My deepest apologies to those waiting for updates. I had this chapter ready to go, but I went straight to work on the next one and completely forgot to update yesterday. Rest assured chapter 16 is in progress and should be up on time.

After liberating the Thunder Captain and the Thunder Temple, Ben and Summer were lured out to the forest by Sabios, who hoped to eliminate them using Ravio as a hostage. But thanks to Takumi and Ami's planning, they were able to rescue Ravio and corner Sabios. But the Dark Captain escaped after using a spell to incapacitate the twin Cyber Sleuths. While waiting for them to recover, Summer takes a small team to begin their crusade on Sabios' temple, with the goal of defeating Sabios once and for all.

Summer. Nokia. Yuugo. Yuuko. The four stepped into the temple. Summer knew this would not be easy, so she took Granbull. One of her strongest Pokemon.

"I hope Takumi and Ami will be alright…" Nokia sulked.

"They're strong. Let's believe in them." Summer replied.

Yuuko nodded. "She's right. They'll pull through. They always have."

Summer looked around. "This place feels…strange. Like a sense of dread is clutching me wherever I go…Guess it makes sense that Sabios is a wreck when he works in a place like this."

"I know what you mean. It might be for the best that Ami can't come in here. Given her…trauma."

"Good point." Nokia nodded.

They walked over to the green WarpZone on the other side of the room. They were then in a room with two Espeon stood by a switch. They spotted them and started shooting Shadow Balls at them.

"Yikes, heads up!" Summer rolled out of the way and Staraptor along with Granbull charged towards them.

"Summer's Pokemon are keeping us covered!" Nokia said. "Let's Digivolve the team fast!"

"Right." Yuugo and his sister took out their Digivices.

DIGIVOLUTION

"Agumon Digivolve to…Greymon!"

"Gabumon Digivolve to…Garurumon!"

"Guilmon Digivolve to…GeoGreymon!"

"Hagurumon Digivolve to…Guardromon."

"Get em, guys!"

Granbull's arms shielded it from one of the Espeon while Guardromon blocked the ones from the other.

"Mega Burst!" GeoGreymon fired a bright blast from its mouth at them, making them tremble and stop attacking.

"Heavy Strike!"

"Grand Rock!"

Greymon ran up and wacked his target with his massive tail. Then Garurumon howled and a bolder appeared over his head before it flew into the other Espeon.

With both of them knocked out, Summer hurried to the switch and a red bridge formed connecting their island to the one in front of them. And on the other were two more Espeon guarding a switch.

"Oh great, more of them." Nokia groaned. "Alright boys, drop the hammer!"

"Grand Rock!" Garurumon shot another bolder their way but Espeon's eyes glowed and the rock froze in place before it was flung right back toward them. Guardromon caught it and threw it aside.

"The Pokemon are adapting to our methods." Yuugo said. "We should avoid using the same tactics repeatedly."

"Fortunately for us your Digimon can be the wild card." Summer smirked.

Nokia took out her Digivice. "Good point."

"Greymon Slide Evolution! Tyrannomon!"

"Garurumon Slide Evolution! Frigimon!"

"GeoGreymon Slide Evolution! BlackGreymon!"

"Guardromon Slide Evolution. Starmon."

"Now we're ready! Let's go!"

"Wolkenapalm!" Tyrannomon stormed over and wacked one of them with a fiery palm.

"Ice Archery!" Frigimon threw an icicle at the other so fast, that it had no time to react. While they were stunned Summer tamed them with her Styler before proceeding to the switch.

When the bridge opened two more Espeon ran towards them. "Not again…" Summer muttered.

"Meteor Fall!"

"Power Energy."

BlackGreymon threw a burning rock at one, and Starmon a flash of light at the other. Both of them were flung to the ground and Summer could see a WarpZone in front of them. "Come on! Let's just hurry on ahead before they get back up!"

They ran across the bridge and just as the Espeon were recovering they disappeared into the WarpZone. "Okay, now where are we?" Yuugo asked.

"Let's keep looking." Yuuko said.

They proceeded ahead when they spotted a Houndoom. It snarled before rushing towards them. A Honchkrow flew in after it. "Staraptor! Granbull!" Summer's Pokemon sprung into action. Granbull headbutted the Houndoom in the face and Staraptor knocked the Hochkrow out of the air. "Wow, the Pokemon here sure are aggressive."

"After humiliating Sabios I imagine he would start taking us seriously." Yuugo replied. "He'll have his strongest Pokemon ready to hunt us."

"We still haven't even found the Pokemon we're supposed to be looking for." Nokia sighed. "Well nothing to do but move forward I guess."

The team continued on ahead. They had to stop to activate a bridge or two. But soon enough they found another Hochkrow. And surrounding it was a flock of four glowing Murkrow. "Looks like we found the targets." Yuuko said. "Summer, we'll drive off the bigger one for you."

"Got it. Ready when you are."

"Meteor Shower." Starmon summoned a hail of blue lights that came down towards the birds. As soon as they heard the attack coming and saw it falling they flew of in different directions. The Hochkrow flew towards the kids. Summer ran to the side to chase down the Murkrow.

Yuuko looked at her Digivice. "A Flying-Dark Type. Nokia! Ice attacks should be strong against it!"

"Gotcha! Frigimon!"

"Sub-zero Ice Punch!"

Frigimon threw a punch that left a cold wave which struck the bird head on while it was charging. It stopped all movements and crashed into the ground. BlackGreymon charged towards it, but it got back into the air just in time. It spread its wings and waves of darkness spread on the floor. BlackGreymon and Tyrannomon were hit by one and dropped to their knees.

Honakrow swooped towards BlackGreymon again. "Fiery Breath!" It could feel the hot flames of Tyannomon's attack approaching fast and flew up to avoid them.

"Bit Fire!" BlackGreymon found his opening and blasted the bird out of the air.

"Scratch one big bird." Nokia said.

"And a bunch of smaller birds." Summer added as he approached. The Murkrow were all waddling away.

"Wow, that was fast! And you were worried that you might have been holding Ben back! If anything he should be watching out! You might just steal the show!"

"Heh, heh…" Summer blushed a bit from the sudden praise. "Well I'm a Top Ranger too…"

"Save the complements for when we defeat the oracle Nokia." Yuuko said.

"Okay, okay. Let's go."

They made their way to the WarpZone. They next room was four squares connected to one in the center. They one Summer and co stood in was to the north. They started moving south. And when they hit the center they saw two Croconaw at the east and west paths. "This calls for some electric power." Yuugo said as he held up his Digivice.

"Starmon Slide Evolution. Guardromon."

"Go!"

"Heaven's Thunder." Guardromon shoot a net of electricity at the Pokemon. Both were shocked by the blast and lost consciousness.

"Okay, which way do we go first?" Summer asked.

"I think the answer's obvious." Yuugo said, pointing at the east path where a Murkrow ran in circles.

Yuuko then looked south where a Houndoom guarded the WarpZone. "While we deal with the guard dog to the next area you catch that Murkrow."

"Alright." Summer hurried down the east path while the others went south.

The Houndoom spewed fire and roared. "I get the feeling a snowman is a poor choice against a fire dog." Nokia said. She took out her Digivice out.

"Frigimon! Slide Evolution! Garurumon!"

"That's more like it! Let's show him who's top dog!"

"Fox Fire!" As Garurumon sent blue flame at its target, Houndoom shot a red Flamethrower at him. The flames collided and sprayed into the air in the form of small embers glowing like fireflies.

"I think he needs a little support." Yuuko said.

"Bit Fire!" Tyrannomon added his fire attack to Garurumon, and slowly the Flamethrower was being pushed away.

"Nanomachine Break."

"Heavy Strike!"

Guardromon and Tyrannomon closed in from the Houndoom's sides, making it stop its attack. They then jumped away just as BlackGreymon and Garurumon's fire came in and swept it away. "I'm back!" Summer hurried over to them out of breath.

"Wow, that took you longer." Nokia teased. "You're slipping Top Ranger. Ben might still be a step ahead of you."

"It's because the darn bird kept running around and wouldn't stay still for a second!"

"Well, let's keep going." Yuugo said. "The oracle can't be far from here."

They nodded and went into the WarpZone. They were in a curved road. Two more Houndoom were prowling around. But on the other end was the active red WarpZone. "Not more of them…" Nokia groaned.

"Don't worry, I got this." Summer said. "Granbull! Earthquake!"

The Ranger's Pokemon stomped on the ground so hard the whole room shook. The Houndoom lost balance and fell over.

"Come on! Go, go, go!" Summer and her team rushed past them before they could recover and just when they started to pursue, they made it to the WarpZone.

"Whew, that was close." Nokia looked at the stairs in front of them. "Here we go. Time to face the oracle."

They ascended the stairs to the platform that elevated them to the oracle. A Gliscor. "Halt. Intruders detected. Turn back immediately."

"Where's Sabios?" Summer demanded. "He hurt my friends and I've got a bone to pick with him!"

The Oracle didn't seem to even hear her. "If you will not retreat, I will be forced to eliminate you."

"Uh, guys? Something seems off with this one." Tyrannomon said.

"What do you mean?" Nokia asked. "Aren't they all mindless slaves?"

"No, he's right." Yuuko said. "Something about this one seems…disturbing. Like he lost all sense of duty and became obsessed with a single goal."

"Are you saying he's like a mindless robot?" Summer asked. "Could this be Sabios's doing?"

"That Pokemon of his is menecing as well." Nokia said.

Yuugo scanned it. "Gliscor. Ground Flying Type. With the faintest breeze it can circle the globe without flapping its wings. And when it approaches its prey, it can land a critical hit in an instiant.

"Either way we need to stop this guy." Yuugo said. "Let's go!"

"You shall not pass!"

Gliscor roared before rooming towards the team. It rammed into Tyrannomon, then bounced into BlackGreymon.

"Geez he's fast!" Nokia said. "Any ideas?"

Yuugo looked at his Digivice. "Ground and Flying…I believe both are weak to ice attacks."

"Got it. Er, sorry for putting you through all the back and forth Garurumon."

"Well, at least it'll be the last one for now. Garurumon! Slide Evolution! Frigimon!"

Gliscor grappled with Granbull while Frigimon got behind it.

"Sub-Zero Ice Punch!" His fist shot a cold wave that hit it's back and froze it. When it dropped to the ground Granbull picked it up and punched it so hard it hit the ceiling. As it came down it broke free from the ice and snarled.

"Uh, guys? That thing looks really angry." Summer said.

"No kidding." Nokia muttered. "Frigimon, cool him off!"

"Sub-Zero Ice-

Before Frigimon could launch a attack this time, Gliscor flew into it and whipped it's pincers at it. Then it smacked Granbull and Staraptor with its wings.

"D-Grenade." Guardromon shot two missiles. Even after they missed Gliscor they followed it as he flew away. Until it turned around and dashed in between them. When they tried to close in on it they collided and exploded. It then shot black slicers behind it that flew away from the team.

"Nice shooting." Nokia said. "I think your Pokemon's rage messed up its aim." But then the blades stopped and started flying the other direction. Past Gliscor and towards the crew. "Okay…That's a new one. Duck!"

The blades missed the humans, Granbull and Staraptor, but the Digimon were knocked over.

"Okay, no more messing around!" Nokia declared. "It's ultimate time!" But as soon as she took out her Digivice, the Pokemon swooped towards her and she was forced to duck. "GAH! Hey, no fair!"

"Granbull, keep that thing down!"

As Gliscor flew by Granbull caught it by the tail. Gliscor tried to pull free but Granbull did not budge.

"Now!"

DIGIVOLUTION

"Frigimon Digivolve to…Monzaemon!"

"Tyrannomon Digivolve to…MetalTyrannomon!"

"Guardromon Digivolve to…Datamon."

"BlackGreymon Digivolve to…BlackMetalGreymon!"

Ben turned to Gliscor. "Alright, the gloves are off!"

Granbull threw Gliscor towards BlackMetalGreymon.

"WolkenaPalm!" Yuuko's Digimon slammed its metal hand across it and it went flying towards Monzaemon.

"Heavy Strike!" The bear hit it upwards.

"Digital Bomb."

"Burst Flame!"

Datamon shot a small explosive that detonated upon touching Gliscor in time with the large fireball MetalTyrannomon spat at it. Granbull then leapt over it and punched downward, slamming it to the ground before finishing the job with a Aura Sphere. Gliscor was too weak to move, making it easy for Summer to capture.

As for the Oracle, he collapsed and a Heart Slate appeared next to him. "Well, that's that." Summer said as he retrieved the slate. "I hope he snaps out of it."

Back in the plaza everyone gathered. Ravio noticed the Steelhead twitch. "Temple oracle! Wake up!"

"…Wh-where am I?" The man slowly stood up.

"You're outside of your temple and away from harm." Yuuko replied. "You were being controlled by your captain. Do you remember anything?"

The Steelhead thought for a moment. "Oh, I think I remember…Yes! I was arguing with another temple oracle."

"Another oracle?" Ben asked.

"This one would rather think up evil plots than humbly serve as a temple oracle. I was scolding him when Sabios appeared…"

"I think it's safe to assume what happened next." Arata said.

Tanvir nodded. "Sabios then used his spell and the power of his armor to take control of him."

The Steelhead sighed. "I had no idea…But I have a feeling that in the Dark Temple, there are some who are willingly supporting Sabios. Sabios is the Dark Captain after all."

"Like the guy you were arguing with." Fei said. "We'd better keep that in mind as we press ahead."

Ben nodded and turned to the oracle. "It's too dangerous for you to go back anywhere near Sabios. "You should stay here."

"But I have to do something. Pokemon are suffering."

"Then go to one of the other temples and help out there." Yuuko replied. "Tell them we sent you."

The man bowed and left.

"Guys!" Terriermon and Palmon ran over to them.

"What's up guys?" Ravio asked. "Hungry?"

"Just don't be more bad news." Arata groaned. "We have plenty of that already."

"No, good news! Takumi and Ami just woke up!" Palmon replied,

Nobody could hide their surprised smiles. "Really!?" Nokia asked. "Are they okay?!"

Terriermon nodded. "I think so. Wise Woman, Neila and the Forrest captain are with them! Come on!"

Takumi groaned as his sat on a cot rubbing his head. Ami was sitting in one next to him.

Ben and the others poured into the room. "You're up! Are you okay?"

Summer was happy to see her friends safe. "You two had us all worried."

Dasios stood up. "They shall be fine. The worst seems to have passed." Neila was wringing out a wet cloth into a bucket. Wise Woman stood nearby.

Ami was rubbing her temple. "What happened? I remember we went to the forest to confront Sabios…we saved Ravio like we planned…The rest is so hazy…"

"Sabios escaped." Summer replied. "You two tried to run after him but he did…something to you two. You both looked like you were in serious pain…And you've been out until now."

"Where is he now?" Takumi asked. "In the Dark Temple?"

"Most likely." Yuuko nodded. "We've begun our assault on the temple already. We saved one of the oracles, who warned us that there may be oracles in the Dark Temple who willingly work for Sabios."

"We can't waste anymore time." Takumi grunted as he tried to get up.

"Oh no you don't." Arata glared. "We don't even know what Sabios tried to do to you two or if it has lasting effects. You're staying put."

"What? You want us to just lie here while that freak is on the lose?!"

"That's exactly what we want." Yuuko replied with an equally stern look.

"We can't let him continue to exploit people like this!" Ami retorted.

"Then don't slow us down by making us drag you along in your weakened state!"

"Honestly, this impulsive behavior is what landed you two where you are now in the first place!" Arata yelled. "Your luck is the only thing keeping you alive at this point, don't push it!"

Takumi growled as Ami stayed silent.

"This discussion is over." Yuuko said. "You two are staying here to rest even if we have to tie you to those cots." She then left the room. Arata followed. The others hesitated before leaving one by one.

Ben was the last to go. He glanced at Takumi and Ami one last time. "Takumi…Ami…I'm sorry…But please leave this to us. We don't want Sabios to get away any more then you do. So…just rest for now. We got this." And with that he left the twins alone in silence. Only their Digimon stayed with them.

Once they were outside Summer stood in front of the group with a stern expression and folded her arms. "Yuuko! Arata! That was uncalled for, don't you think?"

"I agree." Kira nodded. "I know you two don't want to see them hurt themselves, but you two went too far."

"I didn't want to be harsh with them." Arata said. "But those two are stubborn. We had to be a bit forceful or they'll do something stupid and worsen their condition."

"Agreed." Yuuko nodded. "Believe me, I took no pleasure in saying any of that, but we had to be firm with them, or they'd never listen." She then sighed. "Though I suppose I may have gone overboard a bit. Once things calm down, I'll apologize to them."

"Well…Takumi was right on one thing." Ben said. "We can't give Sabios more time to scheme. We need to get past the last two Steelheads fast so we can reach him. We should hit both at the same time."

"But Ben, with Ami and Takumi still out of commission, we can't go in groups of four." Summer objected. "There are seven of us, and two spots to go to."

Yuuko thought a moment. "Nokia, can you stay here and make sure Takumi and Ami don't try to run into the Dark Temple? Summer, Fei and I can go to one area while Ben, Yuugo, and Arata can go for the other."

"Well…Okay." Nokia said. "Just be careful."

"Let's hurry." Ben said. "We have to defeat Sabios!"