The sea was crisscrossed with sharp swells, cutting through one another in an erratic fashion. Each wave was laced with sharp data and flecks of green crystal, being tossed around in the boiling sea. And the closer one got to the epicentre, directly below where HelMidgarmon was hovering, the worse it got.

HelMidgarmon himself was rotating, round and round, a simple movement after the brutal assault from the four Megas just hours earlier. Not that their efforts had showed. His body had regrown back to where it had been before, and it flew slowly, building up more energy for another deadly attack. Occasionally his motion would swerve outwards, or even turn completely, making a figure eight. For now he was pulling back in though, staying in stasis. And as he moved, so the waters moved beneath him.

Only the mad would be out in waters like this, threatening to tear them apart, under the gaze of the world-eater above.

Inez was incredibly aware of how mad this all was. She felt sick, and her body was torn between the absolute terror of the apocalyptic forces above her, and the familiar terror of the wide ocean around her. But all the while, she clung onto Uiscemon’s neck, strapped in place and keeping her arms firmly around her, keeping away the spray. Uiscemon was staying just at the edge of the surface, swimming with wide strokes as fast as he dared. He looked up, his eyes meeting with Inez’s as he followed the motion of the waves. But he didn’t say a word. This was the first dangerous part.

Inez kept her head down, and closed her eyes, also not daring to look at the death which hung above them.

This was crazy. But she knew in her heart, if they were to stand the slightest chance, that she had no choice.

Inez shuffled forwards on the office chair, peering over the screen in front of her. In truth, a lot of it was utter gibberish to her, even if she did pride herself on her computing knowledge. But she could make out certain familiar clusters as they flashed up temporarily. The twisting temporal mass in one corner had to be the digital world, and the dots all over it were mapped to a spinning globe beside it. Links between the worlds. There were a lot of them. A concerning amount. The girl grimaced. Numbers did always make things seem more serious.

The pictures shifted, zooming in on both diagrams, until only a scattering of dots were left, with one large flashing one in the centre. Perez scooted over, and ran a command, bringing up another window and showing the current feed of HelMidgarmon. It wasn’t much; only four videos from over twenty that Kent had organised. Inez twisted her mouth.

“We still can’t see him properly, you know. He doesn’t show up on the screens.”

“Of course. But it’s not him we’re trying to see.”

Salma walked forwards, flicking a pen around through her fingers as she gestured to Perez. In an instant the camera shifted, looking downwards. One of them went haywire, flickering incessantly. But the other three managed to stabilise on the vast maelstrom up in the ocean, with water cascading downwards around the edge, before seemingly disappearing. Even across the grainy video, the sight made Inez quail. And not just her, as Syngnamon rolled himself up beside her, not even daring to look. Dominic pressed his lips together, clasping his hands.

“You know what this is, don’t you?”

The girl nodded. “I...I think so. I’ve seen it twice now. Only from outside, but...that’s the Dark Area, isn’t it?”

Syngnamon flinched, but he forced himself to look up, even as Inez ran her fingers through his mane. Salma swallowed.

“We received instructions from Alasdair in case...in case anything like this ever happened. HelMidgarmon was trapped in the Dark Area for years. Due to its makeup, it has a hold on any Digimon who end up there. And the deeper you are, the greater the hold is.”

“But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

Syngnamon clambered upwards onto Inez’s lap, a tinge of uncertainty in his voice. “Those Digimon...they’re the ones who’ve committed the worst crimes against your world, our world, and existence itself. We want the hold to remain.”

Dominic leant back. “Perez and I; we’ve dealt a little with this before. It’s true; there are few forces that can overcome the Dark Area. It’s a cluster of locks and cloaks and encryptions and dark matter that is almost impossible to navigate.”

“Almost?”

The man bit his lip, and held out two fingers, pointing at the girl and the seahorse. “Even the strongest prison in the world has no chance against the bonds between human and Digimon. And that bond is all HelMidgarmon has left.”

Syngnamon bowed his head, wielding an uncomfortable expression. Inez cleared her throat. “So that’s how he was able to break out.”

“That’s the thing though; he hasn’t broken out. Not really.” Dominic scratched behind his head. “He’s dragging the Dark Area with him. And the digital world along with it.”

As if to reiterate, the pictures shifted, the sea caving in on one side of the portal as the waters just south were swallowed up. The dark portal hovered for a second, before staying in place once again. The whole event was utterly unnatural, like staring into another plane of existence. Inez shivered, as Salma held out a finger.

“It’s slowing him down. But it’s nowhere near enough to hold him in place. And when he moves, the other world moves with him.”

Inez looked up. “And is this what you wanted me for?”

Perez gritted her teeth, and turned around, leaning forwards. She clasped her hands before her as she looked sincerely at her niece.

“We need to sever the link. Or...rather, we need you to sever the link.”

Inez held her breath, her mouth pursed tightly shut. Her eyes flicked sideways, watching the great portal through the screen, surrounded by miles and miles of rough sea. Something brushed against her chest as Syngnamon raised his head.

“That...that can’t be your plan. We have to find some way around this. We can fight HelMidgarmon in place; surely it would be easier that way?”

Perez shook her head. “You can see, can’t you? He’s not in place. And every time he moves the gate, it causes distortions both in the digital world and in this one. That’s the reason so many more gates are opening up. His presence is making the rift between both worlds worse, and if he keeps going, there’s a chance he could open it up further.”

Dominic leant his head back, chiming in. “We’re already dealing with one world killer. We don’t need several to follow after him.”

“And besides,” said Salma, walking forwards gravely, “we all know that at some point you’re all going to have to fight him. And if he’s anchored out at sea there’s no way you’re all going to be able to do that. You’ll need as much advantage as you can get.”

“But...but...”

“It’s what Alasdair asked.” Salma bowed her head forwards. “If this ever happened, we needed to let him through completely. And have faith that the tamers would be strong enough to stop him.”

Syngnamon looked back and forth, grinding his teeth desperately, but Perez reached forwards and placed a hand on the seahorse’s head. She looked, and her eyes were deeply apologetic. “I’m sorry. If we could think of another way we could, but...”

The seahorse flinched, curling up further into Inez’s arms. The girl was barely looking at him, and she mumbled a reply.

“...at the end of the day, you needed someone who can swim.”

Syngnamon glanced up, feeling his partner’s body shaking. He steeled himself, and stood up on her lap, looking into her eyes.

“I’ll go. All you need to do is evolve me, and I’ll...I’ll go into the Dark Area alone.”

Inez smiled warmly. She started shaking her head, prompting Syngnamon to protest more. “You don’t need to put yourself through this, Inez! Not again! I...I can do this...”

“I’m not losing you, Syngnamon,” said Inez, firmly and flatly. She held out a palm, curling it around his cheek, and for a moment they held their heads together, gathering their thoughts.

“Someone needs to do this. If it needs to be one of us, then it needs to be both of us, so we can make sure that the other’s coming back this time.”

Syngnamon shook his head, but he couldn’t find any words left to argue. He just sat, tightly on Inez’s lap, and glaring at the three scientists and their forlorn faces. Inez raised an eyebrow. “I’m...assuming that, after all of this, you actually can send both of us.”

Perez puffed one cheek out. “It’s a part of the digital world, albeit one that plays by its own rules. You’ll both be able to survive in there, and we have a contact who can act as your guide to HelMidgarmon’s link.”

“...and this contact can’t do the job because...”

Salma folded her arms. “It’s as we said. The Dark Area’s links are strong. It’ll take something stronger to break them.” She nodded down at Inez’s pocket, where her D-SEND was glowing through the fabric. “The bond between human and Digimon, and the power that comes from that.”

“Not that she won’t help.” Dominic smiled in an attempt at being reassuring. “And we won’t send you in unprepared. We’ll give you as much help as we can.”

Inez slumped back, looking slightly tired. “Thank you for your support, but with all due respect you people haven’t exactly done the greatest job at helping us so far. How can we be sure you won’t mess up sending the two of us into the strongest prison in the Digital World, as you put it?”

Dominic scratched behind his head, looking redder by the second. “If...I were to say...theoretically, that you wouldn’t be the first tamer we’ve sent into the Dark Area, would that be at all reassuring?”

The silence echoing around the small room spoke volumes. Until it was dispersed by Dominic again, giving a nervous laugh.

“Or...should I have kept that bit quiet?”

The conversation played around Inez’s head as she bundled herself further into Uiscemon’s gentle hold, holding her hand to the cord around her neck, bundled into her scarf. She withdrew it, holding the small device and laughing a little. Uiscemon looked back, his eyes full of worry. “What is it?”

“You’d have thought that for the miracle program that’s supposed to track me and allow them to bring us both home, they could find something slightly more robust than a memory stick from the pound shop.”

“I’d agree. But since when have we ever had exactly the things we need?” Uiscemon closed his eyes, before levelling out. “Hold on tight. This is going to get choppy.”

Inez obliged, wrapping up the device again and wrapping her arms around Uiscemon’s harness. He was a fast swimmer, and even despite the storm it hadn’t taken him long to reach this point. But the closer they got to the gateway the worse the waters got, and soon even Uiscemon was struggling just to stay the right way up. Inez was buffeted on his back, holding on for dear life, without even the energy to talk. Every time she tried to close her eyes they were just shaken open again, salt and spray churning everywhere. And she didn’t even dare look up, fully aware that they were now completely underneath HelMidgarmon’s shadow, as he spiralled in the sky above.

Uiscemon turned up, almost vertically, and Inez grasped on the way she always used to as a child, holding to the rope at the edge of her parents’ boat as it rode the waves. It had always been so easy then. Just don’t let go. Don’t let go. There’s nothing to be afraid of...

...there had been ‘nothing to be afraid of’ for the past six years now...

The girl realised she’d been holding her breath, and let it out in a gasp, holding onto her partner’s back. Uiscemon was treading water, his hands pressing against a swell that seemed to be travelling sideways. Inez swallowed, and peered over the horse man’s shoulder.

“Here we are...”

Before them, the sea just fell away into a black nothingness. A few specks of water floated on the surface, moving back and forth like on the edge of glass. But most of the sea just vanished. And inside the great gate as well...around the edges was a ring of glittering data, held under pressure, the very boundary between two worlds. And then further in...nothing. Just an empty blackness. An unending chasm. No sound. No heat, nor cold. Just...a lack of anything, and everything.

Uiscemon held back, absolutely dwarfed by the void. He stayed as still as he could against the buffeting waves, on the verge of falling inwards but steadying himself. Inez gently clambered round, steadying her own breathing as she placed herself into one of his arms. She pressed her glasses further against her face, and pulled up a small, gauze mask over her nose and mouth.

“I hope they were telling the truth.”

She laughed humourlessly, but Uiscemon couldn’t even muster that. He bit his lip, his sharp teeth drawing blood. Inez reached up, her fingers brushing against the edge of his cheek He turned his head away, not wanting the affection.

“Are you afraid?”

Inez placed one palm over the other, feeling her body convulsing, screaming at her to be anywhere but here. But her mind was oddly blank. Perhaps she was numb to this by now. She nodded.

“I’ve never been more scared of anything in my entire life.”

She looked out into the inky blackness, and held her breath.

“Let’s go then, I suppose...”

“Hold on tight. And don’t let go.”

Uiscemon gently leant forwards, and Inez felt her heart skip a beat as gravity took them both, and they tumbled forwards into the chasm.

The sensation was different to the Interface, frighteningly so. That had been an explosion of colour and white noise and sensory stimulation. This was just. Barren. Nothing. She felt like she should be cold; there was no life or warmth here whatsoever. But it was like a cocoon, just cutting off everything around her. Even Uiscemon felt utterly alien, as if covered in a thin slimy membrane.

She blinked, feeling pieces moving in her body. Her ears popped, and shivered. Every muscle tingled; a brief feeling of pins and needles, and then back to utter numbness. For a few seconds she couldn’t see a thing, and she opened her mouth and tried to breath, but her body was interrupted and she found herself choking, and frozen, and petrified and

And then nothing again. Just clinging tightly to the invisible Digimon beside her, as he kicked at the darkness, trying to right himself.

It took a few minutes, which felt like hours, but soon Inez realised that her eyes were open, and she was looking straight forwards. And she could see. Not much. Not even a few metres away. But as she held her palm up, she could see the silhouette, and a few lights dancing over it. Looking beside her she saw why; Uiscemon was glowing, the tattoos traced over his body emanating a light bioluminescence, making him seem almost skeletal. But he was definitely there.

And he wasn’t the only one. Inez looked around her, and saw flashes, here and there. Greens, and blues, and whites and reds; just tiny specks of life in this mass of nothing. Signs of life even down here. And as she looked up, she could see thin trails of data reaching up, knotting together into a spiral vortex, spinning around and around. HelMidgarmon’s link, still as strong as ever, linking this world and hers. To the denizens down here it must have been like a beacon. A monument to a life they’d once had, and had been cursed to never have again.

Something muttered above her, and she frowned, pressing herself closer to Uiscemon’s mouth. He spoke again, but Inez’s ears were pulsing, and she could barely hear the words. She stared, forcing herself to focus, keeping him in her mind. And the third time, they came through.

“Something’s out there.”

Inez peered out, into the swathe of lights before them. One of them seemed to be flittering back and forth, almost flying through the blackness. For a moment they seemed lost. Then they got bigger, and their form became more defined; a slender, fish-like figure, with two large gauntlets on both their arms. They looked translucent at first, but as they swum up their figure became more opaque, becoming the clearest thing for miles around. The fish smiled; a slightly thuggish but ultimately amiable gesture.

“You’re Ali’s warriors, aren’t you?”

Inez held her breath, but nodded. The fish turned around, and as she did so, a thin trail of water rose up behind her, forming a rope in front of Inez and Uiscemon. The fish beckoned with a finger.

“Come with me.”

Uiscemon held it, and kicked behind him, following the fish as she flitted in the blackness, her movements clean and refined. Uiscemon blinked, his tattoos glowing all the more.

“You must be our contact.”

“I haven’t had much contact for a long time. But if that’s what the dorks upstairs said, then I suppose I am.”

Inez reached out, running her hand through the trail of water. “You know them? And Alasdair?”

“I’ve known a good many people and Digimon. And done a good many things, in some form or another.” The fish looked over her shoulder. “How’s Perimon doing? I hope he’s coping okay without me. I didn’t mean to abandon him like that but I didn’t have a choice.”

“Perimon too...” Inez and Syngnamon looked at one another, before the girl pried further. “Who...are you, exactly?”

“Just a lazy bum at heart. But I guess I have a job now.”

The fish turned around, and as her tail swung forwards it was clear that the stream of water was attached to her. It swung around, and trickled out of the abyss, before another figure swam forwards; another fish, almost exactly the same. The two of them bumped fists, before their forms began to shimmer, turning as translucent as the watery bonds which held them. Uiscemon’s grip on his partner tightened as the guides dissolved, replaced by two very different shapes; the bony heads of great armoured fish, each holding a shimmering orb in its mouth. And the trails of water were replaced by a bony chain, held in the armoured gauntlets of another, much larger figure who swum forwards out of the blackness.

She was tilted upwards, held steady on a great armour plated tail. Her top half was human; broad, and muscular, and also lightly armoured, with a spiny helmet over her head. Blue tentacles waved around her head in place of hair, and her eyes were a piercing golden, enough to illuminate a round face and a mouth full of sharp, shark-like teeth. The figure nodded her head in greeting, utterly friendly in spite of her intimidating appearance.

“I’m the gatekeeper of the Dark Area. Call me Devonimon.”

Inez gawped at the mermaid before her, unable to find the words. Although Uiscemon was slightly more defensive, reaching over his shoulders and grabbing both spears.

“How do we know you aren’t trying to trick us?”

Devonimon raised an eyebrow. “Even if I was, do you really want to try and pick a fight? Given that I’m apparently the worst and most deadly the digital world has to offer?”

Uiscemon smiled flatly, and retracted his arms. Devonimon floated back slightly, almost waiting for a response to this comedy of errors. One which Inez finally gave an answer to.

“HelMidgarmon’s escaped into our world. We’re...we’re trying to separate him from this one.”

“Yes, I know.”

Inez drew back, and Devonimon bowed her head in an apologetic manner. “I tried to stop him. To send him back to sleep. But I’m afraid I let him go.”

She raised a palm, and beckoned slowly, the black mass rippling out from the movement.

“Come with me. I can show you where he came from.”

The two partners glanced at one another, and Inez nodded. They found themselves moving, carried by the dark currents, the faint lights from above and below moving...or perhaps themselves moving with the invisible currents. Either way, they found themselves following Devonimon, who was facing away from them, her hands clasped around the chain flail as it drifted beside her, the two bony heads keeping pace.

Uiscemon swum forwards, one side of his mouth lifting up. “I didn’t realise the Dark Area had a gatekeeper.”

“Not many of you do. Strictly speaking, it’s not an official position.” Devonimon lowered her head, her tail sweeping back and forth, left and right, regular as ever. “Let’s just...let’s just call it a promise. To a friend from long ago.”

Uiscemon peered down at Inez, his gaze intense. It nudged her, until she could take it no more, asking what was on her mind as well as her partner’s.

“Do you...know HelMidgarmon?”

“You’re all perceptive, aren’t you...”

Devonimon sighed, and straightened up, although her movements were as smooth and unobstructed as always. But she looked back, and her eyes were dull, and tired, carrying many millennia of baggage.

“He was my friend. Ali was my friend, as well. We were among the first. The first of your kind to come to our world and change our lives, and the first of our kind to accept. Before the...people of our world cast your memory away. As a myth. A terrible affliction against our world.”

Inez held her shoulder, looking despondent. “None of us wanted to hurt you...”

“You think I don’t know that? Very few of you did. But there are always tyrants. On our world and yours. And the consequences of the worst of our world corrupting the innocence of yours.”

Her voice got quieter and quieter, and her movements became less pronounced. Inez pressed her hands together.

“...I don’t understand...”

“You don’t need to. It was never your battle to know about. You had your own.”

Devonimon let out a breath, and the two heads of her mace swam around her, refocusing her words.

“HelMidgarmon...Wyvermon was the most noble of the seven of us, along with Arimon. Dragon’s pride, he called it. And he knew there was always something left over from that...that first time. A vessel of hatred and bile against your world, and anything tainted by it. We tried everything we could, aided by our other halves, trapped a world away but...but he made the decision, in the end. He had to seal it away himself. Using his own life if he needed to.”

Uiscemon and Inez watched, as the lights danced past them, getting faster all the time, as if they were travelling hundreds of miles, even though there was no reference. But they didn’t feel it. And Devonimon didn’t react, save for her more forlorn expression.

“We should have stopped him. But he dived down, far beyond our reach. Sacrificing himself in an instant, just to seal away a great evil. He gave his life to keep it away from the other worlds. Even as it overcame him.”

The mermaid shook, her movements making the darkness tremble all around. Uiscemon pulled back, watching her movements. It was almost as though she was crying.

“All this time...I’ve had to watch him. As it took over his mind. He lasted for millennia, holding it firmly, maybe out of pride, or guilt, or payment to the rest of us...I don’t know. But he...he couldn’t last forever. It overcame him. His mind was overtaken by nothing but two dominating forces. One to keep the evil safe. And the other...the other to see his partner once again.”

Devonimon twisted around, holding a hand upwards to the heavens.

“That’s what made him break free. A chance to see Ali again. I tried to stop him but...but this place, and my power...we’re no match for the bond between partners.”

Uiscemon straightened up, his hands curling beside him. “If that’s so, then why is he still linked to the Dark Area? Is it that strong?” He bit his lip. “Are we going to be able to escape again?”

“The Dark Area isn’t what’s keeping him down here.”

Devonimon held out a palm downwards, and Inez and Uiscemon followed the motion, watching as the lights from above converged, twisting together into a single spear, burrowing down into the abyss beneath. The mermaid backed away, revealing the lights below.

“Half of his quest is still here. He’s still holding onto it, even now. That’s his link. That’s what’s binding the two worlds together.” She gripped the chain flail. “That’s what Alasdair asked you to sever, isn’t it...”

Inez looked down, holding a hand over her mouth, as the lights converged before her.

“Breaking his partner’s link to a lifelong quest...” Inez closed her eyes. “He had to give lives away for a greater cause. It has to be what he wanted...”

“Wait.”

A hand closed around the girl’s shoulder, and she looked up to see Devonimon, looking down at her.

“I can’t enter the deep vaults.”

“Aren’t you the gatekeeper?”

“That’s the reason why. I chose to be this. As my penance, much as Wyvermon chose his.” Devonimon let out a breath. “There are Digimon down there who own my very soul. If I were to go down, to face them or fight them or love them; I would never come back out again. And no matter what, I have to hold my job.” She gripped the chain. “I can guide you back the moment you emerge. But down there...you’re on your own.”

Inez leant forwards, looking down, or as far down as she could comprehend. All she could make out was the link from above, spiralling round into an impossibly thin space, the deepest vaults of the digital world. She shivered, but she felt her partner shaking beneath her as well, his body frozen against the oppressive blackness. With Devonimon’s eyes upon her, she reached up, holding a hand against his cheek.

“For Alasdair, okay? And for the others. We have to set him free.”

Uiscemon’s nostrils’ flared as he took in what seemed like a breath. Then he reached up, and cradled his palms around her.

“In. And out.”

He peered up at Devonimon. “That’s right, isn’t it?”

The mermaid didn’t raise her head. She didn’t even respond. All she could do was hold the chain as it curved around the abyss within the abyss, the heads latching into place on the other side.

“He trusts you. Whatever you find down below, you can survive it.”

The words were hollow, and almost unrecognisable in the gloom now. Inez nodded slowly, her hands gripping onto her partner’s arm. Uiscemon pulled her in tightly, and held his breath, and descended downwards, deep into the apex.

Inez watched as the world turned around her, the darkness intersected by the glowing lines that spiralled down from up above. She could feel the difference in the levels, and looking up the shallow vaults seemed to be another world away. There was more light down here, but it was one sided. Bearing down on her, utterly oppressive, and revealing nothing from around her. And as they descended all the more the lights just kept spiralling, more and more linking up as they approached the centre, until they were surrounded by a labyrinth of light, engraved in the abyss.

Inez tried to take in a breath, but felt nothing in her chest or her mouth. With nothing else to do, she stared down, watching as the lights converged below them. Uiscemon swum steadily, his arms making broad strokes, taking care not to disturb them.

“This wasn’t what I saw us doing this morning.”

“No.”

Inez swallowed. “At least we’ve made it this far. And this will be a good thing, won’t it?”

Uiscemon didn’t response. She looked up at him, feeling more alone the longer the silence reigned.

“Won’t it?”

“...yes. Of course.”

The girl lowered her head. “Is...something wrong?”

“We’re swimming in the depths of the worst part of the Digital World and you’re asking me if something’s wrong?”

“I know we are. But usually you’d be trying to comfort me right now. Something’s bothering you.”

Uiscemon stayed silent for a long time, his movements slow and robotic. Inez almost thought he wasn’t going to answer, but eventually he did, his voice contemplative.

“HelMidgarmon...Wyvermon...he sounded like a knight. Somebody desperate to do the right thing. Somebody I really wanted to be...”

The horse man looked sideways, his eyes dim with worry. “I want to be your knight, Inez, but...I know how it feels to be a partner first. We’re desperate to do right by you. But if he felt that and he ended up like this, torn apart then...what’s to stop the same thing happening to me?”

Inez blinked, and held out a hand, but Uiscemon pulled his head away, gritting his teeth. Inez shook her head. “You won’t...it can’t happen to you. You care too much-“

“How can you be so sure though...” Uiscemon tilted downwards. “I can’t be sure. I’ve never been sure. And as much as I’ve wanted to protect you I’ve only ended up causing you just as much pain.”

“Syngnamon...”

Uiscemon stared down, the lights spiralling in his eyes. “Is this all that’s left for me? To be left chasing after you, the world around me be damned?”

“It’s not true, Uiscemon. You know it isn’t. You’re my partner and you’ve only ever done the best for me.”

Inez crouched down, passing her hand over his shoulder. “This place is evil. It’s getting to your head. We have to finish this and get out of here.” She curled up, feeling an itching sensation crawling up her collar, creeping around her neck.

“Don’t worry, it’s...it’s getting to me as well...”

Uiscemon blinked, and moved his arms faster, looking down at where the lines of light were all converging. He reached behind him, drawing a spear and holding it poised. “It has to be there. I’m going...I’m going for it...”

“Get closer.”

“I’m trying.”

Inez looked down, watching as the centre of the spiral hovered just below them. She could feel Uiscemon pawing at the black waters, faster and faster, tilting upwards as he reached out towards it.

“I...I can’t get to it...”

The spiral remained firmly in place. And Inez felt the darkness beginning to churn around her; perhaps due to Uiscemon’s efforts, or perhaps due to the intensity of HelMidgarmon’s will. Either way she felt herself being rocked back and forth, and she clung onto her partner’s shoulder.

“Syngnamon, something’s wrong-“

“It’s there! I can see it! I have to break it! I have to get us out of here; I promised everyone...I promised you...”

His voice seemed to blink in and out of existence, and as Inez reached out towards him she shuddered as she felt her hand pass through nothing. She scrambled, reaching out and holding onto his cheek. But something jolted him, and then there was nothing again. The tattoos were blinking in and out, and spreading out around her, lost in the labyrinth of light.

“Don’t...leave me...”

Inez gasped, and found herself falling, tumbling backwards and spinning, even though the view never left her; that same, constant view, peering into the centre of the spiral, present but just out of reach. She scrambled towards it, but it was like trying to wade through oil, and it clung to her and dragged her back and bound her in place.

“WHERE ARE YOU?”

Her voice was hollow, making no sound. Every way she went was the same. She grabbed. She swam. She fell. She spun. But nothing made a difference. And as she grew more terrified and more exhausted, it just loomed in further, the essence and terrible trappings of the Dark Area. She screamed silently, curling up into a ball. Her breaths were short and rapid, but she couldn’t even hear them, or feel her heart pumping, or her eyes stinging. Everything was an oppressive numbness holding her in perfect stasis. Only her mind remained clear, and her vision, staring forwards at the deadly spiral.

And even that was slowly being swallowed up, as a great black void rose up, blocking out the lights one by one. She looked up, tears floating around her uncontrollably.

“Syngnamon...come back...please help me...”

The void continued to rise, until her vision was entirely blocked once again. She hung alone, in complete blackness, holding herself tightly. It was all she could think to do. It was all she could do.

“You came...back for me...”

Inez started, looking up, and all around her. “Syngnamon? Is that you? You’re still there?” She held her breath. “Where...where have you gone...?”

There was no response at first. Just the same emptiness, bearing down around her.

No...not empty. She squinted, and saw things moving in the blackness. Tiny specks of light, trembling, disappearing into the distance. And her ears popped, and gave way to a long, low rumble.

A rumble?

No...too sharp.

A gurgle.

A breath.

A rasping voice.

“You came...back for me...my little Ini...”

Inez’s heart stopped. She looked up, staring into the darkness before her. It was immense, blocking out any and every view of the spiralling lights. But it wasn’t without form itself, albeit hidden in the gloom. A brushing fin here. A cluster of bioluminescence there. And a pattern rippling all around, blinking lights spiralling into the centre of the void. Inez held still, her mouth opening, gasping in the black waters.

“A...Anglermon...?”

The world seemed to shake as the chasm pulsed, the hazy atmosphere all around giving way to a deep, whispering laugh. Quiet as the grave, and yet somehow everywhere, rushing through Inez’s body with a skin-crawling edge.

“...Charybdimon...”

Something swung slowly sideways, and Inez felt herself moving upwards, pushed by the pulsing shadows. She kicked back, but there was nothing behind her, and she struggled to remain upright. The shadows morphed before her, and the void rose up again as she floated. A series of orbs shone dimly in a great ring, fixing on her like vast spotlights, blinking left and right. With horror she realised they were eyes, staring dimly in the gloom. They didn’t even seem like they could see. But they were staring nonetheless, and there were dozens of them, spread around in the great void.

“...it’s felt like...so...long...after you rejected me...”

Inez swallowed. “How are you still alive? How do you keep finding me?”

“...I have to, little Ini...”

Some of the orbs closed, and others opened up. Something rippled below them, like blades of grass blowing on a windy hill.

“...you are...my starlight...my only reason...this place only...makes you glow brighter...”

He cried, and Inez felt the black waters move around her, disrupted by his very voice.

“I’ve been rejected...by everything...by Yggdrasil...by the human world...all light...and sound...and sense...eeeeeverything...but you came back......you always came back...to me...”

Inez shook her head. “I didn’t even know you were here.”

“......Iiiiiniiii....why do you reject me......you are my star......I love you.......why do you hate me.....”

Inez shivered, feeling the words eating away at her. And yet she raised a hand to her cheek, feeling the warmth behind her palm.

“I...don’t think I do...not anymore...”

She floated up, and the orbs followed her, blinking in and out of visibility. Inez found herself in the centre, and she unfurled herself, held aloft in the dark matter.

“Because of you...I can never enjoy the ocean again...not entirely. I can never be with my parents without the guilt and the pain. And I can never let someone get close to me without that...moment...where they reach out, and I’ll flinch...in case they do what you did...”

She held a hand up to her neck, gently caressing it with her fingers, feeling the rough scars.

“You hurt me. But...you don’t own me anymore. I don’t hate you because I don’t feel anything towards you anymore. You’re just...just another monster. One I fought a long time ago. And one I’ve already beaten. I don’t even recognise you now.”

Her words were quiet, but they spread out in the darkness, echoing far and wide. They hung between her and Charybdimon, with the eyes staring blearily and blindly.

Then they lit up, more and more, and Charybdimon opened his mouth, and screamed.

Inez felt the torrent rush into her, but she fought to stay upright, fighting back against the flood. She stared forwards, as millions of bioluminescent pores lit up all across the void, showing Charybdimon in his entirety. He had become utterly vast, and completely devoid of anything even vaguely bestial. A haggard, rent husk of a vast fish, with torn fins and a long, tubular tail, with barely even the strength to move back and forth. But what took up most of his body was the mouth, opening wide into an enormous circular void, ringed with dozens of the blank, sightless eyes. The rippling churned up again from within the great maw, and Inez realised that the lights were teeth. Row upon row of hooked teeth, lining the mouth all the way down, glowing brighter the more melancholically he cried out.

And as the glow grew brighter, Inez could see a shape, struggling within the folds of teeth, a broken red spear hanging in their hand.

“Uiscemon!”

Inez gritted her teeth, and began to swim. She knew it was insane, but there was no plan she could form in her head. No alternative. She just needed to get to him, to bring him to safety. Even as the waters churned again, accompanied by Charybdimon’s pained voice.

“Theeeeere’s....nothing else....yoooou can doooooo.....this place......is the eeeend.....”

Motes of light flew outwards, striking Inez and leaving burns and grazes. But she fought against it, getting closer and closer to Uiscemon as he raised his head.

“......my staaaarlight.....my little Iiiiiniiii....”

Inez reached out, nearly touching Uiscemon but just feet away, as the teeth rippled all around her, surrounding her.

“......staaaay.....with....meeee.........foreeeveer.......”

The song changed, and Uiscemon jolted as the teeth suddenly slid sideways. He gasped, crying out with pain as the teeth had slashed him, and he looked around, disorientated. His eyes met Inez’s, glowing in the light.

He reached out.

And was struck sideways as the teeth spun round once again.

“No!” yelled Inez, and tried to swim, but something sharp caught her ankle and she found herself spinning around, uncontrollable. She tried to straighten herself, but the currents had become stronger than ever. All she could see was the rows of teeth sliding back and forth, getting faster and faster all around her, the currents pulling her into the centre from their interlocking movements. And Uiscemon was caught as well, further into the creature’s maw even as he kicked and flailed against it. The flashes were harsher now, moving faster, more painful on impact. One shot past Inez’s ear, and her head began to ring, her eyes straining against the spinning lights.

“Deadzone....”

Charybdimon opened his mouth wider, his throat churning and the teeth spinning like razors, forming a vast, spiralling maelstrom. Inez could barely keep her eyes open, and her head was a mess of rushing static and fear and anger and pain. She stared ahead, barely able to see through the white storm, the deadly walls entrapping her in place. But she could see ahead, further into the eye of the storm. Uiscemon was hung in place, motionless now. No...not Uiscemon. As he went further in the lights tore away at him, ripping his remaining spear away and sending it crumbling into the depths of Charybdimon. Only Kampoimon was there, kicking weakly against the current. And then not even him, as Syngnamon curled up, his jewels glowing like pinpricks against the storm around him.

“I’m...coming...” hissed Inez, and she kicked back, dragging herself towards him even as the storm grew worse. The deeper she got, the more the lights ripped at her as well, and she closed her eyes and carried on blindly, unable to see even if she tried.

But through the rushing noise she could just about hear, as Syngnamon’s reserved voice called out.

“I’m sorry...I’ve never been strong enough...”

“I’m...going to reach you...”

“Time and again, I’ve failed you...what if I turn on you...what if the same thing happens to me...”

“Syngnamon...”

The seahorse looked up, his body on the verge of disintegrating, but his eyes fell upon Inez. “I’ve...only ever given you pain...”

Inez let out a breath, and sucked in, but her lungs were filled with light and she choked, dots dancing in front of her eyes. But she kept dragging herself forwards, feeling her own body coming apart at the seams from the power of the torrent.

“You...wonderful...idiot...”

She reached out, and her fingers brushed the seahorse’s head, cradling it in a wounded hand. She smiled, her eyes still shut tightly.

“...you’re the one who gave me my life back...”

The waters churned, and they were caught as one, pulled backwards into the very epicentre of the maelstrom. How far inside Charybdimon’s body, they didn’t know. There was no way of knowing. But Inez held tightly onto Syngnamon, and he held onto her, and she opened her eyes, looking down at him.

“You’re the bravest, most noble person I know. And you’ve never let me down. My partner. My knight.”

Syngnamon’s eyes glistened, and he raised his head, his mane blowing in the current and glowing with specks of blue and green.

“I’ll...I’ll fight for you until the end of time...Inez.”

The girl nodded, her own body glowing with the same flowing energy.

“I’ll be right there beside you.”

The world collapsed inwards, the epicentre closing in as the two held one another, their hearts becoming one. And through the depths of the abyss, two voices sounded out in unison, piercing through the deep vaults.

“Soul Coalescence!”

Charybdimon convulsed. He swung left and right, his cries echoing out into the shadows. He opened his mouth wider, and wider, the rows of teeth rolling backwards as he desperately tried to stabilise the black whirlpool. But something was forcing itself forwards. A sphere of light, fighting against the torrents. The titan’s tail lashed back and forth, trying to drive himself ahead, to keep the star hidden away, deep within where it could never escape again.

But there was no clawing it back. And his eyes all converged on the sphere in front of him, and the two silhouettes within, shimmering in the blinding light, embracing, protecting, impossible to sever. Even as he screamed, the waves just washed past them, replaced with motes of light that spun around and around, pulling the two closer together.

“Evolution Activate!”

The sphere pulsed, and deep within, the two figures flickered, shimmering past each other and through each other as they swum in the orb of light. As they did so, images were embossed on the waters around; Syngnamon’s sleek body, Kampoimon charging off to battle, Uiscemon leaping the waves. An army and a guardian, fighting for the sake of one little girl. A little girl who looked back through the waves, and stood defiant against the monster before her. And the waters churned, the lights cast away by the tide, revealing the lone figure floating in the darkness.

He was large, but not immense, only slightly bigger than Uiscemon. But his form cut a more striking figure than ever, aided by the glow that came from the patches on his body, and the blue lights piercing the darkness from the gems and lapis lazuli over his armour. Much like Devonimon he was a merfolk, but his aquatic half was more streamlined and reptilian, with four flowing fins that held him steady against the water, and two legs in front like those of a horse, tipped with sharp, silver hooves. His broad tail unfolded, ringed with steel and copper. His upper half was green-skinned, and he wore a sash, and a girdle of steel around his wide midriff, studded with the glowing jewels, and holding a pleated skirt around his waist. A round shield was attached to the wrist of his right arm, and in his right hand he held a shining net, weighted at the edges and flowing in the darkness. In his other hand he held a long spear, or perhaps a trident, the central blade glowing as it cut through the water. He had a long dark beard and a flamboyant head crest, and his face was covered with a silver helm, engraved into the shape of a horse’s head, with two yellow eyes watching from beneath.

The Digimon kicked at the water in front of him, rising up as his body glowed all the more, fully illuminating the area around him, and the deadly denizen before him.

“Okeanomon!”

The glow emanated throughout the area, the bright whites and blues intermingling with the harsh greens from HelMidgarmon’s link, now fully visible again, spiralling downwards. Okeanomon lowered his head, scanning the area below. He could see further now, but even so, between him and his goal sat the titanic body of Charybdimon. The great beast let out a whine, the sound making the water vibrate.

“Ini.....”

The noise was almost pitiable, but it burrowed into Okeanomon’s head nonetheless, causing pain as the dull grey bioluminescence flashed in front of him. The merlord held out his spear, his armour shifting over his body.

“The girl you used and tortured isn’t here anymore. You’ve chosen your fate. Descend. Accept it.”

“....giiive......her......BAAAAAACK!”

Charybdimon’s body moved with an intense ferocity and speed, powering up through the darkness. Okeanomon was the faster, his fins and hooves powering against the waters and pulling him aside with ease. But as fast as he was, his opponent was vast, and relentless. Okeanomon narrowly escaped a full frontal slam from the sea monster, but Charybdimon rolled, jettisoning spines and teeth as he did so. They spun in the eddies that surrounded his body, and flew spinning towards the ocean king, sending him off balance. And then Charybdimon turned again, and his tail rolled with his movements, hitting Okeanomon square in the chest.

The merlord flew backwards, spinning in the black mass. Charybdimon turned again, opening his mouth and roaring to disrupt the waters once again.

But Okeanomon swam up, the jewels glowing around his body. They flashed in pulses, and Charybdimon’s eyes followed them, distracted by the display. Until Okeanomon flew over his head, and swung out his spear in a vast, shining arc.

The blade pierced through Charybdimon’s leathery skin, and bisected a cluster of eyes, causing them to pop and leak dimly glowing fluid into the waters around. He screamed, and roared behind him, the movements causing Okeanomon to stagger.

Charybdimon wasn’t done yet; he swung his tail again, pulling himself above the merlord, before opening his mouth wide. The teeth danced around in his maw, and he convulsed, several tendrils of black sludge shooting forwards. Three of them struck true, and they constricted themselves around Okeanomon’s arm, chest and tail, the black mass drawing back to reveal hooked spines that dug into Okeanomon’s body.

He struggled, swiping with his spear, but another tendril shot forwards and latched around his palm, pressing inwards. Another two; one around one leg, and one around his neck, digging in below his collar. Charybdimon cried, unable to speak as his mouth was torn apart by his own desperate attack. But he didn’t let go. Or even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. The tendrils wrapped backwards, and the sea monster swung around, dragging Okeanomon through the murk.

The merlord saw his chance, reaching up and ripping one of the tendrils in two. It was only a minor relief, but it was enough to give him room to reach back, withdrawing the net in his arm. He cast it outwards, and the net expanded, edged with blue spikes that sunk into the black matter, and all around as well, digging into Charybdimon’s face and eyes. He howled, and Okeanomon grabbed the centre, a blue light pulsing through his body and down towards his clenched fist.

“Light of Abyss!”

The threads of the net ignited, and the blue flame coursed along the lattice, striking the black gel and causing it to shrivel and wither. And further still, right up to the blades, and they exploded in a marvellous display of light. Charybdimon screamed, his vision replaced with brilliant white and his horrendous face lacerated and scorched. He descended, his body coiling as blood and bile cascaded from his mouth, the teeth beginning to rattle once again.

“Giiiive....meee.....my.....starliiiiiight.....”

Okeanomon thrust his arm back, the net retracting around him as he stared down into the beast’s maw. All around the lights from up above spun slowly, collecting below the beast, the link invisible. HelMidgarmon’s quest. Okeanomon’s quest. And before him, his dragon.

Charybdimon roared, and the waters churned and boiled, and began to spin far and fast, the eye of the storm building within his great mouth. Okeanomon reached forwards, and held his trident before him, the glow from the tip trickling backwards and spreading throughout the metal.

“You were offered your time in the light. This is the only place left open to you now.”

He spun the spear around, and rose up, lights dancing from his hooves and fins. And then he tilted himself downwards, holding the spear out before him as it began to spin, sending streams of energy off into the water.

“This ends here.”

“GIIIIVE HEEER BAAAAAAAACK!”

Charybdimon stared up blindly, and screamed as he opened his mouth wider and wider, the sheer force splitting the flesh and skin, and sending loose teeth flying off into the gloom as the storm intensified.

“DEADZONE!”

The maelstrom hit Okeanomon, dragging him downwards, but he swam with the flow, staying upright as he gained speed, and the spear grew before him, casting the deep vaults with its intense and wonderful light.

“Marianas Lance!”

Okeanomon descended, galloping through the stream as the whirlpool before him grew wider. He dived into Charybdimon’s maw, and further still, a blade of light piercing into the sea monster’s throat.

Teeth snapped. Flesh burst. Charybdimon’s mournful cries were lost, disintegrating as his body fell apart from the inside.

And still Okeanomon charged, powering through flesh and bone, and suddenly he emerged, and was met with the sight of the spiralling lights converging below him, wrapped in a lattice, shifting and morphing; the link clear as day.

Okeanomon didn’t even flinch; he reared back, and threw the lance down with all his might, where it pierced and sunk into the lattice without a trace. The impact was instantaneous though; an explosion of blue light that shot up through the deep vaults and illuminated the dark area like a beacon. Just for a split second.

The orb compressed, increasing in speed as points of blue light shot through the green. And then, it began to unfurl, the ends of the trails of light falling and withering away, like a dying flower. Okeanomon floated back, watching as it opened, piece by piece.

“Your love for your partner, or your duty to your quest, HelMidgarmon. Two burdens that tore you apart. Let me relieve you of this one.”

He frowned, peering left and right as the rest of the structure fell away, the lights disappearing upwards like fuses.

“There’s...nothing here? But I don’t understand...”

“...of course...it’s empty...”

Okeanomon turned, looking up at the husk of Charybdimon above him, floating in a cloud of his own blood, although even that was seeping away into the shadows. Joining it were long strands of flesh, as Charybdimon fell apart from the inside out, his body falling into tiny specks of data in the blackness.

Okeanomon swam up, staying at a distance, and looking at the vast maw before him, frozen and limp in one last grimace. It fell away, leaving only a bolus of flesh, floating in space. And that was falling away as well, uncovering the tiny, limp figure of a fish, with webbed hands and feet, and a little shrivelled crest over his head. Anglermon twitched, not even looking up.

“HelMidgarmon’ssss the most dutiful Digimon in the world. You really think...he would abandon his quest? The thing...the very thing he knew wasss such a threat to the world...that he sacrificed his life to seal it away...?”

There was a strange, distant look in his eye as he looked downwards, the last of the filaments burning away, leaving only the impossibly dark void below.

“He...ssstilll...has it...within him...he’s still keeping it safe...as its final protector...it’s impenetrable prison...”

Okeanomon didn’t move, his face stoic.

“What is it, Anglermon? What has he sealed away? What is his quest?”

The fish looked up, and his mouth split into a weak grin.

“Not....gonna....tell you...”

He laughed, and his voice cracked as he did so, splits appearing all over his skin and releasing more specks of data.

“But you’ve...made your choice now...ssssame as him. He is the destroyer of worlds...and he holds the destruction of all worlds. Die by hissss hand...or unleash the evil inside him.”

There was a faint spark in his eye, and his voice became a diminished husk as Okeanomon struggled to hear his words.

“Though you may not get that chance....your way home....is already disssappearing...”

Okeanomon started, and looked up, watching as the green threads spiralled away, far above him now. He kicked at the void, already feeling the pressure increasing around him, and swam upwards in a stream of eddies, leaving just faint motes of light descending behind him. Anglermon watched him, his own vision going dark. He reached up, gritting his teeth and letting out a hiss as the silhouette faded.

“...taaake....me with you...my starlight...my...little...Iniiiii....”

The voice lowered to a whisper, and Anglermon watched as his hand fell away, disintegrating particle by particle in the black matter.

He didn’t realise he could still feel pain. It was almost comforting.

One last speck of life to hold onto.

Enough time for a thought. A desire. A regret or two. And the crushing melancholy of the end.

And within minutes, he too was lost forever to the darkness.

And the darkness, never sated, clawed desperately at everything it could. It called out from the deep vaults, and embraced the denizens, and grasped at every mote of light it could reach.

And Okeanomon began to feel the pressure as he rose up, the darkness threatening to smother him, not willing to let him go having spent so long here. He crawled further and further, but every new foot he travelled the links above seemed to get further away, and his body was pulled and twisted, the wounds from his battle with Charybdimon twisting deeper all the time, and he knew he couldn’t hold on for much longer-

And suddenly Inez found herself spinning in the blackness, holding desperately to Syngnamon’s arm as he pressed forwards, but they both looked up and saw the filaments disappearing above them, the disc of light getting smaller and smaller.

And below, the denizens and the darkness reached out, for starlight, for any light and life that they had been denied, and the two began to fall back, their minds slipping into the inky black, punctuated only by the distant call of “Tidal Wraiths!”

And with a rush of water they rose up, carried by two strong, translucent fish, past the snapping and grabbing from hundreds of doomed Digimon, towards the filaments, and up, up towards the bright light above-

The disc grew smaller, the trailing ends of the filaments dissolving in the dark ocean. Devonimon let out a sigh, holding her arm down as her wraiths swum around her, the light from above only barely illuminating her now. She nodded solemnly, as the disc closed, and all faded to black.

“Save him. Please.”

The cold water struck Inez like a freight train, and she flailed wildly, desperately trying to gather her surroundings. It chilled her to her bones and she found herself sinking, but all of a sudden something pushed beneath her, and she wrapped her arms around Syngnamon as he punched his tail against the retracting waves.

“Are we back? Are we here? Did we do it?”

She could barely see her partner, but as he leant in closer she could make out his harrowed expression even through the effort and the strain.

“I never want to see that place ever again.”

Inez laughed, and immediately swallowed water as she went beneath. She came up, choking and spluttering. “We...uh...might be going somewhere else if we don’t figure something out about this!”

“I can evolve to Kampoimon, just...just give me...”

“You’re exhausted!”

“You’re exhausted too! We’re stuck here!” Syngnamon shook his head back and forth, and tried to hold onto Inez all the tighter, lifting her as best as he could. “Whose...idea...was this? How are we supposed to get back?”

“Need a lift?”

A large, hooked talon trawled the water’s surface, and Inez squeaked as she found herself hoisted from the sea, held firmly around the waist. She felt the wind from up above, and looked up to see Mistramon’s great crimson wings beating down, lifting her clear. Jack looked over his partner’s shoulder, and gave a quick salute.

“Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

Inez laughed, shaking her head as water cascaded from her body. “You...utter maniacs, you...”

“Look who’s talking. Miss I’ll-Dive-into-Hell-and-Back-to-Save-the-World over here.” Mistramon cawed cheekily. “Must be a prerequisite to being a tamer.”

It took a little manoeuvring, and another careful scoop, but soon Inez and Syngnamon were sat up atop Mistramon’s back, lying low against his feathers as the slipstream echoed over them. Jack looked back, as Inez held her hand to her collar.

“You found us...were you following the flash drive?”

“As soon as you appeared.” Jack nodded. “Whatever you did down there, it worked. The massive gate’s finally shut.”

“And HelMidgarmon?”

The boy’s face fell, and he looked back. Inez followed his gaze. It was impossible to miss him; still flying above the water’s surface. But his movements were different now. More fluid. More erratic. Less controlled by the force that kept him this far out at sea. The tether had been cut, and HelMidgarmon was fully in the human world.

Inez pressed her mouth shut, and held Syngnamon close, bundling him up in her sodden scarf. Jack’s nostrils flared as he nudged Mistramon, and the eagle gained speed, rushing back to the coastline.

“Now comes the hard part...”