"The pyramid… Is not real…?"
Komet falls on her knees. Their way to escape. Their chance to free the people of the desert. Their hopes. All shattered. She puts her hands on her head. All the energy spent on expeditions. All the injuries. All the sacrifices made going down the drain. She starts breathing harder and harder while shaking. "What did I miss? What went wrong?" She starts sinking in her thoughts. They gave everything they got, but all they did was to take a step back. If there's no pyramid, then there's no way to end the curse. Tears roll down her face. "A-are we stuck? C-can't I go back to my world? Is… Is it over? No… I can't be…!"
"Please! Calm down! You are pale! Slow down your breathing!" says Bastemon, motioning her to breath slower
"H-huh?" She looks around, still breathing hard and shaking, and apparently punching the sand. She looks at her hands confused, looking for the cleaver she was holding.
"Your knife? I took it from you. You were dangerously hammering it in anger, you almost hurt yourself even, meow!"
She starts breathing slower as the catwoman requested. She looks around and realizes they have already regrouped far away from the illusory pyramid. In fact, 10 minutes have already passed and she didn't notice all of that. Some Digimon are treating their injuries. They mostly look very upset. But what really catches her attention are yellings coming from behind. She turns around to see what it's about.
Lua angrily points at Vulturemon's face, who is perched on a cactus. "Our fault? What's your problem?"
"What's 'my problem'? You play with people's hearts and claim that I am the one with problems? If your stupid group had just accepted your fate here, my people wouldn't be suffering now!"
"Playing with people's hearts? We were damn serious about ending this! And what is this suffering nonsense? They've been suffering since this curse started!"
"Shut your filthy mouth, outsider! Don't claim to know more about my people than me! Despite the hardships, our people always smiled and lived happily. But thanks to your flawed plan, they all lost the light in their eyes!" He shakes his head in anger and frustration. "You made them believe a lie and broke their souls! Now just watch Waset falling back to dark and gloomy times!"
"A lie? It was not a lie! The mission was a failure, but at least we tried! If you'd rather be stuck here forever, than that's your prerogative, but I'm not staying in this hell without even trying-"
Vulturemon shoots at Lua's leg, but she dodges it.
Lua looks shocked and gets even angrier. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?"
"That's just a warning. Keep yapping and I'll aim for your Digicore. And I won't miss"
Komet immediately gets up and runs towards them. "Stop it! If you are so crazy about blaming someone, then blame me! I am the one that came up with the plans! I was the one leading the expedition! I am the one that allowed the others to join! I am responsible for all this crap!"
He glares at her. "You are right. You are also the one that started screaming and left us without guidance when your whole plan failed. Thankfully we had Nefertimon to guide us"
She scowls, feeling remorseful. "...then leave Lua alone and unleash your anger on me"
He points his rifle at her head. "As you wish. Any last words?"
Bastemon runs towards them, slaps the rifle down and stands between the bird and the girl. "Stop that! I get it, everyone is upset and stressed, but arguing now is going to take us nowhere! Let's all cool down first, then we talk, okay? Okay!" She stares at him and takes Komet and Lua away.
They set up their tent and sit down, so that cooling down in the afternoon inf the desert can be done easier. Komet sighs extremely frustrated. "I still need to give orders to Vulturemon's group… "
"What are we gonna do now?" asks Lua
"We will… Do something. We have to…" She rests her head on her legs and mull over their situation for some time. Then she looks at Sonne and Nefertimon, who are helping injured Digimon. Everyone looks sad. Then she looks at Bastemon, who angrily yells at the sun, asking for the location of the real pyramid. After some time, she gets up and walks up to Vulturemon.
He huffs as soon as he sees her. "Any order?"
She has a sad, yet serious look on her face. "Yes. Your group is free to return to Waset. But my group, Nefertimon and Bastemon will stay for longer and think about something"
He squints. "Why? Just to bring more disappointment to us? We already suffered a lot! All your false hope does is to make everything worse!"
Komet grabs his cloak and pulls him closer. "I don't know why you insist on calling it 'false hope', but are you really going to put your fear over your people's feelings and call that 'caring about them'?"
Vulturemon gets shocked by her sudden boldness and slaps her hand away. "Are you claiming that you know more about them than me?" he yells
"Have you ever asked them about how they feel? Because I've heard them! You get so worried about seeing them disappointed that you get blinded and deceived by their fake smiles! It's not that the failure wound their hearts"
He jumps off the cactus and towers over her, standing face to face. "What is it then?" he snarls.
Komet doesn't flinch. "It's the chance to fight for a better future that brings out the real smiles on their faces. You were so afraid of disappointment that you haven't noticed the difference between their masked smiles and the actual thing. You were so blinded by your distrust that you didn't notice their excitement and determination when the chance to escape this hell finally arose. I understand you just want the best for them, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions, you know? You try very hard to protect their feelings, but have you ever asked them how they really feel about all that?"
Vulturemon flinches.
She continues. "Geez, have you ever wondered why Bastemon was spreading the news about the expeditions? Also, do you really think this is what Pharaohmon wanted? To see your people just accepting that there's no escape and having to force themselves to live 'happily' this way?"
He remembers pharaoh Babamon saying something similar not long ago, and yet he refused to listen to her. He refused to listen to all his comrades, his family, his people, believing he was protecting them from further suffering. He lowers his head and says nothing.
"I know you and your people are very tired… But please, don't put out their flames of pride and hope before listening to them first…" She sighs. "I'll see what I can still do… Stay safe" She walks away, going back to the tent.
Lua sees Komet returning and whispers to Bastemon. "This is a quick reminder to not test her patience…"
Komet sits down inside the tent and summons her notepad, opens the papyrus map and stares at it. "What went wrong…? Why can't we touch the pyramid? Is that even the pyramid that resurfaced?"
"I-I don't know! Nefertimon said that she could feel the pyramid energy coming from it, so it has to be it, meow!" says Bastemon, almost flailing
She stares at her scribbles for longer and shakes her head in frustration. "Maybe the pyramid is real in only one of the four positions?"
"If that was the case, Nefertimon would have noticed some difference!"
She grits her teeth. "Perhaps there's a way to make it materialize somehow, I don't know, make it 'come back to live'?"
"We don't have anything that can do that, meow!"
Her expression starts to shift to despair. "There must be something we can do, right?"
Bastemon frowns. She doesn't want to say 'no', but she can't think of any other ideas.
"You are probably looking at it from the wrong angle"
Komet whips her head towards the voice, surprised. "Vulturemon!"
The birdman takes the notepad from her hands and flips through the pages. "Hmm… You have a lot of things written here, but unfortunately I can't read this language…" He gives it back to her. "Why don't you free your mind from current assumptions, read through your notes again and see if you find a different solution? Maybe the answer to this enigma lies somewhere else"
"Wait, do you want me to assume that Babamon is wrong?"
"You saw it with your own eyes, that pyramid is unreachable"
Komet looks back at her notes. She clears her mind and only sets one goal: find the real pyramid. Lua and Bastemon observe her, while Vulturemon looks around in alert. After several minutes, she looks at the map in astonishment. "Wait a minute…! Lua! Call Sonne and Nefertimon, I have an idea!"
The Lekismon nods, goes outside and returns with both in no time.
The lass looks at Nefertimon. "I have a question for you. Are the obelisks part of the pyramid? Do you feel the energy emanating from them the same way you feel for the main part?"
"Yes. Why is that relevant?"
She narrows her eyes. "This is it then! The four positions… The shine in the night… The equal distance between them and the fact that when we got close we saw no door… They were not the pyramid, but the projection of the obelisks!" She draws a simple diagram of the supposedly obelisks with a circle in the middle. "Tell me, are those sizes and distances proportional to the temple in Menefer?"
Both Nefertimon and Bastemon nod.
"Then…" she shows the scribbled map. "What we saw is just an amplified mirage of the pyramid, or in that case, the obelisks. Which means the real pyramid must be under the Quicksand of Eternal Death! It never left Menefer at all, where it fell is where it still stands!"
Bastemon stands up. "Wait wait wait! Are you suggesting that we get in the quicksand? What if we just die?"
"Besides, I don't believe monsters would show up in hordes to defend a monument with less relevance" says Nefertimon
"Well, curses are still curses, they don't need to make sense, right?" Komet shrugs, giving a nervous smile. "But you shouldn't forget that there's a very dangerous monster protecting that quicksand, way more dangerous than any of the ones we have faced here. Why would it be there, if not for protecting something very important?"
"I guess that does make more sense than a pyramid randomly teleporting after all"
"What's your plan?" asks Vulturemon enthusiastically
"I see you left the distrust aside and decided to embrace the chance" remarks Nefertimon
He closes his eyes, crosses his arms and huffs.
"That place is filled with some kind of creepy dark energy. If we take down whatever is there, then Nefertimon can sense whether the pyramid there or not" says Komet
"That's actually a great idea! We could even set out now!" says Bastemon
"Me and my group will follow soon. The bigger the numbers, the better" says Vulturemon
Everyone nods. Team Twilight goes ahead with the two guardian cats, while Vulturemon mobilizes his group. After about 3 hours, the group arrives somewhat close enough to the quicksand to not be attacked yet. It's two hours away from the sun to set.
Komet turns to the two guardian cats. "You have no idea who this Digimon might be, correct…?"
They both shake their heads
She and Lua both mount Sonne. "Then we are gonna force it to get out of the sand! Onwards!"
Sonne flies high and towards the quicksand. Bastemon mounts Nefertimon, who flies right after them. Vulturemon tells his group to wait until further notice and goes with the flying team. After some time, they hover over the quicksand. It doesn't take long for the first attack to be launched at them. All the three dodge the dark laser beam.
"From my experience, that monster has two different kinds of attack: this laser beam and a mist that feels extremely dangerous. they both seem to be darkness element. Attack directly where the beam is coming from!" says Komet
Nefertimon and Vulturemon fly to different directions, so that they can't all be targeted at the same time. Another laser beam is shot from the quicksand, but Sonne quickly dodges it again. Lua reacts to it and launches her ice stakes at the point of origin of the attack. Vulturemon shoots three times with his rifle-arm, and Nefertimon attacks with a megalith. They hear an angry roar after the combined attack. Then dark mist starts to appear around them.
"Don't get caught by it!" yells Komet
All three fly around, dodging the homing dark fog. The birdman keeps shooting while swerving. "Wither Wing!" He flaps his wings, gathering sand around, and makes condors out of it. He shoots the sand condors at the quicksand. They notice that the monster stopped launching laser beams at them.
Komet snorts. "I think it figured out our plan! We need to find a way to make it start shooting again!"
Nefertimon keeps flying around as fast as she can while Bastemon screams on her back. Her tail gets caught by the attack, so she feels it wither. Instinctively, she attacks her own tail with a light beam shot from her mask. "Curse of Queen!" That causes the withering to stop. Then, she uses the same attack against the fog, which causes it to dissipate. "Focus on attacking the hidden enemy! Leave the mist to me!" she shouts.
The other two flying Digimon nod. They keep shooting at the spot the creature was last seen. Then, another beam, but now from a different area. Nefertimon clears the area from the fog while the other two fly closer to perform their attacks. This time Vulturemon sees the sand moving. "There!" He points at the sand trail.
"Prioritize attacking it with light element if you have it! Go!" yells Komet
Vulturemon shoots with his rifle and the sand condors. Lua uses her icy stakes. Nefertimon swoops down and attacks with her light beam from her mask. Lastly, Sonne concentrates the fire on his forehead and launches a big fireball towards it, causing a big explosion. The sand stops moving.
"We did it…?" asks Bastemon, smiling
"'We'? All you did was scream!" scoffs Nefertimon
Then the sand suddenly bursts, making a column rise up and come back down, the Digimon revealing himself: a lion fully armored in black with golden wings and crimson gem eyes. The Digimon is so big that even someone as tall as Vulturemon looks like just a human next to a giraffe.
Lua snorts. "Oh, can you look at that! It's yet another cat!"
Bastemon gasps. "I-Isn't that…"
"Ancient Sphinxmon, the ancient hero of Werushat. But why is he back, and why is he attacking anything that approaches?" asks Nefertimon
The catwoman bows down in reverence. "Great hero of Werushat! Please, listen to our plea!"
"You dare to attack me and then request that I hear you?" asks the Ancient Sphinxmon, indignantly
"I-it wasn't our intention to attack you, meow! But you attacked us first!"
"I do not listen to anyone but Pharaohmon. His word is law!" he imposes
"Great hero, please, listen to our plea! We are in search of Pharaohmon's pyramid to access-" says Nefertimon
He turns his head to her and growls. "You, of all monsters, suggesting such a thing? Have Werushatans lost their memory already? You won't trample on his last wishes! Now, begone!"
"As the pharaoh's envoy, I-"
"An envoy is not above his orders. I am the last monster that got his orders, and I'll follow it until the very end"
Bastemon starts flailing. "Please, you need to at least listen to wha-"
The ancient lion roars. "Dark Blast!" He aims his two cannons on his back and shoots dark beams at Nefertimon, but she quickly dodges it. "'Let no one approach my tomb'. His word is law!". He pounces on her, but she dodges again.
Bastemon grit her teeth. "Are you really gonna try to kill the guardians of Werushat?"
"I won't repeat myself" he quickly flies behind them, with his lasers charged. "Now, begone!"
Before he could shoot, Vulturemon attacks with his sand condors, making the ancient lion miss.
Komet scowls. "We have no choice! We have to take him down in order to proceed!"
Bastemon frowns. "B-but… he is our hero! We can't hurt him after he has done for-"
"She is right," says Nefertimon. "He is on our way to save Werushat now. If he's not going to concede, than he is nothing more than an obstacle"
"Grrr… okay, right! If he is not gonna listen, then we will force him to listen, meow!" She jumps out of the winged cat and lands on Ancient Sphinxmon. "Vampire Dance!" She dances on him while attacking his back with her long claws.
"Take care of his cannons!" shouts Komet
The catwoman nods and starts slashing his cannons, but the ancient lion starts flying up to try to shake her off him. Sonne, Nefertimon and Vulturemon fly right behind him.
"Sonne! Nefertimon! Attack his wings!"
Nefertimon shots her light beam at his right wing, but he quickly dodges to the left. However, as he is doing that, Komet shouts "NOW" to Sonne, who shoots a fireball, hitting square in his left wing. But that doesn't do a lot of damage. So the ancient lion suddenly drops from the sky at high speed, readying a direct impact with the quicksand. Bastemon starts screaming.
"Don't be an idiot! Get off him!" yells Vulturemon. He swoops down and stretches his left arm to catch the catwoman. She finally releases him and grabs his hand, who now uses his wings to slow down the descent.
Ancient Sphinxmon quickly maneuvers in the air and faces the vulture, charging his laser while aiming at them. What the lion doesn't expect is that a monolith is already falling in his direction, so it hits right on his face, staggering him. Then, the tree flying creatures quickly surround him and start launching a series of attacks at him, each of them from different sides. This makes him drop to the ground.
"Mons, attack, now!" shouts Vulturemon. His group all shout together and start attacking the ancient creature. But he roars so loudly that launches everyone away from him and stands up.
Komet grits her teeth, not that she expected it to be easy.
Ancient Sphinxmon shakes his head while panting and growls. "The new generation is truly amazing… But Pharaohmon's word is still above everything else. I have no choice but to kill my compatriots" The sky starts to turn as black as the moonless night sky. The fog starts to slowly spread over them, covering an area so wide that it's almost impossible to escape, even if they start running away now.
She looks up and gasps. "We have to defeat him now, or this thing will fall over our heads and who knows what is gonna happen with us!"
"This is your punishment for defying the supreme law! Necro Eclipse-"
"This is not how I raised you, Sphinxmon!" shouts someone
The group sees an Aquilamon flying past them extremely fast, and something small dropping from the bird, readying an attack. Vulturemon smirks. "About time"
"Empress Haze!" The small thing, which reveals to be pharaoh Babamon, hits with her broom on Ancient Sphinxmon's head so hard that he loses his balance and falls on the floor. The dark mist on the sky disappears, revealing again the sun that is starting to set.
Komet moves her hand to her mouth in shock.
"What the hell?" screams Lua, also in shock
Not even Nefertimon and Bastemon were ready for that.
"Great Royal Rosemon… I… I didn't expect that you would still be alive…! It's been centuries! Ahm… You are a Babamon now…? What happened? And a pharaoh…!" says Ancient Sphinxmon
Babamon hits on his face with the flail. "Where are your manners? Of course I'm alive! Who else would keep an eye on Pharaohmon whenever he does something stupid? And as far as I remember, I taught you to not attack your own people!"
He cowers. "A-Apologies! But they were set on going inside the pyramid, breaking Pharaohmon's law-"
She whacks his back with the flail.
Komet looks extremely confused. "That… Sure is a change in behavior…" She looks at Vulturemon. "What's going on? Why did she come and how did she find us?"
Vulturemon crosses his arms while smiling. "Pharaoh Babamon always instructed me to call her with three Crimson Birds with golden ribbons in case of emergency. Since you said we were heading to Quicksand of Eternal Death, my instinct said that having her around was a good idea, so I did that as soon as your group left ahead. And I was not wrong"
"A-meow-zing! I was feeling bad for hurting our amazing and respectable hero!" says Bastemon
Komet looks at Babamon spanking the ancient hero like a little kid and looks back at the catwoman, grimacing. "Looks like a mouse attacking an elephant…"
Minutes later, Babamon approaches the group with Ancient Sphinxmon. "In the end, I was wrong about the location of the pyramid… I'm sorry for the trouble this caused to you… I guess this old rag serves no good anymore"
The lass smiles nervously. "D-don't say that! Wrong or not, that was the only lead we had to do something about it, and it all worked out in the end! This is what matters, right?"
Ancient Sphyxmon lowers his head. "Apologies… I now understand your motivations. But before I guide you to the entrance, you should heed my warning"
The group looks at him
"Pharaohmon is not alone. A powerful and malicious being coexists with him, constantly trying to escape. I don't know what the creature is, but I can feel its immense power, as big as Pharaohmon's, or even bigger. Every now and then I feel its powerful presence getting close to the door, but it's suddenly pulled back. It's scary"
"An Infected Pharaohmon and an evil creature stronger than him… It can't get much worse than that, can it now?" thinks Komet while getting unnerved by the warning
"You have to cross the door as soon as you open it, and I'll seal it back as soon as you are inside and continue my duties as the guardian of the pyramid. I believe this doesn't need to be told, but due to the nature of the seal and his powers, you will enter his subspace. Once you enter it, put an end to the curse or die. There's no in between"
Sonne swallows hard. "Komet, are you sure you want to proceed…? I am aware that you are in a hurry, but you cannot do anything when you are dead. Perhaps we should gather more experience first to evolve"
Bastemon shakes her head, disappointed. "Evolution has been impossible in these lands since the curse began… Void monsters don't give us power because they are, you know, void, meow… Our only way to evolve beyond Adult now is killing our own people or outsiders that get stuck here, but we will not do that, of course!"
Komet lets out a short groan. "We have no choice, we have to do it now. We know how to deal with Infecteds. They know how to deal with Pharaohmon" She looks at Vulturemon. "Are you coming with us?"
He shakes his head. "Someone needs to protect Waset from the Sandstorm Cycle attacks, but we will be rooting for you"
Babamon hits her broom on the floor and looks at the group that will go in. "Do you all agree with that?"
All five of them nod
"Then it's decided" The granny looks at Ancient Sphinxmon and walks closer to Nefertimon. "Nefertimon, as the highest in hierarchy of your platoon, we entrust you with our relics to assist you in that battle" She shows her a shield shaped like Ancient Sphinxmon's face. "The Sphinx Shield, powerful enough to block darkness-aligned attacks" Then, she removes the biggest bead of her necklace.
"The Tiferet, also known as the Heart of Werushat. It's very dear to me!" she continues. "It's bathed in light, hope and love. The stronger these feelings are for what you're fighting for, the stronger you get! It will help you thread through the malicious darkness, and hopefully put an end to all this" Babamon kneels in reverence, holding both objects. "Nefertimon, please, accept our relics and bring another victory to Werushat!"
"Give it to Komet" says Nefertimon
Everyone around gasps in surprise
Komet's eyes widen in shock. "W-what? To me? Why?"
"We got this far thanks to you. You helped reignite the hope of our people. Your plans made us find a way to end all this. Thus you are most suitable to wield the relics and guide the group" says Nefertimon, in her ever stern face.
"Does anyone object to that?" Babamon asks
The crowd look at each other and shake their heads
The granny nods, walks towards Komet and kneels in front of her. She gasps. "P-please, you don't need to do that!"
"Please, accept our relics and bring another victory to Werushat"
Her heart beats faster and faster and she gets more nervous. But the last thing she wants is to disappoint them. "I-I accept!" She grabs the shield and the bead. As soon as she holds Tiferet, she feels the energy emanating from it: it isn't just the power of light. It has feelings, emotions. The strength to keep walking despite the dark times. The Heart of Werushat.
"Mount me" says Ancient Sphinxmon, sitting down. "I'll take you to the entrance of the pyramid"
The five of them walk towards the ancient beast. Before Komet climbs him, Vulturemon places his hand on her shoulder and looks her in the eyes. "Do not fail us, or I'll never forgive you"
She looks at him. Despite his words, his face shows deep worry. "We will not fail" she says.
Vulturemon gives her a confident smile and removes his hand. Komet climbs the giant beast and waves at the people. "We will make today the last day of this curse!"
The Werushatans scream and shout in happiness, all expectant for a new and better future.
Babamon raises her broom, and Ancient Sphinxmon takes flight. "Hold tight!" he says
They all hold as tight as they can, and the ancient lion dives into the quicksand. They can't see anything, only hear the noise of something moving fast through the sand. Fortunately they were being shielded by something, or the sand would suffocate or drag them away. After 30 seconds of going down, they land somewhere, right in front of a familiar structure.
"It's the pyramid!" says Bastemon
Nefertimon jumps out of Ancient Sphinxmon and walks towards the entrance. "Get close to me. As soon as it opens, we are jumping in. This is your last chance to change your mind"
"No one is changing their minds here!" says Lua
The others hop out of the ancient beast's back as well and get close to her. She summons the megalith and starts the ritual. The others wait, all of them feeling uptight. Komet puts Babamon's Tiferet in her pocket and summons the cleaver. A beam of light, 0s and 1s circles around Nefertimon and is launched towards the door, making it flash and opening it. "Get in, now!" Nefertimon shouts. All the five of them jump in at the same time, and the door behind them is immediately closed as Ancient Sphinxmon says 'good luck' from the other side.
It's a dark and empty space, and a cold breeze blows through their skins, even for the ones that wear clothes. "I hate it already… It feels like my nightmares…" thinks Komet. She checks her smartwatch, and as expected, she reads 'NO SIGNAL' on it. "I guess we are not collecting the Corrosion Virus for Anpu this time…"
The air feels dense, as if something invisible is trying to push them down. Sonne's fire doesn't light the area properly. They keep walking ahead, but it doesn't feel like they are moving. But still, they feel more and more tense. Lua points ahead. "Hey, what is that?"
Komet squints. "I can't see anything…" She looks at Sonne and Nefertimon, and they both shake their heads.
"I see it too! We should approach carefully!" says Bastemon
The group approaches carefully, being very attentive with their surroundings. When they get closer, they see something glittering. Something big and made of gold. As they keep approaching, they see a pair of red eyes glaring at them from behind the big object. The group goes to a complete halt.
"It took long enough until your people started sending me snacks" scorns the monster
Komet swallows hard. "Is that Pharaohmon…?"
"Primeval Chaos!"
The lass instinctively puts her left arm in front of her, activating the Sphinx Shield. The shield projects a big version of itself, covering the five of them. The impact of the projectile pushes her back. She grits her teeth and notices that her pocket is shining brighter. She shoves her hand on it, grabs the shining Tiferet, and points it at the creature. Its light is strong enough to brighten the area.
Everyone gasps as soon as they see the full picture. A golden sarcophagus, around 8 meters tall, being coiled by a giant cobra. The serpent, colored in dark blue and golden, seems to be as big as a 10-floor building. He has a golden mask with golden and blue decorations, very long fangs, a broad collar and a pair of moth-like wings tied to a golden frame. Above the frame, two red circles can be seen, with trefoil warning symbols in it.
Nefertimon freezes. "No… Pharaohmon is inside the sarcophagus… This one is… Apepmon, the Lord of Chaos!"
The snake, Apepmon, is using his bladed tail to try to poke inside the sarcophagus. As soon as he sees the Tiferet, he hisses in anger. "I see. You are the chosen hero of Werushat" He slowly uncoils from the coffin and encircles them, opening a malicious smile. "That means if I kill you and devour the Heart of Werushat, Pharaohmon will finally succumb"
"Komet!" yells Nefertimon. "Do not let go of Tiferet! He can't devour it as long as someone is holding on to it!"
The lass grips the bead and mounts on Sonne. "I won't!" Apepmon uses his body to try to slam into her, but Sonne flies out of the way. The snake hisses and gets back up. He shakes his wing, spreading a familiar miasma through the air.
Komet grits her teeth. "Crap, he's an Infected!" She turns at the other Digimon and shouts. "Everyone! Avoid getting stabbed or pierced at all costs, or you will be infected!" She lowers her head a bit confused. "He doesn't seem out of control, though! How?"
"Primeval Chaos!" Apepmon shoots at her with a big ball of darkness. She uses the shield again, but the impact causes her to fall out of Sonne. Nefertimon reacts quickly enough to catch her in the air.
"Why are you back? How are you back?" asks Nefertimon
"You can thank this… 'Infected' thing you talk of. I am his worst nightmare, and his eternal struggle with this plague brought his worst nightmare back to life!" He flicks his tongue and lunges towards Nefertimon, completely ignoring Sonne, but he misses.
"I-I don't understand… This is not how Corrosion Virus works…!" says Komet
"Pharaohmon is no ordinary Digimon, and this is no ordinary place. So normal rules don't always apply" says Nefertimon
"Goddammit… Can you tell me more about Apepmon then?"
Nefetimon nods, while dodging a skewer attack from the snake. "Pay close attention to what I say. Especially for his psychological attacks!" While Nefertimon tells her everything she knows about the chaotic snake, Lua runs around, using her ice attacks on him, which seems to be ineffective.
"Crap, his hide is too thick!" She looks at Bastemon. "I didn't see you doing anything yet!"
"I'm a close combat fighter! I didn't expect to fight against Apepmon, you know?"
"The good thing is that we are being ignored by him. The bad thing is that he doesn't stop going after Komet! Is that because of the big pink bead?"
Bastemon frowns and nods, as she watches the giant snake constantly attacking the duo with the tail or trying to slam with his body. "He won't stop until he swallows the Heart of Werushat, meow…"
"You can't run forever, hero! Aren't you even gonna try to attack?" shouts Apepmon. He goes for another skewer attack, but as Nefertimon swerves, he opens his mouth to bite her. Komet twists her body and swings the cleaver. As she does that, the light of Tiferet shines brighter, and transforms her cleaver into a khopesh. The new weapon slices through one of his fangs, making him back away.
Komet looks at the khopesh surprised and gives a confident smile. But Apepmon shoots at them, and she uses the shield, being pushed off her mount again. Fortunately, Lua is close enough to catch her in the air and land safely.
"Lua! Thanks! But careful, he will attack you too now!" says Komet
"Nah, I'm fine, we are the same element, I can resist him"
"Don't be stupid! He is over-the-top Ultimate level! It will be like a baby trying to resist a fire truck pumping water at them!"
"I was just kidding, lady hero!"
A skewer attack goes at them, and Komet uses the shield again. However, this makes the shield crack, and Apepmon doesn't stop pressing against it, pushing Lua, who is still holding Komet, through the floor.
Komet still has the shield up, which is cracking more and more. "Sonne! Nefertimon! Attack his eyes!"
The two flying felines approach opposite sides of Apepmon's face and attack with light-based attacks. The snake screams and backs his head away.
Komet deactivates the shield and grunts, while shaking her head. "It took too long to make a little bit of progress… For how long can we keep up…?"
"It's the burden of the hero of Werushat" says a deep, weak voice
They turn their heads towards the voice. It's coming from the sarcophagus.
"Stranger. You were chosen by them, despite your status as an outsider. You accepted it. It's now your burden to bear. Do not let their hope die"
Komet looks shocked. "You… You are Pharaohmon, right? You are still awake! How do you know about that?"
"I can feel you are not Werushatan. In fact, you are not of this world. And yet, you carry the relics of the hero" says Pharaohmon
Komet gasps. "L-Let's not talk about that now! You are not an Infected, correct?"
"No, I am not, not anymore… It was materialized in the form of Apepmon. But now… He is trying to infect me back… Or just kill me… But it doesn't matter how much pain he inflicts… Physical or mental…"
Komet notices something that looks like a rope made of darkness linking him to Apepmon. "Is this… A restraint…? You've been keeping him tied so that he can't escape this place…?"
"Yes…"
"You… You've been giving so much of yourself to protect everyone…!"
Suddenly, the snake moves closer to them. "Oh, feeling talkative now, Pharaohmon? I'll not allow you to talk to each other! What about I kill the hero before your eyes? Primeval Chaos!"
The lass activates the shield again. "Pharaohmon! We'll not give up" Then she gets pushed away from the sarcophagus. "Lua! A skewer attack is coming! Follow my lead!"
Lua listens to the instructions and nods. As soon as the tail tries to stab them, Lua jumps high and plunges into Apepmon. Komet holds the khopesh down and cuts through his hide. She tries to pull the blade down to open a bigger cut, but it's stuck in the bone. The cobra hisses in anger, raises his tail and shakes it, throwing them away. Bastemon jumps in time and catches both. While they are in the air, another dark ball is shielded, pushing them even more.
Since Bastemon is a cat, she still falls on her feet. She places both on the floor while Komet commands the flying felines to attack his eyes again, but Apepmon seems to be getting more attentive about that.
"Hey, isn't your arm getting injured from shielding so much? The impact is probably dealing some damage to you, isn't it?" asks the catwoman
Komet looks at her left arm. "Actually… I don't feel anything… Maybe the impact on the projection doesn't really transfer to my arm…?"
Lua grits her teeth.
"Anyway" the lass continues. "I have a plan!" She explains what she has in mind. "Lua! Go tell Sonne and Nefertimon! I will distract Apepmon!" She separates the Tiferet from her weapon, making it transform back to a cleaver, and brandishes the bead.
While Apepmon furiously pursues Komet again, Lua catches the felines' attention and passes the message to them. Then, she motions to Komet, telling her that they are ready. Komet screams "NOW!" and runs with Bastemon for a direct attack. Apepmon opens his mouth, ready to shoot again, but the two felines burn his eyes with their light. He shakes his head in pain, and when he opens his eyes, he doesn't see the light from Tiferet anymore.
Bastemon climbs the cobra's back pretty quickly while Komet holds tight on her back. The snake starts tilting his head up. But Sonne falls on his head, his body covered with fire like a meteor, making it tilt back down. Then Bastemon jumps high and helps Komet hold the khopesh hard, and both plunge into his head, piercing through his skull.
Apepmon shrieks in pain. Komet retrieves the Tiferet, leaving the weapon, now transforming back to cleaver, in his head. The snake falls on the floor with his mouth open. Bastemon falls on his body, putting the lass safely on the floor.
"We… We did it?" asks Lua opening a big smile on her face
Sonne growls. "No, something is wrong-"
At that moment, Apepmon flaps one of his wings, tackling Komet and Bastemon away. Sonne and Lua immediately run towards the lass, checking on her. Nefertimon does the same for the catwoman.
Komet puts her hand on her head and rubs it. Then she hears Pharaohmon moaning in pain, so she immediately mounts Sonne and sprint towards the sarcophagus.
Apepmon gets in their way. "I said no communication between you two!" He flicks his tongue and flashes a malicious smile, showing his broken fang getting slowly regenerated.
"No way! His fang is growing back" screams Lua
"Look at that, Pharaohmon! All that effort to strike me with that blow!" He looks at Komet. "I'll give you that, hero, it was a good strategy, but if you are not going to kill me in a single blow, then I'll just use Pharaohmon's vitality to heal myself!"
"What did you say?" growls Nefertimon
"That's right. I can take advantage of that stupid leash. It's a double edge leash! So, hero, maybe you have a better chance to take me down if you cut the cord with the light you hold right now. Because it's very clear you are not strong enough to defeat me in one blow! Unless you want to keep repeating that cycle and kill him because of your weakness!"
"Don't listen to him! he's trying to weaken your heart!"
Komet lowers her head, looking at the Tiferet. "I see…"
"Komet, perhaps this is a good moment to make use of our advanced evolution, Icarumon" says Sonne
"No! I already said I'm not using it again! And even if I did… How much do you two actually love Werushat?" she says, as she shows the Tiferet to them.
Lua opens her eyes wide in surprise. Sonne nods. "I believe I understand what you mean"
She dismounts Sonne and approaches both. "Team Twilight. I have a plan. Listen carefully to what I say…!"
"You need your allies for anything you do, don't you?" Apepmon checks his tail, but it's still too injured to be used. "You are so pathetic that you can't do anything alone. How well will you perform without them?" He flaps his wings, releasing infected miasma at them.
"We must succeed! We must win! Now, stay alert!" she says, holding Tiferet as hard as she can. Sonne and Lua jump away, trying to avoid the miasma, but they are still caught by it. All four Digimon start coughing.
"We are going to be fine! Just be careful!" shouts Nefertimon
"Will they, though? What if I give them fate worse than death right now?"
"Fate worse than death…?" asks Komet, gritting her teeth
He hisses. "Poison of Nile!" The floor under everyone, except Komet, suddenly becomes a viscous liquid. "Yes, worse than death. They will sink into nothingness, living eternally in their worst nightmares. Can you live knowing that your friends had this fate because of your weakness?"
She looks at them and sees them falling on a muddy floor and slowly starting to sink. "I… I'm not weak!" She runs in their direction while hearing Lua and Bastemon screaming. But Apepmon moves to stand in her way, saying more nasty things to break her morale, while she still tries to move past him.
"Komet! I told you he could do that! Don't fall for it!" yells Nefertimon. But for her horror, she sees the determined look in her eyes fading away
Apepmon smirks "It's too late now! Eternal Nightmare!"
Komet suddenly stops moving and gazes at Apepmon. The cobra starts laughing maniacally.
"This is… Horrible" says Nefertimon
"What now?" asks Lua
"Eternal Nightmare. Do you know how he can't stop looking at the light of Tirefet…? He gave the same effect on her… Now she can't take her eyes off him…! This is the sign that her heart is getting filled with despair…!"
Lua looks at Komet's direction. The lass doesn't stop looking at the snake, who is now slowly wiggling his body in a hypnotic way, moving to the opposite side of the Digimon.
"Do not let him take your mind! We are still resisting here! Do not forget what you are fighting for!" yells Nefertimon
"Come in my direction" orders Apepmon
Komet starts following the cobra, still gazing at him. Nefertimon gasps in distraught. "It's… It's over… She can't hear us anymore…"
"Drop the Heart of Werushat" he orders next
The lass still holds tight on the bead
"I see… There's still lingering hope there…" He looks at the coffin and back at her. "You want to help Pharaohmon? Why don't you come closer and use that to cut this cord…? This way, I'll be unable to use his vitality to recover" he smiles maliciously
Komet slowly walks towards the sarcophagus.
"Hero of Werushat, do not falter! Do not fail those who put their trust in you!" says Pharaohmon
She doesn't answer. She gets closer and raises her hand with the big bead.
"It's over, Pharaohmon! Watch everything you tried to protect fall before your eyes. Looks like the hero is not the hero, after all! Cut down the cord, o 'hero' of Werushat!"
Pharaohmon growls in disgust.
Nefertimon also growls, feeling hopeless. "Was trusting her with the relics a big mistake in the end?"
"Nope, not at all!" says Lua, too calm for her situation
Komet smirks. "You are right. I am not the hero"
"What?" says Apepmon in surprise and shock
"I can't be the Hero of Werushat. Pharaoh Babamon said the Tiferet get stronger as the hope, light, and love of the wielder are stronger. I may have the light and hope with me, but I'm just an outsider, I can't truly love Werushat like a Werushatan, so I can't use the full power of this artifact..." The Tiferet starts shining brighter. "I am not the one who brought hope back to them. They never lost hope to begin with. I was just a catalyst to make it come back stronger. And now, I'll be just a catalyst for the one mon that despite suffering, never lost his hope, his light and his love for his land! Pharaohmon, please, accept this relic and bring another victory to Werushat!"
Komet pushes the bright ball of light into the sarcophagus. Since she doesn't hold it anymore, the floor under her becomes mud, and she slowly starts to sink. It's silent in the first 5 seconds, but then the coffin suddenly opens, revealing a monster that you can easily say it's a pharaoh, but in full gold from top to bottom. He wears a white loincloth and long cape, holds a long staff in one hand, and the top cover of his sarcophagus as a shield in the other.
Komet and the other Digimon look at the godlike Digimon in awe. Apepmon hisses in anger and strikes at Pharaohmon, but he defends with his shield. "I feel your emotions… I'll protect everyone!" The pharaoh starts shining brighter, and his head starts to change shape, going from human looking to a falcon shape. A red circle floats over his head. His cape becomes wings, in blue, red and golden.
"He evolved further…! But how?" asks Bastemon
The new form of Pharaohmon pushes Apepmon with the shield. He raises the staff, which starts shining bright. "Leave it to me, Ra Pharaohmon. This burden is mine to bear! Thanks for helping, heroes of Werushat!"
The staff keeps getting brighter and brighter… So bright that everyone loses consciousness.
Time passes. Komet opens her eyes.
"Where am I…?"
She is lying on her belly on the sand. Her head hurts a bit. She slowly moves her head around, despite feeling heavy. On one side, she sees Lua and Bastemon. In the other, Sonne and Nefertimon.
"Everyone…"
She feels a weak sandstorm starting to hit them. Her vision gets more blurry, then she closes her eyes.
She opens her eyes again. She hears music and people celebrating. As soon as she sits up, someone runs in her direction and hugs her tight.
"You did it! You really did it! The curse… Is over!" says Vulturemon, tears rolling down his eyes