon! He's our last chance now, so we need to believe in him more than ever! I can't believe we'll lose if we believe in something that much!"
"Davis is right!" said Ken. "Come on, guys! It's worked before and I know it'll work again!"
"We can still do this!" said Willis.
"I for one haven't come this far to lose now!" said Jack.
"It's time to put an end to this once and for all!" said Cody.
"Teach him what happens when you mess with the DigiDestined!" Yolei cheered.
Suddenly invigorated by the support of his allies, Omnimon pinned NightmareOmnimon's Infernal sword down with his Transcended Sword and used his free hand to land a savage blow against NightmareOmnimon's face. NightmareOmnimon stumbled backwards and Omnimon quickly retracted his sword and moved in, pounding away with an absolutely brutal progression of punches, tearing NightmareOmnimon down to size. Bits of the dark digimon's armor chipped away with every strike. Omnimon then pulled back for one big hit. He looked NightmareOmnimon straight in his dazed eyes and let loose, but the punch was dodged and NightmareOmnimon shoved his right hand up against Omnimon's torso. In an instant, his Infernal Sword sprang forth and burst through Omnimon's chest, forcing his eyes wide open as he cried out with the sudden pain and shock.
"OMNIMON!" screamed Tai.
"NO!" cried Matt.
"Now, my unworthy adversary…" said NightmareOmnimon, twisting his blade so as to elicit more shrieks of pain from his mortally wounded nemesis. "Watch as I bring swift death to these humans. Know the pain I have felt burning within me for an aeon! Know that I will live FOREVER!"
With what would almost certainly have been an indescribably sadistic smile, NightmareOmnimon turned his gaze toward the DigiDestined. Slowly, he brought his Cataclysm Gun up and took careful aim at the center of the group.
"Boom…" NightmareOmnimon snarled.
"Ex…exactly what I was going to say…" croaked the voice of Omnimon.
NightmareOmnimon felt a sudden pressure on his chestplate and looked back toward Omnimon. Omnimon, though barely alive, had pressed his Supreme Cannon up against NightmareOmnimon's breast.
"No," said NightmareOmnimon, his eyes growing wide.
"LIGHT…OF…JUDGEMENT!!!" screamed Omnimon, unleashing Protomon's ultimate attack through the barrel of his cannon.
The wave of pure energy hit NightmareOmnimon an instant later. The sheer destructive power at point-blank range was far too much for the virus to handle. It spread over his body and eradicated it from existence completely. The unlimited power of the attack decompiled and erased the virus' very program. The Corrupter was dead at long last, annihilated to the absolute degree. As the brilliant white light of the attack overwhelmed them all, a single glowing entity approached Omnimon. It was a small digignome with a silly white hat [see the digignome with TK's hat in ch.19 and earlier]. Omnimon knew why it had come and he made his wish.
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[Holy crap. Now THAT was fun to write. It's just my own little present from me to you to celebrate my 18th birthday today. Read, review, and don't go away, because the final chapter of The Crest of Corruption is coming up next time. You won't want to miss it.]