Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. That probably will never change.
Davis had absolutely no idea what to make of the situation he saw before him. One second he had a giant demonic centaur screaming at him with enough force to make him collapse in pain and the next he was watching as a very attractive female creature effortlessly slaughter his previous enemy. Now, Davis was well aware of his faults: he tended to be immature, wasn't the best at thinking things through, and often said things he would regret later. However, he prided himself on his leadership skills and ability to always know the right thing to do, and it were these attributes that prevented him from being too attracted to the monster before him. Sure, she had certain traits that made her extremely attractive, but everything from the way she dressed to the way she talked to her casual slaughter of someone who was working on her side showed she was nothing but bad news. Since she was clearly evil and was strong enough to kill Gulfmon in one hit, she could be a major threat to his friends, so Davis locked away any immature thoughts and started calmly assessing their options in a fight. They still had Imperialdramon, WarGreymon, and MetalGarurumon, who had all recovered from Gulfmon's attack and were waiting to act against this new threat. Behind them, Halsemon, Digmon, Pegasusmon, and Nefertimon were all slowly getting to their feet and looked a little disoriented, but they seemed to be recovering. The other DigiDestined, however, looked as though they would need a while before enjoying a full recovery. They all were slowly getting up, but looked as if they would have a nice collection of bruises by tomorrow morning. TK and Kari seemed to have fared the worst out of everyone, as each of them had a slow trickle of blood coming out of their ears. All in all, they were each shaken up, but every one of them would be able to keep fighting. Of course, as they had learned from their fights with Gulfmon and Mephistomon, rushing into the fight wouldn't do any good. They needed to get some information about their opponent if they wanted to win. Seeing as he was the first to recover, Davis took charge and asked Izzy to analyze their newest adversary. Izzy at first seemed a little dazed as he stared at the new arrival, but when Davis tried to take his laptop to pull up the Digimon Analyzer himself, Izzy quickly snapped out of it and pulled up her profile.
"This is very, very bad. That Digimon is named Lilithmon. She is known as the Goddess of Darkness, and is one of the Seven Great Demon Lords. She can instantly dissolve a target with her Nazar Nail attack, and as the Demon Lord of Lust, she is a master of manipulation."
"Why is there even a Digimon that represents lust?" Sora asked as she finally got to her feet. "I mean, Digimon don't really reproduce, they just reincarnate as eggs. You'd think there wouldn't be any reason for that kind of feeling in the Digital World."
"Well, this is only a theory, but it is possible they aren't referring to lust in the typical human sense." Izzy answered. "After all, many Digimon have a lust for power. Plus, Digimon are just as emotionally complex as people. Even if it isn't sexual, they can still love, with all the jealousy and possessiveness that help constitute lust."
"Your friend has a good head on his shoulders. I like that in a man," Lilithmon addressed the DigiDestined. "As he says, I can manipulate people who covet power just as much as those with more, shall we say, primal needs. As for how exactly a Digimon of Lust can come into being, are you really surprised? The Digital World is linked to the computer networks that exist on Earth. Any data that is uploaded on Earth has a chance of showing up here. Have you seen what humans put on the Internet? Even I find it tasteless. Still, judging by the looks on most of your faces, I can make a good use of it to distract any human male who tries to fight me."
Davis was quick to respond. "You may look pretty, but you're obviously rotten on the inside! We may not be able to stop ourselves from getting a little distracted—" (Ken, Matt, and Michael looked guiltily at their girlfriends, while Cody, Joe and Tai shook their heads as if to shake off any distracting thoughts. Sora, Yolei and Mimi shot glares at their boyfriends, but quickly softened their expressions when they realized it really wasn't their fault. TK and Kari merely looked confused as to why they weren't hearing any words coming out of their friend's mouths) "—but we can still beat you. No matter how powerful you are, we outnumber you twelve to one. We're not going to lose to someone like you!"
"Well, aren't you a little hothead. Still, what matters isn't the size of your army, but how well it works. Then again," Lilithmon smiled evilly, "sometimes bigger truly is better."
As she said this, a large group of evil Digimon suddenly flickered into existence behind her. It mostly consisted of Vilemon and Bakemon, but there were a few frighteningly familiar faces in SkullSatamon, MarineDevimon, and LadyDevimon who were all right beneath Lilithmon. Despite the dramatic appearance, Lilithmon suddenly seemed disappointed, and grumbled at the three Digimon last seen as members of the Daemon Corps. "I see that bearded fool was too greedy to even share some of his followers for this mission. Remind me to get in some private time with Barbamon so I can show him exactly what I think of him."
"Lady Lilithmon, you know you won't be able to destroy Barbamon. He is essential to the plan. Destroying him would result in Lord Daemon having to do the same thing to you that he did to Dragomon."
"Oh fine, LadyDevimon. I promise to leave him alive. Not that it wouldn't be interesting to see exactly how well Daemon handles his new skills. Now, since we are here and Gulfmon is no longer threatening to kill the DigiDestined, why don't we proceed with the plan? They have three Mega levels, five champions, and four Armor forms. So, do you think you can handle the Megas yourselves, or will I have to risk getting dirty in this fight?"
SkullSatamon chuckled. "Well, I'm not sure about the others, but I want a shot at Imperialdramon. He and I have a little unfinished business. We'll see how tough he is now that he won't have eight Ultimates giving him their power!"
Not to be outdone, LadyDevimon let out an evil giggle and threw in her own opinion. "It's just too bad Angewomon isn't here. I really want to show that blondie how our fight would've ended without that meddling insect."
Lilithmon merely glanced at her and responded, "Well, if you really want to, that Nefertimon is the same Digimon who usually fights you as Angewomon, but I really don't think we can have you waste time going after someone of such a low level. Also, I can't say I understand why you have such a grudge against her. Sure, she beat you that one time, but you weren't really being serious. I know what happened during that fight. Most humans would probably have a field day with how the two of you behaved. Personally, I'd be more embarrassed about your fight with her as Silphymon. Sure, both cases ended with you being destroyed, but it's not like MegaKabuterimon hit you with a skateboard…"
LadyDevimon snapped at this last comment. "SHUT UP! I don't care if you are Lord Daemon's favorite. I will not allow you to talk to me in that way. I'll take out WarGreymon then. At least I can hurt Angewomon's partner by hurting her brother's Digimon!" With that, she quickly flew after WarGreymon, signaling the start of the battle. As the swarm of Vilemon and Bakemon began to rush towards the DigiDestined only to be engaged by the Champion and Armor forms, SkullSatamon grinned before disappearing from view as he jumped towards Imperialdramon faster than most eyes could follow. MarineDevimon merely smirked before spurting out black ink and slithering towards MetalGarurumon at a surprising speed for a sea creature stuck on land. Lilithmon only grinned at this. Why should she dirty her own hands when she could so easily manipulate Daemon's flunkies to do it for her? All she had to do now was sit back and enjoy the show.
Even though he was the most experienced among all the DigiDestined, TK had to admit he had never quite experienced a battle like this before. He hadn't been able to hear anything ever since Gulfmon had launched his scream attack. As such, he didn't hear any of the usual pre-fight routine, with trash talk, a quick reference to the Digimon Analyzer, and some more banter before any attacks were exchanged. He had no idea who the Digimon that had destroyed Gulfmon was, but even though she had helped them by defeating that foe, she was obviously now threatening them by calling on the Daemon Corps as well as an army of Vilemon and Bakemon. TK supposed she could have been considered beautiful, but he had more important things to worry about at the moment. It would be hard to communicate with the others if he couldn't hear their responses, so he would have to make sure he was especially careful in the fight ahead. Also, Kari seemed to be having a hard time standing, so he took his eyes away from the opposing army and took the time to help her to her feet. She had to lean on his shoulder for support, and TK was shocked to see she was bleeding from her ears. Without thinking, he quickly asked "Are you alright?" but she could only look at him confused and say something back to him that he obviously didn't hear. However, just from the look on her face, it seemed she hadn't heard his question either, so she must have also experienced some form of hearing loss. Seeing as they were both dealing with a disadvantage in this battle, they came to a silent agreement to stick together to avoid getting hurt.
By the time they were both ready to turn their attention back towards the enemy, they saw that the battle was already underway. The Vilemon and Bakemon had charged straight for all the DigiDestined, but were stopped by the gathered Champion and Armor forms of the partner Digimon. Seadramon was proving exceptionally helpful, with his Ice Blast attack immobilizing small groups of enemies each time he launched it. Kabuterimon and Birdramon were able to take out the enemies in one hit of their main attacks, but the vast swarm of opponents meant the destruction of a single enemy had a negligible effect. Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were using their Golden Noose technique to round up five or six enemies at a time and keep them still so Ikkakumon could hit them with his Harpoon Torpedo. Togemon and Digmon were opting to stay close to the DigiDestined, since neither of them was the most effective in this type of fight. Togemon's Needle Spray had a wide attack range, but it lacked the stopping power to keep the opponents back for long, so she was sticking back and using her Light Speed Jabbing to protect her human friends. Likewise, Digmon's Rock Cracking attack was useless against opponents who could all fly or float, and his Gold Rush attack had a significantly longer recharge time that would leave him open to attack. As such, he was trying to fight in melee combat and only using his Gold Rush attack whenever enemies got too close to the humans. Seeing Digmon and Togemon start to get overwhelmed, Halsemon bought his friends some space with his Tempest Wing attack. Before the enemies closed the distance again, he reverted to Hawkmon before Armor Digivolving to Shurimon, whose arsenal was better equipped to defend the DigiDestined.
Looking beyond the smaller battles, TK saw their three Mega Digimon facing off with what appeared to be a revived Daemon Corps. MarineDevimon had used his tentacles to catch MetalGarurumon and was spewing some form of sludge from his mouth at his captive. However, the metallic wolf countered with his Ice Wolf Claw, and the frigid breath froze not only the sludge, but the octopus-like Digimon as well. MetalGarurumon then broke free from the tentacles holding him and finished off his opponent with his Garuru Tomahawk attack before joining WarGreymon in his fight against LadyDevimon. Even though LadyDevimon was only an Ultimate, she had managed to hit WarGreymon with a burst of dark energy that seemed to drain him of much of his power, giving her the upper hand. She was charging in to finish him off with her Black Wing attack, but MetalGarurumon bit the spear off before it could connect. She fell back a little bit and tried to use her Evil Wing attack, but MetalGarurumon countered with his Grace Cross Freezer and the icy missiles destroyed all of the bats she had released. She snarled in anger, but that quickly changed to shock as she saw a giant fireball approaching her. WarGreymon had used the clashing attacks as a distraction to launch his Terra Force attack, which connected and destroyed the Fallen Angel Digimon. TK next looked over towards where Imperialdramon and SkullSatamon had been fighting, but the results there were not as positive as they had been in the other two fights. Numerous craters surrounded Imperialdramon, indicating he had repeatedly fired his Positron Laser attack, but SkullSatamon was continuing to jump around him, dodging all of his attacks and repeatedly striking with his Skull Hammer attack. Appearing to get sick of constantly missing, Imperialdramon unleashed a new attack where he surrounded himself with a whirling ball of fire that then expanded outward, but SkullSatamon disappeared before the attack could connect.
Unsure of where the Undead Digimon had gone, TK turned his attention back to the battle against the Vilemon and Bakemon. A noticeable portion of the army had either been destroyed or frozen in ice, but a significant number still remained. He saw Pegasusmon and Nefertimon start to tie up another group of Vilemon, but they suddenly were blasted into the ground. SkullSatamon had appeared right where they were flying and hit them both with his Skull Hammer! The force of the impact caused them to lose their Armor forms, and balls of pink and yellow light began flying back towards TK and Kari as their Digimentals started to return to them. No longer caring about the fact that he was deaf and currently facing a sizable force of evil Digimon, TK started running towards Patamon, barely noticing that Kari was running right beside him. He didn't even care that SkullSatamon launched his Nail Bone attack at the Digimentals, hitting them and freezing them on their way back. He was actually glad when SkullSatamon grabbed the two frozen Digimentals and vanished again, as this meant he wouldn't continue to attack his partner. TK would gladly give up the ability to Armor Digivolve if it meant he wouldn't have to go through Patamon dying again. While he understood that there was no other way for Angemon to save everyone, it didn't change the fact that he still had emotional scars linked to that event.
As soon as he had that thought, TK began to regret ever being able to be happy he had lost his Digimental. In his rush to get to Patamon's side, he had run right through a group of Bakemon. They all launched some form of claw attack at him, but he managed to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. However, the attack served to separate him from Kari, and as Kari stumbled and fell the Bakemon grabbed her and started to carry her away. Not knowing what else to do, TK started running after them, all the while screaming "NO! KARI! Patamon, you have to Digivolve and help her! You have to!"
TK didn't know why he thought Patamon could help. He had lost the Digimental of Hope, so Patamon couldn't Armor Digivolve. The effects of Gulfmon's Black Requiem attack remained in effect, so it was impossible to Digivolve to Angemon. Still, none of this changed the fact that Kari was in the process of being kidnapped by a horde of evil Digimon. Last time, he hadn't let something as trivial as an inter-dimensional barrier stop him from saving her, and he was just as desperate to help her now. As if in response to his desperation, he noticed a sudden glow from where Patamon and Gatomon had landed after being hit by SkullSatamon. But the joy he felt was replaced by confusion as the usual white light of Digivolution was replaced with a deep purple glow. Suddenly, a tall black figure rose from the clearing. TK recognized the form as the Digimon who occasionally haunted his nightmares and the very same Digimon that had first taken Patamon from him: Devimon. The Fallen Angel Digimon flew straight towards the Bakemon holding Kari with its claws outstretched. TK began to scream "No!" but was surprised when Devimon slashed apart all the Bakemon before catching Kari and flying straight towards him. Devimon set Kari on the ground next to TK, causing the teen to simply ask, "Patamon?"
The Digimon tried to respond verbally, but seeing when TK didn't appear to understand, he simply nodded before flying off to continue fighting the opponents. When the initial shock cleared, TK immediately realized what he had done: he had triggered a Dark Digivolution. This meant that he had directly caused his partner to be consumed by darkness. It had only ever happened before with Greymon, but from both of SkullGreymon's appearances he knew a Digimon that underwent Dark Digivolution lost control of itself and would only rampage. What if Patamon also couldn't control himself as Devimon and got destroyed in this battle? He could be destroyed all over again, but this time TK knew it would only be his fault. He was dimly aware of a hand being placed on his shoulder, but not even Kari's presence was enough to save him from his fear of having lost his partner again through his own choice. TK began to hyperventilate and eventually blacked out. Kari could only watch helplessly as her best friend collapsed into her arms.
From Tai's point of view, the battle had been going better than could be expected. Sure, LadyDevimon had managed to hit WarGreymon with her Darkness Wave attack which seemed to turn his own power against him, but the timely arrival of MetalGarurumon had eliminated that problem. Imperialdramon was also struggling against SkullSatamon, but they had eliminated two thirds of the Daemon Corps and much of the Bakemon and Vilemon army without anybody so much as reverting to a lower form. However, his confidence in victory quickly turned to dread when he heard TK scream Kari's name. Quickly turning his head, Tai saw his sister being carried off by a group of Bakemon and immediately sent WarGreymon after her. However, the effects of LadyDevimon's attack must have been worse than Tai had originally thought, since WarGreymon only made it a few yards before reverting to Agumon. Tai was suddenly torn between going to help his sister or his partner, but quickly decided to rush to Agumon's side. After all, Kari had TK with her and presumably Pegasusmon and Nefertimon while Agumon was alone. By the time he got to his partner's side, Agumon had reverted again to Koromon, but now that he was in the In-Training stage he seemed to be doing much better and convinced Tai he would be okay. Satisfied that his partner was okay, Tai turned back toward his sister to see her being carried by a Devimon instead of a swarm of Bakemon. Wondering where exactly this Devimon had come from and how he was going to save Kari, he was shocked to see Devimon gently lower Kari to the ground next to TK, talk for a little bit, and then fly off in order to fight more Bakemon. Deciding asking why any of this was happening could wait until after he was sure his sister was okay, Tai ran up to her only to see her crying over TK, who appeared to be unconscious. He was about to ask if she was okay, but before he could form the words he heard Gatomon's voice addressing him.
"I keep asking Kari if she's okay, but she doesn't seem—Lightning Paw!—to hear me. I can't take the—Cat's Eye Hypnotism!—time to actually get close to her—Lightning Paw!—since every time I try to get close I have to—Lightning Paw!—fend off more of these losers!"
Seeing as Gatomon was busy using her claws and hypnotism abilities to hold off any Vilemon and Bakemon that came towards Kari, Tai decided not to press her for any more details and put his hand on Kari's shoulder to get her attention. She jumped at the sudden contact, but at the sight of her brother's face she calmed down enough to immediately start retelling the situation as rapidly as she possibly could. "Tai! Something's wrong with TK! Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were working together to tie up the enemies and then SkullSatamon attacked them and they reverted and then we were running to get Patamon and Gatomon but SkullSatamon stopped attacking them to steal our Digimentals as they came back to us and then we got attacked by some Bakemon and then I was being carried away and then…"
"Kari, calm down!" Tai interrupted, seeing as his sister hadn't breathed since she started talking. However, Kari seemed to ignore him and continued with her account even as he spoke.
"…a Devimon suddenly appeared and destroyed the Bakemon and then he carried me back to where TK was and then they talked for a little bit but I couldn't hear what they said because I haven't been able to hear anything since Gulfmon attacked and then Devimon nodded and flew off and then TK just passed out! We've got to help him!"
Seeing as his sister was clearly not going to focus on her own wellbeing until TK got looked at, Tai realized the only thing to do was to call Joe over. He may not be a doctor, but he was the closest thing they had at the moment. Realizing that shouting wasn't the best way to communicate over the battlefield, Tai pulled out his D-Terminal and started composing a message. However, he got about three words in before he got bowled over as MetalGarurumon flew in to bring Matt to his brother's side. MetalGarurumon had taken to helping thin the crowds of Bakemon and Vilemon after LadyDevimon's defeat when Matt happened to see what had happened to his younger brother. Once Matt had seen that, he hopped on MetalGarurumon and the two proceeded to blast their way straight to TK's side.
"TK! Are you alright?" When his brother failed to respond, Matt turned to Tai and Kari and demanded, "What happened here?"
Being a concerned older brother himself, Tai understood where Matt was coming from, but didn't appreciate him shouting at his sister. "I'm not sure. All I know is TK is unconscious and Kari might be in shock, so how about you put all that energy you're using to interrogate Kari into something useful, like getting Joe over here ASAP!"
Realizing Tai was right, Matt decided to channel his panicked energy into something productive and hopped back on MetalGarurumon. The pair then flew off to where they saw Joe and Ikkakumon facing off against twenty Vilemon. Joe looked worried about how he would come out of this battle, when all of the enemies were suddenly hit with MetalGarurumon's missiles and frozen before they all dissolved into data. Joe turned to thank Matt, but before he could utter a syllable he was bodily hoisted onto MetalGarurumon and rocketing towards TK, Tai, and Kari. Seeing the state of TK and Kari, Joe immediately started giving them a quick field examination while asking exactly what had happened. Tai and Matt didn't really know the answer to his questions, but MetalGarurumon's arrival finally bought Gatomon the space she needed to get to her partner's side and start explaining everything.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure where I should start, but here goes. Patamon and I had Armor Digivolved and were using our Golden Noose to tie up enemies to make them easier to take out. It was going well, until SkullSatamon showed up from out of nowhere and took us both out with a single attack. That caused us to lose our Armor forms, but for some reason he stopped attacking us and attacked the Digimentals as they were flying back to TK and Kari. He grabbed them and then disappeared, while Patamon and I were stuck in the middle of a big group of Vilemon. We put up a pretty good fight, but we couldn't get away. Suddenly, TK started screaming for Patamon to Digivolve to save Kari, and he somehow managed to do it. Of course, he became a Devimon instead of an Angemon, but he managed to get to Kari before I did, save her from the Bakemon that had grabbed her, and brought her to TK's side. I'm not sure what exactly happened then, but he flew off a bit later and when I got there, TK had passed out and Kari was crying."
As she finished this story, Patamon himself flew into their group and landed next to TK. When he saw his partner unconscious, he immediately asked what was going on. Unfortunately, nobody knew the whole story yet, so they couldn't answer. In order to try and figure everything out, they asked Patamon what had happened between him Dark Digivolving and flying away from TK. Patamon quickly began explaining.
"Well, I heard TK screaming that he needed me to Digivolve to help Kari, but I wasn't really sure how. I mean, it was just like being by a control spire where that wouldn't work. Suddenly, though, I felt this massive amount of energy flowing into me, kind of like the first time I drew on the Crest of Hope to reach Ultimate. So, I Digivolved, but it must have been dark energy I absorbed since I became Devimon. That wasn't exactly the most pleasant feeling ever, seeing as I sort of killed myself the last time I saw one and now I was one, and I was feeling a disturbing need to hurt something, but since Kari needed me I flew and rescued her. I brought her back to TK, but he seemed really scared to see me. I tried explaining myself, but he must not have heard me. Eventually he asked if it was me, and I nodded. Then, I guess I got a bit overwhelmed by the darkness for a bit. I felt like I had to go fight something, so I flew off."
Hearing all of this, Joe could finally make his diagnosis. "Okay, I think I know what happened here. TK and Kari were both surrounded by Bakemon and Vilemon after seeing their partners get hurt. Then, Kari gets kidnapped and TK desperately tries to save her. When her guardian angel turns out to be more of a devil (no offence, Patamon), it probably comes as a huge shock to her. Given TK's history with Devimon, it was probably much worse for him, especially since he realized he caused his partner to become that. He probably goes into a state of shock, hyperventilates, and passes out. Seeing all of this happen on top of what had already happened to her, Kari also starts going into shock. The fact that neither of them seem to be responding to people talking to them probably indicates some form of hearing damage due to Gulfmon's Dead Scream. We need to get these two away from here, at the very least into the sanctuary and at best to Earth. A battlefield is the worst place for them right now, and it would be best if they got looked at by someone who isn't a med student who just finished a major battle."
Now having an idea on how to help his sister, Tai immediately called for all the DigiDestined to fall back to the sanctuary. After finishing off the last of the Vilemon and Bakemon, all thirteen of them returned to the inside of Gennai's base, weary from battle and worried over the state of the two most experienced DigiDestined.
When Gennai returned with the eight Crests, he was surprised to find all the DigiDestined looking broken and beaten, especially TK and Kari. Tai was the first to notice his return, and greeted their old ally by immediately yelling at him.
"What took you so long? And where exactly was your security? We got attacked by a swarm of Bakemon and Vilemon in addition to the Daemon Corps, a Gulfmon, and a Demon Lord! We had to deal with all of this ourselves, and TK and Kari have both passed out because of it!"
"What?! How did they find us here? This sanctuary works similarly to the hollow trees you hid in when you first came to the Digital World. From the outside, this should only appear as an abandoned ruin. We thought the best way to hide the Crests would be to keep them secret instead of putting them under heavy guard and thus revealing their location. The fact that the Demon Lords could find us is most troubling… still, that doesn't matter right now. Are TK and Kari okay? As the carriers of Hope and Light, we need them to stay safe."
"You make it sound like you only care about them for their Crests and not as actual people," Matt accused. "We need you to open a portal back to Earth. They need to get looked at by a doctor, and though Joe did the best he can do, they need to go to Earth for that to happen."
Gennai did look apologetic for his initial lack of empathy and nodded his head at Matt's demands. "Very well, we shall get right on that. But first, can you tell me exactly how they ended up like this?"
Patamon was the first to answer. "Well, Gatomon and I had Armor Digivolved, but we were attacked by SkullSatamon. We reverted, but TK and Kari came running after us. SkullSatamon did something to the Digimentals and took them away, and-"
Gennai was quick to interrupt. "What? You lost the Digimentals of Hope and Light? This is a catastrophe! The very reason we needed all of you to stay out of the Digital World was to ensure the forces gathering in the Dark Ocean would never obtain the powers of Hope and Light needed to open a full rift in the dimensional barrier. If they can use the Digimentals, the entire world could be overrun with the forces of darkness in a matter of days. You have to get them back!"
Tai suddenly found himself torn between his obligation as an older brother to look after Kari and his obligation as a DigiDestined to save the world. He fought with himself for all of three seconds before he came to a compromise. "Fine, here's the plan. We need to split up. One group has to take TK and Kari back to Earth to get medical help, and the other group needs to chase down SkullSatamon and Lilithmon. The fastest way to travel is in Imperialdramon, so Davis and Ken will be in the second group. They'll need some backup, but judging by how strong SkullSatamon was last time and the fact that Lilithmon took out Gulfmon in one hit, I think we shouldn't send in anyone who can't go beyond Ultimate. That means Matt and I are the only other ones who should go after them. Everyone else should head back and try to recover. Even after we get the Digimentals back, we'll still have to take care of the source of the problem, so we'll need to be at full strength as soon as we can."
All of the DigiDestined that were assigned to the first group seemed upset at the fact that they wouldn't be able to help, but only Izzy voiced an objection. "Tai, I understand where you are coming from with this plan. Just like when you sent TK and Sora away during the fight with LadyDevimon in order for us to be at full strength against Piedmon, you are looking at the big picture here. But you will need my help. We don't know what we are running into, and you might need me to help analyze any situation that may arise. MegaKabuterimon might not be a Mega, but he is really tough. The first time he Digivolved, he blasted his way through a planet in Vademon's dimension. You'll need me out there, and I promise I won't slow you down."
Tai realized he was once again rushing into a situation without thinking it through, so he agreed that Izzy should join him. "Izzy's right. Plus, having him around would probably help the group function. Davis and I are a bit hot-headed at the best of times, and with TK and Kari in trouble, Matt and I aren't exactly thinking things through the clearest. With Izzy and Ken, we should have enough objective thinkers to keep us going. But we really shouldn't have anyone else along. It just increases the risk of someone getting hurt. Now, we'll take our crests, and as soon as Veemon and Wormmon are ready to Digivolve we'll head out. Did anyone see which way Lilithmon and SkullSatamon went?"
Sora was the only one who had an answer. "It's not much help, but I saw them flying off towards the south. Where they went after that I can't say, since Birdramon and I got distracted by some Vilemon, but it's a start. And Matt? You better come back. I just made reservations for our six-year anniversary and I need you to be there in order to enjoy them."
While Mimi and Yolei each let out an "aw" and Davis snorted at Matt's expense, he merely nodded and said "I promise I'll be back." Then, Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, and Mimi all got their Crests back from Gennai, while Yolei and Cody held on to the Crests of Light and Hope for their DNA Digivolving partners. While they all were a bit excited at being able to help their partners go beyond Champion on their own again, the circumstances leading to their return put a bittersweet feeling over the moment. With the Crests returned, the DigiDestined then split up, with Tai, Matt, Izzy, Davis, and Ken heading outside as the others followed Gennai to the gate home. Joe had decided the best course of action would be to take TK and Kari to see his dad, as he was the only full-fledged doctor they knew that knew about the Digital World. Joe really didn't want to try to come up story that would explain all of TK and Kari's injuries without involving something as crazy as an alternate dimension, so Dr. Kido was the only option. Soon after the rest of the DigiDestined had returned home, Veemon and Wormmon once again Digivolved to Imperialdramon, and Tai, Matt, Davis, Ken, and Izzy flew off on the trail of SkullSatamon and Lilithmon.
In a word, Lilithmon was bored. She was slowly flying south with only SkullSatamon for company, but Daemon's bony underling was not exactly the best conversationalist. He couldn't really keep her interested, but it was vital to the success of the plan that they keep heading south together. Soon, nothing would be able to stop them.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Imperialdramon streaked out of the sky and hit SkullSatamon with his Splendor Blade attack. The Undead Digimon was destroyed before he knew what had hit him. Lilithmon was almost sad to see him go- he may not have been much of a talker, but he was very effective in his actions. It was a shame that good minions were so hard to find and never lasted as long as she would like. However, the sudden appearances of WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, and MegaKabuterimon stopped her musings and forced her to focus on the battle at hand.
"Alright, Lilithmon," the child of Courage-she didn't bother to remember his name- addressed her, "SkullSatamon obviously didn't have the Digimentals, so that just leaves you. Hand them over and we might just let you go."
Lilithmon could only chuckle at this. "You really need to work on your menacing act, kid. I spend my time with the Demon Lords. Compared to them, your threats are so amateur that it sounds like it's your first time trying this. And if you really want me to hand over the Digimentals, you'll have to find them first. Expect to conduct a very thorough search. You'd be surprised how many things you could hide under these robes."
Lilithmon chuckled inwardly at the reactions of most of the DigiDestined to this. It was nice to see that her tactics worked just as well in practice as they had in theory. Human males were so easy to distract- all she had to do was flaunt her looks and speak in a certain tone of voice while using as many innuendos and as much double entendre as she could, and they immediately had a hard time keeping their minds focused on the task at hand. Then again, maybe it wasn't as effective as she had liked- the Knowledge Child didn't seem to be affected at all, and the Children of Kindness, Friendship, and Courage had quickly shaken off the distraction. The only one who it was having an effect on was the goggle brat with the Veemon, but since Imperialdramon was also partnered to the Child of Kindness turning the brat was meaningless.
Lilithmon just sighed. "Well, I must say I'm rather impressed. Judging from most of the data I've come across that the humans have uploaded, I'm impressed at how well you handled yourself. I thought that my little act could make any human's head explode and make them come to my side, but I guess I'll have to fight myself. Phantom Pain."
She sighed out the name of her attack, and a cloud of darkness appeared and surrounded all of the DigiDestined's Digimon. Their partners all panicked as they saw spare bits of data start flying out of the cloud, but Lilithmon suddenly stopped her attack and the rookie forms fell to the ground. "In case you're curious, my Phantom Pain attack can dissipate the data from the tips of the bodies of any of its victims. It's basically a widespread, long-range version of the Nazar Nail I used to blow away Gulfmon. Of course, it's much slower, but it does have the advantage of me being able to stop it whenever I choose. In this case, it was to show you that you are way out of your league, but not finish you off just yet. I find some things are much more enjoyable if you take the time to do them slowly. It wouldn't be fun if all of you were finished off in one attack."
Tai and Matt were not pleased with the fact that this enemy was viewing them as nothing more than toys to play with. She was strong, but she also seemed to be so arrogant that it might provide an opening. She had made one critical mistake, though. Sure, she had reverted all of their Digimon to Rookie, but this wasn't like last time. Without Gulfmon, there wasn't anything stopping them from trying again. Tai began taunting her back. "Yeah, it might not be fun to finish off everybody in one attack, but is it any more fun to have to tango with a bunch of Rookies?" Matt then added "We can't have you getting bored with us, so we'll try spicing it up for you," before both shouted, "Warp Digivolve!"
Lilithmon had to grin at their response, but quickly shot back, "Oh, really? I don't think so. Black Requiem!" and unleashed a massive burst of dark energy that arrested their Digivolving at the Champion stage. "Sorry, but I don't know if I can let you do that. So, I guess you just didn't live up to all that you were saying you could do. Still, I appreciated your comebacks. It's so much more fun when you can share that kind of thing with someone else instead of always doing it alone."
This caused most of the group to shudder, but the Knowledge Child once again bucked the trend and merely looked incredulous. "That doesn't make any sense! Black Requiem isn't one of Lilithmon's attacks; it's supposed to be Gulfmon's! What's going on here?"
Lilithmon only smiled at the curiosity that bordered on a lust for knowledge. She might be able to make use of this one later, but for now all she had to do was answer his question. "You really don't have any experience with Demon Lords, do you? When one of the Seven Great Demon Lords destroys a Digimon, they don't get to reincarnate as a Digi-Egg. Most of the time, they get trapped in the Dark Area and slowly break down to feed the Demon Lords, but in certain situations, we absorb the data of our victims directly. We do that when someone needs to be punished, but they have skills we still need. So, even though Gulfmon and Dragomon both betrayed us and had to be destroyed, we chose to absorb their data to keep certain skills of theirs. Mephistomon betrayed us when he attempted to destroy you before we had captured the powers of Hope and Light, but we still needed his ability to impact Digivolution so I was forced to absorb him. The same thing happened to Dragomon. He was so intent on having Kari for himself as the queen of the Dark Ocean that he tried to kidnap her a few days ago. We couldn't have anyone putting themselves ahead of the overall plan, so he had to go. Daemon destroyed him, and now Daemon can pull things into the Dark Ocean when he wants to. That's about the only skill he got, though. Can you imagine what use Daemon would find for attacks like Tentacle Flapping? I at least got a couple of decent moves. Still, being able to pull things into the Dark Ocean really helped when he grabbed the Digimentals as soon as we got them. This whole time we were just setting up an ambush hoping to get the DigiDestined of Hope and Light themselves instead of just their Digimentals. Without the kids or the Crests, it will probably take a week to open the Gate instead of a few hours."
While Tai, Matt, Davis, and Ken hung their heads at the realization that they had walked right into a trap with the only consolation being TK and Kari were safe, Izzy had to ask a few more questions. "What do you mean, 'the gate'? And is it just you and Daemon organizing this, or is it all of the Seven Great Demon Lords?"
"And that's the difference between Knowledge and Wisdom, isn't it? Knowledge is having answers, but Wisdom is knowing where to find the important answers," Lilithmon cryptically responded. "When you get the chance, you should really try chatting with the Goddess of Wisdom. Tell her I sent you. We go back a long way. Still, lessons aside, that doesn't change the fact that this mission was a complete failure in terms of capturing the Children of Light and Hope. However, I just thought of a way to turn this around. Darkness Love!"
As she called out her last attack, Tai, Matt, Greymon, and Garurumon disappeared inside a pitch-black cocoon of energy. Before the other DigiDestined could react, Tai and Matt emerged from their cocoons with curiously blank faces before slowly walking towards their hidden partners. Shortly thereafter, their Digimon also emerged, but they had undergone some form of change. Whereas Greymon previously had been orange with blue stripes and a brown head, he now was dark blue with black stripes and a black head. A similar change had happened in Garurumon, who was now black with white stripes as opposed to his usual white with blue stripes. Trying to find an explanation, Izzy turned to his Digimon Analyzer, only to find out exactly how bad the situation was. "Tai, Matt, get away from them! She somehow changed them to BlackGreymon and BlackGarurumon. They've somehow switched to Dark Digivolved forms of themselves. They could rampage like SkullGreymon would whenever he would show up!"
Lilithmon gave an evil chuckle. "Well done, Child of Knowledge. That is the effect of my Darkness Love attack. It floods an opponent with darkness, causing even the most light-filled Digimon to become a dark version of themselves. But you needn't worry about them going on a rampage. My attack also binds their hearts to me. They won't attack unless I give the order. Besides, it didn't just hit the Digimon. I'm taking their partners along with me as well. It ought to be interesting seeing what lengths Hope and Light will go to in order to save their brothers, won't it? Now, I could easily take control of all of you, but you'll probably need Imperialdramon to get back and deliver the message to the others, and I don't trust those two brats to be able to explain what's happening, so I guess you have to stay as well. Now, my pawns and I really must be going. See you soon!"
With that, Lilithmon, Tai, Matt, BlackGreymon, and BlackGarurumon all began flickering with static, as if they were images on an old television. They soon flickered out of existence, leaving only the sound of Lilithmon's laugh echoing around the area as the DigiDestined could only watch stunned. In the past two fights, they had lost TK and Kari to the hospital and now they had lost Tai and Matt to the powers of darkness. How were they going to manage to save the Digital World without their leaders and the powers of Hope and Light?
Author's Note: Well, things certainly aren't looking too good. We get the first sight of the main antagonists of this story, the Seven Great Demon Lords, and let's just say the DigiDestined didn't put on a very good showing. This chapter marks the end of the first arc, with next chapter being more of a breather as the team tries to figure out how to handle everything that's been thrown at them. I'll probably post that tonight as well, but then there's going to be a bit of a break before the next chapter. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in a review or a message!