Chapter Sixteen:

The End Complete

Eucatastrophe

AN: OK DIGIDORKS!! GET READY FOR THE LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE EVER WRITTEN!! OVER ELEVEN THOUSAND WORDS!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! GET COMFY KIDS!!

Eucatastrophe (n): see CATASTROPHE: The antonym of catastrophe: The sudden turn of events from bad to good: coined by J.R.R Tolkien

"What are they doing?"

"I can't see anything…wait, is that…no…"

"Is that one of their attacks?"

"I don't think so…"

"It's a fire attack; fire attacks are Greymon's bread and butter."

"It's a little more sinister than that…EmperorGreymon has fire attacks but they're nothing like that…"

"I thought I saw, THERE! LOOK THERE! It's…no, I was wrong…"

"ARRGH!! What's going on here?!"

"Are they fighting? Are they fighting?"

"No, they're having tea with him, you Digi-dunce!"

"You could try being a little nicer…"

"Tell you what…tell you what…I'll be nicer when you stop spewing random, inane garbage out of your stinking cake-OW!!"

Terriermon flicked Impmon in the back of the head as the cavalcade of rookies clambered around the tiny hospital window, trying to see what was happening down below. After the initial astonishment of witnessing not one, but two Biomerge/DNA Digivolutions (the first in the history of the Digital World), EmperorGreymon and MedievallGallantmon had lured PhantomMyotismon behind a series of towering skyscrapers, totally obscuring anything beyond random explosions and stray bursts of fire and electricity. Needless to say, this irritated their would-be spectators and their human partners to no end.

"Get out of my way, Gommamon!" Gatomon said, trying to push the little seal Digimon out of the way.

"Wait in line, Gatomon, I was here first!" Gommamon nudged back.

"OW!" Tentomon cried. "Veemon, get your leg off my antennae!!"

"Patamon! Hawkmon! What can you see?" Veemon called up to the two, hovering above the rest of the Rookies.

"Nothing!" Patamon called back. "They're still behind the buildings!"

Impmon groaned in frustration. "Damn…we have a ringside seat to the most significant battle in Digital history and we can't see a stinking thing!"

"Will you guys put a lid on it?!" The squabbling rookies turned around to see Izzy glaring at them from Mimi's bedside. Joe bustled around beside her, checking the gauze wrapping around her head and monitoring her steady pulse from a loose heart rate monitor he found in the hallway. Mimi had sunk into an uneasy slumber with her friends gathered around her.

Armadillomon shuffled his feet in chagrin. "He's right…we shouldn't be arguing around Mimi."

"No…" Impmon sighed. "We should be having this conversation ON THE ROOF!" Before anyone could stop them, the Digimon crawled, sprinted, flapped and dashed after Impmon, out the door and up the stairs leading to the roof.

"Patamon!" TK called after his partner. "Where are you…?"

"He's gone. They probably have a better view up..." Davis trailed off, rolling his eyes, standing up. 'Umm…is Mimi going to be alright?"

Joe looked up from her chart briefly before nodding. "Yeah. Her condition is stable…I patched up the cut and the fracture is so small she won't need a splint…"

Davis nodded. "Great, great…Umm…is there anything I can do to help?"

Joe shook his head. "Not that I can think of…why?"

Davis started shuffling towards the door. "Oh, um, I was just going to the…canteen to see if there's any food left…soo…I'll be there…if you need me…" Davis nodded and slipped out the door.

Kari and Yolei watched him go, silent for a moment before sharing a glance. "Hey, Kari, want to run to the bathroom with me?"

"Yeah!" Kari cried, a little too enthusiastically. Blushing, the two girls slipped out of the room while their boyfriend and husband shrugged.

TK stretched. "Well, I'm going to enjoy a breath of fresh air while I still can."

Ken stood up after him. "Yeah, I'll go with you. It's been a while since I…umm…breathed freshly…" They vanished before Joe could say a word.

Ryo looked after him. "I think I'll join them…it's been a while since I talked to Ken…there's a lot we should catch up on in case we get fried." He nodded to Joe and Izzy before slipping out the door.

Henry quickly followed him. "I have to go to the bathroom!"

Cody ran after Henry. "I need to practice…umm…kendo!"

"In a hospital? With one arm?" Joe wondered as he watched Cody leave. Suddenly Matt scrambled in his pocket, fumbling with his cell phone.

"Hello? Oh… Noriko! Are you okay? Where are you? What? What?? I can't hear you! I CAN'T HEAR…WHAT?!" Matt glanced over at Izzy before following Cody out the door. "I'll try you on the roof! I think I'll get better reception up there!"

Izzy watched him leave before sharing a poignant glance with Joe. "That wasn't really Noriko, was it?"

"Nope." Joe said.

"And TK, Ken and Ryo aren't really outside, are they?"

"'Fraid not."

There was a long pause as Joe checked the painkiller IV dripping into Mimi's arm.

"They're all on the roof, aren't they?"

"Yep."

TK whipped around as Cody, Henry and Matt burst through the rooftop door. "What's your excuse?"

Matt shrugged, stepping up beside his little brother. "Never mind that, what did I miss?"

"Impmon's gone." Ken said simply.

"What do you mean, gone?" Henry asked, looking between Ryo and Ken.

"He had Hawkmon drop him down to street level and then he took off around the block. He mentioned that he needed to tell Tai and Sora something about Myotismon" Ryo said, glaring intently at the chaos consuming what remained of downtown Odaiba. "You just missed him."

"What's he playing at?" Cody said, earning a series of startled glances from his friends. He had been so quiet throughout the night; they had almost forgotten he was there. "A little Rookie like that going into a Super Ultimate fight to do what?"

Henry bit his lip thoughtfully. "Impmon always has a plan…he never does anything unless he knows what he's doing."

"Yeah but…he could get hurt…" Yolei said.

Ryo snorted. "Doubtful. Impmon will never do anything dangerous without a self preserving exit route." Ryo bit his lip. "He's got a plan…he knows what he's doing." He repeated.

Crouching low behind stray cars, ducking and weaving the falling debris, Impmon crawled his way past the fallen buildings and towards the battle raging behind the buildings in front of him. Pausing only to catch his breath, he darted through the hollowed out lobby of a building and stuck his head out.

PhantomMyotismon floated high in the air, looking back and forth between MedievalGallantmon and EmperorGreymon, fidgeting with his scythe. MedievalGallantmon and EmperorGreymon perched on the lip of two demolished skyscrapers, breathing heavily with ax and sword at the ready. Without warning, EmperorGreymon leapt off the top of the building, sword held aloft behind its head, poised to strike. PhantomMyotismon spun his scythe in an arc, catching the blade with the crook of his scythe and spinning EmperorGreymon into the building that supported MedievalGallantmon. Four floors gave way under the force of impact and MedievalGallantmon leapt away to avoid being sucked down with the falling building. Faster than Impmon could blink, MedievalGallantmon was spinning Dynas in a blur of red, white and gold, raining a hail of blows on PhantomMyotismon's scythe. PhantomMyotismon struggled to keep the shaft of his scythe ahead of the blade of the ax; no matter how fast he moved, MedievalGallantmon was just one step faster. Impmon found his hands shaking and heart pounding at the force MedievalGallantmon was bringing to bear. It was hard to believe that these were the children he had met all those years ago; that this beautiful and terrifying knight was made up of the Digimon and Tamers he had once dared to look down on.

Blow by blow, MedievalGallantmon drove the Demon Lord down to the ground, spinning, lunging, and arcing the ax in blindingly fast arcs of red and gold. Planting the blade of the ax into the ground, it spun around on the shaft of the pole, driving the heels of his armored boots into the crackling energy core.

BOOM!

A purple shockwave ripped through the ground as MedievalGallantmon flew past Impmon and slammed into a crumbling building. Dust spiraled into the air as thirteen stories came crashing down on top of the Royal Knight. Grinding his teeth together in frustration, Impmon scampered down the alleyway towards the scene of the wreckage where MedievalGallantmon was picking itself out of the wreckage, shaking its helmeted head.

Impmon vaulted the heaps of melted metal and ruined drywall, scampering up the heaps of rubbish and leaping on to MedievalGallantmon's shoulder. "Pitiful! Just pitiful! You guys are Super Ultimate and you still get wasted by this punk!"

MedievalGallantmon twisted his head around, balking at Impmon's sudden appearance. "Impmon?"

"No, it's your Fairy Godmother," Impmon said, smacking his head. "Do you listen to yourself talk sometimes?!"

"Save it, smartass!" Four voices echoed as PhantomMyotismon recovered from the attack, standing up, holding his crackling chest in pain. "I take it you have some reason to intrude on our peace of minds?"

Impmon chuckled, gripping one crimson helmet wing. "Did you just get lucky or is this whole "Beyond Mega" thing giving you greater than normal perception?" Impmon gestured towards the reeling PhantomMyotismon. "Looks like his programming skills aren't quite up to par. I for one wouldn't have placed the source of my power in a huge crackling orb exposed to whoever cares to see it."

MedievalGallantmon slowly nodded its head. "Soo…what you're saying is the Crests are in the core?"

Impmon shuffled nervously. "Well…yeah."

"So all we have to do is crack the core and we're home free?"

"Well…" But MedievalGallantmon wasn't listening. It cupped its hands around the front of the helmet.

"EMPERORGREYMON!!" A small building burst open as EmperorGreymon cleaved it in half with the tip of its sword and burst through the wreckage to PhantomMyotismon's shock. "GO FOR THE ORB!!"

"WAIT!!" Impmon panicked. "I didn't finish!"

"Okay Sora!" Tai said, glancing into amber eyes over his shoulder burning with determination. "Let's wrap this up!" EmperorGreymon raised its behemoth blade, pointing the tip at PhantomMyotismon's exposed core. "Now then…defend yourself!"

PhantomMyotismon saw the blade coming down and easily raised his scythe to parry the blow. This one was slower than MedievalGallantmon, so taking care of the lumbering knight shouldn't be a prob-

KERRRANG!! CRACK!

PhantomMyotismon fell back, arms trembling from the force that collided with his scythe. His empty eyes flashed in anger as his arms fell to his sides, each clutching a half of what had once been his weapon. He looked back and forth between the shattered staff and EmperorGreymon as it shouldered the colossal weapon, glaring back at him from under its armored hood.

"I said DEFEND YOURSELF!" PhantomMyotismon leapt sideways as the blade drove down, gouging a flaming chunk of earth loose from the ground. Catching the concrete slab on the flat of its blade, EmperorGreymon flipped it like a pancake, sending it spinning towards the tottering Demon Lord. PhantomMyotismon divided the slab with a swipe of his severed scythe. Two pieces fell away, parting like a curtain to reveal the tip of a sword driving forward towards his chest.

For some strange reason that Tai couldn't fathom, PhantomMyotismon was still grinning, flashing jagged yellow fangs as EmperorGreymon pressed his weapon forward. Something in his heart twitched horribly and he felt Sora tense up behind him. As the glistening diamond tip drew closer and closer Tai had a sudden swell of panic that made him want to draw his arm back. But before he could, a thick, black chain wrapped itself around the blade and pulled them in.

"No…" MedievalGallantmon moaned, watching the familiar black chain wind itself around EmperorGreymon's blade. The massive dragon knight lurched as the weapon was drawn in tighter and tighter. EmperorGreymon planted its feet on the ground, pulling the chain out yard by yard as PhantomMyotismon lurched and spasmed like a freakish puppet on a string. The chain snagged and with one almighty lurch a rank, matted, mangy claw emerged.

Takato felt Rika freeze up beside him and he was surprised to see the fear and anger flashing across her violet eyes. "What? What is it?"

She gritted her teeth. "It's Belphamon."

"What?!" He looked back through MedievalGallantmon's eyes to see EmperorGreymon dragging an arm, shoulder and head of a horned beast, teeth bared in…wait. Takato cocked MedievalGallantmon's head in confusion as the face of Belphamon emerged. The face that once snarled in rage was twisted into a frozen grotesque caricature of anger, like the face of a doll or a-

"Puppet." Rika breathed. "It's a puppet."

The muscular Belphamon that they had faced earlier that night was replaced by a crude puppet bearing only a slight resemblance to the Demon Lord of Wrath. Its frame appeared to be made of some kind of crude wood covered in matted fur. Five glowing purple strings connected the crackling orb to each of the puppet's limbs as well as its head. PhantomMyotismon had gone limp in the air behind the puppet.

"That's what I was afraid of…" Impmon growled. "The crests are still imprinted with an afterimage of their digital hosts…obviously the memory isn't strong enough," he nodded at the crude puppet figure. "But they're still formidable…they're a defense program so they'll protect the Phantom to they're dying breath…and we need those Crests."

"Let me take a shot in the dark…" MedievalGallantmon turned its head to see EmperorGreymon standing beside it. "We have to beat these puppet Demon Lords in order to get those Crests, am I right?"

"Yep…well good luck with that!" Impmon said jovially, leaping off MedievalGallantmon.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Getting the Crests is up to you," Impmon called over his shoulder, hurrying back towards the hospital. "Putting them away is up to me!"

"So where are you going?"

"Just getting a few essentials we'll need for the party! Right now my only advice for you is to DUCK!"

Guilmon and Renamon took over as their Tamers puzzled over the meaning of Impmon's cryptic warning, coiling their legs, narrowly avoiding the sweep of Puppet Belphamon's Lampranthus chain. EmperorGreymon coolly raised its sword, ricocheting the chain back to the lurching puppet Lord who was sent spinning around in its own strings, tangling it up.

"I can't believe this…" EmperorGreymon mumbled. "We just beat these guys!"

"Yeah…looks like…we'll have to fight all over again!" MedievalGallantmon said, confidently.

EmperorGreymon laughed. "I guess we will…wait, I think I've heard that line before…was it from, like a movie?"

"No…" Takato turned to Rika inside MedievalGallantmon. "Just a cartoon I used to watch…"

"Well then…" EmperorGreymon said, shouldering his blade. "Let's walk all over this guy!"

"What's taking him so long?" Ryo bit his lip, tapping his foot thoughtfully while watching what he could see of the battle.

"He shouldn't have just left like that!" Henry growled. "He could get killed and I don't want to explain to Ai and Mako why he got fried!"

"Um…" TK looked blankly at him

"I'll tell you later…" Henry said as a familiar red glove hoisted a familiar devil Digimon over the ledge.

"Impmon!" Gatomon cried.

"Where the hell-" Henry began before being cut off by Impmon

"Can't talk! Need blood!" he cried, bursting past them down into the hospital. The DigiDestined shared a confused look before rushing after him. They scrambled down the stairs, human and Digimon alike, wary that a dark bloodlust had awoken within the little demon.

They found him in a refrigerator in the first door they looked in, rummaging through its contents. He discarded bits of food, drinks and random bodily fluid samples until he found what he was looking for; pouches of blood.

"What's happening?" Kari whispered, clinging on to TK's shoulder.

"Oh my God!" Davis squealed." Myotismon turned Impmon into a vampire too! HE WANTS TO DRINK OUR BLOOD!!" Ryo lashed out, clobbering Davis over the back of the head. "Sorry…"

"SAKE!!" Impmon ran at the group and they instinctively drew back at the wild look in his eye.

"Umm…excuse me?" Matt said, scratching his head.

"I…need…SAKE!!" Impmon said frantically.

"I think you need to calm down, little buddy…" Davis said, reaching a hand out to the little Digimon.

Impmon batted his hand away, grabbing Davis by the front of his shirt and pulling him down to his level. "Listen to me…you incredibly…ignorant…assholes!" he turned his attention to the Digidestined. "It's up to us…to create the seal that will lock these Demon Lords away for good. And for said seal…I…need…SAKE!!"

Davis twisted in Impmon's grip to face his friends. "Get the little mon some sake, for the love of God!"

"And rice paper!" The humans turned around to see Impmon. "I need sake, rice paper, and…um… metal spikes…and a laptop!!"

"You want us to pick up dinner while we're at it?" Gatomon said, sarcastically. "Where are we supposed to find these things?"

"Listen…" Impmon said softly. "The blood writes the code on the rice paper, the sake ignites the finished scroll creating a field of energy, conducting between a octagram of metal spikes connected to the Dark Crests that should be strong enough link up with the laptop to punch open a gate into the darkest corner of the Digital world where they'll drown in darkness for all eternity!!" Impmon finished, taking a deep breath. "Questions?"

"Umm…" Impmon was met with blank stares from everyone.

"Just be good little monkeys and DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD!!"

"Alright, alright!"

"I need four groups! Split up and scour the city until you find them! Meet me back here when you have them all! Let's go, go GO!!"

"Final Crest!"

PuppetBelphamon moaned in despair, spinning around on its strings as a green bolt of energy arced between the tips of the Royal Knight's ax and ripped through its frail frame. He vanished in a burst of data, leaving behind the prize they were fighting for; the Crest of Sloth.

"Got it!" EmperorGreymon lunged forward and snagged the charred crest on the point of its sword, twirling it around expertly and tossing it to MedievalGallantmon.

"One down!" it cried, triumphantly. "You drag them out and toss them to me! We'll fight together!"

"Alright!" EmperorGreymon once again lunged for the Demon Lord, stopping short as a pair of massive jaws stretched out and snared the blade.

"Woah!" EmperorGreymon cried. "We got a big one!!" With its free hand it grabbed the bottom jaw and using the blade as leverage, pried the jaws open and pulled the blade out. With one move, it drove the blade through the jaws and dragged PuppetLeviamon out into the open. The twisted, doll-like features squirmed and in turn, PhantomMyotismon lurched and squirmed. With an almighty heave, EmperorGreymon flipped the giant crocodile into the air. The blade split down the center, gathering a flaming burst of power that he aimed at the flailing puppet.

"Dragonfire Crossbow!!" The blast loosed forth, screaming through the inky black night like the absent sun and setting the crude puppet ablaze. When the fire died, a lone pendant on the end of a chain fell to the earth, only to be stopped at the end of MedievalGallantmon's ax.

"Two down…" it summed up.

"Six to go." EmperorGreymon said grimly, lunging for another Crest.

"Found it!"

"That's ale."

"Oh…found it!"

"Tequila, senorita."

"Oh…found it!"

Ken sighed as once again, Yolei failed to procure the right bottle. "That's malt whisky, hon."

"Oh…" She squinted as she struggled to read the label in the dim light of the liquor store. "Huh…so it is…"

Ryo stepped past her, grabbing the highest bottle on the highest shelf, blowing the dust off and reading the label in satisfaction. "Kabuto Sake…" he grinned. "Some of the finest…we'll have to save some for when this is all over." He flipped open his phone. "I got the sake, how are you coming Davis?"

"We're coming along fine!" he called, prying loose another rail tie from the train track and tossing it to Henry who stowed them in Cody's bag. "We got the metal spiky things we need, Impmon!"

Impmon flipped the phone closed, nodding to himself and blocking out the struggle taking place behind him.

"Give it here, Izzy!!" Matt cried

"No!"

"Let go, you egghead!"

"But…but…"

"We need it, Izzy!"

"Why?!"

"I told you…your laptop is and instrumental part in a demonic ritual!"

"I heard you the first time! Fire?! Metal Spikes?! Blood?! Just what the hell are you guys doin-HEY!! GIVEITBACKGIVEITBACKBIVEITBACK GIVEIT-THUNK!!"

Matt stepped through the door, slamming it in the genius' face and handed the yellow Pineapple laptop to Impmon. "Got it…"

Impmon nodded. "Ten-four." He spoke into the phone. "What's the status, Takaishi's?"

"Hold on!" TK groaned into her cell phone, turning back to Kari who was perusing the stationary store. "Kari, what's keeping you?!"

Kari held up two cards. "What do you think? Which one says "I got married by a shotgun wielding demon from hell?"

"WHAT?!"

"I wanted to send out wedding announcements!"

"Sweetie now's not the best time…"

"Just pick one!"

"HEY!!" Impmon's voice crackled over the phone. "ARE YOU TWO PICKING UP WEDDING INVITATIONS?!"

"Well…um…"

"TK…tell your blushing bride...that she has five minutes...exactly five minutes to return with the rice paper or I will light a fire so far up your ass THAT MY SMOKE WILL COME OUT YOUR MOUTH!!" Click

TK turned back to Kari, who was waving the cards again. "The blue one."

MedievalGallantmon blocked PuppetBarbamon's staff attack to one side while EmperorGreymon drew PuppetDaemon's fiery blows, grinding its blade against PuppetDaemon's claws. The Royal Knight was taking a beating from the crafty puppet that had all the power of the normal Barbamon but with a twisted, jerky, sporadic style of a puppet. Barbamon would strike with a staff blow and no sooner than MedievalGallantmon had parried the blow, the limp frame would whip around and strike the unprotected flank. EmperorGreymon was beginning to feel the strain as well, trying to keep up with Daemon's berserker like battle tactics.

Tai threw himself left, barely dodging the beast's flailing claws. "Arrgh…there's just no stopping this guy!"

Sora bit her lip, twisting away to dodge a flame attack. "Agumon! Biyomon!"

"Yes, Sora?" Their twin voices echoed around them.

"What other attacks do we have?"

"Hmmmmm…we already used the Dragonfire Crossbow…and anyway, that'll take too long to set up again…try this one!"

Sora and Tai nodded as the information flooded their minds. "Ooh…I like the sound of that…"

EmperorGreymon leapt back, driving the hilt of the blade into the ground. "GALLANTMON!! JUMP!!" MedievalGallantmon knocked Barbamon into the concrete and then flipped into the air as EmperorGreymon readied the attack. "PYRO DRAGONS!!" Seven flaming dragons shot through the ground, three winding around Barbamon and four around Daemon as they consumed the Demon Lords. There was a bellow of rage and a scream on agony, and they were gone once again.

"Damn." MedievalGallantmon panted. "These guys are tough…"

"Even as puppets…" EmperorGreymon wheezed. "They're tougher than they look…"

Though their strength had increased exponentially, the long, arduous battle was beginning to take its toll on the humans who made up half of EmperorGreymon and MedievalGallantmon. Tai and Sora glistened with sweat as they raised the Dragon Soul Sword to ward off yet another attack. Their hair matted and shoulders burning with exertion, they pressed on by sheer force of will and the comfort that they weren't fighting alone. Takato and Rika were having an even harder time. Though they had Biomerged before and knew the ins and outs of interacting with their partners, they hadn't logged in time on the soccer fields and tennis courts like Tai and Sora had. They were panting, heaving and groaning in pain as their tender, unused muscles were stretched past their limits. Not only that, but the high speed at which MedievalGallantmon needed to execute his attacks was more of a burden than the strength Tai and Sora needed to swing EmperorGreymon's sword. As if that weren't enough, their fight was taking them closer and closer to the hospital where their friends were staying.

"Come on…" Takato huffed. "We can do this…"

"Takato…" Rika struggled to moan between gasps of pain. "I…I don't know if I-"

"Save your breath…" he said, gently squeezing her hand. "We have to keep going…we have to keep going…"

"Where the hell is Impmon?!" EmperorGreymon called over. "The little coward ran away! We could really use Beelzemon right now!!" As if heeding the dragon knight's words, a long silver shotgun poked its way out of the orb in Myotismon's stomach and belched a fiery round straight at EmperorGreymon.

"You had to say it…" Rika heaved as yet another Pupppet Demon Lord emerged, two barrels crossed over its chest. "Stupid…Tai…"

"Laptop?"

"Check." Matt said, holding the stolen computer in one hand, As the DigiDestined ran after Impmon up flight after flight of stairs, closer and closer to the center of the battle at the top of a hotel roof. When the battle had started moving closer to the hospital, Joe and Izzy transported Mimi to a hotel, a few blocks away. After ensuring their friends were okay (this was purely out of courtesy since they had taken the largest, most comfortable suite) they had followed Impmon, eager to finish the battle.

"Sake?" Impmon called back.

"Yeah, we should have enough!" Ken answered.

"Rice Paper?"

"Yeah…finally" TK said, earning a slap on the head from his wife

"Right…we got the blood…Spikes?"

'Got em!" Davis said. "All seven!"

Impmon skidded to a stop before rounding on Davis. "SEVEN??"

Davis blanched. "Uh…I can tell by that lovely scowl on your face that I screwed up…"

"Seven Demon Crests plus MYOTISMON!!" Impmon scowled. "We're one short of the octogram we need!! ARRGH!"

"We can go back!" Cody said. "We can get one more!"

"No time!" Impmon said, agitated. "The SuperUltimate Friends will have finished by then! We need to have the gate open by the time they're done so they can trap the Demon Lords." He sighed, "We'll just have to improvise…Let's go!"

The door had been blown off its hinges by the time they got to the top of the building. Bursting out into the cold night air, they entered a hellish landscape that had once been Tokyo. Buildings lay in ruin, bursting into flames while five figures dotted the night sky.

PhantomMyotismon was still jerking about in the air, connected to two Puppets in the forms of Lucemon (who challenged MedievalGallantmon) and Lilithmon (Who was trying to fight EmperorGreymon). They noticed that the Demon Lord no longer looked as he did when they last saw him. The twisted form that he had hacked had become twisted itself, as fragments of the bony body broke off, swirling around the purple orb as it manipulated the other two Demon Lords.

"Stop gawking and help me out!" Impmon had slit open a pouch of blood and began drawing a huge circle on the ground, breaking the line eight times and driving seven spikes in the gaps he had left. "Get me a DigiPort open!"

Since Izzy was tending Mimi, Ken snapped into action opening the laptop and running Izzy's DigiPort Locator Program. "The nearest port opens on the south plain of Server!"

"Fine, fine." Impmon muttered. "The gate is going to bypass the initial coding of the DigiWorld and open a trapdoor into our prison." Impmon had rolled out the scroll of rice paper in the middle of the circle and soaked his fingertips in blood. With firm, well practiced strokes he quickly started writing out a series of straight lines and circles.

"Is that some kind of language?" Yolei asked. "Wait..." she studied the lines and circles, coming to a realization. "That's binary!"

"Yep." Impmon answered. "Has to be to write a firewall strong enough to keep these bad boys in." Impmon glanced nervously up at the battle above him. "I only hope they can keep their end of the bargin…"

"God, I thought the real Lilithmon was trashy but this is just sad…" MedievalGallantmon commented, looking at the crudely painted face and stuffed, doll like figure. The puppet's wooden eyebrows turned inwards as she whipped the Nazar Nail around to strike.

"This is getting really old, really fast." EmperorGreymon muttered, sidestepping the Demon Lord's punch and smacking him across the back of the head.

"Let's end this." MedievalGallantmon said, spinning Lilithmon away on her strings, crashing into Lucemon and tangling up in his.

"Together!" EmperorGreymon cried, raising the blade.

"Together…" MedievalGallantmon agreed

Lilithmon and Lucemon's painted faces shared a look that attempted to be panic as they frantically attempted to untangle themselves.

"Rage of Wyvern!" MedievalGallantmon cried, releasing a dragon shaped blast of energy soaring through the sky.

"Pyro Dragons!" EmperorGreymon's dragons twisted around MedievalGallantmon's blast, forming a monstrous, flaming beast that surged down the street at the trembling Demon Lord Puppets. Two wooden jaws fell open in silent screams of horror as the dragon slammed his jaws down with a deafening explosion and a flash of flame.

"Yes!" Impmon crowed, taking a moment to look up from his code. "HAHA! Oh man I've been waiting a long time to see those two get roasted like that!!"

The DigiDestined stared in slack-jawed shock between the conflagration that devoured the Demon Lords and the ones who cast it, glancing back and forth wordlessly like they were watching a tennis match.

"How did they even do that?" TK whispered.

"This is just…amazing…" Kari sighed.

"You said it." Matt said, glistening eyes staring at EmperorGreymon. "Those two are amazing." TK smiled, knowing his brother wasn't talking about the Digimon. A clatter of metal on concrete announced the arrival of MedievalGallantmon as the Royal Knight leapt lightly on the roof. "Special Delivery!" it called, throwing the Crests up in the air

Impmon snapped the scroll closed with a flick of his wrist, leaping into the air to catch the tags. "What about Darkness?"

"Don't worry…we have a plan…" MedievalGallantmon said cheekily, turning to leap off the building. "Get the seal ready to go and you'll have your Crest."

"Guys, we don't have everything we need…" Impmon said.

MedievalGallantmon froze in mid leap, coming back to earth and looking at Impmon incredulously. "Come again?"

"Yeah, some IDIOT," he growled, looking at Davis. "Dropped the ball big time. We're short a spike."

"Can't you just leave it out?"

"Yeah…if you want this gate to consume everything and everyone in the world."

MedievalGallantmon tapped the pole of Dynas on the ground thoughtfully. Almost at the same time Takato turned to Rika inside the armored body. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Rika studied his gaze for a moment before a glint of understanding crossed her eyes. "Really?" Takato nodded. "You think it'll work?" He nodded again. "Well…let's let Tai and Sora there's been a change of plans…"

MedievalGallantmon nodded his head. "We have a plan. Just do your thing and let us do ours…" the knight leapt into the sky where EmperorGreymon was waiting.

"Uhh guys…" Ken said. "Don't look now, but old Fangface is back!"

The orb was all that was left of PhantomMyotismon, floating like a purple sun in the night sky. Slowly the orb shrank, getting smaller and smaller until it could no longer contain Myotismon. The polished, winged Myotismon floated in midair, brushing off his suit and looking down at himself in shock.

"No…" he moaned, gripping his hair in distress. "They beat the puppets…how…I programmed them myself…this can't be happening…No…no, no, no, no NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

"Aww…what's the matter?" The four voices of EmperorGreymon sneered. "Did we break your dolls?"

"You think you've won?" Myotismon said, a manic glint in his eye. "No, it's not over…you haven't won yet….no…no…n-n-n-not b-b-by a lONgSHHHHHOT." Myotismon's hand flew to his mouth, eyes wide.

"Oh goody." Sora remarked. "The freaky voice is back; my favorite."

"He's breaking up! His power is weakening!!" MedievalGallantmon cried in triumph. "Look!" EmperorGreymon followed the armored hand of MedievalGallantmon to the horizon that was starting to tint yellow. "Here comes the sun!"

Tai would remember that sunrise for the rest of his life. Years from now, every once and a while he would get up early, grab his coat and clamber on to the roof of his building just to see if every sunrise could stop his heart and catch his breath in his chest the same way that sunrise did. Wherever he was, whether it was at home in Tokyo, on vacation with his family in Hawaii or in Venice on his honeymoon or on top of the tallest mountain in the Digital World, he was disappointed. The sunrise never looked so good again.

The unnatural, inky black night slowly turned dark blue and then teal. The stars that had been banished from the sky returned one last time as traces of yellow, pink and purple lit up the clouds that rolled in from offshore, casting a soft light that reflected on the rolling waves in the harbor. And through the eyes of his partner, he could stare straight into the sun and not be afraid. It filled the sky, driving every shadow into the shady corners and dark alleys. Transfixed by the rising sun, he glanced over his shoulder, wondering if Sora saw what he did. One glance at her eyes, shimmering with emotion told him all he needed to know.

"Alright!" MedievalGallantmon called over. "Do your thing!" He flipped over in midair, landing beside the circle on the rooftop and driving the Dynas into the gap where the eighth spike should have been

"Right." Tai nodded at Sora who smiled back. Their arms raised their weapon over their heads, aiming it straight at the blinded Demon Lord. "Here we go!"

The sun caught their armor, illuminating it with a light that rivaled its own. To their friends below, it looked as if EmperorGreymon was…no, he was on fire. Orange and yellow flames consumed the dragon knight but it seemed as if it only made EmperorGreymon stronger. Fire ran along the sword, concentrating at the blade.

Then they struck. Like a bolt of lightning they cut across the sky and slammed the flaming weapon into Myotismon's stomach. They twisted away, bringing it down on his back, sliding the edge along the ridge of his spine. Faster than the eye could follow, they unleashed a fiery barrage of sword strokes all around Myotismon's unprotected frame. The Demon Lord raised his arms in a futile attempt to ward off their blows but by the time he blocked an angle, they were striking another and another and another. Finally, EmperorGreymon leapt high into air, sun shining behind their blade.

"RYUUGONKEN!! (Dragon Soul Sword)" The sword burst into flames"NOW! GO TO HELL!!"

A blast of white hot energy jetted from the tip of the blade, slamming into the reeling Myotismon and sending him spinning towards Impmon's seal. EmperorGreymon threw their sword, spinning through the air and skewering Myotismon in the head. With a burst of speed, EmperorGreymon grabbed the doomed Demon Lord and drove him down onto the tip of MedievalGallantmon's poleax, sliding him down until he rested on the blade, his crest tied to the weapon as the others were to the rail spikes.

"And this time…" EmperorGreymon snarled, looking into Myotismon's cold, unfeeling eyes. "Don't…come…back…."

"Now, Impmon!" MedievalGallantmon cried.

"You got it!" Impmon said, looking over at Davis who was crouched low over the laptop, digivice out. "You ready lamebrain?"

"Let's go!" Davis cried, holding out his digivice to the screen. "Digiport OPEN!" At the same moment, Impmon hurled the code scroll into the center of the circle.

"BADA BOOM!" he flung a pint sized fireball at the sake soaked scroll. Suddenly the circle erupted in a flash of purple light. Strange symbols etched themselves in the concrete and as if by magic, the cold stone turned gold, like a crude iron gate, with a crack running down the middle.

"Get back; it's opening!"

Sure enough, the gate opened and as soon as it did a gale ripped out of it, ripping the Crests off their chains and held them over the abyss that swirled below. In the gate, an inky black nothingness sucked even the light of the new dawn was sucked in, darkening the skies once again. Suddenly, the Crest of Wrath exploded in midair and Daemon's ugly, twisted form appeared.

"NOOOOO!!" The Lord of Wrath bellowed, digging his claws into the rooftop. "DAEMON…CANNOT…DIE!!" But his struggle was in vain; as soon as his feet touched the lip of the gate, he burst into a cloud of data which got sucked into the pit.

The Crest of Envy was the next to go, producing Leviamon's behemoth figure comically swimming against the pull of the gate. "I'LL GET YOU SSSSSTUPID HUMANSSSSSS FOR THISSSSSS!! YOU'LL SSSSSSSSSEE!!"

"Shut you trap, you sssssssstupid assssssssss…" Ryo hissed as Leviamon was crunched into a stream of meaningless data.

The Crest of Sloth burst open and for some reason, Belphamon didn't try to fight as hard as the others, only smiling and saying "SLEEP!" before falling into the abyss.

Barbamon angrily swung his staff into the concrete as the pull of the gate tried to draw him in. "ARRRGH!! How could we have lost?! Our plan was FLAWLESS!! I KNOW: I DEVISED IT MYSELF!!"

"And therein lies your problem." MedievalGallantmon said, nudging the staff with an armored boot and sending the Lord of Greed into the void.

The Crest of Pride dissipated and almost immediately Lucemon started swinging at EmperorGreymon with one hand and clinging on to the roof with the other. "YOU!!" He cried accusingly, pointing a figure at Impmon. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!! I SWEAR WHEN I GET OUT OF HELL-"

"Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…" Impmon rolled his eyes, jumping on Lucemon's fingers. With a howl of pain, Lucemon flew backwards into nothingness, the same vengeful look on his face.

The Crest of Gluttony produced a snarling, evil looking Beelzemon who glared at Impmon with an evil look in his eye. "YOU LITTLE RUNT!!" Everyone except Impmon balked at the Demon Lord's guttural tone. "YOU SYMPATHETIC LITTLE PEST!! YOU THINK YOU KILLED ME BUT YOU'RE DEAD WRONG!!" The Beelzemon threw his head back and laughed. "You'll never kill me…I'll always be right here…" he said, touching his heart before soaring back into the nothingness and was destroyed.

"Who was that?" Davis asked Impmon who looked miles away.

"Someone I used to know…" Impmon muttered, looking away.

Lilithmon sprung forth from the Crest of Lust, howling, and screaming with rage, pretty features screwed up and tearstained. "You…" She glared EmprorGreymon and Tai felt Sora dig her nails into his shoulder. "Don't think I don't see you in there, my dear…" she pulled a horrible smile. "I don't think you'll be rid of me for quite some time…the one thought that will keep me warm all those lonely nights in hell is that I'll see you in your nightmares…" She grinned in genuine pleasure, before turning to MedievalGallantmon. "Both of you…" with that, she drifted into hell, smile plastered on her face.

"She gives herself too much credit." Sora said. "Like I was that scared…" Tai felt her repress a shudder and gently squeezed her hand. "Thanks…"

Last of all was Myotismon, whose Demon Lord exterior was stripped away, leaving the Myotismon that first appeared to Tai in the Digital World all those years ago. His chest was still impaled on Dynas and the Ryuugonken neatly divided his face. His cold blue eyes looked up at EmperorGreymon and half his mouth curled up in a smile.

"I'll be back." He said.

"We'll be waiting." EmperorGreymon nodded. Myotismon slipped through gate looking back at his conquerors before the gate slammed shut. MedievalGallantmon yanked Dynas out of the ground and the rooftop went back to normal. The sun cut through the darkness for the last time that day, shining over the ruined city.

Sora felt fresh air on her skin and the sun blasting bright in her face as her human feet touched ground again for the first time in hours. She stumbled forward, suddenly missing Phoenixmon's natural grace and fell against the first thing she saw. Tai caught her in his arms, stumbling back himself and catching her gaze as she looked up at him.

"You just can't stay out of my arms, can you?" Tai said weakly smiling.

Sora smiled back, lightly clinging to the fabric of his jacket. "No, I guess I can't." Before Tai could respond she grabbed the back of his bushy hair and pressed her lips against his. Time seemed to stop for the two of them as they had their first "real" kiss (the first one had been Digital), neither of them paying attention to Biyomon picking up the exhausted Koromon, rocking him to sleep and smiling at her partner or Takato and Rika who were firmly attached at the mouth or Yolei and Davis who were squealing girlishly that their mentors were finally together or the others glancing between Tai and Sora and Matt wondering when he was going to kick Tai's ass for making out with his girlfriend.

"Umm…Matt…" TK said, looking at his brother who was watching the sunrise with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah?" Matt answered.

"Uhhh…Tai and Sora are…kinda making out right now."

"Yeah, I saw that." Matt said, nonchalantly.

"…and you're okay with this?" TK asked, skeptically.

"Yeah, I am." Matt said with a small smile.

"Oh…okay…" TK said. "Just to be sure…"

"We broke up." Matt replied, anticipating his brother's question. TK nodded with an "Oh…"

"Are Takato and Rika still making out?" Henry asked Ryo.

"Yeah…they're not too good at it either," Ryo remarked with a grimace. "It's like watching two leeches trying to eat each a peach…"

"Hm…" Henry muttered, thoughtfully. "Maybe now would be a good talk to him about-"

"About your secret relationship with Jeri?" Ryo cut him off. "He knows."

"WHAT?!"

"Everyone knows."

"But…how?" Henry mumbled dumbly.

"Terriermon told Renamon told Guilmon told Rika told Takato told us." Ryo said simply, while Terriermon frantically shook his head, holding a finger to his lips.

"Terriermon…" Henry growled. "Of course…"

"HEY!" Ryo cried, cupping his hands over his mouth. "GET A ROOM BEFORE THIS GETS ANY MORE ROMANTIC!!" He laughed when Takato and Rika responded with identical hand gestures. This seemed to jerk the new couples out of their own little worlds as Tai pulled Sora to her feet.

"Woah…" In the light, the damage to the city was clearer. Nearly half of Odaiba was either destroyed or on fire and there was still no sign of any human life. "They really did a number on this place…"

"You said it…I don't even want to know what it's going to take to rebuild here…" Sora mumbled.

"We rebuilt it." Takato said. "Took us a year and a half but…we did it. Good as new."

"If we could do it, you can too." Rika said, sagely.

Tai turned to Rika, catching her gaze again as he did in the tunnels beneath the streets almost twelve hours ago. There was again, a silent exchange between them, taking count of what they had accomplished and what had to be done. Twelve hours ago, they had stood before each other as strangers united by a common goal but through everything they had been through they had grown to understand each other. Rika had no doubt in her mind that Tai was up to the task of rebuilding Tokyo.

"So, what now?" Tai asked Rika

"Now…now is when you say goodbye." The booming, echoing voice nearly gave Tai a heart attack. He slowly turned around to come face to nose with a Digimon he never thought he'd see again.

A mighty blue dragon, wrapped in chains rested his mammoth chin on the lip of the building, his long, snaking body trailing up into the sky and his eyes looking fondly at Tai as a father might look at his favorite son. Behind him, a majestic orange and yellow bird perched on the top of an office building, regarding the humans and their partners with a mix of disgust, fear and just the smallest smidge of respect.

"Azulongmon." Tai acknowledged the Sovereign that he had sacrificed his crest to free.

"Tai." Azulongmon spoke with such pride and affection in his voice that Tai felt a hot blush creep up his cheeks. "It's good to see you," His emerald eyes traveled along the line of Digidestined. "All of you." A harsh squawk reverberated across the empty streets as the other Digimon let out a scowl of discontent.

"You will have to excuse Zhuqiaomon's beahvior," Azulongmon mentioned, nodding at the bird behind him. "He is not known for love of humans." Zhuqiaomon let out another bitter screech before snapping his beak shut and glaring at the Digidestined with beady, unfriendly eyes.

Davis leaned over to Henry. "What did you guys do to get on his bad side?"

"We were human."

"Err…how long have you two been floating there?" Takato asked.

"Too long, I think." Zhuqiaomon spoke, rolling his eyes at the mortified look that came over the young Tamers' faces."Impmon…is it done?"

Impmon nodded, bowing slightly. "Yes, Lord Zhuqiaomon, it is done."

Azulongmon sighed. "I was afraid you would say that…I never like exercising my power to destroy a Digimon completely. I like to believe that anyone can change, if given the chance."

"It had to be done." Zhuqiaomon said. "You can't be soft or weak when dealing with scum like Myotismon; I thought you would have learned that lesson when your precious Lucemon tried to destroy you. As much as it pains me to say it," he took a deep breath. "You…" he addressed the Digimon. "And your human pets…aren't totally pathetic." He shuffled his feathers.

"Woah, woah woah!" Matt stepped forward angrily. "We nearly destroy our city by cleaning up your mess and the best you can say is that we're not TOTALLY pathetic?!"

"Yeah, well coming from Zhuqiaomon, that's like a candy coated kiss." Rika said

"Your commitment to your Digimon and each other is why, I knew in my heart, that Lucemon was wrong when he came to me and said that humans couldn't be trusted." Azulongmon said, gravely. "I knew that while humans have the potential to be the most greedy, vengeful, proud creatures on the planet…" Zhuqiaomon snorted something that sounded like "Damn right". "You always have a way to set things right again. And for that, you have our," Squawk "OUR profound gratitude."

"Umm…don't mention it." Tai said lamely. Sora tried to cover a laugh by burying her face in his shirt.

Azulongmon smiled. "Tai and Sora." He nodded as if agreeing with something. "If you don't mind me saying, it's about time." Tai and Sora flushed crimson as their friends sniggered behind them.

"All right, all right." Zhuqiaomon growled. "That's enough of that. Let's just get out of here. We've meddled enough in the affairs of this world."

"All right, keep your feathers on." Azulongmon sighed. "He's always been like this. He gets damn near insufferable at times…"

"Do you think Myotismon is going to come back?"

Tai, Sora, Rika and Takato had wandered away from the others who were deep in conversation, laughing, hugging and generally saying long goodbyes. To everyone's surprise, Mimi staggered up the stairs, supported by Izzy and Joe on either side of her. After a few words between the group as a whole, the four of them had slipped away to have a few words to themselves.

Rika and Takato shared a look, pondering Tai's question. "I don't think it's impossible…but it's not likely to happen." Takato said, decisively.

"I don't totally understand everything that Impmon did…but I think that was some pretty powerful mojo he threw down there." Rika said. "And they were reduced to data before they were sealed as opposed to being sealed whole, like last time."

"I think that was the last time you'll see feather or fang from him."

"That's a relief…" Tai sighed. "I'm kinda wondering when the last time was that I actually led a normal life where my biggest problems were soccer practice and…" Tai trailed off, coughing as he gave Sora's hand a small squeeze.

Sora frowned as a fleeting, troubled look crossed Tai's gaze. Takato picked up on this and absently led Rika away a little bit to give them time to themselves. As soon as the Tamers were out of earshot Sora turned to Tai, only asking, "Why?" Tai bit his lip, nervously running a thumb over her knuckles and looked over her shoulder, trying to avoid her gaze. Sora firmly reached a free hand up to tilt his face so he had no choice but to look her in the eye.

"Tai…"

"I…I was scared."

Sora unconsciously drew back a little, staring at Tai with a dumbstruck expression. "Scared?"

Tai's face attempted to smile, but only managed a halfhearted grin. "It happens, you know. I'm not made of stone."

"Yeah, but…you're you." She said. "You squashed four Dark Masters and stopped a thermonuclear warhead from destroying the city before your thirteenth birthday." Tai shuffled awkwardly. "I mean…you have the Crest of Courage for the love of God!"

"It's easy…to be brave when all you have to lose is your life." Tai finally said, inwardly wincing, wondering why he had said that.

"Tai-"

"I was…so scared of scaring you away." Tai mumbled. "I was scared that if you didn't feel the same way-"

"But I did!" Sora said, empathetically. "I did, Tai!"

"But if you didn't," Tai persisted. "I couldn't stand the thought of anything, anything straining our relationship…by the time I had found the courage to ask you-" He stopped abruptly, looking worriedly at Sora who face had crumpled. "Sora, what's wrong? What is it?"

"This is all my fault. Here I was thinking that you were the dumb one…but…"

"What are you talking about?"

"I…I…when you came up to me…that Christmas when we were kids…and you were saying all these things…I was so confused and…Matt was such a good friend at the time that I…I wanted to see how you reacted…I was looking for any sign you could have felt the same way…" Sora said, wiping tears from her eyes. "It was just so…stupid of me…and I felt so sick about it…"

"So…you're telling me that you felt the same way I did…all along?" Tai asked dumbly. Sora nodded, sadly. Before Sora could say anything else he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close and burying his face in her hair, only mumbling. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

"No, Tai…I should have told you how I felt…"

"I should have told you first!"

"Well…I have the Crest of Love."

"But I have the Crest of Courage!"

"I was stupid!"

"No, I was stupid."

"Well…can't really argue with you there…" Tai chuckled , drawing back to get a good look at her.

"Well…at least we have that in common."

"Yeah…" She leaned in, brushing her lips against his, gently tangling her fingers in his hair. He slid his hands up her waist and around her back, lightly fanning his fingers along her neck, causing an involuntary shiver. When his fingers fell away, Sora felt a gentle weight fall around her neck and the brush of something cool on the nape of her neck. She broke the kiss, looking down at the glistening ruby necklace that now hung around her neck.

"Tai…" She gasped, examining the small pendant. "Is this…what I think it is?"

"Happy Birthday, Sora." Tai started. "I always thought…this was the only piece of jewelry that ever looked completely perfect on you."

She smiled softly, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "It's perfect…thank you…you goofy Gogglehead."

Tai laughed, pulling her in. "You been talking to Takato?"

"Yeah…he reminds me a lot of you."

"They remind me a lot of us." He said, wrapping his arm around Sora's shoulder.

"OW!! LET ME GO!!"

Tai and Sora turned around to see Rika holding Takato in a headlock while the latter had a vicegrip around the former's waist. "Put me down, you goofy Gogglehead!" Takato paid no attention to her, shifting his weight until her feet came off the ground. She beat against his chest half heartedly, fighting back a smile. "Stupid…knucklehead." was the best she could come up with.

For a moment, Rika and Takato seemed to disappear and a young boy appeared, hoisting his redheaded teammate on his shoulders after a big game, enduring her blows because it ment being close to her.

"I guess so."

"…so these cops come out of NOWHERE, sirens blaring and badges in the air, saying we violated some code I've never heard of." Ryo said, entertaining the Digidestined with yet another story from his trip through the various backdoors in the Digital World. "Anyway, we tell them to screw off because I was thinking, "Hey, what are they going to do to Cyberdramon?" So we tell them to take their Code 717.5 and shove it up their…well you get the picture."

"So what did they do?" Kari asked.

"Well this kid who couldn't be much older than I was just starts charging Cyberdramon like he was going to hit him or something. Well, the funny thing was, he actually did it!"

"Really?" Ken blanched.

"But that's not the clincher! Not only did he hit him, he laid him out! He totally knocked him back!! Then I see there's this Agumon following him around and then the kid starts glowing orange like he's gonna bust into flames or something so I jump on Cyberdramon and we high tail it out of there before we could see what they hell were going to do to us."

"I really wish you wouldn't tell that story anymore…" Cyberdramon mumbled.

"What, embarrassed that a human managed to beat you?"

"HE CAUGHT ME OFFGUARD!!" Cyberdramon bellowed, flushing red as the others burst into a chorus of laughter.

"Are you quite finished?" Zhuqiaomon asked, tapping a razor sharp talon on the roof in disgust, eyeing Takato and Rika.

"Yeah…I guess we are." Takato said, turning to Sora. "I guess this is where we say goodbye, Sora."

"Takato…" Sora started, before she flung her arms around the young Tamer's shoulders. She mumbled something to him that no one could quite hear but her patted her lightly on the back mumbling something in reply.

"You know," Rika mentioned, turning to Tai. "You handled yourself pretty well last night."

"Yeah…you to." He said, cursing himself for not coming up with something better to say. "Soo…awkward hug or lame handshake?"

Rika coughed, looking embarrassed. "Well…it's better to be awkward than lame soo…"

Tai pulled the younger girl into a friendly hug. "Thank you, Rika. Thank you so much." Rika silently squeezed him a little tighter in recognition of all they had been through.

"Hey!" Sora called over Takato's shoulder. "Get your own Gogglehead!"

"I have one but you're currently squeezing him." Rika shot back, a playful glint in her eye. They both pulled away, finding their way back to their own partners while Henry, Ryo and their partners waited behind them, in front of the Sovereigns.

"You guys…" Tai addressed all the Tamers and their Digimon. "You're something else. I really don't know where you came from or why you did, but…we're eternally grateful. You guys really saved our lives."

"Don't mention it." Terriermon said, happily. "We're all Digidestined and we protect our own, even if they're in another world!"

"I just wish…there was some way we could repay you." Sora said.

"How bout you and Tai name your kids after us and we call it even?" Ryo said, laughing at the mortified expressions on their faces.

"Wait!" Rika fished into her pocket, pulling out a camera. "Everybody get together! Digimon down in front…Tai and Sora in the middle..Davis, get next to the newlyweds…"

"Huh?" Tai asked looking over at Davis and the couples he was next to. "Ken and Yolei got married?"

"Err…"

"Everybody say "DIE DEMON SCUM!" One, two, three…"

"DIE DEMON SCUM!" The flash went off and before the light faded, the Sovereigns, the Digimon and the Tamers were gone.

"Well, that's it…" Tai said, softly.

"Yeah…" Sora replied, squeezing his hand. "They're gone…"

"You know…I can't shake the feeling that there was something weird about those kids…"

"Oh Davis, let it go!" Yolei said. "They saved our skin from Demons from Hell! They could be ten feet tall and purple for all I care!"

"Well said, Mrs. Ichijoji." Tai said cheekily.

"Um…Tai…Yolei and I didn't get married."

"What? But Rika said…"

"Um…"

"Wait," Tai craned his neck around to see Kari clinging to a mortified TK. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GONE?!"

"Tai!"

"No, hold on a second, Sora. What exactly does he mean, "Newlyweds?"

"Well…hehe…that's a funny story Tai…you see…" TK scratched the back of his head.

"TK and I got married!" Kari said proudly

"WHAT?! BY WHO?!"

"Beelzemon."

"Kari…now isn't the best time…" TK pleaded, glancing between a fuming Tai and the staircase, wondering if he could make it down before Tai caught him.

"What, do you want to wait for our honeymoon?"

"WHOAH, WHOAH, WHOAH!!" Tai said, straining in Sora's grip. "WHAT HONEYMOON ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING ON?!"

"Oh I don't know…" Kari said. "Hawaii, maybe…stay at the Four Seasons….lounge around in bed all day…eat chocolate off each other's-"

"GAAAAAAGH!! TAAAAAAAKERUUUUUUU!!" Tai bellowed, lunging for TK.

"She didn't mean that, Tai!" TK wailed, backing away from his angered brother in law. "Tell him, sweetie!"

"I was." Kari said, innocently. "We'll probably just pop downstairs, check ourselves into a suite downstairs and have our wedding night there."

TK turned to Kari, fear in his eyes. "Why?" was all he said before scampering across the roof away from Tai's warpath.

"Come here TK." Tai said in his super quiet, angry voice.

"Umm…Sora! Help me!" TK cried.

"Hey, you made your bed now sleep in it…" Sora said, crossing her arms and smirking. "With Kari."

"Sooraa!" TK wailed.

"You are evil." Takato snaked his arm around Rika's waist, leaning his head against hers as they walked down the familiar streets of downtown Shinjuku illuminated only by streetlamps and the full moon above.

"I couldn't resist" Rika said, leaping up on bench, walking along the edge with Takato's hand as balance. "The look on TK's face was priceless!"

"Poor kid looked like he wanted to jump in after Myotismon rather than deal with his new "brother in-law!" Takato pulled Rika off the bench, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her off the ground a little. Rika smiled evilly, kissing him firmly on the lips.

"You think you can come over tonight?" she asked, ruffling his hair lightly.

"Sure. Mom and Dad are out of town at a food tech expo in Kyoto so I'm sure they won't mind if I sleep over." he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Rika slapped his shoulder. "Don't go throwing your mind into the gutter just yet, Goggleboy. Let's start with a movie…"

"Great! I know just the-"

"Say Digimon the Movie and I swear I'll break your pretty little face." Rika snapped.

"But I already have it with me!" Takato said, lamely.

"Oh my God, you actually had that on you the whole time?" Rika rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Kazu returned it before the portal opened and I couldn't run it home, so it's still in my coat." He tugged the sleeves of his coat for effect.

"Ok, that's it; give it here!"

"What? Why?"

"You are a Digimon junkie and this is an intervention!" she held out her hand. "Gimme."

"Wait, Rika-"

She didn't wait for a response. Leaning forward in his arms, she tackled him to the ground, deftly opening the zipper of his jacket. "Fine then; we'll do it my way."

"And my mind is in the gutter?" Takato grinned, earning a smack from Rika who was fishing around in his pockets."

"Where is it?"

"It should be in that pocket…" Takato trailed off as Rika's fingers poked their was through the bottom of his pocket followed by her whole hand. They both looked at her hand before locking eyes.

"No..."

"You didn't..."

"I did..."

"Uh-oh."

"HAVE MERCY!!" TK screamed, girlishly as Tai tried to get a hold of his sister's husband.

"Geez, how long have they been at it?" Sora asked Kari.

"About ten minutes now…" Kari muttered.

"Hey guys, look at this!" Tai and TK stopped their chase to see Yolei holding up a plain, white DVD case.

"Where did that come from?" Ken wondered

"Dunno…" Yolei popped the case open, reading the label. "Our War Game…Hurricane Touchdown"

"Is that a movie?" Mimi wondered, holding her head. "I've never heard of it…"

"It must be a double feature…hey, let's watch it!" Sora cried.

"I don't know…" Izzy said doubtfully. "What if it's like a dirty movie or something?"

"Well then TK can pick up some pointers!" Davis chuckled as TK held his flushed face in his hands.

"Okay…" Tai said. "Birthday Girl wins. Let's watch it and then I'll kill TK." Tai glared at TK who was trying to hide behind Matt.

"Ooh…Zhuqiaomon is going to kill us, isn't he?" Takato moaned.

"What's all this "us" stuff?" Rika said. "You brought the movie, not us. So it stands to reason that Zhuqiaomon will only want to roast, you."

"Let's not panic; for all we know, it fell out when Lilithmon grabbed me!" Takato said, hopefully. "It could have been crushed when it fell to the ground! Maybe DVD's don't work in their world!"

"With our luck?" Rika laughed. 'They're probably watching it right now."

"Okay!" Tai said, sliding in between Sora and Kari on the couch. "Popcorn?"

"Check!" Yolei said, popping a piece in her mouth.

"Soda?"

"Check, oh wise and wonderful Tai." TK said meekly, handing him a soda before cowering behind Kari's shoulder.

"Candy?"

"10-4." Sora passed him the bag of M&M's

"Okay, hit it Izzy!"

…

…

…

"Hey! Everybody knows about Digimon in their world too!" Tai said, snapping his fingers in time to the theme.

"Yay!" Gatomon cried. "Finally we get the screen time we deserve! Four years in this world and still no Digimon-'"

"Shh! The narrator is talking! Hey, she kinda sounds like Kari!"

…

…

"Oh sweet! I love anime!"

…

"Hey, Tai! That kid with the spiky hair reminds me a lot of…"

…

"Wait…"

"What?"

"Hold on…"

"Oh…my…"

"No…"

"How did they…."

"No…"

"WHAT?!"

…

…

…

About two hours later, the final credits rolled up the screen, leaving it blank. Tai and his friends sat in the darkness, no one saying a word. The popcorn, soda and candy had gone untouched and Izzy had actually passed out sometime before the end of the first movie. Tai opened and closed his dry mouth several times, trying to make words come out but for once, his quick wit failed him. He turned to Sora who was staring into space as if she had just been struck by lightning. All thoughts of murdering TK were gone from his mind, replaced by a three word phrase that was almost simultaneously echoed by Sora

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

AN: And that's the end of the regular story, kids! Stay tuned; i'll have the epilogue up later today or tomorrow at the latest!