Cager: Hiya guys! I just now got my mused together so they're going to give the disclaimer and everything, kay? ^_~

Angi the Anti-Yugi: Cager don't own any Digimon characters except her own and she don't own the Anime Kitties. She does own the Anti-Clones and she doesn't know how to spell Yolie's/Yolei's name correctly, so don't sue, al'ighty?

The 2nd Digi-Phase

Chapter 11: The New D-Vices

"What do you mean?" asked Izzy looking hard at Gennai's messenger.
"Who are you?" asked Sora.
"Really! I've never seen you in the Digital World!" exclaimed the new kid, Heroki.
"How long have you been going to the Digital World?" asked Yolie turning towards Heroki.
"Well, I've been coming to the Digital World for about 2 years," replied Heroki.
"WHAT!?" exclaimed the older Digidestined in unison.
"But then, why didn't I get into the Digital World eariler?" asked Izzy looking back to the robed child. "I checked on Tentomon, at least, once a month!"
"That... is part of the problem," sighed the boy, "You see-"
"Wait! Who are you, first?" asked Kari cutting him off.
"...They call me Adoles here," replied the boy scratching his head. "Anyway, BlackWarGreymon's shield was made to help protect the Digital World from Owikawa but it only closed the gates of Japan. The Digital Shield as a whole has been falling apart ever since then. Gennai thought maybe we could rebuild it if we closed it to Digivices so that there would be no disturbances between the Digital and Real Worlds."
"So... it was BlackWarGreymon's shield that is eating away at the original Digital shields?" asked Tai getting a confirming nod from Adoles.
"And you closed the gate so the inward-outward movements of the Digital World wouldn't disturb your work on fixing the gate?" asked Matt.
"Exactly. You see, it was bad enough with the destiny stones gone... it'll take a few more years before the seeds Lord Azulongmon planted will become helpful. The control spires weren't helping the situation either, but it was BlackWarGreymon's shield that first started eating away at the barriers.
"When the living Digidestined were found to be too busy to help, I was sent to see through the 2nd Digi-Phases. It is up to them to rescue the 12 Seals of Protection. Once attained, the Digital World barrier will no longer be of any danger."
"What exactly are these Seals? Why don't you have them already?" asked Ken. Adoles turned to him and looked him over for a second before replying.
"The Seals are of great power and represent the four Digimon Lords. There are three for each Lord. Azulongmon, the Dragon... Zhuqiaomon, the Pheonix... Ebonwumon, the Turtle... and Baihumon, the Tiger," He said these names in great respect and admiration but then, his face faultered as he continued. "Over time, these great Lords desended to another realm of the Digital World, occupied by other Digimon, lands and Digidestined, but they are not known as Digidestined there. They are called Tamers and, unlike the regualar Digidestined, these Tamers can combine themselves with their own Digimon and become one." The Digidestined looked around at eachother in amazment at the thought of combining together with their Digimon. The Digimon listened as intently as children during their favorite story book. Adoles contined with a sigh:
"And so, in the Lords' absence, the Seals of power were stolen by other dangerous, horrid Digimon, each wanting to use the power to strengthen themselves. Most of them were Ultimates, hoping it would help them Digivolve to Mega. Their plan backfired, however, since the Seals can only help those who wish to help others and their own selfish wishes prevented this. Still, they kept the Seals, in hoping that they would become strong enough on their own and take down the Lords easily. That has yet to be accomplished."
"But if the Seals are just a power-up for the Lords, why would they help us save the barrier?" asked Cody.
"Don't you remember when Azulongmon began to regrow the Destiny Stones with his seeds? His power went into that and with the power of the Seals with him and the other Lords, they should have enough power to regrow the barrier without problem. You see,... the Digimon Lords are not just Lords to the Digimon. They are the living spirits of the Digital World. They ARE the Digital World."
"So, the Seals will give the Lords their power! The power to save the Digital World and keep it from danger!" exclaimed Gatomon happily.
"Right, my furry friend," said Adoles. "Now, I have been sent here to tell you how you are to get these Seals of Protection. You must contact all the rebellious Digimon who stole them and regain them. Once you have gained one, one of you will gain the power to have your Digimon Digivolve into Ultimate. As you found out today, in your battle with MegaSeadramon, your Digimon can no longer do that-Agumon is your example." Agumon blushed at the fact that he, one of the strongest one of them all, was not able to Digivolve into Ultimate. "We, unfortunantly, do not know how to find all of these outcast Digimon. I only know of one not far from here.
"Anubimon is his name. He... he is very strong. I do not suggest you just go in there and start throwing punches. Anubimon works... how can I say this politely?... Oddly. Yes, he works oddly. I'm not sure about it but I do believe he is still a noble and trust-worthy Digimon, even if he did steal a Seal of Protection. You can find him with the use of the D-Rs. Now, when you-"
"Hang on a sec," interrupted Charlie stepping forward. "What is a D-R?" Adoles blinked a few times before replying:
"Why, the new Digivices, of course." The new Digidestined looked down at all their newly named D-Rs.
"What does 'D-R' stand for?" asked Cody, a bit confused by the names.
"Well, the 'D' stands for Digivice and the 'R' stands for Radical. They may prove to be very important to you in the long run."
"How?" asked Jinji. Adoles turned to the young boy and then, his face broke up, almost as if he were going to cry.
"...I... I don't know," said Adoles sniffing back a few tears. "S-see, when I was told to bring in the new Digidestined, the new D-Rs had just been made. Gennai had just put the finishing touches into them when... I don't want to talk about it." The others looked at Adoles in surprise. Gennai had never shown these kinds of emotions before... or had he? Did he even have emotions? Apparently, Adoles did.
Adoles cleared his mind from the sadness and looked up at them again with his deep blue eyes. "I am sorry, for crying like this. I must continue with my instructions." The Digidestined didn't object.
"Now, one more thing I need to give you is this-your D-Terminals. They will help you too." He handed each of the new Digidestined the small computer-like objects and gave a small bow of apology.
"I am sorry I haven't had time to give you all these before. Trust me, it will not happen again," said Adoles. "Its hard enough for me to give enough strength to the Digi-Phasing process already and even that isn't working properly." This caught the all of their attention.
"What do you mean it isn't working properly?" asked Tentomon, buzzing closely to Adoles but before the boy could answer, he doubled over with a cry of pain.
"Adoles! What's wrong?" asked Sora running up to him. She tried to put her arms around him but they just wafted through him, as if he were a hologram.
"Can't... talk any... more!" groaned Adoles. He pointed off towards the mountains behind them, north of the sea. "F-find... Anubi... mon and... get... the first Seal!" He then reached out and began to move his hands in a way as if to push two doors apart. The digital data ripped as he tore into it, creating a portal.
"Go... good-bye,... D... digidestined...," he muttered softly before pushing through. The portal closed him inside.

* * *

Izzy, Tentomon and the 2nd Digi-Phase Digidestined walked up, through the mountains in silence. Around them, the wind blew through the trees in an almost haunting way, but all the same, it was comforting.
It had been decided that they really did need to do as Adoles told them. Tai had suggested that they allow Heroki to get his new Digimon first. Heroki now walked along beside Armadillomon, his new yellow D-R with Armadillomon ears in his hand.
Straws had been drawn to see which of the older Digidestined was to accompany the younger ones to make sure they got to the right place. Izzy was the lucky one. The silence that followed them was almost as loud as a fog horn, so Izzy decided to make small talk with Tentomon.
"Tentomon, do you know anything about Anubimon?" asked Izzy turning his black eyes to his mechine-based partner.
"Not much, I'm afraid," sighed Tentomon, twisting his head left a little. "I do know he enjoys to set traps. Anubimon are trickster Digimon but Adoles said he thought this Anubimon was trust-worthy. Should we just believe him, Izzy?"
"Hmm, I do not believe Adoles would lie to us, so yes. I think we should believe him, Tentomon." Tentomon liked that answer. Izzy was such a wonderful partner. He didn't like the idea of parting with him, but he would have to... maybe not today, but someday.
"...Well, alright. Whatever you say, Izzy."

* * *

The Digidestined walked through the palace courtyard in awe. When they had finally gotten through the pass, they had found this beautiful palace, glistening with gold. Seeing something so grand was a bit exciting for the children who were used to seeing just natural land masses in the Digital World.
Giant columns shot up into the sky to support the golden roof. Gemstones of every kind were implanted into the ground as if they had no other purpose except to be used as floor tiles.
"Whoa... whoever made this place sure doesn't valuse money much, eh?" muttered Charlie as they reached the large door that led inside.
"Hmmm, how do you suppose we get inside?" asked Kira.
"Lets all push at the same time. Maybe we'll be strong enough to get it open," suggested Heroki.
"Good thinkin'," said Armadillomon. They each lined up at the door and began to push the doors in with all their might. Slowly, very slowly, the doors began to creep open. They stopped pushing once they had a space big enough to squeeze Izzy through.
"Alright then, lets get in there," muttered Patamon landing gently on Jinji's head. Jinji swallowed hard and began to make his way through the thick golden door. Being the leader of the younger Digidestined hadn't seemed like such a big job until today.
"Its kinda like walking into the mouth of a big beast, eh, Patamon?" murmured Jinji as his eyes darted around the odd carvings in the walls.
"Oooh! Don't say that Jinji!" shuttered Megumi holding Gomamon tighter. "That's scary." Charlie sighed and rolled his eyes in boredom. Kira looked around in amazement, lost in the world of the carvings on the jewel incrusted walls. Heroki walked through with only mild interest. The Digimon were in no way affected by the wealth, having seen stranger things in even weirder places.

* * *

"Hah!" gasped Naoki as she swung her Kendo stick down towards her opponet's shoulder. She was quick but he was quicker. His Kendo stick shot up and knocked her's away and began to swing at her, making her back away as she tried to defend. She lost a beat and gasped as his stick came quickly toward her. She braced herself for the pain of a smack but was startled when he gave a chuckle and only tapped her gently on the top of the head.
"Hmm, nice work out, Naoki. Time to relax a bit, get our strength back up," chuckled her instructor in his deep, husky voice.
"Alright, Sensei," she muttered through her laborous breathing. She sat down on the exercise mat cross-legged, following the example of her Trainer. She then removed her helmet, revealing beautiful, big dark blue eyes. She unwrapped her hair and let it fall flowingly around her. It was a deep midnight blue, matching her eyes perfectly. She then took out two hair bands and put it up into two seperate pony-tails.
Her sensei was a nice man. A bit young for a teacher. He had dark brown hair, almost black. His eyes were deep green but they often seemed black too. He smiled and handed her a small sipping package from his duffle bag.
"What is this, Sensei?" asked Naoki as she opened the package.
"Liquid yogert," answered Cody, glad to have a companion to talk to. He had felt a bit lonely, having given up Armadillomon to Heroki. "My grandfather, when he taught me Kendo, would give these to me nearly everyday after practice. 'We never stop learning if we keep on trying...' that is what he taught me with these."
Naoki didn't quite understand and guessed he hadn't told her the whole story but she didn't press the subject. Her sensei had been pretty quiet that day and it was a bit odd, even if he was Cody, who rarely talked. She sipped her yogert quietly.
"You know, Naoki," started Cody, startling her by the break in the silence, "I lost a very close friend of mine today."
"Oh, I'm sorry... did he...?" asked Naoki, trying to be gentle with her words.
"No, he didn't die. He kind of... moved away, in a sense. He had always been a part of me but now, I feel like something's missing. Its like a hole has been ripped out of my heart but I know its for the best." He was silent then and had a vacant look on his face. She waited patiently, knowing he was to continue.
"I guess the reason of me telling you this is to teach you a lesson as well. That lesson is this: Even though we may lose somebody special to us... our lives go on. And even though we may never see them again, they will always be a part of us, no matter what happens." He sipped his yogert.
Naoki smiled. "That's a very interesting lesson, Sensei. I'll try to remember that."

* * *

"Ahh!" gasped Kira as tripped on the dark stone floor, clutching Charlie for balance.
"What happened?" asked Gabumon turning to her. Charlie pulled her back up to her feet and looked down at what she had tripped over. It looked as if her foot had pushed in one of the tiles...
"Oh my gosh, its a boobie trap!" yelled Charlie, his eyes darting around madly as a slow rubbling noise began to fill their ears.
"Kids, we need to get out of here!" yelled Izzy but his voice was lost in the din. The walls slowly began shift around, changing their path entierly!
"Ohh no!" yelled Megumi falling on her knees in the confusion.
"Yah!" gasped Jinji grasping one of the burning torches on the wall. Oddly enough, the torch clicked and the section of the wall Jinji was against twisted around, putting him one wall away from everyone! Patamon was the only one with him and clutched Jinji's goggles franticly for support.
"No! Izzy! Kira! Megumi! Charlie!" yelled Jinji beating the wall with his little fists.
"Eriko! Heroki! Anyone! Please help us!" shouted Patamon, his ears flapping wildly. The rubbling went on for another few seconds and stopped, almost suddenly. Jinji still beat the wall and yelled for help but it was much too thick, no noise could pass through to his friends.
"Its hopeless, Patamon," muttered Jinji as he slid slowly to the ground, defeated. "We're lost."
"Don't say that, Jinji! I'm sure we'll find a way out," said Patamon encouragingly. He took flight and circled around the torch. "Maybe if you press this up into the position it was in before, it'll move us back."
"... I guess it's worth a shot," sighed Jinji, taking the torch in his small hands. He pushed, he pulled he tugged but to no avail. "Now what are we gonna do?"
"Don't give up that easily, Jinji. We just have to think of something. Just calm down and think." Jinji gasped in surprise. Ken had told him that a lot when he was doing homework he didn't understand or when trying to figure out a tough puzzle.
'Just calm down and think... think....'

* * *

"Is everyone alright?" asked Tentomon, buzzing around to each of the children.
"I'm fine," said Heroki, lifting himself up from Armadillomon.
"We're okay," muttered Charlie, still holding Kira who nodded in agreement.
"That was scary," gasped Megumi, releasing Gomamon who gasped for breath under her embrace.
"Very shaken. Just shaken," explained Eriko as he pulled Veemon up to his feet.
"Looks like we're all okay, Izzy," said Tentomon but he cocked his head at Izzy's look of confusion. "What's wrong?"
"I... I can't find Jinji," answered Izzy, still looking about.
"Patamon's not here, either," added Palmon with a frown.
"I hope they're al'ight," said Armadillomon.
"What?! NO! They've GOT to be alright!" yelled Izzy yanking out his hair.
"Gee, what's your problem?" asked Charlie, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't you see? For losing Patamon, T.K. would thrash me! And for losing Jinji, Ken would KILL me!" groaned Izzy. "Oh! Why must this happen to me...?"
"Oh, please," muttered Charlie who released Kira and straightened himself out. "Well, if we're ever to find Ginger Ichy-Nosey anytime soon, we might as well start walking."
"But we can't just start walking around!" sighed Izzy.
"Well, why not?" asked Kira.
"Its simple to see this isn't just any type of palace. Its more like a tomb or a lybrinth. If we just started walking around without some type of path, we'd most likey get lost. Maybe even forever," explained Heroki.
"Forever?" muttered Megumi, tears coming to her eyes at the horror of never seeing her family or friends again.
"Come on, Heroki," said Eriko turning towards the brown haired boy. "I'm sure we'll at least find some way out of here if we start right now down the same path."
"But, Eriko, there could be miles upon miles of tunnels here," said Veemon, tugging at his Digidestined's sleeve.
"Let's just face it," muttered Megumi falling back down with a plop, "we'll never get out."
"Don't say that!" ordered Gomamon as he placed a large paw-like flipper on her knee.
"If only I had my computer...," muttered Izzy. "My laptop would've gotten us out of here. I know it would."
"I think we should take a vote," insisted Kira. "Anyone who wants to start looking for a way out, stand up. Anyone who wants to have us wait here until we die of starvation, sit down." No one sat back down and Megumi quickly rose to her feet.
"Alright then, it is decided. Lets get going," said Charlie, beginning to lead them down a tunnel.
"Hey, it was my idea! I should be the one to lead!" complained Kira pushing Charlie aside.
"Well, I think I should lead," said Charlie giving her a small push back.
"No, me."
"No, me!"
"No, me!"
"Me!"
"ME!"
"MEEEEE!"
"I swear," muttered Izzy, catching the other Digidestined's and Digimon's attention, "they'll grow up to get married at the rate they're going. Come on, kids. Let's get going. I will be the leader." And he lead them down the tunnel, Tentomon buzzing next to him while the others followed.
"I still think I should have been the one to lead," muttered Charlie.
"No, me."
"It would have been me."
"No, it would have been me and you know it."
"Yeah, I know it would have been me, Kira."
"Whatever, Charlie Morgan."

* * *

"Hmm, Patamon, can I ask you something?" asked Jinji, breaking the silence that had been going on for about an hour. Patamon's left ear went up for a moment, as if to check if he had really heard Jinji speak and then lowered back down when he confirmed it.
"Sure, Jinji," replied Patamon and then added with a smile, "Of course, you just did ask me something."
"I guess I did."
"Go ahead and ask me something else."
"What did... the older Digidestined use their D-Terminals for?" asked Jinji, looking over at Patamon. Patamon blinked a few times before answering:
"Welllll, they used to use them to hold their Digi-Eggs."
"Digi-Eggs? What are those?"
"There are two kinds of Digi-Eggs," explained Patamon. "There are Digi-Eggs that hold baby Digimon before they are born and Digi-Eggs that give Digimon the ability to Armor Digivolve."
"But... Ken doesn't have any Digi-Eggs and he has a D-Terminal. I've seen him with one," said Jinji with a frown.
"Thats because D-Terminals go to any Digidestined with a D-3."
"But... aren't there other ways to use it? I mean, Ken doesn't like it when people waste anything. Wouldn't giving him a D-Terminal be a little bit of a waste?"
"Not really, Jinji. They can also be used to contact other Digidestined through e-mail. I don't think it would work in here, though."
"Why not, Patamon?"
"The walls are very thick. I don't think the others would be staying in the same place like we are. Their D-Terminal signals wouldn't reach ours, without a good antenna, anyway."
"Hmmm," grunted Jinji, looking at his D-Terminal he had been given not too long ago. It looked shiny and new. He liked the way it would glow in the torch lights. "Look, Patamon! There's a little link right here."
"Yeah, I've seen Izzy use that before to hook it up to computers before. He used it to make a map of BlackWarGreymon's progress so we would know how close he was to the Destiny Stones." Patamon flew over to Jinji and sat down next to him. "Why are you asking me all these questions about the D-Terminal, Jinji?"
"Its just what Adoles said. He said that it would help us... and so would my D-R," said Jinji, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his Green Digivice. He gently stroked one of the small Patamon ears that stuck out of the top with his finger. He curled his fingers around his D-R, thinking about how proud he was to be a Digidestined. He traced his finger around the smooth edge of the Digivice and placed his fingers on the buttons. He clicked one and something odd happened. Something almost plug-like stuck out of the bottom of it.
"Jinji, how did you do that?" gasped Patamon, his eyes widening.
"I... I don't know," muttered Jinji, "but I think it fits in the D-Terminal this way!" He plugged his D-R into the side of the D-Terminal and watched in amazement as the two Patamon ears began to surge with power.
"Amazing...," muttered Patamon. Jinji quickly flipped open the D-Terminal and saw it had gained a new feature. It read: D-R Radar. He went into the new the D-R Radar and saw it had many options. It had Map, Message, Data and Radio.
"Cool!" exclaimed Jinji. He clicked the 'Map' option and noticed it was a map of the entire palace! There were many moving dots, most of them clumped together. Jinji touched his finger to the screen and it flashed closer to the dots, as if a camera was following them.
"Hey, its the other Digidestined...," muttered Jinji.
"Thats it! This is how we can get back together with them!" cried Patamon as he rose into the air, excitedly beating his wings. "We just have to find a path that will lead us to them."
"But they're a lot faster than me, Patamon. I might even get lost. And what if the walls change again or we fall into another trap?"
"Then... we should try to contact them and get them to find us!" exclaimed Patamon, landing back down on Jinji's shoulder. Jinji entered the 'Radio' option.
"Jinji! We need to send them a message, not listen... to the... radio...." Slowly, a small microphone-like attachment popped out of the bottom of the D-Terminal and two little speakers, one on each side.
"I didn't think they'd have just any radio on this," snickered Jinji, proud of his new discovery. Patamon smiled.
"Jinji, you're a wonder."
"I'm an Ichijouji," corrected Jinji, smiling back at his partner. Jinji then put his lips near the microphone and began to speak into it.

* * *

'Hey, guys!' cried out a soft, fuzzy voice, making all the Digidestined jump. 'It's me! Jinji!'
"Jinji, where are you?" asked Izzy, looking around for any sign of the young Ichijouji.
'Pull out your D-Terminals and D-R's!' said Jinji's disembodied voice.
"Okay...," muttered Kira taking out hers. She then noticed the D-R was where Jinji's voice was coming from. "Now what?"
'Push in the second button on the D-R and plug it into the D-Terminal.' Kira did as she was told and they all gasped at what they saw! Izzy had never seen a D-Terminal light up like that! He also had never seen some of those options before.
'Click Radio.' And just as Kira did, the D-Terminal sprouted the microphone and speakers, just as Jinji's had. Jinji's voice now came out of the speaker more clear than it had from the D-R.
"What is this, Jinji?" asked Kira into the microphone as the other's gathered around her.
'Its the way to find the rest of the Seals... and a way to get us back together,' answered Jinji's voice. 'Now, go to the Map option.'
"Whoa! How cool!" gasped Charlie as the map of the palace unfoled in front of them on the small screen of the D-Terminal.
"Prodigious...," muttered Izzy, leaning even closer than before.
'Do you see all those small yellow dots that are clumped together? That's you. The other yellow dot that's alone is me,' explained Jinji.
"But... what about that green one in the big room?" asked Megumi.
'... I'm not sure but I think it's the Seal,' answered Jinji after a moment's pause. 'I think we should all try our best to meet up at that room without Anubimon finding us.'
"But, what if he's already there, Jinji?" asked Heroki. No answer.
"Jinji, what should we do if Anubimon is waiting for us there?" Eriko repeated the question.
'Then... if that happens, I suggest that we try our best to hold him off if he fights.'
"Alright, Jinji. We'll try our best to get to the room," announced Izzy. "Just, try to be careful on your way. Have Patamon Digivolve if any event calls for it."
'Okay, Izzy. You guys be careful, too. I'm out!' Then, Jinji's signal cut out.

* * *

Jinji and Patamon made their way down the twisting tunnels that were honey-combed throughout the entier palace. It chilled Jinji to think the others would get to Anubimon before he. He didn't want them to be in any danger, of course, he didn't want to be in danger, either.
"Jinji, they only have a few more hallways to get through and they'll hit they chamber with the Seal. We aren't going to make it on-time with the rest of them if we don't hurry up, and soon!" piped up Patamon flying eye-level with his partner.
"I know, Patamon, but I don't think there's a faster path, let alone anyother way. We should just keep going," replied Jinji. They followed the gentle, guiding lights of torches, watching the strange paintings on the wall. Patamon had explained to him it was Ancient Digi-Code. Digi-Code easily could be easily read by any Digimon but was extrememly hard for humans to read. Ancient Digi-Code was an entire different thing, though. Not many Digimon read Ancient Digi-Code, if there were Digimon that read it anymore. Jinji found it fascinating.
"Look, Patamon!" gasped Jinji, looking up at one of the walls. Patamon rested on Jinji's head and looked up at it.
"I see it Jinji. What's so special about it?"
"Its the Crest of Kindness," muttered Jinji, reaching up at touching the symbol on the wall. It was colored a bright pink and seemed to glow softly when Jinji touched it, or was that just the light from the torches?
"There are the other Crests, too," said Patamon, now noticing Jinji's new discovery with more interest. "The Crest of Courage, Love, Knowledge, Friendship, Sincerity and Reliability... but what's that they're circling? A Digi-Egg?" Jinji and Patamon looked closely at the wall and they both had to admit, it did look like a Digi-Egg.
"What is this?" asked Patamon, leaping off Jinji's arm. "Is this a prophecy about what happened 10 years ago?"
"Very good guess, young one," said a soft voice behind them, making they both jump and swirl around. "Unfortunantly, your guess was wrong. But still, a very good one from someone so young." They came face-to-face with a very odd looking Digimon. It's body was sort of shaped like that of a dog but it was a bit too thin and lanky, with big paws. Its fur was very golden and it had a long, bushy tail. It wore a mask over its face, a mask made of pure gold. It also looked like a dog's face, but it had a very thin snout and the eyes were cut out into very small slits. An eerie blue light came from behind those empty slits. Even if he looked a bit menacing, he wasn't quite that big. Only about 3 and 1/2 feet tall, standing on all four paws.
"Wh-who are you?" asked Jinji, pressing his back against the wall in fear.
"You are in no position to ask questions, young Digidestined," replied the Digimon in a soft voice, but not in the least bit threatening. "You are trespassing in the palace of Anubimon. He will be very angry if he catches you snooping around in his lair uninvited, you know. He is very strong and could easily destroy you with one flick of his paw." The Digimon then walked up next to Jinji and looked up at the wall they had been looking at just the moment before. He then looked back to them. "What are your names, young ones?"
"I... I am J-jinji Ichijouji," replied Jinji, trying to grasp any of the courage Davis may have left in the goggles to strengthen him, "and this is Patamon. M-my partner." Jinji then fell to his knees and began to cry out. "Please! Please, don't tell Anubimon we're here! We just need his Seal! We need the Seal of Protection to save the Digital World from losing it's entire barrier. Please, please! We just want to help save the Digital World! We don't want to hurt him or get in his way! Please, don't tell!"
"Please," said Patamon, landing down next to the sobbing Jinji, "he's very young. If I have to, I will fight Anubimon to keep Jinji safe but it would be much better if we didn't have to fight him at all. We hear he's a very noble and trust-worthy Digimon, even if he did steal one of the Seals. Please, don't tell him. If not to keep me out of a fight, then to keep the young Digidestined from harm." The lanky Digimon looked down at Patamon then to Jinji. His eyes flutted softly, almost as if he had pity on the young boy. He gently reached out his large paw and placed it under Jinji's chin, lifting his head up to be eye-level with him.
"You are very innocent and loving, Digidestined Jinji. Anubimon would not destroy one of the Light," said the odd Digimon. Then turning to Patamon, he said, "You are also very loyal, and brave, for such a small Digimon. Those are great virtues. Anubimon would be very pleased to know there are still some Digimon of noble character around." Jinji wiped his tears away and smiled while Patamon sat there, surprised at the idea of a Digimon as powerful as Anubimon finding him to be noble.
"Anubimon," continued the mysterious Digimon as both Digidestined and Partner found their barrings again, "is truely a trust-worthy and noble Digimon. You were both right on that, but, there was one thing you were wrong about. Anubimon did not steal a Seal of Protection. Anubimon saved it."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Jinji, sitting down like anyother child when being told a very interesting story.
"A long time ago, many power-hungry and manevolent Digimon began to steal the Seals of Protection. Anubimon knew that, once all the Seals were stolen, there wouldn't be even a sliver of hope left for the Digital World. So, he packed up some pervisions and set out to find the realm of the Digimon Lords. He had to fight his way through many obsticals to find his way but he finally managed to reach it-and just on time! There was only one more Seal left. It was one of the weaker-base Seals but it proved to be enough to satisfy Anubimon of the Digital World's safety. He knew that if he placed a spell of protection over that Seal, no one would be able to find it and claim it as their own. But Anubimon knew he would then be loathed by all Digimon kind for what he had done. He would be loathed by the Digimon who had the other Seals because they wanted it for themselves, he would be loathed by the Digimon who had seeked but not found the Seals because they thought it was rightfully theirs, and he would be loathed by all the other Digimon because they thought he was trying to overturn their Digimon Lords like the rest of the Digimon who stole the Seals. So, with his great power, Anubimon sealed himself into his palace and placed a spell over it to hide it in this valley, knowing the thick trees would keep out all of the other Digimon, except the most noble and determined ones.
"As you can see, Anubimon did not in fact, take the Seal for himself, but took it to protect others. That is how he came to so much power and was able to keep this palace hidden from others. But with the Digital Barrier weakening, so does the power of this single Seal. If all the Seals are not brought back together and in the hands of the Noble Servants of the Digital World, the Seals will lose all power completely and the Digital World will fall into utter and complete Darkness." When the Digimon finished his tale, he looked his audience of two as if to ask if they had any questions.
"Um, Digimon-" started Jinji, unsure of what to call his new friend.
"Call me... Daterrimon," said the story-telling Digimon.
"Alright, Daterrimon. I was wondering, who are the Noble Servants of the Digital World?" asked Jinji with true youth's innocence. Daterrimon's eyes gave off a soft pulse of blue before he answered:
"Why, the Digidestined, of course."

To be continued....