Chapter Fourteen

The End pt 2:

Into The Inferno

"YEEEAAAAHHHH!!"

"WHOO HOO!! WE DID IT!!"

"HA HA!! WE'RE STILL ALIVE!! WE'RE STILL ALIVE!!"

"They're gone…THEY'RE GONE!!"

"YAY!!"

"MIMI!! You're…crushing…me…"

"Guys…"

"What happened?! Where did all the Arkadimon go?"

"IT'S GALLANTMON!! He must have used his Quo Vadis!!"

"Guys, look!"

"I thought we were fried for sure!! Looks like you two should have waited…now you're stuck together for-"

"GUYS!!"

The celebrating DigiDestined looked over to see Kari looking up at the top of the dome. "What's going on, up there?"

TK came to stand beside her, head tilted to one side. The rising sun illuminated the burning building as the familiar four figures of Gallantmon and Sakuyamon were accompanied by two strange looking Digimon as they flew straight into the inferno. "Who are those two with Sakuaymon and Gallantmon?"

Beelzemon chuckled to himself, shaking his head as the smaller of the two new Digimon beat the smoke away with her wings. "Well I'll be an Apemon's uncle…" he muttered. "There's more to you Digi-Dorks than meets the eye, isn't there?"

"Yep, I-Hey!" Davis shouted, glaring at Beelzemon. "Who're you calling a Digi-Dork?"

"What are they doing up there?" Ryo mumbled, turning to Cyberdramon who shrugged. "The battle is over; why don't they-" His mouth went dry before he could complete the thought. "The…Gate…" he whispered, looking across the water at the remaining obelisk. "It should be gone by now. Why…why isn't it disappearing?"

"Huh?" Ken put Yolei down and turned to face Ryo. "What do you mean?"

Ryo ignored Ken, pushing his way through the group until he stood at the base of the building, looking up at the inferno consuming it. "It…can't be." Fumbling in his pockets, he withdrew his D-Arc and aimed it at the top of the building, counting off the Digimon that registered on his field. "One…two…three…four…" he swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to face the questioning eyes of his friends. "Five. There are five Mega level Digimon up there…"

"What?!" Izzy exclaimed. "I know about Sakuyamon, Gallantmon and WarGreymon but…who're the other two?"

"I'm pulling up the data…" Henry flipped his glasses open, staring at the screen expectantly. "I can patch through to Rika's D-Arc and pull the data on the others…" Henry was silent for a moment as the inferno raged up ahead. "Got it! Two Vaccine's one Data and Two Virus types. I got a reading on…Gallantmon…Sakuyamon…wait…I'm getting something else…ShineGreymon? And…I got a reading that's similar to that of Phoenixmon but…different somehow…"

"That must be that bird Digimon…" Joe said thoughtfully. "But where did she come from?"

"Well…ShineGreymon is another form of Agumon, like WarGreymon and Gaiomon…but Phoenixmon is the Mega form of…Biyomon?"

"Sora!" Matt exclaimed. "She's alright…"

Henry paused, biting his lip and glaring at the screen. "That's odd…I can't pick up on Sora or Tai's signal…"

"What does that mean?" Kari asked.

"It means…they're not up there…" Henry said, looking up. "I can't get a bead on them at all and unless they…no…" Henry looked up at the building then back at the screen then back at the building. "I…I don't believe it."

"Believe it, kid." Beelzemon said, folding his arms.

"What? What is it?" Kari asked, looking from Ryo to Henry

"But how…is this possible?" Ryo asked, ignoring Kari's question.

"It's not." Beelzemon said simply. 'But they did it. Somehow they did it."

"Why don't you guys start making sense?" Matt butted in. "What's going on up there?! Where're Sora and Tai?"

Henry opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, an ear splitting screech rent the air.

GREEEEEAOOOWWWWW

"What the hell was that?" TK groaned, still holding his ringing ears.

"Ladies and Gentlemon, Mega number Five." Ryo tapped his screen as he tried to get a good reading on the source of the screeching. "Damn…not working…"

"What's wrong?" Izzy piped up, moving to stand behind Ryo, looking over his shoulder.

"It's weird…but I can't get a solid mark on this guy." Ryo muttered, shaking his D-Arc lightly. "It's almost like…hm…Beelzemon? Can you get a read on this guy? You know…use you're Demon Lord super powers…"

Beelzemon rolled his eyes, closing his two regular ones and opening his third. He was silent for a moment, eyes screwed up in concentration and fidgeting slightly. Finally he opened his eyes with a snarl. "No!" he ran around the side of his bike, laying both his shotguns on the side.

"Will someone please finish a thought around here?!" Mimi squealed, stamping her feet. "Where are Tai and Sora? Who exactly is up there? Who just screamed?! Why can't you get a read on that guy and WHY IS NO ONE TALKING STRAIGHT?!"

Beelzemon fished the worn out tags from around his neck. "To answer your questions, in order; Biomerged, Demon Lord, Demon Lord, because his data is corrupt and unreadable and because we have better things to do."

"Uh-oh…" Gomamon's soft, squeaky voice caused everyone to look over at him, backlit by the beautiful sunset…

"Wait…what's going on?" Ken asked, watching the rising sun dip back to the east, slowly lengthening the shadows around them. 'The sun was coming up…why is it going back?!"

"That's the power of a Demon Lord." Beelzemon mentioned. "He's plunging the world into darkness."

"I thought there were only Six?!" Matt moaned. "There's MORE?!"

"There are always Seven Demon Lords, regardless of who leaves, dies or disappears. Lucemon must have filled my spot after I defected." Beelzemon was glaring at the top of the building. "And it gets better…our new friend swiped Lilithmon and Lucemon's crests to make himself stronger."

"Digivolving?" Izzy dared to ask.

"No. Digivolution is a natural, normal process. What this freak is doing is more along the lines of…Digi-Mutating. He's using the Dark Crests to hack his own data and reconfigure himself as he sees fit."

"Why would he do that?" Yolei asked. "If he was that strong, he could just Digivolve."

"Well…" Henry tapped his chin. "Sometimes if a Digimon really takes a beating in battle…their data can sometimes get…garbled. Somewhere in between death and regeneration and returning to Primary Village, their Data becomes corrupt, so they may not be able to access normal Digivolution paths. The Dark Crests offer a power boost but…"

"But what?" Gatomon asked.

"He's getting stronger, but he's doing what no Digimon should ever do. He may be changing to fit his own needs, but that kind of change is extremely unstable! Unless he keeps a lid on his new power, his data is going to break down and his reserves of energy will be released! He's going to wipe himself out along with the entire city!"

"WHAT?! So that means that we've got a ticking Time Bombmon up there that will wipe us out if we try to destroy it?!" Matt said, incredulously.

"Uhh…pretty much, yeah."

"So what do we do?" Izzy asked.

Beelzemon stepped past him, standing in front of Mimi. He reached around his neck and pulled out the Crests of Envy, Sloth, Wrath and Greed before turning to Mimi. "I need you to hold on to these."

"What?! No, absolutely not!" Izzy blurted out, shaking his head vehemently, stepping between her and Beelzemon.

"I'm sorry…" Beelzemon said. "I have something I need to do and I can't carry these with me."

"But…why Mimi?" Palmon asked, hugging her friend's leg.

"She's the only one here who totally resisted Daemon and Leviamon's crests." Beelzemon mentioned. "Anyone else may succumb to their power and fall into darkness. Mimi…somehow shook off the powers of Wrath and Envy at the same time, so I think she's our safest bet…"

"You said those things were designed to destroy us. There's no way in Hell's Half Acre that I'm going to let you put those…those…things around her neck!" Izzy stopped when Mimi brushed past him.

"Okay…" she said softly, gazing at the dangling Crests. "I'll do it."

"Mimi, no…there has to be another way…some other means of doing this…why does she have to hold on to them?!" Unshed tears welled up behind Izzy's eyes.

"Because…they need me." Beelzemon looked up at the tower before looking back. "Right now, my replacement wants nothing more than to get his freaky little claws on all the Crests. I can't just rush up there, delivering them to him on a silver platter! Mimi's Crest, Sincerity…may afford her some protection." Beelzemon finished.

"I don't care!" Izzy snapped at Beelzemon. "We have other options…there's always another solution! Give them to me! I'll keep them safe!"

"Izzy…" Mimi said, softly.

"I'm just as capable of wearing them as she is!"

"Izzy."

"Or maybe…we…give me a sec…I'll…I'll think of something!" Izzy looked helplessly back at Mimi who was smiling at him through teary eyes.

"Izzy…I'm sorry…" She turned back to Beelzemon and tentatively took the offered Crests. "What about yours?"

Beelzemon looked at the Crest of Gluttony for a long minute. "I can't Digivolve without my partners…but I can hack my own data with this thing…" He looked back at Henry and Ryo for a moment. "If I don't come back…you get Mimi as far away from here as possible! Don't let that bastard have her!!"

"He won't…" Izzy said, eyes burning as he took Mimi's hand. "I'll kill him myself if he comes anywhere near her." Mimi gave him a shaky smile and kissed his cheek. Already, he noticed, her lips were losing their natural warmth; her skin was losing shades of color by the minute. "Do what you need to do, Beelzemon! Make it quick!"

"Right…" He took a deep breath before looking back at his Crest. "Man…hoped I would never have to do this again…" TO the astonishment of everyone, he opened his mouth and promptly swallowed the Crest. He gagged, coughed, doubled over in pain. A dark mist spewed from his mouth and swirled over his right arm and his back. When it vanished, a long black cannon replaced his arm and a pair of black leathery wings now jutted out of his back.

"Beelzemon Blast Mode." Ryo said, anticipating the next question. "Go Get 'em!"

Beelzemon looked back, nodding once before soaring off into the inferno.

"So…shall we, then?" Myotismon raised a finely trimmed eyebrow, looking back at Tai, Sora, Rika and Takato who had circled around him, weapons at the ready.

"You just don't know when to die, do you?" Phoenixmon growled.

Myotismon glanced over at her with a shadow of a smile. "The same could be said for you and your friends…no matter how many time I try to expunge you from my world, you always seem to come back…with new friends, nonetheless." He looked over at Gallantmon and Sakuyamon. "You always seem to introduce me to the most interesting Digimon…"

"What can we say; we're popular." ShineGreymon said, without a trace of humor in his voice.

"Well, I can see the past four years have done nothing for your manners…very well…" Myotismon raised a gloved hand facing the sky. A ball of dark energy consolidated in his palm, stretching and lengthening until it formed the subtle outline of a sword. He closed his hand, and a thin, black rapier materialized in his hand. He swished it a few times, experimenting with the feel before aiming it at ShineGreymon's chest. "En Gaurde, then?"

ShineGreymon batted it aside with his own sword. "Ready when you are…"

The tension in the air was electric. The old adversaries glared at each other with an intensity that rivaled the fire that raged around them. Myotismon scanned the Digimon before him, waiting for the first move. Then, he lunged.

"CORONA DESTROYER!!" Myotismon froze in mid swing to see a white hot Pentagram glowing in midair. Behind it, a menacing Beelzemon aimed his cannon right at the center of the star. A bolt of light surged out of the seal, scorching through the air and collided with Myotismon sending him crashing down through the bottom of the dome. Tai looked up to see Beelzemon floating in midair, blowing the smoke off his cannon.

"Beelzemon?" Gallantmon cocked his head to the side. "When did you get here?"

"Oh…about the time you and Rika were getting tender downstairs…" Beelzemon said with a smirk.

"What?" Sakuyamon glared back at him. "What exactly does he mean by that?"

"Um…now's not really a good time, Rika." Gallantmon said, looking down through the hole that Myotismon had made.

Myotismon brushed his coat off, looking back up at him with a slightly amused expression on his face. "Ouch." He said in a deadpan voice. Raising his sword, red light gathered around the tip, streaming backwards around Myotismon like a cone of crimson energy.

"CRIMSON LANCE!!" Myotismon kicked off the ground with a flare of his wings and launched upwards, red energy crackling around his blade. Gallantmon staggered back as Myotismon roared back through the gap in the dome, shooting up into the air and leveling with Beelzemon.

"And who in the Nine Circles of Hell do you think you are to be coming in and interrupting our business?" Myotismon sneered at the former Demon Lord, pointing his blade at Beelzemon.

Beelzemon returned the gesture with his arm cannon. "Sorry, bub, this city is big but it's a little small for the two of us…"

"Beelzemon!" ShineGreymon called out.

"Stay out of this, Tai!" Beelzemon called back. "This is between me and old Fang Face here!"

Myotismon chuckled darkly as the fallen angels began to circle each other. "So…you've heard of me, then?"

Beelzemon snorted. 'Please…there isn't Baby in the Digiworld who didn't quake in their eggshells when their mummies broke out the Myotismon stories!" Myotismon smiled, obviously pleased to hear of his supposed infamy. "And then laughed their little butts off when they heard how he got beaten by a bunch of stinking humans and their Digi-Pets TWICE!!" The smile on Myotismon's was replaced by an ugly sneer as Beelzemon ignored him and turned to face Tai and Sora. "No offense…"

"Oh, and you're so much better, Beelzemon?!" The Lord of Darkness spat. "At least I never lowered myself to consorting with human children like a mincing little Fairymon! At least I still have my dignity!"

Beelzemon chuckled. "Dignity? Is that what you call it? It wasn't long ago that I followed the same philosophy. But I learned that these children possess a strength that couldn't be found sulking in the shadows, pretending to be superior to every other Digimon who dares to believe differently." Takato was stunned at how…philosophical Beelzemon was being. "That is why I left. To pursue a power greater than any the Demon Lords could have offered."

Myotismon rolled his eyes. "Typical preaching Digipet drivel. Have you really lost so much of your potency? Is this what the Lord of Gluttony has been reduced to? No wonder that the Demon Lords practically welcomed me with open arms; seeing you, the shoes to fill aren't that huge. Crest of Gluttony; please." Myotismon spat onto the ground below.

"Coming from the wielder of Darkness?" Beelzemon laughed. "That's a good one! All you have are your shadowy secrets and your dark…spooky mysteries…" Beelzemon nodded at the Four Megas below them. "I'm not afraid of the dark and neither are they."

To Beelzemon's surprise, Myotismon began chuckling to himself. Slowly and steadily, his laughter grew to a high pitched crescendo, echoing and reverberating across the blackened, smoky canyons of Tokyo.

"Don't fear the dark…" Myotismon said, looking back at Beelzemon. "Fear the one who's in it." Myotismon looked around. "What did you do with the Crests, Beelzemon?"

"Dunno." Beelzemon said. "Must still be with the other Demon Lords back in Digi-Hell."

"Really?" Myotismon looked at him, then slowly his gaze traveled downwards where the knot of Digidestined were looking up in horror. "Cause I could've sworn you handed them to dear, sweet Mimi."

Beelzemon's eyes widened in shock as Myotismon dove out of the sky like a streaking comet, point of his weapon aimed at the weakened Mimi. The distance between them grew shorter and shorter, the attacks of the Rookie Digimon alerted to his presence bouncing off him as he raced towards the startled Digidestined. Myotismon chuckled as Izzy flung himself in his path. No matter. The sword would cleave them both in two and then-

Myotimon's thoughts and flight were stopped a mere feet from the startled Izzy. Both of his arms jerked back as Gallantmon and ShineGreymon grabbed his arms. He flapped and flailed his wings in an attempt to break loose but the two just pinned his arms to his wings and held them out to his sides. A flutter of multicolored feathers announced the arrival of Phoenixmon who inserted herself between the Demon Lord and her astonished friends.

"Nobody…nobody…lays a hand on Mimi…without dealing with me first."

Myotismon's astonished jaw dropped only to be closed again as Phoenixmon drew her leg back and connected it with his face as Gallantmon and ShineGreymon threw him back into the air and gave chase.

"Phoenixmon!!" Gallantmon cried over his shoulder. "Keep Mimi safe!!"

Phoenixmon nodded "Izzy!" Izzy looked up as the bird digimon fired up a blazing sword and fixed him with an equally blazing look. "Get Mimi out of here! Myotismon knows she has the crests! Get her back to the park!"

"Wha…who are…" Izzy said but Matt was frozen solid as he gazed up at Phoenixmon in awe.

"S-S-Sora…" Matt breathed, awestruck by the bird's beauty and terrified at her awesome power. Her head swiveled around like a hawk and regarded him with sharp, burning, reddish eyes. His face flushed and suddenly he was scared to look her into the eye. He looked down, hoping she would forget he was there. He wanted nothing more to melt into the ground and disappear. In her new form, he was surprised she hadn't incinerated him in the spot. She turned away, gently laying a warm hand on Mimi's cold, clammy cheek and lifting a lock of hair from her face. She looked back up at Izzy who just looked at her, stunned. He nodded and for a moment, Matt thought she was just about to leave when, in a flurry of rainbow wings, she turned to face him. He promptly looked away, stomach turning as the air around him became warmer. She stopped in front of him; he felt her standing there but couldn't bring himself to look at her. All the squirming feelings of shame and guilt surrounding their breakup threatened to overwhelm him and if he looked at her, straight in the eye he felt that he would totally lose it.

"Matt…" Matt winced as Sora's voice resonated with Biyomon's. Her hand reached down, cupping him under the chin and forcing him to look up at her. Her own personal light shone from her wings and glinted off her helmet. Never in the years that he had known her had he had to look up at her. When he looked into her reddish brown eyes, tinted with a hawkish glint, he saw no anger or bitterness or sadness. He saw only love. And that just killed him.

"Sora…I'm…I'm so sorry…I never meant for any of this to happen…pleas…please…don't hate me…I…I just couldn't live with myself if you hated me…you're one of my best friends…please…"

"Matt…" She raised another hand to wipe an unshead tear from his eye. "I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't hurt by what you said…what you did." His heart shattered as two rebellious tears slid down his face. "But…" she leaned down, gently kissing his forehead. "I could never hate you…I…will always love you…even if I'm not in love with you."

Matt looked past her to where ShineGreymon was fighting Myotismon, clashing blades and casting fire and lightning. "Tai…"

Phoenixmon nodded slowly. "Yes...I suppose...it's always been Tai..."

Matt wiped his eyes. "Well…you can do a lot worse, that's for sure…" He looked back at Mimi and Izzy before turning back to her. "Go."

"What?"

"I'll watch out for these guys…I'll keep Mimi safe. You go. Tai's totally lost without you."

Phoenixmon looked up at Tai then back at Matt. "Thank you…"

"Got get him." Matt said. "End this, and we'll have that party we promised you."

Phoenixmon gave Matt one last grateful look before kicking off the ground and taking off into the skies. Matt looked back after her for a moment, shaking his head. "You're one lucky guy, Tai. I hope you know that." Suddenly, a thought hit him. "Wait…Myotismon?"

Beelzemon raised his gun arm in time to hear the hot scream of metal on metal as Myotismon's sword slid along the length of the barrel, sending sparks flying into his third eye. Beelzemon pushed back, ramming the barrel of the cannon into Myotismon's chest.

"Corona Blaster!" A streak of energy erupted from the barrel, ripping through Myotismon's chest. In a poof of smoke, Myotismon was gone.

"Is…is that it?" Gallantmon asked, looking around. "Is he gone?"

ShineGreymon scanned the skies, looking for any trace of the Demon Lord. "I think…we did it!"

"Yes!" Phoenixmon cried, looking up at Beelzemon who was still searching the skyline.

"Sora!" ShineGreymon turned to Phoenixmon. "I thought you were supposed to be protecting Mimi!"

"Matt's looking after her." Phoenixmon said. "Though it doesn't seem to matter now! He's gone!"

"Hn…that takes care of that." Sakuyamon sighed.

"YES! WE DID IT!!"

Sora's throat closed up as a crisp, glib voice spoke from beside her. Turning her head, she came face to face with Myotismon who was hovering in mid air, looking up at Beelzemon, legs crossed and sword resting on his lap. He turned to Phoenixmon as if he had just noticed her.

"Hi." He said. Before Sora could even think about what to do she felt a red hot poker jab its way into her shoulder as Myotismon's rapier drove home. Before she could let out her cry of anguish, she felt something dull smash into her head, drive into her stomach and send her hurling through the air and into towards building below.

"SORA!" ShineGreymon cried as Myotismon dispatched her with a flurry of jabs, hilt smashes and kicks. Without waiting for Tai's inevitable request, Sakuyamon dove from the sky, flying under Phoenixmon and catching the disoriented Digimon before she could hit ground.

"Funny that a fox is saving a bird from falling." Sakuyamon said with a wry smile as she caught Phoenixmon under her arms.

Sora looked up as her rescuer. "Thanks, Rika." Sakuaymon nodded as the two soared up through the crumbling dome, dodging falling masonry and flitting past stray bolts of energy. They emerged to see Gallantmon and ShineGreymon locked in an intense fight with Myotismon while Beelzemon circled around them, trying to get a clear shot.

"Don't!" Sakuyamon said, grabbing Phoenixmon's arm to stop her from entering the fight. "It's crazy enough in there without us muddling things up!"

"So what are we supposed to do, float here?"

"Yeah, until…" Sakuyamon was cut off as ShineGreymon and Gallantmon streaked past them, slamming into a skyscraper in a puff of dust and debris. They looked back to see Myotismon brushing his wings off and looking back at the two of them expectantly. "That happens!"

Sakuyamon twirled her staff, holding it like a lance and charged the waiting Demon Lord. He batted her aside with his rapier in time to see a bolt of flaming energy roar straight at him. HE raised his arm, blocking the blast and dissipating the fire as Sakuaymon looped back over Phoenixmon and smashed her staff down on Myotismon's raised sword.

SMASH!

Silver and gold shards fell through the air as the staff and the sword shattered into thousand pieces. There was a beat of silence before Sakuyamon drove her boot into Myotismon's chest, driving him back into Phoenixmon's waiting arms. She took a hold of Myotismon's powerful black wings and, pressing a foot against his back, she pulled with all her strength. With a series of pops, rips and sickening snaps, the wings came loose and Myotismon fell through the air.

With a dull, nauseating thud, Myotismon hit the ground and vanished into a cloud of data.

Phoenixmon held the dissipating wings, breathing hard and glaring at the lingering mist cloud. She was vaguely aware of ShineGreymon and Gallantmon moving beside her. Sakuyamon and Beelzemon completed the circle and the five of them stared down at what was left of Myotismon.

"Is that it then?" Gallantmon asked.

"Not much of him left…course we were fooled last time." Beelzemon replied.

Phoenixmon tossed the wings aside, looking back at ShineGreymon. "I'm beginning to think that Matt was right."

"About what?"

She cocked her head to the side. "You really are lost without me."

Tai was about to say something that he thought was sweet and romantic when Gallantmon's gasp of surprise caught his attention.

"Look!" he pointed down at the mist cloud that was beginning to swirl and condense into a pillar of smoky black mist. It circled in the air a few times before rocketing off across the bay.

"Where's he…no!" Phoenixmon gasped.

"What?! What is it?"

"He's heading for the park!"

They turned to face each other; the same awful thought dawning on them.

"…Mimi…"

AN: WHEW!! That was tough…I'd like to thanks Nobuo Uematsu and Buckethead for providing kickass music for me to write to! Sorry about the long update but I'm done so I'll update one a day until we're done!! Yay!! Any preference on when I should Update the chapters? (Morning, afternoon, night?)