Author's Note: Bit earlier than usual for my night update, but I'm sure that isn't going to result in any complaints. Story is coming right along, and this chapter is the inspiration for the story's title! Or at least, has the scene from the manga that inspired the title. So, I hope you enjoy it!
Hideto sighed as he strolled down the corridor from Mari's room on his way out of the castle. Convincing Rei to stay behind while he went to fight her new friends had not been easy. She had insisted that fighting like this was wrong, and practically ordered him to return to the way he used to be, back when he was always trying to do the right thing and Digimon was just a game played for fun. Luckily, the argument had carried them all the way to Mari's door, and at that time Mari herself was just coming back. Mari had obviously been crying for a long time, and Rei immediately tried to comfort her. This allowed Hideto to leave unnoticed, and was possibly the perfect situation: Rei stayed behind with Mari, and Mari had someone to talk to and hopefully help her through the depression of losing a partner. Hopefully, this would help both of the girls in the long run, and it gave Hideto a chance to start focusing on the upcoming battle. He had returned Warg and Melga to their Digivices to remain absolutely focused, and then started psyching himself up for the upcoming battle. He normally wouldn't fight with the intent of destroying an enemy, but now he had to. Luckily, Rei had reminded him of the past, which contained exactly the motivation he needed to walk into the upcoming battle.
"Back when Digimon was just about fun, huh?" Hideto mused allowed before flashing back to his first meeting with the Saibas. It had been halfway through his senior year of high school, back when Digimon was a fairly recent video game. Hideto was known as far and away the best player in the county, mostly for the fact that he was one of the first people in the world to raise his Digimon to the Mega level in game. However, on that day there were rumors of a new transfer student, one Neo Saiba. After school, Neo had walked right up to him and challenged him to a battle, easily defeating both Melga and Warg. Hideto was shocked at the loss, but only became more determined to beat this new rival when Neo suggested he delete his weak monsters.
With a combination of curiosity at Neo's strength and a desire to prove Warg and Melga weren't just trash to be deleted, Hideto found himself standing outside the large house belonging to the Saiba family. Having arrived at his destination, he mentally scolded himself for chasing down someone to their house just because they were better in a video game, but before he could leave Rei caught sight of him and asked him what he was doing at her house. Before Hideto could even explain himself, her face immediately lit up. "Oh, I know. You must be here to see my brother! This is so great. He doesn't usually make friends, and I don't know if he's ever had a friend come over before. Come on, let's go get him!" Hideto was a little taken aback at the display of energy, but now couldn't get himself out of meeting Neo. Neo immediately guessed that Hideto had only come over to try to find the secret of his strength, and then corrected Rei when she called Hideto his friend. "He's not my friend, he's another Digimon Tamer. In other words, he's a rival. Still, he'll be a great rival. It isn't often I have battles that are actually close."
From that one awkward meeting started an instant rivalry. Throughout the upcoming week, Hideto and Neo repeatedly had their Digimon battle, with Hideto always coming closer to victory but never quite attaining it. From this rivalry, Hideto got to know both Saibas better, and quickly became friends with each of them. While Neo had a conflicting style of playing the game—he boiled his monsters down to statistics and deleted any monster that didn't live up to his expectations while Hideto cared for his monsters and treated them almost like a real pet—they each had a mutual respect for the other's strength and were glad to find somebody who could provide a remote challenge. While Rei didn't play Digimon and thus couldn't bond with Hideto over the game like Neo did, she still had such a lively personality that Hideto couldn't help but consider her as a friend. She also seemed to value Hideto's approach to the game more than her own brother's, often asking him about what Warg and Melga were like instead of just worrying about their statistics. Soon, Hideto, Rei, and Neo became best friends, and they would spend just about all of their free time hanging out together.
However, the fun times could not last forever. A few weeks before graduation, Hideto managed to unlock Omegamon as a Jogress form for Warg and Melga. With this new form, he was confident that he would finally defeat Neo's strongest monster, who Neo barely ever used anymore. He had discovered that the code for his first monster contained a glitch that granted it bursts of power beyond the capabilities of a Mega level, and immediately stopped using it for fear that using a glitched monster cheapened his victories. However, Hideto refused to face anything less than Neo's best, and wanted to prove that when raised with enough care Warg and Melga would be able to overcome any difference in power. He had managed to catch up with Neo and Rei on the way to school and told them the news, causing Rei to turn back in the crosswalk in order to see the new monster. Unfortunately, this left Rei in the middle of the street right as a drunk driver ran a red light and careened through the intersection.
The resulting accident left Rei paralyzed from the waist down, and while she tried to convince Hideto that he wasn't at fault, her words fell on deaf ears. The accident had done more than cripple Rei's body: it had also taken her a couple of years to return to her usual cheerful self. During those years, Hideto had felt nothing but guilt, while Neo seemed to go even crazier. He developed such an obsession with medical studies in a search for a cure that he managed to get into med school after only five semesters of university studies, but when the financing for his research dried up he seemed to spiral into a depression. The only time he ever seemed to have any fun at all was in Digimon tournaments, and even then he was a lot colder than he used to be. Hideto had likewise retreated from his previous life, but that all changed when Neo came to him with a fantastic story about a Digital World. He had been pulled in by a Digimon called Daemon, and by raising one special Digimon he could reprogram the Digital World in order to create a paradise where things like paralysis were only a memory. A perfect world where drunk drivers couldn't bribe their way out of jail time after ruining people's lives was within their reach.
A look of extreme focus crossed Hideto's face as he finished his flashback. The upcoming battle may not be to his liking, but he was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goal. He would allow nothing to stand between him and a perfect world, where nobody had to be injured and justice always prevailed. Armed with a just cause, Omegamon would quickly eliminate the threat of the DigiDestined. Stepping out of the castle and into the sun, he brought Warg and Melga out of their Digivices and fused them together before he flew off towards the scene of his last battle. The DigiDestined may be strong, but they were fighting a losing battle. The forces of good would always prevail, and Hideto had no doubt that he was fighting on the winning side.
Mari couldn't believe how bad this horribly this day was going. First, she lost Rosemon to Arkadimon and now she was stuck babysitting Neo's little sister. Worse, Hideto had happened to come by when she wasn't locked in her room, meaning Rei had seen that she had spent much of the recent time crying, so now Neo's sister was trying to cheer her up. Finally getting sick of Rei's constant attempts to get her to talk about what was bothering her, Mari finally snapped.
"Listen, just shut up. You don't know what I've been going through. Next time your life falls apart, maybe then we'll be able to talk." Rei was taken aback by the hostility in Mari's tone, but she wasn't going to give in that easily. "Yeah, right. I have no idea what it's like to have everything in your life fall apart. It's not like I got hit by a car, ended up paralyzed, and watched my brother and best friend sink into a depression because they blamed themselves for some idiot running a red light. Trust me, if you try to bottle that all up, it'll just come back to haunt you for the next couple of years until you finally decide to talk about it and let it out."
Mari rolled her eyes. "Yeah, fine. Let me know how that little psychology drivel works for you. You can bitch all you want about an accident years ago, but that doesn't change the fact that you still have a best friend and a brother that are willing to literally take on a world in order to help you. Yeah, your life sucks so much right now. Pretty soon Neo is going to make your whole perfect world, but my best friend is stuck inside some demonic spider. So, sorry if I'm not going to be the most sympathetic to the horrors of your life."
Rei saw that Mari wasn't going to just start talking the easy way, but she wasn't about to give up. After all, she was basically stuck here in a castle run by a demon who had already threatened her life, so she wasn't going to let her only other chance at human communication slip through her fingers. "Yeah, you're right. I'm over the accident, but only because I finally started to talk about it. Now, I have a new problem. I was just sitting by my computer minding my own business, and then suddenly I get sucked into a different dimension. I end up in the middle of a combination ant/scorpion colony, only escape thanks to running into some guy partnered with a giant insect, and then end up in the middle of a maze being chased by zombie scorpions. Then, I have a run-in with a dragon suffering the exact same mental problems as my late grandfather, finally get to safety only to be sucked into another battle, and to top it all off I am now being held hostage by a demon so my best friend has to try and kill some of my other friends. So, either you're going to talk about your problems, or I'm just going to keep talking about mine until you give up."
Mari was actually taken aback at this. From what Hideto and Neo had said about Rei, she was picturing somebody who was just always cheerful and pretty much the typical princess type- friendly, pretty, but unable to handle herself in difficult situations. However, she had just as much spunk as Mari herself. For the first time since becoming an Alias, Mari found herself respecting the reason Hideto and Neo were even here. Mari let out a weak chuckle. "You know, despite the fact that Neo and Hideto are only here to help you and I'm helping them, I don't think I've ever thought you were worth it. From how they describe you, you're pretty much every fairy tale princess. I wasn't expecting you to be able to face my bitch mode and stay on my level. Now I can see why Hideto has such a thing for you."
This seemed to catch Rei off guard. "What do you mean, Hideto has a thing for me? We're just best friends, nothing else." Mari rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just don't be surprised when that comes up later. And honestly, he's a great guy, and now that I've met you I think you are one of the few people who are good enough for him." Rei blushed a bit and tried to respond, but couldn't find the words. Mari merely snorted. "Judging by the look on your face, this is all news to you. In fact, I'm also detecting a slight hint of guilt, which leads me to believe you don't feel the same way about him and actually are either involved with another guy or looking to be involved with another guy. Wow, congratulations. You've just successfully gotten me to cheer up by showing me a problem I'm glad I don't have."
Rei seemed to shrink into herself at how easily Mari had read her, so Mari decided to take pity on her. "Hey, hey, I'm kidding. You're what, 20 years old? There's nothing wrong with having a love triangle around you at that age. Heck, there's nothing wrong with it at just about any age. I'm sure it will work out. I know Hideto- he'll be fine even if you reject him. Sure, it will suck for a bit, but he values your friendship too much to let something like this disrupt it. At the end of the day, if you're happy he'll be happy. He can handle rejection, and he'll appreciate the honesty. I can't speak for this other guy, but either he'll be the same way or he didn't deserve you in the first place anyway. Tell you what, if it makes you feel better I can tell you my whole depressing life story. I promise, it'll make you glad for something as simple as a love triangle."
Rei wasn't quite happy with how the conversation had developed, but at least Mari was starting to talk about her problems. Instead of starting with recent events, however, Mari looked a lot further back. "Well, I guess you could say my 'problems' started back when I was born. My dad wasn't really a part of my life, seeing as he was just a customer who paid quite a bit extra so he wouldn't have to wear a condom and my mom was in a bad financial state so she wasn't able to afford birth control. Even she never knew exactly who he was. Still, despite that, she really did her best raising me…"
Rei found herself listening to Mari's life story without saying anything, but she could tell Mari hadn't told this to anybody so she remained silent. Apparently, Mari's mother had done the best she could to make sure Mari at least had a better life than she had, even to the point where she would sometimes go without food in order to buy Mari the things she needed. Still, finances were always tight, and when she turned thirteen Mari found a way to supplement the family income. One of her mother's repeat customers had gifted her with a laptop including a webcam, and through that Mari had discovered the wonders of the internet. Within a few months, Mari had become a net idol, getting some money from visitors to her site. As she got older, she started to do more explicit things and get more money, finally managing to earn enough money to pay for college despite growing up on the streets. She even found something she could do for fun when Digimon was released online, and she quickly became one of the world's top players.
However, the happiness couldn't last, and disaster struck when Mari moved into college. Her mother was found dead under suspicious circumstances, and Mari lost the one person who had ever given her unconditional love. She tried to fill the void with countless flings in college, but her past was finally catching up to her. Due to her online fame, all the guys in her school already knew her and were expecting her to be just like she was online- in short, lots of empty sex, no emotional connections. In her grief, she wasn't as smart as she should have been, and one day she found herself in a clinic receiving a positive diagnosis. Facing an incurable disease and nothing fulfilling in her life other than her Digimon, Mari really wasn't sure what she should do next.
Perhaps the only good news for Mari was that Neo contacted her exactly at this time. Instead of wallowing in her situation, she now had a purpose: she could help create Neo's perfect world. Instead of letting this disease define her life, she could now work to create a place where diseases didn't even exist. To top it off, she got to go to the Digital World and meet her partner in person for the first time. She managed to apply her skill in the video games to a much greater degree now that she was a real-life Tamer, and managed to be just as successful as Hideto and Sigma despite the advantages they had with their partners. However, that was now all in the past, as Arkadimon had eaten Rosemon and trapped her data, meaning she wouldn't even be reborn as a DigiEgg. Neo may not have done it intentionally, but he had still removed one of the only things that had made Mari's life worthwhile. She knew she shouldn't hold an accident against him, but she was still finding it hard to forgive him.
As Mari finished her story, Rei replied in a somber mood. "Well, I'd like to say Neo will make it up to you, but I'm not exactly sure how he could do that. I guess I'm not really sure how Neo can be doing anything at the moment. I always thought of him as the perfect brother, but now he's trying to take over a world just for me. It's just shocking to see how far he's willing to go. I feel like the Neo I know wouldn't destroy a world of living, thinking beings, but I guess that isn't the case…"
As Rei's voice trailed off, Mari tried to cheer her up. "Listen, I know it sounds harsh, but Neo doesn't really view these Digimon as living things. In a way, I can see his point: even if we 'kill' every Digimon here and reformat the Digital World, all of their data will still remain and they can be brought back to life. If it's impossible for something to really die outside of exceptional circumstances, can you really call them alive? I can't blame Neo for thinking like that- after all, I signed up to help him because I agreed with his vision for the future. Now that Rosemon is gone, though, I can see how wrong we were. If Rosemon could be my friend, she obviously had to have a soul or something like that beyond just being made of data. And if Rosemon had a soul, every Digimon has to have one as well. Tell you what, when Neo gets back, we'll talk to him. He's done a lot, but it isn't too late. We can still convince him to save the world instead of destroying it."
Davis and Willis had been forced to stop and take a break. While following the path Hideto had taken away from their last battle seemed like a good idea, they had forgotten one key factor: they couldn't rely on their partners to carry them. While Omegamon could easily carry Hideto and fly away, they only had three In-Training Digimon and thus had to travel on foot. They had done their best, but this section of the Digital World was similar to the badlands they had travelled through when Davis and Willis had first met. The rocky terrain offered little in protection from the scorching sun, and while Davis was in great physical shape from all the soccer he played, Willis spent most of his days on a computer and needed to stop and rest.
Luckily, the wait hadn't been entirely counterproductive, as the extra time had allowed the Digimon to return to their Rookie forms. While they still were running too low on energy to Digivolve normally, Veemon was at least strong enough to Armor Digivolve into Raidramon. Unfortunately, unlike last time, Raidramon wasn't big enough to carry both Davis and Willis, as the six year difference between the fight with the corrupted Cherubimon and now had resulted in both DigiDestined growing considerably while Raidramon had remained the same size as always. Since Willis looked like he still needed to rest a bit, Davis volunteered to do a little scouting of the immediate area. From his communications with the others, he knew he and Willis wouldn't be able to get any backup in the near future, as Ken and Yolei were helping Holy Angel Castle recover and Cody and Michael were on their way to the castle. Each group still had Digimon recovering from their first Digivolution to Mega, so they wouldn't be able to cover this distance anytime soon. Without the ability to gang up on Omegamon to defeat him, Davis was going to take one last look around the surrounding area to see if there was a better location for a battle. If there wasn't, he was going to cut his losses and head back towards Holy Angel Castle now, hopefully bringing everybody together before Neo or Daemon could make their next moves.
Davis and Raidramon were about to call their patrol a failure when they stumbled across a change of scenery by almost running off of a cliff. Glad that nobody had witnessed the particular lack of grace, they promised each other not to mention the incident to anybody else before glancing into the canyon below. Davis couldn't help but be reminded of the Thunder Area where Yolei and Joe had fought Hermmon on the way to the Olympos XII. Countless rocky spires shot upward out of the ground, all curving into a vicious hook shape. The spires were so large that AeroVeedramon would have been able to hide behind them easily, giving Davis some ideas. In addition to the obvious cover, the thought of the Thunder Area and knowledge of Cherubimon's Heaven's Judgment attack made Davis think this would be the perfect place to set up an ambush for the enemy Royal Knight.
Finally having something interesting to report, Davis and Raidramon returned to where they had left Willis, he seemed to have recovered after the strenuous hike out to this point. They explained their findings, and then went to work on deciding what to do. While the canyon seemed to be the perfect location to try a rematch against Omegamon, it might not be enough of an advantage to ensure victory. While Cherubimon would be able to hide while launching his Heaven's Judgment, the other Digimon would need to have a line of sight to Omegamon in order to hit him, which could potentially leave them exposed to a retaliatory strike. In addition, the abundance of cover might be a double edged sword: the spires were large enough that Omegamon might be able to hide behind them as well, and then Hideto would have the advantage of being able to silently communicate with Omegamon using his Digivice 01 while Davis and Willis could only shout information at their partners. While the thought of winning on their own was tempting, it seemed like too big of a risk to try without having backup. They were about to turn away when an excited voice suddenly shouted right behind them. "At last, I've found you, DigiDestined!"
Davis and Willis immediately reached for their Digivices as they spun around. While the voice had sounded more excited than threatening, the words themselves sounded like a cliché villain speech, putting the two on guard. However, when they turned around, they only saw a Ninjamon standing behind them with a friendly grin on its face. Neither DigiDestined lowered their Digivices in case this was some form of trap, but the Ninjamon jumped right into an explanation before they could ask him any questions.
"You must be the DigiDestined named Davis and Willis, right? I am Igamon, master spy in the employ of Holy Angel Castle. I was planted within Daemon's army, but I was discovered by the second Alias and nearly killed. Then, I was saved by two DigiDestined, partnered with a GranKuwagamon and a Valkyrimon. By saving me, they have earned my eternal servitude, and they requested that I find their other friends and help them reunite. And now I've found you!"
Davis and Willis had a hard time keeping up with the speed of Igamon's voice, as the hyperactive ninja couldn't seem to bother slowing down even while talking. Ken and Yolei hadn't mentioned any encounter with a Ninjamon in their messages after defeating Mari, but enough of his story matched what they had said about the situation, so Davis was willing to give Igamon the benefit of the doubt. After all, if they were planning on getting to Holy Angel Castle to regroup with the others, they would need a guide. Wherever they had been teleported by Sigma, they were too far out of range to pick up the signals of anybody else's Digivice, meaning they could either trust Igamon to lead them the right way or pick a random direction and hope it works out. Clearly, there was really only one option.
After explaining their situation to Igamon, he offered to guide them to the castle. However, upon seeing the condition of the partner Digimon, he quickly decided something else. "Actually, wait. It seems your friends could use some medical help. I have a friend nearby who can heal them right up. You should probably find some shelter, though: Daemon's forces usually patrol this area. I'll be back in a few minutes! Konoha Ranbu!" Igamon spun in place and somehow kicked up a whirlwind of leaves before he suddenly disappeared. With that, the DigiDestined were left alone once again, still marveling at the energy the small Digimon seemed to exude at all times. Still, despite his personality, he didn't seem to be a rash thinker: he had immediately noticed and taken steps to address the problem of the injured Digimon, and his suggestion to take shelter was the sort of logical thinking Davis didn't really expect from someone who reminded him of himself in his younger days. With no other idea of where to go, Davis and Willis both headed for the canyon Davis had found earlier to wait for Igamon's return.
Davis and Willis had been waiting for what seemed like half an hour and were starting to worry about Igamon when he came dashing into the canyon. While he was panting as if he had been sprinting for quite some distance, he still managed to talk at his usual speed. "Sorry about that. My friend is even better at avoiding detection than I am. Plus, he usually hangs around colder areas, and thus he hides away during the day whenever he ventures this far south. He is willing to help, but I have to warn you- he is very timid and quite mischievous. If you make any sudden moves and startle him, he will run away, and he might decide he doesn't want to come back. So, just don't do anything threatening, okay? It isn't very often that Cutemon lets other beings see him."
Davis was about to wonder if Cutemon was a legitimate Digimon name or if Igamon was merely pulling their legs when a pink rabbit-like Digimon came into view. It looked similar to Terriermon and Lopmon, but its ears were smaller and shaped like actual rabbit ears. He was also wearing a pink scarf and what looked like earmuffs. Cutemon seemed to look at the DigiDestined warily for a few seconds before approaching. Not wanting to startle the creature, Davis and Willis barely moved at all, instead only watching while Cutemon went up to Lopmon and said "Healing Glow." A green glow seemed to travel from Cutemon into Lopmon, and after about a minute Lopmon felt as if he had never gotten in a fight with Omegamon. After healing Lopmon, Cutemon moved on to Terriermon and healed him before moving on to Veemon. However, after about half the time as it took to heal the other two, Cutemon's ears suddenly went rigid, and he quickly ran away.
Veemon wasn't sure what happened, but while he hadn't made a full recovery he was at least glad that Cutemon had managed to heal him to the point where he didn't feel shaky from the overwrite anymore. Igamon at least knew his friend enough to know what must have happened, but that didn't make him feel any better. "Listen, that's a bad sign. Those organs on Cutemon's head that look like ears actually allow him to sense the approach of other Digimon instead of simply hearing something. For him to run away like that, something very bad must… be…" Igamon trailed off as he started trembling. Whatever was coming, it must be something really bad, as Igamon suddenly got the feeling he was about to be killed. The only being that had ever made him feel this way had been Daemon, who exuded an aura of killing intent. Even then, he had never been this paralyzed by fear. Before he could sink into panic, he yelled for the DigiDestined. "Listen, if I die, just go out the canyon entrance we came in from and keep going along that line. You should run into a city there, and the occupants can direct you to Holy Angel Castle."
Davis and Willis were a bit confused with Igamon's sudden shift in tone, but a few seconds later they could see the reason for it. There was a Digimon rapidly flying towards them, and as it got closer they could clearly make out Hideto riding on Omegamon's shoulders. As Omegamon landed on one of the cliffs ringing the canyon, even Davis and Willis could feel the threatening aura radiating from the Royal Knight that proved he was being serious this time around. Veemon, Lopmon, and Terriermon were all more keenly aware of this fact, but unlike Igamon they didn't freeze in the face of this foe and instead readied themselves for battle. Davis and Willis instead focused on Hideto, who no longer seemed like the laid-back Tamer from the last encounter and was instead giving the DigiDestined an icy glare. Davis wasn't too happy about the change, but he could at least hazard a guess as to why it happened.
"Hideto, where's Rei?" However, while Davis had been hoping to at least knock Hideto off balance with the question, Hideto didn't even change his expression. "That's none of your business. I will destroy you and anybody else who dares interfere with our plan. You cannot hope to stand against the power of Omegamon. You may either surrender now and be handed over to Daemon, or you can attempt to fight and understand what it feels like to be truly hopeless." Seeing that talking wasn't getting them anywhere, Willis activated his Crest and responded, "So, our choices are to surrender and then have Daemon kill us or fight you and maybe have Omegamon kill us? Sorry, but we won't give up that easily." Picking up right where Willis left off, Davis also chimed in. "Yeah, normally we might not stand a chance against Omegamon, but we have something nobody else does. We have the powers of Destiny and Miracles on our side!" Willis groaned at the cheesiness of the last statement, but his response was lost in the shouting that accompanied the massive golden glow emanating from their partners.
"Veemon, Digivolve to… ExVeemon!"
"Lopmon, Warp Digivolve to… Cherubimon!"
"ExVeemon, Digivolve to… AeroVeedramon!"
"Terriermon, Warp Digivolve to… MegaGargomon!"
Neo was surprised to find Mari waiting for him in the entrance room of Daemon's castle. While Mari was one of the strongest people he knew, he hadn't expected her to be doing this well after Rosemon's death. Still, he was glad he ran into Mari before running into Daemon. His host most likely wouldn't be pleased with his actions at Holy Angel Castle, and while Neo wasn't worried about what the Demon Lord could do to him personally he could see Daemon destroying Rosemon's DigiEgg out of spite. Now, however, he could hand off the pink egg to its rightful owner and then go face the demon he was forced to work with for the time being.
Neo carefully gave Rosemon's DigiEgg to Mari, who accepted it with a show of emotion Neo had never seen her display: a genuine smile. After Neo explained how he had managed to get Rosemon's data back into a DigiEgg, Mari couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "It's funny. Yesterday if you said I would lose a battle and then have Rosemon taken away from me, I would have thought that would be the worst day of my life. Not that it wasn't bad, but now today Rosemon was saved by the one who beat me, I've got her DigiEgg back, and I even made a new friend. Sure, for a while today sucked, but all in all I'd say things are looking up. Well, since you just gave me my best friend back, I suppose I can do something for you. Why don't you head down to my room and knock on the door? I'm sure you'll be happy with what you find there."
Rolling his eyes, Neo decided to play along with Mari's request. After working with her, he knew she just wouldn't let some things go, and it was best for his sanity if he just complied with her wishes from the start whenever she got that look in her eye. As he knocked on Mari's door, he couldn't help but silently chuckle at himself. Here he was, the world's best Digimon Tamer and future creator of a perfect world, and yet he wasn't able to win an argument with a coworker. When all this was behind them, he was prepared for Hideto to make plenty of whipped jokes, but until that point he had other things to worry about. Before he had a chance to think any further, Mari's door opened and all thoughts were suddenly driven from Neo's mind as he saw his sister standing in front of him.
"R-Rei! What are you doing here! And you're standing! Your legs—hmph!" Neo had the wind knocked out of him as Rei practically threw herself at him and pulled him into a giant hug. She started sobbing into his chest, and Neo managed to at least recover enough from the initial shock to hug her back. "I've missed you so much, Neo! And then when I got here, I started hearing terrible things about you, and I wasn't sure what to believe, and, and, then I met Hideto and he brought me here, but then Daemon…" Rei's sentence faded away into sobs, but Neo could guess enough of what had happened. A hard look came into his eyes, but he still put his thoughts aside: right now, he was just a big brother trying to comfort his little sister and not a Digimon Tamer. Eventually, Rei seemed to calm down, allowing Neo to finally talk to her.
"Don't worry, Rei, I'm here. Everything's going to be okay. I promise I'll be able to explain everything in a little bit, but why don't you start at the beginning? How did you get here, and how are you feeling?" As Rei began telling her story, Neo started filling in the gaps himself. While Rei just thought she had been randomly pulled into this world, Neo guessed it had happened when Ghoulmon's rampage had weakened the border between dimensions. He stayed mostly silent throughout her story, only reacting when she retold Daemon threatening her in order to force Hideto's cooperation. Hearing this, Neo's face became a mask of cold fury. "I'll be right back, Rei. I promise, you won't have to worry about Daemon again. I will take care of him, and then I'll call Hideto back. Just stay here."
Daemon lounged on his throne as Neo entered his room. By now, Neo must have known about Rei's presence, but Daemon decided to ignore that for a moment just to see how Neo reacted. Instead, he focused on a different topic. "Ah, Neo, it's been a while. Tell me, how is Arkadimon progressing? I've seen the rampage at Holy Angel Castle, but I'd like a more personal account." Neo smirked at the perfect opportunity. "Well, I could tell you, but why don't I just show you?" He had Arkadimon materialize out of his Digivice, and the Ultimate level faced the Demon Lord with its usual hungry look. Daemon merely laughed. "I see, so this is how you respond when I threaten your sister. I was hoping that you would lose that smug attitude of yours, but it should be more fun to beat the pride out of you!"
Arkadimon lunged towards Daemon with its Freeze Tentacle attack, but before it could cover half the distance it was interrupted when Daemon summoned countless blue tentacles that bound Arkadimon's limbs and neck before pinning the Super Ultimate to the wall. "Did you honestly think I was unprepared for your treachery? There is a reason I am one of three surviving Great Demon Lords- I am always prepared for betrayal. Arkadimon is fearsome, but without the ability to move it is no threat. And I assure you, Dragomon's data within me gives me much greater control over this Tentacle Flapping attack than your mindless beast could ever accomplish."
However, Neo merely responded by laughing back. "I'm glad we're on the same page, then. It was so tiring having to pretend we were on anything resembling the same side. The only question was when I would drop the act, but you provided the perfect opportunity. And as for Arkadimon, who said anything about it needing to use its tentacles?" Daemon suddenly felt paralyzed, and his body began dissipating into data. "Wh…What is this attack?!" Neo smirked. "I call it Dot Matrix. Don't act so surprised- did you really think a Super Ultimate would be dependent on its limbs? After absorbing the pinnacle of light in this world, it was only a matter of time before we went after the pinnacle of darkness, so I purposely had Arkadimon hide its true potential from you. You were never meant to be anything other than prey!"
Daemon tried responding by sending an Evil Inferno attack at Neo, but due to his data being absorbed by Arkadimon the attack only managed to produce a black smoke that draped over Neo and caused him to undergo a coughing fit. With that, Daemon only had one response left: maniacal laughter. Neo quickly recovered from his fit and resumed his superior tone. "Well, if that's all you can accomplish, I can see why you spent this entire time hiding in your throne room. Just be glad your pathetic existence now has some use. You'll become part of Arkadimon now. After absorbing you, Arkadimon will Digivolve to Mega!" Daemon's body finally disappeared, and his data spiraled directly into Arkadimon's chest. As the room was bathed in the glow of Digivolution, Neo began laughing maniacally, though there was something off about his voice…
Author's Note: Well, there we have it. We get the background on Hideto and Mari, as well as a bit more insight into Neo. And then Daemon makes his exit, next on the list of Arkadimon's meals. So, Arkadimon and Neo end up being the inferno referenced in the title- Daemon tried fighting fire with fire by calling in his own human with Digimon experience. But he ended up getting burned and consumed by Arkadimon. Plus, it ties in with Daemon's Evil Inferno attack, and sounds similar to Dante's Inferno. And now that I'm probably sounding cheesy enough to be the head writer for a really cheap anime dub, I'll just stop here. Hope you liked it, please leave any feedback you may have, and I'll update again tomorrow- though probably only at night instead of two. See you then!