Reality Redux
By ArchangelUK & Digicowboy

We do not own Digimon, however we do support the BlackWarGreymon Fund for Orphaned Bamboo Trees. Registered Charity #38540C.

AAUK: I KNOW it's supposed to be DC's chapter, but I've waited so damn long for it to appear in my email that I finally said "To Hell with this!" and wrote TWO chapters at once. DC's chapter will no doubt have me and the others arriving in the Real World again. Until then there are some rather important things to be learnt in the Digital World. Digicowboy is a decendant of the Takenouchi family *tries to stifle laughter* but ArchangelUK's true identity is yet to be revealed - even to Gennai...

Chapter 8: Any DigiPort In A Storm

Gennai pounded up the steps as fast as his legs could carry him. Something was not right about ArchangelUK, he could sense it, he was surprised the guardians even in their weakened state could not sense it too.

"Gennai, must you bound in like a demented child? You woke me up." Azulongmon yawned from a large pile of gold coins, startling the robed man who after a moment motioned a half bow.

"Forgive me great Azulongmon, I didn't realise you were here."

"It is my temple after all, and us dragons like our gold you know." The guardian clawed part of his gigantic hoard and chuckled, Gennai returned to an upright position.

"I'm sure, I apologise in waking you but as you are now fully concious I have a question to ask you.

"Ask away Gennai, as long as it's not the one of where baby's come from." Azulongmon laughed again, more loudly this time Gennai looked decidedly unimpressed by the Mega's jokes.

"I think I already know that. My question regards the chosen one ArchangelUK - who is he?" The digimon pondered this for a moment, seemingly choosing his words carefully.

"He is what he is, like you are what you are. Never going or coming but just being who he is. Nothing more and nothing less." Azulongmon fixed Gennai with a stare, the man blinked in confusion. The mega smiled, but sympathetically.

"Now I realise why the DigiDestined never understood anything I used to tell them." Gennai said, shaking his head.

"And now the Digi-boot is on the other foot as it were."

"This is important, Azulongmon." Gennai moved forward towards the edge of the dragon's hoard breaking all previously implied protocol. The dragon raised an eyebrow at the breech but chose not to mention it, he could well understand the man's anxiety. After all he was right were AAUK not to learn of his true origins the latent power he possesed could be turned to aide the forces of evil in this and other worlds.

"Very well, he is not like the other chosen one, nor the DigiDestined."

"I was right...so who is he?" Azulongmon shot him an annoyed glance.

"If you let me finish." Gennai backed away a few feet, bowing again and apologising. Azulongmon let the moment hang for a few seconds before continuing. "He does not know who he is either, at least not truly, so it would be best for you to look up his beginnings."

"How?"

"Sometimes we have to look at where we come from in able to understand where other people have come from." Gennai cocked his head to the side in puzzlement, then began to pace up and down stroking his chin.

"Ahhh! I see. Do I have your permission then to search the digital history files?"

"Search the cookie files at your leisure Gennai my old friend. Just don't touch my bookmarks - those are for Unclassified Megas only and besides you need a credit card."

"Er...right." Gennai hooked up a laptop to a nearby pillar and started to sift through the millions of files. Azulongmon fell asleep and outside the worlds still came closer to merger.

"Those are some neat ruins."

The group stood in front of what appeared to be a temple, it was cut into the mountain face they had been walking past. There were several enterences including a great big hole in one of the walls which had been partially patched up.

"I've seen these before." Izzy said stepping forward to examine the wall, running his fingers over the stonework.

"When?" Yolei asked joining him at one of the enterance.

"This is the labyrinth where me and Mimi ended up right after Devimon split up File Island. This is the temple of the digivices."

"Oh yeah, with Centauromon." AAUK chimed, remembering the related episode of 01.

"How do you know that?" Izzy asked, squinting against the sunlight behind ArchangelUK. AAUK swallowed, perhaps this wasn't the best time to remind them he'd watched the majority of their lives go by and in some extent anyway contributed to them.

"Er, best ask me later. So we're on File Island?"

"Yes and no. When the Digiworld was repaired after our first trip here all the continents and islands bar a few anyway rejoined to form one big super-continent." Izzy brought out the yellow laptop computer and pressed a button, an animation showed how the islands had reconnected.

A crash of thunder rolled overhead. Menacing thunderclouds as black as AAUK's jacket loomed menacingly above them, they collectively looked upwards as the first spots of rain began to fall. These few tentative drops were followed by what could only be described as a deluge everyone ran for cover inside the temple.

The interior temple was decidedly run down since the last time Izzy had been there, wherever Centauromon had gone after helping them off File Island he hadn't come back here. Perhaps he felt his duty had been fulfilled, whatever the case, in his absence the place had fallen into complete disrepair. The word 'ruins' Sora had used earlier had abtly described its inner chambers, it was however still dry at the very least.

The group sat shivering on and around an alter, the flat worked stone being preferable to rough natural kind. Joe looked around, having been silent for a while since the close scrape with AAUK and the Dark Ocean, he suddenly realised that Patamon and Gatomon had vanished. The blue haired boy made to ask where they were, but his vision quickly focused on two distinct bumps. The bumps were rather, er, imappropriate shall we say to be on a male form - (you didn't have to be a medical student to figure that one out). Joe simply pointed at AAUK who followed the boy's gesture to the two lumps on his person. ArchangelUK raised an eyebrow before clearing his throat.

"Er, Gatomon; why are you hiding under my coat?" There was a rustling from the coat then a white furry head popped out from the opening about a few inches below the wearer's neck

"I'm a cat, I don't like water." She grinned looking upwards, he shook his head.

"Okay, Patamon. Why are YOU hiding under my coat?" He addressed the second lump which again began to move. An orange head with pushed back wing-ears appeared beside the white one, pressed tightly together under the restrictions of space in the coat.

"Um. Company?" The girls giggled, although Gatomon could have kicked Patamon, it was hardly the best wording he could have used. Patamon then realised his close proximity and the pair of digimon blushed furiously.

"Look this is all very cute looking with you two cosying up together but I'd sooner you did it by a fire and not in my coat, especially while I'm wearing it!"

Finally Gennai had found the file, he prayed the others were still alright he had not seen them in some time. Gennai could have sworn there was something to do with him in all of this and his preminations were correct. On activation the screen showed what could only be the birth of the Digital World, he saw himself too at an approximate age of nine human years. He was shaking, afraid. Odd, Gennai remembered none of this.

The younger version of himself fell to his knees blinking back tears, seemingly torn between admiring the splendor of the new digital world and some terrible turmoil. The sky suddenly brightened to a dazzling white and all Gennai could see was his younger counterpart.

Gennai...

The voice seemed to be everywhere, Gennai confused, looked up and around trying to determine where the voice had come from.

"Yes?"

You have made the supreme sacrifice, one which cannot be explained in mere words.

"The digital world, it's alive?"

Yes... The Darkness kept it's part of the bargain and allowed your world to be created. It appears you were right, the humans know of our existence soon they shall begin to broarden this land."

Gennai breathed a sigh of relief. All they had fought for so hard, be it through negotiation or actual conflict had finally come to fruition and the pure Powers would willingly not war, at least directly. New worlds had been born and it would be up to the creatures that would come to inhabit them to decide between whether they would follow the Light or Darkness

But we do not know how long the Darkness will keep it's bargain and we have lost our strongest ally.

"W-will he ever come back?"

I do not know.

But you are the Light! You are all seeing and all knowing! Are you of all things trying to tell me you don't know what happened to Angelus?"

I wish things were that simple. The new world is born, it is born in the mind of a human who will create an idea. Others will shape this idea, it will grow, in time the Darkness may see this world as a valuable asset. When that time comes, look outwards to the stars my friend, for those who value this world will send you help somehow. They have the power within them to create other beings, other worlds, such is the power of the human spirit.

"I understand."

But beware the Keymaster.

"Beware?" Gennai stood up, "Beware??"

With the sacrifice of the Gatekeeper there are no limits, no boundaries to the way the worlds will grow and their influences spread. They will bleed into each other, distorting what was and what will be, if unchecked they will merge. The Unification will destroy everything. When it has truly begun an ancient soul will resurface he will join together with the last of the first warrior line. They will bring harmony to all worlds of good and evil.

"I-I don't understand. Please explain this to me."

I cannot, and now I must leave, new gods will be created for this realm. This is no longer my domain but it forever shall be yours, guide those who will try to help the darkness, for you can no longer fight it directly yourself. You will never again be a Warrior of Light, but there may come a time where there can be only one remaining.

And then the light receeded and the recording ended.

"Hey, I'm beeping!"

"Where have we heard that before?" Gatomon purred with amusement.

"Never?" Hawkmon simply replied, Gatomon thought for a few seconds then realising they hadn't glowered at the bird.

"Okay, you win this round feather boy." Hawkmon grinned, or the closest approximation possible with a beak but stopped when Gatomon glared at him. He swallowed and turned back to his partner Yolei who had taken out her burgandy digivice.

"Odd my D3 isn't picking up a signal."

"Ours aren't either." Joe added, casting an eye at his Version 2 model. Sora and Izzy nodded in agreement, AAUK reached into his pocket picked out the DX and examined it. A series of LED's were flashing on the side seemingly pointing towards an enterence way.

"Shall we follow it?"

"You're the chosen one!" Yolei said in an annoyingly loud voice, ArchangelUK gave a very forced grin back turned to Sora and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, tell me about it." He muttered, Sora laughed and they smiled at each other. Joe elbowed Izzy and the pair nodded knowingly, the Digimon looked on confused save for Patamon and Gatomon who caught Joe's eye and nodded at him too. Yolei couldn't see these interchanges and was busy looking at the language written on the wall.

"Well you two had best lead the way then." The bespectacled young man pointed towards the enterance way. "Lead on fearless leader."

"Hardly fearless, and hardly a leader. You can drop the ArchangelUK thing as well if you like."

"How about 'Wingy'." Yolei tried, AAUK scowled at her.

"Only Digicowboy - Ben - calls me that and he's not here..." Sora tried not to feel too pleased by the way Yolei's face fell.

"Alright then so what do we call you?" She asked as she and AAUK led the group into the tunnel the light from the DX clearly showing the path to take. He smiled.

"Call me Angelus."

To Be Continued....

Is ArchangelUK the mysterious 'Gatekeeper'? What will he and the others find within the Temple of the Digivice? What is ArchangelUK's connection with Gennai? Will Yolei take revenge on Sora? Is Wolfie STILL on the run from that Tyranomon?

Wolfie: *Out of breath* Has DC been kidnapped by Aliens? Where is he anyway???
AAUK: *Shrugs*

Some if not all of this will be revealed in the next chapter of Digimon - Reality Redux!

AAUK: Wolfie...
Wolfie: Yes?
AAUK: Did you really have to hit DC so hard with that microwave?
Wolfie. Yes.
AAUK: Ok, just checking...

Kari's Angels - http://www.geocities.com/happy_hylian/