kale's Once and For All: The Takari Saga

by Eowyn the Fair

Book 7, the conclusion of kale's saga. Takeru learns of a plot against Hikari's soul from the forces of Hell, and alone journeys towards his decisive battle. But Kari follows, playing into the hands of the other side to pit the two against one another...

8. When All is Said and Done

It was far below the surface of the earth, almost a mile into the depths when BaalMerodach came to a halt in front of a massive barrier of solid, magmatic rock. Here he could hear the heartbeat of Hell. Here he could open the floor of the mortal world to call his legions forth from the flame. Here he would blot out the blessed light of Hikari, and here he would be magnified as the Second Power of Dark. It would all come to pass as he had foreseen it.

"Master?" demanded a thin, mortal voice from behind the leathery wing which encompassed the human girl at his side.

The beast turned, holding up a many-taloned hand to bring about silence of the pretentious, mewling infant. It would now demand its bounty for bringing him to this place and for delivering the Hikari to him, and BaalMerodach paused for a moment to genuinely consider whether or not he would honor the bargain that he had struck. He had not planned on doing so. For though there were times when he and others of his ilk would deliver on such a promised reward, that others might fall into the same snare, it was not in his nature to give service to mortals.

Now Hikari began to struggle beneath the folds of his wing, scratching and tearing at his immortal flesh in a continued struggle for life. Merodach paused, then unfurled the appendage and threw the human child to the ground callously. Callously, but not so forcefully as to injure her. "Hold her," he commanded of the sisters, passing a single talon over the pair to endow them with the strength to obey his command.

Aine and Moya each felt an uncomfortable chill pass through her body at the demon's gesture, though with it came the unyielding strength of the dead. And as the demon had commanded, both stepped forward and took the Lady Hikari by a wrist. It was in neither of them to disobey any command that the creature gave any longer, for by nature of their bargain it now possessed each of them in both body and spirit.

BaalMerodach paused to take momentary stock of the situation, and in the back of his immortal mind he could hear the rumblings of D'assan's thoughts as well. With all of his foresight and all of his scrying, never had he even considered that he would have to contend with one of the Exemplar for his victory... and particularly not with that one. His very presence here confused and almost befuddled the creature.

He had flown to that final peace, to rest and the side of Father and Family. But was here now? Had he himself been betrayed by his underlings, who had confirmed that this Venerable One had passed into the immortal plane and been granted a repose and his reward for a life well lived? Or was is something deeper... something even more insidious and peculiar? A return?

No. No Exemplar could possibly endure the agony that came with the labors laid upon them and then refuse healing and peace when it came upon them. Fully half of the Fallen, his own brethren, had attempted to extinguish their own immortal lives in despair when they had been cast from the presence of the Father. And though marked, they at least had been free from pain. Certainly no. There could be none who would willingly deny themselves a dwelling place that was offered them in the final Haven.

And so betrayal it would have to be.

He is stronger than most, Dearest, D'assan's voice spoke to him from within his own mind. As I was I could not even wound him in battle. And now... now we have come between him and his Lady. Give them the power that they crave. The scant delay they prove to be to him may buy us the instant that we need to pull her soul from her body.

Merodach scowled, but was forced to agree. Would the Exemplar pause before he scourged them to the Fire? If the possibility existed then he would cling to it. The Lady Hikari, still within the grasp of the sisters, was only semiconscious. Her eyes were open and staring vaguely ahead, but the creature had no indication that she was actually seeing anything. So much the better.

"You," the demon scowled at Aine. "Keep your paws upon the human child. And you," he continued, his eyes falling upon Moya. "Release her."

The a'ladon sisters did as they were instructed, having very little choice in the matter in any event. And as her delicate paws fell from Hikari's wrist, Moya found her head suddenly engulfed by the demon's many-taloned hand. The creature pulled her forward into his embrace, heedless of her shouts of pain and fear. Merodach turned her about within his leathery wings and tore the dirty dress from her legs, casting it away. Then he bent the young girl over at the waist and wrenched her furry tail to the side.

"You crave power?" he hissed into her ear, looming over her struggling form. "Very well, then, child. Receive the Darkness!"

Calling me Home...

Home...

Home.

Now it was T.K. that lay slumped across Pegasusmon's back, his tear-stained face pillowed against the creature's golden mane. It shamed him terribly that he could not walk the rest of the way, but in truth he had no strength left. His eyes fell upon the Crest of Hope that lay just in front of him, and he nodded weakly. "Yes... yes, I am drawing close to you now. But I have to see her one last time with my mortal eyes. Just an instant... a glimpse... and then you may carry me Home."

BaalBerith alone was watching T.K. as he lay there, motionless, and the creature frowned at the words of the boy. "What do you see, Exemplar, when you look so far away? Do you see the Distant Land? The Peaceful Halls? Can you see all the way to the Silver Throne? Is it a beacon for you as it has been for us since antiquity? My heart will never be free of longing for it, though I know I can never return. If it were otherwise I would depart in an instant. How can you bear to remain?"

The eyes of the young human remained distant, and when he spoke the demon was not certain whether it was in response to him or just a vague reflection. "Those that have gone before sing for me. Sing me free from this night that I have dwelt in. I am waking... waking from tormented darkness into a bright peace..."

Ailora walked on the other side of Pegasusmon while Shay and Eloan led the way deeper into the depths. The young creature brushed the gentle fingertips of her paw against the pale cheek of her Lord Takeru before she leaned in close to the golden stallion's ear. "He doesn't look well, Pegasusmon, and I think he's getting a fever. Should I ask Eloan to use Great Peace to try to comfort him?"

There was a small fissure in the floor from which a foul-smelling smoke issued, and in deference to his young friend Pegasusmon moved to the side to avoid the worst of it before crossing. And then he nodded back to the girl. "I am sure that the fever is the least of his pain now, Ailora, and he cannot be comforted. He is surrounded by evil on all sides, and it torments him. Old injuries and those that he has borne for others for years have returned to haunt him now, made worse by the nearness of the minions of the Enemy."

The girl looked confused for a moment. "Have you not noticed them?" the creature offered, nodding his head to the side. "Look there. In the smoke... in the walls."

Ailora glanced to where the stallion indicated, into the thick vapors of the cavern and at the black rock surrounding them, and was alarmed to see the amorphous devils of which the other spoke. They appeared visible for only an instant before vanishing into wisps of colorless air or back into the rock, but there seemed to be hundreds upon hundreds of them. The girl swallowed, and inched closer to the other. "Will... will we have to fight them all?"

Pegasusmon shook his head. "Not a one. They are not concerned with us, and dare not try to attack T.K. directly. But they are whispering their hatred in his ears, and taunting him with reminders of old injuries and separation from his ultimate family. Ordinarily he would be strong enough to throw them off, and most likely cast them back into the shadows. But not now. His heart has been too long divided against itself, and is one that is stretched too thin to remain so. His strength has left him."

Now Ailora's fingers returned to the caressing of the young human's face, and she smoothed a few strands of blond hair behind his ear. "So we can't do anything for him?"

The golden creature turned to her with a wise smile upon his face. "We can. When it is his time, we can let him go. Let him go without tears, and without sorrow. He has carried too much, too long, and it will be to peace and healing that he goes. I think I have known, perhaps always, that it must come to this."

The girl's fingertips fell to the pink Crest of Light upon the human's left wrist, and it returned a small glimmer of recognition in response. "And he endures all of these things for her? For Hikari? Is their love so great?"

"Very great, Ailora. Very. More than even I know. He has withstood much for her, and now this at the last. But if we should prove successful here today, do not speak of it to her. Since the beginning he has not told her of the pain, and would not want her to know of it in her final memories of him. You may understand, someday."

Eloan dropped to one knee and raised a single paw to call for a halt. The cavern through which they had been traveling had now divided into two branches, and the rough floor gave little indication as to which path the other group had followed. "How can a creature of that size step so lightly?" the boy grumbled, running a single claw along the volcanic rock of the ground. And after a moment had passed and when Shay also could not make a determination, Eloan took his father's little flute from the pouch at his side and played a light, short series of notes upon it.

The boy stared at something for a moment, something that utterly escaped Shay, before leading the group down the left-hand passage. "This way."

Ailora took in all of this, but did not speak as she followed her brother and her fiance further down the black tunnel. She almost wished that she'd never come... not to see this. To see her Lord Takeru so weak and broken, with his familiar speaking as though death would soon take him. But then, if he were dying, how could he hope to see his Lady safely back from the powers that had taken her? There had to be a distinction here that she was missing.

Now the Crest of Light, against which her paw still rested, gave another vague glimmer of silver. To death? No, Daughter. It is true that his body may pass, but with it will pass all the weaknesses that are bound within. His fear and his pain, his frailty and his sorrow. What is left will be beautiful to behold, and will certainly suffice to carry her back from the borders of the Dark Lands. But it is this: that he must surrender his mortal life to Light that she does not surrender her own to Darkness, of which the son of Hope speaks.

"I... I don't understand any of this," the girl murmured under her breath. None of it was fair. If Lord Takeru was willing to sacrifice so much and suffer so greatly for the Lady Hikari, should they not be together at the end? If he had fought against evil for so long and tried so hard to make things right, why would he be rewarded with what in the end only amounted to noble death? It just didn't seem right...

Now Gatomon, who had been trailing behind the group, nipped up to Pegasusmon's rump and sat between T.K.'s legs. She turned to the perplexed girl, and smiled. "None of us understand it, Ailora," the little creature whispered. "But Patamon believes that when T.K. is released from his pain for the second time, the final time, peace and healing will be his reward for all that he's done. But then, Pata has always been more concerned with personal honor than with justice." And here the little feline winked at the other, and her voice dropped even lower, to an almost inaudible whisper. "Look in his pocket."

Ailora was hesitant for a moment, and then her fingers stole away from Takeru's forehead and the Crest of Light and moved in the direction that Gatomon had indicated. The girl felt horribly guilty about rifling through the human's possessions without his permission, but an intense curiosity had become aroused in her stomach by the furtive manner and cryptic words of the little feline familiar. And so she inched down to the pocket that the other had indicated, and after another moment of a tentative pause, slid her hand inside the boy's pocket.

The a'ladon girl opened her paw in surprise as it returned to her side, and she looked at the marvelous little ornament that had been secreted away in the clothing of her master. For thought it was plain and unadorned and fashioned from what looked to be silver and not gold, she was certain that it was the most lovely piece of jewelry that she had ever seen in her life. But what it signified in the context of their conversation... "I don't think I understand," she confessed to the other.

Gatomon smiled. "Humans aren't so gifted with words as you a'ladon are, Ailora, and are more drawn to ornamentation. When a male human gives a ring to a female, it would be for them as though Shay had finally spoken Takeru's Vows with you."

Ailora blinked, and her cheeks reddened with a flush of embarrassment. "So... he does mean to wed her?"

The little digimon winked knowingly at the girl. "I'd be very confused and upset with him if I found out he didn't," she answered, really rather smugly. "And I'd have to forget everything that I thought I'd learned about humans in the last eight years. Of course, he has a task to finish first, and if he fails it cannot come to that between them. But I believe, and believe strongly, that it is his intention to do so."

The girl opened her mouth to respond, but was brought up short by a discomfort as the sound of a low rumbling reached her ears. It was a deep baritone in pitch, and its steadily building volume was such that she was afraid that it might begin to crumble the black walls around them. The girl winced, and brought both paws to her ears. The other a'ladon and Gatomon also tried to shield their ears from the pain, and Pegasusmon looked somewhat uncomfortable that he could not do so as well. But T.K. remained as motionless as ever, and BaalBerith only looked up at the sound with a scowl on the face of Jeron the king.

The possessed creature moved to the side of Pegasusmon. "If you truly mean to see this done, beast, now is the time for haste. Those are the groomsmen for Merodach singing the soul of his chosen bride to darkness that she will be fit for him to wed. When they have finished, he will place his token upon her head to symbolize the bond he has made with her flesh and then will drag her soul screaming to the depths of my home."

"Can you silence them?" the stallion returned, brow furrowed against the pain in his ears.

Berith shook his head in disdain for the question. "I would counter them back to Hell if it were in my power to do so. But those are not of my House. Merodach has taken no chances in this. I have no authority over those that will aid him in his grab for power. In any event, the Law of our Master forbids me from acting openly against another of my race that seeks to advance His kingdom."

But Pegasusmon had turned away at the creature's shake of its head, and now craned his own to the rear. "T.K.?" he murmured quietly. And to any other it might have seemed foolish for him to speak in such a soft voice while all around them raged the noise of the demonic choir, but of course the truth was anything but.

The boy stirred once before he lifted his pale face towards his partner. "It is time," the stallion finished.

T.K. wiped the sweat from his forehead and the tears from his eyes and moved forward to sit upright with his hand stroking the other's long neck affectionately. "No palm leaves for me, Pata," he smiled wearily, motioning to the ground in front of them.

The noise surrounding them was still tremendous, and so Pegasusmon was certain that he felt the words instead of hearing them, but both he and Berith understood them where the rest would not. And T.K. was tall upon his partner's back now, with the Crest of Hope beating a golden heartbeat upon his chest and the Crest of Light answering with a silver pulse upon his left wrist.

At that moment Eloan and Shay, at the head of the group, both came to a halt and turned to one another while grimacing strongly. "What is that smell?" the red-haired boy very nearly shouted the demand of his aristocratic partner.

And then they saw her.

The female a'ladon, twisted beyond belief into a monstrous, misshapen figure, towered in the passageway before the group. Her fur had been recast in a glossy ebony hue, and the tail which lashed around at her flanks had been ameliorated by a serrated barb at the very end. Huge, taloned claws dug into the magmatic rock atop which the beast crouched, and a glistening green saliva oozed liberally from the saber-like fangs which curved downward from her upper jaw.

With the chorusing demons at their backs now, the three a'ladon teens each drew their swords and stepped to the front of the formation. The twisted creature peered at each of them with madness in her vacant eyes, until finally she came to the young prince on the right flank. "Shaaaay," the beast intoned in a sibilant voice and slowly reached her enormous claw forth towards the boy.

Shay was aghast, and he lowered his sword away from its position at guard as he heard the other speak. "Moya?" he demanded, his jaw hanging open in disbelief.

"Shaaaay," the other repeated, and now the monstrous paw reaching for the boy shot forth with a horrifying alacrity as the a'ladon magistrate sought to remove his head from his shoulders.

But then Moya reeled away as a great, silvery light estopped her from any further assault upon the boy. T.K. had his hand held high above his head, and within that hand was the Crest of Light whose power poured out from between his tightly clasped fingers to provide a holy barrier against the demonic creature. And with his heels the young human gently urged Pegasusmon forward and Moya away until her back was pressed up against the rear cavern wall, leaving the corridor clear for them all to continue.

T.K., astride Pegasusmon now looked up at the creature that had been the a'ladon witch and met her eye to eye. "Well now," he said, letting the light of the Crest fall upon him so that the creature could not advance but sparing her the pain of having it alight upon her flesh. "You have done service, and service willingly, to the greatest evil ever unleashed upon your lands. What now shall be done with you?"

The enormous creature still cringed away from the young boy and the fiery light in his hand, shielding her eyes with a grotesquely disfigured forearm. "P... pity..." the other responded with deep lamentation and shame in her voice. "Mur... mur... mercy, Lord."

T.K. felt nauseous and reeled in his seat as the pain from old injuries again swept over him in a wave, but still he kept the light upon Pegasusmon and himself to maintain security against the demon-possessed girl. And he bowed his head in response to her words. "I cannot remedy this, Lady. Not such as I am. But neither can I leave you at my back when I go to send your Master back to the shadows. It may be that I must scourge you to the fire that my purpose may be fulfilled." And the boy reached to his chest, unwillingly it seemed, to take hold of the Crest of Hope.

But then Shay was at Pegasusmon's side, and looked up at the boy Paragon. "Lord Tekay... how would it be with you if I presented you a fourth alternative?" T.K. looked down in response with only sadness upon his face, for he had guessed of what the boy spoke before it had even crossed his lips. "Let me guard the corridor at your back, Lord. I will stay with Moya if she will swear to yield, and will bring her to battle if she will not. For though she was short-tempered and irritable with me, she never was so with an evil intent, and I can not believe that this end was of her own choosing."

"Shay... I can't--"

But Gatomon interrupted the human before he could continue, again leaping to Pegasusmon's flank and placing her gloved hands upon his shoulders. "I'll stay with him, T.K. If it spares you from making a decision that I know you don't want to make, I'll stay to make certain that she cannot follow. In any event, if she does want to cause any trouble for you... I have a score to settle with her from our first meeting." And behind her feline eyes T.K. could see the eyes of Angewoman, and he knew that the pair could indeed do as promised.

"And Kari?" the boy asked of her.

Gatomon smiled fondly in response. "I passed my guardianship of her to you a long time ago, Takeru Takaishi."

"Enough," BaalBerith demanded, careful to stay well away from the light within T.K.'s hand. "We have no time for this. Onward!"

The frown upon T.K.'s face had not diminished, but still he nodded and turned Pegasusmon's head towards the massive opening in the wall to the left. At his side were Ailora and her twin brother, and at his back the demon-possessed king of the a'ladon. And as they moved away Shay and Gatomon kept Moya pressed against the wall, though she seemed to be relaxing away from it as the Crest of Light also moved away.

"Our cause cannot succeed if you remain so timid about the spilling of blood, Exemplar."

Eloan and Ailora looked up at the boy human for an answer, even as he appeared to sag beneath a great weight. T.K. caught the eyes of each of the twins before shaking his head. "She was mortal enough still to beg for mercy and for pity. Those concepts are unknown to demonkind, and if enough of her soul remains to ask for such then I would be doing a great evil to send her to the fire. Isn't that right, Berith?"

The demon responded to the chastisement with only a dark glower in the other's direction. Naive, and hopelessly so to survive this, the creature thought but did not say. How many similarly possessed souls had fallen beneath the blades of the Exemplar from ages past he dared not guess, but for certain knew the amount to be staggering. The boy being what he was, Berith was sure that no restriction had been placed on him to sunder such a being from the mortal realm. And if the seed of Merodach was still coursing through her body... well, she would be in no position to plead for her life for much longer. But such were the foolish risks that mercy entailed.

Ailora risked a single glance back over her shoulder to see Shay and Hikari's familiar side-by-side in the doorway through which they had departed, and the beast looming over them. And then she turned back to her Lord Takeru with head bowed. "Is there any hope for him, Lord? Any at all that the creature will indeed yield?"

T.K.'s mouth was dry, so very dry as he answered. He wished that he had something to drink, even a taste of water to moisten his throat and perhaps cool his rapidly worsening fever. "I'm no descrier of anyone's fate, Ailora. But your father gave his life to return hope to all of your lands... so yes. There is always hope."

"Brave words and maxims will only take you so far if you refuse to act, Exemplar. Merodach will not surrender his prize but that you battle him for her. And it may be that, with the end of the song of the damned at our back, you shall have to destroy your Hikari in order to guard the souls of those that have come with you as well. If you will not scourge Moya, who you do not love, how much harder will it be for you to rend the life of your promised from her to save us all?"

But with those words from the demon and king, a ghastly scream of despair and of pain and of loss echoed throughout the cavern from ahead, and the song of the cursed groomsmen came to an end.

The light in the cavern, save for that in T.K.'s hand, was instantly extinguished at the call, and the sound of leathery wings beating in furious time surrounded them. Eloan and Ailora both drew their swords at their sides, and a thin line of golden fire was evident upon the boy's, but there was no courage in the act and each felt their mortal blood run cold within their veins.

"Kari."

Berith bowed his head in surrender. It was over. Merodach had claimed his bride. His immortal soul would soon be naught but sustenance for his brother's hunger, and a life that had spanned eons would be quenched within the belly of the Second Power.

Pegasusmon stamped a forehoof in helplessness, but could no longer walk forward. It was not that he did not want to proceed, even though his chances of falling from the path and into the fiery magma at their side would have been great. Instead it was as though his muscles had frozen with the cold and darkness, and would no longer yield to his conscious demands.

But above them all, T.K. could only close his eyes in resolution. No. No it was not over. Not until what was to come to pass had come to pass. Above his head went his open hand, and upon its surface lay the Crest of Light. And the boy's lips were moving silently with words that he should not have known to speak, and yet most certainly did.

Fiat voluntas tua...

Fiat voluntas tua...

Fiat voluntas tua...

And the boy paused, his eyes blinking open into darkness as he finally made his voice heard.

"Thy will be done."

The Crest of Light now shone with a light as it had never shone before, and in a bare instant the black cavern was all aglow with silver fire and brilliance, and even Pegasusmon, Eloan and Ailora closed their eyes and turned their heads away as best they could to be shielded from the great radiance that even outshone the noonday sun in the midst of a summer's day. At the boy's back Berith fell to his knees in agony and buried his face against the black rock at the floor of the place, and yet the light was so powerful that even then it was of no comfort to him.

The demon clawed now at the mortal eyes that he had stolen from Jeron, and shouted out in agony. "No! End it! End it now, Exemplar! How can it be that the light from the Silver Throne shines here, even in the pit of all places? Show me not the brilliance of what was my home! End it, or end my life at once!"

"Open your eyes."

Pegasusmon and Ailora and Eloan heard the boy's calm voice above them, and though each feared that he would be struck blind when they had done as T.K. had instructed, love for the human claimed instant superiority over such fear. And when each did look, he found that he was not struck blind but instead had his eyes bathed in a great and gentle glow that set each of their minds at ease and soothed all of their fears and misgivings.

The twin children of T'Kai looked up at the father's friend, and saw him for an instant as they had not seen him before. The mortal shell was still there, yes, but they found if they looked closer that they could see behind the flesh to a presence unlike they had never seen before. It was wise and noble and worth of great honor, with a silver shield above his head and a great, golden sword within his hand.

"You also, BaalBerith. My word as before... this will bring you no harm."

But the demon did not open his eyes, and instead continued to roll about on the ground in agony. "Lies! All lies! I am lost, whether by your hand or by my brother's it matters not! Hikari is his, and so shall be dominion!" And with that the demon rose to his mortal a'ladon feet and scampered blindly ahead of the group, stumbling over crags and slamming into walls, but eventually disappearing into the passageway that loomed before them all.

Pegasusmon was the first to speak after a moment. "T.K.?"

"Yes... still. Still, Pegasusmon, though for a short time only. The Spirit is upon me, and only waits for my mortal eyes to see Kari before it will fly free."

"And the pain?"

Now the boy nudged his partner forward with his heels, and motioned for Eloan and Ailora, Hope and Light, to take up positions of honor before Pegasusmon. The twins did so with swords still drawn, and felt more alive and full of pride than either had before in their life. "Also remains, but remains with me only as tattered rags of mortality that I will soon cast off. My body is rent beyond repair, and will soon return to dust."

The procession was moving along now towards a doorway in the far wall beyond which they could hear screaming and shouting and chanting all at once, and Pegasusmon lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'll miss you, T.K., and I love you more than I could possibly say in a lifetime. In the midst of your joy, never forget about me."

The boy's heart ached at the words of his partner, but it was an ache that only joined the others hanging on to his mortal body in those last moments. But worse than all of those was the guilt. I should never have come back, he thought as he watched his honor guard of a'ladon twins step through the arching gateway that loomed before them all. What good has it been to any of us? Kari and I still cannot be together in the end, and but for my return the demons might well have left her alone. Pata and Gatomon and Ailora, Eloan and Shay would never have risked their lives in this place. I've borne this pain for four years without reason, and left the Paragons and angels to grieve for my presence.

But now came a song to T.K.'s ears as he rose and fell with Pegasusmon's gentle gait, a peaceful, soothing lullaby that his three companions seemed completely oblivious to. And as the boy looked to his left and again to his right, he saw the ethereal forms of the holy host in their fine livery. The Paragons had come to the side of their still-mortal peer to sing comfort to him as he completed his dignified procession into the lair of the beast. In his hand and upon his chest the Crests of Light and Hope responded to the song with gentle power and acknowledged each of the singers with a faint glimmer in their direction.

" L'Épée... rather, the Sword, she is fond of you Takeru."

The boy smiled down at her. She was somewhat older than he, and of course knew her by sight. Such was the familiarity between them all. "En français, if you would prefer, Jehanne. I can speak it, you know."

She reached out to touch the boy's hand. "This is going to be difficult for you, Takeru. The leaving was hard on all of us, in both body and in spirit. And you may have to do something that you do not want to do."

Now T.K.'s face fell into shadow. "Did Michael send you to remind me of my duty, then? He doesn't trust me to do it without reassurance?"

"Would you rather one of the others spoke to you of it? We were all sent solace at the end, and this will be no less trying on you than it was on us." The girl paused. "Takeru, if she has been taken... you must release her to death. Do not leave her in the hands of one of them. Use the Sword of Ages. It knows of your fear, and will not cause her unnecessary pain."

T.K.'s eyes fell upon the Crest of Hope, and in his mind the boy could see it exalted as the Sword of Ages and his being forced to use it against his most beloved. "I'm scared, m'lady. Not for myself, but for Kari."

She smiled. "You cannot do wrong, Takeru. Be strongest at the end." And then the girl was gone back to the side of the holy chorus with a nod in his direction and at the Crest of Hope, for it knew her as well.

The boy reached down and stroked the neck of Pegasusmon. "No, Pata... I will never forget..."

Merodach smiled as he held the Hikari by the throat and loomed over her. "Now you are mine, human. Properly wed, I judge that you are now fit to consummate our bond by bearing my offspring. And after he bursts forth from your womb, each of us shall have his own turn suckling at your essence. My spirit will inhabit our son, and he will be great and fell and fearsome, the likes of which the angels have not seen in millennia. BaalMerodach, prince of Hell and of darkness will I be, and I will stand at the right hand of my Father himself and there be magnified before all the Earth."

Kari was drowsy and could not physically strike out against the creature, but deep within her soul she screamed in panic and despair of what had happened... and the infinitely worse act which was about to occur. She had already seen him violate the a'ladon witch Aine in the most horrific way possible, and desperately wanted a way to die before he forced himself upon her.

"You see, Berith? I have won," the beast called over his shoulder. "You... You thought to betray me by leading Takeru here? If so, you ought to have shown more haste." And within his clawed hand the demon held a vicious lash with many long, leathery straps which had been adorned with pebbles and bits of bone to proliferate the damage to its victim's flesh. He had already scourged his Brother once with the weapon, and thought that he might try it on his new bride as a bit of sport before impregnating her.

"Merodach!"

The creature paused at the call, still holding Hikari within his arms and his wings folded tightly around her body. This was a development not entirely unexpected, but disappointing nonetheless. He had clung to a measure of hope that Takeru would have flown away to be free of the pain once the blight was upon the soul of his promised.

The creature turned, and dropped his bride to the floor. She could not escape... she could no longer so much as move or breathe without his permission. Such was the nature of demonic matrimony: utter male dominance. And from a sheath at his side Merodach slowly pulled forth the second of three relics which the Master had given him access to... relics from the most heinous event in all of recorded human history. A great, bladed spear which had once split the flesh of the most holy man to have ever walked upon the earth. Because of the uncertainty he had hoped that it would not come to a battle, but still was secure in the knowledge that this human could not defeat him.

"You're younger than I'd thought, Exemplar," the creature called to T.K. from his position. "You seemed significantly more mature at our last encounter. Have you even reached the age of majority for your kind?"

"Free her, Merodach," was T.K.'s response as he slipped from Pegasusmon's back. Eloan and Ailora stepped between the young human and the massive form of the demon, emboldened by their faith in him, but T.K. gently touched each of the siblings on the arm to move them back to the digimon's side. "You have no rights to Kari, and I've come to take her back."

BaalMerodach unfolded his enormous, leathery wings and spread them to the side to display the true enormity of his body. And at T.K.'s back, Pegasusmon frowned at the thickly muscled chest of the creature. It was half again T.K.'s height, and probably three times his weight. But he was comforted by the fact that the boy did not cringe from the sight, nor did he manipulate the Crests into the Paragon Arms at that moment.

The demon frowned, and stamped the butt of his spear upon the floor. A great hollow sound echoed throughout the cavern in response, and the creature raised the scourge in his other hand to his shoulder. "Are you not even mindful of the weapons that my Master has girt me with, Exemplar? Take her back? My bride? She is the key to my exaltation, and my property by rights."

T.K.'s eyes fell upon the creature's weapons, and his face took on an additional pallor. "I know them, Merodach. They should have been destroyed long ago... but neither does it surprise me that your cause would have secreted them away to some dark corner of your Hell. And I promise you that, if you choose to contest Kari with me, I will shatter both spear and scourge before they meet with my flesh."

Eloan's eyes scanned the room while the two spoke. Hikari, he judged, was obscured behind the wingspan of the demonic creature. Oddly enough he was not so terrified of the monster as he might have thought. Being this near to it made him feel ill, and certainly he was nervous about the power that it could command, but he was able to stand before it on his own two feet without his knees knocking together in fright. The boy smiled. His father' spirit was upon him.

But his eyes continued to scan the room. Merodach, yes, and Hikari certainly behind him. Berith cowering in the corner and stripes upon his back oozing dark blood... but yet, had there not been another a'ladon girl with Merodach in the earlier cavern? Possibly the creature had already destroyed her, but that conclusion did not sit right with the boy either.

The others in the room, a'ladon or demon, digimon or human all were extraneous at the moment as Merodach and T.K. stared one another down in silence. The creature was certain that he could not break this human's will as he would have any other's, and was doing all that he could not to collapse under the eyes of the Exemplar. And then it was he who ended the silence first. "Very well, then. A bargain."

The Crest of Hope was alight with gold fire in T.K.'s hand. "Be serious," the boy scowled.

"I cannot lie to you, Exemplar. Not whilst you hold the Sword of Ages, veiled with innocuity though it be. Even at this distance I can feel the fatigue of your mortal body, and the illness that is threatening to drive you to your knees. It is only your spirit that keeps you standing in front of me, boy, and while you remain in that body there remains the possibility it will fail you. When it does, the victory will be mine and all will suffer that you would not yield."

"And so here is my offer, Takeru... Best and Beloved of the Father. Quit this battle before it begins. It was not laid upon you by Heaven, as both you and I know. In return, I will spare the lives of all that you have brought with you to this place. And I will place wards upon you that no demon of Hell should trouble your line from now until the Armageddon. You and yours may finally have peace... something that has been long denied you in the service of the One."

"And though Hikari must die as my bride, I will anesthetize her against the pain that would accompany that death. She will be completely unaware as her body fades from existence and her soul is extinguished. You know that, if we should duel, the winner must put her to death... and a painful one at that. She is my slave now, and even if you are victorious will roam this world in my stead causing great evil wherever she may tread."

The demon glanced over at BaalBerith. "What matters it to you who is my Master's Second, Takeru? There is no victory here for you... even if you battle me and win you will have lost. And if you should fail how many will suffer because of it? Go in peace. Take Eloan and Ailora. Take Pegasusmon and Gatomon and Shay... even Jeron, once I have freed him from Berith's control. Live long in peace for the rest of your mortal life, and know that your children and their children and all of your line forward shall be free from the trouble that you have known. Do not let stubborn, mortal pride forestall you from making what you know to be the honorable choice." The demon paused, reading the look on the boy's face. "But I cannot be trusted? Then I shall swear upon the Sword of Ages as my brother has sworn to put your soul at ease."

Think of the good that you may do while you still live...

T.K. put out a hand and held on to Pegasusmon's side as his knees felt weak and began to quiver. And tears formed in his eyes and began to drip down his cheeks, cheeks that were flushed with fever and whose muscles were too weak to even attempt a reassuring smile at his partner. The demon was not lying... even if he did not know what it had said to be true, the Crest of Light would have let him see through the deception. And the vision of Kari impaled upon the Sword of Ages would not leave his mind.

"Pata... Pata, help me," the boy whispered. "I can't do this. I think he's right, and I can't fight this any longer. I'm so tired... I just want to sleep. I can't let you die, or Eloan or Ailora either. And I can't let Kari suffer, at my hands or at his."

The Crests of Light and Hope were now both taciturn and completely inexpressive as the boy leaned heavily against his partner's side. And then Ailora and Eloan looked back to him, and frowned. "I... I believe that you should do as he says, Lord Takeru," the a'ladon boy murmured under his breath. "If Her Grace could be saved by battle then I would give my life to that end, and gladly, but if her fate is already sealed and we are to do more harm than good..."

"Lord?" the girl echoed. "I want... want to go home now. If we have failed to save Hikari then I will accept my life with Shay and never have an instant of regret that I had not done all that I could. Let her go, and go in peace, Lord."

And Pegasusmon shook his great head and let his mane fall down around his shoulders. "I should say the same, if this be true. You know how much I love her, but we cannot allow her to suffer for a battle which will serve no purpose. Gatomon will understand as well, and would not want her partner and friend to be tormented at his hands. He has promised peace, for you in life and for her in death. Let her go, Takeru."

The boy sighed, and bowed his head. It was over. He had to --had to-- accept what the demon had offered. There was no other honorable choice, and it all came down to Kari's well-being. If she were to die in any event...

He glanced up then, vaguely disturbed. "What did you call me?"

Eloan, Ailora and Pegasusmon all glanced at one another in confusion. "Lord?" the young girl asked.

But now T.K. was backing away from the three in alarm, and as he went he tripped upon some imperfection in the floor and his weak legs gave way beneath him. With his eyes upon the three he scrambled backwards upon the black stone floor until his back was against the wall that they had just passed to enter. There was a frantic look on his face and the sweat on his forehead was now pouring down in rivets upon his cheeks and the back of his neck.

"You... you called me, 'Takeru', Pata. You've never once, in all these years, called me Takeru..."

And now the boy fumbled for the Crest of Light upon his wrist, and as his fingers closed tightly upon it he kept his eyes focused upon his three companions. His breathing was heavy in his lungs as his lips whispered feverishly to the little relic, calling on it to reveal to his eyes what he knew in his heart to be true. "Show me, Father. As it is not hidden from Your eyes, do not let it be hidden from my own."

And to him, Gabriel's Ward showed the truth. Behind each of his companions the shadow of a little Fiend stood, and through the Fiends BaalMerodach had imposed his will upon each of the three. They now advanced on the boy as he lay upon the ground, begging the Crest of Light to come forth to greater power. He was the cause of this. He had let them stand in the presence of a greater demon without the safety that the Crest would provide. And he had brought them all, ultimately, to this place.

But still, the Crest would not loose its power within the cavern. It was being smothered in the place, surrounded by evil... and with only a mortal to command it, could no longer erupt into life as it should. And T.K. was still a mortal. One empowered with the spirit of a Paragon, but bound still by his mortal flesh.

BaalMerodach screamed at the boy. "Speak, Exemplar! Agree to my terms, and I will release them to you. Let no blood be on your hands! Flee! Flee, and be at peace."

And as T.K. lay there, cowering beneath the threatening stares of those that he could not bring himself to battle, the demon folded his wings upon himself. Satisfied in his victory, the creature no longer felt the need to appear imposing before the child. He had won, and the Exemplar would soon bow to his terms.

But behind the demon, T.K. could now see the form of Kari as she lay upon the ground. And as he looked, he saw that her eyes were closed in a semblance of peace. Her face was dirty and smudged with black soot as it lay pillowed upon the hard stone of the floor, and her clothes were torn almost to tatters, but she was as at peace as she could be. She had not been violated by the creature, and her own mortal life still throbbed beneath her chest.

I have to see her one last time with my mortal eyes. Just an instant... a glimpse... and then you may carry me Home.

And now the boy Paragon closed his eyes and lay his head down upon the floor as well. To his chest his held the Crest of Hope, and within the little artifact he could feel the most faint drumbeat as it echoed his own pulse within itself. And the boy smiled. He had seen her. She was well. And he was going Home.