"But he is!" Izzy said, while Mimi cried next to him.
Kari stared at her brother through tear streaked eyes. Her only family here in this world was now dead! She never felt so alone. She continued to stare at him, when she noticed something. "Guys!" she said with a smile,"Tai's chest is moving! He's breathing, he's alive!"
Tai slowly struggled to his feet despite the bonds which bound his hands behind his back. "The way I feel right now, I wish I was!" he said, weakly.
"What happened?" Agumon asked. The Digimon had just begun to come around when Tai fell over in apparent death.
"I reached inside Sora's mind with the crest rapport were share! I saw that she was seeing everything in terms of the 1700's in America! She sees herself and the Dark Masters as British Loyalists! Mimi is her indentured servant that betrayed her! She sees Kari as my daughter, Joe and Izzy as American Revolutionary soldiers under my command! I fought Devimon in her mind, but he 'killed' my astral form and the shock almost killed me here!"
"I hope you learned your lesson!" Devimon said, still in disguise as Magicmon. "Sora and Biyomon belong to the Dark Masters, body and soul!"
"Why is Biyomon doing this?" Palmon asked.
"Maybe its because Sora is under Devimon's control! Biyomon has no choice but to comply!" Tentomon said.
As the Dark Master's cheers are heard through the room, Sora looks on each face, her gaze lingering on Devimon far longer than on Tai. When she at last looks out the window, their is no mercy in her eyes.
Suddenly, downstairs in the ballroom, the front door blew apart. Metalgarurumon with Matt sitting on his shoulders ran in. The party guests screamed in surprise and jumped to the side as Metelgaurumon ran through the hall. "Keep calm!" Matt told them," Stay out of our way and you won't get hurt!"
"Its one of them!" a female Digimon shrieked, "One of those Digidestined!"
"Hold it!" a trio of Garbagemon jumped down in front of the staircase. "Come peacefully, or in pieces, your choice!"
"Do it!" Matt said.
"Ice Wolf Claw!" Metalgarurumon yelled, blowing them away. "Great!" he said.
"Uh,"Matt said, looking over his shoulders, "This problem just got worse!"
There was an army of Garbagemon appeared behind them. "Get us out of here!" Matt yelled.
Upstairs, the Dark Masters were celebrating their victory when Metalseadramon said,"Where is that noise coming from?"
"The hall!" Piedmon said," I gave strict orders that we weren't to be disturbed!"
Suddenly, the door smashed open and Metalgarurumon ran in with five Garbagemon trying to tackle him to the floor. Matt was running behind them. "Good evening!" he joke.
"Machinedramon!" Piedmon yelled,"You assured me that you took care of them!"
"I'll take care of them!" Devimon said, confidently, "Sora, stop them!"
"Biyomon digivolve to Birdramon!"
"Meteor Wing!" Bridramon yelled.
"What's she doing?" Metalgarurumon yelled as he flew back from her attack.
Tai suddenly heard a voice in his head. "Duck!"
"Wha-Sora?" he asked. "Get down everyone!" he yelled.
A flame from Birdramon's attack flew over their heads and exploded on a piece of machinery. The shackles holding the Digidestined and their digimon fell off. "Sora freed us! She's back on our side! " Tai said, "Hurry up! Digivolve!"
"Agumon warp-digivolve to Wargreymon!"
"Tentomon digivolve to Kabuterimon!"
"Tanemon digivolve to Palmon!"
"Bukamon digivolve to Gomamon!" "Patamon digivolve to Angemon!"
"Never say die, eh, Tai? We beat you before!" Piedmon said, flying towards Wargreymon
Wargreymon reached back and punched Piedmon as hard as he could. Piedmon flew back and landed on a wall.
"Hey, Machinedramon!" Metalgarurmon growled,"You owe me a rematch!"
As they started to battle the rest of the digimon digivolved to their Ultimate Stages, Kabuterimon became Megakabuterimon, Palmon became Togemon, then Lillymon, Gomamon became Ikkakumon, then Zudomon, and Gatomon became Angewomon.
The two angel digimon tackled Puppetmon. He swung his hammer at them, but they were too fast for him. "Hand of Fate!" Angemon yelled.
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon yelled.
Their tow attacks were two much for Puppetmon. He was slammed into the floor and down to the basement.
"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon yelled as her attack hit Metalseadramon in the back of the head. He loss concentration for a moment, that's when Zudomon attacked with his Vulcan's Hammer. Megakabuterimon grabbed Metalseadramon and threw him down the hole Puppetmon made.
While Machinedramon was more powerful than Metalgarurumon, Matt's digimon was far too agile. He kept dogging Machindramon's attacks until he was close enough to attack. Machindramon went flying down the hole, joining the other two Dark Masters.
Piedmon looked around him. While it was true that eight Champions couldn't stand up to one Mega, one super strong Champion, four Ultimates, and two Mega's certainly could take him down. "I know when I'm beaten!" he said,"But we have not seen the last of us!" He flew down the hole and joined the other Dark Masters. Devimon, meanwhile, had run out of the main room as was trying to make a break down the stairs, but he ran into Sora and Birdramon.
"You made a mistake!" Sora said, her voice quivering, "You 'slew' the man I loved before my eyes. Instead of severing my last connection with the Digidestined, that acted like a bucket of water in my face! Instead of enslaving me forever, you shocked me awake and set me free!"
"No!" Devimon quivered,"The device Datamon created for me before he was destroyed should have gave me complete control over you!"
"That simple huh?" Sora yelled as Birdramon threw him into the wall," Do you have any idea what you've done?! What forces you've set in motion? You came to me to try and use me, but all you did is unleash the 'dark' side of my soul! All the negative emotions, all the racist thoughts, the sacrilegious feelings, all pushed down deep inside where I prayed that they would never show, but you unleashed them!"
"Please!" Devimon whimpered.
"Get rid of him!" Sora sneered.
"Meteor Wing!"
"No!" Devimon yelled as he disappeared in a burst of fire and light.
"In a way I envy you!" Sora said as she and Birdramon turned to leave,"You're at peace!"
"Sora!" Tai yelled, running up to her from down the hall. "I've been searching all over for you. Are you all right?"
"Tai, I...I..."
"Where's Devimon?" he asked.
"We took care of him!" she said, simply as Bridramon blew open a hole in the wall to the outside.
"Wait!" Tai cried,"I want to help!"
"You can't help me!" she thought to herself,"No one can!"
"What do we do now?" Joe asked as the others joined them.
"We run for it!" Sora said,"Some of you can ride Megakabuterimon and the rest can ride Birdramon! Let's get out of here before the Dark Masters decided to attack again!"
Tai, Kari and Gatomon joined Sora on Bridramon, while Wargreymon flew beside them. Matt, T.K. and Patamon rode Metalgarurumon, while Izzy, Joe, Bukamon, Mimi and Tanemon rode Megakabuterimon.
"Why won't Sora talk to me?" Tai thought as he watched her. "Something is happing to her and she doesn't want to talk about it!"
"Where are we going?" asked Matt in the lead.
"To Server!" Tai said,"We have to find Genni!" Secretly, he thought to himself,"The quicker we get Sora and Birdramon to Genni, the better of they'll be I think!"
"What's wrong with Tai?" T.K. asked Matt.
"I don't know!" Matt said, concerned. "We're all alive, unhurt, free, and we saved the girl he loves, you'd think that would make him happy!"
"Oh, Tai!" Sora thought,"Your mind's an open book to me! I know your feelings, you thoughts, what you're trying to do! But Genni can't help me, no one can! It's too late for me!"
Sora's crest began to glow an deep black light. She's scared, because she knew what was going to happen to her, and she couldn't stop it.
"Sora, what's wrong with your crest?" Kari asked.
"Oh no!" Tai said.
"Her me, Digidestined!" Sora said," I am no longer the person you knew! I no longer have to Crest of Love! It now represents the new feelings of my soul! The Crest of Hate!"
"Bridramon digivolve to DarkGarudamon!"
TO BE CONTINUED..