Final Chapter:

Final Regrets

The wind blew between Takeru and Lucemon. Their blue eyes locked on to each other. In the end, the signal for starting was left to Takeru. Lucemon knew better than to make the first move. It didn't help that the boy also had a trap hidden behind his plan of surrounding him on all sides. Lucemon knew that his best bet was overtaking Takeru's pace. If he could do that, the boy would be open for the final strike, instead of constantly trying to keep him down.

Takeru watched Lucemon keep track of his every movie. Every twitch of his finger; every breath he took. Lucemon outmatched him in almost every aspect, even when the dark angel wasn't powered up by Huanglongmon. The fallen angel's golden light was the same as his three dimensional magic circle. Logically, all of his attacks should be just as devastating. Takeru smirked at the thought of a such a tough battle. If Lucemon was waiting for him to make the first move, then he'd have to make it one he wouldn't forget.

In one sudden movement, Takeru backed off several feet from both his digital partner and adversary. He made a call for Seraphimon, and the angelic digimon quickly took to the air. The boy then leaned forward, ready to dash forward for his attack.

Lucemon watched closely and waited in patience. As Takeru kicked off from his starting dash, the fallen angel's vision of the boy was replaced with the blue and silvered, Seraphimon. His blue eyes glared as the holy angel grew closer, but he still wasn't off his guard. Even if Seraphimon was coming in first instead of Takeru, the blond child wouldn't be far behind in his own attack.

Lucemon mirrored his incoming attacker and pulled back his right fist. While he still needed to watch out of Takeru, he also needed to start his attack as well. He fist flew out, right on target. As he fist inched closer to Seraphimon's face, Lucemon couldn't help but be filled with unease. The closer he looked at his point of impact, the smaller it seemed to become. It was as if his timing had been completely thrown off by no fault of his own, or his enemy.

It was in that moment that Seraphimon's mask started to morph. The golden star in the center of his mask moved further up, as the mask itself started to recede. The smirking face hidden beneath was more than enough warning for Lucemon to twist to the outside of his attack and dodge out of the way.

His reaction however, wasn't fast enough. As he moved to make way for the shrinking angel, he felt something damp run down his face. He reached up to find that his left cheek had been cut. His eyes fallowed his bloody finger tips to the sight of his smaller, armored enemy.

The mask had moved back far enough to show the person's blue eyes looking down at their armored arm that held a blade. Lucemon could only glare into those sharp blue eyes that moved onto him. The dark angel couldn't believe that Takeru had found a way to fuse Seraphimon. This combination seemed to be to a much higher degree than with the digicores inside of him, that only changed his appearance.

The others were amazed at the sight they had just witnessed. The being standing there was a bit smaller than Seraphimon, but still only a head shorter than Lucemon. To think Takeru and Seraphimon would use such a technique as a starting distraction.

Takeru's new look was simple, to say the least. He wore blue and sliver boots that went all the way up his shins. The next bit of armor was a matching waist guard. His hands, forearms and shoulders were also clad in protective metals. Unlike the rest of Seraphimon's angelic forms, Takeru's mask didn't cover his eyes. It was pushed up, with the golden star resting on his forehead. That being said, the rest of his face had been covered in a deep blue cloth that could be seen on every unarmored part of his body. The last thing of note was the cloak that had rematerialized and flared up to look like ten golden wings.

Lucemon was taken aback a bit, but this was basically the same power the child had always been using. He had always been fighting together with his partner; this was nothing he couldn't handle. Just like with the other digicores, it was as if he was wearing Seraphimon as an armor.

The boy quickly rushed in, but this time Lucemon was fully prepared. He wouldn't have to watch out for both of them like last time. The only one's to keep an eye on were the ones surrounding him, and they weren't much of a threat.

Yamato and Taichi watched as the two in the middle of the battlefield got physical with each other. Punches were blocked and swords were pushed aside. They had no idea why Takeru wanted everyone in a surrounding position. They looked towards the Angewomon that accompanied them. She started to shimmer in a white light as she watched the battle unfold. They didn't need to look twice to know that she was preparing to attack. The two boys looked back towards to battle, silently deciding that they would move after her.

Takeru looked to be on the defensive as he tried to block a barrage of kicks and punches. Little by little, his guard was beginning to break. It finally snapped when Lucemon delivered a back kick that sent him airborne.

His body flipped upward only for him to be facing the ground head first at the peak of his launch. He felt one on of his legs be grasped and feet pushing own on armpits. The sudden downward jerk of gravity cemented that Lucemon was planing on giving him a standing, aerial pile-driver.

Thinking fast, Takeru managed to cock back his free leg and kick up, while splitting from Seraphimon. Lucemon's extreme downward motion mixed with the kick was enough to force him to let go and watch the two fuse back into each other.

If things stayed like this, Lucemon would slowly whittle him down in no time. "You should hurry up and start your little plan while you still can," the fallen angel warned. He lifted his left hand and gather dark energy, "If you're going to be constantly wearing Seraphimon's form, you're at a disadvantage." The dark ball of power fired at Takeru.

The dark ball abruptly halted as it made contact. The ball shot upward and exploded in the sky. Everyone looked down at Takeru, who had deflected the attack. His armor's colors had also changed. The blues turned to gray, and the golds to red.

"Don't worry about Seraphimon. He's pretty flexible when he needs to be," Takeru red eyes glared. "It's also stupid of you to think I can't counter your moves. Just like you have some of Huanglongmon's powers, I still have some of yours, and more."

"So you'll be fighting with Dagomon now? It's a pity you no longer have a dark world to run off to." Lucemon rose both arms and fired a volley of darkness and light attacks. He watched as Takeru brushed each of them off, while constantly switching between darkness and light as well. The boy started to slowly make his way towards him. His attack started to slow down a bit in response.

Lucemon knew exactly what Takeru was planing on doing. The moment the blond used the opposite element to defend himself, he would use that chance to make his attack. The fallen angel would have to get the boy a little closer if he planed on countering his attack. Little by little, he would let the blond inch forward. Lucemon stopped his barrage for only a second to charge up an orb of darkness. This was the bait that would reel in his victory. He fired the charged attack, only for it to be stopped by the child.

The Black orb split with a bright light. Takeru's blade was shining, and ready to drop down on Lucemon. As the blond drew closer, the dark angel lifted up his arm, ready to deflect the light with his own and counter attack right after.

The blade fell… along with Lucemon's right arm. The fallen angel backed away as fast as he could with a look of horror etched in to his face. How? How had he been cut? He took a closer look at the boy's armor. It was no longer gray and red, but white and purple. The shine of his blade had distracted him. He wasn't using the powers of light at all. This was…

Before Lucemon could even finish thinking, he was sent airborne by a powerful strike to the back. As he rose through the air, he looked down to find the ring-less, Angewomon. Was the boy's transformation a signal? Before he knew what was completely going on, he was struck with a combination of hot and cold. WarGreymon's and MetalGarurumon's joint attacks sent him plummeting back to the ground.

Takeru kept a hard lock on Lucemon. His armor changed once again to reds, oranges, and yellows. A scorching blade extended from his arm. He quickly took flight, burning the sky behind him. As he slashed past Lucemon, he crossed with SlashAngemon, both taking a few wings with them. They watched as Lilimon's and Garudamon's attacks finish up the combination.

Lucemon hit the ground hard. He seethed at the fact that he had fallen into the boy's pace. He slowly picked himself up and reformed his missing wings. He was about to start on his hand, when he glanced a green and black armored child, trying to keep up his attack. He somehow managed to roll out of the way while giving the boy a good kick, but was once again held down by another attack he hadn't seen coming.

A large hammer had slammed down on the Ultimate digimon. He managed to guard soon enough to keep it from crushing him completely. He used his left hand to hold up the large hammer, but that didn't stop it's energy from shooting through his body. He was just about to toss it away before the ground beneath him started to give way. He felt himself being lifted upward again, and was suddenly struck with electricity. He cursed his narrow line of sight. How could he have been so distracted, not to have noticed both Zudomon, and MegaKabuterimon.

Takeru watched as Lucemon flew through the air, once again. While the others were held the fallen angel down, he had beend working on making a few rain clouds. LadyDevimon waited above and as soon as spiraling water dragons rained down on their target, so did she. As the water attack drew closer, LadyDevimon stabbed out from the center with her spear. The water started to frost over and she, along with the dragons, collided with Lucemon.

The blond took a deep breath and let the blue return to it's natural place on his suit. The only difference was that white took the place of the gold. he balled his hands into fist as he summoned a wall of lightning behind him. He watched as a large ball of fire flew through the electricity and collide with Lucemon. A pink cross and large, energy needles soon fallowed, each storing their own bit of lightning. After seeing those attack land, he also released his own. Electricity cracked through the air as it washed over Lucemon.

Takeru huffed in exhaustion, but he still managed to make his way over to Lucemon. Even if he was hit with that unbelievable combination, there was a chance that the fallen angel could have survived. The boy made his way to his enemy, that was now a crater in the dirt. He slid down into it to get a better look, cursing the fact that he didn't have it in him to just blast at it even more, for good measure. As he made his way to the bottom, he suddenly felt a chill run through his body. He quickly dodged to his left, but his shoulder guard was hit by a projectile attack.

The boy took in the one shooting at him. It looked like a bug larva, with twelve golden wings. In it's middle rested a red digital core. Takeru summoned seven golden orbs and sent them flying at the larva. This attack was easy to summon but currently lacked any real power.

Before the orbs could make contact, the larva reverted back to Lucemon's original form. The small child like angel summoned ten white orbs of his own, that fired off in an elongated cross formation. Both attacks collided with each other, but having the advantage of numbers, some of Lucemon's attack slip by. Two orbs launched Takeru out of the crater, and spiked him back to the ground. The final orb floated above him for only a second before expanding into a grand explosion.

The four digimon holding the power of the Harmonious Ones rushed to the crater to back their friend up, but each were tossed aside by another assault of orbs. The chosen children's digimon also tried to help but they too were held down.

"You know what my true power is, so why keep up this farce?" the young angel rose from his cavity. "My true power is neither the manipulation of light or darkness, it's the manipulation of form. After dying countless times, I've become able to take my data and quickly reconfigure it. There's a reason why I was still able to maintain my form while still being sealed for as long as I was. There was a reason why I could lead an attack on Huanglongmon before obtaining darkness. As long as I have the data to spare, and an intact digital core, I can reform as many times as a want."

Motionless on the ground, Takeru absorbed the angel's speech. He thought back to how much data Lucmeon absorbed in his dragon from. Even if it had destroyed, he knew that Lucemon must have absorbed some of that fleeting power from within his orb.

The armored boy painfully pushed off of the ground. His right gauntlet had been completely shattered. His left shoulder guard had cracks running through it, while his waist guard was entirely vaporized. A blade extended from his left and he rushed out against Lucemon.

The small angel met the boy's sword with one of his own, made from light. "You talk of stopping me, but if you really meant that you would have attacked my digital core. The cut to my cheek was halfhearted. The one to take my arm was shallow. If you really want me dead then you better start acting like it." He shattered Takeru's arm blade to pieces. He quickly digivolved to Fallen Down Mode and started delivering punches.

He watched as Takeru only managed to block every two out of three attacks. "You couldn't have been trying to absorb me again, could you? Do you think you can change my mind on those monsters? On Huanglongmon? If you are, then you aren't taking this fight seriously enough." The boy's defense had finally fallen apart. The fallen angel kicked the blond upward.

Lucemon could feel the other digimon starting to get up; now was time to stop playing around. His hands held orbs of light and darkness. They slowly started to expand until both enveloped him, and their growth did not stop there. The opposition were soon enveloped, even the other children. Lucemon shut his eyes and let what would happen, happen.

The large three dimensional magic circle exploded outward and left no one standing in it's wake. Digimon and children alike were tossed along the ground. He looked and found the boy laying next to his Patamon. All of the partnered digimon had reverted to their rookie forms. The boy laid as motionless as the rest of his friends.

The fallen angel huffed at the out come of his attack. Dead or Alive, had a chance of just wounding his foe, but throughout this whole fight he hadn't managed to get a kill. Maybe all of those, killing chances, were wasted on Takeru, the only person who could survive the attack's full force.

Lucemon started to make his way to the blond when he suddenly felt a rock brush past his hair. He turned back to find Hikari, trying to toss stones at him. The girl could barely stand and most of the time, the rocks hardly flew far enough to even touch him. He was amazed at her resilience.

"…Stop…" the girl whispered. "I won't let you hurt Takeru," she kept throwing stones. She was still mostly missing, but she couldn't afford to stop. She had to do something, anything. "I decided to protect everyone," she watched as Lucemon slowly turned away. "That I would protect Takeru," with one last spurt of strength, she tossed a rock as hard as she could and stumbled onto her hands. It went sailing over the fallen angel's head.

Tears ran down the girls face at the sight of her own uselessness. Hikari gripped at the dirt beneath her until she heard and annoyed hiss. She looked up to find Lucemon holding the back of his head. He turned back to her with an irritated look in his eyes. The girl fallowed his line of sight and found Ken also throwing stones, not too far behind from where she was.

The dark haired boy tossed more stones at the dark angel, each one landing on target. Lucemon was already quite far away, so there was no punch to the rocks, but that didn't stop Ken. "I've got plenty more."

Lucemon scowled at the boy, and his pathetic attempts at trying to stop him. He was just about to make his second turn until a rock whizzed into the side of his head. He turned his gaze and found the blond's brother and former leader also joining in. Not before long, the other children had gotten up and started to pelt him with stones as well.

He looked at all of their pained faces as they tried to protect their friend. He greatly understood their feelings of helplessness, but it was already to late. They shouldn't have bothered coming back for him. They could have stayed in there little world, hoping that his reach never got that far.

Caring for others only got in the way, and made it possible for them to turn on you. While teamwork has his merits, nothing good has ever came from friendship. Even when he first defeated Huanglongmon, it had been completely for his own sake. Even he himself cared for the blond boy, but he wouldn't let those feelings get in the way of his revenge, and ideals. The only world for him was a world ruled by him.

With a flap of his ten wings, all of the incoming rocks blew away with the gust of wind. Lucemon once again started to make his way towards Takeru. Light and darkness gathered at his fingertips and flew out at the boy. This time however, something even more annoying got in his way. A dark gray Dagomon and an orange Daemon stopped his attack.

"What does a weakling and a traitor think that they can accomplish?" Lucemon glowered.

"We can at least hold back a halfhearted attack like this," Dagomon gurgled.

"Aren't you acting a bit too high and mighty, Lucemon." Daemon smirked.

"You're the last person to be saying that to me," Lucemon fired another round of orbs. The incorporeal digital spirits looked strained, but they still managed to hold back the attacks.

"The difference between us is that I'm content with living like that. Face it, you aren't cut out to be the bad guy."

"That's nice," another round fired. "I'm actually amazed that you two are protecting him. I thought you would relish in his death and use it as a chance to escape. You know, if I don't completely destroy him in one attack."

"That would just lead us to be reborn into a world under your foot," Dagomon growled.

"Sorry, but I'd rather die trying to ruin your plans than live under you again," Daemon struggled with the brunt of the attack.

"Well," one final attack charged in Lucemon hands, "then I guess the two of you can die as petty as you lived." Before he could fire, he felt something sharp make contact with his sides. His attacks faded away as he looked back to find both BlackWarGerymon and SlashAngemon piercing his body. His mouth tightened at the thought of being put through another string of attacks.

He grabbed both of the digimon's arms and pulled them out of his torso. His eyes caught sight of their Ultimate friends and tossed the two into the angel and devil. They each got their own pair of light and darkness and the three dimension magic circle exploded on the pairs.

The four digimon could only grunt in pain as they tried to move even the smallest part of their body. They could only utter Takeru's name as they each shined with their respective light of the Harmonious Ones. The lights flew off and surround the blond that was called out to.

Lucemon was caught off guard by the sudden light show, but was even more amazed that the four lights didn't return into the boy. Dagomon and Daemon also turned into lights. Digital cores started to rise from the boy's body, each one absorbing it's respective light. Finally a purple orb and a golden orb popped out to join the others.

The four beasts' orbs were absorbed by the golden one, while the other three orbited around it. Lucemon stiffened for only a moment. His mind was screaming for him to attack the boy while he still had the chance, but his soul looked on. He squashed his anxiety and let the orbs have their way with the boy. In the end, this was the outcome he was hoping for the most.

The three rotating orbs started to pick up speed. Faster and faster, the three cores started to kick up dust and rock. Soon, a twister of gravel and sand surrounded the blond and his digimon. Lucemon could only stare and wait for his true enemy to appear.

Takeru was once again in the dark. He wondered if that was the true space of his soul. Trapped in nothing but darkness. How could he still be this pathetic?

"You're not pathetic, Takeru." A small voice called out.

Takeru looked over to find that Patamon was also sharing the dark space.

"Someone really pathetic couldn't have made it this far." the mammal digimon. "They also would have lost already. You aren't going to give up, are you?" That was a rhetorical question for Patamon. In his mind, Takeru only had one answer.

"He'd better not, after destroying my world." A giant sea squid shouted. Dagomon materialized within the darkness. "That being said, if I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have found out how truly lacking in power I am. The first chance I get, I'm going to free myself and rule this new world myself." Who knew that all one needed was just a little perspective to bring out their best and worst.

"You chose this path yourself," an old voice croaked. Xuanwumon's giant form came into vision. "You shot down my original offer in order to do things yourself. That wasn't just complete selfishness, was it?" The giant turtle's smiles managed to lift the boy's spirit.

"Is it my turn to say something," rumbled the shadows. It was Baihumon's turn to arrive. "You haven't let me down since we first met, so there's no way you'll do so now." The tiger laughed at the thought of failure.

"…," a low growl whispered. IceDevimon formed within the space. His icy purple eyes stared deep within the boy's. The cold digimon averted his stare only once, to look at Dagomon. When he turned back, Takeru noticed that his eyes became just the slightest bit softer. Was that the only way it could express it's gratitude?

"Don't expect me to give you my thanks like everyone else," Daemon looked down, from the shadows. "I've killed Lucemon before, so you obviously can do it as well. I don't have time to waste here. Either kill me or let me go, but you better defeat that halfhearted angel first." Even Daemon could face things head on, instead of backstabbing everyone.

"How long do you plan on loitering around here for," The lower darkness called. Zhuqiaomon's mighty form erupted from the dark. "You were the one who started all of this. Don't bring shame to the Harmonious Ones now. Take responsibility for the things you've done." Even like this, the protector of the south kept his strong pride.

"This is your… our last chance," Qinglongmon shined down. "You've proven that you're strong enough to take care of everything."

The four Harmonious One started to shine and transformed into orbs. The four orbs spiraled each other while the three other digimon disappeared within the darkness once again. Takeru and Patamon were the only ones left to look at the goldend light that was once the four holy digimon. The light slowly formed into a golden dragon with eight red eyes. The quadrupedal dragon looked to Takeru and Patamon with clear eyes.

Takeru had always heard this dragon's voice, but had never had the chance to meet it like this. He was speechless. Huanglongmon truly looked to be worthy of the title, God Beast. Someone who could shape a whole world.

"You…" the dragon looked as if it didn't know what to say. "You've, come so far, but I can see that you still have troubles in your heart." It watched Takeru avert his gaze. "But that's what makes you strong. You have something… or more so, you do something that Lucemon and I never could. This darkness… It may seem endless and constricting, but you can still see. You can still make out what's around you."

Takeru's eyes rolled over his small partner. His eyes softened as he reached out to grab Patamon. He held him close as he absorbed the golden dragons words and rested his eyes. As he eyelids drooped, he started to give off a bight golden light, himself.

"My own wish was for a digital world that I could no longer destroy," the dragon echoed. "In a way, Lucemon's attack gave me what I wanted, but that world was still flawed… just like this one is. However, you two managed to show me that the world is made up of more than just light and darkness, but also the ones who live on it."

As the area grew brighter, Huanglongmon couldn't help of give an amused glance. While he was a being of good and evil, he could never hope to be like the boy in front of him. The same could be said for Lucemon, who was truly a contrast of light and darkness. While Takeru still hadn't found his own path yet, it was clear that their way of thinking was only the starting line for the boy. He still has more room to grow and change.

Huanglongmon let himself be absorbed by the bright light Takeru had given off. The dark, clear space that was Takeru's heart was just a bit brighter than before.

Outside of giant stone-flow, the other children had managed to get to their feet. They managed to gather the fallen digimon who had given up the digicores of the Harmonious Ones. The twins had reverted back into Tailmon. Unsurprisingly, Gennai was doing well enough to manage to help out. Being dragged to the dark work and breaking out might have aged him again but he was still willing to help.

Lucemon was unmoving as he watched the gravelly twister. The children were just as captivated as the fallen angel. They didn't like it, but it seemed that they had to wait for Takeru to get back up and continue the fight by himself.

The giant twister of rock started to be pierce by a golden light. It cut through the sand and wind until nothing was left, except a lone figure at it's center. The person's golden-red eyes stared daggers into Lucemon's very being.

A new set of armor stood before everyone. The helmet extended forward with the shape of a dragon's skull. Two horns jetted out from the skull's back and slight curved upward. Three eye sockets lined each side, while a cross shaped star was carved in the middle of it's face. Instead of the cloth from the body suite, a metallic guard covered the mouth. Boots and gauntlets returned, but this time the fingers and toes were tipped with golden talons. The cloak spread back out but this time there were two extra leaves. The only thing that hadn't changed in shape was the waist guard, and the skin tight suite covering up everything else.

Finally, the colors changed once again. The blue became gold, while the gold became red. That left the silver to turn into a reflective, jet black. It was as if the dark metal was constantly reflecting light, giving it an almost pure white appearance in places.

Lucemon's hands twitched at the sight of the boy in front of him now. The child wasn't even giving off a different aura, but he still felt agitated. Could it be the fact that Huanglongmon finally decided to throw in his full support? He didn't know, but he unknowingly couldn't hold back the smile that crept to his face.

"Does that fancy new form even have a name?" Lucemon grinned.

Takeru extended a golden blade from his right wrist, "Dragon Emperor: God Beast Mode," he pointed to Lucemon.

The fallen angel couldn't help but snicker at such a lofty title. Well, it indeed fit a mode created from someone like Huanglongmon. It also made sense for someone like Takeru to don such an armor. His eye narrowed at the thought of the inevitable final exchange. With a shout of, "Divine Feat," a sword of light materialized into his hands. The gold that trimmed his own outfit shined brighter.

Everything grew quiet as the two faced each other, weapon on hand. The chosen around the world could only wish their friends good luck. Their family and friends watching at the campsite could only pray for everyone's safety. The ones in the digital world, watching their friend and his partner, could only look on in support.

The silence was cut down in flash. Their swords connected and kicked up dust, blasting the other children and digimon back. Each attack that missed carved into the ground and picked up more dust, only to be blown away when they would connect again. The sand danced to their will as they also twirled around each other.

The debris suddenly launched upward as it was pulled by the two as they ascended into the air. The two constantly tried to out maneuver each other with the cleared dimension of space. Neither looked to be stronger or faster than the other. It was a perfect deadlock in every aspect.

The only way one would gain the upper hand was if they could out think the other, or wait for them to make a mistake. The second option was unlikely to happen, so Lucemon had to rely on a plan he came up with while waiting on the boy.

"Grand Cross," the digimon shouted as ten orbs of light and darkness shot out towards the boy. He watched as the child used, Seven Heavens, to repel his attack. However unlike last time, there were three extra black, orbs that showed up to hold back his assault. Those orbs were based off of the other three digicores that hadn't been absorbed into Huanglongmon.

Lucemon might have been worried if his plan had only been the same as before. His sword of light transformed into a spear and he launched it at his own attack. The spear of light connected with a black orb and caused a chain reaction of creating five, three dimensional magic circles. The fallowing explosions blew the boy back down to the ground, with Lucemon in quick pursuit.

As Takeru plummeted towards the rocks below, he felt his body become lighter. The warmth of his armor disappeared as the wind whipped past his cheek.

"TAKERU!" a voice called out to him.

He looked down to find Seraphimon already on the ground, holding his hand out to him. It took only an instant for the blond to figure out what his partner was planing. It was plain and simple, but he couldn't help but smile at him. They didn't need and over complicated plan to win. They would just go with this overwhelming feeling that had overtaken them.

When Takeru fell far enough, he grabbed the angels wrist and held on tight. Seraphimon spun him around once and tossed him towards Lucemon. As the two let go, their fingers brushed past each other. In that small moment, Seraphimon was once again able to form Takeru's golden, Dragon Emperor armor.

The combination of the throw and natural speed of flight, brought both fighters face to face within moments. Both pulled back and lashed out. Lucemon's fist made contact with Takeru's temple, cracking one of the sockets in his helmet. Takeru on the other hand, made contact with the fallen angel's jaw. Both should have staggered, but Takeru's fist shined and overpowered Lucemon.

The blond wasn't going to let this chance escape him. He grabbed the digimon's arm to tug it's face into his knee. He then gained some space by pushing Lucemon away, with the back of his fist. Electricity raced across his clinched fist. His, Hallowed Knuckle, blew the dark angel into the ground.

Lucemon staggered back to his feet. The, Hallowed Knuckle, left a huge wound that his data had to restore. He couldn't believe how much more effective the boy's attacks were becoming. He was about to turn back to the fight when he felt a fist connect with his cheek, and he was once again face down in the dirt. His eyes pressed shut when he felt a sudden weight crash down on top of his head.

"For the sake of an ideal world," Takeru's foot dug Lucemon's face down deeper, "you would kill others." He grasped a hand full of the Mega's wings, "you strike out in regret, anger and sorrow!" Listened as the wings twisted themselves free and threw them aside while the digimon distanced himself. "You isolate yourself from others!" he broke through a hand raised in defense. "You tell yourself it's for their own good, knowing that it's hurting them!" his right elbow attacked the angel's middle to lower it's jaw for the left that fallowed. "And it's all for your on selfishness!"

"And yet… and yet, these awful emotions and actions can still bring out something good," Takeru clinched his fist in reflection. "I may have created a world that didn't begin in light or darkness, but it was never meant to stay that way. That's why I'll use both of these great and awful feelings, even if they aren't balanced. All of it, is for the sake of this world choosing it's own path, just like I did!"

Lucemon looked at the boy in frustration. All of his past admiration was now clouded by agitation. All by the boast of this world being able to find it's truth within the vortex of light and dark. All of those atrocities he spoke of were caused by the darkness within all of their hearts. Yet, all of them had been done for the sake of the light, hadn't they? Lucemon didn't want to accept that the three of them were so similar. That falling into to the darkness had been his own mistake. That… "That's just fallowing the will of light and darkness!" The fallen angel roared as he reformed his missing parts and infused is fists with light and darkness.

Takeru followed suit, and the two rushed out and struck each other, standing their ground. Three dimensional magic circles would form anytime the opposing elements would touch. Explosions echoed across the land as their fists would brush past each other.

The others watched as the punching match raged on. Takeru's first slowed but Lucemon was the one looking worse for wear. As the fight continued, they noticed the explosions started to die down to the sound of grunting and beaten flesh. The light from the fight started to shine brighter. It started to change. It changed from a constant back and forth between two sets of wight and black to one side obtaining red and gold. The more they watched, the more the red and golden colors would mix.

Lucemon couldn't believe what was happening. The boy had only used the darkness and light to help him reach the power of the digicores within him. Huanglongmon's core… and the residuum of his own. His own punches were having a weaker impact as the boy's power changed into something that wasn't just binary. It didn't help that the boy's golden-red eyes, were biting into his own.

It looked as if Takeru had gotten his bearings again and started to pick up the pace. His fists flew faster than they ever had before. The colors had full mixed with each other. A golden-red stream of light, connected with various parts of Lucemon's, body. The boy thrust out and had his fist caught in Lucemon's two hands. A magic circle formed around the blond's hand, ready to explode but Takeru released a ground shaking shout and forced his fist straight through, into Lucemon's face.

Everyone watched as Lucemon was sent flying back a few feet. The dark angel somehow managed to land on his feet, but looked in shock as his opponent brought his own hands together. The golden-red light given off by his hands lit up the whole area. The energy took the form of an eight eyed dragon, behind the boy.

Lucemon could only gasp. A few of it's eyes were obscured by, what looked to be the mask from his Satan Mode. He could only manage to stagger backwards as the dragon launched out at him. His wounds had finally caught up to him as he had run out of data to heal himself with. He could only curse under his breath as the dragon's jaws up-heaved the ground just to fully encase him in it's bite. He grunted as the energy held him firmly in place and connected him with the boy.

Fallowing the path of power, Seraphimon separated from Takeru and dashed out towards Lucemon. With his blade held high, he rushed past the fallen angel digimon, slashing right down the middle. The celestial angel released a sigh of relief, at the defeat of his opponent.

Bisected, Lucemon released a pained cry as his body slid apart. Both halves broke into data, that held a red digital core in it's center. The core started to digitize the same way the body had.

Everyone held their breath at the sight of the boy's and his digimon's apparent victory. It looked as if the fight was finally over. They all had smiles plastered to their faces. Yet, before they even got the chance to truly celebrate, those smiles were taken away.

They watched as the data around the orb managed to reconfigure into another shape. A small larva with twelve golden wings and red eyes, floated where Lucemon once stood. The red digital core was clearly visible through it's transparent chest. It darted straight for the blond that had just attacked it.

It happened within the span of a seconds, but Takeru's abdomen was pierced by the Larva's stinger. The small larva's eyes were hard and solemn as blood dripped form it's stinger.

Unlike the others, who stood frozen, or the ones with hands covering their mouths, Takeru couldn't help but give a big, bloody smile. He watched as Lucemon realized what had really happened. Takeru, chuckled as the larva started to quiver. While Lucemon's stinger rested through his body, his hand did the same for it. The difference was taht his grasped the digimon's digital core. As he gripped the core tighter, he could feel the feelings of resignation radiate off of the larva. There were a lot of other emotions he was feeling, but Takeru paid them no mind as he broke the digital core to bits. The resulting flash of red washed over everyone and quieted the land.

Takeru's eyes were washed over with a blinding red color, that slowly gained a golden hue. He couldn't see anything but he could make out a depressed chuckle. Takeru eyes focused and he could barely see the winged digimon the voice belonged to. Lucemon floated before him, facing the endless void of color.

"I can't believe I lost to a brat that believes in this world's light and darkness," the winged digimon spoke. "Even in the end I couldn't properly kill you. I guess we're not that different after all."

It was too bright for Takeru to distinguish what form the digital monster had taken. Only his wings stood out in the light. It was almost as if the more he tired to focus, the harder it became to see. The only other thing he could make out someone else forming into the colorful space.

A golden dragon with twelve red digicores surrounding it's back formed within the space. It's back also faced the blond. "You should have known that form the beging," Huanglongmon huffed. It's large voice didn't match it current size of being just as large as Lucemon.

It seems that in this space, things didn't need to keep their actual size. Takeru couldn't have told them apart even if he wanted to. He wanted to ask what was going on, but in the back of his mind he had a guess.

Lucemon kept quiet, as if thinking carefully about his next few words. "Of course I did, that's why we chose him in the first place. Yet in the end he didn't fallow my agenda at all. Takeru may have embraced light and darkness differently from us, but that doesn't mean this world will do the same. I sure haven't"

Huanglongmon also paused before he spoke, "that's true," he reconciled. "But at the same time, the path Takeru set for this world neither begins or ends with either, as well."

Lucemon scoffed, "Is till can't believe you went along with him as quietly as you did."

"If it makes you feel batter, he didn't go along with the plans of the Harmonious Ones. The only reason I was so passive with him was because I had already given up on this world myself. Even with the Harmonious Ones and chosen as protectors, this world was filled with beings compelled by nothing but their nature, be it good or bad. That's why it wasn't hard to put my last bit of faith in him."

"If Takeru has taught us anything, its that wishing for a perfect world is foolish. That's why the both of us were sealed away in the first place."

"He showed us a power that surpasses both light and darkness. Be it the separation of both, like my own, or the basic combination of the two that you do so well."

"And to think he used our own powers to show it off as well. It was like he was laughing in our faces at our own incompetence."

The golden dragon managed to release a chuckle, "I'm surprised you aren't more upset about losing."

Lucemon managed a laugh himself, "I feel that a part of me wanted to be defeated the whole time. The boy kept surprising me again and again. His technique, his tactics, how he always thought on his feet. The way he used light and darkness. His hope. He didn't just change this world but also brought change about in his friends and the people he met along the way. He also managed to change me… but yet, I still wanted him to prove himself. I still couldn't let go of my…"

"…Of your regrets." The golden dragon's voice dripped with experience.

"That's right. Even now, I'm still upset with you and the Harmonious Ones. I'm still upset that my darkness made me lose control. Even in defeat I still have so many unending regrets. So... I guess I'll just have to do as you did, and give them all to the boy."

"Even in our final moments, were still pretty selfish."

"It's not like we're leaving him empty handed. Besides isn't your parting gift way better than mine?"

"Takeru's a greedy child, so that alone won't be enough for him."

"Well if that's the case then he can have our gifts and regrets, along with our thanks. It may have been for a short while, but we did manage to see a world all three of us wanted."

"Then we should both say this clearly…"

…Thank you…

Over the length of the two digimon's conversation, Takeru's vision had become worse. He didn't know if it was because it was becoming harder to keep his eyes open, or because of the tears he had tried to keep from falling out. He hadn't expected to be hit with such an intense feeling of loss. He had always known that the chance of fighting either of them to the death was high, but he wasn't as prepared as he had thought. Slowly, the boy's eyes closed in grief.

The blond could feel the world around him darkening. He didn't care, all he wanted to do was rest. He was extremely tired. Yet voices still called out to him. Unlike before he could feel the world around him. Somethings soft, and others hard. Some voices loud, and other quiet. Sad and hopeful.

He didn't want to. He wanted to keep his eyes closed and go to sleep, but he managed to force them open. Slightly apart, he caught sight of something below his narrow vision. He slowly moved his neck to see that Patamon was crying onto his chest. He carefully sat up and placed his hand on top of his partner.

Patamon, looked up to the touch and gasped and the sight of his partner sitting up. "Takeru! You're awake." The digimon placed his small paws on the boy's chest. "I… I thought you were a goner," the small digimon cried.

Takeru blinked for a bit, "Yeah… me too." He smiled down at his small friend who chastised him about joking like that. He looked down and noticed that his partner's underside was colored, red. He reached under the mammal digimon and felt something stick to his hand. It was the blood from his wound. The hole in his abdomen was gone, but the blood was a reminder of what had really happened. The boy was knocked out of his own mind when two digimon collided into his shoulders, sending him back down onto his back. The two Tailmon twins were now crying atop of him as well.

"We were so worried," Tailmon cried.

"You really scared us," BlackTailmon sobbed.

The boy reach up and patted the two on the head, "I'm sorry I worried and scared you all."

"What about us?" A voice called out from the side.

Takeru looked over to find his brother sitting next to him. He wondered how he had missed him. "I did say, 'you all,' didn't I?" he managed a smile.

"Don't think smiling is enough to make me feel better. All of us didn't know if you had… And this time I saw it happen as well." Yamato tired to wipe away his tears but more kept falling down.

"But doesn't smiling help?" Takeru's grin widened.

Yamato locked eyes with his brother. He younger boy's grin was contagious. He couldn't keep his lips from curling upward as well.

"Way to go, you two," Taichi came into view, "I knew you and Patamon would win." The large haired boy gave them a thumbs up.

"You guys managed to pull off some impressive feats before, but this one was in a class of it's own," Koushiro complemented.

"Jeez, when did you two get so cool?" Mimi cheered. "I wanna fuse with Palmon too."

"I'm glad you both are alright," Sora huffed, "my heart almost stopped about five times."

"I think mine actually did," Jou sighed, "I'm grateful and all, but you two could stand to be less flashy."

"While I expected you two to win, you had me worried at the end," Ken managed to smile. "You guys are really something else."

Takeru's cheeks had become slightly dusted in red, thanks to everyone's congratulations The only odd thing was that he hadn't accounted for a few faces. SlashAngemon and BlackWarGreymon were nowhere to be seen. The boy was about to tilt his head back to look behind him, until he noticed that unlike the rest of his body, his head was laying on something soft. He looked up to find the ruby pink eyes of Hikari, looking down at him. It only took him moments to realize that he had been laying on her lap this entire time. He manged to sit up on his own again, and turned back to face the girl.

Her face was hard to read. Worry? Relief? Disappointment… Before he could say anything, BlackWarGreymon called out to him. He looked to the black dragon-man who waved him over from a few feet away, next to SlashAngemon and Gennai. Takeru didn't really know what to say to Hikari at the moment so he used the call to buy for time as he got his words together.

"Just so you know, I'm doing fine now," the blond walked over with Patamon atop his head.

Sensing the boy's sarcasm, the dark tower digimon played along with his jest, "don't worry, I'll be sure to mourn you when you actually die next time."

Takeru didn't know if that was a compliment or not. "Ugh, there's going to be a next time?"

"If these eggs have anything to say about it, there just might be, "SlashAngemon smiled. "But we'll be able to count on you again for that too, right?"

The boy walked over and noticed seven eggs laying on the ground, in front of the two mega level digimon. Takeru's eyes quickly widened at the sight before him. He knew exact who these eggs belonged too.

Xuanwumon, Dagomon, Baihumon, IceDevimon, Daemon, Zhuqiaomon, Qinglongmon.

All of the digimon that had rested inside of his soul and had giving their body to him, willingly or not. Even so, all of them pitched in to help him in his endeavors. He walked closer and reached out, only for the eggs to start to glow and rise up into the sky. They all flew off when they got high enough to pass the mountain. The blond had a good idea of where they were heading. It was as if, seven shooting stars were flying to Primary Village.

"It seems like even the Harmonious Ones are getting a fresh start in this new world," Gennai chuckled.

The bright burst of light also caused Takeru to notice something else. When the eggs started glowing, their light reflected off of something he was wearing. He looked down to find golden rings on his wrists and ankles. Upon further inspection, they weren't holy bindings like before, but holy rings. His mind flashed back to Lucemon's words before he disappeared. These rings were his.

Takeru then thoughtlessly raised his hand towards his neck. He traced his finger around, the trinket that had never left him the entire time of his own, personally adventure. Once again, a cloak materialized behind of him. A golden cloak, with a red trim. The front of his face brushed against it's soft collar. The rings were Lucemon's, his life Huanglongmon's, and this cloak was still from both of them.

He looked to the sky once more as the seven lights disappeared among the stars. He mouthed his gratefulness while tears passed a small smile. Without everyone helping him, he wouldn't have been able to get this far. He finally knew what he needed to say to Hikari and everyone else.

The teary eyed boy turned around and looked Hikari in hers. He walked over to the girl who's legs were covered in his own blood. He enveloped her in a hug, "thank you," he whispered to her alone. "Thank you, everyone." he said the others.

The girl returned his hug with everything she had. His sincere gratitude having gotten through to her. "Without all of you, things would have end up much worse. It wasn't just my feelings that helped me, but yours as well…" he pulled and reached up to his cloak, "and theirs. That's why, once more, thank you."

Hikari pulled close to the boy once again, and grasped him in another heartfelt embrace, this time joined by her own partner. Not wanting to be left out, Yamato and the twins jumped in on the hug as well. Wormmon pushed Ken into the mix and the other chosen and partners joined in as well. The two Mega digimon and Gennai smiled on from behind.

The world had manged to be saved once again, and in the same day, no less. They all had fought their own battles and in their own ways proved that together, they were at their strongest. Whether that strength was combined or shared, it didn't matter. Whether it was through light or darkness, it didn't matter either. As long as they could share their feelings, they couldn't be defeated. That was the world, Takeru wished for.

Even with this almost perfect happy ending, Takeru still held some regrets within his heart. The regrets given to him by Huanglongmon and Lucemon. His own regrets for not being able to save the both of them. Even so, he mentally vowed not to let those feelings go to waste. With both worlds now connected, he needed to be able to face the new challenges that the new connection would bring. However, right now, he was continent just by being surrounded by his friends. His regrets my be never ending but the contentment he was feeling by being surrounded by the others was just as important.

Takeru's smile could only shine brighter.

An: So things have come to an end. Before I go rambling on for who knows how long, let me thank everyone who's read this story. Whether it was from start for finish, in another language, or just this single chapter (I've done the same myself), thank you all. I hope I was able to keep you entertained in any way at all. Thank your for your time and support!

Now let's talk about this final chapter. It's a little rough if you ask me. If there is one theme I want to get across in my story, it would be a sense of self. How our own actions and feelings effect ourselves, and the people and world around us. I think stories like these hold the strongest and most natural characters. Personally it's less of a theme and more of a guideline. More so than having a single over all theme, or characters representing one, they'll more so act a way that express something. It's hard put into words, but it just helps me keep a character as an actual person than just an example for an ideal.

That's the thinking that attracted to Lucemon and Huanglongmon. They are contradictory in nature, so I felt that I had room to play with that and their characters. Both represent light and darkness in contrasting ways that made it easy to play with.

Now onto this story as a whole. As stated earlier, this has been something I've been thinking about for a while. It started off as a simple rewrite that's only grown, so it was time to trim the fat once things had distractedly changed from the where it began.

I was always bothered about how useless the Harmonious Ones were in 02 so I wanted a part focused on that. So when dealing with the four holy beasts, including Huanglongmon was a natural outcome. He was originally planed to be the final villain. However, after reading his entry and seeing how Lucemon was involved with it, that idea changed into something else. It wasn't so much that I changed ships, but while writing, the story evolved into what it was now. Even when I started writing this, Huanglongmon was still in his original role of final villain.

Takeru was always supposed to be the main character and in all honesty his role and character never changed from originally intended. Just like the idea to bio-merge. At the start, I felt like this was the only chance I'd write a story where this is likely to happen so I really wanted it in there. Yet, the more I thought about it, the more unconventional I wanted it to be. I wanted more of a feeling of Patamon responding to Takeru, than the other way around. That and I wanted Takeru to reenact the final fight from GaoGaiGar. In the end, I'm glade I wrote my story in a way the enabled me to make that kind of change.

I also wanted to deal with how Takeru would react towards, Ken within the show's cannon. I'm kind of biased but I think those two could have had an interesting dynamic. It would also help if Ken didn't constantly carry his unneeded baggage around all of the time. Well, I have ideas for what to do with him later.

Hikari was odd. I guess my ideas on what to do with her kind of spilled into this story without much of a pay off (kind of like Ken). With Yamato not really being able to help, she's the next human that can deal with Takeru the best. I just never expected to develop her or in this case, bring up some issues she has. Hikari's odd in the fact that she has a very special kind of, lack of self confidence. It's pronounced by the things she can't control, and I think that plays well off a Takeru, that's trying to distance himself from the group. That being said, it'd be best to use something like that as a braking point than the actual cause. That's why before the wrap up, she was still a bit melancholy.

Honestly this story came about from my dislike of 02 as a whole. Sure it has some interesting ideas but I find that all of them come up short. All of the future seasons do them much better in my personal opinion. This fic started out as a way to "fix" some of 02's problems but in the end turned into something that tired to remove itself entirely from the main story. I'm not sure if I should be happy it ended up that way but I glad it's not a fix fic.

While this section and the entire story had been just the ramblings in my head, I'm glad I was able to get it all down. It amazes me how it's changed from beginning to end. It's taken me about half a year, and with this word count I can believe it. I'm also glad that I could get in more writing practice.

I hope you can leave one final comment on this story as a whole or just this final chapter. Seeing that's it's complete feel free to tell others whether it was worth the whole ride or a complete disappointment. (Should have really add that from the start) Once again, I'm grateful to all of those who've read any bit of this story, Thank you!