Set within another private room aboard the DDF airship, a group of soldiers, human and Digimon, had gathered away from the eyes of their superiors so they could formulate a diabolical plan.
"It's simple..." The group's leader began to say as he then told the others. "We take over the turret controls, and once the Dark Empress' flagship appears, we open fire before they know what is coming. We'll end the war here and now and be heroes in the process!"
"You mean if we aren't executed after a court martial by the Commander." Another soldier commented in reply, his words ignored by the group's leader.
"The media will be on our side and the Council will have to praise us, there won't be anything Takaishi can do." The leader replied with a grin.
Knowing what else was worrying his conspirators, the leader then said. "And we'll get back to our worlds before the Empress' boyfriend can get a chance to retaliate. Now, who's ready to become heroes?"
Looking at one another, the group of rogue soldiers all nodded in unison, each looking forward to the supposed fame and fortune awaiting them for being the ones to end the Dark Empress once and for all.
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Within the palace of the Fire Emperor, Hashima found himself sweating nervously as he stood before twelve individuals sitting upon thrones that were arranged in a half circle before him, each the Fire Lords of the Realm, Lelouch among them as the young noble smirked to the way Hashima squirmed before their superior gaze.
Standing closer to the entrance of the Council chamber, Davis, Julie and Caleb watched and waited to see how this conversation would go, especially as newcomers were brought to join in on the talks, with Thomas and Gaomon serving as backup for Hashima, while Izzy and Tentomon were present as to represent the Dark Imperium in these talks.
Looking amongst the Fire Lords, Hashima, Thomas, Izzy and their Digimon partners saw that the group consisted of four humans, four of the various lizardmen races they had seen upon the battlefield, three dwarves and one automaton, which looked upon them with a pair of glowing red eyes, showing the energy emitting from the robotic being's core.
"Th... thank you, lords and ladies, for taking the time to speak with me." Hashima managed to eventually say as he fought back his nervousness, wishing to remain professional before the leaders of the Fire Realm.
"For speaking with all of you." Lelouch corrected as he looked from Hashima and toward Thomas and Gaomon, before looking at Izzy and Tentomon as the dark haired Fire Lord then said. "As we are neutral in YOUR conflict, it is only fair that representatives from both parties are present."
Grumbling lightly to himself, Hashima looked as Izzy stepped forward, the Digidestined of Knowledge bowing before the Fire Lords as he said with a fair respect within his voice. "Thank you for allowing us to attend this meeting. We accept and understand your stance of neutrality and wish for only peaceful negotiations moving forward."
"Likewise, it would be wrong of us to expect any kind of military aid, especially with the Veil preventing anyone or anything of Nexus from leaving this world." Thomas then added as he gave a side glance upon Hashima, reminding the Council member of the situation around Nexus and of Davis' warning about bringing military aid to the Realms of this world.
Seeing Hashima deflate a little, one member of the Fire Lords, one of the winged lizardmen and an apparent female, spoke with a soft tone. "We are glad that you understand the situation. While the idea of having either the DDF or Imperium's forces aid us in our... struggles with the other Realms, they would scour every human not of Nexus, every Digimon and every Appmon from the face of this world."
Gulping lightly at the thought of the beings of this world hunting him and others down like dogs, especially as he remembered being told that the inhabitants of Nexus waged a multiversal war and nearly won, Hashima regained his composure as he offered. "But I am sure we can still negotiate on other issues, like an exchange of non-military items and knowledge."
"Indeed." Lelouch said in reply as he smiled turned sly, looking briefly upon Davis and then went on to say. "First, however, I can speak for my fellow Fire Lords when I say I want to know more about what has changed within Kari Kamiya. From what we have heard, she sounds completely different from the girl many of us have heard about our entire lives."
"A crude attempt at gossip, Lord Lelouch." The Automaton Fire Lord said with evident disappointment within his robotic voice, one that caused Lelouch to wave his hand dismissively as he continued. "Please, I know you are just as curious, Lord Kormac."
Looking behind him, Izzy saw Davis' eye twitch in annoyance, before looking back to the Digidestined of Knowledge and nodding his head, this causing Izzy to turn back towards the Fire Lords and remove a holographic projector from out of his pocket.
Activating the device, those within the chamber saw a large image of an object that once floated in the skies of the Digital World, which resembled a gigantic black sphere with a golden ring around it, one with jagged metal spikes coming out of it, while red runes from an unknown language spread around appeared around the object.
Starting his explanation, Izzy began to inform those before him. "This is the Dark Ark as it was before Kari claimed its power. We don't know where it came from but..."
"Obscarian?!" Davis, Julie, Caleb and all the Fire Lords interrupted with a great surprise in their voices, this shocked Izzy, Tentomon, Thomas, Gaomon and Hashima, who realized that those around them recognized the architecture of the Dark Ark.
Seeing the confusion now expressed by Izzy, Thomas, Hashima and the Digimon, Davis looked toward Thomas and told the blond haired officer. "Remember I mentioned that Nexus went to war with the Multiverse? The Obscarian were one of the races that fought back and drove the Realms back, using their own energies with others to make the Veil. In their language, Obscarian means Dark Elves."
"The Obscarian supposedly died out using their power upon the Veil. This Ark must be all that was left of their power, drifting in the void between worlds for millions of years." Julie then informed with a great intrigue within her voice, before saying as an idea came to mind. "It must have sensed the Veil's energy when Davis was brought to Nexus, so it sought out the closest world to the one that the Veil reached out to."
Absorbing what the silver haired champion had told them, the sound of an alarm and a screen appearing before the Fire Lords drew everyone's attention as the arrival of a new airship from the Digital World was shown.
"Well, it seems we'll have to continue this discussion later, now that she has arrived." Lelouch said with an intrigued smile, especially as he looked at Davis, who remained fixated on the screen and the imagery before him.
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Back within the bridge of the DDF airship, TK, Patamon and the rest forces of the DDF Digi-heroes and heroines watched as a Digi-port opened in the skies before them and a familiar sight appeared within Nexus, one whose appearance often brought fear, dread and despair.
Resembling the standard Dark Imperium airships in appearance, the flagship of the Dark Empress was twice the size of its lesser kin, with a black razor shaped spike emerged from the dragon's head at the front of the ship, giving it a more menacing appearance when compared to the rest of the Dark Imperium's fleet.
"Well, she's here now." Tai said with a small sigh as he and those around him felt a familiar sense of unease within them, one they felt whenever Kari was around, while Rika did her best to block her senses from the overwhelming darkness she felt emitting from the black ship.
From his position, TK, meanwhile, felt a mixture of nervousness, dread, stress and, to a small extent, hope, true hope for the first time in years, hope that this war, this conflict between him and his friends could finally be put to rest, and it would all be due to having Davis by their side once again.
Allowing a small smile to grace his face and despite everything that had happened so far, TK was glad they had found Davis, that his friend wasn't dead and that things would now work out hopefully for the better.
At one time, the Digidestined of Hope had wondered why Tai didn't pass the leadership role onto him all those years ago, given his longer experience in the Digital World when compared to Davis' own.
However, after nearly five years in command of the DDF, the blond Digidestined understood the answer, that he was not cut out for the role of leadership, that he froze more often than he liked to admit and found his mind too focused on one issue or another to see the big picture, and because of that, he had little to no respect amongst those under his command.
With Davis, however, and despite the tremendous power and authority he now wielded, TK saw how the maroon haired hero inspired loyalty and respect from those around him, showing the skills as a true leader that he himself lacked, and at the end of the day, the Digidestined of Hope was alright with it.
TK was then brought out of his musing as a series of alarms then suddenly began to blare, the alarming noise causing TK and Patamon to look around as the bridge operators began to panic.
"Sir, someone has manually activated the turrets. They're targeting the Empress' ship!" A feminine human officer informed, her warning causing TK's eyes to widen in fear.
"Shut them down, now!" The DDF commander called out in sheer urgency, his fear shared by most of the DDF members present, knowing exactly what would happen if they opened fire upon Kari's ship, and not just the Dark Imperium's reaction, but Davis' as well.
In such a panic about the situation, none noticed Ken and Wormmon quickly leaving to gather a security detail and to track down whoever was causing this possible problem.
"Too late!" Another officer cried out as the turrets began to open fire, launching shells at the Empress' flagship and causing damage all along the ship's hull.
Down below and seeing the attack, Takato's eyes burned with rage along with the majority of the Imperium's forces around him, this causing the Infected Tamer to withdraw his D-Ark, accompanied alongside Guilmon, who quickly moved toward his partner, before Takato called out in rage. "Biomerge activate...!"
At the same time this occurred, the rest of the Dark Imperium forces on the ground began to rush at the camp that the DDF had set up, the Commandramon, human soldiers and the others which consisted of their forces quickly taking defensive positions as their long-time enemies began to open fire at them.
"Shut them down, shut them down!" TK practically screamed as the bridge crew tried to stop the cannons, only for the bridge to shake as the second Imperium airship turned and opened fire upon the DDF vessel, unleashing a barrage of dark energy bolts upon those attacking their Dark Empress.
Back within the Fire Lords' chamber, Hashima, Thomas and Gaomon paled as they watched the incident unfold, the trio knowing how bad this looked for the DDF as not only did Izzy and Tentomon glare toward them, but the eyes of the Fire Lords were also upon them, silently demanding answers.
However, what terrified Thomas the most was the aura of rage he felt behind him, turning to see flames forming within Davis' fists as he glared upon the DATS genius with a fiery fury.
"Davis... I swear to you, on my life and on my sister's... we had nothing to do with this..." Thomas said in a calm yet nervous voice as he saw the rage burning within Davis' eyes, while Hashima was silent in terror as he too felt the rage emanating from the maroon haired Champion.
Instead of responding however, Davis turned and began to walk out the chamber, accompanied by Julie and Caleb as the maroon haired champion called to the guards. "Summon the city guard and deploy the Legions!"
"Yes, Sir!" One of the guards called out with a tone of loyal obedience as he left to follow the words of the Fire Emperor's Champion, before Davis looked back towards Hashima, Thomas, Izzy and their Digimon partners.
"Keep them here." Davis simply ordered, his eyes narrowing upon the group and further ordering. "And if they try to leave, break their legs and rip his wings off!"
Gulping lightly from Davis' threat, as well as seeing the way the chamber guards looked upon them, Hashima, Thomas, Izzy, Gaomon and Tentomon remained silent as Davis and his Fire Team left to deal with this growing situation.
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"Ok, we bit off more than we can chew!" One of the rogue soldiers had to confess, an obvious and regretful panic within his voice as the DDF airship continued to suffer from the wrath and power of the Dark Imperium's assault, the group now seeing that the cannons weren't taking down the Dark Empress' ship quick enough and their misjudgment had placed them all in jeopardy.
"R... right, let's get out of here!" The group leader declared through his fears, but turned pale when the doors to the control room they were within then opened and revealed Ken Ichijouji, Stingmon and many Commandramon and soldiers by their side, who had their weaponry pointed toward them.
Seeing that they had been caught and with no way out, the group raised their hands and surrendered as the soldiers moved forward to arrest them.
The renegades now in custody, Ken then contacted the bridge through the comms and told the Digidestined of Hope. "TK, we captured the perpetrators, looks like a group of idiots thinking they could gain some glory."
Letting out a shuttered sigh, TK was glad to hear that those responsible had been caught, but the damage had already been done as he watched fires break out along Kari's ship from the unwarranted attack.
A second later, the DDF Digi-heroes and heroines then watched in horror as a series of dark flaming streams, each with a dragon's head at the ends, emerged from the crashing flagship and struck each turret firing upon it, destroying them instantly and causing major damage upon the DDF airship.
Having seen the attack many times beforehand and in the past, TK knew that while Kari was still alive, the Dark Empress was pissed off, and she had every right to be.
"Sir, the ship can't take much more damage!" One of the bridge officers called in concern, adding as his tone remained with a further panic. "We need...!"
Before any more could be said, however, those on the bridge looked to see a figure appear right outside of the window, one that caused everyone within the pale as they recognized the being.
Clad in pitch black armour, looking as though it was held together by dragon scales, with the chest piece holding a demonic dragon's face and heightening the obvious dark vibe the form was going for, a dark red cape flowed down the individual's back.
Furthering the dark appearance which he was going for, a series of long black spikes stuck out from the gloves and the boots of the dark being's armour, along with a pair of dark metal dragon heads which served as his shoulder pads and gave the being a more fearsome form.
The being's face was concealed in a dark knight's helmet much like Gallantmon's, only this helmet had two black horns which protruded from the top and showing a pair of glowing yellow eyes within the helmet that stared menacingly at the bridge group.
Fear gripping their hearts, TK and those around him knew that this was ShadowGallantmon, the corrupted and Biomerged form of Takato and Guilmon, a dark being formed from the Virus which had infected and become one with them.
Watching the fallen Knight of Hazard, who then brought up his shield, TK, Patamon and the others remained with fear to see the secondary weapon was then consumed in a dark energy and the dark fusion of Takato and Guilmon bellowed through a shared hatred and fury. "Shield of Darkness!"
Acting in response to the attack, Rika moved forward, bringing her hands up as she formed a protective barrier around the bridge and those that were within, just as ShadowGallantmon unleashed his attack which caused a massive explosion to rock through the airship.
Between the powerful attack and the damage already caused to it, the DDF airship then slowly came down and crashed into the ground below, with everyone on board thankfully saved by Rika and her abilities.
Before crashing into the ground itself, a darkness shot out of the Dark Imperium's flagship, spreading out with tendrils that landed on the grounds below, revealing Mikey, OmniShoutmon, whose armour was now a shade of dark silver instead of gold, Jeremy, Angie, Nene, JetMervamon, Aldamon, JetSilphymon, Daipenmon, Marcus, ShineGreymon: Ruin Mode, Keenan and Ravemon: Burst Mode, who all looked toward the ruined DDF ship with disdain.
Alongside those serving Kari, the Appmon known as the Ultimate Four, Charismon, Beautymon, Fakemon and Biomon stood proud and looked ready to fight as they looked up and upon their allied airship to see BlackMetalGarurumon and Aquilamon, whose feathers were now a deep shade of black, flying down towards them, their partners upon their backs as each frowned due to the saddened turn of events.
Finally and in the skies above, the darkness cleared to reveal a dark version of Magnadramon, who floated flying around her partner as the Dark Empress was engulfed in an aura of darkness.
Allowing her power to flow and for two wings of pure energy formed behind her, the former Digidestined of Light feeling nothing but rage and hatred now, ready to end those that have defied her once and for all.
At the same moment, a small explosion emitted from the wreckage of the DDF airship, to which WarGreymon, Phoenixmon, Rosemon, Vikemon, Ankylomon, Justimon, HiAndromon, the Biomerged form of Kazu and Guardromon, Rika, Beowolfmon, Rhihimon, RhinoKabuterimon, Rosemon: Burst Mode, ZekeGreymon, Arresterdramon: Superior Mode, Tuwarmon and Cho Hakkaimon all stood alongside their partners as they looked over the gathering forces arrayed against them.
Alongside them, Globemon, Oujamon, Entemon, Revivemon, Shutmon and Bootmon stood battle ready to protect their partners.
Within the air, the Digimon known as Siriusmon hovered, accompanied alongside Diarbbitmon and Amphimon as they too prepared to fight, the desire to battle and protect their friends shared by HoverEspimon, who floated behind them with Hiro, Ruli and Kyoshiro riding on his back.
Quickly joining her allies, Antylamon appeared alongside the DDF Digimon, the giant rabbit-like Digimon wielding special blades and wearing protective gear that Suzie had made for her, while Terriermon stood back so he could protect the young Tamer in the event the enemy got past their friends and defences.
Finally, emerging from the wreckage of the airship and flying high into the sky, the Digimon of Hope had warped Digivolved into an entirely new form, resembling the Digimon known as Goldramon, only this variant was clad in silver armour around his torso, arms and head, armour that resembled Seraphimon's own as the new Digimon, GrandGoldramon, gave a great and mighty roar towards the Dark Empress and DarkMagnadramon, who returned her own roar to her former friend.
From GrandGoldramon's shoulder, TK looked towards Kari and pleaded. "Kari, please, this was a mistake, there were..."
"Enough!" The Dark Empress merely snapped back with a cold tone, the dark Digidestined telling TK as the darkness around her only grew. "Enough of your lies and games, I am tired of this pointless crusade. I gave you a chance to end things peacefully, but you once more stab me in the back. This ends now and all of you will die here!"
On one side of the battlefield, the DDF stiffened as they prepared to defend themselves, while on the other side, the Dark Imperium sought to end this conflict once and for all, and with Kari's declaration, they knew there was now only one path forward.
The first to act was ShadowGallantmon, who swooped down from the skies and launched himself toward his former friends, a blade of dark energy manifesting within his right hand, replacing his usual lance, which crackled with dark energy.
"Shadow Lance!" The Infected knight Digimon bellowed as he unleashed a powerful blast of darkness upon the DDF, but found his attack blocked as Justimon quickly moved in front of his friends and countered.
"Voltage Blade!" The combined form of Ryo and Cyberdramon declared, using his bladed arm to cut through the darkness, before blocking a strike from ShadowGallantmon's blade.
"Takato, please, we weren't responsible for this, we...!" Justimon tried to speak with a reasonable tone, but fell silent by a rage filled cry from his foe.
"Enough of your lies! This time we'll end you and Feed!" ShadowGallantmon snapped furiously with a further fury as his mouth guard then opened up, revealing the vampiric fangs as the corrupted Digimon gave another fearsome roar, pushing back Justimon as the two former friends continued in their conflict.
And this sent off the sense of battle as the Dark Imperium charged at the DDF, the battlelines drawn between the two forces once more.
From their own end, OmniShoutmon battled both ZekeGreymon and Arresterdramon: SM, the Digimon King holding his own due to his enhanced dark power, while JetMervamon clashed blades with Tuwarmon and Cho Hakkaimon, fighting evenly with her former friends as they tried to subdue the dark amazonian Digimon.
In another part of the battle, WarGreymon and BlackMetalGarurumon clashed against one another in a furious combat, while Phoenixmon, Rosemon, Vikemon and Ankylomon found themselves battling not only Aquilamon, but the main force of the D-Reaper, the Mother Reaper summoning more of her kin to add forces to add to the conflict, while easily handling her own against the group of Mega level Digimon, unleashing powerful bolts of dark red energy and unleashing a series of cables to strike and retrain the trio.
"Hang on guys, I'm...!" HiAndromon began to say as he too was ready to help his friends in this fight, but froze up when a familiar and frightening voice cut in.
"Buccal Rush!" The voice announced with might as a dozen black tendrils wrapped around HiAndromon's form.
Restrained, the Biomerged form of Kazu and Guardromon turned to see Cthyllamon without his mask and to see the tendrils now trying to drag him towards him, this concerning the cyborg Digimon as he saw the deranged look within the corrupted Digimon's eyes.
"Lightning Blade!" HiAndromon then yelled in retaliation as his right hand turned into a blade of pure energy.
As he prepared to cut through the tendrils and to free himself, HiAndromon sensed something was wrong and felt as though something was rushing toward him.
Quickly swinging his blade around and to the side, HiAndromon quickly blocked a powerful strike from a black metal blade, courtesy of Kenta, who glared at his former friend with his yellow eyes as the Biomerged form of Kazu and Guardromon felt the sheer power behind the attack and from Kenta's enhanced strength.
"We should have known better than to trust you!" The dark haired Infected Tamer bellowed in rage, pushing HiAndromon back with a powerful kick, where Cthyllamon had enough sense to swing the cyborg Digimon around and to then slam him into a rock face.
Lifting himself up with a groan as the tendrils released him, HiAndromon pushed through some of the pain as he prepared to fight against his Infected friends.
Seeing HiAndromon in trouble and ready to act, Antylamon was about to come to his aid, but she too found herself on the defensive.
Quickly bringing her blades up as a powerful attack slammed into them, the attack caused the Ultimate Level Digimon to skid back a few feet, before lowering her blades and to see who her selected opponent was.
Wielding a double bladed scythe-like weapon, Jeri Katou glared at the rabbit Digimon with disdain, the Infected girl declaring through her growing rage and hunger. "We gave you all a chance to end this peacefully, but you can't let go, you only see us as monsters, so monsters are what you will get!"
Letting out a shriek that no longer sounded human, Jeri moved with inhuman speeds toward Antylamon.
Swinging her blade with superhuman strength and forcing the rabbit Digimon to go on the defensive, Antylamon could barely dodge each strike from the Infected Tamer as she tried to find a way out of this conflict against Jeri.
Nearby and set within their own battles, the Appli Drivers and their Appmon partners were in combat against the Ultimate Four, familiar clashes playing themselves out as Globemon and Charismon set one another in combat, Oujamon dodged the powerful, albeit graceful attacks from Beautymon, Entemon parrying Fakemon's blades, leaving Revivemon and Biomon fighting one another within their own match of power.
Likewise, Bootmon and Shutmon found themselves battling more of the D-Reaper agents, the pair of Appmon doing their best against their foes, before both were knocked back as ShineGreymon: RM joined the battle and showed off his tremendous and raw power.
Back in the skies above, Ravemon:BM and Rosemon: BM clashed with one another for supremacy, the former friends and allies locked in battle, refusing to give up and to fight for what they now believed in.
From the back of HoverEspimon, meanwhile, Hiro, Ruli and Kyoshiro watched the battles with concern as Hiro started to say with a clear worry. "We need to..."
"Dark Confession!" A familiar voice then declared, this causing HoverEspimon to quickly dodge as a pair of dark liquid drills shot past him, the trio of humans holding on for dear life, before Siriusmon, Diarbbitmon and Amphimon quickly moved in front of their friends as they looked upon the newcomer.
Resembling Siriusmon in appearance, the new Digimon wore dark armour instead of white, with his blaster arms replaced with a pair of drills, the being looking down upon them with a wicked glint in his eyes as he bellowed with a wicked laugh.
"Don't think I'm going to sit this one out, big bro!" Arcturusmon remarked with a wicked glee, turning to Siriusmon, where he then added. "Nor am I going to let that weak copy of me have any fun either!"
Sensing GulusGammon growling within their shared state of consciousness, Siriusmon focused on his foe as he launched himself towards Arcturusmon, with Diarbbitmon and Amphimon acting as his backup, while Hiro, Ruli and Kyoshiro linked up with their partners so to further their superior levels of strength.
"Cosmo Blade!"
"Trusgain!"
"Aqua Zanba!"
"Dark Death!" Arcturusmon declared in retaliation as his drills began to spin rapidly and a black liquid, the GRB, coated each drill.
The powerful Dark Digimon then parried and dodged each attack from his trio of foes, who in turn dodged and blocked against his onslaught, each knowing exactly what would happen if Arcturusmon was able to land a single strike upon them.
Back on the ground below, Beowolfmon, Rhihimon and RhinoKabuterimon looked up to see Aldamon, JetSilphymon and Daipenmon looking down upon them from a ledge, the Warrior of Ice towering over all of them as he held a set of twin popsicles within his hands.
"Guys, stand down, please." The Warrior of Light said as he looked at Aldamon and told him with a remaining seriousness as he prepared himself to fight. "We don't want to hurt you."
"Hurt us?" The Warrior of Flame asked with a small confusion within his tone, before a grin formed on his face and an arrogance filled his voice. "You guys need to be more worried about yourselves."
About to respond and to get Takuya to listen to him through force, Beowolfmon then looked in horror to see a darkness spread across Aldamon, JetSilphymon and Daipenmon, turning their armour, skin and their other features a dark shade of black, while Aldamon and JetSilphymon's hair turn white, the sight concerning Beowolfmon, Rhihimon and RhinoKabuterimon as they realized what this was.
"You used the GRB on yourselves?!" The Warrior of Thunder questioned with an understandable shock within his tone, his concerns only growing as Aldamon just laughed insanely in response.
"Now this is a rush!" The corrupted Warrior of Fire commented as he looked at Beowolfmon with an insane look in his eyes.
Rushing at the Warrior of Light with a powerful burst of speed, Koji remained alert and quickly used his blade to block the sudden attack from Aldamon, but was sent flying backwards from the increased power thrown at him.
Reacting to the attack upon his sibling, Rhihimon found himself also on the end of the defensive line as JetSilphymon rushed at him and swung around her pinwheel, the Warrior of Wind laughing with her own insanity from the GRB as she tried to tear Rhihimon to pieces.
"This... this is power... and I want more!" The corrupted Warrior of Wind declared madly, her tone almost reminiscent of the insanity Ranamon expressed when the Warrior of Water served under Cherubimon.
Unable to react fast enough, and wishing no harm to befall Zoe, the Warrior of Darkness found he had to remain on the defensive as he tried to figure out how to get him and his friends out of this situation.
At the same time, RhinoKabuterimon found himself in a bind as the GRB infused form of Daipenmon had lifted him up with his fins, the Warrior of Thunder flailing his legs in a desperate attempt to escape, but found nothing but pain when the enraged Warrior of Ice repeatedly slammed him into the ground, before throwing him to the side with a rage filled cry.
"Damn it, Tommy..." JP managed to say through his pain, desperate to have his old friend hear him out, but found the Warrior of Ice too lost in his newfound rage to care.
"Fatal Flame!"
"Dragon Fire!"
Calling out their attacks together, GrandGoldramon and DarkMagnadramon unleashed powerful blasts of light and darkness at one another, with TK holding on to his partner as he felt the powerful blasts strike and causing a powerful explosion.
However, the Digidestined and Digimon of Hope each expressed pained cries as a powerful blast of darkness then slammed into them.
Turning, TK looked to see that it was Kari who had unleashed the attack, the former Digidestined of Light holding her hand out and toward the pair with a cold expression upon her face.
Before he could react anymore, TK felt a great rush of wind hit him as DarkMagnadramon then slammed into GrandGoldramon, knocking him back as the pair of Dragon Digimon continued their fight in the air.
Seeing the battles continuing around and below her, Kari brought her right hand up as a dark energy began to gather within her palm, which grew in size and became a massive sphere of darkness, one she planned on unleashing on all and leaving one alive to challenge her ever again.
Sensing a familiar presence, however, the Dark Empress then refocused the energy into a protective barrier, blocking a barrage of fox spirits that tried to strike upon her, before dissolving the energy as Kari watched a shining light float up toward her.
The light fading a little, Kari narrowed her eyes behind her mask to see Rika floating before her, the red haired hybrid releasing more of her power as an armour similar to Sakuyamon's formed around her, only white in colour as her tail swayed behind her, while a hood covered her head but allowed her ear to stick out as she held a staff similar to Sakuyamon's in her hand.
"Kari, please listen, we haven't broken our agreement!" Rika said with desperation in her voice, the Digimon hybrid wishing for things to end as Davis wants and not how those who can only see their own needs want things to end as she began to say. "Don't let the actions of a few outweigh everything we have tried to do to end this war, Davis is...!"
At the mention of Davis' name, however, Kari only felt her rage increase, believing that this was all a set up to draw her out as she summoned a black staff within her right hand, one with a dark gem within a dragon's mouth at the tip as she then snapped furiously. "Don't you dare use his name against me! You used him to try and break me, and I will never forgive you all for that!"
Holding her left hand out, the Dark Empress unleashed a swarm of dark flaming dragon heads upon Rika, who responded by summoning a protective barrier before her, the redhead groaning in pain as she held back the powerful attack and thought to herself. 'Davis... I'm sorry... I must fight her...!'
Channelling the natural energies around herself, while feeling the fiery energy of the Fire Realm around her being, Rika then launched herself at Kari, the pair meeting as their weaponry clashed against one another and sent forth out a shockwave that let all present know that the Dark Empress was now fighting.
Moving faster than most could see, Kari and Rika traded blows, parrying and dodging each other's attacks in the process, before Kari backed off and let out a rage filled cry as the darkness around her grew, forming tendrils that lashed out towards her red haired foe.
Moving quickly, Rika dodged the tendrils, striking a few down with her staff, before forming another barrier as the remaining tendrils dissolved upon contact.
"Tell me, Rika, is it a sense of justice that drives you, or is it anger over the fact that he would never love you as he did me?!" Kari asked through her anger, the Dark Empress then sending out a series of dark energy shockwaves from her staff.
Caught off guard by the question, Rika was then struck back by the blast and sent flying backwards a few feet in the air.
Regaining her composure, both from the attack and from Kari's accusation, knowing that indeed, there was a part of her that would always be jealous of the love Davis held for the former Digidestined of Light, the red haired hybrid was about to respond, but saw the darkness around Kari growing, intensifying and altering itself into a massive dragon's head behind the Dark Empress.
"Perish!" Kari then declared as a large amount of dark energy began to form within the dragon's maw, this alongside their Mistress' cry causing the Dark Imperium forces to look up, before quickly breaking from their battles and moving underneath the Dark Empress for safety.
In response, Rika brought her staff closer to her and closed her eyes.
Concentrating her mind as the light energy around her grew, took shape and formed a massive fox head, the fox shaped construct began to also gather energy of its own within its mouth, the sight causing the DDF to return towards their fallen airship for safety.
Opening her eyes and striking against Kari, Rika aimed her staff forward as her attack was unleashed, while the former Digidestined of Light held her staff out as the dark dragon head sent forth its attack, the two powerful blasts of energy rushing towards each other, leaving those below and around the battlefield holding their breaths.
However, much to the shock and surprise of those present, a massive pillar of fire erupted and blocked both attacks, cancelling them out in the process.
After the flames vanished, a massive roar echoed throughout the area, which caused the DDF to pale to see Blaze towering before them alongside two other massive creatures flanking him.
On Blaze's right, TK and the DDF saw a massive phoenix, who appeared to be covered in red metal-like armour.
Four of the creature's wings were normal feathered ones and each holding a blade at the end of each tip, while two more were made of pure flames as the phoenix emitted a loud and mighty shriek.
On Blaze's left, meanwhile, was another dragon, one slightly smaller than Davis' partner, which was covered from head to toe in a silver metal, while each of his arms had been encased with large blaster cannons, the appearance of the intimidating beast only growing as he let out his own fierce and powerful roar, daring any to try and provoke him.
Seeing Julie and Caleb on the shoulders of the creatures, TK and the DDF quickly realized that the phoenix was Phirox and that the other dragon was Ferox, before the Digidestined of Hope, the DDF, as well as the Dark Imperium looked to see themselves surrounded by a massive army of Fire Realm soldiers.
Likewise, a fleet of twelve fire airships, along with a mobile fortress, floated in the skies above, with several ships surrounding the lone Imperium airship, ready to fire on command.
"All combatants, stand down immediately!" A voice then ordered over a loudspeaker from the fortress as a swarm of wyverns, phoenixes and dragons began to fly around, each with humans, lizardmen, dwarves and even automatons riding them, showing their statuses as fire champions.
"This is Thomas Norstrein to all DDF forces, stand down, I repeat, stand down!" Thomas' voice called through the comms as he watched the situation from within the chamber of the Fire Lords.
"You heard him, stand down immediately!" TK ordered frantically.
Following TK's orders, GrandGoldramon landed and reverted back to Patamon, which was quickly followed as the rest of the DDF Digimon and Appmon backed down themselves.
"This is Izzy Izumi to all Imperium forces, stand down. Do not provoke them!" Izzy then said with his own authority as those loyal to Kari watched as the Fire Realm soldiers began to move in and surround them, alongside the DDF.
"You idiots really think I'm going to...?" Arcturusmon then began to question with an arrogance within his voice, the Dark Digimon unwilling to just give up without a fight.
But before he could finish in his sentence, Arcturusmon felt several bindings wrap around his body, not only restraining him, but sending out several bursts of cackling electricity, stunning and causing the vicious Digimon to cry out as he plummeted to the ground and crashed.
Growling against the restraints, Arcturusmon looked as several well-armed automaton soldiers had surrounded him, each pointing a flaming spear in his direction in the event he broke out and tried to strike again.
Grinning, the Dark Digimon sent forth some of the GRB in the attempts to corrupt the mechanical beings, to bend them to his will and have them free him, only for his eyes to widen in shock to see the black liquid dissolve before it could even touch the automatons, the heat of their cores overpowering the corrosive virus in the process.
To see Arcturusmon had been taken down, the rest of the Dark Imperium quickly followed in the DDF's example, with the GRB leaving Takuya, Zoe and Tommy as they returned to normal, while the rest of the Digivolved forces reverted back to normal as fire soldiers closed in and surrounded them with raised weapons.
Landing back on the ground, Rika held her hands up in compliance as a group of fire soldiers surrounded her with flaming rifles.
Turning her head , the red haired Tamer looked to see Ken, Wormmon, Catherine, Floramon, Jun, Veemon and the security detail they had with them exiting the airship wreckage with the individuals that started this whole incident in handcuffs, the Digidestined of Kindness holding a hand up to let the fire soldiers know that they surrender but had prisoners of their own.
Still floating in the air and seeing her forces surrounded and surrendering, Kari felt her rage consuming her as she looked around, looking for those who dared stand in the way of her vengeance, for those who...
Looking upon the largest of the dragons, however, Kari's rage quickly vanished as she expressed a surprised gasp, her eyes widening in shock, disbelief, hope and joy as she saw a figure upon the dragon's shoulder, one she never thought she would see again as she brought her hands up to her mouth and just whispered in a teary voice. "Davis..."
Looking down from Blaze's shoulder as he watched the DDF and Dark Imperium surrender, Davis reigned in his anger and disappointment, before turning to look upwards with a neutral expression as he took in the sight of the love of his life for the first time in twenty thousand years, seeing the darkness that now surrounded her.
Continuing to look upon Kari and feeling his heart beating with a mixture of happiness and despair, Davis watched as her eye mask dissolved into shadows, revealing her hazel eyes as tears of joy ran down her cheeks, before she removed her hands to reveal a smile of love, joy and happiness.
Seeing the love of his life after so long, but feeling agony at what had befallen her, Davis could only think to himself in sadness. 'Kari... just what have I done to you...?'
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Author's note: A small skirmish, but they were warned. Now, a long awaited reunion is about to happen. What will become of Davis and Kari's talk? Stay tuned as the adventure continues.
