Intertwined Destinies

Previously in Intertwined Destinies:

The digidestined and Jade have left File Island and have arrived on the continent of Server with Whamon's help. The only thing they need to do is gather the seven crests that are scattered throughout Server, and once they have the crests their digimon partners will be able to digivolve to the Ultimate level. The crest of Courage (Tai) has been found, as has the crest of Reliability (Joe). Tai's personality took a turn for the worst and now his positive relationship with Jade looks like it's gone forever. Greymon was forced to dark digivolve into SkullGreymon and Jade drained him of his power, forcing him to then de-digivolve into Koromon. Now Mimi has her crest of Sincerity, Matt and Izzy have their crests of Friendship and Knowledge, and Jade has regained her memories of her first adventure in the Digital World.

Tai, Joe, Izzy and Sora are in Etemon's Headquarters having broken in to rescue to Datamon. But Datamon betrayed them.

The next chapter of their adventure awaits...

Chapter 14: Downfall of Etemon

Tai opened his eyes to find that he was face down on the floor. He felt horrible, and his head was pounding as if a rock band had set up shop on his forehead and was playing for a crowd of screaming fans. He was still in the pyramid, and there was still fighting around them, but it was like someone had hit the mute button. He looked up as much as he could, saw Izzy hiding behind the stand that had held Datamon, Joe was using the wall to help him stand, Sora was crouched over Biyomon protectively, and the other digimon staggering to their feet to attack again.

"Tough luck!" Etemon suddenly crowed. "Looks like I won again!"

"It's not over yet, monkey breath," Datamon hissed at him. The fight that Tai had heard was the one between Datamon and Etemon, and Tai wasn't really surprised that Etemon won. Then Datamon did the unforgivable.

He grabbed Sora and Biyomon.

"Just wait," Datamon told Etemon. "With their powers harnessed to my own I'll be more than a match for you!"

Tai struggled to his feet, helplessness creeping in as his muscles refused to work properly. He couldn't just let the can opener take Sora and Biyomon. Sora started to struggle, realizing what was happening, but Biyomon was still unconscious. In that moment Tai realized that Sora had been right. It was a trap. A trap designed for Sora because she was the only one without a crest yet.

Datamon laughed as he carried Biyomon and Sora away through the door that Etemon had used to enter the room.

"Come back here you bratty little –" Etemon cried, starting to run after them. But he was stopped by the other three digimon he had forgotten about. Tai made it to his feet and started to run. He was the fastest player on his soccer team, no pint-sized digimon was going to be able to outrun him.

"Sora!" he screamed out, hoping that she could tell him where she was. Joe and Izzy appeared behind him, and for a moment Tai wondered at how they were able to keep up. They never had before. And then he staggered and it was only Joe's quick actions that prevented him from face-planting on the ground. When he looked up it was to see the electric fence again, and all thought left his brain as he tried to go through it.

Tai!

"They've gone back out through the firewall," Izzy stated unnecessarily.

"Okay, the weak point was here, right?" Tai asked as he stumbled forward.

"Wait a minute! Let me get back on line so I can find it!"

"We don't have time for that Izzy," Tai snapped in desperation. "Sora needs us! Can't you hear her?"

"No," Joe told him slowly. "Sora was muffled by Datamon, she couldn't call out to us."

"I heard her!" Tai insisted. "I need to get to her! I'm not going to let some stupid fence stop me from saving her!"

"You go through at the wrong spot and there won't be anything of you to save Sora with." Izzy snapped at him as he typed madly away at his computer.

"I don't care!" Tai snapped. He stumbled forward again but this time Joe grabbed him from behind to stop him from trying to kill himself. "Let me go Joe! I need to make sure she's alright! She has to be!"

"Pain still hurts Tai!" Joe told him softly, but keeping a tight hold.

"You don't know what pain is!" Tai yelled. "Sora! SORA!"

"What are you thinking Tai?" Izzy asked him sternly. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"Almost every day since I was eight!" Tai snapped back. The two gasped in shock, but at least Joe didn't let him go so that he would fly into the wire. "You don't understand what it's like to be nothing but a disappointment to your family! Nothing I do ever turns out right. People get hurt because of me! And now because I wasn't fast enough Sora is…Sora is…"

"Tai," Joe breathed.

"Let me go," Tai begged, tears in his eyes. "I have to save her."

"The weak point is one meter to your right," Izzy eventually said, his tone no longer confrontational. Tai stepped to the right, but his strength was fading and he stumbled. Izzy and Joe cried out in alarm, but before they could do much else the wall to the left broke apart as their de-digivolved partners came into view.

"Sorry," Agumon whimpered. "We held him as long as we could."

Etemon walked through the hole in the wall with casual arrogance. It was too late to go after Sora now, they would need to regroup and come up with another plan. Joe made sure that Tai was on his feet, supporting most of his weight, and shielded him from Etemon.

"Now to finish off you kids and put an end to your annoying interference," Etemon stated as he cracked his knuckles. Izzy took a few steps back so that he was standing next to Joe. They didn't say anything, even though they were trying to come up with a plan of escape. Fortunately, they were saved when the roof collapsed in front of them and two friendly digital faces appeared.

Togemon and Garurumon, with Matt on Garurumon's back.

While Garurumon worked on creating a diversion, Matt ushered the others out of the pyramid with the help of Togemon throwing them up through the hole that they had created. Izzy was the first to go, and he helped to catch the weakened digimon as they came up. Joe waited until the end with Tai, and Matt's alarmed face as he looked at Tai let the oldest boy know that something was wrong.

"Where's Sora?" Matt asked with darting eyes.

"We'll explain everything later," Joe promised. "But now is not the time."

Matt nodded, and between the two of them they were able to get Tai out of the pyramid and onto Garurumon's back for a quick escape. Joe and Izzy sat with their digimon on their laps on top of Togemon's punching gloves, while Agumon and Tai balanced in front of Matt. What concerned Joe the most, however, was that Tai hadn't spoken a word since his failure to get through the firewall.

Back at the sphinx, the children decided that it would be better if they retreated back to the canyon so that Etemon couldn't find them, and so that they could recover in relative safety. The digimon were fine after a little food and a rest, their abilities helping them to recover, but of the three humans who had gotten out, Tai was easily the most injured.

"Why's it always Tai?" Jade asked Mimi as they watched Joe wipe away the blood from Tai's forehead. He had knocked it when he crashed into the wall, but the cut itself was shallow so there was no danger. Tai just had a concussion and a few sore muscles.

"Because he thinks that because he's the leader he needs to stand in front of everyone," Mimi told her. Palmon was sitting on her lap, but it was clear to all that everyone wanted to know where Sora was. So as Joe worked, he explained what had happened. The only part he left out was Tai's declaration that he had tried to kill himself for years. That he would discuss with Tai when they were alone.

"It's all my fault," Tai muttered as soon as Joe had finished the story telling. He pulled his knees to his chest and hid his face in his knees. "My fault…"

"It's not your fault," Joe told him instantly, his tone of voice stern. "We're all in this together Tai. We'll find a way to get them back."

"But if I was just that little bit quicker we could have gotten through the firewall before Etemon stopped us," Tai continued, tears in his eyes. "I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't…It's all my fault! Sora! It's all my fault!"

As Tai broke down in tears, Jade saw that something was really wrong. Painful bruises, they don't bother me; broken ribs, just a little wince; I don't feel well, I can deal with it…but never had Tai broken down so completely in front of the others. He was a 'suffer in silence' type of person, so he had finally reached the end of what he could cope with. She walked forward and knelt in front of Tai, her hand coming up to rest on his knee. The small hand caused Tai's head to shoot up in shock, and Jade was scared of what she could see.

"It's not your fault," she whispered seriously. "I promise, it's not your fault."

A weight lifted off Tai's shoulders as he slumped. The others were amazed at the change, and thoughts and realizations came to them about what Jade meant to Tai. Despite everything that Joe had said in the pyramid, he knew that Tai didn't believe a word of it. Maybe he could get the two of them to talk, and Jade could convince Tai that his death would hurt more people than he realized.

The sun started to go down and it was far too late to go after Sora and Biyomon. Jade forced Tai to lie down and rest, his head resting on her lap, and Matt and Joe were startled to see how relaxed the boy now looked. The past few days had stressed them all out, but it was like Jade was a balm for Tai's soul. Izzy retreated into the tunnel again, searching for Sora and Biyomon via his laptop and the digi-code. The digimon gathered off to the side, and TK integrated himself into their group to sleep for the night. Normally, Jade would be with him, but she refused to leave her place by the fire now that Tai had finally calmed down.

"So, what are we going to do?" Matt asked around a mouthful of food. His eyes darted to each of the four others who were around their fire pit, a hint of desperation and worry leaking into his question. Tai was the only one not eating, but Jade was dropping bits of broken up food into his mouth so that he would have something in his stomach.

"Rescue Sora," Tai stated decisively, even if he was horizontal.

"We don't have a clue where to start looking for her," Joe cautioned him. He decided that he would play the devil's advocate just to impress up the seriousness of the situation. "Besides, we could all end up dead…or worse."

"What if Datamon does something to harm Sora while we sit here on our butts?" Tai asked passionately. He sat up slowly and swiveled so that he was facing everyone.

"Look Tai, he's already beaten our brains out once," Matt told him. "What makes you think he won't do it again? We need to come up with a plan before we go anywhere."

"I can help out," Jade stated. "I know where Sora and Biyomon are."

"You do?" Joe asked her, his eyebrows rose in shock. "Where are they?"

"In the pyramid," Jade told him. "I don't know directions or anything, but Izzy will probably have something for us eventually. He's manipulating the digi-code better than most digimon ever could."

"That still leaves us with the problem that Datamon kicked our butts today, and easily," Matt repeated. Mimi sighed sadly as she thought about Sora.

"This is more depressing than a soap opera," she mumbled.

"It's tough not knowing what to do," Matt agreed.

"But we do know what to do," Jade told him in confusion. "We go in, grab Sora and Biyomon, and defeat all in our path. Sora would do the same for any of us if our positions were reversed."

"The minute I saw what was happening," Tai muttered, staring at his hands. "I should have gone after her."

"It's no use blaming yourself, Tai," Joe told him, hearing the muttered words. "We're really all to blame."

"Yeah, and we're all going to find a way to get her back," Matt added in a supportive manner. "Chin up dude!"

"Do you blame Matt for letting Devimon separate him and TK?" Jade suddenly asked Tai, her eyes firm.

"What? No!" Tai stuttered.

"Do you blame Leomon for obeying me and ensuring that you were nowhere near Devimon's Mansion when Devimon attacked me?"

"No!" Tai told her, horrified.

"And Gennai?" Jade continued. She was glad that the others were letting her talk without interfering.

"For what?"

"Then why do you blame yourself for something that not even you could control?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know that you blame yourself for me being in the Digital World," Jade told him. "But the truth is that I would have appeared here regardless of whether or not I was on your back. I'm marked by this place, and I have no need for a digivice to be able to be here. Devimon, Etemon and all the other digimon we have come across have more knowledge, and more power, than you. They don't care about who the leader of this group is. Sora was taken because she is the only one who hasn't found their crest yet. If TK had been the only one without one, or Matt, or Izzy, they would have been taken instead of Sora. If you didn't have a crest, you would have been taken by Datamon."

"But-"

"No 'but's Tai," Jade told him, using her finger to tap his nose. "You are a great leader. I know the others agree with me when I say that I'm glad you're here. Yes, you can be a bit annoying when you're determined to do something, and your ability to hate frightens me more than I expected it to, but we're all here, alive, because of you."

"Jade's right Tai," Matt added before Tai could say anything. "I've seen how you treat everyone, especially TK and Jade. Aside from that one time, you've never yelled at either of them, and you treat them both like an older brother would treat a younger sibling. I'm a little jealous of how easy it comes to you, but I appreciate it. I know that I'm not the only one looking out for my brother."

"Agreed," Joe added. "I had a go at being the leader, but that was just with me and Sora. The entire time that I was 'in charge' had me terrified, and I couldn't see how you could do it. You handled the pressure so well, and you never flinched when we needed you."

"All of us count on you Tai," Mimi stated sincerely. "I know that if it hadn't been for your encouragement and determination to get us home, we probably would still be sitting on the beach with a bunch of broken phone booths. Or Devimon would have got us if you hadn't figured out how to use the digivices to fight against the darkness of the Black Gears."

"We need you," Jade finished. "You are the bearer of the crest of Courage. The crests are not handed out lightly, and to have their Guardians part from them was no easy task. You have it, because you deserve it, and you possess the trait that it represents. Your bravery, your courage, will get us through this."

"…thanks guys," Tai finally stated, looking at each of them with a soft smile on his face. He cleared his throat and rubbed his left arm. He looked back up at Jade. "So, you know who the crests belonged to before we had them?"

"They're the keys that keep this world safe and secure," Jade told him with a smile. She would have said more but at that moment Izzy rushed out of the tunnel in excitement. His voice, which should have been lowered due to the fact that TK and the digimon were sleeping, was raised so that they woke up when he spoke.

"Hey! I've got it! I know where Sora is!"

The five surrounding the fire got up to follow Izzy back in, and TK was pushed into an upright position by Gabumon so that he could join them. He was still blinking sleep out of his eyes when Izzy pulled up the schematics of the pyramid, but after seeing what Izzy was talking about he woke up quickly enough.

"I think Datamon only pretended to take them away," Izzy began. "But in reality they've been right here the whole time."

The others already knew that, but it was the exact location that they hadn't known before. Jade stood next to Izzy and tried to see what it was that he could see.

"Are you telling me that they're still right here in the pyramid?" Tai asked, just to confirm everything for TK and the digimon.

"Yes. I've discovered that way down below the pyramid is a secret room. I just know that that's where he's keeping them. He's found the perfect hiding place right under Etemon's nose."

"Huh," Jade mumbled. "How far does the pyramid go underground?"

"I think this is as deep as it goes," Izzy told her as he brought up the image so everyone could see it. "There are no tunnels that go below this room."

"There's got to be a way in," Tai stated, punching his left hand excitedly. "I don't care what I have to do. I'm going to find that room and bring Sora back! Guys, I totally understand if you'd rather wait here."

"Didn't we just go through this?" Jade asked him sternly.

"Enough with the guilt trip, I'm coming with you," Matt told him.

"Remember the old saying Tai: There is no I in TEAM," Mimi added.

"Can I come too if I'm brave?" TK asked. Tai looked at all the faces staring at him, and he smiled. It was like he had finally recovered from whatever was plaguing him.

"Alright," he decided. "Now, let's go get Sora!"

The plan was to set out as soon as the sun rose, but Jade couldn't sleep now that everything was falling into place. So instead she slipped out so that she could sit in the mouth of the sphinx and stare at the pyramid. It was because of this that she saw the slow maneuvering of Etemon's troops so that the pyramid was surrounded. It would be impossible to sneak in again. Jade frowned at the emotions she was sensing, but there was little that she could do.

She was a Guardian of the Digital World, and despite some calling her a demigod, she was not all-powerful. She told herself when she first took over after Lucemon that she would never force digimon to do anything. Their choices would be theirs alone, and the consequences would be theirs as well. She would help if she was asked to help, but interfering in every digimon's life was illogical as it would create simple minded creatures, unable to think for themselves. She didn't want that.

"You should be sleeping," Agumon told her. Jade turned to look at him with a smile and patted the ground next to her in invitation. He took it.

"The digimon regret working for Etemon," she told Agumon quietly. "They don't want to be there. They want to be at home with their families."

"How much do you remember, about your life here?"

"All of it," Jade told him. "My empathy is a little stronger now because I'm older, and I suppose that in a few years I'll be even more proficient at using it."

"Do you know why we were chosen?"

"As the partner of a digidestined?" Jade asked. "That's simple, you were created with your partner in mind, someone who was similar to you, and someone who you would be able to grow with. Gennai hand-picked each digimon partner, and with the help of two other former digidestined, he selected the humans."

"Gennai chose us?" Agumon asked. "But, he said that he couldn't remember! That he didn't know who chose us!"

"Of course he did," Jade laughed. "Have you seen him? He's gotten old. It's only been twenty something years in the Human World since the digidestined were first summoned, but he never left. Centuries have passed for him here."

"What did he look like?"

Jade slipped her hand into her backpack and pulled out the photo she had of her and the digimon. She pointed to the youngish man with brown hair and a white robe.

"That's Gennai," she explained. "He ages really slowly, but he still ages. The Andromon we met on File Island, he's Gennai's digimon partner, but he looks after the baby digimon before they're ready to go and explore the rest of the world. That's Guilmon, I never met his partner...I think she turned her back on the Digital World after her friend died. Wizardmon hasn't been the same since. He barely talked when I wanted to play with him, but Gennai said that he was doing better after I arrived. I was the same age as his partner when she first entered the Digital World. In the Human World, she died, ten years ago? I don't know the exact time."

"These were the original protectors of the Digital World?" Agumon breathed, his hand tracing over the digimon immortalized on film.

"Yep! And this is Kudamon, his partner is Akili. I met him once, and that was great fun. He could speak English, which was good because that's all I knew back then, and he told me stories about Guilmon's partner. She was a little firecracker, but she was passionate in everything that she did. Her crest was Compassion, and Akili's was Wisdom. Gennai's was Trust, and he was the leader of the digidestined, like Tai is now. And then this is Dorumon, his partner is Michael, who holds the crest of Determination. He came often in the two years that I was here, but I didn't see him after the Dark Masters started to make a mess of things. I guess Gennai asked him to stay away."

"And who's that?" Agumon asked, pointing to the black kitten in Jade's arms.

"My partner," Jade said with a smile. "He's also the one that Gennai is afraid of."

"Why?"

"Because before Tomomon had even hatched, the others knew that he was a digimon of pure evil. They didn't want his existence to threaten the Digital World, but I convinced them to let me keep him. He is a part of me, and I was the only one he trusted. I guess, I created him."

"How?"

"That's a story for another time," Jade told him as she put the photo away in her bag. She saw her bracelet that Tai had given her, but it wasn't time yet to put it back on. As the sun rose over the desert Jade's eyes snapped to the pyramid. Someone had just put Sora's crest into her tag, and she knew that it wasn't Sora.

The crest of Love – will shine for one who burns with love

Still, she heard what the crest was and mentioned to Agumon what had caught her attention. He nodded and pulled her back into the tunnel where they could come up with a plan on how to rescue Sora. They were still the only ones awake, but they didn't have to wait long. Tentomon awoke first, and Jade requested that he fly high over the pyramid to get an idea about how Etemon had arranged his troops. The insect digimon disappeared with a nod and returned just as Izzy was activating his virtual map again.

"So, the pyramid is surrounded," Jade spoke up as the others sleepily made their way towards her and Izzy. "And Sora and Biyomon haven't moved all night."

"Damn for the first thing, good for the second," Joe told her. "So what do we do?"

"Decoys!" Jade cheered. "I can be a really good distraction. Etemon won't know what hit him and I can have him away from the pyramid in no time at all."

"Ah, it's not that I don't think you can do it Jade." Tai began.

"She can." Agumon assured his partner.

"It's just you don't want me to go off on my own." Jade finished for Tai, a slump in her shoulders. She wanted to lead as many digimon away from Etemon so that they could go home.

"Boy, with so many digimon surrounding the pyramid like this, there's no way we can get in there without someone seeing us." Izzy muttered as little red dots appeared around the pyramid to show the enemy. He had completely ignored the conversation behind him.

"Well, that's exactly why we're going to be acting as decoys," Matt told him, warming up to Jade's idea. Jade grinned at him in delight.

"Right," Tentomon agreed

"Now Tai," Joe began, strategizing as he talked. "When the enemy starts chasing after us, you and Agumon have got to get inside the pyramid quickly without being seen by anyone. Got it?"

Tai was clearly unwilling to use the decoy idea, but he had to admit that if they wanted to succeed they needed to get the bulk of the digimon away from the entrance. So he nodded slowly and turned back to Izzy. He dropped his hand on Izzy's shoulder to let him know that he was being addressed.

"You do have directions for me, don't you?"

"Yeah…but just one more thing." Izzy said, pulling his gaze from the computer. Tai's face fell.

"Why do I want to throw up every time you say 'one more thing'?"

"Okay, now to enter the secret room you have to take a hidden passage, but there's another electrified wall to get passed, just like the room Datamon was in." Izzy explained. Tai gulped as he imagined the electricity rushing through the wires, and he ignored the minor twinge of desire as he imagined it coursing through his body. It was the desire that had him paling, if he died, there wouldn't be anyone to save Sora.

"Do you think you can make it Tai?" Agumon asked worriedly, seeing the pale face.

"I don't care what the wall is, I'm going through." Tai told him. Jade bumped his side in concern, though she didn't say anything. He nodded at her, knowing that he wouldn't be able to smile reassuringly, but he was promising that he would be careful.

"Now," Joe began, his focus on Tai. "Try not to do anything stupid, and stay out of unnecessary trouble Tai. Remember, the important thing is saving Sora."

"Right." Tai told him. He and Izzy would be going into the pyramid alone, while everyone else would be acting as decoys and annoying Etemon.

"And you guys try not to do anything stupid either." Izzy added, his gaze on everyone else. "If you run into Etemon just turn around and run the other way."

"You got that TK?" Matt asked. He would be acting as a main decoy and would be drawing Etemon's forces off in one direction, and Joe would be going in another.

"Yeah." TK stated, do his best to hide his nerves.

"Whoever doesn't come back alive is going to be in a lot of trouble, alright?" Mimi informed them sternly. "So take care, but don't take unnecessary risks."

"If this plan is to work, everyone has to get their part exactly right." Tai said aloud, worry in his tone. They all left the pyramid in single file, but while Tai, Izzy, Mimi, TK and their digimon went around the back of the sphinx to get close to the pyramid, Matt, Garurumon, Joe, Ikkakumon and Jade went the other way. Of course, Jade was supposed to go and hide with TK and Mimi, but she had decided at the last minute that that wasn't where she needed to be.

She watched from the shadows of the sand dunes as Ikkakumon bombed the pyramid and drew the majority of the forces towards him. Joe was sitting on his back, but as soon as the Monochromon and Tyrannomon got too close for him they were running away. Garurumon joined in by attacking the rear of the charging group, and that group was cut in half as they separated to go after each of the 'attackers'. From the pyramid Etemon emerged in all his glory and started to run after Matt and Joe, intent on destroying them.

That was when Jade made her move.

She stepped in front of the charging Etemon with a pleasant smile on her face. Her hands were clasped behind her back, but what Etemon couldn't see was her white knuckles as she was clenching her hands hard enough that her fingernails had broken the skin on her palm.

"Hello Minor Lord Etemon," she told him when he was close enough to hear her. "Does the Lord of Darkness know what you've been up to?"

"Oh god, what's Jade doing?" Tai asked, his face white in horror.

"We can't abandon our part of the mission." Izzy told him, though it was clear that he was reluctant to move.

"Go you two," Mimi ordered. "Palmon and I will go and help her out."

"But…"

"Tai, Sora needs you too," Mimi told him. "We'll take care of everything out here, you take care of everything in there. Alright?"

Tai was still reluctant, but he told himself that he needed to trust his friends. So he called to Izzy and started to run, Agumon close on his heels.

"She'll be alright Tai," Agumon told him. "She knows what she's doing."

"But she's still just a nine year old kid," Tai muttered. "With no digimon partner to help and protect her, she's a sitting duck."

"She does have a partner," Agumon rebutted. "He's just…unreachable at the moment."

"And Jade is on her own."

"Trust her Tai, it's what she needs from you and the others. She needs you to trust her to do the right thing."

"I just don't want her to get hurt. Is that wrong?"

"Only when you take it to extremes," Agumon cautioned. "She may be nine, but she's also our Sovereign. She is the reason that we're alive at all."

"What?"

"When you get to the wall, just keep running," Izzy called from behind him.

"Gotcha!" Tai called back. He looked at Agumon. "We'll talk more about that later, alright?"

"Right," Agumon agreed.

They ran down the same path they had taken the day before, and they didn't come across anyone or anything. At least, they didn't until they stumbled upon some rubble blocking the same passageway they needed to use. Tai stopped running and gapped at the destruction in front of them.

"The passage is blocked!" he gasped out.

"It's a dead end!" Agumon stated in disbelief.

"Not necessarily," Izzy told them both, looking to the right of the passageway and directly opposite the passageway they were supposed to have taken. "Why don't we try that door over there?"

Tai darted through and looked both ways to make sure that there were no unwanted surprises waiting for them.

"It's clear, let's go."

Jade stared up at Etemon serenely, but on the inside she was freaking out. She didn't want to transform, but she might have to if Etemon attacked her with everything that he had. The monkey digimon skidded to a halt as he noticed her, and underneath his glasses his eyes narrowed as she spoke of things that no human should have been aware of.

"The Lord of Darkness is weak," Etemon growled at her. "He's spent the last couple hundred years destroying the sanctuary of all dark digimon, and here is the only place that we could live."

"So you're destroying the home and livelihood of all other digimon?" Jade asked him, making a mental note about what he had said about the Shadow World. "You know that you cannot be allowed to continue?"

"And who are you to stop me?" Etemon asked her with a cruel laugh. "You're just a tag-a-long, you're not one of the digidestined. You have no power."

"Ha!" Jade laughed as she slowly brought her hands to her side. "I'm so much more. You see, I may have been gone a while, but now that I'm back I cannot allow you to harm my subjects. These digimon are under my protection."

"Muhaha!" Etemon cackled. "You're pretty amusing. I may just keep you as my pet!"

"Fire Strike!" Jade cried as she threw a fireball at Etemon. Unprepared as he was, Etemon staggered backwards. It was the easiest attack that she had at her disposal in her completely human form, but it was powerful in its own right. Etemon stopped laughing and stared at her intently.

"Who are you?" he eventually asked.

"Oh, no one special," Jade grinned. "I believe that the digimon call me Sovereign, but you, I suppose you could say that I'm the angel of your nightmares."

"Phoenixmon…" Etemon breathed in horror. "No! I won't believe that! You're just some snot-nosed kid!"

"You want to take that chance?"

"Dark Network!" Etemon roared as he threw a ball of sickly green energy at her. Jade darted to the side so that it missed her, but the digimon forces that were behind her and fighting Matt and Joe weren't so lucky. Their screams had Jade narrowing her eyes in disapproval, and she threw another fireball. Seeing the attack, Etemon threw another ball of energy and the two balls collided in mid-air. The shock-wave that it created sent both human and digimon flying in opposite directions.

"Oh boy," Joe breathed as he saw what was happening. "Ikkakumon, we have to go and get her."

"I got her!" Matt called to him as he darted passed on Garurumon. Joe nodded to him and ordered Ikkakumon to instead attack Etemon to distract him. He saw, through the dust cloud, that Matt had grabbed a hold of Jade's arm and swung her up behind him. She clung to his waist as they darted out of the way. Etemon, in turn, turned to face Joe in annoyance.

"You're becoming a nuisance, son," he told him.

"Of course, it's because I'm a teenager," Joe replied without thinking.

"I'll admit that it's been fun toying with you," Etemon continued. "But playtime's over. It's the end of the line for you and your goat, baby."

"Goat?" Ikkakumon asked. He raised his voice in aggravation. "I'm not a goat!"

"Remember what Izzy said?" Joe told Ikkakumon. "If we run into Etemon, run the other way?"

"I hate running away," Ikkakumon grumbled. Regardless, he did as was asked and ran from Etemon as attack after attack was aimed at them. Matt arrived as back-up, and when Garurumon attacked with his howling blaster, Jade threw more fireballs just to annoy the monkey. Mimi and Togemon arrived shortly after that, and a triangle of sorts was created, surrounding Etemon.

The humans got off the digimon and stood to the side as they watched how the digimon would attack, and how the attack failed. Matt kept Jade at his side, despite her protests, and she glowered as she crossed her arms with a pout. Then, from the edge of her senses, she picked up Togemon's small spark making its way towards them. She turned to look, making sure that it looked like she was staring at Matt, and resisted the temptation to smile as she was what looked like a flat stretch of sand making its way towards them.

TK and Tokomon had clearly decided that they could help out by bringing the sandy blanket closer to them so that when Etemon was distracted they could hide without him noticing. She turned her attention back to Etemon as he threw first Garurumon, and then Ikkakumon towards Matt. Both Matt and Joe cried out in horror, and then Mimi as Togemon was attacked with her own needles. Etemon grinned at all of them, and his grin only widened when he looked at Jade. He pulled his microphone from behind his back, and for a brief moment Jade tried to figure out where it had come from.

That thought left her mind, however, when he started to sing. She knew now, that due to her separation from Tomomon, she was more susceptible to dark energies, which is why she was often in pain when she felt them. Tomomon's presence acted like a buffer, so that while she would still feel the darkness, it wouldn't cripple her like it was doing now. She screamed and clutched at her head, her back arching as she threw her head backwards. The only reason she didn't drop to the ground was because Matt caught her before she could. The digimon de-digivolved as their energy was zapped, and Joe rushed over to where his partner, Matt and Jade were.

"And don't forget to tip your waitress!" Etemon ordered. He looked like he was about to finish them all off, but he was distracted and turned to face the pyramid instead. Jade quickly summoned TK over with one hand, her headache dulling slightly, and everyone was quickly hidden under the blanket. Joe pulled Jade close to him, holding her against his chest, and she gratefully hid her eyes in the darkness of his shirt until her headache faded.

"He's got a lot of anger," Matt stated as Etemon ran off to the pyramid.

"And he sure gets mad easy," TK added. The others laughed at the accuracy of his statement and pushed aside the blanket.

"At least we can still laugh about it," Joe muttered as he pulled Jade to her feet. She smiled at him gratefully before she, too, looked to the pyramid. Matt voiced her thoughts fairly accurately.

"What about Tai?"

"Oh that's right," Mimi realized. "Something tells me that he's not laughing right about now."

"We need to get there," Jade told them. "Come on."

"When all this is over, you are in so much trouble young lady," Joe warned her as he started to run after her. "What were you thinking? Taking on Etemon alone?"

"I needed to know why he was damaging this world," Jade called over her shoulder. "If what he told me is true, then there is another digimon out there who is in major trouble when I get a hold of him."

"Who?" TK asked as he struggled to catch up.

"My partner!"

"Looks like the Gazimon have figured out we're here," Tai muttered as they stared through a not-wall at the patrolling Gazimon. There were way too many to be able to sneak through without being detected.

"And we're so close to the room," Izzy grumbled. He pointed to the right of the passageway they needed to get onto. It sloped down until it became a staircase. "I think the main passage that leads to Etemon's private lab is located at the bottom of this stairway."

"Let's move," Tai decided. However, before they could move the roof above them caved in and Etemon appeared in all his anger and annoyance. The four of them screamed in fright and ran out of the hidden passageway and down the stairs before Etemon could attack them. Well, Tai headed towards the stairs but Izzy stopped and turned to face Etemon.

"Izzy?!" Tai cried as he too stopped, realizing he was alone.

"Now! Before I cancel you like a bad sit-com, direct me to Datamon!" Etemon ordered, glaring at Izzy who was the closest to him.

"Go find Sora!" Izzy ordered Tai. "Tentomon –digivolve!"

"But, Izzy!" Tai tried again.

"I've got your back Tai!" Izzy told him seriously. "I don't know what's going on with you, but I've got your back. Now go! We'll be fine!"

Tai still looked indecisive, battling with his need to rescue Sora, and his determination to protect his friends from danger. Hoping that he wouldn't regret his decision, Tai turned and ran with Agumon.

"Hold him Kabuterimon!" he called over his shoulder. He heard Etemon protesting, and as he ran he hoped that Etemon's location meant that the others were alright and had managed to escape. He didn't know what he would do if any of them had been hurt because he wasn't fast enough to do his part.

The two ran through another not-wall and came face-to-face with the firewall that Izzy had warned them about. Tai froze. He had no idea where the safe entry was, and he had bigger things to worry about than what it would feel like to be electrocuted.

"Oh great." he mumbled.

"The electric wall." Agumon breathed, unnecessarily. "I can break through it Tai."

"Wait, I'll do it Agumon," Tai told him, holding out an arm to prevent the digimon from walking forward.

"Are you sure?" Agumon asked, concerned.

"Not exactly," Tai told him, walking forward slightly. "But if I don't do this on my own, right here, right now, I may never be able to do it. A man must face himself before he can face his enemies. I have to get passed my own feelings and desires, my fears, in order to do what is right."

"I think I understand Tai." Agumon told him, watching as Tai raised his arm so that it was inches from the wall. "Go for it! I know you can do it!"

He did his best to be encouraging, but inside he was terrified that his partner was about to become a pile of ash in front of him. Tai was panicking about the same thing, but he gathered what little bravery he thought he had and thrust his hand forward, expecting to feel the hot currant of electricity coursing through his veins. His eyes were closed, but when nothing happened he opened them to see his arm through the wall, and realizing that he had found the weak point on his own.

"I did it!" he cried in half surprise and half shock.

"Yippee!" Agumon cheered in relief.

It was at that moment that Tai registered two things. The first was that Kabuterimon and Etemon were rolling down the stairs behind them, the fight clearly ending in Etemon's favor The second thing was that Tai's crest was glowing under his shirt. He stared at it in surprise for a long moment before turning to look at the fight behind him.

"So, we meet again." Etemon stated, looking at Tai and Agumon.

"Not for long," Tai warned him, warmth growing in his body as his crest kept glowing. He spotted Izzy making his way down the stairs, and Izzy's eyes widened in shock at seeing the glowing crest. Kabuterimon let out a gasp of pain.

"Agumon!" Tai ordered, Agumon nodded and digivolved into Greymon. As he digivolved, he felt something different in Tai. It wasn't just that his crest was glowing, it was like the darkness in him was fading slightly. It made the now digivolved Greymon feel more powerful than normal as he turned to face Etemon.

"Tai, break through to Sora," he ordered with a feral grin.

"Good luck Greymon!" Tai called as he ran through the firewall.

The first thing he noticed was Datamon sitting on a data terminal with Sora standing next to him making no effort to escape from him. She didn't look to be hurt, or tied up, and Tai couldn't figure why she hadn't rushed to him when he appeared. He was here to rescue her, but she looked like…a zombie. What had Datamon done to her?

"Sora, are you alright?" Tai asked her as he ran forward. "Sora?! Speak to me!"

"That's not Sora!" Biyomon suddenly called to him. "That's just a copy!"

Tai froze in his run and looked to the left. He first saw Biyomon tied up against the wall, completely immobile, but on a table in front of her was another Sora, but this one was tied up. Tai's eyes went completely wide as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

"Here Tai," the real Sora called to him. Tai took a few steps towards her when Datamon spoke.

"And now the copy is finished!" he crowed. "I will give her the magic crest and she will become the new Sora, and do whatever I require of her."

"That's what you think you pile of junk!" Tai growled. He saw Sora's digivice, tag and crest sitting on the data terminal, and he rushed forward to grab it before Datamon could give it to the not-Sora.

"No! What do you think you're doing?!" Datamon screamed at him. "I cannot permit a mere boy to stop my plans of vengeance!"

"I'm coming Sora!" Tai yelled as he spun back to head to Sora's side. Her belongings were in his right hand, and true fear and panic enveloped him as a hole formed around Sora, allowing her to fall into what looked like oblivion. He dove and caught her with his left hand, doing his best to keep them both from falling. He cried out as he slid forward slightly, and true terror formed at the thought that they would both die and no one would know what had happened.

Underneath them was a mass of black cables wrapped around each other. Tai wasn't as susceptible to the feeling of darkness as Jade was, but he knew that just from looking at the cables that they radiated dark energy.

"That is the center of Etemon's Dark Power Network," Datamon explained as he walked over slowly. Tai glared at him but was unable to do anything as the little robot extended his arms to hold onto Tai's left forearm, and Sora's right wrist. "Anything sucked in there is lost to all eternity. And since I have no more use for the original I will get rid of it."

He tightened his grip on their arms and they both cried out in pain. What no one knew about Tai, but what Joe and Izzy probably suspected by now, was that Tai suffered from depression, and had since his sister's near death when he was eight. It had started out as an accident, where he had tripped and cut himself. The pain from the wound and the sight of the blood had calmed him, and ever since then he had cut his left arm when he was feeling really depressed. It was why he wore a black armband, so that no one could see the scars. It had been a year since he last cut himself, and that was because he had Jade to write to when he was feeling down. But when Datamon grabbed him, he was crushing his left arm where his scars were.

"Tai! The crest!" Biyomon called to him. Tai forced his eyes open, unaware of when he had closed them, and looked down at Sora. She was in pain too, but Tai refused to let go of her regardless of how much Datamon was hurting him.

"Yes, the crest is the way that you may save the maiden's life," Datamon whispered to him. "…If you give it to me."

"Yeah?!" Tai snapped at him. "Why don't you go tell Etemon your sad story, because we're not interested!"

He held his right hand over the pit and dropped Sora's digivice and crest, with the order for her to catch them. Sora easily did so, and both ignored Datamon's order to stop. Tai smirked at him through his pain.

"You're not scared are you Datamon?"

"Biyomon digivolve to – Birdramon!"

Birdramon immediately swept closer to Tai and Sora and lowered her leg so that the two could grab on and be lifted out of the hole.

"Stay back you blasted crow!" Datamon ordered as he was forced to let go of the two humans. "What do you think you're doing?! Those are mine!"

Birdramon ignored the little digimon, and after making sure that Tai and Sora were alright, blasted down the wall that Tai had come through…and dropping the electrical fence on top of Etemon. The monkey screamed as the electricity shocked him, but the others ignored that as they spotted each other.

"You're out!" Greymon cried in delight.

"You made it!" Izzy added with a smile. His smile only dimmed slightly when he saw how Tai was cradling his left arm, but at Tai's subtle head shake he didn't say anything

"I never thought I'd see you again!" Sora told him and the digimon happily.

"We can celebrate later," Tai told her as he gently pushed her towards the stairs. "Now would be a good time to go before someone stops us again."

All nodded in agreement with his decision and started to run back the way they had come. Tai took the lead, but that was mainly so that the others wouldn't see the expression of agony on his face. His arm was pulsing in time with his heartbeat, and it hurt. He was just about positive that it was broken, but if he were to let the others see his arm they would know about his secret. He didn't want them to know how weak he was, he needed to be strong for them. He kept his left arm close to his body to prevent it from moving around too much, and he hoped that Sora's arm wasn't broken.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon roared as a ball of fire shattered the outer wall of the pyramid. They all smiled as they spotted the others running to them, and Tai masked his pain by smiling at them. Sora was instantly pulled into a hug by Mimi, but Joe and Matt rushed over to Tai and Izzy. As Tai was slightly in front of Izzy, he didn't see the computer genius point to his left arm and then to Tai to signify to Joe that the boy was hurt. Joe could see that there was something wrong with Tai's arm, but he still nodded to Izzy to show that he had understood.

He wasn't able to ask Tai about his injury, however, because at that moment the ground beneath them shook and it was like the air around them was pulling them back into the pyramid.

"We have to get away from the pyramid!" Jade yelled as she tried to fight against the pull. Birdramon leaned down so that Sora, Mimi, Palmon, TK and Tokomon could climb onto her neck, Kabuterimon gathered up Izzy, Joe and Gomamon, and Greymon lifted Tai, Matt, Gabumon and Jade onto his head. They started to run or fly as quickly as they could away from what was essentially a black hole.

"What happened back there?" Joe asked over the roar of the wind.

"I suspect the computer blew!" Izzy told him.

"Look at the pyramid!" Sora ordered as she looked behind them. Everyone followed her gaze and gaped.

"It's disintegrating!" Tai breathed.

The digimon stopped fleeing to allow the children to stand on the ground. Jade took a few steps forward, but not too many to panic the others, and watched as Etemon appeared from the ruins of the pyramid. The Dark Network that Datamon had revealed to Tai and Sora had come free, and that was what was sucking everything in. The Network had also sucked in Etemon, but instead of destroying him all it did was enhance his power. She groaned as the darkness washed over them, but remained standing as she gritted her teeth to ignore it.

"Alright! Now let me see a show of hands! How many of you actually missed me?!" Etemon asked them as he spotted them in the distance.

"What's with this guy?" Tai asked in disbelief. "He just won't die!"

"I told you I'd come back and take my revenge on you!" Etemon crowed. "You didn't believe me, did you?"

Birdramon and Kabuterimon flew up into the air and attacked Etemon with everything they had. Jade cried out in despair as the attack did absolutely nothing to Etemon, in fact, the monkey just laughed and baited them even more.

"Hey, that was pretty good. I give it a 9.6." Etemon stared down at them and his jovial act ended as he turned cruel. "Now then, you ready for a fast ball?"

The first attack missed the two flying digimon because they dodged at the last minute, the second destroyed the sphinx, but the third was aimed for Jade. Jade stared up at the ball in horror and lifted her hands as if to shield herself. Her eyes closed and she flinched, but nothing hit her. She looked up as she heard the others scream, and her scream joined theirs immediately.

"TAI!"

Tai had leaped in front of Jade before she was hit, so instead of a hole appearing in her body, there was a hole in his. He fell backwards like a puppet who's strings had been cut. Jade stared in horror, tears in her eyes, before she leapt forward and caught Tai's head before he hit the ground. Blood pooled on the ground, but Tai was still alive. She cried even as the others crowded around them. The digimon leaped forward to attack, but all sound but the harsh pant of Tai's breath had been muted.

"Why would you do that?" she sobbed.

"I…promise that I'd…protect you," Tai told her, a trickle of blood escaping from his mouth. "I have…failed…so many times…but I…couldn't this time."

"But why?" Jade demanded of him, even as Joe ordered him to stop talking. He was pressing down on Tai's stomach to attempt to stop the flow of blood.

"You are…important…to me," Tai whispered as his eyes started to close. He blinked them open and rested his palm against Jade's cheek. "I hurt you…once…and I have…regretted it…since. I…promised…that…I'd…keep…you…safe…"

His voice trailed off at the end and his hand fell from where he had rested it on her cheek. Jade screamed. Her scream of denial and pain and loss had everyone recoil. Tears were running down the other's cheeks, and Greymon's own scream was the only one that came close to surpassing Jade's own pain. Her body flashed and flames covered her completely. Wings of fire burst from her back and her hair lightened. Her clothing changed and she grew in height. The flames never stopped, but instead of covering her whole body they gathered in her hands.

Phoenixmon had appeared again, and if any of the children had been watching they would have seen Etemon recoil in horror as he realized that Jade had told him the truth earlier. But they didn't, as all their attention was on Phoenixmon as she dropped the ball of flames into the hole in Tai's stomach. She pressed down and a wave of energy blasted outwards from her. Tears fell from her eyes, landing on Tai's face, and he gasped.

Tai's eyes shot open as the gasp escaped him. His body arched and his hands grabbed onto Phoenixmon's where they still rested on his stomach. He cried out, but when Phoenixmon pulled back it was to reveal that the injury Tai had sustained was gone. More tears were shed from the digidestined, but this time they were tears of joy. Sora and Joe pulled Tai into a hug first, and Phoenixmon flew up into the air so that she was level with Etemon.

"Phoenixmon!" Tai cried as he stood up. He wobbled slightly before his energy returned. "Let me!"

Phoenixmon remained hovering, but she flew back towards the group so that Tai would know she would let him attack first. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay long, she had known that from the second she had transformed, already she could sense her partner rushing towards her.

"Greymon!" Tai called up to him. "Are you ready?"

"I'm right behind you Tai!" Greymon told him. "For now and always!"

Tai nodded up to him and started to run forward. The others called out for him, but when Phoenixmon landed in front of them with staff raised towards Etemon, they stopped. The Dark Network was getting stronger, and as much as Phoenixmon hated to do it she put a shield around the digidestined and their digimon who were behind her. Tai and Greymon were on their own.

"No! Tai, you don't stand a chance!" Mimi cried. She tried to run forward but Joe held her back.

"Phoenixmon! Jade! Please don't let him go!" Sora begged. "We almost just lost him."

"He will not die." Phoenixmon promised.

Charging towards Etemon, like a knight going into battle, was Tai. In his hands were his digivice, and his glowing crest. His courage, his bravery, and his belief in himself had activated his crest, and the power it held. His fear and his hate were pushed to the side, those emotions wouldn't help him now, and it was only his desire to protect the others that had him running. He had taken that blast for Jade because he knew that if he didn't, she would have died. It may have been reckless, it may have been stupid, but…he loved her and didn't want her to get hurt.

It wasn't a romantic love, they were both too young for that, but the deep affection that he had for her couldn't be called anything else. He would fight, for her.

Etemon threw another ball of dark energy and knocked Greymon back. Tai looked back to his partner and promised that he wouldn't leave him alone. It was that declaration that finally brought the crest to full power.

"Tai! Your courage is giving me even greater strength!" Greymon called from behind him. "Now I can digivolve!"

Light exploded out of Greymon as the crest and the digivice lit up in Tai's hands. He stopped running so that he could look back, and as Greymon changed he spotted Phoenixmon protecting the others, and allowing him to do what he needed to do. He looked into her green eyes, and a connection of understanding rushed through the both of them.

"Greymon digivolve to – Metalgreymon!"

Metalgreymon was larger than Greymon, with metal armor covering his left arm, chest, and head. At the back of his head was a gathering of red hair and from his back sprouted wing-like appendages. Though given their size, the others would have been surprised if Metalgreymon could fly at all. He just looked like one giant weapon.

"Destroy him Metalgreymon!" Tai ordered. "He is everyone's enemy! We have to protect them!"

Metalgreymon charged towards Etemon, cutting down his attacks as if they were nothing more than harmless bubbles. He head-butted the cable-ball and it looked like they would win, finally. Phoenixmon intensified her shield, fighting against the forces that wanted the children behind her. She wouldn't let that happen.

Ahead of them, Tai dropped to the ground in order to make it harder for him to be sucked in. Metalgreymon began to glow, and with one blast of his Giga Blaster, the cable-ball became a dimensional tear. Phoenixmon actually cried out in horror, but she couldn't go after Tai without leaving the others undefended.

Etemon was the first to be sucked into the swirling vortex, but Tai and Metalgreymon were next. They went screaming, and Phoenixmon pushed out with her power to try and stop them.

I'll find a way back. Tai promised in her mind.

You'd better, Protector. Phoenixmon told him in his mind. You are still needed…by all of us.

And then he was gone. The wind dropped so suddenly that Phoenixmon staggered from the lack of force. She knew that Tai and Agumon would be back, but she didn't know when. She didn't even know what world they had ended up in. Her transformation dropped and she shrunk so that she looked like Jade again. She collapsed to her knees and wrapped her arms around her body.

And all she could do was cry.

I have decided that I'm going to try to answer any questions that you guys ask me in your reviews. I hate to admit it but I am very lax when it comes to replying to every review. So this way I'll be able to answer you if the answer is not in the chapter I have just revealed. As of this moment I have 206 reviews, pushing this story to the most reviewed digimon/harry potter story. Thanks a bunch everyone!

Special thanks go to Okami Princess and lozzy161 for reading over this chapter and betaing it for me!

Reviewers:

Orez Lanrete: Yes, I have every intention of taking this story through season 2.

Liedral: Good guess. You are right, but it will be a few more chapters before I officially reveal it. At the moment, chapter 16 is when it will happen.

Next up in Intertwined Destinies:

Chapter 15: The Power of Truth