Part 7:

"The Crest is down here?" Kari asked, as she followed Davis and Veemon down a dark hallway lit only by the light of candles on the wall.

Davis nodded, then realized that Kari couldn't see. "Yes," he said,"This is where my sister put it after she saw me with it."

"Okay," she said, feverously looking around,"I just hope she doesn't decide to check it until we're out of here. I wouldn't want to have to fight her, she's scary looking."

"I know," Davis said with a smile,"She was always scary, even before she got fussed with a Megadramon."

There was silence for the next couple of minutes until they reached a door with a lock on it. "I guess we can't go any further," Kari said, defeated.

"No," Davis said, nodding to Veemon,"There is always a way." He reached inside his uniform jacket pocket and pulled out a red stripped egg with a horn in it.

"Is that a Digi-egg?" Kari asked, her eyes wide with amazement.

He nodded. "The Digi-egg of Courage. With this, we plan to open that door. Veemon will demonstrate."

"Right. Veemon armor digivolve to Flamedramon! The Fire of Courage!"

"Jeeze!" Kari said.

"Do you think you could possible be any louder?" Davis asked.

"Sorry," Flamedramon said, firing a small stream of fire at the lock, which melted off easily. "Let's go."

They walked inside, and Kari gasped. The shelves that lined the walls were filled with the weirdest objects she had ever seen, even as the Bishop Yagami. Gold idols and dolls were on the top shelves boxes that seemed to radiate steam were lower, and on the bottom shelves, were human body parts. "Wh-what is this place?"

"The Dark Army safe," Davis said, walking to a box at the far wall,"This is where all the...artifacts, that we find are kept."

He opened the silver box and pulled out a pink medallion. "Ah, The Crest of Light, perfect."

"Davis!" Kari hissed,"I hear someone coming!"

Davis quickly through the crest in his pocket, closed the box, and turned to face the door. "Jun?"

The fussed Digimon/human walked in. "Jun," Davis said,"What are you doing down here?"

She flashed a smile that sent a shiver down Davis's spine,"I could ask you the same thing, except I already know!"

She raised her cannon arm,"You're finished, you little traitor! Darkside Attack!"

Flamedramon pushed Davis and Kari out of the way. He raised his gauntlets and blocked the crazed Jun's attack.

"Jun!" Davis yelled,"Stop this now, or I'll have you court marshaled and killed!"

"Nice try," she said,"But I know you and...I believe your real name is Kari, isn't it, are both traitors!" She pointed towards the corner of the room,"There are security cameras here, remember?"

"Damn!" Davis said, standing up,"I didn't approve that order!"

"Piedmon himself signed the proper papers," she raised her cannon arm again,"Now that will be your downfall, and I will be in charge of the Dark Army. All my life, you've gotten everything handed to you on a silver-no a GOLD platter, no I'm going to cash in, finally! Darkside Attack!"

"Fire Rocket!"

Jun's missiles and Flamedramon's fire blasts hit each other and exploded in a spectacular show of sound and light which tore through the walls, sending the blast outside the castle.

Davis opened his eyes, immediately placing his hand to his head. Removing it he saw that it was soaked with blood. "Shoot," he thought, struggling to get up from where he was buried under the concrete rubble. "Kari, Flamedramon!"

"Over here," he heard Kari said.

He turned around and saw her struggling to her feet with Veemon helping her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Oh my gosh!" Kari said, "Davis, you're bleeding!"

"Its-its nothing," Davis said.

"Yes it is," Kari said, ripping part of her robe away,"Let me dress it."

"Kari, really," he protested, but Kari would hear of it.

"Its going to get infected, and where does that leave me?"

After she was done, Davis was now sporting a bandana,"Let's hurry up and get you to where you belong."

"Where are the Digital Warriors, any way?" Veemon asked.

"The latest report indicated that they had been seen in the Digital World," Davis said,"In the Server Desert."

"I'm right behind you," Kari said, running behind Davis.


Matt Ishida would have screamed, but he would never give his captors that satisfaction. He felt another burst of pain shoot through him as more electrical currents were pulsed into his wrists from his chains.

Machinedramon looked oddly at the captive chained to the wall. He hadn't even made a sound in the past hour. "I wonder if I killed him?" Machinedramon asked, stomping over.

He stared Matt in the face. When he looked into the rebel leader's eyes, he still saw that glimmer of hatred towards the Dark Master. "You're still alive," Machinedramon said,"Good. After that display of power, are you ready to finally tell us what we want to know? Why haven't the key cards we stole from your base create a portal into the dimension of time?"

He heard a sound coming from Matt's through, then felt something slick when Matt spit in his face.

He grolwed,"So be it!" He turned and stormed out of the room.

He walked across his prison base and made his way into a large lab, filled with scientific machinery that Izzy would have fell in love instantly when he saw it. "How goes the search, Datamon?"

Datamon turned around from where he was working and shook his entire body. "No good, I'm afraid. These cards are not working at all."

"Lovely!" Machinedramon said,"Find the secret of those cards now! The Digital Warriors are comming."

"They're here?" Datamon asked.

"They've been in the Server Desert since yesterday. I have set a trap for them, but be ware."


The girl calling herself Sora Kamiya looked at the Crest of Courage dangle from her hands. "This is my trait now, this is my virtue, can I live up to it? I've been anything but courageous."

The Digital Warriors had decided to camp out under the Digital sky. "It is nice out here," Mimi said, looking up,"I never thought the desert could look this lovely."

"I know," Yolei said,"It was so hot and sticky out here only a few hours ago, now look at it."

Sora smiled at the conversations, it was like nothing had changed. They were all still a family. Looking around the, Mimi, Palmon, Yolei, Salamon, and Hawkmon were lying at the base of a small sand dune, watching the Digital Stars. Willace, Ken, and Izzy were attempting to cook, truly a funny sight. T.K. was trying to supervise the three of them, which was even funnier. Only Michael and Betamon were alone. They were off to the left, dangling the Crest of Responsibility in his hands. "I wonder..?" Sora thought.

Michael kept staring at it. "What does it mean?" he asked himself.

"Hey."

He turned and noticed Sora standing there. She sat down next to him. "How are you doing?"

"Fine I guess," he said, still looking at the crest.

"You're wondering about it too, aren't you?" she asked.

"You too? But you've always had a crest, this is the first one I've got."

She took out her crest and held it in her palm. "This Crest was originally supposed to be Tai Kamiya's. It was his before he died, along with Agumon. Now, suddenly I find that I'm supposed to replace him in his role in destiny."

"And that's why you've even taken his last name for yourself?" Michael asked with a grin.

"Yeah," she said,"I guess you could say, its a longing, a way to make me feel like we're married, even though that will never happen now. I'm worried that I'll never live up to his deeds."

Michael put his crest back around his neck. "He must have been a very special person."

"He was," Sora said,"You know, I've always wonder about the worth of a person. Its hard to believe that one kid, could eventually mean to be so much, to so many people."

"He always meant a lot to you," Michael said.

She nodded. "I knew him since kindergarden, and when Matt met him at camp, he changed his life, but, there was one person that always held Tai in very high regard. His sister, Hikari. After Tai died, I tried to be like an older sister to her, but, I failed. She was killed the day Diaboramon destroyed Tokyo."

Despite her best efforts to stop, she started crying. "Its not fair. They were both such good people, why did they have to die?"

Michael wasn't sure what to do. "I guess, I'm worried that I won't be able to make my crest glow. I've never been the world's most responsible person, so why did I end up with the Crest of Responsibility."

Sora smiled, then shrugged. "Destiny's a funny thing."


The next morning...

"What is that?" Tentomon asked.

"Its looks like an ocean surrounded by forest on two sides, in the middle of the desert,"Izzy said.

"I knew the Digiworld was weird,"Ken said,"But I didn't know oceans could exist in the heart of a dry wasteland like this."

"Neither did we," Wormon said.

Just then, there was a bubbling from the center of the giant body of water. "What's going on?" Yolei asked, hiding behind Ken.

A cyclone of water shot out from it and a very large creature with a hard shell and a hammer stood in the middle.

"Zudomon?" Ken shouted, "That means.."

They heard clapping and turned to the left. A figure in a white lab coat walked out. "Great deducting, as usual."

"Dr. Kido," Ken growled,"What are you doing here?"

"Searching for the former Bishop Yagami and Davis Motomiya."

"Why?" T.K. asked.

"Because they've turned traitor. It seems that Motomiya has been searching for the true identity of the Bishop Yagami and helped her remember her true past."

"What true past?" Izzy asked.

Kido looked around, then smiled deeply when he saw Sora. "Her true identity as Kari Kamiya!"

"What?!" Sora shouted before anyone could say anything.

"When we found her she had no memory of her past. We helped her make a new one, until Motomiya made her remember."

"You're lying!" Sora said,"Kari's dead, and even if she wasn't, she wouldn't be a Dark Master!"

"Belive what you want," Kido said,"My orders from Jun Motomiya were to find those two, but I don't see why I can't destroy you while I'm here."

Then, before any of the Digital Warrior Digimon could fight, Zudomon attacked. "Vulcan's Hammer!"

Still in their Rookie forms, the Digimon couldn't stand up to such an attack. Betamon, knowing what was about to happen, jumped into the only safe spot, the water.

Zudomon laughed. "That wasn't so hard! I've got them all-wait, one's missing."

"Right here!" Seadramon shouted blasting up from under the water, hitting Zudomon in the chin.

"Go get him!" Michael said.

Zudomon grabbed Seadramon and threw him onto the sand. "Now to finish you off," he said, raising his hand,"Vulcan's Hammer!"

He pounded the ground, throwing the Digital Warriors in all different directions. "Is everyone okay?" T.K. asked, struggling to get to his feet.

"Yolei!" Hawkmon yelled,"Where's Yolei?"

They looked around frantically, trying to find their missing member before Zudomon attack again.

"I'm over here!"

They all turned towards the source of the voice. Yolei was in the water, struggling to stay afloat.

"Yolei!" Hawkmon cried, flying towards her.

"Help me," she pleaded, trying to grabbed onto Hawkmon's feet,"I can't swim so good, Hawkmon."

Unfortunately, since her hands were wet, she lost her grip and fell into the water. "I've got her!" Michael cried, jumping diving in.

He found her just below the surface, almost unconscious. Zooming over, he grabbed her and brought her up.

She started gasping for breath, and started to struggle again, but Michael wrapped his arms around her. "Easy Yolei, I've got you."

She then realized that she was on the surface, floating. "Michael," she said,"You-you saved me!"

He smiled. Then, a bright blue light shown from under the water. "What is that?" Yolei asked.

"The crest," Michael said, in a daze,"Its glowing."

His Digimon slithered across the ground and dove back in the water. "Seadramon digivolve to.."

He jumped back out of the water, larger and red in color. "...Megaseadramon!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon said, slamming his hammer down.

Michael twisted in the water so his back was towards the battle. "I'll protect her, no matter what!" he thought.

"I don't think so!" Megaseadramon said, blocking the attack with his horn. "My turn, Thunder Javelin!"

Zudomon felt the pain of electricity shot through him. He struggled, but he couldn't hold it any longer. He returned to his Bukamon stage and zoomed into Kido's open hands.

Kido stared at the group. "Your move," Sora said, clenching her fists. He turned around and ran back into the forest.


"Well, you see, Lord Machinedramon, its actually a pretty funny story."

"Quite staling and tell me what happened, Archknight Motomiya," Machinedramon growled at the image of Jun on the communicator screen,"that is, while you are still able to talk!"

"Uh, yes, your highness," Jun said,"Kido found the Digital Warriors. He was engaged in a battle with them at the Ocean Oasis."

"They were only a few miles from this base?" he shouted.

"Yes," Kido said, stepping into view,"and I was going to capture them, but this one Betamon was really strong, and-"

"Enough!" Machinedramon shouted,"If you thought that puny, little, Rookie Digimon was tough, wait 'til I get through with you." He turned towards Jun,"Why didn't you alert me, you two-bit Frankenstein Monster?"

"We were going to tell you sooner," Kido said,"But they really wounded me."

"You're right," Machinedramon said, turning around,"I should be more sympathetic after your grueling battle. Jun, please reward him for helping me locate the Digital Warriors."

"Right," Jun said, raising her cannon hand. "Darkside Attack!"

Gommamon winced in pain as he hobbled around on three feet. "You-you shot my paw!" he said.

"Never fail us again!" Jun said, raising her hand at Kido,"Or you're head will be next."

Joe gulped. "Yes ma'am."

to be continued....