A/N: Thank you for sticking with me, I really appreciate it. This chapter continues where the last one left off. This is a much longer chapter and a lot is happening.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4

If Hikari and Takeru were expecting an ancient temple like where Miyako and Iori got their Digimentals, they were disappointed. Miyako moaned, "A cave. Why does it have to be a cave? Couldn't the Digimentals be located in a nicer place like a restaurant?"

Davis rolled his eyes. "You can stay outside if you want to. Only Takeru and Hikari are needed to lift the Digimentals." He followed Iori, Takeru and Hikari inside, leaving Miyako standing at the entrance. The tall girl huffed and crossed her arms, but she followed them anyway. Hawkmon sighed at his partner's attitude.

Thankfully, the cave wasn't as deep as the one Davis got his Digimental of Courage from. Light from the entrance could still penetrate the darkness, allowing the Chose Children to see where they were going. They soon reached a stone slab, on which sat the Digimentals with the crests of Light and Hope engraved on them.

Armadimon spoke up, "Now we know for certain that the Digimentals belong to Hikari and Takeru gyaa."

The blonde looked at his Digimental and fidgeted. "What if it rejects me? You saw what happened to Taichi-san and the others."

"You won't know unless you try, Takeru-kun," Hikari stepped forward and lifted her artefact. It was lifted easily like she hoped. Smiling at her old friend, she prompted, "Go on and give it a try."

Takeru nodded and did so. The bronze artefact weighed close to nothing, unlike the time he tried to lift the Digimental of Courage. "I guess it's really mine after all," he said happily. Simultaneously, Hikari's Digivice as well as his transformed into newer models. The old whites where now replaced with green and pink gripped D3s. Iori voiced their surprise for them, "Wow, now your Digivices are like ours."

Takeru looked at his old friend, confused and unsure by what it meant. "But our brothers… What does this mean for us?"

"Maybe we are special?" Hikari suggested

Davis clapped and interrupted, "Yes it's very curious but right now, let's get out of here before the Kaiser finds us and causes trouble again. We will figure this out once we get out of here." The others agreed and they made their way back to the entrance. However, the Kaiser was already waiting for them outside with four red dinosaur Digimon.

"Well, you just don't seem to learn, do you? You're not welcome here. This territory is mine."

Davis narrowed his eyes, "We will come and go as we wish. We are Chosen Children who possess the Digivices that allow us to enter the Digital World. You must be a Chosen too, if you can travel freely like us."

The Kaiser laughed. "Yes, I'm a Chosen. But not losers like you. I have brains and lots of strategies, unlike you."

Miyako blew a raspberry at him. "Is that why you keep losing to us losers? Hah!"

Snapping his fingers, the Kaiser said, "Not anymore. Tyrannomon, attack!" The dinosaurs moved in for the kill. Davis, Iori and Miyako evolved their partners to face the threat. Each of them took on a Tyrannomon except for Holsmon, whose agility and flight abilities allowed him to face more than one.

Takeru and Hikari were about to evolve their partners too but were stopped by Davis. "We have the element of surprise here. Let's not spoil it yet. For now, get out of here. We'll distract the Tyrannomon." The duo nodded hesitantly and hurried off from the battle. Their escape didn't go unnoticed by the Kaiser for he called off one of the Tyrannomon fighting Holsmon and sent it after the Chosen of Light and Hope.

"I don't know what you were thinking, sending them away. They won't be able to beat an adult Digimon in their state. I intend to see how long you will keep fighting," the Kaiser said arrogantly. You will surrender if your precious Digimon can't fight any longer. I'd give you as much as 10 minutes before you're worn out.

Davis snarled but inside he was confident that Hikari and Takeru would be fine. He had anticipated that the Kaiser would send a soldier after his friends, meaning that they had less opponents on their plates and would be able to stall for more time. He turned his attention towards the skirmish between the Partner Digimon of the Chosen Children and the slaves of the Digimon Kaiser.

Holsmon circled his opponent, skilfully dodging the fireballs shot at him. His attacks didn't seem to do much damage and the Tyrannomon's constant movement kept causing him to miss the Evil Ring on its neck. Digmon seemed to have the upper hand for his enemy had a foot stuck in the fissure caused by his Big Crack attack. However, the dinosaur freed itself not long after and began chasing the insect Digimon. Davis' own partner was engaged in a fire fight, literally. The two combatants both shot balls of flame at each other while trying not to get hit.

The battle wasn't exactly fair, for Armour-Evolved Digimon had reasonably lower power than normal Adult levels. Still, the Chosen Children's Digimon fought valiantly. Before long, they were forced to retreat to the edge of a cliff. Davis gritted his teeth. His friends had nowhere to run and their partners lay unconscious in their arms, completely exhausted from the futile effort to defeat the Kaiser's soldiers.

Come on, Hikari. Where are you and Takeru?

As if they had heard him, two flying creatures soared towards them. As they approached, he could make out the shape of a sphinx and a Pegasus. "Daisuke-kun!" he heard Hikari shout from on top her partner Nefertimon. They landed in front of him and got off to check on their friends. Takeru attended to Iori and Miyako whereas Hikari went to Davis.

"Flying horse, eh?" He said cheekily. Pegasmon rolled his eyes while Hikari giggled.

Davis got up, grinning although he was worried. While they fresh reinforcements, they were still out numbered. Meanwhile, the Kaiser was surprised and mildly annoyed. "So you managed to defeat one of my slaves. Big deal. Tyrannomon, finish them off!"

Davis tensed, but Hikari put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She called Takeru's name, jerking her head at the approaching Tyrannomon. The blond boy nodded. Turning towards their partners, they said in unison, "You know what to do." Nefertimon and Pegasmon took off with a few powerful flaps of their wings, creating a gust of wind. The mythical Digimon circled the Tyrannomon, looking for an opening.

Pegasmon swooped in, kicked the red dinosaurs in their snouts and retreated. Nefertimon did the same, except she clawed at their faces leaving angry scratch marks. This only irritated the Tyrannomon, and they spat fire at their attackers who nimbly dodged the fireballs.

The Kaiser grew less patient by the minute. "What are you stupid dinosaurs doing? Finish them off already!"

Sensing that it was time to end the battle, the Pegasus signalled to his Sphinx counterpart. She agreed, "Okay, let's do this. Sanctuary Bind!" Their fore gauntlets glowed and together they bound the Kaiser's Digimon in an energy loop. Trapped, the Evil Rings on the Tyrannomons' necks became stationary targets.

"Needle Rain!" Pegasmon cried.

"Nile Jewellery!" Nefertimon declared.

The attacks hit the targets at point blank range. With the Evil Rings destroyed, the Tyrannomon were free. They sat up and glanced around confusedly. One even asked, "Where's my breakfast?"

Clicking his tongue angrily, the Kaiser retreated before the Chosen Children turned their attention towards him. You win this time, but I'll get you back.

Back in the real world, it was already sunset. The Chosen Children returned to the computer room, this time miraculously not in a dogpile. Miyako puffed her cheeks, "We won again but the Kaiser is really getting on my nerves." Iori nodded in agreement, "He almost defeated us. We can't let our guard down."

Takeru tried to cheer them up, "At least we have more Digimon that can fight back now. We won't be easy to beat."

Patamon chirped from above his head, "That's right, now we have new Armour Evolutions we won't be liabilities anymore."

Daisuke sniggered, "Yes, Mr. Flying-Bat-Pig-Turns-Flying-Horse. Apparently barn animals can fly now. We will be unstoppable, with the power of airborne livestock."

Takeru and Hikari found it extremely funny. Even Tailmon chuckled lightly at the joke made in the expense of her friend but Iori, Miyako and their partners were left in the dark. It wasn't until the former trio explained the joke that they all burst out laughing. Poor Patamon protested, "I'm not a bat-pig! I'm a hamster!"

Grabbing his stuff and placing Chibimon in his bag, Davis turned to leave. "Yeah I'm sure you are. Are you guys ready to go or not? It's late."

Blinking in realisation, the others scrambled and packed before heading out.

Ken sighed in annoyance as he sat in his room. He had just lost another battle with a bunch of imbeciles. How could FOUR Tyrannomon have lost? Fladramon wasn't supposed to be effective against them at all, while the others should have been weaker. His breakdown of the Armour Level couldn't have been wrong. They were supposed to be weaker than normal Adult Level Digimon. Perhaps he should have sent one more Tyrannomon.

Why am I getting so worked up on this? It's just a game after all.

But he realised that he didn't want to lose, and that everything should be given full effort. That was how he became top student. That was how he won all those tournaments. Of course, it helped that he was already a genius, or almost one.

He wanted to be the winner.

Smirking, he decided that he would allow his enemies some time to enjoy their victory. After all, he could always sick something worse on them.

Besides, he had Dark Towers to control Evolution. They were spread all over the Digimon World, located in strategic places for maximum area of effect. That way he saved himself a lot of time and labour (though it wasn't like he was the one doing the work).

Browsing through his folders, he found something that surprised him pleasantly. There were numerous projects that were in progress. He checked the data inside and what he saw delighted him even further.

This could turn the tide. I would be invincible. This game really is fun, kudos to whoever came up with this. Heck, with this I don't even need to bother myself with those people.

"Ken, it's time for dinner!" His mother knocked on his door and called.

"Coming," Ken answered. Cricking his neck, Ken gave the data one last look before he minimised the file. He stood up and glanced at the chessboard next to him. The pieces were arranged in starting positions. After a moment, he moved his white pawn two boxes forward.

Then he left his room, switching of the monitor as he exited. One his mind were three folders named:

PROJECT DARK EVOLUTION,

PROJECT CHIMERA,

And finally,

PROJECT APOCALYPSE.

The next few days were spent by the Chosen Children on freeing the Digimon captured by the Kaiser. They went on raids, targeting prisons with the most captives. The first mission to free the Betamon was their toughest, but they slowly gained experience and confidence.

Taichi decided to tag along with the new group, replacing Miyako whom Koushiro had insisted stay behind to learn more about operating in the real world. Their current mission was rescuing the Gotsumon. The prison had only a few Vegiemon guards which the partnered Digimon took out without breaking a sweat.

The team managed to get them to the forest, where hiding was easier. They all paused to catch their breath from running. Takeru spoke up, "That was strangely easy. The security was low, and the Vegiemon seemed half-hearted in stopping us."

Armadimon grunted, "Maybe they knew they were outnumbered so they put up an act to show like they did fight back gyaa?" Iori agreed with his partner. "So that they can tell the Kaiser that they tried to stop us."

Taichi shook his head. "I don't think so, Iori. I think the Kaiser didn't want these Gotsumon, and he didn't want to free them, so he merely set up an easy prison for us to break in. He didn't want to waste energy and resources on protecting them."

The Gotsumon were outraged. "What, we're not worth his attention now?"

"Screw the Kaiser!"

"After putting us through hell, he decides to just free us?"

"No, I don't think it's that simple," Everybody fell silent and turned to Davis. He wore a serious expression on his face. "I think it's because he has something else planned."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure. I just have a feeling. I can't explain it. We're doing what we can, but are we hitting the target?"

The silence was heavy. Hikari chose to break it. "Well, at least we're doing something. It's better than standing by and not helping, right?"

"It's not about doing something. It's about doing the right thing. While we're doing this, who knows what the Kaiser is up to. It's a distraction, Hikari. Sacrificing the pawn to clear the path, like in chess," Davis said softly.

Taichi fumed. Daisuke is right, we have to step things up, he thought."We have distributed our partners to protect the various Digimon clans. They should be able to keep an eye on the Kaiser, maybe eavesdrop on his goons. For now, let's just get home."

The others made sounds of agreement and they walked into the woods, towards the TV set. Davis lagged behind, deep in thought. Next to him, Tailmon stopped. She gazed at the looming Dark Tower. The boy paused in his tracks as well. "You noticed that too huh? The Dark Towers are always where a Digimon City or prison is," he pointed out.

"Yes, I noticed." Tailmon had to give the maroon haired boy credit. He was pretty observant. "I wonder if they have anything to do with stopping evolution."

Davis looked down at the feline Digimon. "That's a really good question. This is really something for us to observe and find out."

"Tailmon, Daisuke-kun, hurry up!" Hikari called. Taichi stood next to the TV set, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Okay, we're coming," Davis answered. He and Tailmon jogged towards the group. "What are we going to do with the Gotsumon?"

"We can't leave them here in the forest. Gotsumon are rock Digimon and this isn't their natural habitat. So Takeru suggested that we bring them to the real world," Patamon explained.

"And just what are you going to do when they're in the real world?"

"I don't know, ask Takeru."

Takeru blanched. "Eh… I haven't really thought about that," he said sheepishly.

Taichi saved him the embarrassment. "We are going to hide them in the real world first. After that, we'll find a portal to a safe location and let them take refuge there."

"What if they're discovered back home?" This time Iori was the one who asked. Davis looked at Taichi for an explanation as well.

To their surprise, the older teen grinned. "That won't be a problem. They can become pretty convincing statues." The rock Digimon all posed and froze in different positions, to prove his point. One of them made an obscene gesture, resembling a rude statue while another passed off as a crude body part.

This drew varied instantaneous reactions from the humans and Chosen Digimon.

The male Digimon gagged. Tailmon's eye twitched. Takeru and Davis couldn't help but snicker and break out into laughter. Iori had a disgusted look on his face while Taichi hurriedly covered his sister's eyes. "You two," he pointed at the offending Digimon with his free hand. "Whatever you do, do NOT pose like that in the human world," Taichi shouted.

The Gotsumon unfroze and pouted. Well, as well as rocks could pout, that is.

They all laughed heartily and returned to the real world.

Yamato stood outside the performance hall, in front of a window pane. He just finished another one of his performances and was sipping a soda as he enjoyed the view. His brother held a local soft drink, sitting comfortably on the sofa. "That was a great show, brother. Except you sang off key for a second in the last song."

Yamato grimaced at the thought. "Yeah, I know I did. If even you noticed that, then it must have been obvious."

Takeru made a face. "Brother, please don't insult my musical abilities. I may not be able to play an instrument well but that doesn't mean I can't listen well."

Ishida Yamato sat down next to Takeru and elbowed him. "I'm not belittling you. I'm just stating the facts," the teenager winked.

"Thanks a lot." Takeru rolled his eyes.

"So have you thought of what to do with the Gotsumon you brought back? They can't hide forever, you know."

Takeru sighed. "I know. Koushiro is still trying to locate a place for them."

"Oh, there you are!" A female voice squealed, interrupting their conversation. Soon, a maroon haired girl bounded up to the blond duo, holding a CD box and a fine permanent marker. "I'm a big fan of yours, Yamato-kun. Could you sign my CD cover please?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Sure, why not?" Yamato stood up, took the marker and signed it. Best of luck, from Ishida Yamato. "What's your name?" he asked as he handed her the CD case and pen.

"Oh, I'm Jun. Motomiya Jun. Thank you so much!" Jun hugged the autograph tightly, almost jumping with glee.

Takeru sat forward, interested. "Motomiya? Could you by chance be related to Daisuke-kun? He's my classmate."

Jun cocked her head. "Yeah I'm his older sister." Then she grinned and said, "You're Yamato-kun's brother? You're so cute! Sign my CD as well please!" Takeru hesitated briefly before he accepted the marker and the box.

"I wish I had a brother as talented like you two. Daisuke can be an idiot sometimes. And he's not even cool-looking," Jun said. "All he does is screw things up."

Takeru wanted to reply that Daisuke wasn't a bumbling person but instead was a capable one, but he stopped himself. He couldn't defend his leader without revealing what they did every afternoon. "Aren't you being too harsh on him? He seems fine lately." He gave the signed box back to Jun.

The girl touched her chin. "Yeah, come to think of it he seems different now. He doesn't complain when I snatch the TV remote from him, much less fight for it. Instead he asks me to record his show and goes to his room. That's really not the Daisuke I know…" she murmured, troubled.

Yamato and Takeru shared a look. Neither knew Daisuke very well, although Takeru had heard from Hikari that the goggle-head was indeed acting differently.

"He used to be confident, silly and funny. Now he's… well, as you see him" Hikari had told her blond friend.

A beeping sound came from Yamato's Digivice. Takeru had received an email from Daisuke as well. "It's a message from Daisuke-kun," he exclaimed. "Gabumon needs help. Gathering now," he read out loud. The Ishida was immediately ready to go.

My partner is in danger.

The two brothers excused themselves from Jun and they hurried to the computer lab, running as fast as they could.

It didn't take long for them to reach, for the performance hall was only a few streets away.

"We're here. What's the problem this time? Where is Gabumon?" Yamato practically yelled.

Davis raised his hands defensively. "Whoa, slow down. Miyako has just located Gabumon, and the coordinates have been set. We're ready to go any moment now… Who are you again?"

Takeru realised that his brother had not been formally introduced. "Everybody, this is my brother, Yamato." The Ishida nodded politely.

Miyako squealed. "Ishida Yamato of the Teenage Wolves! You're Takeru's older brother? How cool is that!" Iori, who was holding Upamon and feeding him Chu-Chu juice like a baby, bowed. "Nice to meet you, Yamato-san."

Davis snapped his fingers. "That's you, isn't it? Jun is a major fan of yours. She keeps going on about how great your hair is."

Yamato sweat-dropped, having met Davis' eccentric sister. "Right… pleased to meet you. Now can we get going? Gabumon just sent a distress signal, so we can get to knowing each other better later."

Miyako said, "I won't be going with you. Koushiro has my Digivice and he promised to teach me more about it while you're gone. He called it a D3."

Poromon bounced on the table. "I'll be in charge of the computer while Miyako-san is out."

Hikari smiled. "Okay, just leave it to us." Davis was unsure about leaving the computer room and their only means of leaving the Digital World in the hands of a Digimon that couldn't be seen in public though.

In a bright flash the room was cleared except for Miyako and Poromon, and the latter left after a moment.

The Chosen Children ended up on the shores of a river. The first thing that caught their sight was a beaten up Gabumon, who lay unconscious on the ground. Yamato shook his partner awake and soon enough he did.

"Yamato-san… You're here." Gabumon winced as he sat up. "You got my SOS signal?"

"Yeah, I did. Are you going to be alright?" Yamato asked concernedly. Gabumon nodded, then he remembered how he ended up like this. The running, the sting of the whip against his side, the impact of a club to his back… Suddenly his wounds seemed hurt more.

"The Kaiser, he took the Roman City. The Gazimon… they were all taken prisoner. I tried to lead an escape but we were recaptured. The warden RedVegiemon punished me… He beat me up and threw me off the cliff."

Gabumon pointed at the peak, where a black obelisk stood. "They carry out all punishments at the peak of the mountain. I wonder how the Gazimon are… I failed my job," he said miserably.

Yamato patted his partner's back. "Don't take it out on yourself. We're here to help. We're going to retake the city and free the prisoners," He said sternly. The Digimon shouted words of agreement, all of them ready to kick some serious booty.

Davis cleared his throat. "Well then, let's get going."

The team made it to the edge of the clearing, where they hid in the bushes there were a few yellow Vegiemon on patrol, picking on the occasional Gazimon that took a break from work. Gabumon looked ready to lunge.

"Vermin… I'll take you all out," he growled.

"At ease, partner. You wouldn't be able to defeat a single Vegiemon in your condition, much less a gang of them if you're caught."

Hikari asked, "Where's the prison? We'll get the captured ones to safety first." Gabumon pointed to a grey building at the more isolated part of the town.

"Wait, Hikari. We can't just storm in there and break them out. Soon the guards will swarm in and overpower us. We need a distraction to split their forces. Divide and conquer," Davis said.

Yamato nodded. He could see whyTaichi chose this boy to lead them. He wasn't too impulsive. "So what do you propose?" he asked.

"Aerial assault."

"What?"

"Aerial assault," Davis explained, "means Hikari and Takeru who have flying Digimon will swoop in and attack some random parts of the city. Since you'll be flying they won't catch you easily. That will keep the troops busy while you, Iori and I will sneak in to break the prisoners out."

"Hold it right there, attack the city? That's crazy, Daisuke-kun!" Takeru exclaimed.

Davis rolled his eyes. "Of course not. You aim for the Vegiemon, duh. If you see an enemy, fire at will. Cover a larger range so that they can't hide. Forget the damage done; it can be repaired anyway."

There was a pregnant pause as the others contemplated the plan. Yamato frowned, as the plan was logical but he didn't agree with Daisuke disregarding the potential collateral damage that could be done. The streets weren't wide, so any Gazimon that got in the way could get injured as well.

"I don't like it, but that's the best bet we've got right now. Let's go," the aspiring musician said. Takeru and Hikari headed off on their own, but Yamato placed a hand on Davis' shoulder. "Be careful with your plans, Daisuke. If you're willing to take such risks then I don't know what else you might sacrifice in dire situations. This attitude of yours may well be your downfall someday. If that happens, make sure you don't put the others in danger," he warned the goggle-head.

Davis regarded him for a second before replying, "I'll bear that in mind."

The prison break was the easy part. The escaping part? Not so much.

"There are Vegiemon everywhere! And I don't even like vegetables cooked, much less raw," V-mon complained as he struck another Vegiemon down with a Bunbun (Buzzing) Punch.

"Just a while longer. There were more guards stationed here than I expected." Davis jumped as a Vegiemon threw a piece of poop at him. "How are they even producing poop anyway? I thought vegetables don't excrete." He dodged another flying piece of pink waste. The stool flew through a window and hit a table fan out of sight.

"Rolling Stone!" Armadimon curled into a ball and bowled down the remaining Vegiemon on their tail, allowing the rescue squad and their refugees to put some distance between them and their captors.

Halfway up the mountain, Yamato stopped Davis. "Let's take a break, shall we? Everyone is tired from the run." Sure enough, Iori sat down heavily on the slope to rest. The Gazimon were breathing heavily, while Davis himself felt exhaustion slowly creep up to him.

"Alright, we'll stop for a while. I'll email Hikari to tell her our location."

After a few minutes, the Chosen of Light and Hope arrived. "So how did it go?" Davis questioned.

"We tried to keep our attacks to a minimum. We only shot at Vegiemon, then we ran. We repeated the process a couple of times, then you called us in."

"How many Vegiemon did you strike down?"

Takeru answered after counting mentally. "About eight of them? They were scattered all over the place."

Davis turned to Gabumon. "And how many Vegiemon were stationed here?"

"Twenty, I think?" Gabumon said uncertainly.

Davis growled, frustrated. "No wonder we had so much trouble in our escape. Freaking twelve Vegiemon were after us. My plan was to have a huge commotion to draw most of the Vegiemon away. Instead you were playing sniper all this while!" he snapped at Hikari and Takeru.

Hikari took a step back, shocked and upset by the anger her friend was showing. This was the first time she had seen Daisuke so angry.

Takeru quickly defended her, "Hey, we were trying to minimise the damage. If we followed your plan, the city would be ruined. Someone might have gotten hurt!"

Davis got in his face and practically yelled, "And by doing that you almost compromised the mission! What would you do if V-Mon and Armadimon were taken out? WE are the only ones who have Digimon who can evolve and if half our squad is taken out, who would you have gotten to save us? Answer me!"

Takeru sputtered, unable to answer but he was saved by Yamato who pulled the two boys apart. "Enough! We can discuss this, but now is not the time. What matters most is we managed. The mission is not over. We have to escape."

Davis glared at Takeru before shrugging off Yamato's hand which rested on his shoulder. "Let's move. Break time is over." The Gazimon perked up, ready to get going.

Yamato scowled at the goggle-head's retreating back. "What's his problem?"

Hikari, who had been quiet all this time, said, "Daisuke-kun is right. We almost caused the mission to fail. It's our fault."

Tailmon tugged at the corner of her shorts. "No it's not. Don't blame yourself for this. You stuck to your ideals, not wanting to hurt anyone innocent or causing unnecessary damage. Daisuke is just being a jerk."

Hikari shook her head. "I know Daisuke-kun, and he is never gets this angry. He has reason to be so."

Iori asked, "Is Daisuke-san always this serious and cranky?"

The girl shook her head again, answering, "Not at all. He used to be really fun to be about. He's changed recently, and it scares me."

"That's not the Daisuke I know…" Jun's words rang in Takeru and Yamato's minds. They would have to keep an eye on Daisuke after this was over.

"There you are! Get them!" Apparently during their break the Vegiemon, led by RedVegiemon had caught up with them, blocking off their escape path.

The Gazimon panicked. "No, they caught us!"

"We're doomed!"

"I don't wanna go back to jail!"

RedVegiemon sneered at Gabumon, "It seems you survived my 100 hit punishment. Don't worry, you'll get more of that later."

Davis scowled. So much for escaping unnoticed. "Everybody, evolve now!" They whipped out their Digivices and were about to yell Digimental Up when all Vegiemon each shot a Super Stinky Spray at them, causing them to choke and gag.

The Vegimon captured them easily, leading them to the top of the tower. RedVegiemon paced (or bounced in this case) in front of them just like a general. "Did you think you could attack this place, try to free my prisoners and get away without suffering the consequences?"

"Yes? I mean how hard could it be? You're just acting tough when you're actually a coward." V-Mon retorted as he struggled against the RedVegiemon's binding grip. The Chosen Children and their Digimon looked at him funnily. "V-mon, what are you doing?" Patamon managed to ask before a Vegiemon stuffed its pod-like hand into his mouth, muffling his voice.

V-Mon ignored him and continued, "That's right you overgrown cabbage! You think you're so tough? You can't even beat me in a fair fight!"

Davis caught on to his plan immediately. Sneaky, V-mon. Very sneaky.

As V-mon hoped, the RedVegiemon took the bait and threw him onto the ground. "You dare challenge me? I will break your bones!" The red plant Digimon lashed out at V-Mon, who dodged it.

"Is that all you've got? Come on!" V-mon taunted, raising his fists in a fighting stance. RedVegiemon lashed out again, only to be blocked by the blue dragon. "You can do better than that!"

RedVegiemon smirked evilly. "Of course I can! Hazard Breath!"

A blast of foul gas shot at V-mon, paralysing him. His opponent took the chance to pummel him towards the Dark Tower. V-mon took hit after hit and on the 50th strike he crashed into the Dark Tower, cracking it slightly, and collapsed at the base of the Dark Tower,

Davis couldn't bear to watch his partner getting beat up anymore. Even the others looked away and covered their ears to avoid seeing the torture. "That's enough, V-mon. Stand down!"

V-mon looked at him weakly. "Daisuke…" he croaked.

"Hey, you! Leave him alone, you stinking piece of-" Davis let forward a string of curses so vulgar that even his friends were shocked.

"Daisuke-kun!" Hikari reprimanded. Yamato was impressed, however, with the boy's knowledge of profanities.

"How dare you insult me, you punk?!" RedVegiemon swung at Davis who shifted his position, allowing the pod to hit his Vegiemon captors. The yellow Digimon loosened their grip in pain and Davis shook them off, running towards V-mon. He knelt and cradled his badly bruised partner.

"Daisuke…" V-mon whimpered.

Davis held back his tears. "You idiot. What were you thinking?"

"Watch out, Daisuke-san!" Iori cried out. Davis turned in time to see a speeding pod coming right at his face. He jerked his head to the left, and the attack missed him by centimetres. Fortunately for him, he had missed RedVegiemon's most powerful blow yet.

The Dark Tower wasn't so lucky. The direct hit crashed into it, splitting its structure and causing a malfunction. Electricity crackled among its surface, raising the hairs on Davis' neck.

Gabumon felt an energy course through him. "Yamato-san, I can evolve now!" His partner grinned. "It's time to turn the tide!"

Immediately, RedVegimon found himself face to face with an apoplectic Garurumon. "B-but… Oh, no…"

Garurumon snarled at him, "Oh no for you indeed." The Vegiemon backed off in fear, releasing their captives.

RedVegiemon on the other hand wasn't one to stand down. "You cowards!" He attempted to take on Garurumon on his own, but was quickly pinned down. The wolf stared down hungrily at him. "No, please don't. Nonononono…. Argh!" RedVegiemon screamed as Garurumon bit down…

… on the Evil Ring and crushed it to bits.

The others, except Davis, wasted no time evolving their partners too. The Vegiemon were thrown into confusion, running helter-skelter. The Digimon picked on the fleeing Vegiemon, slowly reducing their numbers. A stray Gold Rush projectile from Digmon hit the Dark Tower, collapsing it and deactivating the Evil Rings.

And just like that, it was over. The Vegimon all looked around confusedly, wondering what they were doing. They slipped off the Evil Rings attached to them, freed from the Kaiser's control.

Garurumon instructed that the Evil Rings were gathered in a pile and he burned them to a crisp with a Garuru Fire. Meanwhile the Chosen Children gathered in front of the Dark Tower. "So this thing is what stops evolution… You were right, Tailmon," Davis said.

"Not just that, but it's the main control centre for Evil Rings," Tailmon add.

Takeru was visibly happy at the news. "Great! Now that we know the problem, we can find a solution."

Gabumon nodded as well. "This could change everything for us; we're no longer burdens that can't evolve. And the good news is, the Gazimon won't even have to leave their city. We now know how to strike against the Kaiser effectively." The grey Digimon cheered at that.

Davis hugged V-mon in his chest. "Now that that's settled, can we go now? Everybody needs rest." He was looking at the unconscious V-mon in his arms when he said 'everybody' and the others got the message. He turned tail and walked down towards the slope and back to the TV set, ready to depart for the Human World. The others followed him hurriedly.

On the way, Takeru caught up with Davis and apologised. "Hey Daisuke-kun, sorry about the mess Hikari-chan and I made earlier. It's just…"

Davis interrupted him, "I understand you have morals, and maybe I was a bit too rash with my plan. But here's something for you to think about: one day if you face a situation that require you to dismiss your ideals, will you be able to do it? Will you be able to set aside your beliefs for victory?"

Takeru pursed his lips. "You sound like you know from experience."

"Nope, but I read a lot." Davis smirked. "Book have interesting subplots."

"Don't the heroes usually just cause a distraction? Like making an explosion or drawing fire from the enemies?"

Davis rolled his eyes. "Wasn't that what I told you to do?"

"You made it sound like you wanted to attack the city aggressively," Takeru objected.

"Did I?" Davis said thoughtfully. "Maybe I should clarify next time."

His companion shook his head. "I think you're taking this too seriously, Daisuke-kun."

Once everybody had arrived at the Digital Gate, Davis pointed his D-3 at the TV, and they were transported back home.

Koushiro and Miyako were waiting for the return of the Chosen Children from the Digital World. The Chosen of Knowledge had brought up a grid with black and white boxes scattered around on it.

"This is a map of the Digital World. The black ones are the areas conquered by the Digimon Kaiser, while the white ones are free.

"Look at this spot," he pointed towards a white box surrounded by blackened ones, "it marks the location you guys were at just now. It used to be black but now it's white. What did you do over there?"

Yamato answered for them. "We destroyed one of the Dark Towers set up by the Digimon Kaiser."

Koushiro nodded. "That must be it. The area turning white means you've freed it from the Kaiser's control. Now we have our strategy to go by."

"There are still a lot of black areas though. We have a long way to go," Iori pointed out.

"At least we know what to do and we're not aimless. We'll discuss this tomorrow, then we can figure out how we can manage," Davis summarised.

"Aye!" came the unanimous response and then, it was time to adjourn.

Later that night…

"Daisuke? I want to ask you somethi— wait, are you reading Shakespeare?"

Davis looked up from his Japanese translated copy of Hamlet and turned towards his sister. "What is it, Jun?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chibimon freeze under the covers.

Jun looked amazed. "I don't believe it. You're actually reading?! Where did you even get that book anyway?"

Davis rolled his eyes and snorted. "I borrowed it from the library. Now if you're going to ask me meaningless questions, they can wait till I'm done with this," he said, picking up his books again.

"No, wait! Actually, I overheard Yamato and Takeru talking today. They spoke of something called a Gabumon in a message from you."

Davis grunted noncommittedly, being focused on his book. But when the words sank in, he looked at Jun sharply.

"Sorry, what?"

"Daisuke, tell me NOW. What is a Gabumon?

A/N: I hope I kept my standards up in this chapter too. Jun is up to something, how will Davis handle this?

Now the original version of this chapter had some pretty heavy dialogue and I made Davis sound very angry. After some consideration, I decided to modify his character a bit. Davis can be a bit hot tempered, but not in the shounen sense. What I mean is he gets really pissed when something goes wrong.

I always liked the Doctor for his eccentric personality but turns into a rage monster when threatened. I think I wanted to model Davis after him.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this long one. Leave a review, please!