Digimon: The Digital Keepers Saga

by Snodin

Book TwentySeven: Crossovers A new era has begun in the Digital World, and with this new era come new friends, new enemies, and... new DigiKeepers?

24. Behold, The Noble One

"While everybody else was playing chess with the Sins, I've been stuck in my own little dream world, solving mysteries to my long-forgotten past. And speaking of facing one's dark past, ironically so was Wormmon. He's been rattled by the revelation that he was once one of Daemon's little cronies, but Gaiamon explained that his compassion for a young human girl changed his heart, and ultimately his programming. I guess he and I have a lot more in common than we realized. Oh, let's not forget, Gluttonymon got a major power boost and broke loose on Gaiamon's garden paradise, in hopes to destroy her. But the Keeper was too much for him, and now we're down one Sin, with only six more to go!"

-Ken

DIGIMON: THE DIGITAL KEEPERS SAGA

Book Twenty-Four: "Behold, The Noble One"

On the night that the Digi-Destined were slowly but surely reunited, there was peace throughout the digital world, including the far-off and secluded File Island. It was a small continent that once saw its own adventure unfold many years ago, when the first band of human children were introduced to the digital world.

This was the home of Leomon, a noble Champion with the head, tail and claws of a lion and the body of a muscular man, complete with a pair of army green pants. He was the guardian of this island, and having a guardian could only prove that this island was more than what it seemed.

Just under two days ago, this island was met with another guardian-like digimon; one who had been washed up ashore unannounced: Veedramon Zero.

The battle that he had taken part in against Greedmon in his underwater lair had weakened the aged Champion, and it showed while he sat by a fire, which Leomon had started on this particular night.

By this point, Veedramon had taken the time to introduce himself to the humanoid lion, and vice versa, though no other details had been revealed yet; "So," said Leomon to his new friend, "you say the Digi-Destined have returned?" "Yep," replied the Veedramon in a soft voice; "I saw a couple of 'em; one of them I already know as Daisuke."

Leomon sat up against a tall oak tree in Indian style, as if meditating, and replied, "I've seen them before too, but that was a long time ago." Zero blinked, "You know these humans?" Leomon explained, "I've met with them before, yes. They were very young back then, and in fact they weren't yet aware of why they were sent to this world."

Zero then asked, "Isn't it funny how they only show up when there's something bad going on around here? I mean, I'm really good friends with a few of them, and..." "And," concluded Leomon, "you wish they'd stick around." Veedramon just sighed, looking depressed as he glanced down at the bonfire.

Leomon then smiled, "We seem to have something in common then, uh... Zero, is it?" "Yeah," nodded the Veedramon. The humanoid lion said, "I suppose this world was meant for humans to live in, but how can they if it keeps getting invaded by evil digimon?" "It's a never-ending cycle," frowned the Veedramon in despair.

"Well," commented Leomon, "at least the evil ones keep bringing our human friends back. Perhaps one of these days they'll come here to File Island." Zero thought about the idea for a moment, then he shook his head, "I don't think I can wait that long... There's one human I want to go back to more than any of them... I just hope he remembers me."

Leomon didn't bother to question the Veedramon on who he was talking about; he did, however, say, "You're not fully recovered from being washed up on shore, Zero. Why don't you just take some time to rest here? I'm sure you need it... You look like you've just come back from a war."

Zero let out a small "Heh." He knew the Leomon was half right; he had been warring against the evil digimon for centuries now, and it was starting to show in the form of battle scars.

But now that Taichi was here at long last, he just couldn't bear the thought of battling all by himself anymore. He decided to take Leomon's advice and rest up on File Island, but there would soon come a day when his strength would return, and on that day, he'd kiss File Island goodbye and search for his human partner.

Then something started to buzz in Zero's head which caused him to blurt out, "Leomon? ...Were you once a partner to a human?" "You mean me? A Digi-Destined's digimon?" asked a slightly confused Leomon; "Yeah," nodded Zero. Leomon smiled, "No, not me. I'm sure one of them had a Leomon at one point or another, but I only know them as my friends."

Then Zero felt the need to ask, "If you were a partner, then... If you knew your human partner was out there, how far would you go to get back with him?" Leomon gave him an answer that sounded like that of a wise old man, "I'm not sure about that, Zero. I think if I were a Digi-Destined's partner, then I'd never leave his or her side. When a human is paired up with a digimon, it's for life. They're like soul mates, in a way. You see what I'm saying?"

Zero gave him a nod, "You're saying that nothing can come between a human and his digimon... Yeah. I can see that..." He took a moment to let Leomon's words sink in, but he was at the same time being haunted by the memory of seeing Taichi with an Agumon. All at once, he started to doubt his senses and his desire to be reunited with Taichi.

But then Leomon said, "On the other hand, the humans may need all the help they could get. Maybe they don't have to be limited to just one digimon partner. ...Meh, I guess I'll never really know until it's my turn to join in the battle."

"You're gonna wait for the battle to come to you?" Zero questioned his new friend; Leomon replied, "I know my place, Zero, and it's right here. I know it sounds silly, but once you know where you belong, you don't go anywhere else. I guess that's how it is with a Digi-Destined's digimon; they're place is right there with their partner."

This made sense in Zero's head, but he was still torn by what he was supposed to do; was he to let Taichi stay with his Agumon, or was there still a place for Zero by Taichi's side? This puzzle was becoming an itch in his head that was just too hard to scratch.

Then he heard Leomon say that all-consuming question, "So Zero, have you figured out your place?" To his dismay, Zero knew that answer all too well... "No... Not yet."

The gang that was once divided became one again almost overnight. It was the lightning fast Paildramon that would pick up Cody, Izzy and the rest of the Digi-Destined troops that have ventured through Oceanamon's realm. As for TK, Kari and their digimon, they would come back to the jungles of Gaiamon's realm on their own, just as DinoBeemon would be transporting Yolei, Sora and their digimon in that direction.

But those that have been away for so long would be shocked to discover just how much of Gaiamon's jungle had been reaped of its vegetation thanks to Gluttonymon. The gang would gather where Gaiamon had anchored herself as a giant flower instead of a tree, in an area that was still smoking with ash and debris.

The Keeper of the Land was making a great effort all through the night in recreating the lost plant life, but so far all she could do was bring back the rivers and brooks that cut through the forest and summon up a soft carpet of new spring grass.

That was the good news; the bad news would come in time, because this would be the first time that any of the Digi-Destined that had previously been corrupted by the Sin Digimon would have their negativity come full circle, and by the time anyone would figure that out, it would be too late.

It was still morning when Sora, Yolei and their digimon arrived; that was when things started to become slightly unpleasant. The girls came flying in on their Ultimate digimon, Garudamon and Silphymon, with Ken and DinoBeemon leading the way.

By then, most of the others had already arrived thanks to Davis and Paildramon, and they were scouting the lands for any signs of new plant life. Yolei was in her Ultimate partner's arms during the trip, and when he landed he set her down on the ground to be welcomed by the devastation around them.

The purple-haired girl looked around sadly; "...This is horrible," she muttered to herself; she then turned to Ken as a chill crawled down her spine and said, "All this because of Gluttonymon? That's insane! Who knows just how powerful those Sins are?"

"I know," he nodded back as he dismounted DinoBeemon; "But the good news is that Gaiamon's still here, and she's working her tail off to clean up after this mess."

The two humans then started to walk around, with their partners (now de-digivolved into Rookies) following close behind. They observed their surroundings as their friends nearby were getting reacquainted with one another, as if it had been weeks since last they met.

"So," Ken started the conversation, "how was your trip?" Yolei looked back at him and smiled, "Oh, you know; find the Power Spine, knock it down... Actually, Sora and I met up with Polarimon in a cloud city; that was cool." "A cloud city?" he smiled back; "Wow... Wish I was there. Heck, I wish I was anywhere instead of being in a coma."

Yolei then blinked, "I heard about that... Are you alright now?" "I seem to be," he replied, while examining the back of his neck briefly. Ken still had the memories of his nightmarish dream world still fresh in his mind, but as he said he was otherwise feeling fine.

He then tried to change the subject with, "So nothing really exciting happened to you guys?" Yolei was then reminded of an incident, and as she bowed her head to the ground she admitted, "Well, there was Lustmon. She tried to make us think that there's no such thing as real love, or something like that."

Her friend cracked a smile, "No real love? Ha! That's a laugh... You didn't believe her, did you?" "Of course not," replied Yolei; "It never really mattered to me just how many guys I date, as long as I know there's one guy out there who's meant for me. I just need to keep looking for him, that's all."

Suddenly, Ken stopped in his tracks, causing a distracted Yolei to walk right past him. When she realized that he was no longer by his side, she turned back to him and blinked, "...What? What'd I say?" At that moment, she could see an insecure look in his eyes, as if he was concerned about something. But he backed up and tried to cover it up by saying, "Uh, nothing."

She didn't believe him; Yolei approached her friend and asked, "What's wrong, Ken?" He then felt trapped and replied honestly, "It's just... you sounded like you'd throw yourself at just about anybody."

Just as her mouth gaped, showing that she was insulted, Ken quickly added, "N-not that you would! I know you would never do that; you're not that kind of girl!" "You're darn right!" snapped Yolei, right before Ken explained with a sweat drop running down the side of his face, "I just think that maybe you're trying too hard in finding the right guy!...."

Then there was an awkward pause between the two of them; Yolei looked lost and confused, while Ken started to feel like he had just been treading through a mine field.

Then suddenly, Yolei asked with a tone of despair, "Do you think I'm hopeless?" "I never... ever... said that," replied Ken in a very sincere tone; "And I don't think that either. I know there's a guy out there for you somewhere, Yolei, and it's okay to go look for him... I just think..."

He stopped himself before he could go any further, and felt safe to turn his back on her before she noticed his true emotions.

She dared to face him again and tried to force out his true emotions by asking, "Go on, say it... You think I'm trying too hard, is that what you're trying to say?" The young man was now getting more and more uncomfortable with the subject; his eyes turned away with a look of sadness in them as he uncontrollably started to blush. With that, he meekly replied, "I don't wanna say anything that's gonna come out all wrong. 'Cause I know it will..."

Yolei was still taken back by his comments; she felt as if he were trying to let her down easy, to say as gently as possible that he never approved of her relationships.

"...But you don't think I'm hopeless," she begged for reassurance right then. Ken took a deep breath and with newfound confidence he replied, "No, I don't think you're hopeless." "...Good," was all she could say.

Then she turned her back to him and said, "Okay, I'm gonna see if I can find berries or something." In a slightly quick pace, Yolei marched into the leveled forest, with Hawkmon fluttering behind like her shadow.

Wormmon then crawled over to Ken and wondered, "Are you alright?" Ken was, at the moment, lost in thought as he gazed in the direction in which Yolei took off, but he quickly snapped out of it as he turned to Wormmon and answered, "I'm gonna take a break over by that tree." He was referring to a tree not far off, which was stripped of its leaves but otherwise in tact. The little caterpillar took his advice, and the two of them were on their way.

Meanwhile…

"Little to the left... Now move forward... Little more.... Little more... Perfect! Drop it right there," directed Izzy.

As he commanded, Kabuterrimon and Ikkakumon, with their combined strength, carried a ton of burned trees to an open field and placed them right in the center.

"Now," directed Izzy still, "let's chop it up into mulch."

As his partner had wanted, Kabuterrimon incinerated the tree logs with his "Electro Shocker;" within seconds, they were cindered. Ikkakumon then unleashed his "Harpoon Torpedo" to further chop the wood and ash into tiny particles.

Nearby, Joe witnessed this while leaning against a tree that wasn't as badly damaged as these that Izzy had riced up; also in the scene were Jun and Penguinmon, who were sitting up against a fallen log.

A doubtful Joe looked to Izzy and asked, "You sure this is gonna help Gaiamon replenish the land?" Izzy replied with a confident smile, "Hey, I might not have a green thumb, but I at least know one thing or two about gardening."

The shorter young man with the red hair then turned his attention to the other bystanders and waved, "Hey, Penguinmon! We could sure use your help getting the mulch to all the other trees." The little purple penguin listened and turned to Jun; "Whaddya say, Jun?" he asked her politely.

His human partner, who stared blankly at the earth with darkened eyes, replied in a slightly dark tone, "Do whatever you want, Penguinmon." He seemed to ignore the change in attitude in his partner, for the little penguin nodded, "Okay!" He waddled off to join in on the fun, while his partner muttered, "It's not like any of this matters…"

Sure enough, the little penguin immediately became a giant condor (or whatever Saberdramon is), and joined Kabuterrimon in flying the mulch around the perimeter of the Great Gardens that was in most damage.

At that time, TK, Kari and their digimon had finally arrived; they said their helloes to Joe and the others, and at first they seemed normal. That would soon change...

Later…

Tai and Matt were by a river with their digimon, pulling out fallen logs that were damming the water, blocking it from getting to where it was needed deeper in the woods.

They were soon met by Sora and Biyomon; no one seemed to notice, but Sora's eyes were darkened in tone. "What're you guys doing?" asked the young lady monotonously; Tai glanced up at her and smiled, "Hey, Sora! Biyomon!" Matt glanced up at them too and said, "We're just cleaning up after Gluttonymon; we could use a little help though."

Sora then remarked, "Are you suggesting that I help you?" "It would be nice," replied a narrow-eyed Matt. He didn't like the tone in her voice, and with good reason; she sounded cold.

Sounding cold still, Sora replied, "Well, Biyomon and I were just scouting the terrain; we can't stick in one place while the rest of this jungle needs us."

Tai then stepped out of the river to approach his arrived friend and smiled pleasantly, "Yeah, I know it's gonna take a lot of work, but we gotta take this one step at a time, Sora." She replied, "That's a good point... But still, you boys look like you've got this under control."

She then turned away and commanded, "Come on, Biyomon." The little pink bird looked back at her with a look of concern; "But Sora, maybe we-" she began to say; but Sora insisted, "Let's go." Not one to disappoint her partner, Biyomon gulped and scampered off after Sora.

Tai paused in wonder and then turned back to his river-bound friends, "That seemed weird." Matt leaned up against a log that was being held up by a sweat-dropping Gabumon and replied, "Nah; I'll bet she's just in one of those moods." Tai gulped nervously, "You mean... those once-a-month moods?" Matt just shrugged, "I don't question them; I just take 'em as they come."

His comment was then followed by Gabumon falling over into the river; thanks to Matt's leaning, the digimon had lost his grip on the erected tree log and with it he made a big splash.

Elsewhere…

Mimi was already in tears by the time her fate was sealed. She knew she was doomed from the start, but she had only herself to blame for getting herself into such a predicament. Now the heat was on, in a matter of speaking; Cody just stared back at her blankly, mercilessly.

Then he went in for the kill... by discarding two fire Energy cards into his discard pile and stated, "Sorry, Mimi... But my Blaziken EX's 100 damage incinerates your Beautifly." Yes, they were playing the Pokémon trading card game. "Nooooo," wailed Mimi, "my poor Beautifly!"

Cody then proceeded to finish the game by instructing, "And now I'll take my sixth prize, and win the game." Not yet over the "death" of her favorite Pokémon card, Mimi growled at the young boy, "Err! No wonder that card of yours deserves to be banned! And besides, I'm better at 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' anyway!"

As Cody nonchalantly reshuffled his deck of cards, he remarked, "Oh, I've seen your Dark Magician Girl deck; trust me, I can Trample it." Mimi then balled a fist and hissed, "Is that a challenge? Alright then, let's duel!" Just as they had begun to clear to so-called playing field of their Pokémon cards, Davis was discovered standing by.

Their attention was drawn to him as he shook his head to them and frowned jokingly, "...Have you no shame?" Mimi and Cody got the joke and just huffed in reply.

"Well," came the voice of Kari, as she and TK walked into the scene, "looks like nothing's getting done around here." Neither Cody nor Mimi felt offended by this remark; Cody replied calmly, "We're just trying to keep our spirits up; besides, there's not much we can do to restore this jungle."

Davis glanced around to see for himself that Cody was right; while everyone else was scrounging around for plant life, their searching would seem in vain.

TK then crossed his arms in response to Cody's comment, "You may have a point, but we might as well look around to see if we can clean up any debris or see if there's any endangered digimon."

Davis then stepped in and argued, "No rest for the weary? Come on, TK, lighten up. You too, Kari; you guys act like the world is about to end whenever we stop to take a breather."

Davis was then met with a look in Kari's eyes that he never would have dreamed of seeing; she narrowed her darkened eyes to him and coldly replied, "If the world was going to end each time you acted lazy, then we wouldn't have survived our childhood."

Though she and TK had for countless times teased Davis for being somewhat of an underachiever, never before had their tones sounded so harsh. With that in mind, Davis took this comment to heart and felt offended; he backed up and responded, "Woah! Who left your fridge open, Kari? That sounded cold."

Before Cody and Mimi could jump in and back Davis up, TK turned his attention to them and said, "You guys, see if anybody needs your help around here." Cody dared to protest, "TK, there's no need to-" But then Mimi took his arm and nodded to TK, "You're right. Come on, Cody, let's go."

As they parted ways with the others, Cody muttered to Mimi, "We don't have to take orders from them. Since when did they get so high and mighty?" Mimi muttered back, "You're right, that was uncalled for; but I'm in no mood to start a fight when we really might be needed." That was the end of their argument; Davis was then left alone with TK and Kari for the moment.

Now the children of Hope and Light had the Noble one right where they wanted him; they didn't know it, but they were playing right into the hands of Pridemon, who had filled their hearts with negativity ever since they had separated themselves from the group just less than a week ago. The plan was to single out Davis and put him in a position that he was never prepared to be in, and it was working perfectly.

TK and Kari moved in closer to him, and at first he didn't notice a change. But then TK asked him calmly, "So Davis, whatcha been up to?" The spiky-haired boy replied with a smile, "Well, me n' Ken got all tangled up in the desert with Gluttonymon, then Jun and me tangoed with Greedmon in the ocean."

Kari asked, "So you assisted in the destruction of two Power Spines?" Davis thought it over for a second, and then came to realization, "...Uh, s-sort of. 'Cause Ken got knocked out cold, we had to skip the desert one. Then Jun got her crest and she took out Greedmon's tower." "So," TK said with folded arms, "that means you didn't do anything."

Davis frowned in reaction, "No! I did do a couple things." "Like?" requested Kari. Davis then brushed back his wild hair and defended himself by saying, "Well... I, uh, trained Jun and Penguinmon a little bit. I met up with another digimon, and he helped us escape Greedmon's lair... uhh... Veemon digivolved to Paildramon a few times!"

"Well yeah," TK grinned, "he's a digimon; they're supposed to do that." "And," added Kari matter-of-factly, "he was the one doing all the real work, fighting off the Sin Digimon. Am I right?" Davis made a disgruntled face, "Well... What was I supposed to do? Even if I had battle gear-"

"Which you don't," TK sharply stated.

"I would if I had my full Crest!"

"Which you don't have either," Kari informed.

"Well anyway," Davis tried to make his point, "I'm just a human being; I can't take on a Sin Digimon! That'd be suicide."

"Well, they're only a couple Mega digimon," reminded TK. "And," bragged Kari monotonously, as if it were no big deal, "we took on a Mega digimon all by ourselves." "Wha?" blinked Davis. "In the Dark Ocean world," nodded TK.

Davis was impressed greatly with them and smiled, "Wow! That's great, you guys!"

"And," added Kari, "our digimon evolved to their Mega forms."

"It's just too bad Veemon can't do that," commented TK.

"I guess he would if you had your full crest."

"Which you don't."

"I know! I KNOW I DON'T!" hollered Davis in frustration.

"...But why is that?" wondered Kari as she began to pace around Davis, scratching her chin. TK scratched his own chin nearby as he replied, "Maybe it's because he's just not ready for it yet."

"Well gee," replied Kari coldly, "You'd think he'd be ready by now, right when the Keepers need him the most, you think?" TK answered her nonchalantly, "He should be ready; I know the rest of us are."

"Well, the rest of us are all mature adults anyway. Davis is... eh..."

"I know. But it's not like he cares."

"Uh, hello!" Davis snapped, "I'm right here!!"

"Not like any of us are about him," muttered Kari, whose voice was loud and clear.

"Not many of us even notice him."

"HEY! GUYS!!"

TK and Kari then looked over to their agitated friend; "...Oh, Davis," TK monotonously replied, "I didn't even know you were there." "I've... BEEN HERE!" answered Davis as he threw down his arms in a desperate act of attention.

This conversation was becoming intolerable to the now disheartened Davis; he barked, "And what the hell is wrong with you two? Barking out orders to Cody and Mimi, and now you're picking on me like a bunch of bullies?? What gives!? I thought you guys were cool; I thought you were better than that. I mean, where's all this animosity coming from?"

"Animosity," chuckled a rude Kari; she then turned to TK and smiled, "I bet he can't even spell that."

"And you're doing it again!" Davis growled; "You're acting like I'm not here!"

TK seemed to roll his eyes as he sighed deeply, "...Well, to tell you the truth Davis, we're not even sure just how you got here."

"...huh?" blinked the confused Child of Nobility.

Kari then looked him in the eye and said, "You see, Davis, TK and I have been Digi-Destined since we were very little. Back then, we've seen a lot of crazy things, but we've always been a force to be reckoned with." TK added, "All Digi-Destined are like that; they've got brains, strength and digimon partners that can defeat anyone."

Davis grew angry and argued, "But Imperial Dramon is my Mega digimon, and you've seen what he can do!"

"Imperial Dramon?" responded Kari; "You mean the fusion of Veemon and Wormmon?" TK then stated, "Even when you're called to duty, you have to rely on the help of someone else. You always needed Ken to be by your side so that Veemon could Jogress with Wormmon. And now that Wormmon can evolve to Ultimate and Mega on his own, there's just no more room for you anymore."

Davis let out a gasp in horror; with every bone-chilling comment they made, they scratched more and more at his heart. And now, hearing this coldest comment of all, he was truly devastated.

"...What... What's that supposed to mean?" he dared to ask. He braced himself for the answer, but it still came at him like a ton of bricks to his spirit when TK calmly replied, "Well, I think the reason why you can't earn your crest is finally clear: you're just not that important to us anymore."

Davis tried to deny what he was hearing and stuttered, "...No, wait. You can't... I-" "You don't understand?" Kari narrowed her eyes at Davis; she then moved in closer and added, "I was afraid of this, so I'll make it clear to you. You're like a carton of milk that's passed its expiration date. Your time's up. We don't need you anymore."

Up until then, Davis's eyes and hands were all trembling as he tried to keep his cool. But when those words, coming from that sweet and admirable voice, hit his ears, his motion had completely faltered. Kari might as well had pulled a gun on him and shot him in the head, because her words killed him.

"...Tell me you're kidding..." he muttered, still having a shadow of a doubt that they meant what they said; "You guys? Tell me you're not serious!"

Kari was still not herself, but she eased his pain slightly by replying, "Come on Davis, when did you ever take us seriously?"

Davis stepped back a little, confused at what she had said; it sounded to him like she was trying to soften the blows even more, but it didn't do much good.

TK didn't make the situation any easier when he suddenly cracked a smile, "Welp, I'm gonna help the others clean up the place. Take it easy, Davis." "Yeah," smiled the pleasantly wicked Kari, "nobody's gonna care either way...

"Oh." she paused.

Just as she passed him by, she took one last glance at him and said, "By the way, you can take those goggles off. Everyone knows you're not Tai." Then once she left his sight, Davis stood alone.

And for once in his whole life, he was beginning to feel alone.

Time had passed swiftly from morning to afternoon. Most of the team members had made space between each other, either to keep the peace or just to find a place to rest.

Some of those members had decided to find a more green and lush area of Gaiamon's jungle, and when they did, they had discovered it just a few miles away from Gaiamon herself. It was a sign that her power was slowly but surely regenerating.

As a few of the Rookies (including Veemon and Wormmon) took up their own version of soccer nearby, with a rolled up Armadillomon as the ball, Davis felt the need to take refuge under a giant olive tree. The tree was one of many that were regaining their former glory; already it was sprouting leaves. There, under its cool and peaceful shade, he sat up against the trunk and let out a small but noticeable sigh.

Once he heard these calm words, "Something on your mind?" he realized that he had inadvertently taken up the same relaxing spot as his friend, Ken.

Davis glanced to his left, and sure enough there was his best friend sitting up against the trunk of the very same tree, looking back at him with a concerned look in his eyes. Davis nearly jumped in surprise, but then he smiled sheepishly, "Oh! Hey… Uh, why? Does it look like I do?" Ken smiled back, "Well, you're obviously thinking about something; your face is easier to read than a kindergarten spelling book."

"Oh, ha-ha," Davis replied in blatant sarcasm.

He then curled his hands behind his head and turned his face all the way up to the tree's branches and replied, "…Actually, I am thinking about something. It's Kari and TK; ever since they got here, they've been acting really weird…"

"Like, how?"

"…Well, you know how they'd tease me about being so stubborn and kinda dumb, but they don't really mean it?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, this time… it feels like they do mean it."

Ken dropped his jaw in surprise; "Get out of here," he responded with concern.

Davis's eyes then wandered back to where they wanted to be, staring straight at the empty void in the Battle Crest that hung miserably around his neck.

He sighed softly, "That's not the only problem… I wish I had my Crest of Nobility. I'm starting to feel like I'm worthless without it. I mean, it's been too long, man! If I don't get it soon-"

"Hey," Ken blinked, "don't talk like that. You know you're one of the strongest members of the team; I've seen you take on monsters you had no business of taking on.

"And you were the only one of us who passed MaloMyotismon's final test, remember? I remember it clearly; the whole team was taken in by illusions that showed us all our problems and issues we were most worried about. But not you; you held your own and got the rest of us outta that state."

Davis tried to remember, but it felt so long ago; he just sighed, "I know… I remember. The only reason why I passed that test was because I was the only one who had nothing to worry about… But now I do."

Suddenly, his buddy came up with the solution, "You know what I think?" "What?" blinked Davis; Ken replied, "I think you're thinking about it too much; that's why you haven't earned the third piece yet. What was the clue Polarimon gave you?"

"The Noble One puts himself last."

"Right."

"Well, how can I NOT think about it?? I went through enough tests already, didn't I? I saved you from being killed by Daemon, I helped Jun get her crest, and all the while I'm thinking, 'This is it! This is the moment I've been waiting for, ever since I found out what my Crest was,' and… And…"

Davis fell silent, which was a rare event; even Ken looked a little surprised. But now Davis had finally come to realize what was holding him back all along; "…I really am thinking about it too much… Aw, man. I'm never gonna get it."

He palmed his face in shame, but his buddy moved in a little closer and said, "Look, just relax dude. Things have been really rough around here, and right now everybody's on edge. So don't you feel sorry for yourself or anything, 'cause we need you right now. …Look, I know it's frustrating, but you'll get your Crest when you're ready for it. Okay?"

While he was saying all of this, Veemon and Wormmon nearby paused from their little game of soccer to hear Davis and Ken conversing, and before long they dropped the "ball" and hurried over to the side of their human partners.

At this point, Davis was looking depressed as his head hung like a dead man's toward the ground. As the little digimon came over, he asked Ken, "D'you know why I was so excited when I found out what my crest is?"

Ken guessed, "…Because you finally had one all to yourself?"

"No," Davis shook his head, "it's because of Tai… Tai's a noble guy, right?" "He's the leader, technically," replied his buddy.

Davis explained with a nod, "That's right. I always looked up to Tai, 'cause he's brave and tough and like the one guy everybody follows, no matter what. I wanna be like that; I wanna take charge for once and show people how brave and strong I am…"

"There's schomething else!" Veemon suddenly interrupted; curious, Ken blinked, "What? What else?" "No, Veemon!" Davis warned; "Don't say it!" Veemon elbowed his partner and smiled, "It's okay, Davish; you can tell him!" "Tell me what?" Ken blinked again, getting all the more curious. "No!" Davis hollered; "I'm not gonna say it. Ever!"

Then Ken tried to chide him, "Oh, what? You'll tell your digimon partner but not me? I thought we were best friends; I thought we were really close! Boy, I guess I don't qualify in your little clique after-"

That did it; Davis grew impatient and growled, "Alright, ALRIGHT! I'll say it!…" and then he shook his pointer finger at Ken and warned, "But you better not tell anybody, not even Yolei! You promise?" "My lips are sealed," Ken promised. "Fine…" Davis muttered.

Still a bit shy about what he was about to say, he took his time in saying it, and very softly, "…The only reason… why I ever liked Kari…"

"…….Yes?"

"…Was because…"

"Yes??" This was Ken, Wormmon and Veemon altogether.

Davis hurried his sentence, "Because she's Tai's sister, and I thought if I can get closer to her, I could get closer to him." Then he cringed; he just knew that was going to come out all wrong!

There was a moment of silence, and then Ken replied with, "…eh… eh-heh-heh… Heheheheh! ….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" His buddy then grabbed his hair and roared, "Aa-AAH! I KNEW you were gonna take that the wrong way!"

He knew it didn't mean what it sounded, but still Ken teased, "And all this time, I thought you only wanted his goggles! HAAAA- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Wormmon and Veemon then joined in on the laughter, making Davis turn red with embarrassment.

But then soon enough, the laughter came to a halt as soon as Tai himself walked into the scene with, "What's going on?"

The trio of laughing hyenas then turned back to Ken, Wormmon and Veemon; their ringleader simply gave him a stone-cold face and replied, "Nothing. We're just talking…" "Okay," nodded a clueless Tai, and he went on his way. Relieved, Davis made a deep sigh.

Ken then looked back at Davis with a warm smile and said, "Relax, bro; I think I know what you were trying to say. You don't wanna be near Tai, you wanna be Tai." "Yes," Davis nodded solemnly, "that's it. That's what I always wanted."

Ken then smiled again, "Don't you think it'd just be easier to be yourself?" His spiky-haired buddy just gave him a look and frowned, "…That's just it, bro… I'm not really sure who I am."

"Well I do," replied his so-called bro; "You're the guy that became the first to receive a Digi-Mental. You're the first to get two, actually. In fact, later on you even got a third one, being the only one to ever use the Digi-Mental of Miracles. You're also the kid that first welcomed me into the group just days after I broke out of Millenniumon's spell, and you and I were the first to have our digimon Jogress."

He would have gone on, but Davis stopped him by saying, "I know. I know all that, dude. But is all of that really supposed to show that I'm noble?" Ken just narrowed an eye to him, "You didn't let me finish."

Davis's mouth dropped as he muttered, "Oh… Is there more?" His best friend just turned to the earth and shrugged, "Yes there's more, but I'll let you figure it out for yourself."

"…But what if I can't?" Davis frowned in despair.

Then Veemon had the answer, "Hey Davish? Maybe we shouldn't sit around here and wait for the crest to come to us. Maybe we should just go out there and find the last Power Shpine." Davis looked to his little partner and blinked, "Huh?"

The little blue dragon replied, "Everybody's talking about it; it's the one Shpine they couldn't find. But if we could find it, we'll prove the others wrong about being useless." Davis frowned again, "But Veemon, I need my whole crest to shut it down. Ken, talk to him! Tell him I can't do this on my own."

"…I think you're wrong, Davis."

"WHAT?"

Ken turned his face away from Davis just to let his thoughts all sink in; he explained solemnly, "I think Veemon has a point here; you're letting what TK and Kari said about you being worthless get to you. And I know you're not worthless at all, and if finding Wrathmon's Power Spine will prove that, then… you should go for it."

Davis couldn't believe his ears; was his best buddy actually telling him to march straight to his death? He balled a fist and huffed, "You guys are crazy! Dude, I'm not doing this alone; I want you to come with me." Ken answered, "You won't be alone," and with that he glanced down at Veemon.

Davis followed him, and looked straight into the gentle red eyes of his partner. There was a glow in them that he had seen before, the same glow of determination he always had right before he was sent into action.

The little dragon smiled back at him, giving him a nod of confidence. Davis got a little emotional for a moment, but then he got a hold of himself and asked Veemon, "Are you sure you wanna do this?" Veemon replied, "We can do anything, Davish! I believe in usch."

Ken and Wormmon both smiled at them warmly, and Davis noticed it, which gave him a slight boost in confidence. He then said, "Well… if you guys think I can do it, then I'll do it."

"That's the spirit," Wormmon finally spoke; "Yeah," agreed his partner. It was settled then; Davis and Veemon were to travel on their own into uncharted territory in hopes to find Wrathmon's Power Spine.

Davis picked himself up and made a stretch to relax his legs. Then, as he took his first steps on his new journey, he walked up to his best friend and gave him a soft handshake; Ken muttered to him, "Just be careful out there, alright?" Davis replied with, "Hey, thanks for believing in me. I needed that." "No prob, bro," was Ken's answer.

The last thing he said was to Veemon; "Take care of yourselves." Veemon gave him a nod and a thumb's up, "You bet."

Perhaps they were too confident in themselves at that moment, for no one among the four of them dared to say goodbye. They must have felt in their hearts that "Goodbye" was an inappropriate word to say, for Davis and Veemon would return from their quest soon enough. So silently, Wormmon and Ken watched as their best friends went off into the distance.

When Davis and Veemon were no longer visible, disappeared into the trees ahead, Wormmon looked over to Ken and asked, "You and Davis really are close, aren't you?" Ken kept his eye in the direction in which Davis and Veemon had disappeared in, but then he looked back at Wormmon and smiled, "…To me, it's like my brother never died." Wormmon understood then why Davis and Ken called each other "bro," and nodded with a hum.

Shortly afterwards, who would show up in the scene but TK and Kari? They must have noticed Davis and Veemon leaving, which is why they approached Ken and Wormmon.

Looking in the direction in which Davis and Veemon had left, Kari asked Ken, "Where are those two going in such a hurry? Don't they know we have a crisis on our hands?" The young man with his back against the olive tree didn't look them in the eye; instead he glanced downward with closed eyes and replied, "They've gone off to find Wrathmon's Power Spine." "All by themselves?" TK replied; "That's crazy."

Ken remained motionless and said, "I think it's important that they do this; I'm hoping it'll help them earn the Crest of Nobility. I'm sure that the next time we see Davis, he'll have his full crest finally."

Then it happened; Ken finally got his chance to hear what Davis was hearing all along: TK replied very darkly, "Oh. Well then, I guess it's safe to say we'll never see him again."

"Hyeah, right," Kari replied just as darkly; "I'm sure he'll find the Power Spine… I'm just not sure if he could knock it down." "Maybe if he uses that hard head of his," teased TK; Kari then replied, "Oh don't count on that, TK; as hard as his head is, you know it's all hollow in there."

The two of them, in their state of growing negativity, started to giggle at their harsh jokes. This made Ken's skin crawl, and forced him to glance up at them with a stern look, as if he were offended. In fact, he really was offended; he now understood what Davis meant when he said how cold they had become.

And it didn't stop there; TK added, I'll bet the only reason why he's running away is because he finally admits that he's not fit to be one of us." Kari agreed, "Yeah. It's about time he let the real professionals take over, instead of being a Tai wannabe."

Ken had enough at last; he flew to his feet and snapped at them, "Alright, that's enough! You two have no right to talk about Davis like that, especially not behind his back."

TK narrowed his eyes at him sharply, "Who asked you? What we say is our business." Ken faced off against him and replied, "When you insult one of my best friends, you make it my business." TK just hit him back with, "Go back to sleeping under a tree; that's all you're good for anymore."

Before Ken could stand up for himself, Wormmon quickly jumped in front of him like an instant shield and barked at TK, "Hey! What's the matter with you two; can't you hear what you're saying? We're your friends." TK gave the little caterpillar a sharp glare and hissed, "Stay out of this, you little maggot."

That did it; one could say all they wanted to about Ken, even to his face, but once they started offending his digimon, they dug their own grave. "MAGGOT?" Ken roared furiously; he then grabbed TK by the collar with one hand and shook a fist with the other, growling, "That's it, TK; now you've gone too far!"

Just as Ken raised his balled fist in position to punch TK in the face, Mimi came out of nowhere and yelled, "Stop it, both of you!" Alarmed, Ken, TK and Kari glanced at Mimi, who was obviously shaken by everything that's been happening that day. She frowned, "We shouldn't be fighting each other; we've got enough problems as it is."

"But he started it!" ratted TK and Ken at the same time, like feuding siblings.

Mimi just shook her head, "There's no point to this; just leave each other alone." Being more in character than his would-be rival, Ken sighed and released TK. He then turned around, picked Wormmon up in his arms, and said to TK and Kari sternly, "You know, Davis was right about you two. You're not yourselves at all…"

He then started to walk off; Mimi blinked, "Wait. Where're you going?" Without looking back to her, he replied, "Somewhere where I don't have to put up with their nonsense." And with that, Ken and Wormmon left.

Veedramon Zero seemed to have healed overnight, thanks to a good night's sleep. He spent his early afternoon staring from a cliff at the horizon that met with the vast ocean on a shoreline of File Island. After giving it much thought, he realized that his heart was calling out to the world he seemed to have left behind.

Being washed up on the island was a mere setback; he had to return to the main continent of the digital world, where the humans were.

But something was eating at his spirit; he knew that his former human partner, Taichi Yagami, was all grown up now and he had himself a new digimon partner, Agumon. Zero took this as a sign that his dear friend had forgotten all about him, and that tore him apart.

But he knew that even if that were true, he couldn't just stand by and sulk about it. Action and adventure were calling to him, and he couldn't ignore the call any longer.

He stared blankly at the unknown ahead of him, and as he did so he started to think aloud, "Maybe Leomon was right. Maybe the reason why I feel so empty inside is because I don't know my place in life yet… But there's one place I wanna be more than any other…"

He paused his thoughts, clutching his fist in despair. "Aw, Taichi," he muttered as he bowed his head, "if only I had the guts to meet up with you before; maybe you do remember me… But even if you don't," he added as he raised his head back to the horizon, "I gotta prove myself. I gotta know for sure if you and I are meant to be partners again. 'Cause if I don't figure it out… then I'll never find peace within myself."

It was then decided by the aged Veedramon that he would put his fears aside and resume his journey to find his dear friend Taichi. He turned around and headed for a beach where he knew a boat would be waiting for him, to take him off that peaceful island and back on the road to adventure.

It was then decided by the spiritually lost Davis that he would put his insecurities aside and begin on his journey to self-discovery, but first he had to share a moment with his dear friend and mentor, Tai.

He found the older Digi-Destined by the small brook near Gaiamon, and he wasn't alone; Agumon, Izzy and Tentomon were in the scene as well.

The Bearer of Knowledge had grown curious about the yellow topaz heart of Gluttonymon, and noticed that it had vein-like black lines running through and around it. To ease his curiosity, he had hooked up a wire from his computer laptop to one of the heart's holes, as if it were a video game cartridge or the like. Once it was hooked up to his computer, Izzy typed away at his computer to see just what kind of program he could unlock inside it. So far, all he got was a full screen of blue binary codes- a dead end.

Davis bravely stepped forward as soon as he saw Tai and said, "You guys, this is gonna be hard... but I gotta go away for a little while."

Stunned, Tai replied with a frown, "Davis! What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong," answered Davis in a mellow tone; "I'm just sick and tired of waiting for my crest to come to me; I gotta go to it instead."

The nearby Izzy questioned, "Do you know where you're gonna find it, Davis?" The younger human shook his head, "No... But the more I think about it, the more I can sense it. It's kinda weird... and cool. Anyway, I just wanted you guys to know that I'll be leaving. And, I dunno when I'm gonna come back."

Tai was the more concerned member of the group, but as he looked deeply at the look in Davis's eyes, he could see that his friend knew what he was doing. Tai then said, "Okay, Davis; just be careful."

Davis then did the one thing no one, not even himself, expected him to do. He moved closer to Tai until he was face to face with the taller Digi-Destined and blurted out, "There's just one more thing I gotta do before I go..."

Tai blinked in confusion, as Davis suddenly reached for the goggles that were crowned on his head all this time, and had proceeded to take them off. Everyone, even Izzy, gasped at this gesture; it would seem that Davis had those goggles longer than Tai ever did.

"Davis..." muttered Tai, as he was then handed the familiar pair of goggles; Davis replied, "Here... I have to give these back to you, Tai; I feel like I don't need them anymore."

Tai tried to crack a smile as he gently argued, "But Davis, I gave those to you as a gift." Davis then smiled, "I know, but I only wore them 'cause I wanted to be like you. ...But now I just gotta try to be myself, so... I feel like I don't deserve these anymore. ...Take 'em, Tai."

As he glanced at them in Davis's hand, Tai looked as though he were reluctant in accepting back his old pair of soccer goggles. Then he felt as though he had no choice, and made the transfer as nonchalantly as he could. "Thanks, Davis," he smiled.

Davis huffed, "Heh... It's me who should be thanking you..." Perhaps the moment was too touching for Davis to handle, because he then added, "Eh well, this is getting a little awkward. I should go now." "Okay," nodded his mentor.

Davis then turned around to face an already set to go Veemon; "Well, Vee," he said to his digimon, "this is it." "It sure is," smiled his excited partner.

Davis then looked back one last time at Tai, Izzy and their digimon and waved, "Bye, you guys." "Good luck, Davis," Tai waved back; Izzy and the others waved as well with their own goodbyes. After that, their young duo of friends and protégés set off on their way to unknown parts.

(Begin original song "Drifting Away," which is greatly inspired by 3 Door's Down's "Here Without You." (Author's Note: This song came to me in a dream, which is the reason why I'm sticking to it, though I can imagine 3 Doors Down performing it.))

Tai couldn't take his eyes off of the road on which Davis and Veemon set foot, giving Izzy plenty of time to walk up to him from behind. The red-head then glanced at the same road and wondered aloud, "You think they're gonna be okay?" Tai replied without flinching, "I hope so, Izzy... Those guys've come a long way; maybe we worry about them too much."

Izzy then crossed his arms, "You can never worry too much about your friends." Tai made a soft sigh; like always, Izzy was right, and he knew it.

(Song continues)

For the longest time, I've felt there's been a missing part of me

I don't know where I can find it, but it's where I gotta be

I'd hate to say goodbye, but I just can't stay here

I'd love to tell you why so you don't waste your tears

The journey of a thousand miles (or more) began with a vast meadow, blanketed by grass tall enough to be wheat stems. The mid-day sun mixed with clouds painted them in a warm tone of greenish-yellow, and the wind brushed through them, making ocean-like ripples in the process.

The meadow had a few tall hills, and it was on atop one of these hills that Davis and Veemon took a quick pause from their trek, not just to scope the land but also to look back at what was left of Gaiamon's jungle. They were now a few miles from it, and seeing it so far away was almost depressing in Davis's eyes. Still, he forced himself to turn ahead and move forward.

In the farthest distance, they could see a temperate forest complete with a mountain range.

Meanwhile…

The sea was on Veedramon Zero's side that day; the tide had just come in to pick up his little sailboat and carry it into the open sea. The wind was also on his side, blowing in the direction away from File Island.

As he was carried gently away by the elements, Zero had time to turn back and wave goodbye to the friend he had just made while on the island. Leomon, in turn, waved back with a smile as if he was proud of his new friend.

I'm drifting away, setting with the sun

Like a rolling river, I'm always on the run

I'm like the day, always moving on

In just one direction

In time, Zero found himself surrounded by the ocean without the smallest indication of dry land in sight. It was like this for almost three hours, and it was quickly becoming an annoyance to the old Veedramon.

But his hope to speed up his trip became possible as soon as he came across a group of aptly named dolphin-like digimon called Dolphmon. In no time, he had undone his sail and used its rope to lasso in three of these Dolphmon, and used them as his steeds of the ocean to take him and his small raft on a jet ski-like ride for the rest of the cruise.

Meanwhile…

Davis and Veemon's journey was at one point cut short, but only because they had to move across multiple islands that gathered near a shoreline. Davis's partner felt it would be easier, and much more fun, if he and Davis made hops, skips and jumps across the islands in the form of Paildramon... and he was right. It was fun.

Looking left and right, my instincts are what's showing me the way

I can feel it getting closer, but I feel so far away

I left you all behind, but I won't soon forget

I keep you close in mind so don't you mourn me yet

Still within the southern region of the digital world, where jungles and beaches were abundant, the traveling heroes found themselves at crossroads on a beach. Davis and Veemon stood on one side of the winding roads, while Veedramon Zero stood on the other.

Neither traveling team noticed each other as they made their decisions as to which direction they were to move in, because their attention was drawn elsewhere (plus they were blocked off from each other by palm trees). When their decisions were made, they had inadvertently crossed paths with each other.

Later, Davis and Veemon had come across an open field that could have gone on forever in a Serengeti-like plain. In this field, a group of Centarumon were galloping across the field in the manner of wild stallions. The traveling heroes caught up with them, and perhaps in combination of their curiosity and lust for adventure, the two of them hopped onto one of the Centarumon and joined in the joyful stampede.

I'm drifting away, setting with the sun

Like a rolling river, I'm always on the run

The wind's in my face; with it I'll be gone

I'd beg you to come with me, but I'm better off alone

My heart's moving on, worn away with time

Gotta keep on going 'till I get what is mine

I'm like the day, always moving on

In the same direction

Just when he thought his water-logged days were over, Veedramon Zero found himself carefully walking across a tree log that acted as a bridge over a rampant river, in parts unknown. He was doing just fine, until his weight finally gave way and split the old log in fractions. He, along with these fragments, went tumbling into the river.

Fortunately, Zero was a quick thinker and very resourceful; used a strong log fraction as a surfboard while he went white-water rafting down the wild river. Even as he met with a waterfall, one nearly three stories high, he was in high spirits and took the dive like an Olympian.

Don't miss me much, 'cause I'll be back

And I will tell you all the things I've done while I'm away

'Cause in my heart, my place is here

No matter where I'm going, this is where I wanna stay

But I'm...

Davis and Veemon had their own watery ride as well; they dove into the lake of a great cave in another uncharted region of the wilderness. It was rather bright underwater, for on the surface (which the two adventurers met with soon enough) the cave had enough openings on its rooftop to let in a strong amount of moonlight. The cave's interior made it easier for the moonlight to light up the scene, because as it turned out the cave was made also of crystal, not just plain rock.

Such a pleasant scene would not be shared by Davis and Veemon alone; plenty of tropical fish were in the lake, also indulging in the sparkly scenery.

Later that same evening, Davis and Veemon took refuge on top of this same cave, where there was more than enough support beneath them to make sure they wouldn't fall back into the lake. There, they made a small campfire and cooked up some fish as dinner, underneath millions of stars.

At one point, Davis was lucky enough to gaze up at the sky, perhaps to wish on a star or spend a moment at peace with himself, just when a shooting star passed through the stratosphere.

Drifting away, setting with the sun

Like a rolling river, I'm always on the run

The wind's in my face, and with it I'll be gone

I'd beg you to come with me, but I'm better off alone

My heart's moving on, worn away with time

Gotta keep on going 'till I get what is mine

I'm like the day, always moving on

In the same direction

Another day had passed by, and Veedramon Zero was still on his journey. He had come across a grassy field early that morning, and discovered early on that this field was infested with... butterflies. Yes, butterflies; many different colored ones, in fact.

The great warrior was much more used to dealing with scarier creatures, and as he ran through the field, he tried to take his eyes off of the fluttering beauties.

But he could only do so for so long; eventually he had to stop to catch his breath, when one tiny butterfly rested on his horned snout. Alarmed, he was tempted to shoo it away, but seeing the peaceful critter made his intensity die down fast.

Before he knew it, the aged Champion found himself lying on his back, resting from the trip at last, while watching the sky being flooded with rainbow butterflies. For once in quite a while, he felt at peace with himself.

Late that evening…

They had come to a wall-like rocky mountain that stood in their way. It was a mountain that went on for miles like the Great Wall of China, and was as brown and barren as those rock formations in the deserts of the United States' badlands. Indeed, the entire land around them was desert-like.

Davis could have easily hopped onto the back of his high-leveled digimon partner and take a flying leap over the mountain, but he saw no fun in that. So instead, he and Veemon scaled it like spiders, very slowly and carefully.

Veemon was the faster of the two, and he was already atop the wall by the time Davis could see it in his sights. The young man was nearly blown back by a chilling wind, but his grip was set firmly on the rocks. By the time he did at last lose his grip, Veemon was close enough to reach out and grab his friend's hand just in time.

The little dragon then happily gave Davis the boost he needed to join him on the rooftop of the reddish-brown mountain. When at last they turned to face the road ahead, they paused in awe to see that the region in which they entered was anything but friendly...

I'm like the day; soon I'll be gone

Drifting away

Mmm, mmm… (Humming ending melody)

(Song ends)

"Damn..." Davis muttered; his next words fit the description of this new land perfectly: "It's like we just stepped into Modoor in Lord of The Rings!" He said that, because the wasteland into which they had ventured was home to the blackest sky they had ever seen.

It wasn't actually the sky; it was a storm cloud that seemed to have gone on forever, and it sported spontaneous lightning bolts that were strong enough to pierce the surface of the bone-dry earth.

There were other wall-like mountains in the far distance; they made up the edges of this dark and unpleasant valley, but the ones that would wall in the entire land were so far off, they couldn't be seen. There was no plant life in sight; not even dried up tree logs or tumbleweeds; this gave Davis chills, for he was then convinced that he and Veemon truly have discovered the valley of the shadow of death.

Veemon seemed to have missed Davis's comment, but he could see for himself just how forbidding this desert-like valley was. But the little blue dragon was still in high spirits, even then; eh glanced at his human partner and said, "Well, we made it this far. No usche going back now, huh?" Davis looked back at him and replied, "You're right, Veemon."

The young man then took a deep breath and looked at the road ahead; as he did so, he clutched his fists as though he were having second thoughts about this quest. But he wasn't; inside of him, his heart started pounding with enthusiasm. He then let out his breath with a sigh, "It's now or never... Time to see if I really am The Noble One."

He wanted more than that, of course; he was still being haunted by what TK and Kari had said a few days earlier, and now as he felt the vibe of something evil in the air, he wanted to prove himself as a worthy Digi-Destined. He then took his first steps down the mountain, with Veemon skidding down the steep mountain behind him.

Yolei's patience was running thin, as she, Cody, Mimi and their digimon partners all gathered around Izzy to see if he could break the binary code that shielded what he hoped to be the purpose behind the heart of the fallen Sin Digimon.

As before, Gluttonymon's heart lay beside Izzy's computer laptop, hooked up to it like any computer hardware system, while Izzy waited and waited for the binary code that filled his computer screen to hatch.

"Did you get anything yet?" Yolei asked as she started to tap her foot. Izzy frowned, "No, Yolei. This heart's a lot more complex than it looks; I'm trying to figure out what it's meant to do and how it helps the Sin Digimon, but so far all I got is this binary code. It's as if Gluttonymon's data is being protected by a barrier; either that, or his data is so ancient, my computer just can't decipher it."

"Can you at least decipher the binary code?" asked Cody as he sat up on his knees nearby. Izzy replied with a humble smile, "Sorry, Cody; I may be smart, but I'm no rocket scientist... Hold on."

He had finally discovered a drastic change in the binary code; it was morphing from ones and zeroes to simplistic symbolism. "What is it?" responded Mimi to Izzy's last remark.

Izzy pointed out, "I'm starting to recognize this now... Over the years, I've been able to crack the ancient codes of the digital world and put them in my computer as a font; now my computer's finally breaking down the system, and it's starting to look like digi-world data."

The nearby Tentomon then joked, "Gee Izzy, when I said you need to get out more, I didn't mean get out and memorize the ancient digi-language!" Izzy just giggled.

But the mood was soon turned serious, as Izzy's jaw slowly started to gape open. "Ahh," he murmured; Mimi wondered, "Is that a good 'Ahh,' or a bad 'Ahh?'" Izzy turned to his friends and informed them, "I think I figured it out; this heart is actually Gluttonymon's hard drive. Think of it as a very advanced computer chip; it's what gave him life in the first place."

Yolei blinked, "You mean the Sin Digimon all have these hearts?" "I'd say so," Izzy replied.

"It's probable that these were the first digimon that the Keeper of Darkness had ever created, and he used a specific kind of program to do so. But when he finally broke into the digital world that the other Keepers were creating, he found out just how to give digimon life without the need of a hardware program.

"That explains why all his other minions dissolve into data; when the Sins are destroyed, all that's left are these hearts."

Young Cody leaned back in his seat and sighed, "Oh... So, do you think we could use these hearts to our advantage?"

Izzy scratched his chin, "Well, there's probably enough data stored inside it to help Gluttonymon be reborn. But this is something I've never seen before, and I don't know how it works. I think it's best to just keep it to ourselves before Daemon comes to reclaim it, 'cause if he does-"

"Then Gluttonymon can come back," concluded Yolei.

For the first time in hours, Izzy moved away from his computer laptop to stretch his legs. As he did so, he yawned softly, "...Well, I'm gonna take a quick break. Could you guys watch over this thing while I go grab a bite?"

"Uh, okay," replied Yolei; "But what're we supposed to do with it?" Izzy, with tiring eyes, answered, "Just let it sit there; I wanna download as much data as I can. Hopefully I'll be able to milk this heart dry, so that Gluttonymon can't reform himself." "Good plan," smiled Mimi.

It was a good plan indeed, but Izzy was having his doubts that it would work. Still, he and Tentomon left the group to go forage for food.

Mimi and Yolei both made themselves more comfortable on the new spring grass bed by the computer laptop. Mimi then made an honest yawn, "...I always admired Izzy for his brain, but every time he talks I feel like he's speaking another language." Yolei grinned, "I think he likes to talk that way to feel smarter.

"Anyway, maybe we should tell the others what's been going on... Hey, does anybody know where Tai and Matt went?"

Yolei had noticed that the two older Digi-Destined had turned up missing for some time; Cody solved her mystery by explaining, "They left to find Davis late last night. They were getting worried, because it's been a while since anybody's heard from him."

Yolei then frowned, "I'm sure he's okay; maybe he wants to be on his own." "He did seem kinda shaken when he left though," observed Mimi, as if she could understand the younger man's actions. "You think Tai an' Matt'll find him before he gets himself hurt?" Yolei wondered.

Cody answered wisely, "If I know Davis, then he'll only be in really big trouble if he calls for their help."

"...Somebody.... Anybody.... help."

Oh yes; Davis was now in serious trouble.

While traveling through the barren valley that he and Veemon came across on their aimless venture, they had found themselves facing head on a series of rivers made entirely of lava. This was puzzling, because there seemed to be no volcanoes around, and yet the entire field was soaked with volcanic magma.

On top of that, there were also a few scattered geysers, which erupted from the earth a stream of air hot enough to scorch a human. Davis stood at the edge of this perilous field as if helpless, but his little partner, Veemon, was right by his side.

The little dragon smiled, "Hey, this is no problem! I can just digivolve into ExVeemon and fly us through here!" Davis turned to the Rookie and balled his fists, "Well, what're you waiting for?"

So Veemon tried it: "VEEMON, DIGIVOLVE TO...……"

"...No one?" muttered a stunned Davis.

It was true; Veemon's ability to change into ExVeemon was denied.

The human and the digimon let out their gasps in unison, both equally stunned at the fact that Veemon couldn't digivolve. "What gives?" pouted Veemon; "I digivolved just yesh-terday!" Davis grew all the more concerned and frowned, "M-maybe this place has some kind o' barrier? Or maybe there's something in the air?"

"Shomething schtinks, alright," sniffed a suspicious Veemon; "like a dirty rat!"

"Try again," insisted Davis; Veemon obeyed by trying to tap into his inner strength, but it seemed hopeless. The little blue dragon remained as he was, and simply gave up after the second try.

His confidence had been shattered at this point, as he looked up to his human partner and frowned, "I can't do it, Davish... I feel drained." Davis patted his little buddy's head and replied solemnly, "It's okay, Vee..."

The Rookie glanced away for a minute to stare at the lava-painted field ahead of him in despair, but when he looked back at his human friend, he noticed that Davis was sporting a look of curiosity. Ken was right; Davis's face was as easy to read than a kindergarten book.

"What?" asked Veemon; Davis blinked, "Oh, uh... I was just wondering... Uh, it might be two years too late to ask, but-" "But what?" insisted Veemon. Davis literally swallowed his pride in a gulp, "What exactly does the 'V' in your name mean?"

Perhaps Davis felt silly in asking such a question at such a late time in their relationship, but the digimon was all too obliged to answer, "Victory!" Davis then couldn't help but let out a giggle; "Heh-heh-heh! I just thought it was a cute little design on your head," referring to the V-shaped yellow mark on the Rookie's forehead. Veemon just shook his head, "Nope. There'sh a lot more to me than meets the eye!"

"Indeed."

Neither the human nor the digimon had expected to hear the voice of another in the same, so it was doubly surprising for them to hear such a voice in a deep, inhuman manner.

There seemed to be no one in sight, so it came across to them as omniscient, until the sky suddenly began to part ways with the black clouds ahead. The sky was revealed to be blood-red, as fiery and violent as the scenery around the two heroes.

Then something else began to approach them ahead; a giant tornado. Only, this was no ordinary tornado; it was made entirely of fire. It spiraled its way across the wasteland, past the rivers of lava and wicked-hot geysers, until it appeared before the heroes from just ten feet away.

Awestruck, Davis stared at it and muttered, "...O-kay, that's out of the ordinary." Veemon stared at it as well, only he was so stunned to see it that he was speechless.

To settle their curiosity, the flaming twister started to take on a whole new shape; from within its funnel, a pair of black, skeletal arms and claws emerged, followed by a skeletal rib cage that enveloped the spiraling fire. The form was topped off by a bust and skull as black and bony as the rest of it; a hot-red glow, perhaps coming from the fire from within, beamed from the otherwise bare eye sockets.

The skull itself was monstrous; there were long fangs in its jaws, devilish spikes on its brow, and soon it would unleash a voice that seemed both male and female, indicating that this creature was genderless.

When it did speak, it said, "I am Wrathmon... Welcome to my home: the Valley of the Unwanted." As if trying to joke his way out of a state of fear, Davis gave off a smile, "...Oh, this is YOUR place? Ha! Heh-heh-heh! We musta took a wrong turn somewhere. Come on, Veemon; let's get outta-"

WHOOSH!

Davis's retreat was stopped by the forceful winds of a geyser that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, as if on cue. The human then turned back to the skeletal beast that towered over him and Veemon ten times over. "You'll not be leaving so soon," growled the Sin; "Not without getting past me."

Davis couldn't help but wonder how that would be possible; the beast was a giant, and on top of that it had a burning tornado for a waist and legs. Veemon growled at the Sin, "I'd take you on, ugly, IF I could digivolve!" "Oh yes, that," purred the burning beast; "This valley is designed to disrupt the usual frequencies that allow digivolution to be possible. In other words, you're merely a victim of static."

"A static field?" Davis thought aloud; "That's not fair; this guy's already a Mega, and he's too chicken to put up a real fight!"

Wrathmon's invisible ears picked up his voice, and the Sin responded with, "It's not my fault; this valley is called Unwanted because it's meant to delete old and replaceable data. Think of it as your Recycling Bin on your computer; once data falls into these rivers, it never comes back."

Davis gulped, "...So... If Veemon and I fell in... We'd be...?" Veemon realized where this was going; if he were to fall into the lava, he would never get the chance to reform himself after being deleted. T

he little dragon became overwhelmed with shock and felt the need to grasp onto his partner's leg for comfort.

"Yes," hissed the skeletal Sin, "indulge in your despair, for you have come all this way just to be permanently deleted." But Davis doubted Wrathmon's words and challenged it by saying, "Hey! We came all this way to break down your Power Spine, pal!"

Wrathmon then moved to the right and replied, "You mean this?"

Davis and Veemon could see it in plain sight once Wrathmon moved away; the towering spire was just a few miles ahead, spewing as much core data as it could into the red-hot air. From where he stood, Davis could taste victory on the tip of his tongue as he gazed in wonder at the distant Power Spine.

Compelled with determination, he dared to take a step forward, when suddenly the earth below his feet became alive. In a violent rumble, the ground began to quake and split apart.

But it was coming apart for a reason; Wrathmon was tapping into the powers of this valley, causing it to change shape. Soon the ground that Davis and Veemon stood on rose high above the earth in the form of a tall pillar. This pillar then became a long and unstable-looking bridge over the flowing rivers of lava below. As the ground began to rise and morph, the rivers of molten lava began to flow into one massive crater, thus forming a lake of fire.

Taken by surprise, Davis nearly lost his footing while this was happening, but once the rumbling and quaking stopped he had come to realization that he and Veemon were now on what seemed to be a safe passage to the Power Spine.

Now that he felt safe from harm's way, Davis gave into his temptation to take a step forward on the earth-molded bridge. However, once he took the first step, the earth beneath his foot collapsed into the lava below.

Davis let out a gasp of fear as the nearby Sin growled, "Did you really think I was going to make it that easy?" The young man glanced up at the Sin and guessed, "This is a test, isn't it?" "Of course," replied Wrathmon softly with narrowed eye sockets.

"You are going to prove to me that you have faith in yourself. If you show the slightest sense of fear and doubt, the ground beneath your feet will crumble and fall into the lava pit. Eventually that bridge you're standing on will give way, causing you to fall to your doom. ...Oh, and in case you're thinking of running to the Power Spine, that would be considered cheating, and there's a penalty for that."

Davis dared to ask, "What's the penalty?"

In its response, Wrathmon raised a black claw to Veemon, magically ensnaring the little blue dragon in a bubble. "Hey!" gasped the Rookie; "Veemon!" gasped his partner. Wrathmon then lifted the bubble with its mental powers, making it hover right over the lava pit.

Then the Sin warned, "Your friend is not allowed to help you sail across this bridge. Furthermore, his life will now be in your hands, as well as your own. If you try to cheat your way across, I will send him into the lava where he will be obliterated."

Now Davis began to tremble with fear; he was in no way prepared for this kind of challenge, and he knew that he had much to lose as well as gain from this. He let out a gulp, which triggered the edges of the bridge to chip away.

"Davish!" came the voice of Veemon from within his bubbly cage; "Sh-tay cool, buddy; don't show any sh-igns of fear, or you'll fall!" "He's right," Davis thought to himself; "...I just gotta stay cool. Stay focused. I can handle anything this freak throws at me..."

While he was thinking things over, he couldn't help but start sweating.

Tai and Matt have been searching the digital world for almost as long as Davis had been gone; the difference here was that while Veemon had no option to digivolve to Mega, Agumon and Gabumon did. Therefore, Tai and Matt's partners had double the energy and speed to cross over from one region to another in their search for their friends.

While passing over an ocean at lightning speed, War Greymon and Metal Garurumon carried with them their human partners. Tai and Matt were using their digivices as compasses in hopes that they would pick up the signal of Davis's D-3.

"Are you getting any readings?" asked Tai in a loud voice to Matt; they had to speak loudly because they were racing against the wind. Matt hollered back, "No! I think we looked all over the place; I still can't pick up a signal!"

"Tai," replied War Greymon, "we're heading straight for the southernmost continent. You think they'll be down there?" "What is that continent?" wondered Tai; War Greymon answered, "I don't know; we've never been there before."

Tai then looked back to where Matt and Metal Garurumon were flying and called out, "Hey, Matt! Are you sure we covered the entire digital world when we went looking for the Power Spines?"

Matt couldn't hear him over the wind pressure and replied, "What??" Metal Garurumon, however, heard Tai and replied, "Yes! We went all over the place, except for the southernmost region!"

"What do you think, Tai?" War Greymon wondered; "Should we try it?"

Tai glared at his inactive digivice and replied, "Davis went looking for Wrathmon's Power Spine... If it's not down there, then we're all out of options. Okay! You guys, we're heading south!"

Matt misunderstood and asked loudly, "You need mouth-to-mouth??" "No," replied his digimon partner, "we're heading south!" "Oh!" sighed Matt with a sweat drop; "Whew; I got a little worried back there." With that, the team made like shooting stars toward the digital world's southern pole.

(Author's Note: I hope you Taito fans appreciated that, 'cause that's the LAST time you'll get a yaoi moment from me!)

Davis was doing very well within the first hour of his test, forced to walk carefully across a bridge that stood high over a pit of raging lava in a land where digimon dared not to tread, risking both his own life and the life of his digimon partner, Veemon.

The test was for Davis to cross over the bridge with a heart full of courage and confidence, or else his doubt would put weight on the unstable bridge, causing part of it to crumble and fall.

But with a head like a rock and a normally steady heart, the Digi-Destined was well on his way to pass this eerie test...

Until Wrathmon decided to kick things up a notch.

"Why won't anybody listen to me?" "What'd you say, Davish?"

"Yah!" screamed Davis, as he had suddenly lost his footing on the bridge, due to the fact that he had suddenly encountered two familiar voices in his mind. In fact, they were the voices of himself and Veemon, from four years ago. The shadowy voices came without warning, and caused him to lose his balance for a moment.

When he righted himself, the young man balled his fists and screamed at Wrathmon, "HEY! What the hell was THAT?" The burning Sin crossed its arms; "Oh, don't you remember? I simply tapped into your memories and pulled out a moment of your past. It seems that even four years ago nobody listened to you. Why is that, 'Noble One?'"

Davis figured that Wrathmon was trying to shatter his confidence on purpose; as his arms started to shake, he growled, "Stop it! You're the one that's cheating at this game, not me!" "Yeah!" echoed Veemon, "Leave 'im alone!"

Wrathmon shook its ugly head, "If you don't like my new rule, you might as well surrender and go home."

But Davis couldn't leave; he was too close to reaching his goal, and was just too stubborn to let it go. So instead of listening to the Sin, he marched forward while wiping the sweat off his already soaked brow.

Then it happened again:

"You can take those goggles off now; everyone knows you're not Tai."

This was, of course, Kari's voice from just a few days ago. Her cold words were enough to shatter the ground beneath Davis's feet, and he was forced to make a sprint forward to stable ground.

Wrathmon noticed his gait and huffed, "Too fast."

To show that the Sin was serious about penalties, it mentally moved Veemon's prison bubble one foot closer to the lava pit. Davis was now safe from harm, but he noticed that Veemon was now merely ten feet away from the burning pit below. He gulped and pulled himself together, then moved on.

Slowly, he marched, putting one foot carefully in front of the other. He was only half a mile away from the Power Spine, when another voice was heard:

"You always seem to rely on someone else..."

TK's haunting voice didn't scare Davis, so Wrathmon decided to try again with a comment from Flamedramon- an evolution of Veemon from an earlier adventure:

"You don't know the meaning of friendship!"

It was a comment aimed at Davis back then, and it was aimed at him again this time. Back then it was Flamedramon's way of coaxing Davis into using the Digi-Mental of Friendship, but now it felt like his old friend was jabbing at Davis's spirit coldly. That was enough to cause yet another rift in the bridge.

Davis avoided it by taking a jump forward, and as a result, Veemon's prison bubble was moved another foot closer to the lava pit. Veemon growled, "Rrr... I wish I could help him, but I feel scho useless-sh!" "You feel useless?" responded Wrathmon softly; "The insecurities you feel are nothing compared to your friend's."

"Oh, shuddup!" barked Davis, regaining his courage in a heartbeat. He was quickly beginning to learn how to ignore the voices that were launched into his head, even when they started to come at him like a thunderstorm.

Davis marched on, hearing but ignoring voices from Ken, Yolei, Tai, Matt, Cody, and any other Digi-Destined that may or may not have ripped at Davis's confidence at one time or another.

...But then, things got ugly.

"You think Davis is gonna come back anytime soon?"

This was Ken's voice, and for once it didn't sound familiar. "What was that?" blinked Davis; Wrathmon explained, "My mental powers go far beyond the voices of the past, dear boy. What you are hearing now are the voices of your so-called friends in the present."

Davis made a soft gasp; he knew he shouldn't have listened to them, but curiosity coaxed him into listening intently to the voices that came next.

(Yolei) "He said he'd come back as soon as he knocked down the last Power Spine."

(Cody) "In short, he's never coming back."

(Ken) "...Bah, that's a shame. He came so close to proving himself, too."

(Tai) "I know. I guess he just wasn't cut out to be a Digi-Destined after all."

Thunder struck, as if that weren't enough to startle the young man on the rickety bridge. The earth beneath his left foot gave way, making him take a quick step forward before he lost his balance. "No..." muttered Davis to himself; "...This can't be real... Wrathmon's just tryin' to rattle me; I can't believe it."

(Matt) "So, anybody wanna go look for him?"

(Sora) "Why waste our time? We've got a world to save!"

Crack!

Davis could feel the bridge giving way again beneath his feet...

(Kari) "I tried to tell him. I tried... He's just...

Rumble!

"not...

Crackle!

"useful anymore."

In one wild swoop, the bridge had split clean in half; the section ahead of Davis stayed in tact while everything behind him sailed into the fiery pit below. The young man was forced to take a flying leap forward and had just barely gotten a grip on the edge of the remaining side of the bridge.

For a moment, he dangled desperately on the cliff-like end of the bridge, while the lava below fed on the rocks that had splattered into the pit; while he was crawling to safety, it felt to Davis like he was crawling out of the pits of hell.

Davis was shaking all over when he did make it to safety, holding himself up on all four of his appendages to catch some air. Funny enough, the ground beneath him didn't give way like before; it seemed that Wrathmon was enjoying his situation.

Davis paused to re-energize his strength, when his ears picked up the sound of an approaching rocket. At least, it sounded like a rocket, and it caught the attention of everyone present.

Wrathmon's eyes flashed with rage once it realized where the sound was coming from: it was War Greymon and Metal Garurumon, piloted by two familiar Digi-Destined. They were coming like two bats out of hell, but as soon as they realized where they were headed they seemed to skid to a mid-air halt.

"Holy cow..." murmured Tai as he gazed in wonder at his surroundings; Matt blinked, "This is anything but holy..." They saw in plain sight that Davis was on the edge of what looked to them like a cliff over raging lava; "Davis!" gasped Tai in horror.

War Greymon almost took flight, but was stopped by Davis's cry, "NO! Don't come any closer; if you guys interfere, he'll kill Veemon!" The arrivals paused to oversee that Veemon was stuck in mid-air inside a bubble, which the massive beast Wrathmon had control of.

Wrathmon then turned to its victim of self doubt and purred, "You see how they rush to your rescue? They know you can't do anything alone." Davis looked lost in thought, which Tai picked up on almost instantly.

"Come on!" roared Matt; "We gotta help them!" "No," Tai commanded; "...We can't help them. Davis has to do this on his own..." Matt was beside himself when he heard this; "What?" he muttered.

Tai then proceeded to holler, "You can do it, Davis! We believe in you!" War Greymon joined in the cheer; "Yeah! Show this Sin what you're made of!" "We're all behind you, Davis!" called out Metal Garurumon.

Matt then understood what they were doing, and added to the cheers with, "You're the Noble One! Nothing gets by you, not even a little pool of lava!"

Their cheers continued, and Davis could hear them, but the young man was still very shaken by Wrathmon's torments from before. He was also being haunted by the chilling comments made by TK and Kari a few days before, and doubt was starting to show in his glossy eyes.

In reaction to this visible doubt, what was left of the bridge began to shatter like tree twigs.

"He's lost," whispered Wrathmon; "He knows that he cannot earn his Crest by putting his own troubles in front of his friends'. Noble One, indeed... Look at him. He can barely stand on his own two feet, and you think he can reach my Power Spine??"

The volume of the Sin's voice began to rise, allowing Davis's ears to catch it and listen clearly to what Wrathmon was saying. The Sin was hoping that its words would only make Davis all the more doubtful...

But instead, they were only making him angry.

To everyone's surprise, the young man rose to his feet carefully, and with a stone cold look on his face, he took a deep breath and said, "...I am the Noble One! I don't care if I earn my Crest or not anymore. The only thing I wanna do right now is take down your Power Spine, and then I wanna take down YOU!"

"You can't do that," argued the Sin; "Not without your Crest."

"I don't NEED my Crest!" Davis hollered; "All I need are my friends, and Veemon!" Davis paused for a second, realizing what he had said.

All at once, he felt like a different person; was it because he was just at wits end, or was it because he was pushed to his limits? Perhaps that would remain uncertain, but there he was, yelling bravely and furiously at this Sin that had taunted him so badly.

Wrathmon hissed, "You won't have Veemon anymore." Davis's eyes bulged; he knew what the Sin was saying. Instead of further taunting the human, it would instead get right to the point and dispose of the human's digimon. And now that Veemon was helplessly in the hands of this wretched creature, Wrathmon had the power to do just that.

With a blink of its eye-less face, the Sin tapped into its mental powers once again, forcing the bubble in which Veemon was held prisoner to fall freely into the lava pit. Then, something happened that not even Wrathmon could see coming: As it bid its goodbye to Veemon, everyone else just stood there in utter shock...

But Davis, without a single thought of himself in his mind or heart, took one flying leap off the bridge- the one thing that kept him safe all this time- tossing himself toward the lava below, screaming, "NO-O-O-O-O-O!"

Davis's mind went black after that... But in this moment, he had himself a vision. He could see the three different fragments of his new Crest filling the missing voids before his eyes, and he could hear the Keepers say:

Gaiamon "The Noble One thinks with his heart."

Oceanamon "The Noble One could win a fight without violence."

Polarimon "The Noble One puts himself last..."

SHING!!!

The next thing everyone saw was a beam of blue and white light coming from the spot in which Davis and Veemon were last seen. This light turned out to be a brand new digital field. It had effected everyone around it; War Greymon and Metal Garurumon were de-digivolved back into their Rookie forms, while Wrathmon was paralyzed temporarily. As for Davis and Veemon... they had finally earned what they have been longing for.

(Begin song "Holding Out For A Hero," by Jennifer Saunders from "Shrek 2." I'm being very specific about this song's version; and plus, if you haven't heard it by now, feel free to kick yourself, as it kicks major butt!)

Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?

Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?

The blinding blue and white ray of light that came from deep within the Valley of the Unwanted could be seen even in the stratosphere of the digital world.

This light was more than what it seemed, though; it was the power of two heroes breaking through the seal that once denied digimon to evolve within the forbidden territory. Now that the seal was ripped open, there came as a result a formidable force.

(Song continues)

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?

Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need...

That force was Imperial Dramon, the Mega form of Davis's partner Veemon. For too long, it seemed, he had been kept away thanks to the fact that Davis was one piece short of a full battle crest. And now, at long last, the half-metallic dragon was reborn in glory, hovering in mid-air over the site of Wrathmon's Power Spine, with Wrathmon itself gazing back from the ground in spitefulness.

But the mighty dragon wasn't alone; there was another with him who seemed to have been given an equal share of his power. It was Davis, and though his battle gear couldn't really match the strength of his Mega digimon counterpart, he looked just as bad-ass.

In fact, part of his outfit looked slightly familiar; years ago, Davis had donned a fire-painted leather jacket in his first adventure in the digital world, complete with creamy-white fuzzy interior which was revealed around the collar.

That jacket returned in this battle-gear form, only now it was joined with gloves that mimicked the claws of Imperial Dramon, and to make it more menacing, it was strapped shut with two belt buckles down the chest, in a gothic-like manner.

He also had a matching pair of black leather pants, with boots that also mimicked the limbs and feet of Imperial Dramon, and topped off with a cloned tail of the dragon. And of course, behind the jacket were two pairs of fitting Imperial Dramon wings.

As a finishing tough, Davis was crowned with a mask that looked almost kingly, but was actually based on the head of Imperial Dramon… and it just wouldn't be Davis without a pair of red goggles (in contrast to Imperial Dramon's yellow eyes) shielding his eyes.

With his battle crest still wrapped around his neck like a royal heirloom, Battle-Gear Davis stood atop Imperial Dramon's face, ready to welcome their enemy with as much intent to kill as the Sin had.

Nearby, witnessing this event were four of Davis's closest friends: Tai, Matt, and their digimon.

No one spoke a word at the moment, because they were all stunned and awestruck at the seemingly miraculous moment. But then Tai, who was usually the kind of person who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut no matter what the situation, knew exactly what to say at this moment: "Kick his ass, boys."

Ah! Ah!

I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night

He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light

He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon

And he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life

And so, they were off; Imperial Dramon spread his bat-like red wings and made a dive for Wrathmon. He circled around the burning skeleton as if calculating just where to strike, and in the process the towering Sin took a few swipes at him.

Once on the ground, the great dragon went for it and slammed his front claws against Wrathmon's, and the two of them started to throw their weight around like sumo wrestlers.

Meanwhile, Battle-Gear Davis spread his own set of red bat-like wings and shot into the air like a rocket. In two short seconds, he was hovering above the dueling digimon, and prepared his own attack. When he did, he clasped his hands together and roared, "PALADIN SWORD!"

Magically, a giant sword, fashioned after a golden talon of Imperial Dramon, appeared in Davis's grasp. He then aimed it at the neck of the distracted Wrathmon, and made a quick dive for it.

Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasy

Somewhere just beyond my reach there's someone reaching back for me

Racing with the thunder and rising with the heat

It's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet

As expected, the Paladin Sword slammed itself into Wrathmon's neck, impaling it. But just as soon as it had appeared, the sword disappeared on impact; Wrathmon, however, took the blow hard and cringed in pain.

While it did so, Imperial Dramon acted quickly, nudging his head over to Davis to catch him in mid-air. Before their enemy knew it, the two of them darted for its Power Spine, ready to take it down when they had the chance to.

The two look-alike heroes swirled themselves around the Spine as they flew higher and higher to the top, leaving a small trail of light behind them that started to form the pattern of a DNA strand. It was almost as if they were putting on a show as they reached the top.

But Wrathmon would not have it; just as soon as the Sin healed itself from Davis's attack, it grew all the more frustrated and growled as it glared maliciously at its enemies. Then it took off after them, and as it did so it began to change itself; the hellfire that made up its waist and lower body had suddenly enveloped its whole body, reshaping everything into a burning dragon.

It spread its fiery wings and followed Imperial Dramon's trail like a bat out of hell, to the top of the Power Spine. Just as Davis and his partner were about to enter it, they turned around and looked upon their enflamed foe in horror. The dragon-like Wrathmon dared to launch its new beak at them, but Davis quickly took off in a mad dash.

Out where mountains meet the heavens above

Out where the lightning splits the sea

I can swear, there is someone, somewhere

Watching me

Through the wind, and the chill, and the rain

And the storm and the flood

I can feel his approach

Like a fire in my blood

Like a fire in my blood...

Davis seemed to have taken off too quickly, because for a moment, as he zipped through the air as if he had done so a million times, he felt safe and sound. But not one to let his guard down completely, he glanced to his left and right for any signs of danger. It was only when he looked behind him, to his right, when he realized that the burning dragon Wrathmon was right behind him!

Luckily, the human dodged the dragon's beak just as it was launched at him. Davis sharply turned right in hopes to lose the Sin again, but Wrathmon was so madly driven by its rage that it was now strong and fast enough to follow Davis like a trail blaze.

The human and the Sin were now buzzing through the air in any direction, skidding a nearby set of mountainous rocks in the process. Davis had no effect on them, but as soon as Wrathmon's wings brushed them, they disappeared.

Closer and closer the Sin's beak came to Davis, and his quick dodges were becoming more and more hopeless. But when he looked ahead, he could see that his friend Imperial Dramon was headed their way.

Davis then took this opportunity to catch Wrathmon off guard by flipping onto the beast's snout, then jumping off it while unfolding his wings to take in an updraft. As he had hoped, Wrathmon did not expect it, and as soon as the human was out of its sights, it could now clearly see that it was heading straight for Imperial Dramon's jaws.

(Interlude)

WHAM!

Wrathmon and Imperial Dramon collided like a wrecking ball to a brick wall, and lunged themselves onto the ground in haste. As the two of them tussled, Davis, hovering above them and catching his breath, glanced over to the direction in which the Power Spine could be spotted.

Hero!

Sure enough, it was still waiting to be destroyed, and so Davis spread his wings and made a sharp turn, taking off right toward it.

(Song continues)

The speedy human with impressive dragon armor took like a bullet, from where he stood in mid-air just a mile away to the very interior of the Power Spine.

He had no time to admire the glistening blue lights that made up its interior; instead, he kept his pace and swooped, flipped, and spun through the halls until at last he came to the center, where the unsteady stream of core data would be waiting for him.

I need a hero!

I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light

And he's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon

And he's gotta be larger than life

Unsteady data, indeed; Wrathmon's Power Spine had become scratched and chipped on the outside, and it was effecting the stolen data from within. Davis had to act fast; if he couldn't be able to stop this Spine from working, it could have destroyed itself and potentially ruptured a great chunk of the digital world's atmosphere.

So, as soon as he close a spot right in front of the whirlpool of core data, he grasped onto his Crest of Nobility, held it up to the data, and started to holler, "NOBILITY'S LIGHT, ENER-"

That would be about as far as he could go, for he was then interrupted by the sudden "CRASH," made by an enraged Wrathmon. The burning beast took Davis completely by surprise, causing him to scream in panic.

Davis flapped both his wings and his arms in hopes to escape, but Wrathmon was now too close and too big to dodge. The burning Sin had its jaws open wide, and just as it lunged itself into the Power Spine's center, it had swallowed the human whole.

It would have been enough satisfaction for one as evil as Wrathmon to know that it had just devoured an enemy as great as Davis; however, this beast was so taken by its adrenalin, that even when it did swallow Davis, it did not stop moving forward.

Almost instantly, the Sin had plowed itself straight into the core data, splattering it all over the place for a moment, and then soon enough it recollected itself in the center.

Ooo…

(May need an extension on the song, or a pause from it)

All was quiet in the Power Spine; in fact, it seemed quite peaceful all of a sudden. Wrathmon had become one with the core data, something that was never expected but never before dared to try. It was clear now that any digimon could easily become pure data when fused with the digital world's core energy.

The once brutal and frightening beast was now nothing more than a blue, glowing blob of data; a mere silhouette of its former self. But it was still alive and intelligent, as it took a moment to stare in wonder at its new form.

...And that's just what Davis needed.

(Resume song, if need be a pause)

Ah! Hero!

For he's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight!

I need a hero!

While Wrathmon was now pure data, Davis, being a human, was not. And he was definitely still alive, hidden somewhere inside Wrathmon's body. The evidence would be revealed through the sudden change in color of the data stream, from blue to red- a red that matched that of Davis's new crest.

Wrathmon was now completely helpless, as it started to gravitate at lightning speed toward the center of the earth, along with the core data that was fused with it.

Meanwhile, the Power Spine's interior was changing from blue to red as well, signaling that Davis's attempt to reverse the Spine's effect was now successful.

(Song ends)

Just as the Power Spine was put in reverse, it had begun to collapse in ruin. And just in time, too; only when the core data was completely sent back into the earth did the Spine cause any damage to its environment.

The damage was minimal, though it did crack the earth with the same gusto as a volcano's eruption. This force pushed back those that had witnessed this event, including a nearby Imperial Dramon.

Just as the area was becoming covered in smoke, Tai and the others crawled to their feet, nearly shell-shocked by the earth's disruption.

They coughed and dusted themselves, not suspecting that anything had gone wrong, but when they heard Imperial Dramon cry out, "DAVIS!?" they gasped in horror to think that something had gone terribly wrong. They echoed the cry of the Mega digimon, "Davis!!" and forced themselves out from behind debris left by the shattered Power Spine.

The Mega digimon that helped save the day then reversed his transformation back into his toddler form, DemiVeemon. Weary from the battle and overcome with concern for his missing partner, the Trainee began the search around the Power Spine's perimeter for Davis.

As frantically as they could, the humans and digimon pushed aside as many rocks and boulders as they could, hoping to see if they could find their missing friend behind or beneath them. But the more they searched, the more hopeless they felt.

Finally, DemiVeemon crawled into the area that was once the interior of Wrathmon's Power Spine, knowing that this was the place that Davis had been last seen. The once magnificent tower was no more, and now all that stood were scattered rocks and split walls.

Though he was tiny and slow, DemiVeemon hopped as quickly as he could to the center of the ring, where a large carving of circles and symbols were found on the floor.

The little digimon looked at this carving carefully and curiously; perhaps these markings were made by the Spine as it plowed into the earth to drill out the core data. But that didn't matter to the In-Training toddler, for he was only looking for one thing.

"Davis?" peeped DemiVeemon; again he cried out, but it seemed to be in vain. That didn't, however, stop the tiny digimon to move in closer and closer to the center of the floor. He knew in his heart that Davis was there; he just had to be there.

And then...

Rumble…

"uuuhh…"

These were just the kind of noises that DemiVeemon needed to hear; they had confirmed that somebody was there in the same area with him, and he was buried underneath a pile of rubble. "...Davis?" blinked the puppy dog eyes of the toddler digimon. In response, a tan and dusty hand weakly emerged from a specific pile of debris.

DemiVeemon was now in tears with joy; "HEY! Tai! Matt! You guys!!" he hollered, "Come'ere; it's Davis!! He's Alive!"

Tai and the others could hear him from outside of the Spine, and came rushing to him instantly. The little digimon was going to need assistance in drawing Davis from his bed of rocks, but thankfully Tai and the others were more than enough help to do so.

Tai and Matt each grabbed Davis by an arm, and lifted him to his feet. The younger man, covered in dust from the battle, was half asleep with weakness, and so when he emerged from the debris he sat back down to rest.

His battle gear had been shed, and now he was back to his original self... Actually, there was something new about him, and Tai was the first to notice. "Look..." he muttered, pointing to Davis's head. Matt, Agumon and Gabumon all blinked and gasped, "Aww..."

They could see it for themselves; Davis had a new pair of soccer goggles on his head now, and these were lined in black with red lenses- almost completely color contrast to Tai's signature goggles.

There was something else new about the young man; his necklace bore a full jewel now: a red Crest with a golden-lined symbol that resembled a kingly crown. Matt was the first to notice this and smiled, "Look at that... He's finally earned his crest." "And," added Tai with a proud grin, "his own goggles."

While the older humans were exploring Davis's new features, DemiVeemon was already getting cozy in his partner's arms; he held onto him like a baby would a father, thankful beyond words that Davis was still alive.

It looked as though Davis was holding onto something else in his stare of near unconsciousness, and it didn't become visible until his left arm gave way to it. Whatever it was that he was cradling under his arm, it gave off a red glimmer; Agumon saw it first and gasped, "Hey, what's that?" Since he was closest to it, DemiVeemon replied, "I dunno," and carefully lifted Davis's arm to get a better look at it.

The third prize that Davis seemed to claim for his own was a heart-shaped ruby stone, marked in black vein-like lines in the same fashion as Gluttonymon's topaz stone heart. There was no doubt in Tai's eyes; "It's Wrathmon's heart... That must mean he's gone! Davis took him out all on his own!"

"...no..." came the struggling voice of Davis himself; he pried his mouth and eyes open to further explain the truth, "...he got too careless... and destroyed himself. I just took the heart when I had the chance."

Then the weakened young man started coughing, showing that he was beyond healing from being nearly singed to death by Wrathmon's interior. He was, after all, eaten by the monster.

Tai patted Davis's back to help give him air, then he turned to his other friends and smiled, "Come on, let's get outta here." They all nodded in agreement.

Davis had earned a nice long rest, and so did DemiVeemon, so the two of them kicked back and relaxed as Metal Greymon carried them away, with Tai and Matt rising Metal Garurumon in coach as it were. Since they had already navigated themselves from Gaiamon's realm to the forbidden lands, the high-level digimon knew just where to fly; and so, within a few hours, they were already halfway to their destination.

By then, the sun was setting in the sky, painting the clouds pink and purple in the process; with that and the rest of the digital world looking green and peaceful, it was a nice transition from the Valley of the Unwanted.

While Davis and DemiVeemon were fast asleep, Matt and Tai were wide awake, energized by the drenalin they recieved in their latest adventure. "Wait'll the others get a load of Davis's new Crest. And wait'll Izzy sees this!" Tai was referring to the ruby heart of Wrathmon that he held tightly in his arms; Matt nodded, "Yeah. I hope he got some answers from that other heart; we might be able to use them for ourselves."

Tai then thought aloud, "I wonder what all the other sin hearts look like... You think they could be their weakness?"

Looking at the road ahead, Matt replied, "I think Davis was the lucky one; he grabbed that heart while he was inside Wrathmon. I doubt any of us will get that close to any of the other hearts."

"And even if we can," frowned Tai, "those Sins'll never give them up without a fight... This adventure's just getting more complicated by the day."

"You're right," Matt replied, and from that point on their conversation was drawn to a minimum.

Tai was right; this adventure was far more complicated than any they had experience. There were newfound Crests to discover, new digimon partners, new evolutions, and even new Preservers to consider. Plus, the Sin digimon clearly had a weakness of some kind now, but how it would effect the Digi-Destined remained a mystery.

What Tai and the others didn't know, however, was that the most complicated part of their adventure was just around the corner.

There was also one other element of surprise to consider... As Metal Greymon and Metal Garurumon soared through the air like jet planes, they were spotted by yet another digimon. He had found his way to the top of a mountain, and looked in their general direction just at the right time.

When his eyes captured the image of Metal Greymon, Veedramon Zero knew instantly who it was. "Taichi!" he gasped in surprise; instantly, his shock became overwhelming joy.

The aged Champion started to do a little victory dance as he cheered, "Ha! I found him! I found him at long last! ...Hey... where's he going?" Zero watched as the flying digimon disappeared into the horizon, and realized that they had taken the same direction in which he was going. He knew right then and there that he was on the right track.

As if he had hoped that Tai could hear him from such a long way off, Zero called out, "I'M COMING, TAICHI!"

TO BE CONTINUED