Within the hospital room at DATS HQ, Jeri sat silently next to one of the two beds, where the unconscious form of Takato lay upon one bed, bandages wrapped around his chest, while on the other bed, Guilmon, who was on his stomach, bandages around his chest and right arm, was lying unconscious as well.
"Takato..." Jeri whispered with tears in her eyes as she caressed her boyfriend's hair, saying with a sad smile. "Things... things are getting worse. Kari's turned the others against us. Henry, Rika, they're... they're doing so many horrible things..."
"We need you... I need you. Please wake up Takato." Jeri whispered as she rested her head on the unconscious Tamer's chest, sobbing silently as she closed her eyes, wishing that the brunette would wake up already.
A few minute later, however, Jeri's eyes snapped open as she heard a light groan, quickly sitting up in the hope that Takato was waking, only to see that he was still asleep, before she remembered the other occupant of the room, turning to see Guilmon slowly and painfully open his eyes.
"Hey, Guilmon, how are you feeling?" Jeri asked as she turned her chair and placed a comforting hand on the Digimon's back.
"My head hurts." Guilmon whined, still feeling the pain coursing through his body, before adding. "And my tummy feels empty. Can I get some bread please?"
"We'll ask the nurse when she comes by again." Jeri said with a smile, feeling hope that, now that Guilmon was awake, that Takato would not be that far behind.
-Briefing room-
Despite their win with Omnimon Alter-S, the team could still see that the situation in the Digital World was getting worse.
Mimi was still held up in her room, unresponsive to anyone who tried to reach her, the only sign that she was still alive was when she would open the door to get the tray of food Palmon left for her.
"It looks like a large portion of the Dark Army is heading straight for Omni City." Miki informed as she looked over the computer, seeing the dark forces of Kari advancing through the area, attacking and corrupting the Digimon and the area all around.
This news was troubling for the heroes and heroines.
Omni City was the largest city in the new Digital World, five times the size of Odaiba, built by the Digimon from the various Digital Worlds after the merger as a sign of peace and prosperity for the new world, and was home to millions of Digimon, each of whom could end up as another soldier in Kari's army.
Miki then brought up on the monitors an image of the vast army making their way to the city, where Sampson began to say. "Alright, we need to find a way to slow down or stop that army in its tracks, let's send..."
However, before Sampson could finish in his orders, Megumi called out. "Chief Sampson, someone just used the Digi-Port!"
The group all looked around, before noticing that Takuya, JP and Koichi were missing, concerning the various Digimon teams and causing Tai to start to question. "What... why did they...!?"
"I think I know why." Thomas replied as he zoomed in on the front of the army, causing the groups' eyes to widen.
"We need to help them." Matt said, ready to get back into the fight.
"We can't, the Digi-Ports aren't fully repaired yet. If you go in there now, none of you will be able to get back until tomorrow." Miki explained in reply, earning a growl of frustration from the blond, where Matt and the group could only watch and pray for the Legendary Warriors.
-Digital World-
On one side of the scene, off in the distance, the lights of Omni City could be seen, while on the other side, a vast sea of glowing purple eyes made their way towards it, with Shadow Beasts, the hooded guards, and Dark Ocean creatures among them.
At the head of the army, Kazemon, Lobomon and Kumamon walked towards their destination, each having the same vacant expressions on their faces.
And like his Beast Spirit form, Kumamon was also showing signs of his corruption, with his green attire now a light shade of black and the rocket launcher he wielded now shaded in dark red.
"Pyro Darts!"
"Thunder Fist!"
"Shadow Meteor!"
The three attacks combined of flame, electricity and darkness hit the ground before the enslaved Legendary Warriors, causing them to halt, where Kazemon rose her hand, causing the army to stop behind them, as the enslaved Warriors turned their heads and mindlessly watched as Agunimon, Beetlemon, and Loweemon landed in front of them.
"Alright, Kari. We know our friends can't hear us, but we know you can." Agunimon called, casting his fists in flame as he declared. "This ends now!"
From the determination of the Warrior of Flame, the sound of a sinister laugh filled the air as Kari's Shadow appeared hovering above the Dark Army, where the Dark Queen said with a wicked smile. "This should be fun to watch. Kill them my puppet Warriors!"
At hearing the voice of their Queen, Kazemon, Kumamon and Lobomon were sent in, showing their loyalties to Kari as they attacked their former friends.
"Hurricane Wave..." Kazemon started off, gathering dark energy in her finger tips that she then released as a powerful wind towards Agunimon.
"Blizzard Blaster..." Kumamon followed up, drawing forward his weapon and fired, shooting off a series of snowballs, which quickly turned into icicles as they flew towards Beetlemon.
"Howling Laser..." Lobomon said, lacking his usual determined voice as he aimed his shoulder mounted weapon at the uncorrupted Warriors and fired off a blast of pure darkness at Loweemon.
The three uncorrupted Warriors dodged the attacks, before moving in close to fight their mind controlled friends.
"Sorry about this, Zoe. Pyro Punch!" Agunimon called with a mighty voice as his right fist became covered in flames, where he tried to hit the Warrior of Wind, only for Zoe to dodge his attack and twist her body in a circle, delivering a kick to his stomach and sending the Warrior of Fire back a few feet.
While Takuya suffered once again at Kazemon's attack, Beetlemon was in a similar situation.
"Proton Slam!" He called, charging his horn up with thunder as he rushed at Kumamon, ready to slam his electrified horn into the manipulated Warrior of Ice, but found Kumamon just remained in place, not even flinching at the stampeding form that was Beetlemon.
"Crystal Freeze..." Kumamon simply said, releasing an icy breath, where the ground around Beetlemon's feet froze, causing him to lose control and slip, falling to his stomach and groaned at the humiliating position he was in.
"Seriously, Tommy? That's not cool!" Beetlemon whined.
"Frozen Tundra..." Kumamon then called out as he jumped into the air, his body changing into a icicle, before coming crashing down, causing Beetlemon to quickly roll over as the tip of the icicle slammed into the ground.
While Takuya and JP were having no luck in their fights, Koichi was actually holding his own against Lobomon.
"Lobo Kendo..." Lobomon called mindlessly, drawing out his blade, the Beo Saber, only it no longer produced a line of light, but was consisting of a crimson red energy, to which the manipulated Warrior of Light then attacked, swinging his blade at Loweemon, who defended with his spear.
"Koji, brother, you once saved me from a corrupting darkness, now it's my turn!" Loweemon declared as he pushed his enslaved brother back, before he then called out. "Shadow Meteor!"
Attacking fast, Loweemon gathered his dark energy within the lion shaped chestplate, before casting it forth, releasing the darkness at Lobomon, which struck the brainwashed Warrior of Light, forcing him to defend as he brought up his blades, deflecting what darkness he could as he was slowly pushed back.
Kari, meanwhile, watched the fighting through her Shadow Form with some amusement, seeing that, although he was losing, Takuya was having a better time fighting against Zoe, knowing what to expect from Takuya from Zoe's last encounter, while laughing at the sight of JP dodging Tommy's attacks.
And finally, the Dark Queen found the fight between the brothers very amusing, seeing the irony in the whole thing.
"I think it's time to change this up a little." Kari then said, before snapping her fingers.
At the sound, Kazemon, Lobomon and Kumamon jumped back, before each were surrounded in cocoons of dark Data.
"Slide-Evolution..." the three enslaved Warriors declared, before the cocoons broke, revealing them now in their Beast Spirit forms.
"Zephyrmon..."
"KendoGarurumon..."
"Korikakumon..."
Like their Human spirit forms, Zephyrmon and KendoGarurumon were showing their corruption in their forms, with Zephyrmon's armour now black and her eyes glowing purple, while KendoGarurumon was now a mix of crimson red and black, shocking Agunimon, Beetlemon and Loweemon to see the three change to such wicked looking forms.
And back at DATS, the group watched with worry and frustration at seeing the three undergo their corrupt Slide Evolutions, wishing that they could do more to help.
Sampson, however, was deep in thought, before he looked at Miki and asked. "Can we still send messages to the Digital World?"
"Yes, but I don't see..." Miki started to say, before the DATS Commander cut in and ordered. "I need you to contact a few people, we have little time..."
Back on the battlefield, Agunimon regained his focus as he called to Beetlemon and Loweemon. "Guys, we need to use our Beast Spirits!"
The two snapped out of their shock and looked at the Warrior of Fire, nodding their heads in agreement, before the three of them were also surrounded in cocoons of Data.
"Slide-Evolution!" The three Warriors declared, the cocoons bursting and revealing their Beast Spirit forms.
"BurningGreymon!"
"MetalKabuterimon!"
"JagerLoweemon!"
Finished in the own changes to their Beast Spirits, BurningGreymon, MetalKabuterimon and JagerLoweemon remained in combat with their respective opponents, where the Warrior of Flame turned the Rudri Tarpana gauntlets toward Zephyrmon and attacked.
"Pyro Barrage!" He yelled, firing off blast after blast from both gauntlets at Zephyrmon, but found his attacks were in vain, watching as the enslaved Warrior of Wind easily dodged the blasts, as though dancing through the air, before she quickly closed the distance between them.
"Plasma Paws..." Zephyrmon then declared as her claws and feet were covered in red energy, dashing forward as she slashed at BurningGreymon's side, causing him to growl in pain, backing away to give himself distance and recover, before quickly turning at facing his enslaved girlfriend.
"Wildfire Tsunami!" He yelled out, his body being covered in fire as he unleashed the inferno at Zephyrmon.
"Hurricane Gale..." Zephyrmon merely declared in response, throwing her arms out and sending a massive wave of wind at Takuya's flame attack, causing both to disperse mid-air as they collided.
Groaning at seeing Zephyrmon's power, within BurningGreymon's being, Takuya thought aloud. "This is going to be tougher than I expected, but for you, Zoe, I won't give up."
Resuming his fight with the enslaved Warrior of Ice, MetalKabuterimon braced himself.
"Bolo Thunder!" MetalKabuterimon called, bringing up his hands and firing off a set of twin bolts of electricity that formed a chain as they spun around each other and toward Tommy's Beast Spirit form.
But MetalKabuterimon was left in surprise when the enslaved Warrior of Ice swatted the attack away with his axes like it was nothing, giving off a beastial roar as he charged at JP.
"Frozen Arrowheads..." Korikakumon declared, where his braided hairs shot out and began to wrap around MetalKabuterimon, causing the Warrior of Thunder to groan and cry out as he felt the braids tighten around his body, crushing him.
But looking ahead, the Warrior of Thunder could see the corrupt form of Korikakumon getting closer, his axes drawn and obviously preparing to slice him to bits.
Struggling, MetalKabuterimon managed to get his head down, where his horn began to fill with energy.
"Sorry to do this to you, pal, but you left me no other option." MetalKabuterimon apologized, part of him hating what he was about to do to his friend, but knew it was needed to ensure both would survive in the long run.
"Electron Cannon!" He then bellowed, releasing the stored energy as a great and powerful blast.
Seeing the oncoming attack, Korikakumon was force to release his hold on the Warrior of Thunder and leapt aside as he dodged the attack, allowing MetalKabuterimon to move back, giving some distance between the two.
"That was too close. If I don't think of something, I'm as good as gone." JP said from within his Beast Spirit body, concerned how he could defeat Korikakumon if the Warrior of Ice continued to show such relentlessness in their fight.
Lastly, the Warriors of Light and Darkness continued to fight, clashing against each other like wild beasts as they tried to get in a bite, swipe or claw attack on their enemy.
"Ebony Blast!" JagerLoweemon then announced, gathering dark energy into his mouth, before firing it at his corrupted brother.
"Lupine Laser..." KendoGarurumon merely declared, gathering crimson red energy in his mouth and firing it off at the oncoming darkness, causing a massive explosion in the air before them as the sets of dark attacks collided.
Not letting up, determined to save Koji, JagerLoweemon continued to attack.
"Dark Master!" The Warrior of Darkness then called as a black aura surrounded him, before he shot forward at the corrupted Warrior of Light.
"Howling Star..." KendoGarurumon declared in response, his body covered in a crimson light, before he shot forward to meet his enemy, both clashing against one another, causing a massive shockwave, before both bounced back from the combined attacks, where they began to circle one another like a set of beasts ready for another standoff.
Koichi waited to see what move his brother would make next, only to look shocked when he saw another cocoon of dark energy surround KendoGarurumon.
"Fusion Evolution..." Koji declared as the cocoon exploded, revealing his Fusion form. "BeoWolfmon..."
At seeing BeoWolfmon, not only afraid of the power of the Fusion Evolved Digimon, but also his appearance, JagerLoweemon backed up slowly, having a hard enough time with KendoGarurumon, but knew fighting against BeoWolfmon would put his life in great risk.
And like all his other forms, BeoWolfmon was showing his corrupted form as well, with his armour red and black, while the blade on his hand looked silver instead of gold.
Hearing the transformation, BurningGreymon looked over and saw BeoWolfmon slowly walk towards Koichi.
'Not good, need to act fast!' Takuya though as he quickly dodged one of Zephyrmon's Plasma Paw attacks, seeing that she remained mindlessly focused on attacking him than the changes that were occuring around their battle.
"Koichi, take Zoe, I've got him!" BurningGreymon yelled as he backed away and flew straight at BeoWolfmon, where his body was consumed in Data.
"Fusion Evolution!" Takuya called out, before he revealed his Fusion form as he declared. "Aldamon!"
Landing before BeoWolfmon, Aldamon glared at the manipulated Warrior of Light, angered that Kari was using Koji's great power for her own selfish benefits, in this case, to destroy their friends.
But knowing he had to treat Koji as any other dark Digimon, Takuya attacked, rushing at the manipulated Warrior of Light and swung at him with a right hook, which BeoWolfmon blocked with his blade, pushing Aldamon back as he went on the offensive.
"Frozen Hunter..." The enslaved Warrior of Light declared, raising his blade, where dark red energy took form around BeoWolfmon as a massive wolf, that he then cast off, throwing his attack directly at Aldamon.
However, knowing Koji's attacks it allowed Aldamon to act, where he leapt up and avoided the strike of energy.
But as he began to land, Aldamon saw BeoWolfmon lunge at him with his sword drawn, swinging it and slamming the blade into Aldamon's shoulder, sending him crashing down to the ground and causing a great impact.
"Cleansing Light..." BeoWolfmon then declared, raising his left hand, where he fired off a blast of glowing darkness into the crater.
"Atomic Inferno!" Aldamon declared through the smoke, unleashing a barrage of fireballs up at his opponent, blocking the attack and causing BeoWolfmon to move back, where Zephyrmon landed next to him, while Korikakumon landed next to her.
Looking up at his corrupted and brainwashed friends from the crater, Aldamon then saw MetalKabuterimon and JagerLoweemon move on either side of him as the six Warriors faced each other.
"This would be cool to watch if it wasn't so depressing." Kenta said aloud as everyone at DATS watched the fighting between close friends.
Back at the fight, Aldamon, MetalKabuterimon and JagerLoweemon then heard a sinister laugh as they looked above their enslaved friends, seeing the Shadow of the Dark Queen floating above them.
"Now that was entertaining. It's so much fun seeing how weak you really are." Kari said with a devious smile, her words causing JP and Koichi to flinch within their beast forms.
"I don't have to worry about Susanoomon ever showing up, and without Zoe and Tommy, you can't even become EmperorGreymon, so Aldamon is all you can hope to use against me, especially since these two are practically useless." Kari said as she looked at JP and Koichi with a mocking grin.
However, instead of feeling down or beaten, Takuya smirked, confusing Kari a little, where Aldamon then said. "I might not be able to become Susanoomon or even EmperorGreymon, but neither can your puppets. Without JP and Koichi, you don't have MagnaGarurumon, and Zoe and Tommy are in the same situation with their spirits are they are, so in the end, we're still evenly matched."
Instead of getting on her nerve like he wanted to, however, Takuya looked worried as Kari gained a dark smile, where she said. "That's true about MagnaGarurumon, but I don't need him right now."
"And as for Zoe and Tommy..." Kari then started to say as her Shadow floated down, where she placed one hand on Zephyrmon's shoulder and the other on Korikakumon's arm, before they glowed a dark aura.
The next moment, much to Takuya, JP and Koichi's shock, cocoons of dark Data surrounded both Zephyrmon and Korikakumon, showing that they were evolving as Takuya said in shock. "No... it can't be."
"Fusion Evolution..." The two declared, before the cocoon around Zephyrmon bursted, revealing a whole new form for the Warrior of Wind.
Looking at the new form of Zoe, Aldamon and the others saw how Zoe's Spirits had fused into a corrupted being of darkness, where she maintained her feminine figure, which was now cast in a revealing ensemble, with her stomach exposed, her chest covered by a black top, which had a set of black metallic wings spurring from the back.
The lower region of Zoe's new form consisted of a pair of black pants, where a set of black shoes covered her feet, while a pair of black gloves covered her arms.
But the most noticeable features of this new Digimon form included the black face mask, concealing her mouth and nose, but allowed the Legendary Warriors to see Zoe's empty eyes, her hair style, which was short and shaded a deep blue, while in her possession was a giant pinwheel spear, the obvious new choice of weapon for her, which she swung around as she allowed her friends to know the name of her new form.
"JetSilphymon..." The enslaved Warrior of Wind declared as she slammed the bottom of her spear into the ground, the bladed tip piercing the soil beneath her.
With the enslaved Warrior of Ice however, the cocoon of dark Data began to grow, slowly at first, then much faster, much to the shock of those watching, eventually stopping when it was about the same size as a Cherubimon, before bursting, causing the three uncorrupted Warriors to turn their heads up, with Aldamon's mouth gaping open as they stared in awe and shock at the new form Tommy took.
Staring down at Aldamon and the others with a vacantness was the Warrior of Ice, who had taken to a penguin-like form, which had black feathers covering its entire being, while in both hands it wielded a set of giant red popsicles, causing MetalKabuterimon to comment nervously. "Somebody's had a serious growth spurt."
"Daipenmon..." The enslaved Warrior of Ice declared as he continued to look down at his former friends.
Stunned, Mikey spoke up from back at DATS, where he told the others. "We fought one of those before, Daipenmon is a powerful enemy."
"How can something be cute and terrifying at the same time!?" Airu questioned a loud, causing the others to shake their heads, even if they silently agreed with her.
"Oh, so he turns into that Digimon, good to know..." Lilithmon said as she grinned, watching the fight from the safety of the Dark Fortress, recalling how close she was to absolute power with her Daipenmon, if Shoutmon and Knightmon hadn't interfered.
"Dang Tommy...!" Was all Aldamon could say as he looked up at the massive new form of the Warrior of Ice.
"Now then, my pets, show them your new power. But just break them, they'll serve me better alive then dead." The Dark Queen commanded with a smirk.
"Ultra Turbulence..." JetSilphymon declared as she obeyed Kari, where she drew her pinwheel forward, towards her former friends, where the pinwheel began to spin very fast, causing the three to groan against the wind that shot out from the spinning blades, before they were thrown back a few feet, crashing into the crater wall.
"Ice Crusher Avalanche..." Daipenmon followed up as he released a great onslaught of snow from his beak, trying to bury those he now considered his enemies, causing JagerLoweemon to quickly move and dodge the attack, while Aldamon grabbed MetalKabuterimon, picking him up and flew upward, avoiding the oncoming wave of snow.
Setting MetalKabuterimon down, Aldamon quickly turned and used his gauntlets to guard him as BeoWolfmon struck him with his blade, while JetSilphymon did the same with her pinwheel spear, showing that the pinwheel itself was just as sharp as the blade tip, where Aldamon struggled against their combined efforts to hurt him.
Kari, meanwhile, laughed wickedly, loving the sight before her, and looking forward to soon having three more puppets to join her army, as well as the power they would give her.
"Draining Rain!" A very familiar voice then called out as a huge black cloud appeared above the battle, aimed at BeoWolfmon, JetSilphymon and Daipenmon, before a huge amount of water rained down, causing the corrupted warriors to move back as the water hit them, feeling a portion of their power sapped away, while Aldamon, MetalKabuterimon and JagerLoweemon jumped back to the upper edge of the crater as it filled with water, where Daipenmon stood at the center, the water only covering half his body.
"What the...?" Aldamon started to ask, before a water spout shot up near them, where a familiar Digimon rested on the end of it as she waved to them.
"Hello there boys, y'all miss me?" Ranamon, the Warrior of Water, asked as she giggled lightly, surprising the three uncorrupted Warriors by her presence.
When the Digital Worlds were merged, Ranamon, along with the other four remaining Warriors that served Cherubimon were reborn, cleansed of evil, and willing to help out the Digi-heroes and heroines wherever they got the chance.
"Ranamon!? What are you doing here?" Aldamon asked with surprise.
"Well I just wanted to tell you that the plan was going well and since the others didn't need my help anymore, I decided to see what all this fuss was about." Ranamon replied with a continued smile and cheerfulness.
Confused, MetalKabuterimon asked. "Plan? What plan?"
"You know, you guys keep these fellas here distracted, while Grumblemon, Mercurymon, Arbormon, and little ol' me helped clear out the city before they got there." Ranamon replied, causing Kari's eyes to widen, where she momentarily returned to her body, looking down at the viewing pool with growing anger.
Within it, she saw Mercurymon and Arbormon helping to load in the last remaining Digimon from the city onto Trailmon, while Gigasmon was moving around, destroying the entrances to the city and creating barriers to delay her army as long as possible.
"Right, that plan..." Aldamon replied with a nervous chuckle as Takuya thought. 'Sampson must have contacted them. He's going to kill us when we get back.'
However, the three then widened their eyes as the waterspout with Ranamon on it moved to the other side of the crater, moving so that she was eye leveled with JetSilphymon, who floated just above the water.
"And what is up with you, little missy? Attacking your friends like that?" Ranamon questioned, getting no reply from JetSilphymon, which made a tick mark appear on Ranamon's head, where her anger and jealousy got the better of her as she questioned. "What's with the silent treatment, is it because you have another smokin' form you transform into? Hey, are you even listening to a word I say, or are you tryin' to annoy me!?"
"Ranamon, get away from them!" JagerLoweemon called out, causing Ranamon to calm down, where she looked back at him with confusion.
"Why? What seems...?" Ranamon started to ask as she turned back, only to let out a shriek as she ducked her head, just as the pinwheel blade came close to where her head was.
"Hey! Watch where you swing that thing! You could've damaged my beautiful features." Ranamon yelled at JetSilphymon, causing Aldamon to sweatdrop.
"Even when she's fighting for good, she is still as vain as ever." He sighed.
She then let out another shirek as BeoWolfmon swung his blade, causing her to fall off her waterspout, where she emerged from the water with a tick mark, before she felt a large shadow over her head, looking up as her eyes widened to see a massive red popsicle coming down towards her, causing her to shirek once more, before using her water abilities to quickly get out of the way, moving back towards Aldamon, MetalKabuterimon and JagerLoweemon as the popsicle hit the water, causing a large tsunami that Ranamon quickly pushed back at the Warrior of Ice.
"Now what was that all about!? They're acting all crazy and the like." Ranamon questioned as she watched the three corrupted Warriors.
"Kari's controlling them. Long story short, Kari has switched sides and now calls herself the Dark Queen." Aldamon explained, causing Ranamon's eyes to widen in disbelief as she asked. "You mean Kari Kamiya, that sweet little thing!? Why would she go all dark, especially after all the good...?"
"Kill Them!" Kari screamed in rage as she returned to her Shadow Form, causing not only her enslaved puppets to move, but her entire army as well, all heading straight for the four uncorrupted Warriors.
"Um... Now might be a good time to run." JP suggested as MetalKabuterimon Slide-Evolved back to Beetlemon, taking to the air as Aldamon replied. "Good idea."
"Hop on." JagerLoweemon said to Ranamon as he approached her, the Warrior of Water not even hesitating as she jumped onto his back, where the four quickly took off, outpacing most of the army thanks to the crater.
"We seriously need to think of a new game plan here, Takuya. Attacking them outright just isn't working, especially when Kari can make them evolve at will." Beetlemon said as they flew as fast as they could away from their pursuers.
"We'll think of something." Aldamon replied, angry that they could not help Zoe, Koji or Tommy this time.
"No arguing, just keep running!" Ranamon cried from the back of JagerLoweemon, grasping her arms around his neck tightly, looking back fearfully at the mass that was trying to catch them.
-A few minutes later-
Having outrun Kari's army, the four arrived at a cave Ranamon told them to head to, where Arbormon, Mercurymon and Grumblemon were waiting for them.
"Well, if isn't the Legendary Warriors?" Mercurymon asked, smiling as he said. "How good to see thou once again."
"Good to see you too, though I wish it was under better circumstances." Takuya replied as he, JP, and Koichi returned to their human forms.
Takuya then looked behind him, trying not to bust out laughing, as Ranamon still clung to Koichi, kissing his cheek repeatedly as she said in joy. "Thank you, thank you."
"N.. no problem..." Koichi replied as his cheeks burned bright red, which JP and Takuya smirked at.
"C'mon now. Unless he plans to marry you, leave the kid alone." Arbormon then said, continuing to embarrass the Warrior of Darkness, while Takuya and JP stifled a laugh.
But getting serious, Takuya looked at Mercurymon and asked. "Were you able to clear Omni City?"
"Mostly, yet I dread to inform thee that a handful of fools refused to leave, wishing to fight to the bitter end." The Warrior of Metal said, causing the Warrior of Flame to sigh.
"They have guts, but against the power Kari is packing, they don't stand a chance." Grumblemon commented, inspired by the fighting spirit, but knew when it was time to retreat.
Takuya then thought for a moment, trying to think of someplace the Digimon they saved would be safe, before looking up, seeing a hole in the ceiling of the cave and seeing one of the Digital World's two moon.
"The Trailmon can still reach the moons right?" Takuya asked.
"Indeed they can, but why doth thee ask such a question?" Mercurymon asked back with some confusion in his voice.
"Please have the Trailmon take the Digimon there, and please go with them to protect them. If things get to bad, destroy the tracks, slow them down so that you guys have time to escape." Takuya said, wanting to put the safety of those of Omni City before anything else.
"What!? But we want to help you guys." Arbormon said, slamming his clenched fist into his palm as he declared. "We want to fight for good this time."
"Namely if it means staying by the side of such strong and handsome warriors as you." Ranamon added, continuing to show her affection toward Koichi, who continued to blush brightly.
"You guys are helping by keeping them away from Kari, otherwise she'll corrupt and enslave them, adding to her army. Protect them, I know you guys can do this." Takuya said, still finding it hard to believe that, only a few years ago, these four were their enemies, and now they were their allies.
Respecting Takuya, both his ideas and his power, Mercurymon nodded as he said compliently. "Thou art correct. And thine wish shalt be carried out."
While Abormon and Grumblemon joined with Mercurymon, the Warrior of Steel had to be more forceful with Ranamon.
"Ranamon, cease thine attention to the Warrior of Dark. We hath work to do." Mercurymon declared, where Arbormon approached and picked Ranamon up, carrying her off in his arm, where she shaked and waved her arms around frantically.
"Now come on, can't we rethink this plan? Maybe I could stay in the Real World and protect Koichi... and his friends?" Ranamon tried to reason, but Arbormon continued to keep a close hold on her, doing what he could to ignore her begging.
While the Warriors of Steel, Water, Earth and Wood were about to carry out their duties, Takuya smiled, nodding his head in thanks, as he, JP and Koichi readied to return to DATS.
-Meanwhile-
At the edge of the now mostly deserted Omni City, the Dark Army came to a halt, with the corrupted Warriors having returned to their human Spirit forms, before the army parted, all kneeling on one knee as Kari made her way through them.
Only now, instead of her shadow, Kari was there in person, with Gatomon on her left, Davis on the back of Raidramon, whose blue colours were now red, and Lilithmon behind her.
"Looks like no one's home, this place is deserted." Gatomon said in annoyance as she surveyed the entire city from their vantage point.
"Not entirely." Kari replied, raising her hand as she walked forward, telling her army and followers to stay put as she walked ahead of them.
At the next moment, however, the ground in front of Kari burst open as several residents that refused to leave then rushed out and tried to attack.
"You have fallen to Darkness, Kamiya, you have disgraced yourself! Now it is up to us to carry out judgement!" A SlashAngemon called out as he tried to swing his bladed hand at Kari, only to be shocked as Kari merely caught the blade with her hand.
"Pathetic." Kari replied, snapping the blade like it was glass, before several black tendrils appeared from her back and shot out, impaling the angel Digimon, causing him to cry out in pain as he dispersed into Data.
"Ok. That was unexpected." A Mushroomon said with a shakiness in his voice, where a Keramon beside the plant Digimon then said. "But we refuse to give up and allow you to just walk all over us."
Refusing to retreat, a Golemon then charged at the Dark Queen, ready to smash her with his hand, only for Kari's own fist to meet it, shattering the rock Digimon's arm, causing it to cry out in pain, before Kari opened her hand, causing a blast of dark energy to shoot out and incinerate him.
Taking down the two Digimon with ease, Kari then rose her hands, which glowed with a dark aura, before black tendrils shot out of her shadow, quickly dispatching the remaining Digimon like they were nothing but insects to her.
"That was amusing." Gatomon said as she walked up to her partner, Davis right next to her, before the feline then asked. "So... what do we do with an empty city?"
"It means nothing to me, we came for the Digimon." Kari replied, before a sinister smirk grew on her face as she added. "But for many Digimon, this city is one of hope."
"So many people think that hope can't be killed, but let's prove them wrong." Kari then said as she brought her hands once more, the dark aura around her intensifying as the Dark Storm above her crackled with dark energy.
Then, without warning or notice, dozens of black lighting bolts came crashing down at the center of the city, causing a massive explosion that engulfed everything.
Heading back to their Digi-Port, Takuya, JP and Koichi quickly turned at the sound of the large explosion, staring in shock to see what had happened, while many Digimon that were riding the Trailmon looked back in horror at seeing their home destroyed.
Back at DATS, the group look at the monitors fearfully, having first watched Kari destroy those Digimon on her own, and now seeing her single handedly destroy one of the largest cities in the Digital World.
As the remaining buildings were engulfed in black flames, Kari watched on with a dark smile and great satisfaction, hoping all saw this and know that those who defied her would suffer at her hands.