All right, people, before I begin, let me just warn you that something is going to happen in
this chapter that you might not like. In fact, you might hate me for doing this. You might
even try to flame me. Let me tell you this: things are not always what they seem, and all this
is building up to one climatic battle. So before you prepare the torches and program the
detonators on bombs, read the whole story. I promise I'll put as much of it up as I can. All
right, I warned you. Enjoy.
"To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is... the greatest benefit that can be conferred
upon mankind. It prolongs life itself and enlarges the sphere of existence."- John Quincy Adams;
Report on the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution.
Chapter 4: Netscape
It was a vast tube of brightly-colored wires and multiple screens. Flashes of light were
swirling by the Digidestined.
"What's that?" Davis asked, referring to the flashes of light.
"Those are computer users," Raidramon explained. "Everybody who's surfing the Internet is
represented as flashes of light."
"And the web sites they're trying to access are in the direction they're heading," Halsemon
added.
"It's changed since I was last here," Pegasusmon commented.
"What do we do when we face this macrovirus?" Kari asked.
"Don't worry," Davis called. "I can deal with it."
"More like it will deal with you," Yolei muttered.
"Hey Kari," T.K. called. "Did Gennai mention how we were going to get there?"
"I think he said something about an access tube right below us," Kari replied. Everybody looked
below and eventually a hole appeared.
"Everybody down the hatch," Davis ordered. Everybody dropped down and continued through the
tube.
It was another five minutes before Cody announced, "We're almost there. We should prepare
for..." Before Cody could finish his sentence, they all slammed into an invisible wall. Caught
off guard, the Digimon reverted to their rookie forms leaving the Digidestined floating.
"What hit us?" Veemon moaned.
"I think it's a firewall," T.K. said as he put a fist against the barrier. "Somebody doesn't
want any outside elements getting into their computer system."
"You think it was whoever installed the macrovirus?" Kari asked.
"Most likely."
"All right," Davis said pushing up his sleeves. "Veemon, wham it."
"You got it. V Head Butt!" Veemon threw his head at the barrier but came away with a major
headache. The other Digimon tried their respective attacks.
"Beak Buzz saw!"
"Diamond Shell!"
"Boom Bubble!"
"Lightning Paw!" Even together, the attacks had no effect.
"We're just not powerful enough," Gatomon said with a sigh.
"Hey Patamon," T.K. called. "Why don't you digivolve. There are no control spires around so
it's safe."
"All right. Patamon, digivolve to... Angemon! Hand of Fate!" An orange beam of energy shot out
of Angemon's fist and burst through the firewall.
"Good thinking, T.K.," Kari said with a smile.
"Kari never compliments me when I think of something good," Davis moaned.
"Maybe that's because you never think of anything good," Yolei commented. Davis gave her an evil
stare.
"Why don't we all digivolve," Hawkmon suggested.
"That's a good idea. Veemon, digivolve to... Exveemon!"
"Hawkmon, digivolve to... Aquilamon!" Aquilamon picked up Yolei, Cody and Armadillomon and
Angemon caught T.K., Kari, and Gatomon leaving Davis to travel on Exveemon on his lonesome.
As the Digidestined continued, they barely stopped in time to prevent themselves from crashing
into another firewall.
"This one's on me. Armadillomon, digivolve to... Ankylomon! Megaton Press!" Curling into a
ball, Ankylomon plowed through the firewall. He dedigivolved and Yolei caught him.
They encountered more firewalls along the way; Angemon and Aquilamon destroyed them. Exveemon
couldn't use his V-laser without dropping Davis.
Finally, they exited the tube of data and into a vast area where the circuits looked like huge
buildings.
"Is this the place?" Davis asked.
"I think so," T.K. replied. "But does the Hacker know we're here?"
An alarm quickly alerted him to intruders in his main frame.
"How could somebody have infiltrated my firewalls? I have to get the anti-virus program I
created up before they stop me." The hacker quickly typed in some commands and a view window
popped up.
"What the hell? They're just children. But how could children get into the Internet without
actually becoming data themselves? This I'll have to look into. But for now..."
"Look up," Davis called. Everybody looked up to see lightning striking down on them.
"I think the Hacker knows we're here," Cody commented.
"You think?" Everybody scattered.
"Digi-armor energize!" Cody announced.
"Armadillomon, armor-digivolve to... Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"
"Digi-armor energize!" Echoed Kari.
"Gatomon, armor-digivolve to... Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"
"V-Laser!"
"Blast Rings!"
"Gold Rush!"
"Hand of Fate!"
"Cat's Eye Beam!" The energy and projectiles soared towards the source of the lightning and
struck the ceiling. Another blast of lightning appeared from behind them.
"V-Laser!"
"Hand of Fate!" The combination attacks of Exveemon and Angemon destroyed the source of that
lightning projector. The two champions turned towards each other and gave themselves a thumb up
movement.
"Nice shooting, you two," Yolei congratulated.
"Well, actually it was mostly Exveemon," Davis informed her. Everybody decided to allow Davis
this one small fantasy.
"Upgrade to level two," the Hacker commanded.
Hundreds of tentacles came out of a circuit block and grabbed the Digidestined and Digimon. A
voice announced, "I don't know how you manage to get in my main frame but you will die!"
"Who was that?" Cody asked.
"I'm not sure," Davis replied.
"I think it was whoever set the macrovirus on the Internet," T.K. figured. Nefertimon
dedigivolved into Gatomon and used her lightning Paw attack. But she wasn't strong enough. If
only she could digivolve.
Davis and T.K. saw the crest of light glow on Kari's chest.
"Gatomon, digivolve to... Angewomon!" Angewomon dodged the tentacles by using some fast flying
skills. She manage to get by them and over to the circuit cluster that the tentacles were
coming out of.
"Heaven's Charm!" A cross of energy destroyed the circuit cluster. The tentacles released their
hold on the Digidestined.
The Hacker cursed and slammed his fist on the desktop. "Damn it! Level 3!"
The whole landscape around them started to shake. Cracks began opening up all over the place.
"Digmon, please tell me this is your doing," Cody said.
"Nope. Not even I can cause this much damage."
"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Davis cried. Suddenly lightning and more tentacles came out and began
attacking the Digidestined. Angewomon was caught from behind and dedigivolved to Gatomon. A
tentacle got Angemon in the gut. Two tentacles wrapped themselves around Exveemon's wings.
Lightning plowed Aquilamon and Digmon into each other.
"Dedigivolve," Cody ordered. "They'll won't be able to hit us if we're smaller." Exveemon,
Aquilamon, Digmon, and Angemon dedigivolved into Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, and Patamon.
That freed them from the tentacles.
"How do I defeat these... whatever they are? I have it; I'll reconfigure my hard drive. No
doubt the sudden change in circuitry will kill them.
The Digidestined ran towards where they came in. A canyon opened up kiddy-corner to them. They
tried dodging it but there was no way they could run towards the exit portal without running off
into the canyon.
Gennai could feel something was going wrong. He had a sixth sense for detecting trouble and the
Digidestined were definitely in trouble.
"I better call the cavalry." Gennai went over to his computer.
Over at Izzy's house, Izzy, Matt, and Joe were just informing Tai on what was going on. They
didn't have to worry about keeping their voices down. Izzy's parents were one of the few
grownups that knew about Digimon.
"Has Gennai thought of a way to pull them back if there's trouble?" Tai asked.
"He probably thinks there won't be any trouble," Izzy said. "Still, I would feel a lot better
if we were in the Digital World."
"There's just one problem," Joe put in. "You need a D-3 to open the Digiport. And we don't have
one."
"Looks like we'll just have to have faith in the new Digidestined."
"Izzy." The voice was Gennai's; he was transmitting to Izzy's laptop from his home in the
Digital World.
"Gennai, I'm here. As are Matt, Tai, and Joe."
"No time for small talk, Izzy, the new Digidestined are in trouble. Please come to the Digital
World at once. It is of utmost importance."
"We can't open the Digiport," Izzy informed him. "We need a D-3."
"And you'll have one." The door to Izzy's room opened and Ken Ichijouji walked in carrying
Minomon, the in-training form of Wormmon.
"Ken, did Gennai contact you?" Izzy asked.
"Yeah, he did. I'm ready to open the Digiport whenever you guys are ready."
Tai turned to Gennai. "Gennai, inform Mimi. I don't care if it's 3 a.m. in New York, this is
an emergency!"
"Sure thing, Tai. I'll also make sure the Digimon are ready to meet you."
"Somebody should contact Sora and tell her."
"I'll do it."
"Tai..." Matt began.
"Don't argue, Matt. The duty of a Digidestined comes before anything personal." Matt was amazed
at Tai's attitude. He doesn't usually take Digidestined duty this seriously.
Izzy handed Tai his cordless and Tai dialed Sora's number.
"Takenouchi Residence," a woman's voice greeted.
"Mrs. Takenouchi, it's Tai Kamiya. Is Sora there?"
"Oh hello, Tai. No, I'm sorry, she'll be out all day."
"Okay. Just tell her I called. Good-bye."
"Where's Sora?" Matt asked.
"Her mom said she'll be out all day," Tai said, feeling drained mentally.
"We can't wait for her," Matt said. "We need to go now."
"Right. Sora will just have to catch up with us when we have the chance. Ken, do it!"
"Right. Digiport open!" Ken, Tai, Matt, Izzy, and Joe were sucked through the computer. They
came out right near Gennai's lake. They saw that Mimi was already there, along with Agumon,
Biyomon, Gabumon, Tentomon, Gomamon, and Palmon. Agumon, Gabumon, Tentomon, and Palmon were
engaged in a game with Mimi. Biyomon was sleeping and Gomamon was in the lake.
"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" Matt called out. The Digimon got up and embraced
their human friends. It's been a while since they've seen each other. Ken noticed that Biyomon
was looking around with a sad look.
"Ken, where's Sora?" Biyomon asked.
"She didn't port with us," Ken answered.
Biyomon's eyes swelled in tears. "Doesn't she like me any more?"
"Uh..."
"I'll handle this, Ken. Biyomon, I tried to get in touch with Sora but I couldn't. But don't
worry, she'll be here soon." It was then that the lake split causing Gomamon to fall onto the
steps. Gennai stepped over Gomamon and onto the ground.
"Here's the 411," Gennai explained. "The Digidestined are in trouble. They're inside the main
frame of whoever put that macrovirus on the Internet. But they can't get out. You guys are the
rescue team."
"How do we get there?" Agumon asked. "We can't fly in this form."
"I'm not sure even Ikkakumon and Togemon can move around in there," Mimi added.
"True, five champions wouldn't be able to make it, but two megas and a champion can. War
Greymon, Metal Garurumon, and Kabuterimon."
"I don't know, Gennai," Tai said as he put his hand on his chin. "It's been a while since Agumon
and Gabumon warp-digivolved. You think they still have the ability." Agumon and Gabumon looked
glum at that moment.
"As long as there's nothing prohibiting them from digivolving, they should be able to do it."
"All right, go for it, guys," Matt encouraged. The two Digimon nodded.
"Agumon, warp-digivolve to... War Greymon!"
"Gabumon, warp-digivolve to... Metal Garurumon!"
"Tentomon, digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"
"They still got it," Joe said.
"Looks like we're all set," Tai said as he climbed onto War Greymon's shoulder.
"I'll stay here with Mimi and Joe," Ken volunteered.
"Suit yourself," Matt said as Metal Garurumon lowered himself so that the boy can climb onto his
back. Kabuterimon picked up Izzy and placed him on his head.
"Good luck," Joe called.
"Joe, do you think they'll be able to rescue them in time?" Mimi asked.
"I hope so, Mimi," Joe said solemnly. "Because if not, we could be in a whole lot of trouble."
The Digidestined were stuck between a rock and a hard place. In front of them, a chasm blocking
there only escape, behind them, barrages of lightning bolts and tentacles. All around them,
circuit clusters falling apart and new ones replacing them.
The ground began shaking again. The Digidestined and Digimon were all thrown onto their butts.
Kari got up quickly and took a step back. That proved to be the wrong step as she fell over the
side of the chasm.
T.K. literally flew over and manage to grab onto one of her arms with both of his.
"Hold on, Kari, I got you," T.K. said, grunting. "I'm not... AH!" T.K. winced as lightning
bolts hit him. They weren't powerful enough to fry him, but his back began smoking nonetheless.
"T.K.," Kari gasped. More lightning bolts struck his back. Apparently, the Hacker thought he
was an easy target. Each shot was like hundred electric shocks to his body all at once.
"T.K., Kari, come on," Cody called over the rumbling. They wanted to reply but couldn't.
Davis saw their situation. "Kari!" He started to dash over to her side but Yolei tackled him
just as a lightning bolt was about to strike both of them.
"Davis, pay attention," Yolei admonished. "You could've become a roasted marshmallow."
"I have to save Kari," Davis said.
"T.K.'s got her, you just concentrate on protecting yourself."
"If J.K. thinks that he's going to get all the credit for rescuing her, he's got another thing
coming. I'm stronger, I can rescue Kari better than..." Yolei had had enough. She slugged him
right in the kisser.
"What was that for?" Davis asked rubbing his jaw.
"Davis, you're not thinking clearly. Your letting your jealousy over T.K. cloud your logic.
Think for once in your pathetic life! Shouldn't you try to help the whole team, not just Kari!
Besides, if you died from one of those lightning bolts, I would have to explain it to your
family. That's one thing we both don't need so I don't want you to be killed!" Davis saw
Yolei's eyes, swelling with tears. If he didn't know better, he actually thought she was
worried for him. He wrote that out as misinterpretation.
Meanwhile, T.K. tried frantically to hold on to Kari while at the same time, try not to keep
both of them from going over the edge. Kari was getting worried for him. If T.K. remained like
this, the lightning bolts could kill him.
"T.K., forget about me."
"What?"
"Save yourself. I'm not going to have you get killed just for me."
"Forget it, Kari." Another lightning bolt scorched T.K.'s back. "I'm not letting you fall. I
care about you too much to lose you."
Kari was awestruck by T.K.'s words. Then a small, sad smile appeared on her face. "T.K...."
Suddenly T.K. felt Kari's hand go limp as it slipped out of the glove. With no grip, Kari fell
into the abyss.
"NO!" T.K. cried as he watched Kari disappear. The look in her eyes said she was sorry but
this was for the better.
Yolei saw several tentacles shoot towards T.K. "T.K., look out!" She cried.
"Terra Force!" A ball of energy destroyed the tentacles. Davis, Yolei, Cody, Veemon, Hawkmon,
Armadillomon, and Patamon looked up to see War Greymon, Metal Garurumon, and Kabuterimon standing
in front of the exit portal.
"Move it!" Matt ordered. Everyone except for Patamon ran for the exit portal. Patamon saw that
T.K. was still kneeling by the edge of the chasm holding onto Kari's glove.
"T.K., let's go!" Patamon called.
"T.K.," Matt echoed.
"You guys make sure the others get to safety," Tai ordered. "I'll get T.K."
"All right." War Greymon took off, slicing up tentacles like crazy.
"Come on, T.K., we're leaving," Tai said as War Greymon landed by T.K.
"No," T.K. sobbed. "This can't be happening."
"T.K., let's go!" Tai shouted.
"Tai?" T.K. looked up at the older boy. He was the last person he wanted to see, after what
happened to Kari. "Tai... Kari... she's gone!"
"What?" Tai looked down the chasm. "Oh no."
"Tai, don't you zone out too," Izzy called. "We have to get out of here before the entire main
frame is reconfigured.
"Izzy, behind you!" Matt warned.
"Metal Wolf Claw!" A blast of ice froze the tentacle.
"Electro Shocker!" A ball of electricity destroyed a circuit cluster.
Tai shook himself out of his semi-trance. "Please, T.K., we have to go." But there was less
conviction in Tai's argument. War Greymon picked up the both of them and went for the exit
portal. Izzy had already retrieved the fallen Gatomon.
"Digivolve!" Davis and Yolei shouted.
"Veemon, digivolve to... Exveemon!"
"Hawkmon, digivolve to... Aquilamon!"
"Digi-armor energize!"
"Armadillomon, armor-digivolve to... Submarimon, the Reliable Guardian of the Sea!" Cody ducked
into Submarimon while Davis and Yolei got onto Exveemon and Aquilamon. Everybody took off.
The Hacker smiled. Victory has gone to him. Now he can continue on his mission.
this chapter that you might not like. In fact, you might hate me for doing this. You might
even try to flame me. Let me tell you this: things are not always what they seem, and all this
is building up to one climatic battle. So before you prepare the torches and program the
detonators on bombs, read the whole story. I promise I'll put as much of it up as I can. All
right, I warned you. Enjoy.
"To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is... the greatest benefit that can be conferred
upon mankind. It prolongs life itself and enlarges the sphere of existence."- John Quincy Adams;
Report on the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution.
Chapter 4: Netscape
It was a vast tube of brightly-colored wires and multiple screens. Flashes of light were
swirling by the Digidestined.
"What's that?" Davis asked, referring to the flashes of light.
"Those are computer users," Raidramon explained. "Everybody who's surfing the Internet is
represented as flashes of light."
"And the web sites they're trying to access are in the direction they're heading," Halsemon
added.
"It's changed since I was last here," Pegasusmon commented.
"What do we do when we face this macrovirus?" Kari asked.
"Don't worry," Davis called. "I can deal with it."
"More like it will deal with you," Yolei muttered.
"Hey Kari," T.K. called. "Did Gennai mention how we were going to get there?"
"I think he said something about an access tube right below us," Kari replied. Everybody looked
below and eventually a hole appeared.
"Everybody down the hatch," Davis ordered. Everybody dropped down and continued through the
tube.
It was another five minutes before Cody announced, "We're almost there. We should prepare
for..." Before Cody could finish his sentence, they all slammed into an invisible wall. Caught
off guard, the Digimon reverted to their rookie forms leaving the Digidestined floating.
"What hit us?" Veemon moaned.
"I think it's a firewall," T.K. said as he put a fist against the barrier. "Somebody doesn't
want any outside elements getting into their computer system."
"You think it was whoever installed the macrovirus?" Kari asked.
"Most likely."
"All right," Davis said pushing up his sleeves. "Veemon, wham it."
"You got it. V Head Butt!" Veemon threw his head at the barrier but came away with a major
headache. The other Digimon tried their respective attacks.
"Beak Buzz saw!"
"Diamond Shell!"
"Boom Bubble!"
"Lightning Paw!" Even together, the attacks had no effect.
"We're just not powerful enough," Gatomon said with a sigh.
"Hey Patamon," T.K. called. "Why don't you digivolve. There are no control spires around so
it's safe."
"All right. Patamon, digivolve to... Angemon! Hand of Fate!" An orange beam of energy shot out
of Angemon's fist and burst through the firewall.
"Good thinking, T.K.," Kari said with a smile.
"Kari never compliments me when I think of something good," Davis moaned.
"Maybe that's because you never think of anything good," Yolei commented. Davis gave her an evil
stare.
"Why don't we all digivolve," Hawkmon suggested.
"That's a good idea. Veemon, digivolve to... Exveemon!"
"Hawkmon, digivolve to... Aquilamon!" Aquilamon picked up Yolei, Cody and Armadillomon and
Angemon caught T.K., Kari, and Gatomon leaving Davis to travel on Exveemon on his lonesome.
As the Digidestined continued, they barely stopped in time to prevent themselves from crashing
into another firewall.
"This one's on me. Armadillomon, digivolve to... Ankylomon! Megaton Press!" Curling into a
ball, Ankylomon plowed through the firewall. He dedigivolved and Yolei caught him.
They encountered more firewalls along the way; Angemon and Aquilamon destroyed them. Exveemon
couldn't use his V-laser without dropping Davis.
Finally, they exited the tube of data and into a vast area where the circuits looked like huge
buildings.
"Is this the place?" Davis asked.
"I think so," T.K. replied. "But does the Hacker know we're here?"
An alarm quickly alerted him to intruders in his main frame.
"How could somebody have infiltrated my firewalls? I have to get the anti-virus program I
created up before they stop me." The hacker quickly typed in some commands and a view window
popped up.
"What the hell? They're just children. But how could children get into the Internet without
actually becoming data themselves? This I'll have to look into. But for now..."
"Look up," Davis called. Everybody looked up to see lightning striking down on them.
"I think the Hacker knows we're here," Cody commented.
"You think?" Everybody scattered.
"Digi-armor energize!" Cody announced.
"Armadillomon, armor-digivolve to... Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"
"Digi-armor energize!" Echoed Kari.
"Gatomon, armor-digivolve to... Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"
"V-Laser!"
"Blast Rings!"
"Gold Rush!"
"Hand of Fate!"
"Cat's Eye Beam!" The energy and projectiles soared towards the source of the lightning and
struck the ceiling. Another blast of lightning appeared from behind them.
"V-Laser!"
"Hand of Fate!" The combination attacks of Exveemon and Angemon destroyed the source of that
lightning projector. The two champions turned towards each other and gave themselves a thumb up
movement.
"Nice shooting, you two," Yolei congratulated.
"Well, actually it was mostly Exveemon," Davis informed her. Everybody decided to allow Davis
this one small fantasy.
"Upgrade to level two," the Hacker commanded.
Hundreds of tentacles came out of a circuit block and grabbed the Digidestined and Digimon. A
voice announced, "I don't know how you manage to get in my main frame but you will die!"
"Who was that?" Cody asked.
"I'm not sure," Davis replied.
"I think it was whoever set the macrovirus on the Internet," T.K. figured. Nefertimon
dedigivolved into Gatomon and used her lightning Paw attack. But she wasn't strong enough. If
only she could digivolve.
Davis and T.K. saw the crest of light glow on Kari's chest.
"Gatomon, digivolve to... Angewomon!" Angewomon dodged the tentacles by using some fast flying
skills. She manage to get by them and over to the circuit cluster that the tentacles were
coming out of.
"Heaven's Charm!" A cross of energy destroyed the circuit cluster. The tentacles released their
hold on the Digidestined.
The Hacker cursed and slammed his fist on the desktop. "Damn it! Level 3!"
The whole landscape around them started to shake. Cracks began opening up all over the place.
"Digmon, please tell me this is your doing," Cody said.
"Nope. Not even I can cause this much damage."
"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Davis cried. Suddenly lightning and more tentacles came out and began
attacking the Digidestined. Angewomon was caught from behind and dedigivolved to Gatomon. A
tentacle got Angemon in the gut. Two tentacles wrapped themselves around Exveemon's wings.
Lightning plowed Aquilamon and Digmon into each other.
"Dedigivolve," Cody ordered. "They'll won't be able to hit us if we're smaller." Exveemon,
Aquilamon, Digmon, and Angemon dedigivolved into Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, and Patamon.
That freed them from the tentacles.
"How do I defeat these... whatever they are? I have it; I'll reconfigure my hard drive. No
doubt the sudden change in circuitry will kill them.
The Digidestined ran towards where they came in. A canyon opened up kiddy-corner to them. They
tried dodging it but there was no way they could run towards the exit portal without running off
into the canyon.
Gennai could feel something was going wrong. He had a sixth sense for detecting trouble and the
Digidestined were definitely in trouble.
"I better call the cavalry." Gennai went over to his computer.
Over at Izzy's house, Izzy, Matt, and Joe were just informing Tai on what was going on. They
didn't have to worry about keeping their voices down. Izzy's parents were one of the few
grownups that knew about Digimon.
"Has Gennai thought of a way to pull them back if there's trouble?" Tai asked.
"He probably thinks there won't be any trouble," Izzy said. "Still, I would feel a lot better
if we were in the Digital World."
"There's just one problem," Joe put in. "You need a D-3 to open the Digiport. And we don't have
one."
"Looks like we'll just have to have faith in the new Digidestined."
"Izzy." The voice was Gennai's; he was transmitting to Izzy's laptop from his home in the
Digital World.
"Gennai, I'm here. As are Matt, Tai, and Joe."
"No time for small talk, Izzy, the new Digidestined are in trouble. Please come to the Digital
World at once. It is of utmost importance."
"We can't open the Digiport," Izzy informed him. "We need a D-3."
"And you'll have one." The door to Izzy's room opened and Ken Ichijouji walked in carrying
Minomon, the in-training form of Wormmon.
"Ken, did Gennai contact you?" Izzy asked.
"Yeah, he did. I'm ready to open the Digiport whenever you guys are ready."
Tai turned to Gennai. "Gennai, inform Mimi. I don't care if it's 3 a.m. in New York, this is
an emergency!"
"Sure thing, Tai. I'll also make sure the Digimon are ready to meet you."
"Somebody should contact Sora and tell her."
"I'll do it."
"Tai..." Matt began.
"Don't argue, Matt. The duty of a Digidestined comes before anything personal." Matt was amazed
at Tai's attitude. He doesn't usually take Digidestined duty this seriously.
Izzy handed Tai his cordless and Tai dialed Sora's number.
"Takenouchi Residence," a woman's voice greeted.
"Mrs. Takenouchi, it's Tai Kamiya. Is Sora there?"
"Oh hello, Tai. No, I'm sorry, she'll be out all day."
"Okay. Just tell her I called. Good-bye."
"Where's Sora?" Matt asked.
"Her mom said she'll be out all day," Tai said, feeling drained mentally.
"We can't wait for her," Matt said. "We need to go now."
"Right. Sora will just have to catch up with us when we have the chance. Ken, do it!"
"Right. Digiport open!" Ken, Tai, Matt, Izzy, and Joe were sucked through the computer. They
came out right near Gennai's lake. They saw that Mimi was already there, along with Agumon,
Biyomon, Gabumon, Tentomon, Gomamon, and Palmon. Agumon, Gabumon, Tentomon, and Palmon were
engaged in a game with Mimi. Biyomon was sleeping and Gomamon was in the lake.
"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" Matt called out. The Digimon got up and embraced
their human friends. It's been a while since they've seen each other. Ken noticed that Biyomon
was looking around with a sad look.
"Ken, where's Sora?" Biyomon asked.
"She didn't port with us," Ken answered.
Biyomon's eyes swelled in tears. "Doesn't she like me any more?"
"Uh..."
"I'll handle this, Ken. Biyomon, I tried to get in touch with Sora but I couldn't. But don't
worry, she'll be here soon." It was then that the lake split causing Gomamon to fall onto the
steps. Gennai stepped over Gomamon and onto the ground.
"Here's the 411," Gennai explained. "The Digidestined are in trouble. They're inside the main
frame of whoever put that macrovirus on the Internet. But they can't get out. You guys are the
rescue team."
"How do we get there?" Agumon asked. "We can't fly in this form."
"I'm not sure even Ikkakumon and Togemon can move around in there," Mimi added.
"True, five champions wouldn't be able to make it, but two megas and a champion can. War
Greymon, Metal Garurumon, and Kabuterimon."
"I don't know, Gennai," Tai said as he put his hand on his chin. "It's been a while since Agumon
and Gabumon warp-digivolved. You think they still have the ability." Agumon and Gabumon looked
glum at that moment.
"As long as there's nothing prohibiting them from digivolving, they should be able to do it."
"All right, go for it, guys," Matt encouraged. The two Digimon nodded.
"Agumon, warp-digivolve to... War Greymon!"
"Gabumon, warp-digivolve to... Metal Garurumon!"
"Tentomon, digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"
"They still got it," Joe said.
"Looks like we're all set," Tai said as he climbed onto War Greymon's shoulder.
"I'll stay here with Mimi and Joe," Ken volunteered.
"Suit yourself," Matt said as Metal Garurumon lowered himself so that the boy can climb onto his
back. Kabuterimon picked up Izzy and placed him on his head.
"Good luck," Joe called.
"Joe, do you think they'll be able to rescue them in time?" Mimi asked.
"I hope so, Mimi," Joe said solemnly. "Because if not, we could be in a whole lot of trouble."
The Digidestined were stuck between a rock and a hard place. In front of them, a chasm blocking
there only escape, behind them, barrages of lightning bolts and tentacles. All around them,
circuit clusters falling apart and new ones replacing them.
The ground began shaking again. The Digidestined and Digimon were all thrown onto their butts.
Kari got up quickly and took a step back. That proved to be the wrong step as she fell over the
side of the chasm.
T.K. literally flew over and manage to grab onto one of her arms with both of his.
"Hold on, Kari, I got you," T.K. said, grunting. "I'm not... AH!" T.K. winced as lightning
bolts hit him. They weren't powerful enough to fry him, but his back began smoking nonetheless.
"T.K.," Kari gasped. More lightning bolts struck his back. Apparently, the Hacker thought he
was an easy target. Each shot was like hundred electric shocks to his body all at once.
"T.K., Kari, come on," Cody called over the rumbling. They wanted to reply but couldn't.
Davis saw their situation. "Kari!" He started to dash over to her side but Yolei tackled him
just as a lightning bolt was about to strike both of them.
"Davis, pay attention," Yolei admonished. "You could've become a roasted marshmallow."
"I have to save Kari," Davis said.
"T.K.'s got her, you just concentrate on protecting yourself."
"If J.K. thinks that he's going to get all the credit for rescuing her, he's got another thing
coming. I'm stronger, I can rescue Kari better than..." Yolei had had enough. She slugged him
right in the kisser.
"What was that for?" Davis asked rubbing his jaw.
"Davis, you're not thinking clearly. Your letting your jealousy over T.K. cloud your logic.
Think for once in your pathetic life! Shouldn't you try to help the whole team, not just Kari!
Besides, if you died from one of those lightning bolts, I would have to explain it to your
family. That's one thing we both don't need so I don't want you to be killed!" Davis saw
Yolei's eyes, swelling with tears. If he didn't know better, he actually thought she was
worried for him. He wrote that out as misinterpretation.
Meanwhile, T.K. tried frantically to hold on to Kari while at the same time, try not to keep
both of them from going over the edge. Kari was getting worried for him. If T.K. remained like
this, the lightning bolts could kill him.
"T.K., forget about me."
"What?"
"Save yourself. I'm not going to have you get killed just for me."
"Forget it, Kari." Another lightning bolt scorched T.K.'s back. "I'm not letting you fall. I
care about you too much to lose you."
Kari was awestruck by T.K.'s words. Then a small, sad smile appeared on her face. "T.K...."
Suddenly T.K. felt Kari's hand go limp as it slipped out of the glove. With no grip, Kari fell
into the abyss.
"NO!" T.K. cried as he watched Kari disappear. The look in her eyes said she was sorry but
this was for the better.
Yolei saw several tentacles shoot towards T.K. "T.K., look out!" She cried.
"Terra Force!" A ball of energy destroyed the tentacles. Davis, Yolei, Cody, Veemon, Hawkmon,
Armadillomon, and Patamon looked up to see War Greymon, Metal Garurumon, and Kabuterimon standing
in front of the exit portal.
"Move it!" Matt ordered. Everyone except for Patamon ran for the exit portal. Patamon saw that
T.K. was still kneeling by the edge of the chasm holding onto Kari's glove.
"T.K., let's go!" Patamon called.
"T.K.," Matt echoed.
"You guys make sure the others get to safety," Tai ordered. "I'll get T.K."
"All right." War Greymon took off, slicing up tentacles like crazy.
"Come on, T.K., we're leaving," Tai said as War Greymon landed by T.K.
"No," T.K. sobbed. "This can't be happening."
"T.K., let's go!" Tai shouted.
"Tai?" T.K. looked up at the older boy. He was the last person he wanted to see, after what
happened to Kari. "Tai... Kari... she's gone!"
"What?" Tai looked down the chasm. "Oh no."
"Tai, don't you zone out too," Izzy called. "We have to get out of here before the entire main
frame is reconfigured.
"Izzy, behind you!" Matt warned.
"Metal Wolf Claw!" A blast of ice froze the tentacle.
"Electro Shocker!" A ball of electricity destroyed a circuit cluster.
Tai shook himself out of his semi-trance. "Please, T.K., we have to go." But there was less
conviction in Tai's argument. War Greymon picked up the both of them and went for the exit
portal. Izzy had already retrieved the fallen Gatomon.
"Digivolve!" Davis and Yolei shouted.
"Veemon, digivolve to... Exveemon!"
"Hawkmon, digivolve to... Aquilamon!"
"Digi-armor energize!"
"Armadillomon, armor-digivolve to... Submarimon, the Reliable Guardian of the Sea!" Cody ducked
into Submarimon while Davis and Yolei got onto Exveemon and Aquilamon. Everybody took off.
The Hacker smiled. Victory has gone to him. Now he can continue on his mission.