AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hi everyone. I know it's been only been 9 months since I updated and I promised a X-mas update, but I'm really struggling with the next chapter after this, so I'm giving you this chapter now and can only apologise for not finishing more chapters.
It was a week since they had parted from the other Digidestined. YukimiBotamon had Digivolved into Nyaromon after a day of everyone separating to fight their Demon Lord assignments.
The night before now, Kari had had a nightmare about Leviamon turning her evil again and this time, no-one stopped her before everyone was destroyed by Leviamon.
She woke up screaming, and it took the combined efforts of Tai, TK and Nyaromon to get her back to sleep.
She was quieter than normal the next morning, understandably, but it still worried everyone else. Any attempts to talk only resulted in short, simple answers.
"Come on Kari." Nyaromon pleaded. "Just say something."
Nyaromon saw the look on Kari's face and decided to remain quiet. She knew that when Kari wanted to talk, she would. She always tried to keep things to herself. Especially where the Dark Ocean is concerned.
Tai and TK kept glancing over at Kari, just to see if she would make eye contact with them. But without any eye contact, there was nothing that they could do.
The tension was unbearable for Mimi and Yolei, but for Kari's sake, they kept their feelings to themselves. It was hard, but they helped each other by talking about it to themselves.
"Will someone please talk about what happened last night?!"
Everyone turned their heads to the unexpected outburst.
"What are you talking about Kari?" Davis asked.
She looked at Mimi and Yolei. "At least Mimi and Yolei are talking about it." The two girls in question blushed when a few glares were sent their way. "The rest of you haven't even asked me about what happened!"
"I just asked you like, five minutes ago!" Nyaromon spat.
"I expected you to ask." Kari looked down at her partner. "But I was really waiting for a human to ask about me." She glared at Tai and TK.
"I was giving you some space." TK defended himself. "Besides, I'm getting re-acquainted with my boyfriend. Which I have you to thank."
Kari looked to Tai. "Well, what's your excuse?"
"What?" Tai asked, surprised.
"TK had one." TK drooped his head at Kari's response. "But at least it was a reasonable excuse."
Tai fumbled over his words. "I didn't know what to say."
"You could have asked if I was alright." Kari answered. "I may not have told you, but at least I would have known that you cared."
"Kari, you know I care." Tai answered. "But if I ask you about every little thing, it would bug you."
"Should we be offended?" Tentomon quietly asked Wormmon.
Kari shook her head. "Yeah. You're right. I don't know what's up with me."
"It'll just be the stress of everything that's happened." Ken answered. "When I stopped being the Emperor, I think I lost my memory for a little while. Until I worked up the courage to start talking to you guys again, I took a lot of my frustrations out on Wormmon. But after talking through everything, I was able to make peace with myself. For the most part."
"Well, what does Kari have to make peace with?" Yolei asked her boyfriend.
"Lilithmon." Kari simply said. "My actions made Lilithmon and gave the Demon Lords more power."
"That wasn't your fault." Sora told her. "Your heart was broken. You lost focus."
"Besides, you defeated an entire army in one shining move." Davis smiled. "I think that more than makes up for what happened.
"But I shouldn't have." Kari argued. "I should have stayed strong."
"Kari. Look at me." Tai told his sister. "Despite what you've done, you're only human. Even you can't be angelic all the time."
"But I…" Kari started, before Mimi walked up and slapped her face.
"Kari, I'm sorry I had to do that to you but I'm getting fed up with your attitude lately." Mimi sighed. "We've forgiven you. You've more than made up for those…boo-boo's. Instead of being angry at yourself, take your anger out on the other Demon Lords."
"Is that really good advice?" Izzy asked.
Mimi turned to Izzy and winked. "It worked for me in the first Apocalymon battle when we were kids."
"So since we have no idea where to find Daemon, should we focus on the oceans to find Leviamon?" Tentomon asked after enduring the unusual hour long silence.
"I'm not so good with water." Gabumon spoke up.
Matt looked down at his partner. "You seem alright when you're Garurumon."
"Because I'm not worried about my fur stinking." He replied.
"If only Submarimon was big enough to hold us all." Gomamon thought aloud. He flinched and turned to Armadillomon. "No offense."
"None taken." Armadillomon sighed. "Sometimes, I wish I was bigger, then I could take everyone through the oceans."
"That would be nice, but we'll just have to work with who we've got right now." Joe replied.
"So that leaves Submarimon with Cody alongside Gomamon in whatever form he takes." Ken said. "Not much of a water team."
"Who else got the egg of Reliability?" Cody asked. "I know it got copied to someone's D-Terminal."
Kari slowly raised her hand. "It was me."
That left a small amount of silence since it was obvious that Nyaromon would not be able to help in her current form.
"Ok, I'm going to be the bull in the china shop." Yolei announced, as she looked to Kari. "Kari, Nyaromon, did you learn anything when you were with the Demon Lords? Do either of you remember anything?"
"I don't remember much, to be honest." Nyaromon answered. "The only thing I do remember was happiness that Kari and I managed to get TK and Davis back together."
"I did see a map and some books written in some weird language." Kari told them. "I could move some lights on the map."
"Moving lights on a map?" Tai asked his sister. "There was one moment when some of us disappeared. That was you?"
"Sort of." She answered. "It was in the moment. I knew what it did when I was doing it, but thinking back, I don't know how I knew."
"Well, that's that mystery solved." TK inputted. "But we still need to find a way to get to Leviamon's place. Did you find anything like that?"
Kari shook her head. "All I know is that he claims all the water since he's the only Demon Lord that uses the water."
"Makes sense." Matt said. "But this isn't going to be like going to Gennai's house when the water just parts to let us in."
A low rumbling quickly put everyone on guard. The Digimon all turned to face the ocean, just as something rose out of the water. The humans quickly backed up, with Nyaromon struggling slightly to get out of Kari's arms. "Kari, let me go."
"Nyaromon, you're not even a Rookie." Kari protested. "You've got no chance!"
The water washed of the shape to reveal a large blue Digimon with torn red wings and the appearance of a squid fused with a man.
"What is that thing?" Mimi called.
"I faced one of those Digimon before." Matt remembered, he then looked at Gabumon. "Remember? It was way back when we were fighting Hydrowomon."
"Yeah." Gabumon realised. "I remember."
"Great. How did you beat it?" Tai asked.
"We didn't." Matt answered. "When we beat Hydrowomon, he let us go."
The large Digimon, Dragomon, raised his arms and slapped them against the water, creating a small wave. In a moment of surprise, Nyaromon leapt out of Kari's arms and Digivolved into Salamon.
"Puppy Howling!" Salamon called.
The soundwaves did not stop the wave of water, but they did manage to slow the waves to a lap against the shoreline.
"Salamon! Be careful!" Kari called.
"What level is he?" Ken asked, prompting Izzy to look up the Digimon on his laptop.
He clicked and saw the profile for the large Digimon. "It's the Ultimate level Dragomon."
"So, we better get to Ultimate Level too." Sora suggested. "Just a few. Save the others for later."
Gabumon and Palmon quickly Digivolved to WereGarurumon and Lillymon, distracting Dragomon enough for Patamon to Digivolve to MagnaAngemon and Gomamon to dive under the water to Warp-Digivolve to Plesiomon.
Plesiomon swam to the shore and rammed into Dragomon, knocking him off balance. He turned his large body to look for Plesiomon while Lillymon quickly spun around Dragomon's neck, making a wreath.
WereGarurumon and MagnaAngemon decided to attack Dragomon's arms, to prevent any attacks on Plesiomon and Lillymon.
Dragomon roared and broke the wreath, knocking away Lillymon and MagnaAngemon. MagnaAngemon managed to catch himself before he fell, so he quickly rushed to catch Lillymon.
"Thank you MagnaAngemon." Lillymon smiled. "Mimi, I'm taking it a step further."
"I shall take it a step further also TK." MagnaAngemon agreed.
Mimi and TK nodded, grabbing their Digivices, watching their partners glow.
"Lillymon Digivolve to…Lotusmon!"
Mimi and TK looked at the floating Digimon as Lotusmon slowly descended to the ground.
Mimi was hoping to give Rosemon the power of the Burst Mode if need be, but for obvious reasons, that wasn't going to happen. But to Mimi, Lotusmon reminded her of Rosemon anyway. Except that Lotusmon had a lilac skin colour and a Purple lilac instead of a rose covering her eyes.
Instead of a black cape and red body suit with black thigh-high boots, Lotusmon had a white dress and purple mesh tights. In her right hand, she held a staff with a rainbow coloured flower at its peak and in her left, she held what Izzy recognised as a Caduceus, a symbol mistakenly used as a medicinal symbol.
"MagnaAngemon Digivolve to…ClavisAngemon!"
TK just stared at his Mega Level Digimon. "ClavisAngemon?"
ClavisAngemon looked similar to Seraphimon, except his armour was white and gold. He had three pairs of metal-looking wings with a red sash across his waist. He held a golden key that also had a red sash wrapped around the teeth.
"Why are we getting two different Mega Levels?" Mimi asked.
"Does it matter?" TK asked. "As long as we can still beat the bad guys, I don't care."
"It is a good question though." Izzy agreed with the bearer of Hope.
Dragomon reached into the water and pulled out a very tall trident. He raised it high and swung it around, aiming for ClavisAngemon.
Thinking quickly, ClavisAngemon raised his key and used it to block the trident's attack. Despite his small size, ClavisAngemon was able to only just able to match Dragomon's strength. ClavisAngemon pushed back and managed to duck underneath the trident.
Plesiomon emerged from the water and charged yet again. Dragomon grabbed his neck and effortlessly lifted him into the air and threw him towards WereGarurumon. Everyone on the shoreline scattered as the large form of Plesiomon flew towards them.
Plesiomon glowed yellow and de-Digivolved back down to Gomamon, revealing Gabumon laying next to him. Joe and Matt ran to their fallen partners as Dragomon pointed his trident at them.
"Joe! Matt!" Kari called. "Look out!"
"Lotusmon!" Mimi called. "Do something!"
Lotusmon jumped in front of the trident and pointed the Caduceus at Dragomon. "Serpent's Ruin!"
A black ray shot from the Caduceus and travelled along the trident, causing Dragomon to tense his body and grunt in pain.
ClavisAngemon flew in front of Dragomon face, making him flinch long enough for him to hold out his key.
"Heaven's Arrow!"
From the tip of the key, a bright, white arrow shot out and implanted itself between Dragomon's eyes. Once the large Digimon roared, ClavisAngemon flew out of the way and gave Lotusmon the opening she was waiting for.
"Seven's Fantasia!"
Lotusmon aimed her rainbow flower staff at Dragomon, releasing seven coloured beams of light which surrounded him. "ClavisAngemon! Finish him!"
ClavisAngemon flew above Dragomon's head and faced his body to the sky. He placed the key in the sky and twisted it as if he was unlocking a door. "Zenith Gate!"
He flew away from Dragomon and landed by Lotusmon. Everyone watched as Dragomon was pulled into the air and pulled apart bit by bit.
When Dragomon was pulled through the gate and the gate closed itself, TK walked to his partner. "That was basically an upgraded Gate of Destiny."
ClavisAngemon looked down slightly at TK. "Now I think about it, I guess it is." ClavisAngemon glowed yellow and shrunk down to a tiny Digimon that TK had only seen mainly at the Primary Village. He knelt down and picked up Poyomon. "Oh well, it did the job."
Mimi was holding her own Baby form partner; Yuramon, as everyone still talked about finding a way into Leviamon's lair.
"I wish SnowAgumon was here." Tai sighed. "He'd definitely know how to get to his lair."
Kari picked up Salamon and started to walk to the water. Yolei and Cody started to walk after her when they noticed that she was walking on the water. On a leap of faith, Ken picked up Wormmon and followed suit, finding that he too, was walking on water. Yolei, Cody and their Digimon ran after Kari and Ken.
"Either they've gained the ability to walk on water, or…" Tentomon started.
"Or Kari has found out how to get to Leviamon's lair." Izzy finished. He put his laptop away and quickly followed the small group, himself being followed by everyone else.
As Kari reached the end of where she dared walk, the water washed away, revealing a long plank. Tai walked past Kari, taking the lead again.
He reached the end of the plank and looked over it, into the water. He turned back to his group. "I can't see anything. Gomamon, could you go underwater and have a little look?"
"Sure." He agreed and dove off the side.
After five minutes of waiting, Joe was getting impatient. "Where is he? It shouldn't take this long." He saw a shape approaching and smiled. He recognised the orange tuft of hair.
Gomamon's head popped out of the water. "Sorry I took so long. I managed to pull the plug on this water."
"What do you mean by that?" Sora asked.
"There was a plug at the ocean floor." Gomamon answered. "So I took it out."
"There was a plug at the bottom of the ocean?" Izzy asked.
"It is the Digital World Izzy." Cody reminded him. "Sometimes logic just goes out the window."
"How long until the water drains away?" Ken asked.
The water level began to noticeably drop. Everyone wobbled as the plank lowered with the water. Once the plank hit the solid bottom of the ocean, everyone quickly got off the plank and instantly looked toward the large structure that was buried.
"I guess that's where we go." Matt said. "It doesn't look so bad."
"Neither did Myotismon's castle." Joe muttered. "Just be cautious."
"Let's get this over with." Kari said, storming to the castle.
She pushed the large doors open, revealing an empty room. She walked in, followed closely by everyone else.
"This place needs an interior designer." Mimi commented.
"Leviamon!" Kari called. "Show yourself!"
"Kari! Not so loud!" Yolei whispered. "We're better getting the jump on him."
"That's not going to happen Yolei." Cody explained. "He probably knew we were here when Gomamon lowered the water level."
Yolei quickly glared at Gomamon. "Ok, but how do we find him? He's either going to find us, or wait for us to find him."
"I'm going to find him." Kari almost growled. "I'm not waiting anymore." She took two steps when an Octomon dropped in front of her. "I'm not in the mood."
"Stay where you are!" Octomon instructed.
"Leave her alone!" Salamon called, jumping out of Kari's arms. "Salamon Digivolve to…Gatomon!" Gatomon pulled back an arm and launched it forward. "Lightning Paw!"
Octomon was forced back into the wall with such power that the wall cracked and Octomon degenerated into a Digi-egg and sunk into the ground.
"Come on Gatomon." Kari said. "Let's end this."
"Kari! Wait!" TK called, running after her.
"I'll go after them." Ken offered, already running up the stairs after them.
Tai looked at the remaining eight Digidestined. The one thing he couldn't help but notice that the remaining Digidestined could be split into three 'connection' groups. "Since TK, Kari and Ken have left us, I suggest we do the same. Cody, you go with Joe and Izzy and see if you can find a basement or something. Mimi, Sora and Yolei can search this floor, while Davis, Matt and I can search the half of the upstairs the Kari, TK and Ken didn't go."
Finding a staircase down, Cody, Izzy and Joe descended to the basement. The only problem they faced was finding a decent light source. It was light enough for them to see where they were going, but they all thought that a little extra light wouldn't harm.
"This is boring." Gomamon broke the silence.
"I agree." Joe smiled. "But sometimes, things must be boring before the excitement happens."
"Or a battle." Cody added.
"What is this place?" Armadillomon shivered.
"It doesn't look friendly." Tentomon said. "There's something off about it though."
"I know what you mean." Izzy agreed with his partner. "Something's wrong."
Joe walked in front of Izzy, squinting into the distance. He placed his hand over his eyes, trying to give himself a better view. "There's something there."
"What's there?" Izzy asked, trying to see what Joe could.
"I'm not sure." Joe replied. "I can't clearly make it out."
Cody took a step back. "Maybe we should be a little more cautious."
"Don't worry Cody, we'll be fine." Izzy said.
Cody instinctively reached for his Digivice as Armadillomon moved closer to Cody. Thanks to his training with his Grandfather, Cody had developed a better sense of awareness. Sensing he need to, he quickly ducked and rolled to his right, as he saw a white tentacle wrap thin air.
Joe and Izzy spun around, seeing the tentacle disappear into the shadows. Just as they reached for their Digivices, four more tentacles emerged and grabbed Joe, Izzy and their Digimon, pulling them into the darkness. Cody listened as their screams echoed through the basement.
"What are we going to do Cody?" Armadillomon asked.
Cody turned around, seeing a white squid Digimon known as Gesomon, blocking their path. "We fight our way out and find one of the other groups. You'd better Digivolve."
"Most of my forms are too big." Armadillomon reminded him.
"Not this one." Cody smiled. "Digi-Armour energise!"
Armadillomon glowed yellow as a pale pink beam hit his body. "Armadillomon Armour Digivolve to…Seahomon! The swimming light!" Seahomon turned to face Cody. "I forgot about this one."
Mimi, Sora and Yolei found themselves in a library that had several empty bookcases.
"You'd think there's be more books in here." Sora thought.
Mimi placed Yuramon on a nearby table. "Well, this is not my ideal place but let's see if there's anything that can help." Yuramon turned herself around and saw a shadow hide away from them.
She leapt of the table, Digivolved into Tanemon and ran to find the shadow. Biyomon saw Tanemon run away and followed her, just in case she was needed.
Yolei found a book about the particular Digital World they were in. She walked back to a table and opened it up. "Hey guys! Check this out!"
Sora and Mimi walked to Yolei and read over her shoulders. "What does it say?"
"From what I understand, it's reading like a computer manual." Yolei told them. "It's basically telling us how to use this Digital World."
"What do you mean by 'using this Digital World'?" Mimi asked.
"This could explain why your Digimon have two Mega Levels and why Rosemon and MetalGarurumon have that Mode Change thing." Yolei simplified. "Subconsciously, you've asked yourself if there was another possible form to help out, so this World has given you your wish." Yolei turned to face her companions. "You just have to choose which form you want as they're Digivolving."
"We never chose their forms before." Sora said. "They just happened."
"In our Digital World, yes." Yolei agreed. "But in here, it's something new."
"So, all we have to do is wish for something and it happens?" Mimi asked.
"Within reason." Yolei quickly pointed out. "You can't be rich on Earth by wishing for it here."
"Drat." Mimi smiled. "There goes my one and only wish."
Sora smiled at Mimi's joke, then remembered something. "Give me the book, I need to check on something."
Biyomon turned a corner and saw Tanemon just waiting. "Tanemon, what are you doing?"
Tanemon turned around. "I saw something. I don't know what, but it looked like a human."
"A human?" Biyomon asked. "But, there shouldn't be any other humans apart from our group here."
"I know what I saw." Tanemon insisted. "They were small like when TK was younger."
Biyomon looked into the distance then down at the leafy Digimon. "Come on, let's get back to the girls. Mimi will be happy you Digivolved."
The two Digimon turned the corner and saw Mimi, Sora, Yolei and Hawkmon at a table, talking about the book they were reading. Mimi turned her head and saw Tanemon hopping towards her.
"Tanemon? When did you Digivolve?" she asked her partner.
"I thought I saw something." She answered.
"But you can only blow bubbles right now." Sora reminded her.
"I went after her when I saw her leave." Biyomon quickly said.
"And why didn't you say anything?" Sora asked her pink friend.
Biyomon didn't have to answer when a small bang drew their attention. A large dark blue book was on the floor, by their feet. Yolei closed the book she was reading and moved towards the new, mysterious book. Just as Yolei reached for the book, it began to violently shake about. Mimi and Sora backed up, their instincts kicking in, whilst Yolei reached once again for the book.
As Yolei reached for the book a third time, it flew quickly into the air and floated in place. It was this action that finally made Yolei back away slowly. The book tilted backward until it was on its back. The cover opened up and the pages flipped and turned themselves until the book was exactly halfway through.
From the book, a hooded figure began to rise. His face was shadowed by his cream coloured hood. As he rose further, it revealed the human-like figure to be wearing a red robe. He raised his hands to shoulder level and placed them to his side. Above his left hand, a yellow orb appeared whilst a red orb appeared over his right hand.
"Who is that?" Yolei asked quietly.
"I don't know." Hawkmon answered.
"I…am…Wisemon." The being informed them.
"We don't have time for any mysteries." Yolei sighed. "Cut to the chase. Are you fighting us or not?"
"Alas, we are to fight." Wisemon shook his head.
Yolei smiled. "Well, thank you for being honest." She turned to Hawkmon. "Hawkmon! Digi-Armour energise!"
"Hawkmon Armour Digivolve to…Shurimon! The samurai of Sincerity!"
Shurimon leapt into the air towards Wisemon who simply floated further into the air with his book floating higher also.
"This could be a problem." Shurimon observed. "Biyomon, any chance you can keep him in one place?"
Biyomon turned to Sora. "What do you think?"
"You said we're choosing their forms?" Sora quickly asked Yolei. After a quick nod, Sora held her Digivice to Biyomon. "Then let's test this out."
Sora thought of the mega form she was hoping Biyomon to Digivolve into.
Biyomon glowed yellow and began to shift her shape. "Biyomon Digivolve to…Birdramon!"
"Birdramon Digivolve to…Garudamon!"
"Garudamon Mega Digivolve to…Gryphonmon!"
"No Warp Digivolution?" Sora asked herself.
Gryphonmon rushed towards Wisemon, starting the battle.
"Kari! Wait!" TK called.
Both he and Ken were grateful when Kari let them catch up to her and Gatomon. "Kari, you can't run off like that. Not while we're supposed to be fighting Leviamon."
Kari turned around to face her friends. "I know." She admitted. "But I'm fed up being the weak girl who's easily swayed."
"Kari, this is unique situation." Ken told her. "No-one could have predicted this."
"Besides, even though she was in a corrupted form, Gatomon still stayed true to her mission. Helping to heal a broken heart and protecting you." TK reminded her.
"He's right Kari." Gatomon agreed. "I may not remember much, but those things are at least true."
Kari sighed. "I just wanted to do something productive."
TK placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kari, you did. Because of what you did, you got Gatomon back. We're all together again." TK turned his head. "Relatively speaking."
Kari smiled slightly. "I hope I haven't made things worse by storming off."
"I doubt it." Ken said. "But since we're here, I guess we should try to find where Leviamon could be."
"Let's find the throne room." Kari suggested.
"Where would that be?" Wormmon asked.
Kari thought for a minute. "Maybe somewhere there could be a large supply of water?"
"The bathroom?" TK asked. "It's the first place I can think of."
"Where would that be in this place?" Patamon asked. "There's no way to know how the castle is laid out."
A bang drew their attention from downstairs. "Forget finding Leviamon for now! Let's see what that was!" Kari instructed, already running to the source.
Gryphonmon tried to pull herself to her feet as Shurimon was thrown across the library, taking down some bookcases as he landed. The fall was tough on him as he instantly degenerated into Poromon.
Yolei rushed her in-training Digimon's side. "Poromon, are you alright?"
Poromon slowly opened his eyes. "As well as can be expected."
Tanemon had Digivolved to Palmon and tried using her 'Poison Ivy' technique to keep Wisemon in place. It wasn't working. "Palmon warp Digivolve to…Rosemon!"
Rosemon leapt into the air. "Forbidden Temptation!"
The shower of rose petals launched towards Wisemon, a cloud of smoke covered the area, blocking their view. Gryphonmon flapped her wings to blow away the smoke, revealing that Wisemon's book had fallen to the floor.
"Did I beat him?" Rosemon asked. The book suddenly flipped open and Wisemon rushed out of the book. "Guess not." Rosemon quickly launched another attack.
Wisemon held out the orbs in front if its body. "Pandora Dialogue!"
The orbs glowed, and began absorbing Rosemon's attack.
Gryphonmon let out her own 'Solo Roar' at Wisemon. But the result was the same. Gryphonmon's attack was also absorbed into Wisemon's orbs. Seeing their attacks were not working, Gryphonmon and Rosemon charged for close range attacks.
"Pandora Dialogue!" Wisemon called a second time.
This time, instead of absorbing attacks, the orbs unleashed the two absorbed attacks. Rosemon was hit by Gryphonmon's 'Solo Roar' as Gryphonmon was scratched relentlessly by Rosemon's 'Forbidden Temptation'.
Sora and Mimi called for their partners as they degenerated to their rookie forms. Wisemon floated over to Biyomon and Palmon as Mimi and Sora took their Digimon into their arms.
"Eternal Nirvana." Wisemon muttered.
He quickly threw the orbs at the girls. They flinched and covered their eyes as the orbs hit them. Yolei uncovered her eyes, seeing that it was just herself and Poromon against Wisemon.
"Poromon, do you have any strength left?" Yolei asked, slowly backing away from Wisemon.
"Sorry Yolei." He answered.
"Well then, there's only one option." Yolei concluded, quickly turning around and running away.
Tai, Davis and Matt had managed to climb a tower and soon found themselves in a battle against a Mermaimon and two Scorpiomon.
ExVeemon kept the humans protected whilst WereGarurumon and WarGreymon fought the three Ultimate level Digimon.
"Just keep swiping WarGreymon!" Tai reminded his Mega Level partner. "You've got too much firepower."
"Forget that!" Davis called. "Just stop them!"
"We can't risk hurting you guys." WarGreymon shot back.
Tai looked at Davis and sighed. "He's right." He looked back at WarGreymon. "Do it WarGreymon. Take these guys out."
"If you say so." WarGreymon relented. "Terra Force!"
The tower wall exploded, taking out the enemy Digimon, but the shockwave knocked the humans and ExVeemon into an adjacent wall. They groaned as their backs ached from being thrown against a solid surface.
"Ok. So that wasn't a good idea." Davis admitted.
"You think?!" Tai exclaimed, pulling Matt from under ExVeemon. "Are you alright?"
"I think so." Matt said, rubbing his legs. "They don't feel broken."
"I tried to not fall on your legs." ExVeemon grunted. "I definitely would've broken them."
Matt stood up, feeling his legs strain, but they were just aching. He helped Davis to his feet. "It may not have been a good idea, but it certainly worked."
"Next time, I'm going to listen to Tai." Davis muttered. "What do we do now?"
Tai was about to answer when a growl distracted him. He turned around to see only a set of pink jaws poking through a now broken door. "Big mouth's here."
Leviamon's jaw widened, breaking more of the wall and allowing his head to poke through. "It's a little cramped in here. Let's make a larger room."
Leviamon thrashed about, completely destroying the room. WereGarurumon had managed to hold onto wall using his sharp claws but Davis was not as fortunate. The falling rubble had forced him to dodge, which in turn, made him lose his footing and the next he knew, he was holding onto the floor and was hanging off the side of the tower.
Matt and Tai quickly grabbed Davis' arms and made to pull him up. Both of them gathered every ounce of strength they could to pull Davis up.
"Hold on Davis." Matt strained. "We've almost got you."
"I'm trying." He replied, justifiably irritated.
Tai and Matt managed to get on their knees and lifted their arms, pulling Davis up. Leviamon reached his jaws forward, trying to take a bite out of Matt and Tai. Davis' grip slipped at that moment, making Matt and Tai drop down just as Leviamon's jaw snapped where they had been.
"WereGarurumon Mega Digivolve to…MetalGarurumon!"
MetalGarurumon charged into Leviamon's jaw, shattering a few of his teeth in the process. WarGreymon quickly flew underneath and tried to throw Leviamon into the air. ExVeemon decided to help out and went after Leviamon's tails.
Leviamon roared as to his surprise, he was slowly lifted into the air. The two Digimon roared as they threw the Demon Lord over the humans.
They didn't have time to cheer as Tai and Matt screamed. Davis had slipped from their grip and began falling.
In the ten seconds that followed, five things happened at once. Leviamon hit the ground. Hard. Davis' Digivice glowed, allowing ExVeemon to Digivolve into his next form, AeroVeedramon. He was slightly smaller than ExVeemon. His wings were now red and slightly torn. His arms were now coloured white as were his legs.
Joined in their shock and determination to save Davis, both WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon turned into pixels and merged into the shining white knight Digimon, Omnimon. Cody and Yolei ran out of the castle, followed by Wisemon.
Just as Davis thought he was going to hit the ground and die, he hit something soft and felt the wind start to brush his face. He opened his to see that he was on Pegasusmon, just in front of TK, who held an arm around Davis to keep him steady.
"Alright Pegasusmon, let's get to the ground." TK said. At ground level, Pegasusmon was joined by Piximon and Nefertimon. Davis clambered to the ground and Pegasusmon instantly flew back into the air. "Kari, let's try the 'Golden Noose'!"
Nefertimon and Pegasusmon began to surround Leviamon when Yolei screamed at them. "Forget Leviamon! Get this guy! He did something to Mimi and Sora!"
The armoured Digimon quickly turned around and headed for their new target. AeroVeedramon and Omnimon took it upon themselves to keep Leviamon busy.
"Golden Noose!" Pegasusmon and Nefertimon called out, creating a golden beam of light between their fore legs.
The beam of light passed by Wisemon, breaking away from its creators and wrapping itself around the floating Digimon.
"Let me go." Wisemon demanded. "Or I will destroy your friends."
"You'll destroy no-one." Ken spat back. "Piximon!"
Piximon shot towards Wisemon and aimed his spear for the orbs floating by his side. Wisemon shifted his body, causing the orbs to move out of harms way. Piximon spun around and tried again, missing yet again.
"Eternal Nirvana." Wisemon called out.
The orbs flew around, trying to connect with Piximon. Yolei saw one of the orbs almost connect with him, so she did the only thing she could think of. She managed to push the tiny ultimate out of the way and the orb hit herself and Poromon, making them disappear in a flash of light.
"Yolei!" Ken called. "What happened?"
"What did he do to her?" Piximon asked.
"We've got to beat him." Davis said. "Can't we just destroy those orbs?"
Ken looked at his best friend. "We can't destroy the orbs. We need to get him to release Yolei and find out what he did to Mimi and Sora."
"They are with your other ally." Wisemon announced. "Soon, you shall all join them."
"No we shall not." Pegasusmon shot back.
He degenerated back into Patamon who quickly Warp-Digivolved into Seraphimon. Nefertimon followed suit by changing to Gatomon then Warp-Digivolving into Ophanimon. But Gatomon only managed to get to her next form of Angewomon before she was knocked to the ground and her Digivolution was interrupted.
Angewomon sat up and launched herself through the air. Kari too, balled up her fists. As one, they both began to let out a scream.
"Show him the light!" Kari screamed.
Angewomon began to glow in a pink light. "Angewomon Mega Digivolve to…Magnadramon!"
With the speed that Angewomon was travelling, her Digivolution looked like she was just stretching out. The light faded revealing Magnadramon's form; a long pink dragon with wide green eyes and two pointed horns. Two sets of pink wings rested towards her front legs while a smaller set rested near her back legs.
Magnadramon slammed into Wisemon, knocking him to the ground. Wisemon looked at the Mega level dragon Digimon. "You will pay for that!"
"Release our friends!" Magnadramon demanded.
Wisemon began to sink into his book to try for a sneak attack but Magnadramon growled and grabbed Wisemon's body. She pulled him out of the book and threw him to the ground.
"Apocalypse!" Magnadramon called.
Wisemon looked up to the sky as he saw several balls of energy fall towards him. The area around Wisemon was torn apart by Magnadramon's attack. Piximon quickly put up a shield around the humans to avoid any debris from harming them.
The light faded and Piximon dropped his shield. Wisemon and his book had disappeared, and to the right of the freshly made crater, laid Yolei and Poromon.
Ken and Kari ran over. "Yolei, are you alright?"
Yolei opened her eyes and saw Ken. "Ken? What happened?" she looked around, seeing Omnimon and a Digimon that reminded her of ExVeemon fighting Leviamon. She suddenly remembered Wisemon. "Where's Wisemon?"
"Is that the guy with the book?" Kari asked, as Yolei nodded. "Don't worry about him. Magnadramon took care of him."
"Magnadramon?" Yolei asked.
Magnadramon made to rest by Kari, but was stopped when AeroVeedramon landed on her. Magnadramon struggled to get out from under the Digimon. "Get off me."
AeroVeedramon pulled himself off Magnadramon. "Sorry. Can you give us a hand? Or claw?"
"Let's go." Magnadramon nodded.
Leviamon snapped his jaws as Omnimon leapt into the air. Out of Omnimon's WarGreymon hand's mouth, a long sword grew. Omnimon pulled back his arm, and let himself fall towards Leviamon. "Transcendent Sword!"
Omnimon flung his arm, aiming to cut Leviamon's head off. Leviamon managed to roll aside as Omnimon's sword hit the ground.
Leviamon quickly let out a breath of flame against Omnimon. Omnimon couldn't get his sword out of the ground in time and was partially engulfed in flames.
"Omnimon!" called Matt and Tai.
They quickly began to run to their shared Digimon. Leviamon saw them running towards Omnimon and spun around, his twin tails hitting both humans, knocking them through the air.
Magnadramon quickly sped towards them, catching them before they hit the ground. "You guys need to stop running into danger." Omnimon groaned before glowing and splitting back into Koromon and Tsunomon. "We need to save those two before they get destroyed."
But Magnadramon did not need to hurry as Seraphimon had used the distraction to charge his attack and fire at Leviamon. Once his attack was fired, he saw Omnimon's fate and quickly dived for the in-training Digimon. Once he grabbed his small friends, he quickly flew out of harms way and settled next to TK.
"So that leaves us five Digimon that can fight." Cody counted. "Armadillomon, you'd better Digivolve."
Agreeing, Armadillomon Digivolved to his Ultimate form, Triceramon. Triceramon charged at Leviamon, aiming for his twin tails, hoping to stunt his movement.
"AeroVeedramon! Help Triceramon!" Davis called.
"Dragon Impulse!"
AeroVeedramon launched a shockwave that instantly took the form of a dragon. The attack hit Leviamon, stunning him momentarily. Triceramon used this moment to quickly grab Leviamon's tails. Without a second thought, he bit down.
Leviamon roared and thrashed about. "You can't beat me. Why are you so determined to beat me? It's not fair!"
"Fairness is overrated." Seraphimon stated. "Seven Heavens!"
The seven balls of light struck Leviamon, causing small burns to appear on the Demon Lord's body.
TK cheered for his angelic partner. "Go Seraphimon! Skin that croc!"
"TK!" Kari gasped.
TK shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry. I was caught up in the moment."
"No! Minomon!" Ken called.
Everyone looked around, seeing Ken hold his in-training Digimon. Trying to keep the shields up to protect everyone had used his strength. Leviamon gained a calculating look in his eyes. He spun around, throwing Triceramon towards the group. Everyone flinched as the large dinosaur was coming towards them, with no way to stop himself.
A gust of wind suddenly came and slowed Triceramon down. His momentum stopped just as he reached the group. Cody placed a hand on his Digimon as he degenerated down to Upamon.
"Phoenixmon! Let's get Leviamon." A mature voice called.
"Right Rosemon!" the large bird replied.
Everyone watched as Phoenixmon flew away with Rosemon running after her. Sora and Mimi approached the group, slightly out of breath. They explained about almost being hit with Wisemon's orbs and then suddenly finding themselves alone. They heard what sounded like a battle so they quickly rushed outside where Biyomon Warp Digivolved into Phoenixmon to stop Triceramon from hurting the humans.
"Glad you came." Tai smiled.
Leviamon roared at the newcomers. "Stop destroying my minions! This is not fair."
"If life were fair, the Digital World would never even need any Digidestined to fight the forces of evil." Rosemon retorted, launching a 'Forbidden Temptation' at Leviamon's head.
Leviamon's teeth were completely ripped out by Rosemon's attack. Phoenixmon placed herself above Leviamon and outstretched her wings.
"Starlight Explosion!" she called crossing her wings, sending down balls of fire.
The fireballs focused against his neck, tearing his skin open. Small pixels that flew away from his blood caught Rosemon's attention. "Everyone! Focus on his neck!"
"Thunder Breath!" Leviamon called.
The attack scattered the fighting Digimon so Leviamon could spin his tails, knocking Rosemon into the nearby castle. Mimi ran to her Digimon's side as she fell to her in-training form, Tanemon.
Phoenixmon, Seraphimon and Magnadramon flew into the air as AeroVeedramon tried to get a body slam to land on Leviamon's neck. Leviamon twisted his body slightly and managed to use his claw to get a grip on AeroVeedramon's neck.
AeroVeedramon grasped at Leviamon to get him to let go of his throat. Davis wanted to run to his Digimon but knew it would be suicide. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. This was the one part of his adventures he hated. Staying on the side-lines while his Digimon fought. It was this reason he envied the Warriors, his sister, and some of the Tamers. They fought with their Digimon or as Digimon.
That thought stopped him for a second. He looked around, seeing similar expressions and actions from the others. He noticed it especially in Sora, TK and Kari.
He saw Leviamon throw his Digimon aside and manage to headbutt Seraphimon. Despite his weakening form, he seemed to have a second wind. That was when realisation hit him; their envy of the other Digidestined groups was giving Leviamon extra strength!
He ran to Sora, TK and Kari and grabbed their attention. "Stop thinking!" They looked at him in confusion. "I know what you're thinking. 'I wish I was in there with them'. 'I wish our situation was like the others'. It's our envy of the other groups."
"What are you talking about Davis?" TK asked.
Davis rubbed his hair and took a breath. "Our envy of the other groups is giving Leviamon a second wind. We need to calm down our emotions."
A howl of pain caught their attention, seeing Magnadramon claw away at Leviamon's eyes.
Kari's eyes widened. "That's a little overkill."
"That proves my point." Davis said. "I distracted you and now our Digimon are getting the upper hand. We can't feel any envy while we're fighting this guy."
"How are we going to not feel envy?" Sora asked. "It's part of everyday life."
Davis thought for a way to not feel envy.
"What about your crests?" Tsunomon asked. All eyes went to the horned head resting in Matt's hands. "If you guys focus on your crests or something else, then you won't be feeling any envious thoughts."
"Ken, Yolei and Cody, that includes you." Matt said.
"What can we focus on?" Yolei asked.
"Just think of something." Sora said. "Davis might be onto something."
Cody held Upamon and thought about all the things they had done together and focused on the people that they saved. Ken and Yolei held each others hands and both envisioned what their future goals were and could possibly be.
Kari, TK and Sora focused on the things that activates their crests. Kari began to glow her pink colour, the same glow suddenly appearing around Magnadramon. The same thing happened with Sora and Phoenixmon, and TK and Seraphimon.
"See?" Davis grinned. "Now everyone, combine your powers!"
"Seven Heavens!"
"Starlight Explosion!"
"Holy Flame!"
"Twister Saber!" AeroVeedramon called a second attack.
Energy began to charge itself on AeroVeedramon's arm blades. He swiped his arms, causing the energy blades to fly through the air, joining the other attacks in the onslaught against Leviamon.
The attacks exploded, creating a dark cloud surrounding Leviamon. Everyone watched tensely as the smoke spread around.
Everyone backed away as Leviamon roared and got onto his hind legs. He quickly fell to the ground.
"Well done." Leviamon coughed. "I didn't think you'd actually beat me. It's not fair that you're stronger. I want that power."
Leviamon's tails broke from his body and disappeared. Leviamon looked around the Digidestined. Despite the fact that they were the enemy, Leviamon was impressed.
"But even I know when I can't win." Leviamon let out a small chuckle.
"As they say." Tai told him. "Good always triumphs over evil."
"Tell that to Daemon." Leviamon sneered. "He's trying to find a way to make us live forever. Even though we get destroyed." Leviamon's legs were the next thing to disappear. "He's also got another plan, but he never told us what that plan was." He turned his eyes to Kari. "Goodbye Queen Kari. I'm glad I finally got to meet you. Despite the outcome."
The rest of Leviamon's body split apart, leaving nothing but his memory in the Digidestined's minds.
Kari stepped forward, placing her arms out in front of her, feeling for any dark energy. She stopped walking and lowered her arms. She turned around and gave a small smile.
"He's gone." She said. "He's actually gone."
A few seconds later, everyone erupted into cheers and hugging each other. The higher levelled Digimon degenerated into their in-training forms.
"I can't believe we actually beat a Demon Lord!" Mimi exclaimed.
"Technically, we've beaten two Demon Lords." Davis said, then winced. He looked down at Nyaromon. "No offense."
"None Taken." Nyaromon smiled.
"What now?" DemiVeemon asked.
"We go after Daemon." Ken reluctantly spoke.
"How do we do that?" Yolei asked. "He found you last time."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Ken rubbed his arms.
Koromon had been watching Tai ever since Leviamon had been defeated. "What are you looking at Tai?"
"I'm looking for Izzy." He told the little pink Digimon. "I don't remember seeing him during the fight." he looked into the distance for a second. "Or Joe, now I think about it."
"They'll be here Tai. We just haven't seen them." Koromon told him.
"I'm not sure." Tai replied, walking to the recently degenerated Digimon. "Hey, do you guys recall seeing Izzy, Joe or their Digimon?"
The Digimon looked at each other then back at Tai. "No, we didn't."
"Then we have a problem." Tai muttered, walking to Cody. "Cody, what happened to Joe and Izzy?"
Cody looked up to the bearer of courage. Then his face dropped as he remembered the white tentacles. "Something grabbed them. With white tentacles."
"There can't be many Digimon with white tentacles." Tai sighed. "The worst part is this is when I would ask Izzy to look it up on his computer."
"So, how do we find them?" Matt asked.
"Blind, stupid luck." Davis smiled. "What else do we have?"
Everyone looked to each other, trying to think of other methods to track people. Yolei and Ken used their Digivices but only saw the signals of Davis, Cody, TK and Kari. Matt and Sora had the same idea of using their Digivices, but they didn't get a signal.
The Digimon were all too tired right now to Digivolve so for now, they only had their feet to rely on.
Gomamon looked around his cell, still not finding any way out. He looked over at Izzy, who was typing as fast as he could, checking his power level every now and again. He was racing against the clock.
"Anything?" Gomamon asked.
"Nope." Izzy breathed. "And I can only get our current location. I can't even see Joe. I hope he and Tentomon are alright."
Gomamon tensed as he sensed a high levelled Digimon. A tentacle slithered into the cell and quickly grabbed Izzy's computer, startling him.
"Give that back!" Izzy called.
The tentacle tightened and crushed Izzy's computer. Izzy and Gomamon stared with wide eyes at the crumpled pieces of metal.
Izzy looked through the bars at the mass of tentacles. "Show yourself!"
From the shadows, a mechanical alien Digimon emerged. His body was covered by a machine and a helmet that only left his pale yellow mouth visible.
"Who is that?" Gomamon asked.
Izzy shook his head. "I have no idea."
