I don't own Digimon.

Well it's Friday and it's time to post the new chapter. I was glad that most of you were excited about Piedmon's return and they fight he had with BlackWarGreymon. But what about Daemon? What's his stake in all this? Will he work with Piedmon or betray him? and will he be able to take Ken now that Davis is dead? Can they defeat him without Imperialdramon? How will the DigiDestined defeat Piedmon without the power of their crests?

Also I noticed that no one noticed that Piedmon used an attack that wasn't his own. I figured one of you would notice but no one did. Can anyone guess where he got that attack? It will eventually be revealed in a later chapter but I want to see if any of you can guess.

Well, enough of me blabbing, enjoy the chapter!

Once A Leader….

Chapter 10: Golden Radiance

Tai looked over his shoulder and watched as the portal to the Digital World quickly closed behind him. There was no going back now.

"This place gives me the creeps." Agumon commented as he looked around. "And why am I grey?"

"Huh?" Looking down at his hands and clothes, Tai noticed that he too was lacking color. "I guess they don't call it the Dark Ocean for nothing."

"I guess…" Agumon said, clearly not liking being colorless. "So where to now?"

"We have to find Kari. Ken said that they were near the ocean and I can hear the sound of waves just ahead of us." Tai said. "If we find the ocean, we'll find this Dragomon and Kari."

As they made their way toward the ocean, Tai couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. But there were no other sounds except for the waves, not even their footsteps. It was as if the ocean was all there was to this world and nothing else mattered.

"Tai…I don't want to worry you but I can't smell anything with my nose." Agumon said as they entered the sandy beach. "I should be able to smell the ocean but I can't, my nose isn't working."

"I can't smell anything either." Looking around, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, aside from the lack of senses and color.

"Didn't Ken say that the Divermon came from the ocean?" Agumon asked as he pointed at the water.

"Yea…" Tai didn't know what would happen if he went into the water. He honestly didn't want to go in there but if he couldn't find a trace of Kari on land then the water would be the place left to look.

"Hey, Tai, isn't that a cave over there?" Agumon asked. The orange Digimon tugged at Tai's sleeve to get his attention and pointed the edge of the water where an entrance to what looked like a tunnel was at. The tunnel was dark but what wasn't in this world.

"Let's check it out, maybe Kari's in there." Tai said as he made his way over there.

To their surprise, the tunnel had very faint lights at the top of the arched ceiling. While not a lot of light, it was enough to light their way as they went further in. It wasn't long before the tunnel curved and began to descent, telling Tai and Agumon that they were heading toward the ocean and down to the bottom at that.

After what seemed like hours, they finally made it to the bottom and they continued their way down the tunnel. Not once did they hear a sound, not even of them taking a breath. It seemed as though the tunnel could deprive them all of their senses except for sight. They couldn't feel the steps they took nor could they feel any coldness expected from the bottom of the ocean.

As they walked, Tai recalled a time when Sora had confided in him about an experience she had in the Digital World just before the final battle with Piedmon. She had told him that in her despair, a darkness had taken ahold of her and she found herself sinking in a dark cave. Nothing, not even Biyomon's words could snap her out of it. Not until Joe and Matt came to her rescue. She told him that the Darkness had deprived her of all her senses, she could only hear herself as she muttered her own failures over and over again. It was an experience that still gave her nightmares at times.

Tai couldn't help but wonder if he was stuck in the same kind of cave that Sora had been in. This definitely felt like the cave that Sora had described to him except that it was a tunnel.

"Um…Tai?"

"Yea, Agumon?"

"Is it just me or do you get the feeling that we're being watched?" Agumon asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"No, I've had the exact same feeling since we arrived." Tai told him.

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's probably not here to lay out the welcome wagon."

/\(-\/-)/\

Tai and Agumon finally reached the end of the tunnel and they were surprised to see a giant castle in front of them. The castle was so massive that they couldn't even see the top. Covered in seaweed, moss, and barnacles, this castle had obviously been there for a long time.

It was here that Tai finally felt the coldness of the ocean and he could see that on either side of him, there stood a clear dome that kept the water out. The dome stretched, Tai assumed, all over the castle making it even that much more impressive. But beyond the clear dome, Tai could see nothing but black water. No life seemed to exist in those depths which made him glad that he didn't try to take a swim.

As quickly and quietly as they could, Tai and Agumon made their way toward the castle's front door and snuck inside by walking underneath the crack under the massive wooden doors.

"Can you believe the size of this place?" Tai asked in wonder as he stared at the entrance of the castle. The hall led them to an antechamber that had several doors that led them to other places of the castle. But with a place this huge, where would they even begin to look?

"This place makes the Giga house look like a child's play house." Agumon said as he looked around. "I think I better Digivolve now…whatever lives here is obviously a lot bigger than me."

"Good idea."

Riding on Greymon's back made the trip a little faster than going on foot but even then, the sheer size of the place continued to overwhelm them. Tai vaguely recalled the tale of Jack and the Bean stalk and he hoped that there wasn't a giant there to greet them.

They made their way toward the center of the castle, looking for the throne room. Tai hoped that there would be something there that would help them find Kari. But when they arrived, they found that the castle was not empty. Sitting on the massive throne on the opposite side of the room sat a large Digimon with a body made up of tentacles. It was the only way that Tai could describe it. Though its appearance was humanoid, its limbs were made entirely up of tentacles. It had two large dragon like wings and it wore a large pearl necklace. Judging from its size, Tai guessed that the Digimon was as big as MetalGreymon.

But what Tai saw next caused him to stop dead in his tracks. Right above the throne, just a few yards above the Digimon's head sat a glowing golden orb. The orb held Kari and Salamon at its center and they appeared to be unconscious.

Then as Tai prepared to make his way toward the Digimon he assumed was Dragomon, several dark figures rose from the stone floor and surrounded them.

"What the?!" Tai exclaimed as he looked around him. There were about 50 or so figures and the only distinct feature they had were their glowing red eyes.

"So you've come, Child of Courage." Came the deep voice of Dragomon.

"What have you done to my sister, you creep?" Tai asked, looking over the many heads to stare at the much larger Digimon.

"I have done nothing…" Dragomon said, motioning toward the golden orb. "The Golden Radiance, however, has done plenty to shield her from me…"

"Then I guess I own this 'Golden Radiance' a thank you." Tai said, feeling somewhat relieved that his sister had been safe the whole time. Now he just had to get her out of this dark world and back home where she belonged.
"It's true that you owe it gratitude…" Dragomon nodded. But as he said this, the massive Digimon leaned forward in his seat and looked at Tai and Greymon with eyes that promised much pain. "However you will not be spared from my wrath…"

With a wave from his hand, the dark figures all shed their 'skin' and the Divermon pulled out their harpoons and charged. Greymon reared his head and fried the first few Divermon that attacked him head on. Tai caught one of the harpoons that had been launched at him and used it to knock aside any Divermon that tried to climb onto Greymon's back.

But their numbers proved to be too much and Tai was thrown off of Greymon's back as the dinosaur Digimon was knocked down. Tai got up and tried to defend his partner but there were too many of them and he was knocked aside.

Greymon got up and used his tail to swat the closest ones aside. Rearing his head, the champion Digimon fired off several fireballs at the Divermon but it wasn't enough. They kept their distance and threw their harpoons at him. It rained metal and Greymon was forced to use his body to protect Tai.

"Greymon!" From underneath him, Tai could see the droplets of blood that began to fall from his many wounds. To his credit, Greymon didn't shout in pain but his body did flinch from the pain.

"A-Are you o-okay?" Greymon managed to ask. He was breathing heavily and each of his breaths were becoming shallower and shallower. His helmet had protected his head but the rest of his body had no such protection.

"Greymon…" Tai could feel his partner's pain and he knew that he didn't have long for this world. Tears began to form in Tai's eyes and he reached up to hug his partner's neck. "Greymon…"

"Tai…get…Kari…run…" Greymon breathed out. He knew that he was fading fast and he would use whatever time that he had left to distract the Divermon so that Tai could get to Kari.

With a mighty roar, Greymon spun around and charged at the Divermon, barreling thru them, stomping, swatting, and chomping his way through them. He was heading toward the Digimon that sat on the throne, the Digimon that needed to be distracted the most; Dragomon.

Tai watched for moment before he followed in his partner's footsteps and hurried over to his sister's side. Tears still streamed down from his eyes as Tai stabbed and slashed his way through the Divermon with the harpoon he had picked up. Using his superior speed, Tai leaped into the Divermon that stood in his way and plunged the harpoon handle deep into its chest. But as the light faded from its eyes, Tai took its harpoon and threw at the approaching Divermon, taking out its eye.

The Digimon screeched in pain as it reached up to its face, dropping its weapon on the ground. Tai wasted no time and closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds. He leaped into the air and kicked the handle of the harpoon deeper into its head, killing it instantly. He landed in a crouch as the Digimon began to fade into data and he picked up its fallen weapon. Tai made his way thru the chaos that Greymon had created and closed the distance between them.

Greymon's vision was beginning to blur but he could still see Dragomon, who had already gotten up from his seat. The winged tentacle Digimon was much larger than Greymon but he didn't care, all he had to do was keep him busy. Greymon fired off a Nova Blast but Dragomon swatted it aside with its massive tentacled-limb. Greymon charged, attempting to gore it with his horns but Dragomon knocked him aside with its trident.

"You dare attack me head on!?" Dragomon asked, clearly outraged at the offense that Greymon had committed. He pressed the butt of the trident against Greymon's throat. "You insect…you dare think yourself my equal? You dare think that you can defeat me?"

Greymon was too weak to fight back and he simply laid there as he felt himself get weaker and weaker. His vision began to go dark and he felt his body begin to shrink. Within moments, he turned back into Agumon.

"You pathetic excuse for a Digimon…" Dragomon said as he towered over the rookie Digimon. "You lack the strength to even keep your champion form…" And to prove his point, Dragomon wrapped his tentacles around Agumon's body raised him to face him. "You will suffer for your insolence until the very end."

While Dragomon's attention was on Agumon, Tai had climbed up to the very top of the throne chair. Standing on its top, Tai looked down at his target and did something that Sora would've killed him if she saw him; he jumped.

"Hey, ugly!" Tai shouted as he fell thru the air. Dragomon turned around toward the direction of the shout and was shocked to see Tai flying toward him. Too stunned to react in time, Tai was able to raise the harpoon in his hands and plunge it handle deep into Dragomon's left eye.

Dragomon let lose a blood curling shriek of pain as he released Agumon and dropped him on the seat of the throne. He thrashed around wildly, in obvious pain, stomping on what remained of the Divermon. Tai held onto the handle of the harpoon as if his life depended on it, which it did. He was sure that he had dislocated at least one of his shoulders but he refused to let go. If he did, it would mean certain death.

Dragomon reached up tried to claw out the harpoon that was still imbedded into his eye when he felt that Tai was still hanging on. Wrapping his tentacles around the accursed boy, Dragomon brought him down to face him.

"YOU DARE INJURE ME!?" He bellowed. His voice caused the entire castle to rumble and Tai was sure that he felt his bones rattle. "You miserable little reprobate! You think you know pain? I will have you wishing for something as sweet as pain when I thru with you!"

Despite the tentacles that were crushing the life out of him, Tai managed to speak. "Fck…you!"

"No…that pleasure will go to your sister…" Dragomon reached up and grabbed the golden orb with him other hand, bringing it up to Tai' face. "I will make your sister my bride and our children will help me take over the Digital World!" He then began to squeeze the orb in an attempt to break it. "I will keep you alive and make you watch as I ravish your sister in front of you. I will enjoy watching you hear her screams and watch as you try in vain to stop me. But that's not all, I will make you watch as I kill each and every one of the DigiDestined. And when their bodies lay broken in front of you and their blood covers your body like a blanket, only then will I end your miserable life."

Tai could barely keep his anger in check as he heard Dragomon explain his fate. He didn't care that he was just a human being, he wanted to tear that monster limb from limb. He struggled against the tentacles that held him but he couldn't break them.

"You sick fck!" Tai shouted as he struggled. "I won't let you get anywhere near my sister!"

Before Dragomon could respond, a golden light flashed before his eyes. His gaze turned from Tai to the orb in his left hand. Light, golden light, broke through the openings in his grip and it began to burn the ultimate Digimon.

"What?" Dragomon released the orb and backed away as it stayed floating in midair.

The golden light illuminated the entire room and for the time since he arrived, Tai could see the world in color. He could also see the worried expression in Dragomon's eyes as he backed away.

"What are you doing?" Dragomon asked, half angry, half scared. Whatever that light was, it could actually hurt him and Tai was hoping that it would kill Dragomon.

"Tai!" looking over at the throne, Tai could see that Agumon was standing up and he was glowing with the same golden light. With a nod, Tai reached for his D-3 and aimed it at his partner.

Agumon Warp Digivolve to…WarGreymon!

A light had shot out of his D-3 and engulfed Agumon, allowing him to Digivolve into his mega form. But what caught Tai's eye was that WarGreymon was engulf in the same golden aura that protected Kari.

"You ready for round two?" WarGreymon asked.

Faster than Dragomon could see (with his one good eye), WarGreymon crossed the distance between them and cut Tai free from Dragomon's grasp. The ultimate Digimon shrieked in pain once more as his right hand was cut to shreds. Tai found himself being set down on the floor beside where the golden orb had touched down. WarGreymon then turned his attention back on Dragomon and prepared to charge.

"You have become strong…" It was a statement, not a question. Dragomon eyed the mega with a wary eye and began to weigh his options. He didn't have the strength to take him on with the Golden Radiance helping him. It was time to retreat in order to live to fight another day. With a wave of his hand, a loud rumble was heard and the entire castle shook. "I have removed the dome keeping the water out of the castle. Within minutes this entire place will be buried under the might of the Dark Ocean."

"You bastard!" Wasting no time, WarGreymon picked Tai up and flew toward the exit, following the golden orb.

All around them, the castle began to fall apart and black water rushed in all around them. Tai kept his head down as WarGreymon flew as fast as he could, dodging falling debris and water. The golden orb was several yards ahead of them, guiding them through the chaotic maze. It led them back toward the tunnel that they had originally come thru and they flew straight thru it. The water was nipping at their heels, gaining on them with each passing second and Tai was worried that they wouldn't make it. But just as the water reached WarGreymon's legs, they escaped the tunnel with black water exploding around them.

WarGreymon continued to follow the golden orb until it stopped in the middle of the forest several miles away from the ocean. It gently touched down on the grass, turning it green with its touch, and something happened that Tai never thought possible. A voice spoke to him from within the orb that wasn't Kari's.

"Come inside…" The voice said, sounding urgent. "Your friends need you!"

Needing no other invitation, Tai and WarGreymon stepped inside of the orb. WarGreymon found himself becoming Agumon once again despite not releasing his mega form. Then before they could ask how they would be retuning back to the Digital World, the light flashed brilliantly before them and everything went white.

When Tai opened his eyes, he was standing in the middle of forest that he had found Ken and the others with Kari in his arms. Agumon was kneeling beside Salamon but the orange Digimon was staring at the unconscious rookie beside him. No, his attention was in the sky far above them. Tai couldn't believe his eyes yet he was staring up at the chained form of Azulongmon writhing in pain in the sky. Then as quickly it had appeared the Sovereign Digimon disappeared as if it had never been there.

Tai wasn't sure what had happened but things were not looking good and he had a feeling that they were about to get worse…

End of chapter.

Tai is back! And he's got Kari! But what was that being of golden light that help them? Could it be the spirit of light that possessed Kari so long ago? Or is it another spirit? All that and more will be revealed in the next episode of Digimon Digital Monsters! Lol. If you think you know what that light was then let me know in the reviews. If you guess it correctly then I will Pm you and let you know if you were right or not.

Also Agumon was able to Warp Digivolve with help in this chapter. He doesn't have the ability to do it on his own. But will Tai discover another way to help his friend reach the mega level once more? And what will Kari's condition be after being trapped in that world for so long?

Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. If you want to know what happens next, 7 reviews are needed for this chapter since ch.9 only got 6 reviews. Once ch.10 gets 7 then I will post the next chapter up as promised. Otherwise it won't be up until next Friday.

Until next time.

R&R.