Digimon Adventure Tamers

by DigimonAT0318

A retelling of 02 and a sequel to Tamers, set in the year 2003. The Digidestined and the Digimon Tamers, heroes of two worlds, join forces to face their greatest challenges yet. What's more, Davis has been to the Digital World before with Ryo and Ken to fight Millenniummon. Under the leadership of Tai, Davis and Takato, along with Ryo, can they prevail? Elements of tri. later on.

14. Chapter 14: Rescue Agumon!

Digimon Adventure Tamers

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon

Don't forget to review and follow this story! Now on to the next chapter!

(Play The Biggest Dreamer TV Size)

(Play Digimon Tamers: Aban)

Leaving the Human World for the Digital World, Ken Ichijouji, the Digimon Emperor, kidnapped Tai's Digimon partner Agumon and attempted to Digivolve him to MetalGreymon, but received SkullGreymon, who rebelled against Ken's control. WarGrowlmon defeated SkullGreymon, but Ken escaped with Agumon. Jeri and Rika went to Wild West Town, where they may have a lead on Impmon's whereabouts.

(Play Digimon Tamers: Subtitle 2)

Rescue Agumon! The Lion Roars Again

It was quiet in the Kamiya apartment. The mood had been a miserable one ever since Tai, Kari and Takato returned from the Digital World with only Gatomon and Guilmon. Both of Tai's parents were saddened to hear that Agumon was still a prisoner of the Digimon Emperor, as they had come to accept the orange reptile into their family, along with Gatomon.

Tai was the most saddened, and understandably so, as Agumon was not only his partner Digimon, but also his best friend. The bushy-haired boy hadn't said much since returning home, nor did he eat much.

"Tai, do you want some meatloaf?" Yuuko offered her son, trying to lighten the mood. Tai simply shook his head and muttered, "I'm not hungry…" The brown-haired woman sighed sadly, realizing that if Tai was turning down even her cooking, things were very much serious.

"I know it's bad Tai…" Susumu said, placing a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. "But you'll get Agumon back, I know it!"

"Yeah…I know I can…" Tai said dejectedly. "But…that's not it…I saw…him again…"

"Him who?" Yuuko asked in confusion.

(Play Digimon Adventure: Yuugure)

"SkullGreymon," Takato said, making everybody look at him. "When Ken kidnapped Agumon, he made him attack us and he tried to Digivolve him to MetalGreymon, but he became SkullGreymon, a walking dinosaur skeleton."

"A dinosaur fossil?" Susumu asked with a chuckle.

"It sounds funny at first, but not so funny when you see what he can do," Gatomon said gravelly. Kari shuddered in agreement as she could still hear the cries of pain from the DarkTyrannomon the viral Digimon had killed. Then the brown haired girl paused when she heard Tai said that he saw him again, and this confused her. Did this happen before? She was never told of this.

"Tai…when you said you never thought you'd see SkullGreymon again…did this happen before to you and Agumon?" Tai looked down at the floor. He hated having this conversation, he never thought he would be telling Kari about this, but he knew she had a right to know.

"Yes…it did…" Takato answered for Tai, making the older boy look at him with a wary look.

"It was on the show, wasn't it?" Tai asked sadly, and Takato nodded before explaining everything.

"Tai had just gotten his Crest of Courage, and he wanted Agumon to Digivolve to the Ultimate level right away. He did everything he could to make it happen, from feeding Agumon too much food to putting himself in danger. But it went wrong, and it was the first time Greymon ever became SkullGreymon."

"It was something I regretted deeply," Tai muttered sadly. "I became something I never wanted to be…I wish I could just forget it…but after what happened today…I don't think I can forget it."

(Play Digimon: Across the Tears)

"You can never forget it," said Takato. "Yes, SkullGreymon is a bad memory, but it's also a good memory in a way. You realized your mistakes and you matured and became a better person for it. You proved yourself worthy of the Crest of Courage." Tai sat in stunned silence at Takato's words and the expression on his face. From the way Takato looked and spoke…

"Did…did the same thing happen to you and Guilmon?" Takato's face turned into a frown like Tai's as he remembered that day. Beelzemon's claws tearing through Leomon's chest…Jeri's devasted expression…Takato's anger being unleashed…the world around them breaking apart…

"Yes…and it was far worse than SkullGreymon," said the brown-haired boy. "Jeri's partner Leomon had been killed right in front of her back when Ai and Mako's partner Beelzemon was still evil, and she was absolutely devastated…and I was absolutely livid at what Beelzemon did. In my anger, I ordered Guilmon to Digivolve to the Mega level." Takato paused as the giant, monstrous dragon flashed in his mind; the long sharp tail, the tattered red wings, and the drooling maw still haunted Takato to this day.

"He became Megidramon…a Digimon whose mere existence alone threatened the Digital World itself," he continued. "The Digivolution caused my old D-Arc to be destroyed. I regretted what I did that day, because it was one of the worst things to happen to me…but on that same day, it allowed Guilmon to Digivolve to his true Mega level, Gallantmon." Takato smiled as he thought about that day when he biomerged with his partner for the first time ever and received his new D-Arc, the one in his hands.

"I…I didn't know…" Tai whispered in surprise.

"You wouldn't have," Takato said with a dry chuckle. "I try to forget Megidramon as well…"

"But why would you forget that day, Takato?" Guilmon asked innocently. "That was the day I became Gallantmon!"

"I'm not done yet, Guilmon!" Takato said with a laugh before continuing. "But I also have to remember it as the events that happened that day made me who I was. Never forget who you were before SkullGreymon, Tai…and never forget who you became after that day."

Tai stayed quiet, and he began feeling much better after listening to Takato's story and advice. The younger boy was right…SkullGreymon helped make him who he was today, and nothing could change that.

"Thanks Takato…I guess I needed to hear something like that."

"No problem," Takato said, patting Tai on the back. "Don't worry. The first thing tomorrow after school, we're going to the Digital World and we'll get Agumon back!"

"Yeah…" Tai said, though half-heartedly. Getting sleep tonight would be hell for the brown-haired boy.

---

Davis lay in bed, wearing his yellow pajamas. When he returned home from the Digital World, he said little to nothing to anyone, and he ate a little food before going to bed. The events of today were fresh in his mind. He still couldn't believe Ken would be corrupted so far that he would kidnap Tai's partner and force him to Digivolve, turning him into a monster that killed anyone in his path. He could still hear the pained roars from the DarkTyrannomon that SkullGreymon straight up ate, and he could still see the skeletal monstrosity in his mind.

But what he couldn't believe even more than that was Ryo and the other Digidestined and Tamers saying that the only way to stop Ken from taking over the Digital World was to keep on fighting him…and that fighting Agumon would be the only option if Ken managed to successfully control Agumon and Digivolve him to the Ultimate level.

'I don't understand why everybody, including Ryo, is okay with fighting Ken and Agumon! Agumon is Tai's partner…and Ken's supposed to be our friend! Why? Friends shouldn't fight at all!'

"Davis?" The burgundy-haired boy turned on his side to see Jun standing above him.

"Oh…it's you, sis," he muttered. "Where's Ryo?"

"On the roof with Monodramon and DemiVeemon," said Jun. "The little buggers are still brimming with energy, and they're running it off."

"Ok…" Davis said, turning away from Jun, who sighed.

"Davis…Ryo told me what happened today. You haven't said much since you got home…" the spiky-haired girl bit her lip and looked at Davis with a frown. "Are you going to be okay?"

(Play Digimon Adventure: Namida ni Yukue)

"You tell me!" Davis snapped, sitting up with a glare. "My best friend is being brainwashed into becoming a dictator, he kidnapped my mentor's partner Digimon, turned him into a monster, and everybody's talking about how fighting him is our only option! They're talking about fighting friends, Jun!" Jun looked at Davis sadly. This was obviously hurting Davis a lot more than she thought…and it hurt her that she couldn't do much to help her brother.

"Davis…I think I get it," she reached out and rubbed Davis's back. "You don't want to fight your friends. But if you want to save Ken and Agumon, then you can't hesitate to fight them."

"But how can I?" asked Davis, a torn look on his face. "How can I fight my friends Jun?"

"I…" Jun paused, wondering what to say. She realized she didn't know what to say. She wouldn't know what to do if she was in Davis's position.

"That's what I thought," Davis muttered before pulling his blanket over his head. "Good night."

"Davis…" Jun said sadly before standing up and leaving the bedroom, where he saw Ryo sitting on the couch with Monodramon and DemiVeemon, the three of them having looks of concern.

"He's not taking it well, is he?" DemiVeemon asked sadly, getting a nod from Jun.

"He seems hesitant about fighting Ken and Agumon," she sat down in a nearby chair. "I don't know what I can say to him."

"I do," said Ryo. "But he needs to hear it from somebody else…particularly Matt."

"Matt? Are you sure?" asked Jun.

"Well, he does have the Crest of Friendship," said Monodramon. "So he may give Davis the right kind of advice."

"Let's hope so," said Jun, looking towards Davis's closed bedroom door. "I hate to see Davis like this."

"You're not the only one," sighed Ryo.

---

Jeri and Rika walked down the streets of Odaiba in silence. After they had returned from the human world, they were told of what had happened to Davis's team in Pyro Pit Prairie. While they suspected that SkullGreymon would appear, it still shocked them, even more so when they were told what SkullGreymon had did to ten DarkTyrannomon. Jeri had felt sick and Rika stared in wide-eyed shock.

But what stuck out the most in Jeri's mind was the look on Tai's face during the meeting. He barely said anything, nor did he look at anybody, and Kari and Takato had to pull him out of Izzy's apartment with Guilmon helping. The dead look in his eyes, the statue-like posture, it was all too familiar to Jeri. She had experienced it when she lost Leomon. Even though she knew Agumon was still alive, she still noticed how shaken up Tai was.

The pain of losing your partner by any means whatsoever is something that nobody, Digidestined or Digimon Tamer, should ever have to go through. But she went through it. And from what she saw on the show, TK went through it as well.

And she would be damned if she let Tai go through it as well. She had to do something.

"Jeri, are you all right?" Rika asked, noticing the angry look on her friend's face. Jeri stopped and breathed.

"No…I'm not all right," Jeri said, fists clenched. "I hate this Rika. I hated seeing that look on Tai's face when we came back. Dark Spore or not, what Ken's doing to Agumon is unforgiveable, and I can't let it stand! I won't let anybody else lose their beloved Digimon partner!"

"I know," Rika said, placing a hand on Jeri's shoulder. "But there's nothing much we can do right now."

(Play Digimon Tamers: Ruki no Theme)

"No…there is something we can do," Jeri clenched her D-Arc tightly in her hand while Calumon flew down from the sky and landed on her shoulder. "I don't care if I don't have Leomon, and I don't care if I have to go it alone…I'm going back to the Digital World tonight, and I'm going to get Agumon back!"

"Jeri, that's crazy!" Rika said in surprise. "Even if we saw the show, you don't know where Ken's base is!"

"No, but I do know where they met up with Agumon in episode 10," said Jeri. "Locomotown. If I find a train there, I can sneak into the Emperor's base and grab Agumon, and get back out before they even suspect a thing!"

"All by yourself?" Rika asked skeptically. "Jeri, I've never really doubted your potential as a Tamer, but I really have to call you out on this decision. Do you honestly think you can infiltrate a base by yourself and rescue Agumon?"

"Not by myself, no," Jeri said, smiling at Rika. Renamon appeared behind Rika, her eyes narrowed.

"Jeri…are you actually asking myself and Rika to help you rescue Agumon?"

"Tonight," said Jeri. "The sooner we get Agumon back, the better. I may be having rough luck finding Impmon, but I know if I can get Tai and Agumon back together. I might have better luck with finding Impmon."

'Oh boy,' Rika thought, running her hand across her face. She knew once Jeri was set on something, she was determined to do it…and it was clear there was no talking her out of this decision.

"Well Jeri…if that's what you want to do, then I'm with you all the way," said the red-haired girl, Renamon nodding behind her.

"Really?" Jeri asked in surprise.

"Yes," Rika said with a nod. "Let's get to the computer lab."

"Right!" Jeri and Rika immediately broke into a sprint for the school. Minutes later, they ended up in front of the gates, which were locked tightly. This was not a problem for the two girls as Renamon managed to leap over the gate with them in her arms, Calumon floating above the gates.

"All right, we have to be quiet," Rika whispered, and the group of four snuck down the halls quietly for the computer lab. But when they reached the hallway for the lab, they were surprised to see a bright light shining from the room.

"What is that?" asked Jeri.

"It appears someone may have left a computer on by accident before they left," Renamon observed.

"If they did, good for us," said Rika. "If those computers require a password, then we're sunk." The two girls walked into the lab with Renamon and Calumon, only to stop suddenly at the threshold when they saw a red-haired girl wearing a green school uniform sitting in front of the activated computer, a pink bird sitting by her side.

"Sora?!" Rika and Jeri gasped. Sora and Biyomon yelled in shock and stood up from their places, turning around to see who was standing before them.

"Jeri? Rika?!" Sora asked, breathing deeply. "How did you get in here?!"

"Renamon got us over the gate, how did you get in here?!" Rika asked, also in shock.

"I…I may have climbed over the gates as well," Sora said sheepishly, her face red with embarrassment. "What are you two doing here, anyway?"

"Shouldn't we be asking you the same question as well?" Rika asked with a raised eyebrow. "From what I know about you Sora, you can be rebellious for a girl, but not this rebellious."

"I…I know," Sora looked down sadly. "But when I heard about what happened to Agumon when we met at Izzy's apartment, and when I saw the look on Tai's face…I don't know what came over me, only that I knew I had to fix this somehow, so…" As the bearer of Love spoke, Renamon walked over to the computer that was on and looked at the screen, mildly surprised.

"You were searching the grid map for any possible sign of Agumon," the kitsune said without question, and Sora nodded.

(Play Digimon Adventure: Straight from the Heart ~Sora no Theme~)

"I wanted to go to the Digital World and see if I could rescue Agumon for Tai…but without a D-3 or a D-Arc of my own, and with Izzy and Henry still working on that Digivolution software program, what could I do?" Jeri couldn't help but smile softly at Sora's plan. Tai obviously meant much to her in this dimension than what was seen in the show, so much so that she would be willing to get lost in the Digital World to find Agumon for him. She wondered if Tai and Sora could possibly get together in this dimension with the right moves.

"Well…it's funny that you mention that," she said with a sheepish chuckle. "I had the same idea as well, that me and Rika go to the Digital World and see if we could rescue Agumon."

"You too?" Biyomon asked in surprise.

"Yes," Jeri nodded, a determined look back on her face. "I can tell the longer Tai and Agumon are separated, the worse they're both getting. I won't allow anyone else's partner to be taken from them."

"And I'm tagging along to provide some backup for Jeri," said Rika. "So are you with us, Sora?"

"I am," Sora said, her determined look matching Jeri's. The red-haired girl had been horrified to hear SkullGreymon had returned, and it broke her heart when she saw Tai unresponsive to everybody, looking dead to the world. It broke her heart…and it also lit a fire inside of her that wouldn't be extinguished until her best friend had his partner Digimon back by his side.

"So where are we going to search for Agumon?" Biyomon asked as Jeri sat down in front of the computer and began typing away.

"He's being held at the Digimon Emperor's base," Jeri said, pressing some buttons. "I don't know where the base is per se, but if we go to Locomotown, then we might be able to find a train that will allow us to sneak into the base and rescue Agumon."

"Is that what happened in the show?" asked Sora.

"…something like that," Rika answered after a moment. She knew in the show Wormmon released Agumon in hopes that Ken could use his experiments on him, but if Wormmon was loyal to Ken in this dimension and could Digivolve to Stingmon easily as Ryo said, then Agumon would possibly not be able to get out so easily this time around.

"Okay, the coordinates for Locomotown have been set in," Jeri stood up from the chair. "Rika, if you could?"

"No problem," Rika smirked and pulled out her D-Arc before turning to the little white Digimon hanging on Renamon's shoulder.

"Calumon, you'll have to stay here. Once we go through the Digital Gate, turn off the computer and get out of the school. Find the others and tell them what we're doing."

"Me?" Calumon asked nervously. "Are you sure about me?"

"Of course I am," Rika smiled softly. "You know what I told you?"

"Yeah, turn off the computer, get out the school, and tell the others," said Calumon. "But…how are you going to get back here?"

"We may not be back until tomorrow afternoon," Rika said grimly. "So it'll be up to you to spread the word."

"Okay!" Calumon nodded before Rika turned to the screen, D-Arc held high.

"Digital Gate, Open!" The screen flashed brightly, and the three girls and two Digimon went through the Digital Gate. Once the screen dimmed, Calumon went over to the computer and looked it over, wondering how to turn it off. He remembered being told that most computers are turned off when you press a big button.

"Hmm…there should be a big button…" Calumon looked until he found a button on the side of the screen. "Ooh! There it is!" Calumon pressed the button and the screen went black.

"Yay!" Calumon cheered his action before remembering Rika's next steps: "Get out of the school and tell the others what we're doing." The Catalyst thought for a moment before deciding who to tell.

"Ooh, I'll tell Ryo!" Spreading his big ears, Calumon took flight and flew out of an open window to look for Ryo.

---

(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Ankoku no Hohoemi ~Digimon Kaiser no Theme~)

"No…this won't do at all."

The screen in front of Ken showed an image of a Dark Ring, but it was thicker than most. Ken pressed a button in front of him, and the image disintegrated.

"There has to be something that can work," Ken switched the screen to an image of Greymon kneeling in a large dome, looking ragged and defeated. After returning to base, Ken had Stingmon place Agumon in a testing area while he looked over the Dark Ring's schematics.

The last few hours, Ken had attempted to Digivolve Greymon to MetalGreymon, but every time he received SkullGreymon instead, and the skeletal monstrosity would go on a rampage in the testing area. Fortunately, the area was fortified and reinforced with Chrome Digizoid walls and an electrified fence, which would prevent escape. After the third attempt, Ken had finally come to the conclusion that the Dark Rings were not strong enough to control Ultimate level Digimon, and began working on a new method.

"If one Dark Ring is not enough…then maybe I need to create something more powerful than one Dark Ring…but how many, exactly?" Ken asked to himself. It came to him that if he placed more than one Dark Ring on an Ultimate level, it would provide total control over them, and it would mean more work for the Digidestined…but that would also mean that they would just have to break all the Dark Rings on said Digimon until one was left. It came to the young tyrant that he would have to place Dark Ring after Dark Ring on Greymon and Digivolve him until he got MetalGreymon, then use the number of Dark Rings he used to create a new device.

"Dark Ring number two," he ordered, and a second Dark Ring dropped down on Greymon in the area, clamping over his right arm.

(Play Digimon Adventure: Tatakai no Toki)

"Greymon, Dark-Digivolve!" The D-3s screen lit up purple, and Greymon roared as he became SkullGreymon again. Once again, the skeletal Digimon was on a rampage, kicking and slashing at the walls and ramming his head against them, screeching like a banshee.

"GROUND ZERO!" The orange missile hit the roof in a fiery explosion, but the Chrome Digizoid metal did not break. Groaning slightly, SkullGreymon dropped to his legs and reverted to Agumon, who looked worse for wear.

"Two dark rings provided limited control…" Ken noticed before smirking. "Yes…I think I've almost got it!"

"Got what?" Wormmon asked from behind.

"The right way to control Ultimate level Digimon," said Ken. "I just need to make a few more calculations…Dark Ring number three!" Another Dark Ring appeared and clamped around Greymon's left arm. Ken raised his D-3 again, and SkullGreymon went on another rampage.

Wormmon could only watch on with a saddened look. What Ken was doing to Agumon was simply awful. Agumon was like him, a Digidestined Digimon, and it hurt him to see Ken using him like a lab experiment, as well as the fact that Ken forcibly took Agumon from Tai.

What was worse was he helped Ken in the kidnapping and experiments. Regret began filling the caterpillar Digimon as he began wondering if this was what he was really supposed to be doing as Ken's partner, helping him take over the Digital World.

'I wonder if I can do something…Ken, why can't you return to your old, kind self?'

---

"Here we are," said Biyomon. "Locomotown." The group looked around to see a dilapidated village surrounded by overgrown hills teeming with green grass and bright flowers. Several line of railroad tracks crisscrossed and zigzagged around it. And in the distance was a Control Spire.

"It's under the Digimon Emperor's control," Renamon said with narrowed eyes. "We must proceed with caution."

The female group quietly went down the hill to where the train tracks were. Once they reached the bottom of the hill, they quietly snuck through the village when they heard a train whistle sound.

"Get back!" Rika whispered, getting the girls into an alley. The red-haired girl stuck her head out the alley and saw a light appear out of a tunnel. A massive blue train came out of the tunnel, speeding along and chugging while blowing its whistle. Sora and Jeri looked over to see the train as well, blinking in surprise when they saw the train's front had blinking red eyes.

(Play Digimon Tamers: Ankoku~Kibou)

"Okay…is that train alive?!" Sora asked. She had seen a lot of strange things in the Digital World before, but this definitely took the cake.

"That's not a train," said Rika, recognizing the locomotive instantly. "That's Locomon, an Ultimate level Digimon!"

"That's a Locomon?!" Biyomon asked in surprise. "I've heard of them, but I've never seen one before!"

"Well, I have," Rika muttered, remembering when Locomon attacked on her birthday six months ago. The girls stayed quiet as Locomon pulled up to a nearby train station, where they saw several Gazimon and Gotsumon wearing Dark Rings, a number of crates of different sizes piled up behind them.

"What's going on?" Renamon whispered, seeing the Digimon load the crates on Locomon's cars.

"It's a delivery service for the Digimon Emperor," a voice whispered from behind. Sora and Biyomon screamed, Jeri gave a yell of surprise, and Renamon and Rika tensed up when they turned around.

"Stop!" the shadowed figure said before stepping into the moonlight. "I'm not your enemy!"

"Elecmon?" Jeri and Rika asked, surprised to see the Digimon they met earlier today in Wild West Town.

"So we meet again," Elecmon said with a chuckle. "What brings you here to Locomotown in the middle of the night?"

"My best friend's Digimon partner has been kidnapped by the Digimon Emperor," Sora said sadly. "From what Jeri and Rika said, if we took a train here, we could be able to get into the Emperor's base and rescue him."

"I see…" Elecmon said, looking over to the Locomon in the distance. "Well, you are correct in that assumption. The Locomon that the Emperor's slaves are loading up makes daily trips to the Digimon Emperor's base. He doesn't need to be controlled by the Emperor as the Locomon are purely machine Digimon, their one design to reach their destination."

"So they don't know that they're making deliveries to the Digimon Emperor?" asked Sora.

"No, they do not," said Elecmon. "If you are planning to break into the Digimon Emperor's base and rescue your friend, then perhaps you could do with some extra help."

"You're coming with us?" Jeri asked, getting Elecmon to look up at her.

"Yes, I am," said the red mammal Digimon. "Now…if we are to get on board Locomon, then we will need a hiding spot."

"What do you suggest?" asked Rika. Elecmon narrowed his eyes towards the train station before moving towards the crates.

"I have an idea."

---

"All right, is that the last of them?" asked a Gazimon, pushing a crate onto Locomon's caboose.

"Yeah, that's all," said a Gotsumon. "Take it away, Locomon!"

"WHOO-WHOO!" Locomon yelled out with his train whistle as he began pulling out of the station and went into a dark tunnel that would lead him to the Digimon Emperor's base.

Inside the caboose, a big crate popped open and dispensed Elecmon, Jeri, Rika, Renamon, Biyomon and Sora.

"Well, that was something else," Sora said, picking a Styrofoam peanut out of her hair. Renamon walked over to a wall and pulled off a clipboard attached to the wall.

"We should be reaching the Emperor's base in three hours," the kitsune said, reading the schedule on the clipboard.

"Then let's rest a little before we reach the base." Stretching out across a crate as long as her body, Rika closed her eyes and began resting, while Sora sat down, her back pressed up against a crate and Biyomon settled in her arms. Jeri sat down next to Sora, her mind fluttering with an important question.

(Play Digimon: Sayonara Dake ga Shitteta)

"Sora…I have to ask you something." The red-haired girl looked up to Jeri and nodded slightly, letting her continue. "How do you…feel…about Tai?"

"How do I feel about Tai?" Sora repeated, confused at the question.

"Yes," said Jeri. "Do you like him? I mean, really like him? Mimi told me you've been best friends since childhood, and how much you always spend time together. I even saw your friendship on the TV show, and I noticed how much you care for each other." Sora blushed slightly, embarrassed about hearing her and Tai being shown as friends in the show. She wondered if they ever got together in the show, because she definitely wanted that to happen in real life…but how could she tell him?

"I think you care so much about Tai…why else would you be willing to get lost in the Digital World to find Agumon and get him back together with Tai?"

Sora's blush didn't leave as she let Jeri speak. She wondered for a minute why she wanted to go into the Digital World. She felt sad, angry even, when she heard about Agumon. She was so angry, that the minute Ai and Mako were in bed, she took Biyomon with her and ran for the school's computer lab in order to find a way into the Digital World. She didn't have a D-3 or a D-Arc, but she wanted to get into the Digital World any way to help Tai, her best friend. Why would she…

It hit her. She loved Tai, so much so that seeing him in pain like this hurt her greatly. She couldn't stand it…and that was why she was here now in the Digital World.

"I do," she nodded slowly. "I do love Tai…it may sound corny, but he's really the only one for me…I'm just waiting for him."

"He may also be waiting for you," Jeri said before standing back up and moving over to a nearby crate Elecmon was sitting on. Sora pondered on Jeri's last statement, wondering if Tai had feelings for her as well and was waiting for her. The red-haired girl simply shook her head before drifting off to sleep.

"I have to admit Jeri, I'm impressed with your tenacity," Elecmon said to the amber-eyed girl. "You have no Digimon partner of your own, and yet you're willing to go into the fortress of the most powerful being right now in the Digital World to get your friend's partner back. I truly am impressed. You remind me much of my partner."

"I-I do?" Jeri asked, surprised at the warrior's praise. Elecmon nodded with a twinkle in his eyes. "Elecmon…what was your partner like?"

Elecmon smiled as he thought about the answer. "She was like you…very much like you. It's funny, I look at you and I see so much of her. She was a young and innocent soul, always encouraging her friends. She matured during her time in the Digital World, and while things were bleak for her, she was able to pull through with the help of her friends. She had the heart of a strong warrior." Jeri was quiet as she thought about Elecmon's description of her partner. Looking back to her past, she realized she did seem to have much in common with Elecmon's partner…and looking at Elecmon, she couldn't help but be reminded of her own partner.

Elecmon turned, and was surprised to see Jeri looking at him with a far-off look that unnerved him slightly.

"Um…Jeri…why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh! I'm sorry," Jeri shook her head. "But looking at you, and hearing you talk about me…it reminded me of my partner, Leomon."

"Leomon, you say?" Elecmon said with a raised eyebrow and a light chuckle. "I take it you see much of your partner in me as I see much of mine in you?"

"Yes," Jeri said with a sad smile. "Leomon always said that I had a lion's heart, and he believed everybody had their own destiny to choose and live out. He was a courageous Digimon who never backed down from anything…even when he died." She was quiet for a minute before talking again. "It's funny. When we first met, I was chasing him around the park saying we were destined to be partners, and I think it made him a little uneasy at first." Jeri chuckled at that embarrassing memory from her past. "But in the short time we were partners, I feel like I became a stronger person, even after I lost him. I did fall into despair when he died…but thanks to my friends, I was able to pull through."

"You seem like a strong person," Elecmon said with a smile. "And I would be honored if you considered me your friend." The red Digimon stretched out with a hand, and Jeri accepted it happily.

"Right! Friends!"

In the back of the caboose, Renamon smirked slightly as she watched the interaction between Jeri and Elecmon. Jeri didn't know, but the kitsune did know why Elecmon reminded Jeri so much about Leomon.

'She'll be in for a surprise,' she thought quietly. In Jeri's pocket, the screen on her D-Arc cleared up of static, unknown to the Tamer.

---

(Play Digimon Tamers: Hypnos)

"All right, test number seven," Ken muttered, looking at the screen showing Greymon in the testing area. The orange dinosaur now wore five dark rings on his body: one around his neck, one on each arm, and one on each leg. Ken had received SkullGreymon again with three Dark Rings, and again with four Dark Rings. Both times, he had better control over SkullGreymon, but it didn't last long. Hopefully, this would go right.

'I hope we get MetalGreymon,' Wormmon thought for his own reasons.

"Greymon…DARK DIGIVOLVE!" Ken's D-3 glowed purple again, as did Greymon. Greymon's form grew and Ken waited with bated breath. When the glow faded, Ken laughed with triumph at what he saw. There, in the training area was MetalGreymon, but instead of orange skin, his skin was a deep blue. Ken suspected MetalGreymon's skin was blue because of the Dark Digivolution, but that hardly mattered. He had finally done it.

"Yes!" The Digimon Emperor stood up from his chair with a triumphant smile. "Finally, Greymon has become MetalGreymon!"

"But how do we know if he'll listen?" Wormmon asked worriedly, looking at the still dinosaur.

"Only one way to find out," said Ken. "MetalGreymon! Use your Trident Arm!"

Growling lowly, MetalGreymon lifted his left arm and fired the metallic hand, which soared through the air and buried itself in the wall before returning to him.

"Excellent," said Ken. "Now, Giga Destroyer!"

The chest plates on MetalGreymon opened up and the twin shark missiles flew out of the cannons and collided with the roof of the area.

"Finally, MetalGreymon is under my full control!" Ken laughed as the blue dinosaur reverted to Agumon. "It appears I'll need to create a device as powerful as five Dark Rings to control Ultimate level Digimon."

"Oh…that's good," said Wormmon. "So do we let him go now?"

"Let him go?" Ken looked over to Wormmon like he had just grown a second head before laughing. "Why would I let him go? This could be the most powerful Digimon in my army yet!"

"But he's exhausted!" said Wormmon. "He can't take much more!"

"For now, at least." With a snap of Ken's fingers, the Dark Rings detached themselves from Agumon's body and flew out of the area. "It will take some time to create the right kind of device, so we'll let Agumon rest while we work. Come, Wormmon!"

"Oh, Ken…" Wormmon muttered sadly, taking one last look at the screen showing an unconscious Agumon before following his partner out of the monitor room.

---

Hours passed by, and morning dawned on Odaiba. It was pouring rain and the sky was gray, no sign of sunlight. Everybody was in the school, waiting for class to begin. And in a certain room, a group of children and teenagers were talking together.

"What?! Jeri and Rika went into the Digital World last night with Sora!?" Ryo yelled in shock, looking at Calumon.

"Yeah. They told me to stay here in the Human World and tell you all," the little Digimon said, his ears shrinking down.

"Why would they do that?" asked Tai, concerned for his best friend and the other two girls.

"Well, it was an idea Jeri and Sora both had, and Rika tagged along so they could both be safe," said Calumon. "You see Tai, Sora and Jeri both wanted to rescue Agumon for you."

"What?" the brown-haired boy asked in disbelief.

"Sora wanted to rescue Agumon since you were her best friend and she cared a lot about you, and she hates seeing you so sad," explained Calumon, "and Jeri wanted to rescue Agumon since you seemed so sad yesterday."

"R…really?" Tai asked, still in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Calumon nodded.

(Play Digimon Adventure: Hirogaru Fuan)

"That's crazy!" Matt walked over to the computer and turned it on, bringing up the Digital Gate program. "Those three can't rescue Agumon by themselves!"

"And that program Henry and I made has been complete, but it hasn't been downloaded into Sora's Digivice yet," said Izzy. "We have to find them and help them rescue Agumon."

"As much as I want to agree with you Izzy, we can't right now," Henry said with a frown. "School's about to begin and if we all just vanish, it will cause a huge uproar. Sora, Rika and Jeri's absences alone will be very noticeable."

"Besides, they'll be fine!" Kazu said in confident tone. "After all, they've got Rika with them!"

"Yeah, that is true," Ryo chuckled. "I can't help but feel sorry for Ken if he runs into Rika. She's a girl to not be messed with."

"Tell me about it," Matt whispered, as he was letting the red-haired girl stay at his place.

"All right, we'll come back here today after school ends and head to the Digital World," said Takato. "Hopefully, we'll find a way to get the much bigger Digimon in here." Everybody else nodded and exited the computer room to head for class.

Davis thought about the three girls in the Digital World. He was concerned about Sora, as well as Jeri and Rika, being in the Digital World to rescue Agumon by herself. But he knew Sora well, and if she was careful, then hopefully, she would be able to rescue Agumon. If Sora was able to save Agumon, then that meant he wouldn't have to worry about fighting his mentor's partner Digimon. But he still had Ken to worry about. The burgundy-haired boy still was unsure about fighting his best friend, as it would hurt him even more.

---

(Play Digimon Tamers: Kawari Nante Inai)

During the first class of the day, which was math, Tai could barely pay attention at all. He simply stared out the window as raindrops fell past the window and splattered on the concrete below.

"Now, the Pythagorean Theorem can be used in many ways in graphing problems…" the teacher's voice droned as he had his face to the blackboard, causing Tai to turn back to the class and scribble down what was on the board. But the brown-haired boy's attention slipped away from the class in less than two minutes and his eyes went over to the empty seat that was usually occupied by Sora.

The bearer of Courage was worried for his best friend. Biyomon was unable to Digivolve yet without Izzy and Henry's program, which meant if Sora got into any trouble, Biyomon wouldn't be able to do much to protect her, and Jeri didn't have a partner of her own. Tai didn't doubt Rika's ability to protect Sora and Jeri – Ryo and the other Tamers said that Rika was one of the strongest and most experienced of the Tamers, and they seemed to be telling the truth – but he wished he wasn't in class right now. Agumon was his partner, and he needed to be there to help save him. And if Sora was hurt with Rika or Biyomon unable to protect her, he felt it would be on him.

'Sora…please be careful…' Tai's thought suddenly drifted from Agumon to Sora. The red-haired girl had always been his best friend, always there for him whenever he needed a shoulder to lean on that wasn't his sister's or any of his parents'. They had done many things together, and the fact that he wasn't with her finding his partner right now made him anxious.

It also made him wonder why Sora did what she did. It wasn't like her to do something this reckless…

"Sora wanted to rescue Agumon since you were her best friend and she cares a lot about you, and she hates seeing you sad."

Calumon's words came back to him, and he figured it out. Sora cared so much about Tai, that seeing him the way he was after returning from the Digital World affected her badly. It affected her so much, she was willing to brave the Digital World for his sake.

Tai suddenly remembered the day Greymon had first Digivolved to MetalGreymon. Sora had been kidnapped by a small robot Digimon called Datamon, and in order to get to her, Tai had to go through an electric fence. He had been afraid of dying if he went through the fence the wrong way, but he was willing to go through the fence if it meant saving Sora. He displayed true courage that day, and it dawned on him that Sora knew she was heading into a possibly dangerous situation, but she was willing to do it if it meant saving Agumon.

'Sora…' Tai thought with a sad smile as he looked back down at his paper, and blinked in surprise when he saw two folded pieces of paper on top of his notebook. Wondering where they came from, Tai looked up to see Ryo glancing behind his shoulder, and he looked around to see Matt stealing a glance at him. Curious as to what they wrote, Tai opened the first piece of paper to see it was written with Ryo's handwriting.

Don't worry, everything will be okay.

Smiling at Ryo's optimism, Tai opened Matt's note next.

I have band practice today, but I'll see what I can do about postponing it. No way I'm staying behind today. You need me, buddy.

'Good old Matt,' Tai thought with a smile, putting the notes in his pocket before returning to his textbook. After school, they would go into the Digital World, and he would teach Ken a lesson for taking Agumon and turning him into SkullGreymon…that is, if Sora didn't to it first.

---

"Wake up. We are arriving." Everybody in the caboose awoke to Renamon's voice. Stirring slightly, the girls and Elecmon could feel Locomon slowing down. Peeking out of a hole in the wall, Rika could make out a dark chamber with several Digimon wearing Dark Rings.

"Well, my friends…we are pilgrims in an unholy land," Elecmon said gravelly once Locomon had come to a complete stop. Opening the door slowly, Renamon poked her head out of the caboose and looked over for any approaching Digimon. Satisfied that they were all focused on the front cars, Renamon nodded to the rest of the group, and the group of six ran out as fast and quiet as they could from the caboose.

(Play Digimon Adventure: Kyoufu no Ashiato)

"All right. We need to find out where the cell blocks are," said Rika. "We do that, and we'll be able to find Agumon."

"Easier said than done," said Sora. "This place will be crawling with Digimon."

"And there's also the possibility of security cameras," said Elecmon. "The Digimon Emperor could very well have his eyes on us."

"Then what does that mean?" Biyomon asked worriedly, wondering if this would mean capture.

"It means we'll have to move fast," said Jeri. "The cells are probably…"

"Quiet!" shushed Elecmon. The group crouched down behind the crate and saw two Bakemon float past them.

"So did you hear about the Digimon Emperor's new creation?" asked the first Bakemon. "Apparently, he's making something new to control Ultimate level Digimon right now."

"Yeah, I heard that as well," said the second Bakemon. "And I heard his first test subject will be the Agumon in the testing area in the west wing…" The ghost Digimon floated past the group, unaware of their presence.

"The west wing," Jeri whispered once it was safe to speak again. "That's where he's being held."

"I heard that, but what were the Bakemon saying about Ken creating something new to control Ultimate level Digimon? Did he make something in the show?" asked Sora.

"Yes. It's called the Dark Spiral," said Rika. "It's more powerful and harder to break than a Dark Ring, and it doesn't need to be powered by a Control Spire to work."

"Well, that's a problem," Sora muttered. "All right, so we'll go to the west wing and grab Agumon…"

"No," Rika said firmly. "You and Jeri are going to the west wing. Elecmon's coming with you as well."

"What about you?" Jeri asked confused, though a part of her knew what Rika was planning.

"I'm going to pay his royal highness, the Digimon Emperor, a visit," Rika stood up with a hard look on her face. "Besides, if the Emperor's in his monitor room, then somebody needs to distract him so he doesn't sound the alarm on you."

"You also want to fight the Digimon Emperor, don't you?" Jeri asked with a giggle. "The Digimon Queen versus the Digimon Emperor!"

"Maybe a little of that as well," Rika smirked before running off with Renamon.

"All right. Let's go!" Elecmon said, leading the path that would take the rest of the group to the west wing. Entering the door to the west wing, they saw a sign lighting up before them.

DANGER! DO NOT PROCEED! DANGEROUS DIGIMON HELD IN TESTING AREA 5!

"Dangerous Digimon?" Sora read uneasily.

"He must have put that up when he was Digivolving Agumon to SkullGreymon," said Jeri. "Come on, he should be at the Rookie level now!"

"Hang on, Agumon!" Biyomon called, flying in the lead. "We're coming!"

---

Rika and Renamon scaled up the stairs of the Digimon Emperor's base as fast as possible. It was surprising to the duo that there were little to no Digimon around. But Rika suspected that since the Digimon Emperor thought himself to be so powerful, nobody would be foolish enough to break into his base. Well, he was wrong.

Renamon ran by Rika's side as always, eye sweeping the area for any security cameras or hiding Digimon when she suddenly heard a chuckle come from behind a door. A chuckle that sounded almost human.

"Rika." The red haired Tamer stopped when she heard her partner say her name. "I think I found the Digimon Emperor."

"Where?" she asked. Renamon pointed to a nearby door. Eyes narrowing dangerously, Rika walked over to the door and slowly opened it. Tiptoeing into the room with Renamon, the red-haired girl hid behind a wall when she saw the Digimon Emperor and Wormmon standing before a screen, the former typing on it. Looking around the corner, Rika noticed the screen was displaying a spiral in black color.

'He made it,' she thought grimly.

(Play Digimon Tamers: Digital Field)

"So…this is…the new device?" Wormmon asked nervously.

"Yes," Ken chuckled. "The Dark Spiral. Based on the data I was able to gather from the numerous attempts at Digivolving Agumon, I was able to take the five Dark Rings I used on him, and I merged them together. This shall be my newest method of controlling Digimon. I'll still use Dark Rings now and then, but the Dark Spiral shall be used for Ultimate level Digimon, as well as any strong Champion levels. It's more powerful and much stronger than Dark Rings, and it doesn't have to be powered by Control Spires! I can deploy them anywhere in the Digital World!"

Rika scowled at what she just learned. The Dark Spiral would definitely create problems, but she was sure it was nothing they couldn't handle.

"And you've already made two," Wormmon said, diverting Rika and Renamon's attention back to the two.

"Yes," replied Ken. "The first one shall be used on Agumon. And as for the second one…" A button was pressed on the keyboard, and an image of Guilmon sprung up, making Rika and Renamon gasp in shock. Fortunately, neither Ken nor Wormmon heard the gasps as they were engrossed in the computer.

"That Digimon…wasn't he the one who fought SkullGreymon?" Wormmon asked in surprise. "Isn't he a partner Digimon as well?"

"Yes." Ken brought up images of Growlmon and WarGrowlmon as well. "This…Guilmon, as I believe he was called…is definitely a unique Digimon, one I've never seen before. His power is unbelievable. With this Digimon, and MetalGreymon under my command, not only will I finally get revenge on Davis and Ryo, but I shall finally achieve my ultimate destiny!" The boy threw his head back and laughed evilly, ready to unleash his newest creation on the Digital World. Nothing could stop him now, not even Davis and Ryo.

"…Feel better now, little boy emperor?"

Tensing up at the female voice he heard, Ken whirled around and yelled in surprise when he saw Rika standing in front of him, an unreadable expression on her face. Renamon appeared behind her, her face set in a glare.

"What the…who are you?! How did you get into my base?!"

"That's neither here nor there, is it?" Rika asked coldly, her hands clutching her D-Arc. Ken's eyes flitted down to the blue and white device, and he gasped seeing it.

"That device…you're another one of Ryo's friends!"

"Wow, the genius made an observation," Rika said in mock surprise. "Let me ask you a question, Ichijouji. Do you actually think you're bringing balance to the Digital World by making towers and enslaving other people's Digimon? Because you're not. And do you honestly think Davis and Ryo don't stand a chance against you?"

(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Yogiru Fuan)

"Of course they don't!" Ken yelled, angry at the girl for mocking him. "I've come up with every conceivable plan against them! With the Dark Spiral, I'll make them both pay! Ryo will pay for leaving me behind for three years! And Davis…he abandoned me when Sam died. He never came to me at all. I thought he was my friend…but in the end, he never was! I'll kill them both for what they did! And then, I'll take over the entire Digital World! With MetalGreymon and WarGrowlmon at my command, nothing will stop me from achieving my destiny!" Rika simply watched Ken yell at her with a bored expression.

"Are you finished?" she asked, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Let me get a few things straight to you Ichijouji: I do not believe in destiny. I don't believe everything is predetermined for you. You're simply acting like this because you read some crap prophecy and thought you were meant for it. And as for Davis never making contact with you, that's just as much as your fault as it is his. You could have met with him over the last three years, but you were just as wrapped in your own misery, and plotting the conquest of the Digital World. So that's on you."

"Don't talk like you know me, foolish girl!" Ken snarled, his hand twitching for his whip. "I am the ruler of this Digital World! Nothing can stop my Dark Spirals!"

"Congratulations, you made a new brainwashing device," Rika said in a slow clap. "Get real. Devimon had those before with his Black Gears. And stopping Digivolution with Control Spires…please. Etemon had his Dark Network before you had the Spires. And a lot of other Digimon have claimed to be king of this world, but it always failed for them."

"Face facts Ichijouji: You're a fraud. You think you're in charge of all of this, but when it comes down to it: You're not the king. You're just a pawn being moved around by the hand controlling every single piece on the chessboard. Millenniummon made you what you were from his Dark Spore. If you didn't have it, then you'd be average at best!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Ken screeched at the top of his voice. "I'm under nobody's control! I will be this world's savior, their king! You're nothing compared to me!"

"No Ken," Rika said with a frown. "You're nothing. I've fought far more dangerous threats in my world, threats that would make you piss your pants. Compared to the Devas, IceDevimon and the D-Reaper…you're just an annoying blip on my radar."

"WHY, YOU!" Ken yelled, lashing out with his whip. The whip lashed against Rika's cheek, but the red-haired girl didn't even flinch. Instead she just moved her hand up to the wound and inspected the blood. Ken and Wormmon could barely believe it. Hardly anyone could stand up from being struck like that.

"You will regret striking her," Renamon growled, moving for Ken before Rika raised her hand to stop her.

"No. He's mine," the red-haired girl glowered at the purple-haired boy. Ken's breathing was deep and shallow, but he breathed deep and chuckled at the girl foolish to fight him.

"You…you actually think you can defeat me? I've beaten men twice your size and age in judo! What makes you think you have a chance?"

"I know a few things you don't," Rika said before suddenly rushing the boy. Ken could only gasp as the red-haired girl grabbed him by the waist and threw him down to the ground. Snarling, Ken quickly turned around and lashed out with his whip again, but Rika grabbed it out of his hands and threw it to the side before kicking him in the side of the face.

"Let's see how tough you are without your toy!" Rika charged for Ken again, and the fight was on.

---

It was still raining when school ended, and Davis, TK, Kari, Takato and Henry dashed down the hall for the computer lab. Unsurprisingly, there was a big crowd in the room: Tai, Ryo, Izzy, Suzie, Cody, and the Digimon were in the room. Monodramon and Gatomon were pulling Guilmon in through the window.

"How did you manage to get here, Guilmon?" Takato asked, helping pull his partner in.

"Izzy's mom gave me a ride here," Guilmon said before shaking himself dry, spreading water everywhere.

"Agh! Guilmon, watch it! Don't get the computers wet!" Izzy yelled, shielding his face from the water.

"You guys are late," Tai said irritably.

"We're sorry Tai…" Kari said quickly.

"Okada and the guys started playing hockey with the brooms," explained Davis, "and the teacher yelled at us as well."

"Who's this Okada?" Tai asked, annoyed about a game of broom hockey making them late.

"He's on the same cleaning crew as us," explained TK.

"It was my fault for not stopping them," Kari said sheepishly. "Please don't be mad Tai. I know you're worried about Agumon and Sora…" Tai breathed deep and sighed, knowing he couldn't be mad forever.

"All right…so where's Kazu and Kenta?"

"They're with Ai and Mako," said Takato. "Since Jeri and Sora aren't here, they'll be taking the twins home today."

"What about Yolei?" asked TK, noticing the absence of the inheritor of Love.

"Still not here…" Poromon said, slightly upset about his partner being missing.

"Well, she still can't be having class," said Izzy. "That ended a while ago."

"Go look for her, then!" said Tai.

"I'll go!" said Cody, running out the lab with Suzie in tow. They didn't get far as the moment they stepped out the door, they saw Yolei standing in front of them, looking downcast.

"Never mind guys, she's right here!" Suzie and Cody walked back into the lab with Yolei walking slowly behind them. Davis noticed this, and walked over to the glasses-wearing girl.

"Yolei, is something wrong?"

"Are you sick?" Poromon asked, floating over to his partner.

"No…it's not that…" Yolei muttered sadly before sitting down in a chair. "I just…I don't feel like it today…after what happened the last few days…"

"If you're not up to it, then maybe it'd be best if you stay here," said Tai, making most of the group look at him in surprise.

"Tai, be nice…" Kari said in shock, going over to her brother and holding his arm.

(Play Digimon: Kanashimi 2)

"Hold on Kari, I don't think we should get your brother wrong," said Ryo. "Yolei, if you're not at your best, then it could be catastrophic for you and your partner."

"He's right," agreed Izzy. "Besides, I'll be staying as well to provide surveillance."

Yolei could only bite her lip. Her mind was steeping with recent events, and she could barely concentrate in class today. They were right when they said she would be a burden, and she didn't want to be a burden, yet at the same time she didn't want to stay here on the sidelines.

"Yolei, it's all right," Henry said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're just having an off-day. I get it. We all have those moments."

"Don't worry Yolei!" Poromon assured his partner. "I'm sure everything will be okay in the end."

"Yeah…you're right…" Yolei sighed with resignation. "All right, I'll stay."

"Plus, if something goes wrong, you can bring in reinforcements," said Davis. "We have Mimi and Joe on standby, and Matt's seeing what he can do about his band practice."

"I bet Kazu and Kenta are upset about babysitting here," Terriermon chuckled.

"Babysitting?" asked Guilmon. "But Ai and Mako aren't babies. And why would Kazu and Kenta sit on Ai and Mako?"

"That's not what babysitting means, Guilmon!" Takato said with a laugh.

"Well, if this is everybody, then let's get Agumon back!" Tai said determinedly before turning to Izzy. "Have you found out where the girls went?"

"I have," said Izzy. "They took a Digital Gate to a place called Locomotown."

"Do you think that's where Agumon is?" asked Kari.

"Definitely," said Ryo. "Once we find the girls and Agumon, we get out immediately before Ken can catch us again. He'll have finished it by now."

"It?" asked Cody. "What's 'it'?"

"The Dark Spiral," said Takato. "After the fiasco with SkullGreymon, Ken's created a new device to control Ultimate level Digimon. What's more, the only way to free a Digimon with a Dark Spiral is to destroy the Spiral. The Dark Spirals are so powerful, they don't need to be powered by a Control Spire to work."

"I see," said Izzy. "This could make things more difficult. Fortunately, Henry and I finally managed to complete our program last night."

"So that means our Digimon can Digivolve now without worrying about the Control Spires!" TK said in surprise.

"Yes, but it needs to be downloaded into a Digivice and D-3 by a D-Ark." Izzy turned over to Henry. "When you find Sora, download the program into her Digivice."

"I got it," said Henry. "Takato, care to do the honors?"

"No problem!" Takato held his D-Ark in front of computer screen.

"Digital Gate, Open!" The screen flashed brightly and in a few moments, Yolei, Izzy, Poromon and Tentomon were the only ones left in the room.

"Yolei, do you want to talk?" Izzy asked the younger girl. Yolei simply shook her head and walked out the room without Poromon.

---

The group landed in on a grassy hill and they looked the distance to see a village down below.

"There. That's Locomotown," said Takato. "We go there and we'll find Agumon and the girls."

"The sooner we find them, the better," Davis said anxiously. "I don't want to get into another fight with Ken."

"Yeah, he'll probably attack us with even more powerful slaves," said Veemon, getting nods of agreement from most of the group.

A few branches lay strewn around the Digidestined. Cody picked one up and began swinging it around in anger, almost hitting Armadillomon in the nose.

"Woah! Cody, what's the matter?" asked the yellow armadillo, but Cody continued swinging the branch in anger until he heard it hit flesh, and then a moan.

"Ow! Takato, Cody hit me! He's mean!" Guilmon whined holding his head.

"Hey! What was that for?" Takato asked, upset that his partner was hurt. "You hit Guilmon and you almost hit your own partner!" Cody looked up and saw Guilmon rubbing his head and his anger instantly turned into regret.

"I…I'm sorry Guilmon…but it makes me so mad! Controlled or not, what Ken's been doing to the Digital World, Agumon and the Digimon has been nothing short of unforgiveable! Dishonorable!"

"Dishonorable?" Monodramon said with a laugh. "Do you honestly think Millenniummon ever gave a crap about honor? Of course he didn't! These types always do what's necessary to them to win, and if that includes controlling our own friends, then they'll do it and not consider the consequences! So why don't you put that stick away before you put somebody else's eye out?" The purple dragon pulled the stick out of Cody's hands and snapped it in two before throwing the halves aside.

"I'm sorry…" Cody said again.

"Come on, let's get down to the village so we can get some clues," said Tai. "And maybe take down that Control Spire."

"Right!" The group went down the hill, following Tai and Davis.

---

(Play Digimon: Moon Fighter)

"AGH!" Ken yelled as he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and thrown off his feet by Rika, landing hard on his side. The red-haired girl then jumped on him and began pummeling his face with punches.

"You talk big game Ichijouji, but you can't back it up when it's just yourself!"

"He's not alone!" Rika turned to see Wormmon preparing an attack. "STICKY…"

"Renamon, deal with that pest!"

"POWER PAW!" Renamon charged forward and knocked Wormmon away with a flaming paw. The brief distraction allowed Ken to push Rika off of him and charge for her, but Rika was prepared and lifted her feet up, kicking him back before standing back up and delivering a hard headbutt that broke his sunglasses.

"Ugh…" Ken groaned as he staggered back and felt blood dripping from his nose. It was practically impossible that this girl, who was his age, was able to hold her own against him, a judo expert.

"How…how are you able to fight me?"

"You've only learned martial arts in the Human World," Rika said a little smugly. "Me…well, I learned Tai Chi from a friend of mine, and my partner taught me a few moves that only she knows. Tell me, Ken…how does it feel knowing you've met your match?"

"I'm not finished with you yet!" Ken snarled as he ran forward to punch Rika, but the girl sidestepped him and rammed her fist into his stomach, causing the boy to gasp from the air leaving him and double over.

"Plus, your fighting style is predictable," Rika added before kicking him down again.

"Ken!" Wormmon cried in worry as he stood back up and made to reach his partner, but Renamon stood in his way.

"I don't think so Wormmon. This fight is between them."

"Get out of my way!" Wormmon growled, though he knew he wasn't very intimidating unless he was Stingmon.

"Why do you continue helping Ken when you know what he is doing is wrong? Why do you aid him when you know he's not himself?"

"I know Ken's not himself," Wormmon said, tears appearing in his angry eyes, "but I know deep down he's still the kind boy he was before, and someday he'll return to his old self. But I have to be there for him, because I'm his partner!"

"Ken won't return to his old self if you continue helping him like this," Renamon said sternly. "Being a partner is about more than just standing by them and fighting for them. It's also to keep them from doing what you know is wrong. If you know what Ken is doing is wrong, then you need see to it that you do something to return him to who he was before."

Wormmon could only stand in silence as he let Renamon speak and Rika and Ken continued their fight.

---

"Area 5…Area 5…" Jeri repeated to herself, running down the hallways with Elecmon, Sora and Biyomon. Soon, the quartet reached a door with a big number "5" plastered above it.

"This is it!" Elecmon drew out his sword and stabbed it into the control panel. The panel sparked with electricity and the door slid open. Sora entered the chamber first, and gasped when she saw Agumon lying motionless on the floor. He was breathing, so that meant he was alive.

"Agumon! Agumon, say something!" Sora ran over to the orange dinosaur and shook him softly. She looked down at the bruises and cuts on him and felt sick. What had happened to Agumon was nothing short of cruel.

Agumon stirred feebly and slowly opened his eyes, which lay on a familiar face.

"So…Sora?" Agumon tried to stand up. "Is…that you…?"

"Don't move, you're hurt," Elecmon came over to the injured reptile. "You'll only make your injuries worse."

"One of you will have to carry him out of here," said Biyomon, who looked at the two human girls.

"Sora, can you do it?" asked Jeri. "You're stronger than me."

"No problem." Sora turned around and got down on one knee. "All right, put him up." Jeri and Elecmon helped Agumon to his feet and propped him up on Sora's back. The red-haired girl latched her arms underneath Agumon's legs and stood up once his arms were around her neck.

"There we go," Sora said softly. "Don't worry Agumon, everything will be all right now."

"Where's Tai…?" he moaned.

"We'll get you back with him soon enough," said Biyomon.

"Let's go!" said Jeri. "I'll signal Rika to let her know we have him!" The girls ran out of the chamber with Biyomon and Elecmon. As she ran, Jeri pulled her D-Arc out of her pocket and pressed the middle button underneath the screen, and the screen flashed red. Had Jeri been looking down, she would have noticed the screen was no longer static.

---

Ken yelled as he managed to crawl away from Rika and grab his whip again, lashing out at the red haired girl. But Rika was prepared and kicked the whip away with her foot before charging for Ken and brought both her fists together, swinging and smashing them into the side of his head. Yelling from the strike, Ken stumbled down to the floor senseless. Before Rika could strike again, her D-Arc began flashing red, indicating a signal from Jeri, which meant one thing: They had Agumon, and they were heading back to Locomon.

"Renamon! We're going!" The kitsune nodded to her partner and went over to exit the room, Rika behind her.

"Get back here!" Ken yelled angrily, stumbling back to his feet. "You think you can just beat me up…insult me…invade my base…and get away with it?!"

"What makes you think I was the real threat?" Rika said with a smirk.

"What?" asked a confused Ken. "What are you talking about?"

"You're the genius," said Rika. "Surely you can figure it out." The door closed, and Ken was left to wonder what Rika meant. If she wasn't the real threat, then what was…

…and then it hit him like a runaway Monochromon.

"The testing area!" Sprinting towards the door, Ken immediately took a lift that would take him to where Agumon was.

---

Sora and Jeri ran behind Elecmon and Biyomon, so the Digimon would protect them and Agumon in case they ran to any of the Emperor's slaves. Running into the area where Locomon was, the group saw Rika and Renamon running out of the hallway and up to them. No one, except the barely stirring Agumon, could hold in their shocks when they saw the cut on Rika's cheek.

"Rika, you're bleeding!" Jeri ran over to her friend and ran her hand through the cut, feeling the blood. "Did Ken do that to you?"

"He did, but I barely felt it," Rika said truthfully. "Don't worry, I can get it fixed when we get back. We have to go before Ken raises the alarm!"

"I think that may be too late!" Biyomon pointed over to Locomon to see Gazimon, Gotsumon and Mushroomon advance towards them, preparing to attack.

"Rookies," Rika scoffed. "Renamon, walk all over them."

"With pleasure," Renamon charged as the brainwashed Digimon launched their attacks of electricity, rocks and poisonous mushrooms, and Rika swiped a card through her D-Arc.

(Play Digimon: SLASH!)

"DIGI-MODIFY! WARGREYMON BRAVE SHIELD!"

The orange shield appeared in Renamon's hands, protecting her from the attacks. The kitsune let out a yell as she threw the shield and knocked down a number of the Digimon and forcing more to step back.

"DIAMOND STORM!" The razor leaves flew forward and pelted the Digimon, shattering their Dark Rings.

"We'll have to get on Locomon himself and detach him from the cars!" said Rika. "Come on!" The group followed Rika and leapt into the train Digimon's engine room. Elecmon bent down and pulled out a bolt that attached Locomon to the rest of the train cars.

"Hey! Locomon!" yelled Rika. "Take us back to Locomotown! Full speed ahead!"

"All aboard!" Locomon yelled, his whistle blowing loudly as he began chugging away, slowly picking up speed.

"We'll have to put some distance between us and them," said Jeri, "and to do that, we'll have to add more fire to Locomon's boiler."

"I have the right card for that!" Rika pulled out another card and swiped it through the D-Ark.

"DIGI-MODIFY! HIPPOGRIFFOMON ACTIVATE!"

"Stand back!" Renamon said, feeling the power of the Ultimate level charging up in her. "HEAT WAVE!" A stream of flames flew from her mouth and into the boiler. The fires roared louder and Locomon was suddenly moving as fast as a bullet train, forcing everybody to hold on a part of Locomon, Sora handing Jeri off to Agumon.

"Okay, maybe that was the wrong card to use!" Rika yelled as they sped down the darkened tunnel.

---

Ken gnashed his teeth in anger as he looked at the security footage from Testing Area 5. This whole thing was a distraction so those two girls could rescue Agumon! He had never felt this angry before, and the anger rose when he saw Elecmon on the screen.

"That little red rat has been a thorn in my side for long enough!" he roared as he shot up from his chair. "Wormmon! Get as many Digimon as you can! We're going to Locomotown!"

'Oh dear…' Wormmon thought worriedly.

---

"So this is Locomotown," Gatomon looked around the village and noticed all the train tracks. "I've heard it's home to a number of Locomon."

"Locomon, huh?" Takato asked, remembering that name.

"I take it you know that Digimon?" asked Veemon.

"Yeah, six months ago, we had to fight a number of Parasimon controlling a Locomon," Henry said, grimacing slightly at that memory. "It was on Rika's birthday."

"Some birthday," Davis chuckled as the group headed for the Control Spire in the middle of the village. The ground in front of them suddenly burst apart and a Digimon the size of a small tree with a Dark Ring on his waist appeared before them.

(Play Digimon Adventure: Saa, Hashiridasou!)

"Fear me! I am Woodmon, the guardian of this area! I cannot be defeated!" The Digidestined and Tamers merely stared at the Digimon as if he was a brief annoyance.

"Henry?" Terriermon asked in a deadpan tone. Henry nodded and pulled out a Digivolution card and his D-Ark.

"I'll take care of the Control Spire," Ryo repeated Henry's actions and Monodramon nodded.

"DIGI-MODIFY! DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"

"TERRIERMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…GARGOMON!"

"MONODRAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…STRIKEDRAMON!"

"Fear me, maggots! BRANCH DRAIN!" Woodmon stretched out with his arms, but Gargomon easily jumped up and aimed his own arms at Woodmon.

"DUMDUM UPPERCUT!" The glowing metal arm smashed into Woodmon's face and sent him flying off his feet, shattering the Dark Ring and knocking the tree Digimon unconscious.

"STRIKE FANG!" Strikedramon ignited his body and ran through the Control Spire, which crumbled away to pieces.

"All right, that's taken care of," said Lopmon. "Now we need to find our friends." Before anyone could move, a loud rumbling noise was heard in the distance.

"Does anybody else hear that?" asked Kari, who received nods from the other kids and the Digimon.

"Yeah…it sounds like it's coming from that tunnel over there," Gargomon raised his ears and pointed to a nearby tunnel. A bright light suddenly appeared in the tunnel and a massive shape began to come closer at breakneck speed.

"Everybody get out of the way!" yelled Gatomon. The Digidestined and Tamers leaped off the track they were on as a Locomon barreled past them at an incredible speed before running off the tracks and burrowing himself in the ground. The wheels stopped spinning and Locomon groaned from moving so fast.

"Destination…reached…" he groaned. The entire group looked up and were surprised when they saw who was behind the controls.

(Play Digimon Tamers: Story Ending)

"Rika and Renamon!" said Strikedramon.

"And Jeri's with them!" said Takato.

"And so is Elecmon," Lopmon noted.

"Takato!" Jeri leaped off of Locomon and ran over to the brown-haired boy, wrapping her arms around him in a crushing hug. "We managed to rescue Agumon!"

"Ooh, where is he?" asked Calumon.

"He's over there," Renamon pointed over to the motionless Locomon, where Tai saw…

"Sora! Agumon!" the bushy haired boy yelled as he ran to his best friend, who was tending to the orange reptile with Biyomon's help.

"Agumon!" Kari gasped when she saw the bruises and scratches on the reptile's body. "He needs medical attention."

"And so do you," Ryo said to Rika when he saw the cut on her face.

"I think I saw a hospital this way," said Suzie. "Follow me!"

Taking Agumon from Sora's arms and hoisting him up with Davis's help, Tai ran for the building Suzie pointed out.

---

(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Sorosoro Yuuhan da ne)

Turning off the sink, Yolei sighed sadly as she looked at herself in the mirror, seeing the glum look on her face before looking at her D-3, which lay before her.

"When did I ever think this was so easy…" she muttered as she walked out of the bathroom, bumping into someone and nearly falling over. Fortunately, the person she bumped into managed to catch her before she fell.

"Sorry about that, I'm in a hurry…Yolei?" The lavender haired girl looked up at the familiar voice and saw Matt looking down at her, Gabumon by his side in a dark blue hooded sweatshirt.

"Matt? You were able to get out of band practice?"

"Yeah, it turned out to be a lucky thing," said the blond-haired boy. "The drummer came down with a stomach bug and he was absent today."

"Oh…so that means you'll be going to the Digital World…" Yolei said, looking down again. Matt noticed her sad look and frowned slightly.

"Yeah…is everybody still waiting?"

"No, they went on ahead…it's just me and Izzy."

"You didn't go?" Matt asked in surprise. "Why? From what I've seen of you, and from what Sora and Mimi told me about you, you're usually the first one to open the Digital Gate and go in."

"Yeah, but…I didn't feel like it today…not after yesterday when I saw SkullGreymon…" Yolei muttered sadly. "I can't help but wonder what would happen if it was Hawkmon."

"Probably the same thing," Gabumon said bluntly, making Yolei's face look more downcast.

"You're not helping," Matt muttered to his partner before turning to Yolei again. "I get it Yolei. Believe me, I still have bad memories of SkullGreymon…"

"That's not all," continued Yolei. "Things have been getting so serious lately, and yet I'm taking it lightly…maybe that's just who I am, or there's a bigger picture that I haven't seen yet."

"Maybe," said Matt.

"What should I do?" asked Yolei.

"I get it, you're afraid," said Matt. "We're all afraid Yolei. But the best we can do is overcome that fear, and help our friends the best we can. You can do that, right?"

"Yeah…I think I can," Yolei nodded.

"Don't think, just do," said Matt. "Now let's get going to the computer room."

"Right!" Feeling her confidence returning, Yolei ran to the computer room with Matt and Gabumon to find Mimi and Palmon with Izzy, Tentomon and Poromon.

"Oh, Yolei!" said Mimi. "Izzy told me you were feeling down…"

"I'm feeling much better," Yolei said quickly. "Izzy, is the Digital Gate still open?"

"Yes," Izzy said, surprised at Yolei's change in attitude.

"Good, I'm going!"

"So are we!" Matt said about himself and Mimi.

"All right, good luck," Izzy said as Yolei held up her D-3 and was sucked into the computer with Matt, Mimi, and the Digimon.

"Well, that was something," commented Tentomon.

"Well, Yolei's like Mimi," replied Izzy. "She never lets anything get her down for long."

---

(Play Digimon Adventure: Toki no Sugiyuku Mama ni)

"There we go," Gatomon cut the extra bandages with her claws. "Don't move much, and you'll heal up fine."

"Thank you," Agumon said gratefully to Gatomon. The Digidestined and Tamers were in the small hospital where they managed to disinfect and bandage Agumon's wounds as well as the cut on Rika's cheek. Gargomon and Strikedramon stood outside, standing guard for any attacks. Once he was bandaged up, Agumon leaned over and wrapped his arms around Tai in a hug, small tears forming in his eyes.

"Thank you for coming Tai…I knew you'd come…"

"I couldn't just leave you like this," Tai said, his voice cracking a little. "I just wish I had gotten here sooner, it was Sora and Jeri who did most of the rescue work."

"Yeah, and Rika held off Ken so nobody would be alerted," added Jeri.

"You actually fought Ken and won?" Ryo asked with a laugh. "Nice, Rika! I knew you were tough, but that was something else!"

"Oh, stop it," Rika said with a glare and a blush. "He may be your brainwashed friend, but you would have done the same if it was you."

"Heh, heh…yeah, that's true," Ryo said, looking down to the floor, the embarrassed look now on his face.

"Sora, why did you do that anyway?" asked Tai. "Calumon said it's because you cared a lot about me since we were best friends…but is that true?"

"It is true," Sora said after a moment of considering her answer. "I couldn't sit by and let you continue worry about Agumon unless I did something. I know comforting you wouldn't work much, so I guess I…just pulled a you. Besides, you saved my life from Datamon, and I never got to repay you."

"Well…um…thanks," Tai walked over and hugged Sora tightly, the red-haired girl returning the embrace. "Do you think we can meet up somewhere once we get home?"

"Sure," said Sora. "I'd love that."

"Are you okay as well, Jeri?" asked Takato.

"Yes, I'm fine," Jeri said with a light smile. "We managed to rescue Agumon and Rika only got one scratch on her face. I know what I did was crazy and wrong," her face dropped down, "but like Sora, I couldn't bear seeing Tai separated from his partner."

"Yeah, what you did was crazy and wrong, going in without much help," said Takato, "but you did great. I know Leomon would be proud of you."

"Yes…he would," Renamon said with a light smile as he looked over to Elecmon, who was also standing outside with Gargomon and Strikedramon.

"Hey guys," said Davis, "if Agumon and Rika have been patched up, then maybe we should get home now. If Rika did hand Ken's ass to him, then I have a bad feeling that Ken may come down on us hard if we don't leave yet."

"He's right," said Ryo. "We came here to free Agumon. Now that we have him, let's get out of here."

"Uh, guys?" called Gargomon. "I think we may be a little too late." The entire group ran out the building, Guilmon supporting Agumon along the way. Once they ran out, they saw Ken standing on top of a platform, his cape swishing in the wind and Stingmon by his side. Even from up high, the Digidestined could see the sneer on his face, which bore several bruises.

"Great," Davis moaned, not wanting to run into Ken again.

(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Aku no Butai ga Yatte Kita)

"I have to give you ladies some credit, you were rather brave to rescue Agumon," Ken said, glaring down at Sora, Rika and Jeri. "But you were also foolish, especially you!" He pointed to Rika, who merely rolled her eyes.

"The only foolish one is you!" yelled Tai. "You made a mistake taking Agumon from me, and I won't let you hurt him anymore!"

"Big talk, Kamiya!" yelled Ken. "Your partner can't even fight properly!"

"Because of you!" Cody yelled angrily. "What kind of a human being does this," he gestured to Agumon, "to someone else?!"

"One who will not be denied his revenge and his destiny!" Ken answered before snapping his whip in the air. A loud screeching sound filled the air and everybody looked up to see five large black dragon-like Digimon drop down from the sky, Dark Rings on their arms.

"Devidramon!" Takato gasped, recognizing the Digimon as the first one Guilmon ever fought as Growlmon.

"They're not the only ones!" Gargomon gasped when he looked behind him. "Henry, he's got Gorillamon!"

"Gorillamon?!" Henry asked, turning around to see five white gorillas with cannons for their right arms, and their left arms wearing Dark Rings.

A building near TK blew up and revealed five Digimon shaped like tanks with machine guns attached to their arms.

"He's also got Tankmon!" said Tai.

"What else does he have?!" Suzie's question was answered with a loud roar and five Digimon that looked like bears with purple fur appeared on top of another platform.

"Grizzlymon," Rika identified the Digimon through her D-Ark. "Beast type Vaccine Digimon, Champion level. They have exceptional grappling abilities, and their special attack is Maul Attack, where they strike their enemies' vitals."

"There's too many of them, even for us!" Armadillomon said in worry.

"Don't say that, we've been through worse!" Rika said, preparing a Digivolution card.

"I'll give you an ultimatum," Ken then called down to the Digidestined. "If you surrender Agumon and the red Digimon you call Guilmon to me, then I shall call off my soldiers and you'll only have to deal with MetalGreymon and WarGrowlmon under my command!"

Tai prepared to call out Ken on the ridiculousness of Ken's offer, but Takato beat him to it, glaring up at Ken with hatred.

"You can take that offer and shove it up your ass!" the brown-haired boy yelled, making Jeri, Henry and Rika gasp in surprise at Takato's remark. "We'll never give you back Agumon, and I would die before I ever let you get your hands on Guilmon! You may not be yourself right now Ken, but you just threatened Guilmon…and I draw the line right there! Let's get him, guys!"

"Right!" everybody else said, making Ken sigh in annoyance.

"Very well then. If I can't get what I want the easy way, then I'll take it by force! Attack, my slaves!"

The Digimon roared as they advanced for the Digidestined and Tamers, who were prepared to Digivolve their Digimon, when…

"EAGLE EYE!"

"WOLF CLAW!"

"FLOWER CANNON!"

Two red laser beams, and a blade of energy shaped like an X, and a green shell of energy flew at the Digimon, colliding with several Tankmon and Grizzlymon.

(Play Digimon Tamers: Tamer Action)

"Hey! Are we late for the party?!" The group looked over to see Halsemon flying towards them with Yolei, Matt and Mimi on his back. Lillymon flew next to the red griffin, and WereGarurumon leapt off of rooftops to catch up.

"Not at all!" Cody called out, happy to see his friend again before turning to Davis with a serious expression. "Davis, give me your D-Terminal, and I'll give you yours!"

"What?" Davis asked in surprise.

"Don't argue! We'll have to fight our way past this, and maybe we can do it if Veemon and Armadillomon take on new Armor levels!"

"But…" Davis hesitated, not wanting to fight Ken again.

"Davis," Ryo said firmly. "We have to do this." Davis swallowed the lump building up in his throat before passing his D-Terminal to Cody, who did the same thing as well.

"Sora, hold up your Digivice," Henry told the red-haired girl. Sora did so, and Henry raised his D-Ark, a beam of light shooting from the screen and going into Sora's Digivice. "There. Now Biyomon can Digivolve even around Control Spires."

"Really?" Sora asked with a big smile. "Thanks, Henry!"

"All right, let's do this!" Rika and Suzie pulled swiped the Digivolution cards through their D-Arks as Sora raised her Digivice in the air and Davis, Cody, Kari and TK raised up their D-3s.

"DIGI-MODIFY! DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"

"DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!"

"RENAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…KYUBIMON!"

"LOPMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…TURUIEMON!"

"PATAMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TOOO…SOARING HOPE, PEGASUSMON!"

"GATOMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TOOO…LIGHT OF SMILES, NEFERTIMON!"

"VEEMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TOOO…HONEYBEEMON!"

"ARMADILLOMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TOOO…BOARMON!"

"Biyomon!" Sora said to her partner with a hard look in her eyes that Biyomon shared as well.

"I'm on it, Sora!" Biyomon leaped into the air and took flight as she glowed brightly with Sora's Digivice and Digivolved straight to her Ultimate level.

(Play Digimon Adventure tri: Brave Heart)

"BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…BIRDRAMON!"

"BIRDRAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…GARUDAMON!"

"Go!" yelled Tai. Garudamon screeched loudly as she spread her wings in the air and flew into the air with Pegasusmon and Nefertimon to engage the Devidramon in combat.

"SHADOW WING!" The bird woman thrust her arms forward to release a flaming bird at the Devidramon. Two of the black dragons dodged the attack, the other three were struck by it and spiraled out of the sky.

"Garudamon, take on the Devidramon that fell!" said Pegasusmon.

"We'll handle the other two!" said Nefertimon. Garudamon nodded and flew down to engage the Devidramon trio, swiping her massive claws at them in order to break their Dark Rings.

"CRIMSON CLAW!" The Devidramon engaging Nefertimon lashed out with his blood red nails, but the sphinx Digimon expertly dodged the swipes and released her Beam of Isis, hitting him in his red eyes, making the dragon screech loudly.

"EQUIS BEAM!" Pegasusmon's green beam flew out and hit his Devidramon, but the black dragon resisted the attack and released his Red Eye attack, a red beam from his eyes to paralyze the flying horse, but Pegasusmon blocked the attack with another Equis Beam before releasing his Star Shower attack.

---

Down below on the ground, Kyubimon dashed on the ground with Rika on her back, dodging the Tankmon's blasts.

"HYPER CANNON!" The Tankmon fired shell after shell from their cannons, but the yellow fox proved to be too nimble for the cyborg Digimon.

"Rika, power up!" said Kyubimon.

"DIGI-MODIFY! OFFENSE PLUG-IN A!"

"FOX TAIL INFERNO!" The attack was stronger than before thanks to the card, and the nine fireballs soared and danced around three of the Tankmon, three fireballs for each one. The three Tankmon yelled in pain from the flames before collapsing, their Dark Rings shattering from the heat of the flames. The other two Tankmon attempted to fire on Kyubimon, but Armadillomon's Courage evolved form Boarmon, who greatly resembled a boar with flaming fur, charged forward and rammed into one Tankmon. The flaming Digimon barely felt the collision as he rammed the Tankmon into his fellow Cyborg Digimon.

"NOSE BLASTER!" Flames spewed from Boarmon's snout and enveloped the two Tankmon, sending them crashing into a boulder, breaking their Dark Rings off.

---

"ENERGY CANNON!" Two Gorillamon fired their attacks at Gargomon, but the hunter Digimon, who had experience with Gorillamon, dodged the attacks by jumping into the air and spreading his ears to fly.

"GARGO PELLETS!" The bullets flew down and pelted the Gorillamon, forcing the two Digimon back. The Gorillamon on the left roared loudly as he leapt on a nearby building to get out of Gargomon's firing range, before blasting him down with his cannon.

"Gargomon!" Henry called out to his partner in concern.

"I'm fine Henry," Gargomon stood back up and shook the cobwebs out of his head. "But we need to stop these oversized monkeys from moving around so much! Do you still have the Training Grips card?"

"Yeah, I do," Henry smiled faintly, remembering the last time they fought a Gorillamon. The blue-haired boy quickly pulled out the card and swiped it through his D-Arc. A glowing light enveloped Gargomon's ears, and metal braces appeared on them.

"Come and get some!" Pulling his ears back and thrusting them forward, Gargomon released the braces and they clamped shut around the Gorillamon's upper bodies, restraining their arms.

"DUMDUM UPPERCUT!" Dashing forward, the dog-man Digimon rammed his guns into both gorilla Digimon's left arms, shattering their Dark Rings to pieces. Not far away, the other three Gorillamon attempted to blast Lillymon out of the sky, but the fairy Digimon weaved through the attacks while blasting them with her Flower Cannon, forcing them together back-to-back.

"VICIOUS VINE!" Lillymon created two vines in her hands that sprouted thorns, and she dropped down on the trio, forcing them apart as she swung around with her weapons, slicing through the Dark Rings like tissue paper.

"Woah!" Gargomon gaped at the flower fairy. "You're definitely stronger than I thought you to be!"

"Well, looks aren't everything," Lillymon said before taking flight to aid Garudamon, who was now being aided by Halsemon against the Devidramon.

---

"MAUL ATTACK!" One of the Grizzlymon launched himself at WereGarurumon, who raised his arms and blocked the massive bear Digimon, fighting him in a battle for strength. Grizzlymon was strong for a Champion level Digimon, but he was fighting an Ultimate level Digimon.

Roaring at the bear, WereGarurumon headbutted him, disorienting the massive bear as he lifted him over his head and threw him into the ground. The werewolf then bent down and tore the Dark Ring off easily.

"Come on, you mangy furballs!" Suzie challenged the two Grizzlymon fighting Turuiemon. The two bears roared as they charged the Champion level Digimon, but the rabbit warrior crouched down low and leapt up at the last second, causing both Grizzlymon to land hard on the ground.

"NINJA CLAW!" Bringing down her claws, Turuiemon dropped down on the Grizzlymon and swiped through the Dark Rings. As this happened, the remaining two Grizzlymon attempted to fight WereGarurumon, but the werewolf Digimon grabbed one by the throat before throwing him into the other.

"GARURU KICK!" An energy blade was released from WereGarurumon's strong kick, and the two Grizzlymon were free from their Dark Rings.

---

"Stingmon, get Agumon and Guilmon!" Ken barked to his partner, knowing he had little time left.

"R…right," Stingmon said reluctantly, flying down to get the two exposed Digimon, but Strikedramon intercepted him in mid-flight, ramming into him headfirst and knocking him to the ground.

"Stand down, Stingmon!" said the dragon man. "It won't do me any pleasure to defeat you!"

"Me neither, Strikedramon," Stingmon said before extending his arm blades and engaging his old friend in battle.

"Blast!" said Ken. "It looks like I'll have to do it myself!" Before he could move off the platform, Veemon's new form, a yellow bee Digimon with blue skin, flew up at him, his stinger shining dangerously.

"Sorry Ken. This won't kill you, but it won't tickle either! PARALYZE STING!" Honeybeemon attempted to paralyze Ken, but the young tyrant was able to duck and jump off the platform, landing on a nearby rock.

By this point, Agumon had seen enough. He didn't care if he was still hurting, or if he hadn't eaten in the past day, he was aiming to get revenge for what Ken did to him and his friends.

"That does it Ken!" the orange reptile ripped off his bandages as he broke away from the group and charged for the Digimon Emperor. "I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me!"

"Agumon, wait!" Guilmon called, chasing after Agumon. "You're still hurt!"

"Guilmon, get back here!" Takato yelled as he broke into a run with Tai and Davis. "It could be a trap!"

"How right you are," Ken cackled as he pulled out two black objects and tossed them into the air. Before either Agumon or Guilmon could react, the objects, which were the new Dark Spirals, landed on their arms. Both of them cried out in agony and collapsed to the ground before standing back up again. Agumon's eyes were blood red while Guilmon's eyes were shut.

(Play Digimon Tamers: Panic)

"Agumon!" Tai yelled in shock.

"GUILMON, NO!" Takato screamed in horror.

"PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon shot his fireball at Tai, but Davis managed to push his mentor out of the way before it could hit.

"Yes!" Ken laughed with triumph. "Agumon and Guilmon are now under my control with my new Dark Spirals!"

"NO!" Sora and Jeri cried in horror. After all the work they went through, Agumon was with the Digimon Emperor again, and now Guilmon was his slave as well.

"No…Guilmon…" Takato shook like a leaf as he looked at his partner, now a brainwashed slave. "This can't be!"

"Oh, but it is!" said Ken. "Watch! Guilmon, attack your former partner!"

"NO!" Jeri yelled with faint tears in her eyes. "GUILMON, DON'T DO IT!"

"Takato, get out of the way!" Rika yelled as flames began appearing in Guilmon's mouth.

"Guilmon…don't do this…!" Takato begged. Ken smirked as Guilmon opened his mouth…

"PYRO SPHERE!"

…and the smirk suddenly turned into a look of shock when the red fireball hit him in the chest and sent him flying ten feet away.

"What?!" he yelled as he stood back up and noticed Guilmon had turned around, his back now to Takato. "Guilmon, what is the meaning of this?! Why did you attack me?!"

"Because…" Guilmon's eyes opened to reveal yellow pupils instead of red, "…you tried to make me hurt Takato. And that is unforgiveable!" The red reptile snarled as he pulled the Dark Spiral off his arm and threw it at Ken. The Digimon Emperor was so shocked at what he saw, he yelled in surprise when the Spiral originally on Guilmon hit him in the face.

"Ken!" Stingmon yelled as he was pushed back by Strikedramon.

"Gu…Guilmon…!" Takato cried happily, throwing his arms around his partner in relief.

"What the…the Dark Spiral didn't work on Guilmon?!" Kari asked in surprise.

"But how?" asked TK.

"It must be because Guilmon and our Digimon are from an alternate universe," realized Henry. "They're not only immune to the Control Spires, but they're also immune to the Dark Rings and Dark Spirals!"

"But that's more than we can say about Agumon," Gargomon said gravelly, looking at the orange reptile.

"Agumon!" Tai yelled to his partner, but Agumon said nothing as Ken stood up with a sneer.

"No matter. Even if I don't have Guilmon, I still have the other Digimon that I came for!" The purple-haired boy raised his D-3 in the air. "Now Agumon! Dark-Digivolve!"

(Play Digimon Tamers: Hakai to Konran Futatabi)

"AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…METALGREYMON!" The cyborg appeared in place of Agumon, but like when Ken Digivolved him earlier, his skin was blue.

"Metal…Greymon!" Matt said in shock.

"But he's all blue…" TK said in a confused tone. Henry pulled out his D-Ark to analyze the Ultimate level before them.

"MetalGreymon. Ultimate level Cyborg type Digimon. His attacks, Giga Destroyer and Trident Arm, are still the same, but the reason his skin is blue is because he's a Virus attribute instead of a Vaccine…"

"As expected," Ken chuckled. "Now I can control Ultimate level Digimon with no problems at all!"

"MetalGreymon!" Tai yelled as he ran up to his partner.

"Tai, no!" Davis yelled as Honeybeemon dropped down next to him. "It's too dangerous!"

"It's me! Don't you recognize me?!" Tai yelled up to his partner, refusing to lose him again.

"Talking is useless," Ken said simply with a bored look on his face. "Now MetalGreymon, show them your power as one of the most powerful Cyborg Digimon ever!"

"Yes…master…" MetalGreymon growled, raising his metal arm up and bringing it down on a shell-shocked Tai.

"Watch out!" Takato yelled, pushing Tai out of the way of the claws.

"Takato, I need to become WarGrowlmon!" Guilmon said, running up to his Tamer.

"Right!" Takato prepared to pull out the Blue Card, but MetalGreymon lashed out with his tail and struck the duo, sending them flying off their feet.

"TAKATO!" Jeri screamed upon seeing her friend get hurt.

"Agumon!" Garudamon dropped down from the sky and landed in front of her friend. "Snap out of it!"

(Play Digimon Adventure: Shitou)

MetalGreymon simply growled as he grabbed Garudamon by the throat and lifted her off the ground before throwing her away from him. The bird woman crashed into the ground and collided with WereGarurumon and Turuiemon. The two Digimon attempted to catch Garudamon, but she was simply too big for them and the three slid across the ground, Garudamon and WereGarurumon reverting to their Rookie levels.

"GIGA DESTROYER!" MetalGreymon's missiles soared in the sky and exploded in midair, the shockwaves from the explosion knocking Halsemon, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon out of the sky.

"Agumon, stop this!" Tai yelled as he ran over to his partner, but was restrained by Davis and Ryo.

"Tai, stop it! You're only going to get yourself killed!" Ryo held on to Tai's right arm.

"But…!" Tai spluttered, struggling in the grip of the two boys.

"Tai, please!" Sora pleaded, running over to her best friend. "We have to let them break off the Dark Spiral! MetalGreymon doesn't recognize you anymore! It's the only way!"

"S…Sora…" Tai whispered as he went limp. Feeling that he wouldn't run off again, Ryo and Davis released Tai and he collapsed to his knees in despair. Sora bent down and wrapped her arms around Tai in comfort.

"Hang on, MetalGreymon!" Lillymon flew in a circle around MetalGreymon, preparing an attack to restrain the Virus Ultimate. "FLOWER…"

"REVENGE FLAME!" MetalGreymon opened his mouth and dark blue flames flew out, enveloping Lillymon.

"AAAGHH!" Lillymon screamed as she fell to the ground and was kicked into Boarmon. The two Digimon slid in front of Cody and reverted to their Rookie forms as well.

"Palmon!" Mimi cried, holding her partner in her arms. "Stay strong, Palmon!"

"Armadillomon, hang in there!" Cody begged his partner.

"DUMDUM UPPERCUT!"

"DRAGON WHEEL!"

Kyubimon's flaming dragon succeeded in hitting the Dark Spiral thanks to an accuracy card from Rika, but the sinister device showed little to no damage. Gargomon leaped up on MetalGreymon and rammed his guns into the Spiral, but it still showed no damage. Roaring loudly, MetalGreymon grabbed Gargomon and threw him into Kyubimon. The two Digimon remained in their Champion forms, but were still in pain. As the fight continued, Jeri continued looking from MetalGreymon to Ken in sadness.

"STRIKE CLAW!" Strikedramon leapt up to hit the Spiral, but MetalGreymon swatted him back down.

"It's no use!" said Honeybeemon. "He's moving too fast, and he's too strong!"

"GIGA DESTROYER!" MetalGreymon fired his missiles again, but this time they were aimed at the Digidestined and Tamers.

"Watch out!" Honeybeemon stood in front of the Digidestined, and Halsemon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon stood with him, taking the attack for themselves. The resulting explosion knocked everybody off their feet and reverted the Armor level Digimon to their previous selves.

"Do you see now the power of the Ultimate level?" Ken said with a laugh. "With MetalGreymon, I shall be one step closer to achieving my goal!"

"Damn it Ken…" Davis growled as he stood back up and glared at his friend in anger. "Are you this driven by revenge on me and Ryo that you're willing to take control of our friends? Make us fight one another?!"

"This is about more than revenge Davis," Ken answered. "This is about my destiny! After the second time Millenniummon fell, I saw a vision of the entire Digital World being plunged into eventual chaos due to a lack of darkness."

"Funny, that's what Millenniummon said," Veemon grumbled.

"Millenniummon was a psychopath who didn't know right from wrong," said Ken. "But I saw a vision that somebody, a human who had seen the light and darkness of both the Human World and the Digital World, was destined to rule the Digital World as the Emperor, and balance the light and darkness properly. I knew that somebody was me. My destiny had been chosen from what I saw! And I shall achieve that destiny, no matter what!"

(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Yuukan ni Tachimukau zo!)

"STOP IT!" Everybody froze and looked over to Jeri, who had a torn look on her face. "Stop talking about destiny being chosen for you! You think this is your destiny, Ken? You see a vision and you automatically assume that's what you were meant for?"

"What do you know?" Ken asked with a sneer.

"I know a lot," said Jeri, walking past everybody and stopping once she was between MetalGreymon and her injured friends. "We've never met until now, but I know who you are Ken. I know about the pain you've been through, the depression you've been suffering from! You and I are alike!"

"We are not alike!" Ken snapped.

"YES, WE ARE!" Jeri shrieked, causing everybody to jump back a little. "SHUT UP AND LET ME TALK!"

"Holy smokes…" Gargomon whispered in surprise. "I don't think Jeri's ever been like this before…"

"No kidding," Takato breathed in surprise as well. Unknown to anyone, Elecmon was slowly crawling away, keeping his eyes on Jeri the entire time.

"I've lost family as well, and I know what it's like to feel abandoned by everybody," said Jeri. "I know what it's like, thinking that this was meant to be your destiny, but it's not! It's only like that because we didn't choose our destiny, somebody else did! Destiny is something we, and only we, choose, and I know you didn't choose this life Ken. Somebody else chose it for you…and you're suffering for it."

"And what did you choose?" Ken hissed, fists trembling like he was shaking dice. "What exactly did you 'choose' for your destiny?"

"I chose to not be lonely, and to help my friends however I can, with or without Leomon!" As Jeri spoke, the D-Arc in her pocket began glowing faintly. While Jeri was oblivious to it, Takato saw it and gasped in surprise.

'What…what is that…?'

"Ken…please…" Jeri begged, stretching her hand out, though Ken was too far away to accept it. "It's not too late…come back to us…shut down the Spires and release Agumon, this doesn't have to end like this! Don't you see how much you're hurting Davis and Ryo, your friends? They want to help you through your suffering, I want to help you! Please, Ken…stop this."

Behind his glasses, Ken's eyes softened at seeing Jeri's broken face and hearing the sincerity in her tone. It looked like he was contemplating, but his eyes hardened again.

"And what if I say no?" Jeri steeled herself and glared at Ken.

"Then I'll take whatever you've got," she said, getting gasps from the Digidestined and Tamers.

"…it's too late for me," Ken said in a mix between coldness and sadness before turning to his newest slave. "MetalGreymon, fire on that girl!"

"NO!" Takato screamed, scrambling to his feet. "JERI!"

"Kyubimon, get up!" Rika yelled to her partner.

"I'm still…sore…" Kyubimon groaned.

"TRIDENT ARM!" The metal arm was launched at Jeri, but the brown-haired girl stood her ground and glared at the incoming projectile…

…when a small sword suddenly flew into view and knocked the clawed hand away with surprising strength.

"What?!" Ken asked in surprise as the sword spun in the air before landing back in the hand of the one who threw it: Elecmon, who leaped off the building he was on and landed protectively in front of Jeri.

"Elecmon…?" she asked in disbelief.

"You again," Ken growled, recognizing the Digimon instantly. "Why must you always interfere when you have no partner of your own?!"

"I do have a partner," Elecmon said, eyes narrowed dangerously, "and you just made the biggest mistake of your life attacking her."

"Huh?" Jeri asked in confusion, the other Tamers and Digidestined in confusion as well.

"I…knew it…" Kyubimon muttered low enough for Rika to hear.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough…" the yellow fox answered as the light suddenly glowed brightly from Jeri's pocket, the girl finally seeing it.

"This is…!" Jeri gasped and pulled out her D-Ark, her face becoming one of great shock as she saw the screen was no longer filled with static.

(Play Digimon: EVO)

"I…I feel funny…" Calumon moaned in Mimi's arms, the red mark on his forehead glowing brightly in tandem with Jeri's Digivice, before it enveloped Elecmon.

"That's…!" Henry gasped.

"The light of Digivolution!" TK said in realization as Elecmon rose off the ground while glowing bright yellow.

"ELECMON…DIGIVOLVE TOOO…!" Everybody gasped in shock as Elecmon's form began changing, but nobody was more shocked than Jeri was as she saw the transformation.

"It…can't be…!" Jeri whispered as she saw the figure turn into someone very familiar. But it couldn't have been…his data was loaded!

The light faded and when Elecmon landed, he was no longer a red Digimon with rabbit ears. He now stood at eight feet tall and had brown fur all over his body. His face was molded like a lion's face, and his blond hair was fashioned like a lion's mane. His legs were covered in black pants and attached to his waist was a sword like the one Elecmon had.

"Im…possible!" Takato breathed in shock.

"Is that…?!" Mimi yelped, recognizing the Digimon immediately. The lion Digimon threw his head back and roared his name loudly for everybody to hear.

"…LEOMON!"

"Holy…" Yolei gasped, unable to comprehend what she just saw.

"Elecmon…Digivolved!" Cody said in surprise.

"Into Leomon!" added Matt.

Ken could only stared in slack-jawed disbelief. The little red Digimon that had been annoying him for months on end was the mighty warrior Leomon?!

"How is this possible?!" the young boy yelled. "How could you have Digivolved?!"

"From the bond of a Digimon…and his Tamer," Leomon growled softly, turning his head to the girl behind him, who was still staring in shock.

"Leomon…" she whispered as the lion-man turned his head back to Ken.

"You…you think Digivolving to Champion level will do you any good?" Ken asked, attempting to regain his composure. "I have an Ultimate level at my command!"

"You foolish boy," growled Leomon. "Power has nothing to do with Digivolution…as I will show to you now!" Leomon pulled his arm back and gathered a massive amount of energy into his arm.

"FIST…OF…THE BEAST KING!" Leomon roared as he thrust his right arm forward, and a blast of energy shaped like a lion's head flew forward, colliding with MetalGreymon's chest and forcing him to slide back several feet.

"Impossible!" Ken yelled, surprised at the power a mere Champion level Digimon possessed. "How can you possibly be this strong? Don't tell me it's because of that loudmouth girl you have for a partner!"

"Hold your tongue!" Leomon roared, drawing his sword out and slashing it at Ken, who dodged the attack and lashed out with his whip. The weapon struck Leomon in the chest, but the lion man barely felt it as he swiped with his sword again, and the whip fell in two pieces on the ground.

"Stay away from me!" Ken screamed, falling on his behind and backing away from the imposing Digimon.

"If you were a true Emperor, then you would face me like one, instead of hiding behind your slaves and running from me, like the coward that you are," said Leomon.

"I'm no slave!" Stingmon flew down at Leomon, his purple spike extended. "SPIKING FINISH!"

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" The lion's head flew out again, and Stingmon yelled out as he was sent flying away.

"MetalGreymon! Get me out of here!" The virus cyborg dinosaur growled as he picked up Ken in his organic arm and spread his wings, taking flight away from Leomon, who merely growled as he placed his sword back in his sheath.

"Coward…" he growled again before turning back to the small crowd before him, particularly one girl who hadn't moved or spoken since the fight.

"Jeri…" Leomon whispered, his growling voice now soft as he approached his Tamer, who was shaking her head in disbelief now.

"No…no, this can't be!" Jeri slapped herself across the face before pinching herself all over her arms. "This…this has to be a dream, a hallucination! Or MetalGreymon really did kill me, and I'm in the afterlife…"

"Jeri!" Leomon repeated more firmly and knelt down in front of his Tamer, taking her small hands in his massive ones. Jeri struggled a moment before going slack, and she looked into Leomon's warm blue eyes, which seemed so familiar.

(Play Digimon: 3 Primary Colors)

"Jeri…I assure you this is not a dream. You are still alive…and I am as well." Jeri blinked rapidly as she felt Leomon's fur with her fingers, before her hands went up to feel his face. The brown-haired girl suddenly felt tears well up in her eyes as the reality finally came to her.

"It…it is you!" she gasped before the dam finally broke. Jeri threw her arms around Leomon and sobbed quietly, the lion man Digimon returning the embrace as he rubbed Jeri's back soothingly.

"It is all right now Jeri…I'm here again…"

"No way…Leomon…" Takato walked over to the two, eyes wide like dinner plates.

"Takato," Leomon said, looking up to the brown-haired boy. "It is good to see you again." He turned to the other Tamers as he released Jeri from their hug. "It is good to see you all again."

"How is this possible?" Henry asked in disbelief. "Your data…"

"Was absorbed by Beelzemon, yes," said Leomon with a nod. "Even when my data was inside Impmon, I could see everything that had happened. Megidramon, Jeri's depression, the D-Reaper, Beelzemon's redemption and his Tamers…"

"You could actually see all of that inside Impmon?" Suzie asked with a look of slight disgust. "That's creepy."

"Perhaps, but I could see how much Impmon regretted his actions for what he did to us, and I attempted to help him by lending him some of my power…"

"The Fist of the Beast King attack Beelzemon used…" Jeri gasped, her mind reeling back to that day. "That was you?"

"It was a part of me," said Leomon. "After the Digimon returned to the Digital World, Impmon set off alone to find his own way to reunite with Ai and Mako. But during his travels, he ended up going through an interdimensional portal…"

"…that brought him to this Digital World," said Ryo. "But what does this have to do with you?"

"Because when Impmon went through the portal, my data was pulled from his body and I was reborn," Leomon answered. "However…when I woke up, I had amnesia. I couldn't remember any of you, only somebody important to me."

"I searched for years, and during my travels, I continued the ways of the Leomon, fighting for our own justice and protecting the innocent. And then I went to File Island to help free it from the control of Devimon…and that, my friends, was when I met seven young children with Digimon partners." Leomon's eyes darted over to Tai, Matt, Sora, TK, and Mimi. All of them except Tai, who stood off to the side dejectedly, gasped in shock.

"You mean…you're the same Leomon we met?!" TK said, causing gasps of surprise to went through the Tamers as well.

"Yes," Leomon said with a nod.

"Wait, I'm confused here," said Yolei.

"As am I," said Cody. "Who is this guy?"

"Leomon was a friend of ours who helped us during our first adventures on File Island," said TK. "He later helped us battle the Dark Masters…"

"…and he died," Mimi said sadly, remembering when they battled MetalEtemon. "I'm so sorry Leomon. If I hadn't gotten in the way when you fought MetalEtemon, you wouldn't have…"

"Mimi…" Palmon said sympathetically, wrapping her vines around her partner's leg.

"It is all right Mimi," Leomon went over and wrapped a massive arm around Mimi in a hug. "I was glad to lay my life on the line again for my friends. Besides, had I not died, I would not have regained my memories of Jeri and the Tamers when I was reborn." The lion warrior then turned back to the Tamers. "I sincerely apologize for the masquerade I put around you, especially you Jeri, but I felt it would be best to surprise the Digimon Emperor when he was least expecting it."

"It's all right Leomon, I forgive you." Jeri ran over and hugged Leomon around the waist.

"Yeah. Besides, that Emperor's pants became a shade darker when he saw you!" Gargomon said with a laugh.

"Did you know about this, Kyubimon?" Rika asked her partner.

"I suspected as much when I saw his mannerisms as well as the way he looked at Jeri and talked about her, yes," said the yellow fox. "But I decided to stay quiet for his sake…and I wasn't entirely sure myself."

"Leomon, I have to ask…" said Henry. "What happened to Impmon? You said your data was separated from his body."

"We both crashed in a forest and blacked out," Leomon said, remembering what had happened that day. "When I woke up, I saw Impmon lying in pain on the ground. As I had amnesia, I didn't recognize him, but I knew he needed help. I took care of him and we traveled together for a while, as Impmon also had amnesia, the only thing he remembered being somebody important to him."

"Ai and Mako," Jeri said, getting a nod from Leomon.

"After a few weeks, we went our separate ways. I never saw him again after that."

"Impmon…" Rika said worriedly, looking out in the distance. Where could he possibly be?

"As good as it is that Jeri has her partner back," Cody got back to the more important matter, "we now have to worry about Ken having Agumon again, this time as MetalGreymon."

"Now what do we do?" Yolei asked in worry.

"We follow them," said Matt. "We came here today to free Agumon, and that's what we're going to do!"

"But how?" asked Davis, not keen on fighting Agumon again. Before Matt could answer, Tai's voice cut through the group.

"What do I do…what do I do?" the bushy-haired boy repeated to himself. He had been so close to getting Agumon back again, but now he was a brainwashed slave again. It was just too much. Had he kept Agumon back from charging towards Ken.

"Tai…" Matt said softly as he walked up to his best friend. Tai turned around, only to be knocked flat on his back when Matt swung his right arm around and punched Tai in the face.

"What the hell, Matt?!" Davis yelled in shock, running over to the bearer of Friendship. "This may be the worst day yet in Tai's life, and you think punching him will make things better?!"

"Easy, Davis!" Gabumon said with a light chuckle. "They do this all the time!"

"Wha…what?" Davis asked in confused. He was told that Tai and Matt were best friends, and Matt's Crest was Friendship…and this was how they showed their friendship to each other? By beating each other up?! Fighting each other wasn't what friends did!

"Davis," Ryo placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder, as if he sensed his distress. "Let Matt handle this."

Davis quieted down and watched as Tai took hold of Matt's hand and was pulled back up to his feet, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Thanks Matt," Tai said, his cocky smile back on his face. "I guess I needed some sense knocked into me."

"You should consider yourself lucky it was him," Sora said with a smirk and narrowed eyes. "I would have given you my wake-up slap."

Davis was even more confused. "What is…"

(Play Digimon Adventure: Tomodachi ~Tatakai no Theme~)

"I'm sorry guys," Tai said to the group. "I guess I screwed up today, but no more. If we want to save Agumon, then we can't hesitate anymore! The next time we fight him, don't hold back."

"Wait, are you sure about this?!" Davis asked in shock. "Tai, that's your partner! Your best friend! And you want us to…to kill him if it's necessary?!" The burgundy-haired boy sounded appalled at what his mentor was saying.

"It's what he would want," Matt said, his smile replaced with a serious look.

"He is right," agreed Leomon. "Even if Agumon is our friend, we cannot let that get in the way of our mission!"

"But…are you sure we can do this?" asked Cody, hesitant about killing a Digimon.

"We can, and we will," Rika said firmly, looking at the young boy as well as Yolei. "So I suggest you two wimps get in shape and do what needs to be done!"

"Excuse me, did you just call me a wimp?!" Yolei yelled angrily, getting up in Rika's face.

"Back off, Miyako," Rika said, using the lavender-haired girl's real name. "I did a number on Ken Ichijouji today. Imagine what I could do to you and the stiff."

"Do not ever call me a stiff," Cody growled lowly, irritated slightly at Rika insulting him again.

"All right, let's not fight," Takato said, playing peacemaker. "We have to do this if we want to save Agumon."

"He's right!" Gatomon stepped up and looked over to the other Digimon. "Listen up, everybody! If you care about Agumon, then the next time we fight him, don't hesitate for even a second!"

"Right!" said the Digimon.

"So, we go down that path," Mimi looked down at the railroad track, leading to where MetalGreymon and Stingmon flew off.

"Yes," said Henry. "In fact, there's something there that will really help us out the next time we fight Ken…another Digimental."

"You're kidding!" Kari said in a gasp. "There's another Digimental around here?"

"Well, I'm not all that surprised," said Mimi. "After all, shouldn't there be Digimentals with the Crests of Friendship, Reliability and Sincerity on them?"

"I…I guess so," Cody said in confusion. "We haven't really found them yet…"

"Because the time hasn't come yet to find them," said Ryo. "But the time has come for the next Digimental to be found."

"So where is it?" asked Matt.

"You'll know when you see it," Rika said with a little smirk.

"Okay, so how do you suppose we go after MetalGreymon without having our Digimon exert any more energy?" asked Yolei. Leomon eyed the downed Locomon, and then some train cars that had no train attached to them.

"Leave it to me," said the lion man Digimon. "Gargomon, Guilmon, I require your assistance."

"No problem!" Gargomon and Guilmon said, realizing what Leomon had in mind. Combining their strength together, the three Digimon pushed Locomon onto the train tracks and attached him to the train car, which was big enough to carry everybody. Once Locomon was attached to the train car, Leomon and Gargomon dropped down and reverted to their Rookie levels.

"Well, all aboard!" Terriermon said. The Digidestined and Tamers climbed into the car, and with some fire from Guilmon's Pyro Sphere, Locomon was moving down the track to where the Tamers said the newest Digimental was.

---

(Play Digimon Tamers: Kage no Yasashisa)

"Elecmon…" Jeri asked her partner quietly. "Is it true…that you saw everything when you were in Impmon's body?"

"Yes," Elecmon nodded sadly. "It saddened me, what became of you. Had I been there, I could have done something to prevent the D-Reaper from using you like that. But…it pleased me to see Impmon realize the error of his ways, and it made me happy when he tried to save you as a display of his redemption."

"So…do you…forgive him?" Jeri asked hesitantly.

"I already did," said Elecmon. "I do hope we can find him again. It would definitely make Ai and Mako happy again…"

"I know it will," Jeri said, hugging Elecmon close to her, a small tear of joy running down her cheek.

"Guys, I'm sorry about not coming earlier," Yolei said to her friends. "I had a lot on my mind…"

"It's all right," Cody said with a warm smile. "I knew you'd come eventually."

"And it's a good thing she stayed behind," said Matt. "Otherwise, Mimi and I wouldn't have made it and you'd guys be sitting ducks."

"Yeah, you guys were definitely in a sticky situation," observed Mimi, getting nods of agreement from everybody.

Davis sat in silence as he watched the other Digidestined talk and laugh, his head swimming with frustrating questions that seemed to have little to no answers. Even after Matt punched him in the face, Tai still called him a friend. Previously, Tai had been in shock over fighting Agumon, but now he was telling them to fight Agumon like he was an evil Digimon. And Ryo kept saying that fighting Ken was the only way to save him from Millenniummon's control.

From what Davis knew, friendship wasn't about fighting your friends or even killing them, yet they seemed to do it all the time and talked about it like it was nothing. He couldn't wonder what would happen when the time came to face MetalGreymon again.

"Davis, what's wrong?" Veemon asked, seeing the pained look on his face.

"I…I don't know, Veemon," said Davis. "I don't know about this."

"Davis…there may be no other way," Veemon said gravelly before walking away to sit with Gatomon.

'You too, Veemon?' Davis thought in near-despair. Ryo frowned sadly at seeing his friend's pained look.

'I know you'll be able to do what needs to be done Davis,' he thought as Locomon chugged down the tracks. 'For all of our friends.'

(Play Days: Aijou to Nichijou TV Size)

END CHAPTER 14

I'm going to say this right now: Rika Nonaka is an absolute badass.

Leomon is back, and Jeri is no longer sitting on the sidelines. Now Impmon is the only one left to find. Where could he possibly be, and how will he recognize Ai and Mako if he has amnesia?

And things seem to have gone worse. Leomon may be back, and the Tamers' partners may be immune to the Dark Rings and Dark Spirals, but that didn't stop Ken from getting Agumon back and succeeding in Digivolving him to MetalGreymon. But a new Digimental may turn the tide.

It seems like Davis is having second thoughts about the meaning of friendship. Can he truly bring himself to fight Ken, and kill MetalGreymon if it comes down to it? Or will he refuse to hurt his friends in any way? And Renamon has left Wormmon with something to think about. Can Wormmon bring himself to oppose his own partner?

So what did you think of Rika vs Ken, as well as Leomon's return battle and reunion with Jeri? And what has become of Impmon?

Next time on Digimon Adventure Tamers: Raidramon, the Blue Thunder!