Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ Future Tense ( Chapter 19 )

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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All I saw was the blur....the blur I'd know for so long.

My world, shrouded by a hazy fog, in which time seemed to stand still. Not hour or minute would move.

Voices....there were voices...but dim, faint. No wait! There was a single clear one. Then, something else. A movement....? A blow, a strike, one after the other.

And suddenly, I was free, falling, collapsing to the ground. I lay there moaning, coughing and panting, my entire body aching and cramped after being confined for so long.

"Take it easy." A voice spoke.

"Is he going to be all right?"

"He's delirious. Let's get him to the medical ward!"

I felt myself being lifted up and lost consciousness after that.

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The next time I awoke, it was to a voice. A somewhat familiar voice, calling out to me.

"Sekata...."

"Gargh..." I forced my eyes open, struggling to get up.

"Try to relax." A firm hand gripped my shoulder. "You've been through a lot."

I rubbed my face, trying to clear out my vision and found myself staring at a black, armor clad figure. Imperialdramon Fighter Mode, through it wasn't much larger than my Vritramon body.

However, the voice...

No, it couldn't be.

"Zoe...?!" I staggered, having a great amount of trouble forcing the word out of my jaws.

"Yes, Sekata, it's me." She whispered, taking my claw in her own. "You remember, don't you?"

"I...."

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

"I...I was...." I cringed at the memory that suddenly shot into my head. That fatal mistake I'd made which had ended up with myself being petrified there, turned into a living statue.

Zoe apparently understood upon seeing my facial reaction.

"It's over now, don't worry about it." She said, squeezing my claw tighter.

"Zoe...you...you sound....so much older." I muttered. The change in her voice was the main thing that was bugging me then.

"Sekata....think you can handle it?"

"Handle it? What?!" I asked, eyes wide.

"It's been 70 years, Sekata..."

For a long while, I was stunned. I couldn't do anything but stare straight at her. Thousands of things ran through my mind at that moment, but Zoe's shaking snapped me back to her.

"Sekata..."

"I was....a statue....for 70 years....?!" I breathed, barely able to believe it.

Slowly, she nodded.

"You haven't aged a bit, unlike the rest of us."

"Sekata, been a very long time." A battered-looking Aero V-dramon stepped into the room, which I finally took notice as being a castle bedroom.

"Aeromaru! You're free too!"

"And I have her to thank for that." The blue dragon replied. "But you....you were taken somewhere else when your friends came looking. And no one's ever located you, until now."

"It's a lot to take in, I know." Zoe spoke. "A lot's happened in the time that you were gone, but if you look outside the window now, you'll see the most impending danger."

Confused, I pulled myself over to the window and glanced out. What I saw was the walls of the castle....a desolate wasteland beyond, stretching as far as eye could see. The sky too, seemed to glow with a reddish color, producing a rather forbidding aura. Besides the few Digimon I saw walking around within the castle area, there were no other signs of life at all.

"W...What happened?!" I stuttered.

"I'm afraid we failed Sekata." Zoe replied grimly. "We failed in our given mission. And the Digital World...paid the price."

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"What could do such a thing?!" I asked.

Against everyone's protests, I'd dragged myself out of the room. Unfortunately, my muscles were still too stiff from the ordeal and I ended up having one arm around Zoe's shoulder for support.

"It wouldn't be wrong if I told you the D-Reaper." She whispered.

"You mean....."

"Yes, the one we all know." Another voice cut in.

The figure that stepped out was a knight in shinning red and golden armor with 10 white wings -- Dukemon Crimson Mode.

"Jan?"

"It's me all right." She nodded. "We've had it very hard all this time."

"It was the evil that we were meant to prevent from rising." Zoe continued. "And well, we didn't do a pretty good job, considering the situation."

"Is Steve...?"

"He's here." Janet pointed. "But..."

A very sad-looking Flamedramon shot a brief glance, then got up from his spot on the floor and walked away without a word.

"He doesn't talk, not any more." Janet muttered.

I hung my head, unable to believe that this was what became of my friends since I'd disappeared. I didn't have much time to think through, for the next second, alarms began blaring.

"The D-Reaper's agents! They're here!" A voice shouted over the intercom.

"Damn, that thing's attack and growing closer and closer each time!" Aero cursed.

The entire room shook, causing everyone to stumble. That was followed by several loud explosions and sounds of gunfire.

"Breach in sector 5! Repeat, breach in sector....AAAAUUURRGRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!"

I covered my ears as the scream was cut off by an awful hissing.

"Everyone, let's move." Zoe ordered. "Sekata, you stay here."

"I can help....ugh!" I grunted as Zoe dropped me.

"Sorry, that's not for you to decide."

Silently cursing in every language I knew, I dragged myself to the nearest window in the corridor and looked out. What I saw was the huge pink humanoid agent with long arms and golden circle patterns all over its head that opened into mouths (ADR-07).

I watched in horror as it simply stomped an attacking Allomon to the ground, crushing it completely out of existence with a pain-stricken cry.

"Positron Laser!"

That was Zoe's/Imperialdramon's attack, a blue beam of energy that tore through the creature, leaving a large hole in its body. Zoe fired several more times until it had been completely disintegrated, but was suddenly flanked by two more.

"Zoe!" I called helplessly.

"Quo Vadis!"

Soaring through the sky, Janet sent the lance her wielded straight through the agents, destroying them both.

However, there were still many more, and the defenders were pushed to their limits, many of whom didn't make it.

"HHHEELLPPPPP!!!!!"

I turned to see an Agumon being chased by a couple of wind chime shaped agents, whose four arms were firing away (ADR-04). And none of the defenders were close enough to help.

"HELLPP!!! SOMEBODY HELP!!!!"

I couldn't stand and watch any longer. In a burst of desperation, I rammed the window with my shoulder, creating a hole just large enough for me to squeeze through and hop onto an adjacent rooftop. I aimed my arm-mounted blasters, only to find that I couldn't get them to respond.

As the agents drew closer to their victim, I made my decision and forced my wings open. Taking a deep breath, I ran and leapt off the roof.

"Come on wings! Work! Dammit!"

Unfortunately, my screaming had little effect on my weakened wings and I dropped like I had a ton of gold bars strapped to my legs.

NNNOOO! DAMMIT NNOO!!

Suddenly, a blue shape swooped down and grabbed me before I could hit the ground. Still, he had a hard time slowing our descent and I slammed my head into the wall.

"Mom! I've got him!"

"Good! Rodi, get him out of here, now!"

I was partially aware that I was being hauled away. However, despite the chaotic noise of the battlefield, the one sound that reached me was the dying screams of the Rookie I'd failed to save.....

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"Just what the hell were you thinking?!"

"Zoe, calm down." Aero tugged her shoulder, but was ignored.

"I...."

"You could've gotten yourself killed out there!! This world isn't like the one you left, you know?! The dangers here, they're beyond imagination! I'll tell you, because I've lived through them!!"

"I...I'm....I'm sorry...."

"Sorry?! Is that all you have to say?!"

"Enough! Stop fighting you two!" Aero ordered, stepping in between us. "We've got enough problems already, and you yelling your lungs out at Sekata won't help solve any of them."

Zoe seemed to relax slightly, but she still gave me a furious glance, which was rather intimidating considering it came from a black, armored dragon knight.

Another Digimon happened to call her and Zoe stormed off. Aero gave me a 'stay here' gesture before following her out of the crowded entrance hall. Feeling utterly miserable, I pulled myself over to a corner and sat down.

"Hey, you OK there?" An XV-mon walked over, offering me a cup. "Pretty bad fall you took there. Lucky I was around to catch you."

"Guess I owe you, erm...."

"Rodi." He introduced. "Mom can be rather hard on people, but when you're the leader of this entire resistance group, guess you can't blame her."

"Mom? You mean....Zoe?!" I gasped.

"Yeah, that's her." He nodded casually.

It now occurred to me that Rodi was about the same age I'd known Zoe at before, the same age I'd remained at during my suspended animation. Damn, she was old enough to be my mom for that matter.

Wait, but if she has a son, then....

"Uh, you're that dragon from the statue, right?" He suddenly asked. "Oh crap, I wasn't supposed to tell you that!"

It was almost as if he knew what I was going to ask next.

"Who's your father?"

"I...erm...."

"Please, just tell me." I demanded, leaping up and grabbing his shoulders with a sudden burst of energy. "You can tell Zoe I forced you to say or anything else like that, but I just have to know. Please!"

"Aeromaru."

Immediately, I let go of the boy and dropped to the ground, trembling. It felt as if my beating heart had been torn from my chest and crushed before my eyes.

"You OK? You're kinda shaking pretty bad."

"It's not you Rodi, it's just...."

"Rodi, I think you'd better go."

"Dad?! I...."

"It's not his fault." I looked up.

"I know, I heard everything." Aero replied. "Rodi, please go see if they need help at the storage level."

Nodding, the young XV-mon quickly dashed off. Aero pulled himself into a cross-legged sitting position beside me and glanced at the ceiling for a while.

"I guess you probably hate me right now." He finally spoke.

"NO, it's not...." I began.

"You don't need to lie to me Sekata." He cut in. "I can see it in your eyes. Just let me say that I understand. I'd be extremely distraught too if that were me in your position."

"Why didn't she tell me?" I asked, almost breaking into tears. "Why?"

"She didn't know how to break it to you." Aero explained. "But she's never stopped having feelings for you, even after all this time. I've seen it in her too."

"She...."

"She stayed in this world to search for you, and the others stayed because of it. That was when things were peaceful at least, before the D-Reaper. The war's brought out her colder side, but she still cares."

"Zoe...."

"They helped me out too, and I....made a vow that I would protect her from then on. I thought I was honoring my promise, but....it's strange how it became more than just that."

Suddenly, I was up and running. I just don't know what hit me, but I left Aeromaru's concerned shouts far behind in another world.

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For the next half an hour or so, I wandered through the unfamiliar corridors until I literally ran into a familiar figure.

"Humph, you're still the same Sekata." Janet growled. "Still rash and selfish. Digimon are out there dying. Our guys are here worrying, in fear for their lives, when the next D-Reaper attack is going to be and you're mopping about a girl you lost. And it was your own fault too!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled furiously.

"You know exactly what I mean, don't you?! You got into a situation you couldn't handle cause you were too weak!"

"Shut up!" I roared.

Without thinking, I threw a punch straight at her. Janet sidestepped and caught my arm, twisting it and forcing me to the ground.

"See? This is what I mean." She snarled, releasing my hand.

"I was just trying to rescue those trapped Digimon! Aero would've told you."

"Oh, like you tried to save that Agumon earlier? Try looking out for yourself for a change. At least until you're somewhat at my level."

"What's happened to you Jan? You've changed."

"For someone who barely knew me, you're a good one to judge. I'll tell you, I stayed in this world because of Zoe. She wanted to keep searching for you, and I felt then that I wanted to help her. That was the worse decision of my life and I'm stuck in this dump because of it....because of you."

"You're saying your problem is my fault?!"

"Yes! I'll admit, I was foolish and naive then. But I didn't get to my evolution level by staying that way. You've had the chances, but you just have to be the 'ideal' good-guy. You could've gotten the Second Spirit of Fire, but guess you were afraid."

"NO!"

"Afraid of the power?! Humph, power is what you need to survive." Suddenly, she kicked me in the face, sending me flying into the wall. "Maybe, just maybe, with that Second Spirit you could've done things differently. But that's all in the past now. Run back to Zoe now if you want. She may still have what you really need."

With that, Janet promptly left, leaving me to pull myself up, rubbing my nose in pain.

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Eventually, I found Zoe on one of the upper levels, leaning against the balcony's railings.

"Zoe? I...."

"You found out, didn't you?"

"Yes." I gulped.

"Whatever way, it's too late now." She replied without looking back. "It's done."

"I understand you have feelings for Aero, but Zoe....you stayed in this world, because of me?"

"...."

"I'm sorry, that's all I can say. I wasn't worth your time. You should've just left me."

"Been around Jan have you? That's her current way of seeing things....and even I'm starting to believe it."

"It's all about me, isn't it?" I asked, walking closer. "It's all my fault, isn't it?"

"YES!" She boomed, spinning around. "We wouldn't be here now if you weren't such a weakling! You left me alone for 70 years! Think you can even make up for that?!"

"I....I...."

"Sorry...." Zoe muttered. "I got carried away."

"No, you probably have every right in the world to blast me with all that verbal abuse." I replied, moving closer.

"I never gave up searching, because...." She trailed off. "I don't know, really. I just wanted....wanted to see you again."

"You have, but...."

"This entire Digital World is currently..." She shook her head. "I thought I could handle things. I wanted to stand on my own, and not have to keep turning to you or the others for help. Guess I was wrong..."

"That isn't true! You've survived this long!"

"This is a battle we're still losing."

"Only if you keep thinking that way. There has to be something, some way we can take our opponent down." I placed a claw on her shoulder. "It's a lot for someone like me to say, but somehow....I'll have to make up for everything you sacrificed for me...."

If I can do that at all...

Zoe placed her claw over mine and turned around.

"Strange how you're suddenly so much younger than me." She managed a smile.

"You're only as old as you think..." I drew closer.

I was leaning forward when Zoe suddenly shoved me away. It startled me, but when the wall next to us abruptly blew up, I realized why.

"What the?! Steve?!" Zoe stared. "ARGH!!"

The fireball that hit her wouldn't be enough to badly hurt her, but it was enough to knock her over. I sprang up in a battle stance, facing the Flamedramon, posed intimidatingly on the nearby roof.

"Steve! What's gotten into you?!" I demanded. "Huh?!"

For the first time, I got a good look into his eyes. And I realized they weren't their normal brownish color, but a glowing pink.

"He's an agent of the D-Reaper!" Zoe cried in disbelief.

Steve suddenly fled, leaping further up the roof.

"Stop him...ugh..." Zoe stumbled, clutching her side in pain. "Hurry!"

I complied, spreading my wings, which were finally strong enough, and gave chase. Steve continued running, occasionally stopping to shoot. I dodged his shots at first, and waited until I was close enough.

As he turned to fire, I pounced, taking the burst of flames in my chest, but also managing to bring him down.

I frantically wrestled my old friend, struggling to subdue him. The raging dragon looked up, and for a moment, his eyes went back to their normal color.

"S...shoot...." His voice was sore and haggard, as if it took every ounce of his willpower just to get it out. "Shoot....me...don't....let....it.....use.....me....I...I....."

"Steve! What happened to you?"

"It...got...me....no time." Steve's trembling hand pulled my arm-mounted weapon to his head. "Shoot...please!"

"I....I can't!"

"Please! While I...have......RRRAAARRRUUGGGHHH!!!"

Steve jerked up, throwing me off. I stared in horror, seeing his eyes had regained the pinkish glow.

"Steve! Come on! You can fight it.....UURRGHHH!!"

His Fire Rocket charged slammed into my body, sending me rolling over the edge and into Zoe's arms.

"Sekata?"

"He's gone...." I muttered. "Couldn't stop him."

We were quickly joined by Aero, Janet and Rodi.

"It was him? The one feeding all our information to the D-Reaper?" Aero shook his head. "Damn, we should've suspected it sooner!"

"We do know where he's headed through." Janet said grimly. "The D-Zone."

"The what?" I asked.

"The source of the D-Reaper." Rodi told me.

"We....we have to follow!" I said.

"Are you crazy? That's pretty much suicide!" Janet growled.

"There, there just has to be a way!" I insisted.

"Either way, I think we do have to give chase." Zoe muttered. "For both his sake, and our own. If the D-Reaper finds out the current state of our defenses, it'll learn that we won't stand a chance against a full frontal assault...."

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A long silence came over our party and we flew towards our destination.

The D-Zone turned out to be everything I imagined it to be - an entire area covered in a featureless, pink, gel-like substance.

"Look! There he is!" Rodi pointed.

Down on the ground, a lone figure was running very close to the borders of the D-Zone.

"Let's get this over with!" Janet declared, raising her lance. "Quo Vadis!"

"Hey wait!" I protested, through it was too late.

The shinning lance transformed into a white beam of light that rocketed towards its target. However, just as it was about to make contact, Steve raised his hand. The 'gel' form of the D-Reaper reacted instantaneously, part of it changing into a shield that reflected the beam back towards us.

The charge detonated in the middle of our group, throwing us all out of the sky, screaming in pain.

Desperately, I forced my eyes to keep open as my world spun. I tried spreading my wings to slow my descent, but then the pinkish goo came rushing towards me. And I reacted on pure instinct.

"Flame Storm!"

My dragon body burst out in flames as I was engulfed by the pink goo. For a long while, I was tossed about wildly, all sense of direction completely disorientated. Finally, I hit the ground....some rather soft ground.

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My flames died down as I pulled myself up, finding myself still in one piece for the moment.

"This is...." I glanced around. "The center?"

The area around me was all glowing pink, as if some pink colored fog had completely shrouded the place. There was a definite flat surface, which I currently stood upon, forming the ground and several raised sections like small hills or obstacles.

I didn't have time to idle for long as more of the Reaper's ADR-04 agents attacked.

"Corona Blaster!" I roared, firing as I dodged their shots.

My energy bursts easily tore through the small creatures, but there were many more to replace any that had fallen. I was forced back, having to take cover behind one of the 'obstacles'.

"Crap! How many of theses things are there?!" I cursed.

"V-Wing Blade!" A white blast blew a dozen of the agents into dust. "Hey, you all right there?"

"Aero! Good to see you!" I waved.

The blue dragon was on the opposite side, firing from behind the cover of a 'pink boulder'.

"We can take these guys!" He called confidently. "Just...."

Another shape suddenly rose up behind him. It was mostly a featureless mass of pinkish goo, but then a 'mouth' appeared, together with multiple arms ending in sharp blades and sickles. The core Reaper itself!

"Behind you!" I warned.

Aero whirled round and sent another blast into the creature, tearing several of its arms off. However, one got behind him and tripped him up, sending him stumbling into the boulder he'd been hiding behind. And the core Reaper didn't waste a second in sending out the rest of its arms.

He took a blade right through the chest. Aero never got the chance to even scream as another one tore his throat open. Even more impaled his body from every direction, twisting and mangling it into a horrific mess of blood, bones and torn flesh.

"NNNNNOOOOOO!!!!!" Forgetting everything, I jumped out from behind my cover and charged, firing like a mad dragon.

While I did manage to blast the remaining ADR-04 agents, the bladed arms came for me. A sudden sword slash promptly sliced them apart, followed to a strong grasp that dragged me away from the scene.

"He's dead! Now come on!" Janet ordered.

I half ran, half stumbled as she pulled me along. I was still dizzy with tension, but it was about to get worse.

The golem like agent (ADR-06) burst out of the ground in front of us. Jan swung her sword, but the creature simply knocked it away.

"Shit!" She yelled.

"X-Laser!" Rodi came flying in, getting a shot off before kicking the golem away. "Guys!"

A second golem creature emerged from the same spot, followed by a third. Rodi and I unleashed our projectiles upon one while Janet took the other with her fists.

A pair of fireballs suddenly slammed into Rodi's shoulder.

"RRAAUUUARGH!!"

"Steve!" I gasped.

Still under the D-Reaper's control, the Flamedramon approached swiftly, kicking me in the knee and driving an uppercut into my chin, sending me onto my back.

"Take that!" Rodi leapt and grabbed Steve from behind, holding him with both hands around the chest.

Steve heaved and brought his body forward, throwing Rodi over his head....and straight into the emerging arms of the core Reaper. One of the tentacles immediately coiled around his neck.

"Help! Gargh!!" He choked.

"Corona Blaster!"

I turned and fired at the core Reaper, which reacted by uttering some high pitched sounds, as if screaming in pain. Even while covering my ears, it was impossible to block out the dull snap of Rodi's neck. The creature dropped his lifeless body and went after Janet. She'd barely managed to finish off the golems and was caught unprepared by the storm of bladed arms.

Janet hit the ground as one of the blades pierced into her left thigh. Frantically, she reached out for her dropped sword, only to find it stuck in-between the boulders. And that was all the distraction the merciless Reaper needed.

"AAARRGGGHHHH!!!!"

I tuned away, unable to watch the scene. I was close to puking my guts out, but then I felt a sudden rush of wind. It was Steve, charging towards me.

Startled, I fell backwards.

However, he hadn't been attacking me, but blocking a blade from the core Reaper. And he took it directly through the head, the spike piercing the top of his head and protruding through his lower jaw. The color in his wide open eyes had changed and I realized he'd manage to regain control.

The blade withdrew, dropping the convulsing body into my face, together with a spray of red blood. As I looked into Steve's pain-stricken face, I felt the movements stop.

Cold sweat broke out as I realized he'd just bled to death in my arms. I couldn't do anything but drop his corpse and run.

Something fired at me from behind, hurling me face-first to the ground. Spitting blood out from my mouth, I glanced back to find a far more horrendous sight.

It was the bodies of my friends being broken up into data particles, swirling in the arms of the core Reaper. In front of my eyes, the Reaper reformed them into their former shapes....but not their former persona. The forms of Aero V-dramon, XV-mon, Flamedramon and Dukemon Crimson Mode all stood before me, only now all were completely black in color, wearing featureless expressions on their blank faces.

The Aero V-dramon and XV-mon attacked with their energy projectiles, creating a deafening and extremely excruciating explosion that took me down, leaving my armor cracker and tattered in many places. Flamedramon was suddenly on my back, who dug his claw deep in and ripped my wings off.

In the midst of that agony, Dukemon came with its sword and jabbed me in the side. As I fell, a lance was thrust through my back.

No...I can't....

I'd end up like the others....an undead slave to this abomination.

"Positron Laser!"

Zoe's blue beam tore through our former comrades, shattering their bodies to data bits.

"Sekata!"

"Zoe...everyone's...."

"RRAARRGH!!"

Aero V-dramon had been reformed and had fired on Zoe. The others weren't far behind it either. Zoe continued blasting, but no matter how many times she did, the undead dragons regenerated before she could finish all off.

Finally, she dropped down beside me as the others closed in on us.

"This is it...." She said grimly.

"We're....we're really done for?" I muttered.

"Unless you think you can use this." With that, Zoe opened her palm to reveal....the H-Spirit of Fire.

"It's the second Spirit!" I cried in disbelief.

"It's something I managed to get even when you rejected it. Not that it'll help me, but you can do something with it, I know it!"

"Combine the Spirits?"

"It can do far more! Hurry, take it, we don't have much time!"

"Hand it to me Zoe!" I called.

"I can't. You have to take it yourself or it won't have any effect!"

"Zoe!"

"Hurry!"

In my dazed state, I reached up. I was closing my fingers around the Human Spirit of Fire when I saw Dukemon/Janet coming up behind Zoe, raising her sword.

Janet...Zoe....WAIT A SECOND!!

"How did you know?!" I demanded.

"What?!" Zoe stared.

"How did you know I rejected the second Spirit?!" I repeated. "You and Jan! I never told anyone about it!"

"That's absurd!" She insisted.

"No, it isn't! What is this?! What's going on?!"

Behind Zoe, the sword came down....and suddenly, everything stopped.

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"Damn, you figured it out. A couple seconds more and I would've had you."

I blinked. Everything...the D-Reaper, the D-Zone, Zoe and the others were all gone. I was standing alone, completely uninjured in a familiar graveyard. The one that was my 'Dream Realm', and I'd been here before.

No, I'm not alone....

"AncientGreymon!!! It was you, wasn't it?!" I demanded. "Show yourself!!!"

"You're lucky, I don't just show up when anybody calls, you know." The ancient dragon growled, appearing out of the mist.

"What illusions did you just stick into my head?!!"

"Illusions, human? No, that was mostly your own doing. Humans have the most interesting subconscious minds, yes?"

"Shut up!!"

"It was your own dream to put it this way. Your nightmare, your fears. I just did a little, 'touching up' to make it go my way, mostly thanks to stuff out of your memories."

"That's why the Zoe in the dream insisted that I had to take the Spirit myself." I muttered. "It was because you needed me to take it."

"Clever, aren't we." AncientGreymon laughed. "Sure you still don't want it?"

"Go to hell." I spat.

"Ah well, you will sooner or later. Still, I haven't had this much fun since I kicked the crap out of the D-Reaper."

"There was a D-Reaper in this world?!" I gasped.

"Trust me, it was nothing like that wimpy one you had as an anime." He grinned. "Besides, what do you think took us, the Warrior 10, all of our powers to take down? Lucemon? Don't give me delusions of gander kid."

"Humph." I folded my arms. "Exactly how much of my dream did you manipulate?"

"What do you mean?" He whistled. "Oh, how I role-played some of your friends? I deserve an Oscar for that performance, don't I?"

"Wait, just who did you do that for?!"

"Mainly Zoe."

"WHAT?!" I screamed. "You mean the 'Zoe' I almost kissed.....was YOU??!!!!"

"Thinking about it, the prospect doesn't excite me either."

"Jeez, you are utterly sick in the mind!!!!"

"Come on, you know that I definitely had it planned out so it wouldn't happen. Trust me on that one." AncientGreymon chuckled. "Though it has been a while since I've kissed. Unlike you....you keep missing your chances..."

"Gurgh!" I cringed. "Hey, you're messing up my life enough already! The last thing I want is being reduced to getting dating tips from you!"

"I've got about ten thousand years experience. I'll throw it in with the Spirit if you want."

"NO!"

"Well, was worth a shot. Anything else?"

"Rodi....I know he was far too real to be just a figment of my imagination." I mused.

"I'll give you a hint, I wasn't always AncientGreymon."

"Huh?!" I started. "You mean..."

"I suggest you stop talking now then. After all, that's something statues can't do." AncientGreymon remarked.

"What?! Huh?! NO!!!"

I suddenly realized half my body was back in its petrified form, the same one from before. In the actual world, I was still frozen, covered by that film and held me in suspended animation.

I tried to scream, but my jaws had been immobilized by that time. And soon, the rest of my body as well.

"You know, you do look rather nice. I'd have paid quite a bit to have had you displayed at my old mansion." AncientGreymon walked up, tapping my petrified body. "One last thing, think hard about your little dream there. Just a dream....or a prophesy? Either way, it's out of your claws now...."

As the already blurred world of the spiritual graveyard faded into an even less certain living world, one last thought hit my mind.

He's right...my fate...is now in the hands of my friends....