Digimon Adventure Tamers
Chapter 19
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon
(Play The Biggest Dreamer: TV Size)
(Play Digimon Tamers: Aban)
Successfully passing his test and gaining the Dashenbian sword, Impmon Digivolved to his Ultimate level Baalmon and defeated MagnaAngemon, but it was not without Stingmon sacrificing himself. These events made Ken Ichijouji, the Digimon Emperor, realize the error of his ways. But just when things seemed to finally end, Millenniummon's spirit exited Cyberdramon and possessed Ken, escaping with Ryo, Monodramon and Calumon…
(Play Digimon Tamers: Subtitle 2)
The Call of Dagomon
Davis groaned as he began to feel consciousness return to him slowly. His body ached terribly all over, and he couldn't tell up from down. He couldn't remember much as well, only that he and Ryo were helping Ken return home, when Cyberdramon grabbed Ryo and a black smoke went from Ryo's partner into Ken's…body…
'Millenniummon!' Davis thought in shock. He remembered now. Millenniummon's data had flown of out Cyberdramon and into Ken, who was susceptible to being controlled because of the Dark Spore of Millenniummon's. Millenniummon took control of Ken's body and blasted him and the others with dark energy, knocking them all unconscious. His shock then turned to anger as it suddenly came to him that Millenniummon had possession of Ken again, but this time it was much worse.
'That damn…!' The burgundy-haired boy sat up, and regretted it almost immediately when he felt a sharp pain in his body.
"Agh!" Wincing slightly, Davis looked down to see his shirt had been taken off, and several bandages were placed on his chest and stomach. Looking over the rest of his body, Davis saw that his goggles, shoes and socks had been taken off as well, and there were bandages on his arms, legs and face, the only article of clothing he currently wore being his shorts.
"Where am I?" he asked himself, and he looked around at his surroundings. Davis noticed he was in a room with white walls and a light shining from the ceiling. He sat on a bed, and when he looked to the side, he saw a small bathroom off to the side, and a table near the bathroom door. His shirt, socks, shoes and goggles sat on the table, along with his D-3 and D-Terminal. Slowly getting out of bed so he wouldn't jar his injuries, Davis walked over to the table and put his clothes back on, pocketed his D-3 and D-Terminal, and walked out of the room, wondering where Veemon and the others were, and where exactly he was. Was this Millenniummon's doing? He doubted it. If Millenniummon had captured them, then his devices wouldn't be there for him to use, and Millenniummon wouldn't have cared about tending to his injuries.
Opening the door and stepping out into the hall, Davis's eyes widened when he saw the hallway he was in went around in a circle, a courtyard in the middle of the house he was in. And in the middle of the courtyard was a giant statue of Piximon.
"What the…"
"You're awake. Good." Turning his head at the sound, Davis saw Rika walking over to him, a frown on her face.
"Rika…where are we?"
"We're at Piximon's house," answered the red-haired Tamer, motioning with her arm for Davis to follow her. The burgundy-haired boy walked with Rika, slightly confused. She didn't seem to have any bandages on her, nor was she walking with a slight limp.
"How come you're not hurt? And where are Veemon and the others?"
"They're in other rooms," said Rika, opening the door to another room. Davis walked in and stifled a gasp when he saw most of the others there. DemiVeemon lay on a bed, as well as Kari, Tai, Takato and their partners among several others, Renamon tending to them along with Kenta and a small pink Digimon that he guessed was Betamon's Mega level, MarineAngemon. "Millenniummon did a number on you guys."
"But what about you?" asked Davis, looking at Rika's unscratched body. "You don't look like you're hurt."
"That's because Taomon was able to shield me right when Millenniummon went all supernova on us," answered Rika. "She was also able to protect Baalmon and the twins, they're in another room with the rest of the group." Davis merely nodded and sat down next to the bed holding his partner and girlfriend. Like Davis, Kari and DemiVeemon had bandages on their bodies, and Nyaromon was sporting a bandage on her head as well. The burgundy-haired boy felt a spike of anger towards Millenniummon for hurting DemiVeemon again, as well as hurting Kari and his friends. Looking up, Davis saw that along with Tai, Koromon, Takato and Gigimon, the room was occupied by Matt, Sora, Kazu, Suzie, Jeri and Izzy, along with all their partners. Renamon and Kenta were tending to their injuries and MarineAngemon blew pink hearts from his mouth, which fell over his friends and healed their injuries slowly.
"You said the others are in the second room, right?" asked Davis.
"Yes," said Rika. "Joe woke up a while ago, and he and Piximon are tending to them right now." Davis stood up from his seat and walked out of the room and headed down to the room Rika pointed to. Sure enough, Joe and Piximon were looking over Mimi, TK, Yolei, Cody and Henry with help from Ai, Mako and Impmon.
'They're all here…except…' Davis noticed it immediately and he walked back to the first medical room and walked up to Rika.
"Hey, where's Ryo?" Rika stiffened slightly from Davis's question, and she looked up apprehensively. "I didn't see him in the other room. Did he wake up already, or is he in another room?"
"Davis…I think you should sit down…there's something I need to tell you," Rika said with hesitation, and Davis began having a bad feeling building up in his stomach. It seemed clear that whatever Rika was going to tell him about Ryo, it would not be good at all.
Ryo groaned as he began to wake up. His head was pounding like somebody had hit it with a hammer, followed by a hard punch from Rika. He winced as he felt his body stinging from injuries all over his body.
"Oh…my head…" the Legendary Tamer groaned as he pulled himself up, blinking at the light shining overhead. Standing up slowly, Ryo took in his surroundings. He was in a small room with black walls, a black floor and a black ceiling. A bed was placed in one corner, with a desk and chair at the foot of the bed. A sink was situated on the other side, along with a toilet. Wincing slightly as he moved, Ryo looked down to see several bandages on his arms, and the pain he felt from his stomach, legs and head indicated bandages on those areas as well.
Confused at his surroundings, Ryo looked around the room when he heard a whooshing sound behind him, and a dark, familiar voice speak to him.
"And so he awakens."
Ryo froze and turned slowly as he suddenly remembered what happened before he was knocked out. Although Ken Ichijouji stood before him dressed as the Digimon Emperor, it was actually his former Digimon partner Millenniummon possessing Ken's body after leaving Monodramon's body.
(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Ankoku no Hohoemi ~Digimon Kaiser no Theme~)
"You…" Ryo growled, glaring angrily at Millenniummon, who simply smirked as he entered the room, the door closing behind him. "Where am I?"
"You're in my base, of course," Millenniummon answered, pulling out the chair and sitting in it. "Well, it did use to be Ken's base, but now that I'm in control, it's my base."
"Where's Monodramon? What did you do to him? And where are the others?"
"Oh, they're still alive," said Millenniummon, "I just left them back in the desert. As for Monodramon, I brought him here. Did you really think I would just put the two of you in the same cell? He's in his own room."
"I swear to God if you do anything to him…"
"At ease, Ryo," said Millenniummon, raising a hand to pause Ryo. "I haven't done anything to Monodramon…or Hopmon, as he is now after that energy blast I used on you and your friends. I have too much respect for you and Monodramon. He has definitely been a good partner to you. It's a pity really, that we never had that same thing between us. Actually…we did."
"No, we didn't," Ryo said darkly. "The entire time, you were trying to control Cyberdramon like your Dark Spore was controlling Ken just so you could take over the Tamers' dimension…"
"Because it was necessary," said Millenniummon. "Everything I've done is to maintain a balance between the light and darkness. I'm merely doing what chosen Digimon were truly meant to do. The Sovereigns, Gennai and Homeostasis, they think all forms of darkness are evil and they created the Digidestined to destroy them. But they fail to realize that darkness is just as important as the light. But they want the darkness destroyed because they want the worlds to be plunged into chaos. When Apocalymon fused me into Kimeramon, and when I merged with Machinedramon, I gained consciousness and understanding. I realize what needed to be done, and surely you know as well. After all, we're still partners Ryo."
"Unfortunately," Ryo said with a dark glare. "And yeah, you are right. Darkness isn't evil, and there is some proof, Impmon being a prime example. But some of the Digidestined don't exactly understand."
"Sadly, you are right," Millenniummon said with a sigh. "That's why I'll have to kill them and the Tamers."
"What?!" Ryo asked in anger.
"Like you said, they don't understand the importance of darkness, and they never will," said Millenniummon. "But you and I do Ryo. We are the only pair of human and Digimon that can truly do what the Digidestined were meant to do, and that is bring peace to the worlds. You are the only one I need alive for the future I have in mind."
"Don't think you're going to get away with this," Ryo said as Millenniummon left the room.
"I already have," the evil Digimon chuckled as he closed the door, leaving Ryo to fume to himself. The Legendary Tamer flopped on the bed in frustration, cursing himself for being stupid. He should have suspected something would go wrong whenever Ken and Monodramon got to close to each other, but his concerns for Ken, Davis and the Digidestined drove everything else from his mind, and even then, he didn't suspect something as bad as this would happen.
'I'm sorry guys…' he thought dismally. Ryo looked around the room, looking for anything he could use to possibly escape, but there was nothing of use. And even if he did escape, he probably wouldn't be able to get far knowing Millenniummon. He checked his clothes for anything, but the only things he had were his wallet, his cards…
…and his D-Ark!
It was still in his pocket. Ryo figured that Millenniummon didn't see the need to relieve him of it since he was in a different cell than Hopmon. Pressing a button so he could see what his partner was seeing, all he could see was darkness.
'Hmm…Hopmon must still be asleep,' he thought as he checked the screen. Thankfully, the screen wasn't filled with static, which meant Millenniummon was true to his word and no harm had been brought upon to Hopmon. Laying down in the bed, Ryo could only wonder what Millenniummon was planning to do now that he was free…and how he was going to get out of this.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Hypnos)
Millenniummon entered the monitor room, a smile of satisfaction on his face. It felt good to be alive once more and in a body. Though it wasn't his own one, Ken's body would certainly do for now as a host thanks to the Dark Spore. He didn't plan to stay inside Ken for long though. He did have some his power, but not all of it.
However, he would not be in this body forever. He already had a new plan forming, and the technology this base offered would make it happen, as well as his newest acquisition, which rested in a glass dome before him.
"Hello, Calumon. Comfortable?" The small white Digimon backed away from Millenniummon in fear, his back hitting the wall of the dome.
"Get away from me! You're not a nice Digimon, and I don't think you want to play!"
"Of course not," Millenniummon replied with a scoff. "Fun isn't something one considers having when maintaining balance. I have more important plans than having fun and playing games, and you, my little friend, are going to help me."
"H-help you? Why would I help you? You're mean!" Calumon said, trying his best to intimidate the evil Digimon before him, but failing miserably due to his small body shaking in fear, as well as his cute appearance.
"If you want to consider me mean," Millenniummon casually replied as he sat down in the chair and began looking over the Digimon in the base's computers. "But you will help me get what I want Calumon, whether or not you cooperate." Millenniummon's fingers flew over the keyboard as images of various Digimon came up on the screens: Greymon, Garurumon, Kabuterimon, MetalTyrannomon, Megadramon and Andromon.
"Hmm…I almost have all of them," he muttered, checking the rest of the files. He soon realized he had almost all the Digimon he needed to carry out his plan, but was short two Digimon.
That hardly mattered, though. He had what…or rather, who…he needed to get these Digimon. And once he had them, he would destroy the Digidestined and the Tamers, and bring balance to the Digital World and the Human World of this dimension.
And why stop there? After taking over this dimension, he would go to the Tamers' dimension, Ryo's second home, and bring balance to it as well.
Yes…that's what he would do…
The atmosphere in Piximon's house was one that could be described as tense and sad. Once everybody had woken up, Rika, Renamon, the twins and Impmon told them about Millenniummon escaping with Ryo, Hopmon and Calumon once he had knocked them out, and how they had been unable to prevent their kidnapping.
Renamon then proceeded by telling them about being able to get in touch with Piximon and bringing them to his house for treatment. Once the story was done, the Digidestined and the Tamers could only have uneasy looks on their faces, as well as worry. Davis on the other hand had a look of anger on his face and was shaking slightly. Things had seemed like they were finally going right. They may have lost Stingmon, but he would be reborn and they finally brought Ken back to their side. But in less than a minute, Millenniummon took over Ken's body completely and kidnapped Ryo.
There were very few people that Davis truly hated, and he could say without a doubt that he truly hated Millenniummon for everything he had done to the bearer of Miracles and his friends. Not only did Veemon die fighting Millenniummon three years ago, but he was also responsible for Ken becoming the Digimon Emperor and Ryo ending up in another dimension for three years. And now, this happened today. Davis would not let this sit at all. As he sat in anger, Davis listened to the rest of the team talk amongst themselves.
"I don't understand. Why would Millenniummon take Ryo?" asked Yolei. "And why did he take Calumon as well?"
"I think the reason Millenniummon took Ryo is because, even though he's insane and evil, he's still Ryo's Digimon partner, and he must have felt compelled to take him," said Renamon.
"How exactly can Millenniummon be called a partner Digimon?" Upamon asked skeptically. "I highly doubt attacking us, kidnapping our friends, and taking over the world is normal partner Digimon behavior."
"Perhaps," said Renamon, "but it seems Millenniummon is doing what he was meant to do before Apocalymon created him, at least in his own twisted way, and that is to bring peace to both worlds."
"And as Ryo's partner, he must want Ryo to witness his rise to power. He even said he was going to kill us all and leave only Ryo alive," added Impmon.
"Poor Ryo," Yokomon sighed sadly. "There's no telling what Millenniummon's doing right now."
"Millenniummon may be an insane killer, but I highly doubt he'll do anything to harm Ryo," voiced Jeri's Tsunomon. "Like we just established, Millenniummon is still Ryo's first partner Digimon, and no partner Digimon would wish harm on their own human partners."
"Okay, so we know what Millenniummon wants with Ryo, but what exactly does he want with Calumon?" Izzy then asked. The Tamers looked at each other uneasily before Henry spoke up.
"I think we may have an idea why. You see, Calumon was never a normal Digimon at all."
"What do you mean, not normal?" asked Koromon.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Blue Card)
"Calumon used to provide Digimon the power to Digivolve in our world," Rika answered, getting surprised looks from everybody.
"Wait, you mean…Calumon used to Digivolve your partners?" Joe asked with a confused look.
"No, we Digivolved our partners with the cards," said Takato, "but Calumon used to provide the power, not just to our partners, but to every Digimon in our Digital World."
"You see, Calumon used to be the Catalyst, the energy that enabled Digimon to Digivolve," Henry told the Digidestined. "When the D-Reaper began to awaken in our world due to the growth of our Digital World and the constant Digivolutions of Digimon, Azulongmon made a wish to the Digignomes to turn the Catalyst into a Digimon and sent it to the Human World, in an attempt to slow down Digivolution."
"And that Digimon was Calumon?" asked Motimon, receiving a nod from Henry.
"But it wasn't enough to stop the D-Reaper from reawakening," said Rika. "Zhuqiaomon sent his servants, the Devas, to our world and kidnapped Calumon. We went to the Digital World to rescue him, and that's when we learned about his past, and the D-Reaper."
"There was a misunderstanding between us Tamers and Zhuqiaomon, but once Azulongmon settled everything, all the Sovereigns used the energy inside Calumon to Digivolve a load of Digimon to the Mega level so they could fight the D-Reaper."
"Calumon's power has been dormant ever since then," added Jeri, "but every once in a while, the red mark on his head lights up and a Digivolution happens, much like when Elecmon Digivolved to fight MetalGreymon."
"Oh, my god…" Mimi gasped in shock. "I just figured it out. Millenniummon said he saw everything when he was inside of Cyberdramon, just like with Leomon and Beelzemon, and if that's true…"
"…then he knows about Calumon and his power." Henry said, his face one of worry. The Digidestined suddenly realized how serious this situation became.
"And now that he has Calumon, any Digimon he captures he can Digivolve them to stronger levels!" gasped Nyaromon. "And if what you said is true, and Calumon can Digivolve Digimon to the Mega level, Millenniummon could be able to exploit that ability…"
"…and we could have all-out chaos on our hands," Tai said gravelly. All was quiet until Davis stood up and walked out of the room, ignoring the looks of confusion on everybody. Tai, Takato and Kari stood up and followed Davis out of the room with Koromon, Gigimon, Nyaromon and DemiVeemon right behind them.
"Davis, where are you going?" Kari called to her boyfriend once she caught up with him in the forest below Piximon's house.
"I'm going to find whatever base Millenniummon is hiding out in," the burgundy-haired boy said, a fire burning in his eyes. "He must be using the base Ken was using before, and that must be where he's holding Ryo and Calumon. I'm going to find it, I'm going to knock Millenniummon out of Ken, and I'm going to bring him back along with Ryo and Calumon."
"Are you crazy? You can't go there alone!" Takato said, catching up to them. "You don't even know where the base is!"
"No, but Sora, Jeri and Rika snuck in by taking a Locomon from Locomotown," said Davis. "I'm going to see if I can do that as well."
"That's impossible. For all we know, the security in the base was probably tightened up the last time the base was invaded," said DemiVeemon. "And Millenniummon could be anticipating an attack from us!"
"Then we'll hit him hard and fast," Davis said firmly, picking up DemiVeemon and continuing to walk. "I've about had it with that guy."
"Davis, slow down!" Kari pleaded, stepping in front of Davis. "Think this through! You're hurt, DemiVeemon doesn't have enough energy, and all of us are still hurting!"
"Then we can eat something first and rest before we go," said Davis, stepping aside from Kari. "This will end today!"
"Davis, don't be a fool!" Tai said, running up and stepping in front of his protégé.
"Get out of my way, Tai."
"No," Tai planted his feet firmly in the ground and looked down at Davis. "I know you're upset over this Davis, but you need to understand…"
(Play Omoi: The Biggest Dreamer)
"It's you that doesn't understand!" yelled Davis. "Millenniummon has been plaguing my life for three years ever since I first set foot in the Digital World. He killed Veemon, brought Ryo to another dimension, and turned Ken evil! And now he's back! He's possessing Ken and has Ryo captive. I won't stand for this anymore Tai!" Davis was breathing deeply after yelling at Tai, and the older boy could only stare in shock at what he had just been told. He had no idea Davis was this badly affected by Millenniummon. The mad Digimon had been messing with all of the Digidestined and the Tamers since this all began, but it seemed clear Davis may have had it just as bad as Ryo and Ken.
"Davis…calm down." Takato walked over and placed his hands on Davis's shoulders, turning him around so they were looking at each other in the eyes. "I get it. Millenniummon has made you angry, and you want to rescue Ryo and Ken, but you can't do it alone. Tai and Kari are right when they say our Digimon aren't at full strength yet, and that Millenniummon may be anticipating for us to come to his base. Ask yourself this: Do you think Ryo would want you to do something as reckless as this?"
Davis stopped and thought about what Takato said, as well as Tai and Kari. They were right. It would be foolish to try and sneak into the base, as Millenniummon could be expecting an assault. And if they attacked as they would now, they wouldn't survive a battle with their injuries and lack of energy. And Ryo wouldn't condone those sorts of actions.
"I'm sorry," he looked down to the ground. "I just…Millenniummon has screwed with us even before he possessed Ken today…and I couldn't take it anymore."
"I know Davis," Tai said, ruffling up Davis's hair. "I think we're all a little sick and tired of Millenniummon, but we can't fight back unless we're all at full strength and fully rested and healed, as well has having a good battle plan."
"The best we can do right now is go home and rest," Takato said, picking up Gigimon in his arms. "And tomorrow, we get back together and think about our next plan."
"Right…right," Davis nodded and followed Tai and Takato back to Piximon's house. As Kari walked behind the three goggled boys, she stopped suddenly when she felt a chill run through her body, and a feeling that somebody was watching her. She turned around, but didn't see anybody behind her.
"Kari, is something wrong?" Nyaromon asked, looking up at the brown-haired girl. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I…I think I heard something behind us…but it may have just been my imagination." Nyaromon said nothing and merely nodded. Kari had been acting strange over the last several days, and she could only suspect that her nightmares were a factor in her behavior…but what could she do if Kari was keeping quiet about the nightmares? Takato said to let her come naturally, but…that just wasn't Kari.
'Come on Kari…' the cat-head thought sadly. 'Don't shut us out. We all want to help you…'
He looked out the window of his palace, taking in the scenery. Everywhere around him, right before his glowing red eyes, was black. Everything was black. The sky, his palace, the ground he walked on…and the ocean surrounding his palace. It was a world of darkness…and it was his to command, all of it.
For years, ever since he was born, he had lived in the darkness. It was settling, it was calming, it was beautiful…
…and yet, it was not enough. He had command of the entire ocean, but he wanted to rule more. There was nothing else for him to conquer. The land that bordered the ocean could be conquered, but it would be too easy…and there would still be nothing but darkness.
But it would not last long. He was aware of two other worlds that existed alongside his world. He had been aware of them for a long time, and he wished to rule them. He wished to spread darkness across those worlds, but he felt darkness would not be enough. It would feel empty. And his servants, while strong in this world, would be weak in the other strange worlds. He needed stronger warriors if he wished to rule. He needed more than darkness.
He needed…light.
He knew who he was looking for. He was watching her. Very soon, she would come into his world…
And then she would be his bride, as well as the bride of his servants. She would birth their children, warriors of light and darkness. And once they were fully grown, he would conquer both worlds.
It would be glorious.
In a room where the only light was coming from a computer screen, Maki Himekawa frowned as she looked over all the data she had acquired. The blackout yesterday had prevented her from reporting what she saw at the Fuji TV Station to her superiors, so when the power came back on today, she had barely left the building she worked in ever since she woke up this morning. She pulled up the images of the girls she saw in Aqua City, and then an image she managed to get of a number of children with Digimon leaving the TV station an hour later. Some of the children and Digimon she had no idea who they were, but when she looked at the image of eight of the children, and then an image from four years ago of eight children going up in a rainbow-colored tunnel into the world that appeared in the sky, she realized they were exactly alike.
"They're the same ones…" she muttered, her fingers flying over the keyboard, bringing up the profiles of the eight children she recognized. On the files were their birth dates, families, current addresses, blood types, interests, nearly everything there was to know about them. The question now was, who were the other kids?
The door in front of her opened up and male's voice rang out.
"Still working in the darkness, Hime?" the voice said in a teasing manner. The sound of a light switch being turned on was heard, and the overhead lights turned on, flooding the room with light.
"Agh!" Maki grunted as she closed her eyes tightly before opening them again and blinking rapidly so they could adjust to the light. Once she could see again she glared up at the owner of the voice: A man the same age as her with messy black hair and a black suit and tie, a small smile on his face. This man was Daigo Nishijima, Maki's co-worker and ex-boyfriend.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Iya na Yokan)
"You know I don't like it when you call me Hime, Daigo," Maki said bitterly before returning to her work. Daigo merely chuckled before walking over to the desk, putting a mug down next to Maki. The brown-haired woman smelled the sweet scent coming from the mug and looked down to see a brown concoction in the mug.
"More cocoa as usual. You definitely know me…" she chuckled before drinking it.
"Well, we've known each other since we were kids," said Daigo. "Ever since…" the man trailed off when he looked down at the screen, his brow furrowed. "So those kids are the same ones from four years ago."
"Yes, they are," Maki replied. "And they're not alone. I counted thirteen more with them yesterday, all of them with Digimon."
"Thirteen?!" Daigo asked in shock. "Are you serious?!"
"Yes," Maki replied, showing the image to Daigo. "This is the image I got yesterday."
"Oh, my god…" Daigo said in stunned disbelief. "Before, it was only five…"
"Four," Maki said bitterly, making Daigo look at her sadly.
"That's not true Maki. You know that." Maki merely sighed before Daigo continued.
"Four years ago, eight more were called, and now…have things become so bad that they need to call in so many children?"
"Maybe so," Maki said with a sad sigh. "We need to keep an eye on them Daigo. I have a bad feeling about this. We have to watch out for the older children, and we also need to know about the new kids."
"So, what should we do?"
"It's what you can do," said Maki. "You're going to start your new job soon, right?"
"Yes," Daigo nodded, knowing what Maki was implying. "So what will you do?"
"I'll see what I can find out about these new kids," said Maki, who began zooming in on the children she didn't recognize in the image. "Don't let them know about us yet…you know what I mean."
"I know," Daigo nodded and left the room, reaching into his pocket and feeling a small object that he had carried with him ever since he was a child. He supposed it was only a matter of time, especially after what happened four years ago.
The only question was, does he still have what it takes?
Morning came upon Odaiba, and the Digidestined and Tamers had returned home for school. Thanks to Piximon and MarineAngemon, their wounds had vanished and they were feeling much better. Though the events of yesterday were still fresh in their minds, they tried to worry about them later once school was out and they went back to the Digital World.
Most of the students were heading to school just like it was any other day. Kari, however, moved much slower than everybody else, a blank expression on her face. She had another nightmare last night. Though it wasn't bad as the one from the night before where she was tied up and almost impaled by a black tentacle, it was still unnerving as she found herself on the black beach again, and the massive figure before her only saying one word repeatedly: "Soon…soon…"
'What do these dreams mean?!' she thought to herself. If only she knew, then she could be able to tell Tai and Davis…but she didn't understand these nightmares…and she doubted Tai or Davis could either. She highly doubted any of her friends could help her. Then again, maybe the Tamers had an idea…
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a chill that she felt behind her and she walked faster, as if trying to escape whatever was behind her like it was trying to kidnap her. A hand suddenly landed on her shoulder, and she yelled in surprise.
"No! Tai, Davis!"
TK jumped back in surprise from Kari's reaction and the terrified look in her eyes. What was up with that?
"Kari, it's just me," the bearer of Hope said, his brow furrowed in slight worry. "Are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh…yeah!" Kari laughed awkwardly as she felt her cheeks redden. "Sorry about that. I didn't get much sleep last night…"
"Yeah, a lot us didn't," TK said, stifling a yawn.
"Morning, guys!" Davis called as he ran up to his two friends. "What are you doing standing around here? We don't want to be late!"
"Oh, right!" Kari snapped out of it and followed after Davis, TK right next to her.
"Davis looks like he's doing better than yesterday," said TK. "He's calmed down a little."
"For now, at least…" Kari said worriedly. "For all we know, he may go on the warpath when we get into the Digital World today…"
"Hey…it will be fine," TK said with a small smile.
'I wish I had your optimism TK…and Davis's courage…' Kari thought to herself, wishing that she didn't keep getting scared by these nightmares and that she could look past the worst of situations.
As the children ran into the building, the smaller of the Digimon were resting in the tree overlooking the entrance.
"Wow, Kari looks like she's full of energy today," said Veemon. "She's acting really jumpy!"
"Eh, she must have had some coffee this morning, right?" Impmon asked, looking over to Salamon. The tanned puppy could only watch Kari enter school with her ears drooped.
"No. I think she was just startled by TK," Salamon replied. "She was even startled this morning by Tai and Takato. I don't know what's been going on with her…"
"Has it been her nightmares?" asked Impmon.
"Nightmares?" echoed Patamon and Veemon. "When did this happen?" inquired the small dragon.
"It started happening shortly after we met the Tamers," answered Salamon. "She always wakes up screaming and in a cold sweat…the last few nights I couldn't wake her up on my own. I had to get Tai and Takato."
Patamon looked worried as his wings fluttered; in all the time he knew Kari, that definitely didn't sound like her. "What are they about?"
"You're wasting time asking questions, bat-pig," Impmon snorted. "She told me this yesterday, and when I asked her what they're about, she said Kari's keeping a lid on it. She ain't telling nobody."
"So, there's nothing we can do?" Veemon asked, worried for his partner's girlfriend.
"Unless she decides to tell us, then we can't," Salamon said, bitter at being unable to help Kari. "And Takato thinks he may have an idea, but he's keeping quiet for Kari's sake." Salamon looked back at the school with a sad expression, wondering what she could do to help Kari when Kari wouldn't even tell her what was bothering her.
"Well, if it's definitely bugging you, then I say when school gets out, we make Kari tell us what's bugging her," said Impmon. "It's bugging me as well. In the meantime, I'm going to raid the cafeteria storage rooms for fruit cups and milk!"
"I think I'll tag along as well," Salamon shrugged, following Impmon out of the tree, Patamon and Veemon tagging along. Maybe some food from the cafeteria would cheer her up, especially if they had fish sticks.
The rest of the school day went as normal as possible for the Digidestined and the Tamers, who felt like normal schoolkids as best they could despite the situations they were facing in the Digital World.
During the last period of the day, though, that came to an end. Takato sat in the back of the classroom next to Jeri. Though he was writing down what the teacher was saying and writing on the chalkboard into his papers, the brown-haired boy's gaze never left Kari, who was four rows ahead of him. He awoke in the middle of the night due to Kari having another nightmare, and he didn't stop worrying ever since then. If memory served him correctly, then this was the day it would happen, when Kari's nightmares would make sense and become clear.
"Takato…what's wrong?" Jeri whispered quietly, noticing the concerned look on Takato's face.
"It's Kari," he pointed his pencil to the bearer of Light. Jeri looked over and noticed how still Kari was sitting. She wasn't taking any notes at all, nor did she seem to be listening to the teacher as well. Kari just stared off in space while sitting still like a statue. It unnerved Jeri greatly.
"It's the…Dark Ocean, isn't it?" she asked with a slight shiver. Takato nodded grimly.
"She won't exactly say, but I strongly suspect those are what her nightmares are about."
"So…what do we do?" Takato was quiet as he thought about what to say.
"I don't know if we can prevent her from going this time or not, but maybe one of us should stay with her in case she falls like she did before."
"And then what?" inquired Jeri.
"…we tell the Digidestined about what we know," Takato replied. "It looks like there are some things that are identical to the TV show." Jeri nodded and looked over at Kari's still form again, concern in her brown eyes.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Akumu)
TK also shared concern over Kari as well. Sitting a row behind Kari, he could see his old friend sitting absolutely still. He could feel his stomach quaking at the sight; what was wrong with her?
Two rows in front of Kari, Davis was attempting to pay attention to what the teacher was saying as well, but he just couldn't. He had a bad feeling in his stomach ever since the day began. At first, he thought it was his worries about Ryo again, but he knew Ryo was tough and could take care of himself. No…this feeling was different somehow…as if something bad was happening right near him.
He looked around the classroom slowly, noticing the other students were paying attention as well, except for one. He noticed TK's attention was not on the board, but on someone else in the classroom. The two boys locked eyes briefly and TK mouthed one name to him.
Kari.
Turning his head to where his girlfriend was, Davis was startled slightly to see a blank stare on Kari's face, as if she wasn't interested at all in the lesson right now. It was a look he would usually have, but seeing it on Kari was unnatural, it was just not like Kari at all.
Kari attempted to pay attention to what the teacher was saying, but no matter how hard she tried, her concentration slipped away almost instantly. The sound of the teacher's voice and the chalk on the chalkboard were fading away, gradually being replaced with the sound of ocean waves.
What she saw next made her blood freeze; a white mist began enveloping the classroom until she could only see white. The smell of dead fish penetrated her nose, and her feet felt cold and wet. Looking down, she gasped when she saw cold, black water going up to her ankles. Kari looked up again, and she could only widen her eyes in terror at what she saw: The dark ocean from her nightmares.
She tried to get up from her seat and call for help, but to her horror she couldn't move at all. She couldn't even blink; the only movement coming from her body was the rapid beating of her heart.
'D…Davis?' she thought in worry. 'Gatomon? TK? Impmon? Takato?! TAI?!'
Both Davis and TK could feel the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end, as well as goosebumps appear on their skin, when they saw Kari's body beginning to lose color and beginning to fade, fizzling out like a defective video. It was like she was disappearing.
"Kari!" both the bearers of Hope and Miracles yelled out, standing up from their desks.
Every eye in the classroom fell on the two boys standing up before looking over to the girl whose name they yelled out. Kari gasped from the yell and found herself back in the classroom. She looked over to TK and Davis briefly before feeling light-headed. The bearer of Light groaned and slipped off of her seat. Fortunately, Rika and Jeri managed to catch her before she fell.
"Are you all right, Kari?" the teacher asked, frowning at the sight of Kari's pale face.
"I'm…not sure…"
"Perhaps you should go to the nurse's office."
"Yes…I will…" Kari stood back up shakily and moved away from Jeri and Rika, walking out slowly like a zombie. TK and Davis were both equally paralyzed at what they just saw. Takato's brow furrowed at the sight, Henry had a thoughtful look as if he was remembering something, and Kazu and Kenta leaned close to each other to whisper.
"Kenta, you don't think…"
"I think so…"
"All right class, let's return to our lesson," the teacher said in an attempt to get order back in the class.
"Um, excuse me…sir…" Jeri said softly. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to go to the nurse's office as well…just in case Kari falls again on her way there…"
"Certainly," the teacher said with a nod. "Hurry back, Jeri."
"Thank you," Jeri said with a bow before walking out the classroom.
Davis could only watch, stunned, at what he just saw. If he was unable to focus before on the lesson, he certainly wouldn't now after seeing Kari like this. Tai had told him about some nightmare she had been having, and Kari had even told him herself though she didn't go into much detail. At first, he thought they were normal nightmares, but now…perhaps they were like the nightmares he had before last month.
The burgundy-haired boy could only curse his own stupidity for not recognizing the signs so soon…but he would be damned if he continued ignoring his girlfriend's current plight. He was going to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.
Keeping herself steady by leaning up against the wall, Kari managed to make it to the first floor, where the nurse's office was located. It was bad enough that the vile sea had been haunting her dreams for the last week, but now it was appearing in her mind, filling her with terror. Something was happening to her, and she didn't know what it was, or what to do about it.
She wished Tai or Davis were here…but she reminded herself that even they would have no idea about her recent nightmares if she told them, and it hurt her to not tell them. Of all her friends, Tai and Davis had always managed to protect her. She always knew everything would be okay whenever one or both of them were around. But now…she didn't know if it was possible.
As she walked through the hallway, it felt oddly dark. The sun had been shining in her classroom, but out in the hall, there was no light coming from the windows and the lights on the hallway ceiling seemed to be dimmed, which was odd.
Suddenly, the sound of water dripping came from behind her, and she could feel her bones lock. The air around her seemed damp, and the smell around her was awful. The dripping sound continued, but it was suddenly drowned out when she heard rasping, heavy breathing. Kari began finding it hard to breathe herself.
"Kari…?"
The brown-haired girl turned slowly upon hearing the soft voice. She felt relieved at first when she saw Jeri standing in front of her, but when she looked behind Jeri, she felt her soul leave her body briefly at what she saw. Crouching behind the staircase was a black, hazy figure. It stared at Kari with reptilian, blood-red eyes, its limbs dripping with water.
"Kari, what's wrong?" Jeri asked, worried at the terrified look on Kari's face. Kari opened her mouth in a silent scream, turned with all her strength, and bolted out of the school. Jeri was confused until she suddenly felt a presence behind her. Narrowing her eyes, the Tamer whirled around to see a black figure slowly retreating.
"Stop right there!" She bolted for the staircase, but when she reached it, she only saw a puddle of black water. "Darn…" Jeri turned around and headed out the school as well to find Kari.
The final class concluded, Davis immediately ran out of the classroom and headed for the nurse's office with TK on his heels.
"Excuse me!" Davis called to the nurse once he reached the office. "Is Kari all right?"
"Kari?" the nurse asked, looking up from her magazine. "Kari who?"
"Kari Kamiya!" Davis said, slightly irritated. "She came in to rest, right?"
"I'm sorry, but nobody's been in here today," answered the woman.
"At all?" TK looked over to where the bed was and noticed it was empty. It didn't even look like it was slept in.
"Sorry, kids," she said. Davis and TK walked out, their foreheads wrinkled.
"Damn…I need to know what's going on with her, what with the nightmares and all…"
"Nightmares?" TK looked at him with slight concern. "What nightmares?"
"I don't really know," Davis shook his head sadly. "Tai told me she's keeping quiet about them, and Takato suspects that they may be something she doesn't understand herself."
"That doesn't make sense," TK said, a thought coming to him. "Hey…speaking of Takato, do you think the Tamers might tell us something about this?"
"If something like this happened in their TV show?" Davis asked, getting the gist of what TK was implying. "Yeah, I think we should ask them. We should find Kari first…"
"I can find her for you," TK offered, turning away from Davis. "You find the Tamers!"
"TK, I don't think…" Davis started to say, but trailed off as TK ran off. The burgundy-haired boy sighed, wondering how TK would be able to handle the situation involving Kari. While TK was close friends with Kari, he hadn't been around her much in four years. There was so much about Kari that Davis was sure TK didn't understand yet.
Sighing to himself, Davis went off into the opposite direction TK ran into, intent on finding one of the Tamers and seeing what they knew about this.
'Just what I need now!' he thought to himself as he ran.
Panic was beginning to set into TK as he ran throughout the school. After splitting from Davis, he began searching for every place that Kari could possibly be: the library, the lunch room, the gym, and he even snuck a peek in the girls' bathroom. Sadly, Kari was nowhere at those locations. TK ran through the skyway connecting the middle school to the high school, concern for Kari in his mind. She could be in trouble! She could be…
…Right outside, sitting with Jeri on a bench. He had caught a glimpse of brown hair and pink clothing as he ran through the skyway, and he looked down to see Kari below him. Sighing in relief, TK headed down to see her.
"…you don't have to talk to me if you want to Kari. If you want, I can sit here with you."
"…I don't mind Jeri," Kari whispered quietly as she sat on the bench and was lost in her thoughts. The warm, sunny spring day seemed chilly after what she just went through in the school. She barely acknowledged Jeri, and she almost didn't hear or see TK come up to her, as she was looking down at her shoes.
"Kari, there you are!" the child of Hope breathed out. "Davis and I were worried about you. Are you all right?"
(Play Digimon Adventure: Yuugure)
"I…I…" Kari said quietly as she hugged herself. "I saw…the ocean…in class…"
"What do you mean?" TK asked, scratching his head in confusion. The school did provide a view of a small bay and beach from across the street, but there was no way Kari could have seen in from the position the classroom was in. Maybe she was talking about her nightmares.
"I feel like…someone's calling me…" Kari shivered again, and Jeri moved closer, wrapping an arm around Kari's shoulders. "like I'm being summoned…elsewhere…"
"By whom?" TK asked nervously. The way Kari was talking, it sounded eerie, almost like it didn't have anything to do with the Digital World. "Is it Millenniummon?"
"No…I don't think so…" said Kari. "I've been seeing it before Millenniummon returned. The next time they call…I don't think I'll be able to resist it. I don't think I'll be able to stay here…I might go away…"
"Don't think like that Kari!" Jeri scolded softly, pulling the bearer of Light closer to her. She couldn't afford to see anyone as helpless and miserable, not since her time in the D-Reaper.
TK could only frown and look down at Kari, wondering what to make of it. They had met a number of powerful Digimon over the years, but never one that could pull them out of their own world just like that; Millenniummon was powerful, but there was no telling how powerful he was right now in Ken's body, or if he had the power to do something like that to Kari. The bearer of Hope didn't know what to say, but he tried to say something reassuring.
"Well…you don't want to go away, do you? Whatever the matter is, you can resist it. You're not going to disappear on us."
"I tried TK, but I just can't anymore," Kari whimpered. "I've tried my best to become stronger, but I just can't. I'm not as strong as Tai or Davis. They've always been there for me before, protected me…I wish they were here now, but I'm not sure if they would understand my dreams…"
Upon hearing Kari's words, TK bristled a little and felt something small snap inside of him. She always talked about Tai and Davis like nobody else could measure up to them. "Tai and Davis?! Honestly Kari, it's always Tai this and Davis that from you! You're always going on about how you need them! That's your problem Kari! You're constantly relying on them when you can't keep doing that!"
Kari could only look up at TK, her eyes listless and lost, even hurt. The blond-haired boy took a step back when he realized that he went too far.
"That was over the line, TK!" Jeri snapped. "She's scared, and she needs support!"
"I know, but…she can't keep relying on Tai and Davis forever…"
"Easy for you to say," Kari snapped, the lack of sleep from the past few nights, as well as TK's comments, beginning to get on her bad side. "You haven't lived with Matt for eight years."
"Kari…I…" TK gasped in shock, slowly backing away before walking back into the building. Kari moaned and put her face in her hands, and she felt Jeri rub her back for comfort.
"Kari, I think you crossed the line as well…"
"I know," Kari sighed sadly. "He just doesn't understand Jeri. Tai and Davis…and I guess, maybe Sora…they've always been the only ones to understand me…my problems…but this time…what can they do?"
(Play Digimon: Sayonara dake ga Shitetta)
"You're right, he doesn't understand," Jeri took Kari's hands in her own and managed to get the bearer of Light to look at her in the eyes. "But you don't understand either. It's all right to rely on your brother, and your boyfriend, but they're not the only ones that you can go to. You may not know it yet Kari, but the others are there for you as well. TK, Yolei, Rika, Takato, myself, and all of us. You are strong Kari, but that's because you have all of us backing you up as well."
"Then why did TK say something like that?"
"Well, like you said, he just doesn't understand, so he probably didn't know how to say it the right way," Jeri shrugged. "The point is Kari, don't shut any of us out, and don't pretend like everything is all right when it isn't. We want to help you…all of us."
"But…I don't want to burden anyone…"
"I know," Jeri sighed, clasping both her hands around Kari's right hand. "I know how that feels, but you can't keep everything bottled up for long Kari. And you won't be seen as a burden. Don't let whatever's calling you get to you Kari. It's not what you want, and it's not your choice to make. They're just making the choice for you. The only one that can decide your fate is yourself."
'Myself…' Kari thought quietly before feeling Jeri wrap her arms in a hug.
"You're not alone Kari," the Tamer said softly before turning around and walking away.
The bearer of Light sighed as she gathered up her school things and slung her backpack over her shoulders. After everything that had happened so far today, Kari wasn't in the mood to go to the Digital World today; she would only drag them down if she fell asleep.
As she walked out of the school gate, she noticed the bay in front of her across the street. A salty breeze caught her hair, and it felt cold despite the warm weather. She stared across the street to the stairs leading down to the sand, and she felt something strange.
Perhaps the dreams were more than just dreams, and probably premonitions. The body of water in front of her wasn't the one she had been seeing in her dreams, but it was the only one she could get to right now. Wondering if there was something for her to do or find down there, she had to check it out by herself.
'I know Jeri said I'm not alone…but I have to do this myself…It's me they want and nobody else!'
At that moment, Jeri had stepped around the corner with Elecmon when she saw Kari crossing the street. Her mind flashing back to that particular episode, Jeri narrowed her eyes determinedly.
"Elecmon, come on!"
"What is it?" Elecmon asked, running forward with Jeri.
"Something's about to go down with Kari, and I don't want her to face it alone!" As Jeri ran forward with Elecmon, Salamon, Veemon and Impmon, who had been napping in the tree above, woke up when they heard footsteps underneath them.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Hashiru Senritsu)
"Kari!" Salamon gasped, seeing her partner standing across the street. The white cat gasped again when she noticed Kari's body becoming transparent and fading in and out like a bad television picture.
"What the hell?!" Impmon yelled out as he watched Jeri and Elecmon run over to Kari.
"Kari, don't let them get to you! Fight it!" Jeri yelled out, placing her hand on Kari's shoulder to turn her around. The honey-eyed girl gasped as she noticed her own body becoming transparent as well.
"Jeri!" Elecmon gasped and touched Jeri as well. Like his partner and Kari, Elecmon's body began fizzling out as well.
"What's happening to them?!" Veemon asked in shock.
"I don't know, but we're not going to get answers by sitting here!" said Impmon, jumping out of the tree. "Come on!" Salamon and Veemon nodded and jumped out of the tree. The three Digimon made for the crosswalk, but a long truck sped across the street, blocking their path.
"You jerk!" Impmon cursed to the truck driver, but his anger turned into shock when he looked across the street again. Where Kari was moments before with Jeri and Elecmon was Kari's backpack, which floated in midair for a moment before falling to the ground with a thud.
"What…what just happened?!" Veemon yelled as Salamon and Impmon ran across the street, the latter picking up Kari's backpack.
"We need to get the others, now!" said Salamon. Impmon and Veemon nodded and raced off with Salamon to find help.
TK sighed sadly as he walked into the computer lab, hoping that Kari wasn't there. The last thing he needed right now was an awkward atmosphere between himself and Kari, after what they said to each other moments before. To his relief, it was only Yolei, Cody and Davis. Davis was leaning against the wall while Yolei sat in front of a computer with Cody by her side.
"So what exactly are you doing anyway with the D-Terminals, Yolei?"
"Well, I thought I could try to expand their protocol," Yolei answered Davis.
"And that means what, exactly?" asked Cody.
"Well, I thought it would be beneficial if we could communicate not just by email, but also with real-time audio communicators. That way, we could use them like cell phones."
"That could be handy," said Davis. "If we can call everybody that fast, then Millenniummon will find it harder to get the drop on us!"
"Maybe. Unfortunately, I haven't made much progress," Yolei said with a grimace. "If I get Henry and Izzy in here, then maybe we can get something done."
"Where are the others, anyway?" asked TK, making everybody realize he was here.
"They're getting their Digimon from home and then they'll come here," said Davis. He really needed to talk with Takato or one of the other Tamers. "Were you able to find Kari?"
"Yeah, I found her," TK nodded with a frown. "She's with Jeri."
Patamon noticed TK's glum look and flew over to him, landing softly on his head. "TK, what's wrong? You don't look so good."
"Yeah, did something happen when you found Kari?" asked Davis. TK hesitated, wondering how to tell Davis this.
"Well, you see…"
"DAVIS! TK! ANYBODY!" The Digidestined turned at the loud yell to see Impmon running into the computer lab with Salamon, Veemon hanging on the latter's shoulders. Both Digimon breathed heavily as if they had just outrun a cheetah.
"We…we've got trouble!" Salamon panted, pointing to the pink bag in Impmon's hands. Davis gasped when he recognized it.
"That's Kari's backpack!" TK took the object from Impmon and opened it up, noticing Kari's D-3 sat in the bottom of it. A sudden chill began entering his body as he thought about what Kari said earlier.
"Where did you find it? What happened to Kari?"
"She…she's disappeared…" Salamon breathed, eliciting gasps from everybody.
"She's not the only one," said Impmon. "Jeri…Elecmon…they're gone too."
Her eyes closed, Kari could hear the ocean waves crashing and the wind blowing around. The wind felt chilly as it blew around her body. Opening her eyes, she gasped when she noticed she was no longer on the sidewalk leading to the small bay in Odaiba. She was now on a long and lonely coastline, and everything around her was in shades of black, white and gray. On a small peninsula in the distance, a weathered lighthouse stood, shining a beam of light that was entirely black.
Was she dreaming again? Determined to find out, she pulled out her camera and pointed it at the lighthouse, pressing a button to take the picture. She shuddered as the image appeared directly on her screen; she was awake…and she was in her nightmare.
Jeri gasped in shock as she opened up her eyes and looked around with Elecmon. She was in a forest that was completely dark. At first, she thought it was nightfall, but it was too early…and the trees were equally dark and gray. She had ended up coming here with Kari, but where was she? Jeri had to find her and fast. She had no Gatomon with her.
"Jeri…what is this place?" Elecmon asked, his sword drawn out in case anything attacked them from the shadows. "Everything about this place feels strange…like it's not the Digital World."
"That's because it's not the Digital World at all," said Jeri. "We need to find Kari." Elecmon nodded and followed after Jeri. Whatever this place was, he didn't like it. It reeked of evil, evil that was just as horrible as Devimon and the Dark Masters.
"What do you mean, Kari and Jeri disappeared?!" Tai yelled out once everybody had gathered up at the small warehouse that Matt and his band often used for practice. The Digidestined and the Tamers had decided to make this their new meeting place as it was big enough to hold everbody. "Tell me everything."
"There's not much to say," said Impmon. "One minute she looked okay, then the next minute she was fizzling like an old TV. And when Jeri and Elecmon touched her, they ended up fading away as well!"
"We tried to get to them, but a truck got in our way and we were too late," said Salamon. "All that was left was Kari's backpack, and her D-3 inside it."
"How was that possible?!" Izzy asked in confusion.
"I don't know," said Gatomon. "In all my years, I've never seen anything like that before!"
"Damn it…he's gone too far now!" Davis growled angrily. "We need to get to the Digital World now!"
"What?" Yolei asked skeptically. "Davis, what makes you think they're in the Digital World?"
"Well, it's obvious that Kari and Jeri were pulled somewhere else by a great power," Davis explained. "And the only place with that kind of power is the Digital World…and I'm betting Millenniumon had his dirty hands all over it! First Ken, then Ryo, and now Kari and Jeri…I've just about had it with this bastard!"
"You're not the only one," Tai said with a sharp glare. "When I get my hands on him…!"
"It wasn't Millenniummon," said Rika, her face slightly twisted in pain. "As much as I'd love to pound Millenniummon into the dirt, he wasn't behind Kari and Jeri's disappearances."
"Then who was it?!" Davis asked impatiently.
"Well..." Takato said hesitantly. The brown-haired boy seemed worried about Jeri's disappearance, but he was trying his best to hold it in and not lose it. He looked around to the other Tamers. "Guys, I think it's time we told them the full story."
"Agreed," said Henry. "Giving what we just heard…"
"What full story?" asked Agumon.
"Did this happen in the TV show?" asked Matt.
"Yes, and it has to do with Kari's recent nightmares," said Takato, making Tai, TK and Davis look up.
"Her nightmares?" asked Tai.
"What do they have to do with this?" Davis asked concerned.
"The ocean…" TK muttered, getting eyes on him. "When I saw her with Jeri, she said something about the ocean."
"What do you mean, the ocean?" asked Davis. "Did they end up in the Digital World through the ocean?"
"They're not in the Digital World," said Kazu. "They're in a place that is the worst place for someone like Kari to be in."
"They're in the Dark World," said Takato, getting looks of confusion from most of the Digidestined.
"What is the Dark World?" asked Mimi.
"It's a very dark place," said Henry. "I think we should tell you guys what we know about the Dark World. In fact, now that this has happened, I think the Control Spires are the same as well, and Ken's D-3…"
"The Control Spires and Ken's D-3? What about them?" asked Izzy.
"If you all sit down, then we'll tell you everything that we can," said Terriermon. The Digidestined nodded and sat down to let the Tamers tell them what they knew about this Dark World.
(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Samayoi no Mori)
"Where…am I…?" Kari asked as she wandered in a daze. "Where's…Jeri…?" She remembered the brown-haired girl had managed to grab her shoulder before she ended up here, but where was her friend? She was lost in her thoughts that she nearly tripped and fell when her foot caught on a piece of gray wood in the sand. Blinking out of her daze, Kari noticed a small seaside village in front of her, the fence surrounding it being broken.
Walking into the village, Kari noticed that it was deserted: The roofs of most of the houses had caved in, the windows were shattered, and the foul stench was floating in the air here as well. And just like the beach and everything in this world, the village was gray. Another picture was taken and the image appeared on the screen. Whether she wanted to like it or not, she could no longer deny that she was here…but where was 'here'? At first, she thought she was somehow in the Digital World, but everything about this place felt different from the Digital World. The atmosphere around it seemed like one of malice, regret and despair. The Digital World was one of happiness and joy.
She looked up at a sign near one of the buildings. There was writing on it, but she couldn't make it out. It was probably written in Digicode, the language of the Digital World.
'But this isn't the Digital World…' she thought to herself as she wandered out of the village and found herself on sand. She was now on the beach, the one in her nightmares…and it felt just as foreboding in real life as it did in her dreams.
The wind continued blowing, and every time it passed through Kari, it felt colder than it did the last time. The bearer of Light shivered violently as she felt her fingers beginning to go numb. She needed to find shelter, but where could she go? The houses in the village seemed uninhabitable, and the jagged cliffs that stood before her looked too dangerous to climb up. She looked around again and noticed a dark spot in the cliff face nearby. It was a cave. That would work. She walked quickly to the cave. As she approached it, she could see a faint orange glow, and she could have sworn she heard faint noises that sounded like whispering; could it be Jeri and Elecmon? Breathing deeply, Kari walked into the cave.
She suddenly realized it wasn't a cave, but a tunnel. A row of dull light bulbs ran down the ceiling, offering some light and warmth for her. As she walked further in, she could hear the whispering become much clearer. "J...Jeri…?" she called out softly, but the whispering voices didn't sound like Jeri or Elecmon at all. They sounded deeper, raspy…terrifying.
The whispering suddenly stopped and became pained groans. Kari gasped as she saw a number of dark shapes come near her, staring at her with blood-red eyes.
"Heellpp usss…" one of the figures said in a wispy voice. Kari could only shiver again, but this time it wasn't from the cold. "Who…who are you?!" she asked in fear, unable to move at all.
"So, what is this Dark World?" asked Izzy, his computer open and ready to take notes.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Hirogaru Fuan)
"The Dark World is basically an anti-Digital World," said Henry. "As you may know, the Digital World is made out of data, but it's also made up of the positive emotions of humankind. But at the same time, the negative emotions and energy also formed a world of its own. It has the power to bring dark thoughts to life, as well as to magnify and corrupt them."
"That sounds scary," Mimi said with a shiver.
"The main part of the Dark World that was seen in the TV show was the massive body of water that surrounds it," said Rika. "It's known as the Dark Ocean, and it's ruled by a Digimon."
"What kind of Digimon are we talking about, exactly?" asked Cody.
"He's an Ultimate level Digimon, but if he's powerful enough to be the ruler of this ocean, then he may be in the same league as MagnaAngemon and Baalmon," said Takato. "An Ultimate level that can hold his own against Mega level Digimon. His name…Dagomon." The goggled boy pulled out a Digimon card from his pocket and showed it to the Digidestined. The reactions were mixed when they saw the Digimon on the card, which was a blue octopus-like Digimon with numerous tentacles bundled up to look like arms and legs, a gaping maw that reminded them of Ogremon, and red leather-like wings sprouting from his back.
Izzy's eyes widened, Yolei, Sora and Mimi reacted with disgust, and the rest of the team looked slightly worried about this.
"That's Dagomon?" asked Armadillomon.
"Yes," Takato nodded. "He's basically the Digimon version of Cthulhu."
"You mean Cthulhu from the Lovecraftian stories?" asked Izzy, getting a nod from Henry.
"Love-what now?" asked Agumon.
"HP Lovecraft," answered Izzy. "He was an American writer who wrote horror stories in pulp magazines during the 1920s. He died in 1937 and his work became famous after he died."
"So you're saying Kari and Jeri have ended up in a place that's ruled by Cthulhu?!" Davis yelled out. "What's the deal here? Why does Dagomon want Kari?!"
"Well…that's the sick and twisted part," said Kenta. "Chances are the reasons here are the same in the TV show. Dagomon and his servants, the Deep Ones, wanted Kari to mate with them and carry their offspring." A silence fell over the entire room until Tai and Davis both exploded at the same time.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, CARRY OFFSPRING?!"
"Exactly what he just said," said Rika.
"That's…that's just sick!" said Davis, his face scrunched up in disgust and horror. "There's no way Kari will ever do something like that, which means…"
"…which means they may rape her!" Tai finished, panic setting in on the Digidestined.
"What about Jeri? Do they have any plans for her?" asked Palmon.
"I don't think so," said Takato. "Impmon said that Jeri was trying to get Kari's attention when they vanished, so chances are it was an accident that they ended up there."
"We have to find a way to get to the Dark Ocean, and fast!" said Davis. "I'm not going to let this Dagomon have his way with Kari!"
"But we don't even know how to get to the Dark Ocean," said Izzy, "and what's more, you also said that this Dark Ocean has something to do with the Control Spires and Ken's D-3. What is it, exactly?"
"We'll tell you, but we'll have to tell you later," said Henry. "Right now, rescuing Kari and Jeri is more important."
"Okay, but how exactly do we reach this Dark World?" asked Joe. "It sounds like it's completely different from the Digital World, so chances are getting in will be different than just raising up a D-3 and saying, 'Digital Gate, Open!'"
"There may be a way," said Kazu. "First, we have to go to where they vanished. Impmon, Gatomon, can you take us there?"
"This way!" said Impmon. "Hurry!" As the group followed Impmon and Salamon to the bay, TK was trailing behind, his mind drifting back to what was said between him and Kari on the bench.
"Why did I say that…?" he asked aloud, making Matt look over to him.
"TK, what's wrong?" Matt asked his brother.
"Before Kari vanished, some…things were said between us," TK answered. "She was going on about how Tai and Davis protected her a lot and how she couldn't be strong like them…and I just snapped and told her to stop depending on them." The blond-haired boy felt guilty. "I guess she really did need them."
(Play Digimon Adventure: Straight from the Heart ~Sora no Theme~)
"You got it all wrong TK," Sora said, walking up to the two brothers. "Kari's always had a knack of keeping things to herself whenever something's bugging her. She doesn't want to bother anyone else with her problems…even if it kills her. And even then, she blames herself and nobody else." Her mind flashed back to when she nearly died of pneumonia at age five, and didn't blame Tai for it at all. "Tai and Davis are two of the few people who truly understand her. She's not weak at all. She's strong when she has others."
"That's all the more reason we need to help her," Renamon voiced from nearby. "This is something she cannot handle on her own."
"What about Jeri?" asked Biyomon.
"If I know Jeri, she's capable of taking care of herself as well as Kari until we reach them," replied the kitsune. "But if Dagomon is as powerful as they say he is, then we must hurry."
"Besides, I'm sure you want to protect Kari as well," said Matt.
"I do. She's my best friend…" said TK. "But she has to learn to take care of herself as well. There may come a time when none of us will be able to protect her."
"I know," said Sora, "but you need to understand that Kari doesn't think like you do. She's stronger when all of us are with her. She needs us to draw strength from, especially those who understand her. It's not that she can't take care of herself, but she draws more strength from us than from herself."
"You haven't lived with Matt for eight years…" Kari's words came floating back to TK, and he thought for a moment. What if their family never did split up and Matt and TK still lived with each other? Would he be like Kari is now, drawing strength from his brother and friends instead of himself to be a stronger person? He couldn't help but shake his head at the thought. Perhaps there was more to Kari than he knew from four years ago. Then he thought about when he and the other Digidestined learned the truth of their Crests when they fought Apocalymon, that they drew strength from everybody around them. Kari had said that the light in her was everybody's light, and TK even said so himself that everybody's hopes, combined with his own hope, gave him strength. Maybe they were right. Maybe Kari was stronger when she had others with her. Maybe everybody was stronger when they had each other's backs and together.
'Man, this is all confusing…' TK thought with a shake of his head as he continued following Impmon and Salamon.
Jeri sighed sadly as she walked through the forest with Elecmon, eventually coming across an abandoned village, all of the huts looking wrecked. They had been walking for ten minutes and had found no sign of Kari so far. Jeri knew Kari was here as well, and she also knew this village was seen on TV. Perhaps it could lead them to Kari so they could help her get out of here.
"Whatever happened here, it must not have been a pretty sight," Elecmon muttered, looking around the village. "This dark feeling I'm having is getting worse Jeri…I've never felt anything like this before…"
(Play Digimon Tamers: Kizuato)
"I have," said Jeri. "When I was in the D-Reaper, I could feel the darkness and sadness emanating from it. And what I'm feeling from this world is similar to it…sadness, anger, malice…" Elecmon bristled, worried over his Tamer's words. "For all we know, Kari may be feeling this as well. That's why we need to find her fast. I don't want to see her be so afraid of this place…"
Elecmon chuckled softly at his partner's words. "You have definitely grown up Jeri. You have become stronger over the last two years."
"That's because I've had everybody by my side, giving me the strength to do so," said Jeri. "Even when they're not here, I can still feel their strength become mine."
"Sounds very poetic," Elecmon said with a smile. "Come. Let us continue our search." The two continued onwards through the village, passing a sign that read, in Digicode, Innsmouth.
'Hmm…Innsmouth…' Jeri thought with a frown, having read this information online back home. 'We really have fallen into a Lovecraft story…'
Impmon and Salamon led everybody to the beach where they saw Kari, Jeri and Elecmon vanish, showing them where they saw it happen. The group went down to the beach and looked around.
"So if this is where Kari and Jeri vanished…is this how we get to the Dark World?" asked Joe.
"Hard to say," said Kazu. "Getting there can be really tricky…"
"Well, is there any way that's not tricky?!" Tai yelled impatiently.
"There is, but it can't work right now," said Takato, getting everybody to look at him.
"What do you mean, Takato?" asked Sora.
"It has to do with Ken's D-3," said Kenta, getting everybody to look at him. "You see, after Sam died, Ken ended up in the Dark World because of the sadness he was feeling, and when he stuck his Digivice into the ocean, it transformed into his D-3."
"Ken's been there before?!" Davis yelled out. "And you're saying that's how his D-3 transformed?"
"Yeah," said Kazu. "And apparently, since it transformed in the Dark World, Ken's D-3 has the power to open up portals to the Dark World." Kazu's words left a stunned silence for a moment before Davis got up in Kazu's face.
"You knew about this for a while and you never bothered to tell us?!"
"Well, what good would it have done?" asked Kazu. "It can only work if Ken's holding it, and because Millenniummon's using his body right now, it's impossible!"
"Oh, that's just great!" Tai said in a sarcastic manner, throwing his hands in the air. "Now what?!" Nobody said anything for a moment before Suzie spoke up.
"Well…there may be another way. Another way to get into the Dark World is with a very powerful dark-type Digimon. They have the ability to open up portals to the Dark World as well."
"Like that's going to help," said Matt. "Every dark-type Digimon we've ever met has wanted to kill us. Tell me what dark-type Digimon will be able to cooperate with us to open a portal to the Dark World?!"
"Well…" Terriermon started, his eyes rolling over to Impmon. The small demon looked confused as everybody stared at him, Ai and Mako.
"Um…Impmon, why are they staring at us?" asked Ai.
"I don't think it's us three in general, Ai," Mako replied, looking down at Impmon as well. Impmon looked around in confusion, wondering what was going on.
"Okay, why are you all staring at me?!"
(Play Setsunasa ~The Biggest Dreamer~)
"Because you may be our only chance to get into the Dark World Impmon," said Takato. "You said you can Digivolve to Beelzemon again, a Demon Lord Digimon. That's one of the most powerful dark-type Digimon…"
"…which means Impmon can get us into the Dark World!" Izzy gasped, realizing what Takato was saying.
"Woah, wait a minute!" said Impmon. "I don't know if I can do something like that! Plus, I don't even know how to become Beelzemon again! Do I just borrow energy from Ai and Mako like the Digidestined do with their Digimon? Do they use some sort of card? Or do I Biomerge with them? Can there even be a Biomerge when you have two Tamers?!"
"You're thinking about this too hard Impmon," said Renamon.
"Am I, fox-face?!" Impmon asked rhetorically. "How do I reach the Mega level again?"
"You just have to believe in it, all three of you," Kenta said to Impmon, Ai and Mako. "I may not be able to Biomerge with Betamon, but he can still become MarineAngemon."
"Yeah!" said Betamon, a big smile on his face. "When we both have the desire to help our friends at our full power, I'm able to feel Kenta's heart and Digivolve to my Mega level! That's all you have to do as well!"
"I think I liked you better when you didn't talk," Impmon flatly said before getting serious again. "Is that possible?"
"Impmon, we're the Digidestined," said Veemon. "We make things possible! You want to help Kari and Jeri, don't you?"
"Of course, I do!" said Impmon. "Kari's the partner of my best friend, and she helped bring me back to life! She's one of kindest people to me, and I would do anything to help her and Salamon! And Jeri…" his face dropped. "After all the crap she went through because of me…I may not have been able to save her from the D-Reaper, but I'll do everything it takes to bring her out of the Dark World!"
"So do we!" said Ai. "Kari's our friend as well. Her Crest and our D-Ark brought Impmon back to us, and we owe it to her to get her out of there!"
"And Jeri as well!" added Mako. "She's been like a sister to us for two years. She's cared greatly for us and we care for her as well! We want to help them, and nothing will stop us!" The D-Ark in Mako's hand suddenly beeped loudly and a light flashed brightly, engulfing Impmon, who began growing and changing shape. When the light faded, Beelzemon stood before everybody.
"All right, he did it!" Guilmon cheered for the Digivolution. The Digidestined stared at Beelzemon in wide-eyed disbelief. The demon lord Digimon looked more like a biker, if said biker was eight feet tall, had a tail, and three red eyes. Beelzemon closed his two main eyes and crouched down, placing his hand on the sand.
"Yes…now that I'm in this form again, I can feel some dark force from afar. It's faint, but there's a stronger feeling near here. Let's go!" Beelzemon stood up and began running towards a hill at the right of the bay. The Digidestined and Tamers followed close by, unaware that they were being watched by a figure in the shadows.
"Please…help us…" Kari stared as the creatures crawled into the faint light. Their skin was the same shade of grey as everything in this world, but Kari could make them out as some sort of aquatic-type Digimon with fins on their hands, heads and feet. She suddenly recognized them as Divermon, Ultimate level Digimon. However, unlike most Divermon, they lacked the scuba gear that enabled them to breathe underwater, as well as the harpoons that enabled them to perform their special attack, Striking Fish.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Holy Light ~Hikari no Theme~)
"You're…Digimon…" she breathed out as the Divermon continued groaning in agony.
"Is that…what we are…?" the Divermon closest to her, apparently the leader, said in a confused grunt. "We don't know…we've been here for so long…we don't know how long it's been…we don't even know who we are…"
"That's terrible," Kari said softly, looking at the number of Divermon behind the leading one. There was so many of them. "Is there anything about yourselves that you do know?"
"Yes…there is…" said the lead Divermon. "We come from the ocean outside this tunnel…we are servants to our god, who rules the depths of the ocean…"
"A god?" Kari said, the word giving her goosebumps. She had never heard of any gods in the Digital World. The Tamers had said that the Digimon Sovereigns were powerful enough to be considered gods, but were they gods themselves? And did Digimon know religion?
"Yes…he is our true god…" moaned the lead Divermon. "But one day…another god came here, and he was an evil god…not our true god…" he raised his right arm to reveal a shine of black metal. "He put these on us…they suppress our power…"
"Dark Spirals…" Kari murmured, glaring at the familiar device. So Ken had found a way to this strange dimension…or had it been Millenniummon?
"So…you know of these foul devices…" the lead one rasped. "We have been watching you for some time…and with the last of our strength…we called you here…"
"It was you?!" Kari stiffened. The cause of the nightmares, as well as the cause of her being in this world, was brought on by these helpless, pitiful Digimon before her. "But why?"
"You are…the Chosen of Light…" the leader managed, stretching out his right arm. "With the power of your Crest…you can rid us of these…and we will be free…to worship…our god again…"
"My…Crest power…?" Kari asked in confusion. How was it possible for a human to break off a Dark Spiral? The only way to do that was with a strong Digimon attack or a Digivice. She was about to say no, as much as she didn't want to leave these creatures to continue being in pain, but then she remembered when she fell sick in Machinedramon's city, her first time in the Digital World. She remembered a white light enveloping her, a light that made the Numemon worship her as their queen, and the same light that allowed the partner Digimon to Digivolve when they were low on energy. Maybe that was the power the Divermon was talking about. She looked over to the pitiful Divermon again and her heart swelled. "All right…I'll try…" She kneeled down and took the Divermon's arm in her hands. As they touched the spiral, the Crest of Light appeared over her chest and her hands began glowing a gentle, pink light. The lead Divermon and his fellows looked up and their moans went from pained and miserable to surprised and elated.
Suddenly the tunnel began shaking, and chunks of rock fell from the ceiling. Kari looked up and noticed the tunnel was caving in. "Everybody, get outside now!"
The Divermon staggered to their feet and hurried out of the collapsing tunnel as fast as they could. The ones who fell down were helped by Kari, who was the last one to escape before the tunnel caved in.
Kari coughed and sputtered from the dust that was kicked up by the cave-in. "Are you all okay?" Her answer was a horrible shriek as the Divermon looked up in the sky in horror. Kari followed their gaze, and gasped when she saw a Digimon that looked like a Megadramon fly overhead. At first, Kari thought it was a Megadramon, but then she noticed the wings were metal, and Megadramon's wings were flesh. This was Gigadramon, a Digimon that was said to be more powerful than Megadramon. A Dark Spiral was attached to his right arm.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Tatakai no Toki)
"That is a messenger…of the evil god…" the lead Divermon said in a pained expression. Kari looked up at the Gigadramon, knowing what to do. She may not have had Salamon, but she had her D-3 in her backpack, and that was effective against Dark Spirals. She moved her arms to slide off her backpack, but she suddenly noticed the lack of extra weight on her back. Determination gave way to horror as she remembered her backpack falling off her when she entered this world.
"GENOCIDE GEARS!" Gigadramon swooped down and held out his arms, firing many missiles from them. The missiles flew down and collided with the ground, kicking up sand and making craters. The projectiles also consumed many Divermon in sickening black flames. The air already reeked with rotten flesh, but it was worse now with the scent of burning flesh.
"How could he…?" Kari asked in horror as she watched the Divermon perish in the explosions. Gigadramon flew down again, this time swiping with his claws. The bearer of Light dropped down and avoided decapitation. She dropped to her knees, wondering what she could do. She felt so helpless. She hated being alone. She needed Tai…she needed…Davis…
"You're constantly relying on them! You can't do that!"
"You're not alone. We want to help you…all of us…we're here for you…you can come to us…"
TK and Jeri's words suddenly came back to her, and they suddenly began to make more sense. She didn't have to continue relying on Tai and Davis. The others were willing to help them out with her problems, and she could rely on them as well. They cared about her, and she cared about them as well. They all gave her strength, powered her light.
"The light inside of me is everybody's light!"
Her own words from battling Apocalymon also came to her as well. It wasn't just her own brother's light that powered her, it was everybody else's as well. She had plenty of friends to help her…and she needed them now.
Jeri gasped as she saw Gigadramon flying overhead, shooting missiles from his arms at something down below…and she had a good feeling what it was.
"Elecmon, let's go! Kari needs us!"
"Right!" Elecmon began running forward with Jeri, the latter pulling out a Digivolution card.
(Play Digimon: SLASH!)
"DIGI-MODIFY! DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"
"ELECMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…LEOMON!" Another swipe from a card gave Leomon dragon wings and the lion man scooped Jeri up in his arms before flying into the air. Now airborne, Jeri could see everything below her, including the beach where she saw several black figures attempting to run from Gigadramon's missiles. And in the middle of the group was a familiar head of hair.
"That's Kari! Take us down Leomon!" Leomon nodded and flew down to the beach, placing Jeri down on the sand before flying back up and launching his Fist of the Beast King attack at Gigadramon. The dragon Digimon roared at the new challenger and began flying after him.
"Kari!" Jeri yelled, running over to the bearer of Light.
"Jeri, you're all right!" Kari exclaimed happily, but the feeling didn't last long as Leomon was swatted out of the sky by Gigadramon's Guilty Claw attack.
"We won't be for long if we don't get help. We need the others!"
"You're right…" Kari said, still on her knees. "I think I realize now what you were saying before Jeri, and what TK was trying to tell me. Everybody is there for me, and that's what gives us strength to continue fighting."
"That's right," said Jeri. "If that's what you want."
"It's not what I want Jeri…it's what I need," said Kari. "I need you. I need Tai, I need Davis. I need Salamon. TK, Rika, Henry, and Impmon. I need them all by my side. They give me strength…I give them strength as well!" The Crest of Light on Kari's chest began glowing faintly, catching everybody's attention.
"It should be around here…I can feel it…" Beelzemon muttered, concentrating on the dark feeling. As Beelzemon searched, TK walked over to Davis, who he needed to talk to.
"Davis, I have to ask you something. It's about Kari."
"What about her?" Davis asked curiously.
"Well…does Kari…rely on you and Tai?"
"Yes…" Davis said slowly, wondering what brought TK to ask him that question. "I've always been there for her whenever I could, and Tai as well."
"Well…don't you feel like she relies on you…too much?"
(Play Digimon Adventure: Tomodachi Tatakai no Toki)
Davis's confused look gave way to a frown, and TK was wondering if he earned Davis's wrath again. Fortunately, that did not seem to be true as Davis sighed. "Maybe, but that's not such a bad thing. Kari is capable of taking care of herself, after all, but she needs me and Tai to draw strength from, and it's not just the two of us. She's much stronger when she's with everybody, drawing strength from all of us. It's the way she is…and it's the way I am."
"You?" TK asked confusedly.
"I'll admit, I was scared at first when I came back to the Digital World, after what happened the last time I was there, but Kari…she gave me the courage to continue with it. It wasn't just my strength that's been getting me through this. I wouldn't be half the person I am if I didn't draw strength from Kari, or Yolei, or Cody. Tai, Sora, Matt, Ryo, Takato, Henry, Rika, even you TK. Even when I'm alone, I can feel all of your strength, and it's been helping me get through this. It may sound corny, but the reason we're all strong is because we have each other and draw strength from one another. But that doesn't mean we can't handle things alone either. Kari may not understand it yet, but I know she will."
'Each other…' TK thought to himself. Now that Davis had told him this, it was becoming clearer now. Even when he was alone against Puppetmon all those years ago, he was able to escape because he knew everybody, Matt and Tai and the rest of his friends, were hoping for him to be safe. And he remembered when Angemon Digivolved, and he heard Matt say he believed in him, and everybody believed in him, and that he needed to believe in himself.
'I guess I may have been wrong about Kari after all…great, now I really feel like a jackass…'
(Play Digimon Tamers: Kawarii Nante Inai)
"You know, you're right Davis," said Takato. "The same applies for us Tamers as well. We didn't survive all the threats in our home world by our own strength. We survived by all relying on each other's strength." The brown-haired boy stroked Guilmon's head as he spoke. "And I know Jeri is doing the same right now in the Dark World. She's drawing strength from all of us, and it's giving her the will to fight with Elecmon and protect Kari. Honestly, she may be the strongest of us mentally. After everything that's happened in her life, she's been able to get through it with all of us helping her, not just by herself. Leomon was right when he said Jeri has a lion's heart." Takato had a small smile on his face, and a look in his eyes seemed dreamy of some sort.
"Uh…Takato? Are you all right?" asked Davis. Takato blinked and shook his head, as if trying to come back to the present.
"Oh…sorry, I just trailed off a little bit. But I am hoping Beelzemon is able to get us to the Dark World so we can help Jeri and Kari." Takato walked off from TK and Davis, and Guilmon looked over to the two boys.
"He has a crush on Jeri. He gets nervous every time he tries to tell her."
"Ahh, I see…" Veemon said with a chuckle.
"Guys…I think I'm feeling something…" Beelzemon said, standing at the edge of the hill. The group looked over to him.
"Is it Kari?" Salamon asked anxiously, Tai mimicking her.
"I…I think so…" Beelzemon said, looking up. It was faint, but he could swear he could hear a faint voice call out some name.
"Tai…Davis…Salamon…TK…Impmon!"
"It's her, I can hear it!" gasped Salamon.
"Then this has to be where Beelzemon can open the portal!" said Takato.
"You can do it, Beelzemon! We all believe in you!" cheered Ai.
"And so does Kari!" said Mako. Beelzemon gritted his teeth and raised his arms, wondering how he could open the portal at this level. If he was Wizardmon, then it would be easy…or would it be?
(Play Digimon Tamers: Sousa)
Moments passed, and suddenly a small pinkish light began appearing in the air in front of them. As the group watched, Beelzemon strained as he concentrated all of his energy into ripping open the sky. This feeling was new to him, a foreign feeling. It was different than opening a portal to Witchelny. This did not require a magic spell, but it required all of the energy that currently flowed through his body.
Yelling loudly in pain and determination, Beelzemon's hands glowed the same color, and the tiny glow grew into a giant oval, revealing a gray beach that was being bombarded by a Gigadramon. Davis's fists clenched. That was where their missing friends were…and where he was going.
"Beelzemon did it!" Tentomon gasped in amazement.
"All right guys, let's get in there!" said Tai. Before anybody could move, the oval suddenly began shrinking rapidly.
"What's going on?!" asked Rika.
"I can't hold it open for long…" Beelzemon gasped, dropping to one knee while still holding his arms up. "I've never done anything like this before. It's different from entering and exiting Witchelny…it's draining me of my energy…"
"Then only a small handful of us will be able to get through," Davis said, picking up Veemon. "And I'm not going to stay behind!" With Veemon in his arms and Kari's backpack over his shoulders, the bearer of Miracles charged forward and leaped off the cliff. Instead of falling into the water, Davis felt himself being pulled through the air and into the shrinking portal.
"Davis, wait for me!" TK called, picking up Salamon and Patamon before jumping into the portal.
"Those two are going to get themselves killed," muttered Rika. "Renamon, let's go!" Renamon nodded and ran forward with her Tamer. "You ready?!"
"As always!" said Renamon, wrapping her arms around Rika and jumping through the portal.
"Well, we better go as well Takato!" said Henry, placing Terriermon on his head and running towards the portal. Takato and Guilmon followed them and leaped into the portal.
"It's our turn, Agumon!" said Tai. Agumon nodded and stepped forward, but before anybody else could move, the portal suddenly vanished and Beelzemon collapsed on his back, glowing brightly and shrinking to his In-Training level.
"I'm sorry…" Yaamon gasped as Ai picked him up and cradled him in her arms. "I couldn't hold it open much longer…the energy that was being drained from me…"
"Yaamon, it's all right," said Lopmon. "We did manage to get a portal open and some of our friends were able to get in. It's up to them now to get Kari and Jeri out of there."
"But if Yaamon is low on energy, how are they going to get out of there?" asked Mimi.
"They'll find a way. I'm sure of it," said Tai, clenching his fist in frustration. He was hoping to be able to make it through to help his sister, but he knew Davis, TK and the others would be there in his place. He could only hope that they would be able to make it out alive.
In the distance, Daigo Nishijima watched the scene before him with surprise and interest before turning away and returning to his van. Maki and the others at the agency would have to be informed.
Davis and the others fell through a long, blue, transparent tunnel as they entered the Dark World. As they fell, they saw numerous pillars of light all around them in different colors.
"What are those things?!" asked Veemon.
"Those must be portals to other worlds," said Henry. "There's so many of them, there's no telling where they go!"
"Well, we know where this one is going," said Terriermon. The group landed on cold grass and gasped at what they saw. The grass was gray, as well as the trees behind them and the sky above them. The ocean that stood out before them was as black as tar. Below, they could see several dark figures being blasted by the Gigadramon. And among the figures stood…
"Kari!" Davis yelled, sliding down the cliff and running towards his girlfriend, Veemon and Salamon right behind him.
"Jeri!" Takato gasped, seeing another familiar figure using a Digimon card to give Leomon a boost in speed and strength.
"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" The attack hit Gigadramon in the face, but the dragon wasn't finished yet. Gigadramon flew down and swiped at Leomon with his tail, knocking him off balance.
"Veemon, get in there!" said Davis, pulling out his D-3. Takato, Henry and Rika pulled out their D-Arks and Digimon cards while TK pulled out his own D-3.
"Patamon, can you go for it?"
"Maybe, but I'm still sore from yesterday," said Patamon. "I don't think I can hold my Ultimate level for long."
"Then use Armor Digivolution!" said Davis, tossing his D-Terminal to TK. "Use mine!"
(Play Digimon: Break Up!)
"Got it!" said TK, catching the D-Terminal and picking the Digimental of Friendship. "Let's try the new one…DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!"
"PATAMON ARMOR DIGIVOLE TOOO…STEGOMON!"
"VEEMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…EXVEEMON!"
"EXVEEMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…PAILDRAMON!"
"DIGI-MODIFY! DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"
"GUILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…GROWLMON!"
"TERRIERMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…GARGOMON!"
"RENAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…KYUBIMON!"
"Go get him, guys!" said Davis. Stegomon, who was a green and orange stegosaurus with sharp metal spikes on his back that Digivolved from the Digimental of Friendship, stood his ground as Gigadramon flew down at him. Once Gigadramon was close, Stegomon released his attack.
"SHELL NEEDLE RAIN!" The sharp spikes flew off his back and hit Gigadramon. Most of the spikes bounced off his helmet, but several of them burrowed into his arms.
"GARGO PELLETS!"
"FOX TAIL INFERNO!"
"EXHAUST FLAME!"
Gargomon, Kyubimon and Growlmon's attacks also hit Gigadramon, forcing him to fly up, leading to a kick from Paildramon.
"Something's not right about Gigadramon," said Paildramon. "He's giving off some sort of strange energy…"
"I can feel it as well…" said Kyubimon. "He has a Dark Spiral, but yet…he seems to be a part of this world and not the Digital World."
"So what do we do?"
"If he's something from this place, then we have to destroy him entirely," said Paildramon, extending his spikes to battle Gigadramon.
"Kari, are you okay?" Davis asked, going over to the bearer of Light. Kari said nothing until she was close enough to Davis to give him a hug.
"You guys came to help me…I knew you would…"
"Of course we did!" said Davis. "We leave nobody behind." Davis looked around at the place he was in, from the pitch-black ocean, to the Gigadramon resisting Paildramon's Desperado Blaster, to the gray sand. "So this was what your nightmares was about…"
"They were," said Kari. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you or anybody Davis. I didn't understand at all what they meant, and I wasn't sure if you would be able to help me…"
"Kari…it's okay now," Davis said, looking at Kari in the eyes. "Even if I didn't know at first, I would have still tried to help. We all would have."
"I know," said Kari. "I didn't understand at first, but I do now. It's not just you and Tai and I can go to and draw strength from. Everybody is there for each other…"
"That's right," said Davis, handing Kari her backpack. "By the way, I believe this belongs to you."
"Thank you!" Kari breathed in relief, pulling her D-3 out of her backpack. The brown-haired girl looked up to see Gigadramon and Paildramon continue their battle in the skies above. Stegomon, Leomon, Growlmon, Gargomon and Kyubimon attempted to aid Paildramon, but even with cards, their attacks could only get so far. The two dragon Digimon were locked in combat high above.
The bearer of Light's face dropped into a determined frown as she looked at the battling Digimon, and then at the remaining Divermon that were still in pain from the Spirals. The others had come to fight for her, and now it was her turn. She would help her friends and the poor Divermon.
"Salamon, help them out!" The tanned puppy nodded and leaped up to Digivolve.
"SALAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…GATOMON!"
"GATOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…ANGEWOMON!"
"Hey, why does she get to be colorful while the rest of us look like we're from a Charlie Chaplin movie?!" Gargomon asked, watching Angewomon take flight. Out of everybody in the Dark World, who looked like they had the color drained from them, Angewomon still looked like she would in any other world with her golden hair, fair skin, white cloths and wings, and pink sash. A faint pink light accompanied the powerful angel Digimon.
"CABLE CATCHER!" Paildramon launched his wire fingers out in an attempt to tangle up Gigadramon, but the dragon Digimon swatted them away and prepared to fire his Genocide Gears again when Angemon suddenly appeared right between the two combatants.
"Gigadramon, you attempted to kill my partner," she said in a booming voice as she brought her hands together. "I shall show you no mercy as well! HEAVEN'S CHARM!" The shining pink cross flew from her hands and cut through Gigadramon. The dragon Digimon could only roar as his body was burst not into pixels like most Digimon when they die, but black smoke that flew into the air and faded away.
"What was that black smoke?" asked Growlmon.
"I think Kyubimon and Paildramon were right," said Leomon. "That Gigadramon didn't seem normal."
"Angewomon!" Kari called happily to her partner, who floated down in front of the group with Paildramon. "Do you think you can get these spirals off the Divermon?"
"It shouldn't be a problem," Angewomon smiled softly, extending her hands.
"Angewomon, wait a minute!" Takato started, but his warning came too late as the pink light glistened on the twelve remaining Divermon. Just like Gigadramon, the spirals on their right arms faded away in black smoke instead of pixels. "There we go!" Kari said, beaming. "You're free…now…?!"
(Play Digimon Tamers: Digital Field)
Kari's smile died and her joy was replaced with fear and confusion when she saw the Divermon beginning to transform. Their entire bodies turned black and they began growing. Their features bulged and their limbs stretched out. And from the sounds of their laughs and shouts, they were enjoying their transformation. They soon stood up, towering over the human children by a head. Their arms were long and gangly, the black surrounding their bodies swirled like smoke, and their eyes were yellow and reptilian. Kari suddenly recognized them. She had seen one of them in the school hallway earlier today.
"Is this…your true form?!" she asked in fear, backing away. She didn't get far as the lead creature stretched out and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to it. Kari tried to pull her arm free, but the creature's grip was like iron.
"What…what are you doing?!" she yelled, attempting to break free. "I helped you!"
"And we thank you for that," said the lead one. "Our suspicions were correct. You are the chosen child of Light. The real reason we called you here is because you are destined to be our queen."
"No! Stop! Let me go! HELP!" Kari yelled, feeling her spine snap as her nightmare became true.
"Let her go!" Davis roared, running forward and grabbing Kari, pulling her free from the creature. Kari gasped as she fell back into Davis's arms and was pulled back to the others. Kari gasped as she felt the place her arm was grabbed beginning to bruise. "You take one more step and I'll tear your arms off myself!"
"Not if I do it first!" Angewomon growled, landing protectively in front of the two Digidestined. The other Digimon formed a protective line, standing in front of the creatures.
"You are mistaken…" said the lead creature. "She shall be our future queen. She is destined to be so. And we have plenty more hands to help us bring her to our god." The ocean suddenly began bubbling and creating waves as more dark creatures rose up from the water and began heading towards them.
"Why…why do you want me to be your queen?!" Kari yelled, shaking in Davis's arms, prompting Davis to hold her closer to him, and TK to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Because…we have become weak…" said the lead creature as the other creatures began advancing towards the humans and Digimon. "We need someone to bear our offspring, and you are the only one that can do so Kari. With you as our queen, our offspring will have the power of Light and Darkness combined. You cannot escape your destiny Kari. It has already been decided."
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Jeri screamed at the top of her lungs, making everybody look at her. The brown-haired girl stormed past everybody and looked up at the lead creature in the eye.
"You're saying this," she gestured to the swarm of dark creatures, "is her destiny! That it's been chosen for her! But what if it's not what she's chosen? You made this decision herself! Destiny is not predetermined and decided for anybody! We have the power to make our own destiny and choose it ourselves."
"Of course…" rasped the lead creature. "This is what we have chosen…"
"For yourselves," said Jeri. "But you've chosen this for Kari, and I know it's not what she's chosen at all! You think she wants to mate with sick freaks like you and whatever god you worship?! She doesn't! The only ones that can decide our fate is ourselves!"
"Jeri…" Kari breathed, touched at Jeri coming to defend her, and surprised to see her standing right in front of these…things…and not backing down at all.
"She's coming back home with us," Jeri continued. "And if we have to fight you, then so be it. But I refuse to lose anyone else that I care about. This…is what I choose for my destiny!" A flash of light from Jeri's pocket suddenly caught everybody's attention and forced the creatures to back up. Reaching into her dress pocket, Jeri gasped when she saw something familiar in her hand.
"Is that a…" TK started.
"…a Blue Card!" Rika finished, staring in awe.
"Jeri," Leomon said to his partner. Jeri turned her head to Leomon, and the two locked eyes with an understanding nod to each other. Turning back to the dark creatures, Jeri raised the card and her D-Ark in the air, and swiped the card through.
(Play Digimon: SLASH!)
"DIGI-MODIFY! MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"
(Play Digimon: EVO)
The light spread throughout the area, and the Digidestined and Tamers were surprised to see the color returning to them like it did Angewomon when she Digivolved. As he felt the surge of energy in him, Leomon leapt up into the air, glowing brightly.
"LEOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…GRAPLEOMON!" The new Digimon landed in front of the creatures, and the fading light revealed his new form. Leomon's mane had changed from yellow to a dark orange color and was held back by a metallic headpiece, and two fangs jutted out from his mouth. His body was clad in black and white armor, and on his arms and legs were red and white turbines that were spinning rapidly.
"Amazing…" Takato gasped in awe as Rika raised up her D-Ark to scan the new arrival.
"GrapLeomon. Ultimate level Beast Man Digimon, Vaccine attribute. He's a Grappling-species Digimon whose turbines are powered by his strong sense of justice and bravery. His special attacks are a powerful punch called King of Fists, and a barrage of roundhouse kicks called Cyclone Turbine."
"Evolving will not help you…" the lead creature as he stepped forward with the other creature. "We shall have our queen today…"
"You'll have to be disappointed instead!" said GrapLeomon. "KING OF FISTS!" Thrusting his right arm forward at a fast pace, a strong wave of wind was released and tore through the creatures while tearing up the ground it was under.
"Holy cow, that's power!" gaped Gargomon.
"Don't be mesmerized!" said Kyubimon. "There's more of them coming!" Sure enough, more of the creatures began advancing for the children.
"Then we'll just have to take them down!" said Paildramon. "DESPERADO BLASTER!"
"GARGO PELLETS!"
The bullets fired from Paildramon and Gargomon's guns mowed down a number of the creatures, but more came out of the ocean. Kari shivered at the sight of them. "All of them…want me?" she asked in horror.
"We're not letting them take you!" said Angewomon. "CELESTIAL ARROW!" The light from the arrow was so powerful it went right through five creatures. Two of them managed to get past Paildramon and Gargomon, but Growlmon was ready to protect the humans.
"PLASMA BLADE!" The red dragon raised his arm blades up and slashed through the creatures like butter. Wanting to make sure they stayed dead, Growlmon fired his Exhaust Flame and burned their bodies away to nothingness.
"Oh, the smell!" Jeri said, covering her nose and mouth as she smelt burnt flesh coming from Growlmon's attack. "What is that?!"
"I don't know, but whatever these creatures are, I'm not sure if they're Digimon. They're not even turning into data when they die," Rika said as she watched Kyubimon and Stegomon aid GrapLeomon. Kyubimon's Fox Tail Inferno burned away the creatures attacking her in a blaze of blue flames, and she could see black some rising from the fire. Many more of the creatures were torn to shreds by Stegomon's Shell Needle Rain, but as Rika noted, the remains didn't turn into data pixels, but melted into black smoke.
"CYCLONE TURBINE!" GrapLeomon ran forward and leaped up, swinging his legs at the creatures. The power of the kicks caused the creatures' heads to be caved in, killing them instantly. GrapLeomon punched another creature in the chest, knocking him flat into the other creatures behind him like they were bowling pins.
"That's the way!" said Davis.
"You got this, guys!" Takato called as he swiped a Digimon card that boosted Growlmon's power, allowing him to scorch five creatures to nothingness with his Exhaust Flame. The Digimon continued attacking the creatures until the black things stopped moving and began backing away, going back into the ocean. This earned looks of confusion from everybody.
"Wait, what's going on now?" asked TK. "Why are they going away?"
"They must have gotten the message," said Davis, looking at the dark creatures. "Get out of here, you freaks! The next time you try and take Kari, I won't leave any of you alive!"
"Wait," said GrapLeomon, a strange feeling building up within him. "I don't think they're retreating because of us…I feel something…"
"He's right," said Kyubimon. "I can feel something approaching us, and its power is immense…"
"What? What is it?" asked TK. The bearer of Hope's question was answered almost immediately as the ground underneath them began shaking. The ocean in front of them suddenly pulled back as if it was caught in a low tide before coming back forward, a giant figure rising out of the water. The figure towered as high as a mountain. Kari began shaking violently in Davis and TK's arms, and Takato, Henry, Rika and Jeri could only stare in awe-struck horror. The Digimon stood their ground at the new arrival, who had the head of an octopus, a gaping maw with red eyes, a rosary of black pearl around his neck, all of his tentacles held together by chains and golden bands to give off the impression of arms and legs, and long leathery wings jutting out of his back.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Kuroi Kage)
"Is that…" Davis started to ask, but Takato finished for him.
"Dagomon," Takato said in a small voice. "The ruler of the Dark Ocean."
"That's…their god?!" Kari yelled in horror.
"Welcome, humans," Dagomon said in a deep, booming voice, "to my world. I must admit, I am impressed by your strength, but especially by you, child of Light, the one I truly want." His eyes went down to the shaking Kari. "Everything I did here today was to test you, and you have passed the test."
"Wait a minute," said Davis. "The Dark Spirals, the Gigadramon…this was all a setup for Kari?!"
"Indeed," said Dagomon. "The Gigadramon you saw was a creation of mine, created from one of my Dark Ones," he gestured to the dark creatures that had gathered around him. "It is a pity that many of my Dark Ones had to perish on this day to make this possible, but they knew what to expect when I told them to die for this."
"You…you monster!" Kari yelled, no longer shivering as she moved away from Davis and looked up at Dagomon. "How could you do something like that?! They had feelings! I could hear the pain in their voices!"
"I did not kill them myself," said Dagomon. "They died of their own free will, for a great cause. Besides, my Dark Ones were already dead before they even perished today."
"What are you talking about?!" asked Henry. "What is the deal with this place anyway?!"
"Ah, I see you wish to know about this world before you," said Dagomon. "Very well then, I shall tell you."
"How about instead of boring us with a story, you just get turned into sushi?!" Gargomon yelled, charging forward at Dagomon.
"Gargomon, stop!" called Henry.
"He's just a giant squid, Henry! I highly doubt he's as powerful as they say he is!" said the dog-man.
"You wish to test my strength?" Dagomon asked in an amused tone. "Very well then. Hit me with your strongest attacks!"
(Play Digimon Adventure: Aku no Butai ga Yatte Kita)
"GARGO PELLETS!"
"DRAGON WHEEL!"
"EXHAUST FLAME!"
"DESPERADO BLASTER!"
"SHELL NEEDLE RAIN!"
"CELESTIAL ARROW!"
"KING OF FISTS!"
The attacks soared up and engulfed Dagomon's top half in a fiery explosion, leaving nothing but smoke for several moments.
"How's that?!" asked Growlmon. The hopeful looks on the humans and Digimon faded away when they saw, to their shock, that none of the attacks left a scratch on Dagomon's body. The monstrous Digimon chuckled at the attacks.
"They barely affected him at all!" gasped Rika.
"No way!" said Davis.
"That's your best shot?" he asked as he raised his arm in the air, producing a giant silver trident. "I shall show you my power now! FORBIDDEN TRIDENT!" The trident soared down and hit the ground in front of the Digidestined, creating an explosion that knocked all of the Digimon off their feet. Before they could hit the ground, Dagomon slammed his arms down into the ocean, creating pillars of water that bent and twisted, hitting the Digimon and slamming them into the rock wall. GrapLeomon held on to his Ultimate form, but Paildramon, Angewomon, Stegomon, Growlmon, Gargomon and Kyubimon reverted to their previous forms.
"No…way…" Takato breathed in shock as he helped his partner up.
"If you have it out of your system, then I shall begin," Dagomon stated.
(Play Digimon Piedmon Theme)
"The Digital World was created many years ago when computer data was formed into a world of its own, mixed with human emotions. These emotions were positive, embodying hopes and dreams of people. Digimon prospered as a result and they lived in peace, constantly Digivolving. Unfortunately, some Digimon were never able to Digivolve and they died out, or they felt they had no purpose in life and died lonely or took their own life. These negative emotions from the Digimon, as well as the dark emotions of humanity, such as fear, anger, and loneliness, led to the creation of this world and myself. Many Digimon who perished in sadness in the Digital World were reborn here as the Dark Ones." Dagomon motioned to his creatures again. "Here, they found a purpose as servants of darkness, faithfully obeying any order given to them."
The children could only stare at Dagomon, appalled not at what he was saying, but the way he was saying it. He was speaking of the origins of this world, himself and his servants in a casual tone, as if he was comfortable talking about this.
'He's a monster…just like Devimon…' TK thought in anger.
"And you're the ruler of all of this?" asked Jeri.
"I never used to be," said Dagomon. "There were others like me that wanted to rule this world. A war broke out for control. I was in command of the seas. I dedicated myself to learning any form of dark magic to become more powerful. Eventually, I became the strongest of my kind. I slew all of my brothers and rivals and I became the ruler of all of this. With my Dark Ones, I soon ruled the entire world. But one day, I took over the last frontier of this realm, and that was it. I was the god of this world, but it wasn't enough. I wanted to expand my kingdom to other realms."
"But then one day, as I sat on my throne and watched over my kingdom as always, I felt sadness and loneliness from a being in the Digital World. I thought it was a Digimon, but it was not. It was a human. I believe you call him Matt. A short while later, another human who I believe you call Sora was also close to entering my domain. Neither of them came here, but I was elated. I found a new world that I could take over. But I could not leave this dimension easily. So I began working on a new creation that would warp the barriers and allow me to enter the Digital World, black obelisks that would assert my dominance in an area."
"Control Spires!" gasped Davis. "Then that means…Ken…!"
"Ah…yes, the first human to ever come into my domain," said Dagomon. "I could feel the darkness emanating from him, courtesy of Millenniummon. He did not stay long, but in the short time, his device changed and he learned of my towers. He stole the ideas for them and went back to his world, and began planting them around the Digital World. And now that fool Millenniummon is still creating them. He thinks they are signs of his dominance, but in actuality, they are mine. More than once I have desired to eliminate the usurpers, but they have proven beneficial."
"You said they warp the barriers…" said Davis. "You mean…" he trailed off as he didn't want to finish the thought, but judging from the looks on TK and Kari's faces, as well as the Tamers' faces, they knew what it meant.
"Yes," said Dagomon. "It is slow, but I can feel the barriers weakening. Through this process, I was able to learn more about you Digidestined. In turn, I learned about you." He looked down at Kari again, and it took everything in the brown-haired girl to not shiver and look away again.
"What do you want with me?!"
"I don't want you Kari, I need you," Dagomon corrected her. "I have realized that if I wish to expand my territory, I need servants more powerful than the Dark Ones. And of course, the two prime elements are light and darkness. When you were chosen to be the Digidestined of Light, you became the pinnacle of light, a physical manifestation of it. I realized that if you were to become my bride, then you would give birth to a new line of servants for me, beings that have the power of light and darkness combined. With my new servants and my bride of light, I will be able to expand my kingdom into the Digital World, and eventually the Human World!"
"Never!" TK yelled in fury. "There's no way Kari would ever marry some freak like you!"
(Play Digimon Tamers: Panic)
"Silence!" Dagomon roared, slamming a tentacle down in front of TK. "It is not your decision to make, child of Hope! Millenniummon is right when he says that there must be light and darkness in both worlds, but the only way there can truly be balance between these two elements is if there are beings wielding both powers together." The tentacled Digimon then extended his left limb towards Kari. "Come, my dear. Accept your new destiny and become my bride of light. With our combined power, we shall spread our kingdom through out the Digital World and Real World. And then…we shall have peace."
Kari could only look at Dagomon with a horrified expression. This…sick thing that she couldn't even call a Digimon…wanted to mate with her so he could use their children for world domination. Her throat went completely dry and her arms went limp. Was this truly her destiny?
"I've heard enough of this!" said Terriermon. "Henry, I think we need to go all out!"
"I don't know Terriermon," Henry eyed Dagomon apprehensively. "This guy may be no different from the Sovereigns in terms of power!"
"And we've stood up to them before," Terriermon replied. "Don't tell me we're not going to fight him!"
"…we are," Henry said, looking up at Dagomon again. "We're not letting him have his way here! I'm just worried he may be too strong for us."
"Then we'll fight him together!" said Rika, holding up her D-Arc. "Renamon, are you ready?"
"I am," Renamon nodded.
"Henry?" Terriermon asked again. Henry hesitated, looking from Dagomon to the Dark Ones to Kari's shaking form. He knew they would have to fight to get out of this. Hopefully, they would be able to all get out of here.
"Right. Let's do this!" Henry held up his D-Arc as well and yelled two words with Rika.
(Play Digimon: One Vision MegaGargomon Version)
"BIOMERGE ACTIVATE!"
"TERRIERMON BIOMERGE TOOO…MEGAGARGOMON!"
"RENAMON BIOMERGE TOOO…SAKUYAMON!"
Davis, TK and Kari stared in awe as Henry and Rika combined with Terriermon and Renamon to form MegaGargomon, a giant green robot Digimon with jet engines and a dog-like face, and Sakuyamon, a beautiful woman wearing black and gold armor with a long golden staff in her hands.
"They're amazing…!" Veemon gasped.
"Humans and Digimon evolving together?" Dagomon asked, interest in his voice. "How intriguing. You think this will be enough to defeat me?"
"Does this answer your question?!" MegaGargomon asked, firing up his engines and expanding his ears like wings to fly. The machine Digimon flew up and pulled back his fist. With a yell of "POWER PUMMEL!", the fist connected with Dagomon's face. The punch contained great force that actually forced Dagomon to step back.
'Such strength…!' he thought in surprise as MegaGargomon flipped backwards, kicking him in the jaw before opening up a number of ports on his body.
"MEGA BARRAGE!" A shower of missiles and rockets pelted Dagomon in explosions, pushing him back further.
"This power you possess is impressive, but do not think it will be enough to keep me from the girl!" Dagomon summoned another trident in his hand and slammed it into the water, creating more water pillars that attempted to strike MegaGargomon.
"AMETHYST MANDALA!" Sakuyamon flew in front of MegaGargomon and raised her staff in the air, creating a barrier of magic energy that blocked the water funnels. Dagomon merely chuckled as he threw his trident again, shattering the barrier and nearly knocking the two Mega level Digimon out of the sky. Fortunately, MegaGargomon and Sakuyamon regained themselves and continued battling Dagomon. On the ground below, the Dark Ones continued advancing for Kari, but GrapLeomon was able to push them back with another King of Fists attack.
"Takato, we need to get in there!" Guilmon said, wincing slightly as he stepped forward. Takato ran forward and kept his partner up on his feet.
"I'm sorry Guilmon, but you're still hurt from yesterday. We have to leave it to Henry and Rika."
"Not just them," said Jeri, walking over to Kari, who was still frozen stiff and unresponsive to Davis.
"Come on Kari, snap out of it! You can't let this squid freak have his way with you!"
"I…I don't know…"
"Kari, you can't let what Dagomon said get to you!" Jeri yelled, turning Kari around and looking at her right in the eyes. "Remember what I said! The only one that can decide your destiny is yourself, not anybody else! I know this isn't what you want! I know what you want is to be a Digidestined, to fight and protect everybody that protect and care about you, because you care about them as well!"
"She's right," said Davis. "Don't shut us out on this Kari. We're all in this together! If Dagomon wants you, then you need to take the fight to him and tell him that you'll never become his bride! And we'll be there for you every step of the way!"
Kari was in stunned disbelief at their strong words, which suddenly began strengthening her resolve. They were right. Dagomon was just like Myotismon, the Dark Masters and every other threat she had ever faced since becoming a Digidestined. And she hadn't done it alone. She had done it with everybody else by her side. Dagomon was no different. She was terrified of Dagomon violating her just so he could have an army, but she wouldn't let that fear get to her. She had to be strong, and when she had everybody by her side, that was when she was truly at her strongest, when her light shined the brightest.
"You're right. This," she gestured to the battle going on, "isn't my destiny. What I want…is to be with Davis, with Tai. TK, Sora, everybody else. I want to be with them forever and fight alongside them. I don't want to be Dagomon's wife. I'll stand up and resist him with every ounce of light I have!"
"You can count on us to help you as well Kari," said Davis. "Like you said, when we're all together, we can stand up to anything!"
"Then I say we get in there and fight!" said Veemon. "MegaGargomon and Sakuyamon are fighting Dagomon for Kari and the others…"
"And we'll do the same!" Gatomon ran forward with Veemon as Kari's Crest of Light appeared on her chest again, and Davis's Crest of Miracles began glowing as well, the two D-3s beeping loudly as the two Rookie level Digimon began changing.
(Play Digimon Adventurd: Brave Heart)
"GATOMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TOOO...OPHANIMON!"
VEEMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TOOO...IMPERIALDRAMON!"
"Ophanimon!" TK gasped as he laid eyes on Gatomon's Mega level for the first time in three years, a female angel with ten golden wings, teal armor with a white skirt, long blond hair, a helmet with animal faces on them, and a spear in her right hand with a shield in her left hand. TK then looked at Paildramon's Mega level, a giant blue dragon with black armor on his body, massive red wings, and what looked like a giant cannon on his back. "Then that has to be Veemon's Mega level!"
"It sure is," Takato said, scanning the massive dragon with his D-Ark. "Imperialdramon. A Mega level, Ancient Dragon type Digimon, Vaccine attribute. He's said to have immense power that makes him one of the strongest Digimon. His special attacks are firing the Positron Laser on his back, and Mega Crusher, where he fires dark matter from his mouth!"
"Imperialdramon, let's go!" said Ophanimon.
"Yeah! We got this fight!" Imperialdramon spread his wings and took flight at Dagomon. The squid Digimon was busy trying to hit MegaGargomon, he was caught off-guard when the dragon Digimon slammed into his side and charged up the cannon on his back.
"POSITRON LASER!" The energy beam hit Dagomon full in the chest, and the dark aquatic lord was sent back several feet. Breathing heavily, he looked up to see Ophanimon looking down at him with a sneer on her face. Her eyes, concealed by her helmet, held anger for everything Dagomon had done to her partner over the last several days.
"Do you honestly think you can save this girl from her fate and escape from this world without being destroyed, Ophanimon?" Dagomon asked with a chuckle. "I'll destroy you all and take Kari alive! FORBIDDEN TRIDENT!"
"EDEN'S JAVELIN!" Ophanimon raised her spear and a beam of light flew out, hitting the trident and sending it flying into the water.
"You underestimate the power of light Dagomon," said the female angel as she flew over to Imperialdramon, MegaGargomon and Sakuyamon. "You think Kari will be your queen, but she has not chosen that has her destiny, and she never shall. You crave the power of light, but it will prove to be your undoing! SEFIROT CRYSTAL!"
"GARGO MISSILES!"
"MEGA CRUSHER!"
"SPIRIT STRIKE!"
Ophanimon's ten crystals flew forward along with the two giant missiles fired from MegaGargomon's shoulders, a ball of dark matter fired from Imperialdramon's mouth, and four foxes colored red, blue, yellow and green from Sakuyamon's belt. Dagomon smirked at the oncoming attacks and summoned another trident in his hands, slamming it into the water and creating a wall of water in front of him. The multitude of attacks collided with the water wall in an explosion that forced Dagomon back. Though the explosion didn't destroy him, it did leave several injuries on his body in the form of burns and scratches.
"You forget. Here in the water, I am dominant," the ocean god said with a laugh. "My servants! Return to me at once!" The Dark Ones that were still approaching the Digidestined and were being forced back by GrapLeomon and Guilmon, stopped moving forward and started moving backwards, sinking down into the black waters of the ocean. Dagomon continued laughing as he moved back from the Digimon and began sinking down into the ocean.
"Running away? You coward," Sakuyamon spat.
"I shall let you have this victory today, Digidestined," said Dagomon. "It seems clear that I made a mistake attempting to take my bride when she had so much protection. Know this, Digidestined: I am a patient Digimon. I have all the patience in the world and I do not mind waiting a little longer. This is only the beginning."
"Hey, get back here!" Davis yelled, running to the shore of the beach as he glared at Dagomon's sinking figure. "I swear, squid-face, we're not done yet! Get back here and face us like the god you say you are! I'll teach you a lesson for trying to take Kari!"
"Davis, that's enough," said GrapLeomon. "There's nothing much we can do. As Dagomon said, he's letting us win today. It would be best to not antagonize him any further."
"Besides, we don't know how strong this guy really is," said TK. "He was able to resist the combined attack of four Mega level Digimon, and he's only an Ultimate level."
"I guess you were right Takato," said Patamon. "Dagomon is one tough Digimon."
"Yeah, and like he said, this is just the beginning," Takato said. "We'll have to keep an eye out for him in the future."
"Argh…I know…" Davis muttered. "Damn it…first Millenniummon and now this…"
"At least we managed to save Kari and Jeri," Takato looked over to the brunette Tamer. "Are you okay, Jeri?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jeri said with a nod, "but Kari, though…" the group looked over to see Kari standing still. The bearer of Light stared out at the waters where she saw Dagomon and the Dark Ones retreat. It would be a while before she could forget the cold and wet grip around her arm, as well as Dagomon's leering face and disgusting appearance, nor could she forget what they said to her.
"Kari…it's all right now," Ophanimon said, landing in front of her partner and placing her hands on Kari's shoulders.
"I want to go home…" Kari said finally.
"Don't worry…we're going home," Davis said softly. "Why do you think we came for you and Jeri?" Kari couldn't help but offer a small smile. Davis could always cheer her up when she was upset.
"One question," said MegaGargomon. "How do we get out of here?"
Kari looked upwards and saw a pink light appearing from above, shooting down from the clouds and lighting up where everybody stood.
"I guess that's the way out of here," said Imperialdramon. "It's the only thing that's not black…"
"Then let's go," said Sakuyamon, taking flight with MegaGargomon and Ophanimon, the latter picking up Kari in her arms. TK, Patamon, Davis, Jeri, Elecmon, Takato and Guilmon climbed on Imperialdramon's back before the massive dragon flew up into the light. As soon as they cleared the clouds, the light changed from pink to white. The light stayed like that for a few moments before it faded, revealing Coela Point on File Island. Kari couldn't help but smile, happy to finally be out of that dark world.
Once the Digimon landed, MegaGargomon and Sakuyamon split back into Henry and Terriermon and Rika and Renamon. Imperialdramon reverted all the way to DemiVeemon and Ophanimon became Nyaromon.
"Finally!" Terriermon breathed, flopping on his back in the sand. "I was wondering when we would lose squidly!"
"I better send a message to the others and let them know that we made it out safe," Davis pulled out his D-Terminal and began typing a message to the others back in the Human World. As Davis typed, TK walked up to Kari slowly, thinking about what he wanted to say.
"Kari…is it okay if we talk for a minute?" Kari looked up at TK and hesitated slightly, regret filling her as she thought about what she said earlier to him at school.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Akogare)
"Yeah…I think we should," she nodded. "TK, I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier about you and Matt. It's just…I've lived with Tai ever since I was born, and Davis has been my best friend ever since we were six. They've always been there for me, they understand me better than most people. I didn't understand why you said that, but I think I understand now. It's not just Tai and Davis I can rely on and draw strength from. You, Jeri, Yolei and everybody else will be there for me because they care about me. And I can go to them as well. That's what you were trying to say, right?"
"Yeah…it was, to some extent," said TK. "I wanted to try and make you understand that there could be a day when you'll have to face something alone, but I was wrong. We all need each other." The blond haired boy walked forward a little before sitting down on the sand. "You were right when I said that Matt and I haven't lived with each other for eight years. My mom was able to take care of me, but shortly after our first adventures here, I began taking care of myself more. My mom worked late at the newspaper, and I lived in Setagaya, which was quite a way from Odaiba…I guess I just wanted you to be independent as well like me. But at the end of the day, you're you and I'm me. And I guess in the heat of earlier today, I forgot about that we always need help…" TK looked over to see Davis with the Tamers.
"You're right," Kari smiled, looking over as well. "But I realize now I have friends that care about me and want to help me…and I want to do the same as well for them."
"Guys, I just got a message from Tai!" Davis called to everybody. "Izzy's computer is ready for us. Let's find us a Digital Gate!" The group nodded and began walking into the forest to find a television.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Takato asked Jeri, staying in the back of the walking group. "I mean, to be in a place like the Dark Ocean…it must have been scary for you."
"Well…I was scared at first…" Jeri said, looking downcast. "Being in that Dark World and feeling the sadness and anguish…it was very much like when I was in the D-Reaper. But…I didn't stay afraid for long. I was able to eventually fight back against the D-Reaper, and I did the same in the Dark World."
"And Elecmon managed to Digivolve to Ultimate because of it," said Guilmon.
"Because I could feel Jeri's strength," Elecmon said, looking up to Jeri proudly. "Like I said before Jeri…you have grown stronger."
"I know," Jeri said with a sweet smile. "Right, Takato?"
"Uh…yeah! Right…" Takato stammered at the smile, his cheeks flushing red. The group finally found a television set and went through it, finding themselves back in the Human World, and Kari found herself being grabbed in a tight hug by Tai.
"Kari…thank goodness you're all right…"
"I'm okay Tai…" Kari returned the embrace tightly as well. "I had my friends with me…"
"You guys look like you've been through hell," Matt said, taking in the kids' rumpled and wet clothes.
"Believe me Matt, I think we were in Hell," TK sighed, picking up Patamon. "You guys have got to listen to what we found out."
"It's very important," added Henry, getting everybody's attention. The Digidestined and the Tamers walked out of the bay so they could talk more privately. As they walked, Renamon caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of her eye and turned to see someone moving behind a tree. The kitsune's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What is it, Renamon?" Rika noticed her partner had stopped walking and wondered what caught her attention.
"I'm not sure Rika…I thought I saw something move over there," she motioned to the tree in her sight. "It could have been just a squirrel or a bird…but it looked big." Rika eyed the tree with suspicion as well before shrugging.
"Let's hope it was just an animal," she said before walking again. "The last thing we need is for any humans to find us out in the open…"
Daigo held his breath as he slowly peeked out from behind the tree. Whoever the girl's partner was, she definitely had amazing senses to see and hear him from far away. He would have to be more careful in the future whenever the girl with the red hair and yellow Digimon was with the children.
'Oh boy…Maki and the others aren't going to like this…' he thought to himself as he walked back to his van.
Dagomon merely sighed as he sat on his throne again in his castle, situated in the middle of the vast Dark Ocean. Today had been his one opportunity to get to the Child of Light, but it slipped through his tentacles. Millenniummon would soon begin the next phase of his plan…and during that time, she would be out of his reach.
"We are sorry master…we have failed you…" one of the Dark Ones stated, kneeling before his god.
"It matters not…" Dagomon growled softly. "Today may not have been how I planned things…but I do not mind waiting a little while longer. Soon, she shall be mine. And when she does become mine, there will finally be peace…" He chuckled, knowing when the time came again, he would be unstoppable against the Digidestined, as well as the Digimon Tamers…
(Play Days: Aijou to Nichijou TV Size)
END CHAPTER 19
The Dark Ocean has finally arrived in this story, we learn of its origins and Dagomon's reasons for wanting Kari, and Dagomon appears to be a powerful opponent for our heroes to fight in the future. Now, we can only wonder when he will strike next.
It actually won't be long. In my profile, I stated that I had plans for the Dark Ocean to return in the third story arc of Adventure Tamers along with the Daemon Corps, but after much thinking, I've decided to change the story around a bit. The Dark Ocean mini-arc will take place shortly after the team defeats Millenniummon and frees Ken, and before they go to the Tamers' dimension. I've made this decision as for several plot reasons that I will not reveal right now.
In the next chapter, the hunt for the remaining Digimentals begins. Yolei attempts to take control of a mission, but a terrible accident has the others calling her out for being selfish and stubborn, as well as attention-seeking. Yolei must now be honest with herself and wonder if this is the life she wants to live.