The Night of Destiny: Part 4: The Inferno Burns

Mina placed both of her hands together and bowed her head. "Despite the circumstances," she said, smiling, over the video monitor"I am happy to see you again, Master of the Digidestined."

Tai returned her smile,"Mina, you don't need to call me that."

She just nodded.

"Mina," Davis said, standing next to Tai in the war room,"We need to ask you something very important."

"Well, I shall do my best to answer."

"What the Digidestined have long feared has come apon us," Tai said,"The Night of Destiny is here."

Mina's smile faded. "Yes," she said, sadly,"I have felt it lately, a dark forboding presence, the master evil behined the evil..."

"And it has the Black Digivice," Sam reminded, from where he and his twin sister were standly loyaly beside Tai.

"We need to know what to do about it," Tai's Agumon said,"Any suggestions?"

Mina thought for a moment, then said,"To combat the Digidestined tratior's Black Digivice, we will need Makura's White Digivice."

"Makura's Digivice?" Tai asked.

"Yes," Mina said,"Makura's White Digivice was the one thing that was able to combat the Black Digivice and seal it away."

"Then if we got our hands on that Digivice, we'd be able to beat the Child of Darkness!" Davis's Veemon cheered.

"Perhaps," Mina said,"But remember, the power of the Digivice depends on the Digidestined it is bonded to."

"We'll worry about that later," Tai said,"Do you know where the Digivice is?"

"No," Mina said, sadly,"The hidden location of the White Digivice was not written in the Machina Codex that my temple possessed."

"So, we're out of luck?" Serena asked.

"While I do not know the location of the White Digivice," Mina replied,"The second part of the Marchina Codex might hold the location......"

Tai smiled. "Excellent. Where is the book?"

"The second half of the Machina Codex is hidden in Egypt," Mina said.

Tai nodded, then turned to the young woman to the left front of him."Noriko, call Ahmed and let him know we're comming for a vist, please."

Noriko nodded. "Yes sir."

"Do you wish me to join you?" Mina asked.

Tai thought for a few second before answering. "If it's not too much trouble, we might not be able to read some texts."

"I will take the first flight to Japan," Mina said. She turned to a young man that was standing next to her and spoke to him in Hindu. He replied in kind and ran over to a telephone.

Mina turned back to the monitor and said,"Excuse us for a moment...."

A second later the young man hung up the telephone and spoke to Mina. She nodded. "I have a ticket for the next flight to Japan leaving today."

Tai and Davis looked at each other, then back at the monitor. "Wasn't that expensive?" Davis asked.

"Do not worry, I have connections," Mina said with a smile,"I will see you in a few hours." The screen went blank.

            %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Piedmon sat on the small seat, leaning his back against the wall, as he ran a sharp stone over his long sword, sharpening it to a molecule's length.

He looked around the brick room at the other being that were present. Barker was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. The rest of his Hunters were sitting at a round table, engaged in a card game with Myotismon and Diaboromon. Oikawa was sitting in a seat similiar to Piedmon's on the other side of the room, reading a book of some kind. Mummymon was loyaly standing at his side. Daemon was pacing the floor back and forth.

Piedmon continued to sharpen his sword as two more figures walked into the room. "The Child of Darkness," Piedmon thought, "Our 'master', ha!"

The Child of Darkness waited until the evil humans and evil Digimon were facing it before speaking. "The Digidestined are planning to search for the White Digivice to combat my Black Digivice."

"How will they do that?" Daemon asked,"We possess the Machina Codex, and there is no reference to the White Digivice."

The Child of Darkness snarled. "There is a second part of the book, hidden in Egypt. Daemon and Myotismon, I want you to handle this. Do not let them get that book. I will be traveling with them, but I must pretend to be on their side.....for now."

Myotismon nodded," I will not fail you."

Daemon bowed,"I will send the Hunters to stop them, my master."

Piedmon gave one final swipe of the sharpener, then admired his sword. He smiled at the reflection of the light on his blade, then he returned it to its holder on his back.

                        %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Scott walked down the hall off the Digidestined building, his hands buried deep in his pockets; his head was hung low. His Palmon was loyaly following beside him. His mind was obviously somewhere else, so much so that he didn't notice the person in front him. "Scott?"

He jumped slightly in the air. "What?" he snapped, angry that someone would disturb him. His anger soon died away when he saw who had called out his name,"Oh, Leyu, it's you."

The young blond haired woman smiled slightly. "What's wrong Scott?" she asked.

Scott sighed. "I'm worried about what's happening to my mother. I mean, she was kidnapped, but why? She's not a psychic, so why did the Child of Darkness want her? I...I'm so worried."

Leyu reached down and wrapped her arms around his shoulders,"I'm sure it will be okay. We'll get her back, don't worry."

Scott looked up at her and half smiled. "Yeah, thanks."

            %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Tai pushed his way through the crowd of people, powered by a will he didn't know, yet didn't seem to care. He continued to walk towards the end of the mall, before stopping in front of a store that he recognized.

He walked inside and saw the familiar rows of clothes of almost every kind, then he spotted the rows of dressing room door and he walked over to them. He was surprised when one of the doors opened and a very familiar girl wearing a green school uniform walked out.

Tai couldn't belive his eyes. "M-Miriya?"

She nodded.

"Wh...what are you doing here?" he asked.

Miriya just opened up her hands.

"What is it?" Tai asked.

Miriya pointed her left hand at her necklace, then pointed her right hand up in the air. The clothing store around them changed to a dark cavern. Tai and Miriya were standing on a rock platform in the center of a deep blue lake. "What are we doing here?" Tai asked her,"What is it that you're trying to tell me?"

Suddenly he heard another voice comming from all directions. "Dad....dad...."

The world around Tai disappeared into darkness, then light streamed into the darkness as Tai opened his eyes...

"Dad," Akira said, as Tai sat up in the bed,"Mina's here."

"What happened?" Tai asked, looking around at one of the guest rooms,"Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah," his son said,"You must be getting old or something..."

"Very funny," Tai mumbled as they left the apartment.

As they walked down the hall, Tai's mind drifted back to his dream. "Why have I been dreaming of Miriya lately? Is it because of what's happening or a foreshadowing of things to come?"

The two of them walked into the computer room where the rest of the Digidestined were standing, including Mina. "Where were you, Tai?" Matt asked.

"I was just taking a nap," he said,"When did Mina get here?"

"I arrived just a little while ago," Mina said,"So, this must be your handsome son?"

Akira blushed as he bowed. "It is nice to meet you."

Mina returned the bow.

"Okay," Davis said, walking over from where he was talking to Noriko,"We have determined the people on the team to Egypt: The Kamiyas, inculding the Digidestined Twins, Mina, Ken and Hyouriki, the Ishida children, Erika, Dan, and Scott. The rest of us will stay here and continue to stake out psychic Digidestined."

"What about my mother?" Scott asked,"She's not a psychic, but she was kidnapped anyway..."

Noriko sighed slightly. "We know, and we will continue to try and find out the connection that Mimi has with Kari and the others, but, untill then, we'll have to try and keep an eye on the other psychic Digidestined."

"Now," Tai said, facing the group that would be traveling to Egypt,"How are we going to get there?"

"Hyouriki can take you," Ken spoke up.

"What?" Yolei and her daughter asked at the same time.

Ken looked at his wife for a second, then turned to his daughter. "Hyouriki," he said,"I am giving you permission to use your teleporting abilities."

"B-but why?" she asked.

"Because time may be of the essence," Ken said,"I want you to bring the others to Egypt as fast as you can, then to where ever the White Digivice is, understand?"

"Yes, dad," Hyouriki said,"T-thank you, I guess..."

"Alright guys," Tai said,"We'll leave at, oh, say eight o'clock tonight, so, rest up. I'll see you then."

As the group was leaving Michael walked over to where Scott was walking. "Scott," he said.

The young man stopped and turned to where Micheal was standing. "Oh, hi Dad," he said, turning his head away.

"Don't be like that," Micheal said,"I haven't seen you in a long time.."

"Why is that?" Scott snapped,"Could it be because you forget I was even alive?"

"What are you talking about?" Micheal asked,"I didn't even know that you were here."

"I'm talking about forgetting me whenever it is time for me to visit you, or on my birthdays, or..."

"What?" Micheal asked,"I sent you presents on your birthdays, and you never even let me know that you were visiting back home. I would have gladly let you stay with me, but you never told me."

Scott looked at the gound,"I...I guess that what I thought was your fault, was really mine, huh?"

Micheal reached over and placed his hands on his son's shoulders. "We'll find a way to stop the Child of Darkness, then we will spend time together, I promise."

            %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Akira couldn't stop staring at Leyu as she walked down the hall. "Man," he thought to himself, "she is so hot! I have never seen a girl as beautiful as her before! this be love that I'm feeling? I can't take it anymore, I've got to talk to her!" "Leyu!"

In front of him, the blond sighed,"Him again!" she thought, then turned around. "Why do you keep following me?" she snapped.

"Hey," Akira said, holding up his hands,"What are you getting so mad at me for?"

"Because you're following me around like a group of crazed pauperize!"

Akira was confused,"Wait a second, didn't you tell me yesterday that you would go out with me?"

Leyu crossed her arms and huffed, making Akira think that he liked her better when she had an annoyed look on her face. "I told you maybe," she said,"I can't just date a commoner!"

"What?" Akira asked, even more confused than before,"What are we, back in the Dark Ages?"

"Fine," Leyu said,"I make it for your uncultured tongue, my family is filthly rich, we have more money than you would ever see in your lifetime. I can't just date someone who is in the lower lower class!"

"Well," Akira said,"I don't like to brag, but I am the one who will defeate the Child of Darkness on the Night of Destiny, you know..."

Akira's Agumon rolled his eyes and turned his head away from the gaze of Leyu's Biyomon. "Could he brag anymore?"

Leyu just nodded, still unimpressed.

"Oh, come on," Akira said, "Please?"

Leyu was going to say something, when she heard her brother shout out,"Kamiya! I thought I told you to stay away from my sister!"

Akira turned around and saw Shiro Ishida storm over to him. Akira turned his head down slightly so he could stare Shiro in the eyes. "What is your problem?" Akira asked.

"You!" Shiro shouted, pushing his finger at Akira's shoulder,"Get the hell away from my family, got it? We don't want, or need, your help!"

Akira was trying his best to keep his temper under control, but it finally got the best of him. "You f%&ing little sh#$head! Don't you ever talk to me like that! Don't you know who I am? I'm the one that's going to save your ass on the Night of Destiny, though I don't know why I would want to!"

Shiro was cluctching his fist so tight that it threatened to draw blood. "Fine!" he shouted,"Let's go, right here, right now!" He turned to his Digimon,"Gabumon, get ready to Digivolve!"

Akira turned to his Digimon. "Agumon, are you ready?"

Both Digimon nodded, and Gabumon was about to Digivolve, when they heard a voice shout out,"If you're going to fight Akira, you're going to have to fight me too!"

Akira turned around, and, despite his best efforts, he smiled. "Dan," he said,"Hyouriki, Erika, what are you doing?"

All three Digidestineds stood behined Akira, while their Digimon lined up next to Agumon. "We're fighting with you," Hyouriki said.

Shiro gritted his teeth and turned to his sister. "Well, are you going to help me, or not?"

Leyu hesitated for a second, then stood by her younger brother's side."Great!" Erika thought,"I've been waiting a long time to humiliate that spoiled brat! And once I do, maybe Akira will notice me as more than just some girl."

"If you're going to fight the Ishidas, don't forget about me!"

"Seiji?" Akira asked, as his cousin stood next to him.

"Hey," he said,"We Kamiyas have to stand together, right?"

The two Ishida siblings stared down the five members of Akira's 'gang', including Akira himself. Shiro hesitated for a second, then put his Digivice back on his belt. "We'll settle this another day, Kamiya!" he said, staring at Akira, then left.

Dan let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, then turned to Akira. "Well, I guess that went preatty good, huh?"

"Yeah," Akira said, a tone of regreat in his voice as he watched Leyu follow Shiro,"yeah."

                        %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Miura opened the door to her apartment. "Hi honey," she called out,"I'm home." She closed the door and removed her shoes. "Oh yeah," she mumbled to herself,"I'm not married."

She chuckled slightly and walked into the kitchen. "Hi, Alruamon," she said to the plant creature that was fixing dinner.

Alruamon turned away from the boiling pots on the stove and turned towards her human partner. "Great!" she said, smiling,"I hope you're hungry!"

"Smells great," Miura said, walking over to her answering machine. She flicked the messages to play, and she heard her mother's voice broadcast out of the speaker. "Hi honey!" she said,"How are you doing? It's been so long since you called me! Listen, the beauty parlor down the street from my apartment is having a special two for one deal. Why don't you come with me? Maybe you can finally change that haircut of yours. Call me back."

Miura slowly reached up with her hand and moved back her long brown hair. She reached up with her other hand to the back of her neck and slowly ran it across the black code bar that was there. She shivered slightly, then let her hair drop back in place.

Miura walked away from the kitchen towards her room. She opened the door and, on reflex, reached over and turned on the light. When she did, she screamed.

Alruamon was at her side in an instant. When she saw the two figures seated on Miura's bed, she gasped, and her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.

"Y...y...y..you!" Miura finally got out, staring at the face of her nightmares,"H-h-how can you be alive, Oikawa?!"

The evil human stood up with Mummymon right beside him. "Hello, Miura, it has been a long time hasn't it?

Outside, Yolei shivered slightly. "It's frezzing up here!"

Takeshi blew into his hands, desperatly trying to warm them up. "I-I-I k-k-know," he shivered,"W-w-who w-w-would have thought t-t-that it would be s-s-s-so cold on the roof of this building?"

Takeshi's Kunemon was holding tightly to Hawkmon, both desperatly trying to keep one another warm. The other Digidestined, however, was standing near the ledge of the root, looking at the building across the street. He adjusted his binoculars so he could see through a window near the top floor. "Okay," he said,"I can see.....what is his name again?"

"W-wait a s-s-second," Takeshi said, grabbing a small notebook from his pocket. He fliped it open to a marked page. "That is Howard Benghart, American Digidestined living in Japan, Digimon partner: Mammothmon, so obviously he's not in the apartment with him."

"I just wish that one of the Child of Darkness's army would show up and attempt to kidnap him already," Yolei said, shivering,"I don't know how much longer I can stand it up here."

"You know," Hiroshi's Penguinnmon said, standing next to his partner,"Do you think he knows we're up here? I mean, he is a psychic, right?"

Hiroshi shrugged and continued to watch through his binoculars,"Who knows? Let's just be ready for..."

Suddenly, they shot their heads down when they heard an window shatter in the building they were on. "What was that?" Hawkmon asked, hovering into the air.

"I don't know," Hiroshi said, looking over the ledge,"I think it's only three floors down." He turned to Yolei,"Should we check it out?"

Yolei hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Let's go."

                        %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Hi, Akira."

Akira looked up from where he was playing solitare in the war room. "Oh, hi Erika."

Erika looked around the large circular room; despite the face that all the television monitors were on, like always, there was no one else there, well, except for Noriko, but she was always there. Erika stared at the back of the Digidestined that was seated in front of the main computer controls for a second, then back at where Akira was sitting at the large table in the center. "So, what are you doing?"

"I'm just waiting for the others to arrive," he said, simply, flipping one of the cards over,"What are you here so early?"

"Because I knew you would be here!" she thought,"And I think I'm deeply in love with you!"

She heard Noriko chuckle slightly, and she knew that the psychic had 'heard' her thoughts. She ignored her and spoke outloud to Akira. "I guess I'm just early, that's all."

Akira shrugged and flipped over another card. "So," Erika said,"We really haven't got a chance to really talk, have we?"

Akira shrugged his shoulders again. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, why don't you just tell me about yourself?"

"I don't know, what do you want to know?"

Erika sighed slighty,"Well, I know that you haven't always lived in the Digital World, what were some of your favorite places on Earth?"

Akira thought for a couple of seconds, then smiled slightly. "New York City."

"What?" Erika asked,"In America?"

"Yeah," Akira said,"Have you ever been there?"

She shook her head.

"I have never seen a place like that," he said,"You wouldn't belive all the different cultures that exist there! You can walk down one block, and its like you just traveled through a dozen differnt countries! I mean, it is like the Tower of Babel!"

Erika just nodded.

"Then there is Paris," Akira said, leaning back in his seat,"I have never seen such a beautiful city scine then. Then there is Egypt, a land filled with some many mysteries and wonders, I can't wait for you to see it."

Erika felt her heart start to beat faster. "Really?" she asked.

Akira nodded. "I know you'll like it."

Erika nodded. "I'm sorry if I'm annoying you..."

"No," Akira smiled,"You're pretty good company."

Erika's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, much better company than others I've been around." He turned his head so he could look at Erika. "Wow!" he thought,"She really is a looker! I can't belive I didn't see it before." He couldn't help but stare at her face, the way that her shoulder lenght red hair complemented her eyes, the way that her smile was flawless, the way that her freckless made her face all the cuter. "Tell me, Erika," he said, almost in a trance,"D-do you belive in love at first sight?"

"Well," Erika said, lost in his eyes,"I'm aspiring to be a scientist, and, I have to say, scientifictly...no, but, there are some things science can't explain..."

Their faces moved in closer....closer....closer, until their noses were almost touching. Erika started to twist her head slightly, and their lips moved closer...closer...closer....

"Akira! Erika! What are you guys doing here so early?"

Tai's son and Izzy's daughter shot their heads back and turned to the door. "Oh, hi Dan," Akira said.

"Hi," Erika added, quietly.

Soon, all the other members of the team to Egypt walked in the room. "Great," Tai said,"We're all here.....Noriko, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," she said, trying to keep from laughing as she stared at the computer screen in front of her.

"Whatever," Tai said, turning to the group,"Are we all ready?"

Everyone looked at one another and nodded. "Okay," Tai said,"Hyouriki, we're ready."

Ken's daughter stood at the front of the group, and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes slightly, and held her palm out in front of her. Almost instatnly, a dark circle appeared in front of them. "Okay," Hyouriki said,"After you."

They walked into the portal, one at a time, until they were all gone. Hyouriki said goodbye to Noriko, then walked in.

Noriko smiled as the portal faded, an image of Erika appeared in her mind. "Good luck."

Ken shivered slightly as his feet crunched down on the black sand of the Dark Ocean. "Is it just me, or is it coulder here today?"

Leyu brushed closer to him. "You're right, Dad, brrr!" she said, hugging herself. Over on the side, both Scott and Akira watched her, with eyes that wished to stare at her pure blue emeralds, while Erika and Shiro were both staring at Akira, one with longing, and the other with anger.

"It is colder here," Erika commented.

Hyouriki breathed in quickly and gasped.Ken reached over and placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Hyouriki?"

"There's something wrong," she said,"I can't feel it."

Serena's heart was pounding as she breathed quickly. She turned slightly away from the others and saw a group of dark shadows dance across a wooden board in the distance. "M-m-maybe we should hurry up and get out of here!"

"I'm with her," Sam said, crossing his arms.

Seiji jumped slightly when he heard a twig snap in the distance. "Let's hurry up, before I die of a heart attack!"

Penguinmon looked up at her human partner."Where do we need to go?"

Hyouriki closed her eyes and placed her two forefingers on her forehead. She was silent for a second, then pointed to her right. "There is a gateway to Egypt this way."

"Lead on," Tai said, following her.

                                    %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Yolei ran down the stairs, followed by Hawkmon, Hiroshi, Penmon, Takeshi and Kunemon. She threw open the door to the stairwell, then charged into the hall. Hiroshi ran in front of her, then stopped by one of the doors. "I think it came from this apart-!" He was suddenly thrown into the opposite wall as the door exploded apart.

"Hiroshi!" his Penmon shouted, charging towards his fallen partner,"Hiroshi, are you okay?"

The young man sat up in the debris of the destroyed door. "I think my head will be ringing for the next few da-ah!"

He was cut off again as a human, with two figures drapped over his shoulders, jumped through the doorway. "Oikawa?!" Yolei shouted.

He glared at her. "Oh crap," he said,"The Digidestined. Mummymon, please take care of them."

Oikawa turned and ran down the hall in the opposite direction. Takeshi noticed the two figures on Oikawa's shoulders. "He's got a Digidestined woman with him!"

"Is she a psychic?" Hawkmon asked.

"Who cares?" Hiroshi asked, getting up,"Let's just save her!" He and the others charged after the evil Digidestined, when Mummymon jumped out of the apartment and backhanded the Digidestined, smashing them into the far wall. He just grinned then ran after Oikawa.

"There goes my head again," Hiroshi said, standing up.

"Who was that?" Yolei asked Takeshi.

"I have no idea," he said,"We weren't suppose to stake out anyone in this building, so I have no information on her. She's a Digidestined though, she had an Aluramon as a partner."

"Let's just go after her," Hiroshi said,"If Oikawa's after her, then the Child of Darkness no doubts wants her."

He got up and ran down the hall. "Hiroshi, wait for us!" Yolei shouted, running after him, with Takeshi following her.

They reached the end of the hall, and saw that the door to a stairwell was open. They ran inside and saw only one flight of stairs going up. "Oh man, he's up on the roof! We were just there!" Yolei whinned.

The others didn't say anything as they ran up the stairs.

                        %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Leyu instantly tensed up when she felt something brush against her rear. She clenched her fist and turn around, ready to fight off a pervert, when she found a young boy, about ten or eleven. He looked up at her apologetically, and spoke in Egyptian, then ran off.

Miss Ishida sighed, then turned back to the others. She crossed her arms and followed them deeper into the center of the marketplace. "This place is so crowded," she mumbled to herself, standing close to her brother.

At the head of the group, Tai kept scanning the area ahead of him. "Keep your eyes open, there are thieves that just wait for tourists to drop their guard."

Leyu quickly jumped between her father and Akira,"But we have Digimon, they won't hurt us, right?"

"We're not the only ones in the world that are Digidestined," Dan said, catching a glimpse of an Egyptian girl.

"Nor are we the only exloperes," Seiji said, mentioning to a group of Euorpeans carrying digging equipment.

"What are they doing?" Ken asked.

"They're French," Mina said,"I overhead some people at the restaurant we were at that a group of French explorers were digging in a mountain range, I did not catch the name."

"Looks like they already dug," Seiji's Salamon said,"Look at that big box they're carrying. I wonder what kind of treasure is in there?"

"Maybe we could find some," Leyu said,"Like a bunch of diamonds, or maybe a solid gold necklace...."

Tai and Agumon pushed their way through the crowded streets. "Where are they?" Agumon asked,"I thought he said that..."

"There he is," Tai said, a slight smile crossing his face when he saw a young man walking towards them. "Ahmed," he called out.

The Egyptian man with the Betamon smiled back. "Ahh Tai, how are you my friend?"

Tai shrugged. "Well, things haven't been all too good."

"Yes, so you said in your message," Ahmed said, as the Digidestined moved around him.

"Do you know where the second part of the Machina Codex is?" Mina asked.

"This must be the Priestess," Ahmed said,"I am Ahmed Anderson, a pleasure to meet you."

While Mina and Ahmed shook hands, Dan was slightly confused. "Anderson?" he asked,"Isn't that an American name?"

"Yes," Ahmed said,"My father was an archeologist, who came to Egypt to work on an dig, when he met my mother, an Egyptian woman. He loved her, and this land so much, than he decided to stay here and start a family."

"Oh, okay," Dan said, nodding.

"Do you know where the book is?" Seiji asked,"We're kind of in a hurry, there's no way to know exactly how many psychic Digidestineds the Child of Darkness needs before it can do.....whatever it wants to do!"

Ahmed nodded, then turned around,"Come, I belive I have found the location of the book you speak of."

As the Digidestined followed their guide, another group of humans watched them, disguised in the crowd. "There they go," a redheaded woman said, a snarl in her voice,"They're so arrognant, thinking they're so powerful that they can do anything!"

"Easy Azuna," a man in the lead said,"We need to wait until they lead us to where the second part of the Machina Codex is, then we will grab our target."

"What if we don't get him, Barker?" Mora asked.

"I am the greatest hunter in this world!" Barker almost shouted,"I never miss!"

                        %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Oikawa, stop!" Yolei ordered.

He turned around and growled. "Don't you ever stay gone?."

"No way!" Hiroshi said,"I think we should stop him now."

Yolei nodded her agreement."Do it Hawkmon!" she cheered.

"Hawkmon digivolve to Aquillamon!"

"Penmon digivolve to Unimon!"

Kunemon digivolve to Kuwagamon!"

Oikawa and Mummymon charged towards the ledge, then jumped to the next building over. "They're getting away!" Takeshi said.

"Don't worry," Aquillamon said, flapping into the sky,"Mummymon can't fly, they can't get away."

On the other side of the other roof Oikawa shifted one of his two unconsious prisoners into Mummymon's arms. He turned and grinned at the Digidestined as both he and Mummymon started to fly into the air.

"Great!" Hiroshi said, "they have jet packs!"

"They're still not getting away!" Unimon said,"Hurry, climb on."

Hiroshi jumped onto his Digimon partner, then followed Takeshi and Yolei on theirs. They flew after their two enimes, zooming across the afternoon sky of Tokyo. In front of them, Mummymon shifted the unconscious Alruamon to his other arm. He turned slightly and fired his gun's laser at Hiroshi and Unimon, but they moved out of the way, the blast crashing into a building.

Mummymon growled, then fired again, missing Takeshi and Kuwagamon. "You stupid idiot!" Oikawa shouted, over the roar of the jet pack,"Can't you hit anything?"

Mummymon turned back around,"Sorry boss, but I'm not use to flying!"

Oikawa growled, then ducked in time to see a ball of white energy shoot over his head.

"Darn it!" Unimon shouted,"I missed!"

Oikawa and Mummymon turned left sharply over a wide intersection, then turned right over a smaller street, each time avoiding attacks from the Digidestined. Finaly, after narowly dodging an attack by Aquillamon, Oikawa grabbed a square device from his jackt pocket. "This is Oikawa!" he screamed into it,"We are under attack by a trio of air Digidestined. We will not make it to the meeting place. We need help, and an escape, now!"

Mummymon and Oikawa flew sharply into the air to avoid missing a flagpole draped from the side of a building, with the Digidestined trio right behined them.

"I think we've almost got them," Takeshi said, hopefully.

"I think you are right," his Kuwagamon said,"It looks like they are planning to land on that building right below us-wait! What is that?"

The two criminals swooped over a glowing disk that had appeared on the buildings roof. Out of the circle stepped two figures, one with metal skin, the other almost appeared human. "Its Myotismon!" Yolei shouted.

"And a Cyberdyne Virus infected Daemon!" Hiroshi said,"These guys are way out of our league, we need help!"

"Already on it," Takeshi said, grabbing his D-terminal,"I'm sending a message to Noriko now................Okay, the two nearest Digidestineds are Keiko and Chris. They're heading here right now."

"At least Chris's Digimon can reach his Ultimate level," Aquillamon said,"We might have a chance, albeit, a very slim chance...."

Oikawa and Mummymon landed on the roof next to the two evil Digimon. "I thought you two were assigned to Egypt," Oikawa said.

"We sent the Hunters there instead," Daemon said,"They can blend in better then us. Get in the portal, quickly."

Oikawa just nodded, then he and Mummymon charged through the glowing circle.

"No!" Hiroshi shouted,"Great, Oikawa and his prisoner are gone! Now what?"

"We need to get into that portal," Takeshi said,"But Daemon and Myotismon are guarding it."

"Look!" Yolei cried out,"There's Keiko and Chris!"

All eyes turned to the building roof adjacent to the one the two evil Digimon were on and saw the two Digidestined stopping right before the ledge. "There they are," Keiko said,"What now?"

"We need to get into that portal!" Hiroshi shouted,"Get Daemon and Myotismon away from there!"

Chris turned around to face his Digimon. "Take them out, Antiramon."

"Help him Starmon," Keiko said to her Digimon.

Daemon turned to Myotismon. "Would you like to start off?"

Myotismon grinned slightly. "No, after you, I insist!"

Daemon nodded, then held out his hands. "Evil Inferno!"

The flames lept from his fingers and blasted into Starmon, throwing him back onto the roof. Antiramon was hurt, but still continued to jump forward. Daemon glared his eyes at him and fired two beams from them that blasted into Antiramon's legs, throwing him off balance. He fell bewteen the two buildings into the alley belw.

"My turn!" Myotismon grinned, looking up at Yoeli, Hiroshi and Takeshi. "Crimson Lightning!"

He flung his red whip across the sky, catching the three airborne Digidestined and crashing them into a group of statues on one of the buildings.

"That was too easy!" Daemon laughed, turning around.

"I agree," Myotismon said, following Daemon into the portal,"You would think that Champions would be strong, but we still so much stronger!"

The portal slowly closed with Myotismon laughter echoing through the sky.

                                    %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Man," Leyu said, whipping the sweat from her forehead,"It's so hot out here!"

"It is the desert," Erika mumbled,"Of course it's going to be hot!"

Leyu turned to her. "Excuse me!" she sneered,"I didn't spend all my free time studying like you did! I am not a nerd!"

"Hey!" Dan said,"Don't make fun of Erika, leave her alone, you spoiled brat!"

"Shut up!" Shiro shouted, at his sister's side in a second,"Leave Leyu alone!"

"Why don't you stay out of it!" Dan replied.

"Hey, cut it out!" Akira shouted.

"Butt out, Kamiya!" Shiro growled,"I don't want your help!"

' Akira clenched his fists tight,"I wasn't helping you!"

"That's enough!" Tai shouted,"No more fighting, got it?"

Shiro and Akira glared at each other for a second, then turned back.

"Your son's got quite a temper," Ken commented, walking next to Tai.

"Yes," Mina said,"He must take after you."

Tai smiled slightly. "Funny. Ahmed, are we almost there?"

"Yes," he said, as he drove the jeep across the desert,"We are almost at the location."

"Which is...?" Hyouriki asked, ignoring the looks that Shiro and Akira were giving each other.

"Well," Ahmed said,"While my father was still alive, he worked closely with Professor Takenouchi while he was here. The two of them found hieroglyphics painted across the cave walls, but a few of the writings seemed newer than the rest. When they translated them, it told the story of the first Digidestined, and how they had visited that cave, to hide a 'newer artifact among the treasures of the old'."

"They hid the Codex in a place where it would seem like an ancient Egyptian tresure?" Mina asked, "What for?"

""I do not know," Ahmed said, slowly the jeep down,"But the cave is above us, maybe we will find out when we reach it, yes?"

The rest of the Digidestined scanned their heads upwards. "Have any of you guys seen a movie called "How the Grinch Stole Christmas?" Scott asked.

The rest of the Digidestined looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"Well," Scott said,"There's this mountain and cave in it, and that mountain looks just like this one."

"You're so silly!" :Leyu said, lightly pushing him in the arm. Akira growled slightly to himself, while Shiro nodded, approvingly.

"Let's just hurry up," Serena said, whipping sweat from her forehead,"I'm dying here!"

All the Digidestined moved to climb up the mountain, when, suddenly, a blast of red energy slammed into the rocks a few feet above them. Leyu screamed, as she jumped out of the way of the falling boulders.

"It's the Hunters!" Tai shouted, running away from the falling rocks towards the group of humans watching them.

Barker grinned wickedly as the desert air whipped against his face. "Ah, Kamiya, I haven't seen you scince the day we stole the Black Digivice." His smile faded, as he held up his gloved hand,"Don't think I've forgotten what happened to me that day! Hunters, destroy them!"

Each of the humans members held up their Digivices as their Digimon began to Digivolve.

"Kunemon digivolve to..Musyamon! Musyamon digivolve to Skull Satanmon!"

Azuna nodded to her Digimon. "Go!"

"Black Tailmon digivolve to Lady Devimon!"

Mora pointed at the Digidestined,"Get them, Tsukaimon!"

"Tsukaimon digivolve to Ogermon!"

Malcolm crossed his arms. "You know what to do, Flymon."

"Gizamon digivolve to Flymon!"

The last Hunter, Lambert, stepped forward and held his Digivice into the air. "Show yourself, Marine Devimon!"

The ground started to shake, when behined the Hunters the sand exploded in a gyser, and the giant Ultimate appeared.

The Digidestined Digimon stood ready, waiting for their human partners to tell them to attack. Ahmed stood in front of the group and faced Tai. "You get to the cave, we'll handle these intruders."

"Okay," Tai said,"Mina, Hyouriki and Erika, come with me."

"We'll cover you, Uncle Tai," Seiji said, his Salamon ready to jump into into battle.

"Yeah Dad," Akira said,"Go!" He turned to his Digimon partner,"Ready Agumon?"

His Digimon nodded. "I'm ready! Let's go!"

"Agumon digivolve to Greymon!"

"Our turn!" Shiro shouted.

"Gabumon digivolve to Centarumon!"

Leyu cheered her Digimon. "Go, Biyomon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to Sabirdramon!"

"Let's go!" Dan told his Digimon.

"Veemon digivolve to V-dramon!"

"Your turn, Wormmon," Ken said.

"Wormmon digivolve to Stingmon!"

"Alright!" Seiji said,"Go!"

"Salamon digivolve to Gatomon!"

Sam and Serena held their Digivices up in the air at the same time,"Go!" they both shouted.

Their Digimon stood in front of them. "Candlemon digivolve to Meramon! Meramon digivolve to...."

"...Skullmeramon!"

"....Icemeramon!"

"Last, but not least," Ahmed said.

"Betamon digivolve to Sand Yanmamon!"

As Tai, Hyouriki, and Mina ran up the narrow path to the cave at the top of the mountain, the rest of the Digidestined Digimon began to battle the Hunter Digimon. Ahmed and Sand Yanmamon, along with Ken and Stingmon, began to attack Barker and Skull Satanmon, while the Twins blasted against Azuna and her Ladydevimon. Seiji and Gatomon fought against Mora and her Ogremon, while Ken and Stingmon battled Malcolm and Flymon. Dan's V-dramon, Shiro's Centarumon, Leyu's Sabirdramon, and Akira's Greymon tried to bring down Lambert's massive Marine Devimon.

Sandyanmamon, a giant dragonfly, buzzed rapidly around Skull Satanmon, trying to attack him, but also, trying to throw him off balance. Skull Satanmon swung his staff at Sandyanmamon's head, but missed. He spun around and tried again, but Sandyanmamon was already above his head.

"Skull Satanmon!" Barker shouted,"Squash that gnat!"

"Right," his Digimon replied. He stood completly still, waiting as Sand Yanmamon buzzed rapidly around him. When a pattern was discovered, he struck, blasting Sand Yanmamon into the ground.

"Ha!" Barker laughed.

Ahmed smirked. "We are not out yet, right Sandyanmamon?"

"Right," his Digimon said, jumping back into the air, slamming Skull Satanmon in the head on the way up.

Ladydevimon slashed her clawed hand down, but missing her two targets. "We danced this dance before, Twins,"Azuna cried,"Remember?"

"As I recall, we finished that dance," Sam said,"and my sister and I won!"

"Give up!" Serena shouted,"Before our Digimon crush yours!"

"Ha!" Ladydevimon laughed, flying into the air once again. She placed both of her hands together and shouted,"Darkness Wave!"

Serenas Icemeramon jumped in front of the others. "Ice Phantom!" she shouted, firing a wave of ice that froze the in-coming bats before encasing Azunas Digimon in a sheet of ice.

Ladydevimon started to fall towards the ground. Sams Digimon opened his mouth,"Metal Fireball!" The beam of gray fire shot towards the frozen Digimon, but before it could hit, the ice shattered and Ladydevimon was set free.

She flipped in the air, Skullmeramons attack missing. "Ha!" she laughed, righting herself,"I am still in the game!"

Lambert, the silent Hunter, stood atop his Marine Devimon as he tried to smash the four Digidestined fighting him. Marine Devimon smashed his massive fist down, and Greymon jumped out of the way.

"Your Digimon is a coward!" Shiro shouted to Akira, "Greymon ran like a whimp?"

Akira was boiling. "Greymon, kill Marine Devimon!"

"You got it," his Digimon said, turning his neck skyward,"Nova Blast!"

The massive flame shot up and slammed Marine Devimon in the chest, causing him to gasp. "Curse you!" he boomed, a massive red mark appearing on his chest.

"Thats it?" Shiro laughed,"Centarumon, show them how its done!"

Centarumon held out his palm. "Solar Ray!"

His yellow ray shot into Marine Devimons shoulder. "See!" Shiro laughed,"My Digimon can reach higher than yours!"

"Yeah!" Akira shouted,"Well at least my Digimon can hurt him!"

While Akira and Shiro shook with anger, ready to fight each other, while Dan and Leyu kept fighting Marine Devimon. Sabirdramon attacked from the air, while V-dramon fired his attack from the ground. Leyu clung tight to Sabirdramon as she swooped in for the kill. She opened her bottom claw and scratched Marine Devimons shoulders. "Great job!" Leyu cheered her Digimon, as they hovered back into the air,"Now, lets see if we can eliminate Marine Devimons line of sight."

"Right," Sabirdramon said, flying around to the massive Digimons front. She then dive bombed towards Marine Devimons face. She opened her claw and dug it deep into Marine Devimons left eye.

He howled in extreme pain, flaring his arms around in all directions. Sabirdramon tried to stay out of the way, but one of the tentacles got lucky and slammed Sabirdramon in the back. Leyu screamed as her Digimon, unconscious, fell towards the ground. "Shiro! Dan! Akira! Help me!" she shouted.

Back on the ground, Akira and Shiro turned their heads away from one another to see Leyu and Sabirdramon crashing towards the ground. During the free fall, the older Ishida child separated from her Digimon, and was now falling alone. "Leyu!" Shiro screamed.

"Ive got her!" Akira shouted, sprinting from the ground towards where Leyu was falling. He looked over his shoulder,"Greymon, help me."

His Digimon nodded and grabbed Akira and lifted him up onto the top of his head. He and Greymon charged forward until they were almost under the falling girl. Akira waited until he was close enough, then he jumped up from Greymons shoulder into the air, and grabbed Leyu. Despite her protests, he wrapped her around in his arms. Then he twisted them around so when they crashed into the ground, he took the full force of the impact.

"Ahh!" he moaned, as Leyu stood up, and brushed the sand off her clothes.

She stared at Akira with amazement as she helped him onto his feet. "Y..you saved me," she said.

"Of..ah..of course," he said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Even after I was so mean to you," Leyu said, smiling slightly,"Say, do you still want to take up that offer?"

"What offer?"

"The date, silly!" Leyu said,"What do you say?"

Akira smiled,"Sure."

"Leyu!" Shiro shouted, running over to her,"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Leyu said,"Thanks to Akira."

Shiro looked as though he was about to explode, when Dan shouted,"Guys! We are still in the middle of a battle, remember?!"

Stingmon shot higher into the air and extended out his blade. "Spiking Strike!" he shouted, aiming for Flymon.

Malcolm's cloak was flowing like a cape behind him. "Flymon, lets get this over with!"

"As you wish," Flymon said, hovering in a stand still. He started to flap his wings together at an incredible rate. Ken and Stingmon fell to the ground, cluctching the sides of their heads. "Not again!" Ken moaned.

All around, the Hunters watched their opponents fall one by one to the ground, all cluctching their heads. Malcolm walked over to Ken and quickly wrapped a thick rope around him, then did the same to Stingmon. "Barker, I have the target!"

"Excellent," Barker said, holding out his communicator,"This is Barker, we need a portal, now!" Almost instantly, a glowing circle appeared behined him. "Everyone, inside now!"

The rest of his Hunters ran inside with Ken and Stingmon, while Barker walked over to where Ahmed was lying on the ground. He reached his foot back and slammed it into his stomach. "Till next we meet." He turned and ran into the portal.

Time stood still as the world slowly came back into focus. "Ohhh, my head," Dan said, slowly sitting up.

"What happened?" Tai asked, running back out of the cave,"What happened?"

"They took Ken," Serena said, standing up.

All the color drained from Hyourikis face,"M..my father..?"

"Why do they want Ken?" Tai asked.

"Did you find the book?" Akira asked.

"No," Tai said, sadly,"The cave was empty, completely empty…."

"It was the wrong cave?" Ahmed asked.

"No," Mina said,"The hieroglyphics were just as you said. The First Digidestined did hid the second part of the Machina Codex in the cave, but its gone now."

"We did, however, find this," Erika said, holding up a flashlight.

"So?" Leyu asked.

"It has French writing on it," she said,"I believe that the French archeologists investigated this cave, and they probably thought the Machina Codex was a treasure from Ancient Egypt. Its probably in a museum in France right now."

"So," Akira said, his face lighting up,"Does that mean were going to France?"

Tai nodded. "Yup, but, why do they want Ken?"

Suddenly, Dans D-terminal started to beep. He opened it up and a familiar transparent image of Norikos head appeared. "Guys," she said,"Weve got another kidnapping."

"A psychic?" Tai asked.

"No," Noriko said,"Miura Takeno, a non-psychic Digidestined, but, heres an interesting note, she was one of the Dark Seed Digidestined."

"My father was just kidnapped here!" Hyouriki said,"Maybe theres a connection!"

"I dont think so," Tai said,"My sister didnt have a Dark Seed in her, and neither did Mimi."

"So whats the connection?" Seiji asked,"What is the Child of Darkness after?"

Next:The Digidestined vist France in an attempt to find the second part of the Machina Codex, but, the Hunters are waiting for them. Next: Night of Destiny: part 5: White Digivice!