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]

6. Chapter Six

THE FINAL BATTLE (CHAPTER SIX)

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Digimon, I would have given the girl's breasts in the anime.

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A/N: All I can say about this chapter thus far is that if you have not exactly been enamored with my pacing thus far, this chapter won't change your mind. It's basically a jumbled mess of threads, which hopefully will lead to a fair resolution as you get to the end. I will say this though, prepare to be shocked (I think I may have gone overboard here) and there are tiny Shounen Ai hints in this which is sorta silly cause I never figured myself for someone that wrote stuff like that.

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On a small island amidst a large ocean, an aircraft descended. It raised a small cloud of dust as it settled to the stony shore. A hatch swung open at its side and a lone figure jumped down onto the island. He waited until a white shaft of light appeared in the air in front of him. A dark haired woman exited the makeshift portal, looking around critically.

"You are late," she said, turning towards him. "Is the host giving you trouble?"

The man slowly shook his head. "I can keep him under control. He acts up every now and then but the activity is getting less frequent."

"Good, I hope I don't need to remind you of how important your host is to our cause." She looked at him critically and seemed to like what she saw. "Well, is it done?"

"Yes," he replied.

"And your comrades?"

"They do not suspect a thing. However, there are two other concerns; Takeru and Yamato Ishida have returned."

The woman's eyes widened slightly and then she burst out into laughter. "Takeru has returned?" She said with a smile. "This will please our Master." Her expression indicated that it pleased her as well. "What are the two brothers up to?"

"Of Yamato, I don't know."

"The Elders have probably given him his own missions to pursue." She added musingly. "We were anticipating his return at some point. What about Takeru?"

"He is accompanying Calstrom on the mission to Kroy."

The woman smiled. "Excellent. You've done well, return to your post and keep us informed of any future developments."

Her black hair flowing wildly in the wind, she watched his aircraft leave. After a few more minutes of quiet contemplation, she opened a portal back to her dimension. Her lord would want to know of this newest development. And then, she had a reunion to look forward to when she went to Kroy.

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Groaning, Takeru opened his eyes and stretched his arms over his head. It proved to be a mistake as fiery pain lanced across his chest. With a slight grimace he unbuttoned his shirt and checked underneath. Sure enough, blood was already beginning to seep through to his undershirt. Rolling up his shirt, he looked wryly at the three deep horizontal slashes on his chest. At some time in the near future, he was going to have to recommend to Hikari that she trim her nails.

With a sigh, he brought his right arm up and laid it against the wounds. Cool, soothing energy began to flow out of his palm and the gashes began to close slowly. Without his crest, the process was much slower although technically, he could still have sped it up. However, that required releasing energy from inside himself and throughout his whole body. A process that was sure to leave him exhausted. It was better just to concentrate the energy through his hand. He could control its ebb and flow much better that way.

Closing his eyes, Takeru leaned back, bringing his other hand behind his head to serve as a makeshift pillow. Six years spent building up his mental discipline and it had all deserted him in a matter of minutes. That genuinely scared him at times, how quickly he lost himself in her arms. It was apparently dangerous too as the scars on his chest showed.

Gasping weakly, he lay spent, her arms forcefully pinning his... and the partition he had enforced on his mind crumbled linking his physical self with his mental image once again.

God, what a woman she was. He had been everywhere in both the digital and real world and not in six years had anyone mastered him quite as she had. And again he found himself wondering what about her, always caused him to give in. There was definitely a clash of wills between them and so far he had not won one single encounter. It had to be her eyes. The way she looked at him with that raw, unbridled sensuality, it always took him out of his element. It all pointed at just one conclusion; she meant to be the dominant partner in their relationship. Whether because she did not trust him or just plain liked being in control, he could no longer tell.

Takeru opened his eyes, feeling the first wound on his chest close. She had become harder over the past two years. The Hikari he had left had not especially been soft but this one made her seem like a kitten in comparison. By contrast, he seemed to have grown softer and in the world they lived in, that was a serious mistake. There were enemies of his still out there and they would come for him eventually. The last thing he wanted was to get Hikari involved in something from his past. She was tougher and smarter then him in many ways but she was used to direct conflicts. The people he had dealt with were anything but direct, subterfuge being their greatest weapon. When he completed this mission, it would be a message to anybody that chose to take up old grudges that Takeru Ishida was still one of the deadliest men alive. It would make them think twice before coming after him or Hikari.

As the second wound closed, Takeru sat up and looked down at his chest. The gashes had been deep enough to leave scars. With a slight smile he remembered her hurried apology. It had been oddly hilarious considering how ruthlessly she had been treating him a moment earlier. The wounds had worked out in his favor though and she had been forced to cut her 'lesson' short because of them. Looking down wryly at them now, he had to concede that they might actually be an improvement over the network of fire and acid marks that graced most of his upper body. He had never thought of himself as vain but he had always been self conscious of the marks. It had all been part of the torture and its scars had been imprinted on his mind as well as his body. Every time he gazed into a mirror and saw his unmarked face, he would be reminded of the imperfection of the rest of his body. It had been especially bad that first night with Hikari. She had been so beautiful, seeming to glow with a pale, ethereal light, an angel come to earth. He had felt like an ogre in comparison and had even pleaded with her to let him keep his shirt. In the end, it had not mattered. She hadn't shied away, had not even hesitated. He had felt silly for even doubting her afterwards. The woman had held him in her arms as Ken and Jyou had worked desperately to save him that first time. She had seen him at his worse then. Still, he could forgive her anything for that one moment alone albeit he still owed her so much more for everything else.

Takeru rose to his feet as the last gash on his chest closed. With a small sigh, he put all thoughts of Hikari and the rest out of his mid. He needed to focus on the mission now. Out here, there was nothing but himself and his skill. He would hone it back to the deadly edge he needed, however first he had to get rid of Corwin. The man was an able spy but he would only end up dead if he tagged along and Takeru did not want any more dead people on his conscience. Thankfully, Hikari had given him the perfect excuse.

Stretching his hands over his head again, Takeru began to check his surroundings. He was still in the small cargo hold he had fallen asleep in after boarding the aircraft. The craft had been undergoing prep time and the cockpit had been under extensive scrutiny from an engineering team so he had not been able to find any rest there. That had brought him into the cargo hold and he had lain against one of the boxes to catch a quick nap. It was only supposed to be for a half-hour or so and he should have awoken when the craft took off but he had not. That was a disturbing occurrence in itself. Such lack of focus would get him killed.

There was a soft creaking sound from behind him and he turned to see a small door behind him open. Corwin stepped into the room and froze upon seeing him. Before he could question him about the blood on his shirt, Takeru said, "We have a problem."

"Apparently," Corwin replied eyeing his undershirt. "What happened?"

"I was contacted by one of the Chosen. She told me that the mission has been compromised."

"Do they want us to come back?"

"You will be returning," Takeru said turning away. "I will continue on alone when we get to the drop site. Now, did you get that particular item I asked you to secure?"

Wordlessly, Corwin walked over to one of the boxes and opened it. Takeru stepped forward and sifted through the contents of the box. It was all there, the basic tools of the trade for their kind. However, he only needed one item among the myriad dozen the box contained.

Looking back at Corwin, he said, "I will need some privacy for the next few minutes."

The man nodded and walked out of the cargo hold. Takeru watched him leave and then removed a mirror from the box. Disguises were all well and good but he had long since absolved himself of the need to use mundane methods such as skin coloring and wigs. It had all come about when he had been studying the matter transformation technique. However, he had not used it to transform the Digital World but rather himself. It had required a sacrifice though and after a long consultation with Azulongmon, he had given up part of his humanity and had become partially digital himself. The result being that he could now transform the data that was his body into whatever he desired. There were restrictions though. He could not alter the length or width of his own body and was constrained by it and then there was the slight feeling of nausea he got whenever he stepped onto Earth. But, what mattered a few moments of nausea in the real world when he had been transformed into a veritable changeling?

Taking off his shirts, he looked into the mirror and began to concentrate. The skin on his face began to flow as if made from clay, reforming itself into brand new features. The hair on his head turned completely black. His body underwent a similar transformation, his skin blurring until all scars were gone. The color of his skin also changed subtly, becoming a little bit darker. As always, the process left him on the verge of throwing up. Reforming his body always brought forth the same queasy feeling but he had learned to master it. The first time though, he had ended up vomiting for hours.

Raising the mirror, he checked his features closely. Satisfied that he had gotten every detail right, he replaced the mirror and pulled out a brown haired wig. He placed the item over his head, pinning it in place. He did not need it but it was necessary for the initial deception. Then, he looked down at his shirt which had been soaked through with blood. Concentrating, he reformed the shirt until the stains were gone and then put it on. Checking himself in the mirror one final time, he walked out of the cargo bay and into the cockpit of the aircraft. His erstwhile companion was waiting for him there. Calmly, he took the empty chair behind his seat.

There was silence for a long time and then suddenly Corwin swiveled his chair, turning it around to face Takeru. His eyes widened a bit as he took in Takeru's appearance. "That may well be the best application of makeup I've seen." He said slowly.

Takeru chuckled softly. "I didn't use makeup and that is about all I'll say on the subject."

Corwin nodded slowly. "May I ask a question?" He asked formally.

Takeru raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Go ahead; I am not a man that discourages curiosity."

"How exactly do you intend to proceed when you know that the mission has been compromised?"

"I have a plan." Takeru replied laconically. "You'll understand why I can't reveal it to you."

Corwin nodded slowly.

"Anything else on your mind?" Takeru replied stifling a yawn. "We're still a day or two from our course and I'd like to get some actual sleep."

The boy seemed to struggle with his words. "They do studies about you at Sanctuary." He finally said hurriedly. "The things you did, the missions you carried out, they have all become the stuff of legends. When I first went to Sanctuary, the first mission we studied was how you infiltrated and destroyed the Singapore base of the Renegade Guardians. That one mission has made you the single most looked-up-to man at Sanctuary."

Takeru sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Have things gotten that bad at Sanctuary?" He questioned tiredly. "There are others like Peter Lehnsherr, Lyanna Hunt, and Erik Wagner who are far more worthy of praise then I am."

Corwin shook his head. "None of them came close to doing what you did and at such a young age too."

Takeru sighed again. "None of them gave up their humanity either." He studied the boy in front of him and then grunted in resignation. "I will tell you something that only the other Chosen know about me. I used to hate the darkness once, hated it with all of my being. Yet, in hunting down Sumeragi, I embraced the darkness until I was consumed by it. I did things that I am not proud of but I do not regret them either. There were compromises I made with myself that nobody should have to make." He sighed once more. "In the end I did not even care whether I lived or died and that allowed me to take risks no sane man would take. How I was isn't something most people can emulate and still expect to survive."

"Is that why you're going on this mission?"

"My reasons are my own." Takeru said, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. "Now, is there anything else you feel the need to discuss?"

"Just one thing more. What should I do when I've dropped you off?"

Takeru opened one eye. "You should head back to Lord Yagami and tell him to ready a legion or two but not to make it too obvious. And tell him and Lady Yagami not to worry." He added almost as an afterthought.

"Lady Yagami?" Corwin questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Takeru yawned, "Feel free to add anything else that will get me out of trouble. As it is, both of them are likely to be supremely pissed off that I've defied their orders."

Not waiting for a reply, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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It was near midnight when a man walked out of the darkness and into the lit pathway leading to the City of Kroy. From beneath a hood, which covered his face, he observed the city. The construction outside the walls surprised him. The skeletons of two unfinished buildings poked up garishly into the night sky. A number of tents and watch fires were set up around the buildings. It looked oddly like a shantytown he had seen in the U.S once only much smaller in scale. Apparently Cain was expanding his operations. What was even more surprising was that there was no visible protection for the buildings. Cain must have felt pretty comfortable in his position to be so obviously lax in providing a suitable defense.

A small formation of rocks caught his eye as he neared the city. He barely spared them a glance, continuing towards the city. Passing amidst the tents, he made out one or two slumbering forms and then he was past the town and approaching the city gates. They were open but were guarded by two sentries in dark black cloaks. He raised his hands to indicate that he had no weapons while walking towards the guards. The two were large, muscular men, easily topping his six-foot frame. There were arm blasters affixed to their hands. Both snapped to after spotting him.

"State your name and your business." One of the guards said laconically as he came to pause before them.

"Joseph Kurowda," he replied softly, lowering his arms. "You've probably got my name on file already as well as orders to let me through."

Both guards glanced at each other and then stepped aside, allowing him entry. With a small smile, he stepped past them and crossed the gates into the city. Inside, Kroy was much as he had remembered it. Cobbled streets stretched out through the city in organized fashion with street lamps at every corner to illuminate the way. The buildings themselves were made out of cold hard stone and were generally shaped like giant upright rectangles, packed tightly together.

As he walked down the main street leading into the city, he was aware that he was being watched. Stopping under a streetlight, he held up his fist and flashed a series of hand signals. After a few minutes, he continued on his way. Following the winding road he arrived at the town-square. From there, he took a side street and headed towards the Western part of town. After a thirty-minute walk he finally arrived at his destination. It was an old inn with a wooden sign hanging above the doorway depicting a man being hung, the hangman's inn. A dim light from under the doorway told him that it was still open.

He pushed the door open and stepped into the building. The main room of the inn was spacious, filled with tables, four chairs affixed to each. In the middle of the room was the bar within which a man sat, his eyes closed in sleep. Glancing around the room, Joseph noted a lone figure sitting at a table towards the far-left corner of the room. He made his way slowly towards that figure and took at seat at the table.

"Hello," he nodded in greeting. "I take it everything has been taken care of."

The Leomon looked at him from behind golden eyes. "Yes, I checked the room's coding and the inn keeper was easy to put to sleep." He placed a paw on the table and slid a digivice towards Joseph who picked it up and pocketed it.

"Why didn't you meet me outside? I barely even saw your markings."

"They were observing me and I could not guarantee complete privacy in such an open place. Here, I can guarantee privacy. Oh sure, they might have followed you but I know you were cagey enough to flash them the signals showing that you are a senior member of the Renegade Guardians. It should give us enough time to settle accounts while they check for verification."

"All right," Joseph said nodding his head, "I suppose you're right. So, what is our timeline?"

"There is going to be a fete at Cain's Citadel this time next week. I can have everything done by then and it will give us adequate cover to do everything that needs to be done."

Joseph nodded thoughtfully. "They may cancel it if the plan goes through."

"They won't," the Leomon reassured. "Not if everything goes through. They will need the party to keep the tempers in the city down." He rose to his feet. "The details are on the D3 I gave you as well as the roof schematics for this whole city. There's a file on a friend of yours inside this city as well. I think he will be particularly helpful. I've also gotten you a room upstairs. It's the fourth door down the hall."

Joseph grunted, rising to his feet as well. "For what I'm paying you, this had better go off without a hitch."

The Leomon grinned at him in a rather feral manner. "You and I both know that is relatively impossible. What I can guarantee is that you will receive my usual standard which, if I may brag, is better then that other oaf you contracted for the latter part of this assignment."

Joseph laughed heartily. "I'll tell Ninjamon, you said hello."

Still grinning, the Leomon turned and left the room. Joseph sat back down at his table and took out the D3 he had been given. Inputting his password, he sat down and reviewed the fine details that the Leomon would be carrying out. When he was thoroughly satisfied, he went upstairs to his room.

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It came for him later that night.

Joseph had stayed awake, anticipating its arrival. So, it came as no surprise to him when the shadows in one corner of the room suddenly coalesced, taking a humanoid form. He waited patiently for the Digimon to literally pull itself together.

It was man sized but completely formless. Where there should have been a face was simply smooth black shadow. It did not even have hands, its arms ending in a featureless mound. Joseph recognized it immediately, having dealt with its kind before. It was a Shadowmon. A being employed as a herald, an assassin and in various other roles.

"You are summoned by Ambassador Aidan Black." The Shadowmon's voice was hollow, metallic, coming from a face with no mouth.

Joseph bowed his head in acceptance. "When does he expect me?"

"Right now." There was a hint of menace in its voice now. Apparently, no was not an acceptable answer to this summons. Retrieving his cloak, Takeru motioned for the Digimon to lead. It turned and stepped towards the door, the data at the end of one of its hands twisting until it resembled a crude imitation hand with only three fingers. Grasping the door, it twisted the knob and stepped outside. Joseph followed along in its wake, exiting the room and heading outside. It was still dark and the only illumination came from the Moon and the various street lamps.

The Shadowmon set a brisk pace but Joseph walked sedately, travelling at his own pace. As a result, the Digimon sometimes ended up several blocks ahead of the human it was leading. It would then wait until Joseph caught up. No further words or threats were exchanged though.

After a full hour of walking, they arrived at the mansion. There was no other way to describe the compound. Surrounded by a gated fence, with barbed wire at the top, it was a large building spread out over several hundred feet. Two smaller buildings stood apart from the main compound. A large gate guarded by a couple of sentries closed off the entrance to the compound. They were passed through the gate without any questions.

As they approached the mansion, Joseph began observing his surroundings, taking in details like sentry points, window positions and the time it took to cross from the main gate to the mansion itself. As they entered the mansion, he kept up his observation, noting exit points and the concentration of guards inside the building.

"Inside," the Shadowmon said, coming to a stop and motioning towards an opulent wooden door.

Joseph twisted the handle, opened the door and stepped into the room beyond. A large window dominated the far wall of the room, looking down upon the world outside. Underneath the window, sat an opulent mahogany desk with two lamps at each corner, which provided the only light in the room. At the desk sat two men, locked in concentration over what appeared to be the board game, GO.

Grinning, Joseph crossed the room and plopped down on an extra seat set next to one of the men. "Was the summons necessary?" He questioned lightly. "I was planning on coming here tomorrow."

The two men exchanged glances. "We thought you were stranded on earth." The black haired man sitting behind the desk spoke. There hasn't been any news of you in nearly three years and suddenly you show up today. Where the hell have you been?"

"I've been laying low Aidan." Joseph replied ruefully. "The Guardians almost cornered me and I decided to hide out for a while. I've gathered quite a bit of information in the interim though. Information which you should find quite useful."

"Such as?"

Joseph wagged a finger in the air. "Not so fast. First you two need to explain to me why you've joined the Undersea Master. I thought we all decided not to take that course."

"Circumstances changed," Aidan said, running a hand through his black hair. "We had nothing to fall back on when contact with Earth was severed. It was either, get hunted down by the Guardians or go over to the Dark Ocean. The Chosen certainly weren't an option considering our ties with Ryo."

Joseph sighed softly. "Things just haven't been the same since Ryo's death. He would not have allowed things to spiral so far out of control."

The three men sat in silence, lost in thoughts of the past.

"So," the blonde haired man sitting beside Joseph said, breaking the silence, "what is this important information you have for us?"

A small smile crossed Joseph's face. "I was beginning to wonder when you were going to join in, Jonathan." He paused a moment, gathering his words and then continued. "Well, did you two know that Taichi Yagami was going to send in a spy to the Dark Ocean through you two?"

Aidan snorted, leaning back in his chair. "Is that all," he scoffed. "You are losing your touch old friend."

"So you knew," Joseph said, nodding his head thoughtfully. "It explains why he cancelled the mission. Something has clued them in to the fact that they have been infiltrated."

"That's a matter for the higher ups to ponder," Aidan responded with a shrug. "We only run the Embassy here."

"Has your ambition dried up that much?" Joseph questioned disdainfully. His remark had the desired effect, causing both men to stiffen in their chairs and shoot him twin scowls.

"Go carefully, Joe," Jonathan warned in a low voice. "You have no idea what we have been through."

"And what happened to keeping a low profile," Aidan added.

Joseph yawned. "You two have already committed yourself to a path; you might as well take it all the way. It's like Ryo said all those years ago; what use is there in belonging to an organization if you don't wield any power. That was why we left the Guardians in the first place."

"And you can get us this power."

"I may be able to," Joseph answered mysteriously. "I have one more thing that I don't think either of you know. Taichi Yagami has sent an assassin to take out Cain."

From the pole-axed look on both men's faces, he could tell that they had not known this.

"Who is this assassin?" Aidan questioned slowly.

Smiling, Joseph leaned back in his chair. "Me."

"You were hiding among the Chosen?" Jon asked incredulously.

Joseph shrugged. "The risks were substantially lowered considering that Takeru Ishida had gone missing. He was finally off my trail and when the gateways to Earth were taken out, I decided to attach myself to Taichi Yagami."

"All right," Aidan said thoughtfully, "what do you want out of all this? You can't just be doing this to help us."

"I want what I have always wanted, power." Joseph answered with a smirk. "I will never be able to achieve this goal on my own so I need you two. Together, my friends, we can still attain the status stolen from us when Ryo died."

The rest of the night was spent coming up with plans.

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Next Afternoon

The rooftops of Kroy were a road unto themselves. There was a definite structure there and it led to several key positions in the city. At a main juncture, in the middle of the city, there were pathways leading in different directions. It was at this juncture where Takeru stood, staring intently at the D3 in his palm and memorizing the various different pathways. After he was done, he turned towards the Western district and started off towards the Chosen Embassy.

From a nearby roof, he studied the small building that was Taichi's representation in this city. Unlike the Dark Ocean Embassy, it did not stand out at all. A glaring reminder, it seemed, of the power struggle within the city and which faction was winning. Or, at least that was how it was supposed to look; a sharper eye saw things differently. Where the Dark Ocean Embassy was a large compound set apart from the rest of the city, the Chosen Embassy was quite the opposite. It sat within the city's Eastern district, surrounded by other similar buildings. It served as a symbol of the open handed philosophy of the Chosen.

From the top of the roof, Takeru observed two sentries standing outside the main entrance to the building. Raising the hood of his cloak over his face, he backed off the roof and found a fairly deserted alley that he could climb down to. From there, he made his way to the Chosen Embassy on foot. The sentries stopped him but he gave them the code he had taken from Corwin and was admitted after they had cleared him. One of the guards escorted him to a private room where Taichi's Ambassador sat eating lunch. Still cloaked and hooded, he crossed the room and took a seat opposite the golden haired woman who was the appointed Chosen representative in the City of Kroy.

"What are you doing here?" She asked calmly, sipping from a cup of tea. "Was your cover blown?"

He grinned inwardly; Catherine had lost her thick French accent. It had been a pleasant surprise learning that she was the Ambassador here. Reaching up, he pushed back the hood covering his face. The woman's eyes widened with recognition.

"Bonjour," he said with a smile, raising a hand in greeting, "you're looking well."

"Ta... Takeru," she stuttered in surprise. Her eyes narrowed as she regained control of herself. "What did you do with Corwin?"

"Corwin was compromised, I am here to make sure that his mission succeeds. Now listen carefully, here's what I need you to do." Quickly, he outlined his plan to an increasingly wide-eyed audience.

"You're crazy," she blurted out when he had finished. "They will kill you."

"Only if I'm caught," he replied calmly. "And in any case, this is a risk I have to take. If successful, I will have removed two thorns in our side."

"Key word, if." Catherine shook her head. "Have you considered what could happen if they do capture you. Our reputation would suffer even worse than it will under your plan."

"I will take steps to ensure that it won't," Takeru said evenly. "Besides, even if I am captured, it will give you deniability. I have always been considered a 'loose cannon' and no one has heard of me for years."

"Nobody else knows you're back?"

Takeru grimaced. "Well, there is most of Hikari's garrison in Sever and Corwin himself. However, in a world as disconnected as this one, that should not prove much of a problem."

"You would be surprised," Catherine muttered wryly. "Still, I can help you in this instance. I will have Mimi contact Hikari and keep the word from spreading."

"And what about the rest?"

Catherine sighed softly, raising her cup of tea to her mouth again. "I see no other choice. If it was anybody else, I would have them committed for insanity but you've done crazier things before."

Smirking, he leaned back. "Been digging into my past, have you?"

"It was something to do," she replied glibly. "When we first met, we were only together for such a brief period of time. Imagine my surprise when you showed up years later at my house. That meeting was equally brief but it made me curious about Takeru Ishida."

"And what did you learn?"

"That you obviously did not care about your life." She looked at him critically. "We need every able man we can get if we're going to succeed against the Undersea Master. Why are you risking your life so callously?"

"Everybody needs to be used according to their strengths. Mine happen to lie in situations like this and you and I both know the importance of getting intelligence back from the Dark Ocean."

"I suppose." Catherine nodded her head reluctantly. "Well, do you need any weapons?"

Takeru shook his head. "Whatever I need, I can create. You just make sure that you get your part right."

"Oh, I will. When exactly should I expect the summons?"

"It should come sometime during early morning Wednesday."

"And when will you make the actual attempt?"

"On Saturday night, at Cain's fete."

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That Night

Jonathan Stark's mind was awhirl with thoughts as he walked towards his quarters. As had been the norm since Ryo's fall, his thoughts were dark. The plan that Joseph had proposed was fraught with risk and he was not sure whether he wanted any part of it. It wasn't that he didn't want the fame and notoriety that went with it but he was cautious. Fame and Notoriety tended to attract attention and they would certainly attract the attention of Takeru Ishida.

Just thinking of the little punk worsened his mood. He was among the few Rogues that still thought the man would find a way out of whatever trap the Dark Ocean had set for him and then he'd come after all of them. When that happened, Jonathon wanted to be as unnoticeable as possible. He had been one of the men that had tortured the boy after all and he had also been there when Ryo had run a blade across the throat of Yamato Ishida. He had also been there with the others when reports had begun coming in about things going wrong with their organization. In that, he had to admire the boy. He had not only targeted the individuals but he had also targeted their finances and made off with a good amount of money that should have rightfully gone to the four men at the top.

Sighing, he opened the door to his quarters and paused. Closing the door slowly behind him, he stepped into the room.

"About time," Joseph said lightly, rising to his feet from the dining table he had been sitting at. "I was beginning to get worried." He said, smiling lazily.

Heart suddenly drumming in his chest, Jonathan asked, "What are you doing here?"

Joseph took a small step forward. "Now, that wasn't really the welcome I was expecting Jonny."

Jonathan took a step backwards. Joseph seemed to glide across the remaining distance between them, pushing him against the door. "I've missed you," he breathed into Jonathan's ears.

Against his will, Jonathan let out an involuntary moan. "I... we can't do this."

"Still denying yourself," Joseph whispered, his hands slipping under the man's jacket. "I thought we had moved past that."

Jonathan moaned, laying his head against Joseph's shoulder.

"Very good, Jonny." Joseph whispered into his ear. "Why don't we take this somewhere more comfortable."

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Sometime Later

Joseph got up slowly from beside the still sleeping form of Jonathan. The man let out a silent groan of protest at feeling Joseph's arms leave his body but he stayed asleep. Grimacing, Joseph reached towards the dresser at the head of Jonathan's bed. Carefully, he picked up the man's Digivice. Working quickly, he inputted the code and then grabbing his own Digivice, he transferred a hidden file into Jonathan's Digivice. Silently, he replaced the Digivice onto the dresser and then got to his feet.

There was still a lot of work to be done and he needed to get to it.

_________________________________

'In times of peril, a family must not forget its children.'

Frowning down at the piece of paper, Peter Lehnsherr crumpled it and threw it into the fireplace. It was the fourth draft he'd thrown into the fire. It was really quite funny. One would think that sneaking intelligence out of an enemy stronghold would be the hard part but in his case, he couldn't think of any way to phrase said intelligence. Of course, it wasn't really intelligence that he was sneaking out as much as a plea for extraction. It was likely to go unanswered like the rest of his messages. At this point, he was beginning to wonder whether they had forgotten him.

Sighing, Peter leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. A draft of air caused him to open his eyes and his eyes immediately went to his balcony window, which was standing open. Heart hammering, he whirled around and came face to face with the tip of a knife.

"Easy," a familiar voice cautioned. "If you answer to my satisfaction, this won't have to go beyond an old reunion."

Peter's eyes widened as he stared past the tip of the knife and at a very familiar face. "You... what are you doing here?"

"The same as you, I imagine," Takeru responded moving around the chair and coming to stand in front of Peter. "Your name came up at a meeting I was at yesterday and I began to think, what would a prominent Guardian be doing as Cain's Minister of Finance." He stared down at Peter. "Were you my replacement in this city?"

Peter nodded slowly. "Yes, after you... disappeared, Gennai assigned me here. I was able to gain Cain's confidence and..." His eyes suddenly widened. "You came to kill him, didn't you?"

Takeru nodded wordlessly.

Peter sighed, closing his eyes. "He is not a bad man. I have had a million chances to kill him and I have not taken any of them."

"This needs to be done," Takeru answered without any emotion in his voice. "You and I both know that his naivete stands in the way of progress in our war against the Darkness. It was a problem with him from the start."

Peter nodded reluctantly. "I want you to promise me that you will do this with a minimum of bloodshed."

"All of this will be done with as much efficiency as I am capable of."

"All right then, what do you need me to do?"

Takeru grinned, taking a seat. "At the fete, I will call on you. Be ready."

__________________________________

2 Days Later

"Checkmate," Joseph smirked triumphantly. "The past three years haven't improved your game much Aidan." He glanced at the third man pacing impatiently in the middle of the room. "Jon, calm down, everything will be fine."

"Easy for you to say," the man snapped. "It isn't your neck on the line if things go bad."

Joseph sighed. "Think of this logically. They can not afford to lose you two, at least not if they want to win this war. At worst, all you'll get is a reprimand and we can start all over again."

"That is a good theory in practice but we are not exactly dealing with humans here. Who knows what a being like the Undersea Master may do."

Joseph waved his hand dismissively. "From everything I have seen of this Undersea Master, he does not seem crazy enough to kill just for small mistakes."

"You have not seen him though." Aidan interjected. "We have stood at the pit in R'lyeh and sworn oaths. Our souls practically belong to him now."

"You are going to have to take me there one of these days." Joseph remarked primly. "I want to meet him myself."

"Your funeral," Jonathan muttered under his breath.

Joseph was about to reply when the door to the room opened and a guard stepped in. "Ambassador Black," he said, bowing, "there is a brigade of President Cain's men outside. They say that their Lord requests your presence at the Citadel."

"That was quick," Aidan remarked. "Are you sure you want to stay behind for this?" He questioned, glancing at Joseph.

"Yes, I am trying not to attract too much unwarranted attention. It will go better if I am not seen among such... austere company."

Both men snorted at that, looking halfway amused. Joseph waited fifteen minutes after they had left to sneak out of the mansion. He had no intention of getting left behind this night. Too many threads were converging and he needed to be there to oversee them all.

Sneaking out of the mansion did not prove to be much of a problem. The city, being practically deserted at night, was also easy to traverse without being spotted. He took the necessary precautions though, sticking to the shadows so as to avoid any unnecessary encounters.

A half-hour after sneaking out of the mansion, he arrived at the Embassy of the Chosen. From the shadows, he observed a full detail of guards as they entered the modest building and dragged out the Ambassador. She was still dressed in her nightgown. A small smile twisted his lips as he heard her berate the guards in a mixture of French and English.

As the guards begun to escort the Ambassador to Cain's Citadel, he pursued the group, sticking close to the shadows. His patient stalking was soon rewarded as one of the guards covering the flank began to fall back a little. Moving quickly, he closed in behind the guard and grabbed him in a chokehold. The man put up a valiant struggle but was no match for his strength. Dragging his body within a dark alley, he emerged moments later disguised in the garb of one of the city militia and joined the security detail in his stead.

The walk to the Citadel took nearly half an hour. As they approached the center of power in the city, Joseph stepped forward a little, observing his surroundings. The main feature of the Citadel was a single tower that dominated the various smaller buildings around it. As the security detail halted outside the main entrance to the Citadel, he quickly stepped forward and joined the main body of guards escorting the Chosen Ambassador inside the main building.

The room they finally arrived in was large and spacious. The one dominating aspect of it was a single seat set high so that people had to gaze upward to see the man seated there. That seat was currently empty, the man supposed to be seated there, mysteriously absent. Beside the chair stood Aidan and Jonathan conversing with a large bald headed man.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The blonde woman's angry voice caused the three men to turn around and look at the entrance to the room. One of the guards at the front grabbed the Ambassador's arm and began to lead her towards the three men. However, there was a small artful misstep, which caused the woman to stumble forward, her robe falling open, a little. With a slight blush, she hastily covered it up. Joseph grinned inwardly. That little bit of theatrics had been quite artful. This woman was quite a good actress.

Minister Lancaster," she said, her voice dripping venom. "What is the meaning of this?" She glanced at the seat beyond them. "And where is Lord Cain? I will file my complaint directly to him."

"I am afraid he is busy at the moment, Ambassador." The Minister replied firmly. "However, you are called here to discuss a very serious matter." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a plastic bag, handing it to the woman.

She scrunched up her face, gazing at the contents inside. "Floramon leaves," she said, looking up at the Minister.

"Leaves from your Floramon," the man explained. "We had the data analyzed." Seeing the mystified expression on her face, he continued, "There was an attempt made on Lord Cain's life earlier tonight. He was seriously injured and is bedridden at the moment. Those leaves were found after the assassin had fled. Where is your partner Digimon now?"

"She left for Rayne earlier tonight," Catherine responded slowly. "She could not have done this."

"When did she leave?"

"At around one o' clock tonight."

"The attempt was made at one, thirty. I am sorry Ambassador but your story only corroborates evidence against you."

"We did not do this," she said adamantly, turning and glaring at the two Dark Ocean representatives. "And what are they doing here?"

"We are the ones that caught wind of your assassination plans," Aidan answered, jumping into the fray. "It came as no shock to us as we know you've tried to use this city to infiltrate the Dark Ocean. In fact, was that not your main intention when you allowed us to buy the contract of Corwin Calstrom knowing full well that he was a spy working for you."

The Minister shook his head. "I have to admit I was surprised at Ambassador Black's accusations but after tonight..." He trailed off, seemingly coming to a decision. "Ambassador Le Moign, pending further investigation, you and your retinue will be confined to your Embassy. Do not try to leave."

The Ambassador drew herself up to her full height, which was still two inches too short of the Minister's six-foot frame. "You are making a mistake." She seemed to grow with each word, her presence dominating the room. "We act as a balance against the Darkness. By condemning us, you are practically handing yourselves to," she cast a contemptuous look at the Dark Ocean representatives, "them."

The Minister motioned for the guards to come forward and they escorted the Ambassador from the room. Having seen all he wanted to see, Joseph also discreetly made his way out of the room.

____________________________

Next Evening

Eric had seen many strange sights ever since he had been stranded in the Digital World but a drunk Leomon beat all of them hands down. The patron had stumbled into the tavern around noon and had started ordering drinks left and right. As a result he was now very drunk and quite boisterous. In fact, he had half the tavern singing along with him at the moment. As long as Eric had been co-owner here, he had never heard it this loud.

"Who's up for some gossip?" The Leomon roared, banging his mug hard on the table he was sitting at. Around him, the crowd roared their approval, banging their mugs as well. Eric winced, knowing what was coming next. The Digimon probably had a story about some conquest he had made among the female ranks. In many ways, Digimon and Humans were eerily similar when drunk.

"Did you know," the Leomon began, voice dropping low. Eric had to grin at the theatrics. Maybe the fellow would actually make the story interesting. "Did you know," the Leomon echoed, glancing around the room for added emphasis, "that there was an attempt on Lord Cain's life last night."

Immediately silence engulfed the room and then, suddenly, everybody was shouting again. The Leomon raised a hand and a tentative silence fell again.

"I don't know all the details," he said loudly. "All I know is that there was an attempt that was averted, thank the Gods. However, the Chosen Embassy is currently being kept under close guard."

There was silence as everybody digested the Leomon's words. Eric found himself stunned at the news, an expression that was echoed on the faces of most of the tavern's inhabitants. An attempt on Lord Cain's life was serious matter, that it had come from the Chosen was shocking. The citizens of Kroy did not believe in openly fighting the Dark Ocean but a majority of them did admire the Chosen for what they were doing. This latest news was likely to turn public opinion completely against them.

In the next two days, his thoughts proved to be correct. The mood of the city grew ugly as the rumors spread and it worsened when the body of a dead guard was discovered, streets away from the Chosen Embassy. It all led to a massive demonstration outside the Embassy. A few hot heads nearly caused the whole demonstration to deteriorate into violence but tempers were controlled and order asserted. However, the damage had been done and nearly every soul in the city was on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. In consideration of this unrest, Lord Cain decided to go ahead with his fete. It was everybody's hope that the party would liven moods.

__________________________

Cain's Fete (Chapter Five Begins)

"Dreadful party," Aidan whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

Joseph snorted softly. "It's supposed to be dreadful; shows our plan is working.

The two men were standing in one corner of a large veranda located at the back of Cain's Citadel. There were tables with various different dishes scattered throughout the open roofed space. Soft, melodious music was being played in the background. An open door at the head of the veranda led to a large spacious room, which was being used as an extension if the party became too large. Yet, for all the elaborate trappings, the mood of the party was definitely subdued.

"Le Moign didn't show up," Aidan mumbled quietly.

"Did you really expect her to? The woman is smart enough to know that she will be at a complete disadvantage here. Not to mention the commoners are out for blood and will set upon her the moment she leaves her compound." Picking up a glass of wine from the tray of a passing waiter, he said, "Relax and enjoy yourself. Everything is going according to plan."

Grunting, Aidan moved away towards a group of dignitaries. Joseph smiled inwardly; this too was going according to plan. For the next two hours, he drifted around the room gauging the general mood of the assembled host. Satisfied that everything was going according to his plan he decided to proceed to the next stage. However, before he could slink off into some remote corner and send a signal, a commotion at the head of the veranda caught his eye. The herald had stepped forward, his face oddly flushed, to announce a late arrival to the party.

"Lady Isuzu Asahina." The Herald announced in a tremulous voice.

The room fell into a hush as a slender, black haired woman walked forward, a large man trailing behind her. The woman's gaze swept the room finally coming to rest on him.

"What is she doing here?" Jonathan whispered from behind him.

Joseph turned to find both Aidan and Jonathan flanking him. He turned back around, watching the woman impassively as she strode towards them.

"Ambassador, Captain," she nodded to both men respectively, then turned to him. "And you must be the famous Joseph Kurowda."

He fixed a smile to his face, bowing low. "I am honored."

Her black eyes glinted with amusement and he had a sudden feeling of a trapdoor opening under his feet. She knew. The music in the background changed, switching to a slow song.

"That is my favorite song," she purred, extending a hand to him in open invitation. With a smile, he took the proffered hand and led her onto the dance floor. Inwardly, he calmly adjusted his plan in lieu of this latest development.

Isuzu sighed, resting her head against his chest as they began to sway back and forth across the dance floor. "I was beginning to wonder when you were going to show up again," she whispered against his chest. "Three years is a long time Takeru."

"And how much did you have to do with that?" He questioned softly, watching Isuzu's charge pull Aidan and Jonathan aside.

"Who do you think forwarded your coordinates to the Dark Ocean. The coordinates allowed them to ambush you but I knew they wouldn't bring you down that easily."

"So, you were a double agent. Gennai suspected, which was why I was assigned under your charge."

"And here I thought it was my charming personality." She quipped sardonically, leaning up suddenly and pressing her lips against his. Her tongue probed at his lips and he let her inside but did not respond to the kiss as she tried to draw him out. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, she broke the kiss. "Still so cold, you haven't changed at all."

He smirked down at her. "I can't say the same about you. The reaction you got when you stepped into the room was not what I would have expected."

"You should know the value of names and deeds in this brave new world of ours." She reached up, running her fingers down the side of his face. "After all, didn't you change your last name from Takaishi to Ishida for symbolic reasons."

He shrugged, conceding the point. "So, where do we go from here? I take it you've got all the exits covered."

She sighed softly, laying her head against his chest again. "A few minutes in my company and already you're thinking of leaving. I may decide to be insulted."

Takeru stepped forward suddenly, dipping her backwards at the waist and then pulling her up roughly. "Would you rather I just kill you now?" He whispered in her ear, leading them around the dance floor again.

"You won't kill me," she responded with conviction. "Stop grandstanding."

He 'tsked' under his breath. "You know me better than that. Ever since we stepped out onto this dance floor, I've been feeding energy directly into your heart. All I have to do is send one single burst to trigger a Cardiac Arrest." Feeling her stiffen in his arms, he smiled. "I will not hesitate to kill you no matter what you think may have passed between us."

"Then what is stopping you." She quickly reached up and placed a finger over his lips. "Wait, let me guess; you need me. With your cover blown, I'm the only way you have to get to the Dark Ocean and you and I both know that Takeru Ishida will go to any lengths to complete a mission. You think you can use me and then have that Leomon you contracted come and save you." Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she gazed up at him. "Whatever your plans were, they stop tonight. I have already had your Leomon picked up and there is a full legion waiting outside to escort you back to the mansion."

"How did you find him?" Takeru questioned curiously.

"We have agents throughout this city. These agents have observed you meeting with this Leomon on no less then three occasions. The first thing I did when I arrived at the mansion three hours ago was check with our agents here. It was quite surprising to see whom you were masquerading as. Do you know how long we've been searching for Joseph Kurowda."

He chuckled. "I killed Kurowda quite a while ago but not before I took everything I needed to complete this deception."

"How much of yourself did you sacrifice to achieve this sort of thing?" Isuzu questioned. "I know enough to know that adjustments like these don't come cheap."

"I didn't sacrifice as much as you would think."

She stared up at him, waiting to see if he'd continue but when he didn't, she shrugged and laid her head against his chest again. As the song came to an end, she pushed away from him.

"Well, that's enough pleasantries. I hope you won't be difficult and will come quietly with us."

In response, Takeru shrugged and offered his arm. With a smile she linked her arm through his and led them towards the exit. Aidan, Jonathan and Isuzu's charge were waiting for them there. Both Aidan and Jonathan looked ready to explode. Takeru smirked at them both as Isuzu led him past them into the adjacent room and then outside into the night. A significant number of humans and Digimon were waiting for them there and they escorted them back to the mansion. On the way back he changed his features back to his own face. The calm guise was maintained until they were inside the mansion. It was then that Jonathan lost his temper.

Takeru smirked inwardly as he heard footsteps pounding behind him. Isuzu had heard them as well and had stepped aside, a faint look of amusement on her face. She was not likely to interfere, preferring instead to let it all play out in front of her. Looking around bored, he critically examined the opulent interior of the main room of the mansion. There was a single stairway, several feet wide, set in the middle of the room. It led up to the second floor. A door set towards his left, led to the dining room.

He had no further time to sightsee as a hand clapped over his shoulder, whirling him around. He stared into the enraged face of Jonathan Stark and smirked. The man growled, unleashing a punch that sent him stumbling back.

Takeru kept the smirk on his face. "What's the matter Jonny, hear something you didn't like."

Growling, the man unleashed a flurry of blows that sent Takeru crashing to the floor.

Takeru laughed, lying back on the floor. "That's the most initiative you've ever shown, you limp-wristed faggot. I'm almost tempted to tell you your lover's fate."

"Shut up," Jonathan snarled, kicking him in the side.

Takeru only chuckled louder, staring up maliciously at the man standing over him. "How he would cry your name after I had broken him."

"Wait," Isuzu said, striding forward. "You mean you and..." She trailed off, staring down incredulously at Takeru. "You really will do anything to complete a mission."

Takeru's smirk widened, almost becoming a leer. "The worst part had to be all the pathetic whining about keeping his libido a secret." He chuckled again, driving each word like a nail. "Looks like the cat is out of the bag now, Jonny."

Jonathan drew back his leg for another kick but Isuzu stopped him. "The master needs him unharmed," she said authoritatively, putting a hand on his shoulder. Visibly gaining control of himself, Jonathan stepped back. "Confiscate his Digivice and take him to the dungeons."

Two guards stepped forward, hauling Takeru to his feet. He kept a faint, mocking look on his face letting them know that he was far from broken. The expression was also meant to antagonize and judging by the look on Jonathan's face, it was doing its work.

After they took his Digivice, his arms were shackled behind him and he was led down to the mansion's dungeon. The dungeon itself turned out to be nothing more then a row of cells, concrete cement walls separating each. Since they were far below the mansion, it was very dank but not dark as the cells were illuminated by light bulbs in the main hallway. As they led him to his cell, he noticed the Leomon he had contracted sitting in one of the cells. The Digimon nodded at him as the guards led him past his cell and deposited him in the one next to it.

Takeru leaned against the wall connected to the Leomon's cell, listening to the guards' footsteps fade into the distance. After he was certain, the guards had left, he asked, "Are they monitoring us?"

"Yes," the Leomon replied, his voice sounding ghostly in the near empty dungeon. "There is a camera set up inside every cell."

Looking up at the corner of the cell, Takeru noticed a small camera slowly swiveling back and forth, keeping the whole of the cell under surveillance.

"You won't be able to use matter reconstruction either. The whole of the data in this dungeon has been formatted to discourage that sort of activity. Silence is our best option at the moment."

Takeru grunted, repeating the same maneuver he had performed in another dungeon two weeks past. When his arms were in front of him again, he began to heal the minor wounds he had suffered.

"Tell me about Isuzu Asahina," he said as he healed himself. "She seemed to cause quite a bit of nervousness in the ruling elite of Kroy."

"It happened about three years ago," the Leomon began without preamble. "All the continents were in chaos at the time so the details are understandably scarce. There was a city called Cathal on the Continent of Alecrast whose ruler was much like Cain in stubbornly pursuing an edict of neutrality. The story goes that the woman seduced the ruler of that city and then betrayed Cathal to the Dark Ocean's forces. This was back when the War was an actual War and not a War of words like it eventually became."

"What about the Chosen?"

"All this happened before Jyou Kido and Koushirou Izumi arrived at Alecrast. Because of Cathal, they had a tough time bringing the whole continent under their control. They eventually managed to drive back the Dark Ocean forces but Cathal was lost to them. In Alecrast, that city is where the gateway to the Dark Ocean is located."

Takeru chuckled in amusement, falling silent. He could not have hoped for better. Silence enveloped the room but that was okay with him. He had time to think things through and the next phase of his plan was not scheduled to happen for a few hours yet. Closing his eyes, he thought back to when Isuzu had kissed him. It had been necessary to establish that she could not affect him but Hikari was not likely to see it that way. If he was lucky, she would not skin him alive. Still, it had been a nice experiment. It was good to know he could still resist the charms of the opposite sex, if not Hikari.

Sighing, he finished healing his minor wounds. He had began this mission thinking to put thoughts of Hikari out of his mind but it had become increasingly hard to keep her memory bottled up. He missed her, there was no getting around that but these thoughts were proving to be a distraction that he didn't need. Maybe he was going about this all wrong. She was a huge part of his life now and he needed to accept her as he had once accepted the darkness in his own heart. Closing his eyes, he let go of the tight control he had exerted over those particular memories. He wrapped the resulting rush of warm memories around himself like a cloak. They did a much better job of keeping him warm then his clothes. He sat that way until suddenly, the camera in his cell stopped moving from side to side.

The Leomon let out a soft chuckle inside his cell. "You will have to explain to me some time how things always seem to fall together so perfectly for you."

"Superior planning, my friend," Takeru replied. "We both know the value of anticipating every move the enemy is likely to make."

"Hasn't anybody ever anticipated you?"

"Of course, but she is a telepath and prone to cheating so she doesn't count."

The sound of a door opening in the distance.

"Showtime," Takeru said softly.

There was a soft grunt from the cell beside his and then the steady drumming of footsteps on the cold hard floor. The sound echoed in the dungeon and then abruptly stopped. Takeru didn't look up, knowing the man was standing beside his cell.

"Well well, back for another tryst, Jonny." He made his tone mocking, trying to provoke a reaction.

The man he was mocking remained quiet. Takeru looked up then, fixing him with a baleful gaze.

"Do you remember when I was your captive, the pleasure you took in torturing me. The pleasure you took in hearing my screams. I visited that back on your poor dead lover ten times over." Jonathan's shoulders twitched briefly and Takeru smirked mockingly. "Do you hate me right now, Jonny? I suppose you would like to do nothing more then rip my heart out but then you'll never know what happened to your lover."

"Is he alive?" Jonathan questioned hoarsely, an odd tone of hope in his voice.

Takeru rose to his feet, approaching the cell door. "Why would I keep a useless piece of filth like him alive?"

Jonathan's fist lashed out between the cell bars catching him flush in the face. The dungeon rang with Takeru's mocking laughter as he fell backwards.

"I had him beaten, I had him raped but still he would not break. He hung on longer then any other person ever had. That's when I began digging into his past."

"Shut up," Jonathan growled in a low voice.

"I dug up everything I could on you four but nothing ever turned up. I was about to give up when an aide of mine noticed an anomaly, namely a pair of meetings you two had at a private hotel in Britain. A hotel with a certain reputation."

"Shut up."

Takeru smiled inwardly hearing the man's ragged breath. He was very close, one more push would do it.

"I couldn't believe my eyes but I had a timeline to maintain and was willing to try anything. It was an immense success. Your beloved Joseph broke at the first sight of you. Every night, he would cry in my arms thinking that I was you. You were orphans that found solace in each other after discovering your differences. The key to breaking both of you lay in exploiting that difference. You were just two men hungering for love. It's sad really, a matter of disposition."

The cell door crashed open. Two hands twisted in Takeru's collar, hauling him to his feet and shoving him up against the far wall of the cell.

"I'll break you in half." Jonathan snarled, his face a mere inch away from Takeru's.

Takeru smirked mockingly and then struck. Jonathan gasped, his arms going limp and his body slumping forward. Takeru twisted his hands brutally, his fingers breaking a few more of the man's rips from where they were lodged in his chest.

"Y... you... mon... ster."

Takeru chuckled at that. "You and your friends created me. It is only fitting that you reap the rewards of your creation." Stepping forward, he reversed their positions so that Jonathan was pushed up against the wall. "When I killed Joseph Kurowda, I was still disguised as you. He went to his grave believing that you had betrayed him. It was a fitting punishment for him just as it is a fitting punishment for you to know how he died and yet be helpless to do anything about it." Giving his fingers one final twist he put an end to Jonathan Stark's life and stepped back watching his body slowly slump to the floor.

A quick search of the body turned up the man's D3. Turning it on, he quickly inputted the required code. As soon as the device turned on, he began navigating the system interface and pulled up a file he had hidden there days ago. Placing the D3 against the cell wall, he activated the file. After a few minutes, he placed the D3 inside his pocket and stepped out of his cell.

"Didn't it work?" The Leomon questioned from his cell.

"Give it a few minutes." Takeru said absently, wiping the blood off his fingers and onto the wall by the Digimon's cell door. "This compound is large and a general system's shutdown will take some time."

"We may not have..." The Leomon trailed off as the lights of the dungeon flickered and the doors of all the cells clanged open.

"Let's get going," Takeru muttered, stepping past the Digimon's cell. He led them through the dungeon and up a flight of stairs, halting as they got to a closed door. "I saw two sentries standing guard outside when they brought me in." He whispered, pausing behind the door. "Be ready to move at a moment's notice." Raising a fist, he banged loudly on the door. "Open the door," he yelled in a fair impersonation of Jonathan Stark's voice. The door began to lumber open slowly. "Now," Takeru whispered, surging forward and pushing hard against the door, causing it to crash open. He went for the guard nearest him. The man's face registered surprise right before Takeru swung his still shackled arms in a haymaker that lifted him off his feet and caused him to crash to the floor unconscious. He whirled around to see Leomon standing over the unconscious body of the second guard. "You will need to recover my D3," he said without preamble. "They are probably trying to crack it open right now. The power failure in the mansion should give you all the leeway you need."

The Leomon nodded hastily, moving down the hall. Takeru watched him leave and then concentrated. The shackles around his arms began to flow off and gather in the air in front of him. He drudged up memory of two particular devices that would be useful tonight and started forming them out of the shackles. A short moment later he held a small metallic necklace in one hand and a hunter's knife in the other.

Now, it was time to move onto the final phase of his plan.

_______________________________

INTERLUDE

Hikari growled in frustration, rolling over in the empty bed. She just couldn't get to sleep, at least not without Takeru beside her. That was a sad commentary on her life but apparently it wasn't something she could help. She missed all his cute little idiosyncrasies like the tight, possessive way he held her when they lay sleeping. It was probably because there was a part of him that was waiting for everything to fall apart. That was understandable in a way; he had not had an easy life thus far. That was why she had sworn a promise three years ago to protect him. It was not a promise that had been necessary in her eyes but it was something Yamato had insisted on. Of course, this made the current situation even stranger.

She had gone to Gennai like Takeru had asked her to but that had been a dead end. However, she had come away with a sense that the old man knew more then he was telling. That had genuinely irked her. If Gennai thought he could use Takeru as his pawn again then he was mistaken. She was not going to allow anybody to hurt him again even if she had to save him from himself.

That thought brought her back to the situation at hand. Once again, she contemplated trying to contact Takeru telepathically and once again, she discarded the idea. At this stage, contacting him would only lead to discovery and put his life in even more danger. Which was not to say that the temptation wasn't great. She really wanted to yell at him a little. How dare he send Corwin away. That news had come as a shock a few days ago when Mimi had contacted her. For a moment there she had seriously considered travelling to Rayne and throttling that failed excuse for a spy. Mimi had found the mental image hilarious.

Rising up a little, she punched the pillow she had been lying on. Oddly enough, that made her feel a bit better. Sighing, she flopped back down on the bed. Who was she kidding? She wasn't so much mad at Corwin as she was with herself. She had not thought he could keep anything from her after their short time together or even after that last night. That belief had been quickly proven false as she'd had no clue that he would send Corwin back the moment he left their sights. She could just see him now, that irritating grin on his face, saying almost as an afterthought, "tell Lord and Lady Yagami not to worry.' When he got back she fully intended to break every single bone in his body. How dare he do this to her.

Hikari grimaced, rolling over onto her stomach. Ok, so she wasn't going to hurt him that badly. At most, all he would get was another stern reminder as to who held the cards in their relationship. That thought brought back memories of their last night together. A small, unbidden grin rose to her face.

So she liked to be the one in control. Was that so bad? Takeru had certainly never complained although he teased her mercilessly about it. Of course, she gave as good as she got in those exchanges and when he still wouldn't shut up, there was always the direct method that left him pretty much quiet afterwards. He was usually so submissive when it came to their lovemaking and let her take the lead. That was why she had been so surprised when he had actually fought her on their last night together. He had an irritating habit of surprising her every once in a while. The situation with Corwin was the perfect example. She could have even put up with it if it had not felt like she was being patronized; as if he had let her set the tone of their relationship so that when decisions like these came up, he could always point back and say, 'See, I let you do that, now let me do this.' When he got back, she would disabuse him of that notion if indeed that is what he was thinking. Maybe he would even put up a fight like last time.

That struggle had been such a turn on for her. He had never put up a fight when she let him know she was going to take control. The end result had been the same either way. He had been powerless, evenmoreso then he usually was. Being inside his mind as well as having followed some of his exploits, she knew full well how deadly he could be. Yet, she had conquered him, holding him helpless, making him cry out her name again and again. And then there were those soft, whimpering sounds he always made. It had been quite a turn on knowing she could have her way with him any time she wanted. She had even taken particular pleasure in seeing that look of nervousness in his eyes at the end. When he had actually backed down from her, she had half wanted to just keep him there, underneath her and have her way with him for another hour. But, she was a woman of her word and had given him his hour.

That hadn't stopped her from playing with him afterwards. She had nearly succeeded in pulling him back to her when he was about to leave their quarters. He had been so cute, trying to resist her but in the end, she had let him go, duty winning out over pleasure. But then, she had gone to see him and tell him about the possibility of a traitor. She had only meant to ask him why he hadn't confided his suspicions to her but what was supposed to be a ten-minute conversation had turned into two hours. It had been a rash and impulsive action. She knew first hand how fragile the human mind could be and yet she had gone ahead with it anyway. And this wasn't even taking into account that she knew he did not have his crest. When the partition in his mind had collapsed due to his climax, she had realized her error. In typical style though, he had shrugged off her apology and had even laughed at her rapid turnaround. That had been the last she had seen of him as she had collapsed the link to allow him to heal himself and get some actual sleep.

She had not stopped thinking about that moment since then. What had possessed her to do what she had done? In her eyes, the night before had been justified but not what she had done afterwards. The justification she had used did not hold up either because she had known he could not tell her about the mission. Which left only one conclusion really; she had done it because she had lost control over her judgment. It wasn't exactly a flattering proposition but then again, she was not in the habit of shying away from truths.

Rubbing her eyes, Hikari sat up a little. This was no good; not only could she not go to sleep but now she was getting extremely turned on after thinking of him that way. Damn that man for doing this to her. She wasn't going to play some milksop bridal role and feel left behind every time he went away. What she needed was a distraction to take her mind off him.

Had she been a little more focused, the mental signal that hit her at that moment would not have caught her off guard. Gasping, she quickly focused and grabbed a hold of the rapidly fading thought. Using her own powers she strengthened the signal and immediately her mind was flooded with images.

"All right," she said into the empty room, "I'll be there early tomorrow morning."

Getting a hint of confirmation, she relaxed her mind and the mental link faded. Well, she had asked for something distracting and this was definitely that. Before she left though, she would have to clear everything with Iori.

___________________________

Breathing in the cold night air, Takeru paused on the rooftop. A quick survey of his surroundings revealed that he was halfway to his destination. Withdrawing Jonathan's D3, he switched it on. A loud voice immediately burst forth:

"Jonathan, where the hell are you, damn it."

Takeru grinned, raising the device to his mouth. "Jonathan looked quite dead the last time I saw him."

There was silence and then, "You bastard; I will make you pay for this."

"Afraid not," Takeru drawled. "Even now, I am heading to Cain's palace. When I kill him and leave Jonny's D3 as a memento, you and your Embassy will be finished in this city." He flicked off the D3 and sat, waiting for the inevitable response.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, he spotted four shadows approaching his position. Grinning, he switched on the D3 again and opened the second file he had hidden there. It was a jamming program that would disable communications between these Hunters and the Embassy. It would not do if Isuzu discovered that Aidan had sent them and called them back. After he had activated the virus, he walked over to the edge of the roof and leapt off, holding on to the edge so he was flattened against the side of the building. Raising himself a little, he peered over the edge and saw the four black robed figures converge in the middle of the rooftop.

"Anything?" One Hunter questioned in a gruff voice. Takeru took him to be the leader.

The other hunter's all shook their head.

"All right then," the first hunter said quickly, "you all know this man's reputation." Takeru grinned, mouthing along the words as the hunter said them. "Lina, you stay here at the main junction, we'll drive him back towards you. Adam, Chris, you two follow along behind me and cover each other as well as myself."

Takeru rolled his eyes as the Hunters set off. It seemed his time away had changed nothing; tactics among assassins were still the same. As the three Hunters departed, the fourth began patrolling the rooftop. Takeru waited until she was at the farthest edge of the roof from his own before levering himself up in a somersault and rolling to his feet. Using the shadows, he quietly snuck up behind the female hunter and pressed the knife he had created, against her spine. Immediately, she stiffened.

"Quiet," he hissed in her ear.

The girl gave a small nod.

"Good," Takeru said with a smile. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the necklace, dangling it in front of her. "Do you know what this is?"

"Coda training device," she remarked in a matter of fact tone. "It measures vocal fold vibrations. If I try to raise my voice level above the prescribed timbre, it will inject a lethal toxin into my body."

"Very good, I thought I recognized the posture of a Coda warrior. Put it on." The girl took the necklace and paused, seemingly considering her options. "You know my reputation," he growled, pressing the knife into her back. "I won't hesitate to kill you." The threat seemed to decide her and she quickly clasped the necklace around her neck.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, he turned her to face him. "If you try to raise your voice above a whisper, the necklace will inject a paralyzing agent into your body." He paused, brushing a lock of blonde hair from her forehead. "Now, let's have all those knives concealed on your lovely body."

Her eyes bore into him, the full strength of her hatred behind them. But, she did as he asked, removing knives from her wrists, legs, back and even one small one concealed between her breasts. Pretty soon, he was holding a small, impressive collection of knives. He concealed most of them on himself and dissolved the remaining few.

"You won't get away with this," the girl whispered through gritted teeth.

Takeru grunted in amusement. "I have heard that before and yet here I am. Now, are you biomerged?"

"No, there wasn't enough time and Black was insistent that we go after you as quickly as possible."

"All right then, hold on." He stepped forward and hauled her onto one shoulder. To her credit, she kept quiet despite the suddenness of the move.

The problem at the moment was the three Hunters in front of him. In a way, he had miscalculated in his plan. He had been planning on taking a biomerged hunter captive and then getting to the mansion in relative safety using his or her powers. The way he would have to proceed now was fraught with a lot more risk and would take a little longer then he had anticipated. Well, at least she was female. It would make sneaking her into the fete a lot more natural then if he was with a male Hunter. That particular bit of business in this mission was thankfully over and done with.

Stepping to the edge of the roof, he started off in a different direction then the Hunters had gone in. On the rooftops, there was only one way to Cain's Citadel but on the ground, no such problem existed. He would bypass the Hunters by going towards the Chosen Embassy and getting to the ground. After that, it was a short trip to the Citadel. Finalizing this one adjustment to his plan, he pushed off the roof and landed quietly onto the next one. He set off in a light jog, crossing rooftop to rooftop until he reached a particularly low set building and jumped off it onto the ground.

Setting the female hunter down onto the ground, he quickly checked his surroundings. Not seeing anyone, he began concentrating. The woman stood quietly as her dark clothes flowed across her body rearranging themselves into a red dress with a slit up one leg. Takeru's own clothes changed as well, becoming the brown robed suit he had observed some people wearing at the fete. His face changed as well, his features adjusting themselves to assume a much less infamous persona. He closed his eyes for a moment after finishing the matter transformation. All this activity tonight had been fairly taxing. Thankfully, matter transformation mostly relied on the will of the person. He had a couple more tries left before he really started feeling the affect of such activity.

"Shall we?" He said, straightening to his feet and offering the girl one of his arms. She glared at him but took his arm.

Takeru led them through the city, sticking close to the shadows just in case. Before long, they arrived at the Citadel.

"Remember," Takeru whispered as they approached the entrance, "if you try anything, you will die."

At the entrance to the Citadel stood two guards. As Takeru approached with the female hunter in tow, one of the guards stepped forward.

"Are you here for the fete?" He questioned in a bored tone.

"Inform Minister Lehnsherr that Taka Ishihara is at the front gates." Takeru replied without preamble.

The guard raised an eyebrow, as this was extremely different from other such encounters he had been accustomed to since the fete began. However, his scrutiny was cut short as the Minister Takeru had asked for stepped away from a swathe of shadows and appeared behind the guards.

"Taka, nice to see you could make it."

The two guards started, clearly surprised by the Minister's abrupt appearance. They immediately bowed to the man and stepped back. Takeru started forward, falling in line with the Minister as they continued on towards the main building.

"Who's the girl?" Peter whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"A tool, nothing more, nothing less." Takeru replied grimly. "Have you made arrangements?"

"You're much later then the time we had arranged but yes, everything is ready." Peter opened a door and led them inside the main building. Reaching into the folds of his robe, he withdrew a map and handed it to Takeru. "I've marked the path to Cain's quarters as well as guard locations. The only real problem you should have is the two guards in front of Cain's door. If this plan had proceeded as scheduled I might have been able to do something about that but now, you'll have to take care of them."

Takeru nodded, studying the map and committing it to memory. "You should leave now," he said not looking up from the map. "When this is all done, contact Ambassador Le Moign and she should be able to arrange something for you."

Peter frowned but then shrugged in resignation and disappeared down a side corridor. Rolling up the map and placing it inside the pocket of his suit, Takeru started towards Cain's quarters. He had pretty much memorized the map so avoiding the seemingly random patrols was easy. The hard part came with the two guards standing outside Cain's room.

"Stay here," Takeru whispered to the female hunter, "and don't try to run. The necklace is fixed with a beacon and will kill you if you get a certain distance away from me."

He turned away from her and observed the two guards from behind a corner. Neither one of them looked particularly alert. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out from the corner and started walking towards them. Both came to attention immediately, levering twin arm blasters at him. Takeru raised his hands and the eyes of the guards followed that movement. He immediately flicked his wrists downwards and two knives, strapped to the inside of each wrist, flew out and lodged themselves into the throat of either guard. The one man and one woman slumped down to the floor, blood bubbling up to their lips, hands scrabbling at their throats before they finally died.

Moving quickly, Takeru unhooked the arm blaster from one of the guards and gave a low whistle. The female hunter stepped out of hiding. She had barely a second to open her mouth in surprise when the energy blast from his arm blaster hit her in the chest. Concentrating, he quickly reformed her hunter's clothes around her downed body. Then, taking off the blaster, he strapped it onto the wrist of the guard he had killed.

The sound of running footsteps alerted him to the fact that other guards had heard the blast and were on their way. He stepped past the downed bodies of the two guards, opened the door to Cain's room and stepped inside. Locking the door behind himself, he walked over to the four poster bed set towards the left side of the room. Upon the bed lay the figure of Michael Cain.

As he approached the bed, he could tell that the Leomon had injured the man very well. The plan had been to injure Cain just enough to leave him a soft target for the real assassination attempt. As he neared the prone figure lying on the bed, Takeru could tell that the plan had succeeded. Cain was covered in bandages, unable to move.

The man's eyes were wide as they watched him approach. "Who?" He croaked out.

Takeru ran a hand across his face adjusting his features. "This has been a long time coming. Don't worry, I'll make it quick." He raised one of the knives he had taken from Lina and plunged it into Cain's heart. The man convulsed and then went still.

Takeru stared down at the still body until banging on the main door caused him to whirl around. It was time to be away. He was stepping towards one of the main windows of the room when a side door he had not noticed swung open and a small boy walked into the room. His wide eyes stared straight at Takeru, freezing him in place.

'Damn damn damn, the boy had seen his face.' It would all go wrong if he gave them his description.

The banging on the door became a steady pounding sound. They were trying to break the door down now. He had mere moments and there was no way to take the boy with him. For a moment, he stood, agonizing over the decision until the groaning of the main door's hinges made the only decision he could make. He rushed forward, drawing a knife and plunged it into the boy's heart.

"I'm sorry," he whispered quietly, letting the boy's body slump back to the floor. Then turning around, he ran towards the window and jumped through it. According to the map, Cain's room had been two floors up and was directly over the Veranda and the garden beyond it. As he fell through the air, he reformed his clothes to resemble those of a Hunter and wrapped himself with his healing powers. There were screams below him as the people below beheld a dark caped figure fall towards the ground. His powers helped deaden the pain of the fall. After that, it was just one mad dash to the far walls at the back of the garden. He scaled them easily and then leapt off into the city outside.

Sticking to the shadows, it was nearly an hour later before he managed to make his way back to the Dark Ocean Embassy. The guards outside took him in their custody immediately and he was taken straight to Isuzu and Aidan. The two Rogue Guardians were sitting in the room where he had first met with Aidan and Jonathan a week ago. Aidan stood pacing, looking decidedly nervous. He glanced up as the door opened and Takeru was escorted inside.

"You bastard." He began rushing forward.

"Stop," Isuzu's voice cracked, the tone of command unmistakable. "Your ineptness has caused enough damage." She rose from where she was sitting behind the table. "I take it that our reputation is now suitably damaged within this city."

"I would have to say, yeah." Takeru looked over at Aidan and removed Jonathan's digivice, tossing it towards him. "It was never my intention to leave this digivice there. It was too easily refutable. The body of a dead Hunter won't be, and to top it all off, most of the citizens of this city saw a Hunter come flying out of Cain's room. Your time in this city is over."

Isuzu looked towards Aidan. "Prep our aircraft's for immediate departure." Aidan bowed leaving the room and Isuzu turned back to Takeru. "You have a lot of nerve coming back here after this stunt."

"Remember what you said, I do anything to complete a mission and I still have a mission." Takeru walked forward suddenly, pushing Isuzu against a wall. "I will use you," he whispered in her ear, "and you can't do anything about it."

She tried to push him away but he lowered his mouth and captured her lips in a fierce kiss. After a while, she even stopped struggling.

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Events unfold in various different parts of the world as everything inches towards an upcoming confrontation between Light and Dark. Next Chapter: Interlude