Episode Nine: The Beast

Anubimon leads Azuma through the pyramid, down into the catacombs.

Anubimon: "Is this what you really want?"

Azuma: "No. I'm more likely to come back worse, but if there's a chance I'll get better and make her happy, I'll do it."

Anubimon: "That sounded almost hopeful."

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It lands with a thud that can be heard across the island. Taiyo puts her backpack down and takes her sweater off with a "Phew."

She looks down the shore, the island being only a fraction of Coela Point then looks over to Aroma, saddened.

Renamon: "What's wrong, Taiyo?"

Taiyo: "It's complicated."

D<Maybe, or maybe it was just a dumb blimp.>

*WarGrowlmon & Lilamon land after all of the coconuts are down. Their partners dismount, & then they de-digivolve. Euryale cautiously approaches Aroma, who does not look at her as she checks to see if there's enough food for everyone.*

E"Uh...how are you?"

A"Fine."

E"Good...listen, I know you don't want to talk to me right now, but I'm sorry. I was rash. I thought I'd considered your feelings, but I didn't think...enough. But I guess you still don't really trust me. Well...talk to you later, I guess...I hope...."

*Sighing, she turns & heads back to Taiyo, wringing her hands.*

*Kylie goes over to sit by Aroma, and Lunamon hugs Aroma's leg*

Lunamon:<We're here for you!>

Rapidmon:<Everything is out to get us here.>

Eve:<Let's just join everyone else.>

*So they do*

Anubimon leads Azuma to a pair of stone doors with various carvings on them, sealed shut with heavy chains.

Anubimon: "Have you considered how you'll be getting back? There is no guarantee these doors will open to the same location twice."

Azuma: "I've always just been dropped wherever I've had to be."

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Taiyo: "Hi...."

*Aroma sniffles & covers her eyes with her hand.*

A"Thank you!"

*Roatha lands & dismounts. Before he de-digivolves, Dorugreymon goes to cut open the coconuts with his big horn.*

E"Hi. I tried apologizing, but it's hard when she thinks that I have an ulterior--do you mind?"

R"Yeah, yeah, go make fire, I hear you."

*So he wanders off to see what's left of their old camp fire.*

*Eve, Cameron and their partners follow, while Kylie remains by Aroma*

Anubimon mutters something under its breath and the chains unravel, falling to the floor. The doors open, a gust of stagnant air washes in followed by the smell of sea water.

Anubimon: "Best of luck."

Azuma enters the great unknown as the doors close behind him. Outside the lighthouse, the doorway he came in is nowhere to be found, the door to the lighthouse in front of him.

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What's still left is half buried much like the seaweed. Maybe dry and shitty seaweed is flamable.

Taiyo: "Oh....We shouldn't have asked, should we?"

E"We probably should have waited. Built up to it some more."

*He digs up the fire pit & puts the seaweed into it. Guilmon opens his mouth, but Roatha waves him off.*

R"We don't know how long this will last, so we should save it until we need it."

*Biyomon and Cameron look around for some old seaweed, while Eve looks for sticks are something*

The blue-green light of rebirth and renewal still illuminated the stairwell, progressively getting brighter as Azuma climbed the stairs, none of the previous illusions manifesting until he comes to the beach.

Present is the group each scattered about, sitting. Unlike before Aroma is no longer with Euryale & Taiyo instead sitting a ways away from Kylie who still sits beside Cameron while Eve & Roatha are apart. Shademon appears.

Azuma: "You lied to me."

Azuma!Shademon: "I did no such thing. I told you the exact conditions that needed to be met and you agreed to fulfill them. It is not my fault if you can't keep your word and if you have no faith in yourself or your comrades."

Azuma: "I believe in myself. And I believe in-"

Azuma!Shademon: "Then why does the Digimental reject you? Surely you've noticed the pain it causes you since you first left this place. And you return to this place for the lost and damned out of your own free will. Are you unwillinging to go to the Hell of your own world that you choose to come to this one?"

Azuma: "I need help. I'm not myself. I'm not who I was before coming here."

Azuma!Shademon: "Because you are weak. The Children of Knowledge & Light pervailed unbroken. But you....you were broken. You wanted to be broken and now that you got what you wanted, you want to reverse that?"

Azuma stares at the sand as it turns white and the image around him fades.

Save your prayers for when we're really gonna need'em.

Azuma!Shademon: "You had your chance to make amends."

Shademon vanishes leaving behind only white as the stairs continue to the white room.

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The only source of kindling on the island is the palm tree.

Taiyo: "A lot of good things happened on this beach. You and I became one and my Crest glowed. It was when I realized I love Aroma as well as you. But being here now....I'm not happy."

E"Yeah...but things will get better."

R"So I guess we just keep island hopping until we find something to do."

A"But what if we move so far away that the others won't be able to find us."

*Roatha shrugs.*

R"We have to keep the mission going. Not much we can do if they've lost the mission."

Kylie:<They'll come back.>

Terriermon:<Wonderful.>

*Eve comes back*

<Unless we want to use the palm tree, all the kindling we have is the old stuff.>

In the white room, Azuma's dark rendition and Devimon stand where they were previously.

Dark!Azuma: "Azuma Huraka, the court has sentenced you to die. Fly Fallacy of Hope, off with his head."

Azuma dives out of the charging Devimon's way with Patamon.

Azuma: "Digimental up!"

Nothing happens except a sharp pain shoots through his chest.

Dark!Azuma: "You really thought that would work? Have you not been paying attention to what's happening to you? You are broken, so why don't you just die?"

Devimon comes back around, Patamon attempts to intercept it, but is batted out of the way.

Dark!Azuma: "Your partner is weak because you are weak. You've been a liability since the beginning and will continue to be long into the future. The Seraph could not have picked a worse vessel."

Azuma: "What are you talking about?"

Dark!Azuma: "I've seen your future and it's not too bright."

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Taiyo: "Hopefully. Maybe then we can all be together and happy."

E"Taiyo...I don't know if that should be our goal...."

R"Yeah, I kind of thought so. Maybe we should try catching fish, so that we have something to take with us?"

Lunamon:<There wasn't anything in the shallows...>

Patamon fires an Air Shot at Devimon which doesn't acknowledge the attack as it resumes its charge at Azuma.

Dark!Azuma: "Just give up. It's the only thing you're good at. Make a snarky comment to go out on and die. It's not like you have anything to live for. The Child of Light will continue on, retreating back behind the walls that surround her heart where she had no business coming out from."

Azuma rolls out of Devimon's path and charges the dark rendition of himself, tackling it as Patamon once again tries ramming Devimon.

Dark!Azuma: "Have you been listening? The time has come for your elimination."

Azuma tackles the dark rendition of himself, the word 'Elimination' sounding around him like the word 'Rage' he had previously heard. The monster shouts in a harsh gutteral voice.

Dark!Azuma: "You're dead!"

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Taiyo: "You don't want all of us to be together?"

E"It's not that. It's just that...well, Aroma already thinks that we just want to get her in bed."

R"The flying Digimon could try to pick something up from the deeper waters."

*Biyomon shrugs, then digivolves to Saberdramon and takes off over the ocean, looking for some fish*

Azuma: "Do with me what you want, but leave her out of this."

Dark!Azuma: "Oh, did you find your Light in a new dawn?"

Azuma strikes his dark self in the chest, his hand sinking into it like he plunged his hand into water, striking something hard.

Dark!Azuma: " You have dug your own grave, now lay the fuck down. Your name's a bitter taste in my mouth."

Devimon pulls Azuma off of the dark rendition, removing whatever he felt inside it.

Azuma: "I've made mistakes. I regret the-"

Dark!Azuma: "No mistakes, only choices. No regrets, only voices."

Azuma feels the cold hard thing in his hand, wrapping his hand around it.

Let this be the thing that gets me out of here.

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There's nothing visible along the surface, but that's not to say the ocean is devoid of life.

Taiyo: "I was thinking more like all nine of us being together again like at the beginning. Before we all started fighting. I don't know what to do about Aroma. I don't want to lose her, but I don't want to chase her away even more either."

*Roatha also heads out on Dorugoramon with the old fishing line. If they don't have it any more, then he makes a new one. He fishes.*

E"I guess we can only hope."

*Saberdramon tries to fish pelican style*

Dark!Azuma: "Now that you squandered your chance at victory, accept your failures and di-"

Azuma: "Digimental up!"

Dark!Azuma begins to laugh as the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in Azuma's grasp begins to glow and evaporate into light.

For hearts long lost and full of fright, for those alone in Blackest Night.

With renewed vigor, Patamon begins to change becoming a bat.

???: "Screeching Love, Pipismon!"

Pipismon screeches, Devimon dropping Azuma to cover its ears.

Dark!Azuma: "You think Love of all things will save you? You don't even love yourself. How can you possibly love Patamon or the Child of Li-"

Azuma: "Her name is Hitomi. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Behind them Devimon staggers, unable to hear and its vision fading. It fades to black as Pipismon rips through it with its multiple hooks, the scene around them fading and distorting until they're outside the lighthouse, Azuma staring up at the black sky, Patamon at his side.

Azuma: "In fearful day, in raging night, with strong hearts full, our souls ignite. When all seems lost in the War of Light, look to the stars, for hope burns bright."

Patamon: "What?"

Azuma: "Don't worry about it. Let's go reunite with the others."

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Taiyo: "I guess."

For all his trouble, Saberdramon gets a big ol' anchor hooked around his legs and pulled under.

Roatha feels a tug on the line.

*Roatha pulls.*

*Saberdramon digivolves to Karatenmon and flies out of the water*

<Something grabbed me!>

Patamon: "Are you okay?"

Azuma: "No. But I'll get better. I have to."

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By some miracle, he manages to reel in a fish despite there being no statement that he had any bait. Whether or not Karatenmon's babbling and the energy projectiles that follow after him interupt the fishing expedition is anyone's guess.

Taiyo: "An enemy now of all times?"

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They watch Azuma wander away from the lighthouse that he had appeared outside of having gone inside some time ago, not seeing anything that transpired inside.

Hitomi: "Can you get him back?"

Anubimon: "The doorway I opened may not open up to his location. I can try, but I can't guarantee it."