Hey, sorry this is a little late. I just had my wisdom teeth removed on Friday, and let me tell you, I do NOT want to suffer trough that again. However, that means for the next few days I can just lounge around and therefore have more time to work on my fics!

Also, I've just joined DeviantART and Aquawraith, and I will be posting some of my Fanart, including OCs. So you can finally see what the new Legendary Warriors look like!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters.

CLAIMER: I own Lexi, Kyousuke, Juan, Rosa, Diego, Iwamon, Mizumon, and Tsurumon. Oh, and the mysterios 'Master'.

Kouichi was growing more and more impatient with each passing second, because every minute they wasted was another minute his brother had to spend in a jail cell or an interrogation room or whatever he was being held in. He, Tomoki, Junpei, and Iwamon had spread out to cover more ground, while Fairymon zipped about overhead. Still no sign. Lexi honestly couldn't have gotten far, even in a day. Then again, they had travelled long distances in short amounts of time by catching a ride on a Trailmon. If she'd managed to find one...

"Anything?" he called up to Fairymon as she appeared above him.

She shook her head sadly. "Sorry, I've got nothing. I doubt she's anywhere near here."

"She probably found a Trailmon, and could be miles away by now."

Fairymon descended so that she was hovering right beside him. "Well, maybe the others are having better luck."

"I doubt it. They would've contacted us if they'd found her, or at least a clue to where she was. I just hope Kouji is holding out okay."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Stop worrying about him. You know as well as I do that he can handle himself easily, and it's not like they're allowed to hurt him. The worst case scenario is that he's extremely bored and annoyed. Your folks are the ones you should be worried about."

"Huh?"

"Well, what do you think must be going through their minds? I mean, they don't know anything at all, except that Kouji's under suspicion of God knows what. Not to mention Lexi's family is probably scared out of their minds, wondering if she's even alive."

"I guess you're right. As usual. Don't you ever get tired of being right?" Suddenly, Kouichi's D-Scanner started beeping wildly from his pocket. He pulled it out, and a hologram of a map appeared over the screen. One point was flashing red.

"Hey, what's it doing?" Fairymon peered over his shoulder for a better look.

"I think it's detected a Spirit."

Fairymon turned back into Izumi and produced her own D-Scanner. "Mine's not doing anything. It must be one of your Spirits, Kouichi."

Kouichi felt a small thrill of excitement. He'd been dying to Spirit Evolve again for a long time. He turned to face Izumi. "I'm going after it," he announced decidedly.

"So, this is the Wind Factory?" Kyousuke asked, looking at the peeling sign and dilapidated building in front of them, "It looks like it could use a paint job or two... or twelve."

"It was a whole lot nicer last time I was here," Junpei explained, "even with all the Goblimon."

The two of them headed into the ruins. "So, what's the story on this place?"

"It was, like, Day Two or Three here for us, and we were practically starving. So we stopped by and wound up getting a whole guided tour. We were about to leave once we found out all they served at the cafeteria was alkaline pie and batteries, but then-"

"Batteries?" Kyousuke gave Junpei a strange look. "Who eats batteries?"

"The Kokuwamon that worked there. They're machine-type Digimon, so that was what they ate. Well, technically, it was the energy that came from the batteries, they never really ate the actual things. Anyway, we were on our way out, but we learned that the Kokuwamon were actually prisoners in there, and we led them in a riot that almost destroyed the place. We almost lost..." They'd finally made it to the center, and Junpei started pulling at a large pile of scrap metal. "...until... this... thing... got busted... ugh!... busted open, and..." He stopped, unable to budge the heavy pieces.

Kyousuke stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Stand aside," he announced, Spirit Evolving. Iwamon easily ripped the metal off like it was cheap plastic wrap, exposing the Spirit beneath.

"And then I found this little baby," Junpei concluded, pointing his D-Scanner at it and absorbing it. "My little Spirit of Thunder. I kicked Snimon's ass!"

"Junpei?" The voice came from Junpei's D-Scanner. "Junpei, are you there? It's Shinya."

Junpei pushed a button. "Yeah, I hear you. What's going on?"

"We've found Lexi, but there's a big problem. We're at a small village, and it's under attack! They aren't too strong, but we're seriously outnumbered! We need backup!"

"Okay, I've got Kyousuke with me, we're on our way." He looked over at Iwamon. "Let's go."

Izumi weaved between various trees and bushes, looking for Tomoki. After getting Shinya's panicked call, she'd volunteered to go find Tomoki, since he didn't have his D-Scanner and there was no other way to contact him. Realizing she'd have better luck spotting him from above, she Spirit Evolved and soared above the treetops. It took him only a minute to appear below her.

"Tomoki!" she called. The younger teen glanced up in surprise as she landed next to him. He was kneeling down, examining something on the ground. "Takuya and the others found Lexi, but they're in trouble! We have to go help them!"

"Okay, but first, take a look at this," he replied seriously, pointing at the ground. It was a claw, lying by a footprint, obviously from a big Digimon. "Whatever left this behind did a lot of damage to a little village I came across. It was completely abandoned, but Bokomon's certain the attack was recent – not even a week ago."

"Where's Bokomon now?"

"He and the other Digimon stayed behind to look for... survivors."

Fairymon bit her lip. "You don't think any innocent Digimon were killed, do you?"

"I don't know for sure, but with the way that village was demolished, it's possible. Whatever happened, it means there's an extremely powerful and dangerous Digimon in the loose."

The taste of her blood still lingered in his mouth, and he wanted more. Mizumon didn't look like the human girl, but her scent was exactly the same. He had to have it.

The other one, Agunimon, was one of his obstacles, and if the Warrior of Flame wasn't in the way, then his fellow Gizamon were, or an insignificant Palmon.

The humans who'd arrived with Agunimon made no difference; they were trying to help the Tanemon escape. Gizamon was okay with that; the less distractions, the better. Scaring little Digimon was just a small bonus. What he was really interested in was the reward he would get from The Master once his task was complete. That, and the human girl. Her blood was probably sweeter when she was in this form, stronger.

"Gizamon..." The voice of The Master interrupted his musings. He threw a quick glance at each of his enemies to be sure they weren't looking, then ducked behind a tree. A small, dark portal appeared in the side of the trunk, and a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen in the centre.

Gizamon bowed low once he recognized them. "Master," he growled, "To what do I owe such an honour, Your Greatness?"

"Enough pleasantries, Gizamon. Have you obtained the Spirit yet, or have you not?"

"Soon, Master, very soon. We ran into a little problem, but it ain't nothing serious."

"What problem?"

"The Legendary Warriors, Master. Four of 'em showed up, but only half of 'em got Spirits."

"And the others..." An image of a human boy with dark hair appeared within the vortex. "Is this one of them?" Gizamon peeked back around the tree. He was mildly shocked to see so many of his brothers down for the count. It seemed Mizumon and Agunimon were more powerful than he'd thought, even though the former was supposed to be only a beginner.

Then he noticed the other humans off to the side. One of them, the one practically being strangled in an embrace from the adult female, looked exactly like the boy in the vortex. Gizamon turn to face The Master again, trying to hide his sudden fear of the thought of losing. "Yeah, he's here, Master. What's so special about him?"

"Keep him from attaining the Spirit. He is the one human that can unlock its powers."

"Of course, Master. He won't get near it. GIZAMON DIGIVOLE TO... APEMON!"

Almost all the Tanemon were safely out of the way. Juan and Shinya had directed them all up into the trees. Luckily, none of the Gizamon seemed to be very good climbers. Padre helped a little, too, even grabbing a Tanemon up mere seconds before a Gizamon pounced. Mamà, on the other hand, was more focused on Juan. Every time something so much as moved near him, she would pull him closer to her protectively. After a couple minutes, he was positive a bruise would form on his arm where she kept tugging at it. Agunimon and Mizumon were both handling the Gizamon rather well, but were having trouble with numbers and keeping the village in one piece. The Palmon helped out as well, using their 'Poison Ivy' attack to keep the enemy at bay.

Shinya jumped down from the nearest tree, landing next to the Cortez family. "I think that's all of them," he stated breathlessly, "Where's the rest of the team? I called them ages ago!"

As if it was some sort of cue, Fairymon, Iwamon, and Tomoki burst into the clearing, followed by two large Digimon Juan recognized from the illusions on the Trailmon as Junpei and Kouichi. Several Gizamon turned and fled at the sight of them, but stopped when a huge gorilla-like Digimon appeared out of nowhere. "Stay and fight!" he commanded them, "Find the hidden Spirit!"

Juan gasped. "So that's what they're after!" Shinya said out loud, "It has to be either yours or mine. There's nobody else left!"

"Tomoki!" Mizumon called, "Catch!" She tossed the Ice Warrior his D-Scanner, which he easily caught.

"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION! KUMAMON!"

Juan found it near impossible to hold back a small laugh as his friend shrunk to about half his original height, becoming a little white teddy bear wielding a blaster. Shinya was practically rolling on the forest floor in hysterics. "You know," Kumamon commented, "This isn't quite as cool as it was when I was eight."

"Well I... think..." Shinya teased while attempting to breathe normally again, "I think it's just adorable!" He started cracking up again.

"TSURARARA!" Kumamon nearly impaled one Gizamon and froze four others solid in that single attack. "How's that for 'adorable'?"

Juan and Shinya stopped laughing right away.

Still the Gizamon continued to press on. They ripped a few huts apart, as if they were searching for something. The bigger Digmon kept the Warriors' hands full. They were holding back in their attacks; the close space increased the risk of hitting a friend.

"Apemon!" one of the Gizamon cried from the centre of the village, digging at the ground, "It's here! The Spirt is underground!" Apemon grinned and loped over. The Warriors tried to follow him, but more Gizamon blocked their way. There seemed to be no end to them; despite all their power, the Legendary Warriors were being just barely overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Shinya suddenly made a break for it, his D-Scanner in hand. Juan knew what would happen next. The D-Scanner would absorb the Spirit, and Shinya would become a Digimon.

But when Shinya got there, nothing happened.

"Juan!" he called back, "It's not doing anything! It's gotta be yours!" Juan started to run forward, reaching for his D-Scanner in his pocket.

He'd only taken about three steps when his mamà took his arm again. "What are you doing?" she asked frantically, "Let those other children handle this!"

Juan gritted his teeth. "Let me go!" he insisted, "Please, I'm the only one who can use that Spirit! It'll be a disaster if I don't get it in time!"

"No! I'm not losing you!" She pulled him in and held him to her so tightly that he had some difficulty breathing. "This isn't something you're capable of handling! We have to leave!"

"But the village... all the Digimon who live here! They need more help, and if that big guy gets the Spirit, he'll destroy everything!"

"This isn't even our world! It has nothing to do with us!"

"JUAN!" He twisted around in his mamà's grip to see Shinya struggling with a Gizamon, trying to keep it off the Spirit. "Hurry up and claim it, already! I can't keep this up forever!"

Juan ground his teeth together again. "I'm sorry, Mamà," he stated, "But you're wrong. It has everything to do with me!" He broke free, already feeling the tingling sensation in his hand. From the others' descriptions, he knew it was his Digi-Code emerging. He held up the small brown and green D-Scanner, and the Spirit zoomed right into it. "EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!"

The feeling was amazing, overpowering. It was way better than what he'd imagined. He felt his limbs changing, his entire body morphing into something else. "TSURUMON!"

He landed in a sort of crouching position, one leg bent beneath him with the other extended out to the side, and his left hand on the ground. Glancing down, he saw that it was made of a green, plant-like material. Undoubtedly, he'd become the creature he'd seen in his reflection in the Trailmon's windows a few days ago.

A guttural growl came from above him. Tsurumon looked up to see Apemon less than a foot in front of him, glaring down with a mad gleam in his beady black eyes. "That's mine!" the big gorilla roared, taking a swipe. Tsurumon jumped to avoid the blow, backflipping out of the Digimon's reach. "It's mine to give to The Master, nobody else's!"

"The Master?" Iwamon asked. The others were apparently listening in as well. "Who's that?"

Apemon ignored the question, instead taking another swing. Dodging again, Tsurumon punched the ground with his right fist. "CREEPING ENSNAREMENT!" He could feel his 'fingers' elongate and push their way through the soil, quickly re-emerging directly underneath Apemon as thick, snaking vines. He used those to lift the big monkey and toss him into a thick tree trunk. Half the Gizamon squealed – yes, squealed – and took off in all directions.

The good guys now had the advantage in numbers. "Mizumon, Iwamon!" Agunimon called, "Take care of the rest of 'em! We've got the big guy!" He, Kumamon, Fairymon, and Junpei and Kouichi – what were their Spirit names again? – surrounded Apemon on all sides, effectively blocking any route of escape.

Not that the big guy cared. His beady, evil eyes were set on Tsurumon only. He lunged again, but Tsurumon fired a vine out of his left hand and caught a tree branch, using it to swing over the enemy's head. "POD BLASTER!" he shouted, firing several glowing green energy pods from his other hand. Apemon roared in pain as he was hit.

By then, Iwamon and Mizumon had finished scaring off the Gizamon, with help from the Palmon. Apemon was all alone now, but he still wasn't giving up. "MEGA BONE STICK!" The big monkey suddenly had a large bone in his meaty paws, and was swinging it around. The Legendary Warriors ducked and jumped back, and when Apemon had his attention on Junpei, Kouichi struck him with his 'EWIG SCHLAF'.

Tsurumon then used another 'CREEPING ENSNAREMENT', only this time with both hands. Again, his vines came up underneath Apemon, this time holding him in place. "Okay, Blitzmon!" Agunimon shouted, "NOW!"

Junpei – Blitzmon – probably would've grinned if he'd had a visible mouth. "My pleasure," he stated, "LIGHTNING TOPPER!" A ball of lightning formed near the tip of the horn on his head and then fired out and hit Apemon. Tsurumon grit his teeth – cool, he was a plant creature and still had teeth – as the electricity travelled through his vines, which were technically his really long fingers, and into the ground. It stung a little, and he vaguely wondered if that was what it felt like sticking his finger into an electrical socket.

"Ow!" he yelped, dropping Apemon and pulling his slightly smoking hands out. "Next time, make sure I'm not the only thing connecting your target to the ground!"

"Whoops. Sorry 'bout that, little man."

Apemon slowly got up, snarling and looking madder than ever. "METALLIC FUR!" His fur turned to shiny metal – what did you think would happen? – and he dove for Mizumon, tackling her.

"Hey!" she yelled, "Someone get this monkey off me!" With that, she slammed her fist into Apemon's face. The huge Digimon grunted in pain, but wouldn't move.

"Lowemon!" Agunimon ordered.

"ENDLICH METEOR!"A sphere of black and yellow energy gathered at the open mouth of the lion carved into Kouichi's – Lowemon's – breastplate, and blasted Apemon, knocking him off Mizumon and into the tree again. The 'METALLIC FUR' effect vanished, and he started to get up again, but they all knocked him down, combining 'BURNING SALAMANDER', 'BREZZA PETALLO', 'SNOW BOMBER', 'THOR HAMMER', 'ROCK SLAM', 'AQUA BLAST', and 'POD BLASTER'.

This time, Apemon stayed down. His body blackened and the ring of Digi-Code appeared. "You want to do the honours, Tsurumon?" Fairymon asked.

Tsurumon nodded and pulled his D-Scanner out of thin air. "Digi-Code, Scan!" he shouted.

Apemon dissolved, leaving a beaten Gizamon lying next to the tree. The Legendary Warriors turned back to their human forms and gathered around, all glaring down at him. "So what do we do with this one?" Lexi asked, "Should we just let him go?"

"I say we leave him," Kyousuke stated, "He can't do a whole lot of damage on his own."

"Tell that to the village a few miles from here!" Tomoki argued, "I noticed his claws, they're identical to the ones left behind when a Digimon trashed the place!"

"Hang on a second, didn't he mention something about a 'Master'?" Izumi mused, rubbing her chin, "That could be the evil Digimon we're supposed to find and defeat."

"Yeah," Junpei agreed, "We should try and get some answers outta this guy."

Kouichi just grabbed Lexi by the arm and started pulling her in the direction of the terminal. "You guys worry about that," he said, "We're to go clear my brother's name."

"Huh?" Lexi asked, "What are you talking about?" She pulled her arm free. "And why do you twins insist on dragging me along like this? I can walk, you know."

"Oh, sorry."

Padre stepped forward. Juan had almost completely forgotten that he and Mamà were even there. "I'll explain," he said, getting into his 'professional' mode, "I'm Detective Cortez of the local police force, and Juan's father. I was assigned your Missing Persons case."

"Missing Persons?" Lexi gasped, "Aw, crap! I've been gone for two whole days, haven't I? My aunt and uncle must be going nuts!"

"I'm afraid they are. And since your friend Kouji was the last person you were seen alive with, he's being held for questioning. We were suspecting the worst."

"What, you thought he killed me, or something?" Lexi's eyes widened. "That's bull! Have him let out!"

"I'm sorry, but that'll only happen if you're no longer missing. So we should come up with a believable story and head back to our own world."

"Yes," Mamà interrupted, grabbing Juan and tugging his D-Scanner out of his hand, "Let's go back home and forget this ever happened."

"What?" Juan cried, reaching for his D-Scanner, "But Mamà, I can't just walk away from my destiny!"

This isn't your 'destiny', it's someone else's." She shoved the D-Scanner into Tomoki's stunned hands. "This cause has nothing to do with us, and it's just too dangerous for you to get involved!"

"Too dangerous? I just proved that I can look after myself, and I've got everyone else watching my back, too! Come on, Mamà, I'm not a little kid anymore! I was chosen to be one of the new Legendary Warriors, and it's my responsibility!"

"That's enough! We'll continue this discussion later." With that note of finality, she began pulling Juan away from his team, into the woods in the direction they'd come from. Glancing back, Juan saw Lexi and Kouichi following, looking uncomfortable after witnessing the argument. Dad hung back for some reason.

Juan sighed. There was just no talking to Mamà. He could protest for a week straight, and it still wouldn't change her mind. This wasn't fair. No, it was worse than just 'not fair'; it was a serious problem for the Digital World. How could he help the others when Mom wasn't going to let him out of her sight? Okay, so she'd never said that, but Juan knew her well enough. How was he going to get out of this one?

Wow, I didn't realize until now just how long this chapter is. Anyway, there's only one chapter left, coming in two week, and Part 4 won't be up for a while. Sorry, but I still have a backlog of other stories taht really should've been up a while ago, but got delayed thanks to a major writer's block I got this time last year.

By the way, do you think I made Gizamon too creepy?