The portal opened on the outskirts of a city and the team fell out. It shut behind them. Castilla rubbed her head.
Castilla: Gahh. Where are we?
Hayama stood up straight.
Hayama: This is New York. We're in America.
They all stood up, and saw the city's skyline. But they also saw the destruction.
Keenan: What happened here?
Hayama: BlackWargreymon's puppets were attacking the city. They're probably going after Matt and Danny.
Kristy: You mean there's more of them?
Castilla began to look around.
Hayama: Yes. BlackWargreymon's infected dozens of Digimon with black spores already. You can think of it as his appetizer before he takes over the whole Digital World with the Black Digi Core.
Keenan: We have to stop him
Hayama: Why do you think we're here?
Castilla: Hey guys…
They looked back at her
Castilla: Where's Luke?
They all looked around
Leon: I don't see him anywhere…
Keenan: He was just with us a minute ago.
Brianna: You think he ran off after we got here?
Usagimon: Negative. We would have seen him. The only alternative is that…
Castilla: He never made it through the portal…
There was an uncomfortable silence
Castilla: We have to go back for him.
Brianna: How about not? All the travelling today's already made me sick.
Detective Moore: More than that. We don't have the time to waste.
Castilla: Well we can make time for him because he's my brother. And one of our team members…
Keenan: Castilla.
He walked up to her
Keenan: I hate to admit it but I think Detective Moore's right. Luke knew what he was doing when he decided not to leave with us. He can take care of himself.
Castilla: What ever happened to no team member gets left behind? Or did you forget what happened the last time we let Luke do his own thing.
Kristy: How can we forget? He betrayed all of us.
Keenan: Yeah but that wasn't his fault. He was under control not unlike what will happen to the rest of these Digimon if we don't do something about it quick. It took some time but Luke eventually came back to his senses. And I trust him enough now to let him make his own decisions.
Castilla didn't move at first, but then she slowly nodded
Castilla: Okay. But if we don't hear from him soon…
Keenan nodded
Keenan: We won't rest until we find him.
Castilla looked down and then back up
Castilla: Okay. Time to find Matt and Danny. Do we know where they are?
Hayama: They're both wearing GPS trackable wrist communicators. I don't have my tracker but Detective Moore might.
Detective Moore pointed to the sky
Detective Moore: I don't think we'll need it
They looked up and saw a flood of flying Digimon heading south.
Hayama: It's a start but turn it on for good measure.
Hayama started walking and Moore stopped him
Detective Moore: Woah, woah woah. Since when do I start taking orders from you?
Hayama: Since you gave me your position last month. Once this is all over, I'll gladly step down, but as for this mission, Detective, I'm gonna need you to follow my lead.
Moore scowled
Hayama: Rule number one. Remember?
He walked past Moore and the kids and Digimon followed him. Detective Moore reluctantly followed behind.
-x-
About half an hour later, the Digimon flew over a tall building. Okuwamon lingered for just a moment, looked around, and then continued flying.
After they were gone, a big dumpster was pushed aside. Matt, Danny, Emily, Betamon and Dracomon had been hiding behind it.
Danny: I'm not particularly fond of how many putrid smells I've been around today.
Matt: Dude, we can smell the flowers after we're off the most wanted list.
Dracomon: There are flowers out in the middle of the city?
Matt: It's a figure of speech…oh never mind!
Emily: So now what?
Danny: We're sitting ducks out here. We're going to need to keep moving if we don't wanna get spotted.
Emily: I don't think so. We may just need to find a better hiding place.
Betamon: Yeah, like underwater!
Matt: Sure. Once I grow gills I'll hop right in with you.
Danny: Emily might have a point, Matt. This may not be the best place, but if we can find somewhere that we can lay low, then maybe they'll call off the search after a while.
Matt: That won't work. That crest around Emily's neck is what's drawing them closer and closer to us. Digimon can sense that kind of thing, you know.
Danny: It's worth a shot.
Emily: Yeah. How about Matt and I scope out the area and see where else we can hide. At least until your secret agent friend comes back to help you.
Dracomon: Ok, I'll tag along!
Emily: No! I mean…I think that Matt and I can handle it.
Everyone else looked funny at each other
Danny: O…kay but just make sure that you two are back in…
Emily: Got it!
She dragged Matt away by his arm
Danny: Time…
They were long gone.
-x-
Hayama and the others were searching around the buildings.
Detective Moore was tracking on his watch.
Hayama: How's the reading?
Detective Moore: It seems like we're headed in the right direction…it's hard to tell because I'm getting a lot of interference from all of these cell phones.
Leon: That's New York for ya.
Brianna thought that she saw something move to her left.
She turned her head. There was nothing. She looked confused. She replayed what had just happened in her mind.
She was sure that she saw it.
Brianna slowly strayed to the back of the pack. She just walked slower and slower until she was at the very tail. She then turned around and slipped onto another small road without anyone else seeing.
Everyone else kept walking forward without missing a beat.
-x-
Emily and Matt ended up at a dead end in an alleyway.
Matt: Well…this place could work. That is if this place wasn't CLEARLY VISIBLE FROM THE TOP! He pointed up and noted that the alleyway was fairly large.
Matt: If a Digimon flew over this place they'd clearly see us. Let's keep looking.
Matt tried to move forward but Emily blocked him. He tried to step around but she simply sidestepped as well.
Matt: Emily. Could you get out of the way? We need to keep searching for a hiding spot.
Emily smiled
Emily: I think that this place works just fine…
She walked over to him and Matt stepped back.
Matt: Uh, okay, awkward meter is off the charts right now.
Emily laughed lightly
Matt: And why do you have to laugh at everything that I say?
Emily: I've already told you, Matt. It's because you're funny. And you're brave and strong and really good looking I might add…
She put her hand on his shoulder again. Matt looked a little confused. He kept stepping back.
Matt: I'm still not following. What's the meaning of all of this?
Emily: Look, Matt. I never got the chance to thank you for saving my life earlier today. That was probably the nicest thing any boy's ever done for me. So that's all. I just wanna say thanks.
Matt finally caught on to what was happening.
Matt: Uh, well you just did!
Matt tried to move away but Emily grabbed him and put him back in place.
Emily: That's not really the thanks I'm talking about. I was thinking something a little more personal.
Matt: Well that's about as personal as it's gonna get, you know, given that we only met each other earlier today…
Emily: Well that's the thing. Today's all that I needed to see that I crossed paths with someone who's really special in his own way. Someone who's really amazing.
She pinned him against the wall.
Emily: Someone who I think I have a really big crush on
Matt had a shocked look on his face.
Emily: What? Oh, don't tell me you're still thinking of that girl, Matt. She didn't respect you the way I do. She's your past. And this is the present…
Without any more words, Emily moved her face in and kissed Matt on the lips. Matt stood completely still in shock. Emily kept her eyes closed and didn't move away.
Brianna walked into the alleyway and saw what was happening. It took her a moment to process what she was seeing. Her mouth was wide open and she had a furious look on her face. Matt's eyes shifted over to Brianna. They widened when he saw her, and he pushed Emily off.
Matt: Bri…Brianna?!
Brianna simply turned around and walked away. Matt pushed Emily aside and ran after Brianna. Emily had a worried look on her face when she noticed what had happened.
Matt caught up to Brianna, who was walking briskly away from him.
Matt: Brianna, wait!
Brianna: Oh please, don't stop on my account. Wouldn't wanna spoil your fun out here.
Matt: It's not what it looks like. She just jumped on me!
Brianna: Oh sure, you looked like you were just kicking and screaming to get off of her!
Matt: She took my by surprise! Oh, nevermind that. What are you even doing here?!
Brianna: Well theoretically we were looking for you, but it looks like you were safe and sound in that girl's arms so I guess our mission's accomplished now, isn't it?
Matt: We? Wait, the others are here too?
Brianna: None of your business
He held Brianna by the arms and made her face him.
Matt: Brianna, listen. This is my business. Why are you guys here?
Brianna: Well maybe we heard that you were in trouble, and maybe we thought that it would be a good thing if we protected you from BlackWargreymon's goons…
Matt: You know about BlackWargreymon?
Brianna: And maybe, just MAYBE there are some people out there who actually care about you and wanted to see you. Thought they did anyway.
She pushed his hands off and turned around
Brianna: Now get away from me. Your blonde American hottie's probably getting cold. You should go back to her.
Matt: Brianna I already told you…
She turned around and faced him
Brianna: I'm being serious Matt. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Just stay away from me.
She turned around
Brianna: I knew nothing good came out of America.
She walked off. Matt stood there with his arm out. He slowly let it fall back in place.
-x-
Later, Matt and Emily returned to where Danny, Betamon and Dracomon were. Danny turned his head and saw them coming.
Matt: Danny. I know this may sound far-fetched at first but hear me out. I think that our friends are here in America!
Danny: uh, Matt…
He motioned his head to the side, signaling for Matt to look. Matt and Emily both turned around and saw the rest of the team and Digimon. He smiled
Matt: Guys…
Kristy stepped forward.
Kristy: Well Matt, I have to hand it to you. You haven't been in America for 48 hours and you're already causing trouble.
Matt saw Marcus, Thomas, Yoshi, Agumon, Gaomon and Lalamon unconscious and laying on top of Hououmon.
Matt: Would you all mind telling me what the heck's going on?
Keenan stepped to the forefront
Keenan: Funny. We were about to ask you the same question.
-x-
In the Digital World, Luke and Bearmon ran into a moderately grassy and vacant area. The only thing in front of them were a large pile of overturned stones, and a river that ran behind.
It was a familiar location. It was the temple that Detective Moore and Hayama had originally investigated, and the one that BlackWargreyon destroyed.
Luke stopped in front of the stones.
Bearmon: Luke, I don't know what's going on. But if this is another one of those Shadowmon episodes we can work it out…
Luke: We're here.
Bearmon looked around confusedly
Bearmon: And where's here exactly? Hey, Luke!
Luke was already climbing on top of a few of the stones. Once he was high enough, he bent down and started pushing the excess stones away.
Bearmon joined his side
Luke: Help me move these stones away, Bearmon
Bearmon: Are you even listening to me? What are we doing here?
Luke: Digging
Luke tossed another one aside. Bearmon eventually crouched down and helped him.
Bearmon: You know what I mean, Luke. Why did we miss the portal to come here?
Luke: It was that ringing again. This time the images that came along with it were more clear. I know this may sound a bit cryptic, but I think that something or someone was trying to lead me to this very place.
Bearmon: Really? Who?
Just then, Bearmon threw away a stone that uncovered the top of a gold and silver Digi-egg.
Bearmon: What's this?
Luke: Let's find out.
They both dug around the digi-egg until it was completely uncovered.
Bearmon: It's a digi-egg…
Once it was uncovered, orange data began to emerge out of it. It rotated around the digi-egg like a forcefield.
Luke and Bearmon both stepped back. It had taken them by surprise. But eventually, Luke swallowed and stepped closer to the Digi-egg.
Bearmon: Uh, Luke…what do you think you're doing?
Luke put his hand out and drew closer and closer to it. Bearmon walked closer to the Digi-egg.
Bearmon: Luke, I've never seen anything like this before. This could be dangerous.
Luke: Wouldn't have it any other way.
Bearmon sighed and put his hand closer to the Digi egg too. Both of them touched the Digi-egg at the same time.
Before they knew what was happening, the orange data engulfed the two of them in a whirlwind. The data rotated around them very rapidly. They both tried to look around, but only the data was visible. It rotated faster and faster around them. They both backed up into each other.
Suddenly, everything went black.
Luke and Bearmon opened their eyes. They were in front of a completely black background. Luke looked left and right.
Bearmon: Where are we?
Then, another figure appeared in front of them. It was a giant orange dragon-like Digimon with golden armor. VictoryGreymon. Both Luke and Bearmon were frozen at first.
Victorygreymon stood with arms dropped down and his hands folded in front of him.
VictoryGreymon: Greetings
Luke took out his Digivice and Bearmon prepared to attack.
Victorygreymon held out his hand
VictoryGreymon: There is no need for that. I am on your side.
Luke: Who are you?
VictoryGreymon: I am what remains of VictoryGreymon. His consciousness, if you will. And I'm the one who summoned you.
Luke: Why? You don't even know who I am.
VictoryGremon slowly walked forward
VictoryGreymon: I am unaware of how things work on Earth, but I can assure you that the Digital World is too small of a place for someone as profound as Lucas Iwate to be unrecognizable. And I summoned you, because I knew you would be the most responsive to my call. I take it that you've had experiences similar to this one in the past.
Luke put the Digivice away
Luke: More or less. So what's this about?
VictoryGreymon: What does the name BlackWargreymon mean to you?
Luke: Well before today, it meant nothing. But apparently, he's a tyrant who's trying to take over the whole Digital World.
VictoryGreymon: I'd know that better than anyone.
Bearmon: Why?
VictoryGreymon: Because he's my brother.
Both Luke and Bearmon looked shocked
VictoryGreymon: My Digital Brother, we…trained together. Under the same instructor. We were both members of the Ancient Agumon clan…
Bearmon suddenly connected the dots
Bearmon: That's where I had heard of BlackWargreymon before! I was a member of the Bearmon clan. We've passed down many stories of the Ancient Agumons. We heard about your clan's history and studied just about all of your fighting tactics. But we also heard about your downfall.
VictoryGreymon: Go on…
Bearmon: I think it had to do with some sort of crisis…some sort of betrayal from within the group. One of the members went rogue. And in the end he had to be sealed away.
VictoryGreymon: You're absolutely correct, Bearmon.
VictoryGreymon turned around and put his hand forward. A scenery painted over the black background. It was a flashback image of VictoryGreymon and a Wargreymon sparring with two kendo sticks. There was a giant red Digimon with a silver helmet who stood on all fours watching them train from afar. From the look of the scenery, it was obvious that it had taken place many years ago. VictoryGreymon narrated.
VictoryGreymon: BlackWargreymon was not always of the shadows. He was once a Wargreymon. He and I were the only fully digivolved members of the Ancient Agumon clan at the time. All except for our instructor, AncientGreymon, of course.
Luke: AnceintGreymon's the one with the helmet?
VictoryGreymon: Yes. He was our leader. And Wargreymon and I were second to him. But AnceintGreymon was growing old. He knew that soon enough, he would need to pass on the leadership to either Wargreymon or myself. So it was not uncommon for him to put the two of us through intensive training exercises such as this in order to assess who the strongest of us was. He wanted to see which one of us was the most worthy to lead the Ancient Agumon clan.
Luke watched the scene. He noticed something that was tied around AncientGreymon's neck. He pointed
Luke: Wait a minute. That's the crest of light!
VictoryGreymon: Yes. It was one of the most prized and coveted possessions in the entire Digital World at the time. In a sense, it was the pride and joy of the Ancient Agumon clan, and only the clan leader was allowed to wear it. The crest of light was unlike any other object in the Digital World, since it had a wide variety of uses. It's high energy content allows it to power just about anything, and it also…
Luke: Woah!
Luke was watching the kendo fight get more and more intense.
Luke: I don't mean to interrupt, but you both were really serious about this training. Who ended up being the strongest out of you two?
VictoryGreymon: Neither of us. We were both equally matched when it came to brute strength. But in the end…
The scene went black again
VictoryGreymon: I was chosen. Not because I was particularly stronger than he was, but…
He paused
Bearmon: But what?
VictoryGremon: Wargreymon had a tendency to attain his goals at the mercy of the other clan members. He would frequently step on others to get what he wanted. And it wasn't long before what he wanted became very clear to us. He wanted power. And control of the group. This became evident when one of our battles went horribly wrong. We were all ambushed, and he allowed three other Agumons to be deleted in order to save himself. It would have been much worse had I not stepped in and saved the last of them. And after that happened, AncientGreymon scolded him, and told him that he would never be worthy of carrying the name of clan leader.
Luke and Bearmon watched the illustrations match what VictoryGreymon was saying.
Bearmon: I'd think that he didn't take that too well. What happened after that?
VictoryGreymon: He fled. He fled and didn't look back. And we didn't see him for days.
Luke: Where did he go?
VictoryGreymon: To make a deal with a fallen member of the Olympus Twelve. A member who had just experienced similar rejection.
Luke felt disgusted when he said his name
Luke: Shadowmon…
VictoryGreymon: You know him?
Luke: We have a history. A bad history. He used his dark energy to manipulate me, and he eventually caused me to betray my friends.
VictoryGreymon: You wouldn't be the first one he's done that to. The only difference is that you resisted it. Wargreymon wanted it. And Shadowmon delivered. You see, Shadowmon and Wargreymon were one in the same. They both wanted to be leaders of the group that they were a part of, and were willing to do anything to get there. In fact, the reason why Shadowmon got kicked out of the Olympus Twelve in the first place was because they caught him attempting to create a weapon that had the capacity to control their minds. He called it the Black Digi-Core.
A render of the Black-Digicore showed up on the screen behind them. There was a flat, metallic base with six metal arms extending out of the base. Suspended within the metal arms was a large, black, sphere that resembled the sun in its texture. The sphere rotated in a clockwise fashion.
Luke: So he's the one who created it…
VictoryGreymon: That's correct. And he wanted to use it to turn the Olympus Twelve into his own personal army. But they found out about it and immediately banished him.
Luke: And the Black Digi-Core?
VictoryGreymon: Well it wasn't a real threat at the time, because Shadowmon didn't get a chance to complete it. He had only gone as far as creating the metal base of the weapon. But he was never able to activate the main core, because he had no object powerful enough to stabilize it. That is, until he learned about the crest of light.
Luke: So that's where Wargreymon's end of the bargain came in…
VictoryGreymon: Precisely. Shadowmon agreed to give Wargreymon the power that he needed in order to overthrow the Ancient Agumon tribe, and Wargreymon promised to give him the crest of light in return.
Luke and Bearmon listened intently
VictoryGreymon: So that's what happened. Shadowmon gave Wargreymon the dark energy, effectively transforming him into BlackWargreymon. Shadowmon endowed him with significantly more strength, speed, the ability to open portals, and the ability create dark spores.
Bearmon: Sounds like a pretty good package. What happened next?
VictoryGreymon: After his transformation, BlackWargreymon returned to us the following day, and demanded that we give him the crest of light. And when AncientGreymon tried to oppose him, BlackWargreymon did something that none of us saw coming.
He paused
VictoryGreymon: He killed him. Right there in front of us. He deleted him, absorbed his data, took the crest, and ran. We tried to fight him, but he had become too powerful. So he escaped with it.
They saw the scene play out in front of them
Luke: So I guess the deal worked
VictoryGreymon: Well you'd guess wrong. After BlackWargreymon saw what he was capable of, he grew very fond of his new powers. So he soon had another thought. If he could take control of the Black-Digi Core for himself, then he would have the ability to mind control every Digimon in the Digital World, and be the leader that he had always wanted to be. A true coward if I had ever seen one.
VictoryGreymon shook his head.
VictoryGreymon: So he betrayed the agreement that he and Shadowmon had, and attempted to recreate the Digi-Core for himself. But not before I stopped him. We battled in this very temple.
The scene showed BlackWargreymon and VictoryGreymon fighting furiously.
VictoryGreymon: As you can see, BlackWargreymon was much stronger than before, so I soon realized that subduing him into submission wasn't an option. So I did the only other thing I can think of.
The scene showed BlackWargreymon, with the crest tied around his neck, fly into VictoryGreymon and pin him into the wall. BlackWargreymon put his nails in front of VictoryGreymon's throat.
VictoryGreymon looked down at the crest around BlackWargreymon's neck, and immediately grabbed onto it. VictoryGreymon snapped the crest off of BlackWargreymon's neck, and pushed it down on BlackWargreymon's hand. A bright light shined after he did that.
VictoryGreymon: I used the crests' power to seal both BlackWargreymon and myself in this temple indefinitely.
There was a drawn out silence after he had said that. The screen went black.
Luke: So that was it?
VictoryGreymon: Yes. I sacrificed myself to keep him sealed. It was the only way I knew to save the Digital World and our clan. When the Agumons learned of the events that transpired, they journeyed to the temple and finished the job. They secured the crest of light in the temple to make sure that no one could easily remove the seal, and they scattered the pieces of the Digi-Core's metal base around the Digital World. And that's how it remained for hundreds of years. Up until recently, when a group of detectives unsealed us, and set BlackWargreymon loose once again.
Bearmon: I'm sorry to hear that.
Luke crossed his arms
Luke: So we got our little history lesson, but what does this have to do with us?
VictoryGreymon stepped forward
VictoryGreymon: I can tell you how to defeat him.
Luke dropped his arms
Luke: Okay. You have my attention.
-x-
Sparrowmon flew as fast as he could down to BlackWargreymon. BlackWargreymon was pressing buttons on Hayama's security watch. Jagamon, Oryxmon and Vikemon were still tirelessly trying to rebuild the ship.
Sparrowmon: BlackWargreymon! BlackWargreymon!
BlackWargreymon: What is it?
He didn't look up from the watch
Sparrowmon: Marcus, Thomas and Yoshi have been defeated.
BlackWargreymon looked up at Sparrowmon
Sparrowmon: It all happened so fast. There were six other kids with Digimon, and somehow they managed to fight off the three of them!
BlackWargreymon calmly shifted his gaze back down and continued pressing buttons on the watch.
BlackWargreymon: It's fine. Those three are of no use to me anymore.
Sparrowmon was taken back with shock
Sparrowmon: Huh? Why?
BlackWargreymon: Because I now know exactly where the crest is. And it was right under our noses all along.
Sparrowmon: I'm not following.
BlackWargreymon: Listen.
He opened up the holographic menu on the security watch and selected a previously recorded voice message. He pressed play.
Hayama: Matt! Where on earth have you been?
Matt: Sorry, my dad was holding us captive…hey where are you? Is there an alarm?
BlackWargreymon and Sparrowmon stood still and listened to Matt and Hayama's voice play from the watch.
Hayama: I'm on BlackWargreymon's ship. Long story. Did you take care of the monsters?
Matt: Well that's what I needed to call you about. We found the crest.
Hayama: Wait. You what?!
Matt: We found it. It's with a blonde girl named Emily Parker. She's our age.
Hayama: Where is she now?
Matt: With us in New York City. But we have a bigger problem on our han…
BlackWargreymon crushed the watch in his hand before it continued. He dropped the pieces of the watch on the ground under him.
BlackWargreymon: It was in New York City after all. Locating this Emily Parker should be of no problem at all.
BlackWargreymon yelled at Jagamon
BlackWargreymon: How are the repairs coming?
Jagamon: They're going alright! We've worked really hard to repair most of it. We should be done in no time!
BlackWargreymon: Well that's too bad.
BlackWargreymon unexpectedly pointed his fist over at the aircraft.
BlackWargreymon: Mega Destroyer!
He shot a powerful beam at the aircraft. Jagamon, Oryxmon, and Vikemon barely reacted in time. They jumped out of the way before the attack hit the ship. The ship instantly burst into flames and then exploded.
It took a moment for the other Digimon to process what had just happened.
Oryxmon: The ship! You…you destroyed it!
BlackWargreymon: I now have what I need. So I no longer require any extra, disposable baggage. Oh, and speaking of disposable…
He aimed his attack at Oryxmon first.
BlackWargreymon: Mega Destroyer!
The attack shot right thorugh Oryxmon's chest and turned him into a digi-egg immediately. He moved the beam over to Jagamon, Vikemon and finally Sparrowmon. He destroyed the three of them as well. They all turned into Digi eggs.
BlackWargreymon dusted his hands off
BlackWargreymon: The last thing I need is incompetent fools who question my judgment. No matter, I won't miss them much when I establish my empire.
He pointed his hand up to the sky
BlackWargreymon: SHADOW GATE!
A dark portal opened over him.
BlackWargreymon: If you want something done right…
His eyes glowed
BlackWargreymon: You must do it yourself.
He zoomed at sonic speed into the portal and it shut behind him.
-x-
VictoryGreymon: So you see, Luke. The crest of light was never intended to be used for such dark and destructive purposes.
Luke: So you're telling me that it won't sustain the Black Digi-Core for very long
VictoryGreymon shook his head
VictoryGreymon: It can't. And that's where BlackWargreymon is deceived. The power that the crest of light emits is meant to be used for good, not evil. Even Shadowmon realized this after a while, which is why he eventually went on to create his own crest. The Crest of Darkness, which you and the Digi-Destined have already destroyed.
Luke: So if the Crest of Light won't sustain the Black Digi-Core, then that means that there's nothing to worry about!
VictoryGreymon: That's where you're wrong. If the Crest of Light is destroyed, the concealed energy will be released all at once.
Bearmon: And I take it that that's a bad thing…
VictoryGreymon: That kind of energy has the potential to wipe out hundreds of thousands of acres within seconds. That means that any man or Digimon caught in its way will be instantly vaporized.
Luke and Bearmon's jaws both dropped
VictoryGreymon: And that's not all. A blast of that magnitude has the potential to destabilize the barrier between the human and Digital Worlds.
Bearmon turned to Luke
Bearmon: Didn't Keenan say that Kurata once did something like that? It sent the human and Digital worlds onto a collision course.
Luke took a moment to speak
Luke: So you're basically saying….
VictoryGreymon: Yes. That if that Black Digi Core runs for longer than a couple of minutes at most, then the crest will destabilize, and a lot more than a few lives will be at stake. It could mean the destruction of both of our worlds.
A scene appeared behind VictoryGreymon.
VictoryGreymon turned around and looked at it. The scene was showing the top of Infinity Mountain. But more importantly, it showed BlackWargreymon holding the base of the Black Digi-Core over his head, and flying through a portal.
Luke: What's going on?
VictoryGreymon: It seems as if BlackWargreymon's already on his way to Earth.
Luke: Why would he bring the Black Digi-Core there, though?
VictoryGreymon paused
VictoryGreymon: Oh dear.
Luke: What?
VictoryGreymon: He must have located the crest. I'd assume that he's planning to activate the core right there.
Bearmon: Will it work if he uses it on Earth and not the Digital World?
VictoryGreymon: Yes. All he'll need to do is keep a portal to the Digital World open, which he is more than capable of.
VictoryGreymon turned back around. The scene switched to black.
VictoryGreymon: The Black Digi-Core's base is already completed. So once my brother has the crest, it's game over. For everyone.
Luke: We have to stop him.
VictoryGreymon: Not yet.
Luke looked at VictoryGreymon
VictoryGreymon: You're going to need some sort of antidote. Something that will immunize Bearmon and the rest of your friends' Digimon from the mind control. That way, even if he turns on the Black Digi-Core, you and your friends will not be under his command.
Bearmon: Just one problem. Where are we supposed to find an antidote at this point in time?
VictoryGreymon: I'm not sure. I've learned about many things in my time, but Digimon physiology wasn't one of them.
Luke: Thomas Norstein
They both looked at him
Luke: He researched that kind of stuff. That could be our answer.
Bearmon: But Thomas is knocked out cold in America.
Luke: It's okay. I know someone else who can help us out. But I'll need to go back to Japan.
VictoryGreymon: That's where I can help. I can grant your Digivice the ability to summon portals. You can think of it as a thank you gift for being responsive to my call.
Luke: Well, since you offered so nicely.
Luke held out his Digivice. VictoryGreymon stretched his hand out at it, and the Digivice glowed blue for a moment, and then the glow went away.
VictoryGreymon: It's done. But hurry. It won't be long before BlackWargreymon finds your friends.
Luke nodded
VictoryGreymon: It is highly unlikely that we will be seeing each other again. So I'd like to extend to you my greatest gratitude. My brother is highly skilled and very powerful. He will present more of a challenge to you than any other Digimon you've faced before. But he has a weakness that your other foes did not have.
Luke: Which is?
VictoryGreymon: A conscience. The dark energy has undoubtedly polluted his mind, and he has always been dominated by greed. But there was a time when he was an honorable Digimon. Perhaps if you search deep enough, that Digimon may come out again. Just remember that, Luke. Remember that.
A bright light emerged over VictoryGreymon, Luke and Bearmon. Luke and Bearmon closed their eyes tightly.
By the time Luke and Bearmon opened their eyes again, they noticed that they were back in the Temple ruins. They both hand their hand on VictoryGreymon's Digi-egg. They pulled their hands off of it.
Bearmon: Okay. Please don't tell me that I dreamt about all of that.
Luke had a solemn look on his face. He was looking down at his Digivice.
Bearmon: Uh oh. I know that look. What's the matter?
Luke: It's nothing.
Bearmon: Really?
Luke: I guess that it's just weird to hear VictoryGreymon talk to me like I'm some sort of hero. I've done a lot of bad things in the past. I've made a lot of bad decisions. And now, all of the sudden, I have two worlds in the balance and am expected to do the right thing.
Bearmon smirked
Bearmon: Well no one knows about all of your mistakes better than I do. But I also know that through all of them, you've always done the right thing in the end.
Luke looked down at him
Bearmon: We can save them, Luke. We can save every one of them.
Luke slowly nodded
Bearmon: So let's get moving
Luke held his Digivice out
Luke: I've always wanted to say this.
Bearmon smiled
Luke: PORTAL ACTIVATE!
-x-
Back in New York, a black SUV arrived at the alleyway where Matt, Keenan, Kristy, Brianna, Danny, Emily, Castilla, Leon, Moore, Hayama, and the Digimon were. Detective Robinson got out of the driver's seat and left the front door open. Hayama walked up to him and shook his hand
Hayama: Thanks for coming, Carter
Robinson: Good to see that you're alive and well after that crazy feat of yours.
He saw Detective Moore as well
Robinson: I guess that goes for both of you. So what do you need?
Hououmon dropped Marcus, Thomas, Yoshi, Agumon, Gaomon and Lalamon's unconscious bodies on the ground.
Hayama: Give them medical attention. They'll be unconscious for a while.
Robinson: I'm on it.
Hayama: But make sure you go quietly. There are a lot of Digimon who are looking for us right now…
Matt tried to look over at Brianna, but Brianna was avoiding eye contact with him. She was standing with her arms crossed. Matt slowly looked away.
Detective Moore: I'll help you take them down to the medical center.
Robinson: I appreciate it, Detective.
Robinson and Moore put the six of them into the back of the SUV. Dracomon looked inside the front of the car.
Dracomon: Woah! Betamon, check it out!
Betamon and Dracomon hopped into the front seat of the SUV.
Dracomon: Is this a real police car?! There are so many buttons!
Betamon: I'll say!
Detective Moore finished putting Marcus into the back seat and closed the back door. He then caught wind of what was going on.
Detective Moore: HEY! You two stay out of there!
Betamon jumped onto the dashboard.
Betamon: What do all of these buttons even do?
Danny and Matt ran to the driver's door of the car
Danny: Betamon! Stop it!
Matt: You too, Dracomon! Get out of the car!
Dracomon: Do we have to…
Neither Matt nor Danny spoke
Dracomon: Oh alright…
Dracomon jumped out first.
Betamon: Party poopers…
Betamon walked forward to jump out, but accidently stepped on a button before he did. And unfortunately for everyone else, it was the worst button that he could have stepped on.
The sirens.
The loud police sirens wailed across the city block, and the red and blue lights flashed on and off rapidly.
-x-
Stingmon was the first to hear it from half a mile away. He stopped flying and floated for a moment. He turned his head and saw the red and blue lights flash across the sky.
Stingmon pointed for the rest of the Digimon to see.
Stingmon: This way!
They all followed the lights and siren.
-x-
Kristy: TURN IT OFF!
Kristy screamed it
Keenan: They're going to give away our position!
Matt was trying to figure his way through the buttons
Matt: I don't know how!
Robinson sprinted to the front door and practically threw Matt out of the way
Robinson: Move aside!
Robinson pressed a couple of buttons and then turned the siren and lights off.
Danny: Betamon! Look what you did!
Betamon: Sorry…
Castilla: Do you think that gave us away?
Jodixmon pointed to the sky.
Jodixmon: I'm afraid so.
The Digimon were flying towards them from a distance. Hayama turned to Moore and Robinson.
Hayama: You need to get out of here.
Robinson: But…
Hayama: We can take care of ourselves. Move!
Robinson and Moore quickly got into the front 2 seats of the car and sped off.
Kristy: So what do we do now?
Leon: What else can we do? We hold our ground.
The Digimon had arrived. Stingmon was the first to land on the ground. Okuwamon landed next to Stingmon. Volcamon ran over to the spot as well. Digimon by Digimon landed on the ground and faced the children. When they were all there, Stingmon spoke.
Stingmon: There's no escape anymore.
He extended his claws. The Digimon got out their swords and weapons.
Stingmon: Prepare to meet your fates.
Stingmon flew straight for them.
-x-
Luke rapidly knocked on a door.
The door opened and Lena was behind it. Lopmon was next to her.
Lena: Luke? I thought you were in the Digital World…
Lopmon: Well what do you know? The troublemaker strikes again!
Luke: Lena, I need your help. Again.
Lena looked backwards to make sure no one else was there. She talked in a quiet voice.
Lena: Luke, I don't think I can help you anymore. I got into a lot of trouble the last time and…
Luke: Lena, please. This is an emergency.
Lena had a confused look
Luke: I need you to take me to Thomas's research files. Are they here?
Lena: No, all of Tommy's research is in his hospital. I think I know where he keeps it, but…why do you need it now?
Luke: It's a long story
Lena: We've got time.
Luke: No we don't
Luke put his hands on Lena's shoulders
Luke: Lena, please. I just need you to trust me on this. The fate of the world could depend on it.
Lena looked at him with wide eyes
Luke: Will you help me?
Lena sighed before she answered
Lena: I don't know what it is about that look of yours, Luke, but somehow you always seem to convince me of whatever it is that you're saying.
Lena turned around
Lena: Hobson!
Hobson: Yes master Lena?
The voice came from inside
Lena: Start the car. Luke and I are taking a trip.
Luke nodded
Luke: Thank you.
Lena smiled at him
-x-
The limo arrived at the front door of a large hospital complex.
Lena, Luke, Bearmon and Lopmon got out of the back seat. Lena leaned into the driver's window and Hobson rolled it down.
Lena: Don't wait up for us, Hobson.
Hobson: Master Lena, are you absolutely sure?
Lena: We'll call you if we need anything.
Hobson: Okay. I'll just be around the corner. Good luck you two.
He rolled up the window and drove away.
Lena: Well, here we are.
They looked at the building. There were two guards who were standing in front of the main entrance.
The four of them tried to walk in, but one of the guards stopped them.
Guard: ID?
Lena: You can't be serious…
Luke: We don't have one.
Guard 2: Then you can't come in.
Lena: Do you two know who I am? I'm Relena Norstein, Thomas Norstein's sister!
Guard 2: Right…and I suppose that would make you his second cousin twice removed, am I correct?
He pointed at Luke. The other guard pointed at Lopmon and Bearmon.
Guard: Yeah, and I bet these are his pets.
The two guards laughed loudly. Lopmon crossed her arms and pouted angrily.
Lena: I'm being serious!
Luke: You guys have no idea what's coming. You have to let us in or the planet could be destroyed!
Guard: Right…remind me to use that line the next time I try to sneak into a high security building, will ya?
Guard 2: It's very simple kiddos. No ID, no entrance.
Luke: But…
Guard: But nothing. You were leaving?
Lena: I'll let you know that Thomas will be hearing about this!
Luke put his hand behind Lena's back
Luke: Let's go, Lena.
Lena: But…
They both turned around and began walking the other way. Lena started whispering
Lena (whispering): What now?
Luke looked over his shoulder
Luke (whispering): How close to the chest are you ready to play it?
Lena smirked
Lena (whispering): Is that even a question?
Luke (whispering): You take right I take left?
Lena (whispering): Other way around.
Luke (whispering): Okay. Ready…
Luke spoke up
Luke: Now!
The both spun back around. Luke punched the first guard in the chest and the second one took a look. Before he could respond, Lena kicked the second guard in the crotch from behind. The guards both fell over in pain. Lena, Luke, Bearmon and Lopmon both sprinted into the entrance
Lena: Sorry not sorry! I'll ask Thomas to give you better pay!
Lopmon was the last to hop over them and run in
Lopmon: Later losers!
Guard: You little brats!
The first guard grabed his walkie talkie
Guard: Unauthorized entry on level 1!
The alarm sounded in the building and a red blinking light lit up every floor.
The four of them ran past a few doors. Lena grabbed Luke's hand
Lena: This way!
She pulled him into the door of an emergency stairwell. The four of them ran up two flights of stairs.
Bearmon: We are gonna be in so much trouble for this
Luke: When is that NOT the case?
Lena: Up here!
They bolted through the door and ran down the straight hallway. Another security guard happened to walk behind them.
Guard: HEY! STOP!
He sprinted after the four of them. The guard spoke into his walkie talkie.
Guard: I have the intruders on level 3. Initiate emergency lockdown.
Just then, large steel door began to drop down from the ceiling in the middle of the hallway. It was intended to seal off the entire hallway. Luke, Lena, Lopmon and Bearmon were getting closer to it.
Luke: It's gonna close before we get there! We're not gonna make it in time!
A female voice echoed through the speakers
"Sealing hallway 3B. Lockdown Initiated."
Lena yelled
Lena: Override lockdown security code 5A3C!
"Lockdown Overridden."
The metal door stopped just a few feet off the ground. Luke and Lena rolled under it, and Lopmon and Bearmon simply ducked to go under. By the time the security guard made it to the door, he couldn't get through because he was too big. He banged against the steel door in frustration.
Luke turned to Lena as they continued running
Luke: How the heck did you do that?
Lena: This is my brother's hospital, I can override his security system. To your left!
They both turned a corner and found themselves staring at a single door. But the door was password protected.
Lena: This is Tommy's office.
Luke began punching buttons into the keypad.
Lena: What are you doing?
Luke: Trying every possible combination until something works.
Lena: 4301
Luke typed the four numbers in. The door unlocked.
The four of them went inside and closed the door behind them. Soon after they did, two guards ran right past the room.
Bearmon: I don't think they saw us go in. We're safe for now, but we should keep the light off.
Lena: Would you guys mind keeping watch?
Lopmon: Sure thing!
Luke turned to Lena
Luke: So you memorized his passwords too?
Lena: Not that hard to remember.
Luke: Why not?
Lena smiled
Lena: Because it's my birthday.
Luke: Right…I knew that…
He walked over to Thomas's drawer and saw an old portrait of Lena on top of it. Luke looked a little confused
Luke: Why are you in a wheelchair in this?
Lena: I used to be really sick, Luke. Thomas helped cure me.
Luke: Well he's about to help with a lot more than that.
Lena motioned to his bottom drawer
Lena: The research files are in there.
Luke took them out and spread them across his desktop.
Lena: Okay, so do you mind telling why you need all of this, now? It's just a bunch of Tommy's published research papers that have too many big words for me to follow.
Luke: Thomas may have been onto something that's going to help us defeat an enemy. There's no way that Thomas would walk into the Digital World without researching what he might be up against.
Lena: Got that right. He's always on his game. But isn't it a bit of a shot in the dark looking through these old things?
Luke: It's the only shot I have.
Lopmon: Uh, guys. I think someone's coming!
The door unlocked. Luke stood up straight and backed up away from the door.
The door swung open. One man in a short lab coat stood on the other side. When the scientist's face was visible, Luke recognized him.
Luke: Wait a minute. Dr. Sato. Is that you?
Dr. Sato stepped forward and adjusted his glasses
Dr. Sato: It can't be. Luke Iwate and Thomas's sister? You guys are the intruders?
Lena: Finally! Someone recognizes me
Dr. Sato talked into a walkie talkie
Dr. Sato: Dr. Sato speaking. Call off the search.
One of the guards spoke through the other side
"But they compromised the security system…"
Dr. Sato: It's okay. They're friends.
Luke breathed a sigh of relief
-x-
Luke and Lena were with Dr. Sato in the office. Dr. Sato put his phone down.
Dr. Sato: They've stopped searching for you. You owe me one
Luke: Well I'm about to owe you a lot more than that. Do you think you help us out?
Dr. Sato: About that...Would you mind telling me what in blazes you're doing here in the first place?
Luke walked over to the research files that were sprawled across Thomas's desk and picked one of the files up.
Luke: We're looking through Thomas's research. Did he ever investigate anything that had to do with digital based mind control? Specifically, any antidote that can work against it?
Dr. Sato slowly walked over to the files as well
Dr. Sato: Can't say that your oddly specific request rings any bells. But I can tell you that before Thomas left on that mission of his, he was looking into something. He spent hours in this office jotting down a bunch of notes that he never let me read. The only thing he ever said was that it was "in preparation for his trip". Whatever that meant…
Luke: Do you happen to know where his notes are?
Dr. Sato: If I were a less observant man, then maybe I wouldn't. But since you asked so nicely, I'll start off by telling you that you're looking in the wrong place.
Dr. Sato walked over to a bookshelf that was at the back of the room. He took out a very thin binder and laid it on top of all of the files. He opened it to reveal a stack of notebook paper with scribbles all over them.
Dr. Sato: He had his head in this binder the week before he left.
Lena pointed at the date on the top right corner of the first page.
Lena: This is from just 2 months ago. He must have been working on this right before he left.
Dr. Sato read through the notes. He quietly thumbed though the pages until he got to the final page.
Dr. Sato: These notes are mentioning a lot about something called the "Black Digi-Core."
Luke: Thomas knew about it?
Lena: Doesn't surprise me. Like we said before, Thomas does his homework.
There were a lot of chemical equations all over the page. One chemical equation was circled in red ink at the bottom of the page.
Luke: What do all these equations mean?
Dr. Sato didn't answer. He just skimmed through the equations. When he got to the one circled in red, he squinted and moved his head backwards in confusion.
Luke: Dr. Sato?
Dr. Sato: I'm sorry, Luke, but did you say earlier that you were looking to create some sort of antidote?
Luke: Yeah. That was the hope…
Dr. Sato: And you just thought to look here?
Luke shrugged
Luke: Sort of. Yeah. What's the problem?
Dr. Sato: Nothing, just…you must have really good intuition. It appears as if this wild goose chase of yours has just landed you with the golden egg. This is the chemical equation to a cerebral cortex stabilizer that happens to fit the model of a Digimon…he called it the digi core stabilization algorithm
Lopmon: Uh…in English please, doctor.
Dr. Sato: It's an inoculation against mind control, tailor made for Digimon. An antidote, if you will. A proper dose of this chemical should protect your Digital friends from any type of external manipulation. I'm assuming that Thomas didn't mass produce it since it doesn't seem to have been pilot tested…
Bearmon: Well now's as good of a time as any to do that.
Lena: So you can make some?
Dr. Sato sighed
Dr. Sato: They don't pay me enough for this…
Luke: Please, doctor.
Dr. Sato: Fine, I can do it. Shouldn't take me more than a few minutes now that I have the equations…just follow me, will ya?
Luke: Thank you. But we have to hurry.
Dr. Sato: Then let's get moving.
They followed him out of the room. Luke closed the door behind them.
-x-
Dr. Sato and Dr. Kai were in their lab coats and goggles. They had a myriad of test tubes and bottled chemicals in front of them.
Dr. Kai began mixing the test tube contents together. He had a buzz cut of brown hair and a light beard.
Dr. Kai: Commencing secondary reaction and waiting to attain equilibrium…
Dr. Sato: We're almost through guys. Just a couple more steps to go.
Luke, Lena, Lopmon and Bearmon were standing at the far wall watching from a distance.
Lena: You know, the doctor's right, Luke.
She looked at him. Luke had his arms crossed.
Lena: You have really good intuition.
Luke: It's what's kept me alive up until now. You can call it a gift.
Lena: So what's after this?
Luke: What else? I'll get it to our Digimon as soon as possible. Which brings me a question I was going to ask you.
Lena: A question?
Luke: Have you ever been to America?
Lena smirked
Lena: You asking for a travelling partner?
Luke: More like all hands on deck now that things are about to get a little dicey.
Lena: Of what use will I be?
Luke raised his eyebrow
Luke: Guess we'll have to find out
Dr. Sato: Done.
They all turned their heads and looked at him
Dr. Sato took poured the chemical solution into a net. All of the liquid drained into the sink and solid powder was left on the net. Dr. Kai helped to sort the powder into pill capsules and closed them each when they were full. After a few minutes, the pills were completed. Dr. Sato put all of the pills into a white container and closed the lid. He handed it to Luke.
Dr. Sato: Have each of your Digimon take two of these, and they should be all set.
Lena: Thank you
Dr. Sato: Don't thank me. Thank your brother.
Dr. Kai walked up and joined him
Dr. Kai: Good luck guys. Go do your thing.
Luke took out his Digivice and looked at Lena
Luke: Ready to go?
Lena: Let's just hope we're not too late.
