When Hawk landed in the Digital World, no one commented. Instead, Hakuya mounted the beast and the group wandered through the Digital World. Unlike last year, Hakuya felt both the presence of DemiMeramon, and the spirits of fire. The still and quiet of last year was gone, many different Digimon darting everywhere. Even with the changes, everyone noticed that something wasn't right, except Ron who either didn't have a digimon or wasn't connected to an element. Pieces of the world seemed to be missing, and a cloud of sadness blanketed the land.

At the occasional places they stopped at, they were big celebrities. It seemed that the whole Digiworld knew of the fall of Randalf, and that he had caused problems here as well. At the Village of Beginnings, a tired Elecmon gave the group some advice. He told them of a mountain where the Sovereign met. Though this was where they lived, the Sovereign were unable to return there with their land in pain. With the fall of Randalf, the turtle Ebowamon had finally managed to return. Elecmon also warned them that to meet with the Sovereign, each traveller had to pass tests to show they were worthy. These tests grew more difficult as the summit drew closer and some said it even gave great power to those who passed them. Elecmon finished this by warning the group that anyone who failed any test would suffer a fate worse than death.

Trial Mountain, Digital World

After many weeks of walking and riding, the group finally made it to Trial Mountain. Even the Valkyrie were unable to see the top, the mountain was so large. It was purely made of rock faces, leaving no way to climb up. A day from the foot of the mountain, the group stopped and made camp, wondering what to do. Henry was against the little ones going while Ron didn't think it was worth the risk. Before they could debate further, Gennai walked up to them. "I see you have found Trial Mountain."

"Yes." The group agreed.

"Are you going to climb it?"

"All but the little ones and Ron." Henry said.

"You don't understand. If someone tries to hold back any from the mountain, that person will become a slave. Each person will have to decide if they are willing to climb."

The group began talking amongst themselves but Gennai stopped them. "I must warn you that once you climb the mountain, all bonds will be broken. Only your spirit itself will remain. People you love with all your heart will become strangers and you will have to live with the memories of that." With that, Gennai walked away, leaving everyone to their thoughts.

Any who face Trial Mountain with the intent to climb gains enough insight to give them a good look at their reasons for climbing. As such, the group realized that the cloaked stranger was working to destroy both worlds. They also saw that if they failed the climb, they would not be able to guard their Digital Worlds or see their friends and loved ones.

Although he loved Quidditch and didn't want to let the team down, Harry decided that he would rather try to take down this stranger than live. He had to save the school from him at any cost. As soon as Harry resigned himself to the task, he felt empty. He knew that these people around him should be familiar but he didn't recognize one. His body felt chained to the ground and he felt alone. When he tried to remember his own name or where he came from, he had no answer. He no longer felt the breeze or heard anyone talking, as he was now a spirit in a lifeless shell. For the second time in his life, Harry Potter was dead.

The group watched as Harry's eyes glazed over and noticed that he was no longer the person they knew. This scared off a large amount of the group, making them decide it wasn't worth it. Even so, some people rose to the challenge. The change grew to affect: Takuya, Marcus, Suzie, Izzy, Ken, Draco, and Koichi. As each rose to the challenge mentally, bonds were broken both ways. Even Henry didn't know he was a brother, now believing himself to be an only child.

While everyone slept, a group of people vanished.

The Beginning.

A boy with red, orange, and yellow hair woke up in a bed. He was wearing strange clothing and had no idea where he was. A woman walked in and handed him a simple robe with so many holes that it only really covered the rear. The boy quickly removed all of his clothes and put the robe on. It was so threadbare that it gave him no warmth. "I know you are confused Blaze. You don't remember, but you chose to trade your life for a spiritual journey. You decided that your one purpose in life was to climb to the top of Lord's Mountain." This process was repeated for all the new arrivals.

Harry

Blaze walked outside The Beginning, eager to start his trek. Though he didn't know who he used to be, he wouldn't stop until he had made it. The boy walked up an easy trail that snaked up Lord's mountain, glad at the easy pace. Though he did not know it, he was not even a human. He wondered why his hair was three different colors but it really didn't matter. All he was wondering was how it had gotten so cold and how quickly he would be able to make it up the mountain.

Draco

Snake was growing tired. The cold was really getting to him, only the thought of the top of the mountain keeping him from stopping. His shoulder had been bleeding for hours after he had slipped and hit a rock. Whenever he looked back, it looked like The Beginning was still right there and the peak of Lord's Mountain was still as far away as ever.

Koichi

Shadow had been reduced to crawling along on hands and knees, his already torn robe not even covering him. He could barely concentrate for it felt like part of his head was fighting with the other. Since the boy who once went by the name of Koichi no longer had any connection to his spirits, they kept flickering between the pure Lowemon and JagerLowemon to the corrupt Duskmon and Velgemon and back.

Suzie

Clover had never felt so alone in her life. Though she kept walking, all she wanted was to turn around. Many times she had tried to walk back to The Beginning, but her feet would only obey her if she was trying to go up.

Ken

For the fifteenth time in an hour, Fly stopped and screamed, clutching his neck. It felt like something was trying to grow through the skin there, making it extremely difficult to move forward.

Izzy

Beetle couldn't take it. His mind was rebelling, telling him all sorts of stupid things about mountains and death and disease. With each new bit of information, a shooting pain caused him to scream.

Marcus

Fist's hands could not stop shaking. Even at The Beginning, it was all he could do to keep from collapsing. Now, it was worse with the lack of food. At times, he had to crawl on his belly, scraping it along the path to get higher.

Takuya

Heart continued on, one hand on the side of the mountain as he made it along. He had discovered immediately that if he opened his eyes the light would hurt them, forcing him to walk blind

And so the group walked, one by one. Though they did not know it, they were deep in two of the trials. The trek would be difficult as they would have to fight hunger and thirst as well as feel a part of their lives to the extreme.

Tiger's Gate

Eventually, the group reached a gate with a tiger's head engraved on the door. As soon as each passed under it, every molecule in their bodies seemed to cry out in pain. The pain was so intense that they couldn't move or even breathe.

Phoenix Gate

The next gate guarded a pool of liquid that covered the path. Any part of the body that touched it was glued down to the ground, not able to move. As they struggled, more and more of each person was trapped in the muck. Once the body had been completely encased, the struggling spirit broke free. None of the trekkers knew that this would come into play at a later trial.

Turtle Gate

When they passed through the turtle gate, each person felt their weight double. It became harder to move, each person slowed to a crawl.

First Dragon Gate

Under the first dragon gate, each person lost the weight they had been carrying, instead being forced to struggle to breathe. Though they could get air, it was so miniscule that spots stayed in everyone's vision. For Blaze, this breathlessness was caused by a lack of heat and fire, dimming the flames to a half inch boy.

The Gate of the Angel Lord

The next gate carried the symbol of a male angel. When they passed this gate, each person lost all their senses. It was hard for them to move when they couldn't feel or see the ground, causing them to rely on instinct.

The Gate of the Angel Lady

The second half of a set, once they passed the next angel gate, each person felt all their senses flare up to extremes. The aura of every living thing for miles around caused Blaze to falter while the others had to deal with sight. Every step felt like someone had slammed their feet into the ground and each noise made heads spin.

The Gate of the Angel Beast

Now tired, hungry, dehydrated and bruised, the only comfort the trekkers had was the return of their senses to normal. This was dashed as Clover saw the body of her brother, bleeding; Snake saw his house-elf kill him; Heart saw his parents split up, Blaze saw Lord Voldermort; Shadow saw himself being possessed; Beetle watched himself kill his best friend; Fly saw himself unable to think; and Fist saw a child beat him up.

The Second Dragon Gate

As they approached the last gate, the trekkers were shaken to the core. However, as each neared it they were attacked by themselves. Some fought, others let themselves be hit, and still others dodged.

The Temple of the Sovereign

As each entered the temple at the top of the hill, all their old memories returned. The feeling that they had betrayed their friends shocked each to the core, causing many tears to be shed. Once the group reunited, a voice rang out, "Why do you weep?"

"We have betrayed our friends." Harry answered

"Nay, you have shown that you value them." The large two headed turtle known as Ebowamon said.

"We've come to discover how to help this place."

"Defeat the eight shadows."

"Shadows?"

"Yes. Randalf was the first. There are seven that serve their master. The second, the one you must face is named Bruce."

"And defeating each will heal this land a bit more?"

"Yes it shall. Now, you have all completed the Trials."

The group nodded.

"Although you will be given many gifts, they will take time to grow. The first one that you have earned is the ability to see into the future. This will be unpredictable, both blessing and curse. Before you leave here, know this. When you crossed over into the world at the base of the mountains, you died. No one will know this save you and gifts granted to those who return from death will appear to you. Now go!" As he spoke these last words, Ebowamon and the temple faded away, leaving the group standing in front of the rest of the Digidestined.

Apparently I like killing people. Now that the group knows about Bruce, they will work harder than ever to stop him