Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.
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"Goodbye Ken," Mimi said quietly as she hugged the younger boy tightly. She looked him in the eyes and smiled. "You be sure to come back to us soon."
He nodded. "I'll do my best. You and Sora take care of the others. Goodbye my friends." He bowed respectively as Mimi picked up Palmon and tossed her up to Sora who already sat at the base of Birdramon's neck. Climbing up, Mimi took a seat behind Sora as both of them waved while Birdramon took to the air.
"I hope he'll be okay," Sora said. "Must get lonely."
"I don't think so," Mimi said. "What with all the cute baby Digimon around."
Their week had been spent playing with the small Digimon, along with remembering old times and learning Ken's ways. They had never heard the story of Ken's life told by the one who had actually lived it, and in hearing the entire chain of events, Mimi and Sora learned about parts of Ken that perhaps no other knew. He spoke of the pain and sorrow and guilt he felt after his brother was killed, and how that event changed the course of his life and made him vulnerable to manipulation of dark forces, creating the Digimon Emperor.
Sora spoke of her relationship with her mother, and how throughout her childhood she felt that she was never loved and never cared for. Being a Chosen Child not only allowed her to save the worlds and make new friends, it let her realize that she was always loved, but came from a family that couldn't express it the way she always wanted. She grew closer to her family through her loyal Biyomon, and she was thankful.
They arrived at the beach to find Yamato and the others already waiting, a convenience if nothing else, because that meant that they would neither have to go search for them or wait. And even though Sora or Mimi were not terribly close to Iori, they both smiled and hugged him tightly praising him for returning to them.
When Mimi asked where Armadillomon was, Iori looked away with a scowl. When she asked what was wrong, a Koushirou's hand found its way to her shoulder. She looked to the sullen face that shook his head. She nodded and looked down to the ground, and they all stood in silence, remembering the laughing and smiling yellow Digimon that they all grew to love on one level or another.
They stood there staring at the land and the trees with nothing but the crashing waves to fill the silence of the afternoon. It hadn't mattered how long they remained in silence; none of them cared. After several minutes, Yamato finally spoke to Sora.
"Didn't you, didn't you find Miyako or Ken?" he asked, terrified of her answer. They had already lost a friend. It was not a good day to lose another.
She gave a faint smile. "We found Ken," she said gently. "He is the Caretaker of Primary Village. He, he couldn't come back with us."
The others nodded, as Iori looked to the sea. "How ironic. The one who was a monster takes care of baby Digimon now." The harsh feelings towards Ken Ichijouji seemed to boil within Iori even now, almost a year since he had seen him. The memories of the evil Digimon Emperor and his reign of terror over the old Digital World were still deeply carved in Iori's mind.
"We could go visit him," Koushirou said tentatively leaning at the edge of a subject he was too scared to bring up.
Iori thought of his Armadillomon, Maybe…
In the distance a figure of a beast soared across the ocean with long merciless wings of terror. A figure stood above it, cackling. The beast came forward at an amazing speed, and went unnoticed by the others until it was almost on top of them. Mimi started to scream as she looked up to the horrifying Airdramon where a cloaked woman stood, looking like Ken once did when he soared across the Digital World.
She spoke in a loud shriek. "You will not escape us this time!" she said as she tore the cloth hood from her face, staring down to them. Her dark purple hair blew dramatically in the wind caused by the flapping of Airdramon's wings. Large reflective glasses covered her eyes, but not the smile of evil.
"Miya- Miyako…" Yamato sputtered.
"What are you doing up there?" Koushirou shouted. He began waving hysterically, smiling that their friend hand returned. He ran up closer to the beast until he was almost under it still waving.
But something didn't seem right to Yamato. He ran forward and pushed Koushirou down onto the sand before the Airdramon could use Spinning Needle, hitting the beach with a huge spike of stone and bone. Koushirou looked up confused and terrified.
"Tentomon Digivolve to…Kabuterimon!"
"Palmon Digivolve to…Togemon!"
"Meteor Wi-"
"Birdramon stop it!" Sora shouted as her Digimon was about to use her attack. "That's Miyako!"
The girl who looked and sounded and perhaps even was Miyako laughed at Sora's foolishness. With a wave of her hand, the sky around them was soon filled with Airdramon, Devidramon. The ocean burst in crashing waves as a monster arose from the depths of the water. The creature had the tentacles of a squid and the head of one as well. But its face, it had the face of Devimon, the creature that tried to kill them once long ago.
Before the others could react, their Digimon fell to the beach as their rookie forms, hurt from the attacks from the surrounding evil Digimon. Their respective partners fell with them, scooping them into their arms and tending to their wounds. Yamato and Iori were glaring at Miyako as she stood and stared with dead eyes.
"What do you think you're doing?" Iori yelled.
"Something I should have done long ago," she said. "Marine Devimon! Now!"
The slim moments beyond that command were blurred and fast, and none of the young travelers really knew what exactly happened. The beast called Marine Devimon had done something that caused a wave of pain to overcome them all, and rendered them unconscious and unaware to what hit them and what happened beyond that.
**
The last trickle of the day had fallen leaving the earth damp and cold and silent. A harsh and soaked spring had left the land humid and near freezing what with the position of the forest, higher north than most people enjoyed to go. It was well known that crops do not grow in the cold, and without the crops to power feudal societies, few dared to travel where money and power could not be had.
It was for this reason that the castle had been constructed there. Isolated from the rest of the planet high above the ground and close the skies on a mountain that rose above the rest of the landscape, far too difficult to even dare to climb. Made from the last remnants of the Old World, the structure stood in the midst of ruins hundreds and perhaps even thousands of years old.
And every now and then, a forsaken Digimon or human may have stumbled upon the building, and they would both face the same fate. No one would remember them, and no one would miss them. They would just be forgotten forever in the darkness and the mist of the wilderness high above the ground high up in the north. They were as good as gone.
Forged from metals unknown, pillars and beams stuck from the ground as the only pieces of the ancient buildings that survived the rain and snow and sleet and beating sun of the years. Rust and corrosion had even taken their toll on the tributes to a world that time forgot; a time when magical metals and technology could be created. When one could rise from the depths of society and be an emperor or empress.
She was alone in the empty and terrifying castle, and perhaps she liked it that way. Surrounded by darkness and hate and unrest. This was her home, her sanctuary, the only place where she could be herself. Or at least, what she saw herself as. Because what she had become was not what she once was.
He broke through the unconscious haze that had consumed him for perhaps several hours or even several days. There was only a mist of white before his eyes that he could not see pass, and after several minutes of trying to regain some memory of the past events, Iori rubbed his eyes hard with his fists.
"Hello?" he finally said. His voice echoed through the room that he was in, and as his eyes cleared he found himself surrounded by darkness. The air was stale and damp, filled with the scent of mold and decay. Only a small window at the top of the cell dimly lit the surrounding walls that looked to be mad of thick, large stones.
He looked around the room cautiously. The room seemed to enlarge as his vision expanded to the far ends of the room, and he soon found his friends laying on the ground, all unconscious. As the strength returned to his body, Iori managed to get up to his feet and slowly walked the length of the cell to the others, bending down to Sora who was closest. He gently shook her arm until she was awakened.
Iori helped her to sit up while she looked up to him with glazed eyes. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," he said.
"Where are the Digimon?" she asked as she looked around the room, seeing only her human friends.
"It was only us when I woke up."
Sora looked around, there was a door that Iori hadn't seen. They would have to find out if they could get out after the others were up. It was another ten or twenty minutes until Koushirou, Yamato and Mimi were brought back from their stupor. Uneasy and still a bit confused and sleepy, they all stood around the door while Yamato tried his best to force it open.
The others were almost shouting commands to him, telling him the best way to pull the large wooden door open, although none seemed to work. It was not until after he let go before it creaked open with a movie-like loud crack.
Yamato seemed to always be the bravest, and was first to venture out of the cell, followed by Koushirou. After they deemed the outside clear and safe, Mimi, Sora, and Iori followed behind.
They were inside a vast gothic castle, most likely in the depths of the underground where only the rats and the dead were stored. Together in a huddled group, they slowly navigated the stone hallways lit by torches mounted on the wall ever ten or so feet. Walking for what seemed like hours, they passed by paintings of Digimon they had never seen in their lives. Each was more terrifying then the last, as the walls began to be better lit.
The hallways seemed to go up at a slant, and became less and less damp. The air became clearer, as the smell of stagnating water and death began to pass. Each step was taken in silence, as Iori stared down to his blank D-3. A half an hour passed before the group of five found themselves in a grand hall.
It was probably the size of a football field, totally surrounded by towering walls. Seven massive chandeliers dangled from the arched ceiling that was totally covered by paintings of depictions of Digimon and scenes of war and torture. Dozens of pillars supported the high ceiling, each encrusted with jewels and paintings and carvings in the wood. Had the entire setting not been so mysterious and terrifying, one could say that the room was terribly beautiful, and apparently had taken years and years of careful handcrafter work.
But none of them had really noticed the walls or the décor, or the eerie quiet that consumed it. No. They had only seen the cloaked girl at the far end of the hall. She stood in between two huge doors. She stood silently and without motion.
"Miyako," Yamato said.
Iori watched as he stood at the head of the group with a strong sense of dignity as he stared down the hall with nothing but courage and bravery in his eyes. There was an evil and horrifying energy in that room and it pounded against Iori's head. He gasped for air as he looked down the hall with wide and frightened eyes.
"Hello Yamato," she said coldly. Although she was at the far end of the hall, she could clearly be heard by probably use of magic and sorcery. Her voice was all around, echoing against the walls and ceiling and surrounding them.
"What is going on, Miyako, and where are the Digimon?" Yamato asked sternly.
"They are," she said. Her voice was cold and flat with no emotion, no life. "Around."
"Miyako, why have you brought us here, where is Hawkmon? It's us, Miyako, your friends."
"I have been sent to capture you, and make you pay," she said.
"By who?" Yamato demanded.
"Someone forgotten because of the arrogance and selfishness of those around him."
Yamato snapped and ran forward as fast as he could as the sound of his footsteps crashing to the floor echoed through the room. The others did nothing but watch because there was little they could do to stop him, while they were all still in a haze of a shock. As Yamato got closer and closer to Miyako, the scowl on her face thickened as a cloud of darkness surrounded her. A cloud of flying and shrieking creatures surrounded her, protecting Miyako from anything that Yamato could have done to her.
He stood ten feet from her, watching the bats circle her and creating a shield of darkness and terror. She smirked and waved her hand forward, and the bats congregated in front of her, before creating the dark form of a man with a heavy black jacket. His eyes were nothing but black dotted with red pupils. A huge black hat covered his head and black hair that reached downwards as far as his belt, where a sword was hooked. He was a figure of pure darkness with nothing but his pale white skin to contrast.
"Dhampyrumon," Miyako said. "Kill him."
The blade was extended and was close enough for Yamato to see the carvings of skulls and bats all along the length of the bright shining metal. He was frozen with terror and stood with wide eyes unable to move a muscle. The blade would have struck him down the center of his body, had he not been pushed out of the way.
He and Mimi were on the floor together, the blade not more than a foot away was lodged deep into the ground. She asked him if he was all right, before looking back to Miyako.
"What has happened to you?" she snapped. "You are not the Miyako I was friends with. She was kind and pure of heart."
"She's dead."
Yamato could hear footsteps from behind as the others ran up to he and Mimi. "Go back!" he pleaded. They would all die because of his foolish and irrational choices. He had brought them together, he had been the one that made their signals stronger. He was the one that had brought chaos to the world. Perhaps Iori was right.
"Ice Fist!"
Dhampyrumon turned like lightning and struck the ice blast from Panjamon. His sword cut through it as if it had been water while shards of ice fell to the ground and disappeared into mist. With the other rookie Digimon behind him, Panjamon stood with his sword in hand.
"I have sworn to protect the children," he said. "I will not let the likes of a vampire taint their pure blood."
He jumped into the air with his sword in hand as Tentomon, Biyomon, and Palmon Warp Digivolved to their ultimate levels. Soon the room was filled with large Digimon; Dhampyrumon could not win.
"Ice Sword!" Panjamon yelled as he brought his sword downward against Dhampyrumon's and they clashed with sparks of fury and energy.
"Flower Canon!"
"Wing Blade!"
"Horn Buster!"
The others pulled Mimi to the sides of the room, but before they could grab Yamato he had already taken Miyako out the doors into the hallway as the five ultimate Digimon battled the single Mega vampire. Their attacks shook the entire castle, and in the corridor, Yamato could hear the sounds of the chandeliers crashing into the ground.
He shook violently shook Miyako by the shoulders yelling her name, hoping that he could bring the real Miyako out from behind the cold claws of darkness that had consumed her. He pleaded with her to wake up and to come back to him as his eyes filled with tears. The only thing that took Miyako's face was a cold and hateful smirk.
"You are nothing," she said.
"Miyako," he said quietly.
She was lifeless in his arms, not from being hurt, but from being consumed with darkness. He was holding her on the floor in his arms, trying to get through her. She didn't fight Yamato, she lay peacefully with him. But those eyes of hate never left her for a moment. She still smirked.
Her head waved back and forth in the air like a rag doll as Yamato continued to shake her. Her glasses soon fell to the ground but neither cared. "Miyako please, it's me, Yamato."
"Don't talk to me as if I didn't know who or what you are."
"Come back to us."
"I was never with you to begin with."
The castle continued to shake as Yamato heard a loud thundering crash from beyond the wall that separated himself from the clash of the Digimon. He assumed that they had broken through the outer walls and had taken their battle to the darkness of the night. The echoes of attacks continued to fill the inside.
Koushirou, Mimi and Sora appeared in the doorway finding Miyako and Yamato on the ground. Mimi gently pushed Yamato to the side and took Miyako by the hands looking deep into her vacant eyes.
"Hey there," she said gently.
Her eyes thinned as she stared at Mimi for a moment, as if to try and place a face she hadn't seen in years. It looked as if they had finally reached her, when Miyako struck Mimi in the face with the back of her right hand. The others all gasped, as Mimi looked back to Miyako, not bothering to rub her now-sore cheek.
They sat in silence. Mimi picked up Miyako's glasses and handed them to her. "You'll need these if you want to go to the mall and cruise for guys." She tried to smile and give a faint laugh.
Miyako looked away, when not twenty feet down the hall, the walls and ceiling caved in as Garudamon was thrown downwards onto the castle. Giant red feathers were left as she pushed herself upwards and returned to battle.
"They'll destroy this castle," Mimi said. "You can call off your Digimon and we can leave."
"I can not," Miyako said.
"Why?"
"This is my place."
"Miyako." Tears filled Mimi's eyes as she openly cried before Miyako. Yamato, Iori, Sora, and Koushirou stood around the two as they both started to cry. None dared to bend down and interrupt the two, as the battle outside continued with fury. Sora stood closer to Yamato trying not to cry herself.
Miyako took her glasses from her face and pushed Mimi away. "I will end this, because it suits me." She stood and re-entered her chambers, leaving Mimi on the ground and the others standing around her. They followed Miyako into the ruins of her grand hall, which was now completely opened to the night sky. A huge and full moon sat in the calm of the night, a calm that was rocked by a giant beetle trying to swipe away the black bat of a man that struck him several times with his sword.
"Dhampyrumon!" she yelled. "You will cease."
Mimi ran up behind Miyako while the others kept a somewhat safe distance away. The Dhampyrumon stood in the air as if to stand on an invisible platform. His black coat and locks tussled in the wind as he ended his attack on Mega Kabuterimon.
"You assume to command me?" he said. His voice was deep and painfully evil.
Miyako gasped. She realized how she had been used for this and had no real power.
"I take orders from only my master," he said. "I will kill them, as ordered. Along with you."
He threw his arm back and plowed his sword through the air. There was no time to react because the blade came down like a rocket through the air. Mimi took Miyako's place and pushed her to the ground, preparing to take the full force of the sword. But, as noble as Mimi, Panjamon took to force of the blade and fell lifelessly to the ground.
Mimi ran forward to Panjamon's body, and tried to pull the sword from his chest crying uncontrollably. Its weight was too much for her, and she collapsed at his face and touched his cheek. His breaths were short now, and blood ran down his from his mouth.
She pleaded through her tears, "Why?"
"I…had…sworn…to protect," were the last words from his last breath. His body shattered into dust as his information floated into the sky and disappeared in the moonlight. The sword crashed to the ground while Mimi cried and hid her face in her arms.
Miyako stood and watched Mimi cry. She could hear Yamato behind her. She said, "Why would she do that? Why did he do it?"
"Mimi sought to protect you, and Panjamon her."
"Even after what I had done…"
"You know what they say; Once a Digidestined, always a Digidestined."
"No one says that." She looked up. Dhampyrumon was preparing for another attack. Bats came from his hair and surrounded him with their shrieks. He pointed forward saying something that was so soft it was inaudible. The bats swarmed downward headed for Miyako.
"Testament!"
"Apocalypse!"
The powers of hope and light are forces of pure good and holiness. They are most powerful against the forces of evil and those of the undead. Those who have fallen from grace and purity are most susceptible to their fury and rage. As an instrument of evil and death, Dhampyrumon could not hold up against the force of the two concentrated holy attacks, and he was gone.
Yamato looked around and saw a tall young man with blue hair and spectacles help the young Mimi to her feet as her eyes sparkled with happiness and surprise. He turned around, to see a boy with big brown hair hug Sora tightly as she started to cry. The boy with the brown hair saw Yamato and gently let go of Sora and stepped forward.
"Hi Matt," he said. Those were their only words. He hugged Yamato tightly, two best friends reunited.
Koushirou and Iori met with Daisuke, Hikari, and Takeru. There was warmth in their greetings and there was excitement in their eyes. They were almost whole. The family was regaining its solid ground. Hikari held Takeru's hand tightly as she looked away from the group to Miyako, who stood like a ghost in the darkness. A black bird stood before her, staring up with the same dead eyes that she had. Two ghosts in the darkness.
"Could Holy Angemon not rid him of the virus?" Koushirou asked quietly.
Takeru shook his head. "His Holy Disinfection didn't work. We don't know why."
Koushirou nodded sullenly. He looked at Daisuke's legs, but didn't ask why they could support him. Now was a time of happiness, when silence could be golden. Yamato and Taichi came up behind Koushirou and Iori along with Sora. Takeru nodded with a smile to his brother, as Mimi and Jou met them with hugs and laughter.
Koushirou took Mimi by the hand and put his finger to his lips. He motioned to Miyako and Hawkmon, who continued to stare at each other. She nodded and watched along with the others.
"I had not anticipated your survival," she said coldly.
"Nor I yours. I had assumed they would have killed you by now."
She nodded. There was a moment of silence between them, before she said, "Why have you not killed them?"
"I still have my honor. They cared for me after I was abandoned by your selfishness."
"You allowed yourself to be nurtured like an infant?" she asked, not believing.
"It was most likely that they would find you. I wanted to be there when they did that."
"Are you going to kill me, Hawkmon?"
"I have been debating that since you left me," he said. "But it would be the cowards way out. I would not wish to be a coward like you. I'd sooner strike myself down."
"Strike me down now, Hawkmon! End this now!"
"You are a coward!" He pointed his feathers at him and scowled with hate in his eyes. "You wish me to end your pain! You want me to be the agent of your own self-destruction! You hate yourself so much, then strike yourself down!"
She struck him with the back of her hand. "You were useless to me! Why should I keep such a useless Digimon? You failed me time and time again!"
"Perhaps it was the your own failure!" In a burst of a dark cloud, Hawkmon evolved with evil and became Metal Tyrannomon, pointing his arm forward preparing his Nuclear Laser. He would kill her with the entire deep seething rage that had boiled within him for as long as he could remember.
She did not stand down. With a look of confident anger on her face, she stared at her once loyal Digimon. For several minutes they were at stalemate, and no one dared to make a move. She held her head down.
"I was wrong."
Metal Tyrannomon stood with his arm still pointed towards the tiny and frail human, as tears fell from her eyes.
"I allowed the two of us to be seduced by the dark powers. It was my fault." She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up to her cyborg Digimon. "I'm sorry."
As her words were spoken, the dawn began to break as the sun rose up from beyond the mountains. And although the air was freezing and her castle lay in ruins, Miyako managed to smile a smile of good and not evil. She put the glasses back on her face that she had been holding the whole time, as her heart began to glow within her. In a flash of light that seemed to bring morning with it also brought forth a small item before Miyako's face. She took it in her hand and looked at it closely. It was a crest, much like Ken's. Its symbol; a large circle attached to a winding organ like piece, along with three smaller circles. The large one, realizing that the help of others is always needed, and could admit when it was wrong.
The crest glowed in her hand, and the cloak that covered her disappeared and she was left with common clothing. The light from the crest shined brighter, until it consumed both her and Metal Tyrannomon. It shined so brightly, all the others had to look away. When it seemed as if the shine was gone, the sun had risen above the mountains, and a white Digimon stood before them.
Where Metal Tyrannomon once stood, a white Digimon that evoked a holy warrior spirit now stood, with his sword pointed where a black metal arm once was. A golden eagle stood on his shoulder next to the helmet decorated with large feathers covered his eyes like the head of a regal bird. It wore a cape made from giant feathers of a giant hawk tipped with red at its ends.
He returned his sword to the side of his waist, as he raised his left arm up that was covered by a golden shield that was tipped like the head of another bird of prey. He lifted it until it totally covered his upper body. It glowed in a bright flash of light, and when it passed, a brown and white bird stood on the floor looking up at Miyako.
She collapsed to the ground and hugged him tightly yelling, "Hawkmon!"
His bones cracked under her force. He spoke in his gentle and yet deep and heroic voice very softly. "Miyako."
Authors Notes: Hey guess what I'm still alive! Yeah I know I haven't been writing much lately, but yeah, here I am! It might be because I haven't been getting too many reviews....at all, lol. Probably because its getting too long. But yeah, this was a long chapter compared to the other stuff I had, I originally wanted to spread out the events that happened into three seperate chapters, but I managed to sum it up in one. Please r/r! Well, if you're this far you have probably read it already so please review!