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Michael was at a loss. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. How did Trevor know how to mess with energy? Weren't humans unable to do that?

Michael wasn't quite sure how to go about this. He initially planned to just mimic Trevor but that involved quite a bit of wrestling that he was certain was more than necessary and quite a deal painful. Somehow, he knew it was a more internal function, like controlling one's breathing. No, it was far more complex than that and he knew it.

Maybe all Michael needed to do was just touch them and pray really hard. It had been a while since he prayed though, and he wasn't even sure if this world had a god(s). Heck, he wasn't sure if his own world had any.

Michael sighed; standing around uselessly wasn't going to help. He knelt down and placed his hands on Harry's chest. He closed his eyes and concentrated on giving Harry the energy Trevor had left with him.

"God, that kid is an idiot!" Harry muttered after a moment. Michael almost burst with joy. He wasn't sure how but he was glad that he had manage to save Harry.

"Don't...insult...those...who save...you!"

Michael turned around at the voice. Rogue had gotten up and was leaning against a tree. She was panting heavily, obviously overexerting herself. Both Michael and Harry were shocked at the effort but a little too stunned to do anything.

After a second, Harry gave a small chuckle. "Guess he left you in a better condition than he left me."

"Syphoning...energy...off our...bond. Too...slow." With a small push, Rogue broke off from her support. She half tumbled and half walked forward, intentionally colliding with Michael. After tackling him to the ground, she then picked herself back up and held him against a tree. "Don't...resist!"

Again, Michael was too shocked to move. He didn't know what she was doing but wasn't about to stop her. Over the course of a few second, her breathing calmed and she was able to stand on her own. Michael, on the other hand, became tired but wasn't exhausted. He was certain that he'd be fine with a fair amount of sleep or something to eat.

Able to stand on her own, she turned and walked in the direction Trevor and left. "Where are you going?" Harry called as he pushed himself to his feet.

"To save an idiot!" Rogue called, without looking back.

"Don't, she'll just use the stupid hypnotic song to take control of us again!"

"No...she won't!"

Trevor marched on forward, trying his best to make sure he didn't deviate from the path. He wasn't sure how straight he was going, but it was the best he could do. For Rogue and Harry's sake, he hoped that he was remaining straight enough that it wouldn't resort back to possessing them. Perhaps it would do so anyway. Regardless, he felt this was their best chance of survival and didn't care for the cost.

To his either his luck or his misfortune, Trevor came across the building he was certain was his destination. It appeared to be an old looking cathedral, hidden well by the thick forest surrounding it. Its dull walls were darkened by the shadows cast by the trees around it. A grand wood door stood as an entrance. The walls were lined with thin stained-glass windows; with the lack of light upon them though, Trevor couldn't make out what they were of.

Trevor nervously approached the entrance. For a second, he was worried he wouldn't be able to open the doors and his sacrifice would become pointless. As he approached the doors opened for him, inviting him within their dark walls. It felt eerie, like he was walking into the mouth of some great beast.

The interior was filled with shadow.

The only source of light was a low hanging chandelier blazing with a great fire. Everything cast great shadows upon their surroundings, seeming to be far larger than the light source should have allowed. Trevor decided not to dwell on these features; there was a far more important feature in the room.

He could only assume the creature was the devil he'd been dealing with. It was only half human at best, possessing the torso and upper limbs of one but the thorax and spindly legs of a spider. The human half was distorted with large, stretched arms and horns adorning its head. The body was dark-colored with white arms and a striped thorax. Just behind its smile, a sharp row of fangs displayed themselves.

Trevor stared at an intersection of the wall and the ceiling where the half-spider sat. His gaze was unblinking and his stance was unwavering. In a tone with the utmost seriousness, he asked "I don't suppose part of this is going to involve eating me, is it?"

The creature seemed disappointed with his apparent lack of awe. Its lips curled up into a snarl and it released a short grunt. "Only if you want it too," it replied angrily. "Honestly, I still feel no threat from you so I'd rather just milk your time in this world."

Trevor appeared confused by the declaration. The agreement had been that she'd take his energy, supposedly all of it. Now it sounded like...

"Don't take that the wrong way; I have no intention of holding you here!" Along with the statement, the digimon dropped down from the ceiling. A rush of changes happened during the flight, completely changing its appearance before landing gracefully on human legs. She now seemed to be an ordinary human being.

Her outfit consisted of a dress that stretched down to her ankles and was tight from her shoulders to her thighs. A short cape came down to her waist as she stood matching the piece beneath it. Gloves, boots, and a belt were attached in the appropriate areas and a hat with a pattern similar to her former thorax adorned head. Her eyes were concealed by a dark pair of glasses.

"You may call me Arukenimon. Tell me, have you heard of a feature of our world referred to as bonding?" Trevor quickly nodded, confusing the digimon for a moment. She couldn't seem to comprehend that he could already know about things of her world.

Then the realization seemed to dawn on her. "No, that can't be!" Arukenimon declared appalled. "You're bound to one of those vermin, aren't you?"

"If you're referring to the renamon, then yes, I am bound to one of them." The digimon began to stamp her feet and growl angrily; a child-like tantrum produced by an adult-esque being. The image was unsettling but Trevor didn't let it bother him much.

With one last growl, the tantrum ended. "Well, binding with you is next to useless now. I supposed I could wait for it to die but that's not guaranteed anymore and you'd probably throw a hissy fit if I killed them. Guess I'll just have to kill you to take it." With her last words, Arukenimon licked her licks, giving Trevor a ravenous look. Again, to her disappointment, he refused to act; merely lifting his arms to indicate his self-sacrifice.

Again, the digimon growled; he had managed to remove all the fun from her feasting. Not that the important part wouldn't be accomplished, just that it had been made dull. Having lived safely in the cathedral, her only thrill had been denied for the first time since she could remember. Perhaps, there was one last attempt to be made.

A slower transformation allowed Trevor to better observe the changes made as Arukenimon shifted forms. He watched as the dress seemed to merge with the skin. Not that there was much change aside from the buttons disappearing and the seams fading away. Her legs joined and expanded into a sphere attached at the end of her torso. Familiar spindly legs emerged from the newly reproduced thorax and horns formed to replace her hat. The gloves and glasses seemed to phase out of existence, revealing her familiar face and thick arms again.

Arukenimon didn't figure the change would cause any kind of shock with him. He had seen the form before and slowing the process down as more to conserve energy from the larger sum needed for faster changes. Hinting at his demise didn't scare him but maybe her size combined a full speed charge could draw a flinch, providing her the joy of knowing he was at least scared internally.

As the digimon executed her plan, though, she became almost unnerved. 'How does such a weak being come to not fear death?' She asked herself. 'Even I fear death and I will never die! Yet he boldly faces it, begging for it to come out him. Maybe he's just trying to throw me off! Maybe he thinks I'll lose interest if he goes too willingly! Let's see how well that trick works!'

With a mad dash, Arukenimon had rushed at Trevor. He wasn't fazed by either the speed or the directness of her implied assault. At the last moment, he lashed out with her hand, intending to piece right through him with her fingertips. Then, she halted.

Arukenimon stared at Trevor with a look of incomprehension. With her claws literally touching his face, he still had yet to do more than an instinctive blink. "Why are you so willing to die?"

"I'm already dead. I'm just waiting for my body to catch up."

"So you want to die?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

With a growl, Arukenimon grabbed Trevor's throat and hoisted him into the air. "Just answer yes or no!"

"Or what? You'll kill me? I thought I was to die already."

Trevor had a point but the assistance only further angered Arukenimon. "I don't have to kill you myself; I could just break your limbs and leave you to die, lying limp on the ground. Now answer me or you will suffer."

"How about a new rule?" Trevor declared as he placed a hand on the one holding him. Almost immediately, a creeping sensation appeared on Arukenimon's arm and she jumped back in fear. "If you don't kill me soon, I'll leave you like those Renamon!"

"Where did you learn how to do that? You're just a human!"

"Let's just say I've pretty attentive when I want to be."

Arukenimon wasn't satisfied with that answer but felt it obvious he wasn't going to offer any more. "Fine, have it your way!" she called out as she moved in with a second rush.

Trevor stood straight and kept his hands at his side, awaiting the blow to land and the end to come. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and hoped he'd be "gone" before he could feel a thing. If she stopped again, she'd regret it; he'd make sure of it. But he wasn't the only one with a say in the matter.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Trevor turned his head to observe the speaker but caught a fireball halfway and followed it instead. Arukenimon also noticed the attack and halted before a collision resulted. "You weren't supposed to come here!" Arukenimon yelled as she followed the attack back to its source. "Now I'll have to..."

"I WON'T LET HIM SACRIFICE HIMSELF FOR ME!" Rogue called, serving half the reason for Arukenimon's sudden stop.

As the half-spider and Trevor observed the renamon, they couldn't help but have their attention drawn to one feature; Black charred ears peaked out from Rogue's skull, crooked and bent at odd angles. With the digimon was the only source of fire in the area, it was clear the injury as self-inflicted.

"What happened?" Trevor asked, refusing to accept the thought.

"She can't hear us; that's the point." Arukenimon declared.

Rogue looked between the pair confused. "Is...is Arukenimon letting you go?"

Trevor prepared to ask another question but Arukenimon began to supply the answer first. "I took control of them with a hypnotic song. If she can't hear it, she can't become possessed by it. You probably couldn't hear it as that specific tune was meant for renamon ears only."

Trevor swatted his hand, telling Rogue to go away. Arukenimon noticed the motion and decided to do the same. After a second instance of the motion, the half-spider began to crawl away, returning to its dark corner near the ceiling.

Rogue eyed the retreating digimon suspiciously. "She can't really be giving that easily; can she?"

Trevor had been unaware of Arukenimon's actions till Rogue drew attention to them. He turned towards where she had been only to find her missing. Upon locating her, he threw his hands in the air, asking for an explanation.

"You know I'm not the deaf one, right? You can ask me questions if you need to." Arukenimon, finally receiving some delight from Trevor's face palm. "I have no reason to hold you hear any longer. With your partner's ears damaged, I can't exactly hold her hostage. Fighting isn't exactly my style either; contrary to how I may appear, I'm not exactly the most adept fighter. You should run along, before she's too weak to defend you."

Trevor gave Arukenimon a queer look before walking towards "his partner" and walking towards her. He gave it a shrug as he approached and then lead her away from the scene. As Trevor passed, Rogue turned to give one final look of confusion to Arukenimon. She decided not to question it any further and just go with it, though she tried to hurry Trevor without drawing attention to the effort.

There wasn't more than a second after Rogue offered her back before Arukenimon leapt from the wall. The motion turned her into a living projectile, aimed straight at Rogue. Though the speed was incredible and offered little time to dodge, both Rogue and Trevor were prepared for the event and sprang the instant she did.

Trevor spun around and rushed to push the renamon out of the way. To his surprise, it had already moved out of the attacks path, leaving him flailing at empty air. This resulted in him falling to the ground.

Rogue noticed his failed maneuver and dove back in to rescue him. To her surprise, he recovered quickly and rolled under Arukenimon's trajectory. Rogue thus placed her back in Arukenimon's path but with far less time to evade. She could only draw her arms in to protect herself.

Arukenimon didn't get to land a direct hit, she did connect. Though spindly in appearance, the still held a good punch and they ran over Rogue. Rogue rolled across the floor as Arukenimon watching in Deviant Glee. "A cute display but your teamwork needs a little work. But I do find myself curious as to how 2 deaf beings caught on to an attack coming from behind." Arukenimon slowly turned as she spoke to observe Trevor as he answered but was shocked by his reply.

"I'm not the deaf one!" Trevor called out as he lunged at the arachnid. His intention was unclear, she was obviously too big for him to tackle or even injure her. Perhaps this was just another ruse, he had fooled her before. Instead, he latched on to her, wrapping his arms and legs as far around her as he could.

Arukenimon found the actions...surprising, to say the least. Such a peaceful action performed on an enemy in the middle of combat made little sense. Perhaps this was an attempt to acquire the death he'd been begging for. A tingling sensation that he created quickly reminded her of his poisonous touch though.

"Get off me!" Arukenimon cried as she reached to pull Trevor off. Trevor was aware she'd easily remove him if she grabbed him. He loosened his grip, allowing himself to slide down her torso just as she was about to grasp him. She tried again but he released his hands and fell backwards. With her third attempt, he simply let go and fell to the floor.

It wasn't a hard fall; Trevor immediately recovered and began to retreat but didn't make it very far. Arukenimon caught hold of his shirt and pulled him back. So she thought till she was shown that humans can shed their artificial coverings. She tossed the empty shirt aside as she began to search for its owner.

"I don't understand you!" Arukenimon called out. "One moment, you're begging for death and the next you won't accept it! If you won't..." She was cut off as her arm began to burn. It wasn't overtly painful, more of a minor annoyance but she violently turned to face her attack.

Rogue stood against the wall she had rolled into. "Focus on what threatens you! He's just a distraction!"

"Yes, listen to it!" Trevor said as he popped out from behind a pew and jumped on Arukenimon again. This time, he sat on her thorax holding her torso for support. She shrieked as she tried to face him but found the action impossible. His position also made it impossible to grab him. She may have been distracted by this a bit longer had Rogue not hit her with another fireball.

"You're right," Arukenimon declared with a deviant grin. "I get distracted to easily. You're nothing but a fly; an annoyance; a trick! This little fox is the real problem and once I consume her, you'll be easy to catch."

Rogue's eyes went wide as the arachnid charged at her. She waited to the last second and jumped aside, narrowly dodging the charge. She readied a fireball in her hand, but found Trevor to now be on the exposed side of her target.

"You can keep trying to dodge me all you want but the end result will be the same!" Arukenimon called as she turned and swept her hand in Rogue's direction.

The motion confused Rogue for a moment before she got a glint of light. She instinctively threw her hands up to protect her as she tried to duck away but it was too late. A nearly invisible thread crashed into her arms and began to wrap around her head. The sharp wire dug tore through her fur and dug into the flesh underneath.

Rogue was able to duck out of the hoop formed around head and forearms. Some more fur was lost as the string dragged over her scalp but not as bad as the initial impact had caused. A patch on each arm was now shaved cleanly, exposed a gash in each arm. A smaller cut could be seen wrapping around the back of her head.

Rogue tried to stand tall but a small shiver refused to go away. Her breathing was heavy but she wouldn't resort to panting. She stared at Arukenimon with a determination, as if there was no way she could lose. Arukenimon took a good look at the renamon before laughing.

It's was just a chuckle at first. The restrained snort quickly cascaded into full blown, unrestrained laughter. The cathedral filled with its echoes as the only other inhabitants watched in anticipation.

Trevor tried to concentrate on the slow draw of energy that appeared to have no effect on Arukenimon. For only a moment, his concentration was broken and the flow instantly reversed. He tried to fight it but his effort was made in vein. In order to save his energy from this leech, Trevor leapt off.

"I wouldn't try that again," Arukenimon declared, barely turning her head to face him. With her message delivered, she returned her focus to her true opponent. "Your friend can tell you I possess a curious mind so I must know. How does one so close to death stand so tall?"

Rogue didn't seem to catch what Arukenimon said. This angered the arachnid before the realization came over her though it wasn't very calming. Acknologing that no answer would be coming, the arachnid drew back both arms to send another set of invisible strings. With both arms drawn back, she could very well have planned to send out a pair, leaving little room to dodge. Rogue made no attempt to though.

Instead, the fox drew her arms back for her own signature move. With the quickness of her attack, she released a fireball that would collide just after Arukenimon released her attack. The invisible strands formed and leapt from Arukenimon's hands only to collide with the flames in an instant. Rogue had guessed that her fire would set the strands ablaze and turn the attack against its owner. She couldn't have been more wrong.