The Returning of Power

Part 1

Power Reborn

Roxas Delts. So that's what my name is. Roxas thought as he continued to examine the ID card he had found in a wallet that was in his back pocket. The picture showed him to have spiky, black hair that grew all the way down the back of his neck. His eyes, oddly, were black instead of white, and his irises were a solid, golden yellow. The personal information next to the picture said that he was eighteen years old, born on July 8th, 1997. However, the area where his address would normally be was blank.

Tearing his eyes away from the ID card, Roxas began to take a look at himself. He was wearing blue jeans and a pair of blue, white, and grey sneakers. Covering his upper body was a plain red Tee-shirt with a black dragon symbol over his sternum, on top of which was an unbuttoned purple, red, and white flannel long sleeve shirt. Hanging from his neck on a white string was a clear, pinkish crystal cut into an eight-sided column, the bottom end tapered to a point, with metal wrapped around it in a screw-like spiral, and on his right wrist was a brown leather wristband with the word, "Dragon," stamped across it. On his right ring finger was a silver ring with a large red gem set into it, which could possibly be a ruby.

Roxas then looked around to take in his surroundings. He was on a park bench in a park, with the blue ocean on one side, and a city skyline on the other. The sky was clear and the sun was shining directly overhead.

Okay, don't panic. Roxas told himself as he began to assess the situation. He was in a place that he didn't recognize, and he had no memories of how he got there and who he was. If I take time to take things slowly, I'm sure that I'll be able to figure out what in the world is going on right know.

"Hey, there," a voice spoke up. Roxas looked up to see a tanned man with brown hair and brown eyes. He was tall and had a kind looking face. From the way he was dressed and panting for breath, Roxas deduced that he was out on a morning jog.

"Hello, there," Roxas greeted, rising to his feet. To his own surprise, he stood as tall as the man in front of him. The man stared at Roxas's face as if Roxas was some sort of abnormal being.

"What's wrong?" Roxas queried.

The man shook his head roughly. "Nothing… it's just… your eyes. I've never seen anyone with black eyes and such brilliant yellow irises. It's a little disturbing, to be honest."

"Oh, sorry about that," Roxas apologized, avoiding the man's eyes. "I guess that's just the way I am."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," the man said apologetically. "That was very rude of me just now. Anyways, are you new around here? I've never seen you here before, and I know just about everyone who comes to this park."

Roxas grimaced. "I guess you could say I'm new," he muttered, "considering I have no idea where I am."

"You don't know where you are?" the man inquired.

"I just woke up here, and I have no idea where we are or even who I am," Roxas explained. "I guess I lost my memories, but I don't know why I would have."

"I see. That isn't good." The man was silent for a moment. "Why don't you come over to my house for a bit? It's as good as a place as any, and we can talk there and see if we can make sense about what's going on with you. My wife always cooks plenty of food, too."

"I think that's as good as an idea as any. I hope you don't mind." Roxas held up his wallet. "Apparently, my name is Roxas Delts. It's nice to meet you."

"Spencer Damon is the name," the man responded, holding out his hand. Roxas grabbed it and shook it. "It's nice to meet you. Now, I'm in the middle of a jog, so do you want to join me, or do you want to wait here until I finish?"

"Actually, a jog my do me some good," Roxas responded. "It just might jog my memories."

Spencer smiled at the pun. "Let's see if you can keep up."

Roxas returned the smile. "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you."

ΩΩΩ

"Omnimon, we're starting to run out of places to look," Gallantmon called as he hurried to catch up with Omnimon as Omnimon strolled quickly through the passageways of the mountain stronghold, Dragonspiral Mountain. Gallantmon was a Digimon completely covered in red, gold, and silver Chrome Digizoid armor. The red visor on his helmet had two yellow eyes and a set of teeth on it, and a long strand of silver hair flowed out of the top of the helmet. The Digital Hazard symbol was emblazoned on the center of his chest, and three Zero Units dotted his body. His right and left arms could transform into his lance, Gram, a lance that could only be rivaled in power by a Darkdramon's Gigastick Lance, and his shield, Aegis, respectively. He was the only Virus Digimon in the Royal Knights, and still sometimes dealt with prejudice because of that fact, but that only caused him to want to prove those who judged him even more.

"With all of the Digimon in the DragonForce Army and the Royal Knights we have available out looking for Equistedramon and DarkEquistedramon on Earth, we've already covered most of the planet in the day since the two of them disappeared through the Digital Gate," he added once he had caught up to Omnimon and matched his stride.

"Then keep searching," Omnimon ordered. Omnimon was a tall Digimon covered in almost completely white armor and black limbs with blue eyes. Omnimon's left shoulder was flat and shield-like, red on the outside and orange in the inside with the Crest of Courage in the middle, and his right shoulder was blue and spherical with several yellow spikes on it. In the middle of his chest was the combined Crest of Courage and Friendship. He also wore a cape that was white on one side and red on the other. His right hand used to be in the shape of a blue metal wolf head, and his left hand used to be in the shape of an orange metal dinosaur head, but due to a program that Equistedramon had created and uploaded to his own data, Omnimon's MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon heads that he had instead of hands were, at the moment, replaced with a set of black-clad hands with yellow claw-like fingers.

"Equistedramon has to be somewhere on Earth," Omnimon insisted. "If we just keep looking, we're bound to find him."

"Yes, but…" Gallantmon's voice drifted off.

"'Yes, but,' what?" Omnimon restated, stopping and turning around to look at his friend in the eyes.

"Well, there's always the chance that Equistedramon didn't make it through the Digital Gate," Gallantmon murmured.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, according to UlforceVeedramon and OmniShoutmon, the last thing that Equistedramon told them was that he was going to die and take DarkEquistedramon down with him," Gallantmon told him. "If they were wounded that badly, then they probably fell apart while still inside the Digital Gate before even falling into the Human World."

"Equistedramon is still alive," Omnimon stated as he turned around and continued down the passage, not a hint of doubt in his voice.

"How do you know that for sure?" Gallantmon inquired as the end of the passageway came into view.

"I just know it," Omnimon said simply as they emerged from the tunnel and entered a large grotto lit by the torches hanging from the walls. The cave was filled with different sized tables with matching chairs, and cupboards hung from different heights off the walls. When Equistedramon had designed the place, he had made it to accommodate a large variety of Digimon. Among the decent sized group of different Dragon Digimon from the DragonForce Army milling around the hall, Omnimon spotted several other Royal Knights.

The Royal Knights had first met Equistedramon just about a week ago, when the latter sent a challenge to Omnimon to see if he was worthy of being a Royal Knight. Not only did he defeat Omnimon, but he faced life-and-death situations head-on with a clear mind and a large amount of deserved confidence and overcame major trials during the week he was with the Royal Knights, prompting King Drasil, the king of the Digital World and the deity that the Royal Knights served, to break tradition and let Equistedramon join the Royal Knights without completing a mission from him. But during his first mission as a Royal Knight, Equistedramon had sacrificed himself to take down his evil half, DarkEquistedramon, as there was no other Digimon who could stand up to DarkEquistedramon, and neither of them would be truly gone if one of them survived. Just after they two of them had fatally injured each other, a Digital Gate had opened up, and the two halves fell in, and now were somewhere in the Human World on Earth.

The results of the two of them going missing, Equistedramon, the new member of the Royal Knights as well as the former Founder and Major General of the DragonForce Army, and DarkEquistedramon, the Supreme Commander of the DragonForce Army, caused the two forces to form a temporary alliance in order to find the two missing Dragon Knight Digimon. Since the fight between the two Dragons had destroyed the DragonForce Army's headquarters, UlforceVeedramon, who was the only remain Royal Knight at the scene at the time, offered them the shelter of Equistedramon's Dragonspiral Mountain stronghold for the time in Equistedramon's absence. King Drasil and Imperialdramon, the highest-ranking Digimon still alive within the DragonForce Army, came to an agreement, and the two forces that had been ready to war with each other were now working together.

Equistedramon had a gift of making immediate friends whenever he first met someone. Even though he had only known Equistedramon for about a week, Omnimon felt like he had a strong and deep bond with Equistedramon. So he had sworn to himself that he would do everything within his power to find his missing friend.

"There you are, Omnimon," a voice called through the crowds. Omnimon spotted the source of the voice and headed over to a table where Imperialdramon, Dorbickmon, and UlforceVeedramon were seated, each with a mug of Digijuice in front of them, and a small pile of Digibyte contains sitting at the center of the table. Shoutmon, who was much smaller than the other three Digimon who were sitting at the table, was sitting on the table itself, stuffing his face with Digibytes.

Shoutmon was a small, red dragon with blue eyes and a spiky mouth. His forehead was V-shaped, and there were green headphones around his ears. His chest, stomach, hands, and feet were white, with black fingers and toes, and the joints appeared to be held together by screws. The Small Dragon Digimon also had a red tail.

Imperialdramon had a more humanoid form than that of the more commonly known Imperialdramon Dragon Mode, very similar in appearance to that of the less commonly found Imperialdramon Fighter Mode, but there were several noticeable differences between this Imperialdramon and a Fighter Mode; mainly the colors. The wings were white instead of the usual red, and the black armor had become white, as well. In addition, there was a white long sword, called the Omni Sword, hanging from his back, with the same strange language written down the length of the white blade as that engraved in the gold ring on the Positron Laser attached to his right forearm. There were two yellow horns sprouting from each side of the hilt on the sword, one on each side. In the middle of the hilt was the combined Crest of Courage and Friendship, just like that in the middle of Omnimon's chest. It was an Imperialdramon in its Paladin Mode, a mode that cannot be reached unless an Imperialdramon Fighter Mode takes in the data of an Omnimon into their own digital makeup. This Imperialdramon was the current first-in-command of the DragonForce Army.

Dorbickmon was a large, crimson-hued draconian with five fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot, similar to that of a bird. There were scar-like stripes close to his yellow eyes with thin, black pupils. His whole body was covered in scaly armor with black, red, and white spikes. His head also had three horns, two jutting above the eyes and a black one sprouting from the center of his snout. There were also two red flame symbols on his chest, symbolizing his mastery over fire. He was the current second-in-command of the DragonForce Army, under Imperialdramon.

UlforceVeedramon was a tall, muscular, blue and white Digimon with gold, silver, and blue armor. His blue head had a pair of almond-brown eyes and two white horns. There was a large, gold V on his chest, and he had blue and pink wings. There were gauntlets on each of his wrists, in which he kept his sword and shield.

"Hello, all of you," Omnimon greeted them as he and Gallantmon sat down with them at the table. A Dracomon came by and gave each of the two newcomers a mug of Digijuice before heading off to the next table.

"Is it just me, or does this place seem to be more like a restaurant…?" Omnimon shook his head and focused on Shoutmon, who had finished eating and was lying with his back on the table, looking for all the world like an over-stuffed turkey. "I see that you de-Digivolved, Shoutmon."

"Yeah," Shoutmon groaned, struggling to sit up. "After everything I've gone through over the past two days, my body just ran out of gas. I need to build up some energy again."

"I don't blame you for that." Omnimon looked at Imperialdramon. "What's the status on the current situation?"

"We got a message just before you walked in, actually," Imperialdramon informed him. "We just got a lead on DarkEquistedramon. He's been spotted in Japan."

"So if DarkEquistedramon is still around, then that means…!" Gallantmon started.

Omnimon nodded his head. "That means that Equistedramon is still around out there!" He looked back at Imperialdramon. "What is DarkEquistedramon up to?"

"Apparently, he doesn't actually have much of a physical form at the moment, and the humans that see him just think they're seeing things. But DarkEquistedramon seems to be chasing after a young man by the name of Roxas Delts."

"Is this, 'Roxas Delts,' handling things okay?" Gallantmon asked.

"Humph," Dorbickmon snorted, smoke streaming out of his nostrils. "You won't believe this, but this kid is actually giving DarkEquistedramon a run for his money," he said as he leaned back in his chair. "He's managed to out-fox and even harm DarkEquistedramon multiple times already, and all without getting a scratch. But he's near the end of his rope. Apparently, DarkEquistedramon has trapped him in what humans call skyscrapers, or just really tall buildings, to put it simply, and there's no way for him to get out if he doesn't want to jump. Every time he goes up a floor, DarkEquistedramon destroys any way of going back down. He'll soon reach the roof, and I'm sure that's when DarkEquistedramon intends on making his move."

"But why would DarkEquistedramon be so hooked onto that boy?" Gallantmon questioned.

UlforceVeedramon shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe that kid has some kind of power that DarkEquistedramon wants to have for himself. Anyways, if we don't decide what to do now, that boy won't survive for much longer."

"Then I'll go," Omnimon put in. As everyone looked at him, he went on. "I'm the only one who hasn't gone to the Human World yet to look for Equistedramon, and I'm the best one to deal with DarkEquistedramon if the need arises. I happen to know about some weak spots that he has that Equistedramon told me about the night he gave King Drasil his armor."

"I'll go with you," Dorbickmon volunteered, rising to his feet. "I have a few things I want to ask DarkEquistedramon, anyways."

"Then you two better get moving," Imperialdramon commented. "That boy doesn't have much time left."

"We're on our way, don't worry," Dorbickmon said as he held up a round, grey metal sphere with a red button on the top. Omnimon had found a large stockpile of these devices in Equistedramon's private quarters and instantly recognized them as the space-oscillation devices that Kurata had invented to travel between the two worlds. He had deduced that Equistedramon had taken them from Kurata's lab in part of his plan for revenge against Kurata. They had then used them to travel between the two worlds in their search for the two Dragon Knight Digimon.

Dorbickmon pressed the button on the top and tossed it into the air. A yellow ring appeared, with yellow and green light pouring out of it.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Omnimon called as he stepped into the Digital Gate. Dorbickmon held a hand up in silent farewell as he too stepping through the gate.

ΩΩΩ

This is becoming increasingly ridiculous. Roxas thought to himself as he and Spencer hid from view from the stairwell behind a cubicle wall on an office level of the skyscraper DarkEquistedramon had trapped them in. He and Spencer had still been jogging when this transparent monster started to chase after them. Oddly enough, nobody but the two of them apparently could see the thing, and the two of them have been running away from the shadow for almost two hours. Roxas had managed to trick the illusion several times, but now they were trapped in a building and were forced to keep going up, while the shadow continued to chase them and wreck any means of going back down.

"How many floors do we have to go before we hit the roof?" Roxas panted, sweat dripping off of his nose as he and Spencer rested.

"This is the fifteenth floor," Spencer wheezed, who was even more out of breath than Roxas and drenched in sweat. "This building only has seventeen floors. We're starting to run low on time and on options."

There was a loud crash, and the door flew out past the cubicle that they were hiding behind and hit the opposite wall.

"Where are you, Equistedramon?" the shadow called out, its voice filled with evil glee. "Come on out and end this charade!"

"There he goes, saying that 'Equistedramon' name again," Spencer commented. "I wonder if he's referring to one of us. But neither of us are Digimon, and why would that one be out hunting for this, 'Equistedramon?'"

"Digimon, huh?" Roxas asked, sneaking a quick look around the corner of the cubicle. The shadow was thrashing across the room, knocking down cubicles one by one as it continued its search for them. "So that's what that thing is? And also, I wouldn't know if he was referencing to one of us as 'Equistedramon.'" He tapped his head with a finger. "No memories up here, remember?"

Without warning, a large, black, red-clawed hand reached around the corner of the cubicle and grabbed Roxas around the waist. Uttering a single, startled yelp, Roxas was lifted up into the air and held at eye-level to the Digimon. It was at that moment that Roxas realized that the shadow had a physical form now; it was no longer transparent, and the hand gripping his body felt plenty real enough.

The Digimon that was holding Roxas was a humanoid black-skinned dragon with black armor that had scarlet trimmings. He wore a dark grey vest-like piece of clothing with blood-red trimmings on his back, chest, and stomach that was held in place by three red diamond-shaped clips that connected it to the armor on his upper body, and his head was completely encased in a black helmet with large red spikes attached to the top. There were zigzag-shaped gaps that resembled two long rows of sharp teeth at the front of the helmet to allow air inside, and there was armor also covering the tip of his tail, from which three short red spikes sprouted. His feet had two toes on the front and one on the back, and there was one long, red spike on each of his knees. His wings were black with stiff, maroon skin stretched between the black spines that were connected to a thicker, black spine on the top of each wing.

"I've finally caught you!" the monster screeched as he watched Roxas struggle to break out of his grip for a few moments. "Even in a human body, you've caused me, DarkEquistedramon, a decent amount of pain and trouble today!"

Roxas stopped struggling and looked straight into DarkEquistedramon's solid black eyes. "If a mere human is able to cause something like you trouble, that must mean you're not all that much to begin with in the first place."

The Digimon smiled wickedly underneath its helmet as he made his way over to the large glass window nearby. Almost as an afterthought, his tail flicked out and sent Spencer flying. "I see you still have that smart mouth, even as a human," he hissed.

"I don't even know you, so how would you know anything about me?" Roxas spat. "And while we're at it, how do you even know that I'm the one you're looking for?"

"You don't know anyone or anything about yourself at the moment, do you?" DarkEquistedramon questioned as they reached the windows. Using his other hand, he broke the glass with a single punch, and the shattered glass began to fall to the streets below. "Don't try to deny it; if you still had your memories, you would have attacked my weak spots a long time ago. And I know that you're the only that I'm looking for because you happen to look just like he used to long ago, and your scent is extremely similar to his."

"What do you mean by, 'long ago'? Shouldn't he look different than me now, depending on how long it's been since you saw him?"

"Forget about it; you won't be living long enough to know the details, anyways." DarkEquistedramon then held Roxas out of the broken window, fifteen floors above the streets. "Now, you can either cooperate with me, or fall over a hundred fifty feet to your death. Your choice."

Roxas shook his head. "Sorry, but what I've seen of you so far, I would rather die than work with you."

"Always the fearless one, aren't you?" DarkEquistedramon hissed. "Still, you've always haven't made the smartest decisions." He loosened his grip, and Roxas slid down a couple of inches. "Goodbye, Equistedramon." And then he let go of Roxas completely.

ΩΩΩ

Omnimon and Dorbickmon emerged from the Digital Gate just in time to see DarkEquistedramon drop something from the broken windows of a building several blocks away from them. Ignoring the startled and screaming humans around them, they jumped up into the air and flew towards DarkEquistedramon. As they got closer, they saw that the falling object was a human.

"That must be Roxas that's falling!" Omnimon shouted. "We have to hurry and catch him!"

"It's no good; we're too far away to catch him!" Dorbickmon called over the howling wind. "He's too close to the ground!"

ΩΩΩ

As soon as DarkEquistedramon had dropped him, Roxas realized that he didn't feel any fear at all as he was falling. The only feeling he felt was exhilaration. The wind was ripping through his hair, howling past his ears.

Is this what it feels like to fly? He thought to himself as he plummeted towards the ground. If this is what it feels like, then I want to be able to experience this all the time.

That was when the crystal hanging from his neck began to glow with a blue-white light.

ΩΩΩ

"What's happening to that kid!?" Dorbickmon growled, his eyes wide with shock. The kid had begun to glow with a blue-white light that became brighter and brighter. About three floors from the ground, there was a bright flash of light, and Omnimon and Dorbickmon had to stop and cover their eyes.

ΩΩΩ

Roxas snapped open his wings just in the nick of time. He pulled out of his free-fall and barely managed to pull himself back up into the air, the white and blue scales on his belly skimming the road, causing sparks to fly. He flew back up into the air and hovered next to a glass-covered building, examining his new form.

His appearance was that of a large, white dragon with blue patches of striped skin showing at different places on his body. On each shoulder and on each side of his chest were blue and white gem-like stones set into the body. His white tail ended with four double sided spikes, and the bony wings had silver, sheet-like skin between the spines, and three spikes on the outside of each wing. He had solid yellow eyes and three horns curved from his head down the back of his spiked neck. Roxas also had light-blue hands with five claw-like fingers, and his feet had three toes on the front and one toe on the back.

Suddenly, the back of his neck began to itch. Trusting his gut feelings, Roxas moved to the side just as DarkEquistedramon crashed into the building where he had been just a moment ago.

"What is the meaning of this?!" DarkEquistedramon screeched as he dislodged himself from the building, pointing a claw at Roxas. "What is that form you have taken?! That's not your normal form!"

Except that the dragon he was pointing at was no longer Roxas. "I do not go by the name of Equistedramon or Roxas now," the dragon said. "But you can call me Stardramon."

"Damn you, Equistedramon!" DarkEquistedramon shrieked. "What kind of new power have you uncovered now?! I swear I'll-!"

The rest of DarkEquistedramon's sentence was cut off as Stardramon flew forward and caught DarkEquistedramon in a choke hold with one hand. He continued to place DarkEquistedramon in a headlock, pinning his arms to his sides with his wings in the process. Stardramon then dove straight down towards the ground. Just before reaching the ground, Stardramon released DarkEquistedramon and pulled out of the dive. With a loud cracking sound, DarkEquistedramon slammed into the road, causing a cloud of dust to rise out and hide DarkEquistedramon from sight.

Stardramon hovered over the sight of impact, preparing himself. "I don't know why you would be after me in the first place, but this is for all the trouble you caused for me! Dragon's Breath!"

A large silver, white, and blue flame shot out of Stardramon's mouth and cut through the middle of the dust cloud, hitting the ground hard enough to create a shock wave that shattered a multitude of windows in the nearby buildings. When the fire had died down, the heated pavement caused the dust cloud to dissipate quickly, revealing to Stardramon that DarkEquistedramon was no longer there.

Where did he go? Stardramon wondered to himself, looking around for any sign of the black dragon. I didn't see him leave after he hit the ground! How could he move so quickly?!

"Equistedramon!" called out a voice behind him. Stardramon turned around in mid-air to see a large, white knight-looking creature with a cape and a crimson-hued humanoid dragon flying towards him.

"Is that you, Equistedramon?" the knight called as he and the draconian stopped in front of Stardramon. "What happened to you?"

Stardramon flew several yards back to put some distance between him and the two unusual creatures. "Who are you guys?" he demanded. "Are you also Digimon? And are you after me like that black one was?"

The knight seemed to become a little put out. "Do you not recognize us, Equistedramon?" he asked softly. "Or are you not Equistedramon?"

"This dragon does have the same attack that Equistedramon possesses," the draconian said slowly. "It might be possible that Equistedramon de-Digivolved or something of the sort."

"DarkEquistedramon also called me by that name, 'Equistedramon'," Stardramon hissed. "What in the world is going on here?"

"That almost clinches it," the white knight said. "If DarkEquistedramon was chasing after him with such intent, calling this one Equistedramon, then it's almost certain that this is our missing friend."

"There's only one way to absolutely prove it," the draconian commented. He held out his hand to Stardramon. "In case you don't remember us, my name is Dorbickmon, and this Royal Knight here is Omnimon."

"Thanks for the introductions," Stardramon growled coldly, "but what do the two of you want with me?"

"We think that you're our missing friend, Equistedramon," Omnimon explained. "Even though you look nothing like him at the moment, it could just be that you de-Digivolved somehow."

"Do you have any proof that I'm your missing friend?" Stardramon inquired. "Why should I trust in anything you say, anyways?"

"Come, now, what would we gain by lying to you?" Omnimon scoffed. "We currently have two pieces of evidence to support this theory. One: you possess the same attack as Equistedramon, the Dragon's Breath. And two: DarkEquistedramon was chasing after you, calling you Equistedramon. In fact," he added slowly, "now that I think about it, there's another way to prove that you're our friend." Omnimon raised his left hand, which turned into an orange dinosaur head. "Transcendent Sword!" The mouth on the dinosaur head opened, and a silver blade with black metal in the interior, on which yellow symbols of an unknown language to Stardramon was written, extended from the mouth.

Reacting instantly, Stardramon flew back even further. But he wasn't quiet fast enough. The swinging sword just nicked him on the ankle, cutting deep enough to draw a fair amount of blood.

"What was that for?!" Stardramon roared, putting a hand over the cut. Beneath his hand, he could feel the skin close up almost instantly. At the same time, he felt a small stinging sensation spread across the back of his left shoulder.

"This clinches it," Omnimon stated, examining the blood on the edge of his sword. "I don't know any Digimon, other than Equistedramon, who has blood running in their veins instead of digital energy."

"You didn't have to cut me up to prove that!" Stardramon shouted, removing his hand from his ankle. Luckily, the blood that was still on his ankle and foot hid the fact that the cut had already disappeared.

"You're coming with us, Stardramon," Dorbickmon hissed. "That is what you called yourself, right?"

"I don't have to go anywhere with you guys!" Stardramon retorted. He turned around to fly off when something hit him hard in the back of the neck at the base of his head. He passed out almost immediately.

ΩΩΩ

"Wow, who would have thought you would act so rashly, Omnimon," Dorbickmon commented as Omnimon caught Stardramon before he began to fall. "This whole situation must really be getting to you if you're acting like this."

"Oh, be quiet," Omnimon grunted. "Help me carry Stardramon, will you? He's much larger and heavier that Equistedramon was."

Dorbickmon grumbled for a moment but didn't argue. The two of them each put an arm on their shoulders, dividing the weight between the two of them.

"Hey down there!" a voice called out from above them. Omnimon and Dorbickmon looked up to see Spencer standing at the broken windows in the building where DarkEquistedramon had dropped Stardramon.

"Who's that?" Dorbickmon growled as he and Omnimon flew up to the man.

"Why, if it isn't Spencer Damon!" Omnimon cried out as they got at eye level with the man. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Spencer smiled. "It's been a little more than three years now, Omnimon. I'm glad to see that you're doing well."

"Hold on for a moment," Dorbickmon mumbled, thoroughly confused now. "Do you actually know this man, Omnimon?"

"Of course I do!" Omnimon stated. "This man became trapped in the Digital World thirteen years ago and sought out King Drasil. His body eventually became a vessel for King Drasil after his Digimon partner, BanchoLeomon, took his soul into his own body. But after that fiasco with his son, Marcus Damon, and his friends three years ago, his body and mind were put back in the right place." Omnimon turned back towards Spencer. "I trust that you have been well?"

"I've been doing just fine, Omnimon," Spencer responded. He gestured at the unconscious white dragon propped up between the two of them. "May I ask what the deal is with this dragon?"

"We believe he's our missing friend who fell through a Digital Gate yesterday," Omnimon began. "Although he looks nothing like what he used to, we have several pieces of evidence to support the idea that he's Equistedramon, so we think that he just de-Digivolved. In case you're wondering who Equistedramon the newest member of the Royal Knights."

"I wasn't aware that the Royal Knights had a recruiting process," Spencer remarked. "So what are you going to do with Stardramon?"

"Well, while Equistedramon was still with us, we got a sample of his blood when we did a physical examination on him," Omnimon said. "So we're going to take Stardramon to the Digital World and see if his blood matches Equistedramon's blood. That way, we'll know that his is Equistedramon."

"Blood?" Spencer repeated, frowning. "But don't Digimon have digital energy instead of blood?"

"I know, it sounds unusual," Dorbickmon put it, "but Equistedramon was a special case. He was caught by Kurata five years ago and experimented on for Digimon-human hybrids. That's why his has blood instead of digital energy. And since this Stardramon has blood, too, it's reasonable to assume that this one is related to Equistedramon."

"So are Equistedramon and Stardramon even made of data anymore?" Spencer wondered out loud. "If they have blood, wouldn't it make sense if their whole bodies were made of the real deal? What if they're not really Digimon at all?"

Omnimon and Dorbickmon looked at each other uncertainly. "That's a topic that we've been avoiding thus far," Omnimon admitted. "But never mind that; I just had an idea. Do you want to come to the Digital World and meet up with King Drasil? I'm sure that King Drasil would enjoy chatting to the person whose body was a vessel for him for a long time, and who knows: your son might come around."

Before Spencer could respond, Stardramon's arms began to move. Before Dorbickmon and Omnimon could even react, they had both been placed in a tight head lock as the arms squeezed against their throats.

What in the world?! Omnimon wondered frantically. He's already come back around?! But that shouldn't even be possible! No Digimon can recover from a hit like that so quickly!

"If you even lay a hand on him," Stardramon growled, lifting his head up and looking both Omnimon and Dorbickmon in the eye, "I'll kill the both of you!"

"S-Stardramon!" Omnimon choked out, grabbing at the arm around his neck and trying to free himself. "S-stop this… at once! We weren't… going to harm Spencer… I give you my word!"

"Unfortunately for the two of you, your word doesn't mean much to me!" Stardramon hissed as he tightened his grip even more.

"Gah…Stardramon!" Dorbickmon wheezed, his attempts at freeing himself proving futile. "You're going to break our necks if you keep this up!"

"Stardramon, stop this!" Spencer shouted.

As soon as Spencer shouted, the pressure around Omnimon's and Dorbickmon's necks vanished. Coughing at the sudden rush of air in their throats, Omnimon and Dorbickmon both put some distance between them and Stardramon, rubbing and holding their already-bruising necks.

Damn. Dorbickmon thought to himself as he continued to choke and gasp for air. Even though he's de-Digivolved, he still has a ton of physical strength and power. That just makes me appreciate Equistedramon's self-control over his power even more.

"Why did you tell me to stop, Spencer?" Stardramon asked. "They cut me just a little bit ago. What if they were going to hurt you?"

"Because they would never hurt me: their actually my friends! Well, at least Omnimon is. I have no idea who the other one is."

"Oh, thanks a load," Dorbickmon growled, still rubbing his neck.

"I didn't mean to hurt you thatmuch," Stardramon muttered, a hint of guilt in his voice. "Here, both of you come here. I'll take care of those bruises."

Both Omnimon and Dorbickmon hesitated for a moment, then cautiously approached Stardramon. Stardramon reached out with each of his hands, but stopped before actually touching Omnimon and Dorbickmon on the neck. "Pride of the Dragon!"

A soft, blue-white light glowed from each of his hands, and both Dorbickmon and Omnimon felt the pain disappear instantly. A few seconds after it started, it was over.

"That's another similarity with Equistedramon," Omnimon observed. "Both he and Stardramon have to power to heal."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it…healing," Stardramon grumbled. He put a hand to his mouth and started to cough, and Omnimon, Dorbickmon, and Spencer all saw the blood run down his hand and jaws.

"Stardramon!" Omnimon exclaimed, grabbing and supporting Stardramon as he began to fall a little. "What happened to you?!"

"Like I said…it's not exactly healing," Stardramon said between coughs, some of this blood running onto Omnimon's arm and shoulder. But if Omnimon minded, he didn't show it. "Man, I didn't realize I had hurt the two of you this much together. It hurts like hell."

"But what did you do to yourself?!" Omnimon demanded.

"My Pride of the Dragontakes injuries inflicted on others and transfer those injuries to me," Stardramon told them. "Stardramon are beings that are willing to sacrifice themselves to protect others, and most of their powers are based on that will. Also, in my case, I can transfer wounds from one part of my body to another, like with that cut you gave me earlier." The blood on his ankle had already dried up, so he rubbed it until the blood had flaked off, showing Dorbickmon and Omnimon that the cut was gone. "I moved that cut to my shoulder," he said as he showed them the cut that was on his left shoulder. "The powers a Stardramon has differs between every one, as the powers are directly connected to the Stardramon's will to protect something."

"How would you know that?" Dorbickmon questioned. "You're to only one of your kind, and you don't even have any memories."

"It doesn't always require memories to know things," Stardramon countered. "I just know. It's kind of like instinct."

"Well, however you know that, it does not matter now," Omnimon said. "But you didn't have to take our pain onto yourself like that."

"It was my fault that the two of you were hurt anyways, and I had no good reason to harm you," Stardramon growled stiffly. "That's a good enough reason for me to take your pain."

"Can we just get to the point now?" Dorbickmon hissed. "Stardramon, are you going to come with us of your own free will, or are we going to have to drag you by your feet back to the Digital World?"

"Dorbickmon!" Omnimon admonished, shocked. "Don't talk like that!"

"No, it's alright," Stardramon soothed. "Yes, I'm willing to go with you now. But," he added, a hint of a warning growl in his voice, "if either of you try to pull any funny business along the way, I promise you that both of you will come to regret it."

"We shall keep that in mind," Omnimon told him, suppressing a shiver at the clear threat in Stardramon's voice. Is this what Equistedramon was like when he lost his memories after the incident with Kurata?He wondered. Losing all trust in others and beings unknown to him?

"Then let's go," Dorbickmon declared. Holding up another of the space-oscillation devices. Once more pressing the red button on the top, he tossed it into the air in front of the three Digimon, and another Digital Gate opened.

Omnimon turned to look at Spencer as Dorbickmon stepped into the Digital Gate. "So are you going to come with us, Spencer Damon?"

Spencer shook his head. "The offer is extremely tempting, but no, I think I'll pass," he answered. "I can't just leave my family without warning, and someone has to keep an eye on them since Marcus isn't here to take care of them."

"Too bad," Omnimon remarked. "But if we happen to meet your son, we'll make sure to let him know that everything on this side is doing well."

Spencer smiled once more. "Thank you, Omnimon."

"Please, it's the least we can do after everything you have done for us," Omnimon stated, holding up a hand in farewell. He then looked at Stardramon. "Come on, let us go. Dorbickmon is probably wondering about what is keeping us up."

Stardramon body seemed to sag slightly, but it was gone so quickly that Omnimon couldn't be sure if he was just seeing things. "Fine, let's get on with this."

Omnimon took one last look at Spencer before stepping into the Digital Gate. Stardramon and Spencer looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Stardramon turned to face the gate. But as he entered the Digital Gate, Spencer spotted something embedded into Stardramon's back. It looked like a small, black stone that seemed to give off a dark purple light.

"Hey, Stardra-!" Spencer started.

That was when the gate closed.