Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Would this be a fanfic if I did?

Honestly, Tai had been half expecting something like this to happen. Everyone had just finished talking about how their life wasn't as exciting as it had been six years ago when they were saving the world. With such an invitation like that, the universe was just bound to send something dangerous their way. So, when a demonic Digimon proclaimed he was going to destroy them, Tai was far from shocked. However, he did have to question if the universe was being serious with this, or just going through the motions. If it really wanted to harm the DigiDestined for complaining, wouldn't have sent something that didn't look like a tacky cross between a satyr and a bat? This Digimon was even kind enough to shout out that it was going to destroy them, and thus gave them time to prepare. He seemed to be putting on an act designed to scare any pre-teen child on their first trip into the Digital World. Unfortunately for him, his audience had gotten through much more terrifying experiences many times over. Still, a fight against an evil Digimon would prove to be an exciting way to start the reunion, so Tai decided to just enjoy the ride this time.

"Hey, Agumon," Tai whispered, "What do you say we have a little fun with this? He seems to be the grandstanding type, so how about I get him talking about himself while you Warp Digivolve?"

Seeing Agumon nod, Tai raised his voice and addressed his opponent. "So, you're going to destroy us, huh? That's an awfully big claim, especially considering everybody else who has tried. Who are you to think you can succeed where the Dark Masters failed?"

"If you must know, I can be so confident because I already have destroyed you once in the past! I am Mephistomon, an Ultimate level Fallen Angel Digimon born from the data of Apocalymon. I am the legacy of all his suffering and desire for revenge. Now prepare to- what?!"

Tai couldn't help but snort at his opponent's bafflement. While he had been going through the whole "extremely evil threat" introduction, the DigiDestined had all managed to reach their Ultimate forms, either through DNA Digivolving in the case of the newer generation or using the power from Azulongmon's DigiCore for the older generation. The only exception was Michael's Betamon, who had Digivolved to Seadramon and was currently hissing at the Fallen Angel Digimon from the lake. However, Tai soon became just as confused as their opponent as he saw MetalGreymon flying above him instead of WarGreymon.

"Hey, what gives? Since when do you Warp Digivolve to Ultimate instead of Mega?"

"I'm sorry Tai," MetalGreymon apologized, "but I just couldn't get past this stage. It started off the same as it usually did, but instead of shooting straight through the Champion and Ultimate stages I stopped here."

Since his partner was just as confused as he was, Tai decided to let the issue go for now and ask Izzy about it later. It wasn't like they would need Megas for this fight anyway. "Don't worry about it buddy. He's only an Ultimate. Even if he's the strongest Ultimate in existence, he won't be able to take all of us. We outnumber him nine to one. Now go get him MetalGreymon!"

"You got it Tai. Giga Blaster!"

Two missiles fired from MetalGreymon's chest and headed towards Mephistomon, who seemed to still be in shock at the fact that the DigiDestined had used his monologue against him. However, he recovered quickly enough to fire a strange pink beam that intercepted the missiles, causing them to harmlessly explode in midair. This seemed to serve as a signal for the other Digimon to begin the battle, with Shakkoumon, Paildramon, and Silphymon getting to him first. Seeing as any attacks they sent would be more likely to hit their allies than their enemy, the other Digimon decided to stay back and protect their partners from any wayward attacks. Zudomon was the first to point out the apparent waste of firepower.

"Joe, why exactly did we all Digivolve if we aren't even needed in this fight?" As if to prove his point, Mephistomon was suddenly slammed into the ground due to the impact of a Static Force from Silphymon while he had been trying to counter Shakkoumon's Justice Beam with his own pink beam attack. "Seriously, those three fighting him now were enough to give BlackWarGreymon a run for his money when they fought him, and he was a powerful Mega. This guy doesn't stand a chance!"

Suddenly, Mephistomon sprang back up in the air and unleashed a black explosion that caught all three DNA Ultimates. It initially appeared to have no effect, but the DigiDestined were shocked to see all three suddenly split back into their constituent champion forms before falling from the sky. They hit the ground and reverted to rookie, but before Mephistomon could inflict any further harm he was forced back by a combination of a Horn Buster from MegaKabuterimon, a Wing Blade from Garudamon, a Flower Cannon from Lillymon, and another Giga Blaster from MetalGreymon. This bought the newer generation time to gather their fallen partners while Zudomon and WereGarurumon, incapable of flying after Mephistomon, stood guard.

Joe immediately began to reprimand his partner. "You were saying? Just because our side is really strong doesn't mean the enemy won't have tricks you weren't expecting. Whenever you say nothing can go wrong, you have to be prepared for everything to go wrong!"

Zudomon merely rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, Joe. You really should get more sleep. You haven't been this paranoid since your first time to the Digital World. I guess I did underestimate him, but if you believe you can't win, how can you ever actually win?"

Joe was about to respond to Zudomon's point when he saw that Mephistomon was flying straight at them. Seeing the other four Ultimates chasing him down, Joe could only assume that it was trying to go after the much easier to destroy humans now instead of dealing with the combined strength of four foes. Clearly, whatever that dark attack was that had knocked out the three DNA Ultimates wasn't something he could use repeatedly. However, even though he was now only facing two foes instead of four, he didn't count on the teamwork of Zudomon and WereGarurumon. The werewolf-like Digimon hopped onto Zudomon's hammer, which Zudomon proceeded to throw with his Hammer Boomerang attack. Mephistomon managed to avoid the hammer, but as soon as he committed to his dodge WereGarurumon hopped off of the hammer and struck the Fallen Angel with his Wolf Claw attack. This knocked Mephistomon into the lake, where he was quickly blasted out by a double Water Breath attack from Michael's Seadramon and his wild counterpart. Michael's Seadramon then joined the other Digimon in gathering around their partners on the island. However, the peaceful moment was short lived as Mephistomon flew back into the scene.

"You fools! I was planning on letting you suffer as you struggled to survive, but now I'm forced to kill you all right now! BLACK SABB—"

However, before he could finish his attack, a dazzling explosion right in his face disoriented him. A voice called out "Pit Bomb!" and another explosion immediately followed. By the time his head had cleared, Mephistomon found himself flying over a deserted landscape with no sign of the DigiDestined. With the object of his revenge having escaped him, he could only vent his fury by blasting the island that had recently held them to rubble.

To say that Matt was shocked by Piximon's sudden appearance and barrier escape would be an understatement. Sure, he had seen Piximon randomly appear before and use the same technique, but that had been in their first encounter with the Dark Masters when there had been no way to win and seemingly no way to escape. This time, it seemed as though Piximon was saving their opponent instead of them. Sure, Mephistomon had been strong enough to knock out the three DNA Ultimates in one attack, but they had been beating him around for a while before that and when the fight shifted to four on one, he was getting swatted around like a tennis ball. Even WereGarurumon by himself had managed to hurt him with one hit, so he was nothing like the Dark Masters who had managed to shrug off anything thrown at them the first time around. Still, he knew Piximon was an ally and a friend, so he decided to give the pink mentor the benefit of the doubt. However, the same could not be said of Tai and Davis, who sometimes let their hot-headedness overshadow their leadership skills.

"What's the big idea, Piximon?" Tai asked. "Not that I don't appreciate everything you've done for us before, but why did you decide to save Mephistomon? I know we shouldn't just destroy any Digimon we come across that doesn't like us, but he attacked us first and is basically the reincarnation of Apocalymon. He shouldn't be allowed to spread the same terror as his past self."

Davis was even harsher with his response. "Yeah, you flying pink puffball, who gave you the right to stop our fight? We had him on the ropes! I know you saved everybody nine years ago, but why are you working against us now?"

Seemingly irritated at Davis's comments, Piximon decided to ignore him and focus on responding to Tai. "You still haven't changed much since you first got here, have you? Isn't this arrogance what got you into trouble with SkullGreymon in the first place? Mephistomon may have survived because of my interference, but he wasn't the main threat. There is a much greater evil at work here, and if you continued to make a show of fighting Mephistomon, they would have easily found and eliminated you. I had to take you to safety before any of you could be destroyed, or worse, captured."

Matt's eyes widened at this last statement. In the times he had seen Piximon, he had only taken this serious of a tone when he was talking about sacrificing himself to save the DigiDestined. Every other time, he talked in some sort of inverted syntax and ended sentences with a "Yup yup." If he wasn't bothering with his carefree speech patterns, this evil threat was clearly much greater than they had thought. Izzy seemed to be on the same wavelength, as he was now starting to question Piximon on the exact details of the situation.

"Okay, Mephistomon's appearance clearly shows that dark forces are once again rising in the Digital World. But that raises the question of how that could possibly happen. The Sovereigns are supposed to protect the world from this kind of chaos. The only times they were unable to do so, the Digital World called for help from children in the real world, first with the original five DigiDestined, then twice with our group. However, that clearly didn't happen, as we were actually locked out of the Digital World instead of called in. In addition, Oikawa sacrificed himself within the Land of Dreams in order to continually protect the world. What exactly is going on that none of the fail-safes of the Digital World are working?"

Piximon, however, seemed unwilling to answer Izzy's questions. "That isn't something that is important for you to know. While it might not seem like it, we are managing to take care of everything. Getting you out of this world is the number one priority. All of our plans will fail completely if we lose you. We can save our own world, but only if you leave immediately. I'm not sure how you even got here, but we will be sending you back as soon as we can."

This sudden determination to not allow the DigiDestined to help struck Matt as a very bad sign. Sure, Piximon had been a huge jerk to all of them the first time they saw him, but he did everything in his power to help them save the Digital World, including sacrificing himself. Was this new threat so bad that Piximon thought there was no hope for victory and was just trying to save the DigiDestined from certain failure? Well, regardless of how bad it was, Matt knew he couldn't sit idly by while something tried to destroy the Digital World. Many of his friends called this home, and he wouldn't abandon a friend in need. Plus, he found it difficult to believe all hope had been lost. After all, his little brother did pretty much embody the trait. If TK could still find enough hope to save the day while running for his life from a demonic clown that had already turned just about everybody else into key chains, Matt was certain that the combined might of thirteen DigiDestined would be enough to give a fighting chance in any battle. Regardless of what Piximon wanted, the DigiDestined would always do everything they could to save the world. Nothing would or could change that.

Izzy also had issues with Piximon's response. "Well, if you won't answer any questions about what's going on, I guess we'll just have to go elsewhere. Everybody, gather together."

With that, he finished typing some sequence on his laptop, and all the DigiDestined and their Digimon disappeared in a flash of light. Piximon could only stare in disbelief at the fact that his former students had refused to listen to him.

"You don't realize what you've just done. You may have doomed both of our worlds!"

When Izzy rematerialized, he was surprised to find he was not in Gennai's house but instead was standing in the room of some form of temple or sanctuary. Figuring that Gennai would be the best source of answers available to the group, he had merely used the same program he had used to transport everyone to Datamon's location when they were looking for Sora's crest to send the thirteen of them to the same location that Gennai's initial warning had come from. Judging by the tone of that particular message, Gennai was likely to want them gone as much as Piximon did, but Izzy was hoping Gennai would be more willing to explain than the pink Digimon. Sure enough, a few moments after arriving Izzy heard Gennai's voice coming from behind him. However, Gennai certainly didn't sound pleased to see any of them.

"How exactly did you manage to get here? We have raised a barrier to prevent any and all transportation between the worlds. On top of that, this is a highly secure area that nobody without my approval should be able to enter. Please explain exactly how you managed to get past both layers of security and then I will be sending you all home."

Izzy realized that Gennai wouldn't just be giving him any more information, but he was fed up with being in the dark. "I don't think so. Piximon was just as desperate to send us back to Earth, but he wouldn't explain why. I thought you would help us, but clearly I was wrong. If you won't willingly tell us what's going on, we can always just blast our way out of here and find out for ourselves. It really wouldn't be too difficult, since I managed to hack through your inter-dimensional barrier that you claim was impossible to breach. As for getting in here, I merely sent all of the data that constitutes our beings as a reply to the last message you sent me. If your security has such holes, can you really trust your ability to force us to abandon the Digital World? I want answers, and I want them now."

Everyone in the room was shocked by Izzy's outburst. While he had always hated being in the dark, he usually had a great deal of respect for Gennai as a source of information. Looking at him now, he seemed to be channeling the personality of Tai, Davis, or Yolei with his quick temper. Gennai was so taken aback that he actually fell into a shocked silence for a few seconds before hanging his head and beginning to tell the story of what had happened.

"Very well. I suppose this all started a few months ago. The Sovereigns started to notice that phase warps between the Digital World and the Dark Ocean were appearing with unusual frequency. This normally wouldn't be too much of a problem, since the warps do not last long and nothing comes in or out unless they are in the precise location of the rift when it opens. However, something went wrong when various Dark Digimon started using the warps to enter the Digital World. I'm not exactly sure how they ended up in the Dark Ocean in the first place, but they seemed to use it as a way around both the Wall of Fire that usually keeps them in the Dark Area and the protection offered by Oikawa. In order to combat this new threat we reformatted Oikawa's essence into a Digital Guardian like me instead of a general barrier. After all, he has extensive experience with interdimensional travel, and using his knowledge we were able to use the crests to form a dimensional barrier in an effort to halt further intrusions. However, this only seemed to make the problem worse, as extremely powerful Ultimate and Mega Digimon began coming through the rifts instead of the Champion and weaker Ultimates that came before them. Further analysis showed that whatever was causing the rifts was actually drawing on the power of the Crest of Hope and the Crest of Light in order to create a gateway between the worlds ever since we put the barrier up. Seeing our mistake, we relocated the crests to this sanctuary and used another program to create a barrier between our world and your world. We knew there would be nothing we could do to stop the threat to the Digital World from growing out of control if whatever evil is creating the gates managed to obtain the powers of Hope and Light. So, it was imperative that TK and Kari stay in the real world. Even though they no longer hold those crests, they still carry the traits within themselves and have traces of the powers they provided. After all, it was using those powers that allowed Kari and TK to open a portal between the Dark Ocean and Earth for TK to rescue her after she was kidnapped and again when they opened a gate to the Digital World to both escape. As such, it was vital that TK and Kari stay out of the Digital World. Unfortunately, we knew they would never agree to stay behind and safe while their friends were fighting to save the world, so we had to keep you all ignorant of the situation. Not even your Digimon were made aware."

Almost all of the DigiDestined seemed overwhelmed by this rush of information. Apparently, while they had been worrying about things as trivial as schoolwork, the Digital World had been facing a major crisis. Add this to the fact that the Dark Ocean was once again striking out at other worlds, and TK, Kari, Yolei, and Ken were even more on edge, since they all vividly remembered their nightmares from a few nights ago. All of this on top of everyone's thoughts about the revelation that TK and Kari retained some of the powers of their crests, and a somber mood fell over the group. However, Izzy refused to fall into silent brooding, as there were still a few questions he needed answered.

"Okay, I'm sorry for snapping at you like I did earlier. I understand now why you and Piximon were so desperate to get us to leave, but I still think there were better ways to go about it. However, your story raises a few more questions. First, what exactly are the Sovereigns doing about this problem? As I recall, you told us that giving up our crests after our first adventure would release them and allow them to take over the role of ensuring peace for the world. Between this and what happened when Ken was the Digimon Emperor, I'm starting to wonder if that was the right decision. The only times they have helped us was when Azulongmon stopped BlackWarGreymon and when he gave you a DigiCore so we could all evolve past the champion level again. Even that last example doesn't really count anymore, since Agumon and Gabumon didn't have enough energy to reach Mega earlier, so we must all be running out of power. Second, if you have sealed off any and all transportation between the worlds, how were you planning on sending us all back? It seems like a logical fallacy that you would believe it is impossible to travel between the worlds yet can force us to go to Earth from the Digital World."

"I already told you that when we were using the crests as a barrier, powerful Ultimate and Mega level Digimon were coming through the rifts from the Dark Ocean," Gennai responded. "Ever since that happened, the Sovereigns and their personal bodyguards the Devas have been hard at work trying to control the damage and take out the infiltrators. As such, they have been forced to travel all over the world and fight difficult foes. If they weren't fighting, we would have been overrun long ago. As for the transportation, Oikawa devised a way to re-open the portal between the gate at Highton View Terrace and the gate found at this sanctuary that Myotismon used to get to your world. In a controlled setting, there is no risk of an opening being used by the evil Digimon to get to Earth. As for your DigiCore issue, you honestly didn't expect Azulongmon to continually restore your energy levels, did you? He may be a Sovereign, but he doesn't have an infinite source of energy. Besides, Tai and Matt have used the most energy since using Omnimon to fight Diaboromon and Armageddemon required them both to Digivolve to Mega and then DNA Digivolve, which would be much more draining then simply going to Ultimate. Everyone else's energy levels should be fine."

Izzy replied, "That does seem logical. However, if you aren't using the crests for anything right now, wouldn't it make more sense for you to send them to Earth with us? If TK and Kari have enough residual power to shatter the dimensional boundary between the Dark Ocean and the Digital World but would be safe on Earth, why not send the crests to where they will also be out of reach?"

Gennai became thoughtful and slowly answered, "Well, we never believed we would have you here to take the crests back in the first place. It would be the safest for you to bring them out of the Digital World. I shall go release them at once, but due to the nature of the security program we have guarding them, I will be unable to get them to you for some time. Can I trust you to stay hidden here until such time as you have all the crests again?"

"Of course," Izzy promised, "we'll do all we can to ensure we stay safe." Satisfied with this answer, Gennai left to retrieve the crests. As soon as he was gone, Mimi was the first to speak. "Are we allowed to talk now? I feel like Izzy was taking over for all of us ever since we got here."

Seeing that all of his friends had felt marginalized by him taking over the conversation with Gennai, Izzy was quick to apologize. "I'm sorry I wasn't letting you get a word in edgewise, but my curiosity got the best of me after hearing his story. Also, I hope you don't mind my promising we'd stay safe. I needed Gennai to leave before I could voice my real opinion. I think not having us help save the world is a huge mistake. We have to be especially careful that TK and Kari don't get captured, but we can still do that while helping out. So, I was thinking we could go out and help fight whatever is causing this. What do all of you think?"

TK and Kari were just about to protest that they weren't helpless and didn't need the extra protection, but their brothers quickly voiced their full agreement with Izzy's plan to help out while looking after TK and Kari. As all of their friends agreed, they could only hang their heads in defeat and prepare themselves for being guarded right up to the moment they returned to the real world. Somehow, this vacation just wasn't turning out to be as great as they had hoped it would be. However, since it was for the good of the Digital World, they decided to accept it and continued to listen to Izzy as he made more plans.

"I also had one more idea. Since the threat we are currently facing is bad enough to keep the Sovereigns busy, I'm thinking we might need some Megas on our side. We already have Imperialdramon, but I think we should all transfer of the energy we all have from the DigiCore to Tai and Matt so we can access WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon again. I don't know how much we have to spare, but I'd be willing to temporarily lose access to MegaKabuterimon for the extra firepower the Megas will provide."

All of the original eight DigiDestined nodded their heads, and Izzy got to work transferring the power from all of their Digivices to Tai's and Matt's. After the transfers were complete, everyone had enough energy to reach their highest form two more times with the exception of TK and Kari, who had donated all of theirs. After all, they could both reach Ultimate through DNA Digivolution, so reaching Ultimate on their own wasn't as important as it was for the others. With the transfers done, the DigiDestined then left the room and entered the courtyard of the sanctuary, prepared to use the excuse that they were still technically in the sanctuary if they came across any other guardians. However, the sanctuary appeared to be deserted, so they didn't need to worry about anybody stopping them. Or at least, that's what they all believed when a recently familiar voice called out from above them.

"Did you really think you could escape me? I swore to make you suffer, and that is exactly what I will do!"

Mimi could only groan inwardly at Mephistomon's latest appearance. Why was their always some evil Digimon that wanted to make their lives miserable? She had gotten over the whole 'I want to be a normal kid without having a responsibility to save the world' phase a long time ago, but was it too much to ask for some time to hang out with the other DigiDestined that didn't involve stopping a threat? Ever since she had moved to America, she hadn't been able to see everyone face to face for more than two weeks at a time. So, why did the forces of evil have to attack during the one week where everyone could be together? Mimi could only hope this problem would be over relatively quickly and resolved to do whatever she could to help make that hope become a reality.

As he always did during these situations, Tai immediately took charge. "Everyone, Digivolve, but unless it is through DNA Digivolving, you should all stop at Champion. He isn't the biggest threat, and we might need to save our two times going to Ultimate or Mega if something much worse shows up before we get the Crests back. Since Mephistomon obviously got past Gennai's security, I'm willing to guess that getting the Crests back will take a bit longer than a couple of minutes."

Everybody nodded, and in massive show of lights all the Digimon Digivolved to their Champion forms, with the newer group DNA Digivolving once again. Izzy had used the time to look up Mephistomon on his Digimon Analyzer, and immediately reported his findings.

"Okay, I know what exactly happened the last time we fought him. That black explosion was his Dark Cloud attack. It releases a pulse of dark energy that works by draining the energy of its victims. That's why all the Ultimates reverted to rookie last time. It's the same thing Apocalymon did to us at the start of our battle, just on a smaller scale. As long as the three DNA Ultimates can avoid that, they should be able to defeat him."

Shakkoumon, Paildramon, and Silphymon all nodded and flew into the fight. Armed with more information on the opponent's abilities, they decided to take a different approach to this conflict, and instead of all rushing in at once developed a rotation where one would engage at close range while the other two provided longer range support. With this new strategy, they kept Mephistomon boxed in, preventing him from making a move on the humans and Champions gathered below while at the same time ensuring only one of them could be hit by the Dark Cloud attack if he chose to release it. However, this strategy did have the drawback of putting them all in a situation where it was practically a one on one fight, and Mephistomon was proving to be a skilled opponent. Using the same pink beam attack he had used earlier, he was keeping Silphymon from causing any damage as the DNA Digimon was continually dodging or countering the attacks with its own and thus didn't get any opening to strike back. Seeing their friend in trouble, Paildramon and Shakkoumon both flew in to the rescue, but in doing so fell right into Mephistomon's trap as he triumphantly bellowed "Dark Cloud!" However, as Mephistomon was launching the attack, Shakkoumon managed to throw Paildramon out of range meaning only Shakkoumon and Silphymon were hit. Seeing Gatomon and Ankylomon falling from the ball of darkness, Paildramon Mega Digivolved to Imperialdramon in order to fly down and catch them. However, such a maneuver proved unnecessary, as Aquilamon and Angemon soon flew after the two flightless Champions, and after Ankylomon reverted to Armadillomon they managed to catch their falling friends and make it to within a few feet of the ground before reverting to Rookie and landing safely. Imperialdramon returned his attention to his opponent, but the moment of distraction proved to be all that had been needed for Mephistomon to hide within the darkness his last attack had generated. Since Imperialdramon couldn't enter the darkness himself without reverting and was too powerful to randomly blast it without destroying something on the other side, he quickly flew down to protect his Rookie friends and waited for Mephistomon's next move. Suddenly, the black ball was suddenly replaced with a glowing purple light, and Izzy's panicked voice called out, "Look out, he's Digivolving! Tai, Matt, you better Warp Digivolve right now!" Since Tai and Matt had been preparing to do exactly that as soon as the cloud started glowing, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon quickly joined Imperialdramon floating over the heads of the DigiDestined as Hawkmon, Armadillomon, Patamon, and Gatomon all rejoined their partners. The other DigiDestined prepared to Digivolve as well, but before they could begin, a deep voice called "Black Requiem!" and the entire area became covered in a black fog. While the fog itself cleared away quickly, it seemed to leave behind a residual darkness that made it look like someone had drained all the colors from everything. Suddenly, all the DigiDestined heard a deep laughing as the fog revealed the new form their enemy had taken. This creature had two horns curving from the side of its reptilian head in contrast to Mephistomon's goat-like face. Its body bore a strong resemblance to VenomMyotismon, except with grey skin, black wings, and four legs. This demonic centaur even had the second mouth on its lower torso to match VenomMyotismon's second face. It was this mouth that had spewed out the black fog that blanketed the area, and now that the attack had finished, the mouth was slowly closing. Seeing this new foe, all the DigiDestined tried Digivolving to Ultimate, but found themselves unable to do so. A quick scan of the opponent immediately told Izzy the cause.

"This is not good. He Digivolved to Gulfmon, a Mega level Demon Beast Digimon. Any opponent that gets ingested by his second mouth has its DigiCore crushed, meaning they will be permanently deleted instead of reborn in the Primary Village. His Black Requiem attack releases the power of the Dark Area into the battlefield. That's why none of us can Digivolve. He's basically a giant control spire now. We have to take him out or find a way to get rid of this darkness before any of us will be able to do more than attack him in whatever forms we are in now."

However, Kabuterimon was quick to reassure his worried partner. "It's not that big of a problem. We've managed to survive without going to Ultimate before. Besides, nobody is reverting right now. We still have three Megas and five Champions to fight him. Admittedly, those of us who are Champions probably won't do much good against a Mega, but we're better than nothing."

If this wasn't enough to reassure Izzy, the four voices around him shouting "Digi-Armor Energize!" and corresponding appearance of Halsemon, Digmon, Nefertimon, and Pegasusmon added four more confident members to their arsenal. Yolei even put her hand on Izzy's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it. When we fought the corrupted Cherubimon in America, our Armor forms managed to hold their own for a while. Sure, we needed Veemon and Terriermon to Golden Armor Digivolve in order to finally win, but we have three Megas to deal the final blow this time. We can handle this."

As if to prove her point, MetalGarurumon launched his Grace Cross Freezer attack and pummeled Gulfmon with hundreds of missiles that froze him solid. Imperialdramon and WarGreymon followed this up by launching a simultaneous Terra Force and Positron Laser. However, as the attacks raced towards Gulfmon, he unleashed a massive scream that shattered all of the ice and sent it flying towards the incoming attacks. The blast of ice and sonic wave canceled out the two attacks, leaving Gulfmon to laugh as all of the DigiDestined and their partner Digimon tried covering their ears in a futile attempt to diminish the anguish caused by Gulfmon's Dead Scream attack. Cancelling out the two attacks had robbed the scream of power to the point where it was no longer fatal, but it was still strong enough to physically knock back the three Mega Digimon and drive all the humans to their knees in pain. He began to charge another Dead Scream, but before he could launch his attack, a female voice cried out "Nazar Nail!" and Gulfmon's scream died out to a pathetic whimper as he started to come apart in spare bits of data. The cause of this appeared to be a humanoid figure standing on his shoulder.

Keeping her hand lodged in Gulfmon's shoulder, this new arrival ignored her victim's obvious pain and started lecturing him in a seductive tone. "Well, looks like someone's been a naughty boy. I would have thought we had made a perfect example out of Dragomon for what happens when someone puts their personal gain ahead of the success of the plan. But, since you had to go be all macho about it and try to destroy the DigiDestined by yourself, someone just had to punish you. But hey, it isn't all bad. You'll get to spend the rest of eternity as spare bits of data inside me that I can just pull out whenever I want to. Now be a good boy and die, would you?"

With that, Gulfmon fully dissipated, and the DigiDestined were left wondering what exactly they had gotten themselves into.

Author's Note: Well, looks like I got this uploaded right away. Won't be able to upload anything else for a few hours, but I feel like this is a better stopping point than the end of the first chapter. I also apologize for the lack of line breaks in the last chapter- I didn't see that they hadn't transferred over from where I wrote the story to here. Hopefully I caught all the ones I needed to add back in this time around. As always, feel free to review or message me with any questions or comments!