Chapter Four: Fading Glory

The battle had seemed to go on forever, with neither nether Karu nor the D-Reaper gaining any ground. Every time Karu got an attack off on the D-Reaper, it seemed to do little, if any, damage. The D-Reaper, however, did manage to wear Karu down, though it still couldn't defeat him. It seemed that they were at a stalemate.

"Just give up. There is no way you can defeat me this time. It's over. Humans and Digimon must be deleted." The D-Reaper said in a heartless tone.

"I will never give up. Desperado Blaster!" Every shot just bounced off of the evil Exveemon.

"This battle is pointless. It shall now be ended. Chaos Inferno!" With that, the D-Reaper created many cannons all around Paildramon.

With that, Paildramon was engulfed with dozens of fireballs. Once the fire subsided, Karu lay where Paildramon once stood.

"Pathetic human" Exveemon said as he approached Karu. "Did you really think you stood a chance against me?"

"I thought it was worth a try," Karu said as he tried to get up.

"A useless effort" Exveemon said as he picked Karu up by the neck of his shirt. "Prepare to die. Vee laser!"

Karu felt the attack hit him head on. He also heard a scream, but it wasn't his own.

"Digi-modify! Matrix digivolution activate!" All three of the tamers yelled.

"Guilmon matrix digivolve to…. Wargrowlmon!"

"Renamon matrix digivolve to…. Taomon!"

"Terriermon matrix digivolve to…. Rapidmon!"

"Trinity burst!" All three ultimates yelled as they all attacked Exveemon with their combined powers. This attack was powerful enough to defeat him, and he dissolved into the shapeless red goo that he had originated from.

All the tamers ran to where Karu had fallen. He was still breathing, but just barely. Rika was the first one to his side.

"Karu! You're gonna be ok. We've gotta get you to the hospital." Rika sounded scared.

"It's too late. It was meant to happen like this. I leave the last of my energy to you, Rika. You'll know when it's time to use it." And with that, Karu's body started to glow. When he stopped, all that was left was a small white orb.

"K. Karu. I swear, we will get revenge for you. The D-Reaper will be destroyed!" Rika said this with a renewed passion. With that, her and the tamers went off into battle once more.

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Karu was in a place he had never seen before. It was like a void, nothing as far as he could see. Then a gate appeared in front of him. This gate made him curious, so he approached it. When it opened, he saw what looked like the shadows of people inside of it. Then it felt as if a wealth of knowledge flowed into his mind. He knew things now that he didn't before, but he didn't understand any of it.

In time, Karu, you shall learn what all of this means. For now, take these swords. Where you are about to go, these will help you greatly.

Where am I going?

A place where you can help.

But my friends need my help.

In helping here, you will also learn a way to better help your friends. Soon, you will have enough power to defeat the massive evil that is going to shadow the universe.

The D-Reaper?

The D-Reaper is only part of the darkness. There is something much worse that you will have to face. These swords will help you on your journey. Use them, and there will be nothing that can stop you.

With these final words, Karu received two brilliant white swords. The odd thing about them was that in the hilt of both of them there was a hole. It was as if something was meant to be put there.

All of a sudden there was a blinding light, then Karu was in what looked like the ruins of a city. The swords were now in two sheaths, which were positioned in an X on his back.

"Where am I?" Karu wondered out loud.

"You're in the city of Midgar." A voice said from behind Karu.

Karu turned around to see a man with spiky blond hair looking back at him. "And you are?"

"My name's Cloud. Why are you here?" Cloud said defensively.

"I really don't know. I was told that I was needed here." Karu still seemed confused.

"Who are you?" Cloud still didn't seem to trust Karu.

"My name's Karu" Karu wasn't sure about Cloud, but he decided not to worry about him.

"Why are you wearing those swords on your back?"

"They were given to me before I came here."

"Who sent you?"

"I really don't know."

"Are your intentions good?"

"Yes."

Cloud went on questioning Karu for quite some time. Karu answered every question honestly, but Cloud was still unsure about him. Unfortunately, he didn't have any time to think about his distrust toward Karu. Several Shadow Creepers attacked them both.

Cloud drew his sword instantly and started fighting them. Karu soon followed/ Karu surprised himself with how well he could handle his swords. With just a few well-placed swings, Karu had defeated several of the creatures. Cloud had also defeated several of them. When it came down to the last two, Karu and Cloud both swung their swords and with that final effort, both creatures had fallen.

"Not bad." Cloud said to Karu.

"Not bad yourself." Karu said back to Cloud.

"What happened to this city?" Karu asked.

"About a year ago it was hit by a meteor. This meteor carried Jenova. Jenova, combined with experiments conducted by the ShinRa Company, created the super SOLDIER, Sephiroth. When Sephiroth found out how he was created, he began to hold a grudge against the ShinRa Company, then against the world. He tried to destroy the world. Luckily, myself and some of my friends were able to stop him. All this destruction happened at that time." Cloud explained to Karu.

"Wow. This Jenova and Sephiroth seem dangerous." Karu replied.

"They were. Luckily, Sephiroth was killed at the end of a battle a year ago. However, we have lost track of the remains of Jenova."

"This is why I was sent here. I was sent here to help find the remains of Jenova. I promise, I will help you find the remains." And with that, both Karu and Cloud set off in search of Jenova's remains.

Ok. Here's the first crossover. Yes, I said first. I plan on hitting many animes during the course of this story. Any guesses as to the next one? There was a hint in this one that is a dead giveaway, if you interpret it right. It was right around the time that Karu died in the digimon timeline. Any guesses can be posted in reviews or e-mailed to me. Happy guessing and look forward to the next chapter, hopefully sooner than this one.