Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Mystic Digital War ❯ Chapter 24: Verse of the Powers ( Chapter 24 )

Chapter 24: Verse of the Powers

"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife to love as long as you both shall live?"

Matt grinned as he stared at Rumiko,"I do."

"Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband to love as long as you both shall live?"

Rumiko nodded,"I do."

"Then I now pronounce you man and wife," the priest nodded,"You may now kiss the bride."

Rika grinned as she paused the tape at the exact moment that Matt and Rumiko's lips meet each other. She moved her hand towards the screen and lightly rubbed her fingers across the screen. "You're relieved, aren't you?"

Rika spun around and saw Renamon standing behind her. "Stop doing that!" she shouted.

"I'm sorry, Princess," Renamon said,"I didn't mean to scare you, but I couldn't help notice how relieved you are."

"Yeah," Rika smiled slightly,"I was worried that somehow my presence here would alter the fact that my parents would get together, but, I'm glad that they're married. I really don't have to worry that much any more. I guess I'm also revealed that Lord Kamiya and Lady Sora have finally married as well."

Renamon raised her eyebrow,"Really?"

"Yeah," Rika said,"Even though it was at the same time as my parent's wedding, it means that things are going as they are suppose to." She sighed,"Even though Armageddon approaches."

There was a knock on Rika's door, and she quickly shut the television off. "Yes?"

"Rika? It's TK. I'm calling a meeting in the living room in a few minutes, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

The morning found the Digital Warriors standing on the roof of their apartment building, staring at the morning sky. "Has anyone ever noticed that we spend a lot of time up here?" Noriko said, crossing her arms.

"It's become our thinking corner," Kunemon laughed from Noriko's shoulder.

"Where else can we all fit?" Michael asked with a smile.

"You've got a point, we're a pretty big force. How many of there are us? Twenty, thirty?"

"Somewhere around there," Kari smiled as she and Gatomon entered the roof.

"Well," Noriko said,"Now that Lord Kamiya and Lady Sora are on their honeymoon, I guess that makes you in charge. What's our first move, boss?"

Kari waited until she was in the center of the Digital Warriors before he spoke,"Before Tai left, he gave me instructions to do something, which both of us felt was very difficult, I guess that's why I'm stuck doing in." She sighed, then smiled slightly,"Per Tai's orders, I am temporarily disbanding the Digital Warriors."

"What?!" Michael shouted.

"You can't!" Ken protested.

"We don't have anywhere else to stay!" Davis pointed out.

"Please, everyone," Kari said, raising her hands,"The Digital Warriors are not breaking apart, I, and Tai as well, just feel that everyone needs some time to themselves. Think of it as a vacation."

This time everyone's comments were different and more civilized. "A vacation, huh?" Izzy asked,"That I think I could use."

Mina nodded. "Yes, I think perhaps I should take Dr. Wong up on his offer."

"Maybe a cruise somewhere," Noriko grinned,"With some hunky lifeguards!"

"This might not be a bad idea," Michael said, leaning back against the roof's ledge, "The only problem is thinking of somewhere to go."

Across town inside of the Ishida apartment, TK was telling the Digidestined group the same thing, well, almost the same thing..."Now, since Matt and Rumiko are on their honeymoon, I was thinking that it was high time for us to have a little down time, especially after our battle with Orion."

"Has my father approved of this?" Rika asked, leaning against the wall.

"Who cares what Lord Ishida says," Yolei grinned,"I really need a good make over. What about you, June? Want to join me?"

June hesitated for a second,"Um...I..I don't think so...I..would rather spend some personal time."

"I don't know if we should do this, you guys," Cody said,"What if something should happen while we're away?"

"Cody," Joe said,"We were given the power to protect both worlds, true, but any 'job', no matter how noble, will drive a person mad unless they are able to relax once in a while. I for once think that we need some time to ourselves. I think the city will be fine for a little while."

"I will stay here to watch over the city," Rika said, turning her head away.

"I don't know..."

"Come on, Cody," Armadillomon said,"We need a break."

Cody sighed,"I guess I'm in."

"It's settled then," TK said, turning to his Digimon partner,"Come on, Patamon, it's time to hit the beach."

"The beach?" Yolei squealed,"I've love a day at the beach."

"Why don't you come along?"TK asked.

"Are you sure?"

TK smiled,"Yeah, the more the merrier!"

"Joe, Cody!" Yolei called,"Why don't you join us?"

"I think I'm just going to spend some time at home," Joe bowed,"Excuse me."

Yolei shrugged,"Cody, how about you?"

"I'm going to decline as well," he said,"I think it's high time I spend some time with my mother. I've been thinking about my father lately..."

"Well, looks like it's just you and me," TK said,"And our Digimon."

"I know," she thought,"But it still leaves you and me as the only humans. Maybe I'll get a chill later, so I'll need you to warm me up!"

Noriko leaned back in the chair as she watched Michael place a few of his clothes into a napsack. Ken and Izzy walked in as Noriko asked, "So, where are you going to go?"

"I think I might visit Santa Carea, or what's left of it," he smiled slightly,"Try to bring back a few good memories.."

"Really?" Ken asked,"Do you mind if Izzy and I come along?"

"You really want to come?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, " Ken said,"It was a beautiful city, and I'm sorry that we weren't able to save it."

"What about you, Noriko?" Izzy asked,"What are you planning on doing?"

"I don't know," she said,"Maybe catch a movie or something..."

"Henry and Kazu aren't going anywhere either, maybe you can do something with them," Izzy suggested.

Noriko shrugged,"Maybe."

Micheal quickly zipped his backpack, then swung it around his shoulder,"I'll be waiting for you guys."

The Digital World had changed much since the Neo-Digiworld began to attack and conquer it. Even though it was not his intention, Orion was successful in creating enough of a distraction for the forces of Earth, that Neo-Digiworld had nearly three quarters of the Digital World under its control.

The being responsible for this was the reborn destroyer, Apocalymon, who had gather the three remaining Dark Masters and the Dark Digidestined into a force of supreme terror, that would soon be ready for a launch against Earth itself.

Apocalymon stood on the balcony of his castle, glancing at the rising sun. He had shrunk down to a much smaller size and grew legs instead of his cube body in order to fit inside his own castle. Joining him this morning were Lucifer and Piedmon, along with Barker and Skull Satanmon.

"Eiri has betrayed us," Apocalymon growled.

"Yes," Lucifer sighed,"He has turned his back on us and joined forces with Ishida."

"The Digidestined and Digital Warriors are out there," Apocalymon said,"Waiting for the time to strike."

"Sir," Piedmon said,"Surely, you aren't frightened of them."

"They destroyed that Orion so easily," the Neo Digital World Emperor said," and he easily had the power of a mega. They are growing more powerful then we thought. I must have my Matrix of Evil, but to do that, we need the Crest carrying Digidestined."

"If that is your wish," Barker said,"I believe I have a strategy."

He lead them back inside of the throne room,"I have heard that the Digidestined and Digital Warriors have broken apart for a time."

"They've disbanded?" Piedmon asked, shocked.

"Think of it as a vacation," Skull Satanmon said.

"Anyway," Barker continued,"If we attack them one on one, we will have a much greater chance then at once, considering the number advantage they have over us."

"Who will attack who?" Apocalymon asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"I know that Michelle Azuna has been waiting for a rematch against Hikari Kamiya and I am sure that Lady Mora would have no objections to facing Takashi again. I'm sure the others would agree to which ever one we give them."

Apocalymon nodded. "It is a good plan, but I think we should bring in some professionals for this." He turned to the doorway where a group of dark shadows had appeared. "Meet...the Devas!"

Sora's face was contorted in a complete grin as she looked at the view from the balcony of her hotel room. She turned her attention away from the morning mountain landscape to the view of the pool and spa below. "Oh Tai!" she shouted,"This is beautiful!"

Tai grinned as he walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel,"I thought you might like it."

She walked back inside the room, completely in awe. "How did you afford all of this?"

"Kari, Mom, Michael and the others," Tai shrugged,"They pooled their money together."

Sora sat down on the bed, running her hand over the bed covers,"We'll have to send them a thank you card. I wish it could be more..."

"Sora," Tai said, sitting next to her,"They wanted to do this for us. I know that they don't want anything back.."

Sora figited,"Still..."

Tai wrapped his arms around her,"Come on, this is our honeymoon, Mrs. Kamiya, don't worry about anything else."

Sora grinned, placing her hands behind Tai's neck. "You were quite wonderful last night Mr. Kamiya. Want to give it another go?"

Tai placed his head near Sora's. "Let's do it."

Suddenly the door swung open and Biyomon and Agumon came running in. "Guess what Tai!" Agumon shouted, running over to one of the window. He press a button near the side and the shade opened up automatically. "Cool, huh?"

Tai jumped up and ran over to the window. He pressed the button and the shade closed. "Wow, that's cool!"

Sora sighed with a smile on her face. "Boys and their toys."

After the newlyweds had gotten dressed, they walked downstairs to the dinning area. Sora was surprised to see how many couples were actually on their honeymoons. The Kamiyas found an empty table on the left side of the room. Sora saved their seats while Tai got their breakfast. She was so excited and happy she could hardly believe it. It was taking everything she had to keep from jumping up and screaming her love for all the world to see.

Suddenly, she felt something behind her, a presence she instantly recognized. Turning around slowly she saw Matt and Rumiko seated at a table right behind her. Sora spun back around, hopping they had not seen her. She was successful, they had not seen her, but her husband....

Sora tried to mention to Tai to move more discretely, but all it caused was him to shout,"What are you doing, Sora?"

She silently slapped her head. "They've heard us for sure!"

They did. Matt and Tai were staring directly at one another for a long time before Matt finally spoke. "What a surprise seeing you here," he chuckled.

"What are you two doing here?" Tai asked, sitting down next to Sora,"Aren't there any other places you could've had your honeymoon?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Matt glared.

Rumiko jumped up from the table and jumped between them. She sensed that a fight was soon going to break out and she did not want one on her honeymoon. "Guys!" she said,"come on, why do you two have fight anyway?"

The two lords of the digidestined pointed at each other. "He started it!"

"Do you guys realize how immature you sound?" Rumiko asked, pushing Matt into his chair. Even Sora agreed by pulling Tai down. This was the time she had always dreamed of and she was not going to have it ruined by a stupid rivalry that should have ended long ago.

Tai and Matt began to eat silently, while Rumiko and Sora started to chat. Both young women had been-at the same time-the female companions of Yamato Ishida. When he was forced to choose, he chose Rumiko, overthrowing Sora as the Digidestined leader. By all accounts, they should be the fiercest of foes, but they were determined to bury the hatchet.

"So, how long are you two planning on staying here?" Rumiko asked.

Sora shrugged, "Maybe a week. We're going to play it by ear."

Rumiko nodded,"We're going to stay until Matt can lower his stress level. The doctor told him he is a walking coronary waiting to happen." She rolled her eyes, waiting for Matt's usual response, "I don't have high blood pressure." but it never came.

Sora agreed," Tai's not doing much better, and...Tai?" She turned to find that he was not there,"Tai!"

Rumiko twirled her head around the dinning hall. "Matt's gone too."

Both young women jumped up, ready to strange their new husbands, when the double doors to the hall blew apart, sending shards of wood everywhere. Through the rush of the screaming crowd, Sora could make out a familiar figure in the doorway. "Muh-Mimi?"

The pink-haired girl slowly walked into the room. "Hello, Miss Takenouchi, oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Kamiya. Surrender now, or after I beat you, and I hope you choose the ladder."

Micheal emerged from the darkened forest, taking in all at once, the massive valley stretching in front of him. He dropped his backpack onto the rocky path. He spread his arms out and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, feeling the wind whipping against his skin. "I'm home!"

Beside him, Izzy, Ken and their digimon walked up. "Are you okay?" Ken asked.

Michael grinned wildly as he faced him,"I'm very okay. I've finally returned." He turned back around and stared at the bare valley. "The city might be gone, destroyed by Datamon, but..." He bent down and ran his fingers along the ground, "...but nature has already begun to heal."

The blond lead the brunette and redhead down the mountain, when something caught the corner of his eye. He walked to the right and rested on his knees. He lightly began to brush away the dirt to reveal a medium sized rock with a heart scratch in it. Inside of the heart was written M+L 4ever.

Micheal placed his hand over the heart. "Lisa...."

Micheal quickly ran up the rocky path, following closely behind a very attractive brown haired girl. She giggled in delight as she stopped by the medium sized rock and spun around. to face him. She reached over and grabbed his hands and held them tightly. "Micheal!" she laughed, pulling him down to his knees,"I want you to know that I've never been this happy before!"

Micheal grinned," Lisa, I...I can't even begin to describe how I feel. I've never, ever felt anything close to what I'm feeling. I know we're young, but...Lisa...will you marry me?"

She threw her arms around his neck,"Oh course I'll marry you!"

Another image quickly flashed across Micheal's mind, of Lisa lying on the ground, the front of her white shirt red with blood.

Micheal's daydream was destroyed when he felt someone fiercely shaking his shoulder. He blinked a few times, remembering where he was. He quickly jumped to his feet and spun around, Ken was right in front of him, so he figured that he was the one shaking his shoulder. He glanced further up the rocky path and saw four figures standing at the edge of the forest, a blond haired girl and a blue creature at her feet that he recognized, but the other two he did not.

Micheal jumped in front of Ken and Izzy. "What are you doing here, Mellissa?"

The blond girl grinned in a wicked smile. Even though everyone knew that she was the female clone of Michael, it was hard to imagine. "I am here on Neo-Digiworld's orders...."

One of the figures, a mouse head on tinkertoys, stepped forward,"What, we don't get introduced?"

The other figure, a massive snake, slithered forward,"Yesssss, I am inssssulted!"

Mellissa nodded. "Very well, Micheal, Betamon, Izumi, Tentomon, Ichijoji, Wormmon, meet Kumbiramon and Santiramon, two of the Devas. We are here to extend an invatation on Emperor Apocalymon's behalf. He wishes for you join him in Neo Digital World Capital."

Michael raised an eyebrow,"He wishes?"

"Well, you get the idea."

"We're not going anywhere," Ken said.

Mellissa shook her head,"You've left us no choice. Prepare for battle." She turned to the two Devas,"You two take Ichijoji and Izumi. Micheal is mine!"

Micheal and Betamon nodded at Ken and Izzy. "Let's do it, guys."

"Tentomon digivolve to Kabuterimon....Kabuterimon digivolve to Megakabuterimon."

"Wormmon digivolve to Stingmon!"

Micheal nodded to his Betamon, as Mellissa nodded to her Betamon.

"Betamon digivolve to...Seadramon!"

"Seadramon digivolve to...Megaseadramon!"

"Seadramon digivolve to...Megadramon!"

June took a deep breath as the mountain breeze blew through her hair. She grinned as she rounded the dirt path and a large log cabin came into view, perfectly placed between the green of the mountain, and the blue of the sky. She stopped walking, unable to take her eyes off of the wood structure. Her family had spent countless summers at this cabin, resting from the long winter.

She blinked slightly and saw an image of her when she was nine years old, standing on the front porch with her eight year old brother while her parents were busy pulling suitcases out of the car. June could not remember what she and her brother were talking about, but there was one thing that she definitely remembered: she and her brother hugging each other and she saying,"Daisuke, we'll be friends, no matter what."

At her side, Alruamon looked up at her,""June? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said, forcefully coming back to reality,"I was just...remembering..."

She took a deep breath then shook her head. "Come on."

She and Alruamon opened the door of the cabin, her hand instantly moving to the switch on the side, bringing light into the cozy living room. June walked over to the couch and pulled the plastic cover off of it. She smiled slightly and plopped down onto it. She leaned her head back against the couch cover and slowly closed her eyes. "Daisuke," he sighed,"Where are you?"

"I'm right here."

June shot her eyes open and saw Davis and Veemon standing in front of her. "Hi, June," he smiled, slightly,"I...." He was quickly cut off when June jumped up and hugged him.

"Daisuke....Davis, I didn't think you'd come," she sobbed.

Davis smiled. "Of course I did. You're my sister."

The two siblings spent the next few hours talking about everything that had happened to them since the earthquake that separated them five years ago. Davis's story was full of wars and battle, most of which he kept from his older sister. June's stories were about her journeys living with her grandparents and her struggles to continue with life despite the lost of her immediate family. She did not want to dwell on the past any longer however, her younger brother was back, she had a family again, and nothing was going to pull them apart again.

Davis glanced at his watch. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"It's not even eleven o'clock yet," June laughed,"I'm glad to see that you haven't changed."

Their two digimon, which had been sleeping on the floor, suddenly shot to their feet. "What's wrong guys?" June asked.

"Digimon are here,"Veemon said.

"Strong ones," Alruamon said, her body completely tense.

The two Motomiya siblings charged outside of the cabin and saw two giant animals standing in the clearing: one was a giant tiger and the other was a monkey wearing clothes. The monkey spoke. "June "Mask" Motomiya, and Daisuke "Davis "Master of Courage" Motomiya?"

"That's rights," Davis said,"Who are you?"

"I am Makuramon, this tiger at my side is Mihiramon. We are here on behalf of Emperor Apocalymon. He extends to you an invitation to Neo Digital World Capital. "

"No thanks," June said, waiving her hand,"We're not interested."

Makuramon chuckled slightly,"That was not a request. If you do not come willingly, then we must use force!"

"Fine!" Davis grolwed,"But you'll be sorry."

"Veemon digivolve to Exveemon!"

"Alruamon digivolve to Ninjamon! Ninjamon digivolve to...Pixiemon!"

Yolei took a deep breath of the sea air as the shore breeze sent her long hair flying behind her. She closed her eyes for a second imagining the wind blowing against her skin, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She gave a small yelp, then spun around to see Tk staring at her. "What did you stop for?"

"I just haven't been here for so long," she chuckled.

Tk shook his head and continued to carry the umbrella and chairs onto the sand. Yolei watched him and her knees almost gave out. She had such such strong feelings for him, that they went well beyond friendship. It was becoming increasingly harder to keep those feelings hidden. She got control of herself and followed him down the beach.

Tk dropped the bags onto the ground and fiercely jabbed the umbrella into the sand. "What a beautiful day, huh?" he asked, glancing at the sky.

"You sure are," Yolei said.

Tk glanced at her,"What?"

Yolei blinked a few times,"Uh, I said, they sure are.".

"Hey!" a muffled voice from his backpack shouted,"Can I come out yet?"

"Patamon, shhhh!" Tk hissed,"That Hypnos Organization is still out there, and they might not trust us yet."

Yolei opened her own backpack and peered at Porompn. "I'm sorry. I didn't think they're be so many people here, it is the middle of the week. We'll take you out if you promise to pretend to be stuffed animals that we won at the boardwalk." The two reluctantly agreed. They were grateful to be out of the stuffiness of the backpacks and into the fresh air.

"Well," Tk said, staring at the ocean,"What are we waiting for? Let's go swimming!" He quickly pulled off his shirt and made a run for the waves.

"I'm right behind you," Yolei grinned, struggling to keep her heart from pounding out of her chest when she saw the shirtless Tk. She pulled off her own shorts then charged after him. The two humans dove into the ocean while the digimon partners watched with jealousy

Yolei quickly followed behind Tk as he quickly swam over an in-comming wave that would have flattened them had they gotten caught in its surf. She knew it was fun, but she could not enjoy herself, everything on her mind had been towards Tk lately. She had hoped that since Kari Kamiya was no longer even remotely interested in him, that he would start to notice her, but he had not even blinked an eye when he saw her in the cow-print bikini she was wearing.

Tk did notice, however, that the purple haired girl was frowning as she floated in the water. "Is something wrong, Yolei?" he asked.

Yolei took a deep breath, she was finally going to ask him. "Tk, um...what do you think of me?"

The blond raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

Yolei shrugged,"I...you know...was just wondering...."

Tk thought for a few seconds, then said,"Well, I see you as a very helpful and compassionate person, who's mastery of computers and electronics is second to none in the Digidestined, and I'm glad to have you as a friend."

Yolei tried not to frown, but could not help it. "J-just a friend?"

Tk sensed Yolei's feelings, and started to feel bad. "Well,...um....I...I'm sorry."

Yolei shrugged,"I guess there's nothing that can been done about it."

Tk swam over to her. "Hey, I don't hate you." He shrugged,"Hey, maybe I do like you more than a friend, you're the only close friend that I have that's a girl."

Yolei looked at him with a hopeful shimmer in her eyes,"What about June?"

"Not to be mean, but that girl has such a tragic past that I'm sure she'll never be able to have a healthy relationship. Frued would have a field day with her."

Yolei smiled slightly,"But, I'm just a friend?"

"A lot of romances started out as friendship. Hey, I do like you alot more then when we first meet."

"Really?"

"Sure," Tk said, closing his eyes slightly,"I use to think you were a ditz. Now, I think you're only a clutz."

Yolei laughed, playfully punching him in the arm. "Maybe I can get him to like me more. I'm certainly going to try."

The two digidestined were suddenly thrown forward by a fierce wave that floated them up the shoreline, where Tk rammed into a pair of small legs. He quickly got to his feet and saw a little girl in a purple bathing suit lying, face first, in the sand. "I'm so sorry!" he said, helping her to her feet. He spun her around to make sure that she did not have sand shoved in her throat, but he was greater by a unwelcome surprise. "Mora!" he exclaimed.

The ten-year-old Dark Master grinned wickedly,"I'm glad you remember me."

Tk shot to his feet and backed over to where Yolei was standing. "What are you doing here?"

Mora pointed to the sky. Glancing up, Tk and Yolei saw Puppetmon and a giant dragon hovering in the sky. The people on the beach started screaming and running from the shoreline. Mora screamed to be heard over the cries of terror,"You know Puppetmon, the dragon is Migiramon. We're here to take you two to Neo Digital Capital....four," she quickly added after their digimon partners joined them,"and I hope you resist."

Joe was lazily flipping through channels on the television while Gommamon was playing solitaire on the computer. Joe had briefly been watching a United States reality show, before changing it to Pokemon. He watched a few minutes before shaking his head. "What'cha watching?" Gommamon asked,"Oh, Pocket Monsters."

"I never could get into this show," Joe sighed.

"Yeah," Gommamon said,"It's too far fetched."

There was a knock on the apartment door. "Come in!" Joe cried,"Hey Cody."

"Hello, Joe," Cody bowed slightly,"I'm sorry for dropping in like this."

"Don't worry about it," Joe smiled,"Come on in." He waited until Cody had seated next to him and Armadillomon had joined Gomammon at the computer. "What's up? Enjoying your vacation?"

"I was going to spend time with my mother, but she had to go out of tow on business, so...."

"You were feeling lonely," Joe stretched back,"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

Cody smiled slightly,"Thanks..."

Joe jumped over to the kitchen,"Do you want anything? Soda? Leftover pizza?"

"No thanks," Cody called back.

Joe came back a second later with two cans of soda. "Here," he said, handing the younger boy a can,"I know you wouldn't ever ask."

Cody blushed slightly. "Thanks."

Their two digimon came over,"What should we do tonight?" Gommamon asked,"We're four single men, let's go do some destruction."

"Gommamon!" Joe shouted.

"Guys!" Armadillomon shouted, "You've got to see this!"

The other three males twisted their heads to stare at the television set. There was a special bulletin that showed an image of a giant squid creature in the bay, while a massive pig was destroying the city.

"That's Marine Devimon!" Gommamon shouted.

"And Lambert," Joe scowled,"Cody, I know we're on vacation, but everyone else is out of town."

"Don't worry," Cody smiled slightly,"Let's go."

The two digidestined and digmon partners quickly charged up to the roof where Armadillomon digivolved to his Ultimate level, Shakkoumon. Joe, Cody and Gommamon quickly jumped onto him."Let' go!" Cody shouted, as Shakkoumon quickly flew towards the two destroying digimon. Before they could reach there, however, a familiar angel dropped down in front of them.

"Kari!" Joe shouted.

"Hi, guys," she smiled slightly,"It's weird to see you, I mean, without fighting that is."

"I know," Cody said,"This is awkward..."

"What are you doing here?" Joe asked,"I thought you would be somewhere with the Master of Courage..."

"Davis wanted to spend time with his sister," Kari said, blinking slightly. It was obvious to everyone there that she missed him.

A black creature suddenly appeared in front of them. "We've got company!" Angewomon shouted,"Lady Devimon."

"Azuna!" Kari shouted in surprise,"What are you doing here?"

Lambert and Marine Devimon and the pig creature stomped over to join their fellow Neo Digital World soldier. "We're here to bring each one of you to Emperor Apocalymon," Azuna said, her long red hair whipping around behind her,"He really wishes for your company."

"And if you don't comply," Lambert said,"This city is going to be flattened. So far we've only destroyed abandoned buildings, but we can easily move up to the heavily populated areas."

"We're not going anywhere with you!" Kari shouted,"And we're not going to let you destroy this city!"

"A fight, then?" Azuna laughed,"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this!"

Angewomon and Lady Devimon descended to a building roof, while Joe and Gommamon leapt towards river running through the city.

"Gommamon digivolve to Ikkakmon! Ikkakumon digivolve to Zudomon!"

"And you're going to pay for what you did to me seven years ago!" Lambert shouted, pointing at Joe.

"What are you talking about?" Joe shouted back,"I didn't even meet you until we fought in Modem!"

Lambert crossed his arms as he balanced himself on Marine Devimon. "I was sent to spy on Myotismon!" the water demon explained,"I was in my Champion form, Gesomon, searching for the Eighth Child when you destroyed me!"

"That Gesomon in the river!" Zudomon exclaimed,"That was you?"

"Yes," Lambert said,"And killing my digimon killed me as well. If it wasn't for Lord Lucifer, I would truly be dead!"

"I guess there's no way to talk you out of this, is there?" Joe asked. Lambert just shook his head,"that's what I thought."

"Who are you?" Shakkoumon asked, staring at the pig creature.

"My name is Vikaliramon," he said,"And I have been sent by Emperor Apocalymon, and the Dark Masters to secure your transfer to Neo Digital World. I have no previous history towards you, I will give you the option to surrender."

"Not a chance!" Cody said, defiantly.

"Then you leave me no choice, prepare for battle"

Mina placed both of her hands together and bowed. "Greetings, Dr. Wong."

"Mina!" he cheered, closing his front door behined her,,"You are the spitting image of your mother. How did I miss it before?"

"Must have been the fact that we were running from Apocalymon," Mina's Agumon muttered. The Indian girl lightly kicked him.

Mina just shrugged as Dr. Wong lead her into the living room, where a varied group of people were seated around the room. "This is my wife, Mayumi, I believe you know Zoe and Tommy." He then mentioned to a young girl playing with dolls on the floor,"And this is Alice, although she is currently fixated in a personality she calls Kakyo."

"I see," Mina nodded,"So, just so I can understand, Zoe is Daisy, and Tommy is Shibumi, Dr. Wong is Dao, and I am filling my mother's position, she was Curly."

"That's right," Zoe said,"Which means we're only missing Dolphin and Babel."

"Dr. Wong," Mina's Agumon said,"What exactly are we trying to do here?"

"We'll explain that later," Mrs. Wong said,"Right now, we're going to try and help Alice."

"You mean Kayko?" Tommy clarified.

"Yes," Dr. Wong nodded.

"Well," Mina said, kneeling down next to the small girl,"I'm not much of a psychiatrist, but I'll help. Um, hi, Kayko."

The little girl looked up at her. "Hi, what's your name?"

"My name is Mina. How are you?"

"I'm okay," she said,"I'm a little sad that my Mommy hasn't come yet."

Mina looked up at Dr. Wong, then back at Kakyo. "I'm sure she's on her way."

Kayko just nodded, then continued to play with her dolls. "Um, Kayko," Mina asked,"How old are you?"

"I'm five and a half!" she said proudly,"My brother is three years older then me!"

Mina smiled,"What is your brother's name?"

Kayko was silent for a little while, then said,"I don't remember."

"You don't?"

Kayko shook her head,"No."

"What about your Mommy or Daddy?"

Kayko suddenly started shaking, then her body began to grow and her features altered until she had become a young teenage boy. Mina blinked a couple of times, then said,"W..Who are you?"

The boy stared at her. "Why are you hassling Kakyo? Leave her alone. The poor little girl is so upset."

Mina just nodded. "We'll talk to you then. Who are you?"

"My name is Matsuto Tachikawa," he said.

Tai did not know what had happened. It had been sitting with Sora, when he suddenly found Agumon and himself in a dark cavern of some sort. "Tai?" Agumon asked,"Where are we?"

Taai just shook his head. "I have no idea."

The two partners heard a moan from behind them. They spun around and saw Matt slowly sitting up with Gabumon loyally standing by his side.

"You're here?" Tai shouted.

Matt jumped slightly, then glared at him. "What have you done with Rumiko?"

"I didn't do anything to her!" Tai shouted,"You think I brought both of us here?"

The two digidestined stopped arguing long enough when they heard their partners shout to them. The two spun around and came face-to-face to a slightly elderly man. He wore a pair of blue pants and a simple white robe. He had a pair of small glasses on his face, which made him look kindly and non-threatening.

"Who are you?" Matt demanded,"Are you the one that brought us here?"

"Matt," Tai said in surprise,"Look at his back!"

Matt blinked a few times, noticing the two large objects on his back. "Wings? Are you...A Wiant?"

The man smiled and bowed slightly. "Lord Taichi Kamiya, Agumon, Lord Yamato Ishida, Gabumon, allow me to introduce myself. I am Darius."

The pieces fell into place for Tai. "Darius? The Master-smith that created this...?" He asked, shoving the Essence of Fire up.

Darius nodded. "Yes."

"But you can't be!" Matt protested,"You should have died...thousands of years ago!"

"Both of us should have, but did not."

"Who was that?" Gabumon asked,"I sense great power coming from there...."

"Come with me," Darius said,"I promise, no harm will come to you."

"Why are we here?" Matt demanded,"What about my wife?"

"And mine!" Tai shouted.

"The final battle is fast approaching," Darius said,"And there are things you must know before then. Do not worry, I will return you to your wives when we are done."

The two reluctantly agreed and followed him into a massive cavern, whose dome looked more like a painting of a darkened night sky. A titanic serpent creature floated above them, its body coiled and twisted to fit inside of the cavern ceiling.

"What the hell is that?" Tai shouted, falling onto his back.

The serpent chuckled. "I am sorry. I realize that you are not use to seeing someone as large as myself. I am Azulongmon, the last Sovereign of the Digital World."

Agumon and Gabumon looked at each other, then back at him. "But....the Sovereign died out a very long time ago."

Darius raised his hand up and the bottom portion of the cavern lit up to reveal a sophisticated laboratory with a variety of machinery and craftsman tools. In the center of all the tools and mechanisms was a glass chamber that held a large crystal shaped object. "Gentlemen," Darius said,"By now I am sure that you have heard the so called 'Verse of the Powers,' that the Wiant scribes created. Do you recall the last line?"

"Four Matrixes of Power," Tai recited,"but they never found the fourth, why?"

Darius pointed to the crystal,"This is the Fourth, The Matrix of Time. Before the battle with Apocalymon, I used this Matrix to search the future, and I foresaw the deaths of the Sovereign and myself. During the battle, I saved Lord Azulongmon and myself before we could be killed, thus giving the illusion that we were dead. The Matrix of Time gave us the ability to act in secret, and live as long as the energy supply inside of the Matrix lasts. Ironically, while the Matrix can create an atmosphere that can last forever, it's power supply cannot."

"What have you two been doing here?" Matt asked.

"Preparing the world for Apocalymon's return," Azulongmon boomed.

"What?"

Darius placed his arms behind his back,"Five thousand years ago Apocalymon was defeated, and I foresaw his return with the Matrix of Time. We have spent nearly all that time, for you."

"For me?" Matt asked.

"Both of you," Darius clarified,"And your siblings, your friends, all of the Digidestineds. Your purpose is to defeat Apocalymon."

Michael squeezed Megaseadramon's horn tightly as Megadramon spun them around in the sky. "You're not doing so well!" Mellissa shouted from her position on Megadramon's back.

"She's right," Michael thought, clinging tightly,"Megadramon is so much more bulkier then Megaseadramon."

Michael jumped back slightly as his Digimon fired his Thunder Javelin from his horn, blasting Megadramon into the ground.

"At least we're stronger!" Michael thought with a grin.

"You're going down!" Mellissa screamed as Megadramon shot back into the sky, "You're going to pay for what you did to the Nerieds!"

"You know, I'm the original," Michael boasted,"You can just hang out with me." He grinned slightly,"Little sister."

"What?" Mellissa shouted,"Just because I was cloned from you, don't think there's a sense of emotional family between us!"

"You always were a little brat!" Michael chuckled.

"I'm going to kill you!" Mellissa screeched.

As Michael battled his female clone, Ken and Izzy were busy with their own opponents.

The glowing red blade shot from Stingmon's wrist. "Take this!" he shouted, jabbing it in the mechanical mouse's face. Khumbiramon blocked it with his pincer shaped hand, then spun around and slammed Stingmon's head with the other claw. Ken slightly cheered as he watched his digimon hover into the air and slammed his feet into Khumbiramon's face.

The two combatants broke apart, then Stingmon dove again, bashing the rat Deva with a flurrying array of kicks. Khumbiramon jumped higher than Stingmon and head-butted him into a large tree on the rocky path. Stingmon rebounded and flew forward, slamming his fist into Khumbiramon, sending him flying backwards.

"Yes!" Ken shouted, "Take that, you rat!"

"Hey, I'm insulted!" Khumbiramon chuckled, jumping back on his feet in front of Stingmon,"You think I can't take you down? Watch this, Deva Clone!"

Khumbiramon duplicated into five other Khumbiramons, surrounding Stingmon. He nervously looked at each one,"Uh oh."

Each Khumbiramon pointed one of their claws at Stingmon, then launched forward. They jabbed their pincers into the armored insect all at once, sending a massive volt of lightning threw him.

"Stingmon!" Ken shouted.

Izzy and Megakabuterimon heard their friend call out. The giant red beetle twisted away from Santiramon and watched Khumbiramon lightly knock Ken unconscious. "Ken!" Izzy shouted,"Hold on, we're coming!"

The snake digimon chuckled and Megakabuterimon flew away from him, his back an easy target."You jusssst made your final misssstake!"

Santiramon shot forward, wrapping his long body tightly around Megakabuterimon and Izzy. "Ssssstruggle all you want," the snake Deva laughed,"You'll never esssscape!"

Megakabuterimon certainly could have held out much longer, maybe even escape, but he knew that Izzy was only a human, and was starting to suffocate on his back. He could escape, but he was not going to lose his human partner. He commanded himself to regress back to Tentomon, which only made Santiramon's grip tighter, and both human and digimon passed out on the ground.

Michael turned his head away from his battle just in time to watch Izzy' defeate. "Izzy! Ken!" he shouted.

Both Megaseadramon and Megadramon stopped fighting and turned to watch Santiramon create a black circle and throw Izzy, Tentomon, Ken and Stingmon into it. "Nerez!" Khumbiramon shouted,"We've completed our mission. Let's go!"

Mellissa turned back to Micheal,"Well, I'll see you later!"

Megadramon flew towards the circle, then shrunk back into Betamon. Mellissa picked him up then jumped through the portal seconds before it vanished.

Michael jumped off of Megaseadramon before he turned back into Betamon. "They only wanted Izzy and Ken?" Betamon asked,"But why?"

Michael shook his head,"I don't know, why would...wait, they both had Crests, do you think...?"

"I don't know," Betamon said,"But maybe we should warn the others."

Michael started running back up the path,"Come on! We've got to get back to the apartment and find out where all the others are, before it's too late!"

Tai raised his eyebrow. "We're here to stop Apocalymon?"

Darius nodded. "Yes, you see, I was fearful to use the Matrix of Time to examine the future because continued meddling could result in the destruction of time/space. After Queen Miriya had sealed Apocalymon away in the Middle East on Earth, I thought it was over. However, a few years afterwards, Apocalymon managed to escape and attacked what you called the Digital World. Miriya fought him, but, " he struggled, But..Apocalymon absorbed her. With her added power, he was almost unstoppable. It took everything the Wiants had to seal him away again."

"The Wiant Queen...is inside of Apocalymon?" Matt asked.

Darius nodded. "Yes, which is probably how Apocalymon was able to be imprisoned beneath the desert sand."

"Is there any way to save her?" Tai asked.

"No," Darius shook his head. He sighed, and everyone could see how deeply he cared for her.

"After Apocalymon escaped again," Darius continued,"I knew I had to act for the greater good, so I used the Matrix and saw Apocalymon's victory."

Azulongmon continued,"We decided we would have to create beings who could defeate him."

"After the Monster Makers freed Apocalymon in 1990, and repopulated Gaia with digimon made from his cells, transforming the world we know into the Digital World," Darius said,"Your father came here, Lord Kamiya."

"You're the God of the Mountain, aren't you?" Agumon asked.

"That would be me," Azulongmon boasted,"We've been here on Destiny's Peak for so long, we've developed a....following around us. "

"When your father arrived," Darius continued,"I sent one of my Renamon priestess to great him. She foresaw such power inside that I knew his first child must become what I would later call Digidestined. To verify this, I sent a Koromon to Earth and...you know what happened. As Greymon and Parrotmon were leaving, we discovered that only Lord Ishida, out of all the other children tested, had as much potential inside of Kamiya did. We decided that you two would receive Essences."

"What are so special about them?" Tai asked,"Why didn't you just make more Crests?"

Darius smiled slightly, "What do all the ones with Essences have in common?"

Tai though for a few seconds then said,"They're all guys, no, wait, Puppetmon's partner has one, um....."

Matt's eyes opened wide. "They all have Megas!"

Darius nodded. "Yes, Essences are more powerful then Crests, in that they allow for one more evolution. I created four spheres: East, West, South, and North for each of the Sovereign. There are twelve Essences: Fire, Ice, Water, Air, Earth, Shadow, Technology, Forest, Desert, Miracles, Grass, and Thunder, ten Crests: Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Sincerity, Reliability, Miracles, Kindness, Empathy and Justice. There were four Matrixes, Hope, Light, Evil and Time. When Geni, unaware that I was guiding him, created the Digivices I had him give you two the Crests of Courage and Friendship."

"Geni was working for you, but didn't know it?" Gabumon asked.

Darius nodded,"Yes. Tell me, does this sound familiar: I wish for there to be peace for everyone: I wanted to contact you when you arrived on File Island, but that was impossible."

"You were that thing that possessed Kari!" Tai shouted.

"Well, I believe you might call it 'long distance remote control', but yes, it was myself. I did not want to reveal myself to you, as Mimi Tachikawa would have surely recognized me as one of her own race. Besides, at that age, I felt the truth might be too much for you."

"It's too much for us right now," Tai muttered.

"Why did you give us Crests instead of the Essences we were suppose to get?" Matt asked, changing the subject.

"Essences are very powerful, I felt that it might be better to wait until you were older before give them to you. Your younger siblings were suppose to receive Courage and Friendship, but I gave them the Matrixes of Hope and Light, which were reforge to resemble Crests. They were the youngest of your group, and had a childish innocence in them. Matrixes are more powerful then even Essences, which is why Hikari and Takeru were so powerful in comparison to the rest of you. As they grew older, they were gradually losing their childhood innocence, as we all do, and saw unintentionally betrayed Hope and Light, shattering them. I then gave them their rightful powers, as did to you."

"But I touched the Essence of Fire before," Tai said, and was surprised to find that same thing had happened to Matt.

"Which was necessary," Darius explained,"Unlike a Crest, an Essence will only work with the person that touched it, until death." He smiled slightly at Tai,"After your battle with Piedmon, you were thrown into a coma and surely would have died, but your Essence kept you alive until you were revived. Had you suffered a mortal blow, your Essence would not have protected you."

Tai stared wided-eyed at the simple glass orb hanging around his neck. "I had no idea."

Goldramon and Puppetmon shot into the sky as Sylphimon and Migiramon dove out over the ocean, all human partners were on the ground, watching and cheering their digital champions.

"Just because you're bigger it doesn't scare me!" Puppetmon boasted, swinging his hammer in front of him,"When I'm done with ya' you're gonna wish you choose to be my friend!"

Goldramon flexed his muscles,"There's no way I'd be your friend, you'd stab me in the back the first chance you got!"

Puppetmon shrugged,"Probably," He quickly shot forward and slammed his hammer into Goldramon's shoulder. Goldramon whipped his tail up and hit Puppetmon from behind. Mora's digimon rode the force by twisting in the sky, bringing his foot into Goldramon's chin.

"Got him!" Mora shouted from the ground. Tk looked at his opponent and found it hard to believe such an innocent looking little girl was really an evil criminal. He had to quickly reminded himself that she was not really ten-years-old, mentally she was older then him. The brown haired girl turned down from the sky to stare at Tk. "You're finally going to get what you deserve!"

"I didn't kill Puppetmon," Tk shouted,"Matt did!"

"You still betrayed us!" Mora shouted,"Puppetmon brought you so you could be with us. I wanted to make you a Dark Master, but you left!"

"Puppetmon wanted a friend, you wanted a son, didn't you?"

Mora screamed,"I'll kill you!"

Over the ocean, Migiramon and Sylphimon raged into each other. The bird man quickly darted to and fro around the massive dragon. Migiramon shot his fire breath at Sylphimon, but Yolei's digimon dodged it with only seconds to spare; his fur was even singed.

"That was too close!" Yolei shouted.

"I know!" Sylphimon shouted, diving at Migiramon's back,"I'll get him, though, don't worry! Astral Laser!"

Sylphimon shot up as a glowing image of the bird digimon slammed into the dragon's back.Migiramon spun his head around, and Sylphimon dove to attack it, but he failed to remember the dragon's tail, which whipped up and wrapped around him.

"Oh no!" Yolei cried as she watched her digimon struggle to be free of the dragon's grip. Migiramon brought his open mouth directly in front of Sylphimon's head.

"When you wake up, I won't be around, but I want you to know what fun it's been!" He shot an inferno of power into Sylphimon's face. He relaxed his grip, and an unconscious Hakwmon fell towards the ocean. Yolei dove into the waves and swam over to her unconscious partner. "Hawkmon!" he sobbed,"Hawkmon!"

She felt a dark shadow overtake her. She glanced up and saw Migiramon descending towards them.

Tk was going to run over and help Yolei, but he knew that Mora was not going to give Goldramon a five-minute break to save their friends. He was about to call to his digimon, when Puppetmon managed to get a good hammer shot to Goldramon's rib. He swung his hammer onto his back, then shot a stream of strings from his fingers, which connected to Goldramon in various places.

"Oh no!" Tk shouted.

Golddramon's fist suddenly swung up and slammed into his jaw. "Stop hitting yourself!" Puppetmon laughed, as Golddramon's fist hit his chin again,"Stop hitting yourself!"

"I'll get you for this!" Golddramon sneered.

"No you wont!" Puppetmon laughed. He made Goldramon crash into the ground, then wrapped him tightly in more string, restricting any type of movement. Puppetmon brought his hammer back around and grinned. "Puppetmon Pummel!"

Mora grinned in extreme delight and Tk and his digimon vanished in a blast of light.

"Wait a second," Tai said,"If Essences allow a digimon to reach the mega level, how were our digimon able to warp-digivolve the first time?"

"Ah, yes," Darius nodded,"Occasionally, rarely, things occur that do not happen as I see them with the Matrix of Time, Myotismon's digivolution to Malo Myotismon, for example. We feared everything would be lost, and so I made a desperate plan. If the energy from the digimon of the digidestined that were originally meant to receive Courage and Friendship were to connect with the current holders, it should awaken the latent powers in the two crests. That was the plan, to connect Tk and Kari's energy with your own via the Arrows of Hope and Light. That overflux of energy resulted in the two crest becoming powerful enough to allow a mega digivolution, which is why only Courage and Friendship can achieve a mega digimon. So I sent the instructions to Geni in a file that he would think was an ancient prophecy."

"Why didn't you just tell us that?" Tai asked.

"I wanted to!" Darius said, glancing over his shoulder at Azulongmon.

"Not everything in life is so black and white." the dragon god said," I felt that it was better for you to think out the instructions. If needed, we would have acted ourselves."

Davis and June watched as their digimon battled in front of them. "Exveemon's getting his butt kicked!" Davis said, a nervous tone in his voice.

June's hands were twitching in front of her,"Pixiemon's not doing that much better."

Exveemon jumped back from slamming his fists into Mihiramon, then took a few deep breaths. The tiger monster did not even look winded. Exveemon placed his hands together in front of him, then flung them apart,"V-Laser!"

Migiramon twisted his body so that the armor over his front shoulders deflected the blow. Exveemon leapt forward, intending to use his XV kick, but Migiramon sent him flying backwards with a whap of his tail. Davis's digimon was sent backwards where he crashed into a large tree.

"This guy is definitely an Ultimate," Exveemon mumbled,"If he was a Mega, I'd probably be dead right now. Oh, why didn't Stingmon come with me, we could DNA digivolve to Paildramon, and we'd have a new fur coat!"

He flew into the sky, hoping that the tiger would not follow. He was not able to get very high, as Migiramon pounced on top of him, bringing him back into the ground. Exveemon jumped up, ready to really let loose, when the tiger whipped his tail around,"Armored Tiger Tail!"

Exveemon felt an incredible burst of pain in his side seconds before he returned to Veemon. Davis instinctivly ran over to his side. "Veemon, are you alright?"

"I've been better," he moaned.

Pixiemon, being one of the smallest digimons, was easily able to dodge Makuramon's attacks. The monkey Deva was becoming very annoyed as he continued try to land even one simple punch."Just wait until I get my hands on you, you little fur ball!"

Pixiemon stood still for a second, spinning his staff in front of him. "Come and get me!"

Makuramon grinned slightly, and slammed his fists into Pixiemon, only to find that he could not get more than an inch in front of him. "My force field," Pixiemon explained,"You can't beat me!"

"Yes, I will!"

"I'd like to see you try!" Pixiemon laughed, hovering in front of a tree branch.

"I think I will!" Makuramon shouted, creating two silver spheres in his hands. He flung one at Pixiemon, which he moved higher in the air to avoid.

"You missed!"

"No, I didn't!"

Pixiemon was going to turn around to see what he was talking about, when the silver sphere ricocheted off of the tree branch, sending it flying into Pixiemon's back. Makuramon waited until Pixiemon's staff had dropped before sending a barrage of silver spheres into the floating fur ball. When he was done, Alruamon crashed into the ground. He waited until June was at her partner's side, before sending another silver sphere at the ground, sending both Davis and June into the air, before slamming them into the ground.

"That was too easy!" Makuramon growled as he landed,"Sending the two of us to bring in a Champion and a newly-digivolved ultimate. Hardly worth our time."

Migiramon growled in agreement.

"Still," Makuramon grinned,"Not a bad day's work."

Angewomon's body turned to bright white as she regressed to Salamon as she landed on the building's roof next to her partner. On the other side of the roof, Lady Devimon dropped behind Azuna. The red head crossed her arms,"Are we going to do this, or not?"

Kari glanced over to the harbor where Joe was battling Lambert and Marine Devimon, while Cody was fighting against the massive pig creature. She turned back to Azuna, "I don't want to fight you..."

"You don't have a choice," Azuna said,"I've waited seven years for this! Let's go!"

Kari was going to order her digimon to battle, when she heard strange song being played from somewhere. "Excuse me," Azuna said, taking out her cell phone. "Michelle here.....yes....oh reallly? Ha!"

She placed the phone back into her pocket and grinned at Kari. "That was Greg Barker, Ichijoji, Izumi, Takashi, Inoe, and the two Motomiyas have been successfully captured."

"What?" Kari shouted.

"You're lying!" Salamon screamed.

Azuna just shook her head,"You'll be joining them soon if you don't stop me!"

"Salamon warp-digivolve to Orphanimon!"

Lady Devimon did not even flinch as Orphanimon's presence loomed in front of her. "If you think that's going to scare me, think again!"

Orphanimon sighed,"I had hoped it would not come to this, but if you want to do this, then so be it."

She twirled her javelins around in front of her, hitting Lady Devimon in the side of the head. She flinched slightly, but slashed her claw into Orphanimon's bare stomach. The armored angel brought her knee into the devil digimon's stomach.

Lady Devimon shot into the sky, with Orphanimon right behind her. Azuna's partner stopped short and twisted her body around in the blink of an eye. Before Orphanimon could reach her, she placed her hands together and screamed,"Darkness Wave!"

Orphanimon gasped as a barrage of bats crashed into her and carried her down into the street.

Down by the harbor, Shakkoumon wrapped his claws around Vikalramon's two horns to try and stop the giant pig from advancing further. Upon his partner's shoulder, Cody held on tightly," Don't give up now, Shakkoumon, hold on!"

Shakkoumon planted his feet firmly on the pavement, struggling with all his might to keep Vikalramon in one place. However, to his horror, the street behind Shakkoumon started to tear up as the pig slammed him into a warehouse building. Shakkoumon released his grip on the horns, then slammed them down onto Vikalramon's snout. He gruffed, then crashed his long nose into Shakkoumon's side, which sent him sliding through another warehouse and out the other side.

Marine Devimon laughed in demonic delight as he shot his tentacle forward. Joe watched grimly as Zudomon deflected it with his hammer, which unfortunately sent it into a nearby warehouse. He held his breath as his digimon raised his hammer high above his head, then slammed it into the water. "Vulcan's Hammer!"

The water ripple shot forward with enough force to easily knock Marine Devimon off of his feet, but Lambert laughed as his digimon deflected the waves back onto land, destroying the same building.

The color from Joe's face drained as he realized what was going to happen. "We've got to surrender," he said.

"What?" Zudomon shouted.

"Look at the water front!" Joe said, mentioning with his hands,"It's in shambles! And we're moving up, what if we run into the actual city? Shakkoumon, that pig digimon, Marine Devimon and you are too big! You're not going to be able to fit into a city alley like Metalgarurumon or Goldramon can!"

Zudomon hesitated for a few moments, then sighed. He put his hammer on the ground. "Alright, Lambert," Joe said,"We surrender."

"Hear that?" Vikalramon laughed, as he stared at Shakkoumon in the pile of debris from the warehouse,"Your friend has given up!"

"What should we do, Cody?" Shakkoumon asked.

His human partner nodded. "If Joe thinks we should surrender, then that's what we're going to do."

"What about Kamiya?"

Cody glanced up to the battle between Lady Devimon and Orphanimon. "She's going to have to decided for herself."

Lady Devimon formed one of her hands into a long stinger. She jabbed it forward, but Orphanimon blocked it with her twin javelins. She then shot her foot into Orphanimon's stomach, then blasted her other fist into Orphanimon's face.

"I don't understand," Kari said,"Orphanimon is a mega, how come she's losing so easily!"

"Simple!" Azuna shouted to her,"Our digimon get their strength from our crests. You have the Crest of Courage, thus if you start to doubt your courage, your digimon loses her strength. I have the Crest of Wisdom, and I cannot not be wise, it is who I am. You, on the other hand..."

"I....I'm not afraid!" Kari protested.

"I think you might be. You know that we've already taken most of your companions, Kido and Hida below have surrendered, you're afraid that you're going to lose."

"Kari!" Orphanimon shouted, her javelin's blocking Lady Devimon's stinger blade,"Don't listen to her!"

Kari stared at the ground. "T..they've even got Davis. What if..what if I never see him again? What about my baby? I...."

"Kari!" Orphanimon shouted as her grip on her javelin's loosened. Lady Devimon's stinger turned back to her regular claws and she twisted her hands around until they were right over Orphanimon's head.

"Darkness Wave!" she screamed. Orphanimon was covered in the same barrage of bats, creating a dark stream that completely engulfed her. Once the bats had vanished, Salamon fell to the ground. Lady Devimon quickly caught her.

Azuna crossed her arms and grinned at Kari. "I finally beat you!" She shoved her fist into the sky,"Yes!"

Sora and Biyomon somersaulted over a wooden table as it exploded. Sora got back on her feet and charged down the hotel hallway. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Lillymon shoot towards them with Mimi flying close behind. "I don't know why she's after me,"Sora thought,"I could have been out of here and halfway back to the city by now, but I had to get Rumiko to safety. She's not a Digidestined, and super models can't run very fast. I'm not jealous or anything....okay, maybe I am a little, but I am Tai's wife now, and he's the one that I truly love."

Her thoughts were interrupted when Biyomon pushed her to the ground as another energy blast shot over their heads. They quickly jumped back on the feet and continued to run down the hallway. "Sora," Biyomon said,"Why aren't we fighting them?"

"Because they are out friends," Sora convinced herself,"No matter what Neo Digital World has down to them."

She glanced over her shoulder again but only saw Lillymon. She was wondering where Mimi was, when her pink-haired friend dropped down in front on them. Sora gasped as Mimi folded her long wings behind her back. "Mrs. Kamiya," she said,"We already have most of your companions, don't make this any more difficult then it has to be."

"What?" Sora asked.

"Hikari Kamiya, Daisuke Motomiya, Koushiro Izumi, and Ken Ichijoji," Mim smiled.

"What?!" Sora shouted,"You got Kari..and Davis? But...how?"

"Now that you realize I'm serious," Mimi stared Sora straight in the eyes,"You know that I'm not going to go away. Let's get this fight started."

Sora heard Lillymon land behind her. She stood straight up,"I'm not going to fight you Mimi."

Mimi laughed,"Fine, if that's the way you want it."

"Tai," Sora thought,"I hope you come back soon."

Darius grabbed a small orb from a table and tossed it at Tai. "Here."

Tai glanced at the object,"Is this an Essence?"

Darius nodded. "Yes, the Essence of Air. Faith in pure belief, Strength never loses hope or despairs, This is the Essence of Air.. Give it to Anna Vassil, she deserves it for her loyalty to you."

Tai nodded,"O..okay."

"Tell me," Matt said,"How many other Essences have you given away?"

"All of them," Darius crossed his arms,"One recently to a person you know very well, Catherine DeGual."

"Catherine has an Essence?!" they both shouted.

"Yes, The power to retell all that is past, this is the Essence of Grass."

"It does fit her," Agumon shrugged.

"At least Floramon'll be able to protect her when she's shoving her microphone into criminal's faces!" Tai chuckled.

"That is your problem!" Darius shouted, pointing at Tai,"You need to learn compassion! You are so commit to your beliefs, that you don't stop to think of other's feelings!" He turned to Matt,"And you do not yet understand what you are fighting for!"

"What did I do?" Matt shouted.

"These two things you must learn, then your true power will be realized!"

Matt and Tai looked at each other. "We are the strongest digidestineds from earth!" Tai shouted.

"You can be so much stronger," Darius protested,"If you would just learn what I told you."

"Hey," Matt said,"You brought us here!"

"And I think we've done pretty well on our own!" Tai crossed his arms.

"I am not telling you this to harm you!" Darius snapped,"You must better yourselves as I have told you, or you will never achieve the power that will be needed to destroy Apocalymon! And if you are strong enough to defeate him, then no one else will ever be able to stop you again!"

"You know, he does have a point," Matt said, "You're not exactly the most compassionate person."

"What about you!" Tai shouted,"Remember when we first entered the Digital world? You were against me, then with me, then against me, then with me! You never could decided what you believed in!"

"And you never showed anyone any feelings except for bossing us around!"

Tai strained his mind for a comeback, but just crossed her arms. "You two have to stop this feud," Darius said, walking towards the Matrix of Time,"You two can be so much stronger together."

Tai and Matt glanced at each other. "The Digital Warriors are not going to rejoin you," Tai said, "We're going to prove to you that we can exist without the advanced resources of the Digidestined. But.." He smiled slightly,"Maybe it's time we try to end this."

Matt crossed his arms. "Maybe."

Darius smiled, nodding. "I'm glad to see that you are going to try and repair your damaged friendship. The time has come for you to return."

"Wait," Tai said,"When can we contact you?"

Darius smiled slightly,"I will contact you if need be, but remember, I am always watching you. Lord Ishida, I will return you to where your wife is waiting." He raised his hand, and Matt disappeared in a flash of light. He turned to Tai,"Now, Lord Kamiya, I will return you to where I brought you from."

Tai and Agumon closed their eyes as they felt a wave of wind and air. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves back at the hotel. "What happened here?" Tai asked, looking at the destroyed dinning hall.

"Where is everyone?" Agumon asked,"This place is totaled!"

"Lord Kamiya!"

Tai and Agumon twirled their heads around and saw Michael and Betamon running through the doorway. "Michael! What are you doing here?"

"I had to find you.." he panted,"Ken, Izzy, Davis, Kari.. prisioners of Neo Digital World."

"What?" Tai shouted.

Michael nodded,"Betamon and I think it's because they have Crests and..."

Tai suddenly shot straight up,"Sora!" He ran out the door with Michael and their digimon following. "Michael, get in touch with anyone from our group that's left. Tell them to meet you at the Digital Warrior base."

"What about you?" the blond asked.

"I'm going to see the High Priestess."

Miss Isage opened to door to the house at the bottom of the lake to reveal Tai with his fist in the air, ready to knock on the door. "How did you....?"

Miss Isage smiled slightly,"This house is normally covered by water. When it parted, I knew that someone was coming."

"We're not here for a pleasure visit," Tai said, stepping inside with Agumon,"Neo Digital World captured a number of my teammates. I need to know how to enter Neo Digital World capital!"

Miss Isage sighed. She turned away from him. "I don't know how to enter that place."

"Who does?!" Tai demanded.

"The Monster Maker of Circuit Maps would know," she sighed.

"Henry told me Babel is dead."

Miss Isage shook her head,"No, he is a prisoner of the Dark Ocean. Reach him, and you will be able to find a secret entrance into the capital of Neo Digital World."

"The Dark Ocean?" Tai asked,"That's where Gennai is, right?"

Miss Isage nodded sadly. "He was the former High Priest, as a result, has incredible power."

"Yeah, we know," Agumon nodded,"But how strong can he be?"

"There is also a Digidestined there named Charon, and his Ultimate digimon, Dragomon," Miss Isage said. She mentioned to the hallway as three figures walked out, two humans, a boy and a girl, and a small impish creature that had to be a digimon,,"As such, I would like to give you some additional aid. Meet Ai and her twin brother Marko, and their digimon partner, Impmon."

Impmon walked over to Tai and Agumon and waved. "Pleased ta' meet'cha!"

The two humans bowed,"Please forgive him, Lord Kamiya," the girl, Ai, said,"He can be a little forward at times."

"They're only children!" Tai protested.

Miss Isage smiled,"Marko, please show him."

Tai watched as the boy held up a dark orb around his neck,"The Essence of Thunder!" Marko said, proudly.

"I'm impressed," Agumon said.

Tai ran an hand through his hair and sighed.

Next: Apocalymon has sent his demands to the governments of Earth, but they will not negotiate. In order to prove his threats are real, he sends the Devas to kill every man, woman, and child in Tokyo. While Matt as his Digidestined try their best to protect the citizens, Tai and the Digital Warriors infiltrate the Dark Ocean, and more of Michael's past is revealed. Mystic Digital War: Chapter 25: The Essence of Water.