Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers

by Alene Deirbre

when piedmon was destroyed he was forced to choose a new ruler for the nightmare soldiers, and the one he chose was Matt, but deamon wants that honor for himself. Matt/Tk brotherly stuff & Matt/Tai friendship

16. Reaping of The Scarlet Immortal

A/N: well we are nearing the finish line ladies and gentlemen, after this, only one more chapter. Anyway, I want to give you all, a little head's up about this chapter, it gets pretty goring, so if you have a problem with fairly descriptive and brutal murders, then you might want to just skim through this part. I really don't think it's too bad, I could have done a lot better in making this part really profound, especially since there is so many elements involved in this part, but I did my best. So please read on, and enjoy.

Disclaimer: Digimon does not belong to me, because if it did I won't just go, "Oh hey, we're not making enough money off of this, let's just stop making Digimon all together, and official destroy the Digital World." (yes I am mad about them ending Digimon forever)

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Dense, menacing clouds, once ashen in color, reflected the dire shades of the grotesque eclipse. Tents of dark blue and deep purple merged with the darkest of black, causing the circling clouds to resemble a diabolical kaleidoscope. Vile shadows descended from the heavens, coming to claim the innocent world lying helplessly at their feet.

The sky cried out in agony as it was brutally ripped apart. The swirling clouds slowly thinned and spread apart, like the parting of the Red Sea, and there in the midst of this clearing, was a hideous rift. The sky had been torn; a sticky mist crept from the rift, as though some wicked force summoned it forward. Darkness radiated from the rift, draining out the little bits of starlight that twinkled in the opening of the barrier of clouds.

It moved about them freely, completely unopposed, the shadows and the mist. The elements had been manipulated, corrupted, into something threatening, and to some the feelings were all too familiar. The feeling that the darkness itself was watching you, that the mist was sent to suffocate you. There was darkness where their should be light, and this played into the growing fear of those waiting, gazing at the show above with amazement and apprehension.

Crystal eyes stared up at the show with stern conviction. This was the moment he had been waiting for. The beast, which has tried, for so long, to take his life, had come to destroy him in a chariot of obstruction and splendor. The demon would reach down its clawed hand, stained with the blood of so many, and choke the life, slowly, out of its struggling victim. That is how the shadows and mist were certain it would play out, but the teen, waiting quietly below the shifting elements, saw it another way. The demon would reach his hand out, ready to grasp its victim, and its victim could cut his hand off.

The feelings of dread spread in the waiting. The monster knew that this show was not necessary, and that the waiting was simply a part of the show, but it did not matter. The cruel abuse upon the quivering sky, and the drawn out appearance, served their purpose. The precious little children, waiting helplessly below, were now filled with fear. Their very eyes dulled with anxiety, and now the beast was ready. The fear was instilled, and in their frantic minds was chaos. Foolish moves will play out from these children; they will be ruled by their own fear, making it easy for the rightful ruler of all worlds to crush them swiftly.

And then it happened, the waiting ended, and shadows emerged from the rift in the sky. Tension grew, as those watching saw the creature, made of solid darkness, crawl upon the sky itself. They grasped at thin air, using their hold on the sky to pull themselves completely out of the rift. Then they scurried and scattered upon the clearing in the clouds. Crawling vertically and horizontally, as though the sky were a piece of solid glass.

Matt looked on the scene, suddenly feeling nervous. His fist clench tightly, as he watched the shadows slowly creep down in a straight line upon the sky. A multitude of shadows filed out of the rift, like ants fleeing from an anthill.

"There's so many." TK stated in a daze, mesmerized by the umbra creatures.

Matt heard his brother's fearful words, and slowly took three steps back, until he was lined with his brother. He said nothing, but he knew his presence would offer some comfort.

"What are they?" Tai questioned softly, as he left the line of Digidestined, and stood beside the two blondes.

Matt looked at the creatures in bafflement. These digimon were indistinguishable, the opacity cloaked them well from the eyes of their opponents. "I don't…" Matt ended his words short, as his eyes narrowed upon the vile creatures.

Three of them had crawled down the sky and now met the pavement.

Matt grabbed TK and Tai's wrist and jerked them back, pulling them to the rest of the Digidestined. Once all of the children were together, he returned his attention to the creatures in front of him.

The shadows wiggled and hissed at their prey, and then the adumbration lifted, the cloak faded, and the creatures were exposed.

Matt's eyes widened in fear, the shock of what the digimon were sped up his pulse, causing the blood to pound loudly in his ear. He saw it now, the twisted figures, the decrepit demon wings, the bulky and fairly large sized bodies, and the eyes; powerful and hideous, placed crudely in the center of the creatures' repulsive bodies.

"Deathmon…" the blonde whispered once his mind had processed the information about the creatures, allowing him to come up with their identity.

"Deathmon?" Tai tried the word uncertainly, then looked back at Izzy.

The Child of Knowledge nodded, understanding the nature of his leader's look, then opened up his laptop, and began typing frantically away at the keys. His digi-vice was already placed in the adapter, allowing him to accesses the creature's data immediately.

"Deathmon, a demon lord digimon, Dark Area class like Deamon. His attacks are Death Arrow and Explosive Eye, and…" Izzy stopped for a moment, looking over the words on the monitor in disbelief and dread. "And he's a mega." The computer expert gulped out nervously.

"What! You mean all of those things are megas?" Tai cried in dismay.

"I had not expected him to attack in such great numbers, he must take our threat more seriously than I thought." Matt stated as he eyed the advancing digimon closely.

The Deathmon howled viciously, then one of the leading megas leapt into the air, charging for the Children scattered on the road. The creature rose its stubby gray arms, then cried "Death Arrows." Instantly seven long darts, ablaze with crimson, flew towards Joe and Cody.

Gommamon and Upamon had no time to digi-volve and stop the attack. The darts screeched towards their target, ready to explode once reaching the defenseless boys.

"Diamond Storm!" a loud cry pushed out the screeching of the darts, as a blaze of blue crystals hit the approaching darts head on, colliding with the crimson blare, and canceling out the attack.

Joe and Cody both sighed in relief, as they looked over at their savior. Renamon had attacked just in time, saving the two Digidestind's life.

"Well if that's all they've got, this should be easy." Gommamon stated, relieved to see his partner safe.

"Don't get too confident." A dark commanding voice ordered seriously.

Tai looked at his friend closely, surprised to find that the composed voice came from Matt. He stood in front of his fellow Digidestined, his eyes narrowed dangerously upon the herd of Deathmon. He had tossed his black jacket aside during the blackout, and now stood, firmly upon the battlefield, ready to defend his home and his loved ones.

Tai bit his bottom lip, trying to get a handle on his nerves, then turned to the other Digidestined. "All right guys let's do this!" he ordered with confidence.

The others nodded, acknowledging their leader and then eight flashes of light and startling screeches, came from their vibrating digi-vices, and in a flash all of their partners digi-volved to the next level.

The champions moved in front of the children, creating a barrier for the Deathmon to brake through.

"Death Arrow!" another demon boomed.

The attack was released even quicker then the one before.

The flying digimon, zoomed out of the way just before the darts hit them, however X-Veemon, who was made for strength not speed, had no time to respond, and the attack hit him directly in the chest.

The champion was pushed back from the power of the hit, the long darts had managed to penetrate his tough scales, making their way deep into his body, where they de-materialized. Trails of crimson flowed slowly from the multitude of punctures on the dragon's chest.

"X-Veemon are you all right!" Davis called, unable to hide the fear in his shaky voice.

"Never… been… better," the blue digimon breathed before he collapsed to one knee.

"This isn't going to work," Matt stated to Tai, staring at him earnestly, "You have to have them all digi-volve to their highest level, or they won't survive this battle." The blonde warned, offering the leader a small glimpse of how concerned he truly was.

"All right." Tai agreed, while giving his friend a grateful and encouraging smile. "Everyone!" he called, getting the other's attention, "let's bump this up a level."

Bright symbols in brilliant colors appeared on the original Digidestined's chest. The power burned through them, and in a flash their respected partners were engulfed in the same beautiful shades of light.

The Deathmon screeched and howled in misery, as the light burned their eyes painfully. They shut their one hideous demon eye, trying desperately to block out the torturing glow of goodness.

The crest exploded, sharing power between human and digimon, and then the light faded, revealing the product of such powerful traits as Love, Knowledge, Reliability, Hope, and Light.

Now in the place of lower level champions, stood five ultimates. A beast-man, with the wings of a phoenix, a large purple beetle, a giant walrus with a hard dark green turtle shell, and two angels, one with shining armor and a many powerful wings, and another, softer, more feminine, with an aurora of celestial light radiating around her.

Once the light show had ended, the Deathmon returned to their disgusted poses more enraged and malicious then before. With howls and screeches, four leaped into the air, releasing their Death Arrow attacks, straight at the four flying digimon.

Garudamon and MegaKabutarimon evaded the attacks by flying out of the way, while Angewomon and MagnaAngemon crossed their arms in front of their bodies, creating a shield of rainbow and golden light for protection.

"Wing Blade!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Horn Buster!"

The attacks soared towards the first line of Deathmon, colliding with the line, causing dust and debris to fly, and cloaking the creatures from the ultimate's sight.

Garudamon, Zudomon, and MegaKabuterimon smiled in satisfaction, convinced that their attacks had worked.

Matt looked on the scene, refusing to feel the small sense of triumphant that was slowly growing in the others. He could no longer see the army of megas, which stretched far down the road, but he was aware of the one hundred or so shadows still creeping and fidgeting in the sky, waiting for their turn to attack.

The dust slowly began to thin, but before the Digidestined could gasp in shock, six deep voices cried out "Explosive Eye!" and rays of powerful, dull, yellow light, exploded from six of the Deathmon's large eerie eyes.

The first lined of Deathmon had been unaffected by the ultimate's most powerful attacks, and now the ground shook, and every obstacle, standing in the path of the six attacks, disintegrated into dust.

The Digidestined and digimon had no time to react, and the powerful attack was now upon them.

Matt saw the eyes of the dead gaze upon him hungrily. They screamed at him, offering him what they had, the chance to feel no more, for misery to end, and the teen could not deny how tempting it was to refuse this offer. But as he stood there, waiting for the glare, from the eyes of corpses, to come and drag his soul away, something breathed in him, recalling him to life. Death would have to claim him another day, today his life was not his own. Today it belongs to those he fought for, and ending it now would be a crime against those he loved.

A symbol brighter, and more potent in power then all others before it, began to etch upon the teen's chest. Two blue lights started opposite of one another, drawing the Crest of Friendship on the teen's pale flesh, until the lights met in the middle, shinning brighter once their drawing was complete.

His digi-vice screeched and vibrated, then an amazing blue light exploded from both the device and his crest, and in an astounding show, the light wrapped around Gabumon.

The power surged through the rookie, and the little digimon almost wanted to scream as his data was manipulated into that of an ultimate. And in another flash the light was gone, and there stood WereGarurumon, second in command of the Nightmare Soldiers and partner of the Digidestined of Friendship.

Azure eyes flashed, and Matt dashed past the barrier of waiting digimon, they all seemed frozen in time, for he had contemplated his dance with death quickly, and dismissed it with even greater haste. The ultimates had barely realized an attack was approaching, before the blonde was in front of them.

And then with just as much speed and conviction, WereGarurumon and Ladydevimon were beside him. The glare of the dead, the Explosive Eye, now collided with the three waiting. The six beams hit them hard, and they grunted and fell back, even the great defenses, of the three most powerful beings in the South, was rivaled by the immense strength of this army of mega demons.

"Matt!" TK cried upon seeing his brother stumble to the ground, clutching his chest in pain.

"TK! No." Tai ordered, as he grabbed the younger boy, who was desperately trying to reach his injured brother.

"Let me go Tai! I have to help him!" TK cried, struggling against the brunette's hold.

"Matt would never forgive me if I allowed something to happen to you." Tai replied back with gently, as he tightened his grip on the Child of Hope, who still pulled to get away.

"So this is the mighty Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers," one of the Deathmon, perhaps the leader, hissed in mockery.

"Where is your power now boy? Look at how easily you bow before us and our Master." Several more Deathmon derided the human before them.

Ladydevimon and WereGarurumon lay, crumpled in two battered heaps, on both sides of the painting teen, both trying to regain control of their strength.

And as the creatures sneered scornfully at the injured boy, two more megas approached the front of the line, and boomed out "Explosive Eye!" ready to permanently remove this annoyance.

"Matt!" Tai cried in fear, as the two megas sent their attacks flying.

And the fires of Courage burned brightly in the Leader's heart. His digi-vice screamed frantically, and the fire spread in an unstoppable wave to his waiting partner.

"Agumon warpdigi-volve to… WarGreymon!" the metallic voice announced his presence strongly. Without another thought, the mega was in front of the kneeling blonde, pulling his shield, with the Crest of Courage engraved upon it, in front of him, taking the full force of the attack.

WarGreymon grunted against the powerful blow forcing him back, but managed to maintain his stance, the strength of Tai's Courage fueling him with power.

Matt's head shot up upon hearing WarGreymon's cry, and his icy eyes flashed in anger, as he saw the mega's green eyes flash in pain. With a deep, shaky breath, he stood up, and all knowledge of the pain and exhaustion was gone.

Renamon was quickly at WereGarurumon's side, while Sorcermon attended to Ladydevimon. The two ultimates reassured their friends that they were fine and stood, following their Lord's example.

'We're facing an army, we need an army.' Matt thought to himself, as he evaluated the situation. "WarGreymon!" the blonde called, as a strategy clicked in his mind. "Fly into the air, Angewomon and MagnaAngemon, form a line in the air with WarGreymon." Matt ordered, receiving agreeing nods from the digimon.

They weren't certain what Matt was planing, but they decided it best for the moment, to follow along.

"Okay, MegaKabuterimon, Zudomon, and Garudamon, form a line of defense on the ground." And again the blonde was obeyed without question. "Nightmare Soldiers, pull back behind the line!" the teen ordered, receiving puzzling looks from his Generals, however they too obeyed, with even greater conviction then the Digidestined's digimon.

The attacks came in a wild rush now. Crimson darts flew towards the waiting digimon line, and they took every attack, using their own to counter, or simply darting them.

"Matt what's going on, I thought the Nightmare Soldiers were stronger then our digimon! So why do you have ours out in front?" Tai questioned in confusion, as he stole a worried glance in WarGreymon's direction.

At first Matt didn't reply, his eyes were locked upon the small battle before him, and for a moment Tai thought that the blonde hadn't heard him, and so he prepared to repeat himself, but before he could speak, Matt replied.

"I don't know if they are necessarily stronger, we all have our strength and weakness. But I do know that we will be crushed, if all we do is defend, we need to get on the offense if we every hope to defeat them." Matt stated thoughtfully, sounding completely uninterested in his friend's doubts.

"Then why did you just have them build a line of defense?" Tai asked, bewildered by the blonde's tactics.

Matt turned around and faced Tai; his face seemed to display surprise, as though he was shocked that the brunette would even ask these types of questions.

"Your digimon are all powerful vaccine type, they have natural defenses against virus attacks, allowing them to withstand the Deathmon's blows much better then the Nightmare Soldiers. We need a defense, while I set my plan into action, and your partners are, by far, the most equipped for that." Matt explained, before a startling bang drew his attention back to the battle.

Zudomon had been driven to the ground by one of the Deathmon's Explosive Eye attacks.

"They're beginning to tire, whatever you're going to do, you had better do it now." Tai ordered, as he looked upon the battered forms of the first line of digimon.

Matt nodded in confirmation to Tai's order, then turned to Ladydevimon, who was waiting quietly by his side. "Line the stealth members of your division along the top of the buildings, in the middle of the field. Then take the rest of your division, quietly to the back of their lines. We will close them in and attack them from all sides, hopefully the confusion this will cause, will give us the upper hand." He stated, with a small smile of encouragement.

"Yes my Lord." Ladydevimon replied in respect.

Another crash from the defense line, and Angewomon flew to the ground, groaning in pain. White feathers stained with dirt and blood, drifted around the field, and Kari screamed in fright.

The celestial maiden moaned, then pushed herself back up, giving her partner a reassuring smile, before she flew back into the air, rejoining the line.

"Ladydevimon." Matt whispered softly, drawing both the fallen angel's and Tai's attention back to him. "You'll be on your own, until our lines meet. Be careful, there are fifty on the ground and over a hundred in the air. And the very shadows around us are alive. The streets will be panted red before the sun sets."

Ladydevimon nodded, understanding her Lord's warning, then sunk slowly into the ground. Once her head vanished beneath the concrete, Tai spoke.

"It will be more their blood then ours Matt, I promise." Tai expressed, knowing that his friend was afraid, not for himself, but for those around him.

Matt didn't respond, he couldn't respond, and so he did what every good leader does, buried his feelings and focused on duty.

"Renamon summon your division and have them relieve the ultimates." Matt ordered.

Renamon nodded, and her placid blue eyes began to glow in a shade of deep purple. Then the glow ceased, and suddenly a group of fifteen Renamon appeared. The rookie digimon didn't waste a moment, before they were in front of the Digidestined's partners, taking the Deathmon's idle attacks, allowing the ultimates some rest.

Sorcermon, I want your division to watch over the others. If one of the Digidestined is in danger you must protect them, and if another digimon falls, you must pick up where the fallen one left off.

Matt ordered telepathically.

As you wish my Lord.

Sorcermon replied, before he floated up to a building behind the fighting, where he could see the lines better, and could organize his own troops for their part of the battle.

"Tai," Matt called softly, brining the Child of Courage to his side. "This is going to be unlike anything we've ever faced. Once Ladydevimon strikes from behind, I'm going to order the attack from the front. It's going to be a real blood bath, maybe you should take the others to a safer location." He cautioned seriously.

Tai crossed his arms, as an arrogant smirk appeared upon his face. "And let you have all the fun, I don't think so. Besides I don't think anywhere is safe now." He replied confidently.

Matt sighed in defeat, knowing that arguing with Tai, would be like arguing with himself, pointless. "They're in position." He announced softly as he turned back to the battle.

And the real fight began.

She moved within the ground, buried alive, drifting through soil as though it were thin air. Her wounds from the attack before left small stains of crimson to mix with the moist, dark earth. And her scarlet eyes shut for a moment, knowing what was above her, darkness, and then death.

She could not help the thrill that sped up her heart, causing her to shake with excitement, this was what she was made for. Battle, just wars, with blood shed for a purpose. And now here she was, flowing with ease through the resting-place of the deceased, honoring them, by protecting the home they left behind.

The fallen angel rose out of the ground, like a spirit called back from its grave. Her head emerged first, and gleaming demon eyes twinkled with mischief.

The clumsy beasts before her, didn't even realize she was gone. There they stood, in their scattered lines, sending one mindless attack after another at the line of Renamon. The group of children and monsters were now over two miles away, but the lady demon's keen sight, allowed her to gaze upon the scene, in perfect detail.

The maiden of darkness, smiled sadistically, enjoying the thought of ripping her scarlet talons through one of the near by Deathmon, but she pushed the thought away, this was no time for pursuing personal pleasures. So she sighed thoughtfully, reminding herself that there would be plenty of opportunities to slaughter these things, once her orders had been carried out. And so she rose from the cement slowly. Her slender body pulled completely out of the soil and stone, until her two healed boots rested upon the pavement.

She smiled again, this time at the sight of MagnaAnegmon sending a powerful attacks straight into on of the front Deathmon's large eye, causing the mega to shrill in pain, and pull back, while drops of gray blood, and other fluids from the eye ball, dripped sluggishly to the pavement.

A sharp, white fang rested upon the demon's lower lip, as she mused on how to go about her attack. She looked back at the shadows behind her, all of which were hers to command. They waited, aphotic images of warriors, blood thirsty and ready. They did not squirm impatiently like Deamon's troops, instead, they floated silently, waiting for their commander's orders.

"First division, move to the tops of the buildings, in the center of the Deathmon's lines." She ordered finally.

And the shadows moved, quicker then the obscurity caused by clouds, being tossed roughly, across a full moon.

"Second division, prepare to attack on my command." She whispered sternly, not wanting to alert the Dark Area digimon to her whereabouts.

And the second group of shadows pulled together, slowly changing from blotches of gray and black light, into large demonic forms.

Demon wings, crimson claws, and eyes as red as the blood they thirst for. From the shadows came the dragons of the inferno, Devidramon.

The demon dragons screeched loudly behind the Deathmon, giving the megas no more warning then the shrill cry. Then crimson eyes began to glow with a fierce glare, narrowing their demonic gaze upon their startled opponents.

Ladydevimon, the tamer of demon digimon, rose above her division, then cried above the noise. "Attack!"

Instantly the Devidramon were in the air, flying directly towards the back of the Deathmon's lines.

The megas saw the dragons approaching now, and knew they had been fooled. The first group of Deathmon raised up their stubby arms, or took to the air, trying to avoid the approaching dragons, but it was to no avail. The Devidramon picked off each Deathmon with brutal efficiency.

Ribbons of bloodied data blew like streamers in the wind; three of the Deathmon, who had attempted to flee by flight, had been meet by the Devidramon's razor sharp claws. The dragons jerked their long Crimson Claws, roughly, through the Deathmon's tuff flesh, but once the claws meet the muscle and bone, they ripped smoothly through, leaving nothing but gray soaked ribbons behind.

Another Deathmon tried to escape the attack by pushing its way through the line, however, one of the smaller Devidramon saw its attempted, and chose this fleeing mega as its prey. The dragon charged at the Deathmon, who was turned around trying desperately to make its way past its comrades, then leapt high into the air, stretching its long limbs, before coming down, claws first on the mega.

The demon digimon squirmed, trying to escape the dragon's grasp, but his actions were only rewarded, by the Devidramon locking its strong jaw upon the Deathmon's decrepit wings. The dragon yanked and gnawed viciously, on the broken wings, snapping the bones in half ,and getting a mouthful of demon blood. Then it placed its to hands hard upon the struggling Deathmon, and, in one powerful pull, yanked the wings off.

Drops of gray, sticky fluid, flew everywhere, and the Devidramon shook its head triumphantly, with the amputated wings still locked in its jaw.

The Deathmon was howling and screeching in misery, its wings had been ripped from its body, with the ease of a human pulling of the transparent wings of a fly. Bloodied knobs, and pieces of black flesh, were all that remained from the megas wings, but, the torture was not enough to destroy it. It began to squirm defiantly, trying to remove the dragon's hold, but these attempts only resulted in the Devidramon's annoyance, and in one final blow the dragon impaled the Deathmon in the back of its scull with its red claws, silencing its moans forever.

The Deathmon's body laid still for a moment, before its data began to dissolve and fade away. The last of the data to be reconfigured, was the wings, still trapped in the Devidramon's mouth, and the dragon gulped and swallowed as much of the fading data particles as it could, and still was not satisfied.

Despite these victories, not all of the demon dragons were successful in their attacks. Many fell into crimson soaked heaps, upon meeting their opponents. Several were shot down in the air by Death Arrow attacks, before they had the opportunity to taste death's blood. Now their own pure, crimson blood, flowed into, and out of, their mouths, staining their dagger like teeth a reddish-pink.

The glowing darts tore through their wings, sending them crashing to the pavement below; where the Deathmon would crawl upon their injured prey, tearing at their flesh, and gulping it down in bulk. Until at last, the Devidramon could take no more abuse, and their data would pull apart, and then float away on the wind.

Deathmon were ripped mercilessly apart, and Devidramon were shot down from the sky, and the primal battle continued as another attack began.

Matt had seen Ladydevimon give the command to attack, but more importantly, he felt the effects of that order. The screeching and howling, rang freely on the wind, and the sky gained a new shade to mix with the blues and purples and blacks, a deep red, that painted across the heavens, in reflection of what occurred below. Streams of gray data were carried along the wind, and the crimson grew bolder with each beast slain.

"The center will attack in a moment, then it will be our turn, with any luck, the Deathmon will realize their disadvantage and retreat, giving us more time to prepare." Matt announced to Tai, who nodded in acknowledgment, then turned his attention back to the howls, coming from the battle, some two or three miles away.

Matt had formed a short of central, for the "good guys", by the bus bench, and he, along with WereGarurumon and the Digidestined, remained there, safe behind the wall of Renamon.

'A leader is good to no one dead.' Matt reminded himself, as he watched another Renamon fall to the ground with serious injuries.

Two of the Renamon had been destroyed by an Explosive Eye attack, and Matt knew, that the defense of rookies would not hold up much longer. Luckily the Ultimates had recovered their strength, and had returned to the front line, joining the rookies in their skirmish.

Matt glance over at Tai, who was standing closely by, while shouting encouragement to WarGreymon, who had joined the ultimates on the skirmish. The blonde had felt obligated, from the very beginning of the battle, to keep Tai informed at all times. It was like to Commanding Generals, trying to run one field, and Matt knew that without communication, the Digidestined and the Nightmare Soldiers, would be lost, functioning as to separate armies, instead of one master power.

"Tai," Matt called softly, pulling the brunette's attention away from skirmish line. "Once the center moves in, I plan on leading the attack from our position." The blonde stated, his eyes gentle, as he knew Tai would fully disagree.

"Matt it's too dangerous." Tai replied softly, not wanting the other Digidestined to hear their discussion. "Those things, are really powerful, and if something happens to you, who will lead the Nightmare Soldiers." The leader argued logically.

"You don't know what I'm capable of Tai." Matt began, with an understanding smile. "My powers have grown, and I have overcome forces far greater than this. I have to be out there with my people, I want to be out there." He explained, as his crystal eyes glanced at the attacks occurring miles away.

"Why tell me?" Tai whispered in distress, knowing he could not stop the blonde from doing what he had to do.

"Because, I want you to watch over TK while I'm out there, but I also want you to be safe as well. This is war and many will die, I just don't want to come back and find that any of you are one of them." He explained, unable to hide the fear in his shaky voice.

"I'll watch out for him, if you promise to fight to live, not to die." The Child of Courage expressed solemnly.

Matt smiled, feeling more secure in knowing that his brother's life was in Tai's steady hands. "I promise." The blonde replied sincerely.

And the two best friends embraced one another in a tight huge; knowing that it could be their last.

The buildings decayed and crumbled, stray attacks from both sides, sent pieces of brick and cement to the streets below. While the few windows, that remained in tacked from the last strike, were shattered into millions of tiny slivers, that rained down upon the world below, sparkling like crystal, as they caught dim rays of silver light. Telephone poles fell, breaking and splitting into scattered fragments of wood, dampened by spilt blood. What little remained of the city, was now being destroyed in an effort to save it.

But this mattered not to the figures, standing as still as statues, upon the ledges of the breakage. They lined upon the tops of buildings, taking their natural resting-place, and turning it into that of waiting. They were given orders, simple and direct, line the top of the buildings, and prepare to attack.

Below was a sea of animosity. Blood, gray and crimson, spewed upon the streets, and dead and injured bodies, crumpled to the ground, like forgotten trash in the gutter. And they waited, lining the buildings like pieces on a chest board, being placed cautiously into position, until at last they could cry out, checkmate.

The Devidramon, lead by their General, the beautiful and charming Ladydevimon, had pushed the Deathmon in, and now their Lord waited for the statues attack, which would put the Dark Area digimon into position to be butchered.

At last the statues moved, forsaking their natural habits. Their large arms, had rested comfortably upon the ledge, while their feet stood beside their palms, but now small, white wings, stretched then flapped once, as the statues revived the limbs to life. Now the angel wings, resting high upon a slender back were ready to support the weight of a lanky body.

White flesh, like satin, was clothed by many silver straps, around the arms, legs, chest, and two covering slanted pale blue eyes. Sharp talons, of marine blue, were placed upon the toes and fingers and a long blue tale, stretched out from the back. To match the two wings, upon its back, were two ears, shaped and fashioned like tiny cupid wings upon the head.

Gargoylemon, the only vaccine fallen angel, the White and Black Statue, now had their turn to join the havoc below, and they gratefully took this opportunity.

They swooped down gracefully, allowing their angel wings to carry them gently upon the breeze, until they were at last upon the battle.

The Deathmon had been closed in. Renamon and the Digidestined's digimon created a wall from the front, which now stood stronger since X-Veemon, Stingmon, Ankylomon, and Aquilamon joined the line, and Ladydevimon, along with the Devidramon, attacked viciously from the back. Now the Gargoylemon had to concentrate on the center, where the megas fidgeted restlessly trapped between the two sides.

The first of the Gargoylemon swept down, grasping three Deathmon by the shoulders, puncturing the mega's flesh, with their sharp blue talons, then pulled them up into the air.

The Deathmon shook and tried attack the fallen angels, but the Gargoylemon held on tightly, and in their position, there was no way for either of their attacks, to so much as graze the slender white creatures.

Once high in the air, the Gargoylemon would whisper "White Statue", and the Deathmon, in the midst of their screeching and struggling, would been infected with a virus, which spread from their punctured shoulders, to the rest of their vile bodies. Once the virus had fully infected the mega, the Gargoylemon would sneer, pleased with the new lawn ornaments in their grips, then with little interest, would release the white statues, causing the air to shrill as it split. Then, the statues of death, would hit the pavement, and brake into small chunks and particles of dust, before braking up into streams of data. Sometimes the fallen angel's glee would increase, as one of their falling statues landed upon another Deathmon, causing a crunch below, which would either destroy, or badly injure, the mega digimon. Those destroyed, blood and organs, would splatter upon the road, sickening gray fluids and sticky pieces of muscle, would lay forgotten on the field, sometimes trampled by other Deathmon, and sometimes reconfigured before any more harm could befall the decay.

The Deathmon now saw their demise coming from both behind and above, and panic flooded their lines. They shot fearful attacks at the Gargoylemon, only managing to bring down and destroy four of them, for the Gargoylemon were swift and capable of temporary transparency, in both the light and the darkness.

The Deathmon were trapped, and feeling the weight of the forces of virtue push down upon them, from behind and above, led them to quick and rash choices. Seventeen of the fifty, had been brutally destroyed, and their enemies showed no signs of remorse or surrender. The megas were now desperate, the Devidramon, along with Ladydevimon, were pushing their way through the lines at an alarming rate, and the Gargoylemon still picked off the Dark Area digimon from above, now there was only one direction to go.

The skirmish line, serving as a defense for the Digidestined, was, as far as the megas could see, the weakest division in their opponent's entire forces. This belief built an extreme confidence that the Deathmon could, easily, eliminate those simple creatures, and their worthless human friends.

Icy eyes met those of a blazing fire, and the strength of the two wills did not oppose one another, instead they feed off of one another. The fire breathed life into the ice, while the ice breed determination within the fire. Two leaders, both with different places in this war and all wars to come, stood together, both knowing, that neither would be standing where they were today, if it were not for the other.

Matt glanced at the battle beside him, out of the corner of his eye, knowing that it would not be long before the attacks, from behind and above, would push death towards him. They were coming, it was unavoidable, and he was ready to face death with a will to live.

"I have to go to the front of the line." He announced to any that listened, as his eyes of ice, lit on fire. The fire of courage consumed the ice of friendship, and together, within this teen, they created a power greater then he had ever felt before.

"Don't do anything I would do." Tai replied, in a failed attempt to lighten the mood.

Matt only smiled sympathetically at his worried friend, before he dashed off, leaving Tai, and the other Digidestined, to worry, behind the shield, that Matt had created to save them.

Matt and WereGarurumon met in the center of the defensive line, but exchanged no pleasantries, instead they stood ready for the approaching battle.

The Renamon made up the middle of the line along with WarGreymon, while the ultimates, formed the outside, and the champions remained in the back, taking the deflected attacks that the front line missed.

The division of Renamon, had suffered the least amount of casualties, out of the three division, currently in battle, however three had been badly wounded, and picked up by Sorcermon's division of wizards.

"Renamon!" Matt shouted above the noise, "When we engage the enemy, I want you and the champions to stay in this line, while the Ultimates, WarGreymon, and WereGarurumon and I, move forward, and try to connect with Ladydevimon's lines." He explained loudly, know that the Digidestined's digimon had heard as well, and were also prepared to follow the order.

The Deathmon were now making their way towards the skirmish line. One bold, or possibly just foolish, mega pushed its way ahead of the fleeing demons, saw the line, then picked out the one, that in its mind, was the easiest target to eliminate. It pulled its stubby gray arms back, then released a powerful Death Arrow attack, which streaked through the air faster than the speed of sound, and was upon the defensive line in less then a second.

Matt saw the crimson darts heading straight for him, and lazily lifted his arm. The long arrows were upon him, but before they could embed in both his open palm, and his chest, the teen's crystal eyes began to glow, slanting slightly, causing them to look like the eyes of a predator. From his fiery gaze, his outstretched hand began to glow the same unnerving blue.

The darts reached his palm, but when meeting with the blue glow, they did not impact, instead, they dissolved into dense red fluid, which covered his hand, and fell directly to the ground, splashing in tiny drops upon his clothes. His arm lowered, and the red that stained it, dripped sluggishly from his fingertips, to the ground.

'I wonder if these attacks represent every ounce of blood that these creatures have spilt, and that they must continue to shed others blood, in order to continue attacking. Or maybe the blood that stains my hand, has a more personal meaning. Maybe I am doomed to forever carry the mark of the dead upon me, their blood which I spill, will forever be a part of me.'

And the thoughts faded, as he drew a deep breathe, ready to suffer the penalty of his choice. "Charge!"

The cry rang out like lightening cracking stone, and Matt, along with the digimon, poured into the Deathmon's lines.

Death and Virtue met in the middle of the field with thundering blows, and the blood continued to spill and spew, as warrior's feet pounded the ground.

TK gripped the saturated, white, fishing hat, in his shaking hands. His knuckles turned white, as he ringed the hat tensely, while biting his lip, suppressing the need to cry out his brother's name.

The lines had meet quickly, then merged. Matt had wasted no time in getting into the battle. He scanned over the field with haste, until he had picked out a target. Then the blonde rushed at the Deathmon, who had seen the teen approaching.

The mega moved into a ready position, and tried its Death Arrow attack, but Matt slid to the side, staying low, as to avoid other flying attacks, and managed to avoid the crimson darts completely. Then while the mega was preparing to release its Explosive Eye attack, Matt quickly leapt into the air, putting all of his strength and body, into a powerful punch.

TK gritted his teeth, and tried not to vomit, as his brother's fist went flying into the Deathmon's large eye.

The demon shrilled and shook, now blind and injured, and Matt yanked his fist out of the soft tissue. Sticky, yellow goo and gray fluid, covered his hand and wrist, and the blonde looked upon it in disgust, as he shook his hand, trying to free it from the grasp of the nasty eye goo.

TK couldn't help but smirk, as he saw Matt's mouth move in agitation. 'He's probably cursing, then saying something like "Great idea Ishida let's punch his eyes, the grosses part of his whole body."' The younger boy thought to himself with a smile, as his brother still continued his struggle with the goo on his hand.

Then the smile faded, as the Deathmon recovered its stance, closing its injured eye, then released a Death Arrow attack straight for Matt.

The teen hadn't noticed the approaching attack, as he tried using his other hand to peal of the yellow film from his right hand, which only resulted in the film sticking to his left hand as well.

TK's eyes widened; the attack was nearly upon his brother. "Matt!" the boy cried in fear and desperation, as tear began to glisten in his tiered eyes.

Matt blinked, forgetting the film and fluid on his hands. The cry had broken through the teen's mind, returning his attention back to the battle, and he turned around, just in time to see the glowing red darts approaching him. The blonde grunted, already annoyed at the thing responsible for his dilemma with his hands, then lowered his arms, his sticky hands tightening into aggravated fist. His knuckles turned white, as his film covered hands began to glow a soft, and hardly noticeable, lapis.

While the lapis light radiated from his hands, a shield appeared before him, like a round piece of thin glass, tented, a very light sky blue. The Death Arrow hit the glass shield, shattering it into many pieces. However the attack, once collided with the glass, fell to the ground, as though the sound waves, from the braking shield, disoriented the attack, rendering it worthless, and knocking it aside, like an annoying insect.

TK sighed in relief upon see Matt safe, and his abuse upon the white fishing hat let up a bit. He was grateful that Matt had turned around when he did, or else there would be nothing but slices of mangled flesh, remaining of the teen. 'I guess his senses are just as good, despite all the chaos around him.' TK mused with pride; certain that there was no way his brother could have heard him above all of the crashes and cries.

The Child of Hope, returned his attention back to the battle. The Deathmon thought that its attack had worked, and was currently gloating in its blind victory. Then Matt turned back around, flashing TK a small but grateful smile, which caused the younger boy to look shocked for a moment, before he smiled brightly back. 'He did hear me!' the youth thought, now more excited about the battle then before.

Matt turned back to the gleeful Deathmon. The Lord of The Nightmare Soldiers, smiled wickedly at his dancing prey, and he ran his tongue over his chapped lips, before deciding exactly what to do with this annoyance. Finally, his mind fell upon the answer, and his smile broadened, as he prepared to unleash his wrath.

TK looked on curiously, as Matt rose his hand high above his head. The younger boy's curiosity grew, as midnight blue energy, appeared in the form of a crystal, floating above the teen's raised and open palm.

The small crystal rested in its floating position, before it exploded braking into many tiny and sharp fragments. The fragments also floated in midnight blue over the teen's hand, and then with a cry Matt pushed his hand forward, and the sharp, splinter like fragments went whirling towards the unsuspecting Deathmon.

Matt's stare went from one of mischief, to one of cold hatred, if the Deathmon's intentions were to reduce him to bloodied ribbons, than that would be its fate. So the crystals meet the Deathmon, it screeched in shock and shrilled in pain, as the crystals sliced through it.

TK gulped, trying to gain control of the nausea raising in his stomach, as he watched the crystals mangle and tear at the Deathmon's stubby arms. The limbs were now hanging, to a ripped up body, by strands of ashen flesh and tissue, however the left arm weighed down too heavily upon the strands, and eventually tore off, falling to the ground, before braking up into particles of data. Then the rest of the Deathmon's body, soaked in gray blood with chunks of skin sliced off, dissolved, the Deathmon bellowing out one last, painful howl, before its body completely reconfigured.

The Child of Hope was forced to look away for a moment, the agonizing howl still echoing in his ears. 'I've never seen it like this. Was this why Matt kept what he is from me? Was he afraid that the sight of all of this destruction would destroy me? Now I understand why the innocent cry in the presence of death, and the experienced embrace it. The experienced have seen death in all of its shadows and reality, but the innocent have shied away, not wanting to feel a reality that the experienced would gladly protect them from. My brother tried to protect me from this, and I will not allow his efforts to be fully in vain. The moment the sight of such needless hate does not shock us, is the moment we cross over into a reality without hope.'

And so the Digidestined of Hope allowed himself to be disgusted, he allowed the tears to fall. This wasn't right, and he would never see it as the way life was. He allowed himself to be afraid, and he forced himself to watch, and feel disgust, pain, fear, and hope.

Another Deathmon attacked Matt from behind, but Matt sensed the attack and turned around, catching the mega's bony arms, before it could slam its claws into him. The blonde then kicked the demon in the left kneecap, hearing a cracking sound from the impact. The Deathmon howled, then yanked away; limping from its injuries, before releasing an Explosive Eye attack.

Matt saw the beam of dull, yellow light coming, and leapt into the air. The attack hit another Deathmon, which was currently beating upon MegaKabuterimon. Once the Deathmon behind Matt exploded into dust, the blonde came down upon his attacker with a powerful kick, knocking the beast to the ground. He then sent a sphere of energy into the fallen mega, braking him into clusters of data, that broke apart quickly and faded away.

And TK watched, sorrow in his gaze, as his brother, his Guardian Angel, sold his soul for the innocent, for hope.

They were dropping like flies, the number quickly reducing to three scattered lines. Sorcermon watched the last of the battle, from his place on the ledge of a tall sky scrapper. Yamato's line had meet with Ladydevimon's. and now the joined army was finishing off the remaining Deathmon, and ever attack was executed with fatal efficiency.

Sorcermon cheered from his perch, as Ladydevimon sent a powerful Darkness Wave attack at one of the struggling Deathmon. The swarm of bats consumed the mega quickly, their razor like wings slicing through its body, while their tiny fangs nibbled on its skin. The bats passed through it, and the creature broke apart into fragments of data.

Matt and WereGarurumon stood beside Ladydevimon, commanding their lines, and attacking with the support of the other two. The Renamon had pushed their skirmish line forward, another of the fox digimon had fallen to death's attack, but the others still held the line, showing no signs of abandoning their post.

The champion digimon of the Digidestined stayed further behind the Renamon, receiving less direct attacks, but still acting as a shield for the deflected ones. WarGreymon and the ultimates fought along side the Devidramon and Gargoylemon, and the Deathmon's numbers were grew less and less.

Sorcermon himself had received the pleasure of relieving the world, of one of those filthy and barbaric megas. When one of the Gargoylemon crashed to the ground, like lightening , the wizard took it upon himself to retrieve him. He flew into enemy lines, finding the fallen angel, with broken and blood stained wings, and whisked to its side, ready to heal the warrior's wounds. But as he was preparing a spell, one of the Deathmon charged the two, its bulky feet pounded hard upon the pavement, as it stampeded towards the Nightmare Soldiers.

Sorcermon shot his head up, glaring coldly at the approaching nuisance, then pulled his hand back and cried "Crystal Cloud!" the magic attack crashed into the mega, stopping it in its tracks, Sorcermon then lifted his staff and whispered a soft binding spell.

The Deathmon had been so shocked by the power of Sorcermon's attack, that it didn't realize the chains of white energy wrapping around him, until he was fully bound, and tripped to the ground. There the creature lied in its vulnerable state, completely at the wizard's mercy.

Sorcermon's brow crinkled and his eyes narrowed upon the chained Deathmon. Then the sorcerer began to concentrate, while he spoke in a low, spiteful voice.

The Deathmon screeched, as the chains began to tighten around it, the white energy began to glow brighter and the chains pulled. It squirmed and shook, then began to choke and wheeze, as the chain tightened, like a serpent, squeezing the life out drop by drop. And then bones began to brake under the pressure, and the creature wheezed on last breath, before its big eye rolled in the back of its head, and the lid slid shut.

The white energy faded leaving the corpse to rot and fade away.

The wizard returned to his task of healing the Gargoylemon, using a simple spell, the fallen angel was back to full health, returning to the sky, where it scanned the area for more Deathmon to devour.

Now there was no one left for the wizard to heal. His division of Wizardmon and FlaWizardmon, were currently mending two Renamon, four Gargoylemon, and three Devidramon, a job that they were more then capable of handling, without his help. So he waited on his perch, watching the battle, with as much feeling as he had put into participating in it.

WereGarurumon used a Garuru Kicked, to cut one of the megas into two perfect halves, which fell to the ground, organs still operating, until the mess dissolved into data. WarGreymon used his Terra Force to evaporate another Deathmon, and the enemy lines had dwindled down to three.

Sorcermon's eyes locked upon the three remaining Deathmon, he could see the terror in their one giant eye. The beast could not understand how they could be defeated. They had out numbered their enemy, and they had the power of their Master behind them, so how could they have lost?

But the thoughts did not remain long, for Angewomon and MagnaAngemon took it upon themselves to finish off the last of the frightened beast together. Both chanted out their attacks in celestial voices, that rang like trumpets. Angewomon's Heaven's Charm engulfed the beasts, sending a fire through them, that burnt from the inside out, and MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny was formed by his mighty sword. The gate opened, and a force grasped unto the Deathmon, like the hands of the souls who had suffered the same fate, as the beast were about to experience, and wished to share their eternal pain with all they could. The force dragged the stunned megas in, before the gate closed; sealing shut, then disappeared until the Angel of Justice should call upon it again.

Sorcermon smiled, the first of Deamon's attack was over, and with few casualties on their side. The wizard was a bit disappointed at not getting the chance to experience the full rush of the battle, but he knew it was not over, over a hundred more shadows still crawled along the sky. The tenebrosity painted tiny blotches upon the blue, purple, and crimson clouds, and they squirmed, retreating closer to the rift, once the last of the Deathmon below were destroyed.

"What evil will befall us now?" the great sorcerer mused allowed, as he looked upon the mourning sky with sympathy and wonder.

"Wow!" Tai cried in excitement, as he jumped onto his best friend's back "You're going to have to teach me to do that!" the leader exclaimed, after Matt had annoyingly pushed him off his back.

"It's not something you can learn; it's something you just do." Matt explained, shrugging his shoulders casually.

"Man that was so cool! You guys like totally dominated out there!" Davis cried, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, I never thought I'd ever see the day, when a whole army of mega digimon would just be picked off like nothing." Yolie agreed, causing WereGarurumon and Ladydevimon to blush.

"It wasn't nothing." Matt stated in a wretch voice. "We lost many of our friends today, no victory comes without a price, and that price was our comrades. Honor their sacrifices by seeing this for what it was, pain, sorrow, and loss. And remember that this was only the beginning." Matt announced as he looked into the heavens, where the tear in the sky, and the darkness waited.

All listening lowered their heads, some in shame and some in grief.

Matt would have kept his eyes upon the tormented sky until he saw signs of relief or indications of the next threat, but uncertain feet, shifting nervously behind him, brought his attention back to earth, and the battle field he stood upon.

TK looked into his brother's eyes uncertainly, and Matt could see fear and distraught in the younger boy's tearful eyes.

"TK," Matt whispered softly, before bringing the boy in for a comforting hug.

TK allowed his brother to comfort him for a moment, his mind not registering that only minutes ago his Guardian Angel, had killed like a merciless reaper, showing no signs of remorse or piety for the ones he slew.

Kari too fell into her big brother's arms, drawing in strength from his courage. She shook and sobbed quietly in Tai's embrace, and he whispered gentle, comforting words to her, trying to soothe away her distress.

The others sought comfort in one another, the reality of all they had just seen, played back in their minds, hitting them harder then the actually sight of the destruction. And some of them trembled uncontrollably, not even fully certain of why, and others sighed, then looked upon their trembling friends, but their eyes saw nothing.

The Nightmare Soldiers gathered around and above the Digidestined, their eyes flashed with curiosity. They did not understand, why did the children weep? Why did they grief now, when the battle had barely begun, and the possibility of you joining the deceased was still fresh? Why did they cry? None of them had been injured, none of their friends had been killed, so why? It was not the warriors' way, to let something so simply as war upset them so much. Later those who survived would mourn silently for those lost, for tears help no one. But the grief would pass quickly, for this was what they were. Since the dawn of their existence, they fought and died, none of that had changed. But now one thing was different, why they fought. They had a reason now, a reason that benefited them, and the rest of the world, this field holds meaning,, so why weep? Many will fall, but none will be defeated.

The tension in the heavens built up, as, for a moment, its pain ended and all was still above. Then the sky bewailed, and thunder shattered the silence, light, in deep shades of red, crashed and struck across the sky. A show occurred above; the thunder shook the ground below, and the shadows danced with glee upon the painted clouds.

More lightening, the colors of the blood, which stained the ground below, flashed along the sky, and bellowing booms of thunder rang closely after the light. The shadows pealed back, and began crawling and scurrying away from the rift. Some crawled slowly down the invisible wall of glass, stopping only a couple of miles above their enemies, and others scattered along the tops of buildings and skyscrapers, still concealed in their adumbration.

The rift along the sky tore, sounding like flesh splitting and bones braking, and more darkness spilled out, like blood flowing from a fresh wound. The shadows followed the example of those before them, and scattered along the sky, spinning and skipping, while silently mocking the forces below.

As the rift tore and the shadows emerged, like locus ready to devour then move on only to devour again, the outline of the rift began to glow with a black light, that took on shades of purple. The shadows stopped swarming out, and the glow grew brighter. Then the light flashed in crimson streaks across the sky, and the thunder boomed. The wind picked up and howled like a prowling wolf, forcing many of the lightweight Gargoylemon to the ground.

Many eyes watched the sky, unable to look away. The elements bore down upon them, like violent waves pushing them deep under murky waters, but they did not look away.

The light around the rift flashed in a radiance of darkness, and the crimson streaked before and after the thunder, no longer caring about the natural order of storms. And then emerged two more shadows from the hideous rift. They came out as large silhouettes of two baneful beasts.

The outline of a dragon and a bulky bear, floated to the sides of the rift, and then the sky cracked again. The black light rayed over the rift, covering the opening like a curtain, and the lightening flashed brighter, and more often then before. Then the curtain split, and the heavens cursed and moaned, as darkness and death emerged from its wound.

The black glow dimmed, and the flashing of crimson ceased, as Deamon, Lord of Demons and the Master of the Dark Ocean, emerged from the rift.

All below looked upon the demon in horror, and the shadows lifted from his army, revealing his powerful forces.

Eyes of deep waters froze over, and the smooth mirrors reflected the image before them. There, floating in-between his two remaining commanders, was Deamon.

The demon's deep red cloak blew around him, like a mist of blood, and his lifeless black eyes, glared down upon his rival, with hatred and disgust.

Beside their Master floated Megidramon and WaruMonzaemon. Both the Evil Dragon digimon and the Puppet digimon, sneered, wickedly, at the army below.

Matt looked deep into his opponent's eyes, showing no signs of fear or anger. He simple looked at the dead orbs closely, trying to read the monstrosity's mind, but found it ineffective. His opponent wore a mask of apathy, similar to the teen's, which rendered the blonde's efforts useless.

'I know Death's name. I have walked with him before. I have seen darkness fall and press down upon us all. He's come to take the breath from my lungs and the blood from my veins. He's come to strip my soul away. But I can not blink and lose sight of this. He's come for me and I for him.' Yamato chanted in his head, unable to ignore the ironic humor in his situation. Only four years ago he had fought against the Nightmare Soldiers. Now he was leading them against an enemy, to secure his place as their leader.

"Let's see here we have," Izzy began thoughtfully. "Bakemon, Soulmon, Gigadramon, and of course more Deathmon." The red head explained, as he looked up the profiles of the herds of creatures above them.

"But what about those?" Sora asked, unable to hide the trimmer in her voice, as she pointed towards a flock of digimon behind WaruMonzaemon.

"Those look like Gargoylemon!" Cody announced frightfully.

Tai looked upon the flock of fallen angels closely. They did looked identical to the white creature that fought on there side, expect instead of small white angel wings and pure white clothes, these creature had wings of raven feathers and cloth of black silk. The bands around them were of a darker metal, and the talons and tale were a deep gray.

Tai's head snapped over to Matt, who had completely forgotten that anyone else was there besides himself and Deamon. "I thought Gargoylemon were your people?" he questioned accusingly, the overwhelming numbers above causing fear to rise in his mind.

Matt ignored the question for a moment, his eyes still looked upon Deamon, before he slowly turned his head in Tai direction, his face showing little interest in the brunet. "Bakemon and Soulmon are Nightmare Soldiers as well." He explained sorrowfully, hating that he must destroy his own.

"Gargoylemon by nature are vaccine, the only vaccine fallen angels in existence, but when they turn again their nature, they become virus and their bodies reflect that. Kind of like when MetalGreymon was turned into a virus by the dark spiral." The blonde went on to explain, before he returned his attention to the sky. "Many turned from their people once I became their Lord, they could not serve a human. I helped destroy their former Lord, it was simply wrong in their eyes. And now I must destroy them because of that conviction."

These words caused Tai's face to soften, and no one dared to question the blonde further on the matter.

Sorcermon, bring down your troops. Have two Wizardmon and two FlaWizardmon keep watch over the Digidestined, and set the rest into a line behind Ladydevimon's troops, but before Renamon's. The rookies need a break.

Matt ordered, as he thought of the best way to position his army.

Of course My Lord.

Sorcermon chirped with glee, excited that he would now join the battle.

"Ladydevimon line your divisions in front, and Renamon fall back!" Matt yelled and the world began to move again.

Matt stood still, as everyone took their respect place, as quickly as possible.

The Devidramon and Gargoylemon formed the first line in the sky, and below them were Sorcermon's two divisions.

Renamon pulled back to rest, and were joined by the four wizards in charge of protecting the Digidestined.

The Chosen protested weakly, as several Renamon ushered them far back behind the lines for safety, while their digimon joined Ladydevimon's ranks in the air and on the ground. And amidst all of this movement stood Matt and WereGarurumon, both ready for another walk with death.

Ladydevimon finished shouting her orders and placing her divisions where she wanted them, and now she floated silently in the air. Her fine, white hair, blew behind her freely, her hands tightened into fist, and her scarlet eyes began to glow in a threatening red light.

Her mind was focused upon the battle to come, that was until the sound, of softly flapping wings, drew her attention to her right side.

"Is this place taken?" an enchanting voice asked, as light pink lips formed a humble smile.

The fallen angel looked from her right to her left, confused at first by the two angels that now floated beside her, then turned back to Angewomon with a warm smile. "It is now." She replied kindly, unable to hide her pleasure at fighting along side another mighty female digimon, and the well-respected MagnaAngemon.

Hearts stopped beating, lungs held air captive, and teeth gritted, as crimson painted the sky.

"Rip them apart."

The demon's voice hissed through the air, floating on wings of animosity. And darkness' minions roared in response to their Master's command, before diving downward, ready to carry the orders out.

The forces of good met those of evil, mid way in the sky, and bodies from both sides fell instantly.

A Gigadramon sent out a Guilty Wing attack, that decapitated a Devidramon's head. The dragon's bloodied skull fell to the ground, and smashed open before it reconfigured, the body floated in the sky for a moment, then burst into pieces of data.

One of the BlackGargoylemon used their Black Statue attack, to turn a Wizardmon to stone. The wizard then crashed to the ground, and broke into ribbons of data.

Bakemon and Soulmon ganged up on Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon, sending their Evil Charm and Soul Cry attacks, relentless upon the two ultimates.

WaruMonzaemon floated down to the ground, along with six BlackGargoylemon, and this force fought against Angewomon and MagnaAngemon.

WarGreymon had taken to the sky, where his attacks collided with those of Megidramon. The two mega dragons fought a battle of power and strength above, and were left alone by all outside interference.

"We're not doing too well!" Kari cried in fright, as she watched a FlaWizardmon use a "Fire Could" attack to burn a Bakemon alive, only to have a Gigadramon destroy him from behind, with a Gigabyte Wing attack.

TK shook his head, banishing Kari's words from his mind. 'We'll win, we have to, there is just too much at stake.' The Child of Hope thought desperately, as baby blue eye scanned over the battle flied, until, at last, they rested upon the only human there.

"And another one bits the dust." Matt sang softly, as the BlackGargoylemon, whose neck he had just broken, dissolved. The blonde had hoped that, by focusing on the song, he would not be tempted to look above him, where a multitude of enemies floated.

Only a third of Deamon's army had now engaged in battle, and that was including the Deathmon they had destroyed earlier. The whole situation seemed hopeless, and the blonde could tell that the demon was only playing with them.

A Gigadramon released a Guilty Wing attack straight for Matt, and the blonde jumped out of the way, not wanting to waste his energy on blocking the attack.

The blast hit the pavement with a crash, causing a crater as it impacted.

Once the attack hit, Matt looked up at the Gigadramon, his eyes glaring coldly, as a smirk spread across his lips.

The Android Dragon's eyes widened in fright, and the beast tried to fly away, knowing it had made a mistake in attacking the teen, but it was too late. Matt placed his hands over his heart. They began to glow a dark blue, and then he pulled them off of his chest, and cupped them as though he were holding and insect. Then he pulled his hands apart, and a bright blue sphere was revealed. The sphere grew in volume as Matt's hands pulled further apart, and then the sphere was sent flying.

The ball of energy crashed into the dragon's back, and engulfed it. The trapped creature let out a mechanic shrill, before the energy began to eat its metallic body away like acid.

"And another one down, and another one down…" Matt continued to sing, as he turned to a flock of Bakemon behind him.

The angels had split apart now. Sorcermon joined with MagnaAngemon, and together they took on WaruMonzaemon, who was far more powerful then they had imagined.

As this was going on, Angewomon went to help the Renamon and champion digimon, who were struggling in the defensive line. The two FlaWizardmon were covering the middle of the line, along with X-Veemon, while the Wizardmon were placed on the left side, along with the General Renamon and BlackRenamon. Aquilamon and Ankylomon, were covering the right side, but the enemy was pressing down upon the line hard.

Two more of the Renamon had been destroyed by stray attacks, one from a Soulmon and one from a Gigadramon, and the rest were badly injured.

Angewomon knew that the line would not hold much longer, so she went to help strength it.

A flock of Bakemon pounded attack after attack upon the middle of the line. Occasionally one would fall to a Magic Ignition attack from the FlaWizardmon or a V Lazier from X-Veemon, but as soon as one fell, another was quickly there, ready to take the fallen one's place.

One Deathmon, and a swarm of Soulmon, were pushing down upon the left side. The General Renamon sent out a Diamond storm attack, which sliced through one of the Soulmon, but in return for her efforts, another Soulmon released a NERCO Magic attack, that hit Renamon in the chest. The blow sent the rookie to the ground.

One of the Wizardmon rushed to the General's side, ready to tend to her injuries, while BlackRenamon and the other Wizardmon held the line.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon's voice rang out like a sweet melody, despite the obvious anger in her tone.

The arrow of holy light was released from the feathered bow, piercing a BlackGargoylemon in the chest.

The fallen angel, looked down for an instance, surprised to see the deadly wound, before its body reconfigured.

Angewomon had moved to the right side of the defensive line, deciding, that her strength would be best put to use in helping Aquilamon and Ankylomon against the flock of BlackGargoylemon, and the three Deathmon, which were closing in on the line.

"Be careful Angewomon!" Kari shouted from her place behind the defensive line.

The battle was right before the Child of Light, and tears slid down her cheeks, as she felt every blow, that pounded upon her partner.

The Angel digimon tried to smile reassuringly at her distressed partner, but the smile faded quickly, as the BlackGargoylemon turned their full focus upon her.

Together three of the fallen angels released their White Statue attack, sending a wave of white energy towards the meddlesome angel.

Angewomon saw the waves approaching her from both her right and front, and in a desperate attempt to avoid the white streams, she flew high into the air.

The Whit Statue attack rayed out beneath the ultimate, hitting a telephone pole and the side of a crumbling building. Instantly the pole turned into white stone, and a blotch of white rock spread over the side of the building, turning a portion of it into solid rock.

Once high in the air, Angewomon tried a Heaven's Charm attack. The aurora of iris light, spread over one of the Deathmon, stunning it so that it could not move. The light then moved toward the three BlackGargoylemon, but just as it was upon them, the fallen angels turned into black statues. The light passed over them, and they were unaffected. Once the light had faded they thawed and returned to life.

Angewomon fluttered back in shock, her most powerful attack was useless upon these creatures, and their swiftness made her Celestial Arrow attack just as futile.

The BlackGargoylemon growled in annoyance, then flew into a circle, surrounding the Lady Angel.

The ultimate turned her head from side to side, trying to find an escape from the fallen angels, but it was no use, they out numbered, and she had no where to flee.

"Black Statue!" six of the BlackGargoylemon screeched in unison, and a wave of darkness flew from their wings at an unimaginable speed.

Angewomon had no were to run, the powerful attacks were upon her, and the dark waves hit. She screamed in agony, as her body was beaten upon from all sides. White feathers flew around her, once the waves ripped them from her wings, and slices appeared upon her chest, arms, and legs. Crimson seeped from the thin but deep cuts, soaking her clothes, and staining her wings, and then she fell. Her body crumbled on the ground, her wings limp and her body bleeding.

"Angewomon!" Kari cried, upon seeing her partner fall, and then without thinking, the Child of Light dashed from behind the defensive line.

Aquilamon's and Ankylomon's attention was, at the moment, upon a Deathmon, who was trying to brake the weakened line from the right, so there was nothing to stop the young girl from her mad run to her fallen friend.

"Kari!" Tai cried, once realizing that his sister had run passed the line, and was now at her partner's side.

"Angewomon…" the young girl wept, as tears blinded her eyes, and sorrow turned her legs to mush, causing her to fall to her knees beside the Celestial being. "Please wake up… please…" she sobbed, as she ran a hand through the unconscious angel's long golden hair.

A voice above chuckled in amusement. There below him was a bloodied and weakened angel, and beside her was the girl. The Child of Light. He hated this little irritation, almost as much as he hated the Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers. And now there she was, defenseless, and unaware that his deadly gaze had fallen upon her.

'At last I can rid myself of you, as I should have done the first time you entered my domain.'

Thoughts of malice and pain circled in Deamon's twisted mind, and he grinned, finding more joy in the simple thought of killing this girl, then he had in tormenting her all of her years as a Chosen Child.

"Evil Flapping!"

The voice was cured and sadistic, as darkness in the form of black wings without a body, flew from the Dark Area digimon's back.

The wings soar through the sky, hissing as they flew towards their target.

"Angewomon…" Kari still pleaded, all else had disappeared, Deamon, her brother's frantic voice, and the wings of the Angel of Death approaching. Only her tears, and her partner's raspy breath existed, nothing else was real, and nothing else mattered.

"Kari no!" Tai screamed, as he tried pushing his way through the line in a desperate attempt to reach his sister.

The crude chuckling continued above, and the wings of death had arrived, flapping in impatient strokes, ready to take the child's life away.

Kari shut her eyes tight, suddenly aware of the attack, but finding no point in watching her death approach. She could feel the evil energy nearing, and then it happened, the crash, the sounds of a painful cry, muffled by the exploding energy, and then the thump of a body landing near by.

She breathed again, her mind screaming "It was not you!" And she commanded her eyes to open, to look upon the face of her savior.

Crimson covered a body of shadow, and stained once pure white hair a deep red. Kari gasped in shook, confusion, and pain, as she saw the chest raise up and down in shattered breaths.

"Kari!" Tai cried in relief, once he reached his sister. Without another thought he was on the ground, pulling the young girl into his arms, showing no shame in the tears that now ran freely down his reddened cheeks.

After the shock had lifted, Tai pulled away, and followed his sister's gaze to the bloody and broken body, lying beside them.

He had felt it, known it would happen, even before the sun had rose that morning. He knew before he had taken his place on this ground, before the battle had begun, but nothing, not even knowing, could prepare him for it.

He had felt the release of the attack, saw Kari weeping far away. There was no way he could have gotten there in time, no way another other could have made it either, and yet his mind still screamed the question, why? Why not someone else? But that question would never be answered, and so he abandoned all reason and raced from the field, leaving his people to fight.

Beside him ran his partner and Sorcermon, they knew as well, but not like he did. They knew after it had happened, maybe they saw it in those few brief seconds, were time seemed to stop, but that was nothing like him. He had known, that on this day, something precious would be taken from him, but he hadn't realized at that time, that it would be such a large piece of his soul.

He slid down on his knees; ignoring the rip it caused in his jeans, and forced himself to look.

Kari and Tai were on the opposite side, both staring in bewilderment and remorse. And WereGarurumon and Sorcermon were beside him, both allowing their tears to fall freely.

"No…no…" Matt whispered softly, his body shook all over, and his eyes leaked salty tears. "Ladydevimon…" he begged suddenly sounding like a lost child, wandering around in a maze of nightmares.

The fallen angel's chest rose and fell ,as she took in one painful breath after another. Scarlet eyes opened weakly, and red lips pulled into a small smile.

"Matt…" she breathed out, her voice sounding like an echo on the wind.

"You're going to be all right." Matt reassured sternly.

The demon coughed painfully, the blood flowed from her chest in a flood of crimson, and the red soaked into Matt clothes.

The blonde looked frantically upon the dying creature, his mind circling in panic. "You can heal her right!" he demanded of Sorcermon, not even attempting to hide his pain.

Sorcermon's head dropped, and crystal drops fell from his saddened eyes, as he shook his head "no" in defeat.

Matt looked at the wizard, in agony, then turned back to the wheezing Ladydevimon. "Then I will heal you! I've done it before." He announced as he took the demon's fragile hand in his.

Ladydevimon looked upon the suffering boy with compassion and devotion. "Not this time My Lord." She whispered, like a fading light, which was slowly burning out. "There is a virus in me, the attack has rendered it, so that I can not be saved."

Matt shook his head, in denial. "No!" he cried wretchedly. "No there has to be a way. You can not leave me!" he wept out, as his face paled and tears dripped down from his cheeks.

Ladydevimon smiled gently at the weeping boy, before she lifted a shaky hand, and placed it upon his warm cheek.

The blood upon her hand now dripped upon Matt's face, but he did not care, he didn't even realize.

WereGarurumon moved over to Ladydevimon, placing her head in his lap, while tears dampened his fur.

"What Ophanimon told you was not true Matt." She coughed out painfully. "We stand on the brink of a new age where darkness threatens to destroy all hope. All that fights for life, and the freedom to live, must unit in order to prevail against this threat." She warned softly. "The world has heard your song Matt, now you must convince them that it is real. And remember… that you will never be alone. I lived because of you, and I will live forever for you, My Lord… My friend."

And the light faded with her voice. Scarlet eyes closed shut forevermore, and Ladydevimon, Maiden of Darkness, Commanding General of the Nightmare Soldiers, and friend to Yamato Ishida, left all hatred and darkness behind.

Her name was carved upon the stones of Inquiet Sepulcral, and her soul, found pure and worthy in the eyes of all, was sent to rest in Paradise, along with the mighty warriors of the Ancient Race. And so it was, that she was the first Nightmare Soldier, to earn her place beside the immortals of the Digital World.

The voice of a broken soul cried out in agony, as Matt fell upon his face and wept.

WereGarurumon howled in morning, as was the custom for wolf digimon, and Sorcermon and Renamon fell into each other's arms, and cried softly.

Tai wanted to say something, he felt it his responsibility, after all Ladydevimon gave her life to save his sister, but the brunet could find no words. He didn't understand just how deep Matt's friendship for the demon ran until now. For now, his best friend, trembled and cried into the ground, begging for the demon to return, but his pleas were not answered, and he shook even greater because of it.

There was chuckling from above, pure pleasure. Deamon had never been as ecstatic as he was at the moment. His rival, the supposed Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers, now looked like a helpless child. The teen cried and moaned in sorrow, and the demon feed off of the sounds, finding them intoxicating.

The jeering continued from the Demon Lord, drowning out all sounds of the battle. As the laughing grew louder, the anger grew stronger inside of Matt. The rage built up, threatening to spill over in a see of destruction, but he contained himself, decided, that his hatred, would serve as fuel to destroy the beast above him.

Matt's head shot up, and suddenly he was on his feet, staring boldly at the demon.

"You will beg me to destroy you before I am done!" he cried in a voice so unlike his normal smooth tone. It rang, with rage and force, so much so, that all around him stepped back, afraid that he might wish to warm up, on one of them.

Deamon laughed in amusement. "You wish to destroy me? Very well" he spoke coldly, playing with the angered teen . "Then first you must find me." He hissed spitefully, as his body began to fade, until, at last, it was gone.

"Where did he go?" Tai cried in fright, while scanning over the area in search of the Dark Area digimon.

"I have never had a greater desire to kill before in my life." Matt whispered thoughtfully.

The anger had faded, the sorrow was gone, and he was left completely numb inside.

WereGarurumon looked upon his partner, and he could see the change. The sudden solemn apathy, that made his fit of grief seem as though it never happened.

The werewolf wanted to say something to his friend, but there were no words that any could speak, which would undo what was done.

And before anymore could be said, Matt took off. He ran past the battle that, still raged on, despite the events that had just occurred, and he skid into an alley, disappearing into the darkness.

"Matt!" Tai cried in surprise, no one had expected the teen to simply take off like that, and the Child of Courage was suddenly afraid of what the blonde was planing to do.

"We must let him go Tai." WereGarurumon stated, causing the brunet to look at him in bafflement.

"But…" he tried arguing, however WereGarurumon only shook his head, silencing all abjection.

"Let's carry Angewomon behind the defensive line. Sorcermon can tend to her, while the rest of us return to the field." The ultimate stated, taking command in Matt's absence.

"But how can we" Sorcermon's sorrowful voice was cut off by WereGarurumon's gruff, but gentle tone.

"We must carry on. The battle is still there and we must fight until the day is won, or until we draw our last breath."

And the battle went on as if nothing had changed.

While the war continued, a lost soul wandered through the darken alleys, searching for the object of his rage.

And from the heavens, scarlet eyes looked down upon the living, while a shadowed body found her place amongst the immortals.

~*~*~

Please if you're a Ladydevimon fan no flames. She is my favorite digimon, so I did not have her killed out of hate, I had her killed out of love. (that sounds even more pathetic on screen, then it does in my head.)

"And now the end is near"… I don't know the rest of the song. One more chapter after this one, I'm excited. So what did you think? Were the battle scenes too descriptive, or not descriptive enough? Did the chapter flow well together? Was the emotion at Ladydevimon's death portrayed well? Please tell me what you think, I really would like to know what went well, and what stunk in this chapter.

Also, I probably won't update the next chapter as quickly as I did this one. I have final projects due for high school and finals coming up for college, so that's going to take up a lot of my time. But rest assured, I will still be working on this, despite the headaches of school, and I do hope to get the next chapter out as soon as possible, but I have a feeling it's going to be the longest one yet. So brace yourself for that. Well please review.