Chapter 9 Recap

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you kid."

"What is it?"

"Two nights ago, Lillithmon and Barbamon came to Breezy Village and demanded your whereabouts. The Floramon and Mushroommon bravely denied them and Lillithmon didn't take too kindly to it. She and Barbamon then laid waste to Breezy Village, completely obliterating the windy town of your most loyal supporters, and the resident's current status and whereabouts remain unknown. I'm sorry, AncientKazemon. I tried to help them, but Lillithmon and Barbamon together were too strong for me. As it is, they now know my allegiance is to you and not them, so I now have a target on my back to match your own."

"I am greatly saddened to hear this, I never wanted the Floramon or Mushroommon to get hurt at my expense, they were always so good to me and the others, and they've always had such unwavering faith in our abilities and have blindly followed us since day one. They were truly loyal friends. Knowing that you tried to protect and help my most faithful friends, shows that you too are someone loyal and worthy of a second chance. Please, tell me, what is your name?"

"My name is Impmon, and I will forever more be at your service as a loyal companion to you and you alone."

"Thank you Impmon, your trust and loyalty are greatly appreciated and shall be rewarded immensely. But for now, I believe I have some loved ones to return to. Please, join me and come meet the other warriors you will serve after so many long years of being outcast-ed."

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, only Dick and Zelena

AN: Sorry guys, this one turned out to be a little short!

CHAPTER 10

After de-digivolving and strengthening the wards on the entrance, Zoe leads Impmon down the maze towards the chamber. As they arrive at the doors, Zoe places her hands upon the doors and uses a spell to unlock them. Upon pushing open the doors, she is bombarded by hugs and cheers and some tears of joy from the other warriors. Kouji and Lena embrace her together, either one refusing to let go any time soon. Eventually she untangles herself from their hold so that she can go and greet the others, receiving bear hugs from JP, Takuya, Tommy and Kouichie, a smirk and nod from Dick, an awkward hug from Shinya, and a bone crushing hug from Yutaka. "I was so worried I wouldn't see you again, and I am so relieved I can." He whispered in her ear.

"What is that little purple thing supposed to be?" Dick's obnoxious voice resounded.

"De name's Impmon, pal, handsome and free like a bird in a tree, badaboom! By da way, what's Dat thing on yours shoulder's supposed to be?"

"Guys this is Impmon, ex-Demon Lord of Gluttony, and secret keeper of the Ancients." The introduction was met with quite a bit of rebuff.

"What the hell Zoe, why did you bring a Demon Lord here?" Takuya's voice was unfortunately heard loud and clear over everyone else. I sighed and covered my eyes with my hand, trying to block out the on-coming headache. As I turned to go sit in my throne, a dizzy spell came over me and my vision faded in and out. I lost sense of vertigo, and collapsed on the spot. Thankfully Impmon was next to me and caught me, otherwise I could have hit my head on the ground or worse.

"Zoe, hey Zoe. Princess. How many fingers am I holding up?" I could hear him, but I couldn't make him out in my haziness.

"Hey twerps, somethings wrong with Zoe, she's unresponsive." His voice finally broke through the mass of hysteria, and Kouji, Yutaka and Lena rushed to my side. My head was pounding like a drum kit at a metal concert, and I felt warm and clammy. My eyes felt weighted down and I could barely move any of my limbs. A strange smell entered my nose. It was crisp, and fresh, with a hint of floral, feathery and, airy. The smell woke me from my stupor and my eyes shot wide open. I was hyper alert of my surroundings, the scents in the chamber were very strong, the others voices were so loud I felt like someone had physically turned the volume up, and the details of the room and its inhabitants were magnified, as if I suddenly had high-definition vision. It was a sensory overload and I didn't quite know how to handle it. I felt the beginnings of a migraine forming quickly.

"Are you okay?" JP asked me, a worried frown marring his face. I winced at the volume of his voice. I know he didn't speak any louder than he usually does, but his voice just sounded like fireworks in the small chamber.

"Yes, I'm fine, just a dizzy spell." I mumbled, still not entirely sure what had happened to me. "I'm fine, I'm fine." I assured everyone when the twins moved to help me stand. I stood up on my own, tottered for a split moment then regained my balance. I held my hands up in front of me to prevent the others from coming closer, then wiped the dust and dirt off of my dress, making sure my clothes and everything were in order. I then noticed that my heightened senses were gone, thankfully, because I do not know how to handle that, perhaps it was just a freak accident in the Digital World.

"You sure you're okay?" Takuya asked in his "I'm-the-leader-I-take-no-nonsense-you-better-answer-me" voice. I nodded firmly as Lena and Kouji moved to stand on either side of me. Lena grabbed my right hand and squeezed it tightly, smiling brightly at me in the process. Kouji too took my hand, weaving our fingers together, lightly squeezing my hand in the process and smirked at me. I smiled at both in return.

"Alright, now we really need to figure out our next move. Do we stay in the maze, or do we leave. Perhaps we should go back to Breezy Village and see if they know anything else."

"No" I interjected quickly, "We can't go there."

"Why is that?" Shinya asked.

"Because, while all of youse was playing hide and go seek down here in da bunker, Lillithmon and Barbamon took it upon demselves to obliterate da village. Dunno what happened to the Floramon or Mushroommon though, dey're currently MIA." Impmon answered for me.

"When did this happen? And how come we didn't know?" JP demanded.

"dats simple really, it happened during the triple full moon and youse didn't know because mr grump and princess over here were off playing Romeo and Juliet in a magic chamber of the maze."

"How do you know so much about this?" Kouichie asked him skeptically.

"Because, while all of youse was off gallivanting underground, I was here fighting da good fight against Lillithmon and Barbamon in an attempt to protect Breezy Village. Unfortunately, I was…unsuccessful. I tried, I really did, but I couldn't beat dem. I'm sorry." I could see the honest remorse and guilt in his body language and knew then more than ever that he could be trusted.

"You fought two of the Demon Lords? Alone?! Just to save a village of plants? Aren't you supposed to be on their side?" Dick asked disbelievingly.

"I was never on deir side, I acted like I was so dey would trust me and I could collect information for de Celestials and Digital Knights, and de four tamers that can biomerge."

"And where did that get you?" Kouji bluntly demanded.

"A few injuries, a persistent migraine and a lot of favors I can call in at any time, Badaboom!" He drawled back sarcastically.

"Impmon…can we really trust you? Honestly, truly trust you?" Tommy asked him, a hint of the naive child we once knew seeping into his voice.

"Of course, I'm on your side, I've always been on your side. But now is not da time for chit chat. Da other Demon Lords were notified when I dedigivolved and thus relinquished my claim on da powers of Gluttony. Thus dey know a rough estimate of where I am, and they are fully aware of your existence and presence in da world and have ordered a world-wide search for all of youse. We need to leave, and we need to leave…now."