Welcome back to the second part of the two part chapter. I'm not gonna say too much we're just gonna jump right into the chapter.

Enjoy :D

Return of the Heroes Part II

Alright, calm down Taichi! No big deal! This is an everyday thing! I mean... WHO doesn't love getting chased by a chaotic, giant bug bent on destruction?!, he desperately thought, before shaking his head violently.

He felt his energy levels depleting slightly, but he knew he had to keep on pedaling, unless he wanted to face certain death. He didn't know how much time had passed ever since he split off from the group, but for some reason, he knew that they were alright.

They had Daisuke and Sora with them, the two most capable people he knew that could lead them when in a crisis.

His problems were behind him unfortunately, in the form of Kuwagamon.

He didn't know if the digimon had gotten slower, or if he himself had gotten faster, but he had managed to keep this thing off his back for the longest. Silently, he was praying to the gods that he had taken an interest in sports ever since he was young, especially soccer.

If he hadn't, he was sure that this situation would have already been over by now.

As if reading the young teen's mind, the beetle-like digimon increased its speed, its wings flapping as fast as ever. In less than an instant, Taichi found himself sprawled out on the concrete floor, his head spinning.

Screams of terror brought him back to his senses though, as he saw hordes of people attempting to flee from the scene.

Covering his head from falling glass shards, he looked up to see Kuwagamon flying against a building, his claws and pincers scratching the surface of it. "Whoa!" Taichi whispered to himself, before deciding to find some cover.

It was all in vain though, as the monstrous creature had repositioned itself in front of him.

Roaring fiercely, Kuwagamon steeled its muscles and made its way towards its prey. Gritting his teeth tightly and relying on his reflexes, Taichi had managed to dodge out of its path, causing the rampaging digimon to crash head first into a building.

Taking a scan around the ruined area, shock could be seen heavily in his eyes. He couldn't believe what he was seeing right now.

Look at all the damage he's already done! And I have a really bad feeling that the good digimon are gonna get the heat for it!, rage began rising in his gut.

He wasn't a fool when it came to things like this! He knew that Agumon and the others would get the blame for this, all because they were the same species. Ever since the Myotismon and Dark Masters crisis, the world had been terrified of the creatures that came out the Digital World.

They all thought things had finally calmed down over the three year break, but Myotismon's return only strengthened that fear.

Damn! I have to find a way to stop him before he hurts someone! There has to be something I can do, but what?! By myself I'm powerless!

Picking himself off the ground and dusting off, he had just enough time to avoid another charge, the crazy beast tumbling into a fall. Quickly grabbing his discarded bike and taking a look at the damaged buildings, Taichi could only grit his teeth in anger before taking off again, the monster hot on his heels. It was quite obvious Kuwagamon was only after him now, and he could spin that to his advantage.

He could lead it away from the city... away from all these innocent civilians.

His hands were sweaty, and his whole body was shaking, but he knew he had to keep pushing! He felt the embrace of exhaustion creeping up on him, but he forced himself to keep going. The soccer game, the Kuwagamon chase, he felt the stress of not having a break between the two. Not to mention his friends.

Although he knew they would be fine, his mind couldn't help but drift off to them. If he managed to make it out of this one alive, he would search for them.

It didn't matter if he would have to go through every destroyed building and alley way, he would find them.

Taking a quick glance behind his shoulder see how close the distance was between him and the monster, he only had the sliver of time to duck, Kuwagamon's claw narrowly missing the top of his head.

Coughing heavily, Taichi had managed to spot his trusted bike on the floor, but that all came crashing down once he saw the giant insect land directly on it.

Backing away slightly, the younger leader couldn't help but stare down the giant behemoth. Why him? He knew he had set himself up as bait so the others could escape unharmed, but it still didn't make sense.

The whole time he had been chasing Taichi, all his focus was on him. Even in a populated area, he kept his attention on the teen. Was it because he was strictly after him, or by some other mere chance?

Shaking his head to remove these thoughts, he turned his attention back to reality. He still had to find a away to deal with the thing in front of him. Unfortunately, his brain was coming up with nothing. Usually Koushiro would have some genius plan laid out already, but he wasn't here.

It was just him and Kuwagamon.

Instinctively feeling something smooth and flat touching his fingers, Taichi looked down to see the shimmering light of his digivice. Gripping it firmly, images began flooding through the Child of Courage's mind. Images of all the destruction that had occurred today.

All he could see was destroyed buildings, discarded items, panic-stricken people fleeing for their lives. All because of this one monster, who was mainly after him.

I can't stop him! By myself... I can't do anything!

Growing tired of the constant stare down between the two, the red beast let out a mighty roar, before charging its way towards the helpless youth. Closing his eyes in anticipation for what was about to happen, Taichi couldn't help but glimpse back to all his friends. All their smiles, the times they were together, everything was flowing into him at once.

One girl's face in particular stood out for him. It was Sora's face. A tear was flowing down her eye, but she was smiling.

"Howling Blaster" A blue stream of fire crashed its way into Kuwagamon's chest, sending him flying back with a loud crash.

Opening his eyes slowly, he came face-to-face with a familiar tuff of blond, icy blue eyes, and an outstretched hand. "You look like you fell in a pile of crap! Please tell me you haven't forgotten how to get off your lazy bum!" A male voice exclaimed, a small smirk forming on his lips.

"Ya... ma... to?!" Taichi replied slowly, still coming to terms with what just happened. Realizing his hand was still stretched out, Taichi immediately took it, rising to his feet to see Garurumon and Kuwagamon battling it out.

"Good to see your brain hasn't been scrambled! Are you okay?!" Yamato questioned, his eyes not leaving his best friend's. Of course that would be the first thing he would ask. It was an understatement to say that Taichi had looked like he's seen better days.

He had dirt covering his clothes and face, he was panting heavily, and strands of his hair were sticking to his forehead from the sweat he had accumulated. But the worst thing were his eyes.

They still held that fire that Yamato was so used to, but it had changed. To him, they looked like they had dimmed a little. The gigantic, raging flame he had come to know and fear so much had been reduced to the size of a campfire.

Yeah, today definitely wasn't Taichi day!

"I'm fine! More importantly, what are you doing here, and if Garurumon tagged along, why didn't you go help the others first?!" Taichi exclaimed wearily, his immediate concern going towards their friends.

"Easy there Tai! Koushiro's with the others, so they should be rounding up the rampaging digimon at this very moment! As for me, I came to make sure our idiot of a leader didn't get himself killed!", The feeling of rage soon began to overshadow the feeling of joy in Yamato's heart. "Speaking of which, what the hell were you thinking? Charging off by yourself! You could've died dumbass!"

Taichi knew that the blond teen meant well, he had his well being at heart after all, but he was treating him like a some defenseless child. That was one thing he didn't enjoy feeling like!

"You didn't need to come y'know! I had everything under control!" Taichi stated annoyed, shooting a somewhat frustrated look at the young man next to him.

"Yeah right! Face it Tai, without me, you would've been in Kuwagamon's stomach by now!" Yamato countered, the two locking eyes with each other.

Neither one was willing to back down from their mini argument, but Yamato couldn't help but stare intently. For a split second, the blond could've sworn that his best friend's eyes had glowed orange, but he quickly shook his head, turning to see his partner finishing off the rampaging bug.

Not wasting anymore lost time, Yamato instantly lifted his leg up and with the grace of a squirrel, hoisted himself onto his partner back, before extending his hand out to his friend.

Taichi for his part though, was staring off into the sky, his mind else where. He was no doubt thinking about all the damage that had transpired around him. Whether he liked it or not, he couldn't help but put some of the blame on his shoulders.

That thing had caused numerous amounts of damage in his pursuit of him, so it was only natural that he would feel this way.

"Are you coming?" Yamato's voice snapping the teen out of his thoughts. Looking up at his polar opposite's hand, Taichi contemplated for a moment before hesitantly taking it, maneuvering himself on the wolf's back.

Without a second thought, Garurumon sped off in the direction of the swirling mass of airborne digimon, realizing that must be where all their friends must be.

"How we doing Koushiro!?" Sora screamed through the wind, keeping a firm grip on Birdramon's ankle.

"According to my projections, we've already taken down half of them! I estimate we only half a couple of them left!" Koushiro screamed back, his attention not leaving his laptop.

It had been about twenty minutes since they all had sprung into action. After having a small heart-to-heart reunion with each other, they immediately decided to form teams to weed out the rest of the remaining digimon.

Koushiro, Sora, Takeru, Miyako and their partners decided to take the airborne digimon. While on the ground team it was Hikari, Cody, Ken, Daisuke and their partners.

Although they were a talented group of kids, they had to give credit where credit was due.

They wouldn't have been able to take down a lot of them this fast without some help. Koushiro had neglected to tell them about Mr. Nishijima's involvement, but it seemed like he didn't need too.

The moment they had made sure the kids were alright, heavy artillery and troops were brought in. The thing that had caught the young genius attention was the fact that these weapons were capable of harming the digimon.

Koushiro definitely made a mental note to dig further into this mysterious organization.

"Uh guys! We may have an emergency on our hands!" Everyone's eyes traced the direction that Daisuke finger was pointing to. Shock made its way into their eyes as they were squinting, albeit struggling, to follow the remaining waves of digimon flowing into one direction.

Nodding their heads with determination, they decided to follow the flow of monsters. For some reason, they had stopped fighting them. They had even taken to completely ignoring them, almost as if they were in a trance.

Reaching the end of flow, they were surprised to see the reason for their strange behavior.

It was a tornado of digimon, but that wasn't the strange thing about it. Through the mass of giant bodies they could see one lone digimon floating, and to be honest, it looked the most frightening out of all of them.

It had a bipedal form, standing around 8ft tall. Dark demon wings jutted from its back, orange and black stripes adorned its arms, while giant patches of fur covered its wrists and waist below. Its feet were in the shape of giant hooves, but that wasn't the most terrifying thing about it. It had the face of a goat, with large ram horns, and its glowing orange eyes could be seen shining brightly.

"Koushiro... what is -"

"Mephistomon!" Koushiro interrupted Hikari, confusion written all over his face. He was currently looking at his digivice and his laptop simultaneously. "It says he's a ultimate level digimon, but this is insane! These power ratings are off the charts!"

"So!? What does that mean!?"

"Can't you see!? I think... he's... digivolving!" Ken's voice seemed to trail off at that last statement.

All the kids could do what look on as the tornado of swarming monsters began to shrink rapidly, each creature being broken down into little bits of cube-sized particles, swiftly making their way into the glowing digimon. By the time the transformation was complete, everyone was in awe at what they were witnessing.

Mephistomon form had completely changed, almost none of its former features remaining. Its body had grown about twice its size, while also gaining an additional set of legs. Its lower body was completely covering in fur, curvy demonic horns jutted out its hips, while a second mouth could be seen where its crotch should be.

Its five-digit hands had shaped into three long claw-like fingers, while its ram horns had changed to that of a bull. Finally, its dark demon wings had transformed into long, brown eagle wings.

"K-Koushiro?" Sora turned hesitantly to her friend, waiting for some type of answer.

The Child of Knowledge, for his part, was staring in complete awe at his laptop. Buttons of sweat was dripping down his face, and his eyes looked like they were ready to burst.

"Found it! Its name is Gulfmon! It says here that it's... a mega digimon!" Koushiro whispered that last part, but loud enough to where everyone could still hear him.

"What the hell is that?! Please tell me your seeing all this Hime?" Nishijima radioed, his eyes not leaving the spectacle that was happening.

"We're on the job Daigo, so its Himewaki to you! Yes I see what's going on!" Maki Himekawa exclaimed, her eyes glued attentively on the massive red dot portrayed on her computer screen. "Interesting!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSE TO FIGHT THAT THING?!" Miyako screamed out, her anger and fears obviously getting the better of her. Before she could vent out even more of her frustration though, she felt a warm, soft hand fall on her shoulder.

"Everything's going to be okay Miyako! After all, we have still have a mega of our own, right Ken?" Daisuke beamed as he called out to his best friend, partially shaking the fear and doubt from everyone's mind.

In a way, he was right. Imperialdramon was their best bet to fight off what was coming. Even though the original eight had managed to retain the power to go ultimate without their crest, thanks to Azulongmon, none of them was nowhere near the level of a mega.

The only other digimon who could probably go toe-to-toe with that thing was Omegamon, but thanks to communication error, Koushiro had no way of knowing if Yamato had even made it to Taichi.

What worst was that Agumon was still in the hub world, since he didn't have his partner digivice to lock onto.

"You ready to do this?!" Daisuke asked, his eyes filled with renewed determination.

"Do you even have to ask!?" Ken shot back, a small smirk growing on his face. Raising both their digivices towards their partners, a bright light envelops the area.

"ExVeemon, Stingmon, DNA digivolve to... Paildramon"

"Paildramon mega digivolve to... Imperialdramon"

"Imperialdramon mode change to... Fighter Mode"

"We should help too guys!" Cody exclaimed, taking a glance at Takeru, who already knew exactly what to do. Pulling out their devices and each taking a glance towards each other, they aimed it towards their partners, multiple beams of different colored lights going into them.

In no less than a minute, Garudamon, Megakabuterimon, Silphymon and Shakkoumon were directly behind Imperialdramon, all of them ready to face the looming threat in front of them.

Scanning the four ultimate and one mega, Gulfmon extended its mouth open, similar to a snake, before unleashing a piercing, sonic-like scream, causing multiple glass windows to shatter and fall towards the street level.

The intensity of the scream caused everyone in the surrounding area, including the digimon, to cover their ears, but that gave Gulfmon just enough time to send Imperialdramon crashing into a building.

Even though it was massive, its speed was off the charts. Taking advantage of the confusion, it instantly thrusted its hand towards the nearest opponent, which so happened to be Garudamon, before tossing her directly at Megakabuterimon.

Snarling heavily, Silphymon waved its arms around, a clear indication of its attack. "Static Force" Silphymon shouted, its attack locked on its target.

Before it could reach though, the pale yellow eyes of Gulfmon lit up, immediately dispelling the attack into millions of particles.

"Alright you demonic bastard! Round one goes to you, but now you're mine!" Imperialdramon said blatantly as he rose out of the rubble, anger searing throughout his whole body.

"Perhaps this is a good time to step in, don't you think?!" Shakkoumon chimed in, eyes glowing an intense red. Giving each other a nod, the two proceeded to unleash their signature attacks, both combining into a single beam headed straight for the beast.

This time, the attack actually seemed to work on the demon, as a growl of pain was heard and it began to get slowly pushed back. Smiling for what seemed like the thousandth time already, Daisuke couldn't help but pump his fist into the air.

"Yeah! Go guys, kick his ass!"

While Gulfmon was busy with the onslaught in front of him, it failed to see the two digimon approaching its back, both hungry and eager for its earlier humiliation of them.

"Shadow Wing" Garudamon coated her body with fire, before releasing the flame that took on the silhouette of a bird.

"Horn Buster" A gigantic beam of energy flew from MegaKabuterimon's horn, both attacks plowing directly into the mega's back. This time, the growl seemed to turn more into a shriek of pain, as it was being bombarded from attacks front and back.

"Astral Laser" A pink energy duplicate of Silphymon's body flew from the sky, making direct contact with Gulfmon's head. The ultimate couldn't help but let out a smirk, remembering the last time it tried to attack. "Bet you didn't see that one coming!"

"They're actually making leeway! Keep it up you guys, you got him on the run!" Takeru screamed out, the adrenaline of the battle getting to him. A smile couldn't help but form on most of their faces. It really did look like they were close to defeating this dangerous beast.

Their first agenda on the list after this was to find out if Taichi was okay.

The only person who was analyzing the grudge match intensely was Koushiro. Even though Imperialdramon and the others were hammering away at it with attacks, it wasn't glitching out or nothing. His adventures in the Digital World and his time with Gennai had helped him figure out when a digimon was on the verge of being deleted.

Its form was still completely solid, but that wasn't what made him worry.

When it had first emerged, the readings it gave off on his laptop was had shot through the roof. It was almost, if not completely, on the same level as MaloMyotismon. Sure, they had strong partners, but he knew that it took all their strength just to finish off the vampire lord.

So why?

Why was their attacks affecting it to this degree? Only one conclusion popped up into his head. "Its toying with us! Its feeling around for our power!" Koushiro whispered, a shocked expression making its way on his face. "Gu-"

Before he could state what he just found out, his attention turned back to battle, where a sudden development began happening. Everyone seemed to have noticed it, because their expressions soon started to match the genius's.

The attacks had stopped completely, and now each digimon was on their hands and knees, their eyes wide with confusion. "What's going on?! My strength!" Garudamon exclaimed, her hand lightly shaking.

"I can't move my body! It feels like lead!" Silphymon said equally shocked, barely being able to lift its head up.

"It feels like I'm losing energy rapidly! I-I don't think I can hold my form any longer!" Megakabuterimon's body began to shrink rapidly, before turning into that of Motimon.

Soon, the rest began to follow, each one slowly regressing back into their in-training forms, except for Salamon, who remained in her rookie form. The only who who was able to stay in their form was Imperialdramon, but by the looks of it, he was barely hanging on by a thread.

"What's going on!? Why did everyone go back to their small forms?! We were just winning!" Hikari cried out, turning to her friends as if hoping one of them had an answer.

"I knew it! It wasn't getting weaker from our attacks, it was drawing us in, taking our blows on purpose! This was its plan from the beginning!"

"What are you saying Koushiro? That this thing doesn't have a weakness or something?!" Sora asked, her worries slowly getting the better of her. She had to reign them in though.

If she showed even a slight indication of fear, it could potentially cause the others to start to become crestfallen as well, if they already weren't.

"Everything has a weakness! Nothing in this world or the next is invincible!"

"IMPERIALDRAMON! LOOK OUT!" Daisuke shouted towards his fused partner, but it was too late. Forming from the maw on its lower body was a gigantic green energy sphere. The fused mega only had enough time to process what was going on before the sphere turned into a deadly beam, shooting out directly towards him.

It seared through the buildings with intense ferocity, before finally hitting its mark, creating a massive explosion and sending waves of energy throughout the streets.

Trying to control a tearful and angry pair of kids like Daisuke and Ken, along with your own emotions, was hard enough as it is, but somehow Koushiro was managing.

The moment the attack had hit the fused mega, the red-headed teen immediately held a firm grip on the DNA digivolution partners, on the chance that they didn't run straight to their deaths.

Still, what they all just witnessed had shocked each and everyone of them. Imperialdramon, their second strongest digimon after Omegamon, was defeated just like that. In fact, all of the digimon were defeated without any plausible answer.

Through the smoke he could see glimpses of their fallen digimon, face first deep in the rubble.

"What do we do now guys? Koushiro? Sora?" Hikari asked softly, her attention drawn to her depressed DNA digivolution partner. So far, most of them had taken on that look.

Daisuke and Ken were trying their best to hold back their tears, while Cody and Miyako just looked utterly lost. Even though they were in a dire situation, Takeru and Hikari's eyes were still radiating that glint of hope. As expected of them, since their traits were near essential for the Digital World's continued prosperity.

"Please tell me you have a backup plan in that big head of yours Koushiro?" Sora asked, herself starting to see how dire the situation was really becoming.

"Afraid not! We don't have no other digimon capable of going up against that! I'm afraid this is -"

"Don't say that! Don't you dare say what I think you was about say!" The Bearer of Love hissed, her voice filling with venom. "WE CAN STILL WIN THIS! WE HAVEN'T LOST YET!"

This caught the attention of everybody, as all eyes were now on her. Even some of the agency members had momentarily stopped in their tracks at the sound of her voice.

"We've never given up before, even with everything that's been thrown at us! We faced countless enemies, and we always bested them! If we give up and throw in the towel now... then what would Tai think of us?!" Tears began forming in her eyes at the thought of her best friend.

Before she could say anymore however, a growl echoed across the area, attracting the attention of all who were present. From the center of Gulfmon's body, ice was creeping its way to the rest of its body, before completely surrounding the body, effectively trapping the monster into a giant block of ice.

"What the hell?" Nishijima asked cautiously, this new development peaking his interest. Unfortunately, his question couldn't be answered as the ice around the mega's body cracked and broke into thousands of pieces in an instant.

Before the digimon could even move the muscles in his body again, his right arm had completely been frozen solid once more, before the same thing happened with his left wing.

"Someone please tell me something good is happening to us!" Miyako sarcastically prayed, rising off her butt to get a look at this new development.

"Every time it breaks out of the ice, another part of its body just gets frozen again." Cody analyzed, his eyes attuned to what was happening. Although for two others, they had already pieced what was transpiring before them.

"I recognize that ice from anywhere!" Takeru exclaimed, a huge grin growing on his face.

"I'm right with you Takeru, although he sure as hell took his sweet time getting here!" A playful annoyed look made its way on Koushiro's face.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Miyako asked, getting fed up with being left of the secret conversation the two were having. Seeing no reason to answer, the two just pointed straight up for everybody to follow, and sure enough, all their questions were answered.

Zipping around the giant beast at incredible speeds was MetalGarurumon, using every weapon in his mechanical body to throw the monster off guard, hoping for a chance to inflict a critical hit.

"No way!"

"MetalGarurumon!"

"Yo!" Yamato greeted, a small smirk appearing on his face at the sight of his partner's handiwork. "Seems like you guys are in quite the predicament!"

"Big brother!" Takeru instinctively ran towards his older brother, before the two gave each other a high five.

The Child of Friendship eyes scanned over the group, making sure there were no injuries unaccounted for, before locking eyes with maroon-colored ones. Apparently, Sora had the same idea as him, because no less than a second of making eye contact, both of them immediately parted.

They hadn't seen each other ever since the break up, and they didn't exactly leave off on the best of terms. In all honesty, both of them were dreading the day when they would finally meet again.

"Way to come in at the last second Mr. Hero! Now that your here, maybe we finally have a chance of winning!" Daisuke sarcastically joked, his eyes shifting between his blond mentor and his fallen partner. Yamato know he didn't mean to sound so angry.

He had came just in time to see the demon mega wipe the floor with Imperialdramon. He knew if he was in the same situation, he would've acted just like the younger teen.

"I'm afraid that's not possible Daisuke!" Cody chimed in, his voice filled with sadness. Everyone turned their attention to him, curious on what he meant. "Its true that Yamato and MetalGarurumon being here may have helped only a little, but we're forgetting one thing: Taichi."

Realization immediately came into their minds, causing that fleeting feeling of relief to turn back into one of sorrow. Each one was processing what the youngest teen meant, and unfortunately... he was right.

They were so happy from seeing a strong digimon from their side that they almost forgot about their leader.

"That's right! We still don't know where Taichi is! He could be alive... or -"

"Or what? Did you think he was dead?" A familiar voice called out to them, causing all of their eyes to go wide. Turning around slowly, they were all stunned to see the person they were just talking about standing to the left of Yamato, his trademark goofy grin cemented on his face.

"Tai..chi?" Sora muttered, her looks appearing as if she was seeing a ghost.

"Of course! Who were you expecting, the devil himself!? Although, now that I'm saying it out loud, I think I should refer to myself as such! Taichi Yagami, the handsome devil! Got a nice ring to it don't you think?" Taichi chuckled to himself, falling victim to his own wild thoughts.

Opening his eyes slowly, he was shocked to find himself being bombarded with crying and playful wails as each one of them took a shot at him. He was happy to see them, but he knew that this was only the calm before the store.

They were only acting like this towards him at the fact that he was still alive and well.

The moment this was all over and the crisis was averted, they would rain down the seven layers of hell upon him, especially Sora and Hikari! It was only a matter of time before he was a dead man.

"What's the situation Kou?" Taichi asked immediately, his hand gingerly rubbing his little sister's head.

"Well, Imperialdramon and the others are down, we're facing off with a mega digimon who's mostly impervious to our attacks, and the city is gonna need millions of dollars of repair when this is all over, so to sum it all up: It's quite bad! Although... its good to see you're not dead yet!" The two smiled lightly, happy that the other was safe. "I assume Yamato already filled you in on the way over!"

"Yeah! I'm ready when you are!" A sparkling glint appeared in the athlete's eyes, almost instantaneously whipping out his digivice. Without hesitation, he thrusted it towards the computer screen, where a shimmering orange light began to brighten the area.

"Taichi!" Agumon's big green eyes met his partner's dark brown ones, a smile forming on his face.

"Agumon! I can't believe your really here!" Taichi responded, a tear creeping its way into his eye. The two immediately pulled into a hug, their emotions getting the best of them.

"Ahem!" Koushiro cleared his throat loudly, urging the two to get back to the topic at hand.

"Hehe... sorry! You ready to do this Agumon!"

"I was born ready! Let's mess this clown up!"

Smiling at the answer his partner was giving off, Taichi began to mentally prep himself for battle.

It was true that he still had that roaring fire he had from when he was a little boy. A fire that had pushed him to his absolute limit, absorbing his courage and getting him back on his feet every time. All the other kids had joked and called it "Yagami Spirit", and they couldn't have been more right.

So why?

Why was he hesitating for some odd reason? He could feel his palms getting sweaty, his body heat rising to an exponential level. Was it because of what he had went through? The stress of the game and the Kuwagamon chase finally getting to him. The fact he didn't want to admit, that he would've been dead if not for Yamato's intervention?

Or something else?

"Tai?" a soft voice spoke, clearing the fog that had infiltrated the trouble teen's mind. Turning to get a glimpse of who said that, Taichi's turn to the side to see his partner staring back at him, that same type of fire igniting his pupils.

"Sorry you guys! Must've zoned out!" Taichi gripped his digivice, and just in time too. Everyone couldn't help but watch as the mega known as MetalGarurumon get sent flying straight into the ground, his armor tearing up what was left of the street.

Knowing what he had to do now, the Child of Courage digivice began to glow its signature orange color. As the warm rays began to wash over Agumon, something strange in the sky began to catch their attention.

It had looked like the portals that the digimon used earlier to invade the district, but this one was different. It was on a massive level, almost the same size as Gulfmon. Before long harsh winds began to envelop the area, causing destroyed cars and discarded pieces of rubble to wave around.

The only strange thing about the wind was that, while it wasn't affecting the humans on the ground, it was affecting the inanimate objects and... Gulfmon.

It was getting sucked off its feet, almost as if as it was being forcibly drawn into the sky. Not knowing who the new threat was and wanting down, Gulfmon began to fire the same attack that it had it Imperialdramon with at the strange portal above.

To everyone shock, a giant, mysterious hand in dark armor emerged from the portal, casually taking the brunt of the attack. With one last screech of defiance, the monster mega was completely engulfed by the portal, leaving no trace of it behind.

"What... was that?" Yamato asked shocked and confused, a feeling that had hit the rest of the kids. All eyes soon landed on Koushiro, hoping he could give them an answer.

"I honestly don't know you guys! I'm just as shocked as you are! To think whatever that was, it was able to withstand so many hits from a mega like this! Makes you question what we're going up against huh!?" Koushiro chuckled nervously, the mystery of this entire event filling his mind.

"I'm just glad it's over! I don't think we had anymore game plans left!" Takeru exclaimed plainly.

"THE DIGIMON!" Daisuke and Ken shouted, their attention immediately drifting off to their partners. With Taichi returning and Gulfmon mysteriously vanishing, they had forgotten about their unconscious friends.

Gearing up their bodies to retrieve their fallen companions, a sigh of relief was made once they had saw four men in back suits carrying their partners tenderly, carefully giving them back to their respective owners.

"Thank you so much!" Miyako smiled at one, who immediately stiffened his glasses and proceeded to walk away. Soon enough, a lava bank of anger began to well up in her stomach. "Who the hell does that guy think he is?! The least he can do is accept my gratitude!"

It had been about twenty minutes since the battle had wrapped up, and in no less than a couple moments, the secret organization that had backed up the Digi-Destined during their time of need had instantly condemned the streets, closing off all areas.

The kids were hold up towards the car that had brought Koushiro to them, each one of them attempting to analyze the situation. Although, Koushiro's mind was more focused on the people around them.

"I know that look! Your thinking about the men in black aren't you?!" Yamato assessed, his eyes scanning each and every one of them.

"I am! Don't you find it strange? They know about the existence of digimon, and they know how to counter them! Plus they knew where we was gonna be at! I don't know, it's all... too coincidental?" Koushiro countered, focusing heavy on his laptop.

"I talked to one of them to ask them some questions, but he completely ignored me! Must be government agents!" Cody chimed in, feeling the same way as his mentor.

"Sora, you okay? You haven't said anything since Tai came back!" Hikari stated, a small feeling of worry forming in her chest.

"Maybe she's just overwhelmed with emotions now that he's back!" Daisuke teased, earning him a swift punch in the head from Miyako.

"Taichi!" Sora exclaimed, her voice on the verge of breaking up. Out of everyone, they all knew that she was the most happiest to see him. Turning to look at her, surprise came from everyone's face when -

SMACK!

Everyone went wide-eyed as Taichi head tilted to the side, his face shrouded in the shadows coming from his wild hair. He slowly raised his hand up to his left red cheek, stinging with intense pain, from where Sora had smacked him harshly.

Although he had just been slapped harshly, not a single tear escaped from his eyes.

On the other hand though, Sora's face was stained with tears, sadness and anger flowing from her pores. All Taichi could do was smile though, fighting the pain that was creeping through her cheeks. He knew exactly what brought this on.

"I'm sorry!"

"YOU SHOULD BE SORRY! How could you pull a dumbass stunt like that! You have no idea how worried we was, how worried I was! Not knowing if you was dead or not, being strong for the others while silently praying that you was still alive!

"Did you not stop to think 'Oh how would the others feel? If I died right now how would Sora feel? How would the rest of them feel?'. You didn't did you!? Because you're a selfish, irresponsible jerk who risks his life, and for what!? On the chance that'll you get lucky and come out of it with no harm!? No injury!?

"Have... have you ever thought: How would it feel if we were to never see you again!? How are lives would be if you were gone?! You haven't, had you?!" Sora finished her rant, her tears basically overflowing at this point.

Even though he couldn't see their faces, Taichi knew that they were all feeling the same emotion.

The others couldn't help but stay silent at the exchange between the two. They all knew when Sora was at this stage, there was no stopping her. Out of all people, Yamato and Hikari knew that fact quite well.

All eyes soon landed on Taichi, wondering what his next plan of action would be. They had all seen the two fight on multiple occasions, but it was always playful and would end rather quickly.

Everyone could feel it in their bones. This one was coming deep from below.

Steadily paralleling himself in front of his crying friend, Taichi couldn't help but just stare at her in a solemn tone. Everything she had said resonated with him sincerely. He could feel the genuineness of her words... and she was right. He always played the sacrificial role, only getting out of those situation by sheer luck or through his friends.

Today had certainly proved that fact.

Closing the rest of the distance between the two, he gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a strong but light hug. The moment Sora had felt his reassuring touch again, the rest of her demeanor completely broke down.

She began to sob intensely, staining his blue jersey with salty tears. He softly swayed his hand through her short hair, something he knew she enjoyed.

"I'm sorry okay! I promise I'll never do something stupid again! You're right about it. About everything. It's just... I know you guys will always have my back, that's why I'm able to move the way I do. I'm really sorry Sora." He whispered, a sorrowful frown appearing on his face. He waited for her to squeeze out every last tear drop.

"Stupid Tai! I already know that you'll be back to your dumb ways in no time! So instead of apologizing, just remember that we're a team! We're always gonna have your back, so just try to rely on us without pulling a sacrificial move like that!" She wiped her remaining tears away, smiling at the look dumbfounded on his face.

"Well... you do have a point! Okay, I'll try to keep that in mind!" Taichi chuckled a little, not releasing his grip on her.

"Of course I am! I know you like the back of my hand after all!" Sora giggle, before proceeding to return the embrace in full force. The sight of them had caused the others to start smirking and murmuring between each other, but they were already used to that.

They were all just happy that everyone was safe and sound.

Author Notes:

There we go second part is finished! Hope everyone of you enjoyed the two part chapters. Now that the digimon have returned, things are sure to move more quickly from here on out.

We'll also be diving more into the Digi-Destined personal lives, so get hyped for that. Also, we'll be seeing some brand new characters in the upcoming chapter, so stay tuned for that.

Leave a review and peace :)

Sincerely, DB