Digimon: Devil's Ascent (RPG Thread)

[TheSequelReturns]

He then turned to Duo. “And man, you got it tough, don’cha?” he said, although his smiling expression might have done little to convince the Gaiomon of his thoughts. “You’re possessed by some serial killer or something, and your girlfriend – that’s the Lucia girl, right? – is off somewhere doing god knows what.”

“You know what ya need? A good, hard drink,” he said, landing an arm around Duo’s shoulders. “Or maybe a nice fight to get rid of your stress. It always worked on the rowdier bunch of students; might work for you!”

Duo grinned. "You know, you might be right. I could go for a friendly spar after all this serious business. And the drink sounds pretty good too."

Before anyone could say anything else, a certain SuperStarmon slid over and nudged the two. "Finally, someone has a good idea. You don't mind if I tag along with you guys, huh?"

"Its fine with me, but do you even drink?" Duo asked.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked back.

"Its just that... I don't know. I've never seen you drink or eat before."

For a moment, Justin just stared back. As he started to reply, Scar called to them about some sort of light show going on. However, it soon became apparent that whatever was going on outside, it was not some sort of entertainment.

The ShadowWereGarurumon turned to Duo. “Remember what I said about a fight? I think we just got one!” he told the Gaiomon as he drew his sword quickly.

Duo's high spirits dropped. Already? Hadn't they just been through enough? When were they going to be able to get just a moments peace?

"Duo!" Justin said as he nudged his arm. "Come on, this isn't the time to think, its the time to act." He nodded and headed right for the window Scar had just leaped from. Justin went to leap out, and tripped over the window still, falling to the ground below with a cry of surprise.

The Gaiomon rushed over and looked out, just to see Justin rubbing his head. "Don't wait for me, I'm alright." Justin said.

Duo nodded and headed around. No jumping from widows for him, he was going to opt for the door.

------------------------------------------

Lucia watched as the thing that controlled her body killed civilian after civilian, and she could feel the pleasure that it took not just from the horrible acts it committed, but at the anguish that it was putting Lucia through. It practically basked in it.

"Please, stop this!" Lucia called.

But the presence merely ignored her pleas.

Even as Pyra and Vritra and the others began to show up and fight her, the presence just kept its silence. Her friends called out to her, but Lucia couldn't call back. She could only watch as her body tried to kill those whom she trusted most, those who were practically family to her.

"Please, stop... stop this..." she said. She was beginning to break down now, beginning to lose hope. She simply couldn't see this ending except with someone's death, be it theirs or her own.

She felt small, powerless, it was like she was a child again, crying in her tower room...

And she felt alone and lost. The others couldn't hear her, the dark thing didn't care. It was going to try and kill them all, and there was nothing she could do about it but watch and plead for it all to end.

[Griff4815]

Barachiel observed in confusion as Azur spoke his scathing words to Caradoc. Feeling a bit awkward, he rubbed the back of his neck and waited for Azur to go over to the tree and begin looking huffy again. When the WereGarurumon did just that, Barachiel looked back at Caradoc.

"I guess Azur must still be bitter about Caradoc leading us away from Anatolia," he figured.

"That sounds like a good idea... except that could easily backfire. If Mephistopheles has contacts there, he could find out we're searching for Hadrael and move him, or strengthen whatever guard he might have placed in case we attempted a rescue," he pointed out, quashing his guilt. "If we go, we'll need to be discreet. And we'd need some way of paying those we question, I don't have any money with me."

"It's a good thing the four of us are suited for stealthy operations then," Barachiel responded. He proceeded to frown as Caradoc brought up the question of payment. "For payment... I don't have any money. We left in a hurry, so I doubt Guinier or Azur has any either..."

Barachiel folded his arms as he throught about their quandary. When he looked down pensively, something caught his attention. The two pendants hanging from around his neck.

The insect digimon grimaced and took the two pendants - one from his deceased father and the other from Hadrael - in the palm of his hand. "I guess I could... give them this," he said apprehensively. The reluctance was clear in his voice as he observed the necklace that held sentimental value. "One of these is fashioned from Chrome Digizoid, so it would be worth a good amount... Surely somebody would exchange information for this."

Barachiel closed his fingers around the necklace and looked up at Caradoc, offering a small smile. "And you were willing to sacrifice your soul to find Hadrael when you don't even know him personally. This is... just a necklace. A material item. It is the least I can do..." he reassured.

He released his grip, allowing the metal to swing and knock against his chest. "Anyways, we should get going. It will take us half a day at least to get there. Maybe less if we hurry and forgo breaks. ...Shall we?"

-

Gunnar raced through the streets has he saw Tiwaz's trio of fireballs light up the sky. Upon needing a burst of speed, he dove into the air, flapping his wings and releasing a wave of shimmering particles as he did. For a moment, they lit up the street more than the attacks nearby, but then they died out in the ShineGreymon's wake.

He raced through the sky, hoping that it wasn't like the last attack. "This isn't good," he thought to himself. "We have to take care of this ourselves this time."

Gunnar pitched to right and descended towards the source of the attacks. There he saw Tiwaz and Pyra standing by while Vritra and Bedivere did battle with a Dianamon.

"That chick is kinda hot... except for the bloodstains. No, she's actually kinda creepy," Gunnar decided as he landed on the ground. "Reinforcements are here!" he announced, spreading out his wings and releasing another over-the-top showing of 'burst particles' as he called them.

He kneeled down and slammed his gauntleted palm onto the ground. "GeoGrey Sword!" he yelled, summoning the large, double-bladed weapon in a showing of a fiery aura. He pulled the blade out of the ground and spun it around in front of him cockily.

"Okay, sweetheart, let's dance."

-

Barachiel walked with Caradoc, Guinier and Azur through the dirty, ramshackle streets of Babylon. Shady looking digimon lurked around every corner. The group of four tried to be as discreet as possible, staying off the main streets and avoiding the Babylonians whenever possible. The group had taken to lower or alternate forms for disguises, as they would definately have been recognized if they stayed as they were. As a DinoBeemon, Barachiel swept back his orange hair into a bad cowlick to try to fit in with the sort of digimon who lived in Babylon.

A cloud of evil seemed to hang over the delapidated, murky city. Barachiel knew very well that Babylon was a hive for criminals and villainy. He looked around warily, scanning the streets for those that might be watching them. There was a chance Mephistopheles had followers in the area, so if they were spotted, they would have to be dealt with quickly.

He and the others spotted a Devidramon walking out of a large, decrepit building. Barachiel looked over his shoulder to the others. "I suppose we should start with him..."

Barachiel walked over to the Devidramon and hailed him with a wave. The dark dragon looked up at him and raised two of his four eyebrows. "Yeah? Whatcha want? Wanna sign up for the tournament?"

"Err... Y-...yo," the DinoBeemon said, sounding completely unnatural. The grimace on his face showed how uncomfortable he was speaking so informally to people, but he knew he had to try to keep up the guise. "No thanks... We were wondering if you had any info on Mephistopheles."

"Mephistopheles...? Oh yeah! The crapwad who caused my best fighter to skip town just so he could chase after 'im? With Kheppy around, I was on my way to livin' the good life until Meph started doin'...whatever th'hell he's doin'. He's gotten popular around here though," the Devidramon explained.

"Wait... 'Kheppy'?" the DinoBeemon asked, wondering if he meant who he thought he meant.

"Y'know, Khep Aeolus? Ex-leader of Black Pincer Co.? Ex-Peacemaker? Well... I guess he's not an ex-Peacemaker anymore, but still. He was my best fighter. You shoulda seen the dough he was bringin' in; the arena was packed! ...You not from around here r'somethin'?" the Devidramon asked, giving the group a scrutinizing stare.

"I shouldn't be surprised about Kheprius..." he thought to himself. "We're from around here. So, can you disclose to us Mephistopheles' whereabouts... bro?" Barachiel asked, struggling to keep himself from turning bright red.

The Devidramon blinked and gave the DinoBeemon a strange look. "Yeah, I might know a thing er two... but info ain't free, pal," he explained, folding his long arms across his chest. "So wha'd'ya got to offer me?"

Barachiel winced and protectively clasped the pendants in his blue hand. After several moments of contemplation, he removed the necklace from around his neck and presented it to the Devidramon. "We don't have any money, but I have this... It should be worth quite a bit and I'm sure if you haggled you could sell it for even more."

The Devidramon snatched the necklace from Barachiel and began inspecting it with his four eyes meticulously. "Hmm... Chrome Digizoid... Expert digizoidsmithing... This'll fetch a pretty digibuck," he said, beaming. "Yeah, okay. What do ya want t'know?"

"He has an Angemon held captive somewhere. Do you know where?" Barachiel questioned.

"An Angemon? Why do you want to know where a prissy digimon like that is?" he asked.

Barachiel clenched his fists angrily. "Do you know or not?"

"Nope, ask someone else," the Devidramon nonchalantly said, turning around and beginning to walk away. He stopped when Barachiel grabbed his wrist firmly. The Devidramon sneered and looked over his shoulder. "Bug off, ya pest. I told ya I don't know where he is. I'm not lying."

"My necklace," Barachiel said in a flat, cold tone.

"What necklace?" he asked, trying to play dumb.

Barachiel glared at him and twisted his arm behind his back so the Devidramon dropped the pendants into his hand.. "This one."

"We had a deal!" the dragon protested.

"The deal was you gave us information in exchange for this. You gave us nothing," the DinoBeemon said, releasing him with a push.

"You got spunk, pal. And skill. How'd you like to sign up in my tournament? You could be the next Khep Aeolus someday!" the Devidramon suggested.

"Not in this lifetime and certainly not in the next, either," Barachiel replied in irritation, turning his back to him. He placed the necklace back around his neck. "And I do not have 'spunk'..."

He looked up at the others. "Well, that didn't work... I suppose we should keep trying," he said. "We'll probably need to eat at some point too, as much as the idea of getting food from around here repels me..."

[Kamotz]

Shouts and explosions from within the city drew Michael's attention. He looked out the bay window of the Council's chambers and saw the pillars of fire erupt into the sky. It was why he had chosen Vritra and Tiwaz to remain on guard duty; their attacks were easily the most noticeable. Something as wrong.

Michael bolted out the window and soared through the sky; he caught sight of the battle below; the others were engaged in combat with a Dianamon. He recognized her instantly as Lucia, but something was...off. He looked closer at her face, and all at once he knew. Michael dropped from the sky; he had preparations to make. He moved with a purpose, bringing the image in his head out and into the light. They needed to subdue her, to keep her from fighting back, but they could not attack her or risk killing Lucia. This was their best bet.

"Stop now," he ordered, standing a ways down the street from the fighting Digimon. The Peacemakers turned to him. "She's possessed, controlled by a demon. In this state she cannot be harmed or killed by normal means, but once the demon is removed, all injuries appear at once. She could die from blood loss or shock alone."

"You," the thing controlling Lucia hissed. "Michael. Die!" It raced towards him, scythe pulled back, a feral roar echoing over the stone, spit flying; but Michael didn't move. As the demon moved within striking distance it suddenly stopped, as if it had ran into an invisible wall. "What is this!?"

"A Devil's Trap," Michael said with a smirk. "Thank you for entering so willingly. I was worried that we might have to hurt Lucia when we dragged you over."

"Where?" the demon demanded, looking around savagely. It could find no trap beneath its feet. "Liar! Cheater! There's none! This is--" Michael pointed up, and the demon's gaze followed. Its black eyes widened upon catching sight of the faintly-glowing symbols etched into the bottom of the archway overhead.

"What is your name?" Michael asked, his voice steady, calm, and powerful. The demon refused to answer. "What is your purpose here? Why possess Lucia?"

"To break a seal!" the demon snarled. "The eyes of the moon turn black with murder! Slaughter! Slaughter! Dance and die!"

"Enough with the theatrics," Michael admonished, and the demon's demeanor changed completely. "You will tell me where Mephistopheles is and what he's planning."

"I doubt it," the demon said with a smirk, no longer wild and feral. "The way things are lookin' now, I'm likely to be rewarded big-time. So send me back down. I'll be back soon anyway."

"Very well," Michael said. He wanted to get more information out of the demon, but knew that each and every moment Lucia spent trapped with that thing was absolute torture. He looked around to make sure Sha was nowhere nearby; he didn't know if he'd be affected by an exorcism when not it his Leviamon form, but he didn't want to take the chance. Michael raised his eyes to the heavens.

"Regna terrae, cantate Deo,
psallite Domino
qui fertis super caelum
caeli ad Orientem
Ecce dabit voci Suae
vocem virtutis,
tribuite virtutem Deo.

Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus
omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio
infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,
omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.

Ergo draco maledicte
et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te.
cessa decipere humanas creaturas,
eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare.

Vade, Satana, inventor et magister
omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis.
Humiliare sub potenti manu dei,
contremisce et effuge, invocato a
nobis sancto et terribili nomine,
quem inferi tremunt.

Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine.
Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias
libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae humiliare digneris,
te rogamus, audi nos.

Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae
te rogamus, audi nos.

Terribilis Deus de sanctuario suo.
Deus Israhel ipse truderit virtutem
et fortitudinem plebi Suae.
Benedictus Deus. Gloria Patri."

The demon howled as Michael's exorcism burned into its black and twisted essence. Lucia's body writhed and flailed, fighting furiously; at points the demon was in control, lashing out wildly against its prison; at other times Lucia took the reins, tears streaming down her face, and sobbs wracking her quaking form. With the final words of Michael's exorcism, Lucia arched back and let out an agonized scream as the demon was forcibly ripped from her body; bursting from her mouth like a billowing cloud of black smoke that then dissipated in a flash of fire.

Lucia dropped forward, sobbing and shaking.

"Get her medical attention right away," Michael ordered the others. He needed to get back to Samael and Cresil; hopefully they had uncovered something. If not...

[TheSequelReturns]

Duo was rushing through the city streets, trying to locate the source of the fighting. It might have been faster if he had used his BlackWarGreymon form for flight, but the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. There was too much still going on in his thoughts for him to think logically.

Just when he thought he was getting close, he heard a scream that made his heart sink. It was Lucia's voice, he was sure of it, but it was also a horrible sound, a scream of agony.

He rounded the next corner to see a group of his fellow peacemakers standing around another digimon. For only a moment, he didn't recognize the Dianamon, but as soon as he saw her face he knew instantly who it was, even if he had never seen her in this form before.

"Lucia!" he called as he rushed over to her, ignoring everyone else. She was nearly unconscious; still awake, but almost completely unresponsive. Tears streamed down her face, and her whole body shook.

Duo lifted her into his arms, and turned to the others. "What happened here?" he asked. Even as he asked the question, he was already trying to figure out the quickest way to get to a medical facility, and his eyes darted around the group and the pathways out of the area.

[Hotshot]

“Um, Ivy?” she called out. She bit her lip, wondering how she could even start a conversation. She decided on something simple. “I think I forgot to thank you. For the herbs, I mean. Back at the mission,” she started off, trying to keep herself from stuttering.

Ivy looked up at Aeria and smiled. Brushing her hands together, the Lilymon X replied, "Oh, well, you're very welcome, Aeria! I'm always glad to lend a helping hand whenever needed. I suppose those years of nursing have paid off."

She glanced around and saw the majority of the Peacemakers heading in different directions. Gigas was being led off by Kheprius to do something, Tiwaz and Vritra were going to be patrolling, Nocchi and Shoon were probably going to do something diabolical, and everyone else seemed to have places to be and things to do. She turned back to Aeria. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

==========

"Yeah, likewise," Khep said, stifling a wince as he slid into his GranKuwagamon form. "I'll try not to beat ya senseless this time, if I can help it. And no 'ughays' this time, got it?"

"Hohoho! Oh, come on, Kheppy," Gigas replied, grinning. "You know you liked it!"

And then, without warning, Kheprius hurled himself at the HerculesKabuterimon, and the two insectoid Digimon were locked in hand-to-hand combat.

As Khep struggled, he spoke. "I still don't get you, Gig..." he said in a strained voice. "Ever since the Siege, this has been bugging me; no pun intended. Last time we fought, I surrendered but you wouldn't take me in because you said I was your friend. Prior to that, all I ever did was insult you, yet you still considered me a friend. Why?"

He used his other arm to grapple with one of Gigas' oncoming claws. "I don't deny that right now, you're my only friend aside from Samael and possibly Trowa and Pyra, but I have to know: why?" he asked, forcing himself to push Gigas with all of his might. "Why didn't you see me as the selfish monster like everyone else rightfully did?"

As he grappled with Kheprius, Gigas said, "Because I know what it's like to be all alone...to be feared; a monster."

The massive HerculesKabuterimon drove his sparring partner into the ground with his two free claws. Taking a lumbering stride forward, Gigas cracked his knuckles and continued, "I saw in you the same little bug I had once been; all alone in the world, with no one beside you. No one to help you stand when you fall. No one to call a 'friend.'"

Gigas readied himself as Kheprius rose to his feet. Grinning, the big bug exclaimed, "And everybody needs a friend!"

==========

"We'll need them eventually, Bedivere. I just hope, for our sakes, that they're around when that time comes..." the Paildramon said. Pyra then her head towards the south end of the city. "...Come on. It won't do any good if we're all in one place. We should spread out and take different parts of the city. I'll take the south end. Bedivere, why don't you take the north? And Sha, that leaves you with the central market district. This way, there's a greater chance of us hearing something."

The Shawjamon comically saluted Pyra, saying, "Ma'am, yes, ma'am! On my way, ma'am!" And with that, Sha took off in the direction of the marketplace. He'd been there before, in his battle against Sigma 018, but hadn't been there since. Perhaps he'd check up on how much damage he had caused.

He chuckled to himself. "I wonder if it's even there anymore. I forgot to look at how much I flattened when I went Leviamon...cha-haw..."

==========

Shoon had just finished placing one of the last bombs when three blazing balls of fire suddenly lit up the whole sky. He looked up in awe.

“Oooh,” he said in wonder. “I didn’t know they were gonna put on fireworks tonight! These people must be really-“

He then stopped, his eyes scrunching up when things begun to not make sense in his head. The fireballs soon disappeared, and the land below it begun to light up with yellow and red. Followed by tiny green lights that exploded onto some figure.

Nocchi glanced up at the sound of the distant explosions. Bringing a hand up to shade his eyes from the bright lights, the Puppetmon murmured, "Must be a distress signal...an' that means somebody--"

And then Shoon screamed, ran towards Nocchi, and then shook his shoulders wildly and rather strongly for someone so small. “We’re under attack! We’re under attack! Someone got through the traps! We’re under attack!” he exclaimed. “But it’s too soon! What-do-we-do-what-do-we-do-what-do-we-! Right, go and help! Right! We’re Peacemakers!”

Nocchi, shaken up by the Mamemon X's sudden excitement and...well...shaking...stumbled backwards and blinked. "Nyaaaahhh! Whoa! Slow down, kid! We ain't just gonna charge headlong into--"

Shoon then let go of Nocchi and then started running towards the direction that he saw the lights from, his voice loud with a war cry to get himself psyched up (and to help him gather courage in case he saw Mephistopheles again).

"Never mind," the Puppetmon muttered, sighing as Shoon rushed off. Shaking his head, Nocchi trudged after him. He shouldered his hammer and said, "Guess I'd better keep the little marble out of trouble."

“Chaaa-uwaah!”

"And right on cue too," Nocchi breathed, rolling his eyes and turning the corner to find Shoon hanging by his feet in one of the Puppetmon's strings. Nocchi put his hammer down and placed his hands on his wooden hips. With a smirk, he said, "Nyeh. You're just lucky those weren't connected to yer own explosives, ya little cannonball."

“Hey, hey, hey! I don’t have time for this! Let me down, Nocchi!”

The Puppetmon twitched a finger, collapsing the string and releasing Shoon from its hold. The little Mamemon X dropped to the ground in a heap at Nocchi's feet. Grinning, the Puppetmon said, "Now come on, let's check it out."

[Tundra_Wolfmane]

She glanced around and saw the majority of the Peacemakers heading in different directions. Gigas was being led off by Kheprius to do something, Tiwaz and Vritra were going to be patrolling, Nocchi and Shoon were probably going to do something diabolical, and everyone else seemed to have places to be and things to do. She turned back to Aeria. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

“Um, maybe I…” Aeria trailed off, biting her lip. Aeria looked uncertainly at Ivy. She turned towards the others, wondering what they were going to do. Then, she turned back to her, a little bit of confidence shining through her meek disposition.

“I’d like that,” she whispered with a small smile. She allowed the Lilymon X to take the lead as they exited the room.

After a few moments of silence, Aeria had begun to become uncomfortable. She tried to hide it by looking around, trying to feign her need to look around nervously as observing her surroundings. She desperately needed something to keep her mind off her self-consciousness. The WarGreymon glanced at Ivy, and then her eye caught something glinting. She lowered her eyes a little more and found them landing on the wedding band around Ivy’s finger.

“So,” Aeria started, making her voice stronger than usual.

“How, um, did you and Gigas get together? You’re not like most normal couples I’ve seen,” she said, and then she flushed. “I-I’m not saying that it looks wrong, I’m just, um,” Aeria stuttered, ducking her head and hiding her face behind her hair.

“I didn’t mean to make that sound mean,” she apologized sincerely. “You’re really nice, and Gigas is really friendly too. I can see that he cares a lot about other people…and that while he doesn’t look it, he’s one of the kindest Digimon I’ve ever met. Both of you are really good people.”

“I just…wanted to ask,” she finished lamely.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Scharlach approached Duo and Lucia, a bit disappointed there wasn’t a fight, concerned about what happened, but slightly relieved that nothing was going to escalate into a large fight.

"What happened here?" he asked. Even as he asked the question, he was already trying to figure out the quickest way to get to a medical facility, and his eyes darted around the group and the pathways out of the area.

“I wanna know too, buddy, but yer girlfriend needs help first. We can ask out questions and get the answers later. If Mr. Big-shot Angel says we get the girl medical attention right away, we do that, ahright? Come on, I’ll bring ya over to the clinic I saw on the way here,” he told the Gaioumon as he put a reassuring paw on his shoulder. “’Sides, you just barely escaped getting your soul taken by a demon guy. Don’t think it would do your health good panickin’, right?” Scar added as he stepped behind the samurai and started pushing him lightly.

As the ShadowWereGarurumon did so, he turned his head over his shoulder. “I’ll be keepin’ watch on these two, so don’t any of ya worry!” he said with a cheery grin, imagining Azur raise an eyebrow at him at his words.

-----------------------------------------------------------

He looked up at the others. "Well, that didn't work... I suppose we should keep trying," he said. "We'll probably need to eat at some point too, as much as the idea of getting food from around here repels me..."

Azur had to snort. “Eat first. Haven’t eaten since yesterday,” he told Barachiel. If this was gonna take a while, then he needed to get something in his stomach first.

He pulled away from the wall he leaned on and with the claws of his WereGarurumon X form, he pulled from his pocket a small bag half-filled with coins. It was the travel money he and Scar had kept, and he hadn’t trusted his cousin not to spend it spontaneously. And he was in no way going to use it to bribe anyone for information that they wouldn’t need. “If you wanna survive, sometimes you can’t afford to be picky,” he said shortly as he looked at the seedy food stands and restaurants.

The WereGarurumon X started to look around for a more decent place if possible, although it looked like that might have been just as hard as trying to find information about Mephistopheles’ whereabouts.

He then raised his snout. If he couldn’t find one with his eyes, he might be able to with his nose. He lowered it and then turned to the rest. “Come on,” he told them and started walking towards then direction of the slightly better than gutter-scum smell.

And as he turned his head back, he sidestepped a Gazimon that was about to bump into his side. However, the graze on his hand was unmistakable to the Azur, and within a second, he had grabbed the child Digimon by the wrist. It wouldn’t have been the first time someone had tried to pickpocket him.

The WereGarurumon X looked at the Gazimon with an unreadable expression. The child, in turn, was staring at him with a fearful expression, and then he looked away. Azur followed the direction the Gazimon was looking at and found himself witnessing a small group of other child Digimon running away with hurried and scared looks on their faces. He turned back to the Gazimon, his face blank.

Inside, it broke Azur’s heart to know that even young children were reduced to having to steal and pickpocket. The Gazimon didn’t look to be a little more than ten years old, and his body was full of dirt and scars.

Sometimes having a weakness for kids works too much against Azur than he liked. He turned to the other three. “Mind if we have a guide?” he asked them referring to the kid.

He glanced at the suddenly curious by still freaked-out Gazimon. “Talking about you, kid.”

[storymasterb]

"Azur's right," Caradoc said. "There's no use searching on an empty stomach... let's try and find somewhere to eat." The Silphymon began to walk away, suddenly deep in thought. "I made that deal, but I still have no sign that I can even find Hadrael... did she trick me?"

Guinier followed behind him in AeroVeedramon form, wondering why he seemed so consumed in his thoughts and why his eyes suddenly seemed so dark...

Caradoc stopped as he heard Azur speak, and looked at the WereGarurumon X. "A guide would be good," he said, glancing at the Gazimon that his fellow Peacemaker held by the wrist and understanding as his gaze caught the group running away. "Why do places like this have to exist? Why can't we prevent misery and suffering?"

Guinier knelt down, gazing at the young Gazimon. "Can you take us somewhere we can get something to eat?" The rabbit-like Digimon nodded frantically and started tugging against Azur's firm grip, leading the four away...

-

The four sat, chewing on horrible, just bareable food as they pondered their next move, and Caradoc's eyes scanned the crowd from beneath his visor. He froze.

His eyes fixed on the pink-clad, pale-blue-haired form of the Zephyrmon, almost willing her to turn around, but dreading what he might see if she did. "It can't be... can it be her? Why would she be here...?" The Zephyrmon turned round and Caradoc saw her eyes, normal and ordinary, not the blood-red of the demon's eyes.

"Are you alright?" He glanced around and saw Guinier looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine... it's nothing," he said. "Just thinking... about the Chess Kingdom..." He bowed his head.

"Don't keep blaming yourself," she replied, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You couldn't have stopped it... none of us could have..." She could not see his eyes, and so could not see the guilt in them.

"I suppose... but with all my strength in that form... I should have stopped War," he murmured softly, picking at the unidentifiable food on the plate before him with a fork idly. Silently, his conscience screamed affront at him, shame for lying to her, guilt for betraying her this way, and he crushed it down by focusing on devouring... whatever it was he speared on the prongs of his fork.

Guinier watched him for a moment, worried, before glancing at the Zephyrmon he had been looking at and wondering just what she seemed to remind him of.

And unseen by any of the four, a dark Karatenmon looked down at them from atop a building, before turning and whispering to a Vilemon. The demon cackled softly and took flight, heading away across the rooftops of Babylon...

-

"How can I tell them? It would just hurt them..." Caradoc wondered as the four of them made their way through the streets, heading for an apparently-famous information dealer who was probably the best chance they had of finding Hadrael. Regardless, the Silphymon was still caught in his guilt over deceiving his friend and his lover.

On the rooftops above, unseen, a small group of Vilemon watched the small group make their way through the throngs of Digimon, their red eyes fixated on Caradoc, Guinier, Barachiel and Azur.

Caradoc suddenly stopped. Pain tore through his skull and he gave a snarl of pain, collapsing to his knees.

"Caradoc... Caradoc!" Guinier's voice grew fainter and fainter, as did the feeling of her clawed hand on his shoulder. The pain drilled into his skull, ripping into his mind as the world around burst into a maelstrom of color and sound which slowly resolved itself into a visible image.

Ruins stretched out around him, a dust-swept, wind-torn mockery of a once-proud city. All that sounded was the whistling of the wind as it swept through the bones of the ruined buildings, lashing dust to their surfaces. The sun beated down incessantly, bleaching the city's stone with endless rays. Caradoc watched form one perspective only, he tried to turn his head and move, but could not. This was clearly not real, this was some kind of vision, a view of something else. Was this the demon upholding their deal?

A ripple tore across the world, and it shattered into the void of endless color and noise with one whispered word in the demon's mocking voice: "Bozrah..."

And then he was back. Bile rose in his throat and he retched onto the Babylonian street, to the amusement of the general crowd and the concern of Guinier, who still held his shoulder and called his name.

"What happened?" she whispered. He breathed deeply, staring at the puddle of vomit he had left on the street, before looking at her and to Barachiel. He knew. He knew where Hadrael was. So now they needed the truth.

"I made a deal last night..." he murmured to them, hearing the crowd dispersing and feeling sick, not just from the nausea enduced by his vision, but from guilt as he finally confessed. "I made a deal with a demon to find Hadrael. Just now... I had a vision... I think I've been shown his location... 'Bozrah'..."

[Griff4815]

As he grappled with Kheprius, Gigas said, "Because I know what it's like to be all alone...to be feared; a monster."

The massive HerculesKabuterimon drove his sparring partner into the ground with his two free claws. Taking a lumbering stride forward, Gigas cracked his knuckles and continued, "I saw in you the same little bug I had once been; all alone in the world, with no one beside you. No one to help you stand when you fall. No one to call a 'friend.'"

Gigas readied himself as Kheprius rose to his feet. Grinning, the big bug exclaimed, "And everybody needs a friend!"

"I see," Kheprius mumbled, narrowing his eyes in contemplation. "'Alone'... I guess I was, after the only two I had betrayed me. Maybe even before that..."

The GranKuwagamon dashed forwards and locked his pincers around Gigas' ankles. With a heave, he knocked the HerculesKabuterimon off balance and crashing onto his backside. Not wasting any time, Khep rushed to the other side of the larger insect and pulled two of his four arms behind his back.

"Well, Gig, you're smarter than I gave you credit for," he said while pulling back Gigas' arms. "Hardly anybody is able to see past the face that they saw on the wanted poster... and that's the way I want it. I hate being pitied."

Gigas rose and swung Khep away from him. The GranKuwagamon dug his claws into the ground, causing a high, screeching noise. He finally skidded to a halt and exhaled. "You were right about one thing, it looks like: we're not that different after all," he explained, recollecting Gigas' almost-profound words to Cador. "There's one big difference though... I really am a monster and, well... you're the exact opposite."

It was moments later that Khep realized that that might have been the nicest thing that he said to any of the Peacemakers. "And, let's face it, you're the worse looking between the two of us," he added, trying to keep himself from sounding too sappy. "I guess Ivy's one of those 'it's what's on the inside that counts' types... heh."

Instead of charging Gigas again, Khep's stance slackened. To his surprise, the pent up rage he was feeling was considerably lessened and he hadn't even thrown that many punches. "Uhh... why don't we continue this later? After my tussle with War, I need to conserve my energy and you probably want to get back to your better half... though if we're going by size, I guess she'd be your better sixth," Khep said with a weak grin.

The GranKuwagamon turned his back to him. "Thanks for the spar, pal... and I'll still kill you if you mention the... you know, which I definitely didn't like."

Clutching his side, Kheprius slide digivolved into his GrandisKuwagamon form and flapped the four wings on his back. After giving a nonchalant wave, he flew away from Gigas and made his way towards the city.

-

Duo lifted her into his arms, and turned to the others. "What happened here?"

"Demonic possession, according to Michael," Pyra replied grimly. Her crimson eyes rested on Lucia, who was covered in equally red blood. "Duo, when I found her, she... err, the demon... was killing civilians."

She walked over to him, pitying what Lucia had to go through. "Follow me. I'll show you where the makeshift infirmaries are set up," she told him, quickly flying, knowing that Duo would want to get Lucia some help as fast as possible. Pyra gave a quick nod to Scar as he decided to accompany them as well.

The Dramon looked over her shoulder at Duo and Lucia. "Another relationship plagued by guilt..." she mused sadly. Her thoughts began to move to the WereGarurumon she knew. "Azur, what are you and the others doing now?"

-

Barachiel walked through the dank streets of Babylon, heading towards their next supposed lead. The DinoBeemon looked down at the pendants that he held in front of him, admiring them. From the overpriced food that was borderline gruel that they had struggled to force down, Barachiel became aware that Azur had some money. However, he knew that Azur wouldn't be using the coins as bargaining chips, given his opposition to what they were doing. Barachiel understood and even if Azur was willing, he wouldn't have asked him to anyways. The acolyte knew that he would have to give up these pendants this time in exchange for information on Hadrael.

He rubbed the top of the beetle pendant with the tip of his blue finger. "The only material memory that I have of Mother and Father... I don't want to part with it, but if it means that Hadrael will live..."

Barachiel then stopped and swung around as Caradoc collapsed to his knees, quaking in agony. "Caradoc?" he asked, the concern plain in his voice.

He began to move closer to him to try to help, but he was forced to back up when Caradoc lost his lunch, if calling the food they ate 'lunch' wasn't too generous. Barachiel initially thought that it was bad indigestion from what they ate. It was then that Caradoc spoke.

"I made a deal last night..." he murmured to them, hearing the crowd dispersing and feeling sick, not just from the nausea enduced by his vision, but from guilt as he finally confessed. "I made a deal with a demon to find Hadrael. Just now... I had a vision... I think I've been shown his location... 'Bozrah'..."

Barachiel just stared at him as he listened to Caradoc's confession. The DinoBeemon began to feel sick as well, experiencing his stomach tighten up and churn. The sensation was only intensified with the feelings of anger and betrayal. The digimon who Barachiel now considered his best friend had made a deal with a demon... something that he was taught was one of the worst things that one could do.

The DinoBeemon glowered and bent over the Silphymon. With a grunt he picked Caradoc up by the shoulder and angrily shoved him up against a pillar of a nearby building. "You did what?!" an enraged Barachiel yelled, pinning him against the stone. "You went through with it?! Even after I explicitly told you not to?!"

His red eyes flared up as he glared into Caradoc's face. "You actually... tell me this is a joke!" he said fervantly, but just by looking at the Silphymon's face told Barachiel that he was telling the truth. Barachiel grimaced and pressed harder. "How long? How long do you have, Caradoc? Ten years, was it?" he asked, knowing the general circumstances involving a demon's deal.

A surge of anger came from deep within him. Barachiel lashed out, slamming the side of his fist just above Caradoc's head, furious but still unable to hit him. With a growl, he spoke. "I told you no! He's my mentor- my family! This was not your responsibility! There were other ways! How could you do something so stupid and reckless as giving up your soul?!" he shouted. "Did you think this was heroic and chivalrous?! Did you really believe this was right?! Dealing with the exact things we're trying to kill?!"

A cross between a buzz and a snarl escaped Barachiel's half-insect, half-dramon form. "Did you even stop to think about the consequences? Did you think about Guinier?! And what about me?!" Barachiel's grip tightened on the Silphymon. "Hadrael was taken... because of me. I was too weak and now you... you gave up your remaining years and soul to save him?! You're my best friend, Caradoc and now it's my fault that you damned yourself! I'm the one who has to live with this on my conscience for the rest of my life. It's because of me that my best friend will be in hell... and that his lover will be left alone..."

Barachiel averted his gaze as a tear entered the corner of one of his large red eyes. "Was this even for me, Caradoc?" he asked in a pained murmur. Despite his anguish, he forced himself to look Caradoc square in the face. The sorrow began to overridden by anger once more. "Don't say that it was... This wasn't for me at all. It wasn't for Hadrael either. This, Caradoc, this was for yourself!" he shouted venomously. "Your heroics... you don't do it for the helpless, do you? You're completely selfish! It's your obsessive need to atone that drives you! You're still trying to fill the hole that your father left in you... and the new wound left by the Chess Kingdom. You think that saving people will make amends for things that weren't even your fault to begin with, but you rationalize it by saying that you're doing the right thing!"

With a grunt, Barachiel released Caradoc and turned his back to him, his entire body shaking as he tried to calm himself down. "Caradoc..."

[storymasterb]

There was a brief silence as Barachiel's words faded, ringing in the air. The crowd were dumbstruck and stunned, waiting to see what would happen, whether the Silphymon would retaliate. He did not.

A soft thump broke the silence like glass as Guinier slumped to her knees, staring at Caradoc and Barachiel in helpless shock and pain. The AeroVeedramon seemed genuinely horrified, and was unsure of exactly how to respond to Caradoc's confession.

Caradoc by his own token was reeling just as much.

"Don't say that it was... This wasn't for me at all. It wasn't for Hadrael either. This, Caradoc, this was for yourself!" he shouted venomously. "Your heroics... you don't do it for the helpless, do you? You're completely selfish! It's your obsessive need to atone that drives you! You're still trying to fill the hole that your father left in you... and the new wound left by the Chess Kingdom. You think that saving people will make amends for things that weren't even your fault to begin with, but you rationalize it by saying that you're doing the right thing!"

The words echoed over and over even though their sound had already faded into the silence. They struck a chord with the part of him which had not been buried under years of pressure and molding, the part of him only really apparently when his mother had been there, the part of him knowing nothing of 'atonement' or 'shame', merely knowing happiness and contentment. This part was revulsed, shocked and it reeled away from the twisted, broken image of 'Caradoc the hero', 'Caradoc the redeemer', Caradoc the righteous'. It saw only 'Caradoc the selfish', 'Caradoc the empty' and 'Caradoc the betrayer'. And it burned.

But Caradoc's pride struck back, howling his achievements, his contribution to the defeat of the Royal Knights and Chaos Lords, his power as an effective Royal Knight. It swelled itself with a list of overblown achievements and imagined righteousness. And it spoke.

"There was no other choice," he insisted to Barachiel. "You know that by the time any workable other option came up, it would be too late! I made the one choice which could save Hadrael! I know where he is and we can save him, together! Isn't that what you wanted? I did the only thing I could, and no-one else suffered for it! I'll have my soul taken, and that's all!"

"Damn you!" Something impacted his face, hurling Barachiel aside and slamming the Silphymon back into the wall. Guinier stared at him, her eyes suddenly ablaze with anger and pain. "He told you! It's not just you! I suffer, and so does Barachiel! How do you think we'll feel when you let yourself go into the Inferno someday? Or didn't that even occur to you, because Barachiel's right, and all you think about is how good it makes you look?" She gave a snarl. "No... he is right. You can't let go of atoning, so you claim responsibility for things which aren't your fault in order to justify doing whatever feels right! You're so desperate to play the atoning hero that you'll just heap atrocities onto your own back to have something to atone for!"

"That's..."

"Don't deny it!" she cried. "You know we're right! You know that Barachiel's found the truth, that you have a hole in your heart from your childhood, and that you just take all this to try and fill that hole!" She stopped, just staring at him angrily. "Why isn't it enough, Caradoc? Why do you have to take the blame for all of this, when you've already got what you wanted? You did atone for that sin, so why do more? You have me. You have Barachiel. You have people who truly care about you... but you just don't care."

"That's a..."

"Don't you dare say I'm lying!" He was struck silent by the sheer anger of her voice. "You know it's right, don't you? You know that we've found why you do all of this, why you always act like the hero. It was never about 'doing the right thing' for its own sake, or because of Bedivere... it was just because you're selfish and only want to make yourself feel that you're the righteous one against all the evil ones. You see the world, and then deliberately skew the perspective in order to demonize everyone else just so you can claim yourself as the hero, the white knight! How hypocritical is that, Caradoc? Is that what a true hero would do?" She let him go, turning away. "You're just as bad as the 'evil ones' you claim to be against. No... they're better. At least Bedivere doesn't pretend to be acting out of any interest other than killing Mephistopheles." She cast a harsh, angry glare at the Silphymon. "How long, Caradoc?"

"What...?"

"How long?!" she snarled. "How long do you have left?"

"I don't have to tell you that," he whispered, only to be slammed against the wall with her claws at his throat, anger blazing in her red eyes and starting to darken her skin. She was clearly having some difficulty preventing herself taking Megidramon form there and then.

"How long?!" she roared. The crowd shuddered.

"No, Guinier," he replied. "I won't tell you that... it would only..." The 'slap' of her claws meeting his face cut him off and left blood tricking down his cheek.

"Hurt me more?" she finished bitterly. "You don't understand, do you? You've hurt me so much that 'more' is impossible. Because of you, my brother hates me, Anatolia despises me as a deserter, and now I'm condemned to love a man who cares only for his own gratification. Because I do love you, Caradoc... no matter how much now I wish I didn't. The truth is... you don't deserve any of it. My love, Barachiel's friendship, your 'heroism'... it's all undeserved gifts given to someone who selfishly abuses them!" She stepped away again, glaring at him helplessly. "How. Long. Do. You. Have. Left? Answer me, Caradoc."

He slumped to his knees, head bowed, and finally his pride broke, leaving only that raw, vulnerable heart of his self, the place where morality and heroism had their true meaning. "One year. I was given one year."

"One year?" Guinier whispered, and suddenly she was burning with shock and anger in equal measures. "You sacrificed everything for one year?" She glared helplessly at him, loving and hating him in equal measure, unable to stand at one extreme. "I should never have loved you... you just betray everyone given the chance. You... your father... name isn't the only thing you share. It's all about you, just as it was with him back then. Like father, like son. I was a fool to believe you'd be anything better..." She bowed her head, disguising the fact that tears were welling up in her eyes, but he knew and she hated him for that too.

"Guinier..." he half-pleaded, half-comforted, asking forgiveness, giving concern, and it just hurt.

"No..." she whisperered. "Leave me alone, Caradoc. Just leave me alone." He stopped, and he was shattered, eyes wide and filled with sudden pain. "You don't deserve anything... you turned aside everything you were given, and for what? Your own stupid, selfish claims of heroism!" She exploded with anger and pain and shock and love at him, finally, she had had enough. She had endured the Chess Kingdom, the attack on Anatolia, and her brother's scorn, but this was the last straw. "You deserve nothing, Caradoc Stern! Just the shame and scorn your father recieved!" She turned away in a whirl of angry motion. "Go. Go save Hadrael, go be the hero... but leave me alone. You've done enough, and I was a fool not to just walk away before."

"Guinier!"

"No! You can't plead! You can't beg! Not after what you've done, not after how you betrayed me! That's all this is, betrayal! So just go!"

"What about you?"

"I'm going home... maybe Bedivere will accept me again... but I'm done standing by you after what you've done," she replied, spreading her wings. "Goodbye, Caradoc." And with that, she took flight, vanishing from sight. Caradoc slumped to his knees again, staring after her helplessly for a long time as the crowds milled around, whispering and laughing...

-

An hour passed with Caradoc just kneeling there, cold and broken. His whole being had just shattered, his world had fallen apart. He had finally had his eyes opened to what he truly was, and it tore him apart. He was just like his father. He had betrayed those he held a responsibility to. And worse, he had done so just for his own selfish desire to be a hero. Barachiel and Guinier were right... he was nothing more than a selfish, self-gratifying traitor shrouding himself in the veil of a heroic knight.

He finally stood. Now he did have something to atone for... no. Atonement was what had caused this. Atoning for his sins had only led him to make more sins because atonement made him feel worthy, made him feel better than he really was. This couldn't be about atonement, or heroism. It could only be about finishing what he had started. After that... who knew?

"We have to save Hadrael," he said to Barachiel and Azur quietly. "It's all we can do..." He slowly clenched a fist. "I made a mistake. I made a terrible... no, horrific mistake. But I can't change my past. I can't undo the deal. I just have to live with what I did... and face the consequences..." It was becoming ever-harder to avoid tears now at the thought of what he'd done. "Let's go to Bozrah and save Hadrael... then we can go our own ways and carry on with our lives..." With that, the Silphymon took flight...

-

The journey was long and ardous, even though the three were able to take their main forms once again and therefore Azur could fly, keeping pace with Caradoc and Barachiel's nimble and agile forms. However, the journey was now bitter and sullen, darkened by the revelation of Caradoc's sin. The three were silent, focused only on the task at hand. There was nothing else left.

They finally touched down amidst the ruins, the sun burning down onto them as they landed in a world of shattered, sundered stone. It were as though a cataclysm had engulfed this place, fracturing it apart in an instant. Caradoc bitterly reflected that it was symbolic of his own world now... broken in a moment by words and a decision.

But he knew there was one path alone he could now tread, and so he raised a hand. "Hadrael! Show yourself, please! We're here to save you!" he cried, letting his voice ring out through the desert. But it just echoed... wrong. There was something dark, demonic and twisted about the words which shouted their message back in his face, as though everything was now determined to show Caradoc the dark path he had allowed himself to take for his own stupid sake...

The world rippled, it cracked and tore. The magic with which Mephistopheles had veiled this place answered Caradoc, it answered by making itself known only in time to shatter. The illusion was broken, and what lay behind the veil of Mephistopheles' sorceries was at last revealed...


(Yeah, over to you Kamotz...)

[TheSequelReturns]

"Demonic possession, according to Michael," Pyra replied grimly. Her crimson eyes rested on Lucia, who was covered in equally red blood. "Duo, when I found her, she... err, the demon... was killing civilians."

She walked over to him, pitying what Lucia had to go through. "Follow me. I'll show you where the makeshift infirmaries are set up," she told him, quickly flying, knowing that Duo would want to get Lucia some help as fast as possible. Pyra gave a quick nod to Scar as he decided to accompany them as well.

Duo's heart sank. Civilians? Was Lucia aware of what was happening the whole time?

He followed the others towards the clinic, his eyes resting more on the next to unconscious Lucia in his arms rather than on where he was going. Since he was running to keep up with Pyra and Scar however, he still needed to keep at least one eye on where he was going.

Things were starting to get to be too much though. How much of a price were they going to have to pay to end this madness? But worst of all, how much was Lucia going to have to pay? She had already lost her people and her home, and now to have some entity steal her body to murder civilians... How much could she take before she simply breaks?

"How can we keep this up?" Duo said aloud. "Everyone is losing so much... why? Why must we suffer so much just to see our efforts fall apart time and time again..."

--------------------------------------

Justin was lost.

He had thought he could catch up to the others, but before he knew it the signs of fighting seemed to have stopped and he had no idea where he was anymore. He casually kicked a small rock along the street as he walked along, trying to figure out just where he was and how to get back to where he needed to be.

"Well, you certainly look lost." said a voice.

Justin turned to see a TigerVespimon eying him, a black scarf trailing out rather than the usual red.

"I'm not lost, I'm just... not sure where I need to go right now." Justin defended.

"Ah, no one really is." said the newcomer. "If you're looking for that trouble earlier, we seem to have missed it."

"Ah, yes that's it!" Justin said. "But you said its already over? I have to say I thought so." Justin looked down a bit. "Ah, some Peacemaker I am, getting lost when I'm needed..."

The TigerVespimon's head tilted. "You're a Peacemaker? Haha, that's certainly something huh? I see that they're taking in new recruits."

Justin furrowed his brow, or at least he would have if he had a brow to furrow. "I'm no recruit, they practically asked me to join up. What's your deal anyway? Do know you the Peacemakers?"

"Haha, you could say that. I tell you what, I'll help you out." he pointed off towards a rather large building. "The big central building is over that way." He pointed another way. "And the trouble was over that way." Finally, he pointed down the street. "And I'm going this way. Catch you later Justin."

"Uh, yeah, thanks." Justin said as the stranger lit up his jetpack and jetted down the street. "Wait, how the heck did that guy know my name? Hey, get back here you!" The SuperStarmon shouted as he ran after Trowa.

[Kamotz]

Caradoc's demon-granted power dispelled Mephistopheles's magics, ripping away the tapestry of illusion and concealment over Bozrah to reveal the truth. Bozrah was not in ruins, it was not truly destroyed. Mephistopheles had concealed an ancient temple under his sorcery; it was in shambles and desolate, but it was a far cry from the ruins that first appeared. At the heart of the structure was an elevated stage, and standing at the center, was Vlad Tepes Dracula.

"Greetings, Peacemakers," he bowed dramatically. "Or should I say 'ex-Peacemakers'? I've been told you're no longer in the favor of Saint Michael. Such a shame; Mephistopheles and Lord Lucifer would never abandon you in such a manner." He raised his hands to the heavens. "I implore you, swear allegiance to them! Join us in the majesty of our conquest! Let us wage war on Heaven! And loose famine in the garden! And bring death to the nonbelievers!"

The steely gaze of the three Digimon heroes was their only reply.

"Very well," Dracula shrugged, a decidedly un-regal gesture. "Then enjoy the show!" He raised his hands, and something lowered from the ceiling above him.

It was Hadrael, bound in thin, burning, red strings; like Dracula's Crimson Lightning adapted to Nocchi-style strings (though quite a deal thicker than the Puppetmon's). They dug into his flesh; blood dripped and sizzled along the bonds. His helmet was removed, revealing his face; bloodied and bruised.

"And it is written, that a seal shall break when the beast is baptized in the blood of angels," Dracula whispered. He snapped his fingers and his whips contracted, slicing violently through the captured Hadrael, severing arteries; limbs tumbled to the floor, while his torso remained in place, dripping blood down on to Dracula. And the beast drank in the blood, and bathed in it.

Then Hadrael's body dropped to the ground, his wounds cauterized shut as they slid past the burning bonds. Dracula grabbed him by his hair and lifted him up, pointing him towards the three Digimon. Hadrael's strangled gurgling cry was his only utterance.

"Here, we have no further use for this," Dracula said off-handedly, and tossed the mutilated angel down off the stage and to the feet of the ex-Peacemakers. He took a breath, reveling. "So close now! So close!" He cackled wildly. "You have no idea what's in store! By order of Mephistopheles! In the name of Lord Lucifer! This world is yours no longer!"

Dracula spread his cloak and leaped into the air, dissipating into a swarm of bats and vanishing into the shadows of Bozrah. Only then did the rest of the shadows stir, and from them marched the soldiers: Gaul, Sigma 018, Lucian, Marcus, Damien, Nebiros, and Sabnock.

"Now then," Gaul chuckled as the seven soldiers encircled them. "You didn't think we'd let you walk in and out freely, did you? Don't worry about your angel friend. You'll be joining him soon."

=====

Samael's brain pounded, he grit his teeth, refusing to give into the urge to scream out in pain. His third eye bulged, veins popping and shuddering. With the boost from Cresil's power, he was being assaulted by images of the entire world, from vast mountain ranges down to the tiniest of viruses; they flashed before his mind's eye thousands of times per second. But then a single image filled his mind: a Digimon he recognized, that he had battled ferociously. Then his sight withdrew, revealing a vast mountain range beyond the Digimon.

"Percival!" Samael gasped, returning to Anatolia. He had no sense of time; how long he had been in his trance he couldn't say. "He's going after Percival, to break a miracle! The Alps!"

Michael turned to the gathered Ninjamon and Igamon. "Find the Peacemakers, gather them here," he ordered. "Tell them to prepare for battle." Michael looked back to Samael, and to the darkness where Cresil waited. "Are you up for this? That...could not have been easy."

"I feel sick; and my brain's gonna explode," Samael muttered, clutching his head. "I'll feel better once I kill something."

"The rest of Peacemakers will be here soon," Michael said. "You two, good work."

[Tundra_Wolfmane]

Scar began to slow down to a stop the moment the large red sign of a medical station came into his line of sight. He noticed that Pyra had begun to do the same so he assumed that they had went to they had seen the same clinic on the way. He turned to Duo over his shoulder and called out, “Hey, bud! The clinic’s right over there…bud?”

He noticed that the Gaiomon had taken a rather sharp and serious expression. “How can we keep this up?" the ShadowWereGarurumon heard him say. "Everyone is losing so much... why? Why must we suffer so much just to see our efforts fall apart time and time again...”

“The harsh way of the world. Sad to say that I can’t answer that question,” Scharlach replied to him as he turned to face the samurai and folded his arms. “We try, we fail, we get hurt, we try again, we fail again, and we get hurt a whole lot more than the first time. Lotsa people’s stories turn out that way, and for some, it goes like that for the rest of their lives until the day that guy with the scythe comes and takes ya who knows where. You gotta give them some props for never giving up though. Willpower’s what he’s got. Willpower and hope. Yanno, Hope is a dangerous thing in the hands of a mad man bent on devouring the world in darkness, but a miracle maker in the hands of someone trying to stop ‘im.”

“But seriously, between the stuff Zur told me ya guys had to go through the first time and the stuff I’ve actually seen with y’all, I can see how even someone like you and your lady can get broken. But sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself ain’t gonna make them all disappear, right? Eventually, this scale of trouble’s gonna find ya wherever you try to fake yourself that everything’ll be okay.”

He turned back to the clinic and started to jog towards it, Duo following him. “Besides, what do you think would be a worse decision: to keep on fighting a war with less than a zilch chance of winning or to give up and wait for your time to die? I don’t know about you, but us descendants of Fenrir aren’t quitters. I’m sure that wherever my cuz Azur is, he’s fighting his own battle,” Scharlach said with a confident and sincere smile.

Scar turned to Duo as he opened the door in the clinic. “If your girl needs your help, then you gotta have enough hope for the both of ya. Looks like she relies on you a lot, so if you break down on her too, what’s she got to keep her up? ‘Sides, you’ll have me and the rest if you need a hand with that, too,” he said, grinning. “Now, come on.”

He turned his head inside. “Hey! Nurse! Doc! We got an emergency over here! Our lady friend just got into a heap of trouble and needs to get some help quick!”

‘Just hope that the little event of her killing spree hadn’t spread yet,’ he thought to himself. If it did, well, he knew some doctors had that code of healing anyone who needed it, regardless of alignment, and he hoped that one of ‘em was in the clinic.

----------------------

"The rest of Peacemakers will be here soon," Michael said. "You two, good work."

Cresil exited from the shadows, an iridescent magical energy swirling about his body erratically. One of his hands was glowing colors that contrasted against the aura that surrounded him, yet it seemed like that was what was keeping the magic from fluctuating sporadically.

“I expect no praise from you, saint Michael,” Cresil said, his voice light. There was an almost inaudible tone of strain, yet only those that could hear particularly well would have been able to hear it. “My goals just suddenly coincided with yours. I want the goat’s head, and if you can give that to me one way or another, then my services to this errand of yours will only be much more versatile and open.”

He opened his mouth, taking a deep breath. With the air that entered his lungs was the force of magic, entering his body and condensing inside him. He let out a sigh, the energy around him losing much of its glow.

“And a simple warning, angel,” he started, his voice losing the pretences of a refined gentleman. “Mephistopheles is only growing stronger. This magic is proof.”

----------------------

"Now then," Gaul chuckled as the seven soldiers encircled them. "You didn't think we'd let you walk in and out freely, did you? Don't worry about your angel friend. You'll be joining him soon."

Azur narrowed his eyes, looking around at the surrounding digimon. Things didn’t look good, and with a dead-looking angel right in front of them – and the sight would either render their resident acolyte numb or get him to go berserk – they had as little chance of escaping as a fly within the range of a nuclear bomb.

“Caradoc,” Azur whispered as he watched their backs, having both Barachiel and Caradoc behind him. “What now?” he asked, drawing his katana just in case.

“Fighting here would be…difficult,” he took note, looking around. This place was most likely their home base, which meant it was to their advantage.

“Oh, shut up already!” Lucian shouted, preparing his guns. “Grace Cross Freezer!” The MetalGarurumon fired off all of his projectiles, fully intending to blast all three of them into several countless tiny pieces.

“Scatter!” Azur yelled, fully intending to do so. However, just as he was about to do so, he remembered that Hadrael was still on the ground in front of them. “Dammit,” he cursed. They had gone so far; he knew that Barachiel wasn’t going to leave Hadrael there, and he wasn’t going to be fast enough to get him and escape in time.

Azur faced the oncoming missiles, and then he decided to shed away the think-first-act-later mindset for just that moment…and he charged at it. With a loud yell, he collided with the explosives, which signaled the start of the battle as the demon’s warriors charged.

“Ha! What an idiot! To charge right into the attack!” Lucian said, laughing at Azur’s stupidity.

“Who’s an idiot?” Azur’s voice asked from above.

“What!?” Lucian faced upwards, seeing the MagnaGarurumon shoot downwards, blade in hand. The BlackMetalGarurumon dodged just in time for the blade to miss his neck. “How did you-!?”

“Too slow,” Azur answered shortly as he stood at full height. His body no longer had the conventional armor that his species were known to have. He had to sacrifice them to take the full brunt of Lucian’s attack before escaping. The lack of armaments showed just how much toned his body had become over the months, and without them, he was significantly faster. It meant, however, that he didn’t have any long ranged attacks.

The MagnaGarurumon then took on a stance. “Caradoc!” he yelled out. “Think of a plan!”

[storymasterb]

The illusion broke, the veil was cast aside and hurled down. Bozrah true was revealed, the ornate temple speaking of a rotted, broken culture. And at its heart Dracula rose, the twisted form of the vampire count speaking testament to what this place had become. Caradoc's hands flashed with flame, golden embers which heralded his Phoenixmon form, if they had to fight, the burning light which that form held would be a great asset against the vampire.

"Greetings, Peacemakers," he bowed dramatically. "Or should I say 'ex-Peacemakers'? I've been told you're no longer in the favor of Saint Michael. Such a shame; Mephistopheles and Lord Lucifer would never abandon you in such a manner." He raised his hands to the heavens. "I implore you, swear allegiance to them! Join us in the majesty of our conquest! Let us wage war on Heaven! And loose famine in the garden! And bring death to the nonbelievers!"

"No," Caradoc replied coldly as the embers flashed across his form. "We know what lies down that path, Dracula. It's clear in you, and in all the others who serve Mephistopheles. Now, stand aside or we'll make our path through you." He glared cold anger at the vampire, who only laughed.

Hadrael fell into view, bound in chains of blood and fire which held him aloft above Dracula's pale form. The Valkyrimon's fists clenched even more tightly, despite the shock still reverberating through him from the words spoken and Guinier's flight from them, he could not look upon the captive angel without anger starting to blaze in his eyes. "Let him go, Dracula, or we will kill you!" The anger spilled into his tone, dredging from the sudden pain he was still feeling, the pain of having his worldview suddenly broken down and revealed as an idealist's mocking cover of his own selfish actions.

"And it is written, that a seal shall break when the beast is baptized in the blood of angels,"

"No!" Caradoc cried even as the bonds of blood tightened, ripping through Hadrael's form and casting red down upon Dracula. Fire swirled and screamed around the Valkyrimon as he lost control of the evolution he was holding back, his anguished, terrible cry resonating through Bozrah as the flames burst away and released his Phoenixmon form, which shone with a terrible crimson radiance. Regardless, the blood showered Dracula, and he reveled in its shade, in its terrifying pallor, and the beast knew baptism.

Hadrael groaned from where Dracula hurled him to Caradoc's feet, but the Phoenixmon was stunned, horrified and enraged in equal measure, trying to restrain the side of him that wanted to pounce and burn Dracula, to sear the vampire to ashes, with the need to save Hadrael. He was therefore frozen, trembling with rage as he glared at Dracula, even as the vampire proclaimed triumph and the seven soldiers of Mephistopheles appear.

A howl of rage tore from his maw as Dracula burst into bats and was gone, but then Gaul struck in a whirling, screaming tempest and the Phoenixmon was forced to react, bursting away. "Starlight Explosion!" His wings beat down forcefully and a wave of flames met Gaul, stopping the BlackWarGreymon for an instant.

Attacks hailed, Lucian's missiles, Damien's dark spheres, Sigma's laser blaster and others. The two Beetlemon charged, and Caradoc howled, fire tearing from him to lash at them as he shed the fiery phoenix's visage and replaced it with the dark dragon knight of Dynasmon X. He rocketed at Nebiros and Sabnock, snarling as he grabbed the former and plowed him into the earth with a furious kick. Sabnock struck from behind, hitting with a storm-charged punch which sent discharge crackling through the dragon knight's system as sparks lashed over his armor.

Caradoc whirled and backhanded Sabnock with a fist, only for Gaul to come at him again. Dramon Destroyers lashed, and raked Caradoc's armor, shredding Chrome Digizoid layers and opening flesh. Caradoc's palm struck Gaul's breastplate, and with a shout of "Dragon Thrower!" the BlackWarGreymon was hurled flying across the ground in a spray of sparks and crimson power. Blood dripped from the cuts, which had been deepened and made more serious by Gaul's anti-Dramon powers.

“Caradoc!” he yelled out. “Think of a plan!”

The Dynasmon X blocked another strike of Gaul's Dramon Destroyers with his gauntlets, while forcefully kicking Sabnock away with a forceful, aura-charged blow of his clawed foot. "Get Hadrael, and get out of here! I'll keep them back!"

"Not likely," Nebiros chuckled darkly as he burst through the air and his crackling fist impacted Caradoc's shoulder. Bolts of thunder hailed from his horned helmet, spearing Caradoc through the armor and leaving the Dynasmon X open to a fierce slash from Gaul, which tore through his breastplate and sent crimson tears cascading across the ragged armor...

[Griff4815]

"How can we keep this up?" Duo said aloud. "Everyone is losing so much... why? Why must we suffer so much just to see our efforts fall apart time and time again..."

"I'm not sure..." Pyra admitted gloomily. "There has to be a way, though. We can't give up hope, as easy as that would be in our current situation."

She looked back at Duo and attempted to give him a reassuring nod, though she knew that no amount of head movement would be able to quell his worries. Her gaze then fell to the unconscious Lucia.

"Demonic possession..." Pyra thought. "Being forced to do horrible things against one's will. Something that I'm all too familiar with."

"I hope she has no memories of what happened," the Paildramon said as they slowed down upon reaching the aid tent. "I wouldn't wish that on my greatest enemy... Mephistopheles being the exception."

-

Barachiel stood in silence, standing away from Azur and Caradoc. Guinier had since left them and was heading back to Anatolia. Her savage words to Caradoc still echoed in his mind. As he predicted, they were torn apart. All because he couldn't protect Hadrael from two lowly Beetlemon. If he had, Caradoc's compulsion wouldn't have set in.

The Dinobeemon stared at Caradoc, who had remained kneeling for the past hour. Barachiel wondered if he himself really believed the words he said to Caradoc. Was Caradoc really doing this just for himself? If Caradoc wasn't his friend, would he really still have given his soul for Hadrael or, more specifically, him? Barachiel wasn't sure any more.

He wanted to believe that Caradoc only did this for selfish purposes. If he really had made the deal because they were such close friends, then that would make the guilt that Barachiel felt that much worse.

Truth be told, Barachiel was having trouble maintaining his composure. Ten years was bad enough, but Caradoc only had one year...

"Just one year..." he thought behind a painstaking grimace. "Why did you do it, Caradoc? Was it really the only way? And how could you do something like that to me... and more importantly, to Guinier? Was it selfishness or selflessness? Either way... this pain may never go away."

It was then that Barachiel saw Caradoc finally stand up.

"We have to save Hadrael," he said to Barachiel and Azur quietly. "It's all we can do..." He slowly clenched a fist. "I made a mistake. I made a terrible... no, horrific mistake. But I can't change my past. I can't undo the deal. I just have to live with what I did... and face the consequences..." It was becoming ever-harder to avoid tears now at the thought of what he'd done. "Let's go to Bozrah and save Hadrael... then we can go our own ways and carry on with our lives..." With that, the Silphymon took flight...

"I agree..." Barachiel spoke monotonously, hiding his true emotions under the mask that he wore. "Now I will not stop until Hadrael is safe. If you've damned your soul, I refuse for it to be for nothing. I owe you that much..."

The Dinobeemon took flight and flew at a relative distance from Caradoc. "'Go our own ways and carry on with our lives'... You don't have a life left, Caradoc..." he thought sorrowfully. "I know deals can be broken, but the only way is so... difficult."

Barachiel clutched his necklace and looked down. "Hadrael... how do I fix this?"

-

Khep walked out of the formerly damaged bar, wincing with every step he took. In his hand he clutched a now-intact glass mug filled with beer that he managed to salvage from one of the fallen kegs. He stepped out into the street and looked around, observing what was once a horrific battlefield.

On the surface it seemed as if there had been no fight at all, but underneath the renewed peace was pain and loss. Kheprius knew this most of all.

He looked up and saw that the clouds of smoke still remained above the city, though they started to fade. The GrandisKuwagamon finished the remaining half of his drink in one swallow. He discarded the glass with a wave of the hand, sending it shattering across the ground. Thanks to his fight with War, pain shot up his form due to the wound in his side that particularly bothered him. He limped over to the side of a building, pressed his winged back against the stone wall and slid to the ground.

The events of the previous day raced through his mind. Every aching minute of it. The destroying fire. War. His decision. Svarog's sudden counterargument. His clash with Barachiel. All of it weighed on him. This time, no amount of alcohol would be able to take his mind off of it.

"Damnit," he whispered.

Pyra, who was walking away from the aid station where she led Duo, spotted him propped up against the wall. She knew he was still wounded, so she began to feel concern for him. The Paildramon walked over to the GrandisKuwagamon and stood in front of him.

"Kheprius," she greeted. "Are you okay?"

Khep looked up, instantly recognized her and sighed. "Yeah... Sunshine and rainbows, sweetheart."

"Is that so?" she asked, folding her arms. She decided to let the name slide this time.

He looked down and cupped the wound on his side with his ebony hand. "...Something you want?"

"You're wounded," Pyra answered. "I'm taking you to the aid tent over there." She reached down to help him up, but received a shock when her hand was suddenly swat aside.

"Just leave me alone," he said sharply, retracting his bloodstained hand.

Despite her surprise as this sudden lashing out, she maintained a cool composure and remained staring down at him. "What's going on with you, Kheprius? Ever since we've been attacked you've been isolating yourself and obviously gained a short fuse," she stated. "Is this about what happened with you and Barachiel? I heard about what happened from one of the soldiers."

At this, Khep couldn't help but unleash a mocking laugh. "'Barachiel'?" he asked, grinning darkly. "You all call him that, but none of you know who he really is. I'm the only one he doesn't have fooled, himself included."

"What do you mean?" the Paildramon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pyra, remember what I told you when I defected to the Royal Knights? About why I did it?" he asked, his red eye lighting up in the moonlight.

Pyra nodded despite not understanding what he was getting at. "Yes...? You told me it was because you wanted control. You said your family was killed in the arbitrary massacre of your village and ever since that day, you never wanted to be in that situation again..." she replied. Pyra closed her eyes and thought. "I admit, back then I didn't understand, but after the Siege, when I thought Maximus was dead... Well, you know what happened."

The GrandisKuwagamon nodded. A second later, he blinked and had a double take on Pyra. "Wait a second, 'thought'?"

Pyra tensed up. "...Yes," she responded, scolding herself for her slip up. "After we all went our seperate ways, I found out that Maximus was alive. It was just a terrible case of miscommunication between Sigurd and I... All that I did for nothing."

Khep shrugged and gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. "I was about to say 'that's great news' but now I don't know what to say..."

The Paildramon grimaced and rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm sorry... I didn't want to seem like I was bragging or anything. I hope I didn't make you-"

An abrupt laugh came from the dusk-coloured insect. "On the contrary, now we've got even more in common..." Upon seeing Pyra's confused look, he decided to elaborate. "Ya know why I wanted you to think about what I had said you before defecting? It wasn't about the control thing, it was about my family. Yeah, my parents were killed and, like you, I thought my brother was too..."

Pyra's eyes widened. "You mean--"

"Terrak, that's 'Barachiel' to you, is my brother... That angel that he and Caradoc are so desperate to find apparently saved him and forgot about me and my former pals. Then so began the story of Khep Aeolus," he explained somberly.

"I don't believe it..." she whispered, taking in the revelation. "That's why 'Terrak' sounded so familiar; you mentioned his name before... And that's why you act so familiar with him."

Khep scoffed. "Sammy gets the gold star though. He figured it out all by himself. Sure, he used his third eye, but I don't penalize cheaters."

Pyra walked closer to Kheprius, leaned against the wall and sat down to the right of him. His insectian wing twitched upon feeling her blue wing brush against it. She looked in his direction and was forced to duck underneath his pincers when he did the same. "I'm happy for you... but that still doesn't answer my original question. What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Just forget it," he said dismissively, turning away.

"No..." she said firmly.

"Why, Pyra, I didn't know you cared so much. Seems like just months ago that you put a crater in my chest," Khep said with a grin.

"Kheprius," Pyra insisted, growing annoyed.

Kheprius' face hardened, once again becoming dark. "Fine," he said, finally putting his teasing aside. "You really want to know?"

"I do."

He let out a cross between a hiss and a growl. "...War," he told her, not even making eye contact. "Formerly Svarog."

"Go on..." she said, looking into his face. Just from one glance she could see his pain. It was strange for Pyra, seeing Khep so distraught. The only time that she saw him like this, without his devil-may-care attitude, was when he was telling her about his tragedy of a past. Ever since, she wondered if that was the true Kheprius.

"We were fighting..." Kheprius balled up his hands and narrowed his eye as he recalled the events. "There were civilians. He took them hostage and asked me to choose. He asked me to choose who to live and who to die. Would I sacrifice to save the others or would I just ignore them to try to kill him or save myself?" he spoke, the painful memory tinging his voice. "He knew about me, Pyra... Somehow he knew about my past and my deepest feelings. He used those civilians just to toy with me..."

Pyra listened to him carefully. The slight emotions he heard on his voice weren't lost on her.

"I had a plan to save them all. I thought it would work. I had the ability... the power to save them... so I charged. And then he killed them all," Kheprius whispered.

Pyra winced. "...I see," she spoke, unsure what to say. What surprised her the most was how much it was affecting him.

"I couldn't save them, Pyra..." he said, bowing his head. "I could see their faces... the fear in their eyes. They saw me as the hero that would save them. The same sort of hero that I prayed for when I was that innocent, goodhearted Tentomon. I had the power to save them, but I... I couldn't, even when they needed me the most. I resigned them to the same fate of my village."

"You tried," Pyra said, trying to give him some comfort.

"But I couldn't save them!" he snapped, slamming his fist down on the ground. "...It was like he wanted to show me that I was no better than the gods who abandoned us were. Unlike them, I tried to, but..."

"Khep..." she said gently, looking at him sympathetically.

"That's not all of it either," he explained. "We fought some more, all the way up above the storm clouds. I tried to get him away from the city, but up there, he channeled the sun's power. He said that he would destroy the whole city unless I sacrificed myself instead."

"...What happened?" she asked. "You obviously didn't, so..."

Kheprius was silent, letting Pyra know that she was wrong. "...I agreed," he said, turning away to avoid Pyra's shocked expression. "I told him that he could kill me if he promised not to kill anymore Anatolians. At the time, I thought that my life wasn't worth all of their's."

"Why would you do that?!" Pyra demanded. "Even if he was threatening them, you-"

"I won't abandon them!" Khep snapped. "I know what it's like! I have the power to save them! I'm not like those ever-so-holy gods who only save those when it suit them!"

Pyra remained quiet. She knew that he partially blamed gods and heroes for not coming to his village's aid. Pyra couldn't blame him either. When something that tragic happens, the victims always need to blame somebody. She had blamed the Royal Knights and even Kheprius and Samael.

Kheprius continued. "...War was readying the killing blow for me, but something happened. Svarog took control of his body and made him miss. Then he told me that I had to live on, even at the cost of others' lives, because I was the only one who could save the weak from War," he explained. "But if I'm in that situation again, where it's down to me or the innocent, how am I supposed to let him kill them while I save myself? What part of me is worth saving? At one point I was no better than War himself, so how could I possibly justify saving my own skin over them?! How can I just abandon them?!" he asked distressfully, not noticing that his arms were trembling.

Pyra, however, did notice. She reached over and gently placed her hand on top of his. "Kheprius," she said softly. "Your life is worth living... no matter what you've done. And if it's not... then I guess mine isn't either, because I'm no better."

"Pyra..." Kheprius said with slight surprise. He turned towards her. "And what about those civilians? Am I worth more than them?" he asked rhetorically.

"...I don't know," Pyra admitted, after thinking. "It's not my place to say."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" he whispered.

The Paildramon's palm remained on top of Khep's charred hand as she looked into his eye. "I'm not sure, Kheprius... but I'm here for you," she told him resolutely. "And while I can't tell you what you should do... you can count on me to understand."

Khep stared at her, silent for several seconds. He glanced down at her hand which rested comfortingly on top of his. He looked back up, continuing to stare into her red eyes.

"...You always did understand me, Pyra," he spoke, his voice calmed and reassured. The silence resumed.

Then, Kheprius raised his free hand and placed it on the side of Pyra's face. With one movement, he lifted up her crimson helmet slightly and moved towards her. He stretched his pincers wide apart and pressed his mouth against her lips, kissing her.

Pyra's eyes widened and she remained still, completely stunned as she felt Khep's face suddenly against hers. In that moment, everything in her mind was washed away by the sheer surprise of his action.

A couple seconds passed before Kheprius pulled away from her. He could see that the white scales on her cheeks were tinted red. Khep allowed her helmet to fall back to its original position and he looked forwards, away from Pyra.

"Sorry," he said simply.

Pyra, who was frantically trying to compose herself, lifted her hand from Kheprius' and held it with her other hand. "No... It's okay," she responded uncomfortably.

Kheprius stood to his feet and leaned back against the wall. "Don't tell the mutt, okay? As much as I'd love to take him on again, we've got bigger fish to fry."

Pyra cleared her throat and stood to her feet. "Err, right..." she said, beginning to walk away. "I'll... see you later, then."

"Later," he said as casually as he could.

With that, Pyra flapped her wings and flew away in a hurry. She looked over her shoulder at Khep, exhaled, and continued on her way as quickly as possible. "That was... very unexpected..."

-

Barachiel the TigerVespamon landed at the entrance of the temple. With a movement of his thumbs, he activated the beams of his Royal Meisters. He could feel the sand blowing against his back as he walked into the temple. He knew that if Hadrael was anywhere in this desolate, forsaken city, it was in this temple.

He heard the footsteps of Azur and Caradoc behind him as they entered. They then stopped.

"You..." Barachiel scathed as he observed Dracula standing on the elevated stage.

"Greetings, Peacemakers," he bowed dramatically. "Or should I say 'ex-Peacemakers'? I've been told you're no longer in the favor of Saint Michael. Such a shame; Mephistopheles and Lord Lucifer would never abandon you in such a manner." He raised his hands to the heavens. "I implore you, swear allegiance to them! Join us in the majesty of our conquest! Let us wage war on Heaven! And loose famine in the garden! And bring death to the nonbelievers!"

Barachiel furrowed his brows in an angry gaze. He was about to demand where Hadrael was, but Caradoc's speaking silenced him before he could. He placed a foot forwards, ready to charge the Myotismon to get him to tell him where his mentor was. Barachiel was stopped cold when something began to lower from the ceiling.

Dry air sucked into Barachiel's lungs as he gasped, seeing Hadrael's bound, bloodied and broken form descend. Feeling an extreme sensation of terror and pain inside him, Barachiel began to hurry forwards.

"Hadrael!" he shouted out, desperate to let him know that he was there.

He looked towards Dracula and saw his lips moving, muttering something. Barachiel then looked back up at the Angemon. Mortifying horror ripped through the insect as the red whips sliced through Hadrael. Barachiel let out an incomprehensible cry of agony as the mutilated angel plummeted to the floor, leaving blood in his wake.

The Myotismon smirked and picked up Hadrael's body, flinging him down the stairs to their feet. The Royal Meisters dropped to the floor as Hadrael hit the ground in front of them. Barachiel lunged towards the Angemon and held him in his trembling arms.

"Hadrael! Hadrael!" Barachiel shouted hysterically.

The TigerVespamon's breathing hastened and his heart raced. He felt his warm blood against his hands as he moved Hadrael onto his lap and looked down at him with wide, terrified eyes.

He wouldn't move his eyes from the angel's form, no matter how gruesome and horrific the sight was to behold. Even as the Mephistopheles' soldiers attacked them, Barachiel refused to move. He felt a wave of cold wash over his form from the exploding ordnance in front of him, but he paid no heed. To him, the only thing in that temple then and there was him and his dying mentor.

"You- you're going to be... alright," Barachiel told him half-heartedly. His red eyes filled with tears, knowing the futility of the situation and the deciet in his own words.

Hadrael looked up at him with blue eyes. He tried to speak.

"Hadrael," Barachiel said, letting out a choked sob. "Please!"

The tears that ran down his face began to crystallize from the proximity of one of Lucian's nearby ice attacks. Barachiel managed to hear Caradoc's words

"Get Hadrael, and get out of here! I'll keep them back!" Caradoc yelled.

Barachiel gently took Hadrael's broken form and ran as fast as he could towards the door. No matter what, nothing would stop him.

"Not so fast!" Sabnock's voice echoed through the temple. He slide digivolved into his usual MetalKabuterimon form and lowered the cannon in his horn, levelling it with the TigerVespamon. "Electron Cannon!"

Barachiel let out a cry of pain as energy seared into his back, burning his wings. He collapsed to his knees, falling forwards on Hadrael's mortally wounded form. The TigerVespamon let out a sob as he pulled himself up and held his mentor in his arms.

"Ha-Hadrael," he whimpered, looking down at him, already knowing what would happen. The Angemon's data particles were already rising up from his body. "Don't... don't leave."

Hadrael weakly raised his head and stared at Barachiel. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, but even then, he managed a soft smile.

Barachiel burst into tears as more data particles floated into the sky. "You... can't go! You can't leave me here!" he begged, hugging him tightly. "Please, Hadrael... don't leave me here alone..."

"Barach...chiel," he wheezed in a gargled voice.

"I'm so sorry, Hadrael," Barachiel said, his face soaked with tears and his form trembling. "I should have been able to save you, but please... don't go. You're all that I have left. You're the only thing... I have..."

Hadrael slowly shook his head and weakly raised the remaining, though horribly severed arm that he had left. He gently cupped the palm of his bloodied hand to Barachiel's left cheek.

"Father..." the acolyte pleaded sorrowfully.

The Angemon managed a final smile as he gestured his apprentice - his son - towards him. Barachiel leaned forwards, relishing in the warm, familiar holy light that Hadrael even then managed to give off. He knew that this would be the last time he felt it.

When his adopted son and apprentice was finally close enough, Hadrael whispered.

"It's going to be okay, Terrak..."

Though his throat was choked with blood, he managed to speak in a reassuring tone while still cupping his hand to Barachiel's face.

Barachiel's eyes widened and he recoiled, staring at Hadrael as he heard the familar words. Hadrael smiled at him and nodded before closing his eyes. Then his form dispersed in a cloud of pure white data particles, floating around Barachiel and ascending to the cloudy heavens above.

"FATHER!" Barachiel shouted, desperately reaching out, trying in vain to hold onto the data. With each swipe, they slipped through his fingers until it was finally out of his reach. He turned his head up, seeing the particles pass by his fingertips and rise. It was then that Barachiel stopped.

The TigerVespamon kneeled, perfectly still. He watched in disbelief and loss as the Angemon left him. He had no idea what to do. Barachiel had never felt so helpless, except maybe once, for a split second before hearing Hadrael's words.

Though unlike last time, now he was without a sliver of hope. The only family he felt he had left in the world - the only living person he loved - was dead. And it devastated him to his very core. This time, he really was alone.

He broke down, doubling over and choking out sobs.

"Now, now. Don't cry," Sabnock's voice said behind from behind him. The MetalKabuterimon grinned and raised his gun port-loaded arm towards the mortified TigerVespamon. "You'll be meeting up with him in a minute or two."

With a roar, Barachiel spun around and charged, running through the gunfire to try and rip him apart with his bare hands...

[Tundra_Wolfmane]

A bright pair of eyes spied Pyra and Khep from a dark alley directly across from them. They had went from being narrowed and amused to wide like saucers and shocked in a span of a few seconds. They couldn’t help but trail after the Paildramon as she went off into the night sky, looking just as confused and confuzzled as he thought she should be. At the very least, she looked the part.

The eyes then looked back to the one that was left behind. He saw how the GrandisKuwagamon acted so nonchalant after what he just did. That was definitely a move that told the observer that it the act held a lot more weight than Kheprius let on.

And he needed to find out how much.

“So, did ya know I was here and let me watch, or did my ninja skills get better from when I was a still a kid, hidin’ from me mom when I stole a cookie before dinner?” Scharlach’s voice asked out as he exited from the alley, his black fur and clothes looking like they melted away from the shadows. “Personally, I think it’s the latter, cuz you don’t seem like the guy to let something like that be seen by someone ya knew is the cousin of the boyfriend of the girl you were kissin’.”

He walked in front of the insect Digimon and then folded his arms. “I was s’pose to talk with Pyra, but I think I need to talk to you right now. What’re yer intentions with ‘er?”

Before Khep could reply, the ShadowWereGarurumon then raised his hands in the air and let out a hearty laugh.

“Man, I sound like a dad!” he said with obvious enthusiasm. “It’s not like it’s really any of my business, but I gotta watch out for my cousin,” he said, turning to Khep with a smile. It must’ve been weird for him to take the expression, considering the situation.

“Me and Azur? We’re not that close, but the guy’s the closest thing I got to a brother since I met ‘im. I still gotta watch his back even when his back ain’t anywhere in sight,” Scar told Kheprius. “And if that means I gotta watch out for his girl, then so be it. He had to deal with mine back home whenever I wasn’t around anyway.”

Scharlach then took on a thoughtful look. “I’m not here to fight with ya, though, if you’re thinkin’ that. After the demon fiasco, I wanna relax for bit. Just tell me if there’s some chemistry or fireworks goin’ on.”

He then continued after a moment’s silence. “Oh, and I’m not gonna tell Azur, or maybe not unless it becomes a really big thing. If there’s anything I learned from living with him for four months, it’s that he hates finding things out from other people. Especially when it involves him,” he said to the GrandisKuwagamon with a reminiscing look on his face. “You think he wouldn’t mind so much if you set him up on a double date without telling him about it,” Scar said wistfully.

From a different area, another pair of eyes was watching them…

------------------------------------------------------

“Grace Cross Freezer!”

Azur took a deep breath, concentrating himself as the projectiles all shot towards him at terrifying speed. He knew how the attack racing towards him worked; it was one that he had used so many times before that he knew its ins and outs by heart. And he also knew how to counter it.

With a quick hand, Azur threw his sword at the epicentre of the cloud of missiles. The weapon struck one of the missiles, creating a blast that was the start of a chain explosions that shook the whole temple. Azur, who had kept his eyes on his sword, saw it fly upwards from the shockwave, and he dashed after it, finding his body much lighter and faster than when it was weighed down by his armor.

From above the explosions, he could see Lucian searching for him through the cloud of fire and ice. Not one to disappoint, Azur landed right in front of the BlackMetalGarurumon. He was about to slash, but he hesitated when he saw Lucian’s sly grin.

“Who’s too slow now?” Lucian asked just as another voice sounded from their side.

“Atomic Ray!”

Azur let out a yell of pain as his side was struck by a large beam. He slammed into one of the walls painfully, and he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

“Dammit,” Azur cursed as he grabbed his weapon and stood back up. He turned to the pair that he was against, and he swore once more when Marcus joined them to face against him. He couldn’t face them the way he was, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

He was about to charge at them, sword swinging, when Barachiel’s voice called his attention. “FATHER!”

Azur looked at Barachiel, and he saw how broke the TigerVespamon became. He saw the retreating lights of data, and he realized just what had happened. His grimaced, and his own heart broke for him. That moment was exactly what they had been trying to avoid.

“You’re opponents are us!”

The MagnaGarurumon looked back at them, and he had to jump out of the way to avoid getting struck by one of Sigma’s attacks once again. He turned back, and then he had to evade Lucian’s prepared Grace Cross Freezer. Despite all his running and evading, however, he was still able to notice Marcus dash at him through the missiles, and the MagnaGarurumon barely had the chance to raise his weapon fast enough to block the Darkdramon’s blade.

‘I…I need AncientGarurumon,’ he thought to himself as he sparred with the Darkdramon.

He ducked a stab and kicked the Marcus’ legs from under him and then kicked him again whilst the Darkdramon in the air, sending him flying towards the Lucian and Sigma. Before he crashed into them, however, he spun using his jet boosters to get himself upright and faced Azur.

The assault having ended temporarily, Azur looked back at them. He grit his teeth, realizing that he needed his most powerful form if he wanted to fight on even grounds. But he had never tried using AncientGarurumon without Fenrir’s presence in his body. He wasn’t positive that he could.

Glancing at the side, he saw Caradoc beginning to tackle both Gaul and Nebiros, while an incensed Barachiel charged at Sabnock.

‘But…I need to try…if any of us is going to get out of here alive’ he thought to himself, readying his weapon. And if he could, he knew just what he was going to do.

“Was that all you can do?” Marcus called out, laughing.

“Just a loser swinging a stick around like he knows how to use it,” Lucian commented with a chuckle.

Azur narrowed his eyes, positioning his sword in front of him. He grit his teeth as his opponents went on guard. “I am Azur Schattenlicht!” he yelled out. “Descendant of Fenrir Weissritter! Inheritor of his will! I will not stand down!”

As his voice rose, light coated hid body like a second skin, shining brightly that the ones looking at him had to shield their eyes from getting blinded.

“Heed my call, powers of the past. Sharpen my blade, my might unsurpassed! Inner light, come! Shine bright! Wrongs of the world, I’ll turn them right!”

Azur split his weapon into two as it grew and transformed into the familiar shape of the original Sharpness Claymores. The light broke away as his form revealed itself.

“Ancient Evolution! AncientGarurumon!”

Without even a single warning, Azur charged at them, his blades shining bright silver. “Ready yourselves!” he yelled at them.

“Scatter!” Lucian called out as he sped away, both Marcus and Sigma following suit.

Azur drove one of his claymores into the ground that they had stood on before, and then he turned to Marcus. With an unrestrained growl, he sped towards the Darkdramon. Marcus stopped himself, and he prepared his weapon once more to spar with the AncientGarurumon. However, instead of locking weapons with him, Azur sped past Marcus, who was left stunned as his weapon stabbed at air.

The AncientGarurumon continued his dash towards Barachiel and Sabnock. “Barachiel!” he called out.

He reached the two of them at the same time they looked towards his direction. He stopped right in front of them, and with his free hand, Azur grabbed Barachiel’s arm.

“Sorry ‘bout this,” he said as he suddenly used all his strength to throw the TigerVespamon at Caradoc. “Caradoc! Catch!” he ordered. He watched as Barachiel crashed right into the Dynasmon X.

“Hey, that was my-“

“Shut up!” Azur commanded Sabnock as he raised his other, still shining, Sharpness Claymore at the MetalKabuterimon.

“Absolute Zero!!” Azur yelled out as his weapon flashed brightly. On the other side of the room, the Sharpness Claymore that he left on the ground did so as well. And then Azur’s own armored body followed, a stream of light connecting him to his weapons. “Max Power!”

And just like what happened so long ago, Azur channeled all his powers into his attack. From where he stood and from where his weapon was imbedded in, ice spread rapidly towards all directions, freezing whatever the energy touched instantly. Seeing the effects, Mephistopheles’ warriors quickly retreated to the back part of the temple before they were caught.

“Get away, both of you!” Azur told Caradoc and Barachiel as the ice shot towards them at alarming speeds. The AncientGarurumon wasn’t exactly using a lot of precise control with his attack. “Before you both freeze!”

Azur’s attack forced the duo near the entrance, where the ice suddenly stopped and shot upwards to the ceiling, effectively sealing off the entrance with ice. Azur narrowed his eyes and then concentrated his abilities on thickening the ice walls, making them much more solid than the first time he tried it.

‘Thicker,’ he thought as he ice grew thicker and thicker, trapping not only his enemies deeper into the temple but also himself in-between the two walls of ice. ‘Stronger,’ he added as he made the ice more compact, strengthening them to last the strong attacks he knew Gaul and the others could dish out.

And as he felt his energy depleting rapidly, the AncientGarurumon stopped. He fell to one of his knees, using the weapon in his hand to keep himself from outright falling into the ground, before reverting back to his WereGarurumon form.

If Azur bothered to look at the ice-made walls, thicker than how much Azur was tall and strong enough to take an intensive beating from Gigas for a considerable amount of time, he wouldn’t have been able to see through either partition due to the thickness. They could withstand the attacks. At the very least, they’d be able to outlast the ceiling. Stronger attacks might cause a cave in, and he hoped he could take that fact to his advantage.

He closed his eyes, wondering if he did enough. He hated to think that both Barachiel and Caradoc would get through the ice. They wouldn’t have been able to win that battle without a miracle, and it didn’t look like one would happen. He also hoped that they got his message.

“Nice trick,” a voice said.

In shock, Azur raised his head. He also fell when he saw Lucian and Marcus, floating unharmed over the ice.

“The panic almost made us run too,” Marcus said, his arms folded.

“Dam…mit,” Azur cursed. So much for trapping his enemies on the other side. He hadn’t realized that they could just keep away from the freezing energy by flying over it.

“Thanks to you, it’s gonna take a while to get out of this, mutt,” Lucian said as he landed on the ice. “So make it easy for us and just stay down while the robot and the rest get us outta here.”

In an attempt to resist, Azur tried to get to his feet, but he only succeeded in wasting more energy.

“Or we can do it for you,” Marcus commented as he suddenly shot towards Azur.

Azur found the energy to raise his arms just in time to keep the Darkdramon’s foot from slamming at his face, but it was strong enough to send him flying right at one of the ice walls. He slammed right into it, the ice looking as if nothing happened at all.

“Huh. Harder than it looks,” Marcus said as Azur looked up at him thought suddenly blurring eyes.

“****…you,” Azur said as his eyesight started to blacken. He really hoped that Barachiel and Cardoc found his message.

On the outer side of the entrance, he had used the last bits of his energy to create an engraving on the ice wall.

‘Tell Pyra I’m sorry and not to worry about me.’

[storymasterb]

"Thunder Fist!" Nebiros bellowed.

"Dragon Thrower!" Caradoc howled in answer, eyes ablaze. The Dynasmon X met the Beetlemon, his burning fist meeting Nebiros' storm-charged punch and sending bursts of embers and sparks drifting across the temple.

Snarling, Caradoc grabbed Nebiros by the horn with his free hand and hefted the warrior of thunder into the air, before swinging his arm downwards and plowing him into the ground heavily. He growled again and tore his arm upwards, wrenching the Beetlemon into the air, when a shout stopped him dead.

"FATHER!" His head snapped around, just in time to catch Hadrael's last remnants fading away into nothingness. His eyes widened in shock, as a stunned breath released from his jaws.

"No..." he breathed.

"Lightning Blitz!" Bolts of light screamed from Nebiros' horn and surged through his arm, tossing him away as loose discharge crackled on his armor. The Dynasmon X howled in pain as he stumbled to the ground, thunder writhing through his body. Nebiros let out a dark chuckle and raised a fist, which crackled and sparked with electrical power.

"Dragon Crusher!" Gaul screamed into Caradoc, grabbing the Dynasmon X with his claws and raking them through the dark-armored Digimon's armor. Caradoc howled, but Gaul tossed him to Nebiros, who sneered.

"Thunder Fist!" The blow landed and a corona of lightning flashed, crushing him into the ground. The two soldiers of Mephistopheles gazed at him, triumph in their eyes, before Caradoc rose, burnt, battered and ablaze with raging hate. His despair became anger.

"Die!" he howled furiously, tearing a path of fire across the stone. He met Nebiros, and furious, flame-wreathed punches and kicks struck the Beetlemon over and over. Gaul rocketed towards him, but Caradoc turned and spoke a crushing command filled with hate. "Breath of Wyvern!" Burning power vented from his form, met Gaul and hurled the BlackWarGreymon back in a flash of draconic fire. He was slammed into the stones of Bozrah's temple, ripping cracks through the ornate floor.

A flash of blinding light from nearby tugged at the edges of his vision, but Caradoc was uncaring, too focused on beating every last drop of life out of his opponents with his bare hands if needs be. He turned to Nebiros again and spoke. "Dragon's Gust!" Burning, his claws lashed across the Beetlemon's armor, leaving burning traces in their wake. Nebiros clenched a fist and snarled, only to have a burning punch meet his face. "Dragon Thrower!" Cracks tore over the dark blue armor as the blow sent the warrior of thunder crashing to the floor.

Caradoc snarled and took a step forwards, power blazing in anger around him, writhing and burning. Then Azur's voice sounded clear across the temple, turning him away from his opponent.

“Caradoc! Catch!”

He turned to see a blurred gold-and-black object hurtling towards him, and his aura burst into nothingness just in time to let him catch Barachiel. Nebiros snarled and rose up, but Caradoc side-stepped his wild, crackling fist and hammered a palm into his back with a snarl. "Dragon Thrower!" The blast launched the Beetlemon forwards and plowed him into Gaul, knocking both soldiers of Mephistopheles to the ground in a heap. Light suddenly shimmered, reflected from the blast, and then Caradoc saw the ice racing across the flagstones and instantly knew what Azur was doing.

“Get away, both of you!” Azur told Caradoc and Barachiel as the ice shot towards them at alarming speeds. The AncientGarurumon wasn’t exactly using a lot of precise control with his attack. “Before you both freeze!”

"No!" Caradoc howled, he knew what was happening, Azur had done this before. "Azur, you can't! Stop! I'll hold them back! Take Barachiel and go!" But his words had no effect, the ice kept coming, and ultimately he had to pull back before he and Barachiel were caught in it and frozen. The ice began to climb, forming a wall, and Caradoc slumped down in shock, placing Barachiel to the ground as he watched the ice grow and ultimately stop. And he read the message, and a tear ran down his cheek, a tear of sorrow, anger and despair in equal measure.

‘Tell Pyra I’m sorry and not to worry about me.’

"No..." he whispered. "No. No!" He burst to his feet. "Azur, NO!" His voice bounced around the walls of ice and stone, reverberating as the Dynasmon X gave a howl of despair and his burning fist impacted with the ice just above the writing to no effect. Again and again the fists hammered into the ice, but for all his strength, Caradoc was powerless, and ultimately he just slumped, hands slowly slipping down the wall of ice as his tears ran down his cheeks and he shook with sorrow and despair at what he had done.

"AZUR!" he screamed...

[Griff4815]

Kheprius watched as Pyra flew off. He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall he previously sat against. As he looked up, he saw a black-furred figure emerge from a dusky alleyway. He mentally cursed in annoyance.

“So, did ya know I was here and let me watch, or did my ninja skills get better from when I was a still a kid, hidin’ from me mom when I stole a cookie before dinner?” Scharlach’s voice asked out as he exited from the alley, his black fur and clothes looking like they melted away from the shadows. “Personally, I think it’s the latter, cuz you don’t seem like the guy to let something like that be seen by someone ya knew is the cousin of the boyfriend of the girl you were kissin’.”

"Oh great, a voyeuristic wolf... Well I'd hate to stroke your ego, but I didn't see ya there... Beer might have had something to do with that," he calmly replied.

Scar walked up to Khep and folded his arms. “I was s’pose to talk with Pyra, but I think I need to talk to you right now. What’re yer intentions with ‘er?”

Khep was about to spit out a one-liner, but Scar already noticed and beat him to it.

“Man, I sound like a dad!” he said with obvious enthusiasm. “It’s not like it’s really any of my business, but I gotta watch out for my cousin,”

"Yeah, you're right," Khep answered dryly. "It's not any of your business." As Scharlach continued, the GrandisKuwagamon let out a a sigh and began to relent.

“I’m not here to fight with ya, though, if you’re thinkin’ that. After the demon fiasco, I wanna relax for bit. Just tell me if there’s some chemistry or fireworks goin’ on,” Scharlach said.

"Look, I dunno, okay?" the insect responded irately. "It just sorta happened... I'm guessing your senses are pretty keen too, so I'll assume you heard everything else we talked about. I was in a crappy mood and she, well... helped. Maybe I do like her; I'm not entirely sure..."

Kheprius folded his arms and looked to the side. "I think I do..." he murmured in admittance. "I'll level with you, I've never had these types of feelings toward a girl before, so I don't really know what it means. I think it's more than just Pyra being hot... but I think we can agree that she is smoking hot though."

Eyeing Scar carefully as he talked, when the ShadowWereGarurumon finished, Khep stood upright. "I know that Pyra and Zurry are in love and I'm pretty certain that Pyra doesn't like me like that... if her quick escape was anything to go by. I get that..." he responded casually. "You don't have to worry about me making a power play for Pyra, if that's what you're hot and bothered about. I probably won't..."

Khep gave a dismissive wave of his hand and started walking past Scar. "But hey, never say never," he told him, grinning. The GrandisKuwagamon glanced over his shoulder. "If you're looking for Pyra, she's probably with the other Peacemakers. I hear we're heading out again soon."

With that, he started flying looking for the other members of his team.

-

Pyra flew through the sky, looking for a particular hut. Kheprius' sudden kiss still stuck at the front of her mind. She had no idea why he did. Did he have feelings for her? Was it something she said? Pyra began to wonder what would happen if Azur found out or if she should even tell him.

The Paildramon decided that the best thing for her to do was to get some perspective on this. She didn't want these thoughts distracting her if they were to be going back into battle shortly. Pyra looked around the renewed city for the hut that she visited several times. It wasn't long until she spotted it in its usual position.

She banked to the right and descended at a gentle incline. By this time, her heartbeat had returned to its regular pace. Despite this, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as she landed in front of the modest hut. Pyra walked towards it. The owner was somebody she knew that she could always trust and served as support her her in the past.

Her knuckles rapped against the door three solid times, sending the heralding noises into the abode. "Come in!" replied a hearty voice.

After a few moments of hesitation, Pyra pushed the door open. Immediately upon stepping inside, the aroma of food entered her nostrils. "Err... Galic?" she greeted, attempting to keep her voice as composed as she could after the shock. "It's Pyra..."

She watched as the familiar MachGaogamon came out of the kitchen and observed her. He immediately sensed that something was wrong by the tone of her voice and her general disposition. Galic raised his eyebrow. "Lady Pyra. Is something the matter?"

Pyra stifled a grimace, realizing that Galic's senses always could pierce her self-imposed veil. "Ah, err..." she stammered. "Is this a bad time?" The Paildramon glanced towards the kitchen, where it seemed like he was making a meal. She partially hoped to dismiss his question.

"No, no. I'm quite...free, right now, I suppose," Galic replied reassuringly. He outstretched his good arm and offered the Dramon a seat. "Mayhaps you need to sit down."

The Paildramon looked at the nearby seat unsurely. After some contemplation, she gave him a quick nod of thanks and sat down in the chair. She looked at Galic as he made his way to the opposite seat. "Well, I've decided to tell Azur the truth about Max once I find him again... but that's not why I'm here. Something... else happened and I could use your advice..." she explained, still pensive as to whether or not she should continue.

Galic sat down on the seat and nodded thoughtfully. He then gestured for her to continue.

Pyra felt her face flush with blood for the second time that night. "Err..." she started awkwardly. "Well... I was walking away from the medical tent and I came across Kheprius, who looked distraught for some reason. After awhile of talking, I managed to convince him to tell me what was bothering him. It was his fight with War and now he's apparently conflicted. I decided to comfort him and he, well... kissed me." Pyra glanced off to the side.

Galic's face remained stoic, but an eyebrow still rose at what Pyra revealed. She looked back at the MachGaogamon but continued after a sigh. "I didn't reciporicate the action... I was too surprised to do anything, to be honest. And well... Azur's reaction to Maximus' status is arguable, but I'm pretty certain that we can both agree that Azur wouldn't react well if he found out about this."

The MachGaogamon nodded. After a moment's silence, he addressed Pyra. "Is that everything?"

Pyra nodded in turn. "I believe so..."

"Very well," Galic answered, leaning back in his seat. "The first thing I ask is how you feel about the act. I'm not asking an answer for myself; it is more for your benefit."

"How do I feel about it?" Pyra asked to herself.

Galic continued. "Second, you do need to talk to Kheprius about this, regardless of how you feel." He tilted his head. "I don't believe he's someone who would do such an intimate act unless there was something urging him to do so."

"I suppose so..." Pyra answered, inwardly dreading having to talk to Khep about it.

"And...whilst I am well aware of how Azur will act...he has a right to know," Galic told her. The MachGaogamon looked at Pyra closely. "Wouldn't you want to know if any such thing happened to him whilst he had been gone for the past few months?"

Pyra folded her arms and leaned backwards in her chair, pressing her wings against the soft fabric. She nodded contemplatively. "I agree that he has a right to know... but just because it's right, doesn't mean it's a good idea." Pyra frowned. "The last thing we need is them at each other's throats. We have enough of that already and its only driving us apart. It's like we're doing Mephistopheles' job for him."

"And how much more problematic would it be were he to find out in an even less than ideal situation?" Galic retorted rhetorically. "And in any case, I do very much believe that this is something that has no ideal situation for it to be told, don't you think so?"

Pyra shrugged rather reluctantly. "I suppose... but he's already been dismissed from the Peacemakers. I'm afraid he might do something reckless again. Are you sure it wouldn't be best to wait until this is all over?"

The MachGaogamon smiled a bit. "It's Azur. He'd do something reckless whether he were still part of the Peacemakers or otherwise," he explained. "And as for waiting...well, isn't that for you to decide?"

The female dragon digimon nodded slightly. "Unfortunately... I'm having trouble deciding what's best, though. If Kheprius really does have feelings for me, then I don't want Azur to go after him in retaliation. ...And even if Khep did just kiss me to get a reaction out of me, I'd still prefer that Azur stayed his hand. I don't want their rivalry getting any worse, especially now that Mephistopheles is using these fissures against us."

Galic frowned in thought. "And he'll only be able to use them even more if he uses that information against them. He is a wily sort. As much as I hate to say it, I don't underestimate him to not know of what traspired between you and Kheprius. If he were the one to tell Azur...then I fear what will happen to your bond with him."

A grimace appeared on Pyra's face. "I know... I should probably tell him myself, but with the bombshell regarding Maximus and now this... Would that be too much for him to handle at the same time?" she asked him.

Galic shook his head. "I honestly don't know. But would it be better for him to realize that you're liable to keep secrets from him, even if you think it’s for his own good?"

"I'm not sure..." Pyra said with a sigh. "Knowing Azur, probably not." The Paildramon leaned forwards and rested her forehead in her palm. "I had no idea that relationships would be this complicated..."

The MachGaogamon smiled and guffawed. "It will only get harder, Lady Pyra. A relationship isn't only built from a foundation of love and trust. A lot of effort has to be put into it as well."

Pyra looked up at him and offered a small smile. "Is that something that you know first hand, Galic?"

Galic smiled innocently. "Perhaps. Perhaps not," he replied slyly.

A laugh escaped Pyra's mouth and she began to stand up. "Well... thank you, Galic. Your friendship and advice is invaluable."

Galic stood to his feet as well and nodded. "Quite welcome, Pyra. What use is wisdom that can't be shared, after all?"

The Paildramon nodded. "I should be going. Michael said we were heading out soon..." Pyra then walked over to Galic and placed her arms around him in an embrace. "I'll tell Azur the next time I see him," she told him.

Galic hugged her back using his good arm. "See that you do. My wishes will be with you all since I cannot be with all of you in person."

Pyra smiled and released him. "I'm sure that will be more than enough." She began to turn towards the door to leave, but suddenly stopped as something else crossed her mind. "By the way, have you seen Azur around? I haven't seen him since Michael dismissed them yesterday. I'm surprised he's not here."

The lupine digimon shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. But if you might ask Scharlach, I'm sure he'll tell you. They seemed to be close with each other."

Pyra responded with a quick nod. "Well... I'll come by when we get back. I'm sure you'll want to know how things go. Goodbye, Galic." She smiled at him and walked towards the door. Galic smiled and nodded in response. Once Pyra stepped through the doorway, she closed it behind her.

A few moments after Pyra left, Galic went back to his seat. He closed his eyes and reclined, letting out a breath of air that belied the weariness he had accumulated throughout the course of the day. He couldn’t help but chuckle at how elderly he was acting.

“I’m too young to be acting this old,” he commented to himself.

“But apparently not too young to give a little wise words, hmm?”

Galic opened his eyes and pulled himself off of his seat to look over his shoulder. “Apparently not,” he replied to the female MachGaogamon with a soft smile. “How much did you eavesdrop?”

“Oh, now I wouldn’t call it eavesdropping when I’m only in the room beside this one, wise guy,” Alaynna replied as she came over to where Pyra had sat before. She laid down a tray half full with plates of food and drink. “And enough to know that she and Azur still have a long way to go if they want a proper future together.”

“And why is that, milady?” Galic asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Because I know a little bit about relationships myself, as you very well know.” Alaynna smiled with a knowing wink. “Now start eating before the food gets cold, or I’ll just handfeed you myself.”

Galic grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

-

"So ya think Lucia will be okay?" Gunnar asked, walking with his hands resting behind his head.

Tyr shrugged and held his Dramon Breaker at his side. "I sure hope so..." he answered somberly. "That must have been terrible for her. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to come with us."

"Yeah, but where else has she got to go?" the ShineGreymon responded. "I mean... her home's gone and Duo's gonna be with us, so..."

"Yeah..." Tyr said with a sigh. "Poor her..."

Gunnar looked at Tyr and draped his arma round the VictoryGreymon's neck amiably. "So what about you, Tyr? How're you holdin' up, pal?"

"Me?" Tyr asked, unperturbed by his friend's proximity as he was quite used to Gunnar's easygoing familiarity with people. "Uhh... well... I'm good."

The ShineGreymon grinned and nudged him. "You're not just saying that so that I don't get upset, right?"

The more muscular Greymon smiled sheepishly. "No, I promise. I'm feeling a lot better than I have been. Tiwaz has helped a lot."

Gunnar smiled and took his arm back from Tyr's shoulders. "Awesome," he responded. "I'm just glad he hasn't found out about Sir Constantine, yet..." the ShineGreymon pondered. "I'm going to make those demons suffer for what they did. I promise."

"Tyr Koenig and Gunnar Cyndar?" a voice interrupted from above them.

Tyr looked up to see a Ninjamon standing stoically on top of his head. "...Hello?" he questioned, blinking.

"Michael has summoned you. He wants you to meet in the council hall and to prepare for battle immediately," the Ninjamon said.

Tyr nodded, prompting the Ninjamon to jump off. Gunnar looked at Tyr and gave him an excitable thumbs up. "You heard him, Tyr! We've got pitspawn to roast!" Gunnar said enthusiastically. "Come on! Race ya!"

"Oh, Gunnar..." Tyr sighed, running with his sword held behind him, attempting to catch up with his best friend.

Gunnar turned around mid-run and began backpedalling so that he could look at Tyr. "Come on, Tyr! I dunno how you're a Peacemaker when you're so slow!"

"I'm carrying a big sword, Gunnar!" Tyr defended.

Gunnar swung around and began running forwards again. He bent down and dragged his fingers along the ground. "GeoGrey Sword!"

In a bright flash that nearly caused Tyr to trip, Gunnar summoned his double edged sword and swung it over his head before holding it behind him as well. "Now I'm carrying a big sword too!" Gunnar jeered. "Jeez, does all that food go straight to that orange tail of yours or something?"

"You eat as much as I do, Gunnar!" Tyr complained, heaving in an attempt to keep up as they raced down the street.

"And yet I still manage to be awesome," Gunnar smugly answered.

"Are not!" Tyr shot back.

"Are not so!" Gunnar retaliated, childishly trumping him.

"...Nuts," Tyr muttered.

Gunnar raced up the steps of the council hall and, upon reaching the top, jumped up and let loose an firework-like explosion of shimmering blue particles from his wings, announcing his victory. The ShineGreymon spun around and heroically placed his hands on his hips. "Hah! I win!" he declared.

"You don't have to take that, Tyr!" Tiwaz advised. "Take him down!"

"Okay!" Tyr agreed, racing up the steps. He tripped on the last step and barrelled into Gunnar, knocking them both through the hall's doors and skidding across the tile floor. Both of their swords were flung from their hands and ended up screeching across the floor as well. "Gotcha!" Tyr laughed, kneeling on top of Gunnar.

Gunnar laughed and pushed him off. "Oh yeah? I still win, wise guy!"

Pyra cleared her throat, causing both Tyr and Gunnar to cease their festivities. They both looked up to see the Peacemakers staring at them with mostly serious expressions. The pair grinned sheepishly and stood to their feet.

"Gunnar and Tyr reporting for duty? Heh heh..." Gunnar greeted, saluting next to his friend, who did likewise. "Ready to kick some demon butt, sir.

-

Roaring with rage and agony, Barachiel charged towards Sabnock. The MetalKabuterimon reversed the momentum of his treads and sped backwards in reverse while raising his cannon arms towards Barachiel.

"Hah!" Sabnock laughed. "Now there's the fighting spirit that I like to see! It'd be no fun if you just rolled over and died like your pals in the mission! Now, Bolo Thunder!"

Barachiel leapt over the sand that was kicked up in his face just in time to see duel spheres of electricity spiralling towards him like a bolas. The TigerVespamon growled and dove into a slide tackle. He scraped along the ground and felt the voltage of the electricity tickle his form as it passed over him.

Barachiel was nowhere near finished his charge though. Before even stopping his slide, the last remaining digimon of the mission slammed his foot into the tiled floor and propelled himself towards Sabnock. He reached out and grabbed Sabnock's horn cannon, using it as a pivot point to flip himself over, landing on the MetalKabuterimon's back.

"Damnit, you pest!" Sabnock growled, wrenching his head back to try to throw Barachiel off.

"I'll kill you! I'll rip you and everybody else to shreds for this! I'll take the suffering you made Hadrael endure and pay it back a thousandfold! I won't rest until you're all burning in the darkest, loneliest pits of the inferno! I'll force Dracula to drown in his own blood before I'm finished!" Barachiel thought, glaring down at Sabnock with burning red eyes.

The TigerVespamon drove his heel into the nape of Sabnock's armoured neck, propelling himself off again. As he did this, Sabnock did a one eighty and faced the direction that Barachiel lunged. "I'll shoot you down this time, choir boy!" Sabnock taunted, planting his hands into the ground and taking aim with his cannon. Flipping up from his back was a screen acting as a targetting system, showing Barachiel dead in the middle of it as the incensed insect landed on the floor. "Got you in my sights, b*stard!"

Barachiel picked up the Royal Meisters beside him and spun around, finding himself staring down the barrel of Sabnock's cannon. "Electron Cannon! Maximum output!" he cried.

Barachiel stood up and saw the blast that was twice the size of Sabnock's muzzle rip towards him. He raised his swords, in front of him in anticipation of the blast. Sabnock was forced back several meters by the sheer recoil of the blast. He watched as his blast parted around Barachiel before engulfing the space where he was. Sabnock's face lit up with triumph as the full power of the positrons ripped through and punched a hole in the far side of the temple wall.

The blast diffused and Barachiel was completely gone.

Sabnock arched his back and cackled, raising his arms and pointing his smoking horn towards the ceiling. "Hahahah! Target obliterated! Hey, Neb! Check it out!"

"Check again," a voice snarled from above.

The MetalKabuterimon's eyes widened and he wrenched his head back, staring upwards. Barachiel hovered above him, arms outstretched and his legs pressed together. In each hand was a Royal Meister. Without a word, he swung his arms downwards.

"Mach Stinger Victory!" he spoke. Beam energy pulsated from the swords and combined together to form a burning 'V'. The energy burned into Sabnock's form and sent him reeling backwards.

"Dah!" Sabnock growled in pain. "Damn you!"

Nebiros looked up from his melee with Caradoc. "Need help, Sabnock? I thought you could handle him on your own."

"'Sabnock'?" Barachiel mused at the back of his mind, finding the name familiar.

Sabnock cast a dirty look towards the Beetlemon. "Are you kidding?! He just got lucky! Except for the fact that his daddy died, that is. Hahah!"

Barachiel glowered and swiped his right sword down at the MetalKabuterimon. Sabnock bashed his arm away with his cannon and pressed his opposite cannon arm against Barachiel's chest. Before he could fire, the TigerVespamon kicked Sabnock in the face and sent him skidding backwards.

"You'll pay for that, buddy!" Sabnock spat.

Barachiel landed on the ground and spirinted towards his enemy, his Royal Meisters humming at his sides as he ran with great agility and determination. His two swords descended, only to be caught by Sabnock's hands. Sabnock sneered and started moving his treads at full velocity, hoping to run over Barachiel.

The TigerVespamon growled and remained standing, though he was pushed over the ground by Sabnock's speed. He then flapped his wings and manoeuvred around the tank-like insect. Barachiel sliced his beam swords along Sabnock's sides, eliciting a shout of pain and annoyance from the digimon. Sabnock slammed the side of his arm into Barachiel's side and fired a blast of electricity into Barachiel, sending him backwards.

He quickly composed himself and readied his beam swords once again, refusing to stop. For a split second, he remembered Hadrael dying in his arms and the merciless solitude that swept back into his soul. A tear almost entered his eye, but he refused to allow it. Instead, his anger was rejuvenated and he began to charge...

That is until something grabbed his arm. Barachiel was about to run whatever it was through with his sword, but ceased when he heard Azur's voice.

“Sorry ‘bout this,” he said as he suddenly used all his strength to throw the TigerVespamon at Caradoc. “Caradoc! Catch!” he ordered. He watched as Barachiel crashed right into the Dynasmon X.

Barachiel felt himself be hurled through the air by a digimon whose form he didn't recognize. He then felt his body collide with Caradoc's Dynasmon X form. He then watched in shock as the AncientGarurumon used his Absolute Zero attack, freezing everything in the immediate vicinity.

"What is Azur doing?" Barachiel asked himself as he struggled to get out of Caradoc's strong grasp.

"No!" Caradoc's voice shouted. "Azur, you can't! Stop! I'll hold them back! Take Barachiel and go!"

"What are you talking about?" Barachiel demanded, trying desperately to free himself and get back into the suicidal fight. "What's going on? What is he doing?!"

It was then that Caradoc was forced to fly backwards as the frigid cold raced towards them. Barachiel looked on in horror as a thick barrier of ice formed between them and the temple. "Azur! What are you doing?!" Barachiel shouted.

The ice grew thicker and more solid. It was then that Barachiel realized what the AncientGarurumon was doing. He was sealing himself and everyone else in so that he and Caradoc could escape.

"Azur!" Barachiel shouted in a mixture of anger and terror. "Stop it!"

The ice finally stopped building and the last thing that happened was Azur's message etching itself in the nearly impenetrable ice. Barachiel carefully read the message and his eyes widened.

"AZUR!" he shouted, tearing himself away from Caradoc, who realized what had happened before he did. Barachiel launched himself at the wall, shoulder-checking the ice to no avail. He growled and began slicing at it with his Royal Meisters. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Caradoc punching at the stone as well.

Nothing worked.

"No. Azur," Barachiel whispered as he hacked at the ice furiously. "I won't let you do this! You're not supposed to do this!"

The sword chipped away at the ice, but the barrier was just too solid. It would take hours for him just to get halfway through. "Azur!" he shouted, his frustration, sorrow and guilt returning.

Barachiel stepped backwards and threw one of his swords at the ice in a fit of anger. It did nothing but bounce off and fall to the ground. The TigerVespamon let out a snarl and lunged forwards, drilling his knuckles into the ice.

"AZUR!" he shouted again, drawing his fist back and pounding it against the ice once again. His knuckles split open and his blood trickled down the face of the ice. Tears reemerged in his eyes as he slammed his bloodied fist repeatedly into the ice.

Barachiel continued pummeling the frozen barrier until a steady stream of his blood trickled down the side. He let out a pained whimper and placed his forehead against the ice. "No..."

"It's my fault... just like everything else was. Caradoc's deal, Guinier's abandonment of Caradoc, Hadrael's capture and death... and now this," he thought, feeling tears roll down his face. Guilt ripped through his already broken form. "Azur... why?"

Barachiel turned away from the ice and walked. He stepped across the sands of Bozrah and collapsed to his knees several metres away from Caradoc. "Hadrael... Azur..." he whispered sorrowfully, looking down at the necklace that hung from around his neck. A tear drop fell from his face and wet the sand below. "What have I done to deserve this suffering, God?" he asked as fell to his arms in a broken state. "Why do good people have to endure such pain and loss? Why did Hadrael have to die?"

"Why...?" he whispered. "Is there any hope left? Is there no light left?"

'It's going to be okay, Terrak...'

Hadrael's voice echoed through Barachiel's heart. Though tears continued down his face, the TigerVespamon stood up and turned around. His form trembled with loss and guilt. He was filled with more pain than he could ever hope to describe. Despite all this, his stare remained resolute.

He walked over to the Dynasmon X and offered him a trembling, blood-soaked hand.

"Caradoc..." he spoke in a choked, wavering voice. "Don't lose such faith..."

Though Barachiel still wept from his agony, he tried to remain as composed as he possibly could, both for Caradoc and himself. "Come on... We--... We have to go," he spoke, forcing himself to look away, for fear of Caradoc seeing how devastated he truly was. He picked up the Royal Meister that he threw and looked up at the clouds. "I won't let Azur's sacrifice be in vain... and if he's still alive... there's always hope."

"Hadrael taught me that there's hope even in the darkest of--..." Barachiel couldn't finish. Even thinking of the Angemon made him want to break down. He tearfully turned his back to Caradoc and began walking, clutching his keepsake necklace as he did. "...We have to go, Caradoc. We can't save him on our own. If we tell Michael... maybe there's still hope for Azur..."

He beat his wings and started to fly. As he moved against the wind, his blood and tears cascaded in his wake and were blown back towards the temple where what little he had left was taken from him.

[TheSequelReturns]

Duo sat alone in the waiting room, the other two who had led him here, Pyra and Scar, off to see to their own worries. The nurse that had come in earlier had said that Lucia was stable, though unconscious, and that she was physically injured, but that she would pull through. They would have to wait for her to wake up before they could check for any psychological damage.

The door opened, and another digimon walked in. At first, Duo didn't even bother looking up, but as the other approached, a certain feeling came over him and he looked up into a face he hadn't seen in quite some time.

"Trowa?" he asked.

The Tigervespimon nodded. "Its been a while hasn't it." he said. "Its a bit cliche I know, but its better than 'Yo' or 'What's Up?' I guess."

"So much has changed since you left..." Duo said.

Trowa shook his head. "I know, its crazy stuff. Saria has been keeping me informed." The look on Duo's face told Trowa that the Gaiomon wanted to speak with him about that, but Trowa held up a hand. "Not so fast Mr. Samurai. I'll get to that part, I promise. Right now, I need to know. How's Lucia?"

Duo nodded and motioned for Trowa to take a seat. The TigerVespimon simply shook his head and stayed against the wall. "She's stable for the time being, but she's still out. They don't know when she'll wake up... or how she'll be when she does. They fear that some sort of psychological damage may set in after what she went through."

Trowa nodded. "And you? How are you dealing with all of this?"

"Why do you care all of a sudden?" Duo asked. "You used to be content with just getting a good brawl."

Trowa cast his gaze downward. "I've been through a lot since I left. I've had to do some things I regret, some things I might never get over. Stuff like that, it changes you, you know? I think you know what I mean." He paused for a moment. "Listen, there's no use worrying about the past. The dead are dead, what's lost is lost, and you can't change that. No one can, at least no one I would trust anyway. You've gotta look forward. Change what you can still change, save who you can still save, before its too late. Cause you might be the only one who can reach out to them, and if you spend too much time worrying about the one you failed to save, fate'll snatch the next one away from you before you even realize it."

Duo remained silent, causing Trowa to tilt his head.

"Look, if it means that much to you, we can go and see Saria now. But ask yourself, what's more important to you? Finding out something a friend kept hidden to save you pain, or being by Lucia's side when she wakes up?" Trowa turned to walk away, but stopped before the door. "You already know the answer. I'll be waiting at Saria's, for the both of you."

And with that, he was gone.

--------------------------------------

Justin had raced as fast as he could manage, but he simply couldn't keep up with Trowa. By the time he arrived at the clinic,the TigerVespimon was a fading blue light at the far end of the street. The very far end of the street.

He knew he wouldn't be able to catch him, so he simply stopped to catch his breath before spotting a familiar shadow in the light of the clinic's window. The SuperStarmon rushed in the door and turned towards Duo, who had a look at this point that suggested he wouldn't be surprised if Mephistopheles himself wanted to drop by and have a word with him.

"Duo! Did that guy stop here? The skinny looking bug guy with the scarf? Looks kinda like Barachiel's evil twin?"

"Yeah, he did." Duo said.

Justin waited for more, but nothing else came. He crossed his arms. "Well? What happened? Who was that guy, and how did he know my name?"

"You're a famous Peacemaker aren't you?" Duo said.

"Well, that is true..." Justin seemed to be thinking it over. "However! That still doesn't change the face that that guy knew stuff. Secret stuff. And why did he stop here then?"

Duo sighed. "His name is Trowa, he's a friend of mine, though he seems... different now. I don't know, like he's starting to see the big picture of things." Justin was giving him a confused stare that was easy to read even with the shades hiding his eyes. "Sorry." Duo said. "He knew who you were because I told him about you. He's an ex-peacemaker."

"An ex-peacemaker? That guy?" Justin didn't seem fully convinced, but to his credit he took Duo's word for it. "So, what did he want? He knows Lucia, right? Does he know what happened?"

"Somehow he did." Duo said. "Though when Saria's involved that's never a surprise."

"Justin practically did a double take. "Woah, woah, woah. Wait a minute. Are you telling me that that Taomon chick is in on whatever this Trowa guy's got working?"

"I think its more like he's in on Saria's plan." Duo said. But I guess we'll ha-"

The door to the patient ward of the clinic opened with a soft squeak, revealing one of the nurses, a tired-looking Lilamon. She turned towards Duo, and to a lesser extent Justin, and Duo rose from his seat. "Lucia seems to recovering fine." the nurse said, "She's starting to come to, so you can come in to see her if you like."

--------------------------------

Trowa landed smoothly through the new skylight in Saria's shop. Granted it hadn't been something she had put there herself. In all the chaos earlier, something, a piece of rubble perhaps, had taken a chunk out of her shop's roof. Which, for the time being, made it easier for Trowa to come and go without having to actually open or close the door.

Saria was already waiting for him, and as usual she was just finishing pouring out the tea. It was like she already knew when her guess were going to arrive. That, or she simply made a lot of tea.

"So, did you tell him everything?" she asked as she set the tea cups on the table.

"You know I don't care that much for tea." Trowa said. "You don't have any ale or even some hot cocoa or anything?" Saria simply continued to prepare the table, as tidy as ever, while giving him a look that suggested he should stop playing around and just drink the tea. "Fine, fine. I told him to wait for Lucia to wake up and then they can both come over."

"I suppose that would be best. He should have someone with him after all." Saria took her seat and motioned for Trowa to do the same. He reluctantly did so. The Taomon took a sip of her tea before continuing. "I don't think your support would be enough anymore. I believe that until this whole situation is resolved, we have both lost some of his trust."

"Agreed. But what are we going to do if he says no?"

"What can we do if he says no? But I don't think that he will. At least, not after he has thought it through. Something like this... he's too good of a soul to turn her away. Not after everything that's happened. In fact, I think it will be good for them both. He needs this as much as she does."

Trowa frowned. "That's true, but..."

A small creak at the far side of the room stole both of their attention. A little head peered around the corner, eyes blinking sleepily. The young Guilmon cast her gaze to Saria, then to Trowa. "I couldn't sleep" she said.

"Another nightmare?" Trowa asked.

The little Gulmon nodded.

Saria, always prepared, added a bit of some herb from a small vial on her shelf to Trowa's untouched tea, and motioned for the Guilmon to come over as she stirred the still steaming drink. "Here, drink this Nira. It will help you sleep."

Nira took the tea and slowly sipped it, flinching a bit at first sip of the hot tea. "It's bitter."

The Taomon smiled. "Yes, but it will calm your troubled dreams. Make sure you drink it all okay? Then you should get back to sleep. We have an important day tomorrow."

Nira nodded and forced the rest of the herbal tea down before yawning. Saria led her back to the side room door, and entered the room with her. A few moments later, she returned, quietly and slowly closing the door behind her.

"She still has the nightmares I see." Trowa said. "I don't blame her. I mean..."

"Yes, I know." Saria said. "believe me when I say that I am sorry for what she went through. It... it was partially my fault I'm sure. But Duo wasn't ready at the time. So, I entrusted that Nira would be save with her mother, but..."

"Her mother turned out just like her no good father right?" Trowa said. "Yes, you've told me." The TigerVespimon sighed. "Its not gonna go smoothly, but it is probably for the best. If Duo can help her at all, then Nira just might be able to help him as well. I know she's changed the way I see some things."

Saria nodded. "Yes. For now though, we must wait for Duo, and Lucia, to arrive. We'll have to move from there."

-------------------------------------------

At the nurse's request, Justin was waiting outside in the lobby. He had wanted to come to the room too of course, but the nurse insisted that only one person should come in at a time. At least until they were certain that Lucia was fully recovered.

Duo entered the room, and at first he was surprised to see that Lucia was still in her Dianamon form. However, as he came in, she turned to him and smiled, but it was a sad smile, filled with pain. The Gaiomon made his way to her side and took her hand as the nurses finished their check up. Finally, the two nurses left the room, giving them a moment alone once they were sure that Lucia was stable.

"How are you?" Duo asked. He was never very good with words. He knew he should say something more, but it was the best he could manage.

"I'm... alright I suppose. It could be worse, but at least I'm still here with you." Lucia said. Though she was trying to hide it, her pain came through clearly in her eyes, her smile, her movements, her voice... It was starting to be too much for Duo to take all at once, to see the woman he loved in such pain.

Hoping to avoid the dark things for now, Duo tried to turn the subject to brighter things. "The rest of the Peacemakers seem to be alright after the trouble earlier, though there was some trouble with the group who had split off. They're still off on their own for now."

"I see." Lucia said. "But... those people... how can I..."

Duo placed his other hand on hers, holding it tight. "Its alright. Don't worry about that now. What's important now is that you're safe. Just try to rest and recover."

Lucia turned away. "I know you're just trying to make me feel better, but... I just can't stop thinking about it. Duo... I saw the whole thing. I was awake the entire time... and..." she was starting to cry now, "and... the things that I did... how can I ever ask for their trust again? How can ever use this power for good?"

Duo looked down, but held his grip on her hand. "You know what Rayne used to tell me? Anytime something bad happened, she would ask me 'Do you know why the darkness exists?' and before I could answer, she would just smile and say, 'so that the world can see how bright the light can shine'." Lucia turned to look at him, and he did the same. "Don't give up hope. No matter how dark things seem, there is always a light. Its only when you give up that you lose sight of it. I think... I think that's what she was trying to tell me."

The nurse came back into the room. "Mr. Greyclaw?" she asked. Duo turned to look at her. "It seems that you've been summoned. The Peacemakers are heading out again."

Duo turned back to Lucia, who looked torn between rest and duty. "Please, just try to take it easy. I'll be back for you as soon as this business is over, I promise."

"I know you will." Lucia said. "And Duo? Thank you. What you said... I'll think about it."

Duo nodded and, reluctantly, left the room.

[Kamotz]

Michael watched as the Peacemakers assembled together in the courtyard. The four he had dismissed were, of course, not present and neither was Lucia; neither of these came as a great shock to the archangel. After Lucia's ordeal he wouldn't recommend that she fight or travel with them at all. This was done less out of concern for Lucia that it was for the mission; Michael recognized Lucia's potential for strength, but her record was flaky at best; sometimes she saved, and other times needed saving. At such a critical juncture in their efforts to stop Mephistopheles, Michael couldn't afford such distractions.

"Duo, I'm glad you came," Michael said. Despite his reservations about Lucia, he had none for Duo. The warrior was as determined and capable as they came, and while he might have lacked the raw power of some of the others, his tenacity and skill were to be admired. They couldn't all be gods of thunder or giant hulking insects.

Michael glanced around, trying to read the Peacemakers. Samael looked more dour than usual, lacking any of the glib sadism he was known for. He couldn't gauge how Shoon would react without Azur nearby to reign him in and provide encouragement, though the small Digimon had struck up a rapport with Justin and Gunnar. Tyr appeared as humble and discouraged as ever; though Michael wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Pyra looked distracted; obviously Azur's absence and her own discomfort with the situation were beginning to wear on her. Bedivere, too, seemed different. It had struck Michael as he discharged Caradoc and the others: Bedivere took too much perverse pleasure in their misery. Luckily Sha, Gigas, and Nocchi seemed their usual selves. That was one small comfort, at least.

For not the first time Michael felt the weight on his shoulders; he was expected to be the field-leader, the general, the strategist, and the voice of reason. He had to serve as the level-headed one and mediate between Bedivere, Tiwaz, Kheprius, Vritra, Samael, Cresil, and Hira. It was enough to reduce anyone to tears, especially since every bone in his body told him to call down the Host of Heaven and lay waste to every inch of shadow and darkness in the world. But he knew that would not solve their problems; it wouldn't even make him feel better.

"It's time to move," Michael said, gathering their attention. He stood before them as the General. "Samael and Cresil were able to receive a vision of the Royal Knight Percival in the mountains to the northwest of here. We fly with all haste, is that understood? This seal is the 'breaking of a miracle', and is more than just symbolic of the times we live in now. If Mephistopheles is able to destroy the Power of Miracles..." Michael let the statement hang, partly for effect, and partly because he didn't know what would happen. He just knew it wouldn't be good.

The Peacemakers took to the sky, some shifting into flight-capable forms while others carried those unable to. Even without four of their number, they were an impressive sight; a powerful assembly of Digimon great enough to strike fear into the heart of any army. But it was no army they faced now. They faced a foe that could unravel armies and shift worlds with a wink and a laugh. Michael took comfort in the fact that Mephistopheles would never be able to take over the world. His powers lay in subtlety and subterfuge; with the dark prophecies and apocryphas. On his own, with no greater force at work, he would not have gained such momentum.

It was particularly maddening.

At the speed at which they traveled, the Peacemakers were quick to reach the Alps, a vast mountain range; to the northeast of which lay the isle of Avalon and the realm of Camelot, while to the far north was the realm of Asgard...at least, until recently.

"It's...nearby," Samael said, his brow furrowed in concentration. He struggled to remember the exact mountain, but his mind had been assaulted by all sorts of images...and hell! All mountains looked the same anyway! "It's a big mountain, really big. With a cave. If we split up, maybe-"

An explosion suddenly rocked the air; a dazzling beam of light shot into the sky from a nearby cluster of mountains. It split the heavens and set the clouds on fire.

"Or we could go there," Samael muttered.

The Peacemakers raced through the sky towards the source of the explosion as several more shook the mountains down to their very foundations. They were unprepared for what was ahead, however, and the sight before them shocked them to stillness.

Golden Percival stood over an UlforceVeedramon, the leader of the Cambion and hammered his foe with brilliant blows of light. A BanchoLeomon struck from behind, but her blows barely budged the knight; a swift kick sent her flying through the air. In the sky above, Pelleas fought back against the Eaglemon and Gryphonmon, bathing them in white-hot draconic flame. Hector fought off the JumboGamemon, the Dorugoramon, and the EmperorGreymon on his own. Michael remembered suddenly why these knights had been the greatest champions of good for the past two-thousand years. But then the tables turned.

Hector was overloaded with enemies, and it was a matter of seconds before they took the upper hand. While he was fending off the EmperorGreymon, the JumboGamemon took aim and blasted with his cannons. This allowed the red-armored Cambion to strike a brutal blow, and then the Dorugoramon lashed out and slashed him across the back with his razor-sharp tail. Pelleas was also not nearly as maneuverable in the air as his opponenets, and they were able to burry him beneath a veritable mountain. That left Percival alone against seven deadly demonspawn.

"Help him! Now!" Michael ordered.

[Hotshot]

"Nyahahahahahaha!" Nocchi cackled, perched atop Gigas' head as the massive insect took to flight. He clutched his hammer in one hand and readied his other for puppeteering. The Puppetmon grinned maniacally. "It's like fighting Tristan all over again!"

"I'll help you, Nocchi," Ivy said, flying alongside Gigas and Nocchi. The Puppetmon grumbled something inaudible in reply.

"Hohoho!" Gigas chuckled, speeding towards the Cambion. "I'll take the tortoise with the guns!"

Sha, hanging onto the HerculesKabuterimon's foot with his right hand, shouted, "Awww...I wanted the turtle! C'mon, Gig! You always get the big guys!"

"Okay, okay," Gigas consented, dropping Sha off near the battleground and rocketing in the direction of the Dorugoramon.

Nocchi leaped from atop the big bug's head and landed rather unceremoniously at the UlforceVeedramon's feet. Rising, he said, "Nyeheh. Aloha, sucker!"

The blue dragon glared down at him and drew back his blade to strike. Nocchi let out a cry of apparent panic and hurled himself out of the sword's path. His opponent fired an azure beam at the Puppetmon as he stumbled to his feet and attempted another clumsy dodge. A smirk, almost too small to notice, formed on Nocchi's face.

Suddenly, the UlforceVeedramon's arm fell limp at his side. The other soon followed. His knees buckled, and he collapsed on the ground like a rag doll. Before he knew what was happening to him, he sprung back to his feet involuntarily and slammed into a boulder. Dazed, the UlforceVeedramon fought to regain control over his body, but he still didn't know what it was that held him.

Nocchi snickered from his new perch on a nearby rock. Giggling almost uncontrollably, he managed to exclaim, "Nyeheheheheh! Time to play!"

Meanwhile, Ivy, flying above them, shook her head and sighed. This wasn't going to end well. It never did.

==========

Gigas collided with the Dorugoramon from behind, sending the surprised dragon hurtling forward. Beating his wings furiously, Gigas hovered in midair and cracked his knuckles, waiting for the Dorugoramon to rise again. Rise it did, and with a roar.

"Hoho! Come on, lizardbreath!" Gigas thundered, his horns crackling with electricity. "I need to make a dragon-skin purse for my wife for her birthday!"

==========

"Chaaaaaaa-haaaaaaaaaaa!" Sha exclaimed, running and leaping and dodging lasers and missiles as he was barraged by the JumboGamemon's attacks. The JumboGamemon stomped after him, weapons at the ready. Fortunately, Sha was much faster and more agile. He somersaulted over a jet of water fired from one of the giant tortoise's cannons, landed nimbly, and propelled himself onto the turtle's shoulder with his hands.

Now sitting like a parrot on the JumboGamemon's shoulder, Sha said, "Maybe fighting the biggest guy wasn't such a good idea after all..."

Lightbulb.

"Oh, wait!"

A moment later, the JumboGamemon collapsed on the ground, crushed by an even larger monstrosity - a Leviamon. Sha threw back his head and roared, "CHSWA-HAWR-HAWR-HAWR! Let's dance, turtleboy!"

[Tundra_Wolfmane]

Trying not to make Azur’s absence make him lose what guts he had gained since the time that Tiwaz said encouraging words to him, Shoon ran towards an opponent that he felt he could handle with less trouble than he usually had against his opponents. From the large size of the JumboGamemon, he assumed that it wasn’t as fast compared to the other Cambion and most of the Peacemakers, which included himself. And another was that it was a mechanical Digimon, and the Mamemon X decided to use his knowledge on machinery as an asset on the battlefield. He needed to play by his rules if he wanted to actually win a battle.

His sprint towards Jake was peculiarly safe, which was mostly due to the fact hat his diminutive size hardly noticeable to the JumboGamemon. It seemed that all the turtle’s attacks were all aimed at Sha, who was agile enough to evade all the projectiles flying towards him. Shoon tried not to be jealous, even when the Shawjamon reached Jake before he did.

Shoon almost tripped when the humanoid amphibian then digivolved into his gargantuan Leviamon and almost crushed the JumobGamemon with his sheer size.

“W-w-what!? Not fair!” Shoon said as he stood still in shock. “How can I match up with that!?” he asked to no one in particular. And then he thought for a few seconds. “Isn’t he above the cannons?”

His question was answered when the Leviamon was suddenly blasted from under with Jake’s artillery, effectively blowing the alligator Digimon to the side and off of the JumboGamemon’s back. Shoon couldn’t help but wince; that had got to hurt. He was suddenly not quite as envious of Sha’s large size; it meant there was more surface area to aim at.

But that was also the same for Jake, and Shoon decided that he could take advantage of that as well. He continued his run towards the JumboGamemon, reaching him within a few minutes.

“Smi- yaaaah!” he screamed just as when he was about to throw his bomb at the turtle’s legs only to get nearly crushed as Jake turned and stomped on the ground to face his far larger opponent. It didn’t even look like he heard the Mamemon X, his own roar drowning out the voice of the smaller Digimon. Shoon ran away as the JumboGamemon continued his stomping, always almost turning Shoon into a metal pancake with every step.

At a distance that he thought was safe, Shoon heaved heavily, a hand on a large piece of stone that he leaned on to keep himself from fainting from extreme panic and fear. He looked back at the two giants that did battle, and it was undeniable that it was a scene straight out of a Godzilla movie that he would have watched were it available in the Digital World. Of course, that didn’t mean he had given up. He would get nothing done if he gave up.

It just meant he had to make some modifications to his plan. And as his eyes strayed towards Sha’s lumbering form, an idea struck him, and the Mamemon X dashed towards the Leviamon.

Approaching from behind to avoid getting stomped on, Shoon grabbed hold of one of Sha’s tail – his use of Gunnar’s tail as a transport device being a valuable experience – and climbed up until he reached the furry area. He used it as a gripping medium as he worked himself towards the anterior part of Sha’s body so that he could avoid getting thrown off because of the large Peacemaker’s erratic movement of battle. It took him a while, but he had soon reached Sha’s head.

He put himself where he thought Sha’s ear was, still using the mane of hair to keep himself from falling. “Hey, big alligator guy!” he called. “It’s me! Shoon! I have an idea!”

The Mamemon X turned his sights at the JumboGamemon he was fighting. “If you can get me close enough, I can plant bombs in the holes and crevices of his body!” he told Sha at the top of his voice. “If I’m lucky, I can short circuit his cannons, and we won’t have to worry about them either!”

And then to himself, he said, “Of course, I’d need to get on his body from up here.” He gulped, not liking the idea of being on the JumboGamemon’s body lest he get swatted on like a fly.

----------------------------------------------------

“Here, kitty! Nice kitty!”

Paired with the taunting words directed at the BanchouLeomon, pebbles were being thrown precisely at the back of her head. Scharlach kept on calling her names and throwing various pieces of stone and granite until he got her attention, and the ShadowWereGarurumon expressed a large grin when Lily turned to him with a loud and enraged snarl.

“Ah, perfect,” Scar said as he unsheathed his sword and readied a slashing stance. “Come over here and show me what you can do with your sword!”

“You just signed your own death contract!” The BanchouLeomon charged, brandishing the Shishi Raouzan dangerously in front of her.

For a second, Scar froze. He knew his ears were in top condition, so he couldn’t have been hearing wrong. And yet he could swear that the voice, although deeper, was definitely one that didn’t belong on a guy. And so he did the first thing that came to his head.

Okay, so he did second thing that came to his head, which involved him raising his sword to intercept Lily’s own before it split it his head into two symmetrical parts. Then he did the first thing that came to mind.

“You’re a girl!?” he asked in complete and sincere shock.

For one second, Lily’s eyes opened in surprise, and then they narrowed in extreme anger. With a yell, she kneed Scar in his gut – he had fortunately already been bending his knees low enough to avoid a worse blow – and then followed it by smashing her elbow into his snout, causing him to get knocked backwards and onto his behind.

He recovered quickly and tilted his head to the side, barely avoiding getting it run through, and he rolled out of the way before the BanchouLeomon could repeat the act with much better accuracy and speed.

Getting into a crouching position, he jumped for his sword which had been knocked away when he had fallen, and he grabbed it just in time to deflect Lily’s horizontal slash. He didn’t miss a beat and gave his own slash. The BanchouLeomon blocked, locking their blades, and tried to knee him once again.

Instead of falling for the same trick, Scharlach retreated and let out a breath. “Dang, for lady, your swordplay ain’t half bad! I bet’cha you could match me best pupil back in the dojo,” he complimented with a grin. “Wha’ do ya say? Is it a date?” he flirted with a grin.

“I say die! Shishi Raouzan!”

With the roar that would have the king of the jungle proud, she dashed at Scar with her blade encased in a fiery orange glow that rippled with raw energy. She drove the weapon into the earth in front of the ShadowWereGarurumon, tearing the ground asunder and breaking the ground under him. He jumped into the air, somersaulting and with a sharp-toothed grin. Behind said food-munchers were blue sparks of fire raring to get let loose.

“Fox Fire!”

As he said the name of his attack, flames of blue and violet streamed towards Lily. Unable to move fast enough, the BanchouLeomon raised her arms in a cross position in front of her face, enduring the searing heat from the fire that licked at her fur. As soon as they faded, she lowered her arms and glared at Scharlach, who looked at her with unrestrained glee.

“Ain’t it too early for us to start cursing each other to death? We haven’t even been on the first date yet, let alone been living together like a married couple of crankies,” he said as he raised his weapon. “Of course, that future can be arranged,” he added with a suggestive wink that no doubt annoyed the BanchouLeomon to no end.

“I’ll make sure you don’t have a future!”

Lily held her weapon so that it pointed away from Scar and then charged back at him. Instead of evading, Scar dashed right back, his sword poised to strike as well. Their weapons clashed with the singing of steel, both using enough force behind their blows to cause each of their swords to rebound off of each other. Acting upon instinct and years of experience respectively, they both attacked again, repeating the result with much less dramatics. With every blow deflected and parried, they slashed once more with more and more vigor and force, their blades clanging loudly and strongly in a dance of deadly steel.

It would have lasted much longer than four minutes, twenty-three seconds and five milliseconds had Scar not stepped backwards on a patch of ground that had been loosened by Lily’s earlier attack, his foot falling through into a two-inch ditch that was enough to make him loose balance. It gave the BanchouLeomon enough time to stab at his torso.

With his lose of balance, Scar had to sway to the side to regain it, which was an act that made the fatal attack strike at the side of his waist rather than right through his stomach. He winced as the attack drew blood, but he grabbed Lily’s wrist as it was outstretched towards him, tucked it to the side of his injured waist, and forced himself to fall backwards, bringing the BanchouLeomon with him.

Using the momentum of his fall in combination with his natural strength, he threw the lion Digimon over him. Turning as he fell to avoid the chance of landing on his injured side, he used his arm to land and quickly flipped into a crouching position, giving him the ability to watch as Lily hit the ground with a rolling start, the momentum of which she used to bring her into a stand.

“Ooh, nice moves, girl!” Scar said as he stood back up, ignoring the warm wetness on his side that told him that the injury dealt to him was bleeding. “How about round two?” he asked as Lily once again charged at him with renewed ferocity.

----------------------------------------------------

Undeterred by the appearance of the Peacemakers, the EmperorGreymon charged at Percival, his Dragon Soul Sword poised to strike at Percival’s back. However, he hadn’t anticipated something as surprising as some black body suddenly coming at him from the Magnamon’s long shadow.

He skidded to a stop, stopping himself in time to deflect a knife that was about to strike him at the vulnerable neck joint on his armour. What was even more surprising to the Cambion member was that single knife strike was enough to force the EmperorGreymon’s large and heavy sword to get knocked away, although his grip had been tight enough to keep it from flying away.

“Boo,” Cresil said, his body aglow with malevolent energy that was focused more around his leg than the rest of his body. “Maverick!”

With force enough to cause a sizable crater in the side of the mountain they fought on, the Astamon slammed his foot into Andrew’s gut, sending him flying through rock outcrops and right into the side of the stony wall of the large landform.

Cresil grinned with sadistic glee. “I should use strengthening spells more often,” he noted to himself as he watched his handiwork. His most powerful attack augmented by a power spell would have been devastatingly fatal to anyone less armoured than the one he had struck. He melted back into the shadows as Andrew fell into he ground like a metal heap, a sizable dent on the anterior portion of his armor.

He pulled himself up just as Cresil walked out of the shadow of the mountain, his disposition as deceptively carefree as always, but Andrew knew better than to be fooled by the demon man’s façade of gentleman politeness.

“Too strong for you?” Cresil taunted the EmperorGreymon, who had picked up his weapon.

“You’d be surprised,” the dragon man replied, draconic energy surrounding his weapon. “Dragon Fire Crossbow!”

The golden energy suddenly condensing in the EmperorGreymon’s weapon, Andrew fired off a blast in the form of a snarling dragon right at Cresil. Undaunted, the Astamon stood still, looking quite unfazed at the attack. Assured that the demon was underestimating his ability, the EmperorGreymon grinned behind his helmet, and he let out a yell of victory when the dragon bit onto the demon’s body. The grin soon disappeared, however, when the body simply dissolved into blackness.

“Haven’t you learned at all not to take a demon’s appearance at face value?” Cresil’s voice whispered. His voice was at such an alarming proximity that the EmperorGreymon swung his weapon at a full three-hundred sixty degrees, only to find that he had been slashing at air. “I’ll take that as a negative.”

And without any warning, the EmperorGreymon felt powerful bullets slam at his back with great power, forcing him to fall forward onto a kneeling position. He had kept himself from falling onto his face by driving his sword into the ground in time.

Cresil watched him from a distance with an uninterested expression. “You are boring me,” Cresil said, as if it were a crime unto itself.

And then the ground behind him broke, nine blazing dragons appearing and charging at him. Unprepared, Cresil turned and braced himself from immediate attack, which came in the form of three of the dragons each grabbing hold onto parts of his body – one on his left leg, another at his right shoulder, and the last at his waist – with their flaming jaws and then charging at the mountain side. They crashed into the rocky wall with a resounding blast, which was followed by more as the remaining dragons all followed suit into the same crater that Cresil’s crash created.

From below, Andrew watched, serious in his intent to kill the Astamon. As the last dragon exploded, he pulled his sword from the ground, the remnants of the attack dissipating into the air and revealing the hole in the ground that his “Pyro Dragons” attack created to get behind the demon. Andrew narrowed his eyes and jumped backwards, readying his weapon, as Cresil’s body fell from the mountain side.

The Astamon then landed on his feet, crouching from the fall. His clothes were singed and burnt at the edges, though how his body had handled the attack wasn’t visible. And as he stood up, he turned to Andrew. The look in the demon’s eyes might’ve sent a lesser man to run away screaming bloody murder, but the EmperorGreymon stood his ground.

Chuckling lowly, Cresil raised the Oro Salmon at the Cambion. “Yes, just like that!” he called out with unrestrained glee. “Keep on making moves like that! Keep on entertaining me, dragon man!”

And then he fired off his bullets, swinging his gun wildly.

----------------------------------------------------

Amidst the sounds of battle, Aeria was flying towards a large pile of boulder and stone at the base of the mountain.

For a few seconds, the WarGreymon wasn’t quite sure who Michael was referring to as ‘him’. She could see that the one lone Magnamon was being surrounded by the menacing Digimon, but there were the other two to be worried about. As she saw that most of the other Peacemakers were already heading towards the Cambion, she dashed for the one Royal Knight she saw being buried under large amounts of mountain debris.

She was just about to reach it when she felt something large slam into her side, effectively bringing her and itself into the ground with a resounding crash and creating a hole in the ground in the process. From the small crater that had formed, the Eaglemon Cambion member flew out, his metallic body still glowing red from his ‘Kaiser Phoenix’ attack.

Aeria pulled herself up, wincing at the pain that wracked her body from taking the full force of the attack. As she opened her eyes, she found her body reacting thinking to avoid Max’s ‘Mystical Beak’ attack.

The beam of intense white light barely missed her as she rolled away and instead exploded behind her. Using the roll to take flight, Aeria put her palms together to form a little orange ball that suddenly grew into gargantuan proportions as she placed it in front of her.

“Gaia Force!” she shouted at the top of her breath as the large ball of planetary energy sped towards the Eaglemon, who flew upwards to avoid the attack. He was unable to avoid the ensuing explosion, disrupting his flight and causing him to fly towards the face of the mountain and slam into it.

Aeria, meanwhile, had taken the momentary reprieve to continue her flight towards the buried knight. She landed in front of it and put her hand on the boulders that lay atop the Pelleas.

“H-hello?” she called out. “I’m, uh, with the Peacemakers! Are you alright? Please answer me!” she pleaded as she looked at the pile in search of any evidence of the Royal Knight’s body.

“He won’t answer you.”

Aeria turned in surprise. Max had recovered far faster than she had thought he would. The WarGreymon bit her lip and looked at the Eaglemon uncertainly. She couldn’t allow the Cambion to attack the pile knowing that someone who couldn’t defend himself was underneath it. She prepared herself.

[Griff4815]

"Percival! Pelleas! Hector!" Tyr shouted as he raced towards the mountainous battlefield.

"Tyr! Slow down! Wait up!" Gunnar called from behind him, surprised that he was suddenly unable to match his speed. "Damnit!"

"I have to help them," Tyr whispered, soaring forward with a silent determination. "I won't let anything happen to them. Not now..."

The VictoryGreymon had a momentary lapse in action. He stopped his flight and stared in awe as Sir Percival did battle against the Cambion. Tyr couldn't help but stare at the Royal Knight in adoration and respect. "He's amazing..." Tyr thought as Percival bashed two of the Cambion away similtaneously.

"TYR!" Tiwaz rebuked fierily while watching Gigas tackle Scott from behind. "Focus! He needs our help!"

Tyr blinked and immediately shot forwards while nodding. "I know. I'm on my way."

The dragon man's eyes widened when he saw Scott, the Dorugoramon rise up behind Percival with his hands wreathed in flames. "Sir Percival!" Tyr shouted, prompting the Royal Knight's attention. "Behind you!"

The draconic Cambion member swung his claws down only to find the Magnamon swerve out of the way. Sir Percival grabbed Scott's arm and flipped him over. A shattering kick to the Dorugoramon's ribs sent him flying through the air. Percival looked at Tyr, who he sent Scott hurdling towards. "Koenig!" he called out as a signal to Tyr.

"That's me!" Tyr thought to himself with the giddy excitement of being talked to by one of his lifelong heroes.

"Focus, damn it!" Tiwaz shouted as the Dorugoramon neared them.

"Right!" Tyr responded. He swung down the Dramon Breaker and levelled it with the "human" projectile. The dragon man furrowed his brows and began collecting energy within the three blades of his claymore. The massive sword brimmed with energy and finally he released it. "Trident Gaia!"

From the three metal points ripped a massive beam that slammed into Scott's back and stopped his approach immediately. Percival looked on with squinted eyes as the blast burned and ultimately parted around the Dorugoramon's wings like a corona. The Magnamon tore through the sky, leaving a golden streak of light in his wake, and drew his arm back as he approached Scott, who was slowly being pushed back towards him by the Trident Gaia.

"Magna Punch!" Percival drilled his gold-swathed fist into the Dorugoramon's gut and sent him soaring further into the burning pressure of Tyr's attack. He grabbed Scott by the throat and flew with him further and further into the folds of the beam. While doing this, Percival used Scott's body as a shield from the white-hot power.

The Dorugoramon let out a screech of pain as he clawed against Percival to try to free himself. Sir Percival ignored his struggle and surged forwards until the beam burned Scott at point blank range. Then the tip of the Dramon Breaker's middle prong entered the dragon's back, piercing through his armour and entering his dorsal scales. The member of the Cambion roared and lashed his tail out in pure instinct.

The bladed limb slammed into Tyr and sent him flying backwards through the air. The Trident Gaia beam was thrown off course as a result. It surged against Scott's wings a final time before passing him and strafing a nearby mountain, creating a miniature avalance of rock and snow.

Sir Percival released the Dorugoramon, whose form was cloaked in smoke. "Magna Kick!" he shouted, delivering a mighty roundhouse kick that sent Scott away from them.

"Doru Djinn!" Scott shouted, blindly firing a beam off in the hopes that it would hit somebody during his flight. Luckily for him, it did. The attack grazed Tyr's armoured shoulder. It did minimal damage, but it did send him flying back just after he had caught himself.

"Gotcha," a voice said from behind him.

Tyr felt himself collide with something armoured. He looked over his shoulder to see that Gunnar caught him in his arms.

"Thanks, Gunnar," Tyr spoke in a relieved exhale.

"No problemo, pal," Gunnar replied, releasing him and flying alongside the VictoryGreymon over to where Percival was recovering from the kick he just dealt.

The Magnamon looked over and gave Tyr a slight nod. Tyr smiled and blushed in response.

Gunnar, not to be ignored, flew forwards a bit and waved. "Sir Percival!" he greeted enthusiastically. "I'm Gunnar Cyndar. You might not know this but I'm your biggest fan."

"You are not," Tyr thought to himself.

Gunnar cast Tyr a sideways glance, already knowing what he was thinking. "I am so."

"Perun up a tree," Tiwaz swore. "Not now."

Sir Percival turned his back to them and faced the Dorugoramon. "We can exchange pleasantries later. First we must destroy these," he spoke, gesturing to the human-demon hybrids with an acidic tone.

"I agree," Gunnar spoke, outstretching his wings and holding the GeoGrey Sword at his side in a fighting stance.

"Destroy them?" Tyr asked, grimacing. He tried to shake the obliteration of the Chaos Lord Typhon from his thoughts. "These humans... Are they the ones that the Royal Knights wished to destroy? Are they the reason for the Crusade?"

"I believe they are, Tyr," Tiwaz spoke. Tyr grimaced. The faces of his father, the dead Royal Knights, Dunk and Kame flashed through his mind.

"But we fought against them..." Tyr replied. "They were doing the right thing... but it didn't feel like they were. Were we wrong? And were they right?"

"No... not entirely, at least," Tiwaz answered. "Their hearts were in the right place, but what they were doing was no more right than what Bedivere has been speaking about now. The Royal Knights had reasonable concerns, but they crossed the thin line that bridges the ends and the means."

"They wouldn't have if we had just listened to them in the first place..." Tyr thought. "Their demands weren't unreasonable at the start, but we resisted. We pushed them over that line..."

Tyr looked up at Scott, who was righting himself. "That's why I... I need to..." he whispered. His grip tightened on the Dramon Breaker's hilt.

"But it's a life. How can I take that away from somebody again?" he thought.

"We've been over this. Typhon was a being destruction, Tyr. He would have killed everybody! And the Cambion will do the same!"

Tyr shut his eyes. "I... I know, but..."

"No, Tyr! There is no 'talking to them'! They will not stop no matter what you say. They're not reasonable like the Royal Knights had potential to be. That's why you had to kill Typhon," Tiwaz growled. The VictoryGreymon gazed at the Dorugoramon. "If it really was our fault for stopping the Royal Knights, then it's our duty to make amends for that..."

"By finishing what the Royal Knights started..." Tyr finished. "Or else all those people would have died..."

"For nothing," Tiwaz spoke.

"So... We have to kill them...?"

"Yes," the AncientGreymon said, though he was reluctant to see his descendant go through that pain again. "Or else Mephistopheles will win and more friends and family will suffer."

Tyr grimaced. "Then... I guess that's what we have to do..." he said, half-heartedly. "...But only as a last resort."

Gunnar placed his hand on Tyr's shoulder. "As a last resort, then," he said with a grin. "Tyr, can you and Sir Percival handle this b*stard on your own? I need to go help Aeria and Sir Pelleas."

Tyr nodded and looked down to where Aeria was. "Yeah... Make sure she doesn't get hurt, okay?"

Gunnar nodded and gave Tyr his trademark thumbs up. "No way in hell I'd let that happen."

With that, Tyr flew up to Sir Percival's side and Gunnar flew down to the base of the mountain. He looked over at Percival. "So... you guys really were right...?"

The Magnamon didn't turn to face him. "Right in spirit... but not action."

Tyr nodded and Tiwaz's voice invaded his mind again. "Tyr, seperate the Dramon Breaker into the Tirfing and the Gleipnir," he advised. "Go into Combat Form. This is a high-manoeuvrability battle and the Dramon Breaker is just too slow."

"Which is which, again?" the VictoryGreymon asked. "I still get the names you made for them mixed up..."

The AncientGreymon sighed. "The Gleipnir is the hilt and the crossguard that you can use as both a vice and a dagger. The Tirfing is the primary trident blade of the Dramon Breaker. As you know, the Gleipnir goes in the left bracer and the Tirfing goes in the right one."

Tyr nodded and pressed a button on the large crossguard and ejected the blade from inside of it. The Tirfing blade locked itself securely into the bracer on Tyr's right arm. The Gleipnir dagger/vice then slipped into Tyr's left bracer and announced its security with a loud click.

The VictoryGreymon crossed his arms in front of himself and watched as Sir Percival charged Scott again. He saw Gigas do the same. Tyr followed, looking over at the Magnamon.

"It's an honour to fight beside you, Sir Percival," he spoke softly as he threw himself into the fray.

-

“He won’t answer you.”

Aeria turned in surprise. Max had recovered far faster than she had thought he would. The WarGreymon bit her lip and looked at the Eaglemon uncertainly. She couldn’t allow the Cambion to attack the pile knowing that someone who couldn’t defend himself was underneath it. She prepared herself.

Before Max could charge a cage of bright blue lasers surrounded him from the sky, stopping any movement he planned to do. The Eaglemon looked up and, had he any eyes, they would have widened. A larger, fifteenth beam rained down from above and pierced into his armoured back.

The Eaglemon let out a cry as his four legs buckled and his body slammed into the ground. Gunnar let out a laugh and landed feet-first on Max's spine. He looked over at Aeria and cast her a wink. "Yo, Aeria! I'm here to help!"

The ShineGreymon looked down at his prey and raised his GeoGrey Sword with one of the two tips pointing downwards. With his hands gripped on a portion of the sword's Crest of Courage, he prepared to skewer the Cambion human. "To think, you'd still be alive if you didn't decide to become cohorts with a demon," Gunnar spoke, grinning as he readied the killing blow.

Max suddenly kicked his right legs under his body and rolled onto his side. With this action, he turned his beak up. Gunnar was now in his field of fire. "Mystical Beak!"

The dragon man braced himself as a scorching white light engulfed him, burning at his armoured body and wings. Gunnar was forced to retreat and fly upwards. "You think that was bright?!" he shouted from above, shooting out several bright particles from his wings. "Watch this! Shining Blast!"

Gunnar concentrated all of his energy into the lens on his chest and aimed it at Max, who flew up to meet him. In a blast of blinding light that proved even brighter than Tyr's previous Trident Gaia, Gunnar released the light energy and sent it slamming into Max, who was thrown backwards.

With a flap of his wings, the ShineGreymon dove over Max and got between him and Aeria. Gunnar looked over his shoulder and cast a grin in her direction. "Ria, you help Sir Pelleas out of that. I'll take care of this guy."

-

"Imperial Evolution!" a female voice roared out.

"Imperialdramon Dragon Mode!"

From a flash of decidedly white light, soared the large, draconic form of Pyra. She gave a low snarl and looked around for a suitable opponent. Her monochromatic crimson eyes rested on Ava, the Gryphonmon. Ava spotted Pyra as well and narrowed her eyes.

The dragon growled and flapper her large wings, racing towards the Gryphonmon. "Positron Laser!" Pyra yelled in her flight, angling her dorsal cannon downwards.

Her cannon let loose an explosive blast of surging white power. Ava flew towards the attack. With a flap of her wings, the Gryphonmon flew above the concentration of positrons and opened her mouth wide. "Supersonic Voice!" she shouted.

A high-pitched, cacaphonous roaring came from the Gryphomon's mouth. Pyra cried out in pain as the sound ripped through her ears, stopping her in her tracks. The Imperialdramon Dragon Mode let out a rivalrous roar of her own, though it paled in comparison to the sheer intensity of Ava's.

"Moebius Bite!" Ava shouted. Her jagged beak suddenly burned with energy and she bit down on Pyra's shoulder, causing the armour to crack and shards of its black metal to splinter and stick into her scales.

Pyra snarled angrily and chomped down on Ava's back, sinking her dagger-like teeth into her fur and flesh. The female biomerge cried out in pain and let out another Supersonic Voice attack right beside Pyra's head. Pyra was thrown back by the soundwaves and Ava soared after her.

Despite the ringing and distorted sound in her ears, the Imperialdramon snarled and turned to face Ava. "Giga Crusher!" she shouted, unleashing an orb of nullifying dark energy towards the Gryphonmon. Thanks to her stubborn pursuit of Pyra, she was too close to avoid the attack and was engulfed by the power that ate away at her data.

Ava growled and recovered from the blow, glaring at Pyra. The dragon returned the gesture and ripped towards the chimera digimon. She dipped downwards and then flew up underneath the Gryphonmon, ramming head first with her horns into her enemy's gut. Pyra then pressed the muzzle of her cannon against Ava's chest.

"Positron Laser," she spoke.

The beam erupted and the positrons slammed into the Gryphonmon at point blank range. The burst had enough force and concentration to throw her backwards like a golf ball. Pyra then gave quick pursuit and they clashed once again...

-

Kheprius flew through the sky with a silent intensity. He had found his target. The EmperorGreymon known as Andrew, who was in the process of dodging Cresil's bullets. The GrandisKuwagamon let out a psychotic chuckle as he descended upon the dragon man from the sky.

"Look who decided to finally show their faces again!" Khep laughed, driving his foot into the EmperorGreymon's face. He flapped his wings and did a frontwards flip. Upon being inverted, he locked his pincers around Andrew's neck and then threw himself forwards. The EmperorGreymon was lifted off his feet and thrown across the rocky ground.

Andrew growled and immediately got back to his feet and bullets kicked up shards of rock all around him. "Dragon Fire Crossbow!" he shouted, raising his sword and unleasing a large bolt of fire from the tip.

Khep swerved to the side and the fire nicked his chest, though luckily not the side of him that was already burned from his fight with War. "So close!" he taunted. "Too bad for you; you may have the exterior of a digimon, but you can never hope to stand up to the real thing. Sure that demonic goat who made you his b*tch may have given you some added power, but guess what? I've got extra power too. It's a little thing called the X-Antibody."

Andrew charged him and swung his sword downwards. With incredible speed, Khep dodged the quick strike and raked his claws across the EmperorGreymon's armour. Andrew lashed out and knocked Khep back with his gauntleted hand.

"So how is it?" Khep asked, grinning. "How's your power? Does it make you feel good to have a purpose? Is all that worth the free will that you gave up when you started working with Mephistopheles?"

"How does it feel to know that you're just a pawn in his game? Once he's done with ya, you have to know he'll just discard you when the Demon Lords take over. If his masters ever end up coming out of the pit, you'll be expendable. What use will you, a weak human, be to them? They'll end up using you as a twisted demonic playground... if you're lucky, that is," Khep chuckled, racing forwards and driving his claw-gauntlets across into a gap in Andrew's armour. The GrandisKuwagamon felt his gauntlets break the scales at his shoulder, eliciting a grunt of pain from the EmperorGreymon.

Andrew slashed his sword across Khep's legs and punched him in the face. The black insect digimon recoiled and his claws pulled out of the wound. Despite his pain, the GrandisKuwagamon was feeling good. He was able to vent his anger of the past day and take it out on an evil human.

"It's just too bad you won't last long enough to see it," Kheprius taunted. "So enjoy the power you traded your soul and free will for. Bask in it while you still can... because in a few minutes, you're gonna be losin' that head of yours."

Andrew growled and stuck his sword deep into the ground. "Pyro Dragons!" Nine fiery dragons raced out of the fissure in the ground. Kheprius dodged the first three that came his way, but the fourth and fifth engulfed him and tossed him around. The GrandisKuwagamon winced in pain and swiped his Gran Killers outwards slashing two incoming dragon heads to embers.

Khep landed on the ground, falling to one knee. He breathed heavily and placed his hand against the wound in his left side. "Maybe I should've recieved medical attention," he thought to himself. He looked back up at Andrew, who withdrew his sword from the ground, and narrowed his eyes. "Weak little b*stard... I guess I know why you need Mephistopheles' help to match against us; it's the only way you have a chance of winning, right?" he questioned, taking delight in attempting to destroy his self-worth.

"Thanks to your buddies' attack on Anatolia, I'm in a bad mood today... I think I'm gonna kill you slowly." Khep then raced forward and clashed, his Gran Killers against Andrew's sword.

[storymasterb]

Bathed in radiant flames, Bedivere tore from the heavens and met Andrew. The EmperorGreymon was forced to twist to evade burning slashes of the Fragarach that lashed towards him, Bedivere deliberately elongating the chain blades into whip-like swords that flared with draconic fire.

"Die!" the Slayerdramon hissed, lashing the swords in burning arcs. "Tenryu Slash!" The chain-weapons lashed across Andrew's back in an X, scattering embers over his armor and leaving gashes in the plate.

The EmperorGreymon howled and struck, hurling power from his sword into Kheprius which tossed the insect Digimon away. He turned, raising his immense blade, and swung for Bedivere, who side-stepped, eyes ablaze. The Slayerdramon erupted upwards, striking in a maelstrom of burning chain-blades that tore across Andrew and wrapped him in razor-edged bonds.

"Koryu Slash!" Bedivere roared, causing the chain-blades to tighten and burn more fiercely, sawing into Andrew's armor. As their grip tightened, the EmperorGreymon roared, forced to relinquish his grip in the Dragon Soul Sword, which landed and pierced down into the earth. Andrew's eyes flashed with recognition and he kicked out, foot meeting the blade as he roared.

"Pyro Dragons!" The nine dragon-shaped streams of fire howled up from the earth, plowing into Bedivere and grabbing him in fiery chains, loosening the Fragarach's hold on the EmperorGreymon, who took up his sword and advanced as Bedivere howled and struggled against the burning drakes...

-

Swathed in burning power and flame, Vritra impacted down like a meteor before the UlforceVeedramon. Victor was caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of a second enemy on top of the admittedly-irritating Puppetmon, and so was knocked reeling when Vritra crushed him into the ground with a wave of searing fire which shattered her own form and consumed it...

"X-Evolution! WarGreymon X!" Her armored evolution formed from the inferno, and she drew back her Dramon Destroyer to rip open Victor's neck...

"Ray of Victory!" A blinding array of azure ripped the air, blasting from Victor's V-crest and hammering Vritra right in the face, knocking her reeling. The UlforceVeedramon was up in a flash, lancing forwards as a blur which struck in but a second and battered Vritra under a flurry of Ulforce Saber slashes and thrusts. A savage kick cracked her around the jaw and hurled her back. The UlforceVeedramon draw back his hand to deliver a killing stab to her neck...


"Victory Saber!"

A whirling cone of blue light struck Victor and a blast of crackling lightning flashed upon impact, hurling the Cambion Biomerge aside as Sir Hector was revealed, his armor battered and scratched, cape weathered and torn, but the knight still stood majestically. Light still shimmered from the crystals adorning his armor and set into his Aegis, and his Gram beam-lance crackled and shone with power. The Royal Knight stepped forward as Vritra rose, standing between her and Nocchi, leveling his lance towards Victor.

"Lightning Joust!" Hector spoke, and a lightning-fast bolt of light speared from the point of the Gram towards their cobalt foe, who was moving even as it ripped towards him.

"Dragon Crusher!" Vritra's Dramon Destroyers met Victor, and tore into him, she had attacked while he attempted to evade Hector's attack. Fire screamed from the goddess, burning and searing, and exploded outwards, hurling Victor to the ground amidst a wave of dying embers. Vritra stood, engulfed in a corona of fire, the plants which had survived the barren mountainside and the raging battle now succumbing to sheer heat. The fire goddess raised her hands, and the flames shone more brightly and burned more fiercely. She reached into herself and touched that spring of flame she had found when she faced Conquest in that desperate battle.

And Vritra Ahi knew the faintest hint of her true self...

[TheSequelReturns]

In all of the initial confusion, it was difficult for Duo (in BlackWarGreymon form) to find a spot to set Justin down without making one of them a target.

"Oh, over there! I want a shot at the turtle!" Justin said from his spot on Duo's back.

Of course, his passenger wasn't helping things either. "You know," Duo said. "You really should find yourself a way to fly. It would make this a lot easier."

"Are you going to keep complaining or join the fight already?" Justin said. "We're missing my change, I mean our change to finally smack some justice into these jerks."

Duo finally eyed a good target. "Fine, then you can go first." Duo said. He grabbed Justin from off his back, ignoring his protests, and wound the star-shaped mon up like a soft ball. "SuperStar Throw!" Justin was chucked across the battlefield, flying towards his intended target.

"Ah, I get it now!" Justin said. "Its time to hero-up! Heroic Evolution! Justimon!"

As Justin changed into his higher form, he readied himself, leveling his sights to ensure his attack connected with his target, the Eaglemon known as Max.

"Justice Kick!"

Flying like a meteor, Justin slammed his burning foot into the Eaglemon's back, slamming him into the ground. Like clockwork, he had a follow up prepared already. Before Max could even react, Justin was shifting modes. "Trinity Arm, Accel Mode! Thunderclap!" Justin's arm came down on the Eaglemon with immense force, pounding him into the ground hard enough to crack the ground around him and send out shock waves of dust and debris.

Justin back flipped out of the cloud, landing nimbly in front of Gunnar as the dust cloud dissipated to reveal a very ticked off Max pulling himself out of the ground.

"And that, Sparkles, is how you make an entrance. Feel free to take notes."

As Max pulled himself free from the rubble and turned to face Justin with a death stare, his smile faded a bit. "You are also free to lend a hand, if you want. Every hero needs a sidekick after all."

-------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Duo had spotted a target of his own.

He dove towards where Pyra fought tooth and nail with the Gryphonmon called Ava. He didn't want to risk getting Pyra caught up in a Terra Destroyer, and he also didn't want to try a Black Tornado for similar reasons. But if he wanted to win this fight, flying might come in handy, so this was the best form for the job. Besides, there were other ways to fight than with special techniques.

Duo dropped on Ava like a bird of prey, digging the long claws of his Dramon Destroyers into the Gryphonmon's back. As Ava struggled to free herself, Duo spun kicked her wing, throwing her flight off course as the natural claws of his feet did their damage.

Ava finally managed to lose Duo, but she wasn't going to just let his attack slide. Instead, she turned and pounced on him with the ferocity of a lion, clawing at him viscously, trying to draw him so that she could deliver a bite.

Duo did his best to dodge, but Ava was faster than he was, much faster. It was all he could do to stay on the offensive. If he could manage to get her on the ground, then maybe he could put the speed of his Gaiomon form to good use, but up here in the air, it was Ava's territory.

Maybe Pyra could assist with that. It was worth a shot at least.

Duo kicked Ava off of him, suffering some damage to his legs in the process, before turning to Pyra. Somehow he had to get his message across to her without letting Ava know they were trying to ground her. "I'll follow your lead." he said. "I'm not too good in the air."

[Kamotz]

Mephistopheles's Cambion, as powerful as they were--as ascended as they were past the power of the Mega level--were forced to fall back. They were faced with an overwhelming assault from the combined forces of the Peacemakers and the Royal Knights. Neither of these groups were at their fullest--the Peacemakers were temporarily reduced in number, and the three were all that remained of the Royal Knights--but together they were more than capable of turning back the efforts of the Cambion. They were forced to retreat. Victor called out his orders, pulling the Cambion further up the mountain, though the Peacemakers were hot on their heels.

"Something's not right," Michael muttered as he held back to analyze the situation.

"There's no escape in that direction," Hector concurred. Beside him, the other two Royal Knights nodded in agreement. "Why would they do such a thing? Unless..."

"It's-" Percival gasped as the Peacemakers chased the Cambion into a clearing.

"It's a trap!" Michael shouted. But it was too late, and his words were drowned out by a blast of thunder so loud that even the ears of those twenty miles away bled.

The mountain was consumed by fire and lightning, hotter than the sun and louder than the screams of every denizen of the Inferno. The clearing that the Peacemakers had stepped into was transformed into a massive, gaping wound in the side of the mountain. Half of it had been blasted and melted into glass, while the other half was molten rock.

From the sky they came, the Horsemen: War and Conquest. They landed amidst the conflagration and watched the Peacemakers struggle to their feet, each with varying degrees of effectiveness. Conquest then produced a vial and tossed it to the Cambion.

"A gift from Mephistopheles, to recover your strength," the white-clad Horseman said as each of the Cambion took a drink from the vial. An immediate change overcame them, and they looked fresh and ready to fight once more...and perhaps...stronger than before.

"Where are the others?" Victor asked.

"There were some other...elements that needed to be dealt with," Conquest answered, smiling smugly. "Suffice to say they are being dealt with, though I do believe Dracula will get his wish and finally eat that angel we've been holding."

"Enough with the talking," War spat as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's kill them already."

"Very well. Children," said Conquest, turning to the Cambion. "War and I will lead the assault. You are more than welcome to join us, or you may return. Neither of these options deviates from the plan."

"We'll stick around," said Victor, his eyes cast down grimly. "We feel...compelled to."

"As you wish," said Conquest. "I will begin." He raised his sword high. "Omni Sword!" Power cascaded down the mountain, ripping further into the Peacemakers' ranks.

But something stood in its way; two streaks, of red and gold, flew in front of the blast. Hector and Percival braced themselves behind the indomitable Aegis and they channeled their might into the shield, fighting against the onslaught of Conquest's power. Then the light faded, and Hector and Percival withdrew. They had held it back...barely.

"That's...?"

"Yes, Percival, that's Thor," said Hector as he readjusted his grip on the Gram and Aegis. "Or it used to be, at least. Together though, we can take him." Michael moved to object, but the two knights were already streaking towards the Horseman.

"So be it. Come to your doom," Conquest laughed, racing to meet them.

Samael snarled to his feet, driven by anger and the need to kill something. Spending the entire night cooped up with Cresil had been punishment enough for the fallen angel. They hadn't exactly spoken or exchanged barbs, but having the demon man poke around in his head for six hours hadn't been the most pleasant experience. Samael was exceedingly motivated to disembowel whatever came into his three-eyed vision first.

And that just happened to be War.

"So you're War, are ya?" Samael snarled. "Svarog, buddy, if you're in there, don't worry. I'm gonna do something I've always wanted to do: gut you like a fish." He raced at the Horseman, and tore into him with his claws, but they barely left a scratch.

War laughed. "You want to fight me? With all the blackness in your soul?" the Horseman howled viciously. He rushed Samael, pummeling the fallen angel with blow after monstrous blow. "I've never felt such darkness! I've never been stronger!"

"This still isn't right," Michael thought as the Horsemen and the rejuvenated Cambion engaged the now-weakened and battered Peacemakers. "Trapping us here...that isn't the endgame. What am I missing?"