My given name is Megumi Seisou, but you may call me Chihi Miayag, the Priestess of the Digital World. I once unknowingly served a demon named GranDracmon. In a moment of grief, overcome by my troubled childhood, I accept him as the God of the Digital World, and he gave to me the power of Taichi and Hikari Yagami. I would later discover that I was their cousin.

After defeating GranDracmon, I wished to return to my studies in philosophy in America, but I was called back when the weapons of the First Chosen fell to Earth after the destruction of the Digital World. Unfortunately, another discovered the weapons as well, the Fallen Chosen, Tatsuo Juro. He and his unstoppable partner, Metal Piranhmon, attacked and killed Taichi and Yamato, but this act split them into different beings, each one the embodiment of an aspect of their personality merged with the power of a Daughter of the First. While Takuya, Koji, Tanna, and Yariko proved to contain their central 'goodness,' Miach and Yamag, their 'evil' sides, joined with Juro and a renege scientist named Kurata. They have constructed a Digital Gate, which could very well envelop this entire world.

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Digimon Gog

Reformation:

Chapter 2

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Shine Greymon charged forward at full force, smashing his fists into Gaioumon's head before the samurai digimon could react. At his side, Mirage Gaogamon had to jump into the air in order to reach Black Saint Galgomon's head. Despite the armored-canine's height, Mirage

Gaogamon's claws were still able to case him pain.

Following Shine Greymon's attack, Gaioumon roared and charged forward, swinging his razor weapons at his Light Dragon counterpart. Shine Greymon blocked with the back of his armored gauntlets, then swung his other arm around, smashing his fist into the virus dragon's helmet. Gaioumon twisted with the punch, then slashed at the Light Dragon's leg with his sword. Shine Greymon winced in pain and leapt into the air.

"You should watch yourself," Gaioumon chuckled, "You were wide open."

"Fuck you!" Shine Greymon shouted as he leapt into the air, then went to slam both of his fists onto the virus Dragon Man, but Gaioumon crossed his swords quickly and used them to block the downward attack. He pushed back against ShineGreymon's attack, then whipped around quickly, slamming the back of his leg into Shine Greymon's side. The Light Dragon winced in pain once more, and Gaioumon began to slash with his swords. Shine Greymon was able to dart and block each jab. When he was finally able to get a good distance, he spun around quickly, slapping his tail into the evil Dragon Man with such force that he stumbled backwards. Shine Greymon's wings began to flap quickly, creating a massive collection of light. "Shinning Burst!" The light exploded from his wings, at slammed into Gaioumon at full force.

Shine Greymon smirked. "You should watch yourself, you were wide open."

Gaioumon stared at his opponent, then swung his swords as hard as he could, sending out two large arrows of light. "Rinkageki!" he shouted.

Shine Greymon swung his armored arms over his face, and the virus Dragon Man's attack struck them, skidding him backwards. The Light Dragon threw his arms down and had only moments to duck before Gaioumon's sword would have slashed off his head.

Meanwhile, Mirage Gaogamon had been staring down his own massive opponent. Black Saint Galgomon was a towering monstrosity of armor and weapons. The Nature Spirit held his claws together, gathering energy within his palms before he fired a barrage of crescent-shaped energy blasts at his opponent's head. "Double Crescent Mirage!"

Black Saint Galgomon held out his palm, and the multitude of beams smashed into them. It did not cause the injury that Mirage Gaogamon was hoping for, but he at least knew from the burn marks on the giant Machine digimon's palm, that he could be injured.

"I've just got to try a little harder!" he shouted, propelling himself into the air as high as he could. Energy began to gather in the wolf headed chest plate he wore. The wolf's mouth opened wide and a tremendous blast of energy exploded forth, smashing into Black Saint Galgomon's chest. "Full Moon Blaster!"

The giant Machine countered by swinging his fist around, knocking Mirage Gaogamon to the ground. The Nature Spirit rebounded from the ground using his leg muscles and shot back into the air. He landed on Black Saint Galgomon's arm and charged up his shoulders. The giant turned his head just as Mirage Gaogamon slashed his claws across his face.

Black Saint Galgomon moaned in pain and whipped his other hand around, grabbing the much smaller digimon within the palm of his hand. "Now I've got you," he boomed, squeezing the wolf-man as tight as he could.

"Come on, scream…" he grinned.

Mirage Gaogamon struggled to break free, but the Machine digimon continued to laugh. "There's no escape…"

The Nature Spirit struggled inside his massive grip. "F…Full Moon Blaster!"

Black Saint Galgomon screamed in pain as his hand was blown apart. Mirage Gaogamon twirled to freedom as his Machine opponent clutched his missing arm. "Damn you…"

The wolf man cracked his neck. "Come on, give me your best shot."

Black Saint Galgomon panted heavily, then smirked slightly. "Fine, you asked for it. Giant Missile!"

His two giant shoulder-based cannons fired two equally massive missiles that Mirage Gaogamon had no hope of avoiding. He once again executed his Full Moon Blaster, his timing and accuracy so perfect that it hit the missiles at such a perfect angle that the two giant projectiles flipped back around and smashed into Black Saint Galgomon, throwing him backwards and onto his rear. Unfortunately, having executed so many energy techniques at once, Mirage Gaogamon was close to exhaustion.

He glanced over his shoulder to Shine Greymon and Gaioumon. The two dragon digimon were still fighting, viciously tearing into one another. Shine Greymon slammed his fist into Gaioumon's head, Gaioumon swung his sword around, cutting into the cyborg's leg. The Light Dragon whipped his other foot around, smacking it into the side of the virus's head. Gaioumon lurched backwards, but flung back forward with his full might, bashing his head into Shine Greymon's own. The Light Dragon stumbled back but Gaioumon continued his assault, slashing and cutting with his swords. Shine Greymon jumped into the air and whipped his tail around, smacking his metal appendage into his opponent's face. With Gaioumon slightly injured, Shine Greymon held his hand in the air. "Geo Grey Sword!" A geyser of flame leapt from the ground and collected in Shine Greymon's palm, transforming into a familiar sword.

"The Katana of Fire?" Gaioumon chuckled, "Impressive."

"I was just getting tired of your fucking swords!" he shouted, charging forward. He swung his weapon at Gaioumon's head, but the virus blocked with his own swords. They began to execute combos after combos with their swords, but each one blocked with their own weapons.

Mirage Gaogamon was not faring much better. Black Saint Galgomon was swinging his fists into the ground, but the wolf man darted and rolled out of the way. The Machine digimon growled with anger and swung his fist again, slamming the ground with enough force to cause a small earthquake. Mirage Gaogamon pulled his firsts back, then slammed his gauntlet-based claws deep into Black Saint Galgomon's hand. The towering digimon roared with pain, but Mirage Gaogamon continued his assault. He jumped up the arm's length, using his claws to embed deep into the machine's arm, then used his pattern as he made his way up his opponent's arm and landed once again on his shoulder. He ran towards Black Saint Galgomon's head, hoping to finish what he had started before, but the Machine digimon shrugged his shoulders quickly and he fell to the ground. He was able to use his claws to create a massive gash in Black Saint Galgomon's chest before he smashed into the ground. He clamored back to his feet, and Shine Greymon soon joined him, pressing their backs against one another. Their opponents began to slowly close in on them.

"How you holding up?" Shine Greymon asked.

"Exhausted," Mirage Gaogamon answered, "I'm not gonna last much longer."

"Yeah," his partner panted, "They're tougher then we thought, but I don't think they're gonna last much longer either."

"Yeah, you might be able to, but I'm about to collapse…I don't have enough energy left to defeat him."

Shine Greymon glanced over his shoulder and saw Black Saint Galgomon stomping towards them, then back at Gaioumon, who was clearly far more injured. "Then I think we need to switch partners."

"What?"

"We do it real quick, it'll screw with their heads, and that should do it."

Mirage Gaogamon smiled slightly. "Crazy enough to try."

Shine Greymon smirked and held his sword tightly. Gaioumon and Black Saint Galgomon were nearly on top of them. The Light Dragon took a deep breath, "3…2…1….Now!"

The two digimon suddenly twisted around and charged forward. Shine Greymon was correct, Gaioumon was too surprised to react in time as Mirage Gaogamon's Full Moon Blaster struck him at full force, and Black Saint Galgomon gasped loudly, as Shine Greymon's sword dug deep into the gash created by Mirage Gaogamon. Both virus digimon shuttered for a moment, then both were overcome by the light of devolution, regressing to their previous forms.

Shine Greymon panted heavily. "Man, that was fucking tough, huh?"

He glanced over and saw that Koji and Gaomon were lying unconscious as well. "Great," he muttered.

111

After Koji and Goamon regained consciousness, they dragged their negative counterparts back to Hikari's apartment. Takuya then used her telephone to call her and inform her that they had captured Miach and Yamag. They decided that Sora, Noriko and Hikari would head towards the warehouse where Juro, and Kurata would activate the unstable Digital Gate, while Miayag, Tanna and Yariko would go back to the apartment.

When they stepped inside, they saw Miach and Yamag were tied to the kitchen chairs, their hands and feet bound tightly to wooden seats. Their digimon were imprisoned in similar fashion, and their weapons and digivices were on the living room table. They did not want to chance having them in the same room.

"Hey guys," Takuya waved as they walked inside, "What's up?"

The young women were able to answer, when they noticed the 'evil' sides were in the kitchen. Yariko twirled to the heroic sides. "You…you really defeated them?"

"Yeah," Koji replied, "And it wasn't easy."

Tanna was staring into the kitchen as well, but for another reason. She turned to them. "What did you use to tie their hands and feet?"

Koji glanced at Takuya, who began to nervously rub the back of his head. "Um, yeah, about that," he started, his face becoming bright red, "We…uh…didn't really have anything else so…yeah…those are Hikari's…pantyhose…"

"We're sorry," Koji added.

Tanna shrugged. "Well, you're just gonna have to tell her later.."

Takuya turned towards Miayag. "So, now that we've got them, you can, like change us back or something, right?"

The Priestess hesitated. "I may have a means to do so, but…."

"But what?" Koji asked.

"It is the Digital Gate that Juro and Kurata are about to activate."

Takuya just nodded. "All right, so, all we have to do is secure that Gate, then we're in business, right?"

"We just have to get through Metal Piranhmon," his Agumon added.

The room fell silent. "Well, hey, no worries, right?" Tanna smiled, "We'll do it, no matter what, we always find a way."

Before anyone could respond, they heard a loud moan coming from the kitchen. "Well, it looks like they're awake," Takuya said.

They slowly walked inside. Miach and Yamag were fully awake and already struggling to escape. "Don't bother," Takuya warned, "That's…uh…super strength rope, you'll never break free."

The others glanced at him, but said nothing.

"All right, fine," Miach mumbled, "You caught us, now just kill us and get it over with."

"Kill you?" Yariko gasped, "We're not gonna kill you!"

"Then what are you going to do?" Yamag asked, "Fuse us back together? No thanks, I'd rather not be with a bitch like you."

Yariko stared for a moment, then crossed her arms. "You know, you're just insulting yourself when you say that."

"The point remains," Miayag interrupted, "That you must be fused back together, a person's soul cannot exist in multiple shards."

Miach snorted, "Sometimes its better that way…"

Takuya narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out, dumb-ass."

Koji thought for a moment. "I've got a question, when we were looking for you, me and Takuya both started to remember…things we weren't happy about. Were you thinking about that?"

"That's none of your business," Yamag responded.

"What things?" Yariko asked.

"When our parents got divorced and Takeru left with Mom," Koji answered.

Tanna stared at her heroic component. "And what about you?"

Takuya hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "When Hikari almost died…"

Miayag blinked in surprise. "Hikari almost died? When was this?"

"When I-we was six," Miach answered, "Hikari was four, she was sick. Mom told us to watch her, but because of our…our selfishness, we took her outside because we wanted to go outside . She caught pneumonia and almost died, all because of us."

Takuya and Tanna held their heads low, but Miayag stared at the 'dark' side of Taichi. "Dead Lord," she said, "You are not solely the evil within Taichi, you are his regret as well, his guilt."

"Wait, what?" Tanna gasped. She looked back at Miach. "Then…why were you with Juro?"

He shrugged. "A chance for power, a chance to finally get everything that I deserve!"

"And his selfishness," Miayag added, "No doubt he began to repress that the day Hikari was nearly killed."

Koji turned to Yamag. "All right, what about you? Why did you join with Juro?"

Yamag did not answer for a moment. Koji was about to ask him again, when he answered, "I guess…the same. I wanted power, I wanted people to be afraid of me. I…I just wanted to hurt everyone! And…and I wanted them to hurt me!"

"Yamato's anger and the suicidal part," Koji frowned, "From his parents' divorce and his depression."

Miayag placed a hand on Koji's shoulder. "Did…was there ever a time that Yamato tried to…"

"Well, I know right before we faced Piedmon of the Dark Masters, Yamato and Gabumon were on their own and fell into some kind of dark hole that fed on the negative emotions. Yamato was perfectly happy just to sit them for the rest of his life, but Gabumon got through to him."

Miyaga's Plotmon frowned, "Jeeze, no wonder he's a basket-case."

Yariko and Koji stared at her. The small Mammal paled slightly. "Um, I mean…Yamag, not…not you guys…heh…"

Miayag sighed. "I fear this may be all my doing."

The others stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "These two…" she mentioned to Miach and Yamag, "Were given life through my Fate power, the power I gave to Taichi and Yamato to form Omegamon X, and I did fear that the evil sides of Taichi and Yamato mingled with my own, but now I see that we were more alike then I realized." She smiled slightly, "In my past life, I, too, suffered more then my share of guilt and regret…" She eyed Miach, "And greed and selfishness," she turned to Yamag, "As well as rage and self-destruction. I am sorry."

Tanna hugged her. "Oh, come on, they wouldn't be here if all that stuff wasn't inside them to begin with, right? Now come on, we've got to…" Her smile began to fade, "Oh shit, we've got to get to that warehouse!"

111

Inside the Hypnos building, Mitsuo Yamaki, sighed as he stared at his personal laptop, which was resting on the desk in his office. He was attempting to complete his report on the escape of Kurata, but his eyes kept drifting to the picture he kept on his desk, the one of a brown haired young woman. He gently grasped the picture and used his thumb to rub against her face.

He quickly placed the picture back when he heard his office door open. He glanced up and saw Ootori standing in the doorway. He cleared his throat and pretended to start typing. Ootori laughed and walked over to him. "You know, it's okay to be worried about your girlfriend."

"I'm not worried," he said, "I know she can handle things…"

She crossed her arms and stared at him. "Come on, you don't need to be the typical man and act like you don't have emotions."

He glared at her. "Reika…"

She held up her hands, "All right, all right." She did take a deep breath, "But we are going to go after them, right?"

"As soon as I'm done with this paperwork."

Ootori rolled her eyes. "We're going to be waiting awhile, aren't we?"

Before he could respond, Onodera ran inside. She was carrying a sheet of paper in her hands. "Colonel!"

"What is it?" he asked, "I'm right in the middle of…"

Onodera held up the paper and continued speaking, "Sir, our satellites have just detected a massive surge of electrical energy…"

He shrugged. "So?"

"Sir, it's coming from the Tokyo Bay area."

Yamaki's face paled. "What?"

Onodera nodded again. "Janyuu thinks that with the intensity that we're getting, it could be used to manipulate a gravitational field…"

"A wormhole?" he gasped.

"Colonel?" Ootori asked.

Yamaki jumped up from his seat and was about to run to the door, when he slowed to a stop. "What?" Onodera asked.

"What exactly are we going to do?" he asked, "No matter what kind of hardware or weapons we use, we can fight against a digimon, as powerful as Metal Piranhmon-I'd just be sending soldiers to their deaths."

Ootori blinked, she had never heard him speak like this before. "W…what do you suggest we do, then?"

He sighed. "Nothing."

"Nothing?!" Onodera gasped, "Colonel…"

"Just be ready for clean-up duty," he sighed, "One way or the other."

Before either woman could speak, Yamaki's laptop suddenly exploded, and three beams of light twisted around the room before smacking into the three Hypnos agents. The force sent them onto their backs, except for Yamaki, who skidded on his rear into the wall. What he saw lying in his lap forced him to remove his sunglasses and stare in shock-seated on his lap, was a blue-colored digimon.

"Hiya!" the digimon waved, "The name's V-mon, nice ta meet ya."

"V-mon?" he asked.

The digimon nodded. "Yup, that's right, and I'm gonna be your partner from now on."

Yamaki gasped. "What? Partner? But I'm not a Chosen!"

The Small Dragon chuckled, "All humans are Chosen, some just haven't realized it yet."

"But…but I did?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I've been calling you for a while now, but you couldn't hear me…" He frowned, "You were too busying hurting other people."

He twitched slightly, an image of Hikari appearing in his mind. "Oh…"

V-mon grinned again, "But, no worries, I'm here now!"

Yamaki smiled slightly, then remembered his two subordinates. He twisted his head around and saw they both had digimon of their own-short, oddly shaped beings dressed in suits of armor-black for Ootori and white for Onodera.

The two young women shrugged slightly. "They said their called Pawn Chessmon," Ootori smiled slightly.

Yamaki turned back to V-mon. "We all were Chosen?"

He nodded. "Yup, oh, I almost forgot…" He jumped off of Yamaki's lap and began to scan the floor. His eyes focused on an object below his partner's desk. He dove for it, then jumped back to his feet, grinning proudly. He handed Yamaki what he had lifted from the ground-a blue digivce, similar in style to the D3's used by Daisuke Motomiya and the other second team of Chosen Children.

"W…where did you get this?"

V-mon shrugged. "The one that sent me here gave it to me."

"Sent you…" he gasped, "Wait a second, the Digital World's gone! Where did you come from?"

He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm not sure, I just remember someone telling me that it was time for me to meet my destiny….Oh, and he said that your destiny is just beginning, that…that you're intertwined with the path the Chosen take in time, and always have been."

"Wow, I don't know…wait, how high can you evolve?"

"All digimon can evolve to the Adult level on their own," he explained, "Or with the help of their partner, but to go higher takes a little something extra."

Yamaki frowned, "Let me guess, we don't have that 'little something extra?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure we will."

"Colonel!" Ootori called, "I'm…I'm as shocked at you are, but…"

"I know," he grinned, rising to his feet, "Well, V-mon, I know you just got here, but are you ready to help your…" his smile grew, " partner' redeem himself to the woman he loves, and the people that could be his friends?"

V-mon smiled as well. "That's why I'm here."

111

On the Tokyo Bay waterfront, sat the warehouse that was currently being used by Juro and Kurata to house their Digital Gate. Hikari, Sora, Noriko and their partners, slowly peered over the handrails of the balcony. They each stared with wide-eyes of fright when they saw the Digital Gate. They were not sure what they were expecting, but to see a giant metal circle standing up on the warehouse floor, so perfectly constructed, that it sent chills up their spines.

"There's Michael and Jyou," Sora whispered, mentioning to the far wall. Their missing teammates were seated on the floor, the humans tied together and the digimon bound into a ball.

"I see Kurata and Juro," Hikari said, cautiously focusing on the two older men standing in front of the gate, "But where are those soldiers?"

"They're here, all right," Plotmon X said, glancing around at the ceiling, "Just be careful."

Down below, Juro and Kurata were standing before the newly constructed Digital Gate. "It is magnificent," the Fallen Chosen grinned, "Truly wonderful."

Kurata did not respond.

"How does it work?"

The Hypnos scientist adjusted his glasses. "It works on the same process as a normal Digital Gate-at least, it should. It hasn't been tested at all, it is very dangerous."

"I don't care about your cowardice!" he snapped, "Activate it!"

Kurata sighed. "It operates on creating a phenomenon similar to a black hole, and black holes are created by a collapsing star-a manipulation of gravity, albeit, an extreme manipulation of extreme gravity."

"Spare me," Juro spat.

Kurata sighed and pointed to the left side of the room, where two newly constructed giant electrical coils were resting. "That generator will create an electromagnetic field that we can use to manipulate a gravitational field." He walked over to a large-handled switch which was resting on a metal pedestal-shaped object. He grabbed the switch handle, took a deep breath, then flipped it over. The generators began to whirl and hum with a loud noise.

He turned back to Juro. "It's going to take some time for it to get up to full power."

Juro growled, then his snarl slowly turned into a smile. His eyes drifted to the right. ""It seems we have company."

Kurata narrowed his eyes. "The Chosen?"

The Fallen Chosen nodded. "Yes." He took a deep breath, then shouted, "Intruders!"

"Oh shit," Noriko gasped, "We've got to…"

Before she could finish, the snake digimon, Coatlmon, shot up from the ground. He chuckled for a moment, then whipped his entire body around, smashing his tail into the balcony guard rail. The three young women and their digimon partners were sent tumbling backwards through the door, and out onto the street. They jumped to their feet, just as the three reneged soldiers and their digimon partners ran out of the building.

"Evolve!" Sora shouted, "Now!"

The three digimon quickly evolved to their highest levels: Ladydevimon, Garudamon, and Nefertimon X. The three soldiers and their partners soon joined them: Nanami and Coatlmon, Ivan and Stegomon, and Captain Kouki and Thunderbirdmon.

"Attention, Hikari Yagami, Sora Takenouchi and Noriko Kawada, surrender now, and you will not be harmed, if you resist, we will use deadly force."

Hikari narrowed her eyes. "I think I speak for all of us, we will not surrender. Please, I don't know why you're serving Kurata and Juro, but just surrender, maybe Mitsuo will be lenient…"

"Our orders come from Dr. Kurata," Kouki replied, "Not Yamaki." He mentioned to his team, "Prepare to fight."

The three young women stared at their opponents. "I'll take the bitch," Sora sneered, staring at Ivan.

"Nefertimon X is the strongest," Noriko added, "You take Thunderbirdmon, we'll get Stegomon."

Hikari nodded. "Right, go Nefertimon, just capture him alive, okay?"

The Holy Beast pointed her front legs forward and fired a barrage of light from her armored jewels, "Nile Jewelry!"

Thunderbirdmon was not expecting the attack to come so suddenly, and he was hit on both of his wings. As he lost control of his altitude and fell towards the ground, Nefertimon X shot after her prey.

"I don't have time for this," she shouted, "Rosetta Stone!"

She began to fire large stones, which struck the Giant Bird along his back. Thunderbirdmon caught an updraft with his wings, whipped around and bashed his head into Nefertimon X's chin. She flipped around in the air, and the Giant Bird began to bat at her with his razor-wings. She was finally able to regain control and fired a "Curse of Queen," attack that hit Thunderbirdmon directly in the face.

He was flung backwards, but then whipped open his wings, sending a wave of thunder and lighting into the Holy Beast. "Thunder Storm!"

"Nefertimon!" Hikari screamed, watching as her partner was struck repeatedly by bolts of powerful lightning. The Holy Beast hovered in the air for a moment, then shot towards the Giant Bird with all of her might, bashing her head into his. Both digimon were disoriented, and wobbled in the sky for a moment, before the Giant Bird resumed his attack. He whipped his tail around, pointing it forward. He flew at Nefertimon X, his wings slicing into her furred-skin, and his tail cut into her underside. The Holy Beast fired another Curse of Queen attack, throwing Thunderbirdmon back.

Garudamon and Coatlmon had been battling fiercely. The snake digimon was slithering along the ground before leaping up to strike. Garudamon kept her eyes focused on the wiggling serpent, and when he leapt to strike, she grabbed him with her large fists, directly behind the head and at the end of his tail. "Got you!"

"Don't get cocky!" Sora shouted, "Remember, he can…"

"Fossil Wave!" the snake shouted, sending his paralyzing wave through the Giant Bird, turning her into an organic statue.

Her redheaded partner sighed. "Paralyze you…"

Nanami chuckled. "You'd better give up now before you really get hurt."

Sora cheered on her partner. "Garudamon, come on, you can do it!"

The Wind Guardian's body shock as she tried to free herself from Coatlmon's attack. The serpent slithered along the ground, encircling the frozen digimon. He leapt into the air, circling around Garudamon and squeezing tightly.

The Wind Guardian struggled to breathe as her wind-pipe was slowly crushed. She tried to move, but the Fossil Wave attack was still holding her hostage. As he began to black out, she heard Sora crying out to her.

Suddenly, she felt a feeling of relief wash over her, and she knew the paralyzing wave had worn off. She flexed her muscles and pulled her arms apart, Coatlmon tried to keep constricted, but his grip failed against the Giant Bird's strength. As the serpent began to fall, Garudamon grabbed him by the tail and swung his head into the ground. Coatlmon whipped around and shot into the air. "Cold and Clammy!"

The sky above Garudamon began to pour with snow, covering the bird in a matter of seconds. The snake whipped his tail around, striking the Wind Guardian in the underside of her chin. Garudamon whipped his arms around, attempting to grab the snake, but the serpent displayed surprising speed and shot out of her grip.

Stegomon once again found himself against an opponent that had a major disadvantage against him: Ladydevimon had the freedom to move within the air, while he was trapped firmly on the ground. While the Fallen Angel's Darkness Spear could only be utilized at close range, her Darkness Wave attack was certainly long range, yet such a powerfully attack could not be used in repeated numbers, so she was forced to swoop in close to pummel him with physical attacks.

She whipped around to the Nature Spirit's rear and slashed his backside. Unfortunately, Stegomon's tail whipped around, smacking her in her backside, his tail spikes jabbing into her leather-clad rear.

"Damn it!" she hissed, shooting higher into the air, "That was stupid!"

"Are you okay?" Noriko shouted.

"Yeah," she growled, her eyes narrowing on the dinosaur digimon, "You're gonna pay for that!"

"Bring it on!" he shouted, "Shell Needle Rain!"

The spikes on his back erupted, firing into the air. The Fallen Angel danced and darted to avoid the shrapnel; she used this as cover to plan her revenge for Stegomon's tail attack. She slithered through the assault, and came close to Stegomon's nose. She quickly formed her Darkness Spear and jabbed it into his snout. He screamed and writhed in pain, flicking his head to the side, the devil woman was thrown in the force, but she twisted around in the air and flipped forward.

Stegomon jumped into the air as well, and his body began to spin around rapidly, the needles on his back turning into razor wheels. "Guillotine Wheel!"

Ladydevimon flung her heads around in an effort to protect her body from the razors, but her left hand was sliced to shreds.

"Ladydevimon!" Noriko screamed.

Her left hand was the hand that transformed into her Darkness Spear. Stegomon charged forward, his jaw snapping. Ladydevimon executed a familiar motion with her hands and fired out a wave of bats directly into the stegosaurus's face. He stopped short, and the Fallen Angel executed a series of punches and kicks. Stegomon's jaw suddenly snapped open and grabbed her leg, slamming her into the ground.

The dinosaur was about to continue his assault, when something else caught his eye, a familiar opponent-a giant butterfly. He roared with revenge. "Shell Needle Rain!"

Butterflymon whipped to safety as the giant spikes shot harmlessly into the air. She fired a stream of honey from her claws that struck Stegomon, once again, in the eyes.

"Butterflymon?" Ladydevimon asked.

On the ground, Noriko was smiling as Yariko and Koji came running over. She could see Yamag, slowly walking behind them. She turned as saw Taichi's 'components' joining Sora, while Miayag ran to Hikari's side.

"No!" the brown-haired woman said, "Kurata and Juro are inside! Hurry and go! We'll hold these three off!"

"But…" Miayag protested.

"No!" Hikari shouted, louder then before, "They're going to activate the gate, and you said it was the only way to get Taichi and Yamato back to normal! You said Omegamon X could beat Metal Piranhmon! You've got to help them, please…"

The Priestess nodded. "Very well. Takuya, Koji, gather up your counterparts, we must enter the warehouse at once!"

Before they could protest, Miayag shook her head. "Hikari has commanded it, now, we must go now!"

The components of Taichi and Yamato reluctantly agreed and began to file through the warehouse door.

"No you don't!" Kouki shouted, "Thunderbirdmon!"

His partner obeyed and swooped down to attack the humans and digimon scrambling through the door. Nefertimon X shot over, using her entire body to throw the Giant Bird out of the way.

Thunderbirdmon growled at her. The Holy Beast stared back; she was certain she could easily annihilate the Giant Bird, but Hikari had told her to capture alive, so that was what she would do. "I'm giving you one last chance," the Holy Beast said, staring at Thunderbirdmon, "Surrender, or you're going to regret it."

Thunderbirdmon's response? ""Thunder Storm!"

Nefertimon X braced herself as the Giant Bird's attack ripped across her body, bolts of lightning rained from the sky. She attempted to move, but another wave of lighting crashed down upon her-she was trapped.

"Fire Rocket!"

Thunderbirdmon was suddenly hit by a giant ball of flames, throwing him into a tailspin, and saving Nefertimon X. The Holy Beast stared with surprise, then slowly turned and saw a blue, dragon man dressed in red and orange armor. "Fladramon?"

"Fladramon?" Hikari exclaimed, "But…" She slowly turned as well, staring at a definite human figure standing in the shadows cast by the twilight sky. Momentarily, she saw a brown-haired young man with a pair of goggles on his head. "D…Daisuke?"

The figure continued to walk forward, and the starlight cast down, revealing a young man with blond hair and dark sunglasses. "Mistuo?!" she gasped, "Wh…what?"

The young man smiled as he held up his digivice. Hikari blinked. "B…but how?"

"Later," he said, "Right now, we need to take these three down!"

Hikari looked over her shoulder and saw Ootori and Onodera's two KnightChessmon aiding Garudamon and Ladydevimon. She turned back to Mitsuo, then grinned. "All right, Nefertimon, let's finish this!"

111

Miayag, along with the components of Taichi and Yamato, simply charged inside the warehouse. "All right, ya' Fallen piece of shit!" Takuya shouted, "We're commandeering that Gate!"

They followed the hall until they arrived at the balcony over-looking the abandoned floor. When they saw the giant Digital Gate, they stopped in horrified shock. "That fucking thing is huge!" Yariko exclaimed.

The small group peered over the edge of the bars, and saw the renegade Hypnos scientist and the Fallen Chosen standing before the Gate. Suddenly, the entire balcony exploded as Metal Piranhmon's metal tail ripped through the metal support boards. Tanna and Yariko clung to their Infant Counterparts as they all fell to their knees. However, as they did, they dropped the Bow of Abungu and the Shield of Galucio as they fell. They quickly leapt back to their feet as the demonic Deep Saver floated beside his Fallen partner.

"Well, it looks like we're all here, doesn't it?" Juro chuckled.

"Surrender, now!" Miayag order, "Or face your own destruction."

He smirked. "My, such animosity."

"Shut up!" Koji shouted, "I'm getting tired of you! Now, get out of the way!"

The Fallen Chosen crossed his arms. "Really, and who's going to make us?"

Takuya and Koji narrowed their eyes. "Who do you think?!"

"Well, you'd better re-examine your army, because I think your soldiers are about to betray you."

Takuya and Koji glanced at each other, then looked over their shoulders. Their dark sides were grinning wickedly. "You bastards!" Takuya exclaimed, "I thought you were going to help us!"

"When did we agree to that?" Miach smirked.

"Calm down," Koji said, "They can't evolve to Megas without their weapons."

"Uh, guys," Tanna called out, "Not to give you anything else to worry about, but…um..."

"We dropped the weapons," Yariko said.

"You dropped them?!" Takuya screamed, "That's all you had to fucking do, was hold onto the weapons, and you dropped them?!"

"Takuya!" Koji snapped, "They're evolving!"

As expected, the two Dark Sides had recovered the weapons that had been taken from them when their female counterparts crashed to the ground. They held them tightly as they merged with their partners, becoming Gaioumon and Black Saint Galgomon.

"Oh man!" Takuya whined.

Miayag glanced over her shoulder at Metal Piranhmon. "Try to subdue them, I will give you whatever time I can."

"What?" Takuya asked.

"Evolve and hold them off!" her Plotmon shouted.

Each digimon quickly evolved to their highest levels. The heroic sides and females sides began to attack their evil sides, while Kuzuhamon approached Metal Piranhmon. Juro began to chuckle. "So, now that her foot soldiers have fallen, the Heir of Yuushi finally deigns to enter the battle herself."

"To exile your evil from this world once and for all!" she snapped. She gripped her Staff of Yuushi and moved into battle position. Metal Piranhmon grinned. "I remember that Staff, and the sting it gives, of course, you're nothing like your grandfather."

The fox woman did not respond as she charged forward. Metal Piranhmon whipped his metal tail around, whacking Kuzuhamon in the chin. She executed a back-flip in mid-air, and when her head came around, she swung her staff as a transparent fox flung from the weapon. "Reverse Iduna!"

The fox spirit was inches from the evil Deep Saver. "3D Laser!" His energy attack sliced the fox spirit in half and would have struck Kuzuhamon at full force had the fox woman not blocked with her weapon.

"Max Power Vice!"

Kuzuhamon had just enough time to hold her staff horizontally with both of her hands. Metal Piranhmon's jaws clamped down tightly around the weapon, and he tried to yank it from her hands, yet, the fox woman held tightly. She whipped him from side to side until she released his grip and was flung to the side of the warehouse. The force of the impact caused him to open his jaw, and Kuzuhamon mentally summoned her weapon, which flew to her hand in a burst of golden light.

"Well done," Juro clapped, "Excellent mastery of that weapon, I am impressed."

"Your impression does not concern me," she responded, "My only concern is ending your reign of terror."

He smiled slightly. "Once again you insult me, simply because my views are dissimilar to yours."

"Your views would bring death and destruction to millions of innocents!" she shouted back, "To you, any who do not believe the same as you must be offered up to death!"

"You felt the same not so long ago, didn't you?"

Kuzuhamon flinched as she thought of only a few shorts months ago, when she was serving the demon GranDracmon as his High Priestess. At that moment when her thoughts drifted from the battle, that was when Metal Piranhmon attacked. "3D Laser!"

The fox was hit in her side, her armor torn and shredded. She cursed herself for falling for his trap; she had discovered that the Fallen Chosen's greatest weapon was to turn his opponents on fears and regrets against them. She panted and winced in pain, then shot after Metal Piranhmon, slamming her weapon into the side of his face. He whipped around, his metal tail plunger smacking into her already-injured side. She moaned in pain, and Metal Piranhmon continued his assault.

The components of Taichi and Yamato had been battling one another. Tanna and Yariko held Taichi Jr. and Yamato Jr. while their partners aided Shine Greymon and Mirage Gaogamon against Gaioumon and Black Saint Galgomon. They had to win this struggle, for not only did Omegamon X have the greatest chance of defeating Metal Piranhmon, but Sora and Noriko needed a whole Taichi and Yamato, they needed their loved ones as they were meant to be.

Gaioumon pointed his sword and fired an arrow of glowing energy. "Rinkageki!" Shinegreymon whipped his wings around and used them like a shield to protect his body, while Allomon charged forward and slammed her head into Gaioumon's chest. The Mega digimon only smiled and slammed his fists into her head. The dinosaur stumbled backwards.

"Are you okay?" Tanna shouted.

Shine Greymon ran to her side. "Take it easy," he said, helping her to her feet.

"Yeah, that was stupid," she muttered, rubbing her head. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Gaioumon charging at them with his sword drawn. Allomon pushed Shine Greymon out of the way just as she rolled backwards. The demonic Dragon Man slashed empty air. The Light Dragon whipped his tail around, striking his opponent in the back before unleashing his Shining Burst, throwing Gaioumon into a concrete wall.

He flipped open his wings and shot after his opponent, executing a rapid set of punches, cracking the demonic Dragon Man's armor. Gaioumon slashed with his sword, cutting into Shine Greymon's arm. He jumped back, nursing his injured limb. The demonic Dragon Man jabbed with his blade, but the Light Dragon leapt to the side.

"I'm getting tired of your advantage!" he shouted. He clenched his fist and the ground began to quake as a stream of fire erupted forth. The geyser twisted and snaked in the air before smashing into his hand, forming into a familiar sword.

"GeoGrey Sword?" Gaioumon asked, "It looks like the Katana of Fire."

Shine Greymon did not answer. He slashed for Gaioumon's lower leg, but the demonic Dragon Man blocked with his own sword. The Light Dragon jabbed for the shoulder, but his thrust was once again blocked. The two dragon men began a fierce sword fight, each one hoping to slice the other's neck, but each time they tried, their weapons were blocked by their opponent's. Their weapons eventually became locked together, each one trying to overpower the other, and Shine Greymon had actually gained the upper hand, that is, until Gaioumon kicked him in the stomach, throwing his backwards. Gaioumon slashed a horizontal slice in the air, firing tracks of light at Shine Greymon. "Rinkazen!"

The Light Dragon was clearly disoriented. The Demonic Dragon Man raised his sword, ready to strike…

"Dino Burst!"

A blast of hot air struck Gaioumon's hand, forcing him to drop his weapon. He twisted his head and saw Allomon glaring at him. "Yeah!" Tanna cheered, "Show him who's boss, yeah!"

"You will pay for that!" Gaioumon shouted. He dove for his dropped weapon, but Shine Greymon used his own sword to execute a decisive uppercut, creating a major slash in the Demonic Dragon Man's armor. He stumbled backwards and Shine Greymon unleashed his Glorious Burst, enveloping Gaioumon in an explosion of light. When the eruption of power faded, Miach and Black Agumon were lying on the floor.

As for Butterflymon and Mirage Gaogamon, the battle against Black Saint Galgomon was not easy. Mirage Gaogamon gathered energy within his palms and began to fire cresent-shaped energy waves into the giant Mega's legs. "Double Crescent Mirage!"

Black Saint Galgomon winced at the attack. He swung his giant arm at the smaller wolf man, but Butterflymon whipped in front of his face and executed her favorite strategy of squirting honey into her opponent's eyes. "Sweet Honey Straw!"

"Damn you!" the giant Mega shouted, swinging his hands blindly in the air. Mirage Gaogamon jabbed his claws into Black Saint Galgomon's leg and ripped up as hard as he could. The giant flicked his leg, and the wolf man was propelled into the air. He executed a flawless back flip and landed perfectly on his feet.

He charged forward again, his claws glistening in the window-streaming moonlight. He was about to strike Black Saint Galgomon's previously-injured leg, but the giant recovered from Buttlerflymon's attack and kicked the wolf as hard as he could. Mirage Gaogamon was sent flying through the air before slamming into the concrete wall.

"I will destroy you!" he shouted. A panel flipped open on his chest and a large missile exploded forth, heading straight for the injured wolf digimon. The Nature Spirit leapt out of the way and the missile blasted into the wall, creating a massive hole in the side. Mirage Gaogamon charged forward again, this time gathering the energy into his chest. He screamed, "Full Moon Blaster!"

Black Saint Galgomon brought both of his palms before his chest, guarding his body against the assault. While his hands were still together, Butterflymon whipped in front of his face and this time scratched at his eyes with her claws. He roared in pain and instinctively back handed her into the ground.

"Butterflymon!" Yariko cried from the sidelines.

"I'm fine," she responded, floating back into the air.

"You won't be for long!" Black Saint Galgomon shouted, "Giant Missile!"

Another massive projectile shot from his chest. Butterflymon flew out of the way, but Mirage Gaogamon stood his ground. "What the hell are you doing?" she screamed.

The wolf man simply watched the missile flying towards him. At the last seconds before impact, he flipped backwards in the air, kicking the projectile backwards. Black Saint Galgomon gasped as his own weapon flew back towards him. He was simply too big to move before he was struck directly in the chest. Mirage Gaogamon unleashed his Full Moon Blaster immediately, with two such attacks in succession, Black Saint Galgomon stumbled backwards. The wolf man fired another Full Moon Blaster, but this time, the giant Megan was able to block with his metallic forearm. The energy blasted towards the sky, but Butterflymon whipped from nowhere and began to absorb the dissipating energy into the scales beneath her wings. "Sweet Pheromone!"

Bolts of lightning rained from her scales, showering down onto the giant Mega. Mirage Gaogamon took this opportunity and unleashed a third Full Moon Blaster. With his injured chest, and both energy attacks striking him at full force, Black Saint Galgomon could not hold onto his form and his regressed back to Yamag and Black Gabumon.

Yariko smirked slightly. "Well, that wasn't so tough…"

"You guys okay?"

The Yamato components looked over as the Taichi components ran towards them, Shine Greymon holding the unconscious Miach and Black Agumon. "Yeah, we're fine," Yariko answered.

"What are you doing?!"

They twisted their head to the ceiling to watch as Kuzuhamon battled Metal Piranhmon. "If you have defeated them, you must go! Go into the Gate now!" the fox woman ordered.

"Come on!" Mirage Gaogamon shouted, hoisting Yamag and Black Gabumon onto his shoulder.

Tanna and Yariko clutched to their Infant counterparts as their partners joined them. They all began to run towards the Gate. Kurata, who had been standing before the control panel, leapt to the side as the powerful digimon ran towards him. Juro, who had been watching his partner's battle from the other side of the floor, shouted out, "Metal Piranhmon, stop them!"

His devil partner flew towards the components of Taichi and Yamato and flicked his metal tail at them, but Kuzuhamon leapt in the way, getting struck directly in the stomach.

"Miayag!" Tanna shouted.

"Go!" the fox woman ordered, "I will hold him, for as long as I am able."

"But…"

"Now!" she shouted.

The group nodded at one another, then took a deep breath before diving through the glowing light that comprised the circular Digital Gate.

111

The components of Taichi and Yamato found themselves floating within a void of pure white. "Where are we now?" Yariko asked.

"We've been reduced to data," Koji answered.

"But why didn't we end up in the Digital World?" Tanna asked, "Or even where the Digital World used to be?"

"Who knows," Takuya answered, "I want to know why we didn't…um…recombine or something."

"Maybe we need to do it consciously," Koji suggested, eying Miach and Yamag, "Which might take some convincing."

The 'Dark' sides crossed their arms. "You think we're really going back?" Miach asked, chuckling slightly.

"You need to!" Tanna protested, "Come on, don't you care about Sora and Hikari?"

"What about Noriko?" Yariko asked, eying Yamag, "They need us."

"No they don't," Yariko's counterpart answered, "They don't need to remember their regrets or their anger."

Takuya stared at Miach, "But...Taichi's just not Taichi without his temper."

"No, you're wrong, Taichi's Taichi because of you. He's not regret…" he glanced at Tanna, "And he's not 'girly."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Just because a guy's in-touch with his sensitive side, doesn't mean he's girly."

"But Taichi's not in touch with his sensitive side," he retorted.

"When it comes to Sora and Hikari he is!" she shouted back.

"Stop arguing!" Koji shouted.

Takuya was silent for a moment, then stared at Miach. "Listen to me, when Taichi almost killed Hikari…yeah, that memory never left him, but…but if it wasn't for that, he wouldn't have become the person he was!"

"What do you mean?"

"He may have lived with it all this time, but that just made him stronger in the end. It was because of almost killing his sister that he started to become more responsible."

He snorted. "Oh come on, his arrogance almost got the others killed so many times…"

"Yeah…okay…but…his guilt helped him overcome that arrogance…"

Tanna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're doing a great job…."

Koji smiled slightly. "I just realized something."

"What?" Yariko asked.

"Yamato's 'darkness' started when his parents got divorced, that's why he was so protective of Takeru, because they were separated so much." He mentioned to Miach and Yamag, "Both of them came from incidents that completely scared Taichi and Yamato, but it only made them care for their younger siblings so much more. And it was that relationship that helped them deal with their problems during the first year as Chosen."

Yamag only snorted. "I didn't know Yamato was a fucking psychiatrist."

Koji narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you…"

"Forget it!" Miach shouted, smiling slightly, "Maybe you convinced us."

"What?" Tanna gasped.

Yamag shrugged. "Yeah, you guys are too fucking 'wholesome' for your own good, I think you need us as much as we need you."

"You're probably right," Yariko smirked, "What do we do?"

"I know this sounds corny," Tanna said, "But why don't we hold hands?"

The humans all grasped each other's hands, even the Infant counterparts, who had decided at that moment to act like typical babies. The digimon grasped one another as well. They were silent for what seemed like eternity before their bodies began to break apart and their data floated together…

111

Kuzuhamon panted heavily and she used her staff to keep herself from collapsing onto the floor. Metal Piranhmon floated above her, grinning a set of massive teeth. He stared down at the fox woman, her armor cracked and broken, her skin beginning to bleed, her energy almost destroyed. Metal Piranhmon swooped in for another attack. The fox woman attempted to leap to safety, but the demonic Deep Saver's metal tail whipped around and smashed into her at high velocity. Kuzuhamon fell to the hard concrete floor, landing with a mighty thud. Her body remained perfectly still until it glowed brightly, returning back to Miayag and Plotmon.

The demonic Deep Saver chuckled. "So tell me, where is your great defiance now?"

The Priestess tried to speak, but she was only able to cough.

Metal Piranhmon grinned. "I shall now send you to see your grandfather, tell him I said hi. 3D…"

A massive light suddenly exploded from the Digital Gate. Kurata dove for cover as the horizontal column of light collected into a giant egg, which hovered in the center of the room. A silence fell from their lips as they watched with simple awe as the giant egg slowly began to disintegrate. It started at the top, the particles slowly breaking off and vanishing into nothingness. As the egg shell vanished, a figure could clearly been seen within, a large armored figure that hovered in the air, his arms-one wearing a dragon-shaped gauntlet, and the other with a wolf-shaped gauntlet-crossed over his head. The egg shell completely vanished, and the figure threw his arms open, his cape billowing behind him. "Guess who's back!" he shouted.

"Omegamon X!" Miayag and Plotmon exclaimed.

The Royal Knight glanced over his shoulder to see the Priestess and her partner. They were both clearly injured; Miayag was not even able to stand without supporting herself with the Staff of Yuushi. He turned his head back towards Juro and Metal Piranhmon.

If the Fallen Chosen was nervous, he did not show it. Instead, he turned slightly to Kurata, who was crawling back to the control panel. "It's operational?! Why didn't you say so?!"

The renegade scientist examined the display on the panel, "It's still not safe! Their atoms could have been annihilated; you need to wait just a little longer."

"How long?"

"Ten minutes, if that.."

He nodded and turned back to the Royal Knight. "So, you managed to pull yourself back together, huh? He stared at the hovering Mega. "Omegamon X..impressive. You didn't get a chance to show yourself during out last encounter, but, like Priestess Miayag had stated, had you appeared, you may have defeated us." He smiled slightly, "And I'm sure you remember how much your deaths hurt your loved ones, Sora and Noriko, for instance."

Metal Piranhmon hovered before the silent Omegamon X. "Just think, if you hadn't of lost, then maybe Sora wouldn't have spent the past few nights crying herself to sleep, all because of your…"

He was not able to finish as the Metalgarurumon X gauntleted fist smashed him in the side of his face. The demonic Deep Saver twisted through the air; he was able to stop himself before crashing through the far wall. He glared at the Royal Knight, "Just so you know, I gave you that one…"

Omegamon X rolled his eyes, "So full of shit…"

The Deep Saver growled. "You don't scare me! Just because you beat GranDracmon means absolutely shit to me! All that time spent split into different personalities probably completely drained you… I'm still stronger then you, a thousand times stronger!"

"Then bring it on!" the Royal Knight shouted, "I'm getting tired of your fucking mouth, Piranhmon! You and your partner have looked down your noses at us for the last fucking time! You think you're better then us, your arrogance is going to destroy you!"

Metal Piranhmon did not move.

"Come on!" Omegamon X screamed, "Let's see how powerful you are, or are you just talk?"

His opponent roared with anger. "Max Power Vice!" The Deep Saver shot forward like a bullet, his jaws aiming for the knight's chest. He opened his mouth, ready to strike…

….but Omegamon X's Wargreymon X gauntleted hand punched his jaw as hard as he could. The Deep Saver screamed in pain and writhed in agony. The bottom portion of his mouth hung limply from his face-his jaw was clearly broken. He struggled as hard as he could before he was able to pull that damaged portion back into position with a deafening popping sound.

"Damn," the knight muttered, "Just dislocated, but you're still going to have to eat all your meals with a straw."

Metal Piranhmon mourned for his shattered teeth, but there would be time to replace them later, he needed to defeat his enemy. He said nothing as he whipped his tail around, intending to use the attached plunger to knock the Royal Knight's head off. However, a glowing sword slid out of the Wargreymon X hand and with a quick motion, severed the Deep Saver's tail, which fell to the ground with a loud clank.

"Ready to call it quits yet?" Omegamon X chuckled, "You're falling to pieces…"

Metal Piranhmon glared at his opponent, rage over-taking his senses. "All right, let's see what you've got, 3D Laser!"

His energy attack exploded forth, sailing across the warehouse floor, heading for its intended target. Omegamon X watched with surprising calmness as the attack that was capable of killing even Megas came towards him.

Miayag could only stare in horror, as she was certain that the death of Taichi and Yamaot was about to occur again. "No!" she screamed.

Omegamon X whipped his Metalgarurumon X arm forward. "Garuru Cannon!" The Royal Knight's own beam smashing into the 3D laser, halting its forward movement only inches from Omegamon X's face. The beams splintered at the impact point, flying in all directions. One stray blast even managed to strike the Digital Gate itelf.

The Demonic Deep Saver struggled to keep his energy beam focused, but it soon became apparent that the Garuru Cannon was simply too powerful for his meager 3D Laser. For the first time in countless years, Metal Piranhmon felt fear, overwhelming, intense fear. In his crazed terror, he twisted to flee, but that left him wide open for the Garuru Cannon beam, which slammed into his side. The beam took him flying through the air, and he would have kept going if he had not crashed into the wall. The bricks shattered, burying him in a pile of debris. The Deep Saver emerged a moment later, a massive wound in his side. He scanned for Omegamon X, and, unfortunately for him, discovered the Royal Knight falling at him from the ceiling. His Grey Sword was held above his head, glowing brightly. "All Delete."

He swung the sword deep into Metal Piranhmon's back, and the demonic Deep Saver's body was suddenly covered with darkness, and all was still for the merest of moment's before Metal Piranhmon's data exploded, showering the warehouse with data that slowly vanished into nothingness.

"No!" Juro screamed, "No! I will see you destroyed for this!" He reached for his Flail of Chance, "I'll use my weapon's power, I'll alter fate, I'll bring him back, I'll…"

He was interrupted as a mighty shockwave suddenly erupted through the air. All eyes twisted to the Digital Gate. The mysterious portal was beginning to shimmer in a bright red light. Miayag rose to her feet, clutching her injured side. "I assume that is not a normal occurrence!"

Kurata was already at the control panel, examining the readings that were being displayed over the monitor. "That energy blast damaged a central stabilizer!"

"Meaning what?" Omegamon X snapped.

"There's nothing to hold the dimensional energy in check! If we don't fix this, the entire city could get sucked pulled into a dimensional irregularity!" He glared at Juro, "This is what I said would happen!"

"How do we repair this?" the Priestess asked.

Kurata's hands were dancing over the control panel. "The problem is that the gate needs to…'lock onto' something, so to speak, and without the Digital World, there's nothing for that portal to go to."

"What?" Omegamon X shouted.

"Without something on the other end, the Gate doesn't have anywhere to go! The stabilizer was needed to keep the energy in check, even though it wasn't going to anywhere."

"Do we need to realign the stabilizer?" Miayag asked.

Kurata shook his head. "That would be the best solution, but we can't repair it while the dimensional aspect is still active. I'm attempting to shut it down now…" A power surge suddenly erupted across the panel, throwing him into the ground. There was another surge, this time electrical bolts ripped around the entire metal circle. Kurata ran to Miayag's side. "The panel's been destroyed, I can't shut it down, it's too unstable!"

"What do we have to do?" Omegamon X demanded.

The scientist mentioned to the gate. "It's already in shut-down procedure, but it can't do that with the portal acting so erratic. The only way to manage that energy now, is to give it something to center around. If the Digital World isn't there, it can't center on that, so…." He took a deep breath, "We need to throw something inside."

"Like what?" Miyaga's Plotmon asked, glancing at the debris lying around the warehouse.

"Nothing that small," he said, "So far, the irregularity in the gate is growing very slowly, so we don't need a building or anything that large but…."

"Something of human mass?" Miayag asked.

The scientist nodded. "Yes."

She nodded. "Very well." She began to walk towards the malfunctioning gate, only to be stopped by Omegamon X's giant arms. "Sorry, this one's mine."

She shook her head. "I cannot let you, you have just return. What about Sora and Noriko? They need you…"

Kurata turned his attention away from the arguing Chosen, then at Juro, who was only standing to the side, his eyes furrowed with rage. The scientist stared at the gate. "I've endangered everyone...my career, my reputation…it's gone…I won't be remembered as the man who destroyed this city…"

He studied his path for a moment. He took a deep breath, then charged forward as fast as he could. He held out his left arm, and snatched Juro, causing the Fallen Chosen to drop the Flail of Chance, clanging onto the floor. This brought Miayag and Omegamon X's attention.

"No!" Miayag shouted, "Dr. Kurata!"

"Unhand me at once!" Juro shouted, struggling to break free, but Kurata was less then half of the Fallen Chosen's age, his strength was far superior.

"This is our fault!" Kurata shouted back, "I was forced to do this by you, perhaps I should have fought back, but now I will redeem myself."

"Stop!" Omegamon X shouted, "Kurata!"

The Hypnos scientist did not answer, but Juro screamed in protest. This was un-headed as the scientist, carrying the Fallen Chosen, dove into the glowing energy of the Digital Gate. The red light began to swirl, merging with all colors of the rainbow before slowly growing smaller, and smaller before vanishing in a burst of electrical energy.

The room was silent, the Chosen only stared in awe. "Kurata…" Omegamon X said.

Miayag made a motion with her hands. "May you rest in peace."

111

Outside the warehouse, the Chosen had succeeded in defeating the three renegade Hypnos soldiers. Ootori and Onodera had placed the cuffs onto their backs, and the rest of the Chosen were about to run inside. They stopped when they saw Miayag slowly exiting the door, limping badly and using her staff as support. When the Priestess saw them staring questioningly at her, she smiled slightly and moved aside, mentioning with her hands. Sora, Noriko and their partners stared with wide eyes as Taichi, Yamato and their partners slowly stepped onto the street, Jyou, Michael and their partners on their backs.

The females screamed with intense joy and tackled the males, causing them to drop their unconscious cargo. "Oops," Taichi said with a slight smile, hoisting Jyou back onto his back.

"Taichi," Sora cried, hugging him tightly, "Oh, don't ever ever do that again!"

Noriko had tears in her eyes as well. "Yamato, you big jerk! You know how worried I was? I had to take a job as a fucking burger bitch!"

The blond man grinned. "I'm glad to see you too."

She only sighed and hugged him as tight as she could. "W…what was it like?" she asked, "I mean…when you were Koji and Yariko and…"

He was silent for a minute. "It's…hard to explain. Like…like I remember being Koji, but I remember being Yariko too. It's confusing…"

While Taichi and Sora were embracing, the young man noticed Hikari and Yamaki staring at them. He gently pulled Sora away and allowed his sister to hug him as well. He glanced at Yamaki, and nodded slightly at the other man.

"Thanks for your help," he said.

Yamaki crossed his arms. "Yeah, some help. None of this would have happened if…" He gasped, "Where's Kurata and Juro?"

He sighed and glanced away. "He sacrificed himself to stop the gate from going out of control…and he took Juro with him."

Yamaki sighed. "So Hypnos was completely useless in the end…"

Taichi shrugged. "Well, I don't think it's that bad of an idea…just…maybe it needs to be more of a…a strike force instead of a spy agency."

Yamaki stared at him, then slightly rubbed his chin. "That might not be that bad of an idea…."

Hikari wiped a tear away from her eye. She turned and noticed Miayag and her Plotmon slowly walking away. "Wait!" she shouted, "Please, don't go!"

The Priestess stopped, then turned to face her cousin. "I think it would be for best."

"Why?" Hikari asked.

She mentioned to the group of Chosen behind her. "I don't belong here, this is your family and friends."

"But you're my family!" she protested, "You're…you're my friend…"

She smiled. "Thank you, but…"

"Wait!"

They turned to see Noriko running towards them. "Miayag, I…I just wanted to…um…uh…you know…."

The Priestess stared at her.

"This isn't easy for me, all right!" she snapped, "Um…I'm sorry for…for how I've acted to you, and…thank you for…for bringing Yamato back…"

She gave a slight bow. "Thank you for your kind words, Lady Noriko, but you have every right to be angry with me."

She shrugged slightly, "Yeah, but…" She mentioned to Hikari, "She told me your were different, but…but I didn't want to believe it. Thanks."

The Priestess gave a slight bow.

"You're not going, are you?" Hikari asked.

"I think it would be for best," she sighed, "But I wish you the best. Farewell." Her Plotmon waved in an excited jump, and she and the Priestess slowly vanished into the shadows of the evening sky. Hikari only watched, and she was soon joined by her brother.

"Why didn't she want to stay?" she asked, "I don't understand."

Her brother shrugged. "We can't force people to be who they don't want to be."

"But she's our family," Hikari protested, "She's alone, why doesn't she want to be with us? I just don't understand, family should stick together…"

Taichi did not answer, just lightly embraced her.

111

Sora Kamiya could not be happier. She sat within her chair, lightly rubbing the fabric of her dress. In the seat next to her, Taichi raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she grinned, "I'm just so happy, I've got a lot of energy…I feel like I'm five years old!"

Taichi gave a slight smile. He never heard her say so much with a single breath before. He was excited too, but had better experience with keeping his emotions in check. He simply turned back to the reception hall, watching as his guests filed through the doors. After what seemed like hours, the wedding guests had finally all been seated.

Yamato stood up and cleared his throat. "Well, everyone, I want to welcome you to the wedding of two of my best friends. Taichi and Sora Kamiya!"

They entire hall began to clap as the newlyweds bowed. Yamato took another deep breath, "Once upon a time, there were a group of kids that were chosen to save both the Digital World and Earth. I've known these two since I was ten-years-old. We've been through everything together, we've depended on each other, we've helped each other. Fighting for your life can bring people together like that."

He frowned slightly, "But when the Second Black Death hit the Digital World, that's when we drifted apart, we just couldn't take the tragedy." He smiled once more, "But we were drawn together again, and we found true love. "

He gave a small nod, "But, the story begins once upon a time, it ends, happily ever after." He turned to Taichi and Sora, "May you both live happily ever after."

The guests began to clap once again, and Taichi and Sora kissed passionately.

111

Each of the knights watched in horror as the ground before them exploded, showering the area with shards of rock and dirt. Their armor protected them, so they remained in place. The reason for the explosion soon became apparent, as a massive tree, far larger then should even be possible, erupted from the ground. Standing on the branches were more figures, these ones seemed to be human, yet humans with clearly visible mechanical components. One had a claw for a hand, another had a robotic eye, a third had metal limbs, and the last had a carried a metal sword. They wore metal face masks, and wore gray and black.

The knights did not wait for any attack, they knew their enemies, and these were they. As the armored warriors ran forward, the enemy with the metal sword, who was standing on the top branch of the giant tree, waved his arm, and the other cyborg-creatures leapt to engage the knights.

The third knight, the one with white armor and a massive shield, was dispatched quickly by a cyborg with a giant hammer. Despite his attempts to defend himself, the hammer-wielding one crushed his head with his giant mallet.

"I'm the son of…who?"

"Now that I've got this, I'll do whatever I can!"

"I'm sorry, this is happening to you…because of me…!"

The fourth knight, the one with the brown armor and large white wings, rushed to his aid. His raised his rapier, but the hammer-wielder blocked with his mallet, the strength of the jab nearly threw the fourth knight into the trunk of the massive tree, but he held his ground. Unfortunately, it proved to be no use, as the hammer-wielder smashed his weapon into the knight's chest, shattering his armor.

"What does she see in him?"

"We've been friends forever,, I'm not gonna leave you now."

"You think you're the only ones that deserve to be here? I've got family in this too!"

The fifth knight used his shield to avoid the rapid-bunches of his opponent, who seemed to have super speed, as he darted and dashed around the knight. The speedy-cyborg was able to run straight up the trunk of the tree. The fifth knight followed by jumping into the air, once he reached the running cyborg, he manipulated the ribbons like a steel chain, ready to throw it into the running cyborg, but his opponent pushed against the trunk, flipping behind the fifth knight and unleashing a barrage of rapid punches that was able to shatter the back of his armor.

"I'm not sure what I can do, but if you need help…"

"I'm not going to be the weakling anymore! It's time to believe in myself!"

"This is for my family, my friends, for everyone that's counting on me!"

The seventh knight, the one with the skeletal body, found himself in opposition against one with a claw for an arm. The seventh knight used his own sharp gauntlets to slash at the cyborg's midsection, but he countered by showering him with bolts of energy. The seventh knight crossed his arms to block his head, but the clawed-cyborg slashed at his leg, then executed a roundhouse, smashing his foot into the side of the knight's head.

"I hated her, you know…"

"I don't care about the danger, I'm going to save her!"

"I will found my own legacy!"

The eighth knight leapt to his aid, leaping into the air to strike the clawed-cyborg with his glowing crossbow, but the cyborg displayed remarkable speed. He dropped to his knees, the eighth knight's arrow striking the seventh knight instead. While the seventh fell, down the trunk of the tree, the eighth began to battle the clawed cyborg. He jabbed and slashed with his lance, but the claw on the cyborg grew to monstrous size and he easily batted the crossbow from the eighth knight's hand.

"I'm not much of a fighter, but…"

"I just want to help,"

"I don't want to hurt you, but you leave me no choice."

The sixth knight and the ninth knight teamed up together as they charged at the cyborg with the robotic eye. This cyborg appeared to be female, and as her opponents ran towards her, she whipped out two large, mechanical crossbows and began to fire arrows of pure metal. The sixth knight used his large spear to bat away the projectiles, allowing the ninth knight to fly forward, the saber on his arms glowing brightly. The cybrog merely smirked and mentioned with her hand. All of the scattering arrows suddenly whipped around in a circle and a barrage of sharp arrows ripped into his back.

"This is family honor."

"Her death ruined my father, so I'll ruin him by killing you!"

"I'm a traitor to both sides, I'm welcome no where."

The ninth knight spun around to watch his falling friend, and the female cyborg leapt into action. She began to assault the knight with a barrage of kicks and punches, bashing and pounding. The knight blacked and struck with the glowing saber on his arm, but soon the female cyborg placed her two mechanical crossbows together and fired a massive bolt of dark energy that slammed into the knight's chest at full force, throwing him into one of the thicker branches, where he bounced in the recoil, yet remained perfectly still.

"I have no friend, my family hates me, I am alone…."

"I think I love you."

"I'm just trying to protect my little brother, aren't you trying to do the same?"

The first knight and the second knight charged past their fallen friends and focused on the cyborg standing on the central branch, his arms crossed and an amused expression on his face. The second knight gripped his staff and sword tightly as he took the lead. The central cyborg simply smirked and grabbed the extended blade with his metallic hands. His other hand whipped around and grabbed the knight's wrists. He struggled to break free, but the cyborg squeezed and forced him to drop his sword. The knight was about to attack with his staff, but the cyborg kicked his as hard as he could in the stomach, then pointed his fist at the knight's chest, firing a massive blast of energy that struck the knight, throwing him backwards where he slammed as hard as possible into the trunk of the tree. The cyborg finished with another energy blast at point-blank range.

"I am the cause of…of this."

"I will not allow any harm to come to you; I shall give myself to him."

"I care not who you are, you are my enemy, and I shall defeat you."

He was about to attack with another energy blast, but spun around just in time to use his metal sword to block the first knight's sword, which extended from his dragon-headed gauntlet. The two began a sword fight, jabbing, trusting and blocking. The first knight leapt into the air and swung his sword, but it was blocked by the cyborg's sword. His opponent pushed the first knight with his foot. He held up his metal sword, which glowed a bright color. He slashed across the knight's chest, creating a large gash in his armor. The first knight stumbled backwards, as the cyborg raised his glowing sword, ready to execute his kill shot….

……..The First Act was completed long before the current players stepped on the stage………..

……The Second Act was dominated by a demon of failed evolution and a vampire posing as human…….

…….The Third Act contained a false religion and a vampire god…….

….The Interlude contained the shattering of souls………

………Now the Final Act is about to begin……..

…Taichi and Sora Yagami………

…..Kasumi Yagami…….

…….Akira Yagami……..

….Yamato and Noriko Ishida…….

….Shiro Ishida…….

…Yasu Ishida…..

Mitsuo and Hikari Yamaki…..

….Asami Yamaki…..

………Heir of the Priestess…….

………Dawn of the Heroes...

……The Demon's Quest……

…..The Tides of Fate Begin to Turn…

….Agents of Destruction……

…Invitation from the Demons…

…Encephalogram of the Psyche…

…Departure…

…Death…

…Purgatory…

…Rebirth…

…Ascension…

….The Fall of the Chosen…..

Will any survive….

…the conquest of paradise?

…..Digimon: Magog…..