I own nothing except the OCs.


Chapter Thirty-Nine-Light Found in Darkness

She should have been weeping at the destruction wrought upon her father's homeland, but she was so far beyond that point of humanity she found it hard to care. Obviously that was the crest's influence, attaching yourself to a force of evil based on one of the seven deadly sins tended to do that to you. If there was still some shred of humanity or light left in her she would have cared that Bangkok was burning, slowly being reduced to a molten crater with its once proud skyscrapers, hotels, and temples turning into graves. Unfortunately she didn't care, and that didn't bother her. Whenever she'd been witness to some horrible event or scheme the Seven Dead Demons set in motion she always felt a certain level of remorse for the minor or major hand she played in making such a thing happened, not anymore. As Leviamon had promised the code key had truly done wonders for her mind. "It's not like I owe these people anything, why should I? I am after all only a quarter Thai." Was her dark reasoning. "You always wanted to take me here dad, even though you'd never been here yourself you said you wanted all three to see the Golden Mount. I guess you can take solace in knowing you weren't the only person who had that dream crushed." Perhaps it was her imagination but as she watched the battle she could almost feel the voices of her Thai ancestors crying in despair as the capital city was slowly wiped off the map.

What was happening to the city was a cleansing of fire that one could only find in the workings of ancient bibles and epics where a force greater than man makes its wrath known. In a way it was wrath burning down the city. The DigiDestined fighting had been recruited from all over, but a good chunk of them had come from Asia meaning many of them had seen their homelands warped beyond imagining. She could sympathize with that, the hatred that comes with watching a home stolen away from you. Those feelings seemed to be channeled into their Digimon partners who used their mighty power to destroy anything and everything related to the Seven Deadly Demons. Barbamon seemed to be growing quite annoyed at the armada knocking at his doorstep or rather pounding against his door. Given Bangkok had been half morphed into a giant industrial machine it came as no surprise when intense earthquakes began shaking the city. From volcanic craters and fissures came giant gold-lined towers sporting cannons and gun barrels the size of battleships.

Sometimes it was solid gold cannonballs and other times it was precious jewels, whichever one it was it still didn't change that fact anything that collided with them was killed instantly. It wasn't just the force they were being launched with but the heat, hot enough to melt through solid platinum with only a glancing blow. That didn't distract from how eerily awe-inspiring the projectiles were, they seemed like colored comets racing across the sky before exploding in clouds of orange and red flames accompanied by thunder-like explosions. The young girl could only imagine what it was like battling in the air which had become infested by dogfights and eye-searing fire clouds. As expected of the schemer of the Seven Deadly Demons Barbamon had thoroughly prepared for an invasion, setting up anti-ground and air defenses that were making the DigiDestined's struggle all the harder.

Again, if she had any humanity left in her she would have been furious at Barbamon for turning the ancient and honored Wat Phra Kaew into his headquarters. The only thing that remained was its gold coating, Barbamon did love gold after all. Echoing the rest of the city there was now a mechanical undertone to it, making into a fortress just as much as a luxurious castle. It was unfortunate for the DigiDestined that Barbamon hadn't been cheap when it came to stacking his defenses. The teeth-rattling sound of gears turning boomed from the corrupted Buddhist temple as buildings and towers opened up allowing gigantic gold-lined gun batteries to emerge. She could almost see the entire invasion force shitting themselves at the sudden reveal of armaments.

"Know this fools!" Thundered Barbamon's heinous voice from somewhere within the Wat Phra Kaew. "All those who attempt to steal from me must pay the cost, and that cost is complete and total annihilation!"

KA-LING!

At the command of the Wicked King the Wat Phra Kaew unleashed all its supernatural ammunition on anything and everything Barbamon ahd marked as a target. Cannonballs, gemstones, fireballs, artillery shells, and everything else that could be used as a projectile was launched form the myriad of cannons, each of the streaked across the sky as if they were celestial bodies in a black and red vacuum. Startled and horrified cries went up from the DigiDestined and their allies, orders to evade and brace for impact being coming among the chorus of voices.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOMMM! BOOOM!

In its own strange way it was beautiful, or maybe that was just her warped mind trying to interpret what she saw happening before her. Hundreds of gold and red colored explosions lighting up a broken sky. Too many Digimon and humans alike vanished in the explosions, humans didn't leave behind anything but ashes at best and Digimon had their data completely deleted. Unless he got something out of letting them live Barbamon didn't believe in letting a Digimon's data reconstitute back into a Digi-Egg. The only ones who escaped the terrifying bombardment were those on the fringes of the explosions; given that so many projectiles were being launched the explosions tended to group together making even that an unlikely hope. Gale-force gusts of air were released when the cannonballs and shells exploded resulting in the entire battlefield being blasted as if there were a hurricane on the way; the already intense flames that were raging were further fanned becoming great infernos that swallowed everything around them. Possibly worse than the cannonballs and fireballs were the gemstones, as too many found out they were more like shrapnel grenades than incendiary devices. They didn't explode into great masses of fire, they burst into countless razor-sharp jewels that rained shredded the area around them, and then some of them exploded.

The bombardment lasted for little over than three minutes but the effects were so beyond devastating. The DigiDestined had been halted in their tracks, and from the looks of things it was going to take some major effort to get their momentum back. That's if they could muster the strength to do so given Barbamon's forces had decided to go on the offensive.

In the beginning the DigiDestined had come with six airships, each one of them the size of two football stadiums pushed together. Only one faction had enough resources and technical genius to create such marvels, and the Metal Empire's emblem lay proudly on the haul of each ship. For geeks and weapons nuts the warships were a wet dream come true. Two of those ships had crashed into the volcanic ground while another seemed to be having trouble staying airborne.

It had been almost seventy-nine minutes since the battle started, and now it looked like its ending was within view. She'd learned the hard way though it wasn't fair to count one side out; if the DigiDestined were anything they were determined, and that was saying nothing of the assembled Digimon backing them. They'd fight to the last man and mon if that's what it came down to. Incredibly stupid, but admirable. Whichever outcome it came to mattered little to her for she had her own plans to attend to.

"My lady," a rumbling voice called from her twelve o'clock. The creature's head was bowed and their body was obscured by the shadows but the aura of evil and violence was glaringly visible to the naked eye. "We've reached the operation's start time, we await your word to begin the attack."

"Then start," She snapped without facing the Digimon. "The sooner we get this over with the better, I refuse to lose out to Barbamon or Daemon." She didn't have to look back to see the creature was smiling a devious grin that would have sent a chill down anyone's spine. "DeviWhamon, you have your coordinates! I want us in Durban ten minutes ago!"

Beneath her the titanic whale released a roar so horrific and loud it seemed to shake the sky itself. It made hundreds of waves were born and sent forth as the beast began its decent into the murky waters. Briefly the girl's face was illuminated by the flashing red lightning that had been dancing in the sky since the battle's start. Her once chocolate-like brown hair had now grown to shoulder-length and gained a darker coloration; in the heavy rainstorm it almost seemed to be pitch-black with a few streaks of red. Eyes that had once held a blue shine as bright as a clear sky were now of a more icy shade, and malefic green fire danced in her irises.

"Soon Davis," Were her last thoughts before she was swallowed by the water. "Soon I'm going to make sure you and all your little friends know what true pain feels like, and when you do I'll take you for myself and no one will ever have to hurt you again."


For a minute Willis actually thought the silent darkness he'd been blasted into was preferable to the demented reality he'd just escaped from. Everything had happened so fast and without warning he feared he'd die of shock before he was blasted out of the air like too many of the other DigiDestined. At least here he wasn't hurting or shitting himself in fear. Alas his conscious slowly began to sink its hooks into him and drag him back into harsh reality. Of course while his mind was coming back online his body was still racked with tremendous pain, not even Antylamon shielding him was enough to protect him from the shock of impact. Willis could taste blood in his mouth and swelling up in his throat; briefly he wondered if this was what internal bleeding felt like because he could certainly feel his organs breaking apart. Yeah, definitely not a good sign. A multitude of colors started piercing the darkness until no longer could Willis keep his eyes closed.

Reality was in a word, hell. Like so many others he was staring numbly at the sky waiting trying to gather his thoughts.

"W-W-Willis? Ar-Are you alright?" Sounded the voice of Antylamon, his voice put the fear of his deletion to rest.

Willis knew he was far from alright, alive would have been a better term to use and he was trying to speak it. Finding the strength to move his arm he threw off his mask, it was more suffocating than the ash-ridden air it had been protecting him from. Almost immediately he found himself in a coughing fit that left his chest in even more pain. Yeah, removing his gas mask had been a brilliant idea. The pain stopped as a golden light lit up the side of his face chasing it away allowing him to breathe easier. "R-Rapidmon?" He called rubbing his eyes.

"Can't get rid of me that easily Willis," His second partner replied with a pained chuckle. "Nothing's broken? Can you stand up?"

Willis wasn't sure what was broken, but he was sure he had a few fractures and second-degree burns. His body was still swimming with pain but it wasn't enough to keep him tied to the ground. Painful as it was sitting up was the best option on the table. "O-Okay, my memory's a little foggy so can someone tell me what the hell happened?"

"Barbamon cheated that's what happened." Rapidmon bemoaned as he struggled to sit upright. "No one said his base could pull an Alpha Strike on everything within six-hundred miles; that ought to be against the rules!"

"This is war Rapidmon," Antylamon chided his brother even though he could completely understand his frustration. "War has no rules."

On his request Antylamon lowered his burned hand so he could lift Willis up to his shoulder to better survey the damages. The sky was still a sandbox of explosions and flashing lights meaning Barbamon's attack hadn't detoured their forces as much as he'd hoped. That didn't mean they hadn't suffered setbacks, they were most definitely being overwhelmed since their momentum had been broken. Behind him one of the fleet's airships was on fire yet still going. Turning from the sky to their target Willis was shocked beyond belief to find there was now a giant mount of…jewelry sticking out of the ground. He had to be nearly five miles away but he could perfectly make out the multitude of gemstones that glistened brightly amongst the flames. Something inside him began to stir, a burning desire to hold one of the jewels in his hand, no, not one but all of them. It felt like he was being drawn to it like a magnet, there was no use in fighting it, and his resistance was diminishing by the second.

"Willis! Willis!" Rapidmon screamed over and over again as radiant light was expelled from his body.

As if he'd been awoken from a dream the dirty blonde shock his head back and forth. "W-What? W-What happened? Did I black out or something?"

"You could say that." Antylamon mused watching his brother rise into the air where his light was able to reach the other DigiDestined who'd been grounded by the aerial attack. "We've found the 'gatekeeper' of the portal.

"Eeheheheheheheheheheheheh!" Came a horrid voice that rolled over the field chilling the bones of human and Digimon alike. "How sad you lot weren't killed in the air strike or bought by my magnificent glow, those deaths would have been much more preferable to what I'm going to have to do to you! Eehehehehehehehe!

"Why don't you just quite hiding and show yourself already?"

That was when the 'mound' of treasure began to shake and its glow grow more sinister. It grew out of the ground kicking aside lava and rock to reveal a creature a little over twice the size of an Abrams tank. It was a tortoise, an oversized and horrifically crafted one that looked like it belonged in a medieval RPG. The mound was its shell, a collection of jewels embedded in a jet black shell that glowed as it were obsidian, a sharp contrast to the rocky black of the volcanic field. There weren't any blue or violet colored gems on the creature's shell, only various shades of red, gold, and green. Given where they came from Willis had the suspicion so much as touching the jewels would have some negative side effects. The legs of the Digimon were stalky like tree trunks and looked thick enough to withstand the fires that raged without end. Not surprisingly its head had a few gemstones decorating it, specifically a large red hexagon-shaped jewel on the forehead. Those parts of its body that weren't protected by gemstones appeared rough and rigid as if they'd been carved from solid rock, and the face of the beast was no different. A pair of beating red eyes mocked the DigiDestined and their allies while black lips pulled back in sick laughter.

"How rude of me, I forgot my manners. Oeimon, chief lieutenant of the Demon Lord of Greed." The Digimon cackled.

Name: Oeimon

Level: Ultimate

Attribute: Virus

Description: It's hard to tell Oeimon was once a holy angel given his current form, then again some see him as a testament to just how far an angel can fall. Corrupted by the evil of avarice he dutifully serves his wicked master on the grounds he will always be rewarded for it. Being a sadist the chance to hurt as many as people is rewarding enough. A great many Digimon have been lost pursuing the treasure trove that is his shell, deletion was the only gold they ever found. Those priceless gems on his shell are used in his Conqueror's Right attack, a move that at least provides a 'glorious death' for his victims. If by some miracle you're able to avoid the gem shower don't expect to be able to pierce his shell, his Adamant Grasp move has the ability to harden his shell to withstand almost anything. Rounding out the list of eye-catching danger is his Gold Quake, a devastating rush of rock and metal that can pierce Chrome Digizoid armor.

Oeimon chuckled at the collective groans and curses that rose from the DigiDestined, he was only getting started when it came to breaking their spirits. "Oh don't be like that, I brought along some friends for you guys to play with so no one will be left out! Arise, NeoDevimon!"

Around the tortoise dozens of flaming pillars erupted, shadowy figures rose up out of each of them. The creatures blew the flames away upon expanding their wings and thus revealing their near bone-thin bodies to the world. A golden mask with six silver orbs passing for eyes covered their faces, a mane of ash-white hair extended from the back of their heads to the middle of their naked backs. Their hands were absurdly long with gold-colored claws ending at the heels of their feet. The newly arrived demons floated about twenty fifteen feet from the ground, each of them awaiting Oeimon's word to attack.

Name: NeoDevimon

Level: Ultimate

Attribute: Virus

Description: And you thought Devimon was bad, meet his Ultimate form. Word is its new strength is artificial, the mask it wears proves somewhat a testament to the fact for it controls everything about the creature from its insane strength to its very will. Those skinny arms aren't just unnerving, they're dangerous. It's Guilty Claw and Deep Sorrow will leave you wishing death was fast, and its Stun Claw will have you wishing it outright killed you on the spot.

"Now DigiDestined, this is farewell, don't worry, all of your Digivices and valuables will be collected and passed onto worthy ownership! Conqueror's Right!"

"Deep Sorrow."

Dark light consumed each of the jewels on Oeimon's shell while the red orbs grafted onto the NeoDevimon flashed red.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

"Defensive line!"

Meeting the ballistic jewels and demonic energy blasts were a collection of artillery shells and fireballs, the resulting curtain of explosions were blinding to any creature that couldn't take the intense light and deafening sound waves. Those surviving machine-type Digimon that were immune to such things pressed forward immediately. Acting on impulse the NeoDevimon broke ranks and engaged the robotic Digimon with their elongated claws carving through anything they touched; in retaliation the ME soldiers unleaded whatever ordnance they had left on the fallen angels.

"Willis! Willis! Willis!"

"Dark Roar!"

A compressed mass of dark energy soared over the American teenager's head then slammed into an oncoming NeoDevimon, completely destroying it. Willis and his partners looked over to see the leader of the West Coast DigiDestined approaching them on top of his partner, Darkdramon. The cyborg dragon's armor was cracked in several places causing data, oil, and blood to trickle out yet the Mega's eyes still possessed the fighting fire the rest of the troops held.

"We got to take out that portal before Barbamon launches another attack, we won't be able to survive it." Jayden started running a head over his ash-covered hair; like Willis the strain of battle had taken a toll on him. "We need to get you guys to the Democracy Monument now."

"Sounds nice, but I don't think it's going to be an easy walk."

"You're right it won't be, we'll at least be able to give you a pathway." Darkdramon rumbled holding up his blood-stained Gigastick Lance. "Rapidmon, Antylamon," he addressed the brothers. "Both of you have the power to take that portal and everything else within thirty miles down. You guys could level the playing field."

"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" The digital bunny stated already beginning to feel his skin crawl. "Damn it we've been over this!"

"Either you Digivolve to the Mega-level and return the favor or we spend the next hour fighting an even greater uphill battle than before." Jayden countered looking Willis dead in the eye. "You've been practicing for weeks, you know as well as I do a Celestial Digimon could even things out for us, all he'd have to do is one large scale attack and we'll have the momentum back."

"Then I'd be out the rest of the battle." Antylamon commented clearly irritated with the plan being put forth. "Besides we haven't been able to get the form to stabilize, if it backfires we could be in serious trouble, worse than we already are."

"I'd say that'd be pretty hard, but I think you actually have a point." Darkdramon grumbled beckoning to the battle around them. "My point still stands though."

To be blunt the cybernetic dragon actually had a fair point, they'd at least managed to turn the battle into a tossup. The NeoDevimon didn't at all seemed to care they were now in the crosshairs of half a dozen trigger-happy Tankdramon and various digital machines carrying enough firepower to level a bunker; maybe that was because despite their skinny appearance the demons were actually quite durable. Well aimed shots that should have blown their limbs off left little more than black scorch marks that disappeared as soon as they appeared. Whatever happened to be the target of their darkness infused claws usually didn't live long enough to try for a second shot. Given their abnormal length each time a NeoDevimon swung they took out at least two or three at once leaving trails of blood and data in their wake. Ironically that was the perfect time to attack even if it were only for a split second. A great many NeoDevimon disappeared in a storm of gunfire and energy beams as soon as they finished one attack, sometimes it was enough and sometimes it wasn't.

The HiAndromon were the NeoDevimon's equal in both a spiritual and practical sense. A handful had been deployed to command attack units, and not even losing half their men deterred them from their mission. Oeimon's sudden appearance hadn't changed anything for them, he and his cohorts were just one more obstacle that had to be removed. Be it by their Atomic Ray or jet black hands they deleted everything that came between them and the Democracy Monument. The jet-black androids grappled with the masked demons in ferocious contests of strength that generated cackling fields of electricity strong enough to fry anyone or anything that got too close. Rather than attempt to aid them the rest of the unit pushed onward with the attack as they'd been ordered to. It wasn't too long until they were closing the two mile gap between them and the Democracy Monument, or rather them and Oeimon, who was grinning like a fool the entire time.

"You idiots think I'd let you near the portal this easily? Hah!" He bellowed rising on his hind legs while malefic energy coated his front limbs. "Here, enjoy the rewards of your stupidity! Gold Quake!" Upon slamming his massive legs into the ground a transfer of demonic energy took place, it flowed from Oeimon's unholy being into the ravaged earth and traveled outwards in the direction of the invasion force. Without warning hundreds of golden spires and jagged blades erupted from the earth skewering anything they touched. Not even the flyers were safe as the spires didn't stop extending, some of them reaching as high as twenty-five feet into the air bringing a fair number of Digimon down while the humans riding them were helpless as they tumbled towards the ground. "Hahahahaha! Come now children, don't you know? The more valuable the treasure the greater the guardian that guards it!" Oeimon continued to bellow as he watched the destruction unfold from his vintage point high above the battlefield.

"Now, commence bombardment!" A deep mechanical voice barked above his head.

At once an aerial ring of Digimon appeared above Oeimon's, each of them in the midst of charging up their strongest attacks. At the command of the led Gigadramon they all opened fire while Oeimon did nothing but grin at the omnidirectional barrage.

Ka-Boom!

Deep smoke and ash obscured the Fallen Angel from view leaving the attackers with baited breath as they hoped their combined attack had done the trick. The dark laughter of the demonic creature quickly dashed those hopes.

"Nice move, now here's mine! Shining in Hell!"

Piercing through the darkness were several gold-lined black beams of light. Penetrating armor and flesh alike death came painfully fast for Oeimon's attackers. The death wails of human and Digimon alike were drowned out by the bellowing laughter of Oeimon; behind him the corrupted monument began to cackle with dark energy greatly alarming the DigiDestined.

"You know flying into that seems less appealing than it did a minute ago." Rapidmon mused dunking behind make-shift cover. "My ammunition, I don't know if it'll be able to penetrate his armor. If it can't then I'll be in serious trouble."

"Considering you're one of the Miracle Four I'm pretty sure you'll have an easier time than the rest of us will." Darkdramon countered.

Making the jump was easy for Jayden, he'd always been an athletic guy with a habit of getting up close to people when he needed to talk to them. Both boys had deep shadows under their eyes and their skin was deeply tanned by the intense heat around them. Their hair had been turned quite a few shades darker due to all the ash in the atmosphere, and the body armor they'd been given had torn in several places, yet it had done the job of protecting them. Exhaustion was evident in their eyes and their tired breath. They were talking on even ground so there was little need for either to raise their voices.

"You have to digivolve Antylamon into Cherubimon, it's the last trump card we have left to take out that gate." Jayden argued.

"Damn it Jayden, we've been practicing for weeks and we still can't get the form to stabilize! A battle like this isn't the time for a test run!" Willis shot back feeling anger rise up inside of him. Once word got out he had a partner capable of digivolving into a Celestial Digimon he'd become nothing more than a prized chess piece in the eyes of some. "We've already got Rapidmon, isn't that enough?"

"Who else is strong enough to penetrate Oeimon's defenses? Besides, even if we get past him he's still set up roadblocks to guard the gate." The brown-haired boy replied crossing his arms and narrowing his sea-green eyes to a point. "Willis, we either shut that gate down or we're going to be in deeper shit than we were before. If Barbamon decides to start raining gold on our asses again we won't be able to recover and counterattack."

"You mean you can tell he's going to…how!?"

"Radio chatter," Darkdramon answered with a snort. "Command says he's building up energy for another bombardment, I don't need to tell you we don't have the strength to survive another one of those things. Commander Aegisdramon is preparing another strike to take out some of the cannons, but unless we can take the Democracy Monument then we're still going to be in for one hell of an ass kicking."

After hearing all that Willis truly wished he was stuck in some bad dream he could wake up from. Or some video game where he could press the off-button and go back to a life where the fate of hundreds didn't rest on his next move. His fists tightened to the point he felt like he was trying to grind his own fingers into dust. Not for the first time he wished like hell he'd never gotten involved with Digimon in the first place. "It's not like…it's not like I…but I do have the power. I have the power to turn this battle around, even if it only gives us an opening for a second. It's a slim shot, I've got to try. If I don't then…what was the point of coming out here?" God only knew how many of their own had died while he stood and debated rather or not to act. "We're already in hell so what else do we have to lose." Neither of his options were favorable, but as they say, war doesn't leave you with many options you like. "Rapidmon," he began addressing his gold-armored partner. "I want you to take a squadron and hold off Oeimon with Darkdramon's help. While you're doing that I'm going…well, I don't want to say will, but I'm going to try to get Antylamon to Digivolve to the Mega level. I…don't know if it'll work, for all we know we may just end up exhausting ourselves and becoming nothing but a giant target."

"It's still worth a shot." The Armored Digimon offered holding up his right arm. "Willis, I trust you and I trust Antylamon, no matter how tough times are or the odds we've always managed to come through when it mattered. This time is no different." Peering out from the overturned slab of rock they'd been hiding behind he saw Oeimon laughing like a madman from his highpoint as his unholy lasers crisscrossed the skies. "I will be needing a wingman to deal with that lunatic though."

"Heh, you got the best wingman possible right here." Jayden laughing pointing his thump towards his draconic partner. "You leave the gold digger to us, we can handle him easy as pie."

The background explosions might as well have been scripted for all Willis cared. Odds were he would be well into his sunset years and still recall this moment perfectly. Looking up to see Rapidmon's clear eyes gazing into his further fueled his kindling confidence. "Just…don't do anything reckless okay?"

"Ah come on Willis, When am I ever reckless?" The golden armored creature laughed.

"I'll be backing him up so no need to worry." Came the dark chuckle of the Cyborg Dragon Digimon across from him.

The digital brothers shared a compassionate glance, each silently asking the other to do their best and return alive. Each had total faith in the other and they hoped that faith would be enough to keep them alive. Well, in Antylamon's case he had faith in his brother and the twelve-mon squad he had with him in addition to Darkdramon.

Amongst the cover of black rock and overturned metal Antylamon and Willis began to sync their minds while around them the world burned in fire. He spread his hands out while Willis clapped his Digivice between his palms in front of his chest-as if he were praying to whatever entity that had given it to him.

On his end Rapidmon found a nonstop barrage of fireballs and ballistic jewel shards waiting for him. Given his divine armor it wasn't much of a problem, granted getting hit still hurt, for the Digimon beside him it was. Energy barriers merged together in a bid to create a shield strong enough to weather the attacks. For the most part it seemed successful until the first of Oeimon's lasers slammed into it. They lost one to a headshot they should have seen coming then another to a laser blast that split them from the shoulder downwards.

Darkdramon took the led with his charged up Gigastick Lance at the ready. At his partner's command he surged forward swinging his weapon, sending projectiles either back at their owners or off into the distance. Screaming inhuman cries of rage the NeoDevimon all came at him with glistening claws poised to shred and tear his body apart.

SWOSH! SWOSH! SWOSH! SWASH!

Even if it only lasted a second Darkdramon caught the faulting in Oeimon's grin and worry that briefly flashed through his crimson eyes. With a wicked grin that matched that of his partner he sped past the severed remains of the Fallen Angel Digimon towards his target. "Demon Stab!" He roared with Dark Matter converging on the tip of his Gigastick Lance.

Quickly recovering Oeimon cackled with laughter as the distance between him and the draconic cyborg was reduced. "Adamant Grasp!"

KA-CHINK!

To its credit the Gigastick Lance didn't break, but it didn't do its job in piercing the target even with Dark Matter coating its sharpened tip. Poking his head out Oeimon grinned menacingly, "Cute toothpick, I've weathered worse though. Shining in Hell!"

"ALL FORCES FALL BACK!" Digimon and human screamed practically throwing themselves as far away as possible from the greed-fueled Digimon.

In addition to discouraging attacks Oeimon's attack created a hill-sized roadblock between the DigiDestined and the DigiPort that was their target. Though none of them could look directly at him they could hear the Fallen Angel's demented laughter mocking them-daring them to come forward to challenge him. What he didn't know was that one amongst their number actually had the strength to go toe to toe with his dark light.

Rapidmon spread himself out, legs straight and both arms out forming a cross. His golden armor surged with righteous energy that awed Digimon and human alike while the devils and demons of the SDD shrieked back in horror. Unlike the greed-filled tortoise his light was every manner of gold and white imaginable. The two light masses slammed against each other and began pushing with all their might resulting in wild bolts of pure energy being scattered throughout the area. Deep roars left the mouth of Oeimon while small grunts of effort could be heard coming from Rapidmon.

"Miracle Missile!" Cried the Golden Armor Digimon focusing all the light energy in his body into his strongest attack. At once the golden light surrounding him refocused itself into a triangle-shaped beam that tore through Oeimon's barrier before engulfing him.

To conserve power Rapidmon kept the attack up for no longer than ten seconds, but it was enough to knock the arrogant demon off his game. Once the attack ceased it was obvious there were cracks and holes in Oeimon's jewel-covered shell as well as scorch marks proving how deadly the Holy Knight's light powers were to the supposedly indestructible shell. Curses flew from the mouth of the wounded creature as smoke coiled off the burns and data escaped through the cracks.

"I'm afraid the only one who's going to be sorry here is you." Rapidmon joked just as a navy-blue blur rocketed past him towards Oeimon.

Fear became evident in the eyes of the Fallen Angel Digimon as Darkdramon appeared directly in front of him in a crouching position, his left arm was reared back and pulsating with charged energy. Releasing a hate filled snarl he delivered a stone-shattering uppercut to his lower jaw so strong it lifted him off the ground and a few feet into the air thus exposing his underbelly. Though it too was armored it had nowhere near the defensive power of the upper portion of his shell. Now it was his right arm that reared back, the Gigastick Lance filled itself up with energy until black tendrils of energy were coiling around the tip which was rimmed into Oeimon's underside with extreme force.

KA-CLINK!

The sight of the gem-covered tortoise skidding across the rocky platform was beyond satisfying for a few mirrors of the attack force. None of them waited for him to come to a stop in front of the twisted Democracy Monument, they all just opened fire without a moment's hesitation.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

"That was too easy." Rapidmon noted bracing himself for the counterattack he knew was coming.

The counterattack before the dust from their combined attack had settled. A myriad of crimson energy blasts exploded from the scene scattering the attackers in all directions. Demonic roars and calls pierced the blacken sky and cleared away the smoke to reveal a pissed off Oeimon surrounded by a new platoon of demons and devils. DeviKnightmon, Devidramon, new NeoDevimon, SkullBaluchimon, and Matadormon stood at the ready of the tortoise's command. That command came in the form of a vile scream that sent shockwaves through the air.

"KILL ALL OF THEM! I WANT THEM DEAD! DEAD!"

Gun barrels flashed bright and razor-sharp blades were swung at frantic paces to hold off the demonic horde that surged forth at the Fallen Angel's command. Within seconds Rapidmon and Darkdramon found themselves ordering a retreat back to the edge of the platform housing the Democracy Monument. Oeimon didn't want them retreating, he wanted them dead and made good on it by using Conqueror's Right to release yet another shower of highly explosive ballistic jewels.

Pieces of metal and flesh were flew in all directions as countless Digimon ducked and weaved aside to avoid deletion. The humans that accompanied them found they either held on for dear life or faced a quick yet no less gruesome death in the crossfire. In that regard Rapidmon was actually happy Willis wasn't with him, hell, they'd succeeded in drawing Oeimon's attention away from him and Antylamon so they could build up the strength needed to call forth Cherubimon. Now all they had to do was still alive long enough to see it; however, that was becoming harder by the second. Not a second passed that the Vaccine-attributed Digimon wasn't moving his body or firing rockets out of his launchers or arms; hitting wasn't as important as dodging whatever it was that was trying to destroy him. More than a few times he wasn't fast enough and something sharp would slam into his armor then bounce off, whatever was responsible usually ended up with a rocket to the face for their actions.

Jayden had always known death was a very real possibility when he offered this plan, his own death all but assured if Darkdramon wasn't fast enough. He wasn't worried though, his partner had never let him down when it came down to the wire. Of course, they'd never quite been in a situation as grave as this. Oeimon wasn't kidding when he said he wanted each and every last one of them dead-his servants actually seemed intent on making good on the threat. Not even Darkdramon with all his power and skill was able to escape every attack thrown their way; what he could do was make whoever was responsible for it pay with their lives. Each time he cut them some breathing room a new array of demons and freaks were on them doing their best to tear the Mega and human apart. Darkdramon's frustration finally exploded in one wide sweep of his Gigastick Lance, a Dark Matter-powered move that projected an energy slash that traveled a good mile destroying everything that got in its way. In the short time he'd bought them he gathered Dark Matter into his mouth for his trademark Dark Roar attack; when he released it was in the form of a jet black beam with blue arcs of lightning around it rather than a compressed ball of destruction. Doing this allowed him to swing it around as if it were a sword or spear with all the destructive abilities of the attack maintained.

Standing guard in front of the twisted monument Oeimon watched and waited for his chance to attack; his enemies didn't know it but he could actually aim his Conqueror's Right at specific targets rather than just let loose with a motor like barrage. It was secret he always saved for enemies who'd only succeeded to greatly pissing him off. The cybernetic dragon and overgrown dog in armor had done that, and then some. They were the real back bone of the attack as evident by their impressive kill counts, not even teams of NeoDevimon could bring them down. "That's about to change." He thought psychotically as the cooldown period finally came as he knew it would. Darkdramon's beam attack ended and Rapidmon paused in his nonstop shooting leaving them both open if only for a second. "Conqueror's Right!"

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

The cybernetic dragon and armored canine only had a second to grasp the fact they wouldn't be able to avoid the empowered jewels heading straight for them. That second was used to say only one word that was loudly proclaimed by the human teenager attached to Darkdramon's shoulder. It was a four letter one as well as one that could sum up the entire battle.

Ka-Boom! Ka-Boom!

Both heavy hitters went down leaving wide craters where they fell.

"How'd that feel huh you little pricks! Did it hurt? I know this sure as hell will!" Oeimon screamed to the dark skies releasing another rain of demonically charged gems that soared high before beginning their descendent towards the ground.

"ATOMIC RAY!"

Some five beams of raw energy streaked over the skies destroying the gems before they could reach their target. It was more than the gems, quite a few Digimon were taken out in the sudden attack, many of them not even realizing what had happened until their data was blasted to smithereens. Oeimon's good mood evaporated upon setting sight on the creatures that had snatched victory from him so suddenly.

The HiAndromon had not only reassembled but had apparently called for reinforcements. His superhuman eyesight and hearing picked up the loud treading of tires and metallic feet stomping into the earth. Explosions and unholy screams grew louder by the second filling Oeimon with worry by the second. "No…no! You bastards can't! You don't have the manpower! You don't have the guts for it!"

"According to who?"

"Wh-What? Th-Tha voice? I-It sounded like…like Lord Dae-" The once radiant angel never got to finish his question as at that moment two things happened, both of which he had a hard time coming to grips with.

Possibly thirty miles or so away a gigantic multi-colored energy beam ripped through the destroyed city. It didn't stop when it slammed into the Wat Phra Kaew, actually it went straight through it. No matter what side they were on it was heart-stopping to see such a massive concentration of energy tear through one half of Barbamon's gold-covered headquarters. Everything caught in the blue beam disappeared in an instant leaving no time for a scream of fear or fury. Though all eyes searched for the source of the energy beam something else stole their attention. Sadly for Oeimon this was much closer to him than he would have liked.

All Fallen Angel Digimon and Demon type Digimon knew this light well. For many of them it was what kept them going and for others it was nothing but a source of eternal hatred and contempt. What all of them shared, no matter how small it was, was a deep fear of that light. Given what they had become the light was now toxic, dangerous to them. Even a glancing blow was dangerous enough-full exposure was deletion in the most painful way possibly. For a brief second Oeimon actually saw where the light originated from, and then his eyes were seared shut by the glorious radiance he'd once been privy to.

Those that hadn't fallen, hadn't been tainted by sin or evil could only stare in slack-jawed awe at the figure in the center of the light pillar. Extending from the ground and breaking through the clouds it truly seemed angelic, halting the fighting, silencing the thunder, and filling their souls with hope that this wasn't the end. In the center the figure spread their arms out and took in a massive breath before exhaling.

"HEAVEN'S JUDGEMENT!"


And then the thunder returned in much greater force. One side of the conflict continued to watch in awe while the other screamed until either their lungs gave out or the azure-colored lightning permanently silenced them.

"You felt something just now didn't you?"

"Yeah…I'm not sure what though. Kind of sucks how this…feeling tells me something's happened but I never know exactly what it is."

"You're just not there yet." Harper shrugged from her shadow. "Give it a few more years, or days in this place; since you're not getting the willies I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's nothing bad."

"Hope so, we could use something good after all the crap we've been through." Goblimon added kicking a near-by pebble.

The spirit and Digimon watched Jun closely for any sign of a reaction as she continued staring at the sky. Since the rain had slacked off an eerie calm had fallen over the forest; given everything they'd been through Jun and Goblimon had learned not to believe that meant things were going to be quiet. This time was different. They could sense something else had changed in the Dark Ocean. Perhaps they were reading too much into it but the clouds had begun steadily parting and the rain grew less and less frequent. The humidity died down quite a bit which was a major plus.

Thanks to the surprisingly fair weather they'd been able to make good ground towards Clooloo. It actually seemed like their luck had been too good which put them all on alert. Any second they fully expected something to come out of the dense dark woods to attack them, yet nothing came. Nothing sent by Dagomon anyway. The skies hadn't been clear of flyers though. Ducking into the darkness every time a shadow passed over their heads had become routine for them. Quickly Jun had deduced it wasn't them they were going after, something else had caught their attention. For that reason the redhead walked forward with an almost mystically air of confidence and authority that made Goblimon and Harper wonder just what was running through her head.

"What happened?" Goblimon finally asked as they took another break to catch their strength. Clooloo was maybe half an hour away from their current location. He trusted Jun with his life, but he couldn't shake the feeling something had happened to his partner. When she'd…confessed to them her dream meeting with Daemon he'd been worried. As Orgemon he knew well what was fueling Jun at the moment. The power of hate was dangerous, it was useful, but it was a dangerous power that could destroy her just as it'd nearly destroyed him.

Her eyes had been what scared Goblimon the most. She'd nearly avoided being raped, and now she was…well, focused only began to sum up her current state of mind. When she awoke she was frightened, horrified of her surroundings. He'd stayed with her through that time watching her strength slowly return to her. After having her "chat" with Daemon she'd changed, he taught her a dangerous technique Harper had said she'd make good use of. That was the power to channel her hatred so it didn't overwhelm her. That was when her eyes changed, never again would they hold that innocent spark he'd been surprised to find in such a hellhole. Goblimon didn't want to compare her eyes to razors, but that's what they'd turned into. Those eyes didn't belong in the head of a seventeen year-old teenage girl yet that's what was looking at him now.

"I know you're worried about me Goblimon." She started, her eyes softened considerable. She was well aware of all of this, perhaps too aware of what had happened to her. Matter of fact ever since coming to she'd become frighteningly aware of how truly fragile she was. "I'm…scared too, but it's not of what's waiting for us at Clooloo. I…I'm scared of what'll happen to me if I don't do this." Propping up her knees she looked away from her partner in the direction of the fortress. Something dark and maniacal was twinkling in her eyes, and it was actually a little unnerving for the young goblin. "I know it may not be right but every second I'm angry at Dagomon, every time I think about what his freak….nearly did to me and what I want to do to them I feel this rush of power. It's unlike anything I've ever felt before in my life. In my mind I saw myself wrapping my hands around their throats, beating the living shit out of them, ripping their disgusting limbs off one by one." With each word Jun's breathing grew heaver while her right arm slowly rose until she was staring at her open palm. For a while she said nothing and did nothing but stare at her hand until suddenly a bright orange flame consumed her hand. "I want to see them screaming for mercy, I want them to feel every bit of pain they've inflicted on me and everyone else in this world tenfold."

Neither of them had much to see when they saw the orange glow around Jun's eyes, rather it was fear or acceptance they wouldn't voice it. Jun didn't blame them for not saying anything, they had every right to be scared of her, for her, and call her an idiot for accepting such a foolish deal.

"How do you know you can trust him?" Harper finally questioned looking Jun dead in the eye so to speak.

Looking down the redhead gave some serious thought to the question as evident by the heavy frown on her face. "I don't Harper, but the thing is it's not him I'm trusting, and he's not counting on me trust him." In a fraction of a second her eyes went up and the two males could see while the flame was still there Jun's own eyes were still brimming with their own kind of light. Orange and blue, two colors briefly breaking through the negative layer of the Dark Ocean together. "What I'm trusting is his hatred for Dagomon is just as strong as mine."

"…So…you're going to…trust in his rage." Goblimon mused looking upwards. A few minutes passed before he finally spoke up himself, "That's actually not a bad plan." He stated in a surprisingly light voice. "He's the embodiment of wrath so I guess his hatred is the only thing we can trust."

"In hatred we trust." The ghost chuckled rolling his faceless head. "You know that's actually pretty funny. A damn shame no one ever gets pushed far enough to use such a thing; I for one think people can actually find a lot of common ground on things they hate. So what do you think Goblimon? That satisfy you?"

With a heavy sigh Goblimon stood up and moved towards his partner until he was standing before her flaming palm. "I know what hatred does, I can tell you it'll get you the power you need, but I need you to promise me something Jun." Wordlessly he clapped his left hand over her burning palm. He gave no sign of pain or discomfort at the ethereal flames now consuming his hand. Through it he could feel Jun's emotions, her soul, whispering all her thoughts to him. "Promise me when all this is over, when we've won you'll let your wrath go."

Wrath's mortal enemy wormed its way into the teenage girl's heart causing the flame to die down greatly. The fire faded from her eyes while the torch in her hand was greatly reduced then finally extinguished as she firmly clasped Goblimon's hand. "I…I will Goblimon. I promise."

In his opinion Harper did good by allowing them a full minute of silent bonding before he clapped his hands to grab their attention. "YYYYYeeeaaah, that's all well and good, but it can wait until after we've brought that hunk of junk down. Until it comes down Jun could you hold onto your rage for just a little longer?" The sing-song voice he spoke the words in would have been a little sickening if Jun and Goblimon hadn't gotten used to it. Aside from that they knew in his own way he was trying to help.

Standing up straight Jun took one last glance at the sky before she began walking ahead with the others following her. "You don't have to worry Harper, until that overgrown squid is dead don't ever worry about that problem."

Only Jun had the slightest idea of what was watching them, well, actually she knew full well what it was partially because she'd called it. She knew the crimson eyes watching her from hundreds of feet in the air. She knew of the unseen demon tracking her every move miles away in an infernal temple that seemed to have pulled straight from Mordor. Simply put she didn't care because deep down she knew when she called they would answer. When she screamed her hatred for the Depraved Monk of the Deep they would come at her call and burn this entire realm until it was nothing but a charred wasteland barefoot of even the tiniest drop of moisture.


The only reason I renamed this chapter was because I finished looking at that last bit with Jun and thought it would be more fitting than calling it "Darkness Falls", despite all the praise it gets light can burn you the same way fire can. To clarify one thing Jun hasn't become a partner to Daemon like Valére or a certain someone else has, because she's channeling the sin he represents Daemon has been able to form a strong mental connection with her. I leave you all to guess how that's going to turn out, only I the author know the true answer! *cue evil laugh* The Breakdown Arc isn't even half way close to being over and I'm eager to move onto the next portion, a two-parter! On a side not, Oeimon is based off the demon Oeillet, a prince of Powers who tempts man into shamelessness and obscenity. According to mythology he's opposed by St. John the Evangelist, though in this story you could say he's been opposed by St. Willis the Brave ;)

Happy Halloween readers! I'll be seeing you guys again sometime early November!

And go Cubs!