69

The Eclipse's Descent

"I have haunted the tombs of the ages,

I have flown on the pinions of fear,

Where the smoke-belching Erebus rages;

Where the jokulls loom snow-clad and drear;

And in realms where the sun of the desert consumes what it never can cheer."

– H. P. Lovecraft, "Nemesis"

Sato stood behind Anubimon. The winds had left him physically disheveled, but mentally he was once more in control of himself, and he looked on AncientSphinxmon with eyes that were cold and calculating. Doubtless the Dark One could destroy the Chosen if he felt so inclined. Was he challenging them out of rage? It wouldn't do to have him kill them. But where did his loyalties lie, if anywhere? Now that Wisemon had been dealt with, was their bargain still in place?

For now, Sato would do nothing but watch and wait. To misjudge the situation could have fatal consequences. At the very least, he would finally see the Dark One's powers unleashed.

As these thoughts were passing through the mind of Sato Katsu, AncientSphinxmon stood immobile, watching the Chosen Children and their Digimon, silent. The Chosen themselves had recovered somewhat from the shock of its appearance, and were wondering what to do next. Though they knew nothing of this thing's motivations, they had a good idea of its intentions – there was a fight coming.

"Well?" the Dark One asked. "Don't tell me I've scared you speechless."

"I'm not scared," Daisuke told it, raising his voice to make sure he was heard. "We've fought monsters like you before."

The sphinx laughed, a sound so unnatural that it sent a chill through each of them.

"Have you really?" it asked. "You've had your moments in the past, I suppose. Motomiya Daisuke, the boy whose simplicity defeated BelialVamdemon."

"How do you know about that?" Daisuke asked, ignoring for the moment what he thought might be a veiled insult.

"I know all sorts of things. I could lay all your secrets bare, every one of you, but I'm a little tired of talking." AncientSphinxmon bowed its grinning head, and set its tail twitching back and forth like a cat. "You'll want to evolve for this."

"Let's go, Paildramon!" Daisuke shouted.

"Paildramon, Ultimate Evolve! … Imperialdramon!"

Dragon and sphinx now faced each other, roughly equal in size. Size had nothing to do with power, but still it heartened the Chosen Children somewhat that they were no longer dwarfed by the enemy.

Size isn't enough, though, Ken thought. It's right – we never have fought something like this before. It occurred to him that he regretted not having Koshiro's Digimon Analyzer there at that moment, on the chance that it could pick up something, anything about this unknown enemy that they could use to their advantage. No, I'm not being honest, he thought. I'm really wondering whether it would say anything at all. His memories of that first night flitted through his mind, when he had first begun to have trouble sleeping, and had heard the soft, amused voice in the darkness. There was something different about this thing that was neither human nor Digimon – he had felt it from the beginning. And ever since then he had been subconsciously awaiting this meeting…dreading it.

Around him, the sunshine glare of the desert was augmented by the light of evolution, as the rest of the Chosen Digimon made themselves ready for battle.

"Armadimon, Evolve! … Ankylomon!"

"Patamon, Evolve! … Angemon!"

"Hawkmon, Evolve! … Aquilamon!"

"Aquilamon!"

"Tailmon!"

"Jogress Evolve! … Sylphimon!"

"Ankylomon!"

"Angemon!"

"Jogress Evolve! … Shakkoumon!"

"Now we're getting somewhere!" the Dark One exclaimed gleefully. "Who wants to take the first shot? No one? Then allow me." The beast jumped, spinning in the air, its metal-pronged tail whipping round like a flail and smashing into the side of Imperialdramon's armored head. The dragon Digimon slumped sideways, dazed by the impact, and AncientSphinxmon landed on its four paws, shaking the sand with such violence that the Chosen Children had trouble keeping their balance.

"Come on, come on!" the Dark One said. "It's more fun for everyone if you fight back."

"Then try this!" Sylphimon shouted. "Top Gun!"

"Nigimitama!" The hatch in Shakkoumon's waist opened, unleashing a swarm of bladed disks.

The first attack struck AncientSphinxmon's face, but did nothing to change its smile. Shakkoumon's disks it batted aside with one huge forepaw.

"Try harder," it said, chuckling. "Even a regular old AncientSphinxmon would be at the Ultimate level." This time the tail shot up over the back of the sphinx's body like a scorpion's stinger before unleashing twin beams of reddish light. The attack caught the Dark One's opponents off-guard. Sylphimon was struck by one and was flipped head over feet in the air, while the other found Shakkoumon before he had a chance to absorb and disperse the energy.

Then Imperialdramon had risen up again, the massive blades on his claws gouging at the Dark One's front. For a moment the air was filled with sparks and the clang of metal on metal. Then the Dark One leapt backwards.

"That's more like it! Now me! Dark Blast!"

AncientSphinxmon's mouth opened wide, and with its roar came a beam of the purest black, slamming into Imperialdramon. He dug his claws into the sand, but still the impact sent him sliding backwards. If the attack hadn't been so brief he would have crushed the Chosen Children beneath his hind legs. The parts of him where the beam had struck were enflamed with pain, but he raised his head so that he could see himself reflected in the sphinx's ruby eyes.

"Daisuke… Ken-chan… He's amazingly strong…but…"

"Daaaark Blaaast," AncientSphinxmon called, lazily drawing out the words.

"Imperialdramon!" Daisuke shouted.

"I know. I won't lose! Imperialdramon, Mode Change! Fighter Mode!"

When the beam of darkness came again it was met by a wall of light – the Positron Laser's shield function. This time the Dark One didn't let up, releasing blast after blast, sending pulses through the beam. Imperialdramon fell to one knee as his energy shield threatened to break up. His allies made their move.

"Aramitama!"

Shakkoumon's eye beams drilled into one side of AncientSphinxmon's head, and the rate of its Dark Blasts began to falter. Sylphimon came diving through the air towards the enemy, pink energy gathering along its outstretched arms.

"Dual Sonic!"

The attack struck one of the glassy red eyes, and the Dark Blasts ceased entirely as AncientSphinxmon's head jerked away. Its teeth were still exposed, but now in a snarl instead of a smile.

"Now!" Imperialdramon shouted. "Positron Laser!"

The laser found its mark, and for a moment the Dark One's form was obscured by a cloud of dust.

"We got him!" Miyako exclaimed. "We hurt him!"

She was the only one to speak, but there was a new light in the eyes of all the Chosen Children. Then all their uneasiness returned as they heard the Dark Man's magnified voice emerging from the cloud.

"You can hurt my body, children, but you'll never hurt me."

"We'll see," Imperialdramon said. The mouth of the dragon's head that formed his chest plate opened, and from it a cannon emerged. Light began to gather in its lens.

"Ion Blaster!"

A bullet of energy shot forward, scattering the dust cloud and knocking AncientSphinxmon off its feet. It kept going, propelling its target along with it and smashing both against the pyramid before exploding into a dome of destruction. The attack was perhaps not meant to be used at such close range. The outward rush of air knocked the Chosen Children off their feet, and Anubimon, who was nearer the blast, escaped unharmed only because of the barrier he had put up at the last moment, incidentally saving Sato Katsu's life.

It was hard to see anything in the aftermath of the attack. Debris and tiny particles of data from the pulverized pyramid and damaged temple filled the air, creating a thick gray fog. Imperialdramon turned quickly to look at his human friends.

"Guys, are you alright? I'm sorry. I lost my temper."

"No, it's alright," Takeru said, as he and the others got back to their feet. "But what happened to the enemy?"

"He couldn't have survived that, could he?" Iori asked.

The Chosen Children and Digimon peered into the haze, trying to make out what lay within it. For a while, there was silence. They started to hope that it was over. But then they began to perceive an angry red glow within the swirling cloud. It grew brighter, and they saw that its source was the crimson eyes of AncientSphinxmon. It walked slowly forward. One gold wing had been snapped off, and the smile was broken, but it was still a smile.

"I can feel it," Hikari whispered. "This…evil." It wasn't just her. It may only have been physical and emotional exhaustion, but each of the children had the same sensation of overpowering menace. Imperialdramon, Sylphimon, and Shakkoumon advanced towards the enemy as it began to speak.

"It's been a while since I've had the pleasure of so much exercise," the Dark One said. "But that's all for today. Necro Eclipse!"

Nothing obscured the sun, and yet as the words left the sphinx's mouth the day began to darken, as though an eclipse truly were happening. Everything continued to dim until all that was left was a sort of ruddy half-light. Combined with all the dust and sand in the air, it turned the desert into something like a vision of the apocalypse. AncientSphinxmon rose up on its hind legs, a slow but constant motion, as if it were underwater, or submerged in blood.

The Chosen Children stood stock still. They felt paralyzed as they watched this thing unfold before them. A chill descended on their hearts and bodies, and the same thought occurred to each of them – This is what dying must feel like. Across the desert dusk their partner Digimon had also stopped moving, hanging motionless in midair. The sphinx reached its full height, and the mouth opened. It roared, or wailed, and the children's blood became as ice. Something, a wave of force, rushed outward with that cry, and as it reached the three Digimon each of them split into two and devolved.

For a moment the Chosen Children could see their partners hanging in the air – V-mon, Wormmon, Hawkmon, Tailmon, Armadimon, and Patamon. Then with sudden savage swiftness AncientSphinxmon crashed back down to all fours, releasing another wave of energy, darker and faster than the first. It swept over the partner Digimon, and at first there was no visible effect. Then, one by one, they began to burst into data, and vanish.

Another moment passed, just long enough for the Chosen Children to comprehend what they had seen, without believing it. Then the darkness rushed forward, choking them, blotting out all else.

Sato Katsu stood outside the worst of the dust cloud, trying in vain to peer into it. He had seen the dark outlines of AncientSphinxmon pass by him as it strode forth from the ruined pyramid, but by the time the day returned to its former brightness he could see nothing in the gray veil of debris. Whatever that last attack had been, he knew that it had ended the battle. When the Dark Man decided that a fight should be over, it was over. But there were a number of possible outcomes, and only one of them would suit Sato's plans.

He and Anubimon stood there, staring into the haze, keeping silent. Then they heard the familiar voice of the Dark Man calling out of the dust cloud.

"There, I've done your work for you."

Now Sato could see the outlines of a human shape coming towards him. He tried to choke out the question he wanted to ask.

"Are they…?"

"If you're smart, Sato, you'll kill them now," said the Dark Man, emerging into plain view. "They're not beyond your abilities yet, but they're getting there."

In the wake of Sato's relief came euphoria as he realized what the Dark Man had just accomplished. He bared his teeth in a sneer, one of the rare instances when his expression approached a smile. Once more he was in control of the situation.

"You know I can't do that," he said. "You know what I aim for, by order of the High Priest. To take our twelve enemies, the Chosen Children – to bind them, break them, and leave them in darkness. And now, I have six – fully half of the entire group – and you tell me to kill them. No," he said, as the Dark Man stopped walking to look at him with an amused air, "I have much bigger plans for them."

"Have it your way," the Dark Man answered, shrugging and resuming his walk, passing Sato by. As he did so, a shadow passed over Sato's expression.

"Then I can have things my way?" he asked, turning to watch the Dark Man's back. "After what's happened here, can I still trust you?"

"Can you?" said the Dark Man, not looking back.

Some of the subdued anger was coming back into Sato's face, and when next he spoke it was with a sharper tone.

"Nyarlathotep!"

The Dark Man stopped walking.

"…Yes?"

"If I asked you to go… would you?"

The Dark Man turned around, grinning again, and walked back towards Sato.

"Of course, Sato-kun. I'm not an ingrate, or a slacker. I was given a wonderful opportunity, but I've missed it now. We're right back where we started. So you tell me…" he said, his voice low, and his face almost serious as he stopped and met Sato's gaze. "Are we done here?"

"…No," the human answered, after a long moment of hesitation. "I still have use for you."

The Dark Man smiled broadly. "Good! I was hoping you'd say that. You know, I'm a little glad now that things didn't go as I had intended. I just can't wait to see what happens next."