Author's Note: Woke up earlier than I thought I would, so I have time to update this before my plans later today start. More of an action-oriented chapter at first, and slightly shorter than normal because I'm not switching between multiple scenes, but hopefully you can enjoy it.

MegaGargomon cursed his luck. Of all the times to reach his Mega form, it had to happen now. Sure, the added power was a nice benefit, but his new form essentially prevented him from following the plan. As Rapidmon, he wouldn't have been able to do much damage to Omegamon, but he could easily dart in and out of the rocks and hopefully wear the Royal Knight down. Now, he was much larger and carried a veritable armory of weapons on his person, but that worked against him. While he would still be able to barely conceal himself with this landscape, the added weapons and size absolutely crippled his speed. Against somebody as quick as Omegamon, he wouldn't even be able to make it behind a rock before getting blasted. And while he was essentially a floating fortress, he didn't think his increased defense could stand up to something with as much power as he was currently facing.

While the situation wasn't the best for the mechanical Digimon, he tried to make the most of it. The battle plan wouldn't work anymore for him, but it could still work for Cherubimon and AeroVeedramon. Resigning himself to his fate, he launched his Gargo Missiles attack at Omegamon, starting the battle. The Royal Knight easily dodged the two megaton-class missiles, which proceeded to explode in the distance. However, despite the apparent failure of the attack, MegaGargomon couldn't help but smile. After all, he was taking the role of distraction, and Omegamon was now focused on him. Also, he had wanted to test something out, and the attack just confirmed he had an ability that would at least connect with Omegamon before MegaGargomon would be defeated.

However, the smile quickly faded from MegaGargomon's face as he saw AeroVeedramon and Cherubimon staring at him in shock. Clearly, his distraction had worked a little too well, and his teammates were wondering what exactly he was thinking. Knowing he didn't have much time to explain, he decided to be brief. "Listen, I can't follow the plan anymore, but you have to. I'll buy you as much time as I can. Now go! Mega Barrage!"

With this shout, MegaGargomon began launching every single weapon he had at Omegamon, filling the sky with missiles from his fingers, wrists, and shoulders. While Omegamon effortlessly dodged the first few rounds, he was taken by surprise as the missiles exploded in midair as soon as they passed him, knocking the Royal Knight off balance and giving MegaGargomon the option to hit him with everything else. From his first Gargo Missiles attack, he realized he could cause his missiles to explode whenever he wanted, and he was glad to use this skill to at least catch Omegamon off guard and buy time for Cherubimon and AeroVeedramon, who had finally flown off into the canyon and were most likely waiting for a clear moment to strike.

After a few minutes of constant firing, MegaGargomon finally ran out of ammo. The entire sky around Omegamon had been replaced with a giant smoke cloud, but MegaGargomon wasn't about to get his hopes up. Sure, he may have just blasted Omegamon with more firepower than a typical army possessed, but that didn't mean anything. After all, he had watched plenty of movies and TV shows where the only way to show how dangerous something really was involved the army blasting everything it had towards whatever monster was attacking only for it to do absolutely nothing. Perhaps because he himself was now a giant mecha, he found himself immediately doubting the power of standard weaponry. With somebody as strong as Omegamon, MegaGargomon fully expected that his attack either missed, or possibly even worse, hit yet did no damage.

When the smoke cleared, MegaGargomon felt slightly better to see Omegamon hiding behind a shield that was decorated with a combination of the Crest of Courage and the Crest of Friendship. While the Brave Shield Omega had protected Omegamon from damage, MegaGargomon felt at least a tiny sense of victory at forcing Omegamon to use such a defense, as that meant his attack wasn't something Omegamon could just safely take without trying to defend himself. The small victory was extremely short lived, however, as Omegamon quickly took down the shield and launched right into his Omega Sword attack, impaling MegaGargomon with the flaming blade. As a testament to MegaGargomon's strength, he actually managed to survive such an attack, though he did revert to Zerimon and barely remained conscious. Omegamon knew Hideto had to end this battle decisively, but he refrained from killing the helpless Baby Digimon. After all, Daemon had left the option of surrender open, and even if that wasn't the case Omegamon wasn't about to kill a helpless opponent while he was still in the middle of a fight against much larger threats.

As if to prove Omegamon's point, AeroVeedramon chose that moment to come flying in with his Magnum Crush attack. Omegamon managed to block the blow using his MetalGarurumon arm and tried to counter with a blow from his WarGreymon arm, only for his blow to meet with empty air. AeroVeedramon had merely used his superior speed to duck back behind the rocks, and while Omegamon was surprised launched his Twister Claw attack from the opposite side. Omegamon managed to block most of the attacks with his WarGreymon arm, but a few hits managed to sneak past the Royal Knight's defenses.

As AeroVeedramon disappeared behind the rocks again, Hideto merely scoffed. "So, you're hoping the landscape here will give you an advantage? What a childish strategy! Do you really think something that simple gives you any chance of winning? Omega Sword!" At this command, Omegamon once again brought out his burning sword, and swung it around in a circle. Previously, he had always limited his sword to close-range strikes, but this time it unleashed a blazing crescent of energy that cut the peaks off of all the spires in the surrounding area and barely missed hitting AeroVeedramon, who could only gasp in shock. Omegamon took advantage of the opening to rush in and deliver a powerful strike with his MetalGarurumon arm, sending AeroVeedramon onto a painful collision course with the ground.

Seeing the extent of Omegamon's power, Igamon only fell further into shock. "He's so powerful… he might be able to beat Daemon at this level… Why is such a strong, good monster our enemy?" Hideto merely scoffed. "Because we are on the side of good, and that gives us the strength to destroy you." Davis and Willis merely rolled their eyes at this statement, but Igamon seemed to believe it. "But, if you're on the side of good, than does that mean we're the bad guys here?" Davis hadn't wanted to stoop to the level of addressing Hideto's claim, but he was getting tired of all the melodrama from Igamon and decided to calm the Mutant Digimon down for the sake of everyone's sanity.

"Listen, Igamon, everybody thinks that they are on the side of good, but that doesn't make it true. These guys are working for Daemon and actively engaged in trying to destroy the world. I don't care what the reasons for their actions are, but there is no way what they are doing could ever be considered good." He turned towards Hideto before continuing. "And deep down, you know that as well as I do, Hideto! As somebody who raised a monster like Omegamon, you have to know that what Neo is doing isn't the right way to solve any problem!" AeroVeedramon had managed to get back off of the ground, and added his own verbal jab. "Yeah, and I'm sure Rei is going to be SO happy about what you're doing now…"

This seemed to shatter Hideto's composure, causing the Tamer to lash out in anger. "What would you know? I've known Rei for years. You're just a monster. You don't know anything! Omegamon, destroy him!" Omegamon took this as his cue to once again use his Omega Sword attack, and a massive burst of thunder coincided with the reappearance of the burning weapon. Unfortunately for Omegamon, this was not just a dramatic coincidence, as the thunder came as a part of Cherubimon's Heaven's Judgment attack. The Cherub Digimon had spent the entire fight first getting to a safe distance and then charging up the attack, giving him the power to harm the Royal Knight while remaining safely out of sight, as it was impossible to track the attack back to its caster.

Having managed to finally implement his strategy, Willis turned to Hideto. "You say Rei would understand because of your years of friendship? Trust me, one action can erase years of love, let alone friendship. It's not a position you want to be in, believe me. You can focus on the past all you want, but we look to the future. A future that has us stopping you from destroying this world!" Hideto took a deep breath to calm himself down before responding. "Well, aren't you optimistic. I guess you won't get it until I get serious. I've been humoring you up until now, but now the gloves come off. We'll see how your little future compares to my immense power! Omegamon, fire! Destroy their future!"

Hearing this, Omegamon used his Sword of Ruin attack to create an explosion above him, effectively deflecting Cherubimon's attack away from him. Before the blast had even fully formed, he already prepared for his ultimate attack. Aiming his cannon at the canyon itself, he called out "Omega Howling!" in an authoritative voice. What followed was a display of power unlike any Davis had ever seen before. He had seen the first time Omnimon had battled Diaboromon and the Royal Knight had effectively cut through millions of clones with a barrage of Supreme Cannon. This was similar, but on a seemingly much larger scale. It was as if Omegamon wasn't even trying to hit Cherubimon, and was just waging war against the landscape itself. By the time Omegamon stopped firing, the canyon they were in had been reduced to the section of rocky spires close to the Royal Knight and then an icy plain extending to the horizon. While none of the blasts had hit anywhere near the DigiDestined, they found themselves shivering as the air temperature plummeted below freezing. The only small hope the DigiDestined had was in the form of a brown speck lying out on the ice fields that must have been Cherubimon's Baby form, Conomon. He must have been lucky enough to avoid a direct hit, but even that hadn't saved him from Omegamon's ferocious assault. Now, all they had left was a slightly battered AeroVeedramon against an opponent strong enough to turn what was once a badlands into a polar icecap.

While Davis was more than a little disheartened to see his partner fighting alone against somebody with geologic levels of power, AeroVeedramon didn't really care about any details. Knowing his friend had been hurt, his anger had caused his overwrite to flare up to the point where he wasn't exactly thinking logically. He charged directly at Omegamon, who was unable to dodge after expending so much energy in the last attack. Instead of launching any attacks, AeroVeedramon simply crashed into the Royal Knight before grabbing him by the cape and hurling him into the ground. The impact created a small crater, but Omegamon merely stood up before the dust cloud could even fully dissipate. He addressed AeroVeedramon with a note of disappointment in his voice. "It's useless. At that rate, no matter how many times you try, you won't be able to defeat me." AeroVeedramon was past the point of listening and charged in again, but this time Omegamon was ready. There would still be a brief period of time where he wouldn't be able to use his stronger attacks, but he didn't need them against an opponent who merely rushed blindly into battle. Omegamon merely dodged slightly to the side before smacking AeroVeedramon with his WarGreymon arm, mostly using AeroVeedramon's momentum against him to send the Holy Dragon Digimon skidding along the newly created icecap.

Hideto checked his Digivice 01 and grinned. "Well, we may have overdone it a bit with Omega Howling, but at least I got to see that even at its strongest, the overwrite of an ancient type is still no match for Omegamon's power." Davis could only grimace at this, but Willis, who hadn't been updated on AeroVeedramon's ability, asked Hideto what he meant by overwrite. Hideto had a hard time believing he had been forced to use Omega Howling against somebody who didn't know what he considered something basic about Digimon, but he decided to explain anyway.

"It's really quite simple. At their core, Digimon are just made up of data. They display emotions by rewriting their body's data, just like biological creatures do with chemical reactions. This rewriting of data is known as an overwrite. By changing ones and zeroes, Digimon display their emotions and also change their dexterity. Ancient Types like AeroVeedramon have extremely violent data changes, granting them great power when they lose control of their emotions. However, since this overwrite changes the body's data, it also shortens a Digimon's lifespan. Much like rewriting over the same disk eventually causes it to degrade, Ancient Types are doomed to delete themselves. Even Ultimate level Ancient Types are almost unheard of- until your partner Digivolved, AeroVeedramon was an extinct species."

Willis turned to Davis, only imagining what the other DigiDestined was going through if what Hideto said was true. "Is that right, Davis? Is AeroVeedramon really killing himself by fighting right now?" Davis merely nodded. "I wish it wasn't the case, but there's nothing we can do about that. We can't just let Daemon destroy this place, but the overwrite has been the only thing letting us fight with Digimon beyond our level up to this point. Unless AeroVeedramon Digivolves, we have to use the overwrite ability."

Hearing this, Hideto scoffed. "Don't hold your breath for a Digivolution. Look at all of your friends- whenever they got in a battle of this caliber, they all unlocked the Mega level. By this point, at least from what I've seen, you would have done the same by now. The reason you haven't Digivolved is simple: AeroVeedramon has reached the end of his overwrite. He's barely alive as it is right now, and he couldn't last through the strain of changing his data to unlock a new form. Face it; you have no chance of winning this fight. Now I'll say this again: you can surrender, or you can watch your partners die."

Willis looked like he was ready to surrender to save his partners, but Davis held out his hand to cut him off. "You say that like those are two different options. What do you think Daemon is planning to do to us when you hand us over to him? I've dealt with enough creeps to know you can't trust them when they offer you mercy. So, if the options are dying trying to stop you or turning my back on the Digital World and then dying, I'll always stick to the first choice! Maybe AeroVeedramon can't Digivolve, and maybe he's historically doomed to an early death. But that doesn't mean we can't set a new precedent. I'm the DigiDestined of Miracles, after all. If it takes a miracle to win a fight, I guess I'll just have to make one!"

With this, his Crest started to glow faintly, and Hideto was shocked to see a rejuvenated looking AeroVeedramon suddenly flying above the two DigiDestined holding an unmoving Conomon in his arms. The Holy Dragon had a faint blue glow around him, but instead of being consumed by anger he was actually smiling at Hideto. "I guess I should be thanking you and Omegamon. That little skid down the ice was just what I needed to snap myself out of my blind rage. Then, you talked long enough for me to fly out and grab Conomon and come back here." He passed the Baby Digimon to Willis before turning back to Omegamon. Seeing that his partner was feeling much better, Davis broke into a grin. "Alright, looks like we'll have to change the plan, buddy. Stick to close combat. You're faster than he is, and at that range he won't be able to use that cannon against you without blasting himself as well." AeroVeedramon nodded before turning to Omegamon. "Power wise, I might not be much more than an insect compared to you. But even an insect can sting an opponent to death. Let's see how long you can last!" He charged at the Royal Knight, landing a flurry of punches along Omegamon's armor.

Hideto scowled at the progression of the battle. "Land all the weak hits you like. There's no way you can win. Don't hold back, Omegamon. We are on the side of good! Show them the power that comes from righteousness!" AeroVeedramon almost gagged at how often Hideto was repeating this and similar lines like he was trying to convince himself of something, and the moment of distraction cost him. While Omegamon wasn't up to using attacks yet, he still had a vicious punch. AeroVeedramon took a hit from the WarGreymon arm in his face before the MetalGarurumon arm slammed into his gut, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Before he had a chance to recover, Omegamon kicked him in the chest hard enough to send him crashing into the ground. He lay there unmoving while Omegamon moved in to finish the job. Having regained enough energy to use his weaker attacks, he called out "Transcendent Sword!" and prepared to finish off the Ultimate level.

However, just as he started to swing the enchanted sword, AeroVeedramon yelled "Psych!" and flew away, causing the Royal Knight's attack to hit the ground and leaving an opening for a close-range V-Wing Blade. The attack managed to push Omegamon back a few feet, but when the attack faded it seemed to have done no damage. The only effect it seemed to have was causing a hard glint to come into the Royal Knight's eyes, and he immediately rushed at the shocked AeroVeedramon. Before the dragon could react, he was hit with a clothesline and Omegamon was dragging him backwards until his wings were suddenly impaled by two of the remaining rocky spires. Unable to do anything but grunt from the pain, AeroVeedramon knew he was done for as he lost the one advantage he had in this fight: his speed.

Omegamon seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he calmly walked toward the trapped dragon. "With your current power, you won't be able to free yourself. Your little trick will no longer protect you." While Omegamon was now the picture of tranquil fury, Hideto was being a bit more expressive. "How does it feel to see your partner up there on the gallows? The price for interfering with our dream is harsh. Omegamon, show them the hammer of justice!" Omegamon once more brought out his Transcendent Sword and prepared to execute his helpless opponent. Neither of the DigiDestined responded, as Davis was transfixed by the sight of his partner while Willis was rubbing his aching arms. The reason for this became clear when Omegamon suddenly stopped as he was hit by a flurry of pink bubbles. It wasn't that taking the Acid Bubbles attack from the twin Baby Digimon did any damage, but the surprise at something so small even bothering to try and fight him was new to Omegamon. The attack continued until the Royal Knight was completely hidden behind bubbles, but for all the damage it did he may have just taken a bubble bath.

While everybody else was too dumbfounded by what was going on, Igamon seemed to finally snap out of his paralysis at the sight of two Baby levels fighting a Royal Knight and immediately jumped to their aid. However, instead of attacking Omegamon himself, he decided to do something more useful: he started attacking the rock spire imprisoning AeroVeedramon. The twin Digimon saw this and copied him, leaving all three Digimon attacking the rocks. Luckily, Acid Bubbles were marginally effective against the rock, allowing the two Baby levels to make the same slow progress Igamon was making in freeing their trapped friend.

Seeing this, Hideto seemed to snap. "You still mean to fight me? Fools! Even if you free AeroVeedramon, there is nothing he can do. He can't even use his V-Wing Blade anymore, and even if he could it doesn't affect Omegamon. But if you insist, I suppose I can pass justice upon all four of you. Omegamon, use your Supreme Cannon!" The order seemed to shock Omegamon most of all, as he quickly dispelled the bubbles and turned to face his Tamer. Igamon, Zerimon, and Conomon all started attacking with renewed vigor as they knew their time was short, but AeroVeedramon began pleading with the Royal Knight. "Listen, leave them out of this. I'm the only one who can fight you. You don't need to kill anybody else!"

Hideto started laughing. "You're the only one who can fight him? You're stuck on the rocks, and you've used up all of your overwrite power." He stopped for a second before noticing his partner hadn't acted. "What are you waiting for, Omegamon? Use Supreme Cannon!" The Royal Knight didn't turn away from his partner. "But… there is no need to use Supreme Cannon…" Unused to having Omegamon question his orders, Hideto went back to ranting. "Why are you hesitating? Don't forget our goal. We have to do this for Rei's sake!"

Hearing this, Davis finally managed to regain his composure and turned to Hideto. "What's Rei got to do with any of this? Don't you dare try to blame anybody else for your actions! Trying to drag an innocent person into your mess is just dirty!" Hideto couldn't seem to hold himself together anymore, and he finally blurted out the truth. "Rei- she can't walk in our world! She was hit by a car, and it was all my fault! Neo and Rei are my best friends, and I have to make it up to them. Neo said anything would be possible when we controlled the Digital World, so I'm fighting to recreate the world as it should be, like it was for me and Rei and Neo back then! That's why I can't let you interfere with our plans!"

As Hideto finished shouting, Davis decided to yell right back. "So Rei having an accident makes it all right to kill thousands of innocent monsters? How is genocide making up for anything? Digimon may be data, but they are just as alive as you or me! Rei wouldn't want to live in a world where she could walk because you and Neo became mass murderers, now would she?"

Hideto reacted to the last question like Davis had punched him in the face, flinching back at the accusation. He had no answer to give to that question that wouldn't be a blatant lie, and he could practically see Rei shouting the exact same thing at him. While Hideto was stunned, Willis decided to try and be the good cop to Davis's bad cop. "Listen, Hideto. You must be a really good Tamer to have raised Omegamon. You couldn't have unlocked that form if you didn't really care for your monsters and have a good heart. I know it may seem like you can't turn back now, but it's never too late to change. Trust me; I've made my share of deadly mistakes, seeing as I'm the one who created Diaboromon in the first place. I could have easily started a nuclear war and I did get one of my partners killed, but everyone forgave me long before I forgave myself. You can still make it so you don't have to shout that you're on the side of good for people to believe it."

Hideto only responded by getting more belligerent. "SHUT UP! Be quiet! You're just whitewashing things… Omegamon, attack! Kill all four of them with your Supreme Cannon!" Omegamon closed his eyes and raised his MetalGarurumon arm as if it were made of lead, but he still began charging energy into his cannon. Igamon quickly started apologizing to AeroVeedramon for taking too long to free him, but the Holy Dragon Digimon didn't really hear him. Instead, he was too busy glaring with anger at Hideto while the familiar blue glow of the overwrite claimed his body. In a voice that was halfway between a roar and a growl, he proclaimed, "You try to destroy monsters regardless of their feelings and won't hesitate to kill innocents… I won't lose to that fake justice… I will protect everyone!"

With a massive roar, AeroVeedramon released a burst of power that shattered the rocks keeping him imprisoned. The wounds on his wings even appeared to heal as he shouted out, "DRAGON IMPULSE!" The glow from the overwrite reached such an intensity that it was hard to tell if AeroVeedramon even had a physical body anymore. In fact, it was looking like AeroVeedramon had become the light itself as it suddenly expanded into a gigantic dragon and launched towards Omegamon. As he stared in awe at the display of power from an Ultimate level, Omegamon lowered his cannon and only had time for one thought. "So this is the power of a monster who is willing to risk everything for what he knows is the right cause. Hideto, it looks like we've lost." Then the attack connected, and Omegamon was blasted with enough force to disintegrate his cape and send him crashing into the ground, where he lay unmoving. Hideto cried out for his partner, while Davis could only gasp in shock. However, it wasn't so much at the fact that AeroVeedramon had managed to beat an Omnimon, but the fact that the attack had connected at all. Omegamon had had plenty of time to react to the attack, but he seemed to choose to do nothing. He couldn't process exactly why Omegamon would do this before he was distracted by Hideto suddenly running towards the fallen Knight.

Hideto couldn't believe the amount of damage Omegamon had taken from the attack, as the usually invincible looking Royal Knight was obviously battered and didn't seem to be able to move. A quick scan with his Digivice caused him to sigh in relief, however. Omegamon's health was dangerously low, but he wasn't beyond the threshold where he wouldn't be able to safely Partition. Getting both of his Digivices ready, he called out to his immobile partner. "Listen, Omegamon, the fight isn't over. I'll help you recover! Partition!" He crossed his wrists and the battered Omegamon split into an equally battered looking Warg and Melga, but at least his partners were now capable of standing. Turning back to Davis and Willis, the maniacal grin once again crossed his face. "Now I'll show you endless justice. Revive, Omegamon! Warg, Melga, Jogress!"

Hideto slammed his fists together, expecting his opponents to cower before the might of Infinite Jogress with a monster as powerful as Omegamon. However, when he turned back to his partners, instead of seeing the fully rejuvenated Royal Knight he only saw Warg and Melga digging their feet into the ground, as if they were actively resisting the fusion. The shock of his partners completely rebelling against him seemed to absolutely stun Hideto. "Wha… What's the matter? Why won't you Jogress?" However, his partners didn't explain beyond Warg's dejected "Let's stop this, Hideto" and Melga's "We've… we've lost", both said while looking down at the ground. Hideto started to argue with them, but when he claimed the battle wasn't over and then ordered them as their Tamer to Jogress, both monsters fixed him with such a glare that he immediately stopped. He couldn't understand why his monsters would look at him with such hatred, and remained staring blankly at them until Davis came up and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Do you still think you can call yourself their Tamer? How can you even consider yourself a Tamer at all if you don't acknowledge a monster's feelings? It took me a little bit to figure it out, but what's your excuse for not seeing what your partner did? He just tried to kill himself!" This caused the look of anger that Hideto had been sporting since Davis grabbed him to be replaced by confusion. Resisting the urge to literally smack some sense into Hideto, Davis spelled it out for him. "Omegamon saw that attack coming, and he had plenty of time to do something about it. He could have dodged, used his Brave Shield Omega, or even attacked back and he probably would have won. Instead, he took AeroVeedramon's attack head on! Why would he do that unless he wanted to die?"

Hideto could only stammer out his response. "But, what reason would they have to die?" Warg and Melga returned to staring at the ground as they responded, taking turns to speak. "Hideto, we just can't defeat somebody fighting to protect the Digital World. You used to be a kind Tamer who protected us too, Hideto. Even when Neo called us weak and told you to delete us, you stuck by us. That's why we tried to be strong for you and managed to Jogress for the first time. But now, you've become the sort of Tamer who would give orders to attack weak monsters without a thought… as long as we're here, you won't stop what you're doing… as long as we're here, you won't change your ways… so we thought… we should just disappear…"

Davis was surprised at how easily Warg and Melga could hold a conversation as if they were the same entity, but he supposed it must have come from spending so much time fused together. However, Hideto was more focused on what his partners had said than their manner of talking. "No… no way…" As Hideto seemed to process what his partners had said, Melga made one last desperate plea to his Tamer. "Please, Hideto, just go back to how you were before!" At this, Hideto completely broke down, starting to cry. "That's what I'm trying to do! I want to rebuild this world as it was back then, where everything is as it should be. I'm trying to go back to that time!" Willis placed a hand on Hideto's shoulder. "Listen, what Rei, Warg, and Melga need isn't for you to rebuild the world before the accident, but for you to rebuild the kind person you were before the accident." This seemed to finally get through to the Alias, and he walked over to his partners and did his best to try hugging both creatures at once as he collapsed into them.

"Warg, Melga… I'm sorry. I failed as your Tamer. In wanting to make up for Rei's accident, I hurt you guys… I guess I always knew I was doing the wrong thing somewhere deep down, but I used Omegamon and my notions of justice to make myself feel like I was in the right… You guys should go with Davis and Willis… I don't deserve to call you my partners after everything I've done… just promise me you'll help stop Neo before he destroys this world…"

Hearing this, Warg picked Hideto up and set him back on his feet. "Don't do this to yourself, Hideto. I understand that you were hurting during all of this too." Melga then nuzzled up against Hideto much like he had done to Rei earlier. "After all, you're really a kind Tamer…" Hearing this, Hideto's voice caught. "But… I thought I wasn't your Tamer anymore…"

While Davis was glad Hideto was finally repenting for his evil deeds, he wasn't sure he could stand watching the emotional scene playing out before him, especially since he had been forced to watch Ken go through a similar process earlier. Also, with Neo and Daemon still on the move, he didn't really have time to let a potential ally like Hideto wallow in self-pity. Relinquishing the role of bad cop he had been taking for most of the fight, he walked up to Hideto. "Listen, I know you don't feel like you deserve a second chance right now, but Warg and Melga still want to be your Digimon. They've already forgiven you, and that's what friends are for. After all, my best friend pretty much did the same thing Neo was doing, only trying to take over the Digital World instead of remaking it. We all eventually forgave him, but it took him the longest to forgive himself. If you really want to feel better, you can help stop Neo and Daemon. After all, with the bonds you have with Warg and Melga, it'll be just like me and Veemon, Willis and…"

Davis trailed off as he suddenly realized what he just said, and which Digimon was conspicuously absent from the scene. With a strangled cry of "VEEMON!" Davis began frantically searching the area for his friend, who had disappeared when the Dragon Impulse attack had faded. Luckily, Melga's sensors quickly picked up a faint signal, and the group followed it to find Chibomon constantly flickering and on the verge of deletion. Davis wasn't sure if there was anything he could do to prevent his partner from dying, but Hideto quickly typed something into his Digivice 01 and a healing tank similar to the ones Dr. Jijimon used suddenly materialized. "Listen, get him inside this. It should help stabilize his data and let him make a full recovery. I don't really have much use for this since I can always use Infinite Jogress to heal Omegamon anyway, so you can use it." With a nod, Davis quickly loaded his partner into the pod, then let out a sigh of relief as the flickering stopped and Chibomon looked like he was almost sleeping peacefully. Hideto was glad he had been able to help out in a small way, but he still felt like he had a massive debt to repay. Knowing it was a small first step, he asked Davis and Willis to sit down before he started explaining the whole truth of everything that lead up to their most recent battle.

Author's Note: And there we have it. After a long battle, Hideto finally stops deluding himself into thinking he was on the right side. And I hope you all liked what you could see from Omegamon when he wasn't holding back nearly as much. I wanted Omegamon to be even stronger than what Omnimon could show since he has much more experience battling in that form, but that results in the obvious problem of how the heck can he lose to his current opponents. If the 'he just didn't want to win and tried to kill himself' explanation seems cheap, that's what the manga went with. Considering my version of Omegamon is actually stronger than that version while Davis's AeroVeedramon is actually slightly weaker than Zeromaru, I had to go with something. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this, and please, please leave me some feedback!