Resurrection 3, Part 3

Resurrection 3, Part 3

Lie in Our Graves

               The six children and digimon stared at the intruder.  He was an imposing sight, with his obvious strength and his foreboding appearance.  His appearance was that of a creature of darkness, of a sinister being with only cruel intentions.  His black, uniform-like apparel, the chains that hung about his arms, the red tinted goggles, the pale skin, and the manner in which he had come to them were all signs of his animosity.  It was not like a benign creature to appear from a cloud of darkness, after all.

               Yet, in the midst of all that dark, twisted malignancy, there was one feature about him that confused every one of them:  his smile.

               His smile was warm and congenial and didn't give the slightest hint of evil.  It was not the smile that so many of their enemies had flashed.  He wasn't smiling as if he was about to strike and was thrilled with the idea of mayhem.  He wasn't smiling with contempt or pity.  There was no indication that he was going to attack.  Violence, anger, hatred, and all the things that a foe was suppose to have in his grin were totally absent.  In truth, his smile was that of an old friend who'd come to visit.  As hard as it was for them all to believe, the intruder's only recognizable mood was that of happiness.

               "Hello, children," he greeted them in a harsh, yet flowing voice.  "I am sincerely happy to meet you.  Sit, if you will, for we have much to talk about and so little time for it."

               Davis was the first to speak:  "All right, who are you?!" he demanded.

               The humanoid's grin only widened.  "Oh, Davis," he laughed good-naturedly, "you're so brash sometimes.  There's no need to get excited."

               "Well, it's not every day that some big, sinister-looking guy teleports into our friend's apartment," Yolei remarked sarcastically, "so you'll have to excuse us if we get a little loud!"

               The heated emphasis she put on that last word only strengthened the resolve of the others and they stepped forward.  The dark man only chuckled softly and raised a hand.

               "I suppose it is rude of me not to introduce myself," he remarked in that icy voice.  "I am Lazarusmon."

               "You're a digimon?" Cody asked, puzzled.  "But you look like a human."

               "Arukenimon and Mummymon can too," Ken reminded him.  "This might be a disguise."

               Lazarusmon laughed again with childlike amusement.  "No, no, this is the real me," he assured them.  "This is merely the appearance I took after my last… evolution."

               Those last words were quieter and he looked away momentarily, as if the thought pained him.  He let it pass and went back to smiling.  Kari stepped ahead of the group, Gatomon putting herself between her and Lazarusmon protectively.

               "What do you want?" Kari asked.

               "To talk," he replied, and approached them.

               They all jumped back instinctively, expecting him to attack or seize one of them or do any number of things other than what he did.  He walked past them and took a seat on the couch in the living room.  He reclined and let out a small sigh of relaxation as he stretched himself out.

               "Oh!" he exclaimed, looking at Kari concernedly.  "Where are my manners?  Do you want me to take off my boots while I'm indoors?"

               Kari looked at him curiously, then, after a few moments of contemplation, said, "No, that's okay.  Make yourself at home."

               "Thank you," he said, bowing politely.

               "Would you like some tea?" she offered.

               He beamed warmly and nodded.

               The rest of the Digidestined sat back and watched as she prepared it, utterly astonished at the strangeness of the scene.  When he had his tea, they all sat or stood nearby him.  Not next to him, but across from him, still untrusting.

               "What do you know about the resurrections?" Cody asked, finally cutting to the chase.

               "You're so direct, Cody," he remarked.  "That's what I like about you.  You don't fool around with nonsense formalities."

               "You didn't answer my question," Cody told him, not phased by the praise given him.

               Lazarusmon nodded.  "Very well," he consented.  "I know everything about them.  I'm responsible for them."

               "You?" Kari demanded.  "You sent those digimon we'd already defeated after us a year and a half ago?  When Tai got hurt and my cousin Kami was duped into being used?"

               Lazarusmon looked down and nodded silently.

               "Then you're our enemy!" TK growled, standing up accusingly.  "My brother risked his life to stop them both times.  All of us did!  And now you're making it happen again!"

               Lazarusmon looked up at him, meeting his eyes behind the goggles.  "Yes," he admitted.  "I am your enemy.  I did try to kill you."

               Ken narrowed his eyes.  "Why?  Are you working with Arukenimon?"

               He shook his head.  "I doubt she even knows I exist.  Indeed, very few among the living do know of me."

               "Then why?" Davis demanded, fed up with this dark, grinning digimon that looked like a man and who ducked every question they had for him.  "Why would you want to hurt anyone?"

               "I don't want to hurt anyone," he protested defensively.

               "Then why?" he exclaimed.

               "Because it's the only way I can free myself, that's why!" he snarled, standing up to his full height, his already cold voice turning unabashedly cruel.  "You have no idea what things are like for me, you impudent, wretched little child, so don't you dare judge me."

               Davis took a step back, but then braced himself up and stepped forward again.  "You tried to hurt my friends," he told him, "so I'll ask all I want.  Do you want to sit around drinking tea all day or are you going to start talking?"

               Lazarusmon seemed genuinely surprised by Davis's confidence and softened.  "I suppose you're right," he granted.  "Well, then, I suppose I should tell you my story."

               "Years ago," he began, "before the first Digidestined came to the Digiworld, I was a normal digimon.  I lived in the time in which things were beginning to go wrong.  Evil digimon ruled and the weak were susceptible.  There were only those who joined the forces of darkness and those who lived in fear of them.  Etemon, Myotismon, Devimon… these are enemies you and I know all too well.  The balance had been lost in the Digiworld and I was powerless to do anything about it.  I sought power and the only power that anyone seemed to possess was that of the powers of darkness.  You remember the feeling, don't you, Ken?"

               Ken looked away, embarrassed.

               "I searched for power that I could use across the planet.  It was my only concern, getting the power to crush my enemies.  Then I heard of a place far out in the ocean.  A place where darkness was abundant as a massive, swirling pit.  You have all been there.  You get the same feeling from it as you do from me.  You know it as the Dark Whirlpool.

               "The place was a downward spiral into the very heart of darkness, and I knew that if I could get at that power, I would become an unstoppable force.  I traveled out to it and was sucked in.  I plunged down to the bottom of that pit and into the place where the powers of darkness are at their most concentrated."

               "How did you survive?" Ken asked, awed.  "I remember some Mekanorimon I sent when I… I was…"

               Lazarusmon nodded.  "I know.  And the truth is, I didn't survive.  Not in the sense that you may be thinking of.  I was alive, but not alive somehow.  My form was utterly changed.  I had power, but my appearance was that of some horrid, cursed creature.  These chains," he remarked, rattling the ones draped about his arm, "are a reminder of my state as a prisoner."

               "But, you can travel anywhere you want," Yolei said.  "I mean, you can travel between here and the Digiworld easily."

               "That is one of my abilities," he acknowledged, "but I have no real freedom.  When I returned from the Dark Whirlpool, I was shunned by my fellow digimon.  They could sense the darkness about me just as you can.  I didn't need air or food or anything else.  I had become immortal and could live as long as I wanted to, but I gave up all the things that make something alive.  They could see it in my eyes."

               With that, he removed his goggles.  The children all backed away, flinching at the sight of them.  They were red and burnt like embers.  The red irises looked to be floating in black holes that consumed all light and traveled back into absolute nothingness.  It was like looking at the eyes of death itself.

               "And that is not the worst part," he continued, putting his goggles back on to comfort the children.  "The worst part is what it did to my mind.  It was in that time I discovered what the Dark Whirlpool is.  I alone know it's secret."

               "What is it?" Wormmon asked cautiously.

               "You know what happens to a digimon when it is deleted?" Lazarusmon asked.

               "It's reborn," TK answered.

               "In Primary Village," Ken added.

               "That's partially correct," Lazarusmon told them.  "When a good digimon is deleted, they are reborn, in time, in Primary Village.  But what of an evil one?  Do you expect the likes of Piedmon to be allowed to be born and to return to wreak havoc on the digital world?"

               The Digidestined looked to each other unsurely.

               "When they are deleted, only the core of their being, their… soul, if you will, goes to primary village, and they become a whole new digimon.  But all the data that made up their bodies, their memories, and all that made them evil is taken and collected in a single place, like digital garbage that accumulates over the centuries.  Imagine it:  all the evil digimon that ever existed are, more or less, buried in a single spot.  That spot is the Dark Whirlpool."

               "So, is it like…uh… Hades?" Cody ventured.

               Lazarusmon chuckled slightly at the young boy's evasion of swearing.  "No," he answered.  "It is as if the digimon shed their personalities and their bodies like you would shed their clothes, and they go and put on new ones.  The old data remains.  That is why Ken was able to find Devimon and take his arms to add to Kimeramon, since the old data that was Devimon was collected in the pool."

               "What does that have to do with you?" Kari asked.

               Lazarusmon frowned bitterly.  "I can hear them."

               Ken looked at him, oddly.  "What do you mean?"

               "No matter where I go, I can hear them," he went on.  "All those voices, laughing, calling, screaming, shouting, crying and even whispering at the same time.  Their memories are mine and I can hear every thought they ever had.  My very presence animates their dead data.  It's like reading a book; the thoughts and actions are there, but without a reader, they remain silent.  Now that I'm there, it's as if they're alive, and not a second goes by without them all in my head."

               "You poor thing," Kari remarked.

               Lazarusmon sighed.  "Don't sympathize yet, child.  I still haven't told you why I resurrect them."

               "That's a good question," Yolei encouraged.  "Why would you bring evil digimon back to life?"

               "I can sense the powers of darkness throughout the Digital World," he told them.  "I realized that if the balance of the powers of light and darkness were ever offset enough, the creatures in the Whirlpool would escape and haunt the world as free spirits.  If they escaped, I would be free.  When the Dark Masters took over the Digiworld, I knew that the balance would be upset when both Earth and my world were overtaken.  However, with the old Digidestined's victory over them and Apocalymon, it became apparent that it was not to be.  However, not long after that, I began to sense a new tide of evil.  I knew it would come in three years and now it has come."

               "You mean you knew this was going to happen?" TK demanded, angered.  "You knew about Ken and Arukenimon—"

               "I just knew something was coming, I didn't know who or what," he interjected.  "And I knew that the only thing that would be there to stop it would be the Digidestined.  I had no idea that there would be new Digidestined to deal with this new onslaught, however, so I only sought to destroy the original eight.

               "I learned how to control and harness the powers of darkness and one day I experimented with forcing their data out of the Whirlpool, but it did no good if there was no life energy to give them," Lazarusmon explained.  "I used excess dark energy to transform their data into physical bodies, but to give them life, I needed to give them life energy.  And the only life energy I had was my own.  As a consequence, I could only resurrect a few at a time or else the process would kill me."

               "So that's why you only used weaker digimon," Cody nodded, comprehending.  "Demidevimon, Numemon, Gazimon… they would have taken up less energy than a huge, powerful digimon."

               "Precisely," Lazarusmon confirmed.  "And when both of my earlier attempts failed, I took my time to learn a new method of resurrection."

               "So that's why you're using people this time," Yolei said.

               "By using the dark energy I have at my command, I can use the bodies and life energy of a human to form the new digimon, which is why the human is so tired afterwards," he elaborated, sounding rather pleased with himself.  "As a result, I can resurrect almost anything.  The only drawback is that it is temporary.  It takes concentration on my part to keep them in that form.  I just started yesterday as a means of practicing.  And of getting your attention."

               "What for?" Davis asked.

               "I think it only fair to warn you of what you're up against," he replied, hesitantly.  "Frankly, I don't think you have a chance, but I would hate to be unjust to such worthy adversaries if I'm going to kill you."

               "Why would you want to?!" Cody exploded, incensed.  "What would be the point?!"

               "If the forces of darkness are to triumph, you must be out of the way," Lazarusmon stated straightforwardly.  "Once both worlds are taken over, the spirits that plague me will be freed."

               "You're willing to sell out both worlds to save your own skin?!" Davis exclaimed, joining Cody in his anger.

               Lazarusmon looked at Davis as if thinking of something.  "You don't understand what it's like," he told him, finishing his tea.  "If you did, perhaps you wouldn't be so condemnatory."

               He stood up and stepped toward Davis, causing the others to rush to his side, but Davis put up a hand.  "Hold on," he said.  "What do you mean?  That you can let me hear their voices, too?"

               Lazarusmon nodded.  "Just for a second.  It will only be temporary.  Unless you're afraid…"

               Davis took up the challenge and pushed the others away.  Veemon protested, but Davis's mind was made up.  "Nothing could be that bad," he asserted.  "Now, let's see what you're so bent out of shape about."

               Lazarusmon nodded and removed his gloves from his icy, white fingers.  He touched them to Davis's temples and appeared to meditate momentarily.  Davis flinched a bit at the freezing cold touch of his hands, but stood his ground as the others watched uncertainly.  The tall digimon looked down and asked, "Are you ready?"

               Davis nodded.  A crackle of black electricity surged from Lazarusmon's head, down his arm in a spiral and finally connected at the base of Davis's skull.

               Instantly, Davis's whole body went tense, his arms extending outward and stiffening as his eyes popped wide, as if in horror.  He went completely pale and his jaw dropped in a silent scream.

               What Davis saw was the stuff of a million nightmares.  The sound of innumerable voices all speaking perfectly clearly at the same time, so as to sound like a conversation and the roar of the crowd at the same time shook him as if it was all in his ear at that moment.  He saw such violent, horrendous images and had such evil, twisted thoughts that it was as if his whole being was drowned, saturated, and then combined with them into a monstrosity unlike anything he had ever imagined before.  It was torture beyond the limits of the physical body and, no matter how tough he thought he was or could be, for that one second he felt as lost, lonely, and overwhelmed as a single raindrop that had fallen into the ocean.

               Lazarusmon released his grip and Davis fell backwards, catatonic, into a ready Ken and Veemon's arms.

               "What did you do to him?!" Veemon demanded hotly.  "If you hurt him, I'll—"

               "He'll be fine," Lazarusmon assured him.  "When he comes to, he'll be as good as new.  However, he ought to have a better understanding about what my existence is like every moment of every day."

               Davis started to stir and was breathing hard in a cold sweat.  The others helped him to his feet.  He seemed fine, although a little shaky and looked at everyone as if he barely recognized them.

               "Davis, are you okay?" Kari asked with concern.

               He looked at her and blinked for a moment before saying, "I'm fine, but I bet a date would make me feel a lot—"

               "He's fine," she diagnosed, a small grin on her face.

               "Well, Davis, now that we have an understanding," Lazarusmon continued.  "I think it's time we get this over with.  Believe me, one way or another, this will be over.  It will either be all of you or myself, but we can no longer all coexist."

               "Hey, one question," Ken cut in.  "Why did you use other people to create digimon, but not us?"

               "Your digivices protect you from my powers," Lazarusmon answered.  "However, your little gadgets would be quite useless if you were left unprotected, without your digimon.  Which reminds me…"

               Kari's eyes opened wide.  "The older kids!  You took them!"

               "Well, not yet, I haven't," Lazarusmon laughed cruelly.  "But if you want to keep it that way, I suggest you get to your old meeting place, where I led them."  He then altered his voice and when he spoke next, he sounded astonishingly like Tai.  "Okay, Matt, meet me in the park in twenty minutes."

               The Digidestined turned their backs on their foe, who watched them as they made a mad dash for the park.  He sighed and he shook his head once they had gone.  "Poor things," he muttered, teleporting away.  "They really aren't prepared for what they'll have to face."

               The six children ran as fast as they could, knowing full well how much danger their friends were in.  As they got closer to the park, they became aware of the sound of screaming as they got nearer to the park.  Once it was in sight, they saw scores of frightened park-goers fleeing for their lives.  A man actually ran into TK, knocking him over.

               "Run for your lives, kids!" the man said as he continued running.  "There's monsters in the park!  Again!"

               Kari sped ahead of the group, a look of fierce determination on her face.  "Come on, we have to save them!" she cried desperately.  As they came to the park's entrance, a new creature appeared before them.

               "Well, look who decided to show up for the nature hike!" said the creature, blocking their way.  The monster was an immense tree with long, branch-like arms and a sneering wooden face.

               "What is that?" Yolei cried.

               "I have no idea," TK replied.

               "I'm an old friend of your brother's, kid.  The name's Cherrymon," he introduced, "and I made your brother an offer he couldn't refuse."

               "You were the one that convinced him to fight Tai back in Puppetmon's forest!"

               "A lot of thanks it got me," he chuckled bitterly.  "But Lazarusmon will bring me back for good as long as I keep you from getting through.  He made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

               "What are we doing standing here?" Davis demanded.

               "And why does he sound like he has tissue paper in his cheeks?" Yolei asked.

               "Enough questions!" Cody interjected.  "Do it, you guys!"

               "Armadillomon armor digivolve to… Digmon!"

               "Hawkmon armor digivolve to… Halsemon!"

               "Veemon armor digivolve to… Flamedramon!"

               "Patamon armor digivolve to… Pegasusmon!"

               "Gatomon armor digivolve to… Nefertimon!"

               "Wormmon digivolve to… Stingmon!"

               Digmon rushed forward, drills spinning, expecting this to be an easy task, but was backhanded by a huge wooden fist, sending him into a tree which splintered under his weight as he de-digivolved.

               "Nefertimon, we've got to hold him!" Pegasusmon called to his counterpart.

               "I agree!"

               "Golden noose!" they attacked in unison, binding the plant digimon's arms.

               "Stingmon!  Do it just like before!"

               Stingmon complied and unsheathed the stinger on his arm.  "Spiking strike!"

               Cherrymon only laughed as the insect flew at him.  "Cherry bombs!" he attacked as they got close enough.  The several dozen bombs launched from the foliage on his head, pummeling not only Stingmon, but the nearby Pegasusmon and Nefertimon as well.  The collapsed to the ground, at their rookie stages once again.

               "Why are we losing so badly?" Davis wondered aloud.

               "He's at a higher level," Ken called in answer.  "We need to take him as seriously as we took Mega Seadramon and Lady Devimon yesterday!"

               "Not a problem," Flamedramon chuckled haughtily.  "Fire rocket!"

               Cherrymon may have been strong, but he was still made of wood, and wood is highly flammable.  He burst into flames as the attack hit him.  He frantically tried to slap it out with his hands and might have succeeded were it not for Halsemon providing assistance.

               "Tempest wing!" he attacked, sending a column of wind onto the tree, fanning the fire, which spread to his entire body.  He howled in defeat and anger as he reverted back to the form of a man, who stood there, wild-eyed and still smoking for a moment, before he fell over, unconscious.

               Flamedramon and Halsemon returned to Veemon and Hawkmon respectively and went over to the man.

               "He should be fine," Hawkmon said.  "He doesn't appear to be burnt."

               "Then let's save Tai and the others!" Davis urged, getting ready to dash off again.

               "A little late for that, aren't you?" laughed a voice from above.  They all looked skywards and saw a sextet of Bakemon floating away overhead.  Restrained and struggling were the six eldest Digidestined.

               "Kari!" Tai shouted, seeing his sister and the others below.  "We were tricked!"

               "Put us down!" shrieked Mimi to the Bakemon as she struggled.

               "Shut up and enjoy the view," her Bakemon snarled as the others started calling for help.

               "Veemon, let's knock those clowns out of the sky!" Davis called to his partner.

               "Veemon digivolve to… to…"

               Everyone looked at Veemon expectantly.  He shrugged.  "I just can't do it."

               "I doubt any of us could, now," Hawkmon remarked.  "None of us have had breakfast yet and we can't muster the strength."

               "Don't worry, you guys," Matt called to them as they ascended higher and higher, almost out of earshot.  "We believe in you!  Come after us when you can fight again!"

               Izzy struggled with his Bakemon and freed one arm.  Before he could be fully restrained, he pulled his laptop from its carrying case and hurled it to the young Digidestined below.  "Yolei, catch!" he called.  "You might need it!"

               Yolei lunged forward and caught the laptop, much to Izzy's relief and watched  desperately as he and the rest of the older kids flew out of sight.

               "I suppose it's true what they say," chuckled a cold, familiar voice, drawing the gazes of the twelve of them.  "Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day."

               Lazarusmon stood on the branch of a tree, looking down upon his young foes and grinning good-humoredly.

               "Do you think this is a joke?!" Davis demanded fiercely.  "You think this is funny?!"

               "I think that it's almost over, and that's cause enough for me to celebrate," he replied calmly.  "I don't imagine you want to battle it out in the city and expose more citizens to needless harm, so I've taken this fight someplace more private."

               "Where?" Cody asked.

               "To the place where it all began.  You may not all know it so well, but I'm sure TK recalls it vividly," he chortled.  He threw a small cloth bag tied with a string that jingled as it hit the ground.  "This ought to be enough to get you there," he added, and disappeared in a cloud of black.

               TK went and picked up the bag, holding it contemplatively.

               "Where it all began?" Yolei wondered aloud.  "What is he talking about TK?"

               TK looked to her.  "Summer camp," he replied simply.

               "Then what's in the bag?" Ken asked.

               "Bus tokens."

               The mood on the bus could best be described as somber.  None of them seemed to feel like talking and even the bus driver noticed how quiet the children were.  He'd asked them, "Are you kids okay?  You look a little down."  They politely told him that they were all right, which was not really the truth.  They felt like they had let their mentors down somehow, as if they had failed in their duties as Digidestined and, for that matter, as friends.

               What was truly remarkable was that the quietest one among them was Davis.  Every so often, one of them would make an offhand comment, either about what they were getting into or an observation of something they saw out the window.  The only who had said nothing was Davis.  He was tucked into a ball and sat in his seat silently, Veemon next to him.  His partner tried to get him to speak, usually with another horrid knock-knock joke, but to no avail.  Finally, Ken picked up the slack and tried to engage him in some conversation.

               "Are you nervous, Davis?" Ken asked.

               Davis shook his head.

               "Do feel okay?"

               Davis nodded curtly.

               "Would you mind saying something and stop creeping us out?"

               Davis nodded again with a frown.

               Ken sighed.  "You know, Davis, I'm not much of a conversationalist," he confessed, "so when I'm quiet, it's not that noticeable.  When you're quiet, it means something's wrong.  You always told me not to keep too much inside and to not try to handle things on my own.  Why don't you take your own advice and tell me what's wrong?"

               The goggle-wearing boy sighed and looked to his friend.  "If you've gotta know," he relented, "I'm still a little messed up after that thing with Lazarusmon."

               "You mean when he put those voices in your head?" Ken asked.  "They're not still in there, are they?"

               "No," Davis answered.  "But I… it's like… it sort of like…" he struggled, trying to say what he felt.  "It's like I can't hear like I did then, but I can still remember what it felt like.  I know how Lazarusmon feels and I'm not sure if I want to fight him."

               "After what he did with the older kids?" Veemon interjected.  "Come on, you're not giving up, are you, buddy?"

               "No, but… I still feel like Lazarusmon and I have something in common," he said quietly.  "I feel kinda bad about what happened to him and, if we weren't fighting him, I'd try to help him."

               "Sort of like you did for me?" Ken asked with a smile.

               Davis perked up a little bit.  "Yeah," he replied.  "A little bit."

               "Here's your stop, kids!" the bus driver called.  "Although I don't know why you'd want to stop by this camp.  It's abandoned this time of year."

               "We're having a party with… some old friends," TK told him decisively.  With that, the six children, and their "stuffed animals" got off the bus and walked onto the campgrounds, mentally readying themselves for what lie ahead.

               TK looked over the campgrounds with an air of nostalgia.  He had been so young at the time and at first he wondered if he'd remember the place after four years of time, but now that he was there, it all appeared just as he remembered it.  The familiar sights of the cabins and the tall pine trees and the nearby pond where he had gone canoeing with Matt.  And the workshop where he'd almost cut off Joe's fingers.  And the soccer field where he'd first seen Tai and Sora play some soccer.  And… and…

               He sighed thinking about those good old days, in part remembering the simplicity of being that young, and also because he was brought back to the present, where those old friends were now in danger.  He sighed and looked around, wondering where they were.

               "Well, TP, any idea where Lazarusmon might be keeping them?" Davis asked, sounding a little more normal.

               TK looked around and thought of where Lazarusmon would stage a battle.  He considered the options for a moment before saying, "There's a big clearing a little bit into the woods.  That must be the place."

               "Hold on," Yolei interrupted.  "I'm checking Izzy's analyzer to look up Lazarusmon.  It says here that he's an Ultimate digimon."

               "So our digimon can always DNA digivolve to beat him!" Cody reasoned, smiling at the good news.

               "Be careful," Kari admonished.  "Sometimes a really strong Ultimate can be too much for other digimon at the same level or higher.  Like MagnaAngemon."

               "'Like MagnaAngemon,'" Davis mimicked bitterly under his breath.  "Stupid glory-hogging TS and his—"

               "Davis, are you coming?" Ken asked, as he and the others went ahead.

               Davis gave up and followed them.

               "Ah, you've made it," Lazarusmon greeted them as they stepped out into the clearing.

               "Okay, you creep," TK yelled, taking a fighting stance.  "Where are my brother and the rest of our friends?!"

               "Look up," he stated simply, pointing one gloved finger upwards.

               The twelve of them looked up and saw the six eldest Digidestined tied to the tops of the pine trees.  Ropes held them in place and their mouths were gagged.  They struggled even harder when they saw the younger children arrive.  Each of them was in a separate tree, making a rough half circle in the large, somewhat round clearing.

               "Let them go, Lazarusmon!" Davis ordered.  "You don't want to fight us.  You don't stand a chance."

               "And what makes you say that?" he chuckled.

               "You've got no one to turn into your undead flunkies and our digimon can digivolve far enough to beat you easy!" Davis told him.

               Lazarusmon's grin widened.  "You think I can't resurrect anyone here?"

               "You said our digivices protect us," Yolei said, puzzled by his confidence.  "The older kids have digivices too."

               "I said your digivices protect you," Lazarusmon laughed with grim hilarity.  "Your D3s are powerful enough, but their digivices, on the other hand…"

               "Oh no," Kari gasped, backing away.

               "Yes!" he hissed venomously.  "You weaklings are no match for my latest team.  Resurrection!"

               A sickly yellow glow emanated from the six Digidestined in their positions in the trees and they burst from their ropes as they changed form, landing with a thunderous crash on the ground below.  In place of Sora, Matt, Tai, Izzy, Joe, and Mimi were now six of the deadliest foes the Digidestined had ever faced:  Puppetmon, MetalEtemon, Piedmon, Machinedramon, MetalSeadramon, and Myotismon.

               The entire group turned and ran back into the woods.

               "If you ever want to live again," Lazarusmon told the six villains, "kill every single one of them.  There's one apiece."  The six of them charged ahead murderously.

               "How are we supposed to fight all those guys?" Yolei asked.  "It's impossible!"

               "I've got an idea," Cody puffed as he ran.  "They've only got so much energy to spare.  If we can tire them out by moving faster than they, we can force them to turn back into the others!"

               "Good plan, Cody!" TK agreed, as he and the others grasped their D3s.  "Okay, everyone digivolve to your fastest forms!"

               The six digimon glowed, and in their place were Pegasusmon, Nefertimon, Stingmon, Sumbarimon, Flamedramon, and Shurimon.  They each split up, ready to deal with their individual foes that were already hot in pursuit.

               Pegasusmon and TK were flying overhead, deciding that staying above the trees would be the best way to see who was coming.  The pair were scanning the area when a being exploded from the treetops, laughing maniacally.

               "Ooh, cute hobby horse," Piedmon chuckled, drawing his swords.  "But those things don't usually have legs.  I can fix that!  Trump sword!"

               Pegasusmon dipped below the trees, narrowly avoiding the deadly blades.  Piedmon nimbly leapt from tree to tree, trying to find the ones whom he blamed for his destruction in the first place.  "Why is it that you children insist on playing hide and seek?" he asked, pouting.  "Well, I'm sick of it.  Consider this my way of saying 'Olly-olly-oxen-free:'  Clown trick!"

               The attack blasted several trees out of the way, knocking both boy and digimon out of their hiding spot in a showerf of splinters and pine needles.  TK held on desperately, as Piedmon laughed, drawing a sword and diving in for the kill.

               "Just out of curiosity, do you want your hat on when I do it?" he asked.

               "When you do what?" TK coughed as Pegasusmon tried to regain his orientation.

               "When I mount your head on my wall," he snickered.

               "Dive, Submarimon!" Cody ordered his partner as they splashed into the nearby pond.  "We've got to find a way to keep MetalSeadramon at bay!"

               "You two are pathetic," MetalSeadramon sneered, diving in after them.  "This is just a larger version of shooting fish in a barrel!  River of power!"

               Submarimon rolled to the side, feeling the heat from the blast as it surged through the water, blasting a creater on the opposite shore.  Cody began to sweat in the cockpit.  "That was close," he wimpered.

               "Don't worry, Cody, we'll keep out of his way," assured Submarimon.

               Cody mumbled something like, "Sure we will," but he wasn't sure.  In truth, he was terrified of the monster that was after them.  All he could think about was how horrible it would be to die underwater.

               "Why did we get stuck with the big guy?" Yolei wailed from Shurimon's back as he jumped from tree to tree with ease.  Behind them, Machinedramon crushed tree after tree, cutting a path of destruction in the forest, thundering after them.

               "You can't escape me by hopping, you insects," Machinedramon told them in his steely voice.  "You will both fall before me as easily as these trees.  Giga cannon!"

               The two blasts reduced dozens of trees ahead of him into ash.  Yolei and Shurimon managed to get to a safe spot between the two blasts and they roared past, only singeing them slightly.  When it was over, they stood on a lone tree in the middle of a field of ash.  It was no comfort, however, as Machinedramon, towering over them, approached mercilessly.

               Shurimon held Yolei fast in his arms and, using his feet as propellors, took to the air.

               "Let's keep this battle a ground war," the cybernetic beast laughed hollowly, swatting them both to the ground with a huge iron claw.

               "Yolei…?" Shurimon groaned.  "Are you all right?"

               Yolei had fallen nearby.  She looked bruised and shaken, but other than that, she appeared to be fine.  She slowly got to her feet.  "Yes, I should be—ow!" she cried, collapsing as she stood on her right foot.  "I think I twisted my ankle," she told him, wincing in pain.

               "If I were capable," Machinedramon stated, moving forward, "I might pity you."

               He raised his foot, and stomped down, intending to crush the injured girl below.

               "Y'all are startin' to bug me," MetalEtemon joked taking another ungraceful leap at Stingmon, who carried Ken with ease.  He seemed to be fairing slightly better than the others.  MetalEtemon was simply too slow to catch his faster opponent, and he was already starting to show signs of tiring.

               "Ken, the plan seems to be working," Stingmon told his partner as their enemy tried to land an air punch on him, but only succeeded in spliting another tree.  "This guy is all talk and no monkey shines!"

               "All do the lame joke around here!" the incensed primate bellowed.  "Banana slip!"

               The lobbed attack soared in an arc, but Stingmon dodged it and it exploded a short way off.

               Ken was pleased with the way things were going and was already feeling confident of victory when he heard someone screaming.  He strained his ears and heard it come again.

               "Yolei!" he cried in recogntion.  Instructing Stingmon to go higher, he saw Machinedramon nearby and watched in horror as he repeatedly tried to crush Yolei and a frantic Shurimon, who was carrying her and seemed only inches away from the feet as they came down.  He couldn't keep it up much longer.

               "Stingmon, bring us closer to Machinedramon and get ready to dodge!" he called.

               Stingmon complied and MetalEtemon gave chase.  "Don't tell me y'all are leaving the concert already!  I've still got an encore to do!"

               "You couldn't hit the broadside of Sprial Mountain, you bolt-necked, talentless simian!" Ken taunted, giving him a raspberry.  Nearby, Machinedramon noticed the pair hovering close to him.

               "What the…?" he asked in confusion, momentarily forgetting Yolei.

               "You waste of a good head of hair!" MetalEtemon fumed.  "You just sang your last tune, little darlin.'  Banana slip!"

               "NO!" Machinedramon shouted as he saw what was happening.  Stingmon zipped to the side and the attack struck the huge digimon, causing him to tumble over onto his side, where he reverted to the form of a barely conscious Izzy.

               "We got one!" Ken cried victoriously.  He was distracted in his glee, however, and MetalEtemon finally hit home, punching Stingmon out of the air, sending the pair skidding to the ground.

               "I hope you two exercise," MetalEtemon laughed, cracking his knuckles as he stood over the helpless pair, "because you're about to climb the stairway to heaven!"

               "Ken!" Yolei cried.

               "I've got it!" Shurimon hollered.  "Double star!"

               The attack was aimed at a large tree and his bladed hand cut through it effortlessly.  It tipped and toppled over, right onto the hapless chrome primate.

               "Thanks," Ken sighed in relief, flashing a smile at Yolei.

               "Just returning the favor," she chuckled, her cheeks burning slightly.  The two reached under the fallen tree and, with the help of the slowly recovering Izzy, pulled out a very disoriented Matt.

               "This is more fun than a game of Wack-A-Mole!" Puppetmon laughed gleefully, chasing after Flamedramon as he tried to smash him with his oversized mallet.

               "This guy's a major pain," Davis growled to his partner, whose agility was a major asset in evading the repeated puppet pummel attacks launched by the giddy wooden boy.  "Let's get this over with and toast him like we did Cherrymon."

               "Sounds like a plan to me!" Flamedramon agreed, letting Davis get off his back.  "Fire rocket!" he attacked.

               Puppetmon swung his hammer and batted away the flames easily.  "You shouldn't be playing with fire," Puppetmon warned, wagging a finger.  "But I think I might enjoy it!"  Laughing, he sent several strings from his fingers which attached themselves to Flamedramon.

               "Davis!" he cried in astonishment.  "He's moving my body with his strings!  Stay back!"

               Davis heeded the warning and dove out of the way as Flamedramon uwillingly slashed at him with his long, blade like claws.  Moments later, he had to duck an involuntary fire rocket aimed at his head.  If this kept, up he would be finished in no time flat.

               "Hey, Flamedramon, do you think you can manage another evolution?" he asked his helpless partner.

               "Definitely," he answered.  "It's a good thing we had that lunch on the bus!"

               "Then, let's do it."  Davis took his D3 and D-terminal and hit a button.  A moment later, Flamedramon reverted to Veemon.

               "What's that supposed to do?" Puppetmon sneered.  "He's still a good enough toy to destoy you!"

               "If you want to play, we're going to change the rules," Davis said.  "Digi-armor energize!"

               "Veemon armor digivolve to… Raidramon!"

               The former Dark Master was befuddled.  "Is this supposed to scare me?  He's still connected to me, you loser!"

               "And I'll bet those strings conduct electricity, loser," Davis shot back.

               "Thunder blast!" Raidramon attacked, getting the hint, sending electricity coursing through the strings, directly into the small Mega.  It was not a tremendously strong attack, but apparently it was enough to weaken Puppetmon sufficiently, as he vanished and Sora, exhausted, was left in his place.

               "What about the others?" she asked, breathing heavily as Davis helped her up.

               "You know, I really expected you to be more of a challenge," Piedmon laughed, landing another kick to Pegasusmon's side, finally forcing him to the ground.  "You two are a complete disappointment, but I'd like to think I got something out of this."  He restrained the fallen Pegasusmon with one boot and seized TK by the neck, holding him up.

               "All right, little boy, I leave it up to you," he sneered.  "I've only got a little bit of energy left, so just tell me which one of you dies.  If you choose your partner, I'll let you live.  After all, you're nothing without him."

               "TK, choose me!" Pegasusmon begged.  "I'll just be reborn in Primary Village!"

               TK gasped for breath and gave his answer.  "…Me."

               "Noble gesture!" declared with cruel appreciation.  "Not that it matters, since I can probably manage to destroy you both anyway!"  He pulled back his sword, preparing to deliver the killing slice to the boy, when Pegasusmon managed to lift his head ever so slightly.  Just high enough:

               "Aquas beam!" he attacked, slamming Piedmon in the midsection, knocking him off him with the blast from his head, also loosening TK from his grasp.

               "That's it, you're glue!" Piedmon roared as TK dashed away.  "Trump—ugh!"

               He never finished his attack as Pegasumon jumped to his feet and, acting as fast as he could, used his back legs to kick Piedmon in the chin, sending him flying backwards into a tree.  His energy used up, he returned to the form of Tai.

               "Tai, are you okay?" TK asked him.

               "TK…" Tai moaned, recongnizing him through tired eyes.  "Kari… is she all right?"

               "Gatomon, you treacherous little feline," Myotismon cackled, "I'm going to enjoy killing you and your partner more than you can imagine."

               "Actually, I can imagine it," Nefertimon scoffed, flying ahead of the vampire.  "It's probably as much as I'll enjoy defeating you again."

               "You can't stop me without your friends," Myotismon laughed contemptously.  "Grisly wing!"

               A swarm of bats flew at the two of them, threatening to tear them to shreds, as Nefertimon counterattacked.  "Queen paw!"

               The tiny shots from her front paws blasted away the cloud of bats, but behind it, Myotismon was ready.  "Crimson lightning!" he attacked, lashing the two of theme in the side.  Both cried out in pain as they tried to remain airborn.

               "I'll make you both regret ever having stood against me."  Myotismon now wore an expression of pure hatred as he pried Kari from Nefertimon's back, lashing the wounded digimon repeatedly with another crimson lightning attack.  "You've become weak, Gatomon," he snarled, sending her to the ground, where she de-digivolved.  "As punishment, you can watch as I drain this girl of her life one drop at a time."

               Gatomon screamed in protest as Myotismon held the struggling Kari fast, forcing her head away as he prepared to sink his fangs into her neck.

               "No!" shouted a new voice.  Myotismon turned just in time to see Raidramon and Davis slam into him, Raidramon catching Kari and Davis hanging about the vampire's neck.

               "What do you think you're doing, you insolent brat?!" the undead king demanded trying to pull Davis off his back as they struggled in midair.

               "The name is Davis," he informed him with pride.  "And if you want to mess with Kari, you'll have to go through me!"

               "Child, when I get my hands on you, I'm going to have you pureed and fed to Vilemon!" Myotismon roared.

               "Aw, don't do that, you'll just make the Vilemon sick!" advised TK, flying onto the scene with Pegasusmon.

               "Star shower!" attacked Pegasusmon, striking the struggling vampire with the numerous attacks.

               With a frustrated howl, Myotismon finally succumbed and reverted to Mimi in midair, leaving her and Davis to hurtle toward the ground.  Pegasusmon swooped low and caught Mimi.  Davis fell below the trees and thought he was going to hit the ground when he suddenly landed safely in someone's arms.  He looked up and saw Kari's face.

               "Gotchya!" she said, smiling at him.  "Thanks for the save."

               Davis grinned like a dope.  "You're welcome," he told her, still in her arms.  "You know, I could stay like this for—"

               She dropped him onto the ground unceremoniously.  "I said 'Thank you,' not 'Make yourself at home,' Davis," she chuckled.

               "River of Power!" MetalSeadramon attacked, this time nicking Submarimon's back fin.

               "I can't take this much longer, Cody," he informed his partner.  "We've got to attack if we're going to weaken him."

               Cody looked over his shoulder at the vicious beast pursuing them.  He was gaining, despite Submarimon's speed, and, tired as he was of trying to keep up in the small pond, he was still strong enough to continue attacking.

               "Okay, I've got an idea, but we have to time it just right," Cody told him uncertainly.  "Just do exactly what I tell you and we might be able to beat him."

               MetalSeadramon watched as they dashed straight ahead.  They were in perfect range for another attack.

               "You just left yourself up the creek without a paddle, kid," MetalSeadramon remarked.  "River—"

               Before he could fire the attack, however, Submarimon turned around and ran straight for him, ramming himself, much to the aquatic Dark Master's surprise, in between his jaws.

               "Wha da?" he asked in astonishment at their bold move.

               Cody made a face of disgust, as he was getting a close view of the back of MetalSeadramon's throat.  He shook it off and gave the order:  "Now!"

               "Oxygen torpedo!" Submarimon called, blasting his foe in the tonsils at point blank range.

               MetalSeadramon coughed, expelling the pair and sputtering as he thrashed about in the water.  Now that he was momentarily distracted, Submarimon sent a volley of torpedoes into his soft, unplated underside.  When it was over, MetalSeadramon floated to the surface and shrank back to the tiny form of Joe, who bobbed helplessly in the water.

               Submarimon skimmed along the surface, ferrying Joe to land, where they joined the other Digidestined.

               "Thanks for the lift," Joe told Cody, coughing weakly.

               "You did great, guys," Tai congratulated them.  "That Lazarusmon guy is still out there, though."

               "Not for long, he isn't," TK declared.

               "Easy there, kiddo," Matt chuckled.  "Just play it safe and don't get overconfident."

               "Don't worry about us," Davis told them.  "We're going to stop him, no matter what we have to do."

               The group of them went back to the clearing, where Lazarusmon was waiting smugly.  He smiled at them when he saw they were all there.  "Well done, children," he congratulated.  "I must admit, you handled things beautifully.  Now, however, the time has come for you to face me."

               "Hold on, Lazarusmon!" Davis cried, stepping forward.  "This can't be what you want!  I saw the same things you did… how can you want to see any more killing?"

               "To free myself of the feel of death about me every day, I'd kill anything," he told them bitterly.  "I'd kill gladly and willingly.  And now, I'm going to try to do just that."

               "We don't have a choice," TK exclaimed to the group.  "If we don't put him down, this will never end!"

               "He's right, Davis," Lazarusmon agreed.  "Don't concern yourself with me.  After all, I'm already dead."

               The Digidestined were finished mincing words, and as Lazarusmon waited by patiently, the six digimon became three ultimates, DNA digivolved to their strongest forms available.

               "It's time to send you back where you came from!" Paildramon shouted, drawing his pistols.  "Desperado blaster!"

               The shots struck him repeatedly, splitting holes in his black costume and causing him to stagger backwards, but he shook his head and recovered easily.  In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

               "Excellent!" he laughed.  "I've been waiting for this day for years!"  He made a fist and thrust it forward, sending out several bursts of black energy, each one resembling a skull.  "Lost souls!" he screamed.

               The attack pummeled Paildramon multiple times and he realized that Lazarusmon was stronger than they had thought.

               "Need help?" Silphymon asked, stepping ahead.  "Static force!"

               Lazarusmon made no move to avoid the attack and laughed as he was burnt by the blast.  "Good, but you can do better than that!  Like this:  Vengeful spirits!"

               A pool of black appeared beneath Silphymon and a huge black fist burst from it, tossing him high into the air before he crashed to the ground in a heap.  Shakkoumon floated forward threateningly.

               The armored angel noticed that despite Lazarusmon's energetic mood, he was limping in pain, burnt and probably wounded worse than one could see.  If he kept this up, he would only destroy himself.

               "Listen, Lazarusmon," Shakkoumon tried to reason.  "If you don't stop, you'll just get yourself killed!"

               "Lost souls!" Lazarusmon attacked, ignoring him.  The attack barely dented his plating however, and Shakkoumon remained unfazed.  He rushed forward, ramming him with his full weight, knocking him backwards.  The smaller foe stumbled as he got to his feet, still not surrendering.  He was bleeding from several cuts now, but he refused to surrender.

               "Vengeful spirits!" he bellowed.  The quick attack caught the slower Shakkoumon off guard and knocked him to the ground.

               "Looks like we have no choice," Paildramon called to his comrades.  "Desperado blaster!"

               "Static force!"

               "Kachino bombs!"

               The attacks rained down on Lazarusmon, who was tossed about helplessly as the attacks took their toll on him.  When it was over, he collapsed onto a nearby tree, his goggles smashed and his uniform in tatters.  Smoke rose from his body and his breathing came in harsh, gurgling rasps.  The six children came over to him, looking down on their beaten foe.

               "I'm sorry," Davis told him sincerely.

               "Don't be," Lazarusmon laughed weakly.  "This is what I wanted."

               "You wanted us to destroy you?" Ken asked.

               "Yes," he replied, grinning knowingly.  "This is just what I had planned."

               "But why?" Kari asked.  "Why would you want it to end like this?"

               At that, Lazarusmon seemed to laugh even harder, which sent him into a fit of coughing.  At first, they thought he was going to answer.  Instead, another black cloud appeared and swallowed him up.  When it cleared, he was gone.

               "Where did he go?" Davis wondered aloud.

               "Maybe he went somewhere to die alone," Cody supposed.  "Maybe he thought it would be better that way."

               Davis looked off in the distance, as if in thought.  "Maybe…"

               "All right!" Mimi cried jubilantly to the others.  They were all sitting at an abandoned cabin on the campgrounds, awaiting their friends' return, and Mimi was the first to spot them.

               Tai grinned as Davis, his sister, and the others emerged from the forest.  "I knew they'd make it!" he declared proudly.  The rest of the older children stepped forward and then started running to them to congratulate them on finishing the job.

               "Hey, we can handle anything!" Davis called to them as he and his group ran to meet them halfway.

               Before they could reach each other, however, there came an odd, yet familiar voice.  It spoke one phrase, but the iciness of it struck all of them as they ran:  "Shadow of Death."

               From seemingly nowhere, six black, shadowy forms flew at them.  Before anyone knew what was happening, they had taken positions under the six eldest Digidestined.  Then, in one moment of horrible surprise, they blasted upward with a beam of pure darkness, momentarily enveloping the six children.  When it cleared, the six younger ones and their digimon partners watched in horror as their mentors' knees went weak and they collapsed limply to the ground.

               As long as Kari Kamiya lived, she would never forget the look in her brother's eyes as he stared at her in that moment.  They were like a doll's eyes:  glassy, blind, unseeing, as if they looked right through her, taking in absolutely nothing.

               "Tai!" she cried, going to her fallen brother's side.  "Tai are you all right?" she asked, taking his hand.

               There was no response.

               "Tai?" she asked, her voice quieter now.  "Tai, please wake up!  Tai!  Tai! Tai…"

               Davis, Ken, Cody, and Yolei watched as Kari's pleading voice became much more distressed and soon she was shuddering there by her brother's side.

               They looked to TK, who was by Matt's side.  He was holding his brother's hand in his, silently.  He put his head to his chest for a moment.  Then looked back to his confused friends.  He had tears in his eyes and his lower lip trembled.  He didn't say a word, but merely shook his head in sorrow.

               The others, unbelieving, went to the others, checking and rechecking pulses, listening to chests, calling out names in cracked, pleading voices.  But it was not long afterwards that the horrible truth hit them.

               The six eldest Digidestined, the six dearest friends they had ever had, were dead.

To be continued…