The Crest of Courage
Part I: Return to the Digital World"Tai! Here!" Matt called as the soccer ball went flying upfield. Tai took it and began dribbling toward the opposing team's goal. "Tai, pass it! I'm open!" Joe called out. Tai considered his options. With Sora closing in on his left, and Izzy moving up from behind, he didn't have many. He made his decision: "Joe! Take the shot!" Tai executed a perfectly aimed pass straight at Joe. But true to his nature, Joe tripped over his own two feet and went sprawling in the dirt. The ball bounced off Joe's head and flew straight into the waiting talons of Biyomon, who immediately began flying in the opposite direction. "Hey, no fair flying with the ball!" Matt shouted. Biyomon ignored him and continued flying toward Tai's goal. "Agumon, get ready!" Tai shouted. Agumon crouched low in the goal, getting ready to block Biyomon's shot. But he never got the chance. "Boom Bubble, PAH!!" Patamon called. The blast of air was enough to make Biyomon lose her balance and fall tumbling to the ground, landing in the arms of a waiting T.K., who took the ball and began dribbling upfield. "I've got him, Sora!" Izzy yelled, closing in behind T.K.
Suddenly, Izzy stopped running and sat down on the hard-packed dirt with an audible plunk. "Izzy, what's wrong now?" Tentomon asked somewhat irritably, as Matt took a shot at their nearly defenseless goal to score a point. "I heard my computer make this funny noise." said Izzy, bending over his backpack to pull his laptop computer out. In the background, Matt and Tai were exchanging high-fives and slaps on the back. "Is THAT ALL?!" Tentomon shouted. "Forget it then, I'm going to go curl up with Gatomon!" Tentomon turned away from Izzy in a huff and flew toward Gatomon, who ran and hid behind Kari.
"All RIGHT!!!" Tai shouted, still busy bragging about the goal his team had scored. "You're the man, Matt!" "YES!" Matt shouted. "Did you see the way I faked out…" His words were cut off by a loud screech from Tentomon, who had been sneaking up on Gatomon from behind. "Lightning Paw!" yelled Gatomon, slashing Tentomon across the face. Tentomon began screaming hysterically and launched himself into the arms of Izzy, who swatted him away angrily.
"Quiet down, everyone!" Izzy shouted. "We've got mail from Gennai!" Everyone immediately stopped their shouting, even Tentomon, and crowded around Izzy to get a better look at the computer screen. The screen showed an image of a file opening- very, very slowly. "Can't you open that any faster?" asked Gatomon. "Sorry," Izzy said, "But downloading files all the way from the Digital World takes time." Finally, after what seemed like an hour, but was probably no more than about five minutes, the familiar image of the old, balding man filled the monitor. Gennai peered into the monitor intently as if straining to see something, then looked up with a start. "Hello, Digi-Destined!" Gennai said cheerfully. "It seems there is a slight problem here in the Digital World that requires your assistance." "EVIL DIGIMON ARE TAKING OVER THE CITY! HELP!!!" a voice in the background began screaming. Gennai made a shushing motion with the back of his hand. "Don't mind her, she's always been a bit over-excited," Gennai muttered. "Anyway," he said, brightening, "it is imperative that you return to the digital world at once." Hysterical screaming erupted in the background. "The cheese is in the refrigerator, dear," Gennai muttered. "Oh yes," said Gennai, "and remember, don't do drugs." The screen went blank.
"Why does he always give us these nonsense messages at the end of every download?" asked Agumon curiously. "Yeah, it sounds like he's quoting a self-help tape or something," Kari said, giggling. "Cut the chatter, guys!" Tai commanded. "Now, how about this mission? I don't know about you guys, but I'm for it." "Let's do it!" said Sora. "I'm in," Izzy said thoughtfully. " I hope my hair doesn't get too messy!" Mimi exclaimed in horror. "Why not?" Kari said. "Yeah," T.K. said, "It's just another chance for all of us to get together and have some fun." "We're doomed!" Joe said cheerfully. "Good!" Tai said, "Then it's settled. We leave in two hours." The Digi-Destined split up to make their separate preparations. "Why doesn't anyone EVER ask the Digimon about these things?" moaned Tentomon.
Two hours later, after the Digi-Destined had all packed according to their various needs ("Wanna bet Mimi's suitcase is full of hair supplies?" Tai smirked.) Izzy sat down again to open up his laptop. "That's strange," Izzy muttered thoughtfully. "It usually doesn't take this long to load. And I'm reading a strange power drain…." "Oh, don't worry about it." Tai interjected. "Just open the Digital portal!" Izzy frowned thoughtfully. "All right, here goes. I just hope you know what you're doing, Tai." Tai was about to protest, but a violent, eye-tearing blue light erupting in mid-air stopped him before he could make a sound. No matter how much he did it, this part always made him nervous. "All right, gang," Tai said, trying to sound brave, "Let's do it!!! Oh, and Mimi, give Davis and the others a call, would you? We might need some backup." Hoping he didn't sound too worried, Tai stepped into the pulsating blue gateway….
***
Meanwhile, in the Digital World, Leomon sat enjoying a cup of tea with Elecmon in the Primary Village. "It's nice to see you again, Elecmon," Leomon rumbled from his position next to the window. "It's nice to see you, too, Leomon." Elecmon laughed pleasurably as a tiny, newly digivolved Koromon nestled up against his stomach. "So, how are things on File Island?" Leomon was just about to answer when a low, ominous rumbling resounded through the village. The tiny Koromon was shaken from Elecmon's lap and fell to the floor, where it ran, whimpering, for safety. "What's that noise, Elecmon?" Leomon asked. "I don't know- I've never heard anything like it before!" Elecmon exclaimed, his eyes wide. Perhaps the Digi-Destined really hadn't defeated all the evil Digimon when the Dark Masters were destroyed, Elecmon thought. Abruptly, the rumbling ceased, and a strange, pulsing red glow appeared on the horizon. "Come on, Leomon," Elecmon said urgently. He opened the door to the little hut and strode out purposefully. Drawing his sword, Leomon followed. He was not prepared, however, for the sight that greeted him. A tall, menacing figure cloaked all in black stood before the village greens. It wasn't the figure, however, that got Leomon's attention. The black-cloaked stranger was sitting astride a gigantic Dark Tyrannomon. Leomon couldn't help but take an involuntary step backward, as the Dark Tyrannomon towered above him by a good eight feet. The stranger raised an arm and gestured in the direction of the village. "Primary Village is now mine," he said, in a low, menacing voice. "Leave the village immediately or be destroyed." Leomon glanced at the horizon, where the strange, red glow flickered persistently. "Meramon," the stranger answered in response to Leomon's unspoken question, "Ready to attack Primary Village should you resist." He grinned coldly. "A few too many even for you, Leomon, wouldn't you agree?" A low growl began to build in Leomon's throat, but surprisingly, it was Elecmon who spoke up next. "What do you want with Primary Village?" he asked in a quavering, yet resolved voice. "It is none of your business," the stranger snapped sharply. "It is enough for you to know that you shall either leave, or be destroyed." The cold grin was replaced by a strange, calculating look. "Your choice, Leomon." Leomon started forward, slowly, purposefully. "The village is not yours to order anyone out of," he growled. "It is I who will destroy you, for having threatened Primary Village. Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon roared. The attack sped toward the stranger with amazing accuracy. "Iron Tail!" Dark Tyrannomon rumbled. His enormous, dark tail swung toward Leomon, dissolving his attack. The black-cloaked stranger turned toward the horizon, and gestured at Primary Village. "Meramon- attack!" he shouted. The dull red glow on the horizon flared up to a brilliant orange, and the wall of living fire began to close in on the village… Meanwhile, Tai and the others emerged from the Digital Portal. In a flash of blinding blue light, the Portal disappeared behind them. Tai blinked his eyes to clear away the brightness- and then realized that not all of it was from the Portal. A strange, flickering orange glow flared bright against the horizon. "What's that?" T.K. asked, in a tone somewhere between excitement and utter terror. "I don't know, T.K.," said Matt. "Tai!" Mimi shouted, "That glow- it's coming from Primary Village!" "What?!" Tai exclaimed breathlessly. "We've got to hurry!" Mimi shouted. "Our friends may be in danger!" As one, the eight Digi-Destined began to run toward Primary Village. "Elecmon!" Leomon roared. "We've got to stop those Meramon before they destroy Primary Village!" Elecmon nodded his assent. As one, the two Digimon rushed to meet the Meramon. The stranger smiled atop Dark Tyrannomon. Everything was going according to plan… "Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon roared, the attack punching its way straight through one of the Meramon. "Super Thunder Strike!" Elecmon yelled as he took off into the air. A flash of blinding light struck the Meramon from the sky, as Leomon attacked with his sword. But the Meramon were not so helpless, either. As one, half a hundred fiery fists rose into the air. "Fire Punch!" the Meramon cried. The combined blasts hit Elecmon and sent him tumbling from the sky. "One down, one to go…" the stranger in black muttered to himself. But he had not counted on Leomon. "Fist of the Beast King!" he cried, desperate to reach his friend. "Fire Punch!" the Meramon yelled, and Leomon took one- two- three blows to the chest, but still he charged on. The curved sword Leomon wore on his back was in constant motion, slicing, stabbing, anything to reach Elecmon. But Elecmon wasn't out of the fight yet. "Body Attack!" Elecmon shouted. Accelerating himself to fantastic velocities, Elecmon used his own body as a weapon, ramming into a Meramon. As he lay on the ground, momentarily dazed by the attack, a towering Meramon rose above him, ready to administer a fatal blow- only to be cut clean in half by a full swing of Leomon's sword. Several of the Meramon were actually in rout, fleeing from the combined onslaught of the two defenders. "Let's finish them, Elecmon!" Leomon growled. Tai paused, breathless. "At this rate, we'll never make it!" "If we can get the Digimon to digivolve, we should be able to move a lot faster." Izzy pointed out. "Great idea, Izzy!" Tai said. "Okay guys, let's do it!!!" At once, a bright, white glow began emanating from Agumon. He began to grow, far taller than his previous height of three feet. The Digi-Destined backed up, anticipating Agumon's change in size. A dark, bony helmet grew to cover Agumon's face. Meanwhile, similar changes were happening with the other Digimon."Agumon digivolve to… Greymon!"
"Biyomon digivolve to… Birdramon!"
Gabumon digivolve to… Garurumon!"
Tentomon digivolve to… Kabuterimon!"
Now astride their newly digivolved Digimon, the eight Digi-Destined continued toward Primary Village. Atop Dark Tyrannomon, the black-cloaked stranger watched with interest. Leomon and Elecmon were actually passably good… But in order to conquer Primary Village, they must both be destroyed. A pity, really- they would have made a valuable addition to his army. But some loyalties are just too strong to be subverted, the stranger reminded himself. Time to close the trap, then. He nudged Dark Tyrannomon in the direction of the battle. "Fire Blast!" Dark Tyrannomon bellowed, sending a huge blast of flame toward Elecmon, who leapt out of the way just in time, as the blast took out three of the remaining Meramon. "Tankmon, forward!" A heavy, pitch-black column of dust moved forward out of the shadows. "Elecmon!" Leomon called out. "Those are Tankmon. If we stay here, we'll be finished!" "Speak for yourself, Leomon." Elecmon said. "As for me, I will defend Primary Village to the last. There's not even anywhere to run." Leomon glanced around at the encroaching circle of enemy Digimon and realized Elecmon was right. It had been a brilliant trap. Ahead, the column of Tankmon blocked any hope of advancing. Behind, Dark Tyrannomon sealed off any possible retreat. And all around them, the surviving Meramon prevented them from leaving. Leomon made his decision. "I'm staying with you, old friend," Leomon said softly. He turned to face the advancing Tankmon. "Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon cried out.The eight Digi-Destined continued their race toward Primary Village. "This is farther than I remembered, Tai." Greymon panted. "Come on, Greymon," Tai urged, "Not much farther now. It should be right ahead."
"Super Thunder Strike!" Elecmon cried out. A blinding flash of electricity leapt toward the advancing line of Tankmon. "Direct hit!" Elecmon shouted. But when the smoke had cleared away, the line of Tankmon was still advancing, untouched! "Elecmon!" Leomon called. "Concentrate on the Meramon- those Tankmon are Ultimate-level Digimon. Your attacks won't even touch them!" Elecmon leapt back, cat-quick, as a blast from the approaching Tankmon vaporized the spot where he had just been. "Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon roared, aiming at the nearest Tankmon with all his power. The Tankmon was not destroyed- but the attack was enough to bend its main turret, so that when it attempted to fire on Leomon, the resulting explosion was sufficient to stop it in its tracks. "Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon shouted once again. This time, the attack was enough to destroy the weakened Tankmon. An enormous explosion ripped through the air, throwing Leomon and Elecmon to the ground.
"Wow," Izzy gasped as a shock wave of searing heat threw Garurumon to the ground; "It's getting hot up there!" "I just hope we're in time!" Tai called back, as Garurumon picked himself up and sprinted ahead to join the others.
Elecmon hurtled through the air, the blast from the destroyed Tankmon throwing him back a good twenty feet. This turned out to be a good thing. "Hyper Cannon!" a Tankmon rumbled, as a heavy blast of coherent light left a rather large crater where Elecmon had just been standing. Elecmon was about to heave a sigh of relief when an unusually tall Meramon appeared behind him. "Fire Punch!" the Meramon cried out, as a blast of flame knocked Elecmon from his feet. The Meramon leapt forward and pinned Elecmon to the ground, holding him there, unable to escape. The Tankmon rumbled forward. "Super Thunder Strike!" Elecmon called desperately. The Meramon hung on grimly. A ball of energy gathered at the end of Tankmon's blaster cannon. Elecmon closed his eyes and waited for the end. "Leomon!" Elecmon cried, "Save yourself! Primary Village is finished! I-" Elecmon never completed his words. "Hyper Cannon!" Tankmon rumbled.
No! Elecmon! Leomon thought as he dove to avoid a new attack from Dark Tyrannomon. I have to escape! Leomon thought desperately. I must warn the Digi-Destined! "Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon roared in cold fury. The Meramon on the receiving end of the attack simply disintegrated. "Iron Tail!" Dark Tyrannomon roared from behind. The huge, dark tail swung about to connect with the sole surviving defender of Primary Village, and Leomon knew no more…
Atop Dark Tyrannomon, the Warlock Lord smiled coldly. The first phase of his plan to destroy the Digi-Destined had succeeded. He hadn't anticipated Leomon's interference. Leomon had been a good foe- he had cost the Dark Lord far more than he had expected to lose. He would have had a more enduring respect for his opponent, except Leomon was dead. He had no respect for the dead. Death was the ultimate failure, and failure was one thing the Warlock Lord would not- could not tolerate. "Orders, my lord?" Dark Tyrannomon rumbled. The man cloaked all in black thought for a moment. "Destroy Primary Village. Completely," the Warlock Lord said, cutting off Dark Tyrannomon's cry of protest. "But, master-" "No one must escape!" the cloaked stranger said sharply. "Execute your orders, Dark Tyrannomon." "As you wish, my lord." Dark Tyrannomon rumbled softly. "New orders!" he roared to the surrounding Tankmon and Meramon. "Destroy Primary Village!" As one, the army of the Dark Lord turned and marched toward Primary Village.
A small army of Koromon, Yokomon, and Tsunomon crowded the streets of Primary Village, ready to defend their homes to the last. Dark Tyrannomon made his way toward the village. It would not be hard. True, there were hundreds of them, but most were not even Rookies. Dark Tyrannomon reached the outskirts of the village. It was time to start the attack. "Fire Blast!" he bellowed. The defenders rushed forward. It would be a slaughter. Already he could see scattered digivolutions in reaction to the crisis, but it would not be nearly enough to stop the advancing army of the Dark Lord…
"Koromon digivolve to… Agumon!"
"Bukamon digivolve to… Gatsumon!"
"Come on, guys!" the newly digivolved Agumon shouted. "We've got to defend Primary Village!" But already in his heart, even he knew it was hopeless. "Everyone, concentrate on the nearest Tankmon!" Gatsumon yelled. "Pepper Breath!" "Rock Crusher!" "Blue Blaster!" The attacks winged their way toward the nearest Tankmon. The combined blast slewed its turret around, stopping it in its tracks. "Again!" Agumon shouted. Once more hundreds of pinprick attacks were mounted on Tankmon. Alone, they were ineffective, yet, combined, the attacks were enough to destroy Tankmon. Another resounding explosion ripped through the air. "Wow," Gatsumon exclaimed, "When those guys decide to go out, they go out with a bang!"
The Warlock Lord shook his head to clear out the ringing in his ears from the explosion. The tiny Digimon were more effective than he would have thought. He shook his head in amazement. "Digimon!" he bellowed. "Attack!!!" "Fire Blast!" "Hyper Cannon!" "Fire Punch!" "Mega Claw!" The army of the Dark Lord was ruthless. In a matter of minutes, they had reduced the ragtag force of Rookies to a smoldering pile of ashes, and soon all that was left of Primary Village was a smoking ruin. The Dark Lord laughed coldly…
Leomon groaned and opened one of his eyes. It hurt just to move… Even though it felt as though every bone in his body was broken, Leomon exerted a superhuman effort and pushed himself upright. He groaned in agony. Dark Tyrannomon's attack had nearly killed him. I've got to find the Digi-Destined, Leomon thought to himself. Otherwise, the Digital World doesn't stand a chance… Moaning in excruciating pain, Leomon took a last look at what was left of Primary Village. The sight seemed to stiffen his resolve, and Leomon staggered off alone into the darkness.
"There it is!" Tai shouted, gesturing toward the bright orange glow that had served as their beacon on the journey to Primary Village. "Just over that next ridge! I think we should-" Tai stopped short as he crested the ridge, and looked down on Primary Village- or what was left of it. "Oh, no…" Tai breathed. Sora came up beside him and gasped audibly. "Hey, Tai, what's wrong?" Mimi asked, trailing a bit behind the others. Seeing the smoldering remains of Primary Village, she let out a small scream, and collapsed into the arms of a very surprised, but very pleased Joe. Pleased, that is, until Joe also got a look at what was left of the village. "It's awful…" said T.K. "All those poor baby Digimon, murdered…" Kari breathed in shock. "We were too late to save the village, after all." Tai said sadly. The group was silent for a long moment, staring at the scarred, blackened remains of the once beautiful village. The silence was broken by the sound of a heavy body crashing through the bushes at the edge of the clearing. "Leomon!" Mimi gasped. "Primary village… is finished." Leomon gasped. "The Dark Lord…. killed everyone." With a groan of excruciating pain, Leomon collapsed onto the soft, earthen floor of the small, moonlit clearing in the forest.
As Mimi, Joe and the others rushed to assist him, Izzy sat frowning over the screen of his portable computer. "Izzy," Tentomon said irritably, "Now is not the time to be playing computer games." "Poor Leomon!" Mimi cried. "Guys, we've got worse problems than that." Izzy said, looking up from his laptop with worried eyes. "Remember that power drain I told you about earlier? It's gotten worse. A lot worse." "But- But that means…" Joe stuttered. "That we can't open the Digital Portal to go home." Izzy finished for him.
"How did this happen?" Tai demanded. "Someone lured us here." Izzy said. "The message from Gennai, the attack on Primary Village… it's all been a trap." As if to punctuate his words, explosions rang out from another part of the forest. "That's where we would have been right now, if I hadn't changed the coordinates of the Digital Portal." Izzy said. "But- but how…" stuttered Joe. "The e-mail that someone sent us must have had some kind of virus attached." Izzy said. "I'll do what I can about it- but it's going to be a long time before we're able to return home."
"Guys," Tai said, regaining his composure, "It looks like we have a long battle ahead of us. I think we should make camp here for the night." "I'll take first watch," said Izzy. "Good." said Tai. "The rest of us had better get some sleep."
As the rest of the Digi-Destined spread out around the clearing, and Izzy continued his work on the computer, Tai looked up at the cold, starry night sky. Whoever this "Dark Lord" is, he thought, clenching his crest in the palm of his fist, he's going to pay.