Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. Please support the official release.

When the World's Ending

Rika still rejected the idea that this night had anything to do with fate. Yet there was a small corner in the back of her mind that couldn't bring itself to be surprised. She wasn't happy in the slightest that it was a Parasimon that she and her friends were currently pursuing, but it made a certain amount of sense to her that they would eventually come up against a foe that would take losing a bit too personally.

Burying her frustration for the moment, though, Rika skidded to a halt at the approximate address that Hypnos had sent their way. Despite not being completely covered by an invasion of wild Digimon, the neighborhood managed to feel familiar enough. As Takato and Guilmon and then Henry, Alice, and Terriermon arrived at her side, they looked outwards for their target.

"There," Renamon pointed out, casting a paw upwards at a corner building.

Diaboromon stood on the rooftop, looking like they were staring into space. Looking closer, it became quickly apparent that the Mega was not alone. Whether by intent or just the failing of its camouflage, the spidery silhouette of a Parasimon could be seen attached to the side of the same building.

Rika felt the skin on her back manage to both go cold and start to squirm as she traced the outline, following a long tentacle into the back of Diaboromon's neck. Apparently, for all the new tricks Parasimon had learned to get itself here, it still fell back on the old favorites.

"Priority?" Henry asked urgently.

"We cut Diaboromon loose from the mind control if we can," Takato answered. "Still, be careful. We don't know exactly what their plan- woah!"

The bulb of the streetlight above them burst, electricity beginning to stream out of it. Every other light followed suit, as did every building and electronic device in their line of sight. The power began to pool upwards into a sphere above them, and it was only then that Rika was able to recognize the volume of data being drawn together. Then, just as Diaboromon leapt up into the sphere, the intensity picked up.

Henry, Alice, and Terriermon braced themselves at a nearby bus stop. Guilmon just managed to wrapped his tail around the streetlight post while grabbing onto Takato's waist just as his partner started to be pulled off the ground.

Rika felt her own feet lift off the sidewalk, though didn't go up much further before her own partner appeared at her side and snatched her out of the air.

"We ready?" Renamon said into her ear.

"You even have to ask?" Rika confirmed as she pulled her D-Power off her belt. Concentrating as the device began to glow, she held it tightly against her chest.

The light enveloped the two of them, resulting in a familiar alteration of self and purpose. Syncing their thoughts and movements, Sakuyamon burst from the light, first order of business being to help the Tamers regain their footing.

Pointing her staff downwards, the shaman called up a set of barriers, securing her friends and holding them in place. One less thing to worry about, Sakuyamon turned back around, bracing herself for what might come next.

As the winds started to die down, the data sphere slowly sank to ground level. Only about three or four stories tall, its surface was mostly transparent with a pink hue to match the armor of a Parasimon, though the chaos of energy and data at its center still obscured inside activity.

Feeling the environmental hazards had passed, Sakuyamon eased her grip on her barriers. With quiet affirmations from her friends, the group carefully approached the sphere.

"Anyone else think that was a little excessive?" Terriermon commented.

"Interesting…" Alice took one more step forward, flicking on the Geiger counter she had been lugging around all night and pointed it at the sphere. "It is excessive, and a bit of a convoluted plan, but they got where they wanted to go in the end."

"You still sound impressed," Henry pointed out.

Alice shrugged. "I respect the hustle."

"What exactly did they do?" Rika asked impatiently through her Mega form, not remotely in the mood for banter.

"When a Digimon dies in the Digital World, assuming they aren't loaded, their data is recycled by the digital ecosystem. Not so much the case here." Alice let her counter fall to her side as she turned around to face the group. "The data is dispersed, but it doesn't have many places to go on the material plane."

"I'm sensing an 'unless' buried somewhere in that lore dump," Terriermon chimed in, next to no amusement in his voice.

"All that data…" Guilmon took half a step closer, eyes glued to the sphere. "It smelled like Parasimon."

Alice placed a hand on her chin and looked over her shoulder. "It could have been a consequence of destroying such a large concentration of them in one place, maybe add some lingering effects of the Sovereigns' Gift…"

Henry crossed his arms. "In other words, Parasimon's data has been embedded in this area's digital infrastructure, waiting to be woken up."

"And that's where the Danger Room's architecture comes in," Alice continued, taking one more glance at the counter at her side. "It lets the lone survivor drop a digital zone in the middle of the city so they can operate under Digital World rules."

"Which allows the dormant data to be absorbed," Renamon added, shifting Sakuyamon's vision back to the sphere's center.

There, the data settled, a small but distinct shadow taking shape. Visibility cleared even more, revealing a six-legged figure with a pointed tail. A black shell and purple underside led up a horned head with a gaping jaw.

"Armageddemon…" Henry said uneasily as he stared down at his DigiVice's holographic display.

"Aren't they supposed to be enormous?" Takato asked nervously.

"That one probably is," Alice replied, almost eerily calm. "Remember, the Danger Room displaces mass and data to allow freedom of movement to those within its confines."

"Which means…?" Terriermon asked, leaning closer with a raised eyebrow.

Alice sighed. "The zone is bigger on the inside."

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"I thought I did."

"This actually might be a good thing," Takato said, his conviction suddenly coming back.

Terriermon snorted. "You mind explaining this silver lining for us?"

Takato gestured to the sphere. "If we get in there and defeat Armageddemon before they escape, we stop it from doing any damage to the city."

"Sounds like a plan," Rika confirmed, having no objections on the matter. "You guys ready?"

Takato nodded, moving to stand next to Guilmon. Henry did similar, though hung back for an extra second.

"You better get clear," he said to Alice.

She shook her head. "It won't do me any good."

"What data are you basing that on?"

"The data that says I'm not going anywhere." Alice took a short walk back to the bus stop bench, sitting to make a point.

Henry raised a hand as though he had more to say, but immediately lowered it before turning around to take a couple steps towards the data sphere. As he approached, Rika clocked the disappointment on his face, though whether that was from not being able to convince Alice to leave or in himself for having started the argument in the first place, she couldn't know unless she asked him.

Putting off side conversations for the moment, however, Rika raised Sakuyamon's left gauntlet and tapped a finger against the digital zone in front of them. A small but notable shock ran down her forearm on contact.

"Quirky…" Rika commented, softly enough that only her partner heard her.

"But not impenetrable," Renamon replied confidently, planting the base of their staff on the ground.

Another of Sakuyamon's barriers wrapped itself around their group, before slowly lifting off the ground and pushing into the opposing sphere. There was some resistance, energy sparking as they forced their way through, though it was only a couple seconds before they breached their enemy's defenses. Noting Takato and Henry pulling out their own DigiVices, Rika released her hold on the barrier.

With a pair of light shows to match her previous one, her friends transformed as well. Henry and Terriermon merged into the towering green mechanoid that was MegaGargomon, thrusters on their back igniting to keep them airborne. Takato and Guilmon became Gallantmon, though their Mega form's inability to fly meant they immediately started gliding downwards.

Gallantmon eventually found his footing on one of the many pieces of debris floating around them. Rika assumed the chunks of rock were just constructs of the digital zone, instead choosing to focus on Armageddemon, who floated at the center of the zone as though gravity didn't apply to them.

"Where do we even start with this thing?" Rika asked, noting their opponent being just as large as Alice had said they would be.

"Maybe the Trinity Burst can take them down?" Takato suggested.

"The problem is that if we miss, we'll be completely vulnerable," Henry pointed out.

"In other words, we gotta soften 'em up first!" Terriermon called out enthusiastically, MegaGargomon shifting into an attack position.

"GARGO MISSILES!"

MegaGargomon's shoulder mounted artillery let loose, the two yellow projectiles sailing across the zone and hitting their mark. Armageddemon lurched, apparently stunned by the attack. Intent on keeping them that way, Sakuyamon directed her staff forward.

"AMETHYST WIND!"

A cloud of petals materialized around and converged on their target. Armageddemon stayed in place, maybe even stuck their due to the nature of their evolution, though seemed more irritated than hurt. Their jaw opened, a glow emanating from the back of their throat.

Luckily, a lightning bolt struck Armageddemon's jawline, one that Rika knew could be traced back to Gallantmon's lance. Armageddemon flinched on impact, causing the fireball they were about to shoot to fly off course and hit a random piece of debris.

Sakuyamon braced herself, shielding her face against the resulting heat and shockwave of the impact. She quickly recovered, expecting their opponent to stay on the offensive. Instead, Armageddemon stayed completely still, eyes fixed on the floating rock Gallantmon stood on.

The whole digital zone suddenly began to shake, almost as though it were upset. Armageddemon let out a roar that echoed around them.

"Crimson Death!"

"I think they're talking about you, Takato," Terriermon put forward without skipping a beat.

"Yeah, well I know they're talking about me!" Takato countered in kind.

Armageddemon started to convulse and drool, their eyes rolling up into their skull. A pair of spindly legs fell out of its maw, followed by the unmistakable tendrils and bulging eyeball of a Parasimon. The iris shrunk as it zeroed in on Gallantmon, the white of the eye becoming bloodshot.

"Okay, I'm gonna vomit," Rika said, mostly joking.

"Looks like a DNA Digivolution that didn't quite take," Takato offered, clearly put off, though not quite as much as she was.

"It looks like a target," Renamon stated, to which Rika couldn't disagree.

The three Megas nodded to each other, all knowing what their course of action was. Gallantmon leapt upwards first, leading the way forward. Sakuyamon and MegaGargomon flew after him, all set to converge on Armageddemon's mouth.

Parasimon seemed prepared, launching its tendrils at them. Not at all interested in a repeat of their last encounter, Rika threw Sakuyamon's fist forward, hurling a trio of spirit foxes at the oncoming tentacles and dissolving them.

The way clear, Sakuyamon drew closer to Gallantmon and MegaGargomon, the energy of their "Trinity Burst" crackling to life and starting to surround them. All seemed well, until Armageddemon shifted its center mass.

Pods on their back opened up, though instead of launching another attack, more of Parasimon's tentacles emerged. Caught off guard by the sudden counterattack, the three of them didn't have time to dodge. The last thing Rika felt was a cold and familiar jab in the back of her neck.

Being out of breath didn't stop Henry from continuing his sprint down the hallway. He did find himself slowing down for half a second, losing his train of thought as to where he was even going. He quickly wrote the lapse off as mental exhaustion, however, finally arriving at the door to his apartment.

The key to the lock seemed to get stuck, leading Henry to very seriously consider breaking the door down. With another couple of seconds of applied force, the latch came undone, allowing him to throw the door open. Not even bothering to take his shoes off, he sprinted just a couple more meters.

Henry hesitated at the sight of his family's living room. Furniture and electrical appliances were overturned and thrown on the floor without any real pattern behind them. A breeze caught his attention, drawing his eyeline to the living room window, which had been smashed inward by whatever had broken into the apartment.

Though the most notable source of dread was plainly visible outside of the broken window. Above the Shinjuku skyline, a crackling rift was opened, pouring energy and chaos downwards. Worse still, the hole in the world seemed to be descending, with no answer as to how to stop it anywhere in sight.

"H-Henwy?"

Turning right around at the voice, Henry found Suzie huddled up on the one upright couch in the room, fingers wrapped tightly around her DigiVice. She seemed so… small, almost wrongly so. Henry quickly shook his head, telling himself it was all the cuts and bruises on her person that made his sister seem so helpless. Having hesitated enough, he approached her.

"Suzie!" Henry reached out for her, though slowed down and held in place when she recoiled from him. "Where is everyone?"

"They're gone," Suzie answered, tears in her eyes and her voice catching. "Mommy, Daddy, Lopmon… all gone."

"It's okay." Henry tried approaching again, not sure what else he could say. "I'm here now."

"Where were you?" Suzie jabbed an accusing finger in his face, finally giving him a good view of her D-Power. The casing was cracked and the screen displayed nothing but static.

"Suzie-"

"I was so scared!" She stood up, screaming and crying in his face. "I though my big bwother was supposed to protect me!"

Henry reached out again. "I can still-"

"No you cant!" Suzie reeled back, hurling her DigiVice in his direction.

Henry ducked out of the way, turning around just quick enough to watch it fly out the broken window. Having succeeded in distracting him, Suzie ran past him and deeper into the apartment. Henry tried to follow her, but gave up after hearing the slamming of her bedroom door. After all, he had already failed her.

The air in Rika's bedroom went cold, causing her to jerk upright. Setting her MP3 player aside, she slowly stood up, at first unable to put her finger on what was out of place. Then she listened, the sound of whispers surrounding her, getting louder and clearer as though they were getting closer.

"She's finally alone. What do we do?"

"Kill her now?"

"Make her suffer!"

"It's just a game, after all. Make her play!"

The room around her distorted, the shadows quickly sharpening and taking shape. Even as outlines, Rika recognized them all. Lynxmon, Vilemon, Allomon, and plenty of others looking to join them. The chill in her spine deepened as a white, demonic wing appeared in her peripheral vision.

"We would have been so perfect together…"

Rika immediately turned on her heel, running for her bedroom door. She flung it open, before stepping outside and slamming it shut again and causing everything to go quiet.

Except now everything was a little too quiet. Rika craned her neck, an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. She took careful steps, reluctantly trying to follow the feeling to its source.

"Mom?" Rika called out as she walked. "Grandma?"

She picked up her pace as she moved from room to room, opening and closing doors and finding literally nothing. Bedrooms had no furniture, and the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets were barren. It wasn't even as though the place had been ransacked with things removed in a hurry. It was almost like the house had always been empty.

Her heart-rate becoming irregular, Rika broke into run as she bolted out of the kitchen. The run didn't last, however, as the house's backyard caught her eye. She slowed down, but couldn't bring herself to calm down.

The first thing Rika noticed as she stepped onto the grass was how dull it was, how the blades seemed to crunch and break as she walked over them. The pond that had been the yard's centerpiece was dried up, not a single sign of life within. It was what was at the center of the yard, however, that caused Rika to freeze in place.

A single playground swing, squeaking as it swayed ever so slightly back and forth, despite there not being a breeze of any kind present.

Besides clearly not belonging, the swing made Rika angry, right to her core. She marched over to it, ready to tear it down with her bare hands if she had to.

Once her hand made contact, however, a cold jolt took ran down the base of her neck to the bottom of her spine. She fell backwards, hitting the grass hard, just as her surroundings seemed to close in on her. She looked away from the swing, feeling like the silence and emptiness was screaming at her.

Takato felt hopeless as he dragged himself along a path in Shinjuku Park. He had just caught sight of his intended destination, a sight that caused him to go numb.

The utility shed that he and his friends had spent so much time in was almost completely gone. The walls, gate, and ceiling had been knocked over, leaving nothing but a crumbling foundation. Adding insult to injury, its destruction seemed inconsequential to what had happened to the rest of his surroundings.

The sky was a hazy orange, like it had been set on fire. The woods that usually concealed the shed were completely leveled, providing a clear line of sight to the surrounding city.

Or, more accurately, it would have provided a clear line of sight were there a city left to see. From his current spot on the shed's steps, Takato couldn't see a single building taller than a single story left standing.

"How…?" Takato whispered under his breath, mostly unable to form thoughts.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Takato turned back to the path, a figure in a dark gray hoodie standing there, glaring daggers back at him. Goggles cracked and darkness in his eyes, Takato wished he couldn't recognize his own face.

Takato hesitated. "Why did you-?"

His other self shook his head. "Not me. Not alone. This is who we are. Who you are."

There was no deception in his counterpart's eyes and voice. Not that Takato had any doubts to begin with. If anything, he questioned more how he ever tried to deny to himself what he was capable of.

As if to drive the point home, something between a roar and a scream echoed in the distance. Realization hitting, Takato sank to his knees.

Crouching down to steady himself, Henry couldn't think of anywhere else to place blame but himself. He could have prepared more, done more research, and come up with some kind of plan or solution to prevent the worst from happening. He had let his sister and everyone else he cared about down, so felt he deserved no less than having to resign to his fate.

"Henry…"

Holding her knees tightly against her chest, Rika knew it was her own fault that she was alone. She had pushed her family away, kept herself closed off from them and gave no incentive to stick around. For so long she held onto the idea that her isolation was her strength, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. In reality, her drive to be the best and leave everyone else behind had been to cover her own weakness.

"Rika…"

Unable to look upwards, Takato simply held himself in place. The longer he sat there, the more resolved he was to just stay there. He was dangerous, so dangerous that the entire city had payed the price just for letting him walk freely within it. At the mercy of his own rage, everyone else would clearly be safer if he just died here on the shed's stoop.

"Takatomon…"

Henry spun around at the sound of his name being called, to an armchair turned on its side. Leaning up against it, Terriermon stood with his arms crossed and an impatient look on his face.

"Look, I get she'll always be your little sister, but still not comfortable with that being the version of her your subconscience conjures up." Terriermon looked past him, a brief twitch coming to his eye. "Way too many bad memories."

"Terriermon?" Henry spoke slowly, as his thoughts caught up with themselves. Inconsistencies with Suzie's appearance and the lack of specifics of the crisis outside registered to him, and memories of the unfinished battle in Parasimon's digital zone returned. "We're still fighting Armageddemon, aren't we?"

Terriermon stood up straighter. "Cool, since we're all caught up, can we get back to squishing that bug?"

"Except this doesn't change anything." Henry's body suddenly felt heavier despite his mind clearing.

"How so?" Terriermon asked, his eye twitching again.

Henry shook his head. "I wasn't ready for this fight."

"Moumentai, Henry," Terriermon said as he approached, the tone of his voice softening some. "It's not like Parasimon sent out a memo about a second invasion this morning."

"Still, I could have done more to prepare." Henry found his vision dropping, unable to look directly at his partner.

"No, you couldn't have."

"Why not?" Henry snapped, annoyed though finding some energy coming back to him.

Terriermon smirked. "Because as smart as I know you are, I also know how dumb you can be."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"

"Well, you can't spot a fake Suzie, for starters." Terriermon pointed at him and then down the hall for emphasis. "The real Suzie would never cry about you not protecting her."

"No, she'd want to fight," Henry conceded, how his sister had grown and changed retaking a foothold in his mind. "By my side if she couldn't take the lead herself."

"Ding ding! He finally gets it!" Terriermon cheered as he hopped around in a semicircle coming to a stop again. "Same goes for me, for the record. If anything like this ever happens, I'll be right there with you."

"But what if I do let you down?" Henry asked, his doubts still feeling like a cloud in his head.

"Darn, I never thought of that," Terriermon replied, not hiding the mocking tone on his voice.

"Terriermon…" Henry warned impatiently.

Terriermon shrugged. "I don't know how else you expect me to react to that. Do you walk around expecting the rest of us to let you down?"

"Of course not."

"Alrighty, then I think this conversation is over."

Henry hesitated, the last couple points in their argument catching up with him. Even with his thoughts completely clouded by Parasimon's nightmare world, he doubted he could have missed the smug look on Terriermon's face.

"You think you're really clever, don't you?"

"Tiny bit." Terriermon pinched two fingers before tilting his head. "Hey, I don't expect you to stop trying to carry the world on your shoulders, but can you at least remember that you don't have to, at least not alone?"

"I'll do my best," Henry answered confidently, suddenly finding that he had the strength to stand up straight.

Looking up, Rika had not expected to find Renamon seated on the swing in front of her. It still swayed to the nonexistent breeze, and while Renamon seemed content to sit there, she kept her gaze focused and forward.

Under her partner's gaze, Rika felt her memories click into place. An unfinished fight hung front and center in her mind, as well as the familiar sensations in her neck starting to make sense.

"I let it happen again," Rika concluded, upset though lacking the energy to be mad at herself.

Renamon nodded. "In this instance, we all did."

"Doesn't exactly make me feel any better." Rika reflexively tightened her arms around her knees.

"Fair enough," Renamon replied, her voice even and patient. "Do you need a moment?"

"I…" Rika hesitated, not sure if she could stand if she wanted to. "...don't know."

"I'll be right here when you're ready." Renamon spoke sincerely, though also wasn't being subtle about her intentions.

Rika narrowed her eyes on her partner. "I see what you're trying to do."

"I hope it's working."

"You can't speak for everyone." Rika raised her voice slightly, glare fixed upward.

"No, but I am curious as to why they would feel differently." Renamon's voice became firmer, hints of disapproval coloring her words.

Rika rolled her eyes. "Where do I start?"

"With your family, perhaps." Renamon gently gestured to the empty house around them.

"I push them away," Rika argued, though was strangely finding it difficult to bring up recent and relevant examples. "This place may not be real, but it can be."

"That's not set in stone," Renamon countered without hesitation.

"Why are you even arguing?" Rika snapped, growing impatient with her partner's patience. "You know this better than anyone."

Renamon raised an eyebrow. "Do I now?"

"Please…" Rika grunted, the earlier whispers from her bedroom ringing in her ears. "I used to treat you like a thing. A thing that I used to kill any Digimon we came across."

"Correct, you used to do those things," Renamon explained, never losing her conviction. "Then you chose a different path."

Rika shook her head, guilt feeling like weights on each of her limbs. "Walking in a slightly different direction doesn't change what's behind me."

"No, the lives we took are forever lost to us," Renamon said somberly, briefly averting her eyes for the first time since she had appeared, though quickly regaining her composure. "Making amends is a challenge, one we have to choose to not walk away from."

Renamon's words hung in the air, as did the intents behind them. Once again, Rika found herself stuck on how unsubtle her partner could be when it suited her.

"I still see what you're trying to do."

"I still hope it's working."

"What happens if I can't be better?" Rika asked, uncertainty still clawing at the back of her mind.

"Then I'll still be by your side." Renamon pushed herself off the swing and extended her paw downward. "That is my promise."

Suddenly feeling lighter, Rika reached out to her partner, allowing herself to be lifted back to her feet.

Takato was initially speechless at the sight of Guilmon walking back and forth on top of the shed's ruined foundation. The saurian Digimon seemed a bit depressed, even taking a second to lean down and scratch at the ground under his feet.

Guilmon sighed. "Just because it's not real doesn't make breaking it any less mean."

"Not real?" Takato echoed, the words not quite sinking in for him.

"Yeah, don't you remember?" Guilmon replied as he looked up and over his shoulder. "We're still fighting Parasimon."

"Right…" Takato knew he should have felt relieved as his memories came back, but he couldn't shake the thought that his immediate surroundings being fake didn't change the reality they reflected.

"What's wrong?" Guilmon turned around, a mixture of confusion and concern on his face. "You don't think we could really do this, do you?"

Takato shook his head. "Not us. Me."

"I don't follow."

"It's always me who loses control, boy," Takato explained, eyes bouncing between his partner and the desolated park as he spoke. "Worse, I lose control and you're always the one who's first to pay the price."

"But I'm fine." Guilmon took a second to look himself over.

"No thanks to me." Takato's vision fell back to the ground beneath him. "You'd be better off with literally anyone else as a partner."

"No, I wouldn't." Guilmon stomped his foot down, clearly for emphasis. Looking back upwards, Takato found his partner staring back at him with newfound intensity. "You're not bad because you feel sad or angry, Takato."

"Sometimes I wish I didn't feel anything at all."

"Then you really will be just like him." Guilmon pointed down the stairs and towards the path.

Takato turned around, looking to the spot where his double had been standing before Guilmon appeared. His mind clearer, Takato now understood he hadn't been speaking to a reflection of himself, but a memory of an alternate version of himself he had met a few months back, one who had lost his way. Still, despite the thought registering, it wasn't able to console him in that moment.

"But what else can I do?" Takato summarized.

"I don't know," Guilmon answered sincerely, his previous intensity deflating.

Takato acknowledged that it wasn't fair to expect an answer to a problem that he couldn't solve himself. Even learning to accept that part of himself didn't necessarily mean he could control it, and on that front, he didn't feel like he was any closer to a solution than he was on the day he first turned his partner into Megidramon.

"I do know that not feeling anything means you wouldn't be able to feel happy either," Guilmon continued confidently. "Didn't you say you were happy with the way things are in our reality?"

"I did…" Takato replied, recalling the earlier conversation with the others. He had meant what he said then, and believed it now.

"So shouldn't we be trying to protect it?"

"Yes, we should…"

It took a second before Takato realized he was standing up straight again. Looking around, he wondered if his being unable to do so had been Parasimon's influence. With that in mind, though, he knew the the thoughts and doubts that had been racing through his mind had been his own. Even his current environment felt like an old nightmare, the easiest one Parasimon had to grab at. Whatever the reason, he would have to make time to think on it later.

Moving up the last few steps to the shed, Takato closed the distance between himself and Guilmon. Pausing, he couldn't help but notice the curious look on his partner's face.

"What's on your mind, boy?"

Guilmon tilted his head, eyes locked forward. "None of us are afraid of you but you, Takato."

At first, Takato could only nod, surprised and relieved at how often the sentiment was proven to be true.

"So how do we get out of here?" Henry asked as he took one last look around the ransacked apartment.

"I dunno," Terriermon answered with a shrug. "Was kinda hoping you'd figure that part out."

Henry glared downward. "That's not funny."

"Fine, fine…" With a playful grin on his face, Terriermon reached behind his back and somehow managed to produce Henry's D-Power.

Rolling his eyes yet still smirking, Henry reached down and placed a hand on the device. It lit up in response, and the nightmare around them vanished.

"We ready?" Renamon asked calmly.

"You even need to ask?" Rika replied in kind.

Without another word, Renamon pulled out Rika's DigiVice from what seemed like thin air. Rika grabbed hold of it, letting a familiar alteration of self and and purpose take hold again.

"Thanks, Guilmon," Takato said, not quite yet having the words to express how grateful he was.

"No worries," Guilmon replied with a contagious smile. "It's in the job description."

"Is it now?" Takato made a note to ask where he had picked up that joke later.

"Yep, and so's finding this when you lose it." Guilmon proudly presented Takato's DigiVice.

Grabbing hold and letting the resulting light surround them, Takato found his resolve.

Rika's eyes snapped open, back at attention and locked on their current opponent. She didn't so much see the Parasimon tendril on Sakuyamon's neck disintegrate as much as she felt it. Reorienting herself into a more battle-ready position, she set her sights on getting some payback.

Though apparently Armageddemon had picked up on this sentiment. Despite the giant bug lodged between their jaws, they let out a roar, the resulting shockwave propelling the three hostile Megas backwards. Settling for about half a second, pods on Armageddemon's back opened and released a volley of missiles.

MegaGargomon responded quickly, however, readying every armament on his person and instantly returning fire. His salvo met Armageddemon's, resulting in a chain reaction of fireworks that cleared the zone of live ammunition. Obviously frustrated, Armageddemon poised themself for a second attempt.

"Not this time." Sakuyamon aimed her staff forward, calling up the largest barrier she could and wrapping it around Armageddemon. The missiles still fired, though detonated on making contact with the barrier, engulfing Armageddemon in a ball of flame and smoke.

Almost immediately after, however, the barrier shattered, Armageddemon having forced their way out. Injured and agitated, they flew forward, front legs in an attack position.

Before their opponent could close in, Rika caught a crimson glow in the corner of her eye. Having sprouted five glowing sets of wings as his armor changed to match the color of his aura, Gallantmon flew upward. With a broadsword in the place of his lance and shield, being wielded with all the power that his Crimson Mode granted him, the knight cleaved off the Armageddemon's front left leg.

Armageddemon froze in place and began to shake, before letting out an erratic shriek. Parasimon's eyeball jerked to the left, locking on Gallantmon. The iris sparked, before firing off a pink energy beam.

Gallantmon evaded by dashing to his right, escaping without a scratch. Tired of watching and waiting, Rika willed Sakuyamon forward, with MegaGargomon right behind. Parasimon's gaze instantly shifted in their direction, however, firing off another beam that warded them off of their approach.

Seemingly instinctively, Parasimon switched their eyeline back over to Gallantmon, who was making a beeline forward again. Another beam fired, though Gallantmon didn't dodge this time, instead using his sword to block the beam and allow him to keep moving forward.

Having flown to her right in the hopes of gaining a support position, Rika quickly clocked Parasimon's eye as Gallantmon's target. Swinging his sword just out of arm's length of the eyeball, he dissipated the beam, and quickly reared the weapon back with the clear intent of impaling Parasimon.

"Takato!" Henry suddenly called out, causing all of them to hesitate and refocus.

At an almost unrealistic speed and angle, Armageddemon's scorpion-like tail had extended and maneuvered itself around its owner to stab Gallantmon in the back. Heeding Henry's warning, the knight pivoted, though the tail still managed to dig out a chunk of the armor plating on his back. With a frustrated snarl, Armageddemon swung their right front leg, swatting Gallantmon away and into a piece of floating debris.

As Parasimon's eyeball began to glow again, Sakuyamon instantly flew to intercept the attack. Luckily, the beam never got to fire, halted as MegaGargomon grabbed Armageddemon's tail and their attention along with it.

"Let's see how you like it!" MegaGargomon taunted, yanking hard and pulling the tail clean off. Before Armageddemon could turn all the away around, MegaGargomon swung the tail like a mace, bludgeoning their opponent over the head.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Sakuyamon doubled back, landing on the piece of debris Gallantmon had crashed into. The knight was picking himself up, and while he had no serious injuries, any wings on his back that hadn't been sheared off were mangled and broken.

"Are you alright to move?" Sakuyamon asked despite the answer being obvious.

"Not quite," Takato replied in a slightly strained voice. "I've got a plan though."

"What kind of plan?" Rika questioned, unable to keep herself from raising an eyebrow.

Looking back towards the fight, Armageddemon had leapt forward, tackling MegaGargomon and crashing him into a sizable chunk of rock. One way or another, they needed to get back into the fight to help.

"We need a second to concentrate." Gallantmon gestured towards the battle. "Can you catch?"

"Catch what?" Rika felt an irritated prod in the back of her mind.

"You'll know."

Rika sighed, deciding to save any snide remarks for later. She trusted Takato, which overwrote any concerns in the moment.

Lifting off the floating rock, Sakuyamon flew forward at top speed. Glancing ahead, Armageddemon backed off of a stunned MegaGargomon, the eyeball hanging out of their mouth beginning to glow for a follow-up attack. Regardless of whether or not Takato was ready, Rika knew that they needed to intervene, so backup ideas were already running themselves through her head.

"Now!" Gallantmon's dual voice called out, as if the knight could hear her thoughts.

Glancing back just in time to see Gallantmon throw his sword forward, Rika's first reaction was confusion. As Gallantmon shifted back to his base form and the glowing sword approached, however, she decided to roll with it. Just as the weapon caught up with her, she dismissed Sakuyamon's staff and grabbed hold of the hilt.

On contact, the sword's aura enveloped her. The yellow of Sakuyamon's armor became a deep crimson, ten angelic wings grew out of her back, the two fox tails at the base of her mask took the shape of Guilmon's signature wing-shaped ears, and all culminating in a blue DigiCore with a hazard symbol forming on her chest.

"You okay, Renamon?" Rika asked, herself adjusting to the new form and power she assumed came with it.

"Never better," Renamon answered confidently. "Let's walk all over them."

Armageddemon roared again as they released Parasimon's energy beam in Sakuyamon's direction. Rika and Renamon were both ready, however, flicking their shared wrist upward and bisecting the beam with their new sword. Parasimon's eye twitched, and unfortunately for them, Sakuyamon's version of Crimson Mode was far from out of tricks.

Tracing the sword across the air in front of them, red petals materialized in the blade's wake. Pointing it forward, Sakuyamon unleashed her newest attack.

"CRIMSON WIND!"

The petals crystallized and began to glow before shooting forward in the blink of an eye. At first, they surrounded Armageddemon, but just as quickly closed in on and embedded themselves in their target. Armageddemon writhed in pain, leaving them open for a follow-up strike.

As Sakuyamon dashed forward, Parasimon took notice, responding by desperately trying to withdraw back into Armageddemon's mouth. They moved surprisingly quick given the circumstances, but they weren't quick enough.

Sakuyamon flexed her wings and in a flash, she was at Armageddemon's jaw, grabbing a handful of Parasimon's tendrils and coiling them around her free arm.

Without a second thought, Rika thrusted the sword forward, driving it right into Parasimon's pupil. Armageddemon went rigid, and two seconds after that, Parasimon burst into bits of data.

Rika breathed a sigh of relief, though stayed at attention as Armageddemon started to glow. The Digimon began to shrink, huge amounts of data flaking off of them. Knowing they had to act fast, Sakuyamon dug a hand into the center of the remaining data and concentrated.

"Hold on now…" Rika said under her breath, fishing around before gently grabbing hold of what she was looking for. Pulling out, she looked down at Sakuyamon's palm, finding a little blue Digimon with two antennae and a set of feelers underneath a single closed eye. Tsumemon, if her memory was correct.

Turning her attention outward, Rika was slightly surprised to see that the digital zone had already disappeared. Glancing around, some cracks and potholes had formed in the road beneath them, but damage to the surrounding area remained minimal. She very quickly spotted Gallantmon, having sat down on the sidewalk next to the bus stop Alice was still seated at. Henry and Terriermon, already separated, approached them, the latter having planted himself on his partner's head.

All worries now at ease, Sakuyamon set herself down. Gallantmon looked up first, eyes moving back and forth between the shaman and the In-Training Digimon in her hand.

"Nice catch," Takato voiced warmly.

"What happened up there?" Alice asked none of them in particular. "Looked like Parasimon grabbed you, but you guys shrugged it off pretty quickly."

"Not entirely sure," Henry answered, placing a hand on his chin. "I'm guessing they couldn't handle juggling six minds at once."

Alice paused, then nodded. "I suppose the bio-merged conscience would present a problem for them."

"Better question…" Rika looked to Gallantmon, presenting his broadsword and Sakuyamon's crimson armor. "How'd you know this would work?"

"From the D-Chat," Takato replied, nervously scratching the back of his armored head.

"Come again?" Rika probed, something about his answer irritating her.

"Well, not the program specifically." Takato's voice cracked, though remained mostly steady. "Tai and Davis told me about how they beat an Armageddemon a few years ago, by having Omnimon give his sword to Imperialdramon."

"Let me get this straight…" Rika hesitated, replaying the the key moments of the fight in her head before glaring downwards. "You bet our lives on a plan thrown together by a bunch of Goggleheads?"

"Uh oh…" Guilmon squeaked out when Takato didn't respond.

Within a split second, Gallantmon lit up and separated into his component parts. An obvious and desperate ploy to both seem helpless and retreat from Sakuyamon's reach.

"Wow, man…" Takato laughed nervously. "Guess that fight really took a lot out of us."

A ploy that he should have known wouldn't work.

Rika immediately released her grip on her own Mega form. Leaving Tsumemon in Renamon's hands, she marched over to Takato as he scrambled to his feet.

"Where ya goin', Takato?" Rika asked, trying not to raise her voice. "I'm not mad or anything like that?

Takato backed away slowly, bumping into the bus stop. "You kinda sound mad."

"No, I'm just…" Rika paused to analyze his movements, to guess which direction he'd try to escape in. "...worried. After all, a lady should attend to her knight in shining armor."

"We really don't have to conform to those archaic gender roles."

"I'm always enamored by how mature you all are," Alice deadpanned.

"You really have no comments about this?" Henry asked upwards.

Terriermon scoffed. "I don't have any interest in their foreplay."

Suddenly feeling merciful, Rika took a deep breath and relaxed her posture, which Takato mirrored in response. Whatever the method, they had won and they were all in one piece, which earned him a stay of execution at the very least. They would return to Hypnos to report in and deal with the usual bureaucracy, but Rika had a gut feeling telling her that the night was finally over.