Chapter One

Taichi yawned. "What's going on?" he asked. "It's the middle of the night! Can't I get some sleep?"

"YOU IDIOT! Can't you hear the sirens?" screamed Hikari. "We're under attack!"

"Geez, what's your problem? I'm sure our digimon can handle it, right Agumon? Agumon? Hey, Agumon!"

"W-w-what? I'm up, I'm up!" said Agumon. "What do you want?"

Tailmon peered over the bed. "What's going on?"

"I'm afraid to find out," replied Hikari.

There was a knock at the door. "Can Taichi and Hikari come out to play?" said someone from the other side.

"Don't answer that!" demanded Hikari.

"Excuse me? Who the older one here?" asked Taichi.

"If you value your life, DO NOT answer that door!"

The door opened, and they heard a woman's scream.

"Mom!" shouted Taichi and Hikari as they rushed to her aid.

There was a sudden flash. "Get down!" yelled Hikari, pushing Taichi to the ground. In an instant, the room was set ablaze. "Taichi, get our digimon to safety, I'm going after Mom."

"Are you insane? We need our digimon!"

"But they're not ready for a war now, are they?"

"War? What war?"

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"Eugene, can you see what's going on up ahead?" asked Beth.

"I'm not sure, but I think I see Japan's coastline. We're getting close," he replied. Warraptormon had taken them across the Pacific and was now nearing Japan's coast. One hour had passed since the news reached them. "I hope we're not too late."

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"Well, well, if it isn't Hikari Yagami," said a girl of about 16. She had short, smooth black hair with red tips.

"Do you want to play now?" asked an older boy, about 18 years of age. He had dark red spiky hair. He held a dagger up to Mrs. Yagami's throat.

"I suppose you two are members of the Digicursed?" responded Hikari.

"How did you know that?" asked the girl, reaching behind her.

"Hikari, what's going on?" asked Mrs. Yagami.

"A war, mother. A war." Hikari took off like a rocket. Instantly, she snatched the dagger away, freed her mother, and knocked the boy into another building. At that moment, the girl took out her version of a digivice; the Digicurse of Darkness.

A cold, dark beam shot out of the digicurse, just barely missing Hikari. She knew that she was in trouble. She had to get everyone out of this confined space as fast as possible. She called for Taichi and grabbed her mother's arm. As Taichi came into view, she grabbed his arm, then ran.

Hikari found a secluded alleyway and stopped to find out where she was. "Hikari, where on Earth did you learn how to do that?" asked her mom.

"It wasn't on Earth, Mother," replied Hikari.

"Was it in the digital world?" asked Taichi.

"What digital world?"

"What do you mean—"

"Hikari, look out!" a voice called. It was Eugene.

Suddenly, the black beam of the Digicurse of Darkness struck Hikari in the back. She felt the life flowing out of her as the Demi-Beam took its affect on her. She screamed in agony as the pain etched throughout her body. She became cold and pale as she fell to her knees, and finally to the ground.

"No! Hikari!" shouted Taichi.

Eugene let out a yell and leaped off Warraptormon, pulling out a crystal shard. It turned into a greatsword. He landed, and trusted his sword out in front of him. "If you want to finish them off, you'll have to get through me first," he cried.

"And you are?" asked the girl.

"I am Eugene Carter, Digipure of Logic, adept of acid, and wielder of the Greatsword of Logic. An attack on my friend is the same as an attack on me, so prepare yourself for battle, for I show no mercy to my foes!" Eugene stared down the two adversaries. "Humph. Only two of you? Where are the others? This will be easy," he said confidently. "I probably won't even break a sweat."

"Kataku, did you hear that? He thinks he can take us on," said the girl.

"I doubt he can, not against the both of us. He doesn't stand a chance, don't you agree, Makkura?" replied Kataku. He grabbed his digicurse. "Let's see if he can dodge this!"

A beam of fire shot out of the Digicurse of Cowardice and headed toward Eugene, but he held his ground. He raised his arm up and muttered something under his breath, and when the beam got close, it dissipated by some unseen force.

"Tai, is Hikari alright?" asked Eugene.

"What? My name is Taichi!" replied Taichi.

"I said is she alright?"

"I—I'm alright, I think," answered Hikari.

"What are you? How was my Fire Beam dissipated?" quizzed Kataku.

Eugene started forward, slowly inching his way toward the duo. Sword in front, he started his charge. Makkura shot a Demi Beam, but it, too, was dissipated by the force in front of Eugene. Eugene moved his sword behind him and shouted, "Truncheon Fist!" His fist connected with tremendous force to Kataku and made a small crater where it impacted the ground. Eugene stopped and glared at Makkura.

"W-what are you looking at?" she asked, putting up her fists. She looked down at his hands, where he was wearing long, leather gloves. "What are those gloves for? Afraid you'll break a nail?"

Annoyed, Eugene took the glove off his right hand, reached up, and lightly grabbed hold of her neck. Makkura let out a deafening cry of pain as the acid, moving from his flesh into hers, left its burn. "Without these gloves, nobody can safely touch me," Eugene remarked. Satisfied, he tossed her aside next to Kataku.

Eugene put his glove back on. His greatsword turned back into the shard from which it was formed. He walked towards Hikari and the others. "Who are you? Where are you from?" asked Taichi.

"All will be explained in time, Tai," responded Eugene.

"I said 'my name is Taichi'!"

"Taichi! Hikari!" shouted voices. It was Agumon and Tailmon, followed by Mr. Yagami and the other digimon of the Yagami family. "What happened?" Eugene leaped up onto a nearby building and left for a while. "Who was that?"

"H-he's an old friend," answered Hikari, catching her breath.

"You know that guy?" asked Taichi. Hikari was silent, trying to rest. "Tailmon, you're Hikari's partner. Do you have any idea who that was?"

They heard an odd noise, as if a computer was booting up. Taichi turned around, seeing Eugene turning on the six-inch-tall android in front of him. "Inju, do you detect any digipure nearby? If so, which ones are they?" Eugene asked.

"Let me see," said Inju. Her eyes went blank as she scanned her surroundings. "The digipure of Knowledge and Destiny are nearby to the north—along with the digicursed of Cluelessness and Doom!"

"Not good. We need to get moving," said Eugene. He grabbed his digivice and pressed a few buttons. He pointed it out in front of him and pressed the large button on the side of the digivice, and a thin, blue beam shot out, creating a portal out in front of him. "Tai, take the others and enter the portal, quickly!"

"For the last time, MY NAME IS TAICHI!" Taichi shouted.

"Listen, if you want to live, I suggest you do as I say, regardless of what I call you! For all I care I could call you Spiky-Haired Freak, but you should still obey me in this time of crisis!" Eugene shouted back. "You may not realize this, but the lives of all of your friends are resting on my shoulders! If I slip up or are too slow, they could be killed!"

Defeated, Taichi propped Hikari on his shoulder and together, the Yagami family and their digimon entered the portal.