Part 2

The Recruit

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Equistedramon shouted as Magnamon and Craniamon, a Digimon with blue and purple armor, two purple tuffs hanging from the top of his helmet, and a blue and red sash hanging from his waist, restrained him. "What is going on?"

Gallantmon held up a hand. "Sorry, Equistedramon," he said, "but every new member of the Royal Knights has to go through a physical examination before entering the main part of the Server Tree. You might have a virus or something of the sort that we do not know about, and we cannot risk King Drasil becoming infected. The king is very weak without a proper body."

"Okay, but why are you restraining me?"

"To be honest, none of us Royal Knights or even King Drasil have heard of or seen a Digimon like you, Equistedramon," Omnimon told him as he entered the room. "There is not even a single mention of a Digimon by that name in our Digimon Records. So King Drasil issued for you to go through a full body scan. We tend to study any new Digimon that we come across, which really does not happen very often."

"But I'm not a lab rat!" Equistedramon called out as Magnamon and Craniamon dragged him out of the room. "Let go of me!" Gallantmon and Omnimon heard a couple of cracks, and Craniamon's voice could be heard. "Stop struggling, Equistedramon! You would make it a lot easier for all of us if you would just listen to us!" Another crack rang out, and Craniamon shouted, "Oww! Stop hitting me! You're actually cracking my armor!"

Gallantmon turned to look at Omnimon. "Why do you think Equistedramon is acting like this?" he questioned. "Why would he struggle so much against having a physical examination?"

"Who knows?" Omnimon replied, shrugging. "Maybe he just doesn't like to be studied like a new species or something of the sort. But you're right: it is an odd reaction."

Meanwhile, Magnamon and Craniamon finally managed to get Equistedramon into the medical room, but Equistedramon fought so much against being laid down on the table that Craniamon had to call Dynasmon, a Dragon Digimon with light purple skin, white and gold armor, and ragged, purple wings, to help restrain Equistedramon while Magnamon strapped Equistedramon to the table, but not before Equistedramon managed to get a few more dents in their armor.

"Equistedramon, if you were not struggling so much, we would already be done," Magnamon panted as he tightened the last strap. He picked up a syringe from a nearby table and drew close to Equistedramon's left side. "All we need is a small sample of your digital energy, then we will have a quick scan while you are still strapped down, and then we will be done. It should take less than two minutes." He lowered the needle to the inside of Equistedramon's left elbow. "Relax, and this will be over before you know it."

"Wait, stop!" Equistedramon yelled as the needle pierced his skin.

Magnamon knew that with Equistedramon struggling so mush against the restraints that the digital energy was going to come out much faster than if Equistedramon was relaxed. But what Magnamon didn't expect was, instead of a clear liquid with a few bright glimmers filling the syringe, a dark red liquid poured into the container. The red liquid came out with such force that some of it hit Magnamon right in his face, some of which managed to get into his eyes.

Shouting in surprise, Magnamon dropped the syringe and covered his face, trying desperately to get the blood out of his eyes. He stumbled back a few paces and fell down, knocking over several tables with medical instruments on them, breaking a few of them.

During the crashing and yelling, Equistedramon broke the restraints holding him down. He leapt to his feet and raced out of the room and down the passageway while Craniamon and Dynasmon helped Magnamon to his feet.

"That wasn't digital energy, was it?" Dynasmon asked as he handed Magnamon a white cloth to wipe off his face.

"Definitely not digital energy," Craniamon agreed. "It looked more like…."

"Blood," Magnamon finished, rubbing the cloth across his eyes. "It was blood."

"Blood?!" Dynasmon exclaimed. "But Digimon don't have blood! Only humans have blood!"

"That Digimon becomes more and more interesting every minute," Craniamon stated.

The three of them heard hurried footsteps in the hall, and Omnimon and Gallantmon appeared at the entrance of the room.

"What happened?" Gallantmon inquired. "We heard yelling…" his voice faded away as he looked around the room.

"What is all of the commotion about?" Omnimon demanded. "And where is Equistedramon?"

Magnamon removed the cloth from his face and held it out to Omnimon. "Your friend ran off. And look at what we got out of him instead of digital energy." Omnimon took the cloth and examined the large, red stain on it closely.

"That's blood isn't it?" Gallantmon observed as he looked at the small mess of it on the floor. "But why would there be-?"

"We will think about that later," Omnimon interrupted. "Right now, we need to find Equistedramon. Do you three have any idea which way he went?"

Craniamon shook his head. "We were distracted by helping Magnamon. We were not paying any attention to which way Equistedramon went."

"I know how we can find him," Dynasmon spoke up. As everyone looked at him, he explained. "Equistedramon should still be bleeding. That means there should be a trail of blood that he left behind."

They checked outside the entrance, and sure enough, there was a trail of small drops of blood that lead deeper into the Server Tree. Omnimon and Gallantmon left to follow it while Magnamon, Craniamon, and Dynasmon stayed behind to clean up the mess Equistedramon had caused in the medical room.

Omnimon and Gallantmon continued to follow the blood trail, sometimes losing it but then to find it on a different level of the Server Tree. They finally came to an entrance to a room that filled the passageway with the golden light that streamed out of it. There was a ticking sound and a soft sound of music, and the two Royal Knights knew immediately that they had found Equistedramon.

When the golden light had faded away and the music and ticking had died out, Omnimon and Gallantmon entered the room to find Equistedramon sitting on a ledge facing the open afternoon sky. There was a small pool of blood next to him, and the blood flow had just stopped on his arm. The only evidence that Equistedramon had been hurt at all was the blood itself. Equistedramon had healed himself.

"So now you know that I'm not an average Digimon," Equistedramon said without turning around.

"Equistedramon, we already knew that you weren't a normal Digimon," Gallantmon told him. "This incident just, well, makes things a little more complicated."

"Yes, this incident surely calls for unusual behavior," came a voice from behind them. Omnimon and Gallantmon spun around to see that King Drasil and the six other Royal Knights were crowded at the entrance of the room.

As Omnimon and Gallantmon got down on one knee at the sight of King Drasil, Equistedramon looked over his shoulder. "Hey, King Drasil," he greeted, his voice sounding uncaring. "What are you doing here?"

The blue ball of light that was King Drasil pulsed, and all of the Royal Knights flinched, knowing that it was a sure sign that their king was angry. "Watch that tone, Equistedramon, when you talk to me," the king warned.

"Fine," Equistedramon conceded, turning to look back out over the land. "What do you want?"

King Drasil pulsed again, and Omnimon threw Equistedramon a warning glance. He is either very brave or very foolish. Omnimon thought. Right now, though, he's playing with a fire that could easily burn him.

"I will pretend that I did not hear that since it is your first day with the Royal Knights," King Drasil said quietly, "but be careful when you speak to me from now on. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a moment of silence, and the air was crackling with tension as everyone waited to hear Equistedramon's response.

Equistedramon got up and turned around, falling to one knee and lowering his head. "Yes, my liege," he answered respectfully.

There was an audible sigh as several of the Royal Knights released their pent-up breath.

"That is more like it," the king growled. "Now, could you please explain your actions during the physical examination, and what reason could you possibly have for blood flowing through your veins instead of digital energy like every Digimon should?"

Equistedramon looked up and King Drasil, then back at the ground. "If you truly want the truth, my king, then I will tell you. A little more than five years ago, I was captured along with several other Digimon by Kurata, the man who was responsible for the worst day in digital history, the creation of the Gizumon, and for the Human and Digital worlds almost colliding."

"What did he do to you and the other Digimon?" King Drasil questioned.

"He experimented on us," Equistedramon answered. Omnimon noticed that Equistedramon's fists was shaking slightly, and when Equistedramon spoke again, his voice shook with anger. "I was the only one who survived the first few experiments, and Kurata became personally interested in me. He took me to his labs in the human world and told me all about his plans for wiping out all Digimon. Then he began to experiment on me for cross-breeding humans and Digimon. At that point, I lost my memory of everything before the experiments. All I remember is the pain I went through while floating in that vat and the name that Kurata called me by: Equistedramon."

"How cruel," Craniamon muttered. "He treated Equistedramon like he was a dumb animal."

"Kurata said that I was the only Digimon to survive his experiments, and when he realized that I had lost my memories, he figured that he could let me roam a little. He put a collar around my neck and told me that if I left his labs, the collar would shock me and delete me."

"That is something that no Digimon should go through," Dynasmon growled, his hands curling into fists. "How did you escape from him?"

"It was two months before Kurata left me alone long enough from me to break the collar and escape. I found one of those space-oscillation devices of his and made my way back to the Digital world," Equistedramon continued. "I decided to train for five years to become strong enough to get my revenge on Kurata. Even though I heard that he had been defeated three years ago, I continued to train. While I was finishing my training, I decided to challenge Omnimon and see if I was worthy of being a Royal Knight. And that is how I ended up here."

There was silence as everyone digested the story that they had just been told. "And have you regained any of the memories that you lost?" King Drasil inquired, breaking the silence.

Equistedramon shook his head. "Everything before I was experimented on is foggy to me, my lord."

"Well, that explains why he struggled so much against having a physical examination," Crusadermon spoke up. "You were having flashbacks of your time being kept in Kurata's lab, weren't you?" Equistedramon nodded.

"That also explains why he has blood instead of digital energy," Dynasmon added. "He was experimented on for a human-Digimon hybrid. The experiments on Equistedramon was probably the beginning of the Bio-hybrid humans that Kurata created."

"I have a question for you, Equistedramon," came a voice. Equistedramon looked up to see a tall, muscular, white Digimon with gold, silver, and blue armor. His head was blue with 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.

"I haven't properly introduced myself, have I?" he said. "My name is UlforceVeedramon. I was wondering why, if you knew that Kurata had been defeated, you still continued to train."

"Kurata is still out there somewhere, I just know he is." Equistedramon replied to a stunned audience. "When he destroyed the barrier between our world and the human world, he disappeared. But I believe that he's just floating around somewhere between dimensions, and I'm willing to bet three days' worth of Digibytes that he's planning on returning soon."

There was another moment of silence, which was again broken by King Drasil. "But until the time comes for us to need to worry about Kurata, we have other things to do," he stated. "As per tradition, Equistedramon, you will keep vigil tonight until sunrise tomorrow morning for you first night. You will rest tomorrow, and the day after that, I will send you out on your first mission."

Equistedramon bowed his head. "My king, may I ask about the reason for this mission?"

"I can explain that," Omnimon intervened, rising to his feet. "Every Digimon that has been recognized by King Drasil or one of the leading Royal Knights, such as myself, has to complete a mission assigned by King Drasil before they can be fully accepted into our ranks. And as you can probably deduce, I have already recommended you to King Drasil about the position. However, every mission is different from the one before, so that the Digimon in interest will not be able to fully prepare for it, as it is supposed to test your very limits. But if you happen to fail the mission, then you will never be able to try for the position of a Royal Knight ever again, and you will not be allowed to return to the Server Tree or be in King Drasil's presence, either."

"Simply beating one of my Royal Knights is not enough to become one," King Drasil told Equistedramon when Equistedramon looked at him questionably. "We have established ways to recruit members since the Royal Knights were first founded. But I will have you know, Equistedramon, that no new member has ever joined us since the Royal Knights first formed. The missions are meant to be hard."

"But do not lose hope because no Digimon has ever completed the mission before," Gallantmon added. "I believe you can do it, Equistedramon. And I would enjoy it if you managed to join us: it might make things more interesting around here. Now, do you have any questions?"

"Actually, I do," Equistedramon responded. He looked at King Drasil. "What's the point in keeping watch tonight if I'm not even a full member of the Royal Knights yet? I haven't really slept since the night before last."

ΩΩΩ

"Ouch," Equistedramon moaned, rubbing the side of his helmet where the beam of light from King Drasil had hit him. It felt like a huge bee had stung him under his armor.

"That's what happens when you tick off our king," Omnimon told him as he joined his friend under the starry night sky.

"I know, but I still don't understand what I said wrong," Equistedramon muttered as he laid back in the grass under the branches of the Server Tree, still rubbing the side of his helmet. "I thought it was a reasonable question. And even though it happened hours ago, it feels like it just happened a moment ago."

"Most Digimon pass out from pain after being hit by that beam, including us Royal Knights," Omnimon said. "You have to have an extremely high pain tolerance to stay awake and to be fully functional right after that. I'm impressed, Equistedramon."

"Thanks, but that doesn't really help the pain," Equistedramon grunted. "Have you ever gotten on King Drasil's bad side?"

Omnimon thought about it for a moment. "Once, when the Royal Knights were first founded," he finally answered. "It was many years ago, and I was young and reckless. I became overconfident after Imperialdramon sought me out to be his successor as the leader, and I told King Drasil that maybe I would take over as king next."

Equistedramon whistled. "From what I've seen, our king has a short fuse," he observed. "How mad was he?"

"Oh, he was absolutely furious. Imperialdramon had to cool him off before he could hurt me even more, since I was already close to death by the time Imperialdramon found us. Regardless, it was a week before I regained consciousness. But I had learned my lesson: I have not mouthed off at anyone since."

Equistedramon chuckled, and Omnimon gave him a questioning look. "I was just imagining you being foolish, Omnimon," he explained, "and that's hard to imagine. But what's funny is thinking about how King Drasil looks when he's blowing his top off. Does he turn red and start bouncing off the walls, blowing steam?" Equistedramon laughed harder.

"Shh! Do not say that! King Drasil might hear you!" Omnimon scolded, although he found himself laughing, too.

"And how did Imperialdramon cool him off?" Equistedramon went on. "Did he get a bunch of Frigimon to Sub-Zero Ice Punch him?"

Equistedramon and Omnimon laughed even harder, both of them on the point of tears.

"Oh, I have not laughed this hard since Jesmon left us all those years ago," Omnimon panted, wiping his eyes. "If King Drasil had heard you, he might have actually turned red with anger."

"Then we would have really known what he looks like in that kind of situation," Equistedramon wheezed, still chuckling. After a moment, he calmed down. "Omnimon, why don't you go and get some sleep," he told Omnimon. "It's my night to keep watch. You don't have to stay up with me."

"Now that I think about it, I have not slept since the night before last, either," Omnimon said. "I think I will go and get some sleep." He stood up. "Good night, Equistedramon."

"Good night, Omnimon," Equistedramon called back. "Get a good night's rest." Equistedramon waited until Omnimon was gone, then stuck his hand inside his armor. Pulling out something slim and rectangular, he unfolded it and began to work.

Unaware to Equistedramon, high above in the Server Tree, UlforceVeedramon was watching him.

ΩΩΩ

The sun was starting to rise the next morning by the time Equistedramon finished what he had started the night before. He sighed as he re-examined the program, checking for any bugs. "It's finally done," he murmured. "I hope he likes it."

"What are you doing?" asked a voice behind him. Equistedramon was so startled that he almost dropped the laptop he was holding.

"Geez, don't scare me like that!" Equistedramon said as he turned around to see UlforceVeedramon, Omnimon, and Crusadermon standing behind him. "I could have had a heart attack!"

"What are you doing?" Crusadermon repeated. "What is that in your hand?"

"It's a laptop," Equistedramon answered simply.

"Yes, but where did you get it?" Omnimon questioned. "And what were you doing on it all night instead of keeping watch like you should have?"

If Equistedramon felt guilty about being caught red-handed, he didn't show it. "If you want to know, I took this laptop from Kurata's labs when I escaped. And I was up all night keeping watch anddesigning a program for Omnimon."

"Designing a program?" UlforceVeedramon echoed. "Where did you learn to program?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't learn a thing or two during the two months I spent trapped at Kurata's labs?" Equistedramon asked. "You might not think this, but some of the workers and researchers there were very kind to me while I wandered around the place. They taught me some very interesting skills, with programming among those skills."

"Okay, so what is this program for?" Omnimon inquired.

"Here, I'll show you." Equistedramon rapidly pressed a few buttons on the laptop. "Okay, Omnimon, look at your hands."

"What for?" Omnimon said as he looked at them. Then he froze.

Instead of the MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon heads for his hands, a pair of black-clad hands with yellow, claw-like fingers had taken their place.

"I have uploaded the program to Omnimon's interface," Equistedramon explained as the three Royal Knights looked at him. Equistedramon continued to explain while Omnimon began to test his new hands. "Those hands are strong and durable enough to crack pure Chrome Digizoid. And if you ever need to use your Supreme Cannon, Transcendent Sword, or any other attacks, the MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon heads should reappear at will. They should also reappear if you or any of you nearby allies are in any sort of danger, like a warning."

"This is amazing, Equistedramon," Omnimon said in wonder.

"It's what I do best," Equistedramon told him, smiling under his helmet. He closed the laptop and put it back inside his armor. "I think I will be heading off, now."

Omnimon looked at him. "Where are you going?"

"I am going home to get some decent sleep," Equistedramon responded. "I haven't slept in over forty-eight hours. I'm bushed."

"Where is your home?" Omnimon questioned. "We need to know where to find you once King Drasil is ready for you."

"My home is in a cave on top of a mountain eleven miles north of here." Equistedramon pointed at a lone mountain in the distance. "It's called Dragonspiral Mountain. Do you see that clearing on the very top? That's where the entrance to the cave is." Equistedramon glanced at Omnimon. "The door will be locked, but you should be able to get it open, Omnimon. There will be a scanner next to the door. Place your right hand on it, and it should recognize my programming pattern in your hands and open. The door only opens for me or for something I programmed, so only Omnimon has direct access to me."

Without saying another word, Equistedramon flew off.

ΩΩΩ

The sun was high in the sky the next morning by the time Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon found the entrance to Equistedramon's cave. There was a solid, metal door in the side of a large rock. Just like Equistedramon said, there was a scanner at shoulder height next to the door. With UlforceVeedramon watching, Omnimon placed his right hand on the scanner, and both Royal Knights flinched immediately from surprise as a voice from nowhere spoke. "Analyzing…program found. Program belongs to Omnimon. Please state your business."

Feeling slightly foolish about talking to a door in front of another member of the Royal Knights, Omnimon leaned close to the scanner and spoke into it. "I am here to pick up Equistedramon on behalf of King Drasil."

"Searching Equistedramon's schedule," said the voice. "Searching complete. Request checks out. Welcome, Omnimon." The metal door slid open.

Omnimon stepped into a small room barely big enough to hold the four largest members of the Royal Knights. There was another metal door on the opposite side, but it was not open. Omnimon also noticed a panel of buttons next to the door that he had just gone through.

As Omnimon looked around, a sudden siren made him flinch yet again, and a red light began to flash. "Unidentified being entering the premises," came the voice again. Omnimon whirled around to see UlforceVeedramon frozen at the doorway, too shocked to move. "Please leave immediately."

"Wait!" Omnimon called out. "UlforceVeedramon came with me to pick up Equistedramon! Please let him come in!"

The flashing red light and the siren died out immediately. "Understood, Omnimon," called out the voice. A thin green ray of light appeared and traveled up and down UlforceVeedramon's body horizontally. "Upload complete. UlforceVeedramon now has access to Dragonspiral Mountain." A little panel in the wall next to Omnimon opened up, and a thin, mechanical arm came out, holding a small, thick rod with two points on the end. "Please press this, with the two points down, on any Digimon's forehead for five seconds to upload a program to their body to gain access to Dragonspiral Mountain," the computerized voice instructed. "If this is pressed for any longer than five seconds, the side effects could be dangerous, and, in worst-case-scenario, it can prove to be fatal. The program does nothing except to give Digimon access to Dragonspiral Mountain. This can only be used six times before becoming useless."

"T-thank you," Omnimon stammered, taken aback by the events that had happened before even finding Equistedramon. If this is what the front door is like, what about the rest of the mountain?Omnimon wondered as he took the small rod. The mechanical arm retracted and the panel slid back into place.

"Descending to Equistedramon's private quarters," announced the voice as the door closed behind UlforceVeedramon. Much to Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon's surprise, the room began to move downwards, and they both realized at that time that they were inside an elevator.

"What an unusual way to welcome visitors," UlforceVeedramon muttered to Omnimon. "The security here is extremely tight. You actually had to beg the computer to let me in, and now neither of us are exactly the same as we were three days ago before we met Equistedramon. He has already changed you physically, and now I have been modified, too."

"Equistedramon is a rather…unique individual," Omnimon agreed. "He is the kind of Digimon who can change things on contact, that's for sure."

"Arriving at Equistedramon's private quarters," called the computer as the door on the other side of the elevator opened. UlforceVeedramon and Omnimon stepped out into a short tunnel lit by torches hanging in brackets on the walls that eventually widened into a large grotto at the end.

The two Royal Knights looked around in amazement as they looked around the grotto. Almost the whole cave was littered with different machines and computers. Wires covered the floors and walls while avoiding the burning torches that lit the place. In a far corner of the cave stood a suit of armor that looked incomplete; parts were scattered around it. In the center of the cave stood a large bronze statue of a winged dragon, its maw open in the direction of the elevator as if it was breathing fire. There was a plaque set in the granite slab that the dragon stood on, and as Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon approached it, they could make out what it said.

"To Equistedramon, for all of your years of hard work as Founder and Major General of the DragonForce Army, we thank you for your leadership! Live a long life as you go on from here, and we hope that your path crosses with ours someday again in the future! We will never forget you!"

-The DragonForce Army Council

UlforceVeedramon whistled while Omnimon continued to stare at the plaque in disbelief. "I have heard rumors about that army," UlforceVeedramon muttered, "but the DragonForce Army is so secretive that there are no solid details about it. Their strength is supposed to rival that of the Royal Knights! And to think that Equistedramon was the Founder and the Major General of the DragonForce Army; it's unbelievable! You would think he would tell us a detail like that before!"

"Well, to the best of my knowledge, the DragonForce Army was supposedly founded about ten years ago," Omnimon commented. "Maybe Equistedramon doesn't remember his time with them, and all he has from his time there is this statue from them."

"Hey, do you hear that?" UlforceVeedramon suddenly asked. Omnimon listened, and he soon recognized the sound of somebody snoring coming from somewhere close by. They followed the sound and found Equistedramon, out cold, sitting at a table between the dragon statue and the suit of armor. There were circuit boards and other small machines lying in pieces along with many small tools all around him. Equistedramon was snoring so hard that small screws on the table were bouncing high into the air.

UlforceVeedramon grabbed Equistedramon's shoulders and started to shake him. "Hey, Equistedramon," he called. "Wake up, it's us. King Drasil is waiting for you."

The snoring stopped, and Equistedramon stirred. "Is that you, Shoutmon?" he moaned. "What do you want? Did you break you mic again?" Equistedramon opened his eyes, and when he saw UlforceVeedramon and Omnimon standing over him, he sat up so fast that his helmet hit the underside of UlforceVeedramon's chin, almost spearing UlforceVeedramon with the golden spikes on his helmet.

"Oww!" UlforceVeedramon yelped, jumping back and furiously rubbing his chin, which was already starting to bruise.

"Sorry, UlforceVeedramon!" Equistedramon apologized. "I wasn't expecting you, and you startled me!"

"Apparently," UlforceVeedramon grunted, still rubbing his chin, which had turned purple.

"Hold on, I'll heal that!" Equistedramon looked around and found a pencil on his desk. He broke it in half and threw it up in the air. "Dragon's Clockwork!" While the golden light pulse, which was much dimmer due to the target area being so small, Equistedramon whistled the melody instead of playing a leaf, which gave the music an echoing quality from inside the helmet. A minute later, the bruise was gone from UlforceVeedramon's chin, and the pencil fell back down onto the desk, whole again.

"Thanks, Equistedramon," UlforceVeedramon said as he gave his chin one last rub. "Who is this 'Shoutmon' that you were talking about?"

"Oh, no one important," Equistedramon answered quickly, pushing back his chair and rising to his feet. "Come on, let's go. And please be careful to not trip on any of the wires or touch any of the instruments: they're very sensitive."

The trio of Digimon began to make their way back to the elevator. As they passed the dragon statue, UlforceVeedramon pointed it out to Equistedramon. "Why did you not tell us that you were the Founder and Major General of the DragonForce Army?" he questioned.

"Well, to be honest, I really don't remember them," Equistedramon admitted. "When I got back to the Digital world after escaping from Kurata's labs, I found the statue in a nearby cave. I don't remember my time with the DragonForce Army."

"But did you ever even try to find the DragonForce Army?" Omnimon inquired.

Equistedramon shook his head. "No, I have not, even though they probably could have helped me regain my memories. I was busy with thoughts of getting my revenge against Kurata, and I put my past behind me at the time. But now that I have finished my training, I think I'll go out and look for them when I have enough spare time on my hands. I want to know what I was like before I lost my memories, so maybe the DragonForce Army can help me reach that goal."

By the time Equistedramon finished speaking, they had reached the elevator door. Equistedramon placed his right hand on the scanner, and the door opened immediately.

"Welcome, Equistedramon," the computerized voice rang out as Equistedramon, Omnimon, and UlforceVeedramon stepped into the elevator. Equistedramon pushed a button on the panel that Omnimon had noticed earlier, and the button lit up.

"Ascending to the kitchens," came the voice as the elevator doors closed.

"Kitchens?" UlforceVeedramon echoed, looking at Equistedramon as the elevator began to rise.

Equistedramon rubbed his stomach. "Hey, I'm a growing Digimon! On top of that, I'm also a dragon! I have to eat before going out on an important mission!" He laughed.

"You know, I have never been in a place like this," Omnimon told Equistedramon. "And what is the point of the elevator?"

"The humans used them in Kurata's labs to get to different levels of the building quickly, and I thought it was a good idea, so I decided to replicate them." While Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon continued to look at him. Equistedramon went on. "This mountain home was designed to be a stronghold for many different kinds of Digimon in times of need, and the sheer size of it calls for quicker access around the place. My home extends throughout most of the mountain. I had some help extending the caves from some Digmon and Drillmogemon, and some Andromon and other machine Digimon helped me with the mechanical aspects. There are training grounds, storage rooms, bath, kitchens, bedrooms: you name it. My friends and I have gathered enough food to feed fifty Digimon for at least a couple of years."

"You never cease to impress me, Equistedramon," Omnimon said. "I think that if anything happened to the Server Tree, this would make a great second base for the Royal Knights and King Drasil." UlforceVeedramon nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, you would first have to check with the other Digimon that live here," Equistedramon sighed. "There's a large group of Digimon that live here with me. They used to travel together in a group under a powerful leader while fighting evil Digimon, but they got separated from their leader due to an accident that occurred while they were traveling, and they couldn't find him. I found them wandering around shortly after they arrived and gave them a place to sleep here a little less than three years ago-about the same time the incidents that Kurata caused were finally settled, in fact-and they've grown attached to me, so now we work and live together. They're a bit aggressive to outsiders, though, so be prepared if you happen to meet one of them."

"Arriving at the kitchens," announced the computer as the elevator slowed to a halt. "Sensors indicate that one Digimon is already inside."

"It seems that today is your lucky day, because it looks like you're going to meet one of them already," Equistedramon told the two Royal Knights as the elevator doors slid open.

Equistedramon, Omnimon, and UlforceVeedramon stepped out of the elevator and into a large hall. There were many tables of various sizes with matching chairs to suit all kinds of Digimon, and some of the tables didn't have chairs at all; Omnimon guessed that they were for Digimon who weren't very humanoid. In addition, there were cupboards hanging at different heights off the walls for easy food access.

Near the end of the room at a small table sat a Digimon. It 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 Digimon also had a red tail. When the three large Digimon approached him, the Small Dragon Digimon looked up, and Omnimon saw that his face was covered in crumbs. There were two Digibyte containers in the table in front of him, and one of them was already empty.

"Good morning, Equistedramon, the small Digimon called. His face hardened at the sight of Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon. "Who are they?"

"Take it easy, Shoutmon," Equistedramon soothed. "They're friends of mine. Meet Omnimon, the leader of the Royal Knights, and UlforceVeedramon, another member of the Royal Knights." Omnimon made a slight bow while UlforceVeedramon raised his hand in greeting.

"Humph. Like I care," Shoutmon growled, turning back to his Digibytes. UlforceVeedramon made a move for Shoutmon, but Omnimon held out his arm and shook his head. Fortunately, Shoutmon was too busy stuffing his face to notice.

"Honestly, Equistedramon," Shoutmon mumbled around a mouthful of Digibytes, "I don't know why you would want to join those good-for-nothings. They weren't around when the others and I got separated from our leader."

"I'm sorry for the loss of your leader," Equistedramon replied coolly, "but it wasn't the Royal Knights' fault. You can't blame them for something that they didn't do. Speaking of which, where is the rest of your group?"

"Dorulumon and Cutemon went fishing, Ballistamon, Knightmon, and the Pawnchessmon are in the training grounds, Greymon and the Starmons are still sleeping, and Beelzemon, Mailbirdramon, and Sparrowmon went off for some aerial combat practice," Shoutmon replied, listing them off on his fingers. He looked up at Equistedramon. "By the way, have you finished fixing the thing I gave you?"

"There is just one more circuit that needs to be repair, and then it should be operational," Equistedramon answered, smiling underneath his helmet. "The next time I get to it, it should be functional."

"Umm, what is it that we are talking about?" Omnimon asked.

Shoutmon glared at Omnimon and opened his mouth, but before he could get a word in edgewise, Equistedramon intervened. "It's nothing important, really," he said, glancing at Shoutmon. Shoutmon closed his mouth; he had gotten the message.

"Anyways, would you two like something to eat and drink?" Equistedramon called as he walked over to a nearby cupboard hanging from the wall. "We have plenty of everything, including some Digijuice."

"I wouldn't mind some Digijuice," Omnimon called back, "but nothing too strong. I need to be clear-headed when we leave."

"The same here, please," UlforceVeedramon added as he and Omnimon sat down at a large table next to Shoutmon. "And can I also have a large container of Digibytes?"

Omnimon looked at his partner. "But you just ate ten pounds of fish before we left to come here!"

UlforceVeedramon rubbed his stomach just like Equistedramon had earlier. "Hey, what Equistedramon said on the elevator was right. We dragons have to eat!" He laughed.

"I swear," Shoutmon groaned as Equistedramon poured three mugs of Digijuice and got out several large Digibyte containers. "Equistedramon is strong, but he's too soft for his own good. That's just like an X-Antibody Digimon."

Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon stared down at Shoutmon in shock. "What did you just say?" Omnimon inquired as UlforceVeedramon got to his feet and stared at Equistedramon.

Equistedramon suddenly disappeared from UlforceVeedramon's sight and reappeared behind Shoutmon. The mug of Digijuice that Equistedramon had been holding before he appeared behind Shoutmon fell to the ground in front of the cupboard and broke as Equistedramon brought his fist down on top of Shoutmon's head.

"What have I told you about blabbing about that?!" Equistedramon shouted as Shoutmon fell to the floor. "It's bad enough to even speak about it, but you just said that in front of the leader of the Royal Knights! The leader! Do you have any idea on how much trouble I'm going to be in now?!"

ΩΩΩ

Equistedramon sat in his cell in the Server Tree, bound by chains on both his arms and legs. The chains that bound him were made from pure Chrome Digizoid, the strongest metal in the Digital world. In Equistedramon's case, he was strong enough to be able to easily break free, but under the current circumstances, he wasn't going to try it unless he couldn't find a way to talk himself out of trouble.

All of the Royal Knights and King Drasil had gathered in front of Equistedramon's cell, some of them, like Omnimon, UlforceVeedramon, and Gallantmon, expressing sorrow, while others showed disbelief and anger.

"I cannot believe that the X-Antibody still exists," UlforceVeedramon mumbled to Dynasmon. "I thought Omnimon got rid of it all when he reset the Digital world back to the way it was before the Yggdrasil created the X-Program."

"Yeah, I thought so, too," Dynasmon muttered. "I wonder how Equistedramon got his hands on it."

"Enough chit-chatting," King Drasil ordered, pulsing directly in front of Equistedramon's face. "What I want to know, Equistedramon, is how in the world you received the X-Antibody! I destroyed it myself!"

Equistedramon bowed his head. "Sir, I happened to come across a WarGreymon X a long time ago. He was dying, and he told me that he was the last survivor of one of the few mistakes my king, King Drasil, made. He said that if I had any compassion for him at all, then I would take the X-Antibody from him without any questions. So I took the X-Antibody from WarGreymon X right before he passed on."

"Why have you hidden this fact from us?" Gallantmon asked.

Equistedramon looked at Gallantmon, mildly surprised. "Because you would have killed me if you knew. Everything has the will to live, so everyone would fight and struggle, even against all odds, to extend their lives, even if it is just for a little bit. What I have done is no different. And besides, I really haven't been around here long enough to tell everyone my life story; I've been busy every time I come here."

"Is this why you wanted to join us?" Craniamon questioned. "So that our emotions would hinder us if we ever found out?"

"No," Equistedramon answered, shaking his head. "I don't play with others' emotions to get an advantage. That's a dirty and cheap trick, and I would never stoop so low for a longer life."

"Unfortunately, the fact that you are a friend of the Royal Knights does not change what must be done," King Drasil told him. "We must be rid of all of the X-Antibody and X-Program. You must be destroyed."

"Wait, my king," Omnimon pleaded, stepping between King Drasil and Equistedramon. "I understand that we must be rid of all the X-Antibody and X-Program, but don't you think that we could make an exception with Equistedramon?"

"He's already made some of us stronger than what we could have done on our own," UlforceVeedramon added, moving to stand beside Omnimon. "Take a look at Omnimon's hands, for example."

"And he's done nothing to harm us," Gallantmon put in, joining Omnimon and Gallantmon to stand between King Drasil and Equistedramon.

"Except for when he fought Omnimon and thrashed us when we tried to examine him," Magnamon muttered. Gallantmon glared at him, and Magnamon fell silent.

King Drasil pulsed, and the three Royal Knights cringed but did not back down. "What mutiny is this?!" King Drasil cried. "I understand that the three of you have created bonds with Equistedramon, but he does not even have the right to exist! He is the result of one of my few errors. Stand back, or you will all be deleted, too."

Omnimon, Gallantmon, and UlforceVeedramon hesitated, but after a moment, they all did as they were told.

"If I must be destroyed for your security, my lord," Equistedramon murmured as the King drew closer, "then so be it."

Without warning, there was a loud explosion, and part of the wall farther down the hallway blew out, leaving a huge hole in the wall.

"Shoutmon!" Equistedramon cried. "What are you doing here?!"

"What do you think?" Shoutmon called as he stepped out of the cloud of debris, facing the Royal Knights. He was holding a silver and gold mic in his hand. "Do you think I would let you be killed after everything you have done for me and my friends? I'll do anything to help you, even if I have to face the Royal Knights alone!"

"Why didn't you at least bring the others?!" Equistedramon shouted. "Go back before you get into trouble, too!"

"No way!" Shoutmon yelled. He held the mic close to his mouth, and it began to hum and vibrate. "Bellow Blaster!" he shouted, and a large, orange energy attack shot out of the mic and made its way straight for King Drasil.

"I don't want to do this," Omnimon said as he jumped in front of King Drasil, "but I will not let any harm befall on my king! You leave me with no choice!" Omnimon raised his right hand, which then turned into the MetalGarurumon head. "Supreme Cannon!" The light orange energy ball headed straight for Shoutmon.

"No!" Equistedramon cried. In an instant, Equistedramon broke the chains binding him, busted out of the cell, and jumped between the two attacks. "Stop it!" he screamed as the two attacks hit him. There was a blinding flash of light, and everyone covered their eyes. When they opened them again, a terrible sight greeted them.

There was no sign of an explosion, and Equistedramon still stood between Shoutmon and Omnimon, but something was wrong. Equistedramon's feet were turning grey, and the grey was climbing up his legs.

"Equistedramon!" Omnimon and Shoutmon cried simultaneously. They reached Equistedramon at the same time. The grey had reached Equistedramon's waist.

"What did you do to yourself?!" Omnimon shouted, grabbing Equistedramon's shoulders.

"I…I couldn't let my…friends get hurt…could I?" Equistedramon wheezed. "I absorbed your attacks using the X-Antibody's power, but it seems that my body can't handle the energy. It's shutting down and turning to stone as a way to control the excess energy. I don't have much more time."

"You fool! You knew that would happen if you did that, didn't you?!" Omnimon yelled, shaking Equistedramon. The grey had reached Equistedramon's chest.

"Like I said, I couldn't let my friends get hurt. And stop yelling; you're hurting my ears."

"Equistedramon…" Shoutmon's voice drifted off. "But you'll be coming back, right?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not," Equistedramon panted. The grey had reached his neck. "I'm not pure Digimon anymore, remember? I won't be reborn like everyone else." Equistedramon looked at Omnimon with a sharp look in his eyes. "Just don't hurt Shoutmon and his friends, okay?"

"Equistedramon!" Omnimon and Shoutmon cried as the grey covered Equistedramon's mouth and continues to the top of his head. Without warning, the stone body of Equistedramon tipped over. Before anyone could move to stop it, it had hit the ground and shattered to dust.

ΩΩΩ

"Perfect! This is just perfect!" Shoutmon yelled at Omnimon. "Not only have I lost my leader, but now my best friend, too! You Royal Knights never help out at all!"

"Do you think that you're the only one who just lost a good friend?!" Omnimon yelled back. "Equistedramon was a good friend to all of the Royal Knights!"

In the lull of their shouting, a voice spoke from out of nowhere. "Yes, Shoutmon, you were right about things being perfect," it said.

Omnimon looked around. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"All in due time, Omnimon," came the voice. A large, purple fire suddenly appeared a little ways down the hall. "Now that Equistedramon is out of the way, I can come out and play." A figure stepped out of the fire. As the fire faded away, Shoutmon and the Royal Knights saw what they were up against.

It was Equistedramon, but something wasn't right about him. His skin was grey, and his armor had become black with blood-red trimmings. The lance he carried was jet-black, and the tip had hints of a rusty red color, like that of old, dried up blood. The skin stretched between the black wing frames was also blood red. But the eyes were the most startling: they were solid black, with no hint of any color.

"Is that you, Equistedramon?" Gallantmon inquired.

"Not quite," the figure replied, putting one end of the lance down on his shoulder. "I'm the darker half of Equistedramon that has been held in a different dimension by Equistedramon. My name is DarkEquistedramon."

"What are you doing here now?" Omnimon asked.

"Well, since you were kind enough to destroy Equistedramon for me, he's not around anymore to hold me back. I'm free to do what I want, and I think I'll start off by destroying you all!" DarkEquistedramon pointed his spear at the Royal Knights, and the tip began to glow with dark red energy.

"Nightmare Dragonblast!"

The resulting explosion was incredible, and the force of it forced the Royal Knights and Shoutmon right out of the Server Tree and onto the ground below.

"The Server Tree!" Craniamon cried, getting to his feet. The Server Tree was a sight of total destruction. The blast from DarkEquistedramon's attack had obliterated much of the tree, and the rest had caught fire.

DarkEquistedramon appeared as the huge tree fell over. "This is the true power of Equistedramon and me," he told the Royal Knights and Shoutmon as they struggled to get to their feet. "Equistedramon and I have the same amount of power. The most he's ever shown you was only about thirty percent of his true power."

"What?!" Crusadermon yelped.

"You have got to be kidding us!" UlforceVeedramon shouted. "How can any one Digimon have that much power?!"

"Equistedramon has been toying with you and lying to you from the very beginning," DarkEquistedramon hissed.

"Lying?" Omnimon echoed. "What has Equistedramon been lying about?"

DarkEquistedramon smiled wickedly. "Don't you know?" he taunted. "Equistedramon is actually—!"

A beam of light came out of nowhere and hit DarkEquistedramon in the side of the head. It was the same beam of light that had hit Equistedramon two days ago.

But DarkEquistedramon gave no sign of being hit other than to look up to see King Drasil floating in the sky. "It looks like you want to be the first to go, King Drasil," DarkEquistedramon called as he pointed his spear at the king. "Fine, but when you're gone, I'll take over as the king of the Digital world! Nightmare Dragonblast!"

None of the Royal Knights or Shoutmon could even move before the dark energy drew near the king.

In the instant before the attack reached the king, a silver bolt of lightning came down and intercepted DarkEquistedramon's attack. When the explosion occurred, it wasn't nearly as forceful as the first, and the only sounds that could be heard was that of sparkling electricity and that of a roaring fire.

"What was that?!" DarkEquistedramon screamed. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"

"What's the point in asking if you already know who's there?" came a familiar voice from out of the smoke. DarkEquistedramon cringed, and the voice spoke again. "So you do know who I am. You have every right to be scared."

"Wait…is that who I think it is?" Gallantmon asked as the smoke began to clear.

"It is!" UlforceVeedramon cried as the figure became clear.

"It's Equistedramon!" Omnimon and Shoutmon cheered as the last of the smoke was blown away, revealing Equistedramon, now sporting a cape that hung from the shoulder pads on his armor that was just like Omnimon's: red on the inside and white on the backside, floating in front of King Drasil, who was unharmed.

"You know, DarkEquistedramon," Equistedramon started as DarkEquistedramon looked at him with fear, "I learned and remembered a few things about myself while I was gone, I remembered that I had been holding a lot back without realizing it. I also remembered you, too, as I had completely forgotten all about you. And," he added, gripping his lance in both hands, which he continued to break in half, "it is not befitting of the Founder and former Major General of the DragonForce Army to be beaten by the likes of you!"

The two halves of the lance started to glow, then began to change. The half with the tip on it became a large, silver claymore with a gold handle and guard, a brown leather grip, and gold plating running down the middle of the blade. The other half with the dragon head became a large, white kite shield with gold trimming emblazoned with the combined crest of Courage and Friendship, exactly like the one on Omnimon's chest. A section in the center of the backside of his cape glowed red, and when the red glow faded, the Crest of Hope had been burned red into the cape.

"What you see know is my true form," Equistedramon announced as DarkEquistedramon stared at him with fear, "unlocked by the legendary Royal Knight, Alphamon, whom I met when I was away. This is my Royal Knight Mode!"

"Royal Knight Mode?" Magnamon repeated.

"And did he say that he met Alphamon?!" Dynasmon cried.

"I may not be a full member of the Royal Knights, but I do take pride in being recruited by them," Equistedramon said. "And even more so, I have my pride of being a dragon at heart. So I swear, on my pride as a dragon and as a Royal Knight, I will defeat you, DarkEquistedramon!" Equistedramon drew a golden star in the air in front of him with his claymore.

"This is for the Royal Knights and all dragon kind!" Equistedramon shouted. He stabbed the middle of the star with his claymore, and a golden color filled the inside of the star. "Royal Dragon Destroyer!"

A large, star-shaped beam of silver and gold energy shot out of the star. It had hit DarkEquistedramon before he could even blink.

The air was filled with terrible screaming as DarkEquistedramon began to burn away. "Damn you, Equistedramon!" he screamed. "I'll be back soon, and I'll make you sorry that you ever existed!" As the energy beam faded away, the few burnt remains of DarkEquistedramon's body fell to the ground, where they shattered to ashes.

ΩΩΩ

"Equistedramon!" Shoutmon and several of the Royal Knights cheered as Equistedramon landed. Equistedramon's cape, sword, and shield began to glow, then dissolved into thin air, leaving Equistedramon with his lance again.

"It's good to have you back, Equistedramon!" Omnimon cried as he and the rest of the Royal Knights gathered around Equistedramon. Shoutmon jumped up and sat down on Equistedramon's shoulder.

"It's good to be back, everyone," Equistedramon told them, smiling. He looked over at the remains of the Server Tree, which was still burning a little. "Err, sorry about the Server Tree. DarkEquistedramon can be destructive whenever he first gets loose."

"It's alright," Craniamon stated. "You can undo the damage and return everything back to the way it was, right?"

"Sorry, but I cannot do that," Equistedramon responded. This was met by a stony silence. "I can't undo any damage done by DarkEquistedramon," Equistedramon explained. "We may have the same powers, but his energy wavelength is the exact opposite of mine. I can't do anything about energy that's the opposite of mine. Sorry, but the Server Tree is gone for good."

"Then what are we supposed to do for our headquarters?" Dynasmon growled.

Equistedramon clapped his hands. "Omnimon already has an idea that he spoke to me about just this morning that's okay with me."

Omnimon looked at Equistedramon. "Are you really sure about it? I really wasn't being completely serious when I said that, and I actually wasn't expecting us to lose the Server Tree at all, either!"

"It's fine, I promise," Equistedramon assured him. He turned to look at Shoutmon, who was still sitting on his shoulder. "What do you say, Shoutmon? You're representing your friends in this decision."

"Humph," Shoutmon muttered, crossing his arms. "Like I could turn my back on them now. Fine, but I still won't be easy on you guys."

"I think that we will be able to handle that," UlforceVeedramon said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Umm, could you four kindly fill us in on what you are talking about?" Gallantmon inquired.

Equistedramon spread his arms out wide. "You are all coming to stay at my home!" he announced. "I welcome you to Dragonspiral Mountain!"