Jake turned to Nicole, and their eyes locked. "We can't do that. Well, since we control our Digimon, they won't destroy the Digidestined." He held out his Digivice. "C'mon, Piedmon." Piedmon turned at his voice, and looked at Jake. Even though he was still the leader of the Dark Masters, he was Jake's Digimon, and he and the other Dark Masters would listen to the Digidestined, until the end. "We've taken out their Digimon, so—" Jake stopped suddenly. He heard a loud rush of jet engines overhead, and several robotic Digimon, looking like a can of beans with legs and long tubular arms, with a rocket engine strapped to its back.
One of these strange new Digimon ran over to where Jake and the other Digidestined were standing and said, "We're Mechanorimon, sent by Darkota, to take the prisoners to his castle. Come with us for further instructions."
"What do you—" Jake started, but the Mechanorimon walked away. The other Mechanorimon moved swiftly over to where the other Digidestined were standing, and swiftly bound them with chains, separating them from their weakened Digimon.
Even Brian, who liked the Digidestined least of all of them, was startled by this sight. "Why would he have them chained up?" he asked, to no one in particular. "We defeated them already, so—"
"I don't know." Jake admitted, "But I don't like it. We'll have to see what Darkota has to say about this."
The Mechanorimon that had approached them before came up to them again. "With your Digimon, come with us."
"How?" Brian demanded. "It's not like we have wings."
The large robot stared down at him with its single reddish eye for a moment. "You will be able to fly there, riding atop the one called MetalSeadramon." Then he moved away and joined the other half a dozen Mechanorimon, who were waiting patiently with the eight Digidestined and their Digimon in toll, wrapped in chains, the end of the chains held firmly in their long spindly fingers.
Jake moved to say something, but by that time, the Mechanorimon had joined together in a group, and their rockets ignited as one, and they took to the air, and waited patiently for the four Digidestined to follow.
MetalSeadramon glided down, only inches from the ground, and waited patiently for the Digidestined to board. They looked at one another, and shrugged. Brian picked up the duffel bag, and got slowly on top of MetalSeadramon, and stood on top of his metal back, somewhat uncomfortably. There was not really any fear of falling off, as there was at least a dozen feet in between MetalSeadramon's sides. Michelle, Jake and Nicole slowly followed suit, until all four of the Digidestined were standing atop MetalSeadramon's back. He rose with as much speed as would be allowed, and joined with the other Dark Masters, also airborne, the eight of them rose up to the level of the Mechanorimon, who were waiting with the captured Digidestined in tow.
The Mechanorimon shot through the air, flying fairly fast, but none of the Dark Masters had any problems keeping up with them, and they flew side by side for at least an hour.
Jake, who had sat down along with the others, was once more holding hands with Nicole, who was sitting very close to Jake, both of their folded legs pressing against each other. High up as they were, Nicole in her short jean shorts, was practically shivering from the cold. Jake put his arm around her and held her close, and warmed her up somewhat. Michelle caught Nicole's eye, and nodded her approval. Nicole smiled, and gently laid her head against Jake.
Finally the Mechanorimon saw the point they were watching for, for they began to adjust the angle of their flight and slowly prepared to land. Under MetalSeadramon, who had taken up the lead of the four of the Dark Masters, there suddenly was a large dark castle, seemingly carved out of an entire mountain. It had an evil look, and made all of the Digidestined, especially the eight original Digidestined, who, being bound and knowing that their destination was somewhere within that castle, uneasy. Unlike the new four Digidestined, they knew all to well who had used to live in that castle, for all of them, save Kari, had been there at least twice before. It was the castle where Myotismon had dwelt, before he had gone to Earth by the great gates that opened to a portal, buried somewhere in the deepest dungeon.
By this time, the Mechanorimon were directly overhead of the castle, so they stopped in mid-air, and began to fall, not very fast, but fall they did. MetalSeadramon and the other Dark Masters paused, and began to follow, going even slower than the Mechanorimon where, as while MetalSeadramon cared somewhat for the comfort of the Digidestined he bore, the Mechanorimon cared nothing about that.
The Mechanorimon reached the tallest tower of the castle, with a sort of a turret some forty feet across, and they landed silently and slowly on the cold stone of the top of the tower, and let down their prisoners, and none too gently, either.
MetalSeadramon went first, and landed down closer to the roof of the tower. He let his twin tails drape down to touch the surface, and the Digidestined slid down his back, almost like a slide, and slide as gently as they could to the hard rooftop.
MetalSeadramon once more resumed his coiled up position, and one by one, the other Dark Masters also landed silently on the rooftop. Just as the Dark Masters had settled, and the four Digidestined had climbed to their feet, the entire stone roof beneath their feet slowly but surely began to drop down, into the depths of the tower. For several long uncomfortable moments, the stone beneath their feet still feel down the inside of the tower, standing in pitch-blackness.
Finally, the stone emerged from the inside of the tower, and they emerged into what seemed like an immense stone cavern, which had torches hanging in brackets on the walls every half a dozen feet or so. Tall pillars were placed here and there, seemingly holding up the roof. The stone that all of the Digidestined and the Mechanorimon and the Dark Masters had been riding on touched the ground of the cavern.
Silently, the Mechanorimon moved quickly off of the slab of stone, dragging their prisoners roughly behind them. The four Digidestined slowly moved off of the stone slab, followed by the Dark Masters, who were almost to the point of swaggering.
"You have done well, Digidestined." A voice sudden erupted from the seemingly never-ending shadows towards the front of the cavern. All eyes, both human and Digimon, were suddenly riveted to the spot where the voice had come from. Like some dark angel, Darkota drifted out from within the shadows and into the light.
"That's Darkota?" Jake heard Izzy ask, almost bewildered.
It was almost as if a light suddenly went on in Jake's head, and he immediately grew suspicious. If Darkota was actually good, why would he be hiding around in shadows? Black usually signified only evil, but then again there was the case of Batman. He stepped forward, walking past the rest of the Digidestined and moved to stand next to the chained up Digidestined and their Digimon, who looked up at him as if he was their last hope. "Darkota, what are you going to do with these Digidestined?"
Darkota suddenly seemed to grow angry. Jake felt a sort of a chill surrounding him, almost as if all light and warmth was being drawn from around him, and was somehow being channeled to Darkota. Darkota managed to calm down, and said, as if talking to a five-year old, "I am going to arrange for their imminent destruction, not that it is any concern of yours."
The other Digidestined apparently finally caught wind of the fact that perhaps Darkota was not really on the up and up, and that he was only using them to do his dirty work. They stepped up quickly to stand beside Jake, and the Dark Masters followed suit, looming up behind the Digidestined like huge, deadly bodyguards.
"Why not let us do the job for you?" Brian asked, clenching his fists. Although he still did not care much for the Digidestined, he was not going to stand around and let anyone jerk his chain like that.
"Yeah, Darkota." Michelle said. "They're our spoils of war. We're entitled to a share, certainly."
Darkota again seemed to grow larger and darker as his wrath grew, but somehow managed to not let any of it show on his face. "That may be so, Digidestined, but now as the prophecy is full-filled, you are no longer needed here. So allow me to finish these fools," he pointed with one slender chalk-white finger at the chained up pile of the original Digidestined and their Digimon, "And then I shall send you back to your world. You will be wanting to go back, I suppose."
"Certainly . . ." Jake said, and let his voice trail off. Picking it up again, he said, "But I am afraid that we must insist."
The entire room suddenly felt as if the air-conditioning had been thrown on, full blast, as even more light and warmth was drawn to the now wrath-filled Darkota. These outwardly fools had tried his patience for the last time. He would only allow only a certain amount of foolishness and outright dishonor, and they had used up that allocation long ago. The very thought that they should dare to ask for a reward was almost beyond his comprehension. Wasn't serving such a power like himself a reward in itself?
Of course, as Darkota was filled with self-importance and biggetry, the thought never occurred to him that anyone would oppress him, as Jake and the others soon found out.
Darkota drew himself up, until he appeared to tower over them all, before saying harshly, "I am the master of this world, and I give all commands. These Digidestined will not be yours to destroy; only I am titled to such an honor." He stopped, and then it suddenly dawned on him the reason that the Digidestined were being so adamant. "If you persist more, I shall be forced to destroy you and your Digidestined as well."
That did it. The Dark Masters tensed up like a bowstring, as well as the other Digidestined. Jake suddenly yelled, "Then we'll fight it out!" The Dark Masters leapt over the Digidestined, and landed some ten feet away in front of Darkota.
Darkota looked on the Dark Masters at first with an expression of astonishment, and then with laughter. "Do you actually think that you four are a match for me?" he asked, his voice dripping with contempt.
"That remains to be seen," Piedmon said, his icy gaze bent on Darkota. "Shall we begin?"
Darkota's dark laughter filled the vast cavern, and echoed strangely off it's walls. "Do you fools actually think you can harm me?" he retreated a few steps. "You've put yourselves in a hole which you cannot get out of!" he gestured grandly with his right arm. "Meet my Digimon, the new Dark Masters."
Four reddish points of light suddenly snapped open in the growing darkness behind him, two appearing side by side, another pair of eyes a head taller than the others, and the last pair of eyes even taller still. A sort of robotic laugh emitted from within the darkness. Darkota seemed to glide to one side, to allow room for his Digimon to come forth from the darkness and into the light.
The first one to emerge was a rather tall and well build green-skinned android Digimon. His massive fists were clenched, and bolts appeared to be screwed into his knuckles. He wore spike-studded boots and black pants with chains and rings hanging off, and his face was covered with a blank yellow colored faceplate. A large single-headed short ax was in a sheath over his left shoulder.
"This is Boltmon, an android created by one of my many servants. He is the leader of my little band of supreme Digimon, and none can stand up against his tomahawk."
The next Digimon stepped out, who was about the same build and height as Boltmon, except his skin was a much darker shade of green. His hair was silvery metallic, and flowed like mercury, and covering most of his body were steel plates some studded with small spikes, and some not. He cared a long bone which looked like it was made out of iron. Two black horns stuck out of his head, like a ram's.
"This is IronOgremon, the Mega form of Orgremon. His 'Iron Cudgel' attack will lay his enemies flat." Darkota said.
The next Digimon to emerge was larger still than IronOgremon or Boltmon. It was a creature on all fours, with black wings like a bat protruding from its shoulders, with a mask of steel, and eagle's talons for front legs, and tiger's paws for hind legs. Its body was of a lion.
"This is Gryphonmon, and mystical animal Digimon that one of my faithful subjects found on Earth."
The last Digimon to come out of the darkness was much larger than all of the others. Its tree-trunk sized feet created tremors in the ground as it moved. It was an enormous wooly mammoth, except covered with bones on the outside. Two black fans took place of ears, and a golden skull and trunk, hiding two large red eyes. His trunk was long and heavy, and its tusks bent towards the trunk.
"This is SkullMammothmon, the largest of my group of supreme Digimon, and his Spiral Bone Crusher attack can bring down even the most powerful of Digimon." Darkota stopped, and then looked back upon the Dark Masters with contempt. "Do you still wish to fight them, even now?"
"You know the answer to that one, without bothering to ask." Machinedramon said.
As the two groups of Mega Digimon faced off, Darkota turned to the Mechanorimon, still standing patiently by, with their bound captives. "That that rubble to the fire."
Brian turned, drawing his black Digivice as he went. "Machinedramon!" he yelled. "Stop the Mechanorimon!"
"Giga Cannon!" Several bright explosions of energy shot out from Machinedramon's cannons, but not aimed at Darkota's four Digimon. The Mechanorimon turned upon hearing the sound, but as they did so, the incredible energy hit them, one after the other, vaporizing them on the spot.
"Piedmon!" Jake yelled, holding up his Digivice. "Free the Digidestined!"
Piedmon leapt, and turned, away from the four Mega Digimon he was about to fight. Drawing his four swords at incredible speed, he threw them. "Trump Sword!"
The swords flew true, and sliced neatly through the chains which bound the Digidestined and the Digimon together, before the four of them circled up high into the air like a squadron of fighter planes, and flew back to Piedmon, who effortlessly caught them and resheathed them.
As he saw the Digidestined and their Digimon free themselves, Darkota felt as if he would explode from rage. He never remembered feeling so enraged before. "Attack! Destroy them all!" he yelled to his four Mega Digimon.
"I'd think twice about that one." MetalSeadramon said, rearing up, his head close to the ceiling.
"You'll lose the game if you play with us." Puppetmon said, wielding his long-handled hammer dangerously.
"Tomahawk Knuckle!" Energy burned bright in Boltmon's fist as he punched out with it, and a large energy projectile was sent flying, straight for the Dark Masters.
"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon swung his hammer, and the head connected with the energy projectile, rendering it harmless.
"Spiral Bone Crusher!" SkullMammothmon moved, far faster than any of the Dark Masters would have thought possible. Energy grew within his trunk, and appeared to be harnessed to his two tusks which were very close to his trunk. Energy suddenly sprung forth from his trunk, and the resulting explosion knocked all of the Dark Masters back, forcing even the mammoth Machinedramon and MetalSeadramon to fall back several feet.
Tai and the other Digidestined, who by this time was able to free himself of what remained of the chains which bound him, was watching the beginning battle, and his Digivice began to glow. He unclipped the device from his belt, and looked at it, deciding. The Dark Digidestined were at fault for allowing the Digidestined to be captured, but then again, as Gennai had said Darkota had tricked them. And now, they were fighting him.
He turned to Sora, who went to his side and took his hand. He looked deeply into her eyes, and for a moment, he was lost into them and into the love he and Sora shared. But he remembered what was at hand, and asked, "What do you think? Should we help them?"
Sora bent her head and looked at her feet. Tai cupped his hand and raised her head so that they looked in each other's eyes again. "We have to. They're fighting our battle over there." They kissed briefly for a moment, and as Tai moved away, he held his Digivice over the mostly-recovered Agumon.
"I'm on it, Tai." Agumon said, as he leapt into the energy showering out of the center of the Digivice.
"Agumon Warp-Digivolved to . . . WarGreymon!"
"Gabumon Warp-Digivolved to . . . MetalGarurumon!"
The two newly Digivolved Mega Digimon rushed into the fray of battle, passing right by Darkota. He appeared almost lost in thought, but the look on his face suggested that he already knew who was going to win this battle, and it wasn't the Digidestined.
Just as WarGreymon was going to launch his Terra Force attack straight for Boltmon, a powerful and terrible voice shouted, "STOP!!!"
Amazingly, the ten Mega Digimon froze in what they were doing, and turned as one to the source of the sound. Darkota turned as well, but he already knew who it was even as he turned, and a growl of rage escaped his throat.
There standing tall was a tall muscular young man with brownish-blond hair, wearing what appeared to be brown monk's robes. A large sheathed sword was at his side.
"Gennai!" Darkota said, practically spitting out the word with disgust.
"Gennai?" All the Digidestined said in perfect unison, their jaws practically falling open. This certainly was not the wizened old man they once knew as Gennai.
"I have returned at last, Darkota." He said in a deep voice. "I have finally been able to recover my life force from once which you took from me, forcing me to revert to the guise of an old, bent man with eyes the size of baseballs. And now, you have carried on with this deed long enough!"
"Do any of you, even you Gennai, think you can defeat me?" Darkota said, suddenly appearing to grow in size and power. He towered tall over all of them, and his hands like grasping talons reached out for him.
"Take care, Darkota!" Gennai yelled, backing away from the groping hands and drawing the glittering broadsword with one hand. "This is the sword of Enubian, forged at the creation of the Digital World, and I have kept it hidden long. It was rumored to carry the power of the Creators, the ones who created the Digiworld, within it's enchanted blade. Would you care to see if the rumor is true?"
"Even if it is true, where is it written that a being so powerful as I would fall before it?" Darkota asked, and reached out again for Gennai, his eyes brimming with dark red light. "I will destroy you once and for all!"
"Then begone!" Gennai said. He turned completely around and swung with his sword, the blade brimming with incredible power. Turning back to where he began turning, the entire sword now burning with power, the sword flew, straight and true. It struck Darkota straight in the chest, and the blade buried itself deep into his chest. A bright explosion of power erupted as it penetrated his body. Darkota roared more in anger than pain, but then stumbled back.
"Now Digidestined!" Gennai yelled over Darkota's yells. "Strike with all the power you may!"
"Nova Force!" WarGreymon generated a vast sphere of reddish orange energy between his outstretched arms and threw it as hard as he could, directly for Darkota.
"Giga Missile!" A large missile shot out of a large silo that opened up in MetalGarurumon's chest and streaked straight for Darkota.
"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon yanked off his cross-shaped piece of wood that was attached to his back, and threw it like a discus with as much force as he could.
"Giga Cannon!" Twin explosions of yellow energy exploded from the twin cannons on Machinedramon's shoulders.
"River of Power!" Incredible energy brimmed in the large cannon on MetalSeadramon's nose, and a bright beam of bluish energy shot out from within, and shot for Darkota.
"Trump Sword!" Piedmon jumped high into the air, and tuned, drawing all four of his swords. He threw them as hard as he could, and all four flew in a perfect group straight for Darkota.
Piedmon's four swords stuck deep within Darkota's chest, and slammed him back. The last five attacks, probably helped by Gennai, combined to form an immense sphere of energy with bolts of power shooting out like lightning, and this sphere slammed straight into Darkota, overloading him with power. He yelled out one last time, and dissolved before their eyes, fragmenting into small bits which rapidly disappeared.
"And so ends the reign of Dakota." Gennai said. But as the fragments finally faded, the walls suddenly rippled with dark energy. "This battle has broken the Digital World. It will be reconfigured again, and so you Digidestined must leave, almost immediately. You may take five minutes to say good-bye, but we then must part." Then Gennai's eyes twinkled. "But I will not say that this is the last time you will see your Digimon, and so it will not be."
Several tears were shed as both sets of Digidestined said good-bye to their Digimon yet the second time, but for the new Digidestined it was the first time saying good-bye, and very painful. Even Brian, although tried to cover it up, was really quite saddened.
"You must go now." Gennai said. "But all of you will be coming back to the Digital World. Even Darkota, dark as he was, was not the last of the evil in the Digiworld."
The Twelve Digidestined and the Twelve Digimon parted, eyes still moistened with tears. The room that they were in and Gennai and the Digimon began to fade.
As Jake stood with the other Digidestined, holding hands with Nicole, he glanced down at her, and they smiled at each other. At least, Jake reflected, they still had each other, although he was mentally kicking himself for being tricked by Darkota. As the Digimon disappeared, he knew deep in his heart, this was only the end of the beginning of the adventures in the Digiworld.