Enter the Digimon Sovereigns
The battle was finally over and all of the Digimon degenerated back to their in-training forms. Looking in the sky, Yugi saw a blue light coming their way. His friends followed his gaze and saw it too, wondering what it was. The light stopped in front of the heroes, revealing a great blue dragon with a swaying white beard.
Yugi gasped in astonishment. "Can it be?" Just to make sure, he held out his digivice. "I was right. It's Azulongmon, one of the four Digimon sovereigns."
"Say what?!" Joey cried.
"No way!" gasped Tristan.
"We were looking for the Digimon sovereigns, but one of them found us," said Téa.
"I understand you have been seeking us and I know why," the divine Digimon was saying. "I am also sure Noah told you of us and the threat we are facing." Seeing everyone nod, he continues and says, "We've had to observe you children undetected before we could deem you worthy. Now after witnessing the courage and loyalty you displayed, I personally think you are ready. Come with me and I shall take you to the Palace of the Sovereigns." Azulongmon lowers himself and his belly touches the ground. All of the heroes pick up their Digimon partners and climb on the dragon's back. Once everyone is carefully onboard, Azulongmon begins ascending from the ground and takes off.
Their destination actually turned out to be farther than Noah described. After leaving the Forbidden Land, Azulongmon had to pass over the dark mountains and come to a plain landscape. In the middle of the plains was a red and purple castle with four corridors for each sovereign.
Inside the castle were the three remaining divine beasts Baihumon, Ebonwumon, and Zhuqiaomon. The divine phoenix didn't seem to like what he was seeing, human children riding on his comrade's back. "Azulongmon, what is this about?" he demanded to know.
"These are the children we've been expecting," the divine dragon answered, "the ones Noah told us about." He helped his passengers carefully climb off his back. "I have decided to bring them here myself after their victory over Myotismon."
"So they defeated Myotismon," said Baihumon. "How very impressive."
"Perhaps, but like Devimon, Myotismon was just a servant," said Zhuqiaomon. "The real threat is the five Digimon, if you would actually consider them Digimon."
"Five Digimon," Kaiba said silently. "It must be the Big Five."
"If you have something you would like to share about what you think you may know about all this, I implore you to speak up," the phoenix snapped.
"Take it easy, Zhuqiaomon," Ebonwumon said softly. The two-headed colossal turtle chuckled and told the heroes, "Please don't take that personally. He's a good sort once you get used to him."
Emily gulped and said, "I was told that Zhuqiaomon doesn't suffer strangers lightly and that it takes more than a lot to earn his favor and trust."
Zhuqiaomon huffed and said, "Then you know how I feel about you humans being here in the Digital World."
"We didn't mean to come here," Bakura was saying.
"We didn't exactly choose to either," said Duke. "We came because we were called for help."
The phoenix scoffed again and retorted, "It seems more to me that you are the ones who need help."
"Actually, yes," Yugi was saying. "We were hoping you could help us get back to our world."
"I knew it," the divine phoenix growled.
Kaiba was becoming fed up with his attitude. "Noah said you could help us. Was he right or wrong?"
"He's right," Baihumon answered. "But before we can help you return to your world, we need you to do something for us."
Azulongmon spoke up. "I am sure you already heard from Noah about how he came to the Digital World and how we met him and told him of other beings not of this world that came to be of this world." He decided to go further into the matter. "Before we met Noah, we Digimon sovereigns felt a disturbing presence. Something from another world was crossing the border to the Digital World, beginning new lives. That was when it happened. Five new Digimon were born. We knew these were not like other Digimon and we decided to inspect the matter.
"None of us knew what it was exactly, but something about these Digimon seemed threatening, perhaps dangerous to the Digital World. These Digimon were filled with anger, a thirst for revenge. It seemed to be those negative feelings that brought them to life. We fought them, but we were unable to defeat them. Before we could, another malicious Digimon appeared and stopped us and helped those five Digimon escape.
"After our battle, we found Noah. Somehow he was different. He looked like a human, yet he wasn't. He wasn't a Digimon either, yet he was digital. There was just something unusual about him. When he told us about how he lost his humanity and was reborn in a virtual world, that was when it started to make sense. And when he mentioned that there were others like him, we knew that those Digimon were those same virtualized people. They called themselves the Big Five."
This meant that Noah was telling the truth. The Big Five were reconfigured as Digimon.
Yugi spoke up. "Azulongmon, what Digimon were they?"
Ebonwumon raised his paw and touched the surface of the garden pond and the water's surface projected the images of the five Digimon they fought: GigaSeadramon, Neptunemon, Duftmon, Beelzemon, and Machinedramon.
"They are not entirely Digimon because they were reborn with a human consciousness," Baihumon was saying. "That is where we need your help. Noah told us his story of how you fought and defeated the Big Five once before. For us, this meant that you have more knowledge and experience with these creatures."
"But we've never fought them before as Digimon," said Yugi.
"That is why I did not support this from the beginning," said Zhuqiaomon. "I was also against the thought of human tamers controlling Digimon and making them digivolve. But although I did not like the idea of having to trust humans not of this world, I agreed that it made more sense for you to help us stop creatures that were once of your world. And given the circumstances that our worlds are connected and are impacted in the same way, I must acknowledge that we must depend on one another for our survival depends on it."
"We came to agree that you needed time to get used to being here in the Digital World and its customs," Baihumon was saying. "You even said so yourselves that your time here in the Digital World was like a journey of self-discovery, that you were discovering many new abilities about yourselves. Along the way, it was bringing out your Digimon's true power. And after all that we've observed, we've come to agree that the time has come and you are ready."
"You want us to fight the Big Five now?" Joey asked.
"Before you can, you'll need the power to do it," the divine tiger replied. "Presently, your Digimon don't stand a chance. But with our power, your Digimon will be able to digivolve to the highest level."
Ebonwumon nods and says, "That's right, they'll be mega Digimon like us. Think of it as us helping you help us."
It sounded like a pleasant gesture. Together, all four Digimon sovereigns begin glowing and the light emitting from their chains of spheres shines down on the heroes and their Digimon. The lights dim down, but everyone looks at each other, wondering what happened.
The divine phoenix saw their puzzled expressions and asked, "Are you confused?"
Azulongmon chuckled and decided to explain. "You have seen the power of digivolution in action in different ways. The first time was when your Digimon fought to protect you. The second time was when you had to discover your inner strength and combine your feelings with your Digimon's resolve. Now, in order for your Digimon to digivolve to the highest level, your hearts and your Digimon's must be connected. You must fight as one."
"How can we do that?" Serenity asked.
"You'll just have to discover that for yourselves," said Zhuqiaomon. "But it shouldn't be too hard for you to figure out, right?"
"I don't like his attitude," Kaiba grumbled.
"Let's try to think of it as him putting a lot of faith in us," said Emily.
Yugi cleared his throat. "Before we go, is there anything else you can tell us about the Big Five?"
The divine dragon still had a few other warnings. "Yes, we have also heard that they too wish to find a way to return to your world. You must not let them succeed."
"We believe that they want to return to your world so they can dominate it as the Digimon that they are," Baihumon added. "They want to control your world and the Digital World."
None of the heroes liked the sound of that. "We can't let that happen," said Kaiba. "We've got to stop them."
"Then you'd better do it fast," the divine phoenix warned. "Now that they know that you've defeated Myotismon and have met with us, they'll be ready to fight you themselves."
"You have the power to save your world and our world," said Ebonwumon. "But you must discover that power on your own. But we know you will prevail."
Yugi nods with determination. "Thanks for your help, sovereigns." He and the rest of their friends begin to take their leave and exit the palace.