The two final chapters, divided in three parts. As a whole, they are the ending of a very long and difficult journey, literarily and literally speaking. I fulfill several purposes by writing these two chapters. When "Tamers Forever" was originally conceived, it was supposed to be a ten-story series mainly concerning a Takato/Rika relationship. It was supposed to be more of a romantic comedy which would reach a dramatic climax in the last two stories (If I'm not mistaken, those two stories were going to be named "The Clash of the Millennium" and "The Lord of Chaos"). As you could see, it began just like that, with "Card-O-Rama!" being my first attempt at comedy.

It was a success, and I began writing the second installment, in which Takato was supposed to bring back the Digimon to the Real World. However, I realized my strong point wasn't comedy, as I unconsciously deepened and filled the plot with questions and secrets. And so, "Tamers Forever" was reduced to five stories. Five adventure/drama stories with small shots at humor (like "Theory of Chaos") with an undeniable crescendo which reached an apex with "Silent Sorrow".

And now, it seems like "Tamers Forever" isn't enough. At least not for me. It's been several years since Digimon Tamers was first aired, and I still think I haven't exploited it to its fullest. There's still a lot of potential for the world of Takato Matsuki and his friends, and that's what "Gospel" is for. It's a lot more than a childish refusal to let go of a rather "old" series, that's for sure.

Anyway, I just wanted to write this because I'm not writing any notes in the next chapter. In advance, many thanks to those who have stuck up with me all this time. Very special thanks to the reviewers and e-mailers, your praises and comments helped me find the will to continue several times. Thanks to Digidestined of Courage for lending me his persona for creating the tenth Archangel, bearer of the Opal Omnivice. And I don't continue because the list of people is just too long (Black, Epsilon, Frozen Phoenix, you know I couldn't forget you! Same to James and Ronda!). To all of you, thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I do own the Omnivice Traits and the original characters, Gabrielle, Ayla and Helena.

SILENT SORROW

Chapter 17-A

Concerto of Despair

Part IV: Final Concerto

Act One: A Dying Man's Prayer

Scene One: The Question of Existence

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 15:12:07

Renamon watched silently, narrowing her eyes to protect them from the hot currents of air and the ash. It had been more than eight hours since the explosion, but the flames didn't seem to be receding. Cherrymon's Secret Garden was nothing but a memory, now that the flames had consumed everything. Plants and Digimon alike were destroyed, and as far as she knew, they were the only survivors, except for a few Infermon she had seen a few hours before. Daemon's forces had been annihilated. Rosemon and her friends had died, too. The question left was the source of the explosion.

Rika and Renamon had seen it. After reaching the edge of the forest from Cherrymon's secret passage, they had waited. Rika had insisted several times on going back to find Takato, but both Digimon and Tamer knew that returning to that place was signing their own death sentences. Besides, they couldn't waste Rosemon's and Cherrymon's sacrifices.

Hence, they only watched. And witnessed. They saw how hot lava began to pour out of every hole, natural or artificial, that was carved in the rocks, with the occasional explosion of flames and charred Digimon that suffered horrible pain before finding a release in the much-expected dissipation of data.

And finally, the explosion. For an instant, everything was light, and their eyes were blinded by the sudden and unexpected overloading of their retinas. And the forest was no more. It was a compact version of apocalypse. In a little speck of land in the vast Digital World, everything had turned to nothing, and the only thing standing was a seemingly fragile piece of mountain with terabytes of data floating around it. You had to be very strong or very lucky to be able to escape such an amazingly destructive power. Renamon and Rika would have liked to think of themselves as strong, but they knew they were a better example of the latter choice.

Then, they waited. Not certain of what to expect, as they knew nothing would come out of that forest-turned-wasteland. Rika sat on the ground, bending her legs and wrapping them with her arms. Her eyes stared vacantly at the smoke clouds and the floating data, which also had a dark color Renamon somehow associated with the Digital Hazard.

She was about to join Rika when a shadow stepped out of the nothingness, poking through the smoke that covered the only remaining entrance to what once was the Secret Garden's rocky chambers. The figure walked with uneasy steps, tumbling and hesitating before moving any further. In any other moment, Renamon would have labeled it as a drunken person.

She didn't even have time to ignore that thought before Takato stepped out of the smoke.

Rika stood up immediately. Renamon quickly approached the seemingly weak Tamer. She didn't fail to notice his vacant eyes and his lost stare. It was almost as if his soul was anywhere but there. His head was completely lowered, making it unable to catch a full glimpse of his face most of the time.

"Young Takato, are you alright?" Renamon whispered, ignoring just how stupidly obvious the answer was.

Takato looked up, reacting to the voice. His eyes, however, still seemed lost and unable to focus.

"Ta……ka……to. A name. The label of my existence. Given to me by my parents. Takato is not a very common name, not even in Japan. How does it represent me? What does it mean to me? Nothing………the name 'Takato' means nothing to me. My parents………they are also part of the nothingness……"

While Renamon and Rika tried to interpret whatever Takato mean by those words, the Omni-Tamer raised his hands, intently staring at them, or at least it seemed like so, as his eyes still had that same lost, vacant expression.

"……'Asmodeus'. A code name given to me by my creator. Does it represent me? It represents an incomplete me. A mechanical me, designed for someone's satisfaction. A machine trying to become human. That is my existence."

Renamon was having trouble holding Takato, since he no longer seemed interested in staying on his two feet. Finally giving up, Renamon released him, and the boy fell to the ground on his knees, still "looking" at his hands. Renamon realized the odd detail, it being that he didn't seem hurt by the fire, the magma or the explosion. In fact, even the old wounds seemed to have disappeared. Only his clothes had become useless rags and his face was dirty because of the smoke.

"……'Chaos'. A manifestation of one of the two pieces of the divine duality. The irony of existence. The Primum Mobile……the first engine, that which is one and two and the same time. That, which is called 'God', is Balance and Chaos. I am Chaos. Hence, I am God. But I am not God, for I am nothing. I am incomplete. I am useless. I have failed."

Rika looked at her partner, expecting an explanation, which Renamon didn't have. However, she did voice her thoughts.

"He seems to be in some sort of trance state, Rika."

Rika looked at her "boyfriend", but there were too many uncertainties in her head for her to feel any worry towards the boy in front of her. She had been through too much in too little time, and she was tired. Almost unconsciously, she, too, slumped on the barren ground, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Takato turned his head to look at the exhausted girl, and the returned to his meditation.

"I am not 'Takato'. I am not 'Asmodeus'. I am not 'Chaos'. I am not 'God'. I don't have a name………"

Renamon just listened. It was something she excelled at. Besides, there was nothing else she could think of doing at the moment.

"……then………what am I?"

*********************************************************************

Scene Two: Uncertain Identity

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 03:33:46

A whole day passed in front of the trio, but neither of them seemed to notice. Rika was too tired, but it was about time for her to wake up. While the redhead went through the last phase of her sleeping cycle, Renamon quietly watched, ready to fight anyone who got too close, regardless of circumstances. She had reach the 'kill now, ask later' point.

However, she had already discarded Takato as a threat……or a priority. Regardless of whatever "divine" epiphany he experienced inside those chambers, the fact that his body left behind a trail of blood as he walked told her that he wouldn't live to see the new day. It was good that he could walk again, though. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to require a lot of movement.

She eyed the Goggled Tamer as he walked next to a large boulder.

"……matter………false matter, like everything here. In the end, we're all ones and zeroes in a computer memory. You weight two gigabytes. You are nothing but a rock to my eyes, but within you resides the memory of the Digital World."

A soft whine reached Renamon's ears. Rika had finally awakened. Takato seemed to notice it, too, since he walked over to her, looking at her with the same thoughtful expression he had used for the rock.

Rika blinked a few times and yawned before noticing Takato standing next to her. She looked up at the shadow that blocked the sunlight.

"Takato!? Are you-"

"Nonaka Rika………I love you."

It wasn't what he said what surprised her. It was the way he said it. If he was trying to make her feel loved, then he had failed miserably. He wasn't showing any feeling or romance, it was as if he were just stating a fact.

Takato walked away from Rika and her "huh?". He stopped in midway between Rika and Renamon, to ponder a new thought.

"I love you………but I can't love you anymore."

Rika bolted up in a fraction of a second. "What?"

"Pain………I bring pain. My existence brings pain to many people. If I stay with you, I will cause you unimaginable grief."

Rika walked until she was right behind Takato. "And what about the grief you'll cause me by NOT being with me!?"

Renamon raised an eyebrow. Did she say what I just heard her say?

Takato sighed. "It was a mistake to tell you of my feelings."

Okay, now Rika was angry. Not very delicately, Rika grabbed Takato's shoulder and turned him to face her and see the anger in her eyes.

"You're not Takato! MY Takato wouldn't say such a thing!"

Takato tilted his head to the left. "You're right. I'm not Takato. Or at least, the name 'Takato' does not define me."

Rika narrowed her eyes. "Whoever you are, you disgust me."

Takato replied with a grim smile. "Do not be worried, then. Soon, I, too, will be gone."

*********************************************************************

Scene Three: Bonded for Eternity

"What do you want?"

I want to know………if there's a future for me.

"Oh, there is. A big future awaits you………if you choose correctly."

Are you sure this is what I must do?

"I'm just giving you an option. Even if you refuse, the Thread of Destiny will find a way."

So you're telling me I have no free will?

"No, I'm telling you that time will always flow forward, with or without you."

……………but………I don't know…………I'm so afraid……………

"The reason you fear is because you think you're taking a risk. However, you won't lose anything if you take my advice."

And what if doing whatever you want me to do only brings me sadness?

"Even feeling sadness is better than being lost in the darkness forever, grieving over what you wish to have but you're unable to even try to get."

…………………

"I'm asking one last time. Are you willing to?"

………to what?

"To live."

…………………yes.

"Then open your eyes. We must be ready for when 'he' comes to you."

What? So soon?

"Yes. Soon, it will all be up to you."

*******************************************************************

Scene Four: Bearer of the Hazard

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 03:29:00

With a quiet feral gasp, Guilmon awakened.

His tired eyes looked around the unfamiliar place. He did not need to adjust to the light, for there was little in the room. It was quite a large room, and Guilmon soon realized he wasn't in his "house". When his eyes gave him every bit of information they could, he switched to his nose, which recognized faint traces of familiar scents. None of them could he identify as Takato's.

"Takato………" he muttered sadly.

When both sight and smell failed him, he used his last resource, and the little detail that made him unique amongst all Digimon. As dangerous as it seemed to be, the Digital Hazard was the bond that linked him to his Tamer. Guilmon didn't have a name for it, of course, but he recognized it as the essence of his existence. A while ago he had learned what it meant when everyone said that Takato had "created" him. In a very simple way, of course. The full chain of words would simply explain that Takato's will and the DigiGnomes's aid summoned an unusually large gathering of data, which was then corrupted to enhance its viral attributes, and reinforced with Takato's very own DNA, donated by his dead skin cells which fell from his hand on the piece of paper where he drew the original Guilmon sketch. But that's not really important, is it?

The Hazard didn't really tell Guilmon where Takato was. However, it caused his legs to stand up. That took its time, since he hadn't used his legs in quite a while. He was about to leave the room when he realized he wasn't alone. And he also realized he had looked around everywhere in the room……except for right next to him.

Curled in fetal position right next to him was a young girl he had never seen before. He inched his head closer and sniffed her hair. After a few seconds of enjoying the scent of her shampooed hair, he gave her a closer examination, more out of curiosity than anything else. She was taller than Rika, or at least it seemed like that. But, unlike Rika, she had these two lumps on her chest, such as the ones he had noticed before in what Takato addressed as "women". Guilmon wondered why some humans had them and some didn't. He had noticed that smaller humans such as Takato and Rika didn't have them, but the bigger humans……adults………well, some have them and some don't. He remembered asking Takato once, but then his Tamer got all red and weird red ooze came out of his nose. He also remembered asking Terriermon, but the little Rookie just started to laugh and never stopped. Guilmon decided to ask Renamon after he found Takato.

Guilmon shifted his attention from the girl to a nearby door, and walked towards it. He didn't really know where his instinct was taking him; he just knew Takato would be there.

And this is how Guilmon abandoned the Tamers' shelter to a meeting with destiny.

*******************************************************************

Scene Five: Beautiful Rei

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 03:25:51

As for the girl, her name is Tanaka Rei, and she was in charge of looking after Guilmon. However, saying that she was in charge would be a little too much, since no one really assigned her to do it. She pretty much decided to do it on her own.

The reason for this is actually quite simple: she loved Matsuki Takato.

Or at least that's what she told herself. She's in that point of a person's life when she's experiencing an avalanche of new feelings she can't quite label. But at least we can say she had a crush on Matsuki Takato. From there to love……we'll never know. At least not for now.

Besides, she didn't really know him……I mean; they have never met face to face, personally. However, she does know almost everything there is to know about the leader of the Digimon Tamers. At least everything about his normal, every-day human life, as well as his life as a Tamer. As for him being the Vessel of God and everything else, she'll find out later.

The Tamers knew very well that they became a boom soon after D-Reaper was defeated. Everyone wanted to know more about the underage saviors of the world. And the media didn't fail them. All sorts of special reports and broadcasts were made, and lots of information on the Digimon Tamers was spread throughout the country. And this info reached lots of people, especially young people. The Tamers were idolized and envied, but the Digimon kids simply ignored the spotlight. Most of the attention shifted to Card Game sharks Akiyama Ryo and Nonaka Rika, of course, even though Henry's looks also gave him quite a fanclub. Even Jeri was admired by girls her age for her terrifying experiences inside D-Reaper.

And that brings us to Tanaka Rei. Daughter of a computer scientist and a kindergarten teacher, her father's samurai origins didn't make much of a difference to her. The fact that her father's ancestors fought countless battles in feudal times didn't help much to their situation. Coming from a humble family, she had few needs. Money meant little to her, since she never had many to begin with. Besides, every spare yen ended up in her piggy bank. Her parents loved her, and were very proud of her. And she loved her parents very much, they were everything to her. Her life was pretty much the average medium-class family's only child's life………until she became 12.

At pretty much the same time Takato made his famous Guilmon sketch, signaling the turning point in history, Rei began to change. It wasn't too much to be alarmed, though. After all, puberty is a very normal thing for human beings. She got it a little early, but it isn't much of a rarity, as a matter of fact. As a symbol of the new woman she was about to become, she let her hair grow from that moment, until she found a length that she liked.

At the age of thirteen, she was 5'7'' tall, her hair went a little down her shoulders and her body measures were 33-25-34.

At the age of fourteen, her body growth stopped at 5'9'', her black hair was right on waist-level and her body measures were 36-24-35.

She had inherited her father's height and her mother's beauty. At the age of fourteen, she became a very desirable young woman. And Rei, like pretty much every other boy or girl her age, knew everything about the Digimon Tamers. And she also was prey to their charms, growing to admire these young heroes and quietly wished she were one of them.

Eventually, her father was hired to work at Hypnos-2, which had been rebuilt after being destroyed by D-Reaper. She saw that as her chance to possibly meet the Tamers, but her father didn't see the point of taking her daughter to his workplace. The disappointed young girl continued to watch the TV broadcasts, read the magazines and search the Internet for every bit of info concerning the Digimon Tamers. What really intrigued her were the details. Nothing had been said about how exactly they destroyed D-Reaper.

It was one day, as she watched TV, when she found the answer. She was happily watching an interview with the Tamers, one of the very few the kids agreed to be part of, since they didn't really like the spotlight. And they made sure the whole world knew it. Rika was obviously bored as the interviewer asked her yet another question. Rei envied the girl for being so famous, but she also understood her reluctance to cooperate. She guessed she'd get tired of being famous after a while, too. Ryo seemed a little bored, too, but he politely answered every question. Jeri was extremely nervous, and the other Tamers had insisted on not forcing her to answer any questions. Henry was awfully quiet, and when he was asked a question, he answered with the minimum amount of words as possible. The rest of the team hadn't been invited.

Rei listened attentively when Henry explained how MegaGargomon had used a modified version of the Juggernaut program to create a pseudo-worm-hole that entirely swallowed D-Reaper.

"It's hard to explain, and even harder to make it work." He said. The reporters then asked what he meant by that.

"Well, you don't expect D-Reaper to just allow us to destroy it, right? My using the Juggernaut was the easy part. Rika and Ryo are the heroes for distracting it until I managed to do it."

Rei sighed dreamily. Henry looked like such a modest young guy. And Ryo seemed so comfortable with all the journalists and cameras and everything.

"Well, I do have to thank Rika for that. After all, she gave me her powers so I could fight that thing. Thanks, Rika!"

Rika was shooting daggers at the Legendary Tamer. "Whatever".

The reporter focused on Ryo, and asked him how it felt to lead the Tamers in their final battle and saving young Katou Jeri. The room was awfully silent for a while. Ryo chuckled a little too loud for his safety, but finally cracked under the force of Rika's, Henry's and Jeri's glares.

"Ahem……well…………you'd have to ask Takato to get that answer. He was the leader, and he saved Jeri-chan."

"Not to mention he looked damn cool in his Mega form." Henry added.

"And……when he got those wings………it was…………nice." Jeri said meekly.

Rei bolted off the couch and moved dangerously close to the TV screen. It was the first time she heard the name "Takato". As everyone else, she had guessed Ryo had been the one in charge, being the oldest and most experienced with Digimon and everything.

That's how the 'hunt' began. She looked in every magazine, newspaper and web page known to her for every bit of information concerning this "Takato". She soon got a surname (Matsuki) and an age (12 at the time, soon-to-be 13). She soon realized why the seemingly-most-important of the Digimon Tamers was barely mentioned by the media. After all, a Digimon King of Card Games who wandered alone in the Digital World for months made a much better hero than the short and rather clumsy only child of a couple of bakers. She didn't hate Ryo for that, since he didn't really asked to take Takato's acknowledgement. But it made her like this "Takato" even more, for he was just like her. He was a humble kid with a simple lifestyle and a family with close-to-zero wealth.

She was in search of a picture of him when there were reports indicating that the Tamers' Digimon had somehow returned to the Real World, a feat that was supposed to be impossible. Rei watched how Rika and Renamon were stopped in the middle of a busy Shinjuku street and were asked just how it happened. Rika simply smiled (which was enough of a shock to Rei) and looked at Renamon, who answered for the both of them.

"Takato did it."

"I don't know how, but the stupid Gogglehead did it." Rika answered, for the first time not flustered at the presence of the TV reporters around her.

It was enough for Rei to know Matsuki Takato was something else. And if she needed any more clues; Piedmon, Panjyamon and BlueMeramon attacked a few days later. And Rei and the whole country witnessed the Omni-Tamer battle in all his glory. Everything she saw made her even more attracted to Takato: his evolution to what she considered to be the coolest Digimon ever, the way he received Piedmon's attack to save Taomon, and how he fought against pain and exhaustion to aid WarGrowlmon, Taomon and Rapidmon on their way to victory against two Ultimate Digimon and a Mega Digimon.

She knew she had to meet Matsuki Takato. What would happen from that point was anyone's guess.

That's why she was truly excited when her father took her and her mother away from Tokyo. He told them that a powerful Digimon had invaded the city and the entire Hypnos crew and their families were going to be taken to a secret shelter. He also told her that the Tamers had failed to destroy the evil Digimon and they'd be taken to the shelter, too.

And she finally got to meet the Tamers. Well, not really meet them, though. Only curious glances every time she managed to spot one of them walking through a corridor or something. Most of the time it was Hirokazu or Kenta, who were polite enough to greet her as they encountered in the middle of their paths. She didn't see much of Henry, since he spent most of the time in his room, recovering, as well as the unconscious Ryo. She also exchanged a few words with Jeri when Tamer went to visit the sleeping Guilmon.

As for Guilmon, she had been allowed to look after him and report of any progress in his condition. Once she found out both Matsuki Takato and Nonaka Rika weren't there (which she found rather suspicious), she gave herself the responsibility of looking after Takato's Digimon. Who knows? Maybe Takato would be interested in the girl who took care of Guilmon during his absence.

And that was pretty much the reason she was with the reptile Digimon when he awoke and left the shelter. It wasn't too long after his departure that she, too woke up. She took much shorter to notice Guilmon's absence than Guilmon to notice her presence.

"Guilmon?" She whispered. If there had been someone else in the room, he or she would have found Rei's voice extremely melodic and cute, despite her tangible desperation.

*******************************************************************

Act Two: War Trumpets

Scene Six: The Final March of the Army of Children

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:57:36

He avoided his parents' eyes as he got dressed. At last, night approached, and battle awaited him and his friends.

Henry clasped his Digivice on his belt, and he was ready. Terriermon was looking up from the floor, expecting any reaction from his Tamer.

"Ready?"

"Hai!" Terriermon said in her best cheery voice. "Let's go!" He said and he climbed his way up to Henry's head. Finally, he looked at the door, where his parents waited……and Suzie. He hadn't noticed when the young girl had entered the room.

"Brother, I'm ready to go!" Suzie said happily. Henry was touched by the girl's innocence, and wondered if she truly knew what she was getting into.

"You shouldn't think so low of your sister, Henry. Don't underestimate her." Terriermon muttered.

Henry eyed his partner oddly. He knew it was impossible, but Terriermon seemed to amuse himself by reading his mind.

"Are you ready, Suzie?"

"Hai!"

Henry sighed sadly. "Well then, let's go."

He walked to the door, not willing to face his parents for what could be the last time. "Wish me luck." He muttered.

He barely noticed the tears in the eyes of his mother and his older sister. But he did feel the pressure of his father's hand against his right shoulder.

"Take care, son."

"I will."

Jeri waited a few feet away, with an uneasy smile on her face. She didn't have to deal with Henry's situation, since her family had left to another city the day after Daemon's attack. Jeri was worried that they refused to return even if Daemon was defeated. She didn't want to leave her friends again. However, she had one other thing to deal with.

Takehiro and Mie Matsuki were right behind her.

Henry and Suzie joined her, and Jeri easily noticed Henry's sad mood. Taking his hand in hers, she did her best to lift his spirits. Henry laughed to himself. The mere contact was enough. And now he had two girls holding hands with him. Was he supposed to consider himself lucky?

Anyway, he smiled. "Ready, Jeri?"

A more relieved Jeri took the chance to play a little bit. "For you, always." She said with a wink.

Even if she didn't get the blush she expected, Henry's quiet laughter was a good retribution. After all, there was no point in being sad anymore.

Henry and Suzie looked at Takato's parents, both wondering the exact same thing: what to tell them. Surprisingly enough, Suzie would be the one to answer that question……with another question.

"Brother, angwy kid will come back soon, wight?"

Henry couldn't help but look at his sister with a compassionate look. It was so full of love that Jeri felt a little envious.

"Of course he will, Suzie. He always comes back, right, Jeri?"

Jeri nodded happily and Suzie laughed.

"I miss him! He is funny!"

Henry and Jeri laughed at the little girl's remark. "Yes, he is." Henry agreed.

Two or three minutes later, Henry, Jeri and Suzie met with Ryo, Kazu and Kenta, as well as Yamaki and his two assistants. Henry looked at Riley and Talley.

"We're ready……"

Both girls shook her heads. "The transport is ready when you are." Yamaki stated.

Henry faced his comrades. They all knew what they were getting into. Jeri looked at Henry, and then she looked down to her Digimon, Elecmon. He seemed ready enough. So was Impmon, who was also worried for the sake of his Tamers. Of course, he had failed to mention them to anyone, so the Hypnos crew couldn't rescue them with the Tamers' families. He knew they were alright, but he also knew they wouldn't be alright for much longer if Daemon wasn't stopped.

Ryo was used to this kind of thrill, so he didn't say anything. He wasn't used to losing this much, and that troubled him.

Daemon shouldn't be that strong, at least not an ordinary one. What makes this one so strong? His power overcomes several Mega Digimon together, and that's just not possible!

Henry looked at Terriermon. "Are you ready, Terriermon?"

"Of course." The Digimon replied, and Henry noticed that he lacked his usual upbeat mood that day.

Don't worry, Henry. I'll protect you. We'll win, I promise.

*******************************************************************

Scene Seven: Memories Torn Apart

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:51:40

Rika and Renamon walked together. Their pace was slow, determined by Takato's rhythm as he walked a few feet ahead. Unlike the others, Takato took his time to look at everything around him, as if he could see things invisible to Rika's and Renamon's eyes.

"What are we waiting for?" Rika muttered.

"Ruki is preparing a Gate for us to return to the Human World." Takato answered loudly, catching the others' attention.

Takato finally stopped. Rika looked around, but the place didn't seem to be any different from any other place in that vast wasteland.

"We will wait here until Ruki's ready."

"And what will we do once we get there?" Renamon asked.

"Fight Daemon, of course. We can beat him."

"We should have been supposed to beat him ages ago!" Rika shouted angrily. "His strongest attack should only have 620 power!"

Takato sighed. "Anyone would have expected you to understand by now, Rika."

"What do you mean by that!?"

"The Card Game should mean nothing to you. This is reality; we are not governed by statistics. Digimon are just like humans, as Digimon were created by humans. Digimon find strength in their hopes, dreams and feelings, just like humans do. Daemon is an evil Digimon, and negative feelings such as hatred or revenge only make him stronger. It is a known fact that when someone wants something more than anything else, there is no force in Universe which could stop him. Daemon craves for absolute power, and his mind is focused on that simple thought, that's why he's stronger than us."

"Then how do we defeat him?" Renamon insisted.

"We are fighting for existence here. If our will to survive is stronger than his will to destroy us, then we'll win."

"Easier said than done, huh?" Rika said bitterly. Takato shrugged.

"I don't really care. My time in this world is almost over, anyway, so I'll just do my best. You, Rika, you are the one who still has a reason to fight."

"YOU were my reason to fight, damn it!"

Takato sighed sadly before placing his hands in his pants' pockets. When his fingers made contact with something, he took it out.

"What is this?" He said to himself. He noticed Rika and Renamon weren't looking at him, so he kept his doubt to himself. He stared at the picture for a while, as a memory quickly distracted his mind……

"It's a memento, a memento! Takato-kun, your girlfriend's running away!"

Yes, it had been one of the Lilymon. One of the Lilymon who gave their lives to him. Rika didn't like the idea, but Takato convinced her to let the fairy Digimon take a few pictures of them. He didn't remember receiving a copy, though. Maybe the Digimon put it in his pocket at some point during the final battle. Rika was sitting on a rock, giving a shy smile to the camera. She's never been a photogenic person. Takato was standing right behind her, his arms wrapped around Rika. He wasn't even smiling. He was too tired to do that. But his eyes were enough to show the happiness that he experienced that moment.

Takato sighed again. "Memories are painful."

He moved his hands to tear the picture apart.

Takato, don't.

Takato looked at the Ruby Omnivice for a second, and then carefully placed the picture in his pocket again.

………I need more time.

……There's no rush.

**********************************************************************

Scene Eight: Three Tamers, Seven Digi-Destined, and Mimi

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:44:23

Just a little further ahead! I can detect Mimi's digital pattern ahead of us!

"Thanks a lot, Helena. Yolei, full speed ahead."

"Alright."

Hmm……Ken-san………

Ken-san? Well, at least it's better than Ichijouji-sama. What is it, Helena?

Your wife………I don't think she approves of my presence.

Oh, and how would you now that?

You share a strong bond with her, and since I'm mentally connected to you, I can also detect traces of her emotions, in a weaker level, of course. In fact, I think I might be able to detect your daughter's presence if she were a little closer.

Ken sighed. Well, I guess I can't expect Yolei to be very pleased with the idea of a pretty young woman coexisting in my mind.

Thanks for the compliment. However, Yolei-san must understand I'm not interested in……you know………I'm not my older sister. And even if I were, I wouldn't try anything with a married man.

I've never doubted that. You seem like a very reliable assistant.

I'm honored by your words.

Ken knew he'd have to make things clear with Yolei later, especially after his wife and Kari had a very interesting discussion about Omnivices. The fact that Takeru had a relationship of sorts with his Pauline didn't help at all. Ken looked at Takeru, who leaded the group in their search for Mimi, and wondered if the blonde Tamer really knew what he was doing when encouraging Pauline's "feelings" towards him. However, since he still knew little about Human-Omnivice interactions, he chose to discard his opinions for now.

As for Takeru, he was riding his Pegasusmon with Joe and Gomamon. Kari's Magnadramon easily carried Kari, Davis, Cody, Veemon and Armadillomon; while Sora's Garudamon was being ridden by Sora, Matt and Gabumon. Izzy traveled alone with MegaKabuterimon.

Takeru……

Yes?

They're also here………

*********************************************************************

Scene Nine: Departure and Decision

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:41:00

For the first time in several days, Henry saw a sunset. "Kind of ironic, isn't it?" He muttered as he walked to the black van that awaited them. Terriermon kept his opinion to himself.

"H-Henry-san!!!"

Henry turned around to see an unfamiliar figure running towards them. "Who is she?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Tanaka-san!!!" Hirokazu and Kenta exclaimed happily, not oblivious to the girl's beauty. Rei stopped a few steps from the Tamers and panted in exhaustion.

"I……I'm Tanaka Rei……sorry to bother you………"

"We don't have time, Tanaka." Yamaki said coldly.

"B-But, Guilmon………."

"What happened to Guilmon, Tanaka-san?" Jeri asked politely.

"Guilmon is gone! I've looked for him everywhere! I'm sure he's not here!"

Jeri gasped, and Henry sighed. "Let's go."

"What!? Henry, but-"

"We don't have time to look for Guilmon, Jeri. If he was able to get up and leave this place, it means he's strong enough to take care of himself. Now, let's go."

Jeri looked down as the others continued their march towards the black van. Finally, Jeri mouthed a "sorry" to Rei and left to join her partners.

Tanaka Rei watched silently as the van took the Tamers to their final battle against Daemon. Once it was far enough, she sprinted towards the forest, in a straight line towards Tokyo. It didn't matter how long it took her, but she'd get there and find Guilmon.

"Don't be crazy, there's no way you'll reach Tokyo like that." A voice behind her made her stop. She turned around to find Beelzemon Blast Mode standing there, looking at her with an amused expression.

"Need a ride?"

******************************************************************

Scene Ten: Setup

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:39:57

Takeru and the others didn't need Pauline's warning to notice them. Daemon's Eastern Quadrant Forces moved together like a huge black spot in the middle of a large valley. It was impossible to distinguish individual Digimon in the giant cluster. That would have been completely true if it weren't for two flying shapes that approached them at great speed.

"So many……" Cody muttered as a shiver went down his spine.

"Everyone, come closer!" Takeru commanded, and Aquilamon, Magnadramon, Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon gathered around Pegasusmon.

"Pauline has detected Mimi's exact location one a half kilometers east of here."

Impossible / No way!

"Huh?" Kari and Ken muttered simultaneously.

There's just no way Pauline-san could have detected Mimi with such precision, at least not before us! We're upgraded Omnivices, and not even our radars are THAT good!

"What is it?" Takeru asked.

"Helena just said that it was impossible that Pauline found Mimi before her."

"Ayla seems to share the same opinion." Kari added. Takeru chuckled.

"The Omnivice's ability depends on the Tamer's skill. Ayla and Helena are making a terrible mistake underestimating my Pauline. And I hope they don't do the same with Takato's Ruki. That redhead is really good."

Ken and Kari nodded. Kari felt Ayla's nodding in her mind, and Kari admired Ayla's open mind, willing to accept the facts. Helena grumbled in Ken's mind, which forced a subtle chuckle from the newest member of the Omnivice Tamers team.

"Anyway, Izzy and Ken will go retrieve Mimi. Helena is downloading Pauline's data as we speak. The rest come with me."

Ken carefully jumped from Aquilamon's back to MegaKabuterimon's head, and the giant insect Digimon left the main group to another location. Takeru looked ahead, at the two flying Digimon.

"About time those two showed up. We're landing now."

Everyone did as Takeru ordered. Once those who weren't riding their own Digimon were on the ground, Takeru looked at Kari and Magnadramon.

"Kari, I guess I don't have to tell you what to do."

Kari nodded and Magnadramon took off towards the flying enemies. Takeru looked at the others.

"Well, this is it. You still can run away if you want to."

"Cut the crap already and tell us what to do." Matt retorted, half-smiling, half-angry. Takeru chuckled.

"You will focus on the ground forces. Kari will handle LadyDevimon. It shouldn't take her too long, so she'll join you as soon as she's done. Same goes with Izzy and Ken as soon as they find Mimi. I don't think Mimi will be up to help us right now, though. I'll fight SkullSatamon and the Diaboromon in the front line, so you just worry about the DarkScubamon, Infermon and Kurisarimon."

"Lucky us." Yolei muttered sarcastically.

"And whatever you do, don't let the Kurisarimon evolve, okay? Take care."

A second later, there was nothing but the blinding light of evolution, and soon enough Aquilamon, Garurumon, ExVeemon, Ankylomon, Ikkakumon and Garudamon were in their way to battle. Takeru looked up, surprised when he realized that Magnadramon and LadyDevimon were already going at each other.

"What, no greetings at all? Gosh, what is it with those girls?"

He also noticed how SkullSatamon slowly moved to make a sneak attack behind Magnadramon.

"I don't think so. Pauline? Patamon?"

"I was born ready!"

Always willing to serve you, dear.

*************************************************************************

FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS, THE EVENTS OF THE NEXT THREE ACTS TAKE PLACE SIMULTANEOUSLY

*************************************************************************

Act Three: The New Tamers

Scene Eleven: Fiery Light

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:37:50

"Darkness Wave!"

Magnadramon swiftly evaded the swarm of bats aimed towards her. "Holy Flame!" It shouted, but the much faster female devil Digimon evaded the dragon's fiery breath.

"No problem! This is over the moment we get her!"

"You should worry about yourself! Nail Bone!"

Kari turned to meet SkullSatamon, who was ready to knock her out for good, until a silver blur hit him. HARD.

"Not in this lifetime, demon!" SlashAngemon shouted at the undead Digimon. "How are you, Kari?"

"Fine, thanks to you."

"Ah! Um…….anytime!"

"How sweet of you."

"Oh…ah……yeah………"

We're fighting, remember!?

"Oh, right!" Takeru exclaimed before flying away. Kari watched the metal angel until Magnadramon, too, lunged at her opponent again.

Always looking after me, huh? I guess some things never change………

SlashAngemon attacked with his left sword but SkullSatamon was just as fast. He looked at the battle below, where the Digi-Destined were doing their best taking out as many enemies as possible while avoiding direct combat with the much-stronger Diaboromon.

"Damn it……Kari!!!"

LadyDevimon swiftly turned and twisted her body to evade Magnadramon's flamethrower.

"What!?"

"Stop fooling around and get rid of her now! Then go get Diaboromon! He should be even easier!"

"This stupid bitch is too fast!"

Takeru twitched. It was the first time he heard Kari using a dirty word. He guessed fourteen years of hard life do that to people.

"Then go get Diaboromon! I'll handle LadyDevimon and SkullSatamon!"

"NO!"

"This is not a foolish game, Hikari! We're fighting for survival here! Now shut up and move you ass down there!!!"

Kari bit her tongue and glared at SlashAngemon, who glared back. SkullSatamon tried to attack from behind the Angel Digimon, but only got an elbow on his face. Finally, Kari gave up and ordered Magnadramon to engage battle with Diaboromon.

"Okay, with that settled……."

LadyDevimon never saw what hit her. After three seconds and one hundred and forty three slashes of Takeru's Mega Form's blades, LadyDevimon exploded and became nothing but data, which was quickly absorbed by SlashAngemon.

"Better myself than any of Daemon's minions." The metal angel muttered. When it came to flying speed, only MegaRapidmon could best him, and MegaRapidmon would cease to exist very soon.

***************************************************************

Scene Twelve: Macabre Truth

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:32:34

MegaKabuterimon was forced to de-evolve back to Tentomon at the edge of the forest, and Izzy and Ken had to go the rest of the way on foot. They ran through the forest with hurried speed, since they knew they were needed in the battlefield. Two less Ultimate Digimon were a great disadvantage for the Digi-Destined.

"Further ahead, Koushiro!"

"Hai!"

Ken changed from jogging to frantic running, and Izzy followed suit. Ken would have never imagined that Izzy, probably the one with less athletic features in the group would be able to keep his pace. It was obvious that the redhead had a source of energy everyone else ignored.

As the trees increased in size and number, sunlight slowly began to disappear to give place to an eerie darkness, Ken's and Izzy's pace seemed to increase even more. They only stopped when a faint sobbing reached their ears.

Fifteen yards away from them, Tachikawa Mimi, or the living mess known as Tachikawa Mimi cried uncontrollably on the ground, her body curled in fetal position. Ken and Izzy approached her slowly, not quite sure of what to do. And they made sure to voice their thoughts to each other.

"Hmm……so……what do we do now?" Ken muttered.

"How could I know? I work with computers, not people. Haven't you dealt with crime witnesses or something?"

Izzy was much louder than Ken. Loud enough for Mimi to hear him, I mean. The woman raised her head and forced her body to back away from the newcomers. Koushiro noticed her reaction and acted against it.

"Mimi, no! It's us!" He said as he walked closer to Mimi, who crawled backwards as fast as she could.

Finally, Izzy caught her and firmly held her shoulders so that she would look at him. Mimi shrieked in terror and tried to look away, but the redhead forced her to look at him.

"Mimi, look at me! Look at me!" He said in a commanding voice.

Mimi's shuddering and shaking slowly reached a halt, as the woman's brain recognize the voice of the man in front of her. Koushiro, still oblivious to the cause of Mimi's pain, smiled uneasily, considering that he had succeeded in calming her down. As for Ken, he hadn't been participant in the exchange because he had already realized what Koushiro hadn't noticed yet, and he was trying to cope with the discovery.

"Umm……Koushiro………" He muttered.

Mimi finally forced herself to look at the person in front of her. This man she now labeled as "familiar".

"Kou……shi……ro……"

"Yeah………"

All of a sudden, the woman slumped in Koushiro's arms and began to cry. Koushiro was partially scared and partially surprised, but he did the best to comfort the woman whose slender body was now pressed against his.

Wait a minute………

As realization dawned upon him, his eyes shifted to Mimi's eyes to her waist, which was now plain.

"Oh my God……………"

*****************************************************************

Scene Thirteen: In Pandemonium, There is Hope

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:15:46

Diaboromon let one last deafening cry before being fully consumed by Magnadramon's Holy Flame. Since Kari didn't know about absorbing Digimon data to become stronger, she simply let the wind swipe away what was once a Virus Mega Digimon. She'd soon find out that was the best decision she could have made.

"Wing Blade!"

Garudamon cleansed a small cluster of land with its main attack before landing, to then use its giant hand to grab at least half a dozen DarkScubamon and tossed them in the air……

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"X-Laser!"

"Garuru Kick!"

……so that Ikkakumon, ExVeemon and WereGarurumon finished the job. On the sidelines, Sora and Matt smiled at each other for a job well done.

"We might actually win this!" The blonde man exclaimed excitedly. Sora smiled at her husband's attitude. She hadn't seen him like that in quite a while. It reminded her of the young teen she fell in love with in the first place.

"It's a good thing Garurumon evolved, too."

They were too focused on what happened in front of them that they failed to notice the lone DarkScubamon that slowly approached them from behind………

*************************************************************

Scene Fourteen: Zudomon Strikes

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:14:37

"Ikkakumon!"

Joe felt a familiar rush of energy right before a ray of light was shot from his Digivice and hit Joe's Digimon partner.

"Ikkakumon, digivolve to……Zudomon!"

Cody's Ankylomon was about to be beaten by an Infermon when the offending Virus was whacked away by a huge hammer.

"Alright! Zudomon, assist Ankylomon!"

Cody sighed in relief and silently thanked Joe for his help. Despite his hard shell, Ankylomon was the weakest member of the group besides Aquilamon, who had the advantage of flight, which helped a lot in his "Kurisarimon-whacking" mission. Yolei's and Cody's Digimon were in charge of disposing of the small champion Digimon. Unfortunately, their data was always absorbed by other Kurisarimon, and the number of Infermon was rapidly increasing. It was a matter of time before new Diaboromon appeared and enemy Digimon were still coming in hordes. When Takeru had warned them not to let the Kurisarimon evolve, he made the fatal mistake of not telling them how. And considering that Daemon had sent the majority of his troops to enact his revenge on the Digi-Destined, we could say the Digi-Destined had lots of trouble in the way.

The next thing Cody and Joe heard was Sora's cry.

"MATT!!!"

******************************************************************

Scene Fifteen: Takeru's Interlude and the fall of Inoue Yolei

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:13:50

SlashAngemon was struggling with SkullSatamon's bone staff when Sora's cry reached his ears. While he still kept the enemy weapon away, his eyes scanned the ground to see what happened. Soon enough, he saw Joe rushing to the place Sora frantically called him from, next to Matt, who was lying on the ground. Whoever had attacked the couple had already being victim of WereGarurumon's fists. However, it seemed Sora's voice had attracted a pair of Infermon, too.

SlashAngemon folded his wings and his body free-fell all the way until he opened his wings again, a few meters from the ground, to attack the Infermon.

He was five meters away when the two Infermon were incinerated by Magnadramon's Holy Flame. He looked up, but Magnadramon was already busy killing enemies somewhere else.

"Who would have though Kari of all people……?"

"Yeah, it's scary!" Patamon added. Pauline chuckled.

Yeah, well, we can't complain, right?

SlashAngemon looked at his human colleagues. Sora was on her knees, crying, while Joe covered Matt's eyes with bandages. A few trails of blood went down Takeru's brother's face, like a macabre mockery of tears.

"Joe?"

The doctor looked up, and it took him a few seconds to identify the metal angel as Takaishi Takeru. "Oh, yeah, well……he was lucky." He finally said, looking at the now unconscious Ishida.

"Then why is he unconscious?"

"Mostly because of the shock……and the anesthetic. The slash was, in fact, right above the eyes. A few millimeters down and he'd be blind the rest of his life, if not dead."

"Damn."

Sora's crying had turned into wailing, and Takeru sighed. Gabumon, who had de-evolved as soon as his human partner was out of commission, now stood next to Matt.

One down……

"Takeru!!!!!!" Cody shouted from afar. SlashAngemon looked at Cody. "Damn!"

SkullSatamon, being much faster and having extra power thanks to his Master, was pretty much toying with Zudomon and Ankylomon, who was miraculously holding off without de-evolving.

"Damn that demon! Garudamon, guard Sora and Joe until Cody arrives here, then assist Yolei, got it!?"

The giant bird man nodded and stood proudly between the enemy Digimon and the humans. SlashAngemon took a mere second to get to SkullSatamon and force him to back away from Zudomon and Ankylomon.

"Zudomon and Ankylomon! Make sure Cody goes to where Joe and the others are, then stay there and guard them!"

"Gotcha!" Zudomon exclaimed before leaving to pick up Cody.

At the same time this took place, Kari and Magnadramon were faring much better, burning DarkScubamon and Kurisarimon like ants under a loupe. Now that Zudomon and Ankylomon were assigned to be guards and Gabumon wasn't able to fight anymore, they had become the main attacking force. Kari was smiling to herself. For the first time ever, she actually felt she was doing things right. She was helping the team! She was protecting her loved ones!

"Being a Tamer is great!"

I am glad you feel that way.

"Thank you, Ayla-san!"

Her joy was cut short by a horrifying scream. She looked at the source, and her body froze.

An Infermon had finally managed to hit Aquilamon with a Hell's Grenade, and the Champion Digimon had returned to its rookie form, Hawkmon, meaning Yolei was now prey to the force of gravity.

Kari closed her eyes and waited for the unavoidable. She didn't even open them after the explosion.

Wait a second………explosion!?

********************************************************************

Scene Sixteen: The Wrath of Haniel, and the Defeat of SlashAngemon

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 02:13:00

Ken and DinoBeemon were rushing through the forest path to join their friends in the battle. Following Koushiro's orders, he let the redhead take care of Mimi and returned to help with the fight, where he would be more useful. He was feeling a strangely pleasant rush of adrenaline flooding his bloodstream, almost as if he was eager to fight. Maybe it was the expectation of a thrilling experience, something he was starting to lack in his police work.

Helena wasn't hiding her feelings, though.

Alright! We're going to fight, and we're going to kick ass! We'll show those guys who's boss!

Hmm……Helena, you're not doing anything.

I would if you had more than a measly evolution card!

Takeru wouldn't give me anything else!

They would have continued their pathetic little argument if they hadn't reached the battlefield in that precise moment, only to see an Infermon taking down Aquilamon, and Yolei suddenly sitting in mid-air.

What happened next would remain in the Digi-Destined's minds forever. It was once of those moments when a few seconds seem to last a lifetime. All of a sudden, there was nothing but blinding light.

"DinoBeemon, digivolve to………GranKuwagamon!"

There was a deafening explosion when a huge shadow emerged from the light, leapt over the stunned Digi-Destined and caught Ken's wife before the impact with the ground killed her. When Yolei opened her eyes, she was held by a huge pair of giant, sharp scissor claws.

"Huh……honey………" Yolei muttered as the giant insect Digimon landed next to his Tamer.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Could you use a safer Digimon next time you save me?"

Ken sweatdropped. "Al……alright. Now will you go with the others while I take care of things?"

Yolei was still a little shaky as she walked to the group of gathered Digi-Destined. Garudamon was retrieving the fallen Hawkmon before the Infermon made a feast with his data.

"Alright, GranKuwagamon, show us what you can do!"

The Virus Mega Digimon landed on the battlefield (smashing a DarkScubamon in the process) and prepared his strongest attack.

"Dimension Scissors!"

Everything was silent for a second, and then the force of the slash ripped though the air and created a deadly vacuum that sliced enemies of all kinds and levels without exception. In a second, gigabytes of data were floating aimlessly in the air……until they were absorbed by other Digimon. Suddenly, a trio of Diaboromon appeared out of nowhere and blasted GranKuwagamon with a triple dose of Catastrophe Cannons.

"I could use some help here!" Ken said right when he noticed the Infermon gathering to assist their evolved comrades.

"We're busy here, too!" Zudomon and Ankylomon replied together as they did their best to hold the horde of Infermon trying to get to the Digi-Destined.

"I'll be there……as soon……as I……get rid……of these pests!" Garudamon replied as it tried to swat the remaining (and much smaller) Darkscubamon like annoying flies.

Magnadramon was right there to help GranKuwagamon. "I'm here! Where the hell is Takeru!?"

Meanwhile, the aforementioned blonde Tamer was quite pissed off.

"Great, now even Ken's having a blast over there. How come I'm still stuck with YOU!?"

SkullSatamon responded by retreating. Takeru growled. "That's it! You think you're fast? I'll show you fast!"

From that moment, SlashAngemon fought with much more intensity than ever before. The over-powered Ultimate Digimon barely managed to block the angel's blades with its staff, but the vaccine Mega Digimon was much faster, and he used that speed to his advantage, turning around his opponent and confusing him, making it impossible for SkullSatamon to predict where would SlashAngemon attack from. That's why he never saw when the angel pierced through the Undead's ribcage from behind, breaking the golden core in the middle of the sternum.

SlashAngemon had just absorbed the last bit of data when something went wrong. An indescribable pain flooded his body and Takeru's nerves went haywire.

"What the fuck is going on!?"

T-Takeru!!!! Please land right now!

"But, why!?"

NOW!!!!

Takeru did as told, of course. As soon as SlashAngemon set feet on the ground, he de-evolved back to Takeru and Patamon.

"What's wrong, Pauline?" Takeru immediately requested an explanation to his Omnivice, but there was no response. He looked at Patamon, who seemed perfectly fine.

There was a virus in SkullSatamon's and LadyDevimon's data! It interrupted my bio-merging protocols!

"Will you be okay?" Takeru asked, genuinely worried about Pauline's "health".

You designed me to be fully capable of handling these things. I'll be fine. You should make Patamon evolve to Seraphimon, though.

"Oh, sure, right."

Takeru ran to meet with the Digi-Destined while Seraphimon went to aid GranKuwagamon and Magnadramon. Joe didn't hide his surprise.

"Takeru?"

"The enemies' data contains a virus, and Pauline was infected. I can't bio-merge for a while. Seraphimon will handle things from now. How's Matt?"

"He'll be okay."

"How about you?" Takeru asked Yolei.

"Peachy."

The combined forces of three Mega Digimon easily dispatched the three Diaboromon, and the remaining enemy forces began to retreat. Takeru didn't fail to notice that.

"Seraphimon! Don't let the DarkScubamon escape! Kurisarimon and Infermon can't think of their own, don't mind them!"

Seraphimon did as told, and the other two Mega Digimon followed him. However, letting the Infermon and Kurisarimon escape would be Takeru's last mistake that day.

While Joe checked on the Digimon's status, the two missing Digi-Destined arrived.

"Hey, everyone!" Koushiro shouted eagerly as he jogged his way to them, carrying a sleeping Mimi on his back.

Sora and Joe went over to meet the couple and check on Mimi. Takeru looked at Seraphimon and GranKuwagamon as they destroyed as many enemies as possible, and Magnadramon returned with Kari to look after Mimi, too. It seemed like they had won. It seemed like Daemon's forces had failed in the Eastern Quadrant.

Then why did he still feel so uneasy?

********************************************************************

Scene Seventeen: Watcher of the Apex

In the very center of the Digital World, there is the Apex. The forbidden area; a place no one can reach, where the very pillar which supports the Digital World is placed, like a proud obelisk of perfection. The Apex is just as large as any of the other Quadrants, and just as nobody can reach it, nobody can get out of it. To be able to get in and out of the Apex is not a matter of power, for if that were the case, then he would be able to leave without a problem. No, it's a matter of who you are.

And that's why the fake Gennai could get out of the Apex, snatch Tachikawa Mimi, take her with him and return her to the Eastern Quadrant. Under the guidance of his invisible master, the renegade Digital Guardian could do almost anything.

In the very center of the Apex, the very center of the Digital World, and maybe the very center of the Universe itself………the Spirit Pillar. Just as the Apex represents the very core of the Digital World, the Spirit Pillar contained the purest essence of everything that is digital. If there is a heaven for Digimon, then the Spirit Pillar is that heaven. Nobody outside the Apex knows what resides within the Spirit Pillar, just as the rest of the Apex itself. And for those who exist within the Apex, only a selected few have seen the interior of the Pillar and lived to remember it.

At the base of the Spirit Pillar, the tree of knowledge, Yggdrasil, stands proudly. At the top of the Pillar, the one who watches over the tree and everything within the Pillar stands guard. He is the God Beast, Huanglongmon.

He lives proudly as the guardian of Yggdrasil. Yet his proud is his curse, too. Confined to exist yet not exist at the same time, since no one is aware of his existence. His very life is the biggest secret of the Apex. However, his power can transcend the limits of the Apex and reach the entire Universe. Hence, he watches the events unfold outside the Digital World, silently making an oath to be the one who would put an end to the madness once and for all. Only he has the power to do so. Only he is completely impartial. Only he can be the judge of who must live and who must be destroyed for the sake of the Digital World.

However, as he waits for the day when he'll be able to do something other than just watching, his mind studies the actions of intelligent beings everywhere, loathing their stupidity and their corruption. Even those who are proud of "fighting for justice" are often as violent and devious as those who are naturally evil.

He wished he could start anew. He wished he could create a whole new Digital World, where there would be no need for pointless fighting for survival. Those who are born strong would protect those who are born weak, not destroy them. Everything would be pure and holy, with no trace of trash data.

But that, of course, was nothing but a utopia. The Digital World was directly connected and completely dependent of humans, and there couldn't be such a thing as a perfect world created by imperfect beings. But there was another answer. If he could choose who would become a part of the new Digital World, he would only pick those who are truly worthy, those who would work for perfection.

And that was everything he did in the meantime. At the very beginning, he could partially influence the Digital World, since it was still small. He even encouraged the first Digi-Destined in their battles against evil. He saw that Digimon and humans could work together and become stronger, and that pleased him. He witnessed the beginning of Project Asmodeus, looking forward to have the aid of the Vessel of God for the creation of the new Digital World, and it saddened him to see how the project failed.

It was right then when everything began to go wrong. Right under his nose, in the Apex itself, an invisible evil twisted and turned its threads to corrupts and destroy everything. Secretly succeeding with the new Project Asmodeus, creating a Vessel that would contain the power of Chaos and use it to please this invisible evil, bringing terror and destruction to every dimension, every Universe. In the meantime, humanity's imperfections unconsciously brought catastrophe to the Digital World. Their negative feelings created a place of eternal darkness, the Dark Area, where evil and tainted Digimon grew even more corrupted, hungering for chaos and despair. Their silly experiments created heartless artifacts of destruction like D-Reaper and the Nightmare, capable of reducing the whole Digital World to nothingness.

But humans weren't the only ones to blame. The imperfect Digimon they had created were ruining their world with their mistakes, too. In the Southern Quadrant, Zhuqiaomon's stupidity had reduced his entire quadrant to an uncontrollable wasteland where survival of the fittest was law. In the Northern Quadrant, Ebonwumon's passive attitude had allowed an amazingly cunning Daemon to create the terrible ArcaDemon. The Eastern Quadrant was one crisis after another, and Virus Digimon were unable to contain their innate need for violence.

In the end, they all failed. The Digi-Destined in the Eastern Quadrant and the Tamers in the Southern Quadrant succeeded in destroying the evils that threatened every world. In the Northern Quadrant, a lone boy found the power to defeat ArcaDemon and Daemon Super Mega. And the Vessel of God had failed. Matsuki Takato was going to die. However, war and conflict seemed to be the only constant in every dimension. And the dark mastermind in the Apex had created a new and improved Vessel of Evil. Somehow, the forces of darkness had succeeded. The time for him to become a part of history was about to come.

What he ignored is that the Thread of Destiny is always changing, and soon he, too, would be trapped in it…………

And he also ignored that he would soon lose the very purpose of his existence……………

**********************************************************************

Scene Eighteen: Koushiro's Battle and the Golden Absolution / Moment of Glory

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 00:10:43

The Digi-Destined had made a circle around Joe, who carefully studied Mimi's body for anything that could reveal what happened to her during her abduction. The Digimon had returned to their rookie forms, except for GranKuwagamon, whose eyes scanned their surroundings in case Daemon's forces still had something prepared for them, and Magnadramon, who stayed in Mega form to fulfill Kari's request, who silently feared that if she made her Digimon de-evolve, she'd never be able to make her evolve to Mega again.

"Well, she doesn't seem to have any wounds or indications of body harm. Except for the obvious fact that her baby is gone, there's nothing wrong with her."

"How can you say nothing's wrong with her!?" Koushiro snapped. Everyone look at him, and the redhead regained his usual composure. "I……know you didn't mean it like that. Sorry. But………this must have destroyed her………"

Sora looked at the sleeping woman. "Who could do something like that?"

"It's horrible." Yolei added. Cody nodded in agreement from his place, leaning on GranKuwagamon's leg.

Takeru was slightly away from the group, as he still wasn't ready to share his thoughts with the others.

It's my fault………I should have known this would happen!

There's no way you could have possibly known!

Of course there is! I should have listened to myself! I had the suspicion that baby is………I shouldn't have let her go home alone.

 She wasn't alone. Koushiro was with her.

You know what I mean! I should have kept her close, to watch over her!

There's no point in thinking what you could have done now!

But this really changes things…………we're pretty much back to the beginning now. We still don't know who created Takato and Mimi's child, and what's more important, why?

A quiet buzzing sound interrupted his thoughts, and the Digi-Destined's conversation. They all looked in the direction Daemon's forces had escaped, and they all saw the swarm of small Digimon approaching them.

"Kurisarimon?" Davis wondered. He was already clutching his Digivice again.

"But that would mean the Infermon de-evolved." Ken concluded. "Why would they do that?" Izzy added.

Kari, who was still riding on Magnadramon, was able to get a closer look at the newcomers. "They're even smaller than Kurisarimon! Ayla!"

Immediately, the Omnivice made a holographic projection of the always useful Digimon Analyzer.

Kuramon, a Fresh Digimon, type and attribute unknown. Its main attack is Glare Eye.

"Kuramon………" Takeru muttered. When the cloud of Kuramon began to get thicker as the Fresh Digimon inched closer and closer to each other, Takeru understood what was about to happen.

"We have to digivolve, now! They're going to fuse into Armageddemon!"

Everyone gave terrified looks at Takeru. They didn't have very fond memories of Armageddemon.

Umm……Takeru, dear……

What is it?

You still can't bio-merge yet……

Damn it, Pauline!

Sorry!

"Patamon, get ready!"

"Hai!"

However, the enemies were much faster, and soon enough there was only one huge Digimon instead of dozens of tiny ones. Armageddemon didn't waste time charging his Ultimate Flare straight at the Digi-Destined.

"The hell!? Everyone, take cover!"

The dark beam hit dead on GranKuwagamon, dealing some really heavy damage.

"GranKuwagamon!" Ken shouted. But he should have been worried about someone else. Koushiro did worry about the right one, though.

"Cody!"

The Digi-Destined could only see how their youngest member disappeared under the giant body of GranKuwagamon as it fell to the ground.

"Patamon, digivolve to………Seraphimon!"

"Veemon, digivolve to………ExVeemon!"

"Tentomon, digivolve to………Kabuterimon! Kabuterimon, digivolve to………MegaKabuterimon!"

Magnadramon and Kari rushed to attack the enemy Digimon, who responded by summoning his secondary attack, poring dark energy from high above the clouds. The Black Rain forced the holy dragon to retreat and think of a better plan, which gave Armageddemon enough time to prepare a second Ultimate Flare.

"Digi-Modify! Brave Shield, activate!"

Seraphimon used War Greymon's shield to protect the Digi-Destined from the second blast. Sora looked at Takeru with a puzzled expression.

"Wasn't that……?"

"War Greymon's shield, yeah, yeah……Joe! Go get Cody already! Sora, Yolei, stay with Matt and Mimi! Ken, you go help Joe and get Wormmon!"

"Wormmon?"

"What you think GranKuwagamon didn't de-evolve after that?"

Takeru was about to leave when Koushiro stopped him. "Takeru, we have to think of a plan."

"Any bright ideas?"

"Maybe."

Both men went over to Magnadramon's position. "Kari, get down here, now!" Takeru insisted while Koushiro met with Davis.

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 00:07:02

While Magnadramon, Seraphimon, ExVeemon and MegaKabuterimon stopped Armageddemon from firing another Ultimate Flare, their human partners prepared a plan.

"Takeru, Kari, you two have the strongest Digimon right now. While our Digimon distract Armaggeddemon, Seraphimon and Magnadramon should prepare their strongest attacks."

"But MegaKabuterimon and ExVeemon will never be able to hold Armageddemon!" Kari stated. Takeru nodded.

"That Digimon was able defeat Omnimon, Koushiro."

"That's precisely why your Digimon needs time to accumulate as much power as possible!"

"I'm up to it!" Davis said. Takeru sighed.

"You're always up to impossible plans, Davis. Alright, if you're so eager to do it, then let's do it."

"B-but, Takeru!"

"Geez, Kari, why don't we just trust these two for once?"

Koushiro and Davis moved over to the battlefield to aid their partners. "MegaKabuterimon, it's up to us now!"

"ExVeemon, let's give it our best!"

"ExVeemon, digivolve to………Paildramon!"

Takeru smiled. "See? That's what I'm talking about. Seraphimon, Magnadramon, retreat! Let those two handle it!"

The two holy Digimon flew towards their partners, confused. "What's the brilliant plan, Takeru?" Seraphimon wondered.

"We let MegaKabuterimon and Paildramon have their butts kicked while you prepare the strongest 'Seven Heavens' attack ever seen before."

"Same to you, Magnadramon."

"Oh……okay."

Takeru began to search through his deck. "You know, it's in moments like this that I'd really like a Paladin Mode card……here it is! Max Charger, activate!" He then gave the card to Kari. "You use it, too."

"Ah……sure. Max Charger, activate!"

The now-overpowered Seraphimon and Magnadramon hovered above their partners and prepared their strongest attacks. Meanwhile, Joe and Ken carried Cody and placed him next to Matt.

"GranKuwagamon made sure he didn't squash Cody when he fell down. He only has a broken arm."

"And his head is bleeding!" Ken shouted franctically.

"Yeah, that, too."

Ken sweatdropped and looked at his wife, who looked back at him. Sora was looking at her husband, so she didn't notice Mimi waking up. Ken did, though.

"Mimi!"

The woman looked at the source of that voice. "Ichijouiji………"

Everyone but Joe moved over to Mimi's side. "Are you well?" Ken asked.

"Not……really………"

"Yeah…forget I asked."

An uneasy silence followed. No one knew what to say to Mimi in a moment like that.

"Where is……Koushiro?"

In that moment, a flash of light filled the entire place. Armageddemon had fired another Ultimate Flare. A few seconds later, an unconscious Veemon fell from the sky right in front of them. Davis arrived a while later.

"Damn! He got Veemon. Now it's up to Izzy."

"Huh?" Everyone around him muttered. Davis pointed to the battlefield, where MegaKabuterimon was busy evading Armageddemon's scorpion tail.

"Takeru! Kari! Hurry up!" Davis shouted.

Takeru growled. "He asks for full power, now he asks us to hurry up."

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 00:03:23

Armageddemon and MegaKabuterimon were locked in a close grip. While the giant beetle tried to push Armageddemon's body backwards, one of his arms kept a firm hold on the scorpion tail which threatened to pierce MegaKabuterimon's head. Then, the black Mega Digimon prepared another Ultimate Flare. At point blank range, Izzy's Digimon would surely be deleted.

"Push his head up!" Koushiro ordered.

In the last second, MegaKabuterimon used his horn to push Armageddemon's horned head upwards, and the Ultimate Flare was shot to the sky.

"Alright! Keep at it!"

Meanwhile, Takeru and Kari were two nervous wrecks.

"His size and weight are helping him, but MegaKabuterimon will get tired very soon."

Kari nodded and looked up. "Are you ready?"

"Almost……ready!" Seraphimon answered for the two Digimon. Kari looked at Takeru, who smiled reassuringly.

"This is not only their battle, you know? A Tamer is supposed to help his partner at all times."

Kari nodded uneasily. Very slowly, she extended her right hand and took Takeru's left hand in hers. "I'm glad……we're fighting together again."

Takeru blushed very brightly. "Ah…..umm……"

Takeru! Stop her now!

A heartbeat.

Takeru's eyes widen.

A heartbeat.

Hikari's eyes widen, too. "What……is this?"

Takeru blinks twice. "This is………" He looks up, where Seraphimon and Magnadramon have switched positions for no reason. Seraphimon's arms are extended in opposite directions, one upwards and the other downwards, and Magnadramon's long body is making a ring around Seraphimon, with her head at the front and her mouth wide open. Energy has started to flow from Seraphimon's hands to Magnadramon's open mouth, and the holy dragon's body is glowing like gold.

Takeru blinks one more time, and smiles. He then looks at Kari. "Do you feel it, Kari? The words forming inside your head?"

Kari slowly nods, a little uncertain of what's going on. Sudden realization reaches her, and she nods again, this time with absolute confidence. She looks up at her Digimon partner. "Magnadramon!"

"Ready!"

Takeru looks at the battlefield. "Izzy, get your Digimon out of there, now!"

"MegaKabuterimon, you heard the boss!"

Armageddemon was a little confused when the Ultimate Digimon suddenly retreated, but helped him notice the two glowing holy Digimon in the distance. Not wasting any time at all, he prepared one last Ultimate Flare, and shot.

Koushiro saw the immense beam of dark energy aimed at the two Tamers and their Digimon. "Takeru!"

"Seraphimon!"

"Magnadramon!"

"Dual Force! Golden Absolution!"

Seraphimon and Magnadramon changed from golden to a perfect white, and Armageddemon's Ultimate Flare and Armageddemon itself disappeared inside a huge beam of golden holy energy. The high-density energy around Armageddemon collapsed within itself, creating the most incredible explosion the Eastern Quadrant had ever experienced before. Takeru protected Kari from the shockwave and the dust with his own body, while MegaKabuterimon did the same with the rest of the Digi-Destined, protecting them from the large clumps of debris coming out of the ground.

The cloud of dust hadn't disappeared yet when Takeru, Hikari, Patamon and Salamon joined the Digi-Destined. Kari had the brightest smile she had displayed in years.

"We won!"

Everyone smiled back. Hikari's joy seemed to be contagious. Even Mimi managed to let go a small smile. Takeru was about to join them when a sharp pain filled his chest. Takeru grunted, and Ken and Kari soon followed him. The three confused Tamers looked at each other, clutching their chests, and the Digi-Destined looked at them, they, too, wondering what happened.

Pauline, this………this uneasiness is………

Yeah………

E.T.D. (Estimated Time of Death): 00:00:00

Takeru fell on his knees, a lone tear escaping his chest. It happened. At long last, Matsuki Takato's life reached its end.

Takato……………thank you………for everything.

All of a sudden, the pain disappeared, to be replaced with a infinite warmth. Kari and Ken looked at Takeru, waiting for an explanation to this chain of awkward feelings they were experiencing, but the blonde Tamer was too lost in the moment.

Tears were still coming out when he looked at the sky, and the warmth in his chest grew to extreme level. It was almost as if his heart was on fire, consuming his entire body with fiery power. A grim smile contorted on Takeru's lips.

Thank you…………you're the best.

*******************************************************************

*******************************************************************

Final Concerto continues in Chapter 17-B!!! Tomorrow (April 08) in Fanfiction.net!!!!

Daneel Rush (daneel_ff@hotmail.com)