Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Towards the Sky ( Chapter 55 )

[ 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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Towards the Sky

By nightdragon0

I do not have much time left…A semi-translucent image of the Legendary knight flickered into view, a single white light shimmering in the dark.

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

“Where are you?” Zoe called with a sudden spurt of energy.

In this dimension, I exist everywhere. For it was my power that sealed the CHAOS here. Omegamon told them. But I will not last much longer, and that is why I must pass on my power…to you…one descended from…my blood.

“Tell me something first!” Sekata cut in. “Why was it me? Why did CHAOS choose me?”

Only you can answer that question my friend.

“Sekata…” Zoe trailed off.

“Because….because there was great darkness in my heart.” Sekata closed his eyes. “CHAOS wanted to exploit that darkness, but it didn't manage to. It was because of everyone…and you, Zoe.”

The Dorugoramon let off a low chuckle.

“It was you guys, being around everyone, that really made me who I am. Thanks to that, I was able to walk down a path of light. And I…I changed my destiny because of it!”

Zoe felt herself getting surprisingly stronger, watching Sekata as he continued.

“I have no regrets.” Sekata declared. “Given another chance, I'd walk down this path again and again, because I know…it was the right one.”

Your resolution is firm warrior. Even I did not know that CHAOS chose you to be its host. Omegamon spoke. However, when my powers are passed on…I will be gone. And CHAOS will be free once more…

“Not if we stop it.” Zoe responded. “Finish it here and now!”

So it shall be…farewell warriors. Omegamon's voice, as well as his image began to fade away. The future…is yours to determine.

“Omegamon!”

The knight's body disappeared in a flash of light, leaving behind a huge white colored sword hovering in mid-air.

Massive, yet beautiful and deadly, the sword had a silver hit with two curved spikes that pointed upwards. At the base of the blade was a section decorated similarly to the blue and white patterns of Omegamon's armor. Going upwards was the white cutting edge, with a series of Digicode characters imprinted in gold.

“All delete…” Sekata read. “This is the Omega Blade…”

“His legendary sword.” Zoe added in, eyeing the weapon in awe. The sword glowed and the XV-mon suddenly found her right arm free, gripping the hilt tightly.

“It's yours.”

“But…”

“Clear all doubt from your heart! You are a descendant of Omegamon, a holy dragon.” Sekata grinned. “And its time for you…for us…to finish this fight!”

“You're right! This is for us and for all our friends! We'll see this through until the end!” Zoe held up the Omega Blade as best as she could. “Matrix Evolution!”

At her command, blinding rays of light shot out from the sword and scattered in all directions. And around them, CHAOS began to scream.

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None of the group was really aware of what happened in-between. However in seemingly the blink of an eye, the dragons found themselves tossed roughly onto the ground outside CHAOS' body. It wasn't very clean business either, with the dragons pulling themselves out of the blackish goop that had previously trapped them within.

The massive form of the CHAOS dragon stood before them, screeching and howling as it stumbled about. All four of its claws were over a gaping hole in its stomach as both heads threshed in a blind rage.

With an equally ferocious roar, Sekata pulled himself up, shoving the goop off his body. Steve, Janet and Aero were awake and groaning, but it was Zoe who got to her feet, holding the Omega Blade out to the sky.

“Damn…my head…” Aero forced his weary body up.

“Guuhhgg…” Steve moaned. “What happened?”

“Last thing I remember was CHAOS sucking us up…” Janet muttered.

“In short, it was Omegamon.” Zoe explained. “This blade here represents the last of his power. It's our last chance at this…”

“You guys really saw him?” Steve gasped.

“Talked to his spirit at least.” Sekata nodded. “But he's gone now….too drained of his power to continue…”

“The legendary Omegamon…” Aero trailed off.

“We can't afford to let him down.” Zoe declared.

“So, what are we waiting for then?” Janet smirked, clenching her fists.

Nodding, Zoe raised the Omega Blade above her head. A golden aura emitted from the sword, bathing the dragons in a soft white light. It was a great change from the general darkness of the pandemonium and the light seemed to cause harm to CHAOS.

The dragons too were filled with a renewed feel of energy. Sekata watched as his friends once again transformed into their Mega levels of Alforce V-dramon, Wargreymon X, Gaioumon and Imperialdramon.

Zoe, however, was greatly affected by this new power. She went from her quadruped dragon form, to black-clad dragoniod fighter…and to a brand new mode.

“Imperialdramon, mode change! Paladin Mode!”

The dragoness' black armor glowed, taking on a white and golden coloring instead. Her general body structure remained the same, so it seemed like the only addition was the new armor and the Omega Blade.

But it was apparent that Zoe was involved in more than just that. She was now letting the powers of Omegamon's final gift flow through her body, taking her up to a whole new level.

CHAOS immediately reacted to the transformation, shooting off a ball of reddish flames. Steve quickly leapt to the front and brought his shield plates forward, proudly displaying the crest of courage on them. The Wargreymon was sent spinning back by the impact, but still managed to deflect the huge fireball.

Janet's twin swords came up and sliced the fireball in half, sending embers flying everywhere.

Meanwhile, Steve skidded across the ground, ending off to the side and slightly dazed. A shadow fell over him as CHAOS raised its tail to strike, but Zoe got in the way, making a sidewards slash with the Omega Blade.

A crescent-shaped ray of light shot out, smacking into CHAOS' face. The massive creature howled and slammed its tail down, fortunately missing Steve and Zoe. As the pair darted away, Sekata moved in.

Racing past at a high speed, Sekata tore through the right knee of CHAOS with his claws. The `flesh' seemed to tear easily, leaving black stains on the Dorugoramon's claws.

“Hm? This is…” Sekata gasped as the stained vanished, seemingly absorbed into his claws. He didn't have much time to think however, for a hard kick from CHAOS sent him flying.

Aero caught the armored dragon in mid-air, helping to upright him whilst spinning to avoid the flames that CHAOS was spewing. Finding itself unsuccessful, CHAOS sent out a new elemental attack against them, this one being thunder.

By swiftly firing off his Shinning V Force, Aero was just in time to have it make contact with the lightning bolt. While it was enough to prevent them from suffering any serious injuries, the two dragons were thrown out of the air. Their armor took the blunt of the fall, cracking in various places.

Steve and Janet pelted CHAOS with projectiles, followed by an energy blade swipe from Zoe. The point of impact on CHAOS' lower back sent black goop spluttering out, but the wound quickly begun to heal.

“Brave Metal!” Jumping to his feet, Sekata's body burst into flames as he pushed off the ground and shot towards CHAOS like a bullet.

His astral foe hissed as Sekata smashed a hole in its left shoulder, emerging through the creature's back. Like the other damages inflicted, this hole start patching itself up as well. However, the process was considerably slower as compared to the earlier strikes.

“RRAARRGGH!” Sekata hit the ground covered in black goop. “This again!”

“Making physical contact seems to have that effect.” Zoe rushed to his side, offering a hand. “You all right?”

To the Imperialdramon's surprise, the blackish stains simply faded away as Sekata stood up.

No, they didn't just disappear. Zoe realized. They were absorbed into Sekata's body!

As if he could tell from the look on her face, Sekata nodded grimly.

“It's the essence of CHAOS.” The Dorugoramon explained. “I was the host chosen by CHAOS, so this stuff is easily absorbed into me.”

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“The essence of CHAOS?” Zoe gasped.

“Watch them.” Sekata gestured.

Back at the battlefield, Aero had just deflected a fireball using his energy shield. Janet raced for it with her swords ready, but the samurai dragon hit the orb with the flat sides of the blades instead. Changing direction, the ball rocketed back towards its owner instead.

Janet didn't hesitate to add her own energy shot, Gaia Reactor, to the mix. Taking the cue, Steve executed his Gaia Force attack, with the number of energy spheres totaling as three now.

The attacks collided in a blinding flash of light, stirring up a huge cloud of smoke and dust.

When the view cleared, much of CHAOS' outer scales had been badly burnt. Puddles of its black colored goo-blood were also splattered everywhere. Yet, as grievous as the damages seemed, they once again repaired themselves in the blink of an eye.

“No way…” Janet stared.

“Are we even hurting that thing?” Steve muttered.

“Omegamon's power should've weakened it.” Aero mused. “But is it still not working?”

Zoe wanted to charge back in to help, but Sekata gripped her shoulder.

“Us attacking normally just won't do it.” Sekata told her. “But…I know of another way.”

“And what's that?” Zoe asked, although she was sensing a very grim reply.

“CHAOS' essence bonds readily to me, as you've seen.” Sekata explained. “That's exactly like draining the essence out of it. And draining the essence of CHAOS will in effect, drain it of its energy…thus weakening it enough for the Omega Blade to destroy it!”

“Do you realize how much of CHAOS' essence you'll have to absorb in order to substantially weaken it?” Zoe blurted out. “What will happen to you then?”

“It's the only way Zoe! This is something I've got to do!”

“But why? WHY? I don't want to lose you again!”

“I'm sorry Zoe…”

BOOM! A deafening explosion startled the pair. Turning towards the battlefield, they were horrified to find Steve, Janet and Aero sprawled across the floor with electrical burns and charred marks all over their bodies.

Steve had broken the left horn on his helmet as well as the `fingers' on his right claw weapon. His wing shield plates were both snapped in half, with the crest of courage barely visible now. The armor on his right leg was missing, as was the chestplate of his upper body. And the scales beneath were bloody and burnt.

Janet had all three horns broken, as well as much of her white mane being charred. Many decorative parts of the samurai armor had been lost, including both shoulder pads, the right leg armor and right shin guard. A piece of shrapnel, probably her own armor, had become embedded in the left side of her stomach, leaving blood to flow freely.

Aero's wing membranes were completely torn up, along with his entire upper body armor. The energy shield generator on his left hand was missing, and his right ankle was also twisted at an odd ankle. He too was bleeding in many places and barely even breathing.

Enraged by the fall of their comrades, Sekata and Zoe drew and raised their respective swords, the Ryuukonken and the Omega Blade. The two executed a series of slashes, sending off waves of fiery and light energy respectively.

Several of the rays struck CHAOS dead-on, but the astral dragon still had a lot of fight left in it. With an astonishingly fast reaction, both its heads locked on and started spewing fireballs in different directions.

The two remaining dragons darted around the blasts, taking to the air. Immediately, the fours arms of CHAOS moved, calling forth blue lightning bolts.

Sekata found himself frantically dodging both elemental attacks, and finally managed to deflect a fireball into CHAOS' face. CHAOS' tail suddenly came around and smashed Sekata to the ground.

At the same time, one of the lightning bolts grazed Zoe's shoulder, causing her to howl in pain. Zoe managed a blind slash, hitting CHAOS with a wave of light elemental energy. But that wasn't enough to stop the retaliation of fireballs, which easily tossed the Imperialdramon into an out-of-control freefall.

Zoe hadn't even made contact with the ground before CHAOS launched its next attack, a freezing breath of ice. Like an Antarctic wind, a whitish fog sprayed all over the blue dragon. She could only scream in agony as the ice crept over her body, chilling it in a matter of seconds.

When Zoe finally hit the ground, she was already frozen up to her neck in ice.

While it had been distracted with Zoe however, Sekata had managed to get behind CHAOS. Now he leapt up with a salvage cry, slicing one head off with a swipe of his Ryuukonken. The severed head splattered in a shower of black goop, but the remaining one turned and launched a purple energy ball at him.

Acting on instinct, Sekata forced his worn muscles to move his sword, slicing the energy orb apart. However, it didn't simply dissipate like the normal fireballs…but broke into dozens of smaller ones instead.

Caught completely off guard, Sekata wasn't able to get away as the first of the smaller orbs came for him. There were no massive explosions this time, but something even worse.

Sekata felt two of the orbs touch his wrists. The next instant, two loud cracks sounded as the bones in his wrists simply snapped. Howling in pain, the Ryuukonken fell from his hands, now that the Dorugoramon was no longer able to hold it. His mind had barely taken that in when a second set touched his ankles.

SNAP!

Roaring long and deep, Sekata's mind erupted in sheer panic. The next crunches came from behind, where the bones at his wing joints were suddenly shattered. With his ability to fly stripped away, Sekata fell.

And then, five orbs came at once. Four at either of his shoulder and hip sockets, and one at the joint that connected his tail to his spine. Nothing could have prepared Sekata for the amount of pain that erupted as each of the bones in his joints snapped.

He was screaming till his voice was horse, and yet could do nothing. Two more orbs came, positioning themselves at the vertebra along his lower back and at the base of his neck before carrying out their destined tasks.

Sekata's voice was suddenly cut off and the dragon realized that even the bones in his jaws had been broken. As if the mental and physical torture weren't enough, the inevitable crash to the ground came.

The Dorugoramon was reduced to lying immobile and helpless in a crumpled heap of his own body. Even with all they'd fought using, even with Omegamon's power…it all seemed to be in vain. Left on his back, Sekata could only watch as the CHAOS dragon opened its jaws…preparing for the final blow.

A blow…which never came.

“Gaia Tornado!”

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Sekata couldn't believe he'd heard that right. Of all the people that could've come to their rescue, this was one of the last ones Sekata had been expecting. However, there was no denying what he saw.

AncientGreymon, walking up and pelting CHAOS with another tornado of flames. The ancient dragon looked no better than the rest of their group, with his armor charred and broken. Raw flesh cut through and bleeding in too many places to count.

There were probably about a few hundred questions Sekata would've asked if his jaws weren't broken at the moment.

“Where's the vigor you showed when fighting me?” AncientGreymon wheezed. “You'd better not make me regret coming down here to help you!”

Inwardly, Sekata smiled. Somehow….somehow he'd just known, deep within, that AncientGreymon still had a heart. Still had that will and desire to fight for the Digital World, as he'd done so many years ago.

“This is gonna hurt kid. I hope you're ready…” AncientGreymon held a claw over Sekata's broken body.

Warm orange flames began to flow into Sekata that gradually grew hotter and hotter. Sekata felt his injuries healing and his bones reconnecting. True to AncientGreymon's word it did hurt, but Sekata was in so much pain already that he barely even felt the sting.

Some of those flames moved over to Zoe, slowly melting her out of the ice. The Imperialdramon dropped to her knees gasping as the healing flames flowed through her body too.

It wasn't long before Sekata and Zoe were standing again, now next to a panting AncientGreymon.

“You came back!” Sekata said happily.

“I should be saying the same about you.” AncientGreymon nodded. “As always, resourceful.”

“But how did you get in here?”

“Same way you did, using that portal. I passed by your friends outside and those knights…hey I didn't hurt any of them if that's what you're worried about. Ugghh…”

AncientGreymon collapsed as Sekata and Zoe knelt by his side.

“He's worn himself out!” Zoe realized.

The path leading in here had been perilous, especially now with all the spawns of CHAOS running about. It had taken the five members of their group working together to reach their destination. So for AncientGreymon to do it alone, it must've been an incredible feat.

“It's nothing…” AncientGreymon muttered.

“What changed your mind?” Sekata asked.

“You know…it was something I learnt today. And I learnt it from you.” AncientGreymon smiled, for the first time, a genuine smile. “I realized what was really important in life. And it was making a difference…”

“Thanks…” Sekata whispered.

Suddenly, CHAOS shook off the tornado of flames and roared. All four arms shot forward, the claws extending into razor-sharp spikes.

“Watch out!” AncientGreymon abruptly pushed his way in front of Sekata and Zoe…taking each and every one in the chest.

“NO!” Sekata cried, horrified.

The Legendary Warrior had already been so badly weakened by the journey here, and by utilizing his power to heal them. A direct attack like that just could be enough to…

“It was…good…while it…lasted…” AncientGreymon coughed up blood from his mouth. “Finish this…you hear…”

“I…I will! That's a promise!”

“Good…because I'll…never….forgive you if…you…don't…rargghh…..” AncientGreymon's body fell limp.

CHAOS tossed the armored dragon's lifeless body away, leaving it to dissipate in a cloud of data particles.

“Zoe!” Sekata called. “My plan! We have to go for it!”

“Sekata…” Zoe sniffed.

“No one else is going to die saving us! There have been enough sacrifices already!”

“Sekata…”

“Zoe…please trust me Zoe!”

“I will!” Zoe declared.

On the other side of the arena, Steve, Janet and Aero were miraculously beginning to awaken. Some of AncientGreymon's power must've rubbed off on them too, and Sekata wanted to make sure it wasn't wasted.

“It's not over…” Janet growled, clenching her fists. “Not yet…”

“I haven't given up!” Steve staggered to his feet with a determined look in his eyes.

“Give me…strength…” Aero muttered. Even on his broken ankle, the blue dragon managed to stand.

“Steve! Jan! Aero!” Sekata yelled. “Hit it from your side with everything you've got! Do it now!”

The three were weak, but their actions indicated that they'd heard everything.

“Poseidon Force!”

“Gaia Reactor!”

“Shining V Force!”

Blue, red and white energy slammed into CHAOS from three sides, leaving it screeching in pain. The massive dragon turned towards the trio, and that was just the distraction Sekata needed. Snatching the Omega Blade off the ground, Sekata tossed it to Zoe and retrieved the Ryuukonken for himself.

“Follow my lead!” The Dorugoramon ordered.

“Right on it!”

With Sekata in the lead, the pair took to the air. CHAOS sensed their approach, but it was already too late. Upon seeing their leading above, Steve, Janet and Aero broke off from their attacks…leaving Sekata with a clean shot at CHAOS' neck.

One that he made full use of, slicing the head cleanly off. With the deed done, Sekata dropped the Ryuukonken and held his claws out, drawing in the essence of CHAOS. It began with the head, breaking down into black goop, followed by a stream of similar subsistence from the severed neck.

By this time, Zoe was way above, with her gleaming white sword raised to the heavens. Bringing it down hard, Zoe slashed vertically down, cutting all the way through the headless body of the CHAOS dragon.

“Omega Blade!”

That was followed by a blinding explosion…then, it was all over.

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“Sekata! Sekata!” Zoe screamed.

The others were all too weak to move much, leaving Zoe as the only one to run to Sekata's side. The rest of CHAOS' massive body had faded away, leaving Sekata kneeling in a puddle of the black goop.

“It's done Zoe…” Sekata panted.

“Sekata…” Zoe gasped. “Did you really…”

“I did.” The Dorugoramon closed his eyes. “CHAOS is gone…but traces of its essence remain within me. Soon it'll grow and expand…and a new CHAOS will be formed. I understand it all now…I feel its power gathering up within me.”

“No…there must be a way to stop it!”

“This is the point Zoe! The point where CHAOS is at its weakest!” Sekata explained. “So much that it's now tied to my life-force! And when that's gone…so will CHAOS!”

“No!”

“You have to use the Omega Blade on me Zoe!” Sekata gestured to the sword in the Imperialdramon's hands. “Kill me while I can still hold the CHAOS back!”

“No! NO!” Zoe screamed. “I can't…I just can't…”

“You have to!”

“I love you Sekata! I can't do this!”

“You will if you really do love me!”

“NO!”

“Then I will make you! RROOAAARRR!” Without even a bit of hesitation, Sekata lunged from his kneeling position.

Zoe blocked on reflex, but the difference in their body weights still knocked her down. The Omega Blade clattered to the side as Zoe lost her hold on it.

“Raaarrrrrwww!” Sekata whipped his tail, forcing Zoe to roll away.

The Imperialdramon sprang to her feet, but did not take any stance to defend herself.

“I won't do it!” Zoe insisted.

“I'm not holding back Zoe!” Sekata roared. “Come on! Take me!”

“Hey Sekata!” Steve shouted from his kneeling position. “What the heck are you doing?”

“Have you been listening to anything they've been saying?” Aero grimaced, touching his bad ankle.

“Erm…”

“Sekata drained a lot of CHAOS' power in order to weaken it.” Janet spoke up. “That's probably the only reason why we were able to beat it.”

“But by doing so, Sekata also absorbed the very essence of CHAOS, the shell programming.” Aero continued.

Now, it was Janet's turn to look confused.

“Each Digimon has a core programming, or a soul to phrase it differently, that determines how he thinks and acts. Built around that is the `shell' program, the physical body.” Aero placed a palm to his chest. “That is linked to the different forms we take on. As the outer shell changes, so do our appearances.”

“But then, Sekata's got too much of CHAOS in him, right?” Steve asked. “So it'll mean that…”

“Yes, in time, it will overwrite his shell program, as well as his core. That's the technical explanation at least.” Aero nodded.

“And in lame man's terms?”

“Sekata's very soul will be corrupted.” Janet realized. “He'll change, be completely taken over until there's not even a trace of his former self left!”

“Then, Zoe really has to…” Steve was unable to finish, turning to watch the struggle unfold.

Janet and Aero followed suit, for there was nothing else either of them could do.

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Despite having Sekata continuously clawing at her, Zoe had been able to catch the entire conversation.

Sekata had deliberately slowed his attacking in order to let the message get through. He had to make Zoe understand his decision, and he had to do it quickly.

Yet, she was only dodging his attacking and backing away.

Flustered, Sekata dropped to all fours for a second and pushed off the ground in a cat-like pounce. The move caught Zoe by surprise as Sekata's claws locked with hers.

The Dorugoramon twisted slightly, forcing Zoe to resist by shoving back against his grasp.

“I won't do it!” Zoe grunted whilst continuing to struggle. “I won't fight you!”

“Won't or can't?” Sekata snapped.

“There has got to be a better way!”

“Even if there was, there isn't time! I can already feel CHAOS creeping into the back of my mind!”

“Come back with us Sekata! Maybe Wisemon and the others will be able to think of something!”

“Then you'll only end up having to lock me up like the last time!” Sekata cried. “Is that what you want for me? Is that something you want to go through again?”

“I…” Zoe's eyes widened in shock.

“Zoe…” Sekata turned away. “I'd rather die as the dragon you knew…the dragon you loved than one twisted and corrupted by CHAOS' evil. I just want you to know that…”

A tear dripped down his reptilian face and along his snout. The world stood still as Zoe watched it hit the floor.

Sekata…you really mean…everything to us…to me…The words flashed through the blue dragon's mind. And I'll do this for you too!

The Imperialdramon brought a leg up into Sekata's stomach and kicked hard. The Dorugoramon grunted as he flipped head-over-heels and back into a crouching position.

“Forgive me…” Zoe whispered, taking up the Omega Blade in hand.

“I already have.” Sekata smiled in return.

Racing forward on all fours, Sekata snatched the Ryuukonken off the ground and curled into a ball. The dragon rolled the last few feet and leapt up, using the Ryuukonken to execute an uppercut-style attack. One that was parried in perfect timing by Zoe.

From then on, a furious swordfight erupted.

Blades flashed and clashed as their users bounded about. Like a well rehearsed performance, each stroke was met by another, each body movement in perfect sync.

Sekata and Zoe met each other head on, their blades crossed as the two dragons poured every ounce of their remaining strength into the fight.

It was not only a battle of life and death, but also a dance…a dance of love.

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“She's really fighting back now.” Steve muttered, watching the battle from afar.

The trio were on their feet now, with Steve supporting Aero due to the latter's ankle injury.

“The mural!” Janet suddenly gasped. “Damn! I should've seen through it before!”

“Mural?”

“The one I found in that old castle with all the ghost Digimon. Remember, the image of the white dragon stabbing the purple one?”

“Purple and white…” Steve blinked. “Oh no…”

Sekata's Dorugoramon body had purple scales and wing membranes, although the body was mostly covered by silver armor. On the other hand, none of the five had possessed a white dragon form…until this very last battle with Imperialdramon Paladin Mode.

“RRAARRWWW!” A gurgled roar snapped the Wargreymon out of his thoughts.

Zoe was standing firm…with the Omega Blade stuck through Sekata's chest. The Dorugoramon let his Ryuukonken drop and stared at Zoe for a long while.

Soon, Sekata began to laugh.

“And I wasn't even…holding back…”

Zoe pulled the blade out and tossed it aside, catching Sekata before he could hit the ground. Although weakly, Sekata reached up and stroked the side of Zoe's face.

The latter's tears were streaming down now, dripping onto Sekata's body and mingling with his blood.

“Be happy…” Sekata grinned.

“I know…” Zoe sniffed. “I know…”

Glancing towards Steve, Janet and Aero, Sekata flashed a thumbs-up. It was an automatically interpreted message that, in this case, meant `Thanks for everything'. And the trio knew it, bowing their heads in respect.

“Live life for me Zoe.” Sekata whispered. “That's the greatest gift of all…”

“I love you…I always will.” Zoe sobbed.

“Goodbye Zoe…” Sekata nodded with a warm smile on his face.

Zoe bent over and kissed him, holding her snout against his even as Sekata's body started to fade away. The Dorugoramon's form broke up into white light and data particles, which scattered themselves in the wind.

There was no hiding the tears of the others as they too, wept with Zoe. The dragoness placed her hands on the Ryuukonken and the Omega Blade as she looked up, just in time to see the last of the white light fading away.

“Sekata…”

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“Hey…” Dynamo waved weakly.

The dark knight and his comrade Metallix were leaning against the walls of the corridor, panting and covered with sweat.

They were a mess too, with their armor all battered and burnt. Bullet casings littered the area, along with piles of stone and debris.

“Garrgghh…” Metallix groaned. “We were beginning to wonder if you guys were alive or not.”

“What did you expect?” Steve quipped.

“Sure, hog all the glory for beating the big boss while we got stuck with the endless flow of little ones.” Dynamo sighed. “At least they finally stopped coming.”

“When we destroyed CHAOS, all of its spawns must've gone down with it.” Janet noted.

“Yeah, good for you.” Dynamo muttered. “Huh?”

The Chaos Dukemon was startled to find Janet offering him a hand.

“This is for helping me before.” The Gaioumon huffed. “But don't expect any other favors from me…ever!”

“Hahaha…always the same, princess.” Dynamo chuckled.

“I don't get it.” Steve whispered to Aero, whom he was supporting. “I thought she positively hated him.”

“I guess going through near life and death encounters can change things.” Aero shrugged.

“Was that something about me?” Janet snarled.

“No madam!” Both Wargreymon and Alforce V-Dramon shot out at once.

“Is Junon still here?” Zoe turned to Metallix.

“She brought Lucifer out through the portal.” The Metal Garurumon X explained. “But from the message she sent, seems that he…well…didn't really make it. Injuries were too bad.”

Despite the wolf's lack of expressive words, Zoe realized that the Royal Knights had lost someone important to them too. Metallix looked as if he wanted to ask about their fifth member, but decided against it after seeing Zoe's expression.

The Imperialdramon nodded and stepped past him, taking the lead along the path back out to the surface. Strapped across her back were the Ryuukonken and the Omega Blade.

Tears fell from her eyes as Zoe felt the cold, heavy weight of the weapons against her back.

Zoe herself didn't understand at first, until the vision of Sekata's smile snapped into her mind. Only then did she realize that she was crying tears of joy.

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3 Days later…

Wisemon's group took them in without hesitation and nursed them back to health. The wizard had tried to keep things under wraps, but eventually the word got out.

And this time the town welcomed them as heroes. Still, Sealsdramon and Sleipmon did a good job at keeping the general crowd out of their wards, leaving the group to rest and recover in peace.

Ace had been crushed to hear about Sekata's death, but the Betamon occupied himself with helping his grandfather, Blappa. The Zudomon blacksmith had decided to work on a great sculpture to commemorate the triumph over CHAOS, promising that it would be the finest one they'd ever seen.

Lucifer had died of his injuries, leaving Junon to speak with Zoe. Like the others, Zoe was now back to her standard form of XV-mon.

“He told me that I was free to live my own life now.” Junon recalled. “After serving others for so long…I just don't know what to do.”

“Sekata told me the same thing.” Zoe replied. “And I sincerely believe that there's a path for each of us. That's what they wished for us to do….have the courage to find that path.”

“Hmm, perhaps you are right.” Junon picked her helmet off the table at which they were seated. “I thank you for hearing me out.”

“I should be saying the same for you.”

“I will take my leave now.” Junon bowed. “Perhaps we may meet again…”

However, as the pink armored knight reached the doorway, another humanoid Digimon suddenly stepped into the room. A gothic figure covered in thick black robes.

“Evza?” Junon gasped, staring towards the Lilithmon.

“Hey, wait up!” Aero and Steve stumbled over.

The former of the two was now hobbling about on crutches. However, both stopped upon seeing the stare down between Junon and Evza, unsure of how to react.

“I've heard about Lucifer's unfortunate demise.” Evza spoke. “I wish to offer my sympathy.”

“All is well and good, but I am curious as to why you are here.” Junon responded.

“Because of a promise I made to Lucifer…that I would take you in if anything were to happen to him.”

“He did?” Junon gasped.

“It will not be any more experiments or dark arts.” Evza looked towards Aero. “Those have tainted my soul for far too long and caused much more harm than good.”

Aero immediately knew that the Lilithmon had been referring to her daughter, Zelia. At the same time, he could also see that she was sincere about her words.

“You don't really know what to go on either, do you?” Junon queried.

The look in Evza's eyes told the Rhodo Knightmon everything.

“Then we do have a lot in common.” Junon smiled. “Very well, I'll accept your offer.”

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“Junon was still here?” Janet remarked as Zoe, Steve and Aero took seats around the hospital room. “Dynamo and Metallix hightailed it out of here the moment they were able to walk.”

“Personality is personality.” Aero laughed. “All they're really interested in is money.”

“Everything's wrapped up and ready to go people.” Katsu happily announced upon entering the room.

“Do you still have them?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah, right here.” The Shadramon reached into his bag and pulled out the three CHAOS shards, placing them down on the table. “I managed to keep them safe throughout the fight, and I brought them back once the portal was closed.”

“They're still radiating with energy.” Aero commented.

“What are you implying?” Steve raised a hand.

“We might be able to open the portal to that dimension again.” Aero explained. “And by studying the energies there, it's quite practical that we could find a way…”

“For us to go back?” Janet's ears perked up. “Back to our original world?”

“Even with the completion of the reality shift, I recall Omegamon mentioning that there still was a way.” Zoe nodded, taking hold of one of the crystal shards.

Steve and Janet each took a shard too. A single glance between the three morphs was enough of a signal. And much to Aero and Katsu's shock, the dragon trio crushed the CHAOS shards in their claws.

“W…what did you guys do that for?” Aero stuttered.

“Too risky.” Janet growled. “After all the trouble we went through to fix things, I certainly don't want to do it all over again.”

“We're an actual part of this world now, so why waste a good thing?” Steve continued.

“Sekata…he gave up so much for us, and for this world.” Zoe finished. “Live life for me…I want to do that here…in my own way.”

“As do we all.” Janet laughed.

“So, it's finally over…” Steve nodded.

“No, not just yet…” Zoe raised a finger.

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“GGarrrggghhhh! Will you stop this already?” The head of Chaosdramon screeched. “If you're going to continue humiliating me like this, you might as well dismantle me instead!”

“If you'd shut up for a bit, we would be able to finish this faster and turn your optic sensors back on.” Steve growled.

“I get manhandled and hooked up to gadgets like a piece of trash!” Chaosdramon continued complaining. “It's absolutely degrading! I don't know what thing you've fixed me up to this time, but I…huh?”

The mechanical dragon felt the bottom part of his head connect to something, which instantly hummed and charged up with energy. Then, he felt something….a neck?

Yes, he suddenly seemed to have one. And he could feel his hands again. In addition, they moved! They actually moved!

Finally, his optical sensors (or eyes) came on, leaving Chaosdramon staring in awe.

There he was, looking down at his own dinosaur-like body. All exactly as he remembered it to be, with a powerful pair of legs and a smaller set of forelimbs. His armor had the same red and gray plating, along with the twin cannons mounted on his back.

Chaosdramon X waved his arms about, shifted his feet and swung his tail back and forth in delight. He then realized that he'd been placed in some kind of mechanical workshop with Zoe, Steve, Janet and Aero standing around him.

“How does it feel?” Zoe asked him. “Satisfy you?”

“I…I don't understand…” Chaosdramon muttered. “You did this…for me?”

“Yeah, we worked with the local mechanics here and built this new body for you.” Janet nodded.

“Are there some conditions attached?”

“No, this one is on us.” Zoe stepped in front of the larger dragon. “We're letting you go free.”

“Aren't you at all afraid that I might come back to haunt you?”

“I know you won't. Not only because you helped us find that portal, but also because of what you asked me.” Zoe closed her eyes. “About `that' emotion.”

“Hmmm…so, what is it really?”

“Unfortunately, it's not something I think I can just explain like this.”

“Then…”

“The only way was to show you, and then let you discover it for yourself.”

“To show me?” Chaosdramon looked confused and touched his chest for a second. “By giving me…a new body?”

“I think you're already beginning to understand.” Zoe smiled.

“But where would I go from here?” Chaosdramon wondered.

“There's a path for each of us.” Zoe pushed the door open, revealing the tiled roads of the village and the mountains beyond. “All we need to do is have the courage to find that path.”

The red dragon looked down at Zoe for a while, and then scanned through the faces of the others. Finally, he started lumbering off the platform and out through the doorway. However, Chaosdramon paused at the door for a while longer.

“Thank you.” He whispered, although it was almost too soft to hear.

Squinting against the orange rays of the setting sun, the party watched Chaosdramon go until he had finally disappeared from sight.

“I think there's a bit of Sekata in him after all.” Aero broke the silence.

“Not just him, in all of us.” Steve remarked. “That's the way we all want to remember Sekata as.”

“Wow, I never knew you could be that sentimental Steve.” Janet growled.

“Hey, know what?” Steve took hold of his Strikedramon companion's claw. “I can be pretty romantic too.”

“Moron.” Janet whacked the Flamedramon on the shoulder. However, she too was squeezing his claw in return.

Smiling, Zoe turned away from the scene of her friends playfully fighting and looked towards the setting sun.

It's finally over. We can all settle down and relax now. And I know you're watching me from somewhere out there too.

Zoe was sure that her message would reach him, some how…some way. She just believed in it.