Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Mystic Digital War ❯ Chapter 25: The Essence of Water ( Chapter 25 )

A young woman with curly blond hair held a microphone close to her mouth as she spoke,"Zis is Catherine DeGual reporting live. For zose of you juzt joing us, Mina joined ze Monster Makerz az zey tried to cure Alice of her multiple personality disease, only to find zat one of her personalities was Matsuto Tachikawa, Mimi's younger brother!

ze Digidestined and Digital Warriors were attacked by ze Devas, servents of Neo-Digital World. All of ze Crest carrying Digidestined were captured, while Tai and Matt were taken to zee Darius, ze creator of ze Crest, Essences, and ozer tools. He explained zat Tai and Matt would need to overcome zier own personal problems before zeir true power could be releazed. Now ze Digital Warriors are journeying to ze Dark Ocean, to free Babel, ze Monster Maker of Circuit Mapz to discover ze entrance to Neo-Digital World.

Chapter 25: The Essence of Water

Inside of the Neo-Digital World throne room, Apocalymon frowned as he stared at the Dark Masters assembled before him. "So, the United Nations refused to accept our terms for surrender."

Lucifer chuckled,"They still refuse to believe that our threats our real."

"They still refuse to believe that we are real," Mora mumbled.

"We must prove ourselves to them," Piedmon nodded.

"Yes," Apocalymon nodded,"We will prove the power that we possess."

"How?" Puppetmon asked.

"We must choose a major city, Apocalymon grinned with delight.

"I've got it," Bizzard nodded"We'll show the human world exactly what we are capable of, and also deliver a major blow to the Digidestined."

"Where?" Apocalymon demanded.

"Tokyo."

"Tokyo!" Apocalymon laughed,"Excellent! The Devas will be sent to Tokyo, and every man, woman, and child residing in that doomed city....will die."

Michael lightly poked the campfire as he leaned back against one of the tree stumps that made the perimeter of the small camp site; Betamon was sleeping peacefully next to him. He saw that the fire was starting to die out, so he grabbed a few twigs from the ground and tossed them inside the orange flame, giving it strength to grow stronger. He leaned back against the stump and glanced around at the area where the Digital Warriors were resentfully spending the night, a beach that was covered with black sand, and large mountain like rocks, the beaches of the Dark Ocean.

Michael sighed as he thought over the events of the past few hours. When Tai returned from High Priestess Isage with two new digidestined, he had the Digital Warriors packed and ready to leave within the hour; Jeri, Henry and Kazu stayed on Earth to guard the apartment, which left Tai, Michael, Noriko, Takato, Anna, Ai and Marko to break into the Dark Ocean to rescue the Monster Maker of Circuit Maps to find the secret entrance into Neo-Digital World, then take on Apocalymon, the Dark Masters and the Dark Digidestined to rescue their captured members. The blond was sure that he was soon going to have the chance to speak to George Washington very soon.

Michael ran his hands threw his hair. "It's not Lord Kamiya's plan that's bothering me, is the reason that I came to the Dark Ocean to help save Lady Sora and the others, or is it for revenge? and it's tearing me apart" he thought, then smiled slightly,"Well, I know what Lisa would say; She'd tell me that I'd better make damn sure that it wasn't for revenge, that she'd want me to live for her, not die for her."

He heard a set of footsteps approaching from behind. He spun around and breathed a sigh of relief as Anna sat down beside him. "Hi, Michael."

"Restless night?" he asked with a slight smile.

Anna nodded slightly and stared at the fire. "How are you holding up?"

The blond Russian shrugged slightly. "My feet hurt a little, but other than that..."

"I mean about Lord Kamiya."

Anna blinked a few times. "I know." She looked to the ground,"When I first joined the Digital Warriors, it was partly because I was tired of Takenouchi and Lord Ishida's rule of the Digidestined. It was just a way to get out."

She smiled slightly at Micheal's gasp,"No offense."

Micheal returned the smile,"None taken."

Anna nodded,"Kari choose me to stay behind to protect Lord Kamiya while he recovered from his battle with Oikawa, and that's when I started to believe in him, truly believe what he was fighting for. But, something happened during those few days when I was his bodyguard..."

"You fell in love."

Anna sighed,"Yes, I fell in love, but, what kind of love was it? He was never really really in love with me. I always knew that he was in love with Sora, but I tried to deny it, I tried to pretend that it wasn't there, but it always was. I am happy for him, really, but..."

"You wish that it was you, don't you?"

Anna nodded,"Yes, I do. This is much harder then I thought it would be, I mean, I never had to deal with a break-up like this. All of my friends back in Russia told me to come back home, why didn't I?"

Micheal pointed to the globe hanging around Anna's neck. "The same reason why Tai gave you the Essence of Air, because you remain loyal to Lord Kamiya, regardless of your romantic feelings."

Anna sniffled,"You're right, I'm staying, because he needs my help, not because I'm still in love with him. I am going to rescue Lady Sora and the others."

Micheal smiled slightly,"I think that's the first time you called her that."

Anna just shrugged and rose to her feet. "Goodnight Micheal."

Micheal smiled as he watched her walk off. A few seconds later he heard footsteps coming towards him. He figured that it was Anna coming back, so he was very surprised when he saw Tai walk over to him. "Relief shift's here."

"Is it midnight already?" he asked, looking at his watch.

"I'm a little early," he shrugged,"I thought I heard you talking in your sleep."

Michael smiled slightly,"No, Anna and I were having a little chat before. Can't sleep?"

Tai shook his head. "Everytime I try to sleep, I keep wondering what those Neo-Digital World creeps are doing to our friends! I'm so worried about Sora."

Michael placed a hand on Tai's shoulder. "Don't worry, Lord Kamiya, we'll rescue Lady Sora and the others. You and Lady Sora will spend the rest of your life together. I will not watch you live the rest of your life filled with depression and heartbreak. I would rather die before I let that happen!"

Tai stared at him. "Michael, did you have a girl that..."

"Where does the map that Miss Isage gave you tell us to go?" Michael interrupted.

Tai pointed out across the rolling black sea, to a large black mountain."According to Andromon, Charon and Geni have their base at the eastern edge of that mountain range. This map shows a secret entrance, but it's at the very bottom of that nearest mountain there, the. uh..

Naridank Range. Unfortunately, we've got to get across those death waves and deep under water. Any ideas?"

"Maybe the Essence of Water," Michael muttered.

"What?"

The blond quickly shook his head,"Nothing. How deep did you say that ocean was?"

Tai shrugged,"Deep enough that unless we can part the ocean, we're not getting there."

Michael just nodded, then yawned. "Oh, right," Tai chuckled, putting the map back into his backpack, then got to his feet,"It's my turn for lookout. Try to get some sleep."

Michael smiled slightly,"Thanks." He rested his head on the log and closed his eyes. He was asleep, but his dreams gave him no rest.

The boy slowly opened his eyes, rubbing the back of his head. "Ohh..what happened to me?" A wave of horror washed over him,"Wait, who...who am I? I...I don't remember!"

He spun his head around, then saw a green, frog like creature lying at his side,"Hey, Wake up!"

The creature shot its eyes open,"W-Who are you?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," the man said, struggling to keep calm.

"I don't even know who I am!" the creature shouted.

The young man stared at him, the a word flashed across his mind. "B...B..Betamon, you're Betamon!"

"Yes! Betamon, I'm Betamon, but,I..I recognize your face, but, I don't remember your name."

The boy glanced around, trying to think of something to help him situation, when a group of rabbit-like creatures leapt out of a grove of brushes, surrounding the area. "Wha-ahh!" the two shouted. The boy stuttered for a few seconds,"W-Who are you?"

"We are the Gazimon," one of the creatures said,"And you are trespassing on our land."

"I'm..I'm sure this must be a mistake," the boy said.

"No mistake!" they shouted, jumping forward.

Betamon jumped in front of the boy, trying to protect him, but it wasn't needed, as the mad rabbits suddenly vanished in a blast of light. "What now?" the boy asked, glancing up at an older boy riding on a giant scorpion.

"Please, I mean you no harm," the older boy said,"I am Sergi, are you alright? I saw you fall from the sky!"

"I..I did?" he asked, glancing skyward,"I..I don't remember anything about who I am."

"I...see," Sergi said,"Well, we are not far from Santa Carea, a nearby town, there is a physician there who may be able to help. But...what should I call you...Hmm...a fortune teller told us that a hero would fall from the sky today. A hero from the heavens how about if I can you..Micheal?"

"Michael," the boy said, testing it out on his tonge,"I like that."

Michael, Sergi, and their digimon started clapping as the curtains closed on the stage of the dinner theater. "That was a great show!" Sergi cheered.

Michael nodded. "Yes, that was great." He finished his water, then leaned back in his seat. "That was one of the best meals I ever had."

"I'm glad you like it."

The blond looked up and saw a red-headed young-woman wearing a waitress's uniform standing by the table. "Oh, I loved it."

The redhead smiled. "What's your name?"

"I'm not sure, but you can call me Michael. Who are you?"

The young woman smiled,"I'm Lisa."

Michael quickly ran up the rocky path, following closely behind a very attractive red 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. "Michael!" she laughed, pulling him down to his knees,"I want you to know that I've never been this happy before!"

Michael 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,"Of course I'll marry you!"

Lisa was lying on the ground, the front of her white shirt red with blood. Michael was kneeling down next to her, his arms wrapped around her head. "Lisa...Lisa...."

He heard a scream of evil laughter. He glared up with hate in his eyes at a young man riding on a white squid creature. "Sorry about your girlfriend," he chuckled,"If she hadn't jumped in the way to save you, you might be lying there instead."

Betamon growled,"I'm going to cream you!"

The man laughed,"Gesomon and I won't be defeated. It's obvious that the Essence of Water isn't here. Let us leave, and we won't bother you ever aga-ahh!" He and Gesomon were suddenly thrown off of the street and into a nearby building. Sergi gripped tightly to his digimon as Scorpiomon took another swipe with his tail, throwing Gesomon to the ground. "Give up Charon!" Sergi shouted,"You're not leaving!"

"Guess again!" Charon laughed as Gesomon shot a blast of black ink into Scorpiomon's face. Sergi jumped off of his digimon and tried to catch up with Charon and Gesomon, but the two had already left the city.

"Lisa," Michael sobbed,"Lisa..."

The redhead smiled slightly at him,"Micheal....Micheal, promise me...."

"Anything...anything..."

"Don't go after him in hate or revenge. Please, let the cycle of hate end."

"I swear," Michael cried,"I swear."

Sergi, Michael and their digimon were standing in front of the mayor of Santa Carea. "....and so," Sergi said,"I think it would be in our best interests to find the Essence of Water before Charon does. There's no telling what he'll be able to do with a Dark Master's power source. W think it may be in one of the caves where the random portals appear."

The mayor nodded,"Go, and good luck be with you."

Michael pointed to one of the caves that was covering the side of the mountain, "Well, here's the first one."

Sergi looked grimly at the cavern,"A dark portal exists in there. No one knows where it leads to, but we have always feared that something sinister might come through."

Charon laughed as he held the glowing blue orb in his hands. "Now I've got the Essence of Water! With this, I will fill the place of the missing Dark Master of Water!"

"The Dark Masters are dead!" Sergi shouted as he, Michael, and their rookie digimon stood ready to defend themselves.

"Don't bet on it!" Charon laughed, holding the Essence of Water high into the air. His Gesomon suddenly started to glow brightly, growing even bigger.

"Gesomon digivolve to Dragomon!"

"We've got to stop him!" Betamon shouted.

"Leave it to me! I'll take him!" Michael boasted. He charged forward and head butted Charon to the ground; his hand opened and the Essence of Water fell to the cavern floor.

"Get off me!" Charon kicked Michael onto the ground. Sergi was seconds away from tackling Charon to the ground, but Dragomon's partner whipped out a large dagger from his belt and shoved it into the left side of Sergi's chest.

"No!" Michael shouted, grabbing the Essence of Water before Charon could,"You little piece of..." He was not able to finish as he had to duck to avoid being fried by one of Dragomon's energy attacks. It may have missed Michael, but it tore through Scorpiomon, breaking him down into his digital particles.

"I want that Essence!" Charon ordered.

"You'll never get it!" Michael screamed,"You killed my fiancee, and now you killed my best friend. I swear, I am going to kill you!"

"You can't kill me!" Charon laughed,"And once I get that Essence, nothing will be able to stop me!"

Michael looked at the glowing orb in his hand, then at the black portal that was on the wall,"If you wants this, then go and get it!" He hurled the ball through the portal.

"No!" Charon shouted, as he and Dragomon leapt into the black circle.

Michael fell to the ground, and Betamon hopped over to him. "We've lost Sergi, Scorpiomon, and Lisa....we're all alone."

Betamon sighed as he looked at his partner,"We've got each other and we can go after them."

Michael shook his head,"No, we came here to extract revenge on Charon and Dragomon for what they did to Lisa, but we lost Sergi and Scorpiomon. Lisa made me promise that I would not live my life for revenge, and I will not! From this day forward, I swear that I will not seek revenge on Charon."

Betamon nodded,"Then I make the same promise."

Michael picked up the fallen Sergi and walked out of the cave. "But, when I held the Essence of Water, I felt this...strangness inside of me."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," Michael shook his head,"But it was this strange feeling...this feeling...this feeling...this feeling..."

Michael suddenly sat straight up, panting. It was only a dram. He was only remembering in his dreams. He was in the Dark Ocean, still lying in the same spot. He lightly whipped his eyes, only to find that they were moist with tears.

"Michael?"

He glanced up and saw Tai standing over him,"Micheal, are you okay?":

The blond nodded. "Yeah, it was just a dream. How...how long was I asleep for?"

Tai shrugged, "An hour, give or take. Um,...who's Lisa?"

Michael stared, wide-eyed at him,"W..what did you say?"

"You kept calling out her name in your sleep," the Digital Warrior leader said,"And something about a strange feeling..."

Michael suddenly remembered the end of his memory dream. That same feeling he felt when he touched the Essence of Water, he was feeling it again. That was why he kept repeating it in his dream, but it was different this time, less of a feeling, and more of a pull. Like a homing device that was bringing him somewhere close.

The blond got to his feet and started to walk away from the campsite and deeper up the coastline. "Michael!" Tai shouted, running after him,"Where are you going?"

Michael suddenly stopped. "Here." He fell to his knees and dug in the sand until he touched something hard. He quickly pulled the object up and gasped.

Tai looked over his shoulder and gasped as well. "Is that the..."

Michael nodded,"Yes, it's the Essence of Water."

The next morning found Tokyo beginning it's normal daily routine. The countless residents started their regular days. The adults quickly ran along the sidewalk, not wanting to be late again. Their children were leaving for school. They continued on their daily routine, never knowing that for many of them, this would be the last day of their lives.

The train station was busy as usual, everyone having to be somewhere at the same exact time.Everyone was screaming and shouting at one another, pushing and shoving through the crowds to jump through the subway car doors. The terminal would have continued to be filled with such chaos, if not for the loud snarl that echoed through the tunnel. All movement and noise stopped, the people were still as stone statues. There was no movement at all. Some of the people able to catch a glimpse of a giant snake seconds before it shot out of the tunnel, tearing through the trains and destroying the terminal and everyone on it before moving to the next one.

The group of students had only walked into the park as a shortcut to their high school. They had never intended to start a game of frisbee, but with the shortcut, they had time to kill, so why not?

One of the students threw the pink frisbee as hard as he could, unfortunately, it flew over the girl's head. They laughed slightly as she ran over to the bushes to dig it out. Suddenly, she was pulled behind the green shrubbery. The other students were still for a few seconds, then ran over to see what happened to their friend.

Suddenly, a large dog dove out from behind the bushes and landed in front of them. It snarled and drooled before leaping at the remaining students, teeth bared.

The city intersection boomed with sounds much like the subway station, chaos of motors and people. Everyone was so intent on reaching their destinations, that they hardly noticed the trench coat wearing young teenager standing on the sidewalk, waiting with the crowd for their chance to cross the street. When they were allowed to cross, he moved with them only part way, stopping right in the center, waiting until everyone had crossed over before he grinned wickedly. He quickly threw open his jacket, showering the intersection with lightning, electrocuting everyone.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Matt demanded, charging into the living room of his small apartment where Rika was seated on the ground, watching the television. She responded to her father by turning up the volume. Matt glanced at the t.v. and saw that Catherine was reporting.

"....it iz horrible," Catherine sighed, struggling to keep calm,"Ziz city iz under attack! Reportz are varrying, but zere has been an attack on ze subway zyztemz by a giant znake, while a massive dog haz terrorized ze park, and a lightning attack haz destroyed a major intersection. Zere is no definite number of attackers, and zo far, zey have given no plan of attack. Zey appear to operate random and chaotic. Ztay inzide your homez, and pray. More az it developz."

"A giant snake?" Rika asked, turning to face her father,"A massive dog? A boy that can shoot out lighting? Its got to be a digital attack."

Matt nodded. "And I bet I know who's behind it. We've got to get out there!"

Rika nodded, "Renamon!"

The fox appeared behind her,"I'm ready Princess, but something is happening above us."

Rika, Renamon, Gabumon, and Matt charged onto the balcony and stared up at the roof of a building across the street. There were a group of figures standing on the roof, with a group of much more massive creature down below. There were two humans standing on top of the building., the older one stepped forward to speak.

"Hear me citizens of Tokyo!" he shouted,"We are the Devas!"

A large tiger on the roof growled,"Mihiramon!"

A massive snake on the ground hissed. "Santiramon!"

Back on the roof a bull swung his swords into their holders,"Vajramon!"

A sheep spoke next,"Panjamon!"

Next was a large rat,"Khumbiramon!"

The massive pig on the ground snorted,"Vikalaramon!"

.A monkey was floated over the roof riding on top of a 30 foot dragon. "Makuramon!"

The dragon snarled,"Migiramon!"

A horse the size of a skyscraper spoke next,"Indramon!"

The massive dog growled,"Chatsuramon!"

The second human stepped forward,"JP!"

The first human nodded,"I am Levare, keeper of the Essence of Death, and this is my digimon partner, Deathmon!" He pointed to a hunched over creature with three glowing eyes on its forehead, and one eye in his palms."We are here on behalf of our master, Emperor Apocalymon and the Dark Masters. Your leaders at the United Nations refused our conditions of surrender, so, to prove that our threats are real, citizens of Tokyo, every single of you will be killed." He smiled slightly,"Nothing personal, this is just business. If any of you wish to confess to your maker, I suggest you do it quickly. Devas, attack!" All twelve of the assassins suddenly vanished.

Matt turned to his family,"Let's go!"

The two digimon jumped off of the balcony. "Renamon digivolve to Kyuubimon! Kyuubimon digivolve to Taomon!"

"Gabumon warp-digivolve to Metalgarurumon!"

Rika gracefully landed on Taomon's back as Matt landed on Metalgarurumon's back in a more rough manner. "Deathmon is a mega," Matt said,"And he has a human partner. The other Devas are ultimates, and non-partners, so I'm betting that Levare is the one in charge. I'll take care of him, you do what you can to stop the massacre."

Rika nodded,"Right Dad, but...wait, why are you heading that way?"

"I'm going to swing by the Kamiya apartment first. "

Rika was shocked,"Why?"

"There's something I need to take care of first," Matt said,"Tai and his Digital Warriors are trying to rescue our captured members."

"Only his," Rika mumbled.

Matt shook his head. "No, Tai is the most honorable person that I have ever known. He will rescue everyone. And since most of his members are gone, I should do what I can to save his family."

Rika could not help grinning, "Sure Dad. Good luck."

Matt sighed,"We're going to need it."

The horse Deva, Indramon, remained unemotional as his massive horn blasted away a large section of the raised highway, causing occupied cars to come crashing into the pavement below. He moved his horn to another section of the highway and fired again, destroying it. He continued on this way until nearly all of the highway was gone, and all of the humans that were traveling across it. He smiled slightly before grabbing his horn and marching to a location further down the highway, crushing as many people as he could.

"Hold it right there!"

Indramon slowly turned around, amused that someone would actually try to stop him. He grinned slightly when he saw a brown haired human with a snarling dragon creature at his side. "Who are you?" Indramon laughed.

"Ryo Akiyama!" the boy shouted,"This is my new partner, Cyberdramon! You're gonna pay for what you're doing here! Get him, Cyberdramon!"

His dragon digimon shot forward, his claws ready for the kill.

Takuya and Koji charged towards their target, jumping from building roof to building roof. They had to force themselves to ignore the screams of the people below, silently promising themselves that they would save them, and avenge those already lost. They knew where one of the murders were positioned, and they were going to make sure that he would never murder again.

The two boys jumped from building to building until they found they one that they were looking for: a human armored beetle that was floating above an intersection, firing lighting bolts into the people below. "Beetlemon!" Takuya shouted.

The Deva turned around and laughed. "Oh, it's you two. What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you!" Koji shouted,"I don't know why you Devas are here, but you choose the wrong city to pick on!"

Beetlemon laughed,"Let's see what you've got."

"Execute! Spirit Evolution...."

"...Agnimon!"

"...Lobomon!"

Mina and Zoe could hardly believe their own eyes. They were watching through the glass window of the Wongs' apartment, completely horrified. "Who can this be happening?" Zoe asked,"This is like a bad nightmare!"

"Meramon and I should go out there," Mina nodded,"But that would leave you guys unprotected...."

"No, we have to go, both of us."

The two girls turned around to face Alice, who was now convinced that she was a teenage boy named Matsuto, complete with the body and form. "What do you mean 'both of us?" Mina asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I can fight too," Matsuto held his right wrist with his left hand, and moved the fingers on his right hand, "I am a Wiant after all."

"So you say," Zoe replied,"But you still haven't told us about yourself."

Matsuto crossed his arms,"What do you want to know?"

"You're Mimi Tachikawa's younger brother," Dr. Wong said, entering the room,"But you're Alice at the same time. We don't understand."

There was a loud explosion from outside that rocked the apartment building. Mrs. Wong started to pull on her husband's sleeve,"I really don't think this is the time for this. We've got to get out of the city!"

Tommy ran into the room with Jarin Wong and the baby Henry in her arms. "I think he's right, Dr. Wong," the young boy commented,"It'll be no good if our weapon is destroyed before we can use it on Neo-Digital World. We should leave, but there's something I need to give to Takuya and Koji first."

"What?" Dr. Wong asked.

"I know that they're out there, fighting the Devas, but they're going to need help. I have an upgrade for them, but we've got to find them."

"Lead the way," Matsuto said, his large white wings emerging from his back,"But I think the Wongs and Zoe should get to safety."

"Hey!" Zoe protested,"Why do you guys get to stay?"

"Because we can defend ourselves," Mina said,"Please, Zoe, it's for the best."

The blond nodded, then hugged her friend. "Good luck."

The elementary students were screaming in terror as Mihiramon charged through the hallways, diving into classrooms, destroying as many children as he could before moving on to the next classroom.

He found the children and the teacher huddled in a corner of the room, trembling in extreme fear. "Don't worry," Mihiramon laughed,"You're the last group alive. You'll be with your friends soon enough."

The teacher slowly stood up. "Please," she said,"Take me if you want to, but let these children go."

Mihiramon chuckled,"I always did enjoy honoring the martyr, but my master insists, everyone must die." He was about to launch into his attack, when the far was suddenly blown apart by a massive black claw that pinned the tiger Deva onto the floor.

The teacher and the students twirled their heads to the missing wall and saw a large ghost shoot into the classroom, now using his whole body to keep Mihiramon from finishing his kill. An older man jumped in a second later. "Come on!" he shouted, helping them to their feet,"You've got to escape!"

The teacher and the students followed him outside, where they ran from the school as fast as they could. "Wait!" the teacher called back,"Who are you?"

"An evil man that has now seen the light," he called,"My name is Hiroshi Eiri, now go!" The teacher nodded, then ran after her students.

Eiri spun back around in time to see his Bakemon come flying back out of the school, followed seconds later by Mihiramon. "You have betrayed us for the last time, Eiri!" the tiger shouted,"I will finish you when the time is right, but I must now finish my hunt!" He charged away, but, thankfully, in the opposite direction from where the children ran.

Eiri ran over to his Bakemon,"Are you alright?"

The ghost nodded,"Yeah."

"Then we're goin after him!"

"Right behind ya!"

Jeri glanced out of the Kamiya apartment window. Her eyes opened wide as she saw two of the Devas heading straight towards the building. "Taisuke!" she shouted, running down the hall to the youngest Kamiya's room,"Taisuke! We've got to leave, right now!"

He came out of his room, rubbing his eyes, "Jeri, what's happening?" He received no response as the older girl quickly grabbed him and his Agumon before leaping out the balcony window.

As gravity quickly pulled them towards the ground, Jeri looked up towards the sky. "Airdramon, I need you!"

Her dragon partner shot down from the building's roof and caught the group before the crashed into the ground. He quickly flew from the building seconds before it exploded in a blast of fire and smoke. It was completely destroyed.

Taisuke and his Agumon were in tears and Jeri was gasping. "I...I don't believe it. All...all of those p-people!" Her face turned into a growl,"They're going to pay for this!"

Her spine suddenly turned to ice as she heard a sinister laugh. She spun around and saw a grinning human monkey riding on top of a massive dragon."Really? And what are you going to do about it?"

"Never underestimate the Digimon Empress!" Jeri shouted as her Airdramon began firing energy beams at the two Devas. Unfortunately, the beams of light bounced harmlessly off of Migiramon.

Makuramon laughed,"You think that's going to stop Migiramon? He could pop that Airdramon's head with one of his hands. You're no match for u-ah!" Makuramon fell onto his fellow Deva as Migiramon was flung forward. The monkey spun around and gasped as Metalgarurumon held the dragon's tail in his mouth.

"You should watch your back," Matt advised from his position on his digimon's back,"Metalgarurumon!"

The mega spun the dragon and monkey around in the sky a few times before flinging them both high into the air. Matt then turned towards Jeri,"Are you okay?"

The brunette nodded,"Yeah, I think so. What's going on?"

"The Devas are destroying this city," Matt sighed,"We could use your help."

"Of course, but I've got to leave Taisuke here somewhere safe...."

"My secretary, Aung Sun, is fleeing the city, she'll take care of him. Come on."

Jeri nodded. As Airdramon started to follow Metalgarurumon, Jeri took out her cellphone. "Kazu,, where are you guys?"

Halfway across the city, Gaurdromon and Rapidmon had their hands pressed fimly against Vikalarmon's snout, trying to keep the massive pig from demolishing another city block. Kazu was trying to shout into his cellphone as he was ducking beneath a fallen I-beam in an attempt to shield himself from the falling debris. "Henry and I are fighting an overgrown Hawaiian luau! We'll try to join up with you guys later....How long is it going to take?"

Kazu looked up in time to see Rapidmon on the ground with Vikalarmon's snout constricting him and Guardromon ineffectively slamming his fists against the massive pig's back. "No!" Kazu shouted back into his cellphone,"We'll be done in no time!"

Jeri placed her phone back into her pocket. "Lord Ishida, Henry and Kazu are fighting the pig Deva."

Matt nodded,"Takuya and Koji are fighting JP, Derek is already in a battle with the rat, and Rika's got her hands full with the bull. That leaves..."

"Two many too count," Metalgarurumon mumbled,"We're grossly outnumbered."

Matt smiled slightly,"Maybe not."

The group glanced up as a helicopter hovered overhead, with Yamaki leaning out of the open door. "I've got Riley and Taily leading squadrons against the snake and the ram. We're in this together, they're not taking this city!"

The Digital Warriors were crowded around the small portable television that they had brought with them. A television like that would not have worked inside the Dark Ocean, but before his capture by Neo Digital World, Izzy had upgraded the receiver so that it would be able to pick up television signals from Earth. The Digital Warriors had brought it so that they would be able to keep up with the events that were happening on Earth. Noriko and Anna had turned it on so that they could catch their morning soap operas, but a special bulletin was on about the attack on Tokyo.

Catherine was back behind the news desk. "...an estimated one third of Tokyo's original population haz already been killed. Ze digidestined currently living in zis city are now fighting zes invaders. I can only hope zat sey are strong enough to fight zem off."

Agumon sighed,"This isn't good."

All the color drained from Noriko's face as she watched the footage of the attack,"Mina!" she gasped.

"This is horrible!" Marko shouted.

"I hope Jeri and the others are okay," Takato sighed.

"They'll be fine," Guillmon nodded,"They just have to be...."

Tai sighed,"Matt's taking care of it. He'll stop the, I know he will, but we've got our own mission to complete."

"Lord Kamiya is right," Anna said, turning off the television,"If we keep our attention focused on this, maybe we won't think about what's happening."

"But we still need to get across that ocean," Ai pointed out.

"We have a way," Tai glanced at Michael, who was staring at the Essence of Water in his hands,"We just need to use it."

Micheal slowly turned his attention back to Tai and the others. "I...I'm sorry."

Tai walked over to his blond friend,"Micheal, remember when I told you that I saw Darius? Well, he told me that an Essence bonds to a person and will be powerless in the hands of anyone else as long as that person lives! That Essence was bonded to you long before you became a Dark Masters. It kept you alive after I....after you were defeated. You are the only one that can use it!"

Micheal turned his gaze backs towards the rolling waves of the black water. "I've been through so much since then. I made a promise...I can't."

Tai threw his arms up. "Then what the hell use are you?!" He turned around and started storming off, when Darius's words echoed in his head.

"Lord Kamiya, compassion is what you need to learn, before your true power will be unleashed."

Tai took a deep breath, then walked back to Micheal and sat down next to him. "Sorry, I've just been under a lot of pressure lately...."

Micheal just nodded.

Tai placed his hand on the blond's shoulder,"Micheal, what happened?"

The other Digital Warriors were shocked when Tai apologized for his outburst, but their leader's desire to talk about Micheal's problem caused many of them to nearly faint. While every one of the Digital Warriors would gladly give their lives for Tai, they had never known him to be so emotional. Even his own partner, Agumon, was shocked.

Micheal sighed slightly,"After Betamon and I woke up outside of Santa Carea with no memory of our past, we were attacked by a group of Gazimon. We were saved by a digidestined named Sergi and his Scorpiomon. He brought us back to Santa Carea, where I met...her..."

"Who?"

"Lisa," Betamon nodded.

Micheal smiled slightly,"We were so much in love, I even asked her to marry me, but, our happiness was short lived. A digidestined named Charon came to Santa Carea looking for the Essence of Water. We started a battle with him, but Lisa jumped in to save me, and she was k...killed."

Anna gasped, and Takato asked,"Charon, the same one that's in control of the Dark Ocean?"

Betamon shrugged,"We assume so."

Micheal continued,"We followed Charon and his Gesomon to a group of caverns around the city that caused portals and gates to open." He smiled slightly again,"Now that I think about it, The Gazimon that attacked us probably took the Essence from me when I was unconscious, and hid it in those caves. We found Charon there alright, and one touch from the Essence caused Gesomon to digivolve into Dragomon. During the battle, Sergi and Scorpiomon were killed. I tossed the Essence into one of the portals that must of lead here, Charon and Dragomon jumped in after it. "

Micheal looked to the sand covered ground. "We went to the cave for revenge, and it coast us Sergi and Scorpiomon. We swore that we would never go after Charon and Dragomon for revenge again." He sighed,"That's why I can't use the Essence of Water, am I here for what Charon did to us, or to save the others?"

Tai was in complete shock,"Micheal, I had no idea that...T-tell me, was Lisa...was she a generous person?"

Micheal nodded,"Yes, she lived to help people."

"You're helping us now," Tai said,"I'm sure she wouldn't want to sit by while other people are being tortured, or worse! Micheal, you are the only one that can make the Essence work, we..I need your help."

Micheal kept staring at the glowing blue orb, so Tai decided to try something else. "You told me before that you would do everything you could to make sure that Sora and I would be together forever, that you didn't want me to go through what happened to you. Micheal, please..."

The blond looked at the orb in his hands, then out at the ocean. Betamon looked up at his partner,"Micheal, they need our help."

"I...I don't know..."

Tai nodded,"I think I know what the real problem is."

"What?"

"I think that maybe since the Essence of Water belonged to you when you were Peter Nerez, you're afraid that by using it, it might make you a Dark Master again."

Micheal gasped,"I...I..."

Tai nodded,"That's it, isn't it? You're afraid what you might discover about yourself if you do use it. You are Peter Nerez.."

Micheal shook his head,"No, I'm not.."

"Yes, you are! You are both Micheal and Peter Nerez. You've got to use both of what you have, please. You're the only one that can do it!"

Micheal suddenly jumped to his feet. "I'm sorry, Lord Kamiya, you are right. I've been afraid and scared, I swore to you my allegiance, and I have been nothing but insubordinate. I apologize."

Tai was going to say something, but Micheal and Betamon were already standing at the edge of the water. The blond human held the Essence above his head, then took a deep breath and let it drop around his neck. He stared out across the ocean and clenched his fists tightly. "Hear me, waves of darkness, hear the voice of your master! I command you, open your waves to us, allow us passage!" The Essence of Water began to glow brightly as Micheal's fists clenched even tighter,"You will obey me! I am Micheal Peter Nerez! I am the Master of Water!"

The orb around his neck shot a bright blue light into the rolling blackness of the sea. A line appeared down the middle, and, miraculously the ocean parted a small amount, then more and more and more, until a path appeared from the beach to the very bottom of the distant mountain range.

Tai's mouth was wide open, watching the water obey Micheal's command. It then closed into a half smile; he nodded, approvingly. "Thank you."

The command center of the Dark Ocean was on the far side of the mountain range that the Digital Warriors were desperate to enter. In addition to being fully equipped, it also had a large bay window, which had Geni, Charon, and Dragomon were overseeing the completion of the army they had promised Apocalymon.

Charon crossed his arms as he watched the Divermon practice their maneuvers on the beach below. "This is pointless!" he shouted,"They're ready. Let's just do this already!"

Geni glared at him,"Neo Digital War demands perfection, any less would result in....deletion."

Charon just grumbled and turned his attention back to the soldiers below. A second later, a black Gommamon ran into the command room. "Sirs!" he shouted.

"What is it?" Charon barked.

The Gommamon backed up slightly. "Uh...w..we have detected an anomaly on the eastern side of the mountain range. I believe that we may have intruders attempting to sneak in through the eastern entrance."

"Double the guard," Charon ordered,"I don't want anyone getting through!"

The Gommamon bowed, then ran out the door.

Back in Tokyo, the Devas continued their holocaust. Although most of them were currently engaged in battle with the remaining digidestined in Tokyo, they were still able to destroy enough human life for their masters.

The dog Deva, Chatsuramon, dove through the streets of the city, chasing after the crowds of terrified people. He twisted his mouth into a snarl of a smile, he always did enjoy a good chase, and these strange humans did make a worthy prey.

He leapt over a few abandoned cars before landing in the middle of a group of humans. He easily used his claws to tear through them, The massive dog glanced up and saw another group of humans cowering behind a large green dumpster. He leaned back on his hind legs, ready to leap for the kill, when a blast on his face sent him tumbling over backwards. "Who dares?!" he demanded, jumping back on his legs.

"We do!" Oikawa said as he and Mummymon appeared from the alley,"The city is under the protection of the digidestined, every digidestined. You may have caught us by surprise, but you've really got no chance."

Chatsuramon leapt forward,"Let's see what you've got!"

The inside of the Naridank Range had been tunneled out and made into a complex military base for the rulers of the Dark Ocean, filled with hundreds of rooms and even more tunnels to connect them together. There were plenty of guards to patrol the hallways, but since Charon issued a high alert, there were more guards then ever before. Two of these elite fighters charged down a main hallway, heading for the eastern gate, searching for the Digital Warriors. Had they even so much as glanced down one of the smaller corroders, they would have found the prey that they sought.

Anna slowly peeked her head around the corner and gave a sigh of relief as the two soldiers disappeared around another corner. "It's a good thing that they're looking for the Digital Warriors," Anna turned back to face her team mates,"They almost found us."

"Why Anna," Takato smiled slightly,"Was that a joke? From you?"

"Can the talking," Tai ordered, standing up from where he was crouching,"We're inside, and so far, we're still alive. We've got to find Babel and get out of here."

"Lord Kamiya," Impmon called, pointing to the wall, "I've found a computer terminal."

"Good," Agumon smiled,"This may go easier then we first thought."

Tai smiled slightly,"Now I wish we brought Henry or Mina along." He shrugged, "Hindsight. Well, Noriko, you're up."

The young teenager was shocked. "Me?!"

Micheal nodded. "I vouch for you."

"Thanks," she muttered,"But me?"

"Izzy instructed you, right?" Tai asked,"I know he doesn't do that for everyone. There had to be something he liked."

Noriko sighed,"Alright, I'll give it a shot."

Back inside of the Dark Ocean's command center, one of the many Modoki Betamons that were positioned at computer terminals suddenly jumped on top of the monitors. "General Charon!" he shouted,"Someone is attempting to hack into our mainframe!"

"Where?" Dragomon's partner shouted.

"Terminal 5675..."

"That's right by the Eastern Gate!" Geni shouted, "They're inside!"

"Send troops to that location, now!" Charon demanded.

Back at Terminal 5675, Noriko smiled,"Hey, I think I'm actually inside of their mainframe. I can't believe it. What a second, what's this? Training strategies? Genetic Engineering? Weapon manufacturing? Soldiers....Hey guys, according to this they're building a super elite army that they're going to hand over to Neo Digital World!"

"What?" Tai asked.

Noriko nodded,"They've been building some sort of elite army. Oh my gosh, if Neo Digital World orders more soldier like the ones that the Dark Ocean is creating..we'd never stand a chance!"

Guillmon peeked around the coroner into the main hallway."You'd better hurry up! We've got company!"

Michael shot his head around the corner, then quickly pulled it back seconds before a large spear slammed into the wall. "You'd better hurry, Noriko!"

Noriko's fingers danced across the computer keyboard. "They're trying to block my search. I'm going as fast as I can."

Betamon peeked his head around the corner and saw that the army was coming even closer. "I would advise trying to hold them off!"

Tai glanced over at Noriko. "About how much longer?"

"Give me a few minutes," the brunette shouted back.

Tai sighed, then lightly touched his digivice. "Let's buy her the time she needs, but be careful!"

The digimon nodded, then stuck their heads out into the hallways to see their opponents. They were able to make out that while there were a few spear tossing Divermon, the attack force was mainly Gommamons and Modoki Betamons. Agumon fired his Pepper Breath, at the lower digimon, before shooting his head back behind the corner for cover as the Gommamons' Marching Fishes slammed into the wall. Guillmon pressed his body against the wall, next to Agumon. The two dinosaurs stuck their heads into the hallway and fired again, this time destroying a fair number of lesser soldiers.

"Not bad," Agumon grinned.

Impmon and Anna's Penguinmon quickly jumped across the hall into another small corroder and began the same strategy on that side: attack, then use the walls as cover. Impmon shot small balls of fire from his fingers, and Penguinmon breathed a wave of ice from his mouth. Both fire and ice were chipping away at their attackers.

Anna chanced a glimpse in the main hallway as Michael's Betamon launched a razor blade from his head. To her relief, she found that their digimon were causing enough of a threat to keep the Dark Ocean's forces from progressing any further then about five yards away. "They've got the army in a stand off!" she smiled.

"But how much longer before reinforcements arrive?" Takato grumbled.

"Noriko!" Tai shouted.

"Almost there," she sighed typing at the keyboard,"There I've got it! Babel is being held in cell block F, cell number 390, right around the corner!"

"Alright guys!" Tai shouted,"Let's pack it up!"

"Aw!" Impmon cried,"I was jus' gettin' the hang ah this!"

"Now!"

Penguinmon grabbed his partner and flew back across the hall. Micheal grabbed Betamon, and Tai pulled Agumon away as they ran further down the corroder they were in. As he was leaving, Takato glanced up at a cracked ceiling above the intersection with the main hallway. "Guillmon, make sure the army doesn't follow us."

His partner nodded and fired a red energy blast at the cracked ceiling, collapsing it and blocking the entrance to the main hallway. "Now they can't follow us."

"Takato!" Tai shouted; the rest of the Digital Warriors already at another intersection to another main hallway,"Keep up!"

"We're comming! We're comming!"

The Digital Warriors followed Noriko through the maze of white hallways and corroders until they reached the F block of the prison section, a long green hallway with closed prison cells along the side.. After disposing of the Divermon that were on gaurd duty, Tai and Noriko ran down to cell 390 and forced the door open. Inside, lying on a rock hard bench, was an older black man. Tai stepped forward, "Babel, I presume?"

The man nodded,"Y.yes, but who are you?"

"I don't know if you've heard of us, but we are the Digital Warriors, and we are here to rescue you."

Babel's face slowly smiled. "Y..you are?"

Tai nodded, as he and Noriko helped the Monster Maker of Circuit Maps out of the prison "Yes, we need your help,"Tai explained,"A number of the digidestined from earth have been captured by Neo Digital World."

Babel nodded as he was brought to the other Digital Warriors, "I see. So you need my knowledge to enter Neo Digital City, the capital of Neo Digital World."

"Yes," Tai said,"Can you help us?"

Bable thought for a minute, then nodded,"Yes, Neo Digital City is the area that was once the land of Modum. There is a secret entrance..."

"Where?" Micheal asked.

"Right here, in the Dark Ocean!"

The others gasped, but Takato looked at him strangely. "Why do Geni and Charon keep you here?"

"Because, while there are many entrances to the Dark Ocean, they are all one way."

Micheal nodded."Yes, that explains why nothing came out of the portals near Santa Carea."

Babel nodded. "Yes, there is only one exit portal, but it is never in the same place twice. That's why they keep me here, only I know where it will appear next."

"Why don't they just program the locations into a computer?" Takato asked.

"The portal is too random, almost chaotic, far too illogical for a computer," Babel sighed,"Once in this evil ocean, the exit is the only way out."

The blast doors to the prison section started to slide open. "They're comming!" Ai shrieked.

"There's another exit at the end of the hall," Noriko said,"Come on!"

Micheal and Tai held up Babel as they ran back down the prison hallway. Marko glanced over his shoulder and saw that the Dark Ocean's army had broken through the blast doors. "Ahh!" he gasped, swinging back around,"Noriko, if you've got a way out...?"

The brown haired girl lead the group down to the end of the hallway, only to find that it really was the end: there was no intersection to another hallway, only a solid wall. Tai glared at her. "Noriko!"

Anna quickly shot her head around, then looked up at the ceiling. "There!" she pointed to a ceiling grate,"We can escape through the air vents! Give me a boost!"

"I hope this works," Agumon muttered as Micheal and Tai lifted Impmon towards the ceiling. He melted the four corners of the grate and tore it away.

"Up, up, and away!" the small demon laughed, climbing inside the air vents,"Come on, there's enough room for you too!"

The two tallest humans, Micheal and Tai, lifted the others through the small hole. They heard a loud blast echo through the hall. "They're getting closer," Micheal said,"Lord Kamiya, you're up." Tai was about to protest, when Micheal shook his head."We don't have time to argue."

Tai just nodded. He jumped towards the hole, where Takato and Anna pulled him through. Micheal was about to jumped up when a blast sounded even closer. He saw that the Dark Ocean's army was heading even closer down the hall. He jumped up the hole and grabbed tightly to Takato's hands. The time traveling Tamer quickly pulled him into the air vent seconds before the Divermon's harpoons tore up the floor.

Back in Tokyo, the Devas continued their destruction of humanity. On the rooftops, Agnimon and Lobomon stood their ground as they faced Beetlemon, the master of lightning.

"Give up, JP!" Lobomon shouted.

"Yeah!" Agnimon tightened his fists,"You're going to pay for what you've done here! We're taking you into custody, don't make us enjoy it!"

Beetlemon started laughing. "I'm not that weakling hacker any more! I am now a mighty Deva! And..excuse me..." He fired a bolt of lightning down to the street below. There was a loud screech, people screaming, a blasting explosion, then nothing. Beetlemon turned back to his two gasping opponents. "Sorry about that," he grinned,"there was a charter bus, I couldn't resist."

"You...you monster!" Agnimon shouted.

"Have you no value for human life?" Lobomon gasped.

Beetlemon crossed his arms,"In case you haven't figured it out yet, we're no longer human. Besides, Neo Digital World's the future, and I'm getting in while I have the chance."

Lobomon whipped out his glowing swords."We're taking you out, now!"

Agnimon shot forward, closely followed by Lobomon. The fire digimon slammed his fists together. "Pyro Tornado!" he screamed as his body started twirling in place while he was covered in flames. He flung towards Beetlemon, but the newest Deva fired a thunderbolt into the twisting flames, knocking him onto the roof. While Agnimon distracted Beetlemon, Lobomon went to slam his swords onto Beetlemon's head. The evil human blocked them with his right arm, then knocked Lobomon off with his other fist.

Agnimon suddenly jumped back onto his feet and pounded both of his fists into the Deva's face. Beetlemon staggered backwards. Lobomon swung both of his swords into Beetlemon's face, then Agnimon swung his foot into his stomach. Bettlemon crouched over, but Lobomon pounded his fists into the Deva's chin, flipping him onto his back.

Agnimon and Lobomon nodded at each other, then ran towards the fallen Beetlemon, when the Deva suddenly jumped back onto his feet. "I'm not finished yet!"

"What are you talking about?" Agnimon chuckled,"The two of us together are obviously more then you can handle."

"Ha!" Beetlemon laughed,"You haven't seen anything yet! I am more powerful then you realize!"

"What are you talking about?" Lobomon asked.

Beetlemon chuckled. "Watch! Beetlemon..slide evolution....Metalkabuterimon!"

Agnimon and Lobomon fell onto their backs as they stared at the massive tank creature in front of them. "W...w..what?"

"Like it?" Metalkabuterimon boomed,"It's called a Beast Spirit, it was hidden inside of Shibumi's laboratory. It's far more powerful then both of you together."

"What?" Agnimon gasped,"That can't be!"

"That's not possible!" Lobomon added.

"Think again!" Metalkabuterimon shouted, dropping onto his from two hands for support, pointing his gun barrel nose at the two warriors. "Electron Cannon!"

Agnimon and Lobomon were hit by a tremendous bolt of electricity, causing them to scream in extreme pain. The energy attack threw them off of the building roof and into the street below. Metakabuterimon roared with laughter. "Nothing can stop me! I'm going to bring this city to the ground!"

Back in the Dark Ocean, Takato kicked open an air grate, freeing the Digital Warriors from their trek through the maze of air vents. The goggle wearing Tamer leapt out of the vent into a massive stone cavern. "What the heck is this?"

"Yeah" Guillmon said,"It looks like they didn't finish building."

Takato moved to get a better view and nearly slipped off of a cliff. Once he was on firm ground, he spun around and saw a very large and very deep canyon running through the center of the cavern. "That's a long drop," Guillmon commented.

"Who cares?" Tai snapped, helping Babel out of the air vent,"We've got to keep going."

"But which way?" Agumon asked.

Babel moaned slightly and looked around,"This cavern was never finished, it runs alongside the military base we just escaped from." He pointed down a paved path that lead over small hills and bridges to deep in the massive cave. "We can escape to the top of the mountain down there."

Takato slammed the grate back into place in the side of the wall. "There, now they can't follow us."

He turned around only to narrowly miss having his nose chopped off by a spear that crashed into the wall. The Digital Warriors spun around and saw that across the canyon was a large force of Divermon hiding in the upper crevasses. One fired his harpoon and would have taken Tai's head off, had he not ducked at the last second.

The Digital Warrior leader stared swinging his arms down the path Babel had pointed out. "Move, move, move! Keep going! Move!"

The Digital Warriors ran as fast as they could, dodging the hailstorm of harpoons showering down on them. The others would have been twice as fast had they not had to wait for Micheal and Anna, who were being weighed down by supporting Babel as they ran across a very narrow path. One small step could send them down a pit of darkness into eternal rest. Babel knew this.

"Digital Warriors," he mumbled, lifting his head up,"I thank you for what you for your effort, but you must leave me here."

"What?" Tai shouted, "There's no way we're going to do that!"

"Your fellow digidestineds are being held in Neo Digital World, your family and friends, right?"

Tai nodded, "Yes."

"And the woman you spoke of, Sora, you love her, right."

".....yes."

"Then you must leave me here. They will not kill me, they need me, remember?" he smiled slightly,"You have to go. Listen to me closely, follow this path until you leave the cavern, you will now be on the top of the mountain. Once there, you will see a path that connects to a forest on the main land. Follow that path to the end of the forest, there will be the portal to Neo Digital World. Now please, leave me, go on."

The Digital Warriors turned to Tai, waiting for his command. Tai just nodded, and Micheal and Anna gently lowered Babel onto the cavern's floor. "We'll come back for you," Micheal said,"I swear."

Babel smiled, leaning against the wall,"Hurry, I hear them comming."

Tai bowed,"Thank you. Come on, let's get out of here."

The Digital Warriors continued running down the path, which caused Babel to smile even more. "I know they'll do it," he muttered,"We'll bring peace back to the Digital World. It will happen soon. I know it."

The path eventually brought the heroes from Earth to long bridge that was suspended above the massive canyon. Unfortunately, the Divermon were there also, hiding in the small crevasses near the ceiling, firing their harpoons at the Digital Warriors.

"Look!" Ai shouted, as Impmon pushed her and Marko to the ground to avoid a spear,"I can see the exit! It's right across the bridge!"

Michael lifted the twins and Impmon to their feet,"Move it! Get outside! All of you! Hurry!" He lead the twins halfway across the bridge, followed by Impmon, Betamon and Agumon. Takato, Guillmon, Noriko and Kunemon riding on Noriko's shoulder were next.

Tai started shouting for Anna to run across when he saw that she was carrying Penguinmon in her arms. "They got him," she sighed,"I think he was just knocked out, but..."

"He'll be fine when we get him outside!" Tai shouted,"Come on!"

As Anna ran across the bridge, the Divermon continued firing their harpoons. One of the Divermon happened to glance up to the cavern's ceiling. There was a massive stalactite hanging directly over the bridge. That Divermon pointed to the stalactite and the others began firing at the pointed rock.

Down below, Tai and Anna suddenly noticed that they were not going to be turned into pincushions. "What happened?" Tai asked,"Why'd they stop firing?"

Anna just happened to glance up at the ceiling. Her mouth opened into a gasp as she watched the harpoons tear apart the top of the stalactite, jarring it lose. She shot her head back to Tai, he was right in the way!

She started running forward, acting on instinct alone. When Tai and Sora were married, Anna knew that Tai and her would never return to being a couple. Yet, the blond Russian was proud that she had given Lord Kamiya up, that she knew that he was really in love with Sora. They belonged together, and it was selfish of her to want to keep him. She had to give him up, but, she still felt incomplete, like something was missing. It was not the love for Lord Kamiya, it was something else. She had left the Digidestined for him, she stayed behind to become his bodyguard, she even fell in love for him, but there was something else she would do for him, she just could not place it.

The stalactite raced ever closer, she was not going to make it by running alone, but if she jumped, she herself risked becoming shorter. The stalactite was falling closer and closer, she had to chance it. She got as close as she could, then jumped, knocking Tai safely from the path of the pointed rock. She had even missed the stalactite herself, but while Tai had made it off the bridge to the other side, Anna and Penguinmon had not. So when the stalactite slammed into the bridge and shattered the center apart, she found herself clinging with one to the small section that was left and holding Penguinmon with the other. The other Digital Warriors were frozen in place. Anna stared at Tai, then smiled slightly. "Save Lady Sora." Her fingers slipped, and she fell.

"Anna!" Tai screamed, jumping to his feet, but Takato and Michael pulled him away from the edge of the canyon.

"She's gone," Takato said, pulling Tai through the the gate to the outside. Once they were safely through, Guillmon fired his Pyro Sphere at the archway, causing a landslide that buried the doorway.

Matsuto's large white wings flapped gently as he descended to the top of the building, carrying Tommy in his arms. "There's definitely signs of a battle here," the Wiant mentioned to the damaged roof,"Like some power energy blast tore this place apart."

Tommy nodded,"Yeah, one of the Devas was here, but who was he fighting?"

The trio suddenly heard Mina shouting for them. Matsuto quickly flew them over the roof's ledge, where they saw the Indian girl and her digimon partner in the alley below. They descended quickly and landed gracefully beside the newest member of the Monster Makers.

"Did you find anything?" Matsuto asked.

Mina nodded, then pointed to where Meramon was pulling two bodies out of a dumpster. "Takuya and Koji!" Tommy shouted.

"Yes," Mina said, laying the two boys on the ground,"They appear to be unconscious, but I believe they will be all right."

Matsuto breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. While we were up in the air, we saw that all of the Devas are grouping towards the center of the city. I don't know why, but I think something big is going to happen."

Takuya slowly started to moan. "Then...we've...got to be ...there."

"You can't go anywhere!" Meramon said as Takuya and Koji slowly got to their feet.

"No,..we...we're fine," Koji panted,"We're all right. We..we've got to stop them."

Mina was about to protest, when a loud explosion blasted overhead. The group quickly ran out of the alley and looked skyward. Over the roof tops of the building they saw that most of the Devas were in battle with at least one digidestined, and they had all managed to lead them to the center of the city, where the Deva master, Levare and his Deathmon were hovering in the air.

The Indian girl was about to run back into the alley to move Takuya and Koji somewhere where they could recover, when she heard a sound like a jet plane soaring over head. "It's Lord Ishida!" she gasped,"He's...he's heading right towards Levare." She smiled slightly,"He'll stop this massacre. He just has to."

The Digital Warriors followed Babel's directions perfectly. Once they had escaped the cavern, they found a small section of the mountain snaked away to a mountain on the mainland, one that had a very lush forest growing on top. The dirt path lead them deep through the forest until they eventually reached a rocky hillside one that was attached to a large glowing cirlce-the portal to Neo Digital City.

The Warriors decided that since they had no idea what would be waiting for them on the other side of the portal, they should rest here before going through. They made camp in a small cave a few feet away from the portal. Takato, Noriko and their digimon were trying to enjoy a small card game, while Ai, Marko and Impmon had decided to lie down for a nap. Micheal and Betamon were collecting firewood in case there would be nothing in Neo Digital City. The group was so focused on their activities, that they failed to that notice Tai and Agumon were missing.

They were already at the portal, having snuck away while the other Digital Warriors rested. All Tai was able to do was stare at the glowing circle, his eyes watery with tears. He nodded slightly to Agumon, who nodded back. They were about to walk forward, when they heard leaves crunching behind them. They spun around to find Micheal, Betamon, Impmon and the twins walking towards them.

"What were you guys doing?" he asked,"Leaving?"

Tai swallowed. "Micheal, don't try to stop us."

"We have to do this," Agumon added.

"Alone?" Betamon asked.

"Yes," Tai said,"I'm not going to let any more of you die because of me."

Micheal nodded slowly. "I understand the pain you must be feeling because of Anna's d..death. We all share it, but just because she's de..dea..gone, doesn't mean it's your fault."

"But it is!" Tai shouted,"Why are you all here? Because of me! You're all going to die, because of me!"

"Lord Kamiya," Micheal protested,"We're not planning on dying for you, we're not jumping into battle hoping that we won't make it out! But if the unthinkable does happen, it's because we believe in you! Anna wanted to save you, she needed to! You didn't force her, she chose that path on her own. And while I wish it could have been different, we have to honor her for her sacrifice! She d..died, so that the rest of us could be here now! Remember her last words? 'Save Lady Sora." She did it for you, not because of you."

Tai just nodded. "Yeah, but..."

Micheal held up his hand,"But if you still feel the need to finish this journey on your own, then I won't stop you. But I would feel much better if you took the twins with you. They have an Essence, so they have a mega digimon. He'll be able to watch your back."

Tai was about to protest, when Micheal crossed his arms. "It's either them, or all of us."

Tai sighed. "Alright, but Micheal, you've done so much for me, I want you to start living your own life. You've gotten a second chance at life, don't waste it on me!"

Micheal shook his head,"That is one order that I cannot follow."

"But, I might not make it back..."

"Then the Digital Warriors will fight in your name," Micheal said,"I will not ever forget you, or what you stood for. I believe in you, and I know we will see each other again."

Tai reached out and shook Micheal's hand, "You're the best friend anyone could have ever asked for."

Micheal smiled slightly. "Thank you." He turned to Agumon,"Good luck, and take care of him."

Agumon bowed,"Always have, always will."

Micheal bent down so he could hug Ai, Marko and Impmon,"I want you all to come back."

"We will," Ai said,"We haven't known each other long enough for it to end."

Micheal nodded and waved goodbye as the group vanished into the portal. A second later Takato, Noriko and their digimon ran over. "What happened?" Noriko asked,"Where's Lord Kamiya and the twins?"

"They've gone through," Micheal explained.

"Why didn't they wait for us?" Takato asked.

"They're going alone," he said,"Without us."

Noriko threw her arms up. "That's it then, huh? We broke away from the Digidestined to prove that we could exist without their power, their sheer numbers, their resources, and look, we failed. We've broken apart, they won."

Micheal shook his head,"No, the Digital Warriors may temporarily be apart, but we are still together." He grinned,"Now, we know that the Dark Ocean is producing killing machines for Neo Digital World. What do you say we stop them and free Babel for real this time?"

Takato and Noriko looked at each other, then Noriko broke out into a smile. "Bring it on!" she shouted.

"We're with you!" Takato laughed.

Micheal chuckled."I just realized something," He glanced at Takato,"Takato Matsuki," he looked to Noriko,"You were once Ukyo Oikawa, and I was once Peter Nerez."

"The Tri-Warriors," Takato gasped.

Micheal nodded,"Together again." He turned and started running back towards the Dark Ocean's command center,"Let's go! The Tri Warriors ride again!"

Back in Tokyo, it was slightly after midday, and the massacre had only begun. The Devas' leader, Levare, nodded approvingly as his assassins deliver death to the city. He had compiled the best fighting team in any world, and now he was going to prove it. His digimon partner, Deathmon, suddenly jumped on his back legs. "What is it?"

"Company," Deathmon said, pointing his claws forward.

Levare grinned as he watched Matt and Metalgarurumon fly towards him. "Well, Lord Yamato Ishida, leader of the Digidestined. I had hoped that you would appear."

"Give it up!" Matt shouted,"I'm going to beat you, then the others are going to defeat your Devas! Then, we're going after Apocalymon and the Dark Masters!"

"You can't beat Neo Digital World!" Levare laughed,"They're the wave of the future! You're nothing by a relic of the past!"

"Was that the best you could come up with?" Matt chuckled,"I bet Tai's youngest brother could think of a better insult than that!"

Levare growled. "Did you come here to talk, or did you come here to fight?"

Matt stopped laughing. "I came here to fight. Let's bega-ah!" He was not even able to finish the sentence as Dethmon slammed his fists into Metalgarurumon's underside.The robotic dog grabbed Deathmon's back legs with his mouth and flung him into the remains of a destroyed building. Metalgarurumon opened his missile chambers and fired his rockets. Deathmon swung out of the way before Metalgarurumon's attacks destroyed the remainder of the building.

"You're more powerful than I thought," Levare gasped.

Matt smiled,"That's right. You never stood a chance."

Levare grinned wickedly,"That's what you think."

Matt raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You'll see. Deathmon!"

Levare's digimon headbutted the canine mega, then buried his claws deep into the organic section of Metalgarurumon snout. He scratched down, ripping away part of the dog's fur. Before Matt's partner could react, Deathmon flipped underside him and slammed his feet into the canine's stomach.

"Metalgarurumon!" Matt shouted.

"Sorry, Matt," he moaned,"Something's draining my strength."

Matt stared at Levare, who's Essence of Death was emanating a blackness from around his neck. "That's what's doing it," the Digidestined leader mumbled,"You couldn't beat us in a fair fight, so now you're resorting to tricks."

"You're right," Levare laughed,"We could never beat you fairly, we wouldn't have stood a chance. Now, Deathmon, the final move!" Levare's Essence of Death fired a circular shaped puff of smoke at Matt and Metalgarurumon, where it quickly covered then both.

"Matt," Metalgarurumon moaned,"S..something's happening, I...I'm losing s.strenght."

"Hang on," Matt said,"J..Just hang on!":

Deathmon suddenly flung up from beneath them. "Good bye!" he grinned. He slashed his claw through the smoke, which also brought his claw through Metalgarurumon, and, most importantly, through Matt's chest.

The Digidestined all stopped their battles with the Devas and gasped as they watched Lord Yamato Ishida, the Digidestined leader, fall from the skies.

Next: Matt is not dead, but unless his injury is treated, he soon will be. The Digidestined have to get him to a hospital, but all the ones in Tokyo are either full or destroyed by the Devas. They make a desperate plan to get him to one outside the city, but Levare and Deathmon are waiting to finish their kill. The Digidestined will have to trust Oikawa to save their leader. Next: Mystic Digital War: Chapter 26: Super Pharaohmon!