A/N: Chapter 42 - The Return has been updated with something that will tie into this chapter.
It seems I truly have lost.
The revelation crossed her mind at the sight of the fighting down below.
Her forces had done well enough when their enemies had first landed, but the tide turned against them soon afterwards. Though they were holding at that point, it was only a matter of time before the Resistance overtook them. She knew they would make their way into the castle.
Part of her wanted it to not be true, yet it was almost a relief to know that the war was almost over. Years of struggling were finally coming to an end.
What will happen once I am gone?
It was a thought that she had never taken in consideration until that moment. Ever since she had decided to begin her quest, she had hoped to see the results of her efforts.
Will things return to the way they once were?
It had all started with a single wish to tear down the status quo established by the Royal Knights. Most of them had perished, a result of in-fighting caused by her turning them against one another. Yet Gallantmon had reemerged to join in the fight against her. How he had managed to survive was beyond her. There was little doubt in her mind that he would help in rebuilding the Royal Knights. Would they then go on to reestablish the rules he and his peers had placed upon the world, or would he seek out true peace for the world instead of the former regime?
As her mind wandered, her gaze settled on Beelzemon.
The gunman was tearing through a group of Digimon as if they were nothing more than pests needing to be squashed. She smiled at the sight. When he finished them off and looked up at her, the smile was replaced with a scowl.
She turned away and made her way inside.
Beelzemon was going to come for her, that much she was sure of.
Stepping up to her throne, she stared at it for a few seconds.
This will be the last time I sit in this throne, she mused.
She sat down and crossed her legs. With her index finger she traced the pattern on the armrest.
To have come so close to achieving her goal, only to have it wrest from her hands.
Others had tried in the past. All of them had failed. Soon she would be nothing more than a memory; a story to tell young Digimon, same as those before her. Perhaps wishing for things to be different had always been pointless. The world was the way it was and it would continue to be that way. Naïve human children and their bright-eyed Digimon partners would make sure that change never came.
Deep in her thoughts, it took her a moment to realize that the door had been opened.
There stood Beelzemon, his hands clenched into fists and red eyes blazing with rage. Hunched over trembling, he had the appearance of an animal waiting to strike. His mouth opened and closed as he struggled to decide what to say to her. Clenching his jaw, he averted his gaze away from her.
"I knew this day was coming, loathe as I was to admit it to myself," Laylamon said. There was a brief hint of sadness in her voice. "It was inevitable that you would be reunited with your partner."
Raising his head to her, he narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"You want answers."
With a growl in his voice he snapped, "Of course I do!"
Placing both hands on the armrests, Laylamon got to her feet. With her arms folded she looked down at Beelzemon, earning a snarl. She raised a hand into the air. "Then you'll have to win."
Dark energy circled her hand, splintering off to form ten blades that hovered in the air. A small twitch of the hand sent the blades shooting forward at Beelzemon. He was forced him to jump back out of the way so that the blades were buried into the floor instead. At the same time Laylamon charged forward with her arm reared back. Beelzemon threw his arms up in front of his face to block the blow. The sheer strength of the punch made him take a few steps back. Before he regained his balance, Laylamon jumped up, spun around, and kicked the side of his head. As he stumbled to the side, she dropped down and elbowed him in the chest.
He attempted to guard against the flurry of punches that followed, only to be successful in blocking a few. Grabbing him by the head, she pulled his head down and kneed him in the stomach twice. He wrapped his arms around his stomach while doubling over with a harsh cough.
Energy gathered in her hand to form a long black whip. She snapped it at him, making it wrap around his ankle. By pulling she was able to throw him upwards into the air, and then swung him around like a ragdoll. He reached down, his fingers brushing against the handle of his gun multiple times until he was finally able to grab hold of it. Drawing it, he pointed it at the nearest point of the whip. Because of the way the swinging made his arms sway back and forth, he found it difficult to aim. It took three shots for him to hit the whip. The breaking of the whip was accompanied by a loud snap. Freed, Beelzemon began to fall. He twisted around mid-air to land in a way that allowed him to roll when he hit the floor.
He snatched up his gun, hopping to his feet as he did so, and fired at Laylamon.
Black tendrils sprang out from the ground. They swung around to deflect the bullets away from Laylamon as she walked forward. Beelzemon continued shooting despite each of his shots rebounding off the hardened energy until his gun jammed. Pulling on the trigger produced nothing but clicks. In the brief moment he looked at his gun, Laylamon lunged.
Having little time to react, he stepped to the side. Despite attempting to dodge, the claws of her right hand raked across his arm and left four deep scratches on his bicep. With his hand pressed against it, he jumped back away from her.
There was a smirk on her face as she looked at him. "Stopping me will never convince your so-called allies that you are on their side. They know of all your terrible deeds. Do you think they will ever accept you?"
"That isn't what this is about."
"Oh? What is it then? A desire to seen as a hero? A wish to help your friends? Or is it revenge against me for what you perceive as a personal slight?"
When he glared at her she chuckled, knowing that she was right.
"You threw me aside the moment you knew you could no longer manipulate me."
"You are mistaken, as usual. I was going to back you brought back to me alive," she said.
The way she emphasized the last word made him growl.
"So I could continue to kill in your name?" he asked in an accusatory tone. The disgust and hatred he felt made his words sound guttural. "You told me you wanted to save the world. To make it better. That my reason for existing was to help you make that a reality. All you've done is make things worse."
"War is necessary to weed out those who would hurt the new world," she stated, her cold voice sending a chill down Beelzemon's back. "That is how change is achieved."
"Innocent Digimon have been hurt who never deserved it!"
"You act as if you know what you speak of, yet you know nothing of the world. Let me guess, your precious little friends in the Resistance told you this and you believed their every word?"
"Stop acting as if I'm emotionless puppet with no thoughts of my own!"
Laylamon snorted at the outburst. "Why are you always so emotional? Sacrifices must be made. You are naïve to think otherwise."
"You know what you are, Laylamon?" he hissed. "You're a hypocrite."
Laylamon narrowed her eyes at him and frowned. She raised her hand to form a fist. Pain spread through Beelzemon's arm, originating from the scratches. Gritting his teeth, he tightened the grip he had on his arm. The pain faded when Laylamon relaxed, prompting him to move his hand to look. His eyes widened when he realized that the wound had been enlarged by the dark energy that was eating away at it.
"Surely you realize how easily I could kill you? If I so wanted, I could make you writhe in agony as you rot from the inside out."
A burst of energy hit him in the chest, knocking him back.
His hand was pulled away when the whip wrapped around his left wrist. Laylamon flung him into the air and then tugged him downwards, the whip loosening as she did so. He hit the floor with a pained grunt.
Hastily climbing to his feet, he lunged at Laylamon. With energy building in his claws, he swung at her. Though she stepped out of the way, he managed to claw her upper right arm. He kept swinging and she continued to dodged. Lashing out with her foot, she caught his ankles and swept his legs out from underneath him. Before he could fall she caught him by the throat, nearly choking him as she squeezed. She then slammed him against the floor.
More tendrils of energy appeared, seeping out of her back. Forming into spikes, the energy stabbed through both of his arms into the floor and into his stomach. He let out a scream but cut himself off by clamping his mouth shut.
When the spikes broke apart, Laylamon once again wrapped her whip around his leg. Swinging him around like a ragdoll, she bashed against the wall, the floor, and even through three columns. When she released him, he hit the floor and slid to a stop several feet away.
"You never stood a chance against me, Beelzemon," she said, striding towards him. "You forfeited your life the second you walked into this room."
It was then that Mikami ran through the open doors. She came to a stop, throwing her arms out to find her balance, when Laylamon's gaze fell on her. Distracted by the new arrival, Laylamon failed to see Beelzemon get to his feet. As such she was caught by surprise when he threw his body against her, though she remained standing.
Grabbing him by the arm and pressing her hand against his stomach, she hefted him into the air and then threw him towards the wall. He landed on his back with an 'oomph'. She walked up to him and began to stomp on his stomach, even digging her heel in to make him cry out when he tried to resist.
"Hey!" Mikami snapped, making Laylamon turn her head. "Leave him alone!"
Turning to face the human, Laylamon chuckled at the order. "What exactly are you going to do, little girl? Do you plan on trying to stop me yourself?"
"I don't know what I'm going, but I'm not going to sit here and do nothing while you hurt my friend."
Standing straight with her shoulders back, Mikami stared in defiance. Laughing at her confidence, Laylamon walked towards Mikami.
Beelzemon glanced around in desperation, trying to think. Just as he was close to giving up, his gaze fell onto his gun. Stretching his arm out, he began to inch his way to it until he could touch it. He then scooted it closer so that he could grab it by the handle. Getting up on one knee, he pointed the gun at Laylamon's back.
The trembling in his arms made it difficult for him to aim.
Propping his arm on his raised leg, he steadied himself and fired.
Laylamon's body jerked when the shot tore through her midsection. Beelzemon fired two more times, hitting her in the side and chest.
As she fell to her knees, she pressed her hand against the chest wound.
Keeping her eyes firmly on Laylamon, Mikami slowly made her way past the downed Digimon. She tore her gaze away to look at Beelzemon and gasped at his wounds.
"Beelzemon—!"
He shook his head. "Help me up."
Clearly worried, she hesitated and then positioned herself against his side. She wrapped one arm around his back and put the other on his chest while he slung his arm over her shoulders. It took a few seconds for him to find the strength to put his weight on his own legs. Once he did he moved away from her to stand above Laylamon.
Breathing heavily, Beelzemon stared down at her in contempt and ground out, "I won."
"You did," she replied, voice weak but steady. "The answers you want are in my journal."
While Mikami faced the door, Beelzemon raised his gun but paused when Laylamon put her hand up.
"Wait. There is something else you need to know."
"Then say it."
"Part of my plan was to use a Digimon called Galacticmon. If want to stop him, go to the central cell in the dungeon. The passcode is Omega. Omnimon is there."
Her eyebrows raised, Mikami spun around to stare at Laylamon. "Omnimon is alive?"
"Yes. Once I won the war, I was going to make an example of him," she said. "He can help you stop Galacticmon."
"I don't understand. Why the sudden change of heart?" Mikami asked.
"I wish I could give you an answer." Closing her eyes, Laylamon lowered her head. "All I ever wanted was to keep Digimon from experiencing the pain I did under the rule of the Royal Knights."
Though Mikami felt immense anger towards Laylamon, she had sympathy for her as well. What had she been through in her life to make her feel that waging war was what the world needed?
"I pity you," Mikami said. "Really, I do. You were so focused on revenge that you became the kind of Digimon you hated. Maybe even worse."
Letting out a sour laugh, Laylamon raised her head to look Mikami in the eyes. "I suppose I did."
Mikami looked away as Beelzemon readied his gun for a second time. The following gunshot made her flinch. She turned back to see Laylamon shatter. Black mist separated from her data, swirling around itself and pulsated as if it had a heartbeat. It lingered in the air for mere seconds before dispersing and fading. The remaining data whirled around, gathering together to form a pure white Digi-Egg.
"You…you saw that too, right?" Mikami asked, pointing to where the mist had been. "I'm not going crazy?"
Beelzemon glanced over his shoulder at her with a perturbed expression. "I did."
He holstered his gun. Mikami watched him pick up the egg, cradling gently in his arms.
"Are you planning on keeping that?"
"Maybe she can make a real difference in her next life."
Seeing that part of him still had faith in her even after everything made Mikami want to speak up, but the somber expression on his face had her deciding to say nothing instead. The two fell into a brief silence that was broken by the sound of two sets of footsteps. Turning, they watched Dorugoramon and Judai burst into the room. Wheeling his arms around, Judai came to a sudden stop upon seeing the two, leading to Dorugoramon nearly barreling into him. As he looked at the condition Beelzemon was in, Judai gaped.
"Jeez, dude! What happened to you?" Judai asked. His eyes landed on the egg. "Wait a minute. Is that...?"
"It is."
"That's awesome!" Judai shouted, pumping his fist into the air. "I can't believe you beat her by yourself! The others are gonna freak out when they hear this!"
"He got lucky," Mikami said, frowning at her partner. "That was stupid and you know it. Running off without waiting for back-up to fight her alone! What do you think she would've done if I hadn't distracted her? You were almost killed!"
Brushing aside Mikami's complaints, Beelzemon focused on Judai and Dorugoramon. "Find Datamon. He should be in the room near the main staircase on the first floor. Tell him to lead you to the dungeon. The code for the central cell is Omega."
"Wait, what?" Dorugoramon muttered.
Mikami furrowed her eyebrows. "You need to get your wounds healed! Look at yourself!"
"I'm not leaving until I know the truth," Beelzemon said.
Huffing in frustration, Mikami threw up her arms. "Who cares about the truth?"
"I do."
Folding his arms, Dorugoramon tilted his head to the side. "Alright, I have no idea what's going on right now, but if there's something that you feel like you need to do, then fine. We'll go open up the cell. Meet us by the entrance when you're done. Just be sure to hurry, because you don't look so good."
"Thank you. Make sure to keep Datamon with you. I want to talk to him."
"Why are we—Hey!" Judai shouted as Dorugoramon picked him up to carry him out of the room. "You owe us an explanation, Beelzemon!"
Mikami glared at Beelzemon while he searched for his missing gun. Once he found it and walked towards her, she turned away from him. "We need to hurry and get this over with."
Nodding to her, Beelzemon took the lead. Neither said a word to the other as they made their way out the throne room and down the hall. The only door in the hallway was near the end just by the stairs. The two stopped in front of it, with Mikami motioning to Beelzemon to go first. Moving the egg to hold it with one hand, he opened the door. On the far side of the room was a desk. The room had nothing in the way of light but a handful of candles scattered about. Beelzemon took the only lit candle to light the other candles on the desk so the two could see better. On the middle of the desk was a journal that had been worn down over the years. He placed the egg on the bed and approached the desk. Reaching out, he hesitated and drew his hand back.
Mikami grabbed hold of his hand to put it on the journal's cover. "You said you wanted to know. Now's your chance."
Taking hold of it, he picked it up and flipped it open.
She watched him, noting how uninterested he seemed to be at first. At some point he scrunched up his nose and held the journal closer, which she took as a sign that he was more interested. Once he was finished, he lowered it. She learned forward, only to jump when he slammed the book shut. It was then shoved into her hands by him as he walked past her. Realizing he was upset, she turned around to see him lean against the doorway with his arms folded over his chest.
"What is it?" she asked.
When he refused to answer, she looked down at the journal.
The earliest entries were mundane accounts of day-to-day life for a Digimon named Mikemon, many of which mentioned a younger Digimon that she was caring for at the time.
But as she read further, Mikami realized what had upset Beelzemon. Her stomach twisted and turned at the information until she eventually had to close the book herself.
"She…she knew him. And you—" She looked at Beelzemon, who hadn't moved. Sickened as she was by the information, the pieces fell into place. With her palm pressed against the cover, she closed her eyes to calm herself. "You know, it makes sense. We both felt like we know each other. And to be honest…you do remind me of him sometimes."
She didn't see Beelzemon turn around to stare at her.
"It's sad to think that she used to be a normal Digimon just trying to live her life only to have everything taken from her. Considering everything that happened to her, it's no wonder she thought war was the only way. After all of that, she was desperate." Mikami sighed, opening her eyes to meet Beelzemon's gaze. "The writing changed a lot between now and when she first wrote in it. I guess it shows how far her sanity slipped. I wonder if that black mist had anything to do with it."
"Maybe. Are we going to take it with us?"
"Might as well. There's some important information in this." She picked up the egg in her other hand and held it out to Beelzemon. "Let's go meet up with Judai and Dorugoramon."
~0~
The dungeon was chilly enough that every time Judai breathed out his breath was a misty white. It reminded him of the Ice Zone. He had his arms wrapped around himself and even stuck as close to Dorugoramon's side as he could, since the dragon gave off a bit of heat, but nothing stopped him from shivering when they hit a particularly cold patch. Rubbing his arms, he looked at Datamon. The Digimon was tucked underneath Dorugoramon's other arm to prevent him from trying to run away again.
"How much farther do we have to go?"
"We're almost there," Datamon answered.
"Good. I don't think I can take the cold much longer."
Datamon muttered something under his breath. Judai wasn't able to hear it, but it made Dorugoramon glare.
"Say something like that again and I'll dangle you out of the highest window this place has."
Realizing that the dragon was serious, Datamon covered his mouth with both hands.
It took few more minutes for them to reach the cell. Unlike the other barred cells, the one in the center was a circular room made of metal with no way of seeing into it. Judai tried running his hands over the metal and was rewarded when a small panel opened to reveal a white passcode pad.
"He said it was Omega, right?"
"Yep," Dorugoramon said.
Judai entered the word into the pad and let his finger hover over the enter key.
"Moment of truth!"
He pressed it.
The pad beeped to indicate the passcode had been accepted. A grinding noise began as a section of the metal slid downwards into the floor. Both Judai and Dorugoramon squinted as they peered into the cell. The darkness made it seem empty, but the way the dragon's tail twitched was a sign to Judai that the cell was occupied. Holding up his Digivice, he turned it on, adding enough light to see a figure sitting hunched over. Cautious, Judai took a step inside. When the figure remained in the same position, he took a few more steps.
From behind him he could hear Dorugoramon gasp. "That's—"
"Omnimon," Judai whispered. "But I thought he was dead."
"How was Laylamon able to keep him locked up like this?"
Even sitting, Omnimon towered over the human. The fact that Omnimon was even taller than Gallantmon made the boy shrink back.
A strange spot on Omnimon's chest caught his eye, prompting him to hold his Digivice higher to get a better look. It was a wound covered in dark energy that bubbled. As he watched, the energy made the wound larger by chipping away at its edges.
"Is he…?"
Though Dorugoramon trailed off, Judai knew what the dragon was asking.
"I'm not sure but we're gonna find out."
Swallowing, he reached out to touch Omnimon's arm.
The knight jerked, making Judai let out a startled yelp. His head moved and he opened his dull blue eyes to look down at Judai. Petrified, Judai could only stare with an awkward smile plastered on his face.
"Who are you?" Omnimon asked, each word coming out painfully slow.
"M-my name is Judai!" the boy shouted in terror. "And the big silver dragon back there is Dorugoramon! We're part of the DigiDestined!"
Omnimon regarded the human for a moment and then did the same to Dorugoramon. "The DigiDestined?"
"Yeah. We're here to get you out."
"Laylamon?"
"She's gone," Dorugoramon said. "But there's still the rest of her army to deal with."
"I see," Omnimon rumbled.
As he began to rise to his feet, Judai took a few steps back to get out of the knight's way. His couldn't help but stare at Omnimon's chest, wincing at severity of the injury.
"That wound is pretty nasty. Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yes."
"We're heading to the castle entrance to meet up with our friends." Judai scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "If that's okay with you."
A drop of sweat rolled down his face despite the cold when Omnimon continued to stare at him. When the knight finally walked past him, he let out the breath he was holding.
"C-can I go now?" Datamon asked.
"Nope. Beelzemon wants to have a few words with you." A mischievous grin spread across Dorugoramon's face, showing off all of his pointed teeth. His eyes wide with fear, Datamon tried and failed to pull himself from Dorugoramon's grip. Ignoring the frantic machine, Dorugoramon focused on Omnimon. "Do you need any help or will you be fine walking on your own? Because, honestly…I don't know how well I could help."
"I will be fine on my own," Omnimon answered.
Putting his hands behind his head, Judai walked up to his partner. "I wonder if Beelzemon and Mikami are done with whatever they were doing."
"Who knows. Do you want to ride on my back?"
"Nah, I'm good."
Heading out of the dungeon was a slow affair due to Omnimon since they had to match his sluggish, uneven pace. Just walking up the stairs had him breathing a little heavier. Dorugoramon stuck by his side as a precaution, but the knight managed well enough on his own. When they reached the entrance, Omnimon moved to lean against the wall to rest. Tapping his foot, Judai pressed his lips together in thought. Someone would need to help Omnimon considering he was near the point of collapsing after only a short time walking.
Then he snapped his fingers and pointed at Dorugoramon.
"Hey, I know who could lend a hand!" he declared. "Gallantmon! He's tall enough to help."
Hearing Gallantmon's name made Omnimon shift. "Gallantmon is alive?"
"You bet he is! Oh, while we're out there we can toss Datamon onto one of the ships."
Dorugoramon gave Judai a thumbs up. "Sounds like a good plan to me."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Datamon whined.
Speaking at the same time, Dorugoramon and Judai said, "No."
As he climbed onto Dorugoramon's back, Judai looked at Omnimon. "Alright. Stay here. We'll be back as soon as we can! Oh, and if Beelzemon and Mikami show up, tell them what we're doing."
Dorugoramon used his free hand to open the doors enough to fit through. He took a few steps outside and spread his wings to take off. As he flew through the air, they observed what was going on down below. Although they had only been in the castle for what seemed to be a short time, the Resistance had made considerable progress. The remnants of the opposing army were being dealt with while they watched, either being destroyed or taken prisoner. A couple of Digimon were collecting the few Digi-Eggs scattered across the battlefield.
Both looked forward to find their friends in front of them. When Dorugoramon came to a sudden stop, Judai was flung forward and hit his chest against his partner's back. Sitting back, Judai rubbed the spot with a frown. Looking over his shoulder, Dorugoramon gave Judai a sympathetic look. Pointing downwards, Sakuyamon stared at them until Dorugoramon landed. Judai had just climbed down when everyone gathered around them to ask a slew of questions. Their attempts to get answers caused them to talk over each other, which led to Daiki shoving his way through to grab Judai's shoulders in a tight grip. There was a mixture of anger and worry written across his face.
"Where are Mikami and Beelzemon?"
Judai blinked. "Uh…"
"We know you were in the castle. Are they in there?"
"Well, we don't really know where they are right now," Judai answered. "Last time we saw them, Beelzemon was going on about finding 'answers'."
Sakuyamon moved to stand in front of the others. "What answers?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"They can answer you when they're done. For now, would one of you take this?" Dorugoramon asked. He held Datamon out with both hands. "Beelzemon asked us to take him prisoner. I'm sure we can get some information out of him."
"Why? What are you planning?" Shizuka asked.
Judai climbed onto his partner's back. "We found a prisoner. Dorugoramon would have brought him out, but the dude is too big for him to carry, so we need Gallantmon to help."
When no one else offered to take Datamon, Sakuyamon held out her hands and motioned for Dorugoramon to hand over the new prisoner.
"You can't do this to me!" Datamon screeched, flailing his arms as Dorugoramon handed him to Sakuyamon. "I refuse to be a prisoner! Release me!"
Sakuyamon frowned at Datamon with her eyes narrowed. Letting out a frightened squeak, Datamon silenced himself. "Gallantmon is by the last ship on the far side."
"Right. Thanks."
Dorugoramon took off once again.
It wasn't long before they found who they were looking for.
Amongst a group of their allies, the red and white armor of Gallantmon stood out. The dragon swooped down to land near them. Sitting hunched over on a rock was Vritramon. To his left stood Asuramon while KaiserLeomon and KendoGarurumon sat on the ground to his right. Standing on top of KaiserLeomon's head was Purimon. Her glowing hands were pressed against Vritramon's shoulder. Happy to see the two, Vritramon started to stand. Purimon snapped at him, prompting Asuramon to push him back down. His grumbling made Judai snicker.
"Where have the two of you been?" KaiserLeomon asked. "We heard someone say you went into the castle."
"We've just been…around," Judai answered. "You guys sure have been busy, huh? And how'd you get hurt, Vritramon?"
"Won't take much longer to finish them off. Bancho told everyone to gather up any DigiEggs we saw, so there's that too," Vritramon said. "Me on the other hand? I'm having to sit here because someone got a cheap shot off and nearly tore my arm off."
"Ouch," Judai muttered as he winced. "Hey, Gallantmon, we need your help with something. Mind lending us a hand?"
Gallantmon folded his arms. "What is it?"
"Well, we found a prisoner Laylamon was keeping. He's in rough shape so he needs help but he's a bit too big for Dorugoramon to carry."
"…Who is it?"
"You won't believe us unless you see him yourself," Dorugoramon said.
Realizing that neither would be telling him, he relented. "Fine. You three," Gallantmon said, turning to the trio around Vritramon, "make sure he stays put."
Offended, Vritramon tried to get up and was once again stopped by Asuramon.
"…Are you going to explain how you just so happened to stumble upon a prisoner?" KendoGarurumon asked.
Judai rubbed his neck. He then let out a tense laugh and turned his head to the side. "Uh…later? I figure it's something everyone wants to hear, especially BanchoLeomon. That and it seems like Beelzemon and Mikami might've found out some important stuff, so once we go meet up with them we'll come back to explain everything."
"So you did go into the castle," KaiserLeomon said.
"…Yeah. A bunch of Digimon probably saw us coming out so it's like I can lie about it. I promise we'll explain, we just need to get Mikami and Beelzemon."
As Dorugoramon turned around, Judai waved to the group.
~0~
"It's getting worse," Mikami said.
Though the change was slight, it was enough for Mikami to notice. There was no denying that the scratches had deepened. Even the pain had worsened, so much so that Beelzemon gave the egg to Mikami to carry. With one arm wrapped around the egg, she used her free hand to reach towards him. She pulled back when he pressed his hand against it to keep her from touching it.
"It's fine."
"You have a wound that's literally getting bigger as I watch it. It's definitely not fine."
Eyes on her, he closed his mouth tightly and then stumbled. He swung his hand out to grab onto the railing to stop from falling down the stairs.
"And you're tripping over your own feet." She shook her head. "Are you even gonna make it out of the castle on your own?"
He muttered, "Yes," under his breath.
As they circled around the stairs to head down to the first floor, they heard voices. When they began to head down, they were able to see Judai and Dorugoramon standing beside Gallantmon and Omnimon. The two knights were deep in conversation when Judai took notice of those joining them, prompting them to stop talking to look.
Just when he stepped off the last step, Beelzemon tripped. The tip of his left boot hit the floor while the back of the other caught a step. He flailed both arms in a poor attempt to grab the railing again. He missed, leaving a trail of claw marks in the wood on his way down. There was a loud grunt when he hit the floor. The group stared at him in stunned silence.
"Called it," Mikami said.
Dorugoramon ran forward and crouched. Though Beelzemon motioned for him to go away, Dorugoramon wrapped an arm around Beelzemon's waist.
"The others aren't happy about us coming into the castle," Judai said.
Mikami brushed her hair out of her face. "They'll be less happy when we tell them about the fight. At least we don't have to worry about Laylamon anymore." She put her hands on her hips. "Guess we should go, huh?"