In the Shadow of Chaos

by The Masked Ermine

The Digital World, recreated from fragments of other realities, is in peril. The chaos is building, can a fabled group known as the Digidestined save the world from the Shadow of Chaos?

74. Fate’s Endeavor The Gate of Destiny

I don't own digimon

Fate's Endeavor; The Gate of Destiny

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"Gaia Force!" roared a husky voice as another sphere of energy exploded into the ground.

"Steven!" yelped Ryuudamon loudly as the little black lizard leapt on top of the blonde boy and covered him as the dirt and rocks, and tree shrapnel crashed down around them.

"Kevin! Are you ok?" A white dinosaur rushed to a brown haired boy.

"I'm fine, Snow Agumon," grumbled the boy quietly as he rubbed his eyes, "but I could really go for a pair of goggles or something to wear over my eyes, though."

"Should've thought of that before…" said Steven.

"I guess," Kevin stood up and shook himself down. Dirt and mud was caked onto his clothes and skin.

"Demon Disaster!" hissed a second voice as a blast of dark energy sliced through the forest. A large tree shook as the dirt overturned.

"Kevin, watch out!" yelped Steven as the tree started to lean.

Ryuudamon and Steven scrambled forward. Kevin looked up in horror as the tree loomed larger and larger over him. Snow Agumon grabbed his hand and yanked throwing the boy to the ground again. Dark clouds boiled in the sky as a second ball of energy flew into the ground. This time it threw the group of four several yards back. They crashed down covered in dirt and plant scraps.

A large, gray armored dragon man touched down on the ground a few feet away. A knight appeared next to the dragon man.

"It seems we have accomplished Lord Chaos Piedmon's plans," growled the dragon man as his cold gold eyes surveyed the area.

"They did not produce the challenge I had anticipated," hissed the knight. He flung his arm out dispelling the gray lance that had been attached to the arm. "Tis a pity…"

"How so?" The dragon turned to the knight. "We have vanquished our foes!"

"Such a simple mind, these were not foes that are deserving of our abilities!" replied the knight. Its eyes shimmered quietly, "There are more of these humans. Maybe one of them may prove to be strong."

"But Lord Chaos Piedmon did not…" started the dragon man.

"No he did not," The knight drew his blue cloak over his shoulders. "There are reports that the one traveling with Lucemon, is near by, to the north."

"To fight Lucemon!" growled the dragon loudly, "Would be most satisfying!"

"Indeed," nodded the knight as he turned. "Come we must travel fast, or Metal Puppetmon will get them first!" There was a flash of blue lightning and the knight and the dragon were gone.

Kevin gasped as he pushed through the dirt. Snow Agumon was right next to him. Steven erupted from the fallout with Ryuudamon.

"Mark!" shouted Steven loudly. "We have to get to them first!"

"Wait!" Kevin shook his head, "What good would it do, in our state we wouldn't even stand a chance…"

"We don't have time for this!" growled Steven as he shimmied free from the dirt. "I'm going after my brother, I have to protect him!"

"What about my sister!" shouted Kevin loudly, "You know, she's out there too!"

"Yeah well we'll look for you sister after we find my brother!" returned Steven as he started to walk away.

"Dang it, listen to me!" shouted Kevin.

"You are not my boss!" shouted Steven loudly, "I'm finding my brother before those bastards do, if you don't like it you can go off on your own!"

"I'm not going to let you wander off by yourself, we couldn't handle them together, what makes you think you can handle them alone!" shouted Kevin. Steven stopped and turned. Kevin looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"I at least have a chance of fending them off; Lucemon and Mark don't!" growled Steven. He looked up at Kevin, "So you can either come with me, or not; I don't care, but Ryuudamon and I are going to look for my brother!"

"I think we should follow Chaos WarGreymon and Chaos Dukemon," breathed Kevin. He looked up at the blonde, who was shaking his head. Kevin growled, "Dang it, listen, if they are looking for your brother, then following them will lead us to him!"

"And then if they kill him before we can reach them!" Steven growled and clenched his fists, "I won't let you change my mind; the issue is closed!"

"No it's not! My plan is logical! What are you going to do? Run willy-nilly all over the place shouting his name?" snorted Kevin.

"What do you know? You're just worried about your sister, you selfish bastard!" growled Steven loudly.

"What did you call me?" glowered Kevin.

"I called you a selfish bastard!" shouted Steven.

"I'm a selfish bastard?" yelped Kevin loudly, "I'm not the one willing to lose my brother because I'm too obstinate to listen!"

"Don't you dare!" shouted Steven. The blonde growled and rushed Kevin. Kevin fell back as the blonde haired boy tackled him. The two rolled across the ground. "I wasn't the one that got weak! I wasn't the one that wanted to keep running when we should've stood our ground!"

"Get off of me!" growled Kevin as he shoved Steven. "I'm not the one that decided to kill Ancient Sphinxmon!" Kevin punched Steven, knocking the blonde of him. "We could have used him, to find out about what they wanted Mr. Takenouchi for!"

"I didn't hear you complaining!" returned Steven as he pounced on Kevin as the brown haired boy tried to stand.

"Stop this!" shouted the two digimon. "Please!"

Kevin flipped Steven off of his back, "This is stupid, we're wasting time. Now please…" Kevin extended his hand to Steven.

"What are you doing?" Steven looked up at Kevin warily.

"Extending a branch of peace," said Kevin quietly, "It takes courage to make peace. You were right, we should look for your brother, and I think the best way to do that is by following Chaos WarGreymon and Chaos Dukemon…"

"Steven, he's right…" whispered Ryuudamon, "I know it is a little hurtful to your pride, but if you want to see your brother…"

"Ok, ok, ok!" growled Steven as he clasped Kevin's hand, "We'll do it your way!"

"They went this way, if we biomerge, we may still be able to follow them!" called Kevin as he ran into the forest, Steven not too far behind.

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Metal Puppetmon looked up. The small patch of Armageddon he had created was swirling around the robust figure. Flames swept around the man.

"It's rude to stop playing in the middle of the game," said the figure quietly as it sliced through the flames with a lavender blade. The tongues of fire swirled away from the blade.

"You!" yelped Metal Puppetmon loudly as he dropped back scrambling on the palms of his hands. The puppet's eyes then narrowed, "You think you're pretty special don't you?"

The figure stepped forward the flames washing around him and then into nothing. Six, large, white wings were opened wide and a long helm covered his head and eyes. White armor covered his body and a lavender shield covered his left arm. The energy blade on his right arm was formed from a golden arm band. The figures stony face quirked slightly up and to the right.

"As a matter of fact," replied the figure, "I do…"

Metal Puppetmon growled and clasped the crossbar on his back, "Magna Angemon may have saved the humans when my colleague was first lord of this world, but I will tell you now, we are much more powerful this time, you won't be winning the game with that strategy again!"

The metal puppet roared and swept his crossbar forward. The angel swept his energy blade up and the two weapons clashed angrily against each other.

"Get him Magna Angemon!" called a small voice.

"Give him one for the Gigimon!" shouted a second voice.

Metal Puppetmon strained with the angel and happened to catch a glimpse of the two digi-destined, sitting, unharmed, in a small circle of grass, cheering on the angel loudly. Magna Angemon gave a push and Metal Puppetmon felt himself being launched backward into a tree. His metal spine clunked hard into the wood and he groaned softly as his butt crashed to the ground.

"It will take more than a little toss to stop me!" grumbled Metal Puppetmon as he stood up and lifted his crossbar again. The puppet's sledge hammer was on the ground where he had dropped it. Metal Puppetmon lunged forward, "I'm used to playing rough!"

Magna Angemon swept back, and let the puppet's over-exaggerated swing send its body stumbling forward past the angel and then Magna Angemon dropped his gauntlet-like shield down on top of Metal Puppetmon's head. The puppet skidded face first into the ground.

Metal Puppetmon growled loudly and spat out soil as he pushed himself up from the ground. He narrowed his eyes and then looked sideways; his hammer was only an arm's length away. An evil smile played over his chrome lips. Without warning, Metal Puppetmon lunged for his hammer and snatched it up. He rolled smoothly to his feet and without hesitation swung his sledge down.

Magna Angemon was caught in a maelstrom of flame and stone. He was tossed back, bouncing across the torn soil and winced when he came to a stop. He lifted his head and saw Metal Puppetmon coming at him again with the hammer, this time though the hammer was aimed at his head.

The angel jerked to his left and heard the whoosh of air and the felt the concussion of metal on earth. Another explosion sent trees and rock flying into the air. Magna Angemon rolled to his feet and crouched down his sword lifted to his face. Metal Puppetmon was already hoisting the long, metal hammer up again. Magna Angemon smirked.

The puppet's weapon was his weakness, it may be strong and nearly indestructible, but it was also extremely ungainly to use and its long handle and heavy head were not very complementary to the puppet's short stature and small body. Metal Puppetmon swept around with a wild, lateral swing of the hammer which Magna Angemon easily leapt away from. The puppet's swing rolled seamlessly into another strike on the earth that vomited soil toward Magna Angemon. The angel lifted his shield and deflected the blast, though it did push him back.

"You have a weakness," announced Metal Puppetmon loudly. The dust was still clearing as Magna Angemon looked up in surprise and then horror. Metal Puppetmon was hovering behind the two humans. Metal Puppetmon hitched his sledge onto his back. "A weakness most of you goody-two shoes share…compassion!" He grabbed the two children up by the scruffs of their necks. The boy and the girl struggled, screaming loudly for help. "You may have been able to beat me, if we'd been alone, Magna Angemon," snickered the puppet, "But as you can see, now it is impossible!"

"Pit Bomb!"

"Mud Ball!"

"Rock Punch!"

"Super Shocker!"

"Divine Feat!"

"Retrieve Bark!"

A spinning ball of hyper-heated mud and electrified stones slammed into the back of the puppet. Metal Puppetmon yowled in surprise as the heated grit wedged itself into the metal marionette's chrome joints. The two humans dropped from the puppet's grasp and fell to the ground. Seconds later a twelve winged angel and a retriever were rushing to the humans.

"Mark!" shouted the angel as he ran towards the boy.

"Michelle!" yelped the canine as she ran toward the girl.

"Lucemon!" Mark ran towards the angel.

"Labramon!" Michelle scrambled after the human boy. "You're safe!"

"We were worried, we saw the flash!" shouted Lucemon as he scooped Mark into his arms and stared at the puppet that was jerkily shaking itself off. "We thought he'd gotten you…"

"We did, too," said Mark as he turned to look back, "but then our crests flashed brightly and Gatomon digivolved into..." Mark pointed to the seraph that was pointing its glowing energy blade at Metal Puppetmon.

"Magna Angemon," murmured Piximon as the little pink-furred digimon dropped down to the ground. The pink fuzz ball turned and ran, "Everyone clear out!"

"Huh?" Mark looked around as Mud Frigimon and the Gotsumon retreated behind large trees.

"Come, hurry!" yelped Piximon as he pushed Lucemon and Labramon into the forest. "Grab a hold of something!"

"Metal Puppetmon, you have one last chance, relinquish your power and surrender!" growled Magna Angemon.

Metal Puppetmon sneered and reached down clasping his hammer. "I'm not beat yet!"

"I pity you," replied Magna Angemon. The angel then stabbed forward with his blade. The blade sunk into the air and a blaze of light spewed from the cut. The angel then swept his around in a large vertical circle. "There are no more chances for you. Your fate is sealed. Gate of Destiny!"

A large golden portal spun around slowly as the inscriptions of the portal spun into position. The portal then fractured down the middle and slowly opened. As the two halves slid open a howling wind rushed into the gate. Mark blinked as did Michelle. Beyond the portal was a shimmering, silver liquid. A small vortex could be seen in the liquid as it flowed around the portal. The wind roared loudly as the gate became fully open.

Metal Puppetmon dug his feet into the soil and slammed his sledge hammer into the ground. "I won't be sucked into your gate!" shouted the puppet against the wind.

The wind whistled even louder and Metal Puppetmon lifted off of his feet as he clenched his hands around the metal sledge hammer. The hammer shook in its place as the wind wrapped around the weapon. The handle of the weapon bent and Metal Puppetmon screamed as the hammer was ripped from the soil. The marionette dove for the ground and dug its metallic claws into the soil. The hammer flew into the gate and disappeared with a little splash into the silver void.

"Face it Metal Puppetmon!" shouted Magna Angemon, "You've lost; it won't be long until you find yourself in the gate…" The angel stopped in mid-sentence and turned.

"What's that!" shouted Mark as he pointed up at the sky. Rolling black clouds crackled with lightning as they rushed across the sky from his left side.

"Something, not good!" growled Lucemon as the flowed over them.

"Gaia Force!" a rolling sphere of orange energy exploded into the ground. Magna Angemon was sent careening backward and crashed onto the ground. Metal Puppetmon tumbled across the ground as the blast faded. The gate was gone. A figure dropped from the skies. Sleek gray armor covered its head, arms and torso. A dragon-like head, with smooth horns, turned to the humans and the digimon that had been hiding behind the now defoliated trees. Scaly, blue flesh was visible under the metallic plating covering the draconic warrior. It growled softly and lifted its gauntlets. "The digi-destined…"

"Who are you?" Mark looked up at the beast with trepidation.

"I am Chaos WarGreymon!" replied the dragon-man. A flash of lightning exploded next to the dragon. A gray and blue armored, knight with a flowing blue cape emerged from the flash. A long gray lance swept the cape from the knight's chest. "And this is Chaos Dukemon!"

"We're here to challenge Lord Lucemon…" hissed the knight quietly. His eyes fell on Lucemon and he lifted his lance. The end of the lance sparked with dark energy.

"Justice Burst!" A rocket of lavender energy exploded from the forest. The knight swept back and lifted his free arm as a gray shield glowed into existence in front of him.

"That's…" gasped Labramon.

"Justimon!" cheered Michelle as the grey cyborg blurred onto the scene. The thin, sleek form, the flowing red scarves, Michelle nearly cried as the lithe biomerged digimon turned its head to the girl, "Heya sis, fancy meeting you here…" He turned to the two grey digimon. "So you get your kicks from picking on little kids?"

"I thought you were finished!" growled Chaos WarGreymon as he lifted his gray gauntlets.

"Don't worry," said the knight quietly, "We can deal with this knave. Then we'll take on Lucemon."

"Mark, Michelle, run," growled Justimon as he extended his arm and had it morph into a voltage blade. "I'll take care of these guys!"

"This again?" snorted Chaos WarGreymon. "Your blade is not a threat to us."

"How about this!" roared a second voice. The foothills exploded with a blue comet of energy, "Gaia Reactor!" The blast blindsided the dragon man sending him lurching forward. A second draconic warrior appeared in the skies. His armor was black and red with a samurai like plating. Two jagged blades were held in its strong hands. "Rinkazan!" A red arc of energy sliced forward from the blades as he cut forward. Chaos Dukemon ducked behind his shield as the arcs crashed against the circle of metal.

"GaiOumon!" Mark looked up happily, "Steven!"

"Mark, they haven't hurt you, have they?" asked the dragon as he dropped down in front of the little boy.

"This nice little reunion…" growled a small voice, "is getting in the way of my game!" Metal Puppetmon launched upward and extended his hands. "I'm finishing this game now!" small metallic strings flew forward.

"What's this!" yelped Justimon as he jerked forward, lifted his blade and lunged at GaiOumon. The dragon man leapt back and snarled.

"What are you doing now? I thought you didn't want to fight?" growled Steven loudly as he cracked a jagged sword against the energy blade.

"I'm not sure, but he's controlling me! I can't help it!" yelped Kevin as he leapt back and flicked his arm up and turned. "Mark, Michelle, run!" The energy blade slammed into the ground in front of the two children.

"What are you doing?" screamed GaiOumon.

The dragon leapt between Justimon and the children. Justimon flipped back and then ran forward, his blade poised to slam the point of the blade into the throat of GaiOumon. GaiOumon crossed his blades blocking the strike and then pushed forward forcing Justimon backward.

"GaiOumon, please, I'm really not doing this!" groaned Justimon as he backpedaled.

"Yeah right," growled GaiOumon. "Look you got your sister, no need to be all crazy now!"

"He's not!" shouted a husky voice. "The strings are controlling him!"

The dragon looked up and saw an angel flying towards him and Justimon. A blade of energy was drawn. GaiOumon leapt back as the angel swept his blade around in a tight arc. There was a twang, like that of metal wires being snapped and Justimon sunk to his knees. His blade arm reverted to his robotic arm and Justimon rubbed his wrists.

"Thanks…" Justimon whispered as he stood. "Who are you?"

"I am Magna Angemon," replied the angel as he turned to Metal Puppetmon, "And this is the Chaos Master, Metal Puppetmon," The angel growled softly, "and we have a game to finish!" saying that, the angel lunged upwards with his blade extended. Metal Puppetmon growled and whipped a metal crossbar from off his back and slammed it against the blade.

"We could help you!" called Justimon.

"You're hands are already full!" growled the knight's voice. Justimon turned his head and leapt back as the knight charged past.

Justimon swerved around and extended his robotic arm. "Thunder Clap!" the robotic hand slammed down onto the ground and the earth rolled forward with flickers of electrical energy.

"Gaia Force!" roared sleek armored Chaos WarGreymon.

"Gaia Reactor!" returned GaiOumon as he sliced his swords across one another producing a blue comet of energy. GaiOumon rushed forward, his shingled armor rattling and sliced forward through the intertwining blasts, "Rinkazan!"

A red arc of energy sliced through the exploding attacks and swept towards Chaos WarGreymon, dragging the excess energy from the attacks with it. Chaos WarGreymon whipped two plates of grey armor from his back to create a grey shield. Chaos WarGreymon slid back against the assault. GaiOumon raged forward and slammed his swords against the shields. Chaos WarGreymon grunted each time the swords struck his shields. GaiOumon snorted in frustration, leapt back and round house kicked the shields knocking Chaos WarGreymon to the ground and forcing the shields from his hands. GaiOumon then slammed the swords down sinking them into earth as Chaos WarGreymon rolled back from the swords. The chaotic dragon man took to the air and swept around to attack, but GaiOumon wasn't far behind and his jagged swords clanked against the smooth, metallic gauntlets of Chaos WarGreymon. The two dragon men grunted as they strained back and forth against each other. Chaos WarGreymon twisted his right gauntlet and GaiOumon's corresponding sword twisted out his hand and spun into the ground below. Chaos WarGreymon smirked and lunged but GaiOumon twisted to the left and then lunged after the grey dragon with his sword striking Chaos WarGreymon's unprotected back. The chaotic digimon howled in pain and tumbled to the ground.

Magna Angemon's sword laid into Metal Puppetmon's crossbar. The metal marionette snarled angrily. "You won't defeat me!"

"Don't count on it," replied Magna Angemon, "You're beaten, and now that the digi-destined are coming together again, your partners are soon going to meet the same fate!"

The spry metallic puppet kicked away from Magna Angemon and twisted around. He twirled about and released his crossbar. Magna Angemon sliced forward deflecting the crossbar and it rolled off into the air back toward Metal Puppetmon. Metallic fibers flew at the angel. Magna Angemon swept his sword around sending the fibers floating to the ground. Magna Angemon dove at the puppet as the crossbar returned to its master.

Chaos Dukemon and Justimon leapt and swerved as they attempted to land attacks on each other. Justimon leapt over the knight's lance and swept his leg around trying to knock Chaos Dukemon's block off. The knight ducked and then swatted Justimon with the broadside of his lance. Justimon somersaulted on the ground and rolled to his feet, with the knight charging after him. Chaos Dukemon slashed forward with his lance. Justimon back flipped and then kicked out with his foot trying to kick the knight's chest. Chaos Dukemon leaned back and pushed his shield forward. Justimon used the momentum of the shield on his foot to get himself to roll into a cartwheel and then he jumped back and morphed his arm into a canon.

"Justice Burst!" A lavender blast exploded from the barrel of the cyborg's arm. Chaos Dukemon hid behind his shield as Justimon fired burst after burst.

Chaos Dukemon growled and clenched his shield. The triangles that encircled the epicenter charged up and then Chaos Dukemon pushed the shield forward, "Judecca Prison!" Energy shot forward from the shield and arced around Justimon entrapping him in a dark sphere.

"Here it comes!" growled Kevin as Justimon braced for the blast of dark energy that shot from the film of the bubble. "Hold on, Snow Agumon!"

"I'm holding!" yelped Snow Agumon.

"Demon's Disaster!" A strike of black energy exploded through the bubble slamming Justimon backward. Chaos Dukemon then charged forward his lance ready to skewer the cyborg.

"Not this time!" growled Justimon as he swung his morphing arm up and met the lance with his Voltage Blade.

"How can this be, you can't have increased in power this much, only a few hours ago we crushed your biomerged forms!" growled Chaos Dukemon. Chaos WarGreymon was sliding across the ground, his hands holding back one of GaiOumon's jagged swords. The other sword was embedded in the ground. Chaos Dukemon grunted loudly. "When we met the last time…you were mere insects!"

"It's simple," growled Justimon as he pushed the lance backward and kicked Chaos Dukemon in the stomach. "Last time we were fighting for ourselves, this time we're fighting to protect our brother and sister!" Justimon sliced forward cutting a gash across Chaos Dukemon's chest.

Three feet from Justimon a metallic crossbar sliced into the ground. In the air Magna Angemon rammed his lavender shield into the chromed face of Metal Puppetmon. The puppet crashed into the ground in a heap. Magna Angemon dropped down and stalked toward the puppet.

"No!" growled Metal Puppetmon, "I don't lose! I'm the master of games!"

"Well, master, you've just been served by the student," replied Magna Angemon. The angel looked over to GaiOumon and Justimon, "Let's put these guys away!"

Justimon morphed his arm into a canon and pointed it at Chaos Dukemon. "Justice Burst!"

GaiOumon slammed his foot into Chaos WarGreymon's sternum. He pulled his sword back and swept it around and brought down and forward, "Rinkazan!" an arc of crimson energy sliced into Chaos WarGreymon's chest plate, cracking it. The grey armored dragon dropped to his knees holding his chest. GaiOumon leapt back and grasped his other sword and sliced them together, "Gaia Reactor!" The blue comet of energy crashed into Chaos WarGreymon, evaporating the chest armor and shattering the already strained gauntlets.

Chaos Dukemon growled as Justimon planted a hard kick to his chest, puncturing the armor. The knight held his chest as red fumes escaped the plated armor. Justimon morphed his arm into his default robotic arm and slammed it to the ground releasing a blast of electrical energy. Chaos Dukemon crashed onto the ground on top of Chaos WarGreymon. The knight's armor was singed and cracked and his cape was a piece of tattered cloth. Chaos WarGreymon was bare and his arms were exposed. The sleek, gray armor was cracked and jagged. Metal Puppetmon was covered in mud. His metallic body was dented and bent.

Magna Angemon stabbed forward, "This time, there will be no escape for you. You can no longer hold back your fate!" Magna Angemon sliced a large circle into the air and as the gate rolled into position he growled softly, "Gate of Destiny!"

The gate opened and the wind swirled angrily sucking in everything that wasn't pinned down. Metal Puppetmon struggled to clasp a sapling but his grasp slipped and he tumbled backward. The metallic marionette kicked off of Chaos Dukemon as he tried to propel himself from the gate. He stepped on Chaos WarGreymon as he ran away. Chaos Dukemon and Chaos WarGreymon dug into the earth as they slid backward. The dirt gave way under the weight of their fingers and claws. Chaos Dukemon jammed his lance into the ground and held on for dear life, but the lance slid through the earth. Metal Puppetmon was crawling towards the bushes when he bumped into a large, black piece of armor. The puppet looked up and saw GaiOumon.

Metal Puppetmon snapped his metallic wrist up and released titanium strings. "Now help me out of the vortex!"

"I don't think so…" growled GaiOumon. The dragon swept one of his jagged blades in a circle snapping the strings. "You tried to make my friend kill my brother…you don't mess with my friends or my brother!"

Metal Puppetmon looked up in fury but GaiOumon lifted his foot and pushed off of Metal Puppetmon's head pushing the marionette backward. The metal puppet screamed as he tumbled backward and the wind caught him. Metal Puppetmon grabbed onto the horns of Chaos WarGreymon and struggled but the dragon man lost his grip on the dirt and fell backward. Chaos WarGreymon grabbed Chaos Dukemon around the hips.

"Get off of me!" shouted the knight as his lance started to bend, "You're too heavy!"

It was too late though and the lance snapped against the wind and the three digimon tumbled into the gate. Chaos Dukemon grabbed onto the edge of the gate; his hand protruded from the silver liquid of the holy abyss. Slowly his fingers slipped and his hand finally sunk into the abyss. The gate closed with a heavy clank and then spun again. The gate then exploded into dust. Magna Angemon sighed loudly and dropped to his knees. Two streams of light fled from the angel and flew to Mark and Michelle. Their crests glowed brightly and then faded. Gatomon heaved a sigh of relief as the cat shook off the effects of the de-digivolution.

Justimon and GaiOumon looked at each other and a golden glow fell over them and they split into their digimon and human components.

Piximon, Mud Frigimon and the other resistance digimon looked at each other, "We…won!"

"We actually did it!" called the Gotsumon loudly, "We got the little metal brat!"

"What about the ones he's captured?" asked Tentomon. "They'll still be caught up in his dungeon!"

"Yes, we should free them as soon as possible," replied Piximon, "They'll need assistance."

"First we need to eat…" whispered Gatomon. "I'm extremely hungry."

"Don't you worry, Gatomon," chuckled Mud Frigimon, "The ol' chuckwagon will be ready as soon as we get back to the remains of camp!"

"Steven!" Mark ran to his brother, "I'm really glad you're here!"

"Kevin," Michelle rushed to her brother, "I was worried about you!"

Steven and Kevin hugged their siblings quietly and looked down. "Are you ok?"

"We're fine, Lucemon and Labramon protected us," smiled Mark quietly. "We were really doing well until Chaos WarGreymon and that knight came."

"The Gigimon…" Michelle looked up, "They sacrificed themselves…we have to do something to commemorate their sacrifice…"

"Don't worry," whispered Kevin as he rubbed Michelle's head, "We'll do something."

"Maybe we can make a little shrine or headstone thing," said Mark with a smile, "I would really like to do that…"

"First we need to get everyone cleaned and bandaged," said Steven with a little wince to the side. He lifted his shirt and saw a large, gauntlet-shaped, bruise on his side.

"We should go back to the camp before predators do," said Piximon as he hovered around.

"Lean on me," said Lucemon as he kneeled down and picked up Snow Agumon and carried the little dinosaur piggyback style.

Labramon nudged under Ryuudamon's arm and together they escorted the two biomerged digimon back.

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"It looks nice…" said Kevin as he put a silver bell on one of the bamboo arcs of the construction.

"Very nice…this was a good idea," whispered Steven as he looked over the construction.

Michelle and Mark kneeled down in front of the shrine. Their heads were bowed and their hands were clasped. They kneeled in front of a circle of rocks that surrounded a tall sandcastle. Arches of bamboo arched over the lower levels of the 'castle'. On top of the construction there was a cross. Little, black and red beads were implanted in the ground. As the group of humans and digimon stood back they could read the small message the beads spelt out.

"Thank you, Gigimon, your courage and faith will never be forgotten.

Your sacrifice will not be in vain.

Rest in peace and be reborn free."

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AN: I'm switching some of the chapter's positions in the story, I know it's confusing but I think it's necessary because I think Love Boat is throwing the timing off, since Love Boat happens over a course of weeks.

Blue: Oh, the last few biomerges, well you'll just have to wait. And Labramon's biomergence will not be normal, nor will it fit her evolution, the only one that won't. You are likely right since it is unlikely for it to be anything else.

Pope the Popester: Well Chaos Piedmon, is Piedmon's power induced Piedmon, and has had years sitting in the void between the digital world and limbo to increase his magic powers and such. So that is why he can take on Ophanimon, Seraphimon and Marsmon.