Di Di Di...
Di Di Di...
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Change into digital champions, to save and defend the world!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digivolve into champions! Armor Digivolve!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digimon, Digital Monsters, Digimon are the champions!
Digimon, Digital Monsters! Digimon!
"All hail the Digimon Emperor."
Ken Ichijouji looked out over a balcony to gaze upon a sea of digimon. They were chained together and kept their eyes to the ground. They chanted together without any trace of emotion.
"All hail the Digimon Emperor."
Ken's eyes widened in horror. "No!", he cried. "That's...that's not who I am anymore! I'm not..."
He was cut off by a voice from behind. "They're not talking to you idiot!" The voice sounded exactly like Ken's, but was laced with cruelty.
Ken turned to face the figure emerging from the shadows behind them. He wore a blue pants and tunic. A cape draped over his back and attached to the underside of his arms. His hair was spiky and blue. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of yellow goggles with purple lenses.
"You!", Ken cried! The clothes and hair were different, but the face that sneered back at him was his own.
"Yes me!", the Digimon Emperor spit back. "Did you really think you could destroy me?"
"You're dead! You're not a part of me anymore!"
The Emperor laughed evilly. "Oh come now Ken. Just because the dark spore is gone doesn't mean I am. We left quite a legacy."
"No. I wiped every trace of you from the digital world! We destroyed the control spires! We destroyed your base! Kimeramon was the last living trace of your evil and he's gone!"
The Emperor's grin grew wider. "And what about the digimon who still cringe in fear at the site of you? Fear and hatred is my legacy. And don't forget that Kimeramon wasn't the only evil I unleashed."
Ken frowned. "If you mean Devimon, he's dead too."
"Evil never dies Ken. It will always return in one form or another. As long as the evil I created continues to torture others, you will never be rid of me!"
The world faded to black around Ken. He found himself weightless, looking down at the ruins of a city. The buildings were rubble. Fires burned everywhere. Dark shadowy creatures roamed the streets. The entire scene was bathed in red light. The sound of an evil laugh echoed through the air. To Ken it seemed chillingly familiar. "Help us."
Ken turned to see the image of a young boy before him. He had shaggy brown hair which was matted down under a pair of goggles. "Please help us.", the boy pleaded. "Who are you?", Ken asked. "What...?" And then he woke up.
Ken looked around his room as his eyes adjusted to the pale sunlight filtering through the blinds over his window. At the foot of his bed, a creature resembling a large green worm was curled up asleep. The dream had already begun to fade from his memory, but the sound of that laughter and the pleas of the young boy still rang in his ears.
Digimon: Digital Monsters
Digimon Tamers
EVIL TRIUMPHANT
Ken spent much of the morning wandering aimlessly through the streets of downtown Odaiba. His dream had brought back memories he would rather have stayed buried. There had been a time when Ken had found himself disgusted by the world around him. His superior intelligence had caused him to look down on everyone and everything around him. To him, the digital world had been the opportunity to become what he deserved to be, a ruler. He had created technology to turn the inhabitants of that world into his slaves. He had treated them with cruelty, taking his own frustrations out on those who could not fight back.
It was only through the opposition of a group of children known as the digidestined that Ken had been stopped and come to realize the evil in his actions. He had set out to make things right. Ken joined the digidestined and helped to repair the damage he had caused. It was only later that Ken discovered he had been the pawn of a powerful evil digimon known as Myotismon. A dark spore embedded within his brain had been the cause of Ken's intelligence and his cruel nature. The fact that he had been controlled did not make Ken feel any better about what he had done. His friends had tried to console him, but it took a long time before Ken could see himself as anything other than a monster.
When the dark spore was removed, it had taken with it all the things that Ken believed had made him special. He was no smarter or stronger than an average boy of his age. He wasn't the Emperor and he wasn't a boy genius anymore. He was just Ken, a boy with a good deal of doubt about who he was anymore. That was five years ago. Since then Ken had come to terms with his sense of self. As a digidestined, he had helped his friends save the world several times over. Most important to Ken, he had won the love of a fellow digidestined. He and Yolei had been together since shortly after the final battle with the digimon who had been responsible for his descent into darkness, Malomyotismon. In that time they had had their share of problems, as all relationships do. But, they had stayed strong. A day did not go by that Ken did not realize how lucky he was to have the love of a strong, caring woman like Yolei. She had helped him through his darkest time. When he had gone into despair, not knowing who or what he truly was, she had been beside him every step of the way. Without her love, he doubted he would ever have recovered.
A year ago, he had faced a grim reminder of his former life. As the Emperor, Ken had attempted to create his own perfect digimon. Called Kimeramon, this creature had been infused by Ken with the essence of a deceased evil digimon known as Devimon. The evil in his creation had proved too much for Ken to control. The digidestined had destroyed Kimeramon, or so they thought. Last year his creation had returned. Ken and the others had fought and defeated Kimeramon, but not before it was responsible for the resurrection of Devimon himself. Ken's actions had released the most powerful and evil force the digital world had ever known. In the end, Devimon had been destroyed once again, but Ken still broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of what he had almost been responsible for. The battle with Kimeramon and Devimon had begun with a dream by another digidestined, Kari. Ken only hoped that his dream would not prove as foreboding as Kari's had been. Stuck in his pocket, Ken's hand brushed against something. He pulled out a small piece of flat pink crystal engraved with a symbol which looked roughly like a flower blossom. It was the crest of kindness.
Each of the eight original digidestined had been given a crest which was supposed to represent their most powerful trait. Courage, friendship, love, knowledge, reliability, sincerity, hope, and light. Ken had only discovered his crest at the end of his tenure as the Digimon Emperor. Ken had always wondered why his crest was that of kindness. Even if his actions as the Emperor had been under another's influence, how could someone with great kindness within them have ever been capable of such things? Did he truly deserve this crest? When each digidestined realized their potential and truly understood the meaning of their crest, it began to glow and allowed their digimon partner to achieve new levels of power. In all the time he had had it, Ken had never been able to make his crest glow. He had never been able to find the true kindness within himself.
Ken was so lost in thought that he did not notice the sound of a young woman's voice calling his name. It was only when the caller was almost upon him that he took notice and turned around.
A girl of seventeen, with shoulder length purple hair, and a pair of black glasses faced him with hands on her hips. "Ken! Why didn't you answer me?"
Ken blushed and stammered. "I'm sorry Yolei. I guess I didn't hear you."
Yolei's face softened with concern as she noticed Ken's face. "Are you okay?"
Ken's eyes turned down under her caring gaze. "I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night."
Yolei gazed carefully at him for a moment more. He was hiding something, but she knew him well enough to know that he would tell her when he was ready. Resigning herself to wait, Yolei took his hand and began to walk beside him. "Are we still going to Matt's concert tonight?"
Ken looked blank for a moment and then understanding flashed across his face. Matt, a good friend of theirs, as well as a fellow digidestined, was performing at a local club with his band that night. Ken and Yolei had made plans to meet some of the other digidestined and see the show. "Sure. I can't wait.", he said with forced enthusiasm. Yolei frowned at his halfhearted response. "We can skip it if you're not feeling well.", she said.
"No. I'm fine." Ken smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand.
* * *
The club was even more crowded than they had expected. Apparently, Matt's band was quite popular with the local crowd. Ken and Yolei had met up with Davis, Tai, and Matt's girlfriend, Sora. Tai, Matt, and Sora had been among the first digidestined chosen. Of all the original group, they had become the closest friends. The three of them attended the same college where Tai and Matt were roommates. Davis and Yolei were part of the second group of digidestined. Their group also included Tai and Matt's younger sister and brother Kari and T.K. Ken had been the last to join the group.
In recent years, the second-generation digidestined had handled most of the threats to rise from the digital world. Only in dire emergencies, such as last year's battle with Kimeramon, did the older digidestined go into action. Each digidestined had a digimon partner, several of which were with them right now. Yolei's partner was Hawkmon, a red, feathered eagle who walked upright and spoke with a British accent. Davis had Veemon, who resembled a large blue lizard. Curled around Ken's neck was Wormmon who resembled a large green caterpillar. Sora's digimon, Biyomon disliked crowds and had chosen not to come. Agumon, Tai's partner was occupied with quelling a disturbance between several warring groups of digimon in the digital world.
After several numbers the crowd was shouting its appreciation. Ken and the others, standing very near the stage, did their best to cheer the loudest. Ken had begun to enjoy himself and forget his earlier bad mood when a scream from outside the club caused everyone to fall silent. Matt and his band fell silent a moment after the crowd. For a moment there were confused murmurs as everyone wondered what they had heard. A second, clearer scream, followed by a roar send a tidal wave of young people surging towards the exits. Being near the stage, Ken, Yolei, Davis, Tai, and Sora climbed up to join Matt and the band who were already scattering.
"What's going on!?", Davis yelled over the noise from the crowd below. Ken raised his shoulders to indicate he had no idea but he knew they all had a suspicion as to the cause of the panic. When a black winged silhouette crossed the large windows set high into the walls of the club, Ken's suspicion was confirmed.
"There's a digimon out there!", Tai said.
"And a mean one from the sounds of it.", Matt replied.
"We'd better get out there.", Ken sighed.
Yolei nodded and Davis was already reaching into his pocket to pull out his digivice, a handheld computer which allowed the digidestined to control the evolution of their digimon partners. Ken and Yolei followed Davis's lead, pulling out their own digivices.
"You guys ready?", Ken asked Wormmon, Veemon, and Hawkmon. The three digimon nodded which was all the prompting the others needed.
Holding out their digivices Yolei and Davis shouted in unison, "Digi-armor energize!"
When the new digidestined had first been chosen, their partners were unable to digivolve naturally, so they had been given digi-eggs which drew power from the crests of the original digidestined. These eggs allowed their digimon to armor digivolve. At times, the armor digivolved forms were actually more useful than their natural evolutions. Davis had chosen the digi-egg of courage for Veemon and Yolei had picked the digi-egg of sincerity for Hawkmon. Bright beams of light from the digivices enveloped the digimon as the evolution began.
"Veemon armor digivolve to...!" Veemon's body took on more humanoid proportions while maintaining its reptilian face and blue skin color. A pair of armored gauntlets, boots, chest plate, and helmet decorated with orange and red flame designs formed over his body. From each gauntlet, three blade like claws grew. A similar blade like horn sprang from the helmet over his nose. "Flamedramon! The fire of courage!" "Hawkmon armor digivolve to...!" Hawkmon's entire body changed form. He now resembled a human samurai. He was dressed in white robes and a mask, which obscured his entire face. Only his eyes were visible. His arms and legs resembled green springs. His hands and feet were like claws, each of which gripped a Japanese throwing star. A larger star was attached to his back and a cape resembling large green leaves hung from his arms. A red feather sticking out of his bandana was the only clue to his original form. "Shurimon! The samurai of sincerity!"
Since Ken did not possess a digi-egg, Wormmon could only digivolve to his natural form.
"Wormmon digivolve to...!" His body grew and took on a humanoid form. He was covered in dark green armor. His face retained an insectile appearance complete with long antennae, and multi faceted, red eyes bulged from either side of his head. A pair of transparent wings attached to his back buzzed softly as they carried him into the air. "Stingmon!"
Stingmon flew swiftly over the crowd, swooping over their heads and flying out the crowded doorway. Shurimon vanished from sight and reappeared high above the crowd perched on the inside ledge of one of the windows. Swinging one of his stars into the glass he shattered it and leapt through the opening. Flamedramon's body burst into flames, and shot like a rocket from the stage through the broken window. The crowd had been temporarily distracted from their attempts to exit the building by the light show caused by the digimons' evolutions. Now they redoubled their efforts to escape the confines of the nightclub.
"We'll never get through that!", Davis shouted, eyeing the mass of people trying to get through the door.
"There's a back way out. Follow me!", Matt cried running backstage. Ken, Yolei, Davis, Tai, and Sora quickly followed. Matt led them through a brief series of hallways and finally out a fire exit which left them in an alley behind the club. The six of them ran around to the front of the building. They were greeted by the sight of the crowd streaming out of the front doors of the club. It was the action overhead which drew their attention, though.
A black dragon with a long pair of arms and a huge set of wings was grappling in midair with their digimon. "That's a Devidramon!", Ken yelled, recognizing the monster above them.
Flamedramon had a grip around the creature's neck while Shurimon and Stingmon attempted to pummel it into submission.
"Double Star!" A flurry of whirling shuriken flew from Shurimon's hands but bounced off Devidramon's thick hide.
"Spiking Strike!" A glowing spike extended from above Stingmon's right hand. He dove forward attempting to drive it into Devidramon's chest. The massive digimon swung one of his arms swatting Stingmon away before he connected. He then reached around his neck to grab Flamedramon and fling him forward.
Flamedramon somersaulted once in midair then unleashed a swarm of fireballs from his hands towards Devidramon. "Fire Rocket!" The flaming projectiles pelted Devidramon but he shrugged them off.
"He must have a weak point!", Ken said as he stared at the black shape flying over them.
"Good thinking Ken.", Davis replied sarcastically. "Any idea what that might be?"
Ken frowned. "Just one.", he said grimly. "Stingmon!"
Stingmon turned to look down at his partner. For a moment the two of them exchanged a long look. Stingmon nodded and shot forward. "Spiking Strike!" Devidramon didn't act fast enough as Stingmon's spike drove deep into the black digimon's groin. On the ground Ken grimaced and Davis' mouth hung open in shock. Yolei repressed a snicker. Flamedramon and Shurimon gaped in shock and winced at Devidramon's howl of pain. Devidramon dropped from the sky like a rock. He lay on the ground, growling in pain and clutching his injury with both hands.
Davis looked at Ken with a mixed look of admiration and shock. "That was harsh dude."
Ken was hardly rejoicing over his victory. "It was the only thing I could think of to stop him.", he said weakly, looking at the ground. Stingmon had understood Ken's mental command and had gone through with it even though he did not like it. While inflicting that kind of pain in any fellow digimon was against his nature he could not argue with the results. The threat was ended. Or so he thought.
Devidramon's red eyes snapped open and glared and Ken through tears of rage and pain. With a roar he was on his feet and hurtled towards Ken with his claws outstretched. The other digidestined had no time to react and Ken could only stare in horror as death hurtled towards him. Reacting without thought, Stingmon raced towards the ground faster than anyone could have seen. Spikes extended from both his wrists and he plunged them into Devidramon's neck a microsecond before he would have torn Ken apart. Ken stared in shock as the massive claws stopped an inch from his face. Devidramon slumped to the ground in a heap before Ken. He lay still a moment and then simply disintegrated. Still poised in the air, Stingmon stared at his spikes. They were covered in dark blood. Ken could only stare at the spot where the digimon had lain a moment ago. The others began to recover from their shock. With a small cry, Yolei wrapped her arms around Ken and cried into his chest. Ken's arms slowly encircled her sobbing form and tightened as he lowered his head. Flamedramon and Shurimon settled on the ground and reverted to Veemon and Hawkmon. Stingmon landed behind Ken and Yolei. He stood awkwardly for a moment and then reverted to Wormmon.
Matt walked up behind Ken and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry.", he reassured the younger boy. "You didn't have a choice. You're safe and you kept people from being hurt. That's what matters."
Ken nodded but he hardly felt better about what had happened. Matt and Sora went to rejoin the band, while the other digidestined slipped away to go home. Ken and Yolei walked to her apartment building together.
After seeing her home safe, Ken walked the rest of the way to his own apartment building alone. His parents were already asleep when he slipped inside. Wormmon was curled up asleep in his arms. He quietly went to his room and shut the door. Ken pulled out his laptop computer and brought up a map of the digital world. It had been quite some time since a wild digimon had appeared on earth. There were any number of portals between earth and the digital world but most of them were closed. The odds of a digimon simply stumbling into an active portal were small. Had someone sent Devidramon to earth? If so, why? Whatever the reason, a digimon was dead and Ken was responsible. It was not the first time he and Wormmon had killed. There were times when it was necessary, but that did not make it any easier. Ken pulled the crest of kindness out of his pocket. Was this why his crest had never glowed? He was not the Emperor anymore, but there was obviously still some ruthlessness left in him. He had not enjoyed hurting Devidramon, but his choice of attack had been brutal nonetheless. Was Matt right? Did he have any other choice? Ken fell asleep troubled, but at least he had no more disturbing dreams.
* * *
Ken awoke to the sound of a steady beeping. At first he thought it was his alarm clock although he had no memory of setting it. He rose from his bed and noticed that the sound was coming from his computer. A flashing indicator showed that he had received e-mail. Another digidestined, Izzy, had programmed the computers of all the digidestined to alert them if they received e-mail from a particular address. The message was short and simple. It asked Ken to meet in the computer lab of the Odaiba high school. The computer lab had long been the meeting place of the digidestined. Ken, Yolei, Davis, and the rest of the newer digidestined, Cody, Kari, and T.K. were able to meet there without arousing suspicion. While the world at large knew about the existence of digimon, the digidestined still tried to keep as low of a profile as possible.
By the time Ken had arrived, Yolei, Cody, Davis, Kari, and T.K. had already arrived. Ken had brought Wormmon with him. Hawkmon and Veemon were there as were three other digimon. Perched on T.K.'s shoulder was Patamon who resembled a large brown hamster with a pair of small bat wings growing from the top of his head. Next to Cody was Armadillomon, who looked very much like an actual armadillo except for the fact that he had yellow skin and ornate patterns on the back of his shell. Standing near Kari was Gatomon, who looked like a large white kitten. Her front paws were covered by large, claw-like gloves, and a golden ring encircled her tail. It had been a while since the six of them had gathered like this.
It reminded Ken of the old days before they had defeated Malomyotismon. Since that victory, the supply of opponents had pretty much dried up. The occasional escapee from the digital world or temperamental digimon rarely required all of them to handle it. It was for the best though. They all had their own lives to live after all. The older digidestined were all in college, which left little time for adventuring. Most of the younger generation were in high school and Cody was finishing junior high. They still got together socially, but usually in small groups as with the night before. Still, it was reassuring to know that they could all answer the call when there was a need for it.
Davis was the first to notice Ken's arrival. "Hey dude!", he said with a wave. Ken smiled and walked over to stand beside Yolei who greeted him with a peck on the cheek.
"I assume you all got a message from Gennai.", Ken said. The others nodded in agreement.
T.K. was seated at a computer with Kari standing over him. "We've been waiting for him to contact us, but nothing so far.", T.K. said.
Davis leaned against the wall with his arms behind his head. "You'd think if he were going to call us so early, he's at least have the courtesy to be punctual.", he said with a grin.
Cody frowned. "If Gennai's keeping us waiting, he has a good reason."
"I'm flattered by your faith in me Cody." The voice from the computer surprised them all. No one had noticed the video image of a young man with brown hair appear on the screen. "Hello everyone. I'm glad you could come. I'm afraid I didn't ask you to gather like this for nostalgia's sake."
"Imagine that.", Davis muttered to himself. Kari and Yolei shot him a look which quickly shut him up.
"A great danger has arisen, and I'm afraid it's not quite like anything you've faced before."
"Whatever it is, you know we'll do everything we can Gennai.", Kari said. "Yeah!", Davis interjected. "So just point us to wherever in the digital world the trouble is and let's go handle it."
"It's not the digital world which is in danger this time Davis.", Gennai replied. "While this may sound strange, the danger is in a parallel reality." The digidestined looked at each other in confusion.
"I know this sounds bad considering everything we've been through...", said Yolei, "but isn't that a little out there."
"I know it sounds hokey, but I actually have discovered the presence of another reality very similar to our own. Apparently it is linked to the digital world just as this world is. I only detected its presence when the barriers between that reality and the digital world began to break down. Something is drawing digimon into that reality. I have sensed a great evil coming from that place. I don't know the exact nature of the threat, but it must be stopped. With the balance between this other reality and the digital world in disturbance, the barriers between your earth and the digital world may also be in jeopardy. I suspect the digimon you faced yesterday was brought there by a portal which opened due to the disturbance between realities. For the sake of your world as well as this other one, the barriers must be restored. This can only be accomplished by stopping whatever is disturbing those barriers to begin with."
"Whatever it is Gennai, we'll deal with it.", T.K. said with determination.
"Yeah! Let's get to it!", Davis whooped.
Cody was a bit less enthusiastic. "Gennai. If this threat is so important, wouldn't it be a good idea to gather all the digidestined?"
"Normally I would agree.", replied Gennai. "But time is of the essence and the older digidestined are scattered across two continents. In the time it would take for them to be gathered, we may miss our opportunity to make this right. Rest assured I will contact them and send them to help as soon as possible. For now though, it's up to the six of you.
"All right already. Let's get going already!", said Davis.
"Very well.", Gennai replied. "But do not take this lightly. Anything that could breach the barriers between realities like this is a force to be reckoned with. I can open a portal to this reality, but not for long. It will require a great deal of energy to open the gateway. Once you are in, it will be some time before I can bring you back or send help." The others nodded. Gennai stretched out his hand and the air in the room began to shimmer. A light glow seemed to grow from nowhere and then with a rush of air, a glowing circle appeared before them. "Go through quickly!", Gennai ordered.
"Here we go!", shouted Davis as he leapt into the light with Veemon right behind him. The others quickly followed. As soon as they were all through, the golden doorway vanished. The computer which Gennai had used to communicate clicked off.
In the digital world, Gennai frowned in concern. "I wish I could have told you what you're up against, but you'll learn soon enough. Good luck."
For a moment, the world swirled around the digidestined in a blur of color and light. Slowly, things came back into focus as they regained their bearings. They stood in the middle of a ruined street. The buildings around them were lying in ruins. Piles of rubble littered the street around them. Several ruined cars lay by the sides of the road. The sky was obscured by some sort of darkness which blotted out everything above them. A red glow came from somewhere and cast deep shadows all around them. The eerie light made the scene seem even more unreal. The humans and digimon gazed around them in horror.
Kari was the first to speak. "What happened here?"
Davis only mumbled dumbly. Yolei gripped Ken's hand so tightly his fingers turned white. But Ken didn't even notice the pain in his hand. His mind was a turmoil of images of what he saw in front of him and memories that had come flooding back as soon as he took in everything around him. "The dream...", he mumbled.
Yolei looked over at him with concern. "What did you say?" "My dream. This is what I saw. My god."
"You saw this?", Yolei whispered.
"In a dream. I...I don't understand." Ken's voice faltered and faded.
Davis' attention had been drawn by something else. "Guys, what does that look like to you?" He pointed into the distance where the saw a black tower rising into the sky. Ken saw what Davis was pointing at and a chill swept over him.
"It's a control spire.", T.K. said with disbelief.
"How is that possible?", Cody asked. Ken created the control spires when he was the...emperor."
Ken's face was frozen in horror. Images of digimon in chains flashed through his mind. "No...", he whispered. "This can't be."
"Ken?", T.K. asked hesitantly.
"I'm responsible for this. This is my fault."
"There is no way you had anything to do with this Ken!", Yolei cried.
"She's right!", Davis chimed in. "This is a whole other dimension. Someone else must have built the control spire here."
Wormmon had been silent since they arrived. He could sense something very wrong. There was an evil force here so strong he could practically feel it. And it brought back a lot of bad memories. His thoughts were interrupted when the ground began to tremble beneath their feet.
"What's that?", Cody wondered.
The shaking of the ground settled into a steady rhythm which was accompanied by a pounding sound which grew increasingly louder. They all stood tensely, waiting. When the pounding seemed right on top of them and the ground felt like it would shake apart beneath them, a black shape rounded the corner of a building a block away. It looked like a nightmare version of a dinosaur. It's skin was pure black with red striped encircling it's arms and legs. A row of spikes grew down its back and it's open mouth revealed rows of razor sharp teeth.
"Darktyrannomon!", T.K. breathed. The creature narrowed its eyes as it saw the small group of humans and digimon in front of it.
"This is bad.", Yolei said.
"We can't digivolve! Not with that control spire here!", Patamon cried.
"No problem! You can still armor-digivolve!", Davis said.
Years ago, when Ken was the Digimon Emperor, he had built the control spires which blocked the ability of any digimon within their range to digivolve. They had found that the spires could not stop their digimon from armor-digivolving however. Blacktyrannomon was coming towards them with its claws raised.
"Let's do it!", Yolei yelled brandishing her digivice. T.K., Davis, and Cody did the same. Gatomon had once been able to armor-digivolve, but was no longer able to. Her natural form was a champion level and only digimon at the rookie level could employ armor-digivolving. For a time, when Gatomon had lost her golden ring, her power lever had dropped enough to allow her to use one of the digi-eggs. But since recovering the ring, she was left unable to armor-digivolve to Nefertimon.
The four digidestined with partners who could armor-digivolve cried together, "Digi-armor energize!"
"Veemon armor-digivolve to...!"
"Hawkmon armor-digivolve to...!"
"Armadillomon armor-digivolve to...!"
"Patamon armor-digivolve to...!"
Nothing happened. T.K., Davis, Cody, and Yolei looked at their digivices in confusion. "The digi-eggs aren't active!", T.K. cried!
"The control spire is too powerful!", Cody guessed.
"A control spire strong enough to block armor-digivolving?", Davis yelled. "We're screwed!", Veemon moaned.
Blacktyrannomon took a massive swipe at them forcing them to scatter. The concrete shattered where his giant claws hit it.
"What do we do?!", Yolei screamed.
Ken looked in desperation at Yolei and his other friends. He had to help them somehow. There had to be something he could do. His eyes were drawn to the pink glow from beneath his shirt. He slowly reached down to withdraw the crest of kindness. It glowed brighter than it ever had before. A beam of light shot from it to Davis' digivice.
"Whoa!", Davis cried. A brilliant golden glow emanated from Davis' digivice. "Davis, what...?", Ken stammered as the crest stopped glowing.
Davis looked at his digivice in amazement. "The golden digi-egg is active!"
The golden digi-egg had once been used by Ken to power his floating castle. He had found the egg but never found out where it had come from. When Davis had found the egg at the heart of the Emperor's base he had been able to use it on Veemon. The golden digi-egg had allowed Veemon to defeat Kimeramon the first time they had fought him and then disappeared.
"Why is the golden digi-egg active now!", T.K. cried.
"Who cares! Just use it!", Yolei shouted.
"Right! Golden armor energize!"
Golden light enveloped Veemon. "Veemon golden armor-digivolve to...!" His body grew taller and took on more human proportion while maintaining a lizard-like face and tail. Gold armor encased his arms, legs, chest, and face. The armor radiated light and forced Blacktyrannomon to shield his eyes. "Magnamon!"
Magnamon flashed into the air and tackled Blacktyrannomon throwing him to the ground.
"Yeah!", Davis whooped. "Take that big lug down! Then go for the control spire!"
Blacktyrannomon swung a massive claw but Magnamon swooped under it and released a flurry of punches into the monster's face. "Magna Punch!" Each blow drove Magnamon's opponent back another step until he roared in anger.
His head leaned back and then snapped forward releasing a torrent of black flame from his mouth. "Dark Flame!" Magnamon was enveloped in the flames and fell from the sky trailing tongues of black fire. Blacktyrannomon growled and charged preparing to stomp Magnamon into the ground.
"Shake it off man!", Davis hollered.
Magnamon's eyes cleared as he saw the giant foot coming down on him. "Magna Blast!" A bolt of golden energy leapt from Magnamon's hands and threw Blacktyrannomon up and away. With the black dinosaur shaken, Magnamon flew forward and drew back his fist. It began to glow as he struck forward. "Magna Punch!" A vicious left hoof snapped Blacktyrannomon's head back and he fell to the ground with an impact that shook the earth. Magnamon hovered over the fallen form of his opponent making sure he was out of the fight. He then turned to the control spire in the distance. Holding his fists in front of him, Magnamon began to concentrate and his whole body began to glow. With one motion he snapped his fists forward releasing the light in one massive shot. "Magna Blast!" The golden ray flew away from them. They watched as it sped farther away. For a moment they lost sight of it and then there was the light of an explosion in the distance. The control spire shuddered and collapsed until all they could see was a cloud of dust. Slowly Magnamon lowered to the ground. He glowed for a moment and then reverted to Veemon. Davis rushed forward to congratulate his partner. Ken stared at the crest of friendship in his hand and it flashed with a golden light for a moment. Surprised Ken leaned in further but saw no other indication of life in the crest.
In the heart of the city was a structure covered in the same black growth that had covered the sky over the city. The building was hollow within. A single circular opening in the very top allowed a pillar of red light to shine down. In the very center of the chasm, in the middle of the beam of light, a black form hovered in the air. It was vaguely man shaped and covered in what appeared to be black leather. At the moment the control spire was destroyed, the object rustled and a pair of red eyes shone through. A harsh voice whispered, "They have come. Go!" At the command, three dark shapes unfolded themselves from the walls of the cavern and flew upwards towards the opening in the ceiling.
"All right. So what do we do?" Davis looked at the other digidestined questioningly.
Yolei smirked. "Why don't you tell us, oh fearless leader."
"Oh sure. No one ever calls me the leader except when we have no idea what we're supposed to do."
"You are the one wearing the goggles.", T.K. commented.
With a grin, Davis yanked off the aviator's goggles which he had been wearing around his head. He casually tossed them to T.K. who caught them. "Here you go. Now you can make the big decisions."
Without missing a beat T.K. responded. "I think we should head further into the city. We have to see if we can find some other people. They'll be able to tell us what happened here and who's responsible." The others murmured their agreement and followed T.K. as he started walking.
Davis hung back for a few moments and then hurried to catch up. "I want my goggles back.", he grumbled.
They has walked several blocks without seeing a trace of any other living thing. "Where are all the people?", Kari wondered aloud.
"Do you think that whatever is responsible for this, killed everyone in the city?" Cody's voice trembled slightly.
T.K.'s fists clenched and his face darkened. "If they did, I swear they'll pay for it."
Ken had been silent since the battle with Blacktyrannomon. Everything he saw brought back images of his dream. He still didn't know what was going on, but every step brought an increasing feeling of dread. The other humans were worried, but did not seem to share Ken's fear yet. The digimon, on the other hand seemed to be picking up on the same bad vibes that Ken was. Patamon rode on T.K.'s shoulder with his wings tucked tightly against his head. Gatomon walked on all fours beside Kari. Her ears stood straight up, her fur was bristled, and her tail swished about nervously. Hawkmon flew just above and behind Yolei. His eyes were wide as he peered into every shadow. Armadillomon tried very hard to stay in Cody's shadow as he walked. Wormmon was wrapped around Ken's neck and he could feel him tremble. Only Veemon walked next to Davis with an easy confident stride. But his hands were tightly clenched and beads of sweat stood out on his forehead.
Suddenly Gatomon stopped walking almost causing Kari to step on her. Gatomon's ears stood even straighter and her eyes scanned the darkness above them. "What is it?", Kari asked. The others scanned the sky nervously.
"Something's coming.", Gatomon whispered. For a moment they listened and heard nothing. Then the sounds of leathery wings reached their ears. It was faint at first but the sound quickly grew louder. Gatomon spotted them first. "There!", she cried pointing at three dark spots in the red tinted sky. The three shapes rapidly grew larger and they could see that all three were being carried by large wings.
"We're not taking any chances!", T.K. said grimly. "Digivolve now, while we still have the chance."
While the armor digivolutions were often more versatile, the natural evolutions of the digimon were far more powerful. With the control spire destroyed there was nothing to stop them from digivolving naturally.
"Veemon digivolve to...!" Veemon's champion form was a considerably bulked up version of his rookie form. He now stood seven feet tall. His blue skin rippled with muscles. His lizard face had a more defined snout with a small horn growing from it. A pair of small silver wings grew from his back and a V shaped design appeared on his white chest. "Exveemon!"
"Armadillomon digivolve to...!" Armadillomon grew until he towered over the others. He was roughly the size of a tank. His shell was now lined with several rows of spikes. His tail had a layer of armor over it and ended with a spiked club. The skin on his head had toughened and spikes grew from either side of his face. "Ankylomon!"
"Patamon digivolve to...!" Patamon's body morphed into a tall human form. He looked mostly human but his skin was pure white. Only his face had a normal flesh tone and the upper half of his head was obscured by a metal helmet. Three pairs of white, feathered wings grew from his back. "Angemon!"
"Gatomon digivolve to...!" Because Gatomon's normally remained in her champion form she digivolved straight to the ultimate level. He body changed and grew until she had the form of a young human woman. Her skin was covered by white satin. Her face was obscured by a helmet similar to Angemon's and long blond hair spilled from underneath it. Four pairs of wings grew from her back. "Angewomon!"
"Hawkmon digivolve to...!" As a champion Hawkmon became a giant bird of prey. His feathers retained their red hue and a pair of horns grew from either side of his head. His voice was now deep and throaty, containing no trace of the British accent he had in his rookie form. "Aquillamon!"
"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!"
With Wormmon's transformation, the six digimon stood ready for battle. The three shapes descended out of the sky towards them. As their forms became clearer, T.K.'s breath caught in his throat. Ken gasped as Yolei gripped his arm. A look of fear crossed Kari's face but her expression quickly hardened. Davis and Cody looked shocked for a moment but took a step forward with their fists clenched. The digimon stiffened. Stingmon extended his forearm spikes. A staff of gold formed in Angemon's hands and he held it at the ready.
They were similar in many ways. One was completely white. His skin looked like it had never seen the sun. The air seemed to freeze around him. The second was female. She was clothed in tattered black leather. What skin shone through was pale and drawn. The third was slightly larger than the other two. He had one pair of arms which seemed relatively normal aside from being far too long and ending in vicious claws. He also had a second pair of arms beneath his first. They looked more like the tentacles of a squid than arms. Each was covered in suction cups and had pincer-like claws at the end. "Marinedevimon!", Cody growled, indicating the one with the tentacles. "Ladydevimon.", Kari pointed to the female in the group.
"Icedevimon.", T.K. gulped.
"Anyone see a pattern?", Davis quipped. No one smiled or even looked at him. "It can't be him.", murmured T.K.
"God, no.", Ken whispered.
The three demon digimon stopped their descent and stared down at the collection of humans and digimon below them. "The master knew you would come.", sneered Icedevimon.
"Well tell your master to pack his bags 'cause we're gonna kick him right back where he came from!", yelled Davis. The demons laughed, their red eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"Enough of this!", cried T.K. "Where is he!?"
"If you want the master, you will have to get through us.", said Ladydevimon. The digidestined glanced at each other. "Go.", T.K. said.
Angemon leapt into the air, tackling Icedevimon and propelling him away from the others. Angewomon was after him in a moment. Surprised by the sudden attack, Ladydevimon was caught off guard as Aquillamon slammed into her headfirst. Exveemon flew straight at Marinedevimon, grabbing one of his arms.
"Angel Staff!" Angemon's staff struck a vicious blow to Icedevimon's jaw. Angemon swung his staff again but this time Icedevimon caught it and used the momentum to swing Angemon up and over him. Angemon flipped over in mid-air and swung his fist towards Icedevimon. "Hand of Fate!" Golden energy shot from Angemon's fist but struck underneath Icedevimon as he shot up to avoid the attack.
He was immediately caught in a swarm of glowing, white arrows shot by Angewomon. "Celestial Arrow!" Looping through the air, he managed to avoid most of the arrows but a few struck him and drew, pale blue blood. Angemon came at Icedevimon from behind but was slashed across the chest as Icedevimon spun around swinging his claws.
"Frost Claw!" The wounds on his chest were cold as ice and though they did not bleed, Angemon could feel his strength flowing through them. With a grimace he fell from the sky leaving Icedevimon laughing down at him. His laugh was abruptly cut off as a foot struck him in the small of the back. Icedevimon choked in pain and turned in time to see Angewomon's foot sailing towards him. The blow struck him in the side of the head and he reeled back. On the ground T.K. was trying to help Angemon who could barely move as a paralyzing cold spread from his chest through his body.
"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shot arrow after arrow at Icedevimon to keep him at a distance. He was able to deftly avoid them but was unable to get close enough to attack. Finally one arrow hit him dead in the shoulder. Icedevimon cried out and clutched his wound. Angewomon raised her hands above her head as they began to glow with pink light. The light grew brighter as the power in her hands increased. Her hands pointed forward as she prepared to unleash a fatal attack.
Icedevimon suddenly released his wounded arm and flung his hand forward releasing a ball of blue fire. "Zero Freeze!"
The fireball struck Angewomon's arms just as she released her attack. "Heaven's Charm!" Ice formed over her arms and was shattered as the burst of pink energy exploded. With the force of the attack contained by the ice, Angewomon took the brunt of her own attack. She hung in the air for a moment and them fell from the sky already reverting to Gatomon. Kari screamed as Gatomon fell towards the ground. She rushed forward and caught the small cat digimon, tripping and falling to the ground with Gatomon in her arms. T.K. looked in desperation between his fallen digimon and his girlfriend who lay on the ground in pain. Icedevimon hovered over Kari and Gatomon. His injured arm still bled and he snarled in anger as his good arm ignited in blue fire. He raised his arm and prepared to strike at the pair on the ground. With a cry T.K. ran forward and tackled Kari and Gatomon out of the way as the ground beneath them erupted in blue fire and froze solid. Icedevimon snickered and prepared to attack again.
"Devi-Claw!" Ladydevimon's arm stretched as her claw shot forward. Aquillamon ducked to the side. The clawed hand shot by his head missing it by an inch. "Blast Rings!" Rings of red energy shot from Aquillamon's mouth. Ladydevimon soared around them laughing and ran right into a Stingmon's fist. She shook off the blow and tried to grab him with her claws. Stingmon shot past Ladydevimon like a rocket and flew in circles around her with ever increasing speed. Ladydevimon tried to track him but her eyes couldn't follow fast enough. Suddenly he stopped dead in front of her. With a start she brought up her claw but Stingmon moved faster, snapping her head back with a left hook. On the ground Ken flinched at the ferocity of the attack.
"Lightning Strike!" Stingmon's fists flew forward in a flurry of punches. Ladydevimon's claws parried the blows just as quickly. With a beat of her wings, Ladydevimon soared backwards away from Stingmon. He zoomed forward to press the attack, but one of her claws shot towards him. He ducked and the claw missed him but struck one of his gossamer wings. The razor sharp claws shredded Stingmon's wing. With a scream, Stingmon fell spiraling towards the ground.
"No!", Ken cried rushing to his fallen friend. Yolei was about to follow Ken but her attention was diverted by a cry of pain from Aquillamon. The large bird was grabbling in the air with Ladydevimon. Aquillamon's talons were gripped around Ladydevimon's waist and her claws were clenched around his neck. Each applied more pressure and refused to let go. Ladydevimon gasped for breath, but Aquillamon blacked out first. His claws let go and he fell towards the ground. Yolei stood frozen, looking up as the massive body of her partner plummeted towards her.
"Black Typhoon!" A bolt of dark energy that had an almost liquid appearance shot from Marinedevimon's mouth and knocked the charging Ankylomon into the air. He flew several yards and then hit the ground on his back. His spiked shell tore up the concrete where he touched down. Exveemon kept a death grip on one of Marinedevimon's tentacles and refused to let go as he was swung through the air.
"Don't let go!", Davis shouted from the ground.
Exveemon gritted his teeth as Marinedevimon tried to shake him loose by hurling him into a wall. With a violent flip Exveemon's hold was broken and he sailed uncontrollably through the air. Marinedevimon laughed and extended his tentacle as it shot towards Exveemon. The tentacle smashed across Exveemon's head sending him towards the ground. He hit, bounced once and struggled to get up. Marinedevimon grinned and prepared to finish him. "Black Ty..."
"Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon's tail swung through the air colliding with the side of Marinedevimon's head. Dazed, Marinedevimon clutched his head and tried to focus on the source of the attack. His tentacles whipped in all directions striking buildings and causing walls to crumble. Davis was too caught up in the battle to see a large chunk of rubble coming down on him. Exveemon sprung forward and shielded Davis with his body. The impact weakened him even more and he sank to his knees.
"Spike Shell!" Ankylomon's spikes launched from his shell like missiles and pummeled Marinedevimon. Marinedevimon hung in the air, dazed for a moment. Ankylomon was about to press the attack when a cry from Cody stopped him.
Cody had seen the plight the others were in. Without hesitation, Ankylomon charged forward. He leapt up and tackled Aquillamon's falling body out of the air before it could crush Yolei. Davis' attention was drawn to Kari and T.K. who stood helpless before Icedevimon. "Exveemon!"
Exveemon nodded and rose shakily to his feet. "V-Laser!" A bolt of energy erupted from the V shaped mark on his chest and struck Icedevimon knocking him back. "Get everyone who can't fight to safety!", ordered Davis.
Exveemon scooped up Kari, Gatomon, T.K., and Yolei in his arms. The wounded Angemon was too heavy for him to carry with the others. "Become Patamon so I can carry you too.", said Exveemon.
Angemon weakly shook his head and got to his feet. "No. Get T.K. and the others to safety. I'll cover you."
"Angemon...", T.K. began.
"Go. I'll be all right T.K."
Exveemon took to the air. Deviwomon lashed out her claws to strike him down but Angemon swung his staff to deflect her. She snarled in anger and fixed her gaze on Angemon. "Darkness Wave!" Ripples of black energy washed over Angemon. He groaned and sank to his knees as his strength was sapped.
"Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon's attack knocked Ladydevimon out of the air and smashed her into the side of a building.
"Hand of Fate!" The energy from Angemon's fist washed over Marinedevimon but he shrugged it off.
From the ground, Aquillamon weakly shot at the chuckling Icedevimon. "Blast Rings!" The circled of energy were faint and most dissipated before they got within range of their target. From the rooftop where Exveemon had deposited them, T.K., Kari, and Yolei watched the fight below.
"They're too weak.", Yolei said.
"T.K., can you make Angemon digivolve?", Kari asked weakly. "No. He's barely got enough energy to maintain his champion form."
Stingmon was on his feet but could not fly due to his damaged wing. Ken tried to keep him from entering the fight. "You can't fight. You're hurt!", Ken pleaded with his partner.
"I have to help. They can't do it alone.", Stingmon answered determinedly. "Please. I don't want you to get hurt anymore." Neither noticed the faint glow from Ken's pocket.
Stingmon placed a clawed hand gently on Ken's shoulder. "You know I can't stay here and do nothing while our friends are in danger. I need your strength to battle Ken. I can't do this without you." Ken slowly nodded. He and Stingmon looked into each others eyes for a moment and then Stingmon leapt forward.
Marinedevimon had his tentacles wrapped around Ankylomon's midsection and was slowly squeezing the life out of him. "Spiking Strike!" Stingmon's spike struck into Marinedevimon's chest causing him to yell in pain. His tentacles loosened their grip and Ankylomon slipped to the ground. He breathed heavily and sank to his knees.
Cody had ducked behind a pile of debris, but now prepared to rush to his digimon's side. "No Cody!", Ankylomon wheezed. "Stay back!" Cody halted and indecision clouded his face. He failed to notice a stray bolt of energy from the fight hit the building wall above him. Cody was frozen in fear as several large chunks of brick and stone hurtled towards him. There was a sudden impact and Cody was flung forward. He looked up to see Ken crouching over him.
"Are you okay?", Ken asked with concern.
Cody slowly got to his feet and gingerly touched his left arm. He winced in pain. "I think it's broken, or at least dislocated."
"Hold it still.", Ken instructed him. Ken's shirt had been torn when he tackled Cody away from the falling debris. He tore a strip from the bottom the bottom and quickly put Cody's arm in a makeshift sling. "Try not to move it."
"I think my arm is the least of our problems." The fight was not going well. Stingmon and Aquillamon were grounded and badly injured. Angemon, Ankylomon, and Exveemon fought valiantly, but their strength was fading and their enemies seemed tireless. With no strength left to muster their special attacks, the digimon could use only their fists, tails, and claws to fight. The demons seemed to find the spectacle of their foes throwing weak punches amusing. They laughed and darted around their heads, slashing with their claws. They all suffered multiple wounds and blood flowed freely from gashes and cuts. Finally they could take no more. Ankylomon collapsed on the ground, reverted to Armadillomon and lost consciousness. A vicious punch from Ladydevimon dropped Aquillamon who reverted to Hawkmon. Exveemon used his muscled arms to block his face as Icedevimon slashed at him. Icedevimon responded by extending his arm and chopping, Exveemon hard across the back of the head with the palm of his hand. With a groan, he fell to the ground and reverted to Veemon. From the rooftop, Kari, Yolei, and T.K. could only watch in desperation.
On the ground, Ken was forced to hold back Davis and Cody, who both struggled to aid their fallen partners. Even as he held them back, Ken wished for nothing more than to run to Stingmon's side. But he knew there was nothing he could do except protect the others.
Stingmon and Angemon fought back to back. Between Angemon's staff and Stingmon's spikes they were able to keep their foes at bay for a moment. Then Icedevimon hurled a ball of blue fire at Angemon. "Zero Freeze!" Angemon's staff and arms froze solid and he sank to the ground.
Stingmon whirled to help his friend only to be knocked back by a bolt of black energy. "Black Typhoon!"
Angemon shivered on the ground for a moment before reverting to Patamon. Stingmon climbed painfully to his feet and took a step forward. He stumbled and fell to one knee. The three demons hovered over him grinning. As one they struck. Their claws shredded his armor and tore open his chest. He fell back and didn't move. With a cry Ken ran forward. Heedless of his own safety he sank to his knees and held the body of his friend.
"Stingmon.", he whispered. Stingmon's red eyes blinked slowly.
"Ken.", he choked. Blood trickled from his mouth. Ken could barely see the wounds through the mangled mess of armor and blood, but he knew it was bad.
"Change back to Wormmon so you can heal.", he said softly. Stingmon coughed and a spray of blood left his mouth.
"I can't. Don't even have enough strength to de-digivolve."
"Please.", Ken whimpered.
"Go. Get the others away from here."
"I can't leave you." Tears flowed from Ken's eyes.
"I'm dying Ken. There's nothing you can do." The edges of Stingmon's body seemed to flicker. He turned transparent for a moment and then resolidified. "I'm sorry Ken. I have to leave you."
"No! I can't lose you again!"
"Goodbye my friend." Stingmon's eyes closed and his body flickered again.
Ken clung to Stingmon. "Please hold on! I'm so sorry! Sorry for everything!" Ken could hardly see through the tears in his eyes. "I won't leave you! I'll never leave you! Never! Stingmon!"
The explosion of light threw Ken back from Stingmon's body. For a moment he had no idea what was happening. The crest of kindness hovered in front of him glowing brighter than it ever had. A beam of light shot from Ken's chest and he gasped, arching his back. The light flowed through the crest and into Stingmon's body. For a moment, the digimon glowed faintly and then brighter. The wounds on his chest closed as new armor grew over them. The cuts all over his body healed and the cracks in his armor repaired themselves. His torn wing grew back in an instant. As his body finished healing, Stingmon's eyes snapped open. Ken watched in amazement as his body rose into the air and hovered in front of him. The demons had drawn back at the sudden brightness. Now they looked in awe at the spectacle before them. The crest of kindness slowly floated into Ken's outstretched hand. It glowed even brighter in the palm of his hand and a gold light enveloped it. A solid form appeared around the crest. It was now encased in a golden pendant with a silver cord attached to it. Another glare of light erupted from Ken's pocket at his digivice flew from his pocket to float in the air between Ken and Stingmon. Another beam of light shot from the crest into the digivice and then through it into Stingmon! His body glowed brightly and then disappeared in a blaze of white light.
"Stingmon digivolve to...!" Stingmon's legs grew together into an insectoid abdomen with a large stinger protruding from it. Four thin legs tipped with hooked claws sprouted from the lower part of the abdomen. His chest armor expanded and turned a deep shade of green. His clawed hands morphed until there were six fingers on each hand. Rows of needle-like spikes grew up an down his arms and chest. His head lengthened and blades grew from either side of his face armor. Thin, wispy antennae blew freely in the breeze around his head. Two pairs of transparent wings beat rapidly on his back. "Ekichumon!"
The other digidestined watched in amazement. T.K. glanced at his digivice which was processing information on the digimon. "Ekichumon. His name means useful insect. His attacks are Dart Swarm and Bug Zapper."
"Wow. Ken finally empowered his crest.", Kari said.
"I knew he could.", Yolei breathed.
"Stingmon was able to digivolve to the ultimate level by himself. Amazing!", Cody said.
"Way to go Ken!", Davis cried.
Ken looked in stunned silence at his partner's new form. "How?", he whispered. Ekichumon's voice was similar to Stingmon's but deeper. "You made the crest of kindness glow Ken. You released the kindness that had been within you all along. Thank you Ken!"
Ekichumon swept out his arms. Dozens of tiny slits opened in his armor. "Healing Spore!" A fine green mist sprayed out and settled over the wounded digimon on the ground. As the cloud of green particles touched them, their wounds healed. One by one their eyes opened and they got to their feet stretching their muscles.
"Wow! I feel great!", cried Veemon.
"I feel like a new mon.", quipped Armadillomon.
"Indeed.", replied Hawkmon testing his wings.
"Uh-oh.", mumbled Icedevimon.
Davis's digivice began to glow as did Cody's beside him. "Let's do it!", Davis yelled.
"Right!", Cody said.
On the roof Yolei and T.K. nodded in agreement.
"Veemon digivolve to...Exveemon!"
"Armadillomon digivolve to...Ankylomon!"
"Hawkmon digivolve to...Aquillamon!
"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!"
"Let's go all the way Angemon!", called T.K.
"Angemon digivolve to...!" White armor formed over Angemon's body. Golden ribbons crossed over his chest and a purple shield extended over his left arm. A fourth pair of wings grew from his back and a larger, purple helmet replaced the metal one he had worn. "MagnaAngemon!"
In Kari's lap, Gatomon stirred and woke up. "Gatomon! Are you all right?" Gatomon stretched her arms and flexed her claws. "I feel a lot better, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to digivolve yet.
"Maybe with a little help from your friends?", Yolei asked. Gatomon nodded and Yolei took Kari's hand. Gatomon and Aquillamon began to glow. Gatomon leapt off the building to meet Aquillamon in midair.
"Gatomon!"
"Aquillamon!"
"DNA digivolve to...!" Their forms merged and a new warrior emerged! He had Aquillamon's red feathered legs and clawed feet, and Gatomon's white furred arms and claws. Armor covered his chest and shoulders. His face was human but Gatomon's large ears stuck out from the side of his head. Red and white feathers grew from the underside of his arms. A red visor covered the top half of his face. "Sylphimon!"
The three demon digimon had suddenly lost their confidence. Though they hadn't been nearly as wounded and weakened in the fight as the digidestined, the fight had still taken it's toll. Now they were confronted by a group of opponents who were fresh and considerably stronger than they had been before. "Perhaps a strategic retreat is in order?", murmured Icedevimon.
"Would you rather face them, or the master when you tell him you ran away?", asked Ladydevimon with a sneer.
"Icedevimon's eyes widened. "Good point."
The demons charged forward with a snarl. Ekichumon, MagnaAngemon, Sylphimon, Exveemon, and Ankylomon rushed forward to meet them.
Marinedevimon's tentacles shot into the air trying to snare Ekichumon. He deftly maneuvered around them, circling behind his opponent. "Dart Swarm!" Ekichumon flung out his arms and the needles on his arms and chest flew at Marinedevimon. Dozens of the tiny spikes stuck into Marinedevimon's face and eyes. He struggled to pull them out but the poison coating the darts was already taking effect. His vision blurred and his body began to stiffen.
"Black Typhoon!" The energy bolt soared past Ekichumon, missing him easily. Green arcs of electricity jumped up and down Ekichumon's arms concentrating around his hands. "Bug Zapper!" Large bolts of green lightning shot from his hands and struck Marinedevimon directly in the chest. His four arms stuck straight out, his red eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he screamed in pain. The black leather wound around his body began to smoke. Ken noticed a smell of burnt fish in the air. Ekichumon broke off his attack and Marinedevimon fell to the ground unconscious and smoldering, but alive.
"Zero Freeze!" Icedevimon hurled sputtering balls of blue fire at MagnaAngemon and Exveemon. A blade of purple energy extended from MagnaAngemon's wrist and dispersed the fireballs before they could touch him.
Fully revitalized, Exveemon was able to easily dodge the attacks thrown at him by the panicked demon. "V-Laser!" The beams from the marking on Exveemon's chest knocked Icedevimon back. Icedevimon raised a hand crackling with blue fire and screamed as MagnaAngemon's blade severed it at the wrist. The severed hand instantly froze solid and disintegrated.
Icedevimon stared in horror at the stump on his wrist. He looked up only in time to see Exveemon's blue fist flying towards his face. "Exvee-Punch!" Icedevimon's jaw cracked and a number of his fangs were knocked loose. He hung in the air for a moment and then followed his teeth towards the ground.
Ladydevimon hissed and swung her claws narrowly missing Sylphimon who swooped under her reach. "Hold still damn you!", she screamed.
"So you can do this?", Sylphimon asked, soaring behind Ladydevimon and raking her claws across the demon's back. Ladydevimon swung viciously behind her but Sylphimon was already gone.
A ball of red energy formed in Sylphimon's hands and she hurled it at Ladydevimon. "Static Force!"
Ladydevimon ducked low to avoid the attack and was hit hard from behind. "Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon's spiked tail smashed into her back sending her hurtling towards Sylphimon. Sylphimon's foot snapped up catching Ladydevimon in the chest.
Ladydevimon charged forward again with her claws extended but Sylphimon simply raised her hands. "Astral Laser!" A blast of yellow light shot from Sylphimon's outstretched palms and hurtled Ladydevimon to the ground. She lay still for a moment and then struggled to get up. The last thing she saw before blacking out was Ankylomon's tail swinging down towards her.
In the aftermath of the battle the Digidestined and their partners gathered around the forms of the fallen demons. All of the digimon except Exveemon and MagnaAngemon had returned to their rookie, or in Gatomon's case champion, forms. "So what do we do with them?", asked Davis.
"I suppose the safest thing would be to destroy them.", replied T.K. slowly.
"No! We can't just kill them!", Ken cried quickly.
"Ken's right. They're unconscious and helpless.", said Cody.
"I know, I know.", replied T.K. "And we do need to question them. Still, we have to at least restrain them."
"I can take care of that.", said Wormmon. "Sticky Net!" Wormmon quickly circled the demon digimon trailing a silk cord from his mouth. As he wrapped the webbing around them, T.K and Ken worked quickly to secure it until the three creatures were firmly wrapped in multiple layers of Wormmon's web.
Icedevimon was the first to awaken. "Who is your master?! And where is he?!", demanded T.K. Icedevimon simply grinned, which looked even more ghastly due to the chipped and broken fangs which filled his mouth. "Where is he!?", T.K. cried again. "You may as well destroy us.", sneered Icedevimon. "There is nothing you could threaten us with that would be worse than the price we would pay to the master for betraying him. He's going to kill you, you know. And he's going to make it slow and painful. He'll have an especially good time with her." Icedevimon indicated Kari. "I only wish I could be present for the delightful horrors he will inflict on her."
With a cry of rage, T.K. drew back his fist. Ken but a firm hand on his shoulder causing T.K. to hesitate. "Don't let him bate you.", Ken said softly. T.K. fist lowered but his eyes burned.
"We're not going to get anything out of them. What do we do?", demanded Davis.
"We can't leave them here.", said Yolei. "They'll get free eventually and come after us again."
T.K. frowned and Ken turned away, knowing what he would say. "We have no choice. MagnaAngemon...", T.K. swallowed hard. MagnaAngemon nodded gravely and extended his energy sword. Ken walked several steps away and closed his eyes. He felt Yolei come up behind him and take his hand. Kari and Cody had turned away. Only T.K. and Davis stood solemnly and watched the spectacle with hardened faces. Ken heard MagnaAngemon's sword cut through the air then the thump of something hitting the ground. At the last moment, Davis flinched and T.K. turned his head. Ken didn't turn until he had heard the sound of the bodies digitally decomposing. The strands of webbing lay, loose and empty on the ground. Kari had her arms tightly around T.K. who held her gently.
"Now what?", Davis said softly.
"We keep going.", T.K. said. "Try to find someone."
The six humans and digimon walked quietly for a number of blocks. They encountered no other digimon or people. after nearly a half hour, Gatomon's ears perked up. She turned towards a demolished storefront. "Someone's inside."
They advanced slowly. The store had been a bakery. The front window was shattered and the sliding door lay crumbled on the ground outside. The inside was relatively undamaged. Broken glass was strewn about near the window and several display cases had been smashed, their contents scattered on the ground. The basic structure was intact, however. A doorway behind the counter was hidden by a curtain. Gatomon pointed towards the doorway.
Davis stepped up to it cautiously and slowly drew the curtain back. He squinted into the darkness and took a step forward. There was a shout and something swung towards Davis' head. He cried out and ducked away barely avoiding the attack. He stumbled backwards into the faint light of the front part of the store. Veemon had rushed forward and the others stood ready to attack.
A middle-aged man in a dirty white apron with short brown hair stepped out of the darkness wielding a wooden bat. "Stay away from me! Get the Hell out of here!" Davis blinked at the man and the others seemed unsure how to react. For a moment, he swung the bat menacingly and then seemed to stop and look a them. The bat lowered slightly. Confusion showed on his face. "Y-You're not monsters?" Gatomon sniffed. Noticing the sound, the man looked down and noticed the digimon standing among the children. The bat shot back up and rage replaced the confusion on his face. "You're with them! Get out now or I swear I'll...!"
"I don't believe it!" A young female voice from the dark room surprised them all. The man turned and the others could see a girl a few years younger than Cody standing in the darkened doorway.
"Jeri! Get back! They're...!", the man cried.
"They're the digidestined!", Jeri cried.
Now the man looked confused again. "The what?"
"Digidestined!" She ran forward and stared at Davis with a look of awe and disbelief on her face. "From the Digimon cartoon! That's Davis, and Yolei, and Kari, and T.K., and Ken, and Cody! And that's Veemon, Hawkmon, Gatomon, Patamon, Wormmon, and Armadillomon!"
"They're cartoon characters? Jeri, what are you...?" The bat was lowered and now the man was looking between Jeri and the digidestined who looked just as confused as he did.
"What does she mean, "cartoon"?", Cody asked.
"Everyone knows about the Digimon cartoon! And you guys are from it! You look kind of older but..."
"In this reality, we're a cartoon?", Davis asked, looking at the others in disbelief. "I've seen the whole series! In the first season you two were just kids!", Jeri spoke quickly and excitedly pointing at T.K. and Kari. "And you guys and Matt and Tai and the others beat Devimon and Etamon and Myotismon and the Dark Masters! And then the rest of you showed up in the second season and you fought the Digimon Emperor and then he became Ken again and joined you and you fought Arukenimon and Blackwargreymon and that creepy guy and Daemon and then Malomyotismon!"
"You know all about us because you've seen us on T.V.?", T.K. asked slowly. "Yeah! And there were a bunch of movies! And action figures and comics and video games and cards and...!"
"Exactly how much do you know about us?", asked Ken.
"Everything! Cody's dad was a policeman who was killed, and Davis had a huge crush on Kari but she liked T.K., and Ken's older brother was killed in a car accident, and Davis' sister is totally obsessed with Matt! Ken was only evil because he had that dark spore thing in his neck, and Yolei had this crush on Ken before you found out he was the Emperor, and Veemon had a thing for Gatomon!"
Hearing the personal details of their lives talked about so freely by someone they had never met made them all uncomfortable. Davis actually blushed and Veemon turned away from Gatomon who stared at him suspiciously. Ken and Cody had pained expressions on their faces.
"How is this possible?", T.K. asked. "How could our entire lives have been recreated as a kids' television show?"
"Well, now we know the connection between this reality and ours.", sighed Davis.
"Some connection.", muttered Yolei.
"So how do I look on television?", asked Armadillomon.
"Betcha I'm the star of the show!", said Veemon flexing his arms and flashing a toothy smile. Gatomon and Patamon looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"I hope they got my hair right.", remarked Davis running a hand through his spiky locks. Even T.K. found himself looking into the reflective surface of a broken piece of glass trying to imagine what he'd look like as an animated character.
"Honey, what's going on?" A middle aged woman stepped timidly out of the back room.
The man looked at her with a shrug. "We're fine dear. Jeri and I were just catching up with a bunch of cartoon characters come to life." The woman shrieked as she noticed the digimon. Her husband placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. I don't think they're like the other ones." Jeri was staring amazedly at Veemon who stared back, seemingly just as fascinated by her.
T.K. finally walked over to the man and woman. "Look, all this television stuff aside, we are here to help. Can you tell us what happened here?"
The woman suddenly choked back a sob and her husband lowered his head. "It started a few months ago. These, creatures, these monsters started showing up in different places around the city. Some people said that they looked like the characters from this card game that the kids liked to play, Digimon. Our son, Takato and his friends were big fans of it. There was some property damage, but no one was seriously hurt. Then, a few days ago...a fight between some of these...Digimon...broke out downtown. A building was wrecked and a street got torn up. Then that thing grew over the city and those lights appeared in the sky. The entire city was sealed up. We were completely cut off. No television or radio signals could get in. Phones wouldn't work. The electricity shut off. Then those monsters started appearing. They grabbed people off the street. They broke into buildings and carried people away. Some of them came by here, but we were able to hide. Jeri is a friend of our son, she was in the store when all this started. We haven't seen anyone else in days. We don't know what happened to the people who got taken. We haven't...seen our son since this began. I...we don't know where he is or what happened to him." Tears began to roll down his cheeks. "Please. Are you really heroes, like Jeri says you are? Can you help us?"
"Yes.", said T.K. "We're going to put an end to this. I promise you."
Ken stepped forward. "We'll find your son. We'll bring him back to you safely." "Oh, wow!", Jeri sighed.
"There's a building in the center of the city. Before everyone went into hiding, I heard that some of the monsters were coming from there."
"Then that's where we're going.", said Davis.
"Right.", responded T.K.
"Let's do it!", said Ken walking towards the street. The others followed leaving the people inside to watch after them with hope.
"We know where we're going. Let's not waste any time!", Davis said pulling out his digivice.
"Let's take to the air.", T.K. said.
"I'll be able to carry you easier as Pegasusmon.", Patamon said to T.K.
T.K. nodded. "Digi-armor energize!"
"Patamon armor-digivolve to...!" Patamon's armored form was a large winged horse with golden armor covering his head, back and legs. Small ears resembling Patamon's wings poked out from beneath his armored helmet. "Pegasusmon! Galloping Hope!"
"Veemon digivolve to...Exveemon!"
"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!"
"Hawkmon digivolve to...Aquillamon!"
"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!"
Unfortunately for Cody, none of Armadillomon's evolutions could fly. "You can ride with us Cody.", T.K. said, helping Cody and Armadillomon onto Pegasusmon's back. The five flying digimon launched into the air leaving the three people below staring after them from the shadows of the store. From the air they could see that the darkness in the sky was actually a dome covering the entire city. Near the center of the city was a tower-like structure that seemed to be made from the same material as the dome.
"Hands up, anyone who thinks that's it.", said David pointing towards the tower. One of the red orbs hovered in the sky above the tower.
"What say we get the master's attention?", asked Davis pointing towards the orb. T.K. nodded.
"Equis Beam!" A bolt of green energy shot from a triangular symbol on Pegasusmon's head. The attack shattered the red orb extinguishing the light over the dark tower.
"Now let's see about cracking that dome!", cried T.K.. The five flying digimon unleashed their attacks at the dark covering above them.
"V-Laser!"
"Spiking Strike!"
"Celestial Arrow!"
"Blast Rings!" Pegasusmon flapped his wings and a hail of star shaped projectiles flew upwards. "Star Shower!"
The impact from the attacks caused hundreds of small fractures in the dome, but no serious damage. "Hit it again!", commanded T.K.!
"Equis Beam!"
"Spiking Strike!"
"Heaven's Charm!"
"V-Laser!"
The cracks in the dome grew and a thin rays of sunshine showed through several of the larger chinks. Aquillamon and Stingmon charged upwards together. Aquillamon's horns began to glow as did Stingmon's arm spikes. They crashed into the dome together unleashing the energy of their attacks!
"Grand Horn!"
"Spiking Strike!"
The combined force of the impact was enough to chatter a large section of the dome. Through the hole clear, blue sky could be seen. A shaft of sunshine shone through illuminating the tower below.
Ken and Stingmon soared up through the hole and looked around them. They could see large crowds of people gathered at various points around the edges of the dome. A large number of police cars, fire trucks and military vehicles had gathered. It looked as though several tanks had been called in to attempt to break through the black shell around the city. "Those tanks must have at least as much firepower as our attacks.", said Ken thoughtfully. "So why can't they break through."
"I think I know why!", cried Stingmon urgently. Beneath them, the hole in the dome was beginning to repair itself. The hole the had blasted was shrinking quickly. Stingmon dived back through the hole to rejoin the others. A few moments later, the damage was almost completely undone.
"Great.", remarked Davis.
"We still haven't gotten any response from the tower.", commented Cody.
"Let's change that." T.K. pulled out his digivice. Pegasusmon set T.K., Cody, and Armadillomon. down on a nearby building and then reverted to Patamon. "Ring the bell Patamon!"
"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!"
Angemon flew towards the tower and grew back his fist. "Hand of Fate!" His hand snapped forward releasing a blast of gold energy. The explosion lit up the whole area for a brief moment. The result was a large hole in the side of the tower.
"If he won't come out, we'll bring the whole tower down right on his head!", yelled T.K. For a moment they all stared tensely at the tower. Then a swarm of white objects poured from the hole Angemon had blasted.
"It's a whole hoard of Bakemon!", yelled Davis pointing at the rapidly advancing army.
They looked like the ghosts form cheap horror movies. White sheets draped over something unseen. Except, these sheets had large fanged mouths and ghoulish red eyes. "You gotta be kidding.", moaned Davis. Exveemon, Aquillamon, Angewomon, and Stingmon set their partners down on the roof with T.K. and Cody. The digimon charged into the mass of Bakemon who scattered like bowling pins.
"Angel Staff!" Angemon's staff flashed through the air repelling the Bakemon who charged him.
"Exvee-punch!" Exveemon's blue fist sent one Bakemon spiraling into several others. "This is too easy!", he shouted.
Angewomon's arrows impaled several more Bakemon. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!"
Within minutes the majority of the Bakemon were either defeated or had run away in fear. When the last of the ghosts had been dealt with the digimon regrouped on the rooftop with their human partners. The tower sat in the shadows quiet and dark.
"Is that it? Not much in the way of security.", commented Davis.
T.K. frowned. "Hit it again Angemon."
"No!" Ken grabbed T.K.'s shoulder. "What if the people who were taken are in there somewhere? If we tear that place apart they could be hurt."
T.K. sighed, acknowledging that Ken was right. "So what can we do?"
"I'll tell you what we can do!", cried Davis. "We kick down the front door and fight our way to the big man!"
Kari angrily stepped forward. "That's crazy Davis! Whoever is behind this, they have enough power to take control of an entire city on a matter of days. We can't just challenge him in his own stronghold! That's just going to get us killed!"
"What are you? Afraid!? Kari, you're like, the strongest of all of us! How bad could this guy be that we couldn't take him?!"
T.K. rushed forward and grabbed Davis by the front of his shirt! "Stop playing games Davis! We know who's behind this!" Davis stepped back but T.K. kept his grip on him.
"Whoa T.K.! What do you...?"
"It's him Davis! It's Devimon!" T.K. let go of Davis and his arms fell to his sides. The others were silent. They had all suspected it, but hadn't said anything for T.K.'s sake.
When the original digidestined had been brought to the digital world nine years ago, Devimon had been the first enemy they had had to face. In the final battle, Angemon had sacrificed himself to destroy Devimon and save T.K.'s life. Angemon had soon been reborn but T.K. had never forgotten the sight of his friend struggling with Devimon as both of them disintegrated before his eyes. Four years later, when T.K. had discovered that Ken, as the Emperor, had used part of Devimon's data in the creation of Kimeramon it had caused a reaction that none of them had ever seen from T.K. He had attacked Ken in a rage, nearly beating him unconscious. When they had discovered that Devimon had used the newly reborn Kimeramon to institute his own recreation, it had come down to T.K. and Kari to beat him once again. T.K. thought that Devimon had been destroyed for good that time. Now, they were surrounded by the signs that he or at the very least, another Devimon had returned to terrorize another reality full of helpless people.
As much personal angst as T.K. had with Devimon, Ken was having as much difficulty dealing with this as T.K. was. He had used Devimon's data to create Kimeramon. It was his own fault that this had happened. He has made Kimeramon and Kimeramon had remade Devimon. All the suffering and destruction this world had suffered were the results of his actions. Devimon's use of the control spire Ken had created was like a personal blow to his conscience. One way or another, Devimon had to be destroyed, if not by T.K.'s hand, then by his own.
Within the tower, the black shape stirred. The leathery cocoon unfolded to reveal a long, thin body wrapped in black leather. That which had covered him was actually a pair of large, black raggedy wings. Red eyes glowed through a leather mask that revealed only the lower half of his pale face. A smile spread across his bloodless lips. "It's time."
The digidestined were still contemplating the best way to assault the tower when a black shape rocketed out of the hole Angemon had created. It shot into the sky and then stopped in midair high above them. They could see its shape silhouetted against the red sky. A lanky body with long arms, wide wings full of holes, and a pair of horns on its head.
T.K. and Ken froze in a combination of fear and rage. "Devimon.", they whispered together. Then the dark shape flew straight towards them. Before they could react he was in the air directly above them. They could see him clearly for the first time. he looked at them one by one and finally his gaze stopped on T.K.
"Welcome to my new kingdom Takeru.", he said in a dry, whispery voice. "I'm so glad you could come."
"It is you.", whispered T.K.
Cody was the first to react! "Armadillomon! Digivolve!" Armadillomon's body began to glow but Devimon's arm snapped forward striking the smaller digimon and sending him hurtling across the roof. He hit the opposite edge and lay still. Aquillamon had better luck. He flew straight into Devimon, driving him upward and giving the others time to act.
"Angemon!", T.K. cried. Angemon shot into the air as he transformed. "Angemon digivolve to...MagnaAngemon!"
"You too Stingmon!", commanded Ken.
"Ken wait! Maybe we should...", but Davis was cut off as Stingmon began to digivolve.
"Stingmon digivolve to...Ekichumon!"
"Death Claw!" Devimon's hand clamped around Aquillamon's neck and glowed with red energy. The large bird digimon screamed as the red energy crackled around his body. With a laugh, Devimon released Aquillamon who plummeted to the ground below and reverted to Hawkmon. MagnaAngemon and Ekichumon charged through the air towards Devimon. A double backhand sent them spiraling away.
"Exveemon go!", shouted Davis.
"V-Laser!" Exveemon's energy attack splashed off of Devimon's outstretched hand. There was no time to react as Devimon's other claw shot forward and slashed Exveemon across the chest. Exveemon collapsed holding the deep, bleeding wounds. "How strong is he?", murmured Cody.
"There has to be some way to beat him!", cried Yolei.
"After all the time I've looked forward to this reunion, you are all making this far too easy!", sneered Devimon.
"Celestial Arrow!" Devimon spun as a glowing white arrow embedded itself in his chest. Devimon showed no sign of pain and merely plucked the arrow from his chest. Angewomon hovered warily above him.
Devimon grinned. "I was hoping one of you would be able to challenge me. Feel up to it my dear?" Angewomon smiled and hovered in place. Devimon's smile turned to a battle cry as he rushed forward with his claws outstretched.
Angewomon waited until he was right on top of her to whip up her hand and release a stream of pink energy. "Heaven's Charm!" Devimon was hurled back by the force of the energy wave. He turned over several times in the air as he was thrown back and then righted himself and flew forward again fighting the repelling force of Angewomon's attack. Devimon beats his wings heavily, advancing slowly but surely, closing the distance between them. Angewomon responded by increasing the force of her attack. The pink energy poured from her outstretched hands in pulsing waves. The strain of maintaining the attack for so long was beginning to weaken her. Her wings beat rapidly to keep her in the air. Sweat rolled down her forehead and the force of the energy pouring from her caused her hair to fly back behind her. The closer he got to Angewomon, the slower Devimon moved, but he still continued to advance. From the rooftop, Kari and the others watched tensely. Kari resisted the urge to shout encouragement to her partner for fear it would break her concentration. Nearby, MagnaAngemon and Ekichumon stirred and took in the battle above them. Devimon was mere inches away from Angewomon and moving slower than ever.
"We have to help her!", MagnaAngemon said urgently. The two of them took to the air shooting towards the pair locked in combat in the sky.
At that moment, her strength drained, the energy pouring from Angewomon's hands simply cut off. Her eyes rolled up and she fell from the sky. Devimon sped her descent by swiping a clawed hand down and slashing it across her back.
MagnaAngemon and Ekichumon tackled him a split second later. The three of them rolled through the air, a tangle of arms and legs. For a moment Devimon's body glowed with dark energy, then an energy field erupted from his body sending his opponents hurtling away. Both MagnaAngemon and Ekichumon righted themselves in midair and attacked again. MagnaAngemon's sword flashed into view and he dove forward driving it into Devimon's chest. Devimon merely laughed, driving his fists up and knocking MagnaAngemon away.
"Dart Swarm!" Ekichumon's stingers pelted Devimon who seemed totally unaffected by the multiple needles which punctured his skin or the poison they contained. On the roof below, T.K. and Ken stood tensely side by side, their complete focus on the fight above.
"Come on!", whispered Ken under his breath.
"Bug Zapper!" Lightning flew from Ekichumon's hands striking Devimon with thousands of volts.
"Pathetic insect!", cried Devimon smashing Ekichumon with an extended fist.. "This ends now!" MagnaAngemon's sword traced a circle in the sky above Devimon leaving a golden ring floating in the sky. "Gate of Destiny!"
The glowing circle solidified into a golden band. The space within the ring seemed to warp as a powerful vacuum force began drawing Devimon towards the void forming within. For a moment it seemed as though Devimon was going to be pulled in by the suction of the gateway. Then he simply stopped moving and hung in the air several feet from the portal. He laughed as the air whipped around him but wasn't moved an inch.
"I'm afraid playtime is over." Devimon's clawed hand shot into MagnaAngemon's vortex. The golden ring shattered and the portal within disappeared. MagnaAngemon cried out in pain. Devimon reached for the weakened angel but MagnaAngemon swept his sword forward. Devimon easily caught the blade and squeezing his hand around it, shattered the glowing weapon. Devimon's leg snapped up connecting with MagnaAngemon's jaw. The winged warrior lost consciousness and fell from the sky reverting to Patamon.
"Look's like you've lost Takeru.", Devimon grinned at T.K.
"It's not over yet!" Ekichumon tackled Devimon driving him into a nearby rooftop. Devimon struggled to regain his focus and Ekichumon's powerful fists hammered his head.
"You're our last chance.", Ken whispered. "Please."
"Enough!" Devimon whipped up his arms throwing Ekichumon off of him. The bug digimon leapt right back into the fray releasing a barrage of stingers into Devimon's face!
"Dart Swarm!" Devimon howled as he was blinded by the needled filling his eyes. Ekichumon pressed his hands flat against Devimon chest as his entire body crackled with electricity. "Bug Zapper!" Electricity flowed into Devimon's body causing his arms and legs to convulse.
From the shadows in the street below three figures watched silently as the battle raged.
"Death Claw!" Glowing with deadly red energy, Devimon's arm forced Ekichumon away. Stunned by the contact with Devimon's claw, Ekichumon staggered. The momentary weakness was all it took to turn the tide of battle. Devimon leapt upon Ekichumon and wrapped his claws around the insect's neck. Devimon leapt up, dragging Ekichumon into the air with him. Ekichumon feebly struggled against Devimon's crushing grip. Finally, Ekichumon went limp and Devimon opened his claws dropping him. By the time Ken had reached his fallen partner, he had devolved into Wormmon. "It's my fault.", Ken realized. "I should have known better than to sent him against Devimon alone! If I'd DNA digivolved Stingmon with Exveemon, Imperialdramon might have been strong enough to win. But I let my anger, my desire for revenge, control me. Now everything may be lost."
The six digidestined stared up as Devimon floated over them. "Now to collect my prize!" Bands of dark energy flew from Devimon's hands and encircled the humans, binding their arms and legs. They all struggled except for Ken who simply hung his head as he was restrained.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault.", Ken whispered as they rose into the air.
"Ken!" Yolei tried to reach out to him but her bonds held her tight. Ken couldn't even open his eyes to look at her.
With a wave of Devimon's hand the defeated digimon were encased in black bubbles and rose to join their human partners. They struggled feebly, but were too weak to do any damage to their prisons. Devimon took off into the air, the captive humans and digimon following behind him. They floated behind him as he swooped through the hole in the side of his tower. As the last captive went through the hole, the sides of the opening began to regenerate. Within moments there was no trace of any damage where the hole had been.
For a moment there was no movement in the street below and then, slowly, three figure emerged from a dark alley almost a block away from Devimon's tower.
"Well, so much for that!", the girl with short red hair said in disgust. "Your heroes didn't do any better than we did Takato."
A boy with ruffled brown hair stood staring at the tower with an expression of shock on his face. "How could they have lost?", he murmured in disbelief. "They're the digidestined."
A second boy with short black hair hung his head. "Now what do we do?" The three were silent.
"Gennai told us they could beat him.", the brown haired boy whispered desperately.
The girl turned to him with a sneer. "Gennai is just a stupid cartoon character! And so were they! We should have known better than to put any faith in them!"
The black haired boy stared thoughtfully at the tower. "Whoever they were Rika, they were real. But they couldn't stop Devimon. It's up to just us again."
"In other words, we're screwed! I think we've already established that the three of us are even more worthless than those guys were!"
"You're frustration is understandable Rika, but I wouldn't give up hope just yet." The three turned to see Gennai standing behind them.
Rika rolled her eyes. "Oh great! You again! Looks like your champions didn't do so well! Any other strategies you'd like to share with us?"
Gennai frowned sadly. "I thought that the digidestined would be able to defeat Devimon. But apparently his power has grown too strong for even them to handle." "Figured that out huh?", Rika snapped.
"There is only one chance remaining. I will summon the other digidestined as I should have from the beginning. This time I am going to need your help. While I gather the others, you three will have to free your own digimon partners from Devimon's hold." The three young children stared at Gennai in shock. "You want us to rescue them on our own?", Takato cried!
"Gennai, how could we possibly do anything to help them?" asked Henry, the boy with the black hair.
"And even if we were somehow able to free our digimon, what good could we do? Devimon destroyed our digivices and cards! We're powerless!", Takato said. Gennai shook his head. "Whatever power you or your digimon have comes from you. The digivices are just extensions of your power, and you never needed the cards at all. When your digimon first digivolved, they did it without the cards. For you the cards are representations of your own will. They never possessed any more power than you gave them. They were merely a way for you to focus your strength and resolve. Your digivices were physical representations of the power that each of you has within you. You were not chosen randomly to become tamers. Each of you has a great power locked within you. The digivices acted as a channel for that power. They helped you, but you never needed them. And since they are a part of you, Devimon could never truly destroy them." Gennai cupped his hands together and a glow began to emanate from between his palms. When he opened them, three devices were sitting in his outstretched hands.
"Our digivices!" Takato rushed forward and took one of the digivices from Gennai's hands. Henry and Rika followed his example. The three tamers examined the devices.
"They're just like the originals.", Henry said.
"Identical in every way.", replied Gennai. "And just so you don't feel like you're at less than full strength..." Gennai gestured and pouches full of cards appeared in the tamers' hands alongside their digivices.
"Well all right!", Henry grinned.
Rika smiled and clipped the pouch onto her belt.
"Devimon is keeping your digimon in the same place as the people of the city he captured. They'll be guarded, but if you can free them from his control..."
"We'll get another chance at kicking his butt!", Rika interrupted.
"I can lead you to where they are being kept and then I must attend to my part of this endeavor." Gennai led the three children away.
"Feeling better about our chances?", Takato asked Henry.
"I'll tell you later.", Henry replied as they proceeded towards the fight of their lives.
TO BE CONTINUED...