A/N: Thank you for everyone who faved/followed/commented/read!^^

Guadalupe V27: Glad you liked it! I agree, it has potential (even if I say so myself :D). Sadly, I don't have the time to develop it into a longer story atm. I do have an idea how this would play out though, so maybe I'll re-visit this AU one-day. :)

Sweet Cari: I think that's the first time anyone commented something I've written with the word scary. :D Feeling honored!

They had been walking and flying in a circle for a day and a half in the darkness. It was like the place Hikari had been called to, but worse, darker, more devoid of life. They hadn't gotten a chance to sleep or eat as unknown foes had been after them since the minute they had awoken here.

"We need to move," Angemon called Takeru again.

Takeru looked up at Angemon from his hunched position as he tried to catch his breath. He could see the blood and damage the previous fights had left on the angel Digimon even after devolving and digivolving again. He squeezed the blue sashes Angemon had given him to stop the bleeding in his badly scraped fingers.

Their messages didn't get through. There was no-one they could rely on here. And the few words HolyAngemon had had to say about the Heaven's Gate didn't promise them good.

They were stuck. Maybe not for eternity — Takeru honestly hoped so — but far longer than Angemon's stamina would last; both of their steps had already began to falter.

"Hide," Angemon ordered before taking a battle stance at some feral Digimon that was catching up with them.

Takeru gritted his teeth but hid under a bush anyway.

"You can't keep fighting like this," Takeru interjected under the tense mood.

Angemon glanced at him curtly before asking softly, "You have a better idea?"

Takeru had to swallow his ignorance bitterly. However, as Angemon turned to move on, he threw out a desperate answer, "Dark Digivolution."

Angemon turned back towards him in a voiceless question.

"Dark Digivolution. You wouldn't shine miles away anymore," Takeru repeated.

Angemon evaluated his partner silently for a minute, "We've seen, it doesn't work."

"We haven't. Just because Taichi and Agumon messed it up, doesn't mean that we would too. Maybe SkullGreymon is just mindless notwithstanding the evolution."

"I'm not going to risk attacking you, Takeru," Angemon declared.

But their foes were closing in on them again and Angemon was more tired after each battle. "I'm not sure if that'll matter soon."

"Takeru, hope. Not darkness."

Takeru averted his gaze at that, "The Heaven's Gate didn't work. What other options are there? We need to hide and rest. …I don't want to lose you."

Angemon pursed his lips. Takeru didn't want to resort to bringing up that if Angemon would revert to a Digiegg, he would be defenseless and killed far before Poyomon would hatch. However, Takeru saw his partner calculate the situation and come to the same conclusion. Furthermore, Takeru had already sustained wounds which worried the Angel Digimon. And then there was the guilt from the mistake that had brought them here in the first place. They would never make it with the demons living here. Not with their powers, not with their numbers.

Takeru took an involuntary step back when Devimon finally appeared in front of him.

However, even if Devimon now blended in with the scenery, Takeru didn't. His hope was there, his D-3 was there, and for the beings here, he shone like a lighthouse. Their only upside was that Devimon had fresh energy and could draw power from their surroundings since they hadn't been able to find anything edible.

But even if Devimon could gain strength and grow, he was still just a Champion.

They would need to hide Takeru too. And the trick was there, they both knew it, even if only Takeru advocated for it: the Death Claw, Devimon's ability to take over the victim's mind.

Despite their lack of options, Devimon hadn't even listened to the idea through, lowering his face on Takeru's level and stating steadfast, "No."

But they were still running and flying for their lives.

"Angemon," Takeru half-way ordered earning a fang-baring grimace from his partner. The name annoyed the Virus Digimon in front of him but he wasn't going to call Patamon Devimon. It was a matter of principle.

Devimon turned to look at the sky again while sharing the concern and adding a layer of agitation into it.

"Angemon!"

Devimon turned sharply towards Takeru with his eyes flashing. The two stared at each other breathing heavily. Devimon's look was more intense, Takeru's eyes more determined.

Takeru tried to assure himself that the chills down his spine were only an echo from a different Devimon in a different time.

There was a screech to their right and Devimon had no other option than to succumb to the imperative. There was a look on his face that was the closest to an apology one could ever get from a Nightmare Soldier.

After a second of regret, Devimon pierced his claws through Takeru's chest with one swift movement.

It was a weird feeling.

Takeru could feel all of his feelings, senses, and free will drain from his body to Devimon. He could see but it was only what Devimon permitted him to see; he could think but the messages didn't transmit to his muscles. Even Puppetmon didn't master this level of control.

Takeru could feel a connection to Devimon's mind: how Devimon could keep a tab on what he thought and act as a gatekeeper for all the nerve impulses in his body. Moreover, he could sense Devimon's feelings. He had always been in tune with Patamon but now the connection was more explicit: he could sense the regret over what they had just done. Then there was the irritation over the foes that were coming at them, trying to take him away.

The two of them were invisible now, part of the shadows of this place. The mercy to be safe and the stronger contact with his partner awoke Takeru's hope.

Which was the last thing they needed.

Devimon responded quickly and Takeru could feel Devimon push his hope down and encapsulate it deep inside him: safe from being detected, safe from being corrupted. Or, at least, that was what he hoped to be the case before the feeling was locked somewhere out of his reach.

On hope's place, Takeru could feel the darkness spreading to his limbs as Devimon took a better hold of him, masking him to their surroundings. However, it wasn't an unwelcomed change and Takeru saw no reason to fight the process. It was not an attack, it was a provision of help and a safeguard.

Devimon turned to look at the sky to see if their foes were still after them. However, Takeru didn't see his partner's movement but sensed it from some joint perspective. He wanted to look at the sky, too, but found with a phantom chill that he couldn't move on his own. Devimon read his mind and approved the reaction, letting Takeru take a step to keep his balance and raise his head.

'We need to learn this,' Devimon's raspy voice echoed inside the human's head. Takeru didn't answer but knew that his partner could read the agreement from his mind anyway.

A SkullBaluchimon flew right by them and this time Devimon's reaction was much faster. Takeru didn't have the time to process the action before Devimon had made him dive onto the ground and shield his head with his hands. Takeru could mentally feel and hear Devimon's loud shriek at the Virus Digimon. The message was clear: anything that would try to get close to him would be shredded to pieces. Yet, he couldn't react as Devimon spread its wings and extended its claws. Devimon wanted him to stay hidden, shielded from the battle that the Fallen Angel would relish.

So, Takeru was there, hunched on the ground, his knees cold against mud and soggy leaves. Devimon was even shunning him out of the fight: choosing that it was not for his eyes or ears without giving him a choice in the matter. Thus, he was blind, deaf, and unable to move. His only sources of information were his sense of touch and smell, in addition to the connection to Devimon's mind that — despite the distance — was seeking new nooks and crannies in his mind to spread into. His partner promised to be back with him in a minute. However, as the minutes ticked on, Takeru couldn't help but feel the small seed of dread enter the back of his mind. And he knew that Devimon would sense it — and it would only make the demon-side stronger.

A/N: I was little bit torn which of them would suggest Dark Digivolution, but ended up choosing Takeru. In the ep 34, he answers to Iori that he doesn't hate darkness as such (he hates when it tries to conquer the world etc.), so Takeru felt a better option than Angemon who I see to have a more ingrained view on light vs. darkness.