Disclaimer: I don not own Digimon, only the ideas and choices made in this fanfic along with a few characters i made just for this story alone.

Hey! guys! I'm back with another story! I know i have a lot of them out right now but I'm waiting for summer break which is about nine days away. I'll be working on them all summer, i promise!

Artist: Dj Satomi
Title: Castle In The Sky

There's a place in my mind
No one knows where it hides
And my fantasy is flying
It's a castle in the sky

It's a world of our past
Where the legend still lasts
And the king wears the crown
But the magic spell is law

Take your sword and your shield
There's a battle on the field
You're a knight and you're right
So with dragons now you'll fight

And my fancy is flying
It's a castle in the sky
Or there's nothing out there
These are castles in the air

Fairytales live in me
Fables coming from my memory
Fantasy is not a crime
Find your castle in the sky

You've got the key
Of the kingdom of the clouds
Open the door
Leaving back your doubts

You've got the power
To live another childhood
So ride the wind
That leads you to the moon 'cause..."

Three tasks… three warriors… three guides… three enemies… three worlds… three, three, three… Always three…

The Law of Three

Tai glanced around. He could have sworn he'd been here before. Sitting up, he faced the blinding light of the sun. Something moved beside him and he quickly whipped his head around to look at his side. A small dinosaurian like creature lay fast asleep, breathing evenly and deeply against Tai's hip. He blinked.

"Agumon?" The creature cracked open an eye before leaping up and tackling the teen.

"TAI!"

A clawed hand gently shook the shoulder of the teen in front of him. The light violet fur marked by darker purple stripes. Red eyes stared intently at the sleeping figure. It sighed.

"Matt…Matt…. MATT!" he finally barked. The teen shot up and looked around wildly before his gaze came to rest on the creature before him. He smiled at the sight of his old friend.

"Hey Gabumon…"

A groan as Davis rolled over and onto his side. He cracked open his eyes to come face to face with a sleeping Veemon. He blinked and then sat up. He couldn't be in the Digital World… could he? One look around his surroundings and he knew he wasn't there. He sighed and poked Veemon after fixing the goggles on his head. Veemon's eyes shot open and he yawned, stretching while sitting up.

"Where are we?"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Phoenix, Phoenix,

Sorrow and gloom,

I filled my heart with unending doom.

Cry, Cry,

To the end of time,

Until the day I end this rhyme…

Warbler, Warbler,

Why do you sway?

To keep those who travel

Far away.

Why for the travelers

Do you weep?

To warn them of death

in the stony keep.

Dungeon, Dungeon,

And brimstone walls

Pinning me

To the world of laws

Treasure hoarded for the love

For all that shines and sparkles above…

Three verses will be sung by the last night of the third month. As the last note falls, the sands of time will still… and the moons will align… then all will fall into rhyme.

I twist words, I play the strings of life like a harp, strumming whichever way I want, playing with lives and twisting, turning paths until the way becomes unclear and I turn friends against friends and enemies become allies. Come play my game where the only law… is the Law of Three….

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Night fell fast as the sun began to creep below the horizon, blacking out the lines of trees and stones, making the poor duo trip and fall on their faces. Tai looked over to his side where Agumon had fallen yet again. He stopped and helped up the mud covered Digimon, noticing the grime coating his own arms and hands. He frowned. Ever since he grew older, he'd acquired an extreme dislike of getting dirty. A twig snapped somewhere nearby.

Tai glanced at Agumon who nodded and they both scanned the area. A figure, a shadow, moving just past the first row of trees. It was fast, stealthy like a cat… or a fox. Tai gulped. He'd forgotten how scary the Digital World could get at times. The figure suddenly split and became two. Tai froze.

Matt shook his head; water droplets fell from his hair. His slate eyes scanned the trees surrounding the small crystal clear pond. He didn't like how quiet it was. The sky had been darkening for over an hour now and Gabumon seemed to have sensed Matt's unease.

The previously mentioned Digimon reappeared after slipping off briefly in search of food. He came back empty handed. Matt's eyes softened at the shamed look on his friends face. He set a hand on Gabumon's shoulder.

"It's okay, Gabumon… At least you tried." The Digimon lifted his head at this and smiled slightly. A shadow suddenly loomed over the two. Then, within the blink of an eye, the shadow became two.

The fire crackled and Davis sighed happily as the fish cooked on sticks. The small trail of smoke filtered up through the canopy of the treetops, blocking out the moon slightly with a smoke screen. Veemon was lazily dangling his hand and tail in the small river nearby, letting the luke-warm water rush over his skin and pass him by. The relaxing atmosphere was short lived, however, as a spear came to rest against Davis's neck and Veemon was pinned down by another, stronger arm.

Tai was thrown back as one of the figures charged, throwing a shoulder into his chest. His back hit a tree at full force, knocking the wind from his lungs. Agumon made a move to help him when the other figure slipped out of the shadows and surrounded him in nine large tails. The fox like face snarled inches in front of his snout. Agumon whimpered.

Greedily gasping for air, Tai sucked in as much as he could before the same shoulder as before was slammed into his chest once more, pinning him against the tree. The attacker let him fall to his side. His eyes began to close and he saw just the hands and feet of his attacker as the person took out a rope. "Bind the other one…"

Matt ducked and rolled out of the way, spinning around to come face to face with a girl around his age. Her wild eyes were fierce as the black paint that encircled them added a tribal wilderness about her. She narrowed her eyes and stepped forward, suddenly lashing out with a straight hand at his neck. He stepped to the side out the way and countered with a punch aimed at her stomach. He didn't have time to think about fighting a girl being wrong. She dodged and brought her knee right up into his jaw.

He sidestepped and glanced Gabumon fighting it out with a large cat like creature. He caught time to see Gabumon go down before another attack came. He moved to the side but her bare foot clipped him in the ear, making his skin bleed and sting. He turned to look at her once again, about to attack, when the butt end of her hand hit him directly in the jaw, throwing his head back. He hit the ground with a loud crack and rolled onto his side in pain. She pinned him down with her foot and bound his hands. Seconds later he blacked out with the image of her face burned in to his memory and his ears ringing.

Davis's attempted fight was all but a success. Infact it was a miserable failure. Veemon had almost managed to free them both but was knocked out in the process. He wasn't much better off. A few hits and the spear had him pinned through the shoulder to the cold, hard ground as blood seeped from his wound. The person seemed to be tall and looked almost female like in build. The only problem was he couldn't see her face. A large tribal mask of a wolf covered her face and hair, the wolf's pelt falling over her back and down her shoulders.

Veemon had been taken down by what seemed to be a small deer like creature with wicked looking horns and fangs, but scarily enough it looked cute. The spear was removed after a while and he was flipped onto his back, his hands bound and carted off as he slipped into blackness.

Tai opened his eyes to find not only he and Agumon in the room but also four other faces. The first was Matt, his eyes closed and his body slumped beside the second, being Gabumon who waved slightly in greeting after noticing Tai's awakening. Davis was curled in a corner, also out cold, as was Veemon. Agumon as well was unresponsive besides tiny little whimpers of pain or grunts Tai returned Gabumon's wave when the door opened.

"Get them to their feet… we can't stay long." A woman's voice whispered.

"I don't like that we had to use blunt force… it's wrong."

"I'm guessing that you attacked from behind…" the first said a little annoyed.

"And with her spear no doubt…" came a third voice, deeper than the rest. Tai recognized the first voice as his attacker's voice.

"Let's just get them moving so we can get out of these parts of the woods… this place is beginning to creep me out." The second said, her voice rising slightly in panic.

"Yes… let's get back to the labyrinth… they'll be safer there as will we." The third agreed. They walked fully into the clearing as he now noticed. One was wearing a wolf mask, lifted and resting on her head, the voice of the second speaker fit her looks. The girl next her held an air of deadly accuracy and deadly actions as the black paint and tattoos surrounded her eyes. She had to have been the third speaker. The other was likely the first speaker; her pale skin and high held head captured an air of confidence and a force demanding respect.

"Jezzy… get the blonde up. You caught him he's your care." The paler girl ordered. The girl with black around her eyes nodded and went over to where Matt lay. Gabumon looked at her frightened when she smiled sweetly and pet his head quickly.

"It's okay, buddy… I'm not gonna hurt ya, not anymore."

"Kat… do you want me to take care of the boy I brought?" asked the girl with a mask. Kat, the pale girl, nodded.

"Yes Alex… that would be helpful…" the masked girl nodded and walked over to where Davis mumbled in his sleep. Veemon was also still stuck in slumber. Kat finally walked over to where Tai sat. She smiled, noticing he was awake.

"Good to see one of you's awake." She then became serious, throwing a walking stick at him. "Get up!" she growled. Tai jumped and scrambled to his feet. Agumon woke with a snort and soon followed, noticing Tai's haste.

The others were soon awake and all standing, though painfully. The three girls were merciless or so it seemed. By sun up they had the group moving. They walked out of the clearing and into the real and dangerous forest. Noises that would have seemed normal on other times seemed to make them jump and become edgy. They stopped only once they'd reached the labyrinth. Tai gawked while Matt just panted. Davis was looking at it as if he couldn't believe it was real. Jezzy turned to look at them, her spear gripped loosely yet comfortably in her calloused hands. Her long, black hair plaited into a braid falling well down her back. Her blackish green eyes tinted with silver as the moonlight hit them.

"Welcome… to the Labyrinth…" She nearly purred affectionately as she spoke of the Labyrinth. Alex smiled and slid a hand over one of the older stones, smooth from years of weathering. Her slender fingers finally came to rest in the moss that filled the cracks of the stones. She brushed her feathery brown hair back and blinked her violet eyes. Kat swept her steely-eyed gaze across the group and woods around them before turning to face the six prisoners. Her reddish blonde hair fell loosely from its ponytail in the weak breeze.

"This is home… the first few times you leave and enter the Labyrinth you'll want to be accompanied by one of us… is that understood?" the silent response of nods answered her question. "Good… let's go…"

Inside the walls of the maze were cold and damp, water dripped from the faces of rack and created small pools an unsuspecting person could step into. They turned a few corners and Jezzy muttered something to Kat before trotting ahead. It was quiet… until…

"RAWR!!!!!!!!!" Scream Kat stopped and her head shot up as did Alex. Matt and Tai switched gazes and Davis tripped. Jezzy came speeding around one of the many corners and her fingertips grazed the earth beneath her, keeping her from falling.

"Run! RUN!" she screeched, jumping up and just barely dodging getting burned. The small group didn't have to wait for her to repeat the words.

"Into the Labyrinth!" Kat called. Jezzy's voice echoed over hers.

"Out of the Labyrinth!"

Matt glimpsed something out of the corner of his eyes and noticed it was a tail snaking it's way through the undergrowth. The tail suddenly reappeared and lashed out at Davis. Grabbing the kid's shirt collar, Matt roughly pulled him over to safety.

"WHAT THE HELL!?!" Davis screeched and then fell silent as he saw what had nearly happened to him.

"Hey Tai! Catch!" Kat yelled, tossing Tai a small object. He caught it and recognized it as his Digivice. Jezzy handed Matt his as she slipped along the tops of the Labyrinth and Alex tossed Davis his.

"You can Digivolve your Digimon here but they can only use weapons found around our world… none of their abilities from your world! Hurry!" Jezzy called, leaping over a large rock and flipping over to another wall to dodge the large flames that came spewing at her. "NOW!" She disappeared over the edge of the wall. Matt looked to Gabumon. The Digimon nodded in response. Tai looked to Agumon as Davis looked to Veemon. The response was the same. They Digivolved. That's when it dawned on them just exactly what Jezzy had said.

"WHAT!?!" Davis yelped, tripping over his own feet for a second before regaining balance. Kat came up beside them.

"Use what you know! Use what's around you!" and at that second they burst from the Labyrinth, Jezzy right beside them all the time.

"Just give it a small fight! Don't over work yourselves. You might wind up dying on the way if you do!" This didn't sound so fun so they quickly nodded and thought of what they could do.

"Garurumon! Stop and face it!" Matt finally called. Tai caught on, as did Davis. The six of them stopped to face it. Jezzy tripped and skidded across the leaf-covered ground. Picking herself up she turned and shouted.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?! When I said fight it I meant while running! You won't even see it coming!" She was right… they didn't…

- - - - - - - - -

What happens when all innocence dies? When… all hope is lost even if only for a single second? Do we die for that small instant? Do we… lose ourselves? I wouldn't know…But… what happens when one close to you is thrown back into the mix…?

Life… is so cruel…

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Opening his eyes, the light blinded him. He rolled over and buried his face into a pillow. Wait… he opened his eyes and sat up. Sweeping his gaze across the room around him he found he wasn't in his own room. Sunlight filtered in through the open windows and fell onto his face, glinting off his sandy blonde hair. He blinked and his slate eyes quickly adjusted to the sudden brightness. The room was decorated with white woods and silver painted walls. Symbols for what he guessed to be ice decorated the walls in just the tiniest hint of a shadow. He stood and noticed he was dressed in what appeared to be blue silk. The shirt hung loosely open and showed the bandages wrapped around his torso. He looked at his hands to find them bandaged down to his knuckles and up to just below his elbow. Blue jeans hung loosely on his hips. A black net like material was placed at the bottom of the left pant leg, finishing the pant leg entirely. The right leg was styled like that of shorts. The same black netting hung from where the denim stopped and down to just below his knee. His feet were bare and cold against the wooden floor as he began to walk towards the silvery colored wooden door. He stopped as he found a pair of socks and silvery white tennis shoes. A small note was scribbled on a piece of paper lying on top of the shoes. He slipped them on and read the note.

The room was a dark orange, almost burnt in color. He stretched and looked around, finding a neatly folded set of clothes on a chair near the bed. He walked over and picked up the shirt. It was a tight fitting silk Chinese style top. He slipped it on and clasped the small hooks in the front. The fabric was a blaze orange with swirls of slightly darker orange in the shape of fire in the stitching. He found that a pair of kaki pants accompanied the shirt. He slipped these on gratefully and found the vibrant orange shoes. He then found the note. He picked it up and quickly read the neat handwriting.

He shook his head and ran a hand through his messy brown hair, stopping as he noticed the lack of goggles on his head. He looked around wildly and stopped as he came to see a shirt and pants hanging from the doorknob to the room he was in. The walls, he now noted, was a gray tinted blue and dull orange. He walked over and pulled on the black shirt and orange vest. He zipped it up so the neck closed around the tip of his chin. He then pulled on the dark blue denim jeans. The shoes beside the outfit were blue with orange markings. These he slipped on and noticed the small, neatly folded origami crane with the words "Read me" written on it. He unfolded the paper and read.

It was a council of nine. The three girls sat at the head of the table. Tai, Matt, and Davis each sat in every other seat, their Digimon sitting beside them. The atmosphere was dead silent and heavy upon their minds was the quiet. Finally Kat stood.

" The three of you have been summoned here as the destined Warriors… your Digimon, I believe as you call them, are what would be known as the three Companions. We are what you will know as the Three Guides… we're here to help you in your tasks…" the room was dead silent and finally Jezzy spoke.

"Kat… I do believe they don't know what you're talking about. Let me explain…" she said, standing. Kat frowned but nodded and sat down with out a word. She scanned their confused faces.

"How many of you have ever heard the tale of…The Law of three? It's a fable or a fairy tale told in your world if I remember correctly." The boys suddenly grasped what she was talking about. She smiled slightly. "Good… this is what you could call a real life telling of the aforementioned tale. You all play a part in the tale. You have three choices… finish and take the crown, finish and hand the crown down… or never finish… and never go home. None of these choices are set in stone. The tasks you'll face will influence your final choice. Each of you will have your own three individual tasks as well as three tasks for you as a group to complete. We're here to guide you through the world and help you along the way where we are allowed. Will you accept the first task?" she held out a well built, slender hand that was elegant yet strong in the way she held it palm up and out towards them. Her nails appeared almost like talons. She kept her gaze steady and calm as she looked at each of them in turn. Each looked at the other and finally Matt pushed back his chair and stood.

"I'll take it…" She smiled and brought her hand up to beckon him forward.

"Come then… the three of you need to think of one person you care about most… we're going to play a little game of hide and seek…"