A/N: We're coasting through these first acts!

We proceed from the fallout of last chapter's skirmish. We find out about the 'Dragon Saber', Ken's reason for saving just Karin, how Takato became Dark Suzakato, and the Big Bads' advancement to the DF-Kaiverse. On of that, more developments coming.

Enjoy!

xxxxx

Act IV: Newly Established Bonds! Paradixalmon's Next Move!

xxxxx

Dark Void/Ken's Mind

"Am I dreaming again?" Ken wondered as he scanned around the seemingly endless void. "I really got to stop going overboard, but in this case it was worth it to save Sedna. Without her, we're screwed." Just then, a chuckle was heard as two images appeared before him. One was the humanoid wolf Digimon, Amaterasumon, sitting on her throne behind her tarot card table and the other dark-haired woman with a striking resemblance to an older Cammy. This mysterious woman was Eri the original Digital Priestess.

"Hello there, Ken," Eri greeted him with a courteous smile. "It's nice to see you again."

Ken smiled back and bowed. "Nice to see you, too, Eri. Is there something going on I should know about...?"

Amaterasumon nodded back. "You mean besides the fact you're traveling with her descendant?"

Ken scratched his side. "I kinda figured that one out. Cammy looks so much like you, Eri... despite being so young."

Eri's smiled broadened. "I know. You need to give her the Dragon's Gazer Mirror when you get the chance. After all, she'll need it to protect their world."

"I'll try, but considering what just transpired I'm not liking my chances when I wake up..." Ken downed himself, dismissively nodding. "Rika and Hiei don't exactly like me much, and I think I might have made this Karin angry, too, even though there was no way I could've gotten Dimitri out of the way! I was being thrown at her and weakened from the fight with Dark Suzakato...!" He couldn't help but feel his gaze fall towards the ground. "Why did it turn out this way?"

Amaterasumon sadly nodded. "You cannot change the fates of others. However, as you are involved with this, I will help out one more time when the time is right. I also have information as to why the masked one is doing this."

Ken faced her with confusion. "What do you mean masked one? You mean that Beyond guy?"

Amaterasumon nodded as a bright light started to come over him. "Yes, return now to the others... and be sure to check your Digivice. I believe it will have the answers you seek." Ken couldn't say anything else as he vanished from sight. "If he is the Chosen One of Unity, he will unite the three worlds together to battle evil." She said with much hope tinged in her tone.

Eri concurred with Amaterasumon. "I wish him and the current Priestess well in their battles, because it sounds more intense than anything I've ever faced." With Ken was gone from the dimension, the two spirits subsequently vanished.

xxxxx

Medical Room/Mimi's House/DF-811

Ken awoke to find himself in a situation he was all too familiar with, but one he did not enjoy. An IV-unit had been set up to his arm as he was laying on a bed inside a small room with a door opposing the bed. The door soon opened and in walked Yusuke, Sailor Mars who had de-transformed and reverted back to the civilian Rei Hino, and Rei's younger sister, Cammy. Inumon and Himura, who was also back in his human form, were the next ones to enter. Finally, the next individuals to walk in were Karin Osaka and Mimi, both of whom had angry looks on their faces.

"Welcome back. You doing ok now?" asked Yusuke.

Ken nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, how long was I out for?" For a moment, he wondered while looking around for his Digivice. He saw Himura was holding it for him and tossed it to Ken.

"You were out for nearly five hours," Himura replied as he pulled up a chair and sat down. "That was some stunt you pulled out there. Your Digimon are inside. Veemon and MetalGreymon both decided to go back in and heal up, but I gotta say I didn't know MetalGreymon's could look differently..."

Inumon interjected as he entailed his Tamer. "Last time I visited Lord Anubimon, he mentioned that some Digimon like MetalGreymon and even Cyberdramon had recently received upgraded looks and powers. Heck there was even a rumor that Beelzebumon had a new form, too, but we're getting off topic here."

Karin nodded as she walked up to Ken with an angry look. She slammed her hands on his bedside and angrily demanded. "Why did you pull me out of the way and not Dimitri?"

The teen sighed regrettably for his action. "For the record, I had to have MetalGreymon throw me to get you out of there. Dark Suzakato and I had a rather intense fight."

Rei and Cammy both sighed deeply, but it was Rei who addressed Ken. "We found that one out from MetalGreymon before he went into your Digivice. Rika's having to be restrained from coming in here and killing you for that."

Ken closed his eyes and shuddered at the thought of a overly perturbed Rika. "If it's any consolation, the fight was pretty much a draw. I've never had a slug fest with anyone so powerful in my life before."

Yusuke chuckled as he turned to Ken. "You enjoy fighting, man?"

Ken responded vividly. "Only when it's necessary."

Gritting her teeth and in a rare instance lost her cool, Karin gave him a look that could kill. "Quit changing the subject, damn it! Why did you not rescue Dimitri and Faith?" She quickly raised her tone, shaking him hard enough to knock the sunglasses off his face. With his sunglasses removed, Ken revealed his different-colored eyes, which shocked everyone present.

"Whoa!" Cammy exclaimed.

Rei blinked in curiosity. "His eye colors..."

"If you're all wondering how that happened, ask Eri..." Upon hearing Ken's brief mention of Eri, Cammy wanted to say something, but he spoke again before she could. "I did it because Ryo asked me to. If that Digimon had gotten you, things would've gotten a lot worse."

Being her stubborn self, Karin still didn't buy it. "But, Dimitri's stronger than I am! With him, Paradixalmon's power could've grown who knows how high!"

Ken added. "If he had gotten you, then he would have free reign to travel wherever he wanted to. Would you have preferred that?" He softened his tone and tried to convey kindness to comfort her the best he could. "Besides Paradixalmon has my girlfriend and teammates absorbed. You think I don't feel the same?"

Karin was about to retort, but Rei walked up and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"...Rei?"

"Ken has a point, Karin. From the way things turned out, one of you definitely would've been absorbed either way. At least with you still here, we can go and get Dimitri back." She said reassuringly. "Besides you were a bit reckless back there rushing in like that." The way Rei put it, Karin had to admit that reflecting it over she had acted irrationally. Therefore she had no reason to blame Ken for his actions.

However, Mimi offered an opposing view. "But, my son was absorbed by that beast and..." Before she could finish her rant, Yusuke interjected and stopped her from saying her piece.

"Relax, miss," Yusuke addressed Mimi. "With Karin, we can track them down and get him back, so no worries there." He turned to Ken, who offered a reassuring nod to him.

"Now we move on to the second issue. What the heck kinda Digimon did you turn into?" Inumon approached Ken with an inquiry. "You're not a Legendary Warrior. Yet you clearly became a Digimon. How's that?"

Ken explained while putting his shades back on. "That was me in Tsukuyomimon form."

Upon hearing the name, Rei and Cammy were both taken aback.

"Sis, isn't that name a part of the Izanagi god story?" asked Cammy, who got a simple nod from Rei.

Inumon's jaw, however, nearly dropped to the floor. "You're kidding me!"

Himura turned to his Tamer in confusion. "Why is that?"

"Anubimon once told us all of an ancient legend regarding a Digimon called Tsukuyomimon. However, no Digimon alive has ever become one because to do so, you have to contract your body with the ten Digimentals, such as the Crests from the TV show..." Confusion spread throughout the room until he spoke again. "And by contracting, you must fuse the Crests into your body... permanently."

Mimi gasped a bit. "Does that mean the Crests are inside this boy's body, including mine?"

Ken groaned, nearly resisting the urge to facepalm. I have a NAME!

Inumon continued nonetheless, piquing everyone's interest. "Obviously, but it's surprising because it requires going through pain unlike anything one has ever experienced. Anubimon once told me he met a Digimon who attempted it due to the threat caused by those aliens... and the Digimon's soul was disfigured badly with all sorts of cut marks and bruises from the pain exploding from within."

Yusuke gritted his teeth a bit hearing this. He was constantly reminded of the trial he went through with Genkai's spiritual orb... and getting it into his body nearly killed him.

"I remember the pain well," shuddered Ken while huddling up in bed. "It stung like heck! I remember bashing my head into rocks to try and make the pain stop... it only got worse!" He reflected on the nightmarish event. Needless to say, it didn't help when he and the ninjas were under fire from a MetalSeadramon either.

"The fact though that you were able to survive means you've got a lot of endurance, or must be special in some kind of way," the hellhound Digimon addressed the Bearer of Unity. "Am I right or wrong?"

Ken shook his head, standing up and motioning for someone to remove the IV in his arm. "I don't really think of myself as someone special though." He watched Mimi detach the medical unit from him. He nodded to the older Mimi. "Thank you. Um, is there a wash room? I haven't had a chance to get the Warlord's blood off my shirt yet."

"Sure, " Mimi nodded and pointed to the door ahead of them. "It's in a room just a few doors down on the right side."

"Thank you, I promise we'll get your son back ma'am." With that, Ken gave a slight bow to Mimi before heading out the door.

As he walked out the room, Cammy tried to catch up to him, but Rei promptly stopped her.

"If he really does know the Digital Priestess, I'm sure he'll talk to us about her when the time is right," she said with a reassuring grin. Cammy smiled back and hugged her sister as Karin walked into the hall and slowly paced in the direction Ken headed. Rei blinked and turned to the Kuiper Senshi. "Karin?"

"Don't worry Rei. I'm not gonna do anything to him. I just want to ask him a few more questions," she replied, thinking back to the image of a sword right when he grabbed her out of Paradixalmon's reach.

xxxxx

Karin walked into the washroom and found Ken. He was standing shirtless with his scarred torso exposed before trying to start the washing machine. He couldn't figure it out with how completely different from what he was used to, what with everything modified for futuristic purposes.

"How do you start this crazy thing...? Feel like I just stepped into the Jetsons cartoon or something."

Karin gasped a bit catching his attention.

"Oh hello? Did you need something else?" he turned and noticed the Kuiper Senshi standing by the door.

Karin shook her head and walked up starting the machine for him before closing the door behind her. "I just want to talk a bit more. First of all, I'm sorry about getting mad. It's just that..."

Ken knew where this was leading and smiled reassuringly. "You don't have to apologize. Rika's gonna kill me before this all done anyway. I know how you feel... my girlfriend Helena Souza, also known as Sailor Quaoar from my world, got absorbed by that beast, too." Karin was amazed to hear this. "I met a younger version of you as well. She's pretty nice and a lot easier to talk to and get along with than my teammates... as well as being closer on the friendship meter." This befuddled Karin until he went on to explain what he had said back in the tunnel, only now he added in the confrontation against the three Artificials and how his partners blew him off thinking he was just brawling. "...yeah and now you know."

"So, they didn't bother to come and help you?"

"Nope, I found out from Helena that the Sailor Pluto of my dimension didn't want the Senshi getting involved either. Although she said Uranus and Neptune were watching the fight... the only thing that happened to them was Uranus' car getting trashed by the Incredible Hulk."

Karin couldn't help but to giggle.

"It's true. The Hulk exists in my dimension."

"No, I'm not saying I don't believe you," she giggled until she took a breather. Haha! I'm surprised she didn't go after him! She can be pretty crazy about cars! Karin mused before shifting to the big question on her mind. "What about the sword?"

Bringing this to his attention, Ken held up his Digivice and on the monitor the weapon appeared.

"This weapon was crafted by the Alphamon of my dimension. For some reason, you are destined to be it's chosen wielder."

Karin was taken aback. "What! Why would I be chosen to use a Digimon's weapon?"

Ken shrugged. "I have no idea, but you are the one destined to use this sword." Tapping a few buttons on his Digivice, the sword slid out of the device and he held to her. "Here."

Karin didn't know what to say and tried to take the weapon. When she did, an electrical shock zapped both of them and the sword vanished back into Ken's Digivice almost immediately.

With a simple message spoken by an unknown voice, a vague figure appeared in both their minds. 'When the time is right, the blade shall be yours, chosen Senshi. Until then, prepare yourself.'

What did I just hear? wondered Karin, trying to get her bearings.

I don't know. I heard it, too. Ken responded telepathically, which surprised them both until Karin's bear spirit appeared.

The polar bear calmly reassured them. 'Calm down. I believe the sword just established a mental bond between you two.'

"Sweet! A killer polar bear spirit!" Ken grinned like a happy kid.

Karin and her polar bear spirit sweatdropped.

"I guess it's no surprise that since you're so in tune with Digimon you could see other spirits," Karin said, turning to her spirit partner. "But, why would we have a mental link?"

'Mental links are usually only formed by those who can trust each other whether they realize it or not. Usually it takes a strong amount of closeness to do so.'

"We've only just seen and know each other for a few hours though..."

Ken inquired to the polar beat spirit. "So, what does this mental link entail exactly?"

'You two will be able to talk to each other mentally from far away distances, even through dimensions.'

"That is awesome!"

Karin smiled a bit, noticing how overly enthused the young man seemed to be with this notion. He certainly is a weird one, but unique in his own way.

'He probably respects and likes you due to the fact you were chosen to wield the saber, and due to his closeness with your other self, he sees the same closeness with you as well hence why the bond was formed.'

"I see," she said as her spirit vanished.

Soon enough Ken's shirt was done washing and drying to his surprise as the machine did both jobs. After putting it back on, the two headed towards the waiting room of the building.

"By the way, Karin... Ryo told me to tell you something."

"What?"

From there, Ken filled in on the 'plan' Ryo wanted him to relay to her. Karin listened carefully and nodded while Ken quietly told her of the plan.

"...we have to lure Paradixalmon there. Ryo will be working on that for us."

"Ok. Then, we just need to see that this plan is executed accordingly. Thanks for letting me in on it."

Ken replied. "No problem."

"We just have to see it through and that will take work, but we can do it, Ken."

xxxxx

Once Ken and Karin turned up in the waiting room, they barged in to find the rest of the group. Once Ken walked in, Rika instinctively charged toward him steadfast like an infuriated bull. Fortunately, Henry and Himura managed to restrain her. Her quick act of aggression caused Ken to duck behind Karin.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Rika screamed while trying to break out of the two boys' grips. "How dare you hurt Takato! I'm gonna kill you a million times over!"

"She's gonna kill me isn't she?" he asked nervously.

Karin nodded simply as she had never seen Rika this angry. "I believe so." Or, perhaps angry was too much of an understatement to describe the Digimon Queen's incurred wrath.

Ken shuddered at the sight of Rika as he shifted away and noticed the others conversing in an amassed group. They were sitting near a table where Inumon explained to most of them about Ken being the legendary Tsukuyomimon. This time it was Usagi, Takuya, Izumi, the Neo-Spirit Detectives (minus Cammy), and the Chimeras listening to Inumon's side of the story,

"Whoa! Seriously?" Kohana exclaimed as she eyed Ken from the corner. "That form he used was THE Tsukuyomimon?"

DarkGabumon replied. "And he's every bit as real as Susanoomon! Not so hard to believe."

"That's really cool!" Usagi said, quickly intrigued with hearing about the Tsukuyomimon legend. "But, the poor guy... having to put his body through all that torture is agonizing."

Takuya added. "Still, the thing with having all those Crests jammed into his body... damn. Can I say painful?"

Izumi shuddered after hearing about the gritty details. "Painful is an BIG understatement, Takuya."

Sara watched Henry and Himura sit Rika down. "Well, at least they seem to have Rika under control."

Mika rolled her eyes. "But, for how long?"

At that exact moment, Ken's Digivice started beeping as he promptly pulled it out. The screen suddenly flipped to the image of the Dragon's Gazer Mirror, which was now covered in a dark aura.

"What the...?" he wondered what was going on until he remembered that he had hit Dark Suzakato with one of his Data Drills. The attack was only brief, but then he realized the mirror, wanted to release the darkness. Ken turned toward the nearest door and bolted outside, quickly drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Now where's he going?" wondered Yusuke, sitting up from a chair.

Hiei glared at Ken once more, but didn't say anything as the others raced outside wondering what Ken was planning. They got their answer when he held his Digivice forward and from it expelled a beam of light that soon materialized into a dark-like vortex that resembled a portal. Slowly but surely, images began to form on it as a voice was emanated from this inexplicable source.

'With the last of my strength, I must show you all...' Came a deep and benevolent voice.

"Who's voice is that?" wondered Ken.

However, Usagi, Rei, Cammy, Rika, Renamon, Henry, Terriermon, Himura, Inumon, and Karin knew it all too well.

"It's Suzaku," whispered Renamon.

Terriermon and Inumon nodded as well as everyone but Mimi and Palmon was outside.

'...what has transpired...to Takato Matsuda.'

The first image that formed showed a weary Takato standing after being absorbed by Paradixalmon

"Ok where is this?" Takato began, finding himself inside a dark blue-like void resembling a pocket dimension. There were no boundaries where he was in and he frantically looked around.

'You're in the third circle of hell... just kidding you're inside me, the great Paradixalmon!'

"Let me out of here you freak!" he yelled out, holding up his Suzaku card. With the Beast card in hand, he attempted to transform, but nothing happened.

'You are aware that Sin Harvest is still effecting you right? You won't be able to call your beast to help you, although it doesn't really matter I've got some huge plans for you and your Digimon!'

"You really think I'm just gonna let you do whatever you want with me!" Takato demanded only for Paradixalmon's voice to start laughing evilly.

'I could brainwash you, but it'd be much more fun to watch you torture yourself.'

"What are you talking about?" Takato demanded.

'Memories of your past, oh yes a night one can NEVER forget. It's the memorable night you saved the world, but struck down the Phoenix Senshi in the process...'

Rei and Usagi didn't like where this was heading. They remembered this terrible event all too well and it still remained fresh in their minds.

"No, he can't mean...!" Usagi gasped, clamping her hands against her chest.

"Please don't tell me he's using memories of that event again!" Rei passionately exclaimed.

Ken narrowed his eyes, listening closely to the exchange between Takato and Paradixalmon. He wanted to know more, but, at the same time, Paradixalmon was being a total prick to the boy. Ken felt his rage slowly building as he watched.

"How did he get this information?" wondered Henry.

Inumon replied being the most knowledgeable on the Tsukuyomimon subject. "One of Tsukuyomimon's attacks is called the Data Drills. Using the powers of Knowledge and Reliability, these two drills appear as they're able to bore through anything. They're immediately fired at the target. Not only does this move cause damage, but as the name implies it also gathers data on the enemy. In this case since it was used on a human, it must've gotten memory data instead."

"You sure know a lot, Inumon," said an impressed Takuya.

Izumi added. "I'll say!"

"Well, Anubimon was always into legendary Digimon like Susanoomon and Tsukuyomimon. That's why cause I learned from him."

"No, don't bring that up!" It was at that moment Takato's card flared up a bit. From the card came Suzaku's spirit, who openly pleaded to the Tamer.

'Takato do not listen to this fool, he is trying to deceive you!'yelled Suzaku

'So says the one who murdered Sailor Mars. You foolish spirit, you had no right to take control of the boy's body and use it to kill a woman who had gotten control over herself!' boomed Paradixalmon's voice.

'We had no choice! Yami Houou had been suppressed, yes, but there was still a chance she could've come back!'

Paradixalmon's voice laughed again. 'Really? WE? You forced the boy's hand and not only mentally scarred him for nearly three years, but you also could've gotten both you and him killed by the other Senshi!'

"What?" wondered Ken just as images of the other Sailors appeared, including Sailor Moon. All of them had angry looks on their faces as Takato flinched back remembering their scowls.

"See this is why we should've handled the matter ourselves!" yelled out Sailor Uranus.

"Mars honestly thought you could be her successor, foolish boy!" yelled Neptune.

Rei clenched her fists at the sight. Usagi turned away in shame when she saw her own image standing in front of Takato like she was about to kill him. Karin was visibly quivering with the events she clearly didn't want to remember. The Inner Senshi, Sedna, Pluto, and Saturn were quick to forgive Takato. On the contrary, Uranus and Neptune still had trust issues with him for quite some time. Ken's anger was steadily rising than ever before as he watched the vision unfold with the others crowding near him.

Inside the image, Takato was beginning to lose control. The memories and the pressure put on him was too much for him to handle.

'The Senshi forgave Takato and time moved on! He moved on!'

'Did he now? That's not how I see it. You plagued his dreams for the following three years, eventually forcing him to come back to you like a dog on a leash!'

'That is not true!'

'Bullshit! The only reason he returned to you was because of the threat of the Taiyoukai! You manipulated him into becoming your play toy once more! If he truly had moved on, he would've become the controller not the one who became controlled!'

Takato sunk to his knees as Paradixalmon's words set in. It was true that his reconciliation with Suzaku was short and quick due to the Taiyoukai. Because of the abrupt enemy invasion, he had not given the matter any thought, but now that he had time to think about it... the question that played in the boy's thoughts were simply: was it really right to have gone through the merger?

"Seems like Takato has more issues than just Megidramon," observed Sara.

Mika shook her head, expressing remorse for her rival. "He never has it easy apparently. Most of us have conquered our pasts and demons, but it appears he hasn't."

'Ok then, why don't we ask Takato if he'd rather be the one in charge? 'Cause to me he'd be more capable of handling the powers of the phoenix by himself than dealing with you!'

'Takato, don't listen to him! He's only trying to deceive you!'

'Takato!'

'Takato!'

Takato couldn't take it anymore. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" He yelled out, unleashing a surge of power that was fueled by his inner rage. Taking advantage of this, the darkness around Takato swirled into his body and through his mouth. Almost immediately, he became the dark version of his Suzakato form. The colors of fire (red, yellow, and orange) were replaced with darker and cooler schemes of black and dark purple. Pillars of black fire swirled and coated his entire frame, which sent off a sinister and unsettling vibes that boggled Suzaku's mind.

'NO!'

'It's true what they say about fear leading to anger, and boy does he have a ton of it! Hahaha!'

Dark Suzakato watched as the Suzaku card took on a physical form.

'Takato, return to your senses! I beg of you!'

"NO!" yelled Dark Suzakato. "I will no longer be a puppet and... I AM NOT GOING TO BE YOUR TOY!" With that, he unleashed a blast of dark fire on Suzaku, inflicting horrible pain on the legendary bird and forced him to vanish back into card form. As the card floated over to him, he took the card and absorbed it into his body where the next and final image was of the card being shackled down by dark chains.

The onlookers gasped at this horrifying image as it slowly came to an end and vanished. A mix of shock and dismay swept across everyone present. For some, they felt for Takato and his internal struggle to overcome his own insecurities. Others were fueled with anger over Paradixalmon's deceptive ploy to make their friend let out his pitted emotions and allow the darkness to corrupt him.

Usagi wanted to cry as Rei embraced her. Yui was quickly reminded of being in a similar situation when Pharaohmon used her own insecurities to turn her into Nemesis.

"So that's how he became corrupted," muttered Henry, who turned his view from the last image of Dark Suzakato. For him and others, it wasn't an easy sight to watch.

"I can't believe this," Rika said, having finally calmed down. "I thought he had gotten over it." How wrong she turned out to be and she turned to Ken, realizing she might've been wrong for lashing out on Ken, but a part of her wasn't pleased with him taking on Suzakato like he did.

"Apparently not," said Takuya. I feel bad for the poor guy.

Izumi frowned, sickened with the deceptive Digimon's ploy. "Paradixalmon's such a low-life! How dare he take advantage of our friend!"

"I think we can attest to that," Himura replied as he and Inumon conveyed disgust with Paradixalmon's scheme.

Renamon put an arm around Rika and scowled. "We'll bring Takato and Guilmon back to their senses together, Rika."

"Oh, Takato... why couldn't you have been more open with us?" Karin said, shutting her eyes and looking away. "We would've eased your pain if you talked to us."

"I know I'm ready to pound this bastard's face in the minute I see him!" Yusuke declared, clenching his right fist with Paradixalmon's name 'written' all over it.

Yui shared Yusuke's sentiments. "Same here!"

Kohana added. "Likewise!"

Aoshi turned to Cammy. "We're going to give him a piece of our minds, aren't we?"

"Yeah!" Cammy said as she turned to her sister, who comforted Usagi enough to lightly put her aside. "Sis?"

I will not let this stand! Paradixalmon is clearly manipulating him and he will pay! Rei declared in her thoughts.

'Agreed, we shall help my lover and his chosen!' came the voice of the Houou from the Miko's mind.

As everyone recollected their thoughts and firmed their resolve, Ken gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Paradixalmon had broken the last straw with Ken as far as he was concerned. There wasn't anything that was going to stop him from giving Paradixalmon what he truly deserved for absorbing his friends, Karin's boyfriend, and turning a good young man into an instrument of darkness.

Karin approached Ken, putting an arm on his back. "Ken..."

"We need to plan out and hurry, Karin. We don't have much time," he turned and put his hands on the girl's shoulders. "We need to save our friends and find those bastards before they cause more damage to other dimensions!"

"And I'll be the one to lead you all," the Kuiper leader affirmed as everyone unanimously agreed.

"Then, let's plan out and get ourselves ready!" Rika declared as they all headed back inside Mimi's home.

xxxxx

Digital World/Sovereign's Realm/DF-616

Meanwhile, the four Sovereigns and Gennai focused their efforts in channeling their combined powers. They acted quickly and efficiently to strengthen the dimension barriers between their world and the other side beyond time & space. With the threat to Paradixalmon and company forthcoming, they had to act quickly or risk allowing the enemy incursion from spilling out.

Observing from the sidelines, X, Tai, Agumon, BW, Pikkan, and BanchoLeomon stood together to await further word on the dimension situation.

"Are you positive Paradixalmon will be coming here via dimension travel?" inquired Tai, turning to X's direction.

Nodding, X answered quickly. "Yeah, but we've been working hard to strengthen the dimensional barriers. Still, there's no guarantee we'll be able to contain him, the Warlord, and their cohorts from breaching our world. You guys are the first and last line of defense against these guys."

Agumon added. "We'll be whatever they throw at us. Right, Tai?"

"Hah, right!" Tai said, widening his grin.

BW unfolded his arms and smirked. "Kicking the Warlord's ass will be fun like good ol' times."

Pikkan openly snorted. "I just want to see if this Paradixalmon's guys is hyped out to be. He can't be stronger than the guys you've faced."

"To be fair, we won't know if and when he ever reaches our world," the masked watched affirmed.

"Leave them to me and our friends, X!" The Bearer of Courage said, raising a left clenched fist. "They want to rumble with Ascendants, then they're asking for it."

"With as many Ascendants on our side, we do have the edge in numbers," BanchoLeomon replied as he scoured around the sacred sanctuary.

Suddenly, the Sovereigns shifted their attention across their sanctuary as several figures walked down a corridor. Everyone else present turned and sensed an amassed group of Ki heading toward them. Yamato, Gabumon, and Keke walked through as Tai greeted them.

"Guys, surprised you're here, but not that we're complaining!" Tai welcomed them.

Keke chuckled, greeting him with a small grin. "Hey, Tai." As she waved and walked past him, Yamato and Gabumon bumped right into Tai.

"So, you've been goofing off here? Or, are you taking the imminent threat seriously?" Yamato asked his rival.

"Me and Agumon did all the training we thought was necessary with the guys."

"Interesting. You think Omega X can take on this Paradixalmon?"

Tai shrugged. "Won't know until I fight him. Pikkan sure doesn't think he's all that."

"Maybe he's right. Perhaps I should be the one that fights him alone? Metalla X can get the job done."

Narrowing his eyes, the big-haired teen lightly elbowed Yamato's side. "Eh? Didn't you say the same thing when you tried to take on Virus?"

Reminded of his biggest folly, Yamato scoffed and walked past Tai. "C'mon, Gabumon."

Gabumon nodded and followed behind his partner. Tai turned around and accompanied them, realizing he let a bad reminder slip out that pestered Yamato.

Man, I've got to watch what I say. Tai thought as he walked back to the group standing together. He pivoted his head and motioned over to X. "How long are they going to stay standing like this?"

"For however long it takes, Tai," X sagely answered. "Could take hours or even days. There's no telling when Paradixalmon and his boys happen to approach the dimensional entrance to our world. I'll be joining in shortly to help further strengthen the barrier."

"Sounds like a plan, but don't overexert yourself too much," Keke said.

X nodded to the female Ascendant. "I won't."

Pikkan turned over to Yamato and smirked. "Hah, you think you can take Paradixalmon by yourself? Your ego knows no bounds, Yamato."

"Look who's talking, Alterian," the blonde-haired young man turned his nose and folded his arms. He wore a perturbed look on his face.

Anxiously holding his stance, Tai painstakingly watched Gennai and the Sovereigns channeling their energies toward the ceiling. Everyone present remained on standby as the powers that be helped play their vital roles of keeping the barrier stabilized.

"X's right, guys. In the worst case scenario, we're the ones that have to stop Paradixalmon and his crew should this fail," the Bearer of Courage said cautiously in a calm and focused tone. "This is our world and we'll be ready to drive them out." He reaffirmed his stance against the impending threat.

xxxxx

Unknown Dimension

Speaking of the devils, Paradixalmon and Beyond finally reconvened with the Digital Warlord. After revealing the fact he absorbed Angemon X, Warlord was pleased that Paradixalmon incorporated an Ascendant's power (on top of Dark Suzakato, ChaosGallantmon, Ken's friends, and a few other victims) into his being and augmented his strength to better their chances against the DF-616 heroes.

Paradixalmon addressed the Warlord. "Do you have the dimensional insulator like I've instructed you to hold for me?"

The villain nodded seriously. "Yeah, I've got it. I don't see the use for it though."

"It'll grant me entry and allow me to breach any dimension I so choose. The insulator doubles as a coating around my body and temporarily protects me from the laws of dimension travel. Case in point, I've absorbed a Kari Kamiya and naturally we're entering a world where a Kari exists."

"And without this insulator, you've been locked out from the dimension we're set to invade," Beyond pointed out.

The Digimon pivoted to his partner-in-crime and nodded. "Correct, but this insulator coat doubles as a cheat code and enables me to enter the dimension where a Kari Kamiya lives while the Kari I've absorbed remains inside me. The Kari I've absorbed has been provided with an insulator, allowing me to enter the DF-616 dimension. Without this insulator, I wouldn't be able to enter ANY world where a Kari Kamiya has, will or currently exists. Thank GranDracmon for inventing and providing this special mechanism for us."

"Feh, I could've devised something like that," the Warlord snorted. "And GranDracmon can't take ALL of the credit! He only modified what I created! Not one Ryo or Sedna has access to these insulators. I made that insulator coating for me to travel to any dimension where a Sam Ichijouji has, will, or already exists... since I was Sam Ichijouji before I became the emissary of darkness. Since I'm wearing the insulator coating, I, too, can finally albeit temporarily enter the world where my old enemies reside! Revenge will finally be mine!"

Beyond shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, we know. But, we have to make this quick. These insulators can only work for four hours. After we've collected what we wanted, we must withdraw to our dimension."

"Whatever," Warlord remarked.

"Did you happen point our army to the dimension door?"

"They're waiting for our command and are waiting for us back at the dimensional doorway where we'll be breaching, Beyond. I've even directed three of them to take care of the leftovers back in the dimension you two departed from."

The masked individual inquisitively asked the Warlord. "Which ones did you select?"

"Darkdramon, Spinomon, and Lotusmon."

An evil grin curled over Paradixalmon's draconian features. "Excellent. They'll keep those fools at bay." He shifted his gaze over across the dimension road. "Now, let us attend to more pressing matters. The time is ripe for our incursion into dimension DF-616!" He laughed a boisterous cackle as he, Beyond, and the Warlord retreated to their next destination.

xxxxx

Outside Mimi's Home/DF-811

An hour passed in the household as the YYGDM heroes and Ken plotted their next move. The group amassed inside the household and prepared to depart. Before anyone could determine what to do next, a portal suddenly opened up in the middle of the sky and from it emerged three large Digimon, which alarmed everyone present. Two of the Digimon descended while the third one crashed. One of the trio was a dark blue humanoid Digimon of a behemoth, the second was a flower type Digimon with white flowers embellishing her body, and the third was a big dinosaur Digimon with spikes protruding his back. The Digimon trio slowly advanced forward as they saw the group in the facility.

Before the group took notice, the three Digimon initiated the first strike against the heroes.

"Blue Prominence!" roared the spiky-back Digimon as he expelled a mass of blue flames from his body and sent it blasting into the building.

Ba-Boom!

Suddenly, everyone was greatly caught off guard by this preemptive strike. The front portion of the build was blasted away, knocking back a vast majority of those near it. Those that couldn't anticipated the attack were prevented from doing anything as Yusuke and Hiei stood at the forefront better prepared than most. Ken stirred as he and Karin were standing. The Tamers, too, were up and about. The others were barricaded behind debris.

"Guys!" Karin cried out.

Henry exclaimed. "We have to get them out of there!"

"No, get the creeps that attacked us!" Yui called out. "We'll blast our way out of here!"

Usagi called over to them. "Go on!"

"Guys, I see three Digimon outside!" Mimi cried out, noticing the large Digimon descending near them.

Palmon added. "They're the ones that attacked our home!"

The Digimon enemy trio advanced to the facility as they set their sights on the heroes.

Henry used his D-Ark to confirm the middle one. "The first one is Darkdramon, a Dark Dragon Digimon who attacks with Dark Roar and Gigastick Lance."

Rika quickly added. "The second one is Lotusmon, a Plant Mega-level type who attacks using hypnotic-like moves."

Himura asserted with his scanning. "The third is Spinomon, a Digimon who uses an attack called Blue Prominence, which can go up to five thousand degrees."

Darkdramon pivoted his view and chuckled darkly. "Are you the group from the world YYDM-1?" He asked before readying his attack against them. "If so, we bring a message from our leader, Paradixalmon, as he shall soon reign over the other time period of this universe!"

Yusuke was the first to head out of the building. He retorted to Darkdramon's threat. "You've gotta be kidding me...! These three don't look so tough!"

"Oh yeah human? Blue Prominence!" yelled out Spinomon, who launched out an output of streamline blue fire.

"HEADS UP!" Inumon shouted.

Yusuke quickly evaded as the blue flames blasted past him and melted a nearby building with ease.

"Holy crap!" Himura cried out.

The Tamers and their Digimon headed outside the facility with Ken and Karin behind them. Hiei already blitzed right past them as he reached Yusuke, who was already charging steadfast toward Darkdramon.

"YOU WANNA MESS WITH US?" Yusuke bellowed as he lunged forward, rearing his fist back and charging spirit energy through it. "Spirit Wave!"

"Foolish human! Gigastick Lance!" rebounded Darkdramon, shooting off a lance-like beam that canceled his and Yusuke's attacks out. He watched Yusuke zip right past his eye and turned as Yusuke landed a punch to his face, nearly staggering him.

"How's that?"

Darkdramon chortled darkly. "...you will be fun to play with before I squash you, human!"

"Catch me if you can then!" The former Spirit Detective goaded the behemoth, who fired Dark Matter blasts and missed him.

"Let's go for it, guys!" Rika called, readying her D-Ark and invoking her Beast Card powers.

"Renamon..."

"Terriermon..."

"Inumon..."

"Mega Shinka!"

"Sakuyamon!"

"MegaGargomon!"

"YoukaiInumon!"

"Dragon Spirit! Seiryuu!"

"Turtle Spirit! Genbu!"

"Tiger Spirit! Byakko!"

Suited and ready for battle, the Beast Tamers and their Mega-level Digimon headed off to fight Spinomon.

Meanwhile, Karin charged ahead to engage Lotusmon.

"You're mine!" Karin declared with her Henshin Dagger drawn out. "Sedna Valkyrie Power! Make-Up!" She jumped into the air as arctic wind seemingly enveloped her and turned her into Valkyrie Sailor Sedna. She propelled herself forward and readily took on Lotusmon.

Hiei and Ken were standing on the sidelines watching their friends take on the enemies. The dark-clad demon noticed Ken violently trembling and channeling his anger.

Before Hiei could say anything otherwise, Ken bolted ahead with his Digivice ready.

"Should be interesting, whatever that fool has in mind." Hiei muttered and blitzed ahead to give Yusuke a hand with Darkdramon.

As Yusuke was evading and landing body blows to Darkdramon, the behemoth turned and caught Yusuke standing on the right side. Yusuke reared his fist back, ready to finish him off in one shot with his Spirit Wave. On the other side of his position, Hiei had his sword imbued with dark flames and ready to cut him down to size.

"Our master has the Ascendant named Dimitri and there is nothing you can do to get him back!" Darkdramon openly goaded Yusuke and his colleagues. "If you agree to serve under Lord Paradixalmon, he will return him on the condition you all stand down now and..." Suddenly, it happened like an abrupt storm. He was cut off when Ken's anger finally exploded.

Ken's Digisoul flew up around him like a tornado making everyone near him what was going on as he let loose a yell that shook everything in sight.

"DIGISOUL CHARGE, ASCENSION!" he said almost demonically as Veemon appeared from his Digivice and the two shot into the air. Veemon's data exploded around Ken's body as he became engulfed in a white power suit. Before long, the body of AlforceVeedramon began to form around him like armor. The large metallic V from his chest sunk in but was still there as a circular particle converter, which appeared on his back. There were several noticeable 'slots' on the armor where something would come out. A long silver blade appeared and attached to the side of the right arm and swung back as if locked into place, ready to be thrust forward when needed. Finally, AlforceVeedramon's face formed around Ken's head exposing only his eyes while a golden V adorned his forehead ."DRAMON X!"

The entire town shook with the arrival of the Ascendant.

Once everyone broke through the debris burying them, the two Senshi, the Neo-Spirit Detectives, the two Legendary Warriors, and the Chimera duo stormed to the outside witnessing the latest developments. Mimi was able to get out with Lillymon carrying her. There were looks of shock and awe among the YYDM group as none of them could suspect such a power was being held at Ken and Dimitri's commands.

"HOLY..." was all Yusuke could get out upon sensing the Ki coming from Dramon X.

Yes, even Hiei was speechless, to say the least.

Those gifted with the abilities to sense energies were taken aback with the amount of power exuding from Dramon X. Like Angemon X before him, his powers were completely off the charts.

Mimi gazed forward, witnessing Dramon X's appearance. "He... he's really just like Dimitri."

Lillymon nodded. "I know, isn't he?"

"Sis," Cammy turned to Sailor Mars.

Baffled, Mars' mind boggled with the turn of events. Houou, I can hardly believe... these Ascendants... wield such vast reserves of power!

The cosmic entity replied in Mars' mind. 'Indeed, and this power is quite distinguishable from Dimitri's.'

"Guys, something's about to go down!" Agunimon exclaimed.

Himakko gaped and observed Dramon X. "No wonder GranDracmon is after the Ascendants! This guy's hella strong!"

Attentively turning from Lotusmon, she reflected to what Beyond had said when they first started fighting. Ken was the Ascendant they went after?

Suddenly, before anyone could blink, Spinomon's head was suddenly dislodged from it's place and he exploded into data. The Beast Tamers and their Digimon were taken completely aback with how quickly Dramon X dispatched of Spinomon.

Darkdramon quickly surveyed around, hoping to find Dramon X to no avail. "Where are you, cow...?"

Just then, Dramon X's sword came through his backside and out the front, deleting him instantly as well. Yusuke and Hiei barely followed Dramon X, who then swung the blade back and turned to Lotusmon who was scared stiff.

Dramon X pointed to the lone subordinate. "Go back to your masters and tell them to have their necks be clean, cause we're coming for them!" He addressed to her in a hardened and intense tone, which caused Lotusmon to retreat through another portal in absolute fear.

In just a matter of moments, Dramon X wiped out two of Paradixalmon's subordinates in quick fashion.

Dramon X landed and regressed to Ken and Veemon. Everyone hurried over and crowded near them. All of them had spell bounded looks on their faces after having witnessed Dramon X's ascension. Sedna landed behind Ken. Mimi walked right up to Ken and put her hands on his shoulder.

"You have similar powers from my son..."

"I promise we will get him and his Digimon back, ma'am," Ken reassured the adult Mimi. He turned over to Sedna standing beside him. "Karin, we know where they're going. Are you ready?"

Sedna nodded as she looked to everyone present. "Are you all ready to go?"

"We are," Seirika quickly answered as her friends and their Digimon unanimously agreed. "To get Takato and Guilmon back!"

"Also Sedna's boyfriend and his Digimon partner," Henbu added.

"And Ken's friend's, too!" Himakko declared.

Mika added with a pumped fist. "Hah! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get our asses into gear!"

"Right, let's get going!" Yui and her team cried in unison.

Sailor Moon approached Sedna and nodded. "Lead the way, Sedna. We're counting on you."

Sailor Mars turned to Sedna. "Take us to where Paradixalmon and his cronies are heading next."

"Count on me, guys!" Sedna declared as she prepared to open up a portal. So, I'll be going back... to my birth universe. So be it. We're coming Dimitri, Faith, Takato, Guilmon, and friends! I just hope... 'he' can help. She vaguely hinted to an old friend from the DF-616 universe, and someone she still holds close ties with.

Ken hollered out for everyone's sakes. "Let's bring our friends back and give Paradixalmon hell!"

Having seen what Dramon X was capable of, most of them felt their confidence restored and nodded. The amassed group were ready to follow after the Digital Warlord and company and destroy them. As Sedna was preparing the portal, Mimi and Palmon, who had de-digivolved, quickly raced back to the portion of her house that was still standing as if looking for something. They quickly returned with a small white box, which she handed to Ken.

Sedna turned back and couldn't help but smile. "I get it. That's a capsule box and inside is Dimitri's time machine, right?"

Mimi nodded as Ken took it.

"That's right. This way when the battle's over you can bring your friends home and he can come back with it," Mimi said smiling. "Please get him back and return him to me."

Palmon added. "And Faith, too!"

Everyone gave reassuring faces, except Ken who was dumbfounded for a moment at what he was holding.

Time machine? This boxes design as well... Drago... nevermind. Must focus on the task at hand.

Hiei once again glanced at Ken and looked at him intently. Something about this fool irks me. It's not his strength either... I better keep an eye on him. He mused to himself as his third eye flashed briefly under it's white cloth.

After bidding farewell to Mimi and Palmon, Sedna opened the portal for her and everyone. As they went through the portal, it closed up immediately behind them.

Mimi and Palmon were left alone, praying for everyone's safe journey.

"Good luck, everyone... and Dimitri... please be ok, my son."

xxxxx

To be continued...

Next act: Next Stop, Universe DF-616! War on the Ascendants!

xxxxx

A/N: The YYGDM crew and Ken head off to the DF-Kaiverse. Sedna and Ken form a new friendship bond, and it's revealed Sedna isn't ready to wield this 'Dragon Saber' but she is its chosen wielder! It's revealed how Takato fell into darkness and turned into Dark Suzakato. And Ken finally reveals his Ascendant form: Dramon X! Paradixalmon's three flunkies sure didn't see that coming!

Two notes: According to my partner, Chaosblazer, Dramon X's appearance is based off the Gundam Exia. How he looks more like a Gundam than a Super Saiyan-ish warrior with armor is because Ken is from a different world. Therefore his Ascendant form greatly contrasts in style compared to the usual Ascendant forms. Hope that clarifies things.

Credit goes to Ninetalesuk for the Dragon Saber reference.

With these new developments, the conflict will soon spill out in the DF-Kaiverse! And we'll get a look at Paradixalmon's army next chapter, too.

Send a review and see you soon!