Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Finally, I've finished writing this chapter! First, I just want to say that I apologize if you find it really boring, but it had to be written for parts of the story to start coming together. This was a very frustrating chapter to write. In fact, I had to rewrite it about seven times, and at one point I was so annoyed, I nearly chucked the whole story in the garbage, but I persevered and here it is! And of course it will continue. Also, I did what I could to stick to the English version as close as possible, but in some areas I had to either expand on things from the show or make some stuff up for my theories. I haven't actually seen an episode of season one or two since the last episode of season two first aired in Canada what, like six years ago now, so I apologize for any bloopers. I'm sure there are tons in this chapter, but I did the best I could, and after seven rewrites this is about as good as it's going to get. Also, there are a few bloopers in earlier chapters I need to fix so this chapter makes sense, which I will do as soon as I can. They're not big ones anyone would notice, but they're bugging me so I have to fix them. Oh, and if you can't figure out which Spirit Chip belongs to who, all I can say is, where have you been for the last 132 chapters?! Hope you enjoy!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 132: Digimon Lore
Sam Ichijouji
File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World
"Wait! I just have one thing to say before we start," Ryoko smirked, looking suspiciously innocent. "Hey, Piximon, did Gennai tell you he was captured?"
Piximon indignantly fluttered his wings and scowled at the golden-haired Digidestined. "Yes, he did, and I'd like to know why nobody bothered to inform me a long time ago!"
"Well, you see, we had no idea where you were," Benjamin said dryly, his lips twitching into a smile. "Gennai never bothered to tell us he had sent you on some sort of secret mission. How were we supposed to give you a message when we had no clue where to find you?"
"Always an excuse!"
"You certainly made quite a spectacle of yourself when you did finally find out what happened," Biyomon joked, trying desperately to keep a straight face. "Ogremon insists it was the most entertainment he's had in years!"
"You mean I missed it?" Ryoko asked, clearly disappointed.
"Young man, you should learn to respect your elders!" Piximon snapped.
Sam Ichijouji glanced uncertainly at Ryoko and chewed anxiously on his lower lip. Normally he got along very well with the golden-haired Digidestined, and because of that he could not understand why the two of them had almost gotten into a fight before school that morning. Had he said something wrong? He was pretty sure every word out of his mouth had been perfectly innocent, so why had Ryoko acted as if he had said something really horrible?
Maybe he thinks I don't agree with him about Matt, but that's not true at all! I forgive Matt, just like all of the others do, and I know he's learned from his mistakes. It could have been so much worse, but he found a way to break free from the darkness before it could completely consume him. I know I didn't sound very sure at first, but that's only because I was still trying to make sense of it all in my head. I never meant to make it sound as if I didn't think Matt should be forgiven. Ryoko knows that, doesn't he?
Although Ryoko wasn't looking in his direction, he could tell the golden-haired Digidestined was aware of his every move. Despite what Ryoko seemed to think, he wasn't stupid. He knew very well the golden-haired Digidestined was avoiding him, and the blond's attitude made him feel like there was a giant hole inside his heart.
What if he doesn't want to be friends with me anymore? I know he can be pretty harsh sometimes, but I never thought he could be this cruel. And why do I get the feeling he's hiding something from me?
Surprisingly enough, the thought of losing Ryoko's friendship hurt him just as much as the thought of losing Mickey's friendship, and considering how much he liked the older twin, that was saying something.
What am I going to do? I'd feel better if I knew Ryoko was avoiding me because of our fight, but I know that's not true. He was avoiding me even before he mentioned Matt...
"Quit wasting time, Ishida!" Dai shouted, glaring at the golden-haired Digidestined. Ryoko glared back at him, but the goggle-headed leader pretended not to notice. Instead, he turned to Gennai and gave the robed figure a brilliant smile. "Go on then, tell us about the Spirit Chips."
Gennai nodded and folded his hands together in his lap. "Very well, but before I do, I should tell you a bit about the D-Coders. Do you like the name? Azulongmon and I came up with it when we first created the Digivices."
"Too bad you didn't tell us that!" Jose snorted. "It would have been nice if you had bothered to inform us about the fact that the Digivices were given new names. We helped you make those Digivices, you know!"
Gennai bowed his head in acknowledgement and patted his counterpart's shoulder. "Yes, you did. Now, where was I? Oh, that's right, the Digivices. As Izzy discovered many years ago, the D-3 Digivices have three unique features, hence the name. They are, digital, detect, and discover. Each of these three functions refer to digivolving, keeping track of fellow Digidestined, and finding things like Digi-Eggs respectively. They are also capable of doing many other things, though these are their three primary functions."
"That's right. For such small gadgets, they pack quite a punch," Izzy agreed, the usual manic gleam in his eyes whenever he spoke about anything related to the Digital World.
"Well, that's one way of putting it. The D-Coders we created with help from Azulongmon's Digicores work pretty much the same way as the D-3 Digivices, with one small difference. Instead of having three primary functions, the D-Coders have four. They are digital, detect, discover, and decode. They have the ability to help your digimon digivolve, they can detect fellow Digidestined when you become separated, they can find important items like your digimon partners, the crests, and the Spirit Chips, and they also have the ability to decode the computer language of the Digital World. Remember that last point especially. You will realize why it's so important when I've finished telling you about the Spirit Chips."
"So that's why they're called D-Coders," Takara said quietly, gazing at Gennai with new respect. "It's because they can decipher the Digital World's unique computer language. We were wondering about the name."
"Do you remember the strange markings on the walls of the ancient stone fortress where you found Embermon?" Gennai asked. "Those markings are actually the language of the Digital World. The walls of that fortress are a written record of the Digital World's long history. I'm sure you noticed one section of the wall appeared to have been carved more recently than the rest of the history recorded in that sacred place. That section refers to all the hardships and battles your parents had to overcome when they were trying to save the Digital World. If you had known how to correctly use your D-Coders at the time, you would have been able to decipher the writings on the walls, and as a result, you would have known the truth about your parents right from the very beginning."
"What a cheap trick!" Ryoko shouted, looking absolutely outraged. "I bet you planned for that to happen right from the very beginning!"
"We're always the last ones to know everything," Alopemon grumbled.
"It wouldn't have helped us, that's for sure," Tai muttered, smiling slightly.
If we had known at the time how to decipher the writing on the walls, I'd already know all about the Emperor...
Sam gave his purple D-Coder an accusing look and frowned at all the adult Digidestined. Apparently they were thinking along the same lines as him because every single one of them looked extremely relieved at what they obviously considered to be a great stroke of luck.
"It's great to know more about the D-Coders, but what does all of this have to do with the Spirit Chips?" Mickey asked curiously.
Gennai gazed thoughtfully at the older twin for a moment and stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his robe. "I think it's time for a little history lesson. Like Benjamin said earlier, our main job here in the Digital World is not only to keep the Digital World a secret from the majority of the human world, it's also to monitor the positive and negative forces of light and darkness and make sure one does not become greater than the other. They must maintain a sense of balance and work in perfect harmony for the Digital World to remain peaceful."
"I guess that makes sense," Matty mumbled, though he looked a bit confused.
"The Digital World itself determines the shift in balance between light and darkness. When the balance shifts too far in favour of the darkness, that is when the gates to the Digital World open. It's the Digital World's way of telling us it needs help."
"The rest of us should have known the gates had opened again, but Gennai had us running all over the Digital World looking for signs of any suspicious digimon," Ilya explained. "Unfortunately, Vampiramon and her allies were lying low at the time so we weren't able to find out anything that would be of use to us. I'm guessing they knew what we were up to and clearly they wanted to announce their presence as a powerful force in the Digital World in a way that suited them. The balance of power must have shifted while we were absent from Server because when we did finally return and meet up with Gennai, he told us he'd already put the first steps into action. We were going to ask him what he meant, but before we could say anything, Vampiramon showed up and captured him."
"I take it Gennai was captured during the morning on the same day we received our Digivices?" Takara asked, her arms tightening around Dovemon.
Jackie nodded, and for some reason he looked a little bit sheepish. "After Gennai was captured, the rest of us returned to our base, which is also on Server. It was then we discovered the gates to the Digital World were open, but we were confused because at that point there was no sign of the Digidestined and we also did not know just how long the gates to the Digital World had been opened. The next day, we were going to send Benjamin off to discover what had become of the Digivices when Leomon arrived and told us the Digidestined had already arrived and gotten their hands on Embermon."
"What do you mean you were going to have Benjamin discover what became of the Digivices?" Mickey asked slowly, exchanging a look with his twin.
"We did not keep the D-Coders stored in our base on Server, and with good reason," Benjamin said quietly. "Many years ago, our base was attacked by the Dark Masters. They were attempting to steal the crests that belonged to Tai's group. I'm not sure whether Piedmon wanted the Digi-Eggs and Digivices, as well, though we think he did, but Gennai wasn't taking any chances. He took the Digi-Eggs to File Island, but unfortunately he lost Gatomon's Digi-Egg along the way, which proved to have severe consequences later on. It was during that time when Piedmon placed a dark ball of energy inside Gennai and he became an old man. The point is, we weren't going to make the same mistake twice. Instead of keeping the digimon in our base, Gennai hid Embermon and his friends on various continents with a trusted digimon to look after them until they were needed. Vampiramon and her followers couldn't have taken your partner digimon from the pedestals or moved the pedestals themselves, but we were still worried. Dark digimon have a way of doing the impossible, so we wanted to make absolutely sure they were safe."
"That explains Leomon and the others," Tai agreed. "Good idea."
Benjamin smiled at the former leader and bowed his head. "We did the same thing with Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon, though they didn't have guards. We hid them in the Digital World itself instead of in our base, and it worked that time, so we thought we would try it again. As for the D-Coders, we left them in the care of Azulongmon, the Guardian of the Eastern Hemisphere. That's why we did not know whether the Digidestined had arrived or not. I was just about to go looking for Azulongmon to ask him what had become of the Digivices when Leomon showed up."
"You wouldn't have found Azulongmon," Piximon said importantly, looking pleased with himself. "The Guardian of the Eastern Hemisphere was with me. I met up with him after I gave Daichi and his friends their Digivices, but I'm sure Gennai will tell you all about that."
Gennai cleared his throat loudly and smiled in amusement. "Yes, well, I would if the rest of you would let me continue."
"Right, go ahead," Jackie said cheerfully.
"As I was saying, after millions of Digidestined from all over the human world came to the Digital World and defeated MaloMyotismon, the gates to the Digital World should have closed, but for some reason they didn't. It was only approximately fifteen years ago when they did finally close. That means the gates stayed open for ten years after MaloMyotismon was destroyed. Why? Well, we're not really sure, but we think it had something to do with the Powers of Darkness. You see, after MaloMyotismon disappeared, the balance of power between light and darkness should have once again shifted back into a state of harmony, but that didn't happen. Despite Yukio Oikawa's life force protecting the Digital World, for ten years the balance of power remained in favour of the darkness, but there was nothing we could do about it. There were no signs of anyone or anything threatening the Digital World, at least nothing we were aware of. We did everything we could to search for the source of the disturbance, but our efforts were in vain. Then, at one point in time about fifteen years ago, the darkness became so overwhelming, we thought for sure the source of the disturbance would finally show itself."
"What happened?" Halomon whispered, his big, blue eyes fixed intently on Gennai's face.
"Nothing. Once again we tried to figure out what was going on, but the Digital World remained as peaceful as ever. There were no signs of darkness anywhere. We didn't know what to think."
"Why didn't you tell us this a long time ago?" Matt asked, glaring accusingly at Gennai. "We were still visiting the Digital World at the time. Maybe we could have helped you find out what was going on!"
"Yes, Matt, you and your friends were still coming to the Digital World, which means you know as well as I do that the Digital World was peaceful! What was the point of worrying you when there was nothing out there to fight? Trust me, we were keeping a close eye on the situation. If we had witnessed anything out of the ordinary in the Digital World, we would have informed you."
"Well, that's a relief," Mina sighed, shaking her head.
"Now, just when the darkness was at its most dangerous, and we were on the verge of panicking, it suddenly just disappeared. One minute the darkness was almost overwhelming and the next minute both forces that influence the Digital World, light and darkness, had shifted back into a state of harmony. It was then that the gates to the Digital World finally closed. We were completely baffled, but at least we could breath a little easier."
"Strange," Sora murmured, gazing thoughtfully at the white, puffy clouds floating leisurely across the sky. "Has something like this ever happened before?"
Gennai leaned back on his hands and quickly shook his head. "No, never. Now, from what all of you have told me about Lucemon, Luciamon, and DarkAngelicmon, they must have joined up with the Ruler of Darkness just after the gates to the Digital World closed. Strangely enough, that would have been fifteen years ago. Whether or not the Ruler of Darkness came into existence after the gates closed, or whether he was the cause of the disturbance that went on for ten years, remains to be seen. Only time will tell. I'm more inclined to think he appeared after the gates closed because if he had been the source of the disturbance, he wouldn't exist anymore. The gates would not have closed unless he had been defeated. There are a lot of things I'm not sure of, but one thing I do know for a fact is that somehow, some way, whatever was causing the darkness after MaloMyotismon had definitely been defeated fifteen years ago. Like I said before, the gates would not have closed otherwise. That's why I think it's pretty impossible for the Ruler of Darkness to have existed before then."
"But why would the gates close if the Ruler of Darkness came into existence that quickly after another force of evil had just been defeated?" Glowmon asked, peeking over Sam's arms. "You'd think they would have remained open."
"The balance of power did not remain in harmony for long. The gates had only been closed for an extremely short amount of time before the balance once again began to shift in favour of the darkness, only it wasn't enough to cause a great amount of alarm. That's why the gates remained closed. The Ruler of Darkness may have come into existence, but at the time, he obviously wasn't doing anything to threaten the Digital World. More than likely he was gathering followers at the time. From what Dai has told me, I get the feeling Vampiramon, Jestermon, BlackWidowmon, and Spritemon didn't really know Lucemon or Luciamon very well, which leads me to believe they joined the Ruler of Darkness shortly before Lucemon and Luciamon left. As you know, Luciamon and Lucemon had been spying on me thirteen years ago so they obviously left the Ruler of Darkness before then. According to you, Daichi, it sounds like they had been spying on me for quite a while. I believe that means they probably left the Ruler of Darkness about fourteen years ago, shortly after Vampiramon and her three allies were recruited. DarkAngelicmon, as we all know, has been with the Ruler of Darkness ever since the beginning and he's never left his master's side since. He's made that pretty plain."
"Buy why?" Mickey moaned. "Why?"
"I'm sorry, Mickey, but we can't answer that," Hogan said sympathetically.
Gennai nodded in agreement and let out a deep sigh. "It is time to take you back thirteen years ago. By this time, the Ruler of Darkness had gained many powerful allies, and as we know now, Lucemon and Luciamon were trying to find a way to stop him from fulfilling his plans. It was approximately thriteen years ago when the balance of power once again really started to shift in favour of the darkness at a steady rate. We were worried and so was the Entity who watches over the Digital World and acts as our guide. As you all know, the voice that spoke through Kari Kamiya twenty-nine years ago is a living entity created by kilobytes from the internet on Earth. We refer to this Entity as a 'she' because it makes it easier to talk about her. She is data, yes, but she is still very much alive. The same is true for the Digital World itself. It is also made of data, but it is still a living entity, which is evident when you look at the landscape and all of the digimon who live in this world. They are just as real as all the humans who live in the human world. The Entity who spoke through Kari is one of many like her kind, but she speaks for all of them and acts basically like their leader. Together, they are the Voice of the Digital World, and all of the other entities speak through the one who inhabited Kari's body because she is the strongest of them all. They are as real as digimon, and digimon are as real as humans."
"That's for sure," Izzy agreed, smiling fondly at Tentomon.
"As I said before, the Digital World is very much a living life form in itself, and it has the ability to speak through the internet's living entities, and they in turn, speak through the one who inhabited Kari's body. Of course, being the strongest, the Digtal World often speaks through her directly. She is the one who chose the Four Guardians and myself, along with my counterparts, to protect the Digital World, but she did it at the request of the Digital World itself."
"Weird. So...this world is actually alive?" Dai asked, gazing in awe at the landscape.
"Precisely. As I was saying, thirteen years ago, the darkness had become very strong, but it wasn't yet strong enough to justify opening the gates to the Digital World. According to the Digital World's living entites, only the Digital World itself can decide when the gates will open, but the one who spoke through Kari was worried. In the end, the Digital World recognized her fear, and we knew the time had come. One day, the Entity contacted us and she told us the Digital World had decided it was time for new Digidestined. After all, all of the other Digidestined were getting older, and as you know, the darkness can never really be defeated, so we always need a steady supply of Digidestined. It was growing stronger, and I just knew, once it reached its true potential, it was going to be like nothing we had ever seen before."
"I take it this is where we come in?" Ryoko snorted.
"Indeed. Out of the six new Digidestined, Sam is the youngest. It was just after Sam's birth when the Entity travelled to the human world through the internet and began to scan all the vital information of every single child in the human world. Unlike the rest of us, the Entity can travel to the human world through the internet even when the gates are closed. Meanwhile, myself and my counterparts did what we could to help out with the scanning process from the Digital World. It took quite a long time, but when she finally came back, she had the informaton she needed on every human child. Scanning all the data faster than any human ever could, she narrowed down our choices to those who had the most potential to be Digidestined, and in her opinion, would make the most powerful Digidestined."
"So, in the end, there was a chance none of us would have been picked after all!" Takara gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
Sam thought of a life without Glowmon and felt a sudden stab of pain in his heart. Without a word, he buried his face against his partner's little wings and squeezed his eyes shut. We're really lucky. I don't know what I would do without Glowmon. I just can't imagine life without him anymore.
"That's right, in a sense, but perhaps not completely," Gennai said quietly. "Normally the Digital World chooses people to become Digidestined when they're young, but there can be exceptions, and as we know, once a Digidestined, always a Digidestined. This time, though, they were younger than even we could have ever imagined. At the time, we had many candidates who had the potential to be Digidestined. In fact, three of those candidates were Nobunari Kido, Ami Motomiya, and Miya Ichijouji."
"What?" Tai shouted at the top of his lungs. "You're kidding, right?"
"I don't believe it! My sister could have become a Digidestined instead of me! Then again, I guess that's not really surprising. She would make a good Digidestined..." Dai said thoughtfully.
Same with Miya...
Suddenly, everyone started talking at once and Gennai had to shout over the noise to be heard. "I'm not kidding. They were definitely potential candidates."
"How come they weren't chosen then?" Dai demanded.
Gennai shrugged and smiled at the goggle-headed leader. "I don't know. The Entity, with help from myself and my counterparts, find potential candidates, but the Digital World itself, speaking through the Entity, ultimately decides who will become a Digidestined. That's not to say Ami, Noah, Miya, or any of the other candidates will never become Digidestined. If the darkness becomes too great for the six of you and your parents to manage on your own, then they may be called to the Digital World. That's what happened twenty-nine years ago when Myotismon attacked the human world. Digimon were appearing all over every continent and there were too many for Tai's group to handle alone. That's when all the candidates we scanned during Myotismon's attack who had come in contact with digimon at that time became Digidestined right away. They didn't know they'd been scanned, but they were, just like Tai and his friends at Highton View Terrace four years before that, only this time we had expanded our search to more than just a few people and one area. As you may well already know, the largest existing gate to the Digital World is right over Highton View Terrace. We needed more variety and more candidates. Frankly, we needed a lot more Digidestined. In the end, because of the time difference between the human world and the Digital World, they ended up becoming Digidestined on the same day as Tai's group, including Ken. The only ones who were scanned during the Myotismon incident and didn't receive Digivices were Davis, Yolei, Cody, and the children who eventually had spores placed in them by Oikawa. We kept them in reserve in case we needed new Digidestined somewhere down the road, and we also placed Ken, Kari, and T.K. on the new main team, with the Spore children as alternates for reasons I'll explain later. Sure enough, the Digital World approved of our decision and all of them became Digidestined four years after the Myotismon incident, with Ken, Kari, and T.K. on the main team. Actually, like I said, it wasn't really us who decided any of that. It was the Digital World, and this time the Digital World chose you and your friends, Daichi. It also chose you to be the new leader. It was a new opportunity for new Digidestined, and this time around we went all out and scanned every human child so we could be prepared if we needed them in the future."
"But why, at the time, did it choose us over everyone else?" Mickey asked quietly.
"Well, I'm not sure, but I can give you my opinion," Gennai said slowly. "Almost every Digidestined on Davis' team, minus Ken and the Spore children, and now your whole team, have the ability to use the powers of the original eight Digidestined. Tai's group, to be exact, although calling them the original Digidestined is a bit untrue. There was a group of Digidestined before Tai's group, but their powers were lost. Well...not lost exactly. It's more like they were put to a greater use. Now, it takes a lot of energy to create things like crests. Sometimes the amount of energy it takes can even weaken the barriers of the Digital World, which is why it's much more efficient and effective to use powers that already exist. Ken was already a Digidestined and had a crest, so it was just a matter of recruiting him to the new team. Same with Kari and T.K. Fours years after Tai's team, Davis and his group were called because MaloMyotismon was threatening the Digital World, though we didn't know that was the reason at the time. We thought it was because of the Emperor. I think the Digital World knew or suspected the truth. We thought the Digital World had originally chosen Davis, Ken, Yolei, T.K., Kari, and Cody to be the main Digidestined team during Myotismon's attack on the human world because they were compatible with each other, and given the right digimon, they could DNA Digivolve. Of course, it was only later when we realized they would need the power from Gatomon's tail ring in order to do so and that Paildramon would be able to digivolve to mega with help from the Digicore. Those six could have created all kinds of combinations, but for the sake of simplicity they ended up, probably subconsciously, settling on three separate DNA teams. The point is, it can't be done by just any two Digidestined. Two humans and two digimon have to be compatible for it to work, and these six were all compatible with each other. That's what we originally thought, but it's almost as if the Digital World knew about the Emperor long before he even took on that identity. Although DNA Digivolving still played a huge role, in the end, it was Davis and the rest of his team's ability to use the powers of the original Digidestined, with the exception of Ken for reasons you'll find out later, that brought an end to the Emperor's reign of terror, which allowed them to find out the truth about Oikawa and MaloMyotismon. Originally the six of them were supposed to work togther to defeat MaloMyotismon, but early on something went wrong. Something we had not foreseen, though, like I said, I think the Digital World may have suspected it might happen right from the very beginning. It came in the form of the Digimon Emperor. He was never supposed to exist, but the Powers of Darkness have a way of making the situation work to their advantage. We had not counted on the Digimon Emperor twenty-nine years ago when we recruited millions of Digidestined. So, yes, in the end, though not because we had foreseen it at the time, one of the main reasons the last two teams were chosen was because they could use the powers of Tai's group. Even Ken, in a way, because he became a Digidestined at the same time as T.K. and Kari, so technically his crest is one of the powers of the original Digidestined, and it became very important later on. Also, with the six new Digidestined, the design of the original Digivices took on a new form. Surprisingly enough, because Ken was the one who willed his Digivice to subconsciously change, in the end, in order to compete with Ken's Digivice, Davis and his group also had their Digivices subconsciously changed into D-3s. That is not the case with the D-Coders. They were purposely made differently to begin with, but more about that later on."
Sam let out a gasp and clapped his hand over his mouth. The Emperor wasn't supposed to exist?
"Anyways, with all the Digidestined standing against Myotismon, and again when he became MaloMyotismon, it wasn't necessary for most of the Digidestined to digivolve all the way to ultimate. As you know, the battle with MaloMyotismon used up a lot of the Digital World's energy, so you can see why we were reluctant to waste any more energy, even with Oikawa's life force protecting the Digital World. Although we had to use some energy to create the Spirit Chips, it didn't take as much because they work with the crests."
"So we were chosen because we have the ability to use the powers of the crests?" Matty asked.
"I believe so. Also, you have that special something that all Digidestined have that gives you something in common with Tai, Kari, and the first Digidestined. And unlike the true original Digidestined, Tai's team still have their power firmly intact. Most importantly, you have the ability to help digimon digivolve and you have that right amount of innocence that allows you access to the Digital World; some of you more than most."
For some reason Gennai looked at Mickey, but other than Sam, everyone else was too busy hanging onto the robed figure's every word to notice.
"I believe that was the criteria used to choose your team and the team before you, with the exception of Ken, who could not use the power of the eight original crests but had been given a crest of his own, which, like I said, kind of makes it one of the original powers of the Digidestined."
"What about Noah, Miya, and Ami? Don't they have all of those things, too?" Celestimon asked.
"Yes, but the Digital World seemed to feel only six new Digidestined were necessary, though that may yet prove to be false. It has before. When you're a Digidestined, teamwork is a must. I think you six were chosen above them because you were the same age, and it's almost as if the Digital World knew you would work well together and end up being good friends."
"Some more than others," Ryoko mumbled, glancing sadly at Dai.
Dai stared at the blond for a moment and smiled slightly. "Maybe not. Hey, Gennai? What would have happened if the gates had opened when we were still too young to be Digidestined?"
"An interesting question. Never before had babies been chosen to be Digidestined, so we were very surprised when it happened. Although, we did know who your parents were, so it made sense. We had the same question, but the Entity told us, if that happened, other children from our list of candidates who were old enough to fight would have been chosen to fill your vacant positions until you were ready to help us save the Digital World."
"That's a relief," Matt snorted.
"Now, to tell you about the Spirit Chips. Based on the data we had and speaking with the Voice of the Digital World, the Entity had the Four Guardians, myself, and my counterparts find suitable digimon who would one day become the partners of the new Digidestined. She also had myself and my counterparts create the D-Coders. I've already explained where we hid them and why, so I'll get to the Spirit Chips. There's a reason why Benjamin and the rest of my counterparts didn't know about the Spirit Chips. They were under the impression that the new Digidestined would be using the powers of the crests, and they were right, in a sense, but it's so much more complicated than that. The only ones who knew the truth were myself, the Entity, and Azulongmon. The Entity didn't correct Benjamin and the others because she wanted to keep the Spirit Chips a secret for as long as possible. Think about it, the less people who knew about them, the less chance we had of evil digimon trying to steal them, and since, at the time, we didn't know what was causing the darkness, it was more important than ever to keep them a secret. That's also why I kept the name Azulongmon and I had chosen for the new Digivices a secret."
"Well, you could have at least told us that!" Benjamin said indignantly.
"I was forbidden to tell anyone about the Spirit Chips and the name for the D-Coders. Izzy came up with the name D-3 Digivice and we liked the idea so much we decided to name the new Digivices, too. Now where was I? Right, I remember. Again, speaking with the Voice of the Digital World and honouring its request, the Entity instructed myself and Azulongmon to forge the Spirit Chips in secret."
"Of course," Gatomon muttered.
"And now, our story truly begins. I bet you're wondering why all the Digi-Eggs disappeared. When Tai's group gave up their crests, we had a small amount of their power stored away in case we ever needed it. After all, we could not use the crests in their current state, and we had a feeling their power might be needed somewhere down the road. We were right. A couple years later, the Digimon Emperor began his quest to conquer the Digital World and we used that stored power to create the Digi-Eggs, though it was a surprise that some of the team could carry more than one Digi-Egg. We never thought we would use them all. The D-Terminals were unexpected. We hadn't counted on them appearing, though I bet the Entity knew, even if we, including Azulongmon, didn't. Unfortunately, thirteen years ago, we needed that power back. As you may have guessed, the crests came back after Oikawa died, but because the Digi-Eggs still existed, they weren't at full strength. They were vulnerable, so we had them hidden away for safekeeping. When we set about making the Spirit Chips, we realized they weren't going to be as effective without the crests at full power. Since the gates were closed, and Davis and his team no longer needed the power of Armor Digivolving, we decided it was time that power was returned to the crests. The Siprit Chips would not work as well without it. It was the Entity who collected the Digi-Eggs from the D-Terminals and returned them to us. At last the crests had returned to full power, and it was a good thing because we were going to need them."
"So that's what happened to them!" Izzy said thoughtfully. "Davis had a fit when I couldn't give him an answer for their sudden disappearance."
Gennai nodded and smiled in amusement. "I'm sure he did. There are, naturally, six Spirit Chips, one for each new Digidestined. Each one has its own colour, symbol, and of course, its own special meaning. Do you remember the symbols on the pedestals?"
"Mine looked like a shield," Dai said cheerfully. "Mickey's was a rising sun, Matty's looked like a shooting star, and...uh..."
"Mine looked kind of like a bird's wing," Takara said thoughtfully.
"Sam's looked kind of like a half moon," Mickey said shyly, "and Ryoko's looked like the shape of an eye."
"That's right. Each of those symbols corresponds with the symbol on your Spirit Chips. Some of them may not reflect the meaning of your Spirit Chip necessarily, but they did give us a way to tell one from the other. Same with their colours. The colour of your D-Coder Digivice also corresponds with your Spirit Chip. Therefore, Dai's is red, Takara's is green, Ryoko's is blue, Sam's is purple, Mickey's is orange, and Matty's is yellow."
"Cool," Dai said happily, beaming at his D-Coder. "So...uh...what do they mean?"
"Like the crests, the Spirit Chips reflect one of the strongest qualities you possessed as babies, and considering what I've seen so far, you still possess to this day. I say one of your strongest qualities because all of you possess the qualities your parents have, so the Digital World chose ones that were different, yet still connected, to distinguish the Spirit Chips from the crests. Dai's especially is almost exactly, if not exactly, like one of the qualities his father possesses, but that is because it is the mark of a leader and it is something all Digidestined leaders must have in order to lead their team to victory. It is his or her other teammates who provide all of the other qualities needed to unite a team and give it the necessary assets needed to succeed. Like I said, there are six Spirit Chips. They are, bravery, loyalty, wisdom, compassion, faith, and innocence, but in order for each one to work to its fullest potential, each one must be fused together with one of the nine crests."
"What do you mean by that?" Agumon asked, clearly confused.
"Only one crest can be fused together with each Spirit Chip, and the six crests that were chosen for the job also represent one of your strongest qualities. In many ways, they are closely connected to the qualities of the Spirit Chips."
"So, which Spirit Chips belong to who, and which crests belong with each Spirit Chip?" Matty asked eagerly.
Gennai raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly. "That is something you'll have to discover on your own."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ryoko shouted, glaring at the robed figure. "After all the trouble we've gone to just to learn more about the Spirit Chips, let alone find them, and you're not even going to tell us which one belongs to who?"
"Well, Ryoko, personally I think it's pretty obvious which one belongs to who. The best way to understand who you are is to find yourself on your own personal journey. This isn't the kind of thing someone else can do for you."
"I bet Dai's Spirit Chip is bravery," Kara said quietly, glancing shyly at the goggle-headed leader.
Dai blinked in surprise and beamed at the female Digidestined. "Thanks, Kara!"
"I may not be able to tell you which crest goes with each Spirit Chip, but I can give you a hint," Gennai interrupted, a pleasant smile slipping across his face. "Each Spirit Chip is kept safe by two protective barriers, so in order to get your hands on them, you have to break both seals. The first seal has to do with the crests. Each of the six Spirit Chips is surrounded by a powerful force field that was created using a small amount of power from three of the nine crests, though not enough power was used to diminish the power of the crests. Basically, what that means is each of the Spirit Chips is protected by three crests, one of them being the crest that will be fused together with the Spirit Chips. The other two are also strong qualities of the person who owns that particular Spirit Chip. Because the barrier is so powerful, the three original Digidestined who own those crests must be the ones to break the seals. The crests can respond to other Digidestined who can use their power, but the signal isn't as strong. That's why it has to be the original Digidestined. The Spirit Chip of Bravery is protected by the Crests of Courage, Reliability, and Friendship; the Spirit Chip of Loyalty is protected by the Crests of Sincerity, Friendship, and Reliability; the Spirit Chip of Compassion is protected by the Crests of Kindess, Knowledge, and Sincerity; the Spirit Chip of Wisdom is protected by the Crests of Love, Courage, and Knowledge; the Spirit Chip of Faith is protected by the Crests of Hope, Light, and Love; and last, but certainly not least, the Spirit Chip of Innocence is protected by the Crests of Kindess, Light, and Hope. They are the key to digivolution and will help your digimon digivolve to the ultimate level."
"That's good to know. So, what's the second seal placed around the Spirit Chips?" Gomamon asked curiously.
"The second seal can only be broken by a D-Coder Digivice. It is an encrypted message written in the language of the Digital World that relates to the Spirit Chip it protects, and it can only be broken by the D-Coder Digivice the Spirit Chip belongs to. Do you see now why I said the fourth function of the new Digivices was going to be so important? Both seals need to be broken in order to get your hands on the Spirit Chips."
"Wow, Gennai, you weren't taking any chances, were you," Izzy said cheerfully, nodding his head in approval. "If we're looking for the Spirit Chip of Wisdom, for example, I take it the D-Coder it belongs with and the three crests protecting it will start to glow as soon as they're close enough to pick up the signal?"
"That is correct, with a bit of a complication I'll explain later."
"DemiVeemon thought the empty space at the top and towards the back of the D-Coders is where the Spirit Chips are supposed to go. Is that true?" Mina asked.
Gennai beamed at her and nodded. "DemiVeemon's a smart little digimon. That is true. The Spirit Chips are placed directly into the D-Coders."
"You were right, Izzy," Dai said enthusiastically. "You said our Digivices were special because they could decode the computer language of the Digital World."
Izzy, looking quite pleased with himself, reached out and ruffled Dai's hair. "I never did get a chance to study the D-Coders very closely, but it is nice to know my theory was correct. I was right about there being more to the D-Coders than just being able to understand computer code, too. They also have the ability to decipher specially encrypted messages that would be unrecognizable to any digimon here in the Digital World who does not possess enough wisdom or hasn't been around long enough to decipher the computer language of this world. That's probably true for digimon who have been around a long time, as well, because I bet these special messages have been slightly altered to disguise them from the everyday written language of the Digital World."
"Very true," Gennai replied.
"I know one thing, we sure haven't been around long enough to learn computer code!" Embermon said cheerfully. "At least, I don't remember if we were."
"We encrypted the codes protecting the Spirit Chips to stop any digimon from reading them, though I will admit, not even very many digimon understand the language of the Digital World, specially encrypted or not, but we wanted to make sure no one recognized the Spirit Chips for what they were if some digimon happened to come across one of them. Like the eight partners belonging to the original Digidestined, Embermon and his friends were newly created digimon, although they were around a bit longer than Agumon's group when they were recruited, or maybe not. Agumon's group had been waiting a long time for their partners because of the time difference between worlds. Embermon and his friends were already at their rookie stages when they were chosen whereas Agumon's group were still Digi-Eggs. The same is true for Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon, who had also been around for a little while before being chosen. Also, when I say newly created, I mean they did not exist at the dawn of the Digital World and were never reconfigured multiple times like other digimon. They literally just came into existence. That's not to say there weren't digimon like them around already. For example, there were a lot of Halomon in the Digital World before there were Digidestined, but Mickey's Halomon didn't exist until recently. Remember, all digimon are unique. Just because Mickey and Halomon turned out to be compatible with each other doesn't mean Mickey's automatically compatible with every Halomon out there. Personality has a lot to do with it, but...it's not everything. Far from it. There has to be that special something that makes humans and digimon click with each other. Now, Veemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon were drafted because they were compatible with the new Digidestined and they had the ancient ability to use the power of Armor Digivolving."
"Yeah, talk about cool," Dai muttered, gazing off into space.
"Although Davis, Yolei, and Cody were chosen to be Digidestined four years before they arrived in the Digital World, they didn't receive their Digivices until MaloMyotismon put his ambitious plans into action. All of his hard work showed itself through Oikawa and in the form of the Digimon Emperor. Because the Control Spires, which prevented digimon from digivolving to their champion stages, we needed digimon who still had the ancient ability of Armor Digivolving. The Control Spires couldn't affect Armor Digivolving and that made it an excellent way to combat the darkness. Because Veemon, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon all had this power and were compatible with the new Digidestined, they were drafted to the team. Although we intended for Kari and T.K. to be on the new team from the beginning, it was an excellent stroke of luck that Patamon and Gatomon could both Armor Digivolve as well. Then again, like I said before, it's almost as if the Digital World knew the Emperor would come into existence before it actually happened, which would explain why the Entity was so insistent that Kari and T.K. should be part of the new team, though she wouldn't tell us why. Because of that, I believe Kari and T.K. were also drafted to the new team and so does Azulongmon. Wormmon could Armor Digivolve, as well, but because of certain circumstances, and by that I mean the Digimon Emperor who created the Control Spires unknowingly for Oikawa and MaloMyotismon, it was of little importance."
"What do you mean?" Ryoko asked, an uneasy look creeping slowly onto his face.
"Well, it turns out Ken did not need a Digi-Egg, and I think the Digital World knew he wouldn't before the Emperor showed up. There's also the fact that the Crest of Kindness was unavailable at the time. It was merely coincidence Wormmon could Armor Digivolve. As I've just explained, at the time, Armor Digivolving was a last minute addition when the situation took a sudden startling twist, something we had not foreseen, and we had to compensate, but I believe the Digital World itself knew things we had no way of knowing. The gates to the Digital World closed after Apocalymon was destroyed, but once again the Digital World wasn't safe. The balance of power was still in favour of the darkness because of Oikawa and MaloMyotismon, though we didn't know that at the time, but for four years they weren't causing enough trouble to justify opening the gates to the Digital World. The gates only opened once in that time to allow Tai's team to give up the powers of their crests. It wasn't until Oikawa and MaloMyotismon had fully manipulated the Emperor that things started to spiral out of control. That was when all of the reasons Davis and his friends were chosen really started to make sense, and that was when we realized what the Digital World had known all along. And to think we thought it all began with DNA Digivolution to stop the forces of darkness. I know Azulongmon didn't tell Davis and the others all of this, but I think it's because he didn't want to confuse them so he only told them parts of it."
"Figures," Ryoko grumbled.
"Many of the other digimon who belong to Digidestined from all over the world were also drafted. Some were newly created and some weren't. We've noticed newly created digimon tend to come into existence when new Digidestined are needed, but they are few in number. After all, digimon never really die so if new digimon kept coming into existence at the rate humans do, this world would become overpopulated. That's why they're very rare and only come into existence at certain times. It's almost as if the Digital World creates them specifically for Digidestined because they make perfect matches. Sometimes, though, as we found out when Myotismon attacked the real world, there aren't enough newly created, honourable and worthy digimon to match up with Digidestined, so we must find digimon already in existence who make suitable matches with the humans who were chosen. Also, like with Davis, we do it for special reasons. The crests, and in the end, Armor Digivolving are perfect examples."
"Veemon and Armadillomon never bothered to learn the Digital World's language," Hawkmon sniffed, sending Armadillomon a disapproving look. "I understand a little bit of it, but I do wish I had the time to continue learning more."
"What about the crests?" Alopemon asked. "When did Vampiramon get her hands on them?"
Gennai gazed thoughtfully at the sky for a moment and let out a deep sigh. "They were stolen about two days before I was captured. I had contacted Leomon to let him know, and he was quite worried. I'm sure Vampiramon and her allies stole the crests because they knew they would need them to get the Spirit Chips. How could they know that before they captured me? Well, I have a theory. Remember how I said Azulongmon, the Entity, and myself were the only ones who knew about the Spirit Chips? Well, that's not technically true. From what Daichi has told me, Luciamon and Lucemon had been spying on me for quite some time. I don't think they knew everything about the Spirit Chips, but I think they knew enough to understand they were going to play a huge role when it comes to the fate of the Digital World. I also don't think they're the only ones who had been spying on me. It is my belief that, although DarkAngelicmon didn't know the purpose of the D-Coders yet, he did find out the truth about the crests and told the Ruler of Darkness what he had heard. Naturally, Vampiramon was sent to capture me in order to find out more."
"Of course," Matt muttered, making a face.
Gennai nodded in agreement and held out his hands. "Once again, I'm going to take you back thirteen years ago. After we created the Digivices, and after I helped Azulongmon and the Entity created the Spirit Chips with help from the Digicores, the D-Coders were giving to Azulongmon for safekeeping. At the same time, Azulongmon gave each of us, myself and my counterparts, one of his twelve Digicores to hold for purposes known only to him. I suspected what mine might be for, but my theory wasn't confirmed until later. We still don't know what the other ones belonging to Benjamin and my other counterparts are for. Azulongmon wasn't specific, but I'm sure they'll come in handy. One has already. This is one of the two conversations Luciamon's spies found out about, though Luciamon herself admitted she did not know exactly what the conversation had been about, just that it had taken place and Azulongmon had given us something. Thirteen years later, Azulongmon spoke with me again, only this time I was alone. Both of these conversations took place on Server. He told me the gates had opened, which I had already realized at that point, though Benjamin and the others didn't know because they were searching for the source of the disturbance, and he said it was time for the new Digidestined to come to the Digital World. He also mentioned the crests and the Spirit Chips. That day, he placed the D-Coders within the Digicore that had been left in my possession, and I was to give it to Piximon. As you all know, Piximon was to take it to the human world and give the Digivices to the new Digidestined. I gave it to Piximon the day after my conversation with Azulongmon, and the day after that I was captured. It happened in the morning, and it was that very afternoon on the same day when Daichi and his friends first came to the Digital World. That's why I wasn't able to meet them that afternoon. I sent my message to them the day before I was captured so it would be ready when Piximon arrived in the human world. Unfortunatley, I wasn't able to act on it when Daichi's group did finally show up in the Digital World. Izzy, I'm sure you realized the D-Coders were able to decipher my message?"
"Yes, that was what helped me come up with my thoery about the D-Coders."
"I thought so. Unfortunately, because of reasons I've already stated, Benjamin and my other counterparts had not been present during my second conversation with Azulongmon, and that's why they thought the Guardian of the Eastern Hemisphere still had the D-Coders in his possession. After all, I didn't tell them I'd sent Piximon to the human world with the Digivices. Like with the Spirit Chips, Azulongmon and I kept our meeting as secret as possible because we didn't want our conversation to get into the wrong hands. Obviously we didn't do a good job of it. This is the second conversation Luciamon's spies found out about, though, once again, they didn't have any exact information concerning what was said. Not that it mattered. Luciamon found out soon enough that the Digidestined had arrived in the Digital World. I think this was also the conversation DarkAngelicmon overheard, but unlike Luciamon's spies, he knew exactly what we had said. Azulongmon had mentioned the crests and Spirit Chips, though without specific details, and that's how DarkAngelicmon knew the crests were important before Vampiramon captured me. The Ruler of Darkness had his allies steal them before coming after me. They also seemed to know Daichi's group would be arriving in the Digital World ahead of time. My theory explains how all of this is possible. I don't think Spritemon and the others knew DarkAngelicmon had overheard that particular conversation, though, because according to Dai, Spritemon acted surprised when Luciamon mentioned it. More than likely they thought the Ruler of Darkness had figured out about the crests and Digidestined on his own. Do you see now why the D-Coders were created differently on purpose instead of taking on new forms like the D-3s? It's because we needed them to be able to decode the language of the Digital World."
"I have a question," Ryoko said loudly, glaring suspiciously at Gennai. "Where exactly are the Spirit Chips?"
Gennai stared at Ryoko for a moment and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we're not really sure."
What?
Sam felt his mouth drop open in surprise and he stared at Gennai in shock. "What do you mean you're not really sure?"
"The Entity, Azulongmon, and myself agreed it would be best if nobody knew exactly where the Spirit Chips were. That way if something happened to any of us, the information couldn't get into the wrong hands. It was a good plan. I was captured, wasn't I? There was no way I could have told Vampiramon and her allies where the Spirit Chips were, even if I'd wanted to because even I don't know exactly where they are. Torturing me would have put them no futher ahead. I did, unfortunately, tell them some things about the Spirit Chips, but I don't think I told them enough to give them the upper hand. We wanted to keep the Spirit Chips as secret as possible until the day when more information about them, like where they are, became necessary."
"Do you have any idea where they are?" Glowmon asked weakly, his wings drooping slightly at the news.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Azulongmon and I sent the Spirit Chips out to all four continents of the Digital World. Like I said before, we don't know exactly where they are, but we do know there is one on File Island, one on Server, one on Cyber, one on Text, and there are two on the continent of Net in the Northern Hemisphere."
"Well, that's something, I guess," Gotsumon muttered.
"And now I will tell you where Piximon has been all this time. Once the Digivices had been sent out, it was time to find out where the Spirit Chips had hidden themselves. I sent Piximon to help the four Guardians of the Digital World to find out anyting they could about the Spirit Chips. There are digimon out there who must have seen something, and I don't doubt there are rumours. Azulongmon, Piximon, and the other three Guardians are trying to find and decipher these rumours. That is why Azulongmon has lately been absent from the Eastern Hemisphere. Piximon was to act as my messenger, bringing information back and forth between myself and the Four Guardians, and that is why he is here now. The Four Guardians have managed to find the first Spirit Chip. They did so a few days ago, but since I was captured, he's been having a hard time finding me."
"Like I said, someone could have told me!" Piximon said indignantly.
Gennai bowed his head and smiled in amusement. "Why don't you tell Daichi and the others where they can find the first Spirit Chip?"
"If you insist. The only one we've been able to locate so far is right here on File Island. It's at the top of Infinity Mountain."
"Wonderful. We have to climb a mountain?" Matty complained.
"It'll do you some good!" Piximon shot back.
"Yes, I suggest you head to Infinity Mountain first while we try to locate the other Spirit Chips," Gennai said seriously. "As you may have noticed, there are a few holes in my story, but if we can locate Lucemon, I think we'll be able to fill in the blanks. I will warn you, though, finding the Spirit Chips is your first priority, but keep your eyes peeled for Lucemon."
"We will," Halomon said firmly.
"Also, the Spirit Chips are well protected, but Vampiramon and her allies can still try to steal them once you've released them from their seals. Remember that. A lot of effort has been put into this plan. I will not take credit for all the work, but it is a good one, and you have to be careful for it to succeed. Do the best you can, and you will be helping every digimon in the Digital World."
"If only we had known about the Spirit Chips," Jackie sighed, frowning at Gennai.
"Gennai?"
Sam jumped at the sound of Matt's voice and turned to look at the golden-haired Digidestined. Matt's face was pure white and he looked a little sick to his stomach.
"Yes?" Gennai asked, glancing curiously as Matt.
"Do you remember what you said about the original Digidestined needing to break the seals on the crests? Does that mean... is Mimi going to have to come to the Digital World?"