(A/N: Hey, people. Sorry I didn't have this out on time. I lost my grandfather last week, so I wasn't really in a writing mood. It's ok though, I'm ok now. Just trying to get back into the swing of things. So, here's the next chapter, sorry it was late, enjoy.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 143: Reunited

An agonized roar was torn from BlackImperialdramon's mouth as he leapt to his feet. Seraphimon was knocked off his back and Ophanimon scrambled away as the dragon Digimon grasped his head. The black aura around him danced more violently than ever before, seeming to condense inside BlackImperialdramon, almost making him appear to be a living shadow with glowing red eyes.

"Is this normal?" Seraphimon asked uncertainly.

"Nothing about any of this is normal," said Ophanimon.

BlackImperialdramon let out one final roar before the darkness surrounding him exploded outward. The two angel Digimon were knocked off their feet from the shockwave as the darkness continued to flow outward, stretching thinner and thinner until it dissipated completely.

BlackImperialdramon remained standing, his hands still gripping his head, his no longer glowing eyes blank. Then, suddenly, a strange flower bloomed at the top of his head. It only remained there for a second or two before it completely wilted away, dissolving into data particles and disappearing. Then BlackImperialdramon fell forward and collapsed facedown on the ground.

Seraphimon and Ophanimon starred at the collapsed dragon Digimon uncertainly. That hadn't exactly been the reaction they had been expecting. Whenever they had purified anyone before or freed them from whatever dark power was controlling them, the Digimon in question had merely reverted to normal or took on a purified form. Had whatever they had done to Davis damaged him, or worse?

"Davis?" Ophanimon asked as she and Seraphimon cautiously approached. "Davi-"

A gunshot rang out, hitting Ophanimon in the back. She let out a pained cry and fell to the ground at Seraphimon's feet.

"Ophanimon!" he cried, and whirled around, already knowing who shot her.

The Boltboutamon copy was floating above them, one of his guns smoking. Behind him, Omnimon, Gallantmon, and EmperorGreymon were struggling to break free from the countless vines of his Root Bind attack.

"Now why did you have to go and ruin the fun?" he asked with mock disapproval. "He was such an amusing pawn."

Seraphimon growled up at him, but his attention was soon drawn to Ophanimon once more as she began thrashing and screaming on the ground in terrible agony.

"What did you do to her?" Seraphimon demanded. He flew up towards the demon Digimon. "What did you do!?"

"Quartzione!" Boltboutamon cried, firing a second time. The bullet struck Seraphimon in the chest, completely piercing his armor. Boltboutamon chuckled as he kissed his smoking gun. "The same thing I just did to you. You see, my Quartzione attack allows me to fire a special bullet from my Ala di Pollo guns. This particular bullet lodges into an opponent's body, which then tears them apart from the inside out, affectively annihilating them from within." His grin widened and became one of madness. "Can you feel it? Can you feel it attacking you from the inside?"

Yes, Seraphimon could most definitely feel it. The bullet was indeed moving around, shredding through his insides as it tore him apart, and he fell to his hands and knees as he screamed in agony.

"Dragonfire Crossbow!" EmperorGreymon cried, having broken free of his bindings.

Boltboutamon's bladed tail swished outward, slicing apart the fire arrow. Grinning, he glanced at EmperorGreymon over his shoulder. "Such a shame that you can't keep quiet when attacking, don't you think? It can make it difficult to sneak up on people."

The dragon Digimon swore. Turning away from Boltboutamon, he flew over to the two knight Digimon and used his Purgatory Sword Dance to free them from their bindings.

"Thanks for that," said Gallantmon. "You wouldn't think that vines would be so tough."

Boltboutamon sneered. "They're not ordinary vines." He gestured down to Seraphimon and Ophanimon. "Just like those weren't ordinary bullets. I'd say your friends only have a minute or two left to live."

Omnimon's eyes widened in horror. "You son of a bitch!"

He flew forward and swung his sword, but it clanged against Boltboutamon's rapier, and he easily blocked his attacks.

Down on the ground, Seraphimon struggled against the pain. The bullet making its way through his body was unbearable agony, and he was on the verge of passing out from the pain. But he knew that if he did, both he and Ophanimon would die.

He glanced at his fellow angel Digimon. Ophanimon was spasming on the ground, frothing at the mouth in her pain. She didn't even seem to be aware of her surroundings. Seraphimon could definitely relate; his own pain was making him lose coherency.

Reaching out, he used whatever strength he could muster up to use his Perfect Revival on her. His healing light flowed over her, and slowly her spasms relaxed. The bullet that had been tearing through her body forced its way out and dissolved away as the damage it had been causing her healed.

Ophanimon coughed a few times and groaned. Coherency returned as the pain faded, and she was able to sit up. "What happened?"

An agonized groan escaped Seraphimon as he collapsed, now spasming as well. Ophanimon gasped his name and quickly used her Final Aura on him. The bullet worked its way out of him as his injuries healed, and he let out a relieved sigh.

"Are you ok?" she asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine, Seraphimon replied. He looked up at their friends fighting Boltboutamon. "We've got to help the others."

Ophanimon glanced at BlackImperialdramon's still form. "What about Davis? Should we heal him?"

Seraphimon considered it, taking note that Davis was still in his corrupt Digimon form. "No, better not. He doesn't appear to be in any life-threatening danger, and it'll be best if he remains incapacitated for now, just in case he's still evil."

Ophanimon reluctantly agreed with him. "Right. Let's go."

They flew up to join the battle. Ophanimon fired her Eden's Javelin at Boltboutamon. Without even turning her way, the demon Digimon sent a rapier at her, and it tore through her beam, and would have impaled her as well had Seraphimon not knocked it away with his Excalibur.

The five DigiDestined surrounded the demon Digimon. Boltboutamon looked at each of them in turn, but was still grinning, despite being outnumbered five to one.

"I don't think you should be smiling when there's so many of us and only one of you," Gallantmon told him.

Boltboutamon pouted, making a show of appearing distressed. "Oh, woe is me. Whatever shall I do against such odds?" He barely got out the last word before he burst out laughing. "Ah, I just couldn't say that with a straight face. You're ignorance is just so amusing. Greater numbers mean nothing when you're against such a superior power. Let me show you what I mean. Pernicious Waltz!"

All around, countless rapiers appeared out of thin air. With a large grin, Boltboutamon made a gesture with his fingers, and the swords began flying through the air at and around the DigiDestined. He laughed at their attempts to dodge and bat them away with their own weapons. But now it was them that were outnumbered, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't avoid being nicked and cut here and there.

"Now, now, children," Boltboutamon mocked them, "you're far too active. I think you need to sit down for a bit. Final Act!"

Four portals appeared around him, and he stuck his hands inside. Much larger portals appeared a short distance away, and giant versions of his hands emerged, each one grabbing a DigiDestined until only Omnimon remained, but Boltboutamon quickly immobilized him as well with his Root Bind attack.

"Let us go, you four armed freak!" EmperorGreymon demanded as he struggled in the grip of the giant hand holding him.

Boltboutamon just snickered. "But I want you to be healthy so I can play with you for a long time." He motioned with his tail to his flying swords, aiming the rapiers at them. "That's why I'm going to give you all a little shot." His grin widened sadistically. "It's ok, you can trust me; I'm a doctor."

Ophanimon futilely wiggled in her giant hand's grip. "OmniShoutmon, a little help!"

Down on the ground, the dragon Digimon in question was backed up against the castle walls, using his bladed feet to block against AxeKnightmon's spear and axe he was repeatedly swinging at him. "I'm kind of busy over here!"

Grinning madly, Boltboutamon got all his rapiers into position. "Now don't move. This won't hurt a bit."

"Giga Crusher!"

Boltboutamon turned to see a ball of energy flying up towards him, and a look of legitimate surprise crossed his face. "Oh."

The attack hit and erupted, filling the sky with its blast radius. Boltboutamon quietly muttered, "Bummer," before bursting into data. The giant hands holding the DigiDestined dissolved away, as did the swords, and the portals all closed as the vines holding Omnimon wilted away.

The DigiDestined all looked down, hoping against hope. There, standing on his feet and holding a cannon, was Imperialdramon. Not the BlackImperialdramon they had been seeing lately, but the one they were all familiar with.

"Davis/Imperialdramon!" the DigiDestined all shouted.

Looking furious, Imperialdramon lowered his cannon. "Talk later, end this now."

He sped over to where AxeKnightmon had OmniShoutmon pinned against the wall and used his Dragon Knee to knock the knight Digimon away.

"Imperialdramon!" OmniShoutmon exclaimed.

"Attack him!"

OmniShoutmon blinked. "Oh, right. Twin Fireball Strike!"

He threw fireballs at AxeKnightmon. The knight Digimon spun around his spear, deflecting the fireballs, but was suddenly blasted back by Omnimon's Supreme Cannon. The rest of the DigiDestined landed beside Imperialdramon and OmniShoutmon, the full team together again.

Gallantmon pointed his spear at AxeKnightmon. "Now it's your turn."

The others took on fighting stances, ready to continue fighting. AxeKnightmon stared at them for a few seconds before his shoulders slumped. "No, this battle is over. I know when I'm beaten." Using his Multi-Dimensional Axe, he sliced open a portal. "We shall meet again."

He stepped through the tear and it closed behind him, leaving the DigiDestined alone outside of Laylamon's castle.

Imperialdramon humphed. "Good riddance."

Suddenly, he was almost knocked over as he was enveloped in a group hug. Being larger than any of them, each of his friends had latched onto a part of him and was hugging him tightly.

"Davis, you're back!"

"We missed you, man!"

"Imperialdramon, you're back to normal!"

"So good to have you back!"

"Thank goodness you're alright!"

"Glad to have you back on the team!"

Imperialdramon's eyes were wide in surprise, but once he got over his initial shock, he began to shake them off. "Ok, ok, ok, I'm back! Now get off me!"

The others released him, startled by his hostile tone. For a brief second, they were afraid he wasn't fully back to normal, but then he began marching away from them.

"Imperialdramon," said Gallantmon, "we-"

"Don't!" he interrupted. "Just… don't…"

"Don't what?" EmperorGreymon asked. "Hey, where are you going?"

Imperialdramon paused, obviously not having an answer. "I'm just… going… over here, alright."

"Davis, come on," said Seraphimon. "We just got you back. We can't separate now. Especially since we're right outside Laylamon's castle. We need to stick together."

Imperialdramon rounded on him. "Stick together? How can you even stand to look at me after what I did? I can't even stand to be around myself. I tried to… Oh, God, I actually tried to…"

He covered his mouth, looking as if he were going to be sick. His friends were quick to rush to his defense.

"It wasn't your fault," Ophanimon told him.

"Yeah, Laylamon was the one who made you act like that," Gallantmon added.

Imperialdramon glared at them, but it was clear that he was angry with himself, not them. "Laylamon didn't make me do anything. That was me. All me. My own thoughts. My own feelings. My own actions." He looked down at his hands, looking horrified. "AncientWisemon warned me. He warned me, but I didn't listen. I didn't listen because I was selfish, and because I thought it was impossible."

"No one blames you for that," Seraphimon told him. "None of us would have ever thought you would ever betray us either. And you didn't, not really. That wasn't the real you. The Dark Spore changed you."

"He's right," Omnimon agreed. "Laylamon's the one who made you like that. She made you do those-"

"She didn't make me do anything. I did it. I did it all. I wanted to do those things. I knew what I was doing, and I didn't care."

Sighing, OmniShoutmon stepped forward. "Davis listen to me carefully, because we don't have time for a pointless pity part. You were infected by a Dark Spore. I've seen what those things do. You may have been in control of your actions, but the Dark Spore warped your personality. It puts a blocker on one's morality and conscience, and it greatly amplifies a person's darker nature and makes them want to and be willing to do horrible things; things that person would normally never do. You're not responsible for your actions while the Dark Spore was inside you. And before you try and beat yourself up further, you know good and well that had it been any of us that had been infected by the Dark Spore and done those horrible things that you wouldn't blame us, and you would tell us not to blame ourselves either. So don't be a hypocrite and stop blaming yourself."

Imperialdramon stared at him for several long moments before looking away. "I know what you're saying is true, but I'm still disgusted by what I did during that time. I'm just so… angry with myself. I just… RAH!"

He punched a hole in the ground as he seethed. The others didn't say anything about this, understanding that he needed to vent. Anyone would after what he had gone through.

Before any of them could say anything more, a new sound suddenly drew their attention. It was the sound of the doors to the castle opening. They all looked at the giant double doors, but there was no one there. It was a clear invitation for them to enter.

Gallantmon pointed at the doors and glanced at Imperialdramon. "That's who you should be angry with. Laylamon's the one who made you go bad. If you want to be mad at anyone, then be mad at her. Anything else can wait until she's been dealt with."

Imperialdramon's eyes burned with fury and hatred. He began trembling with suppressed anger as his claws dug into his palms. "Laylamon. I swear I'm going to tear that she-demon apart limb from limb."

"Well, it looks like she's ready for us," said EmperorGreymon. "I say it's time for a little payback."

"Hold up," said Ophanimon. "Is it such a good idea to fight her now? We were just in a fight. Should we really be challenging a Demon Lord?"

OmniShoutmon sighed. "Ordinarily, I'd say no, but I don't think she's going to give us a choice. If we don't go in, she'll probably come out. We could always try to run away, but-"

"No," Imperialdramon growled. "I know what she's like. Even if we do get away, we'll have to come back, and she'll probably have someone else waiting here for us to fight before we can get to her. She likes to use others to do her dirty work. And next time, since she won't have me on her side, she may have someone else who's even stronger. Maybe even another Demon Lord, or the real Boltboutamon."

Omnimon nodded in agreement. "Yes, I say we just get this over with." He looked up at the castle. "It's not like we have much of a choice."

Seraphimon glanced at Ophanimon, who seemed to know what he was thinking and nodded. "Alright," he said, "then Ophanimon and I better heal everyone of our injuries."

Gallantmon looked a little concerned. "Is that really such a good idea? You don't want to waste anymore energy than you have to."

"We're sure," Ophanimon replied. "We don't want to go into battle with any injuries. The energy we use to heal will definitely be worth recovering any damage we've sustained."

And so they all gathered around, and the two angel Digimon healed the group. Then, as one team, finally reunited, they turned to the castle and cautiously made their way inside. The doors slammed shut behind them, but they continued onward, ignoring the foreboding feeling they had.

"We should keep an eye out for traps," Gallantmon suggested.

"There are no traps," Imperialdramon told them. "I never saw any while I was here. And beside, Laylamon may like to use and manipulate others, but she's too arrogant to rely on traps."

They decided to take his word for it, especially after OmniShoutmon confirmed that that did indeed sound like Laylamon. Fortunately, with Imperialdramon being familiar with the castle, he was able to lead them straight to Laylamon's throne room.

Just like with the entrance to the castle, the doors to the throne room opened for them, and they stepped into the enormous room. Laylamon was indeed there, sitting on her throne, waiting for them. Her eyes seemed to be glowing red, and there was a furious scowl on her face.

As the DigiDestined approached, Laylamon got to her feet, here figure casting a shadow over the group. "You miserable, rotten humans. You have cost me a great deal of time and aggravation. And now you have the nerve to challenge me. Me, the Demon Lord of Lust, who holds the title as the Goddess of Darkness."

"Your titles mean nothing to us, lady," EmperorGreymon growled. "To us, you're just a bully who needs to be put in her place."

Laylamon's eyes flashed violently. "How dare you speak to me that way, human!"

"No," Ophanimon cried, "how dare you do all the horrible things you've done. You Demon Lords are pure evil, and we're going to put a stop to your wicked ways."

Though she still looked angry, Laylamon grinned. "I believe you're speaking of what I did to your little friend. I suppose you would be especially angry about that since you were the reason I was able to trick him."

Imperialdramon took an angry step forward. "You evil, manipulative-"

"Of course, I can understand why you would be upset. It was so easy to use your feelings against you. This is why only fools fall in love." She gave a mocking laugh. "The desperation of someone wanting to have their unrequited feelings returned is so easy to make use of."

Imperialdramon pointed at her. "I'm going to make you pay for turning me against my friends."

She put on a false innocent face. "What I made you do? I didn't turn you against anyone. You turned against them yourself. I simply offered you a partnership after your betrayal."

"You tricked me into taking the Dark Spore. Actually, I didn't even take it. I just briefly thought that it would be convenient and useful if it could actually win me Kari."

Laylamon shrugged nonchalantly. "It did exactly what I said it would. I said it would help you get the girl."

"You didn't say it would make me willing to take her by force. You didn't say it would make me willing to kill my friends. You didn't say it would turn me into a evil bastard without morals or conscience."

"Because I didn't have to. The Dark Spore's essence could only take root in one who was willing. I just had to truthfully make you want it for what it was; the technicalities didn't matter. That brief moment where you thought it would be 'nice' and 'useful' to have something that would help you get the girl was all that was required."

She gave him an arrogant look. "And honestly, what exactly did you expect to happen? Did you think she would magically return your feelings if you became stronger or smarter? I may find love to be revolting, but even I know that it doesn't work that way. The only way you would ever make her your girl was through force, and the Dark Spore allowed you to do that, just as I said it would, by getting rid of all moralities and other nonsense that prevented you from doing just that. But what's really pathetic is that even then you were still unable to obtain her. You're a loser. No wonder she could never return your feelings."

"Positron Laser!"

Imperialdramon fired his beam. Laylamon flew straight up into the air as the attack destroyed her throne.

Laylamon remained floating in the air. She wasn't smiling anymore, and the anger she had been emitting when they had first entered the room had returned with a vengeance.

"The audacity of you humans is astounding," she seethed. "You come to our world, defeat our servants, and begin undoing our work. You even somehow managed to destroy three of us. And now you're here to challenge me." She raised her clenched fist. "But this is where your journey ends. It was cute at first, but we've let this game go on for far too long. Now it's time for you to die."

(A/N: The team is reunited and it feels so good! Uch, that sounded lame. But the group is back together again. And while that's a good thing, they now face a pretty pissed off Laylamon. She's been behind a lot of things; you could even say she was behind the Beelzemon arc as well. And now it's reaching it's conclusion. Will our heroes be able to defeat her? Uch, why do I even ask? You know they will... Or will they? Bwa, ha, ha! Find out next time.)