Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Hiya everybody, this is just to let you guys know that I'm still alive and yes, this fic is continuing. I had planned on making this a long chapter but I guess to make my updates more frequent, I'm going to have to go with shorter chapters. Anyway, we now will start the ball rolling towards the eventual conclusion of this fic and it begins here. Enjoy!

There was a faint trace of something coming from the distant north. She could not focus on it though. It was pretty frustrating and she was not in the mood for something like that at the moment. Especially after hearing from Iori that Takeru wanted it to look like he had never arrived in Sever. She had passed that task off to Iori but the fact was that any such cover up was a little too late given how publicly they had shown their affection for each other. She cringed, remembering that particular moment. It was a surprise anybody at the Citadel could look at her with a straight face after that debacle.

"Is something wrong," Willis questioned, concern filling his voice. "You seemed so far away right now."

Hikari blinked and felt her face redden. She turned away quickly so he could not get a good look at her. "It's nothing," she replied as authoritatively as she could. "I thought there was something but it must have been just my imagination." Rushing through half a dozen calming exercises, she managed to bring her colour down. "I think this will do for now. There was a faint trace of something coming from the north. Angemon."

The Angel Digimon, who had been standing statue like, stirred. "Yes?"

"I want you to investigate. It may well be nothing but we should probably be cautious as we can. Take anyone with you that you want."

Angemon unfurled his wings. "If it is all the same, I would rather go by myself." Without waiting for a reply, he flapped his wings and flew away.

"Just be careful," Hikari yelled at his back.

He gave a little wave and disappeared over the outpost's outer wall.

It was entirely too dusty out here. What she needed was something to drink. Preferably a latte. That brought up its own problems. She was not entirely sure how to go about making one. It was pretty ridiculous if one stopped to think about it. She had once created an entire functioning outpost by herself and yet when it came to something as simple as this, she had no clue.

Gods, it was hot out. She had not expected it to be this dusty. Then again, she had never blown up an entire city before either. In the far distance, tiny explosions still rippled through the city. She had ordered her troops to set explosives in all four quarters of the city. Many of those innocent but infected citizens would be dead now.

Sighing, Mimi glanced back at the crowd of men and women gathered safely behind a herd of her own soldiers. She looked away without meeting any of their gazes. Even she was unwilling to indulge in that much hypocrisy. The plain truth was she could do nothing for these people. For over two years, they had followed an ideal. In her opinion it was the wrong ideal but one did not hold that over someone's head when they had lost their home. Most of these people would have to choose a side in the war now but having been neutral so long, they would need to adapt. She was not entirely sure most of them could. Furthermore, they didn't need to stare at her with those blank accusatory looks.

She really did need that latte.

"Those stares getting to you too," Catherine murmured softly from beside her.

"Yeah," Mimi admitted. "It couldn't be helped though, could it? All of the scouts we rounded up had the same symptoms Hassan had. We couldn't risk further infection."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

"Trying for both of us, I suppose." Mimi turned to look at her companion. "How are you holding up? This was your home for the past two years."

Catherine shook her head. "Was it really? The past two years seem like a dream. I just wanted a quiet place after becoming involved in that whole Cathal affair. I told you she came to the city, didn't I?"

"Yes, that was a big part of why I ordered this city destroyed. Isuzu would not have left anything of any value to us. I am a bit surprised that you let her waltz into the city and didn't do anything about it."

"I promised him," Catherine replied simply.

"Not many people could have restrained themselves as well as you did."

"It was not easy. When are you going to contact the others?"

Mimi tilted her head back, rubbing the back of her neck. The quick change of topic had not escaped her attention. She was hardly one to criticize or offer counsel though. Everybody had his or her own demons to exorcize and in that respect, she had not quite found how to reconcile her past with her present either. No, Cat would have to make do by herself and she would have to find out just how much Takeru really know about her. Reflexively, she reached into the fold of her cloak and stroked the Coda necklace that Cat had given her just a day ago.

"We're supposed to begin in a few minutes," Mimi said in answer to Catherine's inquiry. "Get everybody moving when the scouts have come back with the final tally. I may not be entirely conscious so just bundle me aboard one of the vehicles."

Catherine nodded quietly and Mimi turned around and retreated to a tent that had been set up some distance away. Drawing back the flap, she stepped into the mostly bare tent. The only furnishing was a rug with a few pillows set atop it. Sinking down onto the pillows, she concentrated and sent her consciousness flitting through the thoughtscape.

The grey void of the thoughtscape gradually resolved itself into a plain grassy meadow when she reached the location they had all planned to meet at. Sora and Hikari were already there, waiting for her.

"Well," she said walking over to where they were sitting, "how are things out there?"

Both girls grimaced, sharing a glance. Sora began first.

"There have been some major attacks on my outposts. Seona was overrun and Miyako had to withdraw. She is holed up in one of the mid outposts right now. The bad news is that they've managed to contain her there. She is basically dug in and food isn't a concern but they could overwhelm her forces. However, she intends to give them a fight. I can't help her either until I see a pattern to these attacks."

Mimi nodded. "That is a concern Tai has as well. There don't seem to be any patterns to these attacks. What we are facing is all out chaos."

"Just like the old days," Hikari sighed. "Things are not quite so bad on my end. There has only been one attack and nothing since then. I talked to Jyou and he told me that his continent is under heavy attack as well. I could not get through to either Ken or Daisuke, which is disturbing. There seems to be some kind of interference."

"That is what we were discussing when you showed up," Sora chimed in. "I have tried to get through to them as well. It is strange but it feels like the continent is no longer there. Neither Hikari nor I can get a decent reading."

"You think they were the first targets," Mimi questioned.

"I'd say it's a fair possibility. Divide and conquer is one of the oldest strategies there is."

"What do you think," Mimi asked turning towards Hikari.

"Pretty much the same," Hikari replied. "We should send someone to check the situation out. I nominate Corwin."

"Careful, your claws are showing."

Hikari scowled at Mimi as Sora chuckled. The levity was short lived as the grimness of their situation made itself apparent. After a long silence, Hikari said, "How are you and Tai doing? What happened at Kroy?"

"Kroy should be completely demolished by the time we finish here. Tai is trying to discern a pattern to the attacks but has so far been unable to come up with anything concrete. There is one other thing though." Mimi raised her hand and concentrated until a single black object appeared in her palm. "This is what I encountered back in Kroy and a big part of why the city had to be destroyed. Recognize it, ladies?"

"Is that..." Hikari trailed off, here face suddenly very pale.

"A Black Spore," Sora finished grimly. "At least that is what it looks like."

Mimi nodded. "I recovered something very similar last night from the body of one of my scouts when he attacked me." The object in her hand suddenly shifted, morphing into a different shape. "It was not until later that I realized what this could be. It acts as a parasite, taking over its victims and making them act as it wants. I sent out scouts when I got to Kroy and these things infected nearly all of them. We spent last night tracking them all down and bringing them into our care. However, the parasite decided to kill itself rather then surrender and as a result, the hosts ended up dying as well."

"So, you are saying they have evolved the black spores?" Sora rubbed her eyes tiredly. "We definitely did not need this. Could you get them with a mental scan?"

Mimi nodded. "I could pick them up with a mental scan but it is a lot more difficult then it sounds. All the time I was scanning them, I had a faint sense of unease. The black spore itself was hard to track down too. I could sense it and yet it kept skirting the edge of my senses. Getting a hold on these things is pretty hard."

"You know what else this means, don't you?" Hikari slumped back on the ground. "We know who the spy is."

"Ken!" Sora nodded. "It makes sense. He is the only one of us that has been exposed to a Black Spore before and he would have information about the new landscape coordinates."

"So we are back to square one. How do we intervene?"

"We have no choice except to send someone in." Mimi crossed her arms. "However, I can't spare anyone. The past two days have been bloody enough for me."

Sighing, Hikari rose to her feet. "I may be able to send someone. I have not really tested him much but since we only need recon, he should be good enough for the job."

Mimi nodded. "All right, get it done then. I will inform Tai as to what we have decided."

Holding up her hand in a gesture of farewell, Hikari faded out of sight.

"I need to talk to you," Mimi said as soon as Hikari had left.

"What about," Sora asked slowly.

"I found this at Kroy." Mimi produced the Coda necklace Catherine had given her. "I think he knows about me."

Sora bit her bottom lip while eyeing the necklace. "You may be jumping to conclusions," she said finally. "Maybe he just used it because it was convenient for him."

"And if it wasn't?"

"I am sure he does not blame you for using him against the Coda after all this time. As for him knowing about your family, I will handle it if it comes up. Although, it is past time that you tell the others about that anyway.

"I know, it is just that... I need more time. Even Jyou doesn't know and I've slept with him."

"The longer you wait, the harder this will get and the more chance there is of the others reacting negatively." Sora reached out and touched Mimi's shoulder. "But, it is still your decision. I will keep your secret as long as I have to."

Mimi smiled wanly. "Thank you for understanding." She paused, seemingly trying to gather herself. "Wh... what about you and Yamato? I never got a chance to ask you how you are taking this?"

"I am fine." Seeing Mimi's unbelieving expression, she said, "It was hard seeing him again after I had finally managed to forget. Did you know that he came to me before he left our base. He wanted me to place some wards within his mind. Given that opportunity, I poked around in there a bit."

"You did what?" Mimi looked incredulously at her best friend. "That is against every single rule we have. You can't poke around in someone else's mind without permission. And especially when it is one of our own."

Sora rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you have never done it."

"Well of course I have and Hikari has probably done it on occasion too. I'm just surprised that you would do it."

"I don't always stick to the rules. Besides, I was curious about him and if it upsets anybody, I can just say that I was being cautious. No matter what he says, his presence is a little suspect, especially now."

"All right," Mimi conceded. "So, what did you find?"

"He is not the same person I was in love with. There is so much of that Yamato missing from this new one. He is just bits and pieces, flashes of old memories. There is one purpose driving him and that was hidden from my probing."

"Did you get a sense that it was important?"

"Obviously, it would be. I did not sense anything overly deceitful though. Still, precautions are precautions and I left something in there in case we do need a contingency plan."

"That is pretty ruthless but in this case I agree. You didn't get a chance to see where he would be going, did you?"

Sora shook her head. "No, that was hidden from me." Her image suddenly flickered and she looked into the distance as if hearing something. "I've got to go Mimi, something has come up."

"I should be leaving too," Mimi said. We'll need to stay in contact more often though. We can not afford to let them get a foothold on even one of the continents."

"All right," Sora nodded. "Meet me back here tomorrow night. I will inform Hikari so she can meet us too."

"All right then, see you later." Mimi raised her hand in farewell and faded out of sight. A moment later Sora did the same.

The sound of waves roused Takeru from sleep. He lay still on the cot listening to the sound. It was as haunting as it had been all those years ago when he had first heard it. To think something so soothing could evoke such terror in his friends. Then again, considering where he was, it was strange that he found the noise so comforting. It was what had led him to prolong his stay here the last time. In the end though, he had not learned anything and his actions had caused the evil here to circumvent the wards placed upon it.

The aircraft shuddered suddenly and then went quiet. Takeru stood up slowly, watching the door outside his cell expectantly. A few moments later, it swung open and Isuzu entered, flanked by two huge men. At six, two, he was not a short man but both men dwarfed him. He half suspected they were biomerged.

"Truss him up a bit," Isuzu said to the two men, "but don't hurt him too badly."

Takeru sighed as both men entered his cell. Without any weapons and in a space this confined, his chances of fighting back were slim, especially if his suspicions about the men being biomerged proved true. There was little to do except accept the inevitable. And so, he closed his eyes as the first fist thudded into his stomach.

After they were done, he was dragged to his feet and paraded out of the room. They led him outside the ship where the cool air did much to clear his head.

"Isn't it spectacular," Isuzu said, gesturing all around. "We have updated the décor since the last time you were here."

"You managed to pull it out of the water." Takeru shrugged, looking around at the spires and turrets that composed the main Citadel. "I can't say that this is a definite improvement. When the other Chosen bring their war here you will be out in the open."

"Assuming they can find their way." Isuzu smiled. "By the way, if you are hoping for rescue by those Renegades you hid out with last time, I am sorry to say that they are all dead."

"You seem to know a lot about my activities. I never would have figured you for the blind, love struck woman you seem to have become."

"Oh, you are very good." Isuzu said with a laugh. She stepped close to him and patted the side of his face. "But I am not someone you can manipulate so easily." Turning to the two guards, she said, "Take him to the dungeon."

There were signs of battle. Of that much, he was certain. Swooping down from the sky, Angemon landed amidst a scene of carnage. The faint acidic scent of weapons fire still hung in the air. From the frequency of the scorch marks on the ground, he could tell that the five scouts had not gone down easily.

Exhaling softly, he began to explore the site. Most likely the scouting party was dead but he could at least bring back their bodies. Over the years he had learned that humans valued certain traditions. The human at the outpost would no doubt want to bury their friends.

A thorough search of the site only revealed only one body that was in any condition for travel. The other four were either too badly burned or had too many of their body parts missing. The people at the outpost would not want to see that.

Slinging the body over his shoulder, he took off.

There were four small encampments at the base of the Black Spire. One or two Digimon scouts routinely patrolled the mountains and surrounding areas at two-hour intervals while a few others tended a fire that was apparently not allowed to go out. At least that was what he had observed as the Digimon had added various flammable materials to ensure the fire's survival. The remaining forces protected the Spire.

It was not a large force by any means. At best he counted ten Digimon. They would pose no problem for someone like him. Yet, something held him back from acting. He sniffed the air tentatively but the only thing he picked up was the faint cloying stench of fire.

That settled it. His time to act was fast disappearing and he could not afford to sit and wait any longer. Dropping down to all fours, he abandoned his hiding position and started towards the Black Spire. The scouts spotted him and shouted warnings to the rest of the Digimon. He winced, knowing that he had made a mistake. If he had taken out the scouts first, he would have had a much easier time. Still, it did not really matter. He had enough power to destroy every single Digimon there ten times over.

Howling loudly, he tore into the five Digimon at the base of the Spire. Their resistance was minimal and he quickly dispatched all of them. Leaping back, he gathered his powers and fired a tremendous blast of energy at the base of the spire. It teetered a little and then fell over. He turned towards the other Digimon only to find that they were holding their positions.

'Yamato Ishida.' The voice sounded inside his mind. 'We were wondering where you would resurface next.'

'And you are?' Yamato inquired.

'Just a lowly telepath working for the other side. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to destroy any of our other Spires.'

'And how will you stop me?'

'I don't need to stop you. The only thing I need to do is delay you until the last of the Aal dies.'

'So, there are a few still left alive then. I better get to it in that case. Thank you for the enlightening conversation.'

'Joke all you want but you won't find any of them.'

The presence in his mind vanished abruptly. Yamato was almost a little disappointed that the telepath had not tried anything. It would have given him a good chance to test out his mental defences Sora had prepared for him. A roar from one of the Dark Digimon alerted him to the fact that it was time to get back to work. Baring his fangs, he turned and started towards the fire.

He was told there had been an easing of tension among the citizens of the city when his ancestry had been made public. Now instead of fearing the invading group of Dark Digimon, there was a feeling of nonchalance among the citizens. It was all a little bit overwhelming. The hopes of the entire city were being placed on his shoulders and there was not a damned thing he could do except carry the weight.

Daisuke did not want this weight on his shoulders. It was the reason he had handed over command of the Chosen to Hikari. After the incident with Daemon, he did not ever want to be in a position where his choice would determine the fate of his friends.

Isis had not given him any choice in the matter. He had a feeling that he was just a pawn in a larger game she was playing against the Assembly. The leak of his information to the public was proof enough of that. It was a dangerous ploy because if he failed, she would go down with him. He really did not want to spend the rest of his life living under the sea.

And so, he found himself pacing restlessly in his quarters, waiting for Isis to come and escort him to where Veemon was being kept. Afterwards, he was supposed to lead a team of Elite Warriors out of the City in order to intercept the invaders.

A soft knocking sound sudden came from the door to his room. "May I come in?" A cheerful voice proclaimed seconds later.

"Yeah sure," Daisuke replied slowly.

The door slid open revealing a young man about his age. He carried a single tray in his hand. "I come bearing food," he said in the same cheerful voice.

Daisuke frowned at the contents of the tray. "If you can call this food."

The boy nodded understandingly. "I know what you mean. I prefer outside food like Hamburgers and Pizza to this vegetarian stuff myself. But what are you going to do? High-ranking people hoard the little good food we have."

"Some things are the same everywhere." Daisuke shook his head and took the tray from the boy. Surprisingly, he did not leave but rather stayed where he was. "Is there something else?"

"I could have snuck you out of the city if you had not accepted the responsibility of leading us against the invaders."

Calmly, Daisuke placed the tray on the edge of his bed. "Who are you," he questioned, appraising the boy anew.

"Just a person who shares a mutual acquaintance. They have increased security around you so I am afraid I can't do much to help you. One word of advice though, be wary of Praetor Isis. She is a tough, driven and ambitious woman. She will use you to get what she wants and even I don't know what her true intentions are."

Daisuke exhaled slowly and sat down on the edge of his bed. "I suspected as much. What can you do to help me?"

"So far, absolutely nothing. However, I will keep you informed. One piece of advice though, do not look at your future in the Hall of Ages. The hall is an abomination created long ago. It skews perspective and unless you truly study every panel, you will never know the damage your decisions might cause."

"Isis warned me of that as well. She said that the last person who looked at it caused the Great Catastrophe."

The boy nodded. "Yes he did. Given that you are his ancestor, I hope you learn from his mistakes."

"But I was told that Setsuna Monou was the cause of that event."

"Something had to cause him to betray his comrades." He glanced at the door as if hearing something. "Think over what I have said. I will be in touch." Before Daisuke could say anything, the boy slipped out of the room.

Daisuke sighed and absentmindedly put a morsel of food from the tray into his mouth. He had barely started to chew when the door suddenly swung open. Isis stepped inside the room and motioned for him to follow her. Before he could say anything she left the room. Frowning darkly, he got up and followed after her.

Hikari hummed quietly to herself as she examined the dead body. Angemon had returned with it as the sun had gone down. Even now, news of what had happened to the scouting party was circulating throughout the small outpost.

"Isn't it a bit morbid humming like that," Willis questioned from behind her.

"Do it enough and you get used to it," Hikari replied. "Besides, it helps take your mind off what you are doing. Jyou whistles when he does it and that is even more horrifying."

"Why is that?"

"Because Jyou can't carry a tune to save his life." Hikari suddenly held up her hand, motioning for silence. There was something that her mental probe had just grazed. Drawing as much of her power as she could physically handle, she laid her hands upon the corpse's chest and let it loose. Whatever was inside the dead body tried to escape her attention but using her full powers she grabbed onto it. It tried to escape but she used her powers to usurp its will and then delved further into its psyche. Slowly, images began to flood her mind. When it was all over, she used her powers to kill the parasite.

"Well?" Willis put his hand on her shoulder.

"It was much as we suspected," Hikari answered wearily. "They were trying to infiltrate us. Thank the Gods that Mimi warned me about this. Now, we are a lot better prepared. Get as many of your fighting men as you can muster. Tomorrow, we are going to visit one of your mountains."

Willis frowned. "What did you see?"

"A place in the mountains that they are using to gather their forces for one final assault. Our scouts happened upon their base and it cost them their lives. The force they are building is sizeable." Hikari rose to her feet, stretching as she did so. "I plan to surprise them."

"That sounds a bit risky. Are you really sure about this information?"

Hikari turned her gaze towards him. "What do you mean?"

"It just seems a little easy. We have to assume that they know Mimi would have contacted you. So, why pull the same stunt they tried in Kroy?"

"It could be that they did not think Mimi would contact us so soon. Communication over the thoughtscape takes a lot of effort. In fact, they may not know that she had survived their assassination attempt."

"I still have reservations but I suppose I can't stop you from going ahead with this." Sighing, Willis moved forward and laid a white cloth over the dead body. "My bigger concern at the moment is telling the people here about what happened to the scouts."

"I had not even thought of that," Hikari admitted ruefully. "If you want, I could say a few words."

Willis grinned. "Well this is a huge change from the Hikari I remember."

"It's Iori's fault," Hikari grumbled good-naturedly. "He is constantly nagging me to be more thoughtful when dealing with others."

"You were not always like that."

He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. Hikari did not seem to mind though. "Really," was all she said.

Emboldened, Willis continued. "Yeah. When I first met you, you and Takeru went out of your way to help me. You were not so..." he trailed off trying to think of an adequate word.

"... cold." Hikari finished for him. "I suppose I was not back then. That girl... it seems a lifetime ago." She shook her head. "All of us have had so many things happen to us. We have all had to change and adapt."

Willis nodded. "True enough." Rising to his feet, he led Hikari out of the room. "So, what are you planning to do for the rest of the night? I should have enough people ready for an assault near dawn."

"I will give this base a once over with my powers. We should make sure that the Psimon don't exhaust themselves. After that, I've got something else that I want to do."

"Oh?" Willis glanced at her quizzically.

"It is nothing you need to worry about."

Willis frowned but did not pursue the issue. The pair walked in silence until they finally arrived at Hikari's quarters.

"Get some rest," Hikari said, opening the door to her room. "I will be pushing you and your people fairly hard tomorrow."

Willis raised his hand to his forehead in a mock salute. Rolling her eyes, Hikari closed the door on him. Turning around, she noted that both Angel Digimon were present in the small rooms assigned to her.

"Oh good," she said cheerfully, "you are both here. As soon as I am done bathing, we can begin."

The small cave was filled with the cloying stench of smoke. Yamato knelt next to two bodies lying still inside the small enclosing. After examining them, he rose to his feet with a sigh. The two were just another pair among the long line of corpses he had found.

'This is not getting us anywhere.' Yamato thought inwardly. 'I can't even try to smell them out. The smoke is covering all scents.'

'Little we can do except keep on going,' Garurumon responded. 'Hopefully they will contact us as we take down the next few spires.'

'That is going to be hard to do quickly, old friend. The last few battles were hardly easy and we don't have the element of surprise any longer. It's fortunate that Sora's power has been able to shield us from the telepath otherwise we would be in a great deal more trouble.'

'Was it wise coming here alone? We can't take on an entire legion if they throw one at us.'

This isle was created as a sanctuary for the Aal. I did not want any other outsiders to find out about it. Besides, the plan was to recruit the Aal that we rescued although I did not imagine that the damage would be this widespread so quickly. It makes me think that I should have foregone going after my Crest and meeting the others.'

'You should not dwell on that. If we had come here without the crest, I doubt we would have been much use to the Aal. Plus, Sora would have died otherwise. All we can do now is move forward and hope for the best.'

Yamato was about to respond when suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. In one fluid motion he dove to the side. Twisting in midair, he came to rest on all fours, his eyes darting around. They finally came to rest on a figure standing near the entrance to the cave.

"I had not expected such a quick response to my summons," the figure said, flipping back the hood that swathed his face in shadows.

Yamato relaxed, noticing the small tusks that protruded from the top and bottom portions of the man's mouth. "You are one of the Aal?" Slowly rising to his feet, he transformed to his normal state.

The Aal nodded. "I am. My name is Kha'noth."

"I was sent by the Elders," Yamato replied, maintaining a neutral tone. "I do not know what you meant by a summons."

Kha'noth tilted his head, studying him anew. Yamato endured the scrutiny until suddenly the Aal staggered sideways. He immediately caught himself and leaned against the cave wall.

"Are you ok?" Yamato said, stepping forward cautiously. The Aal let him approach without issuing any warnings.

"I am still recovering," Kha'noth responded. "I need some energy." He pointed at Yamato's left hand. "Do you mind?"

Yamato shook his head and let the Aal take his hand. There was a small tingling sensation from his crest as Kha'noth laid his hand against it. After a long while in which nothing seemed to happen, Kha'noth stiffened and then relaxed. His lips moved briefly and then he slumped completely in Yamato's arms.

'Well how is that for you,' Yamato thought wryly. 'He's lost consciousness.'

'We should stay with him,' Garurumon replied. 'Did you happen to hear what he whispered?'

'He said, thank you Tanya.' Sensing some hesitation from Garurumon, Yamato said, 'Don't worry, I know everything.'

'The Elders told you?'

'Of course. After what I was asked to do, I demanded that they tell me everything. The thing that surprised me though was that you and the rest of the Digimon knew the truth of these things as well.'

'Then you should know why we could not reveal anything.'

Yamato nodded to himself. 'I know the reasons and I don't fault you for any of them. But, what I have to do goes against Setsuna's plans. You and the others chose not to do anything the first time around.'

'Do you doubt me?'

'Not in a million years.' Yamato chuckled humourlessly. 'The last generation of Chosen! It seems to be fate's cruel trick on us all.'

There was silence again after that exchange and Yamato settled against the cave wall, waiting for the Aal to awaken.

"Daisuke," Veemon said excitedly.

Daisuke smiled at the Digimon, raising a hand in greeting. He looked at the rather spacious cell his partner was inside and asked, "How have they been treating you, buddy?"

"Not bad but I still wanted to get out of here."

"I'm working on that." Daisuke glanced behind himself. "Well, get him out of there."

The two guards, who had escorted him to the cell, hesitated. One of them finally stepped forward and said, "Praetor Isis informed us that you were to biomerge with the Digimon as soon as you saw him."

Daisuke frowned but then shrugged. "It makes little difference to me. You ready buddy?"

The small Digimon nodded and began to break up into small bits of data. Daisuke hurriedly kicked off his shoes as the data began to enter his body. After the transformation was finished, he looked down at the two guards and said, "Take me to the Assembly Hall."

And once again, Daisuke found himself standing in a dark room surrounded by robed and hooded figures. This time though he was bio-merged and felt a lot more confident then he had the first time.

"Praetor Isis has informed you of the situation?"

"She has. I am to lead a few of your warriors out to do battle with the Dark Ocean forces."

"Yes," one of the figures walked forward until Daisuke could make out his faint outline. "However you will be executing a plan that we have prepared."

In front of Daisuke, the darkness suddenly shifted. It reshaped itself into a large three-dimensional holographic display of the ocean outside. Through some trick of light, the council members around him seemed to disappear. He stared in wonder as the display suddenly zoomed into a small narrow passageway situated between two tall mountains.

"This passageway is one of the few entrances to the City. It is also the path the Digimon are taking. You will ambush them there. We will provide you with and outline that you must adhere to. Any deviation will result in removal of your authority."

Daisuke nodded. "I understand."

The holographic display shifted again showing a small group of Digimon.

"We have studied the enemy as they approach this site and we have determined a little of their overall structure. This one Digimon seems to be in charge."

The display zoomed inwards once more focusing on a Lady Devimon.

"A fairly mid level Digimon. You should not have any problem destroying her. The others will run, however, you cannot let any of them escape. Terminate as many as you can but one or two must be spared. We must learn how they knew of our existence."

"And afterwards, what happens to me?" Daisuke asked.

"That is still up for debate."

Sighing softly, Daisuke turned his attention back to the holographic display. The group of Digimon were not really a problem but the people assigned to him would probably end up a thorn in his side. There was also a question of his authority and how far it actually extended.

"They are deliberately handicapping you."

Daisuke shrugged and turned to face Isis. "I take it we are all alone then? It doesn't really matter. All that really concerns me is getting out of here and returning to the world above."

"That is a mistake. You belong here. All of us are your people."

"I am not Sho Shinjo." Daisuke said emphatically. "I have no wish to stay here and dance on your strings."

Isis met his gaze evenly. "You may not wish it but you will have to stay down here. By the time the Assembly finishes discussing this matter, you will have been with us for ten or more years. Use that time to your advantage."

"You want me to place my faith in you?"

"Who better? I have been as forthright with you as I am allowed."

"Is that so?" Daisuke shook his head. "You may be telling the truth but I believe you are intentionally keeping some things from me."

"What would I have to gain by doing that?"

Daisuke shrugged. "You tell me."

An uncomfortable silence hung between them until suddenly, Isis turned away. "Come along, I should introduce you to the men who will be accompanying you."

"Lead on," Daisuke said, motioning her forward.

Towelling her hair dry, Hikari sat down crosslegged on her bed. She patted the space across from her and motioned Angemon to sit down. He eyed her warily and then sat down far too gracefully for someone of his height.

"I want to know whether I can draw power directly from the Crest of Hope," Hikari said, getting straight to the point. "I tried a few experiments when it was in my custody but didn't get anywhere. I am hoping that something within the Crest changes when it is bonded to a person and who knows, you may even be able to feed the energy to me like Takeru can."

"That seems like a risky experiment. The Crests store an immense amount of power. One misstep could be disastrous."

"We have no choice," Hikari replied. "I need to know how much power is at my disposal at any point."

"All right," Angemon shrugged. "How do we begin?"

"Put your hand on my shoulder," Hikari said. After Angemon had done so, she continued, "Takeru and I have to be touching each other to share our power. As he draws upon his power, I can actually feel it build inside him. It almost feels as though he is an extension of me and I can take control of his power directly. The only downside is that I cannot use this power until it enters my body and is converted into light energy. Fortunately, I can draw upon it as fast as I want."

"So you want to see whether you can use me as a conduit?"

Hikari nodded. "You can begin drawing upon the Crest as soon as you're ready."

Angemon closed his eyes. After a moment, he questioned, "Can you feel anything?"

"Nothing yet," Hikari responded. "Draw upon as much energy as you can."

A few moments passed and then Angemon said, "I am reaching my limit now."

"I can't feel a thing." Hikari bit her lower lip, contemplating her next move. "Would you mind if I scanned the Crest through the thoughtscape? I may have to look through your mind as well to see just how this process works with you."

"Just don't look too deep," Angemon replied.

Taking that as a sign of consent, Hikari closed her eyes and sent her mind out over the thoughtscape. As the grey void surrounded her, she became aware of the energy being released by the Crest of Hope. Following the threads of energy, she discovered that they were coming from a tiny dimensional rift that existed within the Crest itself. It was not quite unlike the gateways that allowed travel within and outside the Digital World. However, unlike those gateways, her attempts to slip into the rift failed. Something on the other side seemed to be blocking her.

Her own Crest suddenly came alive. Surprised, she turned to investigate only to feel an invisible hand seize her astral form and drag it towards her body. All of her attempts to fight back proved to be futile. A moment before she entered her body, she realized that her own powers were being used against her. After that, there was nothing but a piercing white light as the rift within her Crest swallowed her.

- - - - - -

The sounds of birds chirping slowly filled her ears. Consciousness and Reason returned quickly and she rolled to her feet, instantly alert. The scenery that greeted her took her breath away.

Multi-hued flowers, set in straight rows, stretched as far as the eye could see. A stone statue of a dragon rose over her, a steady stream of water from its mouth filled the pond below. Further overhead, the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun shone brightly. A moment later she revised her initial assessment. The colours were too bright and vivid. It seemed as if someone had brought a painting to life. One thing she was sure of was that her surroundings were clearly a thought construct.

"Well," Hikari said loudly, "you got me here. Now show yourself."

"You are not what I was expecting." A quiet voice answered her.

Hikari turned around slowly and came face to face with a black haired, oriental woman. The best way to describe her was regal. She regarded Hikari coolly from behind grey, green eyes. Not one to back down, Hikari met and returned the gaze evenly.

"I sensed the soul of a dear old friend and I thought to see him once more. Instead, I found you."

"Who are you?"

The woman tilted her head sideways as if to regard her as an oddity. "My name is Miharu and I was the very first Avatar of Light."

Until next update everybody. Please review some more.