It might have been the way his grip tightened or the cadence of his voice as Taichi asked the question because Yamato knew that somehow Koushiro had found Takeru. Which meant that, more likely than not, his brother was in the Digital World. But Yamato didn't know how that could be. Takeru had only been gone a couple of hours at the very most. Patamon instantly perked up and started asking about his partner, flying around Taichi's head excitedly.
"Just a minute, Patamon," Taichi said distractedly before turning back to the phone. "Was there another Digivice signal there?" Yamato knew he was hoping that Takeru had succeeded. It made sense to wish that because there was very little reason to think Takeru would return without her. But the next few seconds showed that she was not there as Taichi's face became a mixture of anguish and anger, and Yamato knew that Koushiro's answer had been negative. Taichi took a deep breath, his face settling into a calmer state as he said, "Koushiro, I want you to call Jyou and then get over here as fast as you can." There was a pause where Taichi listened to the answer. Taichi's voice took a terse tone of barely suppressed anger, losing what little patience he had gathered, as he said, "You don't understand, Koushiro. If Takeru's in the Digital World, that means he's just returned from the Dark World."
Sora let go of Yamato's shirt (finally) and covered her mouth as she gasped. Taichi forged on. "And tell Jyou I don't care if he's operating on the Emperor, he'd better be over here in under an hour!" There was another short pause and Taichi's face softened just a bit. "Thanks, Koushiro." He hung up the phone and plucked Patamon out of the air. "He's all right, little guy."
Patamon beamed at him, but then his face became a little sad again. "Sorry she wasn't there, Taichi."
"We'll get Takeru and then we can go after her. Together this time," Taichi said resolutely.
No sooner than it had Taichi stopped speaking then Sora turned on Yamato, gripped the front of his shirt again and demanded, "And when exactly were you planning on telling us that Takeru was in the Dark World?"
"Sora, it's more complicated than you think," Yamato said in a weak attempt to pacify her, which did not work in the slightest.
"What's more complicated than our friend is in trouble and we have to save him?" Sora's eyes blazed as she glared at him and Yamato had the sudden urge to find some rock to hide under for a very long time.
"Sora, do you trust me?" Taichi asked suddenly, saving Yamato from having to answer.
Sora looked at him, slightly skeptical, as if she was wondering what he was up to. "Of course, I do. Most of the time," she added in a mutter.
"Then trust me when I say it's not something we can explain, but you'll understand when we reach Takeru." Sora opened her mouth, but Taichi cut her off with a wave of his hand. "I know that doesn't make much sense, but please just call Miyako and Mimi to get them to come over."
It was a few slow seconds before Sora nodded and pulled out her phone. "All right, Taichi," she said as she dialed. "But you'd better explain when we get there."
"Do we have another fight on our hands?" Iori asked quietly. Yamato blinked at him, having almost forgotten the younger boy had been there in the first place.
"It's a possibility we can't rule out at this point, so I want to be prepared." Iori nodded understandably. Taichi turned to Yamato and put Patamon in his arms. "Go with Iori and find him. I'll call Daisuke and Ken. We'll meet you there as soon as we can." He glanced back at Iori. "I forgot to ask Koushiro where he is. Do you know how to locate his signal?"
"Yes. Miyako taught me." He and Armadillomon went in to get the computer ready. Patamon flew out of Yamato's arms to follow him, while Wizardmon broke off from the crowd and went after them.
"Great," he said, but as Yamato walked passed to go with them, Taichi grabbed his arm. He threw a half-grin at Yamato before he said, "Tie him to a tree if you have to, but make sure he stays put this time."
Yamato couldn't help but grin back at him and clapped Taichi on the arm. "We're going to get her back," he said with the certainty that he felt. There was no way they weren't going to get Hikari back, because they were not going to give up on her. "He wouldn't have left her if he didn't have to."
Taichi nodded distractedly and let him go. Yamato went into the room to find them waiting for him. "I've found his signal," Iori said. "Are you ready?"
Yamato nodded. "Let's go." Iori quietly opened the portal and they were on their way to the Digital World by the nearest portal. Once there, Iori pulled out his D-3 and they followed the signal to where it indicated the location of Takeru's D-3.
They first saw him lying on the ground and for one short terrible second, Yamato thought the very worst had happened. But then Patamon cried out "Takeru!" as he flew off towards his partner, and Takeru sat up as Patamon flew right into his chest. He gathered the small Digimon in his arms, but turned to look at Yamato. He stood as the rest of their group approached. They stared at each other for a few moments before Takeru dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry," he said clearly.
And Yamato realized that he wasn't angry, at least not really. He was slightly irked that his brother ran off by himself, but Yamato knew that he himself wasn't much better when it came to him. He'd lost count of the times he and Taichi had argued and fought about it. He placed a hand on Takeru's shoulder. "I understand why you did it."
"She's in there, Yamato," Takeru said quietly, lifting his gaze, hope brimming them grimly. "I felt the light in her. They've got her thinking she's the Queen of the Dark World, but she's not completely theirs."
"And what of Gatomon?" Wizardmon asked. "Did you see her?"
Takeru nodded. "Lil—Gatomon promised to protect her while I came back to get all of you. Since Patamon didn't make it with me, there wasn't much I could do. The shadow creatures are pulling all sorts of Dark Digimon to their world. We might have quite the fight on our hands when we get there."
"Excuse me," Iori interjected softly. "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're talking about."
"Oh, right," Takeru said. He reached out a hand and placed it on Iori's shoulder. Comprehension dawned on the younger boy's features as Takeru's hand glowed with a mild gold light. He breathed a soft "Oh" before Takeru moved on to use his shield on Gabumon and Armadillomon.
"Everyone's coming," Yamato said, once Takeru had restored everyone's memories.
"Good, because we're probably going to need all the help we can get," Takeru said.
Lillithmon paced nervously. She didn't know exactly when Takeru was going to come, but she hoped it was really soon. She knew it had only been an hour since he left and that she should give him time to gather the others, but the shadow creatures had begun to pull Mega-level Dark Digimon to this world as well as use dark energy to cause some of the lower-leveled Digimon to Digivolve to higher levels, like they had done with her. She knew in the summer that Takeru and Hikari had helped all the Digidestined Digimon reach their Mega levels, but she had no way of knowing if they would be able to do so again. Not only that but the Dark Digimon would be more powerful in this world than they would have been anywhere else. The shadow creatures feed off the Darkness and were eager to pass that power onto their new minions, Hikari's "subjects".
Hikari will still within the throne room that Lilithmon had been banished from by the shadow creatures as they continued their work. Finally the doors opened and a two more Mega Digimon exited, one that was a large red dragon-like creature and another that was a giant purplish werewolf-like creature. She didn't recognize either of them and neither even so much as glanced at her as they walked past.
She strode into the hall determined to see Hikari, but was stopped by the shadow creatures who pressed in close to her. "They are here," they rasped at her. "You will serve our queen…"
Elation filled her as she realized they meant the Digidestined had come, but that was quickly overcome. Darkness flooded into her in such enormous waves that she couldn't fight it off. She could fill her will draining as their dark energy overpowered all her desires. Lilithmon's mind became no longer her own.
"Destroy the Child of Hope…"
Deep in the recesses of her mind, she screamed her defiance, horrified about the command that she had been given. But even as that small voice inside her screamed, "No! No!" she heard her own voice coming from her mouth say emotionlessly, "It will be as you command. Hail, Queen Hana…" Her body moved to leave the castle, as a single silent tear trailed her cheek.
"Hang on, just for one minute, Takeru," Taichi said, just as the other boy was about to open the portal after restoring everyone's memories of Hikari. Daisuke was pretty upset and raring to go after his friend, even if it did mean an unwelcome trip to the Dark World. Takeru looked at Taichi and Daisuke got the feeling that he was about to say something, but he just nodded after catching Taichi's expression. There was a cool seriousness about Taichi's look that Daisuke didn't often see on his face. Then Taichi continued speaking, "I wanted to make sure you all understood what we're going to do."
"We're going to rescue Hikari, right?" Daisuke asked, a little uncertainly, sure that they had already pretty well established that. He was just barely suppressing the urge to rock back and forth on his feet, eager to get going. Beside him, however, Veemon was not faring as well, shifting from one foot to the other slightly.
"Yes, but that's not all this mission is going to be," Taichi said. "The Digimon we might face…well, we're probably going to have to destroy them."
"What?" Miyako exclaimed. "But they're Digimon…they're real! We can't just…" she trailed off, but her horrified expression spoke volumes.
"Miyako," Yamato spoke up. "Do you think there was any other way to deal with Daemon?"
Miyako's eyes blazed. "That was different," she said hotly. "He was destroying everything and hurting people. We didn't have a choice!"
"It's not going to be any different in the Dark World," Takeru said gently. "The Digimon there are all going to be Dark and fighting to destroy us." A barely perceptible shiver ran through him and Daisuke blinked in surprise when his eyes took on a cold, hard glean for just a moment when he continued, "The Darkness there…it changes things."
"That doesn't mean—" Miyako began again but Taichi cut her off firmly.
"You don't have to come with us," he said. "That's why I'm telling you this now. If you aren't willing to see them destroyed you can stay and wait for us here, but for me, when it comes down to it, if it comes to a choice between them and Hikari, I know what I'm going to choose. But all of you need to make your own choices." A grim silence filled the air once Taichi finished talking. Takeru was the first to speak, quickly agreeing, and the rest of the original group followed, though Mimi hesitated for half a second before she did. Daisuke thought about it for another second, not really comfortable with the idea of destroying Digimon, but then he agreed as well. His friends were more important to him than any old evil Digimon any day. Ken was barely a second behind Daisuke. Iori look hesitant, but a few seconds later he, too, nodded his agreement. Miyako glanced around the group looking conflicted.
"If you don't feel comfortable, you can stay here," Sora said compassionately. "We'll understand."
But then Mimi stepped forward and took Miyako's hands. "Believe me, Miyako," she said. "I understand how you feel completely. There was a time when I hated the fighting so much that I left the group for a while, though Jyou was kind enough to come and take care of me. I was tired of seeing my friends get hurt. Maybe it was a mistake to leave, but because of it, I learned that if you didn't want your friends to get hurt, then you had to fight because together we are stronger. And I'm not telling you this to force you to come with us, but just to help you understand that sometimes you don't have a choice. Angemon destroyed Devimon to stop him from hurting Takeru. Taichi and Agumon destroyed Etemon to protect us. We destroyed Myotismon because he was going to hurt our families. And the Dark Masters were a threat to both worlds, so we destroyed them to keep everyone safe. Because, in the end, our families and friends are what's most important. Especially this family," she said, sweeping her arm to encompass everyone. "We're a family, and Hikari and Gatomon are a part of that. So you'd better bet that I'm going to do anything I have to protect that."
There was a sort of stunned silence after that, one in which Daisuke found some new respect for Mimi. He had never heard her say anything like that before. He looked around at the group to see their reactions. He found the original group a little less shocked than he felt, and many of them seemed to be holding back smiles, other than Takeru and Sora, who were both grinning widely. Iori looked pensive more than anything else, while Ken was staring warily at Miyako, as if he was frightened of Miyako's reaction. Daisuke understood that, having been at the receiving end of Miyako's temper too many times to count.
Finally, Miyako nodded, dipping her head slowly in agreement. "I'm going," she said.
"Great! Now that we've settled that issue, can we get going already?" Gomamon asked impatiently.
"Yeah, what are we waiting for?" Agumon piped up.
"Let's go save our friends," Gabumon added.
All eyes turned to Takeru as he said, "I'm not sure how long the portal will remain open. It was pretty shaky this morning. So we're going to have to run in as soon as it's open."
"Right," everyone agreed.
Takeru turned away from them and closed his eyes. A golden aura surrounded him before a giant swirling portal opened up. Takeru smiled as he opened his eyes, before running towards the portal, Patamon in his arms. The rest of the Digidestined and Digimon weren't far behind.
A few seconds later, Daisuke got his first glimpse of the Dark World and was suitably unimpressed. The place was cold and grey and Daisuke wasn't really jumping at the chance to buy a vacation home here. "This is officially the creepiest place I have ever been to," Daisuke remarked.
"I don't know," Taichi said. "Myotismon's castle was pretty creepy."
"This place is definitely worse," Mimi said firmly.
"Besides, Daisuke never went to Myotismon's castle, so therefore his statement is correct either way," Koushiro pointed out.
"Right," Daisuke said slowly, rubbing his head. "So where's Hikari anyway?" He turned to look at Takeru (the only person who would know) but he was staring down the coastline.
Takeru looked a little disappointed, but Daisuke wasn't sure about what. He knew it couldn't be what the place looked liked, this being Takeru's third or fourth time in this world (Daisuke couldn't remember which one it was at the moment). He couldn't have been expecting much, seeing as it was called the Dark World and it being all dark and stuff. "I was hoping that…" Takeru began to say, but ended up trailing off, now staring worriedly into the misty fog down the beach. "I guess she's not coming," he finished softly.
"Who's not coming?" Miyako demanded to know as she glanced about nervously.
"Lil—Gatomon," Takeru answered. He sighed. "The…er…castle is that way," he said pointing down the expanse of beach that lay before them.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get her!" Daisuke said impatiently. He couldn't understand why they were just standing here when they could be getting Hikari back.
"Wait. We need some kind of plan first," Jyou said sensibly.
"What's wrong with our normal plan?" Gomamon asked indignantly.
"What are you talking about?" Biyomon asked.
"You know, rush in, beat the bad guys, and go home," Gomamon said with a shrug. "It usually works."
"That's completely beside the point," Jyou said exasperatedly, though Daisuke had to admit that he agreed with Gomamon.
"I don't know," Sora interjected. "That sounds pretty accurate to me."
"Who's that?" Patamon asked suddenly.
Daisuke looked beyond the fog where five figures of varying sizes were approaching through the fog. A loud voice suddenly roared, "Megiddo Flame!" Takeru's golden shield flung up in front of them as numerable fireballs raced towards them. The shield stopped them, but it shattered after the attack was flung back. Takeru himself collapsed to his knees, his breath suddenly panting and ragged.
Daisuke was first to his side, as he was the closest, but Yamato and Sora were not far behind. "Are you all right, man?" Daisuke asked nervously. Yamato and Sora helped Takeru up to his feet, concern clear on their faces as well.
"I'm fine," Takeru assured them, taking deep breaths which returned his breathing back to normal, as the rest of the Digidestined and Digimon gathered close around him. "It's because of what's happening with Hikari. When her power isn't strong, neither is mine. I had to use more energy to stop the attack. It just caught me a little off-guard is all. I wasn't expecting it to be so powerful. We need to Digivolve. Now," he added.
"Well then, let's go," Daisuke said enthusiastically, excited to actually be doing something. He turned to his blue Digimon and asked, "Veemon?"
"Ready when you are, Daisuke!" Veemon said, brandishing his fists earnestly. "Veemon Digivolve to…ExVeemon!"
"I think Daisuke's got the right idea for once," Miyako stated.
"I agree," Taichi said before he nodded and then he looked at Agumon. "You ready, buddy?"
"Yeah!" Agumon said. "Agumon Warp Digivolve to…WarGreymon!"
"Gabumon Warp Digivolve to…MetalGarurumon!"
"Wormmon Digivolve to…Stingmon!"
"ExVeemon…Stingmon…DNA Digivolve to…Paildramon!"
"Paildramon Mega Digivolve to…Imperialdramon!"
"Tentomon Warp Digivolve to…HerculesKabuterimon!"
"Gomamon Warp Digivolve to…Vikemon!"
"Palmon Warp Digivolve to…Rosemon!"
"Armadillomon Warp Digivolve to…Cannondramon!"
"Hawkmon Warp Digivolve to…Ornismon!"
"Biyomon Warp Digivolve to…Hououmon!"
"What's wrong, Takeru?" Patamon asked, instead of Digivolving. Daisuke looked at Takeru when he noticed that they were the only ones who hadn't Digivolved.
"We'll wait, Patamon," Takeru said purposefully. "Until we reach her."
Daisuke shrugged, figuring that they had so many on their team that those other five Digimon didn't stand a chance even if Patamon didn't join the battle. "Let's go, Imperialdramon!" he called out to his partner. Imperialdramon sent off his Positron Laser at the same time WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon attacked with Terra Force and Metal Wolf Claw. The five Digimon scattered as the attacks came their way. The other Digimon also joined the battle.
"Who are they, Koushiro?" Taichi asked.
Koushiro whipped out his computer and typed quickly. "Pharaohmon, Minervamon, Callismon, Megidramon, and GranKuwagamon," he replied. "They're all Megas. Megidramon is the one who attack us."
"Let's get rid of these guys quickly and move on to find Hikari," Taichi said.
"Taichi, wait," Jyou said. "I think we should split up instead. Five of us should stay here and fight these guys while the rest of you move on. There will probably be more Digimon protecting Hikari up ahead."
Taichi nodded. "Good idea, Jyou," he said before he quickly glanced around at the group, and Daisuke could tell that he was coming to some kind of decision. "You, Mimi, Iori, Miyako, and Sora stay here, while the rest of us go on," he said after a few seconds.
Everyone nodded, so used to following Taichi as the leader that they didn't question his decision. Daisuke was bummed not to be participating in the battle right now, but happy that he had the chance to continue on to get Hikari. The Digidestined who were going on called out to their partners, who came down as the other five stayed in the battle. They, including Wizardmon, climbed up onto Imperialdramon, as the others got ready to fly around them as protection. Daisuke glanced back at the battle to see how they were faring.
Vikemon swung his hammer at Pharoahmon, who retaliated with his Fist of Nile. Rosemon swung her Rose Spear at the diminutive Minervamon, who blocked it with her giant sword. Cannondramon rammed into Callismon, who went flying, but was quick to rejoin the battle. Ornismon fired his dazzlingly Cosmic Ray at GranKuwagamon, who flung his own Dimension Scissors at his attack, causing a huge explosion as the two attacks hit. Megidramon fired off another Megiddo Flame at Hououmon, who maneuvered in the air to narrowly avoid it.
"Go!" Sora cried to them, as she, Mimi, Miyako, Jyou, and Iori took cover in the forest. The five Digimon left behind sufficiently distracted the Dark Digimon as Imperialdramon flew them on down the beach.
"Mega Electro Shocker!" HerculesKabuterimon suddenly called out about a minute later. Two Digimon flew into view who avoided the attack.
"That's Megadramon and Gigadramon!" Koushiro said.
"Dark Side Attack!" Megadramon called out at the same time as Gigadramon called out, "Genocide Gear!"
"Terra Force!" WarGreymon retaliated, destroying their attacks with his own.
Just then, two voices called out, "Nuclear Laser!" and two beams of blue energy blew at Imperialdramon, but HerculesKabuterimon blocked them with another Mega Electro Shocker. Two metal dinosaur-like Digimon clomped into view.
"They're MetalTyrannomon," Koushiro said after a quickly typing on his computer.
"We'll take care of this small fry!" Imperialdramon yelled, opening his dome. The Digidestined and Wizardmon went to the ground and Imperialdramon changed into Fighter Mode.
"Taichi, take Takeru and Yamato," Koushiro said. "We'll stay here and catch up later."
Taichi nodded. "Thanks, guys," he said before he yelled out to WarGreymon.
"MetalGarurumon, come on," Yamato yelled too. The two Digimon flew down to their partners.
As Takeru and Yamato jumped onto MetalGarurumon's back, with Patamon gripped tightly in Takeru's arms, WarGreymon grabbed Taichi. Daisuke watched them fly away, with Wizardmon, wishing them success in getting Hikari back. "Let's take out these guys!" he called to Imperialdramon, turning his attention back to the battle. The sooner they finished these guys, the faster he could go after them and help rescue Hikari, too.
"There's the castle," Takeru called out as the structure came into view, but was still rather far enough away. But then MetalGarurumon had to quickly veer to the side as dark red giant ball of energy, reminiscent of WarGreymon's Terra Force, flew in their direction. They landed not far from the castle right where a black clad Digimon stood. He looked similar to WarGreymon, except that he was clothed in black samurai-like gear and carried two swords.
"Who are you?" WarGreymon asked as Takeru, Yamato, and Taichi took to the ground.
"I am Gaiomon," the Digimon said. "I have been charged with guarding the way to Queen Hana."
"Go get him, WarGreymon," Taichi said.
"With pleasure!" WarGreymon said, rushing at him with his Mega Claw attack. MetalGarurumon was not far behind. Gaiomon blocked his attack and used a Fire Cutter Blade to fling WarGreymon away, where he flew straight into MetalGarurumon, knocking both of them to the ground.
"Are you guys all right?" Yamato asked as the three of them rushed over to them.
"We're fine," MetalGarurumon said as they got back on their feet. "We can handle this guy. You've got to go rescue Hikari! Come on, WarGreymon!"
"WarGreymon…MetalGarurumon…DNA Digivolve to…Omnimon!"
Omnimon called out, "Supreme Cannon!" as dozens of energy balls flew towards Gaiomon. Gaiomon, however, was really quick and managed to avoid some, while deflecting others with his swords.
"Taichi, I'll stay here with them," Yamato said, turning to them. "You and Takeru go to the castle and get Hikari."
"Are you sure?" Taichi asked. Takeru got the feeling there was more to what the two friends were saying, but he wasn't exactly sure what it was. He understood it though. He and Hikari had had many similar conversations and looks.
"Go," Yamato said nodding as Omnimon launched at Gaiomon with his own sword this time. Taichi grabbed Takeru's arm and they ran towards the castle doors with Wizardmon behind them as Gaiomon was distracted by the battle.
There was someone standing in front of the doors when they reached them. Takeru could feel Taichi tense beside him, but he just sighed in relief. "Lilithmon," he breathed. "I was wondering where you were."
"Hello," Lilithmon said in an odd flat tone. "I knew you would come."
"Who is that?" Taichi hissed.
"It's Gatomon," Takeru explained briefly, stepping closer to Lilithmon.
"It's who?" Taichi asked sharply, but Takeru didn't answer as he frowned in thought. Lilithmon had an odd dead look in her eyes and her face was lined with indifference rather than the happiness it had shown the last time they had met.
Her hand lifted slowly as she said blankly, "Darkness Love!"
Taichi tackled him to the ground as a black beam shot at them, narrowly missing over their heads. Patamon cried out Takeru's name before he called, "Patamon Warp Digivolve to…Seraphimon!" Seraphimon swung his sword at Lilithmon who twirled aside avoiding the blade.
Takeru pushed Taichi off him as he scrambled to his feet. "Seraphimon, stop!" he yelled. His partner stepped back, but kept the sword upright in a ready position. Lilithmon stood silently, her eyes dead as they fell to gaze at the ground. Takeru took a few cautious steps forward and said, "Gatomon, it's me. You've got to fight it! We're here to bring you and Hikari home, remember?"
Lilithmon's glazed stare lifted to look at him. "Destroy the Child of Hope," she said blankly. Her face remained expressionless as she lifted her grotesque claw from the inside of her robes and lunged at Takeru. Seraphimon pushed Takeru back as his sword caught Lilithmon's claw. Takeru would have fallen to the ground again if Taichi hadn't caught him.
"Are you crazy?" Taichi demanded as he pushed Takeru back onto his feet.
"She's being controlled or something," Takeru explained. "That's Gatomon."
"Sure doesn't look like Gatomon," Taichi said skeptically.
"The shadow creatures forced her to Dark Digivolve," Takeru said. "Last time I was here, she looked like that, but she was still just Gatomon underneath. They must have done something to her."
Seraphimon, who had continued battling Lilithmon, caught her with a swipe that flung Lilithmon rolling to the ground. She began to push herself up shakily with her hands, though her expression never changed. "That is truly Gatomon?" Wizardmon asked.
"Yes," Takeru said with absolute certainty, still trying to think of what he could do to get her back to how she was supposed to be.
But then Wizardmon started walking towards the still fallen Lilithmon. Takeru almost stopped him until he realized that he would have a better chance to bring Gatomon back, as he was her closest friend aside from Hikari. "What does your heart tell you, Gatomon?" was all Wizardmon said.
There was a second where Lilithmon just stared blankly at her friend, but then the briefest flicker of life flashed into her eyes as she said brokenly, "Wiz…ard…mon…"
Wizardmon stepped even closer. The rest of them stood there, entranced at the scene. "You are stronger than them, Gatomon," he said.
Lilithmon rose slowly to her feet. Her whole body was shaking as her left hand gripped the other clawed arm. Her shoulders hunched around her as her gaze remained fixated on the ground. "You…will not…have me," she said as her gaze lifted slowly. She looked first at Wizardmon and whispered, "Thank you…old friend." Then her gaze went to Seraphimon. "Seraphimon…please…I can't…"
Takeru realized that she was fighting them, holding onto herself, and knew what she was asking of Seraphimon. "No!" he yelled.
The corner of her mouth lifted just barely as she turned her gaze to Takeru. "Not…what…you…" she said before her eyes closed and a cry of pain escaped her lips as she fell to her knees. Takeru and Taichi both started to run forward, but she fixed them with a familiar glare that stopped both of the boys in their tracks. "No…save her," she rasped. She looked once again at Seraphimon. "Please…" she pleaded.
Seraphimon pulled his right hand back, as his sword retracted back. His fist glowed golden and as he punched forward calling out, "Hallowed Knuckle!" an orb of light shot from his hand and slammed into Lilithmon. Takeru could only watch horrified as she flew back and slammed into the wall of the castle before falling to the ground. But then he felt a deep sense of relief as she glowed purplish-black and shrank, meaning that she was just de-Digivolving instead of being destroyed. When the glow disappeared, a black version of Gatomon lay face down on the ground. Wizardmon was the first to run over to her, but Takeru and Taichi were not far behind. Wizardmon was turning the cat-like Digimon over in his arms.
"Gatomon?" Wizardmon said and they all left out a sigh of relief when her eyes, a fierce yellow instead of the blue Takeru was expecting, fluttered opened.
She smiled at Wizardmon before turning her gaze to Takeru. "I'm sorry," she said. "They caught me off guard."
Takeru smiled at her, understanding completely what she meant. "It's all right," he assured her gently. "I'm glad you're okay."
"My tail ring," she said, swishing her tail around, the golden ring looking more dulled than Takeru remembered. "Your shield should..." she trailed off, but Takeru understood as he kneeled down next to them. He grabbed her tail ring gently in his hands and pushed his golden shield out into her, like he had done with all the others, except instead of pushing the darkness just from memories, he was pushing the darkness from her complete being. Slowly, the black fur on her turned back to white, as Takeru's power destroyed pushed all the darkness out of Gatomon. Soon, their friend was back to her normal self with her tail ring glinting brightly as Takeru let it fall from his grip. "Thank you," she whispered before her now familiar wide blue eyes closed in sleep.
"I will remain here with her," Wizardmon said. "Go and rescue Hikari."
"But—" Takeru began to protest, torn between his desires to help Gatomon and to save Hikari, but Taichi pulled him to his feet, making the decision for him.
"She'll be fine," he said. "It's time to bring Hikari home."
Takeru nodded and they went through the doors of the castle, Seraphimon flying above them. It was time to complete their team, their family, once again.
Hana could hear it. The sounds of battle, the cries, the explosions, all of it made her cringe. And she hated, hated, that it was for her. Her people were being hurt, fighting to keep her safe, to keep her here. She wanted to know why Takeru couldn't have just left her here. Because she knew that it was him out there. After he left, she had been determined that if he reached to her again to open the portal, she would ignore it. But when she felt that pull, despite her desire to ignore it, something deep inside her answered him and let him in.
She kept telling herself this wasn't what she wanted, but somehow she was having a hard time believing it. She told herself that she didn't want Takeru and his friends to come and save her, yet there was a nagging doubt. It was most apparent when she remembered Takeru's declaration to her, just before he left. She didn't remember very much, but she didn't think that someone could fall in love with another after knowing them just a couple of days. But his words hadn't been desperate or pleading, just a simple, matter-of-fact statement of complete certainty.
There were also her own feelings that she had to consider. There had been a moment, Hana was sure, when she first truly looked into his blue eyes, of a sense of familiarity and the safety she felt when she had been in her arms was something she hadn't just imagined. She wasn't sure how it could be; he hadn't known who she was, so she couldn't have known him before she lost her memories. But it had been her that had kissed Takeru that night she left. It was something that had seemed so right at the time, but now had her wondering why she had even done it in the first place.
Hana felt so lost. Somehow, Takeru loved her; she had heard the truth in the words he spoke to her. Now it was slowly coming to her realization that she inexplicably loved him back.
Suddenly, she wanted to escape to somewhere, anywhere, that wasn't this large expansive throne room that even full of the shadow creatures that surrounded her felt surprisingly so empty. She hadn't left this room since the shadow creatures had ushered her into it that very morning after the events in the room with the pedestal, though it seemed like so much longer than that. Now she was so tired and confused; her mind was in a fog with the complete lack of sleep. She had asked to be taken back to her bed, but the shadow creatures said her room was being prepared for something. So, she had dozed briefly on her throne between sessions of bringing her people here, but it just wasn't enough.
Not necessarily unexpectedly, the doors burst open and they were standing there. Feelings rushed through Hana when she saw them. Takeru's gaze fell on her and his face broke into a heart-stopping smile. There was a blue armor clad angel above him and she wondered for a moment if that was Angemon; perhaps he had been changed just like Gatomon had…Digivolved, she thought, the word coming to her. Beside him stood Taichi, who had acted so strange around her before. But now if anything, his expression was closer to Takeru's, happy and excited though with quite a bit more determination to it than Takeru's did. Of all things, this confused her even more. Taichi had barely spoken to her the last time they met and now he was looking at her like he had just found his long-lost sister or something.
Almost immediately the scores of dark creatures swarmed around her, and the smiles fell from the boys' faces. "That's not going to stop us," Taichi said hotly. "We're taking her home."
"No…"
"Queen Hana is ours…"
"She belongs to us…"
"Seraphimon, don't attack," Takeru said as the angel lifted his hand. He, Seraphimon, Hana had to assume, lowered his hand and just hovered above them.
"What crazy thing are you going to try now?" Taichi asked and his tone made Hana wonder what Takeru had done before they arrived.
Instead of answering him, Takeru swept his gaze over the shadow creatures before he locked gazes with Hana. "I know you're somewhere in there," he said directly to her. "The last time I was here, I felt the light in you, just before I left."
"Impossible…"
"We destroyed the light…"
Hana withheld a gasp, but her hand lifted to cover her mouth. The shadow creatures made it sound like they knew what Takeru was talking about, but she didn't know how that could be. She was from the Dark World, so it shouldn't be possible for her to have any light. But the dark creatures didn't seem to agree with that. Takeru didn't agree with that.
Takeru just smiled, his eyes never wavering from Hana, as he made his reply, "You can't destroy the light; it is unending. Because even when everything is at the darkest there is always hope." His smile grew even wider and took on a gentle hint. "And that is why she has us."
His statement hit Hana with a cord of truthfulness. And she realized that she hadn't been happy here. She hadn't been happy, until Takeru and Taichi burst through those doorways, and she had felt a leap of joy and something she could only describe as relief. She didn't know how she could not have noticed it before. She didn't know how she have ever thought she belonged here, when all she wanted to do was step off the throne and run into the arms of the two boys standing at the other end of the hall.
Hana stood and reached her arm out. She only got a glimpse of the relieved and happy smiles on Takeru's and Taichi's faces before the shadow creatures swarmed closer around her, blocking them from her view, some of them even grabbing her with their ice-fire grips. She heard Taichi scream, "Get your hands off her!" But she only got brief glimpses of them beyond that; Taichi looked like he was trying to take on the shadow creatures single-handedly and Takeru had a golden glow around him that seemed to ward off the creatures somewhat. She could hear Seraphimon fighting, his bright sword swooshing through the air. She called on the attack she had done when she first met Takeru, but the darkness didn't seem to even affect the creatures at all when it hit them.
Then suddenly, Hana felt two different hands grip each of hers. One was a fierce, tense grip, one that she knew that she would never pull out of, even if she wanted to. The other was gentler, but still just as determined not to let her go. A golden light, warm and comforting raced through her, dispelling all the darkness it came across. Once it touched her light, deep inside the heart of darkness, where it had lay dormant as if it had been waiting for this touch of golden hope. The golden warmth breathed the pink light to life, calling it out and joining them together. Together the gold and pink destroyed all the darkness, leaving not a single residue in her. Hikari was herself once again.
At first she was almost horrified at what she had done, calling out Dark Digimon to attack her friends, but her gaze lifted to the two holding her hands so tightly, neither of their grips slackening in the least, that stood with her under a golden dome (Takeru's shield, she realized). Taichi's smile was ecstatic and comforting, overjoyed, Hikari knew, to have her back. Takeru's smile was reassuring and gentle, more for herself than for him. Her brother and her best friend. Her protectors. So many wonderful happy feelings washed over her; she had so much she wanted to say, but the sudden thought of her Digimon popped into her head. "Gatomon?" she asked tentatively.
"She's fine," Taichi was quick to reassure her.
Takeru looked up, beyond his shield. "Now, Seraphimon," Takeru yelled and Hikari realized they had been waiting to attack until they had her.
"Strike of the Seven Stars!" Seraphimon called out. Golden globes of light rained down on them, destroying every shadow creature they touched. Hikari cringed slightly as each of the seven globes hit, causing massive explosions and destruction in their wake. Both Taichi's and Takeru's grips tightened slightly on her hands, reassuring her that they were safely ensconced under Takeru's shield. Once the dust settled, the shield faded and Hikari looked around at what once was the throne room, though it more resembled rubble ruins now.
There were two shadow creatures left lurking in the ruins. Hikari pulled her hands from the boys' grasps and lifted her hands to aim. Two beams of pink light shot at the creatures, destroying them completely. She quickly glanced around the room, seeing if she could see any more creatures, but there were none. They were destroyed at last. She turned back to the boys, who were both smiling at her still. Hikari threw her arms around Taichi, who hugged her tightly back. "I'm so glad you're safe," Taichi muttered in her ear.
"Thank you for coming for me," Hikari whispered back. They separated and Hikari could see his eyes brimming with emotions. She smiled happily before she turned to her other hero. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a sound kiss. Takeru took only about half a second before he pulled her close and kissed her back.
"Hey! I'm standing right here, you know," Taichi said with exasperation and mock indignation. Hikari could tell the difference.
So she broke the kiss, turning slightly in Takeru's arms. She gave her brother her sweetest, most innocent smile as she said, "My dearest brother, turn around then if you don't want to see."
Taichi's jaw dropped and Takeru burst into laughter. Hikari joined in quickly, relief at everything being over feeding her joy. It was only a few seconds later that Taichi started laughing as well. Patamon flew down and landed on Takeru's head, asking, "What's so funny?"
But all of them were laughing too hard to answer.
Takeru knelt on the ground, reaching under his desk to fish out the item he was looking for. Everyone was recovered from the trip to the Dark World earlier that week and Takeru had just come from a great Digidestined gathering. It had been a nightmare trying to get Hikari's things back from the Dark World, but they finally managed it when they realized that anything they touched would move between the portals with them.
Everyone was relieved to learn that with the destruction of the shadow creatures, everyone else's memories of Hikari had been restored as well, so there was a less problematic explanation to her parents (Yuuko had still been horrified that Hikari got mixed up with Digimon again, but at least she remembered Hikari). Takeru couldn't even begin to imagine the other problems that would have occurred otherwise.
His fingers closed around the object he was looking for and pulled it out to view the little white box now resting in his palm. He had completely forgotten about it and if it hadn't been for Mimi, he wasn't sure how long it would have taken him to remember.
They had been just lounging around when Mimi suddenly turned to Hikari and asked, "Hikari, what is your ring size?"
Takeru had been lucky that Hikari had to look away from him to answer her, so that she missed the stunned and horrified look that blossomed on his face. Hikari told her the answer, and then, with her brows furrowed, asked, "Why?"
"Just curious," Mimi replied casually before turning back and resuming her conversation with Miyako. To his immense relief, he managed to school his features back into his trademark smile by the time Hikari looked at him again.
He opened the box and studied the opal promise ring for a few seconds before snapping it shut and stuffing it into his pocket. Now he would be prepared to give it to Hikari whenever the right moment came along.