Welcome once again my readers. I must warn you that our story today may be a bit shorter than the previous one. Indeed, most of the chapters will be shorter than the first one. How much shorter is debatable at best. Enjoy.

Ch.2 Unlocking SkullGreymon Pt1: Angemon's Solo.

The ruins of an ancient city opens the view in our new chapter. Presently, four figures are asleep around a campfire. They huddle on their mats made from enormous leaves. The night has been harsh, and supplies to stat a fire, much less keep one going, are scarce. It is no wonder why this town was abandoned. It has been stripped of all resources. Scorch marks desecrate the skeletons of long-dead trees. It is apparent that a great battle took place here, leaving the land in its current state.
The first of the quartet to wake is a small, orange figure with large batlike wings. Patamon shakes himself free of the morning dew and looks over to see that the fire has gone out. It seems that Lepumon, who was supposed to be tending the fire, has passed out. Patamon adds a few logs to the fire and attempts to light it. The measley attempt fails, and Patamon decides to wake the others, worried that they might be attacked in the meantime.
Unknown to Patamon, a shadowy Digimon is watching him. It observes him for a moment before running down the avenue. It approaches an old house and pulls a brick from the wall. This causes a trapdoor to open, letting the Digimon free-fall into a new chamber.
The dark chamber is lined with rune-covered blocks. It glows lightly in the ruined cavern. The Digimon hurries down a passage until it reaches a large gate. The rusty metal is sectioned into three smaller barriers, depicting the Cardinal Points of a compass. A large "N" is carved above the top triangle of metal, while a "W" and "E" are carved outside the left and right sides of the gate respectively. Finally, a large "S" marks the bottom of the base delta. Each letter includes a small indentation in the center. The gate sections make up a great metal barrier which has remained unopened for hundreds of years.
In the center of said barrier is a golden sphere, about six inches in diameter. The surface of the orb is unmarked, save for a small rune in the very center. Despite over a century of dust and grime, the globe remains as perfectly polished as the day it was placed into the gate.
The observer shudders as a great roar rips through the air. The inhuman howl echoes through the tunnels. For the sake of the guests sleeping above, the observer hopes it does not reach the streets.
As he walks away, the observer wonders: "What horrible beast could be so evil that it would be sealed away forever?"

Dallas woke to see that the rest of his group was already preparing to move out. He rose from his place of slumber, and pain coarsed through his back. He looked down in disgust at the leaf on which he was sleeping. "Mental note" he muttered. "Find some sort of sleeping bags as soon as possible."
Lepumon noticed that Dallas was awake and walked over to him.
"Sorry about the fire" Lepumon apologized. "I passed out while I was tending it. It takes a lot of energy to Digivolve, and I was already tired to begin with."
"Oh, Lepumon!" Dallas chided. "Who even let you watch the fire? Of course you needed to rest!"
Lepumon smiled. "I think I could really get to like you, Dallas."
"C'mon guys!" Jason called. "We need to get going if we want to reach the other end of the town before noon!"
"Why noon?" Dallas asked Lepumon.
"Because noon is the most likely time for a Trailmon or Locomon to come by" Lepumon replied. "Or, if we're lucky, we could find a GranTrailmon, though I doubt it would stop long enough to give us a ride."
None of this made any sense to Dallas, but he shrugged and continued walking.

"I have a plan."
Mercurymon knelt before his master once more, prepared to reveal his idea.
The master sighed. "This had better be good, Mercurymon. I am not patient with plans that might fail, especially now that Lepumon has regained the ability to Digivolve."
Mercurymon nodded. "Believe me master, this plan is almost guaranteed to work."
The master's eyes narrowed. "I don't like the word "almost" in your idea. If you fail, wasting more of my resources, I might have to assign someone else to the mission."
Mercurymon smirked. "You know as well as I do that you wouldn't entrust this mission to anyone else."
The master was silent for a moment. "It is true, of course. Remember though, you are my best assistant, but that does not make you irreplaceable."
Mercorymon's smirk faded. "Trust me master, irreplaceable will be a thing of the past once I bring in those two wretched Digimon."
"You've made a big deal about this plan" the master noted "But you've yet to reveal its nature. So, what is it?"
Mercurymon rose. "Simple, master. The children are in the ruins of the Agumon villiage. I plan to release SkullGreymon."
A sharp intake of breath revealed the master's surprise. This was quickly covered by his regular cool composure "A feat which has been attempted many times in the past century, but never fulfilled. "What makes you think you can do any different?"
"Because" Mercurymon replied. "I heard from a reliable source that we happen to possess three of the Cardinal Keys."
"The master's tone revealed no confirmation nor negation. "And from what source did you recieve this information?"
Mercurymon hesitated. "From Tsukaimon."
The master cursed. "That Digimon is such a gossip. I swear, half of the Dark Legions know some of my most private secrets because of his prattling. I will not deny, however, that we do indeed have all of the keys, save for for the North Key."
"And I believe I may be able to remedy that" Mercurymon replied. "My team recently uncovered a strange artifact in a temple quite far to the north. In fact, it may be the northernmost settlement in the Digital World."
"Indeed?" the master was quite interested now. "And where, pray tell, is this artifact now?"
"On it's way to the ruins via a Halsemon." Mercurymon replied.
The master snickered. "You are so certain that I will grant your request that you gain the other three key that you have sent the North Key already?"
"Think about it sir" Mercurymon began. "Before he was sealed away, SkullGreymon was strong enough to ravage a city which stood for thousands of years. This was the birthplace of the legendary AncientGreymon. And SkullGreymon leveled it in an hour. If he still remembers his allegiances, he would become one of our most powerful assets."
The master considered it. "It is a tempting idea, and it will be avery effective way to rid of those vile children. I suppose I will have to grant this request."
"Thank you master" Mercurymon groveled. "Trust me, this plan is foolproof."

Dallas grumbled as he walked down the street. He carried a makeshift backpack constructed from the few remaining sticks that could be salvaged. The leaves which had been used for sleeping mats tied the whole thing together, creating a combination of a rucksack and a hiker's pack. It was formless and uncomfortable, but it held the few posessions which the group had, minus the digivices, which Patamon insisted might be needed at any time.
"It's creepy here" Jason noted. "I know that the Agumon village has been abandoned for over a century, but I feel like we're being watched."
"So do I" Patamon remarked from atop Jason's head. "I keep thinking I'm seeing things moving around."
"That's impossible" Lepumon insisted. "Unless there's some hidden source of water and food here, nothing could survive."
"Maybe that's exactly what it is" Dallas suggested. "These ruins could hide all sorts of secrets. Why don't we take the day to explore, and catch a Trailmon tomorrow?"
"Too risky" Patamon insisted. If we take even a day to slow down, Mercurymon could find us."
It was then that a loud scream rang out from a passageway.
"Or maybe" Lepumon said grimly. "He already has."
The horrible scream came again, and the sound ripped straight through Dallas's heart.
"We have to help whoever it is" he decided. "If it's Mercurymon doing it, I'm going to introduce him to my new friend Phasedramon."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Patamon asked. "Lepumon is still wiped out from yesterday's battle. He might not be able to make it."
Lepumon looked up with determination. "I hate it whenever people get hurt, especially for me. I'm going to do whatever I have to to protect the innocents."
"This isn't some TV show!" Jason scolded him. "Just because you're able to turn into some huge lizard, doesn't mean you're Superman. Whatever is making that noise may have no connection to Mercurymon!"
Lepumon turned without a word and began to walk down the path. There was no reasoning against his choice.
Dallas turned to Jason. "I don't think you're going to be able to change his mind."
Jason shrugged. "I already knew that, but what's a good fight without a bit of drama?"
Dallas nodded before following his partner up the street.

"Tell me where the entrance is!" Mercurymon threatened. "If you refuse, I will make it extremely uncomfortable for you."
"Never!" Mercurymon's target replied. "You caan kill as many of us as you wish, but we will never reveal our secrets!"
Mercurymon growled. "Then I suppose I'll have to tear these pathetic ruins apart, brick by brick, starting with you!"
The target cringed as Mercurymon raised his reflective shield.
"Reflector..." Mercurymon began. The round weapon began to glow, before a strong force knocked his aim off. At that exact second, Mercurymon cried "...Beam!" and a white explosion hit the wall inches from the target's head.
"What?" Mercurymon cried in rage. "Who did that?"
"I did" came the reply. Mercurymon turned to see Lepumon and Dallas standing there.
"Ah, just the two outlaws I wanted to see" Mercurymon crooned. "Unfortunately, you are not my focus at the moment, so leave this place."
"Not likely" Dallas rebutted threateningly. To Lepumon, he whispered, "What is that Digimon he's attacking?"
"That's a ToyAgumon" Lepumon replied. "That's probably who's been watching us all day."
Dallas nodded. "Well, we need to protect that ToyAgumon. Do you think you have enough strength to Digivolve?"
Lepumon nodded. "I can draw Mercurymon's focus away from ToyAgumon, then you get Jason and Patamon to help you rescue him."
"Alright" Dallas replied. He lifted his digivice and pointed it at Lepumon "Let's do this!"
The now familiar beam of white light pulsed from the Digivice display and engulfed Lepumon. Cords of data burst forth and solidified into new limbs. Within a second, the evolution was complete.
"Phasedramon!" roared said totally kick-butt dragon of awesomeness. "Now we'll get this done!"
With a burst of speed, Phasedramon rocketed over to Mercurymon, who sneered.
"Your powers of intangibility don't threaten me, My armor is more than a match for you!" Mercurymon cackled as he raised his shield.
"Reflector Beam!" he cried. The attack lanced toward Phasedramon, who became intangible. Unfortunately, the wave of power was not fooled, and Phasedramon was knocked back.
Meanwhile, Dallas and his two companions made their way over to ToyAgumon.
"We're here to help you" Jason whispered. "Come with us."
ToyAgumon nodded and followed them. When they were safely out of range, the group turned back to the fight.
Phasedramon wasn't doing well. Without his ability to avoid attacks, he was forced to rely on speed to avoid Mercurymon's attacks.
"You know that nothing you do is able to affect me" Mercurymon gloated. "You are still out of energy from the attack I launched yesterday."
"He's right" ToyAgumon commented from the sidelines. It was then that he noticed the type of digivice which Dallas held.
"You use a D-Power to evolve your partner?" He asked. Dallas nodded. "Then use a Digimodify card!"
"A what?" Dallas asked in confusion.
"You don't even know what that is, do you?" ToyAgumon sighed. "Digimodifier cards allow you to assist your partner in battles. I can try to provide some for you if you'd like."
"Sure!" Dallas replied. "Any help I can give Phasedramon is appreciated."
ToyAgumon nodded and raised his hand. Instantly, a small half-deck of cards materialized, as well as a small holder for them. ToyAgumon immediately collapsed.
"Thank You" Dallas said appreciatively. Turning to Phasedramon, he chose a card labeled Power Plus and swiped it through the side reader.
"Digimodify! Power Plus" he called, pointing the display toward his partner. Instantly, Phasedramon was filled with power, feeling completely energized once more. He was still feeling the effects of the blows, nad the power surge was only temporary, but he felt as if he could move a mountain.
"Now let's try this one" Dallas decided. "Digimodify! Speed Booster!"
Phasedramon's already alarming speed boosted once more, allowing him to barrage Mercurymon with an even more ferocious barrage of punches.
Despite this, Mercurymon looked barely fazed. He raised both Irony Shields and clapped them together.
"Deafening Tone!" He clamored, causing waves to bounce away from the two mirrors.
The effect was instantaneous. Phasedramon stopped dead mid-leap. He crumpled to the ground, grabbed at his head and let out a tortured howl.
"What's wrong with him?" Dallas asked.
"Mercurymon's shockwaves are causing him immense pain" ToyAgumon explained. "It's a cruel tactic which is employed by Digimon to paralyze their foes in order to escape, or land a fatal blow. If the user is more powerful than their opponents by a certain ammount, it can even destroy their data. It's just the type of Dirty trick I would expect from Mercurymon."
Said Digimon began to back away, turning to run.
"We can't just let him escape!" Jason protested.
"It's no use" ToyAgumon replied. "Your only Champion Digimon is incapacitated. "I'm genuinely surprised that he held up so well against Mercurymon."
Phasedramon turned in exhaustion to the group. He slumped to the floor and reverted into Lepumon.
"Can't I use a Digimodifier to heal him or something?" Dallas protested.
"No use" ToyAgumon replied. "Such items are rare at best. It would be well beyond my power to create one."
Dallas realized that ToyAgumon had sacrificed a huge ammount of enrgy to generate the cards. "I'm sorry for forcing you into creating those cards for me" he told him.
"It was for a good cause" ToyAgumon panted "Defeating Mercurymon is essential, especially to stop him from his mission here."
"What exactly is he planning?" Jason asked,
ToyAgumon nodded. "Pure horror. Mercurymon is planning to release SkullGreymon."
Lepumon and Patamon gasped in horror, but Jason and Dallas simply looked at ToyAgumon in confusion.
"Who is he?" Dallas sought.
"A horrible Digimon from long ago" ToyAgumon replied. "There is a legend among my people, although this particular legend is undoubtedly true.
"It is said that long ago, a Greymon who was extremely boastful decided that he would prove himself a legend by defeating the leader of the Agumon villiage: AncientGreymon.
"He prepared for years in training, and came to challenge AncientGreymon.
"Unfotunately, AncientGreymon defeated him easilly. He humiliated the poor Greymon for a long time, before he was called away.
"This Greymon was scarred for life. Not only had he been humiliatingly defeated, but AncientGreymon had made a point of mocking him about it. His honor was shattered, and he left the villiage.
"Many years later, that same Greymon returned. But now, he was a terribly powerful monster. The villiagers were horrified. This once great hero had become a dark beast.
"With their leader gone, they watched helplessly as Greymon digivolved into SkullGreymon, becoming a monster driven by raw power and rage. He desecrated the city and nearly killed everyone.
"As a last resort, the ancient Agumon used an unknown power source to create a prison deep beneath the earth and seal him inside. The four keys to this prison were cast to the four corners of the globe, hopefully never to be brought together again."
ToyAgumon paused to let his story sink in, before continuing.
"Sadly, the dedication transformed the Agumon into ClearAgumon, and their descendants to ToyAgumon. It is said that on the day that SkullGreymon is released, then driven out, the curse will be lifted. Until then, we were to keep the keys from being joined."
"That's horrible" Dallas spoke up. "So you are forced to keep the prison closed, which keeps the curse from being lifted?"
ToyAgumon nodded. "It's a high price to pay, but it's better than allowing SkullGreymon to run free."
"I can understand that" Jason spoke up. "If SkullGreymon got loose, it would be like doomsday for you guys, wouldn't it?"
"Essentially" ToyAgumon agreed. "And now that Mercurymon has all four keys..."
"Hold on" Dallas cut in. "Mercurymon has the keys to the prison? As in, the four that were scattered to the far corners of the map?"
"The same" ToyAgumon agreed glumly. "He told me he plans to release SkullGreymon and set him upon four travelers, who I presume are you four. He is the one who told me the nature of the beast. The legends simply say that Greymon became a hideous monster, but now I'm sure it must be him."
"Then we have to stop him" Patamon insisted. "But with our current power, we barely have enough power to annoy Mercurymon, much less damage him. "We'll need to recruit a team to help drive him off."
"We can do that" ToyAgumon replied. "But, first, we will need to gather my friends."
"Great" Dallas cheered. "Where are they?"
ToyAgumon looked around. "Well, I see one's arm up on that roof. I'm guessing it's my brother, but it might also be the ToyAgumon who's always on sentry duty..."
"Wait" Lepumon vocalized. "When you said "gather" your friends, you literally meant gather up pieces of them?"
"Yes" ToyAgumon explained. "We're made of bricks, so our bodies can be seperated without killing us. It is an emergency self-defence technique which lets us seperate without being killed."
"But it will take hours to find every piece" Dallas complained.
"Not necessarily" ToyAgumon corrected. "We must simply find one piece from each ToyAgumon, and then we can magnetize them back together. Plus, once we assemble one or two, they can regenerate each other, so we'll be able to continue on our mission."
"Sweet" Jason remarked. "So, let's get started!"
They decided to have Patamon fly up and grab the arm. As soon as he grasped it, an orb of light surrounded it. In a few seconds, the other pieces of the ToyAgumon came flying back to the arm's location. With a whirring sound, they assembled themselves into a perfect ToyAgumon.
"Thanks for that" the new ToyAgumon thanked Patamon. "I've been meaning to disperse myself for a while, so I could find my tail, but never had a good excuse to."
The ToyAgumon which the DigiDestined had rescued recognized the voice. "Tailless!" he cried. "It's you!"
"Bricker!" Tailless greeted "Heh, guess you can't really call me tailless anymore. I've got it back now!" he fliped around and displayed his plastic tail.
"I'll take your word for it" Bricker replied quickly, shielding his eyes.
"Tailless fliped back around. "I'm guessing that these are the four who Mercurymon was talking about. The ones who he wants SkullGreymon to kill?"
"That's us" Dallas said with a wave. "You are free to run away in panic, but it would be much kinder if you stayed and helped us."
Tailless considered it. "If SkullGreymon gets out, we all die. But, if SkullGreymon gets out and is driven away for good, then the curse is lifted. I can't say I'm not tempted."
"C'mon" Bricker pleaded. "We might be able to do something that has only been imagined these last hundred years!"
Tailless nodded. "I suppose it couldn't hurt..."
"Great!" Bricker cheered.
Almost on cue, a thundering could be heard, coming down the street.
"Uh-oh" Bricker muttered. "Something tells me that Mercurymon hasn't forgotten about us."
"That's my cue" Tailless added, before dashing down the street. "I'll get everybody put back together while you guys blow up bad guys!"
The five remaining figures turned in the direction of the vibrations.
"Let's hope it's just some more Gotsumon and not something too strong" Dallas remarked.
Around the corner did indeed come a group of eight Gotsumon. The rocky foes gave a battle cry as they advanced quickly.
"Does Mercurymon really think we can't take them on?" Lepumon asked.
Jason inspected the approaching threat. "These ones look strange... more powerful."
"Get ready suckers!" the lead Gotsumon yelled. "We've got a little surprise for all of you!"
A flash of light lance through the air, and all eight Gotsumon were consumed. Dallas and Jason gasped. They had seen this light before.
"No way" Jason muttered. "It's not possible..."
"Monochromon!" the Digimon cried unanimously. The light dispersed, and eight Champion-Level Digimon had replaaced the Gotsumon. Their armored bodies and giant horns showed off their immense strength.
"This is bad" Patamon stated. "Lepumon is still wiped out from his attack on Mercurymon, as well as all the energy he spent yesterday. There's no way we can beat them all!"
"Then we have to run" Dallas decided.
The group turned as one and dashed away. The Monochromon followed close behind, slamming their horns against the walls and causing major damage.
"Volcanic Strike!" one called. It opened its mouth and spewed a fireball. The projectile flew forward and erupted against a wall.
"So now they can shoot fireballs?" Jason complained. "Why don't we get fireballs?"
"I have fireballs" ToyAgumon informed him. "But they're made of plastic."
"Well, that's just great" Jason snapped. "At least we know that you can shoot plastic. I'm sure that's going to terrify a band of fire-breathing dinosaurs!"
The group ran as quickly as possible. Luckilly, there was nothing left in the surroundings that could catch fire. Of course, flamable objects in a city full of fire-breathing reptiles would have been foolish to begin with, but there was always a chance.
"There's nothing we can do about them!" Dallas screamed. "Lepumon is too wiped out to turn into Phasedramon, and I doubt even he would be able to defeat all of them!"
"We have to get to higher ground, that might help us keep them at bay" Patamon vocalized.
The others nodded and turned to travel up a sloped avenue. They soon made it to one of the higher points in the city and found themselves charging through a large open marketplace. There were no longer any stalls, making the area the perfect size and shape of an arena.
"We'll make our stand here" Jason decided. "Let's roll out our battle gear and hope for a miracle."
Dallas nodded, pulling his hammer from the makeshift bag on his back. Jason ushered Lepumon off to the side, giving him time to rest. Patamon prepared to launch his Boom Bubble, which was likely to be rather ineffective, but was the best he could currently offer. ToyAgumon began to create small puffs of plastic smoke, which was quite bizarre to see, since the smoke became solid plasic as it floated away.
The Monochromon rounded the bend and roared as they approached. The DigiDestined and Digimon prepared for the onslaught.
The lead Monochromon reached Dallas first. He vaulted to the left and swung his hammer as the beast passed. There was a solid crunch from the connection, but no real damage was inflicted. Despite this, the Digimon recoiled in surprise, not expecting such a powerful onslaught from the small human.
The rest of the team fared only slightly better. ToyAgumon used his Plastic Blaze technique to launch plastic bullets shaped like flames. They were only mildly effective, and didn't damage the Monochromon in the slightest.
Patamon's Boom Bubble, which had previously been able to easilly cleave the Rookie-Level Gotsumon apart only knocked its target back slightly. The Monochromon did not even seem annoyed. They treated the most powerful attacks the team could muster like a swarm of mosquitos.
"We can't keep this up" ToyAgumon grunted as he dodged a fireball. "There's no hope in this fight!"
"Not quite!" called a voice from the sidelines. Dallas looked over to see Jason wielding a stick.
"Jason, are you insane? Stay with Lepumon!" Dallas called. Jason paid him no heed as he dashed toward an attacker. His branch flicked forward and instantly snapped in half against the Monochromon's armor.
Jason looked up in horror as the Digimon reared up.
"Slamming Attack!" Monochromon cried, preparing to fling himself down and crush the annoyance.
At that instant, two things happened very quickly. Jason and Patamon both cried out with a unified scream. The second was that a beam of light lanced out of Jason's Digivice toward Patamon, who was rushing toward Jason at the time.
The light engulfed Patamon, and a field of energy surrounded him.
"Patamon, Digivolve to..." called Patamon. Cylinders of data emerged from his body to form muscular arms and legs. A visor and crop of hair covered his now-humanoid head. Wings emerged, and the transformation was completed.
"Angemon!" bellowed the new Digimon. Angemon now stood over six feet tall with angellic wings spreading like huge swathes of clothing. He was strong ang perfectly able to handle the threat.
"Angel Rod! he cried, thrusting out his staff and catching the Mono chromon under the chin. The lever stopped Monochromon's descent dead, and Angemon quickly swung his staff, smacking the adversary in the side of the head. Data erupted as the Digimon dispersed. Meanwhile, the other Monochromon noticed the commotion and turned to look.
Angemon grabbed Jason and ToyAgumon and flew them over to Dallas. He turned around, all seven Monochromon lined up before him.
Angemon smirked as he casually lifted his fist. "Hand of Fate!" he called, causing the enemies to shudder in fear.
A beam of powerful energy launched forth from Angemon's hand. The Monochromon gave very human-sounding screams and turned to run. Not a single one made it, as the destructive beam punched through them, obliterating them and leaving only data behind.
Unfortunately, the effort was so great that Angemon collapsed and reverted into Patamon. He grinned as he looked at his dumbfounded teammates.
"Told you I could" he managed before he fainted.
Nobody moved for a moment, until Jason picked Patamon up and smiled.
"I think our chances of winning this thing just got better."

Mercurymon sneered as he looked up at the great Aeolian Gate. The ToyAgumon really must have been fools if they didn't believe he would find it. The task wasn't even that difficult. He simply used his power to create magnetic waves, which acted like a type of sonar, to search for the cave. It had been child's play, really.
Slowly, he placed the small green key he held up against the letter S on the floor. The key slid in with a click and transformed into a flawless section of the letter.
Copying this action with the West and East gates, the blue and yellow keys respectively, he now looked upon a nearly completed Aeolian Gate.
"As soon as that Halsemon is intercepted, I will unlock the prison door and release SkullGreymon!" he gloated to nobody in particular. "Then, we shall see if those idiotic children can stand against his power!"
Just then, a Gotsumon aproached the gate from the tunnel.
"Master Mercurymon, sir!" he called. "Halsemon has been spotted flying toward the city gate!"
Mercurymon smiled. It is nearly time. Prepare to take this city, and destroy the DigiDestined!"
To Be Continued...

Yeah, I just couldn't resist that last bit. This is a two-part mini-arc in our story. I'm sorry if too much excitement is happening too soon, but I have everything planned out in my head.
Oh, and please read my other stories if you have the time. I really appreciate hearing feedback on them.
Also, I'm on a quest to decide on a new story ending. I'll be using my current one until then, but if you have an idea, put it down in the reviews.

Even Fire and Ice have a Dark side...