All the Digidestined looked at each other in silence after Joe, Matt and T.K. were gone, all their thoughts now concentrated on the one thought of finding out if their parents were all right. A few minutes later, Joe, Matt and T.K. came running back to the vehicle, they all knew that their parents were gone. Joe, Matt and T.K. reported this, all looking filled with despair and anger that they were too late, and the other Digidestined only became more worried that they too would be too late. Gennai pulled out of the parking space and went down the street like a shot, and a few moments later, was pulling into a parking spot in the rear of Hightonview Terrace, and Mimi, Kari, Izzy, Sora and Tai leapt out, followed by their respective Digimon, and tore into the building, taking the

steps two at a time. Kari and Tai emerged out onto their own floor, and as they ran down the empty hallway, they both somehow knew already what they might find. Tai fumbled to get his keys out of his pocket, and placed the key in the lock with trembling fingers and then turned the handle. Both Kari and Tai glanced at each other before the door was opened, as if this act might somehow ensure that their parents would be inside. The door swung open, and they both ran in, and quickly searched the apartment, but to no avail. Their parents were gone, but their car keys and their mother's purse was still in its ordinary spot, something that was both grievous and somehow comforting at the same moment, that their parents were gone, yet some things were untouched and placed about in such a manner that it seemed as if they were home.

They left the apartment, locking the door behind them, and trundled

down the stairs, their hearts suddenly much heavier, as if there had suddenly

been large lead weights fastened to their hearts. They said nothing to each other,

despite the fact that their grievances were caused by the same thing. Mimi, Izzy

and Sora emerged from their floors with equal expressions on their faces,

something which might have suggested that they had lost nearly all hope. Their

Digimon followed after, not even attempting to cheer up the Digidestined. The

Digimon had seen the Digidestined's parents previously, and they were greived

to see them gone, and even more so to see the Digidestined look so dejected and

lost. The Digidestined and their Digimon emerged from Hightonview Terrace

several moments later, as the stairwell seemed to have gained several floors since

the time that the Digidestined had first climbed it.

The others were waiting in the vehicle for them, and the Digidestined

were not the only ones in the vehicle who felt rather sorrowful when they saw

the looks on the other Digidestined's faces as they climbed into the vehicle

without a word. Gennai looked at all the Digidestined in the rearview mirror, yet

made no move to start up the vehicle again. There were no words that he could

speak which might ease the sorrow that each of the Digidestined felt which was

burning as a fire in each of their hearts.

Tai slowly reached for Sora's hand, and when their fingertips touched, it

seemed to him that a sudden power was woken up inside his own heart,

something which somehow eased the pain of the loss of his parents. Although

the grief was still rather large, the power that had awoken at Sora's touch seemed

to form a sort of barrier about the grief over losing his parents, and he felt

slightly less greived than before. Sora had felt something as well, and she slowly

looked up at Tai, and for a moment, they both stared into each other's eyes. Tai

perceived only grief in her reddish-brown eyes, a doubt that the world would

ever again be all right. Then, it seemed, there was a small candle lit in the midst

of the shadows that the grief seemed to be forming, and some of the grief seemed

to disappear. Sora smiled slowly, a rather small smile, but it lit up her face

suddenly, breaking through the mask of sorrow which had covered it.

Tai smiled back, as well as he could, as the power of the sorrow seemed to

limit those in which it plagued to show no emotion, yet the power that had

awakened in Tai defeated much of the power of sorrow, and as he squeezed

Sora's hand slightly, the power of sorrow lost much of its hold upon him, and he

smiled wider. Sora's own smile grew as well, and the shadow was lost from her

eyes.

The other Digidestined slowly began to look slightly less sorrowful, as if

they had accepted the fact that their parents were gone, and that they would

have to find them. They were still rather grieved, but it was not as bad as before,

and they all slowly felt as if some of the weight on their hearts was gone as well.

The vehicle was silent for a few moments more, until Gennai finally spoke in a

low voice. "I cannot ease your pain, although I wish there was some way that I

could. While this is very grievous news to you all, take heart in knowing that

your parents are safe, for the moment, and that they may still be rescued. There

is still Supreme Darkness to reckon with, and it seems that they are enacting

some sort of plan. Look up at the sky." The Digidestined looked up at the sky,

and saw that dark clouds were slowly moving overhead, as if a rather large

storm was gathering.

"What are we going to do now?" Mimi asked. "Can we just go back

home?"

"That would be a very good idea." Gennai said, although he did not

appear to be paying much attention. He was looking out of one of the side

windows at the gathering clouds. He turned back to the Digidestined, as if to

continue, when he paused and glanced at the control panel of the vehicle before

him. He was silent for a moment before he said, "There are several Digimon

converging upon this vehicle. They shall be here in some two minutes, although I

cannot tell who they are exactly." He paused again, and then said, "I feel the

power of evil drawing closer, so it would appear that Supreme Darkness is

among them."

"I've had it!" Mimi yelled out suddenly. "I'm tired of all this fighting!

Supreme Darkness this, and Supreme Darkness that! I'm going home!" She

opened the door and jumped out of the vehicle, Palmon scrambling after her,

before any of the other Digidestined could say anything. She ran straight

towards Hightonview Terrace, her pink purse flying out behind her.

Matt was the first out of the vehicle after her, and the other Digidestined

soon followed, with Gennai following slowly behind, watching the sky warily.

Mimi was nearly to the main entrance of the apartment complex, when Matt

grabbed her arm, took both of her hands in his, and held her back. She stared at

Matt with wide eyes for a moment, before collapsing into his arms, crying rather

hard. Matt held her for several moments while the other Digidestined gathered

around her, and looking at each other rather helplessly.

Finally Kari put a hand on Mimi's back and said quietly, "Mimi, I know

you've been through a lot, especially after what happened last night. But you

can't give up. I know it's really hard sometimes, but we need you. You can't give

up, because if you do, then they will win!"

Mimi turned to look at Kari in silence for a moment, before she said,

"How could they do this to me? How could they take my parents away?"

Kari had no answer to this, but she kept her hand on Mimi's back, as Matt

hugged her slightly closer. Gennai came up behind Mimi and put a hand gently

on her shoulder, yet rested the other upon the hilt of his sword, as if he expected

trouble at any moment.

"Mimi, there is no easy answer to such a question. I

would need to speak of the true evil that is in those you do not wish to be named.

To them, your parents are merely small objects which might be used as a

bartering tool, and little else."

"I just want all of this to be over with so that I can go back home, and be

with my parents and friends, and pretend like none of this ever happened."

Mimi said, although she did not sound as greived as she was a few moments

before.

"I should like nothing more than that as well, as I am sure all of us

would." Gennai said. "But we cannot have this, until those you would not name

are defeated. Every moment that those you do not name stay in this world

longer, they come closer and closer to taking over this city. Not long after that, all

of Japan will be under their control, and after that, even the world may fall under

their power. We are the only ones of a few that have a chance to stand against

them, and so what else should we do otherwise? We might stand aside and not

fight against them, and simply be enslaved as all the rest would be, but

deserving it more than all others, for we, of all folk, had the power to at least halt

those that you would not name for a while, yet we did not. We have all suffered

much already, and this last blow seems to be the worst by far, but we cannot give

up. More hardships lie before us, no doubt, yet we cannot give up, for if we

should, then eventually, the whole world would be under their dominion."

Mimi looked up at Gennai as he finished speaking, and for a moment she

did not say anything. Then she looked about at the other Digidestined and the

Digimon, who were all looking back at her filled with concern, yet she could still

see their own grief still about their faces. She glanced down at Palmon, who

looked up at her encouragingly, and then she said, in a soft voice, "You're right,

Gennai. I have been selfish, only thinking about myself. I'm a Digidestined, and I

have to continue fighting." She looked up at Matt and smiled slightly, and he

smiled back in return. Then, letting Matt go, Mimi picked up Palmon and turned

back to Gennai. "Where are these Digimon you said were coming, Gennai? The

sooner they get here, the sooner we can defeat Supreme Darkness, and the

sooner the world will be saved."

Gennai turned back to look up at the sky, which was now nearly filled

with dark clouds. The sun was almost hidden, except for a few rays of light

which managed to escape through the oncoming darkness. He paused, as if deep

in thought, and then said, "They are now less than two blocks away." He glanced

towards the street which ran in front of Hightonview Terrace, over which a few

cars passed, unawares of the gathering clouds, or even of what was drawing

nearer. "There is no way, unfortunately, to block the traffic upon this street, and I

fear that some of the citizens of this city may fall casualty to the battle which will

no doubt occur shortly."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Kari asked, rather worried now for the

unfortunate person who might get caught in the middle of the battle.

"I can think of no way to divert the flow of traffic through this street with

the time we have," Gennai said, and he glanced up again at the clouds, as if they

somehow unnerved him. "Hopefully, once the battle commences, the folk will

avoid this place, but unfortunately, there may be some—" He was cut short by

the sudden loud rush of rocket engines, as several Mechanorimon dropped

suddenly from the sky; landing in a group on either side of the vehicle. Half a

dozen Tankmon came rolling around a corner, a block away from them, and

Gardromon appeared from the opposite direction.

The robot-type Digimon rapidly surrounded the Digidestined, who

bunched up together, glaring at the Digimon which surrounded them. Gennai's

hand was still on the hilt of his sword, yet he did not draw it, but stared with

growing anger at the Digimon which surrounded them. The Digimon of the

Digidestined stood protectively before their friends, brimming with anger and

ready to Digivolve at any moment.

The Digimon which were surrounding the Digidestined made no move to

attack, but stood as statues about them, as if to prevent them from escaping. The

clouds slowly drifted farther across the sky, until even the sun was covered, and

it appeared almost to be dusk, although it was only early afternoon. There was a

sudden blaze of dark light, some ten feet in front of the Digidestined, yet within

the ring of Digimon, as if night had flashed before them suddenly. The

Digidestined glanced away from the light, and a figure appeared in the middle of

it, hovering a few feet above the pavement.

A high pitched laugh, not unlike shattering glass suddenly rang out

before them, and as the Digidestined looked towards the source of the sound,

they saw Kronosmon standing in the air before them, his small dark eyes fixed

menacingly upon them. While Kronosmon actually was shorter than most of the

Digidestined in stature, a sort of power rippled about him, which was different

than the power that the other members of Supreme Darkness possessed. Reality

and light seemed to bend about him, as if he were not completely in existence,

and was disrupting those things that were. Nonetheless, the Digimon stood their

ground, and tried to return his stare.

"So youse are the famous Digidestined." Kronosmon said, his eyes

traveling over their ranks, and he smirked. "Youse seem to have been causing a

disturbance in our little bizness. Therefore, the boss has sent me to put youse all

on ice. Leas' of which would be you, old man." He glanced pointedly at Gennai,

who made no move to answer. "Youse especially have put the skids on all of our

plans in the past, Gennai. So I've got orders to fit you out with some cement

shoes."

"You are advised to keep to yourself the wishes of your master, and to

give back those whom you have kidnapped," Gennai said, and drew his

broadsword. "I have little interest in anything you have to say."

"I think youse will be especially interested in this." Kronosmon replied, as

if he had not heard. He gestured towards the Mechanorimon which had stood

silently in the ring about them, and as one, they turned and went off in several

directions at once. "These robots have specific orders to destroy everything in the

city. So, the real question is, will youse save the city, or stay and fight me?"

The Mechanorimon continued on their way down four separate streets,

randomly firing their powerful lasers, knocking holes through store windows,

crushing parked cars, and sending countless bricks smashing down to the

ground as some of their shots found their marks higher up upon buildings.

Gennai turned back to the Digidestined, but before he could say a word,

Kari thrust out her Digivice. "Gatomon! We've got to stop them!"

"Gatomon Digivolved to . . . Angewoman!"

Angewoman took to the sky, following after two of the Mechanorimon,

who had turned a corner, the street behind them filled with charred holes and

debris. There had been a few cars which happened to be unluckily passing by,

but they had not been seriously harmed, and their drivers quickly evacuated the

scene.

"Tentomon warp-Digivolved to . . . HerculesKabuterimon!"

"Patamon Digivolved to . . . Angemon!"

Both Izzy and T.K followed after their Digimon, who took to the air,

chasing after the remaining Mechanorimon. The rest of the Digidestined turned

to face Kronosmon, all glaring down at him. Kronosmon appeared not to take

any notice, and instead smirked and said, "So youse is thinking of taking me?

Youse haven't got much of a chance. I've been sent on lotsa jobs before, and

many of them was more dangerous than this. Let's see what you got."

"Agumon warp-digivolved to . . . WarGreymon!"

"Biyomon warp-digivolved to . . . Phoenixmon!"

"Gabumon warp-digivolved to . . . MetalGarurumon!"

"So youse would pull a knife on me?" Kronosmon asked, his eyes

flashing. "I'll pull a cannon on youse. Youse send one of mine to the hospital, I'll

send one of yourse to the morgue. That's the way of Supreme Darkness."

"That's the Chicago way, you mean." Mimi said angrily. "That's from the 'Untouchables.'"

"And what do youse think I am?" Kronosmon said, as the three other

Digimon sized him up. He only stood about half the height of WarGreymon, and

Phoenixmon, were she perched on the ground would have towered over him, yet

there was a power radiating from him which seemed to make him bigger than all

the others.

"So which one of youse wants to be the first to have a one way ticket back

to the rookie stage?" Kronosmon asked, as he slowly advanced upon them. The

Digidestined stood fast next to Gennai, but as Kronosmon came closer, they

began to feel the disturbance he was causing. It was like a slight wind was

somehow tugging at them, from many directions at once, and they did not know

which way they might go.

"Nova Force!" WarGreymon generated a sphere of energy, which rapidly

expanded as he raised his gauntlets above his head and lobbed it as hard as he

could at Kronosmon. The sphere of energy detonated upon Kronosmon head on,

yet he did not halt in his advance, and the sphere soon disappeared.

"Ice Wolf Claw!" Several missiles fired simultaneously from silos which

sprang open upon MetalGarurumon's robotic body, and went streaming towards

Kronosmon, who made no move to dodge them. Instead, the clock face upon

Kronosmon's body split open down the middle, and the missiles streaked into

the black void within and were gone. A moment later, several spinning black

gears shot out of the void and went rocketing directly for the three Digimon.

"Spinning Gears!"

WarGreymon managed to slice through two of them with his gauntlets,

but was struck heavily in the chest by another and was sent flying back.

MetalGarurumon was hit by two and was knocked sprawling. Phoenixmon rose

up upon her mighty wings, as if to outrun the gears, yet they struck her hard

upon her back, and she plummeted several yards before she could catch herself.

"Hand of Time!" Three beams of dark light shot out suddenly from

Kronosmon's outstretched hands, and each one struck one of the Digimon, while

they were trying to get up. They appeared to freeze for a moment, as if they were

nothing more than images upon a television, and someone had pressed the pause

button. Then, they began to shrink, and as they did, they became distorted, as

Kronosmon was, until they had reverted back to their rookie levels.

As Sora, Tai and Matt ran over to their Digimon to help them up,

Kronosmon turned back to Gennai. "That was too easy. Youse is far too

overconfident for your own good. I'll be back, Gennai, and next time, I'll bring

the boss with me. Youse won't get off so easy next time." In a flash of dark light,

he was gone.

Gennai sighed wearily, as he sheathed his broadsword. Kari, T.K., and

Izzy came running up three different streets, carrying their Digimon, who

appeared rather worn out.

"We managed to finally stop them, but not before they caused a lot of

damage to ten city blocks." Izzy said, as he came nearer to them.

Gennai said nothing, but merely looked at them all for a moment, as if at a

loss for words. Silently, he moved back to the vehicle, and the Digidestined

followed after him, most carrying their worn out Digimon. No one had much of

anything to say, everyone's minds were upon their parents, and if they would

ever see them again.

The ride back to Gennai's apartment through the empty streets was

uneventful, and nothing was said. Tai stared out of the window, lost in thought,

Sora's hand clasped tightly in his. The other Digidestined stared out of the

window, or off into space, all deep in thought. The dark clouds still loomed in

the sky, blotting out the sun, and as they passed by the empty streets, not a soul

could be seen. It was as if everyone realized that something terrible was going to

happen, and the best thing they could do would be to stay inside.

Gennai concentrated on the empty road ahead, as if it were somehow

vastly more important than usual. He felt weary, but not only from all that had

happened that day, but weary of it all, of the fighting and running and hiding,

not to mention the dangers that he was subjecting the Digidestined to. But, as he

reflected on the matter, he knew that he could never have stood up to Supreme

Darkness by himself, and that if the Digidestined had not aided him against

them, the whole world might have already fallen to their power. The Digital

World already had, and it was in sadder shape then he ever remembered seeing

it in before.

He happened to glance over at the dashboard radar counsel, and saw to

his astonishment a sight which made his blood grow chill. He concentrated on

the matter of what the radar revealed, and found that it was true. After all that

the Digidestined and he had gone through today, it seemingly was not over.

Several Digimon were converging upon the vehicle, from the sky above. Gennai

fed the digital field energy into the onboard computer with a few keystrokes, and

glanced at the readout as he turned a sharp right and pressed down on the

accelerator.

With a sigh, he turned reluctantly back to the Digidestined, who all

appeared as weary as he, or wearier. They were all holding onto their Digimon,

nearly all of which had their eyes closed. "I fear that our troubles are not yet

over," he said, as the Digidestined turned suddenly towards them, their faces

revealing anger and disbelief at his words.