Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Beyond The Other Side ❯ First Configuration, Part 2 of 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Author's Notes: Here's the second part of the First Configuration. If you want the whole story, just find Epsilon at FanFiction.Net. Disclaimers: Digimon belongs to ABC, Saban and whoever else owns it. Don't sue!!! Beyond The Other Side - First Configuration (Part 2 of 2) "T-this can't be happening...our own Digimon are going to finish us..." Takato was pale. The Emperor smirked. "Destroy those three kids!!" Rika's expression remained as calm as ever. "What's wrong with you, Renamon? You should have been able to dodge that easily." Henry, Takato and the Emperor gave a start. Renamon shook off the dizziness before tearing the spiral from her body. "I'm sorry, Rika." Now it was the Emperor's turn to go pale. "I ordered you to destroy them!!!!" Growlmon looked at the Emperor strangely. His eyes were not red at all but stayed their normal yellow colour. "Why would we do what you say?" Takato rushed forward to hug Growlmon's leg. "Thank goodness you aren't affected by the dark spiral!! Do you mind destroying the spiral on your arm?" "Okay, Takatomon." Growlmon ripped the spiral off effortlessly. Terriermon was having a little problem. "Uh...Henry?" Henry took out a card. "Digi Modify!!! Expansion Activate!!" The rabbit-eared Digimon expanded until the spiral snapped off from his body. "Master? Are you alright?" The Emperor was still in a great deal of shock. "They destroyed one of my greatest creations just like that...I don't understand...they are programmed to take control of any Digimon in the digital world!!" He tried to breathe calmly but was having difficulty with the great amount of stress on his mind. After a few moments, he regained his proud posture. 'I'll have to analyze whatever data the spirals were able to pick up from these Digimon...if these are really Digimon.' "Flymon, attack!!" The air started filling with buzzing noises. Then Flymon started coming from everywhere and attacking the tamers. The Emperor took this opportunity to retreat back to his headquarters. "Don't destroy those Digimon!! Just aim for the dark rings! Digi Modify!! Targeting Activate!!" Rika rolled her eyes before flipping out a card. "Digi Modify!! Snimon's Twin Sickles Activate!!" Renamon's arms were replaced with scythes. "Twin Sickles!!" Henry turned to Takato, who was staying a good distance behind to let Growlmon fight. "Can we even get these things off? From what you told me, you were having trouble with the dark spiral on Shogungekomon. What makes you think you will have better luck with the rings? They're made of the same material and have the same programming. The only difference is that the spiral's programming has been expanded to control even ultimate level Digimon." Terriermon was having trouble dodging Flymon and keeping an eye out for Calumon at the same time. "After the data was downloaded, I saw a small weird object from where the spiral disappeared. It had three shapes and was connected by electricity. Before I could get a good look, it went off somewhere." "Could it be responsible for bringing us here in the first place?" Takato shrugged. "Maybe it collided with Vilemon's data or something. Hey, do you have any idea how our Digimon were unaffected by the Digimon Emperor's dark rings and stuff?" Most of the Flymon had been returned to normal thanks to good aim from Growlmon. The rest were destroyed and downloaded by Renamon. "He was ranting about how he programmed them to take control of any Digimon in the digital world. He designed them specifically for the Digimon native to this digital world. Our Digimon come from a different digital world. Since their data is completely foreign here, the spirals can't recognize the normal patterns and are unable to carry out their function." Terriermon leapt on to Henry's arms to get to his head. "Enough with that technical talk, Henry! Momentai!!" * * * * * * * * * * * * "The spirals didn't pick up any data?!?" The Emperor's patience had become very thin. Wormmon looked at the monitor. "You did get a little bit on the red Digimon, master." "Quiet!!!! Let's see...rookie form is Guilmon. Cross referencing with the database and...no match. Champion form is Growlmon. No match too for that Digimon. Other forms unknown." He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. Then he saw a tiny detail in the data that he saw before. "This line of programming...it has a similar pattern as that unidentified programming I found when analyzing the remains of Shogungekomon's spiral! Maybe if I can crack that code, I can refine my dark spirals to take control of those three Digimon!!" A small alarm went off by the computer, signaling the detection of an unidentified stream of data. "Well, what do you know...a program that doesn't belong here. The entire program is made entirely out of the same code on the spiral." His eyes widened when the program started to disappear. "No!!! I need it to find out how to control those three Digimon!!!" He typed furiously, trying to create algorithms to stop his opponent from stealing the program. * * * * * * * * * * * * "Sir, I have a faint signal. It's definitely Yuggoth." "I'm trying to get it back into our system but someone is blocking our attempts." The man kept playing with the lighter. "Get it back. Now." The women typed faster. "Got it!! It's in the mainframe!" CLICK. CLICK. "Excellent. I want it back up as soon as possible. We have to eliminate whatever is causing these...things to bio-emerge. Also start investigating what happened when Yuggoth tried to delete that digital field. I want to make sure this doesn't happen again." * * * * * * * * * * * * "These are unusual Digimon, my dear. I wonder where they came from." Arukenimon narrowed her eyes before smacking Mummymon upside the head. "They may be the only Digimon more unusual than you. We need to get some more data on them and those three humans or they may spoil everything. The spiral wasn't able to pick up anything from the fox Digimon or the little rabbit." Mummymon rubbed his head. "But we still got the information about the dinosaur." "It's not enough. There's no data on him for an ultimate and a mega form yet. From what I can tell, all Digimon have an in-training, rookie, champion, ultimate and mega forms. This one is still being made or something like that. Not to worry. As soon as he gains an ultimate or a mega form, we will know. But I don't think we can take that chance. He may prove to be most annoying." "So this means...?" "This means we may have to step in a little earlier than expected." * * * * * * * * * * * * "Let's go, Growlmon!! No pain, no gain!!" Growlmon struggled to breathe as he kept jogging beside Takato. Renamon and Rika had emotionless expressions while Terriermon was laughing at how funny Growlmon looked when he was tired. "Are you absolutely sure this will work?" Takato kept jogging, regardless of how much his body ached. "You said it yourself, Henry. The only way to get Growlmon back to normal is to make him run out of energy. Then he'll have to become Guilmon again. And I have to wear myself out as well. The tamer's energy is also a key part of him retaining his champion form." The ground rumbled as Growlmon collapsed. Takato decided not to continue this meaningless exercise and fell down as well. Calumon waddled up to them. "The two of you are tired but Growlmon is still here. I wish I can help you go back to normal. I know I helped Guilmon digivolve in the first place. I think." Rika kept her gaze on Calumon. 'That little pipsqueak may be the key to helping Renamon get to the next level. I'll have to watch him carefully.' "You should have waited before starting this workout. At least until we found a place a little less out in the open. I don't know if this forest can completely hide Growlmon, with his size and red skin," stated Henry. A small bush nearby started shaking up a bit. Renamon slowly crept up to do a sneak attack on whoever popped out. Something came out and was about to talk when Renamon tossed a punch. Flamedramon blocked it in time and tossed Renamon over his shoulder. She recovered in the air and landed on her feet Henry raised his arms. "That's enough!! Stop this senseless fighting, you two! There's been enough battle for today!!!" Flamedramon snorted. "Tell her that." Rika's eyes narrowed at Henry. "Don't tell Renamon what to do!! She's mine!!" Takato and Growlmon got up, both haven shook off some fatigue. 'They probably have us surrounded and sent Flamedramon to make it easier for them to flush us out.' Takato reached into his pocket and started to draw out the Modify cards. "Davis!! Why didn't you wait for us?" The tamers blinked at Yolei's irritated tone. "Well...I only sent Flamedramon in to take a look. Besides, I never got a chance to see if he can take down that fox...." Soon Davis walked in with a few bumps on his head, thanks to Yolei. Takato was about to order Growlmon to create a smokescreen when the other Digidestined kids came into the area with their Digimon still in their rookie forms (except Gatomon of course). The tamers remained on their toes. Kari was the first to break the silence. "Calm down. We only want to talk. Isn't that right, Davis?" She put a little extra hint in her voice to drive the message into the boy's skull. He gave a sweatdrop. "Right...talk..." Kari continued. "You all seem reasonable. I'm sure you don't want to have any useless conflicts and fights with us as we don't want them with you." Henry and Takato relaxed a bit. "Well...just as long as you don't ask us about too many things." TK's gaze fell onto Rika. "What about her?" The two male tamers looked at Rika, expecting some sort of rebellious retort. "Rika?" But all she said was, "I will comply." Henry and Takato had to put a finger into their ears to make sure they weren't hearing things. "W-w-what?" "The Digidestined currently have no Digimon above champion level. They are not worth my time so I will not fight them." A small snarl came to Flamedramon's lips but he forced himself to cool down. Davis smiled nervously. "Okay, whatever. Now that we got that out of the way, we should introduce ourselves. I'm Dav-" "Davis, they already know who we are," stated Cody. "Oh yeah!! Them coming from the future and all..." "WHAT?!?!?" All three tamers and Digimon yelled in unison. "Izzy figured it out after he met you. We know that you come from the future. We won't ask too many questions so don't worry," said Yolei with a grin. Takato shot a nervous glance at Henry. "Yeah...thanks...I guess." Henry mouthed the words 'play along'. 'That has got the be the most idiotic theory I've ever heard!!' "We-" Rika was cut off by Henry. "-are grateful that you intend to keep your questions to yourself." He slid over to her carefully to whisper something. "Don't tell them anything about where we really come from. Now with this time travel theory in the air, we have to be extra careful." Rika remained silent. "Looks like we'll have to finish up another time." Renamon stared coolly at Flamedramon. "Agreed. Remind me in the near future that I still owe you a fight." She walked by him, her tail nearly brushing his nostrils. "You can count on it." 'Definitely the foxy type.' He transformed back into Veemon. "This is very interesting. Normally, our Digimon just go back when they run out of energy. Even when Growlmon's wiped out, he still holds his champion form. We'll do what we can to get him back to rookie level. That way, it'll be easier to transport him through the digital gate into our world." TK and the other Digidestined had started to tackle the little problem with Growlmon. They didn't get very far because an explosion rocked the area and disabled most of the Digimon. Only Growlmon was in any relative shape to fight. Of course, Rika was still trying to get Renamon to battle. Terriermon groaned. "Where did that come from?" Henry's eyes found the assailant hovering in the air. TK narrowed his eyes. "That Digimon looks kind of familiar. I think that I saw him during the battle against Machinedramon some time ago. He was coming over to blast the area where me, Sora and Kari were hiding. I led them to safety while Angemon watched for Tai and Izzy." "You saved Kari's life, TJ?!?!" An annoyed look crossed over Kari's face. "For your information, Davis, we have other problems to worry about!! And his name's TK!!" Takato whipped out his Digivice and scanned the Digimon in the air. "Megadramon...he and Gigadramon were Machinedramon's official demolition squad!!" He looked above again. 'Megadramon is an expert at aerial combat so Hyperwings may not be enough...of course!!' Takato drew a Modify card. "Digi Modify!!! Dragon Wings Activate!!" {Original Japanese: Aero Wings. I called it Dragon Wings because Dragon Digimon get the power of 'fighting' plus the basic stuff which can be used for any Digimon: an attack increase of 100 points and 'sky'} Growlmon took off into the air. Megadramon fired a missile but Growlmon dodged. Renamon had to pull Rika out of the way and shield her from the explosion. Henry remained lost in his thoughts while a fierce aerial battle ensued overhead. 'How can this be happening? All Digimon that served the Dark Masters did not come back to live a normal life in the digital world. They were punished along with the Dark Masters by living in cyber oblivion for eternity. Unless...' He turned to Cody. "Did you see any control spires around this area?" "We saw a few right over there before we came in-" Cody didn't have time to finish his sentence. Henry had already run off to see the area. There was nothing. Cody and Armadillomon caught up to him and gasped. "Impossible!!! There were three control spires right there!! I saw them!!!!" "Maybe you're stressed out, Cody. Seeing things not there," said Armadillomon. Henry ran back to Takato. "It's a control spire Digimon!!" Simultaneous gasps of surprise escaped the lips of the other Digidestined and their respective Digimon. Takato narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?" "Positive!! Things are going wacko!! Our arrival must have caused this new chain of events!!" Growlmon had tackled Megadramon to the ground. Sweat rolled off Takato's face. "Finish him off, Growlmon!!" "Okey dokey, Takatomon!!" Growlmon activated the plasma blades on his arms and went in for the kill. "Dragon Slash!!!" Megadramon instantly disappeared and all that was left was some data. Henry started to yell out his warning. "Don't absorb Megadramon's data!! We don't know what effect control spire Digimon data can do to our Digimon!!" It was too late. Growlmon had already initiated the download sequence. As soon as he was done, he started having trouble breathing. His skin started to change from red to black. "What's happening?!?" Henry gritted his teeth. "The control spire Digimon data must be corrupting Growlmon's digital pattern!! Not only will he change in colour, his power should increase...but it's reasonable to assume that his attitude will take a turn for the worse!!!!" He took a look around to see that the Digimon were still recovering from Megadramon's attack. "And our Digimon are in no shape to battle..." Growlmon clutched his head and screamed as the dark digital pattern started to establish itself in his body. * * * * * * * * * * * * "Growlmon!!!" The formerly red-skinned Digimon was breathing heavily. One part of him yearned to go berserk and destroy everything in his sight. Another part of him wanted to eat those tasty kids and Digimon right in front of him. They may be not much of a meal but they will have to do until he can find something bigger to satisfy his appetite. Of course, there is also a part of him representing the original Growlmon, who is trying not to go berserk or eat the kids. With this amount of internal chaos, he wasn't sure what to do first. TK gave a nervous gulp. "I remember that look. It was the look that almost every hungry Digimon gave us when we first came to the digital world." A guilty look came across Takato's face. 'Maybe I should have let Growlmon had something small to eat when we found that purple banana tree. But I thought that if I had Growlmon go hungry and run out of energy, he would have to go back to being Guilmon...it worked all the time in the TV show!' "Damn!! I'm not getting any readings on my Digivice!!! Hunk of junk!!" Takato heard Rika cursing. Then an idea struck him. 'Maybe if we find out his attributes, we can use them to our advantage and get Guilmon back!' He took out his own Digivice. After a few moments, it started to show some data. "Darkgrowlmon. A champion level, demonic dragon Digimon. Virus type. Possibility of going berserk is high." (AN: It was actually Black Growmon in Japanese but this sounded cooler. Also Takato's Digivice is more connected to Growlmon so it was able to pick up the new programming changes and display the new data) 'We could try using Lillymon's flower wreath to calm Growlmon down, maybe eradicate the foreign data out of Growlmon's system. Just like the time she did it to Darktyrannomon!' Henry was about to fish out his cards but a thought stopped him from taking them out. 'Terriermon may not be able to handle it. He's been through a lot with that sneak attack by Megadramon.' "We can't fight dino boy directly. Looks like we'll have to be sneaky. A coward's victory." The thought of using cowardly tactics disgusted Rika. Renamon raised her head. "A victory is still a victory, regardless of the circumstances. It looks like that you have an idea." Rika looked sharply at the fox Digimon. "It may not work. The last time you handled an attack belonging to a mega Digimon, it backfired. Are you up for the challenge?" Renamon got up slowly, noticing the challenging look in her tamer's eyes. A blast came out and hit Darkgrowlmon in the left side. He whirled around to only see Calumon, Yolei, Hawkmon, Kari and Gatomon. His fury grew as he gave a loud roar. Yolei turned pale. "He's looking straight at us!!" Small bits of flame circled Darkgrowlmon's mouth. Cody looked on in alarm. "Kari!! Yolei!!! Get out of there!!" Henry looked at Terriermon, who looked a bit better. "Are you in any shape to help them?" The rabbit Digimon tried moving a little. "Yeah. Ignoring the fact that every time I move, my body aches, I feel fine and dandy!!" The boy took out some cards. "Okay. Get ready to run in front of the attack. I'll cover you when you get there. Digi Modify!! Hypersonic Activate!!" Terriermon dashed to where the girls were staring in horror at the possibility of being grilled. "Pyro Blaster!!" Henry waited until Terriermon was right in front. "Henry!!" "I'm on it, Terriermon!! Digi Modify!!! Wargreymon's Brave Shield Activate!!" The shield appeared in time, blocking the attack. Kari recognized the shape. "That looks like Wargreymon's shield!!" Terriermon struggled to hold on. "Now's your chance!! Move!!!!" "I gotta buy some time!! But how can I slow Growlmon down without hurting him?" Takato started looking through his cards but he dropped a pile. He bent down to pick them up when one card caught his eye. "Score!! Digi Modify!! Expansion Activate!!" Darkgrowlmon stopped firing and started to puff up like a balloon. 'Good. Goggle head did something right for a change. When dino boy recovers, he'll be a bit disoriented.' Rika clutched her trump card in her hand. The effect wore off and Darkgrowlmon was in a dazed state. Renamon took this opportunity to get directly behind Darkgrowlmon. "Digi Modify!!! Apocalymon's Reverse Digivolve Activate!!" Renamon's arms formed into one of Apocalymon's claws. It clamped Darkgrowlmon and started forcing the excess digivolution data out of his system. He started to thrash wildly but Renamon held on. Soon, Guilmon appeared and the digivolution data along with the control spire data dissipated. Takato ran over to give his friend a big hug. Tears of joy were streaming down his cheeks. "I never thought I would see you again!!" Guilmon gave a smile. "Now can we eat, Takatomon?" Takato smiled happily. "We can pig out as soon as we find some food!" "I never thought that would work, Rika. How...?" She replaced the card into her pouch before replying to Henry's question. "Basically, Apocalymon's attacks are based on attacks from the Digimon that the Digidestined fought in the past, like the Dark Masters, Devimon and Myotismon. He had only three original attacks: Viral Grenade, Total Annihilation and Reverse Digivolve. You watch the TV show more than I do and yet you can't put the pieces together. Pathetic." "I reckon you can all use some energy drinks to recharge. Cody, I'll need you to armor-digivolve me into Submarimon. Then you can navigate through the ocean and keep an eye out for the underwater herbs. After that, we can make some energy drinks for everybody," stated Armadillomon. Cody smiled. "Sure thing, Armadillomon. We'll be right back." The two of them ran off. Takato raised an eyebrow. "Energy drinks? Since when did Armadillomon have an energy drink?" Davis brushed some dust off his jacket. "Veemon told me that there's a little extra something they get when they make a connection with their Digieggs. For example, Flamedramon has a special fighter's instinct while Raidramon has a charming personality that allows him to make friends easily. It may not be much but it sure comes in handy for big group attacks on the Emperor. I don't know what abilities the others have." Henry placed a tired Terriermon on his head. He moved over to TK. "I thought that our arrival would mess things up. How did you get the last two Digieggs?" TK turned to face Henry. "We still wanted to find the Digiegg of Sincerity, even after your friend destroyed Digitamamon. While we were looking, we talked about what you can do along with your other two companions. Yolei was saying that we shouldn't judge people from first impressions. She was trying to cut a bit more slack on people and Digimon alike, just like Mimi did. It didn't last long. After the Digiegg of Sincerity revealed itself in front of her, she tested it out. A little later, we find out that she's already judged them to be almost as bad as Ken. As for Cody getting the Digiegg of Reliability, it was this morning after we discovered you went to the digital world. We decided to split up and cover more ground. Cody took the body of water near sector 12. That's when he discovered the Digiegg. Megaseadramon was guarding the area so Cody had a few minor problems. And he had to face his fear. But Armadillomon was able to calm him down. Later, Cody was feeling upset that he went to get the Digiegg instead of helping us. Armadillomon convinced Cody to go for the Digiegg. So he got it, overcame his fear, met Submarimon and destroyed the spiral on Megaseadramon with a bit of help from local underwater Digimon." Moments later, Veemon, Hawkmon, Gatomon and Patamon were forcing down Armadillomon's energy drink. "I know it tastes horrible but you'll feel the effects in no time." Veemon looked over at Renamon. "Want some? It's lousy in taste but it works!!" Renamon paid no attention to him. Veemon frowned but continued anyway. "After all, you need it more than I do. You went into battle even when you were whipped!!" The fox Digimon still didn't reply. Veemon gave a grin. "Oh, one of those strong, silent types? They aren't exactly the most fun to be around. There's this interesting little story when..." A part of Renamon just snapped. "Alright!! I'll try some of that drink! Just be quiet!" Veemon shut up immediately and handed over his Styrofoam cup. (AN: Cody just went through the gate to grab a few Styrofoam cups from the art room. Nobody noticed, okay?!?) Guilmon's stomach was growling loudly as was Takato's. He gave a sheepish grin. "Can we go back to your world for some food now? Me and Guilmon had to skip breakfast." Kari gave a smile. "I'm sure we can fit a buffet meal into our schedule. It'll be a few hours before we meet up with the older kids." Takato's face fell. "M-m-meet the original Digidestined?" TK noticed the similar bewildered expression on Henry's face. "It's the anniversary when the original Digidestined defeated Venommyotismon. We're having a reunion. Since today's school activity day has been canceled, we're able to have a get-together. We also have a long weekend so the teachers can sort things out to start the new school year." (AN: In the episode, it was Thursday August 1. I'm not sure how the Japanese school calendar works so I'm using August as the start month and June as the final month with July representing the one month summer holiday. And I also created the long weekend so that the Digidestined are covered for the 'camping' trip) Henry shook off the look. "Oh, yeah...uh, I don't think we should come along. We'll probably be a third wheel in your reunion." At first, TK didn't understand it. Then it dawned on him. "I'm sure they can understand your situation. Izzy probably told them all about your travels back in time. Back in the old days, we had to destroy some Digimon in order to survive and stop evil as well. It's just that we've been getting used to freeing Digimon from dark influences, from Ken's Dark Rings and Dark Spirals to Devimon's Black Gears. We better get going if we don't want to be late." In the shadows, the shapes of two Digimon could barely be seen. "That was a cheesy trick!! A Reverse Digivolve attack?!?" Arukenimon ignored Mummymon's rantings. "Cheesy trick or not, they were able to neutralize the threat. Thanks to our little test, we know a bit more about those new kids. We need to find out about the transformation of the red Digimon. His alter ego has caught my interest." * * * * * * * * * * * * Takato and Guilmon were both walking slowly behind Rika and Henry, after having just stuffed themselves. "Maybe we shouldn't have eaten too fast." Guilmon just groaned in agreement. Renamon stayed out of sight and kept an eye out for Calumon, who was hopping around playfully. Rika gave a cold look towards Takato. "Maybe the two of you shouldn't be allowed out in public. If you keep acting like immature brats, I will be forced to hurt you." "Terriermon, how are you feeling?" The rabbit Digimon raised his head lazily to answer Henry. "Considering the fact that an hour ago I was hit by an attack that had the power to wipe out a city block in the blink of an eye, I feel a lot better than I originally anticipated." A small smile came to Henry's face. "You're already using sarcasm. I didn't even have to teach it to you." Terriermon went back to resting on Henry's head. "I guess I'm a natural at it." Yolei kept punching in figures in her calculator. "Take in shipping costs, carry the five...good!! The store will still be able to make a profit even with Takato and Guilmon's feeding frenzy. I'll just have to slow down with the snacks until things kind of get back to normal." As soon as she said that, the Digimon belonging to the Digidestined shot poisonous glares at the tamer and his Digimon. "Yo, TM. I heard there were some weird things going on at your dad's TV station," stated Davis. TK pretended to ignore the TM part. "Yeah. We're thinking of investigating the matter after we pay a tribute to Wizardmon." Before Davis could ask who is Wizardmon, they heard some familiar voices. "TK!! Kari!! Over here!!" Right by the top of the hill stood Tai, Izzy, Sora, Mimi, Matt and Joe. Davis, Yolei and Cody held on to their in-training Digimon partners as they started running up to meet the older kids. TK and Kari were about to go too but they noticed that the tamers stood back. TK smiled. "I'm sure the three of you will get along with the others. Come on!!" He went behind Henry and Takato and started to push them further along. "This is a waste of my time," muttered Rika as she followed Kari to meet the older Digidestined. * * * * * * * * * * * * Tai narrowed his eyes as Henry, Takato and Rika made their way to the top of the hill. "So you three are the new kids that Izzy's been talking about." Takato winced slightly. 'Great!! Tai is giving us one of those stern tones!!!' The older boy noticed the tense look "I'm guessing that you're thinking we're mad at you because you destroyed Digitamamon when he could have been saved by destroying the dark spiral." Henry cleared his throat. "We can explain. Our friend..." Rika raised an eyebrow. "...acted totally on instinct. Where we come from, the Digimon we encounter are nasty to say the least, except Terriermon, Renamon, Guilmon and Calumon. The three of us alone are responsible for defending our world against renegade Digimon and we have to do whatever is necessary to accomplish our goal." Matt gave a smile. "In a way, we've been through that same road. We had to defend our world against evil Digimon like Myotismon and the Dark Masters. I guess the idea of freeing a Digimon from a dark influence never came across your minds." The three tamers remained quiet. "We've met for only a few minutes and we didn't even introduce ourselves properly! I've learned that little lesson in manners from Cody. Anyways, I'm Joe..." "We know who you are already. It would be a waste of everyone's time to go through with useless introductions," said Rika sharply. "Since we know your names, it would be only fair if you know ours. I'm-" Henry placed a hand on Takato's shoulder. "I think it would be wise to say nothing. Don't you remember what I told you?" Terriermon piped up. "It's only a name, Henry!! Momentai!!" Henry released Takato's shoulder. "Yeah!! It's not like telling our names would be contaminating the timeline or anything," said Takato in a light-hearted tone. "I guess so..." Takato grinned before turning back to the Digidestined. "I'm Takato and this is my Digimon partner, Guilmon!" The red Digimon waved. "Hi!!" Sora noticed Takato's headgear. "You must be the leader of the group." The boy's face fell. "Huh? Oh, you think that I'm the leader because of the goggles!! To be honest, there really isn't anyone in charge." "I'll take goggle head's orders when hell freezes over," muttered Rika. Takato's ears perked up at her comment. "That's Rika, the icy warrior of our little group. Renamon is her partner. She's not around unless Rika calls her." Just as he finished that sentence, Renamon stepped out, with Calumon bouncing around. "What are you doing here, Renamon? I didn't call you." The fox Digimon held Calumon by his collar. "I want someone else to babysit Calumon so I can meditate in peace." Terriermon smiled. "I'll play with him!!" Renamon released Calumon and disappeared immediately. "Last but not least, the brains of the group, Henry! Terriermon is his partner. He's the Digimon playing with Calumon right now." Demiveemon hopped off Davis to join the fun as well as Upamon and Poromon. Tai gave a curious look at the energetic Digimon. "Who is Calumon's partner?" Takato shrugged. "Just before coming here, me and Henry were searching the city to find a suitable partner for Calumon. We had no luck though." "So what are we going to do today? Hanging around here's fine but it'll get boring after a few hours," remarked Davis. "I'm up for finding a way to go back to our world. We should be there to fight any wild Digimon," stated Henry. Izzy stroked his chin. "Maybe if you tell us how you got here in the first place..." Takato started to talk away. 'Finally. Some peace and quiet.' "Uh...Rika?" Right behind her was Mimi. "I...I would like to apologize for overreacting back in the digital world." Rika's eyes snapped open. She turned to face the other girl. "Why are you apologizing? You said that I killed a Digimon." "I didn't really know your history with the digital world. I was wondering...would you still destroy Digitamamon if you knew there was a dark spiral controlling his actions?" Rika thought about it. The answer that popped up said yes. But the small bit of conscience in side her mind asked her, would you destroy Renamon if she was under the influence? "Maybe, maybe not. If he was endangering the lives of others and there was little time before he inflicts serious damage, yes. But I suppose that I would attempt to disable the spiral first." Mimi gave a bright smile. "Regardless of all that fighting you had to do back in the future, you would try to save any lives that are being controlled against their will. That is what defines a person with a good heart." Rika rolled her eyes. Mimi continued to speak. "I'm serious. I know that you have a good heart. Renamon probably thinks that you have a good heart as well." Rika narrowed her eyes. "And why do you think Renamon feels that way?" The other girl gave one of those know-it-all smiles. "Intuition." "Hey, Henry. Since Takato officially named you the brains of the group, I was hoping that you would be able to shed some light on what happened today," stated TK. Henry blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?" "Well, Takato's Digivice couldn't filter out the dark data out of Growlmon. Our Digivices normally filter out darkness. Like on File Island, with Devimon controlling Leomon and the black gears. There's also the case when the light from Kari's Digivice destroyed Andromon's dark ring. If you are supposed to be Digidestined, shouldn't your Digivices follow that same format?" Takato had finished telling his story and now the entire group, except for Mimi and Rika, was waiting for Henry's answer. "I don't think you should be asking that question, TK." Matt stepped up behind TK. "We need to have some answers. You don't have to go into detail about the future but TK's question is important. There is the possibility that you could be deceiving us." Henry sighed, knowing that he was backed into a corner. "There's a difference between a Digidestined Digivice and a tamer Digivice." Stunned looks immediately followed Henry's response. "A...tamer?" He nodded. "Where we come from, there are no Digidestined. Only those who can look beneath the surface of the cards can become Digimon tamers." "Digimon tamers...?" The group was about to ask more questions when Izzy waved his arms. "I know that there are a lot of things we want to know but we have to keep our questions to ourselves. Temporal prime directive, remember?" The others grumbled in agreement. Takato went up to Henry. "Well, I suppose we can tell them a few little things to help save time. I mean, they will eventually find out these little things today." Henry remained silent for a while. "It won't really hurt the timeline so I guess it's acceptable." Takato clenched his fists and silently went 'yes!' "Okay...where to start? Izzy, your theory about the D3s is correct. They have the power to open up the digital gateway from any computer." Izzy brightened up. "Prodigious!! It looks like I won't have to use Davis as a guinea pig." Davis raised an eyebrow. "About the TV station, the ghost of an old friend will come back from the grave to give you a riddle. Once deciphered, you will know what to do concerning the Digimon Emperor." Gatomon's eyes widened. "Could it be...Wizardmon?" She dashed off towards the TV station. "Wait up!!" Patamon flew after her with Kari running behind him. Mimi noticed the commotion. "Looks like they're going somewhere. We better catch up to them!" Rika just muttered a 'whatever' under her breath. "Hey, where are you guys going?" Davis scooped up Demiveemon in his arms. "Gatomon's kind of freaking me out. All Takato said was...some sort of riddle and she went nuts." Upamon and Poromon were picked up by Cody and Yolei. Terriermon leapt on Henry's head while Calumon rode on Guilmon's head as he jogged beside Takato. "Man, Gatomon put the pieces of the puzzle together fast!!" Henry jogged slowly as not to bounce Terriermon off his head. "Wizardmon was her best friend. Possibly more. His sacrifice at the TV station has been seared into her memory permanently. When she heard the words 'old friend' come out of your mouth when you spoke about the ghost haunting the station, it just snapped together." He stopped jogging. Guilmon ran right into Henry. "Ow...why did you stop?" Henry kept his gaze on the Digidestined as they went through the front doors. "This is a special moment for them. We would only be extra weight. We should wait here...figure out some things as to how to preserve the storyline and get back home." Mimi ran past them while Rika just hung back. "Is preserving the storyline all you can think about, Einstein?" asked Rika coldly. "If it gets altered, the consequences could be disastrous in our world. I don't know how disastrous but there will be repercussions if we mess up things here," said Henry in a dark tone. "You're insane!! You're talking about protecting the future of characters that don't even exist!!!" yelled the female tamer. "At first, we thought Digimon don't exist. But we've seen them come to life. Isn't it reasonable to assume that the Digidestined exist as well? Just because they're fictional characters in our world doesn't mean they can't exist!! There's probably some world out there where we're nothing but fictional characters!!!" Takato jumped in between the arguing duo. "Whoa, whoa!! Chill out for a second. Henry, we're real people. I can feel my pulse running. I exist!!" "And in this world, the Digidestined exist as well. I'm not about to tell them that where we come from, they only exist as characters of fiction. If they find out, then all their hopes and dreams of a good future will vanish...and Malomyotismon will have no trouble claiming victory," stated Henry. Rika gave an icy glare. "What are you talking about, Einstein?" Henry paused for a moment. "In the season finale, the combined hopes and dreams of the original Digidestined as well as Digidestined around the world destroyed Malomyotismon's physical form and created the weapon that Imperialdramon used to finish the job. By knowing the fact that they're fictional characters in our world, they will be mentally affected. Whether it is confidence in the fact that they can't die as well as their partner Digimon since they are the protagonists or depression from knowing that their accomplishments, victories and achievements are make-believe events in our world...whatever way it goes, their perspective of life will change itself. They will be shocked by the fact that the decisions they make and the important events in their lives concerning the digital world is only entertainment to us. In simple terms, they will start believing that whatever they do, it will be for nothing." * * * * * * * * * * * * "In local news, three children have disappeared without a trace just a few days ago. Police officials have been searching high and low for the whereabouts of Rika Nonaka, Henry Wong and Takato Matsuki. However, no luck-" The TV was turned off. "Sir..." Yamaki turned his head towards Riley. "Is it possible that those kids were caught in...?" "I don't know. But children should know better than to play with dangerous toys." Riley's conscience did not buy that explanation. "What if Yuggoth's interference with that anomalous reading was the cause? The children disappeared around the same time as Yuggoth vanished." "You should know by now that in order to achieve our goal we would have to pay some sort of price. Casualties and sacrifices are a part of the road to eradicate those beings that have been bio-emerging lately." Before Yamaki could continue, the other operative picked up a reading. "There's another strange reading, sir!" "Activate Yuggoth. So far, it has proved to be most efficient with dealing with our problem. Keep an eye out for any further readings. I have some business to take care of." He left the room, reading a status report on the program code named "Juggernaut". * * * * * * * * * * * * "Aw, man!! Why couldn't we bring marshmallows?" The Digidestined were wrapping up preparations for their long weekend in the digital world. TK sighed. "Davis, we're not going camping. It's just a legitimate excuse so that we can focus on defeating the Digimon Emperor without having to worry about returning home on time." Takato, Rika and Henry were given their own supplies (sleeping bag, camping gear, etc.) from the older kids. Henry placed a flashlight in his bag. "I still don't see why we should be going too. This is their fight, not ours." "Well, there is always a chance that something could go wrong. Besides, we have to make sure that tweedle dee and tweedle dum don't create any more problems," said Takato as he grabbed the bag of cookies before Guilmon could bite into them. Renamon just waited patiently beside Rika. Calumon and Terriermon were playing tag. Upamon was bouncing around Cody while Demiveemon and Poromon were making guesses as to Yolei's strange behaviour. "Is everybody ready?" A simultaneous 'yes' followed Yolei's question. "Then let the final battle begin!! Digiport open!!!!" Izzy unplugged his laptop after they all disappeared. Tai stepped into the room. "Yo, hurry up!! We haven't got all day!!" Izzy grabbed the rest of his stuff and followed the other boy out. [Insert Digiport sequence, music, all that stuff] "Alright, troops!! I'm going to scout the area!! If I see anything unusual, I'll report back immediately!!" Yolei slung the rope over her shoulder but before she could go, Tentomon bumped into her. "Don't worry about it, Yolei. Tentomon probably knows the area already," stated Kari. "Okay, what did you see? Spill out some answers or I'll get them out of you myself!!!" Yolei grabbed Tentomon and start shaking him. Hawkmon flew over in alarm. "Stop acting like this!! Please let him go, Yolei. He has nothing to hide." She let him go and stomped off towards the edge of the cliff. Hawkmon started bowing repeatedly in front of Tentomon. "I must apologize for my friend's enthusiasm. Normally, she doesn't act like this." Tentomon recovered from the dizziness. "She should save that enthusiasm for the Digimon Emperor!!" "If you don't stop acting like this, someone could get hurt," said Takato. Yolei turned her fiery gaze on the boy. "The only people that are going to get hurt are those who stand in front of me and victory!!" As she turned back to the task at hand, Henry came up behind Takato. "Let her learn her lesson herself." Takato sighed before noticing that Guilmon was trying to get the cookies again. In the distance, Arukenimon and Mummymon stood in front of a small clump of control spires. Five to be exact. "What exactly do you plan to do, darling?" She pulled out five small bits of white hair. "Eradicate those new kids before they cause some serious trouble. And if you call me darling again, I will personally bury you in an underground tomb." Mummymon gave a nervous gulp. "Eep!!" "Spirit Needle!" "Oh, no!! Hawkmon!!" Hawkmon had just taken the full effect of Dokugumon's attack. Davis grabbed his Digivice. "Digi Armor Energize!!!" "Veemon armor-digivolved to...Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!!" He dived in to fight Dokugumon. Rika looked at the spider Digimon. She was about to call Renamon to join the fight when Henry came up. "Don't interfere with the battle, Rika," stated Henry sternly. 'Damn.' Takato went up to his fellow tamers with a ripped cookie bag in his hand. "Uh...we're out of cookies. I'm so sorry!! I tried to stop Guilmon!" Henry gave Takato a small smile. "Don't worry about it. It's just cookies." The boy gulped. "Yeah...I shouldn't be worrying about cookies when a huge dragon Digimon is closing in on our position." The two other tamers looked at the sky in alarm. They saw a huge flying Digimon heading their way. Henry gritted his teeth. "Gigadramon, Megadramon's stronger counterpart." Gigadramon launched his missiles. The explosion threw back the tamers. Takato landed on a stuffed Guilmon while Terriermon and Calumon tried to stop a knocked out Henry from rolling into Dokugumon's canyon. He jumped off Guilmon and grabbed Henry's shirt collar before he went over. Renamon dashed over to catch Rika and they both landed inside the canyon. Rika got down from her partner's grip. "Einstein's out. This means this Digimon's ours!! Let's do this!!" As soon as those words came out of Rika's mouth, Renamon had already engaged the enemy. She jumped and grabbed a hold of Gigadramon's tail just as he swooped over the group. With a toss, she was thrown down onto the ground. Davis could only stare in awe. The others were too busy trying to get Yolei and Hawkmon up. "Whoa, that's a huge Digimon!! And Renamon's trying to take it down herself!!" He noticed that Flamedramon had already destroyed the dark ring on Dokugumon and was still in the canyon. Gigadramon circled around and started to charge at Renamon. She quickly ran up, jumped on to a slanted side of a rock and used her momentum to get higher into the air. The big dragon Digimon was moving in head on. "Diamond Storm!!" The attack had no effect and Gigadramon plowed through. "Renamon's in trouble!! Flamedramon, go in and help her!!" Flamedramon didn't move. Davis looked at his partner in surprise. "What are you waiting for? The perfect time to save her and play hero? Give her a hand!!" Flamedramon kept his gaze on the fight. "I'm not going to help her. This is her fight. I'm not going to interfere unless she asks me. To do so without her permission would be dishonorable." "Take a good look, Flamedramon! I'm pretty sure that big Digimon is stronger than Renamon!! And it can fly while Renamon's grounded!! Plus the fact that she's taking a beating!! If you team up with her, maybe you can take down that other Digimon!!" Flamedramon still didn't move. "Although her opponent has an advantage, she could easily compensate for it. She can adapt her strategy and claim victory. Renamon's going to pull through." Davis still couldn't believe that Flamedramon would refuse to help a fellow warrior. Then it started to make sense in a crazy way. "Wait a minute. Is it...?" A smirk came to Flamedramon's lips. "Fighter's Instinct, Davis." 'I gotta level the playing field. But how...?' Rika searched through her cards but she didn't find one that could give Renamon the ability to fly. "Goggle head, I need to borrow the Hyperwing card!!" Takato had to catch his breath from pulling up Henry. He took the card out and tossed it to Rika. "Digi Modify!! Hyperwing Activate!!" Renamon took off into the air, just dodging Gigadramon's attack. Although he got a few good hits, she was still hanging on. Gigadramon started to fly up but he turned away and started diving towards Rika, remembering that his primary objective is to dispose of the tamers. "Rika!!" Even though her life was in danger, Rika forced herself to remain calm as she dug out a card. "Digi Modify!! Flamedramon's Fire Rocket Activate!!" Renamon burst into flame. "Fire Rocket!!!" Davis gawked in surprise. "Hey...isn't that your move?" Flamedramon supressed the urge to drop his jaw in pure shock. "Yeah...the more amazing part is how Renamon has increased the effectiveness of the attack. Her physical parameters have completely neutralized the air resistance, allowing more speed when she charges...impressive." Gigadramon loaded up a missile in his hand when Renamon crashed into him. He lost some of his balance and started toppling over on the right side. The attack had caused him to lose concentration and he released the missile right into Renamon. He was only a small distance from the ground. "Renamon, no!!!" She was tossed back two hundred meters. Gigadramon regained control and stared directly at the one who disrupted his mission. He started flying towards her at the same altitude and armed a missile. "Renamon's in trouble! I need to buy a bit of time in order for her to recover from those missiles!!" Rika noticed that there was a rather large branch from the initial missile attack near the forest. She picked it up and quickly jabbed it in Gigadramon's lower body as he flew over her. The irritation caused Gigadramon to whip his tail and hit Rika. She went flying into another part of the canyon, not too far from Renamon. Gigadramon noticed that he hit something. Once he saw the tamer, he fired his missile. Rika wasn't in the best condition to dodge to say the least. 'What a way to go. At least, Renamon's out of danger...' Her Digivice started glowing as did the mark on Calumon's head. DIGIVOLUTION... A glow started coming from Renamon. Rika noticed the glow. 'What? Is Renamon finally digivolving? But how did it happen? Is it because of me concerned with getting Renamon out of danger?' "Renamon digivolved to...Kyubimon!!!" Kyubimon had little time before the missile collided. "Dragon Wheel!!" The energy wheel spun towards the missile and created an explosion. The smoke blinded everybody in the area. By the time the smoke cleared, Kyubimon had Rika on her back. "Got a plan, Rika?" Rika pulled out a card. "Up for using a mega Digimon attack?" Gigadramon started to charge towards them. Kyubimon started to charge as well. Rika prepared to swipe the card through her Digivice. She waited until Gigadramon started to fire his missile. "Digi Modify!! Metalgarurumon's Metal Wolf Claw Activate!!!" Kyubimon fired the attack immediately. "Metal Wolf Claw!!!" The energy blast stopped the missile and incinerated Gigadramon. Rika got off Kyubimon. "You finally digivolved." The fox Digimon nodded slowly. "It was because of you and your good heart." 'I guess Mimi was right. I do have a good heart after all. And the way Kyubimon just fought to save my life. There is no way that she can be just data. Now I know that she's more than that. I wonder if all Digimon act like that when someone close is in danger.' "Rika!! Are you alright?" Takato had to yell his question. "I'm fine, goggle head!! And thanks for lending me the card!!!" Takato's jaw dropped. The Digimon Queen thanking him? 'I don't know what happened. But I definitely like the new Rika!!' Henry woke up with a small moan. Calumon grinned. "You just missed all the fun!" "That was some fight!! You should have seen it, guys!!" Cody gave an annoyed glare. "Well, Davis, we all decided that saving Yolei and Hawkmon was more important than watching Gigadramon and Renamon duke it out." Davis gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry." "The more interesting question is how someone was able to digivolve in the heart of Digimon Emperor territory," stated TK. Kari shrugged. "They probably found a way to bypass those types of things. We shouldn't ask them for specific details. Besides, we have other things to deal with." "I'm so sorry, Hawkmon!! If I hadn't been so rash-" Hawkmon interrupted Yolei's sobbing. "You don't have to cry over it. I'll be up and about in a few hours with the medicine from your first aid kit." "You know, Takato gave me a warning about this!! But did I listen? Noooooo!!" "Well, now that you know you have a good heart, can we be friends now?" Rika hesitated before answering Takato. "All I will say is that my tolerance for all of you has increased." Takato gave a small groan while Henry grinned. "That's as much as we're going to get for the time being. Don't worry about it." The other boy smiled. "You're right. At least we got the Digimon Queen to be a little more social." Rika's eyes narrowed. "Shut up, goggle head." "So you're saying that Gigadramon was created by the Emperor?" The group had started walking towards a more secure camp ground. Henry nodded. "Think about it. Megadramon had been created by a few control spires. He attacked without even thinking about it. The same thing happened with Gigadramon. It's a distinct possibility that the Emperor has found other ways to use his control spires." "We have to stop him before he refines his technique!! I'm sure that you know where his base is," said Cody. Takato scratched his head. "It's not that simple. It never stays in one location. The main fact is that it can move anywhere, from the air to underwater-" Henry had clamped a hand on Takato's shoulder. "That's enough. We can't reveal too much about what's about to happen." Not too far away, Arukenimon and Mummymon had just overheard Henry's warning. 'Apparently those children can predict the future,' thought Arukenimon. Mummymon was in a state of nervous shock. "They know about what's going to happen? Maybe they're on to us!! Our whole plan's going to fail if they blab out everything!! What do we do?!?" "We stay calm and change our plan. It's as simple as that." * * * * * * * * * * * * "I wish I had some microwave dinners," groaned Mr. Ishida as he made another pitiful attempt to catch some fish. Matt, Tai and Izzy were crowded around the computer and reading an e-mail from Cody. "Let's see here...whoa!! It looks like that Ken can create Digimon out of his control spires!" "No way!! That's total craziness!! What else did they say?" Izzy made a face. "Tai, what have you been eating?" Tai looked at Izzy strangely. "The last thing I ate was my mom's tofu surprise." Matt waved his hand and started fanning himself. "Rinse your mouth, man! You stink!!!" "We can lecture Tai on the importance of good dental hygiene later..." A new message popped up. "The kids have located the Emperor's base. Apparently, it's flying towards a new area. There's a Digimon right in front of the base clearing the way with some sort of attack. Takato's Digivice is telling us that Digimon is Kimeramon, an ultimate level synthetic Digimon. Data type." "An ultimate level?! I don't know if they have the firepower to take down an ultimate level Digimon!!" Izzy gave a small smile. "Don't worry about it, Matt. Davis and the others can handle it. And if they run into some tough times, the tamers will have to step in. After all, this is probably a key battle in the evolution of their world." Tai still had a worried look on his face as did Matt. The only noises made for several moments were the typing on Izzy's computer, the noises of the wildlife outside and Mr. Ishida cursing his luck at fishing. * * * * * * * * * * * * "Do you remember all of that, Guilmon?" The red virus Digimon nodded. Takato swiped a card through his Digivice. "Digi Modify!! Hyperwing Activate!!" Guilmon grew the wings and flew down to the ground to find the specific target. After finding it, he turned the wheel and let out a large burst of oil. As soon as Kimeramon passed, Guilmon let a Pyro Sphere loose. A large flame started to coat the base and slow it down. Guilmon reactivated his wings and flew back. "Did I do okay, Takatomon?" Takato smiled. "Good job, buddy. You guys better hurry up!!" Davis leapt down with Raidramon to the side entrance. Pegasusmon, Halsemon and Nefertimon and Digmon also came down as well with their respective partners. "We better get going. Henry?" The boy still didn't make a move. Rika rolled her eyes. "You say that we should make sure that those two morons, Arukenimon and Mummymon, don't screw things up. And now you say we should not get involved in their fight?!?" "Uh...you know what I mean by..." Henry didn't have time to finish as Calumon started to try to jump the long distance. "Hey, don't start the party without me!!" He landed on the edge of the platform and disappeared. The three tamers simultaneously groaned. "I swear we have to get some handcuffs and chain him to someone," muttered Rika. They all followed the little Digimon and the Digidestined into the caverns of the Emperor's base. When the tamers and Calumon arrived, the Digidestined had just finished beating up some Bakemon. Yolei clenched her fist. "Perfecto!!" All of a sudden the walls started to rumble and Kimeramon entered the room. Takato, Guilmon, Terriermon and Henry ran off to hide somewhere. Rika didn't move for a moment. "Let them handle this, Rika!!" hissed Henry. She gave a disgruntled look before hiding herself. Renamon stayed out of sight. Several Heat Vipers later, all the Digimon were in their in-training forms with the exception of Patamon and Gatomon. Kimeramon started to advance on them when it suddenly stopped. Henry gave a small smile. "So far, so good." The events had been going as planned. What he didn't know was that the Emperor had spotted them just before they hid and ordered a surprise attack. "Heat Viper!!" The tamers were thrown back. "Takato!! Rika!! Henry!!" They shook off the shock from being discovered. Takato turned to the Digidestined. "We'll hold Kimeramon for a while. Get to the power source!! You'll know what to do when you get there!!" Davis nodded as he took off with Demiveemon on his head. The other Digidestined started to follow him. A small glow started to shine within each tamer's card pile. They all grabbed the glowing card and it turned out to be the Digivolution Plug In card. Calumon's mark started to glow red as well. "I guess they must be reacting to our immediate situation!!" Rika gave a scowl. "Stop analyzing the situation already, Einstein!!" "Digi Modify!!! Digivolution Activate!!" DIGIVOLUTION... "Guilmon digivolved to...Growlmon!!" "Terriermon digivolved to...Gargomon!!!" "Renamon digivolved to...Kyubimon!!" "What?!?" The Digimon Emperor clutched his black Digivice. "My dark Digivice is having no effect!!" He kept his gaze on the monitor of the battle. He didn't even notice that Wormmon has slipped out of the room. "No matter. Kimeramon will finish them off!!" Before he could give one of those super villain laughs, a voice started talking in his head. "You shouldn't be playing with the forces of darkness..." The Emperor clutched his head. "Not you again!! Get out of my head!!!" "Fox Tail Inferno!!" Kyubimon sent nine blue fireballs into Kimeramon's face. It didn't do much damage considering he had Kabuterimon's helmet. "Gargo Laser!!" Gargomon shot out several small energy beams from his machine gun hands. "Pyro Blaster!!" Growlmon's attack was waved aside by one of Kimeramon's arms. "Heat Viper!!" The tamers each took out a card and prepared to slide it through their Digivices. "Digi Modify!! Speed Activate!!" All three Digimon started to run all over the place. Kimeramon had a diffficult time trying to get a good shot. He finally gave up and flew into the air to fire a huge Heat Viper. But before he was about to prepare the shot, the lights went out. Henry grinned. "Mission accomplished!!" Kimeramon immediately created a huge hole to get to the power chamber. "Where's Frankenmon going?" A golden light came out from the hole. "That answer your question, Rika?" Davis held the Digiegg of Miracles in his hands. "Golden Armor Energize!!" Veemon became surrounded by the light. "Veemon golden armor-digivolved to...Magnamon!!!" "What's this?!?" Davis gave an angry glare at the Emperor. "Magnamon is going to be the one who takes you down!!" Just as the Digimon Emperor and Davis were exchanging more insults, Kimeramon burst out from below and charged at Magnamon. The tamers came out from the hole, with Takato, Rika, Henry, Calumon, Terriermon and Renamon riding on Growlmon's back. "Hey, check out Magnamon!!" exclaimed Takato. The group got off from Growlmon's back and he transformed back to Guilmon before landing on the catwalk. "I'm tired, Takatomon..." "Are you guys alright?" Henry gave a smile. "Don't worry about us, Cody. Just stay focused on Kimeramon." More explosions rocked the area. An alarm started ringing through the base. "If this base is going down, you're going down with it!! Goodbye, Digifools!!" The Emperor laughed as he ran off. "Rika, you and the other Digidestined kids should go down to the dungeon and free the Digimon down there," said Henry in a 'no arguing' tone. "Whatever. What about goggle head and his twin brother?" Davis was cheering on Magnamon as he dodged several of Kimeramon's Heat Vipers. Takato brushed off some of the explosion dust off his sleeve. "Henry and I have to keep an eye out for any additional trouble here. You should do the same for the other kids." "Mm-hmm. Let's go, Renamon." The two started to follow the Digidestined kids to the dungeon. Takato turned back to the battle just in time to see Magnamon take a punch from Kimeramon. "No, no!! Give him the old one-two!!" Magnamon shook off the hit. "Who's doing the fighting here, Davis?!?" Takato turned to Henry. "Shouldn't we give a hand or something?" Henry shook his head. "This is Magnamon's fight. He should be strong enough to take down Kimeramon. Remember at the end how Wormmon gave that energy boost to help finish the fight?" Davis kept on yelling encouragement phrases, oblivious to what the two tamers behind him said. Takato looked around. "Where did Wormmon go?" Terriermon pointed a small finger at the small window which the Emperor previously occupied. "I think I saw him climbing up to get to there." "Aren't you just the little bit worried that things are going to screw up at the end?" The other boy shook his head again. "It's destiny. And destiny cannot be denied." That line of reasoning wasn't good enough to convince Takato. "What about when the Digidestined interfered with the Emperor's plans to take over the digital world, Henry? What if the Emperor's destiny was to control the digital world? That changed." "I know you want to help but Magnamon's doing just fine." Takato stared at the battle scene. "Oh, really? Take a look for yourself." Henry turned his gaze to see Kimeramon beating the living snot out of Magnamon. "He's an armored Digimon. He'll be able to pull through this battle with his armor softening Kimeramon's blows." Takato's frustration grew even more. "Henry, what are you afraid of?! You say we have to preserve the timeline but you also say that we can't interfere with the battles of the Digidestined!! You're not making sense!!" Terriermon hopped off Henry's head. "He does have a point. You're not making sense." "It's as simple as this. We preserve the timeline by stopping anything that doesn't fit into current events. We let the Digidestined fight their own battles, they get the same victories and life goes on, both in their world and in ours," said Henry. Takato calmly started to state his argument. "The problem is that they won't get the same victories. When we came here, we set things way off course. We messed up when we stopped Yolei from obtaining the Digiegg of Sincerity. We led the Digidestined on a wild goose chase. While on the way, things could have changed to make our world a little bit more messed. I say if we're going to change things, we might as well make good changes rather than bad ones." The boy remained silent as he took in these new facts. "But fate will prevail in the end. It always did..." Terriermon put his tiny hands on his hips. "Well, as I see it, fate will prevail only if we help steer it in the right direction. Kind of like one of those...things your dad drives. He has to make changes in order to get where he wants. Now we have to do the same. And personally, I think that makes sense." Henry smiled. "You're right. The both of you. There are battles we have to fight in order to steer the future where we want it. The Digidestined will have no idea where the future may lead. I say we watch the roadmap and help them steer while they drive towards their fate and possibly ours as well." A card in his pocket started to glow. The other Digidestined ran inside the room. Yolei gave a status report. "All the Digimon are out! Rika's checking for any other prisoners. We came back to get you out of here...what's that glow?" Henry took out the card. "It's the...Digiegg of Fate." A simultaneous 'what?' came out from TK, Kari, Davis, Yolei and Cody. Takato grinned. "It could be a sign!! Slide it through your Digivice!!" "Okay, Takato. Digi Modify!! Digiegg of Fate Activate!!" The card in his hand started to transform itself into the Digiegg of Fate. Henry lowered his arm gently and held the Digiegg. Takato was shaking with excitement. "Now say the magic words. You know..." The boy snapped out of his shocked state. "Right. Digi Armor Energize!!!" "This feels funny," said Calumon as his mark glowed red. ARMOR DIGIVOLUTION.... "Terriermon armor-digivolved to...Rapidmon, Holy Knight of Fate!!" Rapidmon had yellow armor with red streaks covering the ends of his arms and his ears. The icon of Fate appeared on the bottom torso. He leapt off the catwalk and attacked. "Rapid Fire!!" The missiles caused Kimeramon to back away from Magnamon. Rapidmon hovered close by. "You up for a double team?" Magnamon gave a chuckle. "Let's do this!!" They both got into a defensive position as Kimeramon prepared to attack. * * * * * * * * * * * * The Emperor kept climbing the long flight of stairs. In a few moments, the base would collapse. Too bad he couldn't activate the self-destruct device but unfortunately, he had to drain power from it in order to complete Kimeramon. No matter. Kimeramon is a walking, talking weapon that will take care of everything for him. "Going somewhere, little boy emperor?" The Emperor stopped in his tracks to see a figure walking towards him. "You!!!! Y-you're one of them!!!!" he stammered as he stared into the icy, violet eyes of the Digimon Queen herself, Rika Nonaka. * * * * * * * * * * * * "You!!!! Y-you're one of them!!!!" Rika slowly descended down the stairs. The Digimon Emperor could see that Renamon stood not too far behind her tamer in case things got hairy. "Wow. The mighty emperor makes an accurate observation after his obvious failures to see what's in front of him." The Emperor's face turned into a scowl. "What is that supposed to mean?" A cold smile came across Rika's face. "It's amusing that you still can't figure it out. Shouldn't you have made the deductions already? After all, you are the boy genius Ken Ichijoji. You can do almost anything!!" He pulled out his whip. "My name is not Ken!!! It's the Digimon Emperor!!! And you will learn to give me the respect I deserve!" Renamon was about to step forward when Rika raised a hand to stop her. "As a matter of fact, I'm giving you the respect you deserve. It's the type of respect that an egotistical, ignorant, cowardly fraud would earn." "Rapidmon, look out!!" Henry's warning came too late. The Heat Viper slammed into the holy knight Digimon, making a gigantic hole in the wall. Rapidmon came flying back through the hole. "That's it!!! Now I'm really mad!! Rapid Fire!!" Takato had a puzzled look on his face. "How did Rapidmon shake off that Heat Viper so quickly?" Henry took a moment to recall the facts behind the armored version of Rapidmon. "He's an armored Digimon. His defensive armor has increased considerably so he can take more damage. But his speed had to be compensated. From the way he's moving, I would say that he's 85 percent as fast as he would normally be in his ultimate form." Yolei had to push up her glasses. "Wait a minute...all this time we've been seeing nothing but blurs from this Rapidmon. You're saying that the ultimate level Rapidmon is faster than this?!" TK had a small worried look on his face. "You have to hand it to Ken. He designed a really powerful Digimon. Can Rapidmon and Magnamon take him down?" Davis turned to the other boy. "Of course they can, TP!! Man, have a little faith will ya? After all seeing how you hold the Crest of Hope, you should be hoping they can win!!" "Hold it! I think I know why Kimeramon has been able to hold off Magnamon and Rapidmon. He's a data type while Rapidmon and Magnamon are vaccine type Digimon," stated Henry. "What does that have to do with anything?" asked Kari. Henry had a grim look on his face. "From what I remember, virus type Digimon usually have an advantage over data types and vaccine types can defeat virus types. By that logic, data types should be able to defeat vaccine types." "You are a fraud. The dark spore was the one giving you athletic and academic enchancements and it made you look like a superstar. You felt superior to everyone else. Your parents, your teachers, everyone. The fact is that you're inferior to all of them. They actually worked hard to get where they wanted to be. You took the easy way to success. On the surface, you were able to specialize in almost everything. But the only real thing you specialize in is running away when things get tough. That's what all cowards do." Wormmon stiffened. 'How did she know about the time when a dark spore got implanted inside Ken?' "I-" Rika cut the Emperor off before he could even speak. "You're running away from an important battle just like you ran away from your problems in real life. You know, every person has them but at least they have the courage to face them and live with the consequences and burdens. You however go into the digital world where you can escape and play this game, which is being the digital version of Napoleon. Games, games, games...is that what your life is all about now? Is everything one big game? Wouldn't games have rules to go by? Here's a reality check for you, Ichijoji. There are no rules and there is no game. There is only the horror which you have inflicted upon the innocents of this world. What would Sam think of you now? He definitely wouldn't see you as the kind and gentle little brother he once knew." Cody quickly scanned the Digidestined Digimon. "I don't think any of us have any virus type Digimon!!" Takato looked at the somewhat tired Guilmon. "You're forgetting about Guilmon!! He could help fight Kimeramon if he had the energy!!" Yolei gave a sigh. "And this isn't exactly the best time to eat when the entire base could go down at any time!!" Henry fished around for a card. "Take this, Takato!! It should recharge Guilmon!!" Takato took the card and prepared to slash it through his Digivice. "Digi Modify!! Stamina Activate!!!"Guilmon's energy levels started to rise and soon he was up and about. "Wow...I feel all better. Can we eat, Takatomon?" Takato took the Digivolution card out. "After this fight, buddy. Di-" Henry stopped him from placing the card in the Digivice. "If Guilmon digivolves, he may tear this place up just by his size!! We need to take the fight outside where there's more room!! Rapidmon!!" The holy knight Digimon heard what his tamer said. "I'm on it!! Miracle Missile!!" A few cracks were made in the wall. Yolei grabbed her D3. "I'll help too!! Ready, Hawkmon?" The little bird Digimon nodded. "Digi Armor-" Davis held up his hand. "Wait!! We could use Kimeramon to open up the hole for us!! Remember the time we got Redvegiemon to crack the control spire when Flamedramon was right in front of it?" The others were shocked at the fact that Davis came up with a good idea. Henry was the first to recover. "Yeah! It could probably work!!" Davis grinned before turning back to the fight. "Magnamon!! You have to play matador!! Remember those cool bull fights we saw on TV last week?" The armored Digimon instantly knew what Davis was getting at. He placed himself right in front of the crack that Rapidmon had made. Kimeramon charged him with all his strength. "Can Magnamon move out of the way fast enough?" asked TK. Henry replied to his question. "Don't worry. Rapidmon will be able to move Magnamon away at the last minute." A crash was heard as the wall collapsed. Rapidmon and Magnamon were hovering safely at one of the sides of the hole. "We'll keep Kimeramon away while you guys get outside and to safety!!" With that said, the two armored Digimon flew outside to continue the fight. Takato took the card and prepared to swipe it. "Before you do that modify thing, let our Digimon armor-digivolve first so we can fly out!" Cody and Davis gave some room for the other three Digidestined kids. "DIGI ARMOR ENERGIZE!!" "Hawkmon armor-digivolved to...Halsemon, the Wings of Love!!" "Gatomon armor-digivolved to...Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!!" "Patamon armor-digivolved to...Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!!" Davis grinned. "Alright!! We all have a ride!! I'm calling Nefertimon!!" But before he could move, Henry took a seat behind Kari on Nefertimon with Calumon in Kari's arms and Terriermon on Henry's head. Cody hopped on Halsemon with Armadillomon in his arms. Halsemon groaned. "You have to cut down on the sashimi, Armadillomon!" Armadillomon had a small guilty look. "But they're so irresistable!! Especially with wasabe!!" Davis grumbled about how life's not fair as he sat behind TK. "What about you, Takato? Aren't you going to get a ride?" Takato shook his head. "I already got a ride. You guys should get going. I'll be right behind you in a jiffy." Pegasusmon and Halsemon headed towards the opening with Nefertimon not too far behind. Takato swiped the card after they were a good distance away. "Digi Modify!!! Digivolution Activate!!" DIGIVOLUTION.... "Guilmon digivolved to...Growlmon!!" The platform started to give away. Growlmon gently placed Takato on his back. Takato found the card he was looking for. "Digi Modify!! Hyperwing Activate!!" Just as the structure they were standing on collapsed, Growlmon started to fly. "Let's get going before they're too far ahead!! We have to help Rapidmon!!" "Hang on, Takatomon!!" The virus Digimon soared through the hole just as the central power core began to explode, finally yielding to the pressure that has been building up. They saw Rapidmon and Magnamon getting a bit worn out but they still kept on fighting. "Rapid Fire!!!" "Magna Blast!!" Growlmon landed where Nefertimon and the others waited and gently placed Takato down. Then he took off again to join the fight. "Just when will you stop running away from everything? When will you reclaim your ethics and morals?" The Emperor had a dozen drops of sweat all over his face. "What about you? From the way you're talking, it sounds like that you have done some bad things yourself." Rika narrowed her eyes. "I take lives in order to preserve the lives of others. You cause unnecessary suffering." The stairway started shaking due to the central core's imminent destruction. Lights began to blink on and off. The Emperor recognized the pattern. 'The structural integrity of the base is collapsing!!' Renamon looked at Rika. "We have to go." The tamer nodded. "Here's some food for thought. If Digimon aren't real and everything here is just a game, then what did you see at the soccer match? I'll let you solve that last riddle on your own." "Pyro Blaster!!" The attack hit Kimeramon in his chest. He fell backwards a little before recovering. "Heat Viper!!" The three Digimon dodged his counterattack. Takato turned to Henry. "Don't you have a Viral Conversion or something?!?" Henry gave a fiery glare. "Even if I did, Takato, I'm not going to use it to change Rapidmon's attribute to virus just to gain an advantage in a fight. If I did, I would be an irresponsible tamer! I have to consider the side effects of a huge transformation!!" Takato looked at the ground in shame. He hadn't even considered the side effects of such a move. 'I haven't considered Guilmon's well being when I used all those different cards. I shouldn't even be a tamer if I can't put the well being of my Digimon before anything else. But with such strange circumstances taking place, I can't go back to being a normal kid. Please give me another chance, buddy.' He looked up to see Growlmon dodging Kimeramon's Heat Viper. 'I promise that I will be worthy of you.' A strange electrical shock occurred in his pocket where his cards were. Takato took them out and found a blue card. "Henry!! It's the blue card!!" "What?!?" The other boy looked at the card. "The blue card? What is it?" They saw Davis giving a curious look. "I'm not sure. All I know is that when I found it the first time and slashed it through the card reader, it turned into my Digivice." Takato took the card and saw in very faint letters 'Matrix Digivolution'. "But this time, I think it's here to give us the extra edge in battle. I have to try this out and hope for the best. Growlmon!!" The virus Digimon retreated back to where the others stood. "I want to try something but..." "Whatever it is, Takatomon, it will probably make me stronger just like with all the other cards." Takato smiled. He took out his Digivice. "Digi Modify!!! Matrix Digivolution Activate!!" Calumon's mark glowed a bright red as his Crystal Matrix became active. A light emerged from both Calumon and the Digivice to hit Growlmon. MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION.... "Growlmon digivolved to...Wargrowlmon!!" They all gasped in awe at the new Digimon standing towards them. Takato was probably the most shocked, considering the fact he hadn't designed Guilmon's ultimate form yet. Statistics started to pop up from Takato's Digivice. "Wargrowlmon, an ultimate level cyborg virus Digimon. His Radiation Blade slices his enemies while his Atomic Baster nukes them." Wargrowlmon took off into the air. Rapidmon and Magnamon had to regroup from Kimeramon's attacks. "You two should rest for a bit. I'll handle this." Kimeramon remained undaunted by the arrival of the new Digimon. "Heat Viper!!" Wargrowlmon dodged the energy wave. He dived in and slashed one of Kimeramon's arms. The group could hear Kimeramon howl in pain. Davis blinked in shock. "Whoa!! One attack did that much damage?" Henry checked his Digivice. "Apparently, Wargrowlmon's attack power has increased exponentially probably because of the fact he's fighting a data type Digimon." Takato grinned. "Now's the chance to finish it off!!" "All together now!! Tri Beam!!" The beam hit Kimeramon right in the face. "Magna Blast!!" Energy waves came from Magnamon's golden armor and hit below the stomach area. "Atomic Blaster!!!!!" Two red beams of energy erupted from Wargrowlmon's chest and hit Kimeramon right in the abdomen. He screamed as he became disintegrated. Soon the Digidestined and the two tamers were shouting in joy with the new victory. The celebration was short lived when they heard the explosions that came from the Digimon Emperor's base. "Oh, no!!! Rika!!!!" They all stared in horror as the structure erupted into flames. Calumon however was amazed at the fireworks show being displayed in front of him. Magnamon transformed back to his in-training form, Demiveemon. He started to fall from the high altitude. Wargrowlmon and Rapidmon started shrinking as well. Takato, Davis and Henry ran as fast as they could to catch them. Guilmon landed on Takato while Henry caught a tired Terriermon. Davis kept on running but it didn't appear that he would make it. A yellow blur ran past him and Demiveemon landed safely in Rika's arms. Takato gawked at how they just appeared like that. "Rika!! Kyubimon!! You're fine!!!! What happened back there?" Rika got off Kyubimon and tossed Demiveemon to a surprised Davis. "Everything started to explode. I used the Digivolution card and Kyubimon blasted a hole to escape. Once we were clear, we turned back to check for the Emperor but he got out by riding Devidramon. There was a bright light and I noticed that Kimeramon got disintegrated by some new version of Dino Boy. Then they all started to shrink. Kyubimon asked me to swipe the Hyperspeed card since goggle moron wouldn't be able to make the catch." The others soon caught up to them. "So did you find any other Digimon?" Rika shook her head. "The base was pretty much clear. But I did run into Ken. And as far as I'm concerned, he won't be making any world domination plans any time soon." Henry sighed. "I guess as long as he starts working with us to take down the real enemy...where did the blue card and the Digiegg of Fate card go to?" He looked at Kari and Yolei. They both simultaneously shrugged. "Well, we got a few days before school. I say we should go home and...wait a minute!! Where are they going to stay?" Cody pointed a thumb at the tamers. TK smiled. "We'll figure something out. After all, they were a big help in the fight. The least we can do is give them a place to stay until they can return to the future." Takato raised an eyebrow. "You'll be letting us stay at your houses? I don't think it's necessary. With Ken gone, we can find resources in the digital world and start fixing it up." "Don't worry about fixing things up now! Our first priority is to give you a home here now that our major problems have been resolved. We insist that you guys stay with us!!" Yolei grinned before giving her trademark wink. Henry was about to speak. "But-" Kari interrupted him. "But nothing!! It's the least we can do!!" "Gee, that's very nice of you guys. The only polite thing we can do is accept the offer." The two other tamers gave Takato a 'what the hell do you think you're doing' look. Henry gave a sigh. "There's a Chinese curse that my sensei told me: May you live in interesting times. Something tells me that things are going to get interesting with us around." Rika hung back while the other tamers followed the Digidestined. When they weren't looking, she quietly pocketed the Crest of Kindness that she found near the crash site just before the bright light shone through. 'I'm going to keep you as a souvenir...' "Hurry up, slow poke!! And you say I'm slow..." She ran up to Takato and lightly smacked him on the head. "If you want to keep breathing, don't ever call me slow poke again." The boy rubbed his head as he turned his back on the smoke coming from what was left of the Digimon Emperor's base.