Digimon Adventure 03 - The Dark Crusade

by Altus Shimura

The Digidestined and Tamers are brought together in an ancient conflicted reignited by a powerful enemy's return. Will our heroes conquer the darkness? An intense saga awaits!

24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Hope and Courage

Takato and TK wedged themselves between tight crevices and up through narrows passages as they followed the darting form of Guilmon, whose nose sniffed excitedly at the hard stone floor in front of him. In the twenty minutes since he had first picked up Kari's scent he had lost it only twice before quickly picking it back up again and speeding off in a new direction, his clawed feet scraping on the rocks beneath him as he ran. TK was beginning to doubt that the Digimon knew what he was doing, but stifled the thought almost as soon as it arose. There was no use naysaying right now. He suppressed every critical sentiment in his body as he continued to follow after Takato.

Takato's tattered brown jacket and the hood of his red hoodie flapped in the breeze as he ran after Guilmon, his mind for at least this moment mercifully empty of the thoughts that had been surging through it since he and Guilmon had come back to themselves and rejected The Hazard. His brain had replayed every vile thing ChaosGallantmon had done on a loop, and though the actions sickened him, what made him want to tear at himself was the fact that in the moment he had enjoyed them. The dark power had been addicting, and while he had been ChaosGallantmon it was as if his every moral impulse had simply been removed from him, and the only thing that gave him any joy or sensation or even spark of consciousness was the pursuit of power and destruction. He shuddered now as he reflected on it. Never again, he swore to himself, never gain.

Eventually they came to what Takato and TK guessed might have been a wider chamber based on the sheer expanse of darkness which extended out before them. "I don't see how Kari could have come this way…" TK said at last. "…She would not have even been able to see where she was going!". Takato turned back to TK and said wearily "Isn't that assuming she went of her own free will?". TK threw a hard glance Takato's way but said nothing. Eventually, Ophanimon exited the tight-walled cave behind them and joined them in this new expanse. "Where is Guilmon?" she asked. Takato turned and called out "Guilmon!" into the dark, and his voice came echoing back to them. Moments later, Guilmon's clicking feet came padding back towards them through the darkness and the discerned his shape from out of the gloom. "Any luck buddy?" Takato said, rubbing his friend on the snout affectionately. "I can smell her, but it's too dark in her to see!" Guilmon said. Takato and TK each reached for their digivice, hoping to light the way forward with their screens, but Ophanimon stepped forward, outstretching her wings and taking to the air above them. "Let me see if I can help with that…" she said quietly. Slowly, she brought her hands together and summoned a small crystal of energy which then shone brightly with a clear white light.

TK turned and immediately nearly gasped at the sight before his eyes. The cavern they had found themselves in was not a cavern at all, but a great and expansive hallway lines with hundreds of white stone pillars stretching up high above their heads. The pillars were inscribed with a great many symbols which boldly reflected the light cast onto them by Ophanimon's crystal, and as the group moved forward they could not help at marvel at the spectacular craftsmanship of the pillars. Even one, TK thought, would take hundreds of years to carve, so massive and intricate were they. Takato however barely seemed to take in their new surroundings, instead simply charging forward again with Guilmon, who now was able to deftly leap over holes and cracks and crevices in the floor thanks to Ophanimon's light.

Eventually this great hallway with its many pillars and wide ascending ceiling came to an end and TK and Takato found Guilmon sniffing at a door of black stone inlaid with golden design and symbols. TK looked around desperately hoping to see Kari somewhere, asking "I don't get it, is she behind this door?". Guilmon sniffed again and said "Maybe. The trail ends here though...". Takato looked at the great stone door for a few seconds before attempting to push against. As everyone expected, the door was unyielding. "How could Kari have opened this, it must weight fifty tonnes, easily…" Takato said at last, breathless.

Running his hands through his hair, TK paced back and forth for a few seconds before turning and slamming his fists against the hard black stone of the door. Almost instantly, the golden symbols on the door lit up. In shock, TK removed his hands, and just as quickly as the symbols had lit up they then became inert again. "Woah, what did you do?" Takato asked. "I don't know…" said TK. Ophanimon floated above them and examined an inscription carved in the centre of the door.

Slowly, and to the boy's surprise, she began to read "With Hope's shield and Courage's sword will the dragon cleanse the world's discord…". Slowly, TK noticed that Ophanimon's light was not the only thing illuminating the space in front of him. Looking down, he was shocked to see the image of his old crest of courage of Hope shining on his chest. "Well, that solves that part of it…" Ophanimon said, "Whatever is behind that door, it starts with you TK." Without another word, TK immediately put his hands against the smooth black stone of the door again. It felt cold against his skin, and breathing in he closed his eyes and thought only of his friends and Kari. They needed his help. They needed his hope.

Takato watched in awe as the golden symbols on the door began to shine with a majestic light that only grew brighter the longer TK held his hands against the door. Eventually, even the black stone of the door began to shift in colour, until it too was formed of the most gleaming flawless gold which then almost as soon as it appeared, dissipated away to nothing more than an ethereal swirl of sparkling dust that blew away on the great breeze that formed in the vacuum of space which opened before TK and Takato. The room was made of stone roughly hewn into a great cylindrical shape, at the centre of which sat a huge gaping hole leading down into an inky darkness. There at the lip of this crater, not twenty feet away from them, stood Kari. She turned passively at the sound of their entrance, as if she had been expecting them for some time. As the two boys ran forward, they were instantly aware of something different in Kari's presentation. Dim golden light shone around the rims of her pupils, and her face was blank and cold, devoid of any emotion. "Hello Takeru Takaishi. Hello Takato Matsuda." She said placidly in a voice not entirely her own.

TK had been through enough of the Digital World's peculiarities by this stage to know this was not Kari speaking, but rather something else- an entity which had taken control of her. Kari had always been sensitive to energies outside herself, it had been that way for as long as TK had known her. Inwardly he had wondered if it was because she was such an empathetic person, who felt so keenly the pains and difficulties of others. Maybe whatever great powers controlled The Digital World could sense that, and so preferred to use Kari as their mouthpiece. Whether this was true or not though, at the moment TK was only concerned with Kari's safety, and so locking eyes with the entity he replied, "I don't know who or what you are, but please give me Kari back- she's hurt.". Kari looked at him, her expression never shifting.

"Yes, I noticed. Minor lacerations all over her body, some soft tissue damage, and a non-lethal contusion to the head." The entity replied dreamily, looking down at Kari's body as if it were nothing more than a particularly shabby item of clothing. "Give me a moment." It spoke. TK was about to ask what it meant when suddenly the dim light behind Kari's eyes grew momentarily brighter, and in an instant all of the cuts and bruises on her body were healed. Slowly, she lifted her hands and pulled the scrap of cloth which TK had tied around her head to as a makeshift bandage, revealing that the wound had completely disappeared without leaving even the slightest sign that it had ever existed. "Now, Kari Kamiya should be able to operate optimally." Said the entity, before turning back to the great dark pit which lay before them.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Takato said at last, his gaze flicking between Kari and Ophanimon who stood beside him, somehow as lost in this situation as the two boys. This question seemed to stop the entity, whose expression on Kari's face became briefly troubled. "Oh…" it said, as if the answer to that question was something they had known once, but long since forgotten. Finally, it turned and said, "I have never had a name…". It was now Takato's turn to look confused. "Really, then what do people call you?" he asked as reasonably as he could. "I don't know, I have never met anyone. Except for you two. Takeru Takaishi called me "Kari" when you entered, but that is simply the vessel I am currently inhabiting. So, in truth, I do not believe I have a name. But…" at this the entity trailed off, as if calling upon thoughts it had never been forced to put into words. "…when I was created, it was for the purpose of waiting. So, I suppose you could call me The Waiter. Or perhaps- The One Who Waits."

"Well, "the waiter" makes you sound like a minimum wage restaurant employee, so I think The One Who Waits is the way to go." Takato said, a slightly air of humour finding it's way into what had so far been a depressed monotone voice in their time in the caves. The One Who Waits nodded at this and said, "I do not know what you mean Takato Matsuki, but I will take your word for it." Takato felt he had to interrupt at this point, and stepping forward he said, "Can you please tell us why you took over Kari's body!". The One Who Waits met his gaze and said meekly "Because she was…available…". Turning to TK, it continued "Without a physical body to inhabit, I am without form and thus without voice, and cannot fulfil my function. Thus, I needed to inhabit Kari's body. She agreed to allow me to do so, on the proviso that I make sure all of you remain safe." TK was finding it increasingly difficult to take in all this new information, tired as he was from the many trials and tribulations of not only today but in truth the last few days. But all the same he pressed on and asked, "And what is your function, aside from waiting?"

"I am tasked with waiting here until all has been lost to the destruction of The Digital Hazard, at which point I will awaken The Great Golden Dragon of the Centre- Fanglongmon. With his coming, he will rapidly expand and shred this world down to its basest data- at which point my creator- The Immortal Yggdrasil will begin the long process of reforming The Digital World, free from corruption." TK and Takato could barely take in what they were hearing, so aghast were they at the sheer scale of what was being described. "So, this Fanglongmon- he can beat Golgomon?" TK asked. "Fanglongmon does not trifle with conflict- his very awakening will turn all that behold him to ash." Said The One Who Waits with a voice that betrayed a hint of superiority. TK and Takato looked at each other, realising as one that this entity which had control of Kari was not altogether on their side. "But…" Takato began, unsure of himself, "…This world, its still full of Digimon…"

"Is it?" asked The One Who Waits, as if this fact were little more than an idle curiosity. "Oh well, I suppose they will be destroyed too, and their data repurposed for The Next World." Takato began to feel a rattling fury in his chest, an indignation he had only felt a few times in his life so far. "You can't do this!" he shouted, but the entity seemed unphased. "No, I assure you I can." TK wrinkled his face in frustration for a moment but persisted "I mean you shouldn't.". This seemed to genuinely interest The One Who Waits, who said curiously "Why not?"

TK considered his position, before continuing "We have fought against so many existential threats to this world- The Dark Masters, Apocalymon, MaloMyotismon-" but before he could continue, the entity cut across him. "I know not these names, but by there sound I imagine them to be symptoms of a greater illness, as is always the case. The Digital World has many times been whole, and then shattered- destroyed and then remade- and always there exists the unintended elements- the spoiling of perfection."

Takato cut in now, his face flushed with anger. "Then what makes you think this next time will be any better?" The One Who Waits blinked, and then said "That is not my function- the wonder at the possibilities of what is to come. My function is to awaken Fanglongmon." There was a certain brittle nature to this reasoning, and everyone picked up on it. "How do you even know your function is still necessary, or even works?" Ophanimon asked suddenly, and Kari's eyes snapped to her instantly, for the first time. "I…" The One Who Waits seemed perplexed by this question, unable to formulate a response. Finally, it continued. "Irrelevant." It said at last. "What?" Takato asked, incredulous. "Whether my function leads to a successful outcome or not is irrelevant." Said the entity. "It's relevant to the Digimon you'll be wiping out. It's relevant to the people who spent all our lives fighting for this world!" TK said furiously. "

You need to ask yourself- why did Yggdrasil create me?" said Ophanimon, kneeling to be at Kari's level. "I was created to awaken Fanglongmon…" replied the entity with some uncertainty. "Why?" pressed Ophanimon. "To format the data of The Digital World construct…" it said after a short pause. "And how many times has this happened?". It was this question that seemed to truly silence The One Who Waits. Kari's face seemed lost in a dark reflection of countless years passed alone. Finally, it replied "I…stopped counting a long time ago…" the worlds flowed out slowly and steadily and portrayed a deep and unknowable sadness long buried within the entity. A heavy silence overtook the group, but after a few moments it was punctured by Takato, who stepped forward and took Kari's hand. "I know what it's like to be lost and forgotten in the dark, to feel like you have no choices, and nothing left to lose." He said softly, his eyes dim and unfocused as he stared off into the darkness which reminded him all too much of the inky blackness of Daemon's cave. "But we always have a choice." He said, locking eyes with The One Who Waits, who for the first time seemed unlike the aloof and serious entity it had presented itself as. Now Kari's eyes were filled with shock and recognition, and a deep well of emotion. "My function…" it said confusedly. "…is to stop The Digital Hazard from going out of control, right?" asked Takato earnestly.

For a moment The One Who Waits seemed fearful, as if daring itself to step outside of its designated programming and have an independent thought. Its breath hitched in Kari's throat as it took in the sheer enormity of that possibility, while Takato stared intently into her eyes and TK, Guilmon, Patamon and Ophanimon watched from the sidelines. Finally, it replied "…yes…" and in that single world it seemed to unburden itself from an infinite lifetime of loneliness and suppressed independence. "Yes." It said again, more definitely this time. Takato smiled. "Then help us destroy Golgomon. He's taken The Hazard for himself, but I know we can stop him."

The One Who Waits seemed buoyed along by the excitement of its decision, but all the same asked "But how?". It was here that Ophanimon stepped forward. "You have a connection to Fanglongmon don't you- your energy and his are somehow linked?". The One Who Waits turned and said thoughtfully "Well yes- if Fanglongmon is a flame- I am the spark that lights him.". Ophanimon smiled. "So, if you could pass your data into these Digimon-" with this Ophanimon pointed at Guilmon and Patamon. "-could they draw on that power without awakening him?". The entity thought for a moment, before responding "In theory…but I cannot inhabit both of them at once…and only one of you alone would not be able to draw on Fanglongmon's power…". At this, Ophanimon smiled. "I think I know a way this can work…"

Turning back to Takato and TK, Ophanimon raised her wrists to face them. Instantaneously, the two glowing golden Digibands which held her data and allowed her to inhabit Gatomon shone into view. The bands appeared ethereal, floating around her wrists, held in place by the very aura of her data which they were generating. "I can allow her to overwrite my data on these bands with her own. I will cease to be- but you'll be able to defeat Golgomon.". TK reached out to Ophanimon, "Wait, there must be another way!". Ophanimon smiled warmly but said "I think not. I've lived a very long time TK, and it will be good to know now that it was for a reason.". Turning to Takato, she said "Thank you so much for forgiving me Takato- and for showing me what real strength is. I am happy to have known you.". Looking up at her, tears were welling in Takato's eyes. "It's not fair…" he said sullenly. "You shouldn't have to die for us.". Reaching out Ophanimon placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and said "I should have died many times before. But to end now- here, for you- it's something more wonderful than I could ever have wished for."

Turning, Ophanimon held out her wrists to The One Who Waits, who slowly reached up and took a hold of each of the Digibands. "Are you ready?" it said, looking up at Ophanimon. "Born ready." Replied Ophanimon with a smile. Suddenly a bright flash illuminated the caves, and all became bathed in silvery-golden light.

_XX_XX_XX_

The forest above had been mostly turned to smoking charcoal and ash at this point. Beneath a pile of rubble, Sakuyamon crouched with Mimi, Cody and Yolei along with Palmon and Armadillomon, who had long since been knocked out of their mega states. Bolts of lightning crackled in the forlorn overcast sky as on the ash-laden forest floor, Vikemon and swung away relentlessly at a nonchalant Golgomon. The great draconic demon Digimon imbued as he was with Hazard energy dodged every swing of Vikemon's one remaining mace as if it were effort at all. Vikemon on the other hand was winded, bloodied, and growing angrier and more dishevelled with every swing. With a furious roar the great beast raised his mace above his head and sent it down in one last crushing blow, but at that moment Golgomon's wing fanned out and took him off the ground, which split and crumbled as Vikemon's mace impacted against it. Safe in the air, Golgomon lashed out with his tail and struck Vikemon once across the face, sending him barrelling backward through the remains of the forest. Golgomon's monstrous maw curled into what must have been a smile as he watched yet another enemy fall to his might.

It was at that moment that three separate blasts of energy impacted against him from all sides. The first fell from above in the form of a concentrated burst of golden fire from Phoenixmon's wings, the second hitting him on his left side from Imperialdramon's positron laser, and the final blast impacting against his right side from Omnimon's Supreme Cannon. The three attacks exploded in a conflagration that lit up the smoke-filled evening sky. Not too far away, Tai and Matt watched the explosion from atop a large rock far enough away from the blazing inferno the forest but close enough for them to see the fight play out. Behind the rock, Joe applied bandages to Sora's left leg while Ken, Davis, Izzy, and Henry watched on. All of them were covered in cuts and bruises, and their faces were painted with a mixture of ash and sweat. "What are we going to do?" Matt asked Tai, and the two shared a moment of silence. Though Tai said nothing, his answer was implicit. There was nothing they could do. Golgomon outmatched all of them and had already moved to conquer not only this world, but many others. All was lost.

As if to punctuate this desperation, Omnimon's body came ploughing through the dirt towards them, his sword splintered, and his mighty armour cracked. After a few moments of stillness, he split back into Gabumon and Agumon. Up in the air, Golgomon throttled Phoenixmon with one hand while he blocked slashes from Imperialdramon's sword with his tail. Imperialdramon made a lunge forward with his sword and Golgomon wrapped his muscular tail around the hilt, locking his enemy in place before lashing out with his free hand and backhanding Imperialdramon. The mighty dragon's faceplate shattered under the blow, and he was sent flying into the ground. Without waiting another moment, Golgomon placed his elbow against Phoenixmon's chest and performed a piledriver, smashing her body into the ground with such force that the terrain began to shake and split. Standing up, Golgomon watched his defeated enemies' prone forms scattered around the battlefield. "I confess, that I am disappointed." He said at last. "I had hoped for a real fight to truly test my new strength, but oh well. Turning your worlds to ash will have to serve as sufficient challenge." He said, turning away and fanning out his gigantic, pinioned wings again. Taking to the sky, he began to fly back to his servants.

It was at that moment that a great pillar of golden light burst out from beneath the rubble of The Codec Ruins. From around the burning forest, everyone- whether they were human or Digimon- beheld the pure golden light that spilled out from the ground and high into the sky with a holy reverence. On the ground, Tai and Matt watched with amazement as two shining golden comets from streaking out of the light and shooting their way across the sky, leaving shimmering opalescent trails of ethereal light cascading behind them. Golgomon watched with a mixture of amazement and confusion as the two bright lanterns of pure energy came shooting towards him before stopping in the sky. Down on the ground, the kids almost had to cover their eyes, so blinding was the holy light that poured out from them. Before Golgomon could say thing, two voices began to speak.

"DOMINIMON-"

With this the light around the left figure dissipated enough to reveal DominImon, clothed in golden fabrics and framed in glowing golden armour. Before long the next voice spoke:

"GALLANTMON-"

The second blast of light took the form of Gallantmon, returned at last not only to his former form but one even greater than before, a form armoured in the most shining and pure gold. Golgomon tensed the muscles in his arms and felt an anger building in his chest the likes of which he had never felt before. He would destroy these two meddlesome fools once and for all. Perhaps he would even keep Takato alive and allow him to watch as he destroyed his city, Golgomon thought cruelly. At was at his malign and vain mind were bent on these thoughts, that the two golden warriors spoke again in unison:

"DNA DIGIVOLVE TO…"

_XX_XX_XX_