Digimon Dark Worlds 02: Crests of the Sins

(Author’s note: Hello everyone! I apologize if this chapter is too long or chaotic, I tried a bit too hard to cram multiple storylines into one chapter and I honestly don’t like how it turned out... Hope you all still enjoy reading though!)

A few days had now passed since both groups got attacked by the Demondestined, both luckily being able to get away safely and unharmed... But everyone was still worried. When were the older Digidestined going to get their mega Digivolutions back? And will the younger Digidestined even achieve these powers at all? And if and when they do... Will it even be enough to save the Digital World? So many thoughts of worry and fear were constantly swirling around in everyone’s heads...

...Anyways, it was pretty early in the morning, now... Blaine’s group had finally arrived at the meeting spot, a small cliff that overlooked a beautiful forest, that was filled with a colorful array of flowers, the sweet scent wafting in the air... But even this beautiful sight couldn’t calm everyone... The whole group was asleep, except for Blaine, who sat silently, looking blankly into the sky... Taeka was also just starting to wake up, silently stretching and standing up, as she walked over to Blaine, sitting down next to him.

“Hey Blaine, you alright? You look like you got a lot on your mind...” Taeka says.

“How could I not? All of this has only made things more difficult...” Blaine sighed, looking down at the ground, as he ran his hands through his hair. “I still can’t believe it... The Demon Lords really are back, and... They’ve had the X antibodies inside of them, this whole time...” Blaine grumbled. “I guess that explains that laboratory, then...”

“Man... I wish I could’ve seen that lab for myself.” Taeka says, an awkward silence between the two, Taeka looking at Blaine’s face, which still looked pretty distressed. “Um... You sure you’re ok? You can talk to me, you know.” Taeka says.

“... I’m really worried about Erik. And Hoshi too...” Blaine says. “It’s bad enough how badly we got beat up last time, but those two are out there all alone... What if they run into one of the Demondestined, and they have no way to run...? Ugh, god...” 

Taeka was silent for a moment, before patting Blaine on the shoulder, giving a light smile. “I think they’ll be fine, Blaine... I know Erik’s pretty tough, and I don’t know much about Hoshi, but if he volunteered to go out there by himself, then I’m sure he’s pretty tough too! Besides, maybe those two could’ve already met up by now, and now they’re helping protect each other, so... I think they’re fine...” 

Blaine looked up at Taeka, his face lighting up a bit as he gave a weak smile. “Yeah... I hope so...” Blaine then looked over Taeka’s shoulder, looking over at the sleeping group members, noticing that Jake and Terriermon were gone. “Uh... Where’d Jake and Terriermon go?” He asked.

“Them? Oh, right. They left. This morning.” Taeka casually responded.

“What?! Why?!” Blaine snapped, his eyes widened with shock.

“I don’t know, he said something about wanting to do his own thing or something, I don’t know...” Taeka shrugged.

“What?! So you just... Let him leave?! On his own?!” 

“Hey, his reasons sounded pretty important to me, so chill out! He’ll be fine!” Taeka says, causually brushing it off, Blaine staring at her silently, with a completely baffled expression.

“Hey, you guys! Over here!” The two suddenly then heard Axel’s voice cutting through their conversation, the two stand up, as they saw Axel’s group, both sides happily running over to one another.

“Thank goodness you’re alright, Taeka...” Lily sighed.

“I know, you too! Man, we got so many important things to tell you guys...” Taeka says.

“You too? We got some news too, but it’s not very good news...” Axel says. Both groups take their time, going back and forth as they talk about their encounters with the Demondestined.

“Man, I can’t believe we both practically had the same encounter...” Axel says, with a worried sigh.

“I know... I just hope our Digimon’s mega Digivolutions will come back soon.” Blaine says, as his eyes scan Axel’s group, eyes widening when he noticed that Allison wasn’t with them. “Don’t tell me...” Blaine says. “Did Allison... Leave the group too?”

“Huh? Oh right, yeah, she did yesterday...” Axel says.

“What?! Ugh, god, am I the only sane person around here?!” Blaine grumbled, facepalming heavily.

“Hey, she had a pretty good speech about her reasonings!” ExTyrannomon says. “And it sure warmed my heart...”

“Ugh...” Blaine grumbled, feeling worry rising up in him more and more, as he could only think of one thing. ‘God, please... Just let them all be ok.’

Sometime later...

Russell and Syakomon were walking through a forest, as they still had yet to find the others... An overwhelming feeling of dread was washing over Russell, his body almost feeling heavy as he struggled to walk ahead... Before sighing, sadly slumping down next to a tree.

“Hey, Russell... Are you alright?” Syakomon asked, settling down next to Russell.

“Yeah, I just... I needed to... Take a break from all this walking...” Russell mumbled.

“Are you... Sure that’s it?” Syakomon says, Russell silent for a moment, before shaking his head no.

“No... Ugh, in all honesty, I’m starting to regret becoming a Demondestined...” Russell says, his eyes fixated on the ground. “Honestly, do the others really need me? I’m sure with all this rumbling I’ve felt in the ground lately, that they’ve all already unlocked their mega Digivolutions... If that’s the case, then they really don’t need me...”

“What?! Come on, that’s not true, Russell...” Syakomon says. “I know you’re strong Russell, and if the others can achieve their mega Digivolutions, I know you can too! We just... Need to talk for a bit... About, um... Your crest! Let’s talk about why that crest was given to you... The crest of Envy...”

Russell held up the tag and crest that was wrapped around his neck, staring at the symbol with a perplexed expression. “Envy basically means jealousy... Right?” Russell asks.

“Yup!”

“Ugh, this makes no sense...” Russell grumbled, rubbing his forehead. “Syakomon, my power is being jealous of others, for god sakes... Remind me again why this is a good thing?”

“Hey, we can turn this into a good thing, I promise! All we gotta do is activate it even more...” Syakomon says. “So let’s talk! Tell me your genuine feelings, like... Who are you most jealous of?”

“Well, the other Demondestineds first of all.” Russell states, sighing. “I mean, since the beginning, I’ve never felt like I got along with them much, besides Alec... Heck, even Lila kept telling me I wasn’t malicious enough for this group... They always just... Felt like they had something I didn’t... Like they were always one step ahead of me...” Russell paused, looking up as he thought intensely. “It kind’ve... Reminds me of my siblings.”

“Your siblings? You never told me about them...” Syakomon says. “What were they like?”

“Basically everything that I’m not.” Russell responds. “Talented, good with people... Practically like better versions of myself... I’m the middle child in my family, and my whole life, I’ve basically been living in their shadows... No matter what I do, they always do better then me... It’s how my life’s always been... Honestly, the jealousy I feel over them is way worse then what I feel with the other Demondestined...” Russell paused, sighing as he stared at the ground. “It’s not like I hate them or anything... I’ve always loved them and got along with them just fine, it’s just... I wish I could do great things... Like they’ve done.”

“Oh, Russell... Don’t beat yourself up... There’s a reason why I chose you to be my partner, and I know we can both do great things together!” Syakomon says. 

“You... Really think it’s possible for me? For... Us?” Russell says, looking unsure.

“I don’t just think we can... I KNOW we can.” Syakomon says, Russell smiling as tears nearly formed in his eyes, quickly reaching forward to hug Syakomon.

“Thanks, Syakomon. I’m glad you’re my friend...” Russell said softly. The two stayed embraced for a moment before letting go, the two smiling at each other, as Russell stood up. “Come on, let’s go find the others.” He says.

“Yeah, let’s go!” The two started walking away, but unbeknownst to the two... That same dark aura was starting to form in Russell’s tag and crest as well.

A day later...

It was early in the afternoon, as Erik and Labramon were walking through a path in the mountains, slowly making their way upwards, as they were walking towards a specific area that Labramon was leading them to.

“You really think Gulfmon will be... All the way out here?” Erik asked.

“He must be. I can’t think of any other place he’d be at... Especially since we’ve looked everywhere!” Labramon responds.

“Umm, Labramon... This place is supposed to be called the Dark Gate... Right? No offense but uh... You didn’t exactly tell me much about this place...”

“Oh, right! Sorry, my mind slipped. Umm...” Labramon paused, thinking of what to say. “The Dark Gate... It’s the entrance to the Dark Area. Back when I was Anubismon, I was in charge of protecting the gate... Making sure that no Digimon from either side of the gate would break it open...” Labramon explains. “Since the Dark Area is where all the data of truly evil Digimon go after they’re defeated... And it’s where the Demon Lord’s data was being kept too... The day all this started, someone, or something broke the gate open somehow, and I couldn’t stop it... And that’s when Gulfmon chased me, and defeated me...”

“Whoa... That’s a lot...” Erik says. “You think Gulfmon was the one who broke the gate open in the first place?”

“No, I sensed an incredible power coming from the gate that wasn’t from Gulfmon... Someone even more powerful than Gulfmon...” Labramon says. Erik then paused, his face falling as he looked away from Labramon.

“Hey Erik, what’s wrong? You can talk to me!” Labramon says.

“I’m just... I’m really worried about what’ll happen when we fight Gulfmon...” Erik mumbled. “I mean, he defeated you last time you both fought... And he sounds pretty powerful...”

“Oh, right... Well, I’m not too worried about it... You know why? Cause I have you by my side this time!” Labramon says, giving a cheerful smile. “I know I’ll finally have the strength to defeat him this time, now that you’re here...” Erik looked towards Labramon, giving a light smile. “Thanks, Labramon... I hope you’re right...”

“I know I’m right!” Labramon responds cheerfully. “And you wanna know something else? Back when I was Anubismon, I spent a lot of time training, and I managed to learn a new attack!”

“Woah... Really? What kind of attack?” Erik asked.

“A really powerful attack! It takes a bit of focus to use it, but trust me...It’s worth it!” Labramon says. “I spent some time training with Ouryumon, who also learned his own new move as well...”

“Whoa... I hope that move will be enough, to defeat Gulfmon...” Erik says,

“Hey! Get down!” Labramon quickly ducks behind a rock, Erik doing the same. “Look...” Labramon lowered his voice to a whisper, the two slowly looking around the rock... Where they could see Gulfmon. Gulfmon was standing in front of the Dark Gate, which appeared to be a huge, ominous looking door, which was bolted shut, with a flimsy looking lock.

“One of my servants must’ve put a lock on the gate... That’s good...” Labramon whispered. The two carefully watched Gulfmon, as he eyed the lock, raising his arm...

“Oh no... He’s gonna break the lock!” Erik says, quickly running out from behind the rock, running towards Gulfmon. “HEY!! Leave that door alone!” Erik quickly catches Gulfmon’s attention, who gives off a low growl, slowly stepping towards Erik.

“HEY!! DON’T YOU DARE HURT HIM!!” Labramon screeched, running in front of Erik, as light burst from his Digivice...

“LABRAMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TO...”

“...ANUBISMON!!”

Anubismon stood protectively in front of Erik, glaring down at Gulfmon. “You’re not winning this time, Gulfmon...” Anubismon growled. “GOLDEN RAY!!” Anubismon immediately fired a powerful golden beam, doing some damage to Gulfmon.

“...DEAD SCREAM!!”

“ERIK, COVER YOUR EARS!!” Anubismon shouted, both him and Erik covering their ears in time, as Gulfmon’s horrific scream echoed and vibrated through the area, luckily not doing much damage. Gulfmon then growled loudly, running up to Anubismon and roughly slashing into him, sending Anubismon flying and crashing into the mountains.

“Grrrr... DEAD SCRE-“

“NO!! DON’T!!” Erik cut off Gulfmon’s attack when he suddenly threw a few rocks at him, not doing anything to Gulfmon, but catching his attention, as Gulfmon growled, stepping towards Erik.

“Erik... No...” Anubismon mumbled weakly, struggling to stand up. Erik slowly backed away from Gulfmon, who bared his fangs at him, raising his claws...

“GET AWAY FROM MY PARTNER!! PYRAMID POWER!!” Anubismon’s attack quickly trapped Gulfmon, doing a lot of damage as he was thrown into the mountains, struggling to stand up.

“...Time to send you back to where you belong...” Anubismon growled, clasping his hands together as he started to focus, feeling a power slowly well up in his grasp... The ground standing rumbling softly, a crack forming in the ground below Gulfmon... Anubismon’s body shook, as dark energy starting pouring out of the crack...

“...AMMIT!!” As a gigantic, shadowy beast pops out of the crack, screeching loudly as it grabbed ahold of Gulfmon, clawing into him as it started pulling Gulfmon into the ground. Gulfmon roared and flailed, trying to escape the shadowy beast’s grip, but to no avail... As the beast pulled Gulfmon fully under, out of sight... As the crack in the ground sealed itself up in seconds, like it was never there.

“Whoa...” Erik stared in awe at this feat, speechless, as Anubismon huffed with exhaustion, slowly sinking to the ground, as he reverted back to Labramon. “Labramon! You alright?” Erik quickly ran up to Labramon, who gave him a tired smile.

“Yeah... Don’t worry about me!” Labramon says.

“Man, that attack was amazing...” Erik compliments. “But what happened to Gulfmon? Where’d he go?”

“Oh, he’s back in the Dark Area now...” Labramon says. “I managed to control some of the dark beasts from the Dark Area, which helped me bring Gulfmon back under, so... We don’t have to worry about him anymore!”

“Wow, well... That was easier then I thought it would be.” Erik chuckled, giving a sigh of relief as he looked around. 

“Guess we should probably get back to the others now, then...” Labramon says.

“Yeah...” Erik responds quietly. ‘I just wish... We knew where to find them.’

A day later...

It was later on in the afternoon, as the sun was close to setting, making the sky a bright orange color. Hoshi and Kudamon, who still had Batamon and Chrysalimon traveling with them, traveled through the mountains, still looking for the others.

“Ooh, yeah! And I had another one of those dreams last night... Where I saw my partner again!” Batamon happily exclaimed, as everyone was walking.

“That’s great, Batamon...” Hoshi says. “I’m sure you’ll remember their name any second now...”

“Yeah! I think I’m starting to remember a bit of their name even as well! And I know it starts with the letter S!” Batamon says. “Let’s see... Maybe their name is Sam? Or Sandwich? Maybe Salami?”

“I seriously doubt your partner would be named after those last two.” Kudamon says.

“Hoshi, look out!” Chrysalimon suddenly grabs Hoshi, pulling him back hard enough to nearly knock him off his feet. “Chrysalimon, what the heck was that for?” Hoshi snapped, a bit annoyed.

“I heard something... Up there.” Chrysalimon points upwards, to a small flat rock, everyone carefully and silently watching it, as they heard footsteps up on the rock, coming towards them...

“Hey! Hoshi!” To see Erik and Labramon, happily waving to them.

“Erik?! What the heck are you doing out here, all by yourself?” Hoshi asked.

“It’s a long story, but man, am I glad to see you...” Erik says, him and Labramon carefully stepping down from the rock. “I feel like I’ve been searching all day, just looking for somebody...”

“Man, same...” Hoshi says, giving a relieved sigh. “At least we can go look for the others together now...”

“Hey, Hoshi! This is one of your Digidestined friends, right?” Batamon asked curiously.

“Huh? Oh, right! Erik, Labramon, these are my new friends, Batamon and Chrysalimon. They’ve been traveling with me this whole time.” Hoshi introduces them.

“Whoa... Well, it’s nice to meet you two!” Erik says.

“Yeah! Same to you!” Batamon happily agrees, but Chrysalimon says nothing, only standing motionless, staring at Erik with an ominous glare.

“Umm... Alright then...” Erik gives an awkward smile. “Come on Hoshi, let’s go and look for the others...”

“Wait.” Chrysalimon speaks sternly, stopping everyone in their tracks. “How do you know... If you can trust this... Human friends of yours? This... Digidestined...”

“What...? Chrysalimon, what the heck are you even talking about...?” Hoshi gave Chrysalimon a perplexed look, Chrysalimon not saying a word... As Chrysalimon suddenly thrusts his tentacles forward, wrapping them tightly around Hoshi’s neck as he pulled Hoshi closer to him. “Hoshi... I’m the only one... Who’s allowed to be your friend...” Chrysalimon growled.

“Wh-What are you doing?! Stop it!” Erik pleaded, grabbing Hoshi and trying to yank him out of Chrysalimon’s grip, as the Digimon all tackle Chrysalimon, causing him to finally let go of Hoshi, Hoshi gasping and coughing for air.

“Chrysalimon, what is wrong with you?! Friends don’t do that to each other!” Kudamon snapped.

“What...? Hoshi, I’m sorry, I... You’re still my friend, right?” Chrysalimon asked, Hoshi staring at him with a wide eyed, horrified expression as he nervously backed away.

“S-stay away from me, Chrysalimon...” Hoshi muttered.

“Hoshi, are you alright?” Erik asked.

“Yeah, let’s just... Get out of here...” Hoshi says. The group starts to walk away, all the Digimon giving Chrysalimon a side eyed glance...

“NO.” But Chrysalimon growled loudly, suddenly stabbing his tentacles into ground, as his body shook. “I’m not good enough for you, then... Am I? I need... To be stronger...” Chrysalimon’s body started to glowing, shifting into a much bigger form...

“Grrrr...Hoshi... I’m stronger now... Now that I’m... Infermon... Will you finally accept me? As your friend?” The group backed away nervously from Infermon, who growled with a terrifying voice.

“Infermon... You’re insane! I won’t ever be your friend!!” Hoshi snapped.

“Geez buddy, you have some serious attachment issues!” Batamon blurts out, Infermon glaring at him. 

“Grrrr... If I can’t have you... THEN NOBODY CAN!! SPIDER SHOOTER!!” Infermon quickly fires an attack at Batamon...

“NO!!” Hoshi screeched, his Digivice shining brightly...

“KUDAMON DIGIVOLVE TO... REPPAMON!! REPPAMON DIGIVOLVE TO... CHIRINMON!!” Chirinmon quickly takes the attack, defending Batamon as he gets damaged pretty badly.

“Get out of my way, Chirinmon...” Infermon growled. “I won’t hesitate to kill you too.”

“Labramon... We gotta help Chirinmon out!” Erik says.

“Right!”

“LABRAMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TO... ANUBISMON!!”

“Worthless pests... Get out of my way...” Infermon hissed.

“We’re not the pests here...” Anubismon grumbled. “GOLDEN RAY!!”

“SPIDER SHOOTER!!” Both attacked, the attacks colliding into eachother, creating a small explosion. 

“HOLY WAVE!!” Chirinmon attacks next, doing a decent amount of damage.

“Ugh... COCOON CRASH!!” Infermon quickly tackles Anubismon, immediately wrapping his arms around Anubismon’s neck, as he starts to strangle him.

“G... Get him... Off me...” Anubismon growled.

“But Anubismon... If I attack him, I’ll hurt you!” Chirinmon says, with worry.

“D-Don’t worry about it... Just do it! Please!” Anubismon pleaded.

“Ugh... WIND CUTTER SWORD!!” Chirinmon stabbed into Infermon roughly, the force of it sending both Anubismon and Infermon crashing into the mountains...

“PYRAMID POWER!!” Anubismon quickly attacked next, roughly throwing Infermon into the ground, as he struggled to stand up...

“Let’s finish this...” Anubismon growled. “Together. GOLDEN RAY!!”

“HOLY WAVE!!” Both attacked at once... The force of their attacks poofing Infermon to dust.

“Woah... That was amazing! Our Digimon are so powerful...” Erik says.

“Yeah... Our Digimon make for a pretty good team.” Hoshi says, the two boys smiling and high-fiving one another. Erik then looks up at Infermon’s data that was floating around in the air, frowning. “I know... Infermon was your friend, though. Are you gonna be alright?” Erik asked. Hoshi sighed, silent for a moment as he thought of an answer.

“Honestly... He was my friend, but I can’t consider anyone to be my friend anymore if they act like that...” Hoshi says. “So, yeah, don’t worry about me... I’ll be fine.”

“Wow, that was a pretty intense fight there.” Everyone suddenly hears a familiar voice, turning around to see Maildramon behind them.

“Maildramon?! Where the heck did you come from?” Hoshi asked.

“I was just flying over this area, and saw all the commotion of that fight...” Maildramon responds. “Sounds like it was a pretty rough fight.”

“Yeah, but it’s over now...” Erik says, sighing. “But now we gotta go look for the others... And spend more time walking again...”

“You know, there are easier ways to travel around...” Maildramon says, flapping his wings. “Just hop on my back... We’ll find the others in no time.”

Sometime later...

The sun had now set, the sky now turning a pitch dark color... But that didn’t stop Jake and Terriermon, who, despite getting pretty tired, still continued their travels through the mountains.

“Jake... Are you... Sure we shouldn’t... Take a break yet?” Terriermon huffed, sounding clearly exhausted.

“No... Not until we reach the top...” Jake huffed. “We gotta... Keep... Going...”

“Jake... Slow down...” Terriermon pleaded, as Jake tried walking a bit faster ahead, but is quickly stopped when he trips over a rock, face planting hard onto the rocky ground.

“Jake! Are you alright?!”

“...This was a horrible idea.” Jake mumbled quietly, sitting up as he curled himself into a ball, putting his face in his legs.

“Jake...” Terriermon worriedly walked up to his partner, patting him on the shoulder gently. “Are you... Ok? Whatever’s on your mind... You can talk to me. I’ll listen.” Jake was silent for a moment, with so many thoughts swirling around in his head, before he sighed quietly.

“I just... I just wanted to help someone. Anyone.” Jake mumbled. “All my life, I’ve always been called a wimp and a pushover, told I could never do anything great... Despite how many people told me this, though... There was almost at least one person who believed in me... Lily. But...  I thought being a Digidestined would let me become something great and courageous, to help great friends like Lily out, but... I can’t do anything right...” Jake’s voice cracked a bit, some tears trickling out of his eyes.

“Oh no... Jake, it’s gonna be ok!” Terriermon consoles. “Jake come on, you can’t believe all those mean things that people tell you... I know you’re strong! Remember when that Rareraremon was attacking your world, but you were still able to stand up to him alone? Your courage in that moment was the reason I was able to Digivolve to ultimate for the first time! And the fact that you even came out here alone in the first place... That takes a lot of courage as well! And it shows how much you care about your friends... And no matter what, even if nobody else ever believes in you... Just know that I always will...” 

“...Really? Oh Terriermon, thank you... I’m glad somebody does...” Jake muttered, sobbing quietly as he tightly hugged Terriermon. The two stayed in each other’s embrace for a bit, before finally letting go, the two smiling at each other as Jake wiped his tears off.

“What the...” Terriermon’s nose then scrunched up a bit, smelling an odd scent suddenly in the air. “Jake... Do you smell that?” He asked.

“Yeah... It almost smells... Like smoke?”

“Jake, look up there!” Terriermon pointed up towards the top of the mountains, where it looked like they could see smoke rising in the air from far away, alongside a soft, orange glow.

“There must be some huge fire going on...” Jake says. “We gotta check it out! Terriermon, Digivolve quickly!” Within the blink of an eye, Terriermon quickly Digivolved to Rapidmon, grabbing ahold of Jake and flying upwards, until they reached the top of the mountain, where they could finally see it...

...They saw Belphemon and Alec, as Belphemon was going on a rampage in a small mountain village, where every single building was on fire, creating the huge amount of smoke rising in the air.

“Oh no... It might be too late...” Rapidmon says, worriedly watching Belphemon, assuming that he already killed all the Digimon in the village, as not a single one was to be found.

“...No...” Jake felt pure anger welling inside of him as he watched... His fists shook as he stepped forward, his tag and crest glowing softly...

“STOP IT!!” Jake screeched with all his might, loud enough for Belphemon and Alec to finally notice them and stop attacking, turning to the two curiously.

“Heh, it’s you again...” Alec says, with a smirk. “Aren’t you all tired of losing to us yet?”

“SHUT UP, ALEC!!” Jake screeched. “I’m tired of watching you all destroy the Digital World!! I don’t care how weak I seem compared to you... I am not just gonna stand here and watch you destroy the lives of EVERY INNOCENT DIGIMON!!”

“Yeesh, touchy much? Chill out!” Alec says. “Eh, whatever, you’ll probably be dead in a minute or so anyways... Belphemon, you know what to do!”

“DARK FIRE!!” Belphemon let out a powerful attack, aiming straight at Jake...

“NO!!” But Rapidmon quickly charged forward, taking the attack for Jake, as he instantly reverted back to Terriermon, getting thrown off the side of the mountain...

“TERRIERMON!! NO!!” Without thinking, Jake leaped off the side of the mountain, quickly catching Terriermon, midair... And as they were falling, Jake’s Digivice burst into an explosion of color, a glowing crest shape forming on his tag and crest...

“TERRIERMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TO...

...

...

...

“...MEGAGARGOMON!!”

“Jake had his eyes squeezed shut, preparing for his demise, but slowly opened then when he realized he was being lifted up instead... By MegaGargomon. Jake stared in awe at his partner’s new form, his armor glistening in the moonlight, now towering at over 5 times the height of Rapidmon... Now at least half the size of Belphemon X. MegaGargomon slowly lifted Jake back down to the ground, glaring down at Belphemon.

“HA! You really think your new form scares us?!” Alec scoffed. “Belphemon can still take you out, with no trouble!”

“...Try me.” MegaGargomon growled. “MEGA BARRAGE!!” MegaGargomon fires rapid shots at Belphemon, doing a bit of damage.

“GIFT OF DARKNESS!!” Belphemon attacks back, MegaGargomon quickly dodging it. “MEGA BARRAGE!!” As he fires once again.

“DARK FIRE!!” And Belphemon attacked once more, both attacks, colliding with each other.

“Urgh... GARGO MISSILE!!” MegaGargomon then fired the gigantic missiles on his shoulders, charging fast as they roughly hit Belphemon...

“LIGHTNING HORN!!” But Belphemon blocked the attack, barely doing much damage to Belphemon. “No...” MegaGargomon huffed, sounding pretty exhausted now.

“Heh... See? Like I’ve said before, you’re no match for us...” Alec smirked, as power welled up in Belphemon...

“SEVENTH PENETRATE!!” Belphemon fired his powerful attack, creating a huge explosion that immediately engulfed MegaGargomon... The pure force of it made him revert back to his fresh form, Zerimon...

and completely crumbled the side of the mountain, sending both Jake and Zerimon falling off the side...

‘Oh no... This is really it for me...’ Jake squeezed his eyes shut, preparing once again for his demise...

THUMP!! But instead, him and Zerimon landed on something metallic, opening their eyes to see that they were now on Maildramon’s back, right next to Erik and Hoshi, and Batamon.

“Jake! Are you alright?!” Erik asked, Jake groaning as him and Terriermon sat up.

“I... I think so, but...” Jake worriedly looked down at Belphemon, as Maildramon flew further and further away. “I couldn’t... Defeat Belphemon...”

“Jake, it’s alright, we’ll worry about this later...” Hoshi says. “We gotta get outta here... Before Belphemon really gets us...” As they flew further and further away, they could still hear Belphemon, roaring, and cackling loudly...

“HAHAHA!! NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW!!”

The next day...

It was now pretty early in the morning, as Allison and Tsukaimon made their way down the side of a rocky beach nearby the mountains.

“Ugh...” As they were walking, Allison suddenly grumbled with annoyance, sitting down on the ground.

“Hey Allison... You alright?” Tsukaimon asks, sitting down next to her.

“Yeah, I just... Wanted to sit down for a bit.” Allison says, running a hand through her hair. “Also, I’ve... Kind’ve had a lot on my mind recently... And I don’t know how to feel...”

“You can talk to me.” Tsukaimon says.

“Well, it might sound kind’ve weird, but... I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot lately.” Allison responds, looking out at the water. “I’ve just been thinking about how much I’ve probably been worrying her lately, with all this Digidestined stuff...” Allison paused, sighing. “Now that I’ve finally made up with her, I’m sure I’ve been worrying her a lot, and... What if I don’t make it back safely? What if we all just... Fail to save the Digital World? And our world as well? I’d hate to see anything happen to my friends... Or my mom... I guess I’m just... Worried about everything is all...”

“Allison... I can tell you really care about everyone.” Tsukaimon smiles, patting Allison on the arm. “But don’t worry too much... Us Digidestined are pretty strong, and I know we’ll all achieve our mega Digivolutions, and safe the Digital World real soon!”

“Thanks, Tsukaimon... I hope so.” The two smile at one another for a bit... Until they can hear the sounds of some voices in the distance. The two exchange glances, carefully walking over to the sound of the voices, where they carefully look over a rock... And see Rosalie and Laylamon, the two having a conversation, but keeping their voices pretty low, so they couldn’t hear what they were saying. Upon seeing them, Allison and Tsukaimon immediately ducked back down behind the rock, whispering a plan to eachother. “You... Sure about that?” Tsukaimon whispered, Allison nodding with determination...

“...HEY!!” Allison suddenly jumped out from behind the rock...

“TSUKAIMON DIGIVOLVE TO... DEVIDRAMON!! DEVIDRAMON DIGIVOLVE TO... NEODEVIMON!!”

Rosalie and Laylamon looked up at NeoDevimon, exchanging glances as the two started laughing.

“Oh, how cute... They think they actually have a chance against us...” Rosalie says, giggling.

“Oh, we sure do!” Allison responds confidently.

“Heh... We’ll just have to see about that. EMPRESS EMBLAZE!!”

“DEEP SORROW!!” NeoDevimon tries to block Laylamon’s attack... But it fails completely, damaging NeoDevimon a lot...

“RAZOR NAIL!!” As Laylamon powerfully slashes, instantly reverting NeoDevimon back to Tsukaimon.

“Heh, like I said, you have no chance...” Rosalie smirks, shrugging... But her smirks fades when she sees Tsukaimon stand back up, still ready to fight. “What...? But... How?”

“We’re not as weak as you think, Rosalie...” Allison grumbles, her Digivice and tag and crest starting to glow... “And as long as we’re still standing, we’ll always be fighting to take you down... I’ll fight and defeat you... Not just for the Digital World... BUT FOR MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!” Allison’s Digivice burst into an explosion of colors, the light enveloping Tsukaimon...

“TSUKAIMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TO...

...

...

...”

“...BEELZEMON!!”

“Whoa...” There he was, the final demon lord... Beelzemon, now fighting for the side of good. Allison stared up in awe at her partner’s new form, who wasn’t much bigger, only being around half the height of Laylamon’s X form, but still glared up at Laylamon with a fierce glare.

“Ah, Beelzemon, it’s about time you finally showed your face...” Laylamon says, with an amused smirk. “Although, I’m not sure why you’re working for the Digidestined now... Why exactly is that?”

“...You know why.” Beelzemon growled, aiming his guns at Laylamon... “DOUBLE IMPACT!!” And Immediately firing, Laylamon getting hit by a few rapid shots.

“RAZOR NAIL!!” Laylamon immediately attacked back, Beelzemon quickly dodging it.

“KICK HER BUTT BEELZEMON!!” Allison shouted.

“HEARTBREAK SHOT!!” Beelzemon fired a powerful shot at Laylamon’s chest, doing a lot of damage as she screeches in pain, clutching her chest as she nearly falls to the ground.

“Ugh, god... Why are you doing this, Beelzemon?!” Laylamon screeched. “Firing at me... When you should be firing at the other side instead!!”

“BECAUSE THESE DIGIDESTINED HAVE SHOWN ME MORE KINDNESS THEN YOU ALL EVER DID!!” Beelzemon screeched, snapping back at her. “All those years us demon lords spent together... We were all supposed to be a team, but... Barbamon, Lucemon, Daemon... All of them. All they ever did was put me down, telling me I wasn’t  strong enough, told me I was practically the weakest... And when I was first defeated by Cherubimon all those years ago... Barbamon didn’t give a damn! All he thought about was using my data to power himself up... The greedy bastard...”

“Pfft, what? Am I supposed to suddenly feel bad for you now?” Laylamon scoffed. “Beelzemon... Even after all this... Working with the Digidestined? How low of you...”

“Shut up, Laylamon!” Beelzemon pauses, looking back towards Allison. “When all of you backstabbed me... These Digidestined were the ones to help me back up, no matter how much of a jerk I was to them in the past... Especially you, Allison. I would’ve never gotten this far without such an amazing partner like you...”

“Oh Beelzemon... Thank you...” Allison smiles warmly at Beelzemon...

“Urgh... RAZOR NAIL!!” Laylamon takes this warm distraction, trying to attack Beelzemon, but he quickly dodges the attack.

“For god sakes, Laylamon! Why are you even doing this?!” Beelzemon paused, sighing with annoyance. “Laylamon come on, you of all people shouldn’t be fighting for those selfish jerks... I know what Barbamon did to you! Stabbing you in the back, and collecting your data as well... Laylamon, I know you never wanted all of this... Back then all those years ago, you never even wanted to form Ogudomon with us! All you wanted to do was run your army, in peace... Don’t you want that life again, Laylamon?! Laylamon... This group is falling apart. You me, and Leviamon... We’ve always been called the weaker ones of the group. If we all teamed up together, alongside the Digidestined, we could finally get our revenge, and earn the respect and freedom we finally deserve!! Laylamon, come on... You need to choose your side now... Before it’s too late.” Beelzemon’s speech shocked Laylamon to her core, Laylamon looking away silently, with a worried expression, as many thoughts swirled through her head.

“Man, I am so sick of all this chit chat...” Rosalie scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Laylamon, just kill him already!”

“Urgh.... EMPRESS EMBLAZE!!” Catching him off guard, Laylamon delivers a powerful attack, sending Beelzemon crashing into the ground... As power wells up in her...

“SEVENTH FASCINATE!!”

Meanwhile...

The main group was walking alongside the same rocky beach, looking for the others, as Lily loudly vented as they were walking.

“Those stupid Demondestined...” Lily grumbled. “Ugh, I’m just... So... Sick of them!”

“Wow, you sound so fired up, Lily!” Dracomon says.

“I know! Man, if we actually find the Demondestined out here, Lily’s gonna be the first one to strike!” Taeka says, chuckling.

“You’re dang right I will.” Lily says, crossing her arms. “And god forbid if they hurt Jake, or the others...”

“Whoa, you guys... Look!” Axel points over to the distance, where the group can see an explosion, from the fight between Allison and Rosalie. “Oh no... One of our friends must be in trouble!” ExTyrannomon says. “Let’s hurry!” Everyone quickly runs over to the explosion, carefully looking around the rocks, where they can finally see the fight, seeing Laylamon beating up Beelzemon with barely any effort.

“Whoa... That’s Rosalie!” Cora smiles happily, seeing her girlfriend, but...

“Pfft, my god, this is just pathetic!” Cora’s smile faded, seeing the way Rosalie was cackling and smirking maniacally, as Laylamon beat up Beelzemon. “I’m surprised you two haven’t dropped dead already!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it...” Lily grumbles, suddenly stepping out, protectively in front of Beelzemon, the others also stepping out. “STOP IT!! IVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!” Lily screeched, turning back to Beelzemon. “Are you-“ But Lily suddenly froze, staring back at Beelzemon with wide eyes, slowly backing away. “Wait a minute... Beelzemon?! You can’t be... You’re not... The same Beelzemon, are you?”

“Uh... I think so? He’s Tsukaimon’s new mega form...” Allison says.

“WHAT?!”

“Rosalie... How could you do this?” Cora asks, a saddened look on her face.

“Aw, there you finally are, Cora...” Rosalie smirks, giving a sly wave. “What, sad to see what I’m really like? Gonna have to get used to it if you still want me, baby...”

“I just... I can’t... Believe this...” Cora mumbled, looking down at the ground.

“Urgh... You know what, Rosalie? I’m just so... Unbelievably... Sick of all you Demondestined!” Lily snaps, looking down at Lopmon. “Lopmon... Let’s take this Demondestined out. Once and for all.” Light burst forth from Lily’s Digivice...

“LOPMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TO...”

“CHERUBIMON... X!!”

“Whoa... Amazing...” There she was... Cherubimon’s new X form. Somehow even bigger then her original size, Cherubimon’s body gave off a soft, warm glow.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me...” Laylamon grumbled, shielding her eyes from the glow.

“Come on, Laylamon... You can still take her on!” Rosalie confidently says.

“Cherubimon, do you... Want me to help?” Beelzemon asks.

“No need Beelzemon, I can tell you’ve been hurt enough...” Cherubimon looks back at Beelzemon, with a warm smile. “Don’t worry... I’ve got this.” Cherubimon quickly turns forward... “LIGHTNING SPEAR!!” And fires a powerful bolt of pink lightning, directly striking Laylamon. “RAZOR NAIL!!” Laylamon immediately strikes back...

“LIGHTNING SPEAR!!” But Cherubimon quickly blocks Laylamon’s attack with her own...

“HEAVEN’S JUDGEMENT!!” And strikes again at Laylamon with powerful thunderclouds, Laylamon falling to the ground as she struggles to stand.

“Laylamon... I can sense all the hatred in your heart... All your pain, and sorrow.” Cherubimon says softly, smiling as she opens up her arms wide. “No one... Deserves to go through this sorrow... Not even you...” The spikes on Cherubimon’s hands start to glow a soft pink, as she slowly gets closer to Laylamon...

“What are you... G-get away from me...” Laylamon grumbled, Cherubimon ignoring her as she got even closer.

“It’s going to be alright, Laylamon... Let me heal you... 

...BIRIRIN HUG!!” Cherubimon quickly grabs ahold of Laylamon, capturing her in a tight hug, Laylamon trying to wriggle free, but to no avail... 

“It’s ok, Laylamon... Don’t fight it...” Laylamon felt the warm glow slowly seeping through her body, enveloping her... Laylamon slowly lost the will to fight back, as her body slowly started fading away, her data turning to a soft, glowing dust that swirled around in the air... Before it finally faded away, out of sight.

“Oh... My... Gosh... Lily, Cherubimon... YOU BOTH DID IT!! WOO!!” Taeka and everyone else cheered for Lily, everyone congratulating her, as Cherubimon reverted back to Lopmon. 

“That was awesome! But what happened to Laylamon’s data?” Dracomon asked.

“My powers managed to purify her data...” Lopmon says. “So I don’t think we’ll have to worry about her any longer.”

“So you just like... Defeated her with the power of hugs? That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard.” Blaine says.

“Eh, who cares how cheesy it is?! I’ll accept any Demon Lord defeat at this point!” Taeka says, her and everyone chuckling. Cora then walks forward, slowly approaching Rosalie with an angered look... And powerfully slapping her across the face.

“...I am DONE with you, Rosalie.” Cora hissed, with a low voice. Rosalie didn’t respond, only slowly backing away with a wide eyed expression...

...Then, a dark aura starting forming under Rosalie’s feet... As a big, shadowy hand suddenly grabbed her.

“YOU’VE LOST TO THE DIGIDESTINED, ROSALIE... HOW PATHETIC.” The shadowy aura growled, slowly pulling Rosalie under the dark portal...

“No, no, no, wait...” Rosalie tried to wriggle out of the shadow’s grasp, to no avail... As the shadow slowly pulled her under... Gone and out of sight.

“What the... What just happened to her?” Blaire asked, everyone speechless as they exchanged a mix of shocked and confused glances.

“HEY!! I SEE YOU OVER THERE!!” Everyone’s thoughts were cut off by Blaine screaming and pointing over to the mountains in the close distance... Where they could see Lila watching the group, alongside Daemon. Upon being yelled at, Lila immediately hopped onto Daemon’s back, the two starting to fly away...

“Oh... You are NOT getting away this time...” Blaine grumbled, his Digivice glowing brightly...

“RYUDAMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TO...”

“...OURYUMON!!” Blaine quickly hopped onto his partner’s back, as he immediately flew into the sky, chasing after Daemon... Taeka looked up at them, only able to say one thing...

“Blaine... DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY!!”