The Apocalypse

I reached the last known place of an old man who had once offered me guidance.

"Gennai?"

I had ignored him, like the fool I had been. But he had said that if I ever had need of him, I had just to ask.

I needed his wisdom now.

"Gennai?" I called again.

I accidentally stumbled upon a cave, hidden in the undergrowth of a mountainous forest. Unnatural curiosity washed over me as I headed inside.

Much to my surprise I found the interior was fully furnished. There was an old man sat in an antique armchair with his back to me.

"Gennai?"

"Ah, my young friend. You finally decided to seek me out? I have been waiting."

"Sorry, I have been…" I searched for the word, "Preoccupied."

"As well I know. I also know why you are here." He revealed.

"You do?"

"Yes. You want to know how you can stop the Master and save your mate."

"Yes." I nodded.

"But, I believe, you already know what I am about to say." He told me.

I sighed. It was the answer I had feared; "I must figure it out on my own…"

Gennai nodded and stood up. I couldn't tell if the creaking I heard had come from the chair, or from his old, worn out body, "You are the only one who can do it, for you hold all the keys."

"How can I do this alone?"

"The path you will take will have turns and twists, and the outcome may not be the one that you asked for, but it may be the only way. The path is only a means to an end."

I looked at the man in confusion. What he had said made very little sense to me.

He obviously noticed my confusion, "All will grow clearer with time." He comforted.

"Thank you." I bowed my head.

"You are welcome." He bowed back, "And now I must join the Guardians." He began to walk toward the cave exit, but stopped and turned to face me, "And please, refrain from too much travel between worlds."

He smirked at my embarrassment, and then vanished. I was surprised when the cave vanished too. I was back outside in the forest, accompanied only by my thoughts.

The Digital world, for the first time in almost a century, was silent.

No. Not silent. There was just a faint wisp of something, in the distance. I listened carefully. It was the sound of machinery! But how? It had to be the Master. There was nobody else it could be.

And maybe Vixen was with him…

I teleported towards the sounds, appearing near the edge of a clearing, just a few meters into the trees, high in the branches of a large oak.

The area had been cut down, leaving the circle shaped clearing, a few hundred meters across, gouged into the forest. In the centre of the clearing were many, many Digimon, constructing what appeared to be a very large gate. They were bound and chained.

Enslaved.

I felt the urge to help them, but it quickly faded. There were about as many of the Master's Digimon as there were slaves, and an attempt to free them would quite possibly result in my immediate death.

So, I needed a plan.

I looked around the site, hoping to find some inspiration.

Movement! Along the perimeter! There was a group of small shadows hanging back in the cover of the trees. I couldn't make out any detail, they were too far away, but they did seem rather interested in a nearby group of slaves.

One of the figures stepped into the light, an Elecmon. Another stepped forwards. Another, and another…

It was a tribe of them: a small resistance.

A total of about seven of the brave little creatures ran out into the open light of the clearing, trying to catch as little attention as possible.

Somehow, they managed to make it all the way to a large construction stand without being seen.

They waited.

A small group of prisoners was slowly heading in their direction, guarded only by a single Mamemon. It was all that was needed to keep the hopeless slaves at bay – they were all rookies, mainly Elecmon's. That would explain the tribe's interest.

The group of seven Elecmon seemed to be planning their next course of action. Four of them moved into a position to ambush the guard, the remaining three would probably free the prisoners.

One Elecmon waved its hand and it begun.

The four attackers leapt at the guard, surprising both him and his prisoners.

The three remaining Elecmon didn't waste any time, and began to free the captives.

The first four seemed to be doing pretty well. They had the guard distracted and confused. At least, until he began to fight back.

The prisoners, directed by the three liberating Elecmon, began to run away. This was the signal for the fighting four to run, a chance they took without hesitation.

But the Mamemon wasn't having any of it. Raising his gun, he shot at one of his four assailants. It hit the Elecmon in the back, knocking it to the floor. The poor creature didn't get up, though it was clearly alive.

One of the others looked back, noticing their fallen comrade. The second Elecmon ran back to help, but the fallen one signalled to run away. Ignoring the instruction, the second Elecmon tried to carry their friend away, with little or no success.

The injured one forced his aid to drop him, telling them to run. After a moment, and a kiss, the second Elecmon ran, not looking back.

Mamemon approached his victim. They exchanged a few angry words. Mamemon raised its weapon and fired.

The Elecmon was gone.

I could still see a shadow on the edge of the forest. After a moment, it vanished, but that was long enough for me to follow.

I remained far behind the group, ensuring that they could not see or hear me. They came to a stop a few hundred meters into the forest, close to a stream.

All of the Elecmon were more or less in a group, the newly freed reunited with their friends. The other freed Digimon stood together nervously, watching the group.

One lone Elecmon sat off from the others, ears down and eyes closed.

One of the others noticed the solitary creature and walked towards it. I teleported to a nearby tree so I could hear what was going on.

The advancing Elecmon stepped up behind it's saddened comrade.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, placing a hand on their shoulder.

"He's… gone. I could have saved him…" she replied.

"Hey, there was nothing you could do."

"What do you know?!" She turned on him, "You ran away!"

"Elecia, I…"

"Just leave me alone!" She ran off into the trees.

The other one didn't follow.

I did.

I managed to keep pace with her quite easily. For such a small creature, I had to admit, she was fast. She kept close to the stream, following it up it's course until she came to a small waterfall. She stopped at the pool and broke down into tears.

It was now or never.

I entered the small clearing, ensuring she could hear me enter.

She looked up at me as I approached from the other side of the pool.

"What do you want?" She demanded of me. I could see tears of pain in her eyes.

"I saw what happened."

She glared at me.

"You lost you friend."

"He wasn't my friend, he was my chosen." She growled, "And what business is it of yours?"

"I know what you're going through."

I began to walk around to her side of the pool.

"How can you possibly know what I'm going through?!"

I sat down beside her. She watched me all the way.

"I lost my mate to the Master too."

She fell silent, looking down at the floor.

"Was… was she killed?"

"No." I answered, "She's been kidnapped, which could prove to be a fate worse than death…"

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked.

"I need your help to free her." I admitted.

She looked at me like I was a fool, "Why do you think I will help you?"

"Because I know you yearn for revenge. You want payback. What better way than freeing one valuable prisoner and wreaking a little havoc?"

I hated using people's feelings like that, but I had to convince her. I believed it was slowly working.

"Where is she being held captive?"

"Well," I thought, "The Master knows I want to free her, so she'll be somewhere obvious, and the Master will be nearby."

"At the moment the Master's watching over the construction of the gate." She pointed out.

So he was back at the clearing, which meant Vixen was nearby too. She had escaped before, with me, so the Master wasn't likely to just let her do it again.

"I'm going to need the help of all the Digimon in that attack of yours, as well as the freed prisoners." I realised.

"If you're planning to attack the Master then they'll probably join you. They want rid of this evil."

It's amazing what the idea of vengeance could do.

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

I explained my plans to the group, with a little help from the female Elecmon. The others of her tribe were easy to convince – they were already at war, and ready to strike. It was the former prisoners that were proving hard to convince.

"You want us to attack an entire army?!" a Gotsumon asked in disbelief, "With this few Digimon?"

"We would free more Digimon as we go." One of the Elecmon pointed out.

"But it's suicide!"

"If we don't fight, then all our efforts have been for nothing!" Elecia told him.

"Elecia's right." A member of her tribe declared, "We've lost too much to give up now."

"Look." I interrupted the argument, "We could debate this all day and it wouldn't make a difference. Whatever you decide to do, fight or stay, I'm going in there. I'm going to rescue my mate, and I am going to bring her back. But before you decide what you're going to do, think about this; what have you got to loose?"

"Our lives." The Gotsumon said.

"What lives?" I demanded, "Look around. We're the only free Digimon for miles around. The Master has already destroyed most of this world, and look at what he's building – a gate to the human world. The energy that uses to simultaneously transport that many Digimon is enormous. When they go through there'll be nothing left of our world. Our best shot now is to try and save what's left of our world. This fight isn't a question of our lives, its about saving the Digital World."

"BlueRenamon's right." Elecia stepped forwards, "We can either fight now, whilst we have something left to defend, or just sit around and wait for oblivion."

There was a prolonged silence. For a moment I wasn't sure we had convinced them.

"Alright." Gotsumon sighed, "What do we do?"

A grin crossed my face, "Wreak some havoc"

We soon managed to formulate ourselves a plan. The Elecmon and other freed Digimon would try to free the other prisoners, providing a distraction, and I would look for Vixen.

Once again we were stood in the shadowed fringes of the forest, around the edge of the clearing.

"We'll have to move swiftly." I warned, "They've finished construction."

At least with the inactive portal before us I could see why the invasion had been delayed. Obviously the Master's plans had changed since Vixen and I had defected.

"Hello?"

"Uh, what?" I blinked.

"I asked you if you're ready to go." Elecia asked.

I gazed into the clearing. There were only a few guards visible, but many of the slaves were still working. There was a second building, besides the portal, which appeared to be a control centre. It was about five storey's high and had been made out of some sort of metal. That was my sole objective.

"Let's go" I responded.

Silently, we ran from the trees, heading to a nearby piece of construction equipment. We hid there momentarily, well out of sight.

I peered around the edge of it, "Okay, there are no guards. You guys go free the prisoners. I'm going into the building."

Elecia nodded, sending her comrades towards the nearest group of captives.

"Well," She said when we were the last, "Good luck."

"To both of us." I agreed.

She smiled, then vanished.

I turned to look at the building. The coast was clear, but I couldn't just teleport to the inside of the nearest door. Who knew what, or who, was on the other side?

Swiftly I ran over to it. Carefully, but quickly, I opened the door. It was safe so I entered the building.

I looked around, hoping to find some clue as to where…

A sign!

I literally leapt at the opportunity, getting close enough to read it.

'Ground floor: entrance halls. First floor: Recruitment. Second and third: Training. Fourth floor: control.'

Control. That was where I probably needed to be. Now all I needed was stairs.

"Aw, to heck with it." I'd do things the easy way.

Concentrating, I teleported to the fourth floor, hoping I could handle anything I met up with.

I reappeared in a hallway, all alone.

"Hey, it's you!"

I turned around, and my eyes flew wide. The four – sorry, three – BigMamemon were there. I wondered where the fourth one was.

"Um, hi guys." I grinned rather sheepishly.

"You ain't gonna get away this time…" One of them told me.

I knew better.

Turning, I ran as fast as I could down the corridor. The only problem was that it ended shortly with two big doors.

Opening them, I stepped inside the room. I closed and locked them behind me.

Closing my eyes, I turned around with a sigh, "Phew."

"Blue?"

I looked up, "Vixen?" She was bound to a wall.

"Ah, so, you finally caught up with us and decided to join the party."

It was the Master.

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

"You just can't stay away from me, can you?" The Master grinned.

I simply glared at him.

"Well, you've evaded me before," he stepped forwards, "But this time you cannot escape me. This place is too well guarded. You have no hope alone."

"But I'm not alone," I smirked, "Right now your slaves are being freed. They will fight you."

For one brief moment I could see doubt cross his face.

"What? The great Master not prepared for a fight?" I sneered.

He glared angrily at me, "Verachtumon!"

The small brown demon appeared, "Yes Master?"

"Go to main control. Tell them to start up the gate."

Verachtumon vanished. The Master turned to me, "I will still take my forces through the portal. Once it closes this world will cease to exist. Anything left here will be destroyed."

Was there no end to his evil? He'd brought the Digital world to it's knees, and now he wanted to finish it off?

"What have we Digimon done to you? Why do you wish to kill?" I demanded in a sudden rage.

"Because I can." He stated darkly, "And I will rule the world."

The world? Not, the human world?

"You're human, aren't you?"

"What I am is of no concern to you!" He shouted.

"You're a teenage human child. How can you be doing this? Human's have no special abilities." Unless… "You're not entirely human, are you? You're part Digimon."

"Silence!" He roared.

"Which Digimon was your parent, hm? Which reject produced you?" I taunted.

"Reject? Ha! You wouldn't have dared even think that when he was your master!"

That took me by surprise, "What?"

"Yes." He said proudly, "My father was Myotismon!"

For some reason I wasn't as surprised as I felt I should be. But it explained a lot, and also proved he wasn't invincible. He could be beaten, just as his father had.

"Then I can destroy you." I growled.

"Maybe," He retorted, "But can you beat me before I can kill her?" He nodded towards Vixen.

"Harm her, and I will have another reason to kill you."

"You can try." He laughed.

"I will."

I dived at him, trying to attack before he could grow to his more powerful self. I was fast, but I wasn't fast enough. He grabbed me by the waist with one monstrous hand, and lifted me up.

"I will ensure your destruction is slow and very, very painful." He promised, "Slow enough for you to watch your mate and child die."

So, he knew.

I could see Vixen watching us from her position against the wall. I met her pleading gaze, not for her own safety, but for my survival.

God, I loved her. I had to do something.

I felt a strange energy flow through me. I had felt it before.

"BlueRenamon Digivolved to…"

My body began to morph. I grew in size, more than doubling in length. My hind legs shifted position so that I could no longer walk on two legs, but now four. My tail began to split, separating into nine distinct others. The last change was the colour of my fur. It changed to a darker, midnight blue, my feet and tail tips to the silver of the stars, ignited by a fire the colour of the moon. I bore a strong resemblance to Kyubimon.

"Celestrimon!"

The Master was big, but he could no longer hold me. I landed lightly on the floor.

"What the…" he seemed stunned, "You shouldn't be able to digivolve!"

I chose not to answer him. Even I wasn't sure how I'd done it.

"No matter." The Master decided, "You're still no match for me."

It was true. I was still only champion, and he was at the least a mega. But the odds were better than before. Besides, deep down inside he was still a child. Maybe I could turn that to my advantage. I had much more battle experience.

Suddenly there was a tremor. The entire place shook.

"Ha!" the Master laughed, "It has begun! Your world is doomed!"

I snarled and ran at him. Maybe it was bravery, or maybe it was foolishness, I don't know.

Maybe I could use my speed to knock him out long enough to free Vixen and save the world?

"Fool!"

He drew his arm back and struck out at me, catching me with his backhand. The blow sent me sprawling across the floor.

Another tremor.

"You just keep coming back for another beating, don't you?" The Master taunted, "When will you learn that only I can win?!"

He vanished from the room.

"Blue, quick! Help me!" I heard Vixen.

I stood up and quickly ran over to her. She was bound by metal chains, her hands completely immobilised. That was why she couldn't escape again.

Using a bit of initiative, I pressed the end pf one of my freezing cold tails to the chains.

"Right. Pull" I instructed.

She did, and the cold, brittle chains broke easily.

Once free from her prison, she came over and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Thank you."

I smiled.

There was another tremor.

"We have to deactivate the gate!" I warned.

"We may be too late!" Vixen cried, despaired.

"Can you run?"

"Yes, but I don't know if I'll be quick enough…"

I lowered myself to my knees, "Climb on then."

As soon as she was on I ran, hoping to make it out of the building in time.

I ran as fast as my four limbs would take me, Vixen clinging to my back. I leapt down a staircase I had failed to find earlier.

When we reached the ground floor I realized I could hear the fighting from outside.

I practically dived at the doors when they came into view, bursting through and outside.

I wished I hadn't.

There was pandemonium; the slaves were fighting their oppressors, and being mowed down where they stood. They were all lower level Digimon, unlike the Master's high level army.

"It's a massacre." I heard Vixen whisper.

She was right. There was no other word that could describe it.

"The Master's begun transportation!" I cried. He was stood beside the gate, his army passing through in their dozens.

Then I saw them. The Elecmon! They were trying to go after the Master! They approached him from behind, oblivious to him and his guards. They were all too busy overseeing the transport or trying to supress the uprising.

"Hey, look! The slaves are advancing!" Vixen pointed.

I looked. As more of the Master's forces vanished, the more the battle turned in favour of the rebellion.

I look back to the Elecmon, still advancing on the Master.

"They'll never make it!" I realised, "He'll hear their thoughts!"

But there was nothing that could be done. No way for us to reach them, and even if we could have, there was no way for us to fight the Master. He had proven his strength on numerous occasions.

Were we really beaten?

"The only way we can stop this is to destroy the gate." Vixen.

A stroke of genius, but with one flaw.

"How?" I asked.

"I don't know." She sounded desperate, "But we have to get into the fight."

Frantically, I looked around. The battle raged around us, the good being crushed by the evil. The Elecmon advancing on the Master whilst he watched his minions being transported.

It was only a matter of time until the Digital world collapsed in on itself.

I suddenly began to feel strangely weak. An aura of bright light surrounded me. I was de-digivolving. Vixen climbed off my back before I had completely reverted.

"There's not enough energy for us to Digivolve!" Vixen exclaimed, "We're stuck in our natural forms!"

I had only managed to hold the Master off once before, briefly, and I had been in mega form! Now I was stuck as a rookie. Sure, I could take on most champions, but it wasn't enough.

"Yaargh!"

An enraged yell caught my attention. I looked for the source. It was Elecia. The other Elecmon couldn't be seen, probably destroyed.

Elecia stood alone, snarling as the Master towered over her.

"Vixen, you stay here." I told her, "I have to go repay a debt."

Before she had chance to respond I ran, as fast as I could. I ran through the carnage of the battle, remaining ignorant to the world around me.

The Master raised a foot into the air, ready to stamp the defiant little Elecmon before him into oblivion.

He would hear me coming, he would hear my rage, but even his reactions weren't that good.

I hoped.

Smack!

I ran, full barrel into him from behind. I fell to the floor in a daze, watching. The Master would have been okay, had he not been in his larger form, and not standing on one foot. He lost his balance.

Almost comically he fell forwards, passing through the gate.

A few moments later the gate began to buzz, the portal warping strangely, as if it were cooling glass.

The Master's remaining army could no longer pass through the gate!

The buzzing began to grow longer and louder, reaching the point where it became painful to listen. Everyone around held their ears.

I looked up at the gate. There was smoke!

"It's gonna blow!" I yelled to Elecia, "Run!"

As quickly as I could, I teleported back to Vixen, near the control building.

"Run!" I took her by the arm.

She didn't ask questions. Together we headed towards the edge of the clearing at full sprint. As we neared the trees I looked over my shoulder.

And I saw the explosion. There was a bright flash, blinding me monetarily. When my vision returned I could see only a pillar of smoke, and the shockwave.

Then darkness…

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

"Am I dead?" I asked the darkness around me.

"No." came a male voice from all around me. It sounded strangely familiar, like I had heard it, but couldn't quite recall from where.

"Where am I?" I looked around; no trees, no grass, no ground, no sky… all was gone. There was only emptiness and silence.

"You are in the Digital world." The voice told me.

"This isn't the Digital world. Where is everything?"

"This is not the Digital world as you know it." The voice explained, "This is as it was at the beginning of it's creation, without Digimon. As it is now."

"But it's empty."

"No. It is simply… 'Switched off'."

"Switched off?" I was confused.

"Yes. There is not enough energy, so it is inactive."

"Where did it all go?"

"It is safe for a while."

I did not like the sound of that, "What do you mean?"

"If it is not reactivated, in time it will be erased. You must find a way to reactivate it."

"Me?!"

"Yes. You are different. You do not draw your energy from the one world you occupy like most Digimon, but like the guardians you draw it from all that you can visit. That is why you alone remain."

I realised something, "What about Vixen?"

"Ah, yes. Your mate is safe. She has abilities like you. Such a unique group you Renamon."

"Where is she?" I pleaded.

"She is in the Digital world, asleep, like the others. The drain she was already carrying, added with this misfortune, knocked her out. But she should be fine."

I sighed, relieved, "That's good to hear." But I couldn't help but worry. Should be?

"Yes, I imagine it is. But now you must go and defeat the evil that caused this."

He made it sound so easy, "I've tried before. I'm not strong enough on my own."

"You are not alone. You worked so hard to get this far, don't let it all be for nothing."

"I can't transport back." I pointed out, "I'm stuck here."

"I can transport you to earth." The voice offered.

"Thank you." I was grateful, "Who are you?"

"That you will know in time…"

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

Without so much as a warning I was back in the human world, or to be more specific; Rika's garden. It was dark out, and not a light was on in the house.

The chill night air caused me to shiver, despite my fur.

Renamon was nearby. I could sense her, as she no doubt could me, unless she was asleep of course. But my arrival had probably woken her.

Sure enough I had.

Renamon emerged silently from the house, careful not to make any noise. She approached me.

"So, did you find her?" She sounded anxious.

"Yes."

"Well, where is she?"

"She's safe, but we have a problem."

"What problem?"

"The Digital world has fallen," I told her, "And the invasion has begun."

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

We quickly rounded up the Tamers, not easy to do at such a late hour, and we headed for the park where our army was hiding. I explained the situation to everyone on the way.

"The Digital world has been destroyed?" Takato sounded a bit more than shocked.

"No. it has been deactivated, but it cannot remain so forever, or all will be lost."

We turned onto the main road, abandoned at that time of night.

"How exactly do we fix this?"

Henry had a point, but I didn't have the answer.

"Mometai!" Terriermon grinned from atop his head, "We can come to that later."

"He's right." Renamon agreed, "Right now we need to find the Master and his forces."

"Will our troops be able to beat his though?" Rika asked.

"Only part of his forces got through the gate because we managed to close it from the other side, so our force and his are pretty evenly matched in numbers." I pointed out.

"Our friends have been training really hard." Guilmon added.

"We stand a pretty good chance then." Takato grinned.

"But even if we beat his army, it may take a lot of force to rid ourselves of the Master." I warned, "I was in mega form and I only just held him off long enough for Vixen and I to escape."

"So we proceed with caution." Renamon suggested.

When we reached the park I was surprised to find the gate open.

"Odd for this time of night." I mumbled.

Ignoring that, I proceeded to enter, followed closely by the others. The darkness in the park would have deterred most humans. However, I was not human.

The park was awfully silent, considering there were supposed to be about a hundred Digimon hiding in it somewhere.

"Where are they all?" Takato asked the question we were all thinking.

I stopped walking and listened carefully. Not an out of place sound to be heard.

I inhaled deeply. There was an odd smell on the wind.

"Can anyone else smell that?" I asked.

The other three Digimon sniffed the air.

"Yes." Terriermon nodded.

"What is it?" Renamon asked me.

I shook my head.

It was Guilmon who had the answer, "Evil." He growled.

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

"No!" Surprisingly it was Henry who seemed most distressed, "It can't be him… We would have known if he appeared!"

"Apparently not." I said grimly.

"But we would have noticed a huge Digimon battle in the park!"

"With his powers, how can you be so sure?"

Silence.

"Look," I spoke, "We have to assume we've missed the fight, and that means we have no army. The Master's forces should be low too, so we may still have a chance of winning."

"Your optimism is misplaced."

I spun around.

"Verachtumon." I growled.

There were two other Digimon with him, a Fugamon; champion level, and a Unimon; champion level. The three advanced on us.

"I've been waiting for a chance to face you ever since we first met." Verachtumon grinned wickedly.

"Looks like you have your chance." I retorted, "If you think you can win."

"I don't think I can win." He smirked, "I know I can."

He nodded to the Unimon, who began to advance on me.

"Blue, need any help?" Renamon offered.

Without turning, I raised my hand in response.

Unimon trotted forwards, stopping a few meters in front of me. For a while neither of us moved.

"Only a champion." I whispered.

We engaged.

Unimon ran at me, preparing his attack. I leapt into the air, crossing my arms.

"Blue Storm!"

The familiar blue ice formed in the air before me, raining down on the mythical Digimon. The falling shards slashed and cut him as he reared backwards.

I landed gracefully, the unicorn calming and eying me up.

"Horn Blaster!"

He fired a horn like missile at me, but I had little to fear.

"Kohenkyo!"

I was no longer facing an immanent attack, but watching Unimon turn in time to receive his own attack. It impacted, blowing the Digimon into its individual bits.

I looked to see Verachtumon glaring at me angrily. Without so much as a word, he ordered Fugamon to attack. The monster just ran at me, screeching at the top of his lungs. He was powerful, he was tough, and he was most definitely stupid.

I waited until the last possible second, just before he reached me, then I stepped out of the way. He ran straight past me, into a tree. He would not be fighting again for some time.

"Well, that was some display." Verachtumon spoke, "But those two were weak. Do you think you can take on me? A mega?"

"I don't know." I replied, "But I'm willing to find out."

A small grin crossed his face, and before I knew it, he ran full sprint towards me.

"Kohenky…" I couldn't complete the move. He ran into me and grabbed me by my head, holding me down on the floor and squeezing. He was small, but tough. I didn't show my pain.

"You can resist my physical torture, but what about a mental onslaught?"

I felt the familiar flow of energy I always did whenever someone charged an attack, be it me or my opponent.

"Hell's Dream!"

The world grew dark, my eyelids closing of their own accord. I tried to fight, but I was powerless to resist.

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

I reopened my eyes to the light, and found myself in the Digital world, back to when I rescued Vixen.

"You just keep coming back for another beating, don't you?" the Master towered over me, "When will you learn that only I can win?"

He turned to Vixen, "Maybe this will teach you."

The Master raised one of his huge hands, summoning a ball of pure dark energy in his palm. It grew in size to about half a meter across. He shot an evil glance at Vixen and it slowly moved forwards.

I tried to move, but found I couldn't. As the orb approached Vixen she desperately struggled against her bonds, trying to break free.

"Blue! Help me!" She cried.

I could barely watch as the sphere surrounded her entirely. It swirled around her, slowly shrinking around her, until it finally entered her body.

She suddenly stopped moving, stopped resisting, and stood still, doing nothing more than lock her gaze on me.

"Blue…" I heard on the wind.

Slowly she began to delete, like a tidal wave starting at her feet and washing up her body. The last thing I saw was her pleading eyes before her data vanished.

"No!" I whimpered, tears in my eyes.

"Hah!" The Master turned to me, "You couldn't save her! And now it is your turn."

I closed my eyes, willing to accept death now. My life was over. I cowered, waiting for the Master's blow.

It never came.

I opened my eyes, but all was black.

"Where am I?"

There was a bright flash of light and a figure appeared. It stood the same height as me, also shearing a similar form. It was another Renamon, but this one was different.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice fading into the darkness.

"I represent a future you don't even know exists yet." She answered my question, "I am SilverRenamon."

"You're from the future?" I clarified.

"No. I merely represent a future, not the future." She explained, "One which must come to pass, but as things are now cannot."

"Why are you here?" I didn't even care how.

"To tell you that this," she gestured around with a hand, "this isn't real. This is all happening in your head, part of Verachtumon's evil attack. You can escape."

"How exactly am I supposed to leave my own head?" I demanded.

"Refuse to accept this reality. Accept the true reality. Remember what really happened, and you will be free of this place."

The SilverRenamon vanished back to wherever she had come from.

"Remember what really happened?" I thought aloud.

I tried to concentrate, but my mind was swimming. I couldn't remember what was real and what was not.

"What did happen?"

The Master had been there, ready to destroy Vixen where she stood, and I… what had I… Wait! He hadn't been ready to destroy her. He had said he was, but he didn't. He vanished!

Vixen and I had escaped.

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

I slowly opened my eyes to the real world. Verachtumon was there.

"What the…?" he looked surprised.

My angry gaze locked on him.

"You shouldn't be able to break my attack!" he stepped backwards, as if I was now a threat.

I rose to my feet.

"How is this possible?"

"Anything," I said, "is possible. Blue Storm!"

My attack was sudden and unexpected, and I had put all my efforts into it. But Verachtumon was still a mega level. And like the Renamon species, he could teleport.

He wasn't around long enough for the attack to hit.

"Behind you!" one of the Tamer's shouted.

I turned in time to see the demon's foot. I fell to the ground. I felt my lip and inspected the blood. I then looked up at Verachtumon.

"You may be strong," he told me, "but you're no match for a mega. You are a mere rookie.

I didn't answer him. Instead I concentrated, trying to call upon the powers of Digivolution. It didn't work.

"You're doomed, you pathetic little fox." He taunted, "And now you will meet your fate."

He once again prepared to attack me. Surely now I was doomed.

From nowhere the little white and purple Calumon appeared, bounding up to me, "Mr BlueRenamon! Can I play with you?!" He asked happily.

"What is this? Your strongest ally?" Verachtumon sneered.

Calumon bounded up to him, "Who are you?"

Verachtumon stared down at him, "get lost." He kicked Calumon.

I caught the poor little creature. He had tears in his eyes.

"You okay?" I asked.

"That hurt. I don't think I like him very much."

"I know."

I placed Calumon back on the floor gently. He turned to Verachtumon and stuck his tongue out, "You're a big smelly bully!"

Verachtumon shot him the evils, "I will kill you."

Calumon squeaked and hid behind me.

I climbed to my feet.

Verachtumon moved forwards towards Calumon, but I stepped in front of him.

"Get out of my way." He hit me to the ground again. A painful groan left my throat.

Calumon was left alone, looking worriedly up at Verachtumon, who was advancing on him with evil intent in his eyes. Calumon backed up until he was pinned against a tree.

"Come on, let's help!" Terriermon shouted.

He and the other two Digimon ran towards Verachtumon, ready to attack.

Verachtumon looked at them, "Nightmare Paralysis!"

His eyes seemed to glow an evil red. The Tamer's Digimon fell to the ground, unable to move.

"That was easy enough." Verachtumon laughed.

I tapped him on his shoulder.

"Huh?" he turned.

Thwack! I punched him.

He staggered sideways.

"That was for the Digital World."

Thud! I stuck again.

"That was for my friends."

Verachtumon shook his head, dazed.

Thud!

"That was for Vixen."

He looked extremely disorientated.

"And this, my wretched little demon friend, is for me."

With all the force I could force into my upper body I struck forwards.

Ironically, he was ready. He caught my punch with his hand.

"Can't you just stay beaten?!" he demanded.

"Not as long as I live."

"Then, you die. Demonic Hail!"

I looked up. There was a dark cloud of brimstone forming above my head. Suddenly, they began to fall. I tried to dodge them, but I found that I couldn't, so instead I guarded.

The stones pelted me, bruising and battering me. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, the onslaught ceased.

I let up my guard for a second, and that was all that Verachtumon needed to tackle me to the ground. The small mega pinned me down by the throat so that I couldn't breath.

"Well, well, well…" he mocked, "Look at how the mighty have fallen. At last I will succeed at what the Master himself could not accomplish! Your destruction."

I felt him apply more pressure.

So, this was it. This was the end of it all. I had failed, and the Tamer's were unable to do anything. The human world would fall, and the Digital World would never be restored, eventually lost forever.

And with it, Vixen. It made me sad. Not at my own destruction, but that after all we had been through, after all that we had accomplished, I couldn't save her.

Well, Vixen, I guess this is goodbye. I only wish I had the chance to say it to you one last time. But, I guess, my time is up.

I relaxed, finally opening my heart to the inevitable.

I looked over to my right and saw Calumon. He was watching me, watching my losing battle. He was young, but I could see it in his eyes that he knew the significance of what was going on. A tear welled up in his eye, falling to the ground. I noticed the symbol on his forehead glow.

I felt a strange boost of energy.

"BlueRenamon Warp-Digivolved to… MegaCelestrimon!"

Verachtumon leapt up, staring at me with worry clear in his expression.

I was as shocked as he was. How had I just done that?

The look of concern on Verachtumon's face was quickly replaced by his regular arrogance, "This new form will not save you."

I rose up to tower over him, "Maybe it won't…"

"Bah!" he spat, striking out at me with a punch.

I was equal to the attack and blocked it with little effort, "But don't be so sure."

He stepped backwards, "Give in now and I will let you live."

I simply laughed at him. It was quite obvious this annoyed him.

"You dare to mock me?!" He shrieked.

He charged at me recklessly. My expression changed, all laughter silent. With near impossible speed I grabbed hold of him, allowing his momentum to bring us to the ground. I twisted during the fall to ensure that I would have him pinned. He tried to struggle, but he couldn't move.

Genuine fear crossed his face, perhaps for the first time in the evil creature's life.

I brought my snout to within millimetres of his own, "you don't threaten me now." I pointed out.

He chose not to speak.

"What? No reply?"

"I will destroy you." He promised spitefully.

"Oh, I think not. The only reason you are alive now is because I need you to deliver a message."

I got up, holding the pitiful creature by the throat, letting him know how it felt. I gripped him just tight enough to make breathing difficult, "Tell your Master we're ready for him."

I threw him to the ground.

With an indignant sneer, he vanished.

I DeDigivolved to my regular self.

The Tamers were helping their Digimon to their feet after Verachtumon's attack.

"We should have done better than that." Renamon scolded herself, standing with a little help from Rika, her legs a little shaky.

"There was nothing you could have done as a rookie." I reassured her.

"Next time we'll send you guys in Digivolved." Rika told her partner.

I heard a sound in the surrounding woods. I looked around attentively.

Leaving the others talking, I headed into the trees. I walked several meters, but there was only silence now. Whatever it had been, I had lost it.

Snap!

I spun around.

A young female human stood there.

I was amazed; how could a human have managed to sneak up on me?

"Hey, you're Blue aren't you?"

"Yes." I nodded, trying to recall her name, "Suzie, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing out here?" I asked.

"Me? I'm trying to find my brother."

"Your brother?" I frowned, unfamiliar with him."

She nodded, "He's supposed to be around here somewhere."

"He shouldn't be." I told her, "He's in danger."

"I don't think he is."

She didn't understand what I was saying, but then again, why should she?

"I do understand you." She said, "But my brother doesn't think he's in danger."

"What the…?"

"You see, my brother is the Master," her eyes narrowed, "and we must stop him."

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

My mind drew a blank. The sister of the Master, so did than mean…

"Yes and no."

"Hm?" I asked, "What?"

"You were thinking. You wanted to know if I had similar powers to my brother, and if I was on his side throughout this bloody war."

Now I felt outrage, "If you have these powers, why haven't you tried to stop him sooner!?" I demanded of her.

"I would have if I could." She sounded regretful, "But for reasons that you don't need to know I could not, until now."

The others needed to know about this.

"No, you can't tell them." She insisted, "I must remain anonymous."

"This is too important to…"

"No!" she said forcefully, "They cannot know. Only you can."

I looked at her quizzically, "Only me?"

"Yes." She nodded.

I would have, and probably should have asked why, but I realised at that point that I really didn't care. All I needed to worry about now was the fate of the world.

That's all. Nothing too major.

"Why do you doubt yourself?" Suzie asked me.

"What?"

"Why do you not believe that you can win?"

"Because I have fought the Master on several occasions. He's unbeatable. He's pure evil."

"And yet you are alive." She pointed out, "You have faced him, and you live. He can't be all powerful."

She had a point.

"Besides, in his evil ways lie his weaknesses."

"What do you mean?" I inquired, curious.

"Think about it. If he's entirely evil, he not only has all the strengths, but all the weaknesses too."

I frowned, thinking, "Are you saying we can destroy him?"

"No." Suzie shook her head, "Think of it as a tug of war. You need both sides to keep the rope stable. If you remove one side, then you can't have it. You don't just lose the team you removed, you lose the other team because they can't compete alone. It's the same with good and evil. Both are rendered impotent without the other."

"So we have to counteract his evil?" I clarified.

"Yes. To keep the rope stable."

"And how do we do that?"

"That is where my powers come in…"

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

She explained her plan to me in great detail. I would be lying if I said I thought it would work. But what other option did we have? It was all or nothing. Sure, I had helped significantly reduce his forces, but as of yet we hadn't come close to stopping him.

"So we need to imprison him?" I summed up the plan.

"Yes. Using my powers to seal his."

"But won't that mean you'll be imprisoned?"

"No. I'll have to surrender my powers to ensure that he cannot escape."

"So you'll be like a regular human?" I asked, "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I've lived as a human for many years. I'll cope. I've always known the day would come where the spawn of Myotismon would have to face each other.

I could hear the honesty, the absolute certainty, in her voice. This, to her, was the only option.

"What if we fail?"

"We won't."

"What makes you so sure?" I questioned.

"The balance. My brother is trying to destroy good, and that he cannot do."