YuYuGiDigiMoon: The Wrath of Pharaohmon

by Kanius

This is a crossover series putting the YuGiOh, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Sailor Moon and Yu Yu Hakusho into an arc series. Update 09 13 05: Finally, the The Wrath of Pharaohmon is over! Come and read the finale! Our heroes return home!

41. Inumon Attempts Revenge!

Hey again, everyone! I can't believe I'm going to say this but we're getting closer to the end with only four chapters to go. It's been nearly two years in the making, but I will finally see this series end. This is it everyone. Enjoy the duels, the battles and the ensuing drama before the sequel kicks off. :D

I'm so excited! This chapter will feature Lance dueling against Joey Wheeler and Pharaohmon in action once again! The siege at Hohou Temple looks like it will be at its end. Well, I'm not going to give anything away, because I would rather have you guys read the chapter. :P

So, without further ado, here's Chapter 41! More duel and battle match action! Enjoy!

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Inumon Attempts Revenge! The Departure from the Hohou Temple!

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Phoenix Arena/Duel and Battle Platforms

The five minute intermission had already passed for the last set of matches. The last semi-final duel match along with the quarter-final battle matches were set to be presented. Once again, the crowds were growing with anxiety over the battle match featuring Pharaohmon since they were hoping he would finally taste defeat after triumphing over Anubimon and Yusuke Urameshi. Many have hoped and wanted Inumon to avenge Anubimon by defeating Pharaohmon, but the mongrel really is nothing more than an underdog entering the match.

Lance was lucky to have made it this far into the tournament. If it wasn't for him borrowing Pharaohmon's shadow magic, he would have surely lost. Plus, he relied on his Jirai Gumo to save him from near defeat, especially in his duels against Kenta and Seto Kaiba. He was lucky to have gained a victory over Kaiba! However, he entered the semi-final round against Joey Wheeler, who has sworn to be the one that knocks the boy out of the tournament.

In the other battle match, Renamon would be dealing with fellow digimon, Guilmon. However, with Inumon competing against Pharaohmon, Renamon was secretly worried about Inumon, and would probably be distracted in this match against Guilmon. Guilmon just may have gained an advantage over Renamon because of this and is determined to advance to the next round.

Agunimon and Wolfmon await the winners in the next round and they are no doubt keeping an eye on these two battle matches. There is no telling whether they will face Gallantmon, Sakuyamon, Youkai Inumon, Pharaohmon or even each other! There are so many endless possibilities to predict for the semi-final rounds.

"We're back with the continuing coverage of our tournament, ladies and gentlemen! Already we have Joey Wheeler standing at the Duel Dome location and awaiting Lance to present himself. Inside Arena A, we have Inumon with his game face on! He prepares for hell as his opponent will be Pharaohmon! There's just no telling what that madman has in store for Inumon, but I hope Inumon will be ready for whatever that guy throws at him! Guilmon and Renamon are inside Arena B! These two are the respective partners of Rika Nonaka and Takato Matsuda, who had dueled against one another earlier! Now, we await the arrivals of Pharaohmon and Lance Canebrook, who will not be welcomed with open arms! Well, speak of the devils, Here they come..."

As soon as she made this announcement, the audiences erupted with massive jeers. They got even louder once both Lance and Pharaohmon emerged out of the entrance. The teen simply ignored the negativity and the offensive gestures being directed to him and his superior. Pharaohmon turned towards Arena A and noticed Inumon waiting for him. A malicious grin crossed the demon's face once his eyes were locked on the demon dog. Lance started walking down the aisle towards the Duel Dome where Joey Wheeler was awaiting him.

"Once again, this arena is giving those two the well deserved jeers after everything they've done to some of our fine competitors! If anything, I'd rather see these two finally get what they deserve and get knocked out of the tournament. Then again, that's just me!" Lillymon announced through her microphone. "Lance makes his way towards the Duel Dome station where he will meet Joey Wheeler! Pharaohmon sets a path directly to Arena A and will take on Inumon! I can just feel the tension in this arena! Could this finally be the deciding factor in the tournament? Can Lance and Pharaohmon go down in defeat? Something tells me that Joey and Inumon will both need to pull out all the stops!"

Looking on from the second entranceway were Takato, Rika, Himura, Seadramon, Omegamon, Athenamon and Yami Yugi. They all were there to keep an eye on their friends and prevent anything to go out of control, considering both Lance and Pharaohmon were competing.

"C'mon, Inumon... You can do this! This one's for Anubimon!" Himura called out to his digimon partners. "At last, we could possibly see the end of Pharaohmon once and for all! If there's anyone who can do the impossible, it's Inumon!"

"Lance... I just hope Joey will be all right," Yami Yugi said as he gazed to the Duel Dome.

"No kidding, Pharaoh! Lance is not going to play by the rules and use Pharaohmon's shadow magic to help him in the match! He never would have made it far if it wasn't for his shadow magic and the overuse of the Jirai Gumo," Yugi said through the spirit's thoughts. "In the finals, it looks like we're either to duel against Joey or Lance. I just hope its Joey. That will prevent the Millennium Puzzle from becoming another prize for Lance to compete for."

"I know... C'mon, Joey, you have to do everything you can to prevent Lance from advancing. You survived Marik's shadow magic from Battle City, you can do this. We can't afford to lose you. We have to stand together if we hope to crush Pharaohmon!"

"Hey, Yugi? You think Joey stands a chance?" Rika asked the champion duelist.

"Considering how Lance relies on trickery, Joey has that boy beat by skills alone. Joey has improved since Duelist Kingdom. But, Lance is still a very unpredictable individual. Kenta could have surely beaten Lance if Jirai Gumo hadn't come into play."

"I agree," Himura nodded.

"Surely Kaiba would have mopped the floor with him, too!" Takato spoke up.

"Yes, and Lance has only made this far due to shadow magic. However, Joey is not a quitter. He will no doubt find a strategy to thwart Lance's Jirai Gumo!" Yami Yugi stated with his right fist clenched.

"Then, there's Pharaohmon to be concerned about. Is it just me or is it a coincidence?" Omegamon pointed out. "Every time Lance has competed, Pharaohmon has competed in a match simultaneously."

"You know. Now that you mention it, you're right," Athenamon replied. "It took you that long to figure it out?"

"I wasn't even paying attention until now. I wonder..." Omegamon studied Pharaohmon's presence and then looked to Lance. "Lance must gain shadow magic when Pharaohmon is close by or in the heat of battle. We've never seen these two too far apart from one another unless Lance has been transported to a duel. That's just it then. Lance receives magic before and perhaps after every match. This means if we somehow destroy Pharaohmon, Lance will be free from his control. Naturally, none of us has the power to defeat Pharaohmon. But, Inumon just might be the one. He will fight Pharaohmon with high emotions after the loss of Anubimon. Inumon, I advise caution, my friend."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now be sending Joey and Lance off to their destined duel location! According to Etemon, they have been sent outside this stadium and in front of a large crowd! The large masses who were unable to pay for their tickets receive an up close and personal duel! Just how great is that for you freeloaders? I hope you're happy!"

With the duelists entering inside the dome, the four competitors were prepared to get the match underway. Inumon faced down Pharaohmon with his eyes flaring up with intense demonic energy. Fortunately, the dark canine had his collar back on to restrain his demon nature. Guilmon and Renamon simply stared one another down, even though Renamon herself was worried for Inumon.

"Man, this is getting intense! Inumon cannot wait to get his hands on Lord Anubimon's murderer! After what was last seen in his match with Basilikmon, Inumon just might go to any lengths to ensure Pharaohmon is defeated! Let's pray he doesn't resort to that Flame Hound again or we'll end up with more unfortunate causalities!"

Upon hearing this, Inumon gulped to himself and rubbed his collar. It was a good thing Renamon had reattached it back on before receiving the medication to restore his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to go back into his feral, demon mode. Pharaohmon had witnessed the transformation in Inumon's nature and was eager to play this to his advantage. A twisted smile crossed the dark lord's face.

"Why are you smiling about? This will be your final stand, Pharaohmon! I intend to avenge Anubimon!" Inumon growled angrily towards the dark lord. "I'll take you out like I just did to Basilikmon earlier!"

"Well, those are some strong words, Inumon. I wonder. Will you carry out those threats?" Pharaohmon asked with an arrogant smirk. "I haven't reached my full power and you think you can defeat me?"

"Just sit back and watch me try, you sick bastard! I will also avenge Yui!" Inumon stepped into a battle stance. "I'm going to have to go all the way and evolve into Youkai Inumon. Otherwise, I won't be able to do a damn thing to him in my other forms."

Inside Arena B, the neon-furred vulpine turned her eyes directly to the opposite arena and was visibly showing concern for the dark canine. Guilmon took notice of this and tilted his head to one side.

"Renamon... Is something the matter?" Guilmon asked the vulpine digimon.

"No... Of course not."

"You seem to be worried about Inumon. I can tell by that look in your eyes. I often see that look on Takato's face when he was worried about his friends," Guilmon stated. "So, am I right?"

"I'll be honest, Guilmon," Renamon hesitated but not long before admitting the truth. "I am deeply concerned for Inumon. This is Pharaohmon he's facing. I'm scared what that monster will do to him. Anubimon has died at the hands of Pharaohmon and that Yusuke boy was lucky to have survived."

"I know, but I have a good feeling Inumon will be just fine."

"How can you be so sure?"

"My gut feeling instinct. When I'm not hungry, my gut always tells me that good things will eventually come. Inumon will be just fine. I promise..."

"Are you sure...?"

"Positively and truthfully," Guilmon nodded in reply. "Now, let's put on a good show. I want to see this Priestess Mode!"

"And I'm eager to challenge your Crimson Mode," Renamon replied. "Maybe Guilmon is right. Perhaps Inumon will be just fine. However, one can't always be too certain... Pharaohmon is a very unpredictable individual. Inumon, please don't do anything rash. You have to fight serious. Do it for Himura, Yui, Seadramon and Anubimon. They are your closest friends and you have earned my friendship. I... I can't afford to lose a good and loyal companion like you..."

"Competitors! The duel dome has already been ascended and the duelists have been transported! Get ready for battle positions!" Lillymon announced. "As official of the Shadow Tournament, I hereby declare these two quarter-final rounds to... BEGIN!"

With that said the official bell was immediately rung. The audience erupted and quickly started to get rallied up for the two matches. Pharaohmon stepped into a battle stance but then became blinded momentarily by a flash of light. Inumon was immediately undergoing his evolution straight into his mega form. Two more bright auras flashed from Arena B.

"Well, this ought to be interesting," Pharaohmon stated promptly. "You're going all the way, Inumon? That's fine by me but I doubt that Youkai Inumon will make a difference!"

"We'll see about that! Inumon MEGA SHINKA!" the dark canine exclaimed as his body underwent a transformation into a taller bipedal form equipped with swords. "Youkai Inumon!"

Back in Arena B, both Guilmon and Renamon had evolved out of their rookie forms and ascended to their mega-level forms. In place of the innocent Guilmon was the majestic Royal Knight of the Hazard, Gallantmon. Taking the place of the beautiful Renamon was the gorgeous Moon Fighter, Sakuyamon.

"Guilmon MEGA SHINKA! Gallantmon!"

"Renamon MEGA SHINKA! Sakuyamon!"

"Awesome! We have three mega-level Tamer digimon in two arenas! This is quite the rare treat! Now Pharaohmon finds himself facing off against Basilikmon's conqueror. You have to wonder whether Pharaohmon will raise his power like he did against Anubimon earlier..."

Youkai Inumon moved around the ring faster than even Pharaohmon could detect him. However, Pharaohmon still managed to keep up with his adversary's swift movements. The mega-level demon canine phased behind Pharaohmon and unsheathed his swords.

"Let's go, Pharaohmon! I'm ready to end this now!"

"So, you want to finish this quickly? Very well then, have it your way! But, this is your last mistake!" Pharaohmon called out as he slammed a fist across the ring.

Barely managing to catch Youkai Inumon, Pharaohmon's fist penetrated through the ring's surface. Youkai Inumon leaped away in time and stabbed his swords through the dark lord's right arm. The villain winced from the pain for a minute until he threw out his other fist. Youkai Inumon once again moved aside from the incoming fist and bounced off against the corner of the ring. The demon canine used his other sword to slash across Pharaohmon's chest.

"Argh! That was a nice mark!" Pharaohmon commended the demon canine as he looked down his chest to find a large gash mark. "You even managed to pierce through my skin. That's a commendable feat indeed."

"I'm not here to listen to your praising. I'm here to KILL you!" Youkai Inumon declared. "When this match is over, I'll make sure to take your head as a trophy prize!"

"Oh, is that so? Then, come and make that possible, demon dog!" Pharaohmon laughed out in amusement. "Fool, I haven't even gone past ten percent and you're claiming to defeat me? You're an even bigger fool than Anubimon himself!"

"Youkai Inumon is already getting a heads up over Pharaohmon, but we have yet to know what will occur next! I just hope Inumon knows what he's doing! Meanwhile, Gallantmon and Sakuyamon have engaged themselves in a lock up! Gallantmon's shield against Sakuyamon's staff! Neither competitor is looking to give up!"

In Arena B, Gallantmon and Sakuyamon are doing exactly as Lillymon had just stated. They were locked in a lock-up and it seemed Gallantmon was proving to be quite the powerhouse against Sakuyamon. The Royal Knight pushed Sakuyamon back and went for a head-on charge. Sakuyamon swiftly rolled away from Gallantmon and slammed her staff against Gallantmon's right leg. This stunned Gallantmon long enough for Sakuyamon to dropkick him down. Sakuyamon got up to her feet and walked over to the fallen Gallantmon.

"You maybe stronger than me, Gallantmon, but I have outwitted you," Sakuyamon stated. "Well, how does it feel to be one-upped by a woman?"

"...Nice maneuver, Sakuyamon. You are quicker on your feet, but I have a few aces up my sleeve to show you!" Gallantmon exclaimed as he flipped back to his feet. "Surprised? Don't be. Remember, I've fought another guy who relied on speed..."

"Beelzebumon..."

"Yes, and I'm a much better fighter now than I was then. I know your weaknesses and you know mine. This is going to be one interesting fight!"

"Yes, I agree..."

"Just don't worry about Inumon like I said, okay?"

"I'll try..." Sakuyamon slightly stuttered as her mind was not completely focused on the match.

"With our competitors already engaged in their respective matches, what do you say we look on our big screen and watch the duel begin? Floramon and Tapirmon are there as we speak to give live coverage of the match! Joey Wheeler and Lance Canebrook! This will hopefully end on a good note! Joey dueled himself two good matches to reach this far and he doesn't plan on losing this to Lance! Floramon, how is the crowd out there and are the two duelists ready?"

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Outside the Phoenix Arena

Gathered outside the arena and watching the duelists getting prepped up, Floramon waved out to Tapirmon. The cameraman came closer to get a better view of the duel set to take place. The crowds were attempting to get themselves on camera and give shout-outs to the friends. Floramon turned to face the camera and began speaking for everyone to hear inside the arena.

"Hi again, Lillymon! This crowd outside the arena is going crazy and you're right! These freeloaders will have the privilege to watch a duel up close and personal! I'm definitely looking forward to this since Joey has become my favorite duelist! You can do it, Joey! You're my man! Lance is a dunce!" Floramon danced around like a cheerleader.

Joey took notice of this and gave a goofy grin directly towards her. Naturally, he wouldn't be embarrassed to see fans cheering for him but Floramon's antics were a tad bit goofy. Joey turned his attention towards Lance and balled up his fists.

"All right, cowboy! I'm ready to mop the floor with ya!" Joey declared as he activated his duel disk. "Cause unlike Kaiba, I'm not going to lose my cool!"

"I would hope so. Then again, I've heard you've choked against the likes of Kaiba and Yugi. I don't really see you as threat to me," Lance shrugged.

"Oh, that tears it, punk! I'm so knocking your butt out of this tournament!" Joey growled. "Of course, he hasn't resorted to calling me a dog or a monkey. I get that enough from Kaiba."

"So, are you ready, Mr. Wheeler?" Lance asked his opponent directly.

"You bet! I've been waiting a long time to cream you!"

"Seeing as our two competitors are ready to get this over with, I hereby declare this semi-final match to BEGIN!" Floramon called out to officially start the match.

"DUEL!"

Both duelists had activated their duel disks and pulled out their first five cards into their hands. Lance and Joey exchanged glances while holding their five-card hand.

Life points

Joey: 8000

Lance: 8000

"Lance, since I don't trust your game play, I'd like to start off..."

"Hold that thought!" Lance exclaimed as he extended his arms across. "Let's make this game even more interesting!"

"Aw, crap! Not this!" Joey shouted.

As Lance stretched out his arms, a familiar dark fog engulfed the duelists. The spectators could barely see what would transpire through the dark clouds. However, Floramon and Tapirmon found themselves inside. They freaked out from the ghoulish banshees screaming out of the background.

"Oh, this isn't good! It looks like Lance is once again making this a shadow game. He used this on Kenta and Kaiba! However, I have to wonder if Joey was even prepared for this, considering that he watched Lance's previous duels!"

"Ha, don't make me laugh. I've already dealt with shadow magic. I have even had a freak control my mind!" Joey exclaimed directly towards Lance. "I even dueled that same guy in a shadow game. I'll admit I was left unconscious but I managed to come back strong! Don't think you're going to put me through that mess again!"

"That's too bad, Joey, because here I was planning to send your soul to the shadows. Since I couldn't do it with Kenta and Kaiba, I'll make an example out of you once I duel Yugi in the finals!"

"If you want to go through Yugi, you'll have to go through me, buddy boy!" Joey retorted as he pulled out two cards out of his hand. "On my first move, I'll set this card facedown and set another facedown in defense mode! That will end my first phase!"

"Is that all you can do on your first turn? Pitiful, now watch what I can do on my first turn!" Lance laughed and activated one of his cards. "I'll activate Raigeki! This will destroy all monsters on your field. So, that means your facedown defense card is gone!"

Joey snorted as he watched his facedown defense card hologram explode off his field. That takes out one monster and he was vulnerable for an attack by Lance.

"Next, I'll summon my Mad Sword Beast!" Lance laid out a face-up card.

The monster that emerged from out of the card hologram was a Triceratops with a blade horn.

Mad Sword Beast

1400/1200/4 stars

"Now, Mad Sword Beast, attack Joey's Life points directly!" Lance pointed out to Joey's vulnerable position.

The Triceratops beast charged across towards Joey's side and aimed to impale him through his horn. The blonde-haired duelist managed to see this coming and dodged to the side. That could have been him through that horn and he had no intention of getting skewered. However, the beast swung its tail across and slammed it across Joey's side. This not only inflicted damage to Joey's Life points but to his own body. The teen howled out in pain from the tail blow and clutched his side.

"OW! Damn it...! That really hurt!"

"I thought you already knew. When you enter my shadow games, the monsters' attacks actually can inflict pain on the duelist. So, the more Life points you lose the more damage you receive to your own body!"

"Well, I'm... sure going to get you back for that... punk," Joey coughed out.

Joey

Life points: 6600 (8000-1400)

"So, how do you like becoming the third participant in my shadow games? Having fun, Joey?" Lance snickered as he taunted the duelist.

"Screw you...!" Joey retorted back.

"Well, that ends my turn. Let's see if you carry out your promise to retaliate!"

"Oh, I intend to, pal!" Joey stated while adding a card to his hand. "I'll summon my Goblin Attack Force!"

As soon as he summoned the monster card to play, a troop of miniature green goblins gathered around the duelist. They turned and were ready to attack Lance head on.

Goblin Attack Force

2300/0/4 stars

"Since your dinosaur tried to gut me, I'm going to send my Goblins to attack that thing! Go, Goblin Attack Force, take apart his dino-pet!"

As soon as he declared his attack, the Goblin hordes leaped across and started pummeling the dinosaur. The Triceratops screeched out angrily before it exploded into data fragments. This loss not only damaged Lance's Life points but inflicted some pain on the teen. Lance gasped while squeezing his chest. However, he restrained himself from the excruciating pain and snickered.

Lance

Life points: 7100 (8000-900)

"Oooo, that felt good!" Lance laughed.

"Maybe to a psycho like you, but I don't intend to lose anymore of my Life points!" Joey replied. "Since my Goblins attacked, they are changed to a face-up defense position. My turn has ended."

"So, it has," Lance nodded as he added a new card to his hand and immediately puts it to play. "Now, I'll summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer in attack mode!"

The next monster to be summoned forth to Joey's field was a bald man garbed in purple robes, holding red spirit-beads and wearing a partial demon mask over his left eye. He was menacing enough to spook many duelists, but not Joey.

Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer

1800/700/4 star

"Seeing how my monster has you spooked..."

"Ha, please! I've seen scarier things than that old geezer!"

"...As I was saying, he will attack your Goblin hordes! Go, my Kycoo, leave nothing of his Goblins!"

Following the command of his duelist, the Kycoo fired an unholy beam directly from his demon mask's eye and destroyed the demon hordes protecting Joey. They were destroyed, but no damage was inflicted on Joey's Life points. After all, they were in defense mode.

"Ah, no more disgusting Goblins to look at, that'll end my turn."

"Well, you seem satisfied and so sure of yourself, punk!" Joey growled as he pulled out a new card to play. "I'm about to wipe that stupid grin off your face with this! I activate Raigeki! How about that for a little payback?"

"Curse you!" Lance exclaimed at his adversary and watched his Kycoo instantly wiped off the field.

"Next, I'll summon this bad boy! Alligator's Sword!" Joey laid out a face-up card to bring forth a monster to the field.

The monster revealed out of the hologram was a bipedal alligator garbed in red-black armor and wielding a long, curved scimitar.

Alligator's Sword

1500/1200/4 stars

"Now, to take more of your Life points, cowboy! Go, my Alligator's Sword! Attack him directly with your Scimitar Strike!"

As soon as he heard his duelist direct command, the reptilian warrior leaped across and slashed across Lance. The teen took the blow head on and felt a sharp pain against his right arm. He howled out in pain and fell to his knees. Joey took notice of this and was slightly worried for the boy.

Lance

Life points: 5600 (7100-1500)

"Hey, are you all right?" Joey called out to Lance. "You just right yourself. Man, maybe I shouldn't have..."

"Ha! Are you kidding? I've never felt better!" Lance caught Joey off guard with a malicious laugh. "That actually made me feels much better about myself! Thank you, Lord Pharaohmon you've been too kind to me!"

Joey simply snorted at the teen's psychopathic ranting, "Man, you really do need help. Well, I'm what the doctor ordered! But, I don't have anything else to offer, so I'll end it there."

"Ah, and that's a mistake you'll soon regret!" Lance exclaimed while adding a new card to his hand. "On my next move, I'll summon Hysteric Fairy!"

Summoned forth on Lance's side was a blue-haired fairy wearing glasses and holding a book. She was set in attack mode and turned towards the Alligator's Sword as her first target.

Hysteric Fairy

1800/500/4 stars

"My Hysteric Fairy will now attack your Alligator's Sword! Attack him and inflict damage on Joey's Life points!" Lance called out in direct order to his monster.

Hysteric Fairy charged forward and struck Alligator's Sword on the head with her book, and destroyed him in the process. Not only was the monster gone but damage was inflicted directly on Joey's Life points. The boy felt more pain across his chest but he managed to once again to restrain himself through the threshold of pain.

"No, way... Are you going to overtake me, freak boy..." Joey strained under the pain. "I'm not falling... to another shadow game..."

Joey

Life points: 6300 (6600-300)

"It's too bad you will learn that will be useless to resist against the powers of Pharaohmon's shadow magic. Do yourself a favor and stop resisting. You won't feel as much pain if you don't resist."

"Feh, no way... I'm going to pull through this. Just you wait and see..."

"You're only prolonging your demise, Mr. Wheeler," Lance stated. "That'll end my turn."

"Fine, all I can do on my turn is lay this facedown defense card..." Joey replied as he laid down a facedown card in defense mode. "That's all I have to offer on that turn."

"Humph, I'm a little disappointed. I figured you would have retaliated, but oh well. I can't force you to reveal your monster since I'll just destroy it with my Hysteric Fairy. So, it comes down my turn? All right, then... For my first move, I'll summon my Maha Vailo!"

The monster summoned forth on Lance's field was a sorceress garbed in blue robes, wearing an ornate hat and her back equipped with scythe-like wings.

Maha Vailo

1550/1400/4 stars

"Next, I'll equip my monster with two useful cards! My Megamorph and Black Pendant! Of course you know what this means, right?"

"Yeah, since your life points are lower than mine, the original attack power of your monster equipped with the card is doubled. So? I already know that!"

"Ah, but you also forgot about the effects of my Black Pendant! It increases the attack by 500 points! And my Maha Vailo has an effect to go along with it! I can increase an additional 500 for each card equipped to it!"

Maha Vailo

ATK: 4600 (1550x2 + 500 + 500x2)

"Now, my Maha Vailo, attack Joey's facedown defense card!" Lance declared his attack. "Leave nothing of whatever the monster may be!"

Before Maha Vailo could implement her attack, Joey immediately activated one his cards and retaliated with a trap card.

"Ha! You've just triggered my trap card, pal!" Joey called out. "I activate my Magic Arm Shield!"

"What! Magic Arm Shield!"

"That's right. With this card, since you've declared an attack on my facedown card, I can take control of one of your monsters until the end of my turn. That specific monster I choose becomes the target of the attack! And the monster I've chosen is your Hysteric Fairy!"

"But you'll..."

"Yeah, I'll lose Life points, but it's a price to pay! Your monster's attack will be halved, not to mention I'm destroying another of your monsters!"

As Maha Vailo's attack was launched, the Hysteric Fairy phased right directly in front of the facedown defense card. The Fairy was destroyed. Thus, Life points were taken out of Joey's points but also Lance's monster has her attack power completely cut in half.

Joey

Life points: 3500 (6300-2600)

Maha Vailo

ATK: 2275 (1550/2 + 500 + 500x2)

Once the monster was destroyed and Life points were taken out of Joey, the blonde-haired teen gripped his chest once again and wheezed to himself. Lance took notice of this and snickered manically.

"Joey, you have got to be the dumbest duelist I've ever come across against! Even Kenta didn't do anything this idiotic!" Lance laughed at the duelist. "I mean..."

"Oh, can it! Like I said, it was a price to pay! Besides, who said I was even finished? I only have 3500 Life points left! As far as I'm concerned, I still stand a chance of winning this duel and kicking you to the curb, punk!"

"Well, I still call it a foolish move on your part, Mr. Wheeler! Since I have nothing else to offer on this turn, I'll end it. Just make sure not to embarrass yourself on this next turn. Remember, the more Life points you lose the more pain will be inflicted on your feeble body."

"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to remind me!" Joey angrily retorted towards Lance and pulled out a card to his hand. "Heh, now I've got something that's going to blow your mind!"

"Is that so? Please, do reveal the pathetic card you've just chosen."

"Ha, how's this for pathetic? I sacrifice my face down monster to summon this!" Joey grinned as he revealed a skull-faced demon.

This immediately was brought to Lance's attention and the duelist gasped out in shock.

"Summoned Skull!"

"That's right! Summoned Skull is 225 points stronger than your Maha Vailo! Which means your monster is going up in smoke!"

The Summoned Skull was quickly brought forth to Joey's field and ready to attack the Maha Vailo.

"Now, my Summoned Skull, use your lighting to take apart his Maha Vailo!" Joey called out to attack.

With that said the Summoned Skull unleashed streaks of electricity out of its horns and claws. The electric attack slammed and electrocuted the Maha Vailo before she exploded into data particles. This managed to inflict damage to Lance's Life points. The boy felt his body jolt with a shock and he struggled to stand up on his two feet. A sadistic grin twisted across his face and he managed to ignore the pain jolting throughout his body.

Lance

Life points: 5375 (5600-225)

Unfortunately, with Maha Vailo gone, the Black Pendant was destroyed and that itself had an effect to it. Joey watched as 500 of his Life points dropped.

"Did you forget? My Black Pendant has an effect with it! For when that card is sent to the graveyard, 500 points of direct damage is inflicted on your life points!"

"I know, I know, but like I said before... it's a small price to pay." Joey cursed and felt a sudden jolt erupt in his body. "Argh... Damn, the pain..."

"Yes, that's right, Joey and there will be plenty more where that came from!" Lance laughed out in sick amusement.

Joey

Life points: 3000 (3500-500)

"That'll be the end of my turn," Joey stated as he sat up. "But, you haven't beaten me yet, punk..."

"Oh and I intend to inflict even more pain to you, Mr. Wheeler. It is only a matter of time before your soul is fed to the dark souls of this shadow game..." Lance snickered while adding a new card to his hand. "Now, I've found a solution to weaken your Summoned Skull!"

"How, so...?"

"With this card, the Mask of the Accursed!" Lance declared as he revealed his card.

"Wait, I've heard about this card! It was used by those two masked duelists, Loomis and Umbra, from Battle City!" Joey remembered. "Yugi told me all about their use of every type of mask card!"

"Interesting, well you are about to find out how nasty this mask card can be!" Lance exclaimed. "I'm going to equip this to your Summoned Skull! As long as it is equipped with this card, it cannot attack! In addition, the player controlling the monster loses 500 Life points during each standby phase! Now, let's give it a try!"

Joey gasped out as he watched the mask teleport out from Lance's field and quickly attached itself on the mighty skull demon. The beast was held at bay and paralyzed by the mask in the process.

"Ah, no, this is not what I needed!" Joey exclaimed. "Man, I've got to find a way to save my monster before I lose any Life points!"

"Before I end my turn, I'll set this card facedown in defense mode!" Lance declared. "That will end my turn!"

"Man, now I've got to find a way to get that mask off of my Summoned Skull," Joey thought before he came into realization at the card he had just drawn. "Ah-ha! All right, this is definitely going to turn this duel around! Lance, you're in for a big surprise!"

"So, are you going to make your move or bore me to death? You're already wasting precious time."

"Quit rushing me! I've got all the time in the world to cream your sorry face to the dirt!" Joey retorted directly at the teen. "I've got something that's going to turn this duel around!"

"Oh and how so?"

"Watch and learn!" Joey stated as he pulled out his card and realized 500 more of his Life points were taken away.

Joey

Life points: 2500 (3000-500)

"Eh, not like its going to matter because you're going down, pal!" Joey exclaimed. "For my first move, I'm activating a card that I've just added to my hand! Behold my Fusion Sage!"

"Fusion Sage? How is that going to... Oh no!"

"Ha, I guess you're starting to catch on, are you?" Joey smiled. "With this card, I can move one Polymerization card to my deck directly to my hand!"

"Ah, no... You couldn't!"

"And next, I'll use it to fuse two personal favorite monsters of mine!" Joey declared. "I'll use my Polymerization to fuse both my Summoned Skull and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"No! Not that monster!"

"Since I'll be fusing my monster, your Mask of the Accursed is destroyed in the process! Now, to reveal my fused monster! Black Skull Dragon, come forth and present yourself!"

With that said the newly fused monster summoned to Joey's side field was large, bipedal dragon with large, gargoyle wings across its back. The form of the Black Skull Dragon was a perfect fusion of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and the Summoned Skull. The perfectly fused beast unleashed a terrifying roar and stood tall over the shadow fog surrounding the tow duelists. Everyone caught glimpse of the Black Skull Dragon and gasped out in utter disbelief. Even Floramon was flabbergasted.

"My gosh... Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing! If I had told you there was a large skeletal dragon, then you'd call me crazy, but who's lying now? Joey has brought forth a rather strong and intimidating monster! But, you've got to wonder if it will be enough to stop Lance... Joey seems to think so!"

Black Skull Dragon

3200/2500/9 stars

Even Lance was astonished by the summoning of Joey's powerful dragon. Not only had he summoned the Black Skull Dragon but saved his life points by destroying the mask in the process. Lance simply snorted and waited for Joey to make his next move.

"Like my dragon, Lance? Because I'm so going to mop the floor with the rest of your Life points with this bad boy!" Joey grinned proudly.

"Feh, whatever... You may have drawn yourself a powerful monster, but I will simply find a counter against it."

"We'll see! Now, since it's still my turn, I'll going to be summoning another favorite monster of mine! Lance, say hello to the Baby Dragon!"

"Baby Dragon?"

The next monster to be summoned next to the powerful Black Skull Dragon was a small, orange dragon. It squawked out and flew by the titanic dragon ally of his. Joey stood with a sheepish grin on his face with his pet precious dragons.

Baby Dragon

1200/700/3 stars

"Now, my Baby Dragon, attack his facedown defense monster!" Joey declared his attack on Lance's facedown card.

The Baby Dragon flew across to Lance's side field and blew a fire blast at the facedown card. As the card was quickly destroyed, the monster revealed was a green-skinned warrior wearing pants and an open vest, with three horns protruding out of his head. This was the Vorse Raider.

Vorse Raider

1900/1200/4 star

However, much to Joey's surprise, the attack by Baby Dragon did not destroy Vorse Raider. The dragon had an attack power of 1200 while the Raider has a 1200 defense power. There was no result because of this and thus the attack was nullified.

"Well, you were lucky there, Lance! My Dragon's attack power was the same as Vorse Raider's defense power! If my Dragon had been stronger, your Vorse Raider would have been a goner for sure!"

"Ha, this just proves once again that I'm one step ahead of you, Mr. Wheeler!" Lance laughed out with amusement. "Too bad for you...!"

"Yeah, but who said my turn was finished, freak boy? I still have my Black Skull Dragon! He's a lot stronger than your Vorse Raider! Now, Black Skull Dragon, waste his Vorse Raider! Molten Fire Blast!"

Hearing his duelist's command, the Black Skull Dragon launched his Molten Fire Blast out of his mouth and easily destroyed the Vorse Raider. Lance covered himself from the incoming smoke of the blast and coughed through.

"So much for your Vorse Raider, punk!" Joey stuck his tongue out at Lance.

"Why, you little... It isn't over just yet and I'm going to wipe that stupid look off your face soon!" Lance threatened the duelist. "It is not over until one of us is feed to the shadows!"

"Tough choice of words from Lance! With these two still in session of their duel, we'll check back to see how the two battle matches have progressed. Lillymon, how have the matches been?" Floramon said to the camera facing her. "We're sure having a blast out here!"

-

---

Other side of Phoenix Arena

Unbeknownst to them, another showdown was prepared to ensue on the other side of the stadium. A small group of digimon gathered to watch to confrontation between Kurama and Brimstone. The red-haired half-breed kept his emerald green eyes locked onto the dimming flames under Brimstone's hood.

"So, are you ready, fox demon?" the cloaked fire warrior asked his adversary.

"Yes, shall we proceed already? I have more important matters to attend to after all," Kurama nodded.

"Humph, your concern for your comrades, especially for the Spirit Detective named Yusuke Urameshi. He was even lucky to have escaped in one piece," Brimstone muttered. "Perhaps one day, I'd like to test my power against the Spirit Detective, but you will do just fine for now..."

"Well, how about we get this over with, Brimstone? You called me out here and I answered," Kurama replied with his thorn rose whip in his right hand. "Rest assured, I will not hold back."

"That's good. I rather don't want you to hold back. Shall we begin?" Brimstone unleashed his flames and torched the coat off his body. "HEADS UP!"

As soon as he said that, Brimstone launched a fire blast out of his right hand. This forced Kurama to dodge away to his left side and let the blast penetrate through a nearby rock slab. It exploded on impact with the blast. Kurama sat up and turned to find yet another fire blast launched for him again. The crimson-haired half breed jumped up to avoid the blast and landed at the center.

"Nice counters, dear Kurama. I would have suspected this from you. Perhaps I can expect it from the detective himself."

"So, tell me. Is this really about challenging me or Yusuke?"

"I want to challenge all of you, but not at once. I'd rather fight my opponents one on one. The one named Kuwabara is no threat to me, at least for now. You four all have the potential to become stronger. I have a good feeling you will gain the experience you need once the Shadow Tournament has reached its conclusion."

"What makes you think that?"

"Call it a hunch. That Reigun your friend fired into Pharaohmon is actually doing more damage than you can realize."

"No, I realize that, Brimstone. However, how can you be sure we will all survive the Shadow Tournament's aftermath?"

"There's no telling. Life is full of unlimited possibilities. We could all survive or perish under Pharaohmon's might. However, today let's be concerned if whether you can survive my fire impact blasts."

Once he said that, the fire demon digimon cupped his hands together and launched a large energy, heat beam Kurama was forced once again to leap over the beam and allow it to pass across the desert landscape. Brimstone continued to launch even more blasts quickly and mercilessly. Kurama dodged the blast launched towards him. He swiftly moved across to one side and leaps over towards Brimstone's left side. The fire demon simply waved his hand across to release a heat wave projectile.

"His heat barrier is still weakened since our last battle. Which means my attacks should be able to inflict damage on him. However, I must advise myself caution. He asks for Yoko Kurama, but should I be willing to go forth with his demands? Yoko will not be merciless..."

"Bring forth the spirit fox, Kurama. I demand you to bring him forth and I shall prove my superiority over him!" Brimstone exclaimed as he waved his hand across once again. "Bring him forth!"

Avoiding another close contact with Brimstone's flames, Kurama leaped up and lashed his rose whip across. The fire demon was quick to see it coming and caught it. He channeled through his heat energy and torched the vine whip with ease. Kurama landed back on the surface and winced from the slight burn of Brimstone's torch flame.

"Bring forth Yoko Kurama or these bystanders will die!" Brimstone called out with impatience.

"I have no choice. Otherwise, he will threaten these digimon with their lives. Brimstone, you shall get what you want," Kurama thought.

Suddenly, before Brimstone could make another move, a thick white fog quickly emerged from out of Kurama and engulfed the half breed completely. Brimstone paused for a few moments and remembered this. This had occurred the first time he encountered Kurama back on Earth, the same night Pharaohmon achieved his true form.

"Yes... You're finally doing it, Kurama. This is exactly what I've wanted," Brimstone muttered under his breath. "Yoko Kurama, present yourself to me at your full glory. I need to be graced by the presence of the legendary bandit!"

"Then, you shall be graced by my presence, fire demon," the soft yet slightly cold voice of Yoko spoke out from out of the smoke cloud. "For I, Yoko, have returned to the living realm."

Once the smoke cloud cleared, a long silver-haired figure with delicate pale skin and garbed in wavy, white cloth emerged. A pair of fox ears moved about above his head and his yellow-golden eyes gave an eerie yet a piercing stare directly at Brimstone. A smile crossed Brimstone's face as he once again became graced by the Legendary Bandit's presence.

"I have come as you wished, Brimstone. So, how about we make this quick?" Yoko Kurama stated while maintaining his glare directly at Brimstone.

"Yes, and I'd like to thank you. I am fortunate enough to have called you forth," Brimstone stepped out in a battle stance and sheathed his flame sword. "Now, I can show my full strength against you, legendary bandit."

"Rest assured, you will be regretting those words."

From out of the small digimon crowd, Hiei walked out to watch the stare down ensue between Yoko and Brimstone. Finally, he had caught a glimpse of Yoko Kurama for a second time.

"Once again, you have revealed yourself, spirit fox. I know you will show this fool what you are capable of. Unlike Kurama, you do not let emotions hinder your actions. This won't last much longer with Brimstone's heat barrier weakened. Though, I'll be honest... This is the way you should be, Kurama. If what Brimstone says is true about us four able to improve our skills, then I for one look forward to what the future lies for me. Yes, that will be plenty of time for me to perfect my Black Dragon technique..."

Looking down at his bandaged arm, Hiei tightly clenched his fist and snorted.

"I look forward to it, indeed..."

The fire apparition turned his attention back to the showdown at hand and watched for one of the two to make their next move. Yes, it would only be a short time before the final meeting will be decided. Hiei was confident that Yoko would indeed come out on top, but there was no telling how Brimstone would try to prove him wrong.

-

---

Main Chamber at Hohou Temple

Back inside the Hohou Temple, the situation had become better for the Sailor Senshi and their allies. Having recovered from Belial Myotismon's nightmares, the girls implemented a heavy strike on the Demon Lord. Then, there was Kyodaidramon and Espritdramon fighting off Puppetmon's posse. Dimitro, Sam and Vega have regained their spirits but felt no need to evolve with the arrival of an unexpected guest... the Dra-Warrior leader himself, Imperialdramon!

Belial Myotismon was shocked by this sudden intrusion and watched Imperialdramon descending through the torn down temple roof. The Sailor Senshi and their allies looked on and were awe struck by the massive size of the dragon digimon.

"Wow, so that's Imperialdramon?" Sailor Pluto asked.

"That's right. The dragon you see before you is our majestic leader," nodded Kyodaidramon. "Imperialdramon-sama, it's good to see that you've found us!"

"Well, Belial Myotismon sure doesn't like the company," Sailor Venus pointed towards a shocked Demon Lord.

"Of course not... For you see, it was Belial Myotismon who killed our previous leader before," Espritdramon replied. "Now, he's come back to avenge AlForce Veedramon and transport us to the arena to stop Pharaohmon."

"Yep, that sounds like a plan to me," Sailor Jupiter agreed.

As Imperialdramon descended down further, Belial Myotismon trembled out of anger and directed a fierce glare at the dragon. Puppetmon and Fuugamon watched on from a corner. No doubt they were going to stay out of this affair. Imperialdramon's eyes dimmed once he turned towards Belial Myotismon.

"Humph, so you had to show up, didn't you?" Belial Myotismon grunted angrily. "How dare you intrude in my temple! This is none of your concern, Imperialdramon! Now run along before I take care of you myself!"

"Belial Myotismon, you are just as foolish as ever," Imperialdramon answered back under a thunderous roar. "My friends and fellow Dra-Warriors, I see you guys have managed to handle yourselves quite well."

"Yes, my lord!" Kyodaidramon responded. "Puppetmon and his boys weren't that big of a deal, but Belial here trapped the girls in one of his nightmare illusions."

"That's for sure! How rude of him to probe our dreams like that! The nerve of him!" Sailor Venus scoffed.

"Imperialdramon, I take it you're familiar with this guy?" Sailor Mars approached the dragon.

"Yes, he's an enemy of mine and a killer of my previous master, AlForce Veedramon. He had used the same nightmare illusion to ensnare him and seal him into a dark abyss for all eternity," Imperialdramon replied.

"It's a good thing you pulled us out of there, Cammy," Sailor Saturn said to the Digital Priestess.

"No problem," Cammy smiled and looked over to Imperialdramon. "May I suggest we finish this quickly and move on ahead to the temple? You do understand we have important business, Imperialdramon."

"Yes, my priestess, anything to make sure I never glare at that disgusting face on this demon again."

"Ha! What makes you fools think you will ever escape this temple? These are my grounds! No one has any right to leave without my say-so!" Belial Myotismon roared out. "I will never let the Priestess and that sword leave!"

"First of all, this isn't your temple, pal," Sailor Mars retorted at the Demon Lord. "Second, you're not going to stop us because we outnumber you and there's nothing you can do to do us with Imperialdramon here. So I'd suggest you shut up and back off!"

"Whoa, that girl sure has guts, doesn't she?" Sam whispered.

"Well, naturally an angry woman is much a force to be reckoned with. Even Demon Lords are forced to bow and give into their demands," Dimitro explained.

"Or maybe not, because he's coming our way!" Dimitro pointed out.

Belial Myotismon took advantage of the situation and aimed to attack the group head on. Imperialdramon was quick to stop him by slamming himself against the Demon Lord and pinning him into a wall with one clawed hand. Belial Myotismon seethed as he struggled to break free out of Imperialdramon's massive grip.

"CURSE YOU, IMPERIALDRAMON! LET ME GO!" Belial Myotismon roared out of pure rage and thrashed about.

"Never! I'm here to avenge AlForce Veedramon and I'm not going to let a scumbag like you get away with sealing anymore victims into your dark abyss! You couldn't bend the will of these female heroes and the Digital Priestess made sure you paid dearly for screwing with the dreams of others!"

"Ha! Don't make me laugh! I did AlForce Veedramon a favor by getting rid of him! He wanted to leave this unfortunate world!" Belial Myotismon taunted the great dragon. "...Don't you agree, Imperialdramon?"

Having heard enough about his master being disgraced by Belial Myotismon's poisonous words, he pushed the Demon Lord tighter against the wall and reacted completely out of pure anger. He wanted nothing more than to rip Belial Myotismon in half and leave him for dead. It was then that Kyodaidramon and Espritdramon stepped up to hold their leader back.

"Don't waste your strength on this piece of trash, Imperialdramon-sama," Kyodaidramon said to the Dra-Warrior leader.

"He's not worth our time anymore. We must get back and focus on ridding ourselves of Pharaohmon," Espritdramon stated.

"I agree. The Sailor Senshi have already managed to shatter Belial Myotismon's spirit when they retaliated against him," Cammy spoke up. "Even Belial Myotismon knows he can't hope to stop all of us together. Right, Senshi?"

"That's right, Cammy-chan," Sailor Mercury nodded. "We must get back to the arena and hope we can find..."

"Uranus and Neptune, they're still waiting for us," Sailor Pluto stated. "We must hurry on back."

"To once and for all defeat Pharaohmon," Sailor Jupiter clenched her fists and shuddered at the name of the dark lord sorcerer.

"It'll be great to at last end that demon's reign for good! If only that bastard was in my nightmare, I would have torn him apart!" Sailor Mars smashed her right fist against her left palm.

As soon as she said this, Sailor Pluto took careful note of the sudden change in Mars' voice and wondered about the nightmare she had. Not just her voice but her choice of wording. It seemed Belial Myotismon had somehow revealed something in the Fire Senshi's mind that she has caused to act a little more aggressively than she already has before. She and everyone else then directed their full attention back on Belial Myotismon.

Belial Myotismon chuckled to himself and glared directly at Eternal Sailor Mars with a malevolent grin. The raven-haired Senshi wondered why he was glaring directly at her.

"So, you're still a little down because of the nightmare I opened in your mind? Don't worry, your time will come and that nightmare will eventually become a reality..."

"Hum? Hey, Mars, what is he talking about?" Sailor Venus asked.

"What kind of nightmare illusion did he show you? Whatever it is, don't believe a word he says," Sailor Jupiter said to her fellow Senshi.

"Bah, me fall for his dumb illusions? Not in his life time. I'm better than that, Belial Myotismon! Nice try with that illusion!"

"Don't deny it, woman. You can't run away from your destiny..."

"Ok, now I'm getting curious here. What destiny is he talking about?" Vega wondered.

"There's something you're not telling us, Mars. What did he show you?" Sailor Saturn asked her fellow Senshi. "We're here. You can tell us..."

"It's nothing really, you guys. Whatever he's saying, don't believe a thing he says because he's so full of crock," Sailor Mars growled under her breath. "Belial Myotismon, stop spreading your lies!"

Even Imperialdramon and the Dra-Warriors were taking notice of this sudden change in Mars' demeanor. Belial Myotismon had to urge to continually antagonize the Sailor even further, but Imperialdramon had heard enough of this and stepped out in front of the Demon Lord.

"I don't think so, Belial Myotismon! You're dealing with me!" Imperialdramon exclaimed. "Since you continue to stall us, I'm going to make sure to end this quick!"

"Ha and how? The last time you challenged my strength, you were a Paildramon and even then you digivolved into dragon mode. You couldn't defeat me!"

"Who even said I remained in this dragon form for that long? I've found a way to reach my alternate form..."

"No, you don't mean..."

"That's right! You're in for a rude awakening, Belial Myotismon! IMPERIALDRAMON! MODE CHANGE!"

"OH NO! NOT THAT!" Belial Myotismon screamed out in horror as he backed away.

"No way! He's going to do it!" Kyodaidramon exclaimed. "Espritdramon! He's going for his alternate form!"

"I know and Belial Myotismon is sure going to get it!" the fellow Dra-Warrior nodded in reply. "Hey, fang boy, all I can say is... Well, you brought this on yourself."

The whole group watched in astonishment as Imperialdramon underwent his alternate transformation into his warrior form. His body emitted a golden, aura of light and then he suddenly grew up to at least near 85 feet tall and was tall enough to stand through the destroyed roof. His giant feet had three enormous, golden claws protruding through them. Bits of black armor covered his arms, legs and torso. Golden knee points appeared with his hips appearing to be white in coloration. Imperialdramon's old helmet had now become a chest-plate on the mega. His shoulders were lined with golden spikes and rims. His wings were still crimson and widespread across his back. On his arms and hands was muscular blue skin, with golden claws protruding out of black gauntlets on his forearms. His new helmet appeared to be humanoid in appearance and smaller in size. A golden band wrapped around his head with three golden spikes protruding at each side. The center spike was the largest. The cannon once adorned on his back was on top of his right gauntlet.

"FIGHTER MODE!"

(Imperialdramon Fighter Mode. Mega-Level. Ancient Dragon Man Digimon. Special Attacks: Giga Death and Positron Laser)

The group was in complete astonishment. However, Kyodaidramon and Espritdramon were proud to see their leader ready to kick butt and demonstrate this great power.

"Um, I think we should be getting out of here. Huh, Fuugamon?" Puppetmon suggested to the dimwit.

"Um, yeah! Let's boogie!" Fuugamon exclaimed and ran out through the destroyed back door.

"Wait for me! You can't leave me behind!" Puppetmon called out for Fuugamon and gave chase to the ogre.

"Well, those two were wise to have run off like that," Artemis sighed with an anime sweat drop.

Just then, the white cat noticed a shiny object around Labramon's foot. He quirked an eyebrow and walked over to investigate. At first, it appeared to be a bracelet but it was actually the same ring that Fuugamon placed on the canine earlier.

"Hmmm, I wonder. Could this thing be the reason why Labramon is still in this hypnosis state?" Artemis wondered.

He then looked up at the towering Imperialdramon and watched sunlight reflecting off his armor. The sunlight was then dimming down on the shiny ring around Labramon's foot. This was how Artemis was able to notice the ring.

"Ah, so that's it then!" Artemis nodded and snuck over to take the ring off Labramon. "Eh, I'll wait until those guys take care of Belial Myotismon first. This looks like it's not going to last much longer."

Belial Myotismon looked at around his adversaries, including the towering Imperialdramon Fighter Mode. The Sailor Senshi, the Dra-Warrior duo, the Digital Priestess and the three male teens faced down the Demon Lord. If he tried anything, Imperialdramon would be there to take him down. There wasn't anything he can do now after what the damage the Senshi inflicted on him earlier. He would need to gather dark energy from the power source underneath the temple in order to have any hopes of fighting back.

"There's no use of you running anywhere, Belial Myotismon. Your games are over!" Imperialdramon exclaimed. "I'd suggest surrender now!"

"Me surrender to the likes of you? Don't be ridiculous! I will not die easily!" Belial Myotismon roared. "I will NOT fail Pharaohmon! Now, Priestess! You shall come and bring that sword to me!"

"You've got to be kidding me! It's over for you, Belial Myotismon," Cammy sighed. "Imperialdramon, let him have it..."

"Wait!" the voice of Sailor Mars called out.

"What? What do you think you're doing?" Kyodaidramon asked the Senshi of Mars. "There's no way we can let this guy get away with everything that he's done!"

"No, but I want to ask him of something first... Please, I ask of you, Imperialdramon," the raven-haired young woman gave a bow to the towering giant.

"As you wish..." Imperialdramon nodded in reply and stepped aside. "But if he tries anything, I won't hesitate to blow him away!"

"Do as you wish," Sailor Mars replied as she stood a few feet away from Belial Myotismon. "Belial Myotismon, I want to know... Are what the events from my nightmare destined to come true? I need to know."

"Heh... So, you really are curious to know, are you?"

"Yes, I am..."

Belial Myotismon lowered himself to look directly into Sailor Mars' eyes. Her majestic, purple eyes were riddled with mystery and question. His eyes dimmed with intense multi-colored flashes and he was sensing a small dose of darkness manifesting from within the girl's heart. Even the Demon Lord was curious to know how such darkness could be wandering in the thoughts of the Miko Priestess. He even mentioned a 'seed of darkness' waiting to be sprouted.

"Well...? I'm waiting!" Sailor Mars slightly snapped with her temper flaring up once again. "I'm running out of patience."

"As far as I'm concerned, your destiny will most likely come to pass and when it does... There's nothing either you or your wretched friends can do to stop it! Face it, Sailor Mars. You are your own worst enemy and will become an enemy to those around you!"

As soon as Belial Myotismon mentioned all of this, the group gasped and started to wonder what he meant by Mars becoming their enemy. Is what Belial Myotismon stating a sign of things to come in the future?

"Don't listen to him, Mars! You know he's lying!" Sailor Saturn exclaimed. "Then again, I was Mistress Nine... I was the enemy of the Senshi, but Mars... She's different! There's no possibility of her possessing a dark power. However, I did learn from Pluto-san that the future has many endless possibilities. Could Mars become her own enemy and eventually an enemy of ours? I have noticed a slight change in her demeanor ever since she awakened from that nightmare Belial Myotismon planted inside our minds. Whatever that monster shown her, it must have been truly a traumatizing experience."

"Mars, you mustn't listen to what that liar is saying!" Sailor Mercury called out to her friend.

"Mars, you know better than to listen to a guy like Belial Myotismon! Especially after every enemy we've gone through!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed. "You would never turn on us because you're the most loyal to the Moon Princess!"

Sailor Venus stepped out in front of Sailor Mars and started moving her back from Belial Myotismon's presence.

"Listen to us, Mars! We're your friends! That guy obviously does not know what he's talking about and you still haven't told us what you saw in your nightmare," Sailor Venus grabbed Sailor Mars' shoulders and shook the young woman to snap her out of it. "Venus to Mars! Hello!"

"You mean 'Earth to Mars', do you, Venus?" Espritdramon sighed.

"No, I really meant to say Venus," the blonde-haired Senshi grinned and then turned to face the Senshi of Fire. "Mars... Listen, let's just all get out of here and get back to the arena. Besides, you said yourself you wanted to see Pharaohmon meet his end, right? So, let's go back and let Cammy take care of that creep..."

"Let go, Venus..."

"But, Mars..."

"I said, let go!" Sailor Mars pushed Sailor Venus away and turned around to glare into Belial Myotismon's eyes. "So, is that going to be my fate...?"

"Perhaps, if you allow it to happen, either way, you will be your own undoing," Belial Myotismon answered as his frown twisted into a grin. "I'd advise to control your temper if you wish to suppress the great dark power..."

"Is that all...? I just need to control myself? That shouldn't be too hard. All right, Belial Myotismon, thank you for your time," Sailor Mars smirked and turned her back on him.

"Ha! You think I was just going to sit back and sink into your demands! As far as I'm concerned, you're still not leaving this temple!" Belial Myotismon launched his claws across to snatch Sailor Mars.

Spinning around, Eternal Sailor Mars gasped out and barely managed to roll to the side. Imperialdramon had seen enough of this and pointed his cannon directly at the Demon Lord.

"POSITRON LASER!"

Imperialdramon launched the powerful beam directly towards Belial Myotismon. It had enough force to catch the Demon Lord and launch him through the rock walls behind him. The screams of the evil lord echoed across the temple background until piles of rubble finally buried Belial Myotismon underneath. Imperialdramon deactivated his cannon and turned around to face the group.

"Our job here is complete," the towering mega announced to everyone. "Now, shall we get going everyone? Even in Fighter Mode, I'm still fast enough to us back to the arena in no time."

"Yes! We're so out of here!" Sailor Jupiter happily smiled.

"It'll be good to return back and check on the others," Sailor Mercury nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, like Takuya and the others," Vega nodded. "Right, boys?"

Dimitro and Sam nodded in reply to their comrade's question. There was no doubt they were anxious to see how far Takuya, Kouji and the others may have gotten into the tournament.

"Yeah! I'll be able to see 'Haruka-poppa' and 'Michiru-mama'!" Sailor Saturn happily replied.

"Cammy, are you ready to go?" Sailor Venus approached the Digital Priestess.

However, Cammy looked towards Sailor Mars' direction and walked over to her sister. She kneeled beside Mars and extended her hand out.

"Need some help up, sister?" the Digital Priestess smiled but noticed a blank glare across the Senshi's face. "Rei...?"

"Huh...? Oh, Cammy. I'm sorry," Sailor Mars apologized and took her sister's hand. "I just blacked out there for a second, but I'm just fine."

"Are you sure?"

Sailor Mars replied with a 'fake' smile and nodded, "No problem here at all. Now, we should be getting back. We've already taken care of Belial Myotismon. Next on the hit list is Pharaohmon. We're getting close to ending this nightmare once and for all."

Imperialdramon kneeled over to put his hands out for everyone. Kyodaidramon, Espritdramon, Vega, Sam and Dimitro were the first ones to hitch a ride on Imperialdramon's left hand. The only ones left to be picked up were the Sailor Senshi, Cammy, Labramon and Artemis.

"Hey, guys! I finally figured out what's wrong with Labramon!" Artemis called out to everyone.

"What is it? We've been wondering what the problem with him was. So, you finally figured out the problem, Artemis?" asked Kyodaidramon. "Well, I'll be a digimon monkey's uncle!"

"If anyone ever told you that a cat managed to found a solution to a problem, would anyone believe you?" Espritdramon teased his Dra-Warrior partner.

"Ah, can it. If anything they'll believe me if it was a Gatomon, but not a talking earth cat," Kyodaidramon nodded and sighed.

"It's this ring around his foot," Artemis pointed down at Labramon's foot. "Now, if I can just remove it."

"Allow me to do it," Cammy kneeled over and pulled the ring off of Labramon's toe. "There, good as new."

Finally, the digital puppy had snapped out of it and looked around the temple. It had now just dawned on him that it was a complete mess. He had missed all of the action!

"What just happened here? How did I get here?" Labramon looked around the temple room. "Um, guys? How long was I out for?"

"Don't worry. We'll explain everything along the way," Cammy smiled to Labramon.

"ACK! WHO ARE YOU!" Labramon jumped back in surprise and pointed at Cammy. "Wait, you're that little girl... The Digital Priestess... Um, my, how you've grown! I guess all those milk and vitamins did wonders for you, huh?"

Upon hearing this comment, Cammy couldn't help but giggle. Soon, everyone else was sharing a laugh. Labramon felt rather embarrassed for his comments and backed away with a shade of red covering his face. Everyone else hopped aboard on Imperialdramon's right hand. The tall, bipedal Dra-Warrior flapped the wings on his back and lifted himself off the ground. Imperialdramon swiftly flew up into mid-air and looked down upon the temple.

"AlForce Veedramon, that one was for you, my friend," Imperialdramon gave a prayer to his former master and quickly took off into the distance. "Now listen up, my friends. I have a little side story to tell you about AlForce Veedramon."

"Do tell, my lord," Kyodaidramon was anxious to hear from the Dra-Warrior leader.

"All right, while AlForce Veedramon was dying, he sent a message to Lord Granasmon to save me from the same fate that was going to happen with him. Just as Belial Myotismon was preparing to finish me off, it was Lord Granasmon who teleported me out of harm's way!"

"Wow, is this true, Imperialdramon-sama?" Espritdramon gasped in shock behind the revelation.

"That's incredible, Imperialdramon!" Sailor Mercury found herself fascinated with the Dra-Warrior leader's story.

"This Granasmon sounds like one powerful guy," Vega said.

"Well of course, there's no doubt about that, Vega," Sailor Saturn responded. "It'd be awesome to actually meet him."

"That it would, Saturn," Sailor Pluto agreed.

"Granasmon and Valmarmon? To think there are actually Gods in another world," Sailor Mars whispered to herself. "Even the digimon worship their good and evil gods. Humans and digimon can be similar in so many ways."

The groups aboard on both hands looked across the skies and were astonished by the beauty of the landscape below them. The fresh air blew against each of their faces. Sailor Venus stood out and allowed wind to blow against her face.

"Ahhh, fresh air at last!" Sailor Venus exclaimed. "Now, that's more like it!"

"Isn't it just beautiful, Vega?" Sailor Mercury asked Vega from the other side.

"Not as beautiful as you, Ami!" Vega called out to the blue-haired girl.

"Oh my..." Mercury slightly blushed at Vega's comment. "Oh, thanks for the compliment..."

"Aw, come on, Ami. Even I, the Goddess of Love, can tell you're falling for him," Sailor Venus poked Mercury's side.

"Is that red blush I'm seeing on your face, Mercury?" Sailor Jupiter giggled and wrapped an arm around Sailor Mercury.

"Umm, well..."

"Oh, Mercury-san," Sailor Saturn smiled and sat down next to the green-haired Guardian of Time. "Pluto, are you all right?"

"Yes, but it's about Sailor Mars. She's been acting rather strangely ever since she awoke from Belial Myotismon's nightmare. You've noticed that, too? Her behavior and demeanor showed a little more aggression than she can put forth."

"I think most of us have noticed that. So, you think it's true of what Belial Myotismon is saying?" Sailor Saturn asked the Guardian of Time.

"I don't know. Even predicting Mars' fate is rather difficult even for me..."

"What...?"

"Belial Myotismon stated that she could end up becoming her own worst enemy and perhaps our greatest enemy if we are not careful. We must insure to keep Mars' emotions in check."

"But, this is Sailor Mars we're talking about. She can easily manage to control her emotions. She's a Priestess..."

"Yes, but even we have to realize that her temper flares up during powerful, emotional experiences. Her rage can be too unpredictable considering she is the Senshi of the Mars and the Goddess of the Flames. Even if she can control her emotions now, there will come a time when all emotions will shatter and she will lose control of herself. Perhaps even her own humanity. There are endless possibilities to her fate and she alone must choose the right path."

"Pluto, I hate to say this but I think I'm starting to grow weary of her. I don't mean that to be hurtful and I love Rei-san as much as the other Senshi. However, if what Belial Myotismon says is true, then we must keep an eye on her."

"That's correct and we must make sure she doesn't do anything drastic once we arrive at the arena," Sailor Pluto nodded to the Senshi of Destruction.

"You know even I feel bad for her. I mean she wasn't the only one who has had to undergo those horrible nightmares," Sailor Saturn said while brushing her hair from her face. "However, I have to wonder how traumatizing it could have been for her. She looked like she took it much worse than the rest of us."

"She has yet to tell us anything, but I will look into this and investigate further when the whole Pharaohmon fiasco is dealt with."

"In the meantime, we'll all keep an eye on Mars."

"Agreed," Sailor Pluto nodded in reply.

Looking across from where she was sitting, she watched Cammy with Artemis in her lap. The Digital Priestess was sharing a conversation with her sister, who had become the big topic of the hour since the departure. The Senshi of Mars took notice of Sailor Pluto glancing towards her and had a questionable look on her face.

"Is there something wrong, Pluto-san?"

"Nothing, Sailor Mars, I was simply thinking. You go ahead and carry on your conversation with your sister, dear," Sailor Pluto smiled.

"Ok, then," Mars shrugged her shoulders and carried on her conversation with her sister.

"Sailor Mars... Could Belial Myotismon be telling the truth? Will you eventually allow the darkness in your heart to consume you? Will you become an enemy to yourself and your fellow Senshi? I refuse to believe so, but even the future has so many endless possibilities. As the Guardian of Time, I have learned that the hard way. May you choose the right path in life, Sailor Mars. We have a destiny to carry out and a Princess to protect. Do not let this seed of darkness blossom. We're here to help whenever you need us."

As those thoughts ran about Pluto's mind, Imperialdramon continued his trek across the skies and made it past through the forest. He would now fly across the desert and the Great Phoenixmon Mountain Range. At this rate, it will take them at least another thirty minutes before they can actually make it to the arena, but Imperialdramon is notorious for never being tardy. He will transport the group there on time before the finals can even start for the battle match tournament.

Meanwhile, back at the rubble of the Hohou Temple, a hooded figure walked over towards the rubble of the near devastated temple and raised his hand over the rubble. His outfit adorned a Pentagram and a Black Dragon crossed through it. His hood and cloak were entirely black. On his back were crimson red marks and yet another Pentagram, only this one was much larger. The being felt a slight 'heart beat' from underneath the rubble and chuckled.

"Good, you're still alive, Belial Myotismon. Yes, I can't afford to lose you," the hooded figure's eyes dimmed with a mystic, golden aura. "I will need your help in the grand scheme of everything I plan to set forth in due time. Granasmon and Valmarmon... They have no idea of what I have in store for their enemies... Hehehe..."

The hooded figure stood over the rubble and shot a dark energy wave over the area where Belial Myotismon was buried. The Demon Lord himself felt the dark energy entering his body and rejuvenating him in the process. Pushing the heavy rubble off, Belial Myotismon rose out and looked down at the hooded figure.

"So, you've come..." Belial Myotismon grunted while stepping out. "It's about time. The riff raff have already captured the sword and the Digital Priestess has been set free."

"I can see that, Belial Myotismon, but don't think you've failed. Let those fools go with the sword. Pharaohmon will eventually meet his demise. It's all going according to plan and the prophecy as we speak..."

"So you mentioned, but you never did tell me you really are..."

"That is of no concern of yours, Belial Myotismon. In due time, the prophecy of my reemergence will be realized! The Gods of the Light and the Dark will not see what I have in store for the End of Days."

"You mentioned this End of Days?"

"So, did you tell that girl about her destiny in the nightmare you projected into her mind?"

"Yes and it seems she may have just believed it."

"Good, now we'll see her spirit break down. For when she realizes her destiny, the next part of my prophecy will be fulfilled..."

The hooded figure started laughing out for all within the forest to hear. Even Belial Myotismon, the mightiest amongst the Demon Lord digimon, was slightly frightened by this mysterious being's presence. Just who was this individual and what sort of plan does he have in this specific End of Days? What kind of prophecy is he referring to? Only time will tell, but how soon? No one can be too sure... All of this is too eerie to figure out. However, it appeared that this hooded figure was counting on Pharaohmon to meet his demise according to a prophecy given to him. Will it actually be fulfilled?

-

---

Phoenix Arena/Battle and Duel Matches

Meanwhile, back at the tournament arena, the action in the dual battle matches was getting intense. The crowds were erupting for the competitive nature of the four combatants. Yes, even Pharaohmon was showing that he too can be serious when entering a battle.

In Arena A, Youkai Inumon had slashed across Pharaohmon's hide with his double swords. The dark lord howled in pain from the devastating blow of Youkai Inumon's attack. Pharaohmon retaliated by throwing out a right punch, which sent a projectile across. Youkai Inumon held his swords crossed in front of him to block the impact shot. Unfortunately, the force of the attack was much too overwhelming for even Youkai Inumon. He flipped down onto his feet and held his side.

"Pharaohmon unleashes an attack and catches Inumon off guard! Could this be the deciding factor in the match transpiring in Arena A?" Lillymon announced during the course of the match. "Meanwhile, Gallantmon and Sakuyamon have been presenting us quite a display of competitive spirit! Sakuyamon has shown she can be quick on her feet, but Gallantmon has managed to hold his own with a variety of his stronger, physical attacks! I'm enjoying every minute and I hope everyone in the arena is sharing that same sentiment!"

Youkai Inumon slowly rose to his feet and stepped into another battle stance. The gigantic demon lumbered towards Youkai Inumon and raised his hand across. As Pharaohmon slammed against the ground, the demon's fist penetrated through and destroyed nearly half of the entire ring itself! Incredible strength! Youkai Inumon jumped away just in time and swiftly landed on his feet.

"Nice dodge there, Inumon, but you won't escape for long!" Pharaohmon exclaimed.

"I'm not through yet, Pharaohmon! You will see... I will avenge Lord Anubimon!"

"Is that so? Heh, it's too bad that I forgot to point out that you were once a feral demon canine with no remorse for anyone but yourself. Like all many demons, you were once selfish and filled with bloodlust!"

"That was all in the past! I'm no longer like that! I'm a loyal soldier that served Lord Anubimon and protector of my Tamer partner, Himura Tsubasa!"

"I guess you forgot that you had already gone feral a while ago against Basilikmon, did you? Yes, you even showed enough bloodlust to attack the audience with your forbidden Dark Flame Hound! Do I really have to jog your memory?"

"No, because I refuse to recall that traumatic event! You're only doing this to shatter my concentration and it's not working! I intend to kill you myself and avenge Lord Anubimon!"

"Humph, you're a blind fool as always, Inumon. Even after watching your own friend die, you continue to show your loyalty to that weakling. He could have been much stronger if he had accepted to will of Valmarmon!"

"No! Anubimon would never serve such a vile monster like Valmarmon! He chose to side with Granasmon, because he is the rightful God to restore order to the Digital Worlds!"

"More mindless preaching from Anubimon, I assume? Very well then, continue this blind loyalty to a dead man. As far as I'm concerned, YOU are just as weak as Anubimon was! Now, prepare to meet him in the after life!" Pharaohmon roared out and threw a fist across. "NECRO FIST!"

Youkai Inumon leaped over and quickly ran up across Pharaohmon's arm. He used one of his swords and speared it through Pharaohmon's forehead. The demonic force of nature ripped the sword out of his forehead and blew Youkai Inumon away with a powerful demonic aura surrounding him. The demon canine landed back on his feet and struggled to hold himself into place.

"Now, Youkai Inumon, how about I make this even more amusing to showing you thirty percent of my maximum? Naturally, this should be more than enough for you because I doubt you can handle me any higher than that! Now, behold the power that Valmarmon has bestowed upon me! RAGH!"

Suddenly, Pharaohmon tensed his body up and became engulfed by a dark, red demonic aura. The dark canine managed to feel out the demon's overwhelming Youki and jumped back from getting caught by the deadly aura. Pharaohmon screamed out once his body increased in mass and the muscles on his body bulged up. The audiences were once again in awe at the transforming demonic beast.

"Oh my... And I thought we would never see this, but Pharaohmon is increasing his strength! I could have sworn I overheard him saying thirty percent! Oh great, I just hope Inumon knows what he's doing, because only Anubimon has managed to challenge Pharaohmon at this strength!"

Youkai Inumon backed away and gasped in shock while sensing Pharaohmon's overwhelming power. It was a demonic power he had never felt before and unlike any other. However, he was not going to let Pharaohmon intimidate him. He was going to avenge Anubimon's death and there was going to be no stopping him.

"I don't care if you even reach fifty, or even one hundred percent; I'm still taking you apart!" Youkai Inumon exclaimed directly at the demonic villain.

"Humph," Pharaohmon grunted intensely as his body continued to increase.

The power/body increase of Pharaohmon stopped exactly at thirty percent. His shoulders and chest were massively enlarged and his body outlined with dark, red energy. Pharaohmon stood with a smile on his face and completely ready to continue his bout with Youkai Inumon. The dark canine did not want to admit it but he is slightly afraid of what Pharaohmon will do to him now.

In Arena B, both Sakuyamon and Gallantmon halted their battle. They gazed upon the powered-up presence of Pharaohmon. Now Sakuyamon was starting to once again worry for Inumon.

"Inumon..." Sakuyamon muttered under her breath.

"Sakuyamon, we should continue our fight..."

"I can't concentrate without worrying about that mongrel. He's going to get himself killed if he's not careful, Gallantmon!"

"It'll be all right, Sakuyamon. Trust me on this one. Inumon will make it through. Pharaohmon would rather want Inumon to continue suffering and grief over Anubimon's loss. He could kill Inumon but he wants Inumon to suffer. You and I both know he's the type of guy to let a broken-hearted individual suffer in agony."

"I suppose you're right, but even if Inumon survives, Pharaohmon will advance to the next round."

"If that's the case, then I really hope it comes down to me and him. I think I'm capable of taking Pharaohmon. According to Anubimon, I have the power to compete with Pharaohmon."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, he told me so himself."

"Okay, but you still have me to deal with, Gallantmon. I hope you realize that," Sakuyamon pointed to the Royal Knight. "Don't think I'm going to let you off that easily!"

"Heh, I knew you would say that!" Gallantmon replied.

"So, how about we finish this off?" Sakuyamon crossed her arms in front of her. "Gallantmon, you made a mistake to underestimate ME of all digimon! Sakuyamon! MODE CHANGE!"

"Oh and here we go! Sakuyamon is going to demonstrate her Mode Change! We saw her use this form against Kuzuhamon in the earlier round! Now she prepares to finish Gallantmon off with this new mode of hers! Can Gallantmon find a way to counteract this?"

Gallantmon stood back and watched Sakuyamon transform into her alternate Mode Change form.

"Priestess Mode!"

"Oh, boy, Gallantmon, you had better do something quick!" Takato called out to his partner.

"I'm afraid there's nothing he can do to stop her, goggle head," Rika smirked. "Since you managed to beat me, I'll watch as Sakuyamon wipes the floor with your knight in her Priestess Mode."

"Well, either way, this one is going to be good," Omegamon nodded in reply.

"Go, Sakuyamon! Win one for the Amazons!" Athenamon cheered for the Priestess digimon.

"Well, you sure are getting into this. Aren't my lady?"

"What of it, Omegamon? I want to see a lady advance to the semi-finals! Go, Sakuyamon!"

However, Himura remained rather quiet during this whole tirade and kept his eye on Youkai Inumon.

"Himura? It'll be all right. I'm sure Inumon will pull through this," Seadramon reassured the boy.

"I hope you're right, Seadramon."

Back inside Arena B, Sakuyamon stepped out of the light in her Priestess Mode. She directly pointed her staff to Gallantmon and gave a silent incantation.

"Sakuyamon... I... You're quite beautiful in your Priestess Mode," Gallantmon politely said while stepping back. "Nonetheless, I'm still going to win this!"

"Let's see you give it a try, knight," Sakuyamon waved her hand over to Gallantmon. "Come on!"

Gallantmon charged ahead with his sword and shield in both hands. He let out a loud battle cry with eyes filled with determination. As he approached closer, Sakuyamon suddenly levitated off the guard and caught the Royal Knight off guard. Sakuyamon landed behind Gallantmon and slammed her staff against his back. The Royal Knight staggered back from her blow and yelled out in pain. Sakuyamon swiftly lifted her right foot and kicked Gallantmon in the face. He falls down face-first and struggled to sit up. However, Sakuyamon would have none of this and slammed her staff against his back. Once again, Gallantmon took the blow and yelped out. Even his protective armor couldn't help fully protect him against Sakuyamon's staff.

"Now, Gallantmon is on the receiving end of a butt whooping by Sakuyamon! Just how will Gallantmon find his way through this? Meanwhile, Pharaohmon is giving Youkai Inumon more trouble than he is worth!"

Back inside Arena A, Pharaohmon quickly slid across the ring and threw out a fist. Youkai Inumon managed to dodge to the side and allow Pharaohmon to destroy another portion of the ring with his fist. The dark canine channeled energy through his sword and unleashed a powerful destructive blast directly for Pharaohmon. The demonic beast stopped and caught the blast with one hand. Youkai Inumon couldn't believe at what had just occurred and jumped back. Pharaohmon caught one of Inumon's attacks with just one hand! Then again, this was no surprise considering how Pharaohmon has reached thirty percent of his strength.

"Ha! Your attacks are pitiful, Inumon! I thought you'd be the one to provide me the challenge I've been seeking! Even by channeling your hatred and anger, it's still not enough to pierce through my powered body!" Pharaohmon bellowed out. "If you aren't the one worthy of facing me, then you had better tell me who is!"

"I am... I'm worthy of defeating you, demon!" Youkai Inumon exclaimed.

"Quit deluding yourself, Inumon. It's downright sad if you ask me," Pharaohmon sighed as he pointed a fist directly towards the dark canine. "Present me somebody worthy of facing me in my top strength or I'll crush you!"

"No, because I am the worthy one to face you! Crush me all you want but you will never destroy my spirit!" Youkai Inumon cried out.

"Humph, very well then," Pharaohmon grunted and phased out of sight.

Before Youkai Inumon could even react, an after image of Pharaohmon instantly appeared in front of him and snatched him up by his neck. Youkai Inumon struggled and found himself at the mercy of Pharaohmon. The demon held Youkai Inumon up with the use of one hand and brought him close to his face.

"Youkai Inumon, just give it up. You will never be a match for me! You can no longer summon your Black Flame Hound and need time to recover in order to regain your dark flames. Without it, you cannot inflict any damage on me. You just wasted it on Basilikmon rather than use it on a more worthy opponent, such as myself! Oh well, it's not my problem. This is your own fault!"

"I... I never knew I... would end up facing you, you... bastard..." Youkai Inumon muttered as he was being choked by the demon's tight grip. "I hate to admit this... But even I can't beat this guy... I wasted my Dark Flame Hound on Basilikmon. Plus, I need at least two days to recover and regain my flames. I could have used it on Pharaohmon, but what good could that have done? It's hard to believe that this is thirty percent of his strength... If only I had Anubimon's strength right now... Perhaps I am not the one destined to defeat this monster... However, there's always..."

"Well, Youkai Inumon, it's been fun but it's time I end this little match of ours," Pharaohmon grinned and dangled Youkai Inumon like a piece of meat. "Ready to join Anubimon, dear Inumon...?"

"You want a worthy opponent...? Well, look no further! You'll see somebody who has prepared for you under Anubimon's training... Look over to the other ring and you'll see what I mean..."

Turning his attention over to Arena B, Pharaohmon watched Gallantmon and Sakuyamon Priestess Mode engaged in combat. He felt an overwhelming power surging through the Royal Knight. This managed to catch Pharaohmon's complete interest. Gallantmon's power was definitely something rarely seen in any digimon.

"You see...? Gallantmon has a special power within him that he has kept hidden since his battle with the D-Reaper. He didn't want to use it again unless it was for something drastic. Well, you are a greater threat than the D-Reaper could ever hope to be. For you alone can conquer the two worlds and none of the Sovereigns can hope to challenge you. But, rest assured, you will meet your end! Gallantmon will make sure of that!"

"Ha, he's barely managing to fight back against Sakuyamon. What makes you think he's any sort of threat to me?"

"He's only holding back all of his power because he does not intend to hurt Sakuyamon. I trust he will win his match without harming Sakuyamon. However, if it comes down to you and him, you will be in for a rude awakening!"

"Is that so...? Well, thank you for telling me, Youkai Inumon. Now I know who I will test out my full power against. Gallantmon... I look forward to this..."

"All you have to do is win your match, Gallantmon. As much as I love Renamon, she doesn't have the power to seal Pharaohmon's fate. It all comes down to Gallantmon."

"Anyway, Inumon, since you have told me this, I have no more use of you!" Pharaohmon roared out and dropped Youkai Inumon to the ground.

The dark canine fell to the ground and nearly landed on the back of his neck. He fell back-first against the ring concrete and could barely manage to move. Pharaohmon's overwhelming strength from his right arm was too much for even Youkai Inumon to handle.

Himura caught glimpse of his partner's fall and rushed over towards the side of the ring. He called out to Youkai Inumon to get up, but even the canine could not summon anymore strength to sit up. Most of his energy had already been used in his bout with Basilikmon earlier. Inumon never did take into account that he could end up battling Pharaohmon in a match.

"Inumon! Come on, buddy! Get up! Do this for Anubimon!" Himura reminded his digimon partner. "This monster killed Anubimon!"

"No, Himura..." Youkai Inumon muttered as his eyes met his partner's. "I'm... not strong enough... I had summoned all... the strength I could muster... It wasn't enough..."

"What?"

"I used up... all of my energy... to defeat Basilikmon. It wasn't... enough to defeat... Pharaohmon... However, if there's anyone who... can avenge Lord Anubimon... it all comes... down to Gallantmon."

"Gallantmon, are you sure?"

"Yes... It was Lord Anubimon... who gave Gallantmon... the special training..."

"Is that true? If Gallantmon has the power to defeat Pharaohmon, then he has to get past Sakuyamon in order to do so. In any case, he's already having trouble with Sakuyamon as we speak!"

"No... It won't last for long... You have yet to see Gallantmon's special power..."

"He has a special power...?"

"It was the power he used when battling the D-Reaper."

"Wait, you mean..."

"Yes..." Youkai Inumon smiled as he turned towards Arena B.

Meanwhile, Etemon had already been counting down Youkai Inumon. He was down to eight but it didn't matter to Youkai Inumon. He was now confident that a digimon such as Gallantmon has the power to rival Pharaohmon, perhaps even at his top strength. Pharaohmon maintained a careful watch at Gallantmon's performance and took Inumon's word for it. Could Gallantmon wield the power to rival Pharaohmon?

Inside Arena B, Sakuyamon Priestess Mode had already managed to overwhelm Gallantmon with numerous strikes of her staff and unleashed an array of holy wards to keep the Royal Knight at bay. Gallantmon retaliated by protecting himself with his shield. However, what Sakuyamon failed to realize was that Gallantmon was holding back his power. Now, it would be a good time to use it.

"What's the matter, Gallantmon? Are you afraid to fight back? Perhaps surrender is your only option?"

"Sakuyamon, we are friends, but I'll never surrender to the likes of you! In case you've forgotten, I, too can mode change!" Gallantmon called out.

"No, but I thought..."

"I never wanted to use it again unless I had to. But, I still have the power of Grani within me! Now watch as I take it to the next level!" Gallantmon announced and became engulfed by a crimson aura. "Gallantmon! MODE CHANGE!"

"And here I thought we'd seen every Mode Change! First, Sakuyamon became Priestess Mode, but now we're getting a glimpse of Gallantmon about to perform his own Mode Change! Just what could he be planning to change into?"

Everyone, including Takato, was watching on with awe. The goggle head knew exactly what Gallantmon was going to do with a proud smile across his face.

"So, we're going to get a glimpse of Guilmon in his strongest form?" Omegamon asked the boy.

"That's right, Omegamon! Here's Gallantmon in his Crimson form!" Takato replied. "Well, Rika...? Anything to say?"

Even Rika was speechless. She didn't want to admit it but Sakuyamon Priestess Mode simply cannot hope to defeat Gallantmon in his Crimson Mode now.

"Aw, c'mon, goggle head! You know that even dinoboy's armor change won't help any!" Rika scoffed. "C'mon, Sakuyamon. This is our chance to reach the semi-finals at least!"

Pharaohmon watched in anticipation for Gallantmon's Mode Change and was seemingly impressed. Himura had now caught a glimpse of Gallantmon's most powerful form for the first time since he was absent during the whole D-Reaper fiasco.

Once the crimson light dimmed and worn off, the new form of Gallantmon emerged from out of the light. Sakuyamon watched the Mode Changed digimon and slightly took a step back. Red armor plates started to form across his body. First his legs, then his arms, then his chest and finally his face helmet. The cape flowing on his back was gone and replaced by a set of ten wings on his back. His armor plates were red with yellow trims around the sides and a blue emerald in the center. His entire body was covered with the same color pigmentation as his shoulder pads: red, blue and yellow. Hints of grey armor decorated parts of his body. His face helmet retained some facial features from Gallantmon, but there were a pair of red wings at each side of his face. On his chest was grey armor with the mark of the 'Hazard' on it. In his hand was a white sword that glittered with a brilliant, holy aura.

"CRIMSON MODE!"

"Crimson Mode! Yes, I've heard about this guy!" Lillymon announced. "This is the same digimon who participated in the final battle against the D-Reaper! We owe all of our thanks to him and the Tamers to bringing about that nasty thing before our Digital World would have surely been laid to waste! Since then, our world has recovered and digimon have started flourishing again! Now, we get to see him prove his mettle in his bout with Sakuyamon!"

(Gallantmon Crimson Mode. Mega-Level. Holy Knight Digimon. Special Attacks: Invincible Sword & Final Justice)

"Well, are you impressed, Omegamon?" Takato asked the Royal Knight.

"Why... Yes, this is truly an honor. He's as powerful as I hoped," Omegamon nodded in reply. "I really should have recruited him in the first place."

"Well, Omegamon, I'm sorry to tell you this but Sakuyamon will still beat your new hero," Athenamon stated promptly.

"We will see..."

Back in Arena B, Gallantmon Crimson Mode glared down at Sakuyamon Priestess Mode. The female couldn't believe that Gallantmon would take this drastic measure, but she managed to stand her ground with her staff in one hand. Crimson Gallantmon stepped forward with his sword in one hand.

"What's the matter, Sakuyamon? Weren't you going to suggest this in the first place?"

"Well, I never though you'd actually do it, Gallantmon. But, I'm not complaining. Let's see what you're made of..."

"With pleasure..."

Before he could utter another word, Gallantmon disappeared out of Sakuyamon's sight and left her completely caught off guard. The female searched her surroundings and desperately jumped away. She couldn't even tell where Gallantmon would strike next. Pharaohmon kept an eye on Gallantmon's movements and easily spotted him from behind Sakuyamon.

"Ah! He's behind you!" Rika called out to her partner.

Just as Sakuyamon turned to strike, Gallantmon easily blocked with his sword and kicked the staff right out of Sakuyamon's hands. The female backed away and then attempted to throw an array of seal Ofudas to hold Gallantmon back. The Crimson knight quickly projected an aura to disintegrate the seals. Sakuyamon quickly rolled to one side and picked up her staff. Sakuyamon charged across at Gallantmon and they immediately engaged in a clash between their respective weapons. Gallantmon's sword proved to be mightier than Sakuyamon's staff. Sakuyamon leaped overhead to dodge Gallantmon's sword and swept her staff to knock the Crimson knight off his feet. The majestic Gallantmon saw this coming through and jumped up. He came down and slammed his sword against Sakuyamon to push her back. He landed down on the ground and turned to face Sakuyamon.

The two mode changed, mega-level digimon stared each other down with determination. This lasted for at least five seconds until they both moved across against one another.

"And there they go! Perhaps this is the finishing blow they are hoping to deliver against one another!" Lillymon announced. "In case most of you haven't been paying attention, Youkai Inumon was unable to get up after the ten count. So that means Pharaohmon has advanced to the next round using only thirty percent of his power!"

Youkai Inumon did not care about his loss since he was not fighting at full power and all of that energy was expensed against Basilikmon. He watched his fellow digimon comrades delivering an attack against one another. A grin crossed Pharaohmon's face once he realized who had remained standing.

Once the double crushing blows were delivered against one another, it was finally revealed that Sakuyamon had fallen down on her knees and her staff completely broken in two. On the other side of the ring, Gallantmon remained completely intact with his sword. The Crimson knight turned around and faced the downed Sakuyamon with concern.

"Sakuyamon, I..."

"No... You've proven to be superior, even against my Priestess Mode. I put up quite a fight for you, Gallantmon, but you truly are the one who can challenge Pharaohmon. I am in no position to face Pharaohmon as am I now. It's not enough, but Crimson Mode is. As a token of my gratitude, I surrender this match to you, Gallantmon. I still have my pride though..."

"Of course, thank you, Sakuyamon," Gallantmon gave a respectful bow to his comrade and powered down from his Crimson form. "Besides, I have to reserve this power if I do manage to face Pharaohmon in the next round. For all I know, I could end up battling Kaiser Greymon or Magna Garurumon in the semi-finals."

"Good luck to you, Gallantmon," Sakuyamon got up to her feet and walked out of the ring.

"Sakuyamon...!"

The Priestess digimon walked out of Arena B and started towards Arena A. She kneeled over to the fallen Youkai Inumon and helped him to his feet. She placed an arm around the demon canine digimon and helped carry him through. Himura managed to catch up with the pair as they marched back to the entranceway.

"That ends our quarter-final rounds! We now know that Kaiser Greymon, Magna Garurumon, Gallantmon and Pharaohmon will be competing in the next round! The question remains of who will be competing against whom? Who will Pharaohmon end up facing next in the semi-final round? In fact, we still have a duel that's not even complete yet!"

Pharaohmon kept a close eye on Gallantmon and chuckled under his breath. The Royal Knight narrowed his eyes as the possibility of him facing Pharaohmon in the tournament is close to becoming a reality.

"Well done, Gallantmon. I'm glad you've made it this far. According to what Inumon told me, you are supposed to be strong enough to challenge my absolute strength? We'll just see if you can manage to pass through the semi-finals if your opponent happens to be either of the Warriors of Flame or Light. Or you could end up be facing me! The possibilities are endless!"

"Yes and I do hope I end up facing you, Pharaohmon. Your reign of terror ends, demon," Gallantmon responded coldly.

"We'll see..." Pharaohmon muttered. "We'll see what destiny lies for us."

"With our dual battle matches complete, let's take a look to the big screen monitor and wait for the duelists to complete their match! It looks like it might take a while for us to determine the winner. Remember, the winner of this duel will meet Yugi in the next round!"

Yami Yugi watched the big screen monitor with careful and clenched his fists. Not only was he worried for Joey, but knew if Lance won, the Millennium Puzzle will be put at stake. He gripped the puzzle and waited for what destiny had in store for him. It would come down to dueling his best friend or the puppet of Pharaohmon. This was Joey's chance to knock Lance out of the tournament and he had better make it count.

"C'mon, Joey! Just hang in there!" Yugi said through the pharaoh's thoughts.

-

---

Outside the Phoenix Arena

Meanwhile, just outside the Phoenix Arena, the duel between Joey Wheeler and Lance Canebrook was still underway. The crowds were gathered around the dark cloud that covered the duelists and were in awe at the sight of the Black Skull Dragon. Floramon continued her broadcast over the match.

"As you can see, the dark cloud is still in place. So, there's no doubt the duelists are not finished! There's still the Black Skull Dragon and the Baby Dragon in play! If I recall, this turn goes to Lance."

"And you couldn't be even more correct!" Lance chuckled as he added a card to his hand. "Now I activate the card that I've just drew! It's the Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two new cards to my hand. Next, I'll activate my face down trap Jar of Greed and that adds one more card to my hand! I have a grand total of three cards in my hand!"

"Yeah, so what? You haven't even drawn a monster to the field, pal!"

"On the contrary, I believe this card I'm about to play qualifies as such! I summon forth Goblin Attack Force!"

Appearing around Lance was a horde of green goblins. Joey's eyes widened and he realized that this was the exact card he had played earlier.

"You copy cat! That was a monster I had drawn earlier!"

"Yes and I'm going to send them to take out your Baby Dragon! Attack my Goblin hordes!"

Following the duelist's command, the Goblin Attack Force launched themselves across to batter down Joey's Baby Dragon. The adorable orange dragon screeched out as he was pummeled and destroyed in the process, which didn't do Joey's Life points any favors.

Joey

Life points: 1400 (2500-1100)

"You sure know how to ruin somebody's day, ya punk. That was one of my favorite monsters!"

"Aww, did I mean to do that? I guess I did because I couldn't care less about what you think!"

Before Joey could say anything else, he felt another sharp pain erupt through his body. More of his energy was drained and sent directly to the shadows of the dark area field. Joey struggled to stand up and continue on through this duel.

"Since my Goblins have already attacked, they are automatically switched out into a face-up defense position at the end of a battle phase. But my turn isn't even through. So may the pain continue to ensue! Next, I'll activate another card in my hand! It's the magic card, Ground Collapse!"

"I know what this means and I don't like the sounds of it..."

"With this card, I can select two Monster Card Zones on the field. Neither one of us can use the selected zones. So, now, I select two of your Monster Card Zones, Mr. Wheeler! And guess what? I'm going to make things even harder for you! I'm going to activate a second Ground Collapse!"

"What! No way!"

Yes, way, Wheeler. Using this second Ground Collapse, I'll select two more of your Monster Card Zones. Well, look at this. Notice you only have one Monster Card Zone left."

"No, that means I'm left with..."

"Only one for you, Wheeler! That's the one with your Black Skull Dragon and therefore you cannot summon another monster to the field!"

"Great, this is just what I didn't need! C'mon, you can pull through this. You've dueled some of the best duelists and managed to come out on top! This bozo can't win! I need to make sure I advance and duel Yugi in the finals. That way this creep doesn't try to get his hands on the puzzle!"

"Well, since my Goblins have now switched out into defense mode, my turn has ended."

"Thank you for reminding me. Now I can pay you back for what you did to my Baby Dragon! Now, Black Skull Dragon, wipe out his Goblin Attack Force with your Molten Fire Blast!"

With that said the Black Skull Dragon launched a fiery blast directly at the Goblin Attack Force. Once the attack was complete, there was nothing left of the horde but a smoking crater. Nonetheless, since they were in defense mode, no damage was done to Lance's Life points.

"Well, those guys are toast! I'm feeling satisfied. That'll end my turn."

"Well, seeing that the card I drew is of no use to me, I'll pass on this turn."

"Aw, that's too bad, Lance. I figured you'd get me back for destroying your little Goblins. Oh well, I can't force you to reveal your hand. So, I'm going to attack your Life Points! Go, Black Skull Dragon, attack his Life points directly!"

Opening its mouth, the Black Skull Dragon unleashed yet another fiery blast. This time it aimed for Lance himself. The boy managed to cross his arms and took the blast head on. Joey was worried that the attack would greatly overwhelm Lance but then watched the boy laugh off the attack as if it were nothing.

"Ha! Now, that's more like it! That managed to arouse me, Wheeler!" Lance laughed. "Sure, I lose Life points, but I feel yet more pleasurable pain!"

"You are one sick freak, Lance. Did I ever tell you that?"

"Yes and I'll take that as a compliment! Ha! Ha!"

Lance

Life points: 2175 (5375-3200)

"Man, this guy just lost more than half of his whole Life points and he's laughing it off? What kind of freak has Pharaohmon turned this poor kid into? This has to stop and I hope I can save this kid. Nobody deserves to be a slave puppet for that maniac! It's no wonder Kenta and Kaiba lost to this guy. I'll bet they, too, lost their nerve!"

"Well, is that the end of your turn, Wheeler?"

"Yeah, that'll be it for me."

"Fine, then. I'll simply place this card facedown in defense mode," Lance announced as he laid down a card.

"Man, so much for your chance of retaliation, pal. You aren't even trying to attack me, but that just makes it easier for me! Now, Black Skull Dragon, attack his facedown card!"

Launching another Molten Fire Blast, Black Skull Dragon destroyed the facedown hologram card to reveal a monster. It was purple-haired woman garbed in blue robes and wielding a staff with a crescent moon on top.

Magician of Faith

300/400/1 star

"Since you've destroyed my Magician of Faith, I can return one magic card from my graveyard and add it to my hand! I choose Megamorph."

"I know that already. Just get on with your turn since mine just ended now."

"Now, Wheeler, behold the monster that has helped me gain victories over Kenta and Seto Kaiba! The very same monster who will help me crush you! Behold, my Jirai Gumo!"

"Ah, no, not that card! I was hoping you'd forget about it!"

"You thought I'd forget about my favorite monster? I don't think so! Now, arise my Jirai Gumo!"

As Lance laid out the card on his field, a giant orange-black tarantula appeared before Lance and was hungry for some prey.

Jirai Gumo

2200/100/4 stars

"Yikes, just when we thought it couldn't get any worse! It gets even worse as Lance has played his Jirai Gumo! This is the same monster that led him to victory over both Kenta and Kaiba! Can Joey manage to find a weakness to this scary spider? I hope so! Squash that bug, Joey!"

Upon hearing this, Joey nodded and gulped to himself, "I hear ya, Floramon. All I need to do is find a weakness to this thing."

"What are you mumbling about, Wheeler? I would hope it's your praying for your life."

"In your dreams, sicko, so, that's your precious Jirai Gumo? That's your best monster? My Black Skull Dragon will blow that spider out of the water!"

"Appearances can be deceiving, Wheeler. Next, I'll equip it with Megamorph, the magic card I drew out of my graveyard!"

Jirai Gumo

ATK: 1100 (2200/2)

"Ha! You have more Life points than me! You're only weakening your monster!"

"Watch and learn rather than open that mouth of yours, Wheeler. Now, Jirai Gumo, attack his Black Skull Dragon!"

Joey quickly busted out laughing at Lance's 'incompetence', "What, do you have a death wish? You're summoning a monster weaker than mine, make it even weaker, and then send it out to attack! You've lost your mind, pal!"

"So, it took you this long to figure it out?" Lance asked as a holographic coin dropped in front of him and landed in his hand. "Before my monster can attack, I must flip this coin and call it."

Joey, still laughing, replied, "Yeah, yeah I know it. Just get on with it!"

"Very well then, I call heads."

As he made his call, he flipped the coin and watched it land on tails. Joey merely laughed out in amusement at his opponent's stupid call.

"Ha! You just called it wrong, you idiot!"

"You're the fool! Don't you realize I was TRYING to call it wrong?"

"But that would mean you were trying to..." Joey said before it dawned upon him. "...decrease your life points."

The giant spider launched a thread of webbing at its master and drained half of his life points.

Lance

Life Points: 1088 (2175/2)

Jirai Gumo

ATK: 4400 (2200x2)

Joey watched in utter shock as Jirai Gumo's attack doubled. This wasn't exactly what Joey had in mind and would learn to regret his own arrogance.

"Aw, crap. Me and my big mouth..."

"Now my beast! Attack with your Acid Sludge!" Lance called out directly for his spider to attack.

Once Lance declared his attack, Jirai Gumo opened its mouth and released a sticky, acidic sludge out of its mouth. The Black Skull Dragon was caught by the sludge and roared in pain with its body dissolving down by the acidic sludge. This resulted in Joey losing a large portion of his Life points and Jirai Gumo's attack power decreasing back to 1100.

Joey

Life points: 200 (1400-1200)

Jirai Gumo

ATK: 1100 (2200/2)

"Oh, no! My Black Skull Dragon! My most powerful monster!" Joey growled angrily and glared down at Lance. "You are going to pay for this!"

"And now that your monster's done, I can play this: my third and final Ground Collapse! I can now select two more Monster Card Zones! I'll use it to take your last Monster Card Zone and one of my own! There, you can't summon another monster to the field! It's all over for you, Wheeler! So much about facing Yugi! Well, that's enough of that. I end my turn. Do you anything to save your hide, Wheeler? Perhaps a trap or a magic card?"

Hanging his head low, Joey drew a card to his hand. He was obviously disappointed with his card selection and had nothing else left to offer. He had failed his friends. There was no hope of defeating Lance now.

"I... I can't do anything. I end my turn," Joey sighed as he looked around his surroundings. "Well, Yugi... I've failed. I tried my best and it wasn't good enough against this guy. Guess I'll be off to the eternal darkness where my soul will be taken. Lance, you haven't heard the last of Joey Wheeler!"

"Hahahaha! Go, my beast! Attack him directly!" Lance called out in triumph.

The holographic coin appeared in Lance's hand. He flipped it and called tails. The coin actually landed on tails, but Lance simply shrugged his shoulders. He knew victory would still come at hand.

"Oh well, you can't lose 'em all! Jirai Gumo! Acid Sludge!" Lance called out directly.

With that said the Jirai Gumo spat out an acidic sludge across to engulf Joey. The blonde-haired duelist closed his eyes to await his fate. The sludge immediately splattered against Joey and crushed the rest of his Life points.

Joey

Life points: 0 (200-1100)

"Yes! Victory and at last a soul to be fed to the shadows! Lord Pharaohmon, I've done it! I have advanced to the finals and will prepare to duel against Yugi! For soon, the Millennium Puzzle will be yours for the taking!" Lance laughed out in triumphant victory. "You see, Wheeler? You were merely just another stepping stone! Now, I can watch your pathetic body dissolve under my Jirai Gumo's Acidic Sludge! How does it feel to be on the receiving end of eternal punishmen- HUH!"

Before he could utter another word, a protective barrier projected in front of Joey and dissolved the Acidic Sludge. The blonde-haired duelist wondered what had just happened and looked across. Much to his and Lance's surprise, a large skinny black-skinned dragon with crimson eyes. The dragon looked directly at Lance and growled angrily at the possessed teen.

"What is this! First, Kenta and then Kaiba. Now, Wheeler! How does this keep on happening!" Lance exclaimed. "How did your Red Eyes Black Dragon get here!"

"I... I don't know!" Joey retorted. "Though, that is a good question. What's going on here? Is this some of miracle at work here? I'll believe anything after seeing all this shadow magic."

The dark cloud around the duelists disappeared and the crowds were looking on with astonishment. It was relief that no harm was done to Joey, all thanks to the sudden appearance of the Red Eyes Black Dragon. Once the dark barrier dispersed, Joey took notice of the absence of the dragon and then turned towards Lance.

"Lance, you were lucky to have made it this far. Now, you're going to be dealing with my pal, Yugi! Whatever that was... Well, after seeing your shadow magic, I can definitely believe a miracle was set in place! You better enjoy this victory because your momentum ends when Yugi gets through with ya!"

"Hey, Joey!" Yami Yugi called out from the background.

The blonde-haired duelist turned around to find his friends: Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Mai and Duke walking out to gather around the duelist. Lance found himself alone and glaring down each of Joey's friends, more specifically Yugi Muto. Then to everyone's surprise: Seto Kaiba and Mokuba arrived out.

"Well, well, the gang is all here," a grin twisted across Lance's face.

"Sorry guys for letting you all down," Joey slightly lowered his head.

"It's all right, Joey. You did your best and in the end you were saved by your own monster," Yami Yugi replied.

"How did that happen, Joey?" Tea asked the blonde-haired teen.

"Well, erm... I guess you could say it was a miracle?"

"I'd say it was nothing more than a holographic glitch," Kaiba called out. "Wheeler, consider yourself lucky."

"What was that, Kaiba! Say that to my face!" Joey called out. "You even dueled against that guy, so you knew how real it was!"

"That's right, Kaiba. So you have no right to go calling it off as fake!" Duke exclaimed.

"Seriously, when are you ever going to wake up, Kaiba?" Joey approached the CEO and got into his face. "I just went through hell in there and all you can do is shrug it off? You really are a heartless..."

"Come guy, guys! Not now!" Mokuba tried to break them up.

"I'll give Joey one thing. He can sure stand up to Kaiba," Mai smiled in thought.

"Everyone, listen if you will," Yami Yugi announced to the group. "Now isn't the time. It's already obvious who I will be dueling against. It all comes down to me and intend to duel here. Will that be just fine, Floramon?"

"Well, sure! This means the crowds out here can receive another free match!" nodded Floramon. "And we don't have to move to another location. This makes things easier and we can even progress on with the match now if you wish?"

"Well, first we need to know the selections for the battle matches," Tapirmon reminded Floramon. "According to Lillymon, Pharaohmon and Gallantmon are waiting for Kaiser Greymon and Magna Garurumon. They're waiting to see who will be paired off with whom."

"I see. I guess this will take just a few minutes guys."

"Very well then, I can wait," Yami Yugi stated as he set his eyes directly at Lance. "Lance! I somehow knew you and I would eventually duel. It's time we settle this once and for all! Your torment of others will come to an end when this duel is all said and done. I shall free you from Pharaohmon's spell!"

"Ha! I'd like to see you try! I've waited a long time for this moment, Yugi! For when I defeat you, your Millennium Puzzle will belong to Lord Pharaohmon! With it, he'll search for the other Millennium items and take over the two worlds! It's inevitable and there's nothing you can do to stop us!"

"You're wrong, Lance. As far as I'm concerned, destiny will change for Pharaohmon! It all ends here!" Yami Yugi called out and pointed directly at Lance. "The duel to determine the fate of this tournament!"

"Oh? Well, this should certainly make things interesting then! I look forward to humbling you, King of Games!"

The crowds erupted and started to get behind Yami Yugi. He would be dueling not only to defeat Lance but to ensure that he retains possession of his Millennium Puzzle. This duel will determine the fate of the tournament and the two worlds, but the real victory will have to come against Pharaohmon.

"We're just minutes way from this duel and I for one look forward to it! Kenta, Kaiba and Joey have all failed to beat Lance, but can Yugi manage to pull through? There's only one way to find out! Meanwhile, I've now just been handed a note! The random drawings have been made! Your two semi-final bouts will pit Wolfmon against Agunimon and Pharaohmon against Guilmon! Two awesome bouts, but can Gallantmon be the one to finally defeat Pharaohmon? One has to wonder if there's anything to topple the demon! We'll find out once the two bouts get underway!"

With Yugi glaring down Lance, there was yet another confrontation on the other side of the stadium.

-

---

Other side of Phoenix Arena

Yoko Kurama was swiftly dodging every fire blast thrown by Brimstone. The flame demon was already growing tired of the Spirit Fox dodging his attacks and grabbed him by the arm. He tugged on Yoko Kurama and threw him across with one ferocious toss. Brimstone charged across and started pummeling Yoko Kurama with fist-coated fists. They were rapid and vicious-looking, but none of the blows were even harming Yoko Kurama anymore.

As Brimstone jumped back, he noticed no marks on Yoko Kurama's body and growled out of frustration. He wondered if Yoko even had any weaknesses to exploit, but the spirit fox was very difficult to study. In fact, Brimstone wasn't even thinking clearly. His attacks aren't even close to being precise and focused. Without his flame barrier, he was vulnerable and open to any of Yoko's attacks.

"Do you even have any weaknesses, Yoko? Answer me! Why aren't my attacks affecting you!"

"Your attacks just aren't precise enough. Without your flame shield, you've just shown that your skills have deteriorated. You cannot hope to defeat me as you are..."

"So, you think you're superior to me!" Brimstone called out directly at Yoko Kurama. "You aren't better than me!"

Brimstone coated his fists once again and charged out across. Before he can throw another punch, Yoko Kurama stepped to one side and lowered his hand into Brimstone's torso. With one swift move, a plant stem shot out from out of Yoko's hand and impaled through the fire demon's torso. Brimstone's eyes widened and he looked down at his torso. Yoko's plant stem struck through with a gush of blood gushing out of the deep wound. He gagged out a mouthful of blood and pulled himself out of the stem.

"Argh... You... You got me... Now that I did not see coming..."

"My plants always act on impulse, Brimstone. As I've pointed out, without your flame shield, you are vulnerable to attack. Thus by attacking me, you let this happen to yourself," Yoko Kurama responded calmly yet coldly.

The digimon that had watched the whole fight backed away from the wounded Brimstone. Hiei stood amongst the audience and looked towards Yoko Kurama's direction. He didn't want to admit it but he was rather impressed with Yoko's handiwork.

"So any last words, Brimstone?" Yoko Kurama stepped forward over the fallen flame demon.

However, rather than retaliating, Brimstone realized that he was no longer going to inflict any damage on the spirit fox and his current condition would not do him any favors. He looked directly up into the face of the spirit fox and sighed deeply.

"I've been wounded and there's nothing more I can do... Why don't you go ahead and just finish me? Kill me..."

Upon hearing this, Yoko Kurama stopped his pace and quirked an eyebrow. Now, all of a sudden Brimstone wants to his adversary to kill him? Hiei was, too, taken back by this and wondered how Yoko Kurama would respond to this demand.

Merely throwing his hair back, Yoko Kurama closed his eyes and nodded, "No..."

"What?" Brimstone gasped out in shock.

"Brimstone, if you wish to die, then kill yourself," Yoko Kurama turned his back on Brimstone and walked to the center of their battlefield. "You are a noble warrior, Brimstone. Don't be as foolish as to force me to end your life. Don't throw your talents away. If you continue training at your own pace, you will be a great opponent for us one day. You said yourself that we have the potential to become better. So, you need to live true to your word, Brimstone..."

Brimstone couldn't believe what he had just heard and held his hand over his wound. Yoko Kurama once again became engulfed by a smoke cloud and then disappeared. In place of the ancient spirit fox was the crimson-haired Kurama. He kneeled over and handed Brimstone some herbs from out of his pocket.

"Take these, Brimstone. They should be able to heal your wounds," Kurama handed the flame demon the herbs.

"I... I don't know what to say..."

"Perhaps we will meet one day again. You can certainly look forward to seeing me and my allies more experienced and skilled than ever before. Until then, be sure to train and take care of yourself."

With that said Kurama started walking back towards the direction of the arena. Brimstone held the herbs in his hand and turned towards Kurama's direction. He would take these herbs and do as Kurama had asked of him. Brimstone knew he was a man of his word and he would not let his greatest opponent down.

"Heh... One day, we will meet again, Kurama. You and your Spirit Detective team... We will all cross paths one day. Will it be as allies or will you all be facing me as an enemy? It just really depends. Our paths have many unlimited and uncharted avenues. Until then, we shall meet again..."

Meanwhile, as Kurama passed along the crowd of digimon, he stopped to find Hiei standing in his path. The fire apparition made eye contact with the half breed and scoffed to clear a path for him.

"Hiei..."

"I see you finished having fun, Kurama. I thought you should've remained as Yoko Kurama. You are more cunning and ruthless as the spirit fox, but I suppose there's just no arguing against you."

"I didn't want to end the glorious life of such a noble warrior such as Brimstone. Would you have killed him when you had the chance, Hiei?"

"Maybe, perhaps... Come, we have more important matters to attend to. Pharaohmon is preparing to compete once again. He's made it to the semi-finals."

"Right, any idea who he will be facing?"

"The one named Gallantmon..."

"This should be interesting then, Hiei. Plus, I'm sure Yusuke and the others are waiting for us as we speak. Let's go."

With a nod, Hiei followed Kurama down across through the digimon crowds. They walked down towards the back entranceway and passed by the duel showdown that was set to take place at any moment. They wanted to arrive and witness Pharaohmon prepare for his semi-final bout against Gallantmon, which many believe will be the one digimon to give the dark lord the battle he has been searching for. Only a few moments before the actual matches get underway.

-

---

Unknown Area Within the Phoenixmon Arena

Elsewhere within the arena, two ominous figures were waiting in the wings. Now it was the perfect time to hatch their scheme to attack the remaining members of the Tamer and Legendary Warrior teams with their focus set on the battle matches at hand. Yami Bakura and Duskmon were waiting within the darkest parts of the hallways on the ground level. The Evil Warrior of Darkness felt the presence of Kouichi within the infirmary and grinned underneath his facemask.

"So, ready to raid the fools in the infirmary? By getting to them, they can lead us to Yugi!" Yami Bakura snickered. "Well, Duskmon...?"

"Do what you want, but I only want Kouichi! This time I'll be sure to finish him once and for all!" Duskmon declared as he raised his crimson blade. "Kouichi, I will make sure your blood is stained on my sword and we become united when it's all over."

"Yes and while those fools are busy ogling over Pharaohmon, I can sneak out of here and wait for Yugi to complete his duel. Only then I will steal his Millennium Puzzle!"

Before he could finish, Bakura turned to find Duskmon walking directly towards the infirmary with his eyes set directly on the front door.

"At last, we can settle the score and determine who truly deserves to hold the rightful title as the true Warrior of Darkness!" Duskmon called out. "Kouichi...!"

"Fool, I'm only doing this to ensure that you are finally out of my way. I could care less if that boy finishes you. It will be me that gets the prize in the end! It was nice knowing you, dear Duskmon! Ha! Ha!"

-

---

Phoenix Arena/Battle and Duel Platforms

The audiences were now in anticipation over the upcoming dual battle matches. Pharaohmon was standing at the center of Arena A and faced off against Gallantmon on the other side. The Royal Knight was getting a loud ovation from the massive arena, while Pharaohmon again received the largest negative reception any digimon villain has ever received. Inside Arena B, Agunimon and Wolfmon faced each other off but then turned their eyes directly towards Pharaohmon.

Omegamon, Takato, Seadramon, Himura, Yui, Sakuyamon, Youkai Inumon, Dark Gabumon, Rika, Athenamon, the other Tamers and the other Legendary Warriors were watching on from the entranceway. Their eyes were set directly on both rings. Arena A contained two competitors in which the fate of the rest of the tournament lied directly in Gallantmon's hands.

"Are you going to be all right, Inumon?" Sakuyamon whispered to Youkai Inumon.

"I'll manage," replied the dark canine digimon. "How do I look, Himura? I probably look like crap."

"Well, you've had better days," Himura lightly chuckled and pat his digimon on his head.

"Well, feeling better, mutt?" Dark Gabumon teased Youkai Inumon.

"There's no room for any crude jokes, Dark Gabumon," Yui lightly bonked Dark Gabumon on the head. "Inumon fought to avenge Anubimon, but now we'll leave this to Gallantmon."

"I just hope Gallantmon knows what he's doing. This is Pharaohmon we're talking about here," Felinismon scoffed. "Though, for how far he has gotten, I'm glad he'll be dealing with that bastard. He can avenge my people that were killed by Pharaohmon's rampage!"

"You bet he will, Felinismon. Just you wait and see," Jeri assured her digimon partner.

"C'mon, Gallantmon, this is it. It's for all the marbles! It's our chance to avenge Anubimon and knock Pharaohmon out of the tournament," Takato whispered. "Once you do win, we won't have to worry about him when it's all said and done."

"It's going to take everything Gallantmon can muster. If he can fully tap into his Crimson powers, Pharaohmon just might find himself in trouble," Omegamon stated.

"But this is Pharaohmon we're talking about here," Henry replied. "We haven't even seen him reach all the way to his full power."

"Gallantmon will make sure that doesn't come to pass, just you wait and see guys. The fate of the tournament lies in his hands," Takato said. "Then, he can worry about facing either Takuya or Kouji. Pharaohmon is seriously underestimating my digimon buddy!"

"However, we cannot underestimate Pharaohmon either. This monster is simply a force to be reckoned with. The rest of this tournament will truly be a test of will, might and the ability to survive. Our world and the digital world are at stake!" Himura thought. "If Inumon couldn't do it, can Gallantmon do the impossible?"

Pharaohmon stepped forward and glanced down at Gallantmon with a malevolent grin. The Royal Knight narrowed his eyes and stood his ground.

"So, are you ready to face your destiny, Gallantmon? The fate of both worlds rests on your shoulders if you can't defeat me. Other than yourself, only Takuya and Kouji remain. Can you hope to topple me at my very best?"

"Why don't you increase to your fill maximum power then? I can't stand waiting!"

Pharaohmon simply pointed a finger and waved it across, "Have patience, Royal Knight. In a matter of moments, I will give you what you want, but I want you see you give me your all first. Only two minutes before show time, Gallantmon. I hope you reserved yourself a funeral when I finish you!"

"The only guy who's going to die here is you!" Gallantmon retorted and stepped into a battle stance. "Let's do this!"

With that said Pharaohmon stood out with his arms crossed over his chest and waited for the official bell to start the matches. However, what Pharaohmon doesn't realize was that the Digital Priestess and her allies were drawing closer to the arena. Other than a superior digimon defeating him, the Digital Priestess is the only other individual with the power to destroy the demon lord once and for all.

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Miles Away from the Phoenix Arena/The Skies of the Digital World

Imperialdramon Fighter Mode soared across the Digital World's skies with his passengers aboard. It would only be another few minutes before the group actually arrives at the arena location. The Digital Priestess stood out amongst the Sailor Senshi and closed her eyes. She could easily pick up on the demonic aura emitting from out of Pharaohmon.

"Are we almost there, Cammy?" Artemis asked the Digital Priestess.

"Yes, and Pharaohmon is preparing to compete in a match. We had better hurry! Imperialdramon, lets make this hasty!"

"Yes, my priestess," Imperialdramon replied and flapped his wings faster to get across the skies.

At long last, the finals of the Duel Tournament are prepared to start and the long-awaited semi-finals of the Battle Tournament will soon commence! Pharaohmon will finally get his ultimate challenge as he goes up against Gallantmon! But the question remains, will Pharaohmon really reveal his full one-hundred percent power? Pharaohmon is hoping Gallantmon can force him to bring it out. Meanwhile, two best friends will do battle as Agunimon and Wolfmon will engage in combat against one another!

The Duel Tournament winds down to the finals! Can Yugi hope to avenge the losses of Kenta, Joey and Kaiba as he duels against Lance Canebrook? Can Yugi find a way to save Lance and free his soul of Pharaohmon's dark influence? Or will Lance at last win Yugi's puzzle and give Pharaohmon more power than he can achieve? The fate of the tournament rests in Yugi's hands!

The Sailor Senshi and their allies depart from Hohou Temple with Imperialdramon! Belial Myotismon and his band have been defeated, but who was that hooded figure that appeared after the heroes had departed? What ominous signs does 'he' have in store in the long term? And what of Sailor Mars' sudden change in behavior? Will her nightmare truly become a reality? Fate leads to many unlimited avenues and only she can determine her own destiny. But can she hope to conquer the demons before setting off to defeat Pharaohmon?

The Shadow Tournament is winding down to its conclusion! With two worlds at stake, there's no telling what could occur! The action continues!

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(PREVIEW)

Tai: Yo, everyone! This is Tai Kamiya of the Digimon Adventure/Zero Two series to bring you the preview for the next chapter! If you guys thought Pharaohmon was awesome with eighty percent, JUST watch as he reaches one hundred percent! HOLY CRAP!

Agumon: Gallantmon is really asking for it and now he is forced to reach his Crimson Mode. But I don't think that'll be enough! Meanwhile, Takuya and Kouji are fighting to determine who truly is the better Legendary Warrior. Though, they cannot stand to see Gallantmon struggling against Pharaohmon's might!

Takato: My god... Pharaohmon, I never thought he'd be this strong! Even Gallantmon Crimson Mode is having trouble!

Agunimon: Wolfmon, we have to stop our match now and face Pharaohmon ourselves in case Gallantmon falls.

Wolfmon: Agreed, but we still have a match to take part in!

Duskmon: Kouichi, let this be our final showdown!

Loweemon: Let's end this and I will prove that I am the true Warrior of Darkness!

Lance: Ha! Yugi, there's no hope of you stopping my Jirai Gumo!

Yugi: Every monster has a weakness, Lance, and I will find yours!

Cammy: At last we have arrived, Sailor Senshi!

Vega: C'mon, guys! We have to go and find Takuya! Those guys will need us in case they need our spirits!

Sailor Mars: Great, we have company! General Scorpionus!

General Scorpionus: Sailor Senshi, you thought you could be rid of me that easily? Not a chance!

Sailor Venus: Then let us show you what we're capable of!

Kyodaidramon: You wanted to see Pharaohmon at his full power? Well, behold the most grotesque thing you'll ever see on a digimon!

Cammy: At last, you've shown your true self, Pharaohmon. Prepare yourself for your end!

Yusuke: Crap, so I could have been fighting this guy if he had gone all the way?

Kurama: The next chapter is entitled...

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One Hundred Percent Power: Pharaohmon's Ungodly Strength! The Finals Commence: Yugi Muto vs. Lance Canebrook!

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Yui: You don't want to miss this! We're all going to be there!

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Whew, well... That was yet another action-packed chapter, folks. We're winding down to the final three chapters of this long saga and the longest series I've ever written. Only my Burizalor (39 chapters) and Virus Sagas (31 chapters) of D-Fusion fame come close to.

HUZZAH! You guys received Imperialdramon Fighter Mode and Gallantmon Crimson Mode all in one chapter! That's practically unheard of as far as my stories are concerned. This story should be a great landmark chapter! What do you think:D

Well, this story itself is winding down to the end. I for one will be happy to finally put an end to this series and move on with the long-awaited sequel. :D Before, I go, I want to give special thanks to each of the following:

LazerWulf for beta-reading my story, some of the interaction dialogue between Joey and Lance, and planning the duel out. Belletiger for helping me with the Yoko Kurama finish. Ninetalesuk for using his Dra-Warrior characters: Kyodaidramon, Espritdramon, Herodramon and Ninjadramon.

That's right, kiddies! Pharaohmon will reveal his one-hundred percent form in the next chapter! Be afraid, especially those who are familiar with Yu Yu Hakusho like yours truly. :P

All right then. That's all I have to say. Yeah, I don't have anything else to say. :P Even though all I can say is look forward to the next three chapters. We're near the end and it'll get here quicker than you can think!

Until then, peace!