World of Destruction: Part 3

            While Takato and the others were busy inside of the Hypnos building, the remaining members were busy packing. They didn't know when their friends would come back with the information they were waiting for, so they had to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.

            Kari ran into the loading dock with a pile of clothes in her hands. "Where do you want these?"

            Henry pointed to a bag on the table. "In there."

            Kari shoved them inside. Suzie laughed. "We're not in that much of a hurry."

            "We don't know when Takato's coming back," Kazu said, "So we've got to be ready to leave as soon as they come back."

            Sam came into the room with food supplies and put them into the bag too. "What about the medical supplies?"

            "We didn't get them yet," Ryo said, "I left them in the med lab."

            Sam nodded. "Give me a hand, Kari?"

            She nodded. "Sure." She followed Sam down the hall and into the lab. The medical supplies were on the table. Sam mentioned to a bag hanging on the wall. "Can you get that?"

            "Sure."

            Kari grabbed the bag and helped Sam ad the medical supplies into the carrying case. When everything was inside, she hosted it onto her back. "Come on."

            The two girls ran into the hall and started to run back to the loading dock, when a figure dropped down in front of them. They both gave a small shout and stared at the figure. "Who are you?" Kari shouted.

            Sam stared at the face and started to recognize. "Ai..Mako? But, it can't be..!"

            Aiko grinned. "That's right. I was created by the fusion of Ai, Mako, and their digimon partner. Beelzemon."

            "But how did you..?"

            "Dr. Wong gave me this power, and I'm here on a mission, to destroy you!"

            "What? Why?"

            "Because you and the rest of the Tamers left me to die!"

            "That's not true! Don't you remember…"

            "All I remember is lying on Wong's experimenting table!"

            "Ai, Mako..whatever your name is, please," Sam pleaded, "You were our friend!"

            "My name is Aiko!" it shouted, "And you're not my friend! And my partner isn't too happy with you either."

            "Partner?"

            Aiko mentioned to a small fairy that hovered in front of it. "I think you recognize Kenta."

            "Kenta?" Sam gasped.

            The Kenta digimon held up his palms and fired a blue blast that sent the two girls into the wall. Aiko grabbed a rifle that was in the holster on Mako's side. It pointed it at Kari and Sam and fired. The two girls rolled out of the way and the bullets exploded a small section of the wall.

            Back in the holding bay, the other Tamers heard a loud explosion. "What was that?" Suzie asked.

            "I think it came from the med lab," Henry said.

            The Tamers looked at one another, then ran down the hall. They ran into the medical lab, and found Kari and Sam tied up on the table. They instantly went on the defensive and started looking around the room cautiously. They would have been destroyed if Kazu hadn't warned them about Aiko's attack. It's crimson claw destroyed a portion of the floor. The assassin glared at the group."Darn you!"

            Henry gasped at it. "What are you?"

            "I am Aiko, a fusion of Ai and Mako."

            "What? How is that possible?"

            Aiko grinned. "I bring regards from your father."

            "My father. I should have known."

            Aiko's hands turned into a red claw. Kazu fired three missiles from his hand, but Aiko jumped out of the way. Henry and Suzie shook their heads and their ears grew into long rabbit like ears. Henry started spinning around in a tornado and he moved towards Aiko. The assassin slashed as Henry's whirlwind with it's claws, sending Henry crashing into a wall. Aiko leapt over to Henry to finish it's attack, but Suzie and Henry launched an attack at Aiko's back. The assassin screamed out and fell to the ground.

            "Watch out for Kenta!" Sam shouted.

            The three Tamers turned around and saw the fairy speeding towards them.  They braced for the impact, but Kenta exploded apart. They were surprised until they saw Ryo standing there.

            "How did they know we where here?" Kazu asked as they helped Kari and Sam off of the table, "We were never found before."

            Henry sighed. "I think they may have traced Tai and Kari."

            "What?"

            "Takato and I knew that Hypnos could be able to track Tai and Kari, but we were hoping to be out of here before then. All we can do is wait for Takato and the others to get back, then we have to leave right away."

            The next morning, Dark Ryo stood on the deck of his airship as it traveled across the desert. He stared at Yamaki, who was kneeling in front of him. "So, you attempted to attack the Tamers on your own."

            Yamaki nodded. "Yes sir, but.."

            "And you didn't even think to contact me?"

            "But sir I.."

            "Tell me, Yamaki, who was it that gave you the powerful weapons that we used to conquer this world?"

            "You did sir.."

            He fired a blast of lighting at Yamaki that sent spasms through his body. "Never forget that!"

            Riley and Tally came over and helped him to his feet. "Now get back to the bridge!"

            "Yes sir," he said and he walked off. Alice grinned as she wrapped her hands around Dark Ryo's neck.

            "You put him in his place, didn't you?"

            Dark Ryo was going to answer, when Emperor Tai walked onto the deck. "Yes Taichi?" he asked.

            "How long before we arrive?"

            "We should be there by noon. Are you anxious?"

            "I'm anxious for you to hold up your end of the bargain. Don't forget what you promised me!"

.           "Don't worry. Once we complete our mission, you'll get want you want."

            Emperor Tai stared at him for another second, then left. Alice giggled. "I'm sorry that we're going to destroy him. He was such a good pawn, it'll be sad that I won't get to play with him anymore."

            Dark Ryo grinned. "It has to be done. His heart isn't as dark as he likes to think it is. It won't be long before he regains himself, then we'll have another enemy."

            "Still it's a shame."

            The Tamers were traveling across the desert surface in a very large van. Kazu, Derwood, and Ryo were in the front seat, while the others were in the back. Tai and Kari were sitting together, Henry and Suzie in another seat, and Takato and Rika in another. Tai was sleeping until he woke up in a scream.

            "What's wrong?" Kari asked.

            "Just a bad dream."

            "Owe, do you want to talk about it?"

            Tai hesitated then said. "Remember in the world where I was a girl and you were my brother; remember when Emperor Tai hit me with that Crest of Fear? Well, I never told you what I saw. I..I saw my greatest fear, that when we return to our world, I'll be stuck inside of that cat because my body was stolen. I was even Sora's pet, and she was dating Matt."

            "Oh, Tai," Kari said, hugging him, "It was just a dream. It wasn't real. I know you're worried, but it'll work out. I promise."

            Tai smiled at her. "Thanks, Kari."

            "How cute," Suzie smiled, "That's sweet."

            Tai and Kari both blushed.

            "Hey Henry," Kari asked, "Aiko said that she..he..whatever, was created by your father. What did that mean?"

            Henry sighed. "My father…Dark Ryo gave him the power to complete in-human experiments. Aiko was just one of everything that he did. He turned his back on us that day, and when we finally bring down Hypnos, he's going with them."

            "I'm so sorry, "Kari said.

            "I don't know," Derwood said, "Revenge can give you pretty good focus."

"Leave them alone," Takato said, "We need to talk about what'll happen when we get there."

            "What do you mean?" Tai asked.

            "You don't have any powers," Rika said, "not like us. So you're going to need something else."

            "What else?" Kari asked.

            Takato mentioned to Rika, who handed Tai and Kari two large bags. When they opened them, they saw two large guns and a small suit of metal armor. "What are these?" Tai asked.

            Takato shrugged. "We humans use to use them before we merged with our digimon."

            "That's something that I've been wondering," Kari asked, "You say that you merged with your digimon, but..it seems to me like you..ate them or something."

            "No, we didn't," Henry said, "My partner was Terriermon, that's why my ears are long like his was, but my personality was just a little stronger."

            Suzie mentioned to him. "He's starting to act like Terriermon more and more."

            "Momentai," Henry said, then shook his head. "I can't believe I just said that!"

            The other Tamers started laughing. Tai and Kari looked at each other, then shrugged. "Inside joke I guess," Kari said.

            "Sorry," Henry said, "Why don't you try that armor on?"

            Tai and Kari soon strapped the metal armor to their bodies. The armor actually consisted of only a breastplate, two metal coverings for their forearms and shins. The guns were placed in holsters on their sides, but each one had another special weapon. "A sword?" Tai asked, "But, I don't know how to use a sword."

            Kari held up her staff. "I can't fight like this."

            "If we had more time, we'd teach you," Takato said, "But according to the map that we copied from the Hypnos mainframe, we're almost there. Besides, there's not a lot of room in here. We'll protect you as best as we can, but if you need to, use your guns. You do know how to use them, right?"

            "I played a lot of video games," Tai said, "I think I might be able to pick it up quickly."

            Rika smirked. "This isn't a video game, you know."

            "Hey guys," Ryo said, "You should see this."

            Takato and the others ran over and looked out the windows. They could see the giant Hypnos airship above them. "Pull back," Takato ordered, "I don't want them to see us. A giant desert, and we have to be right under them. Perfect."

            A few hours later, the Hypnos Airship landed on a large helipad. Dark Ryo and the others walked off and met with a soldier. "Good afternoon sir!"

            Dark Ryo nodded. "You found the door, I presume?"

            "Yes sir. Last night."

            "Excellent. Take us there."

            He nodded and lead them through the mobile base and over to a massive hole in the desert sand. Following closely behind that group was the Tamers, disguised in Hypnos uniforms. They followed them to an elevator beside the hole and went down through the hole and onto the cavern floor.

            "Where are we going?" Kazu whispered.

            "Quiet!" Takato whispered back, "No talking."

            Luckily, Dark Ryo and the others were too focused on themselves to hear the small whispering from behind. Eventually, they arrived at a large stone wall, shaped in a circle. Dark Ryo's joy couldn't be contained. "Here! We're here! This is it, finally! Yes!"

            The Tamers shed their disguises and stood revealed. "Hold it!" Takato shouted, "You're not unleashing whatever's behind that door!"

            "Oh really?" Dark Ryo asked, crossing his arms, "Let's see if you can!"

            The Tamers, plus Tai, Kari and Derwood. ran forward and braced to attack. Alice and Yamaki were ready to defend Dark Ryo, but their master walked out in front of them. He raised his palm and fired a tremendous blast of dark energy that threw the Tamers into Tai, Kari and Derwood.  Everyone except for Ryo became tangled on the ground.

            Dark Ryo turned to Emperor Tai. "What are you waiting for? Pour your collected crest energy into that door! Now! Do it or you'll never get your wish!"

            "Don't do it!" Tai shouted, "Please, you can redeem yourself, but not if you follow him! You can make up for everything that you've done!"

            Emperor Tai turned to the stone wall. "I only care about fixing two mistakes that I have done. And when I complete this task, the Matt and Kari of my world will be brought back to life."

            "He's lying!" Sara shouted, "Don't believe him!"

            "Enough talking!" Dark Ryo shouted, "Do it!"

            Emperor Tai nodded. He held up his palm and a shot a rainbow of colors into the stone wall. "No!" Ryo shouted, "I can't let you do this!" He started running to tackle Emperor Tai into the ground, but Dark Ryo leapt into front of him.

            "Sorry, 'twin', you're not going to stop my plans!"

            "Forget it!"

            Ryo tried to punch his double in the face, but Dark Ryo twisted behind him and threw him into the ground. "You won't stop me!"

            Emperor Tai kept pouring the energy that he stole from the other Digidestined and into the stone door. The marble circle began to crack as light shown from behind. "Yes!" Dark Ryo shouted with glee, "Yes! Finally, the seal is broken!"

            The Tamers were in horror as the stone wall shattered and a black-skinned creature with  two glowing cannons on its back stepped out. "He's finally free!" Dark Ryo shouted, "Milleniumon is free!"

            "Milleniumon…" Tai said in awe, "I can't believe how big he is."

            The freed Digimon stared down at the humans. "I am finally free!" he growled in a deep voice. He looked at Dark Ryo, "My partner, it is you."

            Dark Ryo nodded. "Yes, I've freed you and now all of Reality can bow down before us! He looked over his shoulder at Tai and Kari. "And now we'll travel to the world that will be the first, their world!"

            "What!" Kari shouted.

            "Why?" Tai asked, "Why are you going to our world?"

            Dark Ryo grinned. "Return home if you want to know, that is, if it's still home! Ha ha!"

            "What about me?" Emperor Tai asked, "I did what you wanted, now hold up your end of the bargain."

            Dark Ryo turned to Milleniumon. "What about it? Can you resurrect two dead humans?"

            Milleniumon turned to Emperor Tai. "For him? Forget it."

            "What?" Emperor Tai shouted, "You swore!"

            "I lied," Dark Ryo grinned, "Now we don't have any more use for you."

            Emperor Tai pointed at Dark Ryo. "I will kill you for this!"

            "Be happy that I'm letting you leave with your life!" He turned to look at Milleniumon. "After you."

            The large digimon grinned and created a large glowing portal in the floor. The evil forces jumped inside, leaving Emperor Tai and the Tamers.

            "Now what do we do?" Kari shouted, "He'll destroy our world."

            "The portal's still open," Ryo shouted. He was holding his open palm to it while sweat was starting to come down his face. "I'm holding it open, but I don't know for how much longer."

            "Okay," Tai said, "We've got to go after them."

            "I'm coming," Derwood said, "How about anyone else?"

            Takato turned to the others. "Henry, Kazu and Suzie, you guys stay here. I don't know how long we'll be gone, but I'm sure that Dark Ryo left someone in charge while he's gone.  Stay here and continue the fight."

            Kazu nodded. "All right, good luck man."

            "I hope I see you again," Suzie said.

            "I can't hold it for much longer!" Ryo shouted.

            Tai walked over to Emperor Tai. "What about you?" he asked, "Are you coming?"

            He stared at his double. "You would really allow me to come with you?"

            Tai nodded. "Yeah."

            Emperor Tai hesitated, then smiled slightly. "All right. I still have the crests powers that I stole. I might be able to seal Milleniumon away again."

            "I don't like this," Rika whispered to Takato.

            "I don't either, but he's right. He might be able to seal away Milleniumon."

            "Guys!" Ryo shouted.

            "Okay," Tai said, "Let's go!"

            Tai, Kari, Ryo, Takato, Rika, Sara, Sam, Derwood, and Emperor Tai jumped inside before it closed.