Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Darkness Named ( Chapter 54 )

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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Darkness Named

By nightdragon0

 

 

 

“Whoa! Whoa! Yargh!”

SPLAT!

Finding himself facedown in the soft mud wasn't exactly something Steve expected after spinning through the vortex. The Flamedramon lifted his head and glanced around.

It was not like anything he'd imagined. Rather than being a dark tunnel or a void of nothingness, this area was a wide open field.

The ground was barren and the sky colored in a deep purple. Various boulders and other rock structures littered the area, but the place seemed to be devoid of life as far as eye could see.

Another scream suddenly erupted behind him. Steve wasn't quick enough to react to this one either and found his face splattered in the mud again. Only this time with a heavy weight on his back.

“Oops! Sorry Steve!” Janet panted. “But thanks for breaking my fall.”

“Oooohhh…” Was Steve's muffled reply.

“Garrgghh!” Aero appeared from the portal, resulting in another collision.

“This has got to stop.” Steve sighed from the bottom of the pile.

The trio quickly picked themselves up and examined their surroundings. Other than what Steve had already seen, there was little else to take note of. Notably, their Digivices were able to receive a map reading.

Un-surprisingly, it seemed like area after area of empty space.

“Zoe's signal is here.” Janet pointed to her electronic map. “We'd best head towards her.”

“Actually, it looks like she's already coming this way.” Steve remarked.

The blue dot on the map screen soon became a blue dot in the sky. A Paildramon was approaching at full speed.

“Hey! Zoe!” Aero waved.

Even as she drew closer, Zoe showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, the Paildramon was speeding up….with her waist-mounted blasters raised.

“Zoe!” Janet called. “What are you…”

“Desperado Blaster!”

The trio cringed as the blue energy bolts raced past. However, it became apparent that Zoe had actually been aiming at something behind them.

Eerie howls arose as Zoe's shots detonated a group of Bakemon spirits.

“Wow…” Janet gasped. “Hey, you could've warned us first!”

“Sorry…” Zoe panted. “There wasn't time and besides…I was completely….out of breath.”

“Still, you shouldn't have gone through the portal alone.” Aero told her. “At least wait for the rest of us the next time. We're a team, aren't we?”

“I'm sorry guys. But it's just that…” Zoe closed her eyes. “I think I…heard…Sekata's voice calling out to me.”

“What?” The others stared.

“I don't know how to explain it.” Zoe continued. “But I just sense it. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel something in this field.”

“No one said they doubted you.” Aero patted her shoulder. “Is this thing you sense showing up on the map?”

“Nope, and there's nothing I can see.”

“Is that why you were up in the sky?”

“Yeah, but the further I got from this spot, the more the feeling diminished.”

“Hmmm…”

“Have you tried looking underground?” Steve spoke up.

“Underground?” Zoe blinked. “I never thought of that!”

“Well, it seems pretty soft considering I've tasted it three times in the past five minutes.”

“Still, how would we know exactly where to start?” Janet wondered.

“Wait for some of those dark spirits to rise up.” Zoe suggested.

“Rise up?” Janet queried.

“You mean like the hand around her ankle?” Steve pointed towards Janet.

“What the? RRarrrgggghhh!” The Cyberdramon jumped and stomped down on the Bakemon's cloth-covered hand.

More of the Youkai started rising from the spot, which had the party backing away.

“We'll aim at the ground this time.” Zoe nodded. “On three…”

“Three!” The party declared.

“Knuckle Fire!”

“Erase Claw!”

“V-Wing Blade!”

“Desperado Blaster!”

Fire mingled with both blue and white energy, all converging into a massive ball of light. Zoe's bolts blew that apart, resulting in a huge explosion. Unfortunately, it collapsed more of the ground than they'd been prepared for…sending the dragons plunging into the depths.

“GGGwwwaaarrrggghh!” Steve panicked, fumbling desperately.

The Flamedramon managed to find his grip along the `wall' of the pit. He looked up just in time to see a large rock shooting towards his head.

“Oh sh…”

WHAM!

 

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“Owww…” Zoe blinked, rolling to her side.

At least the cavern did have a bottom, or else they wouldn't be lying on it right now. It was a big mess after the `avalanche', with dozens of rock fragments decorating the ground.

Steve, Janet and Aero were starting to come round too, pulling their partially buried bodies out of the rubble.

“Why does this always happen to us?” Janet moaned, shaking the ringing out of her ears.

“Man…my head…” Steve muttered. “Can't I ever get a break these days?”

“Don't be such a crybaby.” Janet whacked his shoulder.

“Erm…speaking of `baby'.” Aero gestured.

The other dragons slowly turned in Aero's direction and their jaws dropped in utter astonishment. Lined up neatly before them were rows and rows of large, oval-shaped white objects.

“These…they look like eggs!” Steve gasped, walking over and lightly tapping the nearest one.

“But what would they be doing here?” Janet added in.

“Things probably aren't quite as they appear.” Zoe suggested.

CRACK! All heads turned as the egg closest to Steve begun to crack. A hole, though tiny at first, appeared as the creature within started to push its way out.

“What could it be?” Steve wondered whilst continuing to watch.

“It wouldn't be advisable to stand there.” Aero warned.

“Nah, nothing newly hatched out of an egg could possibly hurt…”

“RRROOOAAARRR!” The massive horned head of a dragon suddenly burst out, snapping its jaws wildly at Steve.

This beast was a Death-X Dorugremon (Dekusu Dorugremon), an Ultimate level Digimon. As large as dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus, the four legged structure of this dragon was very similar. Covered in black scales with two sets of blood-red leathery wings, it was a terrifying sight to behold, lashing its barbed tail around. Metallic implants also lined its wings, including a helmet that was built into its head.

Its eyes were completely covered, with only its razor-sharp fangs and the single horn on its nose being revealed.

Experiencing what could be described as massive growth spurts, the Death-X Dorugremon grew from the size of the egg to its full size in the blink of an eye.

The virus type lunged again, catching Steve's tail between its razor-like fangs.

“Wha…harrgghh! Help!” The Flamedramon screeched.

Death-X Dorugremon simply tossed the smaller dragon upwards and swallowed him whole.

“Steve!” Everyone cried, horrified.

More eggs had burst open by this time, sending swarms of Death-X Dorugremon charging out. Zoe, Janet and Aero immediately had their claws full, frantically pounding the dragons away. The newly `hatched' ones weren't very strong, but it took considerable effort to take down something of their size.

Many got past the three of them, flying up and out of the cavern.

“Garrgghh!” Janet fired off another Erase Claw. “What the heck are these things?”

“Who knows?” Aero shouted. “I'm more concerned about where they're headed!”

“To the portal it seems.”

“Then our allies on the outside are going to have trouble.”

“Let's worry about Steve first!” Janet decided. “Try to find the one that…yarrgghh!”

One of the creatures abruptly broke through their defenses and knocked the two dragons over. Janet and Aero found their breaths taken out as the Death-X Dorugremon stomped down with its front legs, slowly squeezing the life out of them.

Snarling, the virus type gave a strong whiff of its foul breath, causing the pair to gag as they struggled. Strangely, so did Death-X Dorugremon.

However, it quickly became clear that something else was behind the choking of their opponent. In its spasms of pain, the quadruped dragon released its victims and stumbled away. Seconds later, a gaping hole appeared in its stomach.

And the cause of this was a Flamedramon literally blasting his way out in a shower of goo and data particles. The rest of the huge body collapsed as Steve rolled away, flopping down on the floor in exhaustion.

“Steve!” Janet and Aero happily pulled their muck-covered friend to his feet.

“Garrgghh…ewww…” Steve gasped. “God! You won't believe the things I saw in there!”

“We thought you were…” Janet trailed off.

“Guys, more incoming!” Steve pointed to a new group of Death-X Dorugremon that was rapidly approaching.

“Where's Zoe?” Aero yelled.

“There!” Janet pointed. “But she might not be doing too well!”

 

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“Whew…” Sealsdramon was on his knees, dripping with perspiration.

The flood of Youkai had finally died down, allowing the Digimon some precious seconds of rest.

“That's the last of them.” Sleipmon remarked.

“Perhaps just for now.” Wisemon muttered.

“What do you mean by that?” Blappa asked.

“The dark powers of CHAOS still feel very strong. In fact, it seems almost as if they're rising…”

BOOM! The group started, looking up to find an entire section of the mountain wall broken off. The vortex now `stood' in the center of a Death-X Dorugremon swarm, which had no doubt emerged from it.

“Holy shit!” Dynamo and Metallix backed into each other wide, bulging eyes.

“Crap there are even more this time!” Katsu stared in horror. “What do we do now?”

“We keep fighting.” Junon stepped on front of the group and brought up her Pile Bunker shield. “Argent Fear!”

A volley of red energy orbs shot out, slicing through the throat of the lead attacker. That Death-X Dorugremon collapsed with a hideous scream, which was quickly drowned out by the screeching of the others.

“Garuru Burst!” Metallix opened every panel and hidden weapon built into his body, unleashing bullets and missiles in all directions.

“Demon's Disaster!” Dynamo charged his lance up with electricity and broke into a series of super swift thrusts, piercing through the bodies of the dragons that came too close.

Drawing back, the dark knight paused and shot a glanced towards the swirling vortex. A Death-X Dorugremon suddenly came at him from above, only to be knocked away by Junon.

“Hey thanks.” Dynamo breathed.

“Don't get distracted.” Junon warned.

“Sorry, was just thinking…” Dynamo gestured towards the portal. “About them. You know?”

It was pretty obvious to Junon about whom Dynamo was referring to, causing the pink armored knight to let off a long sigh.

“So am I.” Junon said softly. “So am I….”

 

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“Esgrima!” Zoe extended the blades built into her wrists and slashed, together with the Ryuukonken.

The three blades easily tore through the nearest Death-X type dragon as she spun around, taking another one out in the same manner. However, there was barely any time to think as the attacks continuously came.

A barbed tail knocked the Paildramon off her feet, sending her crashing into a pile of the eggs. Zoe lost hold of the sword, which spun and impaled itself in one of those eggs. One would've expected the eggshell to shatter, but instead it crackled with blue energy.

Zoe stared for a second and realized that she was still on her back as a Death-X Dorugremon approached.

“Elemental Bolt!” Zoe thrust both hands forward, sending a wave of electrical charges into the dragon's face.

The blue dragon's foe shot past her and crashed, unfortunately with so much impact that it Zoe was tossed roughly in another direction. Zoe was suddenly grounded and surrounded by three Death-X Dorugremon all at once.

However, just as the virus dragons were poised to strike, a bright flash emitted from the rear. Zoe could just make out the shape of the egg with the Ryuukonken stuck in it. Another Death-X Dorugremon burst out from it and roared.

Expecting the worst, Zoe covered her head. But this particular dragon didn't attack her, rather it went straight for the other three Death-X Dorugremon, pounding and lashing them all aside.

“Wha…” Zoe gasped at the remaining dragon turned its head towards her.

“Zoe…” The voice was strong, gentle and so familiar. “It's me!”

“S…Sekata?”

“You have to trust me Zoe! You'll know what to believe!” The larger dragon told her.

Another Death-X Dorugremon came at Zoe's rescuer, who stepped to the side and shoved the virus type away with his tail.

It was then that Zoe begun snap out of her panicked state and notice the difference.

While his structure and size were the same as the hordes of dragons flying around, his coloring was completely different. The primary color of the scales was red with black stripes and a white underbelly. That pattern continued all the way down to the muscular tail, which lacked the barbed metallic spikes of the virus version.

The two pairs of silver wings were much more smooth and shiny, though there were a set of golden `wing rings' attached to the bone. But probably the most distinguishing feature was that this dragon's face wasn't covered, revealing his brown eyes and a single red jewel embedded in his forehead.

This one was a vaccine attributed Dorugremon. And it was those brown eyes that Zoe looked deep into to find her answers.

“It…really is you!” The dragoness stuttered.

“Zoe!” Janet, Steve and Aero were running over, fully intent on attacking.

“Wait!” Zoe jumped in front of the Dorugremon, holding her arms out. “It's all right.”

“Hey guys…” Sekata leaned over her shoulder. “Missed me?”

“Sekata?” Janet stopped short.

However, the reunion didn't get very far. A new swarm of Death-X Dorugremon were closing in, forcing everyone to leap for cover. All except for Sekata, who head-bashed the nearest one away.

As a second one approached, Sekata whipped it in the face using his tail, momentarily stunning the beast. He then went for the virus type's neck and sank his fangs into the flesh, biting down hard. The Death-X Dorugremon screeched wildly as Sekata swung it from side to side, snapping its neck in the process.

The creature's body fell limp, but much to the surprise of the others, Sekata didn't put it down. Instead, the body broke into rays of blue Digicode, which Sekata consumed using his jaws.

“What is he doing?” Aero wondered.

Suddenly, Sekata jerked back and let off a long howl.

His friends all jumped back and covered their ears. The other Death-X Dorugremon were also affected, quickly vacating the area. That left just the five of them standing there staring.

Sekata's Dorugremon form then glowed with a blinding white light. And when the others looked up, a smaller humanoid dragon, Dorugoramon, was standing in its place.

“Sekata?” Everyone gasped.

Smiling, the Dorugoramon held up his left fist, revealing the black and red D-Dragon strapped there. Immediately, Zoe ran over and threw her arms around him.

“Sekata…I thought I'd really lost you this time…” The dragoness sniffed, unable to get out any more.

“I'm sorry, I really am.” Sekata's grip was as firm as the wings that he folded around Zoe.

They were soon joined by the others, all jumping over Sekata and celebrating….for this moment at least.

 

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“And that's the whole story of AncientGreymon and myself.” Sekata finished, leading the group down the tunnel.

With the egg chamber cleared of enemies, the party had followed their D-Dragons' maps towards the source of CHAOS' energy. The journey had taken them down a series of winding paths, many of which were lit only by the light of their D-Dragons.

Along the way, Sekata had told everyone about the secret battle he'd been fighting for so long. Following that had been much discussion and many tearful exchanges.

“But then, how are you here now?” Zoe asked. “I saw you…being killed by that ancient warrior.”

“Thanks to this thing.” Sekata held up the Ryuukonken. “AncientGreymon took my body, but my soul ended up trapped inside this blade. I guess that when you got it stuck in that egg, there was enough data for me to take on another form.”

“So, it was you who was guiding me to use the blade.” Zoe realized. “And you were also leading me here!”

“I could neither talk nor move while my soul was stuck inside the sword. But somehow, I was able to influence your feelings.”

“Just as well that you did.” Zoe said softly.

“Don't you think it's rather convenient that the data inside that egg was for a lower form of yours?” Janet queried.

“Actually, it's more of the reverse.” Sekata explained. “The data of my Dorugoramon body came from here.”

“Here?” Aero wondered. “Then what about the Death-X mon we fought? Wasn't it an old experiment form the ancient city?”

“Indeed it was. But the source of their experimental data was from this dimension, this pandemonium.”

“Pandemonium huh?” Steve whistled. “Catchy name.”

“Fitting though.” Janet agreed.

“Then those Death X Digimon…” Zoe began.

“Yes, spawns of CHAOS….emissaries of this dimension, you name it.” Sekata nodded. “That's what the Death-X series is all about…the counterpart of the X-antibody, the counterpart of order and light…”

“But for you, your Dorugoramon isn't a Death-X type.” Zoe noted.

“That's because he's the good guy, duh!” Steve beamed. “I still remember that Death-X Dorugoramon I fought. That was killer stuff!”

“Did you really?” Janet jabbed the Flamedramon's ribs.

“Wonderful! Still no one believes me!”

“If you didn't tell so many tall stories, then perhaps some people would!”

“Guys!” Aero said excitedly. “I've got an odd reading up ahead!”

“CHAOS?” Sekata's heart skipped a beat.

“No, the energy signature is different.”

“Let's check it out.” Janet decided, grabbing Steve's arm. “Come on hot-shot.”

“Whoa! Whoa! Not so hard!” Steve whined.

“I'll go keep them out of trouble.” Aero nodded, noticing Sekata and Zoe standing very close together. “I guess you two need a bit of time together too.”

With that, the Aero V-dramon moved on ahead, leaving Sekata and Zoe at the rear.

“Sekata…” The Paildramon placed her arms around Sekata's waist. “I've….just got…so much to say….and yet…so little time.”

“I'm sorry I…kept my curse hidden from you guys.” Sekata placed his claws on top of Zoe's.

“But soon it'll all be over. We'll be able to just go back and live life freely.”

“You're right…all this will be over soon.” Sekata closed his eyes. “However….I…may not be around…”

Zoe gasped, releasing her grip on Sekata. The Dorugoramon turned and faced Zoe, taking hold of her hands.

“You do remember about me being CHAOS' chosen host? And even this current body of mine, it's created from the data and energies in this dimension. All linked to CHAOS…” Sekata whispered. “Once it's all gone…”

“There has to be another way!”

“Zoe…I have to…do what I must. We all need to…”

“Sekata…” Zoe was close to sobbing and leaned her head against his chest.

Sekata hugged the dragoness tighter, with not only his arms, but wings and tail as well.

“Hey! Sekata! Zoe!” Aero shouted. “Get over here quick!”

Startled, the two dragons broke away from each other and stared into the other's eyes. Nodding, both took off running down the cavern.

 

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“I'm free. I'm finally free…” AncientGreymon stood on the cliff edge, allowing the cool breeze to rustle through his wings.

After so many years of being confined to an existence neither living nor dead, the ancient dragon was finally out here, in the actual Digital World. Looking down from the high mountains to the valleys and trees below reminded him so much of his time as a youth.

AncientGreymon had been plotting, hoping, wishing…and finally the fruits of his labor had bloomed. The strange thing was that the ancient dragon didn't feel as overjoyed as he thought he would've. Something was still tingling in the back of his head.

“Damn kid…” AncientGreymon muttered with reference to Sekata.

Absorbing the younger dragon's data had completely healed the injuries of their battle, plus made him feel stronger than ever before. But as much as he tried to deny it, AncientGreymon just couldn't put Sekata out of his mind.

No…he's lost his feelings…lost all sense of emotions so long ago. But that kid…he just had to know.

Closing his eyes, AncientGreymon reached out with his mental abilities. The warrior was pleased to find those psychic powers had improved tremendously over the ages, allowing him to scan the entire area with a mere thought.

Looking back to the scene of their battle, AncientGreymon found nothing. However, a familiar energy signature caught his senses, and he followed it like a scent trail. And there….it was a portal leading to a dark realm beyond.

All around it were `dots' of various figures…spawns of the CHAOS and several Digimon fighting them. It was hard to tell who was winning, but they weren't the ones AncientGreymon were interested in as he reached further.

The signatures of Sekata's friend did go into the darkness, ending there because it was too difficult to `see' into the beyond.

So, they really went in. They're really going to challenge the CHAOS…

But wait, there was another signature…the Ryuukonken. And mixed with that one was…Sekata's? AncientGreymon was initially puzzled, however he soon begun to laugh.

The kid…even when I took his body's data, his soul went into the Ryuukonken. He used it as a vessel, much like the two Spirits of Fire were for my soul. AncientGreymon realized. Yet another thing the kid learnt from me in the heat of the moment.

The energy trails of Sekata's friends also led into the portal and beyond, indicating that they'd all gone in together. They were so determined to end this…fight this battle until the end…

AncientGreymon paused, frowning hard.

The truly important thing is life itself. That joy alone far exceeds anything that power could give me…

Will you just turn your back when you know you can make a difference?

What do you really want out of this new life you've given yourself?

“Garrrgghh!” AncientGreymon slammed his paws against the ground, stirring up a huge cloud of dirt and rocks. He just couldn't take this anymore.

 

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“So, for the first time we meet in person.” The humanoid figure managed a weak smile. “I'm almost glad that we could get acquainted.”

This was none other than Lucifer, leader of the Royal Knights, in the form of his Ultimate level mode of Lucemon. The pathway beyond had led into a narrow corridor, where the dragons had found him stumped against the wall.

He could quite easily have passed off as a human or an elf, and a very handsome blond haired one for that matter. Lucifer's ears were pointed like an elf's and his blue eyes matched the color of his hair rather nicely.

On the right side of his back were three angelic wings while on the left, three devil-like ones. A miniature angle wing and devil wing also protruded from his head, being on the same side as their larger counterparts.

Lucifer was dressed in what was once a grand-looking suit, a black coat, a white shirt beneath, a pair of white long trousers and high white boots. Various pieces of golden jewelry and gems also adorned his clothing.

However, much of the jewelry was charred and broken. Many parts of his suit had large rips in them, exposing the pale colored flesh beneath. Scars and bruises covered most of his body, including some on his face. His wings were in no better condition, being crumpled and tattered to varying degrees.

A sleek fencing rapier lay by his side, although it was broken in half. If the fallen angel had been fighting a one-man war, it was clearly reflected by his injuries.

Steve, Janet and Aero had gathered around him unsure of how to react. Sekata and Zoe finally appeared and moved to the front of the pack.

“So you're the Lucifer we've heard so much about.” Sekata remarked.

The fallen angel looked at each of the dragons in turn, and breathed deeply.

“I don't expect your sympathy.” Lucifer muttered. “But I've unleashed something terrible…something far beyond my control.”

“This one is a bad wound…” Zoe knelt by his side, indicating a bloodstained area at the left side of his stomach. “Let us clean it up for you.”

“There's nothing much I can do to stop you, can I?”

Zoe quickly got to work, making use of some bandages that she kept inside her belt pouch. In the meantime, the dragoness continued talking.

“Your men requested our help to find you.” Zoe told him.

“Junon?” Lucifer asked. “I suppose she would've….”

“It was the only logical thing to do sir.” The Rhodo Knightmon suddenly appeared, accompanied by Dynamo as Chaos Dukemon and Metallix as Metal Garurumon X.

“What are you lot doing here?” Janet snapped.

“Hey, ain't no rule that says `heroes access only'.” Dynamo quipped.

“Those monsters stopped coming out of the portal, you know?” Metallix explained. “So we kinda just followed you guys in once the coast was clear.”

“Oh, how typical.” Janet huffed. “Letting us do the dirty work.”

“Hmm…you're here too.” Junon turned towards Sekata. “I guess it's true then that you're much harder to kill than we all think.”

“Thanks…I guess…” Sekata muttered.

“Did you tell them everything, Junon?” Lucifer queried, gesturing weakly towards Sekata and the dragons.

“Yes sir, I have.” Junon bowed. “I'm sorry…”

“No, it is I who should be apologizing to you.” Lucifer insisted. “I let all these mad desires get a hold of me…and yet you followed me to the very end.”

“Lord Lucifer…”

“So you understand my side of the tale?” Lucifer addressed Sekata and Zoe.

“Yes…” Zoe stood up, revealing the bandages wrapped around Lucifer's stomach. “I believe that there is no longer any reason for us to be fighting. We have a common enemy at hand.”

“What can you tell us about the CHAOS then?” Sekata asked. “You've been in here a long time, so you must know something.”

“To speak the truth, I spent much of my time wandering around with no real sense of direction.” Lucifer admitted. “I only recently encountered the CHAOS in one of its forms.”

“And?”

“It deemed me incompatible and drove me away.” Lucifer gritted his teeth. “That fight did not go well for me, as you can obviously tell. Unfortunately, there is nothing more I am able to offer you.”

“So, it's further down this way?” Sekata pointed down the other side of the corridor, the route leading downwards and further into the blackness.

“It is.” Lucifer nodded grimly.

“Guys, let's go.” Sekata declared.

Zoe, Steve, Janet and Aero all turned towards the Dragon Morphs leader as he clenched a claw into a fist.

“This is something I need to see through till the end.” Sekata continued. “It's calling out for me. CHAOS knows I'm here…that's what's drawing out all of those Death-X dragons.”

“Is that why CHAOS' power is growing?” Zoe realized. “Because it senses you?”

As if in response, loud screeching sounds suddenly echoed throughout the corridor. It seemed that the Death-X Dorugremon were back with a vengeance.

“They're close.” Junon muttered, keeping her ears peeled.

“Didn't you scare them off earlier?” Steve asked.

“Only for a while.” Sekata replied. “But they're sensing us…sensing me…”

“We'll hold them here and look after Lord Lucifer as well.” Junon gestured. “You go on ahead.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Dynamo laughed, raising his lance.

“Yeah, I was looking forward to blowing more of them out of the sky.” Metallix whipped out his guns.

“You guys…” Janet gasped.

“Hey, this ain't no time to get overly sentimental princess.” Dynamo quipped.

“Humph. I still think you're the biggest moron I've ever met.”

“Well, I'm happy to be remembered for something.”

“Grrr…”

“Get going already.” Dynamo waved, turning towards the direction of the screeching.

Janet hesitated for a few seconds longer before running to join her companions. Led by Sekata, the five dragons raced down the dark corridor as the roars and screams of fighting erupted behind them.

“It's here…” Sekata shouted as he navigated the winding hallways.

“Then we go against the CHAOS with our best.” Zoe nodded. “Everyone…”

“Matrix Evolution!” The party chanted together.

Rays of blue Digicode shimmered as the group transformed into their Mega level forms.

Aero became Alforce V-dramon, a blue armored dragon knight with much of the same body structure as his Aero V-dramon form. Only that his scales were now covered by a layer of shinning white armor, along with at extendable laser blade and an energy shield equipped at either wrist.

Going from Flamedramon to Wargreymon X, Steve dramatically increased in size and bulk. Gone was his sleek and thin frame, replaced by a muscular, armored one. The primary color was gold, with touches of silver at the chest, legs, shoulders and helmet. The helmet took on the familiar Greymon-style three horned structure while his hands became covered with the famous Dramon Killer claw weapons.

Gaioumon was Janet's final form, an armored dragon being very similar in appearance to Wargreymon. The main armor was black instead of gold, and was designed in a more oriental fashion. Her weapons were a pair of gleaming katanas, Japanese-style samurai swords.

Zoe initially went down on all fours, changing into Imperialdramon Dragon Mode. A quadruped dragon with blue scales and a white underbelly, it was another `familiar' face. The black armor over the main body was decorated with gold and silver horns, giving it a very regal feel.

But that wasn't the end, for Zoe switched into Fighter Mode. Imperialdramon shifted to standing upright, the hind legs straightening out to balance the body while the front paws shrank, becoming hands. The main weapon here was a huge blaster cannon known as the Positron Laser, mounted on her right wrist.

Already in his Mega form, Sekata didn't need to change any further. However, he still smiled at his friends, all of whom had stuck with him through thick and thin. And nothing would ever change that….no matter what the events that were about to transpire.

 

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It wasn't long before the screeching was far behind them, leaving the dragons to fly through what seemed to be a large opening. The scene before them caused everyone to stop and gasp in mixed reactions of awe, terror, fear and shock.

This area was a massive void of nothingness, with no particularity defined floor or walls. It was simply an open space against a crimson red and white background, much like a piece of abstract art. Despite that, the dragons were able to stand firmly on the invisible ground.

However, the creature that stood in the center of that arena was the true cause for alarm.

It was a massive dragon, much larger than any of them. The beast stood relatively upright and was humanoid in form, although it had double-jointed knees and powerful-looking ankles. Going upwards, everyone was able to make out the three sets of wings on its back, along with a long tail threshing about behind it.

However, it was the color of the scales that most puzzled them. They were black, but not like any ordinary color. In fact, it could be best described as a picture of outer space….as if viewing the galaxy through a high powered telescope.

That `starry' pattern covered its entire body, wings and tail included. Only the reptilian head was different, for it was covered by a silver mask. And the mask wasn't much either, simply the upper part of the face with the eyes clearly defined as a pair of green jewels.

“Is this…” Steve stuttered.

“This is…CHAOS?” Janet was finally able to find her voice.

“CHAOS has no real form.” Aero noted. “It takes on forms from the minds of those who encounter it. And that's us.”

“That's why it appears as a dragon here?” Zoe muttered.

“Keep on guard everyone!” Sekata ordered. “It's beginning to move!”

Indeed, the astral patterned dragon was shifting its head, staring directly at the group.

“Any battle plan?” Aero asked.

“The usual way we take things.” Sekata winked.

“Scatter!” Janet shouted as CHAOS moved in with a claw swipe.

That claw alone was easily as big as Sekata, the largest of the five members. But it was slow and easily evaded by each one, allowing the Megas to get into position.

“Poseidon Force!” Steve gathered up a ball of watery energy, hurling it at CHAOS.

His opponent simply folded his wings to protect his body, causing the attack to fizzle out. Steve gasped, but Janet was hovering on the opposite side and took the opportunity to strike.

“Gaia Reactor!”

CHAOS reacted by blocking the red energy orb too. It was Aero and Zoe's turns to attack, shooting off their projectile attacks. Both lasers hit their mark on the side of CHAOS' shoulder, enraging the beast so that it turned to attack.

Its massive tail came down, creating an explosion on the part of the ground where it made contact. The four dragons dove out of harm's way, opening the opportunity for Sekata to charge in the midst of the distraction.

“Brave Metal!” The Dorugoramon roared, setting his armored body alit with spiritual flames.

A claw moved to intercept, but Sekata smashed right through, shattering CHAOS' right claw in a shower of data particles. CHAOS let off an indecipherable howl, a sound unlike any creature even known. As such, it was hard to tell if it was in pain or not.

Still, the chosen warriors didn't need any more encouragement to continue their assault.

“Positron Laser!” Zoe yelled, firing off her arm-cannon.

“Shining V Force!” The V-shaped plate on Aero's chestplate flashed and shot off a V-shape projectile.

Their foe blocked Zoe's lasers, but Aero's shots made contact, blowing the rest of its right arm apart. CHAOS' jaws moved and spewed forth a wave of orange flames that had both blue dragons scrambling out of the way. Fortunately, they were able to escape with minor burns.

As CHAOS roared, Steve and Janet swooped in from the left. Claws and blades ready, the duo edged nimbly around the swatting claw.

“Dramon Killer!” Steve spun into a tornado, piercing through the arm at the elbow point.

“Rinkazan!” Spinning a full 360 degrees, Janet brought both katanas down, slicing the left arm off at the shoulder and leaving the giant limb to slam down on the ground.

This time, CHAOS breathed out blue flames that caught both Steve and Janet in their wake. Upon seeing their plight, Sekata dove in to help his comrades, throwing his body in-between them and the attack. The Dorugoramon's body was still covered with the fires of his Brave metal ability, lessening the impact of the heat.

However, Sekata was still struggling until Aero came to his aid, materializing an energy shield attached to his left wrist.

“Tensegureto Shield!” The semi-translucent shield worked wonders, driving back the blast of flames.

With CHAOS distracted, Zoe charged up another attack, both her claws glowing with white energy. Slashing in an X-shaped motion, the Imperialdramon called out the name of the attack as she let it loose.

“Splendor Blade!”

The white ray of energy exploded in CHAOS' face, sending it stumbling backwards. Sekata somersaulted over Aero and pushed off the ground, using the momentum to propel himself straight towards the CHAOS dragon.

“Doru Diin!” Spinning into a ball, Sekata cleared the distance in a matter of seconds. Pausing for a split second to uncurl himself, the silver dragon unleashed a fury of claw, talon and tail slashes.

Panting, Sekata dropped to the floor and landed firmly on all fours. Behind him, the head of CHAOS screeched and fell, cleanly separated from its neck. The rest of CHAOS' body remained standing as the dragons caught their breath, glancing around in amazement.

 

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“Did we do it?” Zoe wondered.

“Would seem so…” Aero nodded.

“You guys, don't you think this was surprisingly easy?” Steve gestured.

“Shut up before you jinx it.” Janet snapped. “Bah, it's probably too late already.”

“Unfortunately, I do agree with Steve.” Sekata growled softly. “It's almost as if CHAOS was simply…”

All of a sudden, the severed right arm of CHAOS lifted itself off the ground and shot towards the main body with blinding speed.

“Aero!” Everyone screamed.

The Alforce V-dramon was right in its path….and was not able to get out of the way in time. Rather than knocking him over, the severed arm caught Aero in its `flesh'. It was as if the whole arm was made out of some thick black fluid, which literally sucked Aero into it.

“RRRAARRRGGGHH!” Aero only managed a gurgled screech as he vanished into the goo.

“NO!” Janet sprinted across the area with full intentions on helping the dragon knight.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. A new limb emerged from the stump of the left arm, reaching across and grabbing the Gaioumon in its palm. Janet could do nothing but scream as she too disappeared into the body of CHAOS.

Now that the right and left arms of CHAOS were reattached, a second pair burst out from the sides with a disgusting series of squishing noises. With four arms instead of two, yet another surprise was in store for the dragons.

The head of CHAOS hovered and rejoined itself to the neck. A second head burst out with a thunderous roar, knocking Sekata, Zoe and Steve over.

“What the hell?” Sekata exclaimed, dizzy with tension. Everything had happened so fast.

“Janet! Aero!” Steve gasped.

“They're inside the body of CHAOS!” Zoe frowned. “I can feel their signatures within.”

“We've got to get them out!” Steve broke into a run.

“Hey hold on!” Sekata warned.

CHAOS held all four arms to its chest, releasing two blobs of goop…which rapidly shifted and took on the forms of Gaioumon and Alforce V-dramon. Steve stopped in shock, a mistake which cost him dearly.

Both the shadow forms ploughed themselves into the Wargreymon, covering him with the same black liquid. Together with the misshapened blobs, Steve was sucked up and drawn into the chest of CHAOS.

Howling in rage, Zoe unleashed a fury of Positron Laser barrages while Sekata drew the Ryuukonken and fired off flaming bolts. The attacks combined easily created a massive explosion, but CHAOS barely seemed affected this time.

Once again, the astral dragon released the shadow forms, only now with a third one added to the mix…Wargreymon.

Sekata roared and tried to swipe the Gaioumon away, but it only splattered itself onto his body. The shadow form broke up into goop, expanding and sucking Sekata into its midst. Struggling was in vain and only got him absorbed even faster.

“Sekata!” Zoe attempted to reach for him, but was snagged up by the other two CHAOS forms.

“Zoe! RRARRGGHH!” Sekata's claw reached out wildly, but fell just short of Zoe's panicked reach.

That was the last thing either of them knew before darkness consumed their senses.

 

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“Ugghh…” Sekata moaned, blinking.

The moment the Dorugoramon's vision cleared was the instant he tried to jump up and found he couldn't. He was literally stuck inside a wall, with only his head and neck protruding. Sekata tried to clench his fists, but even those could barely be moved. Even worse, the substance holding him in place was that same black goo that had sucked the dragon in earlier.

The area was dark, damp and stank of an odd fragrance.

It's like…the inside of somebody's stomach… Sekata told himself grimly, realizing that it wasn't at all far-fetched.

And he wasn't alone either as the soft moans quickly drew Sekata's attention towards the spot to his left.

“Zoe? Zoe! Answer me!” Sekata called.

The dragoness was back to her XV-mon form, and imprisoned in the same manner that he was.

“I can barely breathe…” Zoe muttered, struggling to no avail. “This is…”

The heads of Steve, Janet and Aero could be seen from where they were trapped partially in the opposite `wall'. All three were back in their lower forms and seemed somewhat conscious. However, they were completely unresponsive to Sekata's calls other than their occasional groaning.

Snarling in frustration, Sekata made another futile attempt at wiggling himself free. Only that it seemed to take much more out of him this time.

“CHAOS is…draining us…” Zoe whispered.

“You're right…” Sekata realized. Already, it was taking much effort just to keep his eyes open. “I'm feeling…so…weak…”

“I'm glad you came back…” Zoe looked up. “Even if it was just for a while.”

“Don't talk like it's….the end for us…”

“It could be…”

“Damn…” Sekata hissed. “It seemed like we were so close. But CHAOS was just toying with us, and…took us out in barely any time at all…”

“I don't want it to end like this. After everything we went through, I just….just…want to…”

“As long as I can spend these last moments….with you.” Sekata's tone changed to a soft and calm one as tears trickled down his snout. “I guess it doesn't mean much now…”

“Sekata…” Zoe craned her neck, trying to get as close to Sekata as she could. “It always has. I was just…too frightened to tell you…”

“So was I…” Sekata admitted. “But I…I love you Zoe.”

“I know…” Zoe managed a weak smile, her tears flowing freely now. “I've always known…”

“Just once…”

The two dragons reached for each other and their snouts touched….followed by their lips in a long, passionate kiss. Despite the direness of the situation, in-spite of the time and location, it was a moment both Sekata and Zoe wished could last forever.

Finally, the last of their strength left them and the morphs fell silent…for a few moments at least.

“Another presence…” Zoe breathed. “It's here.”

“Whom?”

“The one who started all this.”

Indeed Chosen, it is I. A voice rang out, although more in their minds that anywhere else.

“Omegamon!” Sekata and Zoe gasped.