On the other side of the Digital World, in the dwelling of Gennai . . .
"So Gennai," Tai said, after all eight of the original Digidestined had had a joyous reunion with the Digimon they had not seen for several years, upon coming back to the Digital World. "Why exactly did you call us back again?"
"Yeah Gennai," Matt said. "I mean, it's not like we aren't glad to be back to the Digital World, but we're kind of grown up. We all have cars . . ." he glanced at Kari and T.K., the youngest of the Digidestined by some two years, "Except for Kari and T.K., that is. The rest of us can drive, and we're in our senior year in high school."
"Okay, Matt, you've made your point." Tai said, not harshly. Matt raised and eyebrow; some things never changed.
Tai shifted from where he was sitting next to Sora, his fingers interlaced with hers. Gennai smiled before he answered. "I know how may years have passed—"
"So howcum you don't age?" T.K. asked, looking comical with Patamon sitting atop his hat.
"Well, my social security is paid up," Gennai said. "It has been more than six millenniums since you defeated Apoclyamon, and much has happened. For the most part, the balance of power between good and evil was set, but a few weeks ago, I suddenly took notice of an evil I have never felt before." He paused, and sighed, as if the memory was painful. "He was almost a rival, even for me."
"For you?" Joe asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, where they had slipped down. Gomamon looked up at him and grinned. "I thought you were omnipotent."
"Well, I do seem like a god to you," Gennai said, and he got up from where he had been seated at the head of the table, and began pacing around the table. "But I tried that line of work, and it was too much work for me. Anyway, this being came from another realm, a dimension only existing in Digimon Limbo."
"Who is he?" Mimi asked. "He sounds creepy."
"His name is Darkota, as far as I know. He is a being created before the Digital World formed, even before my time."
"So if he is more Herculean than you," Izzy asked, looking up from his high-tech laptop, "Then how do you except us to bring about his downfall?"
"There is a way to do everything, except make a good cup of tea." Gennai said, continuing in his pacing. "Do you remember what Piximon said to you when he saved you from the Dark Masters the first time?"
"He said 'Once you succeed, no one will ever be able to stop you again.'" Kari interrupted. She had a good soul and heart, and cared about all of the Digimon that had been their friends the last time they were on the Digital World. T.K. smiled at her, and she smiled back. He slipped his hand over her smaller one, and squeezed it. She smiled again, and returned the pressure. Gatomon looked up from where she was taking a catnap on the floor, right next to Kari's feet, and purred in contentment.
"He was right. No one will be able to stop you again, if you go about it right. There is one way to defeat him, once and for all, but there's a lot to do even before you reach him."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked, concern in her voice. She too, shifted, but kept her grip on Tai's hand. Biyomon looked up from where she was sitting on the arm of her chair, and smiled. She sure was glad to see her best friend again.
"He has his own group of Digidestined . . . the Dark Digidestined."
"What?" the same word erupted from all eight of the Digidestined's mouths at the same moment.
"He has given the four Dark Digivices to four chosen children on Earth. They are on the Digital World, and already are wreaking havoc with their Digimon."
"Where are they?"
"Who are they?
"Who are their Digimon?"
"I don't know who they are, or who their Digimon are. There was a small group, lead by Andromon, and the Dark Digidestined have already defeated them."
"So why—" Matt began again, but Gennai held up his hand.
"You can't blame them, though. Darkota has tricked the children and their Digimon. Everytime the Digimon Digivolve, they are fed more Dark Energy from the Dark Digivices, and they stay in that stage. When they reach their highest form, they stay in that stage, and the darkness controls them, against their will. The Dark Digidestined are almost controlled by Darkota through the Dark Digivices, and with the Digivices, the Dark Digidestined can control the four chosen Digimon."
They control them like the Black Gears?" Izzy asked.
"Well, their Digivices are just like yours; they help their Digimon Digivolve, but they also help gain some control over the Digimon, but not total control." Gennai replied.
"So what is he trying to do with the Dark Digidestined?" Joe asked.
"The Dark Digidestined were in a prophecy with their Digimon, a prophecy which told of a time when darkness would cover the land, and undead Masters of Darkness would rise again, and take control. Darkota discovered this prophecy, and if he is not defeated and the Dark Digidestined and their Digimon are not stopped and broken from the Dark Digivices' control, he will rule the Digiworld completely."
"Other Digimon have tried that before," Mimi said, almost sounding bored. "And we stopped them."
"Darkota is stronger than any Digimon. Even all of the Dark Masters could not defeat him, and neither can you."
"So . . . why should we even fight?" Joe asked.
"He cannot be defeated," Gennai said, glancing sharply at Joe. "But he can be pushed back into his own universe."
"How are we supposed to fight these other Digidestined?" Sora asked. "I mean, you said that their Digimon and them are being controlled by Darkota."
"There is always a way, even a way to spell 'supercalifragilisticexpealidocious.'"
This only earned Gennai blank stares from the eight Digidestined. "Well, you can defeat them, without hurting them. But the Dark Digidestined are not the real problem. Darkota, and his possible army of evil Digimon, is the real problem."
"Do you know where they are now?" Tai asked, practically rising out of his seat. Upon their return to the Digiworld, he had once more taken up his role as the unofficial leader of the Digidestined.
"Yes. The Dark Digidestined are currently marching northward, and they are entering a forested clearing to rest for the night."
"Shouldn't we strike when they are in a torpor?" Izzy asked. "Strategy speaking, they would be most unconstrained to overcome."
"The forest is dangerous at night." Gennai commented, sitting down again at the head of the table. "Full of lions . . . and tigers . . . and bears, oh my."
"So we'll have to wait until morning . . ." Matt mused.
"Well, I suppose I can accommodate with some beds and hot cocoa." Gennai said, twirling his mustache. "Unless you would prefer some tea."
The looks of disgust on everyone's face answered him, and he laughed again. The last rays of the sun were filtering down through the waters of the lake where Gennai's house was located, submerged in deep water. He snapped his fingers. Eight extra large, fluffy sleeping bags appeared piled neatly in the corner, and a large mug of steaming hot chocolate with large mushrooms floating on top appeared in front of the Digidestined.
"This looks good." T.K. smiled. He smiled at Kari, and she smiled back, discreetly, so that no one else could see. They had been best friends since their legendary adventures in the Digital World, and since they were both freshmen in high school, naturally, and they began to care for each other more than just as friends.
"Actually," Gennai said, taking a sip of his simmering mug of tea, "I have worked on that recipe for several thousand years. Just the right amount of chocolate, shaken, not stirred."
There was silence for several moments, the only sounds being Izzy's gentle clicking of his keyboard, and the occasional slurp of hot chocolate to get to the melted marshmallows at the bottom of the mug.
Tai and Sora kept glancing at each other and smiling, and Tai squeezed Sora's hand. They had, too, been good friends the last time they were on the Digital World, and since then, they had steadily become a couple. They had both still retained their virginity, but both wanted to lose it to each other. It was just a question of being the right time.
One by one, the Digidestined grew sleepy, and got up from the table and unrolled their sleeping bags in the large, dimly lit room adjoining the sort of study they were in now. T.K and Kari left at separate times, but in the semi-darkness, they brought their sleeping bags close together, and they laid together in silence.
Kari rolled over, and for several seconds, she and T.K. stared into each others eyes in the dimming light. She bent her head, and he leaned forward, and their lips joined. The kiss lasted for several seconds, and when it broke, T.K. moved in for another kiss, this one lasting almost a full minute. Kari, never having a boyfriend previously, did not really know what to do, but let T.K. trace her cheek with the pad of his thumb, and she took his hand and gently squeezed it. She did not really know what to do with her tongue, either. She felt she would have liked to french-kiss with T.K., but the situation did not present itself. They broke apart, smiled warmly, and then settled back down, Kari nestling up next to T.K. who had his arm around Kari's waist, and Gatomon and Patamon nestled in their Digidestined's sleeping bag.
Mimi, actually was thinking of which of the three available boys she would pick to have the privilege of keeping her warm throughout the trip into the Digital World. She picked what she deemed to be the largest and fluffiest sleeping bag, and walked into the next room. When she found that Matt and Joe were already asleep, she threw down her bag and fell into an angry sleep. She decided, before she dropped off, that she liked Matt best.
She . . . had changed in the years that had passed between the original journey into the Digiworld and the present. She had . . . grown up very fast, pampered and spoiled by her rich parents, and as a freshman in high school, she had been bored, and looking for something exciting to do which she had not tried before, so she stayed out for an entire night with her boyfriend. They had ended up getting drunk, and she lost her virginity, but not against her will.
Tai and Sora got up, hand in hand, and picked two of the largest sleeping bags. Settling in the darkened room at the far wall, they abandoned one of the sleeping bags and both climbed into one, and nestled down. They made out for a while, but then they both realized that, as Tai was unclipping Sora's small bra (covering her rather large, shapely breasts), and she was sliding his pants down, that the noise they would make would awaken the other Digidestined. So they stopped, kissed some more, and fell asleep, in each other's arms.
Izzy and Gennai stayed up far into the night, perhaps until 1:30, talking about major changes in computers and the Digital World in general.
On the other side of the Digital World, in the edges of the Great Forest, some half-dozen miles from Navjio Canyon . . .
Brian, who had resolved to carrying the large, heavy duffel bag which Darkota had given them, finally let it fall on to the ground in the middle of a small clearing, the ground covered with a bed of fallen pine needles.
"I'm dead tired." He announced, and sat down, opening the duffel and rummaging around.
The Digimon, which had oddly remained in their Ultimate forms after the short-lived battle with Asuramon, positioned themselves around the small clearing where the Digidestined were getting ready to eat, twenty yards apart.
"I thought athletes were some kind of machine." Michelle said. "They never get tired."
Brian shot her a look, but did not answer. He pulled out of the duffel bag several large rectangular objects wrapped in shiny foil. "I guess we're going to eat power bars for dinner."
Jake took one, unwrapped it, and gingerly bit off a corner. "Pretty good." He said, surprised. "I've never tasted anything like this before but it kind of . . . spreads to all parts of your body and gives you energy and warmth."
"Glad you didn't say they tasted like chicken." Brian muttered, tearing into one.
The Digidestined each ate a few of the bars, and for several moments, there was no talk. Brian, who finished first, rummaged around in the bag again, and produced a small silver lighter. "I'll build a fire." He announced. He dug up the bed of needles in a three by three-foot spot, and made a small pile of thin sticks in the center. Grabbing a small handful of pine needles, he struck a flame in the lighter, and let the pine needles catch fire. He held them out slowly to the pile of branches, and they slowly caught fire, until a small little fire was going nicely.
"That thing will burn down to nothing." Brian said, and then yawned. "There're four small sleeping bags in the duffel." He took one out and rolled it out on the ground, some ten feet from the fire. "See you guys in the morning."
The other Digidestined moved closer to the fire, and talked small talk; about movies, video games, and life in general. Jake, who was sitting across the fire from Nicole, noticed that she kept glancing across the fire at him. Jake smiled across the red dancing flames, and Nicole returned the smile, before she and Michelle launched into a lengthy spiel about cheerleading and school.
Jake got up, bid the two girls good night, and grabbed a sleeping bag and set it up, opposite from Brian, with the fire between them. Jake laid in silence for a good fifteen minutes, just listening to Nicole and Michelle talking and laughing quietly. He really liked Nicole, he decided, and he though the feeling was mutual.
Finally, when the talk died down and he suspected that they must have gone to bed as well, he got up and put his shoes on. Walking carefully around the perimeter of the camp, he started down what appeared to be a dirt trail deeper into the woods. He heard footsteps behind him, and when he turned, he came within inches of Nicole, and their eyes locked.
"What's the matter?" Jake asked in a whisper.
"Where are you going?" She whispered back.
"For a walk.' A moments pause. "Do you want to come with?"
"Sure." She smiled again.
The two of them started again down the path, leading the small fire and the other two sleeping Digidestined behind, until all they could see was the small fire as a small pinpoint of light in the darkness on the horizon, and the dark shapes of trees all around them.
Jake felt his hand drift as he was walking, and felt Nicole's hand lightly brush his, and then next thing he knew, he was holding hands with her. This was actually really cool, he thought, because previously since she was a cheerleader and all, and he was just a normal guy, he though that he had not chance with her, but obviously he was wrong.
"Listen, Jake." Nicole said, and stopped walking, drawing Jake around, holding his hand, until he stood right before her. She stared into his eyes, and he blushed and looked away. She smiled. "Listen . . . we're stuck on the Digiworld, for a while . . . and I'm not going with anyone back home . . ."
Jake looked at her suddenly, and smiled. "Yes. I want to go out with you. So much." She smiled, leaned forward, and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Good. As do I."
"So . . ." Jake started. "Do you want to . . ."
"We could try something." She said, and giggled. "I never . . . tried anything before. No one . . . " her voice drifted off. "Everyone always treated me like an air-headed cheerleader, and nothing else."
They walked back to the camp in silence, still hand in hand. Upon reaching it, they found Brian and Michelle still fast asleep. Nicole climbed into her sleeping bag, and motioned for Jake to crouch down. He did so, and they made out for several long minutes until Jake couldn't feel his legs anymore from being cramped up. Just before they broke up, Nicole whispered, "Later, Jake. When this is all over, we will. Now, we have to do this job on the Digiworld."
Jake nodded in the semi-darkness, the flames from the dying fire dancing across his face. "That's just what I was thinking. See you in the morning."
He crept over to his sleeping bag, and settled into it, visions of Nicole dancing in his head.
The next morning . . .
Michelle woke up with sunlight streaking through the boughs of the trees and spaying across the camp in golden rays. She rolled over, and pulled a band-less watch out of her pocket. She yawned, and then looked at the digital numbers. They were flashing '12:00', over and over, like a confounded VCR. Michelle shook the watch, pressed some buttons, and looked again. The same four numbers were still flashing.
There was a gentle rustling of leaves, and a sound that alluded to the sound of wood creaking, and Michelle looked up, to have her vision filled with the large form of Cherrymon.
"Are you all right kid?" Cherrymon asked in a voice that suggested there was something wrong with his nose.
"Yes, Cherrymon." Michelle said. "How are you?"
"All right." Cherrymon said, and then moved to go back to his post.
"Why have you stayed in your Ultimate form?" Michelle asked.
"I don't know," Cherrymon admitted, and shifted his weight onto his cane. "All I know is that when I digivolved from Woodmon, I felt a sudden surge of energy like I had never felt before, and I've had plenty of energy since. The other Digimon and I were talking about it, and we couldn't come up with a logical explanation." He seemed uncomfortable, so he moved quickly back to where he and the other Digimon had been standing guard. Over his shoulder he called, "Hey kid, let us know what you're planning to do, and when. We'll be keeping watch."
Michelle got slowly to her feet, rubbing the dust out of her eyes, and then moved off through the trees to . . . relieve herself.
Jake blinked, suddenly waking. It took him a moment to remember what had happened, and why and how they had gotten to the Digital World. He turned, still lying in his comfortable spot in the sleeping bag, and found Nicole lying a few feet away, still asleep, a look of contentment on her pretty face. Her blond hair, mostly tucked behind her ear, but a few strands, appearing to Jake with the sunlight streaming down, that those few strands falling across her peaceful face to be spun of gold.
Jake smiled to himself, remembering all that had passed the night before, and what (hopefully) lied ahead between them. He sat looking at her for several moments in silence, before getting up. The soft noise he made doing so roused Nicole, and her head rose up, her baby-blue eyes opens, and she smiled up at Jake, and he smiled back.
"Good morning." She said, and climbed to her feet. Her clothes, although slightly rumpled, still looked great on her. She stretched up with her hands above her head, and stood up on her tiptoes. Jake moved towards her, and she pretended to lose her balance and fell forward, and Jake caught her. They kissed twice, once quickly, and the second, a little longer, but still without tongues.
Michelle came back just then, climbing over a fallen log, a kind of sheepish look on her look as she saw Nicole and Jake watching her. "Um . . . Good morning." She said, then looked down at Brian, still sleeping soundly. "Anyone want to get Jerkules up?" she nudged him gently with her foot, but he did not stir.
"Can we leave him behind?" Nicole said, and then laughed to show that she was joking.
"Well, he does know how to light a fire," Michelle commented, rolling up her sleeping bag and stowing it into the large duffel bag. "But not much else." She moved over and shook him by the shoulders. He muttered something incorrigible, but did not stir. Michelle then kicked him in the side, and Brian leapt awake, rubbing his side. "All right, who is the mother—" he looked up and saw Michelle, her arms folded across her chest. "Oh. 'Morning, Michelle, everyone." He got up, yawning loudly. He then noticed the fire, and rummaged around in the pocket of his Nike shorts for the little silver lighter. Re-lighting the fire and stocking up with a small pile of small dried sticks and brush, he set about to distributing the silver-wrapped food bars.
They ate in silence, not commenting much beyond 'Good morning' and a query to how each other slept. Brian was actually surprised he had slept at all; the hard ground, even cushioned somewhat by the sleeping bag, did little for his sore muscles.
After they had eaten and all had used the . . . facilities substituting for the lavatory, they met with their Digimon where they had been patiently watching, standing guard, and waiting the whole night. Of course, they had watched in shifts, but even so, they were not even close to being as tired as the Digidestined were, partly because they had been well-fed before they had met the Digidestined, and partly, although the reason why this happened was unknown, they still had enormous amounts of energy from when they had Digivolved.
The Digidestined and their Digimon started out of the forest, back the way they had come in, in silence. As they traveled out of the forest and starting across a large, expansive grassy field, and felt the sun beating down gently on their faces.
"What are we going to do now?" Brian asked. Again, he was carrying the duffel bag.
"Well," Jake started, choosing his words carefully. "Darkota said something about if we defeated Andromon and his gang that eight children and their Digimon would come and find us, and we would have to fight them."
"Wait." Michelle said. "How are we supposed to win against odds of two to one?"
"We don't even know what kind of Digimon they have." Nicole commented.
"From what Darkota was talking about," Brian said, "He was going on about how we would be the strongest and beat down—"
"There they are!" a voice erupted seemingly from the sky, a voice that was unfamiliar to the Digidestined.
"Don't provoke them, Matt!" Another voice sounded, also from the clear sky.
"What the—" Jake said, and they all looked skyward.
Flying down towards them like large rockets on a sub-orbital flight path, there were a large Digimon covered in shining golden armor from head to toe. His feet were large, orange, like a dinosaur's, were clawed, and he wore large golden seamless gauntlets which appeared to slide over his hands and were edged with three large, razor sharp black claws. His metallic wings were spread open on his back, and a teenage, brown haired kid, maybe eighteen years old, was clinging to his back.
Another Digimon was flying along side it, it appeared to be a cybernetic, oversized wolf. He was completely covered with cybernetic parts, and wielded jaws of steel like a hunter's iron trap. Even his tail appeared as a razor edged scimitar, apparently robotic as well. A boy with wild blond hair rode on the wolf's massive shoulders, appearing to be the same age as the brown haired boy. Steel wings jutted out from under the boy's legs, appearing to come out from the shoulders of the robotics wolf.
The apparent orange skinned reptile Digimon with the golden metallic armor came to a land, dropping some five feet above the ground, to land solidly on his large feet. The other appeared to level off in mid air, hovering like a helicopter.
The brown-haired teenager jumped off of his perch atop his armored Digimon, and stared for a few moments at the four Digidestined and their Ultimate Digimon, standing at the ready behind them, watchful yet tense. At the slightest provocation, they would attack.
Finally, the boy called out to the robotic wolf and the blond haired boy riding atop him, still hovering perfectly still in midair. "It's okay. Tell the others to come down."
The robotic wolf gave a slight growl of acknowledgement, and then he with his human passenger in tow shot up back into the sky and out of sight.
Jake stepped forward. He had noticed that this brown-haired boy had a small silver colored Digivice, different in shape than his own, clipped to his belt. "Who are you guys?"
"I am Tai." The brown-haired boy said, but there was a hint of uncertainty to his voice as if he felt uncomfortable in the situation. Almost to reassure himself, he glanced back at the golden armor clad Digimon behind him. Turning back, jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the Digimon, who stood at the ready, also quite tense. "That's WarGreymon. He's my . . . Digimon."
"So you must be the one of the Digidestined from Earth!" Michelle blurted.
"Well, I'm the unofficial leader, but yes, my friends and I are from earth." He said, but then appeared to be slightly confused. "Aren't you from Earth as well?"
"We are," Jake answered. "I'm Jake, and this—"
Brian suddenly stepped forward. "Just a sec, Tai." He said, almost mockingly. "Where did you send your little pal on the big bag wolf?"
"To get the other Digidestined." Tai said, matching Brian's glare. "We had split up, in advice from Gennai, to look for you in the Great Woods, and since Matt and I have found you, I told him to take the big bad wolf and call the others over here."
"Why?" Brian pressed on. "If it came to fighting—" Jake shot a sudden, piercing glare at him, and Brian fell silent, not finishing his sentence.
"Who said anything about fighting?" Jake said, but in his mind, he had already thought about this. If what Gennai had said was true, they would need to defeat these Dark Digidestined in order to get to Darkota, the real peril.
Jake was going to answer, but he was silenced as he saw several odd shapes in the bright blue sky, coming towards them. As they came closer, he and the others could see what it was.
The first in the line of flying objects coming towards them came into sight, and they saw it was a large brown scarab beetle with a large horn on his head, multiple three fingered claws, and a reddish-blond haired boy riding atop him. Behind him was a small, pixi-like Digimon that appeared to be humanoid, with large green eyes and wearing a short pink dress. Four wings of emerald green wings beat far more rapidly than human sight could see. From her arms hung a teenage girl with long brown hair.
Behind these two came a huge, bird-like Digimon which had two arms and long legs ending in grasping claws. Feathery wings sprouted from its shoulders, and its face was shrouded by a red carapace, making the Digimon almost appear like an Indian bird. In its large clawed hands, it carefully carried a teenage girl with long flowing red hair. Gripped in the bird-Digimon's grasping talons, was the large green shell of a large strange turtle like creature, standing on its hind legs and wielding a large steel hammer in it's clawed hands. Long tusks protruded from its jaws, and a long horn of bone was sticking up out of its forehead. From his other free hand, he carefully held a tall teenage boy with wild blue hair and wire-rimmed glasses, having a white duffel bag over his shoulder.
Bringing up the rear were two angel-type Digimon, one obviously male and the other obviously female, both being held aloft by the light white feathers of many wings. On both of their shoulders, they each carried a young teenage girl and a boy.
These six different Digimon and their children came closer and then all alighted behind WarGreymon, and were set down on the ground by their Digimon and moved to join and stand behind Tai. There was a glint in the air, and the robotic wolf with the blond haired boy riding still atop him returned, and settled down to join with the other seven Digimon, standing behind now the original eight Digidestined, who faced off in a silent stare-down with the four new Digidestined and their four Ultimate Digimon.
"This is Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, T.K., Kari, and Matt." Tai said, moving down the line of the seven other Digidestined.
"This is Brian, Michelle, and Nicole." Jake said, indicating each of the new Digidestined in turn, but was careful not to take his eyes off of the other Digidestined, or their Digimon.
"Why did you destroy Andromon and the others?" Kari suddenly demanded.
"Why are you guys here with all of your Digimon at their highest levels?" Nicole said. She turned and glanced at Jake, who nodded slightly. "Unless you are here only to fight with us."
Tai glanced sideways at Sora. "Well, we thought we could talk and work things out, instead of fighting. These Digimon here were just in case there was some kind of a trap."
"It certainly doesn't look like that to me!" Brian said. "Why would you need all these Digimon for any kind of a trap?"
Izzy laughed. "Obviously, you don't know the Digital World very well if you think that. And in addition, with—" Tai suddenly glared at him, and he fell silent.
Jake and the others noticed this little act, and they knew then that Izzy was about to reveal the principle reason why the Digidestined were here with their Digimon at their highest forms. "Why did you stop Izzy from finishing his sentence?" Michelle said suddenly. "Let him finish what he had to say." Jake and the others nodded, but did not say anything.
Tai puased, and appeared to be in thought. Finally he sighed and said heavily, "If I do that, it will certainly bring a fight. And we don't want your Digimon to get hurt."
This last shot apparently infuriated Brian much more than the rest he had said, because he suddenly exploded. "Who says we wouldn't win? You guys may be the original Digidestined, and you may outnumber us, but that doesn't mean anything! You guys want to fight, we'll fight."
"No one is challenging you!" Matt said. This guy is obviously related to Tai somehow, Matt thought. No one else could be such a jerk about fighting.
"No," Jake answered, "But you're certainly not trying to be friendly."
"Yeah." Nicole echoed. "You guys show up with all of this fighting force, and expect us to just forget about it when that force is looming over your shoulders and staring at us! And then you try to act all good and benevolent, like you're trying to help us."
"If a fight starts," Tai said dangerously, "The real Digidestined will not be the ones to start it."
"Whaddya mean, 'real Digidestined!" Brian thundered.
"Just what the he said." Sora said. Even she, like the other Digidestined were getting angry.
"I say we should teach these poor fools a lesson." Michelle said, turning to Jake but talking loud enough so that the other Digidestined could hear.
Tai turned back to his Digidestined. "We still have to be fair about this. MegaKabuterimon, Lillymon, Zudomon, and Garudamon, go."
The respective Digimon quickly moved over to face off with the other four Ultimate Digimon, each group standing in front of their group of Digidestined.
Only Cherrymon was somewhat of a match in size for the other Digimon, and he said, "Hmm. I wonder who will attack first."
Izzy suddenly yelled, "Take them down, but don't defeat them! MegaKabuterimon, go!"
The large brown, scarab beetle, which had moments before been hovering a few feet above the ground, rocketed skyward, and then turned, and shot downwards, his large horn brimming with power, straight for the line of the four opposing Digimon. "Horn Buster!"
"MegaSeadramon!" Michelle yelled out. MegaSeadramon reared up, and opened his cavernous jaws. "Mega Ice Blast!" A plume of bright blue energy leapt from his jaws, and slammed into MegaKabuterimon, knocking him far from his intended course.
"Inconceivable!" Izzy yelled. "How could one inexperienced Ultimate do that to an experienced?"
"Shoulda thought of that before you started talking smack!" Brian laughed. "Go, MegaDramon!"
"Dark Side Attach!" Twin cannons cycled open, and twin explosions of energy slammed into MegaKabuterimon, sending him airborne.
"Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon, the large turtle-like Digimon with the large metal hammer, raised it over his head and slammed it down on the ground. A spark of energy was generated, and streaked straight for MegaDramon.
"Shadow Scythe!" Phantomon sliced out with his glittering scythe, and cut the energy spike in half, rendering it harmless.
"Wing Blade!"
"Flower Cannon!"
The first attack Cherrymon was knocked back from the impact, but the second, much smaller, Cherrymon absorbed without much damage. "Illusion Mist!" A kind of gentle, almost sinuous mist escaped from Cherrymon, and enshrouded the other Digimon that he had been fighting. The mist clouded their senses when they breathed it in, and made them sluggish and dumb.
"Ultimate Slicer!" MegaDramon sliced with his cannons closed, and knocked the sleepy MegaKabuterimon and Lillymon back.
"Thunder Javelin!" A bolt of lighting leapt from MegaSeadramon's jagged horn, and slammed into Garudamon, knocking her down and out.
"Shadow Scythe!" A rush of air, a glint of polished steel, and Zudomon was down for the count.
"What do you have to say to that?" Brian yelled, as the four Ultimate Digimon shrank back to nurse their wounds, at least for the moment. "Who are the 'real' Digidestined now?"
"This makes no sense!" Tai said, frustrated, voicing the thoughts of all eight of the Digidestined. He turned to Izzy. "How can they be doing this!"
"I'm considering it." Izzy said, and pulled out his computer. His fingers began to fall like hail in a hailstorm across the keyboard.
"Go! MagnaAngemon!" T.K. yelled, as he held aloft his silver Digivice.
"You too, Angewoman!" Kari instructed.
The two angel-type Digimon shot up, from where they had been standing vigilantly, behind their Digidestined, and appeared to stand up tall in midair. Before any of the Digimon could attack, a short purple sword-blade of energy elongated from MagnaAngemon's wrist.
"Gate of Destiny!" MagnaAngemon sliced through the air with the energy sword, cleaving a large circle. A large golden, spinning disk appeared out of nothingness, and quickly split down the center and opened, revealing a dazzling spectral limbo.
Almost not knowing what he was doing, Jake suddenly grabbed his black Digivice from his belt, and threw it into the air. Nicole, Michelle, and Brian, almost against their will followed suit. The four Digivices appeared to float in midair, slowly spinning. Then they stopped spinning, and floated motionless, with their digital screens pointing towards each other. Suddenly a beam of black energy errupted from the front of each, and struck the Digivice in front of it, forming an outline of a black box, some two feet wide by two feet high. The box appeared to grow larger, as black energy poured forth from it. It kept growing, until it was at least twenty feet wide by twenty feet high. This large box suddenly moved, and appeared to settle over the four Ultimate Digimon who had bunched together during all of this, in an attempt to evade the Gate of Destiny attack, the Digimon of the four chosen Digidestined; those that Gennai called The Dark Digidestined.
The box passed over the four Digimon, bathing them in dark energy; power the likes of which has never been recorded before. The box then broke apart, disappearing as quickly as it had come, and the four black Digivices floated back to their owners, who caught them. The screens of the Digivices suddenly burned with such black light and power it was painful to look at the light and the Digivice suddenly grew hot in their hands, as if too much power was surging through it.
As both teams of Digidestined recoiled from the sudden grand-scale explosion of light and shockwaves of power were sent dancing off in a five-mile radius, the four Ultimate Digimon who had absorbed all of this tremendous power, began Digivolving at the same time.
"Phantomon Warp-Digivolved to . . . Piedmon!"
"MegaSeadramon Warp-Digivolved to . . . MetalSeadramon!"
"MegaDramon Warp-Digivolved to . . . Machinedramon!"
"Cherrymon Warp-Digivolved to . . . Puppetmon!"
Piedmon stood as a tall humanoid Digimon dressed in brightly colored clothes like a clown. He wore tall yellow boots, green pants, and a large red overcoat that tapered off at the ends to form a large Y-shaped figure. His face was covered with a black and white mask, and had bright orange hair bunched together towards the back of his head. Two blue ribbons sprang out from behind his shoulders, both of which had black skull insignias on them. White frills came out of the sleeves of his red coat, concealing several miniature daggers, as well as a large, white, fan-shaped one covering his neck. Strapped to his back were four black sword scabbards, with the scabbards all coming to one point in the middle of his back, with the golden sword hilts sticking out; one over each shoulder and the other two jutting out near his waist.
MetalSeadramon stood, or should it be floated, as he appeared to hover several feet off the ground in a coiled-up position. His entire fifty-plus foot long frame had been reinforced with Chrome Digizoid, the strongest metal in existence. His long tail split at the base, now two long, tapering tails, and while his face and jaws were still covered with golden metal, he had grown a large cannon-like apparatus which appeared to be a sort of a cannon.
Machinedramon, the second to largest, was a large robotic dragon. He had two large clawed metallic feet, and a shortened tail. His right hand was a closed pointed cannon, while his left consisted of three long metallic claws. Over his long, snake-like head which twisted this way and that as he scanned his surroundings were two large cannons.
Puppetmon, the smallest but not the weakest, was last. He was basically a wooden marionette looking Digimon, having the cross shaped piece of wood generally held by the puppeteer to operate the puppet was attached to his back, and had four strings leading from it to each of his wooden arms and legs. Small cogs were on his chest, and slowly revolved, partially hidden by a blue colored vest of wood, in addition to his blue shorts. He had a long metal nose that appeared to be a small radio antenna, and his red cap with a small skull emblazoned on it, which partially covered his glaring eyes. He held a long handled metal hammer with an oversized cylinder-shaped head that looked like the bullet chamber of a revolver.
The eight Digidestined stared at the four Mega-Level Digimon with identical expressions that changed from astonishment to confusion and then to rage.
Finally Tai whirled to Izzy. "How is it possible that—"
"The Dark Masters are the new Digidestined's Digimon? I don't know." He admitted. "But, don't forget what Gennai said about the prophecy which told of a time when darkness would cover the land, and undead Masters of Darkness would rise again, and take control. Well, the Dark Masters are the undead Masters of Darkness."
"But-but-but we defeated them!" Joe said, with his old habit of stuttering in times of trouble flaring up.
"Maybe not." Izzy said. "Maybe we did, and they just hatched again from Digieggs."
"This is impossible!" Mimi wailed, hanging onto Matt.
"We have to fight them!" Tai said, making a fist.
Matt rounded on him. "How? The only reason we defeated them before was because we took them on, one at a time. Don't you remember what would've happened the first time we fought them if Piximon hadn't shown up?"
"That was before." Tai said stoutly. "They've had plenty of experience."
"Speaking plainly in logic," Izzy said, "Even if we have two Mega Digimon, no amount of Ultimate Digimon can defeat a Mega."
"What about MagnaAngemon?" T.K. demanded, looking up at his angel-type Digimon floating in midair over head.
"He didn't defeat Piedmon." Izzy countered. "He merely locked him within the Gate of Destiny."
"We can defeat them again, the same way!" Tai said, pounding his fist into his palm. "WarGreymon can use his Dramon Destroyers and rip apart MetalSeadramon and Machinedramon, and then MetalGarurumon can—"
"Tai, they won't fall for the same trick twice!" Matt said, his voice raising in attempt to get Tai to understand. "Can't you count? We have two Mega Digimon while they have four! And Piedmon proved he was more than a match for both of them at the same time!"
"So you think we should just give up?" Tai yelled.
"It's not a question about that!" Matt yelled back. "Half of our Digimon have already been in a fight that they've lost. We should just get out of here, regroup, and attack when we're at full strength."
"Um . . . at this point, I don't think we have that choice." Sora said, her voice quivering. Tai and Matt forgot their argument for the moment, and quickly turned to the newly reborn Dark Masters.
The four of them stood, brimming with power as they glared down at the eight Digidestined. Rage and dark power burned like a brand set aflame in their minds, as they suddenly remembered the ordeal they had gone through and how they had suffered a humiliating defeat by the Digidestined long ago.
The four Digidestined stood right behind their newly-Digivolved Mega Digimon, bodies rigid, also glaring at the other eight Digidestined.
"Now we'll see who the 'real' Digidestined are!" Brian yelled out suddenly, breaking the deadly silence that had crept up on the group of them.
"And you will not be leaving," Piedmon said, laughing, "Not until the final curtain has descended upon your final performance!"
"Playtime isn't over yet." Puppetmon said, sounding almost like an angry five-year old kid as he brandished his long handled metal hammer dangerously.
"Leaving so soon?" Machinedramon said in his deep voice, growling deeply in his throat. "I wouldn't hear of it."
"You should've left when you had the chance." MetalSeadramon said, sounding like a barroom roughneck, rearing up out of his coiled position. "Now you're sunk!"
Tai quickly turned to the other seven Digidestined. "WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon can hold them off while we escape."
"How are they supposed to escape?" Kari demanded. As always, she thought of others before she thought of herself. "Piximon won't be here to save us this time!"
"I-I don't know." Tai faltered. "But what other choice do we have?" Sora slipped her hand under his, offering a small shred of comfort and reassurance.
"Looks like you're up a certain creek without a paddle!" Jake yelled. "Go get'em, Piedmon!"
"My pleasure." Piedmon laughed. "The curtain is falling already on their final performance!"
Tai suddenly stiffened his resolve and turned to his metallic armor-clad Mega Digimon. "Let'em know we mean business, WarGreymon!" he yelled, echoing what he had said long ago when they had first faced off with the Dark Masters.
"MetalGarurumon!" Matt instructed, "Teach that joker a lesson he'll never forget!"
With two loud growls of rage, both WarGremon and MetalGarurumon leapt into the air, ready for the attack, just as they did long ago.
"Nova Force!" WarGreymon generated a vast red sphere of energy between his outstretched claws, and threw it overhead at Piedmon, who easily dodged it, sidestepping to one side and laughing it as the energy sphere passed right by him, completely wasted.
"Ice Wolf Claw!" A blue spike of ice erupted from MetalGarurumon's jaws and flew like an arrow let loose from the string. It flew straight for Piedmon, who drew one of his golden-hilted sword, and cleaved the large ice spike neatly in two, letting the glittering shards of ice fall to the ground, and quickly sheathed his sword again.
Piedmon then jumped up high and spun in midair, drawing his four swords as he went, two in each hand. "Trump Sword!" He threw all four swords cleanly, and they slammed, point first, into both MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon, knocking them back, and then arced high into the sky, and flew back to Piedmon, who caught them expertly and resheathed them.
"Have we not already enacted this particular scene?" he laughed.
"We have to strike now!" Tai said, not even bothering to mask the urgency in his voice. "We have to hit them with everything we've got!"
"Then what?" Matt yelled. "We do that, our Digimon are drained of energy, and they destroy us all! There is still time to escape!"
"Wait. Maybe MagnaAngemon—" Tai began, but Matt immediately cut him off.
"Didn't you hear what I said before?" he demanded. "They won't fall for that, especially Piedmon!"
"Terra Force!" WarGreymon placed his large black claws on the end of his golden gauntlets against each other, above his head, and began to spin around, standing upright. Energy rippled around in the air as he spun faster, and then launched himself vertically for the long, sinuous form of MetalSeadramon.
MetalSeadramon, knowing very well what would happen if he did not act, reared up, his half-open jaws brimming with icy blue energy. "Giga Ice Blast!" A large explosion of chill blue energy exploded from his jaws and slammed into the oncoming spinning form of WarGreymon, and quickly enveloped him in icy shards, freezing him in mid-attack. He then fell from the air like a large boulder, slammed into the ground, and bounced a few times before coming to a rest, a giant ice cube.
"Vulcan's Hammer." Zudomon, who by this time had recovered from the beating he had taken, raised his large hammer overhead with both hands, and it fell soundly in the middle of the block of ice that contained the frozen WarGreymon. A large crack appeared down the middle of the ice block, and fell apart in two large pieces, allowing WarGreymon to climb shakily to his feet.
"Ice Wolf Claw!" Several small silos opened among MetalGarurumon's robotic body, and several missiles erupted from them, and streaked straight for Puppetmon.
"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon swung out with his long-handled hammer, and small energy orbs leapt from the hammer and these orbs blew apart the missiles before they could hit.
"Horn Buster!"
"Wing Blade!"
MegaKabuterimon's large horn glittered, and a large lightning bolt of energy erupted from the tip of it, just as a large flying bird of fire was created by Garudamon and sent flying towards the midst of the Dark Masters. The lightning bolt of energy slammed into Piedmon, followed almost immediately by the firebird. A huge cloud of flying grass and dirt was thrown up into the air, but as it cleared, Piedmon still stood, unhurt and unmarked.
"Giga Cannon!" Machinedramon's twin cannons, perched on his shoulders, glittered, and two large yellow explosions of energy exploded from them, and slammed into the midst of the Digidestined, scattering them.
As Tai recovered and was helping Sora to her feet, he yelled, "C'mon, WarGreymon! Take care of them!"
"Nova Force!" WarGreymon leapt into the air, generating a vast crimson sphere of energy between his outstretched claws, over his head. He launched the sphere straight for Machinedramon, who was not fast enough to get out of the way, and absorbed the full-force of the blow, slamming him partially into the ground.
"River of Power!" The large cannon-apparatus atop of MetalSeadramon's jaws glowed from within with a strange blue light. Then a thick beam of blue power shot out from it, and slammed heavily into WarGreymon, knocking him back.
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewoman had forged an arrow out of pure white energy, and as she gestured, a long white bow grew from the wrist of her right hand. She placed the arrow on the string, and let it loose. The arrow flew true, and it slammed straight into Puppetmon, and he grimaced from the blow.
"Clown Trick!" Piedmon held out his hands together and formed a sort of a gun with his spindly fingers. Energy rippled around his hands and he shot it out, like a torpedo forged of energy, and it slammed into Angewoman, knocking her into orbit.
Strings suddenly shot out of Puppetmon's wooden fingers, and snared WarGreymon, attaching to his arms, legs, and head, effectively turning him into a string puppet. "He's got me strung up!" WarGreymon yelled as a warning. Then he leapt into the air.
"Mega Claw!" His claws on his right gauntlet glinted, and he swung out at MetalGarurumon, knocking him back.
"MetalGarurumon!" Matt yelled, as his Digimon slammed heavily into the ground. Just as Zudomon and Lillymon were running to try to restrain him, WarGreymon generated a large ball of energy from within his outstretched claws.
"Nova Force!"
The sphere of energy slammed into Zudomon, literally knocking him into the air. Lillymon was sent spinning airborne from the shockwaves of energy.
"Giga Missile!" A large 'smart' missile shot out of MetalGarurumon's robotic chest from within a hidden silo, and shot straight into Puppetmon, breaking his concentration and freeing WarGreymon, who took to the air at once.
"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon swung his hammer, and slammed it into the ground, and a large sheet of energy was generated, and slammed into Zudomon, who had not quite recovered from the beating he had just taken from WarGreymon, and so he devolved back to Gomamon.
MagnaAngemon and Angewoman flew straight for Piedmon, rippling with celestial energy. "Clown Trick!" Piedmon held his hands in a circle over his head, and from within it was generated a circle of fire. He threw it, and it expanded and caught both Angewoman and MagnaAngemon within the center, and trapped them within it, and the ring suddenly blazed with energy, forcing them to devolve back to Salamon and Patamon. T.K. and Kari ran over to their weakened Digimon, and hugged them, watching MegaKabuterimon, Lillymon, and Garudamon group together, being, along with the two Mega Digimon, the only ones left.
"Wing Blade!" Garudamon had taken to the air, and suddenly stopped and banked, and generated a large firebird, which was sent streaking down straight into the midst of the Dark Masters.
"Giga Cannon!" Two explosions of white energy shot from Machinedramon's cannons. These spheres of energy shot straight through the firebird, breaking it apart and rendering it useless. The energy projectiles kept going and slammed directly into Garudamon, knocking her back and forcing her to devolve back to Biyomon.
"Flip you for it?" MegaKabuterimon asked Lillymon, as they were the only ones left to fight.
"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon rose up, her green wings beating furiously, bringing her two hands together, energy rippling between them. A green sphere of energy flew from between them.
"Horn Buster!" A bolt of power shot out from MegaKabuterimon's horn, and at the same time, both attacks slammed into the coiled up form of MetalSeadramon. Both attacks were rendered useless against the chrome digizoid armor covering MetalSeadramon for an armor.
River of Power!" Icy blue energy gathered within the cannon-like apparatus just above his jaws as he reared up, and suddenly shot out like a cannonball. The beam of power streaked across MegaKabuterimon and Lillymon, knocking them back, and devolving them back to the rookie forms of Tentomon and Palmon, who wearily collapsed onto each other, even as Izzy and Mimi ran to comfort them.
WarGreymon, who had during this brief exchange been floating high in the air with MetalGarurumon, turned to the cybernetic wolf. "Any ideas?"
"Maybe a cold shoulder is needed." MetalGarurumon growled back, glaring at the four Dark Masters who had regrouped and were smirking up at them, daring them to make the first move.
MetalGarurumon glided on his metallic wings. "One frozen sea snake, coming up!"
"Giga Cannon!" Twin explosions of energy lanced from Machinedramon, straight for MetalGarurumon, but he turned and easily dodged them, and the two energy projections whizzed harmlessly off into the distance.
"Ice Wolf Claw!" Several hatches slid open over MetalGarurumon's cybernetic body, and several ice rockets shot out of them, streaking straight for MetalSeadramon. He tried to glide in his coiled up position out of the way, but for once, it was proved that size does not always matter, as he was too slow, and all of the ice rockets hit him head on, encasing him totally in a thick sheet of ice, rendering him, for the moment, immobile.
Michelle, who had until this time been silent along with the other four Digidestined, suddenly cried. "MetalSeadramon!"
Piedmon, who had drawn a sword and moved to cut through the sheet of ice that was rendering MetalSeadramon like an ice sculpture, was suddenly knocked aside by the sharp claws of WarGreymon.
"Giga Cannon!" Several explosions of energy shot out from Machinedramon, and slammed repeatedly into WarGreymon, forcing him back.
"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon seized the cross-shaped piece of wood from where it was attached to his back, and threw it like a discus. It spun cleanly through the air, and slammed heavily into MetalGarurumon's snout, knocking him back as well.
Piedmon had recovered himself as well as his dignity, and he stood with the other three Dark Masters, as he had been able to slice away the ice from the metallic serpent with a few well-aimed strokes of his blades, freeing MetalSeadramon.
MetalSeadramon moved to attack, but Piedmon held up one hand, and MetalSeadramon respectfully backed of. Piedmon glided on thin air, hovering perhaps a foot off the ground, to the head of the Dark Masters.
WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, who by this time had recovered from the last attacks. They stood tall in mid air, some twenty feet from Piedmon and the other Dark Masters, and some ten feet above them. They looked strong and full of power, but in reality they were tired and drained of much of their power. Tai and Matt, indeed all of the other of the original Digidestined, were looking up with hope radiating from them, looking at the last two shreds of hope they had to stop the Dark Masters, as well as those they thought to be the Dark Digidestined.
"Go get'em MetalGarurumon!" Matt yelled.
"C'mon WarGreymon, take care of this clown!" Tai added.
"Nova Force!" Energy was gathered within the confines of WarGreymon's claws, and he threw the sphere of energy with as much force as he could.
"Metal Wolf Claw!" MetalGarurumon reared up, with his head back, energy gathering within his half-open jaws, and he suddenly threw it forward, and the incredible pent-up energies leapt forward.
The two incredible energies coalesced into one, and a large luminous ball of energy flew straight for Piedmon. Piedmon leapt, and the sphere of powerful energy passed under him, also hurting none of the other Dark Masters. After settling back to the ground, Piedmon leapt again, and turned in mid-air, drawing his four swords as he went.
"Trump Sword!" The four swords were expertly thrown, even better than the world's best knife thrower. They flew straight, and slammed first into WarGreymon, and then into MetalGarurumon. WarGreymon groaned, energy rippling across his armor where the swords had sliced across him, and devolved back to Agumon, falling to the ground. MetalGarurumon also groaned from the energy overload flowing across his cybernetic body, and he too devolved back to the rookie form of Gabumon and fell to the ground, drained of all energy.
Piedmon settled back down on the ground, the four swords sheathed once more, just in front of the other three Dark Masters. "It appears we have out-performed you." He said, and laughed, and was joined in with the dark laughter of the other Dark Masters. "Now, which among you would like to be the next one to make their grand exit?"
Tai gritted his teeth, but for once, he had no bold comeback. It really looked like the end for the Digidestined. He took Sora's hand again, and she and he and the their other six companions stood their ground, their hard gazes of anger bent upon the Dark Masters, those who had beaten their eight Digimon.
As for the other Digidestined, they did not really know what to say or do. They had not really expected to win, but now that they had won, what next? Darkota had said that the Digidestined would have to be defeated, and now they were defeated.
Nicole turned to Jake, and whispered in his ear. "Now what? We aren't actually going to kill the Digidestined are we?"
To be continued . . .