Cody here. Davis, Catherine and Derek arrived on Turtle Island, but found to their horror that the Key Cards had been stolen. They traveled to the Forest of Shattered Light and found a cult using the Key Cards in worshipping in the Dark Temple. Our group, meanwhile, traveled to the city of Lumerie, where Ladydevimon's airship, the Boreas was. We got on board and had to fight three of Ladydevimon's fighters. We weren't in time to save the Last Destiny stone or to rescue Kari before Yolei took her to Daemon. We were able to destroy Ladydevimon, and her airship is now ours!

On a winter walking path

Without a purpose or

Anything like that, let's go walking.

The cold blue sky

With both hands in my pockets

And a pebble tumbling in my heart.

You kindness

Was too straightforward

And it hurt a little bit.

I'm not used to being meek

But meekness as

An answer can't be ruled out.

On the lonely seesaw

Waiting for no one, waiting for someone to come.

I'm the same but

I'm sitting on the other side

Anytime.

Just like you always think

Words you can't say

Are there but…

Things you saw by pushing yourself too hard

Of course it's decided by

It would be nice if you smiled for me.

On the lonely seesaw

Waiting while you pretend not to be lonely

If you say down

Our feelings would balance out

And I think you'll get used to smiling.

On the lonely seesaw

Waiting for no one, waiting for someone to come

The feeling that I want to see you

Like the midwinter blue sky

Has grown in my heart.

(The Lonely Seesaw).

Dark SEED: The Return of Kari

Armadillomon yawned loudly as he followed Cody out of the small hut. "Why'd we hafta get up so early?"

Cody shrugged as they walked to the outer limits of Lumière. "Tk wanted to get an early start. He's really worried about Kari."

The small ground digimon nodded. "Yeah, I know whatcha mean."

The two partners exited the outer limits of Lumière, where they could gaze up at the Boreas resting on the green grass. Technicians were running in and out of the drawbridge that had been lowered from the opening in the side to the ground, as well as the Centarumons that were loading boxes of supplies inside. They saw Tk and Patamon staring up at the large airship. They waved when they saw the other digidestined and digimon. "Good morning!"

Cody waved back. "Good morning Tk. How far are the repairs?"

Tk mentioned to the drawbridge. "Here comes Ken. We'll find out now."

Cody saw Ken emerging from the Boreas with Wormmon on his shoulder. "Ken, how's it going?"

Ken smiled as he nodded. "Great. We were able to repair the damage that we caused, specifically the holes in the floors. We also refueled and changed the major operating system." He grinned. "The Boreas is now, officially ours. Dark SEED won't be able to get past my security system, much less operate it by remote terminal."

"Great," Tk smiled, "So, we can use this to get to Daemon?"

"Without a doubt," Ken said, "We can leave anytime."

Tk nodded. "Great."

Bastemon and a group of Salamons approached them. "So, you'll be leaving soon?" the cat woman asked.

"Yes," Tk said, "Thank you very much for your hospitality and your kindness."

The elder of the village smiled warmly. "It was no trouble. Now that the Destiny Stones have been destroyed, you and the other Digidestined and our only hope. So, giving you a place to stay for the night and giving you supplies for your journey is the very least I could do."

"You've got a lot of faith in us," Patamon said, "I hope we don't let you down."

"Where are we goin' anyway?" Armadillomon asked.

"To a place called Darkness Falls," Ken said.

"That's a really evil place," Bastemon said, "Daemon's the most powerful of SEED's four generals."

"That's great," Wormmon sighed.

"Don't worry," Ken said, "We'll be fine."

Tk took a deep breath. "Well, let's be on our way." He bowed in front of Bastemon. "Thank you again."

"Good luck," she said.

Tk saw that the others were already waiting at the top of the drawbridge, so he gave a small wave and ran up the ramp. Once he was inside, Ken pressed a large button on the side, which retracted the drawbridge into a holding area underneath of the entrance before giant twin doors sealed the opening.

They walked up to the bridge, where Ken walked over and sat down in the pilot's seat, in front of a computer console filled with glowing buttons and monitors. There was another chair seat next to Ken's, where Cody sat. "Where am I suppose to sit?" Tk asked.

"Come on, Tk," Patamon smiled, "I think the captain's seat is yours."

He shrugged. "I guess." He plopped into the large seat in the center and stared out the large windows. He grinned. "Are we ready?"

"All systems check," Ken reported.

Tk nodded. "Then move out."

Ken pressed a series of buttons on the console in front of him and the propellers attached to the hull and the wings began to spin, lifting the airship into the sky. After Ken pressed another set of buttons, the ship moved forward, heading towards Darkness Falls, and Daemon.

%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %%

Davis's small group was traveling through the Forest of Shattered Light, journeying to the Temple of Darkness, or at least attempting to. "I'm telling you!" Catherine shrieked, "We've been zis way before!"

"How can ya' tell?" Derek snapped, mentioning to the black trees that were creating a canopy, blocking all forms of light except for the thin slivers that were flowing through the branches. "Everything looks exactly the same!"

Catherine huffed and pointed to a tree trunk that was resting on the side of the path. "I remember zat trunk. We were definitely here!"

"Are you sure?"

"Oui!" she shouted, "I'm not blind!"

"Calm down," Floramon said, stepping between them, "I know we're all tired and cranky, but we can't start fighting each other!"

"She's right," Derek sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Me too," Catherine said, "Zis iz just zo frustrating!"

"I know," Davis finally said, "But we've got to keep looking for that temple. We need those Key Cards!" He grumbled as he kicked a fallen branch, "Where the heck is that stupid Temple of Darkness?"

"I can answer you."

The group jumped back and started searching the area. "Who said that?" Veemon asked.

"I did. Up here."

They looked to the branches of the trees until they found a small yellow caterpillar on the branches. "Hiya."

"Who are you?" Davis asked.

"That's Kunemon," Veemon answered.

"That's my name," the caterpillar replied, "And I can tell you where the Temple of Darkness is."

"You can?" Catherine grinned.

"Yup, but why would you want to go to that terrible place?"

"There's something inside that we need," Davis said.

"What da ya mean, 'terrible place'?" Derek asked.

"They do some weird stuff inside that place," Kunemon said, "Really weird rituals and ceremonies." He shivered, "Freaky."

"But, you can tell us where it is?" Davis asked.

Kunemon nodded. "Yup." He swung on a silky thread down to Davis's shoulder. "Just go where I tell ya."

"I just hope you know where you're going," Davis sighed.

%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %%

Darkness Falls was a mountainous area with hundreds of waterfalls of various sizes. One large waterfall was situated in the center of the black mountain range. This waterfall collected into a large river that flowed around an island that contained a dark tower. On the top of the multi-floored obelisk, Daemon, Yolei and Hawkmon stared at a large monitor that displayed a familiar airship descending towards the rocky terrain on the shores of the river.

"Sir," a Vilemon said, "We have positive identification, that is the Boreas."

Daemon growled. "So, they not only defeated Ladydevimon, but stole her airship as well?"

"Sir!" the Vilemon said, tapping an earpiece, "I'm receiving a transmission from base. It's Lord Hiroshi."

"Put it on screen, at once!"

The Vilemon nodded and pressed a series of buttons on the console in front of him. The monitor changed into an image of Hiroshi. "We registered an invasion of our airspace."

"It's the Boreas," he replied, "Those Digidestined stole Ladydevimon's ship!"

"Ken Ichijoji probably changed the computer codes by now," Yolei frowned, "He's like that."

"Who cares?" Hiroshi snapped, "What about our prize?"

Daemon grinned. "Hikari Kamiya is currently being held in the infirmary under heavy guard. She hasn't awoken yet, but we're waiting for the time when she does."

The Dark SEED lord nodded. "Excellent. When those other Digidestined come to rescue her, you'll make sure they're thoroughly destroyed, yes?"

"Of course."

"Good. Inoe!"

"Sir!" she saluted.

"Head towards the Forest of Shattered Light at once. Motomiya's group is about to liberate the Key Cards from those religious zealots, the Cult of Darkness."

"If you don't mind me saying," Daemon said, "I am surprised."

"Daemon," Hiroshi said, "You were my first Dark Lord, tell me, have I ever ordered you to worship me?"

He thought, then shook his head. "No."

"I may want to be followed as a king, but not worshiped as a God," the Dark SEED lord said, "Now, keep me informed. Hiroshi out." The screen blanked.

Daemon turned to Yolei. "Leave now, let me deal with your former friends."

She bowed. "Good luck, sir."

The Dark SEED general chuckled, "The Digidestined are the ones that are going to need luck."

Outside, Tk and his small group had made their way to the island in the center of the water. "Are you sure it was a good idea to leave the Boreas out in the open like that?" Cody asked.

Ken nodded. "I upgraded the security system." He smiled slightly, "You could say I changed the locks. I also installed a remote for the doors. We don't have to be inside in order to open them anymore."

Cody nodded. "I just hope it's waiting for us when we get back."

"If we get back," Armadillomon shivered as he stared up at the giant black tower in front of them.

"Don't say that, Armadillomon," Cody said, "You're just making things worse."

The group stopped in the front of the large double, black doors. Tk took a deep breath, "Let's go."

They threw open the doors and ran into the darkened hallway. If they had stayed outside for another minute, they would have seen Yolei riding a top Aquillamon, leaving the tower.

%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %%

Davis's group was experiencing a similar feeling as they approached the Temple of Darkness. It resembled a large black cathedral with statues of gargoyles hidden near the pointed top. "Jeeze!" Davis gasped, "This place looks like a tomb or something."

"You mean a mausoleum," Catherine corrected.

"Yeah, whatever it's called," he mumbled.

Kunemon cleared his throat. "So, you're still planning on going into that place?"

"We have to," Veemon replied.

The yellow caterpillar digimon jumped off of Davis's shoulder. "Well, I wish you all the luck in the world. See ya!" He charged out of the area as fast as his little legs could take him.

"Who needs him anyway?" Davis asked, "Come on, let's go."

They walked up to the entrance of the temple and saw a group of Bakemon floating outside. Just like the other ghost digimon in the village, they did not seem to care that there was a group of humans walking between them. They did notice them, however.

"What are you doing here?" one of them asked.

"You idiot!" another one shouted, "They're here to pay tribute to the great God of Darkness." He gave them an odd look, "That is why you're here, right?"

"Right," Crabmon said, "We're kinda knew in the Cult of Darkness, can you tell us more about your God?"

"Sure," the Bakemon grinned, "We were drawn together by Myotismon, but after he was destroyed by the Digidestined, we wandered the Digital World until he appeared."

"Who?"

"Our human God. He came and gave us food and water. He gave us a purpose again, and he will smite our enemies!"

"But who iz your God?" Catherine asked.

The ghost shook his head. "No, to say his name is punishable by death! I can't."

"Thanks," Davis growled.

"If you want to know more, go inside."

He stared up at the dark gapping hole that was the entrance. "I guess we've got no choice, huh?"

They walked past the group of ghost digimon and entered the Temple of Darkness. Inside was a long dark tunnel that disappeared into the shadows. "Zis place lookz very cozy," Catherine shuttered.

"Yeah," Derek muttered, "They probably got the idea from a cave or somethin'."

The group continued in silence until the dark hallway suddenly changed into something less plain. It became decorated with paintings and statues of hideous digimon.

"What the heck are those digimon?" Davis asked.

Veemon shook his head. "I don't have any idea."

"They're horrendous!" Floramon shivered.

The group was once again silent as they continued to travel through the halls. "Hey Davis," Derek asked, "There's somethin' I've been wantin' ta ask ya."

"What?"

He took a deep breath. "You and those Gauntlets you took from Diaboromon."

"What about them?"

"Well, are you sure you can handle 'em?"

Davis stopped and stared at him. "What do you mean by that?"

He held up his palms. "Woah there!" he said, "I'm just sayin', remember what happened ta Kari? She's not exactly a weaklin' herself."

The goggle-wearer sighed. "Yeah. I've been worried about that too. I mean, she was Tai, he should have been able to handle that kind of power, right?"

Derek and Catherine looked at each other. "Ya don't know much about our history, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

Catherine sighed. "When we were ztill fighting Etemon, he attacked uz wiz anot'er Greymon. Tai put himself in danger zo he could make Greymon digivolve." She shook her head, "Hiz arrogance caused Greymon to digivolve into Skullgreymon."

Veemon gasped. "Kari did the same thing with Persphemon!"

"Right," Derek nodded.

"Don't worry, Davis," Veemon said, patting his partner's back as best he could, "I know you'll do fine."

"Yeah," he said.

"Shouldn't we keep moving?" Floramon asked.

Davis shook his head. "Right, let's go."

They continued on their way until they could hear the sound of voices. They slowly crept along the wall until the dark hallway began to grow a small amount lighter. The source of the illumination turned out to be a room filled with giant candles, as well as an impressive amount of Bakemon and bat digimon. They were staring at the front of the room, but none of the digidestined could see what was there, as the Devidramon were blocking their view.

Crabmon mentioned to a small balcony located near the ceiling. "Maybe we should try up there? I bet it'll give us a perfect view."

"Good thinking," Davis smiled, "There's probably a staircase or something, back there. Come on."

They journeyed back through the tunnel and searched the right wall until they found a wooden door. Behind it was a staircase, which, just as Davis predicted, led them to the small balcony. From this point, they could see the entire assemblage of dark digimon, now all kneeling to the front of the room, where a large stone statue was overlooking a large rectangular stone table. Onto the platform came a Phantomon and a Bakemon that was larger then a normal Bakemon, with dark claws that were pushing out of his white sleeves and a flowing cape. Both of them hovered over to the rectangular stone table.

Floramon gasped. "He has the Key Cards!"

The others watched with extreme interest as the Bakemon laid the Key Cards onto the table. He raised his hands and the dark digimon began to hum. "Praise to you, God of Darkness!"

Phantomon swung his scythe in front of him. "We pray and give tribute to our lord and master! We were doomed, collapsing, dying. But then He arrived. Our new master, our new God!" He pointed to the statue and the Cult of Darkness began to chant along with him, "Khul nu kappi par! Khul nu kappi par!"

The Digidestined stared at the statue, the marble statue of a human man with long hair. He was wearing what appeared to be a trench coat, but any differentiating facial features were not present. "That guy is still giving me the creeps though," Veemon shivered.

Phantomon turned to face the large ghost digimon who was presiding over the cards. "Lord Bakemon, began the chant."

Lord Bakemon began to move his black hands over the cards. "Great masters of darkness the dark angel Lucemon, Lilithmon, Leviamon, Beelzemon, Barbamon and the mightiest one of all, the great demon master, Belphemon! Give us the strength of evil! Use these cards to bring us the darkness our God requires! Great demon lords, I call upon thee!"

The Cult of Darkness continued to chant. "Great demon lords, give us your darkness. Great demon lords, give us you darkness!"

Lord Bakemon opened his hands as the Key Cards began to glow a dark light. The Digidestined and their partner stared with wide eyes as the dark energy flowed into the Cult of Darkness. Lord Bakemon ended his chant. Phantomon and Lord Bakemon took the nine key cards and placed them on the statue of their god: one on each hand, one on each shoulder, one on each knee, two around the waist and the final one on the top of the head. The two ultimate digimon bowed. "May these cards power you, my god," Lord Bakemon said. He turned to face the members. "Go, the service is over."

The members of the Cult of Darkness disappeared into the hallway. Phantomon and Lord Bakemon exited through the same door on the side of the platform. Soon, the room was empty. "Now's our chance," Davis said, "Come on."

They snuck back down the staircase and into the alter room. The goggle-wearer turned to the others. "Wait here."

"Be careful," Catherine said.

He grinned. "I always am. Just wait here. Come on, Veemon." They walked through the church and over to the statue. "How are we going to get the ones at the top?"

"No problem, Davis," Veemon smiled, "Just let me climb onto your shoulders."

The goggle-wearer grumbled. "You're not exactly light you know."

"Yeah, yeah." The blue digimon climbed onto his partner's shoulder and was able to just reach the Key Card on the statue's head. He grabbed the two on the shoulders and jumped onto the ground. Davis grabbed the remainder of the cards and ran over to the other digidestined. "Got 'em."

"Great," Derek said, watching as the goggle-wearer shoved the cards into his backpack, "Come on, let's get our arses out of here." They turned to run when they saw Phantomon return to the church room.

"Intruders! You will not get away!" Phantomon warned, pointing his scythe at them.

"Run!" Davis shouted.

They shot around to run down the hall, but saw that Lord Bakemon had appeared. "What's this?" he asked, "Leaving so soon?"

Davis growled. "I guess we've got no choice. We'll have to fight our way out." He grabbed his digivice, "Now!"

"Veemon digivolve to Exveemon! Exveemon digivolve to Paildramon!"

"Floramon digivolve to Kiwimon! Kiwimon digivolve to Blossumon!"

"Crabmon digivolve to Coelemon!"

Lord Bakemon and Phantomon cringed. "Oh no," the ghost lord said, "They've got two Ultimates."

"Yes," Phantomon replied, "Looks like we'll have to show them our little skill."

"You're right," Lord Bakemon grinned.

"What are you two talking about?" Paildramon asked.

"Watch," Phantomon grinned. His body began to glow in synch with Lord Bakemon's. "Phantomon…"

"Lord Bakemon…"

"…Fusion digivolve to Necromyotismon!" A new figure stood in their place, one that was a skeleton dressed in Myotismon's clothes, but torn and shredded.

"Necro Myotismon?" Coelemon gasped, "I never heard of that digimon before!"

"Come to think of it," Blossumon said, "I never heard of a Lord Bakemon either!"

Necromyotismon started to laugh. "Our dark rituals allowed us to create new evolutionary forms! Now, enough talking, prepare to be deleted! Unholy Scream!" He opened his mouth and shrieked in a high pitched tone that caused the digimon to drop to their knees.

"I can't stand it!" Coelemon shouted, covering his ears, "Make it stop!"

Blossumon pushed herself up from the ground as best she could. She stared at the screaming beast. "Spiral Flower!" she shouted, firing beams of lasers from her eyes. While many missed, one did struck Necromyotismon, throwing him off balance. The screams stopped, allowing the digimon to regain themselves.

"Payback time!" Coelemon grinned, "Fossil Bite!" He fired a hail of sharp needles into Necromyotismon's chest. He flinched back under the pain.

"Wow," Coelemon gasped, "I can't believe that actually hurt you."

Necromyotismon grinned. "Well, not as much as you think. Now it's time to die!" He slashed his bony claw across the aquatic digimon.

"Coelemon!" Paildramon shouted, "Hang on!" He clenched his hand into fists and the blades on the back of wrist shot out. "Sting Strike!" He used these blades to slash Necromyotismon's chest, agitating his previous injury. Necromyotismon grabbed the dragon man's neck with his bony hands, which were surprisingly powerful.

"Paildramon!" Davis gasped.

"Blozzoumon!" Catherine shouted, "Zave him!"

The Ultimate plant digimon shot her tentacles into Necromyotismon's back, "Thorn Whips!"

The evil digimon gave a yelp, but did not release his grip on Paildramon. Instead, he spun around and used him to knock Blossoumon into the wall.

"Blozzoumon!" Catherine shouted, "Are you okay?"

The Ultimate digimon stood back up. "Yeah, I'm fine!"

"Me too!" Coelemon grinned.

"Ha!" Necromyotismon laughed, "If you even think about attacking me, I'll crush Paildramon's windpipe!"

Paildramon ignored the pain and brought his legs up and slammed both of his feet into Necromyotismon's chest, throwing him backwards. The dragon man was able to free himself, and jumped back to stand next to Blossoumon and Coelemon.

"Why don't you just give up now?" Davis asked, "You're not gonna win!"

Necromyotismon laughed in his soulless voice. "You will not defeat me. Unholy Scream!"

"Not again!" Coelemon shouted, trying to cover his ears.

The Digidestined were affect as well, falling onto the ground, clapping their hands over their ears. "How can we fight this guy?" Derek shouted.

Davis stared at Paildramon, then at the screaming Necromyotismon. He realized that only one thing might save them now. With great effort to stand the screaming noise, he reached into his backpack and removed the twin Holy Gauntlets.

"Paildramon!" he shouted, over the roar of Necromyotismon's scream. "We're gonna have to try the gauntlets! Are you ready?"

"I don't know, Davis!" he shouted back, "We never tried that before!"

"We have to!" he shouted, placing the Gauntlets over his hands, "Ready?"

The dragon digimon stood up and opened his arms. "All right!"

Davis pointed his gauntlets towards his partner, awaiting for the weapon to activate. "What's going on here?" he gasped, "Why isn't this working? Come on, come on!" The gauntlets remained as they were. "Why won't this work? Come on, I've got the Crest of Miracles, and we really need one right now!"

Underneath of his shirt, the Crest of Miracles began to glow a dark gold. Davis grinned. "Yes! Now, let's try this again." He pointed his gauntlets towards Paildramon, "Now!" The Holy Gauntlets began to glow and fired a beam of light into Paildramon, drawing the two partners together. They exploded in a burst of light, revealing a new, single figure, one that resembled an adult Davis wearing black and green armor, with one set of blue wings at the shoulders and another set of white wings near the waist. On his hands were the Holy Gauntlets. Davis/Paildramon stood defiantly as Necromyotismon's Unholy Scream passed over him. He charged forward and tackled the screaming digimon into the ground.

"How dare you?" he shouted, "Feel my true power! Vengeance of the Underworld!" A stream of transparent hands shot out of his chest and smashed into Davis/Paildramon, but the fused human/digimon remained perfectly still.

"No!" Necromyotismon gasped, "No!"

"Necromyotimson," Davis/Paildramon said, "This is the end of your sick rituals." He shot forward and, with a swipe of his claw, sent the evil digimon into the far wall. The familiar twin gun barrels shot out from behind his back. "Desperado Blaster!"

Necromyotismon screamed as the glowing bullets tore into his body, the impact causing him to dig even deeper into wall. Soon, he was completely buried. Davis/Paildramon turned and regressed back to Davis and Demiveemon. They walked back to join their cheering friends.

"Tres Bien!" Catherine grinned, lightly kissing Davis on the check, "You are amazing!"

Derek slapped Davis on the back, "Way ta' go, mate. Great job."

"You were really good out there," Yocomon said.

Demiveemon blushed. "Heh, yeah."

"Come on," Davis said, "Let's get out of here."

They ran out of the Temple of Darkness, only to stop short when they came face-to-face, with a large brown eagle with a familiar caterpillar digimon in his massive beak. "Aquillamon?" Davis gasped.

"And he's got Kunemon in his mouth!" Demiveemon gasped.

"Wait," Derek said, "If Aquillamon's here, then doesn't that mean..?"

"If you're looking for me," Yolei grinned, stepping around from Aquillamon's legs, "I'm right here."

Davis growled. "What do you want?"

"Those Key Cards," she said, "And if you don't, Aquillamon will end Kunemon's short life."

"Forget it!" the goggle-wearer shouted, "We won't stand for that!"

Yolei chuckled as she pointed at the ground. "I think your digimon are going to be out of commission for a while."

"Huh?" Davis asked. He looked to the ground and saw that the In-training digimon were having a difficult time standing. "What's wrong?"

"Too tired," Demiveemon said, "We used too much energy fighting Necromyotismon."

Davis growled as he stared at her. He looked up at Kunemon, still trapped in Aquillamon's beack. "All right." He reached into his backpack and pulled out the nine cards. He gave a final look at the small deck before throwing them into her hands. "There!"

The purple-haired girl nodded. "Much obliged." She jumped onto her partner's back as the large eagle threw Kunemon into Davis's hands. "Oh, one more thing," she said, as Aquillamon began to fly into the sky, "I'd look behind you if I were you. Farewell."

"What's she talking about?" Davis asked. He looked over his shoulder into the Temple of Darkness and saw a wave of Bakemon and Devidramon flying straight towards them, with Necromyotismon leading them. "Oh no."

He looked down at his partner. "Demiveemon?"

The small digimon shook his head. "Sorry, not until I eat something and take a nap."

"Davis," Catherine said, holding Yocomon in her arms, "I think we zhould run."

"I'm with her," Derek added.

The goggle-wearer grabbed Demiveemon and charged away from the approaching army, "Sounds like a good idea to me."

%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %%

Back in Darkness Falls, Tk's group walked through the hallways of Daemon's tower, ignoring the screams and cries that they heard from beneath the floors. Cody flinched and shivered at each moan and shriek in terror. He seemed very agitated as they traveled through the halls.

"Cody," Tk said, "We can't."

"But…"

"Listen, I don't want to leave anyone here either, but we've got to find Kari. The entire future and safety of the Digital World, and even Earth, depends on her! We've got to save her, at all costs."

"What do you mean?" Ken asked.

He shook his head. "It's…it's nothing. We've got to keep looking." As he led them down the hall, he thought, "I can't tell them what was in that file that Tatum gave me. I'm not even sure I should have been told, but Kari needs to know. She needs to know about her destiny."

They continued in silence until they came to an intersection with another hall. "I hear someone coming," Tk whispered, "Be quiet."

They pressed themselves as far as they could against the wall and watched as an older man wearing a lap coat passed by. "Tk," Patamon whispered, "Isn't that the doctor that did tests on you and Kari?"

"Yeah," he said, "I bet he knows where Kari is." The blond boy waited until the man had passed before grabbing him and pulling him until the arms of Cody and Ken, who held him as best they could.

"What's the meaning of this?" he gasped.

"Dr. Yazuna," Tk said, "Do you remember me?"

"The Digimon Emperor," he gasped, "W..what are you doing here?"

"I want Kari Kamiya!" he said, "Where is she?"

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

"Don't lie to me!" Tk hissed, "I know you know where she is! Now lead us to her, or you'll be resting at the bottom of that lake outside!"

He swallowed and nodded. "S..sure, follow me." He began to walk down the hall; Tk looked over his shoulder and breathed a small sigh of relief, letting the others know that he would not have followed through on his threats.

Yazuna lead them through the winding maze of the tower until they reached a black, metal door. "She's behind here."

"Open it," Tk ordered.

Yazuna did as he was told and opened the door to reveal a room that looked very similar to a hospital room. Lying in the center, strapped to the table, was Kari, her eyes shut tight. At her side, lying on a similar table was Salamon, unconscious as well. Tk ran past Yazuna and gasped. "Kari!" he called, laying a hand on her forehead, "Kari, please, wake up."

He suddenly realized that Yazuna might have done something to her. He spun around to demand an answer, but stopped when he saw a towering figure stepping into the room. "Cody! Ken! Look out!"

The other members of his group spun around, and, upon seeing the figure, jumped into the center of the room to stand next to Tk. The Digidestined and their digimon partners stared fiercely at this creature. "You must be Daemon I presume?" Tk asked.

"That is correct, Takeru Takashi, or should I say Yamato Ishida?" he chuckled.

Tk stared at him, straight at the glowing eyes under his hood. "Let us leave here, now!"

Daemon laughed. "You're not going to fool me as easily as that pathetic doctor here." He kicked Yazuna out the door. "You see, I know that you've lost your blood lust since you gave up being the Digimon Emperor."

Tk hesitated. "Let us leave with Kari, now!"

"Ha!" Daemon laughed, "Do you honestly think I'm letting you leave with my prize? Once I do to her what I did to Yolei Inoe, Dark SEED will last forever!"

"No!" Tk shouted, grabbing his digivice, "Patamon!"

"Patamon digivolve to Angemon! Angemon digivolve to Magna Angemon!"

The Ultimate angel shot towards Daemon, swinging his wrist-based sword. The Dark SEED general laughed as he easily blocked the blade with his forearm. "Did you think you could stop me with that?"

"No, but I think this will hurt." The angel brought his foot around and kicked Daemon's side with all of his might. The evil mega flipped onto the ground, leaving the exit wide-open. Magna Angemon did not give him the chance to get back there either, as he began attacking with more jabs of his sword. Daemon was on the defensive.

Ken grabbed his own digivice. "Wormmon, get ready to.."

"No!" Tk ordered, "Get Kari and Salamon back to the ship."

"No!" Cody protested.

"Yeah," Armadillomon added, "We're not gonna leave ya' here!"

"Don't worry," Tk grinned, "Even though Magna Angemon's a level below Daemon, he's still a holy vaccine fighting against a virus. I think Magna Angemon might be able to win, but rescuing Kari's our top priority. Get her to the Boreas, now!"

"All right," Ken said, "but as soon as she's safe, we're coming back. Cody, give me a hand."

The younger boy helped place the unconscious Kari onto Ken's back and then grabbed a hold of Salamon. Tk kept his eyes on the battle between Daemon and Magna Angemon, waiting until the evil mega was far too absorbed in keeping himself alive. "Go, now!"

Ken nodded and ran as best he could out the door. Cody and the digimon soon followed. "No!" Daemon shouted, pushing Magna Angemon to the side as he shot to the exit of the room. He was stopped when Magna Angemon appeared in front of him and slammed his fist into his face. He fell onto the ground and skidded until he crashed into a cluster of mechanical equipment. The Dark SEED general roared and jumped onto his feet.

"I've had enough of this!" he shouted. He placed both of his palms together, creating a ball of fire between them. "Evil Inferno!"

Magna Angemon screamed in pain as the blast of fire ripped across his body. Daemon used this chance to escape into the hall. Tk screamed to his partner to go after the evil mega, and Magna Angemon obeyed, flying straight after Daemon.

"You don't give up, do it?" he laughed, firing another Evil Inferno directly into Magna Angemon's chest, throwing him back into the wall of the 'hospital room.' This caused the entire room to shake, jarring lose sections of the ceiling that buried the only door, leaving Magna Angemon and Tk trapped inside.

"Ha!" Daemon laughed, "What a weakling." He grinned as he stared at Ken, Cody and their digimon, running in a vain attempt to escape him. With simple ease, he flew towards them at great speed.

"Ken!" Wormmon shouted, "He's coming!"

The black-haired boy sided and placed Kari onto the ground. "Ken?" Cody asked.

"We'll never out run him, we have to fight him now." He grabbed his digivice, "Right?"

Cody nodded, reaching for his own digivice as well. "Right."

Ken nodded and pointed his digivice at Wormmon. "Now!"

"Wormmon digivolve to Stingmon!"

"Armadillomon digivolve to Ankylomon!"

Daemon roared with laughter. "Do you think you puny digimon stand a chance against me!"

Neither Champion digimon said a word as they charged into battle. Daemon easily backhanded Stingmon into the wall, then did the same with Ankylomon. Both digimon were lying in a pile on the ground, unmoving. "That team work may have worked against Diaboromon, but I am of a much higher strength level!" Daemon grinned, "Champions cannot defeat me." He turned to where Ken and Cody were standing defiantly in front of the unconscious Kari. "Now, to reclaim what was taken from me."

"No!" Ken shouted, "Stay back!"

Daemon ignored him as he stepped closer. Cody knelt down and started to shake the brown-haired girl. "Kari..Kari! You've got to wake up! Kari, please, wake up!"

Kari suddenly found herself wandered through a black void. "Hello!" she shouted, "Is anyone there?"

"Kari, is that you?"

She turned around and saw a familiar digimon charging towards her. "Salamon," she grinned, "I'm glad you're here with me."

The small digimon looked around. "But, where are we?"

Kari shook her head. "I don't know."

A male voice broke through the silence, "Don't you? I think you should."

The two girls looked to the source of the voice, a young boy wearing a blue t-shirt, baggy shorts, sporting a wild mane of brown hair. At his side was a small orange dinosaur. Kari and Salamon stared with wide eyes at the two males. "Who..who are you?" Kari gasped.

The boy looked confused. "You don't know? I'm Tai and this is Agumon."

"But you can't be Tai!" she protested, "I'm Tai!"

"Yes," he nodded, "And I am you, just as Agumon here is Salamon."

The small digimon gasped. "You mean, I'm really…?"

"Yes," Agumon answered, "All the digimon partnered to the reborn digidestined are their original partners. Hawkmon is really Biyomon, Wormmon was once Tentomon, and, well, you get the idea."

Kari stared at Salamon. "You were Agumon?"

She nodded. "I guess so, but it's really no big deal for digimon. I mean, we change into different bodies all the time. I could have digivolved into a male digimon instead of a girl like Gatomon, so it's really no big deal."

Kari shook her head. "Fine, but that still doesn't explain how we're all able to be here. I mean, if I'm Tai, and you're Tai, then…how can that be?"

"Simple," the boy answered, "We're in the landscape of our mind."

Kari mentioned to the digimon. "How can they be here?"

"Digimon and Digidestined are connected," Agumon answered, "Sometimes we can appear in each other's mind, like this. I wouldn't try it though, it's really hard when we're both conscious, too many different thoughts."

"Wait," Salamon said, pointing at Tai, "You look a lot younger then Kari is."

He smiled. "That's because right now, we are sixteen, but when we were in the Digital World the first time, we were only eleven."

"Could you please stop with that 'we' stuff?" Kari asked, "It's getting very confusing. Okay, if we're the same person, then what are you doing here?"

Tai's smiled faded. "Persephemon."

Kari flinched. "Oh."

"Remember Skullgreymon?" Tai asked, "Remember how we-er, how I wanted to make Agumon digivolve to his Ultimate form so badly? How I forced it on him?"

Kari searched through her memories. "Yeah."

"You experienced the very same problem. You were jealous of Davis."

She gasped. "J..jealous?"

"Yeah. Jealous because you felt that he was taking your place. You wanted to be better then him, you wanted to be the first to use your Holy Weapon, so you forced a digivolution on Angemon, just as I did to Agumon."

Kari nodded. "You're..you're right. You're right, I am jealous of Davis, but that's because he is taking my place! He's becoming the hero that you once were!"

"Weather that is true or not is not the point," Tai said, "Davismay take the powers of Tai, but you are not Tai."

She stared at him with a confused look in her eyes. "I'm not?"

"Not anymore. You may have once been Tai, but you are Kari now."

"So, I've got to put aside my past?"

He shook his head. "No, never forget who you are, never erase your past, but, just because you remember doesn't mean you have to act that way. Never forget that you are Tai, but don't let it rule your life here and now. You are Kari now. Stop competing with Davis. He may act like me, but you, Kari, are you! Understand?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I think so. I'll never forget being Tai, but I'm Kari now." She took a deep breath, "And just because Davisis the heir to the Courage powers, doesn't mean I'm any less important now."

Tai grinned. "Great, you've finally got it. Now, you'd better go, the others need you."

Kari nodded. "Yeah." She smiled, "I'm Kari Kamiya, and I'm back!"

Daemon grinned as he flew towards Ken and Cody, with his black claws outstretched. "Prepare to die!" He brought his black claw down, ready to slice open the three humans, when a bright orange light emanated from the fallen brown-haired girl. "This light!" he screamed, covering his eyes, "This light! It burns!"

He moved his claws slightly so he could see Angewomon suddenly appear before him. Behind her was Kari, standing on her two feet, pointing her digivice and her Crest of Courage at her partner. "Daemon," she said, "Your time is over."

The rubble behind him suddenly exploded, revealing the fused Tk/Magna Angemon. "She's right, Daemon," he said, "Give up now."

He stared at Angewomon, then looked over his shoulder at Tk/Magna Angemon. "You don't scare me!"

"I think we should," Angewomon said. She placed both her palms together and quickly pulled them apart, sending a wave of light energy at Daemon. "Heaven's Charm!"

Behind him, Tk/Magna Angemon pointed their wrist-based Holy Sword at the demon, and fired a series of glowing sabers at him. "Excalibur!"

Daemon hissed in pain as both attacks slammed into him. When the light faded, his robe had been torn in odd places, but for the most part, he remained none the worse for wear. He shot towards Angewomon and grabbed her ankle. "Let her go!" Tk/Magna Angemon shouted, shooting down the hall. Daemon grinned and he swung Angewomon around and threw her into the fused human. Both of them became entangled as they fell to the floor.

"Angewomon!" Kari shouted, holding up her still glowing Crest of Courage, "Don't give up!"

The two angels separated themselves and hovered in the air while staring at Daemon. The staring contest continued for five minutes before Angewomon finally shot forward. Daemon laughed and relaxed his guard. "Ha! You can't defeat me! Ha ha!"

Angewomon grinned and, at the last second, twisted out of the way to reveal Tk/Magna Angemon heading towards him. The fused human/digimon swung his Holy Sword across Daemon's chest. The evil mega roared out in pain as he stumbled backwards. Tk/Magna Angemon did not stop their assault as they used their other fist to slam his face into the wall.

"Great job," Angewomon said, "Now give me a chance."

The fused human/digimon jumped out of the way to reveal to Daemon the tip of Angewomon's glowing arrow pointed straight at him. "Celestial Arrow!"

Daemon screamed as the projectile pierced through his chest. He fell to the ground, clutching the gapping hole in his abdomen. Tk/Magna Angemon hovered into the air. "Allow me to finish this." He swung his sword around in a perfect circle, creating a criss-cross gate, which opened to a white tunnel. "Gate of Destiny!"

"No!" Daemon screamed, as he struggled to break free of the vacuum pull. "I will not go! I refuse to!" He tried with all his might, but Tk/Magna Angemon's attack was too powerful, and soon pulled him inside. The evil Dark SEED general screams vanished as the gate shut and dissolved into nothingness.

Tk/Magna Angemon descended to the ground and regressed back to Tk and Tokomon. Angewomon regressed to Nyaromon and landed in Kari's arms. "Kari!" Tk shouted, running over to her, "Kari, are you okay?"

The brown-haired girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. No, wait, I'm better then that," she grinned.

"Kari," Cody said, "It's great to have you back."

"Likewise," Ken smiled, "We missed you."

"Yeah," Wormmon added from Ken's shoulder, "Just wait to you hear what we had to do to get here." Before he could tell her, however, a female's voice shouted to them.

"There isn't time for that now."

"Huh?" they all asked, turning to look down the hall. A girl with light brown braided hair ran towards them.

"Thank goodness I found you!"

"Tatum!" Tk gasped, "W..what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you!" she panted, obviously out of breath, "Your friends need your help!"

"Davis?" Ken asked.

Tatum nodded. "Yes, quick!"

"But we don't know where they are!" Armadillomon protested.

"I do," she replied, "Come on."

%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %%

Catherine panted as she struggled to keep herself from falling onto her face, "I..I can't run anymore!" she shouted.

"We don't exactly have a choice!" Davis shouted, trying to keep himself from falling flat onto his face. How he wished he could just fall onto the ground and sleep for the next fifty years, but if the Cult of Darkness got to them, he would be sleeping forever.

"No, you don't understand," the blond girl said, "I can't keep running. Just leave me here." She stopped running and fell onto her face.

"Catherine!" Yocomon shouted, "Catherine!"

"Oh no!" Derek panted, kneeling beside her.

Davis gasped. "She's not…?"

The other boy shook his head. "I think she's asleep."

Davis stared as the Cult of Darkness stopped in front of them, with Necromyotismon grinning wickedly. "I have you now, don't I?"

"But we don't have the Key Cards," Davis protested, "They were stolen…"

"Ha!" Necromyotismon laughed, "You really expect me to believe that?" He stepped closer, his bony claws all ready free of his long sleeves.

Suddenly, a loud noise roared from above them. Everyone looked up to see the dark leaves of the trees swaying fiercely. As the noise became louder, the tree trunks themselves began to creak.

"What is that?" Necromyotismon demanded.

The noise became so loud that that the sound waves alone were causing the ground to shake. The trees trunk themselves soon shattered, sending the dark leaves of the canopy flying in all directions. Sunlight exploded into the dark forest, causing the members of the Cult of Darkness to recoil in pain. Necromyotismon, however, stood firmly as he stared at the object lowering through the gap in the canopy. "Is that a ship with wings?"

"The Boreas?" Derek gasped.

"Just great!" Davis growled, "Now we've got to fight Ladydevimon, too?"

The airship descended to the ground, generating so much wind that Davis's group, as well as the Cult of Darkness, were thrown around on the ground. A section on the bottom of the ship opened and Stingmon and Tatum riding on Airdramon shot down to the digidestined. The insect digimon grabbed Davis, Demiveemon, Derek and Crabmon, while Tatum grabbed Catherine and Yocomon. Once they had their passengers, they flew back into the Boreas as the ship disappearing into the sky.

"What just happened?" Necromyotismon demanded.

%% %% %% %% %% %% %% %% %%

"This is still so unbelievable!" Kari exclaimed as she walked around the bridge of the Boreas, "We actually have this ship now!"

"Yeah," Tk said with a smile, "It was a real steal."

"This is so cool!" Davis grinned, "This is really ours?"

"Yeah," Ken said, "I've reprogrammed the security system, it's ours all right."

"Thank you for your help, Tatum," Kari said, bowing in front of her.

"It was no problem," the other girl grinned.

"But Yolei stole the Key Cards," Catherine sighed.

"And all of the Destiny Stones have been destroyed," Cody said.

"Yes," Tatum nodded, "Hiroshi has everything he needs. We must stop him at once!"

Ken sat down at the seat in front of the main console, "Just tell me where he is."

"We have to go back to Darkness Falls. Dark SEED's base is there."

"Good," Tk said, "That gives us time to talk. Tatum, I want to know who you are and how you know me."

The braided-haired girl sighed. "I guess I can't run this time, huh? Very well, I will tell you."

Next: Digidestined versus Dark SEED!