Hello everyone. I'm back with another chapter of Legends Reborn for you. It's nice that the story's getting a little bit more attention (getting the faves and follows). It keeps me motivated to keep writing this fic. On that note, I gotta tell you guys that there's quite a bit of exposition in this chapter so try to bear with it. Let me know what you think or question with a review and I'll do my best to improve and make this the best story it can be. Seriously, some feedback would be awesome guys.

On a side note, for those of you who're waiting for Secrets, FernClaw and I have gotten a rough idea of what we want to do to finish the story and just need to work the kinks out before getting it ready so keep that in mind.

I hope for your patience and hope you enjoy the chapter.


Chapter 3: The Prophet and the Records.

It obscured the sky, jutting out from the ruins of an old castle and piercing into the violet aurora that lit up the darkness ever so faintly. This structure, a tall spire, had cast an impossibly long shadow across the land, laying a long stretch of complete and total darkness the likes of which no light could penetrate; a cursed darkness that no one would dare enter for fear of what may lurk within and for fear of completely losing oneself in it for the rest of their natural life. Residing in this once quiet realm were no longer the tranquil Pipismon but rather vicious creatures hell-bent on obeying their master's whim and the poor unfortunate souls enslaved to suit a sinister purpose.

Dwelling in the heart of this dark realm, the castle that now housed the heavenward tower, the Dark Master observed all; the figure cloaked in red that started it all. His dark gaze would pierce through endlessly across the vast expanse of the world and observe every moment, waiting for any action that may catch his gaze.

Something seemed worthy of his attention as his long gaze receded to the confides of the balcony where he stood where the sound of wings flapping grew steady.

A tall demon in black with tattered wings, Devimon, had flown to the balcony and landed softly on the stone railings and bowed his head to his master. "My Lord Daemon."

"Wizardmon has escaped." The Dark Master had opted to say rather than acknowledge his servant. No point in wasting his breath on the question, he knew about what had occurred; he had seen the pillar of flame far off from the woods around Flame Terminal and understood what it meant. "They've returned. The human children who defeated Lucemon."

Devimon only nodded, deciding not to say anymore than what was needed. His master took no pleasure in such idle wastes of time. "What are your orders Lord Daemon?"

At this Daemon contemplated. If the children had returned then he would need to deal with them appropriately as they would no doubt interfere and make a mess of things. To prevent something like this, it would be appropriate for him to deal with it himself. However… "I leave it to you Devimon. Seek the humans out and destroy them."

"Me, my Lord?" Devimon was initially shocked by his master's orders but the shock gave way to confidence.

"Yes. I would rather not waste my time on something that can prove to be inconsequential." Daemon explained and placed his hand on the cold stone railing before him. His piercing stare lingered over the horizon and hardened, the stone under his hand cracking under the pressure he exuded. "Unless they prove otherwise, I will not sully my hands in destroying insignificant weaklings."

The winged demon nodded at his master's words. "I will deal with them immediately." Before he took off, he cast one final glance to his master. "And if I should come across Wisemon along the way?"

Daemon's eye twitched in evident annoyance and made the stone under his hand shatter, dust scattering in the air.

"Crush him."

-Flame Terminal Woods-

"So are we really just going to put a hold on explaining what's going on until we meet this friend of yours?" Takuya asked as he and his friends followed after Wizardmon. They had carried on in a brisk pace through the woods,, leaving behind the scene of their battle with the Devidramon. As they lagged behind the wizard, curiosity had made them impatient… one particularly. "I mean, sure being cryptic can be kinda cool and mysterious but it's not doing us any favors."

Wizardmon heaved a very heavy sigh. "Look kid, it'll be easier if Wisemon explained everything to you all personally. Hell want to give all the details to all ten of you once you've arrived."

"That's another thing." JP being the one to speak up, clearly as impatient as his goggle headed companion. "How do you know that there are other kids aside from the seven of us?"

"Well, there is an extra this time around, isn't there?" was Wizardmon's response.

At that Shinya piped up and grinned. He had pulled out his D-Tector and stared down at the blank screen. Images of his friends' battle earlier had flashed through his mind and made him all the more excited. "So that means I can transform too, right? I can be like a super cool warrior like everyone else?"

Tommy smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. "You bet! You'll get to do all the cool stuff we do too!"

"Ooh! I can't wait!" Shinya's grin grew wider and his step carried a happy bounce.

"I wonder which Spirit you'll get." Zoe wondered aloud as she glanced over at the young Kanbara's D-Tector. Taking in the color scheme of the device, orange and brown, she had one guess in mind. "Earth maybe?"

"Grumblemon huh?" Kouji tried to entertain the idea, imagining Shinya becoming the big nosed gnome with the speech impediment. He stifled a chuckle and shook his head.

His brother saw this and seemed genuinely curious. He didn't remember much of the other Warriors. His memories in general have been somewhat blurry from his time as Duskmon. He only remembered some specific details but it wasn't much. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Kouji cleared his throat, trying to hide the amusement from his thought. Seeing that Kouichi wouldn't leave him alone, Kouji was quick to change the subject. "If there are other humans like us, maybe we can use the compass in our D-Tectors to find them."

Everyone paused and turned to the bandanna-wearing boy, Wizardmon's interest being piqued from that little bit of information. "You can track each other down with that thing?"

"Sort of. It's not specific." Kouji answered. Thinking about it, it wasn't a bad idea, so he pulled out his D-Tector and with a familiar sequence of buttons the screen lit up and revealed the all too familiar compass feature. The little circle of light in the compass shined with a faint glow as it pointed in a direction, directing the group to the east; the opposite direction they were going. Whatever it was pointing at, it was directly behind them.

"So… there is something?" Shinya asked as he and Tommy got a better look at the compass and later turned to look behind them, searching for any sign of something important. "I don't see anything."

"Well, maybe whatever the D-Tector's pointing at is still a while's away." JP offered. Having not been familiar with the function, the elder boy could really only speculate what the compass was pointing at. "Is it moving?"

Taking out his own D-Tector, Takuya turned on the compass as well. "It's kinda hard to tell but…" he furrowed his brow. "I think so? Maybe it's coming this way." He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe we should see what it is. I mean, it's not like the compass has ever pointed to something bad when Kouji used it."

Wizardmon shook his head. "We don't have the time. We're in danger so long as we're out in the open. There's more out here than the Devidramon…"

"But what if they are other kids? We can't just let them wander around here defenseless." Takuya argued. While he wasn't sure what it was the D-Tectors were pointing at, he knew that they couldn't risk the chance of it not being other children. They knew full well just how dangerous the Digital World could be or rather how much more dangerous it was now.

"Look, there's no point in arguing." Kouichi started, getting the wizard's attention. He pointed at Kouji's D-Tector, letting everyone notice that the small circle of light was steadily increasing in size. "Whatever is there is coming our way. By the time we're done arguing about this, and trust me he's not going to let it go easy, it'll have caught up with us."

Takuya huffed at the little side note regarding him but couldn't help but smile with the others at the logic the Kimura boy had offered.

"So we wait then." Zoe pointed out and as she kept an eye out for what was coming towards them and sure enough, something came into view; three somethings. "Hey! They are humans!"

Ayumi, Shinoba, and Haru looked ahead and upon seeing the group, quickly rushed over to them, eager for the company of other humans like themselves. "Man… you would not believe how relieved we are to find other people in this place…" Ayumi spoke up for her group, smiling brightly and feeling the tension ease off her shoulders if only slightly. With this many other people around, perhaps they had a better chance of getting out of this crazy situation.

The veteran children shared sympathetic smiles with the new bunch. No doubt this was a scary situation for them so Zoe approached the other girl and offered her a hand. "We get how you feel but you don't have to worry anymore. You guys will be safe with us."

Shinoba couldn't help but feel the need to scoff. You guys are safe with us? How pretentious.

That didn't go unnoticed by JP. He crossed his arms and frowned. He glanced around and saw that Takuya and Kouji had noticed too. They either shrugged or shook their head respectively once they took notice of JP's gaze. The older boy didn't know any better and while his posture was standoffish, it didn't mean they should correct him on his behavior. At least, not yet anyway.

"So who are you guys?" Tommy asked, casting a glance at Haru who seemed to be a little shy in the presence of all these other people.

"I'm Ayumi Hirata" the girl spoke up for her group again. She then gestured to the younger boy. "This is my brother Haru." She then cast a disdainful glance at Shinoba. "And he's Shinoba." At that Shinoba looked away, not daring to make eye contact with his former flame.

The coldness in Ayumi's voice didn't go unnoticed. No, it was painfully clear that she had a very low opinion of the older boy though unsure why. Deciding to ignore that for now, Zoe offered a small smile and proceeded to introduce herself and her friends to their new companions.

During all of this, Wizardmon took in the appearance of these three new humans. Today never ceased to amaze him. Finding the six heroes that defeated Lucemon, and now finding the inheritors of the remaining Spirits… Wisemon had truly done it. "Amazing…"

"And to think you were skeptical." Kouji commented to him.

Wizardmon blushed with embarrassment and hid his face behind the collar of his cloak. "Well… It's hard not to be nervous during these times… the world's become a scary… dangerous place."

"Well, we're all here now." Takuya spoke up. "So let's go meet with Wisemon now that there aren't anymore distractions."

Haru furrowed his brow and glanced to Tommy and Shinya, feeling more confident with kids about his age. "Um… who's Wisemon?"

"Dunno." Shinya answered honestly with a shrug. "I'm kinda new to this too."

That confused the poor boy and he cast his gaze at his sister, hoping she could understand what Shinya meant and explain it to him. It didn't help that she was just as confused as he was.

"Just follow us okay? Wizardmon said that Wisemon would explain everything." Tommy offered as the others started to follow after the Digimon. "We can answer any questions you have though. At least to the best we can."

Haru smiled gently, appreciating the gesture. "Thanks. Well… I guess for starters, do you know where we are?"

"Yeah. We're in the Digital World."

-Remnants of Flame Terminal-

Devimon took in the sight before him as he flew over the terminal. The station was barren; the burners that once lit with lively flames were now cold and lifeless and the Trailmon tracks were rent and twisted. The worst of it however, was the town entrance. A wild, angry black scar had eaten away at everything, spreading wider as it stretched along where Trailmon tracks once were placed. Flame Terminal was in ruins.

"To think it was this easy for Lord Daemon to bring an end to everything." The devil mused as he landed weightlessly on the rooftops and surveyed the area. It was ironic really. This was the place where the story of the Legendary Warriors began and it was now the place where the beginning of the end took place. Reminded of the task at hand, Devimon sent a surge of twisted black energy in a large pulse over the desolate land. This was a call for the one left in charge of this area and soon enough, the creature appeared.

"Devimon… what news have you brought from our Lord Daemon?"

Devimon crossed his arms and turned to the woods. "The Legendary Warriors have returned and at that, it seems Wizardmon has come in contact with them and will more than likely take them to see Wisemon."

There was a still silence before a deep angry growl rose up from the creature's throat. "… what is our Master's will?"

"We are to find them and destroy them." Devimon answered. "Are you any closer to finding their hide away?"

"I'm hot on their trail. I will find them and I will burn everything down to a cinder."

Devimon nodded. "Good. Be sure that you do. I will continue to survey things from here and act accordingly."

There was a growl in response as the creature prowled back into the woods. "Very well… just you wait… I'll have them." Just you wait… I'm coming for you. Warrior of Flame.

-Back in the Woods-

"No way! We're in another world?!" Haru exclaimed in awe.

Ayumi and Shinoba seemed skeptical with this information provided to them by the young Tommy but Haru seemed awe struck, believing the story given him. "That's… a hard pill to swallow." Ayumi responded finally after digesting everything.

"Just take a look at our tour guide and tell me that's not alien. No offense." JP offered and gestured to Wizardmon who opted to ignore that comment. It was hard to argue with that though; Wizardmon's appearance was anything but normal, even with his human appearance.

"And we really are able to transform with these devices." Kouichi added since Ayumi and Shinoba were just as skeptical about that fact as well. "We all have them."

Shinoba frowned at the idea. "So what? We're power rangers? That's just plain stupid."

"Told you it sounded stupid when you say it like that." Kouji said to no one in particular though Kouichi gave hip a playful shove in response.

"Just take our word for it okay. We've been through this before." Zoe offered up, hoping to convince them before they've arrived and received a full explanation of the situation. "It'll be easier if you just try to accept it for what it is."

"Crazy talk?" Shinoba retorted earning a frown from the blond and her friends.

Takuya couldn't believe how stubborn this guy was in his adamant desire to deny their story. "Look buddy, that's how things are right now."

"Yeah! I'm new to this too but I saw it all happen right in front of my eyes!" Shinya added, sticking up for his friends. Before he could say more though, Wizardmon held up his hand stopping the argument. "What is it Wizardmon?"

Instead of answering the question, the wizard raised his staff and made it light up with a ball of light. "Magical Game." The ball of light flew from his staff and circled around them, moving faster and faster until it formed a ring of light around them. And then, with a bright flash, it faded and revealed something that was hidden; a staircase that was carved into the ground and lead down to a deep dark abyss lit faintly by torch light. Wizardmon cast a glance at the new children and smirked to himself upon seeing the shock on their faces. "Still find it hard to believe?"

"…I'm sold." Ayumi admitted while Shinoba was speechless.

"Follow me. These stairs lead to our home base." Wizardmon proceeded to traverse down the earthen stairs with the children following him. Once they were all within the confides of the hidden stairway, the entrance once again sealed up, leaving no trace of its existence.

"You guys really take your secret base seriously huh?" Takuya asked as they proceeded deeper down underground.

Wizardmon shrugged. "You have to if you want to survive."

Takuya grimaced a little, still not yet adapted from the grim seriousness of the state of things. "Fair enough I guess…"

"At least we're not walking blindly." Zoe offered in hindsight, careful not to misplace her step as they continued.

"Still a little much don't you think?" Kouji asked. Taking a glance behind them and you'd swear the staircase would go on forever. "All these stairs seem really unnecessary. Especially with the entrance sealed away above us."

JP shrugged. "Just be careful not to trip."

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they reached the bottom of the stairs and were met with a grand room of expertly carved rock and earth. Blue carpet covered the floor as bookshelves covered the walls, holding tomes and baubles and trinkets of mysterious origin. On three walls, between bookcases were wooden doors that lead to the unknown. "The door on the left is my living quarters." Wizardmon spoke up as he stepped towards the door across from the stairs. "The right is where we keep supplies." He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned to the children. "This door leads to where Wisemon resides."

Tommy looked over to his new companions and noted the nervous look on Haru's face. He nudged Shinya and gestured to the boy. Shinya understood and they both stood at Haru's side. "Stick with us, kay? We got your back."

"Yeah. You can count on us." Shinya grinned, sharing in Tommy's attempts in encouraging the boy.

Haru was taken aback from both their kindness and their confidence. They reminded him of his sister and it certainly was uplifting. He offered a small smile in gratitude as they stepped further into the room.

Takuya ruffled the tops of Shinya and Tommy's heads, giving them a proud smile before he turned his attention to Wizardmon. "Well, let's go see him."

Wizardmon nodded and opened the door, leading to a larger, more spacious room. "Wisemon, I've brought the children from Earth to see you."

"Splendid. Let them in." A robed Digimon with a tan hood spoke up, standing in front of the desk facing the door. He met the children with a gleeful glint in his yellow eyes and inclined his head. "It's a great pleasure to finally meet you children. You may have already heard of my name many times but allow me to introduce myself. I am Wisemon."

The children slowly stepped into the room as the Digimon introduced himself. At first glance, the creature wasn't all too impressive to look at. His figure was lithe and thin and his robes and hood were tattered and worn. This was the Digimon that had summoned them?

Shinoba certainly wasn't too impressed. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"I already told you. I am Wisemon." He answered as if the question was a silly one. The mirth in his voice hadn't lessened, even when the boy growled in response to his answer. "Though I suppose that isn't what you meant."

"Look, can we just get to the point here." Kouji started before the fuming boy could retort. "Wizardmon brought us to you because he said you could explain to us what had happened to the Digital World."

Wisemon nodded. "Right, right. Of course. You always were one to get straight to the point of things aren't you Kouji Minamoto?" Seeing the surprised look on the bandanna-wearing boy's face, he opted to keep speaking. "And before you ask, I know all your names, and yes, even the names of those of you new to the Digital World. For you see… I have knowledge of everything that has transpired in our world…" He gestured to the book behind him, letters glowing gold. "Be it the past or present."

All eyes were on the book upon the desk as its pages flipped infinitely as golden works etched themselves on each passing page.

"Bellissimo…" Zoe uttered softly, marveled by the book's brilliance.

"What I present to you is the Akashic Records." Wisemon introduced, pulling the children's attention away from the splendor of the book. "Ever since it's creation, this tome has recorded information from every event that transpires in every corner our world as it occurs; the Human and Beast wars, Lucemon's rise to power, his defeat at the hands of the Legendary Warriors, Cherubimon's fall into evil, the revival of the Warriors through you children, Lucemon's awakening, and his defeat again by your hands to name a few things. Even now, it is recording everything that is happening, even our meeting right now."

JP's jaw dropped in awe. "Dude… that is heavy…"

"Tell me about it…" Ayumi muttered weakly. Sure she was a doubter before but after seeing such fantastic things she was more than willing to believe what was happening to them. This was very much real and overwhelming.

"So… you know first hand what happened… to the world since we were gone…" Kouichi came to the conclusion to which Wisemon nodded.

"To explain everything however." Wisemon snapped his fingers and the book responded, pausing temporarily before flipping rapidly until it was brought to the very first page. "I will have to start at the beginning."

-0-

You see, in the beginning, the world was much greater… much larger than the world it is today or before its rebirth at Lucemon's defeat. Of course, this was a time before the conflict between the Human and Beast type Digimon and everything in the world was peaceful… at least so it seemed.

The world was divided:

Witchelny, the society where Digimon dedicated themselves to studying the mysterious nature of magic and sorcery.

The Iliad, the empire where great warrior Digimon tested their mettle in combat and commit their lives to the honorable combat.

Never-Ever Land, the land of whimsy and carefree wonder where freedom is revered above all else.

Atlantis, the utopian kingdom ruled by philosophy and spirituality that has lead to progress.

Yggdrasill, the dominion of the Server Tree that abides to the rules of law and order above all else.

And finally, the Dark Area, a chaotic realm where all matter of wicked and cruel creatures fester and plot the downfall of society.

Each realm had their own ideals... and none would submit to the whims of the others. Tensions rose and it seemed inevitable that the world would eventually fall apart in a global war that would wreak havoc and destroy innumerable lives.

The catalysts that started this great downfall… were the Demon Lords.

No one knows the exact origins of these monstrous creatures but one by one they rose up and influenced the wills of the masses, warping the once peaceful lives into vicious beasts. It was through their dark will that the world was ripped asunder and brought into a state of chaos. These monstrosities nearly brought the world to an end.

And then came the savior…

A Digimon clad in white a wielding a mighty sword rose up and defeated the Demon Lords and sealed them away within the depths of the Dark Area, a part of the world where all evil in our world would then originate from and are eventually banished to. This warrior had saved the Digimon from the Demon Lords' evil but could not stop the inevitable break down of our world.

In order to save the world, this mighty white Digimon used his power to separate the world into seven separate pieces and into separate realms where no conflict would arise from previous tensions.

The Current Digital World is one of those seven fragments, becoming the home for Digimon that found themselves in no allegiance with any faction.

Peace was prosperous but brief… conflicts rose and then Lucemon came into power.

Thus the story of the Legendary Warriors came to be…

And the rest is history.

-0-

Wisemon gauged the reactions of all the children as they let the story sink in. He cast his glance to Wizardmon, noting that he was clenching his staff tightly. He made a gesture with his hand to try and calm the wizard down before turning back to the children. "Now, the details are not precise as this story was before the Records creation, but it does tell that Demon Lords were- are a true threat to our world."

"So… the world… it's in danger from these Demon Lords?" Tommy asked, easily coming to that conclusion from Wisemon's story.

"That is correct. However, it is not just this world that is in danger… it is all realms of the Digital World." Wisemon finished and cast his gaze back over to Wizardmon.

Wizardmon stood forward into the spot light and gathered himself before speaking. "I come from one of those realms… Witchelny." He took another calming breath though it was clear that he was agitated; mixed with feelings of grief and anger. "It was peaceful… we dedicated ourselves to the study of magic like Wisemon said… and our guardian, MedievalGallantmon, was kind and just… then SHE showed up…" He slowly nodded to the other Digimon, allowing him to continue with the explanation.

Wisemon then snapped his fingers once again and the book began to project an image. The image of Daemon and five others were presented to them. To Daemon's left was a red crocodile with an enormous maw, and lanky man in a leather biker's outfit. To his right, a winged woman in a black and violet gothic gown, an ancient warlock in dark robes and wielding a bone staff, and a winged black beast bound in chains. "These are the remaining of the Seven Demon Lords, embodiment of evil and representations of seven deadly sins of religious mythology. From left to right you have: Beelzemon of Gluttony, Leviamon of Envy, Daemon of Wrath, Lilithmon of Lust, Barbamon of Greed, and Belphemon of Sloth."

"Unfortunately, because they reside within realms outside of this particular space… the only information I am able to gather is on Daemon as he is the one who has taken over this realm of the Digital WOrld…" Wisemon added, a hint of bitterness in his tone. "And even that is minimal at best."

At first glance, it was obvious whom Wizardmon was referring to as the one who attacked his home. It was made all the more apparent with Wizardmon staring down the image of the female demon with pure loathing.

Kouji pitied the aching wizard and glanced at each image, studying them closely. He stopped when he came to a realization. "Wait a minute. Remaining? Who was the seventh?"

"The seventh Demon Lord, the strongest of them all." Wisemon started and allowed for another image to appear revealing the fallen angel they were all too familiar with. "He was Lucemon, the Demon Lord of Pride."

"Wait a minute. Lucemon was a Demon Lord?!" JP gaped out of pure astonishment. "Are you serious?!"

Wisemon nodded. "Quite serious."

"But wait…" Haru spoke up softly. "T-the story said that the Demon Lords… were sealed away… so how did…"

"Lucemon had power greater than his brethren." Wisemon explained. "His monstrous true self had a power a league above the others… it was that power that allowed for his eventual escape. It wasn't until his clash with the Ancient Warriors that his power was diminished and he was sealed away again in what was known as the new Dark Area, his solitary prison."

Ayumi bit her lip and gazed upon the projections of the Demon Lords. They unnerved her. It was safe to say it unnerved everyone. And this guy was expecting them to fight this evil? "But… what can we do exactly?"

"Hey… we beat Lucemon." Takuya spoke up and tried to gather his nerves. "The six of us had beaten him before. We beat him and we did it together with the power of the Legendary Warriors. If he was the strongest and we still succeeded then we can beat the rest of them."

"Oh no. That is incorrect."

Takuya blinked and looked back at to Wisemon. "Um… say that again?"

"Don't get me wrong, I brought you all here so you could help." Wisemon started and brought his hands together in his lap. "You have a great power and have succeeded in the past, I can't overlook that. However… you still lack the necessary strength to use it, be it experience…" he gestured to the four new Warriors. "…or true understanding of the power you wield." He glanced at the remaining six.

There was a deafening silence as the children were left speechless.

"To put it bluntly, at your current condition, you would not stand a chance against Daemon, let alone any of the other Demon Lords."