Let's just get this next chapter started, shall we?

Disclaimer: Refer to all previous chapters.

The Crusaders Episode 04 – Echoes of Light

"…"  - Speaking

Italicized – Thinking

* * * * * - Change of scenes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - Change of realities

The four children and Wizardmon were hastily making their escape from the forest. Behind them, the burning carnage that had been caused by Meramon. Takeshi felt the urge to turn around, and see what he might be leaving behind.

But, in a situation this dire, he knew he couldn't.

He sighed mentally, then turned his attention to the three people he had met just yesterday. He had never known these people, let alone seen them before. And oddly enough, it was these people that Takeshi was placing his life in, and vice versa. Slowly, he turned his head to see the three other humans that he were running in front of him.

Aya Sakurai. She was definitely a spunky one, that was for sure. Takeshi felt oddly comforted around her, the same feeling he had when he was around Sakura…

Saito. Obnoxious and annoying to a fault. Saito wasn't really the kind of person you'd see risking his life for something you'd believe in.

And then there was Megan. Not much he really knew about her, she didn't really talk to him much.

And then there was Wizardmon – the guardian of the Temple of Light: the place where one of them would be bestowed with the power of the Crusader of Light.

He hardly knew these people, and yet, he would do anything to protect them.

* * * * *

A lone figure glided through the morning sky, tattered devil-like wings opened in a sinister manner. Two bull horns protruded from the sides of his head, and his eyes were a blood red, with no sign of pupils. His arms were long, possibly reaching down to below his kneecaps, and the forearms were covered in bandages. The majority of his body was black, with an orange symbol across his chest, and the mouth area of his face was a sickly grey.

Devimon was ravishing the carnage that his troops had caused. An evil smirk curled across his lips. Meramon should have gotten rid of those Crusaders by now, not even one of them can Soul Unison yet! A beeping came from his belt.

"Augh, what is it now?" the devil-like creature asked himself. Using one of his long, bandaged arms, he detatched a device from his belt and spoke into it. "Devimon, here. What is it?!"

"Sir!" came a voice from the other line, "its been reported that Meramon has been deleted!"

Devimon scoffed. "Figures. He's just another mindless lackie. He's expendable."

"Yessir."

"That isn't all you wanted to tell me, isn't it?" asked Devimon.

The other Digimon gulped on the other line. "The Crusaders have found the Temple guardian, and are en route to reaching the temple."

"Dammit!" cursed Devimon, "if any one of them activates that Temple, we can kiss this operation good bye…however, only one of those children can be the corresponding Crusader…" a sneer curled upon his lips.

"What are you saying, sir?"

"You'll see…"

On the other line, the Digimon nodded. "Sir…he wants to speak to you."

If Devimon had blood, it would have run cold as humans say. The one person he was afraid of - his boss, the leader of the Darkside Corporation. Devimon gulped. "Put him on…"

* * * * *

It wasn't long until Wizardmon had led the children out of the forest, and convientelly leading them towards the Temple.  The children gasped in awe at the sight before them. The Temple of Light, as it was called, was a ziggurat-like structure made of the finest marble they had ever seen. Before the single staircase that ascended to the top were two torches, burning with a beautiful aqua-blue flame.

Wizardmon turned to face the children and bowed on one knee before them. "Welcome to the Temple of Light, Crusaders."

"My God…I've never seen something so beautiful…" murmured Megan. Aya and Takeshi nodded their agreement, while Saito just folded his arms in an aggravated manner.

"Alright Mr. Wizard, who's this 'Crusader of Light' or whatever?!"

Wizardmon eyed Saito. "You're D-Gear, please."

"Huh?"

"The device that you received earlier."

"Oh…" Saito reached into his pocket and pulled out a metallic gray D-Gear. "This what you're talking about?"

"Yes…but you are not the child I seek."

Saito let out a sigh of relief. Now I don't have to save their asses…

Megan raised her hand. "Excuse me, Wizardmon. But how can you tell if one of us is the corresponding Crusader of this Temple?"

Wizardmon paused for a moment, then leaned onto his staff. Finally he spoke. "See the flames on those torches?" Megan nodded. "Well, the Crusader of this temple has a D-Gear that color."

"Ooh!" shouted Aya, "I know who it is!!!" She grabbed Takeshi by his vest collar and pulled him in front of her. "He is!"

"Jeez, Aya…you didn't have to strangle me like that…" muttered Takeshi. Takeshi reached into his pocket and pullet out his D-Gear. "She is right though, my D-Gear is the same color as the flame."

"Excellent!" said Wizardmon, "now, if you'll please make your way to those stairs…"

Takeshi nodded, and slowly walked over to the staircase before him. Anxiety plagued his mind, and Takeshi felt as if all his limbs and muscles were moving by an unseen force.

Why am I even doing this…he thought, I'm having second thoughts about ever answering that message…

Snapping him out of his thoughts was the sound of crackling flame coming from the two torches. The D-Gear that was in his hand started glowing, and Takeshi's body was enveloped in a bubble. Before he could make out a what the he- the bubble floated into the air and ascended up the staircase, dissolving once it reached the top.

"Well that was certainly an interesting way to move around…" Takeshi mused. He was now at the top of the ziggurat in a small room, possibly where someone could pray. It was rather plain than the rest of the temple, except for an odd symbol at the bottom of the floor made of marble. The symbol itself looked like a circle with an X inside of it, and a jagged line running from top to bottom of the X.

Again, Takeshi felt himself losing control over his limbs as he slowly walked on top of the symbol. No soon had he stepped on it, the engraving on the floor glowed with energy and a voice filled Takeshi's mind.

Welcome, Crusader.

The floor beneath his feet slowly lowered itself, revealing itself to be an elevator. Takeshi tried to jump away, but he was no longer in control of his own body, and he slowly watched as the elevator plunged deeper and deeper into the temple, and it wasn't long until he had gone so far down that there was no longer any light to see.

* * * * *

From a distance, Devimon smirked. The chosen Crusader had entered the Temple, and now the only one protecting the other three children was that Wizardmon. What a fool…thought Devimon, surely he would have realized by now that if the Darkside Corporation was already here, then we would be attacking them by now. The devil Digimon shrugged. "Oh well," he said to himself, "that's life." The cruel sneer curled across his lips again.

"I think its time for some fun…"

* * * * *

From beneath his high collar, Wizardmon smiled. "And thus begins the Trial."

Aya turned to the wizard Digimon. "Takeshi…will be okay…right?"

Megan nodded. "Yeah…I'm wondering about that as well."

Wizardmon shrugged. "Now that the Trial has begun, he can either a.) succeed and obtain the power of Light, or b.) fail and suffer an eternity of eternal damnation."

"Eternal damnation?!" shouted Aya, "why didn't you tell us this before?!"

Wizardmon shrugged. "Such is the price of failure in the Temple."

"But…don't you think that's a little cruel? I mean…so what if he isn't the right Crusader? No need to punish him like that…"

"Wrong." Firmly stated Wizardmon, "it has every reason. We, or rather I, cannot entrust such power to the wrong person. It could be chaotic."

Aya stared at the Digimon with disbelief. How could someone like that be so cruel at something so…petty.

Megan, on the other hand, at lost interest in the conversation and brought her attention to Saito. Ever since they had met Wizardmon, Saito had refused to make eye contact with anyone, or even look at someone when talking to them. Even though it had occurred to Megan right from the start that Saito wasn't a 'people person' she couldn't help but…well, wonder.

"Hey Saito?" she asked. The boy in question grunted in response. "Why aren't you looking at us?"

A harsh, sad laugh escaped him. "Heh, why do you wanna know? So you and Aya can insult me more?"

"Wha…? No, Saito! That's just inhumane!"

"…you really want to know?" he quietly asked.

Megan nodded. Saito sighed, and slowly turned around to face Megan. And that's when she noticed it, why Saito was wearing the sunglasses earlier. Saito had two different eye colors – his left eye blue and his right eye green. Megan stared in awe. Saito, however, frowned deeply.

"I knew it. You're just gonna call me a freak or something…"

"No way, Saito!" she said loudly, going towards the point of shouting, "why would I do that? I mean…its not everyday you meet someone with two different color eyes!"

Saito blinked. "You…you mean you're…not going to make fun of me?"

Megan blinked this time. "What do you mean by that?" Saito smiled, and then shook his head in a dismissive manner. The two turned their heads to see Aya strangling the poor Wizardmon, and burst out into laughter. Their laugh allowed all of them to escape from the fear and turmoil that had been made accustomed into their lives in just a day.

And this made it the perfect opportunity for Devimon's attack.

* * * * *

"Ugh…" said Takeshi. He slowly opened his eyes, but it didn't do him much good. He awoke to a world of pitch-black darkness, traces of even the faintest light were gone. Slowly, he was able to stand himself up.

Great. Just my luck. He thought.

Suddenly, three shafts of light appeared before him. "What the…" Then, the shafts of light were soon filled with images.

This is your Trial, Crusader. The power you seek lies in one of these shafts. As you can see, each shaft contains a memory of your life. You may choose one, and only one shaft to enter. If it is correct, then the power will be yours. Fail… the voice trailed off, disappearing as fast as it had come.

"Great," he sighed to himself, "I screw up: I die. I get the power, I could die. Whatever…let's see what these memories are."

He walked to the shaft on the right side and saw an image of him and Sakura as five-year olds. They were playing on the old playground – they very same one that had gotten him into this mess. He stared at his younger face and fought the urge to scowl at himself. How could his memories be so happy when he, the Takeshi in the Digital World, was not happy.

He turned his head to the center shaft. This time, he saw an image of himself playing soccer on his school's team. Takeshi watched enviously as he saw himself bounce the ball on his right knee, a wide grin on his face. Takeshi felt his hand clench in anger. How badly he wanted to be in the same situation as the "Takeshi" of his memories.

Finally, he took a few steps over and looked into the left shaft. It was another memory of both him and Sakura, except they were at their normal ages this time. Takeshi grinned at the scene, it was a recent memory. They were at home, and Sakura was yelling at him for not "taking pride in his appearance". She even had some hair gel and a hairbrush in her hands, to enforce what she wanted on her younger sibling.

And there you have it, Crusader. Which one will you choose? Came the voice.

"Please…answer me this. If I choose the wrong one…what will happen to me?"

The voice paused for a long time, as if considering whether or not to answer his question. You will be sent back into that memory, which will in turn send you back into your world. You will have no memory of this world.

Takeshi resisted the urge to smile. He could screw up purposely…

…but what would happen to the others?

Well? Which one will you pick?

"I…don't know…"

There is no hurry. Please, consider the choices as much as you need to.

Takeshi nodded. How could a decision so simple…decide his fate, and that of everyone else?

He gulped inwardly. Its now or never…

Suddenly, a fourth shaft of light descended down, and it landed right in front of him. Curious, he peered into the shaft to see what was inside…

A tall, lanky devil-like creature was in front of the temple, choking the Temple Guardian Wizardmon. The said Digimon's eyes were clasped in pain, and misery was etched onto his features. The devil-like creature laughed and squeezed harder on Wizardmon's throat, and the Wizard Digimon opened his eyes in pain. Then, the devil-like creature released the poor Digimon, and turned his attention to the three children. Each wore a face filled with fear, and their eyes screamed with sorrow, misery, and anguish. The devil-like creature laughed, outstretched his right arm, and a blackish-purple energy began forming in it…

No! thought Takeshi, I have to do something!

Without even realizing it, Takeshi had step forward into the newly formed shaft of light.

The light inside was so bright, it was almost blinding him. Gone was all the darkness that had been in place before, as well as the shafts of light ( but Takeshi doubted he could've seen them anyway in the intense light). A light-blue orb appeared before him, and rearranged itself into an odd looking thing.

What floated before Takeshi was, what appeared to be, a miniature statue. It rested on a circular gray pedestal, with gold trimming around the edges. An armless crouched figure made of white and aqua colored armor stood on the pedestal, with a large, silver circle held in the figure's left hand. To top it off, a blue cape had been added to the back of the figure.

The voice called out one last time to Takeshi.

This is your destiny.

The forgotten D-Gear that had been in his hand glowed, and burned with energy. Subconsciously, Takeshi raised his right hand, and the statue responded by floating into the device. In an instant, he felt his body surge with power and the light didn't seem so bright anymore.

He was that light.

He smiled, and as on instinct, shouted out two words:

"Soul…UNISON!"

* * * * *

Devimon laughed manically, the dark energy in his hand fully charged. "Its time to die! Touch of EVIL!" The blackish-purple beam flew from his outstretched hand and rushed towards the children.

The two girls screamed and shut their eyes in fear. Saito cringed and waited for the worst.

But it never came.

Saito, slowly, opened his eyes and saw a warrior in front of them. It stood at about 7 feet tall, a sword in his right hand, and a shield in his left. It was clad in snow white armor, with patches of aqua on the sides of the thighs and forearms, and two patches directly below the rib cage on either side. The shoulder pads were entirely aqua colored. Its feet were dinosaur-like, three toed and all. A sword scabbard was attached to the left side of his waist. The shield was a silver color, with a gold ring circling around the edges. The symbol of Light ( A/N: Remember the symbol at the top of the Temple before? That's the symbol of Light. ) was dead-center in the shield. The helmet was elongated, with what seemed like a Tyranosaurus head design on the top. The eye area was black, but two brown eyes were visible inside. The mouth was covered by silver plate, which covered the whole lower face as well. The dinosaur-knight turned to Saito.

"Are you okay?" it asked.

That voice…thought Saito. "Takeshi! Its you!" he exclaimed.

By now, Aya and Megan had opened their eyes as well and had seen the dinosaur-knight, who was actually Takeshi.

"So…that means that…Takeshi has…" said Aya.

"Obtained the power of Light!!!" exclaimed Megan.

"Heh. I'll be damned." Said Saito.

Takeshi nodded, and turned his head towards Devimon. "Now, you have someone you can fight evenly!"

Devimon scowled. This was definitely not what was on his original agenda for this situation. The Crusader shouldn't come, he kept telling himself.

Devimon huffed, ( as if trying to dismiss the fact to himself that it was just a regular, ordinary Digimon instead of one of the legendary Crusaders ). "So, you think you scare me now, huh boy?"

Takeshi nodded. "It was the general idea."

Devimon growled. And now he mocks me… "I won't lose to the likes of you!"

Takeshi nodded in an understanding manner. "I understand that. Now, fight me Devimon! Fight me, Apollomon!"

Devimon extended his right arm towards Apollomon, aiming for the throat. Apollomon countered easily by jumping into the air. He swung his sword in a horizontal motion. "Beta Sword!"

A wave of light flew from the sword, approaching Devimon at an alarming rate. The devil Digimon quickly countered by using his Touch of Evil attack to fire a blast of negative energy at the wave of positive energy. The two techniques collided, causing an explosion of light to fill the vision of all those nearby.

Devimon had flown up into the air to avoid this technique and watched the smoking ruins below him. He knew that Apollomon would most likely have survived, but the three other children and the weakened Wizardmon were another story…

To his disgust, Devimon saw Apollomon running out of the smokescreen with Megan tucked underneath his left arm, and had Saito and Aya held close to his chest with his right arm, now free of the sword, which had been returned into the scabbard at his left side. Apollomon quickly set them down, and turned his head towards the smoke, watching bits of data fly into the air.

"Wizardmon…" he murmured. He shook his head and turned his attention to Aya and the others. "Stay here!" he ordered. Without another word, he drew his sword once more and pointed it at Devimon in a challenging manner.

The devil Digimon acknowledged by taking a sky dive into Apollomon, who quickly countered by taking an upward slash with his sword, slicing off Devimon's right wing.

"AAAAAAH!" screamed the now one-armed Devimon.

* * * * *

"Amazing…" murmured Megan, "It almost seems impossible of how much power Takeshi has now…"

Saito smirked. "Almost makes me wish I could do that."

Megan looked at Saito with the corner of her eye. "Saito, we both know you wouldn't risk your ass for something like this."

"Shut up, kid."

Aya watched with awe at Apollomon's grace with his weapon. Everything seemed to flow, as if Takeshi had always known how to swing a sword. Please be careful, Takeshi…

* * * * *

Devimon's howl of pain could be heard for miles, but then again, wouldn't anyone scream like hell when their wing was cut off as well?

"K…Kuso wa!" (A/N: I THINK that means "Damn you!" in Japanese…someone correct me if I'm wrong. )

Apollomon smirked beneath the face plate covering his lower mouth. "See? You know you couldn't challenge a Crusader."

"Shut up!" shouted Devimon.

Apollomon shut his eyes and bowed his head. "Very well…" He suddenly snapped them open, them made an X out of white energy with his sword, and then thrust his sword into the center.

"Crossblade FURY!"

The X then folded onto the blade and spun around – a drill-like motion. Using all of his might, Apollomon jumped into the air, the spinning blade aimed at Devimon. Frightened, the devil Digimon tried to get away, but fell down towards the earth. Now that he only had one wing, he couldn't fly anymore. With eyes filled with fear, he looked up into the sky as Apollomon flung his weight downward, the blade still pointed at Devimon.

"HYYYYYYYAAAAH!" screamed Apollomon as the blade pierced through Devimon's stomach. The Digimon bore an expression of pain as it made contact, and white electricity surged through his body. Apollomon withdrew the blade from Devimon's stomach, and sheathed it. The Dinosaur-Knight Digimon watched as Devimon's body pixilated, then dissolved into data.

Apollomon let out a relieved sigh and his body slouched over. "Damn, that was a rush…" he said to himself. He found his body pixelating as well, and he reverted back to Takeshi, D-Gear in hand. He fell face-first into the dirt.

"TAKESHI!" shouted Aya and Megan, as Saito just dropped his arms from their folded motion and all three ran over to his side.

"Is he alright?!" asked Megan.

Aya checked him for a pulse, then nodded. "He's just sleeping…I guess that took a lot out of him."

Megan nodded her response.

"Hey! You guys aren't going to believe this!" said Saito.

"Huh?" said the two girls.

Saito picked up Takeshi's D-Gear, and pointed to where the gold "dial" used to be. The symbol of Light was now engraved on it. "See?"

"Wow…" murmured Megan, "I guess that happened when he received the power of Light."

Saito nodded.

Aya felt her stomach knot in fear. "Um…guys? Wizardmon is gone now…so, where do we go from here?"

The other two looked at each other, blank expressions across their faces. They didn't know what to do either.

Aya stood up from next to Takeshi. "Saito, sling him over your shoulder."

"Huh? Why me?!"

"Because you're the strongest out of us all! We can't just leave him here can we, now?"

"Well…yeah but…"

"He saved your ass, Saito!" said Megan, "Don't you think you need to owe him something?"

Saito groaned. "Fiiiine. I'll do it, I'll do it…"

Saito muttered inaudibly as he carefully slung Takeshi over his shoulder, as not to wake him. He nodded to the two girls, and the three of them set off….

…wherever that was.

* * * * *

Not too far from where the battle had just taken place, a boy with sleek black hair and dressed in baggy dark green sweat pants and thin red jacket smiled. "So. That's the power of each temple."

Kenichi chuckled to himself, and set off as well. The forest fires had been long since put out, and he had told the surviving Digimon to rendez-vous with the exhausted Crusaders very soon. He would have liked to join them, but he had other plans. Kenichi made his way through the burnt forest towards the beach on the other side of the island, a Submarimon waiting for him.

Why?

Because he was on his way to the next Temple.

The Temple of Fire.

End Episode 04.