Children of the Past

by Zero Unit RGB

Five children from all over the world were strangers to each other until they were suddenly summoned to the Digital World. They were chosen to save it from the forces of darkness and they find that a little friendship goes a long way. But will they be able to save the world and return home? Only one way to find out! Do not have to read Children of the Present to read this. REVIEW!

10. All The DigiDestined

I'm back in my groove and it's finally time for me to get this story to the good stuff! Let's take this in full swing guys! Hope you all enjoy and please leave a review! Also, thank you everyone who has shown their support to me. I only send personalized PMs to those who review but for every favorite and follow, they mean a lot to me as well. I love you guys!

-X-

Termination Jungle – 11:15 PM

The blond boy sat at the stone table, being served tea by the friendly Dokugumon in the middle of the humid jungle. His partner, a dragon Digimon, sat next to him. The two of them were chatting amiably with the arachnid Digimon.

"Again, we are so sorry to attack you," said the lead Dokugumon. "We thought you were one of Apocalymon's minions! But that is absolutely no way to treat one of the legendary heroes of the Digital World!"

The boy laughed along with them. "I already said it was fine! I'm not hurt and neither is my partner."

"I guess so," Dokugumon nodded. "Now, you must tell me how you plan on dealing with that pest, Apocalymon. Furthermore, where are those other humans foretold of in the prophecy? I thought that there were supposed to be six of you. At least, that's what that fire wizard Digimon told us."

The boy looked down, his expression reading as low-spirited and the Dokugumon immediately started apologizing for making him feel depressed.

"No, it's not your fault," he shook his head. "It's just that… I got separated from the other humans a while ago. I don't know where they are. But we made a meeting place in case that happened, Leomon Village, you wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"

The matriarch spider brightened up considerably upon hearing this. "Yes, as a matter of fact, we do! The Leomon Village isn't too far in the eastern direction. If you keep on your path over here, you'll make it there by tomorrow morning! Well, that's assuming if you start traveling there right away. But I assume you're very tired."

The boy shook his head again but he was smiling gratefully this time. "I'm not tired at all! You don't need to worry about me! But it would be very nice to rest for a while. I just hope we're not invading your space."

"Not at all! You're one of the heroes! Take all the time you need to rest up!"

"Thank you."

He stood up at the same time the ground began shaking. The Dokugumon began looking around frantically whereas the human's partner slowly got up from his resting position. His pupils dilated into slits as he began growling.

"Wh-What's happening, matriarch?" one of the Dokugumon asked.

"I don't know!" she replied.

From the trees emerged a large dinosaur-like creature with horns sticking out of his head. The Dokugumon dwarfed in size to this massive creature. But the most notable feature was a glowing Dark Chain wrapped around his neck.

"It's one of Apocalymon's goons! For real this time!" the Dokugumon yelped.

"It's Tuskmon!" one of the other Dokugumon screamed.

The matriarch turned to the human pleadingly. "We need your help! Normally, we'd be able to ward this monster away no problem but that Dark Chain could get us too! Please help us take him down! As one of the Chosen Children, you and your partner are immune to those evil powers."

The human nodded as the Dokugumon kept their several eyes on the Digimon. "You won't have to worry about the Dark Chain around Tuskmon," he said as he pulled out his bronze key. "You have to worry about the ones I have for you." He held up his blue D-Sync and turned the lock before any of the kind bugs could register what he just said. "D-Lock 1 Disengaged! Initiate Digivolution!"

Desert West Town – 1:25 PM

"I'm glad you're doing better now FlaWizardmon," Rai smiled as she tended to their former foe.

"Well… I'm just glad you were able to stop me before I could do any more damage than I already had," FlaWizard chuckled. He then looked over to Wizardmon who hadn't degenerated back to his regular form. "I've got to say, evolution looks good on you."

Wizardmon looked away and his collar was able to cover up the fact that he was blushing. "Thanks…"

They were all in the saloon which was mostly okay if singed a little on the outside. Lillymon had brought out a first-aid kit but after a while of getting tangled in the gauze, it became very clear that the only one capable of using the contents of the kit was Rai. Etemon was serving everyone in the saloon cool milk so that they could relax from the initial panic they had experienced.

FlaWizardmon thanked the primate Digimon for the beverage before looking over to the sheriff. "I'm sorry about what I did to your deputies…"

"We all make mistakes," SuperStarmon sighed. "Besides, they'll be reborn one day. And on that day, I'll be sure to train them to become the best deputies this here town has ever seen."

"I'll look forward to that day," FlaWizardmon smiled. "Though, I'll refrain from destroying them next time."

"That would be a great help to me!" SuperStarmon laughed, smacking FlaWizardmon's back so hard that his head slammed into the bar table.

"Are you okay?" Rai blinked.

"I'm fine…," he moaned. "There's a reason why I'm an Armor Digimon. I'm pretty durable in that sense." He then looked back over to his childhood friend. "You know, you could take a seat next to me instead of awkwardly standing there."

"Oh… Right…," Wizardmon nodded. He continued standing there.

"…"

"…"

"I said…"

"I like standing…"

Rai looked between the two mages. She was pretty good at reading the atmosphere and she didn't feel it to be awkward or tense between these two, so what exactly was the problem? She still felt the need to defuse this somehow though. "Um… FlaWizardmon, when do you think you'll be well enough to go back to Magic Village? I'm sure that everyone back there is really worried about you, especially your sister, Witchmon."

"That's right…," FlaWizardmon blinked. "Wizardmon… I was really worried about you! You really shouldn't have left without telling me! I'm really proud of you for finding your partner and finally digivolving but you had us all really worried."

Wizardmon looked down. "I know. I'm really sorry. But I was just afraid that you'd stop me…"

He sighed. "I guess I would've… Even if it would've been hypocritical since I'm always telling you to stick to what you believe in."

"Then why would you have…?"

"I don't know," FlaWizardmon shrugged. "Maybe because I'd be worried about you? Maybe because I'm afraid of losing you? Maybe because I'm in love you?"

Everyone in the saloon who heard him blushed and those who were drinking; did a spit take with their milk. Wizardmon began speaking in tongues while blushing so hard that his clothes were glowing red. FlaWizardmon began laughing raucously, like someone had just told the best joke in the universe.

"I knew it! You were just kidding!" Wizardmon snapped indignantly. He was still glowing crimson though.

"He really does fool with your heartstrings even when he's not controlled," Lillymon gasped for air.

"It makes my heart pound so painfully when he says such naughty things," Etemon agreed in the same way.

"I should be arrested for the filthy thoughts that have entered my mind," SuperStarmon huffed while holding up his handcuffs.

Rai giggled. "You really do like to joke around, don't you?"

FlaWizardmon looked away with a half-convincing smile. "Yeah… I do…"

Rai could see how solemn FlaWizardmon had become and she suddenly felt bad. And she only felt worse when her partner couldn't pick up on the pyromancer's tone. Wizardmon was pretty dense, after all. But even so, it would appear that the not-so-bright residents of Desert West Town had picked up on it as well. Wizardmon really was hopeless.

"Ah!" Wizardmon blinked. Everyone else other than FlaWizardmon turned to him. Did he figure it out? "FlaWizardmon! We need your help!" The others dropped their expectations while FlaWizardmon turned back to his friend. "We got separated from our friends and we really must return to them! But I don't know how to use my magic very well yet. Do you think you can help us get back to them? Something really bad could've happened to them."

FlaWizardmon nodded. "Sure, that shouldn't be a problem. But I can tell you're in a rush so I'll give you a shortcut spell."

"A shortcut spell?"

"Yes," he nodded. "You see, if you have an item that was precious or holds many memories of its owner, then you can trace it back to that owner. Then, using your Magical Game: Teleportation spell, you should transport yourself to a spot close to the owner of that object."

Wizardmon looked to Rai. "Do we have anything like that?"

Rai didn't think so until she felt a hand on her head. It was FlaWizardmon and his hand reminded her that she was still wearing Babel's hat.

"Babel's hat!" she gasped.

"I can feel the presence of its previous owner," FlaWizardmon grinned. "So I know that you can use this to take yourself to him."

"This is great!" Rai smiled.

"Yeah, it is," Wizardmon nodded in agreement. "What about you FlaWizardmon? Will you be able to go back home?"

"I'll be fine… I don't need you worrying about me," FlaWizardmon chuckled. "Now go, you're in a rush right?"

Wizardmon nodded again as he took the baseball cap in both of his hands. He closed his eyes as he drew out Babel's essence from it, it retraced back to its original owner and he could see in his mind's eye; Babel and Betamon, both of whom were holding on to what looked like a giant bird leg, flying through the desert. It was an odd vision but it must've meant something.

"I know where to go," Wizardmon smiled. He turned to FlaWizardmon and hesitantly gave him a hug. "I'm really glad that you're okay. I really missed you…"

FlaWizardmon returned the gesture. "I missed you too. But I know you'll come back to me, and when that day comes, we'll be able to celebrate our independence from Apocalymon. On that day, I'll be very proud of you, maybe just as proud as I am of you right now."

"Thanks… Say 'hi' to my brother and your sister for me."

"No problem." FlaWizardmon paused as Wizardmon got ready to use the spell. "Hold on. I have one more thing to impart on you."

"What is it?"

"This." FlaWizardmon pulled Wizardmon close to him, tugging the mage's collar down so that his mouth was exposed. He then placed a kiss right on the smaller wizard's mouth, causing the residents of the town to go crazy. Rai was also blushing as well, even through her dark skin, it was clear.

"W-w-w-what was that for?" Wizardmon stammered once he was able to pull away. If the people in the saloon were blushing, then he was absolutely on fire. His entire body, including his clothes, was a bright shade of crimson.

FlaWizardmon shrugged with a coy and rather triumphant smile on his face. "Let's just say it's like a little charm for good luck. Though I know you don't need it."

"…Come on…," Wizardmon said to his partner. "W-We're going now…"

Rai quickly said her goodbyes to Etemon, Lillymon, and SuperStarmon before she and Wizardmon vanished. At the last second before they had transported, Wizardmon whispered a soft goodbye to FlaWizardmon.

"They were nice kids," Etemon sighed.

Lillymon nodded in agreement. "Oh, darling, I'm starting cry a bit. I swore I wouldn't cry but I just so hate goodbyes."

"I feel like a waterfall," SuperStarmon sobbed. "Today shall always be national 'Rai and Candlemon Day!'"

"Shouldn't it be 'Candlemon and Rai Day'?" Etemon asked.

"How about just national 'DigiDestined Day'?" Lillymon offered.

SuperStarmon rubbed his… chin thoughtfully before turning to their guest from Magic Village. "What do you think, FlaWizardmon?"

"I say… we save it for the day they defeat Apocalymon," he chuckled before looking back at the spot his childhood friend had been standing just moments ago. "I'll be waiting for you back home… Candlemon…"

Termination Jungle – 12:24 PM

"FanBeemon?" Janyu called. He was really getting worried about his partner now. The insect Digimon had gone off about an hour ago to gather some more fruits for lunch but he hadn't been back since. It shouldn't take that long to gather fruit, should it?

Robert walked over to the Chinese boy. "We should probably go look for him."

"Yeah, let's go," Janyu nodded.

"Shouldn't one of us stay here in case FanBeemon comes back?" Ryudamon asked.

"Can he read?" Robert asked.

"Only Digi-Code," Ryudamon told them. "I can leave a message for him if you want. It'll only take a few moments." He spent his time gathering some pebbles from the stream and rearranging them into a language that neither of the humans had ever seen before in their lives. "There. It says that we're going off to look for FanBeemon and that he should wait here for us."

"Perfect," Robert grinned. "We'll look for him for one hour. If we can't find him, we'll come back here to see if he came back."

"Sounds like a pretty good plan," Janyu nodded.

"See?" the American laughed. "I told Daisy that I could…" He trailed off when he remembered that Daisy had decided to try and find a way home. He hoped that both she and Babel were able to find DarkTrailmon or some other method of returning to Earth.

"Yeah," Janyu nodded, ignoring the statement which was good, Robert didn't want to talk about the deserters. "We've got to find FanBeemon."

The three of them packed up their stuff and reentered the jungle in search of their friend. As they traveled through the dense, humid rainforest, they couldn't really find any signs of FanBeemon anywhere. After about twenty minutes of walking, they were about ready to give up and start heading back to the riverbed to see if Janyu's partner had gone back. But just as they were about to go back, Ryudamon noticed a fruit lying on the ground.

"Hey, look!" Ryudamon pointed.

"What?" Robert blinked before following his partner's eyes to the purple, pear-shaped fruit. "It's just a fruit."

Janyu was able to get what was wrong with the picture. "Yeah, but look around it. There aren't any trees around that grow that fruit on their branches so it couldn't have fallen off. That must've been a fruit that FanBeemon was carrying."

"He sure went far to get it then," Robert whistled.

Ryudamon began sniffing the ground near the fruit before catching on to their friend's scent. Not only that but, he caught the scent of a three other creatures. "The soil here is slightly upturned and it makes a barely visible trail in that direction," the dragon Digimon pointed out. "It seems like FanBeemon got into a scuffle and then was dragged away. He must've dropped the fruit by accident or even on purpose so that we could find him."

Janyu's worries now had some ground to stand on. "Then we have to save him!" He ran off ahead of them.

"Wait, Janyu!" Robert called after the boy as he pursued him. "You can't just go off on your own!"

Robert and his partner stopped when they heard Janyu scream. They glanced at each other before crouching down and taking a more stealthy approach to wherever they were going. As they got closer to where they heard Janyu's scream, they could see that he was tied up by some white substance. In front of him were three arachnid Digimon and they were dragging him away somewhere. Most likely the same place where they had taken FanBeemon as well.

"Dokugumon," Ryudamon hissed.

Robert stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Ugh, I hate spiders. And those are huge!"

"Did you see what was on their legs?"

"No, but I can take a pretty good guess."

The pair followed them all the way back to their hideout which was actually just a clearing in the jungle. It wasn't very clear at the moment though, everywhere you looked, you could see spider webs. In one that was made just as artists would depict them, FanBeemon was entangled and struggling to escape. Janyu was thrown down next to him.

"Janyu! Are you okay?" FanBeemon asked, concerned.

"Yeah… I'm okay, more or less," Janyu nodded meekly. "But what happened?"

"I was ambushed," FanBeemon explained. "I couldn't digivolve without you so I was completely defenseless against three Champion-level Digimon."

"Don't worry, we're going to get out of here soon enough," Janyu promised.

The Dokugumon started murmuring to each other before parting like elevator doors as their matriarch crawled past them. She began climbing the web until she was right above the human and his Digimon partner.

"What shall we do about them, matriarch?" asked one of the Dokugumon.

"Exactly what Lord Apocalymon wants us to do," the matriarch replied venomously. "We shall exterminate them like the insects they are."

"Hey!" FanBeemon buzzed. "Janyu is not an insect!"

"That's what you're mad about?" Janyu sighed.

"How are those two so calm while being surrounded by giant spiders?" Robert muttered. "For one thing, one of them is literally a snack food for them. Not to mention, these things are incredibly disgusting and disturbing. God… I hate spiders…"

"Rob… You really don't like spiders…," Ryudamon mumbled.

"That's what I've been saying!" Robert shook his head as he realized he should've been focusing on trying to save his abducted comrades. He held up his key and his D-Sync as he got ready for their rescue mission. "You ready?" After getting an affirmative nod from his partner, he turned the key. "D-Lock 1 Disengaged! Initiate Digivolution!"

"Ryudamon Digivolve to… Ginryumon!"

Desert of Emptiness – 12:34 PM

Babel was laughing uncontrollably after Rai's retelling of what had transpired back at Desert West Town. "Congratulations Candlemon! You experienced your first kiss!"

"Sh-Shut up!" Candlemon snapped. "I'm not counting it! H-He stole it so it doesn't count! And what makes you think it was my first?!"

"You already sort of admitted it," Daisy pointed out. Even she was trying to stifle a giggle at the thought of a glowing red Wizardmon.

Betamon still seemed clueless to this whole talk concerning romance or even mates. It seemed that everyone could figure out that in comparison to the other Digimon, he was much younger. Which was ironic considering Babel was the oldest human in the group.

"Still… I can't believe you guys were planning on going home," Rai breathed.

"Well, they changed their minds and that's what matters," Salamon smiled.

"Hey, we can't let you and the other two boys do the cool stuff," Daisy grinned.

Babel nodded. "You guys are important to us. There's no way we were going to let you guys handle this dangerous, and possibly suicidal, mission all by yourselves. Besides, I'm the oldest; I've taken on a personal responsibility to watch over you guys."

"How generous," Daisy deadpanned.

"Did you kill yourself making that statement?" Babel shot back.

"Can I kill you with my next one?" Daisy fired.

"There's no need to fight," Betamon interjected. "Also, I just realized something rather troubling."

"What is it?" his partner asked.

"I was just thinking that we all ran into trouble of some sort. FlaWizardmon at the town and these two, we're hitching a ride with, at Meteor Mountain," the amphibious Digimon explained. "So it's very possible that Ryudamon and the others ran into a fight as well. And we all know that we had trouble in our fights. What if they can't get out of theirs?"

"That is rather troubling…," Rai murmured.

"But they're strong too!" Candlemon offered. "They won't go down easily. Not to mention both Digimon are carriers of the X-Antibody which means they're a lot tougher than the rest of us. They can handle almost anything!"

"Still, we should probably hurry just in case," Daisy replied.

Salamon nodded in agreement. "We can't be taking unnecessary risks now." She looked up to the bird Digimon carrying them. "Do you think you could pick up the pace? We want to make sure that we reach our friends before they run into any trouble."

"Not a problem!" Birdramon cawed.

"If you're looking for speed, then you're very lucky to have bumped into us," Saberdramon added.

"As sisters, we are naturally competitive."

"So, if we just imagine this to be a race for some prize…"

"Then we'll surely pick it up a bit."

The two birds glanced each other with fierce and determined expressions before shooting forward like rockets. The riders all had to hold on for dear life so that they wouldn't be kicked off and fall into the endless sea of sand below them.

"This is not 'picking it up a bit'!" Babel shouted over the roar of the wind. "This is a million times more than 'a bit'!"

Dokugumon Den – 12:50 PM

Ginryumon launched out several blades from his mouth, causing the Dokugumon to jump away from the sharp weapons. They cut through the web with ease and both Janyu and FanBeemon fell to the dirt below. Robert sprinted towards them and got to work untangling them while Ginryumon handled keeping them back for as long as he could.

"Thanks," Janyu nodded to Robert once he was free. "D-Lock 1 Disengaged! Initiate Digivolution!"

"FanBeemon Digivolve to… Waspmon!" As the insect Digimon grew in size, he was able to break through the sticky web wrapped around him. As soon as he was free, he started blasting his lasers at the Dokugumon. "How do you like me now?"

"Gah! I've never had lunch attack me before!" one of the Dokugumon yelped.

Robert shuddered before looking over to the other human crouching next to him. "Hey, Janyu, how come you're not afraid of spiders?"

"Eh?" Janyu blinked, not quite understanding the question. "Are you supposed to be?"

"What's with your fascination with bugs?" Robert groaned.

"I don't really have one," Janyu shrugged. "But my family lives on a farm and we all have a good understanding of how bugs help out with our workload. Spiders eliminate the pesky bugs that will be detrimental to the crops and bees help pollinate. The only bug I've ever had a problem with are centipedes and they're everywhere during the rainy season. Have you ever seen a centipede before?"

Robert shook his head and then shuddered as he imagined a centipede. He's never seen one but he figured that the sight of them could be very damaging to his mental health. "I hope I never have to…"

The Dokugumon were being pushed back by the force of two powerful Champions but they were still up against an army of giant spiders. Every time they destroyed one of their Chains, another would replace it from a neighboring Dokugumon that was still under its influence. Two Digimon were not nearly enough to keep up with the waves of enemies. Not to mention, the Dokugumon were able to figure out that the Chosen Digimon had to protect their partners so they had to keep one eye on Robert and Janyu at all times.

"There's no way they can win a fight this imbalanced," Janyu muttered.

"I know," Robert nodded. "But what can we do about it?"

A trio of Dokugumon, including the matriarch, got together. "Poison Cobweb!" Together, they spun a bright purple web that entangled Waspmon and prevented him from moving. The poison it was doused in; seeped into Waspmon's interior circuits.

Ginryumon tried to free Waspmon with his sharp weapons but a Dokugumon jumped on top of him and started spinning a web to keep his limbs restrained. The two humans tried to help out but they were instantly captured by the arachnids.

"Trapped again…," Janyu moaned.

Ginryumon growled in frustration. "This can't possibly get any worse."

"Robert… Do you have any idea of what we can do?" Waspmon hummed.

Whenever they were in tight situations, Robert seemed to come through for them in the past. But the usually positive American boy didn't know what to do. There were only four of them, and only half of that amount was capable of fighting. The truth was, they couldn't win a fight like this without the others. And if they couldn't win against a group of lackeys, how could they ever hope to defeat a monster in control of an entire world?

"This would've happened eventually…" Robert bit his lower lip. "There's no way we would've been able to defeat Apocalymon without Daisy and the others. We're just too weak on our own." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I think it's over… I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Janyu…"

"This isn't the end, Rob!" Ginryumon protested. "We can still win!"

"How?!" Robert shot back.

"You can't," the matriarch cackled as she approached them. All of her eyes gleamed with hunger as she eyed each of them, sizing them up, as if trying to figure out which dish to try on the menu. Her eyes finally stopped on Robert. "Since you seem to be their leader, I want you to witness each of their deaths. And I'll start with the other human."

"No!" Robert gasped.

Janyu froze up as he watched the spiders advance toward him. He's never faced death head on before but he remembered how he felt when they believed that NeoDevimon had killed Rai. He couldn't have Robert go through that same pain.

"Robert… Don't worry about me… You'll find a way out of this…," Janyu told him. The quiver in his voice betrayed the fearlessness he tried to display. Tears involuntarily started falling from his eyes and Waspmon was struggling like crazy as evident by his hectic buzzing. "I'll… be fine…" A smile, a hiss, and a pounce…

Robert shut his eyes and turned away but returned his gaze when he heard a loud slapping sound. His eyes widened when he saw Seadramon there in a pose that showed he had just smacked away the forces of Dokugumon with his large tail.

"Don't you dare hurt our friends!" Seadramon snarled ferociously. "Ice Blast!" He was able to freeze up half of the Dokugumon in their tracks, literally.

Darcmon flew in from above and used her blade with excellent precision to cut through the webs that had ensnared the two humans and their partners. "Dancing Sword!" Once her beautiful display of swordsmanship was done, she looked at all the former captives. "Geez, you guys can't do anything right without us."

The Dokugumon that weren't frozen charged in but they became distracted by another voice. "Magical Game!" About twenty Wizardmon dropped from the sky and took up offensive stances, scaring the remaining six Dokugumon backwards as the humans dropped in as well.

"Sorry, but you just fell for a couple of illusions," Rai grinned.

"Ugh, I've never been on a plane before but I'm pretty sure this is airsickness," Daisy groaned.

"Hey, at least we got here before Janyu got eaten," Babel chuckled before covering his mouth to keep from puking. "Though, a smoother ride would be pretty nice next time."

"Rai!" Janyu gasped as he ran over to her and hugged her. "I was afraid I wouldn't see you again." He then turned to the other two. "You guys too! I'm glad you came back for us…"

"Yeah, well, who else is going to cover your butts when you dive into trouble?" Daisy shrugged.

Robert slowly got up off the ground and walked over to their lost members. When he reached them, he smiled brightly. "I'm glad you guys are here too. I really missed you… Now, why don't we show these bugs what we can do together?"

"Sounds good to me," Babel smirked.

"Ginryumon!" "Waspmon!" "Darcmon!" "Seadramon!" "Wizardmon!" "Attack!"

The five Digimon all nodded as they launched their attacks on the twelve Dokugumons' Dark Chains, releasing them from the evil spell. And once they were free, the DigiDestined finally found a moment to breathe, relax, and celebrate their reunion.

Proxy Island Shore – 2:37 PM

A human boy opened up a bag full of candy, unwrapped one of them, and popped it into his mouth. He chewed methodically as he watched the screen in front of him and listened to NeoDevimon's report. He leaned his head against Tuskmon's since he was sitting upon one of his tusks anyway.

"So they were able to defeat the Dokugumon huh…," the boy chuckled. "This is a lot more fun than I thought! I knew I chose the right players for this game!"

NeoDevimon laughed darkly. "Of course, you are the main boss in this game. When will you choose to confront them on your own?"

The boy grinned. "The main boss doesn't show up until the end, NeoDevimon. I'll get there." He paused when he saw his partner climbing up Tuskmon's body and sitting down next to him. "So, how does the island look?"

"Every Digimon inhabiting this island is now under the control of the Dark Chain," his dragon partner replied. NeoDevimon nodded and the screen vanished, once the fallen angel Digimon was gone, the dragon Digimon could focus on another topic resting on his mind. "Shibumi… Are you sure this is what you want? You don't seem to take too much joy in enslaving Digimon like you say you do. I'm your partner, I can tell these things."

"…I don't," the boy, Shibumi, replied with a shrug. His smile was gone and it was replaced with an expression of solemnity. "But I will do anything to escape him…" His playful smile returned then. "Besides, this game is way more fun than what I was doing back home! Know what I mean, Dracomon?"

The dragon, Dracomon, paused before nodding. "Yeah, I guess I do…"

"So, let's have more fun with this game tomorrow!"

"Of course… I'll do anything for you, partner…"

Dokugumon Den – 1:15 PM

Robert jumped up when the matriarch had finished telling her story. "Another human showed up before us?!"

"Not only that, but he was the one responsible for enslaving all of the Dokugumon," Daisy muttered, her brow furrowing. "This is a rather pressing matter. Who would've thought that the sixth DigiDestined was working for the enemy?"

Babel leaned back and sighed heavily as he tried to figure this out with the rest of them. "But it doesn't make any sense! We were called her to save this world from Apocalymon and yet, one of us is actually working with him?! Why? What happened?"

"Maybe he was chosen by mistake," Janyu suggested.

Salamon shook her head. "There's no way that could be the case. I know the Sovereigns and they said they would choose the most good-hearted humans to save this world."

"Then why was Daisy chosen?" Babel asked, getting a punch from said girl.

"But no one is perfect," Betamon added. "It's very possible that this other human is just evil to the core or something. I mean, we know the Dark Chain doesn't work on humans or their Digimon partners, so he has to be doing this of his own volition, right?"

"I can't believe we might actually fight a human, that's very different from fighting a Digimon," Rai drooped.

"How so?" Candlemon blinked.

"Well, humans don't get reborn like Digimon do for one thing," Janyu explained. "So if one of us were to die, we would be deleted permanently. There is no such thing as a Primary Village or a Tree of Rebirth in our world. Some countries and religions believe in reincarnation but chances are, we wouldn't remember a thing from our past lives. The only way we could defeat a human enemy would be restraining him and taking him back home. I don't think any of us have the will to kill him…"

"Yeah, that's true…," Daisy sighed.

"But we still have to find out why he would do this though," FanBeemon buzzed, reminding them. "Maybe we might even be able to convince him to our side!"

"The prophecy does state that there should be six humans," Candlemon nodded, hand to his chin. "Besides, having one more ally would increase our chances of defeating Apocalymon, even if it by a small margin."

"But if he's doing this of his volition, would we really be able to persuade someone like him?" Salamon asked.

Robert, who hadn't spoken in a while, finally opened his mouth. "We will. I refuse to believe that this other human chose to side with Apocalymon willingly. There must be some ulterior reason or perhaps Apocalymon has manipulated him to his side somehow. Convincing him to our side shouldn't be too hard." The others looked to each other and they all voiced out their agreements to Robert. They all had the same feeling as well. "Good…" He turned to the matriarch. "Do you remember where he went?"

The Dokugumon took a moment to think about it before brightening up. "Ah, yes! He mentioned something about Leomon Village before he put the Dark Chains on us, so it's possible that he was heading there!"

"Hey, that's where we were heading anyway!" Ryudamon grinned. "I've always wanted to meet a real Leomon too! They're some of the coolest Digimon species around!"

"Are they really that great?" his partner asked.

Ryudamon nodded enthusiastically. "They're really strong and not to mention noble warriors!"

"Not to mention beautiful," the matriarch swooned, causing the DigiDestined to pause and stare at her dreamy-like expression. Well, it bordered between daydreaming and lewd. "They're such handsome and muscular creatures, oh, if only I could have one all tangled in a web so that I…"

Birdramon and Saberdramon, the two sister birds who were sitting there the whole time, quickly interrupted so that the youth wouldn't have to hear what sorts of fantasies the matriarch had of the leonine Digimon.

"Well, we should probably get going back to Meteor Mountain," said Birdramon, stretching out her wings.

Saberdramon nodded in agreement with her sister. "After all, Leomon Village is deeper in this jungle and there's no way the two of us could fly you there. We wish you all the luck in the world! And we hope that our paths may cross with yours again one day."

"But hopefully, on that day, it won't be as enemies," Birdramon laughed lightheartedly. "Until next time!"

The two firebirds took off as the DigiDestined group waved goodbye. They then turned over to the matriarch who pointed them in the direction of Leomon Village. They all knew that they had no time to waste, even as they stood talking, the sixth human child could be out there enslaving Digimon according to Apocalymon's orders. The Digital World was in much more danger than they had originally thought if one of their opponents was a fellow human. They had to be careful.

Termination Jungle – 10:11 AM

Morning came and as usual, trouble has a way of finding the DigiDestined, every single time. This time, in the form of the very person they were searching for. Shibumi flew in atop a winged, green dragon Digimon. The pair landed on a tree branch above the group on the ground. Robert and the others froze up when they saw them. Unlike most dragon Digimon, this one actually looked like one from European myths with his scales, three-pronged claws, and ferociously hungry expression.

"You!" Robert gasped.

"His partner looks pretty scary!" FanBeemon buzzed.

Ryudamon knew exactly what that Digimon was. "That's Coredramon! The Champion form of Dracomon!"

Digital Analyzer: Coredramon aren't very good flyers, they usually only fly very low to the ground and for short periods of time. But their legs are highly developed, giving them the adept ability of jumping and running at incredible speeds. Digimon with the "-dramon" suffix contain dragon-gene data and the higher the ratio, the closer their body image looks like a dragon. Coredramon are known to have a 100% dragon DNA ratio, making Coredramon a pure-blooded dragon Digimon.

"Oh?" the boy, Shibumi, chuckled as he got off his partner's back. "I guess I don't have to introduce my partner to you guys. But I'm wondering if you guys would even have a chance at defeating my partner. He's much stronger than all of your half-baked partners."

Of course, all of the Digimon were irked by that.

"What did you call us?!" Salamon growled, which was new considering her usually level-headed personality.

"We're way stronger than that overgrown lizard!" Betamon added. "Let's show them, Babel!"

Babel nodded. "Yeah, if we're talking about Dragon DNA, it's obvious that you have more in you as Seadramon than that guy! D-Lock 1 Disengaged! Initiate Digivolution!"

"Betamon Digivolve to… Seadramon!" The sea dragon twisted his body in the air like a corkscrew as he faced his giant head at Coredramon. "Ice Blast!"

Shibumi smirked as Coredramon grabbed his partner and leapt out of the way at a surprising speed. Once he dropped off his human, he began running back to the battlefield, swerving past the trees and foliage with such ease, it was as if this entire jungle was a course he had built and committed to memory. "Green Flare Breath!"

Seadramon was such a large target and there wasn't much room to evade in the first place so he was struck down with ease by the stream of green flames. It was so powerful that it passed right through his body, destroying a large mass of his data.

"Seadramon!" Babel shouted with worry as Betamon started falling from the sky.

"D-Lock 1 Disengaged! Initiate Digivolution!" the other four children shouted.

Darcmon quickly flew up and caught Betamon before dropping him off in Babel's arms. The other three focused their attention on the now still dragon Digimon.

"Metal Armor Blade!" "Bear Buster!" "Thunder Ball!"

Shibumi, who was watching from afar, smiled. "Not bad… But not good enough. My partner is simply too fast for you guys."

As he said, Coredramon easily weaved past the three attacks gracefully before charging straight at them. He leapt into the air, spun around and smacked Waspmon hard with his tail, striking swift and deep. "Strike Bomber!" The tail was tough and it propelled Waspmon into Wizardmon, causing them both to crash into a thorn bush.

"In one attack, they're both back to their Rookie states!" Janyu gasped.

"Wizardmon wasn't even the one who was struck," Rai added, hands over her mouth.

Darcmon quickly flew in and tried to land some blows with her blade but by simply shifting his weight around, Coredramon was able to dodge every slice and strike. Ginryumon joined in with his own blades shooting out from his mouth but neither of them could hit Coredramon at all. "G Shurunen II!" Coredramon's horns began to glow before he shot out laser beams from his mouth, blasting the two Digimon and sending them back to their regular forms.

"But how?!" Daisy winced.

"We were just caught off guard," said Robert as he held up his key. "Come on, let's try this again!"

"Right!" the others quickly nodded as they pulled out their keys. "D-Lock…!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Shibumi cut in before any of them could use their keys. "It's true, now that you've seen Coredramon's arsenal of attacks and you've seen his speed with your own eyes, you'll be better prepared. You might even be able to win. But…" He produced a silver key from his sleeve and tossed it into the air. "You won't be able to beat me unless one of you has one of these…"

Salamon gaped at the shimmering object. "A silver key?"

"Don't tell me…," Ryudamon mumbled.

"Your suspicions are correct! I found this yesterday when I was exploring near Leomon Village. Imagine my surprise when Apocalymon was right about it being in their ruins. Now then, allow me to give you a little demonstration of my full power," Shibumi smiled as he produced his blue D-Sync in his other hand. "D-Lock 2 Disengaged! Initiate Digivolution!"

Coredramon was enveloped in a blue light as a ring spun around his body. "Coredramon Digivolve to…" His form became larger as he became a four-legged creature. His wings took the form of two giant claws and a morning star was added at the end of his tail. If anything, he became even more terrifying than he was before. "Groundramon!"

Digital Analyzer: The giant arms that have mutated on Groundramon's back allow him to efficiently dig through the ground. As expected, they are naturally indigenous in underground tunnels and seldom come back to the surface. Their personality is very ferocious in comparison to his previous forms, and it is said that if you were to ever encounter one, you will surely lose your life.

"An Ultimate Digimon…," Rai shivered, thinking back to their fight with NeoDevimon. And she wasn't the only one reminiscing.

"There's no way we can beat that thing," Daisy shook. "We're not strong enough as we are."

Shibumi laughed, he seemed to relish seeing how fearful they were. "Don't worry; I won't destroy you guys right now! That would be too easy, but also, I can't." He glanced over to the side. "After all, you'll protect them… won't you?"

There was a long moment of silence before an anthropomorphic lion appeared from the trees. He had a piece of wheat stuck between his lips, wore a cap, a black leather jacket hanging over his shoulders, pants, a scar across his torso, and a white mane running down his back.

"So you noticed my presence… Not bad…," the lion mused.

"BanchoLeomon, chief of Leomon Village," Shibumi chuckled. "And the first Mega Digimon I've ever seen other than Apocalymon. Who would've thought you'd be the one patrolling the borders today?"

The other humans and their partners turned their gaze towards the possibly new ally. He was simply emanating power like no other they had felt before. Neither NeoDevimon nor Groundramon could possibly rival this absolute force of nature.

"A Mega Digimon?"

-X-

Whoa! The DigiDestined finally reunited and they even found the sixth member of their team but it seems like he isn't planning on joining them anytime soon. Just what is Shibumi thinking? And how will they ever be able to fight Digimon higher than Champion level? Hopefully, BanchoLeomon will become a new friend and even help them out with finding these answers. Tune in to the next Digimon: Children of the Past!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter because I think I killed myself with this one. Don't forget to leave a review! I need to lie down…