Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Alone at the Stroke of Midnight ( Chapter 13 )

Digimon / Digital Monsters and all related trademarks belong are copyright to Toei animation / Saban entertainment. 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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"What is this place?" Zoe wondered as she glanced around. "This is creepy…"

She'd come to in a dark, misty forest, lying beside a stream. It was night and there was very little moonlight for her to see with.

"Brrr…it's so cold that I'm blue all over." She muttered. Then, she looked down at her XV-mon body. "Oh yeah, I forgot…I'm always blue anyway. Heh, couldn't they have given XV-mon some clothes?"

Zoe didn't have a particular fear of the dark, but being lost and alone in a cold, dark forest was certainly a cause for concern. It was something out of a horror movie, and Zoe never liked those. Inwardly, she was trying her best to convince herself that she wasn't sacred.

She'd recently beaten a vampire after all, and she could definitely handle this.

A sudden gust of wind blew by, snapping several branches behind her. Startled, Zoe screamed and fell.

"That's it! I want out of here, now!" Too panicked to think about using her wings, she climbed to her feet and started running.

Her imagination began to run wild as she dashed aimlessly, shoving branches away and dashing around trees.

"No! NO! Get away from me!! Help!!!" Zoe yelled, covering her ears and closing her eyes. "Sekata! Sekata where are you?! OUCH!"

With a loud thud, she smacked right into a thick tree. Zoe landed on her back, staring up into the partially hidden moon and realized she was at the edge of the forbidding forest.

Breathing slowly, Zoe struggled to calm herself down.

"Damn, that was stupid." She sighed, realizing she'd let paranoia get hold of her.

However, she still made it a point to stand far away from the thicker part of the dark forest before reviewing her situation. Zoe was thinking about whether to try and find some place in the dark night sky or wait until morning when thunder rumbled and rain began pouring.

Cursing, she ran beneath several trees, desperately trying to find some shelter. It was then that she noticed a light in the distance. Hoping for the best, Zoe pushed her legs to move towards it.

The dirt pathway led along the edge of the forest, along to a river and finally a stone path, leading up to a mansion, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

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Several of its windows were lit and Zoe assumed there was someone inside. Shielding her face from the pounding rain, she jogged up to the huge double doors.

"Hello? Anybody home?" She called, knocking on the door. "Hello!"

Zoe leaned against the door's handle and accidentally pushed it down. The door suddenly swung open inwards, sending her stumbling in and landing face first on the carpeted floor.

"Thank…huh?" Zoe stopped short upon seeing there was no one around.

She was lying in what could be described as an epitome of lavish. The entrance hall was simply huge, its floor covered completely by a red and gold carpet. Arched marbled pillars lined the ornate hall, supporting the upper floor. A single staircase led up to the second level.

And high above hung a grand chandelier, illuminating the entire room.

Wait a minute! This place seems familiar…no way…

Back in the human world, Zoe had been about 4 years old where her grandfather passed away and left her family on old mansion in his will. She couldn't remember much, but she'd visited it once before her father had sold it off, and had gotten lost in its twisting maze of hallways.

Of course, she was terrified then, but she was very young at that time. It happened that this entrance hall looked almost like the one in her grandfather's mansion.

She was so caught up in staring around that she didn't notice the door being blown close by the wind. It slammed shut with a loud bang behind her, causing her to jump.

"Erm…anybody?"

Her voice echoed throughout the gigantic hallway. The door had apparently been unlocked before she got there.

Zoe shook herself dry and considered her options.

The mansion was certainly more inviting than going back out into the torrential rainstorm, but Zoe got the feeling that something was just…just wrong about this place. She didn't know whether to call it a gut feeling, instinct or something else.

However, curiosity got the better of her and she decided to have a look around the 'abandoned' mansion.

There were two doors leading out of the main hall and she chose to enter the left one, which led into a dining room. Like the previous, this too looked like an area from the homes of rich people she'd seen in movies.

Coincidentally, it also resembled a room from her grandfather's mansion, or what she could remember at least.

A fireplace was at the end, with several wall ornaments hanging above it. Nearby stood an old grandfather clock, it's ticking being the only sound in the room. The dining table could easily fit 20, by human standards at least.

The balcony of the second level was visible from her position, although it was not lit well.

She was looking at a cabinet of beautifully decorated plates when the grandfather clock sounded 12 midnight , alarming her yet again. Zoe spun round, accidentally knocking the shelf over with her tail.

"Oh crap…" Zoe muttered, staring down at the pile of shattered plates and glass from the cupboard.

Just then, she caught sight of something through the reflection in the broken glass. Someone was on the balcony above.

"Hey! Are you there?!" She looked up and asked.

However, she could neither see nor get a reply from the mysterious figure.

"Please wait!" She called, dashing out the door back to the entrance hall. The next second, she came back to the dining room and spread her wings. "Got to stop forgetting about those!"

Zoe found no one on the balcony and both doors up there firmly locked.

"Er…OK, whoever owns this house. If you want me to leave, I'll go now, all right?" Zoe muttered nervously, making her way back to the entrance hall.

And found herself staring at the steel wall where the door she'd entered through had been.

"No way…"

Zoe ran around the hall several times until she was sure the door had been right there. She was positively freaked out now and her mind raced.

I have to get the hell out of here!

"X-laser!"

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Her attack had been aimed at the wall, but instead it bounced off some invisible force field. Zoe dropped to the floor as the laser bounced from wall to wall and finally ended with shooting the chandelier off the ceiling.

With an ear-splitting crash, many of the glass sections shattered on the staircase as it begun to roll down towards her. Although Zoe managed to dive out of the way, the chandelier smashed into the wall and went completely dark, plunging the room into total blackness.

"Shit!!!"

Zoe groped around in darkness until she found her way back to the dining room, which was fortunately still lighted.

"What the heck is going on here?!" She panted, flopping down against the table. "Huh? Wait a minute, the grandfather clock was previously on the left of the fire place, wasn't it?"

Zoe went over to examine it, but couldn't be sure about her suspicion. She hadn't really taken note of the surroundings, or the paintings on the wall for that matter.

Speaking of paintings, one…two…three? Huh? I know there were two before and…

Zoe realized the door back to the main hall was gone. She stood, scared stiff, for a moment before running to where the door was supposed to be. In its place was the painting of a graveyard.

Zoe backed away, stumbling over a chair, and ran for the other door. It was locked and Zoe's attempt to blast it open only resulted in the X-laser rebounding and hitting her.

In a fit of terror, Zoe glanced around, desperately looking for something she could do. Both doors on the upper level were still locked and the windows were protected by the same magical force as the doors and walls.

Her eyes fell upon the other two paintings. One was of an outside view of the mansion and the other of a clock tower.

Clock tower…clock…of course! Zoe snapped her fingers. They love hiding stuff in grandfather clocks!

She raced for the grandfather clock and opened its casing. Inside, she could see something glittering. Her hand trembled as she reached for it.

And as Zoe grabbed it, the lights went out.

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With a shriek that could've shattered windows, Zoe ran blindly and smacked into a wall mounted shelf. A pile of useless items landed on her lap, but one felt familiar.

A lighter.

"Please work! Please work!" Zoe prayed, flicking the small item.

All around, she could hear crashing sounds and when she managed to work the lighter, she saw why. One on the cupboards she'd knocked over had fallen and hit another, resulting in a chain reaction.

Zoe's heart was still pounding when she looked up, and stared as several luminescent words that had appeared on the opposite wall.

'In the Garden Sleeps a Messenger'.

A chilly gust of wind blew past her right side, extinguishing the lighter's flame.

Zoe just screamed and ran straight into another wall. When she opened her eyes again, the lights had come back on. Lying nearby was the object she'd pulled out of the grandfather clock…a silver key.

The doors and windows were still shut and there was no way a draft could've gotten in.

Something/someone was seemingly playing mind games with her, and Zoe had no choice but to follow.

The silver key opened the remaining door on the lower level. Zoe slowly pushed it open and glanced into a two storied art gallery. It too was lit by a chandelier and several torches on the walls, although not as brightly. The orange glow of the fires gave off an eerie aura, adding that to the complete silence in the room.

Zoe reluctantly stepped through the door, which swung close with a click, indicating that it had locked itself. There was no keyhole on her current side.

The paintings hung on the walls showed various elements like fire and ice, natural disasters like floods, meteors, earthquakes and locations like a hill and a tree-lined road. The pictures themselves weren't intimidating in any way, but the situation certainly was.

At the end of the second level, Zoe found a larger painting of what seemed like the Garden of Eden. More importantly, there was a title at the bottom, which read 'In the Garden Sleeps a Messenger'.

Please, don't make the lights go out this time.

In anticipation, Zoe reached for the painting and pulled it down with one motion. Behind it was another phrase, written in bright red blood.

'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened…'

Zoe immediately shoved the painting back in its place.

"God…what's going on here?!" She cried, staggering uneasily.

She could already hear her own knees knocking as she scanned the room again. This time she found a trap door on the ceiling. Without thinking, she flew up to it and pushed it open.

Zoe was abruptly grabbed and she went into a complete panic, losing all self-control as was she dropped to the ground, shutting her eyes, waving her limbs about wildly and screaming till her voice was hoarse.

Finally, she managed to gather the courage to open her eyes, and found what had 'grabbed' her was the model skeleton of some creature reassembling a Pterodactyl. Its ribcage had gotten caught around her head and shoulders.

Zoe sighed in relief and broke the plastic skeleton off her.

However, she suddenly realized she had a rope around her neck. Shivering, Zoe tugged it slightly and stared at it.

The rope was tied in a hangman's knot and lead up…up through the open trap door.

And just as suddenly, she was roughly jerked up. Zoe didn't have long to scream through…she passed out before being dragged halfway.

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Zoe awoke in darkness. She was lying down on her back, but there was a wall above her…and to the left and right as well. Just like a coffin.

No! NO! NNNNOOOOOOO!

Zoe pounded on the 'ceiling' with her fists. Multiple cracking sounds indicated that she was doing some damage this time. In a final burst of her X-laser, Zoe blew the coffin open and pulled herself out.

Dizzy with tension, she sat up to find herself in what seemed like a basement.

She'd burst out of a coffin that had been placed on top of an old bench. Around the basement lay other coffins looking similar to hers and a stack of wooden barrels in the corner. The room was lit be a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling, making a creaking sound as it swung about.

Besides that and her own pounding heart beat, Zoe felt something else. A deep rumbling…coming from nearby.

Instinctively, Zoe leapt off the bench and rolled away as a large shape burst out from the ground beneath it.

The horrific creature was definitely no Digimon, nor was it anything she could comprehend. It was like an oversized earthworm, which was completely covered in a slimily black liquid.

Where its head should've been split into multiple stalks, like the heads of a Hydra. Only this creature didn't have any definite eyes, mouth or nose.

Zoe didn't hesitate to start shooting. Unfortunately, each 'head' she blasted off regenerated immediately.

"Need more firepower!" She realized, touching her Digivice. "XV-mon ev….urrgghhh!"

The worm creature lashed out with its heads/tentacles, wrapping them around her body. Frantically, Zoe sank her fangs into it, finding it not only had a revolting sting to her tongue, but disgustingly putrid odor as well.

Not only that, the feel of its slime oozing over her body made her scales crawl.

Her effort seemed to harm her more than the creature, which squeezed her harder, causing her to cry out. However, she couldn't get a sound out.

The creature thrust one of its 'head' straight into her open jaws, shoving some nauseating fluid down her throat.

Zoe was almost thankful that she lost consciousness this time.

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"Sekata!" She screamed.

However, it seemed as if she wasn't there at all. Yet, Zoe knew that the Vritramon being dragged through the cavern was Sekata.

"NO! Please! No!" Sekata was yelling.

The other Digimon simply, punched, kicked and jabbed to subdue him. Zoe couldn't understand why he wasn't fighting back. Possibly, he couldn't, but she followed.

Sekata was roughly bound to a flat metal platform and had his head strapped into a brace. A larger Digimon brought out a gigantic battle axe and began to sharpen it on a nearby stone.

Sekata continued to roar in protest until a black bag was tied over his head.

The other Digimon watched as the large one lumbered over and raised the battle axe. He was aiming for Sekata's neck.

"NNNOOO!!!" Zoe cried, attempting to rush forward.

Suddenly, her entire body was paralyzed.

And the axe came down…

NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Zoe's eyes snapped open.

She still couldn't move any part of her body, but she wasn't in the cave any more. Slowly, the unpleasant memories of the haunted mansion came back to her.

Sekata…was that a dream…or a vision?

It was then that Zoe took note of her surroundings...and found herself wishing she hadn't. She was in another awfully familiar looking room.

Now what?

Zoe tried to get up…and found she couldn't move a muscle. Not even her neck or mouth would budge a bit. The only thing she could do was strain her eyes as much as they could.

She had been left lying on a bed, with the blanket pulled up to her waist and her head raised on a pillow, tilted slightly towards the door. By moving her eyes, she could examine most of the surroundings.

In fact, seemed a lot like the bedroom she'd had when she was a baby. A lot of things were as she remembered….the door across from the bed, the small writing table in the corner, the closet and the toy chest nearby. And the rocking horse in the center of the carpet.

Moonlight was streaming in through the single window above the bed.

The clouds apparently cleared, allowing more moonlight in. Zoe suddenly got the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.

With the additional light, Zoe could see more of the bedroom.

The light seemed to shine down only on the rocking horse, causing it to sort of 'glow'. There was a doll of a human girl on top of it. The rocking horse was moving too, and with the light reflecting off it…it just sent shivers up Zoe's spine.

As if she wasn't petrified enough already…literally too.

As more light came in, Zoe saw what she thought were crayon marks on the wall were actually messages, written in blood.

'Help me' had been scribbled numerous times in different sizes. Another message, however, caused her to break out in cold sweat.

'Your body will rot in this chamber forever'.

Zoe was scared out of her wits, but she couldn't even open her mouth to scream. She tried her best to move her eyes away from the words and ended up glancing down at her own body.

That was when she saw some snake-like shape, curling and slithering around beneath the skin of her stomach and chest.

NNOO! NNNNOOOO! PLEASE!!! HELP ME!!!! SOMEONE!!!! HELLLPPPP MMMEEEEEE!!!!

As if on cue, the door flew open and a human-like figure entered. He was clad in a white robe and had eight white, feathery wings on his back. He wore a tall hat like that of a bishop that came down to cover his face, leaving only his mouth and nose exposed.

I'M HERE! Zoe screamed in her mind. PLEASE!! HELP ME!!!!!

The figure studied the room in confusion.

PLEASE!!! I'M HERE!!!!!

His head then turned towards her. The figure began to approach, but suddenly stopped and threw part of his robe back. A blade extended from the fist of his right hand.

"To hell with you, devil of darkness!" He declared in a strong voice.

It happened so quickly that Zoe could barely see it. Two fox-like Digimon materialized out of no where. They seemed ghastly, being very thin with red fur and black, leather sections covering their legs.

They were a dark Digimon known as Fangmon.

With lightning speed, they leapt towards the figure, who bravely stood his ground.

"Excalibur!"

At the last instant, he charged and slashed with his blade. The two Fangmon flew past him, then broke into pieces and disintegrated.

Retracting his blade, the robed Digimon dashed over to Zoe's side.

"Don't be afraid, I'm going to get you out of here."

Zoe felt herself being gently lifted up. At some point, she lost consciousness yet again.

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"Huh?" This time, Zoe opened her eyes to a much more relieving sight.

She was sitting in the front pew of a church. On a raised platform nearby was an altar. Her rescuer was standing there, although now with his robes off, revealing he was a Holy Angemon (aka MagnaAngemon).

Excitedly, Zoe ran up to him…and gasped as her hand passed through his shoulder. She looked and was shocked to find her arm was translucent and shimmering with a blue light.

It was the same thing with the rest of her body.

Zoe realized Holy Angemon was down at someone on the altar and moved around him to see…herself, eyes closed, covered up to the neck in a white sheet.

"Am I…dead?" She dreaded, staring at her body on the altar. "Then…I'm a ghost…?"

Holy Angemon suddenly looked up and turned in her direction.

"Are you there, young one?" He asked. "Please listen if you are. I know you must be extremely frightened and confused, but you have a very special power. If you can, signal me with it. It is the only way we'll be able to communicate."

"Special power?" Zoe asked.

Holy Angemon continued to look around, as if he hadn't heard her question. Perhaps he couldn't.

"I cannot hear you now, but if you focus and think what you want to in your mind, your voice will reach me."

"Think what I want?" Zoe wondered.

Closing her eyes, she tried out what she'd been told.

<I'm here!>

This time, Holy Angemon nodded.

"Then it is true. You are a seer, and that must be why the poltergeist targeted you."

<What do you mean by that?> Zoe queried, using the same method as before.

"Perhaps it is best I tell you this terrible story from the start." Holy Angemon said. "I am Holy Angemon, a traveling priest. The mansion you entered unfortunately happens to be one of the most dreadful places in the world. It is said that a mad scientist aiming to obtain eternal life conducted countless numbers of experiments on innocent victims. He performed ritual sacrifices and called upon forbidden magic, damming the souls of his victims to an eternity of suffering."

<So, that explains the haunted house on the hill, but what does this have to do with me?>

"You see, these condemned souls despise the living, but of all they hate those with 'gifts'. Like you, who possess the powers of a Seer. For the common listener, better know as a telepath or a psychic."

<Me? A telepath?!> Zoe gasped. <No way, I'm sure you're mistaken!>

"There's no mistake, my child." He laughed softly. "It takes a while to accept your gift."

<Even so…but then what's happened to me now?>

"Your soul has been separated from your physical body." Holy Angemon explained. "This unholy power that now corrupts your body will eventually take it over, forcing your soul stand by helplessly and watch as you are drawn to join them."

<Then, that thing that attacked me…>

"A collection of the evil gathered there, no doubt."

<But…can I do anything?> Zoe asked, feeling more afraid than before.

"To save yourself, you must face the evil spirits again." He said, looking up.

<How?>

"You must battle, only that fighting in the spiritual realm is different. It is the strongest mind and will that shall triumph. I can assist you if you can weaken the condemned souls enough, but only you can face your fears."

<My fears…?>

"It is not true that everything you encountered in the mansion was something or some place you were afraid of at some point in your life?"

<Yes…> Zoe nodded.

The bed room, the entrance hall, the art gallery, the dining room with the grandfather clock, the environment…it was coming back to her now.

Her own childhood fears. However, thinking that someone was using them against her made her furious instead.

<But you say that I have some sort of telepathic powers? I had a vision earlier that a town would be attacked, and it was. I had another of a good friend being killed, so…will that…>

"I'm afraid I do not know the answer." Holy Angemon replied. "I can only tell you now that your physical body will not last long in its current state. We must return to confront the poltergeist soon, or you will be lost forever."

<But…Sekata…I just have to know.> Zoe declared. <I saw where he was. Now that I'm a disembodied life-force…I could go there, right?>

"Indeed, adding to the fact that your soul being separate from your body would enhance your telepathic powers. However, you cannot venture away for too long, or else you will never be able to return." Holy Angemon warned. "Your soul will be left to wander in darkness for eternity."

<I…I just can't ignore my vision. Sekata…just leave him. Zoe decided. If you could bring my body back to the mansion, I'll meet you there.>

"You have great courage young one." He nodded. "It would seem I cannot stop you anyway. Please, be careful."

<Thanks…> Closing her eyes, Zoe envisioned what she'd seen earlier. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening.

Then, she felt as if she were being carried away in a strong gust of wind.

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Mountains, trees, landscape all flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Zoe found herself standing in a cavern looking very much like the vision. She didn't have much time to think however as she saw Sekata, strapped to a rectangular platform, and a Lynxmon standing over him.

Zoe listened to the heated conversation between the two and saw the predicament Sekata was in. Lynxmon eventually left, and Zoe was tempted to make contact with Sekata.

Hold on, that's not going to do any good…unless…

Instead, Zoe went after Lynxmon and found her pacing uneasily about in her quarters.

"What's wrong with me?" The fire cat growled softly. "I have no reason to believe Vritramon's lies…yet…why do I feel…so…unsure? Is he really…telling the truth?"

"He is!" Zoe shouted out loud.

Lynxmon jumped up and looked around, of course not being able to see Zoe.

<Please,> Zoe called out to her. <You have to believe him…and believe me. You have to find a way to help him!>

"Who…" Lynxmon muttered.

<I'm Zoe, but that's not important. She continued. <Please, believe him. You may be his only hope…uuggrrhh!!!>

A sharp pain shot through Zoe's chest. She realized she had to return to where her physical body was.

<Please…he's a good person at heart!> Zoe called out a final plea before she allowed some hidden force to drag her away from the caverns and the confused Lynxmon, and back to the pathway leading up to the mansion.

Somehow, Zoe just felt that it would work out.

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Holy Angemon was already standing there, carrying her physical body wrapped in a white cloth.

<I'm here!> She called out.

"I hope you're prepared." The armored angel looked up and nodded.

<Well, I never thought of myself as an exorcist, but no one's gonna steal my soul if I can help it! By the way, what's the plan?>

"It's simple really. I'll recite several passages which will anger the evil spirits, and they'll appear. They will attack once they sense you."

<OK, I understand.>

Holy Angemon entered the main hall, placed her physical body aside, knelt down and began speaking softly in a strange language.

Immediately, Zoe could sense great clouds of emotions rising throughout the room. None of them were pleasant…anger, depression, hatred…

A thick black liquid begun to seep out from between the stairs and took the shape of the worm creature Zoe had encountered earlier.

"All right, I'm ready for you this time!" Zoe growled. "Rrraaaggghhh!"

Her first two laser bursts seemed to hurt the creature, but suddenly it vanished and appeared behind her. Swinging one of its appendages, Zoe felt a searing pain tear through her left side as she was thrown to the ground.

"Ow…what the?!" Zoe stared down at the wound. It was as if a piece had been literally torn out of her body, leaving a large hole in her side.

"It aims to consume you." Holy Angemon warned, without looking up from his position. "Don't let it! Remember, the strongest mind wins!"

Strongest mind…Zoe clenched her fists in determination.

"I'm not afraid of you! Not any more! You won't use my fears against me!!"

Zoe flew to the side as the creature swung one of its limbs and sent a hard kick into its side. Blackish goop splattered all over the wall as her leg went through it, but it twisted its body and hurled Zoe away.

She passed straight through a table and ended up in a dazed heap. The creature was suddenly upon her and sprayed out more of its black goo, splashing Zoe with it.

It felt as if some concentrated acid had been poured over her skin. In agony, Zoe stumbled backwards and was knocked to the ground. She landed very close to one of the walls and the creature hovered towards her.

All of a sudden, it backed away.

"Huh?" Zoe wondered. "There's nothing behind me but the wall…of course! It's strongest within the mansion grounds, the place where its dark souls were gathered. But outside…"

The creature was waving its appendages about, as if waiting for her to make a move.

Zoe distracted it with an X-laser and spread her wings, flying high over it and landing on the other side. She had her back to the same wall on which the entrance door was located.

"Hey you! You want my soul?! Come and get it!!"

The worm-like creature charged.

Time seemed to slow down as it made its approach. Letting off a small grin, Zoe spun to the side (in slow motion), letting the creature fly past her.

At that same time, the Digivice down on her physical body glowed.

Zoe brought up both claws, forming a single ring of Digicode around each one. Growling, she brought both together and crossed them in front of her face. The Matrix Evolution symbol, a pair of red and black overlapping triangles, formed in front of her claws.

"XV-mon evolves…"

Blue light, mingled with Digicode engulfed Zoe's body as it begun to melt away and change.

"…Paildramon!"

She was perfectly positioned, with her weapons ready.

"Desperado Blaster!"

The energy bolts shoved the nightmarish monster backwards….directly through the wall (not breaking through is since it was a 'ghost').

Holy Angemon sensed this, and sprang up, kicking the door open.

"Heaven's Gate!" His wrist blade extended and he drew a circle with it, which glowed and became a golden gate.

The worm creature let off a series of ear-splitting wails as it was sucked through the gate. Zoe sighed in relief as the gate closed and vanished completely.

"The curse on your body should now be lifted." Holy Angemon spoke. "I'm sure you want to get back in there."

"Hell yeah!" Zoe flew down to her physical body and reached out to touch it.

It felt as if a vacuum cleaner had suddenly sucked her in and she found herself, back in champion form, bolting up and coughing roughly, regurgitating the black fluid that had been shoved into her system.

"How do you feel?" Holy Angemon asked, patting her on the back.

"I feel…fine…" Zoe breathed. "Just…fine. After all…not everyone…gets the chance…to fight their…"

She fainted.

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"Urgh…man, I wish that would stop happening to me." Zoe moaned, pulling herself up.

From the surroundings, she'd been brought back to the church again, although this time she was in one of the side rooms, lying on a bed.

"And I can actually feel my own hands." She chuckled. "Never thought I'd be glad to do that."

"You're awake at last." A familiar voice sounded. "I was beginning to get worried."

"Hey, thank you for..." Zoe stopped short as an Angemon entered the room.

She'd been expecting to see Holy Angemon, considering the voice was very similar. This Angemon was probably a friend of his.

"I beg your pardon?" Angemon asked.

"Oh, I was wondering where Holy Angemon was. I think he brought me back here."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken. You were found two days ago on the doorsteps to this church and you've been unconscious since. You were in pretty bad shape too."

"Yeah…" Zoe replied, and began relating her dreadful experience.

"Hmmm…" Angemon nodded. "The Holy Angemon you speak of. He is without a doubt my father."

"Really?" Zoe smiled. "That's great! I'd really like to thank him for all he's done for me."

"That would certainly be possible…if he hasn't been dead for 10 years now. The same goes for the mansion, all that's been there for those 10 years is a burnt out structure."

"WHAT?!" Zoe stared. "But…but…I know what I saw! And what I went through!"

"Calm down, my friend. I'm not saying that I don't believe you." Angemon waved his hand.

Zoe felt something beneath her belt and pulled it out. It was a piece of paper with the words 'Thank you' written on it. Wrapped up in the paper was a small cross on a chain.

"This definitely isn't mine." Zoe commented, lifting it up.

"It can only be my father's." Angemon studied the cross. "But father had it with him when he…"

"When he what?"

"Ten years ago, father entered the mansion on a quest to pacify the restless souls which gathered there. However, he never came back and the mansion was suddenly destroyed by a huge fire from within. Still, there have been tales such as yours of travelers still seeing the mansion on stormy nights."

"If there's one thing I know it's that this time that haunted house is gone for good." Zoe smiled. "Thanks to your dad, with a little help from me."

"Haha, you're a very lucky Digimon." Angemon replied. "The Great Angels have truly shone their glorious light upon you this day."

"Nah, I just have a really good guardian angel." Zoe laughed.

"I'm sure you are still very tired from that ordeal, so rest a while more. And I'll get you something to eat after that."

"Thanks." Zoe whispered as she lay down.

But even as she did, her mind wavered back to the thoughts about her mysterious 'power'.