After regrouping, the kids began the push toward the summit. The closer they got, the heavier the mood became.
As they made their way along the mountain path, a grinding "ka—ka—" echoed out. They looked over: the cliff face split open to reveal a core of endlessly turning Black Gears. A few gears halted, then shot outward. The kids tracked their flight as they arced over the trail and vanished from sight.
They were still puzzling over it when a savage scream ripped around from the far side of Infinity Mountain. A black speck swept closer. With the beat of wings, a pure white, winged unicorn burst from the shadows, carving a bright arc across the sky.
"That's Unimon—a gentle Digimon by nature," Agumon said.
"Look at its back!" Izzy pointed. Between Unimon's wings, a Black Gear was lodged halfway in, the other half jutting out.
Rumbles rose from both sides of the trail. Ogremon stepped from behind a rock with his bone club. From the other side, a furred Digimon with a bone boomerang padded out.
"Mojyamon…"
"We're surrounded," Mimi whispered, shrinking back.
Tai locked onto them and thumbed a button. "Everyone—fight!"
The Digivices blazed. Data erupted like fireworks, spiraling code shards streaming into the partners' bodies.
"Agumon digivolve to… Greymon!"
The others nodded, raising their Digivices.
"Gabumon digivolve to… Garurumon!"
"Biyomon digivolve to… Birdramon!"
"Tentomon digivolve to… Kabuterimon!"
"Palmon digivolve to… Togemon!"
"Gomamon digivolve to… Ikkakumon!"
Birdramon and Kabuterimon took to the air to intercept Unimon. Greymon and Garurumon rushed Ogremon. Togemon and Ikkakumon squared up to Mojyamon.
"Go!"
Two-on-one left no suspense. The fights ended quickly. The Black Gears burst out of Unimon and Mojyamon and shattered in midair. Under Greymon and Garurumon's pincer, Ogremon was knocked off the cliff.
"How I hate that holy power…" In the dark hall atop Infinity Mountain—lined with sinister demon statues—Devimon watched the fresh battle in a Black Gear mirror, eyes settling on T.K. "When their partners are spent—that's the time to finish them. First, the smallest…"
If you looked closely, the throne's base and the whole peak beneath it were cracking open, layer upon layer of Black Gears exposed within the mountain. They thundered as they poured into Devimon's body. More gears rained from the sky, melting into him. Devimon was recalling every Black Gear on File Island. As the darkness swelled, he grew larger and larger.
The kids ended the skirmish and kept climbing.
Infinity Mountain was brutally steep. Under the influence of the dark power, not a single plant grew on the path. The higher they climbed, the darker the sky pressed down—bad omens settling on their hearts.
Tai glanced back. Everyone looked beat. They needed a breather. "All right, rest here. Then we'll take the summit in one push."
Before he'd finished, everyone dropped where they stood.
At the summit, Devimon drew in the last batch of Black Gears. Feeling that hateful light power drawing closer, crawling over his skin, he sneered. "Soon. DigiDestined, your time is up."
Tai peered at the peak, pushing up a pair of clear-lensed goggles—built from reverse-engineered Black Gear parts to detect their energy. The darkness reading at the top kept climbing.
He clenched his fist. "Damn. We're not going to make it. But if we don't rest, we'll get there just to get crushed."
In his view, a status indicator flipped from red to green. Tai smiled. "Finally online. That bumps our odds."
Far off, Leomon led a band of Digimon toward Infinity Mountain. He stopped. "What is it, Leomon?" Flaremon asked.
"We have to hurry. The darkness has surged. The DigiDestined alone won't be enough to suppress it." Sensitive to the dark, Leomon frowned.
On the climb, more Black Gear–controlled Digimon kept ambushing the kids. They were easy to repel, but the partners' stamina was draining fast.
"This won't do. Everyone's about tapped," Matt said, scowling.
"Yeah," Tai said. "Have Biyomon and Tentomon evolve and fly us up. Let the others recover."
"Right." Biyomon and Tentomon nodded, evolved, and the kids climbed aboard to head for the top.
At last they reached the summit, where a temple of Corinthian columns crowned the heights. Inside lurked their greatest foe so far—the most vicious Digimon on File Island—Devimon.
Watching through his mirror as the children reached the steps, Devimon smiled. "DigiDestined—this is your end." He pulled in the final gears and curled his claws. "Everything is under control."
The kids stared at the temple. "Boom!" The colonnade collapsed. A massive figure rose from the rubble.
"I'll make File Island your grave, DigiDestined!" The voice was a chill rasp.
"W-what is that?" Mimi screamed, as the vast black silhouette clarified into Devimon's twisted face.
"Why is he so huge?" Palmon gasped.
"Everyone—digivolve!"
Light flared almost simultaneously—Greymon, Garurumon, Ikkakumon, Birdramon, Togemon, Kabuterimon formed up before the giant Devimon. Only Patamon stayed by T.K.'s side, face fallen.
Arms crossed, Devimon braced and took the six Champions' opening barrage head-on. The impact rocked him back a few steps.
Seeing Devimon's attention fixed on the line, Tai spoke softly through his goggles' link.
Off in the distance, outside Devimon's view, several red points winked on.
"Fire."
Lances of light slammed into Devimon.
"Boom—boom—" Explosions rolled across the peak.
Devimon toppled under the shock.
"Again."
More beams hammered his wings. The ragged pinions tore and smoldered.
"Curses! Damn you, DigiDestined! I'll wipe you all out!" Devimon, unable to spot the source, poured his rage onto the children.
Their partners seized the opening and piled on their special attacks, driving the wounds deeper.
Devimon's "Touch of Evil" snapped out, snatching Birdramon out of the air and hurling her into Ikkakumon. Even as he struck, the hidden fire hit him again.
Kabuterimon swung behind Devimon to blast him, but Devimon sensed it—spun—and his huge wing swatted Kabuterimon into a hillside.
Greymon fired a "Nova Blast" into the other wing, leaving both in tatters. Devimon could no longer fly.
While he wrestled with the remaining four and watched for more long-range strikes, his gaze kept sliding back to the children.
Garurumon lunged and was checked. Another beam lanced in; this time Devimon threw his ruined wing into its path, hissing through the pain—and then his arm lashed out on a sudden vector for T.K. Even as Birdramon and Greymon blasted him, even as Ikkakumon peppered him with a string of "Harpoon Torpedoes," Devimon didn't stop.
"If I kill the smallest one—if I crush him—there's nothing to fear! Injuries don't matter!" Devimon exulted as his talons closed. "The youngest of the DigiDestined—be my stepping stone to dominion!"
The move shocked everyone—even Tai hadn't expected Devimon's loathing for the holy power to run this deep. He'd anticipated a threat to T.K. and Patamon and had sited emergency-built laser cannons from the underground city to pin Devimon down. But Devimon's obsession was worse than planned—he'd maim himself if that's what it took to erase T.K. and the Patamon that could become Angemon.
"T.K.!" Seeing those claws about to tear into his little brother, Matt screamed. Patamon, without hesitation, flung himself at Devimon's hand—his small body dwarfed by the talons. With a cruel snap, the long fingers clamped shut, crushing Patamon into Devimon's palm.
"Patamon!" T.K. cried.