"I went ahead and told your parents what happened for you, Yuto. They're a little worried but they're just happy to know you're safe." Sora said as she handed Yuto a small backpack. "I even got some clothes for you and Kari, that way you don't have to ruin your uniforms." Yuto looked down and nodded, realizing he was still in his school uniform.

"Thanks Sora, I really appreciate it."

"Honestly it was hard to get Tai to calm down. He was up all night worried about you two." Sora said as the two of them looked to see the two Kamiya siblings talking. "He's always been protective over Kari, but he was more worried about if anything happened to you than if you tried anything with his little sister."

"He was?"

"Of course he was. He might be too stubborn to admit it but he was." Sora said giving the younger boy a wink. He nodded sheepishly and walked towards Kari to tell her about their change of clothes.

"Mom and Dad were pretty freaked when I told them why you hadn't gone home. But they said they were used to our adventures and that they knew Gatomon and Yuto would keep you safe." Tai said making Kari rub the back of her head sheepishly. "And you're sure there was no funny business?"

"Well..." Kari said looking away and scratching her cheek. Tai's jaw dropped and he clenched his fists as her answer made him angry. "I'm joking Tai. You know he's not that sort of guy. We just slept next to each other and that was about it."

"Yeah, you know I wouldn't do anything of the sort. Especially when there are no doors here and privacy is just how loud we talk." Yuto added quickly jumping in front of Tai and handing the backpack to Kari. "Sora packed us a change of clothes in here, you can go ahead and change first." Kari grabbed the backpack and nodded, heading back into the hut they had spent the night in. "Sorry about this mess, Tai."

"I'm glad you're alright though. But what happened that you were attacked by Dynasmon?" Tai asked as the two of them walked away, heading towards the lake where Deckerdramon was speaking with the others and their Digimon.

"We were literally just going back home. We were about a second from heading back through the gate when he showed up and disintegrated it." Yuto explained as he mimicked the motions of Dynasmon's attack.

"Well, I have some good news. Hackmon knows where the Royal Knights are holed up and we're going to do a direct assault on them." Tai said surprising Yuto who stopped walking. "What? Is it a bad idea?"

"Yeah, sorta. Tai, Dorumon could barely handle Dynasmon as Alphamon. I know Agumon and Gabumon are strong when they become Omnimon, but these guys are no joke." Yuto said catching Davis and Matt's attention and they walked over to join the conversation.

"But we can handle them together as a team. We just all need to work together and fight as hard as we can." Matt chimed in making Yuto shrug his shoulders.

"Come on, this is our one chance to take them out before they take us out too." Davis pleaded to try to convince Yuto.

"Guys, as good an idea as it sounds: it's too risky. Like okay besides the obvious two: we have Imperialdramon, Jesmon, Seraphimon, Magnadramon, and Phoenixmon. All of that together makes seven versus the other nine we have to fight, and DexDorugamon worries me since Jesmon and Omnimon have struggled with him before." Yuto explained as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"So then what are you thinking? It's a little late to go back home and regroup." Matt said earning a nod from the other two.

"Well, Deckerdramon told us about a Digimon. Now we don't exactly know where this Digimon is...frankly picking at Dorumon's memory is going to be more difficult than the actual journey ahead...but finding Ouryumon might be what turns this entire battle in our favor." Yuto said surprising the three as they turned to see Dorumon who was speaking with the other Digimon. "Ouryumon was his partner way back when and he might be what finally gets Alphamon's full power back. All we have to do is find him and we might have a chance against the Royal Knights." After a moment of silence, Yuto's eyes widened as Tai quickly grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up.

"...so then what? You want us to go on this wild goose chase, wait for Dorumon to just magically remember where this Digimon is, give his evil copy and his buddies a chance to get their strength back and totally wipe us out, and you think we'd agree to that?" Tai asked pulling Yuto close to him. "This is our one chance, we can't give it up. Put all these crazy ideas aside and remember the position all of us are in. We're stuck here without a way of getting back home, no matter how much Izzy tries to force a single gate to open: he just can't get it to do it. Think about your family, think about our friends, think about my little sister stuck here with us. Use your damn brain and be realistic."

"Tai, let him go." Matt said as he tried getting Tai to let the younger boy go.

"No he needs to listen to me for once. We have a plan and it's what we're doing, screw your idea and let's do what ends this quicker." Tai shook his head while Yuto thought about wat he could say to convince him, but both of them were caught off guard by Tai suddenly being pushed away from him.

"That's enough, Tai." Kari said placing herself between the two of them. This was enough to get Sora, Ken, and T.K.'s attention and they quickly ran over to keep the situation from escalating further. "You might have a plan but so do we."

"You're agreeing with him?"

"Of course I am, this is as much my idea as it is his."

"But do you guys even know where to start? I mean we know where to go but you guys would just be going everywhere to even find where to begin." Ken pointed out making Kari and Yuto look at each other before giving a reassuring smile.

"We have an idea of where to start." Kari said before looking at Sora who gave her an approving nod.

"But that still isn't enough to make it a better idea than what we came up with." T.K. noted trying to convince his best friend. But before anyone else could say anything, Sora stepped in and placed a hand on each of the two's shoulders.

"Then they should go." Sora said patting their shoulders and turning to Tai and Matt. "Yuto and Kari can take care of themselves, if they're so sure about this then we should let them at least try. We can still go through with ours while they try theirs." Sora explained before crossing her arms, glaring at Tai who nervously looked away. "If anyone has any objections then feel free to speak up." Silence. "That's what I thought."

"If I may say something." Hackmon said walking up to them with the other Digimon in tow. "Deckerdramon told us that he told you about Ouryumon. I may know where you four may begin to look."

"Where do we go?"

"You have to go far east, into the eastern section of the Digital World Azulongmon has taken charge of. Once you're there, seek an audience with him and he may be able to help you locate our ally." Hackmon explained pointing east. "I wish I knew where to tell you to go, but Alphamon and Ouryumon had known each other long before we had formed the Royal Knights. The most I can tell you is to go east because Ouryumon always seemed to be there whenever Alphamon needed help."

"We could use all the help we can, those guys aren't easy to fight you know." Agumon said raising a hand.

"Dorumon packs a wallop but so does DexDorugamon, we should know we fought both of them." Gabumon added reminding the Digidestined of the two occasions they had fought an Alphamon.

"We say Dorumon goes and finds that old buddy of his." Veemon said wrapping an arm around Dorumon's neck.

"You know Tai's gonna kill us when he has the chance now right?" Yuto asked as he sat behind Kari on Nefertimon's back with Dorumon in between both of them. After Tai begrudgingly agreed to let the two begin their journey, the four swiftly headed on their way to speed things along.

"Believe us Yuto, Sora's not gonna let him stay angry with us." Nefertimon chuckled as she turned her head to look at the boy on her back.

"She's right. No one's got my brother under control like she does."

"You say it like he's a dog." Dorumon laughed along with Kari while Yuto shook his head in disappointment.

"We're never gonna hear the end of it."

"Honey I'm home!" Dynasmon yelled as he flew into the snowy mountain range that the Royal Knights' base was located in. He flew towards the tallest mountain and landed in front of a cave. He walked inside and the cave walls lit up with torches hung on the wall. He walked further inside to find himself in a room with a large roundtable in the middle.

"So, are they dead?" Dynasmon heard a female voice echo in the room and turned to see a large humanoid knight with pink and gold armor walking towards him.

"Ready to get on my case, Crusadermon?"

"For someone who prides himself on being one of the strongest of us: you sure have a funny way of always failing." Crusadermon said making Dynasmon growl.

"Leave him. It's his own fault for being hopeless." Dynasmon turned to see another Digimon with brown and white armor resembling a leopard walk in. "He's always been this way."

"Like you have such a good track record either, Leopardmon."

"Have either of you two seen Craniamon and Gankoomon? The two of them left a while ago and I haven't seen them since." Leopardmon asked only to be replied with Crusadermon shaking her head.

"But how are the other three coming along?" Crusadermon asked making Leopardmon sigh.

"Examon, Kentaurosmon, and Gallantmon still don't have enough of their energy back. Gallantmon and Kentaurosmon seem to react to the questions I ask them, so both of them are beginning to regain their consciousnesses. Examon however is still a husk of his former self. It pains me to see our friends in that state. If only I could remember why this even happened." Leopardmon said scratching the back of his head.

"It was because of those Digidestined punks. Did you forget what Lord Alphamon said? They used these "Digivices" to ensnare our friends and separate Alphamon into two separate beings. I fought them and they used a cowardly tactic to run away. Believe me, I won't make the same mistake twice." Dynasmon growled slamming his fist onto the roundtable. "DexDorugamon tried convincing me that we were on the wrong side, I even tried greeting him as if he was my old friend. But those children have turned our fellow Digimon into pets that do their fighting and everything for them, I won't stand for this injustice any longer." Dynasmon growled before the three heard footsteps growing closer. They turned their heads to see a slightly bigger and darker Dorumon with wings walking into the room. "Dorugamon, you look exhausted."

"You need to rest a bit more, my lord." Leopardmon said as he knelt down to try to help Dorugamon. Dorugamon growled and swatted his hand aside with his tail, surprising him.

"Ah. Forgive me, Leopardmon. I'm trying to move along the restoration of Examon, but it seems the sheer size of our friend is making it even more difficult for King Drasil and I." Dorugamon apologized realizing what he did.

"It's quite alright, the fact you're being kept in your Champion form tells me how much energy you're using up." Leopardmon said as Dorugamon continued walking away. "Have you seen Craniamon and Gankoomon?"

"Yes, I sent them to go handle the Digidestined that managed to sneak their way into the Digital World a while ago. They should be back with positive results soon." Dorugamon said as he left the room and headed towards the exit. Crusadermon secretly took note of his strange behavior as something began to bug her in the back of her mind. As he walked into the blizzard outside: Dorugamon let out a deep breath as his appearance began to become more mechanical and sinister, returning to his original appearance as the real DexDorugamon. "I hate acting like that fool." DexDorugamon growled as he looked at the sky. "But Craniamon'll hopefully deal with him, since Dynasmon is incapable of doing it himself."

"How come no one else wanted to go with Yuto and Kari?" Matt asked as he, Ken, and T.K. rode on Garurumon's back as the other three plus Hackmon rode on Raidramon's, running as fast as they could towards the direction of the Royal Knights' hideout.

"Well to be fair, it was their idea. Plus going with them is like being the world's biggest third wheel." Davis pointed out while Hackmon put on his goggles.

"They're humans, not vehicles. So I don't see why you would be a third wheel." Hackmon said making the others laugh.

"It's just something they say, they don't mean literally becoming a wheel." Biyomon explained confusing the small dragon Digimon.

"You all are a strange species."

"But how come they have to look for Azulongmon?" Patamon asked as he held on as tight as he could to his partner's head.

"Well, the Harmonious Ones came to be long after we disbanded. However since Azulongmon is currently taking care of the East: he may be able to help them locate Ouryumon to the best of his abilities. She's not an easy to miss Digimon either."

"Ouryumon's a girl?" Sora asked as she remembered them referencing Ouryumon as a male when they talked about her.

"I think her gender's the least of our concern, but yes if you're wondering: Ouryumon is in fact a female."

"So when the Royal Knights formed, she was already one of you?" Ken asked turning to the Royal Knight.

"Ouryumon was never really counted as one of us."

"Why? I feel like she would probably be counted as one if she was always by Alphamon's side." T.K. added making Hackmon sigh.

"Would you count what you rode into battle as a soldier? Or your weapon? Ouryumon was a powerful Digimon in her own right, but in the end her true power only showed when she and Alphamon combined into his Ouryuken form." Hackmon explained as Agumon raised his hand.

"So she was more of his weapon than a separate Digimon?"

"I don't quite understand how none of this is clear to any of you."

"You gotta give us a chance here. You're saying it like Ouryumon is only useful to Alphamon if she becomes a weapon." Raidramon said trying to calm Hackmon down. "And it's not like the three of us really have our memories from back then to really help clarify either."

"You'll see for yourselves when they return. Any other questions?"

"Yeah, how come Homeostasis doesn't try to eliminate King Drasil like it did back then?" Tai asked finally speaking up.

"I can't speak for it, I can only pass the message along when it doesn't have a conduit to speak through. However I can tell you from my personal knowledge that King Drasil and Homeostasis cannot simply destroy one or the other. What happened back during the Ordinemon incident was a momentary solution, but King Drasil's influence goes deeper than any of us can comprehend. It has been around since the beginning, and Homeostasis was created to be the deity of our world instead of it. I fear that whatever King Drasil's planning, it's more than simply taking you children out of the way." Before Hackmon could continue, something landed in front the group and sent them all flying backwards from the force of the landing. The group struggled to stand as two shadows stood in the cloud of dust in front of them. Hackmon and Raidramon's eyes widened as it began to settle and a colossal knight with black and purple armor holding a large two sided spear and a Digimon resembling a red-haired man wearing a black body suit and a white cloak over his back stood in front of them.

"G-Gankoomon?!" Raidramon groaned recognizing the smaller Digimon as he tried to find his footing.

"Craniamon? What are you doing here?" Hackmon asked removing his goggles.

"Looking for the evil half of Alphamon." Craniamon said slamming his spear into the ground.

"But it seems we found three of our old allies." Gankoomon said pointing at Agumon, Hackmon, and Garurumon. "Let's make this easy since we're not here for you: tell us where DexDorugamon went so we can eliminate him before he could begin his plan again."

"DexDorugamon? What are you guys talking about?! That's who you guys are listening to!" Agumon yelled getting up and standing in front of Tai.

"What's going on?" T.K. asked as he grabbed his D-3 from his pocket.

"They probably think Dorumon is DexDorugamon, it's the only explanation." Patamon said as he got ready to fight.

"These humans, they must be affecting your sense of reason." Craniamon said turning his attention to the six Digidestined in front of them. He removed his spear from the ground and held it towards them. "Eliminating them might clear your heads." As if on cue: Agumon and Garurumon lept into the air, swiftly jumping straight to their Mega levels to attack Craniamon. But Gankoomon jumped into the air after them and quickly kicked them towards the ground.

"Now now let's not get too hasty."

"You got hasty first!" Gankoomon looked up to see Stingmon, Angemon, and Birdramon all flying towards him. He smirked and vanished, appearing next to each of the Digimon and punching them towards the ground as well.

"STINGMON/ANGEMON/BIRDRAMON!"

"Thunder Blast!" Raidramon roared and fired a blade made of blue and red lightning at Gankoomon as he kept his back turned to him. Gankoomon chuckled slightly and stopped the attack with his hand, shocking Raidramon.

"My turn. Table Flip!" Gankoomon dug his hands into the ground and tore out the ground up to where Raidramon was standing, throwing it into the air before jumping after it. "Tekken Seisai!" With one swift punch, the large piece of land shattered and the broken pieces of it hit Raidramon and sent him flying backwards.

"RAIDRAMON!" Davis yelled before the ground began to shake and all six Digidestined turned to see Craniamon towering over them.

"I'll make this quick." Craniamon said as he raised his spear. Once he began to swing it down, a flash of white tackled him and pushed him away from the group.

"I won't let you harm them!" Jesmon yelled as he created three dragon heads made of fire and sent them towards the gigantic Royal Knight. But a large dragon made of the same fire them stopped the three Dragon heads, surprising him before Gankoomon jumped onto Craniamon's shoulder.

"Don't forget who taught you that technique to begin with." Gankoomon said wagging a finger at the dragon Digimon. "It's two of us versus one of you, I suggest you surrender." Gankoomon and Craniamon looked up as an orange and blue light shot up from where WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon landed into the sky and began to cross.

"Who said he was alone?!" The two growled slightly as Omnimon descended from the orange and blue light and landed next to Jesmon. "We've had enough, how dare you threaten and hurt our friends?!" Omnimon yelled extending the WarGreymon head towards the two, the blade held within popping out as Jesmon prepared himself to attack as well.

"So he managed to get you on his side as well. Omnimon, do you not see the madness behind DexDorugamon's ideals as you did before?!" Craniamon yelled pointing his spear at Omnimon.

"Can't you two see you're being used?! We're on the correct side this time, it's the real DexDorugamon and King Drasil poisoning your minds!" Jesmon yelled surprising the two as they heard King Drasil's name.

"King Drasil...we would never follow that tyrant...would we?" Craniamon asked punching the ground.

"Impossible, we serve Homeostasis...don't we?" Gankoomon asked himself before a sharp pain surged through the two's heads. The two fell to their knees as the pain grew too much to bear as they began to remember the rift that split the Royal Knights in the past. "W-We...will...protect...the Digital...World..." Gankoomon whispered as he looked up towards Jesmon. "J-Jesmon...help us..." Gankoomon pleaded making Jesmon begin to rush to him. But before Jesmon could reach him, a white light fell down from the sky and enveloped the two Royal Knights.

"Craniamon! Gankoomon!" Omnimon yelled as the two began to scream in pain while they began to vanish inside the light. The light then faded and the two as well as the Digidestined stared at the now empty ground where Gankoomon and Craniamon once stood.

"Master...no..." Jesmon whispered looking up at the sky, silently cursing himself for not reaching Gankoomon in time.

"So they failed? Figures." DexDorugamon said as he stood in the chamber where he had revived the Royal Knights, now staring at Craniamon and Gankoomon's unconscious bodies now floating in front of him. "My King, I will not fail in reprogramming them this time." DexDorugamon said before a glowing white orb flew down in front of him.

"I will take charge of the reprogramming myself. It's why Gallantmon and Kentaurosmon have taken so long, they keep subconsciously fighting it. But no matter, their spirits will break and be my loyal servants." A deep voice boomed from the orb, making DexDorugamon kneel as it spoke. "Focus on regaining your strength, your turn is coming up."