Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Beyond The Other Side ❯ Third Configuratiom, Part 2 of 2 ( Chapter 6 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Author's Notes: Enjoy.

Disclaimers: Digimon belongs to Fox, Saban and whoever else owns it. Star Trek belongs to Paramount. Magic belongs to Wizards of the Coast. Please don't sue!!

Beyond The Other Side - Third Configuration (Part 2 of 2)

When everything had settled, the tamers along with everyone else in the vicinity except for Gargoylemon, Calumon and Flamedramon had a look of pure shock. Flamedramon looked at himself. "Is there something wrong, Takatomon?" asked the armored Digimon in his childish voice. He held out his arms. "Oooohhhh...I got cool gloves like that other guy!!"

Takato couldn't hold in his excitement much longer. "This...this is unreal!!! I have a Flamedramon of my very own!!!!! This is so cool!!!!" Rika started scanning the new version of Flamedramon. "Hmmmmm...he has all the qualities of the other Flamedramon with attacks, speed and other stuff...it says here that he is a data type." Henry gave a small smile. "At least we fulfilled the conditions to this prophecy!! We have to finish him off now!!!"

The virus armored Digimon quickly attacked. "Great Cyclone!!" Exveemon and Raidramon got out of the way. Flamedramon started running towards the battle area. "White Statue!!!" Gargoylemon fired a beam directly at Flamedramon. He leapt to the right. Exveemon placed his hands together as a stepping stone for Flamedramon. "Alley Oop!!!" Soon Flamedramon had gained enough height to soar just above Gargoylemon. His body burst into flames as he dived down. "Fire Rocket!!!" Gargoylemon was knocked down but still remained in the air. Exveemon took this opportunity to go after him.

Gargoylemon noticed this and tried to fly high but Exveemon grabbed his leg and tossed him down to the ground. "Vee Laser!!!!" "Thunder Blast!!!" Flamedramon held up his right arm. "Fire Rocket!!!!" The three attacks merged together to form a ball of energy that ripped right through Gargoylemon. He had no time to scream as his data dissipated and became absorbed by both Raidramon and Flamedramon.

As soon as Flamedramon finished uploading the data, Takato ran up to give the armored Digimon a huge hug. Then he started twirling him around in a 'ring around the rosie' fashion. Flamedramon couldn't help but express the joy and excitement his tamer felt. Rika walked up behind Raidramon. "Typical goggle head...hey, are you alright?" Raidramon gave a small sigh. "Peachy." Rika raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon? Is there something wrong?"

Raidramon tried to put on her usual unemotional face. "Nothing at all, Rika. Just thinking of some things such as why Guilmon was able to armor-digivolve." Rika gave an understanding nod. "That's practically the million dollar question of the day." Raidramon remained silent. 'My personal life has just become a lot more complicated...'

The digital field started to dissipate as the threat has now been resolved. "Takato Matsuki!!!" The boy stopped dancing and came face to face with a calmer and somewhat more angrier Jerri. He gave a nervous laugh. "Hey...what's up?"

TK and the others ran up from behind. "As soon as she calmed herself down, she got mad and ran like crazy in your direction!! Sorry we couldn't stop her," wheezed Armadillomon. Ken gave a smile. "Don't worry about it. Gargoylemon got dusted by Exveemon, Raidramon and Flamedramon." "Flamedramon?!?!" Now it was their turn to have a look of pure shock on their faces.

"Ever since I met Calumon and he told me that he knows you, I knew that you were in the centre of this Digimon mess!!! So I want to know exactly what's going on!!!!" Takato raised his hands in surrender. "Calm down, Jerri!! I know this is freaking you out...um...you don't watch Digimon, don't you?"

Jerri paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, I only watched one episode. I didn't like it very much so I never watched it again. Digimon are weird...but now that they're real and here, I should start getting to know them better! Where's your Digimon?" Flamedramon was about to reply when he changed back to Guilmon. The Digiegg of Courage went straight back to Davis. Raidramon changed back to Renamon as well. "I guess you can say hello now...but it's going to get dark in a few hours. Why don't you swing by the bakery tomorrow morning and we can talk or something."

The girl didn't reply as she was focused on the red Digimon behind Takato. He gave an awkward 'hi'. Jerri squealed in delight. "Wow!!! This is your Digimon?!" Takato beamed with pride. "Yep. Pretty cool, huh?" Jerri threw her arms around Guilmon's neck. "It's so adorable and cute!!"

"Cute?!?! You mean cool, right?!? If you want cute..." Takato took this moment to borrow Patamon from TK. "...this little guy would be more suitable!!" Jerri giggled. "I guess but your Digimon looks so innocent and young!! Like a giant baby!!" Guilmon blinked. "Well...I have been here for about...um...a month? I think..."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

In another part of the park, some distance away from the tamers and the Digidestined, a small lone Digimon was sulking about how loyal Renamon and the others were to their partners. "Damn it all!!!! Can't they see how humans will eventually betray them in the end?!? If I'm going to drill this lesson into their heads, then I need more power!!! Then I can teach those digi pets a thing or two about siding with humans!!!"

A small flash of light appeared at his right side. Impmon stopped his rantings to see what exactly was this phenomenon. A voice boomed from within the light. "Are you the one called Impmon?" The rookie Digimon narrowed his green eyes. "Yeah. What's it to you?" Before he knew it, the light turned into a vacuum and sucked him inside. The portal quickly shut as soon as he was inside.

'Very curious indeed.' Shadowgallantmon came out of hiding after observing Impmon getting sucked into that portal. 'A portal leading to another dimension sucks up a rookie level Digimon. And what of that fog? I could have sworn there was a battle but when I get there...silence. The battle had already been won by someone.' The dark knight gave a small amused chuckle. 'My, my...this world is full of little mysteries. If there are powerful forces here, perhaps I should consider the direct approach to flush them out.'

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"You know, you guys don't have to walk us home. We'll be fine by ourselves," stated Rika in a monotone. Terriermon was flexing his muscles, testing to make sure that the statue effect had worn off completely. "Well, it would be pretty rude not to escort a lady back to her home." Rika gave a snort. "I already have Renamon. I don't need you goofballs."

Terriermon just thought of an interesting point. "I was wondering...why are you still helping us out? You said that the alliance would be terminated when we got back home." Rika wasn't prepared for that question and had to think up of an answer. "Well...so far it has been an adventure of a lifetime. And Renamon did learn how to digivolve all the way up to ultimate when we were with you. I also have a personal policy to always finish what I start and the adventure is far from over with the Digidestined in town. Besides, I want to stick around so I can throw more insults to goggle head over there."

Takato gave a sigh. "Girls...I just can't understand them. They have these mood swings...just like Jerri did. First she was scared. Then mad. Then all peachy when she saw Guilmon and called him cute." He got hit in the back of the head by Rika. "Sorry. Mood swing." Yolei decided to slap Davis at the back of his head. "Ditto."

Henry cleared his throat. "Look, Rika. All we want is to make sure they get to your place safely without causing any commotion. Do you know what could happen if people found out that Digimon are real and that the Digidestined are in town? Guys would be drooling over Kari and Yolei and they would try to score a date through extreme measures. Girls would be mobbing Ken, Cody and TK because of their charming good looks..." Davis started glaring at Henry. "...and Davis of course."

Davis ceased his glaring and stretched his arms. "I guess that's the price to pay for being famous. Yeah, it's not the typical fame. I mean, it was pretty weird and frightening at first knowing that you're fictional characters in this world. But now, you can achieve instant fame just by proving to the world that you actually exist from a world in which they originally thought was a fantasy. Hey...what type of stuff about us is out there other than TV shows?"

Takato started to think. "Let's see...your Digimon and your Digivices are part of the card game. And in some cases, some of the Digidestined appear as program cards. You are on posters, movies, some comics, magazines..." Henry raised a finger. "Don't forget fanfics on the internet!!" The other boy blinked. "Fanfics?"

Henry continued speaking. "They're short for fanfiction. You see there are a lot of fans out there who wanted things in the show to be different. They're not satisfied with what they see on television so they write their own stories on how things should have been." Rika just shook her head in disbelief. "Whoever has the time to read and write fanfics needs to seriously get a life." (AN: I bet all of you can feel her glaring at you right now)

"You don't have to put it down, Rika. Fanfiction is becoming increasingly popular as it brings people around the world to share ideas about a particular subject. It also acts as a way to socialize. If you went on the internet, you can easily find a ton of fanfics."

Before Henry could continue, Kari interrupted him. "What type of fanfics are there about us? How many are there?" Henry started thinking. "There are more than twenty thousand stories on one site alone. I would approximate that stories concerning the characters from the TV show make up at least 90 % of the overall total. There are a few Digimon tamers stories based on the card game like this one story which uses journal entries as a form of narration. Quite an interesting perspective. Other than that, it's just stories based on season 1 and season 2 of the show. As for the types of fanfics, you do get in a lot of crazy situations. Parodies, game shows, adventures-" "Romance?!?" Yolei had a starry look on her face. Henry laughed. "Yes...even romance."

"Who gets together with who? Do I get to find the guy of my dreams?" The boy was starting to get a little disturbed with Yolei's enthusiasm towards romance. "Well, there are several different types of couples out there. Tai with Sora, Sora with Matt..." "Tai and Matt." Henry gave a small start while Terriermon snickered silently. Fortunately, Kari and TK weren't paying too much attention. "I beg your pardon?"

Henry was about to speak when Davis interrupted him. "So are there fanfics in where me and Kari become a couple? Man, I have got to read those. See how I did it and do the exact same thing!!" Yolei started laughing. "You and Kari? Together? I don't think there is a person who thinks that you two would go together."

Takato raised his hand meekly. "Actually, I think it might be able to work out. If Davis can learn how to be more sensitive...chicks dig that stuff!! I think..." Rika rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised? Whoever writes stories about Davis making it with Kari and Tai making it with Sora must be like you, Takato." She raised her fist in a mocking manner. "Goggle heads around the world...unite!!"

Henry waited after Rika finished her ranting. "Believe it or not, there are stories that involve Davis and Kari getting romantically involved." Terriermon had a small gleam in his eye. "And there are some stories that involve Davis spending some 'quality' time with the guys...if you know what I mean." The Digidestined simply had confused looks.

The boy picked up Terriermon from his head and walked a little further ahead to speak to him quietly. "You know you don't have to start telling all the guys that they were central characters in homosexual romance stories!! I never expected someone like you to be reading this sort of stuff!!" The little vaccine Digimon gave a grin. "What's wrong, Henry? Love is love. It doesn't matter what gender you are. If the feelings of both partners are genuine, then the opinions of others shouldn't matter."

"I think I'm starting to know why there are a lot of these stories on the net. Frankly, I don't care what you do on the net as long as you don't discuss it in public!! Homosexuality isn't the type of thing people want to talk about openly. They usually go to special places for that." Terriermon crossed his arms. "Fine...let's see how they react to crossbreeding." Henry sighed. "You are one queer Digimon, you know that?"

"Hey, where did Calumon go?" asked Cody. Takato turned around to face the other boy. "I told you already, he's a guy who likes to be free. Don't worry about him, he'll be fine. I just hope that when we're in trouble, he comes along to help our Digimon digivolve...hopefully, he'll be somewhere safe."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"So where is this great enemy that the Sovereign ordered us to fight?" asked Pajiramon. The twleve Devas had been searching the digital world to locate Millenniumon but for someone who is supposed to have a lot of power, he is difficult to find. Antylamon narrowed her eyes. "We must keep looking. For every second that passes, he regains more power."

"Perhaps we should split up into groups. That way we can cover more ground," proposed Caturamon. Majiramon started thinking if it was a good idea. But before he could give an answer, the ground began to shake. Out of nowhere, the synthetic Digimon pops up from behind them. He was a larger version of Kimeramon but he was grey and black with red eyes. Bits of machinery replaced some of the original organic parts. He appeared to be a little unstable. "I d-don't think that will b-be necessary. Maka!!" squeaked Makuramon.

"Split up!!!" One of Millenniumon's arms shot out to grab Vikaralamon. The pig Deva started frantically squealing. "Positron Pulse!!!" Sinduramon tried his attack but Millenniumon completely ignored it. Antylamon had a grim look in her eyes. "We're too late..."

In another part of the digital world, Ryo Akiyama rode on Cyberdramon's head, looking for some clues as to Millenniumon's whereabouts. 'For something of this magnitude, usually one of the Sovereigns would have contacted me. With my record against Millenniumon, they would surely send me straight to him to fight. Azulongmon, Baihumon and Ebonwumon must have their hands full in their realms...and Zhuqiaomon has always felt contempt for humans. Even when I stopped Millenniumon before, he still didn't really like me. But this is a situation that is more important than racism...'

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The phone inside the Nonaka mansion started to ring. Rumiko picked it up. "Is Miss Makino there? It's Mr. Fujiyiko." She made a mental note to remind the studio to stop using her maiden name. "Yes, this is Rumiko. What do you want?"

Outside, Rika was mentally preparing herself to ask her mother to let the Digidestined stay for some time until they can send them back. That meant revealing Renamon and the truth about what really happened. If her mother wasn't so sharp eyed about the Digimon TV show like her grandmother...Rika took a deep breath before going in. She saw her mother...packing? "Mom? Where are you...?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, honey. I know we were supposed to spend some quality time together but I got an emergency call from the agency. I need to go on a tour that will last a week or so since Keiko got injured." A small smile formed on Rika's face. "Don't worry about me, mom. Just go out there and do what you do best. And when you get back...I'll still be here."

Rumiko placed the last suitcase down before giving Rika a hug. "Thanks for being so patient with me, Rika. I'll make it up to you, I promise. And if you plan to go out, call your grandmother once an hour." She quickly grabbed her bags and dashed out the door.

Rika followed her mother out and waved as the taxi disappeared from sight with her mother waving back. "Renamon...the coast is clear. You can bring them in now." The Digidestined quickly snuck into the gardens. Rika approached her grandmother nervously with the other kids and Digimon behind her. "Um...grandma? I have some friends here who just came into town. They need to use the guest rooms for a bit."

The old woman looked at these kids. They looked awfully similar to those kids she saw her daughter and granddaughter watch on television. And their stuffed animals almost looks alive. "You do bear a very good resemblance to those kids on television." Rika started to mentally panic as she came up with a good excuse. "Um...uh...I met them at a Digimon convention. They won the best prize for character impersonation!! With the hair cut, the eye colour, the clothing...they even bought a life like Digimon partner and D3!"

"Well, I guess it's alright with me as long as their parents won't mind. It's nice to know that you're meeting interesting people, Rika." Rika gave a small sigh of relief as she led the other kids to their guest rooms. They all shouted at the same time "Thanks!!" at Rika's grandmother.

Rika started assigning rooms for her guests. "This is how it's going to be. Davis and Ken get this room. Yolei and Kari sleep there. TK and Cody can have this room. One person at a time for the baths and showers. No peeking at any of my stuff. And we're going to have to change your identities so you can go out into our world unnoticed but we'll save that for later. Any questions?" Davis raised his hand. "Um...I don't suppose you have spare clothes or anything...um..."

"Kari, Yolei, you can use my closet of doom...that's where I keep all the dresses and girlish clothes my mother gets for me. Although I have no idea why I don't throw them out...as for the four of you, my father's closet still has some stuff in it. You can check there..." The sudden thought of her father nearly brought a tear to her eye. She walked away before any of the Digidestined could notice her reaction about her father.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Hello? Where the heck am I, huh? Answer me!!!" The virus rookie Digimon had been floating around for some time. He could notice whispering in the distance. Impmon tried to strain his ears to hear it but had no luck. A loud roar that came from what sounded like a machine echoed in the world. Then the voice he heard in the portal started to speak again. "I apologize for the inconvenience I've caused you. I would also like to express my congratulations." Before Impmon could ask why, a hole opened underneath him and he dropped into a pool of lava. The last thing he saw before surrendering to the darkness was a giant phoenix hovering over him. "You've just been drafted."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

<Captain's log, Stardate 59035.2...it is the one year anniversary since the beginning of the war between the Federation and the Phyrexian Alliance. I have taken this opportunity to create a special memorial service for the crew members who died in the line of duty during that year, including Lieutenant Mirri and Ensign Ertai...> Her log entry was interrupted when the room shook. Sirens and red lights started filling the ready room.

"Red Alert!! All officers report to battle stations!!!" Captain Sisay exited her ready room to the bridge.

"It's another Phyrexian attack," mumbled her first officer, Gerrard Capashen. The bridge shook again as the Weatherlight took another shot from the enemy vessel.

"Shields are down to 68%. Our weapons are having little effect on the Phyrexian shields," reported Lieutenant Commander Tahngarth, the Minotaur chief tactical officer.

Sparks flew out from behind the operations console as another torpedo hit the ship. Lieutenant Hanna quickly started pressing keys to activate emergency procedures. "We have a hull breach on deck 10!! Emergency force fields are in place!!"

"Helm, lay in a course that will take us back to Federation territory. Warp Nine," ordered Captain Sisay.

Ensign Squee, the Goblin chief pilot, frantically tried to activate the warp engines. "Unable to comply. The starboard nacelle took some damage. Attempting to compensate." He tried to hold on as the bridge shook again.

Captain Sisay narrowed her eyes. 'How the hell are they passing right through our shields?' "Tahngarth, remodulate the shields!! Helm, evasive manoeuvres!!"

"Initiating evasive sequence epsilon 2."

The bridge shook again violently. One of the bridge officers got tossed back as the console exploded in her face. Commander Capashen quickly checked on her. "Bridge to transporter room 1, we have a medical emergency and I need a site to site transport for Ensign Lunar. Have Dr. Orim on stand by."

Sweat rolled down the captain's face. "Bridge to engineering, I need warp power!!!"

"Unfortunately the Phyrexian weapons have knocked out our warp engines. We will require at least two hours for repairs," stated Lieutenant Karn, the golem chief engineer.

Sisay swore quietly before giving another order. "Helm, lay in a course heading 052 mark 349. Full impulse!"

Hanna paled at the sensor readings. "Captain, that takes us straight into-"

The bridge shook again as another shot was fired. Tahngarth checked the statistics. "Shields are down. Impulse engines have been disabled as well as thrusters. Weapons are off line." A small beep came from his console. "We are being hailed by the Phyrexians."

"On screen..." The screen changed from the view of a ship to a familiar face. Captain Sisay wasn't too surprised at who hailed them. "Crovax...it's been some time since we talked. I'm curious...you've only been on our ship for a month before the Phyrexians took you. You should have realized that we would change our strategies. How were you able to match them so precisely?"

The face on the screen smiled, revealing his fangs. "Actually, it wasn't me. We found a former crew member of yours..." Another figure with several arms came into view.

Commander Capashen gave a small gasp. "Ertai?!? But I thought his body was vaporized on Skyshroud two days ago!!"

Crovax continued grinning. "It was...most of it. We were able to save the head and a few parts. Some spare limbs and our reanimation technology did the rest. And as a new member of our society, he was more than happy to assist us in capturing you and this...Nebula class starship."

"Close the channel." Tahngarth pressed a key to cut off the link. Captain Sisay sat down in her chair, thinking. After two years of service, the USS Weatherlight, NCC-9366, is going to be captured. 'Not if I can help it.' "Computer, initiate the self-destruct sequence. Authorization: Sisay Alpha One Nine. Set it to one minute." The ship shook again as the Phyrexians activated their tractor beam. "...enable."

TO BE CONTINUED...

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~ !~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

'Whoa...now that is some good stuff.' The human known as Shibumi stretched back before moving his mouse to close the fanfic window. 'I should check up on my e-mail before getting back to work.' He activated the e-mail login and punched in his password. A new message appeared in his inbox.

'That's odd. There's no indication of where it came from. What if it's a virus?' He checked the bottom right corner of his screen to see that the virus shield logo was there. 'I do have my anti-virus program on line and ready...let's see what this says.' Shibumi clicked the message and was startled to receive the following message by the Eastern, Western and Northern Digimon Sovereigns.

{To Mizuno...or Shibumi rather,

Ever since the team known as the Monster Makers created the first Digimon in the Southern region, they have evolved and grown more powerful up to a point where some of them have emerged in your world and found human partners. And it is you that must be thanked for your efforts in driving humanity towards the Digital Revolution, the time when humans and Digimon can coexist and possibly find the next stages of their own evolutions. Unfortunately, a powerful force is on the rise and is most likely to endanger this goal. We require your assistance now more than ever. Attached to this letter are fragments of data, that will form a digi core. We have formatted it so the codes would be similar to that of your mathematical algorithm. Once the core has been constructed, deliver this to the son of your former associate, 'Tao'. Simply tell him that this is from Azulongmon. He will understand. The rest is now up to you. Good luck.

The Eastern, Western and Northern Sovereigns}

Shibumi hesitated for a moment before he scrolled down the screen. Sure enough, an attachment was found. He opened it to see several codes which have been disassembled. He immediately started transferring them for analysis.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Takato!! Jerri's here to see you!!" The boy gave a sigh before going through his little plan one more time. 'She only wants to know about Digimon. It's not like I'm going to tell her...whatever. Let's just get this over with.' Takato went down the stairs and quickly said a good bye to his parents. When he got out, he received a little shock. "Kazu?!? Kenta?!?! What are you guys doing here?!?"

Jerri had a small uncomfortable look on her face. "Sorry, Takato. They just popped out of nowhere." Kazu stuck his face right near Takato's. "Okay, chumley!! We know you're hiding a Digimon somewhere!! So spill it!!! Where did you really go when you disappeared?!? Where did you find that Digimon?!?"

Takato tried to sputter out a response but couldn't do much. Kenta adjusted his glasses. "Yeah!! Why do you get to be a Digimon tamer? What makes you so special? Who was that Digimon anyway? I don't think I saw him on any merchandise." The goggle headed boy brushed Kazu aside and looked at Jerri. "I didn't say anything!! I swear!!"

"I frankly don't know why I was chosen. It just happened. My partner's name is Guilmon and...I created him with my imagination." Kazu and Kenta just looked at him in disbelief. "You created your very own Digimon? Man, that is so cool...if I could do that, my partner would be ten times as strong as Omnimon or something," muttered Kazu.

Kenta gave a nod in agreement. "A Digimon ten times as strong as Omnimon...he would have definitely beaten that Digimon in the comic shop." Takato gave a start. "Digimon?!? Who was it? What did he look like?" Kenta stroked his chin. "It was just after we saw you and Guilmon outside the window climbing down slowly. We tried to go after you but you were too far ahead. When we came back, this big Digimon, that I've never seen before who was dressed in black armor and a blue cape, threatens us to send us to the next dimension-"

"No!!! He made it here after all!!! This isn't good..." Takato shakily reached for his D terminal but Kazu interrupted him. "Who was that big black guy anyway?" The other boy had to count to three inside his head before taking out the D terminal. "He's the dark version of Guilmon's mega form. His name is Shadowgallantmon and he's bad to the bone. I have to call the others and arrange a meeting."

"Wait a second!! There are other Digimon tamers too?!? We're coming to this meeting to see everybody and I mean everybody!!" Takato gave a sigh, knowing that Kazu and Kenta would stick to him like peanut butter. He continued typing his message and sent it to the other tamers and Digidestined.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"How do I look?" Davis checked himself out in a tennis t-shirt and long khaki shorts that ended just below his knees. Veemon gave a thumbs up. "You look absolutely great, Davis!! I bet you could score some points with Kari or something!!" Ken finished placing on his new black t-shirt that went with his black pants. He gave a grin. "Veemon's only saying that so he could get a treat later."

The two boys along with their respective partners exited the room after they placed their D terminals on their waists with their D3s. TK and Cody greeted them outside. TK still had his hat but he also had a green jacket on with a white t-shirt underneath with a pair of jeans finishing the new look. Cody simply wore a cap along with a yellow sweatshirt and track pants.

A moment later, Kari and Yolei came out, dressed in their new clothes. Yolei had a red vest on with a pink t-shirt and denim shorts with a heart on one of the back pockets. Kari had a sleeveless white shirt with a pink skirt that went down to just above her knees. TK started to stammer a bit. "K-Kari. You l-look beautiful." She gave a small blush. "Hey!! I was about to say that!!" whined Davis.

Their D terminals started to beep, signalling that a message has just been received. All of the Digidestined children opened it to the monitor. "Emergency meeting at Guilmon's place, come ASAP. Takato. PS...Jerri, Kazu and Kenta are with me waiting for you guys. They know about the Digimon already. Any Digidestined reading this should change his or her identity to keep things a secret."

Yolei started getting a starry look in her eyes. "Man, this is unreal...a whole new world to explore where we're all famous fictional characters!! Now I get to have a new identity, a whole new way of living!! When we're in public, you can call me..." "Mandy." The purple haired girl snapped out of her trance and noticed that Rika had just came out.

"Davis is David and ditch the goggles. Kari is Karen, TK is TJ, Ken is Ben and Cody is Ian. Get that through your heads and let's go." Rika headed towards the front door. She turned around to give her famous icy glare. "Are you coming or not?" Each of the Digidestined recovered from that momentary lapse in concentration and followed the Digimon Queen.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Kazu and Kenta stared in awe and amazement as they laid their eyes on Takato's partner. "At this size, I would have thought of him to be at the champion level, at least!! But you're saying that this is only his rookie form?" Takato grinned. "That's right. So what do you think? Pretty cool, huh? For some reason, Jerri thought he was cute." Kazu gave a start. "Digimon are not cute!! Sure, they start out that way for a bit but they transform into cool fighting machines!!"

"What do you get as a tamer other than a Digimon? Do you get cool stuff like the Digidestined or something?" Takato showed them his Digivice. "I got this cool Digivice that not only allows me to scan Digimon like the Digimon Analyzer but this little part here...when I use a card from the card game, Guilmon gets that ability."

Jerri was happily playing with Guilmon when she started hearing him growl. His eyes have turned somewhat wild. "T-Takato...Guilmon's acting weird..." The boy recognized that look and took out his D terminal. "Change of plan. Meet at digital field. Emergency discussion after wild Digimon is taken care of." 'That makes two digital fields in the last two days...I wonder if there's something going on in the digital world.'

Kazu grinned. "Are you saying that there's going to be a real battle somewhere here? This I gotta see!!" Takato flashed an angry glare. "You are not coming, period!! This is no longer a game!!! It's real and it's dangerous!!! And real lives are on stake here!! If any of you came and got hurt, I could never forgive myself...Guilmon, let's go!!"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"How much further? I hate acting like a stuffed animal!!" Yolei ignored Hawkmon's grumbling and kept on running. The group had been following Renamon's instincts about the location of the new digital field. As soon as they found the fog, they could hear shouting within. "Can't last much-" A loud noise drowned out the shouting. The group had to step back so that they wouldn't go deaf.

"Hey!! I think that sounded like Henry's voice! I can't quite figure out the other one," exclaimed Gatomon. Kari looked down at her Digimon partner. "Are you sure?" The vaccine Digimon pointed to her ears on her head. "What do you think these are for? Decoration purposes?"

When they all went inside, they found two Digimon hovering over an unconscious Henry Wong and an exhausted Terriermon. One of the Digimon looked like a weird blue bat with red wings. The other one appeared to be an insect humanoid with firey looking butterfly wings and other bits of armor with the same design. They both looked up in alarm at the intruders. Cody clenched his fists. "Get away from our friend!!"

Rika took out her Digivice. "The little blue bat is Pipismon, an armored Digimon. Data type. Special attacks...Sky Suplex and Quixotic Sonic. The other Digimon is Shadramon, a virus armored Digimon. Special attacks...Flare Buster and Psychic Wave. Note: they can combine the Quixotic Sonic and Psychic Wave to create a sonic wave..." (AN: The original Japanese attack names for Pipismon were Sky Jacker and Crazy Sonic) "Pyro Sphere!!" A blast of red energy collided right into Shadramon, forcing him back. Takato and Guilmon were on another side of the digital field.

"It's about time you guys showed up..." Renamon gently picked up Terriermon as the Digidestined hurried to get Henry out of the battle. Everyone else had digivolved to champion form except for Gatomon who simply armor-digivolved. "You were foolish in thinking that you could take on two armored Digimon at once." The vaccine Digimon gave a small grin. "Well, Henry knew these two armored Digimon...kind of. They were the key Digimon in his very first deck in the card game. Henry said Pipismon could be made from Patamon using the Digiegg of Love to armor-digivolve and Shadramon comes from Wormmon using the Digiegg of Courage. He was hoping to find a weakness but we underestimated their combined attack power..."

"Hand of Fate!! Hyaaahhh!!!" Angemon fired a beam of energy at Pipismon. The armored Digimon suddenly seemed to disappear. The next thing Angemon knew, Pipismon grabbed him from behind. "Sky Suplex!!" He dived towards the ground and slammed Angemon down. (AN: Kind of like Garuda's Power Fusion Attack)

Shadramon was proving himself to be a handful. "Flare Buster!!" Multiple fireballs came and attacked Stingmon, Exveemon, Nefertimon, Ankylomon, Aquilamon and Growlmon. Davis whipped out his D3. "You guys need to DNA digivolve if you're going to stand a chance!!" Nefertimon transformed back to Gatomon. At that moment, Pipismon flew up behind Shadramon. "Quixotic Sonic!!" "Psychic Wave!!!"

The combined attacks created a sonic wave that gave splitting headaches and made everyone dizzy immediately. Stingmon and Exveemon couldn't concentrate hard enough to DNA digivolve to Paildramon. "Does anyone have earplugs or something?!?" yelled Davis. Shadramon and Pipismon took that oppotunity to attack. "Flare Buster!!" "Sky Suplex!!" Exveemon, Aquilamon and Stingmon were the unfortunate victims of the attacks as they transformed back to their rookie forms.

Cody tried to apply some of his grandfather's meditative techniques. He closed his eyes and focused his efforts. He soon found that some of the dizziness has passed. The boy started talking to Ankylomon. "Ankylomon...try to picture yourself...somewhere calm. Don't worry about anything...else." Ankylomon tried to shake off the vertigo by using the same meditative technique. "This is a surprise, considering how much you worry. You know, Cody, this isn't exactly the best time to do this."

"You have neglected a key fact that if we attempt to fight the attack directly, the dizziness and headaches will undoubtedly increase. If we are going to battle these two, we must find a moment of clarity." TK overheard Cody talking to Ankylomon about finding clarity. 'Clarity...' "Angemon...we need to focus on finding our inner clarity if we're going to stand a chance against that combined attack!!" A moment later, the same thought was running through the heads of TK, Angemon, Cody and Ankylomon. 'Clarity...' They didn't even notice their D3s reacting.

"Ankylomon..."
"...Angemon..."
"...DNA digivolved to...Shakkoumon!!!"

The two armored Digimon were startled by the sudden arrival of the ultimate. TK gave a small gasp. "Unbelievable...all I was thinking about was finding that inner clarity!" Shadramon and Pipismon prepared to attack again. "Quixotic Sonic!!" "Psychic Wave!"

The sonic wave hit Shakkoumon but he didn't seem to be affected at all. "You can no longer deliver me into vertigo now that my mind is clear!! Justice Beam!!!" The red energy beam slammed into both Digimon and they were thrown down to the ground. What nobody noticed was that the beam appeared to have partially neutralized the sonic wave, allowing partial relief for the others. Growlmon got up as well as Takato. There was still a bit of pain but they could fight again. "Let's finish this, Growlmon!! Digi Modify!! Viral Boost Chip Activate!!"

"Pyro Blaster!!!" The energy blast ripped through Pipismon but Shadramon got out of the way. Unfortunately, Shakkoumon was ready for him. "Kachina Bomb!!" (AN: Is that how they did it? I honestly don't remember) The disks that flew out collided in Shadramon's face and stomach. His physical form disappeared into nothing but data. Growlmon started absorbing all of the data.

The effects of the sonic wave had dissipated and everyone was feeling normal again, except for Henry who remained unconscious. Davis ran up to TK and Cody. "Man, if we waited much longer, we would have ended up unconscious!! Thanks for the save, TK!!" "No way!!!" The group looked over to see Kazu, Kenta and Jerri who had just watched everything. Rika went up to slap Davis at the back of his head. "The one time you get TK's name right, it had to be in front of them!!"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Ryo Akiyama narrowed his eyes to try to see further ahead. "Are you sure we're going in the right direction, Cyberdramon?" The dragon Digimon gave a small grunt. "I feel some strong powers coming from that direction..." He stopped and started growling. Before Ryo could ask why he stopped, he noticed something coming towards them. A loud screech was heard as dust flew everywhere.

The boy started to cough as he tried to see what happened. When the dust cleared, a Digimon on a red motorcycle was facing him. The Digimon had three red eyes on a dark blue helmet. He wore clothing similar to a biker. A shotgun rested on his left leg and on his back. The Digimon gave a nasty grin as he reached for the gun behind his back. "First, I get an enormous power boost from some big bird. Now I get a human loving Digimon for target practice. This must be my lucky day..."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The demon lord Digimon aimed the barrel of his shotgun right at Ryo's head. "So, human...any last words before I send you into the afterlife?" Ryo hopped off Cyberdramon and took out his Digivice. He scanned the Digimon ahead of him and got no data. "Just who the heck are you?" Cyberdramon got into a battle stance.

"Beelzemon!! Cease this foolishness!!!" The demon lord Digimon looked to see Zhuqiaomon closing in. Statistics started to pop up on Ryo's Digivice. "Beelzemon. A mega, demon lord Digimon. Virus type. His attacks are Double Impact and Darkness Claw...just what does Zhuqiaomon know about this guy that the others don't?"

Beelzemon gave a growl. "Aw, come on!! It's just one lousy human!! I could probably become a bit stronger if I upload his pet's data. And you said that we're going to need all the strength we can get for the upcoming battle. I'll only need a few seconds...max!!" Zhuqiaomon wished he could agree with Beelzemon but the Devas can only stall Millenniumon for so long. "Time is of the essence. We must aid our comrades in battle...what happens after the mission is accomplished is entirely up to you."

The mega Digimon gave a savage grin at Ryo. "We can conclude our business later..." He drove off on his motorcycle, leaving Ryo to cough in more dust. Zhuqiaomon was about to fly ahead when Ryo yelled at him. "Stop right there!! You have some serious explaining to do about your recent behaviour!!"

"I do not answer to you, child!!!!" thundered the phoenix. Ryo did not back down. "Then perhaps you should answer to one of the other Sovereigns. I'm sure they'll be interested to know how erratic your behaviour has been lately. You know what could happen if you continue to act like this." Zhuqiaomon paused for a moment before turning all four eyes on the boy. "Make it fast."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"For the past few days, we've detected a digital field. We've sent you the coordinates and the most efficient route to that location. And you still come back empty handed?!? What is wrong with all of you?!?!?" The surveillance team supervisor cowered in front of Yamaki. "W-with all due respect, s-sir...there have been other factors that we did not anticipate. Our equipment keeps malfunctioning as soon as we get into close range of the digital field. The only thing that seems to work is the vehicle itself. Everything else becomes inoperable...sir."

"You could have used your own senses to make observations!! And what about those kids?!? I told you to watch over them!! The next time you go into a digital field, I want you to capture one of those children alive with their Digimon!! Do I make myself clear?" The supervisor nodded meekly before heading on his way. Yamaki started grumbling a little before turning his attention to something else. "You said you found something big, Megan?"

"Affirmative. There is a large anomalous reading which is a hundred times bigger than anything we saw before. There are also several much smaller readings and some of them seem to be disappearing..." Yamaki dialed in a number on his cell phone. "What's the status on the project?"

"The weapon is almost complete. After we install its primary programming, we can use some of the data collected a few days ago for a field test." Yamaki gave a small sigh of relief, knowing at least some people were doing their jobs. "Double your efforts. There's something big happening on the horizon. And it may very well have a countermeasure for Juggernaut, although it's unlikely."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Calumon hopped from building to building, searching for something to do that would prove to be fun. "Oof!!" The in-training Digimon was knocked far away by a black and blue blur that just leapt from building to building with amazing speed. He crashed into the upper part of a tree before landing. "Big meanie..." "Calumon!!" He turned to see a smiling Jerri. Behind her, two boys were freaking out as they examined six other children. Three more stood off to the side, each with their own thoughts on how to resolve the situation.

Veemon walked over to Guilmon and started to act casual. "So, Guilmon...weather's nice today, huh?" The virus Digimon gave a grin. "Yep." A small distance away, the other Digimon belonging to the Digidestined were talking. "Hmmmm...I wonder what Veemon's up to. He's acting a bit strange. Stranger than usual," murmured Hawkmon.

Armadillomon glanced over at Gatomon. "You should see what they're talking about. You got large ears, you know." The cat Digimon crossed her arms. "Why would I care about what Veemon is talking about. It's his business." Patamon had a concerned look. "I'm worried that Veemon may get himself into trouble if he doesn't watch out. As his friends, we should look out for him. For his safety, you should eavesdrop on the conversation."

"I was wondering, Guilmon...what do you think about Renamon? The one thing I know is that she is one foxy mon," stated Veemon. Guilmon started to think a bit. "I know that she's pretty...she's smart...she's pretty...she's strong...she's pretty...that's what I think about her. Why?" Veemon had somewhat prepared for this question.

"Nothing, really. Just wanted to see what you were thinking. Um...I don't suppose you like her. I mean like her, like her." Guilmon just blinked in confusion. "I like her but I don't know if I like her, like her. I personally don't see what's the difference between like her and like her, like her."

Veemon gave a small sigh of relief. 'He doesn't love her!! He doesn't really know what love and romance is!! Wait a sec...oh, crap. Chicks dig that type of behaviour!! Guys like Guilmon who have good looks and the innocence of a child...NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Renamon's surely going to fall in love with this guy!! The way he acts...it could make any girl giggle and think he's adorable!!'

"Hey...are you okay?" Guilmon waved his hand in front of a silent and now depressed Veemon. "I wonder what's wrong with him. Do you know what's wrong with him?" Wormmon gave a tiny shrug. "I may be his partner for DNA digivolving but nobody knows what goes through his head. Not even Davis."

Takato couldn't help but forget something. "That reminds me...why the heck did you call us all together? Is it just to show off to your friends?" asked Henry. Rika rolled her eyes. "That's typical. Goggle heads like him always want to show how cool they are with cool friends and new stuff. They crave popularity. What a waste of time..."

"Actually, I had a good reason. Kazu and Kenta ran into Shadowgallantmon and-" Almost immediately as the name left his mouth, the other tamers and the Digidestined spoke his name in simultaneous surprise. "Shadowgallantmon?!?" Terriermon gave a groan. "Now there's someone who can easily ruin your day."

"This is just great!! I don't suppose that six ultimate level Digimon are enough to defeat a mega Digimon," muttered Yolei. Cody had a puzzled look on his face. "But if he's here, why isn't he doing anything? Ever since we got here, the only main things we've had to deal with is the transition from our world to yours as well as those digital fields."

"Unlike Blackwargreymon, Shadowgallantmon has a clear vision of what he wants to become. His tactical thinking is just as sharp as his fighting skills. When he arrived here, he must have started to gather information to see what major powers could present a challenge for him. Once he finds out enough, he can start a reign of chaos across the world. And if he finds out that we're here...he will stop at nothing until he claims Takato's essence," stated Henry grimly.

The fact of what had happened two days ago dawned upon Kazu. "Hold it...you are saying that the Digimon who was about to fry me and Kenta at the comic shop is a mega Digimon?" The three Digimon tamers nodded. Rather than a feeling of fear, a feeling of excitement washed over the two boys. "This is awesome!! Now I can say that I survived an encounter with one of the baddest mega Digimon of them all!!" (AN: You can imagine everyone falling down...anime style)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"You already know what is happening. You were aware of what could happen and yet you decided not to ask for my assistance. Why?" The phoenix remained silent. Ryo gave a small growl of frustration. "This is something that could not only threaten your realm but threaten the realms of the others!! Since I was in your realm, it was you who had to make the call. Tell me...what was the trigger that made you change?" Zhuqiaomon's four eyes rested on Ryo. The boy could see the dark fires that were blazing within.

"This all started when the idea of the Digital Revolution was conceived in the first place!! There was once a time when the digital world and the human world were kept separate in everybody's realm. I had hoped that it would always remain this way since humans have a lust for power. They cannot deny it because it is in their blood. One day, an incident occurred in Azulongmon's realm. It was too great for the inhabitants of that digital world to handle alone. I suggested that we intervene but a rule had been established that we cannot directly interfere with the affairs of those under our protection unless the threat is simultaneous to all realms."

The phoenix paused. "Ebonwumon, the oldest Sovereign, believed that if there was to be any salvation of that digital world, there would have to be some method for the Digimon to rise to the next level or digivolve. However, with the peace that has lasted for some time, Digimon have lost the will to fight and to digivolve on their own. Then, Azulongmon noticed how humans create a bond with loved ones and treasured inanimate objects. He formed a hypothesis that this bond may be able to allow Digimon to digivolve. We all had our doubts but with the digital world in peril, there was no alternative. A select group was chosen and the crisis had resolved. Unfortunately, the others had gained a new perspective about binding humans and Digimon together. Experiments were carried out in their realms, regarding this matter."

His tone changed, showing the contempt he had for humans. "Years had passed and their confidence in the humans grew. Finally, they had agreed to start the project after they saw how the chosen children in Azulongmon's realm had fared against Apocalymon, one of the most powerful menaces to exist. The project was to bring Digimon and humans together in harmony to stand up against any evil forces who would dare to disrupt the balance. I still regarded humans as a dangerous pestilence but I decided to give the Digital Revolution project a chance. However, the human world in my realm have discovered Digimon on their own. For a while, they attempted to bind together with us. Then the project disappeared and instead, Digimon got treated as a work of fiction. And I saw for myself how vicious they were, especially the children. They had ordered Digimon to fight mercilessly and without meaning. That was when I realized that the Digital Revolution could never happen. It was never meant to happen."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Sir, we have a situation. Hypnos is detecting three wild ones that have just popped up. Estimated time to bio-emerge, forty seconds." Yamaki narrowed his eyes. "Three of them? Hmmmm...can you give me any possible locations where a digital field will form?" Megan and Riley kept typing. "Electrical energy is being formed in the following three areas. It appears to be in Grids H-2, T-9 and B-7." Three dots appeared on a map of the city.

"What's the status of our surveillance teams? Which location can they get to the fastest?" A different coloured dot, representing one of the teams, appeared on the map. "Team Gamma can get to the B-7 sector in two minutes, thirty-two seconds by using this route I'm sending to them. Team Kappa can reach the H-2 sector in five minutes and Team Lambda can reach T-9 in three minutes." Yamaki took out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Gamma team? This is Yamaki. Megan's sending you the fastest route to get to the B-7 sector. Remember that I want both the child and his Digimon alive."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

A strange sensation went through Guilmon similar to Spider-Man's spider-sense tingling. "Takatomon...I sense a Digimon coming. It's over..." He pointed his body in a direction. "...that way." Terriermon looked at another direction. "Actually, I think there's a Digimon that way." Renamon appeared from behind both of them. "There is also another Digimon coming from that direction."

The tamers weren't sure what to make of all this. Henry started thinking. "There could be several Digimon appearing at once. I suggest we split up into three groups. Yolei and Kari can go with Rika. Davis and Ken, you leave with Takato. That leaves TK and Cody with me. After we take care of these threats, meet back at the shelter, alright?" The others nodded. Renamon walked up to Kazu and Kenta. "Sorry, boys, but I have to take safety precautions." She grabbed both of them by the collars and leapt up into a tree. A moment later, they could hear Kazu and Kenta yelling at her to release them.

Takato raised a hand. "Wait a minute...what about Calumon? I mean, we can't all use his abilities at the same time..." Rika took out a card. "I guess that means we have to get our Digimon ready for battle. Right here, right now!" Jerri looked down as Calumon's forehead started glowing red.

"Digi Modify!! Matrix Digivolution Activate!!"

MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION....

"Guilmon digivolved to...Growlmon!!"
"Terriermon digivolved to...Gargomon!!"
"Renamon digivolved to...Kyubimon!!"

"Growlmon digivolved to...Wargrowlmon!!"
"Gargomon digivolved to...Rapidmon!!"
"Kyubimon digivolved to...Taomon!!!"

Moments later, Taomon was flying off in one direction with Rika riding on her shoulder. Nefertimon and Aquilamon weren't too far behind. Rapidmon took off in another direction with Pegasusmon giving a ride to TK, Cody and Armadillomon. Wargrowlmon started to dig a large hole. Takato was struggling to hold on. Exveemon and Stingmon lowered themselves carefully so as not to give Davis and Ken a bumpy ride.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The three girls arrived at the digital field. Rika took off her purple sunglasses and looked around. "I don't see anything...keep your guard up." Nefertimon and Aquilamon followed closely. All remained silent until someone attacked. "Brachio Bubble!!" Taomon quickly placed a force field to protect them. "Talisman Spell!!"

A Digimon finally emerged. It appeared to look like some sort of dinosaur. Rika took out her Digivice. "Brachiomon, ultimate level, long necked dragon Digimon. Data type. Specialty attacks are Hammer Head and Brachio Bubble...shouldn't be too much of a problem." Nefertimon transformed back to Gatomon to prepare for DNA digivolution.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Justice Beam!!" Shakkoumon fired upon the Digimon that had just charged into the area. Statistics started to pop up on Henry's Digivice. In a way, he looked like Monochromon except he was red. "This guy is called Vermilimon, ultimate level Digimon. Data type. Special attacks are Volcano Strike and-" "Verm Breath!!" Vermilimon unleashed an attack to counter the beam. Rapidmon came up from behind. "Rapid Fire!!"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Ryo slowly began to speak after Zhuqiaomon's long speech. "So you don't like the idea of the Digital Revolution. And you definitely hate me because I'm a human. But right now, that has to be put aside. With my expertise against-" The phoenix interrupted the boy. "Absolutely not!!! Millenniumon is our concern, not yours. If Digimon are to learn how to fight and digivolve on their own like they did before, then there must be no human interference."

"I would not call Ryo's assistance as interference." The trio looked up to see Azulongmon up in the air. "Actually, the lad has saved all of our worlds at one point. It was kind of unbelievable how he succeeded where we all failed," stated Ebonwumon in a hearty tone. Baihumon came up from behind the vaccine. "We are curious as to why you did not accept his help."

"Accept the help of a human? How despicable!! It is clear that you three have reached a new level of moronic behaviour. You have forgotten about our history!!!" The turtle's two heads each gave a small glare. "It is your behaviour that is in question." "I am perfectly fine!!!!!" roared the phoenix.

"He's behaving irrationally. Even more than usual. This is interesting...a virus who has become infected," chuckled Baihumon. The forest on Ebonwumon's back started releasing a small powder. As soon as Zhuqiaomon inhaled that powder, he felt his anger level drop drastically. The turtle Digimon gave a smile on both faces. "Well, that should do it. Hopefully, whatever has been manipulating your mind has been destroyed."

Zhuqiaomon had a small guilty expression on his face. "To be honest, elder brother...I was never manipulated at all. Those were my true feelings towards humans. But they were merely personal opinions which didn't fit into the business at hand. Although I did not approve of the Digital Revolution project, I still went along with it. When I had returned to my realm after our discussion on initiating the project, I had a brush with some sort of...thing. It was slight...I barely felt it. Whatever it was, it must have partially altered my mind. All I remember is focusing on my hatred and magnifying it to the point where I decided to declare war on the humans." The phoenix turned to Ryo. "My apologies, Akiyama." The boy nodded.

"At least this matter has been cleared up. Now what about Millenniumon? Although I have confidence in Ryo's abilities, it wouldn't hurt to have some sort of insurance," stated Azulongmon. Zhuqiaomon's memory focused back on to Beelzemon. "Would a demon lord Digimon with Behemoth by his side suffice?" "A demon lord? Great..."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"So where is this wild Digimon anyway?" Ken and Davis looked around the digital field, waiting for an opponent. A moment later, they heard the startled cries of their Digimon partners. They turned around to see a giant Digimon with both arms around the necks of Exveemon and Stingmon. He appeared to look like a mutated version of Stingmon. Wargrowlmon started to charge at the other Digimon. "Radiation Blade!!"

Statistics started popping up on Takato's Digivice. "Dinobeemon, ultimate level mutant Digimon. Virus type. Special attacks...Irritant Buzz and Hell Masquerade? This also says that this is the alternate form that Exveemon and Stingmon could have DNA digivolved into!!" "DNA digivolve into this freak?!? No way!!!" Exveemon broke free as soon as Dinobeemon had to focus on Wargrowlmon's attack. Stingmon quickly got away as well. "Let's show him how it's really done!!" yelled the insect Digimon.

"Exveemon..."
"...Stingmon..."
"...DNA digivolved to...Paildramon!!!"

"Atomic..." Before Wargrowlmon could finish the attack, Dinobeemon countered with a hard blow that sent him flying backwards a bit. "Desperado Blaster!!!" "Irritant Buzz!!" Small sonic energy waves emerged from his mouth to counter the energy blasts from the attack. "Looks like it's going to be the direct approach," mumbled Paildramon as blades started emerging from above the wrists.

The mutant Digimon placed his hands together. "Hell Masquerade!!" He fired a blob of energy that slammed right into Paildramon's face. "Paildramon!!" Davis tried to run towards the fallen Digimon when Ken had to grab him. "Don't do anything stupid!!! Paildramon can get through this!!"

The blob started sending signals inside Paildramon's mind, causing him to get an unbearable headache and start screaming. Takato grabbed a card. "We better finish this before Paildramon gets worse!!" Wargrowlmon shook off the blow. "Right behind you, Takatomon!!" "Digi Modify!!! Vaccine Conversion Activate!!!" (AN: Original Japanese is Light Training Manual)

Dinobeemon launched himself at Wargrowlmon. He failed to notice a bright glow coming from the Digimon's chest. "Atomic Blaster!!!" A few moments later, Wargrowlmon was absorbing his data. The blob dissipated from Paildramon as the ultimate transformed back into Minomon and Demiveemon. (AN: I want to get Wormmon back as soon as possible. It'll be important later, trust me.)

Davis gently scooped up Demiveemon. "How about that? He didn't transform all the way to his Baby form!! I guess he's getting the hang of this!!" Takato gave a sigh of relief. "Let's just get back to the others." Ken smiled as Minomon lay tired in his arms. "That's a good idea-" His sentence was cut short as he collapsed. Davis and Takato looked in alarm as they saw what looked like a tranquilizer dart in Ken's back. "Ken? What's wrong, Ken?" asked Minomon weakly.

"Let's grab him!!" Several men ran out to grab Ken and carry him away. "What do you think you're doing?!?" One of the men quickly aimed his gun towards Davis. "I think the boss would reward us if we brought in an extra specimen!!" Takato clenched his fists. "I don't think so!! Wargrowlmon!!!"

The ultimate Digimon looked down at the men with an angry look in his eyes. Another man panicked. "Geez!!!! Look at the size of that thing!!!" The other man with the gun quickly took out something. "Forget the others!! Let's just scram with what we have!!" He tossed the object towards the boys. Smoke started pouring out, blinding their vision. Wargrowlmon did his best to fan the smoke away but by the time everything had cleared, the men were gone. Along with Ken Ichijoji.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"This is Team Gamma. We have one of the subjects along with his Digimon." Yamaki had a dark smile on his face as soon as he heard the news on the phone. In the background, Minomon was protesting. "Excellent. As soon as you bring them in, we can start our examinations."

The van drove towards the giant building. As soon as it got to an entrance, the back doors opened. Two men were carrying Ken inside and one of them held a struggling Minomon. 'Well, I'll be damned. You guys are here after all.' Up above, Shadowgallantmon watched with growing interest. 'Looks like I'll have to crash the party. Afterall, you may be my ticket to perfection...'

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"And that's pretty much it. Now they got Ken and Minomon. There wasn't much we can do when the smoke cleared." Takato finished telling the story to the others. Davis clenched his fists. "What matters now is that we go find out where Ken and Minomon are being held and bust them out of there!! It's already been an hour!! If we wait any longer, then who knows what horrible experiments they can cook up!!!"

Henry sighed. "We have to approach this carefully. Finding Ken is going to be easy since we can scan for his Digivice with your Digivices. But we don't know the level of security in the building where he's being held." Out of nowhere, Renamon makes her appearance with Cody on her back. The boy slowly got down before speaking. "I traced the signal all the way to that huge building." He pointed towards something behind them.

The group turned to where he was pointing and gave a gasp. TK had a small shocked look in his eyes. "You mean we have to infiltrate that building?!? It must have some sort of massive security system or something!!!" The building seemed like some sort of impenetrable fortress by the way it towered over the city. Rika narrowed her eyes. "That means we're going to have to go on a surveillance mission before we can plan the rescue operation. We should all head home to get a bit of rest. At seven o'clock, we meet back here and see what we're up against."

The other tamers gave a nod before heading home. Davis turned to Rika, unable to hold back his curiosity. "I was just wondering...who is Black...um..." Rika rolled her eyes. "So now you want to know about Blackwargreymon? I never thought that there would be a person with a head thicker than Takato's but you go and prove me wrong."

Renamon couldn't help feeling that there was something missing. "Something the matter, Renamon?" The fox Digimon shook off the feeling. "Nothing. Nothing at all." She started leaping from building to building, with this nagging feeling at the back of her head telling her she forgot something.

"Hello? Is anybody there? Come on!! You can let us down now!!" Up in the tree, Kazu and Kenta were dangling helplessly. If they weren't so high up in the tree, they might have been able to get down. A few moments later, Jerri noticed the two boys struggling. "If you guys keep struggling, you'll ruin your shirts!!"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Henry entered his home only to be embraced by his worried mother. "Thank God you're safe!! There have been reports of more of these mysterious fogs popping up recently!!" The boy gave a weak smile. "Mom...I already know that I have to stay away from them. You don't have to worry about me."

An older man came up from behind to gently pry his wife and son apart. "Honey, you know that Henry's a smart kid and that he won't do anything risky." The woman gave a small sigh before heading into the living room. Suzie gave a squeal when she saw who got home. "Terwiermon!!" Before Henry could react, she was already playing with the 'doll'.

He gave a small grin before looking up at his father. "Thanks for bailing me out. If mom keeps going on like that, I'll probably never be allowed to go out again!!" This earned a chuckle from his father. "Don't worry about it. Just watch yourself, okay?" The boy nodded and was about to go to his room when an envelope was placed in his hand.

"What's this, dad?" The other man narrowed his eyes. "A few minutes ago before you came back home, an old member of the Monster Makers team dropped by. He gave me this, asking that I give it to you when you return. He says that this is for your eyes only and that it concerns what is happening recently."

Henry took the envelope and went to his room. It didn't take him long to rip it open. Inside was a blank card and a small piece of paper. Henry's fingers almost trembled as he read what was on the piece of paper. "From...Azulongmon?" He took the card and placed it in the card reader attached to his computer.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"So what are we waiting for, lads? We got to deliver a swift kick in the rear end to that scoundrel!!" Azulongmon gave a sigh. "Regardless of your enthusiasm, elder brother, it will not change the outcome if we pursue the course you're proposing. Our previous encounter has shown that we cannot do anything against him. Only Ryo can battle Millenniumon and come out victorious." Ebonwumon's heads both nodded wearily. "Aye." "And would you stop with that accent? It's getting on my nerves," grumbled Zhuqiaomon.

"Well, even with the Goliath cards, I'll probably feel a lot better if I had my old partners helping out. But I'm sure Cyberdramon is up for the challenge. He's capable enough to deal with the situation," stated Ryo. "I'll believe it when I see it." Cyberdramon growled at the phoenix who gave a chuckle.

"Enough of this bickering. We should-" Baihumon's sentence was cut off when the forest on Ebonwumon's back started giving off a strange glow. The turtle's two heads started to focus on something. "What's going on?" asked Ryo. Baihumon glanced at the boy. "Ebonwumon's forest gives him a sixth sense if you will to the fabric between the dimensions. Right now, there seems to be a disturbance."

"A massive one, I'm afraid." The forest had stopped glowing and there was a worried look in the turtle's four eyes. "Millenniumon has just summoned a Digimon from my realm." Cyberdramon gave a snarl. "Enough with the suspense!! Who is it?!" The vaccine Digimon had to let the truth sink in for a moment. "That Digimon he summoned was an acquaintance I once knew. You could say that he was a messenger of the Gods. Some time ago, he vanished. The last thing I heard about him was that he had turned viral..."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Sir, we have run every single physical test on the child we could come up with. Physically, he appears to be a simple human being. His blood type, heart beat...everything seems to be normal!" Yamaki finished scanning some of the reports concerning some of the experiments with the new specimens. "Really? Then how is he able to become a partner with one of these Digimon?"

The scientist gave a shrug. "We're not sure about that. To be honest, we weren't sure what type of tests would be suitable for the Digimon. He's compiled out of data but he is alive as any normal living creature on this planet." Yamaki placed the report down and leaned back in his chair. "You have my authorization to design and carry out any tests you feel fit that will divulge some information about these Digimon. And don't start thinking about ethics now. The whole world may depend on this information...besides, it's not as if you're destroying a life. Digimon are nothing but data."

Meanwhile in another room, Ken Ichijoji was lying on a hospital bed. He remembered people surrounding him, performing tests and other things. He slowly got up from the bed and looked around. A simple room, with a bathroom and some other things. He looked out the door to see two guards at each side. The boy gave a sigh before sitting back down. He reached for his D terminal but noticed that it had been taken away as well as his Digivice. 'I have to get out of here and save Minomon. Hopefully the others can help but until they arrive, I'm on my own.'

A loud siren and flashing red lights interrupted his thoughts. "Warning: Intruder Alert. All security personnel report to the East Wing on the fourteenth floor." Ken got up and looked out again. The two guards were listening to something, as if receiving instructions. Then they resumed their posts.

The room shook violently as one of the walls exploded. The two guards opened the door with their weapons drawn. They took aim at the figure with a blue cape and fired. The bullets had no effect. In the knight's arms, Minomon was squirming. Ken's D terminal and Digivice were held in his left hand. He quickly placed them down before leaping into the air towards the guards. His left foot and lance shot out, hitting each guard's head. Both guards collapsed unconscious. Ken tried to grab Minomon along with his items before making a run for it. A large shadow loomed over the boy. He looked up into Shadowgallantmon's cold blue eyes. "Behold...your knight in shining armor."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Bye, mom!! I'm going out to hang out with my friends and gaze at the stars!!" Takato closed the door behind him as he left the bakery. His mother gave an irritated sigh. "He keeps going out even with the risk of that fog popping up again!! Since when did Takato have an interest in astrology?" Her husband looked up from his newspaper. "He's a growing boy, developing new interests almost every month. One minute it's Digimon. The next, it's the night sky."

By the time he arrived at the shelter, the others had already assembled except for Henry. "Where is Henry anyway?" asked Kari. "Henry said that he needs a bit of time to decipher something. He says that it may give us an edge in battle," stated Yolei.

"What type of edge? Just what is he talking about?" Takato crossed his arms to start pondering about what Henry is up to. Cody started stating their options. "I guess that means we'll have to either go ahead without him and let him catch up or we wait and see whether this edge can help us at all."

"Geronimo!!" The group looked up to see Calumon drop down on Guilmon's head. Takato gave a grin. "Hey, Calumon. Nice of you to drop in." The in-training Digimon smiled. "Well, you guys are a lot of fun to be around!! At least more fun than that big black rabbit..."

A small sense of shock went through the group. "What big black rabbit?" asked TK nervously. Calumon hopped off before thinking for a moment. "The big black rabbit who's shooting blue stuff from his palms and causing things to go boom!!" A small earthquake shook the ground. In the distance, they could see flashes and some explosions near the city. Rika whipped out a card. "Digi Modify!! Matrix Digivolution Activate!!"

MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION....

"Renamon digivolved to...Kyubimon!!"
"Kyubimon digivolved to...Taomon!!"

A moment later, Taomon and Rika were flying off in the direction of the flashes. "Somebody tell Henry that we're heading towards the city!! Veemon, let's get going!!" Davis started to run in the same direction. Takato had his mind somewhere else. 'How did a Digimon appear in our world without forming a digital field?' He shook off the uneasy feeling and prepared to slash his own blue card.

There were screams everywhere as buildings and cars were being destroyed by the mysterious black rabbit. People were running as fast as they could to escape his assault. "This world is so cluttered. If the Transformation is to occur, then all of this will simply have to go!!" "Thousand Spells!!" Several red slips came out of nowhere and distracted the Digimon. He looked over to see a girl and her partner Digimon.

She checked her Digivice. "Kerpymon. Mega level, virus type. He's supposed to have some sort of link with the Gods...his attacks are Lightning Spear and Final Judgement. Taomon, be careful!!!" Kerpymon formed a small blue spear above his head. "Lightning Spear!!" "Talisman Spell!!!" The attack hit the shield and sent Taomon flying back a good distance. (AN: Original Japanese name is Cherubimon...I think)

"Justice Beam!!!" "Static Force!!" "Atomic Blaster!!!" Three energy blasts came out of nowhere and hit Kerpymon square in the face. He shook it off easily and glared at Shakkoumon, Silphymon and Wargrowlmon. "Foolish creatures!! You have no idea what you're doing!! At least you're lucky that I will grant mercy and destroy you here rather than to answer to the Mighty One himself!!! Final Judgement!!!!"

A large cloud gathered over the three Digimon. Bolts of electricity came out of the cloud to simultaneously attack all three Digimon. Takato could feel the pain that Wargrowlmon felt. Moments later, the attack ended. Lying on the ground were Salamon, Poromon, Tokomon, Upamon and Guilmon.

Kerpymon prepared to finish them off. "Didn't forget about me, did you? Fire Rocket!!!" The rabbit turned to see a large flaming object flying towards him at a tremendous speed. He quickly backhanded the flaming object. Moments later, Flamedramon crashed into one of the buildings. "You shall be the first to be...enlightened." Kerpymon started to advance before he heard someone yell out their attack name. "Talisman of Light!!"

Takato ran over to help Guilmon stand on his feet. "Owwww...I hurt all over, Takatomon. That rabbit has got to go down!!" The boy wasn't sure what to do. This Digimon has to be stopped somehow. And there's also the rescue operation. Takato felt as if everything is spiralling out of control. "I know...but we don't have the firepower to take him out."

"You scanned him before we started attacking. The Digivice said that he has some connection to the Gods. Maybe if we ask them, we can become strong too." Takato looked at the rookie Digimon, unsure of what to do. Can prayer truly save the world? He closed his eyes and started to speak. "If there is any God out there, please send us your blessing. We are in big trouble and I don't know what to do. I just wish I could help Guilmon become stronger..."

His Digivice started to beep. Takato took it off and gasped. On the screen, there were two red triangles, one overlapping the other. It almost looked like Calumon's symbol. Guilmon grinned. "Hey!! I think they'll help, Takatomon!!!" The boy clutched the Digivice carefully. A small command appeared on the screen underneath the icon. It read 'Bio-merge? (Y/N)'. Takato held his Digivice high in the air. "Biomerge Activate!!!"

BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION.... "Guilmon bio-merged to..."

A powerful glow erupted from the two of them. It caught the attention of everybody in the vicinity. Takato felt his physical body disappear as his essence transferred straight into Guilmon. The Digimon grew larger and his body started morphing. Skin was replaced by armor. His tail disappeared as a red cape emerged from his back. A shield and lance formed on his left and right arms respectively. The helmet finally formed with what appears to be Guilmon's head on the top part.

"....Gallantmon!!!"

The others stared in amazement. Kerpymon looked undaunted with the arrival of the new Digimon. "Lightning Spear!!!" A bolt of energy was shot straight at Gallantmon. He simply placed his shield in front of the attack to neutralize it. Fierce golden eyes locked on to the target. "My turn...Royal Sabre!!!"

A beam of energy fired from the lance and hit Kerpymon square in the chest. He gave a loud scream as he was sent flying. "Whoa...there's something you don't see everyday." Rapidmon and Henry came into view after getting out of Kerpymon's way. Henry gave a sigh. "I see that you don't really need the extra weapon at the moment. Wait a second..." The boy's thoughts drifted back to that day in the Digidestined's world when Takato was drawing a picture. "G-Gallantmon...that's Guilmon's mega form. From his looks, I would have to speculate that he's a holy knight Digimon." Rapidmon's eyes widened. "A virus Digimon who's a holy knight!! Man, that's crazy!!!"

Davis looked around the area. "Hey, where did Takato go?" "I'm right here!!" The voice sounded a bit like Takato but totally different. It sounded more mature, like that of a young warrior. Davis looked around again. "Dude, where are you?" "I'm over here!!" He turned to where the voice was coming from. "No way...is that really you?"

Gallantmon blinked. "Uh...yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" Henry and Rika looked in disbelief. "Takato, wave your right arm. That way, we can be sure." The holy knight gave an irritated sigh before waving his right arm. "Geez...what's going on? Why do you all looked disturbed?" Kari stepped forward nervously. "Take a look at yourself."

The mega Digimon examined himself. "I see what you mean...I guess that's what happens when you bio-merge with your partner." Yolei narrowed her eyes. "Just what did happen between you and Guilmon...um...is he in there too? Who is in there anyway?" A gentle laugh came from the knight. If they concentrated their hearing, they could hear a part of Guilmon and a part of Takato coming from that laugh.

"It's kind of hard to explain. But as far as I can tell, the best qualities of Guilmon's mind merged with my essence. I gained his physical abilities, such as the combat reflexes and other things. Other parts of me were enhanced like my intelligence. Guilmon also focuses as my conscience and support but basically, I'm in the driver's seat. To be honest, this is a little unsettling." Henry gave a small smile. "In other words, you're freaking out." Gallantmon chuckled. "That's another way of putting it."

A small groan came from behind them. The group turned to see Ken and Minomon lying on the ground. Cody ran over to aid the fallen Digidestined. "Ken!! How did you escape?" Ken tried to form a few words but didn't have too much strength. Minomon was in a similar condition. "S-Sha...Sha..."

"You shall pay for your insolence!!!" Gallantmon whirled around to see Kerpymon charging at full speed. Out of nowhere, a black figure jumps on Kerpymon and splits his skull wide open. The body dissipated into data and was uploaded by none other than Shadowgallantmon. The dark knight gave a small exhale after uploading the data. His blue eyes then focused on his primary target. "Greetings, my holy counterpart." From the scene set before them, the group knew that a battle was imminent.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"What the hell happened out there?!? Somebody better give me an explanation!!!" The guard fought down the urge to go into a nervous breakdown and told Yamaki about the events that have transpired. "There was a security breach. The intruder appeared to be some sort of knight by the way he was dressed. All he simply did was destroy part of the facility to get to the specimens that were brought in earlier today."

'That's the last straw. It's time to bid farewell to this pestilence.' "Riley, what's the status of the Juggernaut program?" The operator kept typing as she got the statistics. "The engineering team says that they will require at least thirty minutes to get Juggernaut prepared for a test run." Yamaki crossed his arms. "Inform them to skip the test run. Instead we can test out Juggernaut on the recent infestation. Tell them I intend to activate the program in ten minutes."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Rapidmon gave a small sigh. "The fate of the world now rests on Gallantmon's shoulders. And technically, Takato is Gallantmon so basically the whole world is counting on Takato to save them...the earth is doomed. We're all gonna die..." Rika shot a glare at the cyborg Digimon. "Why don't you just shut up already?!? Right now, Gallantmon's the only one here powerful enough to go toe to toe with Shadowgallantmon!!"

"Let's be realistic, Rika. Regardless of Takato gaining all of Guilmon's combat reflexes and skills, he doesn't have enough combat experience. He's still trying to adjust to this new change and his new power," stated Henry. The boy looked back and saw that the others weren't in too much shape to battle. He'll have to wait to unleash the power of Azulongmon's digicore.

Shadowgallantmon's cape flew freely as the wind blew past him. "I must admit that I'm relieved that I will be battling you in this form. In your other form, it was just so boring. You had power but you lacked the brains to use it properly. I trust I won't be disappointed when we meet in combat." Gallantmon blinked. "What other form? What are you talking about?"

"Assuming that you survive this battle, you can ask your friends. Shall we begin?" Before the holy knight could give a reply, Shadowgallantmon charged towards him at a tremendous speed. Gallantmon barely had enough time to bring his lance up to parry the attack. The dark knight dropped to the ground, attempting a footsweep.

Gallantmon leapt over the leg and backflipped out of the way. "You're going to have to do better than that." An amused chuckle was all he received from his opponent. "Actually, that was just a little warm-up. You haven't seen nothing yet..." Shadowgallantmon began running towards him when he just vanished from sight. A few seconds later, Gallantmon turned around to block his opponent's lance. Sparks flew as the two lances clashed against each other again and again although it was hard to tell with the sky a bright orange with the sun setting. (AN: Think of it like this...there was a particular scene in the ending credits where Escaflowne and another opponent were battling it out under the firey sky. Instead of dead soldiers and weapons, you can replace them with abandoned buildings)

Davis gave a small gasp. "Geez!! Look at those two go at it!!" The two knights became nothing but blurs as they were moving too fast for their eyes to see. Even Rapidmon had difficulty trying to watch them battle. Taomon had shaken off Kerpymon's attack earlier and had just rejoined the group. 'Regardless of which way the battle goes, there will be serious repercussions on the human world.'

Rapidmon began to read the power readings that his internal computer was detecting. "Whoa!! The amount of energy that each of them is generating is the same!! They are completely equal!!! Wait a sec...Shadowgallantmon's attack power is going even higher!!!" The two knights landed on the ground before continuing their battle. Their lances were a blur as they clashed against each other. "This isn't good!! Shadowgallantmon's attack power has just quintupled!!!!!"

A loud battle cry came from the dark knight as his next swing shattered part of Gallantmon's own lance. The holy knight was thankful that he didn't get the hand. He released whatever remained of the lance before starting on the defensive. Shadowgallantmon fired a beam of black energy from his silver and blue lance. Gallantmon quickly raised his shield. The beam collided with the shield, forcing Gallantmon to slide backwards.

The holy knight narrowed his golden eyes. "Why are you so obsessed with getting my essence? What will you do once you acheive your ultimate power?" Shadowgallantmon gave a small sigh. "I suppose you should know what's going to happen after I destroy you. Once I am complete, the only thing I have to do is yield to my own nature. As a knight of chaos and as a virus type Digimon, I will first eradicate the human race and then hunt the most ferocious Digimon in the digital world."

Gallantmon's shield started to glow. "That isn't such a great agenda. If I were you, I would seriously consider planning a future more worthwhile. But then again...you won't get that opportunity!! Final Elysian!!!!" A blast of red energy erupted from the core of the shield and ripped right through Shadowgallantmon's own beam. The dark knight had no time to gawk in surprise as he was slammed by the blast. "Alright!! He did it!!!" cheered Kari.

Cody had a concerned look on his face. "Yeah but it came at a high price. Look!" In the middle of the road, Gallantmon was on his knees trying to breathe. "It's his bond!! Takato originally created this type of mega form and Arukenimon duplicated it with control spires. Every time Shadowgallantmon gets hurt, so does Takato," concluded TK.

Henry snapped his fingers. "Of course!! Now I remember...when Shadowgallantmon fought Grandkuwagamon, Takato got slightly scratched at the same time when we saw Grandkuwagamon's scissors scratch some of Shadowgallantmon's armor!!" Yolei gave a small gasp. "So that means if Shadowgallantmon dies...Takato goes as well?"

Gallantmon slowly regained his breath. 'I have to finish this now...I can't let Shadowgallantmon terrorize anymore innocent people and Digimon. If I must die in order to stop him, so be it.' A loud enraged roar came from a distance away. Gallantmon quickly got up and charged for another attack. As soon as Shadowgallantmon came into view, the holy knight unleashed another Final Elysian.

With his lance and shield forward, the dark knight charged to meet the beam. He slowly made his way forward, getting ever closer to Gallantmon and to victory. As soon as he was in close range, he swung his lance forward to knock Gallantmon out of the attack. The holy knight stumbled backward and was about to counterattack when Shadowgallantmon quickly rammed his right knee straight into the chin section of his helmet. His lance and shield shaped themselves to be hands, allowing the dark knight to deliver repeated punches to Gallantmon's abdomen.

Poromon struggled to find some energy left to fight. "He can't take much more of this!! We gotta help him somehow!!" Salamon was breathing slowly. "If there is a way to digivolve straight into mega, I would like to hear it. Then we can show Shadowgallantmon a thing or two."

Henry gritted his teeth. "It's my fault. If only I cracked the program earlier and assembled the digicore faster...then Gatomon and Patamon could have had a chance to digivolve to mega..." Davis blinked. "Henry? What are you talking about?" The boy took out a small glowing sphere. Rika gasped. "Where did you get that digicore?"

After delivering about fifty punches, Shadowgallantmon finally gave one last kick to Gallantmon's chest armor. The holy knight didn't even have the strength to shout in pain as he landed flat on the ground. His armor was cracked and his cape was ripped in several places. Shadowgallantmon willed his right arm to form his lance before pointing it at Gallantmon's head. "I suppose I should take this opportunity to ask something since this is the only time I'll get to do this...why have you decided to preserve life? After all, you are a virus type. And it is our nature to be destructive and chaotic."

Rika prepared to slash a card. "Takato's in trouble!! Mega or not, we have to stop Shadowgallantmon!!!" The dark knight noticed the group was preparing to do something and quickly fired a blast of black energy from his lance. Taomon barely had enough time to put up a shield. Rapidmon got in front to protect Henry and the others. "Talisman Spell!!" Regardless of her effort, the power of Shadowgallantmon's attack shattered the shield and hit both Rapidmon and Taomon. Luckily, the shield had softened the blast and only forced them to go back to their rookie forms.

Gallantmon slowly began to speak. "Just because a Digimon is a virus doesn't mean he has to be destructive. Each being must choose their own path. They only need to trust their instincts. Everything else doesn't matter...not even your own nature." He found it painful just to breathe but he continued to speak.

"As for preserving life, that is the duty of a holy knight. It is the beauties and joys of life that drives us to defend it with our lives. Life is precious...it must be cherished at every waking moment. Because the most empty feeling is waking up one day and realizing that your entire life has already gone by. You find yourself regretting that you didn't live life to the fullest."

Shadowgallantmon could not believe that this is the purpose of his counterpart's life. "I pity you, Gallantmon. You are so naive with your beliefs that life should be lived to the fullest that you are blinded to the obvious reality before you. Life is filled with cruelties far worse than what you can imagine. The joys of life...law, order, justice...they're nothing but illusions. The horrors that life can bring are so devastating that there are many who wish for a swift death. You also claim to preserve all life. Does this include plant life? Microscopic life? Shouldn't you do something to stop the humans and wild animals from eating other animals and plants altogether?"

Gallantmon took a deep breath, ignoring the aching sensations that came from his lungs. "And how exactly do you justify your massacre of the human race?" The dark knight narrowed his blue eyes. "It is a well known fact in biology that every living being will eventually die. In fact, in each waking second, people are dying. Not immediately but death will eventually happen. And when one dies, emotional suffering is caused to loved ones. By eradicating the human race at once, the world will be spared of emotional suffering. The animals won't feel anything at all since they don't grow attached to these humans."

"How noble of you. Let's see what happens when your judgement day comes," spat the holy knight. Shadowgallantmon prepared to deal the final blow. "There is a time and place for everything. My judgement day will eventually come...your final moments are coming up real soon." He raised his lance high but before he can bring it down, he felt strange. The dark knight noticed that his body looked like that it was being sucked away in a vacuum. The same thing was happening to Gallantmon and the other Digimon.

"What's happening?!?" shouted Cody. Henry tried to keep a firm grip on Terriermon. "I'm not sure but I think the way the sky is shifting has something to do with this!!!" They all looked up to see a small whirlpool above the building where Ken was taken prisoner. And it appeared that there were Digimon flying towards it.

"Status!!" Riley kept typing on her keyboard. "We have been able to destroy thirteen Digimon so far...wait a second!! Something's gone wrong!!!!" The monitors started to flash warning signs. "Warning. System Breach." Yamaki went pale. "That's impossible!!! There's no way a Digimon can get here through Juggernaut!!!!"

Megan tried to keep her focus on her work. "There are three signatures that are coming through the core, sir!! Wait...there's also a gigantic signature coming from behind those three!! It seems as if it's slowly crossing through!!! From it's size and rate of entry, I would estimate that the creature would emerge in five minutes!!!"

"No!!!! I will not be denied my prize!!!!" Shadowgallantmon tried to focus on dealing the final blow to Gallantmon. Before he could strike, a giant dragon plowed into the dark knight and both were sent flying somewhere else.

Gallantmon started to glow and split into Takato and Guilmon. Both of them were looking extremely tired. The group ran up to the two of them. "Are you alright, Takato?" The tamer gave a slow nod before getting up. "Man...that kind of hurts!!! I'm glad that I'm still alive!! What's going on?"

In another part of the city, Beelzemon had just landed in one piece on top of a rooftop. 'There's no way I'm going back to fight that thing!!! That turkey must have been insane to think that I'm willing to go on a suicide mission!!! I'm outta here!!' The demon lord Digimon started his descent.

"It's hard to explain but the whirlpool in the sky is...was having a weird effect on our Digimon. I don't know what happened after that." Yolei readjusted her glasses. "I suggest that we find a place to regain our strength as fast as possible as well as plan a strategy. I have a feeling that this battle is far from over," stated Henry. The others nodded simultaneously before heading out.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Wow!!! The sky is so pwetty!!!" Suzie looked in wonder as she saw the colours of the sky shift and change over that tall building. Her older sister came up from behind her. "Suzie, we've got to get going. Mom and dad want to get out of here as soon as possible. I guess that the monster attack has got them freaked out or something."

Suzie was about to leave when she noticed something through the window. She went back and looked at the object coming towards them at a tremendous speed. "What is that fwying thing?" The older girl went pale, grabbed Suzie and jumped out of the way. Moments later, the window crashed as the object slid to a stop.

"Damn it!! Where did Henry go?!?" Mr. Wong was trying his best to calm down before he heard the crash outside his room. He opened the door and gave a gasp. A gigantic rabbit was lying on the floor, barely conscious. "I don't bewieve it!! A big bunny!!!" Suzie hopped out of her sister's arms and looked at the rabbit more carefully. "Oh no!! It's hurt!!!"

"Get away from that, Suzie!! We have to get going!!!" Suzie looked at her father with tears in her eyes. "But we have to help it get all better!! Pwease, daddy?" Before Mr. Wong could give a reply, his wife and other son came into the room. "What's taking everybody-oh my God!!!" The room was filled with silence except for Suzie gently stroking the rabbit and saying how everything was going to be okay. Antylamon gave a sad look at the little girl gently petting her. 'Everything is not going to be okay if Millenniumon enters this world...'