Summary: One month has past, and T.K. and Kari have mostly recovered from the terror they experienced in The Dark Ocean. But the couple is soon called to battle again when the remaining members of the Seven Lords make their move to conquer both the human and Digital Worlds. In order to fight the leader and strongest member of the Seven Lords, T.K. and Kari must unite with the mysterious Arthur Pierce and his own team of Digidestined.

Guest Stars

Rika Nonaka and Renamon

Ryo Akiyama and Cyberdramon

Author's Note: Well the moment I'm sure that many of you have been waiting for has finally come, the return of T.K. and Kari. I've been looking forward to writing this story for months now, and it's a thrill to finally have it started.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

BOOK IV-PRIDE

Chapter 1: Shattered Peace

Arthur Pierce woke up in his room as he had done every morning, and after taking a quick look around he saw in the corner of the room in a box the other normal occupant of the room. The occupant in question was a small dragon-like creature with light-blue fur, a fox-like tail, and a large red gemstone embedded in its forehead. This creature was Arthur's Digimon partner, Dorumon. And as always the little dragon was sound asleep. Everything in the room was the same except for one thing; Arthur had a couple of extra guests.

Two other Digimon were sleeping at the foot of the bed. One was a large white cat wearing yellow gloves on her front paws and a gold ring around her tail. This Digimon was Gatomon, the partner of one of Arthur's human houseguests, Kari Kamiya. The other Digimon was an orange mammalian creature with large batwing-like ears. This Digimon was Patamon, the partner of Arthur's other human houseguest, Takeru "T.K." Takaishi. As Arthur leaned up and put on his glasses, he accidentally awoke the two Digimon.

"Good morning my little friends." Arthur greeted. "I take you came in here last night to give your two friends the privacy they needed to once again became 'more intimate' with each other."

"That's right." Gatomon confirmed. "In fact I can hear them at it again."

For a moment Arthur reflected on how amazed he was by T.K. and Kari's recovery from the terrible experience they both went through before arriving at his home one month ago. For the first two weeks they were there, the couple was not very active. They slept much of the time, though they did have healthy appetites. As time went on though, T.K. and Kari started leaving the house more. Arthur thought that perhaps their love for each other had given them a new zest for life, and it seemed they were indeed very deeply in love. And over a week ago the couple finally consummated their love, with repeat performances almost every night and a few mornings, as was the case at the moment.

"I guess it just proves that T.K. is a perfect match for Kari." Gatomon noted. "Unlike that idiot."

Arthur knew that Gatomon was speaking of Kari's ex-boyfriend and fellow Digidestined, Davis Motomiya. After the story that Arthur heard about Davis, it was clear to him why the mere mention of Davis's name would send Kari into a rage and break whatever object was handy. As a result, everyone would simply refer to Davis as "that idiot", and not mention him around Kari at all.

"I still don't get why Kari even bothered with him." Gatomon continued. "I mean she even took that idiot back after he cheated on her, twice."

"Well we all make mistakes Ms. Gatomon." Arthur told the feline Digimon. "And some of those mistakes we live to regret."

"Besides, the important thing is that T.K. and Kari are together now." Patamon added with his usual cheerful smile.

At that moment there was a knock at the door, which finally woke Dorumon.

"Come in Mrs. Carmichael." Arthur told the visitor.

The door opened and in walked an older woman wearing a black dress with a long skirt and white apron.

"I take it you'll want breakfast downstairs this morning Master Arthur?" Mrs. Carmichael asked.

"Yes, and you might want to go ahead and get things ready for our two guests." Arthur replied. "I imagine that they should be done soon."

"Oh, they'll get a big breakfast all right." Mrs. Carmichael told him. "I'd imagine they'd need it. It's almost like the last time your sister and her wife visited."

Arthur did agree that T.K. and Kari were probably as passionately in love with each other as his twin sister Artemis and her lovely wife Cindy.

"You now I remember when my late husband and I were like that." Mrs. Carmichael noted with a nostalgic smile.

"Yes, well that will be all Mrs. Carmichael." Arthur interrupted.

"Of course sir." Mrs. Carmichael said before leaving and closing the door behind her.

A few minutes later, Arthur and the three Digimon were downstairs eating. It wasn't very long before T.K. and Kari came down and joined them. T.K. was wearing a green t-shirt, light-brown jacket, and blue jeans. Kari meanwhile was wearing a pink t-shirt, a pair of tight fitting jeans, and her long chestnut brown hair, which she let grow out, was tied back in a ponytail.

"Ah, I see you two have finally come up for air." Arthur greeted with his usual charm.

"Good morning to you too Arthur." Kari greeted back with a half smile that indicated that she was somewhat amused by Arthur's comment.

With that, the couple sat down at the table and attacked the large breakfast that Mrs. Carmichael had prepared for them. As the two ate, Arthur once again noticed how much they had recovered since their arrival, Kari especially. Before, Kari was pale and a bit thin, which Arthur assumed was the result of her captivity. As the month went by though, Kari's normal color had returned and she had regained the weight she had lost. However that was not to say that Kari was starting to become overweight. On the contrary, Kari had become quite fit and athletic. Much of that was due to Kari taking up jogging with T.K. in the afternoons, much to Arthur's displeasure, as he had to follow them around as part of his duties as their bodyguard and did not like strenuous physical activity.

"So, what do you two have planned for this fine Sunday?" Arthur asked the couple.

"Well, we were planning to go to that park near here." T.K. answered. "You know, the one that Kari and I went to a few days after we came here."

"Alright then, but of course Dorumon and I will have to tag along as your bodyguards." Arthur reminded the couple. "But we will do our best to stay out of sight."

"Excuse me guys, I'm going to take this plate out to the kitchen." Kari said as she got up with her now empty plate.

"…So T.K., do you still intend to go through with your little plan?" Arthur asked a few moments after Kari left the room.

"Yeah." T.K. replied. "…You don't think I'm rushing into this, do you?"

"Not at all, in fact I think you're making up for lost time." Arthur asked. "I only ask because I think you might need this."

With that, Arthur took out a small box from the pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to T.K. T.K. opened the box and was very surprised by what he saw inside.

"Wow…" was T.K.'s reply when he saw what was in the box. "Thanks Arthur, but there's no way I could accept this. I mean this must've cost you a lot."

"Only pocket change to me my friend." Arthur said with a charming smile. "Just consider it as a gift from a hopeless romantic like myself."

"Okay, but I owe you one." T.K. said graciously as he pocketed the box. "Thanks."

A couple hours later, the group went to the large park T.K. spoke of earlier. As promised, Arthur went off somewhere out of sight with Dorumon. Patamon and Gatomon also went off somewhere to give T.K. and Kari some privacy. Though the two Digimon made sure they were still close enough to their human partners in case something happened.

"Are you sure we aren't too far away Gatomon?" Patamon asked his feline companion.

"This is fine." Gatomon assured him. "I can hear if anything happens even from this far away. Besides, there's something I want to talk to you about and I want to make sure that we're alone."

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Patamon asked nervously.

"Well…" Gatomon began. "For starters I want to thank you for being there for me during that dark month when Kari was missing. It really meant a lot to me."

"Oh that was nothing." Patamon said modestly. "You would've done the same for me if it was T.K. who was missing."

"Even so, you were the only thing that kept me going through that time." Gatomon insisted, as she suddenly got closer to Patamon. "And it's made me realize that… I really care about you Patamon."

With that, Gatomon suddenly kissed Patamon on the lips, causing the little mammal Digimon's face to turn redder than a tomato and his batwing ears to go as stiff as boards.

Meanwhile, T.K. and Kari were taking a walk not too far away from where their two Digimon companions were. They paused for a moment to look at the calm scenery before them. Suddenly they heard a croaking noise that caused Kari to scream and cling to T.K. with a vice-like grip. Her face went pale and her eyes were filled with terror. Kari felt certain that those things were back, those horrible fish-frog creatures that lived in The Dark Ocean. Suddenly Kari could feel someone shaking her and a voice calling her name.

"Kari!" T.K. called to her, snapping her out of her nightmarish thoughts. "It's only a tree frog! They're not back!"

It took a moment for Kari to fully register what T.K. told her, but when she did she relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. She did indeed realize that it was just a frog, but the mere sound reminded her of those foul creatures that had held her captive for over a month in that horrid realm that was The Dark Ocean. Kari could never forget hearing those wretched croaking voices outside the locked door of that dank prison by the sea, always afraid that they would burst into the room to have their way with her. But that nightmare was over and she was safe with T.K.

"C'mon, let's go sit down over there." T.K. suggested, gesturing over to a nearby bench.

Kari nodded and the two went over and sat down. Very quickly Kari noticed a look of frustration on T.K.'s face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kari asked with atone of concern. "It's not your fault that some stupid frog scared me."

"I just want this moment to be perfect." T.K. told her.

"Perfect for what?" Kari asked.

With that, T.K. got up and then got down on one knee to face Kari. A serious expression was on his face.

"Kari, you and I have been friends for many years, and somewhere along the line we became something more to each other." T.K. began. "When you were gone for that month, my life lost all meaning. And I was so desperate to get you back that I was willing to follow Devimon into the pits of hell itself to find you. You complete me and give me the strength to achieve anything. Now I know this might be rushing things a little, but I fell that we've gotten a lot closer this past month since we came here. I love you Kari Kamiya, and I can't picture my life without you. So I want to ask you… will you marry me?"

With that, T.K. pulled the small box that Arthur had given him earlier and opened it to reveal a gold ring with a fair sized diamond on top. Kari was left speechless.

"I mean, we don't have to get married right away." T.K. continued with a tone of desperation. "We could just wait until we graduate from college like Ken and Yolei. Of course I thought we could at least live together first, but if you don't want to do that…"

"T.K." Kari interrupted.

"Yes?" T.K. asked, giving Kari his full attention.

"Of course I'll marry you silly." Kari said with a gentle smile.

T.K. was overjoyed, and it wasn't long before the two kissed. Their joy was short-lived however, as they soon heard a scream not too far away. The couple soon noticed that several people in the park running away from something. Patamon and Gatomon soon joined the couple as they saw a Digimon approaching them. It was humanoid, though its body seemed mechanical, made of gold and dark-grey metal. Its right forearm was a large gold sickle, while its left arm had what looked to be a small cannon on its wrist. Its face was a gold skull with two long horns growing from the forehead.

"Who are you?" T.K. demanded to know as he and Kari stood to face the creature.

"The name's Reapermon." The Digimon replied. "And I've been hired to kill you."

"Hired by who?" Kari demanded.

"A pair of powerful Digimon want you dead, and you wouldn't believe the price they're willing to pay." Reapermon answered. "You might a well just make it easy and surrender, because you have no chance of escaping me."

"I won't let you hurt Kari!" T.K. proclaimed. "Let's get him Patamon!"

Patamon nodded, and with that T.K.'s D-3 let out the mechanized cry of one word.

"BIOMERGE!"

T.K. turned into a ball of light and entered Patamon, causing the little Digimon to transform.

"Patamon biomerge digivolve to… Seraphimon!" Patamon cried as he transformed, his voice changing with the utterance of his other name.

Patamon changed into a humanoid figure completely clad in shining silver armor, his face completely covered by a helmet with a gold cross on the front, a pair of gold wings on the sides, and a gold blade on top that somewhat resembled a Mohawk. A gold breechcloth with words written in the language of the Digital World upon it hung down in front of his legs. On his back were ten gold wings that shined with a brilliant light.

"I won't let T.K. fight alone!" Kari declared. "We have to help him Gatomon!"

Gatomon nodded, causing Kari's D-3 to react and give the same mechanized cry.

"BIOMERGE!"

With that, Kari turned into a ball of pink light and entered Gatomon, triggering the feline Digimon's transformation.

"Gatomon biomerge digivolve to… Ophanimon!" Gatomon cried as she transformed, her voice changing with the utterance of her other name.

With her transformation finished, Gatomon became a woman clad in blue-green and silver armor similar to Seraphimon's though there were differences in the design. Her helmet did not cover her entire face, it revealed only her mouth, and it did not cover up her long flowing strawberry blond hair. Though the helmet did had the same gold cross on the front as Seraphimon's. The front part of the armor revealed Ophanimon's bare stomach, and instead of normal leg armor she had a white shimmering skirt that was covered in the regular blue-green armor above the knees. On her feet she wore elegant high-heeled shoes the same color as her armor, and on her back were eight golden wings that shined with a brilliant light. In her right hand, Ophonimon carried an ornate golden javelin, and in her left hand a shield with a golden horse head emblazoned on the front.

"Angel Digimon, huh?" Reapermon said with a chuckle. "No wonder the price on your heads is so big, but I love a challenge."

"This is a challenge you will not win!" Seraphimon declared in both his own voice and T.K.'s. "Leave now or be destroyed!"

"I don't think so!" Reapermon said as he fired a cannonball attached to a chain from the cannon on his left wrist.

Seraphimon fired a ball of gold light from his right fist that repelled the attack. Just as Reapermon retracted the chain to fire another shot, Ophanimon fired a ray of gold light from her javlin. The attack hit Reapermon in the chest and caused the evil bounty hunter a good deal of pain, but despite that he soon recovered.

"That's enough!" a voice suddenly called out.

All three turned to see Arthur and Dorumon calmly walking towards them. A serious expression was on Arthur's face.

"It seems that I once again have to remind the two of you that Dorumon and I are your body guards for the moment." Arthur said to the two angels. "So leave this battle to us."

"Who the hell are you?" Reapermon demanded.

"We are your demise!" Arthur declared as he suddenly opened his suit jacket to reveal an iron-grey D-3 with white grips. "Let's end this right now Dorumon!"

Dorumon growled, and in response Arthur's D-3 let out the mechanized cry of one word.

"BIOMERGE!"

With that, Arthur turned into a ball of white light that entered Dorumon through the gemstone on his forehead, causing a startling transformation.

"Dorumon biomerge digivolve to… Alphamon!" Dorumon cried as he transformed, his voice changing to one with an heir of wisdom and nobility.

In a blinding flash of whit light, Dorumon had changed into a large knight in ornate silver and gold armor. On his back was a pair of armored wings and a long tattered white cape with a blue underside.

"What the hell?" a startled Reapermon asked.

"Foul creature of the Digital World! I, Alphamon, shall put an end to thee!" the knight proclaimed in both his own voice and Arthur's.

"I don't know what you are, but you won't stop me!" Reapermon declared.

Alphamon raised his right arm forward, and in his hand appeared a sword made of white light. Before anyone could even blink, Alphamon charged at Reapermon, though it seemed to the naked eye that he did nothing. But after a few seconds, Reapermon broke apart into several sliced chunks that shattered into particles of data that evaporated into the air. Alphamon then walked up to the two Angel Digimon and split back into Arthur and Dorumon. Seraphimon and Ophanimon split back into the respective pairs of T.K. and Patamon and Kari and Gatomon.

"Who… are you two?" a very stunned T.K. asked.

"I will explain later." Arthur replied with a serious expression. "But it seems right now that the battle we have been waiting for is about to begin. It is time for me to bring Team Excalibur back together."

Author's Note: I don't think you could ask for a better opening than that. Many of you reading might remember that I mentioned Alphamon a few times in the previous Demon Crisis stories, and there was a good reason why I did so. In the next chapter we'll learn a little more about just who Arthur and Dorumon are.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.