The Final Battle

by Shinmechslade

[Sequel to Midnight Blossoms] At the end of every legend, there is a final battle, a clash betwen good and evil. This is the story of one such battle. [Updated: Chapter 13]

4. Chapter Four

The Final Battle (Chapter Four)

Disclaimer - Don't own Digimon.

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Anger! It was a rare emotion for him. For some, it was a fire that burned unchecked, carrying away anything and anybody that got in his way. For him, it was the means to attain focus, because his anger was not fire, it was ice. An ice that froze the blood in his veins, turning his heart cold until he couldn't feel the pain that had caused him to get angry. It was dangerous; this rage of his and so he had resolved never to get angry. By and large, he had held true to that. He could count on one hand the number of times he had truly let his rage run unchecked. Right now, he was fast approaching the point where he'd have to start using both hands.

Grunting, Takeru started whirling the Bo faster and faster, working out his emotions. It was a technique he'd been taught a long time ago. Channeling his anger into the Bo, he was supposed to release it with this exercise. Sometimes though, the anger stuck and it wouldn't leave. Snarling, he quickened his pace, forcing the anger into the weapon.

It wasn't his brother, it couldn't be. The others had been fooled, led astray. Takeru whirled around and brought the Bo down in a vertical slash. There was a loud clacking sound and the Bo stopped in midair as a wooden sword intercepted it. Blue eyes stared into blue.

"Hello, little brother," Yamato said softly.

Takeru took a deep breath. "You are not my brother."

It was very disconcerting when he smiled. "You would come to believe that if I left you alone. As it stands, I don't really care." Yamato backed off a little. "If you're expecting me to try and earn your approval, you're in for a surprise." He raised the wooden sword and assumed a fighting stance. "Come on little brother; let's see how far you've come since I've been away."

To say that Takeru was mystified would have been an understatement. However, he raised his weapon and began twirling it slowly while approaching the image of his brother. Yamato's sword darted out lightning quick but Takeru was ready for it and brought the Bo down in a parry. There was a rapid exchange with Yamato trying to get past his guard. He blocked each strike deftly and then swung his staff in a vicious overhand blow that would have knocked off Yamato's head had it connected. He ducked under it though and lunged forward, his sword spearing towards Takeru's midsection. Takeru twisted sideways avoiding the sword and moved his Bo in between the sword and his body to avoid a counterattack. The two leapt apart, breathing heavily.

"Not... bad," Yamato said panting. "You've gotten better."

"How would you know?" Takeru replied savagely. "My brother and I never sparred. You're not him."

Yamato sighed. "I don't care what you believe Takeru." He raised his sword again. "However, I did spend nearly five years of my life in your mind. I know you inside out, little brother."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT." Takeru yelled, rushing forward.

Yamato quickly raised his sword falling backwards as Takeru started to rapidly assault him. He recognized the combination almost immediately after Takeru began using it. Moving his sword rapidly he parried and blocked every hit aimed at his way and then started responding with some moves of his own. The Elders had not only constructed this body for him but they had also added many improvements to it. To make up for his missing memories, a ton of data had been added to his mind to take their place. Among that data was knowledge of weapons and hand-to-hand techniques.

Takeru fell backwards blocking the blows. Yamato had to admit that his brother was good, very good in fact. The training he had undertaken with Angemon had paid off in more ways then one. He would be a hard opponent to defeat when the time came. However, he would be defeated.

Yamato quickly brought his sword around in an overhand swing and Takeru blocked it right before it smashed into the side of his head. They deadlocked in that position, glaring at each other. Yamato suddenly kicked out, catching Takeru in the shin. Stumbling back in surprise, Takeru was unable to avoid the kick that caught him in the stomach, bowling him over onto his back. Before he could get up, Yamato was standing over him with his sword poised under Takeru's chin.

"You cheated," Takeru said quietly, glaring at the figure standing over him.

"I told you, I don't care what you believe about me. Circumstances will force us to fight side by side. You had best resign yourself to working with me."

Takeru sighed softly, his anger draining. The fight had helped and he'd come out of it, losing. That disconcerted him for some reason.

"What did you mean when you said you were in my mind for five years?"

Yamato smiled. "So, finally willing to listen? The Guardians put me there. Don't you remember that one night at the main compound? You always had a suspicion that something untoward had happened that night but you never figured out what. That was me influencing your thoughts subtly, leading you away from pursuing the matter in any great detail." Takeru glared up at him and Yamato's smile turned feral. "Do you hate me now, little brother? There was a time when you used to look up to me. I see that is an illusion you're too old to indulge now. It's for the best really." There was a slight pause and when Yamato continued, his voice had grown cold. "There's a monster inside you little brother, a monster that desires the death and destruction of everything in this world. The only problem is, do I kill you now when that monster is still asleep or do I let him wake up. However, we need your powers so I'll have to wait until after this is all over." Yamato removed his sword and turned away. "Keep your skills sharp little brother. There may come a day when we'll do this for real. Now come along. I have a lot of explaining to do and you need to hear it as well as the others."

"Wait," Takeru called out, "why did you tell me this? If I tell the others, it would only put your position in danger."

Yamato stopped, his back to Takeru. "Feel free to tell the others, however, it will only put you in doubt. The telepaths will back me and if necessary, the Protector Beasts as well. If you try to confront me, you will lose and it will reveal your own fate to them. What little goodwill you've managed to gain will be lost in a matter of seconds." He resumed walking.

Rising to his feet, Takeru followed the image of his brother back to the War Room. For the moment, his curiosity was piqued and he mulled over everything he'd just heard. Suffice to say, this impersonator was right. He had convinced the others already from what Takeru had seen and the confidence with which he spoke of having the Protectors vouch for him was disturbing as well. He needed to put all this out of his mind though. The others would scrutinize him and keeping what he'd just heard from Hikari would be especially difficult. He had leverage though; she had known about this and hadn't told him. He had seen that much in her eyes. Suddenly, he remembered the night she'd put him to sleep to talk with Angemon. Had he known? And the wall in his mind? What was going on here?

An immediate hush fell over the War Room as they entered. The rest of the Chosen were sitting at the table now. Keeping an impassive expression on his face, Takeru walked up and took the empty seat next to Hikari. Quietly, she took his hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

'Are you okay?' Her voice sounded in his head sounding strangely hesitant.

'I said I trusted you, remember.' Takeru replied, making his tone light. 'You've forgiven me so much. It would hardly be fair if I got angry with you over this.'

There was some hesitation and then, 'We'll talk about his later.' There was a tone of finality to her words, which made Takeru groan inwardly. She knew something was up and was going to call him on it later.

Across the table, Yamato began speaking. "I know all of you must have some questions regarding my abrupt appearance. Some of you may even doubt that it is me, however, for the foreseeable future, we will have to work together and I'm asking that you keep an open mind about all you're going to hear."

"That is not particularly hard when it comes to people like us." Mimi replied wryly. "You'd be surprised at how many have already accepted you. All that remains now is your story so go on, we're all pretty curious."

Yamato smiled at Mimi, bowing his head. "Thank you." He looked around at the others. "I will start at the beginning. When I died, my body began breaking up into data much as what happens to our blood when we're cut in the Digital World. This data was harvested and collected by the Guardians. They reconstructed me however the process was not perfect. Many of my memories were lost. In an effort to reacquaint myself with you guys, I was implanted into Takeru's mind." Yamato turned towards Takeru. "I was told not to contact you guys and that a day would come when I would be able to stand in front of you in my own body. Then, two years ago, I went against this edict and contacted Hikari because I needed her help. Afterwards, both Takeru and I traveled across many worlds. At the end of our journey, we were sent to the dimension of the Elders. That's where you picked up that little mental block in your mind, little brother."

Ten faces swung towards Takeru, who nodded. "He's right, although I don't remember any of it." He paused, and then said, "Angemon told me that the wall would come down on its own. Is that true?"

Yamato nodded. "Yes, it is. You consented to all this when you landed in that dimension."

"And did they tell me about you?"

Yamato sighed softly, showing for the first time some hesitation. "No, they didn't." He said finally. "You were told the whole story though and the reason for that block. I will reveal parts of that story now but as to your block, that, you will have to discover on your own."

"And will I discover this before or after we fight to the death." Takeru smirked slightly at the look on Yamato's face. This move was perhaps a bit risky but he wanted to see the true character of this man and he could only do that by keeping him off balance. The previous comment had made him hesitant and Takeru was determined to capitalize on it.

"Premature," Yamato said softly, his eyes locked with Takeru's. For the two of them, it was as if everybody else had ceased to exist.

Takeru shrugged. "I've never been a man that responded well to threats or ultimatums."

"I had not forgotten, little brother. In any case, what I told you was not a threat or an ultimatum. I was telling the plain truth."

Takeru had to admit that the man was calm. He hadn't gotten angry or defensive which was a point in his favor. Whoever he was, he'd be a formidable opponent. This problem raised its own concerns though.

*Ahem,* Tai coughed loudly bringing their attention back to the group of people gathered around them. "Would one of you care to explain?"

"Not particularly," Takeru said quietly. "Now, you were talking about the elders. Who are they?"

Before Tai or anyone else could respond, Yamato began speaking again. "The Elders are a group of beings that preserve order among the many worlds out there. They are the closest thing to God you'll find in all the multiverse. And," he looked around the table, "they created us."

The statement caused a visible stir around the table.

"What do you mean?" The ever-curious Koushirou questioned.

Yamato looked around the table again, gauging everybody's reactions. There were quite a few frowns among the group but acceptance was coming fairly quick. That surprised him since he'd expected them to be a little more shocked. It was almost as if the years of hardship had desensitized the people in this room. Which was probably true considering all they'd been through. It was sometimes easy to forget that they were all in their early to middle twenties.

"That is a rather long story," Yamato said finally. "Bear with me as I start from the very beginning. Firstly," he glanced towards Koushirou, "you were right all those years ago when you theorized about multiple dimensions out there with multiple worlds. There is a veritable multiverse out there with different versions of Earth. A very long time ago much of this multiverse was connected through rifts or gateways. There was trade and travel between a multitude of worlds and even a governing council made up of diplomats from the various worlds. Like all good things though, there was an end. It came in the form of a race of beings called the Valeru. Nobody knew where they came from since the multiverse was such a vast place. All anybody ever knew was their first appearance and the destruction that followed afterwards. The Valeru were anti-life itself and ripped through the various dimensions like wildfire. A coalition of worlds quickly formed against them and managed to drive them back. In their rage at the wanton destruction of so many worlds, the armies killed nearly every single Valeru but one. He managed to escape them and hid himself. After the Valeru were defeated, there was an era of peace and rebuilding. During this period, a force was created to protect the worlds from ever going through such a threat. This force was sort of an early warning defense thing that kept an eye on all of the worlds.

All went well for a while until the last remaining Valeru showed up again. Everybody had believed him dead but he resurfaced nearly three hundred years after the destruction of his race. He released a plague that nearly wiped out every human on the various different Earths. There was no cure found for the plague and the infected worlds were cordoned off to prevent it from spreading. The Valeru was captured as he attempted to escape one such world. He was brought before the council, convicted for treason but they did not want to kill him since he was the last of his race. They opened a rift and locked him away in a relatively deserted world. That was our world." Yamato looked around the table again gauging reactions. Everybody sat focused on the story he was telling. He could see they were holding their questions for later.

"However, they needed a force to guard him and they sent some of their own to this world to colonize it. Those were the first humans and they acquitted themselves much as how our race has always acquitted itself, with death and destruction. You see, the Earth was not as deserted as the council had thought. There was a race there, a peace-loving race that was easily converted by the Valeru. We had to kill them off completely."

"Homo-Neandarthalsis," Koushirou blurted out, wonder written on his features.

Yamato nodded. "Yes, that is what scientists termed them when they found their fossils years later. You are among the few humans that are privy to their fate. Even the Guardians don't know their history. However, we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Where was I..." He paused thinking back. "Oh yes, the war. The humans sent by the council managed to defeat the Valeru's forces and locked him away using the arcana of Earth. However, their own forces were seriously depleted and their technology decimated. As a result, they lost all contact with the other worlds. Meanwhile, in the multiverse, another threat occupied the attention of the council. This time though the threat was from within. The general populace of all the worlds had grown tired of the conflict and they had been outraged by the council's decision to lock up the Valeru and not execute him altogether. As a result of such unrest, many member worlds decided to restrict themselves to their own universe and forego trying the multiverse approach. Of the thousand or so worlds that had once occupied the multiverse, there were only a handful left. Before more could fall away, a scientist on the council came up with a daring plan. He gathered like-minded individuals like himself and located a world whose time moved a lot faster then the time in the other worlds. This scientist's plan was to create a race of highly evolved beings that could more effectively guard the multiverse. As experiments went, it was a highly ambitious undertaking. And despite the fast moving time in that world, it still took hundreds of thousands of years of regular time before the experiment even began producing results and twice that before this race arrived at their desired level of evolution. They called themselves the Elders.

In the interim time, the multiverse had broken up completely. However, with the high number of worlds out there, an authority was needed and the Elders decided that they were to be that authority. Their first order of business was to find the world where they had banished the lone Valeru. Even for them though, this proved very difficult. A stable rift required participants on both sides and the humans on Earth had long ago lost all such technology in their war with the Neanderthals. After a long time, they did manage to finally locate the Earth. The Valeru had not been complacent in all that time though. He had managed to escape his prison quite a few times and had clashed with the humans again and again. Both sides used the arcana of Earth against each other, however, with the Elders' arrival and the use of technology again, they were finally able to contain the Valeru and locked him away in a city which later sank beneath the sea. That Valeru, my friends, is called Cthulhu, the Undersea Master."

"You still haven't answered how these Elders created us." Ken spoke softly, breaking the silence that had taken hold at the end of Yamato's oration. "And what do you mean by the arcana of Earth?"

"Those two questions merit another long explanation. As to the arcana," Yamato smiled at Takeru, "you little brother will be pleased to know that your theory was proceeding in the right direction."

"You mean it's magic?" Koushirou blurted out.

Takeru looked at him in surprise but then his expression cleared. "Oh, Iori must have sent you that entire folder of mine." A slight hesitant tone entered his voice. "What did you think of my argument?"

"I thought it was a little out there." Koushirou admitted with a laugh. "Now, I'm not too sure. You made a pretty good case but since you couldn't prove that magic actually existed, your theory remained just that, a theory."

Takeru nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that was the one problem." He turned towards Yamato. "So, if magic is real, what happened to it?"

"Well firstly, let me regale you with a bit of a scientific explanation. Now, energy is energy, it is there for us to use in any way we can. Back in the olden days of Earth, it was possible for humans to actually tap into this energy through rituals such as sacrifices or the more mundane casting of spells. Nowadays, they tap into this energy using science, which is often called the arcana of the natural world. So, the world hasn't lost magic but we've been forced to tap into it another way. The more personal method is long gone and that's because of a great cataclysm seven hundred years ago. Cthulhu, in an attempt to escape his prison, caused a catastrophe that managed to strip people on Earth of their ability to tap into this energy. The resulting shockwaves created two pocket dimensions that existed close to Earth. These two dimensions are the Digital World and the Dark Ocean. Because these two dimensions are composed of what was essentially Earth's energy, it was possible for us to travel here by utilizing the same energy through science. For instance, using the computers to open gateways that led here. The cities, the temples, the structures that we've found all over this world, they are the artifacts of a bygone age. As for the digimon, they are the demons and beasts from the legends of Earth.

Now that you know about the magic, you need to know about us. We are, all of us, creations of the Elders. After the Elders had found this dimension again, they discovered that the remnants of the forces they had sent here had nearly taken over the whole planet. However, only a select group among this new colony of humans knew of their ultimate purpose. You see, as the original colony had grown and kept growing, many had lost sight of their ultimate purpose. In any case, after several millennia, who could blame them? This lone group of humans was hardpressed to hold Cthulhu captive and there were many instances where the Valeru escaped and caused much death and destruction. These catastrophes were always covered up by that one group of humans since the greater host of humanity could not be brought into the equation. After so many years of evolution and development of culture, it would have only worsened the situation causing widespread panic and hysteria. To help this group of humans who called themselves the Guardians, the Elders made us. Delving into the energy of the universe, they created ten souls. Us Chosen were those souls."

"You said ten," Daisuke suddenly interjected. "I count nine with the inclusion of Ken. Who is the tenth?"

"The tenth soul was held in reserve. He became the Champion of the Elders. Traveling from dimension to dimension, he keeps an eye on the various different worlds for them." Yamato glanced at Ken. "The original eight of us thought that we were the first ones to come to this world. However, you had already been here, hadn't you Ken? When Milleniumon first made his appearance, you came to this world and met one other traveler, Ryo Akiyama. He was the tenth soul."

Ken frowned. "That was when I was infected with the Dark Spore. However, the person I met was only a boy, barely older then myself."

"He can disguise his appearance. They probably decided that you should not learn about him that early. The trials of our group were next but because you had been infected by evil, you were kept from us. The evil needed to be released and then healed and that's why we ran across you much later when you had styled yourself the Digimon Kaiser."

"What about us?" Iori questioned, frowning. "Where do Miyako, myself and Daisuke fit into this?"

Yamato smiled. "I will get to that but first I need to explain a bit more about the Chosen. We were created for the express purpose of leadership and to act as Cthulhu's jailors. When he begins to break free of his bonds, we are reborn. This cycle has been going on and on for several millennia. We always lock him up and he always escapes. However, this time will be different. After the cataclysm seven hundred years ago, the Elders debated long and hard. They finally decided that an ending had to be written in this long story. At one point they thought that Cthulhu might reform, that intelligence could win out over hatred but that doesn't seem to be an option anymore. There will be a final battle and I've been told to inform you that we are to kill him." Pausing for effect, Yamato let the words sink in. "Now, because of the great cataclysm, humans could not tap into energy so we were given crests. They are an external way of tapping into this energy. On top of that we have our powers. Those were imbued in us by the Elders. Depending upon the strength of the person, those powers manifest themselves accordingly. The first one to exhibit these powers was Hikari, then you little brother and Ken. Afterwards, when we entered our mid teens, we all began showing signs. In some instances they almost killed us and we were in danger of being exposed to the general public. That is where you three come in." Gazing at Miyako, Iori and Daisuke, he continued, "You three are humans with the spark of greatness. There is only a handful born every era. The Elders viewed it as an omen when you three were born so close to one another and at relatively the same time. When it became clear that your destinies were to intertwine with the Chosen, they contacted the Guardians and you were taken into the group. It was beneficial because when our powers flared out of control, you were the three humans among the many we could trust to hold our secret. You proved yourselves invaluable in battle and for other purposes as well." Yamato looked around the table, meeting everybody's eyes. "And that is the whole of it, my friends."

There was silence then as everybody sat thinking over Yamato's words. Taichi was the first to break the silence. "Why don't these Elders just take care of Cthulhu themselves?"

Yamato laughed at that. "Since when has life been that easy for us. They could kill him but they see themselves as too civilized for that. So, we're left to pick up the slack and lead the forces of humanity we've assembled into battle. The problem was created by humans and the Elders no longer consider themselves humans. Therefore, humans have to deal with this problem themselves. The only concession the Elders made were us Chosen."

"In which case, I guess we'd better get started." Sora said quietly, rising to her feet. "I have already told this to Tai but you should all hear it. Yesterday, the Seona Outpost on Igniz was destroyed completely." She quickly ran over the events of the past day. "The most disturbing thing though was that they had my flight coordinates. Those are kept confidential and are only available to officials that place pretty high in our Governments. The only conclusion is that we've been infiltrated somehow and I'm not talking about Bakemon this time."

"This situation on Igniz disturbs me," Tai said glancing around the War Table. "The way those Bakemon infiltrated and killed off everybody in the Seona outpost speaks of an inside job." He paused, letting his words sink in. "This makes the mission we were considering, even more important. We need to infiltrate the Undersea City. Unfortunately, whoever we send will be going in blind as we have woefully little intelligence on the city."

Takeru sighed inwardly. It seemed the time had come for him to reveal his involvement in the current problem. He wondered how everybody would take the news that he was responsible for releasing the Undersea Master from the wards they had placed over his realm. However, maybe he would be allowed to correct the problem and redeem himself.

"Uh, hold on a second," Takeru said interrupting Tai. "You have one thing wrong. I have been to the Undersea City."

The comment earned him one or two gasps, a handful of frowns and even a scowl or two. Considering the relative ease with which the group had taken all prior news, their reactions caused him no small amount of amusement. It seemed that he had not lost his ability to surprise people. Hikari's grip on his hand though had tightened painfully. He didn't look at her, keeping his eyes fixed on Tai instead.

"Explain." The order didn't come from Tai.

Takeru turned towards Yamato, who appeared to be one of the few scowling at him. "I'm surprised big brother. You were in my head for so long and you didn't know anything about this?"

"All the more reason for you to explain yourself."

"Well, as you probably know, when I went to the Guardians, Gennai mandated me with hunting down Rogues. I did my best but after the downfall of Sumeragi's network, many of them had gone into hiding. I got to thinking about how Sumeragi was connected with the Dark Ocean. Plus, we had so little intelligence on the Undersea Master. We didn't even know whether he was a he or a she. So, I decided to pay the Dark Ocean a visit."

"The city is underwater. How did you get in?"

"A little planning goes a long way Koushirou. I had many contacts in those days and I called in a few favors. An Armadimon was easy to find. My plan, initially, was to evolve the Digimon into Submarimon and do some recon but when I got there, I decided to be a little more daring."

"You idiot," Yamato hissed. "Do you realize just how much of this is your fault?"

"Probably all of it," Takeru admitted, sighing. "I thought I could get in and out without being noticed. Apparently, I was wrong. In my own defense though, knowing what we know now, we would have had to face this situation sooner or later."

"That doesn't excuse anything," Tai said. "However, go on with your story. All we know of the city is that it's underwater and self-contained. Other then that, all we have are some thermal images from a spy cam we managed to send down there."

"I'm surprised you got that far. Anyways, I made a small hole in the wards you guys had placed on the Dark Ocean, enough to slip a small portal through. It dropped me on that lone beach from so long ago. I hid out in the abandoned lighthouse, observing for nearly a month. In the end, I didn't need the Armadimon because there were humans there. They came up every now and then to check on the wards. One day, a lone human came up and I took him captive. I broke him quickly, bundled him aboard his craft and we traveled down to the city. Once inside, I crashed the craft, killing the pilot and disappeared into the population. Remaining hidden was a chore though but I managed to pull it off. It helped that the city was huge and filled with humans. I stayed there for five months learning everything about the structure and daily rituals that went on in that city. There's a lot that I know and I think that it would be for the best if I went in."

Her nails were digging into the palm of his hand now. Thankfully, Hikari did not say anything although he knew that he would have to explain it all to her in private. It wasn't something he was looking forward to.

"You... don't have to go in," Tai said hesitantly. "All you have to do is provide our scouts with what you know."

It was as graceful an exit as he would be allowed. Unfortunately, he was not going to take it.

"I know you well enough to know how you operate Tai. I'm betting your scouts are ready to leave by tomorrow. There is too little time for me to coach them effectively. I'm the best you've got at the moment and my chances of getting in and out are better then most."

"There is one problem," Jyou spoke causing all eyes to swing in his direction. "Your crest is one of the most powerful among our group. If you go in, you'll be detected for sure."

Wordlessly, Takeru raised his hand and concentrated. There was a sparkle of light and suddenly the tattoo of the Crest of Hope in his palm was gone. In its place was the actual runic carving of the Crest. Takeru held it out and then merged it back into his palm again.

"I can go in without the crest," he said quietly. "Now then," he looked around the table, "if that's the last of the objections, let's discuss this mission. How exactly were you planning to sneak a person inside the City?"

Tai was the first to recover. "I hope you know what you're doing Takeru. The removal of the crest will drastically reduce your powers."

"But I'll still have enough to make my chances of survival better than anybody else's."

That seemed to settle Tai. "All right," he nodded, "however we will take one extra precaution. We were planning on sending four people in, but now we'll only send in two."

This didn't sit well with Takeru. "This is a bad idea, Tai. I don't need someone to look after."

"The guy I'm sending with you is one of our top agents."

"All the more reason that he stay behind. If things do get dicey, I'd rather we not lose someone at my expense." He looked around the table. "I'm trying to minimize our losses."

"You're not doing us any favors if you don't come back with adequate intelligence." Daisuke said from his place beside Ken.

Hikari chose that moment to speak up. "I agree. Two people stand a better chance then just one."

"Good," Tai responded. "Let's put this to a vote, aye for, nay against." Eleven voices chorused 'Aye.' "The Aye's have it. You'll do this our way."

Takeru sighed. "This is a mistake but if you all agree, I will abide by the decision."

"Good," Tai glanced at everybody again. "In light of this latest development, I will have to restructure my plans. Takeru, come to this room early tomorrow and your minder and I will fill you in on how this mission will go down. Till then, you're all dismissed."

"Minder?" Takeru questioned indignantly. That caused a few snickers but then he'd wanted it to. Unfortunately, it did nothing for Hikari's disposition. Her face set, she practically dragged him back to their quarters. Once there, he was shoved unceremoniously onto a small sofa as she started pacing.

"Why?" She asked suddenly, her back to him.

A flippant response rose to his tongue but he quashed the impulse. This definitely was not the time. "I wanted to make up for my past mistake. The destruction of the wards, all this, is my fault. I want to make it right."

"And it has nothing to do with your new duties on Sever?"

He briefly considered lying but decided against it. She would see through it easily. "It is part of it but a very small part." He wished he could see her face.

"So, to avoid your duties to me, you're going to go gallivanting off. Do you know how dangerous this mission is? What if you get captured?"

"Well, worst case scenario, they'll kill me." He knew the moment the words escaped his mouth that he had said the worst possible thing he could say at that moment. Her shoulders stiffened visibly, her back ramrod straight.

"I see." Her voice was icy. "I thought your life had begun to mean more to you. Apparently, I was wrong."

Takeru rose to his feet, walked up to her and embraced her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I won't blame you for wanting to beat me up right now. Even I want to kick my own ass after that comment."

"You promised you wouldn't leave me again," Hikari whispered quietly.

There was little he could say to that. He had promised after all.

"I..." Takeru hesitated, uncertain of what to say. "I will come back. It won't be like last time."

"What did Yamato say to you?"

The question was completely unexpected. He hadn't even seen it coming. Not for the first time he wondered how she could read and anticipate him this well. He considered lying again but knew that wouldn't get him anywhere. The truth was likely to upset her even more and he didn't want her mixed up in whatever game was being played here. The less she knew, the safer she would be.

"Takeru," she said quietly. "Answer the question."

"I... I can't."

She twisted around in his arms, looking him in the eyes. "Is it because of what he said that you're going on this mission?"

Oh damn, she'd figured it out. And she probably wasn't going to take kindly to the fact that he'd meant to keep this from her. The plain truth was that he was going on this mission because he had lost to that fraud. It had been a wake up call of sorts. The world was a hard and dangerous place, and that was even truer if you were one of their group. He was nothing as he was now. There were skills at his disposal that he needed desperately to know were still there. He would not have any way of honing those skills if he stayed behind. In the end, he needed this mission but she would never agree to it if she knew the reasons. And she had enough power over him to make him stay if she chose to.

"Takeru?" The tone of command in her voice was unmistakable. She wanted an answer and she wanted it now. He made his first mistake that night by deciding to lie to her.

"He didn't say anything important. It's not because of him that I'm going."

Hikari's arms came around his neck, pulling his head down and forward until their brows were touching. Staring into her eyes, he could tell she hadn't bought the lie.

"Let me tell you," she whispered softly, her eyes flashing angrily, "what I think happened. Your reunion with your brother didn't go as well as any one of us thought. In the War Room you said something about a fight to the death with him. Are you going on this mission to prove to yourself that you haven't grown soft, that your skills haven't deteriorated?"

He would have almost suspected her of reading his mind if he hadn't known better. As it was, apart from a fairly intuitive leap, she had pieced it together very well.

"I... uh... I really shouldn't lie to you."

"No you shouldn't," she replied with some feeling. "Now tell me all of it."

"I..." The words stuck in his throat. "Hikari... I... can't."

"Why?"

Takeru closed his eyes, thinking back. 'There's a monster inside you little brother, a monster that desires the death and destruction of everything in this world.' He was half afraid that statement might come true and he didn't even want to think how Hikari would react to it.

"Hikari," he spoke, turning his head away, "please don't make me do this."

"Will you always be left doubting my feelings?"

Her eyes had softened, filled with sadness. He hated this, having to hurt her. It seemed like it was all he ever did, had done since he was fourteen. Even now, when it should have been perfect, this came up. Sighing softly, he leaned back a little and told her all of it. Afterwards, there was silence. Unable to meet her gaze, he turned away.

"How much forgiveness in your heart is there, Hikari?" He asked bitterly, finally breaking the silence. "You should have stayed with Daisuke. It would have been best for..."

She whirled him around and pressed her lips against his, effectively silencing him. His eyes widened in surprise, staring into hers as her arms came around his neck, drawing him closer. There was a wealth of emotions in her eyes and he could have stayed in that position forever, trying to decipher them but she pulled back breaking contact with him.

"You can be such a fool sometimes." She admonished gently. "I've told you before that I am the last person that will give up on you."

"There's still the matter of what he said. Hikari..." He hesitated knowing how badly she was going to take this next part. "I want you to stay out of this situation."

Her expression immediately grew defiant. "You know I won't do that."

"This is dangerous Hikari and it is something I have to handle myself." He looked down at her, meeting her gaze levelly. "I want you to promise me that you'll stay out of it."

"Takeru..." This time she was the one who turned away. "You know I can't do that. We've protected each other ever since all this stuff first started. You were even prepared to give your life for mine. How can you ask me to step back when the stakes are so high?"

"You can't protect me from everything. That's something you'll have to accept with this situation. He threatened me by saying that the Protectors would back him and I believed that. It also means that the man has some serious power behind him. Whatever game is being played here, is dangerous. I don't want you mixed up in it."

Her face took on a stubborn caste he knew all too well. "I'm not going to back down from this position, Takeru."

"I'm trying to protect you." He knew he'd made another mistake the minute the words left his mouth.

Hikari rolled her eyes. "Weren't you the one that just said that I couldn't protect you from everything? Well, the same applies here." She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "Make no mistake; this isn't a decision I'm going to let you make for me. You need me for whatever is coming."

He scowled at her, knowing that he had lost the argument. She was right in a way; he couldn't ask her to stay out of this using the pretense that he was protecting her. Still, there was one way he could keep her out of harm's way. "All right, I won't ask you to stay out of it but I will ask that you do not seek a confrontation with... him."

"Of course not," she said softly. "It would be pretty foolish under the circumstances. What would you have me do though?"

"Contact Gennai," he said immediately. "He will know something about this situation and if he's reluctant to share information, tell him that the request comes from me. I've done a lot for that old man. It should give you some leverage."

Hikari nodded. "There's still the question of why you're going though. I don't agree with your reasons."

"There isn't an answer I can give that is likely to satisfy you. My reasons are what they are." He looked at her almost hesitantly for a moment. "I need to do this Hikari. I guess I just need something tangible, something for who I am now."

"You shouldn't though. It should be enough that I love you."

"How can it be enough after everything I put you through?"

"Are still putting me thorough."

Takeru closed his eyes, leaning heavily against her. That was, unfortunately, very true.

"I... I'm sorry." Hikari murmured softly.

"No, don't be," Takeru whispered into her shoulder. "You're right. I should have run all this by you first. If you don't want me to go, I can still back down."

"You know that's not possible anymore. You had your chance to back out."

"Tai is reasonable and I'm pretty sure I've still got some goodwill left over from handing you guys the prophecy."

"Save it," Hikari leaned back, looking into his eyes again. "I'm sure I can find a better way to use it."

Takeru smiled at her. "So, does that mean you're letting me go."

"Yes," Hikari said softly, "however, I'm still very angry with you. One thing I'm not going to let you do is take me for granted. So, you're going to make this up to me and it's going to have to be in a big way."

Takeru looked at her warily. "What exactly are you planning?"

"Something big," she replied mysteriously. "I'll tell you when you get back from this foolishness you're about to embark on."

"Ok, I guess that is fair enough," Takeru said, sighing. "The mystery should keep me intrigued in the upcoming months."

Hikari suddenly stepped forward, backing him up until the back of his knees hit the sofa. She pushed down until he was seated then climbed onto his lap.

"Now," she spoke, staring down at him, "you'll be gone for a while so I want one last night to remember you before you leave."

"But I have to be up ear..."

He didn't get any further as she leaned down and pressed her lips tightly against his, effectively silencing him. He opened his mouth, his tongue darting out to meet hers and she pushed her mouth hard against his, driving his head back in the sofa. Her tongue pushed his back, plunging into his mouth, claiming it possessively. It was always like this with her. Her domineering nature always caused her to be the aggressor in their lovemaking. He usually gave into it, letting her take control but resolved to make this time different.

Pushing back hard against her, he rose from the sofa. Her legs instinctively tightened around his waist. He could tell that he had surprised her from the way she looked at him. There was a flash of amusement in her eyes as she gazed into his own, their mouths still locked together, tongues wrestling for dominance. Her voice suddenly sounded in his head, 'It's so nice to see you showing some initiative however, you know you won't win. I'll have you screaming my name before we're through.' There was really only one way to respond to that. He drove her backwards, slamming her against a wall. Mouths still locked together, their teeth clashed. It was an interesting mixture of pleasure and pain.

He could tell that he had surprised her but it didn't last long. Her hands came up and tangled in his hair. She twisted sideways in a brutal fashion, tilting his head. It gave her enough leverage to push his tongue back again. He tried to move his head but found that he couldn't. She was pulling especially hard on his hair and he knew that if he tried to force her hands away, they would take a significant portion of his hair with them. Her legs squeezed tightly around his waist as she tilted his head back, hungrily devouring his mouth. There was an almost inaudible whimper and he realized that it was coming from himself. He looked into her eyes and saw an almost feral intensity there. If this kept up, she was going to end up making him back down again.

Bringing his arms up, he clawed at her jacket and then the black tanktop underneath. Using a little bit of matter transformation, he ripped the fabric off her body. It was sloppy but he didn't have much time. She gasped, her back arching off the wall, as he ripped off her bra and set to work on her breasts. Her fingers in his hair loosened and she released him from her liplock, gasping into his shoulder. His head free, he lowered it to her breasts. She moaned loudly, her hands tangling in his hair again, pushing his face closer to her chest. He became so caught up in that endeavor that he didn't notice her legs unclasp from around his waist. Suddenly, he was falling backwards as she tripped him. The back of his head collided with the floor, stunning him momentarily. Given time, he would have recovered but in the next instant, 160 pounds of trim female muscle landed on his chest knocking the breath out of his lungs. Roughly, she tore at his clothing in the same way he'd done to her. He tried to raise his head only to have her lean down and kiss him brutally. She pushed hard against his mouth and the back of his head hit the floor, stunning him again. There was a thick metallic taste in his mouth and he could tell that one of them was bleeding. He tried to focus and looked straight into her crimson brown eyes. It almost seemed like they were glowing with intensity. There was a promise written there that made him tremble in spite of himself.

Hikari felt his body quiver slightly underneath her and smiled inwardly. It was almost over. She brought her hands into play, running them up and down his body, teasing and caressing him where he was most sensitive. He writhed under her touch, small whimpers coming from his throat.

He had really surprised her this night. Usually all she had to do to let him know she was taking control was kiss him like she had kissed him and he fell in line fairly quick. Tonight, he'd actually put up somewhat of a struggle. On any other night, she might have even relented and let him take control but not tonight. She needed this night to teach him a lesson. A momentary thought was spared to wonder if she was being a little bit too cruel but she discarded it immediately. It had been his decision to leave her. He had forced her hand really. She had planned to take this process slowly but unfortunately, she only had one night now. Tonight, she intended to bend him to her will, making him hers mind, body and soul. He would never forget her again.

She didn't notice his hands until the last moment and by then it was too late. He pulled on her braid, forcing her head back. He had recovered faster then she had expected him to. It seemed there was a lot more fight left in him. She should have known that he wouldn't go that easily. That was all right with her though. When she finally broke him; it would be completely. He yanked hard on her braid forcing her to the side and rolling on top of her. She fought back and they rolled on the floor, clawing at each other's remaining clothing.

He wasn't going to make her back down. She wasn't going to let him beat her... oh damn, was that his hand on her thigh?

______________________________

Hikari purred in contentment. "That was very good." She said softly, running her hands through the hair at the nape of his neck, holding him tightly against her. "You actually had me a couple of times but you knew how it would end when we started."

Takeru sighed against her shoulder. "You can't blame a guy for trying." He whispered into her ear, shifting slightly so that some of the weight would be taken off his right arm. He still hadn't worked out how she'd managed to tie both of his hands behind his back.

The two lay side by side beside an overturned sofa, bodies tightly wedged together. Around them, the room looked like a disaster zone. Just about everything was in some advanced stage of damage. It was all easily fixable though, especially for people like them.

Hikari chuckled. "Well, just for making it interesting, I'm going to give you one hour of sleep. You're going to need it."

"That seems uncharacteristically generous." Takeru said warily. "This isn't just some ploy to get me into the bedroom, is it?"

"As if I need some ploy." She muttered, grinding her body hard against his to show him the truth of her words. Moaning, he tried to push her back but had no leverage since his arms were still tied behind his back. She easily rolled him onto his back, straddling his waist.

"Ok... ok," he gasped quickly. "You win, you always win."

Her hand was on his throat, keeping him in place. "And don't you forget it," she breathed into his ear.

Wincing, Takeru shifted around underneath her, trying to gain some leverage for his arms. "I swear one of these days, you won't make me back down."

Hikari leaned up bracing her upper-body by her arms. There was a faint look of amusement on her face. "Keru, Keru, Keru," she began lightly, patting his cheek, "still so defiant after all I put you through." The deadly certainty that entered her voice next was a sharp contrast to her light tone a moment before. "You will always back down. What I did to you tonight had nothing to do with love. It had everything to do with control. I told you once that you belonged to me and I will break you as many times as I need to until you see that."

Takeru gulped looking up at her. He had known she could be ruthless but this was unexpected, even by him. It also didn't help that she was giving him that same soul-searing look that had always made him hesitate. He felt something deep inside him respond to that gaze and begin to rise up in challenge. He quashed the impulse before it had a chance to manifest itself in some stupid action he'd likely end up regretting. There was a time for pride and a time for retreat. He was really in no position to challenge her anyway.

A small smirk suddenly crossed Hikari's face. "Pity," she drawled. "It could have been fun."

Takeru turned beet red. She had read him like an open book. Laughing softly, Hikari leaned down, brushing her lips across his. "Take the hour, Keru. You don't want to show up in front of my brother, barely able to stand."

"Can you at least untie me?"

Hikari giggled. "Are you sure you're tied up," she teasingly whispered into his ear. "Take another look."

Takeru blinked in confusion. He didn't feel the bonds anymore. His eyes widened in understanding. "You cheat," he hissed at her. "You used your powers."

Hikari laughed again. "You are so naïve when it comes to me. It really is very endearing." She sighed softly as he brought both of his arms around, holding her tightly. "Now, heal us. Neither one of us is well enough to make it to the bedroom as we are."

Takeru closed his eyes. His inner aura blazed forth bathing both himself and Hikari in its healing light. The various bumps, bruises and cuts both supported, vanished quickly. It was still amazing to him how much his powers had increased. Just two years ago, it would have taken him a whole night to heal just one of them and he would have been too tired to do anything the next day. He doubted she would have been able to subdue him quite so easily back then... or maybe she could have. After all, she had walked into his mind and overwhelmed him two years ago. If she'd had power like that back then, her powers would be off the scale now. The effortless way she had slipped past his guard and planted that suggestion of bonds in his mind was proof enough of that.

When they were both fully healed, he shut off his power. Hikari rose gracefully to her feet, offering him an arm up. Rolling his eyes, he took it anyway. He understood that gesture at least, even if he had misinterpreted what she'd been up to this night. Leaning against each other, because healing didn't take care of exhaustion, they made their way to the bedroom.

An hour proved to be nowhere near enough time but he had survived for days on less and so, made do. Hikari shook him awake when the time came and he showered and dressed. A rather extended farewell followed next, during which she nearly managed to pull him back into bed again. He left their quarters with her laughter ringing in his ears.

As he approached the main door to the War Room, he observed a stranger standing in front of the main door studying the symbols of the crests. He paused, observing the stranger. The boy had a lean build and spiky blonde hair. It appeared that his 'minder' had beaten him here.

"Are you going to come forward or are you going to stand there forever?" The voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he strode forward. He'd been noticed and fairly quickly too. It was actually a point in the boy's favor. He was observant which was a good trait to have, especially in their line of work.

Wordlessly, he laid a palm against the symbol of his Crest and the door slid open. He observed the boy while he did this, saw his eyes shift before he masked the expression. All in all, he was very good. It was also apparent that the Guardians had trained him. He could recognize the signs in the way he held himself, the feigned self-assurance, and the almost arrogant tilt of the head. Having him as a companion might not be so bad after all.

Walking in the room, Takeru took a seat at the War Table. Silence stretched between the two men and that was fine with him for the moment. It was better they not talk to each other until Tai got here and explained everything. For the moment, neither of them could be sure of the other's position. He took the time until Tai's arrival to study the map of the world engraved on the War Table. So much had changed in just two years. Many of the old landmarks he recognized were gone. It was a side effect of matter manipulation. The Chosen had rearranged everything on the continents to give themselves tactical advantages. It was the only way they had managed to limit the Undersea Master's influence in each continent to one or two locations.

"Which one are you?" The question wasn't unexpected.

"Hope." Takeru replied almost absently. "You should know that having studied with the Guardians and all. Or don't they talk about me anymore?"

"Oh, you're that blonde." The boy frowned for a second. "I take it you'll be going with me."

Takeru nodded. "Yes."

Silence enveloped the room again. The sound of the door sliding open finally broke it. Both of them looked up to see Tai walk into the room. He looked up from the batch of papers in his hand and froze upon seeing them.

"Oh good, both of you are here." He walked towards the table, setting the papers down and took a seat, facing them both. He turned towards Takeru. "Well?"

Takeru gave a small smile. "He's observant and he pieced together why I was here fairly quickly. In short, he'll do. Now all I need to know is a name."

"You don't know?" Tai said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm surprised."

"I had a... ahem, long night. There really was no time to hack into your records and divine his name."

Tai grinned wryly. "She seemed pretty upset when she dragged you off. In any case, his name is Corwin. He is one of my best scouts." Tai turned towards Corwin. "As you've no doubt guessed, our plans have changed. Takeru, here, has been inside the Undersea City once before. He knows the layout and the nuances of daily life there. Unfortunately, there is not enough time to bring you up to date so he will be accompanying you."

Corwin nodded, looking at Takeru. "I understand," he responded. "Do you want me to go over the mission for him?" Tai nodded and Corwin continued. "We've been at war with the Dark Ocean for almost three years. In that time, nearly everybody has picked a side in this fight except for one City." He pointed at a small speck on the Continent of Aisa. "The City of Kroy. It was an already established city but was deserted as all such cities in this world are. Three years ago, a Guardian named Michael Cain established the city as his own. A number of humans flocked to his side, including some Guardians. Cain declared hi cities neutrality in our war with the Undersea Master. Astonishingly, the city has not suffered one attack from the Dark Ocean. Because of this, we cannot attack them without risking our own credibility."

Takeru studied the spot thoughtfully. "I see." He looked up at Tai. "I know this man. I investigated him when he first started. He's got some strange ideas about good and evil but we considered him harmless enough. Gennai even let him retain his Guardianship while he was colonizing the city. However, when he tried to start a rebellion inside Sanctuary, Gennai expelled him completely. We suspected he might have been rogue but nothing ever turned up."

"There's still nothing." Tai frowned staring down at his reports. "The man sits in his city pandering to both sides. He has dignitaries from the Undersea Master as well as from myself. His whole city is a hotbed for recruits." He glanced up, his face set. "I want to make one thing perfectly clear. No matter what happens with the main mission, I want the man killed. There are no neutral positions in this war and without his leadership, that city will fall. However, because of his position, you will have to do it without leaving anything that is traceable to us. It would be even better if you can make it look like the work of the Undersea Master."

"He has a son." Corwin sounded a little discomfited. "The boy is only five years old. I would be lying Lord Yagami if I didn't say I felt that this move was a bad idea. Cain is not an evil man."

"He is, unfortunately, a liability." Takeru said, his voice soft. "I agree with Lord Yagami there. This war has no neutral positions. If you still don't fee right about this by the time we get there, I'll take care of it."

Tai frowned at that. "Takeru..." he began but was silenced as Takeru held up a hand.

"I was already headed towards this possibility when I first began investigating Cain. His presence is a deterrent to our efforts." An uncertain look suddenly crossed Takeru's face. "You will need to keep this from... her."

"She will learn of it eventually, Takeru."

"And no doubt it'll be from me," Takeru muttered wryly. "That's an argument for later though. Now explain just how you plant to get into Kroy and the Undersea City."

"Getting into Kroy will be easy," Tai responded. "Corwin has been working undercover there for the past year. He's established a reputation as a freelance mercenary with his Digimon partner Leomon. There are a number of such individuals that will fight for either side provided we give them enough benefits. As you can probably guess, this plan has been in the making for a long time. Now, Corwin has been steadily making a name for himself and has a bidding war going between my own ambassador and the emissary from the Dark Ocean. We're going to let him win and place Corwin in the current batch of recruits going over to their side." Tai looked at Corwin. "Will it be any problem getting them to accept Takeru?"

Corwin stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It will probably be a problem. They will do a thorough background check even if I vouch for him."

"That is a problem," Tai agree, nodding his head. "Especially because of his reputation."

The three mulled over the problem a bit until finally:

"There may be a way," Takeru spoke. "We have two objectives here and we can integrate them. Before they can do their background check on me, I'll assassinate Cain and make it look like the work of the Undersea Master's emissary. That should throw the city into chaos and they will need to make a quick escape. Hopefully, I'll fall through the cracks."

Tai frowned. "That seems a rather weak plan. What is to keep them from running these checks when you get to the City."

"Two things," Takeru replied cryptically. "I will need some details first. Who runs these checks? Is it one person or more then one?"

"The checks are run by a former Guardian named Kenta. He'll give you a full checkup, DNA, physical, all the good stuff. The results are entered into a database. If they match you, we're as good as dead."

"They won't match me," Takeru said confidently. "I've worked missions like this before. I can draw up a fake background on my D3 and upload it into their database. As for the checkup, Kitagawa, Kenta will die rather unfortunately in the chaos after Cain's death."

Tai sighed softly. "Corwin, would you excuse us please." He said quietly. "You can begin preparations for your journey."

Corwin hesitated but then bowed and left the room. Tai rose from his chair. "Your whole plan depends upon two deaths." He continued in the same quiet tone. "After all you've been through, are you sure you can do this? You've tried to bury your past. I fear letting you do this will undo that and drive you further from us. It is not something I wish to put Hikari through again."

Takeru chuckled softly. "Hesitation does not suit you Tai. You should order me to do this and be done with it. In a war, every tool has its place. My skills are an asset here that you can't ignore. As for Hikari, she is perhaps the one person I would never dare cross. And that's especially true now."

"All right, assuming I let you go through with this, what is your secondary plan?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play the fool with me," Tai admonished. "We've got information from the Guardians' main database. I've been going over some of your past exploits, the documented ones anyway." He said pointing towards the sheaf of documents he had brought with him. "You're right, you skills are something I can't ignore and it's clear from the reports that you always have something to fall back on. What is it?"

"I'd rather not say." Takeru quickly held up both hands, stopping Tai's retort. "Let me explain." When Tai nodded, he continued, "You believe someone has infiltrated us. I believe that your plan will fail. The fact that it has been in the works for so long only deepens that suspicion of mine. I have a contingency plan in case my suspicions are right but you will have to trust me to carry it out as I see fit."

Tai closed his eyes, sighing. "I understand your position but I have concerns of my own. You will need to be extracted and I can't ensure anything if I don't know what you're planning."

"It all depends on how much you trust me, Tai. If my suspicions are true, then any plans you have won't matter in the long run." Takeru rose up from his seat. "I plan to come back alive from this."

"All right," Tai finally conceded. "However, the moment you return, I'll expect a full report."

"Of course," Takeru bowed his head. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go find Angemon. I take it, Corwin and I will be leaving this afternoon."

Tai nodded. "Yes, it will take you two days to get to Aisa and an additional day to journey to the city on foot."

"Good, that should give Angemon more than enough time." Takeru shook his head at Tai's questioning look. "Don't ask."

Shrugging, Tai sank down into his chair. "I'm placing a lot of trust in you, Takeru. Don't disappoint me."

Takeru merely nodded and exited the room. He checked to make sure he had his D3 and then made his way towards the compound, the Digimon were staying in. Being close to their human partners most of the time, the Digimon chose gatherings like this to get away and spend some time among themselves. For Patamon and Gabumon especially, this gathering was extremely important. As he approached the single room where they were all staying, he heard the sound of loud snoring coming from within. Opening the door, he saw eleven rookie level Digimon gathered around the body of a twelfth.

"He still snores as loudly as ever," Gabumon was saying with a slight chuckle. He looked up as the door opened and called out solemnly, "Hello Takeru."

Patamon immediately flapped over to him, landing on top of his head. "Is anything wrong?"

Takeru smiled, rolling his eyes upwards. "No, nothing is wrong. However, we have to cut our stay here a little short and I need to talk to Angemon. You should take some time to say your goodbye's."

"I've already said them." He said, staring down at him. Takeru could just barely make out his face. "Wormmon learned from Ken last night that you would be leaving in the morning."

"Ok then," Takeru said looking back at the gathered Digimon. "We'll see you guys later then."

There was a chorus of goodbyes as he left the room. He traversed several hallways before coming to one which, he was certain, was fairly secure. As he waited for Patamon to transform, he thumbed a switch on his D3. It activated a jamming frequency he had programmed into the device, ages ago. Thankfully, it still worked and knocked out the lone camera in the hallway.

"Ok, listen quick," he said turning to Angemon and passing him his D3. "I'm going back to the Undersea City. On the D3 are three locations. At the first two are some old contacts. Go to the first one and offer him a contract from me. The details are in the D3. Convince him to accept the contract, if necessary. Then, you're to go to the second location and tell the Ogremon to rendezvous with me at the outskirts of the City of Kroy. That is the third location on the D3." The camera hummed back on. "That's all, old friend." Takeru said cheerfully, starting forward. Angemon followed behind him.

"What's the time frame?" Angemon mouthed quietly.

"Three days till I reach Kroy." Takeru replied from the corner of his mouth.

"That's cutting it a bit close."

"I know. If it was up to me, you'd have left last night but I was... busy."

"I will have to go as Seraphimon and leave as soon as possible." Angemon turned towards a side corridor. "Is there anything else?"

Takeru removed his crest. "Take this with you. It should give you some extra power." He turned fully towards Angemon. "I'm sorry to do this now old friend. You haven't had near enough time to catch up with the others."

Angemon smiled, laying a hand on Takeru's shoulder. "I had enough time, all things considered. In any case, I better start off now."

Takeru watched him go, than headed towards the hangar bay. He estimated there were still two hours before he had to leave but he wanted to check up on how the preparations for their journey were going. It would have been more prudent to go back to his quarters and rest but he knew that resting was the last thing Hikari would let him do. She might have let him go but that didn't mean she was any less angry with him. If he went back to her, all he would get was another one of her lessons and he didn't feel up to handling that right now. It was regrettable. As much as she said she trusted him, there would always be a part of her that remembered him hurting and leaving her one rainy night. And it wasn't like his actions were inspiring any trust. He would have to make it up to her in a big way when he got back and he had a small inkling of what she was planning. Grinning, he opened the door to the hangar bay. He couldn't wait to see the expression on Tai's face when they made the announcement.

_____________________________

4 Hours Later

"You look terrible," Tai commented, studying Hikari as he laid his palm against the Crest of Courage.

"Long night," Hikari replied, concealing a yawn behind her hand. "What's all this about?"

Tai shrugged as the door slid open. "I suspect Sora will tell us in due time."

Inside the room, Sora and Miyako stood at the War Table, conversing in hushed tones. Both looked up as Tai and Hikari stepped into the room.

"We've got a problem," Sora said immediately. She slid a small notebook across the table towards Tai and Hikari. "Turn to the last page and read the entry."

Tai picked up the small journal and flipped to the last page, Hikari peeking over his shoulder. After he was finished, he took a moment to absorb the information.

"The emissary from Alecrast?" He questioned, looking up and meeting Sora's eyes.

Sora nodded slowly. "Yes, only there wasn't one. Any envoys are supposed to come through our city first and Miyako did not know of any that came from Alecrast. I contacted Lee early this morning and he didn't know of any either."

"And I suppose you didn't call Jyou and Koushirou because you suspect one of them might be involved in this." Tai slumped into a chair. "I don't think I need to tell you how unsettled this makes me."

Hikari took the chair next to her brother's. "You're not the only one. However, let's not jump to immediate conclusions just yet. Why do you suspect them Sora?"

"You know as well as I do that such envoys carry official documents that identify them. For these documents to be forged alone is a serious cause of concern. However, they have to be issued from pretty high up. Even if it's not Jyou or Koushirou, it could be someone high up in their government."

"It seems rather careless of his emissary to just tell where he was from," Hikari said rubbing her eyes. "Have you considered that he might have been lying and was trying to frame one of us so that the rest would turn on him?"

"We've considered that," Miyako replied. "However, we should be careful about this. At the least, we'll have to cancel the mission to the Undersea City. There is too much at risk now."

"No." The quiet tone of authority in Tai's voice was unmistakable. All three girls turned towards him in surprise. "The mission will go ahead as planned. Takeru had suspicions about this exact situation and he's taken counter measures to ensure that the mission succeeds."

"Such as what?" Hikari questioned, all traces of fatigue gone from her eyes.

Tai shook his head. "I have no idea. He wouldn't tell me in case that information was also jeopardized. However, I trust him and his abilities."

"He's right, Hikari." Sora said gently. "We're going to have to trust Takeru to deal with this as he sees fit. As for Jyou and Koushirou, I think it would be best if we sent in a spy of our own to keep an eye on their government."

"We can't send in one of our own people for obvious reasons," Miyako added. "So, we're going to have to ask for Gennai's help."

Sighing, Tai nodded. "I'll send an envoy to him as soon as I get back to Aisa. The repairs on Sanctuary are almost complete, last I'd heard, so he should be able to spare someone."

Hikari rose to her feet. "Well, if all this is done, I'd like to go contact Takeru." She said stiffly. "Bastard owes me an explanation." She added the last under her breath.

Tai waved a hand. "Go ahead," he said distractedly, no doubt still thinking over the complexities of the situation.

"I'll come with you," Miyako said, rising to her feet.

"As you wish," Hikari shot over her shoulder, marching from the room.

Miyako followed along after her, leaving Sora and Tai alone.

"So, are you going to tell me?" Sora suddenly asked after several minutes of silence.

Tai blinked, looking up, seemingly surprised that she was still there with him. "Tell you what?" He questioned slowly.

"Why you've been avoiding me?"

"I don't know what..."

"Oh, come off it Tai," Sora snapped. "We've barely said two words to each other since I got here. I tried to find you last night but you weren't in your quarters and I know that you didn't return there for quite a while." Her eyes narrowed. "Is this because of Yamato?"

Tai sighed softly, staring down at the table. "I... I made him a promise once that I wouldn't interfere between you two. Seeing him now, it just..." He trailed off.

"Do you really believe I would go back to him just because he's come back?"

"I wouldn't blame you." Tai muttered darkly.

Frowning, Sora got up from her chair and approached Tai. He stared up at her with a small hint of apprehension as she came to stand over him. "Get up," Sora ordered.

"Uh, why?" Tai asked meekly.

Sora crossed her arms. "Because this'll be easier if you're standing up."

Warily, Tai rose to his feet, noting again how he came just an inch short of Sora's height. Back home in Odaiba, he would have been considered fairly tall. In their group however, he was one of the shortest. Even Hikari, who he'd towered over as a child was as tall as he was now. It was patently unfair. He had been the most athletic in their group. Logic, his logic, dictated that he be the tallest but that honor belonged to Jyou of all people.

Sora stepped forward, pressing up against him. He suddenly forgot all about his inadequacies as her face got closer and closer. Her eyes were deep reddish brown pools he could lose himself in. He leaned forward, bringing his arms around her waist and closing his eyes. They snapped open a moment later when she grabbed his ear and twisted hard.

"Gah," he grunted, staring up at her, head bent at an awkward angle.

"All right, if you ever say something like that again, I will go back to Yamato." She stared down at him. "Are you listening?"

Tai rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm all ears."

Sora scowled at him then twisted particularly hard.

"Ouch," Tai yelped. "Ok, geez, I'm listening."

"Good, now here's what you're going to do. Go find Yamato and talk to him. Get all this straightened out today because you've wasted enough of our time as it is." She released him and stepped back.

Rubbing his ear, Tai straightened. "Now I know where Hikari gets it."

Sora laughed in spite of herself. "Trust me, you wouldn't last ten minutes if I treated you the way Hikari treats Takeru."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing." Stepping forward, Sora lightly brushed her lips across his. "Now get going. I'll be waiting in our quarters."

______________________________

Miyako studied Hikari out of the corner of her eye as the two walked towards their respective quarters. She had only ever seen her this angry twice before. It didn't bode well for Takeru.

"So," she said finally breaking the silence, "what did he do this time?"

"Let's not talk about that," Hikari said quietly. "I will deal with him when I see him."

Miyako sighed. "Ok, so, do you think we're becoming desensitized?"

Hikari blinked, glancing sideways at Miyako. "What brought this on?"

"I was just thinking about everything we heard yesterday and how quickly we accepted it. It seemed wrong somehow. I think I would have been happier if someone had thrown a fit."

"So, why didn't you?"

"I might ask you the same thing."

Hikari mouth twisted sardonically. "I've begun to tell myself to keep an open mind at all times. If you believe that the world could end tomorrow, there's very little that is likely to phase you."

"That hardly seems an ideal existence."

"It isn't an ideal world Miyako." Hikari sighed. "Still, I suppose I'm being a bit fatalistic. Things are not as bad as all that... at least for you guys."

"You could have made him stay if you wanted it."

"I could have, easily too. However, I couldn't do that to him. He believes he needs to go on this mission and as much as I disagree with his reasons, I'm not going to be the one that holds him back."

Miyako nodded thoughtfully, then expression suddenly brightening, she said, "Let's get away from all this depressing talk." A mischievous twinkle entered her eyes. "So, tell me, have you discovered the advantages of taking a healer as a lover."

Hikari smiled. "Yeah, now I know what you were talking about with Ken. He's got the stamina of a mule."

A sudden thought occurred to Miyako. "So, enquiring minds want to know, Daisuke or Takeru?"

Hikari smirked at her. "I'll answer that as soon as you get Sora to choose between Yamato and Taichi."

Miyako let out a defeated sigh. "Which means never, I guess." She looked ahead where the hallway branched of into two separate corridors. "It seems I won't even be able to badger you about it. We didn't get to spend much time together this time."

"When are you leaving?" Hikari questioned, stretching her arms above her head.

"As soon as I find Ken and say my goodbye's. Sora wants me back in Igniz as soon as possible. I'll be setting out with Daisuke and Ken. Sora, herself, will be leaving later today as well. Mimi and Tai are also leaving early tomorrow. What about you?"

"I'm going to track down Takeru, then get some sleep. Iori and I will be leaving tonight."

"When this is all over, you, Sora, Mimi and myself need to get together for more then just a couple of hours."

Hikari smiled. "When all this is over, we've got Sora and Tai's wedding to look forward to. We'll all get together there."

"Yes, there is that." Stepping forward Miyako embraced Hikari. "Try not to be so hard on him."

"I can't make any promises about that."

Miyako stepped back. "Oh well, I tried." Chuckling to herself, she turned around and took the left fork in the hallway.

Hikari stood silently, watching her go. Then, sighing softly, she started towards her quarters. Once inside, she went straight to bed. Closing her eyes, she hurled her mind outwards and began to track down Takeru. Luckily for her, he had only departed two hours ago and wasn't very far away. The tricky part was grabbing a hold of him while he was moving. It helped that she had placed quite a few wards in his mind that he wasn't aware of. Overtaking him didn't prove to be much of a problem. There hadn't been a machine invented that could travel as fast as human thought.

A ward in his mind alerted her to the fact that he was asleep. Grinning, she delved into his mind, avoiding the various shields he'd placed to keep unwanted guests out. He'd even rearranged some of them but it was fairly easy for her to circumvent all of them. She would teach him that he wasn't safe from her, even in his own mind.

Around her, the grayness of the thoughtscape faded away, being replaced by a familiar scene. She smiled, her anger at him almost disappearing. He was thinking about her.

She leaned against a tree, surveying her surroundings. This was actually, a fairly accurate replica of their old school yard. She observed her younger self, sitting at a bench, a younger version of Takeru standing over her.

'I care about you too much to let you just give up.'

She remembered this day. Some renegade Scubamon had come for her, trying to pull her into a war against their Undersea Master. At eleven, she had been so afraid. Takeru had noticed though and in the end, had somehow managed to follow her into the Dark Ocean after she had been abducted. He had saved her and it had bound the two of them even closer to each other.

Hikari surveyed her surroundings, trying to find the real Takeru. She found him standing several trees to her left, eyes fixed upon the scene. He hadn't even noticed her. She made her way towards him, just as her younger self looked up towards Takeru, beginning to ask him what he'd meant. Takeru was watching the scene with such concentration that he didn't even notice her sneaking up behind him.

"Miss me?" She whispered into his ear while using her powers to freeze his body. Still, he managed to give a little jerk before her powers took effect, which caused him to fall over onto his face.

Laughing, Hikari bent down and put her arms under his shoulders, hauling him up. Sitting back against a tree, she pulled him to her, her arms twining around his chest. His head came to rest on her shoulder. She gazed down looking at him.

"So, I had this conversation with Tai..."

He groaned softly, closing his eyes. "So soon, I thought I'd at least be further away before you found out."

"When exactly were you going to tell me?"

He looked almost sheepishly at her. "Um, when I got back."

"Wrong answer," Hikari muttered, her hands moving down to his waist.

"God Kari, didn't you get enough last night." He said in a near panicked tone. "You enjoy tormenting me entirely too much."

Her head was buried in his shoulder. "I have to admit, it is fast becoming my favorite past time."

"I'll tell you... *gasp* what you... hey stop that... what you want to know."

Her hands paused. "Ok, begin with why you didn't tell me that you expected this mission to fail." She saw him panic briefly at the question before he masked his expression. It was too late though; she'd already seen it and had her answer. His eyes shifted again, considering and weighing his options.

"I didn't think you'd let me go if you knew the risks involved." He paused suddenly. "What are you doing here anyway? It can't just be because you're angry with me."

"Why not? It seems as good a reason as any other." Her hands began moving again.

"You said you were talking to Tai." He said quickly. "Obviously something important came up to get you out of bed. What was it?"

"Stop fishing for information, Takeru." She whispered, burying her face in his neck again. "I want you to tell me all of it and if you even think about leaving something out, I'll know."

"Hikari," he groaned, "I can't."

"There's that phrase again. You know I can take this information from your mind if I want. You're even more helpless against me here then you are outside. Make it easy on yourself and tell me everything concerning this mission."

"Kari... be reasonable. You know that I can't give you any information. We have a leak and we don't know who it is and how he or she is getting this information. I can't give you any details. It would only end up jeopardizing the mission... and putting me in more danger."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "You know trying a guilt trip on me won't work." She paused, thinking over what he'd said. "Still, I hate to admit it but you're right. It doesn't excuse you not telling me about your suspicions though."

"I was trained remarkably well to handle situations just like this one, Kari." He groaned as her hands resumed their dance. "Had I been trained better as a child, I would have known what a vindictive and ungenerous woman you would turn out to be."

"Oh well," she said with a laugh, "too late now."

"Hikari..." Her hand clapped over his mouth. She could feel him quiver ever so slightly under her touch.

"Shush," she breathed in his ear. "I told you last night the reasons for this. I had not planned on doing this part but you've left me no choice." Her hand dropped from his mouth traveling lower.

Gasping, Takeru used his rapidly fleeing concentration to partition his mind. It was a process that had served him well when he was being tortured. Severing the link between his mental consciousness and his body, it had allowed him to escape some of the pain. Right now though, he was using the process to make sure that his body didn't respond to what she was about to put him through. Even as he did this, he was aware that he was only being allowed to do it because she permitted it. This was just another demonstration of the level of control she could exert over him if she chose to.

Some time later:

"Do you think me cruel?" She asked, running her hands through his hair.

"Is that a trick question?" He murmured softly. "I don't think I can handle another one of your lessons just yet."

"No trick," she said quietly. "I'm not proud of what I did but I... had to."

Sighing, he looked up at her. "No, I don't think you're cruel. Vindictive, yes, ruthless, definitely," a mischievous look entered his eyes, "PMS'ing, maybe... yowch" He yelped as she cuffed him in the head. "Ok, that last one was a bit out of line."

"Would it kill you to be serious?" She spoke heatedly, her tone a bit angrier then she'd intended it to be.

His expression sobered. "I see; this upsets you that much, does it. Like I said, I don't think you're being cruel. I do think that you don't trust me even half as much as you claim."

"You figured that out, huh?" She muttered wryly. "Love and trust, it seems the two should go together but they don't... not in my case anyway. I love you but I just don't trust you. There's a voice that keeps telling me that you'll leave again. Your actions right now aren't exactly helping."

"What would you have me do?"

"Come back to me, live your life happily with me and forget about trying to resurrect six years of suffering by going on this mission." She sighed softly. "Everything, I suppose, that you can't do."

"I did offer to stay behind. All you had to do was give the word and I would not have left."

"And have you moping around my Citadel, all day. No thanks." She smiled down at him. "You needed to go on this mission and I was not going to stop you. However, when you get back, I do plan on ensuring that nothing like this happens again."

Takeru shook his head. "So domineering. I wonder how Daisuke put up with you."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I would never even consider doing this to Daisuke."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Hikari chuckled. "Oh, let's just say that there are some men that can take what I did to you and some that can't. Naturally you could, seeing as how I trained you extremely well."

Takeru stared up at her, his right eye twitching. "I'm not a man prone to vindictiveness but I swear, you'll pay for that last one."

Hikari laughed, then leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "It's the truth and you know it."

"When are you going to let me get back to sleep?" Takeru grumbled sourly.

"In a moment. First though, you were right I do have a message from Tai. This mission may have been compromised. Sora found a diary inside the Seona Outpost that indicates that someone from Alecrast might have been involved."

"You suspect Jyou or Koushirou?"

"Nothing is certain, so be careful."

Takeru nodded thoughtfully. "I will."

"Good." Hikari waved her hand and he felt the restraints around him loosen. "My time is running short and I do need to go back and actually get some sleep. However, before I leave, there's one other lesson I have in mind for you." She grinned maliciously. "Feel free to struggle as hard as you like."

________________________________

6 Hours later

"You're leaving?"

Yamato stopped in his tracks, closing his eyes. He had planned to leave quietly but it seemed that was no longer a possibility. Whey did it have to be him? Sighing, he turned around to face Taichi Yagami. The man had an all too familiar frown on his face.

"Yes," Yamato replied softly.

"Why?" Tai's voice was hard. "What missions have these... Elders given you?"

"I... I can't tell you that yet." Yamato said hesitantly.

"I'm getting tired of hearing that line from you Ishida's." He was angry, that much Yamato could tell. However, he hadn't yet figured out the cause of that anger.

"I told you yesterday that I was given strict instructions. What I am doing now will help us in the long run and may even recoup the losses you took with the loss of that outpost. You will have to trust me on this."

"Trust is a rare commodity these days, even among us. You will tell me where you're going or I won't allow you to leave this base."

Eyes narrowing, Yamato gazed at the figure standing across from him. "You won't allow it?" He whispered dangerously. His own anger was quickly rising up in challenge to Tai's ultimatum. Absurdly a memory came to him of another such confrontation long ago.

'Put your fists down when you talk to me and stop acting like you can bully your way into being the leader.'

He had said that to him once but couldn't remember the setting. It was like there was a darkness obscuring everything except for himself and Tai. Sighing, Yamato rubbed his eyes. "Look, I'm not going to get into this with you now. If you need to pretend I'm still dead to deal with my existence, then do so. You won't be the only one." Turning around, he started to walk away.

"I didn't mean to take her."

The words stopped him once again but this time he didn't turn around.

"We made a promise to each other," Tai continued. "If I had known that you were still alive..."

"You didn't," Yamato interrupted. "I was dead in any case." He hesitated slightly; there was one thing he wanted to ask. "Tell me, did I come to you when she first asked me out."

Tai closed his eyes. "Yes, you did. I swore to you that I would not interfere."

"And what about me?"

"You were willing to break it off if I gave the word."

"That... contents me. Thank you." This time, Tai did not stop him from leaving.

______________________________

8 Hours Later

"So, where were you hiding yourself?" Ken's voice crackled over the comm. system inside Daisuke's aircraft. The two friends were jetting towards their city in twin aircrafts. Underneath them spread a vast ocean with no hint of land in sight.

"I was with Takeru," Daisuke replied distractedly, looking at the radar system in his craft. It wasn't working which was puzzling.

"How's he doing?"

"He's a bit messed up but that's to be expected... listen Ken, is the radar on your ship working? Mine seems to be on the fritz."

Ken's voice came back immediately. "Yeah, mine isn't working either. I saw Koushirou tinkering around our ships at the base. He said there had been a problem with the regular checks and he needed to fine-tune a few things. I suppose he crossed a few wires because of the rush we left in."

"We'll have to get it looked at when we get to Raiha." Daisuke thumped the offending display in frustration. "Flying out here, especially after what happened to Sora is dangerous. Even more so now that we don't have radar."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, there was a thunderous explosion and a white beam of light shot over his aircraft. Immediately, he threw the aircraft into a tight spin, arcing away from the laser blast. He could see Ken doing the same as he stared out of his cockpit. His comm. suddenly burst to life.

"What was that?" Ken yelled.

Daisuke straightened his craft and turned it in the direction from which the blast had come. There was a group of three dozen dark Digimon on their trail. A shaft of white light suddenly opened in the sky and more Digimon flew down joining the ever growing ranks of the first group. There was no way they could defeat an army of this size by themselves.

"Get going Ken," Daisuke yelled into the comm.. "I'll try holding them off as long as I can."

Ken's voice immediately came back. "Forget that, you go. I've got a better chance against them with my powers."

"Your powers also give you a better chance at getting away and finding help." Watching the massive horde of Digimon getting closer, Daisuke made a quick decision. "This isn't a conversation Ken. Now, get going." And with that, he took off towards the Digimon. There was a muffled curse from the comm. but Ken did as he had been told. Daisuke grinned, listening to that curse. Technically, Ken outranked him but that had never stopped him from taking control when the situation demanded it. There was no more time for thought though as his aircraft sped towards the nearest group of Digimon. They scattered as he opened fire at them and then began responding with attacks of their own. He avoided most of them but some got through and struck the craft. Daisuke knew he couldn't keep this up forever. The Digimon outside had greater maneuverability and more potent firepower than he did. He would have to leave the craft and meet them on their terms. Thankfully, he had merged with Veemon before they had left the base. He had done it to save room but now that foresight might just save his life.

Daisuke thumbed a few switches and overhead, the cockpit blew off the craft. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he stood and jumped up. The winds immediately pushed him backwards and clear of the aircraft. He unfurled his wings as soon as he was clear and caught an updraft that elevated him higher. Then, bunching his wings, he torpedoed towards a thick batch of Digimon. They fired at him but he avoided the blasts. Gathering his own energy, he responded with blasts of his own. The attack took out the outer layer of Digimon and then he was among them, his claws lashing out left and right. It was a dance, lunge, strike, and block. However, the odds were highly stacked against him. There were more and more Digimon arriving every moment. It was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed. He tried to break away and his attention was diverted for one crucial moment. A blast hit him from behind and slowed him enough for three more to strike him in the chest and sides. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the bright blue sea rushing up to meet him.

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A/N: Holy bondage overtones. ;) I have no clue what happened there. Ah well, I think I might have scared off even more readers with this chapter. For those that are still around, tell me, you thought Yamato and Takeru were going to get back to their old brotherly relationship, didn't you? Was this unexpected, cause it was supposed to be.

Oh and, this won't be a Sora/Yamato fic. I'll keep it Tai/Sora. However Jyou/Mimi won't go any further then friendship. I always meant for it to be more an act of comforting each other then any romantic attachment.

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Next: ... Actually, I'll leave it to you guys. Whose story do you want to see next. Takeru's, Daisuke's, or Yamato's? Review and tell me. If there aren't any reviews, I'll just pick one and do his. As of this moment, I haven't even begun Chapter Five.