For the first time, his entire form was visible. The basic shape was human, but it was black, black all over, the eyes melting into shadow. Black wings, sectioned like a dragon's, protruded from his back, and a cape darker than Satan himself encircled whatever body he had. He looked for all the world like Devimon, but the sinister force about him commanded more fear and presence than Devimon could ever hope to achieve. With a cold, cruel laugh he landed.
"My flower has done it's work, I see. Well, it's almost finished. That one's in his death throes," he said calmly.
Taking a sharp breath, Matt whirled. "You," he growled. Any rationalthoughts he might have had for handling the situation were erased as he stared at the monster who had done this to his brother.
"You sick bastard," he erupted, with uncontrollable fury. "TK's just a little kid! How can you do this to a child?" Matt's eyes flashed, and he shook with anger.
The Dark Lord chuckled. "Oh, I'm wounded. Is your big howling doggie going to come get me?" Then his eyes narrowed. "I care not about age. I will destroy all of the Digi Destined."
"No," Matt said quietly, his voice suddenly low and glittering with danger, "you won't. Let him have it!" he called suddenly, hoping the others were nearby. They were.
"Spiral twister!" "Poison Ivy!" "Boom bubble!" "Lightning Claw!" "Come outta da sea, marching fishes!" called Biyomon, Palmon, Patamon, Gatomon, and Gomamon. Their attacks had no effect on him.
"How annoying. Must I really bother with fighting you?" yawned the Dark Lord. Calmly, he flicked all the little digimon away. They crashed to the ground, stunned.
"Somebody called?" asked Gabumon, coming to Matt's side. Matt nodded to him.
"Gabumon, warp-digivolve to...Metalgarurumon!"
"Ah, an almost worthy opponent. Very well." The Dark Lord closed his fist, then opened it again. "Dark Thunderclap!" A wave of inky blackness surrounded the mega digimon.
"Metal...wolfclaw," he gasped, and then fell on his side.
"No!" cried Matt.
As Matt lay between TK and his fallen digimon, Bastout quickly calculated which digimon would work best with Gomamon's digivolved form. She let Sora rest, and revived Mimi. With the extra power surge, Gomamon and Palmon picked themselves up and began to digivolve.
"Palmon, digivolve to...Togemon!"
"Gomamon, digivolve to...Ikkakumon!"
"Would you care for a needle spray?"
"Harpoon torpedo!"
The Dark Lord rolled his eyes. He flicked the needles backward, stabbing Togemon. Then, he grabbed the torpedo and hurled it back, catching Ikkakumon in the side. "No!" Mimi cried, clenching her fist. "Togemon!" she wailed. The last time Togemon had been badly hurt, she'd just barely been able to digivolve, and had beaten Darktyrannomon. "You can do it," she whispered. Her crest glowed, and suddenly… "Togemon, digivolve to...Lillymon!"
"Ikkakumon!" cried Joe, running to his friend.
"I need help Joe," begged the giant furry walrus-like animal, his wavering blue eyes pleading. "I can't do it alone."
"Then go!" Joe yelled decisively, squeezing the digivice. It was all Ikkakumon needed. "Ikkakumon, digivolve to...Zudomon!"
"Vulcan's hammer!" roared Zudomon. It struck the Dark Lord a glancing blow. Distracted, he turned, only to hear "Flower Cannon!"
Unprepared, the shot hit him full force from behind. "Bothersome flower child!" he screamed. "Dark Thunderclap!"
Lithe and agile though she was, Lillymon could not escape the dark mass that surrounded her, drained every last ounce of energy, and sent her tumbling back towards earth as Tanemon. Crying, Mimi barely caught her in time.
Again, the hammer struck. Enraged, the Dark Lord grabbed the large digimon around the throat, picked him up, and choked the fight out of him. Satisfied, the Dark Lord let him drop back as tiny Bukamon. Bastout watched in horror from her place above.
"I must send the angels," she whispered. "Even without me, perhaps their combined power will be enough." Again, she willed energy to her paws, and flung what she found into Kari and TK's digivices.
Patamon listened fearfully to the battle outside. He cringed fearfully every time he heard screams, followed by that awful laugh. If only I could digivolve, he thought, sitting by TK's side. If only… There was a sudden, peculiar feeling. His head shot up and he watched TK's crest glowing. For one brief moment, the boy's opened. "Go on out there, Patamon," he coughed, trying to smile. "Matt needs your help."
Looking at Gatomon, his eyes met hers. She nodded. "I'll be back, TK," Patamon said firmly. "That's a promise."
"Let's go," Gatomon growled, teeth flashing. "The Dark Lord's going to be sorry he ever tangled with me!"
"Patamon, digivolve to...Angemon!"
"Gatomon, digivolve to...Angewomon!"
"It's time," Angemon said in his powerful voice.
"Let's go!" declared Angewomon. Spreading their wings, the angels burst from the cave. "Be careful, Angewomon," Kari called after her miserably.
The little digimon could do no more than dash for cover. Neither they nor the children had any strength left to go on. Matt was exhausted - he could only hope that Angemon and Angewomon would win, as they had before. He thought back to Sora's words: "We've won lots of battles!" He had responded with, "But not the war." Well, now the war's ending, he thought. And the good guys hadbetter win.
"Hand Of Faith!" called Angemon. The orange ball of light shot towards the Dark Lord. Laughing, he absorbed it into his dark mass. "Is that the best you can do, angels?" he called. "Frankly, I expected more. Dark Thunderclap!"
Geeze, is that all he knows? wondered Matt.
Angewomon knocked the darkness back with her bow. "Celestial Arrow!" she called, drawing the white shape back. It flew straight and true, but the Dark Lord knocked it backwards. As Joe watched, it destroyed the cave, which he had luckily decided to empty a few minutes before. That was close, he thought.
Tai opened his eyes. "Whaaa?" he asked, groggy. Sora smiled tightly.
"Final showdown with the Dark Lord -and he's beating us up pretty badly. I suggest you go back to sleep.
"Fine," he yawned, too disoriented toreally grasp thethe meaning of her words.
Angemon and Angewomon continued their attacks against the Dark Lord. He absorbed or knocked away everyone, while the Dark Thunderclap was stopped again and again. Each were equally powerful. But the Dark Lord had another trick up his sleeve.
"Dark Army," he commanded. "Attack them!"
A horde of monsters materialized, among them Griffimon and Zanamon. "Horn lightning!" called one that looked like Seadramon. It shot at Angemon, paralyzing him. He began to fall. Angewomon barely caught him in time. No sooner had she done so when the digimon struck again, hitting her. She arched, rigid with pain, and then collapsed, striking the ground by Kari's side.
"Angewomon!" cried the little girl, brown eyes spilling over with tears. She lifted the angel's head.
"I'm sorry Kari…"she breathed. "We can't hold him off." With that, she reverted to Salamon.
The Dark Lord's going to win,, Matt thought bitterly as he watched the angels fall. He's defeated our strongest forces. There's nothing left.
This can't be how it ends, thought Sora. I - we - have our whole lives ahead of us!
Oh man. I'm gonna die and I never even got to calculus, Joe thought, hanging his head.
If I just hadn't picked up that stupid flower, TK thought feverishly. This wouldn't have started. It's all my fault. Matt! Where are you?
Bastout heard their unspoken pleas. She saw the might of the Dark lord, and the wrath he would inflict if not stopped. She felt their helplessness, their sorrow, and their pain. And she could no longer watch. She had to help.
"Gates of Light, open!" she commanded, using her sheer willpower to open the rift between her dimension and the Digiworld. It didn't stir. "OPEN!' she called louder, flexing her claws in frustration. "The Digi Destined need me!" She shook from the effort, eyes closed, every muscle taut.
And the rift cracked, and a sliver of light appeared. "Yes," she breathed. "Open, move, break, let me go!" she chanted, over and over again, watching the crack widen just a little more each time until…it broke! and she saw the horrible scene below.
The Dark Lord, preparing for the final blow. The weakened, ragged digimon. The complete panic written on the face of every child. A look of determination formed on her face, and she dove headfirst through the barrier.
"NO! Leave them alone!" she screeched, backhanding the Dark Lord.
"Who are you?" he growled, hatred crossing his face. "How many more of you must I destroy before victory is mine?" he hissed. He flung his arm out, the blackness racing to consume her. Bastout solemnly grabbed it, rendering him immobile.
"I am Bastout," she said simply. "I am not digimon at all, but a higher power than yourself. Stop this madness now, or I will destroy you."
"You don't scare me," he growled, yanking his arm back from Bastout. "I will not be stopped by the likes of a mere cat. I will destroy you as easily as Angewomon. Manifestation Of Darkness!" he roared. The swirling cloud of blackness swarmed toward Bastout. She merely moved her paws in a circle, creating a dome shield of light around her. The Dark Lord's attack hit it and bounced off, disintegrating.
"Is she...an angel like you, Salamon?" asked Kari, confused.
"Sort of," replied the little digimon. "But she's more like a real angel, and I go back to being a digimon when my energy runs out."
"Oh," Kari blinked.
"She's amazing..." breathed Sora. "Could she really win?"
Matt could only stare. She really did it, he thought, a smile breaking through his stony face. She said she could come in times of great need - and here she is. Nothing bad can happen now!
"Dark Lord," she said, her voice commanding authority. "These children have done you no wrong. You have no cause to go against them."
"They stand for good, and oppose my forces," he snapped. "They must be destroyed."
She only looked at him. "It is your loss. But before you are destroyed, I will let you watch as I unravel your plan." He waited, uncertain, as she tilted her head back, calling rays of light from above. "Be healed, my children," she cooed, gently blowing the light over the sick. Mimi, Izzy, Tai, Kari, Tentomon, and Agumon sat up - fully revived.
Izzy felt his lungs clear. "I can speak!" he laughed with delight.
"Ohhh!" Mimi whispered in shock as the red dots left her head, to be replaced with the white rays. Joe smiled a little as he watched her color return. He was too shy to say anything, but he really did care about her.
The fever left Tai, and as he got up he watched Kari touch her forehead, marveling at its cool surface. "Kari! You're okay!" He yelled happily, hugging her. Matt waited, staring intently at TK.
TK suddenly felt his vision clear. He wasn't dizzy anymore or tired. TK had been brought from the brink of death to perfect health with a single ray of heavenly light. He jumped up. "Matt?"
Matt felt a lump rise in his throat. Trying to keep his misty eyes from spilling over, he hugged TK, unable to speak. Suddenly, blinking was no longer enough. A single tear ran from each eye, tracking down his cheek as he thought of how close he'd come to losing the most important person in his life. Gabumon waited patiently, smiling to himself. "What're ya crying for?" TK asked with a laugh. "I'm okay now!"
"You're sickening me," the Dark Lord spat in disgust.
"You're right, I am!" Bastout cried. The throbbing ball of illness pulsed in her hand. Instantly, she pulled her shield down to cover the ball, and hurled it at the Dark Lord.
"NO!" he screamed as the virus began to consume him. As he disintegrated, dissolving, his face contorted in rage. "If I'm to be destroyed, I won't go alone! I have worked too hard to watch this crumble. That wretched child I shall take with me, the one not even Myotismon could destroy, I shall. Dark Thunderclap!"
It happened too fast for anyone, even Bastout, to react - except one. Tai was too far away; the others didn't realize the danger. Only one could. And he would.
He made up his mind even as he tossed his computer to the ground, let it crash and break, knowing he was making the ultimate sacrifice. A line from A Tale Of Two Cities floated through his mind…
'tis a far, far, better rest that I go to..."
"Kari, get down!" Izzy screamed, leaping in front of her, taking the hit full blast. As the Dark Lord disappeared, he was violently shaken in mid-air. And when the Dark Lord had disappeared, Izzy lay lifeless on the ground.
He never got the chance to say goodbye.
There were several seconds of shocked silence, until Mimi broke it with a loud wail. Sora rushed out to comfort her. Matt hung back, in a state of shocked disbelief. He turned to Bastout. "Can't you do something about this?" he pleaded.
Bastout's black rimmed eyes were downcast. "I am sorry," she said sadly. "Even I cannot give life to the dead." She began ascending. "I must go now…I can not remain in this world for long. The rift is closing. Farewell."
Snapped from his still-dazed trance by Gabumon tugging on his hand, he rejoined the group who lay near their fallen. Tai looked ready to cry. Izzy let himself be destroyed to save my sister, he thought, grateful and yet filled with woe. Sora looked up as he knelt down, her eyes red and teary. Silently, he took her hand.
Kari had begun to sob quietly. "He's dead because of me," she sniffled sadly. "Just like Wizardmon. And it was because of me that Myotismon nearly destroyed our city. How many more? I wish the Dark Lord had gotten me." Her voice was shockingly solemn for a child her age.
"Don't say that!" Tai said harshly.
"It wasn't your fault, Kari," Mimi spoke up. "Izzy would have done that for anybody. It was his choice. Not yours. He made it. It was the bravest thing anyone could have done." At last her voice cracked, and she broke down again.
For your tears will do no good
So dry your eyes...
It had been nearly a week. After the Dark Lord had been destroyed, the Digiworld had slowly returned to normal. But inside each Digi Destined's heart, the holes remained. Each felt as if they were missing a piece of their very soul. Tentomon was the hardest hit. He was completely alone, even with the care of the others.
Tai woke up early on one of those mornings. He found Matt by the lake, quietly playing his harmonica. Whoa, haven't heard that in a while, he thought with surprise. "Hey Matt." Matt jumped startled. "Oh, hi Tai."
"I've been thinking. Since the Digiworld's obviously patched up now, I bet we get sent home pretty soon. But what are we going to tell Izzy's parents?"
"The truth, I guess." Matt said dully.
Tai snorted. "Right. Yeah, um, see, your son was destroyed by this evil half-digimon thing..."
"Stop it Tai, it isn't funny. Don't joke about stuff like that." Matt snapped.
"Sorry," Tai sighed.
Both boys noticed the others getting up. Before anyone else could come out and bug him, Matt went to the edge of a newly restored lake and stared at the water. Yes, they had won the war? But at what price? He realized now why Mimi had refused to fight before, especially against the Dark masters. Biting his lip, he stared at the water, watching ripples form, like rings spreading through time.
All of us have matured since we got here, especially TK, he thought. He turned suddenly, and found Sora standing next to him.
"You're thinking about Izzy, and whether it was worth a win, since we lost him, aren't you?" she asked quietly.
"I guess," he said, refusing to let his feelings out. He'd done enough of that in the last few weeks to last a lifetime.
"Fine," Sora said, not unkindly ,with a shrug. "But if you ever want to talk, I'm here." He started to walk with her, then stopped and turned back. Pulling the harmonica from his pocket, he took a deep breath and hurled it into the middle of the lake. He couldn't explain it, but it was the right thing to do.
TK called to him. "Just a minute," he yelled back. He glanced up as a brilliantly orange ball began to rise in the sky.
The destined wait in times of pain
Where had he heard that? Matt couldn't remember when he had learned it, only that he had always thought it described him and the other Digi Destined.
"But not now," he said aloud. "You were right, Sora," he muttered. "We've won the war."
In the distance, a bird trilled and wind danced softly. Nature knew how to start over. Matt hoped he did too.
The hearts of stone, the cold ambition
But I have found, my sacred mission
To live in this world, and still believe...
That there is
One sky above...
2000: "I apologize if you hate songfics. Most of them were just such poetic lines that I had to stick them in - that, and listening to them gave me several ideas for the story. This was my 2nd fan fic ever...first attempt at Digimon stuff. So, I command thee, go forth and review! Thank you!"
2006: Yeah...whatI said before. Nothing new to add, really, justreminding youhow much younger I was when I actuallywrote this, despite what the publishing date says.