Apocalymon didn't care that his attack had been blocked by the kids' Digimon. Eyes shot with blood, he roared, "Justice!" As he shouted, one tendril morphed into the upper body of Machinedramon; the twin cannons on its back flared gold. "Giga Cannon!" Two beams lanced straight for Sora.
"Flame Hurricane!" Garudamon beat her vast wings, raising a towering cyclone of flame that slammed into the Giga Cannon. The fiery vortex was slowly chewed away, but the beams were ground down with it—until both attacks fizzled out.
"This thing can use the special moves of every Digimon we've ever fought," Izzy said, shaken.
"So that means we have to fight all those guys all over again?" Joe yelped.
"Doesn't that mean we don't stand a chance?" Sora called from Garudamon's back. The kids' hearts sank—after all that work beating those enemies, now they'd have to do it again?
"No. Not like that," Tai stepped forward. All eyes went to him. "He's only copying their techniques. It's just basic data duplication. That alone doesn't mean anything."
"Dark Spirit Bomb!" One tendril twisted into Etemon's shape; with a fling of both hands, it hurled a black energy sphere. Tai brought both palms together at his chest; a sphere of light gathered between them.
"This feels… familiar," Sora murmured.
"Piedmon's Destruction Radiance," Izzy said.
As if to prove it, Tai bellowed, "Annihilation Aurora!" A ray of light fired from his hands and smashed into the Dark Spirit Bomb—erupting in a thunderous blast.
Seeing Tai demonstrate it himself let the kids breathe again. At least they wouldn't have to re-fight every old enemy outright.
"All right, everyone—go. Take this thing down!" Tai shouted.
"Yeah. There's no backing out now," Matt said.
"My true power is far more than this," Apocalymon sneered. He raised both arms high, then slashed them downward at the children. "Regression Claw!" Seven tendrils shot for the partners.
"Don't let those touch you!" Tai yelled.
Omnimon threw both arms wide; launch ports irised open all across his body. "Omega Storm!" Endless Omega Missiles screamed forth, hammering Apocalymon's reaching tendrils.
Boom—boom—boom—boom—
One missile wasn't much, but dozens per tendril piled on. The onrushing speed faltered… slowed… and finally stopped. Before Apocalymon could yank them back, the kids' Digimon were already diving in.
"Omega Cannon!"
"Shadow Wing!"
"Celestial Arrow!"
"Heaven's Gate!"
"Heavy Hammer Spark!"
"Flower Cannon!"
"Horn Buster!"
KA-BOOM—KA-BOOM—KA-BOOM! Their strikes detonated across the tendrils, blowing every one of them apart.
"Rrrrgh—brats! Die! Severance Bombardment!" Apocalymon howled, spitting a storm of heavy bombs from his tendrils that filled every inch of space around the children.
"Heaven's Gate!" MagnaAngemon carved a circle with his holy blade; a gate yawned open, flooding radiant light that dissolved the oncoming bombs.
"Omega Storm!" Omnimon's missiles intercepted the rest midair, bursting them in chain-fire.
Down on Earth, people stared up at the sky as that section of space blazed with explosion after explosion. It wasn't only the DigiDestineds' parents fearing for their kids; all those who pinned their hopes on the children to face the unknown trembled as well.
"Hang in there!" Matt and T.K.'s parents squeezed each other's hands.
"For the sake of the whole planet!" Joe's brother cried.
"You're our pride!" Sora's mother said.
"Do your best!" Izzy's parents shouted.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—eight silhouettes burst free of the blast field. Tai—now in his Steel Empire getup—shot ahead; Omnimon, Matt on his back, followed; the others banked out, shielding their partners.
"Okay—move!" Tai called.
"Right!"
The Digimon, carrying their partners, charged Apocalymon.
Seeing them emerge unscathed, Apocalymon roared, "Die!" The mass of tendrils below his body lashed up at the kids.
A tendril whipped in—Zudomon raised his massive Thor's Hammer and brought it down. "Heavy Hammer Spark!"
WHAM—the tendril disintegrated under the blow's shock and sparks.
"Let us handle the ones coming through!" Joe cried from Zudomon's back, confidence high.
"We'll help too, Lillymon," Mimi said.
"Okay!" Lillymon tossed Mimi upward and fired. "Flower Cannon!" The blast shredded a tendril—and she zipped forward to catch her partner as she fell.
"Seriously, that was too much," Mimi pouted.
"That's because I'm your Digimon, Mimi," Lillymon said, turning those big, sparkly eyes on her.
"That's not the point!" Mimi huffed.
"Heavy Hammer Spark!" Zudomon smashed another tendril lunging for the girls, and Lillymon carried Mimi farther out.
"Use the opening—hit the core!" Joe shouted.
"Got it," Omnimon answered, accelerating toward the main body.
"Joe, Mimi, heads up!" Sora spotted two tendrils sneaking in behind them. The two turned—too late to bring attacks to bear.
"Heaven's Gate!" MagnaAngemon slashed a portal into being; holy light flared out and erased one tendril.
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon's bolt sliced the other, breaking the ambush.
"We'll cover you," T.K. called from behind MagnaAngemon's shoulders.
"Leave the rest of the tendrils to us," Kari added, peeking out from behind Angewomon.
"Thanks!" "You're lifesavers!"
"Omnimon—we go now!" Tai ducked another strike and drove straight for Apocalymon's core.
"Watch yourself, Tai," Matt said into Omnimon's mane.
"Yeah," Tai nodded.
"Sora, Izzy—back us up," he added.
With the partners' Digimon arrowing closer, Apocalymon unleashed another wide-area blast to keep them away. "Severance Bombardment!" This time, not just the tendrils—his massive body disgorged bombs in torrents.
"Shadow Wing!" Garudamon's supersonic vacuum blade scythed the bombs clear—and she skimmed straight over Apocalymon's core.
He glared up at Garudamon as she streaked by, hatred burning.
"Horn Buster!" Seizing the opening, MegaKabuterimon's beam slammed into the core, bursting in a glare that washed out Apocalymon's vision.
"Now!" Tai shouted.
"Omega Storm!" Omnimon knifed in, peppering the core with a hail of Omega Missiles that punched cavernous holes through the flesh.
"Omega Cannon!" He raised his left arm. "Absolute Zero Freeze!" The beam blasted over Apocalymon's body, flash-freezing him solid.
"Toss it, Omnimon!"
"Catch, Tai!" Omnimon hurled the Omega Sword.
Tai caught it—and poured power in. As his energy surged, the digital runes along the blade blazed brighter and brighter, dazzling the eye.
A surge of black vapor hissed off Apocalymon, melting the ice—but as he broke free he felt an overwhelming presence bearing down. He looked up in shock—Tai, wreathed in blinding gold, was diving with a giant sword in hand.
Apocalymon raised a hand—too slow.
SHUNK—the Omega Sword punched through the core of his chest.
He lifted a finger at Tai, trembling. "Why am I losing…? Impossible—this is our realm. How could I lose…?"
Golden light from the blade flooded into him, and the glow on the runes dimmed as it flowed.
Tai ripped the sword free and slashed four times in a cross-and-cut; golden light spilled from the wounds.
He opened his left hand and gathered a blazing sun of gold. Apocalymon snarled and snatched out with his right—
"Receive holy judgment!" Tai roared, driving his fist forward.
Apocalymon's right hand touched that sun—and dissolved like ice under a torch. The blow crashed into his forehead, irresistible.
"Cu—cursed…!" he rasped.
Tai kicked back and sprang away.
Golden light began leaking from every missile-gouged hole Omnimon had opened. In moments, Apocalymon's whole body was wrapped in gold—and melted into it.
"We won!"
"We did it!"
"Awesome!"
"Yaaay!"
As Apocalymon vanished, the kids erupted in cheers. Mimi even hugged Lillymon and spun in dizzy circles—after beating Apocalymon, they could finally go home.
But Tai still frowned. Sora, mid-cheer, noticed and blinked. "Tai, we beat him—why don't you look happy?" The others glanced over too.
Kari squeezed in close. "Big bro, what's wrong?"
Tai smiled. "It's nothing. Just thinking."
Where Apocalymon had disappeared, a wisp of black mist swayed and coiled in the air.
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