Intertwined Destinies

The eighth child has been confirmed as Tai's little sister Kari, and everyone is now in Japan even if they are not all within the fog barrier. Joe and TK are almost through with Michael and Akili tagging along, Matt and Kari are hiding in Aqua City, Sora has escaped from Big Sight with Birdramon and Lilymon, Mimi is once again a prisoner inside Big Sight, and Tai is charging forwards towards Big Sight to rescue his friend. Each digidestined has recently felt the attack made by Myotismon against Phoenixmon, a thrust of a sword through her chest. Jade is now out of commission, and to Myotismon she is as good as dead. What Myotismon didn't realise was that there was an unforeseen obstacle in his plan, and her name is Yuuko. The Digidestined of Compassion has grabbed Jade as she fell to certain death, and now she is all that stands between Jade and death.

The next chapter of their adventure awaits...

Chapter 25: The Power of Loyalty

With everyone being held at Big Sight, the apartment complexes were essentially abandoned and perfect for someone who is hiding from the evil outside. Yuuko had apparated to her apartment with a limp and unconscious Jade in her arms, and with barely a pause to orientate herself she marched towards the lounge room and gently placed Jade down on the couch so that she could attempt healing her. To someone who was watching, it would have looked like Yuuko had walked through an invisible door instead of coming into existence after having been falling from a significant height.

Still, Yuuko knew that she couldn't dawdle in her actions. With Jade on the couch she quickly dashed to the bathroom to grab some towels before returning to her patient and pulling up her shirt so that she could look at the damage properly. There was a large gash right in the center of Jade's chest, but it didn't look like the attack had hit anything vital. Jade's breathing was shallow and pained, and there was little color in her face, but she was still alive and hadn't started coughing up blood. There was also bandages from when the girl had apparently been hurt earlier, and it made Yuuko frown as she realized she hadn't noticed that Jade had already been hurt.

Before giving up magic, Yuuko had studied healing. She had always been the one on their journey to patch up any injuries that they received, and Lily was almost like a magnet for danger, so she just expanded her knowledge to include magical remedies and spells. Healing with magic wasn't like saying a spell and watching injuries heal at a rapid rate, it involved more than that. The slightest hint of distraction when performing the spell could cause it to unravel and magnify the original injury or the shock could cause the patient to die. Yuuko had never got beyond healing physical injuries, something she regretted when Hikari had caught pneumonia, but that knowledge helped her now.

She began by positioning a towel under Jade to soak up the blood she was still losing, and then she positioned her wand over the injury and started to cast. It was time-consuming, but she was determined to save the girl before her…because she had never been given the chance to save Lily.

The fog was thick around Odaiba, but Ikkakumon was determined to get through. All sense of Jade had since faded until it was barely there, but that he could still sense her meant that she was alive. He needed to hurry though, because he had a feeling that if they didn't make in time Jade would die. Joe was trying to explain what had happened to the two men, but he kept stumbling over his words.

"So let me get this straight," Michael said, speaking directly to Joe and the digimon as TK couldn't understand English. "You all felt Jade get hurt? How is that possible? There should be no direct link between you guys and her. It doesn't make sense."

"It's how it's always been," Patamon spoke up. "Jade feels like a digimon to us, and we know that she can sense us like we sense her, and she said that she tracks the others through their crests. Only recently has she started to talk to everyone in their minds, like she does as Phoenixmon."

"You don't understand," Akili cut in. "When we chose you guys as the next generation of digidestined, you were chosen with Lord Lucemon in mind, and we were never able to sense if anything bad had happened to him. Only on rare occasions would he talk to us in our minds, we were his soldiers, formed to do his bidding in protecting the world where he couldn't."

"It is strange that you have such a close connection with Jade," Michael continued. "I mean, she was always close with the digimon and it took her forever to warm up to us, she hated humans."

"Hate is a strong word," Akili told him. "'Feared' might be better to describe her behaviour."

"I guess," Michael admitted. "She was afraid of us, and I guess that us wanting to get rid of Tomomon didn't help us."

"Get rid of?" Joe asked. "You wanted to get rid of her partner?"

"He felt really scary," Patamon told Joe as he settled down again on TK's lap. "Kind of like SkullGreymon before Jade drained him of his power."

Michael and Akili looked at each other in silent communication. It was clear to those watching them that they were disturbed with what they had learnt. Joe personally didn't see what the big deal was. Jade was Jade, she just happened to have a couple of really cool powers that had saved them a few times. She was also able to become a digimon, and while they had never met Lucemon, Joe doubted that he could turn into a human.

"I hate to point out the obvious," Joe started. "But Jade, despite being the Sovereign, is still a nine year old girl who has a bad home life. Is it really hard to believe that she would latch to us, her Protectors, because she feels safe around us?"

"That makes a lot of sense," Akili told Michael. "She is a child and, ideally, she wouldn't have become Lucemon's successor until she was older. Lucemon was already ancient when he requested the five of us to help him."

"I guess," Michael muttered. "Her empathy probably heightened her abilities, which is why these guys felt her pain even when nothing else can get out of, or into, the fog."

Ikkakumon looked up as he made out a faint shadowy outline in the fog. TK, who had gotten bored listening to a conversation he couldn't understand, moved so that he was sitting almost on Ikkakumon's nose. The boy cheered when he spotted the shadow, telling Joe and the two men that they had made it to the Rainbow Bridge.

They had been swimming for close to half an hour, and it was like the fog was trying to trick their senses and had them swimming around in circles. The Rainbow Bridge led right into Odaiba, so now that they'd found it, all they had to do was swim along it until they either came out of the fog or ended up in Odaiba. It cheered them all up, especially Ikkakumon who had followed the faint sense of Jade.

At that moment there was a low growling noise, and all conversations halted. Joe spoke to him, begging him to say that the growl had been his stomach. Ikkakumon couldn't tell him that, and instead all eyes focused on the Rainbow Bridge and the large figure wrapped around support columns.

"I knew today would be a bad day," Joe moaned. "I knew it."

"That's MegaSeadramon," Patamon explained quietly. "The fully digivolved form of Seadramon, and twice as mean."

"Seadramon?" TK asked. "That was the digimon who attacked us on our first night in the Digital World, right?"

"Yep," Joe stated. "Think you can take him Ikkakumon?"

"I'll do my best Joe," Ikkakumon stated. TK slid closer to the main group, his hands clutching Joe's shorts as Ikkakumon started his attack. Attack after attack from Ikkakumon did absolutely nothing, aside from damage the bridge. At the back of his mind, all Joe could think about was how much it was going to cost to get everything repaired. But then MegaSeadramon struck back and all four humans crashed into the water.

Joe started to sink, his eyes blurring from the pain in the back of his head. He figured that he'd hit it on something, and as he squinted he could make out a bit of driftwood on the surface. He had no idea where it came from, or why he had been the lucky one to smash his head on it when they'd been flung from Ikkakumon's back. What he did realise, however, was the TK was sinking just a short distance away from him. Joe pushed the pain away from the forefront of his mind and started to swim towards the younger boy. He was responsible for TK, he had promised Natsuko that he would, and he was the bearer of the Crest of Reliability.

His arms wrapped around TK's waist before he pushed up towards the surface. The bit of driftwood was close by, and using the last bit of his strength he draped TK's body over it. TK looked at him with gratitude, as did Patamon when the small digimon flew over to check on his partner.

"Thanks Joe," TK smiled at him. Joe smiled faintly.

"I wouldn't want your mother to worry," he managed to reply. His head was really starting to hurt now. "I'm responsible for you, and for the others. I won't let anything happen to you."

His head dipped below the surface as his vision blurred. He tried to fight it, he needed to protect TK. Bright light burst from his chest, from the location of his tag and crest, and he could sense that Ikkakumon was digivolving to Ultimate. Strong arms wrapped around his chest and wrestled him to the surface just as a large hand scooped them all up out of the water. Joe coughed what little water he'd swallowed accidentally before looking up to Michael gratefully. The man just smiled and pressed a piece of cloth against the back of his head. It stung, but Joe noticed that the cloth was a part of Michael's shirt that he'd ripped off.

"Thanks," he stated as he took over holding the cloth to his head.

"You're welcome," Michael replied. "Your actions are just from what I expected the Protector of Reliability to do. We did well in our selections."

"Are you alright Joe?"

Joe looked up further, recognizing his partner's concern, but not his new form. The words got caught in his throat as he stared up at the giant turtle like digimon with wicked spikes everywhere. His shell was green with three spikes shooting out along the spine, the horn on his head reminded him of a swordfish but this digimon was way cooler, there were patches of orange fur on his head, left paw, both feet and his tail. In his right hand was a giant hammer.

"I'm Zudomon," the digimon said, sensing the question. "Your actions to protect TK over your own well being showed how trustworthy you actually are, so I was able to digivolve. You're pretty cool Joe!"

Joe blushed at the praise, ducking his head and ignoring the pain that it caused. Michael and Akili laughed at his behavior, but TK just skipped over and hugged him happily. Zudomon spent the next minute or so defeating MegaSeadramon, and destroying the bridge completely, before they sped off into the distance to get to the others. It helped that the power from Joe's crest created a path for them, so that they wouldn't continue to be lost.

As they traveled, now faster than what Ikkakumon was capable of on his own, Michael inspected Joe's injury and declared that he would live. Joe already knew that, but that didn't stop the headache that now wouldn't go away. As soon as they got back he would take the first opportunity to grab some aspirin.

"There's someone in the water," TK announced, breaking Joe from his daydream of getting pain medication. The older boy looked into the water where TK was indicating, and recognized that there was a person drifting aimlessly on a piece of driftwood. Joe wondered where all the wood had come from, and if there was an accident nearby to pollute the water more, but pushed aside the thought to help the person on Zudomon's hand.

"Wizardmon?!" both Akili and Michael exclaimed as soon as the person was out of the water. The person, it turned out, was actually a digimon. Being only a bit taller than TK and dressed in a wizard costume, he was one of the digimon most human like in appearance that the digidestined had stumbled across so far. Wizardmon looked up as his name was shouted, and he smiled as he saw the two men.

"Jade said that you were on your way," he stated, his voice heavy with pain and exhaustion.

"What happened to you?" Michael asked in horror.

"Myotismon is using Gatomon to find Kari," Wizardmon said softly. "But I got what I went after him for."

He pulled out a tag and crest from his robes, its light reflecting towards them. Joe made the connection instantly, and asked Wizardmon if Tai's little sister was the child they were looking for. Michael and Akili looked surprised that he hadn't known already, but TK simply looked excited because it meant that there was another child his own age who could play with him and Jade when they traveled together. Wizardmon confirmed his suspicion, and TK admitted that Jade already knew and had watched her to make sure that nothing happened to her. He wasn't worried, because he knew that they would all be together soon and they would defeat Myotismon.

It was hard not to feel optimistic with TK being himself, but there was still a small part of Joe's mind that couldn't help but feel pessimistic. Jade had been hurt, most likely by Myotismon, and Odaiba was cut off from the rest of the world. They wouldn't be getting any help, and if Jade's creepy partner found out that they had let her get hurt, they were all going to die anyway. But, Joe forced himself to feel optimistic. They needed to regroup, because then they would be unstoppable.

Sora landed at Aqua City and ran inside. She hadn't seen Tai on her journey, but Jade had said that Matt was Aqua City and that was where everyone would be meeting, hopefully. Her eyes darted over every shape and shadow until they landed on Matt, Gabumon and Kari. Matt was holding Kari in his arms, but just from his eyes Sora could tell that he had no idea what he was doing and was way out of his comfort zone. She could also tell that he had felt exactly what she had felt, and he was worried about it.

"Matt, Kari," she stated. Kari looked up from Matt's arms and without hesitating ran over to her to be picked up. Kari's arms went around her neck and Sora held her easily as she walked the rest of the way over to Matt and Gabumon.

"What happened?" Matt asked in concern. "You were with Jade and Mimi, according to Tai, where are they? And did you see Tai anywhere? He should have been back by now."

"I haven't seen Tai, but our escape attempt didn't really work," Sora explained as she gently ran her hand up and down Kari's spine to calm her down. "The main group managed to get outside. Mimi was in that group so I don't really know what happened, but I went off to see if I could get anyone else to join us in escaping. I was cornered by Phantomon and a group of Bakemon, but when two went to grab me…turns out my mum and Biyomon disguised themselves as Bakemon to find me. Biyomon digivolved and grabbed me, but my mum stayed behind to give us a chance to escape, so I hope she's alright. Birdramon grabbed Lilymon, Togemon digivolved to protect Mimi, which was pretty cool, but Myotismon was there."

"Myotismon attacked you?" Gabumon asked.

"He attacked Lilymon, but he didn't attack us because Phoenixmon was his opponent," Sora told the digimon. "Birdramon told me that Phoenixmon ordered her to get me, Mimi and Lilymon out of there, but Mimi had already been taken back inside with her family so Birdramon chose to escape with me and Lilymon. And then…"

"Jade got hurt," Matt finished for her. "I don't suppose you saw what happened?"

"No."

"Myotismon stabbed her," Kari whispered, her breath warm against Sora's neck. "He snuck passed her staff and stabbed her, and then she became Jade again before she passed out."

"How do you know?" Sora asked in shock.

"Don't know if Tai told you, or Jade, or someone," Matt began, staring at Kari. "But Kari is the eighth child that we've been looking for. Gatomon is her partner, Wizardmon is a spy for Jade in Myotismon's circle, Kari knows when something bad happens to Jade, and Myotismon figured out that Gatomon knew Kari's identity so he covered Odaiba in fog so that he could find her himself."

"…oh," was all Sora could say. That was a lot of information, but it was already what Sora had started to suspect. She was about to say more when there was an explosion from outside, so she put Kari down and had her hide while she, Matt and Gabumon went off to find out what was going on.

"Who's there?!" she cried when she burst outside again. Birdramon was crouched over Lilymon's still figure, but her eyes were focused up. She recognized Phantomon, and with a rush of horror through her body she realized that the ghost digimon had followed her and Birdramon from Big Sight. Phantomon started to laugh, and he moaned something about how it would be better just to kill everyone, but no one really paid attention to him. Their attention was focused on the two digimon who had just appeared.

Tuskmon and Snimon stared at the small group before them, and the children recoiled involuntarily. Matt really hoped that Kari was hiding, because he knew that Tai was likely to kill him if they let anything happen to his sister. Snimon was a dull green color and looked like a large praying mantis with blades for arms. Tuskmon was a green dinosaur with fangs, spikes growing from his nose down to his tail, a skull and crossbones danger symbol on his shoulders, and red and black ringed tusks growing out of his back.

"Not good!" Sora cried.

"Gabumon!" Matt ordered. Gabumon digivolved to Garurumon instantly, and his opponent was Tuskmon. Birdramon jumped into the air to take on Snimon, while the two humans stood on the ground feeling useless. However, what they all seemed to have forgotten was that there were three enemy digimon, and with Garurumon and Birdramon otherwise engaged, there was no one left to defend the children from Phantomon. Standing in the opening of their little shelter, Kari watched in horror as the digimon fought, and all she could think of was that it was her fault that all of this was happening.

Garurumon was sent flying, and as Matt's head turned to follow his partner Phantomon attacked him. A chain wrapped around his neck dangerously, and when Sora moved to defend her friend with a wooden stick, Phantomon broke the stick with one swipe of his scythe. Birdramon digivolved to Garudamon, but even with the help of an ultimate the fight was going poorly.

Matt struggled to breathe with the chain wrapped around his neck, and Sora cowered with Lilymon on the ground from where she had been hit. Snimon and Tuskmon had ganged up on Garudamon with Garurumon out of the way. Phantomon laughed cruelly as Matt sunk to his knees, but Kari had enough.

"Stop it!" she cried. "That's enough!"

Far off, her crest started to glow.

"It's me you want," Kari continued. "I'm the eighth child. If you'll just stop hurting my friends, I'll come with you quietly, wherever you want."

"What a refreshingly helpful attitude," Phantomon told her. "It's a deal."

Snimon and Tuskmon disappeared from the fight, leaving Garudamon standing alone. Sora struggled up to her knees as she realized what Kari was doing, but Matt was still tied up and couldn't stop her. All he could think was: if he hadn't known Kari and Tai were related before, he certainly did now. The two of them were far too alike for them not to be related.

"I'm ready," Kari stated.

"Hurry Matt! Stop her!" Sora cried. The chain was released from Matt's neck as Garurumon returned to the scene, but already Kari was enclosed in a dark blue bubble and moving up to the sky. Matt tried to run towards her, but she was beyond his reach. Phantomon's laughter echoed to him and he couldn't help but call out to the girl, even knowing that she wouldn't change her mind.

"No! Kari! You don't know what you're doing! Kari! He'll destroy you and gain control of both worlds!"

"Oh no, Matt," Sora began tearfully. She appeared at his side and helped him to stand, staring at his rapidly bruising neck. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Matt gasped out. "But Tai is going to be so mad at me."

"If I were a fog barrier generator, where would I be?" Izzy asked himself. He and Tentomon had finally made it inside the Fuji TV Station, and they were only there because that was where Gennai said the center of the fog barrier was. Izzy still felt guilty about leaving his parents behind in their apartment, but he rationalized that it was the safest place for them at the moment.

Gennai had helped him to upload a program that distorted the digital waves, rendering whoever was in the room when the barrier went up invisible. It had taken some effort to convince his parents to trust him, especially after eavesdropping on a conversation where they were talking about he was pulling away from them. Locking his door had been a good idea on his part, but when the two adults found out that he had locked them out they had both been hurt and concerned with his lack of trust towards them.

Tentomon talking after the Bakemon had left had caused his mother to faint in shock, but he supposed that she could have had a worse reaction. She could have tried to hit Tentomon with the golf club they were using to defend themselves, or screamed loud enough that the Bakemon would have returned to investigate. Still, as he and Tentomon started to leave so that they could fight with the others, his mother had told him how proud she was of him. He wished that he could have talked to them properly instead of leaving as he had, but he vowed to have a talk with them as soon as Myotismon was defeated.

Tentomon had told him earlier that he could probably destroy the building if he digivolved, but Izzy hadn't wanted to risk any people who may or may not have been inside, and he wasn't entirely sure that destroying the building would get rid of the fog. He understood that his partner was on edge, especially after sensing that something had gone wrong with Jade, but Tentomon had done his best to reassure him that she was still alive, just unconscious.

He worried nonetheless though. Despite not spending a lot of time with Jade like Tai and Joe had done, Izzy was very protective of her. Every time that they had gotten separated, like with Devimon, when Tai had hit her, after Tai was sucked through the dimensional rift, and after they got back to the Human World and hopped on the school buses, Jade had somehow managed to get into trouble or get hurt. He had heard from Tai that Jade was attacked by Bakemon most recently, and he had spoken with Joe late the night before and learnt that she had gained three scars on her face, but now it seemed like her injury was a little more severe than three scratches.

"I think we should go up a few more levels," Tentomon stated, responding to Izzy's rhetorical question. He was worried as well, but he also knew, like Izzy did, that if they wanted to win against Myotismon than they needed to take away his advantages. Izzy blinked at him before nodding and turning the corner. He gasped and darted backwards, pushing Tentomon back.

"Back up, we'll go the other way," he ordered as he stared at the Bakemon slowly making its way towards him. Tentomon agreed, but as they turned they noticed another one. Both froze in fear and panic, not sure what to do and not willing to fight. Izzy pressed his back to the wall, head darting from side to side.

"They've got us surrounded!" he hissed. Suddenly, the wall he was leaning on disappeared and two hands grabbed him, one around his shoulders and the other hand came across his mouth to prevent him from making a sound. Tentomon nearly made a scene, but as he could see Izzy's manhandler, he didn't and instead followed the two inside the room that Izzy had been leaning on the door of.

"Quiet," Izzy's kidnapper hissed as the door shut. Izzy froze and the three of them waited until the Bakemon had passed the door before turning around to see who had grabbed him. He was relieved to notice that it was a human on the other side of the door, but he didn't know anything about the man to trust him instantly.

"I'm Hiroaki," the man said softly. He walked away from Izzy towards the window so that he could look down on the deserted streets below. Izzy followed him, but instead of looking down he looked out at the fog, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Well," Tentomon began as he flew towards the two humans. "I'm Tentomon, and this is Izzy."

"Tentomon, huh?" Hiroaki murmured, turning to look at the insect digimon. "Any relation to Gabumon?"

"You know Gabumon?" Izzy asked, looking up at the adult. "How?"

"He came home with my son from camp, but I only really met him this morning when I kicked Yamato out of bed," Hiroaki explained. "I left the two of them in Aqua City while I came here to try and contact the outside world. We're completely cut off from them."

"You're Matt's dad?" Izzy asked, just to clarify. "Is that why you didn't panic when you saw Tentomon?"

"Why should I have?"

"My mum fainted when she realized that Tentomon could talk."

"Ah," Hiroaki realized. "Well, talking animals isn't as uncommon as you think it is. I think I was more shocked when I was told that the leader of our little resistance is a nine-year old girl."

"Resistance?" Tentomon asked. "Are you talking about the digidestined?"

"That's what my boss called it," Hiroaki stated cheerfully. "He gathered all of us together, gave us a list of names and descriptions, and said that if there are any monster sightings, leave it to the people on the list, and if we see that they need help, give back up."

"So you're a magician?" Izzy tried to confirm.

"Wizard," Hiroaki corrected. "But, yes. You're a digidestined I gather? Tell me what you need and I'll back you up."

Izzy grinned, suddenly feeling optimistic. He and Tentomon looked at each other before launching into an explanation about what they were doing. It helped that the man before them was Matt's dad, and that Jade had Tai warn everyone about their back up in the form of wizards, but they weren't alone in the TV Station, and that was all that mattered. If luck was on their side the others would either be there soon, or would find a way to contact him to let him know what he needed to do.

Tai made it to Big Sight without anyone seeing him. He had watched Sora fly over him, but she hadn't seen him and he was happy with that for the time being. He needed to focus on getting inside, finding whoever was still trapped, and freeing them. If he focused on anything else he would probably go insane in rage, and he couldn't afford to do that to Agumon again. His partner was following him loyally, and they got inside fairly easily.

It was easy to navigate, all Tai had to do was follow the crush of voices. He poked his head into one room and saw hundreds of adults all standing around looking lost. A few of them looked to be injured, but what was really strange was that there were no children in the room except for those who were really small. Tai frowned as he stared at the adults, he assumed that the children were in another room and that was so that Myotismon could find out where Kari was. He was glad that she was safe with Matt, but he had no idea what Myotismon would do once he was informed that the eighth child was not in the room with the other kids.

"What do we do Tai?" Agumon asked softly. He was looking behind them in case the Bakemon snuck up on them.

"I'm thinking," Tai muttered back. "I can't see any kids in this room."

At that moment, however, he spotted someone he did know. His dad looked like he had been in a fight, and he recalled Jade saying that he would be leading the charge to give the women and children a chance to escape. Obviously that had failed, but maybe a few had managed to escape, aside from Sora and Birdramon. He couldn't see his mum, and he doubted that his dad would be far from her at this moment.

Susumu was looking for his wife, and growing more desperate the further he looked. He had felt for sure that he would have found her when almost everyone was returned back inside by the ghosts, but he couldn't find his wife and all the children had been herded elsewhere. It was as he was looking around that he noticed Tai hiding in the shadows, and even though it went against every instinct in his body, he refrained from drawing attention to his son and instead made his way over until he could duck out of sight.

Tai had watched as his dad made his way closer to his spot without looking like he was intentionally heading towards him, but as soon as he was close enough he ducked around the corner and pulled Tai into a hug hard enough that Tai felt for sure his bones would break.

"You're alive," Susumu muttered in relief. "I was so worried."

"I'm fine," Tai stated automatically. "Where's mum?"

"I don't know, I can't find her," Susumu answered. "I'm hoping that she got out. Are you alright? Where's your sister? How did you get in here? Why did you come in here?"

"I left Kari with Matt," Tai told his dad as he pulled out of his hug. "Agumon and I came here to get Mimi and Sora, but Sora's already made her way to the others so it's just Mimi that we're here for. All the digidestined will be needed if we want to get out of this without more people getting hurt or dying. I don't suppose you know where the kids were taken?"

"No," Susumu shook his head. "But I'm going with you."

Tai tried to protest but his dad was firm. Secretly, Tai was relieved that his dad was with him, as he knew just how strong Susumu was. So, instead of drawing out their argument, Tai turned and started to lead them down another corridor. It was as they were walking that Tai noticed the sudden silence from the room they had just come from, and he felt fear as possible scenarios rushed through his head. It took everything he had not to turn around and investigate, and to keep going until he found Mimi. He was using his digivice now as Mimi was close enough that it would work for him.

From up ahead their path was halted as a group of Bakemon made their appearance. Tai growled in annoyance and had Agumon digivolve, much to his dad's shock and horror, and soon the Bakemon were out of the way for good. Tai nodded in satisfaction and told Susumu that he would explain everything as soon as it was safe to do so. Greymon turned to look at him with his dinosaur grin and Tai congratulated him with his thumbs up.

"Tai! You made it!"

Tai turned in time to catch Mimi as she flung herself into his arms. He held her tightly, relief washing over him as he saw that she was alright. She started to cry, and from among her tears Tai learnt what had happened to Jade, what had caused all of them to feel pain, and simply held Mimi tighter. However, what she said last was the one thing that caused him to pale in horror and shake slightly in fear.

"Myotismon has what?" he managed to say.

"Demidevimon told him that he had the eighth child, and after that he put us all to sleep and went off. My crest woke me up," Mimi explained. She pulled back and stared at Tai in fear. "What are we going to do?"

"Eighth child?" Susumu asked. "Can you tell me what's going on, or is this a 'wait until later' explanation?"

"Sorry dad," Tai mumbled, still in shock. "But we can't waste time. That dark digimon has Kari."

"He has what?!" Susumu roared. "Explain it to me on the way. Like hell I'm going to let anyone hurt my children!"

Tai stared at him, and a small part of him felt grateful that he had said "my children" instead of "my daughter". Mimi nodded her agreement, and Greymon held out his hand for them to climb up and sit on his shoulder. Susumu settled himself on Greymon's left shoulder, but Tai and Mimi sat together on his right shoulder. The orange dinosaur left Big Sight as quickly as he could and started to run towards where he could sense the others congregating.

"I'm going to find out what happened," Tai explained to Greymon and Mimi.

"Your telepathy thing?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah, I'll include you so don't worry about that."

"I wasn't worried. Do what you need to do."

Tai nodded and closed his eyes, searching out the other familiar minds to talk to them. Jade was still mysteriously dark, but he knew she was alive and did his best not to worry about her situation, but the others were as clear as day to him. He projected his voice into each of their minds, and hoped that what he was doing allowed all of them to hear each other as well.

Guys, it's Tai, we have a situation.

Tai! Man! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! I tried to stop her but she's just so much like you that I didn't realize what she was doing until she'd already done it! Matt's voice was panicked and worried, and just from that Tai knew that his friend was guilt-ridden and blaming himself.

I know my sister, he tried to explain. So don't worry, I don't blame you. Mimi and I are heading your way.

Come to the Fuji TV Station, Izzy cut in. I'm here with Matt's dad, and it's the center of Myotismon's fog so it would make sense that he's on his way here. And I think I saw Kari a little while ago, though it was very far away and I couldn't make out who it was. Phantomon was with her though, so it's a good bet that she's on the upper levels now.

TK and I are almost through the fog barrier, Joe spoke up. We're with Akili and Michael, the original digidestined that Jade told us about. Also, we have Wizardmon with us and Kari's crest.

Wizardmon doesn't look too good, TK added. Hi Matt!

TK! You're alright! Matt said in relief.

Does anyone know what happened to Jade? Joe asked, cutting across the mental reunion. I'm sure that TK and I are not the only ones to react badly about an hour and a half ago.

Myotismon ran her through with a red sword, Mimi stated softly. I didn't see her hit the ground though, I was forced back inside before I could.

So she could be lying on the ground, hurt? Sora asked in horror. Garudamon and I can look into it and be back in a flash.

No, Tai ordered. He really wanted to let someone do it, but Jade wouldn't be happy if they did and he knew that she wasn't anywhere near Big Sight. Everyone make your way to the Fuji TV Station. Do not let Myotismon hurt Kari, that is why we came back here.

But Tai…Joe started. Jade could be seriously hurt.

I know that! Tai thought, allowing his pain to convey how hard it was for him to push on. But I know she'll be fine. She's not going to let Myotismon defeat her, and as soon as she can she will join us.

…Did you see my mum at Big Sight? Sora asked after an awkward silence settled over the mind conversation.

Everyone was sent to sleep, Tai told her. From what I could see, there were a few adults who were hurt, but I couldn't see any kids. They were knocked out shortly after we got there.

She was with the others, Mimi said reassuringly. I saw her briefly before I was sent away with the other kids. She looked fine.

Thank goodness, Sora mumbled. Oh, and Lilymon is fine as well. She's still all grey and limp, but she's alive.

Alright guys, Tai said again as they all felt Mimi's relief. Mimi and I are on our way to the TV Station. Get there as soon as you can and do whatever you can to keep Kari safe. We'll see you shortly.

A few of the others confirmed his order, but Tai didn't say anything else. His eyes opened and he stared right ahead. He rehashed the conversation for Greymon, and then gave a little back story for his dad. Susumu wasn't really surprised by Kari's actions, and his fond smile boosted Tai's own confidence. He was glad that everyone was alright, and hoped that they would still be fine by the end of the day.

There was no way that he would allow any digimon to destroy his home.

Jade woke up slowly and with a great deal of confusion. She remembered being stabbed with Myotismon's blade, but aside from only a faint flash of pain from her chest, there was no sign that she had been attacked at all. There was also that she was in an unfamiliar room and she was alone. The couch she was on was comfortable, but she forced herself to sit up and inspect her body, taking note of the amount of blood covering what remained of her shirt and the blood stain on the couch. The couch stain made her frown because she knew how hard it was to get blood off of furniture.

"How are you feeling?"

Jade jumped in surprise and spun around to find the source of the voice. Standing in the door way to what could have been the bathroom was Yuuko Kamiya, and Jade smiled shyly as she calmed down her racing heart.

"I'm good," she replied. "Did…did you save me?"

"Yes," Yuuko said with a nod. "I don't know if you remember, but you fell as soon as Myotismon released you. I knew that he wouldn't allow me to heal you there, so I brought you back here. You've been out for almost two hours."

"How are the others?" Jade asked instantly, eyes widening as she was informed of how long she had been out of the fight for. "Sora and Mimi? Did they get away? My classmates? Anyone?"

"I don't know," Yuuko admitted. "I brought you here as soon as I could, though I'm pretty sure that Sora got away on Birdramon. Unless something major happened after we arrived here, everyone was recaptured and sent back inside."

"Then I need to find out," Jade decided. "Tai will know what's going on. I'll talk to him."

"You can…talk to Taichi?" the woman asked shocked. "Like, telepathy talk?"

"Yeah," Jade confirmed as she sat back down. "Couldn't you talk with Lucemon via telepathy?"

"No," Yuuko stated as she sat opposite the girl. "If we needed to talk over long distances we used our digivices. They were like walkie talkies, as well as an aid for digivolution and an all-access pass to get into the Digital World."

Jade nodded slowly, shocked that Lucemon hadn't been close with his Protectors. Granted, he was already really powerful and really old by the time that Jade arrived in the Digital World, and before that he would have been capable of fighting without needing to rely on the digidestined the way that Jade was. Still, she couldn't imagine not being able to communicate with Tai and the others, they made her feel safe and she liked knowing that they could call her for help if they needed it.

She closed her eyes and sought out Tai, and only Tai. She didn't want to distract them if they were in the middle of something dangerous, but she needed to know where they were, what had happened, and what the plan was before she went over to them. Luckily for her, Tai wasn't doing anything nerve-wracking aside from riding on Greymon's shoulder, so he was able to talk to her.

Thank God you're alive! Tai said as soon as she brushed against his mind. Jade smiled.

You knew that I was alive already though, she told him. But I have to thank your mother once all this is over. She saved my life and brought me back to your home. Where are you?

On our way to Fuji TV Station, Tai explained. Myotismon has Kari. Everyone at Big Sight is unconscious, I have Mimi with me, Michael and Akili are riding across the river with Joe and TK, and should be at the station before me, Matt and Sora are almost at the TV Station, and Izzy was there before Kari was taken. How badly were you hurt? Mimi said that you were run through with a blade?

…I will tell you all about it once Myotismon is defeated, Jade promised. I'll fly across now. Don't worry.

I'm always worried, Tai told her, amusement leaking into his voice. Haven't you noticed that already?

I'll see you soon Tai.

She opened her eyes and smiled at Yuuko, though there was a tinge of worry in her eyes that had Yuuko questioning her about what Tai had told her. As soon as Jade mentioned that Kari had been captured, Yuuko was all for running out the door as fast as possible, but when Jade told her that it would be quicker for her to fly the woman paused. Yuuko had planned on apparating to the TV Station, but if there was a battle taking place or about to take place, then that wouldn't be a smart idea.

So instead the two went to the balcony and Jade transformed into Phoenixmon. There was a slight twinge in her chest as she transformed, but already she could feel her body healing it so she ignored it. She was grateful that her gold dress was once again new and clean, instead of broken with blood staining the front, and with a flap of her wings she was hovering just off the balcony.

"Hop on my back," she ordered Yuuko.

"I'm not going to get burnt, am I?" Yuuko asked nervously.

"No," Phoenixmon promised. "Now hold on to my shoulders and we'll be there as soon as I can manage."

Yuuko got on her back, her hands clutching her shoulders tightly but making sure not to pull her hair in the process. Phoenixmon gave her a few seconds to get settled before she started to fly, angling in on the congregation of digimon. She knew that Myotismon wouldn't kill Kari unless he saw no other choice. He couldn't allow the digidestined to be at full strength, but at the same time he couldn't have them interfering with his grand plan to take over all the worlds.

She needed to get there in time, before all hell broke loose.

Matt punched the wall nearest to him angrily. Sora and the digimon watched him without trying to stop him, even though Sora was just as worried as he was. Kari was now a prisoner, and all Matt could think was that Tai would never have let TK be taken the way he had let his sister go. He failed at being an older brother, and he failed at being a good friend. What made it even worse was that Tai didn't blame him in the slightest.

"It's not your fault," Sora told him.

"Yes it is," Matt told her without looking away from the wall.

"Matt, Tai doesn't blame you," Sora tried again. "He didn't sound mad did he?"

"No, he sounded scared. He's wearing himself out worrying about everyone, and I thought that I could make sure that he didn't have to worry about this one little thing, and I blew it. He hasn't slept properly in days, he's more concerned with how everyone else is feeling, he's scared that we're going to fail, and I know that he's panicking about what happened to Jade."

"Then stop beating yourself up and we'll make our way to Izzy," Sora snapped at him. "If we're not there when Tai and Mimi arrive, what do you think he's going to think? He'll probably assume the worst, that we've been attacked on the way, and he'll blame himself for not being there to help."

"You're right," Matt agreed, already seeing the scenario in his mind. "He would think that."

"The let's go," Garurumon announced. "Let's go kick some digi-butt!"

Izzy had both his hands pressed to the window as he waited for the others to arrive. He was relieved that everyone was still alive and alright, though he was slightly disappointed in Tai not wanting anyone to go after Jade. It was a bit of a surprise, but he just put it down to Tai knowing something that the rest of them didn't. Hiroaki was glad to know that both his children were alright and on their way, but remained sitting at a random desk as he thought about everything he had been told.

"Matt and Sora are here," Izzy suddenly announced as he spotted Garudamon and Garurumon. Hiroaki abandoned his chair and walked across to the window to join him, only to have his jaw drop open in shock as he saw two large monsters making their way towards the TV Station. Izzy and Tentomon instantly moved to the door with the intention of meeting the others downstairs, and Hiroaki followed mindlessly as he didn't want to stay in the tower without a clue about what was going on, and he wanted to see how the adventure would end.

"Matt! Sora!" Izzy cried out, waving his hands as the two arrived at the front of the TV Station. Hiroaki stood behind the smaller boy, head tilted back so that he could look up at Garudamon.

"Izzy!" Sora waved back. Garudamon lowered to the ground with Lilymon and the redhead hurried quickly so that she was in front of Izzy. Her eyes focused on Hiroaki curiously, but she didn't ask what was on her mind.

"Dad?" Matt asked instead. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get in contact with the outside world," Hiroaki stated. "I'm glad that you're safe."

"Hi Matt's dad!" Garurumon growled with a grin as he moved his head closer to the adult.

"Who are you?" Hiroaki asked with only a small hint of nervousness.

"I used to be Gabumon," the digimon explained.

"You certainly got bigger," was all Hiroaki could reply.

"You never told us that your dad was a wizard," Izzy told Matt.

"He's a what?"

"I haven't gotten around to telling him yet," Hiroaki told Izzy. Izzy grinned sheepishly as Hiroaki put his attention back on Matt. "I'll tell you when all this is over. But for now, all you need to know is that I'm your backup if you need it."

At that moment Joe and TK made their appearance, the two of them rushing forwards to join up with the others. Matt, Sora and Izzy stared at the two adults and two strange digimon behind the digidestined, and Joe explained that Zudomon was the fully evolved form of Gomamon. The other digimon was introduced as Wizardmon, Jade's spy, and the two humans were introduced as the original digidestined. TK ignored the introductions and simply hugged his father's legs as if he would disappear if he let go.

"Myotismon attacked her, didn't he?" Wizardmon asked from where he was standing over Lilymon. The digidestined looked at him but it was Sora who replied an affirmative. Wizardmon nodded and gathered up his power to reverse the effects of the nightmare. Lilymon slowly regained color as Wizardmon's power rushed over her, and as soon as she was healed she jumped up and stared around as she looked for Mimi.

"Mimi is coming with Tai," Matt told her. "They should be here soon."

"Where is Jade?" Michael asked in hesitant Japanese. "Reliability and Hope said she was hurt, but do you know any more than that?"

"Myotismon ran her through with a sword," Matt explained, causing the adults to look at him in horror. The digidestined had already heard it from Mimi when they set the TV Station as their rendezvous point.

"Is she alright?!" Michael spluttered. "You did check on her, right? You are her Protectors!"

"We were ordered to come here," Sora told him softly. "She's alive, but we are unaware of her exact condition."

"Who would know?" Hiroaki asked before Michael could explode in disbelief.

"Tai," all five children answered as one.

"He'll be here soon," Matt reassured them. "But our orders are to go after Kari. You said she was already here Izzy?"

"Yeah, Phantomon arrived earlier with someone I assumed was Kari," the genius confirmed. "Top levels, though I am unsure of the exact location."

"Then we should get a move on," TK stated, his eyes focused on the sky. "Because we're running out of time."

All eyes followed his gaze and gasps of shock or growls of anger emerged as they spotted Myotismon flying above them with Gatomon in his hands. No more words were spoken as the group started to run into the TV Station. Akili was the only one who paused to get Wizardmon on his back. The wizard digimon clearly didn't want to be a burden, but his injuries were severe enough that he wouldn't be able to run on his own.

Snimon and Tuskmon made a reappearance in front of them, forcing them to stop running, and Garurumon digivolved one step further to protect Matt and Sora from being skewered. Garudamon, Weregarurumon and Zudomon remained behind to give the humans a chance to make it to the Viewing Platform high above them, and then everyone else was running.

Up the stairs they practically flew, their stamina increased after spending months in the Digital World doing nothing but exercise, and as they moved the digimon still with them, Lilymon, Tentomon and Patamon, cried out in delight.

"Jade's awake!" they both cried happily. "She's on her way here!"

"Alright!" Matt cheered, punching the air. "Let's get a move on. We need to be altogether!"

"Right behind you Matt!" Sora told him. All the children felt stronger, and happier, knowing that Jade was alive and well enough to travel. They wouldn't have said it aloud, but they were all scared that she wouldn't have been able to make it. Michael and Akili, at the back of the group, looked at each other as they observed the change that came over the digidestined.

"She's bonded with them closely," Akili observed softly in English.

"Yeah, but is that a good thing?" Michael asked him. "Their bond could backfire on her. What would happen if one of them died?"

"They're not going to die," Wizardmon reassured them. "You haven't seen Jade recently, but when you do you will see what I have."

"What?" they both asked.

"Trust."

Hiroaki considered himself a fit man, but he would have been the first to admit that the children had far more energy and endurance than he did. They powered on ahead of him, looking far more capable than most hit-wizards and Aurors. In the end he resorted to yelling out directions to them as they passed him.

"KARI!" Sora cried as she spotted the girl they were looking for up on the Viewing Platform. She was standing before Myotismon and the vampire digimon was moments away from attacking her, and Gatomon before her.

"I've got her!" Tentomon cried, rushing forward already mid-digivolution. Lilymon sprang forward as well, and both their attacks rushed towards Myotismon. Myotismon, instead of looking surprised or afraid, merely looked annoyed as he redirected the two attacks up so that he could blow a hole in the roof. The windows shattered, the glass blossoming violently from the building to hit whoever was below.

"Garudamon!" Sora cried in horror as she watched the glass fall. She, Matt and Joe darted towards the window to see if their digimon below were unharmed, while the others stared at Myotismon with hate. Michael, Akili and Wizardmon remained behind, knowing that there was little that they could do for the digidestined, aside from providing energy when it was needed, and Hiroaki was a little lost at what he could do.

Myotismon started to chuckle as he used his power to move the location of their fight outside on the balcony, bringing Kari, Gatomon and Demidevimon with him as he moved. The digidestined followed him but whereas almost everyone was outside, they remained just inside the now demolished room. Matt glared from where he was still by the broken window and directed his attention towards the ground many levels below.

"WEREGARURUMON!" he screamed. The werewolf digimon looked up as his opponent crashed to the ground, finally defeated, and spotted Myotismon moving. As per Matt's wishes, he started to climb up the side of the building as quickly as he could before rocketing into the air to land right in front of Myotismon. Garudamon and Zudamon followed him, with Garudamon carrying the flightless turtle digimon, and Kabuterimon decided to join his friends at the Ultimate level.

The Ultimate digimon surrounded Myotismon and Kari easily, but while Kari cringed in fear Myotismon just chuckled evilly. With a cry of rage Megakabuterimon flew towards the vampire digimon, his horn sparkling with electricity, but all Myotismon did was change the path of attack towards an ally. Megakabuterimon hit Weregarurumon, forcing him off the edge of the building as he hadn't been ready to dodge. Weregarurumon held the edge of the building, having grabbed it at the last minute, but not even he could keep his grip as Myotismon's blood red Crimson Mist ripped across his fingers. He fell.

"Weregarurumon!" Matt cried as he watched his friend fall back towards the ground.

"That's got to hurt," Myotismon chuckled, turning his attention back to Kari.

"Harmonious Flame!"

Myotismon staggered from the attack, dropping to his knees as the flames ripped across his back. He turned with a glare, his gaze travelling up from where the digidestined were standing with vibrant grins on their faces. He growled as he spotted the perpetrator floating easily in the air above the TV Station.

"Phoenixmon!"

"Greymon, hurry!" Tai ordered as he spotted the digimon fighting before them. "They need your help!"

"I'm on it Tai!" Greymon reassured him.

"What's the plan Tai?" Mimi asked, her arms tightening around his waist briefly. "Where do you want me to go?"

"It looks like Weregarurumon and the others have the ground situation covered," Tai said back to her, aware that his father had suddenly turned to look at him in shock. He hadn't realised that Tai was the leader of their rag-tag group, but the confidence and trust in Mimi's voice must have alerted him to the fact that his son had a far more important job than what he had at first believed. "You think you can run up to where the others are?"

"Yes," Mimi said with confidence.

"Dad, could you go with Mimi?" Tai asked.

"What are you going to do?" Susumu asked in response.

"We're going to come up from another angle," Tai stated. "I want Myotismon surrounded with no chance of escape. The others already have one side covered, and the flying digimon can cover another side, but Greymon and I will need to give back up to the last side. Phoenixmon will be here soon, she's flying as fast as she can, but I want everyone to be ready when she arrives."

"Phoenixmon is coming?" Mimi asked excitedly. "Then she's alright?"

"Yep!" Tai grinned. "When all this is over, I'm going to give my mum the biggest hug she has ever gotten. I don't know what she did or how she did it, but Jade said that she saved her life."

"So your mother's alright then?" Susumu breathed. "Thank God. I was worried when I couldn't find her again."

At that moment the windows from the observation dome far above them shattered and covered the digimon still fighting with glass shards. They all flinched, but the ally digimon used that moment to defeat Tuskmon and Snimon. Weregarurumon started to run up the side of the building, with Garudamon and Zudomon following, so Greymon paused just long enough for Mimi and Susumu to slide off him and beginning running into the building. Tai waited until they were out of sight before directing Greymon to digivolve so that they could fly up.

As they flew, Tai spotted a flash of fire approaching, and his grin widened. Phoenixmon flashed passed him, and the only recognition he got was a brush of affection against his mind.

"Are you ready MetalGreymon?" he asked.

"Oh yeah."

Phoenixmon saw all the digimon meet in the one area around the TV Station, and Yuuko yelled over the wind that she was going to apparate to the empty platform on the opposite side to the digidestined. After her agreement, Phoenixmon felt Yuuko leap off her back seconds before a loud crack echoed and the woman reappeared on the platform. She flew passed Tai and MetalGreymon, only briefly touching his mind to show that she knew he was there, before maneuvering herself so that she was floating above the digidestined. Phoenixmon saw Myotismon manipulate Megakabuterimon, and force Weregarurumon to fall back to Earth, before reintroducing him to the power of her flames.

"Phoenixmon!" he growled at her, hate and anger clouding his tone.

"What?" she asked innocently. "Did you think you had killed me already?"

"One can hope, My Lady," he hissed mockingly. "But the fact you survived just means that I get to kill you in front of your dear Protectors. Do they have what it takes to keep you alive? They're certainly not strong enough to defeat me."

"How about we test that theory then?" Phoenixmon asked as she twirled her staff in her hands. Her eyes briefly rested on Kari and Gatomon. "Light, you should move away from there. Compassion is behind you."

Kari and Gatomon both turned to see where she was indicating, and Kari's eyes lit up as she saw her mother standing tall and proud as she glared at Myotismon. Without a care in the world, Kari ran forward and her mother lifted her into a hug before setting her down so that the two of them could watch the following fight without getting in the way. Tai and MetalGreymon appeared on the opposite platform, and Tai slid off his digimon's shoulder so that if it was necessary for them to fight he wouldn't get in the way. He held Kari's digivice in his hand, but throwing it now would only cause a distraction that no one needed.

Still on Michael's back, Wizardmon pulled out Kari's crest. They were all on the wrong side of the battle, but the good thing about being with wizards was that they had the ability to teleport instantly. Michael and Akili nodded when Wizardmon asked them to apparate him over to where Yuuko and Kari were, and Hiroaki decided that he would stay with the children as extra backup.

"I'm still going to kill the two of you later," Yuuko hissed as the two men appeared behind her.

"You look as lovely as ever, little sister," Michael said charmingly as he put Wizardmon back on the ground. The digimon handed over Kari's crest to the child and she put it on immediately.

"I have never seen Phoenixmon in battle," Akili stated, ignoring the death threats and sucking up going on next to him. "It will be a sight to see."

All eyes fastened on the two digimon in the middle of a staring contest. Myotismon was the first to move, his Grizzly Wing flying up towards Phoenixmon with startling speed. Phoenixmon flew out of range of the attack and countered with her own Harmonious Flame. Myotismon's cape was thrown up as a shield, deflecting the burning flames, before he jumped to join the angel in the air. A red blade was formed again, but this blade fluctuated between sword form and whip form. All Phoenixmon could do to dodge his attacks without casting any of her own, and everyone watching could see just how evenly the two were matched.

Only the experienced fighters, the original digidestined and Wizardmon, realized that Phoenixmon was the weaker fighter. Phoenixmon charged forwards, using her staff as deadly weapon, and as the staff crashed against the sword a shock wave expanded out from them, shattering any window nearby that was still intact. The two fighters separated and their voices carried to all spectators.

"You could never win against me, My Lady," Myotismon mocked. "Maybe there was a time when you could have gone up against the strongest digimon the world has ever seen, there was a time when you were strong enough to beat Lord Lucemon, but that time has long passed."

"That's why I have Protectors," Phoenixmon told him, her breath coming in pants from physical exertion.

"Your Protectors can't do anything to me," Myotismon continued. "Their power also corresponds to yours, and with the strength of the darkness in the Digital World at this exact time, I bet even Devimon could have slaughtered you without too much effort. The so-called Lord of Darkness has crippled you, weakened the Digital World, and all but destroyed the Shadow World. As soon as I am finished here, there won't be anything stopping me from gathering all the energy in this world, the Magical World, the Digital World and the Shadow World and combining it all together."

"You haven't won yet," Phoenixmon cautioned him.

"Oh, but I have. You've lost, little Sovereign. Dead Scream!"

Phoenixmon didn't dodge. The only movement she made was the widening of her eyes as the black shadow that had impaired Lilymon earlier rushed towards her. It hit her with the force of a train and as she rocketed backwards her transformation dropped and she crashed against the wall as Jade. With a groan she dropped towards the platform, landing a short distance in front of the original digidestined. Her name was cried out by everyone watching, fear and horror in their tones, but all she could do was raise her head weakly and stare up at Myotismon as he landed in front of her.

The other digimon used that moment to attack, but Myotismon once again deflected the attacks with his hands, rendering them ineffective. Myotismon started to laugh, his attention on the young digidestined. He walked towards them, each step seeming to echo. Jade struggled to get to her feet, but only made it to her knees before her strength failed her. She was panting hard, but she acknowledged that Myotismon was right about what Tom had done. She didn't like to blame her soul mate, her brother, but she would have been perfectly fine if the Digital World wasn't flooded with the very darkness that caused her pain.

Another scream had her looking off to the side in horror, as this scream had come from Tai. Phantomon had come up behind him and attacked him with his back turned, and Tai dropped to his knees with his back arched as if to escape from the pain. MetalGreymon turned and with one swipe of his metal arm turned Phantomon into data particles. Jade couldn't find it in herself to feel sorry for the loss of life when Tai was in pain.

"Tai!"

"I'm alright!" Tai called back to everyone through clenched teeth. "Don't worry about me!"

It was clear to everyone that he was lying, and before anyone could blink Yuuko was by his side with her wand running over the single scythe scar down the middle of his back. Knowing that Yuuko was the best person to heal Tai at that moment, Jade focused back on Myotismon. The laughter from the vampire made her angry, but the attack from Angemon that sent Myotismon to his knees in pain brought a vicious smile to almost everyone's face.

"Have you had enough?" Angemon asked in a mocking tone. "Or would you like some more?"

"Actually, I was about to ask you the same question," Myotismon hissed up at him, a chilling grin creeping over his face. "Grizzly Wing!"

"NO!"

"JADE!"

Jade was unable to move as the attack, which she had originally thought would have been directed at Angemon, was aimed towards her. She didn't have the energy to move, and in her human form she would definitely be killed by it. Yuuko was busy with Tai, even if it was his voice that she heard the clearest, and the others wouldn't have been able to do anything to help her. Her eyes went wide as she stared at her death, and for a single heartbeat she imagined that she could feel her mother's arms wrapped around her, protecting her.

The attack hit…a body hit the ground…silence.

"WIZARDMON!"

Duh duh duh! A cliff hanger! Don't kill me! There is a reason for everything I do. And 400+ REVIEWS! Yay! I got really excited when I saw that. You guys are all terrific, and I promise that I will go into the soul bond a little more later. I planned on finishing Myotismon in this chapter, but it started to get really long, so it will have to be in the next chapter. Soon we shall return to the Digital World, possibly see more of Tom (XD) and the digidestined will finally meet the Dark Masters. Yay for me! Thanks go to Okami Princess for being awesome and betaing this for me.

Anonforlackofabettername: I have every intention of going into the next season, and I've even planned it all out in dot point form. Of course, there is still the years inbetween, studying magic, and setting the scene for season 2. There is still a while to go before I get there.

DalekDavros: I will be using some of the movies, but it won't be exactly the same due to character differences and such. I also want to do a separate arc with another group of digidestined...from England XD

Next up in Intertwined Destinies:

Chapter 26: The Burden of Hope and Light