Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.


Chapter 5: Flame of the Phoenix

Sora woke up to find herself on top of a tall mountain overlooking a lush green field. The sky overhead was cloudy and overcast. Biyomon was next to Sora and already awake. It took a moment for Sora to remember how she had gotten to that mountaintop. She remembered being pulled into the computer screen in her hotel room by a beam of red light. This led Sora to assume that she was now in the Digital World.

"Are you alright Sora?" Biyomon asked as Sora got to her feet.

"I think so," Sora replied. "Do you know where we are?"

"Not really. I know we're in the Digital World, but I don't know exactly where."

Suddenly the clouds above them parted, and a gigantic red bird emerged from the sky. This bird had four red eyes and eight wings. Some of the feathers on the wings were yellow and were arranged in a flame-like design. Instead of tail feathers, the bird had a tail that one might expect to find on a lizard or a dinosaur. Six orbs of red light orbited the base of the tail, while another six orbited the bird's neck. On its back was something that looked to be a small jet engine. Both Sora and Biyomon were very intimidated by this creature, especially since they did not know if it was friend or foe.

"So you are finally awake," the creature noted in a booming voice. "You need not fear anything from me. I am Zhuqiaomon, guardian of the southern hemisphere of the Digital World."

"Does that mean you're one of the Harmonious Ones?" Biyomon asked.

"That is correct little bird," Zhuqiaomon confirmed.

"Why did you bring us here?" Sora demanded to know.

"I brought you here to tell you that you two are the only ones who can put an end to Daemon's plans," Zhuqiaomon replied.

"Daemon? What does he have to do with anything?"

Zhuqiaomon let out a loud echoing screech to signal his annoyance. "Are you blind you foolish girl? Can you not see that Daemon has been manipulating things so that your fellow Digidestined would become enemies? He's used his fellow lords, Belphemon and Beelzemon, as pawns to increase the animosity between the Children of Courage and Friendship! You I'm afraid were a pawn as well. Daemon has used their rivalry for your affection as a way to turn your friends against each other. And now he has taken things a step further and cast a spell them to take their anger to deadly heights!"

"A spell? I still don't understand," a confused Sora told him.

"Daemon, Lilithmon, and Barbamon are the stronger members of the Seven Lords. Their power pales in comparison to their master, the leader of the Seven Lords, but the three are able to use a form of dark magic, which puts them a cut above the likes of Belphemon, Beelzemon, and Leviamon, who are simple warriors. The spell that Daemon has used on your friends is the same one he used on several villages in the south during the ancient war in order to weaken the resistance against the Seven Lords. The people of those villages ended up destroying each other in brutal massacres. If you do not do something soon the same fate will befall your friends. You alone are the only one who can break Daemon's spell."

"But…I can't do anything but make things worse. I do love Matt, and I'll always consider Tai to be a very good friend, but I can't do anything to stop their fighting. I wish that I could do something; I'd do anything to make them stop fighting over me! But as long as I'm around them they'll keep trying to kill each other to win me over, and I can't bear to see that happen! So it's best that I just stay away from them both."

Zhuqiaomon let out another loud screech of annoyance. "You foolish girl! You underestimate your own power! You are the Child of Love, and you obviously care deeply for both of your fiends. Therefore you alone can touch their hearts! Your power alone is the only thing that can break Daemon's spell! So quit feeling sorry for yourself, or else one or both of your friends shall perish!"

Sora was silent as she thought about Zhuqiaomon's words. After a moment she realized that the southern phoenix could be right. Even if she did stay away, Matt and Tai would still try to kill each other to try and win her heart. Sora knew she would have to stop the fighting somehow, that only she could bring them to her senses.

"Is there a chance that we would have to fight Daemon ourselves?" Biyomon suddenly asked.

"You may," Zhuqiaomon replied bluntly.

Biyomon looked down sadly. "Then…we probably won't win. Sora and I are both strong, but we're not nearly strong enough to fight a Digimon like Daemon. We couldn't even put up a good fight against Belphemon, or even Brakedramon."

"Hmm…you raise an interesting point, little bird. As strong as you both are, you have yet to reach the same level of power reached by some of your friends. But I believe there might be a way for you to reach that level."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"You recall that years ago you and your friends relinquished the powers of your crests to release my brethren and I from the seal placed on us by the Dark Masters," Zhuquiaomon began. "Each of us was released by a different pair of crests. The crests that released me were the Crests of Love and Sincerity. I have pondered why these specific crests were the keys to my freedom, and thought perhaps it was because the powers of those crests were similar to my own. If that is the case, then you should be able to wield my power."

"Are you saying you're going to give me some of the power from one of your DigiCores like Azulongmon did once?"

Zhuqiaomon let out a sarcastic laugh. "Nothing so crude. That old fool only gave you and the other Digidestined a mere fragment of energy that could be used by anyone. I am going to infuse you with a small but generous portion of my actual core power, my essence if you will. If I am correct, the power should be a purer and more primal form of the power of your crest, and should allow you and the little bird to become far stronger than you have ever been."

"But what if your power isn't the same as mine?"

"If I am wrong then you will most likely die," Zhuqiaomon answered bluntly. "But to stop Daemon we must take the risk."

With that, Zhuqiaomon began glowing with a fiery red aura. Before Sora could move, a stream of fire shot forth from the phoenix's body and hit her in the chest. Sora felt an incredible rush as the power flowed into her. Her heart raced and she felt an intense but somehow pleasant heat envelope her entire body. After what seemed like ten minutes, though Sora could not be sure of the time, the flow of power stopped and she fell to the ground breathing heavily.

"It is done!" Zhuqiaomon declared. "Now go, and put an end to Daemon's scheme!"

At this point Sora blacked out. When she finally woke up, Sora found herself outside in the pouring rain. It was clear she was back in the human world. Biyomon was on the ground next to her unconscious. Immediately Sora shook the bird Digimon to wake her up.

"…Sora?" Biyomon asked as she regained consciousness.

"Are you okay Biyomon?" Sora asked in a concerned tone.

"I think so. I actually feel like if I don't fly around the world sixty times I'm going to explode."

"I kinda feel the same way," Sora responded, as she could still feel the effects of Zhuqiaomon's power flowing though her, making her heart race. "C'mon, we have to go."

"Go where?"

"To find Matt and Tai," Sora replied as she got to her feet, and with that the two were off.


Back in the Digital World, Zhuqiaomon flew through the sky and surveyed his territory. Suddenly an electrified chain came from out of nowhere and whipped the southern phoenix across his back. Immediately Zhuqiaomon knew who it was that attacked him. He turned to see a serpentine dragon made of blue light flying towards him. This dragon had a chain wrapped around his body, and a set of three blue orbs of light orbited around his four claws. It had four eyes and wore a blue mask with a lighting bolt-shaped blade on the forehead. A long white beard covered the rest of its face.

"What do you want Azulongmon?" Zhuqiaomon asked his counterpart from the east.

"Zhuqiaomon you fool!" Azulongmon shouted in a booming voice. "How could you do something so reckless? I would expect this behavior from Baihumon, but not you!"

"If you're referring to infusing the child of love with my power, it was a risk I had to take. She survived, and now her little bird should be able to evolve to her Mega form."

"Even if your power is compatible with hers, you have no idea what other effects it might have! It might be too much for her to handle! How could you have taken such a huge risk?"

Zhuquiaomon let out another annoyed screech. "We cannot afford to play it safe you old fool! Nor can we afford to rely on the little team that you have assembled, even if it does now have the Children of Hope and Light! It is only a matter of time before the leader of the Seven Lords returns, and we cannot afford to leave anything to chance!"

"Why don't you admit that this is really an attempt at revenge on Daemon for the crimes he committed in your region during the war?"

"You are correct Azulongmon, this is my way of making Daemon pay for what he did. But even so that girl is the only one who can break Daemon's spell and prevent the loss of Omnimon! All that I have done is ensure that she has the power to succeed!"

Azulongmon sighed. "Then you had better hope your reckless gamble pays off. Otherwise we shall have lost three Digidestined."


Author's Note: For this story I needed a way for Biyomon to reach her Mega form later on, and this seemed like the best way. It's only a guess that the crests of love and sincerity released Zhuqiaomon. The anime only specified that the crests of hope and light released Azulongmon. It didn't say whom the other six crests released. As for the "side effects" mentioned by Azulongmon, let's just say that I got the idea from X-Men and leave it at that for the moment.

The climax begins in the next chapter. In the meantime please review and let me know what you think.