Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Chaos Seed ( Chapter 52 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Digimon / Digital Monsters and all related trademarks belong to Bandai. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

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Chaos Seed

By nightdragon0

I didn't really mean it that way Steve. Sekata's world seemed to pull to a halt as he thought back to that particular incident. It wasn't because I'd lost my mind, or that I was in the process of doing so.

The flames rushed past the Vritramon's face, forcing him to close his eyes for a moment.

It wasn't because I was afraid of the volcano, or afraid of CHAOS. I was afraid…because the moment Wisemon tried to tap into my D-Dragon, I learnt the truth. The energies within seemed to sense his probing, and in some strange reaction…opened my eyes to everything.

Even the wind, his falling sensation…everything came to a halt as Sekata tried to justify his actions with his own consciousness.

Who I was really meant to be…my purpose here…I suddenly knew it all. Sekata said to himself. AncientGreymon…you knew all this from the very beginning. And you hinted me back then…the first time that I acquired my Dorugoramon form. Drawing on powers from deep within that rift in space…powers I barely even understood.

I've never know if it was even right to believe you, but still…you have told me the truth… your own fragmented version of it.

Somewhere deep within, Sekata felt that the ancient dragon's spirit was laughing. But at what? His stupidity? His naïve self? Or most likely a combination of many other factors.

Sekata's eyes snapped open as he felt the counter go up another notch, beeping at 95 percent.

It's either I give up to AncientGreymon or give up to the `dark half'. And looks like the situation has played the cards against me being able to make a choice. Everyone…I'm sorry.

The armored dragon brought up the glowing ring of Digicode at his right hand and moved it closer to the D-Dragon on his left.

Zoe…I'm sorry…I hope…you'll be….prepared…too…

“Hyper…Spirit…”

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Flashback…

Day 3, Night

“Garrgghh! What the?” Steve screeched in pain. One hand was clutched over his face while the other was fumbling about for his facemask, which had been knocked off during the sudden attack.

“RROOOAARR!”

“Hey, what the heck is going on back there?” Janet yelled, shoving her entire body weight against the bookshelf that was holding the door shut.

She craned her neck to see Steve crawling up with blood on his claws and Sekata raving about like a mad dragon. With a chill, it reminded her of the first time Sekata had acquired that Dorugoramon form. In fact, the only thing keeping Sekata from charging out and tearing them to ribbons were the restraints around his lower body.

“Arrr…I don't know!” Steve shouted his reply.

The claw had gone relatively deep, but had fortunately missed anything major. The result was three parallel, diagonal lines across the left side of his face, with two of them positioned just around his left eye.

As much as Sekata seemed to be babbling and growling out nonsense, Janet could've swore she heard things along the line of `stay away' and `I'm dangerous'.

Steve however, probably got the better picture of it. With Janet distracted trying to hold the door closed, there came a point where Sekata ran out of breath and lowered his claws.

“I…I can't go…on…” He panted.

“What?” Steve gasped. “Are you all right? Sekata?”

“Leave me…just…leave me…”

“Are you crazy?”

“I can't take this anymore! This destiny…CHAOS…the shard…everything! I can't go on!”

“So what? You're just gonna quit?” Steve snapped.

“I never asked for any of this!” Sekata barely seemed to respond to Steve, remaining in his depressed state.

“Hey neither did we! But do you see any of us backing out? We're in this together! All of us!”

“Just leave me…I'm not…going back…to the volcano again…”

“Is that it? Don't be a quitter Sekata!”

“Don't call me that! Don't you DARE CALL ME THAT! RRAARRRR! YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND!” Sekata roared, losing whatever was left of his sentient tone and abruptly going back to his salvage slashing.

And there was Sealsdramon banging on the door too. Ace was waiting for them in the air vent, however it would be hell trying to get Sekata to co-operate in this state. So, Janet had to make a decision…and quick.

“Steve! Leave him and let's get out of here!”

“What?” The Flamedramon protested.

“Now! Go dammit!” Janet ordered, praying her friend would listen.

Cracks begun to appear in the door as the bookshelf was knocked down by the constant banging. Sealsdramon was slowly punching his way through. Taking a deep breath, Janet drew back and punched it with all her might.

The Strikedramon's armored fist went right through, smacking Sealsdramon squarely on the jaw and throwing him backwards. She then turned and bolted for the air vent, where Steve was already scrambling up.

“What about Sekata?” Ace asked desperately. The Betamon had apparently been watching the entire scene below.

“There's no time now! We'll have to come back later!” Janet replied as she crawled through the vent.

“But…” Ace began.

“Go now!” Janet hissed, shoving the child along.

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In the room below, Sealsdramon finally burst in, only to find the partially bound Sekata raging mad and slashing about in frenzy.

He forgot all about the intruders and got to work with his stun rod, jabbing it again and again into Sekata's body. It was a long time before the Dorugoramon finally fell unconscious and lay still.

“Whew…” The black dragon panted, wiping the beads of sweat off his brow.

The intruders were long gone by the time he thought of them again. However, he had a strong suspicion about who they were.

“The lady sure packs a mean punch.” He muttered, rubbing his sore jaw.

That was one thing Sealsdramon wouldn't be telling Sleipmon or any other member of the crew that would come along to clean the mess up.

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“Man, that was a wasted chance.” Aero sighed.

“Hey, I didn't see you guys trying to get Sekata out of there.” Steve retorted.

“What I meant was that you guys should've come back here first since Ace was with you.” Aero clarified. “We were worried sick!”

Led by Ace, Steve and Janet had managed to make their way back to the blacksmith's shop unnoticed. However, during the exchange of information, a heated conversation had suddenly erupted.

The pair had bumped into Aero and Zoe, who were about to about to go off on their own search and rescue mission for Ace. Blappa had stomped out of the house earlier for the same reason, although he promised not to stir up anyone in town.

“We did what we thought was best.” Janet snapped. “And it didn't work out. So we'll just need to re-work our plan and go back in there.”

“Not me at least.” Steve waved his hands. “One slash is enough. And I'm sure Sekata was in his right mind, just that he was utterly panicked.”

“I know he'd possibly be feeling that way after the volcano incident, plus the one in town.” Zoe interrupted. “But I don't think he meant it Steve.”

“Even if he didn't, I'm still pissed off! Ow!” Steve winced as Ace cleaned his face wound with a wet towel.

“At what? Because Sekata hit you?”

“That and because he wanted to quit on us!” Steve fumed. “I heard it with my own ears!”

“You're probably the only one who heard it.” Janet spoke up. “I was distracted with Sealsdramon on the other side of the room.

“Jan! Back me up here!” Steve moaned.

“I never said I doubted you.” The Strikedramon got to her feet. “But we've got to stop quarreling amongst ourselves. Sealsdramon and his gang are most likely looking out for us now, and we're wasting precious time just sitting here!”

“So, what do you suggest?” Aero queried.

“We go back and get Sekata out of there, pronto.” Janet snapped her fingers. “They definitely know we're coming, so we'll use force if we have to.”

“And after that?” Steve turned his head.

“We'll figure out what to do about the shard in the volcano once we have Sekata back.” Zoe continued.

“I can show you guys another way through town.” Ace jumped to the XV-mon's side. “Grandpa would probably disapprove, but heck I'm in enough trouble already.”

“No Ace, it's too dangerous.” Zoe shook her head. “You're grandpa's very worried about…”

“Please!” Ace insisted. “Sekata saved my life! I want to…no, I need to do something to help him in return!”

“You guys should take him and go.” Steve gestured. “After all, he's been through a dangerous bit and handled it pretty well already. Let me rest for a while and I'll catch up.”

“You sure?” Aero asked with concern.

“It's like Janet said, we'll have to do this quickly, before they're on even higher alert.”

“All right.” Zoe clenched her fists. “Everyone with me?”

The unanimous responses of `Yeah' arose from all round the room. One by one, the other members of the group filed out of the room. Soon, Steve was left by himself.

Grimacing against the pain, the Flamedramon got to his feet and walked over to the sofa. On it were the few remaining pieces of equipment from the volcano attempt…the coating fluid and the metallic rope.

From the descriptions of the others, Steve guessed that the shard wasn't really far in at all. He knew that the towns' people would soon start guarding the volcano, if they had not done so already. And that would only serve to further hamper their progress.

Plus, it seemed like Sekata wasn't willing to try again. That left the only other dragon amongst the group possessing a fire elemental form…himself.

With a determined look on his face, Steve changed into his Gargoylemon form and took off, beating his wings in the opposite direction. Carried by the moonlit winds, it wasn't long before he left the troubled town far behind.

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He's wrong…I'm not a quitter. Sekata's semi-conscious mind told himself.

Physically, his body was still out cold. However, it was some inner part of his consciousness that enabled him to have this debate within his own mind.

I always knew I was different from them somehow. Zoe, Steve, Janet…and now I know why.

And I thought you were stronger than that. Another voice rang out in his mind. This one wasn't his, but AncientGreymon's.

Tell me AncientGreymon, have you known this about me all along? Sekata asked.

Instantly, the scene changed. From complete darkness, it swirled and twisted to eventually become the spiritual graveyard. Although Sekata hadn't `been' here in a while, the place hardly surprised him by now.

“Not when I first bonded with you.” AncientGreymon trotted down the steps of the temple and walked along the tiled path to where Sekata stood. “Only when you obtained that form did I suspect something.”

Sekata glanced down as his Dorugoramon claws and clenched them hard.

“So, that's why you were so upset about me evolving into this.” He muttered.

“Upset is not the word I'd use to describe it.” The ancient dragon hissed. “But not anyone could become a demon dragon like Dorugoramon. And when you were able to do so without killing yourself, I began to feel suspicious.”

“When you mentioned my darkness…”

“Yes, the seed of CHAOS lies within you.”

“Then, it was me all along. From the very beginning…” Sekata looked away, flexing his hand to catch a glance of his black colored D-Dragon. “And when Wisemon tried to use his magic to tap into my Digivice, that power reacted. It felt itself in close enough proximity to the actual CHAOS and revealed everything about itself.”

“You're catching on quick.” The ancient dragon said with a laugh.

“I just don't know what to do any more.”

“You say that as if it were a question.”

“I'd never stoop to that level!”

“If you do die however, the seed of CHAOS dies with you.” AncientGreymon remarked as he walked slowly past Sekata.

The Dorugoramon neither tried to stop his long time tormentor nor said anything else as he disappeared into the mists of the graveyard.

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Day 4, Morning

“Great, they've put guards at the air vent's entrance too?” Janet moaned, peeping out from around the corner.

“Can't say I didn't expect it.” Zoe muttered. “Only thing is, what do we do about it now?”

Standing in the shadows of the adjacent building, the party of three watched the Silphymon and Holsmon guards lingering outside.

“Any other ways in Ace?” Aero queried.

“Not that I know of.” The Betamon replied sadly. “I'm really sorry guys.”

“Don't be.” Janet patted his head.

“But it's not good.” Zoe noted. “They're definitely ready for us now. We try anything and their guards will be swarming over us in seconds.”

“You know, that might just work to our advantage.” Janet suddenly grinned. “We'll go in through the way they'd least expect.”

“Which is?”

“The front door.”

Everyone else gagged and almost fainted at the Strikedramon's remark.

“Are you insane?” Aero blurted out. “You saw for yourself the number of guards at the entrance, plus your buddy Sealsdramon happens to be there too.”

Janet only grinned further.

“I hope that he's a good sport at follow the leader.”

“I hate it when you grin like that Jan.” The Aero V-dramon sighed.

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Sealsdramon leaned against the wall and yawned, taking occasional glances at his guards as he pondered the day's events.

Just what the heck went on in there? At least they've got the Dorugoramon back in chains again, but…huh? Is that…

The black dragon blinked. Strolling calmly and in plain sight down the street was Janet, the Strikedramon from before, making absolutely no attempt to be inconspicuous.

Several Rookie level Commandramon, the guards who were with him, looked on with curiosity. One or two turned towards him, awaiting some kind of orders. These Digimon were reptiles that looked much like an Agumon, except they were blue colored and outfitted with military uniforms, helmets and M16 rifles.

Gesturing for his squad to wait, Sealsdramon approached Janet, wondering what gave her the nerve to try a stunt like this in broad daylight.

“You know, you're wanted after your escape last night.” He said in a commanding voice.

“I know.” Janet replied.

“And I can have this entire squad here over you in a few seconds.”

“So, why aren't you doing that soldier?”

“Since this situation does not concern you, I don't have a particular reason to detain you any further.” Sealsdramon folded his arms. “I can just walk away and pretend I didn't see you, just as long as you leave and don't cause any more trouble.”

“You'd do that for me?” Janet whistled, amused.

“I like your style girl.” Sealsdramon returned the grin. “You know, under different circumstances, we just might've been good friends.”

“Humph, you military types aren't down at my level.”

“Hahaha, you remind me of myself when I was younger.” Sealsdramon reared up to his full height, being about a head taller than Janet, and placed a claw on her shoulder. “Impulsive, reckless and hot-headed.”

“You know what?” Janet leaned closer. “You still are!”

CRUNCH!

“Garrrrggghhh!” Sealsdramon's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he withdrew the hand Janet had sunk her fangs into. “Why you…GWARRGGHH!”

The soldier received a second surprise as Janet shot out with a low fist…right to his groin area.

“Arrrgghh! Hey…not below the belt…”

Giggles and snickers were emerging from the Commandramon troops, much to the black dragon's annoyance.

“You fools!” Sealsdramon moaned. “Don't just stand there!”

“Yo!” Janet had moved away, now with her back turned towards the group. The Strikedramon waved her tail about in a seductive manner, slapped a palm against her buttocks and stuck out her tongue. “Come and get me….if you can!”

“Grrr…after her!” Sealsdramon staggered to his feet. “Everyone! Get the reserves too!”

Janet took off down the street with the entire Commandramon squad in tow. Even more guards like Holsmon and additional Commandramon emerged from the door at Sealsdramon's orders and gave chase. The black dragon quickly followed, despite running with an `odd step'.

However, as the whole group disappeared down the street, they left the front door hanging wide open…and completely unguarded.

“That was easier than I thought.” Zoe emerged from around another corner in Paildramon form, carrying Ace in her arms. “But we'll still need to hurry.”

“Yeah.” Ace nodded.

After double checking that the corridor was clear, Zoe slipped inside and made her way down as quietly as she could.

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Right on time. Aero thought, spotting Janet running along the alleyway below.

The blue dragon was positioned on a rooftop, with six barrels balanced on the ledge. They had been taken from an unlocked warehouse Ace pointed them to and contained a sticky, glue-like fluid. Janet was simply luring her pursuers into a trap where Aero would drop the barrel's contents on their heads.

She's almost there. Aero continued to watch when his Digivice suddenly beeped.

“Aero, it's me.” Steve's voice came over the communicator.

“Hey, good to hear from you.” Aero replied. “We're in the middle of pulling off a trap set for Sealsdramon and his goons, but we sure could use your help afterwards.”

“Actually Aero, I left town a while ago.” Steve spoke after a pause. “I'm at the volcano.”

“The volcano? What the heck are you doing there?”

“I'm going in for the CHAOS shard.”

“WHAT?”

“I've got all the leftover equipment, so don't worry.” Steve assured. “Since Sekata isn't going to do it, I will. But I won't be long. Just hang tight and I'll be back with the shard soon.”

“Steve! No Steve! It's too dangerous!” Aero cried. However, it was too late, for Steve had already shut off the communicator. “Steve? Steve!”

In panic, Aero lost track of his tail…allowing it to swing a little too much and knock all the barrels over.

“Uh-oh!” The blue dragon sweatdropped.

SPLAT!

“Garrgghh!” Screams emerged from below. All of Janet's, Sealsdramon's and the rest of the Digimon guards.

The barrels had found their mark, with the entire squad immobilized and stuck to the ground in the gum-like yellow fluid. Unfortunately, so were Janet and Sealsdramon, who were stuck back to back with their arms, legs and tails all in a tangled mess.

“Rarrggh! Aero! You were supposed to wait for my signal!” Janet screeched furiously, attempting to pull herself away from Sealsdramon. That only resulted in her being snapped back, slamming her body into that of her foe.

“Ugh…well this is amusing.” Sealsdramon moaned sarcastically.

“It's Steve!” Aero shouted. “He's gone to the volcano alone!”

“The volcano?” Both Janet and Sealsdramon gasped at the same time.

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“Ok…I can handle this.” Steve told himself, glancing down into the crater.

He almost regretted making the journey out here alone. Steve had figured it couldn't have been too bad…but it was really, really hot. Even for him, Steve was already sweating by the time he'd finished securing the rope.

Either Zoe's and Aero's gauge of the surrounding temperature had been off, or the volcano's temperature had actually risen a significant amount since they'd been there. And Steve had a feeling that it was the latter, for that meant that the volcano would be erupting soon.

For a while, he considered going into his Wargreymon form first.

No, Wargreymon X draws his power from earth and water. Neither of those two elements would help me here. Steve shook his head. Perhaps I was being stupid…

It had been about 5 minutes since he'd contacted Aero, but now it felt like he'd been staring into the depths for ages.

Yeah…maybe I really should go back for…huh?

A faint purple glitter suddenly caught his eye. It was the CHAOS Shard, he was sure of it.

Trembling with excitement, Steve raised the canister of the coating fluid and sprayed it over himself. He'd helped Katsu in testing it out months before, but the fluid still felt so strange over his scales.

With the extra layer of coating, Steve stretched his limbs and made sure that his rope had been properly secured.

Then, the Flamedramon leapt into the abyss.

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“Sekata!”

No one had been around to hinder their progress, allowing Zoe and Ace to reach their destination relatively quickly.

Zoe shoved the door open and spotted Sekata's limp form. There was no more water inside the shattered tank, but more restraints had been added to further immobilize the ferocious dragon.

Ace jumped out of Zoe's arms and nodded to her.

The Dorugoramon groaned as Zoe raced over and sliced part of the bindings off with her wrist-mounted blades.

“Zoe…no…” Sekata moaned softly. “Stay away from me…”

“Not this time!” Zoe growled, working downwards and finally releasing the chains holding his ankles and tail.

“Leave me…I deserve to remain…locked up like this…”

At that, Zoe drew back and slapped him hard.

“Tell me Sekata!” She yelled. “Why all this so suddenly? Why?”

“You don't…”

“I deserve to know! We all do!”

“I…”

“Sekata!” The look in her eyes was burning with rage. It was a side of herself that Zoe didn't often show, but her gaze was firm. She wanted the truth…no matter what.

“I am the one Zoe.” Sekata finally replied. “The cause of all this.”

“What do you mean?” Zoe queried.

“The legend…it never mentioned how many Chosen Warriors there were, right?”

“It's the four of us, isn't it?”

“No, it's the three of you.”

“And yourself?”

“Zoe…” Sekata looked up. “I am not one of the Chosen Warriors. I'm the complete opposite…CHAOS' destined host…the Chaos Seed…”

Zoe stared in silence for a long time before she could get anything out of her jaws.

“No…” She muttered.

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“Listen to me, remember when we conversed with Omegamon whilst returning to this world? He talked about sending his shades that chose us to fight this war.” Sekata continued. “They were also supposed to find the shade that CHAOS created, but never did.”

Almost trembling, Zoe nodded.

“That's because when the shade of Omegamon's was separating into several parts, the shade of CHAOS secretly fused itself with one of those parts. As you know, those four parts would eventually find us and become our Digivices.”

“It…doesn't make any sense…”

“The infected portion was supposedly split off and destroyed. However, it managed to hide itself as it went off course…and found me.” Sekata shook his head. “It explains a lot, mainly why I was thrust into the Digital World months before you guys, even though we all received the Digivices at approximately the same time on Earth realm.”

“But there are different time zones for Earth realm.”

“I don't think the Digital World works that way.”

“Then, we should've noticed something.” Zoe muttered.

“No, that was the CHAOS shade's whole point of fusing with Omegamon's. It produced a similar-looking avatar that gave me the Digivice, and allowed my Digivice to function exactly as one of yours. However, the infection was there, buried deep within….”

“Sekata…” Zoe turned away for a moment, and then suddenly hit him again. “You idiot! That doesn't automatically make you evil! You've showed it in everything we've been through….laughter, pain, joy, sorrow! That's what makes you who you are!”

The Dorugoramon rubbed the side of his snout to find it bleeding slightly.

“You're one of us…” Zoe began sobbing, which looked strange coming from a large Paildramon. “That's who you are! You're the person I l…”

HISS! BEEP! A voice abruptly came over the communicator of Zoe's D-Dragon.

“It's me.” Aero called. “Major problem! Steve's gone to the volcano to try for the CHAOS shard by himself! He's not responding to any calls now!”

“No!” Sekata gasped. “He couldn't have been that stupid!”

“What did you say to him earlier?” Zoe asked hastily.

“I…I…no! NO!” The Dragon Morph's leader pounded on the wall. “After I…Steve…he must've thought I wasn't willing to…”

“To what?”

“Hey guys!” Ace suddenly yelled, dashing away from the closed door. “Someone's coming!”

Seconds later, the entire door was blow apart as Sleipmon stepped through. The centaur readied his crossbow as he eyed Sekata and Zoe.

“Step aside.” He directed his command towards Zoe. “You don't understand what powers lie within your friend.”

The word `friend' was spoken with much scorn, and that only served to further enrage Zoe.

“I do know now.” She growled. “I've found out everything…”

“Then you should know that he will be the cause of a great catastrophe.” Sleipmon gestured. “The darkness within his heart is far too great.”

“No, I refuse to believe that!” Zoe snapped. “Even if it does exist, it does so alongside the light! Sekata couldn't have brought us this far without that light in his heart!”

“Zoe…” Sekata muttered, staggering weakly to his feet.

“You're being naïve there girl. His fate has already been sealed!”

“I don't believe that either! Not if me, or the others have anything to do with it! We've fought through everything together…and nothing's going to stop us from doing the same now!”

“Seems that I'm wasting my breath trying to change your mind…” Sleipmon remarked angrily.

“Watch out!” Sekata warned.

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BOOM! The entire world seemed to shake as another explosion sounded.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Steve cursed mentally. The fire dragon was desperately trying to shield himself from the shower of rocks, but to no avail.

Realizing that his precarious perch on the wall wasn't the best spot, Steve moved himself onto a nearby ledge and crouched there until the rumbling had stopped.

Whew…He panted. That was more intense than the last one. I see why Sekata had so many problems now.

The shaking was growing more constant and more violent as the impending eruption drew nearer and nearer.

I'd better go back. Steve decided. Then we could figure out another…

A deafening explosion suddenly threw the blue dragon off his feet. It had been so close that the force was enough to send him rolling over the ledge. And just as well too, for the next instant a huge chunk of rock fell and slammed onto his ledge.

Whilst Steve was well clear of being hit, the rock pinned his safety harness to the ledge. That resulted in his fall being snapped to an abrupt halt, leaving him dangling like a yo-yo.

Aw crap! The morph fumbled with his rope, but it was hopelessly stuck. Not only that, for a second blast sent yet another rock hurling towards his position.

In panic, Steve did the only thing he could. The Flamedramon mashed the switch and released the rope from his body. Spinning into a headlong freefall, Steve watched as the entire `cliff' was smashed apart.

Unfortunately, that was the least of his worries.

The wind was suddenly knocked out of him as the fire dragon slammed face-first into the `ground'. Even in his dazed state, Steve was able to make out the glittering purple crystal nearby. Mustering whatever strength he had left in his aching body, Steve stumbled over and grabbed the CHAOS Shard.

Pain and exhaustion were beginning to take over as Steve was hurled away by yet another explosion. And without the rope, it would be very difficult for him to get out.

Desperately, the Flamedramon activated his D-Dragon's screen and typed out a frantic distress message. That was just before he ended up buried under a miniature avalanche of lava rocks.

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However, Zoe was already ahead of him, whipping up the pair of blaster cannons mounted at her waist-level.

“Desperado Blaster!”

With remarkable dexterity, Sleipmon rolled to the side as the blue energy bolts sailed past his body, blowing part of the wall out.

“Bifrost!” The centaur stomped on the ground, sending a wave of ice racing across the floor.

Sekata and Zoe were forced to dodge as huge spikes of ice emerged from the wave, narrowly missing both of them. Sleipmon wasted no time in firing an arrow into the ice, shattering it and sending dozens of sharp ice spikes flying everywhere.

The two dragons roared in pain as the spikes pierced the un-armored parts of their bodies. Zoe quickly shook the pain off and spread her wings, making a dash towards her foe.

“Esgrima!” The two blades at her wrists emerged as they met Sleipmon's crossbow.

Grunting, the centaur was forced to guard against Zoe's repeated slashes. She then tried a different tactic, whipping the lower part of his body with her tail and kicking Sleipmon's face while he was stunned. It seemed to work as the centaur went down, losing his weapon at the same time.

However, Sleipmon still had some tricks up his sleeve.

“Odin's Breath!” The centaur knight raised his arms, channeling up a miniature tornado.

“Desperado Blaster!” Zoe brought up her guns as well.

Sleipmon's wind-based attack had been aimed at Zoe's feet, resulting in a small explosion that sent her stumbling onto her back. The Desperado Blaster shots went wide, shooting large pieces of concrete off the ceiling.

Ace screamed as some of the pieces fell towards his hiding spot.

“NO!” Zoe half ran, half crawled and threw herself across the room, grabbing Ace and using her body to shield him.

Sekata was too far away to do anything but watch as the dust cleared. Zoe was covered by the broken stone chunks, with Ace held protectively in her arms. The Paildramon didn't seem to be too badly hurt, but it was enough to drive Sekata into a mad rage.

“RROOAAARRR!”

Sleipmon barely had time to get back to his feet before Sekata attacked, leaving a long series of claw marks across his arm. With a furious yell, the centaur kicked using his front legs, knocking the breath out of Sekata.

The dragon stumbled, and received a punch to the lower jaw for that. Sleipmon tried to follow up with another punch, but Sekata spun to the side and grabbed his wrist, twisting hard.

“Garrrgghh!” Despite the pain, Sleipmon was a massively strong Digimon, who fought against the flow with all his might and succeeded in hurling Sekata against the wall.

BAM! Sekata's injured left wrist took a hard smack. And the pain distracted the screeching Dorugoramon long enough for Sleipmon to gain the upper hand. A swift barrage of punches followed, leaving Sekata's jaws sore and bleeding.

His opponent finished up by throwing his entire body weight into Sekata's, cracking a couple of the latter's ribs in the process. With his vision already blurred, Sekata launched an off-centered kick that Sleipmon easily dodged.

Grinning, the centaur brought both his fists against Sekata's left ankle joint from two different directions. The crack was barely audible to everyone except Sekata, who quite obviously felt the pain of his ankle being broken. Clutching the leg in agony, Sekata fell back against the floor and couldn't bring himself to get up.

Sleipmon immediately went for his dropped crossbow and pointed it straight at Sekata's head.

“It's over!” Sleipmon yelled.

“No! Leave him alone!” Ace suddenly scampered over and stood in front of Sekata.

“Move away child!” Sleipmon ordered, clutching the weapon even more tightly.

“Get out of here!” Sekata pleaded.

“Ace…no…” Zoe moaned, still stunned from the falling rubble.

“Sekata is my friend! I won't let you shoot him like this!” Ace yelled firmly.

“I said, move away!” Sleipmon's patience was wearing down. “I'll fire, whether you're in the way or not!”

“Then go ahead!” Ace screamed. “You'll have to shoot me too!”

The kid's trembling. Sleipmon thought. He doesn't have the guts. One shot and he'll go running.

“Fine, have it your way!” The centaur let his arrow fly.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as he'd expected. Ace stood his ground and closed his eyes. Sleipmon gasped in shock upon realizing that the child wasn't going to move, but could do nothing to stop the attack now.

But there was someone who did.

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“NO!” Sekata threw himself forward and knocked Ace aside.

In doing so, he took the arrow straight to the left side of his chest and went down with a long, painful wail.

“Sekata!” Zoe and Ace cried in horror.

Sleipmon's crossbow fell from his hands and clattered noisily to the floor. The centaur then dropped to his knees, realizing that he'd almost killed an innocent child. But it had been his intended target, who'd most willingly thrown his life away to save the child.

But why…

Zoe had pulled herself free by this time and was kneeling over Sekata's limp form, together with Ace. The Dorugoramon's blood was in a small pool on the floor by now, as well as on the arrow that they'd pulled out.

I got him in the heart… Sleipmon thought. He'll be dead within seconds…if he isn't already.

“Sekata! Sekata!” Zoe was screaming.

Ace was already sobbing loudly.

“Hey…” Sekata muttered weakly. “Don't…count me out…yet…”

“But you're…” Zoe let the sentence trail off, glancing down towards Sekata's wound.

“No, I…don't think so…” The Dorugoramon reached beneath his armor and lifted out…the silver chained pendant with Turquoise gem attached.

Although the pendant was covered with blood, it was the gem that gave everything away. Only a small part of the Turquoise had been chipped away…the part that Sleipmon's arrow had struck.

“The arrow…did it…”

“Haha, this little thing saved my life.” Sekata managed a soft laugh.

Indeed, the arrow pierced through Sekata's armor and struck the pendant. Although the force had pushed the pendant into his flesh, the gemstone had prevented the arrow from striking a fatal blow.

“I'm go glad…” Zoe's despair quickly vanished.

“Thank you…” Was all Ace could get off in the midst of his sobbing.

“What have I done?” Sleipmon shook his head.

“You did what you felt was right.” Another voice sounded from outside the room. “But it seems that fate would have things done differently.”

“Wisemon!” Sleipmon gasped as the robed humanoid staggered into the room. “You're up!”

The sage had been unconscious since the previous day when he'd tried to tap into the powers of Sekata's D-Dragon, with disastrous results.

“You…” Sekata looked up.

“I'm not here to fight.” Wisemon gestured. “Not any more.”

“Then…”

“I realize now you have a greater destiny at hand, one that none of us can control.” The sage continued. “None of us, except for yourself.”

“So, you'll let us go?” Zoe queried.

“Indeed, and we will no longer seek to pursue you.” Wisemon assured. “However, I fear that there are other matters beyond…”

“Guys!” Aero, red-faced and completely out of breath, abruptly burst into the room. Upon seeing Wisemon and Sleipmon, the Aero V-dramon hesitated.

“It's all right. We've come to a truce.” Zoe informed him.

“Great, because we've got a bigger problem!” Aero panted. “It's about Steve…and his attempt at the volcano!”

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“He's in trouble, isn't he?” Sekata pulled himself to his feet, grimacing against the pain.

“Yes…” Aero nodded. “His last message implied that. And I haven't been able to reach him since.”

“The volcano…” Sleipmon muttered. “It should be due to erupt very soon. Possibly within the hour.”

“I've got to go!” Sekata declared.

“You can't!” Zoe gasped. “You're too badly injured!”

“I have to!” Sekata growled. “It's all my fault he's jumped down there like that! All because I made it seem like I wasn't willing to try again for myself! I was so stupid! I've got to…rrarrgghh…”

With his strength drained, Sekata dropped down to a knee and had to be supported by Zoe.

“Where's Janet?” Zoe turned towards Aero.

“Erm, in a bit of a sticky situation.” Aero said nervously. “She's fine, but she's not going to be able to help us for now.”

“I will attempt to assist you then.” Wisemon looked up. “But I shall require the help of everyone here.”

“How so?” Sekata asked.

“An energy transfer spell.” The robed figure replied. “I will use it to channel the energy from everyone else into you.”

“Can we really trust you?” Aero shot Wisemon a glance.

“I feel we can.” Sekata nodded. “I can see it in him, and it's also the best chance we have of getting to Steve in time.”

“All right, everybody please gather in a circle around him.” Wisemon instructed.

Zoe, Aero, Ace and Wisemon quickly moved into position. Sleipmon hesitated initially, but soon got to his feet and trotted over.

“Allow me to lend you my strength as well.” The centaur joined the circle. “To make up for what I've done.”

“Thanks everyone…” Sekata breathed.

“Now, close your eyes and concentrate.” Wisemon continued. “Focus and allow your companion to borrow a part of your strength. Your hearts must be willing in order for this to work…”

Nothing seemed to happen at first. But slowly, the bodies of all the Digimon present began to glow with golden energy. One by one, those formed into beams that hovered in the air for a while.

Then, they shot forward, touching Sekata's body with a warm radiance.

Sekata gasped and wheezed as he felt his strength returning. His injuries were healing themselves, taking mere seconds where they would've normally taken weeks.

“RRROOAAAARRRRR!” Sekata sprang to his feet, letting off a thunderous roar in the process.

While not at full strength, the feeling of energy within his battered body made all the difference. All around, Aero, Ace, Sleipmon and Wisemon lay unconscious. They'd passed out at the end of the energy transfer process, but were all breathing steadily. It wouldn't take too long for them to recover.

“Sekata…” Zoe muttered weakly.

“Just rest Zoe.” Sekata knelt by her side and gripped the Paildramon's claw. “Leave this to me. I'll be back soon.”

“Promise me…” She looked up, barely conscious.

“I can't…make promises I can't keep Zoe.” Sekata whispered. “Just remember…everything I've told you.”

“Sekata…” Zoe's head fell and she lay still.

The Dorugoramon paused to stroke her head, feeling the warmth of her body and squeezed her hand tightly. Then, he sprang up and grabbed the Ryuukonken from the spot in the corner, where it had been since he was first captured.

“Wait…” Wisemon was on his feet, supporting his unsteady body against the wall. “This is yours…”

Sekata's D-Dragon clattered by his feet.

“Thanks.” The dragon Digimon nodded.

“Two great forces are at work within you, both vying for the upper hand.” Wisemon managed. “Both can bring about great darkness and destruction. Both can easily result in your death…but one still has the potential for good.”

Sekata was stunned for a while, amazed at the fact that Wisemon had been able to learn that much form tapping into his D-Dragon just once.

“Which one?” He asked, realizing that he could not longer hide something he'd kept from everyone else in his current life.

“That I do not know. You must figure that answer out for yourself.”

With that, Sekata dashed out of the room, spreading his wings once he was outside. Kicking off the ground, the Dorugoramon's wings caught a gust of wind that carried him up into the sky.

And off towards the volcano…towards his destiny. And towards the position he now stood in.

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Present

So many things…I would've done differently. The thought came into Sekata's mind, jumbled together will all the rest. But it's too late…too late now…

“Hyper…Spirit…EVOLUTION!”

It was a familiar change, one that would transform him into his Kaiser Greymon form. Flames emerged from his own body, batting away those of the volcano.

The pain of the magma started to fade away, replaced by the temporary adrenaline rush of evolution. Weariness too was affected by the new energy, shooting him faster and further than before.

However, on the screen of his D-Dragon, another change was taking place. The percentage counter ticked up…and onto the 100 percent mark.

You've done well kid. The voice of AncientGreymon sounded. Very well indeed…