February 2014

Flecks of snow gathered on the edge of the path. They gathered in clumps, holding their shape in the chilled air. Slowly more fell from the sky, lightly dotting the path, and falling upon the fourteen year old girl who stood alone on the grass. She shivered, and groaned, supporting the cast around her arm. The cold was stinging. Every bruise, every cut, right the way down to her bones.

She ignored it, and reached out, holding her hand against the white marble. As she brushed her hand sideways, it left streaks against the headstone, revealing Yvonne’s name.

A whole month now, and it still didn’t feel real.

She heard wheels crunching on gravel behind her, and turned around as Alasdair rolled forwards, his phone in his hand.

“That was your mother. She’s been held up with the police again, so she’ll be slightly later.”

“How are Sian and Anna?”

“They’re with her. They’re safe.”

Lonnie gave a small smile, standing to attention in the cold wind. Alasdair leant forwards, taking her hand in his, feeling her freezing skin.

“No matter what happens, it’s over. Your stepfather can’t hurt you anymore. You or them.”

Lonnie sniffed, and reached up, rubbing beneath her eyes; eyes that were dark with nights of no sleep and fear and worry. “I shouldn’t have...let him hurt them anyway...”

“Don’t say that,” urged Alasdair, pulling her close and holding her tightly. “You did a very brave thing.”

“It wasn’t enough-“

“You’re a child, Lonnie, you did everything you could-“

“I couldn’t stop him, Uncle Ali!”

Lonnie buried her head in his shoulder, and he held her tightly. Frail his arms may have been, but he didn’t let go. He couldn’t. Not now. Not ever. Lonnie’s voice was muffled as she spoke into his coat.

“I d...did everything I could and it wasn’t enough, and he hurt them...and they’re always gonna be hurt and I couldn’t protect them from him...I tried, Ali...I tried to save them...I’m sorry...”

Her voice trailed away, and she fell to her knees, and Alasdair rocked back and forth, stroking his hands over her shoulder and whispering gentle hushes in her ear. He glanced up, seeing Yvonne’s name in the stone; still so cruelly, bitingly fresh.

“You’ve done more than any one person should have to bear alone, Lonnie. You’re a hero.”

Lonnie straightened up, rubbing her hand over her face. When she removed it, her nose was bright red, and her eyes were scrunched up in a defiant manner. The tears and hurt and firm expression combined to make her look so much like a clown that the old man couldn’t help but let out a laugh. And she followed suit, her face splitting apart into a smile.

“I have to do more. I have to be better.”

She turned around, and held the top of Yvonne’s headstone. “Granny always told me the stories. Of you, of her...of other worlds. You were heroes.” She looked back. “My mum’s a hero. Putting herself through all this to save me and Anna and Sian. I have to follow them. I have to make them proud.”

Alasdair leant back, and pulled his jacket in, feeling the chill as the snow fell a little more regularly. “Your grandmother was the greatest person I ever knew. And she loved you. You’re such a wonderful girl, Lonnie; you never needed to prove anything to her.”

Lonnie closed her eyes, and leaned back, feeling the snow landing on her cheeks. When she opened her eyes again, they were a bright gold, shining against the grey mist.

“Uncle Ali...?”

“Yes?”

Lonnie clenched her fist. “I’m...gonna become strong. Stronger than I am now. And I’m gonna make sure that this never happens to anyone else; that no-one else is hurt because of me.”

Alasdair reached a hand to his chest, for a moment Yvonne’s shining form flashing before his eyes. Then she was gone, and Lonnie stood there, her arm in a cast and her face patched with dressings and plasters, but still standing, a smile on her face.

“I’m gonna save the world.”

Alasdair nodded, and reached out, taking her free hand in his.

“I know you will.”

They said goodbye to Yvonne, and Lonnie took Alasdair’s chair in her hand, and together they made their way back down the path, towards the waiting taxi to take her back round to his house. Alasdair helped, balancing his movements with one wheel. And as he did so, he felt a warmth in his chest. Something he hadn’t felt for a long time. He glanced back, seeing his best friend’s stone get a faint dusting of frost once again.

“Things are going to be just fine, Yvonne.”

A horrendous noise escaped HelMidgarmon’s gaping maw as he charged forwards. He flew low, and the bones of his frill spread wide, humming in the wind. The leviathan built speed, his entire length moving fluidly and with more energy than ever, to the point that the wind he generated carved a trench in the surface of the sea. Forks of lightning speared the air, erupting from the cracks over his unrestrained body.

He wasn’t aware of his own power. His own destruction. His eyes were fixed purely on the figures in front of him, as they spread apart, preparing to intercept him. He did the same, singling the smallest of them out. His eyes locked with Ouranomon, and his movements changed, the slight undulation being amplified by the sheer scale and speed.

But Ouranomon’s eyes were as sharp as his, and he flew high, putting distance between himself and the others. He looked down, mere seconds before HelMidgarmon reached him, and held out his talons in front of him as spiral twisters gathered around him.

“Bring it on.”

HelMidgarmon rose up, green scales whipping around in a whirlwind and shooting out towards the sky warrior, but Ouranomon turned quickly, spreading his wings wide as the air rippled beneath them.

“Vacuum Rend!”

Thousands of blades shot forwards, piercing the behemoth’s face, and HelMidgarmon screamed as his face opened up, the green wave shooting forwards to counter it. Ouranomon’s attack hadn’t even slowed him down, but the warrior hadn’t intended it to. Using the remnants of the wave as a cover he shot forwards, kicking off from the top of HelMidgarmon’s head. He took the chance to look down, trying to see anywhere through the green crystal beneath him. Trying to get a glimpse of where Alasdair had been.

But he soon found himself flying for his life as HelMidgarmon’s head rose up, reaching for the skywards as the bone cracked beneath him. Ouranomon rushed forwards, using HelMidgarmon’s speed to his own advantage, and blasting back and forth with spears of wind. But as he looked up, he saw the beast’s head coiling back down, ready to intercept him the moment he reached the end of the tail. Ouranomon sped up, but his eyes were as keen as the beast’s. He wasn’t going to make it.

“...well this...has gone to crap...already-“

“Marianas Lance!”

A spear of light shot up from the sea below, piercing HelMidgarmon’s jaw. It travelled through, and he howled, his body vibrating and sending off his aim. Ouranomon took his opportunity, diving sideways even as lightning licked at his heels, and he gave a gesture to Okeanomon down below.

“Your turn! I’m moving back!”

The merlord nodded in silence, his eyes already on HelMidgarmon as the great dragon began to bear down on him now. Lightning burst from his body, striking the waters and lapping across the waves. The energy surged into Okeanomon, and he gritted his teeth, but kept moving regardless, his body cutting through the waves with ease. He raised his palm, and struck it against the water in front of him, and a deep blue mass began to spread out, hooking the ocean itself into solid spikes. He dived forwards, and the waters followed him, following his movements as he controlled them through a single point of light.

“Triton’s Jewel”

Blades of water flew upwards, chipping HelMidgarmon’s armour but doing little else. The dragon dived, his bone frill flexing, but Okeanomon reacted first, pulling his arm back and forming a gaping trench in the waters, held up like the Red Sea. HelMidgarmon struck it and turned at an angle, and the merlord thrust his arm back again, the waters closing in like a cage.

He began to speed back, holding the gem tightly. Already he could feel the waters swelling behind him, charged with the deathly energy as HelMidgarmon followed after. He cursed, diving beneath the surface, but a bolt of lightning shot forwards, disrupting his focus and causing the jewel to flicker out. He spun sideways, narrowly raising his shield in time as another bolt hit him square on, the energy shaking him down to the core even as the hit was deflected.

“Keep going!”

He threw his arm forwards, and the momentum of the sea carried HelMidgarmon past him, the great serpent writhing. The titan pulled himself free, and with a great undulating motion became airborne, where Ouranomon was waiting once again, closer to the shore. And he wasn’t the only one.

Snkt

There was a flash of white, and yellow, and HelMidgarmon snapped upwards, dislodging GrandTengumon from the sky. He held an arm down, pressing it against the jutting crystal as he remained balanced upright, his eyes staring into the cavernous one before him.

“Stay back, Lyra. Any wrong move could be fatal.”

The young woman hissed, swinging her arm sideways as the bird drew back. “You think I don’t know that?” She raised her hand, her digivice bow glowing brightly as points of light emerged in the air around her. “We don’t stand a chance out here on our own. We need to pull him in.”

GrandTengumon backed off, gripping his kokyu centrally as the young woman stood up. A million crystal lights hung before her, an audience like no other. But with an enduring confidence she raised her bow, drawing it across the strings of her violin, and GrandTengumon copied her motions as the song began to play.

“Siren Concerto!”

HelMidgarmon’s roar caught in his throat as he was struck by the wall of sound. Any sensory control he might have had was lost, his vision and hearing replaced by a symphony of glowing melodies. They burrowed into his mind, melding with the primal instincts that drove him. He screamed, lashing back and forth blindly, energy flying into the air. And he began to move again, heading forwards towards the bewitching sound even as it flew away.

Lyra held herself in place as she tapped the side of the throne. “You drive, I’ll play.”

“Keep it going. We all have a hold of him for now.”

It was true. Between her up here and Okeanomon down below, HelMidgarmon was following a blind path towards the deserted city, with Ouranomon hovering ahead, trying to coordinate between them. It was a barely controlled charge, and as he built speed they found themselves struggling even to keep pace, let alone to make him go the right way. Ouranomon sped up, his voice echoing around the minds of those on the same network.

“He’s on his way!”

Archaeomon rushed along the promenade, watching as the serpent oscillated in the sky. He held up a short range communicator. “Support, how are we looking?”

Salma leant over Dominic as the scientist worked faster than ever, and she held her microphone to her mouth. “Location’s not too far off. Your angle’s bad though. You need to pull him back to the west.”

“One thing at a time,” replied Archaeomon, looking up as the dragon’s head flew over him, casting an instant shadow and rocking the beachfront flats. He turned around, his voice replacing Ouranomon’s.

“First wave! Now!”

“Elysian Pulsar!”

“Shadow Nova!”

“Infernal Ballista!”

“Fimbul Scimitar!”

Ouranomon and GrandTengumon pulled away in opposite directions as the first blasts shot up from the city below, striking along HelMidgarmon’s flank. They hit hard, taking chunks of bone out that rained down on the rooftops. Astraeusmon and Eosmon pulled sideways, their lances charging with more energy as the serpent’s body rolled in their direction. More vulnerable was Skathimon, who leapt from roof to roof, leaving structures of ice where she moved, and trying to stay moving from the deadly crystals.

Only Eryomon kept firing, stood on the streets below with her crossbow in her hand, bolt after bolt flying upwards. Lonnie crouched on the salamander’s shoulder, her teeth gritted as she tried to make out anything above her, but it was all but hopeless from her current angle. Only the shifting shadows, and the rushing wall of crystal blocking out the sun.

“Come on...anything at all...”

HelMidgarmon shuddered, his mouth splitting open all the more. He descended, and his frill lashed out, spearing the tops of the taller buildings and tearing the structures apart like paper. Skathimon yelled, forced to abandon her current post and slide down the wall even as it collapsed before her. She landed roughly, rolling in the road and yelling up.

“We need more! We don’t have the power at this distance!”

HelMidgarmon turned, tilting downwards, ready for another swathing cut through the city. Then he jolted, and slowed right down, steam pouring from his wounds as the crystal slowly closed around them. His eyes rolled back, and he lashed back and forth, feeling the grip on his tail.

NeoSapiamon rose up behind him, both her gauntlets gripped firmly around the crystal and her jets blasting forwards at full strength.

“Where do ya think you’re going, buddy?”

HelMidgarmon screeched, swathes of crystal spiralling down and shooting out from his tail. It splintered in NeoSapiamon’s grip, but she reached forwards, grabbing it again before he could pull it away. The momentum dragged her forwards and caused the metal of her gauntlets to buckle.

Inside the great mecha’s cockpit, the control room juddered sideways with the impact. Kevin yelped and grabbed hold of the side, looking around him as the lights began to change.

“Er...I don’t suppose those alarms up there are for anything important?”

There came a garbled mess of static from the space tube behind him, followed by Simeamon’s narked voice. “I only turn into this fucking thing, y’know. I didn’t read the manual.”

“Just asking...”

Kevin pushed himself up, before pointing up to a corner of the front screen. “Angry dragon at one o’clock.”

“I’m on it.”

Owen’s voice rang out from the speaker and the mecha’s face turned into an angry scowl, as she twisted around, following the movements of HelMidgarmon. The front half of the serpent spun round, his eyes rolling towards the Digimon holding him. He swung his head back and forth, and his mouth split open, revealing a cascade of dark matter that flew into the surrounding air.

NeoSapiamon tilted upwards, her secondary arms unfolding and glowing brightly. The cannons fired; blast after blast that struck the serpent on the chin, engulfing his head in thick, black smoke. But the tail kept moving, and HelMidgarmon’s head emerged from the cloud, the black miasma replaced with a rain of green shards that fell from the sky towards NeoSapiamon, too fast for her to dodge.

“Aw hell-“

Several of them struck, and she let out a garble of static, her body shuddering. Patches of green were spreading over her armour, sparking and sputtering as the energy dug in deep, pulling the outer layers away. She shed several layers, brushing away what she could as she held on with one hand, but HelMidgarmon was still moving and his body cracked sharply sideways, the undulations travelling along to his tail. It reached her, and the crystal shard slammed into her chest, sending her flying backwards into the nearest building.

She doubled down, her screen flickering and lights flashing all over her body. She still held on, her grip like iron. But she was no longer in control now, and with a simple pulse of his body, HelMidgarmon began to drag her behind him like a ragdoll, unstoppable on his aimless quest.

Just above the shoreline, Ouranomon turned upwards, scanning the skyline as he watched NeoSapiamon fall backwards. GrandTengumon rushed up beside him, with Lyra holding her hand to her eyes.

“Damn...he’s not screwing around...”

“Quick, we’ve gotta help them,” yelled Ouranomon, and he kicked the air behind him, shooting forwards across the rooftops. GrandTengumon raised his wings, but he looked down below him, watching as Okeanomon dragged himself forwards onto the beach. Lyra scratched her head.

“Er...do you need a hand?”

The merlord glanced up, his gaze incredulous behind his mask. He held out a hand, balling light within it once again.

“We both have a job to do. I’m not done yet either. Triton’s Jewel!”

The sea rose behind him, and rushed forwards, picking him up from the ground and carrying him forwards with a surprising speed. Lyra watched as the sea warrior swung through the streets, gliding effortlessly on the water beneath him as he held his lance backwards. The girl whistled, before knocking on GrandTengumon’s throne.

“You heard him. Can’t be left behind.”

Despite the three moving as fast as they could, HelMidgarmon was already deep within the city limits, with NeoSapiamon thrusting herself left and right to try and slow him down any way she could. The others gathered around her, firing off stray shots, but none of them were having any impact. Archaeomon cursed under his breath as he turned a corner, his footsteps cracking the ground.

“We’re getting way off course. Can anybody do anything to intercept him?”

“He’s coming up beside me. Hold on...”

Skathimon rushed forwards, scampering up onto a pile of rubble as she felt the ground rumble. Within moments HelMidgarmon was upon her, towering over her even as he remained low. She clapped her hands together, moving them as quickly as she could.

“Silent Winter!”

The air cracked as the dark aura emanated through the air, the serpent travelling straight into it. He jolted, his cries stopped by the darkness, but Skathimon felt the effects even more; she cried out in pain and fell to her knees as blood dripped out from beneath her mask.

“Not...long...enough...”

“Ash of Aeons!”

Eryomon rushed forwards in a cloud of glowing embers, and held her arms up as they wrapped around the barrier melding around the edges of the energy. The salamander strained, her body letting off steam as Lonnie made herself as small as she could. But despite her greatest efforts HelMidgarmon was still moving forwards, his defiance breaking the two Digimon with every second. Lonnie held her partner’s shoulder so tightly she thought her hand would break, feeling the salamander shaking beneath her feet.

Except it wasn’t just the salamander. And the shaking grew more intense, and Lonnie turned to see Archaeomon head out onto the main street.

“Help us! We’re stuck!”

“You’ve done enough! You need to let him go now!”

“What?”

“Now! And get out the way!”

Lonnie looked up at Skathimon, barking at the top of her lungs. “ Enough!”

Skathimon split her hands apart, staggering forwards as she choked repeatedly. Eryomon was suddenly hit with the full brunt of HelMidgarmon’s forward momentum. She thrust her arms down, and leapt back, crawling for the nearest alleyway even as the backblast of heat struck her, followed by HelMidgarmon’s furious roar. The serpent rushed forwards, bearing down upon her as she crawled as fast as she could, still not fast enough, and Lonnie looked over her shoulder and stared into the great cavernous maw above as the lights danced in the centre-

“Planetary Impact!”

Archaeomon slammed into HelMidgarmon from the side, travelling forwards in a wall of crystal that shattered the left side of the serpent’s head. He screeched, and his body rolled forwards, forcing him sideways as his coils fell all around the city. Archaeomon kept going, his form barely visible as he kept pace beneath the flailing serpent, forcing him to keep going.

Eryomon slumped back, taking gulps of air as she heard the screeches disappearing away, and the newest barrages of attacks striking the serpent. She turned around, looking over her shoulder, as Lonnie clambered up, using the salamander’s braid as a support. The girl was already in a ragged shape, with red patches over her body where she’d stood too close to her partner’s intense heat. Eryomon reached up, gently tapping Lonnie’s head.

“You shouldn’t be out here.”

“I have to be,” said Lonnie resignedly, her legs quivering on the salamander’s shoulder. She looked up, seeing the trail of smoke all around the sky. The battle had only been going on for minutes, and already...already it was this bad...

She watched as Skathimon leapt down, and the fox spirit galloped towards her, her armour stained with her own blood but her body still just moving.

“Where did they go?”

Lonnie pointed, and Skathimon galloped off, her sword letting off trails of cold energy. Eryomon stared, her eyes heavy.

“We need to keep up with them, right?”

“No matter what.”

Lonnie coughed, and pulled her hand away from her lip, seeing a faint streak of blood. She ignored it, closing her fist and staring ahead.

“Let’s go.”

Talosmon’s eyes blinked back and forth, the many lines that made them up twitching back and forth as he scanned HelMidgarmon’s movements. He crouched down, and held his mace beneath him, looking at every possible pathway.

“Come on...come on...”

He stepped back, and lifted the mace up, resting one end on the concrete beneath him. His legs split apart, bracing for the impact as he watched the serpent move past, with NeoSapiamon and Astraeusmon in pursuit.

“Just a little closer...”

The serpent coiled around, his mouth crackling with bolts of green lightning as his body undulated. He twisted, turning back away from the rampaging wall of crystal, but Astraeusmon turned round and spun his staff, ducking beneath the beast’s tendrils.

“Cimmerian Phoenix!”

The dark energy fanned out, spreading its wings with a sonorous cry. It shot forwards, pulling the bony frill upwards and cracking the bone, hard enough to make HelMidgarmon howl in pain. Another spray of crystal shot out, and Astraeusmon flapped his wings, desperately trying to gain height. The crystalline wall rose up beside him, as Archaeomon’s legs pounded against the ground, moving the earth like liquid beneath his feet. The dark angel flew overhead, holding his staff beneath him.

“Are we any closer? Please tell me we’re a little closer...”

“We need to push him further east. It’s still not close enough to-”

“AAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

HelMidgarmon’s body undulated, and a coil rolled downwards, crashing into the head of the crystal train, with Astraeusmon barely rolling out the way. The earthen warrior wasn’t so lucky; the train veered sideways, and collapsed under its own unstable momentum, leaving Archaeomon sprawled out on the ground. He looked up, struggling to push himself up as he watched HelMidgarmon’s vast head rear up in front of him, one of the bony frills shooting forwards. He raised his arms, awaiting the crushing blow as a song filled the air.

“Dividing Thread!”

There was a sharp high note, followed by a screech as the bone fell away, trailing dark liquid as it did so. It embedded itself into the road, and HelMidgarmon rose up, waving the halved stump around wildly. GrandTengumon backed away, holding the bow to his kokyu wide as he gave a small bow.

“Don’t be rude to my friends, sir.”

Lyra looked up, and gave a quick salute towards Astraeusmon as he hovered a few feet away. “I hope we haven’t kept you waiting too long.”

“Define ‘too long’...” said the dark angel drily, and he gripped his staff with both hands. “Every second counts at the minute.”

HelMidgarmon seemed to agree; with a frantic motion from the bloodied stump he threw more acerbic liquid in great spiralling webs as the crystals began to congregate at the end of the wound. GrandTengumon didn’t quite retreat in time, and a trail of gel struck him on the chest armour, instantly scorching through the wood. He descended to a near building, hissing in pain, but Ouranomon was already taking his place, spiralling in a volley of winds as he crashed into HelMidgarmon’s jaw. He kept the momentum going, spinning around and landing three rotating kicks in rapid succession, strong enough to crack the entombing crystal and shift the vast beast despite the gulf in size between them.

The delay gave Eryomon and Skathimon a chance to catch up, along with Okeanomon, who slid forwards with his hand raised, the waters gathering beneath him.

“How far are we getting?”

Lonnie leant back, squinting at the serpent above them. “Close. But not enough yet.” She reached into her pocket, and brought her D-SEND up to her mouth. “Mark, is there anything you can do to bring him in?”

“Already on it.”

Talosmon raised his head, and his eyes rotated into pinpoint red dots as he angled his mace against the rooftop, the end opening up and glowing with a purple energy.

“Titan Railgun!”

The staff flashed, the projectile leaving the end so quickly that it didn’t even make a sound. But it flew straight and true, and pierced HelMidgarmon’s body a few sections below the head, shooting straight through. There was a scream, and HelMidgarmon looked up, shooting lighting into the sky. Then he turned, and his eyes looked into the distance, seeing the glint of Talosmon’s armour plating. The serpent’s eyes dilated, focusing on the lone warrior.

Then he turned, his body coiling as he rolled the other way.

Talosmon clicked, and re-angled the mace again, holding it steady. “No, you...damn...contrarian, towards me!”

He fired again, but the platform shook beneath him, sending the missile astray. He fell to one knee, as far away, HelMidgarmon’s dim senses were encouraging him to put some distance between him and the sniper. Eryomon backed up as she pulled her crossbow out, trying to find a sensible place to shoot.

“We need some more incentive over here!”

“Triton’s Jewel!” replied Okeanomon calmly, and he thrust his palm out as the waters left his own body and spiralled upwards in a tower, leaning inwards towards HelMidgarmon. He shook his head, the waters binding his joints but doing little to hold him back. Eryomon raised her crossbow, and behind her, Skathimon did the same, her sword glowing in her hand.

“Infernal Ballista!”

“Fimbul Scimitar!”

The projectiles shot up HelMidgarmon’s belly, and the two fired one after the other, keeping the great serpent’s body from moving any further. But there were only two of them, and even with Okeanomon’s power they still couldn’t move him. Things got worse when the great dragon tilted his head down, and they could see the green lightning building within his maw.

“Get out the way!”

Eryomon scuttled back and Skathimon raised a wall of ice as HelMidgarmon fired; a stream of lightning that ruptured the earth and sent both Digimon tumbling inwards, the energy rocking them to their core. HelMidgarmon looked up, but something shone in the wall of water before him, and suddenly it split apart, and Eosmon powered through, her staff dissolving in her hands as the aura of light around her grew brighter.

“Holy Convergance!”

The light closed in temporarily like an armour, growing in intensity as she flew upwards. Then she struck HelMidgarmon below the ribcage, and the light burst outwards, pushing him backwards. He gnashed, his frill flailing wildly and bolts of green light arcing across the sky, but she struck again and again, even as the light waned around her. She landed a crushing punch, before looking over her shoulder.

“Where are we on that second wind, big girl?”

“Just getting a run up.”

Eryomon, Okeanomon and Skathimon turned around as they felt the rumble from across the sky, spotlights strafing the clouds. There was the sound of rushing jets, followed by a harrowing cry of “Gangwaaaaay!”

They leapt sideways as NeoSapiamon rushed overhead, and Eosmon fell away, replaced by the mechanical ape’s crushing embrace as she blasted into HelMidgarmon. He went back several blocks, but he was already pressing back, energy seeping out.

From within the cockpit, Kevin grabbed hold of the console, looking behind him as he fell to his knees. “I hope you two know what you’re doing!”

Within the dark-matter tube, Owen and Simeamon shared a look. Then they moved, completely synchronous, their eyes glimmering with stardust.

“Full acceleration!”

NeoSapiamon’s expression shifted, opening into a wide, adrenaline filled smile as she tilted forwards, her gauntlets locking firmly beneath HelMidgarmon’s ribcage.

“Astral Odyssey!”

There was a blast of purple and green light, and an explosion rocket from her jets, and from her entire body, turning the whole mechanised assembly into a vast projectile. HelMidgarmon choked as he was driven back, his tail carving into the ground and his head letting off trails of light into the sky. NeoSapiamon kept driving, powered as Owen, Simeamon and Kevin screamed within her metal embrace.

Talosmon steadied himself, and watched as the serpent flew closer and closer, the noise immense from NeoSapiamon’s internal energy.

“You maniacs...”

He smirked, and casually snapped his mace in two, spinning the pair of clubs in his hands.

“I’d better not let you down now.”

There was a cracking sound above, and HelMidgarmon’s body suddenly twisted in a corkscrew, letting off layers of crystal that crumbled in NeoSapiamon’s grasp. She staggered, her grip loosening, and HelMidgarmon spiralled away, continuing on his path even as flecks of bone rained down from the blast zone on his belly.

“Get to it, ya magnificent bastard.”

Talosmon didn’t skip a beat. The maces enveloped his hands, and he crouched down and slammed them into the concrete beneath him.

The shadow was already heading closer, but his movements were faster. Trails of metal and mechanism cascaded down the beams of the building, spreading out and unfolding and locking together into a firm structure. And as they did so, his own body began to open up, plates unfolding and expanding into a mountain of rods and pistons and gears, growing taller and taller. They twisted into metal muscle, and locked into impenetrable armour. Talosmon leant up, his limbs locked into place on the behemoth’s abdomen as it followed his will. Plates unfolded into huge limbs tipped in blunt claws, and the whole beast reared up, revealing a hooked beak, a vast frill and hollow black eyes that stared down HelMidgarmon. It let out a mechanical roar, and thrust its arms wide as the serpent barrelled towards it.

“God in the Machine!”

The serpent was fast, and agile, but it didn’t have the reflexes to react. And Talosmon’s goliath caught him head on, its arms locking around the great leviathan’s frill and halting him dead in his tracks.

“Got you.”

He looked up, his eyes meeting with NeoSapiamon.

“NOW!”

The mecha raised an arm, and fired; a single, perfect beam directly into the sky, over the first gate. Nicholas looked up, and pointed.

“There. We have a signal.”

Salma slammed her palm down on the table. “Open everything! Now!”

Dominic and Perez moved in an instant, initiating the programs at once. There was a pulse, and the group turned as the gate behind them burst into life, a light emanating out from within.

Eirenemon felt the burning sensation in her chest, and she scrambled forwards, looking at HelMidgarmon as he writhed in Talosmon and NeoSapiamon’s grip. She could feel the awesome power from back here; three titans clashing with earthshaking blows. But more than that, she could feel the fabric of the world changing again, and she looked down in horror as lights burst into life in a ring beneath the immense tussle.

“No...no, no, NO!” she yelled, and scrambled forwards, holding the device in her hand as she rushed towards the battle.

“I...I won’t...I won’t let you hurt our world again!”

The air crackled around the titan, as portals of light opened up. The warriors backed away, watching all around them as more and more of the lights shone. The air seemed to ripple, and through the gaps in the damaged buildings they could see glimpses of the other world, morphing together into a lattice of bubbles.

All throughout the digital world, the gateways opened up. Myriad vortexes, reaching out...but not a single one any larger than a bowling ball.

But in the human world, the hundreds of portals reached out at once, and grabbed hold of the titan who had once roamed their world.

He writhed. He struggled. He reared up, and the lights stretched out beneath him, pulsing and glowing brighter the more they expanded. He swung back and forth, and punched the ground with his frill and his tail, and let off a vast, melancholic roar that shook the area all around him.

“I don’t believe it...” said Lonnie under her breath, clambering up onto her partner’s shoulder for a better view. She could see the strings all around; an entire world, holding its cataclysm at bay. Her eyes widened, and her mouth spread into a smile.

“It’s working!”

“Lonnie, look out!”

A shadow passed overhead as Eryomon lurched sideways, with Eosmon taking her place. She threw a powered-up punch forwards as the tendril stabbed downwards, deflecting it enough to make it embed itself harmlessly in the ground. The angel was thrown back by the blow, and she looked up, watching as more of the legs burst out from the central ribcage, forming into crude spears.

Lonnie felt a buzzing at her chest, and pulled her D-SEND up. “Hello?”

There was a groan, and then Nicholas’s voice sounded from the end of the line. “ We’re reaching critical mass back here. Whatever you need to do, you’ll have to do it quickly.”

“He’s...right...” came the rumbling sound from high up, and Eryomon looked up to see Talosmon’s behemoth straining against the writhing serpent, cracks already appearing in its invincible-looking embrace. Talosmon’s head flicked over from his mounted position, his body letting off steam. “I can’t...hold him...forever...”

Lonnie snapped to reality, and pointed upwards. “Ali’s up there somewhere, I know it! We need to break HelMidgarmon open while we can!”

“Some of us are heavier hitters than others,” said Archaeomon, and he whistled up towards the sky. “Eosmon, Astraeusmon, Ouranomon, you find him and make a start, okay?”

“What about the rest of us?”

“Marianas Lance!”

“Fimbul Scimitar!”

Blue lights crossed in mid-air as Skathimon skirted around Okeanomon, their blows skirting off the incoming tendrils. Eryomon cocked her crossbow. “Keep him off your back. Got it.”

Lonnie leant back, watching as Archaeomon stared up at the great metal titan housing his brother. “What about you?”

Archaeomon’s shoulders turned, and he clasped two fists in two hands.

“You really believe we can rescue Alasdair?”

Lonnie’s nostrils flared, and she nodded. “I promised. We promised. All of us.”

“Then I have to help you however I can,” said Archaeomon, and he tilted his head, a red glow forming in his crystalline eyes. “And I can be a very heavy hitter when I need to be.”

He gestured, and rushed off in the opposite direction as Eryomon as an arc of lightning strafed the ground. Lonnie held her D-SEND tightly to her chest, feeling the power surging through her. It was explosive. Powerful. And yet...she couldn’t shake the sensation that it still wasn’t enough.

Lonnie gritted her teeth, and thrust her arm forwards as she stood atop her partner’s shoulder, her hair wild in the wind.

“Eryomon, go! Give it everything you’ve got!”

“Infernal BALLISTA!”

A blazing bolt pierced through the dragon’s back, and it split open, releasing a column of green crystal that ruptured across the monster’s back, spreading out like a torrent of fire. Ouranomon ducked sideways from his vantage point and shot a bolt of wind up, blasting the flame away before Eosmon was engulfed.

“We need more space to move up here! And less death traps!”

“We’re doing our best!” yelled Okeanomon, and he twisted his palm and thrust his arm sideways, the net of light travelling outwards from the movement. “Light of Abyss!”

The net spiralled out, sealing the hole, but the crack traversed downwards and opened in another brutal geyser, this one spraying out acidic lightning as well as the torrent of crystal. Okeanomon shifted sideways, but the green crystal rushed downwards, crashing into the ground and pursuing him like a torrent. He backed off, raising a wall of water as a desperate shield against the deadly wave.

“Someone take over!”

Skathimon leapt forwards, jumping up onto one of the tendrils and balancing expertly as it rose into the air, the joints cracking with every movement. She heard a siren song from behind her, and glanced back to see GrandTengumon rising upwards, his skin rustling. The fox scanned the beast’s back with her sharp eyes, before pinpointing the source of the geyser, her own gauntlets glowing.

“There! Vindictive Blizzard!”

“Myriad Fortune!”

The flock of paper cranes shot forwards, swept up by the frozen gusts, and they slammed into the crystal vent, tearing through the shards and freezing over the cracks. Ouranomon backed away, and thrust his wing sideways, knocking the remaining energy. He looked over his shoulder, spying Eosmon as she tussled with two creaking tendrils before her.

“Do you know where he is?”

“One...moment...”

Eosmon gritted her teeth, and slammed her staff into the crystal beneath her, her tail whipping round. It hooked around the tendrils, slamming into the joints, before she reared back and fired a blast of light that disintegrated them before her. She flapped her wings, the excessive effort already getting to her.

“It was the back of the head somewhere, I’m sure of it...”

There was a rush of black light, and Astraeusmon was blown back, crashing against the bone with a torn wing. “Whatever happened before, it’s moved around so much that it’s impossible to find a way in.” He looked over his shoulder. “We don’t even know where to look.”

Ouranomon lowered his beak-like mask, his eyes flashing all the more.

“Then we’re just gonna have to keep trying!”

“Ouranomon, wait!”

The dark angel’s cry went unheeded as the sky warrior shot forwards, so fast that he almost left an afterimage behind him. He spun around, shattering the forest of crystal and cleaving a path through the rough matter beneath him. The bones gave way to jagged valleys, beneath which he could see a thousand images, reflecting the chaos and the darkness within like beads in a kaleidoscope. With a yell he drew his arm back, and brought it down, the winds cracking with his every move.

“Stratus Bolt!”

The crystal chipped, and HelMidgarmon screeched as bones unfurled, flying towards Ouranomon. One of them slashed the armour of his left leg, but he kicked it away, blood dripping down the pristine metal. But it didn’t slow him down. And he ducked down and fired again, and the pictures changed.

“Elysian Pulsar!”

“Shadow Nova!”

Suddenly the two angels were behind him, and they beat their wings in unison as their attacks strafed the crystal. More and more tendrils reached out, but they were shot down one by one. Blasts of flame from Eryomon, and sound from GrandTengumon. Okeanomon and Skathimon scouting the wings. And even NeoSapiamon pulled her body up, her cannons unleashing a volley upon her captive’s writhing form.

Talosmon creaked; another stretch from HelMidgarmon twisting the titan’s arms and causing shards of metal to fall away. He doubled down, weaving new rods into the wounds, but no matter how much he tried to fix them they couldn’t remain as strong, and every second he spent here was draining. He turned his head, and saw Archaeomon climbing up the behemoths’ shoulder, his six arms clambering rapidly up like a spider.

“The action’s down that way, you know.”

“I know what I’m doing!”

“Nobody else does!”

Archaeomon pulled himself upwards, and rushed to the end of the titan’s beak, looking down at the top of HelMidgarmon’s head. He crouched down, holding himself steady as he watched the battle down below, his three old friends chipping away at the crystal.

“Holy Convergance!” yelled Eosmon, and she spun forwards, the layers of light coalescing at her fist as she whaled into the rock, taking away great layers. Something shone as she struck it, and a blast of energy threw her away, with Astraeusmon only just catching her. But Ouranomon was right behind, and he spiralled upwards, summoning his strength and bringing the atmosphere above him into a single, giant spear.

“Stratus Bolt!”

The winds shot down, digging into the crystal and sending cracks snaking all throughout. The rock shifted, the images changing once again.

And they found themselves looking down upon Alasdair, hunched forwards, hidden in the depths of his partner’s body.

He was still there.

Ouranomon’s eyes widened, and he pulled back for another shot. “Keep going! Get him out of there-“

“AAAAAAAAARGH!”

“Look out!”

Ouranomon was pulled away as a torrent of light strafed the surface of HelMidgarmon’s body, pouring forth from the cracks and wounds and scorching the green rock. The three Mega levels were blasted back as one, and they rolled through the air, stunned by the sudden counter.

Astraeusmon righted himself first, and he looked down as the lights danced along the surface of the crystal, forming more layers right where Ouranomon had forced them open.

“No! He’s closing it up again!”

“How?” croaked Ouranomon, turning his head to the side. “Wh...why?”

He tried to move, but the blast of light had winded him, and he could only reach out as the picture faded yet again, Alasdair disappearing behind the veil of light.

But they were all watching. And up above, Archaeomon’s eyes flashed as he saw the image of his friend.

“Found you...”

He stood up, green energy balling around his hands as he called out towards the battlefield. “Brace yourselves!”

Talosmon looked up, watching as the earth warrior leapt from the top of the behemoth. He tilted downwards, and his arms began to spin at the shoulder, gaining speed as rapidly as he fell. He dropped like a meteorite, aiming directly for the place where Ouranomon had struck before.

“Morphic SHOCKWAVE!”

He landed, the momentum caving the crystal beneath him, as his fists burned with potential energy. In a singular, fluid movement, he struck. First one fist on one side, and then one on the other, sending lattices of green shooting through the rock.

Then the other fists all hit at once, and the crystal ruptured beneath him.

A roar seared the sky, followed by shards of bone and rock that peppered the ground all around. It began to glow, steam rising from the gaping wound as the crystal began to reform around the edges

Archaeomon reached out, his hands clamped around the advancing rock as he stared downwards. The hole beneath him was dark, shimmering with a strange energy. He looked all around, straining against the pressure, but he was met with only nothing. One vast chasm, swallowed by HelMidgarmon long ago.

“I...I can’t see Alasdair anywhere...”

The crystal flesh groaned around him, and he was forced back as jagged spikes rose up. He braced himself, punching three of them away into shards, but the tremors just increased as jets of crystal dust burst from all around, forming a thick, corrosive fog.

Up ahead, Talosmon strained as he felt his behemoth being forced backwards, metal spearing the ground behind him. He pressed forwards, his eyes spinning wildly, but it wasn’t enough as the dragon’s head rose up before him. Talosmon found himself staring into one massive eye, which focused down on him, the pupil quivering in the centre.

Pain.

Pain, and regret, and a deep, dark longing. All hiding behind that tearful stare.

HelMidgarmon had found his partner from so long ago.

And he wasn’t going to give him up.

The ground shook and dust poured from the great serpent’s wounds as he reared back, held in Talosmon’s great fists. His maw opened wider, and he thrust himself forwards, slamming his head into the titan’s chest.

Talosmon choked, his eyes going into overdrive as pain racked through his body. He felt something rupture beneath his armour, and looked down to see a clear liquid dripping out from beneath his central shield.

“He’s trying to break out!”

“Hold on!” yelled Ouranomon, as he flew back and forth, trying to penetrate the gathering green mist up above. “Where’s Archaeomon?”

He saw a flash of red, and he thrust his wing sideways, blasting the fog away. Archaeomon staggered back, and Ouranomon caught him, looking down at the titan’s pockmarked armour and faded gemstones, corroded by the fog.

“Oh god...”

An agonising sound rocked the battlefield as HelMidgarmon pushed himself forwards again. Talosmon screamed, and buckled, great spears erupting from the titan’s back to brace further against HelMidgarmon as he struggled in his grip. The others gathered around; GrandTengumon releasing waves of sonic, Skathimon freezing the geysers as soon as she could, Okeanomon releasing shields of water and retaliating with biting blue spears of light.

But HelMidgarmon didn’t even react to the pain. His back arched, and his frill flexed, the bones stabbing into the ground and pressing him in place. His eyes flashed white and he let off another ear-splitting shriek, followed by a storm of light piercing the atmosphere as bolts of energy rolled down from his head, strafing the air all around and scorching the very earth.

The warriors retreated. But not all of them got away in time, and GrandTengumon was shot down, spiralling into the nearby debris as Lyra crouched down on his back.

HelMidgarmon’s eyes rolled sideways, seeing the smaller of his opponents scuttling across the rubble like so many insects. His vision locked on the red salamander, and he twisted his head, the grey-white bolts following his movements.

The first pass strafed before her, and she reared up, screaming in shock and pain. Then anguish, as she felt Lonnie fall from her shoulder, rolling down her back and onto the debris below.

Crack

The girl hit the ground with a gasp, and looked up, seeing the great titan twisting above her. The deadly bolts were still strafing around, forming a cage. A lattice, ever so slowly closing in on her. She shuffled back, unable to take her eyes away from the dragon’s great gaze.

“Ali-“

“Move!”

A shadow fell in front of her; not her partner, but Skathimon’s armoured form, her sword raised and glowing a bright white as the bolts approached.

And then brighter still, as they leapt at once, converging at the very tip of her blade, and spiralling down the fox spirit’s entire right side.

“AAAaaaaaaaAAAAArrrrGGGH!”

Skathimon’s scream was horrific. Guttural, and agonised, taking almost ounce of her breath as her entire body convulsed with grey and white, the bolts digging deep within her armour.

But, almost involuntarily, her own power retaliated, and her arm shot down like a bolt of its own.

“Fimbul...Scimitar!”

The shot fired forwards with an immense flash, the bolts curving back and scattering. And Lonnie watched in horror as Skathimon stumbled sideways, her side pulsing in black and white.

“...Grace...?”

And the bolts rose up into the air, and converged forwards, searing into the behemoth’s face. It roared, the metal already melting as the bolts cascaded down the tower. Archaeomon held out an arm in Ouranomon’s grip, his eyes flashing crimson.

“Mark! Let go!”

“I...we...can’t...stop...now...”

Talosmon’s eyes went black, feeling the bolts coursing through his body, etching his armour plating and tearing the behemoth apart around him.

Down below, Eryomon crouched down, nursing a shoulder wound where her skin had been rent open. Lonnie stumbled to her feet in front of her, the deadly green spiders still dancing in her eyes.

She glanced back and forth, watching as Lyra clambered forwards onto her partner’s chest, and as Ouranomon and Eosmon landed with the smoking body of Archaeomon.

“Why...”

“Tetragon Laser!”

There was a flash of pink, and NeoSapiamon’s arm convulsed from the back as she fired; a blaze of light that seared into the back of HelMidgarmon’s head. He garbled in pain, the rock cracking all down his spine, but his own bolts split in half and arced back, shooting along the eddies of NeoSapiamon’s laser. They both struck, and the mecha was forced back, her grip loosening on HelMidgarmon’s tail. It was enough, and the tail dislodged itself, swinging sideways before flicking back and caving in the mecha’s abdomen.

The cockpit shook, flinging Kevin to the floor as alarms went off all around. The great ape crumpled, before sliding sideways, just keeping herself upright with one powerful arm.

Lonnie watched as she raised her head, her face flickering with static.

“W...why...”

“Fimbul Scimitar!”

Skathimon thrust her sword sideways, stumbling as she did so and causing the blade to shoot east of where she wanted. It still struck, the ice sealing around the joint, but she fell forwards onto the ground mid-step, her side now in agonising pain. She looked back, and reached out with a gauntlet, pressing it against the rough fur.

There was no blood. The outer flesh simply crumbled as she touched it, grey and lifeless, forming dust on the ground as it poured away in a worrying quantity.

She looked up, seeing the great bony tendril rising up, ready to descend upon her. She clapped her hands together, her eyes glowing a weak yellow.

“Silent...Winter!”

She hesitated, and the black haze was later, barely even slowing it. The nomad twitched as the spike descended...

...and was caught, the black haze melding with blue and red.

“I’ve got you!”

Okeanomon shot forwards, holding her in one arm as he swung his arm back, firing a beam of light. It spiralled around, piercing the bone, but it remained whole and struck the ground, sending shards of acidic green everywhere.

Lonnie heard Okeanomon’s cry as several blades embedded in his back and shoulder, and he rolled, the colour already draining from his skin where he was hit.

“W...wh...wh...”

Lonnie’s eyes closed. She doubled over. And, in a voice so loud it caused pain in her throat, she screamed into the chaos around her.

“WHY WON’T YOU LET US SAVE YOU?”

Lonnie’s legs were pounding against the ground, and she realised she was running, stumbling and flailing but staying upright as she headed towards the pillar of bone embedded into the earth. Lightning flashed around her, and she felt the energy strike her with every blow, making her ears ring and her vision pulse.

And then she was at the base of the pillar, scrambling at it before she even realised what she was doing. Her nails scraped against rough material but she didn’t care, trying to pull herself up. Up to where Alasdair was.

“Uncle Ali!”

HelMidgarmon’s body jolted, and the tendrils pressed downwards, and he moved forwards, straight into Talosmon’s golem. There was a terrible sound; the tearing of metal, cutting into the sky.

Talosmon sunk away as the behemoth fell all around him, his control all but gone. In a last ditch effort he wrenched his hands free, and brought them forwards, the pistons and gears and rods merging into a vast cage that embedded itself into HelMidgarmon’s skeletal face. The dragon hissed, green gel dripping from his maw as he pressed forwards all the more. Talosmon looked up, and saw Lonnie clambering up the shivering pillar.

“Get out of there!”

Lonnie looked aside, seeing the liquid crystal rushing towards her, glowing green with a deadly energy. She pulled her leg up, but not fast enough, as the gel engulfed her right foot. She gasped, feeling an intense pain, followed by a sudden numbness. She kicked at the pillar in front of her, but there was no grip. Her foot wouldn’t listen. And her grip was slipping, and slipping, and-

“Lonnie!”

She lurched forwards, held in the broad arms of Eryomon, who held tightly onto the bony pillar as it shook back and forth. The other Digimon were backing away, raising walls and shields, keeping HelMidgarmon’s fury away from the wounded. Talosmon hissed, the metal falling down around him as his view of Lonnie was engulfed in green flame.

The girl looked up, and her eyes met with the salamander’s that held her, clutching her against her broad chest. Lonnie reached up, gripping her partner’s shoulder.

“He’s still up there...”

Eryomon blinked, her palm closing tightly around the bone as it began to crack.

“You’re gonna save him no matter what, right?”

Lonnie held her breath, and she nodded, the green lights reflecting in her eyes. Eryomon lowered her head, and her pupils shrank, staring directly ahead.

“Then I’m gonna be your knight.”

There was a flash of orange, and suddenly Lonnie was moving, being hoisted up the bony pillar and onto HelMidgarmon’s writhing head. She looked down, and realised that she was being held by Andriamon, not Eryomon. The salamander scampered forwards, her legs powering her through the geysers and the lightning even as her skin began to wrinkle. With a loss of power came a new agility, keeping her and her partner away from the danger.

Temporarily.

HelMidgarmon shuddered, and Andriamon stumbled, crashing against the crystal. She flailed wildly, pressing her searing hands against the surface but keeping moving forwards, always forwards, always to the end

And Lonnie was running again, feeling the heat beneath her feet. She looked back, and saw Andriamon with her hands held high, pressing against the bony spires which threatened to crush her. Lonnie slowed, but she was met with Andriamon’s glare, and the salamander barked back at her.

“Go! Get him out of there!”

Those words again. And she was alone. On her knees, scrambling against the crystal as the world set on fire around her. Lonnie raised her D-SEND, and held it down, willing all the energy she could muster to break through.

And the crystal remained silent.

“ALI!”

Lonnie screamed, and raised her arm, and brought the D-SEND down. It cracked against the barrier, and she felt pain course through her arm. But she didn’t stop. She kept going, faster and harder, until the translucent material beneath her was flecked with her own blood. She could taste it in her mouth as well. Her entire body burned. Her fist was on fire, but she kept going, just as she had watched Eirenemon do for the sake of her own world.

She had to break through.

She had to find him.

“I...I...”

The chasm stared back, empty and black and accusatory. She could feel her D-SEND shuddering in her hands, a piercing scream echoing in her ears.

Behind her, Andriamon was shrinking, the energy threatening to swallow her as her data was pulled away, and she was Dendromon again, struggling even to stay whole against the shaking world.

Lonnie closed her eyes, still punching downwards as the device etched searing scars into her hand.

“I couldn’t protect my family. I...I couldn’t save my grandmother. Everyone who’s been hurt because of this...because of you...because of me...I couldn’t stop any of it! What do you mean I’m the best of us? I couldn’t do a thing for them! I couldn’t save any of them! I haven’t...I haven’t been who you need me to be!”

HelMidgarmon’s roar rumbled beneath her, and she felt the great dragon moving, the body tilting upwards. She redoubled her efforts, both her hands now nearly numb from the pain.

“I’m not giving up on you, Ali! I won’t! I swear it! I’m...I’m...gonna save you! I’m gonna be your hero!”

Her hand shook, and it slipped as the crystal rose up before her, and suddenly she was falling backwards into Dendromon’s arms.

She held Dendromon as they fell. And she reached out, reached up, her device glowing white hot in her palm.

“I’m...going...to save you...”

Her D-SEND flashed, in time with her heartbeat, and her partner’s.

And it opened.

And the flames within burst out, reaching up into the sky as HelMidgarmon began to rise up.

Lonnie watched the lights, feeling the energy falling down around her. Her hand was still held upright, clutching her digivice. Only...only it wasn’t. Not now. It was a living flame, and it burned her and comforted her, and reached back, travelling over her arm and across her back and into her chest, and back again, embracing Dendromon.

“I’m not gonna fail you. I’m not gonna fail anyone else ever again.”

The two opened their eyes as they fell through the air, will-o-wisps dancing around them. Lonnie pulled her arm back, and reached up again, the device bursting into life as she did so.

“Soul Coalescence!”

Time slowed. The girl and her partner remained in mid-air, reaching out as their bodies glowed brighter than ever. The flames whirled around, flickering at the sky. The others down below watched as they pulled inwards, until they had compressed into a single light, so bright that it hurt to look at. A singularity of hope. Of life. Of everything they had left.

“Evolution ACTIVATE!”

The singularity blew, and waves of flame shot outwards, engulfing the battleground. Skathimon, Ouranmon and the others raised their arms as the flames swept over them, but they were untouched, the energy cool and uplifting. They stared up, as the fire lifted up, forming vast wings around the centre as a cry echoed into the sky. And the flames built up, forming new layers as the souls merged all the brighter. Dendromon, small and broken. Andriamon, wild and fierce. Eryomon, steadfast and strong. And at the centre of it all, they saw Lonnie’s spirit; a pure and unsullied beacon of hope, and determination, and right.

The wings unfurled, and dissipated, leaving only embers suspended in the air. For a moment the new figure was too bright to see, blazing in the sky. She reached out, looking at her palms, as the flames floated away revealing her in full.

She was small, scarcely larger than Lonnie had been, and largely human in appearance. Save for her skin which glowed with an internal flame, every movement building up a new energy. She wore a shawl over her shoulders, and a rolling skirt around her waist, lined with tiny arrowheads. Holy rings adorned her arms and legs; large in diameter, and not bound to her skin but floating around her, their immense power barely kept in check. Another, far greater ring was strapped to her back, suspended beneath a horizontal rod, and spinning gently as lights danced along its engraved surface. The Digimon wore a green mask over her head, with blazing plaits waving out from beneath, each tipped with an arrowhead. Two more rings floated over her head, interlocked together in the symbol of infinity, and each holding an untethered flame in the middle.

The angel closed her hands, as glowing ashes extended outwards from her grip. They spiralled and shaped, until she was holding a sceptre in each hand; one end holding a bowed horn and another flaming ring, and the other with a gold-edged spearhead, emblazoned with a crimson jewel. She looked up, her starlight eyes following HelMidgarmon’s movements as he ascended.

“Hauhetmon!”

There was a rumble from up above, a sign from HelMidgarmon that he had sensed some new power. But he kept climbing, away from the pain and the torment, towards...towards any chance he could get at freedom.

Down below, Skathimon held herself steadily, holding one palm against the greying mark on her flank.

“She...she made it.”

Somebody creaked beside her, and she looked back to see Archaeomon sitting up, supported by Eosmon. The earth warrior convulsed, fragments of stone falling from his armour, as he looked up.

“...is it going to be enough...”

Before any of them could say another word, Hauhetmon’s eyes flashed, and within a moment she had disappeared, flying at mach speed rivalling even Ouranomon’s. Only a trail of flame was left behind her, spiralling around HeMidgarmon’s body. The serpent paused, feeling the energy rock his movements, and suddenly his eyes swivelled forwards and he saw the figure floating above him, her hair blowing in the air behind her, suspended by her own incredible energy.

“I promised I was going to save you.”

HelMidgarmon screamed, and bolts of bright lightning flew upwards, crackling through the sky. Hauhetmon raised an arm, and the lightning spiralled over her bare flesh, searing it and causing blasts of flame to burst out. She lowered her arm, the pain barely registering on her face as she took in a breath.

“That is a promise I’m going to KEEP!”

Her voice echoed across the city, as did the waves of heat as she pointed sideways with both sceptres. The sky rippled behind her, a haze distorting the very air itself. She shimmered, and the ring of fire did so too, opening up into a row of portals as blazing crystals poked through from beyond space itself. Row upon row, building in number, until HelMidgarmon was staring up at a wall of flames, all surrounding him and pointing directly at him. Hauhetmon spun her sceptres, raised them up, and pointed them forwards.

“Shard of Eternity!”

With an immense bang the sky ruptured, and flames cascaded forwards; thousands of blazing arrows all firing at once. They struck HelMidgarmon’s eyes, his face, his body; each one a meteorite that scorched him and blew the crystal apart. He hissed, and descended, forced back by the onslaught.

The heatwave reached the ground, the other warriors holding up against it as they watched HelMidgarmon forced backwards. Archaeomon let out a shuddering breath, staring up in awe as he got to his feet.

“That’s...impossible...”

“No,” replied Eosmon, her wings spreading as she clutched her own staff. “That’s just what we need.”

Her eyes locked with Archaeomon, who stepped back, nodding. She immediately flew upwards, with Astraeusmon looping around below her, his voice bellowing out over the battlefield.

“We still have a chance! One last push!”

The air shook as HelMidgarmon swung his tail back and forth, but it suddenly jolted to a halt. His eyes rolled back, feeling the pressure as NeoSapiamon held tightly, her jets blasting upwards.

“You have a whole lotta shit to answer for still.”

Inside, Kevin watched as the serpent’s body glowed, the crystals cascading downwards towards them. “Incoming!”

“Not this time!” buzzed the echoing voices around him, as NeoSapiamon’s body opened up with a hundred different firearms, all pointing towards the oncoming blast.

“Independence Day!”

The crystals were intercepted, exploding all around HelMidgarmon’s tail. The movement stopped, as Okeanomon swept forwards in front of the monkey, his trident spinning and his hand raised.

“Triton’s Jewel!”

Blue waves rose up, embracing the serpent and locking him in place. He writhed back and forth, bone piercing out of his side, but more and more blasts struck him from beneath.

“Fimbul Scimitar!”

“Titan Railgun!”

“Stratus Bolt!”

High above, the two angels ducked and weaved, flying away from HelMidgarmon’s attacks, and out of the way of their own comrades’ counters. Still they rose, reaching the central frill as it curled up, the bone swinging through the air. Astraeusmon backed off, his staff disappearing in his grip, fading into black particles that spun around his hands.

He looked aside, watching as Eosmon hovered next to him, her hands also glowing.

“Do you still have enough in you to do this?”

Eosmon smiled, holding out a hand.

“So long as you’re by my side.”

Astraeusmon reached out, and their hands locked together, they turned, their wings beating in time, and reached out with both palms as the light and darkness coursed through them both, their bodies glowing as brightly as Hauhetmon’s up above.

“Chaos...Ouroboros!”

The blast rang out; silence and then a rush of sound. The twin beams blew the both of them back, even as they locked tails and pressed forwards, refusing to lose control. The beams twisted before them, and spun around, the twin serpents at the end turning in a vast loop. They flew fast, ducking over and under HelMidgarmon’s tendrils as they reached the far side, and then back again, towards the angels as they held in place.

They reached the beginning of the circle again, and the chaos entity let out a roar, spreading its wings as the energy shot inwards. Hauhetmon watched from up above as HelMidgarmon writhed, held in stasis by the celestial beast. She looked down, and saw the two angels, holding on to each other as they struggled to keep control. Eosmon looked up, and gave a strained smile.

“Go......bring him back...”

Hauhetmon nodded. “Thank you...thank you all...”

She pulled her arms in, the sceptres shining in her grasp, and suddenly she was falling, the wind whipping past her as she descended towards HelMidgarmon. He looked up, his melancholy song resonating within her. But she powered forwards nonetheless, towards that great void within him, towards the endless starlight.

The great dragon’s eyes shook, emerald tears cascading away.

Hauhetmon stared ahead, hearing the sounds and the songs fade away around her. She kicked backwards, leaving only embers in the sky, as she descended into the chasm.

The screaming vanished. The lights faded. And everything gave way to the emptiness inside.

The old man stirred. He took a breath, but even the faint chest movements racked every inch of his body with pain. He could feel the ligaments holding him, sapping his nerves and his vessels with every motion. Every time he thought he got used to it, it flared up once again. He couldn’t feel anything else anymore; not heat nor cold, not touch...just the constant pain. Just like him. Just like Wyvermon. Just like he’d felt for years...decades...

Something pierced the man’s sensory numbness. He turned his head, but he could hear nothing, save for the slow, maddening pulsing from within his own body. But there was something in his vision. A small glow. A bright orange light, getting closer.

He pressed his teeth together, and forced himself to move again. His near-emaciated arms pressed against the armrests, pushing his torso upright. He raised his neck, feeling something cracking in his head as he did so.

Alasdair opened his eyes fully, looking at the glowing figure that floated not five metres away from him. He opened his mouth, smiling weakly.

“...I knew you’d make it...”