Me: Got my brain back in working order-even though it already was in working order before, so…

Me: Got my brain back in working order-even though it already was in working order before, so…

Tai: Can you shut up and get on with the disclaimer!

Sora: (irritated) Tai! You should be grateful he's being patient about writing stories about the new kids so back off.

Me: (chuckles; under breath) That and the fact remains that I have absolutely no ideas on what kind of story to write about the Tamers…I don't own Digimon, with the exception of Blightmon!

Tai: He was just rambling on and on…I didn't mean to make you mad, Sora. Can you forgive me?

Sora: Of course, Tai. (leans forward and kisses Tai eagerly)

Me: Oh, good grief! This is where I take a backseat to all this action…

Digimon: The Needs of the Many…

Chapter I-First Encounter with Blightmon

The DigiDestined observed their surroundings and were amazed…the Digital World had abruptly changed since the last time any of them were here! All around you could see nothing but fire and brimstone, glowing rocks that were bathed in green and the smell of sulfur was in the air.

"What the heck happened to this place?!" Davis exclaimed in shock. "The last time we were here, everything seemed normal-or as normal as you can call the DigiWorld!"

"It was…Blightmon's doing…" The team all gasped as they turned around and saw the face of an old friend who seemed to have aged considerably since the incident that had brought them back.

"Gennai! What's going on here?"

"What's wrong with the Digital World?"

"How'd you change back into an old man so quickly?"

"Calm down, my friends. Your questions will be answered in due time. Now, we must find shelter. When Blightmon ambushed me, he destroyed my home and left me for dead. Luckily, he didn't find my secret room hidden under the floorboards. Let's move out."

"Blightmon has taken control over ½ of the Digital World within 20 years of your time. I believe he wants to battle you once again to redeem himself after that ferocious battle with WarGreymon and Black WarGreymon. The problem is, when he took Azulongmon's Digicore, he gained strength and abilities he was never meant to have. Now his powers are even stronger than Azulongmon himself." Gennai explained.

"So, how do we stop him?" Yolei asked.

"Even though Tai, Davis and Ken are the only ones with Mega Digimon, you can at least contain Blightmon long enough for one of them to retrieve the Digicore. But, he'll still be a threat, since his actual powers are stronger than 5 Mega Digimon at once! That's your main objective as of now-regain the Digicore, then find some way to safely get rid of Blightmon. The radiation he gives off now could be fatal. Good luck."

Knowing that they'd have to leave Gennai to attempt to restore his house, the DigiDestined headed off to find Blightmon.

"So, any chance we'll be able to find him in under five minutes, beat him and go home?" Joe asked grimly.

"No…but he'll be able to find you in even less that time! Observe my newfound strength, DigiDestined, and welcome back. Terra Heatwave!!"

The DigiDestined cried out as a green beam covered the ground they were all standing on and suddenly split in two, sending nearly all of them down the rapidly growing hole!

"Davis, Ken! If there was ever a time we needed Imperialdramon, the time's now!" Tai yelled out as Sora grabbed ahold of him alongside Kari.

"Tai's got a point, Ken! What do you say?" Davis asked as he felt Yolei grab his hand tightly and basically not let go of him.

"Let's do it!"

"Veemon Digivolve to…EXVEEMON!!!"

"Wormmon Digivolve to…STINGMON!!!"

"ExVeemon…"

"…Stingmon…"

"DNA Digivolve to…PAILDRAMON!!!"

"Paildramon Mega Digivolve to…IMPERIALDRAMON!!!"

The entire team all found themselves safe inside Imperialdramon's cabin.

"Let's see how well he likes the heat! Positron Laser!!"

"Please! That attack would barely harm a Rookie, much less me. Fatal Radiation!!"

Chorus: It's getting stranger and then…it's getting harder to win!

It's getting digital then…it starts happening all over again!

HEY!

WHAM! Imperialdramon not only shook from the ferocity of Blightmon's attack, he started plummeting toward the cracked ground!

"Hang on, guys!" Davis demanded as he and Ken struggled with the controls, but to no avail. Imperialdramon crashed hard into the ground but was able to avoid the cracked part of it.

It's getting stranger and then…it's getting harder to win!

It's getting digital then…it starts happening all over again!

(It's the strangest thing…)

The team all groaned as they exited Imperialdramon's cabin with only minutes to spare before he deDigivolved back into Veemon and Wormmon. Blightmon stood before them, glowing as brightly as a night-light.

"I don't know what I was so worried about. I actually thought you heroes would present more of a challenge for me, especially the three of you. Alas, I was able to defeat Imperialdramon with one hit. The next time we meet…we're playing for keeps!" The DigiDestined glared at Blightmon as he laughed evilly before departing with an evil sneer plastered on his face.

"That was just one battle! You wait and see-the next time we do meet, we're taking you down for good!" Tai growled angrily as he tried to run after him. Sora, Kari and Matt all held him back.

"Tai, don't! If he's twice as dangerous now as he was then, he'll destroy you with one hit." Sora insisted.

"She's right, Tai. We need to come up with some sort of plan first." Kari noted.

"The first thing we need to do is get that Digicore from him. Did anyone see where it was?" Matt asked. The others shook their heads.

"Come to think of it, did anyone but me notice how his eyes were different than before?" Cody questioned calmly.

"What do you mean?" Mimi spoke up.

"Before, his eyes were pure black. This time, they were red-blood red! Almost as if he uses his powers to absorb the Digicore through his eyes-since he technically has no eyes but instead has eye sockets in the first place."

"Good thinking, Cody! So, we have to figure out a way to crack open that skull of his like an egg. But how?" Everyone sweatdropped as Davis started his thinking mode.

"We're not gonna crack his head open like anything! We need to figure out how Blightmon absorbed the Digicore's energy source before he does something drastic." T.K. said impatiently.

"And taking control over ½ of the Digital World isn't drastic?" Tai retorted, getting in between Davis and T.K. before a fight broke out. "But you're both right. We need to find a way to try to strip Blightmon of the Digicore's energy while we can. Hmmm…I've got it!" The others sighed, knowing Tai's plans to be thought up in the heat of battle, not before.

"Here's what we do-Izzy locates where Blightmon's going. Then we send in one of the Digimon as bait preferably Agumon. While Agumon distracts him, the rest of us will tackle him and that gives us some time to figure out how to get the Digicore back." Tai explained.

"Sounds decent enough." Sora replied.

"Just one question-why do I have to be the bait?" Agumon objected.

"'Cause you're the only one that can Digivolve to Mega! We'll try the plan out once we find him, which'll probably be sometime tomorrow."

"Why not now?" Davis asked.

"Because we're all needed at home for lunch, and I don't think our parents would be that eager to hear that we've returned to the Digital World after so long." Tai added.

"I see. Don't worry, Veemon-you and Wormmon will both be back to your old selves before dinner. Digiport open!" Davis yelled out.

Observing the DigiDestined vanish through the TV, Blightmon waited until they all disappeared then used his special abilities to go through. He instantly jumped to his feet a few minutes later, expecting a battle, but everyone was gone.

"Very interesting. So, they think they can retrieve the Digicore with such ease? I'll show them! I'll figure out where to hide in this World and allow them to come to me, believing that I've fallen for their bait. Then once they try to ambush me, I'll let them all have it with attacks of such precision, they won't know what hit them! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA…"