Knights of the Crests World Wide

Switzerland

A/N: This chapter will be a little more dramatic than the others and the Prince finally is cornered in the end. Plus, Kang-Lin finally has Takato confess his feeling for her. So, a bit of romance, A WHOLE LOT of action and adventure, a little drama, and that's it. Christina-chan, Hikaru-chan, this one is dedicated to you two.

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The Prince's Downfall

Two days…two days of arriving in the Digiworld and already trouble was after them. Takato and Kang-Lin were hiding behind some thickets in a forest, not far from Mount Infinity. Takato watched the patrol go by in a hurry and then gave Kang-Lin the signal to move. As if there wasn't enough trouble already, the patrol seemed to feel them and turned back and headed to where they were. Takato silently cursed to himself and slowly unsheathed his katana. If he couldn't stop them without his powers, then the Prince would surely detect him. Takato had no urge to meet the Dark Bearers any more, so he avoided using his Pendant. Kang-Lin was about to make it to another safe location when a Ninjamon appeared and blocked her way. Kang- Lin gave a small cry before Takato slashed the Ninjamon through it's chest. The digimon then vanished into data, but the cry Kang-Lin had told off their location. Ninjamon after Ninjamon they came. They were surrounded by them, yet they couldn't give up. Takato gave a desperate look for anything to help him. Finding nothing, he feared he had to use his Pendant. He couldn't use the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu because Kang-Lin was too close and she would get hurt, if not worse. He sighed in exasperation and took out his pendant, which began to glow. Takato lowered his eyes, and after about five minutes, his head shot back up, and his eyes were flaring.

"Pendant of Power that was given to me, AWAKEN!" he shouted

His Pendant then started to shoot off an orange light which engulfed him.

"Fire of Hope!" he cried from inside the light.

Piece by piece, his armor became whole. His hawk-like helmet had just finished comforting itself on his head when the Ninjamon started attacking him. Takato gave a smirk before drawing his sword out at an inhuman speed and slashing the air all around him. In less than thirty seconds, his sword was back in it's sheath, and the Ninjamon started vanishing into data. He then returned himself to his normal self and gave Kang-Lin a signal to come towards him. She complied and soon they were on their way once more. They had come dangerously close to Infinity Mountain, where stronger and more frequent patrols roamed it's surroundings. Takato and Kang-Lin had landed in an open plain not far from the forest, and that's where the Ninjamon had found them for the first time, but they had lost them in the forest. After making sure that no one was close, Takato gave her a smile and put down his gear.

"We'll camp here…there doesn't seem to be anyone nearby." he told her.

Again, Kang-Lin was shocked with wonder. One minute Takato was smirking evilly at his enemies and killed them all, and the next, he's the Takato she always remembered. He would always remain a mystery to her. She nodded and put down her own gear. Takato smiled again and went to get some firewood. Meanwhile, Kang-Lin was preparing their sleeping bags and deciding what to cook, for she well knew Takato couldn't cook at all. As she finally decided what to eat, Takato came back with some firewood. As she took out some food, Takato started building a fire. Soon, Takato and Kang-Lin were sitting next to each other enjoying a great meal of sausages and rice.

"Lin-chan, this is great! I've never tasted something so good, except my mom's food, of course." he complimented

Kang-Lin only blushed. Takato went back to his meal and after that went to his sleeping bag. Kang-Lin finished her meal quickly and went to her own. Before going to bed, though, Takato looked at Kang-Lin thoughtfully.

"Lin-chan? I want to ask you something…" he said

"Yes? What is it?" she replied

"Well, you seem to have been blushing for a while now. Care to explain?" he asked

Kang-Lin's blush only grew further.

"Well…I…I was only thinking of something." she said hurriedly.

Takato smiled at her and nodded. He then got into his sleeping bag and went to sleep, though half of his brain was still active, always on the lookout. The night passed slowly, and at around midnight, Kang-Lin awoke from a nice dream. She got up and decided to get some water. Just as she was, though, she heard a ruffle in the bushes. She looked around her but saw no movement and got scared. She went to Takato and awoke him with a shake.

"Wha? What is it, Lin-chan?" asked Takato.

"Takato, I heard something moving in the bushes." she said, worriedly.

Takato was about to dismiss it as her imagination before he heard it as well. He got up and took out his katana in a hurry.

"Lin-chan, get behind me, do not get in the way of any fight, do you hear me?" he asked

"I do, Takato-kun." she replied.

Then, they heard another ruffle, as if something was coming near them at great speed. After that, they heard another one come from another direction. There was no mistake, two something were coming towards them from opposite directions. Then, Takato saw from both directions the gleam of a katana blade, though, oddly, on one side there was the gleam of two katana blades. Then, as suddenly as things can be, two shouts came and two different men jumped out of the bushes straight at each other.

"Gototsu!" cried one of them, who was wearing a blue uniform.

"Kodachi Nitou Ryu!" cried the other, who was wearing a white cloak.

'Great, Aoshi and Saitoh…Kenshin told me about these two and their techniques.' Takato thought

Since he saw they were both coming towards him, Takato realized that only one of his techniques could be useful in this instance.

"Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu-Amakakeru-Ryu-no-Hirameki!" he shouted

As if both men expected that, they jumped back, but the vacuum that was created by the technique drew them steadily closer to Takato. When they were both near enough, Takato drew himself straight and jumped over them.

"Ryu-Tsu-Sen!" he cried, before coming down on both and cutting their shoulders.

Both men cried in pain as Takato's blade cut into their shoulders, making them drop their katana. Both men staggered in pain as they looked at Takato in surprise.

"That was the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Tsu Sen! Only Kenshin and Hiko know of it!" said the man in the blue uniform.

"And before that, was the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki…I know of it only too well." said the other man.

"Quiet, Saitoh, Aoshi. Yes, I know who you are, Kenshin told me all about you two. What's the big idea of trying to kill us?" demanded Takato, still holding his blade up. Kang-Lin was behind him, looking at both men in fear.

"Whoa kid, calm down. We were only testing you. You think you're really going to pull off this whole affair by your own and that girl? Wrong. That mountain is infested with traps, lairs, barracks, among other things." said Saitoh

"Then there's the Palace. There is no way you two are going in there alone. It has about ten digimon and a Dark Rider behind every pillar. So, after hearing about your mission from a very talkative Yahiko, we decided to test your skills. Congratulations, you passed." said Aoshi, wincing a bit from the pain.

Kang-Lin came out from behind Takato and went to Aoshi. She took out the med kit and hurried to clean Aoshi's wound. Takato put back his blade and helped her with Saitoh. After that, Kang-Lin served both men with some leftover food. They gratefully took it.

"Better than what we used to eat." had said Saitoh.

"Say, where's Misao? Isn't she supposed to ALWAYS be close to you, Aoshi?" asked Takato

"She is, but I told her to stay back at the Council's Palace. Knowing her, she isn't. I think we could say the same for Kenshin and Sanosuke." said Aoshi, before eating a bit of rice.

Just as he said that, their heard something move among the bushes not far away.

"Yep, that confirms my theory." said Aoshi

"I think I know how to make them come out, though." said Takato, with an evil grin.

"Whenever I see a grin like that, it's never a good thing." said Saitoh.

Takato just kept grinning and then whispered something in their ear. They both nodded and then went to sleep. Takato and Kang-Lin also went to bed, but forgot to put away the leftover food and turn off the fire. After about thirty minutes, four figures came out of the bushes and into the small clearing. They closed in slowly to the pot of food when three blades were heard unsheathing. The four figures gulped and slowly turned their heads towards the sound and saw three katanas, ready to kill. One was placed in the Gototsu style and the other two were in the Kaiten Kempo style. Then, from the opposite side of the three blades appeared another. This one was held in the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu style. The four figures were about to break for a run when Kang-Lin turned on a small, but powerful flashlight. The light revealed the faces of Kenshin, Sanosuke, Misao, and unbelievably, Yahiko.

"Well, we got Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Misao right, but Yahiko is a real surprise." said Saitoh.

"Welcome to our little camp." greeted Takato.

"Gee, thanks. Can you sheathe those katanas? They are really getting me edgy." said Sanosuke.

Thirty minutes later, Aoshi and Saitoh were up and listening to Kenshin and the other's story while Takato and Kang-Lin slept. The next morning came with no further trouble. Everyone had gone to sleep and Takato was the first to rise. He got up and decided to start cooking breakfast, though he quickly gave up. He then decided to just wait for the others to wake up when he heard Kang-Lin whisper in her sleep. Though the snoring of Sanosuke and Yahiko could of woken up a stone dragon, he could still very clearly hear her words.

"Takato-kun…please…hold me tight…Takato-Kun…I love you…"she whispered.

Takato felt a blush grow incredibly on his face. She loved him. He loved her too, but was too shy to say it. At first, he was being nice to her when she was the new girl, but then he had a growing fondness for her. Soon, after about one year, he had decided he was not fond of her, but in love with her. During every concert they had and she was the singer, he grew farther in love with her. Besides being too shy to say anything, he was also scared of being rejected for being who he was and what he did. He didn't think she would like being the girlfriend of a boy who had killed in cold blood more than once. The first time it was a digimon who had betrayed the kids and lured them to a trap. After escaping from it, Takato had hunted him down and then, when he found him, Takato injured him badly and then took his life by stabbing it through the heart. It didn't have a chance of defense before it had died at his hands. The last time he had killed in cold blood was when a man who was sworn to secrecy by the kids betrayed them and told the location of their base to their former enemies, Fearmon, Shadowmon, and Ragemon. In the attack, they had lost Angelique for the first time in their lives. Takato had gone into such a depression and rage that he, accompanied by Jonathan and Hyryuu, had hunted the man down into an alley, and with their sword had slashed the man more than once, until all that was left was a bloody mess. The man was about to scream when Takato's blade had pierced him through the chest. Jonathan and Hyryuu had followed suit, slashing at various parts of the man. Takato dismissed the memory and sat down on a flat rock that was beside the fire. After about an hour, the others woke up. All seven of his companions woke up at the same time. As they did, Takato looked towards the mountain that lay in front of them and saw that it didn't seem too far away, only about two day's walk. After Kang-Lin had made breakfast and they had all eaten, they packed up the gear and started walking with Takato in the lead.

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On top of Infinity Mountain, in the Prince's Palace

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The Prince sat on his dark throne, awaiting news of disturbances as usual. Suddenly, One of his Riders came into the room.

"What is it?" asked the Prince

"Sire, we seem to have a problem. The second patrol hasn't reported in since yesterday and the fifth are not answering our calls." explained the Rider.

"WHAT? Two patrols lost in TWO days? Find out what is going on in this island or you will regret it dearly!" shouted the Prince at the Rider.

The Rider bowed low before leaving the room in a hurry. After he had left, the Prince stood up and paced his throne room.

'Takato, it can only be him…He's coming here…how annoying…wait, no it's perfect!' thought the Prince as he paced the room even faster. 'If I can lure him deep enough into my Palace, there is no way he could win!'

Then, the Prince let out an evil and high laugh.

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Outside the Throne Room

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The Rider that had just left the Throne Room quickly went to a room further down a hall. As he entered it, several Riders appeared out of the shadows.

"Well?" asked one of them

"He's not happy. We have to find out what in the world is going on in this island or be punished!" exclaimed the Rider

"Just as I thought. Well, these digimon seem to be worthless against the humans, so we should probably go ourselves and take care of the problem." said the leader of the Riders. "All right then, get ready everyone! We leave in five!" said the leader.

All nine of the Riders assented and left the room.

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At the foot of Mount Infinity

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Takato got out his blade in a flash, followed by Kenshin, Saitoh, Aoshi, and Yahiko. Sanosuke took a ready stance and Misao readied four knives in her hands. Kang-Lin, knowing SOME martial arts, stood by Sanosuke, also in a ready stance. The digimon had come from all sides, not looking very friendly. Some even had a hungry look on their face. Takato looked at his companions

"Five?" he asked

"Sure!" they replied.

Takato mentally counted in his mind. As soon as he reached five, he dashed at the closest digimon.

"FIVE!" he shouted

All of his companions launched themselves on the digimon.

"Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu, Ryu-Tsu-Sen!" Shouted both Takato and Kenshin, disintegrating two digimon.

Yahiko and Kang-Lin were also hitting the digimon pretty hard, slashing and punching. Sanosuke seemed almost bored when about ten Ogremon attacked him. He dodged the club attack from the first one with ease and punched him hard in the gut. The lead Ogremon bent in pain and Sanosuke brought his leg down on the leader's back, making it tumble down unconscious. After that, the Ogremon seemed very unhappy with Sanosuke and dashed at him. Sanosuke dodged every attack and hit them all to the ground. Saitoh and Aoshi were probably the ones with the most kill counts, piercing through the chest of every digimon. Misao was bent mostly on dodging their attacks and throwing her knives when indicated, which proved to be a very useful tactic for her, and most fatal for the digimon. Takato and Kenshin were doing pretty well at that time, but soon were becoming slowly overpowered by the incoming digimon. They looked at each other, after they had seen two trees standing by each other and nodded. They each ran to a separate tree and the digimon followed. Takato and Kenshin ran up the tree for a few steps and then jumped over the digimon with a back flip and slashed at them. The digimon that had followed them closely now disappeared, dead. Soon, the eight companions had finished off the task force that had attacked them. They got their gear and continued walking, but not for long. As soon as they had touched the first rock of Infinity Mountain, they heard a high piercing scream.

"That surely wasn't human, I can tell you that." commented Sanosuke.

"My thoughts exactly" agreed Takato.

They continued going up the mountain until about halfway up, they heard another similar scream, but much closer.

"I have a very bad feeling about this…" warned Kenshin.

Just as he said that, four of the nine Riders jumped down behind them and four in front of them. Above them, on a cliff that looked over them, was the leader of the nine Riders.

"How, oh HOW, did I know that something bad was going to happen?" asked Sanosuke. "Kenshin, next time, be quiet." he requested

"SILENCE!" roared the leader of the Riders

"Why should we?" demanded Yahiko

"Because I'm talking, you little brat!" replied the leader.

Yahiko's eyes seemed to flare up when the leader called him a brat.

"Let me at him! Come on! Let me at him!" he shouted, as Kenshin and Sanosuke held him back.

"So, you want to fight? Fine, I shall grant your wish!" he said, snapping his fingers.

At once, the eight Riders rushed towards the eight companions. As the Riders approached the companions, all those who had swords in the group took them out in a split second. Takato looked at his companions and smiled.

"This is it. We finish them, and we can reach the summit." he told them

"Right. Let's get these bozos." said Saitoh.

On the other hand, Sanosuke, Misao, and Kang-Lin were closely grouped, in ready stances, for they knew that alone, they stood no chance, against the sword wielding Riders. One by one, the Riders took out their swords. Takato and his friends got into their stances and got ready to fight. As soon as the Riders were in range, Takato, Saitoh, Aoshi, Yahiko, and Kenshin attacked them. Takato put his sword into his sheathe and then got separated from his rival Rider. As the Rider charged Takato, he put his left foot in front and took out his sword in a second.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu technique! Amakakeru-Ryu-no-Hirameki!" shouted Takato, slashing his opponent across the chest, killing him.

Yahiko was having more of a challenge with his opponent. Yahiko and his opponent constantly blocked each other's attacks and then counter-attacked the other. After a while, Yahiko found an opening at his opponent's side and drove his blade into it, making the Rider howl in pain and tumble to the floor, unconscious, and soon, dead. Kenshin had a more difficult time against his opponent. His opponent seemed to know his every move until Kenshin saw how. On his left ear, the Rider was wearing some sort of device. Kenshin decided to take that out first. Kenshin ran away from his opponent to the side of the cliff and back-flipped behind his opponent, but in midair, he got his blade into position and came down onto his opponent.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu-Tsu-Sen!" he shouted, making his blade cut off his opponent's ear and destroying the device.

The Rider screamed in pain but did not fall down. Instead, it looked at Kenshin and dashed at him, in blind fury. The Rider's eyes had now gone completely white as he charged Kenshin. Kenshin side stepped the attack and the Rider fell off the cliff where they were battling, and landed on a rock. A sharp rock. Kenshin looked over the cliff and saw the Rider, impaled through his chest by the long, sharp rock. Kenshin felt sick at that site, and so quickly looked away. The rock would be from that day on called Rider's Death. Where Sanosuke, Kang-Lin, and Misao were, things were not looking too good. The three Riders that were attacking them were constantly trying to cut their heads off, making the three ducking constantly. Misao then got fed up and threw one of her knives at one of the Rider's chest, but missed and hit the forehead, killing the Rider. The other two Riders seemed surprised at this and lowered their guard for a moment, enough for Kang-Lin and Sanosuke to throw enough punches to knock them out. Saitoh was the one that seemed to have the hardest opponent. His opponent also had a katana and was constantly countering all of Saitoh's moves. Saitoh then got fed up, and seeing an opening at his opponent's knee, slashed at it at full force, driving the blade through the knee. His opponent screamed in pain and in his wrath, managed to slash Saitoh across the chest, making a not-so-deep gash. Saitoh then looked at his opponent and in his rage, used his katana to cut his opponent's head clean off. Aoshi was the one that was fairing best than all of them. Ruthless as he was in his battles, he had at once shot himself at his opponent and delivered such a barrage of blows, that his opponent had no chance of defense and got literally sliced to pieces. As soon as they were done, Takato and his comrades looked up to the leader of the Riders and scowled at him. The leader seemed mildly impressed at their fighting skills, but quickly dismissed it. He then looked at them with a mock smile and took out his own blade. Takato and his friends quickly took a fighting stance and looked at the leader constantly.

"Very well…you have defeated my Riders. They weren't the best, that's for sure. The Emperor's Black Bearers are far more powerful than we Riders. You might even have the privilege to meet them. If you beat me, that is. Oh, I'm sorry, that's not going to happen…I'll kill you all by myself!" he said, before letting out an evil laugh.

The leader of the Riders jumped down and immediately dashed at the companions. He drove through their ranks quickly, and came out behind them. One by one, each companion, except Kang-Lin, felt a sudden burst of pain, as several wounds sprouted throughout their bodies. All of them then fell to the ground, hurt everywhere, except for Kang-Lin, whom the Rider approached.

"You must be wondering why I haven't hurt you." he said to her.

"Yes, I am." she said, defiantly.

"Well, my dear, I intend to take every bit of pleasure that I can from you…" said the leader with an evil smile.

"What…What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"This." he simply said, before taking out a knife and cutting her robe. She tried to fight him, but he quickly pinned her hands behind her and drove her into the cliff's wall. She started screaming in terror but no one heard her, as they had all fallen unconscious. At last, the Rider was about to completely destroy her robe and then violate her, when she shouted for help again.

"Help! Anyone! Help! Takato-kun!" she shouted at last.

In his unconsciousness, Takato had been dreaming about that very scene and felt such a wash of rage, that he felt powered up again, yet he couldn't move. Kang-Lin's scream of his name had broken the line. His wrath knew no boundaries at that moment. He knew what was going on. He knew what would happen to Kang-Lin if he didn't do anything. This gave him new strength and he slowly started to move. Around him there appeared to be a fiery aura of rage. Takato slowly stood up, with his eyes closed. He then turned his head towards the Rider and Kang-Lin. The Rider stopped his ripping of her clothing and looked at Takato in wonder. His attack should have had kept him down for at least an hour, but there he was, up and angry. Takato then suddenly shot his eyes open, took out his katana, and dashed at the Rider. The Rider never knew what hit him. Takato came with such speed and anger that he managed to slash every part of the Rider's body in less than thirty seconds. The Rider then fell limp onto the ground, but was still alive. Just as he was about to say something, Takato took his blade and brought it down into the Rider's heart, killing him at last. Takato then looked at Kang-Lin, who was able to keep herself covered, even though most of her robe was completely destroyed. He approached her and, to her surprise and delight, kissed her on the lips gently. She returned the kiss happily, before they broke it up, and he smiled at her, before tumbling down to the ground, once again, unconscious. She looked at him in surprise, and went to his side. She saw nothing wrong except for the injuries that the Rider had given him, which had stopped bleeding. She opened his topmost robe and to her horror, saw a deep gash running up and down his right side. It was constantly bleeding, which would explain the faint. He was losing too much blood. At about this moment, the other started moving again and getting up. After seeing the dead leader, they looked around and saw Kang-Lin kneeling at Takato's side, with a look of horror on her face. Then, fearing the worst, they all broke into a run to where the two were. When they reached there, they saw the horrible wound that Takato had at his side. Misao ran to their gear and got the med kit and brought it back. Kenshin and Sanosuke quickly tried to stop the bleeding. Aoshi just looked on and then turned his head to the peak of the mountain, where the Palace lay. His face was then contorted with rage, but then remembered the state in which Takato was. During his fights alongside the boy, Aoshi had grown fond of Takato, admiring his kindness and politeness. He also admired how much passion he put in all his attacks, much like Kenshin. He still loved Misao dearly, but he considered Takato a friend now, a true friend. Saitoh was leaning over the leader of the Rider's body and examining it. Yahiko was trying to calm Kang-Lin down before she went into a shock. Saitoh then finished examining the body and came back to the others with a small metallic blade. It was small enough to be hidden anywhere without notice.

"What's this?" asked Yahiko, with a curious look.

"This, is what hurt Takato so badly." explained Saitoh.

"That little thing?" asked Sanosuke, after they had successfully stopped the bleeding.

"Yes. It doesn't seem much, but if you look closer, you'll see that all along the blade are smaller pointy objects forged into the blade. Those things caused most of the damage." he explained

"But that nasty Rider didn't have a chance to use it on Takato-kun! In less than thirty seconds, Takato-kun had driven his blade almost everywhere on the Rider's body!" exclaimed Kang-Lin

"Yes, that is true. Yet, I also found this." he said, as he took out another small device. "It seems to have a spring in it and a button to release the spring." he told them.

"I think I know what that does." said Kenshin

"Yes, I think you guessed it right, Kenshin. This blade is put into this device and then the spring retracts. The blade locks itself into the device, but when he button is pressed, the blade is shot forward. In this case, Takato's blade must of pressed the button and the blade shot itself out of the device but was stopped by the Rider's clothes. Yet, even if it was stopped, the blade had enough spring power to rip through the clothes, though only a small part of it succeeded that. This small part was able to then cut Takato during one of his slashes. Most probably it was a upward slash move that caused this gash." explained Saitoh.

The rest of the group nodded and then finished treating Takato's wounds. After they finished doing that, they built a small fire beside the cliff, so that the smoke would give them away but would still leave, and slept there. The fight had driven out any hunger they had. For a couple of days they were there, waiting for any sign of betterment on Takato's part. Finally, on the third day, Takato started to awake. Kang-Lin was on watch, as it was already night. Takato tried to get up, but found it extremely painful. He lied back down and took in some breath and tried once more. This time, he was able to sit up, but after experimenting extreme pain. He noticed that everyone was asleep and that Kang-Lin was on watch, with her back turned to him. Though she had tried to maintain herself up, she had slowly fallen asleep. He noticed this, and not wanting to wake her up, slowly pulled himself to her side. He then saw that the position in which she was asleep was most discomfort able, so he gently pulled her to his side. Through none of this she woke up. After lying her on the mat on which he had laid, he pulled himself to a nearby rock and tried to pull himself up. Though it hurt horribly, he managed to get up. After making a few soft exercises, he felt his legs again and after noticing his gash, quickly went to his back-pack. Out of it he got some ointment that Angelique and Legolas had given him before he had left. It was supposed to have some Elven magic in it, so he decided that it was worth a try. He slowly took off his bandages and then applied some ointment on his wounds. They slowly, but surely started to heal. It was as if the wounds had decided to close at that precise instance. After about an hour, all of his wounds had left his body. He got up and got out another robe, a red one, and dressed himself and got out his katana, which he decided to call Savior from that moment on. He had decided that name upon the moment that he realized that this blade had saved his life more than once by being used, and it had saved other people's lives, like Kang-Lin's. He quietly climbed up the cliff where the leader of the Riders had stood during their battle and there, watched as the sun rose. Under the cliff, Takato's companions slowly started to rise. Saitoh was the first one to fully rise, and he was the first to notice that Takato was gone, and in his place was Kang-Lin. He woke up everyone and told them about Takato's disappearance. Everyone started to panic, and no one more than Kang-Lin. They searched everywhere until finally, a whistle came from above the cliff. They all rose their heads to the sound, expecting to see enemies, but saw instead Takato, fully clothed, back-pack slung over, and katana at his side, ready to go. At their looks of wonder, Takato only smiled before setting off towards the peak of the mountain. The others quickly packed everything and then ran up the side of the cliff and then finally reached Takato, as he was still walking up the mountain. When they finally reached the peak, they found the Palace, all black in structure. Yet, as they were about to enter, they found that something was blocking their entrance. For some reason, they could not get into the building, though ahead of them only stood air. They tried to feel for something, but found nothing. Then, when they tried moving towards the entrance of the Palace, they could not advance. It was as if something glued their feet to the ground. Takato was looking about to go desperate when a hologram of Bilbo appeared right beside them, from nowhere in particular.

"Ah hello. I see you have finally made it here. I'm afraid you won't be able to pass into the Palace. You see, it is protected by a wall of shadows. It cannot be broken by any weapon and if you try, you will only cut the air. You cannot pass it, for the shadows will stop you from moving." it said

"It just said everything we just found out…" said Sanosuke.

"But…there is a way to open it temporarily. You must go to the real world and find those chosen who will afterwards come to the Council World. We do not know their names but we are sure you will find out who they are." it further said.

All eight of the companions felt a surge of exasperation come up, but quickly dismissed it.

"Ok…but how do we get there?" asked Takato, with a trace of impatience in his voice.

"To get there, simply activate the portal next to the hologram box. It will shine temporarily to help you find it." the hologram said, before disappearing.

They looked right beside where the hologram was and found nothing. Then, among the rocks, Kang-Lin saw a glint of light. She pointed it out to the rest, and they started digging. They soon found a small cylindrical object and gave it to Takato.

"Hum…it seems to be some sort of trans-dimensional device, if what Jonathan and Hyryuu taught me was right…" he said at first. "If what they said was right…then this little button here should activate it…" he then said, pushing a button on the top of the device.

The button started glowing blue and then a pillar of blue light appeared from it and went right into the sky.

"I guess we should go in that pillar?" asked Misao

"You guessed it right…let's go." said Takato, before going into the pillar. He suddenly felt all weariness flow out of him and felt himself floating. Kang-Lin followed him, and then Kenshin. The rest came one by one and after they had all gotten in, they all felt themselves being shot upwards into the sky. As they began rising at an incredible speed, the pillar began disappearing below them. After they passed the clouds, they all felt very tired and soon, a blackness befell them.

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In the real world…

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He had just gotten out of work. All he had wanted was a quiet afternoon with his kids and his wife. Then, as if fate was absolutely against that, he saw eight small comets fall towards the park. He sighed and decided that today was not his day.

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In the park…

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Aoshi suddenly felt very refreshed and got up. Around him he saw several kids and adults looking at him. He quickly got out his katanas in sudden fright and got himself into a ready position. Behind him, Takato was just waking up when he was Aoshi in his stance. He looked around to see if there were any enemies around, but saw only kids and adults, both very curious as to what was happening around here. Takato got up and went to Aoshi's side. He whispered something into Aoshi's ear and that made him lower his katanas and sheathe them. He then helped Takato wake up the rest and then getting them up. After they did, they looked around and saw that there were still a lot of kids and adults watching on. Aoshi and Saitoh put on angry faces at everyone, making the crowd step back. As if sensing trouble, four men in blue uniform came running up to see what was going on. Upon seeing the sheathes, they got out their guns and pointed them at the group.

"Throw down your weapons!" shouted one of them

Aoshi and Saitoh looked at each other in amusement. This man was threatening with a gun at two of the fastest swordsmen in Japan. They both didn't move and the man repeated his order. The crowd of people had risen at this site. As if knowing what the two were going to do, Takato smiled at them.

"Don't hurt them, they're just doing their job." he asked them.

Both men nodded before taking out their katanas in a split second and after about a second and a half, all four pointing guns were cut in two. Saitoh and Aoshi then put their blades back into their sheathes and with Takato and the others, left the scene. All four officers were still looking at the eight companions in amazement. Those two men had cut all four guns in two in less than five seconds. The crowd who was gathered there were also amazed by the speed of that act and didn't notice that the eight companions had left the park. The eight of them had finally gotten to the park exit and were about to leave the surroundings, when they saw in an alleyway a girl being tormented by three mugs. Saitoh, who was a policeman, could not stand the site, even if all he had was his sword and they had guns and knives. The men paid no attention to Saitoh as he slowly approached them, their full attention was on the girl. In fact, she looked to be about eighteen years old, had dark hair, a fair body, and was pretty slim. Saitoh had finally reached the men when one of them reached out a groping hand towards the terrified girl. Saitoh took out his sword quickly and brought the blade down on the man's hand, cutting it off. The man screamed in pain and spun around, furious. His two companions also spun around to see who dared to do that to them. This is when Saitoh noticed that all three men had blue uniform on, just like the men in the park. Saitoh was dumbstruck, policemen doing this? Aoshi, though was not surprised, he had seen the blue uniforms when they saw the three mugs and the girl. He took out his two swords and brought them down on the two companions of the man that had lost his hand. Both men had been cut across the chest, though it was not fatal. Saitoh, overcoming his surprise, grew angry at the policemen. If there was something he could not stand, it was a corrupt policeman.

"You have dishonored the order of policemen. The penalty is death, so has the Wolf of Mibu spoken." judged Saitoh, before placing himself in the Gototsu style.

"What? Who are you to say that?" asked the corrupt policeman angrily.

"Saitoh Hajime, the Wolf of Mibu." said Saitoh "And now, you die. Gototsu!" he shouted, before launching himself at the policeman.

Saitoh came in such speed that the policeman didn't know what hit him, until Saitoh's blade had pierced his chest and come out through the other side. The man gasped at the sudden pain, then fell dead. Saitoh removed his sword from the man's chest and cleaned it with a handkerchief. The girl just stood there, shocked, and on the verge of faint. Just as she was about to faint, Sanosuke grabbed her. Takato looked around to see if anyone had seen what had just happened but saw no one, and gave his friends a sign to follow him. They quickly arrived at an covered parking lot, and there settled the girl on the floor, till after about ten minutes, she regained consciousness. She woke up thinking it was all a dream, but quickly found herself wronged. Leaning against a car next to her was Sanosuke, and Kenshin and Takato were practicing their moves. Kang-Lin was watching them, and Yahiko was polishing his blade. Saitoh and Aoshi had gone to the roof of the parking lot and were watching the surroundings. Misao was counting to see if her knives were complete. The girl slowly sat up, but Sanosuke noticed this.

"Feeling better?" he asked her

"Much, thank you." She replied, looking at Sanosuke.

"Good, I'll tell the rest we can leave, then." he said, going towards Kenshin and Takato.

"Uh, wait! Please?" she asked him

"What is it?" he asked her

"What's your name?" she asked

"Sanosuke, but I'm called Sano by my friends." he replied, and left for the others.

After they had all gathered near the exit, the girl volunteered to show them around. Takato politely turned down the offer, saying they were not far from his own house, but that she was welcome to come with them. The girl assented and left with them. After about an hour's walk, they finally arrived at Takato's house. As he had expected, no one was home, so he took out a spare key from under the mat and opened the door. He then took the key and placed it on the dining table and went to his room upstairs. Kang- Lin followed him, but Saitoh and Aoshi, plus Misao, decided to just chill in the lounge. Sanosuke and Yahiko were busy digging for food in the kitchen. Soon after, Takato came back down dressed in normal clothing, and he brought some clothes for the others as well. After they had all changed into normal clothing, Kang-Lin made some food for the companions. After discussing on possible places to find the chosen, they had agreed on four different places. At a disco house, at a gaming place, stores, or at trouble-brewing houses. Takato and Kang-Lin volunteered to go to search at discos, since it was mostly their domain and people knew them well there. Aoshi and Saitoh would search around trouble-brewing houses, since they could stop a feud in less than a minute. Yahiko and Misao were elected to go to the gaming places around the city, and Kenshin and Sanosuke volunteered to go to the stores. The girl, whose name they found out was Jessica, but liked to be called Jessie, was to wait for them here, until they came back. Takato and Kang-Lin then set out for the nearest discotheque, one where they had played frequently as a band. The others split up and went to their assigned places, though Saitoh and Aoshi had to ask people about trouble-brewing homes. Where Takato and Kang-Lin were, they had just reached the entrance of the discotheque, and were about o enter, when the man at the door barred their way.

"Who do you think you are to come in here?" asked the man

"Takato Taikashi and Kang-Lin Yamoto, of the Five Swords." announced Takato.

"We used to play here, sir." added Kang-Lin.

The man seemed impressed and looked at them in wonder.

"You're the two singers of the Five Swords? Why, it's been a long time since I've heard any song from that band!" exclaimed the man. "Of course you may enter! Here, I'll open the gate." said the man, taking away the barrier from the door.

"Thank you, sir. We'll be back real soon. We promise." said Takato.

"I hope so, you're songs were stupendous!" said the man with a smile.

Takato and Kang-Lin nodded and went inside. After going from table to table and finding nothing, they decided to sit down and have a drink. After ordering their drinks, they sat down and relaxed. Then, after their drinks had come, they heard a familiar song. In fact, it was a song they had played here.

"Heart of Sword! It was our debut! Let's go dance, Takato-kun!" urged Kang- Lin

"Ok, ok. Let's go." he laughed.

He got up and gave her his hand, which she took. They then went to the dancing platform and started to dance. All throughout the song they would sing parts of it, since they knew it by heart already. As they danced to the music, Kang-Lin noticed two people still sitting down. They were very noticeable by the fact that one of them, a blonde boy, was wearing a huge sword on his back. The girl that was accompanying him was dressed very, immodestly one could say. Kang-Lin pointed them out to Takato, who nodded and whispered something in her ear, making her nod. They both stopped dancing and Kang-Lin went to their table while Takato went to the two they had noticed.

"Can I help you?" asked the blonde boy, as he seemed to have less than twenty years of age.

"Yes, in fact you can." said Takato with a smile, before discretely showing them his katana at his side, which was covered by his clothing. "You can help me by following me." added Takato.

"Impressive blade. Now how do I know you won't kill us while we follow you?" asked the boy.

"I am an honorable person. I would not kill you in cold blood." he said.

"Seems fair enough. Let's go Tifa." said the boy.

------------------------

In a nearby town…

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Saitoh and Aoshi were pacing down the street, looking for a number. A number that will indicate to them were the chosen might be. They finally reached the house they were looking for. Inside, screams could be heard.

"Looks like we found it." announced Saitoh

"I agree. Let's go see." agreed Aoshi.

They both started walking when they saw Yahiko and Misao run towards them down the street.

"This following me thing is very sweet, but it gets annoying sometimes." commented Aoshi, watching the two run up to them.

"Be glad she returns your love." said Saitoh with a grin, but then turned serious. "We better go inside, seems like a fight is going on." he said. Aoshi nodded and followed him up to the door. There, Yahiko and Misao finally reached them.

"We heard that one of the chosen might be here at one of the gaming places." explained Yahiko when they were asked what they were doing here.

"Well, it seems we may have a winner." said Saitoh. "Stand back."

They did, for he got into position with his blade. They knew what he was doing. He was going to cut his way through the door with the Gototsu. How right they were.

"Gototsu!" he shouted, as he launched himself through the door, breaking it apart. Inside, he put his blade back into it's sheath and the rest followed him in. It seemed no one had heard him and the fight was still continuing. They went all into the living room, where they saw a man beating his wife and a young girl huddled in a corner. Two other girls were huddled in another corner, all with a look of terror on their face. Saitoh took out a cigarette and lit it. As the smoke rose, the man stopped beating his wife and started smelling the air.

"SMOKE? DO I SMELL SMOKE? WHO DARES SMOKE IN MY HOUSE!?" the man shouted.

"Me. Got a problem with it?" replied Saitoh in a calm voice.

The man turned around and saw the four companions in the entrance of his living room. His face was contorted with rage, yet his breath was solid with alcohol.

"A drinker…I don't know if there are new laws in Japan now, but since I'm not one of the new policemen, I guess the old laws apply to me. In which case…" started Saitoh with his head bowed, but then he brought it up. "…You're under arrest."

"Who do you think you are?" he asked

"Saitoh Hajime, of the Tokyo Swordsmen Police, from the Meiji Era." said Saitoh.

"Aoshi Shinomori of the Oniwabansu, Meiji Era." announced Aoshi.

"Misao, also of the Oniwabanshu, Meiji Era." said Misao with a smile.

"Yahiko, of the Kamiya Dojo, Meiji Era." Yahiko presented himself.

"You should all be dead then…since time seemed to have not let that, I guess I'll finish the job!" shouted the drunk man, launching himself at Saitoh, knife in hand.

"Wearing illegal arms in public, sentence is ten years in prison." announced Saitoh as he avoided the slashes from the man. "Beating your wife, fifteen years in prison." he continued " Assault on a law enforcer, penalty is death." ended Saitoh, taking out his sword and splitting the knife in two. Yahiko and Aoshi took out their own swords and went to each side of the man. Saitoh looked at him, and pointed his sword to the man's throat, Yahiko and Aoshi did the same from their side. The man snickered and then suddenly broke into a run to a table and grabbed a rifle from under it. He looked at the three companions and laughed maniacally, before firing his rifle at each of them. They quickly dodged the rounds and got into a defensive position. The man seemed to get frustrated and then decided to do something horrible. He pointed his rifle at the two girls in the corner, but they were then joined by the third girl, who, with her body, was blocking the way of the man's rifle. The man got even more frustrated and was about to fire, when through the window came crashing in Sanosuke and Kenshin. Kenshin took out his sword in a flash and destroyed the rifle. Sanosuke was too busy beating up the man at his own game by punching the living daylights out of him.

"How did you know what was going on here?" asked Aoshi

"Instinct, on Kenshin's part." explained Sanosuke.

Aoshi nodded and turned to the women.

"You are free to leave whenever you want to. Or you could request us to throw this worthless piece of garbage out of here." he added with disgust.

"Thank you, for stopping him. Can we ever repay you?" asked the woman gratefully.

"You could help us. We are looking for someone. We don't know his or her name, nor do we know what he/she looks like. All we know is that she might be acting differently from normal standards" explained Saitoh.

"I see. Well, the only person I would know that doesn't act very normally, by social standards is my daughter over there." the woman said, pointing at the girl that had put herself in the line of fire.

"Courageous girl, definitely not normal. At least not in this kind of family." said Yahiko, upon seeing Misao's angry face.

"Ease it, Misao. We don't need any trouble inside our ranks right now." said Aoshi

Misao nodded and calmed down. Yahiko gave a sigh of relief. Kenshin came then to the girl that the woman had pointed out.

"Hello, my name is Kenshin. Kenshin Himura. We're not going to hurt you. We need your help for something very important. You yourself are very important. Why, I don't know, but you are, for the Council to choose you." he explained.

The girl nodded and straightened herself up.

"My name if Lisa." she said, bowing

"I already told you my name, but I bow in salute." said Kenshin with a smile, and then bowing.

The rest followed suit and then left the room and out of the house.

"I now have to ask you to pack your things, because we are going to have to leave for a very long while. After we're done with you, you'll have to go to the Council's World, so I suggest you say goodbye to your mother and sisters." said Kenshin before leaving.

The girl nodded and was left with her mom and sisters. Outside, Aoshi and Saitoh had just thrown the drunken man into the street with a look of disgust on their faces.

"Leave this place, and don't bother calling the police or anyone. If something happens to this family, we will know, and then our wrath shall know no ends and you will die. We will always watch over this household and it's occupants." announced Yahiko.

The man simply looked back in a wrathful mood and left the place running. Soon after, they were joined by Kenshin and the girl. Kenshin was carrying several bags. Sanosuke made Kenshin drop them and he carried them back to Takato's house.

--------------------------------------

Outside the Discotheque…

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Takato had just turned around as soon as they had come into the alley. Kang- Lin came right behind them and was in a defensive stance.

"What are you doing in a discotheque with a huge sword on your back and dressed like that?" asked Takato, with a hint of disgust at the site of the girl's clothing.

"We always dress like this, and I don't go anywhere without my sword, now it's my turn. What do you want from us?" asked the boy.

"First, your name." demanded Takato

"Cloud. Now, answer my question." replied Cloud.

"Apparently, we were looking for someone, but it seems we found him. You AND the girl." explained Takato

"What for?" asked Tifa

"I have to help a friend, but I can't not without your help. Now please, follow me to my place, where the others have to have arrived already." requested Takato

"Fine, we will." agreed Cloud.

"Thank you. Kang-Lin, let's go." said Takato.

Kang-Lin rushed up to him and they both walked, hand in hand, out of the alleyway, followed by Cloud and Tifa. After they arrived at Takato's place, they found that the others were indeed there already with the other chosen. Takato then made them follow him into his room, where his computer was on standby. He introduced his pendant into the screen.

"Digiworld UNLOCK!" shouted Takato, but instead of absorbing him normally, the portal seemed to emit a more powerful light, blinding all of them, and then absorbed them.

----------------------------------

At the Palace's Entrance

-----------------------------------

Takato suddenly felt his consciousness return to him and he slowly stood up. He looked around and saw that his companions were all up. He then saw that Aoshi and Saitoh were on the other side of the barrier. Takato lightened up and then tried crossing it. It worked.

"The Chosen were busy while you were down, Takato. They were able to break the barrier. They're all gone now, into the Council's world." explained Kenshin.

"I see. Well then, let's go inside." announced Takato.

His companions nodded and then followed him into the Palace. Takato led them through the entrance, where little resistance was met. Since they had defeated the Dark Riders, most of the digimon had fled in terror, or had just surrendered when they saw the group approaching. When they finally reached the Throne Room, the door swung open and on the throne, with a calm, yet evil look, sat the Prince in all his darkness. By his side was a sword and at his other side was Kaizer, sword unsheathed. A scowl grew on the Prince's face as he looked at Takato.

"You have defeated my best, after Kaizer. You dare to still oppose me. Do you not have any idea how powerful I am? Here, I shall show you, for Kaizer and I are not the last of my reign, no, there are more. Dark Angemon! Come here!" shouted the Prince, making a shadowy figure come up from behind the Prince.

"Yes, my Prince?" asked Dark Angemon.

"These people have destroyed our reign here, but we shall not go down without a fight! Kill them all! Leave none standing! Women and all!" ordered the Prince, pointing at them with such rage that his finger shook.

Kaizer and Dark Angemon nodded before lunging at their opponents. Saitoh, Aoshi, and Misao would take care of Kaizer, while Kang-Lin, Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Yahiko would take care of Dark Angemon. Takato was left, straight in front of the Prince, sword unsheathed. The Prince stepped down from his throne and took out his sword.

"Why don't you transform? It will make this a much more amusing challenge?" asked the Prince

"Is that what you want? To have fun? TK, wake up! This is no game, you are risking the lives of two of your comrades and of innocent people and digimon through this madness of yours!" cried Takato, bringing out his pendant. "And as designed Defender of Hope by the Council, I have no choice but to fight you. Pendant of Power that was given to me, AWAKEN!" he ended in a shout

The familiar light shot out of his pendant and then flew straight towards Takato. Takato suddenly felt energized as the beam of light crossed through him. The light then absorbed him and then a golden light shot out of the top of the light.

"Pendant that was given to the chosen one, augment your power, this is ordered by us, the High Council!" shouted several voices from nowhere in particular.

The golden beam then changed it's course and came back down onto the white light, making it turn gold. Takato's naked arms appeared, but were quickly covered with a golden-orange armor that covered his upper arms and his wrists. On his elbows were flexible, yet very hard armor that ensured protection from any weapon. As his legs appeared, his tibias were covered with golden armor and straps ran around the back of his legs, which ensured that the armor would not fall off. Under the armor was a white fabric that covered his whole body except his head and hands. His hands were completely naked but they had a golden look to them. His chest and thigh were all covered with the golden armor, and on his chest was the Crest of Hope, which shone like the light of day. His head was also bare, except for a small golden strap that ran from his forehead to the back of his head. At his side was a katana in a golden sheathe. Takato then took a ready stance as the light died down.

"Whenever you're ready, TK." said Takato, with the usual grown-up voice.

"Even like this you cannot beat me." scoffed the Prince, making his blade twirl in front of him. "Dark Twister!" shouted the Prince, causing a spurt of black wind to shoot out at Takato.

Takato took out his blade in a split second and successfully deflected it. Back to the others, Saitoh's group was not fairing very well, as Kaizer was beating them to every move and kept surprising them behind them. Kang-Lin's group was literally being crushed by Dark Angemon's power.

"Shoot! He's way too strong!" shouted Yahiko

"Dammit! Doesn't this guy have a single weak point?" shouted Sanosuke

"Calm down Sano, if we get irritated we won't be able to concentrate and he'll win for sure" explained Kenshin

"Easier said than done!" replied Sanosuke, before a punch from the digimon got him in the stomach, sending him flying into a wall.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!" cried Yahiko, before lunging at Dark Angemon at his side.

Dark Angemon grabbed Yahiko and then threw him with great strength towards Sanosuke. Kenshin was next, accompanied by Kang-Lin, but both were easily thrown towards their comrades. Kenshin, Kang-Lin, and Sanosuke got up but were badly hurt. Yahiko was still knocked out and on the floor.

"You have no chance against me, humans. I am far more powerful than any of you!" said Dark Angemon

"Independently, yes, but not as a team! Get him, guys!" shouted Kenshin, before all three friends lunged at Dark Angemon, tired as they were. Dark Angemon was caught off guard and nine slashes and about fifteen kicks and punches landed on him, knocking him down. All three friends fell to the ground, exhausted, but still living. Dark Angemon was presumed knocked out, but he quietly got up and prepared to kill the three while they were down, when suddenly, a crash was heard behind Dark Angemon, and then the digimon fell to the ground, unconscious. Yahiko stood behind with his old bokken, broken from the hit he had given Dark Angemon. Back to where Saitoh and Aoshi were with Misao, the fight was not going well against Kaizer. Saitoh and Aoshi were bleeding from various parts, and Misao had a slight cut on her hands, making her unable to throw her knives. Suddenly, Aoshi got an idea and gave a specific look to Saitoh who nodded and ran opposite from Aoshi, who did the same. Kaizer grew confused and then both men started circling Kaizer, always running. Kaizer saw himself helpless against this strategy, as he could not make out where his enemies were. Then, suddenly, Saitoh and Aoshi lunged at Kaizer from opposite directions. Kaizer was completely off guard, which proved to be a very painful mistake. Aoshi and Saitoh used their own respective techniques, which caused about seven gashes, all of them pretty bad, to appear through Kaizer's body. Kaizer then fell to his knees and then fell to the ground face first. Misao and Aoshi, having learned to help everyone, even their enemies, if misguided, came to clear Kaizer's wounds after taking away his sword and searching for any other weapon that could be hidden. Meanwhile, Takato and the Prince were fighting it out pretty fiercely, but Takato made sure he wouldn't kill the Prince, but the feeling was not mutual. The Prince was constantly trying to kill Takato. They both back flipped and ran toward opposite directions, ran up part of a wall and used the wall as an impulse to launch themselves towards the other. They both came towards each other at full speed, katanas ready to strike. When they reached each other, both katanas came down, but they deflected each other, making both kids to come down towards the floor suddenly, making them lose their balance. They fell to the ground but quickly got up and faced each other. The Prince resumed his attack fiercely and finally was able to connect his katana with Takato's forehead, causing a shallow gash to form on his forehead. Takato then countered with a slash of his own, but missed. The Prince then retaliated by bringing down his katana once more, making another shallow gash on Takato's forehead, making both gashes form a cross. One of the gashes ran down to the beginning of his nose and the other ran from brow to brow. Takato was then so much powered by his pendant that he brought up his sword and brought it down on the Prince's. The Prince tried to deflect it, but Takato's katana split it into two. The Prince fell back because of the impulse of the hit and when he recovered from his hit, Takato was towering over him, his katana pointed at the Prince's heart. The Prince gave a shocked, but then an angry expression.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Kill me!" shouted the Prince

"No, I won't." answered Takato, gravely.

"Why not? Because that stupid and treacherous girl Kari told you not to? You are truly blind!" reprimanded the Prince

"How so?" asked Takato in a neutral tone.

"She is not what she appears to be. The Emperor has shown me this, and I have heard it too. She pretended to love me when she loved another! She loved Davis! I will never forgive her for that lie!" shouted back the Prince

"Do not be a fool!" shouted Takato in an irritated yet humored tone. "She never loved him. Only as a friend, but no more. Why Davis defended her in Switzerland was because he wanted to protect her from you, not TK, but the Prince, a madman who has lost all reason!" ended Takato.

"Right. So how come I heard her saying exactly the opposite thing from what you have just said?" asked the Prince mockingly

"When was that?" asked Takato curiously

"Four months ago." replied the Prince

"She was madly in love with you then and still is. If you were just to come back, and take her into your arms as her boyfriend and fiancé, her love would only triple and know no boundaries." said Takato.

"Lies!" shouted back the Prince.

Then, several lights appeared all around Takato and the Prince. Takato's friends closed in and got into the circle. Out of each light came a Council member. The King and Queen then neared towards Takato and stood at his sides, with grave and yet understanding faces.

"My son, you have been lied to by the forces of evil. Dagomon is at his tricks again and soon Daemon will also come out from the Dark World and come back for revenge. He sent you that tape, not a friend. He deluded you into thinking this was your destiny. Have you forgotten what you were born into? Have you forgotten the promise you made to Kari when you faced Piedmon? The one when you confessed your love to her?" asked the Queen.

"How do I know you are telling me the truth?" asked the Prince, his black eyes fading into a darker shade of blue.

"We have monitored Dagomon's activities for a while now, and after capturing one of his cronies, we learned of the tapes. They were done to make you his plaything." reported the King.

TK's eyes then went back to their original shade of light blue. He got on his knees and then on all fours and started crying.

"So much evil and crimes I have done to both humans and digimon. So much people have I corrupted…" he cried.

Takato armored down and kneeled beside TK. He put a hand on TK's shoulder and looked into his eyes.

"It was not your fault. We do not blame you for nothing, for it was the Prince and not TK who did those crimes." comforted Takato

"I still cannot look at Kari and my friends in the face after all of this. I must leave them for a while and take my own path until I can forgive myself at least." said TK, and then seeing Takato's oncoming protest, continued. "You must understand, these crimes were horrible, I must confront them and after confronting them, I must forgive myself for doing them."

"Since there is no dissuading you form this, I guess it is how it must be. Good luck, my friend." said Takato, putting out his hand.

TK debated within himself over taking it or not, but then took it and shook it, before leaving with a katana and an orange cloak, presents of the King and Queen, and a now devolved Patamon. After he had left the Palace, the King turned towards Takato with a smile.

"Well done. You surpassed all of our greatest hopes and more. We thank you, Takato. As well as your friends here present who helped." he said. "Yet there is little time to celebrate. Your brothers and sisters need you in Server. I take it you are all going?" asked the King to Takato's group.

"If we weren't, you have to make us stay." said Kang-Lin.

"I see. Very well then, we shall transport you to Server. You can expect to see TK from time to time there, too. He shall be like Aoshi, roaming in his quest for forgiveness." said the King.

After that, Takato and his group got into a circle and the Council summoned this pillar of light, which made them fall asleep, but also transported them to Server, where a new kind of adventure was awaiting them.