Author's notes: This is a sequel to Fallen Devimon's saga and the various sequels to that, I'm tying the plot threads back together and finally trying to create an excellent epic, but I think the story works rather well without having read the earlier parts, I think it's easy to jump into at least… A few things, like Lady Devimon's backstory, will seem a bit confusing though if you haven't read it… Also, I must point out that the Panjyamon mentioned is the adventure Leomon evolved, to minimize confusion.
The digital world was in pain. Once more, for the third time in six years, its surface had been ravaged by war. Devimon had returned from the dark whirlpool, the chosen children seemed almost powerless. Sure, some had awakened new strength, but it never seemed to be enough, and so many more had met their deaths in this war.
And just when things were beginning to look in their favor, Seiryu's spawn was killed in battle, and the barrier between worlds had been shattered.
Yamato still didn't understand why that dragon had done what he did, causing Seiryu so much sorrow that the gate could no longer hold, letting the worlds of darkness flow together with this one, not to mention losing the one shot at Fallen Devimon that he had... And for what, so that he could live? It didn't make any sense to him, what was so important about his life to the digital world? Even if he was a chosen, why did he need to survive?
Still, times were grave indeed, and he couldn't exactly give up, so using a D-terminal that he was given by the one thought to be the Grey Lord, he called for the chosen to gather once more…
"Oniisan…" Takeru said, reading the message… "Does Lady Devimon still grasp your soul?"
"Shall we go, Takeru-kun?" Sora asked, looking over his shoulder…
"I don't trust him at all… But whether or not it's a trap, he has Iori-san captive, and he's still my brother… Maybe this way I can turn him back to good…" He said, his voice finally one of certainty, if not confidence… "But let's not let him know of Hououmon just yet, we must always be prepared…"
"Takeru-kun… You trust him so little now?" Sora asked, empathy more then anything marking the tone of her voice…
"You saw it too, didn't you? He may be my brother, but…"
"I know…" She replied, putting a comforting hand on him… He hates the powers of darkness so much, even the bond he had with Yamato-san didn't hold up… I know it's needed, but to harbor so much hatred for one you once cared about so much, to be willing to kill them to save the world? It's not a position I'm envious of…
"Hikari-chan? You're wounded, you shouldn't go… Besides, it could be a trap…" Angewomon said, Hikari's wounds seeming as if they would never heal, but instead be Phantomon's permanent scar…
"I won't say I should… But I have to…" The bearer of light said, and Angewomon nodded understandingly…
"Ken-chan?" Wormmon asked, as the chosen looked over his D-terminal…
"We're going now… If I become the Kaiser again, so be it."
And so the surviving chosen gathered for the first time in so very long, once more with the task of stopping a horrible evil at hand… Once more preparing for a battle that could not be won...
"Oniisan, why have you called us here?" Takeru asked, still unsure of how to proceed…
"I have grave news to report… Fallen Devimon has returned, the Grey Lord was slain, and the seal that separates the worlds has been annihilated. The digital world is in great danger…" He said, his voice holding a foreboding tone…
"I don't deny that the worlds no longer are as separate as they once were…" Takeru responded darkly, remembering his conflict with Demon, a creature from the dark ocean breaking so easily into the digital world… "But Fallen Devimon couldn't have survived that blast… Infinity is the center of File Island, from which the digital world sprang forth, and that could have thwarted the seal…" He added, thinking… "But to take advantage of this and try to make us sacrifice all our forces in an obvious trap, you've fallen even further to darkness then I thought…" He added angrily, preparing a spell…
"If he was with the darkness, it was with Lady Devimon, and Lady Devimon is evil no more…" Hikari said, finally seeing Takeru again after so very long… "I think Yamato can be trusted, we have nothing more to fear from him…"
"I want to believe you, I really do, but… That sort of digimon doesn't turn to the light, and Yamato's statements make no sense… Even if Fallen Devimon lived, there's no way he'd be crazy to assault the Grey Lord, and there's no reason the Grey Lord would throw his life away to save someone like him… I know he's tried to concoct a good story, but he's lying through his teeth…" Takeru responded coldly, glaring at his older brother… "Let's go, there's no reason to listen to him try to lure us to our deaths…"
"No, wait…" Angewomon said, looking up onto a nearby… "She's here…" The angel digimon said cryptically, as something large and black seemed to stumble and regained it's footing…
"You're not with the darkness anymore, are you?"
"Feh, I've not turned from darkness, I just wanted to help Hikari out, it's only fair after what she did for me…"
"Baka. Hikari is the light, just as much as Dagomon is the darkness." Angewomon responded angrily, as the others turned their attention to the succubus digimon…
"Hikari? You're talking with a demon like her in such a casual manner and accepting her loyalty, convinced she's joined your side?" Takeru said coldly, as the bearer of light looked on sympathetically at Lady Devimon... "And here I was, thinking you were of the light. Youdisgust me, traitor." He added, a hint of irony in his voice as he said Hikari's name…
"Perhaps you don't realize that there's more to the darkness then having torn black wings…" Hikari responded, and then Takeru departed, cold-hearted as ever…
"Forgive Takeru's foolishness… I have to convince him… If Devimon reveals himself, tell me quickly..." Sora responded, rushing after the bearer of hope…
"Yamato-san, I believe you at the very least… We must move quickly, Devimon's not going to get weaker then this." Hikari responded, bowing… "Where is he?"
"Overdell, last I heard. But I don't think he'll be picking through the ruins for long… We need some spies."
"Spies, you say?" Lady Devimon asked, a few Bakemon emerging…
"Very well then… Please, Lady Devimon, track down his location, he must be stopped!" Hikari begged, fearing once more for the digital world's fate, and even Panjyamon nodded in agreement, knowing that sometimes you had to align with the lesser of two evils, and there was always the possibility Hikari was right… Koushirou, always the tactician, had little doubt Lady Devimon would at least oppose Fallen Devimon, but whether they together had the strength… That, he was unsure of… Mimi tended to be too trusting to begin with, distrust was not in her nature. Miyako's first loyalty was to Hikari and she would go by her thoughts in this, as for Ken, he was the former Kaiser and had turned to darkness so very recently, and even though he wasn't convinced, who would ever take his advice? And as for Iori…
"Yamato speaks the truth about Fallen Devimon's survival, I saw it myself…" Iori said, remembering that fateful battle… "But I don't think taking his advice is wise, we have more to do then just bringing about Fallen Devimon's death, the gate between worlds is as wide as it's ever been, and this isn't just the human world's gate…"
"You're right… He called for me again a few days ago, and Sora mentioned something about Demon laying siege to Factorial…" Hikari spoke, the fear in her voice leaving, to those who knew of the dark ocean's master, no doubt to whom "he" referred to…
"So he does live… Still, sealing the gate once more is far more important, I will not let even more like Ogremon into this world!" Panjyamon yelled angrily, drawing his frozen sword…
"It's not that easy… Unless Qinglongmon returns from his sorrow, there's no way to seal the gate…" Koushirou answered, looking at his computer with horror in his eyes… "Basically, we're all doomed…"
"In case you've forgotten, you have an ultimate on your side…" Lady Devimon said from her perch, still determined to at least aid Hikari, if nothing else…
"Digimon like you can't be trusted, but right now we need all the allies now we can get…" Miyako responded, and so they departed, all of them ready to fight the darkness, all of them fighting a battle that, even with who they had assembled, still could not be won…
But back in Factorial Fortress, Takeru's hatred of his brother and the darkness he still served (Or so he believed) had not diminished, not even by the slightest bit… "I still can't trust anyone but Sora-chan…" Takeru said, putting a hand to his cheek… "Oniisan's still engulfed by darkness, and worse, the gate's been destroyed, with all the creatures of darkness flooding into this world, we're all doomed, there's no other way to put it… I can't save this world…" He said sadly, resting his head… "I wanted to save the digital world, I really did, but the darkness was just too strong… Forgive me, digimon of the world, I've failed you…"
"Takeru-kun…" Sora said, looking over sympathetically, knowing that feeling of failure all too well… "I know what you've been through…" She added, throwing her arms around the golden-haired bishounen…
"Sora-chan… I thank you…" Takeru responded, returning her embrace… "But I've still failed this world, I couldn't even stop my own brother from falling to darkness…" He responded sadly, Sora's arm catching his tears…
"Maybe... But you're the bearer of hope… You shouldn't give up like this, it's never too late, right?"
"That was a long time ago… We all sacrificed our crests, hope won't save the world this time…" Takeru responded sadly, grabbing his empty, shattered tag…
"You're wrong… My love was what brought Hououmon into this world… And if I can do that, then your hope could bring Seraphimon as well…" Sora responded kindly, but Takeru's hope would still not return…
But though Takeru still suffered, Koushirou remained depressed and hopeless after Kabuterimon's death, and only a strong sense of duty stopped Yamato from forgetting the battle and hopelessly searching the ruins of Infinity for Gabumon's digitama, at least the others would fight… If only it would be enough…
But Piccolomon's words rang as true as ever… The chosen would need to unite, divided, they wouldn't stand a chance… And as Hikari, Miyako, Mimi, Panjyamon, Ken, Iori, and the broken Yamato went to stop Fallen Devimon, their defeat was assured from the start, the only question was how badly they'd suffer… But not one of them knew how horribly beaten they would soon be, even with Lady Devimon fighting on their side, not one of them realized that defeat was certain… It may not have been intended as a trap by Yamato, but in the end, it might as well have been just that…
"Bakemon, report…" Lady Devimon ordered, anxious to know where Fallen Devimon had gone…
"Fallen Devimon's in Overdell…" Bakemon said fearfully, as Lady Devimon realized what exactly was meant by "Overdell" and a horrible realization came over her… "No, not there!" She cried out, as far away, the Grey Lord's disciples turned to darkness, and the greatest collection of arcane lore in the digital world was in Fallen Devimon's hands… "The battles at Infinity and Dragon Eye were all for nothing… He's returned, stronger then ever before…" The succubus said sadly, realizing that even with Mugen Dramon by her side, she couldn't count on victory… "We're all doomed, he can't be stopped…"
But the attack continued anyway, even if it would prove futile, as not one of them was willing to stop… Even if they didn't stand a snowball's chance, it was still the best one they'd get, and so they flew to Overdell, and Mugen Dramon let loose his powerful blast… And it was repelled, as if it were one of Agumon's flames, not the attack which had killed thousands of Numemon in that horrible, horrible battle so very long before…
"Impossible…" Hikari said, remembering what Mugen Dramon could do more then anyone, the sight of that genocide never leaving her mind… "Let's go, sticking around now will only bring us death…"
"I won't leave him!" Angewomon said angrily, drawing back her bow… "You've caused enough pain to this world! Heaven's arrow!" The six-winged angel yelled, and the shot from the heavens flew, but with one flap of Fallen Devimon's dark wings, fluttered to the ground…
"Hell's beam of destruction!" A beam of pure darkness, blacker then the wings of a Devidramon, shot towards the angel of light, piercing her wing, and she fluttered to the ground…
"Takeru… Even when I break this attack, I still can't avenge myself…" Fallen Devimon said longingly, but even if he wasn't content, he was more then willing to fight the chosen and the digimon that had aligned themselves with them…
"You should really be focusing on the battle at hand… Darkness Wave!"
"Booster Claw!" Lady Devimon and Mugen Dramon attacked, timing their attacks well, and with a distracted Fallen Devimon, the second attack certainly did its fair share of damage. Wounded, Fallen Devimon put a hand to the ground and forced himself back to his feet, his mighty wings blocking any attacks from behind that would come his way, his tentacles quickly ensnaring Lady Devimon before she could react…
"Crystal Cloud!" A Sorcerymon spoke passively, moving his staff of ice upward, and showing that it really is amazing what a magic-user can do given the right training and a distracted opponent, though certainly some things are more vulnerable to ice then others… Anyway, Mugen Dramon was encased in a block of sheer ice, and if defeat had not been clear beforehand, it certainly was now…
But this was not just some video game, where a reset button could simply be pushed when disaster was inevitable… This was a battle of life and death, and with Angewomon wounded and unable to fly, Mugen Dramon encased in ice, and the demon's tentacle wrapped around Lady Devimon's leg, even retreat to attack later would be quite difficult indeed…
"Go! Take Angewomon and get out of here!" Lady Devimon yelled, using her bats to shield the angel… Hikari, I've finally repaid you… Please live, Angewomon, for her sake…
"She's forgotten completely about vengeance… I've done what I'm meant to do…"Hikari thought, but felt none of the pleasure she should, gathering up her digimon as they retreated, the attack a dismal failure…
But in the skies over what used to be the Grey Lord's mansion before his fall, the screams of pain could still be heard, as yet another digimon lost so much to save the chosen, the chosen that seemed incapable of saving this world…
"Why the hell do they keep doing this? We're not going to save this world, we can't…" Yamato said sadly, remembering the Grey Lord's fall… "The darkness is too strong… We can't win…"
And with the bearer of hope himself drowning in darkness, there was none to state anything to the contrary… Even Hikari shared their pessimism, even with all the power Angewomon had, even if she had single-handedly turned one of the horrible evils to the light, even she had no faith in victory… And when hope and light both had their spirits crushed, who would save the digital world?
It certainly seemed like none would… And so they retreated, beaten so horribly they couldn't even think of a new plan of attack, and for now, all they could bring themselves to do was mourn…
And back in Factorial Fortress, a grim, foreboding filling shot through Takeru… "They lost… They all fought valiantly on the same side, but they still lost…" Takeru said, a tear dripping down from his eye… "We can't win…"
And in Devimon's lair, even if he had triumphed, Fallen Devimon was no more pleased then the defeated… "Takeru… I have to lure out Takeru, else this revenge will all be for nothing…" He said, and then added a maniacal laugh for good measure… "Sorcerymon… Locate the bearer of hope, and find out why the chosen left him in reserve…" He ordered, and the mage obliged…
But the fortress was well hid indeed, and all the Sorcerymon could say was that, as far as he could tell, Takeru was not even on File Island… "You couldn't find him? He's in hiding, it can't be helped, I just need to find a way to lure him out to fight me…" The demon said, and then grinned… "I have an idea… After all, it did bring him out last time, and this time his allies are greatly weakened… Attack the village of beginnings!"
"Destroy the digitamas?" The Sorcerymon asked, wondering what sort of a demon this new master of his was, and Fallen Devimon casually tossed a black gear, and the mage complied…
"He's going after the village of beginnings?" Takeru asked rhetorically, and the look on his face made it clear that this was the worst possible thing he could have done… "We can't evacuate them, it's the only place in the digital world where the digitamas can hatch… We have to stop him, if he destroys the village…" The blonde warrior said, a horrible chill coming over him… "There's nothing else preventing him from stalling, and if he gets enough time to learn those spells, I fear no world will be safe…"
"But how?" The auburn-haired girl asked, her voice as saddened as Takeru's… "Hououmon's strong, but we don't have a force half as powerful as the one Yamato assembled, and they're too exhausted to keep fighting…"
"I don't know… But if we don't take a stand here, we won't have any chance at all…"
"I think I have something to help you…" An armored digimon looking quite like a Leomon said, appearing without anyone taking notice…
"Leo-san? You're trusting humans again?" Andromon asked, the android digimon having heard enough of his past to be utterly baffled by this.
"No, not trusting. But I know the value of a phoenix on my side as much as anyone, and right now, our best hope lies with the chosen, so we might as well reinforce them." The Grappleomon explained, though he didn't believe his own words.
"C'mon, admit it, you're putting your faith in humanity again." Andromon gently taunted, finally showing something more then a dourly serious tone, but the lion refused and looked away. Still, it amounted to the same thing, and they found themselves with the biggest army ever assembled on File Island ready to come to the aid of the Village of Beginnings, hoping desperately it would be enough…
And so the battle started, and Fallen Devimon recoiled instinctively as he glared at the golden phoenix digimon… "Hououmon? Sora's digimon has reached her Ultimate stage?" He asked, remembering what a phoenix digimon was capable of… "Maybe the chosen can win a victory after all. But love is the source of its power, and when the love is broken, so it shall be as well." He said, a clawed hand to his chin… "And Takeru's always been vulnerable… If I can use Angemon properly, Hououmon is useless… Neither one of them realizes that their bond is the only thing that could summon her… Mwahahaha!" Fallen Devimon yelled out, retreating from the battle, but still terrifying them just the same…
"Was that fear? Is Fallen Devimon afraid of Hououmon?" Takeru asked, remembering how that demon had not even feared Angemon in that fateful battle… "Impossible, but… I know what I saw. What about her made Fallen Devimon so terrified? What power does she have to bring someone as strong as Fallen Devimon so much fear?" Takeru wondered aloud, still fearing that digimon far too much to believe he had a chance…
"But how?" Fallen Devimon wondered, flying back from the village of beginnings… "How do I turn Angemon to darkness, how do I make him act on his feelings for Takeru? How do I make him believe Sora is the enemy, and that Takeru's being drawn further and further to darkness?" He thought, and then stopped his flight suddenly… "Oh, that would be perfect…" He added, a sinister grin encompassing his face… "Yes, that would certainly work… Takeru will indeed pay for the years he sent me to the dark whirlpool, and even if he gets a bit of happiness at first, Angemon too shall suffer… This should be fun."
And in the halls of Factorial, Yamato still mourned... His sorrow too much to bear, he left for the ruins of infinity, hoping that maybe, maybe if he found Were Garurumon's digitama… Maybe then he could end his sorrow, though Takeru and Ken did provide example to the contrary, he had to try…
And as Yamato left, Angemon stood upon a roof in factorial, waiting… "Pidmon, why did you call me here?" He wondered, looking down at Takeru and Sora in loving embrace, as the white and pink angel flew gently down…
"Angemon. I have grave news to report…" The Pidmon began sadly, Angemon hanging on every one of his words… "The crest of love… The holder of love may indeed love, but at a price… For the crest to reach its full power, it will soon absorb the subject of her feelings…"
"What you're saying, in other words, is that for Hououmon to continue fighting, Takeru will soon die, is that it?"
"Yes, I indeed fear this is the case…" The Pidmon responded sadly, as Angemon cast a look of longing at his chosen.
"Takeru's sacrifice would still fulfill the prophecy Devimon feared." Angemon said coldly, and from under his broken helmet, his eyes could be seen narrowing… "If you were not so clearly a disguised Bakemon, I'd be quite torn indeed by this. Heaven's Knuckle!" He yelled out, and the "Pidmon" was destroyed in a burst of light.
Still, I do feel for Takeru… Were the disguise any less obvious, I'd have believed him… I know I'll try to win his love once more, given the slightest excuse, and I know Devimon will take advantage of this… So why can't I stop, why can't I just forget my feelings for him?
"Because you're his digimon…" Piyomon responded, fluttering by as if reading his thoughts… "All of us are bonded to our partner that way, impossible though it may be… That's the curse of having a human partner, your love will always go unreturned…"
"Piyomon… You're right… I can't change this, I just wish that Devimon couldn't so easily exploit it… Their bond is the only thing enabling you to reach your final form, if Takeru loved me instead, nothing would stand in Fallen Devimon's way…" Angemon answered sadly, imagining the horrors of Devimon's reign… "I just wish there was some other way…"
"We all do, Angemon, we all do…" Piyomon responded, showing a sorrow most thought she incapable of having… "It's the curse all digimon with a human partner must bear…"
And Yamato continued walking to infinity, drowning in his sorrow… "Takeru hates me now, not that I blame him… Even after all we had been through, even though Gabumon's first evolution was because I had to protect Takeru, I betrayed him for what, the love of a succubus? It may have turned out fine, but… I failed him, there's no other way to put it… And Gabumon, Seiryu, both of them sacrificed themselves for me, as if I'm worthy of life now…" He said regretfully, and continued walking onward, the darkness within evergrowing…
And so even though they had scattered throughout File Island, the minds of the chosen were as one, all waiting and mourning... Only Takeru and Sora seemed able to find any happiness whatsoever, but the rest merely drowned in different sorrows... It would only be a matter of time until Ken's gentle spirit was crushed and the Kaiser rose up again, before Hikari would became the bride of that "dark undersea master" the Hangyomon spoke of… For all the battles they had fought, all the digimon that had died, it still seemed that the light of good would only shine in a small part of factorial, and that the rest of the digital world, now that the gate had broken, would go straight to hell…
But still Miyako stood on a balcony above the mechanized city, determined… "I will protect Hikari… I made a promise, and besides…" She added, a smile breaking on her face, "After all she's done for me, how could I not help her? I won't let the darkness take her, not Dagomon or any others…" And maybe, just maybe, Miyako's stubborn determination would be enough…