Tai clenched his fists tightly at his sides, and also looked to MetalGreymon, who was steadying himself on feet the size of minivans

Tai clenched his fists tightly at his sides, and also looked to MetalGreymon, who was steadying himself on feet the size of minivans. So he was still out of the fight temporarily, as was WereGarurumon. They definitely needed more firepower. He turned to the other Digidestined, and forcing command into his voice he yelled, "C'mon guys! Digivolve!"

Power surged through four crests, and slammed into four Digimon, causing them to Digivolve yet again.

"Kabuterimon Digivolved to . . . MegaKabuterimon!"

"Palmon Digivolved to . . . Lillymon!"

"Ikkakumon Digivolved to . . . Zudomon!"

"Birdramon Digivolved to . . . Garudamon!"

Supreme Darkness looked upon the five Ultimate Digimon staring back at them with no real interest. Most of them already were tired of this battle, but none would attack without Eldrtichmon's leave. Eldritchmon, on the other hand, was having a rather good time with the whole affair. He enjoyed seeing the Digimon running themselves to the ground trying to somehow hurt Supreme Darkness, when it was nearly impossible to do so—especially with the pathetic excuses for Digimon the Digidestined had.

He raised his staff, but still did not attack. "Enough for now, MadRobotmon!" he commanded. MadRobotmon looked almost reproachfully back at Eldritchmon, he too was having a good time at this sort of sport, but he nevertheless moved back to join the rest of Supreme Darkness.

"SteelSpidermon." The head of Eldritchmon's staff glinted as the large steel spider moved slowly and respectfully over him to tower some ten feet over the Digidestined. SteelSpidermon was almost as tall as Garudamon and Zudomon, but neither side was daunted by the other's size.

"I'm going to enjoy thisssss." SteelSpidermon muttered in a sort of throaty, hissing voice as his steel mandibles clicked rapidly.

"Not as much as we will!" Joe yelled, completely out of character. "Go Zudomon!"

The enormous turtle/walrus Digimon swung a large hammer that seemed to be forged from steel down hard on the ground, sending tremors through it. "Vulcan's Hammer!" A spike of energy leapt up from the collision between the hammer and the ground, and shot straight for SteelSpidermon.

"Wing Blade!" Garudamon, who had taken to the air again, borne upon vast wings, banked and righted herself into the air. Her wings, from tip to tip glowed with scarlet energy, which was released in the shape of a bird of fire. This dove down straight towards SteelSpidermon.

Both attacks detonated upon SteelSpidermon's hard shell, but no damage had been done that could be seen.

"Spider Beam!" SteelSpidermon's mandibles glowed suddenly with a dark yellow light, and twin beams of light shot out suddenly from them, slamming into both Garudamon and Zudomon, throwing them to the ground.

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon, a plant like pixie generate a small cannon within her hands, and from them shot a light green spark of energy.

Both attacks hit SteelSpidermon full on without doing much more than throwing up a cloud of dust.

"Horn Buster!" MegaKabuterimon, a huge brown scarab beetle with a large horn upon his head dove downwards from the sky, straight for SteelSpidermon, his horn brimming with power.

"Steel Sheath!" A section of SteelSpidermon's shell suddenly rose up, and formed a large flat shield over SteelSpidermon, directly in front of MegaKabuterimon, who could not stop in time.

He slammed right into it, which was like slamming into an ungiving stone wall, and before he could recover and go airborne, SteelSpidermon attacked again.

"Spider Beam!" Twin beams of energy lanced forth from SteelSpidermon's lethal mandibles, striking MegaKabuterimon full out as he struggled to become airborne. He was thrown off into a trajectory off to one side, and could not get out of it. As he began to fall he de-digivolved back to Tentomon, and had strength enough only to flutter his wings weakly to slow his decent, before he fell unconscious into Izzy's arms.

Tai again glared up at SteelSpidermon, who was awaiting the rest to attack, and then at the rest of Supreme Darkness, who appeared bored with the whole affair. Sora gave him a comforting look, but she too was worried. What else can we do, Tai thought to himself as he saw Eldritchmon smirk at the sight of the four remaining Ultimates regrouping, until WereGarurumon and MetalGreymon can rejoin the fight?

"What is Eldritchmon doing?" Sora asked, sounding momentarily confused as she touched Tai's arm. "Why doesn't he just attack himself instead of sending out the other Digimon to fight?"

"He's showing off how powerful he and Supreme Darkness is." Tai said through clenched teeth as he turned to look at Sora. His expression softened up a little, and he managed to smile slightly. "It's working." Sora returned the small smile but did not say anything.

Eldritchmon raised his staff once more, and the head of it glinted darkly. "I tire of this. SteelSpidermon, that is enough. Move forward, Kronosmon." SteelSpidermon turned and moved back to where the other members of Supreme Darkness were standing, rather reluctantly.

The small clock-shaped Digimon bounded forward, and stood at ease, as if waiting for the bus, smirking wickedly.

"Flower Cannon!" A large sphere of energy leapt from Lillymon's makeshift cannon.

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon's hammer made the ground tremble as it was pounded upon it, creating a spark of white energy.

"Wing Blade!" A large bird of fire was sent forth from Garudamon.

"Celestial Arrow!" A shimmering white arrow flew from the string.

These attacks slammed full force into Kronosmon, who stood his ground, and should have done considerable damage to most other Digimon, but Kronosmon withstood it all, not budging an inch.

"Spinning Gears!" The front of the clock face split down vertically and opened, revealing an empty space of dense black shadows which no light could pierce. Several large black disks shot forth from the middle of it, straight for the Ultimate Digimon. They slammed into the Ultimate Digimon, each like a battering ram, sending each of them reeling backwards. Zudomon and Lillymon were seemingly injured more than the others, for as they fell back, they dedigivolved to Gommamon and Palmon, collapsing to the ground before Joe and Mimi could reach them.

Angewoman and Garudamon circled in the air, attempting to attack again, when Kronosmon suddenly thrust his left fist, which was glowing with dark light, up at them. "Hand of Time!" A black beam of light leapt forth from his small clenched fist, and enveloped both Angewoman and Garudamon in it. It was as if they were Digivolving slowly backwards, for they Digivolved back into Gatomon and Birdramon, and then finally into Salamon and Biyomon.

As Sora comforted her Digimon partner in her arms, she glanced at Tai, full of sorrow. Tai looked at her apologetically, and then turned back to Supreme Darkness, more angry than he had ever felt before.

Kronosmon had withdrawn back to his original place behind Eldritchmon, and as the Digidestined and Gennai watched, he strode slowly towards them, the head of his staff slowly becoming more and more bright. "Now that we have discovered beyond a shadow of a doubt who is the stronger, I will now—"

"Wolf Claw!"

"Giga Blaster!"

WereGarurumon and MetalGreymon, who had at last recovered from Eldritchmon's attack, struck while Supreme Darkness was paying no attention to them. Their attacks hit Eldritchmon full out, and caused him to stagger slightly in surprise if nothing else.

He then whirled around, and a sudden dark power flared in his staff as he brought it up to bear, straight for the two Ultimates who were rushing towards him. "That will be enough from you! Magical Force!" A sudden powerful explosion of magical power leapt from the head of his staff and struck WereGarurumon and MetalGreymon even as they charged. The force of the blow uplifted the two Ultimates, and slammed them into the far wall, sending bits of rock raining down from the hidden ceiling above. The two Ultimates slid down the face of the wall, and dedigivolved to their Rookie forms before they hit the floor. Agumon and Gabumon struggled to their feet, and began to walk unsteadily back towards Tai and Matt, who were running over to them.

Before they could reach their injured Digimon, Tai had a sudden inspiration. "Matt!" he yelled, holding up his Digivice, which was glowing brightly. "We've still got more power!"

Matt understood at once, and held up his Digivice too, which was glowing brightly. "Gabumon!" Tai called, "Agumon! Let's go!" Their two Digimon looked up in surprise, just as overwhelming power from their Digidestined's Digivices hit them—

"Agumon Warp-Digivolved to . . . WarGreymon!"

"Gabumon Warp-Digivolved to . . . MetalGarurumon!"

WarGreymon stood as a Mega Dragon type Digimon, with massive talons on his large feet. He was clad mostly in metal armor, and metal gauntlets ending in sharp claws were about the ends of his arms. A pair of metal wings, with the symbol of the crest of courage emblazoned upon it, were closed about his back, and he wore a horned metal helmet with slits for eyes.

MetalGarurumon, the Mega level cybernetic wolf Digimon stood just next to WarGreymon, somewhat shorter but not much less powerful. He was mostly an android, and had highly powerful sensoring and guidance systems. Wings sprang out of his shoulder blades, and a scythe like tail shot out from behind.

Eldritchmon raised his staff again, as if to attack, but then saw the two Mega Digimon staring at him, and he paused. "Mega level Digimon?" he said at last, and lowered his staff. "I was not under the impression that you possessed anything of such power, Gennai! We shall have to see what they are about!" He raised his staff again, power building within the head of it, but not before WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon took to the air.

"Nova Force!" WarGreymon generated a vast crimson ball of pure energy between his outstretched gauntlets, which was bigger than he was, and launched it straight for Eldritchmon.

Eldritchmon took the blow, and to everyone's surprise, staggered backwards slightly, try as he might to cover it up.

"Ice Wolf Claw!" Several hatches and compartments hidden along MetalGarurumon's legs, chest and back opened suddenly, and several tiny missiles streaked out, steaming towards Eldritchmon.

Eldritchmon quickly planted the end of his staff in the ground, and the head of the staff glowed with a sudden dark light. "Wall of Darkness!" A sudden expanse of solid shadows appeared suddenly before Eldritchmon, as if it were a solid wall. The missiles hit the 'wall' of black shadows less than a moment later, and seemingly disappeared, as if they had been pulled into the depths of the shadows. The wall disappeared in the same moment, and Eldritchmon stood unfazed, with fury slowly building on his face.

The Digidestined cheered loudly, as it appeared that Eldritchmon was no longer showing off, and more importantly, that Supreme Darkness could indeed be hurt. It was an excitement that was short-lived, however, when they saw the look of rage on Eldritchmon's face.

"Attack them!" he yelled to Supreme Darkness, gesturing with his staff up at WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon who were still hovering in mid-air waiting for the next attack.

"Ultimate Blaster!" Two cannons unfolded from MadRobotmon's shoulders as he turned his gaze towards WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, and fired simultaneously. Two small white orbs of energy converged into one large yellow orb of energy, which streaked straight for the two Mega Digimon. They both dodged easily to either side, and the orb of energy struck the mass of shadows, and was seemingly pulled into the darkness and was gone.

"Spider Beam!" Two beams of energy lanced straight from SteelSpidermon's raised mandibles, just as Kronosmon's clock face split down the center and opened to an endless black void. "Spinning Gears!"

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon managed to dodge the first attack, but WarGreymon was caught by the blunt of the spinning black discs, and was hurled dangerously close to the enveloping dark shadows near the ceiling before he could recover.

"Supreme Fusillade!" Several small sections along MadRobotmon's outstretched arm folded back, and a ring of small cannons encircled his arm. Several small blasts of energy fired simultaneously, knocking MetalGarurumon out of the air. The robotic wolf hit the ground like a rock, and struggled rather groggily to his feet.

Before any of the Digidestined could react, the one member of Supreme Darkness who had not yet attacked or said anything, glided forward as if on invisible wheels, its cloak floating behind it. A ghastly greenish hand appeared from the depths of the black cloak, and a long, slightly curved sword was drawn from the sheath, the steel glinting eerily in the light. It glided very close to where MetalGarurumon had just managed to get to his feet, and before WarGreymon could come to his aid, Wraithmon brandished the sword, its edges glinting with a strange black light.

"Phantom Sword!" The sword appeared to become intangible, engulfed in a dark light, and passed through MetalGarurumon, who let out a howl of anguish and pain, and collapsed, totally losing the use of his legs. He struggled to rise, but it was no use.

As Wraithmon sheathed the sword, which had become tangible once more, Matt gave a cry of rage and ran towards where MetalGarurumon was lying still and now silent.

Tai and Joe did their best to hold Matt back while Gennai said quietly but quickly, "Matt, you cannot help him. That sword is forged from the very fires which feed the anger and hostility which creates evil in the Digital World, and it is devastating especially to those who would fight against any evil who might wield it. He is in rather bad shape now, but he will be all right after he has de-digivolved and rested a bit."

Matt looked furiously at Gennai, as if he were somehow to blame for what happened to his Digimon, but said nothing.

Wraithmon withdrew silently to stand behind Eldritchmon, while MadRobotmon moved closer to where MetalGarurumon lay, a dry robotic chuckling emanating from him.

"Nova Force!" WarGreymon generated a vast ball of energy between his outstretched gauntlets, and launched it straight for MadRobotmon. The blast caught MadRobotmon head on, forcing him to take a few steps backward.

"Spider Beam!" The two beams of energy lanced towards WarGreymon, narrowly missing as he dodged. In the time it took WarGreymon to do this, MadRobotmon seized the opportunity. He lumbered up close to where MetalGarurumon lay, and two cannons once more unfolded from MadRobotmon's back. "Ultimate Blaster!"

A large yellow ball of energy slammed into MetalGarurumon from point blank range, and MetalGarurumon groaned weakly, bathed in yellow light, before de-digivolving back to Gabumon, who struggled wearily to his feet.

"Terra Force!" WarGreymon set the points of his gauntlet's claws together above his head, and began to spin extremely fast. Launching himself horizontally at MadRobotmon in rage, WarGreymon hit MadRobotmon in the midsection, knocking him off his feet and bodily forcing him backwards several yards. In the past, WarGreymon could tear Digimon apart with this attack, especially Dramon type Digimon, but it did little against MadRobotmon.

As WarGreymon came out of the attack, still bristling with anger, Eldritchmon raised his staff, which was once more brimming with power, the head of it level with WarGreymon. "Magical Force!" An incredible explosion of power and light lit the cavern suddenly as energy erupted from the head of the staff. WarGreymon was caught in the middle of the explosion of energy, and was sent slamming into the ground, digging a long furrow into it. As WarGreymon came to a stop at last, a cloud of dust was thrown up into the air. When it cleared, several seconds later, WarGreymon could be seen lying where he had fallen, not moving. He was then engulfed in a yellow light, and de-digivolved back to Agumon, who was for the moment seemingly close to unconsciousness.

Eldritchmon righted his staff, and as Supreme Darkness loomed over him, smirking, he said, "Well, now that that's done . . . who shall be next?"

There was no answer, as may be expected, and the Digidestined glanced at each other and their defeated Digimon, their fear plain to see. Only Gennai remained tall and resolute, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Why think you, Eldritchmon that, we have been defeated and have no defense against you?" Gennai said, his voice echoing through the still cavern.

Eldritchmon laughed again, this time far louder than before, and he appeared momentarily amused. "Look about you, Gennai!" Eldritchmon gestured to Tai and Matt, who were helping their fallen Digimon to their feet. "Your best have been defeated, and these miserable trolls which follow you about have been silenced. Where has it been said that you are the best representative for all that is good on the Digital World? It is a sad lie, and those who believe it are complete fools. You have tried to stop us from crossing into the real world, but you have failed."

"You may succeed in crossing over into the real world," Gennai said, glaring at Eldritchmon, "But there is a long while yet before it is known if you achieve that which you seek."

"And why should we not?" Eldritchmon said, his voice growing with more contempt with every word. "For it has already been proven that you have no hope to even hinder Supreme Darkness, even at your strongest."

"It has not been proven that what you have seen is indeed our strongest," Gennai said, and for a moment, Eldritchmon's smirk faltered.

"Gennai, do not be a fool. Even if you somehow achieved twice the power that you have shown me today, it would not be enough, by a long way." Eldritchmon said softly. "And I need not say that you did not even draw sword to help in the past battle, and instead allowed your underlings to do all the fighting. I do not have any more time to waste with you or any of your followers." He raised his staff slowly. "Farewell, Gennai."

Before Eldritchmon could say another word, Gennai pulled his sword from its sheath, and turning, clove a large circle through the air, the blade cutting cleanly through the very air itself, as if it were a physical entity. The middle of the circle burst forth suddenly with white light, bathing the dark cavern with it. The sudden bright flash of light blinded the Digidestined, just as they heard "Magical Force!" yelled with rage by Eldritchmon. There was a sudden surge of incredible magical energy some ten feet before them, but before anything more happened, they were all pulled into the middle of the white radiance, and they found themselves suddenly in the middle of the strange place filled with thick white clouds, as they had been before.

They floated in this strange realm for a time that they could not easily count, before Gennai took up his sword again and cut a large circle into the face of the nearest cloudbank. As the circle appeared, through it could be seen a distorted reality of Gennai's own house. A moment later, Gennai, the Digidestined and their Digimon were pulled through this circle and found themselves sitting upon the low chairs around Gennai's table in the same instant.

Gennai sheathed his sword, and without a word, clapped his hands. Instantly, a large teapot and a white teacup the size of a softball appeared in front of him. He poured himself a cup of tea, and took a long draught, which refreshed him a good deal. At last he said, "I am sorry to say this, but this was to be expected."

"What?" Matt jumped to his feet, the anger in his face obvious to see.

"I had little hope that we would be able to hinder Supreme Darkness if we came about them," Gennai said, and before Matt could begin to yell, he continued. "I had hoped that we might somehow hinder them from crossing into the real world, but we were sadly unable. We were not even able to destroy the portal, which I thought we might."

"So what was the use of going there and risking our lives if there was no way we could have done anything?" Matt asked, after Izzy and Joe had forced him to sit down.

"At the very least, we learned of Supreme Darkness, and what they are about." Gennai said, and turned his sharp gaze towards Matt's direction. "None have been badly injured, so your anger is not needed, Matt. What we must do now," he continued, turning to the rest of the Digidestined, "Is go over to your world ourselves, and somehow stop Supreme Darkness from doing irreversible damage to it."

"How can we get there?" Izzy asked. "The last time we had to go through Myotismon's castle."

"It should not prove to be too difficult," Gennai said, and the Digidestined wondered what he was talking about. "The real trouble is stopping Supreme Darkness once we are back on your world. They are far more powerful than any you have faced so far, and presently, you will be hard pressed against them."

"What else can we do?" Matt asked angrily. "We've already fought them and lost, and our Digimon could have been badly hurt! What more can we do?"

This time Gennai put his teacup back down on its saucer, and stood up to look down upon Matt, trying to contain his own anger. "And yet your Digimon were not badly hurt! We have seen what the extent of Supreme Darkness' power is, and it is above our own, but that is no reason to give up. The opponents you have faced in the past seemed to be unbeatable, but you all somehow managed, and in the end, you won! Who can say that this will not prove to be this time?"

Matt had nothing to say to this, while Gennai was glaring down at him, but from the look on his face, he would have had plenty to say. Tai spoke up, feeling that Gennai was becoming angry enough with Matt so that something drastic might happen. "Gennai, we all know what we're up against, and Supreme Darkness is like nothing we've ever faced before, but we're willing to give it a try." The other Digidestined voiced their agreement with Tai, and in the end, so did Matt, although grudgingly.

Gennai sat himself down again, and he took a long gulp of tea before continuing. "It is safe to say that by now, Supreme Darkness has amassed an army in great enough numbers, and may be crossing the portal even as I speak."

The Digidestined were all silenced at this, even Matt made no move to voice his opinion of Gennai. For a long while there was no sound at all, and the Digidestined merely watched the sunlight filtering from the surface of the lake slowly fade as the sun set. "It would be best to go as soon as possible," Gennai muttered, more to himself than to the Digidestined. "Yet, I wonder."

"Gennai, let's go now!" Mimi blurted out. "Before those creeps have a chance to enslave our parents again!"

Sora glanced at Tai, as if she knew what he were thinking, and nodded. Tai cleared his throat, and then said, "Gennai, wouldn't it be better if we got some rest first, and then journey back to our world in the morning."

"Tai, there's not enough time for that!" Izzy said. "Logically speaking, once morning comes, Supreme Darkness would have time enough to enslave a good portion of the population of Oidaba."

"If we went back to Earth now, what could we do to help? Supreme Darkness is too powerful right now for us to do anything against them!" Tai said, and knowing what he was about to say was wrong, he continued, "Even if we were on Earth, we couldn't stop them from enslaving Japan!"

"So what, we're just going to sit here and not even try?" T.K. said, to all of their surprise. "We have to do something!"

"I want to protect Japan as much as you guys do," Tai said, "But how are we going to help if we're defeated again? What happens if our Digimon are hurt more than last time? We can't do anything without them!"

"Strategically speaking, a plan would be much better than just rushing in." Izzy said.

"What plan?" Joe asked. "What plan could help us defeat Supreme Darkness?"

"Gennai, isn't there something we can do?" Mimi asked, clutching her pink handbag tightly. Palmon looked up at her, slightly worried about her friend.

"There are two choices, then." Gennai said, and got to his feet and stared thoughtfully out of the window at a school of red fish swimming slowly by. "We can either journey to the real world immediately, or wait until dawn tomorrow." He was silent for a long while, staring at the swimming fish as if they would give him an answer. The Digidestined glanced at each other, and more than one of them noticed Matt was still angry with the whole affair, and nothing was said to him.

Sora did not say anything either, but exchanged several glances with Tai, the meaning of which only the two of them knew. Biyomon, who was resting comfortably in Sora's lap, looked up sleepily at her, and smiled. Sora smiled back down at her, but her expression was sorrowful. What she wouldn't give to have Supreme Darkness never exist, and then Biyomon wouldn't be in danger.

Tai slowly placed his hand over hers, and she slowly looked up at him. Their eyes met, and they both smiled. Tai then felt sure that his feelings for Sora were not in vain, that she too had feelings for him.

Gennai finally turned back to the Digidestined, apparently having made up his mind. "I have considered the situation, and I have decided that it would be best to remain here for the night, and leave for your world at dawn." He paused, and looked hard upon Matt. "Of course, this means that Supreme Darkness will have sufficient time to do much damage to Japan, but that is a chance we must take. Your Digimon need a rest, it seems, and even I cannot say when they will have a chance to again, once we arrive on earth." He then clapped his hands twice, and several large sleeping bags appeared strewn about the floor. "I advise you to get as much sleep as you can." Gennai said, and then turned back to the swimming fish outside of his window.