Disclaimer: I do not own anything beyond what I created… which is pretty much everything in the story anyway…

Legend of the Holy Dragon 2

The Fate of the World

 Sacchi opened her eyes groggily. Rubbing her eyes, she recalled what had just happened.

Flashback

"End of Earth." Kakodramon, Kei and Takeshi said this in eerie unison.

Sacchi, Rick and Horusmon watched as the duo symbols shattered and the pieces landed on the ground. Immediately, the ground began to writhe and buckle beneath their feet.

Desdemon howled and opened a gate to its own Dark World, also known to some as the Dark Ocean. Turning to snarl at Kakodramon, it fled through the gate, which closed behind him.

Just as it did so, the entire Digital World shattered into a zillion fragments of data.

End Flashback

Following that, she had felt as if she was being torn apart and had passed out. Looking around, she gathered that the same had happened to the others.

They were in a sea of glowing pink balls. Some way to her left, she saw Pekomon and Vipermon tangled in a network of pale green 'threads'. She could not see the other four of their group.

Sacchi stretched…and tensed when she hit something solid. Turning carefully, she found herself staring at Rick. He was still unconscious and Sacchi silently thanked her lucky stars that he could not see the blush on her face. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and gently shook him. Only then did she realize that they were wrapped in the same sort of 'threads' that were around their Digimon.

Rick slowly opened his eyes. As his eyes focused, Sacchi's concerned face appeared before him. Giving a startled yelp, he tried to move backwards but found himself constrained by the 'threads' that held them.

"Morning," Sacchi said in amusement. Rick tried not to show his embarrassment but failed as Sacchi saw the look on his face and giggled. Rick just threw her a glare and started rubbing his temple.

"Oh man! I'm going to feel this headache for days!" He grumbled.

"Right… So how do we get out of here?" Sacchi asked, reaching to tug at the threads that held them.

"Hmmm… They're made of data right?" Sacchi nodded. Rick continued thoughtfully. "Then maybe our D-gadgets could do something… Maybe disintegrate them or something…"

Sacchi stared at Rick. Noticing that, Rick said defensively, "I know that probably sounded dumb, but do you really have to stare like th-" Rick was cut short as Sacchi threw her arms around him.

"Rick, I swear you're a genius!" She said happily. Turning to her D-gadget she started fiddling with the many buttons as Rick tried to hide his redder than normal face.

"That was such a good idea! I mean, the D-gadgets have too many buttons and dials to be simply used for scanning, slotting and mapping. Now I just have to find the right function…" Sacchi paused, hitting buttons at random. "There!" She exclaimed, as her D-gadget flashed the words 'Data modifier' and a semi-transparent green blade appeared above her fingers.

Tentatively, she touched the blade to the threads. Immediately, the strands burst into green and white data particles. The particles split into two halves, floated over to each of their D-gadgets and were absorbed.

"Cool!" Rick exclaimed. He pressed a button on his D-gadget and obtained a scan of the area. "Hey Sacchi, look. The area is exactly the same as before, only that it's made up of those pink balls." Carefully, he stepped forward, testing to see if the ground would hold his weight. To his surprise, it was no different form walking on normal ground. Next to him, Sacchi was jumping around to see if the ground would break.

"Stop jumping, Sacchi. Lets go free the Digimon." Rick said as he led the way to their partners. Hopping lightly, Sacchi followed.

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Five lustrous globes floated halfway between the ceiling and floor of the dark room. Around them was an intricate system of slender wire-like objects. Each and every strand of this web used to glow, lighting up the room, but now they were dark. Occasionally, a faint sparkle would dart across the 'wires', but otherwise there was no indication of what the web used to be.

The five globes were similar yet different. They seemed to show the same places, but with subtle differences that made each one unique. Right now, though, they all had a common point.

They all had a fine network of cracks that covered their entire surfaces. And they were all pink.

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Pekomon's eyes blinked open. Yawning, she leapt to her feet and stretched, before jumping onto Sacchi's shoulder. Sacchi immediately began stroking Pekomon, while using her D-gadget to check for injuries. Rick did the same with Vipermon, who was in a uncharacteristically bad mood.

"Of all the things to do, they had to go and destroy the world. What in the name of the Holy Dragon were they thinking?" He mumbled while Rick satisfied himself that his partner had not been injured.

"Give it a rest will ya, Snakymon? Its not like we're dead or anything. Besides, they didn't even jeopardize the mission." Pekomon snapped.

Vipermon responded with a hiss while Rick said, "Lets go look for the others."

Raising her D-gadget, Sacchi hit a few buttons and a hologram of their surroundings appeared. To the south-east was a purple dot and a blue dot. They headed in that direction, but not before Pekomon stuck her tongue out at Vipermon.

With the map, they easily located the other members of their group. As before, Rick and Sacchi used the Data modifier to cut the threads. This time, however, Takeshi and Kei's D-gadgets absorbed the data particles.

In a few minutes, all four of them were conscious. Kei and Takeshi both ached all over and their partners were not much better.

"What happened? Why is everything pink?" Takeshi asked once he found his voice.

Rick frowned. "You mean you don't remember what happened?"

"I know we were very determined to defeat Desdemon… then everything became dark… Argh! I can't remember any more…" Kei groaned, rubbing her temples.

Rick, Sacchi, Pekomon and Vipermon exchanged looks. There was an uneasy silence as the four contemplated whether to tell the others.

"What's wrong? Did we cause the pink-ness?" Shaulamon asked.

Finally, it was Kangamon who answered. "I know what happened…"

Seven sets of eyes turned to her.

"We… we destroyed the Digital World."

"What!?!" The two DigiTamers exclaimed, staring incredulously at the small kangaroo Digimon.

Kangamon sighed and glanced up at them, her violet eyes holding an unfathomable sadness.

"We destroyed the Digital World. Shaulamon and I DNA Digivolved to Kakodramon, the Chaos Dragon. It is the parallel of the Holy Dragon, and one of the most powerful dark Digimon." She sighed again. "It is a miracle that the Digital World has not fallen apart but merely shattered."

"So… What do we do now?" Kei asked softly.

Pekomon spoke up. "We should go and see the Sovereign. It might have new instructions."

The other Digimon all nodded in agreement.

"Sovereign? Is that a Guardian like Seraphimon?" Sacchi asked.

"No, it is above the Guardians. Now, I need all four of you to set your D-gadgets to the Portal function and put them in the center next to each other." Kangamon instructed.

The DigiTamers followed her instructions. As their D-gadgets connected, a dazzling burst of light lighted up the area and they were gone.

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They reappeared a moment later in what seemed like a large church hall. The walls were made of highly polished rocks that glimmered as light from glowing balls scattered around the hall bounced off them. Every few meters or so a spiky crystal pillar rose from ground to form the roof.

In the middle of the room resided the biggest Digimon the DigiTamers had ever seen. It had a lion's body covered with glistening golden scales and it had horse-like legs and tail. It had four eyes and a long twisted horn protruded out from its forehead. A furry golden mane framed its head.

Wordlessly, the four Digimon knelt down before it.

"Rise." The Digimon did so. "I see you have brought your human partners."

"Yes, Lord Jinlingmon," Kangamon replied. "We have come for instructions because of the recent… change in the Digital World caused by the Chaos Dragon."

"Ah, I see…" Jinlingmon said thoughtfully. Then, with a massive foreleg, it beckoned for the DigiTamers to step forward.

Tentatively, the four walked up to Jinlingmon, staring in awe at the golden Digimon.

"Don't be afraid, children. Come close, let me take a look at my Knights's partners…Ahh… yes, determined and strong, just like all those others…" Jinlingmon mused.

"Erm… excuse me, sir, I was wondering…" Kei paused.

"You would like to know about this Central Sector and why you were given this mission. Yes, I will tell you.

"In the Digital World, there are five Sectors: North, South, East, West and Central. Currently, only the other four are considered official Sectors, and are known as Quadrants. Approximately two hundred years ago, the Central Sector was removed from the other Sectors due to a disagreement between myself and the other Sovereigns. The Central Sector still existed, but was rendered almost inaccessible from the other Sectors, and thus caused the Central Sector to exist as if in a different realm, a different plane of reality.

"What brought this about was the discovery of the Shrine of the Holy Dragon in a realm only accessible from the Central Sector. At the time, the Holy Dragon had been 'deleted' for around ninety years, and the other Sovereigns did not have much faith in the Dragon's return. They voted to have the Shrine destroyed or at least have the portal deactivated.

"I disagreed. The trust in the Holy Dragon and the faith in the prophecy was the strongest in this Sector. I felt that the Shrine should remain. What happened next was a series of complications that led to the banishment of the Sector. What I mean to say, though, is that I am very glad now that the Shrine had not been destroyed.

"Because the fact is, the entire future of the Digital World, from the most fundamental levels to the most advanced, depends on this Shrine."

Jinlingmon paused to survey the eight before it. They were silently absorbing all that it had told them. It continued.

"You know that the Digital World is literally digital, made of data. The Shrine of the Holy Dragon holds the Core which is the 'heart' of the Digital World and is what first caused the data to solidify and form the most basic level of the World. From there, the data continued of grow and evolve, finally becoming what you see now. However, certain things are capable of destroying it. One of these things is Kakodramon's End of Earth attack, which is what happened in this case. Another one of these things is the D-Reaper.

"However, as long as the Shrine exists, reviving or recreating the Digital World is possible. The Core has a sort of backup system. But there is one problem. The Backup Core requires the Backup Crystals to work. There are five Backup Crystals in all, one in every Sector, held by the Sovereigns. Two hundred years ago this task would have been simple, but now the other Sovereigns are less likely to cooperate."

Jinlingmon sighed. Takeshi looked into its eyes and was surprised to see a deep and profound sadness. Then Jinlingmon stamped a foot lightly onto the ground. Eight palm-sized rocks flew up and floated in a circle around the group.

"Knights of the Central Sector, I command you as your Sovereign first to travel to each Sector and collect the Crystals. Next travel to the Shrine of the Holy Dragon and repair the damaged Digital World. Lastly, resurrect the Holy Dragon and defeat the Black Prodigy Desdemon. Do you accept your task?"

The DigiTamers watched as their partners kneeled once again. "Lord Jinlingmon, we accept our task." They said in unison.

Jinlingmon smiled. "Receive my blessings and know that you have my full support." The eight rocks which had been circling the group dissolved and were absorbed by the Digimon and D-gadgets.

The air in front of Jinlingmon glittered and a jewel appeared. It was long with pointed ends and had a cross within a circle symbol etched on it.

"This is the Central Backup Crystal. Take it with you."

The crystal split into four sections and each implanted itself on a D-gadget. The fragments glowed with a faint gold light.

Jinlingmon spoke again. "I have one last gift for you. I give you my strength, so that you will be able to open the doorways between the Sectors." As it said this, all four Digimon felt a raw energy explode within their bodies and run along each and every vein.

Jinlingmon gestured and a golden portal appeared in the middle of the room. "Remember your task, and good luck. Now, go!"

The Digimon and DigiTamers alike bowed to the great golden Sovereign, then leapt into the portal and were gone.

Author's notes: Well, how was it? Please R+R~! Thanks to TCZ for inspiration on Jinlingmon and the Central Sector. Just for your information, Jinlingmon is based on a magical creature in Chinese mythology, the Qi Ling (aka the Chinese unicorn). It occpies the central area in relation to the north of Xuan Wu aka snake-tortoise (Ebonwumon), south of Zhu Que aka red phoenix (Suzakumon), east of Qing Long aka green dragon (Qinglongmon) and west of Bai Hu aka white tiger (Baihumon).

Up next: Their visit to the North Sector, ruled by Ebonwumon. Stay tuned!