Author's Note: LOL well I hope you liked this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it and finally setting in motion the beginning of the next arc. I love this new schedule I'm going by, I think it really helps improve the quality of my writing. I guess there's not much more to say, I'm probably just trying to add to the word count, but...read and review?

"KARI!"

The vicious snarl echoes as both the cat and the vixen slam into the creature at the same time. Gatomon curls her fist and slams her claws straight into one of those black pupils, causing him to fall back with a roar of pain.

Renamon backflips over another of the creature's swipes, crossing her arms together. "DIAMOND ST…." Her voice trails off as she sees Kari frantically trying to free herself. A full ranged attack like her diamonds could easily wound the young Digidestined as well.

As she hesitated the arm not holding Kari swings forward at an impossible angle with a snarl of "CABLE CRUSHER!"

Renamon yells as she's slammed into the wall opposite, sliding downwards with a moan of pain.

The monster shuffles towards Renamon with an awkward, weird gait that reminds her of zombies from late night horror movies. Her eyes widen with fear as another shout echoes, "VEE HEADBUTT!"

"BOOM BUBBLE!"

The creature's head slowly turns around as Davis yells, "Don't just beat the jerk up! Save Kari!...And the other kid too!"

"I'm glad to know his priorities are in order." Veemon mutters sarcastically to Patamon who snorts.

TK's eyes narrow as he stares at the creature. Cable Crusher…where had he heard that attack before…

Kari gasps as the creature's grip on her tightens. "Ack….I could really use some help here you guys!"

"Kari!"

The creature leaps above both Veemon's and Patamon's attacks, bounding straight up with a nearly impossible leap, springing from building side to building side.

"Who does he think he is, King Kong?!" Davis yells, his voice full of exasperation as Kari's scream echoes.

"Wait a sec, what exactly are we playing at?" His hand reaches in for his D-Terminal. "DIGIARMOUR…."

"NO!"

Both of the other boys jump when the new kid's hand clamps around his wrist. "Don't kill him! I won't let you!"

Davis yanks his hand free. "I'm not going to kill him unless he gives me no choice! But my team member's safety comes first, you got that?"

The boy's pale blue eyes glower fiercely into both him and TK's before looking away, clearly full of anguish. "…You don't understand…"

"CABLE CRUSHER!"

All three of them look up to see the monster slam its fist into the side of a building—TK's eyes widen as rubble comes crashing down towards them—there's a flash of white fur out of the corner of his eyes just as he rams into Davis and shoves him out of the way.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" Kari screams, struggling to break free as she looks down at the ground far, far below. She gulps, seeing cars below her now only the size of ants. "…H-holy…" She covers her mouth with her one hand that's not pinned to her side. "I'm going to develop a fear of heights after this…" And she can't reach her D-Terminal either.

The monster leaps onto the roof of the building he was scaling up only to growl as he spots two more interlopers in front of him.

"…That's my sister you've got…." Tai said, his voice pure ice as Agumon growls beside him. "Put her down now and maybe things won't have to get messy."

"T-Taichi!"

"3….2…1…." Tai's eyes narrow before his Digivice bursts into orange light. "Go get him!"

"AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TO…GREYMON!"

Greymon roars as he towers over his much shorter opponent, and the monster's eyes narrow before he charges head on.

The monster rams his head into Greymon's stomach, knocking the wind out of the much bigger Champion, but not for much longer. Greymon's claws rake across his back, deriving a roar of pain from his opponent. Like Renamon Greymon doesn't dare use any of his real powerful attacks unless he wants to cook Kari to a crisp.

"CABLE CRUSHER!" The fist whirls around just as Greymon's eyes widen.

"That…attack…" Tai breathes, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Wait…no….!" Greymon roars as he's slammed onto his backside, and there's a yell from above of, "Tai, WATCH OUT!"

"KOKO CRUSHER!" The shock wave that the monster generates knocks all of them off their feet—Tai yells as he plummets downwards, hears Greymon roar his name-"Gotcha!"

Something grabs him in mid-fall and he looks up to see Lily holding him, her wings beating hard to try and stay aloft.

"You…need to…cut down on the cheeseburgers my friend." I pant, holding his right arm as both of us landed on the ground, hard, but not as hard as it surely would have been.

"The others—Kari-!"

Greymon roars, slamming his tail into the monster's mid-section. The bunny freak stumbles back, but still doesn't loosen his grip on Kari. That's when she decides she's really REALLY had enough of all of this damsel-in-distress business and throws her camera—right into the creature's eye.

The monster roars in pain, gripping at his pupil and finally, finally letting go of her. Greymon doesn't hesitate for even a second once Kari's out of the way. "NOVA BLAST!"

The flames shoot right towards him, but the monster uses the force of the explosion, backflipping as he's sent flying. The crazed grin he shoots Greymon while still upside down sends chills down the dinosaur's spine. He's seen a smile like that before….once…

The monster sends another fist crashing into Greymon's stomach with a shout of "CABLE CRUSHER!"

My own eyes widen as that attack name reaches my ears and I whip my head over my shoulder to look at Tai. "No….OH HECK NO…."

"GREYMON!" Kari screams as he's hit in the throat and actually sent flying. Yes the blow is strong enough to send a DINOSAUR flying. Greymon roars as he plummets towards the ground—hears the screams of the passerby below and uses the last of his strength to degenerate.

Kari glances frantically back over her shoulder down at Agumon whose lying unconscious in the middle of the street just as a low growl catches her attention again. The monster's face is probably mere inches from hers. Her breath catches and she takes a slight step back, gulping as she realizes she has nowhere to run to.

"…TK…." She whispers, her voice catching.

"Go….Go…."

"W…wha?"

"Go back to the beginning…." The words are delivered with such solemnity in that snarl that for a minute, Kari can't believe what she just heard. "…I…I don't understa…."

The monster stares at her for a few more minutes before bounding away at ridiculously high speed, slowly becoming nothing more than a black blur.

"What just happened?"

….

TK looks over at Tokomon and Demiveemon, both of them forced back to their In-Training form after the rubble fell on top of them.

"….This cannot be happening…." Tai was pacing back and forth, his anger filling the entire room.

"It might not be what we think." I say, looking over at him as Mimi has her face buried in her hands. "Diaboromon is DEAD. We all saw Omnimon stab him right between the eyes, good riddance."

"Then explain why that thing was using his attacks!" Tai's voice rises and mine lowers.

"…I can't."

"What I want to know is where the heck did that one kid go?" Davis mutters, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "First he gets in our way and then he just ditches us before even seeing if we're okay. Jerk."

"We don't know enough about the situation to judge anyone Davis." TK sighs. "When are the others coming back?"

"The rest of the Tamers are coming the entire city for that thing." I say, pressing my bangs out of my eyes. "They'll find it."

"Why aren't you out there with them Lily?" Agumon asks, his right arm bandaged as he looks over at me.
"Because she's in trouble…." Renamon says in a sing-song voice, leaning over the couch and smirking at me.

"Shut up." I snap at her, rolling my eyes. "I didn't ditch Lilithmon and I needed to find you guys fast."

"You actually sort of did ditch her and Ryo."

"Shut up!"

"Hey, guys!"

We glance over to see Edan finally making his way down the hallway, his eyes having bags underneath them, his hair even messier than usual. "The zombie returns to the land of the living." TK deadpans and Salamon, whose trotting next to Edan's heels, rolls her eyes. "That's just how he is when he's working. He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep, you need to literally drag him away from the computer."

"He really should meet Izzy." Mimi murmurs, a strand of pink hair falling into her face. Edan doesn't seem to be listening to any of us, he continues, "I've determined the locations where the Destiny Stone might be."

'"Where it MIGHT be?" Tai asks, his eyebrows knitting together. "What do you mean where it "might be"?"

Edan's face flushes slightly and I shoot Tai a warning look. "It's not as easy as you might think. The ancient language isn't so easy to translate. But I figured out through cross-referencing and studying that it's in…."

He taps a few fingers on Mimi's keyboard and a map of America appears up on the wall. He taps another few and six red dots appear on the screen.

"One's right here in New York." Mimi says, making a face. "That makes sense. EVERYTHING happens in New York."

"Manhattan to be precise." Edan corrects her. "But yeah….you're right."

"This other one is much farther south." I point at one down lower. "Help me here I'm not good at American geography."

"Mexico." Edan corrects. "Specifically an area where the ancient Mayans were prevalent."

"And that one?"

"Probably Mexico's polar opposite. Alaska."

"Oh gosh." Davis groans, burying his face in his hands. "I hated trudging through the freezing cold back in the Digital World and I'm not going to do it again."

"Davis, for crying out loud, shut up and be a man."
"I am a man. That's why I don't want to be turned into a giant Davisickle!"

"…"

"I don't know how to respond to that one." Edan says flatly, looking over at Davis. I wave a hand, shaking my head at the same time. "Don't even try to. The next one?"

"San Fransisco, California."

"YES!" Davis yells, punching a fist in the air. "We're going to Disneyworld!"

"DisneyLAND is out west Davis, not Disneyworld you idiot." I sigh. Kari glances over at him. "And besides, we're going to these places to work, remember? Not to have fun."

"Awww…."

Gatomon is holding a can of tuna when she trots into the room. Kari blinks as she looks over at her partner. "Shouldn't you be resting right about now?"

Gatomon shrugs and hooks one claw into the lid, tearing it free. "Demiveemon's snoring keeps me up so I didn't even bother. He snores worse than Demidevimon used to." She glances over at me and I make a face.

Even in his sleep, Demidevimon had been completely obnoxious and annoying. Tai scowls—actually we all do. It was Demidevimon's fault we got tricked into destroying the Destiny Stone. That's not something any of us are going to forgive…little backstabbing scumbag…

"Speaking of that twerp, where do you think he is right now?" TK says harshly, folding his arms across his chest.

"I don't know and I don't care." Kari says snappishly. "But I'm hoping his new boss pulled a VenomMyotismon and ate him."

Gatomon glances at her, her eyes widening slightly. "Gosh, Kari."

"I know, I know…." Kari sighs, covering her face with her hands. "It's not like me. But that little creep makes me so angry."

"Join the club." I mutter, my hands curling into fists as I realize Demidevimon tried to get me to destroy the Destiny Stone as well. Thankfully I'm just too freaking stubborn to listen to him.

"But it wasn't just him." Tai says practically. "Not really. It was mostly the fault of that Shademon that masqueraded as Ellen."

"We know that…." Gatomon says, a slight purr in her voice. "But it's so much more fun to put the complete blame on someone we all hate."

"Touche."

"True that."

I see Edan shifting from foot to foot and I know it's killing him how we keep interrupting him before he can finish his lovely presentation.

"So what are the last two?"

Edan grimaces and points at another dot—this one I actually recognize with the little knowledge I have of American geography. "Washington DC?!"

Mimi's face pales. "…The Capital?"

"Indeed. If Milleunimon unleashes his armies anywhere it will be a disaster but if he unleashes them here it will be an utter and complete…."

"Load of #4$4$$$$%^^^". Tai basically sums up the feeling of the room.

"Exactly." Edan sighs, for once not flinching at the coarse language. Huh. I'm not sure if we're being a good or a bad influence by desensitizing him like this.

Tai's eyes close and he leans on the back of the couch as TK speaks up. "…And the last place?"

"Please say Hawaii….." Davis says, closing his eyes and chanting. "Please say Hawaii please say Hawaii please say Hawaii…."

"….Nebraska?"

You could hear the loud thud as Davis falls off the couch with a moan of angst.

"I don't understand." Mimi frowns. "There's almost literally nothing in Nebraska—well—nothing important anyway."

(Note: To all of you lovely Nebraskians please don't kill Mimi. She just never thinks before she speaks)

I rub my eyes. "If this information had just been written in plain and simple Japanese everything would make more sense. Seriously? Is that too much to ask?"

"You know why." Edan says in a somewhat lecturing tone. "It's because Lady Yggdrasil wanted to make sure all of the power hungry idiots the Digital World is full of wouldn't be able to track the Destiny Stone down."

"Yeah, yeah I know. I just hope Millleunnimon is as confused by all this as we are."

"Um….Lils?"

"Yeah-huh?"

Mimi gives me a blank stare. "I don't mean to be rude…but where exactly is your family?"

"…" I shrug. I'm a little shocked to hear her refer to the Demon Lords as my family, I'm still not used to it yet.

'How should I know?"

"So effectively you let them loose on the streets of New York."

"Hey, they're not little kids okay?" I snap, annoyed. "They can take care of themselves and I trust them to not make too much damage."

Blank stares from everyone in the group and I fidget. "…Scratch that. Alexander is with them and I trust him to keep them all in line."

More blank stares. "….I need to make a call…."

….

Alexander has slipped back into his Ultimate form. He's found it's easier for not freaking people out, as opposed to his tall, clad in leather, shotgun wielding, three eyes form. True, he usually preferred his Mega form because that was he looked so much less like his brother.

The last thing he wanted to be reminded of when he looked in the mirror was Drake. He clenches his teeth repressing the feral snarl that rose up in his throat. At least Drake was far away from Lily. That was all that mattered.

"Lucemon, are you coming or not?" He says impatiently before looking behind him to see neither sign of his tamer or his leader. "Oh NOOOO….."

"Lucemon, I think Lily will be very mad to find out that you're doing this." Zack whispers, his voice low and anxious as he glances around at the gathering crowd.

Lucemon beams as the smaller kids around him crowd even closer, their clamors growing with every word. "Nonsense! I'm doing a good deed, aren't I?"

"I don't think bribing kidnergartners counts as a good deed in anyone's book." Zack says deadpan.

"I'm not bribing, I'm encouraging!"

"Uh huh." Zack says in that way kids do when they know an older person is speaking complete and utter ##### and they can't even be bothered to say it out loud.

Lucemon sticks his tongue out at him as more voices call out, "More candy! Please!"

"Of course….what do we say first?"

"Please?" Several voices chorus in unison.

"…No no no AFTER that…."

"…."

"LONG LIVE KING LUCEMON!"

Zack just facepalms and groans loudly as a huge grin forms on Lucemon's face and he tosses out more candy, just in time to hear a loud yell of "WHAT ON YGGDRASIL'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"I thought I asked you not to swear in my prescence…." Lucemon says innocently, as his headwings droop and his eyes narrow.

Alexander's eyes twitch before he facepalms and groans, just like his tamer. "….You are a disturbed person, you truly are…."

"I resent that." Lucemon says, shrugging as the crowd of children scatter. "Honestly, you're making such a fuss out of such a trivial matter."

"Trvial…it wasn't trivial when you tried to manipulate the hatchlings at Primary Village and it's not trivial now! Honestly, this has all got to stop! I mean re….." His voice trails off as both he and Lucemon freeze.

"….Guys…?" Zack says slowly right before Alexander places a hand over his mouth and says softly, "Shh…."

Lucemon's blue eyes narrow down to slits as he stares over the crowd of people, staring at something that none of the others can see. Alexander steps closer to his leader and Lucemon shakes his head at him. "Don't." His tone is more serious than Alexander has heard it in a long time.

"….But….."

"Get Zack out of here, NOW." He says in a tone that invites no argument. Alexander shakes his head. "I can't just simply leave you to…"

"Do NOT question me." Lucemon's head whips around and his eyes narrow dangerously at Alexander. The two of them stare at each other for a few seconds before Alexander lowers his head submissively. "…Yes my lord."

"Good, now GO!"

"W-wait!" Zach yells, leaping forwards, horror in his gaze right before Alexander grabs his partner. "But we can't just…we're supposed to…"

"We're leaving NOW." Alexander says with surprising fierceness, his wings ripping out of his back as he evolves back to his Mega form. Zack stares back at Lucemon as they flee, sees the young boy standing there in the middle of the crowd, not moving an inch, not paying any attention to the people that keep nearly bumping into him, his hands pressed together.

My eyes widen slightly, my hands gripping on the couch, taking in a long, low breath. Tai glances over at me as Renamon sits up, her eyes confused. "…What happened?"

"….Something's wrong…."

"Are you for real?!" Davis exclaims, sitting bolt up. "AGAIN?!"

"Well why is Lily the only one who can sense it?"

I don't think, I just bolt for the door, panic filling me I can't really understand.

"Lils! Come back!"

"Oh, are you for real?! Not again!"

….

Stella sighs as she lowers her Digivice, frowning. "…I can't find any kind of signal either…."

"I don't see why we're wasting our time with this." Barbamon grumbles, running a hand through his beard with agitation. "Whatever Digimon they ran into is clearly long gone by now."

"We cannot take that risk Barbamon." Angemon says flatly, glancing over at him. "Would you really risk a Digimon with Diaboromon's powers running loose again?"

"Don't mind him." Lunamon/Leviamon laughs. "He always gets grumpy about this time because if we were home he'd be recounting his gold."

"I don't appreciate your mocking tone." He says stiffly, glaring down at her along the mask of his long golden nose.

Lunamon pats him on the leg. "Come on Barbamon. You know me. I couldn't actually be mocking to anyone."

"…That is true."

"Even you."

"…" Barbamon rolls his eyes as she continues, "Now, you mind giving me a booster? Walking on these little legs is tiring, to say the least."

"Oh all right." He mutters, bending down and letting the little rabbit hopping onto his shoulder. Stella smiles slightly at the sight before turning back to Angemon. "…Do you think maybe we might be making too big a deal out of this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" She hesitates, running a hand through her hair. "I mean don't get me wrong, anything related to a Diaboromon….especially the one we heard about four years ago freaks me out…."

"But,...?"

"But it's one Digimon. And isn't finding the Destiny Stones more important?"

"…" He sighs. "You do have a point. I just…." His voice trails off once more. "I just have a incredibly bad feeling about this. I can't explain it."

Stella's eyes narrow slightly before she looks back over her shoulder. "So what do you two…." Her voice trails off as she sees the look on the two Demon Lord's faces.

Both Barbamon and Lunamon have frozen, their eyes widen, Barbamon's knuckles gripping his staff so hard that it started cracking slightly.'

"What is it?!"

"Lucemon…." Lunamon breathes, her paws trembling. "Barbamon, we have to go!"

"I know, I know!"

"But we need your hel…." Stella's voice trails off as she notices the fierce looks on both of their faces. "We're not leaving our leader!" Lunamon snaps, her temper showing for once.

Barbamon growls and Stella hesitates once more before nodding. "You're right. Just go!"

….

"My gosh, why couldn't I have been paired with Daemon?" GranDracmon mutters, sarcasm obvious in his voice.

Sira nudges him, rolling her eyes. "For crying out loud, she's not that annoying."

"That's hurtful you know." Lilithmon says, suddenly appearing at their elbows. Sira arches an eyebrow in her direction. "And how exactly have you been spending your time?"

"You know…looking for that one kid."

"I see." GranDracmon says in a monotone, looking over at her neck. "And hooking up with some unsuspecting fool helps you how?"

Lilithmon covers up the hickie mark on her neck, sticking her tongue out at him. "You're just jealous."

"Nope. You know very well that I'm a very happily married man."

Lilithmon rolls her eyes, making a mocking lip-synching gesture as GranDracmon shoots her another look and Sira glares at both of them. "FOCUS."

"Why are you so worried about this anyway?" GranDracmon sighs, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "One Champion Digimon.,…"

"One Champion Digimon that somehow managed to thwart two others." She retorts. "I can't help it. This guy suddenly shows up at the exact same time we're searching for the Destiny Stone?"

"I know Sira…." He presses his nose to the top of her head. "…I promise you….Milleunnimmon won't get away with what he's done." His jaw tightens.

"…One of these days you're going to have to forgive yourself…." She said softly.

"Much as I can appreciate a good mushy moment…." Lilithmon says deadpan in a tone that suggests she doesn't at all. They glance back at her and see her face is pale, one drop of blood running down her cheek and standing out against her white cheek.

"…."

"GRAND CROSS!"

The flash of bright light fills the entire square, a massive cross that slams into the monster. It screams, writhing backwards before snarling back up at the angel that floats above him.

Lucemon's eyes scan the entire square, seeing the screaming humans running for their lives, which was good, and the others frozen in fear and shock, which was not.

"For Yggdrasil's sake…." He hisses, and it was a mark of how upset he was to use that word, "why do you all stand there like a bunch of stupid Bakemon?! RUN!"

His head snaps back around as another angry roar echoes. The monster towering there was truly terrifying. Pale gray skin, long, ragged red wings, one massive golden eye in the middle of its body, and another eye each in the middle of its claws.

A Ghoulmon. Lucemon smirks slightly, crossing his arms as his wings flap. "Don't waste your time on these pathetic insects. If it's data you seek, than try and see if you can bring down the leader of the Demon Lords."

The monster lets out a rasping cackle. "You certainly are as overconfident as your reputation claims, "Lord Lucemon"."

"Prideful." Lucemon says with an innocent smile. "Not overconfident, you see. There's a difference. It's not overconfident at all to think that beating you should be easy."

"We shall see…DEATH ARROW!"

Lucemon backflips over the first arrow that slices towards his mid-section and then dives forward, his fists and feet glowing. His kicks and punches become little more than a blur as he pushes Ghoulmon back.

Lucemon smiles as he pulls back, a grin forming on his face. His blue eyes widen as the smoke clears and there's not a single scratch on Ghoulmon's body.

"Nice try." Ghoulmon says condescendingly, as more arrows shoot out of his hands, this time hitting Lucemon straight on.

Lucemon yells as he's thrown backwards, crashing into the apartment building behind him. He groans, shoving himself upwards, startled, horrified gasps echoing around him.

"H-hey…!"

He glances up to see a young girl, probably not much older than Lily, with long curly blonde hair bending over him. "…Are you okay?"

He hisses in pain from the slashes across his body before looking to see she had a hand outstretched to him. He cocks his head to one side, confused for a sec, before a slight smile appears on his face and he grabs her wrist. "…Huh…?"

"You need to get out of here." He says firmly, looking into her face. "Get your friends and your…co-workers out of here and run."

"B…okay…" She says, fear in her voice as she glances back, Ghoulmon blasting down building after building with his arrows, roaring at Lucemon to come out and challenge him.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine…." Lucemon staggers back to his feet, limping slightly. It had been a while since he'd taken a blow like that and it was clearly taking its toll on him. So much stronger than he'd though…much stronger than the average Mega.

"…What are you gonna do?"

"..." He flashes a grin over his shoulder at her before reaching down and snapping off the bracelets on his wrists, and then, his ankles. "…I'm going to tear a certain Digimon limb from limb…"

Ghoulmon roars out once more, sending another arrow soaring towards an unfortunate group of people. They're obliterated on the spot. "LUCEMON! Come out! Fight me for real you pathetic coward!"

"AMETHYST WIND!"

The daggers slam into his back, catching him off guard, but not really do any damage. His three eyes all narrow as he turns around to glare at the levitating sha-woman Digimon behind him.

"This doesn't concern you Tamer…" He hisses.

"Oh yes it does." Renamon's and my voice are in complete unison, our contempt obvious. "You have messed with our friend. You have taken innocent lives this day. If it means wiping a slimeball like you out of existence than there is nothing that we won't do…."

"Very well…." His main eye began to shine a brilliant shade of scarlet and Renamon yells inside my head, "LILY LOOK OUT!"

"AMETHYST MANDALA!"

The golden sphere forms around me, pulsing but it still does no good. The arrow slams into my shield and shatters it, sending us both sprawling backwards.

I yell as we slam into the building opposite, so hard that it forms a freaking dent, groaning. "Ugh….that…hurt…."

"LILY!"

"ROSETTA STONE!"

"Kari, get out of here!" I shot, slicing my hand through the sky. "This guy is too powerful, we have to GO!"

"Like heck…." Kari scoffs, and I really, really wish Tai and I hadn't been such a big influence on her. "I'm not leaving you. Where's Lucemon?!"

"I…I don't know!" My eyes scan the area for the angel, clenching my teeth in anger. I know he took a direct hit…the spot right between my shoulders is BURNING for some reason although for the life of me I can't understand why.

Barbamon materlizes beneath the both of us in the middle of the crowd, and we don't even notice him. His eyes narrow down to slits as he spots the monster storming through the city and takes a step forward, before Lunamon cuts him off. "Let me handle this one…."

"Are you sure?"

She gives him a look. "Absolutely. Let me have some fun."

Barbamon chuckles and thrusts his arm up, Lunamon leaping into the sky. "LUNAMON WARP-DIGIVOLVE TO…LEVIAMON!"

"HOLY FREAKING ##&&&#!"

Kari's eyes widen in disbelief as she stares down at the massive monster that uncurls beneath her with a roar. "…Oh…my….Yggdrasil….'

The giant crocodile is probably about forty meters long of muscles, scales, and claws, with her long snout curled back in a smirk that shows all of her razor sharp teeth.

If people weren't panicking before, they definitely were panicking now, screams echoing at the top of their lungs as they run from the massive reptile.

"Honestly…." Leviamon mutters, a bit annoyed. "Can't they tell I'm supposed to be the good guy?"

"Uh, usually the gigantic crocodile ISN'T the good guy." I point out, levitating down beside her. She rolls one golden eye and mutters, "Stereotypes."

"I know, I know. For shame, all of those people thinking that demons are evil."

Leviamon bumps me gently with her snout. "Are you done now?"

"Yeah." I chuckle, crossing my arms. "Now kick his butt."

Leviamon ROARS, standing up on her hind legs, her tail lashing back and forth and accidentally taking out a couple of buildings that I really, REALLY hope are already empty as she charges Ghoulmon.

Ghoulmon's one eyes widens in disbelief as she uses sheer MUSCLE to tackle him, ramming him off his feet and pinning him to the ground with a snarl.

"Um…." Kari sweatdrops as she and Nerfertimon land, both of them staring with their jaws hanging open as the two giants wrestle. "…Is this really…a good idea…?"

"In retrospect, probably not." Barbamon sighs, wincing slightly as Leviamon's claws leave deep gashes in the road and Ghoulmon's arrows incinerate everything else.

"Crap…" I mutter.

"Don't you just hate collateral damage?" Renamon's voice echoes out as I facepalm. "We can't let this go on for much longer, or else the both of them will tear the whole city apart."

"Give Leviamon a break, she's trying." I glance over at Lilithmon who has also suddenly appeared out of nowhere, (my family seems to do this a lot).

And Leviamon is trying, we can tell. She's barely using her claws or her tail now, and her eyes are more focused on the people who are scattering around the titans like little ants than her opponents. Which is certainly not a good thing.

"This just isn't her type of battle. There's not enough strength for her to go all out." Lilithmon sighs.

"But we need to finish this guy off and…." My voice trails off as I see Lucemon landing next to me. His blue eyes meet mine and he says dryly, "I suppose Alexander didn't tell you all to clear out and let me handle this."

"Actually we didn't get a chance to even see him." Lilithmon says cheerfully. "But do you honestly think we would have listened anyway?"

Lucemon just facepalms as another roar from Leviamon echoes, and this time it seems more a cry of pain than anything else.

"…Lucemon…where are your…." Kari begins, glancing down to see that his ankles and wrists are free of bracelets. Lucemon just smiles slightly as Barbamon's eyes widen.

"….My lord…you do realize that the entire point is to NOT cause collateral damage correct?"

"I am aware of that, thank you." Lucemon says deadpan, waving his hand over his shoulder. "But you do realize that there's this convient thing not far from us…called the Atlantic Ocean."

"Well brilliant." I say deadpan, as Nerfertimon asks, with a tone that suggests she's almost afraid to ask, "How are you going to do that?"

"You'll see…Leviamon! NOW!"

Leviamon's golden eyes snap open again as Ghoulmon continues to press her skull to the ground, a snarl appearing on her face as with a burst of strength, she flips him upwards.

"ROSTRUM!"

The blast of water energy spirals directly upwards underneath Ghoulmon, sending him flying with a scream.

"Well…you could do that…I suppose…."

Ghoulmon screams as the force of the blast sends him flying so hard, that he crashes into the waves. The explosion of water blasts upwards as he explodes back above the surface, coughing and furious.

"Filthy…little…." He breathes, his one eye red with rage. He would tear all of them apart. All of the so-called Digidestined, and all of those useless, interfering, Demon Lord fools…

"I'm sorry….you were saying…?"

He manages to look up to see Lucemon floating above him again, a serene smirk on his face even though his body is covered with bruises and scrapes.

"Oh please. You honestly believe that I fear you…" Ghoulmon's voice trails off as he realizes that Lucemon is no longer wearing the sealing devices, and the feeling of raw power surrounding the angel has increased at least by 50%.

"…Wait…oh….no…."

"You are correct." Lucemon says sweetly, slashing one hand down and one hand vertically, his eyes glowing a pale blue. "Any last words?"

"N-noNOOOOO!"

"That's about what I thought." The white light is near blinding and Ghoulmon screams, as he feels it burning away at all three of his eyes, agony filing his body.

"GRAND CROSS!"

"GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The light seems to fill the entire horizon, and the screams of the civilians on the island echoes as their panic is contagious.

I hug Kari close to me, cringing underneath the bright glare, feeling the raw power radiate against my body before it finally….slowly…fades away….

Everything is oddly quiet…completely still…as though everyone's afraid to say a word. The first sound I hear is the noise of the water, still churning madly from the attack.

"…"

"LUCEMON!"

Lucemon smirks slightly as the data from the Ghoulmon dissolves into the air, and he is about to absorb it before he notices…something weird…

"…What is…that…?" He mutters, as the black object falls into the hand. Exhaustion seems to fill his entire body as he slowly droops down, eyes closing, and the last of his strength fails him as he plummets.

Right before he can hit the ocean and sink into the dark depths, he feels something grab him. "You idiot…." Alexander mutters, holding his unconscious leader in his arms, black wings beating over the stilled surface.

"Like any of us would ever truly leave you…"

….

"Well, now all of us know the true meaning of the word disaster." Sira says deadpan as we're sitting back in the kitchen. I run a hand through my black hair. "How is it our fault that all of the psycho monsters are always drawn to us?"

Sira's right eye twitches as Mimi stares out the window as the smoke rises from the damaged buildings around us.

"Um…."

She glances down at the beaten up Lunamon, a scrape across her eyes, and Lunamon shuffles her feet. "I'm…really sorry about the damage I caused…."

A small smile appears on Mimi's face as she bends down and rubs the top of Lunamon's head. "It's all right. It's not your fault. You helped beat that monster before he could wipe out everyone I care about. Thank you…"

Lunamon smiles shyly before her ears droop again. "Then why are you sad?"

Mimi sighs. "I just feel…so useless…."

"We all feel that way." Yolei mutters as she leans her head on the top of her arms. "Even when we all work together we still are one step behind that monster's forces."

"How's Lucemon?" Tai says, running a hand through his choppy chocolate hair.

"Resting." Daemon sighs. "He used up pretty much all of his energy just now and it will take awhile to recover…"

"Will someone get this THING off of my head?" I perk up at the sound of Damien's voice, turn my head, and then have to bite back a howl of laughter. Damien scowls and shoots me a look of disdain while the white fluffy blob on top of his head opens its mouth and lets out a long yawn.

"What is that?" Ken asks curiously as Yolei lets out a squeal of "It's so cutttteeeeeee!"

The little creature giggles and leaps into the air, waving his little golden wings about as he flutters, chanting, "Happy. Happy happy happy!"

"…Is that…?"

"No way…." Dilbert's lips curl in a grin as he looks like he might die of laughter. "Is that…"

"LUCEMON?!"

"Oh dear…." Daemon sighs, making a grimace. "I knew his injuries were substantial but I never dreamed they would be enough to knock him back to Baby form."

"Happy Happy Happy!"

A newly regenerated Veemon sweatdrops. "….Is that all he can say?"

"Indeed."

"You have no idea of how annoying it gets after a while…." Lilithmon mutters, facepalming. "Still, I suppose it could be worse."

"What I don't understand is how the heck was that Ghoulmon that powerful?" Stella crosses her arms. "It's like with that Wendigomon earlier…."

"So that's what it's called." Tai mutters, his jaw tightening. I glance over at him and sigh. I should know he's not going to let this business of a creature with Diaboromon's powers go.

"…Something's going on here…." Ryo mutters. She looks tired, like she didn't get much sleep last night at all. "…And I don't think I like it…."

I glance over at Damien, whose as usual, standing in the corner of the room, as far away from the Demon Lords as he possibly can. My eyes narrow as I watch him leave and without thinking, I get up to follow him.

"Lils…?"

"Girlfriend trouble?" Lilithmon says cheerfully. "I can give you some advice if you like, Kamiya."

Tai's face practically pales. "…Oh…um…um…."

"This out to be good." TK chuckles and Mimi sighs before leaving the room. "…Hey where are you going?"

"Just going out for a bit." Mimi says sweetly.

"...Are you sure that's okay?"

"Yeah, it's not that safe, Mi…"

"I'll be fine." She turns around and winks at Yolei. "Don't forget, I'm a Digidestined too."

"Yeah but…."

Tai sighs, watching her leave before a thoughtful expression appears on his face. Stella snorts. "I've seen that look on boss' face so many times. What are you thinking about Kamiya?"

'…I'm worried about her…" He sighs. "I think all of the older Digidestined developed a real lack in confidence after the whole mess with the Control Spires and…"

His voice trails off as he looks over at Ken, who is staring determinedly at the ground. Ryo and surprisingly Davis both glare at him.

"I've been thinking…." Tai's voice trails off before hardening. "The rest of the older team has been forced to sit on our haunches for too long. For crying out loud, we beat Apocylamon. And the way things are going…we're going to need every member we can get…."

"He's right." Agumon pipes up. "Besides, you know if we don't get them to come in soon, Sora's going to find out on her own what's going on. And you know how she gets."

"…"

"Kari start contacting them on your D-Terminal. STAT."

"Already on it."

"All of the older Digidestined." Cody says, his voice somewhat small. "….Wow." Yolei fidgets with her glasses uneasily, gulping. She knows what Cody is thinking. The older Digidestined are so powerful, so much more advanced then any of them have ever been.

"For crying out loud, you're acting like their demigods." Dilbert's Wormmon scoffs and he shoots her a look.

"She's got a point." Dilbert leans forward. "What are you so worried about? That you're not going to measure up to your predecessors?"

"Well I…"

"Oh for crying out loud." Stella scoffs. "This low self-confidence isn't like you girlie. For Yggdrasil's sake, quit reminding me of me."

Yolei shoots her a look. "What does that even mean?"

"It means that….a bit ago…" Stella's eyes travel over to Edan, who blushes slightly as she looks back. "I had a friend of mine help slap some sense into me when I doubted yourself. And if you keep thinking you're not good enough, I'm literally going to do the same thing. Slap some sense into you."

"And she slaps hard." Tsukaimon adds, and Stella rolls her eyes at him before aiming a swipe at her partner. He giggles, barely ducking out of the way.

"The point is, I'd hate to think my rival is selling herself short. So straighten up." She finishes, before walking out of the room.

Yolei blinks. "What…just happened exactly?"

"I think Stella just declared you her rival." Ryo tells her deadpan. "And as her previous rival I have to say, Yggdrasil help you."

"…Oy vey…."

"Listen, kid…" Lilithmon tosses her black hair back. "It isn't easy living up to other people's expectations. Trust me, I know. You gotta…" She waves a hand lazily in the air. "Do what you think is right and then if people try to tell you what to do, tell em they can just stick their advice up their-"THANK YOU LILTHMON." Alexander says loudly.

Mimi knocks on the door of her father's office, and his secretary blinks as she enters. "Oh, uh, Mimi sweetheart. You know your father isn't here right now, right?"

"Oh yes, I know…" She smiles sweetly. "I just remembered…I….lost my necklace a bit ago and I think it happened last time I visited him. You don't mind if I poke around do you?"

"Well…I suppose not but…."

"Great! Thanks!"

The minute she makes her way into her father's room and closes the door behind her she breathes a sigh of relief. No one ever really doubted Mimi's intentions. Not with her innocent face.

She'd sent messages to Michael and the other American Digidestined asking about the kid that Kari and the others had described, but according to them, they'd never heard of him.

She glances down at the picture that Kari had given them—apparently her camera had accidentally gone off during the battle and it had caught an image of not just the monster, but the blonde haired boy fleeing from the scene.

Something about that face was familiar….Mimi cracks her knuckles as she sits down at the computer. Izzy's influence had paid off. She wasn't that bad at cracking passwords herself, which was amazing considering four years ago she'd never had the patience to do anything with computers. However she'd found that hacking required the same thing as bargain shopping—persistence.

As her father's files scroll before her she scans them for any information, because from that picture, she could have SWORN she's seen that kid before. And she could have sworn it happened at one of her father's work banquets she'd been forced to attend as a child.

"Let's see…." She mutters. A half an hour later she was about to beat her head against the ground. Was it too much to ask for the information to appear to her? She didn't WANT this, she didn't want to be useless…

"…." Her eyes flicker over to the screen as she spots an unnamed folder. Well it was her last chance. She opens the file and has to surpress the urge to punch the air.

As she read the information, she frowns. Okay…that was weird.

Her father ran a video game company, a hugely successful one, and had had business dealings with people all over the world. What was weird was that this group seemed to be such a minor one. The picture showed images of four people, one was….

"Hey that's Sora's Dad…." She breathes, her eyes widening in disbelief as she recognized the name.

The next was a pale man with black hair and eyes that gave her the chills, even though she couldn't imagine why. "Oikawa…."

She searched the name on the Internet, her eyes widening. Oikawa had apparently gone missing four years ago, right after the death of his partner, "…Cody's Dad…" She breathes. And the fourth man, who had also gone missing…

"Holy crap…" The fourth man looked almost exactly like the boy in the picture, with golden hair and blue eyes and a beaming smile. The expression was surely different but everything else…and…apparently…he'd gone missing as well.

Mimi feels a weird feeling creeping up in her stomach. Something about this was all connected, and possibly not in a good way. She quickly signed out of the computer, the feeling of something cold pressing in around her.

The image of Oikawa's pale eyes seemed to be haunting her…that expression was so familiar from somewhere…but from where?

...

"What the heck is going on with you?"

"That's how I love to be greeted…" Damien mutters, turning away from the balcony to face me. I frown and cross my arms. "Don't push me pretty boy. What the heck is happening to you? You're acting even more weird and vague than usual."

"Am I?"

I glower. "That's not an answer, now spill."

Damien's eyes flicker over to me. "…I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do." I say, taking a menacing step forwards. "Look, I don't like the fact how you keep sneaking off like this. Damien…I don't like how…you seem to have changed. That's hard to trust, and…."

"Oh….I'm hard to trust am I?" Damien takes a step forwards and I feel a slight chill run down my spine at the look in his eyes. "After all I've done for you you suddenly turn on me. Like everyone does."

I bite my lip and reach for his hand. I get the feeling that I've hurt him somehow, and my instinct is to comfort my friend. But….

"…Just tell me what's going on…" I plead. His eyes narrow down to slits. "…I really wouldn't be making demands of me right now Lily. You're not in any position too."

"…What are you talking about?"

"You know full well about how that village was wiped out. And you were the only one there out of nowhere…."

I stagger back, as if he's slapped me. "…You're blaming ME for that?!"

"You're accusing me of being a traitor!" He snaps back. "You expect me to just take that?"

"You're the one who we know nothing about!"

"…You know what?" Damien's eyes flash with anger. "…Fine. I know full well where I'm not wanted. Let's see how well you handle the mystery of what happened back there by yourself."

Storming back into the house I yell over the shoulder, "WHATEVER! I don't need you!" I slam the door behind me. Everyone looks up and I feel my cheeks turn bright red.

"…Lils…are you okay…?" Gatomon's ears perk up, her tail swishing back and forth. I take a deep breath. "Yeah…whatever…"
"Bullcrap." I freeze at the sound of that voice, slowly turning my head around. "S-Sora?!"

"We're all together now." Sora says fiercely, punching me in the shoulder as I look around the whole room. Izzy….Matt….Mimi….Joe….Tai….TK…Kari….Sora…

A slow smile appears on my face, and I'm able to push Damien's words out of my head, although the memory of that morning still makes my stomach churn.

"You guys…" I say, my voice trailing off before I suddenly throw myself at Sora, hugging her tightly. She smiles, hugging me tightly, and I suddenly feel the grip become extremely uncomfrotrable.

"Uh….Sora….you can let go now…."

"If you ever leave me out of something like this again…." The tone of her voice making me about wet myself.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! SOMEBODY HELLPPPPPPP!"

"So what are we looking at?" Ken says, pulling the pictures Mimi brought over towards him. The four men smiling up at us—well one, scowling, draw all our eyes on them.

Cody freezes. He looks at the picture like he's seen a ghost. "That's my…my…."

"Your Dad." Mimi says quietly. "I know. And that's…."

"My Dad." Sora says softly. Her hands clench the edge of the table. "What the heck is this Mimi?"

"You guys know my Dad runs a video game company right?"

"Yeah….?"

"Well apparently more than a decade ago these people approached him with a game idea…." Her eyes take in all of us. "A game about a world populated by monsters inside of a computer."

"…What…"

Sira's eyes narrow down to slits. "So…your parents knew about the Digital World beforehand?"

"N-no!" Cody shakes his head. "That's not even possible. My Dad never…I don't even know who these people are."

"What about you Red?" Lilithmon asks, crossing her arms. "Your old man ever talk about our world?"

Sora shakes her head. Her face is pale and I can't blame her. "…My Dad's always been interested in the legends and myths of the world. Could it just be…."

"A coincidence? I really, really doubt it."

"Especially when you look at this guy." Davis nods to the guy on the far right. "He looks EXACTLY like the guy we chased after earlier."

"Must be his father. And why would Millenniummon's forces be after his son if he didn't have some connection to the Digital World?"

"…"

"Cody, are you okay?" Yolei says softly, leaning a hand on the younger boy's shoulder, whose face is completely pale.

"Yeah, dude, are you all right?"

"…I…don't…understand…" Cody whispers, curling his hands into fists.

"Neither of us do." Sora says softly, looking over at him. "….But…I can't believe my father would be involved in anything corrupt. So don't doubt him. I'm sure there's more to this that meets the eye."

"There always is." GranDracmon says under his breath. I glance over at him and see his fists curled, a fang glinting slightly.

He's seemed so much more agitated than he has been before. It's weird. There's something he's not telling me. Then again, as Damien's accusation echoes back through my head, I realize there's something VERY big I'm not telling him and Sira. I remember what happened in the Pokemon world because we didn't trust each other. I make the mental note to push them for an answer…and…tell them the truth, as absolutely terrifying that is.

"I do know more about this guy." Sira, now back in detective mode, taps the picture of the scowling man. I sigh, rubbing my temples, knowing that there's got to be some reason why he seems so familiar.

The look in the eyes, the shape of the face…so similar but so….this is horribly annoying.

"All the information Mimi found on this guy…" Izzy shoots her a proud smile, "says he went missing four years ago."

"That is correct. For a while we believed that it had been a suicide…but there was never a body found…."

"…So he just…vanished? Out of thin air?"

A chill runs down my spine. "So…we have two parents of our own members…a missing guy…and a guy whose son is being harassed by the forces of our own enemies?"

"That pretty much sums it up." Matt grumbles, his blonde hair hanging in his face as he wraps an arm around Sora's shoulders.

"…We can't allow us to get to distracted by this." Edan says, a firmness in his voice that seems a lot more common now a days.

"What do you mean?"

"He means…." Matt runs a hand through his perfectly gelled blonde hair. "That from what you've told me, the Destiny Stones are Millennniummon's main target. And if we get distracted, than we might just be falling for another trap just like in the Pokemon World."

I like how Matt says "we" instead of "you." Even after that massive screwup, he's not being the least judgemental. I remember Damien's icy cold glare and I sigh. When am I going to have that great a guy again?

Nope. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT. Not important right now, in the slightest.

"She's right." Sira nods. "So here's what Goggle-head…" She jerks a thumb at Tai who rolls his eyes, "have decided. We will split up into six groups, each person searching for the Destiny Stone."

"And we will be helping." Alexander announces, as Daemon nods, Lilithmon shrugs, Barbamon crosses his arms and looks a little uneasy, Luanmon grins and leaps into my arms.

"HAPPY." Puttimon says from his spot on Renamon's head. She groans. "Get off you idiot."

Sira shoots all of us a look and everyone falls silent.

"Here's how it's going to go. Izzy, Mimi, Lilithmon, the three of you are staying right here in New York. Mimi knows this place better than anyone else."

"All right!" Mimi grins and Izzy turns red. I let out a low groan as Lilithmon smirks. Oh gosh. Lilithmon with two people who have a crush on each other. She's going to make their lives absolutely miserable.

"Leviamon, Dilbert, Joe, . You will be going to Mexico." Tai continues.

"Ole." Dilbert's Wormmon hops into his lap, striking an odd pose.

"Oh gosh please stop." Dilbert begs.

"Daemon, Stella, Davis, Ken, and Ryo. Alaska."

"Oh GOSH…." Davis lets out a low moan. "I hate the cold…."

"Than isn't it fitting you're stuck with me." Daemon chuckles and Davis and Veemon both suddenly grin.

"We'll keep them in line." Ryo smiles and Ken grins.

"Barbamon….Yolei…Sora and Kari you will be going to San Francisco."

"Guess whose going to Disney Land." Yolei says, shooting Davis a teasing smirk. He just scowls at her.

"If Lucemon's out of action…" Kari asks.

"Happy."

"…Okay….Then who is going to take his place?"

The other Demon Lords exchange awkward looks. "…If we can get him to wake up…."

"Then there's no one less reliable."

"TK, Cody, me, and Belphemon, will be going to the Capital." Sira says flatly, crossing her arms.

"…You're sicking Belphemon on DC?" Lilithmon says deadpan. "Oh gosh do you just hate America?"

"Lilithmon."

"Kidding…." She says in a singsong voice as we all give her horrified looks.

"And the last group?"

"To good old Nebraska?" I ask, amused. "Sounds good to me. You up for it?" I say in a teasing tone of voice, as I look over at Alexander. Alexander chuckles and ruffles my hair along with Zach's.

"Correct. Along with…two other people."

…Oh boy. I look up into Tai's eyes and he turns bright red. I know how silly this is, to feel this rush…but I can't help it.

"And I'll be here to make sure the lovebirds are kept in line." Matt says deadpan, a smirk on his face.

"Shut up Matt."

"So be it." GranDracmon raises an eyebrow. "We are the Digidestined. The Tamers. Do your names proud….and no matter how this goes down…then you will have glory."

There's silence for a moment, only broken when-"Happy."

"…Well that was anticlimactic."