Shattered Light
By: Linkmaste
Chapter Twenty Three: Beelzemon's Big Choice
Author's Note: This is the last part for Hybrid Theory. Hey, remember I asked you about how far Impmon (well, now Beelezmon) would go to make things right? Now we can find out. Enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I own Lindenmon, Azazel, and Naomi.
The air seemed to be gone-sucked out of everyone who watched the scene unfold of Impmon's death. Witchmon and Makoto were sobbing, Beelzemon grit his fangs, Lindenmon held her hands on her face and cried, while the twins were frozen on the spot. No one saw Azazel appear from the shadows, holding the spear that had impaled Impmon.
"Oh, such a tear jerker! Really, didn't see that coming from a mile away." Azazel cackled, looking more sinister. His yellow eyes were more psychotic, and his suit looked rumpled. Even his hair looked unkempt which was a vast difference from its usual style.
The fact that Azazel had murdered their digimon caused an dark look to appear onto the hybrid twins. They glanced at each other for a split second before standing up fully. Makoto voice held no emotion and his fists clenched tightly when he spoke,
"So...this was part of the deal, Azazel? Letting Kazu die? Killing my digimon?"
"A few strings had to be cut, my child." Azazel shrugged and looked at the boy's unreadable face. He rolled his eyes looking annoyed at the boy hybrid. "What?"
HYBRID DIGIVOULTION
"Makoto hybrid digivolve to...Wizardmon!"
Wizardmon and Witchmon pointed their weapons at the Ancient One with snarls upon their faces. They looked like wounded animals, with Witchmon's fangs bared, and pain crystal clear in Wizardmon's eyes. They wanted Azazel dead-no matter what the cost. Since Azazel took away Impmon, they would take away Azazel!
"You'll die for this, you bastard!" Witchmon screeched. "Baluluna Gale!"
"Magical Game!"
The attacks honed in on Azazel. With his spear, he knocked away the attacks. His eyes flashed dangerously.
"You think you two are a match for me? I am the Ancient One Azazel, master of reality! You have no idea who you are messing with!"
"Yeah, well your messing with hybrids!" Wizardmon replied. "And we're going to kick your ass."
"Beelzemon, Lindenmon," ordered Mako and Ai together. "Destroy Azazel!"
"With pleasure!" both megas shouted, following their Tamers' demands.
Witchmon, Wizardmon, Beelzemon and Lindenmon all charged their attacks.
"Aqua Blaster!"
"Electro Squall!"
"Corona Destroyer!"
"Linden Blossoms!"
The combined attacks sent a powerful force to the Ancient One. With a grunt, he shifted his weight to deflect the attack. Unfortunately, Azazel wasn't ready for Lindenmon to appear beside him and hold him down with her 'Hands of Fate'.
"Sit tight, Azazel! This one's gunna hurt!" she screamed. The blast hit him directly, the mere impact sent him flying into the wall. With a grunt, Azazel felt a wound in his side. How long had it been since he registered pain into his system? So long... His body flickered and data looked unstable around him. Then it returned to normal. In a crackle of data, he appeared to teleport to Lindenmon and punch her back to the group. Beelzemon caught her before she hit the floor.
"Attack again!" ordered Mako and Ai together.
"Linden Blossoms!"
"Corona Blaster!"
Azazel dodged the two attacks with impressive flips and jumps.
"I created you hybrids! You four are mine and you all will do as I say!" Azazel cried lifting his arms and sent out gold dust towards them. "Shattered Light!"
The dust floated over to the group, but Witchmon was already on it. She held out her broom.
"Baluluna Gale!"
The dust simply flew backwards. It unharmed anyone and caused Azazel to become annoyed.
"Stupid hybrid, I'll teach you the meaning of respect! Reality Crush!"
An orb appeared within Azazel's hand, cackling with dark energy. It shot forward, at a break neck speed and almost hit Witchmon, if Wizardmon hadn't dove her out of the way. They both landed inches away from the blast.
"Thanks, brother."
"Anytime, sister." he replied and helped her back up. His voice was quiet, and he had a more solemn personality than his sister's digimon form. The two took a battle stance, ready to cast another spell at Azazel. If it was the last thing they would do, they will make Azazel pay for what he did to their Impmon.
"What's the big deal? You are all not even Tamers or digimon anymore! Half of you don't have their D-Arcs and the other half lost their digimon, it's pathetic." the yellow eyed man grinned. "Just give up and join me."
"No!" Ai cried, throwing a finger at Azazel. "D-Arcs don't matter. What matters is we believe in our partners!"
"And nothing can change the fact that we love them!" Mako replied, throwing his arm out. "You can never break our bond so easily."
Azazel acted differently. Usually, he would have something smart to say. Instead, a look that resembled fear passed his face as he noticed a bright blue butterfly fly around the room. The others saw it too, wondering just how a butterfly can get down here. The butterfly glimmered and seemed to disappear for a minute. Azazel lifted out a hand and opened a portal. It looked like the same quick sand like portal that the quartet fell through at the Expo. He gave a salute and called out.
"I would stay to chat but I got a Primary Village to destroy! I'm not waiting for Naomi to come around and give me a lecture. Goodbye-rot in this reality for all I care."
Azazel dove into the portal and with a loud 'pop', it vanished in a wisp of data. No one had the reaction time to jump after him but everyone jolted their bodies forward out of reflex. Beelzemon shot his last canon at the spot but it only left a hole. He swore and punched the wall.
"We let that bastard get away." he punched again after every word. "And now he's gunna attack the others! God! Dammit!"
The others looked discouraged. Azazel had escape their grasps. With all the firepower, they were still unable to put a dent into him. How do you defeat something that claims to be a God?
Witchmon and Wizardmon looked down at where Impmon's body was. To their surprise something had been left. An egg, roughly the size of a melon sat there. It was pure white with golden stripes and a hint of blue in it. The two peered at it with disbelief on their faces.
"Is that..."
"Sis, that's not Impmon's egg." Wizardmon frowned.
"It's...Leomon's." Witchmon whispered, bending down to pick it up. She looked at it sadly, "When he...Leomon's data must have separated from him."
Beelzemon stopped punching the wall and looked at the egg. Was it truly Leomon's egg? It looked like it. A tingling sensation dwelled within him, almost like a longing to grab it. The white and golden egg, held Jeri's partner who had been dead for seven years. A little voice whispered inside his head to take the egg.
"Curious, how life is just a cycle." came a mysterious voice.
Everyone tensed, preparing an attack. After all the mysterious voices, and figures-they were sick of another drop in. Lindenmon crouched, her 'hands' hovering over the hooded figure that stood behind them. Ai and Mako took out their daggers and took a fighting stance. This time, they would fight too.
"We are sick of you Ancient Ones coming to ruin us! You better leave." Lindenmon threatened.
The hood came off and a stocky, dark skinned woman around her sixties revealed herself. She had a buzz cut of grey hair, and glowing blue eyes.
"Forgive me, I mean no harm. I am Naomi. I am the Ancient One: master of time. I believe you have met my...partner, Azazel. Am I correct?"
"Yes, but how do we know you're not going to hurt us?" Witchmon asked.
"Because, I am chasing after him. He has done so much harm and we need to collect him. I have been following him through realities, and so far I have only been playing catch up. I see that you have Leomon's egg too. I'm sorry for your loss." Naomi bowed her head in respect. "But we must address more pressing matters. We need to travel to the reality that Azazel is in right now and stop him."
"Hold on, why is he after Primary Village?" Ai asked. "That was all he could talk about."
"Because we created Primary Village a long time ago. It was the start of our duties as Ancient Ones or as we call it, ENIAC." explained Naomi.
"ENIAC?" asked Lindenmon. "What is that?"
"A long story." Naomi smiled rigidly. Unlike Azazel, it seemed that this 'Naomi' seemed hollow when she conveyed her emotions. It never fully reached her eyes. She waved her hand and magically, the portal reopened. With a look of awe and wonder, everyone turned to the Ancient One for an explanation.
"I used time to my side. It's all I can explain, now we need to go."
"Wait!" Beelzemon shouted and gazed at the egg. "Wait..."
"Beelzemon?" Ai and Mako looked at their partner, curiously. They thought he would be gung ho to head out, but he was hesitating.
With that egg, I can make our Jeri happy again Beelzemon thought. He could undo all his mistakes, erase the guilt weighing him down. But a sad thought came to his mind. The Jeri here would still be alone. At least with his counter-part, he had kept her company and safe. Now, it was just her. All alone.
Which Jeri did Beelzemon want to make happy?
Who would get Leomon?
It was so confusing, two sides were pulling at him. For his Jeri...for his retribution...or to let this Jeri have her happy ending in this shitty world.
Dammit! Why did I have to die? Beelzemon thought angrily.
"Impy...are you alright?" Lindenmon put a hand on Beelzemon. She used her mind to talk to him and reluctantly he opened up. The hybrid explained his conflict to her. He felt so torn.
I'm so confused...
Impy...it's your call. I can't decide for you, but know that we might never come back to this reality.
...What are ya sayin'?
I'm saying, be careful. This decision effects everyone.
Beelzemon remembered how miserable Jeri in his world was at first, how much pain he caused her when he killed and loaded Leomon. Sure, he and Gallantmon saved her from the D-Reaper but afterwards, it was a struggle. Often times, she would have her bad days wishing more than anything that Leomon was back. She would cry, withdraw herself, and think she was worthless. Then...she started to change. In his world, she found purpose to help those who lost their partners. She could make a difference, because she survived that lost...
The Jeri here...never had that chance...
I've decided.
"Witchmon...Wizardmon..." Beelzemon knelt down to the twin hybrids with an unreadable in his eyes. They instantly cuddled with the egg, shielding it from the mega. "I want to take the egg to Jeri..."
A pause.
"...Your Jeri."
They relaxed. Witchmon and Wizardmon looked at each other and nodded, allowing the egg to slip into Beelzemon's arms carefully. Treating it like a newborn child, he tucked it into the nook of his arm. He turned to Naomi,
"Can I get ten minutes? I gotta do somethin'."
"You may."
"Thanks."
He flapped his wings and flew away, up the floors, out of the back loading bay of the casino, and towards the hotel across the street. He noticed that the police have disappeared and everything was back to normal. If the circumstances were different, Beelzemon would have tried to get Rose back. She did a lot of help them this far.
He knocked at the hotel room, as his human form. Ian adjusted the egg and held it protectively.
"I don't know if you can hear me..." Ian whispered to the egg. "But, I'm sorry for everythin'. I hope this makes up for some of it. Leomon, Keep her safe. That's all I can ask of ya."
Jeri opened the door, looking relieved someone she recognized was on the other side. She glanced around.
"Where is everyone else-" Jeri voice was caught in her throat. She looked at the egg. With shaky hands, she produced her D-Arc from her pocket. The static had ceased.
"I thought...it was a glitch..." she breathed. Her golden eyes gazed at the egg longingly. Without delay, Ian gently gave it to Jeri. She accepted it, and felt instantly at peace feeling the egg in her arms. A feeling overcame her, like she felt connected to the egg, and who was inside it.
"Jeri..." Ian started, but he couldn't ruin this moment. Not yet. Something about watching Jeri adore Leomon's egg, it made him melt. It was a beautiful reunion. Jeri smiled at him with fat tears in her eyes.
"How did you-Beelzemon do it?"
This was the kicker. Ian had to bring the good news and the bad news. He retold the story carefully, as if he was talking to a very small child. Her face changed into a look of sorrow, and finally sadness. She focused on her egg.
Then, she slumped down to her knees to cry. It was heart wrenching to see Jeri cry and Ian strangely wanted to join with her but kept still. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she heaved-letting it sink in that her Beelzemon was gone.
"He told me he would be home..." Jeri sobbed, holding the egg slightly tighter. "He promised he would come home."
"Jeri," Ian knelt down to the young woman. "He did everythin' he could to help Ai and Mako and all of us. I know he wanted to make ya happy so badly-I would have wanted to make you happy."
The Tamer stood up. She wiped her eyes, still looking at the digi-egg with a quivered lip,
"We had became so close through all of this...haven't we?"
"He would have wanted you to be happy, Jer." Ian gazed at her. His green eyes snapped to hers. An understanding passed between them. Gently, she hugged him and was careful not to squish Leomon's egg.
"Thank you."
Ian told Jeri to tell the parents that their Makato was safe and will be home soon with Witchmon. He shoved his hands in his pockets sighing,
"I ain't sure what I'm doin' is right, but I gotta hope that someone gets their happiness out of this crap world. Even if it's just one person." With those final words, Ian turned on his heel and walked away. He knew he made the right decision-a tough one. But, the right one.
"Good-bye, Ian..." Jeri whispered and left back into the room holding her old friend again.
When Ian returned, he changed into Beelzemon again. Somehow, he needed to escape his emotions. They lashed out at him, biting him with sorrow of his counter-part's death, the anger for Azazel, and the anxiety of what was to come. Ai and Mako looked relieved they saw him again, letting a held breath release from their lungs. Lindenmon hugged him deeply.
"You okay?"
He took a breath. The emotions raging within him were mulled down now that he was in his mega form. He would deal with them later.
"Yeah."
She nodded and the group faced Naomi. She turned to Witchmon and Wizardmon.
"I have given thought to your predicaments. I cannot cure either of you completely, it's simply not possible by myself." Naomi's answer caused Witchmon and Wizardmon to hang their heads low. "Yet, there is a way for Witchmon to gain control of her abilities. And Wizardmon, I can help you make sure you don't break apart like Kazu did as HiAndromon. The problem with Azazel's methods was that it's very unstable being in your form this way. Any minute you put too much exertion, you will die. So I have a request: will you two help us on our mission? Will you two travel to the other reality and battle Azazel with us?"
The two looked unsure at first, but Wizardmon muttered something about helping those who were helpless. Those eggs at Primary Village were going to be destroyed from the battle. The advice from the mysterious girl and her digimon was becoming handy.
"Sis, I want to help. We owe them that."
"I agree." Witchmon's brown eyes bore at Naomi. "We will battle Azazel with everything we got!"
It was Lindenmon, Beelzemon, Ai, Mako, Witchmon, Wizardmon, and Naomi all facing the portal-the gateway to where Azazel had fled. Primary Village-where everything all lead up to. The others were going to be there fighting as well, and they had to help them.
"You ready?" Beelzemon and Lindenmon looked at their Tamers. Ai and Mako looked tired and serious.
"Of course, we will always be with you two. We're the unstoppable team." Ai gave smirk.
"Azazel has nothing on us! Let's protect that village." said Mako.
Altogether, everyone fell into the portal. Their bodies were pushed forward, then pulled apart by an unknown force. A feeling of being stretched tore into their bodies, working them-kneading them. Lights and colours flashed before their eyes, and with a lurch they started to comprehend what they were seeing.
It was a dead field of grass with several digi-eggs lying around. Willow trees were losing their leaves, many branches becoming bare. The sky was a blood red, rumbling with thunder and dark clouds. Battle cries and shouts were in the distance, some of them familiar. The sensation of powerful digimon were present, but it didn't discourage the group.
In fact, determination filled everyone's veins. Each had their motivations and duties to protect and fight against Azazel. And there, they would get ready to fight the final battle.
End of Part III
Author's Note: WE ARE DONE PART III! Now we are back to both groups at Primary Village at the big showdown!
Many writers who do Tamer's fanfics have one way or another to address the Leomon situation. Bring him back? Or keep him dead and gone? Or try to bring him back but kill Impmon in the process? Some handle it well, others...not so much. I decided Leomon can come back-but at a terrible, terrible price. With Impmon, Takato, Guilmon, Kazu, Gaurdomon all dead-you would have to ask yourself...would it be worth it?
Also, I added Beelzemon's conflict to think about taking that egg back home. Think about it. He could have taken it back (with hardly any trouble from Witchmon and Wizardmon) and probably made Jeri happy...but he decided the Jeri in the alternate reality would need him more, after everything she lost. It was a tough, tough decision. Don't worry I will continue that problem in PART IV: THE ANCIENT ONES OF ENIAC!