Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ DigiTerra: The Digital Earth ❯ Enter the Digimon Emperor! Radiance of Light and Hope ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"I gotta admit," Ogremon said as he flexed his right arm, "dis
was a pretty good idea." The imitation "Dark Ring" made of gaff
tape and curved cardboard held up admirably under the strain.

"Thank you," Yolie's mother said with a nervous smile. "You've
all been so nice to us, so well... this is the least we can do,
right?"

Ogremon smiled a little. "We still scare ya though, don't we?"

"Well..." Yolie's mother replied, "take a look around, we do seem
a bit outnumbered...."

Ogremon laughed out loud. The woman had a valid point, after
all. Looking around, the Virus Digimon could see the rest of the
bird girl's family, the Armadillomon kid's family... and about
forty or fifty Woodmon.

The arrival of Woodmon's siblings had been an unexpected
addition. The Emperor had apparently separated him from a rather
sizable family. Now that he was freed, he was able to send
messages to his pack through the roots in the ground, causing
them all to swiftly converge on the small convenience store.

Now, with the extra protection and the safe message from their
children an Elecmon messenger had brought, Yolie's family had
agreed that it would be best to leave the store and go to the
safe haven their children promised them. However, Yolie's mom had
suggested making the fake Dark Rings before they left, in order
to avoid a possible attack by the Emperor. Anyone passing would
easily mistake the pack of Digimon for slaves serving their human
masters, and leave them alone.

It had taken a while to craft so many of them, but it had been
worth it. The large group had already been able to pass through
several of the Emperor's areas with minimal problems. They had
decided to not try and pass through the Fog Dome area and were
currently on a path around it. Once they finished bypassing it,
the final leg of their journey to the hospital itself could
begin.

"Well," Ogremon said, "despite whatcha may've heard, even
us Virus-Types ain't so bad once ya...." he stopped talking as a
distinctive popping sound filled the air.

"... That was a gun," Cody's mother said as she looked up, the
sound repeating many times. "Lots of them, too."

"How do you know that?" Yolie's father asked.

Cody's mother replied, "When your husband was a police officer,
you pick up a thing or two about guns from what he learns."

"Stay here," Ogremon said as he signaled with his hands for the
Woodmon to draw closer to the humans.

As soon as the group was within the protective circle of living
tree stumps, Ogremon bounded to the top of small mountain of
rubble that lay nearby. From that vantage point, he watched a
strange battle take place.

A white-skinned Ice Devimon stood, smirking down at what appeared
to be a group of humans in strange brown and black uniforms. They
were firing rifles up at the larger Digimon, the bullets bouncing
off the Ice Devil's frozen skin harmlessly.

"Foolish little humans," he said, contemptuously. "The pathetic
toys you wield mean nothing to me."

But Ice Devimon looked up as he heard several loud whooshing
noises. His eyes widened as he observed a group of humans
approach, wielding tube-like weapons that spat flame. He moved
his arm back to attack them when a gout of flame struck him from
the right side, making him cry out in pain. His screams grew in
volume and pitch as more of the flamethrowers added their fire to
the attack.

There was something familiar about the human who had fired the
first shot of fire at the hapless Ice Devimon. He was a tall,
solidly-built human, with sharp features and eyes that seemed
somehow angry even at this distance. He wielded his weapon with
cold fury and terrible precision. As he studied the human more
carefully, Ogremon realized which human this new one reminded him
of: Wolf Boy. Maybe this was the form Wolf Boy would evolve into
as he got more experience.

The human's voice reflected the anger in his eyes as he spoke.
"But for all your talk, you still can't take the heat, can you?
You monsters make me sick." The barrage of flames continued for
a full minute more until the Ice Devimon let out a final shriek
and pixilated into nothing.

"Ummm... Sir?" One of the other uniformed humans said. "Weren't
we supposed to capture that thing for the Emperor?"

The man who resembled Wolf Boy shook his head as he replied,
"Something like that is too dangerous to be controlled. It's
better off dead. The Emperor will understand that."

The soldier then turned to the rest of the group and shouted,
"Alright, men! Move out! Remember, until the Emperor's back,
we're all that stands between humans and those monsters!"

Ogremon scrambled down the rubble pile and swiftly raced back to
the group. "What happened?" Yolie's father asked.

"C'mon," Ogremon said, urgency filling his voice. "Don't ask me
why, but after seein' that, I got a bad feelin' we'd better get
ta the others before it's too late!"

+ + +
DigiTerra: The Digital Earth

A Digimon: Digital Monsters Fanfic by Christian Rogers (AKA The
Flashman) and Alicia Ashby (AKA Lynxara)

Aided and abetted by: Damien Karolev, Shelby Scott,
Ben-San Arizona and Jeff Yang

Digimon is copyright Toei Studios, Saban, and FOX Kids.
+ + +

Chapter 6: Enter the Digimon Emperor! Radiance of Light and Hope

+ + +

I know she's around here somewhere. Kari, come out come out
wherever you are....

Oh heya, it's me again, Yolie. Don't mind me too much, I'm just
trying to find Kari at the moment because... well, after what
happened in the Fog Dome I think that girl needs someone to talk
to and I nominate me for the job.

I've been searching for her all morning though with no luck at
all. I've tried the rooms Jim got for us. Nada. Tried the
cafeteria. Zilch. Even tried the showers but no luck. Although,
I DID stick around the shower a little longer because I NEEDED
that hot water.

And Poromon stayed outside like a good little bo- eh? Who's
Poromon? Poromon is Hawkmon's In-Training Form. He's just the
cutest little thing with little pink fluffy feathers and those
big eyes and beak and he's just so soft and squeezy and perfect
for hugging and... oh, sorry Poromon.

Anyway, like I was saying, I'm searching for Kari because...
y'know, I'm kinda worried about her. I mean, I know we aren't
exactly best friends or anything... but I'm curious about her and
I WOULD like to be her friend. I may not know her that well, but
I think I know her well enough to know that she keeps too many
things bottled up inside and needs someone to let them out to...
well, someone who's a girl. I know she talks to TK, maybe even
she'd talk to Davis, but guys just can't girl talk the way girls
can, y'know?

AHA! THERE she is!

Hmmm... how to approach her...

She's sitting there on that couch, looking at the little children
playing in the nursery across from it. I COULD sneak up behind
her and surprise her... I probably shouldn't... but on the other
hand, it'd be a good way to get her attention.

I creep closer... and closer... and closer... I extend my hand
and...

"Good Morning Yolie," she says as my hand is halfway to her
shoulder, not turning her head.

"Good Morning Kari," I reply, pulling my hand back and sitting
down next to her. Poromon hops over to Gatomon, who's trying
to fend off the kids that are trying to yank her tail.

Fortunately for her, the kids immediately spot the cute, feathery
pink thing and unfortunately for Poromon, he's suddenly being
tugged and hugged and pulled in all directions. He's a tough
little guy, though, so he'll probably be okay. I'll rescue him if
need be, but for now....

"So how'd you sleep last night?" I ask, turning most of my
attention to Kari.

"Okay, I guess," Kari replies, still just watching the children
play.

"Did you have breakfast yet?" I ask.

"Yes," Kari said.

"What did you have?"

"Cereal and some milk and juice. Gatomon had some tuna."

"That's good. So... you good and all?"

"Yes."

... AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH! This is going NOWHERE! Dammit... I wanna
talk to her but I dunno what to say that could start up a real
conversation. I wonder if she's feeling this nervous too.

Oh, who am I kidding? This is Kari Kamiya, she doesn't GET
nervous. She's always so calm and in control and everything I'm
not...

She suddenly looks up at me and a small smile crosses her face as
she says, "I'm sorry... I'm being rude and not paying a lot of
attention to you. I've just been... thinking a lot about what's
happened recently."

I nod. "Yeah... I could see why you'd wanna do that. If you
wanna talk about it..."

"Not at the moment," Kari says... and then her expression
changes.

It's not like it's the most visible change in the world... it's
more like the look in her eyes and an almost unnoticeable quiver
of her lower lip for a moment before she speaks again. "It's
still too..." She pauses, searching for the right word. "...
recent. But thank you for offering..."

"Hey, no problem," I reply, waving it off as if it's no big deal,
even though, inside, I'm a little saddened that she won't let me
help her just yet. "I mean, this is some serious stuff. But if
we're gonna be Digidestined, then we'd better be friends! And if
we're going to be friends, then we'd better be REALLY good
friends who can talk to each other about anything!"

I flash her my "Bingo" sign and she smiles wider, she even
GIGGLED.

She keeps smiling as she says, "You're right. I think I'd like
being your friend. You're... enthusiastic."

"Hey," I reply, leaning back in the couch, "If you're not gonna
live life as full as you can, then what's the point of living it
at all?"

At this point, Poromon, who's hopping a little shakily, flops his
way back over to us. He looks up at me as he asks, "Yolie... are
all human Rookies so violent?"

"Nah," I reply. "Some of them are worse."

"Oh *no*!" Poromon wails, drawing giggles from both me and Kari.

That's when Jim suddenly runs over to us from out of the
shuffling crowd. "There you two are!" he exclaims.

"What's up?" I ask as he comes to a stop, sounding a little out
of breath. He must have run a good distance to get to us.

"It's the Devil-Cat-Girl..." Jim pauses a moment to take in
another big gulp of air. "You said her name was Megan, right?"

Kari nods, hesitantly.

"Well," Jim says, "she's awake. The others are going to try and
talk to her and they wanted me to find you so you could join them
if you wanted to."

As soon as Jim finishes talking, Kari's face turns as white as a
sheet. Her hands start shaking badly and from the look in her
eyes, it's clear she's remembering... either the incident in the
Digital World or what happened in the Fog Dome... or maybe both
at the same time. Looks like I was wrong when I said she never
gets nervous.

"I..." Kari says. "I don't think I can... I'm not ready yet...
and... and if something goes wrong... the Hospital..."

Jim nods in understanding and I say, "Well then, if you're not
going, I'm not going either."

Kari looks at me in surprise as she says, "But... wouldn't they
want you there? I mean, you're pretty smart, you could probably
think up some good questions...."

"Bah," I say with a wave of my hand. "Cody and TK are there,
they'll know what to ask. And Davis can probably be useful in
making friends or something. He seems pretty good at that.
Besides, it looks like YOU need someone by your side by the
moment."

I smile at her and she smiles back.

I meant what I said. I want her to be able to talk to me about
anything and vice versa... even if we have to take our time in
getting to that point with little things like this.

+ + +

Two Digimon were sitting at a table and eating.

One of them looked like a yellow lizard, wearing the
violet-striped fur of some sort of dog-like creature. The other
resembled nothing so much as an oversized ladybug with green,
multifaceted eyes and black spikes sprouting from his back's
carapace. He had four arms, two of them tipped by large talons
and the other two ending in small four-fingered hands.

They stopped eating as they observed two small blob-like
creatures tug a tray of food across the table and then coming to
a stop next to the other Digimon.

"Well," the dog-like one said, sounding pleasantly surprised.
"Hello there."

"Hi!" The two blobs said in unison. "Who're you?"

The dog-lizard said, "My name is Gabumon. I'm a Data-Type
Digimon of the Rookie Level. I'm sort of shy and hide behind my
fur but if you get me angry my Blue Blaster will teach you a
lesson."

The bug one added, "And my name is Tentomon. I'm also a Rookie
Level Digimon but I'm a highly charged fellow and my Super
Shocker will definitely spark your interest."

The first blobby creature was blue, with a white underbelly and
short muzzle. His large, cheerful-looking red eyes sparkled as
he said, "And I'm DemiVeemon! I'm an In-Training Digimon who's
extra brave despite my small size and my Pop Attack makes sure I
have a reason to be that way!"

The second blob, a tan colored oval with large eyes and giant
wing-like ears, added, "And I'm Uupamon! I'm In-Training too and
my Baby Scream will make your ears ring if you think I'm
helpless!"

"It's nice to meet you," all four of them said at the same time.

"Forgive me for being rude but I've never seen Digimon like you
before," Tentomon said as he drank from a soda can. "And
In-Training Digimon rarely leave their villages until they can
Digivolve to Rookie. Did something happen during the Change?"

"Nah," DemiVeemon replied after swallowing a wedge of cake he had
shoved into his mouth. "We're just here with our new human
friends."

"What a coincidence," Gabumon said with a smile as he worked on
the contents of a bowl of fried chicken. "So are we."

"Cool! Then maybe our friends can meet your friends!" Uupamon
said before diving into a bowl of fried rice with gusto.

"Maybe," Tentomon said, his voice becoming somehow sadder. "But
Izzy doesn't really talk to people that much anymore..."

"He's just shy because he sounds so different now," Gabumon
replied, encouragingly. "Give him some time and I'm sure he'll be
his old self again, especially now that he's back among friends."

"That's something else I'm worried about," Tentamon replied.

Moving on to a bottle of fruit juice, DemiVeemon said, "Well,
with a friend like you who's so concerned, I'm sure that he'll be
just fine."

"That's right," Gabumon said. "We can still protect our friends
and help them as best we can."

"Hey Gabumon! Tentomon!" The four Digimon turned their gazes
across the cafeteria toward the new voice. The speaker was a
tall, blond, and oddly pretty human of the male variety, who
stood leaning against the cafeteria's doorway. Gabumon's head
perked up as he heard him. "C'mon," the human said. "It's time to
go!"

The two Rookie Digimon hopped out of their chairs. "Well,"
Gabumon said before he ran off, "it was nice meeting you two but
we have to go now."

"Yes," Tentomon added. "Hope we'll meet again."

"Bye bye!" DemiVeemon said as he waved his arm stub good-bye.

"See ya around!" Uupamon added as he hopped up and down and
flapped his ears.

Gabumon and Tentomon moved away quickly, disappearing into the
crowd and leaving the two In-Training Digimon alone again. "Gee,"
DemiVeemon said, "Those were nice Digimon. Do you think that
maybe their humans friends are special in the same way
ours are?"

"Hmmm..." Uupamon replied. "I don't THINK there's other humans
like ours... but the name 'Izzy' sounds kind of familiar, doesn't
it?"

"I don't know," DemiVeemon replied. "I never pay attention when
the humans start talking about boring stuff. Want another piece
of cake?"

"Yummy!" Uupamon replied, the two Digimon returning happily to
their food.

+ + +

It was much later that day when the three Digidestined boys had
gathered outside of Megan's hospital room. They shared a look,
watching her from the hallway. Her eyes glowed softly red as
she glanced in confusion about her room, adding to the almost
eerie silence that hung over the girl.

"If you guys don't wanna go in there I'll understand," Davis
said as he turned to look at Cody and TK.

"Yeah," Veemon added. "Thish ish gonna be tricky and we dunno
what'sh up with her yet."

"I'm going," TK said firmly."Even if it's only to make sure this
isn't a trick." Patamon nodded from where he rested on TK's head.

"We need answers," Cody said. "We have to at least try."

Armadillomon added, "And ya'll never know, she could be someone
who just needs a friend is all."

"Alright then," Davis said as he gripped the doorknob. "Let's do
it."

He opened the door and the group of six walked in, Megan turning
her head to regard them silently. The silence was infectious, as
the humans and Digimon were momentarily unable to think of
anything to say to the odd... Fusion of Digimon and human that
sat before them.

Davis was the first to regain his voice as he said, "Hi there.
My name's Davis. Davis Motomiya. Nice ta meet ya. What's your
name?"

The girl stared at him, silently tilting her head to one side as
she did so.

"My name is Cody Hida," the tallest boy added with a partial bow.
"We're rather curious about who you are and about all that's
happened. We would greatly appreciate your help, if you would be
willing to provide it."

The Lady Devimon-looking girl still did not answer, turning her
gaze towards the other human in the room. "I'm TK," he said
simply.

The girl then looked at the Digimon.

"Nice ta meet ya! My name'sh Veemon!"

"Ah'm Armadillomon. Hope ya'll are the friendly type."

"I'm Patamon."

The girl then looked back up at the humans, a long moment of
silence passing before the girl finally opened her mouth and
spoke in a soft, almost inaudible voice. "Megumi... Sadamoto.
Megan."

"Okay then!" Davis exclaimed happily, drawing the girl's full
attention to him. "Now Megan... how are you doing? Feelin' okay
and everything?"

Megan blinked slowly, looking down at her oversized hands and
flexing them softly, before glancing at the IV tube that ran into
her left arm.

"When we found you," Cody quickly attempted to explain, "You were
very malnourished. Kevin tried to help you as best he could, but
he didn't have the resources to properly take care of you."

"Kevin..." Megan said quietly. "Is he well? Or..." She stopped
talking, pausing to look directly at TK.

"He's fine," TK said.

"Yeah," Davis added. "He's still in that Fog Dome if ya wanna go
see him when you're all better."

Megan nodded, looking down at nothing in particular.

"This may seem like a bad time..." Cody began hesitantly, "but
there are some questions we need to ask of you..."

Megan gave no reply at all as she continued to stare down at her
lap.

"The first thing we want to know is where is the rest of your
family is. And the second thing we want to know is what they're
really up to," TK stated.

Megan shrugged.

"TK," Cody said. "If she was in as bad a condition as the one we
found her in from the very start of the Fusion, then I doubt that
she knows anything that complex."

Megan nodded at Cody's words.

Patamon whispered in his partner's ear, "I think you need to be a
little less rough on her. She can't hurt anybody now...."

"I know that, Patamon," TK whispered back, "but she still has the
Powers of Darkness."

"So..." Davis began. "Uhhh... what's up with you? I mean...
uhhh... what are ya plannin' to do once you're up and around?"
Cody blinked in confusion down at Davis. The goggle boy glanced
back up and whispered, "Maybe a little small talk 'n stuff like
that'll help break the ice, y'know?" Cody nodded in
understanding.

"My destiny," Megan replied, once again forcing the others to
strain their ears to hear her, "is to give birth to the next
generation of Sadamoto."

The three boys blinked in surprise and exchanged quick glances,
as if checking to see if they were all understanding her
properly. It seemed they were. "Forgive me for being rude..."
Cody asked, "but you seem a bit too young for that."

"I am the one who carries the power of the Crest of Darkness,"
Megan said. "My duty to my family requires me to carry the seed
of Domination."

'... Shane,' Davis thought with a scowl. The muscles in his jaw
visibly tightened in anger.

TK whispered to Patamon again. "... I think you're right this
time."

Davis and Cody felt tugs on their pants legs and they looked down
to see their Digimon. "What'sh she talkin' about, Davish?"
Veemon asked.

"An' what's carryin' a buncha seeds gotta do with any a' this?"
Armadillomon added.

The two young men suddenly felt strangely uncomfortable. "We'll
explain another time," Cody said, smiling weakly down at his
confused partner.

"What happened to you anyway?" TK asked. "It's obvious both you
and your Digimon partner are sharing a body... but is that it?"

"We are..." Megan paused to find the right word. "One. Complete.
Not Megan. Not LadyDevimon. ... both."

"Well..." Davis said suddenly. "I'm convinced!"

The others, Megan included, blinked at Davis.

"If she was really bad and wanted to attack us," Davis explained,
"She's had plenty of time to do so. The fact she hasn't
convinces me that she's not a bad guy and we can be friends."
Megan blinked at Davis again as the young man held out his hand
to her. "We CAN be friends, right?" he asked.

Megan blinked at the hand, and then at Cody's hand as the taller
boy did the same. "I'll be honest," Cody said. "I'm still unsure
if we can completely trust you yet. However... I would like to
believe we can."

TK said nothing, staying back as he thought, 'You two may be
right... but don't act too quickly. We don't know everything
about her yet.'

"Thish ish great!" Veemon exclaimed happily, "First the Gabumon
and Tentomon in the cafeteria and now we've got another new
friend!"

"Gabumon... and Tentomon?" TK repeated, a shocked look
coming over his face.

Patamon flew off of TK's head and landed next to the other
Digimon. "Were they with humans?" he asked.

"No..." Armadillomon said. "Wait a minute! There was one, all
tall an' skinny like TK is."

TK suddenly yelled at the two Digimon at the top of his lungs,
his voice almost a shriek. "Why didn't you TELL anyone this?!"

Everyone, including Megan, was taken back by the intensity of
TK's voice. Veemon looked at the ground and replied, "We didn't
know it wash important... there'sh lotsh and lotsh a Gabumon and
Tentomon..."

TK looked like he was about to shout something else, but bit it
back and ran out of the room. Patamon hastily flew after him as
TK began to shout, "MATT! IZZY!"

"HEY!" Davis exclaimed as he prepared to give chase, "What gives
you the right to yell at MY friend like that you--"

Cody placed a hand on Davis' shoulder as he said, "Please calm
down... if this really does involve his brother, I can understand
his distress."

"Yeah..." Davis replied, his anger dulling as he slouched. "Still
doesn't give him the right to act all nasty like that."

Cody turned back to Megan, bowing deeply as he said, "I
apologize... we need to go now. May we talk to you again later?"

Megan nodded slowly.

+ + +

Kari and Yolie blinked in surprise as TK raced past them,
continuing to yell Matt and Izzy's names at the top of his lungs.
The two girls looked at each other, called to their partners, and
gave chase.

"Poromon Digivolve TO... HAWKMON!" The little pink body expanded
into a less-small brown one, with more developed wings. Now at
the Rookie Level, Hawkmon was able to keep up with the others as
he flew alongside Yolie. The four of them eased their way around
knots of people as TK continued on, shouting out for his brother
and his friend. "TK!" Kari called out, "What's going on?"

TK paused for a moment to turn around and answer her as he said,
"Veemon and Armadillomon saw a Tentamon and Gabumon in the
cafeteria that sound like they were Matt and Izzy's partners! I
may be wrong but I have to try!"

With that, he turned back around and resumed racing down the
halls.

"TK..." Patamon panted as he flew as fast as he could to keep up
with his partner. "I dunno about you, but this may not be the
most best way to find them..."

"We'll try paging them from the front desk in a minute..." TK
replied. "But let's take a quick look outside first. If they've
left the building, then we're out of luck!"

The two raced out the front doors, Kari and Yolie readying
themselves to exit the building as well. Suddenly, TK and
Patamon raced back in, skidding to a halt next to the two girls
and their Digimon.

"Heeey!" Davis called out as he and Cody entered the main
lobby from one of the side hallways. "What's going on?!"

"Trouble..." TK gasped, bending over to catch his breath. "BIG
trouble. Take a look outside!"

Many of the other people in the hospital's lobby began to buzz
nervously as... something started to appear from out of the
horizon. At first, it was a mass of red and black,
indistinguishable from the scenery in the distance. Then, as it
drew closer, it began to separate into a group of silhouettes,
some of them fully red and some of them fully black.

The buzzing in the lobby became louder as the ground began to
shake from the footfalls of the massive group. The figures in the
distance drew closer, their features becoming more distinct.
They came in two different varieties, though both types shared
many general characteristics. Both were lizard-like, and stood
well over 10 meters in height with lime green dorsal fins. Some
were a deep red with white bellies, their snouts wider and less
fang-filled then their black companions. The black ones also had
what appeared to be leather straps wrapped around their arms and
two large tusks protruding from their mouths. Each and every last
one of them wore a Dark Ring around their neck, their eyes
glowing a deep malevolent red.

"Those are Tyrannomon!" Patamon exclaimed as he looked at the red
creatures. "They're hot tempered Dinosaur Digimon with a Fire
Blast that'll burn you up if you're not careful!"

"And those other brutes are DarkTyrannomon," Hawkmon added.
"They, too have a Fire Blast attack, but they've been taken over
by a devilish Virus so they are doubly sure to use it."

"Those rings..." Davis growled.

"The Digimon Emperor," Cody added, his voice growing cold.

Sounds of people panicking began to fill the lobby as the legion
of Tyrannomon and DarkTyrannomon came to a halt. Another
Digimon, this one snake-like in appearance, soared down from
above on its tattered wings and came to a halt just in front of
the regiment of gigantic Digimon.

"An' that thar's Airdramon," Armadillomon said. "His Spinning
Needle leaves his enemies in stitches if he catches 'em with it."

On top of the Airdramon's head, a young-looking man dressed in a
strange gold and purple outfit raised a megaphone and began
speaking, his voice a sneer of superiority. "Attention, humans.
I am the Digimon Emperor. Do not be afraid. These creatures you
see before you are under my complete control. I offer you
protection from those that would seek to do you harm. I ask only
four things in return. One: You must allow for a Control Spire
to be built within this territory. Two: You must swear loyalty
to me and my cause. Three: All Digimon who are dwelling in this
territory must be given a Dark Ring to wear so that they will be
under my control. Four: You must turn over those... creatures
called 'Digidestined' to me so that they can not further harm
humanity. You have thirty minutes to respond."

"Who the hell does this guy think he is?!" Davis snarled angrily.

"He's very bold, if nothing else," Cody said, his fists clenching
by his sides.

"So what do we do?" Kari asked. "We can't just go out there and
fight him."

"Why not?!" Davis exclaimed. "If we don't, he'll just take this
place over and make all the Digimon his slaves!"

"First of all..." TK replied, "there's the wounded to consider.
If we have a big fight, there's a good chance a lot of people
will get hurt. Secondly, we're pretty badly outnumbered. I
count twenty Tyrannomon and twenty DarkTyrannomon. That's forty
against five. We need a plan."

"So each of us take out... let's see... forty divided by five..."
Davis paused to try and calculate numbers in his head.

"Eight each," Yolie said. "That's a bit much and even if all we
have to do is knock out the Dark Rings, with that many of them,
they could just gang bash us if we attack them head-on. TK's
right. We need a plan."

"I think we can help," Jim said as he quickly jogged up to the
others, mentally cursing all the running he was having to do
today. "I just got a summons for an impromptu meeting with the
rest of the staff and if I know these people at all, then I think
I know what our decision is going to be."

+ + +

"Your time is running out!" The Digimon Emperor shouted into his
megaphone. "You have five minutes left to respond or I will be
forced to take action."

"Master..." Wormmon, who rode upon Airdramon's head along with
the teenaged ruler, began. "Are you sure we should be rushing
into this? They could have a trap set up or something else
dangerous...."

The Emperor laughed as he replied, "I severely doubt that, given
what we've observed of this facility. The only thing we truly
need to worry about is those disruptive Digidestined fre... ah."

The Digimon Emperor's smirk grew wider as he saw three groups of
Rookie Digimon race out of the front doors. "My point is
proven," he said, "if THIS is the best defense they can muster."

One group consisted a band of perhaps ten vaguely dinosaur-like
creatures. Their bodies were made out of green, red, and blue
pieces that resembled nothing so much as a child's plastic
interlocking building blocks. "We're ToyAgumon," their leader
pronounced defiantly. "We may be a little cowardly, but we'll
fight for justice with our Toy Flame and Block Punch if need be."

The leader of the other group strode forward, a white Agumon with
bright blue eyes. "And we're SnowAgumon. We're willing to put
the bad guys on ice with our Little Blizzard and Ice Chomp
attacks."

The leader of the third group was an especially curious-looking
Digimon, roughly resembling a Gabumon with pink skin, a green
belly, and eye-poppingly bright fur colored in white and
lavender. "And don't forget about us Psychemon. Our Colorful
Spark can brighten up even the darkest of situations!"

The Tyranomon and DarkTryanomon glowered down at their tiny
adversaries as The Emperor laughed. "ROOKIES?" he exclaimed
incredulously. "You send ROOKIES to face me? Pathetic!"

"They're nowhere near as pathetic as a bully like you is." The
speaker was a human who stepped boldly out the hospital's front
doors. "They at least fight their own battles."

"And who are YOU to question my fitness?" the Digimon Emperor
sneered at the man.

"My name is Jim Kido," he replied as he looked up. "And the
Digidestined you're looking for aren't in the hospital, so just
go on and leave us alone."

"Lies," The Emperor shouted. "You know as well as I do that
you've been harboring them here. Give them up, along with the
Dark Digidestined, and then perhaps we can negotiate the other
terms I gave before."

"No can do," Jim replied. "Like I said, they're not in the
hospital. Oh, and the staff had a meeting to decide what to do
about your terms. We've decided to fight!"

The Digimon Emperor laughed as he indicated the groups of Rookie
Digimon with a wave of his hand. "With THAT? You're either very
brave or very foolish."

"Hey, why can't he be both?!"

The Emperor snapped his head up towards the new, confident voice
and saw one of the Digidestined standing on the roof, the absurd
boy with the goggles and the tacky jacket. However, it wasn't his
bravado that had caught the Emperor's attention. That was focused
firmly on the boy's partner, a familiar dragonlike creature in
red Armor.

"FIRE ROCKET!" Flamedramon leapt elegantly off of the building
before the Emperor could properly react, slamming hard into the
chest of the nearest Tyrannomon. The Champion Digimon was knocked
backward and into a cluster of his companions, sending the whole
group toppling to the ground.

Shurimon followed the Fire Dragon Digimon's lead, leaping off the
roof and swinging his vine-mounted shuriken blades out in an
incredibly wide arc. The blades raked the ground before the front
lines of the Tyrannomon army, causing the Digimon soldiers to
hastily fall back. "DOUBLE STAR!"

Digmon finished the initial assault by diving off the roof,
drills spinning as he buried them in the ground. "ROCK
CRACKING!"

The earth rumbled and then split, opening a wide, deep crevasse
that separated the Emperor's forces from the hospital. "Now we
ain't gotta worry about the Hospital gettin' attacked as much,"
Digmon commented.

"NOW!" Jim cried out, pointing toward the Emperor's army in a
way he hoped was suitably commanding and dramatic.

"TOY FLAME!" The ToyAgumon cried in unison as they shot small
balls of fire toward the Dark Rings attached to the necks of the
two nearest Tyrannomon.

"LITTLE BLIZZARD!" The SnowAgumon added, launching blasts of
icicles from their mouths. Like the ToyAgumon, they worked
together to concentrate their fire on the rings around the necks
of the nearest two Dark Tyrannomon.

"COLORFUL SPARK!" Using their pea-green colored mouth beams, the
Psychemon followed the same strategy, concentrating their fire on
a single Dark Ring.

The armor Digimon helped as best they could. Flamedramon launched
a hail of fireballs at the nearest DarkTyrannomon. Shurimon
followed suit, pulling his largest shuriken off from his back
and sending it spinning through the air. Digmon took aim at a
Tyrannomon's Dark Ring and launched a volley of drill missiles.
Every attack hit home, knocking the larger Digimon to the
ground and shattering the Dark Rings from their necks as the
dinosaur Digimon, exhausted from the Emperor's long forced march,
fell into unconsciousness.

TK smiled a little as he watched the fight from the hospital's
roof. "I TOLD you finding all those Agumon was a good sign. We
may not even need to Transfer if we keep this up."

"Yeah!" Davis cried exuberantly. "Bet he wasn't expecting us to
put up a good fight."

"So you've use a childish lie to take out a mere eight of my
troops," The Emperor snarled at them. "You're just proved how
weak you really are!"

"We didn't lie," Yolie shouted back to him with a smirk. "Jim
said we weren't IN the hospital and we're not. We're ON the
hospital!"

"... well, they do have a point, Master..." Wormmon added,
hesitantly.

"Shut up!" The Digimon Emperor shouted. "All forces! Counter
attack! Destroy those Rookies and then concentrate all fire on
the Armor Digimon!"

The two groups of Tyranomon inhaled sharply, flames beginning to
flicker along the insides of their mouths. "Spread out!" Jim
cried to the Rookie Digimon as he began running for cover. "And
get down!"

The Tyrannomon and DarkTyrannomon unleashed huge gouts of flame
from their mouths all at once, the ground in front of them
melting from the heat as they cried, "FIRE BLAST!"

The Armor Digimon dodged, Flamedramon and Shurimon dancing around
the various cones of fire with deceptive ease as Digmon burrowed
into the ground and let the worst of the flames pass over him.
The Rookies were not so fortunate.

The Snow and ToyAgumon had been lucky and fast enough to
get into Digmon's trench to avoid the flames. But the five
Psychemon were much slower, and unable to get away in time. When
the fire blasts stopped, all that remained were spots of scorched
asphalt and a few free-floating pixels.

Then the battle began in earnest. Shurimon and Flamedramon
charged in head-on, enraged at the loss of their little allies.
Digmon hung back, firing volleys of missiles to support his more
agile teammates' attack. The two Armored Digimon used their
bladed hands to strike at a Dark Ring whenever the opportunity
arose, as they dodged through the flailing tails and snapping
jaws that the Tyrannomon attacked them with.

The Rookies, from behind their cover, returned fire. The
ToyAgumon and SnowAgumon continued their strategy of mass firing
at a single Dark Ring in order to shatter it. The Tyrannomon
groups closest to them fired back, their larger blasts of fire
instantly killing the ones who couldn't return to cover fast
enough.

"I was wrong..." TK said as he watched the battle. "It's past
time to Transfer."

"Right!" Kari, Patamon and Gatomon all shouted in reply,
gathering their energy.

"Transfer Digi--" the two Digimon stopped and screamed as their
bodies began to shrink into their lower forms. Crackles of black
energy raced over their bodies, and causing them to drop to the
roof in stunned pain. The Transfer Digivolve was a failure;
Patamon and Gatomon remained as they originally were, as did Kari
and TK.

"I don't think so." The Emperor smirked as he held something in
his hand out towards the Digimon. The Airdramon he rode on drew
closer to the building, until his forehead hovered less than a
foot away from the roof's edge. "There'll be none of that on
my watch, I assure you."

"That device in his hand..." Kari exclaimed as she got a good
look at it.

"... it's like our Digivices!" Davis finished, eyes wide.

The Emperor snorted derisively as he replied, "My Dark Digivice
is NOTHING like YOUR inferior things. With this, I can stop any
and all Digivolving processes... except for that Armor
Digivolving. And I'll find a way to block that soon enough!"

"Then the best course of action is..." Cody began softly, before
suddenly drawing his bokken and charging toward the Airdramon. He
leapt off the roof and landed squarely on the creature's
forehead, directly in front of the Emperor "... would be to make
sure you don't have it anymore!"

The Emperor quickly darted back, avoiding the strike meant for
his chest. The Airdramon under them snarled in displeasure at
the new weight as on its head as Wormmon scuttled to place
himself between the Emperor and Cody. "I'll save you, Master!" he
shouted, as he leapt forward.

"LIGHTNING PAW!"

"BOOM BUBBLE... POP!"

Wormmon was promptly knocked senseless by Gatomon's mid-air
punch, and then hurled off the Airdramon and down to the ground
below by Patamon's compressed air ball.

The Airdramon continued to shake under the weight of the two
human bodies. Cody and the Emperor had dropped down and grabbed
the snake-like body in an effort to keep from getting thrown off.
"Land, you stupid beast!" The Emperor snarled, kicking the
Digimon viciously in the side.

The Airdramon swiftly lowered to the ground, the two humans
jumping off and staring at each other intently as the flying
Dragon Digimon returned to the skies. "Well now," the Digimon
Emperor said, "I don't care if you did that out of bravery or
foolishness. NO ONE may touch me and escape without proper
punishment!"

"You're not much older than I am," Cody stated, calmly hefting
his bokken. "And yet, you act like a spoiled child."

"I am NO child," The Emperor spat back. "*I* am the one who shall
rule this world."

"By spilling the blood of innocent people and destroying every
Digimon you see?" Cody retorted, anger creeping into his voice.

The Emperor laughed. "Digimon? Innocent? They're not even real.
They're just little bits of computer code for me to play with.
And humans? I have not harmed a single one."

"My grandfather died because of you."

The Digimon Emperor seemed momentarily surprised. However, he
quickly recovered his composure. "Nonsense. If he died, it was
because he was too old and weak to survive, not because of
anything I did. And just what do you think you're going to do
about it? Strike me down in vengeful fury, or something
similarly cliched?"

"No," Cody replied, even though he could feel the anger building
inside his heart. "But I will see you brought to justice." The
younger boy raised his bokken and charged the Emperor. "And
that means stopping your madness NOW!"

Cody's bokken missed as the Emperor ducked again, letting the
larger boy pass by him as the two turned around to face each
other.

"You're fast," Cody said.

"I am perfection given human form," the Digimon Emperor replied.
"You've obviously got some little skill... but you cannot hope to
even touch me."

'I have to keep calm...' Cody thought to himself. 'Despite how I
feel, if I get too angry, I might severely injure him by
accident.'

"I don't particularly want to beat a fellow human senseless," The
Emperor said as he adopted a loose fighting stance. "So I'll give
you the opportunity to realize your error before you get hurt."

Cody swiftly analyzed his foe's stance, looking for openings and
vulnerabilities. He found quite a few, including a rather
inviting one at the left side of the Emperor's stomach. A good
enough blow there would be able to put him down, and definitely
wipe that irritating smirk off his face.

'Here I go... grandfather,' Cody thought as he dashed forward,
swiping the bokken out towards the vulnerable area of his
opponent's body.

The next thing Cody knew, the Emperor's hands suddenly lashed
out, grabbing the end of the bokken. The older boy spun around,
his cape swirling, as he caused Cody to first stumble, and then
topple forward to the ground. The Emperor added a solid kick to
the small of his back for good measure. Despite the bruises that
were already forming, Cody's pride hurt far more than his body
did. 'Of all the foolish mistakes...' Cody mentally scolded
himself as he reviewed the previous exchange. 'Even a white belt
could have seen that a target as obvious as that was a trap. I
must not be focusing... I have to calm down.'

"Well," The Digimon Emperor said, "Do you understand what you're
up against now, or shall I have to show you more?"

Cody didn't answer as he readied his bokken again and dashed
forward, hoping to catch the Emperor by surprise with a sudden
overhead strike. The Emperor retaliated by ducking forward and,
while Cody was still in mid-strike, grabbing him by the arms and
flipping him over his shoulder.

Cody, while surprised by the suddenness of his opponent's move,
was aware to roll with the throw. He was quickly back to his
knees after hitting the ground, and even managed to hang onto his
bokken in the process. However, the throw had still hurt him,
and his back still ached from the earlier kick.

It was at this point the tall boy realized the situation was much
worse than he'd thought. 'That style...' Cody thought. '... it's
Judo. Not good. Kendo's chief strength is to be able to focus a
single, strong strike to an open area... but Judo's main strength
is to turn any power used against it back at the attacker. I
underestimated him. Badly.'

"I see from the look in your eyes," The Emperor said, "that you
now understand I'm more than simply talk. I'll give you one last
chance to surrender and call off your Armored friends from my
forces."

"Never," Cody said, unable to stop the anger and frustration that
was building within him from bubbling out in the form of a snarl.
"I won't stop. I won't let you do this to anyone else!"

The Digimon Emperor laughed loudly as he replied, "Oh please! As
I said before, I do not seek to harm ordinary humans. Though
they are lesser beings than myself, there's rarely a good reason
to have one killed. And if you've included Digimon in your little
vow, then you are a fool. Computer data is not alive. What are
you saving them from?"

"They are in this world," Cody replied as he got to his feet, the
words he had heard causing a sudden fit of rage to pour free in
both expression and voice. "They may not be like us, but they
exist! They have hearts and minds of their own! Look around
you... if they weren't real, why would they fight to keep
existing? Why would they want to see tomorrow that badly?"

The Emperor looked towards the field of battle. Though at least
fifteen of his force had lost their rings and subsequently
fallen, all but three of the Rookie Digimon had been wiped out.
Even they were too injured to continue battle, staying under
cover to avoid the swooping attacks of the Airdramon. The three
Armored Digimon continued to fight on valiantly, but even they
were showing signs of tiring. Their movements were slower, the
blows of the Tyrannomon and Dark Tyrannomon drawing ever closer
to connecting.

"Toys," he finally said. "They're nothing but little toy
soldiers, to place and remove from this game as I see fit. They
fight because I cause them to, and if they are destroyed, then so
be it. A million of them could be deleted in a single battle and
it would make no difference to me... so long as I had enough Dark
Rings to make my army whole once again."

"You're worse than a murderer!" Cody shouted, his temper finally
taking control. His vision seemed to turn the world red in his
fury. "At least they can act for themselves, knowing the
consequences! You're just an apathetic coward who forces others
to fight for you!"

"How DARE you!" The Emperor screamed back. "You DARE to judge
me?! I am a superior human being! It is my right to judge you!"

"Like you did my grandfather?!" Cody shouted, charging forward
suddenly. His bokken was raised to strike the side of the
Emperor's head.

Time seemed to slow within the few brief seconds that followed.
The Digimon Emperor, not expecting such a sudden attack,
staggered back a step. His eyes widened as Cody's blow drew
closer.

At that point, Cody's rigid self-control reasserted itself. 'What
am I DOING?!' he thought. 'This is going to KILL him if I don't
pull it back!' Cody threw the weight in his arms backwards,
trying to slow the blow so that, if it struck, the force would be
less then fatal.

However, that brief moment of hesitation was all the Emperor
needed. He ducked again, letting the blow pass over him. The
Emperor's knee raised and landed solidly in Cody's groin. The
younger boy felt all the air rush out of his lungs as pain shot
through his body, causing stars to dance in his eyes. The bokken
slipped out of his hands, which had suddenly gone numb. Then, he
felt his world tipping as the Emperor once again tossed him over
his shoulder. But this time he was unable to take control of the
fall, and landed flat on his back. A fresh wave of pain washed
over him.

The Emperor stopped, breathing heavily. He glanced down at his
shaking hands for a moment, and began to feel angrier as he
glared down at the battered boy. Even now, was struggling to
get up. "How..." he began, stopping as fury shook the words from
him. He grit his teeth before he calmed enough to continue. "It
was only a moment... but... HOW *DARE* YOU MAKE ME FEEL AFRAID!"

He uncoiled the whip that hung at his side. A flip of his wrist
lashed it out. The crack echoed through the air as it struck the
younger boy's raised arm, ripping through the sleeve and
leaving a large welt underneath.

Cody staggered to his feet, taking on a bare-handed battle
stance. He knew that his bokken was behind the Emperor and too
far away to be of use to him at the moment. The Emperor lashed
his whip out again and Cody raised his arm to block, biting his
lower lip as the leather weapon painfully coiled around his arm.

The Emperor tried to jerk the length of the weapon back to him,
but Cody held on to it. He set his feet and pulled steadily
backward on the weapon, even though he could feel his
strength starting to fade.

"You've lost!" The Emperor declared "Are you so stupid you can't
you see that?! Any more resistance will just mean more pain for
you and your friends!"

"So long..." Cody said, "as a man can stand... he can fight...
for what he believes in."

"Then I will remove your ability to stand," The Emperor snarled
as he tugged harder on the whip, causing Cody to stagger forward.

The Digimon Emperor darted forward and snatched the glasses off
his face. Cody's blurry vision, coupled with his wavering sense
of balance, left him helpless. The Emperor easily landed a solid,
open-handed strike to the side of his nose. Cody felt and tasted
the blood running down from his broken nasal passages as The
Emperor grabbed him by the front of his shirt and tossed him away
once more.

Cody slowly rolled back onto his hands and knees, unable to stop
himself from groping around on the ground, wondering if the
Emperor had somehow dropped his glasses in the attack. He then
heard the tell-tale crunch of lenses being crushed as he looked
up and saw the black and purple blur that was the Emperor.
Terror seized him and twisted his stomach in a nauseating vice
grip. Without his glasses, he was effectively blind, and how
could they be replaced when it wasn't even possible to walk
across the city safely? He couldn't even defend himself right
now, let alone his friends or his mother... or Yolie.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it looks like you needed those quite badly," The
Digimon Emperor's voice cheerfully mocked him. "How clumsy of
me."

The whip began striking him once again. The blows came in rapid
succession, and Cody's naked eyes were too weak to even see the
small leather strap's path as slashed through the air and
battered his tired body. He felt fresh welts and cuts forming on
his arms, face and back as the blows continued and yet, he still
struggled to rise. No matter if he was blind and useless now,
he was still unwilling to allow this mockery of a human being see
him falter.

"Fall..." The Emperor snarled, each blow cracking louder and more
clearly with every word he spoke. "Fall! Fall! Fall! Fall!
Fall! FALL! Why! Won't! You! FALL?!"

"Because..." Cody gasped through his now bleeding lips, his right
eye swelling shut. "... it's... what... you... want."

The Digimon Emperor snarled wordlessly and slashed the whip
forward once again. Cody feebly raised his arms, but was unable
to stop the whip from wrapping around his neck.

Then the Emperor started to pull.

+ + +

"LIGHTNING PAW!" Gatomon cried as she smacked another Dark Ring
with her claws, shattering it.

The DarkTyrannomon fell at the blow, Gatomon back-flipping and
landing on her feet. "We're almost home boys!" she said. "Only
about fifteen left, at my count."

"That's good..." Digmon said, his voice wheezing. "Problem is,
ah'm so tuckered out, ah don't think ah could take down more'n
another three."

"I won't give up..." Flamedramon said, his Armor now dented. "But
I'm running out of energy, too."

"I too am on my last reserves of strength," Shurimon added, his
eyes now glowing less brightly.

"I'm trying..." Patamon said sadly, "but I can't do much against
them like this. My attacks alone aren't enough to break the
Rings and the other Rookies are either deleted or too hurt to
keep fighting."

"We have to win," Gatomon snarled, "or else--"

"FIRE BLAST!"

Two Tyrannomon opened fire on them, the majority of the group
managing to get out of the way. Gatomon, however, was caught
flatfooted and knocked head over heals by the shockwave of a
narrowly missed attack. She slammed hard into the wall of a
near-by building, her eyes widening in horror as she saw the
collision dislodge the Holy Ring that encircled her tail and send
it rolling in-between the two Tyrannomon. The two Tyrannomon
blinked down at the small gold circlet, then opened their mouths
and engulfed it in fire.

"NO!" Gatomon howled in fear as the ring was reduced into nothing
more than a melted slab of metal. "My tail ring!"

"Gatomon?" Patamon asked as he flew close to her. "What's wrong?
It was only a ring and you seem okay..."

"It wasn't JUST a ring!" Gatomon shouted back, "Without my tail
ring, I'm... I'm..." she gritted her teeth and lowered her voice
in a way that indicated that what she was saying was intensely
hard for her to admit. "... I'm only about as strong as you are."

"Lovely..." Flamedramon growled softly, looking up as the
remaining enemy Digimon began to regroup.

+ + +

"Don't worry," the Emperor said. "I won't kill you. Once you're
unconscious, I'll let you dream of this lesson again and again,
until you realize the truth."

"LET HIM GO!"

The Emperor turned in surprise and, before he could react, he
found himself tackled. He caught a brief flash of light from the
goggles mounted on the boy's head before his shoulder drove into
his stomach and knocked the wind from him. The whip tumbled from
his hands as he collapsed to the ground. The Emperor hastily
tried to roll back to his feet, and glanced up to see Davis
standing over him, both hands clenched into fists and quivering
in fury. TK stood next to him, his expression both colder and
somehow more intimidating.

Kari and Yolie quickly headed over to Cody. Yolie letting him
slump against her as Kari uncoiled the whip from around his neck.
Cody took a deep breath and then coughed wetly, a small mixture
of phlegm and blood hitting the ground in front of him. "Excuse
me..." he said weakly as he squinted up at the blurry figures
next to him.

"Cody..." Yolie said, "Don't you EVER do something this STUPID
ever again."

"How do you feel?" Kari asked, wincing as she looked at his many
injuries.

"I'll heal..." Cody said. "But I failed you all...."

"Cody..." Yolie said softly. "You did the best you could."

"No," Cody replied. "I didn't."

The Digimon Emperor, meanwhile, glared at Davis and TK with
absolutely contempt. "... you had no business getting involved,"
he snapped. "And do you really think you have a chance against
me? You see how your friend is, don't you?"

"And I see where you are right now," TK added, dryly.

"I'M the leader of my team," Davis snarled, "And even though
Cody's bigger than me, he's younger so I've gotta watch out for
him! Especially with someone who fights dirty like you do! The
only thing you didn't do was kick mud in his eyes, you jerk!"

"And those Dark Rings of yours are an abomination," TK added.
"You need to be stopped, and NOW, before you can spread your
darkness any further!"

"I see," the Emperor said as he staggered to his feet. His voice
was almost thoughtful. "The All-Or-Nothing types. So
unpredictable. Well, I've had enough of the rough and
tumble with the proletariat for one day, so... AIRDRAMON!"

The dragon Digimon hissed and flew away from the two remaining
injured Rookies, both ToyAgumon. The Emperor pointed at the five
people in front of him and said, "Get them!"

"SPINNING NEEDLE!" The Airdramon cried as a cone of purple fire
shot from his mouth and at the group.

Davis and TK jumped clear as Yolie and Kari pulled Cody down, the
taller boy yelping in pain.

"DAVIS!" Flamedramon exclaimed. For only a second, his attention
was drawn away from his foes, allowing a Tyrannomon to lash its
powerful tail into him. Flamedramon's body flashed with
crimson energy that immediately flew from him and back into
Davis' Digivice. Veemon bounced hard against the unforgiving
concrete as he completed the fall.

"FLAMEDRAMON!" Shurimon exclaimed. His own attention was diverted
long enough for a Dark Tyrannomon to swat him out of the air with
a claw. His body glowed a pale green before the power flew back
to Yolie's Digivice, leaving only Hawkmon behind to finish the
fall.

"It's been fun," The Emperor said, "So sorry to see you leaving
the game so soon. Farewell."

"Hey!" TK shouted, moving towards the Emperor. "You're not going
an--"

He was forced to stop talking and covered his face as the
Airdramon, with Wormmon on his back, swooped down and allowed the
Emperor to climb aboard before flying back up into the air and
off into the sky.

"Uh oh..." Digmon muttered, as the remaining forces of the
Emperor turned to glare down at him and open their mouths.

"FIRE BLAST!"

Digmon flew backwards, his body superheated by the fire that
struck him before he slammed into the wall of a nearby building.
Large chunks of concrete came toppling down on him, causing his
body to glow violet. The purple beam of light flew from him to
Cody's Digivice, leaving a dazed Armadillomon to slowly dig out
from underneath it.

"Can you guys... Transfer, now that The Emperor's gone?" Yolie
asked.

TK and Patamon shared a look and concentrated. Nothing happened.

"No..." TK said. "I think the effects of the Dark Digivice may
not have worn off yet."

"Or maybe the Emperor's just not far enough away yet," Gatomon
pouted.

Davis chuckled weakly, looking up at the remaining Digimon as
they began to move in on them, "Y'know... we made a pretty cool
team back there."

TK couldn't stop a smirk from forming on his face as he replied,
"We're not dead yet... so don't start trying to freeze hell."

"Indeed," a new voice said, as a wall of fire suddenly ripped
across the ground, separating the group from the now confused
Tyrannomon and DarkTyrannomon, "For Hope and Light are all
that remains in times such as this."

"Asuramon!" Yolie cried out happily.

The group of humans and Digimon looked at Asuramon as he stood
atop the roof of the hospital, looking down towards TK and Kari.
"If you wish, you may now transform your powers, and with them,
your destiny."

"But the Crests were destroyed..." Kari said.

"And how do we know you're really trying to help?" TK asked. "Why
are you doing all this? You told the others you're the Guardian
of Balance in this world. The last Digimon to call himself that
raised the Dark Digidestined and tried to kill Kari right before
my eyes! How do we know you're any better?!"

"By trusting in the one thing you, above all Digidestined,"
Asuramon replied, "have always believed in... that God will show
his Angels the way."

TK blinked in surprise. "You... sure know a lot about me...."

"I know what I must," Asuramon replied.

"What's he talking about?" Yolie whispered to Kari.

"TK's Christian," Kari whispered back.

Yolie adjusted her glasses as she stared at the boy. "... well,
that sure explains a lot."

"So what now?" TK asked.

"If you wish to fight this battle, you must commit to straying
from the destiny that has compelled you up until this point in
time," Asuramon spoke, his triple-faces grim. "No longer will
the future be as a straight path before you. A new fate will
await the both of you, one that will twist and turn
unpredictably. You may find yourself alone on its path one day,
borne far from your families... or each other."

"So... what? Do we have another option?" TK asked.

"Flee from this place, and find your brothers. Let them fight
these enemies for you," Asuramon replied.

"You mean they're nearby?" Kari asked, brightening.

"Not so close that I could guarantee that none would be hurt or
that The Emperor would achieve victory here before they were
stopped," Asuramon's eyes narrowed. "Choose wisely."

TK and Kari blinked in confusion, first at each other, and then
down at the other Digidestined.

"Look... the way Asuramon's talkin' to you two is kinda freakin'
me out," Davis said, grinning weakly. "You two just wanna go on
and find the others... you can do that. We can hold out until
you get back, right, guys?"

"... we can try," Yolie nodded. "... I mean, I'd love to have the
help, but I'm not sure what Asuramon's asking you two to do...
he's never been like this with us before."

"Maybe... maybe it is wrong for you to be here. You're not really
like us," Cody added, weakly. "If that's what you think Asuramon
is saying, then yes, go. I won't... I won't fail again... we'll
keep fighting..." Cody winced in pain. Yolie gripped his
shoulders a little bit tighter and began scolding him
frantically.

TK turned away from the others, and then glowered up at Asuramon.
"... how can you even ask us a question like this? There's no
choice to be made here. We're staying!"

Kari nodded. "TK's absolutely right. I'd never forgive myself if
we just ran off and left the others here. We may not have known
them as long as our older friends... but they're still OUR
friends, and if we left them now it'd be betraying everything our
Crests ever stood for!"

"No matter what the cost," TK finished. "We will stay here and
fight!"

Asuramon smiled down at them. He was pleased by TK and Kari's
resolve to walk the harder, but better path of destiny, but he
was also heartened by the joy on the faces of the other
Digidestined as they vowed to stay with them. Yes, it would not
happen quickly, but in time they would surely succeed in uniting
as a team. "Once your have determined your will, then the rest is
simple. Call upon the power in your heart that your Crest
represents," Asuramon said. "And let your power take new form."

"The power of my heart..." TK said softly to himself. "Heh. You
say it like it's easy. That Hope is just something that's there
when you want it. Well, it's not. Hope's a lot more then that.
Hope is... it's something you have to defend and believe in every
single moment of every single day or you're lost. It's something
you have to struggle to nurture, even when people tell you it's
silly to believe in it the way you do. And when things are
darkest... when Hope seems to be so far away... then is when you
must fight for it with all your might!"

TK's body suddenly exploded with light, engulfing the area and
causing the Digidestined to cover their eyes in surprise as the
young boy held out his hands in front of him. The light
solidified there, taking the shape of an egg-shaped object that
appeared to be made of gold. Sticking out the top of the egg was
a miniature pair of wings that vaguely resembled Patamon's, as
well a short, furry 'mane' of white hair. The front of the egg
was emblazoned with the Crest of Hope. TK looked down as his
Digivice began to glow and gawked in surprise as it began to
change shape. It assumed the oval design of the other Armor
Digidestined's Digivices, with green highlights.

"So all that is left..." Cody wheezed, "is the Digimental of
Light."

"Light..." Kari repeated softly as she stood, a pink glow
beginning to engulf her body. "You know... even after all this
time... I'm STILL not sure what this Light within me is. It's...
like Hope, it needs to be nurtured and held onto when things seem
darkest, but at the same time, it's different. It's something...
deeper. More than a power to fight... but the power to heal
the world!"

The group was once again forced to cover their eyes as the light
over Kari became blinding and then solidified into her hands as a
white egg-shaped Digimental with the Crest of Light stenciled on
the front. Cat paws protruded from the bottom and a yellow tab
stuck up from the top. Her Digivice changed as well, becoming
like the others, but with pink highlights.

"My time is once more at an end," Asuramon said. "I will entrust
this battle to you." And with that, both he and his firewall
vanished.

The remaining Tyranomon, now that the way was clear, roared in
unison at the group and resumed their advance. "I guess it's
time we see what these things can do," Kari said as Gatomon raced
to her side.

"If you guys wanna activate 'em," Davis said, "Just hold 'em up
and say 'Digi-Armor Energize'!"

TK nodded and held the Digimental out in front of him as he
shouted, "DIGI-ARMOR, ENER... GIZE!"

"Patamon, Armor Digivolve TO..." Patamon's tiny body was
engulfed in an egg-shaped dome of warm, golden energy. His body
grew noticeably larger, with four long, equine legs emerging as
well. With the emergence of his golden metal wings, the egg of
light shattered to reveal the horselike Digimon that stood where
Patamon once was. Bands of golden metal armor covered his
chest, wrapped about his hooves and forelegs, and covered his
face with a protective metal mask. A golden mane spilled down to
cover the side of his neck, and a bright golden tail swished
behind him. "... PEGASUSMON! FLYING HOPE!"

Kari did the same, holding her Digimental high as she shouted,
"DIGI-ARMOR ENER... GIZE!"

"Gatomon, Armor Digivolve TO..." Gatomon's body was engulfed in
an egg of cool, silvery light. It distorted and took on a larger,
quadrupedal form similar to Pegasusmon. As her silver metal
wings emerged to shatter the egg and set her transformed body
free, the miraculous changes wrought by the Digimental of Light
became clear to see. A silver mask with a golden headdress
covered the human-like head, while Gatomon's paw-gloves seemed to
have enlarged to cover her beast-like front paws. Bands of armor
wrapped protectively around her forelegs and delicately
curving chest, but the vicious red-violet claws of her hind paws
remained exposed. Even Gatomon's tail was easy to see as a part
of this beautiful new Digimon, extending above her head and
striped with familiar violet markings. "... NEFERTIMON! THE
ANGEL OF LIGHT!"

The group stared in awe as the glowing Armored Digimon allowed
their feet to touch the ground. "Whoa..." Davis said.

"They're beautiful..." Yolie said.

"But will they be enough to stop the enemy?" Cody asked.

"Let's find out!" Pegasusmon said, bending his knees slightly and
gesturing with his head that TK should get on his back.

"Right!" TK said as he climbed aboard. "You ready, Kari?"

Kari, who had similarly climbed onto Nefertimon's back, nodded in
return. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Let's do it then!" Nefertimon said as she and Pegasusmon took to
the air.

"FIRE BLAST!" The Tyranomon shouted, belching flames at the new
airborne Armor Digimon.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon zipped back and forth agilely, their
humans holding on tightly as they easily dodged the balls of fire
that shot at them.

"Our turn!" Pegasusmon said as the helmet on the Flying Horse
Digimon's head glowed a brilliant green before firing a
triangle-shaped beam of energy at the nearest enemies,
"EQUUS BEAM!"

One of each kind of Tyranomon was hit by the lancing blasts of
energy, the Dark Rings around their necks quickly shattering from
the force.

"CAT'S EYE BEAM!" Nefertimon added, firing a pair of
delicate-looking pink energy beams from the eyes of the snake
crest that sat atop of her Egyptian crown.

The twin blasts also struck one of each Tyranomon type, their
Dark Rings pixulating to nothing as well.

"Only eleven left to go!" TK exclaimed, "Time to turn up the
heat!"

"STAR SHOWER!" Pegasusmon flapped his wings, driving his body
slightly backward as a storm of star-shaped energy blasts hurtled
downward at the five remaining DarkTyrannomon.

"ROSETTA STONE!" Nefertimon added. A column of pink energy shot
upward from her back, releasing a large stone slab etched with
holy symbols.

The now disorganized Digimon withered under the assault, the five
remaining DarkTyrannomon collapsing as the stars struck their
Dark Rings. The stone slab struck one of the Tyrannomon's
rings and then exploded, sending chunks that collided with four
of the others.

The sole remaining Tyrannomon roared, his glowing red eyes
narrowing as the two Armored Digimon elegantly crossed paths in
mid-air, causing a long strand of glowing energy to trail
between them, connecting them by the armor that wrapped about
their forelegs. "GOLDEN NOOSE!" the two cried as they dove
downwards, swooping around the controlled Digimon.

The Tyrannomon struggled as the glowing strand became an
unbreakable bond that encircled his body. He roared in fury as
the two Digimon circled around again and then zipped past him on
either side, a loud clang echoing in the air as both Nefertimon
and Pegasusmon came to a stop a foot beyond the Tyrannomon.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then the Champion Level
Digimon groaned as his Dark Ring shattered and he fell to the
ground.

TK and Kari smiled at each other as their Digimon turned in the
air and began to head back towards the others.

"We did it..." Yolie said. "We won!"

"We won the battle..." Cody added. "But the war is just
beginning."

"So?" Davis grinned. "There's five of us now! And as long as we
keep fighting together like we have been, nothing's ever gonna be
able to stop us!"

+ + +
To Be Continued...
+ + +