The Guardian Angel Sequence

by LadyTiger06

This is a sequence of mine I made up a long, long time ago. It just has season one characters. Just thought I'd put it up for the heck of it! Hope you like! A/N: If you read all of it and like it, R/R and I'll write the last chapter!

1. The Guardians

1 The Guardians



Prologue



This is part of the story of the Digi Destined. Before it is told, some information may be needed. There are eight children: Tai, Matt, Sora, Joe, Izzy, Mimi, T.K., and Kari. They are the Digi Destined. They each have a Digimon, Tag, and Crest. Tai's Digimon is Agumon, Matt's is Gabumon, Sora's is Biyomon, Joe's is Gomamon, Izzy's is Tentomon, Mimi's is Palmon, T.K.'s is Patamon, and Kari's is Gatomon. Each of their Digimon can Digivolve into higher, more powerful stages. They fight the evil Digimon. Like Myotismon and the Dark Masters. That is the basic information about them. However, there is so much more to know, much more.

Now one of the questions that many Digimon and the Digi Destined have is how were the Digimon and the Digital World and all of those other things created? Or who created them? In this story, they may find out, though that isn't the main plot of the story. This story tells of many other things…



(The Story)



Wizardmon, a Digimon, tried to get to the surface of the lake to breath, but he wasn't built for swimming. He had been thrown in the river by Myotismon and had been carried downstream. Now he was in the fog barrier, put up by Myotismon that separated the outside world from the one town. He was weakened. He broke the surface. But he couldn't stay up. Suddenly, he heard a high pitched sound that sounded like laughter. But it wasn't evil. He thought he saw a sleek, long gray body coming towards him. But he slipped under the surface of the water.

Wizardmon had seen a sleek long gray body swimming towards him. It was a dolphin, though he didn't know that was what it was. The dolphin dived under the water and pushed him back up to the surface. It turned the fin on its back towards him, as if it was telling him to grab hold of it. He did, and the dolphin floated there on the surface of the water, holding him up. Suddenly, the sound of a large creature swimming though the water was heard. Though Wizardmon didn't know it then, it was Zudomon (Ultimate stage of Joe's Gomamon) swimming through the water with Joe, T.K., and Patamon on his back. The dolphin's high-pitched chatter broke through the air.

"What's that?" Wizardmon (and the dolphin) heard a voice (T.K.) ask.

"I think that's a dolphin. I recognize the noise." Another voice (Joe) answered.

"Please…wait…Crest…" Wizardmon gasped out. He was going to lose consciousness soon because he was so weak. The dolphin gave another chattering sound, this time it sounded worried. It swam up to Zudomon, who stopped swimming. "Please… get the Crest…to the Eighth Child…" Wizardmon gasped out, holding up the Tag and Crest that belonged to Kari (the Eighth Child), and he lost consciousness. The dolphin swam to beside Zudomon, where T.K., Joe, and Patamon pulled the unconscious Wizardmon onto Zudomon's back. They expected the dolphin to then swim away, afraid of the large swimming Zudomon, but the dolphin continued swimming beside them as they continued through the mist.

Joe, T.K., and Patamon watched Wizardmon, waiting for him to wake up. The three seemed sad almost. The dolphin cocked her head, looking at them with one of her eyes. She seemed to smile. She dived under the water, then shot out through the surface with barely a splash, and leaped clear over Zudomon's back and landed smoothly in the water again. T.K. laughed.

"That was neat!" T.K. exclaimed, and Patamon nodded. The dolphin's cockiness and happy-always attitude had made them happier. As if the dolphin had woken Wizardmon, Wizardmon stirred and groaned. T.K., Joe, and Patamon looked over at him, while the dolphin watched him from the water. He woke up. The dolphin gave a happy chattering sound and dived under the water, shooting out again over Zudomon's back and landing again smoothly. Wizardmon looked at her a moment in wonder. Then he turned to the two boys. They talked for a little bit, but suddenly Zudomon stopped.

"What is it, Zudomon?" Joe asked.

"Joe, the fog is too thick and I'm getting lost. I can either continue and hope I go the right way, or turn around."

"Or you can follow me." A voice said. It wasn't Joe, T.K., Patamon, or Wizardmon.

"Who said that?" Zudomon demanded.

"I did." Replied the same voice and the dolphin swam in front of Zudomon and faced him. The two kids and Digimon looked at her in disbelief.

"You, the dolphin?" Wizardmon asked.

"Yes." Replied the voice again, and it was the dolphin. "Follow me, I can get you through the fog."

"How can we know that you won't lead us right to Myotismon?" Zudomon asked. The dolphin seemed to think about that a moment.

"Well, I won't. There are many things in life that you can't know. You can only believe. Or not." The dolphin said, and began to swim in the direction slightly to the right. Zudomon followed. After not long, they reached land. It was the shoreline of the town. Zudomon got out of the water and onto the land.

"Well, we're sorry to say 'bye to you, dolphin – " Joe started to say, but the dolphin cut him off.

"Say goodbye? You don't have to." The dolphin said. And she leaped into the air and suddenly turned into a eagle. She flew over to Zudomon and landed on one of the spikes on his back beside Joe. They looked at her, surprised.

"I'll explain later, but you need to get to the others. Follow me, I'll lead you to them." The eagle said. She spread her wings and flew in front of Zudomon, and she led them to the Convention Center, where the other Digi Destined were. She folded her wings and landed in a tree near Zudomon. The kids and Digimon looked at her a moment but turned their attention to Wizardmon. He had gone over to the limp, gray, dead looking Lillymon, who had been attacked by Myotismon and hurt badly. Wizardmon healed her, and she leaped up.

"Wizardmon! One of Myotismon's henchmen!" She exclaimed and nearly attacked him before T.K. stopped her and explained what happened.

"Well, everyone's here besides Kari and Gatomon, and the next thing we do is find her. But where do we look?" Tai said, asking the other kids and Digimon the question. Joe and T.K. gave the eagle a sideways glance. In answer, the eagle spread her wings, taking flight. The kids and Digimon noticed her.

"What's that eagle doing?" Sora asked.

"It looks like it's trying to tell us something." Mimi said. And the eagle was. She didn't want to frighten them by simply speaking, so she was trying to tell them with her body language: she was cocking her head in one direction, landing in trees in that direction, etc. She got frustrated because they weren't getting the message. So finally she just spoke.

"Follow me!" She said, exasperatedly. The kids and Digimon looked surprised. "You want to find Kari and Gatomon, so I'll show you where they are! Follow me!"

"I don't trust the eagle." Lillymon said.

"You can trust her. She will lead you to Kari and Gatomon, if you follow her." Wizardmon said.

"He's right. Follow her and find Kari and Gatomon." Joe said. The kids looked at him in surprise. "We've had some experiences with her." He added.

"Well, it's your choice. Whoever wants to find them can follow me. Or not. But I'm going." The eagle said. She spread her wings and flew off. Wizardmon followed after her immediately, soon followed by Joe, Zudomon, T.K., and Patamon. Finally the others followed. When they caught up to the eagle, Wizardmon, Joe, Zudomon, T.K., and Patamon, they saw that they had stopped in front of a large building with a large glass sphere on the top of it. The eagle landed on the ground and turned into a white tiger.

"You changed again? First a dolphin to eagle, now eagle to tiger? What are we supposed to call you?" Joe asked.

"White tiger." She corrected. "And yes, I changed again. I have three forms I can use at the moment. One for water, one for air, one for land. Dolphin, eagle, white tiger. You can call me Tiger.

"I have a plan that could work, if you agree to it. I'll go into the building with Wizardmon to find Gatomon with Kari. Our goal will be to get Myotismon outside where you can wait to battle him. Wizardmon and I will get Kari and Gatomon out, freed from Myotismon. It is your choice – do you agree?" The white tiger finished. One by one they agreed. "Okay, be ready to attack Myotismon." She said and she and Wizardmon went softly into the building. The Digimon and the kids climbed up to the top of the building to the roof that was just outside the large sphere.

Inside the building, Tiger padded along softly with Wizardmon flying beside her. Soon, after climbing many stairs, they reached a doorway that led to the inside of the sphere. Tiger spotted Myotismon with Demidevimon, Kari, and Gatomon inside. She held Wizardmon back a moment, waiting for the right moment to leap in and get Myotismon out. She nodded to Wizardmon and she leaped into the room.

Now tigers can scare the bravest men in the world out of his wits with not their teeth or claws, but their voice.

"HHRRRRROOOAARRRR!!" Tiger roared as she leaped into the room. Wizardmon hurried in after her. Myotismon barely twitched a finger. But Tiger saw in his eyes a little bit of fear. She leaped between Gatomon and Kari and Myotismon. Wizardmon created a hole in the glass and got Kari and Gatomon out. Tiger, quick as lightening, leaped at Myotismon, throwing only some of her weight at him. But it was enough. Myotismon was thrown backwards through the glass. Tiger, who was still on Myotismon, was cut very badly, but she appeared to not even notice it. She landed, as cats always do, on her feet. The Digi Destined were waiting for them and were ready to attack Myotismon.

Tiger turned and, with her lightening speed, she leaped at Myotismon from behind, but he turned and blocked her. She barely touched the ground before she tried to leap again. But she had lost a lot of blood from her cuts and she stumbled in her leap and fell. She felt dizzy…so dizzy. Her vision seemed blurred and she realized that it was blood from a cut on her head. She thought she saw figures knocking Myotismon away from her. She heard voices above her:

"Can you help her, Wizardmon?"

"Yes."

"Hurry, Myotismon is going to stop you and kill Tiger!"

Voices, so many voices, Tiger thought. She blinked the blood away from her eyes and saw Wizardmon leaning over her, shielded by one of the other Digimon, healing her wounds before she died. She felt some of the pain leave, but she was afraid Wizardmon couldn't heal all of the cuts, there were so many.

"Okay, Tiger, hang in there." Wizardmon said. "You've lost a lot of blood but you can live through this."

The pain seemed so intense that Tiger couldn't help letting out a whimper. She saw something in Wizardmon's eyes as she whimpered. Was it sorrow? Pity? Whatever it was Wizardmon continued reassuring her as he healed her. Suddenly, the pain seemed to leave. Tiger rolled over and got up. She felt a little wobbly but okay.

"Are you okay?" Wizardmon asked. Tiger nodded, and then she and Wizardmon got back into the battle. At one point in the battle, she thought she saw Wizardmon get hurt. Gatomon Digivolved into Angewomon after getting the tag and Crest for Kari and her. Patamon Digivolved into Angemon. All of the other Digimon Digivolved to their Ultimate forms. Tiger was again seriously hurt in an attempt to block an attack that would have hurt all the others. She fell and found Wizardmon beside her, unconscious. Angewomon soon defeated Myotismon when she shot at him with a Celestial Arrow. The building began to collapse – with Tiger still inside.

"Tiger…" she heard a weak voice. She turned. It was Wizardmon. He was nearly gone. "Here, let me heal you." He said and raised his staff and healed her wounds. Immediately she pushed him onto her back and made her way through the collapsed building. When she finally got out she saw that the Digi Destined had left the place not long ago.

"Wizardmon!" She said and laid him gently on the ground. He was all but gone.

"Tiger…I…I'm sorry." He said and his eyes closed slowly. He disappeared as little black particles in the air that were taken away by the wind. Tiger's head lowered in sadness. She raised it after a moment. She had to find the Digi Destined. She sniffed at the air and started off in a direction. After not long she saw, in the distance, a huge, red and black creature stand. Venommyotismon! She had to get there quickly – that's where the Digi Destined would be. She changed into and eagle and flew in that direction. Soon she spotted a van driving quickly towards Venommyotismon and two angels flying near it. The two angels – Angemon and Angewomon! Tiger spread her wings farther to get there faster. (Hmm, that doesn't make sense. An eagle being called Tiger. Oh, well.)

Soon she got to where the van had stopped and the angels were fighting Venommyotismon. Tiger landed in the bushes and turned into a tiger. She watched the battle. Venommyotismon was winning. Suddenly, he swung his arm at Angemon and Angewomon – if it hit them, they would be seriously hurt or even die. Tiger leaped clear up at the arm and, digging her claws and teeth into it, throwing her full weight against it and stopping it from hitting the two angels. As she did, she gave a loud, louder than before, roar. It was so loud and frightening, the kids had to cover their ears.

"Tiger! You're alive!" Angewomon called.

"It sure looks and feels like I am." Tiger called back with a laugh. She leaped clear from Venommyotismon. She landed on the ground hard and rolled to her feet.

"Hey you made it out of the building." Said Tai, coming up behind her.

"Yeah, we tried to find you, but I guess you were too deep inside, so we had to leave." Sora said. Tiger nodded.

"That's okay." Tiger said.

The battle continued. The Digimon were all in their Champion Stages. At one point in the battle, Venommyotismon shot out one of his attacks that were in what looked like torpedoes. He shot these in such a way, so fast, that none of the Digimon could avoid them. Tiger didn't hesitate. She would have to make a large leap. Not too hard.

Tiger leaped through the air in an arch that would cause the attacks to all hit her, rather than the others. She doubled up in pain as the first of them hit her, but she held her position in the air. As the last of them hit her, she couldn't help but fall.

A silence filled the air. Then Venommyotismon laughed evilly.

"That fool of an animal. She took the attack that would have killed you. But it won't matter. If there ever was any, your hope is gone." Venommyotismon said.

"No." said a voice. It was Tiger. "Hope is never gone. No matter the number of deaths." She quieted.

The sound of beating wings was heard in the air. It wasn't Angemon or Angewomon. A figure could be seen in the air flying over to where they were. It was a beautiful, large, winged unicorn. It landed on the ground near tiger. It trotted over to Tiger.

"Who are you?" Angemon asked. The winged unicorn glanced at him for a moment, and then turned back to Tiger. Venommyotismon shot another one of his attacks at it. The winged unicorn turned and countered.

"Crystal Fire!" It cried, and from its horn shot a ball of fire surrounded by crystals. The attack flew at Venommyotismon's attack, and completely knocked it away. But even after Venommyotismon's attack had been knocked away, the winged unicorn's attack still flew at him. He blocked it, but barely. The winged unicorn turned back to Tiger. It nudged her and passed a wing over her face, but Tiger didn't move.

Venommyotismon decided to start back up the battle. He attacked the angels again and the battle continued.

The unicorn lowered its head and tapped Tiger twice with her horn. The tiger was healed instantly. She got up, fine. The winged unicorn whispered in her ear a moment. Tiger looked at it, surprised.

"That's great! Here, help the Digi Destined and I defeat Venommyotismon." Tiger said. The winged unicorn nodded. Tiger leaped out of her cover of the winged unicorn and back to the battle.

"You have a tendency to suddenly pop out of near death and be all alive and healed." Birdramon commented as Tiger blocked an attack that was flying towards her. Tiger nodded.

"Yes, I have some good healing friends." Tiger answered.

The rest of the battle seemed to flash by. Agumon and Gabumon were able to Warp-Digivolve to their Mega level - WarGreymon and Metalgarurumon! Then the kids used their Crests to destroy Venommyotismon once and for all! When the smoke cleared from the area, the Digimon were there in their In- Training stages. Tiger was now a human. Or so she looked at first glance. She was a human with wings. An angel. Her smile seemed to be like the dolphins' – always there. Her eyes seemed to be those emerald ones of the tiger. And her wings – they seemed to have a brownish shade to them – somewhat like the eagles'. The kids and Digimon didn't look very surprised – she had been changing a lot lately.

"Well," Tiger said, "Look's like I'm back to being my old self. For now. I would explain, but time is short. You need to go to the Digi World."

"We hate to say goodbye to you, Tiger." The kids said.

"You can call me Katie. Yes, but it isn't for too long." Katie replied. "You needn't fear. Because even though I won't be in your hearing and seeing range, you will always be in mine. And whenever you call, I'll come to help. I promise."

The Digi Destined nodded and they used their Crests and Digivices to get back to the Digi World. When they had gone, Katie and the winged unicorn disappeared. Katie appeared again, invisible, in the Digi World. She flew, in her eagle form, just above the kids and Digimon.

She watched as they battled the Dark Masters. They defeated Metalseadramon. Puppetmon was the next Dark Master to battle them. T.K. tricked him so he could escape and get back to the others. Puppetmon got mad, and when he got back to the others, Matt and Gabumon mysteriously disappeared. Katie knew what had happened. Puppetmon had taken them temporarily and taken control of them to get back at T.K. and the others. Suddenly, Matt and Metalgarurumon came out of the woods. Metalgarurumon began attacking the kids and their Digimon.

As this was happening, the kids remembered what Katie had told them not long ago: 'you needn't fear. Because even though I won't be in your hearing and seeing range, you will always be in mine. And whenever you call, I'll come to help. I promise.' Metalgarurumon was letting blasts of ice beams from his eyes. He aimed them at the Digimon, who were only in their Rookie stages. He aimed them at Agumon. As he did –

"Katie! Help!" Tai called out. The familiar roar echoed and the white tiger leaped at Metalgarurumon and the ice beams missed Agumon by inches. The tiger leaped between Matt and MetalGarurumon and the other Digi Destined.

Digimon, Digivolve to your Champion stages. Katie said, communicating with her mind to the Rookie Digimon and kids. Not necessarily to fight Matt and Metalgarurumon, but to protect yourselves better and so you can attack Puppetmon when he shows himself. The Digimon glanced at her, and then –

"Agumon Digivolve to…Greymon!"

"Biyomon Digivolve to…Birdramon!"

"Gomamon Digivolve to…Ikkakumon!"

"Palmon Digivolve to…Togemon!"

"Tentomon Digivolve to…Kabuterimon!"

"Patamon Digivolve to…Angemon!"

"Gatomon Digivolve to…Angewomon!" (Angewomon is an Ultimate stage)

The Digimon faced Metalgarurumon. Katie still held her ground. She and Metalgarurumon circled, growling. Katie's tiger body was low to the ground and her tail flicked back and forth.

"I am not going to battle with you, Metalgarurumon. Neither will the Digimon. They will only battle Puppetmon. Puppetmon, show yourself!" Katie called. The evil laugh of Puppetmon was heard and he appeared.

"Well, well, well." He said. "If it isn't T.K., the one who tricked me. Of course, I have Matt and his Digimon here under my control."

"Not for long!" Roared Katie. "Rainbow, my friend, come help!" She called, and the winged unicorn appeared in the sky and flew to Katie's side. The Digimon charged at Puppetmon while Katie and Rainbow (the winged unicorn) held Matt and Metalgarurumon back from interfering.

The battle was won, and as Puppetmon disappeared, another part of Spiral Mountain disappeared. Now only two parts remained. Two other Dark Masters to defeat.

After Puppetmon disappeared, Metalgarurumon turned back into Gabumon, and a look of horror and sadness came upon he and Matt's faces. The two ran off, sobbing, into the woods. The Digimon, who were still in their Champion (and Ultimate) stages, and the kids tried to run after them. But Katie held up a paw for them to stop and wait.

"Give them some time." She said softly. They fell back to wait. "I'll go talk to them." She padded softly after them. After a short while, she came upon where they were. They were huddled at the base of a tree, crying softly.

"I can't believe we were taken over and attacked our own friends." Matt said to Gabumon. Katie padded up to them. Matt glanced at her, almost afraid.

"Katie," Gabumon said. "We're so sorry…" he trailed off. Katie sat down in her angelic form in front of them.

"It's okay." She said softly. "You were taken over by Puppetmon. What else could you have done? Nothing. You were under control. That meant no free will." She smiled soothingly.

"Do you want to go back to the others, or do you want to wait?" Katie asked.

"Can I talk to T.K. alone for a little bit? Could you go get him?" Matt asked Katie. She nodded and ran off through the woods.

Meanwhile, after Katie had left, T.K. had suddenly burst into tears.

"It's all my fault!" He said, still crying, "I tricked Puppetmon in a mean way and was mean to Matt, and Puppetmon got back at me by taking control of Matt. It's all my fault!" Angemon went to his side and held him gently.

"It's okay, T.K." Angemon said, trying to comfort him.

"Oh, Matt will be so mad at me –" T.K. started to say, but he was cut off.

"T.K., Matt won't be mad, he loves you." Said Tai. The other kids and Digimon agreed. The sound of quietly rustling leaves could be heard, and Katie came running lightly in her angelic form out of the woods. She smiled.

"T.K., Matt wants to talk with you." Katie said. Angemon looked at her a moment. "You can go too, Angemon." She led them to Matt, and then she ran lightly off back to the others. She didn't say anything about Matt when she got back, though they asked her about him.

Meanwhile where Matt, Gabumon, T.K., and Angemon were talking together.

"T.K., I know you probably are mad at me-" Matt began, but T.K. cut him off.

"Mad at you? I thought that you would be mad at me. It's my fault that you and Gabumon were taken over by Puppetmon." T.K. said, puzzled. Matt smiled, and then laughed quietly. He shook his head.

"Well, looks like you were both mistaken." Gabumon said. "We'd better get back to the others, Matt." They exchanged a look. T.K. and Angemon led them back to the others. Matt and Gabumon looked at the ground as T.K. and Angemon joined the others so that they were facing Matt and Gabumon. To most of their surprise, Tai stepped forward.

"Matt, I should apologize. I started this, getting mad at you and all." Tai said, extending a hand. Matt shook it.

"I'm the one to apologize-" Matt said.

"Don't start fighting about who should and shouldn't have apologized." Sora jumped in. They laughed. Gabumon's turn.

"I apologize for attacking you when I was Metalgarurumon." He said. They accepted his apology.

"Do you have to leave?" Mimi asked Katie.

"No, I will travel with you to Spiral Mountain." Katie replied. "You will soon have to battle the other two Dark Masters. I can help. A little. After that, you must go to Spiral Mountain." She smiled, and led them off in the direction of Spiral Mountain. Soon, later that day, they battled with the third Dark Master and defeated him. They got a good night sleep that night – Katie stood guard that night. And when apparently no one saw, she called Rainbow to take her place and she slipped off into the night.

The next day, they battled with the fourth and final Dark Master. After they had two Mega stage Digimon (Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon), and six Ultimate stage Digimon (Garudamon, Zudomon, Lillymon, Megakabuterimon, Magnaangemon, and Angewomon), plus Katie and Rainbow, the winged unicorn, they defeated the last Dark Master. Spiral Mountain was no more than a large black swirl.

"You must return Spiral Mountain back to its original state: Rainbow Mountain." Katie said. "That is where you…we…must go next." She looked at the Digimon. They were all in their Champion stages besides Angewomon, who stayed herself. "Well, it looks like you are getting very powerful for you to be able to stay in your Champion stages after the battle." She smiled. "For the rest of the day, we can rest, not travel. For your battles with evil Digimon are not over."

"Wait a second." Joe protested. "We just, in a few days, defeated six of the evilest Digimon around – Myotismon, Venommyotismon, and the four Dark Masters. Are you telling us that there are more to battle?" The other Digi Destined kids cocked eyebrows. Katie nodded gravely.

"Yes." She said simply. "But it makes you stronger as you battle. So at your next battle, you may find more strengths than you thought that any of you had." She smiled somewhat mysteriously. For the rest of the day they rested and slept.

It was a long and hard journey to the blackened Spiral Mountain. Two days after the battle with the Dark Masters, between which they had fought other evil Digimon, Katie was traveling in her tiger form. Suddenly, she stopped. The Digimon and kids stopped behind her. She lifted her head and sniffed the air, and then she put her nose to the ground and sniffed, then sniffed the air again.

"What's wrong?" Kari asked.

"Something doesn't smell right." She said. "I'm going to have a look. Wait here." She changed into her eagle form and, flapping her wings several times to get airborne, she flew high into the sky. The Digi Destined waited; tense. There was probably another evil Digimon nearby. Suddenly from the sky came the piercing cry of the eagle. Angemon, Angewomon, Garudamon, Lillymon, and Megakabuterimon flew up into the sky.

"It's Katie! She's trying to fight Parrotmon!" Lillymon called down and they could indeed see Katie battling a large bird high in the sky, keeping him as best she could away from the Digi Destined and their Digimon, and losing. She fell from the sky, knocked unconscious by Parrotmon. Garudamon reached out and caught her, setting her on the ground gently. She and the other Digimon battled Parrotmon and defeated him. Katie came to soon and turned back into her human self.

"Thanks." She said.

"You don't need to thank us." Garudamon assured her.

That evening, the Digimon and kids fell asleep quickly, though Katie stayed awake. Though it wasn't noticed, Angewomon stayed awake, though she didn't show it. Angewomon had noticed that in the past few nights that Katie had been with them, that Katie had left their camp later in the night, leaving Rainbow to take her place temporarily. That night, Angewomon planned to follow her to see what she was doing. But she was just a bit afraid to go alone in the middle of the night. So she had told Angemon about it and he agreed to go, too. Katie was standing on the other side of the fire, looking up into the stars, smiling. Angewomon nudged Angemon awake and they watched Katie. Katie whistled very softly, and after a moment, Rainbow flew down. Katie and Rainbow talked quietly for a minute or so.

"Tomorrow we will arrive at what will soon be Rainbow Mountain. However, Renee still needs to meet with me this evening. She says Brittany will be there. Apparently this is very important." Katie whispered to Rainbow. Rainbow nodded, her wings and horn catching the firelight.

"I talked with them today. It is very important. Now, you'd better go. It isn't a short way. Can you see well in the dark?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, eagles aren't exactly adapted to the dark, but yeah, I can see well enough. The sky is clear and the stars are showing." Katie replied. She turned into an eagle and flew into the darkness.

Angemon pushed T.K., who was leaning against him, gently against Weregarurumon beside Matt. Angewomon set Kari, who was leaning against her, beside Tai and Metalgreymon. The two slipped into the shadows, and then flew into the air. Katie was flying at a good speed, using tricks in the dead-like night air to go faster. The two angels flew silently in the air behind her. They traveled for a while, and Katie never looked and saw either of the angels. Soon an owl could be seen flying over towards them

"Oh, there you are, Katie." Said a voice. The owl.

"Is that you, Renee?" Katie asked.

"Who else? I came to help you get the rest of the way to Spiral Mountain. Come on." The owl, Renee said. Katie followed Renee, and the angels followed Katie. Soon Spiral Mountain came into view. At the edge of the forest-line, the angels landed in the edge of the forest while Katie and Renee flew on and landed near Spiral Mountain where a fire was lit and burning brightly. Katie turned into her angel form, and Renee turned into an angel form somewhat like Katie's.

"Where's Brittany?" Katie asked.

"Oh, she's around." Renee replied. She smiled.

Meanwhile, Angemon and Angewomon watched Katie and Renee, out of sight.

"Well, what's this?" Said a voice behind the angels. They turned, surprised. "A pair of spies?" It was a leopard. It was sitting there, watching them.

"No we're not-" Angemon began, but the leopard cut him off by laughing softly.

"I'm just teasing. Come on out, you don't need to hide." The leopard led them out of the cover of the trees.

"There's Brittany." Renee said. "She was out prowling, you know, looking for you and…spies…" There was a twinkle in her eyes, however, as she said the last part.

"Well," Katie said. "Angemon and Angewomon. What are you doing here?" She asked. "If you wanted to know why I was leaving in the middle of the nights, you just needed to ask." She didn't sound angry.

"Yes, we were wondering why you were." Angewomon said.

"Mind introducing us, Katie?" Renee put in, gesturing to herself and the leopard, which had turned into an angel form somewhat like Katie and Renee's.

"Sure." Katie said. "Angemon, Angewomon, these are two of my very good friends, Renee and Brittany. Renee, Brittany, these are two of the Digi Destined Digimon, Angemon and Angewomon."

Renee and Brittany smiled. "Sorry to interrupt you, Angewomon." Renee added. Angewomon nodded.

"Well," Katie said, "I have been leaving in the middle of the night to come here and finish some business. But, for now, that is private. I will explain later. Tomorrow."

"Yes, but there is not much to tell you tonight that you haven't already heard, Katie." Brittany said.

"All the news we have for you is the Council will meet with you to clear up some things soon. You know what they are." Renee said.

"Very well. I need to go now, my friends." Katie said. She turned into her tiger form. "Come now, Angemon, Angewomon. We need to get back to the group." She turned to the woods and set of at a quick run with the two angels on either of her sides.

"Will you tell us more about you?" Angewomon asked.

"As I said. I will tomorrow. By the way, keep this meeting secret. Don't mention it to any of the others." Katie said. Soon they arrived back at the camp. The two angels settled back down with Kari and T.K., and Katie, turning back into her angelic form, leaned back onto Rainbow's flank.

"I'll keep watch for a little longer. You get some sleep." Rainbow told Katie. Katie nodded and, closing her eyes, fell asleep.

The next morning, Katie was up first and building up the fire so she could make breakfast. The Digimon and kids woke up soon, and after they had eaten, they started out towards Spiral Mountain. When they stopped to take a quick break, Angemon gave her a sideways glance. Now was a good time for Katie to explain some things.

"Well," she said, "Looks like now is a good time for me to explain a couple things." She sat down, and the Digimon and kids sat in a semi-circle around her.

"I can tell my life story, or you can just ask me questions that I will answer as truthfully as I can." Katie said.

"It would be easier if you just told us your entire life story. If you can." Tai said. Katie nodded.

"Very well. I shall." She said. "I should probably start by telling how I came into being.

"I was created like Digimon, from computer data. My creator, who I won't be telling about now, taught me what my destiny was. I was to create. So I did. I created Digimon from bits of computer data. They each had their own classification that you know about. I created their different stages - Digiegg, Digibaby, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and Mega. They each were classified as Data, Virus, or Vaccine. They each had their attacks and names; you get the point. In my creating, there was a little flaw that wasn't liable to happen, but it did. If one of the Digimon turned from good to evil, it could make other Digimon turn and join its side and it could create more evil Digimon. A prophecy had to come true.

"So, with the help of five of my best friends, we were able to create the Crests and Digivices. We were able to pick eight kids out and eight Digimon. We found a way to transport you to the Digital world and you started on your journey with you Digimon. We realized what had happened with Kari and her Digimon, Salomon, but that worked itself out with a little help here and there from my friends and I." She smiled and continued.

"Before I met up with you when you were fighting Myotismon, I had been accused of an unthinkable crime." She paused, an angry look on her face.

"What crime?" Matt asked. Katie bit her lip.

"Creating, deliberately, each and every one of the evil Digimon. I was at a meeting with some others, a group including Gennai, and one of those there whose face was concealed brought up the subject of evil Digimon and how they came into being. Soon, questions were brought up and I was soon accused of creating them.

"My friends were there, and they protested, along with me, against it. Judgment was held, for then. But I was sentenced to three forms: One for air, one for land, and one for water - Eagle, tiger, dolphin – until my name was cleared. My name was cleared, apparently, for now, and I was allowed to go back to my true form.

"So that ends my tale, up to now. Do you have any questions?" Katie concluded. She looked at the faces of those around her. They were all full of surprise. She laughed.

"Oh, you don't need to be so surprised." She said, smiling. "Do you have any other questions other than what I have told?"

"I do." Tai said. "It's about when Digimon are…killed. What happens to them?"

"I'm glad you asked. When Digimon are killed, they go to Rainbow Mountain. Or whatever mountain is there. Once a week or once every two weeks, I go there. Any Digimon that I chose and those who wish to return to the Digital World and start their lives again here, can." Katie replied.

"What about the evil Digimon?" Matt asked, "Where do they go when they are destroyed? Like Venommyotismon and the Dark Masters?"

"The evil Digimon go to the Shadow side of Rainbow Mountain - at the bottom of it on the side that does not face the sun when it rises and the side where the entrance to where the good Digimon dwell isn't. The good Digimon still live on that side of the Mountain, but they live on the top part. The evil Digimon are not allowed to return to the Digital World and restart their lives." Katie replied. A silence followed this tale that she had told.

"Wow, you did all that?" Sora asked. Katie nodded, smiling.

"You don't need to look at me any different than you did before. I haven't changed." Katie said.

"That was before you revealed your identity." Angewomon said.

"Am I different?" Katie asked. "No. I haven't changed and I don't plan on it." She smiled and got up. "We might as well continue the journey to Spiral…Rainbow… Mountain. We will get there today."

She was right. They traveled towards Spiral Mountain without further attackers. Soon they arrived there.

"How do we change the Mountain back to Rainbow Mountain?" The kids and Digimon asked her.

"Hold up your Crests." She said. They held up their Crests. As they did, the Crests began to glow. Spiral Mountain seemed to flicker, and suddenly it seemed to peel off of the inner part of itself, and where Spiral Mountain had been, another mountain was. Rainbow Mountain. It was tall. Up till about halfway up the mountain, there were jagged cliffs, rocks, and ledges. Halfway up the mountain and higher weren't very visible because they were very high. Rainbow Mountain got its name from…well…not many people know how. (It will be explained later.)

"Do we have to climb up that?" Mimi asked.

"Yes. How else will we get to the top?" Katie replied.

"We could fly." Lillymon suggested. Katie shook her head.

"No, the cliffs stick out much to far and it is dangerous. Very dangerous." Katie said. "Its hard to climb only if you make it hard." Now what she meant by that, the kids and Digimon had no idea. But they started climbing. Katie managed to move back and forth between them, giving a helping hand, pull, or push. After not long, the rocks and cliffs ended, the ground became level and a path of green grass was spread out before them.

"Come on, we're nearly there." Katie urged them on. Soon, after going up a small slope, they came upon a large golden gate. Katie walked up to it and knocked twice.

"It's Katie, Renee." She called. The gates swung open and Renee walked out.

"Hello, Katie. Who are these with you?" She asked, nodding towards the kids and Digimon. She was acting that she didn't know whom Angemon and Angewomon were, and they were to act as if they hadn't met the night before.

"They are the Digi Destined. I brought them." Katie replied.

"Ah, okay. Go on in." Renee moved aside and Katie led them through the gate. Though they didn't say it, the kids and Digimon wanted to find those who Mimi had built a memorial for since they had been destroyed to save the kids – Wizardmon, Chuumon, Piximon, and Whamon.

"I know what you want. I'll help you find them." Katie said, as if she had read their minds. She led them over small hills, slopes, over small streams, etc. Soon, after she led them over larger hill, they stood at the top of it, looking down. There was a very large lake running through around the bottom of the hill. Sitting on the bank of the lake, their backs turned to the hill, were three Digimon. In the lake itself was a large Digimon.

The Digimon in the lake was easy to recognize. It was Whamon, and indeed the Whamon that had saved the Digi Destined. The three figures that were deep in a conversation with Whamon and each other were a bit harder recognizing at the distance Katie was from them. But when you looked closely enough, you could see that it was Wizardmon, Chuumon, and Piximon.

"Hello down there! Why don't you look up here and see who's here!" Katie called. The Digimon at the bottom of the hill turned and looked up. The kids and Digimon hurried down the hill. Their greeting was a happy one. Katie waited quietly at the top. After a moment, while the kids and Digimon were busy talking with the four, Katie slipped away and went back to the Golden Gate. Renee was there waiting for her. Brittany was there, too. Katie sighed.

"It's hard work, being a guardian angel, but I enjoy it. Can you cover for me if I go for a little fly?" Katie asked.

"Sure. You're not the only guardian angel around here. There's Brittany and I. But go ahead." Renee said. Katie turned into an eagle and took flight, flying away.

Back where the Digi Destined were talking to their four friends, Kari finally noticed something.

"Hey, where's Katie?" Kari asked, looking around.

"What do you mean? She right up –" Tai pointed, then he realized it. "Where is she?" They all looked around, but Katie was gone.

"Ask Renee." Piximon said. "She knows everything that goes on around here. She'll know where Katie is. Yup-yup."

"You're right." Chuumon said. So they walked around the top of the mountain to where the Golden Gate was. Renee and Brittany were chatting.

"Hello." Brittany said, spotting them. "Why do you look so worried?"

"Do you know where Katie is?" Matt asked.

"Yes." Renee put in, walking up.

"Where?" Tai asked.

"Don't worry, she just went for a fly. Said she needed a rest." Renee replied.

"She'll be back soon." Brittany assured them. Tai and the others walked away, out of hearing and seeing range of the two angels, Brittany and Renee.

"Do you think she's betrayed us or something?" Tai said.

"Why do you think that Tai? Just because she went away for a bit?" Matt asked.

"Well, you should know, you have before!" Tai exclaimed suddenly. A silence followed this. Tai and Matt were staring daggers at each other. Matt's fist were clenched and he looked terribly angry.

"Matt, stop fighting or I'll tell Mom." T.K. said.

"Stay out of this, T.K." Matt said.

"Tai, stop it!" Kari said.

"This isn't your fight, Kari." Tai said.

"Okay, okay," Joe said, running forward. "You guys just work it out and it'll all be okay. You don't need to fight again, you know what happened last time you did this." Wizardmon, Chuumon, Piximon, and Whamon stayed quiet in the background. Real fighting was about to start, but Izzy's Digivice beeped, signaling that he was being sent a message. Izzy took out his laptop and opened it. A message appeared on the screen. It was from Gennai.

Kids!

I have bad news for you. Piedmon, even though you defeated him, is back! Remember how Myotismon came back as Venommyotismon? This is much the same! Piedmon is back as Megapiedmon! When your friend Katie went out for a fly, she was going out to try to stop him from coming to Rainbow Mountain. She failed, and now Megapiedmon is holding her captive with his most extraordinary tricks. I have instructions to find her and free her.

From the Golden Gate, by air, land, or sea, you will find her. Follow the Rainbow straight on and tell what she is and does, defeat Megapiedmon, and free her.

Get the Guardian of the Gate and her friend; they will help you find Katie!



"Oh, no," Tai said.

"You got that right." Said Sora. "Piedmon is back. And he has Katie. Not good."

"Looks like she wasn't betraying us. More like trying to save us." Matt said to Tai, somewhat angrily.

"Now don't start this again!" Joe said.

"Now hold on, we have to figure this out." Izzy said. "Let me see. 'Get the Guardian of the Gate and her friend; they will help you find Katie'. Who is the Guardian of the Gate?"

"That's Renee." Whamon said.

"Her friend…that's Brittany." Angemon put in.

"'By air, land, or sea, you will find her.'" Izzy quoted from the message. "Well, that isn't too hard to figure out. Those of us who can travel in the water will do that. Those who can fly can fly. The rest of us can stay on the ground and travel there." They agreed to this.

"What else does it say?" Joe asked.

"It says 'Follow the Rainbow straight on and tell what she is and does, defeat Megapiedmon, and free her…'" Izzy replied. "That part is confusing."

"We can ask Renee and Brittany about that, but let's go! The sooner we find Katie and Megapiedmon, the sooner we free Katie!" Matt said. So they went back to the Golden Gate. Renee and Brittany were there, each with a winged unicorn. Renee's winged unicorn was a shade of blue. Brittany's was a shade of purple.

"Renee, Brittany!" Tai said, hurrying up. "Katie – she's in trouble!"

"We know. Let's go." Renee said shortly. "Follow us."

Whamon, Zudomon, and Joe traveled in the lake that ran down the mountain.

Wizardmon, Piximon, Garudamon, Sora, Lillymon, Mimi, Megakabuterimon, Izzy, Angemon, T.K., Angewomon, Kari, Renee, Brittany, and their winged unicorns traveled in the air.

Metalgreymon, Tai, Weregarurumon, Matt, and Chuumon traveled on the land.

"Hey look!" Lillymon said, pointing. "A rainbow. What did it say about rainbows in the message, Izzy?"

"It said 'Follow the Rainbow straight on…'" Izzy said.

"That's easy. Let's just go over this rainbow." Mimi said. So they went over the rainbow. When they reached the end of it, they stopped. A Digimon stood before them.

"Riddlemon!" Zudomon said. "Full of riddles and tricks, he serves his evil master, Piedmon, or should I say, Megapiedmon."

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm Riddlemon. And I have a riddle for you!" Riddlemon said, laughing evilly. "To find Katie – you want to I trust, answer this riddle – yes, you must! Tell what she does and who she is to you, or she'll be gone before you say 'two'!" Riddlemon laughed.

"That's in the message, too." Izzy said. "It says '…and tell who she is and what she does, defeat Megapiedmon, and free her!' The 'who she is to us' isn't in there. Well, this won't be easy."

"How are we supposed to answer that? She is a lot to us and does a lot." Matt said. "That's just slightly unfair."

"It's just unfair enough to be fair." Riddlemon said, sneering.

"I know the answer to the riddle." Kari said, stepping forward. "I can answer his riddle."

"How do you know, Kari?" Tai asked.

"I just know. I don't know how, it's just there in my mind." Kari replied.

"Okay, go ahead and answer, Kari. If you're sure." Tai said.

"I am sure." Kari said. She turned to face Riddlemon. "First, what Katie is? She's a guardian angel for us Digi Destined and our four friends. What she does? She protects us and defends peace." Riddlemon frowned in anger.

"Most unfortunately, you have answered my riddle correctly. Go on. My master awaits." Riddlemon said, moving to the side and making a sweeping gesture for them to go on. They looked at Kari in surprise as they went forward.

"I see Megapiedmon ahead." Brittany called down. Sure enough, the evil Dark Master was there ahead. Katie was not in sight. As they came up to Megapiedmon, he gave a laugh.

"So you want your friend back, do you?" He sneered. The battle began.

"Agumon Warp-Digivolve to…Wargreymon!"

"Gabumon Warp-Digivolve to…Metalgarurumon!"

The Digimon were in their Ultimate forms. The kids used their Crests, with the help of Renee and Brittany, to defeat Megapiedmon. As he disappeared, he said:

"You haven't seen the last of me!" Megapiedmon said, but this wasn't all true. After he disappeared, a beaten up, bruised, and unconscious white tiger fell from a 'hole' in the sky. Renee and Brittany caught her and heaved her onto their winged unicorns. The winged unicorns whinnied in worry. Renee's winged unicorn, Dancer, leaned close to her.

"Will Katie be okay?" Dancer asked Renee. Renee nodded.

"Let's get her back to Rainbow Mountain." Brittany called to the others. So, with Katie on the two winged unicorns' backs, they traveled back to Rainbow Mountain. Renee, who was one of the best healers in the Digital World, got to work on fixing Katie up, with the others behind her, watching silently. Renee leaned over Katie a moment, and when she leaned back; Katie was in her angelic form again.

"She's mostly not hurt, just a broken leg and arm and several bruises. You don't need to worry, she'll be okay." Renee said. The kids and Digimon moved away. Rainbow trotted up.

"I feel horrible." Rainbow said to Renee and Brittany. "When Katie went for a fly, she told me to wait here, even though I didn't want to. I could have protected her for Megapiedmon." Rainbow looked off into the sunset. Dancer and Amigo, Brittany's winged unicorn came up to Rainbow and nuzzled her.

"It is okay, my friend. Megapiedmon would have captured you, too." Dancer said to Rainbow.

"You can't change the past, so look on the bright side. Katie's okay, the Digi Destined freed her." Amigo agreed. So the kids and Digimon went to sleep for the night.

During the night, some things happened that no one knew about, yet.

The next morning, Izzy was up first. He had woken to his Digivice beeping, signaling he had a very important email. He opened his laptop. He had an email from Gennai:

Izzy! I must warn you of something!

There is a new force of evil in the Digi World. I can't tell you too much about it besides this: Be on the lookout for a group consisting of six large cats from your world. The cats are these: a lion, a panther, a cheetah, a tiger, a leopard, and a white tiger. This group can appear as the actual cat, or they can assume a form where the cats are more powerful, have attacks, etc. / they can become Digimon.

Be on the lookout for these, Izzy, and warn the other Digi Destined!



"Prodigious, more evil Digimon to fight? We'll have to see if Katie can give us some more information." Izzy said softly to himself. Soon the others woke up, and after a meal, Izzy told them about the warning.

"Why does that message, something in it, ring a bell?" Sora said, thinking.

"I feel the same way." Matt said.

"What about it?" Izzy asked.

"Something about the group of six cats rings a bell." Sora replied.

"Well, we can ask Katie about it, come on, maybe she's awake!" Izzy said, and they went to the Golden Gate. Katie was awake and up like she had never been captured yesterday. There were three other girls there besides Katie, Renee, and Brittany. The kids and Digimon went up to them.

"Katie, you're okay!" Tai said.

"Mm-hm." Katie said, glancing at him. A couple of them watched her, noticing something wasn't right.

Izzy went right into asking them about the message from Gennai. He read it out loud to them. When he got to the part about listing what the five cats were, something horrible happened. As he listed each one, each of the girls turned into one of the cats.

One of the new three girls turned into the lion. Another of the new girls turned into the panther. The other new girl turned into the cheetah. Renee turned into the tiger, Brittany turned into the leopard, and Katie turned into…the white tiger.

"So." Katie said, stepping forward.

"But…how…" Tai stammered.

"You're wondering where your pathetic little friends are?" Renee sneered.

"Well, I'll tell you," Snarled Brittany. "We only set them somewhere far away from here so they won't be able to interfere."

"Yes," Said the lion, "There just a bit busy to even think to come to help you."

FLIT! FLIT!

SPLASH!

TSSSEEERRR!

HHHRRRRRROOOOAAAARRRR!

Two arrows shot from the sky. One hit a tree so close to the panther's head that it grazed the panther's head. The other hit the ground, striking the white tiger's front paw.

A great splash of water hit the cheetah, which hated water.

A trained falcon dived through the air to fly at the lion.

A leopard and a tiger leaped from the shadows and stood growling.

"A bit busy to help our friends? Never. Maybe now that one of you has a hole in your head, your brain will get enough oxygen to realize that." Said a voice in the air.

"Next time I won't miss." Said another. The kids looked up. There, flying steadily in the air, was Katie and another girl. Each held a bow with an arrow at ready, aimed at the group of cats.

Another girl came up from the shadows, and the trained falcon landed on her arm.

A small splash and a girl emerged from the water, held up by a dolphin.

The tiger and leopard that had leaped from the woods turned into Renee and Brittany.

"Hey," Izzy said, "My Digimon Analyzer is analyzing them. Listen!"

This group of six girls is called the Rainbow Riders. They are the guardians of peace. They each ride a winged unicorn and represent a color of the rainbow.

The first one is Adrienne. She rides Cheyenne. She is an awesome archer and good with other weapons. She won't miss her aim if she doesn't intend to. She represents the color yellow, or gold.

The next one is Emily. She rides Tierza. She trains aquatic creatures, mostly dolphins. All of the sea creatures trust her. She represents the color orange.

The next one is Nikki. She rides Ivy. Her specialty is trained birds. She trains mostly falcons, but other birds of prey, too. She represents the color green.

The next one is Renee. She rides Dancer. She is an expert healer; she can heal anything. She represents the color blue, or indigo.

Another is Brittany. She rides Amigo. She is a computer expert. She can break into any file, set up radar, or anything on any computer. She represents the color purple.

The last one is Katie. She rides Rainbow. She can do all the same things as the others. But her 'job' is that she is a Guardian Angel. She is the Guardian Angel for the Digi Destined and other certain Digimon.

"Wow." Said Izzy.

"What are you doing here?" Demanded the enemy white tiger to Katie.

"Your tricks didn't work on us. Renee, as a healer, cannot be kept unconscious for long against her will. She woke and got us up." Katie replied.

"Get out of here." Said Nikki.

"A battle will not be held here." Said Emily shortly.

"Oh, and who will make us get out?" Demanded the enemy leopard.

"Crystal Rainbow!" Cried a multitude of voices.

"Gold…Fire!" Said one voice. The attack flew at the enemy leopard and knocked her down. Six winged unicorns, in a row, cantered up over a hill and stood beside the Digi Destined. Their horns were lowered.

"Orange…Fire!" Cried one of the winged unicorns. This time, the attack hit the white tiger, which flew backwards.

"We will make you go." Said Rainbow, raising her head.

The six big cats looked around. At the two in the sky, bow aimed and ready. At the six winged unicorns, ready to fire. At the girl, Emily, who had gotten out of the water. At Nikki, who had a falcon on her arm, ready to take flight. At Renee and Brittany, ready to attack. At the Digi Destined, who were surprised but ready to attack.

"Retreat." The enemy white tiger ordered. The cats took off down the mountain. The enemy white tiger turned to stare hatefully at Katie. "You will pay." The enemy said, and followed her comrades down the hill. After a moment, Katie and Adrienne lowered their bows and landed on the ground. Emily squeezed the water out of her hair, shaking her wings off. Nikki handed her falcon a treat.

"Well, that was unexpected." Emily remarked, flexing her wings.

"You'd better watch out for her, Katie." Renee said. "That was a pretty serious threat she gave you."

"Ah, oh well. They are not to attack Rainbow Mountain; they know that." Katie said, retrieving the two arrows from the tree and ground. "Here, Adrienne, you think you can repair these?" She handed them to Adrienne.

"No problem. Now, if we'd hit those two, it would be another matter for repairing." Adrienne said. The six girls laughed. Adrienne sat down and began to sharpen and clean the arrows.

"I'm going to see if I can set up a radar system to track where those Mimickers are." Brittany said.

"I'm going to feed my dolphins and check them over. If you need me, I'm here." Emily said.

"Same with me and my falcons." Nikki said.

"I'm going to have a quick fly around to see if the Mimickers did anything to harm the Mountain." Renee said. This left Katie to explain things to the others, who looked by now quite confused. Katie didn't know where to start.

"Well, let me see, how can I tell what happened." Katie said thoughtfully. While she was pondering this, some of the kids/Digimon suddenly felt a surge of…what was it? Anger, hate, confusion, what?

"You know what, Katie? I can tell you where to start." Tai said angrily, "You and your friends have been running around, appearing and disappearing, and promising to explain things. What have you actually explained to us? It seems that, to you, if this were a chess game, my friends and I would only be considered the pawns. Not needing explanations, controlled by the other pieces. I'm tired of it." Tai looked angry, and he stormed off, followed by Metalgreymon. Soon behind him were Matt, Weregarurumon, Joe, and Zudomon. Next came Izzy, Megakabuterimon, Sora, and Garudamon.

Katie looked after them a moment.

"So it has happened. Very well." She whispered. Quick as a wink, she transformed into her eagle form. She took flight quickly, beating her wings so fast that they couldn't stop her. She rose into the air, and gave a cry. In a moment, five other birds joined her.

"Wait, Katie, stop!" They other ten below called. But the six birds flew off.

"One of us has to follow them and see where they're going." Mimi said.

"I'll go." Angewomon said.

"If you see them in trouble, fly back her and get us." Wizardmon said. Angewomon nodded and flew as fast as she could after the six birds.

The birds were all birds of prey. They were also very fast. Angewomon followed them, though she couldn't catch them. She watched as they flew slower, stopped, and dived down through the air. She turned and flew as quick as she could back to the others.

"They stopped at one point and dove down to the ground. I think they went after those Mimickers that they were talking about. The ones that came and attacked Rainbow Mountain." Angewomon reported.

"We have to go after them to help them!" Whamon said.

"Yes, but we need the others." Lillymon said. "These Mimickers seem very powerful; we may not be able to help the Rainbow Riders alone."

"You're right. But Tai is the leader of our group, so he decides. And he's angry at Katie." Mimi said.

"We can talk him into it, maybe explain it to him." Piximon said. The others nodded and looked around for the other five kids and Digimon. They found them sitting in the shade of a large tree.

"You guys, Katie and the other girls are in trouble!" Mimi said. Tai didn't say a word, but Sora, Joe, Matt, and Izzy got up immediately.

"We have to help them." Joe said. He glanced in Tai's direction. "Tai?" Tai didn't answer.

"Come on, Tai." Izzy said. Tai still didn't answer.

"You guys can go, I'm staying." Tai finally answered, turning his back to them. Matt walked up to him angrily and spun him around.

"What's up with you, Tai? Katie has saved our lives so many times and helped us when we're in trouble. Now she and her friends need help. Let's go." Matt said, glaring at Tai, eye to eye.

"Don't fight, you guys." Sora said. "Tai, Matt is right. Let's go help Katie." Tai's expression was blank for a moment, and then he nodded. Angewomon took the lead and led them to where she had seen the six birds dive down through the air. A horrible scene met their eyes.

Two tigers collided and skidded back. Two cheetahs raced to snap at the other and dodge bites. A leopard tackled another leopard. The Rainbow Riders were battling the Mimickers. It was a horrible fight. The Rainbow Riders were quick and clever, but the Mimickers' big cat forms were larger and more powerful. One by one, before the kids and Digimon could help, the Rainbow Riders were swept to the ground and knocked out, if not killed. The kids and Digimon arrived on time to drive the Mimickers off and get the girls. The winged unicorns were not there. Sadly, they carried the unconscious girls back to Rainbow Mountain.

When they got back to Rainbow Mountain, they laid the girls out on the ground and Wizardmon, a great healer, went back and forth between them, healing them. He put a lot of effort into getting Renee awake because she could help with healing. After he had healed the serious wounds, they sat back to wait.

In not long, they heard a soft groan. It was Renee. Wizardmon went up to her.

"Renee?" He said softly. Renee shifted a little and groaned again, but didn't wake up. After a moment she had settled back into a natural sleep.

That evening, they heard Renee groan again and move. Wizardmon went up to her again.

"Renee, wake up." Wizardmon prodded. Suddenly, Renee began to change. The tiger's muzzle shrank, her ears changed, the tail disappeared, wings seemed to grow out of her shoulders and soon it was Renee in her angel form lying there. She opened her eyes and struggled to sit up.

"No, don't try to sit up. You've been through some horrible things." Wizardmon said. Renee relaxed back. The kids helped her sit up against a tree after a bit.

"Are you okay?" They asked. Renee nodded, but her mind didn't seem to be there.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Wizardmon asked.

"I can't remember a thing." Renee said. "Well, a little, yes, but not much. All I remember is the feeling of being brainwashed when we were knocked unconscious by some others."

"Brainwashed?" Tai asked, puzzled.

"Yes, brainwashed. I wouldn't be surprised if the Mimickers did brainwash the Rainbow Riders." Wizardmon said. "All the more better for the Mimickers." He turned to Renee. "It would be good for you if you got some more rest." He told her, and he passed his staff over her eyes, causing her to fall into a deep sleep.

"Why did you put her to sleep?" Angewomon asked.

"I can see if she is brainwashed." Wizardmon replied. "And if she was, I can try to retrieve her memory. It would be easier if she were asleep."

"Are you sure?" Sora asked.

"Yes." Wizardmon said firmly. He put Renee back on the ground and began to work on her memory. The kids and Digimon went to sleep, while Wizardmon worked on Renee late into the night.

The next morning, very early, Renee woke. Wizardmon was there as soon as she opened her eyes. Renee sat up, holding her head.

"Ouch, I have a serious headache." Renee said, massaging the back of her neck.

"Sorry." Wizardmon apologized.

"Oh, it's not your fault, it's just…hey, what happened?" Renee said, frowning and looking around.

"I can explain." Wizardmon assured her. He explained it all out.

"Well," Renee sighed. "Thanks. We knew that the Mimickers could brainwash people and Digimon, but we forgot in the heat of the battle."

"Well, can you help me with the other girls? I managed to get you awake, but I don't know about Katie and Adrienne. They're the ones in the worst shape." Wizardmon asked. Renee nodded.

"Of course." She said and briskly set about making breakfast and working on the other girls. By noon, Brittany had woken up. She had been brainwashed, so they put her back to sleep and fixed up her memory. Later that afternoon, Emily and Nikki were awake. They were also brainwashed. That evening, Adrienne woke up, brainwashed, but Katie didn't wake at all that day or that night.

That night, Renee stayed up to care for Katie. She sat by the fire, looking at the stars.

Renee. A voice said in Renee's mind. Renee said nothing, but waited for the voice to continue. Renee, it is Katie. I am at death, but not quite dead. Listen, but do not tell anyone what you hear from me tonight. Tomorrow, you will go out to find and battle the Mimickers. You must tell the others that I am dead, but when they leave, stay behind, and then catch up. TRUST ME. The last words boomed in Renee's mind, and Renee looked at the ground, sad. She shivered, feeling like crying. But she had to trust Katie. Renee looked over at the 'dead' white tiger. The strangest thing – a smile was on the white tiger's face. Renee whispered into the night, hoping that Katie would understand –

"I understand, Katie, and I will trust you. Good luck." Renee looked away from the white tiger's face, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Renee gave the others the news.

"Katie didn't make it." Renee said, looking away. The others looked shocked.

"Wh…what?" They stammered.

"Are you serious?" Nikki demanded.

"Why would I lie about a thing like this?" Renee retorted angrily.

"Cut it out, you guys." Adrienne said shortly. "We have to find the Mimickers. And avenge Katie's death." They agreed, sadly, and with Brittany's radar device, they set out to find them. Renee stayed behind for a little bit, and then caught up to them later. As the other girls explained, Renee and Katie had been the best example that you would ever find of best friends. The two were very close and never lost contact, always knowing where the other was, so Katie's death had hit Renee harder than a sledgehammer in the stomach.

It wasn't long before they found the Mimickers, who laughed evilly when they came into view.

"Aw, missing Katie, aren't you guys." The enemy white tiger said. The battle began.

"Looks like you're nothing and pathetic without Katie here to save you." The enemy white tiger said. Before she had finished the sentence, a loud roar echoed throughout the woods and what looked like a blur leaped at the enemy white tiger and the two rolled into the bushes and out of sight.

"What the…" Nikki said.

"Could that have been…?" Emily stammered.

"Come on!" Renee said, and they hurried through the bushes and into a clearing. They saw two white tigers snarling and facing each other.

"Come to protect your friends?" The enemy snarled.

"I will do anything to protect the Digi Destined children, their Digimon, and the four that sacrificed themselves for them." The other white tiger replied steadily. "That is what a Guardian Angel does. Or should I say, what a friend does." The Digi Destined kids and Digimon, and their four friends looked amazed. The five Rainbow Riders nodded in what seemed to be confirmation.

"Fool. You would give your life for them? Then you have made a great mistake." The enemy replied. And she turned into the form she used as a Digimon. Her tiger form grew twice its normal size. Metal plates covered some parts of her body, and her claws grew much larger.

"So. Is that how you want to play? Count me in." The other white tiger said. She stood up, erected on her hind legs. Wings sprouted from her shoulders, and two fangs emerged from her mouth. Her stripes flashed different colors, than settled into a pattern of the color of the rainbow. She doubled in size, and her eyes shone a bright emerald green. She towered over the enemy, majestic but angry.

"Is that Katie?" Tai asked.

"Yes." The five girls answered in unison.

"But isn't she…well…dead?" T.K. asked.

"No." Renee said. They all looked at her. "I'll explain later. Right now, we have a battle to win."

"Yeah! Those Mimickers will be sorry that they ever messed with us!" Kari said. Katie and the enemy white tiger clashed against each other, snarling. The other enemies joined their leader against Katie. But then the Rainbow Riders and the others joined Katie.

"Mimickers, retreat!" The enemy white tiger cried after not long. She turned to look at Katie and the Riders. "You're missing something, Riders, and it's not Katie's life." She snarled and the six big cats galloped off into the woods. Katie was lying on the ground, not moving. They ran up to her.

"No, not again!" Tai cried. Renee healed up her wounds, and then stood back. They were about to ask her if Katie was alive, when the kids all felt a surge of something…something telling them what they needed to do to get Katie awake and alive.

"For all the Courage she showed and gave us." Tai said quietly.

"For all the Love she taught us about and had." Sora put in.

"For all the Friendship she had for us." Matt said.

"For all the Reliability we could have in her." Joe said next.

"For all the Sincerity she had and shared." Mimi said softly.

"For all the Knowledge she gave us." Izzy put in.

"For all the Hope she gave us and shined." T.K. piped up.

"For all the Light she shined and was." Kari finished.

Their Crests glowed and emitted beams onto Katie, who suddenly got up, in her angel form, okay and healed. She looked about her, confused almost. Then realization dawned in her eyes.

"Are you okay, Katie?" Renee said. Katie nodded.

"Let's go back to Rainbow Mountain." Katie said softly. They went back to Rainbow Mountain quickly, in case the Mimickers decided to attack again. As soon as they got back to Rainbow Mountain the Rainbow Riders started whistling or calling.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked them.

"We can't find our winged unicorns." Adrienne replied.

"Do you think the Mimickers stole them or hid them?" Matt asked. Brittany was typing quickly at her computer.

"I have them located on my computer." Brittany said, talking to the Rainbow Riders. "But if we are to find them, we will have to split up and search for them for a long while. My computer is only giving the general area that they are located in, not the specific location."

"Hey!" Tai said. "Forget about us? We'll help you find your friends. Right guys?" He asked, turning to the rest of the group. They all agreed immediately. The Riders' faces brightened.

"Really? It will help!" Emily said.

"We know how it feels when you can't find your best friend." Kari said, smiling as she had a flashback of a memory.

"Okay, we'll split up into groups, Brittany can tell us where the general areas of our winged unicorns are. Meet back here, with or without them, at sunset." Renee said, assuming a sort-of leader attitude. She picked out groups, and Brittany told them the general areas of the winged unicorns.

They set off, splitting off in different directions. In Katie's group, there was Wizardmon, T.K., Angemon, Kari, and Angewomon. Katie had the feeling Renee had assigned some of the particular groups for a certain reason, though Katie said not a word. Katie led them to the area, and they searched high and low. Katie didn't actually look much on the ground, and when Wizardmon brought that up to her, she only said:

"I can find her without looking." This didn't make much sense, but what seemed weird was Katie was the one who found Rainbow. Rainbow was lying on her side deep in the woods, gashes all over and broken bones here and there. Katie kneeled beside Rainbow, tears stinging at her eyes, and she muttered to herself and felt the broken bones. She finally straightened up and turned to the other five standing behind her, who had stayed quiet, knowing Katie would be horribly sad.

"She is much too fragile and harmed to move. Even if we healed her all the way, she would still be too fragile to move. There may be another way to get her back to Rainbow Mountain where she can recover, but I need my friends to help with that. For now, all I can do is put up an invisibility and protection shield on her and then come back to get her." Katie said. "We'd better get back to Rainbow Mountain and meet the others there." The other five agreed quietly, knowing that Katie was probably torn by having to leave Rainbow in such a state alone. They traveled back to Rainbow Mountain, finding all of the others already back with the other winged unicorns.

"Where's Rainbow?" Renee asked when she saw the last group back without Rainbow.

"She's to weak and fragile to move." Katie replied. "I have an idea to get her here."

"I already know what you're talking about." Adrienne said, and she took out a bunch of equipment. She walked between the other winged unicorns, doing quick measurements, and soon she had rigged up a harness - A harness to carry Rainbow back in.

"Perfect." Katie said, nodding. "And the other winged unicorns can carry her through the air, I take it?" Adrienne nodded.

"Is that okay with you?" Adrienne asked, turning to the other winged unicorns. They agreed. Renee indicated the sun, which would be setting soon, and suggested that they go get Rainbow. She turned to the kids and Digimon.

"We'll get her, we don't need help. But thank you for all you've done. You can't imagine how much we appreciate it." Renee said, and the Rainbow Riders flew off in the direction Rainbow was in, and, as if and happy reminder of them, they led a rainbow over the Mountain.

In not long, they could be spotted making their way back to Rainbow Mountain. Rainbow was in the harness and the other five winged unicorns were flying, also part of the harness, with Rainbow in between them. The six girls were flying beside them, but there were two other figures. As they got closer, the two mysterious figures could be made out. One was a girl riding on a large blue bird kind of Digimon. The other was a girl riding what looked like a winged leopard. Izzy's Digimon Analyzer began to analyze the two new Digimon.

"Okay," Izzy said, "That large blue bird Digimon is Biriamon, an ice/snow/water bird. That is the Champion form of Rianmon.

"The Digimon that looks like a winged leopard is Leoparamon. That is the Champion form of Keilemon." He concluded. The winged unicorns, the girls, and the two new Digimon landed lightly. Adrienne, Emily, and Nikki began to take the harness off, unbuckling straps and having the winged unicorns move. Katie, Renee, and Brittany got Rainbow out of her place in the middle.

The two new girls and Digimon walked up to the other kids and Digimon, though they stayed quiet, watching the Rainbow Riders get the harness off.

"Katie you and the others can do introductions and explanations, I'll work on Rainbow." Renee said. Katie agreed, and they came up to the others.

"Who are they?" Tai asked, gesturing to the new girls and Digimon.

"Y'know, you could just ask us." One of the girls said to him boldly. "We aren't invisible or dead."

"Jenny, chill." Katie said.

"I kind of like her attitude." Sora joked. The girl winked at her.

"Anyway," Nikki said, "These two girls are here to help you…us. I suppose you could call them the ninth and tenth Digi Destined. Their names are Jenny and Julie. They're twins." She indicated each one, "And they each have a Digimon that can Digivolve, just like yours."

"They also each have a Crest." Adrienne put in.

"Mine is the Crest of Peace." Julie said. Leoparamon smiled at Julie. "And this is my friend, Leoparamon."

"Mine is the Crest of Trusting." Jenny said. Biriamon nudged Jenny. "And this is my pal, Biriamon.

"Yes, well," Renee said, coming up, "You guys can talk tomorrow. It's just slightly late now." She pointed at the dark sky. They agreed and settled down for sleep.

Now as out of place as it may seem, small relationships had been growing between some of the kids. Now if they were to be paired up, it might be somewhat like this: Tai and Sora, Joe and Mimi, Matt and Jenny, and Izzy and Julie. Jenny and Matt had been neighbors and friends back in their world, and Izzy and Julie had been very good friends. Kari and T.K. were too young for that kind of thing, but they were quite good friends.

The Digimon didn't understand a lot of it, but noticed it. For example, Tai and Sora fell asleep side by side. Garudamon and Metalgreymon looked at each other and shrugged. As the group settled down, Sora and Jenny's Crests of Love and Trusting glowed and their symbols seemed to hang above the group quietly. As they settled down into comfortable positions, a soft song could be heard in the air, which seemed to sing them to sleep. It was a pretty song, and the singer and what it was meant for, they didn't know, but they listened to it and fell asleep to it. (Here's the song:)

There you are, in the early light of day. There you are, in the quiet words I pray. I've been blessed, by simple happiness. Every time I turn around, when I'm lost and when I'm found, like an angel standing guard, there you are. Every time I take a breath, and when I forget to breath, you're watching over me, there you are. When I'm looking for the light, in the middle of the night, searching for the brightest star, there you are. There you are, standing in a crowded room. There you are, on the earth and on the moon. My desire is to stand by the fire that burns inside of you. Every time I turn around, when I'm lost and when I'm found, like an angel standing guard, there you are. Every time I take a breath, and when I forget to breath, you're watching over me, there you are. When I'm looking for the light, in the middle of the night, searching for the brightest star, there you are…When I'm looking for the light in the middle of the night, searching for the brightest star, there you are…there you are.

As the song ended, they drifted off into sleep, though the six Rainbow Riders stayed awake. When the other five were deep in conversation, Katie slipped into the shadows and away. She stopped a little ways from there, where the river trickled by. It was a small clearing bathed in moonlight. Katie sat down on the bank of the river and looked at the stars, thinking. Thinking about everything that had happened, her deathly experiences, and her promises. Thinking about how she had gladly vowed to protect the Digi Destined and their four friends.

And though no one but Katie knew it, there was a bond between the Rainbow Riders (including herself) and the Digi Destined and their four friends. A bond between a guardian angel(s) and those they guard, yes, but it went deeper than that. Much deeper.

Katie's thoughts were interrupted by a small splash. Emily emerged from the water and sat beside Katie.

"How did you know I was here?" Katie asked.

"I saw you slip away. What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"Oh, nothing, besides what the Council is planning to do to us if that cloaked figure gets its way." Katie replied.

"Katie, they can't possibly do that to us." Emily said, but her voice was soft as if she didn't believe it.

"Emily, they're all duffers on the Council now. Gennai and the others on the Council that were actually smart dropped or were kicked off the Council when that cloaked figure joined." Katie said.

"Next meeting, we will uncloak the cloaked figure. Who knows what it is." Emily sighed.

"It's evil, that is certain." Katie said.

"I can tell you want to be left alone." Emily said. "I'll go, I won't be mad." She dived into the water and swam back to the group. Katie sighed, and she spread her wings and flew to the place where they had first met back up with the four Digimon that had been destroyed to save the kids. It was a good thinking place. Katie began to build up a fire. She heard and sensed someone coming up behind her.

"You don't have to hide." Katie said without turning. She lit the fire and turned. The four were there. Wizardmon, Chuumon, Piximon, and Whamon. Whamon was in the river with the other three on the bank. Katie surveyed them, towering naturally above them. She blinked in surprise, and then settled back down to a normal height.

"Well." She said, obviously waiting for them to say something. She wasn't angry, her 'dolphin' smile told them that. Her wings glittered in the firelight, and emerald eyes flashed. "Well." She repeated, sighing and sitting down. "I know that you four have been watching me for a while. Wondering. What do you want to know?" The four exchanged looks of surprise. She knew about them watching her.

"Why have you been so quiet and impassive for a while now? And what's going on with this group, 'The Council'?" Wizardmon asked straight out. Katie looked at him a moment.

"You have been watching and listening to me longer than I thought." She said finally.

"The Riders know about it, apparently, and you don't really want to tell the others about it, from what we know." Whamon said.

"I will tell you, because you asked." Katie said, sighing heavily as if she bore a great responsibility on her shoulders.

"There is that group, the Council. The Council oversees what goes on in the Digital World and they try to keep things in order. A cloaked figure joined the Council, and several of the members were kicked off or left. This cloaked figure held the remaining Council members under its thumb, and caused them to think evil things." She paused a moment. "Now, the Rainbow Riders and I have been accused of crimes that the sentence of is…death. They are holding trials, but they are all turning against us." She sighed. "But don't worry about it or tell the others. We can deal with it." Her voice was firm and had finality in it.

"Well, that explains a lot." Chuumon said. Katie nodded.

"I came out here to think." Katie said. "There is a slim chance of us winning these trials, but, as I said, leave it to us, and don't worry about it."

"If we can help, tell us." Piximon said. Katie nodded.

"Of course. Now, we'd better be going back, even I am. I might try to go to sleep." Katie said. The four agreed, and they slipped quietly back to their camp. The Riders waved to them. Katie went over to them, and the other four settled down with the kids and Digimon. Katie leaned into the warm flank of Rainbow, and Rainbow nuzzled her.

"I am much better, milady." Rainbow whispered to Katie. "You and the other Rainbow Riders have taken good care of me and my injuries. Thank you."

"You don't have to call me milady, Rainbow. But you may." Katie said, smiling.

"Rainbow is doing much better." Renee said. "All she had to do is rest her leg and it will heal more. She can use it, if need be, but it still has some scars."

"That's okay." Katie said. "Listen up, guys. The four know about these problems we are having with the Council."

"You told them?" Nikki said. Katie nodded.

"They were watching us for a while. They would have eventually found out." She stopped abruptly.

"Soon the Digi Destined will all find out, with the way things are looking." Adrienne said angrily, looking at the ground. Cheyenne nuzzled her.

"Don't be too upset, milady, they won't…you know…do that to us." Cheyenne said in a comforting tone. But she didn't believe it herself.

"What? Us?" Brittany said, sitting up straight. "They would dare do that to you, too?"

"Hush." Amigo said. "Don't wake the others. Yes, if they do it to you, they will to us, also." Brittany frowned. Emily set her mouth in a straight line.

"They can't. We can't allow it." Emily said. Katie broke in then.

"We will not talk about it any more tonight. Eyes and ears are abroad that may be listening." Katie said firmly.

"I have an idea." Emily said, brightening. "Let's play our instruments tomorrow."

"Good idea." Renee said. "I haven't played my trombone in a long time."

Each of the girls began getting out their instruments silently from different places. Renee played trombone, Adrienne and Nikki trumpet, Emily flute, Brittany clarinet, and Katie piano and clarinet. They each set up their instrument – Katie set up a piano.

"There's this song that I heard that's really pretty. Here I'll show you how it goes." Katie said, and they moved farther off into the night so they wouldn't wake the others. But out in the darkness, two trumpets played Taps in full notes, though they were soft.

The next morning, the kids and Digimon woke to the soft playing of a piano, a trombone, and a clarinet. It was a song called "When You Believe". As they got into the verses and chorus, and trumpets and flutes joined and the kids and Digimon got up and came over to listen.

Though no one was singing, the words to the song seemed to float on the air in time with the instruments. It was a beautiful song, and Katie's fingers seemed to fly over the piano, though the music was soft. The song ended with the piano and flute playing high-pitched notes of the chorus. The others clapped at the end.

"Wow, that was pretty." Sora said.

"Thank you." Katie said courteously as she got up from playing the piano and flexed her fingers.

"You guys need a tune up." Nikki said in her blunt way and she swiped at her trumpet with a cloth. She turned to Adrienne. "You sounded flat."

"You shouldn't talk, that was you, not me!" Adrienne replied, turning to her.

"Yeah, right, my trumpet doesn't sound like a saxophone. Yours does." Nikki shot back.

"Saxophone? Yours sounds like a mix between a flute and a clarinet." Adrienne retorted.

"Hey!" Brittany and Emily cried at the same time. Katie put her hands on her hips and looked up at the sky, rolling her eyes. Renee sighed and picked up her trombone, and, pointing to the two trumpet players, looking at Katie, a question in her eyes. Katie nodded. Renee came up behind the two.

"Plug your ears." Katie advised to the other kids and Digimon. They soon found out why when Renee suddenly blasted a note through the trombone right into the two girls' ears. The note throbbed in the air, finally dropping. Brittany and Emily started laughing at the two girls, who were standing there looking amazed and surprised. Katie and Renee soon joined in the laughter, Renee leaning on her trombone for support.

"You guys," Emily gasped out, "Were so busy arguing you didn't even see that trombone coming." She was still laughing hard, and the others had to join in. Soon Adrienne and Nikki joined in.

"You really had us, there." Adrienne said, finally stopping her laughter.

"I couldn't resist." Renee said, chuckling.

The other kids and Digimon smiled. So this was what it was like being around the Rainbow Riders!

"Hey, Adrienne, how about some 'Ariel Arrows'?" Nikki said.

"Haven't done that in a while." Adrienne said. "But of course. I can't resist. I have some new double maneuvers with my arrows."

"We'll see what my falcons have to say to that." Nikki said. The others, besides the Riders, looked totally lost.

"Oh, you'll see." Katie said by way of explanation. Adrienne got out her bow and arrows. She picked out a fine silver arrow and tested the bowstring with a twang. Nikki took a falcon in a nearby tree.

"Anytime your ready, Adrienne. Shoot anywhere you want. Any direction." Nikki said. She released her falcon and used a string with a piece of meat attached to it to tell the falcon where to go. She swung the string around in a circle. Adrienne fit the arrow into the bowstring. She aimed in different directions, finally releasing it high above her. Nikki swung the string around, and the falcon dived at just the right second, extending her talons, and caught the arrow in midair.

"Good job, Nikki." Adrienne said as the falcon landed on Nikki's arm handing her the arrow. "How about, say, two arrows, two falcons?" Nikki nodded. Adrienne motioned to Katie, and Katie got up and got her bow and arrows. Katie whispered in Adrienne's ear as Renee got up and took one of Nikki's falcons.

"Good idea." Adrienne nodded to Katie. Katie winked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. The two stood facing Renee and Nikki, who each held a falcon on their arm.

"Ready?" Nikki said, and she and Renee released the falcons. Katie and Adrienne aimed the arrows, and both let go of the arrows at the same time. But then – quick as a flash – they both fit another arrow into their bows and shot those. Nikki gave them a surprised look.

"Hey, Adrienne said 'Two arrows, two birds'. That's exactly what we did." Katie said to her. Adrienne chuckled.

"Not a problem." Renee said. She and Nikki were able to have the falcons each catch two arrows.

"Good job." Katie approved. She and Adrienne shook hands with Nikki and Renee. Then they got deep into a discussion about the quality of the arrows and some other stuff.

"Hey, Emily," Brittany called, "Do you want to try out that dolphin communicating program?" Emily nodded and trotted over.

Finding themselves with nothing to do, the others began to talk about what they could do about the Mimickers. The winged unicorns were grazing and practicing attacking movements.

As they were talking, Brittany was getting frustrated.

"This computer is too slow." She said to Emily.

"Brittany, this program, according to you, is huge. It would slow down your computer." Emily replied.

"I could speed it up, if you wouldn't mention it to Katie…" Brittany said, a mischievous look in her eyes. Emily sighed.

"Fine. But if it blows up your computer, don't come looking to me."

"Why would it blow up? Charms are what I'm best at out of Katie, Renee, you, and I." Brittany retorted.

"No, that's me. Renee's good at potions, you at transformations, and Katie is good at all of them. And I'm not charming your computer if you paid me." Emily said.

"I wasn't going to ask you. I'll do it anyway."

Suddenly, in the midst of the others' conversations, they heard a loud explosion. Purple smoke drifted over them. Katie cleared it suddenly with a wave of her silver staff in the air. (Note: Each of the Riders has a staff of their own with different 'shapes' on top)

"I told you not to." They heard Emily's voice say.

"Oh, Brittany." Adrienne sighed.

"What did you do this time?" Renee said.

"Tried to put a speed charm on her computer." Emily said. "I told her that that was my area of expertise, but…"

"Enough." Katie said sternly.

"What happened?" Tai asked, and the others walked up to them.

"Brittany tried to put a speeding charm on her computer." Nikki said.

"A speeding charm?" Julie asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Katie said, "A speeding charm. A charm to speed something up that is going slow. For instance, Brittany's computer."

"What do you mean by a 'charm'? Where did all that purple smoke come from?" Jenny asked.

"A charm. In wizardy." Katie replied.

"Wizardy? You're wizards?" Wizardmon asked, surprised, as he was a wizard himself.

"Well, yes, Emily, Brittany, Renee and I are." Katie said, smiling.

"And Katie, Renee, Adrienne and I are all black belts in martial arts." Nikki said.

"Hey, Katie, come here. I have an email from Light-of-the-Moon that something's happened at Rainbow Valley." Brittany said, interrupting their conversation.

"What's wrong?" Nikki said, coming up with Katie.

"Look. Two phoenixes and one of the unicorns have gotten terribly sick." Brittany said, pointing to the screen.

"We'd better go down there." Adrienne said.

"Sorry," Matt said, "But I think all of us are kind of lost. Can you explain?"

"Of course." Katie said, turning. "We have a place where we raise what would be considered magical and mythical creatures, like centaurs, phoenixes, unicorns, that sort of thing. It's called Rainbow Valley."

"We need to go down there to help heal the phoenixes and unicorn." Renee said. "We could take you with us."

"Really? That would be awesome." Tai said.

"Of course we would." Katie said. "We can go now, if you like." They agreed. Katie and the other Riders led the way. The others traveled by land, air, or water after them.

"Uh-oh." Brittany said from the air. "We have trouble."

"What is it?" Adrienne asked, coming up to her.

"The Mimickers." Brittany said. "They've spotted us. We'll have to make a run for it." She said it loud enough for all the others to hear.

"Follow us!" Katie cried, and she and Rainbow flew quick as a flash through the air, Emily and Tierza in the water, and Nikki and Ivy on the ground. Rainbow's wings flapped up and down quick as ever. Tierza's delicate legs churned in the water. Ivy galloped on the ground.

"Renee, go unlock the gate ahead." Katie called. Renee sprang ahead on foot, Dancer galloping beside her. They went far ahead of them to get there first and to unlock the gate.

"They're coming close." Brittany said.

"We're almost there." Katie said, urging them on. Suddenly, they came upon a silver gate with the words "Rainbow Valley" engraved on the top arch. It was open and Renee was beckoning them inside. On either side of the gate, there rose high walls against intruders. They darted in through the gate and Renee closed it with a slam, right in the Mimickers' faces. Katie turned to look at the Mimickers.

"This is a place that you are not allowed into." Katie said. "The same with Rainbow Mountain. You know that. Leave." The Mimickers left, angry and frustrated.

"Katie and I are going to go help the injured ones here, and you can explore anywhere you want here." Renee said to the Digi Destined and Digimon. "The unicorns and others won't mind. I daresay that they would talk with you, if they aren't busy."

"I can help with healing." Wizardmon said as the others wandered off.

"We could use some help." Renee said. "So sure you can help. Follow us." Renee turned and trotted off towards a small cottage not far away in the valley. Katie and Wizardmon at her heels.

"Funny thing is," Said Katie, "I've known a unicorn or two to rarely turn up sick, but phoenixes? That's just never happened in my life." Renee shook her head in agreement.

"I heal all sorts of things – people, animals, Digimon – but a phoenix is a rare thing to get sick. They're powerful, magical creatures. With loyalty and faith bigger than a whale, and tears that hold healing powers." Renee said, sighing. They got to the cottage and Renee opened the door. There were several cushioned tables inside for animals/creatures/Digimon to rest on, and counters and cabinets. There were two unconscious phoenixes on tables and a unicorn on another. Then they noticed someone else in there: a centaur.

"Light-of-the-Moon." Katie said.

"Greetings." The centaur (Light-of-the-Moon) said in answer.

"You've been watching them." Renee said.

"Of course." The centaur rumbled. "I wasn't going to leave them alone." Renee nodded and moved to look at the unicorn. She drew back, like she had been shocked.

"What is it?" Wizardmon asked.

"Her horn. Oh, this poor unicorn." Renee said.

"I have it." Light-of-the-Moon said. She held out her palm, in it, a crystal horn.

"And the phoenixes." Katie said softly. One of the phoenixes was missing a wing, the other, unconscious and hurt.

"Yes." The centaur said.

"What happened?" Renee demanded.

"The Mimickers snuck in one night, and the next morning, we found these phoenixes and unicorn."

"How did they get in?" Katie said, though she knew the answer.

"The night of the Shadow Moon, when no good magic works. We couldn't keep them out." Light-of-the-Moon said. She looked away.

"Well," Renee said briskly, "We can't change that, so we might as well get started on these poor animals. Katie, you work on that phoenix whose wing is gone, Wizardmon, you work on the other phoenix. I'll work on the unicorn." She took the horn from the centaur, who trotted out.

It didn't take Katie or Wizardmon too long to fix the phoenixes up, and they went over to Renee when they were finished. She had managed to get the horn back into position and got it to stay there like it had never been gone.

"Well, that's that, then." She said. "Let's go find the others and walk around a bit."

But they didn't have to find the others, because Emily found them.

"Hey, how are the phoenixes and the unicorn?" She asked.

"We fixed them up. What brings you here?" Katie said.

"Well, everyone met back up, and we wanted to show them the centaurs. Except they won't reveal themselves from the woods."

"Why not?" Wizardmon asked.

"They don't trust the kids and Digimon. Unless Katie were there and convinced them."

"How do you know?" Renee asked.

"We talked to the centaur standing watch - Ronar." Emily said. "He told us that the planets had warned them of danger, so they were wary, even here.

"But," She continued, "He said that we could go see the centaurs if Katie was there and convinced them that we were okay."

"Fine, let's go." Katie said. "Stargazers." She muttered, shaking her head. Emily led them out of the cottage, along the river, and to a line of trees in Rainbow Valley. The others were all standing there. The Riders were talking to a centaur that was standing in front of a path, arms folded.

"Ronar, of course they aren't evil. Why, we would know and wouldn't let them into the Valley if they were." Adrienne said. The centaur shook his head.

"Numinor refuses. Unless Katie is here."

"I am here." Katie said, coming up to him.

"Welcome." Ronar said, bowing slightly.

"None of that, now." Katie said, frowning slightly. "Don't try to change your aspect and attitude just because I appear. I've been here." Adrienne gave Ronar a look that easily said 'We told you so.'

"What is the problem?" Katie said.

"The planets have forewarned danger, and Numinor has had to have someone on guard for the herd. He refuses to see anyone he doesn't know, unless, of course, you believe they are good." Ronar said.

"Well, I won't disagree with you about having guards, and I think you should know who exactly is on the prowl."

"Arianna." Ronar said, shuddering slightly. A look came into Katie's eyes, was it sadness? A look of losing someone special? She cleared it with a shake of her head.

"Yes, Arianna. And Lucarinia. And the Mimickers. My friends here are the Digi Destined, and they are most definitely not evil. Tell Numinor that. And come on out." Katie said.

Ronar nodded and galloped off into the woods.

"Here, stand back. They will be galloping out quick as anything." Katie said, and the others backed up. In not long, the sound of pounding hooves was heard. A large group of centaurs galloped out. They all stopped at the same time, and turned to face the path.

"Numinor." Katie whispered. A large, winged centaur trotted out of the woods. He looked around a moment, and then trotted up to Katie.

"Well, then. We didn't expect you, Katie." Numinor said, his voice like a deep cello.

"Do you have news? About Arianna, the Mimickers, and Lucarinia?" Katie asked.

"Yes. The stars and planets have foretold about their comings. Listen. The Mimickers shall soon be fought and defeated, though with a slight downfall to our side. Soon, very soon, Arianna will come and attack Rainbow Mountain during the downfall. Guardians must try to turn her back, or she and Lucarinia, her master, will attack at full power with the others of the dark at their back, and we will suffer a great loss." Numinor ended his 'prophecy' here. He bowed his head a moment. "It is foretold." Then, in a flurry of hooves, he and the centaurs galloped off into the woods.

"Well that was about as clear as mud." Sora said. The other Digi Destined agreed. They turned to the Riders and Katie for answers. They were exchanging looks and talking softly. "You guys?" Sora said.

"Sorry," Emily said, and she and the others turned back to them. "It's just that we've figured out most of the prophecy, and it is worrying us."

"But who's this Arianna? And Lucarinia?" Tai asked.

"Arianna is…was…the Red band of the Riders." Nikki said softly. "She turned and joined evil. And, according to the prophecy, we must turn her back."

"And Lucarinia?" Adrienne broke in. "How can he be described. He is evil. He is darkness and shadow. He can take any form he wishes, any form at all. He is the master of all evil beings. He mostly appears to us as a dark angel. Black. Shadow. In mockery of our own Rainbow colors. He even has a black winged unicorn, just like ours, in mockery." She flexed her wings, tossing her long gold hair back. The other Riders agreed.

"We have always been fighting Lucarinia, and now Arianna. She adds to the trouble. A bit too much." Brittany said. Katie seemed to be keeping silent. Very silent. She had a lost, faraway look in her eyes, as if remembering something from long ago.

"What's wrong, Katie?" Renee asked, coming up to Katie, as the other Riders explained things out about Lucarinia and the prophecy Numinor had given them. Katie was sitting on a large rock a bit apart from the others. Katie looked up at Renee.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking." Katie replied softly. The look was still there.

"Why do you have that look? I know you and Arianna were great friends, but –"

"Renee, it's not that. But…I can't tell you what it is. Not yet. I promise I will when the time comes. Soon. Please understand, and don't be mad."

"It's okay, Katie," Renee said, smiling, "I understand." Katie smiled back and erased the look, getting up.

"You know what we must do after we return to the Mountain." She said softly.

"Yes, and we have gifts for them." Renee replied, just as softly.

"Let's go." Katie said and turned to the others. "We don't have anything else to do here, and you've seen everything, so we might as well return to Rainbow Mountain now." She glanced at the other Riders. Renee went ahead to unlock the gate, locking it again when they had all gone out. On the way back to Rainbow Mountain, the Mimickers did not interrupt them. But when they arrived, the Riders had bad news.

"We have to go somewhere." Renee said.

"But where?" Matt asked.

"That is something best not discussed, for now." Emily said firmly.

"Before we leave, we have some things to give you." Katie put in, finally talking. She took out a silver bag. Each of the Riders placed a smaller bag inside it, Katie putting a much smaller bag into it last. She handed it to Tai.

"Since you are the leader of this group, we leave these gifts in your charge." Adrienne said. Tai started to open the bag.

"No." Katie said sharply, holding up a hand. "Only take a gift out in your greatest need. Destiny will cause you to pull out the right one at the right time. You will know when to draw out a gift. Draw the sixth out, mine, when you are in your darkest hour and hope seems gone forever.

"Now listen. While we are gone, the Mimickers are likely to attack. Where, we don't know, but when they attack, they will be likely to attack separately, then all together." Katie stopped here.

"You really can't tell us where you're going?" Mimi asked. Katie shook her head.

"I'm terribly sorry. But when the time comes, you will learn where we have gone." Katie said sadly. She turned to Rainbow and placed what would be called saddlebags on her and got on her. The other Riders got onto their winged unicorns behind her. Katie motioned the Riders to go ahead and turned Rainbow in a half-circle so she was partly facing the others.

"Do not fear. And remember this: Whatever I have said to you in the past, I truly, truly meant." She raised a hand in quiet farewell and Rainbow leaped to the sky in a flurry of wings, turning and flying after the waiting Riders. Before Katie was out of range, she turned and sent a mind message to the four: Wizardmon, Piximon, Whamon, and Chuumon.

I have told you what might happen. You may tell the others. Then she and the other Riders flew away, pulling a rainbow, disappearing into the horizon.

"Well, that was unexpected." Julie said. "I wonder where they had to go. Does anyone know?"

"We do." Piximon said, indicating him and the other three. He sounded sad. He and the other three explained it out. About how the Riders had been threatened by this Council and their lives were at stake.

"So do you think they have gone to this Council?" Jenny asked. Chuumon nodded.

"The gifts will help." Chuumon said.

"Do you know what they are?" Tai asked. Chuumon shook his head.

"Heads up, we have a Mimicker closing in fast." Izzy said, pointing at his computer screen.

"Do we fight, or run?" Sora asked.

"We'd better fight." Tai said.

"Wait a second, aren't the Mimickers prevented from coming to Rainbow Mountain?" Joe asked.

"Apparently not, because here comes one." Izzy said, and a winged lion with armor flew at top speed over the group, landing in front of them.

"Well, you have me to deal with, now that those meddlesome Riders are gone." She snarled. Tai's hand went to the bag. The armored lion leaped at Piximon and Chuumon. They dodged, but it was easily seen that this winged lion allowed them to dodge. She could have easily turned and caught them. Then they noticed something – the lion appeared to be herding them off the mountain and into the woods. She snapped at them, making them move back off the mountain and to the tree line. Though they tried to stop, she continued this until the Mountain was out of sight. She then began attacking. The kids stayed back to keep from harm. Though the lion was greatly outnumbered, she was winning the fight. The kids urged Tai to draw something from the bag.

Tai reached his hand into the bag. A warm sensation went up his arm as his hand searched the bag. His hand closed around one of the smaller wrapped items. He pulled it out. It was a gold bag, obviously Adrienne's gift. He quickly unwrapped it and a gold bow. Next to it was a quiver with several silver arrows. Tai held them up for the others to see.

"I'm no archer, so who else wants a shot?" Tai asked, shrugging helplessly, after the Digimon had fallen back from the battle for a moment. They observed the gift Tai had. It was a gift fit for a human, so the larger Digimon couldn't do it.

"I'll try." Angewomon said. She did use the attack "Celestial Arrow", so she was pretty good at archery. Tai gave her the bow and arrows, and she floated closer to the lion, that was licking her chops.

"Aw, did Adrienne give you that broken bow and untied arrows?" The lion said, somehow smirking. Angewomon said nothing, but drew out a silver arrow. She put it in the bow and aimed at the lion. Warmth tingled up her hand and arm. The arrow seemed to shoot out of the bow of its own accord. It struck the lion, who roared in pain and surprise. The arrow had not killed the lion, but hurt it badly just the same. The lion leaped into the woods, changing into only a regular lion, galloping away. Angewomon retrieved the arrow that gleamed and shone as though it had never been used. She flew back to the others, showing them the arrow.

"It was truly amazing. It was as if the arrow leaped out of the bow on its own, after being aimed." Angewomon said. She gave Tai the bow and quiver with arrows, which he put back in the bag.

They eventually used all of the gifts, though the ones they used would still work. Emily's gift was a small device that, when thrown in the water, called her dolphins and aquatic creatures for help. They used this gift when the cheetah was attacking. Sora had pulled out the device and threw it in the water. A huge pod of dolphins began appearing from below the surface and created a huge tidal wave, knocking the water-hating cheetah over. The cheetah angrily ran off into the woods, while the kids patted the dolphins, thanking them.

Nikki's gift was a whistle. When they blew it, many falcons flew from the skies and dived down on an attacking panther, leopard, and tiger. They drove them off and away, with the help of Adrienne's gift.

Though what the falcons couldn't change was this: Before they had come, the three cats had done as much damage as they could. One of them had leaped at T.K. and Kari, who were standing alone, cornered. Magnaangemon and Angewomon tried to get to them to help them, but the other two cats were doing all they could to hold them back. When the falcons and Adrienne's arrows drove them off, the two angels, Matt, and Tai went quickly over to T.K. and Kari.

"Are you okay, Kari?" Tai asked softly, forgetting about the bag.

"T.K.?" Matt said, shaking him slightly.

Use a gift…A voice said, passing by as if on the wind. Tai put his hand into the bag and drew out another bag – It was blue. He opened it. Inside were many bottles and things. He pulled one out that said Use On Cuts/Scrapes He opened it up. It was a salve, which he and Matt quickly put on T.K. and Kari's wounds. Another bottle said For Unconsciousness: Rub Gently On Forehead/Temples Tai and Matt rubbed this salve gently on T.K. and Kari's foreheads and temples. Soon they woke up, better.

"Well," Izzy said, "We have a problem. We need to get back to Rainbow Mountain, but where is it?" No one in the group had any idea where even the general direction to Rainbow Mountain was.

"Use another gift." Mimi said.

"We only have two gifts left!" Tai responded. "We shouldn't use them up right away."

"But who says they don't work more than once?" Matt said.

"Besides, Tai, this really is an insecure place to battle. Why let the enemy choose this as the battleground?" Joe asked, fitting his Crest's description of Reliability.

"He has a point. It is most likely that the Mimickers will attack together now." Izzy said. So Tai reluctantly put his hand into the bag and drew out what looked like a fine silver chain. But something hung on it. It looked like a purple gem. It was about the size of a fist. The gem was rounded by gold and glittered in the sunlight.

"What's Brittany's gift?" Sora asked.

"It looks like a necklace with a gem. But that doesn't help us. Where is Rainbow Mountain?" Tai asked. The gem suddenly floated out of his hand and the image of a cat appeared in the middle. The image turned and seemed to be pointing in a direction.

"It must be something that tells you where something is when you ask it." Izzy said. "It will lead us to anywhere we want to go, apparently."

"Let's go in the direction it shows us, then." Tai said. They started off, and before long, Rainbow Mountain was in sight. "Brittany must have made it, and it works." They reached Rainbow Mountain before long. They stood not far inside the open Golden Gate, talking about what they should do to prepare for an attack.

"Well," Tai said, pointing, "We don't have time to plan! Heads up, the Mimickers are here!" A white tiger two times too big with metal armor and way to long claws stood in the doorway of the Golden Gate. Behind her, five other large cats, a lion, panther, cheetah, tiger and a leopard stood lined up. They were each two times the normal size with armor here and there, wings, and long claws or fangs.

"So." The white tiger said. "We meet again. And you alone, without those pesky, nosy Riders." She gave a menacing smile. "They have abandoned you. We know; we heard them considering and deciding. They left you alone so they could spare themselves the trouble of and from you."

"They wouldn't do that!" Tai shouted.

"Ah, but do you know them well enough to know that? How much have they really told you about themselves?" The panther sneered. The kids felt themselves pulled into this thought, pulling them into evil thoughts.

Somehow, Tai's fingers found the bag. He had a flashback of some of Katie's words: Pull out the sixth, mine, when you are in your darkest hour and hope seems gone forever…and Do not fear. And remember this: whatever I have said to you in the past, I truly, truly, meant. Tai fumbled in the bag and drew out a small, silver bag – Katie's gift. He pulled out the thing in the small bag. He looked at it through the swirl of darkness. It was an indigo and violet 6-point-star bottle. It shone a light through the dark. As he held it, it was if someone whispered these words in his ear:

Whenever you call for help, I promise I'll come. Tai knew what to do. He held the star above his head, shining a light through the dark, and he called out:

"Katie! Come help us!" As he cried these words, he put the star bottle on the ground. It's light increased, and the Mimickers shrank back in fear and surprise from the light. The light continued increasing so that they all had to close their eyes. Suddenly the light shrank down and went out. And in front of the kids and Digimon, between them and the Mimickers, stood the Rainbow Riders and their winged unicorns. Katie in front, the other Riders lined up behind her. They appeared larger than before and more powerful.

"You!" The enemy white tiger growled. "You cannot possibly…The Council…"

"Your creatures on the Council are not to mess with the affairs between us. We remain the Guardians as we always were and always will be. This cannot be changed." Katie's voice rang out like a great bronze bell. "You Mimickers have a large reputation as liars, cheaters, and meddlers of goodness and evil, as do your followers."

"Arianna as well." The cheetah hissed. "She is much more powerful and will be coming." The Riders (Guardians) made no reply.

"You and me, Guardian, you and me." The white tiger said. "The two of us, our followers not interfering. We will battle to the death. You claim the prophecies foretold it, so go with them, as you always do." Katie said nothing, but turned back to the others.

"She is right. I must." She said, including the other kids and Digimon in the conversation. "You must not interfere. If something happens to me, you must let it happen. But I will be fine." She turned back to the Mimickers, stepping forward. The Guardians and their winged unicorns backed up and motioned the Digi Destined back. Katie and the Mimicker stood alone, facing each other. The enemy white tiger turned into an angel looking somewhat like Katie. Only the wings were an ugly gray/black color. They faced each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally the Mimicker shot into the air.

"Dark Swords Dance!" She cried, and sent a horde of black swords spinning at Katie. But Katie was quick.

"Cosmos…Sagittarius! Capricorn!" Katie cried, showing her own attack. Two beings made of stars and light, a centaur holding a bow and arrow and a ram charged at the Mimicker, crashing into the Dark Swords and preventing the blow. Then the Mimicker herself dived at Katie. At the last moment, Katie stepped back in the air and kicked at the Mimicker.

The battle went on like this for what seemed like hours, though it was only minutes. The Mimicker attacking Katie, and she countering with her Cosmos attack. Finally, when both of them looked exhausted, they both paused.

"Mimicker, you manipulator and liar, I will give you one chance. Withdraw you and your followers and never attack again, or…" Katie started, but she was cut off.

"Never, Guardian. And the funny thing is, I was going to ask you the same thing." The Mimicker smirked.

"Dark Sword-"

"Cosmos…Alpha Centauri!" Katie's attack hurtled at the Mimicker, and created a huge explosion with bright light. When the light finally settled down, the Mimickers had disappeared, and Katie was lying on the ground. Renee ran up to her and examined her.

"Brittany, call the Indigo Phoenix. From what I can see, the Phoenix would be the only one to help her." Renee said. Brittany nodded and called one of her falcons. She appeared to be telling it something, and the falcon flew off.

"What happened?" Tai asked.

"Something's wrong. I think I know what it is, but I'd better wait for the Phoenix." Renee replied. It wasn't too long before the falcon returned with a large, indigo phoenix.

"Greetings, Guardians. And what calls me here?" The phoenix asked. Renee simply gestured to Katie and told the phoenix about the battle between her and the Mimicker.

"I know what happened." The phoenix said after a moment. "Using Alpha Centauri in her attack, well, you know about Alpha Centauri – an attack to be used in extreme circumstances. Apparently the Mimickers, yes all of them, threw in the last of their energy and evil into the shock waves and explosion, enough to knock her out for a while.

"However, she will heal well and amazingly faster if you take her to the cave behind the waterfall. A healing place, but you must leave her alone so she will heal properly." The phoenix ended here. "I know Arianna is planning an attack, but trust me." The phoenix then regained flight and flew away.

"I'll take Katie to the cave." Rainbow said. Renee put Katie on Rainbow's back and Rainbow flew off. While Rainbow was gone, they waited. The waterfall was a ways away from where they were. Rainbow had returned when suddenly, an angel with red wings riding a red winged unicorn appeared.

"Arianna." Renee said. The angel gave an evil smile. Her red wings were slightly dark, and evil color.

"I see you defeated those fool Mimickers, so I decided to come myself to deal with you." Arianna said.

"I have come to battle you, before my master, Lucarinia, comes. He won't want to deal with some pesky little gnats with all the things he has to do." She smirked.

"Gnats are we?" Adrienne said angrily. Cheyenne lowered her horn, as did the other winged unicorns.

"Stop!" A voice called. "There will be no battle." It was Katie. It had taken her only about a half-hour to heal, as the phoenix had said. Katie faced Arianna.

"You!" Arianna said, glaring at Katie. Katie made no reply, only looked at Arianna. Arianna's sapphire blue eyes blinked.

"You don't have to remain with evil." Katie said softly. "You can come back. Do you even remember who I am to you? Who our father is?" The others looked confused. Even the Guardians did.

"Stop playing mind tricks." Arianna said, though her voice sounded faint, quiet.

"I'm not." Katie said. "I'm only trying to convince you of who you really are. Which side is really right for you?" Katie's emerald eyes remained locked on Arianna's sapphire ones. Finally, after several moments, Arianna sighed, closed her eyes, and smiled. Rednal and her wings lost their dark, evil red and settled into a lighter, pinkish red. Arianna slipped off Rednal and she and Katie embraced. Before the others could say anything, a figure appeared in front of them.

Katie and Arianna suddenly broke into wide smiles. The figure looked like he had come from the medieval times or something. He had a brown beard and a sword hung at his side. He had the air of someone important with great authority.

"Time traveling always makes me a bit tired." He said. Then he smiled at the confused faces. "It would be unlikely for you to know who I am. Except," He paused, surveying the Digimon, "You might." He gestured to Magnaangemon.

"Why would he?" T.K. ask.

"He carries the sword that once belonged to me." The older man said. Magnaangemon held up the sword attached to his wrist.

"But that's…" Renee said, blinking in surprise. Then she turned to Katie. "You and Arianna and him…we've been best friends all this time and you never told me?!" Katie and Arianna laughed.

"But who is he?" Kari asked.

"I," Said the older man, sweeping a bow, "Am King Arthur of the Round Table.

"I gave Magnaangemon Excalibur. I sent my daughters forward in time to achieve what the prophecies foretold and to create the things that were to be.

"Your daughters?" Tai asked.

"Well, let us explain it all out." Katie said.

"You see," said Arianna, "Katie and I are twins, and we come from King Arthur's time. As he said, he sent us forward in time to do what some old prophecies foretold."

"No one in King Arthur's court expected us two, young twins to be able to achieve anything, so they protested and Merlin had to take a stand in all of it." Katie said.

"I realize this must sound confusing to you all," King Arthur said kindly, "And no doubt hard to believe. But it is true."

"Are you genetically his daughters? Or did he adopt you?" Izzy asked, for reasons of his own.

"Well," Katie said, "According to Merlin and all the others, our parents were never found and no one knew who they were. Merlin apparently knew all about it happening, and he told Arthur that if he adopted us, good would strike evil a downfall."

"Do you know who your parents were?" Tai asked.

"That is not for me to say. Not now, with Lucarinia about." Katie said. As if to prove her words, the sun and sky suddenly seemed darkened. A great sense of evil and darkness surrounded them. Katie, Arianna, and Arthur stood in front of the others, even the Guardians. Arthur unsheathed his sword and held it in front of him, ready.

"Lucarinia, show yourself!" Arthur said.

"Sorry, just dropping in to say hello before I go on." An evil voice hissed. "I won't be materializing right the moment. I have to go on a bail." The voice laughed, and drifted away. The darkness disappeared. Arthur did not sheath his sword. Katie and Arianna went back to the others and helped the kids.

"Are you okay?" Arianna asked. The kids and Digimon nodded.

"That was Lucarinia." Arthur said.

"And if he meant what he said, then we have trouble. Let's go." Katie said. She turned, and, with the others following her and Arianna and Arthur at her side, she began walking to the other side of Rainbow Mountain. She began walking down, and stopped at a cliff.

"Below lies the place where all 'dead' evil Digimon dwell." Katie said. "Arianna, you and I will go down and see what's going on. The rest of you, wait. Don't follow us." She and Arianna jumped off the cliff and flew downwards. The others waited anxiously. Suddenly the two girls shot up into sight like rockets. They landed in front of the group.

"We have to get back to the Gate. Hurry, Arianna, Arthur, and I have to go ahead. Follow quickly as you can." Katie said, breathless. She, Arianna, and the king went off quick as lightening back to the Gate. When the others caught up, they saw the three standing in front of an angel as dark as Katie was light. They turned as the others came up.

"We have help, just in case." Arianna said, and she motioned to the side, where Wizardmon, Piximon, Whamon, and Chuumon were. Behind them were several others like Saberleomon, Unimon, Frigimon, and others.

"But we have a problem." Arthur said to the Digi Destined. "Five are to fight Lucarinia alone, not the three of us alone. The remaining two is among you."

"How do we know who they are?" Matt asked.

"Another prophecy." Katie said.

"Listen." Arthur said. "Five shall fight the evil ultimate, not his band or more. Two swords of Gemini, of Twilight, of Night. A sword of the old king from older times. A sword once belonging to the Pendragon, given to another, guardian of a young one. The fifth is quite like the fourth, guarding a young one and angel as well, and yet, carries no sword. A sword of Dawn shall be given to the sword-less one, and the five shall battle as a team against Him, until two reveal an untold prophecy.

"Now, we have figured out most of the first part of the prophecy. Katie and Arianna carry the swords of Twilight and Night. I come from older times." Arthur paused a moment. "You must figure out who the remaining two are." He and the two girls stepped back a bit and waited.

"Okay," Izzy said. "This just takes logic and knowledge. It isn't too hard. Let's start on the fourth. According to the prophecy the fourth will carry a sword once belonging to the Pendragon, who is King Arthur. Excalibur is likely that sword, and Magnaangemon carries it."

"Does that mean Magnaangemon has to fight?" T.K. asked.

"It is the most logical and likely answer." Izzy replied. "Since the fourth and fifth are among us. Also, he guards a young one, which would be you, T.K.

"Now, the fifth. According to the prophecy, it is supposed to be like the fourth, 'guarding a young one and angel as well'. Well, that almost points it out. Also 'and yet, carries no sword'. That is likely you, Angewomon."

"Shall we battle him, Angewomon?" Magnaangemon asked. She nodded, and they turned to the waiting three.

"Your sword, Angewomon." Katie said, and she took a gleaming sword in its sheath from Arthur and gave it to her. "Its name is 'Dawnlight'." She and Arianna pulled out their own swords.

"Twilightwalker." Katie said, holding up hers.

"Nightstrike." Arianna said, passing hers in a slow half circle.

"And Maranou." Arthur said, holding out his own sword.

With each of their swords drawn, they faced Lucarinia and his army. That is when they realized who was in the army. It was all the Digimon that they had defeated, from Devimon to Piedmon. The Mimickers stood just behind the dark angel.

"Well, what took you?" Lucarinia sneered.

"Watch it, Lucarinia. You have no idea what the five of us can do. Why don't you ask your defeated army?" Arianna called. This started the battle between them and Lucarinia. Katie and Arianna side by side dove at Lucarinia, swords raised, and he barely blocked because he was dealing with Angewomon and Magnaangemon on the other side. Arthur himself went for Lucarinia's face. Lucarinia threw him off.

The battle went on for a while like this, with observers from good and evil sides. Finally someone called out:

"Stop!" It was Katie. Lucarinia backed away and the other three joined her and Arianna. "The last part of the prophecy must happen."

"You are going to reveal an untold prophecy." Arthur said. Arianna nodded.

"Listen. It is a short prophecy. Two sisters of Gemini shall finally battle the evil ultimate; a battle that is final, whichever prevails. If the sisters win, they will rest. If the evil wins, both worlds shall fall into an everlasting darkness." Arianna stopped here.

"You said you never knew who your parents were." Angewomon said. "Do you?" Katie smiled.

"You will see." She said. She turned to the other three to include them in the conversation. "Gemini is a constellation with twins. Arianna and I are the 'The sisters of Gemini', or twins. Meaning she and I must battle Lucarinia alone." Arthur didn't answer for a moment, and then he nodded. Before Katie and Arianna stepped back to Lucarinia, they said at the same time:

"Do stars have parents?" The three looked at each other, completely surprised.

"Wait a second," Arthur said, thinking, "They're the two twins in Gemini! Literally! Pollux and Castor." They looked back at the two girls.

"Ah fighting by yourselves, are you?" Lucarinia hissed. The girls said nothing. Finally, they both said together:

"Cosmos…Gemini!" And they turned into stars and light. They held swords as they had.

"Lucarinia, you are the leader and creator of evil Digimon. Arianna and I, or should I say Castor and I, and the leaders and creators of good Digimon. Even so, we are forced to banish you.

"By Scorpio and Sagittarius, by Leo and Sirius, and by Alpha Centauri and Gemini, we banish you from the Digital World and Earth. We banish you and your evil followers until…" She stopped. A bright light once again surrounded them all, and Lucarinia and his evil band screamed angrily, and the light all at once disappeared. All of the evil Digimon and Lucarinia were gone. But so were Katie, Arianna, and Arthur.

"Katie and Arianna won the battle. They have gone to 'rest', as their prophecy said." Renee said, standing by her fellow Guardians, who looked both sad and happy.

"So…is evil completely gone from the world?" Tai asked.

"Evil is never completely gone. But for a time, our worlds will have peace. Arthur returned to his own time." Emily said.

"Does that mean…?" Mimi started, and then stopped.

"I'm afraid so." Adrienne said softly.

"What?" Kari asked.

"You came here to drive out the evil. You have done so, so you are no longer needed. You have to return." Nikki said. The kids looked surprised, half happy to see their parents again, but then their faces fell.

"Will we ever get to come back?" Matt asked.

"None of us know if there will be a flood or tornado the next second." Renee said. "You may need to return, and you might not." She smiled gently. "Say goodbye."

Tai went to Metalgreymon, and he said softly: "I'm going to miss you so much, Metalgreymon. But I promise I'll see you again." Metalgreymon picked him up gently and nodded. "I'll miss you, Tai."

Matt stood by Weregarurumon. "Weregarurumon, I'll never forget you. And I'll always think of a time when I'll see you again." Weregarurumon knelt down in front of him. "I, too, will think of that, Matt."

Joe came in front of Zudomon. "One little good thing about this is my allergies won't go so crazy here. The bad thing is, I have to leave you." Zudomon held him in his hand. "Joe, I promise I will see you again."

Izzy stood in front of Megakabuterimon. "You've been prodigious, Megakabuterimon. I promise I'll never forget you and I'll always look you up on my computer every now and then." Megakabuterimon nodded. "I won't need a computer to look you up, Izzy. I'll always remember you in my mind."

Sora stood in the palm of Garudamon's hand, looked at her eye to eye. "I'm going to miss you so much, Garudamon. I'll never forget you." Garudamon smiled. "And I shall never forget what you have done for me, Sora."

Mimi stood in front of Lillymon. "Oh, Lillymon, I don't know what I'm going to do without you. I'll never forget you." "Mimi, we'll see each other again, just remember that." And the two embraced.

T.K. stood looking up at Magnaangemon. "I'll always remember you, Magnaangemon, and everything you've done for me. Will you forget me?" "T.K., how could I forget someone as special as you?" Magnaangemon knelt down and gave T.K. a hug, and T.K. cried.

Kari stood in front of Angewomon, who had knelt down in front of her. "Angewomon, does this mean I'll never see you again?" Kari asked softly, letting her tears out. "No, Kari, I promise I'll never forget you, and remember: I will see you again." Angewomon and Kari embraced.

Jenny stood in front of Biriamon. "I'm going to miss you, and I haven't known you that long." "It will be okay, Jenny. I will see you again." Jenny nodded and managed to hug Biriamon.

Julie patted Leoparamon on the head. "Well, I guess I'll see you soon…maybe. I'll never forget you." "And I shall never forget you, Julie." Julie wrapped her arms around Leoparamon's neck a moment, and then she stood.

Next, the ten children said fond farewells to Wizardmon, Chuumon, Whamon, and Piximon.

"Come, we shall return you to your world." Renee said gently. "And remember this, all of you: The greatest friends departing in deepest sadness will surely meet again in greatest gladness." She and the other Rainbow Riders lined up and passed their staffs in half circles in the air. And the ten children were returned to their own world.

"Will we see them again?" Angewomon asked.

"I do not know if anyone of the face of this planet will be alive when the sun goes down." Adrienne said. "But I believe you will see them again. The Digital World is free now. You can go and do as you like now."

The ten Digimon said sad farewells to the Riders (Guardians), who led an extremely large and long rainbow across the sky.

The ten Digimon split up and went different ways, though they made sure they got together every now and then to talk. They also met up with the Riders (Guardians) every now and then.

As for the four on Rainbow Mountain, they met up with the ten Digimon and the Guardians (Riders).

Oh, yes, and the children. They went home to find their world back into place. They told their parents all about it, and came to write about their adventures.

Will they return? Find out in the sequel to this story, called "Many Secrets".



The Beginning