(A/N: Alright, it's coming down to this. The DigiDestined's strongest Digimon as made an appearance, and we've still got Seraphimon and Magnadramon around. But has FearDevimon become too powerful. Be prepared for an action -packed, fun-filled chapter. Also, keep in mind things that have been happening over the course of the story; you never know when they're going to pop up.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 16: Last Stand
Imperialdramon had not changed physically, not the way he had when he Digivolved or Mode Changed the first time, but his armored body had turned almost completely white, very much giving him the appearance of a paladin warrior. He also wielded a large sword nearly the length of his entire body. It was not his Splendor Blade, but an actual solid metal sword that looked very much like the one that had been protruding from Omnimon's right hand.
The Trainers looked surprised by the transformation, but were, admittedly, not that impressed this time. "What happened?" asked Misty. "He just turned white."
"Yes!" Davis exclaimed, punching the air. "He's now in his Paladin Mode, his strongest form!"
Ash couldn't hide his disappointment. "Really? His strongest form? But he just changed colors and has a sword now. Is he really that much stronger?"
Professor Stevens chuckled. "Don't be fooled by his appearance. The change may have been minor, but the difference in power is great. Trust me, I looked at his profile, which is how I knew how to do this. He now possesses Omnimon's power. His strength is now greater than any of the Royal Knights. And trust me, that is quite a feat."
FearDevimon didn't look too impressed. "Indeed it is, but the Demon Lords' strength far exceeds that of the Royal Knights, and mine now rivals theirs." He sneered at them. "And that was before I fed off your fear and hatred."
On the computer screen, Tai threw him a dirty look. "Only someone as twisted as you would-"
The screen suddenly turned blue, and the words CONNECTION LOST appeared in a red bar in the middle of the screen. Professor Stevens sighed and closed the laptop. "That's it, we lost the connection. I doubt we'll be able to reconnect while this darkness surrounds us."
Imperialdramon swiped his sword through the air. "It'll be fine. You gave us the power we need to beat this guy. We can handle it from here. We'll defeat this fiend and clear up this darkness in no time."
FearDevimon's grin widened. "Is that so? I'd like to see you back up that claim."
"With pleasure." He flew forward, and his sword began glowing. "Omni Sword!"
FearDevimon's hand shot out, grabbing the blade; it was no bigger than a butter knife to him. "I knew you'd rely on your sword, that's how you beat Armageddemon. You're nothing without it."
"Or maybe I was just trying to get close enough to do this. Imperial Kick!"
His foot collided with FearDevimon's head. Magnadramon flew forward and slammed into his stomach, causing him to stumble back. Imperialdramon raised his sword to bring it down over his head, but, to his surprise, FearDevimon's beak clamped down on it.
He tried a different tactic. "Super Positron Laser!"
As the name suggested, a more powerful version of his previous form's Positron Laser blasted into FearDevimon's face. It allowed Magnadramon to push him back further and completely take him off his feet, and FearDevimon toppled over.
As the holy beast Digimon flew out of the way, Seraphimon launched his Strike of the Seven Stars at him. The seven energy balls exploded against the fallen angel Digimon, the blast encasing him in a cloud of smoke.
"Death Drill!" FearDevimon cried, and his drilling beam shot out of the cloud of smoke. It struck Seraphimon in the chest, and the angel Digimon cried out as it left a hole in his armor, cracks spreading outward from it. Seraphimon went flying backwards, and fell from the sky a distance away.
"And now you," FearDevimon told Imperialdramon, rising to his feet. "Storm of Knives!"
"Splendor Blade!" the dragon Digimon cried his blade of energy appearing in his other hand. He used the two swords to knock away the feather-knives, but there were far too many, and several stabbed into his body, the number increasing as the attack kept coming.
"Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon cried, breathing a tornado of fire.
FearDevimon turned to her and used his Crow's Feet attack to cut through the flames. He lunged towards the holy beast Digimon, the beak on his forehead opening and gathering energy. Pokemon Move: Hyper Beam!"
Magnadramon's eye widened as she was hit with a Hyper Beam at nearly point-blank range, and she too went flying through the air, landing somewhere in the forest.
"You'll pay for that!" Imperialdramon shouted, flying towards him, even with his body covered with feather-blades.
He lashed out with his swords, but FearDevimon countered with his Pokemon Move: Fury Attack, meeting Imperialdramon's blades. He laughed as he used his beak to parry the dragon Digimon's attacks one after the other.
"It's too late," he told the dragon Digimon. "You may have had a chance if you came at me with this much power from the beginning, but it's too late now. You've become too weak, and I've become too strong. It's too late to stop me now. Pokemon Move: Peck!"
His beak collided with Imperialdramon's Splendor Blade, causing the energy sword to disperse. Imperialdramon pulled back and used his Hyper Prominence attack, firing a ball of black energy from his chest. It exploded against FearDevimon, and he stumbled backwards. Imperialdramon charged forward again, his sword glowing. "Omni Sword!"
"Pokemon Move: Drill Peck!" His drilling beak met Imperialdramon's sword. A shockwave from the impact knocked them back, but FearDevimon looked pleased. "I was hoping you could use that attack. Pokemon Move: Mirror Move!"
An exact duplicate of Imperialdramon's Omni Sword appeared in his hand. He held the much larger blade out towards the dragon Digimon, chuckling as he waved it back and forth tauntingly.
"Oh, crap," Imperialdramon muttered, knowing that the sword just made FearDevimon 100 times more dangerous.
"Die!" FearDevimon cried, and swiped at the dragon Digimon. The sword cut through the air, but Imperialdramon dodged it. He swung again, and Imperialdramon avoided it once more, flying backwards as FearDevimon advanced on him. He was grateful for his speed as he continued to dodge the giant blade. He batted it away with his own much smaller sword when he couldn't avoid it, the impact sending out shockwaves, threatening to break his arms with each blow.
"Crow's Feet!" FearDevimon cried after swinging his sword, his claws striking the dragon Digimon. Imperialdramon wasn't expecting the attack and cried out as deep gashes appeared in his armor.
FearDevimon laughed and raised his sword to deliver the finishing blow, but Seraphimon suddenly came flying out of nowhere and lashed out with his Excalibur, catching the blade. Magnadramon came in from the other direction, breathing her Hermit Fog on FearDevimon's sword. As the fog ate at the blade, Imperialdramon fought down the pain of his injuries and took aim. "Super Positron Laser!"
The beam struck FearDevimon's sword, and it burst into data. FearDevimon growled, his hand grasping at air where the sword once was. "You'll pay for that. Pokemon Move: Hidden Power!"
Orbs of energy circled around him and flew outward, striking all three Megas. Reaching out, he grabbed Seraphimon and Magnadramon, tossing them over to the fallen Imperialdramon.
"This will end it," he declared, energy gathering in his open beak. "Pokemon Move: Hyper Beam!"
He fired a beam. Seraphimon managed to recover enough to try and counter with a Strike of the Seven Stars. It met with FearDevimon's attack, resulting in an explosion that, unfortunately, they were all caught up in. But when the dust cleared, only FearDevimon was on his feet.
"Oh no!" Kari cried, her hands covering her mouth. "They're down!"
"It looks like FearDevimon was right," Ken observed. "He's become too strong, and our Digimon are too drained to stop him now."
Professor Stevens' shoulders sank. "I'm sorry. If I had only thought of letting Imperialdramon reach his Paladin Mode sooner, we might have stood a chance."
"It's not your fault," Ankylomon told him. "We're the ones who are meant to do the fighting, and I'm not standing on the sidelines anymore."
Cody gave his partner a worried look. "He's too strong, you'll be killed."
"I don't care," the dinosaur Digimon growled. "If I die, then I die fighting." He glanced at Aquilamon. "You with me?"
"All the way," the eagle Digimon replied.
Charizard took a step forward. "Char!"
Pikachu leapt up onto his shoulder. "Pika!"
"Pikachu! Charizard!" Ash called to them.
They ignored him as the four of them charged towards the laughing FearDevimon. He glanced in their direction and sneered at them. "You must be joking. Crow's Feet!"
He slashed at the air, and streaks of darkness trailed from his claws. It didn't hit them, but it tore a deep groove in the ground in front of them, bringing them to a stop.
FearDevimon laughed some more at the futility of their attempts to keep fighting him. The humans looked on in anger and despair, frustrated at their own helplessness. But as they stared at the laughing Digimon, something in the air behind him drew their attention.
"What's that?" Ash asked, trying to see in the darkness.
As he looked on, the figure slowly revealed itself to be a familiar hot air balloon. And from it, familiar voices called out to anyone who might hear.
"If you think that we're here for trouble."
"You better guess again on the double."
"To prevent FearDevimon's domination."
"We'll stop this monstrous abomination."
"When all is covered in darkness and gloom.
"We rise up to prevent the world's doom."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"When evil brings forth an eternal night."
"Team Rocket is there to bring back the light."
"Meowth, t'at's right!"
"It's Team Rocket!" the Trainers exclaimed.
"What are they doing?" TK asked.
"And did they seriously make that up just now?" Davis asked.
"They're good at improve," Misty told him.
Professor Stevens shook his fist up at them. "Give back what you stole!"
If Team Rocket even heard the professor, they ignored him, their full attention on FearDevimon. "Only Team Rocket is fit to rule the world," James declared.
"And we're not about to let this monster take it over," Jessie added.
"Yeah, t'at's why we got a secret weapon."
Hopping up onto the edge of the basket, Jigglypuff looked down at FearDevimon. "Jiggly."
Jessie smirked. "I thought we were in trouble when we ran into Jigglypuff here in the forest, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise."
"No matter how powerful it is, nothing can resist Jigglypuff's song," said James. He held up a rope, the end tied in a lasso. "Ready to put on a show, Jiggly?"
"Jigglypuff!" the balloon Pokemon declared happily.
Meowth pointed down at FearDevimon. "T'at guy's your target audience. He came all t'e way from anot'er dimension jus' ta hear you sing."
The balloon Pokemon's eyes widened, shining with anticipation. "Puff…"
James held the rope out to it. "Hop on, and we'll lower you down."
Jigglypuff eagerly jumped onto the rope, sitting in the lasso, and James began lowering it down.
FearDevimon seemed oblivious to both Jigglypuff and Team Rocket as he turned his attention to the other humans. "It's over now. Your resistance has come to an end." He grinned evilly. "Tell you what, since I'm in such a good mood, I'll make a little deal with you. If the DigiDestined agree to hand over their Digivices, then I'll spare half of you." He licked his lips in anticipation. "What do you say? It's better than all of you dying, isn't it? And you can decide amongst yourselves who shall live and who shall die."
Ash glared up at him. "Do you really think we'd turn on each other like that?"
FearDevimon's grin widened. "I forgot to mention, you boy, will be one of the ones to die. That is non-negotiable."
Davis shook his fist at him. "We're not giving you anyone! Just you wait, FearDevimon, we're still going to stop you!"
The demon Digimon burst out laughing, oblivious to Jigglypuff hanging just above his head. Higher up, Team Rocket finished lowering the balloon Pokemon and was in the process of plugging up their ears.
"Alright, Jigglypuff, it's up to you," said Jessie.
James gave the rope a tug, signaling Jigglypuff to begin. "Give 'em a good show."
"Jiggly," the balloon Pokemon cooed. It raised its microphone to its mouth and began singing.
The soothing melody of Jigglypuff's song filled the air. The Trainers quickly covered their ears and advised the others to do the same. FearDevimon continued to laugh as Jigglypuff sang above him. Slowly, his laughter began to calm down until it stopped completely, and a yawn escaped him. He grinned down at the humans, his smile full of malicious intent.
"The time has come, puny humans. You have failed in your duty." He yawned again, his eyelids drooping slightly. "You have… you have… failed in your duty. And now you shall… now you shall…"
He yawned once more and rubbed his eyes, his speech becoming slurred as he tried to speak.
"What's happening?" Yolei asked, speaking louder so the others could hear over their covered ears.
"It's Jigglypuff's song," Brock replied. "It contains a special power that puts all those that hear it to sleep."
"Looks like it's having an affect on FearDevimon," Misty observed.
FearDevimon's eyes kept blinking open and closed, and his head began bobbing as he swayed on his feet. "This world is… mine, and now I shall… I… I shall…" He rubbed his eyes some more, becoming aggravated. "What is that singing? Make it… stop… Make it stop!"
His legs were buckling, and he seemed unable to keeping his eyes open. He rubbed them vigorously, and began lashing out blindly, aiming for the source of the singing above him. His claws wracked through the air as he unleashed his Crow's Feet attack, nearly hitting Jigglypuff. One of the trails of darkness flowing from his claws ripped across the hot air balloon, tearing a hole in it, and it began spinning around out of control as the air escaped.
"Oh, come on!" the thieves cried.
Jigglypuff squealed as well as it was pulled along for the ride. It went flying from the rope and landed safely in a tree as Team Rocket circled around in the air. In the basket, the sacks of stolen items from Professor Stevens' lab went flying clear of the balloon.
"No!" Jessie cried. "There goes all our stolen goods!"
"Guess that's what we get for trying to do a good thing," said James.
Meowth sighed. "Looks like no good deed really does go unpunished."
"We're blasting off again!"
The singing had stopped, but FearDevimon appeared to be half asleep. He continued to rub his eyes as he tired to shake away the drowsiness. Using his sword to help push himself up, Imperialdramon took notice of the fallen angel Digimon's disorientation. "This is it. The chance we need. It's now or never."
He launched into the air towards him. Through his blurry vision, FearDevimon saw him coming and reached for him, his claws trailing darkness. Imperialdramon maneuvered around it and stabbed forward. "Omni Sword!"
The blade glowed red and stabbed into FearDevimon's chest, right into his Mark of Evil. The fallen angel Digimon cried out and smacked him away, dislodging the sword. Data particles flowed out of the stab wound as FearDevimon stumbled about, snarling. His body pixelated and came back together repeatedly as the sword's power took affect.
"He got him!" TK cried as FearDevimon roared his rage, swiping at the air.
"Looks like those three goons helped out after all," Yolei noted.
FearDevimon continued to react violently. His head appeared to be splitting in two before coming back together repeatedly, the right side shaping itself into Fearow's head while the left side shaped itself into Devimon's before they came back together again, only to begin to split once more.
"What's happening to him?" Misty exclaimed.
"It's the affect of Imperialdramon's sword," said Ken. "It causes an opponent's data to reset."
"So it's separating FearDevimon back into Devimon and Fearow again?" Brock asked?
"It looks like they're trying to stay together," Cody observed.
Davis looked at the others. "This is our chance! Attack while he's unstable!"
Mustering up the last of their strength, the Digimon fired upon FearDevimon. "Giga Crusher!"
"Strike of the Seven Stars!"
"Fire Tornado!"
"Blast Rings!"
"Knock Out Beat!"
Even Pikachu and Charizard managed to unleash a Thunderbolt and a Flamethrower, the various attacks flying towards the fallen angel Digimon and exploding against him. A roar tore itself from his throat as his body began to break down into data. The breakdown spread as FearDevimon's cry echoed through the town, and soon, his body vanished completely, leaving a cloud of data particles.
The Trainers and Professor Stevens stared uncomprehending at the place where FearDevimon had once stood as his data flowed across the sky. Up above, the darkness that he had cast over the town began to fade, allowing the sun to shine through once more.
Ash looked at the DigiDestined, not understanding, but he could see their eyes shining as they stared at the flowing data particles, the relief clearly written on their faces. "What's going on? What happened?"
"They did it," said TK. "FearDevimon's gone."
"Gone?" Brock repeated. "What do you mean gone?"
"They destroyed him," Yolei replied. "When Digimon die, their bodies break down into data. It's all over."
Professor Stevens immediately began scribbling down in his notebook. "Fascinating. Truly fascinating."
Ash looked at the DigiDestined in concern. Despite the danger it had presented, he couldn't help asking, "But what of Fearow? What happened to it?"
The DigiDestined exchanged looks. It was something they hadn't considered if they did end up victorious, but from the looks of it, there could only have been one outcome.
"I'm sorry, Ash," Kari told him, "but it looks like it died with FearDevimon."
Ash felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. Despite the beak Pokemon's violent attitude towards him, and how it did indeed seem to be the first, and, hopefully, only evil Pokemon in history, his affection for any and all Pokemon made him feel sorry for it. The guilt returned in full as he once again wondered if any of this would have happened if he never threw that rock at it.
"But will it come back?" he asked hopefully. "It was part of FearDevimon, and Digimon come back after they die."
TK glanced at Seraphimon, recalling once again how he had been reborn after he gave his life to stop Devimon all those years ago. "To be honest, Ash, I really don't know. No Pokemon has ever merged with a Digimon before. Izzy's research indicated that sometimes when Digimon DNA Digivolve together for a long enough time or if they bond at a deep enough level, they'll be reborn as a single Digi-Egg. So I suppose it's possible that Fearow and Devimon had completely become one as well, or maybe Fearow was simply absorbed into Devimon's being. That could allow it to come back along with Devimon, even though they would be one being. Still, I'm afraid the more likely scenario is that the part of FearDevimon that was Fearow simply died off since they weren't merged for that long."
Ash's shoulders sank as the blonde boy all but confirmed what he feared the most. "No…"
Misty looked at him. "Ash, it's not your fault."
He hung his head, his hat shielding his eyes. "Isn't it? If it hadn't been for me…"
"You can't blame yourself." The words, to everyone's surprise, came from Davis. "Whatever the cause was for Fearow going bad, it was its own choice. Maybe whatever you did to it was the reason it started down the path that eventually led it here, but it was still Fearow's choice. You didn't put a gun to its head and force it to join with Devimon. It was all its own doing. And from the looks of it, Devimon hadn't done anything to take away Fearow's freewill. It was all Fearow. And maybe whatever happened between the two of you was simply the catalyst for the darkness that was already there. If it hadn't been you, maybe something else would have set it off. All the same, you did what you could for it, but in the end, it was Fearow's decision, nobody else was at fault."
It was another rare moment where Davis displayed wisdom and maturity beyond what he usually had. The DigiDestined had seen it only a few times, but it was a first for the Trainers, and it caught them off guard.
Brock recovered first. "He's right, Ash. Fearow was responsible for its own actions. Sometimes things just happen that are beyond our control."
Ash's fists clenched. "Maybe so, but I'm still never going to let something like this happen again. Whenever a Pokemon needs help, I'm going to save it, even from itself."
Kari gave him a smile. "That's really great of you."
"Yeah," Yolei agreed. "You've got the makings of a DigiDestined."
He pointed to himself. "Thanks, but my goal is to become the world's greatest Pokemon Master, and nothing is going to get in my way."
Davis nodded. "And you'll do it too. With that attitude, nothing can stand in your way." He pointed into the distance. "I can feel it. There's a good tail wind blowing."
At his words, a heavy wind picked up. Ash had to place his hand on his hat to prevent it from being blown away. "Whoa, you weren't kidding. Can you predict the weather now?"
"No," Davis replied, speaking up to be heard over the wind. "This is just a coincidence." The wind began blowing harder, nearly knocking him over. "A very big coincidence!"
Seraphimon struggled to stand up. "Something's wrong. This wind isn't natural."
A chill ran down Misty's spine, and she slowly raised her hand, pointing to the sky. "Is that natural?"
They looked up. FearDevimon's data was still floating around. It should have disappeared long ago, yet it was still present, and it was swirling about violently. Streaks of darkness were rising into the air and floating across the sky like a river of darkness. FearDevimon's data flowed into it and began mixing together over the sound of the wind, and the unmistakable laughter of the fallen angel Digimon began to rise.
"What's going on?" Brock shouted over the wind and laughter.
Imperialdramon rose to his feet, using his sword to support himself. "It's FearDevimon. He's still alive."
(A/N: Just when it seemed like it was all over. You've got to hand it to Team Rocket, they do occasionally do the right thing. And in case it wasn't obvious, yes, it was Jigglypuff that scared them after they ran into in the forest after away from Professor Stevens. They had a good plan, and it seemed that everything was coming together with Imperialdramon's power, but it seemed that FearDevimon still had an ace up his sleeve. If you were paying attention in previous chapters, you'll know how he survived. If not, you'll find out next chapter. How will our heroes win when it seems so impossible to defeat FearDevimon. Find out next time.)