Hey everyone. Firstly I want to say sorry for the longer than usual wait for this chapter. I think it's been almost two months . Anyway, hope you enjoy it. It turned out a lot longer than I originally thought. Also in case anyone hasn't noticed, I'm writing a story on how Tai and Sora got together prior to 2.5. It's called Twist of Fate. Let me know what you think of it :)
Alicelouise'x: Thanks. If they had gone with Dan's idea then the chapter wouldn't have been as good lol and I didn't bring the parents with Stacey because I didn't really think they'd fit in with what was happening at the time.
Keyblade King 12: Thank you! ^^
Angel-chan Desu: oh I know, the X army can be ruthless
Aldamonburst: Thanks :) yeah but Wormmon's ultimate is going to be different.
Loboaguilamon22: Thank you :) I'll try and get some more Taiora in for you. Have you read my new Taiora story Twist of Fate?
Sweet Cari: Thanks! ^^
Sync The Dragon Tempest: Thank you ^^ Gennai didn't want to offer the medal, the chess army forced him to as they wanted it XD
Invincible Shinji: I can't remember what chapter he appears in, but it'll be soon.
Bumble B: Thank you very much :) I'm glad you're enjoying it. At the moment it's planned for about just over 50 chapters. But that could change lol
Warrior-of-water: Yeah, I planned on using JewelBeemon from the start hehe. The crests are formed etc in different ways. Gennai had some whilst others are kept safe around the Digital World or created in some way.
Owwebernd: Thank you very much ^^ of course you can translate the story in to German. That would be cool :)
Marril96: Thanks. Yeah the Undead King will be revealing himself very soon.
TogetherAgain: Thank you!
XxGaaraXRukixX: Thank you :) don't worry about it. I'm terrible when it comes to reviewing stories as well XD
FFnetfanHANNAH: Thank you ^^
Shara Raizel: Thank you :) Yeah I use DMA Digi-Dex and Digimon wiki for info and stuff when I'm planning their digivolutions lines.
WhiteWolfPrincess95: lol thanks! ^^ yeah not all natural carriers of the X antibody will be bad. There will be some good ones.
DevilDragon8: Thank you :) and welcome to , glad you decided to join!
Digimon Season 2.5 "Adventure 03"
Episode 29: "Return to the Temple of the Digivice"
.:Izzy's Lab, Minato, Tokyo:.
"What on earth happened to this?" Haruhiko remarked as he observed the inside of Dawn's D-Terminal. "The circuit board is completely fried." He looked up at his granddaughter who was sat beside him slouched on top of his desk.
"I have no idea. After MetalPhantomon was destroyed it wouldn't work. I think he must have done something to it after he typed out that fake message." Dawn replied. "Can you fix it Grandpa?"
"I'll certainly give it a try." Haruhiko smiled. "But I can't make any promises though."
Dawn smiled. "Thanks."
It was Monday afternoon and Dawn had stopped off at Izzy's lab before heading home. She watched as her grandfather began to remove the circuit board from her D-Terminal. Izzy was also downloading an important upgrade into her D-Power.
"Hmmm… definitely going to need a new circuit board… I think we have a spare one somewhere." He said before getting up from his desk and disappearing into the back room.
Dawn slouched back even further and began to snoop around on his desk. It was mostly littered with paperwork with a few photos of her as a baby, a family photo that had been taken last year and one of her mother when she was young. Just then, something caught Dawn's eye. She reached over and lifted up a piece of paper. Underneath was an orange watch like device, but with no clock-face. "Hey, what's this?" she asked picking it up.
Jonathon, who had also stopped by his father's lab, was sat at the other side of the room at one of the spare desks. He looked up from his laptop. "Huh? I think it's something your grandfather is working on. I wouldn't touch it if I was you. You could break it." He said before continuing with his homework.
"Everything electrical you touch seems to break." Motimon commented.
Dawn studied it from every angle, either not hearing the In-Training's comment or choosing to ignore it. "It doesn't even do anything."
Haruhiko walked back out of the backroom holding a circuit board. "Well, it's the last one. Hopefully it'll work in your D-Terminal."
Dawn turned round to face him. "Hey Grandpa, what's this?" she asked holding up the watch device.
"Huh? Oh it's a little something I've been working on. It's actually yours." Haruhiko replied as he walked around his desk and sat back down.
"But I don't wear a watch."
Haruhiko chuckled. "It may look like a watch but it isn't sweet pea." He said as he took the device from her and unclipped the strap. "Give me your wrist."
Dawn extended her left arm and watched as her grandfather clipped the orange device around her wrist. "Now what? It doesn't do anything."
"That's because it's empty. Now I need your crest."
"Huh?" Dawn fished out her crest from underneath her red t-shirt and removed it from around her neck.
Haruhiko took her orange crest and unclipped it from its chain. He then opened up a small hatch at the top of the watch like device before carefully slotting the crest inside. Once it clicked into place he closed the hatch up. "Now do you see what it is?" he smiled.
"Uhhhh… not really." Dawn commented with a blank look.
Haruhiko chuckled again. "Well, I noticed when you got your crest out then from underneath your t-shirt you accidently fumbled with it a little. With your crest in here you will be able to release your Digital Ring and place it inside your crest saving time with no need to unclip your digivice from your belt or pull your crest out. It'll come in handy in case you need Agumon to digivolve quickly."
Dawn's face lit up as she looked at her new device. "Really? That's cool."
.:The Desert, File Island, Digital World:.
Dobermon X sniffed around the dusty ground. A few pieces of sand particles blew up into his nose causing him to sneeze. He grunted and looked up at the rest of the army. "This is getting ridiculous." He snorted. "We've searched Primary Village, the entire Tropical Jungle and half the dessert and still no sign of these stupid emeralds."
The two Gazimon X were busy digging up the dirt with their claws whilst the Betamon were checking underneath all the rocks and boulders.
"Are the others having any luck?" Thundermon X asked. He then created a streak of lightning, which bolted straight down into the ground creating a huge crack that split wide open.
The other Dobermon X almost lost his balance. He scrambled away from the huge opening and spun round glaring at the small ultimate Digimon. "Watch where you strike that thing!" he roared. "That's the fourth time you've done that!"
One of the Gazimon stopped digging for a moment. He got out his little portable computer pad from the brown backpack he wore. "Flymon X and Gesomon X both gave me an update earlier this morning. Flymon X's army have covered almost all the small islands of the coasts of File Island and Gesomon X's army are about six miles out to sea with no luck as of yet."
Rhinomon X snarled. "This is turning out to be a waste of time."
Dobermon X looked ahead into the distance. "Hmmmm... the Great Canyon is up ahead."
"So?" Rhinomon X grunted as he smashed a large rock with his sword like horn. Finding nothing underneath it he grunted once more and moved onto the next rock.
"So it is home to the Temple of the Digivice." Dobermon X replied. "A perfect place if I might add, to hide something valuable like a Digital Emerald."
Thundermon X bounced over. "That place is filled with mazes and booby-traps. No one who enters there ever comes back out. You'd be mad to go in there."
The second Dobermon X walked up to his partner. "We Dobermon have excellent sense of smell. We would find our way out of those mazes quite easy."
Rhinomon X snorted. "Then you two go. We will stay here and continue searching the rest of the desert. You might be stupid enough to go wandering into a cluster of mazes with no certainty of an emerald being in there but we're not."
The two Dobermon X smiled and turned to walk away. One of them paused. "Very well. Just don't expect to be taking any credit when we find the first emerald." He chuckled before the two canine Digimon took off across the desert land.
Rhinomon X snarled under his breath. "Idiots." He muttered before he smashed a boulder to pieces.
.:Izzy's Lab, Minato, Digital World:.
Haruhiko screwed the back of Dawn's D-Terminal back on with his small screwdriver. "Well, I think that's just about done sweet pea. Why don't you give it a try." He said, handing it to her.
Dawn, who was still sat on his desk, stopped practicing her move with her new D-Watch and took her D-Terminal from her grandfather. She opened the lid and pressed the power button on and the screen began to load. "Thanks Grandpa. You're the best." She grinned.
Haruhiko smiled and stood up out of his chair as Dawn jumped down from his desk. "Just don't tell your other grandfather that. He might get jealous." He said playfully winking at her.
Dawn smiled before looking over to Izzy who was sat at his main computer. "Is my D-Power ready now?" she asked.
"Let me check." Izzy stood up and walked over to the other desk across the room. "Yeah. The download is complete." He said un-hooking Dawn's orange digivice from the USB cable. "With this upgrade now installed it's transformed your original Digital Ring into a more powerful one, which means Agumon will be able to digivolve straight in to BurningGreymon and bypass the champion level."
Dawn grinned and took her digivice from him. "Sweet." She clipped it back on her green belt.
"Hey what if I want to just digivolve in to Greymon?" Agumon questioned.
"There is an option for that too. But with the Undead King sending out more powerful Digimon you will rarely need to use it."
Dawn grinned. "I can't wait to show the others this." She said holding her D-Watch up.
Haruhiko smiled. "Tell the others to stop by whenever they can and I'll give them each a D-Watch. I've made plenty more."
Dawn grabbed her school bag from the floor. "Will do Grandpa. See you soon."
After Dawn and Agumon had left the laboratory, Izzy turned to Jonathon. "Son, pass me your digivice and I'll upgrade yours next."
Jonathon nodded and unclipped his purple D-Power from his belt and handed it to his father.
Beep, beep….. Beep, beep
"Huh?" Izzy quickly attached his son's digivice to the USB cable before turning around and walked across to his computer desk. "A video call from the Digital World?" he pressed the enter button and answered the call, and a webcam window popped on the screen. An image of Centarumon then appeared.
"Hello Izzy."
"Oh hey Centarumon." Izzy greeted as he took a seat in his chair. "Is everything alright there?" he asked, noticing a Tankmon pass by in the background.
Centarumon nodded. "Yes everything is fine. We've clamped down on security ever since the Port Stone was stolen here at Area 66." He said motioning behind him.
Izzy raised an eyebrow a little curiously. "Then why are you calling?"
"I have something important I need to give to the children." The horse Digimon said. "Tell Dan, Fernanda, James and Katie to meet me outside the Temple of the Digivice. You remember that building?"
Izzy nodded. "Yeah. But why just them?" he quizzed.
"Their crests are hidden deep inside the temple." Centarumon replied.
"What? Crests?" Izzy gasped.
"But their parents never had any crests." Tentomon added, hovering beside his human partner.
"That's correct but as the children grew Gennai noticed they inherited different traits from both their mothers and fathers. So Gennai managed to create four new crests. Their Digimon don't have the compatibility to DNA digivolve together like their parents Digimon did. So in order for their partners to reach the ultimate level Gennai used all of his resources to create these three new crests. Luckily he finished working on them shortly before he died."
"So there are four new crests out there? Why are they hidden inside the Temple of the Digivice? Surely Gennai could have given them to me to give to the children." Izzy said, leaning back in his chair.
"With the Undead King just emerging from the wilderness, Gennai wanted to keep the crests in a safe place. He asked me to store them away in the temple until the time was right. He couldn't risk transporting them to earth in case they fell into the wrong hands."
"But that temple is dangerous. You know that Centarumon and so do we from experience." Tentomon spoke up. "Are you saying you want to send the children in there where they would get lost in the mazes?"
Centarumon shook his head. "I will be with the children at all times. Only I know the exact route in and out of the temple so I will be their escort. I know exactly where the crests and booby traps are hidden."
Izzy picked up his telephone. "Alright. I'll call them and I'll set up a portal as close as I can to the temple."
.:Thunder Mountain, File Island, Digital World:.
The Undead King stood in front of a large plasma screen that was attached to the stone wall. On the screen was a map of the entire Digital World. On the left hand side was File Island; on the right was the Continent of Server and down at the very bottom was the Folder Continent. Scattered over the rest of the map were small individual un-named islands that were so far undiscovered by the DigiDestined.
He walked towards the screen and tapped his finger upon File Island. The image enlarged, showing each sector of the island. The areas that were shaded red were land where his X Army had already covered. Primary Village and the surrounding forest area were red as well as the coast lines and a large part of the Net Ocean surrounding File Island. All but four of the surrounding small islands had been covered as well.
The Undead King grunted. "All this land has been covered and not so much as one emerald." He muttered to himself. "They've covered almost half of File Island… surely they should have found one by now…."
Just then, there was a quiet knock on the door as the Undead King tapped the screen and the map zoomed back out of File Island. He turned to see a Hagurumon X slowly open the door and peer inside.
"This better be important Hagurumon. Do you bring me word on the emeralds?"
Hagurumon X glanced down at the ground for a quick second. "Well… sort of sir…." He stuttered a little.
"What do you mean 'sort of'?" The Undead King demanded as he spun round to face the rookie Digimon. "You either do or you don't!"
Hagurumon X stepped back as his master's voice grew louder. "I-I do have word on the emeralds…. But it's not something you want to hear…."
The Undead King narrowed his eyes. "Go on…."
Hagurumon X gulped. "We received word from one of our contacts at Infinity Mountain that the DigiDestined have been told about the Digital Emeralds."
"What?" The Undead King roared. "Who could have told them?" he snarled as he turned back to the screen. He looked up at the map once more before chuckling under his breath. "No worries. Those foolish humans may have found out about the emeralds but we already have a head start on them. They have too much ground to cover to catch up on me."
.:Temple of the Digivice, Great Canyon, File Island, Digital World:.
An hour later and Centarumon was waiting patiently outside the Temple of the Digivice. It was early evening and the sun was starting to set in the distance. The jungle brush surrounding the temple rustled slightly in the breeze and birds could be heard chirping in the far distance.
Unknown to him though, he wasn't the only Digimon there. The two Dobermon X had finally arrived and were treading through the brush.
"Ah there it is, the Temple of the Digivice!" The first Dobermon X grinned before he was about to leap out from the bush they were behind.
"Wait!" the other Dobermon X hissed as he held his paw out blocking his partner's path. "Centarumon is there. We can't go in there whilst he's guarding the entrance." He growled. "What's he doing here anyway? He's not been here in years. He spends his time guarding that awful Port Stone in Area 66."
Dobermon X growled. "Then let's just destroy him. It won't take us long to take him out. He won't stand a chance." He was about to charge when he was held back once more. "What now?"
The second Dobermon X motioned to their left. The other looked puzzled before he turned and looked to see the DigiDestined and their Digimon partners appear in view and walk over to Centarumon who greeted them with a smile.
"Argh… it's those puny brats again." He whispered.
They continued to watch as Centarumon spoke, although they couldn't hear what he was saying. He talked for a few moments before leading the children and Digimon inside the temple and out of sight of the X Digimon.
The other Dobermon X chuckled. "Well, well what do we have here? Could it be Centarumon is leading the children to one of the emeralds?"
"What? Are you sure? We don't even know if those brats have found out about the Digital Emeralds yet."
"Why else would he be taking them inside the Temple of the Digivice? Centarumon knows that temple like the back of his hoof. I bet he knew all along there was an emerald in there. Unknown to him he's going to lead us right to it." He grinned, showing his sharp white teeth.
The two Dobermon X burst out of the bushes and sprinted across the grass before coming to a stop at the entrance to the temple. One of them carefully peered in and saw Fernanda and Armadillomon disappear down the passageway. He motioned to his partner to follow him inside.
The other Dobermon X checked the area to see if anyone was around before they too entered the temple…
.:The Desert, File Island, Digital World:.
The trail of destruction had spread as the X Army continued their search across the desert. They were now well over half way but daylight was fading fast. Most of the rocks and boulders had been reduced to rubble and large deep cracks in the dry ground were scattered everywhere from Thundermon X's lightning attacks.
The three Betamon X all slumped back exhausted. "Can we stop? It's getting harder and harder to see." They all said in unison.
Rhinomon X snorted through his nostrils as he smashed a large boulder that was almost as big as himself. He squinted trying to see what lay amongst the rubble. He grunted frustrated. "Very well. Once the sun has disappeared we will stop for tonight."
Gazimon X suddenly stopped digging the deep hole he had started, slightly out of breath. He swiped at the dirt one last time. "Argh!" he cried out frustrated. "I give up, and my claws hurt…. Huh?" he looked down at the hole he had been digging. The last swipe he had done had uncovered something… something shiny. "Hey what's this?" he quickly began to scrape away the dirt, unearthing the object further.
"Hey watch where you are flinging that dirt Gazimon X!" Thundermon X exclaimed from behind as dirt hit him in the eye.
"Hey!" Gazimon X suddenly shouted alerting the others attention.
"What is it?" Rhinomon X said gruffly as he stomped over. "This had better be important and not another Digi-Dollar you've found."
Gazimon X had half his body inside the hole with his tail in the air. "I've found one!" he exclaimed emerging from the hole holding a Digital Emerald high above his head. It was a deep red colour that sparkled in the fading sunlight.
"Whoa…. So that's what they look like….." the three Betamon X said in amazement as they gazed up at the emerald.
Rhinomon X grinned. "Excellent. We must tell the Undead King immediately." He then chuckled. "Looks like we will be taking full credit for this discover."
.:Temple of the Digivice, Great Canyon, File Island, Digital World:.
Centarumon lead the children down the long main corridor. It was dark and dusty with only small flickers of lights coming from the fire torches at the top of the walls. He paused for a moment and glanced behind him to see Fernanda and Armadillomon were falling behind a little in the ground. "Please stay close." He said. "Once we get deeper in to the maze it only takes one wrong turn to get separated and completely lost."
Fernanda lightly jogged to catch up with James who was holding his little sister's hand. "Sorry." She replied quietly. "How deep into the maze are the crests?"
"They are hidden right in the heart of the temple. There are a lot of twists and turns on the way." Centarumon replied before he continued down the corridor. "That is why I ask you to stay very close to me."
Veemon tilted his head a little in curiosity. "How can you remember the exact route?"
"I lived in the temple for many years as its protector. I know all the turns and secret passageways."
Armadillomon yawned as he lumbered along. "Wouldn't it have been easier and less hassle if you just went and brought the crests to us?"
Fernanda smiled a little. "You'll have to excuse him. He's a little cranky. Our dog kept him awake most of the night wanting to play with him."
Centarumon chuckled. "It would but Gennai sealed the chest that contains your crests with a special lock that only the power of your D-Powers can open."
"I should have figured." Armadillomon grumbled, causing his human partner to giggle.
"Man I can't wait to try this baby out." Dan smiled as he held his wrist up, admiring his blue D-Watch. "It's like one of those cool gadgets you see in action movies."
James rolled his eyes a little. "Only you would be amazed at something so simple." He commented.
"You must not rush in to using these crests as soon as you receive them. Each of you has been given a special trait that Gennai created himself. You must honour that trait if your Digimon partners wish to progress to the ultimate level." Centarumon explained.
"What are the traits?" Hawkmon asked as he flew alongside Katie.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that one for you. Only Gennai knew."
"Well that's helpful then." Armadillomon spoke up a little sarcastic. "How are we meant to digivolve if our partners don't know what trait to possess?"
Centarumon just smiled. "They'll know." He said before pausing for a second and turning left down a smaller corridor.
The group of children and Digimon also stopped and glanced at each other before they quickly hurried to catch up.
"You know, you're not making much sense." Dan commented as he quickened his pace to walk alongside the horse Digimon.
Centarumon chuckled. "I know it may sound confusing but it's true. Gennai created these crests based on traits that you have inherited from your mothers and fathers. You may not know it but deep down you hold that trait and the key to unlocking the power from the crest."
"But Dawn and the others make it look so easy." Fernanda said from the back.
"And so will you." Centarumon replied. "You may think it's easier for them as they already know the names of their crests but it will just be as easy for you. It'll come naturally for you. It's a part of who you are." Just then, he came to a halt.
Dan and Veemon both stopped beside him and looked up. "Why'd we stop?" the blue Digimon asked curiously.
"Wait here." Centarumon said. "And don't move." He added before he walked over to the side of the wall. There were three small square stones sticking out slightly than the others. He studied them for a moment before pushing in the top one first, quickly followed by the bottom one and middle one.
Suddenly, as quick as a flash, the walls split open and two huge blades swung out from either side. They swung down across the width of the corridor before disappearing back behind the two walls. The children and Digimon quickly froze on the spot, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Centarumon casually strode across where the blades had swung from before turning to face the DigiDestined. "Are you coming or not?" he asked with a light chuckle.
Dan choked out a laugh, almost speechless. "W-what? You gotta be kidding me…"
"I'm not moving. I don't want my pigtails chopping off." Katie pouted as she clutched onto her brother's arm tightly.
"That's not all you'll get chopped off." Hawkmon muttered under her breath.
"I've disabled the blades. But it only lasts for a few moments so I suggest you move quickly." Centarumon stated.
The children and Digimon quickly sprinted the hundred yards to where the champion Digimon stood. They all huddled together close to him and looked everywhere possible in case anything else jumped out at them.
"What the hell was that thing?" James demanded as he shot a glare at the horse Digimon. "We could have been killed!"
"That was a booby trap. Those blades are activated when someone passes through the invisible detection beams. The maze is filled with all sorts of different traps. That's why most Digimon who enter here don't make it back out again." Centarumon explained. "I guess I must have forgotten to mention that before we entered." He added with a sheepish laugh before he set off along the passageway.
"You guess you must have forgotten?" Dan exclaimed. "It's a good job it sprung to mind before we crossed through those beams otherwise we would have had our blocks knocked off!"
Centarumon chuckled to himself.
"I don't think it's funny." James muttered. "My little sister is far too young to be exposed to this kind of danger."
Centarumon stopped once more and turned to face the DigiDestined. "Relax children. I know exactly where each and every booby trap is hidden and how to disable them. You really think I would put you in any physical danger? I told Izzy I would keep you all safe, which I will so there is no need to worry. Besides, if I had told you about the booby traps before we entered the temple, would any of you have come in?"
The children and Digimon all looked at each other before a few looked down at the ground. "Probably not." Armadillomon admitted with a grunt.
"Exactly. Now c'mon, we can't afford to waste any more time. I promised Izzy I would have you all safely back home by nightfall."
"Alright. Just make sure you give us plenty of warning when we approach another booby trap." Dan groaned.
Further down at the start of the maze the two Dobermon X were walking down the main passageway. They both had their heads down and their noses pressed against the ground as they sniffed out the children's scent.
One of them lifted their head up. "The scent is starting to fade. We must move faster." He commanded.
The other Dobermon X paused at the edge of a small passageway on the left. He took in one long sniff before lifting his head up. "They went this way." He replied with a grunt.
"Then let's go."
The two X Digimon turned left and sprinted down the long passageway. They almost reached the other end when unknown to them; they passed through the invisible detection beams. The walls suddenly split open and the two large blades came swinging down from each side. Before the Dobermon X could react the blades swung down and sliced the tips of their tails off.
They both howled in pain and collapsed to the ground in a heap. They slowly lifted their heads off the ground and looked back to see the blades disappear and the walls returned to normal.
The Dobermon X on the left cringed as he slowly staggered to his feet. "Our tails…" he said through gritted teeth as the pain still stung his rear end.
The other X Digimon also rose to his feet, his back end shaking a little from the sudden pain. "Be thankful that's all that was sliced off….. C'mon before we lose those brats."
The two canine Digimon staggered away from the booby trap with their back legs limping. Once they arrived at the end of the passageway they sniffed the ground and picked up the DigiDestineds' scent once more….
Fernanda paused for a second and glanced behind her. "Did you hear something Armadillomon?"
Armadillomon stopped walking and turned to his human partner. "Huh? Hear what? I didn't hear a thing."
"It sounded like….. Ah never mind. I'm probably hearing things." She replied before running to catch up with the others.
As they caught up, Centarumon had stopped again. Fernanda peered out from behind James and saw Centarumon remove a tile from the wall, which revealed a number keyboard behind it. "Another booby trap?" she said to James as she watched Centarumon punch in a seven digit code.
James nodded stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets. "Uh huh. It's going to take us all night at this rate."
Dan, growing a little impatient, started to observe the passageway. He noticed a smaller corridor to his left and peered down it, before doing a double take. "Hey look over there!" he exclaimed as he broke away from the group. The corridor was only a few hundred yards long and came to a dead end. At the end, stood up against the wall was a small vending machine. "Man I'm starving." He said as he took out a Digi-Dollar. He fed it through the money slot. "Hmmm… think I'll have the chunky bar."
Centarumon had just finished punching in the code before he turned around and saw Dan's finger inches away from the button. "No!" he shouted as he charged down. Just as he reached the goggle boy, he had pushed the button. Centarumon quickly scooped Dan up in his arms just as the door to the vending machine opened up and began to fire small but razor sharp arrows.
Fernanda and Armadillomon yelped in shock and jumped backwards out of the way, barely missing the arrows, which then lodged themselves in the stone wall.
Centarumon breathed a sigh of relief and placed Dan back on the ground, who was a little shaken up.
"Nice going Danjuro." James commented sarcastically as he held his sister close. "You almost got yourself killed."
"Hey I didn't expect a lousy vending machine to be booby trapped!" Dan shot back. "All I wanted was some candy."
Fernanda and Katie giggled a little.
"This place is full of surprises. That is why I told you to stay close at all times and don't touch anything." Centarumon said as he regained his composer. "Now come on before the disable code wears off."
A few moments after Centarumon and the DigiDestined had diverted into another passageway and left the vending machine behind; the Dobermon X arrived around the corner, still limping ever so slightly. They paused for a moment and one of them pressed his nose to the ground.
"We must be getting closer. Their scent is getting stronger."
The Dobermon X on the left spotted the arrows lodged in the wall. He then studied the ground for a moment. He squinted his eyes a little in suspicion "Wait a second…" he grunted. He picked up a small stone from the ground with his paw and threw it down the passageway. It bounced three or four times before coming to a stop about a hundred yards away.
After it came to a stop, the two large slabs of stone on the ground suddenly opened up, revealing a deep slimy pit underneath that was filled with spiders, cobwebs and mould.
Dobermon X chuckled to himself. "Nice try." He muttered under his breath.
"How did you know about that?" his partner asked.
"Simple. I just noticed a sudden change in pattern in the slabs on the ground. I think Centarumon needs to come up with some new traps don't you?" he replied, mockingly. "Let's go."
The two canine monsters sprinted forward and leapt over the open pit, clearing it by a few extra meters. They both landed perfectly in unison on the other side. But as they looked forward to continue on, a trap door in the ceiling opened up and a gigantic wooden beam came swinging down.
Before they could react, the beam struck them head on and knocked them backwards. They both yelped in surprise as they felt themselves airborne from the force before falling down in the unfortunate place at the bottom of the slimy pit. As they disappeared out of sight, all that was seen was a large dust cloud rising out of the pit as the two X Digimon made contact with the bottom. They let out a long laboured and discomforted moan….
After countless twists and turns and bypassing booby traps, Centarumon, the children and rookie Digimon came to the bottom of a long flight of steps. The steps lead upwards to the very peak of the temple.
"We're almost there children." Centarumon said. "The crests are just at the top of these steps."
As they began to walk up the steps, Fernanda looked at the walls either side of her. There were strange markings engraved in the stones. It seemed she was the only one who had noticed them. They looked like writing, but in an unknown language. "What are these markings on the walls?" she asked, causing the others to also look.
"Those are ancient writings. There are many of these all over the temple and tell many stories, legends and prophecies of the Digital World." Centarumon explained. "These three sections here explain the Digimon Sovereigns, the Royal Knights and the Olympus Twelve." He added pointing to his left. "And here on the right explains the very beginning on the Digital World all the way back in the early twentieth century."
Dan raised an eyebrow as he passed a small section of writing on the wall. "Man I can't read a single word on these. What's the point of telling stories of legends when it's not even written in plain Japanese?" he complained.
Centarumon chuckled. "Only a select few of Digimon have the ability to read these ancient writings, myself included. Those Digimon then pass on the stories to fellow Digimon who then tell their friends and so on. That's how some of the stories become legendary."
"Can you tell us some of the stories?" Veemon asked.
"One day. But right now we must focus on retrieving your crests." Centarumon replied.
As they reached the top, there was one last short passageway that came to a dead end about three hundred yards away. At the end there was a slight incline of four steps. At the top of the steps was a large slab of rock that had been carved into a table. On top of the table was a small wooden and dusty chest. But half way down the passageway, there was a large open bottomless pit.
"Are our crests at the end of this passageway?" Fernanda asked, looking up at the horse Digimon.
"Wait, a dead end? Does that mean we have to walk all the way back again?" Veemon groaned as he collapsed backwards and landed on his butt before slouching.
Centarumon just smiled before he broke off ahead into a gallop and leapt high into the air and soared over the bottomless pit. As he landed gracefully and safely on the other side, he turned back to the children and rookie Digimon.
"Hey what about us?" Armadillomon shouted.
"Yeah we can't jump that far. How are we supposed to cross?" Wormmon questioned.
Centarumon lifted his right leg and stamped on a small stone tile three times a second apart. The passageway began to rumble as seven large stone blocks began to extend outwards from the side of the bottomless pit. Once they slid in to position they provided a small walk way for the children and their partners.
"Be careful now." Centarumon instructed as the children and Digimon began to cross. "One false move and you're left falling for all eternity."
Katie gulped as she bravely took a peak below. The pit was deep and shrouded in darkness. "H-how is that possible?" she asked, stuttering a little.
"Anything is possible in the Digital World." Hawkmon replied who flew beside her.
Once they had all safely crossed, Centarumon stamped again on the stone tile, but this time only two times a second. Everywhere trembled once more and the seven stone blocks slowly broke apart from each other and slid back in to their original places.
"Awesome, now let's go get our crests!" Dan grinned. He ran ahead with Veemon in tow.
James sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "You think he would have learned from the vending machine incident."
"Don't worry. There are no more traps from this point onwards." Centarumon replied.
Up by the stone table, Dan studied the chest. He gently picked it up before he shook it a little and something rattled inside. There was a gold lock running around the outside rim of the lid but there was no keyhole. "Hmmm… so how do we open it?" he asked.
"Want me to smash it open with my Vee Head-Butt?" Veemon asked casually.
"All four of you need to use the power from your digivices in unison to open the chest." Centarumon explained as he reached the top of the steps with the rest of the group. "I was very detailed in locking the chest. Even the Undead King himself could not open this lock."
James unclipped his black D-Power from his belt, causing his little sister to mimic him with her white D-Power. "Well, let's do it."
Fernanda nodded and also got out her brown digivice and lastly Dan unclipped his blue one as the others stepped up beside him in front of the chest.
"On the count of three." The goggle boy instructed. "One…. Two…."
"Well, well what do we have here?"
The children jumped a little before all of them turned on the spot to look behind them. On the other side of the bottomless pit were the two Dobermon X. They were both covered in cobwebs, dirt and sported a few cuts and bruises on their bodies, not to mention half of their tails were missing.
James pushed Katie protectively behind him. "Urgh it's two of the Undead King's lackeys." He grunted.
Centarumon stomped forward, standing in front of the children. "How did you get here?" he demanded.
The first Dobermon X chuckled. "Simple. We just followed your scent."
"We'll be sure to let the Undead King know you were so generous in leading us right to a Digital Emerald." The second Dobermon X added.
"What?" Dan exclaimed.
"I think you must be mistaken. There is no emerald in here." Centarumon replied.
"Oh please, don't try and act dumb with us Centarumon." The first Dobermon X snarled. "Why else would you be leading these children into the temple?"
"That is none of your business." Centarumon protested. "Now, I suggest you leave this instant." He commanded pointing behind them.
"Come on now. All we want is that emerald." The second Dobermon X said. "There is nowhere for you to run or hide so just hand it over with no problem and we may spare you."
"I have told you before there are no emeralds here!" Centarumon said, his voice growing louder.
Dan scoffed a laugh. "Besides you two dumb-brains are stuck on the other side of there." He motioned down to the bottomless pit. "You can't get to us."
The first Dobermon X growled angrily. "You don't think we can jump this thing, goggle boy?" he sneered.
"What do we do now?" Fernanda asked quietly.
Centarumon remained still with his eyes fixed on the two Dobermon X. He then quickly galloped across to the left and slammed his hand against one of the stones, which then sunk itself further into the wall. The whole room began to tremble and loose bits of stone and dust fell from the ceiling.
"W-what's going on?" Katie shrieked clutching onto her brother's hand.
To the left of the children, a section of the wall began to slowly slide upwards revealing a secret passageway behind it.
"Quick, take the chest and get out of here!" Centarumon commanded. "This passageway will lead straight out of the temple."
"Huh? But what about you?" Veemon asked.
"I'll be fine. I'll hold off these two. Now Go!" the horse Digimon demanded.
Dan hesitated for a second before running up and grabbing the chest off the stone table. "C'mon." he ushered to the others who quickly followed him through into the other passageway.
"They're getting away with the emerald!"
"Get them!"
The two Dobermon took a few steps back before leaping the full length of the bottomless pit. Landing on the other side they sprinted towards the champion Digimon….
Centarumon acted quickly and pressed the stone again, closing the door to the secret passageway just as the two X Digimon were inches away from him.
As the door closed, Fernanda paused and looked back at the ground, seeing the shadows of the Dobermon X attack the shadow of Centarumon….
Centarumon grunted and cringed as the Dobermon X's claws dug and scratched away at his body, making it unable for him to attack himself. He snarled and erupted with anger. "Enough!" he thundered as he flung his arms outwards, throwing the two X Digimon off him. "Solar Ray!" Not giving them chance to attack again, he quickly fired a yellow laser beam from the palm of his mechanical hand. It blasted one of the Dobermon X in the chest, causing him to somersault and tumble down the passageway and over the edge of the bottomless pit.
The other Dobermon X's eyes grew wide with shock as he witnessed his partner disappear from sight and all that was heard was his echoed scream as he fell down into the darkness.
"You're next." Centarumon grunted.
"I don't think so." Dobermon X snarled before he leapt up into the air, throwing himself at Centarumon roaring loudly…..
In the secret passageway the children and their partners had not stopped running since they left Centarumon. The passageway was long and dark with only the odd wooden torch to light their way every few hundred yards.
Fernanda quickly glanced behind her into the darkness as she panted for breath. "I…. I can't believe we left Centarumon back there….."
"He wanted us…. to leave…. Fernanda." Armadillomon replied, almost breathless.
"I know but…." Fernanda came to a slow stop before looking back once more. "What if he is killed back here? Our parents can't lose another friend."
"C'mon Fernanda!" Dan shouted, who had also come to a stop with the others. "We have to get out of here, open this chest and get back to the portal as quickly as possible!"
"Yes if those two think we have a Digital Emerald they'll soon be hot on our tails again." Hawkmon added.
"Look!" Katie exclaimed pointing ahead of them. "I can see daylight!"
In the distance was a very faint but dark orange light at the end of the tunnel. But then, they heard a dim explosion from the opposite end of the passageway where they had previously come from. The vibrations from the explosion moved up the passageway causing the walls and ceiling to tremble slightly.
"That's our cue to scram." The goggle boy said.
The DigiDestined sprinted the rest of the way as fast as they could and made it to the end of the passageway in less than two minutes. They squinted and covered their eyes as they adjusted to the sudden light from the setting sun as they escaped out of the temple's top level exit.
"This way!" Dan commanded as he led the small group across the front of the temple and down the steep steps at the side.
Reaching the bottom of the steps they dashed across the temple's glade and into the forest, seconds before Dobermon X emerged from the exit above.
"Where are they?" he muttered under his breath. He sniffed the ground and the scent led him down the steps to ground level. Following the trail across the clearing he paused for a second and looked up at the entrance to the forest. "You can try to run all you want. But you won't be able to hide from me." He snarled.
The DigiDestined and their Digimon burst out from the thickness of the trees and bushes and into a small clearing, panting and gasping for breath.
James was hunched over resting his hands on his knees breathing heavily. He looked up and observed their current surroundings. "Wait…. I don't remember this clearing…."
"What? What do you mean you don't remember it? We passed through here earlier. The portal's just on the other side of here." Dan replied as he set the chest down on the ground. "Now c'mon, let's open this thing and get our crests. This chest is too heavy."
"I mean, this is the wrong clearing." James shot back as he walked towards the middle of it. "The clearing we passed through had a large rock in the middle of it shaped like a Poyomon."
Dan picked up the chest once more and staggered over to the blue haired boy. "There was no rock. You must have been seeing things." He said before setting the chest down on the grass once more and getting his blue digivice out from underneath his jumper.
"There was a rock." James muttered irritably as he unclipped his D-Power.
Fernanda and Katie also did the same and ran up to join the two boys around the chest. Once they were in place, the four children stretched out their arms and held their D-Power's over the chest.
"Okay, let's try this again. One… Two… Three!" Dan directed.
On the count of three, the children tilted their digivices downwards aiming the screens at the chest. Their D-Powers vibrated and began to glow before four beams of blue, black, white and brown light burst out of the screens in unison. Each beam of light hit the chest's four corners. Flashes and electrical sparks flickered before the gold lock broke away and the lid slowly opened up in a haze of smoke.
Once the smoke had cleared, the four young DigiDestined peered down. Inside were four gold medallions. Each with a new symbol engraved in the middle.
Dan knelt down and picked up the crest with the blue rim that lay on top. As soon as his fingers touched it, the crest began to glow brightly. He slowly stood back up, not taking his eyes of it. Pulling back his sleeve, he opened the lid to his D-Watch and slid his crest inside.
James, Katie and Fernanda soon mimicked his actions. They each picked up their respective crests and placed them in their D-Watches. Each crest began to glow its individual colour as it made a connection with its rightful owner.
At that moment, there was a gruff chuckle from behind them. "Peek a boo."
The children and rookie Digimon all turned around to see Dobermon X at the edge of the clearing, lurking in the shadows in a gap under two small trees.
"I must say that wasn't a very good game of hide and seek." Dobermon X chuckled as he walked out of the shadows and into the fading sunlight. "Not a very creative hiding place. We Dobermon X like a good chase. I must say I'm very disappointed."
Dan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "What have you done with Centarumon?" he demanded.
"I took care of him." Dobermon X replied as he began to pace slowly around the edge of the clearing. "He simply would not listen to reason and resisted so I had to dispose of him. Unfortunately my partner wasn't so lucky." His eyes soon fell on the open chest. "Oh I see you opened the chest…. Now why don't you be good little children and hand over the emerald and I won't hurt you."
"We don't have an emerald!" Veemon spat back.
Dobermon X continued to circle the children. "Now I've still got some of my patience left so I am going to ask you one more time. Give me the emerald. If you refuse then I will simply have to take it from you by force."
Dan frowned at him before turning to face the others. "You guys get back to the portal. I'll meet up with you later."
"What?" James demanded.
"We can't leave you." Fernanda protested.
"Look James, you're responsible for getting Katie and Fernanda safely home. This guy's not gonna give up chasing us so I'll stay here and distract him." Dan explained. "Besides, I'm not letting him escape. That would be an insult to Centarumon's memory. I'm not letting him get away with what he has done."
James hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Fine." He said before taking Katie's hand. "Come on, I'm sure we took a wrong turn back there. Let's head back."
The girls and Digimon nodded before they set off across the clearing.
"You're not getting away from me!" Dobermon X shouted before he lunged at the three children.
"Vee Head-butt!" Veemon charged forward and head-butted Dobermon X from the side with tremendous force, sending him flying and crashing into a bramble patch.
"Digital Ring, Release!" Dan quickly released his ring from his D-Power after watching James and the girls disappear from sight. "Catch Veemon!" he hollered before bring his arm back and throwing the ring clear across the clearing like a Frisbee.
Veemon scrambled to his feet and stretched his arm outwards as he scurried forward to catch it. But then, all of a sudden Dobermon X leapt straight over the rookie Digimon. He swiped the Digital Ring just as it was inches from Veemon's grasp.
"No way!" Dan gasped. "He's got the ring!"
Dobermon X turned and looked in the goggle boy's direction and chuckled. The ring was now corrupted. It began to vibrate in his paw. But instead of glowing the usual gold colour, it was surrounded by a dark blue misty aura. His chuckle grew louder as the aura surrounded his entire body before he was illuminated in a midnight blue light…
The light began to expand and was so intense it blocked out Dobermon X's silhouette completely. His chuckles could still be heard, but as the dark light reached its peak, his voice gradually changed to a gruffer and more sinister tone. The light then began to fade, revealing a new and more powerful Digimon who was twice the size as before. Cerberumon X.
"He digivolved…." Dan murmured under his breath in awe.
"Quick, Dan! Release another ring!" Veemon almost screeched as he ran towards his human partner waving his arms frantically.
Dan snapped out of his daze and held his hand an inch in front of the screen on his D-Power that was clipped to his belt. "Digital Ring, Release!" the screen spat out the ring and the goggle boy swiftly tossed it over to his Digimon, who caught it this time.
"VEEMON DIGIVOLVE TO…. STRIKEDRAMON!"
Strikedramon landed on the ground in front of Dan in a defensive stance. "Strike Fang!" all the portions on his metal plates began to burn red hot. Once they reached the maximum temperature, his whole body was engulfed in flames. "Take this!" he sprung forward and rammed into Cerberumon X.
He was pushed backwards, the heals of his back legs sinking into the dirt. He seemed to be struggling at first until he chuckled under his breath mockingly. "Is that all you've got?" he spoke before releasing his own attack. "Hell Fire!" he opened his mouth and spewed out a red hot jet of flames.
The fire attack collided with the flames around Strikedramon's body. It soon overpowered them and exploded sending the champion Digimon crash landing to the ground next to his human partner.
"Why do you fight me when you know you cannot win?" Cerberumon X asked as he watched Strikedramon stagger to his feet.
"I'm not letting you get away with what you have done. Your king might have gotten away with murdering Gennai for now but I'm not letting you escape for what you did to Centarumon. Even if this turns out to be my last battle, me and Strikedramon will fight to the end to honour him for giving us our crests." Dan defended.
"Crests….?" Cerberumon X murmured.
"Yes. Crests." Strikedramon replied with a snarl. "There were never any emeralds in that temple, just the children's crests. Centarumon tried to tell you that and you killed him for nothing. So now you will pay for what you have done!" he roared before charging forward brandishing his claws…
Cerberumon X narrowed his eyes and growled. "Anyone who tries to interfere with the Undead King's plans must be destroyed!"
The two Digimon lunged forward, colliding with each other. Cerberumon X, being the more powerful of the two, pounced on top of Strikedramon and sent him down, landing on his back. Strikedramon shielded himself by pressing his claws against Cerberumon X's front paws.
Cerberumon X pushed down hard against Strikedramon's force and slowly began to overpower him. He growled and sneered as his sharp teeth grew closer and closer to the champion's neck….
"Don't give up Strikedramon! We can't let him win! We must avenge Centarumon's death!" Dan shouted to his partner. As he said those words, his digivice began to vibrate and something shot out straight into his hand that was down by his side.
Strikedramon, encouraged by his partner's words, roared loudly and used all of his strength to push Cerberumon X off him and send the X Digimon crash landing about a hundred yards away.
"Huh?" Dan lifted his hand up to see what had appeared in the palm of his hand. It was a Digital Ring, but slightly smaller. He then raised his left arm up and looked at his D-Watch and noticed his crest was shining brightly too. Grinning widely he looked up at his partner before placing the ring inside his crest….
Strikedramon rose to his feet as he felt a sudden burst of energy serge through his body….
"STRIKEDRAMON DIGIVOLVE TO…. CYBERDRAMON!"
The bright light faded to reveal Veemon's ultimate form, Cyberdramon. He was big and his entire body was covered in unique black rubber armour. Four red but tattered wings sprouted out from his back in the shape on an X.
"You're brave and very loyal to your friends young boy. But I'm afraid that won't be enough to match the powers that the X Antibody holds." Cerberumon X sneered.
"We'll just see about that." Dan shot back. "Attack, Cyberdramon!"
Cyberdramon roared and leapt up high into the air, bringing back his right arm. "Cyber Nail!" Diving downwards towards Cerberumon X, he thrust his right claw down. But Cerberumon X speedily hopped back out of the way and Cyberdramon's claw plunged into the ground.
"Hell Fire!" Cerberumon X took advantage and quickly responded by unleashing his flaming attack.
Cyberdramon grunted as he yanked his claws out of the ground and quickly leapt up into the air moments before the attack flew past him, barely missing him by a few inches. The fireball blasted a nearby tree, sending sticks and leaves flying in every direction as he landed back down on the ground.
Looking up, he saw Cerberumon X charging at him once more. "Desolation Claw!" he performed his signature attack and released two energy waves from his arms.
But Cerberumon X was too quick and easily dodged them both by jumping to the right and skidding to the left. As the two attacks exploded on impact with the ground, he leapt up and caught Cyberdramon off guard, slashing him across the face with his claws.
Cyberdramon grunted and fell down backwards with a loud thump. A little dazed he tried to sit up. But as he did, Cerberumon X came at him again and struck him once more by spinning around and whipping him with his long dark blue tail. This continued as every time Cyberdramon attempted to get to his feet he would get immediately knocked back down again.
Dan clenched his fists angrily and gritted his teeth in frustration.
After dealing a seventh blow to the ultimate Digimon, Cerberumon X skidded to a halt and chuckled. "Had enough yet?" he taunted. He didn't give Cyberdramon time to answer as he pounced at him once more….
Cyberdramon narrowed his eyes and as soon as Cerberumon X turned his body to deal another blow, he swiftly lifted his arm up and grabbed hold of the X Digimon's tail before it had chance to belt him across the face. "Now it's my turn."
Cerberumon blinked, a little startled as he felt Cyberdramon grasp his tail tighter with both hands. He then felt himself airborne as Cyberdramon lifted him up and began to swing him around and around, gradually getting faster by his tail.
Once he gathered up enough momentum he let go. Cerberumon X yowled as he was thrown straight from one end of the clearing to the other. He crashed into a large oak tree and disappeared out of view for a moment as he fell through the branches and leaves before falling into a heap on the ground below.
Cerberumon X swiftly regained his composer and snarled loudly showing off his teeth. "Nobody plays around with me." He muttered before he began sprinting towards the cyborg Digimon.
"Trust me. I'm not playing around." Cyberdramon replied calmly. As the X Digimon reached him, he withdrew his arm before dealing a sucker punch right in Cerberumon X's face.
The force of the punch sent Cerberumon X flying backwards skidding along the grass on his back before coming to a stop, a little stunned.
"Alright! Finish him off Cyberdramon!" Dan commanded, thrusting his index finger in the direction of the fallen X Digimon.
Seizing the opportunity, Cyberdramon charged forward. Just as he was on top of Cerberumon X, he jumped up into the air raising his arms up high above his head. "Desolation Claw!" Swinging both arms back down in unison he released two huge waves of energy shaped like blades.
The blades spun down and Cerberumon X cringed and tried helplessly to protect his face with his paws. The blades curved a little in the air as they took a wide berth symmetrically before curling back around and slamming into Cerberumon X's body from either side.
The energy from Cyberdramon's attack ripped through Cerberumon X's body and he wailed in agony. His body began to flicker and fade before it suddenly exploded into hundreds of pieces of data before disappearing completely, his howl still echoing faintly across the clearing….
Cyberdramon landed back down on the ground with a thud just as he began to glow brightly and shrink back down to his In-training form DemiVeemon.
Dan jogged up to his partner and picked him up. "Good work buddy." He smiled as DemiVeemon jumped out of his arms and scrambled up to sit on top of his head. "You made that look easy."
"Yeah, well he may have been quick, but I had the wit." DemiVeemon replied, puffing out his chest assertively.
Dan burst out into a fit of laughter. "DemiVeemon you are the slowest Digimon I know when it comes to wit."
"Hey take that back!" DemiVeemon protested as his human partner kept on sniggering.
"So here you two are."
Dan and DemiVeemon both jumped and turned around to see Centarumon emerge from the foliage of the forest. "Centarumon?" they both exclaimed in unison. "You're alive!" the goggle boy added smiling.
"Of course." The horse Digimon replied as he galloped towards them and brushed all the leaves and twigs off his shoulders. "I just ran into the others and they said you were out here fighting Dobermon X after taking a wrong turning." he added.
"Dobermon X said he had taken care of you back at the temple. We thought you were dead." Dan admitted.
Centarumon huffed. "That pathetic excuse for a Digimon only knocked me unconscious. When I awoke I noticed he had blasted his way through into the secret passageway. I guessed he was chasing you down so I quickly followed." He then paused and looked around the empty clearing. "Where is he?"
Dan grinned. "We took care of him." He said boastingly.
DemiVeemon nodded also grinning widely. "Yep. It was a piece of cake."
.:Thunder Mountain, File Island, Digital World:.
"Ummm sir we have lost both Dobermon X's signals now." Hagurumon X stated from his position in front of the large computer screen.
"Humph, pity." The Undead King muttered, with a slight hint of heartlessness. "They were two of my best Dobermon X." he then turned his back on the computer screen and walked across the room. "But not to worry; it was only a small price to pay for the prize I have received." He chuckled as he bent down slightly in front of a long wooden table.
On the table were eight metal tripods. And sat in the far left tripod was the Emerald of Love…..
To be continued…