Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Ressurection War ❯ DARK Seed: Masters of Shadows ( Chapter 7 )

This is Cody. Tk and Kari were trapped within the memories of their past selves: Tai and Matt. They experienced the times that they most regretted and the times they were most proud of, before reaching a place in their memories that they shared, an event in the desert that neither of them could remember, but somehow made Tk the Digimon Emperor. Davis and Veemon, meanwhile, found the Emperor's old base, where Kimeramon was hiding. They found a Gold Digi-egg, which Veemon used to armor digivolve to Magnamon! This super powered digimon defeated Kimeramon.

Kari offered Tk to join us, but he refused. Meanwhile, a shard of the Destiny Stone that Kimeramon destroyed was found by a member of Dark SEED. What part do they play in all of this?

Open mind, someday………
I'll be able to open my heart………
Our story is also about fighting and hurting each other………
Open mind, someday………
I'll be able to love everyone………
Even the words I can't get out well will become my weapons………

Open mind, someday………
I'll be able to laugh naturally………
Things that make my heart ache are messages to me………
Open mind, someday………
I'll be able to forgive everything………
Because I face the things I want to figure out………

"Open Mind"-Koushiro's 02 Theme…

Dark SEED: Masters of Shadows

The stars in the sky shown beautifully and brightly against the blackness of the night, well, the clarification was actually dusk, but the setting sun did not interfere with the gazing of the stars. Aries the Ram cast its light on the city below, illuminating city-dwellers and travelers alike. Four of these wanders had arrived in the city.

A girl with long, curl blond hair stopped her trek down the long sidewalk to stare at the lights of the city and grinned. At her side, a plant creature hidden underneath a large hat and oversized dress looked up at her. "What are you so happy about, Catherine?"

"We're here, Floramon," she said, breathing deeply, "Ziz place looks so beautiful!"

The plant creature looked at her strangely. "Even more then Paris?"

The blond girl thought for a few minutes, then shook her head. "No. Not'ing will ever be az beautiful as home."

Floramon nodded. "I guess you're right. I do miss my home."

Catherine knelt down to hug her partner. "Do not fear, we will return to ze Digital World."

She smiled. "I'm sure I'll see my home again."

Catherine stood and stared out at the city. "Come, we have to find ze ozers."

The last digidestined and digimon partner that were entering the city had arrived by sea, a large ocean liner, to be precise. They were not passengers, however, but two very sneaky and skilled stowaways.

When the large ship had successfully docked, the two unwanted passengers jumped off of the deck and dove into the waters. They swam underneath of the rolling waves and emerged by climbing up the side of a wooden pier a few feet away.

The human took a few deep breaths before sitting down to rest. "Great job, Crabmon. I don't think they ever thought ta even look fer us."

The crustacean digimon nodded. "Well, Derek, if we weren't such great swimmers, I bet it would have been a problem."

Derek smiled and rubbed his partner's head. He took another few breaths before standing up. "So, this is Tokyo, eh? Well, we'd better start our search fer the other Digidestined."

Tk sat in his room, staring at the blue crest that was dangling from his finger. He stared at it long and hard. It had belonged to Yamato Ishida, and he was Matt in the previous life. Yet, he was Takeru Takashi now, and the crest that was given to him was the Crest of Abandonment. Did that mean that he was destined to have that corrupted crest? He could not even remember how he received that crest, but was it his because of the loneliness he felt in his heart?

Tokomon jumped beside him on the bed. "What'cha looking at, Tk? That Crest?"

Tk nodded. "Friendship."

"That sounds like a great crest! What are you so sad about?"

"Why is it mine? I've been anything but a friend."

"I wouldn't be so worried about it," he said, snuggling beside his partner, "You wouldn't have gotten it if you didn't deserve it."

"Tokomon, do you remember when we first met?"

"Kinda."

"What was I like? I mean, was I…" he took a deep breath, "Mean, like the Digimon Emperor?"

Tokomon thought for a few minutes, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember. I'm wondering why I digivolved into Tsukaimon? I can't explain why, but I just get the feeling that I wasn't supposed to be that."

Tk frowned. "Maybe it was because I corrupted your digivolution."

Tokomon shook his head. "Whatever I did, I did of my own free will." He smiled slightly, "I guess both of us want to get over our pasts."

Tk sighed as he placed the medallion on the small night stand next to his digivice. He turned off his light and placed his hand on his digimon partner. "Good night, old friend."

He was not sure how long he was asleep, but he soon found himself drawn back to reality. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a rainbow of light and colors dancing across his ceiling. He turned towards his computer and gasped. A figure wearing a grayish white robe was staring at the glowing monitor.

"What are you doing?!"

The figure turned around and removed the hood. Tk could see the face of a younger teenage girl with reddish blond hair in long braids. The girl knelt down on one knee and bowed. "My Emperor."

"Emperor?" Tk gasped, "W..who are you?"

The girl rose to her feet and frowned. "Yes, I was afraid that you wouldn't remember me."

"Remember you?" Tk asked, in complete awe, "No, I don't."

"Very well," the girl nodded, "My name is Tatum."

"Tatum?" he gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"I need to tell you this, do not let the past rule your future. You may have once been the Digimon Emperor, but that is over. The other Digidestined will need your help."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

Beside him, Tokomon slowly began to awake. "Tk?"

The blond teenager turned to him and then turned back, but the mysterious Tatum was gone.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' < p class="MsoNormal">

Gennai frowned as he stared at a holographic projector, situated in the center of his office, which was displaying a three dimensional image of the Digital World. He frowned as he used his wireless mouse to move a magnifying glass cursor over a small section on the Eastern Continent. He doubled clicked and the image magnified to display decimated tree trunks littering a field of burnt earth.

He sighed. "The Destiny Stone of Forest has been destroyed."

Another voice behind him sighed. "Yes, I know."

Gennai lightly shook his head. "Still so good at keeping information to yourself, huh Ryo?"

The younger man shook his head. "And you still the same master of the obvious."

Gennai chuckled slightly and used his mouse to return to the larger image of the digital planet, five blinking lines scattered around the globe. "Only five more stones left and then the beast will be freed!"

Ryo frowned. "You should have thought of a better shield."

Gennai glared at him. "Don't try to pin this all on me. You were there too remember? In fact, I think it was your idea to trust our enemies!" He mentioned to himself, "And look what it did to me!"

Ryo frowned. "I have regretted that decision every day since then, but we can't change the past, only continue to the future." He crossed his arms, "If the destruction of the Destiny Stones continues, then we can kiss the Digital World goodbye."

Gennai nodded. "Yes. Are you ready to teach the Digidestined the next step in evolution?"

"Yes. Kari will be the first one."

Gennai turned to look at his fellow Guardian. "Are you sure she should be the first one? She is the reconfigured Taichi Kamiya."

"I'm aware of that."

"Well, I hope your memory isn't failing you then! Remember what kind of power Taichi Kamiya had? Remember what happened to him?"

Ryo nodded. "Yes, I do. He could have had control over the most powerful element, but darkness over took him instead. But, I believe I might be able to draw that hidden power out of the Crest of Courage."

"Are you sure?" Gennai cautioned.

Ryo nodded. "Taichi Kamiya was the most capable of handling that type of power, but his arrogance led him to those downfalls. However, Hikari Kamiya may have the same spirit, but her personality is slightly different. As a new person, Taichi might gain new insight and have a better grasp at handling that power for the first time, not the third."

Gennai nodded. "Good luck, I just hope this doesn't blow up in our faces."

"You and me both.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' ''

Mrs. Ichijoji lightly knocked on her son's door. "Ken? Ken!"

"What is it, Mom?"

"It's time for dinner," she said.

"I'll be a few minutes."

Mrs. Ichijoji frowned as she opened the door. "Ken, what are you doing that…? Ken!" She shrieked. Her son was sitting in the center of his floor, surrounded by electronic equipment that she assumed came from the gapping hole in the side of his computer.

He looked up at his mother. "What's wrong, Mom?"

"K..Ken!" she gasped, "You took your computer apart!"

He looked at the mess of electronics around him. "Yes, well, I wanted to upgrade it."

"But, Ken, you've never done anything like this before. Are you sure you're doing it correctly?"

"Affirmative," he nodded, "I consulted the instruction manual as to the correct procedure."

His mother blinked at her son's words. "Um, okay. Just hurry up before your dinner gets cold."

"Okay, Mom."

She exited the room and closed the door. She shook her head and continued down the hall. Inside of Ken's room, Wormmon stared at him strangely. "Um Ken?"

"Yes Wommon?"

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Like what?" he asked.

"You're talking," he struggled, trying to think of a way so as not to insult him, "Well, you're speaking more…scientifically, I guess."

"Really?"

The green digimon nodded. "And you were good with computers, but never good enough to take one apart."

Ken nodded and stared at the electronic components in front of him. "Hmm, you're right. I guess some of my memories as Izzy must be starting to return. I wonder if the others are starting to experience the same. Maybe I should start a study to determine the…the…"

"Result?" Wormmon suggested.

"Yeah," Ken said, "That's what I meant to say." He frowned, "I guess I'm going back and forth between personalities, huh?" He looked down at the mess in front of him, "And memories too. I can't remember how to put this back together."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Kari stared at herself in the mirror, lightly tracing the outline of her face with her finger. Her hands moved up to her hair, lightly rubbing against her pink hair clips and the two strands of hair that hung alongside her face. Her hands moved down to her breasts, which she stared at for a few minutes before staring at herself in the mirror once more.

She stared down at her vanity table, covered with various feminine items. Her hands lightly touched her hairbrush and shampoo bottles, before moving over to her perfume and jewelry. When she touched these last items a strange feeling shot through her body. She placed the necklace against her chest, to see how it would look on her, but she gasped at her reflection. Instead of the familiar, short brown-haired girl she was used to seeing, she saw a bushy brown haired young man.

She dropped the necklace and fiercely shook her head. When she looked back at the mirror, it was her normal reflection. She slightly shook her head again before walking over to her closet and opened the door. She stared at the variety of dresses and other feminine clothing. She stared at each article of clothing before slamming the door. This noise caused her digimon partner to awaken from her sleep.

Nyaromon yawned. "Kari, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Nyaromon, did I wake you up? I'm sorry."

The small cat digimon yawned again. "What were you doing, Kari?"

The brown haired girl sighed as she sat down on the bed. "Nyaromon, I..I'm having trouble adjusting. I was Tai, a guy, in another life, but now I'm a girl."

"So?"

"I'm having trouble adjusting to that. I mean, who am I? All of these memories of being a guy are cramming into my head. What do I do if I have trouble being a girl? Being…me?"

"I wouldn't worry about it," Nyaromon said, "I mean, digimon are always reconfigured. I was probably a different digimon before, but I really don't remember."

Kari stared at her. "You mean, there's a chance you could have been Agumon?"

She thought for a long time before answering, "Maybe. That would explain why we're partners."

Kari smiled slightly as she rubbed the top of her partner's head. "Well, what should I do?"

Nyaromon shrugged as best she could. "I don't know."

"I'm bored," she sighed. The brown haired girl stood up and walked over to her computer. "Maybe I'll surf the net." When she logged onto her web browser she noticed her Inbox. "Email, from Ryo?" She opened the message.

Kari, we need to talk Meet me in the park at 9:00

"Why would Ryo need to talk to me?" She turned around in her chair. "Hey, Nyaromon, we've got to go."

The two girls ran to the park as fast as they could. "Where's Ryo?"

Nyaromon bounced over to a darkened section of trees. "Over here."

Kari ran after her partner and entered an area of the park that was almost completely surrounded by trees. Once she and Nyaromon had entered, a group of trees appeared at the entrance, cutting them off from the rest of the park. The brown haired girl found Ryo, still covered by his cloak, leaning against one of the trees. "Ryo!"

The young man smiled. "Welcome, Kari."

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

Ryo pushed himself away from the tree and walked over to her. "I will be blunt. The Destiny Stones are in danger of being destroyed."

Kari raised her eyebrows in shock. "You mean, Tk's still trying?"

Ryo shook his head. "No, not the Digimon emperor, a group of supreme darkness. If the

Destiny Stones are destroyed then the Digital World will be in extreme danger. You can't let that happen. The time has come for you to achieve your next level of digivolution."

Nyaromon grinned as she bounced up and down. "You mean, a mega?"

Ryo grinned. "Not quite."

Nyaromon and Kari looked at one another. "What do you mean then?"

Ryo chuckled. "There exists in the Digital World, a group of powerful items, Holy Weapons."

"Holy Weapons?" Kari asked.

"That's right," he nodded, "The enemies you will now be facing are far more powerful then what you have experienced. You will need to master a new technique in order to combat them."

"What technique?" Gatomon asked.

"You will discover that after you retrieve your Holy Weapon."

"Where is it?" Kari asked.

Ryo began to walk away. "I will send you a map through e-mail."

Nyaromon frowned. "Then couldn't we have just done this back home?"

"He's gone," Kari said, "A Holy Weapon, huh? I wonder what it does."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Mrs. Kamiya smiled to herself as she finished pouring the pitcher of soda into the last cup. She placed this plastic tumbler onto the tray and grabbed a hold of the two handles on the side. She lifted the tray very carefully and slowly walked out of the kitchen area. She walked over to the door to her daughter's room. "Kari?" she called.

"What is it, Mom?" came the muffled reply through the wooden door.

"I thought you guys might be hungry, so I made you some snacks."

Kari opened the door and allowed her mother to enter. The older woman smiled at the other teenagers seated on the floor as she placed the tray in the center.

"Thank you, Mrs. Kamiya!"

Kari's mother smiled again and began to exit the room. As she did, she noticed the group of strange stuffed animals lying on Kari's bed. She was certain that she had never seen those dolls in her daughter's room before, but just shrugged and left.

Kari closed the door and locked it tight. She gave a small sigh. "That was close." She turned around and saw that the other digidestined and their digimon were already munching on the snacks. She walked over and sat down beside Nyaromon. She grabbed a cookie and began eating. She turned to Ken. "Go ahead."

Ken nodded and was about to continue when he heard a loud beeping noise. He looked up and saw that Davis was currently engaging himself in a hand held video game. "Davis?"

"I'm listening."

Ken reached over and snatched the video game away and placed it in his pocket. He sighed and held up a piece of paper with a map printed on it. "This was sent to me by Gennai. It displays the location of a Destiny Stone, but also this 'Holy Weapon' that Ryo informed Kari to acquire." He continued to stare at the map, "Hmm, according to this, Gennai wants us to be wary of a certain type of metal that comprises that mountain."

The other Digidestined stared at him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Um, do you know you're talking weird?" Yolei asked.

Ken sighed. "Yes, I know. It appears that my memories and personalities of Izzy have not yet assimilated into my current persona."

"What?" everyone asked.

Cody shook his head. "When do we leave?"

"I'm ready when ever you are," Davis said, standing up.

"Hold on," Kari said, "I know it's Saturday, so if we're gone all day, Mom probably won't think anything's wrong, but we've got to make it look like we left."

"How?" Veemon asked.

"We've got to take our shoes too."

"Why?" Davis asked, "You would think that your parents would be a little more open minded."

"I didn't tell them anything!" she almost shouted, "Don't you think my Mom and Dad would be a little freaked out if they found out their son was reborn as their daughter? Besides, I know they would be worried that I would die again or something like that."

"So are we leaving now or not?" Armadillomon asked.

Kari stood up and walked over to the door. She opened it a crack and looked outside. Her mother was not there. She quietly walked over to the front door of the apartment and quickly picked up all of the shoes. She tiptoed back into her room and tossed everyone their shoes before returning to the front door.

"Mom!" she shouted, "We're going out for a while!"

"Okay!" her mother's voice shouted from her room, "Be back by dinner!"

Kari opened and closed the front door, then quietly walked back into her room and silently closed the door. She placed a finger to her lips so the others knew to be quiet. Kari quietly opened the Digital Gate and pulled the Digidestined and their Digimon into the Digital World.

They had appeared on a mountain, with rocks and sharp boulders jabbing out of the ground. Davis placed a hand over his eyes to block them from the sun and glanced around their surroundings. He looked at his feet and shivered slightly at how close to the edge he was standing. He glanced over that ledge and strained to see the base of the chasm, but the ravine appeared bottomless.

He tugged at his collar. "Man, got to be careful that we don't fall down there!"

Kari looked around at the rock-filled-mountain. "Alright, so where's the Destiny Stone?"

Ken removed the map from his pocket and examined their surroundings. Wormmon was perched on his shoulder and stared at the map. "Hmm, I don't see anything."

Ken glanced at the map and then at the area around them. "Across that bride, then walk down around the mountain on the path."

The Digidestined and their digimon followed Ken's instructions and journeyed across the bridge. The path descended as it followed the circle of the mountain into a massive cul-de-sac carved into the side of the mountain range. Seated within the center of this square carving was a large, one floor, square building, with one set of double doors in the center of the wall facing the entrance to the cul-de-sac. On the top of this building was a large diamond shaped stone made of a material that glistened in the sunlight.

"That's gota be the Destiny Stone," Veemon said.

Ken looked at the double doors. "The Holy Weapon must be inside."

Kari turned to her partner. "Are you ready?"

Nyaromon nodded and hopped into Kari's arms. "Let's go!"

Kari smiled and turned to the others. "Why don't you guys wait here? It won't take us too long."

"Okay," Ken said, "Just be careful."

Kari nodded and opened the doors to reveal a dark staircase. She took a deep breath and descended into the ground. Yolei watched the brown haired girl until she was out of sight. "Good luck."

Hawkmon turned to his partner. "Are you feeling okay, Yolei?"

She hesitated, then smiled at him. "Of course, I never felt better! Why do you ask?"

The bird digimon was going to answer when he heard a whirling noise in the air. "Do you hear that?"

The digidestined and their digimon were suddenly thrown in every direction as a large projectile pierced the ground in a mighty explosion. Davis looked up from where he had landed. "Where did that come from?!"

Cody pointed into the sky. "Up there!"

The group watched in horror as the mountain ridge became covered with a sea of green and white. Floating in the sky was metal and lighter green. "Oh no!" Yolei gasped, "Numemons! And Bakemons!"

"But what are they doing here?" Cody asked.

Armadillomon looked over his shoulder at the stone building. "I guess they're after that Destiny Stone."

"No!" Davis shouted, "We've got to stop them!" He grabbed his digivice and looked to the others. "Ready?"

The other digidestined grabbed their digivices in turn. "Digi-armor energize!"

The digimon waited for the familiar rush of energy associated with merging with the digi-armors, but found none. Each one turned to their partners and stared at them. "Um, Davis…" Veemon asked, "What's going on?"

The goggle-wearing teenager shook his head. "I..I have no idea!" He turned to the black-haired boy. "Ken?"

"I have no idea!" he gasped, "M..Maybe opening the Digital Gate drained the devices? No, that wouldn't be the reason. Maybe…" He glanced around at the stone that comprised the cul-de-sac. "Of course! That metal that was described on the map! It's affecting the armor digivolution!" He dropped to his knees, "I can't believe it! I'm a failure, the real Izzy would have known about that. Izzy Izumi would have figured that out. I'm just a failure!"

Davis attempted to run over to his friend's side, but the army of digimon thundering closer. "Ken!" he shouted, "Listen, you made a mistake, you've got to get over it! Would Izzy Izumi have given up?"

Ken took a deep breath. "You're correct! The real Izzy would have figured out a way to overcome this obstacle, but how?" He stared at his digivice, which was still glowing. "If we can't armor evolve, how come the device is still ready? Unless it wants to evolve our digimon, but it can't armor evolve?" His eyes lit up. "Maybe it's because the device has too much power!" He looked up at the Destiny Stone. "That stone must be over powering our digivices! They can't armor evolve, because the device is giving off too much power! That's it!" He held his small digital device up to the Destiny Stone. "Wormmon, digivolve normally!"

The green digimon nodded. "I'm ready!'

"Wormmon digivolve to Stingmon!"

Ken smiled to himself. "Excellent, you digivolved."

The Champion digimon stared at the army of green and white. He held out his forearm and a beam of light emerged from the gauntlets on his arms. "Spiking Strike!" He shot at the army and used his glowing sword to bat away the Numemon and Bakemon, shooting through the invading digimon like an arrow.

Veemon clenched his fists and turned to the others. "Come on, he can't do it by himself! Let's help him out."

Armadillomon and Hawkmon nodded. "Right!"

The three digimon leapt into battle, using their combined strength to aid the digivolved Wormmon. However, their strength was not enough, and they soon found themselves failing.

Veemon stared at a hovering Bakemon and dove towards him. "V-Head butt!" He was successful in driving back the ghost digimon, but the after shock sent him careening backwards to land at Davis's feet.

"Veemon!"

"Don't worry Davis," he said, leaping back onto his feet, "I'm not done yet." He stood up and was ready to charge back into battle.

"Wait!" Ken shouted, finally making it over to his friend through the chaos of the battlefield. "That Destiny Stone is powering up our digivices! They can't armor digivolve, because the device has much more power then is needed!"

Davis stared at his still glowing digivice. "I get it! They can digivolve regularly."

"Right."

Davis grinned and pointed his device at Veemon. "Do it!"

"Veemon digivolve to Exveemon!"

Davis and Ken gave each other a high five. "All right!" The two teenagers stopped their cheering when they heard a shrill, female voice, echo thought the cul-de-sac.

"So, the Digidestined digimon can achieve a level of regular digivolution. I'll have to update our records."

The four humans of the Digidestined turned their attention to the mountain ridge and saw a figure staring down at them. She was defiantly a human, wearing a light red Chinese dress, black boots and a dark robe which flowed behind her from the wind of the battlefield. Around her neck hung a pendant which reflected the light of the sun. At her side stood a large candle with arms and legs.

"Who are you?" Yolei asked.

The girl smirked. "My name is Yuehon, faithful servant to the Lord of Dark SEED! And this is my partner digimon, Candlemon."

"Dark SEED?" Cody asked, "That strange group that kidnapped Kari?"

"And is that a Crest around your neck?" Ken asked.

"That's right," the Chinese girl nodded, "My Crest of Deception. Now, I will give you only one chance to get out of our way and allow us to destroy that Destiny Stone!"

"Not a chance!" Exveemon shouted.

"Fine," Yuehon snapped. She held out her digivice towards her partner. "Make them leave."

"As you wish," her partner replied, leaping off of the mountain ledge, "Candlemon digivolve to Apemon!"

The giant primate grabbed a large bone that was hanging on his back and attempted to attack Exveemon with it, but Stingmon jumped in front and used his Spiking Strike saber to block the attack.

"I'll take care of this guy," the insect digimon said, "You keep that Destiny Stone safe."

The dragon digimon nodded. "Right." He flew to position himself in front of the large stone, but was cut off when a large group of Bakemon appeared in front of him.

"This isn't going to be pretty," he sighed. He braced himself for the attack, but watched in amazement as each white ghost was thrown aside. "What the-?"

He turned to look at the Destiny Stone and gasped when he saw a bird digimon and a fish digimon standing on the stone roof of the building.

"Exveemon!" Davis shouted, "Who's that?"

"Zat iz my digimon partner!"

The google-wearing teenager spun around and found himself staring at the face of a blond teenager girl. Behind her stood a light brown curly haired young man. "W..w..who..?"

"My name iz Catherine and my digimon partner iz Kiwimon."

"And I'm Derek. That's my partner, Coelemon. We're here ta help ya' mate."

Yuehon laughed. "More of you weaklings? Do you think with the help of a blond ditz and an improper talking bush head you're going to stop Dark SEED?"

"What?!" Catherine shouted, "How dare you! You zink you know everyt'ing? Well, you're wrong! I am ze reborn spirit of Mimi Tachikawa!"

"Yeah!" Derek protested, "And I'm Joe Kido!"

"Wow," Davis said, "Every digidestined is here. But wait, how did you guys know that? And how did you meet each other?"

Derek frowned. "I don't think this is the time."

"Right, sorry."

Yuehon laughed again. "You guys are even more screwed up then I thought! Destroying you will be no problem at all!"

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Inside of the stone building, Kari and Nyaromon had arrived at the base of the staircase and began to walk through a darkened hallway. She used her flashlight to illuminate the shadows as they traveled through the tunnel. Eventually they reached a square chamber with a small alter in the center. "That must be it," Nyaromon said.

Kari nodded and walked over to the raised platform; a strange object rested on it. Kari took a deep breath and lifted the artifact in her hand. "What is it?" the In-training digimon asked.

Kari shook her head. "I don't know. It looks like two lances attached together." She held it tightly and the room was suddenly illuminated as the weapon glowed brightly. Nyaromon bounced up and down. "Nyaromon digivolve to Salamon!"

"You digivolved!" Kari gasped.

"Yeah," Salamon said, "It must have been the power from that weapon."

Kari nodded. "I guess that means it works. Let's get out of here."

Salamon nodded in agreement and followed her partner back through the tunnel, the light of the Holy Lance lighting their way. As they approached the base of the staircase, they noticed the loud sounds of battle from above. They stole a moment to glance at each other, but only a moment, because they charged up the stairs to aid their friends. When they arrived on the battlefield, they both gave gasps of surprise and horror.

"Kari!" Yolei shouted, quickly ducking underneath a large stone that had been kicked up during one of the many explosions.

"Yolei!" Kari shouted, instinctually ducking as another explosion blasted around them, "What's going on?"

"That weird group…Dark SEED…"

"Dark SEED?" she gasped, "What are they doing here?"

"Trying to destroy that Destiny Stone!"

Kari glanced up at the large stone resting on top of the square building, then turned back to the battlefield. "All right Salamon, digi-armor…"

"That won't work," Hawkmon sighed, "Ken said that the Destiny Stone was powering up your digivices, so much that we couldn't armor digivolve."

"What?" Salamon gasped.

"Wormmon and Veemon were able to digivolve regularly. Though Armadillomon and I cannot for some reason."

"Kari!" Ken shouted, managing to run over to her, followed by Catherine and Derek. "We need your help!"

"What?" she shouted, "And who are those two?"

"This is Catherine and Derek. They are the reborn Mimi Tachikawa and Joe Kido."

"What?" Kari gasped, "You mean, we're all here?"

"Now really isn't the time," Ken said. The black-haired teenager pointed to the Chinese girl standing on the ridge. "Her name is Yuehon! She's in charge of this army, and her partner, Apemon is fighting with Stingmon. He can't hold out without help!

Kari nodded and grabbed her digivice. "Okay, Salamon, digivolve!"

"Salamon digivolve to Gatomon!"

The white feline used her claws to crawl to the top of the stone building and then waited until Apemon and Stingmon were directly below her. She jumped onto the large primate's back and gripped tightly around his neck.

"Gatomon!" Stingmon shouted in surprise.

"Hang on," she said, digging her claws into Apemon's shoulders, "I'm here to help you."

"Get off you pest!" Apemon shouted, trying to grab her, but Gatomon's agility was too much for the primate to handle. Up on the mountain ridge, Yuehon frowned in anger and mentioned to two of the Bakemon to lower her to the ground.

"So," she snarled, "You must be Kari Kamiya. I can't say I'm all that impressed."

Kari frowned. "How rude of you."

The Chinese girl chuckled as she landed on the ground. "Well, I've got to admit that you do surprise me. Of all the stories that I heard of the great Taichi Kamiya, I never imagined him being so polite."

Kari started to blush. "Stop that!"

Yuehon stared at Gatomon, Stingmon, and Kiwimon, who were all attempting to battle her partner digimon. Exveemon, Colemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon were currently decimating her army. She did not like to admit it, but unless she gained more strength, she might lose this fight. She grabbed her digivice.

"What are you doing now?" Davis demanded.

"Simple. With the power of my digivice and my Crest of Deception, I'm going to make my partner digivolve again."

"Crest of Deception?" Ken asked.

"One of the corrupted crests?" Kari asked.

"Deception?" Catherine asked, "Zat waz once ze Crest of Zinzerity, wasn't it?"

"Doesn't matter to me," Yuehon replied.

"Zat was Mimi's crest!" Catherine exclaimed, "Zat was my Crest! What have you done wit' it?"

"Quiet!" Yuehon shouted, the Crest of Deception glowing brightly, "Apemon, digivolve!"

"Apemon digivolve to Mammothmon!"

Gatomon had no choice but to release her grip around Apemon's neck as it suddenly grew to monstrous size. She found herself standing on the head of a giant, hairy elephant. Mammothmon's trunk whipped up and wrapped itself around the body of the small feline. He easily slammed her into the ground.

"Gatomon!" Kari shouted.

"We've got to get her out of there!" Exveemon shouted, propelling himself to Mammothmon's trunk. Kiwimon fired a stream of bird shaped darts from her mouth and into the giant elephant's eyes to distract him as Exveemon and Stingmon managed to break Gatomon out of his grip. They grabbed the feline and flew back to the digidestined.

The Chinese girl made a motion with her hands. "Mammothmon, destroy that Destiny Stone!"

The two trunks of the woolly elephant began to glow. "Tusk Crusher." Two large missiles propelled themselves towards the large stone.

"We've got to stop them!" Exveemon shouted.

"I'm right behind you!" Stingmon replied, falling into line behind him. Both Champion level digimon were able to catch the projectiles, but the force of the impact regressed them back to their Rookie levels.

Davis and Ken looked on in complete shock. "Oh no!"

"A really simple matter," Yuehon grinned, "Now, would anyone else like to try to stop us?"

Kari twirled to face Gatomon. "You're the only one that can reach the Ultimate level."

Gatomon nodded and pointed her claws out. "I'm ready!"

"Gatomon digivolve to Angewomon!"

The holy angel hovered before the giant elephant, a determined look present on her face. "You are not going to get passed me."

Neither Mammothmon nor her human partner appeared to be the least impressed. Yuehon turned to Kari. "You'd better call off your digimon, now!"

The brown-haired girl continued to stare at the Chinese girl. "You said something before that I wasn't like Tai Kamiya, well, maybe this will sound more like him, I don't give up! Especially, when I'm winning!"

Angewomon nodded in agreement. She placed her hands together and executed her secondary attack. "Heaven's Charm!"

The woolly elephant slid back from the impact, but overall remained unharmed. "That was pretty good," he grinned, "Let's see how well you handle this! Freezing Breath!"

"Angewomon, look out!" Kari shouted.

The angel shot into the sky to avoid to ice attack, but her left foot became encased in a sheath of ice. She swung her remaining foot into the elephant's face to give her time to retreat to a safer distance.

"Angewomon!" Kari shouted, "Are you okay?"

"I'm..I'm fine…" she strained to keep herself afloat.

Yuehon stared at Kari. "Call her off before she's severely injured."

Kari stared back at her. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I am here because I serve the master of Dark SEED, the mighty Lord…"

"That is enough, Yuehon!" a male voice shouted, "I can introduce myself!"

The eyes of the Digidestined turned to the small entrance to the cul-de-sac and saw another figure standing in the mountain pass. This one was male, wearing a pair of black pants and a blue sweatshirt, hidden underneath the same type of black cloak as Yuehon's, and like his subordinate, he had a pendant around his neck.

"Who are you?" Davis demanded.

"And is that a crest?" Derek asked.

The figure reached up and removed the hood of the cloak to reveal the face of a black-haired teenager. "I am the Lord of Dark SEED, Hiroshi! And this is my Crest of Spirit!"

"Hiroshi?" Yolei asked.

"How can you be in charge of Dark SEED?" Kari gasped, "You look like you're as old as we are!"

Hiroshi grinned. "Maybe I am."

"How can that be?" Kari asked in shock, "What about your parents?"

"My parents are dead, thank you!" he snapped, "And so are Yuehon's."

Kari stared at the Chinese girl then at the Dark SEED lord. "How horrible."

"Enough talking!" Hiroshi shouted, "I'm going to destroy that Destiny Stone, so I suggest you get out of my way."

"And how are you going to do that?" Davis shouted.

Hiroshi grinned. "With my digimon partner!" The ground suddenly began to shake as a large red serpent emerged from the rocks beside the Dark SEED lord.

"Megseadramon?" the digidestined gasped.

Hiroshi's partner laughed. "Correct! Now, face my power, Thunder Javelin!"

A massive bolt of lightning shot out of Megaseadramon's horn and struck the angel woman, sending her flying backwards into the stone wall of the cul-de-sac. Angewomon glowed brightly and shrunk into her In-training form.

"Nyaromon!" Kari cried, watching her partner fall to the ground.

"Ha!" Hiroshi laughed, "Your digimon regresses to her In-training form after reaching an Ultimate level? You have a Holy Weapon! You're pathetic!"

"So?" Yolei shouted.

"Yeah," Cody joined in, "Don't try to make her feel bad!"

"I'm just telling her the truth," he explained, reaching inside of his robe to pull out a blue object and pointed it at the Digidestined, "Allow me to show you the true power of a Holy Weapon!"

"He's has one too?" Cody gasped.

"That's right!" Yuehon shouted, "The Holy Trident!"

"That's enough," Hiroshi said, "Megaseadramon, prepare to merge!"

The large serpent glowed a blue light, in synch with the glow from the Holy Trident, and shrunk to a smaller form. Megaseadramon merged with Hiroshi's body, which began to glow in the same blue light. When this aqua glow faded, a new, merged figure stood with a smirk on his face. This figured had the appearance of Hiroshi, but with red scales and a long tail twitching behind him. A sharp horn jutted out of the top of his forehead and he held the Holy Trident firmly in his right hand.

"Now," he said, in a merger of Hiroshi and Megaseadramon's voice, "Witness my full power! Say goodbye to the Destiny Stone of Earth! Thunder Javelin!" A massive electrical bolt, far stronger then Megaseadramon's normal attack exploded from the Holy Trident and struck the Destiny Stone, causing it to shatter into dust. A lone piece, the size of a normal basketball, was flung from the center and caught by Mammothmon's trunk.

The Digidestined were in shock as they watched the destruction of the Destiny Stone. Kari stared at the lance in her hands. "That's what a Holy Weapon does?"

Hiroshi/Megaseadramon glowed once more and separated into Hiroshi and a big, blue bird. "Come on, Penmon, let's get out of here."

His partner nodded and climbed onto Mammothmon's back, along with the Dark SEED ruler and Yuehon. He laughed as the woolly elephant thundered out of the cul-de-sac.

To be continued….

Author's note: Okay, in case you're wondering, Tatum was the girl riding an Airdramon in America. She was with the Shogongekomon and convinced him to go to New York. Yuehon was the Chinese girl with the Apemon as a partner and Hiroshi was the Dark Seed kid that wanted to be a comic book artist. Why use these ones? Because I wanted to use characters that no one really uses. Besides, since they weren't given that much air time, I can kinda give them whatever personality I wanted.

There will be some Yolei/Kari in the next chapter, so if you want to give me your preference, Kari/Yolei angst, or Kari/Yolei romance, let me know.

Hope you keep reading, and please don't forget to review.