Digimon: Devil's Ascent (RPG Thread)

[storymasterb]

Darkness.

Suffocating.

Consuming.

Guinier panicked, lashing at the earth around, thrashing, but the rock was immovable. She slumped down, Mephistopheles grim words still ringing in her ears, words she knew she wouldn't forget easily.

I looked! And there before me was a white horse! Its rider was given a crown! And he rode out as a conqueror! Bent. On. Conquest!"

"Why... how...?" she wondered solemnly. "How could he have made Thor into that? How could we have let it happen? And what's left up there? That attack... such power..."

-

"Caradoc!"

Caradoc's mind scape was grim, consumed by fire, death and War. Again the Marsmon burned the sky, again he slammed to the earth and again he hammered Caradoc with his might, crushing the valiant Digimon under War and blood and fury.

Eyes opening, Caradoc gazed out over his own mind, fixating on War.

"Caradoc..." He glanced to see the form of a Dynasmon X, Sir Galahad's spirit manifesting in his soul.

"Such power..." Caradoc murmured. "What happened? What's happening?"

"I do not know," Galahad said grimly. "War defeated you, that is all I am aware of. Besides that, nothing."

Caradoc clenched a fist. "I should have been able to fight him better..."

"He laid Thor flat with three attacks... power on that scale is not to be underestimated," Galahad replied.

"I have power of my own... your power," Caradoc muttered. "And your knowledge. I should have been able to fight War evenly... I should have let the others protect the PawnChessmon while I fought War! I had all I needed to stand up to him... so why didn't I?"

"You tried to fight him. He was just too powerful for you to do it alone, Caradoc. Every good warrior knows there are times when they must let others step up and fight at their side."

"Perhaps..." Caradoc murmured. "But still... I could have fought harder and done more to stop him..."

-

Guinier lay there in the dark, knowing her air was running out and just grimly awaiting Death. She closed her eyes, imagining Caradoc's face. She wanted him to be the last thing she thought of, his loving, caring self.

And then the rubble over her was ripped away, letting light of sorts pour down into the hollow she lay in. Gazing up and squinting, she took in Tiwaz in all his glory, the AncientGreymon using his Gaia Tornado to excavate the rock away.

The UlforceVeedramon groaned as she emerged, pain lancing through her whole body. She gave a cry of shock as she saw the unconscious Caradoc, running to his side in a blur of motion.

He groaned, sitting up and looking around. "What... happened...?"

"Mephistopheles... he corrupted Thor... he called him 'Conquest'..."

"Conquest... War..." Galahad's mental voice bore horror. "It couldn't be..."

Caradoc and Guinier listened as Tiwaz and Pyra debated over Conquest.

"If Thor has been turned on us, then we should try everything to get him back. Killing him is the final option," Caradoc said firmly...

[Hotshot]

Gigas felt himself being pulled to the surface from beneath the rubble. The HerculesKabuterimon groaned, forcing himself to stand. When he did so, he saw that it had been Tiwaz who hoisted him out of the ground.

"Hop to it, Gigas," he ordered. "We need to help the others."

Gigas nodded slowly, trying to remember what had happened. He recalled War's fists, lots of fire, and a deafening explosion. But that was it. Turning around, he scanned the devastated land that had once been the Chess Kingdom. Destruction was very apparent. He had to look for survivors.

The HerculesKabuterimon rushed forward, using what little strength he had left (which was still many times more than most others) to hurl boulders and rubble out of the way.

"Ivy! Ivy!" he boomed, desperately flinging piles of rock from their piles in an effort to find his beloved. With all his might, Gigas tore through the destruction and found Shoon, lying sprawled out under the earth. Gigas bent down and carefully scooped up the Mamemon X. He was still breathing, thankfully.

Gigas sighed. He was glad that Shoon was still alive. Carefully cradling Shoon in one of his smaller arms, the HerculesKabuterimon continued with the search for any survivors. Soon after, he dug up Aeria (for she was very near the place Shoon had been buried).

But still no Ivy.

Gigas began to panic, rushing from one pile of rubble to the next, desperately hoping to find his wife.

Finally, exasperated, he called out, "IVY!"

"I'm over here, honey," a voice replied from behind the HerculesKabuterimon.

Gigas whirled around to find Ivy tending to the wounds of another survivor. She looked up as her husband approached her. "Tiwaz plucked me right out of the ground a while ago. Now bring Shoon over here! The poor dear looks terrible!"

The big bug smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as he set Shoon down in Ivy's lap. A sniffle soon followed. "Oh, Ivy...I'm so (hic) glad you're okay!"

Ivy looked up at Gigas. "Gigas? Are you crying? What's the matter? Are you hurt?"

The HerculesKabuterimon shook his head, smiling. "No...hohoho...I'm just relieved!"

==========

Sha let loose a bolt of holy energy from his open palm, striking Nekron in the undead creature's chest. The blast of light sent the DexDorugoramon stumbling backwards, but the monster soon regained his balance and was at it again.

This time, Nocchi lunged at the beast, swinging his hammer in a swift, upward stroke. The blow hit the creature right between the legs, earning a cry from Nekron's throat. Nocchi grinned impishly and swung his hammer back for another strike.

But the blow had barely fazed Nekron. The DexDorugoramon lashed out at the Puppetmon with his massive tail, batting Nocchi away like he was nothing more than a bug. Cursing Nekron's undead mother under his breath, the Puppetmon was hurled backwards into a pile of rubble.

With a groan, Nocchi rose back to his feet and brushed himself off. "Nyehhhh...that should've worked. Unless, of course, Nekron's actually a girl."

Meanwhile, Sha barreled into the DexDorugoramon like a meteor of holy energy. Nekron was thrown onto his back by the force of the attack, but the undead dragon wasn't so easily dispatched. With a blood-curdling roar, Nekron leaped back to his feet and swept Sha away with his claw.

The ClavisAngemon crashed right into Nocchi before the Puppetmon had time to move out of the way. The two Digimon plopped to the ground in a heap.

"Nyaaaaah! Get off me, angel!" Nocchi shouted, shoving Sha away.

Sha grinned. "Aw...you called me 'angel!'"

"What?! No! I was referring to you according to your physical appearance!"

"But you still called me 'angel,'" Sha pointed out. "That still stands."

"Whatever! Just get back in the game!"

[Griff4815]

Tiwaz felt a hint of compassion well up inside his gruff, draconic body as he saw Gigas and Ivy, the new husband and wife, reunite safely. However, he soon cast that aside and turned towards Caradoc.

"If Thor has been turned on us, then we should try everything to get him back. Killing him is the final option," Caradoc said firmly...

"How many more kingdoms will need to be destroyed before you decide that killing him is the final option, Caradoc?" Tiwaz asked grimly. "My heart wants anything but to kill him, but I will not allow thousands upon thousands to die because our feelings are keeping us from doing what we need to do. If we can get him in an isolated battle, I would be more than happy to try to snap him out of it, but there are grave risks that come with holding back. Understand that, Caradoc?"

"Maybe if we weaken him enough to make him revert to a lower form..." Pyra suggested.

"Could be," Tiwaz said. "Right then, let's move along. We need to get back to the others."

"And how will we do that?"

"Tch," Tiwaz scoffed with confidence. "I'm not the leader of the Great Ten for nothing, now am I? Never underestimate my gut senses; I can find anything if I try hard enough. Now come along, lads. Follow me!"

Pyra rolled her eyes and moved to follow him but caught site of Shoon, who looked the worse for wear. "Shoon? How are you holding up?" she asked.

[Tundra_Wolfmane]

Shoon blinked his eyes opening, his mind feeling it had been chopped, mashed, cooked, put into a blender, processed, and many other cooking terms that he couldn't recall at the moment. In short, he couldn't think straight, which was a very uncomfortable feeling for a Digimon who relied greatly on his intellect.

It barely registered that Ivy had just healed him, having helped recover him enough to get him to stand on his own feet. Unlike most of the other Peacemakers, he had escaped with the least amount of injuries, having avoided being beaten and bruised by Svarog turned War. He hadn’t actually pieced the latter part together yet.

He had remained standing in the same spot, trying to gather up the pieces of his mind, until a shadow fell on him, inciting enough reaction for him to look up.

"Shoon? How are you holding up?" she asked.

“I…” Shoon had to take a few seconds before an answer could reach him. He then blinked. “…don’t know,” he answered, the most honest he has been in a very long time. He then looked down, frowning. Pyra speaking to him seemed to have helped him gather up his wits like an on switch. He started thinking faster, or at least at the same speed he usually did.

“But that doesn’t really matter, right now, right?” he said, looking a bit sad.

With his grasp of his thinking process back, he was registering what he had been seeing since Gigas had unburied him from the pile of rubble. He remembered what he saw, and more importantly, what he didn’t see. He was quite positive that there had been a large building that was to be the White Chessmon Castle in one direction. Instead, barren and burnt land had been in its place.

“We’re going to have to keep going, right?” he asked, although it sounded more like a factual statement than an actual question. He wasn’t as naïve to think that the world would stop just because he felt like he could just huddle to a corner and hope that the moment would pass.

But he couldn’t do that. He was smarter than that. He knew he had times of extreme cowardice, but he knew he couldn’t run away from something this big. It wasn’t like his past. It wasn’t like a drunken father who would pass out from being so inebriated.

Just the same, at least he could put what he saw behind him; try to stuff the pain, the fear and shame into the dark recesses of his mind and heart. And then try to keep himself from vomiting by putting on that smile back on his face and keep that optimism back on his face. He couldn’t find it yet, but then again, it was the first time had witness such brutality. He hoped it would return soon.

“Um…do you think I could hitch a ride with you this time?” he asked Pyra unsurely.

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

Aeria groaned in pain, exhausted and battered. She had awaked into consciousness feeling that way.

The WarGreymon could barely hold herself up, but at least she was actually able to. Although in all honesty, that didn’t actually make her feel any more better, but she held onto the hope that if she could, then maybe the others were able to do so with much more vigor, seeing as they looked and seemed a lot stronger than she was.

Watching as one by one, the Peacemakers appeared, relief filled her, especially when she saw Shoon, who had been the closest to her when she blacked out. She hadn’t done anything.

And then her heart fell. She hadn’t done anything. She was useless against the Marsmon that had just attacked them, and she felt guilt for it. It didn’t really matter than everyone else was just as easily beaten.

She shook her head, trying to shake away the negative feelings before they got strong enough to give birth to tears. She looked around, noticing that while the Peacemakers had somehow escaped the rubble, only the Peacemakers were able to. It worried her.

She looked to her side, seeing Guinier. “Um, do you think…suppose…that we’re the only survivors?” she asked a bit solemnly. She hadn’t seen a single Chessmon.

[Griff4815]

“I…” Shoon had to take a few seconds before an answer could reach him. He then blinked. “…don’t know,” he answered, the most honest he has been in a very long time. He then looked down, frowning. Pyra speaking to him seemed to have helped him gather up his wits like an on switch. He started thinking faster, or at least at the same speed he usually did.

“But that doesn’t really matter, right now, right?” he said, looking a bit sad.

“We’re going to have to keep going, right?” he asked

Pyra looked down at the small digimon with some sympathy. It was plainly obvious that Shoon was shaken and distraught. However, she couldn't blame him. They had just witnessed a kingdom being decimated seemingly by their former comrade. The Paildramon figured that within those last few hours, they had witnessed more destruction than the average digimon would in their lifetime.

She then answered his rhetorical questions with a soft nod.

“Um…do you think I could hitch a ride with you this time?” he asked Pyra unsurely.

"Sure," Pyra answered, offering a small smile as she picked him up. She could hardly refuse, seeing as that presently she was the person in the group that he was closest with, having travelled together when leaving Azur five months ago.

She clutched his body firmly and took off after Tiwaz, who was leading the group away from the smouldering remnants of the Chessmon Kingdom, which was no more than a memory now.

The larger orange wyrm growled internally. A kingdom wiped off the face of the earth by an entity using Thor's body. This wouldn't stand.

"Uhh, Tiwaz?" Tyr asked. "Want me to take over? You're pretty tired from the fight and it takes less energy to use my form than it does yours."

"Let you take over?" Tiwaz retorted. "What kind of message would that send to the others?! I'm no more tired than they are. Besides, you'll probably burst into tears soon anyways."

Tiwaz's sharp tone, although he wasn't unfamiliar with it, seemed unwarranted and caused Tyr to feel taken aback. "I... just wanted to help," he whimpered meekly.

The AncientGreymon sighed and closed his eyes, realizing that the whole situation had gotten to him. "Yes... I know..." he replied, his mental voice no longer as gruff. "Just forget I said anything."

Meanwhile, Pyra, who was still carrying Shoon, glided over the ground until she found herself beside Caradoc. She looked over at him with a grim expression on her face.

"I can't help but wonder if this wouldn't have happened if we didn't come here and went with the other group instead," she admitted, looking out at the desolated landscape. "...But at the same time, I wonder if we could have prevented all of this if all of us came here instead. Not just what happened with Thor, but the seal as well..."

Pyra sighed. "We can't remain divided by opposing views if we want to kill Mephistopheles. Be it leadership, entitlement, morals, or personal relationships, we need to put these differences between all of us aside... but then again, that probably won't happen, will it?" she asked.

"Even during the Crusade all of us had trouble banding together as a team. And since then, a lot of us have changed... Now the fissures are even greater." The Paildramon looked over at Caradoc. "You and Bedivere used to be close friends, am I wrong? I think you can agree with me in saying he's different now... I wonder if, when we return to them, he'll show genuine sorrow over what happened or if he'll instead laugh in our faces."

-

Kheprius heaved and uttered various swears as he struggled to hold himself up in the air. "This guy just won't quit, will he?"

"Nope," Gunnar responded, readjusting his GeoGrey Sword at the same time. "But at least we know he's not invincible."

"What makes you say that?" Khep called over while diving through the air to avoid a Doru Djinn blast.

"Well he's died like twice already, right?" Gunnar flew up into the air, swinging around Nekron who was currently focused on Sha and Nocchi. "And it's just a matter of time; he can't beat all of us! Shining Blast!"

Power ripped from Gunnar's chest and dragged along Nekron's side. The undead digimon roared and leapt into the air, swinging his massive tail at the ShineGreymon. Gunnar soared upwards, tucked in his legs and swung up his tail, causing Nekron's strike to miss and pass under him harmlessly. At the same time, he slashed the GeoGrey Sword down and hacked the blade into Nekron's rotted flesh.

"Head's up!" Khep called up from down below, unleashing several blasts of Dimension Scissors into Nekron's midsection.

Gunnar turned around and cupped his hand to his ear. "Sorry, what?" he asked. "I couldn't hear you over my awesome move."

"Metal Impulse!" a feral voice growled from behind him.

Nekron's pounded his hands down onto Gunnar's back, digging his claws into his armour and sending the light dragon plummeting into the ground. He hit the blackened land and groaned.

"I said 'head's up'," Kheprius said dryly.

The ShineGreymon staggered to his feet and placed his weight on his sword. "Are we even hurting him at all?"

The hovering GranKuwagamon clicked his pincers together. "When it doubt, hack it into many little pieces."

"Sounds like a plan," Gunnar said, but his voice was drowned out by Nekron's bloodcurdling roar.

-

Tiwaz flew forwards in the air, flapping his wings and hoping he would dry off soon. He turned his head and looked over at Gigas and Ivy.

"So, you two are married now?" he asked, eyeing the large ring on one of Gigas' fingers. "Congratulations to the both of you. It gets even better; I promise you that. Even when you have little Tiwazes or Gigases running around."

A small grin formed at the corners of his mouth at the prospect, but it wasn't long until it quickly disappeared. Tiwaz closed his eyes and took a deep breath. All he had were the memories.

The dragon's eyes then shot wide open and he stopped dead in his tracks. A familiar, eerie feeling. It was surrounded by the thickest of darkness. It was a looming, forboding sensation that felt as if it would spread at any given second. Tiwaz recognized it immediately. A flickering memory of hopelessness passed through him, but he steeled himself, glowering and growling dangerously.

Pyra, who was still flying near Caradoc, stopped and observed Tiwaz with confusion. "Tiwaz? What's wrong?"

"Don't you feel that?" he asked brusquely.

"What?" Pyra questioned.

"That feeling... of darkness and death," he answered, the familiarity getting to him. His whole body shuddered and trembled with a cold, fearful sensation.

The Paildramon was slightly unsettled. "Err, Tiwaz, maybe you shouldn't--"

"It's the Death-X... I know its presence anywhere," he said adamantly.

Pyra looked at him with scepticism. "The Death-X? That plague was wiped out... and all of the remaining ones at the temple were decimated during our clash with the Royal Knights for the Black Sword. Not to mention you destroyed the temple completely; there's no way that it could still be around."

Tiwaz swung around and glared, his teeth bared. "I'm positive I'm right! I don't know how it could be, but I know this feeling. It's exactly the same as it was hundreds of years ago! The creeping, dark feeling..."

"Maybe it's just a sensation of deja vu. How can you be sure?" Pyra questioned.

"Because this is how I died!" Tiwaz barked. With that, he flapped his wings and flew off at a slightly different angle to the way he was heading.

"Follow me. It might be connected," he said. "The others could be there already for all we know. And even if they aren't, we have to stop this... I'm not going to let my sacrifice have been in vain..."

Pyra sighed and flew after Tiwaz, who had already obtained a big lead. She was still rather unsure about all of this. "Why are his impulses the only lead that we have?"

-

Barachiel remained watching over the mission with stoic vigilance. He stood against a pillar with his swords hanging at his sides. His eyes were trained on the front door, the windows and the oculus in the ceiling. The angel-esque insect was ready to act at the sight or sound of anything unnatural.

"How long were you planning to keep watch?" Hadrael's voice said nearby. The Angemon walked up behind him and stood next to the pillar, facing Barachiel.

"As long as I have to," the TigerVespamon answered.

"Are you sure they'll even try again?" Hadrael questioned.

"I would be surprised if they didn't," Barachiel replied in disappointment. "If all they have to do is desecrate the altar here... I can't see Mephistopheles passing up such an easily broken seal."

"Easily broken? You underestimate us, Barachiel."

The insect warrior grinned and bowed his head. "I suppose you're right, Father Hadrael... How are the others doing?"

"Tyriel is awake, but still in bed. The others just need more rest. My guess is a day at the most."

Barachiel nodded. "That's goo--"

He immediately stopped and shot his head upwards. A shadow had rapidly crossed one of the windows on the opposite side of the cathedral. Barachiel's grip on his swords tightened and he looked around at the stained glass with full alertness.

"Barachiel? What's the matter?" Hadrael questioned.

"I thought I saw something," he murmured, stepping away from the pillar and looking around. He next glanced up at the open oculus in the ceiling.

The Angemon fell silent and looked around also. They remained on guard for several minutes, but saw nothing and heard nothing aside from the wind and the flickering of the torches.

"Perhaps... it was nothing," Hadrael said, relaxing himself slightly, but still wary of the entrances.

Barachiel was not as convinced, but he lowered his guard slightly, nonetheless. "I hope you're right," he said, the slightest traces of worry in his voice.

This worry didn't go unnoticed by Hadrael, who placed a hand on his shoulder to try to put the acolyte at ease. "Like I said before... it's going to be okay."

Barachiel slackened and nodded slowly. "Yes... You're right."

[storymasterb]

"Pendragon's Glory!" Shells and lasers ripped from the Ambrosius, separating into a hail of blasts which perforated Nekron's chest, searing through necrotic flesh and muscle, explosions sending vaporized rotted scales and fountains of dark blood out to cascade upon the earth, but the wounds had no effect on the monstrous Death-X beast.

"Terra Force ZERO!" A sphere of white-hot force burned from Vritra's hands, wreathing the DexDoruGoramon in fire, but once again Nekron endured, emerging with blackened form but unharmed. He opened his maw, and spoke.

"Doru Djinn!" Power and shadow poured from the sickening jaws, a torrent of necrotic force which struck into Bedivere and Vritra, the former defending with the Caledfwlch, the latter rapidly assembling the Brave Shield and raising it to block. The force crashed down on their defenses, forcing the two evolved Digimon back as it broke on their shields.

Fire began to ignite at the heart of the fires as Vritra gave a roar. The flames burned with greater intensity, tearing through the shadows, as Vritra ignited her vernier boosters and erupted up, ripping aside the attack as the Brave Shield split, connecting to her armor once more as white-hot power burned around the WarGreymon X.

"Grey Fire ZERO!" she shouted, sending a cascade of fireballs forwards into Nekron, burning into the terror's form, before twisting into a burning maelstrom of claws and fire. "Great Tornado!"

"Metal Impulse!" Nekron answered, delivering a vicious slash with his talons, which struck into the spiraling dragon warrior, sending a hail of sparks flying as her armor and claws screamed against Nekron's rotted blades.

A crimson flash ripped upwards, and emerald burst from it, dozens of blazing arrows which speared Nekron's face like needles, blinding the monster with their force as Bedivere drew back his lance, which burned with force before he stabbed it into Nekron's immense chest, roaring in pride as he pulled the fatal trigger, giving a savage command.

"Avalon's Gate!" Shells screamed from the Ambrosius, detonating within Nekron and causing great gouts of blood, flesh and muscle to explode across the drake's torso and splatter across everything within the vicinity...

-

“Um, do you think…suppose…that we’re the only survivors?”

"I don't know..." the UlforceVeedramon whispered just as solemnly. "Most of us are Mega Levels... experienced fighters with the endurance needed to take that attack... the Chessmon were lower level... lower endurance... if we barely survived..." She let her voice trail away. "Conquest will have to be stopped... but how?"

She stared out over the devastation, unable to face Aeria. "He's one of us... even with all our might... even if we could win... would we? Could we kill him, with all that he is? What would that do to the world?" She stared down at one hand, as sparks of light shone around it, the merest trace of the Future Mode she had been on the verge of summoning against War.

-

"Could have been... what might have happened..." Caradoc murmured. "We can't change the past, Pyra. And the seal..." He closed his eyes. "None of us could have done it. Not if we kept intact what separated us from Mephistopheles. We'd have condemned innocents to death if we'd tried to fight, to hold Balthory back. Do you think you could have acted knowing that?"

"As for the Crusade... it changed us. In so many ways... we changed... I learned to overcome my shame... Thor learned to accept his own power... but you're right. In the Crusade, the Royal Knights were simple. Us against them... even if we disagreed, they had morals and standards like ours. But now... we're fighting an enemy who finds his power in testing our resolve and morality. So we're divided along those lines..."

He looked up at the turbulent heavens, taking in the blazing maelstrom of storm clouds. "Bedivere and I have had differences... but never like this. I hate this... it's tearing Guinier apart... and I don't want her to have to suffer like that..." His voice trailed off. "Bedivere changed... and so did I. I changed because he fell... and someone had to be the hero. It's not about glory, or nobility... it's about preventing this suffering." He closed his eyes. "And I intend to end the suffering Mephistopheles brings. Knight... Valkyrie... Phoenix... three aspects to me... the honorable, noble warrior... the gatherer of the slain... and one reborn from the ashes... all make me who I am. So the further Bedivere falls... the higher I will rise above him... that's what the oppressed need..."

Tiwaz spoke, warning of the Death-X presence.

"I trust Tiwaz... let's do this," the Valkyrimon said softly. "If the Death-X have risen, we have to put them down again... with me!" With that, he raced after Tiwaz, a dark silhouette on the night...

[Food Guy]

Kole awoke to searing pain rushing throughout his body, which he noted was still Ghoulmon. He propped himself up, and looked around in horror. He had no idea what had happened after he had blacked out. Everything around him was destroyed, razed to the ground.

"Tia!" he called out, realising that the Bastemon was out there somewhere. "Where are you?"

There was no reply. The Ghoulmon's heart sunk as thoughts of Tia's fate crossed his mind. There was no way that he was going to let that have happened to her, he wasn't going to allow it.

"Tia!" he bellowed, the yelling hurting his chest. "Where are you!"

He tore through rubble on the ground, adrenaline putting his fatigue and pain in the back seat. He lifted up a rock, and pulled out Justin, the poor SuperStarmon looking rather worse for wear. Making sure that he was okay, Kole left Justin to continue looking for Tia. He lifted up a rock, well more like tearing it apart, and let out a gasp of horror. Laying underneath the rubble was Tia, her body still. He knew that she wasn't dead, otherwise she wouldn't still be around, but there was something wrong with her.

"Tia, wake up," whispered Kole, holding the feline digimon in his large arms. "Please wake up."

Pfft, don't worry about her. You don't need her, you only need me

Kole ignored the voice and shook Tia, but there was still no response. Putting her down on the ground, Kole quickly shifted forms from Ghoulmon to Piedmon. Now in his magical form, he placed his hand on her head and let his Masks Square flood over Tia. He closed his eyes and prepared to read the Bastemon's thoughts, however he couldn't.

"Why didn't that work?" muttered Kole, trying again and again, but still ended up with nothing. "I need to know what is wrong with Tia."

Just leave her, you don't need her. You only need me

Once again Kole ignored the voice, but it was starting to get annoying. He was about to try again, but Tia opened her eyes.

"Tia!" yelled out Kole. "I was so worried about you!"

"What happened?" she asked, her voice weak.

"Thor happened," answered Kole, his voice soft.

"Thor happened?" asked Tia moments before she remembered what happened. "He's a Horseman now, isn't he? Our leader is gone."

"Well we still have Bedivere," said Kole, "So we aren't completely lost."

"Yeah, as you could see what has happened so far has been such as great success," bitterly commented Tia, picking herself up.

"Looks like everyone is going," suddenly said Kole, helping Tia stand up properly. "Would you like a lift madam?"

"No, never," replied Tia, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

[Kamotz]

"Tiwaz! Are you out of your mind!" Lucia shouted, rushing forward to stand in the dragon's way. "Are you so pig-headed and impulsive that you don't stop to consider anyone else but yourself? Look around!" She pointed to the others and to the scorched land below them. "We just barely survived a meeting with the villain we're trying to stop. We barely escaped with our lives. Not all of us have the physical, mental, or emotional stamina to now go rushing off to face another monstrosity. We just learned that Svarog is alive, and now he and Thor--two of the most powerful gods left alive in this world--are...hosts to these Horsemen entities. On top of that the entire Chess Kingdom was leveled in one shot! How can you expect us to ignore what happened?"

"A hero must always shoulder on," Justin said, his hands on his hips. As difficult as it is, we must continue to try to-"

"Oh grow up, will you," Lucia barked angrily. "This isn't a game, Justin! You aren't playing hero in the village anymore. This is real; people are being slaughtered! You were almost killed by War, and he hit you once. Svarog and Thor--War and Conquest--they could have killed us at any time. Mephistopheles let us live! Don't you get it? We're so inconsequential that he didn't see the point in killing us when we were down."

"Maybe," Justin said, his voice soft. "But I made myself a promise: that I'd be brave, and that I'd keep fighting for the good of this world. Being a hero isn't about doing what's easy; it's about doing what's right. And the right thing for us to do, Lucia, is keep going. The world is depending on us."

Lucia looked down to the ruins of her old home, the roar of light from Conquest's attack and the brief flash of screams from her burning people played itself out over and over in her mind. She could still feel them dying; she could smell the death in the air, feel the flayed data particles of the Chess Kingdom dance across her skin, taste the tears of her people.

"I don't think I can do this," she whispered. "I don't know if I can..."

"Duo needs you," Justin said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He can't do this without you."

=====

Nekron was absorbing their attacks; they had no effect on the massive beast that breathed death and swallowed life. The land beneath the undead dragon blackened and putrefied as the battle wore on, and whatever damage they caused only seemed to embolden the living death as he lashed out with greater ferocity. Sickness and disease bleed from his wounds, turning the air into a vicious miasma of deadly poisons. The heavy fog settled low to the ground, forcing the Peacemakers to take to the air. Nekron, however, refused to follow; he was "content" (if such a mindless creature could feel such things) to remain connected to the ground and allow his infectious power to churn and boil within the earth. It was only a matter of time; soon he would evolve, then the world would crack open and spill his toxic hordes into existence once more.

"This must be stopped," Michael growled as the Peacemakers continued battling against the monstrosity. "There's too much at stake here. We can't fight the Death-X horde and stop Mephistopheles at the same time."

"Got a plan?" Duo asked. "Looks like we could use one."

"It will take more than my Grace to reverse the infection," Michael said. "I would need to channel it right through Nekron's very essence if I'm to have any hope of stopping it. But to do that we need to expose Nekron's...core, or lack thereof, and none of us have a weapon that can damage him heavily enough to expose that core for long." He looked to his beam saber. "Excalibur might, but I'll need it to channel the Grace. I don't know how we-"

"I have an idea," Duo said. "Be ready, Hand of God. Don't fear the reaper." Duo closed his eyes and clutched his arms tightly around himself. He felt the sick darkness building within him and let it flood his mind. "Oh, Death," he whispered. He felt his bones break and his blood boil. "Oh, Death." His eyes snapped open and his back arched. He let out a silent scream and a voice rose from his throat...though it was not his own.

"Oh, Death." His body flared with a burning power; it cracked and shattered under the force of darkness unleashed, and Duo strode forth as a reaping colossus.

Nekron turned on the massive new arrival, one whose darkness mirrored its own. It, too, was an avatar of Death, a walking anti-life. Duo had no doubts as to what he faced; the Reaper knew Nekron, and soon Nekron would know the Reaper.

"Won't you spare me over 'til another year?" Duo asked as he raised his cannon and blasted the undead dragon with its power. Nekron roared and charged him, but Duo held fast. "But what is this, that I can't see with ice cold hands taking hold of me?"

His sickle cut a tearing gash across Nekron's chest, and glowing black tendrils of the dragon's power attempted to stitch it closed, the wound refused.

"When God is gone and the Devil takes hold, who will have mercy on your soul?" Duo slashed again. Slicing the Reaper's weapon through Nekron's rotting flesh. Unlike with the attacks of the other Peacemakers, the Reaper's sickle seemed to be potent enough to damage Nekron to a more permanent extent.

Meanwhile, Michael began to whisper his prayers. Ancient Enochian chants filled the air as Grace filled Michael's soul. It spilled from his eyes and mouth, pure light: the purest light in all of Heaven, and soon became too much for his body to bear. Light speared from cracks in his skin; his veins glowed white-hot and burst under the heat and force of Heaven itself.

"Mode Change!" he called out as his body threatened to crumble under the pressure. "MagnaAngemon Saint Mode!"

Swathed in the gold and blue regalia of the angelic saints, Michael was better able to control and channel the massive amount of Grace he held within. It shook his very bones and blazed white behind his eyes.

"No wealth, no ruin, no silver no gold. Nothing satisfies me but your soul," Duo continued, slashing again against Nekron. "Well I am Death, none can excel, I'll open the door to Heaven or Hell."

"Samael!" Michael shouted as his body trembled with the gathered Grace. "Be ready!"

"For what?" Samael asked.

"Just be ready!"

Duo made one last slash across Nekron's chest, the Reaper's sickle cutting deeply into decayed flesh to expose the emptiness of Nekron's core. "My name is Death and the end is here..."

Michael let out an almighty roar as he fired a concentrated burst of Grace from his hands. It punched through the gash in Nerkon's chest and slammed into the empty void of his body. Nekron arched back and let out a chilling, bloodcurdling scream. The howl ripped across the worlds of God and tore into the soul of every thing that lived within them. The Grace tore through him and burst out into the world. It chased away his darkness and burned away his putrefaction.

"Now! Samael!"

The fallen angel looked at the scene, wondering what Michael was urging him towards. The light filling the area was almost too much for him to bear; the sheer amount of Grace threatened to set his eyes aflame. But he trusted Michael, and as he gazed into the holy maelstrom, he saw it, a shining orb of light solidifying within Nekron's chest: his digicore remade, brought anew by Michael's efforts.

That was his target.

"'Scuse me, fire-britches," he said, leaping onto Vritra's back and forcing her through the storming light, using her body to shield him from the divine conflagration. "I gotta get in close and you're my best bet." As he neared Nekron's writhing form, he broke away from his living shield and the light hurled Vritra away. Samael dove towards the dragon's newly-formed core. He drew his claws back as they bled unholy energy and tore his darkness into Nekron's heart of light.

An inferno erupted from the contact and consumed Samael with its fury. But it had chased away Michael's divine Grace, and fire was but an afterthought for the fallen. Samael strode forth, his body smoking and his eyes smoldering, but he was the only thing that remained.

"Y'all 're welcome," Samael drawled, looking on his comrades smugly. "Feel free to thank me later."

[Griff4815]

"Everything that Justin said is right, Lucia," Tiwaz said lowly. "I know the pain you're feeling right now and I sympathize with you, but we need to do this." He then turned his head away from her and looked upwards at the columns of billowing smoke. "And we need you too."

Pyra nodded and stepped over to the Lucia's side opposite to Justin. She sighed. The Paildramon remembered what it was like for her during the siege of Avalon and Avalon's decimation by the Chaos Lords. One one level, she empathized with what Lucia was going through. However, Lucia was the former queen of the White Chessmon Kingdom. That must have been a whole other level of loss for her, for there was a heavy responsibility that comes with royalty.

"I know it's unfair of us to ask this of you, but we do need your help," Pyra told her. "Our situation as a whole isn't exactly fair... but this is what's in front of us and we have to make do. Besides, it's still too early to give up hope."

"Unless, of course, you want another kingdom to be obliterated just like yours was because you were too weak to shoulder the responsibility," Tiwaz growled. "And where would you go if not with us?"

"Tiwaz!" Pyra snapped at him.

"What do you think the Death-X will do, Pyra?!" he retorted, snarling. "What do you think Mephistopheles will do?!"

He faced the group, his intensity and passion clear in his face. "The Royal Knights are dissolved... We are the new heroes of this world. Some of us might not want to hear that, but it's the truth. Some people gush over the idea of heroes, loving the romantic associations it comes with. Some people bristle when they hear somebody described as a hero, viewing them with prejudice as a good-doing caped warrior out for glory or some so-called 'childish' notion of chivalry and valour. That is not what it means to be a hero. Doing what's right, no matter how hopeless it seems. And fighting for those weaker than you, no matter the odds. That is what it means to be a hero..." Tiwaz said fervantly. "And that's the position we're in right now."

"And Lucia..." he said softly, turning his back to her. "Whatever it is that I do... whatever bad decisions or chaos I make... it's never just for myself. The world needs us... and I won't abandon it."

-

"Y'all 're welcome," Samael drawled, looking on his comrades smugly. "Feel free to thank me later."

"Yeah, just as soon as I waltz with Beelzebub," Gunnar said with bitter sarcasm

Kheprius slide digivolved back into his GrandisKuwagamon form and wiped some of Nekron's blood from his pincers. "Hey, I only got a little blood on me this time... Frigging Death-X zombies," he spat.

Kheprius and Gunnar both landed near Michael and Samael. The ShineGreymon stepped towards the archangel, outstretching his hands in a questioning shrug. "So we killed Nekron; does this mean we stopped that seal from breaking or did it still break anyways?"

Gunnar sighed and looked around. "And more importantly, what do we do next?" he asked. "He's four steps ahead of us and we don't have a plan. We've been playing straight into his hands."

"We should go back to our holier-than-thou bug and his guardian angel over at the mission. Maybe that book can give us some more clues. And there's the possibility of the added bonus of Caradoc, Thor and co. coming to their senses and meeting us there. I mean, they knew we were going there, right? When they found out they were wrong, they probably backtracked," Kheprius suggested.

"We don't know that they were necessarily wrong," Gunnar said.

"Yeah, but they sure weren't right, either. If it wasn't for Mikey's shiny new upgrade given to him by his angel buddies, we might have been toast." The insect digimon turned and looked at the others. "Well? What do ya guys say? Next stop: the mission?"

While he refused to admit it, or even show a flicker of a sign of it, Kheprius was a little worried about Barachiel. Constantine didn't finish whatever mission that he had. Khep wasn't naive enough to think that Mephistopheles wouldn't send another minion that way. No matter how different Barachiel was and no matter how he felt about him, he was still his brother and Kheprius had already seen him die once, or so he thought for seventeen or so years. He wasn't about to lose him again.

[storymasterb]

"We weren't ready." Caradoc regarded Lucia as he spoke, seeing her sorrow and her pain, and he recalled grimly his own emotions during the Crusade, seeing Avalon razed by the Mikaboshi. How it had hurt to see his proud home obliterated. Avalon had become his home... his first home was no home.

"We didn't understand them, what they were, what they were capable of," he continued. "But now we know. And next time... we can stop them. If Mephistopheles thinks us so inconsequential... let's teach him otherwise. Let's burn that lesson into him with our deeds, we'll topple his Horsemen, we'll preserve the Seals. We'll show him to fear our advent as a sign of his defeat. For everyone his schemes have killed... we'll fight in their memory, to ensure no-one else has to suffer as a result of this."

He fixed Lucia with a determined gaze. "For the Chess Kingdom... for all those who died in Avalon... for those he's manipulated into this... we'll fight on and let their souls rest with the knowledge that the one responsible is no longer a threat to our world."

"Even if we think we'll break..." Guinier murmured, standing beside Lucia, sparks of her future power still dancing around her hand. "We have to endure. If we let ourselves break... let our wills crumble... Mephistopheles has truly won. There will be a time to mourn over everyone who has died, Lucia, but for now we have to keep our hearts strong and fight on to stop this. Do it for them." She gestured around softly. "For all those you knew and cared about in the Chess Kingdom... be strong for them. The world needs us... all of us. We're all it has..."

-

Nekron was broken apart, obliterated by the flames. Bedivere stood, right at the edge of where Michael's Grace had shone, and his form was veiled in light as his Examon evolution tore away into data, leaving his base Slayerdramon body behind.

He was silent, grim, and even... concerned? He recalled how the Grace had met his form, how it had hurled him back, but also how it had burned as it met his form... as though he were unholy? Was that true? Or was it merely the effect the Grace had on those who did not follow the practices of the Holy Host?

Vritra picked herself up from where the light of the Grace had hurled her after Samael had used her as a flesh shield. Fire burst from her form and she grew as her WarGreymon X form was shed away, leaving her BurningGreymon base, fiery wings spreading and flashing with embers. "Damn demon... don't ever do that again..." she muttered.

Bedivere shook away his concern and regarded Kheprius's words for a short while.

"Yes, let's go back," he said. "We may find a clue leading us to another seal there..."

[Tundra_Wolfmane]

“He's one of us... even with all our might... even if we could win... would we? Could we kill him, with all that he is? What would that do to the world?"

Aeria bit her lip, listening to her speak. She sounded pained, and she wondered what kind of relationship the Peacemakers shared with Thor…She wondered about the bonds of warriors that survived a deadly war together. She wondered if it was any way similar to her relationship with Roman.

And if it was, she hoped beyond all hope that they wouldn’t have to force their hand in the worse case scenario. The kind of pain of knowing that you killed someone close to you…she wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Except it would have been worse for them; it would inevitably their choice if that were to happen. She didn’t know if that would make the knowledge easier or harder to deal with.

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


Shoon listened quietly to what everyone else was spouting off. Just hours ago, those very words might have set him off to a tirade full of feeling and thoughts of honor and whatnot, despite what Tiwaz said. There were still a few things that he believed to be true about a hero, and those would always stick in his head. As of the moment, though, he wasn’t as delusional. He was nowhere near his usual disposition.

’Take the pain, smother it out,’ he mentally chanted, a mantra that he had used when he was still a child.

“Whatever the case, shouldn’t we get going? Like, right now?” he said, slightly apathetic. He still remembered that Mephistopheles had been a step ahead and had been since the start of their venture. He knew that they needed someone that actually knew what to expect, even slightly.

He then looked down, having been made quite sober by their experience. He glanced at Caradoc, remembering his words about being knowing. The Mamemon X wasn’t quite as confident. “We’re not prepared right now. Haven’t been prepared at all. For anything that Mephistopheles threw at us. I’m not sure if we will,” he said, trailing off.

Shoon could still see the image of the Mephistomon just flicking away the Peacemakers like they were leaves and he was a hurricane. It didn’t look like he was even showing a fraction of his power, and that worried him. He really wouldn’t have been if he hadn’t seen it first hand.

“He’s…frightening. His power, I mean. We need Michael if we’re going to fight him again, so the sooner we do, the better. I…I think that’s the most prepared we’re ever going to get,” he added, shuffling his feet.

Aeria, however, looked back at the desolation they were about to leave behind. “Do we really have to go so soon?” she wondered out loud to herself. “It…it might be a bit useless, but I worry for any possible survivors…even if it sounds so unlikely,” she voiced out.

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

Azur stayed silent, but he knew he wanted to get back if it there was a position that they would meet up with the others. He wouldn’t say that out loud, though.

“Well, I say we go for it!” Scar announced his opinion, putting a shoulder over Azur’s shoulder. “If we meet up with the rest of you, I wouldn’t mind. And I’m sure my cuz over here wouldn’t mind, either, right, Zur?” he asked, grinning slyly at the MagnaGarurumon, who tried to knock him in the head. Scar ducked just in time and jumped away, ignoring the daggers that Azur glared his way.

He turned to his side, seeing both Khep and Gunnar close by. “Hey, Gunnard, and, uh, bug-person. Tell me, this Pyra lady, is she really all that? She’s gotta be some gal if ol blue boy is head over heels and all that for her,” he said, pointing at Azur with his thumb, over his shoulder.

“You can’t imagine how many times I’ve heard her mumbling her name during his sleep,” he added with a grin, noting that it was also the reason why he knew her name. Of course, there was one other name, but that one hit a sore spot on Azur for an entirely different reason.

[Griff4815]

Tiwaz stood around as Caradoc and then Shoon spoke. He appeared to be listening to them, except he wasn't really listening to them. The sizeable dragon was distracted by something else more pressing to him.

The feeling of darkness that he felt had suddenly vanished. It had been so overwhelming and so intense, but within an instant, as his comrades spoke, it had suddenly disappeared like it was never present all along. Tiwaz shifted and shuffled in his place in great discomfort.

"You don't feel it anymore, do you?" Tyr asked him, already knowing the answer.

Tiwaz closed his eyes and bristled. That was his only reply to Tyr's question.

He was positive he was right. The sensation was so familiar.

"It was real..." Tiwaz thought to himself, his teeth grinding against one another as he pondered. "But if it was, why did it suddenly disappear?"

He turned away from the group and edged away as stealthily as he could. He did so in an attempt to put distance between them and himself. Tiwaz started to doubt himself. Perhaps Pyra was right and it was just an intense sensation of deja vu brought on by the stress of the battle. However, he knew the feeling and it was too real to be that.

The wyrm glanced back at the Peacemakers. He couldn't bring himself to tell them that he suddenly lost the sense of direction brought on by the feeling that overcame him. They might start to think that he really had lost his mind. He couldn't risk the Peacemakers losing their respect of him when he had taken up the mantle of leadership. He had to keep the morale at least existant.

Tiwaz had to trust himself, but there were traces of doubt scattered amidst his mind. No matter, he vowed to carry on.

"Shoon is right," Tiwaz said. "We've wasted enough time standing around chatting. We can continue whatever conversations we have on the way."

He then flapped his wings and lead the way at a much less determined pace. Pyra flew beside him.

"Tiwaz, if you're right about this Death-X thing, then don't you think we should meet up with the others before we take them on?" she asked. "We're not exactly in the position to fight an undead horde on our own."

Tiwaz nodded, much to Pyra's surprise. "Yes, that was my plan. We're going to head to that mission place that somebody mentioned they were going to. We can find them from there," he said. He refused to tell anybody this, but he decided to do this only because he had no idea what else he could do.

"...Good, then," Pyra said. "We should hurry."

-

“Hey, Gunnard, and, uh, bug-person. Tell me, this Pyra lady, is she really all that? She’s gotta be some gal if ol blue boy is head over heels and all that for her,”

Khep glanced over at the black werewolf and smirked, casting a glance to Azur in the interim. "Oh yeah, she's really hot. I'd let her Cable Catch me anyday."

Gunnar folded his arms and nodded. "She is pretty smokin', I have to admit, but I kinda prefer that Aeria girl, no discredit to Pyra or anything. 'Ria's just more my type."

"The WarGreymon? Pfft. Good luck with that. I think I saw her blush at a tree the other day," Khep replied. "Now, Pyra..." he cracked his knuckles, as if about to start a long ramble. "She's something else. That whole strong, independant personality thing she has is kind of a turn on, don't you think, Sparky?" he asked, glancing over at Azur. "If she can make ol' Sammy intimidated, she's okay in my books."

"Do these books of yours have an X rating?" Gunnar jibed.

Khep smirked and looked at Azur. "Oh yeah, fur face! The whole 'mumbling her name in your sleep' thing? Cute, but it kinda reeks of desperation... and probably sweaty fur too. Gross." Kheprius then strode past them over the desolate ground. "Come on; maybe they're having some fancy, pretentious angel chow back at the mission."

[Hotshot]

Sha, brushing himself off from being hurled backwards by Michael's Grace, heard the verbal stabs of Kheprius and Gunnar. Shaking his head grimly, the Shawjamon murmured, "Poor guys...they'll probably never have a woman. Well, Khep might...but it'll probably be something freakish and desperate..."

"...like an Arukenimon!" exclaimed a muffled voice from underneath the Shawjamon. Sha glanced down at the mound of dirt he was standing on and found a pair of wooden legs protruding from it. With a chuckle, Sha stepped down and plucked Nocchi out of the ground.

The Puppetmon sat up, his face covered in a thick layer of dust, and scowled. Rubbing his eyes, Nocchi muttered, "About time, Woojie. How long did it take ya to figure out I was under there?!"

Sha shrugged. "I usually recognize your presence by the insulting comments you make." Then, with a grin, he added, "That, or your small, wooden frame."

Nocchi stood and scanned the area for his missing hammer. "Oh. Well, that makes sense--HEY! If I had my hammer, I'd bash you in the skull with it, bub!"

Sha glanced behind the Puppetmon and grinned. With a bound, he took off around Nocchi, shouting, "It's a good thing I found it first then, huh?"

"Nyaaaah! Get back here, frog!"

The Shawjamon scooped up the large mallet, dangled it in front of Nocchi's face, and then sprinted away, chanting, "Hammer time! Nananana-tsh-nana-tsh-nana...can't touch this!"

[Kamotz]

A knock at the door of the mission brought Hadrael and Barachiel's cleaning to a halt as they went to investigate. Hadrael opened the great wooden doors to greet the visitors, though Barachiel was noticeably suspicious and wary. The rest of the missionaries were also cautious of accepting new guests, and considering the recent events it wasn't hard to understand. Still, Hadrael was not about to shirk his duties.

"Welcome, my children," Hadrael said, greeting the pair of guests: two Beetlemon. "This house of God is open to all."

"Thank you, Father," the first said with a slight bow. "We're just simple travelers looking for a place to stay."

"You are welcome here."

"Forgive my frankness, but what happened here?" the second asked. "It looks as if a war was fought out front."

"There are those who would defile a house of the Lord," Hadrael said. "However, the strength of God is absolute, and was able to turn away their evil intent."

"Shameful," the first Beetlemon, shaking his head in frustration. "Just shameful. I hope the one who did this was put to death."

"Do not hope for one's death," Hadrael warned. "It brings ill fortune to you. His darkness was a burden he could not bear."

"You misunderstand, Father," the second said. "The shame is not in the evil, but the failure to complete the task our dark lord assigned him."

"What do-?"

The two Beetlemon suddenly exploded forward with violent fury. The first backhanded Hadrael into the wall as the second drilled the stunned Barachiel in the stomach. The first then joined his comrade and rocked Barachiel with a thunderous blow to the head. They lay into the TigerVespamon, smashing him with blow after blow. Lightning cracked through the air, driving Barachiel deeper and deeper into the stone floor of the mission.

"Barachiel!" Hadrael shouted, leaping forward, but one of the Beetlemon spun and knocked him out with a single blow.

"That was easy, Nebiros," said the first. "I thought there would be some resistance."

"We're not as weak as Constantine, Sabnock," said Nebiros. "He could not handle the power of the Inferno as we can." He looked down as Barachiel began to stir. "Ah, look, he's still moving."

The two sprung back into action, driving fist and foot into the downed Barachiel as he struggled to rise. Their blitz attack had caught him completely off guard with no chance to raise his defenses, and within moments was left a bloodied mess.

"Wait, Nebiros," said Sabnock. "Lord Mephistopheles said to leave the Peacemakers alive. He wants that pleasure for himself. Let's just do what we came to do. Do you remember what he said?"

"Desecrate the holy ground with the true names of the devil," Sabnock said. He whispered the seven unholy names, and a darkness split the air and struck a crack in the floor of the altar.

"Done," said Nebiros. "Take the angel," he motioned to Hadrael. "Maybe Lord Mephistopheles has some use for him."

=====

Michael, Samael, and the rest of their group headed through the air back towards the mission. In the distance they could see the burning visage of Tiwaz as he and the others headed towards them as well. The two groups descended towards the mission and met by the entrance.

"How did you find us?" Michael asked. "I didn't think any of you knew the location of the mission."

"We followed Tiwaz," Lucia answered, motioning to the wyrm. "He sensed the presence of the Death-X Digimon and he followed it in this direction. Then we saw you in the distance."

"The Death-X plague is taken care of," Michael said. "Hopefully for good. I trust the situation in the Chess Kingdom is resolved." He looked around again. "Wait, where is Thor?"

[Griff4815]

It had all happened so fast.

Barachiel had let his defences down for just a moment and in that time span the two so-called "wandering travellers" rushed forward and struck him down. He didn't even have enough time to reach for his swords.

Before he knew it, an explosion of pain ripped through his gut and then another pierced through his head. He felt his back hit the ground and the two Beetlemons' fists hammer his form repeatedly. His cries of pain were muffled by the howls of the electricity that coursed through his body over and over.

The TigerVespamon weakly raised his arm in futile resistance only to have it stomped into the ground and crushed by the Beetlemon known as Nebiros. Sabnock's foot then slammed into his side before the Beetlemon drilled an electrically charged fist into his face.

The beating continued until Barachiel could no longer move, save for his rapidly expanding and contracting chest as he sucked in oxygen. It was at this time that Nebiros and Sabnock decided to do what they came there to do. As a dark force split the altar, all the TigerVespamon could do was spit out a mouthful of blood and watch as the two Beetlemon walked over to Hadrael.

"Take the angel." Nebiros motioned to Hadrael. "Maybe Lord Mephistopheles has some use for him."

Sabnock nodded and took the unconscious Angemon in his arms. Barachiel's eyes widened and he weakly reached out his blooded arm towards Hadrael. He tried with all of his might to move, but his throbbing muscles refused to cooperate. The TigerVespamon let out an agonized gurgle as Sabnock took his mentor and adoptive father outside while Nebiros went elsewhere in the mission.

"Had--...drael..." he sputtered as another trickle of blood left his mouth. His head then dropped back against the shattered tiles beneath him and remained there.

-

Kheprius and Gunnar flew quickly towards the mission and it wasn't long until they noticed the fiery form of Tiwaz flickering in the distance.

"Oh great," Khep muttered. "The Svarog wannabe decided to show up."

"Cool! Tiwaz!" Gunnar said with excitement in his voice. "And actually, Tiwaz was around before Svarog was, so if anything, Svarog's the-"

"Yeah, yeah," Khep answered with a dismissive wave. "Whatever. Just don't get your tail in a knot."

Pyra squinted to make out the various group members and was relieved to see that they were all accounted for... with the exception of Barachiel, which worried her. There were also two new members, as far as she could tell. The two groups landed and reunited on the steps of the mission.

"How did you find us?" Michael asked. "I didn't think any of you knew the location of the mission."

"We followed Tiwaz," Lucia answered, motioning to the wyrm. "He sensed the presence of the Death-X Digimon and he followed it in this direction. Then we saw you in the distance."

"The Death-X plague is taken care of," Michael said. "Hopefully for good. I trust the situation in the Chess Kingdom is resolved." He looked around again. "Wait, where is Thor?"

"I am glad you all managed to take care of that scourge before the worst could take place..." Tiwaz said. His blue eyes scanned the newcoming group of Peacemakers. He saw several new faces among them: a BurningGreymon, a BlackWereGarurumon, a Mihiramon, a MagnaGarurumon, and, Tyr's friend, a ShineGreymon. The BurningGreymon and MagnaGarurumon, in particular, caught Tiwaz's attention, but there was a more pressing matter at hand for the moment and that was Michael's question.

"Thor..." Tiwaz began somberly. "Err... There has been something of a development. You may want to steel yourselves for this."

As he spoke, Pyra's eyes were drawn to a particular digimon, as well. The MagnaGarurumon standing near the BlackWereGarurumon. She planned to wait until after the current pressing issue was addressed before doing anything, however.

The AncientGreymon cleared his throat and stared at the other Peacemakers. "...Svarog isn't dead, for starters. That Mephistopheles demon is somehow controlling him as a Horseman known as 'War'. I don't know what that means, but he beat mostly all of us down in just a few blows until I was one of the only ones left standing," Tiwaz explained. "At some point during the fight, Mephistopheles did something to Thor and turned him into one of these so called 'Horsemen' as well. He referred to Thor as 'Conquest'... and, immediately after that, Thor destroyed the entire Chessmon Kingdom in one blast... it's all gone."

"It's unfortunately true," Pyra said, nodding her head grimly. "We were lucky not to be caught up in the bulk of the blast too."

"A whole kingdom...?" Gunnar asked in shock.

"Things just keep getting better and better, don't they?" Kheprius muttered.

Pyra looked around with concern over the other missing Peacemaker. "...Where is Barachiel?"

"He must still be inside," Khep said. "Didn't even come out here to greet us; what a jerk! I thought missions were supposed to be hospitable."

---

(OOC: I have a lot more to post, but I'll leave my reunion stuff until after this part.)

[storymasterb]

Bedivere's eyes scanned over the other group, taking in their battered, weary forms. Likewise, Caradoc cast his own gaze across the others, seeing the triumph in their eyes, clearly thier endeavours had been more successful than his group's.

"It's as Tiwaz said," he said softly. "Svarog was turned into this Horseman... War... and then after he cast Thor down, apparently Mephistopheles cast some incantation... making Thor become this 'Conquest'..."

"He broke a seal, as well," Guinier explained. "There was a seal... Balthory did a deal with Mephistopheles... but she only wanted the best for her kingdom. He tricked her... made her murder innocents so their blood could spill into water and break the seal... we tried to stop it happening, but War was too strong... and once Thor was turned... we were no match for them..."

"So you were right... there was a seal..." Bedivere murmured, looking at Caradoc, who stared back wearily, not in any condition for a confrontation now. "We stopped Nekron... but they still broke that seal as well. The Cambion were there, and we tried to stop them... but Mephistopheles appeared and finished the ritual... Nekron rose. But we put him to rest again."

Vritra was merely silent, eyes resting on Caradoc as she thought. "So the god of thunder finally loses his 'control'... is this what Mephistopheles does? Breaks not just our power, but our control of our own being..."

Caradoc turned his gaze to the mission. "We need time to rest... I'm sure a mission of the Holy Host would be willing to accomodate us for a while." He walked to the door, followed by the others, and opened it, only to freeze in horror as he beheld the devastation within, the cracked altar, and most of all the sickening sensation he knew... that of a broken seal.

The Valkyrimon raced inside, nothing but a blur of dark which was at the altar in an instant glancing around, before fixating on the unconscious form of a TigerVespamon. "Barachiel!" He moved again and was at his friend's side. "Barachiel!" He laid a hand to his friend's neck, relieved to feel a beating pulse.

"Who did this?" Guinier wondered as she too raced in, glancing rapidly, igniting her blades.

"Where's Hadrael?" Bedivere mused. "Unless..."

"He's been taken." The Slayerdramon glanced at Vritra, who was calmly taking in the surroundings. "If he were here, more than likely he'd be attending to a wounded Digimon like Barachiel. So he must either be too incapacitated to do so, or he's been taken by the attackers. Those attackers may be long gone, but the seal wasn't broken too long ago, the signs are too fresh and Barachiel would have recovered." She was coated in flames. "I think there were multiple attackers, or one very powerful attacker who caught Barachiel off-guard."

"Barachiel is a good fighter... they'd have to have caught him off-guard. He can handle multiple opponents," Caradoc mused. "But if there are multiple opponents..."

"Hadrael could have been carried off by one average Digimon," Bedivere realized. "If there were multiple opponents... one could still be here. There's too much lore on the seals for Mephistopheles to leave this place intact."

Vritra's eyes narrowed. "The library."

"Ivy, help Barachiel," Caradoc requested, though there was a sudden commanding tone to his voice as he stood, looking down at the TigerVespamon. "I'm going to sweep and see if the attackers are still here."

"You don't know this place," Vritra pointed out. "They could easily catch you in an ambush, and then what would you do?"

"Break them." The Valkyrimon's voice was very cold now, cold and angry, angry at those who had done this to his newfound friend, someone who understood his pain, all he'd been through, and he wanted them to pay.

"Spread out, sweep the mission," Bedivere said. "Caradoc, you're not doing this alone." The Valkyrimon nodded somewhat grudgingly and strode away. Guinier made to follow him, but Vritra stopped the UlforceVeedramon with an outstretched arm, shaking her head.

"Leave him alone. It's obvious he wants to do this himself, even if he gets himself killed trying to get some vengeance." The BurningGreymon left with that, moving to sweep the mission even as flame coated her form. "X-Evolution... WarGreymon X." Her form shrank and was coated in armor, forming into her stronger X-Evolution as she stalked into the passageways around, leaving Guinier confused as to what she could do...

[Food Guy]

Hira looked across, now back to being a Mihiramon, and saw Kole and Tia, the latter walking with a limp. He immediately felt concern for the Bastemon, though there was no way that he was going to show.

I can't let her think I care about her he thought I am too strong for that

Nevertheless, with the two of them being really the only two that he had become somewhat pseudo friends with, Hira walked over to them.

"Is it true about Thor?" asked the tiger, "Is he really, one of them?"

The pair looked at each other before Tia purred out her answer, "Yeah, it is."

Hira immediately felt his spirits drop, this was too big of a blow. Their leader couldn't be gone, he was their leader.

"Well then we are just going to have to beat the Mephisto out of him aren't we?" said Hira, his smile cocky.

Kole glared at the Mihiramon, and Tia let out a little sob.

"Really Hira," snapped Kole, "This is how you act? Thor was just turned into a goddamn Horseman, and you have the gall to act this way."

"You got a problem with how I act clown boy?" sneered Hira, his anger starting to rise.

"As a matter of fact I do," answered Kole, "So far this whole time you have been nothing but rude and inconsiderate. I am still trying to figure out why the Elder Gods decided for you to help, though maybe they just wanted to get rid of you."

Get angry! I love the anger!

"That's it!" snarled Hira, pouncing at Kole.

The tiger made it halfway before he was blown back by a beam of black energy.

"Kole?" asked Tia, her voice heavy with concern, "Was that..."

The Piedmon turned towards the Bastemon, and she gasped in horror when she saw his eyes glowing bright red. He gave a twisted smile before his eyes turned back to normal.

"What just happened?" asked Kole, "I blacked out."

"You used Apocalymon's attack," said Tia, "Kole, I think it may be the voice."

"That is it harlequin!" roared Hira.

He flapped his wings and took off, determined to make his way to Bedivere. Finding the dragon digimon, he was quick to tell Bedivere.

"Bedivere, I know that you want to look for Barachiel's attackers, but we have a problem. It's Kole, he has been hearing a voice for a long time now, and just then he attacked me using one of Apocalymon's attacks."

[storymasterb]

"One of Apocalymon's attacks?" Bedivere questioned, suddenly concerned. "A voice?" He cast his glance upon the confused Piedmon, dredging up the remnants of the Black Sword's power within him and focusing it, sensing out Kole's aura, his innate powers and energy. It was an ability he could use without focus by just looking at a Digimon to get a general feel of their power, but when focused he could generally glean out a more detailed idea of their capabilities.

As it was, he could sense Kole's own magical abilities, which were usual for Piedmon anyway, so was not unduly concerned with that aspect of the Piedmon's energies. But there seemed to be little else... lingering traces of power which could only come from a being as destructively powerful as Apocalymon, true, but that could be put down to Kole's evolutions.

"What's wrong?" Guinier's voice snapped him out of the focus, and his sense receded back to normal, the Slayerdramon running over his findings. It was just... usual. He'd expect those energies from a Digimon with innate magic and access to the Apocalymon form, or indeed any form with such destructive power, Guinier even gave off traces similar to those from her Megidramon form.

"Hira says that Kole has been hearing a 'voice'... and that he just used one of Apocalymon's attacks... despite not being in that form," Bedivere answered. Guinier's eyes instantly showed worry.

"It's not odd to have attacks pass on... you can use Digitalize of Soul from just having the Black Sword for the time you did," she pointed out, trying to rationalize.

"But this voice... we all know what the first Apocalymon was," the dragon knight replied, Guinier nodding slightly, no-one needed reminding of that Apocalymon. "What if something of it passed into Kole? What if that's why he can use that form? Caradoc holds Sir Galahad's spirit, after all, passed on with his evolution. If remnants of his spirit could be tied to evolutionary data... why not that of Apocalymon?" He had a dark look in his eyes at the revelation, Nekron rising had been one great evil and that had broken a seal. But then... Kole's Apocalymon form had already broken another, and the chances of the same Digimon being involved in multiple seals... were too low.

But regardless... if this voice was that original Apocalymon, and if it was gaining some kind of leverage over its host... the Mikaboshi had already torn kingdoms apart, and Conquest from the sound of it was well on the way to following in its footsteps. If Apocalymon were to reappear now of all times, with the Royal Knights gone, the mortal kingdoms in tatters and the godly kingdoms decayed and broken by the ages...

"Thank you, Hira," Bedivere finally said. "I will speak with Kole about this... and see if I can find what's causing it..." With that, the Slayerdramon moved over to where the Piedmon was talking with Tia.

"Kole," he said, banishing his dual Fragarach as he landed, with the other Peacemakers scouring the mission and several in the room, if the attackers returned he would have ample warning to re-draw them or evolve. "Hira just told me about what happened... and about that 'voice'. Are you alright?"

As her brother dealt with Kole, Guinier knelt beside the unconscious Barachiel. She had seen Caradoc talking to the TigerVespamon, the two had been engaged in conversation for quite a while, and it seemed they had become friendly, Caradoc had shown that much when their groups split apart. Now Caradoc had stalked off, preaching fire and vengeance, and the UlforceVeedramon wondered just what had forged such a bond between the two so quickly.

"What's the connection?" she murmured, laying a hand on Barachiel's shoulder. "He'll find who did this, Barachiel... I know he will..." There was a tone to her voice like a sigh as she finished the sentence, she remembered the last time Caradoc had been so full of revenge and vengeance, during that last battle with the Royal Knights...

"Justice is revenge."

-

The dark form of the Valkyrimon moved along corridors, sword naked in his hand, bow already charged and ready to fire Laser Javelin.

Caradoc was on-edge and wary, focus razor-sharpened by anger. Barachiel was a friend...a soulmate, even, someone who had experienced similar pain to his own and who empathized, who could understand...

But now that friend had been harmed, and Caradoc wanted whoever had done so to pay. That was his mission now, the thought at the front of his mind casting frozen edges through his form, sharpening body and mind for one thing - a sudden release of that anger in the form of blows striking like hammer on anvil. His sword shone in hand, lit by the icy glow cast by the powered arrow already strung to his crossbow. He would strike like lightning when the time came, the bow attack striking to disorient, before he charged and let his anger pour out through his blade.

His mind wouldn't leave behind that sequence of memory... opening the door to devastation... the broken altar... Barachiel lying beaten and motionless...

"Caradoc..." Galahad's voice was stern and wary, he disapproved, but Caradoc had never cared less for the Royal Knight's words, there was fire in his blood and ice in his mind, and he wanted to let them go through bloodshed and the pain he would cause the attacker. "Caradoc, you're corrupting yourself!"

"They deserve this." He spoke out loud, tones venomous and bitter with rage.

"I know how you empathize with Barachiel, and how you want to avenge him, but you must restrain yourself!"

"I'm done being restrained," the Valkyrimon hissed. "My life has been nothing but restraint. My father. My tutors. My officers. No. I want freedom, freedom to let my feelings loose and impact something of my own will."

"You have freedom! You have Guinier!" That made Caradoc flinch, that Galahad would use her name... ordinarily he didn't bring Guinier up when he was advising Caradoc. She was a taboo topic, one which Galahad purposefully avoided, mostly due to his acute awareness of how strongly Caradoc felt about her.

There was a moment of silence, punctuated only by his footfalls and the gleam of his blade. "Love is one freedom... this is another."

"There are lines you should never cross," Galahad answered. "Your love for her and how you show that love are within those lines. This cold, angry vengeance... it's outside the lines! You're falling to Mephistopheles' level! To the level of those you fight!"

"Sins can be atoned for. I'll earn my penance... but first I'll make whoever did this pay." Galahad fell silent, perhaps seeing he was not going to sway Caradoc's judgment on this...

-

The WarGreymon X stalked forwards, heat radiating from her body, claws drawn and ready. As she walked, the faces of her most interesting 'allies' were clear in her mind as she considered them.

Bedivere Stormheart, the hero, the leader. Seeking glory, his arrogance supreme now... he was understanding, but denying the truth. He was beginning to put aside his chains and break his restraints, but he was being dragged kicking and screaming to it.

Guinier Stormheart, seemingly delicate and innocent... but now she had seen what lurked behind Guinier's facade of the loving caring young woman. The revelation that Guinier was in truth Megidramon was an interesting one... but Vritra could tell already Guinier was too steeped in what her brother slowly rejected, the compassion and honor which would hold her back from the true potential of the Hazard's power.

Thor Odinson... fallen, if Stern and his fellows had told the truth. This 'Conquest' which destroyed kingdoms... had Thor really accepted that control was an illusion under Mephistopheles' spell and stopped holding back? Or was he but a prisoner of the demon's magic?

Michael Ha'Yisrael, the vengeful archangel trying to smite demons. It was almost typical, but for his clear wrath.

Samael Cain, the Fallen One, the demon... unreadable. But then that was his nature, no-one ever knew what that one was thinking.

Sha... possessing the power of demon, god and angel in one form... his chaotic nature was little but a mirror of his easily-amused personality. He was too jolly, too happy... she wondered if he were merely compensating for something.

Kole... the host of Apocalymon. She knew of that demon, of its power and destruction, and partly it enthralled her, such destruction on such a scale. Yet also it repulsed her, the divine part of her soul told her such destruction was not meant to be, it unbalanced and threatened destruction to all things.

How had the Peacemakers gathered so many dark beings under their banner, she briefly wondered. It was like the worst possible entities had come together for some kind of 'I'll Be Good For Now' parade. Megidramon, Beelzemon, Leviamon, Apocalymon...

[Food Guy]

"Hira just told me about what happened... and about that 'voice'. Are you alright?"

Kole looked at Bedivere for several seconds, he didn't want to alarm anyone, but at the same time, if he told Bedivere then maybe he could talk to Michael or someone and figure out what they could do for him. Unfortunately he had no choice in the matter.

"I am alright," said Kole, "I do believe that the voice is nothing more than my psyche trying to tell me that I am not the most sound of mind digimon, and as for using that attack I guess that I merely means that I was angry enough to tap into the powers of my higher form. And with that I bid you adieu."

The Piedmon turned around and walked away from the Slayerdramon, Tia deciding that she definitely needed to follow.

"Kole, what was that!" she demanded, whispering furiously.

"Nothing," muttered Kole, turning around.

His eyes were glowing red again, a deep red that was almost hypnotic.

"You're not Kole," she realised.

I need to tell the others the feline thought.

"Oh no you don't," replied 'Kole', "Because if you do, then I will destroy Kole, and you will be left with only me."

"You... read my thoughts?" gulped Tia.

"Oh yes," replied the clown imposter, "That doesn't even begin to explain my powers."

He let out a cackle before Kole's eyes turned back to normal. He looked around confused and horrified at the same time.

"What just happened?" he asked Tia, the Bastemon with a look of horror on her face.

"Nothing," she answered, trying to regain her composure. "Nothing at all."

[TheSequelReturns]

"A whole kingdom...?" Gunnar asked in shock.

Lucia looked away for a moment, a painful look crossing her face.

Justin nodded. "Unfortunately so. And in an instant no less. It is a formidable force that we face, one that sadly only keeps getting stronger. I can only hope that they don't succeed in turning another one of us."

+++

At first, Duo had been worried for Brachiel's safety. But it seemed that he was still alive. He was beaten, but he should be able to recover. Figuring that there was nothing he could do to help, and with enough people out searching the misson, he turned his attention to the only other person he had a pressing need to see.

Duo found Lucia over in the corner, leaning against the wall. She looked the same as he remembered her, and yet, she looked different than before. It was obvious that recent events had taken their toll on her, and a part of him wished that he could just pick her up and carry her back home. Just forget about all of this misfortune and go back to how things were not too long ago, when the Mikaboshi was but a bad scar and the most pressing matter they had was the day's dojo lesson.

Unfortunately, things simply were not and could not be that simple. And though he himself could feel the strength that he was attaining, he was starting to worry that Lucia might be suffering from the opposite effect, and that by the time these events came to a close, they would both be different from how they were before. Too different perhaps to go back to those peaceful days in the mountains.

Duo made it all the way to her side without her notice, and it was a few moments still before she finally noticed his presence. "Duo, I..."

The Gaiomon shook his head. "I'm sorry. I should have gone with you, maybe if I had been there..."

Lucia put a finger to his lips. "No, you were right all along. It was nothing but a trap. By the time we arrived, there was nothing we could do. And I fear that if we had not gone, then the destruction may not have occurred, and Thor might... Thor might still be with us." She looked down. "Besides, you were needed were you were. I was the one who chased after the bait. I was wrong, and now, I may be the last of my people because of it."

She slammed the wall with her fist, slightly cracking the plaster. "And I can't even take the form of a QueenChessmon anymore." When she looked back up at Duo, there were tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. She been fighting the emotions back since she looked out upon the destruction of her homeland, and now that there was no current objective to focus on, they had started to pour out, despite her best efforts to stay strong.

Duo embraced her for a moment, before knelling down to her level, since she was a bit shorter than he was. "Its not your fault. You simply did what you thought was right, that's all. The blame here lies with that demon, and the sooner we can track him down the so-"

"No, I don't think we can take him head on."

Duo was a bit taken aback. "We defeated the Mikaboshi, surel-"

"That was different, it was a sole enemy, and we had laws and rules that we could use to our advantage. And we had Thor, and Svarog. You weren't there, you didn't see the ease with which they took down Thor, took down all of us. If we must face him head on, I don't believe that we can win." The Minervamon wiped the tears from her eyes, before they managed to fall down her cheeks. When she looked back at Duo, he saw that same look of determination on her face that he remembered so well. It was the same look she had worn the day they had met, the day that they had left the Chess Kingdom together.

Lucia smiled. "That's why we need to think outside the box. If we can't win head-on, we need to do something crazy, like back with the Mikaboshi. If we don't win... if we don't win, then who will punish Mephistopheles for the evils he's committed?"

Though Duo smiled for her sake, there was something in her voice that he didn't like. A conviction in that last sentence, and he hoped it was merely the result of his worries.

+++

Justin approached the kneeling Guiner and the unconscious Barachiel. "How is he, you think he'll be back on his feet anytime soon?"

He quickly scratched his head. "Sorry, I guess you won't really be able to answer that one huh. Don't worry, I don't think he's one to go down that easy. I'm sure he'll pull through."

He let his gaze travel to the hall that Caradoc had traveled down moments ago.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, is something bothering Caradoc?"

The SuperStarmon stared at Guiner for a moment, his eyes hidden by his pointed shades.

"Is it bothering you? If I can help, just let me know. Maybe I should go talk to Caradoc about it..."