Digimon: Death of Akume

Chapter 17: An Honorable Death

The Digidestined neared the Circle Stones ruins. They had already sent an e-mail to the original Digidestined telling them they were okay. The ruins slowly rose above the horizon, looking like a beautiful door yard with flowers everywhere. There were six stones standing upright in a circle, each with beautiful pink flowers growing over them. Connecting the stones were small trenches, no more than three inches across, and from the stones came another trench, one for each stone, to a center platform one foot above the ground and two feet across with a trench surrounding it. On the small platform was a flute made of bamboo.

"How beautiful." Sokkia commented. Pupmon was seeming depressed. He knew what was about to happen to Sokkia and himself. They were about to die, here in these beautiful ruins. As the group came closer, Sokkia's Kahn began to glow. Suddenly Sokkia stopped and fell to her knees in a vision.

~Flash~
Sokkia saw all the others standing in front of their own stones.
~Flash~
She saw herself playing the bamboo flute as she stood upon the center platform next to Pupmon.
~Flash~
She saw a beam of light engulf them and a white liquid pour from the platform as they stood on it.
~Flash~
She saw their bodies being covered in ice.
~Flash~
She saw the others sad for them.
~Flash~

"Whoa." Sokkia said in awe. "Was that, the future?" She asked Pupmon. He nodded his head sadly. She smiled at him.

"What did you see?" Kari asked her.

"You will soon find out." Sokkia replied, then to Pupmon she said, "It is an honorable day to die, is it not?" He smiled up at her and nodded. He knew she really was the one the prophecy spoke of. It was said that the Mystic Kahn Queen was very selfless. He truly believed the prophecy now.

"It is a very honorable day to die, my Queen." He said, getting curious faces from everyone except Gatomon. Sokkia smiled down at him, now understanding the entirety of the prophecy. "Gatomon, you are trusted with the keeping of the prophecy when this is over. You know how to contact him." Pupmon said to Gatomon.

"Yes, I understand. We will return, I promise you." Gatomon said.

"What was that all about?" Yolei asked the only three who had a clue about what was going on.

"You will understand when the time comes for you to understand." Pupmon replied.

"You're starting to sound like Genni, Pupmon." Kari said. "That worries me. I don't like all these riddles and prophecies."

"Don't worry, Kari. It all makes sense in the long run." Gatomon replied. "After all, if it weren't for all those prophecies and riddles, we would never learn from our mistakes because we wouldn't make them. And if we didn't learn from our mistakes, we would never improve ourselves as a people or Digimon." Gatomon said in a very philosophical way.

"I understand." Kari replied with a smile.

"Now, everyone must do as I say, or someone may get hurt." Sokkia said as they stepped up to the ruins. She positioned everyone in front of their proper stone. She knew they were the right stones because the stone would flash a symbol when the person and Digimon that belonged with it stood before it.

"I want all of you to stay where you are no matter what happens until it calms down." Sokkia said. She knew they didn't understand yet, but they would when it was all over. She stepped across the trench. As she did so, a new outfit appeared on her. It was a white dress with pastel flowers printed upon it and a flower headband. She also had her D3 and Kahn, just as she did in the vision. Pupmon crossed behind her, receiving his own flower headband, his blue instead of pink like Sokkia's. Sokkia picked up the flute from the platform and stepped up onto the platform with Pupmon by her side.

"Are you ready, Pupmon?" She asked him quietly, her heart beating fast within her chest.

"Yes, Queen Sokkia. It is our destiny, let us fulfill it." He replied, his heart beating just as fast as Sokkia's. Sokkia lifted the flute to her lips and blew softly. Her hands played the flute by themselves, Sokkia had no control of them. The soft tune calmed her down, as well as Pupmon. They relaxed, allowing the prophecy to come true. A beam of white light flowed over Sokkia as she played the flute. She felt her energy being drained from her as the white liquid, her soul and Pupmon's combined, flowed from the platform, down the trenches to the stones until it filled them up completely. Sokkia went limp, dropping her hands to her sides slowly, dying. The light kept her body standing after she had died, as it did Pupmon's. The stones in front of the Digidestined began to glow. Each stone lifted up off the ground and shrank, forming a Tag and Crest for each of the Digidestined and landing in their hand. Only then were they able to see what had happened to Sokkia and Pupmon. As they looked upon her, the beam began encasing her pale, limp body in ice along with Pupmon's.

"She, she's, dead." Ken said quietly, in shock. Once the ice completely covered the two, the light faded until it disappeared altogether.

"The death will seal fate's door with ice." T.K. said solemnly.

"She said she would be honored to die for this cause." Kari added sadly.

"It was a honorable day to die." Cody said, his eyes threatening to spill over with tears.

"One shall fall." Yolei added, crying quietly.

"Now I understand." Davis said as he hung his head in sadness. "She gave her life so that we could live."

All the Digimon were quiet, mourning the loss of Pupmon and Sokkia.