"Damn it," muttered Kyra Evans, slowing to a stop in the forest and doubling over. As she tried to catch her breath, having come on foot from the darker regions where the graveyard lay, her newest partner strode up alongside her. Never realized how fast Bishop is They'd followed a mix of tracks and disturbed brush this far, but the renegade Renamon had not only a head start but appeared to be moving much faster than his pursuers could.

One's yellow eyes scanned the underbrush, the Commandramon slowing to a stop at Kyra's side. The cyborg was silent, but as she straightened the dark tamer was already getting a feeling about the hard look in his eyes.

"You don't like him, eh?" she asked, pulling down the zipper on the leather vest she wore. With some difficulty owing to the cloak draped around her shoulders, she quickly shucked off the hot vest, revealing a purple tank top underneath. Slinging the vest over one shoulder, she scrutinized the cyborg. Considering he'd nearly been incinerated less than an hour ago, Kyra was barely keeping up with him.

"Oh, no..." One said dryly, raising his M-16 slightly toward the shadowy crevice beneath a large oak tree as his eyes went in that general direction. "Nearly killed the tamer I owe my life to, love the guy."

Kyra snorted, but couldn't help the amused smile that came to her lips. Looking toward the daytime sky, she scanned as best she could through the tree canopy. No sign of Vanguard, the remaining trio had split up when Bishop had fled after losing control, nearly killing both One and Kyra. The Stingmon searched from the air whilst tamer and Commandramon searched at ground level.

Somewhere near where Kyra and One stood, a roar of pain could be heard, followed by a series of deep, earthy thuds of oversized feet pounding the forest earth - and a fierce, feminine voice crying “Coward! GET BACK HERE!”

Luckily for the one creating the thuds, his persuer was unused to maneurvering in woodland areas, allowing him something of a decent head start despite his naturally slower physical configuration. More incredibly large and loud footsteps, much closer to Kyra this time, heralded the arrival of a creature likely to look somewhat familiar to her: between them her team had encountered three specimens of his similar-looking Child form in the past, not to mention battled one of his current form, as well as witnessed Bishop’s evolution into an Adult identical to this one in all but colour.

A massive saurian sheathed in leathery red and black hide hacked away at the thick foliage with his natural weapons, a pair of blades prodruding from his thick wrists: using them was as effortless to him as the use of one’s fingers to a human. As branches, thorns and bushes were torn asunder, a bedraggled Virus Digimon, clearly having just escaped a long and hard battle judging by the unkempt state of his snow white mane and the shallow wounds peppering his ruby skin, emerged from the depths of the forest into the area of slightly sparser greenery where Kyra stood.

Only daring to stop due to the nagging pain of his cuts, Growmon hung his head and panted heavily. Then, as his yellow eyes peeled open, vision still slightly hazy from the dizzying fight, he noticed something he didn’t see every day standing before him (or rather, at his feet).

Recognising the duo as a human and Commandramon, Growmon’s attention remained fixed entirely on the former, knowing her to be familiar somehow, from somewhere. Scrutinising her, the dinosaur drank in her distinguishing features, the feeling nagging at him that he knew them. It wasn’t long before he recognised this Tamer as one who’d done him a great favour by ridding him of two bullies not that long ago…

The same long and straight raven hair; the same eyes the colour of ice. The same tall, atheletic figure; the same lightly tanned skin. Not the same partner, outfit… and definitely something just, well, different about her that was impossible to place. But though much had changed about this girl, the giant reptile knew in his heart there was no mistaking…

“Kyra!” Growmon squealed, as best as one his size and strength could squeal. He maintained his slightly bent-over, weary stance, but on his bestial face, a sense of newfound shining hope was evident. “It’s you! It’s really you!” Though his voice had changed with his form since meeting Kyra, becoming hoarser and deeper, the same childlike innocence of the Guilmon who’d helped Kyra when she was injured and lead her to the Digimental of Desire was evident in his very presense.

“Re…remember me?” he panted, bending down even further in order to look Kyra in the eye. “I… your Digi-thingy… Kyra, thank goodness you’re here!”

One was ready and waiting long before the Growmon emerged. M-16 primed and ready, crouched before Kyra, the tamer herself with gloved hand having drawn her knife, the other on her deck, vest discarded on the ground. Both knew the group was at a fraction of its normal strength.

Fortunately, battle was the last thing on the mind of the one before them. One only saw the powerful yet wounded and exhausted Growmon before them, but Kyra was struck by a familiar presence.

But the raven-haired teen wasn't certain until the saurian recognized and addressed her. "Guil- Growmon?" she asked, remembering what seemed so long ago. Back with just Vanguard, before Insomnia, before Zack, when it was just freedom and a quest for some of the strength AJ had. She'd only ever seen his child form, to see his Adult form and in such a state was a surprise to her. She reached out and tapped One on the shoulder with her right hand, a signal the Commandramon acknowledged to mean Growmon was indeed a friend.

This meant One's focus immediately jumped to the hostile shout, his eyes and gun alike pointing down the swathe of cleared foliage left by Growmon. A moment later the cyborg's skin shifted, taking on the precise colors of its surroundings in a near-perfect illusion. Unsure of what might attack, the Commandramon had elected to set up an ambush, settling himself behind a low rock and propping his M-16 across it. Off at an angle from where Kyra and Growmon stood, he had clear fields of vision and fire on any pursuers.

"What happened?" Kyra asked sharply, a feeling of intensity growing inside of her as the adrenaline kicked in. "Who's been attacking you?"

In admiration of Kyra's direct manner, but with no time to dwell on that, Growmon began to gather his thoughts. "She... she was a Terriermon at first, but then she evolved and... said she'd be sent to kill me. I don't know all the details... just that... she gave me quite a fight." With that, he gingerly lowered his body completely to the ground, resting flat on his chest and stomach with his oversized paws supporting his head.

"She mentioned the Kuma-saka-magi Warren, or something like that, too..." Growmon added weakly. "Ky...ra... it's good to see you," finished the gentle giant, grinning happily despite his grim situation.

"COME OUT! You cannot hide from Black Justice!" said that same enraged, womanly voice again, much closer this time, and accompanied by the rustling of what foliage remained after Growmon hacked through it. When one factored in the look of frightened alertness that came to Growmon's face as he heard it, there was no doubt his assailent was drawing ever nearer.

"Oh, no..." he said, sounding surprisingly weak and helpless for a huge, fire-breathing dinosaur. "She's coming. Kyra, Commandramon... be careful." Growmon himself, in the mean time, pulled himself to his two feet again, clearly injured and tired, but with at least some fight left in him.

"Human sympathiser! In the name of--"

The Digimon moving through the bushes revealed herself mere seconds before stopping in her tracks in shock, and therefore allowing Kyra and One a good look at her.

Though her basic shape was that of a human, this creature had a certain wild, otherworldly quality to her appearance too, with pupilless red eyes in the shape of a cat's, her right arm at least twice as long as her left and ending in shockingly long and sharp crimson claws, the pale gray skin of a corpse, and a mane of unkempt, similarly-colored hair. Her black boots hovering mere feet above the ground as black, leathery, rather ragged wings supported her, the LadyDevimon stared at Kyra through her five pairs of eyes (one pair on her head in the usual place, one belonging to the odd ghostly form growing out of her shoulder, one on a similar protrustion near her elbow, one on her knee, and one on her boot), time seeming to stand still for the Fallen Angel as a look of utter shock graced her face(s), everything in existance flying from her mind - except the teenager belonging to the race she and her clan held responsible for desacrating the Digital World.

"Human..." she murmured, dumbstruck, while Growmon lived up to his name by snarling menacingly at the demon lady. Ignoring the Adult, LadyDevimon closed her eyes and shook her head to clear it, and when she re-opened them, she realised this was no dream.

Growmon can wait. Why worry about a human sympathiser when I can take home the hide of the real thing?

"YOU!" LadyDevimon snapped hotly, suddenly reverting back to the persona of a domineering tough girl as her her smaller, more human-like hand pointed its index finger at Kyra. "You shall be our first step to cleansing the Digital World! DIE!"

As its owner mouthed the words "Darkness Spear," the hand still pointing at Kyra changed shape dramatically, smoothing out into a straightforward spike, easily sharp enough to pierce Growmon's skin - yet alone Kyra's. And it was intended to do just that.

Her movement as smooth and swift as that of a stream, LadyDevimon swooped down toward Kyra, her Spear remaining pointed straight at the human girl's heart. Though it would definately have been within Growmon's power to do something about it, he was sadly still weakened from the first leg of his battle with this same Perfect-level Digimon, and his reflexes and concentration had been whittled down too.

Too sluggish and injured to get involved directly, it was all Growmon could do to cry "KYRA!" as LadyDevimon descended. Indeed, if Kyra was smart, she'd get out of the way. Immediately.

Kyra listened as she could to Growmon's explanation, but the arrival of what her d-ban identified as Lady Devimon drew her attention. There was something about the look in that Digimon's many eyes that Kyra didn't like at all, and it was soon made clear by the demon's vehement words.

"Correction," the dark tamer said evenly as the finger was leveled dramatically at her. "This is the first step to the end of your life." Her grip on the knife tightened, the girl's combative instincts surging to the surface. But as the lethal lance formed, it was clear that would have to wait.

The able-bodied teen jumped to the side, landing perfectly on her shoulder and rolling back to her feet, leaving Lady Devimon to pierce the thin air she'd just vacated. Vanguard? One? Where the hell?

One had had a perfectly clear shot at Lady Devimon the moment she'd entered the small clearing. He could have hit her with a facefull of full-auto weapons fire or even a few grenades. But against a Perfect, he'd have to be smarter.

Moving swiftly and as silently as doing so would permit, he raced from his cover to position himself as Lady Devimon charged Kyra. He wasn't worried about protecting the tamer, not in the immediate future, for he could tell by her coiled stance the tamer had the situation well in hand. Then the girl leapt aside, leaving Lady Devimon nothing and the Commandramon the exact chance he'd been looking for.

His camouflage faded as the glow of evolution enveloped him, the two-meter humanoid cyborg that was Sealsdramon emerging as though from nowhere a few meters directly behind the the Fallen Angel. Using his powerful legs, he sprang forward to execute his attack "Death Behind!" Acting like the commandos that were his namesake, he reached up with his knife and attempted a swift and surgical kill - slit the target's throat.

Lady Devimon was forced to change her flight path in mere seconds as Kyra evaded her attack, the spike missing the earth by mere inches as she swooped upward, coming to rest hovering in the air once more. She scowled, the slaughter of this vermin proving far more difficult that she'd thought, as her Darkness Spear returned to its original shape of a human hand.

"Kyra," Growmon said, pride at how she handled herself against a superior foe minglng with concern for hte girl and her partners. "Where's Dokunemon? Is she okay? Are you sure you'll be okay?"

But before he had time to further worry about Vanguard's wherabouts, what Growmon mistook for her replacement leapt up and closed in on LadyDevimon with a knife almost mirroring that which, unbeknownst to him, had played an important role in slaying a particular Garurumon.

Hearing One's attack cry at the last second, LadyDevimon spun around and thrust upward, out of the knife's path. Just as her own attack had penetrated empty air less than a minute earlier, now the Sealsdramon's attack would be left to do the same.

"Darkness Wave!" With a wave of her hand, a thick swarm of shadowy bat-like lifeforms phased into being around the now throughoughly annoyed, but composed, LadyDevimon, and not a second later, they descended upon One: not only slamming into him with speed and force, but seeking out chinks in the Sealsdramon's armor (as well as possibly creating new ones), burrowing into them, clawing and biting in an effort to hinder Kyra's newest partner as much as possible in an effect almost similar to a certain Modify Card that had served Kyra well many times.

"Insolent pest," LadyDevimon growled, turning her attention back to Kyra in the brief moment between her attack and One's counter. "If I have to get through your Digimon slave in order to eliminate you, so be it. I can quite easily deal with a couple of Adults." On her leather-booted toes for what One would do next, LadyDevimon chose not to launch another strike against his Tamer, keeping true to her word of dealing with Kyra's protector before her.

One didn't waste any time as Lady Devimon evaded him, planting his feet on the ground and then springing backwards to prepare himself for the gruesome dance of battle to continue.

And continue it did as the wave of flapping, chittering, and screeching bats descended upon him. But the attack did not work as intended, for the night raiders instead fell upon a crimson cape. Though they bit and scratched at the fabric, it did not yield until the attack had faded. With a snort One tossed aside the cape which quickly digitized, and wrapped his tail around the sword, not needing it for the moment but wanting it handy.

Name: Matador Dance
Number: C56
Type: Weapon
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: Grants the user’s Digimon a 10% bonus in agility, a red cape that can be used to block or dodge one attack, and a small sword. Both items disappear as soon as they connect with the opponent, but the agility bonus lasts for the whole battle.

Kyra remained silent, neither announcing the card nor taunting her enemy. Only her eyes seemed to speak, their icy chill seeming to say You'll have to do better than that.

Her fingers danced across the top of her Fly-Trap card, an easy way to even the playing field. But why disable flight when she could bind the enemy all together? Her knife stowed for the moment, Kyra slashed her chosen card.

Name: Training Gear
Number: U32
Type: Single Target
Duration: 3 Turns
Effect: The affected Digimon is either held down, preventing their movement, or their strength is increased, adding 10 points of damage to each attack.

Ribbons of orange light wove themselves into the overbearing training straps, aiming to completely ensnare the nightmare soldier, wings, arms, legs and all.

With the perceived opening, One leapt toward his adversary (likely falling toward the ground at this point, but even if she weren't he was more than capable), aiming his knife straight for the Lady Devimon's previous target - the heart of his enemy.

"Vanguard's fine," Kyra said at last, casting the briefest of glances up at Growmon. "She's just elsewhere right now, we're looking for someone. And she," Kyra concluded venomously "Doesn't have a chance against me."

At this, Growmon could only nod, confident that Kyra and partner could hold her own against this misanphropic assisian, but nonetheless wanting them to exercise caution. At the mention of "looking for someone," Growmon briefly considered asking if there was something he could do to help, but opted not to, deciding to save any strength he had left for assisting the battle if need be.

LadyDevimon, unable to avoid the Training Gear despite her best efforts, collapsed with a scream of pain and humiliation, her bound state lending a comical look to the once elegant female warrior, especially as she squirmed around in vain. Red eyes widened in fear at the sight of the Sealsdramon approaching, but she was powerless to avoid or counter, the blade striking her in her bulbous chest as intended.

Though not fatal to a Digimon, as it would've been to a human, the pain of the knife wound was undeniable. A number of icy taunts relating to being into bondage danced across LadyDevimon's mind, but she drove them away in favour of thinking how to get out of this one.

At first, all seemed lost - then, just as One was likely withdrawing his knife, the bound, but not gagged Perfect remembered one of her lesser-known, but potent attacks. One she didn't have to move her body to use...

"Poison!" she cried, suddenly having adopted a heavy French accent for some reason, and from her mouth came her attack: a toxic, violet cloud not unlike the Poison Storm Kyra had wielded as Witchmon in the recent past. The attack's range was great, quickly spreading from something the size of a breath of visible air in winter to a great, all-encompassing fog that would likely not only blind, but sicken human, Sealsdramon and Growmon alike.

Kyra looked sharply at the spreading mist, cursing quietly to herself as the fog quickly spread. Before she lost sight of One in the mist, the Sealsdramon seemed to be handling himself well enough.

But the dark tamer wasn't so lucky. The mist stung her exposed skin, and likewise irritated her lungs, inducing coughs that only worsened the problem with repeated lungfulls of poisoned air.

Though One's vision was somewhat obstructed by the poisonous mist, he registered only the mildest of discomforts from it with an almost entirely inorganic body. However, his auditory sensors quickly registered the distressed breathing of his tamer, leading the Sealsdramon to scan his surroundings for her.

Instinct screamed at Kyra to run, but even if she could find a path to clear air, it would mean abandoning her partner. Not happening. But there had to be some way out of this. Death's embrace could grant her some of her desires, but there were others only life could provide.

Through the mist, and her watering eyes, Kyra failed to notice the brilliant glow emanating from her wrist.

"Stingmon evolve to Angewomon!" The voice rang through the forest. Vanguard had heard the ruckus of the ongoing battle, racing to the rescue only to realize it was her tamer getting gassed.

"Kyra!" the angel cried out, descending through the forest canopy. But through the mist, she saw that not only was her tamer in danger, but so were One as well as a Growmon. Raising her gloved hands above her head, the angelic warrior channeled the power within to manifest it without. "Heaven's Charm!" A ring of light rose into the air above the Angewomon, its light radiating outward. Its radiance penetrated the mist, the protective effect falling upon Kyra, Growmon, and One.

But even with the shield in effect, Vanguard's wings beat the air fiercely as she slowly lowered toward the ground, clearing the poison from around Kyra and Growmon, those most effected by it.

Lightly her boots touched the ground at Kyra's side. "Fuzzball?" Kyra said, squeezing her eyes shut briefly to try and relieve the stinging before looking up at her partner. "Nice timing."

"Nice try," One said with grim sarcasm, seeing that Vanguard's timely arrival had aided Kyra. With defense handled, that left One with offense, a duty he tended to viciously, stabbing at the bound Lady Devimon repeatedly with his knife. A surgeon's precision kept the knife away from the training grips and into the demon's vital areas: neck, miscellaneous eyes, and the fleshy portions of arms and legs - sometimes meant to inflict pain as much as to assassinate the assassin.

((Pardon me, Vn, but the attack you described is actually Saint Air, mistakenly termed Heaven's Charm in the English dub of Digimon Adventure. ^^;; A negligable mistake, though.))

The venom of LadyDevimon's gaseous attack seeping into his very skin, Growmon coughed and wheezed, feeling the full force of the Poison thanks to his totally organic composition. That portion of the Forest shook a little as he collapsed to his knees, wondering how Kyra and Sealsdramon, let alone he, would get out of this one. And then...

"Stingmon evolve to Angewomon!"

The Saint Air washing away the Poison (and throwing an extra chunk of damage LadyDevimon's way to boot), Growmon came to his senses, remaining crouched but looking upward at the reptillian and human trio's saviour in total awe.

"Wow," he breathed, in both admiration and gratitude to the beautiful winged woman - despite having no idea who she was. "Thank you, but... Kyra, who?..." he asked of the Dark Tamer, looking back and forth between her and the Angewomon in confusion. It was clear they knew each other from somewhere, but where? "It couldn't be... Vanguard??" No, of course not: even factoring in the inherent weirdness of Digimon evolution, there was simply no way this Arch Angel could be the higher form of the Dokunemon he knew.


The arrival of the Digimon traditionally considered her born rival proved nothing short of enfuriating for LadyDevimon, still lying helplessly on the ground, but now struggling against her restraints harder - and more fruitlessly - than ever. As if the Training Gear didn't give her enough trouble already, the potential of Saint Air to eat away at dark Digimon with its powerful aura was another factor in what was becoming more and more a one-sided battle with every second.

Making a feeble attempt to dampen Kyra's reunion with her first partner, she snarled at all four of her enemies, both her pride and her body wounded, but the latter more than the former. "No human's slave will defeat General Narissa of the Kuroseigi Warren!"

But she apparently spoke too soon, for no sooner than were the words out of her mouth, One was plunging his knife into her in every place the binds had left exposed, again and again. The LadyDevimon, whom had now identified herself as Narissa, could do nothing in response but shriek in agony before coming to her senses and, at the risk of her foes thinking of her as a one-trick pony, counter once more.

"Poison!" In between One's stabs, she exhaled another gout of purple gas venemous to any - except she - who came into contact with it. This attack, however, was different: rather than spreading the Poison to all enemies present, Narissa focused the fog entirely on the Sealsdramon. She'd been unable to avoid the multiple Death Behinds, but she nonetheless took advantage of his closeness to her by spewing the attack right in his face at point-blank range.

"One!" Vanguard cried in warning as she saw the dark Digimon inhaling for another attack. But One's attack was calculated, not raging. Though the proximity acted against any defensive measure, the cyborg leapt backward before the full dose of poison could descend upon him. Though it was still largely ineffective in the traditional measure, it was apparent the more concentrated variety was also corrosive. Several sections on One's armor began to smolder, a clear warning it was best to avoid any future doses of that venom.

"Yeah," Kyra wretched over the remnants of the poison in her lungs. Despite, she sounded proud as she answered Growmon's question. "That's Vanguard."

"That's fine," Vanguard replied to Narissa's shouts, the light fading as her lands lowered to her sides. "Because I'm no slave! Holy Arrow!" The winglets on her glove grew until they formed the Angewomon's mighty bow, a shining silver arrow forming her other hand. With graceful precision the arrow was fired, aimed straight at the squirming Lady Devimon.

One appeared at Kyra's side, the Sealsdramon's armor still continuing to smoke although not as badly as before. The poison was fading but he'd learned his lesson. "Kyra," he said, fixing the tamer with his photoreceptors. "Let's get this over with."

The raven-haired girl could only nod, swiping an old favorite.

Name: Dark Light
Number: U04
Type: Single Target
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: The user’s Digimon shoots a black beam of energy at one opponent, dealing 15 points of damage, or 30 if the user is a Virus-type. The attack can only be used by Data- or Virus-type Digimon, but while Data-types can only use it once, Virus-types can use it as many times as they wish during the battle.

"Dark Light!" a swirling purple light built up around One's eyes before discharging in a narrow beam at Lady Devimon. At the name, the appearance of the attack, deja vu struck again, but the warrior brushed it off as a distraction to the battle.

Kyra silently clenched her right fist directly over her heart, closing her eyes. As she did so, the words Spirit Evolution flashed across the screen. Shadows wrapped themselves around Kyra, condensing into the girl's new form - the short yet ruffled black hair, the crimson dress, hat, gloves, pale skin, and black cloak of her Witchmon form.

An icy smile came to her lips, it felt good to wield this power again. "Aquari Pressure!" as she shouted the spell, Kyra held her palm before her, blasting Narissa with a jet of high-pressure water.

Growmon, upon learning the mystery Angewomon's identity, only gasped, large mouth agape. "That's..." he echoed in disbelief. But his trust in Kyra's word was greater than his sense of logic, and his dumbstruck stare turned to a smile as the truth finally sank in. "She's kinda pretty now," he commented, sounding lighthearted for someone who'd just been pursued by a relentless assasian.

"That's fine, because I'm no slave!"

"In that case," drawled Narissa coldly, "why are you fighting so passionately to save the girl against a foe who could - and will - easily kill you?"

The overconfident LadyDevimon's only answer was a celestial arrow fired in her direction, accompanied by a stream of water, a deep purple bolt of dark power and, as Growmon too decided to pitch in, an unbearably hot inferno. "Exhaust Flame!"

Light, darkness, water and fire worked in harmony to assault Narissa, the cocktail of elements dancing across her deathly pale skin, which now raged with pain, drawing out her loudest agonised shout thus far. A cloud of steam rose from her form, still bound in Training Gear, as a result of Aquari Pressure and Exhaust Flame mixing together, but there was no doubt all four attacks had done their job.

However, Kyra, Vanguard, One and Growmon's combined attack turned out to have a downside too: it happened to coincide with the duration of the card wearing out, thus shattering the bondage on contact. Narissa emitted an audible "YESSSS!" as this happened. Grinning in relief and detmination, she scrambled to her feet, much worse for the wear as any Digimon who'd just taken two Perfect- and two Adult-strength attacks at once would be, but ready and able to continue - and finish - the fight.

As the steam cleared, her attention turned toward the girl she'd seen Spirit Evolve mere seconds before the quartet of harmonised attacks connected. Narissa's momentary elation at escaping Training Gear faded, giving way to unadulterated rage, her in-brainwashed hatred for the human race intensifying. How dare this monster dress up in a Digimon's hide and deem herself as good as one?

"I'll destroy you or die trying, witch," Narissa spat at Kyra, the last word holding a double meaning to the human-hating Ladydevimon.

It was then she realised the upside to the transformation: she could now fight Kyra one on one, Digimon to Digimon, personally dealing with the lone combatant she truly had beef with. Recognising this, she prepared the same melee attack she'd unsucessfully employed against the then-human before. "Darkness Spear!"

With that, Narissa's womanly form seemed to flow right into the Witchmon, her left arm once again in the shape of a dark needle aimed at her enemy's heart.


"Kyra!? Huh? Where'd she go?" the ever-naive Growmon asked of no-one in particular, having never witnessed a Spirit Evolution before, and no idea that Kyra and Witchmon were the same entity. All the poor beast could do was scratch his head in puzzlement and worry with one long index claw.

But he didn't bother with that conundrum for long before he realised something else, strange but pressing.

What did Vanguard just call the Sealsdramon? One...? The same name as the brave hero the forest Digimon have been passing stories of through the trees, who sacrificed himself to save his Tamer from Insomnia's forces.
No. It couldn't possibly be the same One, could it? He was a Tankdramon, not a Sealsdramon... and even if Sealsdramon is the pre-evolution of Tankdramon, the Kyra I know would never do something as despicable as stealing him away from his rightful Tamer when he was reborn. It... it's a remarkable coincidence, I just know it. That's all it is... it HAS to be.

As Lady Devimon taunted Vanguard for her choice of allegiance, the Angewomon readied another arrow before replying hotly. "I would die for Kyra! I have died for Kyra, because I love her!"

Her words drew the gaze of Kyra, the Witchmon momentarily bemused by her partner's choice of words. But before she could put too much thought into it, Lady Devimon made her intent clear. Battle and survival was top priority.

"Poison Storm!" As Kyra raised her arms dramatically before her, a violet mist of toxic gases billowed from her fingers. But the attack cost Kyra time, time that resulted in a painful slash across her shoulder as the tamer-turned-Digimon wasn't able to sidestep fast enough.

"Dark Light!" Again light flared from Sealsdramon's optics, firing in a sharp beam at Lady Devimon as she passed through the spot Kyra had been standing. The cyborg's shot was soon joined by the Holy Arrow Vanguard had prepared earlier, though both were now aimed at a moving target as opposed to one tightly bound and lying on the ground.

If anything, Vanguard's response only confirmed what Narissa had been brought up to believe: Digimon with Tamers were so willing to throw their lives away for their humans, without realising what self-sacrifice really meant - or that one Digimon's life was worth that of a thousand humans. For all the LadyDevimon knew, Vanguard could be reffering to a time Kyra had actually killed the Angewomon herself - and the reborn Arch Angel had forgiven the murderous wretch out of blind loyalty alone.

She could give no response other than an animalistic growl directed at Vanguard, though, as a far more pressing matter came up: Witchmon, and her close-ranged Poison Storm. That attack did connect, stinging her exposed skin and eating away at her ragged black clothes somewhat, Narissa already too far into her Darkness Spear attack to change course.

There was no time to rejoice at having landed her first hit on Kyra, for the angel and dragon were quick to join the witch in her assault. Once again granted use of her wings as well as her naturally streamlined shape, Narissa ascended swiftly and smoothly to avoid both completely - but nonetheless, she had to warn herself not to get too cocky.

"Plasma Blade!" No sooner than had Dark Light and Holy Arrow passed, Growmon decided to add to Narissa's troubles - whoever this Witchmon was, she seemed to be on his side, and thought he might as well lend his strength to the battle. Snapping the blade on one arm out, he slashed at the airborne LadyDevimon with it as it pulsed with heat, only for her to evade that too, as well as reward his noble effort with a swift and sharp kick in the face.

The tretcherous Digimon she'd been sent to kill, only to find a far greater threat to the natural order, swatted off for the moment, she redirected her attention to where it was most needed: Kyra and her partners.

"Would the girl die for you, though?" said Narissa to Vanguard, sultry and proud as ever. "Let's find out. Binta!"

Her smaller hand - the one that had once been Darkness Spear - began to give off a faint purple aura as she drew it back, then streaking once again toward Kyra, forward again, a straightforward but forceful slap directed at the side of the Witchmon's head.

A brief scowl flashed across Kyra's face as Lady Devimon gracefully evaded the majority of the attacks directed at her. But for now, she ignored the maniac Digimon's words, focused, if anything, on Vanguard's stirring words prior.

As Narissa closed in, Kyra steeled herself to dodge again. But a split second later, revised that decision. The attack didn't seem nearly as dangerous as an arm-sized lance, and if...

"Kyra!" yelled Vanguard. What was the Witchmon doing, just standing there as the Lady Devimon closed in?

As the Kuroseigi Warren General swung her palm around for hard contact with the side of Kyra's head, the Witchmon reached up. Her left palm met the Lady Devimon's left wrist, blocking the hit. And then, she snapped her fingers shut like a trap, and reached up with her right hand to likewise seize Narissa by the arm with all her strength. If the dark tamer's gambit worked, and she could hold on long enough, it would give all her comrades a free shot.

Narissa flashed her teeth - strangely sharp and predatory for such an otherwise humanoid Digimon - at Kyra in an angry snarl, prepared to break free, for she had plenty of physical strength to do so (or so she thought). But the Witchmon wasn't the one who'd just been hit with four attacks at once, and as such, her reflexes were in better shape.

She proved too quick for the LadyDevimon, who at first resolved to pull herself out of Witchmon's red-gloved grasp, but instead she opted to use a strategy that had already proven somewhat effective twice in this battle alone.

"Pu-wa-zon," she said in an icy, taunting whisper, breathing thick and sickly gas onto Kyra at point-blank range. The Tamer-witch had a choice: avoid this attack, or retain her hold on Narissa for Vanguard, One and Growmon to strike. Either way, both of the demonic women would contribute a small something towards their respective victories.

((Wow, only two days into the thread and on Page Two already. As a little side note relating to that, which I don't expect anyone except perhaps Cleo to get, but will mention anyway:

"Now!" Kyra yelled to her companions as her hands clamped around Narissa's arm. Even as the assassin prepared her poison, the dark tamer didn't relent. In fact, it only gave her an idea of her own. Two can play at this game "Poison Storm!" Her own violet fog billowed forth, passing the Lady Devimon's poison.

Vanguard gasped in shock at Kyra's reckless act, but as One discharged another Dark Light attack he'd aimed at Narissa's wings, the Angewomon regained her composure. "Holy Arrow!" she fired another shining arrow at the Kuroseigi General, light and dark converging upon their enemy. Hopefully, Growmon would be able to pitch in and strike in time without worrying about Kyra's safety.

Only at the very last instant did Kyra release her hold, leaving Lady Devimon less than a second of free motion before the attacks would hit her. Spots wavered and distanced before Kyra's eyes in a dimming world, but the Witchmon didn't waste any time attempting to back away from her adversary.

Narissa's eyes watered unbearably, taking the full brunt of the poison - although given the way the two venomous gasses mixed together, it was sort of hard to tell exactly whose poison it was. All the LadyDevimon knew was that Kyra’s gamble to score her comrades free hits, at the very least, had paid off.

She winced in pain as the Angewomon and Sealsdramon’s attacks sparked across her wounded form mere nanoseconds after Kyra had released her. “Damn you!” Narissa cried simply, before floating backwards in an effort to distance herself from the Witchmon… only to float straight into a searing hot spike slashing across her mid back, Growmon deliberately charging into the fray relatively late so as not to risk taking the Holy Arrow or Dark Light himself. “Plasma Blade!”

Despite his apparently heroic act in unison with Kyra’s team, the nagging doubts never left Growmon. Is it really the same One? he thought, even as he attacked. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous the idea of it being a coincidence becomes. Could it be… that Kyra really has changed since I met her? That she’s effectively kidnapped a reborn hero for her own gains? If it’s true… I’d never, ever forgive myself for allying with her. Still, he wouldn’t let those thoughts hold him back from his task: whether or not he was fighting alongside savoury characters, he wanted Narissa off his back, and he had to put his back into it to achieve that.

Ultimately, the group attack proved completely successful. Holding her head in her hands in panic and frustration as she felt her data already crumbling around her, Narissa asended higher, subconsciously wanting to get away from it all: but she couldn’t. Not really. Her life would be over too soon.

Finally, the stress of taking so many attacks pushed Narissa over the edge, her womanly body dissolving into mere pixels: a sight that stirred nothing but elation in the injured Growmon. “We did it!!!” he exclaimed, a grin illuminating his face and indicating he wouldn’t have hesitated to do a noisy, heavy victory dance were he not winded. “Vanguard, One…” He paused, the name still carrying something of a stigma despite its connection to a heroic Digimon. “Whoever the Witchmon is… thank you so so so much! You saved my life!”

“THE SPIRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!..............................” was the black lady’s odd, but blood-curdling cry as she was deleted, the sound carried away on the wind along with her soon-to-be-reconfigured data. But as the black particles that had once made up the Fallen Angel peeled away, something quite out of the ordinary was revealed hovering in the ill-fated LadyDevimon’s place, apparently having rested in her core this whole time…


Standing upon a hexagonal base, an artefact of unspeakable power floated above the Witchmon, Angewomon, Sealsdramon and Growmon, seeming to discerningly stare down at them despite not being able to “see” in the same way humans and Digimon could. Long ago, this same object had been found by a Terriermon on a scouting mission and merged with the young rabbit-dog, thus forcing her out of her natural evolution path and into the form of Witchmon (and later LadyDevimon). Now, Narissa was dead, and the Spirit's means of enjoying the thrill of battle gone.

It sought a new host: someone with enough darkness in their heart to be accepted by the Spirit and to accept it, but not a raging monster who would indiscriminately throw the power granted them here, there and everywhere. No, it wanted a cool, caluculating warrior worthy of working alongside the power of Darkness itself.

Scanning the little spot of forest with something that would’ve been called a sixth sense if it had the other five senses to start with, the half-sentient artefact found something even better: its sister, so to speak. The Human Spirit of Darkness, at one with a dark, yet somehow also pure, soul of exactly the kind needed to draw out the full power of this element. This is perfect… too perfect, it sort-of-thought.

Drawn to the Tamer of Desire and Darkness like a moth to a flame, the Beast Spirit of Darkness shot toward her like a huge bullet, still somehow levitating. Like the Spirit she’d aqquired before it, the floating artefact slammed with all its might into the Witchmon’s chest, forcing itself into her skin – into her heart and soul - as if the red frock were simply not there. A tremendous surge of power coursed through Kyra’s entire body: overpowering her; consuming her; making her and the Spirit one entity.

Though the transformation was totally reversible, what time she did spend in this new Spirit form would prove trying for both her and her comrades. As the once-human teenager now stood in the form of the same black-clad, graceful undead woman-beast she’d just vanquished, it was all she’d be able to do to keep the Spirit’s inherent urge to destroy under control, and stop it from eclipsing Kyra Evans altogether.

((*chuckles evilly*))

The sight of her enemy scattering to dust rejuvenated the battered and poisoned Witchmon that was Kyra. But relief at the victory soon turned to puzzlement at the strange artifact left behind, a puzzlement shared by the Sealsdramon and Angewomon left spread out by the battle.

The item sat upon a hexagonal base much like the one the Human Spirit of Darkness had occupied. The base was ringed by tiny, deathly white human skulls, the statuette nestled amid them strongly resembling the upper portion of hooded head of the Lady Devimon just defeated, save for instead of skin residing beneath the mask, there were only swirling shadows of darkness.

"What," One growled slowly, visor clicking as it scanned the artifact "Is that?"

But before any further questions could be raised, or answers provided, the statue soared into motion. Maybe fatigue and injuries kept the sagging yet still standing Kyra/Witchmon from trying to dodge. Or maybe, on some level, she didn't want to. For all the force with which it descended toward the tamer, it contacted her skin without even the faintest pain of impact as it sank slowly out of sight into the tamer's chest.

The same chilling feeling that had bathed Kyra upon her first activation of the Human Spirit of Darkness returned. The area around Kyra dimmed as the spirit's power turned day to night within an eight-foot sphere surrounding the tamer. The form of Witchmon exploded in a flash of data, briefly revealing Kyra Evans levitating into the air before the Beast Spirit began to transform her. A pale white glow enveloped her body, encompassing yet ghastly in the dark sphere created by the spirit. Purple fire ran from toe to head, leaving in its wake a black leather suit that left only mouth and the upper portion of her enlarging right arm exposed. Ragged leather wings sprouted from her back, ruby claws from her larger hand's fingers, and a strange scarflike creature with glowing eyes from her neck. Kyra's hair went deathly white, cascading down her back to several times its normal length as several bands formed around her larger forearm whilst a belt slipped around her waist. A chain appeared, draping itself around her waist, left arm, and leg. The transformation was completed when a white skull appeared over the left side of her chest, and at last the glow across her skin briefly enveloped her entire body before fading completely, leaving two final touches - the deathly pale skin of Lady Devimon, and an increase in size to the same height as Vanguard as Angewomon. The bubble of night faded, and Kyra was Lady Devimon.

As power coursed through her like a raging flood, Kyra did something she could never remember doing before despite being called one derivation or another of "evil" more times than she could remember. She threw back her head and filled the surrounding forest with menacing laughter.

The red eyes that gleamed from beneath the hood were Kyra's, and yet on another level they weren't at all, the girl's being joined by that of the beast spirit. A bloodlust like none she'd ever felt seized the tamer, a terrible itch that could only be scratched by the sight of data particles scattering before her in the air.

"Stun Whip," As Kyra rose into the air, the chain coiled around the girl-turned-devil's arm gave off an unearthly purple glow, animating, twisting, unraveling itself from around her ankle and lashing at Growmon with the darkness-enhanced chain.

"G-g-good question," said the now-terrified Growmon in response to One's question. Shaking in his fiery red skin, the lumbering, but innocent creature was very easily daunted by the very presense of what looked like the new incarnation of Narissa (when, in actuality, it was said General who'd been the previous incarnation of the Spirit) - her manic laugh only added to the unbearable chill he felt.

Out of instinct, Growmon sniffed at LadyDevimon in a desparate effort to try and comprehend what was with her - then, though the scent didn't explicitly say this, a possibility dawned on him.

When Witchmon appeared, she was standing in about the same place as Kyra was before she just kind of disappeared. What if that wasn't coincidence either? Very little was impossible in the Digital World. If Digimon had the power to change their form with experience and guidance... there was no saying if the same way true for humans.

Could Witchmon - and now this new LadyDevimon - possibly really the one who cleansed the forest of two terrible thugs, my old friend...

"KYRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!"

That was all Growmon was able to get out before - and during which - the chain whip connected.

With all the damage he'd taken before running into Kyra, coupled with that from Narissa's Poison and kick, and a great deal of physical and emotional fatigue to boot, that was that: there was simply nothing Growmon could have done about the Stun Whip. Kyra's chain cleaved straight through the dinosaur like a motorboat through water: as it passed through the air his gigantic form had once occupied, nothing remained of the naive forest Digimon but crimson data particles, which were dutifully carried away by the breeze, en route to Primary Village, the place of new beginnings.

For the all-too-brief moment in which the fragments of Guilmon's data were still conscious; could still think; when his soul remained in one piece, one final melancholy though crossed the ghost's mind before his soul dissapated along with his body.

You've changed, Kyra...


The first time Kyra had met the Digimon she'd just slain, his appearance had been of many unexpected ones that day, just when she and Vanguard thought they'd get some peace at last: but now, no such thing happened. She was alone in the woods, with only the Beast Spirit of Darkness for company - until the benevelent benevolent Angewomon and steadfast Sealsdramon could remind Kyra that with partners, no Digimon Tamer is ever truly alone.

((Well, inappropriote as I find your choice of Digimon, Kyra obtains the Beast Spirit of Darkness, as well as 0.15+ DEP to distribute between Vanguard and One as you see fit.
This thread was the most fun I've had in a long, long time, Vn. :^,^: Thank you so much; up until now I'd forgotten how much fun modding a thread could be.
I am officially finished controlling Narissa and Growmon, although I hope you won't mind me adding a little epiloge to the former's side of the story, for completion's sake.))

A little later, somewhere underground...

"My most honourable Chief?"
"Hmmm?"
"General Narissa... has been killed by a human."
"WHAAAAT?"

The shadowy figure the cowering Elecmon was addressing suddenly got to his feet, clearly pulsing with rage. Black sparks flared around his now-clenched fist, prepared to kill his messenger boy as a vent for his anger, but luckily for the comparitively-tiny red Mammal, the Chief's common sense overpowered his frustration just in the nick of time.

"What sort of human, Thistle?"
"A female with long dark hair, named Kyra, apparently in possession of a Human Spirit... and by now, a Beast Spirit, actually."
"Her slaves?"
"An Angewomon, a Sealsdramon and a Growmon, my Chief, but she killed the last of the three after the fight with the General was over."

The Cherubimon, ever encumbered by hatred and bitterness, sagged slightly, shaking his head in regret. Just further proof of the nature of humans as selfish creatures who would throw a creature supposed to be their equal away for no good reason.

"Interesting. I will see to it that the Owsla's eye is kept on this... Kyra. Thistle, you are dismissed."

And with that, Thistle bound out of his respected and feared leader's cavernous burrow, leaving the totalitarian Virus Ultimate to further tend to business and plans relating to his grand ambition of human genocide.

Vanguard could hardly have been more shocked even if Kyra had struck her instead of the now-deleted Growmon. "Kyra? What-what?" words failed the Angewomon.

"Watch it!" barked One, seizing the holy warrior by the shoulders and dragging her back a split second before the chain whip would have clipped her in the shoulder. "Beast spirits can influence their tamer's judgment. That's not just Kyra, there's a bit of Narissa in there too."

Vanguard could only give a short, soft moan at this fact. Some of that homicidal she-devil was in her tamer now? The angelic warrior looked directly at One, as best as could be surmised from a being with her eyes covered by a helmet.

"Here she comes," One said tersely, pushing Vanguard aside before dodging himself. Kyra's Darkness Spear merely clipped Vanguard's scarf, prompting a fierce scowl. Even with the knowledge that it wasn't her tamer's sound judgment guiding the attack, the holy warrior couldn't help the indignation she felt at the assault of her evil twin.

Maybe the beast spirit changed Kyra in her young partner's eyes, Kyra enough to be the focus of some negative feelings, not-Kyra enough to not be the focus of the positive ones. "Leave her to me, One!" Perhaps reckless and uncharacteristic, but Vanguard saw only one option - damage Kyra just enough to force her devolution back to her old human self.

Even the masked and goggled face of Sealsdramon seemed to register surprise at Vanguard's decision. "You wanna take her by yourself? You're joking, right?"

Vanguard's only reply was to sprint past One at the Lady Devimon turning back to face the duo. "Holy Charge Kick!" White light sparkled from her boot as the angel warrior's eight wings propelled her toward the Lady Devimon that had minutes ago been her tamer.

But a cunning, fanged grin rose onto Kyra's face as Vanguard charged, reaching up with her right arm and seizing the Angewomon by her boot. Diverting the holy warrior's momentum over her head, Lady Devimon sent her adversary crashing unceremoniously to the ground. A taunting, feral hiss, greeted abruptly by a harsh slap to the face by Vanguard as the angel rose back to her feet.

This was returned a split second later by a purple-enveloped palm striking Vanguard on the cheek. Angry red marks rose on the face of each, before Kyra grinned again. Darkness Wave! her lips formed the words, but no sound came from them. At near point-blank range the swarm of batlike Night Raiders flickered into existence, descending upon the Angewomon.

With only seconds before the screeching bats sank fang and claw into her, Vanguard clapped her hands together, sending forth a surge of violet energy, taking the shape of a curved cross as it effortlessly plowed through the flock of night raiders. The diminished attack continued toward Kyra, but with a flash of crimson from the nails of her right arm, the attack skirted around the Lady Devimon.

Her arm converted into Darkness Spear again, aiming to spear her counterpart in the gut with the lance. Panicking a bit, Vanguard quickly dodged aside, fear turning to relief as the attack missed her and Kyra pierced thin air. What the Angewomon did not notice, however, was a fistful of her long blond hair being seized by the passing fallen angel.

Crying out in surprise as she was pulled, Vanguard was slammed helmet-first into tree. Dazed by the impact, she could see Kyra's off-hand reverting to its normal clawed form, and with both hands she began working on tying a knot of Vanguard's hair around a tree branch.

The underhanded move was first tremendous sadness that her tamer would do such a thing to her, and then a furious righteous desire. The winglets on her arm expanded, light flaring from her other palm. "Holy Arrow!' she cried.

The divine projectile streaked toward the Lady Devimon's head, the nimble fallen angel leaning backwards. The arrow clipped her cheek, but the pause it brought her was enough for Vanguard to glide away before the knot could be completed. But the battle wasn't over yet, and with a flap of her ragged wings, Kyra was on the attack again, descending toward where the Angewomon now stood on the ground.

Her face reddened first by the impact and then by anger, Kyra mouthed the words Stun Whip, the chain animating as it had before and coiling tightly around Vanguard's left arm and torso, Lady Devimon then spinning the angel around and wrapping her beastial arm around the Angewomon's neck. This also left Vanguard's wings pinned between her back and Lady Devimon's front, further restricting her movement.

Darn it Thought Vanguard, gritting her teeth in pain and frustration Beast Spirit or not, Kyra's one tough fighter. One arm pinned to her side by the chain, the other pulling futilely at Lady Devimon's beastial arm. Even as Vanguard struggled, pulling at the arm around her neck and kicking her feet at the Lady Devimon’s legs, Kyra held her seemingly effortlessly.

Then a blinding pain struck Vanguard in the shoulder as Lady Devimon's pronounced fangs sank into her shoulder, Vanguard’s eyes finding One. The Sealsdramon stood near the edge of the clearing, watching. Something about the warrior's gaze seemed like that of an instructor, watching his student struggle through wizened eyes, silently urging the angel warrior onward.

White light flared from Vanguard's ankles. "Super Jump!" Powered by the divine energies within her, the combined force lifted both into the air. But although Kyra's hiss of surprise sounded in her ear, Vanguard knew that this alone wouldn't free her. "Holy Arrow!" Though the chain kept her from summoning and using her bow, the Angewomon was able to summon one of the glowing arrows nonetheless. Stabbing downward awkwardly with the arrow, the young Digimon was rewarded with a shriek of pain as the arrow pierced Kyra's shoulder.

The chain and beastly arm quickly withdrew, and Vanguard quickly spun to face the imminent counterattack.

But none came.

As her eyes settled on the ground, the Angewomon saw Lady Devimon collapsed on the ground. For a moment suspicion of a trick remained strong, but then the Digimon's form wavered and bubbled before dissolving. Kyra was Kyra once again.


"Kyra?" Dokunemon once more, Vanguard scuttled toward the tamer, the girl propping herself up on her hands. "Kyra!" crawling over a fallen tree limb, the insect arrived at the dark tamer's side.

Kyra remembered fighting Narissa, defeating her... and then? "Guilmon," she whispered quietly, closing her eyes, shifting into a sitting position. The girl heaved a heavy sigh before glancing at Vanguard, the Dokunemon looking very carefully at the teen. "I didn't want to hurt him," she murmured, remembering being merged with the beast spirit only vaguely, as though it happened years rather than moments ago. "But my tears won't bring him back, either." The tamer braced her gloved hands against the forest floor, rising slowly to her feet.

One strode over, still Sealsdramon. "We shouldn't linger," he advised. "If we just killed a General, whoever the Kuroseigi Warren is, they'll be out gunning for us."

Vanguard nodded hesitantly, not wanting to leave just yet. It seemed appropriate to leave some marker for the fallen saurian, especially given his tragic demise.

But a diversion soon arose as Kyra collapsed back to her knees. A shiver as though feverish, her skin pale, and on the inside, a general sense of malaise.

"I knew it," grumbled One, crouching beside the tamer, though nearly as tall as the girl would normally be standing. "Poison."

"From Narissa?" yelped Vanguard.

"Why do you think you beat her that easily?" the Sealsdramon seemed to suppress a snort. "Up you get," he lifted Kyra up onto his shoulder, the tamer swaying dangerously where she sat but secured by one of the Sealsdramon's arms across her legs. Kyra's silence and lack of usual spunk only served to reinforce the vile sickness spreading through her veins and worsening every second, the last revenge of the General Narissa of the Kuroseigi Warren.

Standing to his full height, One remembered the clinic in the city, despite having never been there in his current life. "We'll take her to the see the nurse." As the Sealsdramon prepared to move, Vanguard scuttled up his leg, Kyra's vest clasped in her beak. No sooner did she start crawling up the back of his calf than the cyborg bolted off, jostling the Dokunemon with his every step.

Beast Spirit or not, Kyra, how could you? Vanguard observed the area on her way out, determined to visit again and leave a little memorial to the strong yet kind saurian.