Summary: After Metal Greymon defeated Etemon. Taichi was pulled into a dimensional hole and transported back to earth. But what if that wasn't what happened, what if the hole stranded him in a completely new world.

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Altered Fate.
Part XV.
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Greetings, Magnamon here, last time, my lord and saviour finally allowed me to seek out that which I have longed to get for so long, vengeance against Hikaru Yagami and his digimon partner Devimon for the death of my former partner, Taichi Yagami.

Sadly, I was not allowed to delete Hikaru, but Devimon's death will keep me happy for some time, still, a small part of me takes great joy in knowing that the human child will now spend the rest of his life, serving as a lab rat to my master, in his great effort to unlock and understand the power of evolution, to help him protect us all where everyone else has failed.

But, even I find that my resolve has been shaken by the fact that my lord would use a former friend and allied to me for his experiments, and just why has he been deemed it necessary to capture those digimons that holds the lost powers of the chosen children.

Yet, despite all of this, I shall keep my oath to him, as the knight I now am.

Long live Nairu.

----

Diving right down at the attacking digimons, Chaos Seadramon roared as power ripped out from his nose weapon, a bright beam of destruction that cut through the air itself. "Ultimate stream!"

Splitting up to avoid the laser, Victory Greymon and Z'd Garurumon both grinned as they passed by the massive sea dragon like digimons face, those eyes moving to follow their movements, the dramon digimon twisting to follow after Z's Garurumon as its body dug into the massive stone crests.

Doing a rather fast 180, the cyborg wolf digimon felt every single one of her weapon stores slam open along her body, her systems tracking the advancing dark digimon as it fired up it's own attack, but far to late as she already had a lock on confirmation. "Full Metal Blaze!"

Chaos Seadramon barely having a chance to avoid the attack, each one of the many missiles impacted the chromedigizoid armour along the serpentine body, not that it showed much of effect, as the massive ultimate stage digimon simply shrugged doff each of the impacts

Turning around, Victory Greymon tossed up his sword and felt it split apart into its two components, fitting in nicely at the top of the armoured wristbands he wore, their job to help him manage his newest attack move. "Trident Gaia!" The very energies of the air itself dragging in around him, forming into a massive sphere of destruction that he hurled right into the side of the dazed Chaos Dramon.

The massive serpent digimon hissing as he spun around to face them both at a time. "Your attacks are worthless, none can destroy my chromedigizoid." Lashing out his tail, he grinned as Z'd Garurumon had to stop his attack, meanwhile Victory Greymon had to move as well as timed Ultimate Steam came close to hitting him. "Your dark presence in this world humans shall be removed!"

Ducking back, Victory Greymon grunted as he reformed the Dramon Breaker sword, watching as Z'd Garurumon dive right back in again, weapons firing as he did a quick dive by attack. "We'll see about that, we've won over everyone else so far!"

Lashing out with his sword, he grimaced as it did nothing, but generate a shower of sparks as it ripped across the armoured hide of the dramon digimon, before he was knocked back by a quick move of Chaos Seadramon.

"See, even your fusion with a human will allow you to stand up to me!" Firing off his attack, Chaos Seadramon laughed as he watched it hit the dragon man digimon, the power of it slamming him into the ground harshly. "All it has done is increase your darkness and your need for deletion as Chronomon commands."

Firing off another attack, Chaos Seadramon ripped across the ground, sending the crest stones flying as first the power beam and then his body tore through them.

Turning around in midair, Victory Greymon grunted as he glanced at his sword, the few nicks in it clearly showing just how much damage he had gotten from his attempt at cutting his foe. "We need a way around that amour of his!"

Z'd Garurumon growled in agreement as she did her best to avoid become a snack, the massive jaws of the ultimate stage dramon digimon always just behind her. "If I could only freeze him like a normal Metal Garurumon, we could shatter his armour that way."
Separating his sword and returning the parts to their place on his wristbands, Victory Greymon felt the very energies of the air around him flow in between his hands, his expression grim as he sent the sphere of power flying, the impact freezing Z'd Garurumon from becoming an early snack, and sending the much larger digimon off course and into the ground below them.

Joining up with the dragon man digimon, the metallic wolf digimon kept watching as Chaos Dramon arose from the earth, his eyes focused on them as that damned laughter rang out. "Listen up, back on my world, we had to deal with someone like this, problem is, it was Wargreymon who beat that one, by tearing up his insides with his dramon killers."

Ducking as the big beam cut through the space between them, Victory Greymon grunted as he kept going left, while Z'd Garurumon turned around in midair, and sent off a small volley of missiles, each one doing nothing more then leave behind a dark path of soot across the shinny chromedigizoid armour, and gaining the chaos digimons attention. "Look, I'll distract him; you go for what chance you get to take him out from within."

Snapping his jaws shut, Chaos Seadramon shot back to focus on Victory Greymon, the dragon man digimon grinning a bit as he backed off, before going into a full tilt flight escape, the massive dramon digimon hot on his heals. "You two, take me out, a lord of chaos?"

Moving to the side at the last second, Victory Greymon grunted as he formed his sword Dramon Breaker, the light glinting off it as he looked up to see Z'd Garurumon streak in for attack. "Aim for his head!"

"Full metal Blaze!" The full weapons barrages ripped through the air, massive explosions lighting up the sky as everything Z'd Garurumon had were fired off, the cloud of fire and smoke increasing for a full two minutes, until a massive beam of light ripped out, smashing both Victory Greymon and Z'd Garurumon backwards.

Emerging from the cloud like a demonic monster of the old tales, Chaos Seadramon roared in triumph as he took in the sight of Z'd Garurumon crashed into the ground, her eyes half closed in a daze. "Such a futile gesture dark one, your puny little display of raw power, will never match up to mine!

"Now, embrace the sweet oblivion that all you dark ones shall be banished to." Powering up his beam cannon to destroy the metallic wolf digimon before him, he only got a shot glimpse of something shiny and orange to his left, before pain ripped through him, his vision on the left sideof his head lost. "What have you done?"

Falling back from the force of Chaos Seadramon rising up in pain and anger, Victory Greymon gave a grim smirk as he watched his trusted Dramon Breaker rise up with him, its blade currently stabbed into the eye of their opponent, the massive digimons creaming in pain as he attempted to remove the sword. "Z'd Garurumon, you okay over there?"

Exhaling as he rose, the metallic digimon nodded as he focused op Chaos Seadramon who still hadn't succeeded in shaking the sword out of his eyes.

Still curling up, the dramon digimon twisted once more, his screams raining out as his good eye became fixed on the one who had dared to hurt him, the one who had actually drawn blood with such a vicious and cowardly attack. "I shall crush you for this!"

Rushing down through the air, his jaws snapped open, the good eye fully focused on Victory Greymon, and the fact that his mind, while in pain, and over charged with rage, still had a small whisper to it, one that spoke of a need not to ignore the other digimon.

On the ground, Z'd Garurumon, standing within Chaos Seadramon's blind spot, calmly watched the digimon descend, her back opening up as a massive cannon slid out, it mouth pointing right into the open mouth of the attacking lord of chaos. "Take this, you overgrown metallic snake, Z'd Cannon!"

Too late, the rational part of his mind screamed up at him as the shot rang out through the air, his jaws snapping shut one split second to late as the projectile passed through his teeth and into his back mouth, the flesh there parting as the charge tore into it.

On the ground, Victory Greymon looked away as the explosion sounded out, Chaos Seadramon's remaining eye blowing out as his armour shook with smoke ripping out of his mouth. "Aw, did it have to be something like that?"

Z'd Garurumon not responding as she glowed brightly, separating into Taiko and Plotmon, the tow of them watching as Chaos Seadramon's body began falling down, the metal breaking up as it descended, the digital data parts scattering into the air in several rows. "One down, three to go."

Glaring at her, Victory Greymon merely grunted as he turned and began stomping forward, his arm reaching out to grab his Dramon Breaker as it fell down from the heavens, slightly scorched and slime covered. "I just know I'm going to be having nightmares about this for weeks now."

Chuckling lightly, Taiko shook her shoulders as she watched the sky above them. "Yeah, well get used to it, there' still three more lords of chaos out there."

Dividing into Taichi and Agumon, the messy haired boy nodded grimly as he thought about the remaining enemies waiting for them out there. "Chaos Piemon, Chaos Greymon and Chaos Dramon." Muttering out their names, he closed his eyes as his thoughts moved to another foe they knew little to nothing about really. "There's Magnamon and his master too, who knows what they want other then for us to hand over our digivices."

"So, it just you two versus a royal knight and three lords of chaos." Piccolomon muttered out as he moved forward, his staff tapping against the ground. "One of them you already know, the other, has only just recently shown itself."

"Three fractions really." Taichi replied as he turned around, his eyes narrowing with concern and slight anger as he held first the perfect stage pixie digimon, and then Taiko attention. "There's also Hikaru and Devimon, who knows what those two are up to right now?"

----

Hovering silently in the air, Chaos Greymon shot one small look towards the area where the surge of darkness had come from, his eyes narrowing as he found nothing, not even a trace or clue as to which digimons had just left the place.

Crossing his arms in deep thought, he slowly spun around to face File City, the countless digimons down there partially glowing with hatred and evil to the lord of Chaos. "Chaos Dramon, the darkness I sensed here has faded away; shall I continue with the purge?"

The air shimmered as he spoke, the image of Chaos Dramon emerging into existence as the massive lord of chaos turned away from the digi egg holding Chronomon. "Hold back your attack for now and listen, Chaos Seadramon has fallen at the hands of the bringers of darkness."

Fading into view, Chaos Piemon stood silently as he listened to the conversation, his expression unreadable as he merely hovered in midair waiting for a chance to voice his opinion. "We all knew Chaos Seadramon was a fool, and the weakest of us, still, it is shameful to know that enslaved digimons killed him off, even if they are tainted by darkness."

"Yes, and more troubling they seem to gaining strength even as we speak." Holding out one hand, Chaos Piemon's image shifted until it showed the digital sky above them, only this sky held a complete cloud shield.

"My research has revealed they are the ones who broke the barrier, and what's worse." Mumbling a few words as his image re emerged besides Chaos Dramon's, he shook his head before he continued. "A third child may have caused the death of millions of digimons."

Closing his eyes as he thought about it, Chaos Greymon nodded softly as he lifted his head. "One of us must find this third child, the rest shall deal with the ones who killed our comrade, make sure they suffer for their transgression."

Stepping back, Chaos Dramon's image moved as a fourth figure showed up, this one covered by a cloak that concealed all but his eyes. "In the matter of the third child, he may the reason we have been woken up." Moving his head towards Wisemon, the massive cyborg digimon growled as he thought about the conversation he had with the perfect stage digimon. "The end of the digital world is almost here, a dark digimon with control over the fires of destruction will soon awaken."

Pointing forward with one hand, he pointed it as both Chaos Piemon and Chaos Greymon. "Forget the third child, he is of no concern, destroy the ones who killed Chaos Seadramon, and cleanse this world of the evil before resuming the purging of the very darkness itself."

----

This place really unnerved him, the endlessly dead plains and dark skies chilled him heavily, the wind sweeping through the land just as lifeless as everything else in this place.

The times of great digimon hordes and cities now nothing more then a fading day dream, the widespread wonders just a shadow of everything they had once been.

And in the centre of it all, it stood, towering up over everything around it, soulless and cold, its black and grey metallic and rocky surface absorbing all light that reached it, a product of the dark world now present here in the digital world since the near collapse of everything.

Its former occupants long since lost to the war of light and darkness.

They had been lucky, none of them had to remain behind to witness their slow decaying death, thought in those sevens case, they would have welcomed it in a flash.

But as of now, it was now his home and the base of operations for him master.

And he had admit deep down, that Nairu's castle, reaching for the very heavens above, for a soulless structure looking far to close to a dragons claw tearing out of the ground itself, it's shadow swallowing him along with the madness he would always swear were right there, from all the acts of evil that had once taken place in there.

It really looked awesome, as his partner would have put it if he were around.

"Taichi."

As such, Magnamon once more bowed his head and settled down into a kneeling position as he thought his best friend, the one he really couldn't live without, the one who had finally been avenged.

The very thought bringing tears of joy to his eyes, the knowledge that against all odds, he had triumphed against those two murders.

----

Blinking his eyes, Hikaru slowly woke up from his unwanted nap, the coldness of the air around him causing him to shiver as he fought against a massive pounding in the back of his head. "Devimon? What the hell happened, Devimon?"

Getting no reply from his digimon partner, the small boy lifted his head to find the stupid digimon and get the answer he wanted, his face growing darker with anger as he couldn't move a single centimetre, the feeling of metal biting in his forehead enough to wake him completely.

"What the hell is this?" Spitting out the words as he tested both his hands and feet, meeting the same ice cold metallic restraints clamped tightly down, he tensed up even more as his state of close to complete nakedness sat in, along with the sound of faintly humming machines around him. "Someone answer me!"

"Silence." The voice held nothing but cold rage and darkness to it as the voice broke out around him, his mouth snapping shut as it forced to by a vice, the darkness fading away as dark purple rocks line with blood red lines of power it up around him, the temperature dropping another good degree or two as a form slid out of the space between the rocks. "You don't ask the questions around here, you do not speak unless spoken to."

Pulling back the right sleeve of his large robe, the human man as he could been see to be as he stopped before Hikaru, chuckled as he revealed the presence of six digital devices strapped onto his wrist. "Pretty yes." ignoring the rage filled spluttering of the boy before him, he walked over to watch the rising test tubes around them. "Almost as pretty as this."

Inside each of the tubes resided either the form of a human child or a digimon in its rookie stage. "I have almost completed my collection." Walking from tube to the other, he stopped before Hikaru lying on the table, his eyes narrowing as he watched the young boy before him. "I must admit, I thought it would have been complete with you, that your corrupted light could have been purified, but no."

Turning from each tube, he narrowed his eyes. "Courage, Friendship, Knowledge, Love, Reliability, Sincerity, Hope and light." Watching the three empty tubes he hissed as he leaned forward to place his hand on its surface with a distressed expression. "The powers within the perfect children chosen by the guardians, the power each one holds enough to bring out the full potential of any digimons they bond with."

"I need that power to make the perfect creation, a master of evolution, the perfect body for an incomplete god." turning his head to regard Hikaru, he breathed out evenly. "Taichi, Yamato, Kousiro, Juni, Sora, Michi, Takeru and you, Hikaru, you were the children whose inner powers I needed to save this world."

"But the perfect wasn't perfect, you failed me, you failed everyone." Pulling back his hood, he gazed down at the boy shivering in the cold air. "You most of all, you failed your given trait, you betrayed all and destroy the very element I need the most."

Holding out both hands, he grimaced as darkness flared up around them, his eyes narrowing in anger. "Your failure reminds me of my benefactor, the guardian of the digital world, Gennai, a simple creature who thought himself a saviour, when in fact he were just a mere fool."

Picking up a series of wires, he advanced on Hikaru slowly. "By rejecting his own darkness and seeking to become a god, he really ended up creating this whole mess." Dragging one finger nail across the young boy's cheek, he grinned darkly. "All of the darkness that he could reject from his body ended up floating through the digital limbo, resenting him, hating the digimons, the humans as well, in fact, he hated it all deep down."

Regarding the kid before him, he grimaced as he averted his eyes. "Eons had I drifted through the darkness myself, my memory long since lost of anything, except one thing, hatred for the humans and digimons who betrayed me, the need to destroy them all writing into my very soul." Feeling his nails dig into his hands as he spoke, he did his best to calm down. "Gennai's rejected dark data, gave me a body, the negative emotions in his body matching mine perfectly, and thus, I was born inside that darkness, a product of both worlds, with a hatred for everything."

"And within that darkness, I watched as Chronomon created Refugia and how you rose to power." Forcing his finger nail down harshly, he laughed as he watched blood flow out from under it as he cut into Hikaru's cheek. "Your worthless life goal helped me somewhat; it brought a broken Michi to me, and loyal Magnamon, both of whom served me just for a chance to get revenge."

Turning around, he lifted up a set of wires and calmly looked over them. "Of course, before I met them, I used the darkness of the digital world to provide me with what I would need." Lookming around then room, he grinned darkly. "First off, I used it to find a place to carry out my plan, my very ambition for this worthless world." Observing his hands as he spoke, rage smouldered behind his eyes as he started to sneer. "And now, I have nearly everything I need, soon, I shall have a vessel befitting the new god of evolution."

Attaching the wires to Hikaru's head and left chest, Nairu moved back to watch the boy before him as he crossed his arm in deep thought. "Your darkness is useless to me, I'm already nothing but pure darkness, what I need, is the power of light to complete the transformation."

"If I had had your pure light powers I would already have completed my great plan." Taking a step forward, he gazed down at the boy before him, as he brought up a claw and ran it across his cheek. "Now I will merely use that darkness you now hold as your trait, to provide me with the needed forces to secure the second keeper of light that have arrived in this world, a gift from the digital gods of darkness no doubt."

Turning to watch the image of Taiko showing up, he chuckled as he released his hold Taiko, the loud screams of rage and curses breaking out behind him broken by a pain filled scream as the powers within the boy were torn from him, run through the digital device on Nairu's arm, and into his machines, the loud cries of Hikaru getting treated like a human battery ringing out for several minutes.

All the while, Nairu merely grinned as he watched machines after machines rising up, showing him the captured digimons glowing as that power were forced into them. "That's right, a god like me needs servants, someone to carry out my orders and impose my will on this wrenched world."

As he spoke, his eyes moved to the one device no one but him had ever seen, Large and imposing, it held a sphere shaped glass section within which the air were humming with the stolen power of the chosen children in his captivity, their traits merging together until it was perfect enough for him to use.

Perfect enough to give birth to the new body of the digital god of evolution.

Eyes darting to the sides, the whole posture of the digital human changed as he moved away from the device, once more allowing it to be hidden in the shadows of his lab. "Isn't that right, Magnamon? We'll take his corrupted power and make it work for the forces of light."

The words aimed at the digimon as he walked out of the shadows, his eyes moving around with both confusion and dread clearly seen in them. "Sorry to intrude here, but the impostor of Taichi and his girl friend, they defeated Chaos Seadramon."

"As expected." moving with a clear and frantic pace, Nairu soon found himself standing before the central controls, the various screen relaying information to him. "The girl has the power of light within her, and the other one must have stolen Taichi Yagami's strength."

Turning his head to face Magnamon, he chuckled softly. "Soon, all of the lords will be no more, and then I can obtain the last two parts to make us all evolve." Closing his eyes, the digital human dropped down into the chair conveniently placed behind him. "Now go, and keep watching, if they seem to have any kind of trouble with those so called lords of chaos you may assist them, I want the child of light at her most powerful, when I drain her power."

Nodding, Magnamon rose up and turned to leave, his eyes lingering at Hikaru floating around in his tube, mixed feeling running through him as he slowly closed his eyes.

His partner had been avenged, Devimon had been deleted, and Hikaru was now nothing more then a research subject, something to be discarded and killed when he had nothing more to offer them.

So why did it feel so wrong now that he had succeeded?

Why did it feel like he had failed Taichi after all?

He had done everything to avenge him, defeated those who had killed him, all but that kid, the one who had dared to impersonate him, the one who wielded the power of his former partner.

Was he the source of the unrest, this feeling of failure he suffered from?

After all, the boy had an Agumon, one who had defeated an enemy far greater then Devimon, and he had done it with such little trouble, had he been rejected as a chosen one because of it.

Closing his eyes, he willed up the gift given to him by Nairu, the air shimmering as he warped back out of this place of horror, leaving it's creepiness behind along with everything else. "We shall see, if you even deserve to look like my partner, much less yield his trait, fake Taichi Yagami."

----

"The time grows near." Wisemon muttered out as he walked through a simple furnished room, his meeting with Chaos Dramon had been most useful, everything that he had foreseen were almost in place. "The Lords of Chaos have indeed risen, and already one has fallen, soon the master of destruction shall be freed."

Settling into his chair, the perfect stage digimon sighed as he leaned backwards, a small headache pounding at his skull as he did his best to relax. "Soon, the final battle for over this wretched world shall begin."

As he spoke, his eyes drifted downwards, until they rested on the chess board, flanked by several wooden figures, each one tacked with a small note to show which one they represented. "Yet, even a prophet like me, sees more then one outcome of certain events, and the smart mons, like me, will always search for a way out, just in case."

Lifting up the figures marked Taichi and Taiko, Wisemon smirked within the confines of his hood. "You two must triumph over all that I have foreseen, otherwise, this world shall be destroyed." Lowering the figures, Wisemon would have laughed as he regarded the next set of objects on his table. "Nairu, it would have been smarter to secure these in a safer location."

Lifting up the small deck of card, Wisemon would have laughed out loud, as each digimon card were laid out on the table before him, the various digimons almost smiling at him as he stared at each card. "If the chosen ones fail, all I need to do is pick a combination that will work for me; the destruction of this world will not claim me as well."

----

Standing on the top hill with his digimon sleeping safely right next to him, Taichi Yagami narrowed his eyes as a cold shiver went up his back, the feeling of dread that had followed him most of the day growing even greater as he lifted his head up to stare into the sky. "No, it can't be."

Far above them, the once dreaded heaven had lost all clouds and stars, even the faint glow of the digital sun had vanished, only to be replaced with the sight of the earth itself, filling every part of the sky, even behind the digital world, it's darkness almost glowing. "What's going on?"

Next to him, Taiko stifled a yawn as she too looked up from her resting place nearly dropping her sleeping partner in the process, before the full magnitude of the sight above hit home. "The barrier between the worlds is falling apart." Eyes narrowing, she faced her male counter part. "We need to restore the balance between light and darkness, before it fails completely."

Clenching his hand, the messy haired boy nodded with an expression matching Taiko's in grimness. "Then we have to speed it up, we have to defeat the Lords of Chaos before the rest of humanity strikes once more." Taichi muttered out as he did his best to remember as much about them as he could. "There's Chaos Piemon, Chaos Greymon and Chaos Dramon."

"But before that, you must face me."

Turning around to face the one speaking, both Taichi and Taiko nearly fell over from the sight of the golden armoured digimon standing there, his eyes completely transfixed on the holder of courage. "I must see for myself, the power that allowed you to defeat Chaos Seadramon."

Holding out his right hand, the golden mask hid the bitter smile as the fist closed in around its target, grapping Taiko in a split second, holding her tightly and nearly causing her to lose her partner digimon as he swiftly knocked her out. "And you shall be the price in this little battle, he wins, you can all leave, he loses, my master gets you and the digivices he wants."

Reaching for his digivice, to evolve his partner into a better fighting stance, Taichi barely had a chance to do so before it was knocked out of his hand, landing on the ground between them.

"Not yet, and not here, I'll take you one on one when your partner is fully rested, false child of courage, and in a place I have chosen just for you." Stepping back, Magnamon repositioned Taiko and Plotmon, the puppy digimon having woken up just in time to be muffled by a massive fist. "Head straight north from here and you'll find the ruins of an old city, now long forgotten and half covered in sand, it's name long unspoken, that is where we shall fight."

Grinning, Taichi punched one hand into the other. "Nice choice, a lot of ruins means a lot of hiding places for a coward like you." Giving off an expression more fitting for a dark digimon, Taichi chuckled as he looked over at Taiko. "You hang in there; I'll find you again and mop the floor with this loser."

Cutting off any chance of a response from the girl, Magnamon merely snarled at him, the air shimmering as they warped to the chosen location. "Be there by sunrise child, or she'll end up as the newest lab rat for Nairu, right next to Hikaru."

Eyes almost cold with anger, Taichi barely responded as Agumon woke up, the orange digimon sniffing the air once before he was up and ready to do battle, a little too late, but still, it was something.

"Agumon, we're leaving, we have a showdown tomorrow at sunrise, one we can't miss."

TBC:

AN:

Sorry for the delay, I know I promised to update the day after, but a case of snafu, resulted in this chapter getting corrupted and lost to the great abyss of digital data.

Of course, I haven't really felt like doing anything lately either, just a small result of getting fired I guess.