A/N: Here we go, the latest chapter! I realise I forgot to answer any questions in my author's notes last time so I'll address them at the end of this one instead.

Hope you all enjoy.

I don't own digimon.


Failure and Resolve

Ogremon idly kicked a nearby rock as his new master giggled to himself. He sighed. Why were all mega digimon utterly insane? Puppetmon was clearly dangerous and unstable, the further Ogremon was away from him the better, and this new guy wasn't shaping up to be much better. Maybe all that power just messed with their heads?

Yeah, Ogremon thought to himself, that had to be it. Too much power and all your common sense vanished in a puff of data. Even Leomon had been acting a little weirder in the last few months before he'd left.

The champion groaned, watching as MetalEtemon mentally prepared himself for the attack. Leaning back against the charred remains of a nearby tree, Ogremon thought back to his time on File Island, something he'd been doing far more often lately.

"Haha!" Ogremon cried, waving his arms about in front of the little baby digimon. "There's no one to stop me from stealing your food now!"

"Stop it, please!" one of the little babies yelled, jumping in front of the pile of berries he and his friends had managed to gather. "This is our food! You can't just take it!" he cried in his little high-pitched voice.

"And exactly what are you going to do about it, huh?" Ogremon asked, leaning in and snatching a bundle of the berries from between the helpless digimon. "Come on, hit me! Fight back you little runt!"

The little white ball in front of him welled up with tears, his false bravado shattering in an instant. Ogremon smirked and brought the berries over his mouth, ready to eat them.

"I won't let you hurt them, Ogremon!" a deep strong voice cried out.

Something hard hit the green champion in the back, knocking the berries out of his hands and bowling Ogremon over.

"Leomon!" the baby digimon yelled in relief.

Ogremon stood up slowly, rubbing his back where the blunt edge of Leomon's sword had hit him.

"So it seems you show your true colours Leomon," Ogremon taunted. "Attacking while my back is turned, how low."

Leomon walked forwards out of the nearby trees. He picked up his sword from where it had landed in the ground and stood facing Ogremon. The lion smirked, his mane swishing in the wind.

"And you show yours," he responded calmly. "Really, stealing from children? I guess they're the only ones weak enough for you to bully."

Ogremon growled and stepped forward menacingly. He brought his bone club to bear, ready to charge in an instant.

"Insults? I thought you had honour, Leomon," Ogremon said. "But I guess that takes a back burner to your pride."

"And you have neither pride nor honour, Ogremon," Leomon responded, walking forwards not even phased. "But you do have buckets of shit, all of it coming out of that over-sized mouth of yours."

Ogremon mimed cupping his ear.

"What was that?" he asked mockingly. "I couldn't hear you over how loud your hairstyle is."

Leomon stopped dead.

"What did you say about my hair, punk?" he hissed.

"Huh!?" Ogremon yelled obnoxiously. "I couldn't quite catch that! I just can't stop staring at your shitty hair! It's so yellow, did you piss in it or something?!"

Leomon charged.

"I'll carve you into pieces, Ogremon!"

"Bring it, blondie!"

Blade met bone with an impact strong enough to shake the nearby trees. The baby digimon gasped in awe as the two champions duked it out furiously. Constant clashes of fists and weapons as the battle moved further and further away from the young ones.

"Fist of the Beast King!"

"Pummel Whack!"

Dark energy collided with orange at point-blank range. Their weapons met once more as the two struggled to overcome the others. Both digimon grinned in savage enjoyment of their fight, their personal rivalry; each striving to become stronger than the other.

The ground began to crack underneath them as more and more power flowed into their respective attacks. The nearby trees trembled under the sheer strength of their unrelenting assault.

Leomon roared and Ogremon screamed, both unleashing their final reserves of energy. With a shout loud enough to shake the leaves off of trees, Ogremon was thrown back through a nearby trunk, utterly spent.

"Now leave these children alone," Leomon ordered, panting heavily.

"Yay! We knew you could do it, Leomon!" the baby digimon cried, having caught up with the battle.

Groaning, Ogremon sat up and pointed at his rival.

"You may have won this round, Leomon, but I'll be back and next time I'll win!"

Leomon turned to stare at him, an incomprehensible look on his face.

"Someday I'll beat you, Leomon! Mark my words!" Ogremon promised, before limping off back into the forest, ignoring the jeers of the other digimon.

'You were always the stronger one, Leomon,' Ogremon thought to himself back in the present.

He would never ever say it, but Leomon had won every encounter they'd had. It was practically maddening that he'd come so close each time to overwhelming that damn lion, but then he'd inevitably lose. Leomon would always pull out some hidden reserve of strength and trounce him right in the end.

But still, their fights had always been entertaining, if nothing else. At least until the end...

"Why?!" Ogremon cried, barely able to stand. "Why are you so much stronger than me?!"

His rival stayed silent, not facing him, but towards the moonlit lake some ways away. There hadn't been a lake there yesterday. Yesterday things had been completely different. Then those four digimon came and literally tore the world apart.

Ogremon had seen things he never would have believed if he hadn't seen them with his own two eyes. Oceans shooting into the sky and wrapping round themselves like a snake of unimaginable proportions, entire swathes of land being reduced to a desolate and perpetually black wasteland in a matter of seconds and whole communities vanishing into sand as huge cities rose on the horizon out of nowhere.

It had been awe-inspiring, yet beyond terrifying.

"You'll understand what it is that separates us," GrapLeomon, his rival's ultimate form, spoke calmly. "One day you'll understand."

"What? That you're a brave hero and that I'm just a cowardly monster?! I've already figured that much out," Ogremon replied somewhat bitterly. "I just rolled over when Devimon came calling, just like all Ogremon are supposed to do when their master arrives!"

"I don't blame you, if that's what you're woried about," GrapLeomon answered, still not looking at the champion. "You call me a hero, and yourself a coward, but I know that deep down we're both equal."

Ogremon growled, raising his club.

"Cut out this bullshit!" he cried, charging towards his rival.

GrapLeomon merely raised a hand and with a burst of power, Ogremon was knocked back onto the ground.

Once the dust had settled, Ogremon rose again slowly. He slammed his fist into the ground.

"Why? Why can't I ever beat you?!" he yelled, tears of frustration leaking from his eyes. "You keep humouring me, keep telling me we're equals when we're clearly not! You're a hero and I'm nothing but a coward! Answer me this GrapLeomon, if we're really rivals, true equals, why can't I ever beat you?!"

Panting, he slowly raised his head to stare at GrapLeomon. The ultimate had begun to walk away, not even acknowleding his presence.

"Tell me!" Ogremon called out after GrapLeomon. "Tell me why!"

The ultimate stopped.

"Why are you a coward?" he asked, turning so that a single eye could see Ogremon. "What makes you coward, what makes me a hero? Once you understand, you'll see where my strength comes from. Until that day, I'll be eagerly awaiting your next challenge."

With that, GrapLeomon began to walk off into the distance.

"L-Leomon!" Ogremon called back.

He tried to stand, but his treacherous legs buckled under him. Ogremon got a face full of dirt for his troubles.

"What do you mean?! Why am I a coward? I don't want to die! What am I supposed to think?! Leomon! LEOMON!"

Since that day he'd never seen his rival again. All he knew was that the brave fool had gone off to fight the gods who had torn apart the very digital world they lived in. All reason pointed towards the fact that he was dead, but Ogremon refused to believe it.

Leomon wouldn't go out without some sort of flare. He was just that kind of digimon. Far more prideful than he was willing to admit. It had never been too hard to goad the fool into a good fight.

"Alright, this should be enough for this little show," MetalEtemon spoke to himself, almost jumping in the air with glee.

Having finished with whatever preparations he'd been making, the mega thrust his hands deep into the ground and pulled out an armful of dirt. Looking into the hole, Ogremon was startled to see, instead of simply more dirt, a line of digicode.

"Those idiots think they can use the same trick twice?" MetalEtemon giggled to himself. "My power over the Dark Network lets me see further than they can ever imagine! The look on their faces when they get back. They'll regret ever messing with me!"

The mega laughed uproaringly, before standing up and turning to Ogremon.

"Follow me, minion," he ordered. "You're about be part of my legend! For I bring you: the downfall of the digidestined!"

The mega laughed again, as the code below them seemed to spread and change, forming a passageway deep into the ground. MetalEtemon ran straight down and Ogremon quickly stood up and followed after him.

He would dwell on Leomon's mysterious words later, right now he had a new boss he had to impress and some digidestined he had to destroy. Somehow he doubted they'd be surprised he was fighting them again.

That is, if they noticed him at all...


Their small party hurried forwards. Sora and Tk were surrounded on all sides by a group Woodmon, who were scouting ahead, using their natural camouflage and knowledge of the forests around them to stay hidden from Puppetmon's forces.

At the forefront of the party was a Gorillamon. He was clearly the leader of the ragtag number of digimon they were travelling with. Every now and then a Woodmon would say something to him and the party would seamlessly change direction, following his lead at all times. They had changed direction so many times Sora doubted she could retrace their steps at all if something were to happen.

She was utterly confused as to why they did this, until at one point, he brought the party to a sudden halt, knelt down beside her and pointed upwards.

"You see over there?" he asked Sora.

She followed where he was pointing to a small piece of foliage in a nearby tree.

"What's wrong?" she wondered out loud.

"Look closely," he muttered, gesturing towards the Woodmon around them.

Squinting for a few seconds, Sora finally managed to see what it was he was trying to get her to notice. Hidden amongst the foliage so as to be almost invisible, was a security camera!

"They're set up all around the forest," Gorillamon explained quietly. "If we're spotted by one of those, Puppetmon's entire army will descend upon us within minutes."

"The whole forest?" Tk said in amazement. "How did he do that?"

Gorillamon turned to regard the small human.

"We believe Machinedramon may have set them up for him, although we're not entirely sure," he explained. "Come on, we still have much further to go."

That had been the end of that. The party had then continued with their seemingly aimless wandering through the dense forest in almost complete silence. Sora was beginning to have reservations about bringing Tk along with her. The eight year old was tough for his age, there was no questioning that, but he wouldn't complain even if he was about to pass out. This happened especially often whenever Matt was nearby.

Sora wasn't the sort to offer special treatment just because Tk was young, but she couldn't help but feel that maybe bringing him along on a potentially dangerous mission was a bad move to make.

She stifled a groan and bit one of the fingers of her glove in nervousness. She was always doing this, questioning every decision she made as a leader! She couldn't go on her own and Joe wasn't willing to leave Matt, so she had no choice but to bring Tk along. Not to mention how great of a help it would be to have MagnaAngemon there as well. In his champion form he'd been able to fight on par with ultimates like Lilymon and had even prevented MaloMyotismon from counterattacking for quite some time.

There was a lot of power hidden in that form she was sure.

Their company suddenly came to a halt near a small clearing of trees.

"Alright," Gorillamon began. "This is where we'll ambush Cherrymon when he appears. It is vitally important that once you've got their attention, that you two are 'defeated' in this clearing. That way we can surround Cherrymon when he appears and prevent him from escaping. We also have a small number of other forces spread around this area. They'll be diverting attention so we won't have to deal with too many of Puppetmon's forces. They'll begin attacking as soon as they see that we are. Any questions?"

"Are you sure we can take Cherrymon?" Sora asked immediately. "He is an ultimate and you're only a champion."

Gorillamon smirked.

"I may be a level below him, but I have backup in the form of you guys. Not to mention, in my experience anyway, good tactics can outperform a single level difference any day," he said with a small hint of nostalgia. "But anyway, any other concerns?"

"You're sure they'll try to capture us, right?" Sora questioned, a sudden anxiety pooling in her chest. "If they just kill us-"

"We'll step in if it looks as if they're going to change their minds about capturing you," Gorillamon stated, looking down at the two humans in front of him. "I can understand that you're nervous, but this will only work if you trust us. You may be defenceless up until Cherrymon arrives, at which point feel free to attack him with everything you've got! Remember, we'll be all around you, even if you can't see us."

His words were pretty encouraging. Unable to think of any other objections, Sora looked over at Tk, who nodded. Patamon on his head also seemed rather stoked for this upcoming battle. Even Biyomon seemed oddly keen on this fight.

"We're ready," Sora said calmly, looking up at the champion in front of her.

"Excellent. We'll get into position and when I give the signal, give it your all."

Sora nodded and gripped her digivice tightly. Tk copied her movements as Patamon jumped off his helmet and stood next to him.

There was a couple of minutes of silence as the four of them waited for the signal. There were no signs of life anywhere in the forest. No small insects fluttering about, no birdsong chattering away above them. Instead there was just an oppressive silence, like any moment the very forest would come alive and attack them.

"Now!" an unseen voice yelled.

Immediately, Sora and Tk raised their digivices up towards the sky and the area was bathed in a powerful, bright light.


Puppetmon rocked slowly on his chair, facing the myriad of monitors in front of him. Each displayed one thing, and one thing only, leaves.

He threw his hands up into the air in boredom. He had been getting his toys ready for when the digidestined showed themselves. He'd been preparing them ever since he first saw the little brats. Looking over towards the nearby table, four small dolls could be seen. Each resembling a particular digidestined.

He'd made one of each of the two who could go mega, as well as one of the little boy and the little girl. He hadn't had enough time to finish the others, and was beginning to forget what they looked like. Oh well, if he'd forgotten they must have been boring!

Nodding to himself at his flawless logic, a sudden commotion on one of the monitors made him look up. If he had a heart it would have been beating. Two of the digidestined were right there! Right ther in his forest!

He giggled happily to himself, quickly observing them. One was the little boy and the other was a girl with a helmet. How unfortunate he only had one doll that would work.

Oh well, he was good at adapting.

Puppetmon settled himself in front of the monitor and got comfortable.

Now all he had to do was wait for the right moment...


Joe sat down on a log just outside the medical tent. Matt still hadn't woken up, even though all his wounds had healed completely. At least, the wounds they could see had healed anyway. There was no telling how Matt's near death experience would affect his mind and Joe was looking forward to finding out.

He had read up a bit about head injuries and had learnt some rather frightening information. Something traumatic enough to cause a patient to lose consciousness for longer than twenty-four hours could easily have caused some brain damage or other internal injuries. And Joe really didn't feel like explaining such a concept to a distraught and confused Gabumon.

Then Sora had gone off to deal a blow against the Dark Masters, and had taken Tk with her. Matt wouldn't be happy about that when he woke up.

He ran his hands through his hair with frustration.

"What's the matter, Joe?" Gomamon piped up from beside him. "What are you worrying about now?"

Then there was Gomamon. Who never seemed to get upset, no matter how bad things looked or how bad Joe screwed up. He was like Joe's polar opposite in almost every way.

"It's nothing, Gomamon," Joe tried to say dismissively.

"Well it sounds like a whole load of 'nothing' has been bothering you lately," the rookie said, looking up at his partner imploringly. "Come on, Joe! You're always worrying about something; it's just in your nature. So why not just tell me and get it off your chest?"

Joe frowned, but relented.

"I'm worried about whether I made the right choice or not," he murmured. "I just let those two go of without me. Matt will be safe here; I should have gone and helped them fight. I'm just a coward."

"Did you stay behind because you were scared for yourself?" Gomamon asked.

Joe frowned in thought.

"No-"

"Then you're not a coward," his partner reasoned simply. "Just relax, Joe."

Joe in return, merely buried his face further into his hands.

"I just keep making the worst decisions!"

"Who can really say that?" Gomamon countered. "No one knows how things will turn out in the end. All we can do is stick by our decisions as best we can and admite that we were wrong whenever we make mistakes. So cheer up, Joe!"

"It's not that simple. What if one of them dies while I'm not there? What if me being there would have changed things? It would be my fault if one of them dies when I could have done something about it."

"What if you being there made things worse?" Gomamon interrupted. "You're never gonna know, so why bother worrying about it?"

Joe restrained the desire to scream. His partner just didn't get it! He wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of knowing that he could have made a difference.

"Is something the matter?" a genial old voice asked.

The two turned to see Gennai walking calmly up to them.

"You seem troubled, Joe. More so than usual," he continued. "Are you, perhaps, feeling regret over not accompanying the others?"

"I am, er... sir," Joe replied politely.

Gennai held up a hand.

"Please, just Gennai is fine. May I sit here?" he asked, gesturing towards the empty seat next to Joe.

Joe nodded and the old man sat down, sighing as he did so.

"I take it that you're worried about Sora and Takeru?"

"Yes, I am," he answered awkwardly.

"Are you feeling regret that perhaps your services would be better rendered out there on the battlefield, rather than staying back here with nosy old men such as myself?" Gennai questioned with a chuckle.

Joe's silence was all the answer he needed.

"It's always difficult making decisions under this sort of pressure," Gennai said, filling the silence. "You feel as if the wrong choice will doom everyone and everything you love."

Joe and Gomamon both stared at Gennai, who seemed to be lost in his own little world.

"You feel all that pressure on you, the weight of everyone's gaze as they stare at you, waiting for you to succeed. The idea of failing them is painful beyond belief. The sting of disappointment, the agony of loss; all will of this ride on your simple decision. But it won't be a single choice. Like life, it isn't a single crossroads you must traverse, but a maze of them. And as you continue down the specific path you've chosen, the weight of those decisions add up and you begin to wonder whether this whole time you missed the right path long ago."

Gennai turned to look towards Joe, who for once could see the age in the old mans eyes. Joe found himself wondering just how old Gennai actually was.

"The important thing is to never give up. Your choices cannot be changed once made. You must continue down the path you've chosen, otherwise all the losses will be for nothing. No one can see what the future will bring, so make your choice and stick to it! Deal with the consequences and move on. That's all that I can do; that's all anyone can ever do."

Silence greeted the end of Gennai's speech as Joe gaped open-mouthed at the old man.

"S-so you're saying that I just have to deal with the consequences, whatever they are?" Joe repeated. "That really doesn't comfort me at all!"

"It was not meant to comfort you," Gennai said. "It was meant to teach you that that's how things are. Sometimes you just have to deal with the consequences, rather than dwell on how you could have avoided them. But cheer up, Joe!"

Gennai slapped the boy heartily on the back.

"Nothing's happened yet! You might have made the right choice, it's still too early to tell!"

Joe tried to smile, but then the ground suddenly shifted.

The entire ground shook violently, throwing both Gennai and Joe off of their seats. A small number of digimon also fell over, looking about in horror and confusion. Another shake. There were huge waves in the water surounding their sanctuary. The schools of fish that could be seen swimming around, scattered as the entire forest shifted.

"What's happening?!" Gomamon yelled.

Gennai's eyes were wide and panicked.

"Something's attacking the sanctuary!" Gennai realised, before standing up. "Prepare for battle! It must be the Dark Masters; they've found us!"

Another powerful shake, followed by the sound of thunder reverbarated throughout the underwater forest. All the nearby digimon went into a flurry of movement, spreading the word that they were under attack through the entire base.

"Joe, Gomamon," Gennai ordered. "Make sure Matt and Gabumon are ok. It seems that we may need your help after all!"

Everything shook again and digicode appeared surrounding the barrier between the forest and the water. There was a loud creaking sound and then a rushing sensation. The water flowed downwards past them, as if the entire sanctuary was being pulled upwards at a great speed.

"They're breaking down the protections!" Gennai yelled. "Centaurumon, Monzaemon, we need to be ready to run! Get the young ones out of here!"

There was a great tearing sound. Joe looked upwards to see the ceiling, that was previously covered with water, being torn apart to be replaced by green streams of data. It was as if the inner workings of the digital world were being revealed. Then suddenly numerous thick, black wires emerged from the cracks and dove straight into the ground.

"What the hell is going on?!" Joe cried out, getting to his feet and running to the medical tent.

He was quickly confronted with a distraught looking Gabumon.

"What's happening?" the rookie asked.

"We're being attacked!" Joe yelled in alarm. "J-just stay here and protect Matt for now. We'll be back in a second!"

Without waiting for a response, Joe rushed back out just as a familiar voice began to sound from the sky.

"Hey, hey, hey!" it sung loudly. "It's time to rock!"

"Oh no..." Joe murmured in recognition. "Gomamon, you'd better digivolve."

An instant later, Ikkakumon was next to him.

"Ready when you are, Joe!" he said, his attacks primed.

Joe looked back into the sky, just in time for the cracks to vanish and be replaced by a blue sky. There was another tremor, nearly knocking him off his feet. Looking around, Joe realised their entire base had been brought to the surface.

'It's like we were teleported,' he realised. 'Just like those tunnels that Izzy and Gennai used! How did Etemon...?'

But there was no time to dwell on it for any longer; emerging from the new treeline came the great digimon himself. Now clad in metal, yet still sporting the same sunglasses; it was clear that, despite his change in appearance, the digimon hadn't changed much in personality. Standing behind him was another familiar figure, though a much less threatening one.

"Etemon?! Ogremon?!" Joe shouted. "How are you here?! Weren't you killed?!"

Ogremon said nothing but get ready for battle, taking out his club and giving a few practice swings. The metallic mega digimon turned to look at Joe for a second before recognition seemed to hit him.

"Haha! I remember you! You're the cowardly one! This magnificence that you see before you is due to me absorbing the power of the Dark Network, baby!" he cried out triumphantly. "I held onto myself throughout those years of hell! I'm too big of a star to simply disappear into the night! I'm MetalEtemon now! I'm bigger, badder and better than before! I'm gonna slaughter you chosen like Koromon!"

"MetalEtemon? Th-then you're a mega?!"

MetalEtemon grinned.

"Nothing gets by you does it four-eyes? But you're right! Maybe now you realise just how screwed you really are!"

"And I suppose you're working for him now," Gomamon said, disgust in his voice. "Huh, Ogremon?"

Ogremon grimaced, but still said nothing.

MetalEtemon, on the other hand, got into a battle stance as a number of the resistance digimon surrounded him, blocking him off from Joe and Ikkakumon. Gennai quickly reappeared, followed by Centaurumon and Monzaemon.

"We'll hold him off," Centaurumon commanded, bearing his arm cannon at the mega. "You digivolve to ultimate and run!"

"Running is useless at this point!" Monzaemon corrected, his normally kind eyes hard. "We've been brought back into Puppetmon's forest; escape is impossible! We need to beat this guy now!"

"Hold him off for now," Gennai ordered. "It looks like we'll need your help now anyway, Joe! If you can digivolve, do so! We'll need every bit of power we can get for this fight."

"Right!" Joe said determined.

His crest began to glow.

"Dark Network!" MetalEtemon cried out, spreading his arms.

The network of cables above and below them glowed a menacing red colour. Joe felt a sudden pressure in his chest before Ikkakumon reverted back into Gomamon, shocking everyone present.

"Uh, uh!" MetalEtemon scolded, wagging his finger. "None of that now. You ain't gonna ruin my comeback tour! HAHA!"

"But we destroyed his network!" Joe protested, utterly stunned at his now apparent helplessness.

"All ya did was move it," MetalEtemon cackled.

He then grinned, popping his metallic knuckles as many resistance digimon rushed forwards.

"Bring it! Let's see how you fare without your little pet humans helping ya!"


"Birdramon!" Sora screamed in worry as the mighty bird fell from the sky and dedigivolved back into Biyomon.

Sora hurried forwards, just managing to catch her partner as she fell.

"Are you alright?" she whispere in concern.

"I'm fine," Biyomon replied. "Can't wait to teach those Garbagemon a lesson later."

Sora quickly smothered the desire to smile. She had look panicked.

"We need to fall back!" she called to Tk and Angemon, who were holding off a few Garbagemon.

The two nodded as they followed her into a nearby clearing. Spinning around, Angemon fired his Hand of Fate at a nearby Garbagemon, deleting it in an instant. It's friends immediately returned fire onto the champion.

They fired their bazookas and it wasn't long before Patamon also joined the other three on the ground. Tk scooped up his partner as the Garbagemon descended on them.

"Hands where I can see them!" they yelled, pushing the children to the floor and pointing their weapons at their unprotected backs.

Sora grunted, but remained still.

"Looks like we got 'em!" one of the Garbagemon yelled out. "Call Cherrymon! He's been waiting for this!"

Sora's eyes widened. This is what they'd been waiting for! Strong hands still held her and TK down, but she knew he was thinking the same thing. She hoped the resistance members around them had heard that. All they had to do now was wait.

A couple of minutes passed by in tense silence. Still unable to move, Sora was beginning to get stiff before there she heard the loud sound of wind blowing through trees. Almost like a large batch of leaves was moving through the air.

Straining to lift her head just a little, Sora managed to spot him. A large, eldritch-looking cherry tree scrabbled towards them along it's many roots. It reminded Sora of an insect, scuttling along the ground like that.

"You claimed to have captured the digidestined?" Cherrymon asked.

"Yes, sir!" one of the Garbagemon said, gesturing towards his men to move so that Cherrymon could see. "We caught these two causing trouble not far from here. We apprehended them swiftly and without use of excessive force, as per your orders, sir."

Cherrymon leaned towards Sora, examining her critically. His great yellow eyes bored into hers, as if judging her very soul. After a minute of tense silence, he drew back.

"Yes, there's no mistaking it," he decided. "These are definitely humans, but why are there only two? Did the others get away?"

"We didn't see any others, sir," the Garbagemon reported. "We were only attacked by two champions."

Cherrymon frowned.

"Champions?" he murmured to himself in confusion. "Why would they only-"

His eyes immediately darted towards Sora, where her digivice was still visible hanging from her belt.

"You didn't take her digivice!" Cherrymon roared. "It's a trap-"

"Energy Cannon!" Gorillamon roared, as numerous resistance members became visible all around the clearing.

His attack immediately struck the ultimate, catching his leaves on fire and forcing him away from the digidestined. The Garbagemon immediately turned around to see that they were surrounded, disregarding Sora and Tk completely.

This was a mistake.

There was another bright flash of light and Birdramon and Angemon soared out of the middle of the Garbagemon, carrying their partners and knocking many of the digimon over.

"Attack! Attack!" Gorillamon ordered, firing his cannon repeatedly at Cherrymon.

The company of Woodmon charged the surprised and stunned Garbagemon, many managing to sink their roots deep into the opposing digimon, draining them of energy before they could react. Ninjamon jumped amongst the Woodmon, skewering many more Garbagemon with their oversized shurikens.

Those that managed to bring their bazookas to bear were soon engulfed in fire and holy light from Birdramon and Angemon respectively, who were floating high above the clearing.

"There's loads more of them coming!" Sora yelled out, noticing the large numbers of Garbagemon rapidly approaching and surrounding them. "We're not going to be able hold out for long!"

"Where's Cherrymon?" Tk asked in Angemon's arms. "Did he escape?!"

"I don't know," Sora admitted looking around.

Birdramon immediately dove to the side to avoid a few shots from some Garbagemon.

"We can't digivolve here!" Birdramon cried. "We're too exposed!

"Then lets thin out the enemy," Angemon stated, gracefully avoiding a flurry of shots. "Until we are presented with an oppurtunity."

"Agreed, Meteor Wing!"

"Hand of Fate!"

Gorillamon faced off against Cherrymon, powering up his cannon again. Cherrymon angrily blocked the attack with his walking stick, before grinning at him.

"You may be powerful for a champion, but I'm still an ultimate!" he declared. "You don't stand a chance!"

Cherrymon gestured forwards and numerous vines shot from him to ensare Gorillamon. The champion's eyes widened, jumping and dodging around the vines as best he could, and using his energy cannon to sever a few.

Yet no matter how many he cut, more would just spring out of Cherrymon's canopy and shoot towards him. He couldn't afford to waste energy by missing, so he'd have to close the gap. Running torwards the ultimate, Gorillamon dodged another couple of vines that tried to ensnare him, before shoving his cannon into the ultimate's face.

"Energy Canno-!" Gorillamon began, before a group of vines ensnared his cannon-arm and pointed it away from Cherrymon.

"Cherry Blast!"

A couple of the cherries in the ultimate's hair detached themselves and shot towards the immobilised Gorillamon. With a powerful explosion he was hit, knocking him backwards through a nearby tree.

He shakily stood up, eyeing Cherrymon with anger.

"This little scuffle has gone on for long enough. No champion can best an ultimate of my strength!" Cherrymon boasted. "This is my field, my battle! Did your entire plan hinge on being able to beat me in single combat? How ludicrous!"

"Ordinarily, I would agree with you," Gorillamon stated, glaring at him. "But in my travels I have learnt that tactics and determination can play just as big of a part in a battle as raw power."

Cherrymon raised an eyebrow.

"What a foolish notion," he stated. "If such a thing were true you would have beaten my master long ago. Leave your nonsense for your own soldiers; I want to be on the winning side!"

"You haven't won yet!" Gorillamon yelled and charged.

In response, Cherrymon almost lazily shot vines towards him, with the intent of immobilising him once again.

Instead of dodging, Gorillamon grabbed the vines in his left hand and pulled as hard as he could. Surprised, Cherrymon was knocked off balance as Gorillamon put his full strength into toppling the ultimate. Growling, Cherrymon dug his roots into the ground, keeping him somewhat stable, although still leaning towards Gorillamon.

The ultimate grinned.

"You idiot! Now you're stuck as well!" he cried triumphantly as some of cherries began to glow.

Agumon aimed his pepper breath well, it struck the energy blast just as it exited the cannon. The last thing Gorillamon was aware of was an incredible pain in his right arm before passing out completely.

Gorillamon's eyes widening in realisation, the champion quickly aimed his cannon towards the cherries.

"Energy Cannon!" he yelled, firing with all his power.

"Cherry Blast!"

The energy blast struck the cherries as they left the branches. The blast engulfed the ultimate completely; only his screams of pain were audible above the sound of the explosion. The vines wrapped around Gorillamon's hand withered and burst into data. He stared into the flames as the smoke from the explosion died down.

Exhausted, Gorillamon felt a moment of pride at the fact he managed to best an ultimate.

"Wood Drain!"

Without warning, roots sprouted from the ground, wrapping around Gorillamon and binding him tight. He struggled as hard as he could, but still couldn't free himself. Staring helplessly forward, he watched Cherrymon walk out of the flames, an expression of indescribable anger on his face.

All his leaves had been burnt away, leaving him a huddled mess of charred bark with glowing yellow eyes.

"I'm going to drain you dry, then I'm going to kill those children!" Cherrymon screamed almost ferally. "Your plan has failed and I win!"

Gorillamon felt his remaining energy leave him as the roots dug into his skin.

'Damn it, I failed...' he cursed to himself as his thoughts grew hazy. 'I'm sorry... I'll never have that answer now...'

His hands went limp and his body burst into data, which floated upwards into the air as Cherrymon cackled to himself.

"Ah, that's better! Now where are those brats?"

A sudden bright light from above cut through his thoughts.

"Garudamon!" a powerful voice shouted out.

A large humanoid bird monster stood there in the air, an intense heat practically radiating off of it.

"Uh oh," Cherrymon muttered to himself.

He looked around at the scorched and battered earth around him. Numerous digimon were still fighting the Garbagemon, but their numbers were beginning to dwindle. They should have far more reinforcements than this, what was going on?

'Guess it's time to leave and fight another day,' he thought to himself. 'I'll find a way to get those children later.'

Dread then shot through him as he remembered what his master said.

"Tomorrow Cherrymon, I'll wait no longer than that."

Puppetmon's cold words shot through his brain like an icicle. Panic began to set in. If he didn't return with the digidestined he would be finished! His master would annihilate him, and that was if he was lucky. Cherrymon shivered, he'd seen what had happened to some of the digimon who had gathered Puppetmon's ire. It wasn't pretty.

Maybe he should run away? He'd have to leave the forest, it would be impossible to evade his master for long otherwise-

"Hand of Fate!"

A holy light shot through the panicking ultimate, causing him to scream in agony. Spinning around he saw a furious looking angel digimon staring at him, his divine aura pulsating dangerously.

"Hitting me in the back? That's a little dishonourable for an angel," Cherrymon snarked, backing away nervously.

"Be silent," Angemon hissed. "Where's Tk? What did you do wth him?"

"Who?"

This was evidently the wrong thng to say as another beam of light shot through his left side. Cherrymon almost toppled over as his walking stick was completely incinerated. How was this champion so strong?

"Wrong answer," Angemon said, his voice chilling. "I was holding him in my arms when he suddenly vanished. I know you must have something to do with it, so speak!"

Cherrymon started to chuckle.

"So he used that did he...?" he said, almost hysterical. "Maybe he won't kill me after all!"

"WHERE IS TK?" Angemon demanded, grabbing Cherrymon and lifting him up with impressive strength. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?!"

"He's with Puppetmon now!" Cherrymon laughed uproaringly, he wasn't going to die! "At his mansion! My master's new toy! Oh what fun he'll have! I'm safe, hahaha!"

"Where is this mansion?" Angemon yelled. "Answer me!"

"I-it's not too far from here, over that hill there!" Cherrymon said, pointing to show it.

Angemon was not impressed.

"I need something better tha-"

"Illusion Mist!" Cherrymon yelled, a large amount of purple gas shooting out of his mouth and into Angemon's face.

The champion backed away, assailed by visions of a tortured Tk as the ultimate slipped away. He narrowly dodged the tail end of one of Garudamon's attacks which incinerated an entire battalion of Garbagemon, before he left the clearing.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, when Sora and Garudamon landed and confronted a distraught Angemon that they learnt what had happened.

The ambush had failed.

Gorillamon was dead, Cherrymon had escaped and Tk had been captured.


Tk blinked, astonished at his change of scenery. The last thing he knew Angemon had been holding him in his arms and had just saved a Ninjamon from deletion, when he'd suddenly appeared in a darkened room with no outside light to be seen.

Squinting into the darkness, Tk could just about make out the strange and creepy shapes surrounding him. He tried to move, but accidentally knocked against something wooden, which fell to the ground with a noise that made him jump. Calming himself, Tk looked down at the fallen puppet and reassured himself.

"It's just a puppet," he realised. "A Floramon puppet; nothing to worry about."

Squinting through the darkness and looking past the strange shapes, Tk could just about see the door to this room. Carefully, trying to avoid knocking into anything, he made his way to the door. Maybe he'd be able to find Angemon or Sora as well?

Just as he made his way there and reached for the doorknob, the door swung outwards and light bathed the room from outside. Blinking in surprise, Tk looked up to see a small figure in the doorway. A very familiar figure holding a small doll in it's hand.

"There you are!" Puppetmon said happily. "I've finally found you!"


MetalEtemon laughed as he effortlessly threw Centarumon clear over the heads of his comrades. He blocked a punch from an angry Monzaemon, then kicked the oversized teddybear in the stomach; knocking him back and into another number of digimon trying to attack him.

A volley of attacks launched from a variety of digimon to Ninjamon, hit the mega square on, kicking up huge columns of dust.

"Dark Ball," MetlEtemon said, holding out his hand.

A powerful dark energy ball shot forwards and vaporisied a good number of the digimon he was fighting. MetalEtemon laughed as many of the rest quailed at his power. They couldn't even hurt him, much less beat him.

"Solar Ray!" Centarumon cried out, firing his cannon a number of times at the mega.

Each shot merely bounced off or fizzled on contact with the mega.

"Hearts Attack!" Monzaemon yelled, firing his hearts towards the mega.

MetalEtemon just looked confused as the pink hearts enveloped him. A grin immediately split his face, a euphoric sensation of joy ran through him from the attacks effect.

Laughing, MetalEtemon fired two dark energy balls, popping the bubble and blowing away both Centarumon and Monzaemon away from him.

"Nice try, but it isn't good enough!"

"Aim for the wires!" Joe said from far behind. "Take them out and we can digivolve and help you!"

Monzaemon nodded, his paw glowing blue.

"Power paw!" he yelled charging towards the nearest wire jutting out of the ground.

With a single blow it was reduced to data

MetalEtemon growled.

"Irritating brat. Take care of him, minion," he ordered, before turning back towards the remnants of the resistance.

Ogremon nodded, before moving towards Joe, Gennai and Gomamon.

"No you don't!" Centarumon yelled. "Jet Gallop!"

Glowing with power, he shot forwards at an incredible speed. Taking Ogremon completely by surprise, he rammed the virus away and blew him clean through a couple of trees and out of sight.

"Thanks, Centarumon," Gomamon said graciously.

"Don't mention it," the champion mentioned before aiming his cannon at another wire. "Solar Ray!"

The wire collapsed underneath the assault and vanished into data. There weren't too many wires left, but MetalEtemon was losing his patience. His attack became more brutal, less mocking and more serious. Clearly uncomfortable at the idea of fighting another digidestined at full power, his assault on their forces was becoming more deadly. More and more digimon were dying to his energy attacks. Soon only a handful of digimon were still standing and there was only one wire left, the one directly behind the mega himself.

Centarumon, Monzaemon and a single Ninjamon approached cautiously. They were all exhausted, but all they needed to do was destroy that final wire right behind MetalEtemon and then Zudomon would be able to join the battle. It wasn't much of a hope, but it would give them a chance at least.

It was a stand-off, the slightest mistake from either side could result in disastrous consequences.

Gennai watched this with baited breath. Many of the younger digimon they'd been sheltering had managed to escape with a small guard, but everyone else had been obliterated by this single monstrous digimon.

'Not to mention,' the old man thought, eyeing the alien trees surrounding them. 'It won't be long before Puppetmon's forces realise we're here and attack.'

The materialisation of a small section of forest wouldn't go unnoticed for long. Soon Puppetmon's forces would swarm the area and they'd be caught in a three-way battle. Such a thing would be disastrous for them, or at least what was left of them.

Gennai stared at MetalEtemon, who was unable to move or hit any of the three fast digimon he was fighting for fear of exposing his last wire. It had been far too long since he saw a mega digimon fight. It was just as terrifying as he remembered, such incredible power...

Neither he or Joe noticed the large shape sneaking up behind them, but Gomamon did. He jumped in front of Joe immediately, snarling at Ogremon who had his club raised.

"I won't let you hurt them!" Gomamon yelled.

Ogremon froze, his club still in the air.

"I won't let you hurt them, Ogremon!"

His grip tightened as Gomamon continued to stare, teeth bared at Ogremon.

'What's the difference between you and me, Leomon?' Ogremon thought. 'Why do you protect them?'

"Why are you working for MetalEtemon?" Joe asked the champion. "He's a maniac who wants to take over the digital world!"

"Because if I don't he'll kill me," Ogremon replied, much to the boy's surprise. "And I don't want to die!"

"So you'll just roll over and do what he says?" Gomamon summarised with disgust. "You're nothing but a coward allying himself with the biggest bully he can find!"

Ogremon growled.

"And what would you have done?!" he asked angrily.

"I'd have died!" Gomamon said proudly. "I'd rather die than betray what I believe in!"

"Well we're not all as good as you-" Ogremon said, before stopping dead, his mind racing.

Leomon's words flew back to him in that moment.

"What makes you a coward?" GrapLeomon asked, his piercing blue eyes looking deep into Ogremon's very soul.

It was like a revelation, why Leomon always did what he did. He would rather die than betray what he believed in: protecting those weaker than him. Whether it was merely defending a bunch of babies from a big bully, or defending the world from mega digimon, he never deviated from his beliefs.

That's why he fought against them when Devimon showed up, why he left to fight the Dark Masters despite the immense power difference between them. To Leomon, the odds didn't matter. To this rookie digimon staring up at him right this very moment, it didn't matter.

Leomon proclaimed Ogremon to be his equal, despite the power difference between the two. Yet Ogremon had always bent to the wills of others, to the likes of Devimon, MetalEtemon and the Dark Masters.

Why would Leomon claim they were equal? Did he believe that Ogremon was strong enough to finally do what he wanted to do, rather than what anyone else wanted?

No one would know if he didn't. If he just followed orders and killed the digidestined, Leomon would never know.

But he would.

There was a blast of Dark energy from behind them as MetalEtemon deleted Ninjamon, leaving only Centarumon and Monzaemon left.

"Come on, minion!" MetalEtemon yelled, eyes never leaving the two exhausted digimon in front of him. "Kill them already!"

It was at those words a sudden change came over Ogremon. Rage boiled within him. All those times he'd been dismissed by Devimon, been ordered around by other beings, never allowed to do what he wanted. It all came to him in that single moment.

Arms trembling with fear and rage, Ogremon looked between the scared digidestined child in front of him and MetalEtemon behind him. He took in a deep breath and chose.


Tk struggled desperately in Puppetmon's iron-like grip. The mega dragged him throughout the creepy house, looking for something he couldn't quite seem to remeber the whereabouts of.

As the mega opened a certain door, his eyes lit up in happiness.

"Ah, here we are!" he cried out, pulling Tk in with him like an afterthought.

Tk looked in horror to see three more dolls, this time resembling Matt, Kari and Tai.

"Now, you see these dolls I made allow me to control you," Puppetmon explained, letting go of the boy and moving the Tk dolls arms.

Tk felt his arms move, copying that of the doll's. No matter how much he tried he couldn't seem to force them to move in any other direction. Puppetmon giggled and made the doll slap itself in the face, knocking Tk to the ground.

Practically choking with laughter the mad mega strolled over to the downed child and violently hoisted him up again.

"Now that you're here we're going to play some games together! The last ones were just so boring, but you don't seem so. You'd better not be..."

A sudden ringing interrupted Puppetmon. He let go of Tk and strolled over towards a monitor on the far end of the room.

"Yes, what is it?!" he asked annoyed.

"M-master, it's me, Cherrymon!" a garbled voice answered. "I've just escaped an ambush by the digidestined, but I think they're on their way here!"

"Ah, so you're bringing them to me like you said you would, excellent Cherrymon!" Puppetmon said impatiently, pushing the button to end the communications.

"No wai-"

Puppetmon turned around.

"Now it's time we playe-" he stopped, realising Tk had left the room the instant he'd turned away from the boy.

Puppetmon let out a sigh.

"Why do all my toys keep trying to run away from me?!" he asked frustratedly.

He then noticed the missing dolls and screamed.

"That little brat! Guess I'll have to teach him a lesson..."

Gripping the Tk doll tightly, Puppetmon stalked out of the room, on the hunt for the child. Tk ran through the mansion, his arms cradling the dolls of his brother and friends, desperately looking for the exit to this nightmare house.

But it was impossible. The mansion he was in seemed to change even as he ran through it. Several times he would open different doors which all impossibly lead to the same room. He would run down countless flights of stairs only to come to a dead end and return to more stairs leading downwards.

The whole architecture of the place made his head spin, and made Tk feel as if the building itself was toying with him. As if it was savouring his fear at being stalked by Puppetmon, his very life on the line.

'Matt, Angemon,' Tk thought desperately to himself. 'Where are you?!'

Angemon arrived and hovered right outside the mansion. It was certainly imposing. Four stories tall with a long pathway leading up to it, lined with torches burning a blue flame that gave the building a very sinister air.

Something about the building itself was bugging him. It was upsetting his holy powers, like it was an evil entity itself.

But he didn't have time to focus on that right now. For now he had to figure out exactly where Tk was. Looking downwards, the champion spotted the injured Cherrymon limping desperately towards the mansion.

Angemon tightened his grip on his staff.

He would do.


Joe actively gaped, as with a mighty swing of his club, Ogremon destroyed the last wire, causing the Dark Network to crumble completely.

Had he really managed to convince the digimon to convert to their side? What the hell was going on?

"What?!" MetalEtemon cried out in anger at this betrayal. "You dare?!"

"That's right, I'm sick of constantly bowing to you and all other stronger digimon!" Ogremon declared. "From now on, I'll do what I want! And what I want is to stop you!"

Ogremon seemed to glow with energy as he said this.

The others watched open-mouthed as the champion's form seemed to change and grow. Even Gennai seemed at a loss for words as Ogremon finally reached the ultimate level.

"Titamon!" the new ultimate yelled to the heavens.

Now looking like a larger, more muscular version of Ogremon holding a huge sword with a skull handle, Titamon pointed his mighty weapon at MetalEtemon.

"Now let me show you my resolve!" he screamed, before charging at the mega.

"Gomamon!" Joe said. "Now's our chance!"

The rookie nodded as he digivolved into Ikkakumon then began to evolve into Zudomon.

Titamon slashed his blade at MetalEtemon, who jumped, sidestepped and backed away from each swing with growing alarm.

"Even as an ultimate you still can't beat me!" he declared. "I'm a mega! I'm far superior to you in every way!"

"Soul-Core Swing!" Titamon cried out, his sword becomng translucent and swinging through MetalEtemon's arm.

The mega almost screamed from the sudden pain, before recovering and barely dodging another slash.

"What? How did that hurt me through my armour?" he asked, looking towards his arm in concern.

There was no mark on his arm anywhere, leaving him puzzled as to how the attack had managed to hurt him.

"My attack allows me to strike your core directly! And I'm not done with you yet!" Titamon declared, levelling his sword once more at the mega.

"Dark Ball!" MetalEtemon yelled, powering up an attack far larger than before.

He fired it directly at Titamon, who blocked it with his sword, but still slid back from the sheer force of the attack.

"Have another!" the mega said, flinging more and more energy balls towards the ultimate.

Completely on the defensive, Titamon could do nothing as an incredible amount of energy hit his sword, causing him to slide backwards slowly. On either side of him, countless trees were mowed down from the relentlessness of MetalEtemon's assault.

His sword began to crack.

"Zudomon!" another voice cried out from behind.

Zudomon quickly ran into the battle, his hammer swinging at the mega who was forced to break off the attack to dodge. Zudomon slid towards Titamon who got back into a fighting stance.

The two ultimates stood facing the mega, both ready to finally end this fight once and for all.

Suddenly a grin split MetalEtemon's face, unnerving the two ultimates. The mega began to laugh uproaringly, pointing at the two ultimates like they were the freaks at a circus.

"Did you really think it would be that easy to destroy my Dark Network?" the mega guffawed, before clicking his fingers. "Why do you think I brought this pathetic excuse of a base to the surface in the first place?!"

The ground began to shake as numerous wires shot out of the ground, even more than there were before.

"I've brought everything I've got into this!" MetalEtemon yelled. "You two little shits aren't going to stop me! Now I think you all know what's coming!"

The two surged forwards, slicing through wires desperately in an attempt to stave off the inevitable.

"Dark Network!" MetalEtemon sang, the wires glowing red.

Immediately electricity surrounded Zudomon, who screamed in pain as he was forcibly reverted back into Gomamon.

"Dark Ball!" the monkey yelled, aiming at the now helpless rookie.

Titamon leapt forwards, throwing himself in front of the attack just as it collided. His sword immediately shattered, leaving him fully open to the full force of the powerful blow.

MetalEtemon didn't let up. He sent attack after attack against Titamon, each colliding and exploding against his tough hide. The explosions piled up, until the ultimate was completely engulfed in fire and smoke. Sending the full wrath of his might against the digimon that dared betray him, MetalEtemon laughed madly as the lights from the explosion glinted off his sunglasses.

Finally the mega stopped, waiting for the smoke to clear to survey his handiwork.

"Gomamon..." Joe whispered in horror, sinking to his knees in despair.

Gennai, along with an injured Centarumon and Monzaemon, stared in shock at the sudden shift in their fortunes.

The smoke soon cleared to show Titamon still standing, his armour charred black and his muscles trembling, but standing nonetheless. Behind him, Gomamon was speechless; completely unharmed from the attacks.

Titamon groaned, lifting his head to make eye-contact with a suddenly terrified MetalEtemon.

"That... it...?" the ultimate murmured just loud enough to be heard across the battlefield, before collapsing forwards with a dull thud.

Before Gennai could react, Joe immediately ran forwards. His arms pumping and legs burning, Joe ran up to the two digimon and knelt beside Gomamon. The rookie was trying to get a response out of the unconscious Titamon, who wasn't responding.

"Ogre- Titamon?" Joe asked, beginning to panic. "Are you alright? Say something!"

"I failed..." the ultimate murmured. "I couldn't... prove anything... It was all pointless..."

"Th-that's not true!" Joe said. "You saved Gomamon! There's still a chance we can win!

But Titamon wasn't listening, lost in his own little world.

"Leomon... I'm sorry I couldn't prove I was worthy..."

Joe watched as tears fell out of the dying digimon's eyes.

"That I couldn't show you how far I've come!"

Even Gomamon was silent.

"Us Ogremon aren't all bad! Once we try... we can make a difference!"

Tears were falling from Joe's eyes now.

"But I failed... I was wrong..."

"You weren't wrong!" Joe shouted, holding the digimon's shoulder. "You did make a difference! You saved Gomamon, spared me and Gennai! You can't be all that bad!"

But Titamon was too far gone to hear him.

"I'm sorry that I was too cowardly to make a difference. My resolve wasn't strong enough. Goodbye, my friend..."

Titamon then burst into data as Joe stared, utterly shocked at the spot where the ultimate's face had previously been just a second ago. Gomamon bowed his head in respect as silence descended onto the battlefield.

"HAHAHA!" MetalEtemon laughed in relief. "Phew! I really thought I was in trouble for a second there! Haha!"

Gomamon glared as Joe trembled with rage. He stood up and faced the mega, no trace of fear on his face as the mega just continued to laugh madly. Gomamon looked at his partner in worry. Never before had he seen such an angry expression on his partner's face.

"How could you..." Joe muttered, glaring at the mega. "How could you just kill him and laugh like that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" the mega asked. "What are you, stupid? He was the last actual threat against me and he wasted it protecting you! It's just so funny! Hahaha!"

Joe trembled with anger, glaring at MetalEtemon with a passion that surprised even himself.

"What are you gonna do? Stare me to death?" MetalEtemon taunted. "You're just a powerless human. Face it, I've won!"

"No you haven't," Joe responded. "We're still here."

MetalEtemon just burst out laughing at that.

"All this time I've been second guessing myself, never fully trusting my own judgement," Joe began, as his crest began to glow. "I kept wondering if things would be better if I'd done something differently, well not anymore!"

Gomamon stared up at his partner, before realising that Titamon's data hadn't yet vanished. Instead it was swirling around them ominously. Joe's digivice began to glow as well.

"I chose to stay behind and defend this place. Even if it wasn't the best choice, I chose it, and that's what's important. Unlike Ogremon, I won't betray myself just to please others."

Gomamon felt a strange energy begin to pass through him, quite unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. It was like there was a sudden pressure within him, building up to a height he'd never thought possible.

"I'll accept whatever consequences come with my actions, regardless of what they may be and I'll deal with it! And right now, I chose to go down fighting! All the way!" Joe declared. "Are you with me, Gomamon?!"

"Always, Joe!" his partner replied, the light engulfing them completely.

"What is this?" MetalEtemon asked, covering his eyes from this sudden glow. "What's happening?"

The Dark Network began to spark, something overwhelming it completely.

"You can't digivolve here! It's impossible!" the mega cried out against all evidence to the contrary.

"I can," Joe spoke, his voice a calm in the storm. "Because I need to."

Titamon's data swirled into Joe's digivice, and for a moment, MetalEtemon saw Titamon's stare through that child's eyes. Then the world exploded into light, blowing Metaletamon back as a godly voice screamed it's name in rage at the heavens.

"VIKEMON!"


A/N: Here we go! What I promised you guys is beginning to happen! HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Question and Answer time:

Digidestinedkid6: Glad to hear you read V-Tamers. Some of the digimon that are absorbed can reconfigure themselves, but only sometimes.

Naomi Shihoin: Sometimes I don't know myself. I just write about a thousand or so words a night, and it all adds up.

Seithr-Kairy: Interesting bare-bones idea. I might do something with it in 02, but since Tai's encounter with Davis is also happening, it might not be necessary. But still it definitely gives me some interesting ideas...

EvanderAdvent: As you can see, Tai and Matt won't be the only ones with mega forms.

Anon: I thought giving Gennai a bit of a more hands-on approach would be better to the story. He sort of just vanishes in canon, even if we find out or can speculate on what he was doing all this time. Good thoughts about Matt and Gabumon's relationship, they still have some way to go.

MoonlightBushido: Don't worry, the focus will be on them soon enough. With an angry Angemon and at least two megas on their side, Puppetmon isn't going to last long is he?

Zero Slash One: Yes. I haven't thought about Willis much, good thing you reminded me, I could do a bit more with him. I thought he was rather interesting in the movie. There may be other DNA-Digivolving, but nothing concrete yet. Spirit Evolution? That was Frontier wasn't it? Can't see how I can fit that in...

mellra: I'm going to focus on these guys until Puppetmon bites it, which won't be long now. Cheers for the compliments, really makes me happy to see that sort of thing.

treeofsakuras: I wouldn't say certain death, but Machinedramon is ruthless isn't he? Tai's group is in Piedmon's territory, you'll see what's happening to them soon, don't worry.

DalekDavros: All will be explained as to the origins of the chosen. Just wait until we focus on the other group.

A huge thank you to everyone for their support while writing this fic. Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you thought of the latest chapter, I love hearing you guys' thoughts!

Hope you all enjoyed!

Update next monday!

Edited: Thanks to Captain Nice Hardrive!