The Final Battle

Disclaimer: Don't own it.... the it being Digimon of course.

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A/N: I want to thank DarkLight for sending me that extended review. Hopefully, you'll like the surprises I have in store for the future. In my e-mail, I know I said Chapter Four would shock you but I'm going to have to make that Chapter Five now. Although the slightly limey scene in Chapter Four may very well shock you too. ;)

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"Check mate," Jyou said as he moved his Queen to take advantage of a particularly weak point in Koushirou's defense.

Sighing, Koushirou tipped the King piece in surrender.

"Is something wrong?" Jyou asked. "You look like something is on your mind. Usually, I have to work for these victories."

The two Chosen sat in Jyou's quarters, playing a game of chess. It had become a nightly ritual for them ever since they had started administering the City of Alecrast and its surrounding outposts on the Continent of Sol. Every night, if time allowed, they sat together and discussed various political and military aspect of their duties over a game of chess.

"It's nothing really." Koushirou responded. "I was just thinking about the Prophecy."

"Again?" Jyou said exasperated. "You need to learn how to relax."

"That's funny coming from someone that was unable to think about anything but studying for the latest exam."

"Touché," Jyou muttered. "Anyways, it's out of your hands for the moment. Just let it go for now."

Koushirou sighed. "You're right, of course, but I can't help it. We've needed an edge for so long and this is it. Ironic, that it came from Takeru of all people. He's gone so long and when he comes back he manages to hand us the one thing we could really use." Koushirou paused. "Did you notice anything different about him?"

Jyou grunted in amusement. "You mean the way he was latched onto Hikari or vice versa. Yes, I think I did notice that."

"No, I mean how hesitant he was. That's a great deal different then how arrogantly he used to act."

Jyou pushed up his glasses. "Hikari has a lot to do with it I guess. I think she finally sapped all the fight out of him." Yawning, he stretched and suddenly the door to his quarters beeped. "Come in," he mumbled in between yawns.

The door slid aside and a brown haired girl walked into the room as if she owned it. "Don't you two ever sleep?" She asked, collapsing on the small sofa that was set in front of the chess table the two young men were seated at.

Jyou and Koushirou exchanged amused glanced. "And a hello to you too." Jyou replied smiling. "To what do I owe this extremely rare visit?"

"Can't a girl just visit her friends?"

"A girl can," Koushirou said with a mock frown. "I'm not too sure whether this girl can. What's the matter, feeling bored Mimi?"

Mimi looked up, her expression earnest. "I spoke true, Kou. Being stuck on a continent with Tai isn't exactly my idea of fun. I just wanted to visit with some old friends who I haven't seen in a long time."

Koushirou looked at her strangely, then grinned. "You almost had me there."

Mimi sniffed. "Yeah, I did."

Jyou burst out into laughter. "So, why exactly are you darkening my doorway?"

"Darkening your doorway? Nonsense, the room practically lit up when I walked in."

"Well, as far as comedy goes, I guess we're covered for the night." Koushirou snickered.

"Oh, bite your tongue techno geek."

"That's a new one. You must have spent the past six months coming up with it."

"No wonder Tai seemed so upset." Jyou said, jumping into the fray.

Mimi pouted. "Hey, no fair tag teaming, you two."

"Well, are we finally going to get an answer?" Jyou responded.

"Alright already," Mimi sighed, slumping back into her seat. "You two take all the fun out of things."

"Hey, don't look at me." Koushirou replied, grinning. "Jyou's too uptight about these things."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Jyou said rolling his eyes. He turned back to Mimi. "Well?"

"I was bored and well, I came to gossip." Mimi yawned, stretching out her lithe frame on the sofa and getting as comfortable as she could. "Miyako went with Ken, god knows where, and Tai elected to stay in the War room, Hikari and Iori are with him. Daisuke's off in the gym practicing and Takeru went with him, astonishingly enough. I think they're going to bond while trying to beat the stuffing out of each other. I feel so sorry for Daisuke. By the way, what did you guys think of that apology?"

"We were talking about that," Koushirou said, leaning back in his chair. "He seemed hesitant which is out of character for him. Jyou thinks it's because of Hikari."

"Probably," Mimi responded thoughtfully. "A person like him has to value control over every aspect of his life and now, he's stumbling around blind because he's in a situation he can't control. I wonder how Hikari got him to open up. Anyway, she should have let him know that it wasn't necessary. We're all one big happy family here."

"I think he needed to say it, if only to clear his conscience," Jyou spoke, fiddling around with some chess pieces.

Mimi shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose." Then, switching thoughts, she said, "You know, he looks a lot like how I imagined Yamato to be when he turned twenty one. He's turned into quite a hottie."

"Cradle Robber," Koushirou said grinning.

Jyou looked at him reprovingly.

"All right, I'll stop," he said, raising his hands. "And stop grinning," he shot in Mimi's general direction.

The girl in question was smirking at Koushirou. "That'll teach you," she responded haughtily.

Before Koushirou could come up with a come back, Jyou quickly interjected into the conversation. "Children, please. You're both giving me a headache."

Mimi and Koushirou exchanged glances then turned towards Jyou as one and said, "Yes father."

Jyou groaned, burying his head in his hands. Mimi and Koushirou laughed at the gesture. As much as the two enjoyed teasing each other, they loved picking on Jyou more. Before he could respond though, the door beeped again.

Sighing Jyou looked at the door. "Come in."

The door slid aside revealing the familiar figures of Ken Ichijouji and Miyako Inoue. "Hey everybody," Miyako greeted, while dragging a reluctant looking Ken into the room behind her. "Are you gossiping?"

"Hey Miyako," Mimi said, raising a hand in greeting and sitting up on the small sofa. "Yeah, we were trying to take our mind off our rather drab lives and discussing the more drama like aspects of our friends' lives."

Miyako grinned, and pushed Ken towards Jyou and Koushirou who had already pulled a chair out for him. She sat down beside Mimi and within moments the two had launched into their usual conversation, words flying faster then anybody else could decipher. Shaking his head in amusement, Ken took a seat at Jyou and Koushirou's table.

"So," he said studying the chessboard. "Who do I have to beat?"

"Me," Jyou responded organizing the pieces. "Koushirou there has been stinking it up tonight."

Ken smirked, organizing the pieces on his own side. "Wants to get back to work on the prophecy, huh. I figured that much. The boy is predictable."

Koushirou sniffed, a decidedly Mimi like sniff. "I'll let this verbal abuse of myself slide for now." He turned towards Ken. "Now then, is Tai still in the war room."

"He was last time I checked which was a while ago. I don't think he would have left though. He's suffering from Sora withdrawal as Miyako calls it."

Both Jyou and Koushirou choked on that then burst out laughing.

The door beeped yet again. Jyou stared at it in annoyance. "Is somebody handing flyers out there," he asked no one in particular.

Koushirou chuckled. "Knowing our luck, probably."

The door beeped again.

"Come in," Jyou said, raising his voice a bit.

The door slid aside and Iori walked into the room. He paused, raising an eyebrow at the girls chatting away at the couch. When it became apparent that they weren't going to address him, he walked over to the other guys. "Hey," he said by way of greeting before slumping in an empty chair and closing his eyes.

"So, how's Tai?" Koushirou questioned. "Approachable yet."

Iori opened one eye. "No, he's still driving himself crazy over Sora. She was supposed to have checked in by now. Hikari's trying to get him to stay calm and lending her own powers to the search. Tai's even sent a pilot or two along the way to see what's wrong."

"What do you think?" Ken asked, lining up his pawns. "Is it much of a cause for concern?"

"If she isn't here by tomorrow morning, I'd say yes." Iori replied thoughtfully. "In any case, this situation only reveals a flaw in our communications. If anything were to happen to Sora, Hikari and Mimi, the rest of us would be unable to contact each other. And even with the three, it isn't exactly a fine art."

"What can we do though?" Koushirou questioned. "Having radio or even satellite signals flying all over a world composed of data, isn't the most secure way of doing things. Even our D3's aren't completely safe anymore. Things were so much easier back in the old days."

Jyou sighed. "All right guys, enough with the shop talk. We can save that for the War Table. Let's just take this time to relax. I suspect by morning time we'll have news that we may not like."

The other guys grunted at that but didn't offer up any rejoinders. It had become hard finding time with old friends over the last couple of years and any opportunity for such a reunion was not going to be passed up by any of them. The rest of the night was spent in lighthearted talk.

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Takeru whirled the Bo, swinging it up and under Daisuke's sword, knocking it to the side. Before he could follow up though, Daisuke swiped the sword in his left hand at Takeru's head. Bringing the end of the staff up to his shoulder, Takeru blocked the swipe and the two deadlocked. Neither could move their weapons since the other would take advantage quickly. Daisuke's leg suddenly swept up and Takeru raised his knee, blocking the kick aimed his way. The two exchanged blows until suddenly, Daisuke let go of both swords and lunged forward heedlessly at Takeru. The move surprised Takeru and he dropped his guard momentarily. It was enough for Daisuke to get in his fair share of free hits, sending Takeru to the floor. As he was about to get up, Daisuke appeared above him, his sword in hand, the point poised under Takeru's chin. Slowly, Takeru raised both hands signaling his surrender.

"Hah," Daisuke breathed, dropping his sword. "I can't believe after twelve tries, I finally beat you."

Takeru winced, rubbing his chest where Daisuke had palmed him. "You'll forgive me if I'm a little less jubilant." He muttered, getting to his feet.

"Is something wrong?" Daisuke asked turning to pick up his other sword. "You seem distracted. I usually had to work twice as hard to get past your guard."

Takeru grunted noncommittally, picking up his Bo and twirling it a bit. Daisuke grabbed his second sword and sank to his feet, Indian style, watching patiently. He knew that Takeru would talk to him on his own time and rushing him would only cause him to bottle up what he wanted to talk about. He was so much like Hikari in this way.

The Bo in Takeru's hand suddenly whirled out of his control, clattering to the ground. Sighing, Takeru stared down at it. "You know," he began softly, "that keeps happening for some reason. I can't seem to focus."

"She's affected you that badly?" Daisuke questioned.

"Yeah," Takeru chuckled. "My skills seem to be deteriorating before my eyes and I know I'll need them for the long battle ahead."

"Yet you don't want to go back to what you were before."

Takeru stared at him. "Yeah, that's the problem, isn't it? It almost seems like there are two personalities inside me."

Daisuke snorted. "If only it were that simple. You're in love, my friend. That messes you up in more ways then one."

"It's funny, isn't it? I've faced down evil Digimon, Renegade Guardians and some of the dirtiest beings in Earth's Underworld but this, this I quail at."

"Ah, it'll all work out in the end," Daisuke said waving his hand in dismissal. "Besides, it's not like you can't talk to her about it." He suddenly grinned. "So, tell me, is she as rough as she used to be."

Takeru laughed. "You haven't lost your lack of subtlety but yeah, if anything, I can't see how she could be any rougher. We were up almost the whole night and at the end I felt nearly beaten to death."

Daisuke's mouth dropped open. "That's impossible. Nobody lasts one whole night."

Takeru looked at him strangely. "You mean you can't go for eight hours straight."

Daisuke nearly choked then scowled when he saw Takeru struggling to keep his grin in check. "You Bastard."

Takeru smirked. "If it's any consolation, I had to use my powers."

"That is so unfair. All I get is some minor ability to affect matter and you get powers that turn you into some sex god. Not to mention you can heal yourself which, knowing Hikari, is a blessing."

"She's going to kill us if she finds out we've been talking about this."

"Which means you are probably going to end up telling her anyway, just to try and tweak her nose. I never understood that particular, 'flirting with death,' trait of yours."

Takeru shrugged. "What's life without something to spice it up? Besides, she looks cute when she's huffing and puffing away."

Daisuke laughed. "She is going to end up killing you one of these days. You just better not name me."

Takeru moved his right foot under the fallen Bo and kicked it up into his hand. "Yeah well, you're going to have to fight for that privilege. I might be able to hold out for a few days, hopefully, but she'll get it out of me eventually. So, are you ready to make it thirteen to one?"

"Oh ho, those are fighting words Ishida." Daisuke lumbered to his feet, raising his swords. "I think it's about time I made it twelve to two."

Takeru twirled his staff between his fingers and assumed his stance. "Any time you're ready Motomiya."

As one, the two rushed at each other.

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Needing to concentrate on something, Tai turned his gaze to the enormous War Table and its carving of the Digital World. To the east was Hikari and Iori's Continent of Sever, a carving of Azulongmon the Dragon, its Protector, beside it. To the south was Miyako and Sora's Continent with its attendant Protector, Zhuqiamon the Phoenix. To the west was Daisuke and Ken's Ellum with Baihumon the Tiger engraved beside it. The North Continent of Sol belonged to Jyou and Koushirou and had the picture of Ebonwumon the Turtle beside it. At the center of the map was an anomaly, his own Continent of Aisa. Theoretically, each land had a protector in one of the four digital gods but the Island of Aisa, which was large enough to be a continent, seemingly had not had a protector. At least, it hadn't had one until they had discovered this base and this table. For on here, the Island of Aisa had a picture of a lizard, resembling nothing more then a dragon of the European variety. However, where those dragons had wings, this one had curved spikes protruding from its back. The name Huanglongmon was engraved under the picture yet none of them had heard of this particular Protector. Maybe Takeru knew something. It was surprising how much he knew of this world's lore sometimes.

Tai glanced up from the engraving of Huanglongmon and looked at the only other person in the room with him. His sister Hikari was seated at the War Table, her eyes closed and brow furrowed in a familiar line of concentration. She had elected to stay behind and lend her powers in search of Sora. He loved her for that, knowing that she'd rather be with Takeru at the moment. That revelation had surprised him today, the fact that he was back and the way Hikari was holding his hand. Actually, he had to concede that the day had been full of surprises. Koushirou's revelation concerning the missing Prophecy had lightened everybody's moods considerably. For once, there was hope that they could drive back the overwhelming darkness that threatened to cripple this world. Funny, that the bearer of the Crest of that name had delivered this hope to them. He had never put much stock in the fact that their crests embodied some overwhelming trait in themselves but today, today he'd come the closest to believing it.

Hikari's eyes snapped open and she blinked, massaging her temples.

"Well?" Tai asked hopefully.

She grinned triumphantly at him. "I managed to get a hold of her. She said she was ambushed but is fine at the moment. She's planning to go to Seona and will probably take a craft from there. If everything goes well, she'll be with us by tomorrow."

"Ambushed?" Tai questioned, frowning.

"I didn't get any details but she said she was safe. Anything else you'll have to ask her when she shows up here."

"All right," Tai nodded, his expression softening. "Thank you. You didn't have to stay behind."

Hikari waved her hand dismissively, getting to her feet. "It was nothing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go find a certain blonde."

Tai smiled, pulling out a chair and slumping down into it. "He left with Daisuke. You better hurry up. They're likely discussing you at the moment."

"They probably are," Hikari admitted, smiling ruefully. "Oh well, I'll end up getting it all out of Takeru somehow."

"I've been... meaning to ask you about him," Tai spoke hesitantly. "How did you get him to come back?"

"I tied him to a tree and smacked him around until he listened to reason."

Tai laughed. "I don't know what's funnier, that statement or the fact that I believe it. You two always did have the strangest relationship. In any case, I'm glad you're happy."

"Thank you." She eyed him critically. "You should get some rest, yourself. Sora will be fine. She's one of the toughest among us."

"Yeah, I should, shouldn't I?" Tai sighed, slumping back further in his chair.

Hikari rolled her eyes. "Well, are you going to do it anytime soon?"

"I'll get around to it," Tai replied waving his hand at her. "Now go and find Takeru before he and Daisuke pound each other to a bloody pulp."

Hikari sighed, looking at him for a few minutes before turning and leaving the room. She, above everybody else, knew how stubborn Tai could be when he wanted to dig in his heels. It had become a running joke among the other Chosen concerning the Yagami bloodline. She knew that she was more then a little stubborn herself. Koushirou had even been crazy enough to set up a pool once and tossed Daisuke's name in for good measure. She had never found out the results of that pool.

As she neared the small gym, her ears perked up as she heard the clash of weapons. Pausing at the entrance, she surveyed the scene. Daisuke and Takeru were locked in a rapid exchange, Bo staff against twin swords. The weapons were a blur in their hands clashing, parrying, and then darting forward again. They seemed nothing more then extensions of their wielders. The fight was pretty ferocious and more then a bit dangerous. The two had to have a great deal of confidence in each other's skills to keep it up. It was even more amazing considering the rivalry the two had at one point. Or, she corrected herself, the one sided rivalry the two had had. Takeru had pretty much ignored it to his credit and after a while, Daisuke had mellowed out too. They had become friends but had been driven apart when Takeru had left. She remembered how angry Daisuke had been when he had learned of how Takeru had betrayed her friendship that last night at Sumeragi's citadel. It had cost Takeru a punch in a rather public café when he had returned, bearing a summons from Gennai, for her. When she had returned from that particular trial, her friendship with Takeru restored, if a bit shaky, Daisuke had broken up with her. He still loved her but it had broken him when Takeru's friendship had done more to put her in good spirits then his love. She didn't know whether he still felt the same way about her. He had become adept at hiding his emotions. For his sake, she hoped he didn't. He was one of her best friends and she didn't want to cause him any more pain.

The fight came to an abrupt end as Daisuke swiped, one sword high and the other low, towards Takeru. His staff a blur, Takeru parried the first sword and moved backwards to avoid the other. It left Daisuke off balance and Takeru capitalized swinging the end of his staff quickly and stopping it a bare centimeter away from connecting with Daisuke's midsection.

"Hah, twenty five to two," Takeru said grinning widely.

Daisuke grunted, straightening. "Damn swing left me overbalanced. I expected you to block both."

"I know," Takeru replied leaning against his staff. "You still tend to telegraph your moves and to be honest, you spend too much time on the offensive. You should spend a little more time on defense."

"Ken keeps telling me the same thing." Daisuke rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess it's just in my nature."

"I'll say," Hikari said stepping forward from the door. Both of them turned towards her in surprise. "I guess some things never change." She walked up to a sidewall and picked up a lone sword. "All right, I've been stuck in a room alone with Tai for nearly two hours. Who's first?"

Daisuke and Takeru exchanged looks before collapsing to the floor in perfect synchronicity.

"Way too tired," Daisuke groaned.

"Yeah," Takeru agreed quickly. "I've exhausted my powers healing myself and Daisuke. I'm very tired too."

Hikari scowled at both boys and then suddenly whirled in place slashing the wooden sword straight at Takeru's head. He sat calmly waiting for the blow to come. The sword stopped a scant inch away from his head.

"You're no fun," Hikari grouched sinking down on the wooden floor.

Daisuke let go of the breath he didn't know he had been holding. "How could you sit still like that?" He asked Takeru.

Takeru glanced towards him, smirking. "As if she would have actually hit me."

The wooden sword smacked into his shoulder.

Daisuke laughed. "Spoke too soon."

Takeru sighed, rubbing his shoulder. "It's what I get for being right." He leaned over towards Daisuke and whispered conspiratorially, "she's a great girl but she can't take it when I upstage her."

"Oh, you are asking for it when we have our rematch."

Takeru grinned at her. "I'm safe for the moment. You can't have your rematch until we get back to Flaim."

Daisuke looked between the two. "What're you talking about?" He asked finally, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I beat her in a hand to hand match," Takeru said cheerfully. "I've got bragging rights until the rematch where she's almost certainly likely to try and kill me. I intend to live my life to the fullest until then."

"You actually beat her," Daisuke said in disbelief. "Nobody's even come close since Ken tried his luck three years ago."

"He got lucky," Hikari muttered darkly. "I'm not going to go so easy on him next time."

Daisuke stared at Takeru who answered laughingly. "I got two broken ribs out of the deal."

Daisuke nodded in mock understanding. "Just a minor scratch really."

Hikari scowled at both of them as they burst out laughing. "Well, since you two don't have enough guts to take me on one on one, how about two on one?"

"How about you tell us whether you found Sora or not." Takeru replied grinning at her. "Neither of us is willing to fight right now and especially not you."

Hikari sighed. "Well ok, I guess I'll just have to take my aggression out some other way." She shot a pointed glance towards Takeru who paled considerably.

Daisuke hooted with laughter literally rolling on the floor.

"Uh, yeah well, what about Sora?" Takeru said desperately, trying to steer the conversation in another direction.

A light smirk crossed Hikari's face but she didn't pursue her teasing. "I found her. She was ambushed on the way which is unsettling but she said that she was all right and is on her way here."

The news seemed to sober Daisuke as he stopped laughing to listen. "An ambush? That is unsettling. I wonder how they got her flight path."

"I don't know," Hikari said rising to her feet and stifling a yawn. "I suspect we'll get some answers when she gets here tomorrow." She looked down at the two young men. "We all should probably catch some sleep while we can. Come along Takeru." Her last sentence was more command then request.

Takeru looked towards Daisuke. "Pray for me," he whispered in mock terror.

Daisuke merely waved in amusement watching the two leave. After a few moments of quiet reflection, he got up and headed towards his quarters.

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Lee Jenrya had always been a practical person. Even at the age of ten, people had always commented on his extremely mature attitude. It was something that had served him well, especially when he'd gotten stuck in the Digital World. Instead of panicking like half the population around him had, he had instead focused on trying to find a solution. With his partner, Terriermon, by his side, he had found other people trapped on the Continent of Igniz and had bound them together into a sizable force. It was the only thing that had kept them alive when the darkness had come. Still, it had seemed hopeless. The constant raids and the superior numbers of their foes had been overwhelming. That was until two girls had arrived on the Continent. Both possessed partners that were capable of evolving further then any other individuals Digimon. In the end, it had been those two that had driven back the darkness. Jenrya, or Lee as he was commonly known, had relinquished his leadership to them knowing that the only hope those under him had of survival lay with the two women. Since then, the two had organized the Continent, facilitated a few disputes among some unruly children and had generally driven back the darkness to a small portion of the Continent. They had also recognized something in him and had made him the facilitator of their greatest base on this Continent. It had been an honor and he had devoted his life to the endeavor, to making sure that he did all he could to ensure that the two succeeded in their endeavors. However, every now and then, he did remember the life he had left behind. He especially missed his little sister. She had been a pain but he had never wanted to be separated from her this long.

Sighing, Lee shuffled the reports on his desk and arranged them into a neat pile. He had stayed in his office far too long again. Still, at least this time he wouldn't have to hear a lecture from either of the two Ladies. Picking up the reports, he started off tiredly towards his quarters. It was due to this lack of extreme fatigue that he missed the telltale signs of someone stalking him until that someone was almost on top of him. He was in the midst of turning around to check behind him when a masked figure caught up and tackled him, causing the reports in his hands to go flying.

As the two rolled around on the ground, Lee cursed inwardly. Whoever this was, he had chosen a perfect place for an ambush. This section of the citadel was deserted this time of night and the latest patrol would not be around for some time. The fact that this had been planned with such precise cunning was very disturbing. They had been infiltrated somehow.

Grunting, Lee managed to kick the man off him and rose to his feet. The masked figure got up as well scant meters away and rushed at Lee again. This time he was ready for the attack and ducked under the figure's punch and blasted him in the gut with an uppercut. It had no effect. His assailant did not even grunt and almost flattened Lee with his other arm. Lee dodged that blow, barely, and leapt back trying to open up some more room. He wasn't allowed the luxury though as the figure pursued. Gliding sideways, Lee stuck out his leg and tripped the figure. He capitalized by jumping on his assailants back and twisting his arms behind him.

"Who are you?" Lee yelled as the figure under him bucked, seemingly uncaring about what happened to his arms. He pulled back harder but even that did not lessen his assailant's struggles. Left with no choice, he twisted hard, dislocating the man's shoulder. However, there was no sound when there should have been some indication of a limb snapping. Eyes widening, Lee let go of the arms and jumped to his feet as the figure under him began to literally melt. His body flowed and twisted, reforming itself in the air before him. 'A Bakemon,' Lee thought in incredulity. 'How did a damned Bakemon get in the citadel?'

He didn't have any more time to wonder over it though as the figure resumed his attack. Lee fell back trying to look for a way out. He knew now that he couldn't fight something like this without weaponry. Unfortunately, he had nothing on him. Fortunately, he didn't need anything. A green burst of energy suddenly struck his assailant from behind, effectively reducing him to his knees.

Lee looked past his assailant in astonishment as his small Digimon partner came into view. His surprise was short lived as his instinct for self preservation kicked in and he used the opening he had to dash past the Bakemon and over to his partners side. The Bakemon began to rise up again but a final burst of energy from Terriermon knocked him back down. There was a swirl of data as the digital parasite was destroyed, its physical host slumping to the floor.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lee looked down at his partner. "Not that I'm not glad but what are you doing here this time of night?"

"Lady Miyako asked me to check in on you regularly," Terriermon replied, still watching the inert figure of the Bakemon. "She didn't want you overworking yourself just because she and Lady Sora aren't here to supervise."

Lee grunted, beginning to walk toward the fallen figure.

"Careful," Terriermon cautioned.

Lee nodded and approached the figure carefully. He slowly reached down and removed the black mask covering the man's face. The face he saw chilled his blood. Whirling around, he dashed from the hallway.

"Keep an eye on him," he yelled to Terriermon. "I'll send security to clean up."

After that there was nothing more left to say. All there was, was a mad dash towards the security compound, hoping against hope that he wasn't too late.

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The impromptu gathering had finally begun to wind down and most of the others had taken their leave. Miyako and Ken had left together as was proper. Iori had left shortly thereafter. Mimi had followed after exchanging a few more verbal spars with Koushirou. In the end, it was just the two old friends again until the need for sleep, drove Koushirou away as well. Afterwards, Jyou sat still for a while until his door beeped lightly. Smiling, he gave the command for it to open. The door slid aside and Mimi re-entered the room.

"You came early this time," he remarked softly, rising to his feet.

"I know," she replied walking forward into his arms. "I was lonely and Miyako was nowhere to be found."

"How many years has it been since we first did this?" He asked introspectively.

Smiling, Mimi leaned up brushing her lips across his. "You're not beginning to fall in love with me, are you Kido, Jyou?"

He laughed. "No, actually I'm not. You're too high maintenance for me."

"That's Koushirou's influence, right there but to answer your question, we have danced this dance for the past six years."

"So long?" Jyou sighed. "I wonder sometimes why you haven't just picked one of the dozens of men that would gladly throw themselves at your feet."

"Are you beginning to get bored with me?"

He sighed in exasperation. "Why do you always answer a question with another question? You know I will be here for you whenever you need me."

Mimi glanced up at him, her eyes flashing uncertainly. "I... don't know why, actually," she began uncertainly. "I guess I'm not ready for that type of commitment just yet. This way, there's nothing else to get in the way."

"Just two friends comforting each other." Jyou nodded. "I understand, although you should really consider the alternative, my dear. It's very lucky that we can do what we do without the risk of pregnancy."

"Thankfully, females can't get pregnant here. And, there will be time enough for the rest after all this is done." She said, her expression turning mischievous. "Now come on, we've only got four hours left."

Laughing, Jyou let her lead him to his bedroom.

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The tunnel was dank and more then a little bit cold. It was also swathed in darkness but Sora had taken care of that by forming a small construct of light that floated above their heads. That particular power had something to do with their shields. Yamato didn't know how though. Right now, it was enough that they had the light. He didn't want to be walking in darkness through these tunnels. They were surprisingly narrow and there was only space for one person to walk at a time. The last thing he wanted was a case of claustrophobia. Up ahead, they came to yet another intersection.

"Which way now, fearless leader," Yamato remarked sardonically. This was their fifth intersection and it didn't seem to be leading them anywhere.

"We'll take the right one again," Sora replied distractedly.

No doubt she was trying to remember the schematics that Koushirou had drawn up for these tunnels. After stumbling around for nearly an hour, Yamato was pretty much ready to give up and try his luck outside. It didn't help that Sora didn't seem to know in which direction she was going or was being very tight lipped about what she intended. Their intention had been to make their way to the hangar bay and see whether the courier craft was working or not. However, now they might end up anywhere.

They took the right side but this time it brought them to a dead end. Sora looked over her shoulder at Yamato. "I can open this wall but we have no way of knowing if there's anybody on the other side or not."

Gabumon spoke up from behind Yamato. "I can check. My hearing is a lot keener then yours."

Sora nodded, stepping back a little. "Ok, go ahead."

Gabumon jumped up on Yamato's shoulders, then walked onto Sora's and finally jumped down in front of the wall. He leaned against the wall and stayed still for a long moment. Abruptly, he turned back to Sora. "I can't really hear anything." He said apologetically. "However, that could be because the room ahead is empty."

Sora glanced back at Yamato. "Should we risk it?"

Thinking it over for a minute Yamato nodded. "Yeah, but go carefully. If there is somebody in there, we'll need to silence them before they raise an alarm."

"All right," Sora said turning back to the wall and running her hands over it. A familiar glow came from her heart and the door slid aside. Quickly, the three burst into the empty room. Sora's eyes widened as she realized just what room this was.

Yamato looked around as well. "An office," he said looking around at the ornate desk and the sparse furnishings in the room.

"Not just any office," Sora replied. "This is Tom's office." She walked over to the desk and began going through the drawers. "We may find something useful here."

Yamato instructed Gabumon to stay at the main door and warn them if he heard anybody approaching. Then, he walked over beside Sora and began to help her go through the drawers. In the back of one, he found a small diary. He flipped through it quickly, going straight to the last page. There was a note hurriedly scribbled there.

'The acts of sabotage have gotten more frequent. I fear

that I am all alone now. We have been infiltrated, there
is no doubt in my mind of that now. I should have listened
to Michael when I had the chance but in my arrogance, I never
believed that we could have been infiltrated. How did this
happen? Was it the emissary from Sol? I don't even know
whether any true humans remain in this base. Just yesterday, I
saw a guards limbs bend in an unnatural fashion but even more
terrifying was how he caught me staring at him. He did not try to
hide but rather smiled. It chilled me to my bones. They are toying
with me now. I am certain of it. Even more terrifying is the fact
that I can't find Kumamon anywhere. If there are any humans left,
they are now in the minority. Word must be sent to Flaim but the
mechanics tell me that our crafts are still unable to work. For all
I know they have been taken over as well. It is only a matter of time
before they come for me. I hope against hope that Lady Sora learns
of this. There has been a report from Farez that they have sighted
Dark Digimon. This means that the scouts will be here in a matter of
days. The report is in many ways my death knell. They will not allow
me to live and sound the alarm. There is one final measure though and to those that find this diary, I will remind them of the main power engine at the lower level of this castle. I've tried to access it but was stopped
and
taken back to my quarter. They know that I can't do anything and
now I am forced to await my certain death. To those who find this,
avenge me.'

"What was he talking about?" Yamato asked Sora who had come up beside him and was reading the note.

Sora frowned thoughtfully. "About the only thing I can think of is the self destruct mechanism. He must have been very desperate if he was considering that."

"This is a desperate situation. In his position, I doubt I would have done any different."

"But an explosion of that magnitude would kill everybody in this castle." Sora shook her head. "No, there has to be another way."

"They are already dead Sora. You know there is nothing we can do for those possessed by Bakemon."

"I can't accept this Yamato," Sora said heatedly. "We can't afford a loss of this magnitude. You have no concept of how badly the odds are against us in this war with the Dark Ocean. We need every man."

Yamato sighed softly, looking at her. "Is there some way to save them out or are you just reacting because this happened on your watch?" His expression suddenly hardened. "I know enough about this war to know that we need every advantage we can get but I also know that we have to make hard choices sometimes. If you have no other alternative, we'll have to proceed with the only option we have."

Sora's shoulder's slumped as she realized the truth of his words. There really was no other way. The outpost had been compromised. They could always rebuild and the tactician in her was already thinking of ways to redirect sources away from Flaim and bring them here. Lee was going to have a fit.

"All right," she replied finally. "But it will be difficult. The self destruct mechanism is located at the heart of this place but it is also heavily guarded at all times."

"We should split up. I don't want to be here when this place blows. One of us should go to the hangar and secure the craft and the other should set the mechanism."

"Assuming the aircraft isn't really broken," Sora muttered. "We could lose precious time that way."

"Which is why you should go to the hangar," Yamato responded. "You can stay in contact with me using your powers and tell me how to activate the self destruct mechanism. Plus, I can bio-merge and if I get caught, it'll be a lot easier for me to escape then for you."

Sora nodded. "All right, that seems reasonable. So tell me, how exactly do you intend to find the mechanism?"

That brought Yamato up short. "There has to be a map somewhere around here." He said finally.

Sora turned back towards the desk. "Start looking then," she shot back over her shoulder.

A quick search revealed a small layout of the fortress. It wasn't a proper map but it would do. Yamato grabbed it and studied it for a bit. The outpost had several levels including four basement levels. The architecture looked a little unbalanced considering there were only two levels above ground.

Sora pointed towards the lower most level. "The self destruct mechanism is located here. It's basically one huge room and it supplies power to this castle. I'll leave a ward in your mind. When you get down there, contact me through it."

"You can do that now?" Yamato asked while studying the small schematics sheet for the castle.

"Benefit of having our crests again, our powers have increased exponentially."

Yamato suddenly grinned wolfishly. "You know, I wanted to do this stealthily but there's another way we could do this too."

Sora's eyes widened. "Don't be stupid," she said quickly.

"Don't worry," Yamato said chuckling softly. "I'll be fine and this way, all the attention will be on me. You should have a fairly easy time making it to the hangar bay. Who knows, if there really is something wrong with the aircraft, you might have enough time to fix it too."

"This base is filled with Bakemon. That's up to one hundred that are going to be after you."

Yamato shrugged. "Lightweight, all things considered. Our bigger concern is that the stronger Digimon trailing you don't make it here too. It's all over if they do get here. We need to be quick about this."

"Ok fine," Sora conceded, "but here, take this." She reached up and touched Yamato's forehead. There was a slight tingling sensation, which passed quickly. "I've put the ward in your mind. Just think towards me and I should hear you."

"Should?"

"It doesn't really work over long distances. Try not to stray too far."

Yamato nodded, heading towards Gabumon. "All right buddy, let's do our thing." Seconds later they were bio-merged. "Give me ten minutes and then head towards the hangar." He opened the door and slipped out.

Sora sat down on the desk and started counting. When she had reached a count of thirty seconds, there was a huge explosion and then the howling of a wolf. There were other unearthly cries that echoed that first howl and Sora knew that the base had been taken over for good. All she could do now was make it back to Flaim as soon as possible. She had sent scouts here and they had undoubtedly been converted. Even now they could be causing havoc in her city.

As she reached the ten-minute mark, Sora vacated her chair and made her way towards the door. She opened it to find a calm, quiet hallway. Yamato had wisely chosen to start his chaos a little further away from this location. No doubt, he didn't want some of the Bakemon to backtrack his trail and find her. His plan seemed to have worked too as she didn't find anyone blocking her way to the hangar.

The hangar was actually a clear space towards the left of the castle's courtyard. It was cut off from the courtyard by a large wall and it was also deserted. Sora quickly made her way to the lone craft in the area and entered it. A queasy feeling entered the pit of her stomach as the systems display lit up in front of her. The aircraft had been sabotaged and unfortunately, she wasn't going to find a substitute part anytime soon. She could have made one if she'd had Koushirou's specs in front of her but without them, she was lost.

She was searching around inside the craft for something, anything to help her when she heard a loud explosion from outside the castle. She quickly vacated the craft and her eyes widened as she saw a dark cloud quickly approaching from the horizon. Yamato's mind touched hers that instant.

______________________________

Padding along the ground, pursued by a great amount of Bakemon, green laser blasts streaming past him, his own future uncertain, he was having a great deal of fun. He wondered whether it was right to be feeling joy at a moment like this and banished the thought as soon as it had come. Right now was not the time for introspection.

Gazing behind him, he saw a huge crowd of Bakemon in pursuit. Gathering his powers he shot a burst of ice right at their feet. A great many slipped and were trampled by their brethren behind them.

Yamato grinned and turned around as he approached the end of the hallway. He was almost to his location and would need to lose the majority of his pursuit if he was going to contact Sora and activate the self- destruct. It seemed the time had come to test the extent of his powers.

Gathering his energy, he stopped in his tracks and turned around. The Bakemon rushed towards him, their human faces twisted in inhuman expressions of rage. There were the occasional beam shots at him but he avoided them easily enough. For now, it seemed that the Bakemon wanted to lay into him with their hands. As the energy within him reached its peak, he released it. The resulting backlash from the release of so much energy at one time pushed him back and he slammed roughly against the wall at the end of the hallway. The blast of ice from his hands shut off as he slumped to his knees.

Shaking his head, Yamato looked up to see the entire hallway encased in ice. The entire horde of Bakemon stood frozen to the ground, literally. For all their abilities, they wouldn't be getting out of this any time soon. Turning around, Yamato opened the door and ran down the small stair well to the fourth level of the basement.

The door at the end of the stair well opened out into a large room. There was a great cylindrical machine at its center and various computer consoles ringed the machine. He suddenly caught a flicker of motion from his periphery and jumped sideways, barely avoiding the scythe that came close to separating his head from his shoulders.

Yamato rolled to his feet and beheld the figure of Tom Himi standing before him wielding a large scythe. The blade of the scythe was glowing with an unnatural blue light.

"I figured one of you would show up here when all the commotion started," Tom said quietly. "What gave us away?"

Yamato checked the room surreptitiously while keeping an eye on the possessed human. It seemed they were alone for the moment. "Your charges got careless," he said finally. "Bakemon are great infiltrators but even when they have possession of a human, they can't help but act like their Digimon forms."

"I suppose all great things have a flaw. Pity that it was such a little thing that gave us away." Tom's eyes suddenly glowed and he surged forward swinging his scythe. Yamato leapt back dodging the attack and then leapt forward. The scythe swung back around but he twisted in midair, avoiding it and tackled Himi. His claws tore into Himi's shoulders but the man avoided the pain and his scythe swung up towards Yamato's midsection as he fell backwards. Yamato twisted aside again and did a handspring into the air as Himi's shoulders touched the ground. He twisted in the air and landed lightly on his feet facing Himi who had gotten to his feet.

"You can't win," Himi said advancing forward again. "I'm not like those ordinary Bakemon. I was possessed by an evolved version, a Phantomon. And, Master Cthulhu's other Digimon will be here soon."

That made things a bit difficult. It also explained the scythe. Phantomon's were tremendously strong virus types. He was in for a slightly tougher battle. It also didn't help that he had foolishly exhausted a great deal of his energy in dealing with the pursuing Bakemon. He needed time to recharge a bit but it didn't seem like he would be getting that time.

The scythe swung downwards in a vertical slice and Yamato nimbly sidestepped as it crashed into the floor. He dodged backwards as Himi swept the scythe horizontally, barely avoiding the thing as it almost raked his chest. He shot off a small burst of ice but it was blocked by Himi as he swung his scythe to intercept it. Falling backwards, Yamato moved the fight towards one of the computer consoles ringing the main reactor. He had an idea but it required perfect timing. Himi kept up his attack, his swings getting swifter and wilder. That was fine with Yamato though. His whole plan hinged on it. As his back collided with one of the computer consoles, he leapt aside. The scythe crashed into the console a second later. The move gave Yamato a small window of opportunity. He immediately fired a burst of ice at the blade of the scythe, effectively freezing the area around it so that it stuck into the console. As Himi struggled with the scythe, Yamato jumped forward and tackled him again. This time there was no scythe to ward him off with but the possessed man was still inhumanly strong.

The two struggled, rolling around on the floor. Yamato rent Himi's skin with his claws and fangs but the man paid the wounds no mind. The only thing that was going to stop him was if there was a surge of energy through his body that overwhelmed his possessor. The shock would kill him but it would also destroy the Digimon. Unfortunately, Yamato did not have the energy to administer such a shock at the moment. However...

Springing away from his opponent, Yamato jumped to his feet and dashed towards the scythe. Himi rolled to his feet and pursued immediately. Firing a short burst of ice at the floor, Yamato caused him to crash to the floor again. Grabbing the scythe, Yamato twisted and it came free. Whirling around he slashed backwards and the scythe connected with Himi's gut. There was a strangled choke from the man and then he toppled forward to the floor.

Yamato did not even pause to check his opponent's condition. He closed his eyes and immediately began concentrating on Sora. Her mind touched his almost immediately. 'I'm here,' he thought inwardly. 'Hurry up and tell me how I engage the auto destruct.'

Sora's voice came back hurriedly. 'We've got a situation. The rest of the Digimon that were pursuing us have just arrived and from what I can see, their force is now twice as large as it was when they tried to ambush me. They're outside the castle at the moment. I've got another idea. From the main control, you can engage the castle's automated defense systems. It won't stop them but it can delay them a bit. After that set the self-destruct. They'll be blown to bits if they do get inside.'

'All right,' Yamato responded. 'Tell me how to activate the systems. Afterwards, we'll rendezvous in the courtyard.'

'Brace yourself, I have to be quick and this won't be gentle in any way.'

A flood of images suddenly hit Yamato, reducing him to his knees. His mind felt like it was on fire as it received instruction after instruction. The images gradually faded but the pain remained. Rubbing his temples, Yamato rose to his feet and made his way towards one of the computer systems around the main reactor. His fingers flew over the console as he punched in a code that Sora had implanted in his head. There was no visible sign that anything had happened but Yamato pushed on ahead. After entering the code for the self-destruct and setting it for ten minutes, he started back towards the courtyard.

________________________________

From the courtyard, Sora watched as the cloud came closer and closer. She could make out individual specks breaking away from it and making their way towards the castle. There was another explosion at the main gate and she knew that they had brought ground Digimon in addition to those descending from the air. She again cursed herself for sending Biyomon away with Miyako. What had she been thinking?

Suddenly, a bright green arc of light shot out of the castle parapets towards the cloud. Similar lights began appearing all over the castle as hidden turrets swung out and began firing. However, the number of Digimon was too great. It was only a matter of time before the castle was overwhelmed. The automated defenses had never been the main reliance in defense. They had only been a secondary measure to support the humans and their Digimon.

There was the sound of paws clicking on hard stone and suddenly Yamato was crouching beside her. "The main gate is covered." Sora said turning towards him as he straightened and stood on his two hind legs. "And it's a pretty good bet that they've got the whole castle surrounded by now. We're going to have to try and break past them."

Yamato nodded. "All right, climb on." He knelt down and Sora put her arms around his neck, clinging to his back. "Hold on," the half wolf, half human hybrid said and then began running towards the back of the castle. Powerful muscles bunching, he jumped a great distance, easily clearing several walls. In no time at all they were atop the back wall of the castle.

The area around the castle had been cleared a little but there was still a sizeable forest that surrounded it. Yamato gazed down, his keen wolf's eyes immediately spotting the dozen or so Digimon gathered at the base of the castle and a few dozen others cordoning off the forest. They hadn't noticed them yet as they were still busy with the castle's automated defense.

"Cover us with your shield when they start shooting at us." Yamato instructed Sora. "I'll try to dodge but probably won't evade every blast aimed our way."

"I can do better. If they get too close, I can slow them down with my telepathy."

Yamato shook his head. "Don't exhaust yourself. All I need is your shield. Just leave the evasion to me." Without waiting for her reply, he leapt off the wall. The jump carried them halfway to the forest but it also attracted the attention of the Digimon. A few of them left themselves open to attack as they forgot about the green lasers that were coming from the castle.

Running on all fours with Sora's hands clenched around his neck, Yamato set off towards the forest. There were blasts all around him as the Digimon at the base of the castle turned around and began their pursuit. Ahead of him, the remaining Digimon also turned their attention towards the pair. Immediately, Yamato saw a problem. He was not going to be able to break through the enemies in front of them without engaging a few. However with Sora on his back, he couldn't go all out. The problem was solved when everybody in front of him suddenly froze. He tossed a glance over his shoulder to see Sora's hand raised towards the group in front of them.

Growling, he turned back and jumped again, clearing the group and landing at the edge of the forest. Immediately, he dove in as more blasts rang out around him. Bobbing and weaving in between the trees, he ran as best he could. It was a nightmarish run and he barely avoided being crushed by felled trees more than once. In fact, that was quickly becoming an irritant as some of the pursuing forces started tossing blasts left and right. They were trying to contain him for their other brethren by bringing the whole forest down around him. His entire focus shrank down to avoiding falling trees and keeping ahead of his pursuers.

A loud explosion suddenly ripped through the air, the shockwave sending him flying. He twisted in the air, bringing his arms up to brace Sora who still clung to his back. The first thing he noticed as he landed on his feet was a thick plume of smoke rising in the air. It was coming from the general direction of the castle. It seemed the self-destruct mechanism had done its work.

Taking the few moments of respite he had, he turned and ran further into the forest, leaping over upturned trees and other more natural obstacles. The pursuing Digimon recovered much quicker then he would have liked and began their endeavor to bring the entire forest down, once again. Still, he had been given some extra time and it kept him ahead if not entirely unscathed. He could tell that Sora was tiring as more and more attacks that were actually aimed at him began getting through her shield. He wasn't going to be able to keep this up for long.

Up ahead he finally glimpsed the forest lessening a bit. That meant he was almost to the other side. 'We'll have to make our stand there.' Sora's voice sounded inside his head.

"Agreed," Yamato panted, dodging around a tree. He began gathering his powers. With the numbers of Digimon he'd seen, it would be pretty futile but he didn't intend to go quietly. If anything, they would likely take a huge number of the Digimon with them before they were taken.

As he broke through the forest, Yamato skidded to a halt. However, it was not because he was preparing to make his last stand. Instead, he came to a halt because a relatively small army of humans and Digimon were gathered at the edge of the forest. The humans immediately snapped to attention as he broke through the forest, raising those odd-looking hand blasters and pointing them towards him.

"Stop." A man at the head of the army yelled out. Immediately, the men lowered their weapons slightly.

Sora jumped down from Yamato's back, staring apprehensively at the man as he approached her. "Lee," she said softly.

"Lady Sora." The man bowed and produced a knife from within his robes. He quickly cut his hand and held it out showing her that he was who he appeared to be. Sora sighed with relief, taking off her bandages and showing him her half healed wound from earlier that afternoon.

"We're being pursued," Sora said hurriedly as the man, Lee, seemed to relax upon seeing that they weren't possessed. Eyes instantly snapping upwards, Lee looked past them than back at Sora. He nodded faintly and then turned back.

"Retreat to fifty yards from the forest," he barked out to his men. The force arrayed behind him turned in unison and retreated. Sora started after them, Yamato following along behind. The first Digimon appeared when they had reached the fifty-yard mark. It was a Gollumon, a humongous man like construct of stone and wood, and it immediately began charging the group.

"Hold," Sora yelled, holding out her arm. The army behind her paused, holding their blasters at the ready. Another Digimon, a Phantomon in his pure form, appeared at the edge of the forest and hesitated. The Gollumon was now within thirty yards of the group. More Digimon began coming out of the forest and stopped at its edge. The Gollumon was now within ten yards of them. As it entered the five-yard range, it drew back its arm intending to throw a punch. Sora's arm plunged down and immediately an array of green lasers sped past her and struck the Gollumon. He dissolved into data, his fist a scant centimeter away from Sora's face.

Yamato slowly let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. "That was rather crazy," he said turning to Sora. "Why did you let him get so close?"

"All actions have their purposes, Yamato." Sora replied, pointing towards the forest. "Look, they're a lot less eager to fight after this display and they know they can't win since their main force has likely been wiped out by the explosion of the Seona outpost. Also, we've discovered the loss of a lot of comrades today. I don't want to risk anymore lives in needless fighting."

He could see the truth of her words. The other Digimon were already retreating, most disappearing back into the forest. A few still lingered here and there but even they knew that their cause was futile now. After a few more minutes, all of the Digimon had vanished back into the forest.

"All right everybody," Lee yelled out, "set up camp and squad leaders, assign your best scouts for watch duty. I don't want anything to sneak into camp at night."

With those words, Yamato realized that it was nearly evening. He had been so caught up in the chase and the day had been overcast to begin with so he hadn't noticed. Around Sora, Lee and himself a proverbial wellspring of activity sprung up and a vast camp began to gradually take shape.

Yamato turned away from observing the soldiers just in time to hear Sora ask Lee, "How did you come to be here?"

"I was attacked last night," Lee explained, while somehow managing to keep an eye on the surrounding activity. "It was a scout we'd sent out possessed by a Bakemon. I sent a scout to the intermediate Outpost of Talar and to the northeastern Outpost of Farez to warn them of similar threats. Then I gathered our men, made sure there weren't any more infiltrators and made a forced march here. There's still another fifty pair of humans and digimon coming behind us. They fell behind due to overexertion in their bio-merged states. Consequently, the Outpost of Talar is safe. I passed it on our way here and made sure of it myself. We're still awaiting word from Farez."

"What about Flaim? Did you vacate it completely?"

Lee shot her a look, which he was very good at. It seemed to scream a mixture of indignation and sarcasm. "Give me a little more credit. I left Miguel in charge and told him to keep patrols random outside the city and keep on the highest alert until I got back."

"Good," Sora replied sighing softly, gazing back at the thick cloud of smoke that was gradually breaking away into data over the forest. "This was a big screw up on our parts Lee. Miyako is going to have a fit and Tai isn't going to take it much better. Which reminds me, I hope you brought an aircraft. I need to get to the summit and report this right away. If things are going smoothly on the other Continents, we can expect some support until we're ready to get back on our feet here."

"I did bring an aircraft and I brought one loaded with firepower," Lee said thumbing back over his shoulder. "I left it a little ways behind with a guard. You can use it to leave now. I've got this covered and by tomorrow we'll have pushed that rabble back to their boundaries."

Sora nodded, turning away. "I hate leaving now but I have no choice. I can probably do more good at the summit anyway." She suddenly turned back towards Lee. "Wait, the scout you sent to Farez. What orders did you give him?"

Lee grinned. "I told both of the scouts I sent out to take the leaders of the outposts hostage and determine whether they were possessed or not."

Sora began laughing. "Miyako is going to kill you. She's got to deal with these people on a regular basis and you're not exactly endearing them to us with this stunt."

"It serves her right for sending Terriermon to babysit me. Think of it as payback."

Still chuckling, Sora turned away and Yamato followed along behind her. He was still absorbing most of what he'd heard, his mind puzzling over the pieces and coming to various conclusions. What he'd been surprised at had been Sora's leadership. She had obviously replaced him as Tai's second in command. Which was surprising considering he'd thought Jyou would take that position.

"What're you thinking?" Sora asked lightly as they walked through the organized chaos that was the setting up of camp.

"Nothing much," Yamato answered. "Should we be setting off so soon? Aren't you worried about another attack?"

Sora shook her head. "Lee said the aircraft was loaded with firepower so he obviously brought one of our warplanes. It's slower then the small craft I was using but it should still get us there in time. Plus, we've still got your powers and mine if worse comes to worse."

Yamato shrugged lapsing back into silence. They walked like that for the rest of the way. What was even more unnerving was that the silence lasted for their entire trip to the summit.

__________________________________

He was training in the gym when he got the telepathic message. 'Takeru, come to the War room please.'

'What's wrong,' he questioned.

There was a slight pause, hesitation perhaps, and then, 'just come.'

That slight hesitation put him on edge. He reformed his regular clothes around himself and hurried to the war room. Hikari's tone had left no doubt that whatever was happening was of the utmost importance. The main door slid aside as he used his crest to gain entrance. Inside, all of the Chosen were gathered around the war table. He saw Sora, began to greet her and then noticed the man standing beside her. Eyes widening, he turned back to Sora and noticed a look in her eyes. Pity? Sympathy? He couldn't place it. He turned towards Hikari, trying to find someplace, anyplace in this insanity. 'It couldn't be him, it just couldn't.' He didn't find any respite with Hikari. She nodded her head slightly. His world had shifted again. Doing the only thing he could, he turned around and left.

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Alrighty, click that Go button.

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Next: The laying of new plans and friendly discussions.