Hi everyone. Since I updated this last for anyone who didn't know already I've started rewriting the earlier chapters a little sooner than planned. I posted the rewrite of chapter 1 back in September. Hope you like the rewrites

KaitBcutie6: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it
kirbypikachu2: Thank you, glad you liked it!
Sweet Cari: Thanks :) Dawn and Agumon aren't out of the woods quite yet...
DinoGuy2000: Thank you, yeah Anubismon isn't going to let Dracmon get one over him
Sync The Dragon Tempest: Thanks, hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint
Dracofighter: That's okay :) Yeah Anubismon is on their side
Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint: Thanks. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint but I haven't got any plans for any dark digivolutions
TristPHT: Thank you. I'll have to think about that and get back to you :)

Thanks again to everyone who has read the last chapter, hope you enjoy this one!


Digimon 2.5

Episode 62: "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"

.:Dark Area, Digital World:.

Anubismon reached the floating pyramid where Dracmon was caged, towering over it as he glared down at the rookie Digimon. "Not so fast you little trouble maker," he spoke sternly.

With Anubismon's shadow looming over him, Dracmon slowly smiled; putting on his most innocent looking expression. "Anubismon…" he greeted through a nervy grin. "What brings you into this part of the Dark Area?"

"You know perfectly well why I am here; enough of your silly little games."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dracmon said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Do not play dumb with me, Dracmon." Anubismon warned sharply. "I've been watching you. I had to leave my post because of your little stunt."

"Getting a little boring up there is it?"

Anubismon narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer, ignoring his comment. "You've had your fun. Now stop this at once." He ordered.

Dracmon scoffed. "I've been pulling pranks for years. Why are you so interested in what I get up to now? You've never stuck your nose in my business before."

"I don't have to explain myself to you." Anubismon said sharply.

Dracmon placed his arms behind his back, still trying to act innocently; but as he did his palms began to glow a little. WarGreymon straightened up; before he slowly and quietly began to creep up on Anubismon… "It's none of your business what I get up to down here."

"But when the fate of the Digital World is at stake it is my business." Anubismon snapped seemingly unaware of WarGreymon's approach. "These humans are here for an important reason and I won't let a mischievous little Digimon stop them from doing what they came here-" He then suddenly paused, as even though his back was still to WarGreymon, he sensed a presence behind him. Just as WarGreymon raised his right claw about to strike; Anubismon quickly stretched out his left golden wing, which shone brightly as it formed a protective shield. WarGreymon's claw struck his wing, but was abruptly stopped by the strong barrier. Anubismon glanced at WarGreymon before turning his attention back to Dracmon. "Nice try, Dracmon. But your tricks won't get past me."

Dracmon frowned before thrusting his palms out in front of him, commanding WarGreymon to attack once more.

"Mega Claw!" WarGreymon began to slash his gauntlets at Anubismon, who protected himself with his wings. "Great Tornado!" He then began to spin at tremendous speed before slamming into Anubismon.

Anubismon continued to shield himself with his wings, but the force of the attack caused him to be pushed back across the clearing. Anubismon pushed back, slowing down the momentum to a gradual stop. He then flung both his wings out, stretching them as far as they would go whilst also releasing a shockwave of energy that disabled WarGreymon's Great Tornado attack.

WarGreymon was thrown back, crashing into a heap on the ground near to where Tai was still standing.

Anubismon then composed himself, retracting his wings back behind his back before returning to where Dracmon was still imprisoned in his pyramid. Out of the corner of his eye he saw WarGreymon rise to his feet preparing to attack again. Stretching his left palm out he fired a beam of energy that engulfed WarGreymon, freezing him on the spot.

Dracmon's palms shone brighter as he tried to control WarGreymon again. But WarGreymon remained still. Dracmon blinked a little surprised as he tried again and again by thrusting his palms in WarGreymon's direction, but each time was ineffective. He finally gave up when Anubismon's shadow appeared over him once again.

"Do not mess with me," Anubismon warned darkly. "There are severe consequences for trying to attack the Digital World's judge… Now; release them."

Dracmon frowned, clenching his fists. "Hey, they're not the only ones with a job to do you know. I was instructed to intercept these humans and stop them from reaching Grandracmon's castle in exchange for my name being taken off his hit list!"

"I do not care about your troubles with Grandracmon. They are merely a drop in the ocean compared to the troubles the Digital World will face if these humans do not succeed. If you're one of his targets then that is your own fault. You should have learned by now who you shouldn't play pranks on. Now, I will not ask again. Release them; or I will banish you to the graveyard where your freedom to play pranks will be severely limited."

Dracmon scoffed again, crossing his arms. "Nice bluff Anubismon. You don't scare me with your threats."

"Do not test me either," Anubismon snarled, leaning in closer. "I can assure you I am not bluffing… or would you prefer a taste of my Amemit attack?" he questioned, to which Dracmon seemed to tense up a little worried. Smiling a little to himself, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

Dracmon gulped nervously as he pressed his back up against one of the walls of the pyramid. Anubismon's Amemit attack was known for summoning a beast from below and devouring the DigiCores of Digimon. At first nothing seemed to happen, but after a few seconds he glanced down to see on the ground below a black hole had begun to open up. There was a low growling noise coming from inside the hole as two glowing red eyes appeared, looking straight up at him. Dracmon yelped in fright, trying hopelessly to scramble up the side of the pyramid as a black hand began to emerge from inside the hole; reaching up for him. The fingers of the demonic beast grew closer and closer to the bottom of the pyramid… "Alright! Alright!" he suddenly screeched, giving in. "I'll let them go!" he exclaimed, holding his palms up in defeat and ending the spell on Tai and WarGreymon.

The reddish glow in their eyes faded, and both Tai and WarGreymon collapsed to the ground as the spell came to an end.

Satisfied, Anubismon ended his Amemit attack and the beast retreated back into the hole, which then closed up. He then ceased his spell on the pyramid, which disappeared in a flash and caused Dracmon to collapse onto the ground in a heap. Anubismon leaned over him. "Now get out of my sight. And if I catch you playing tricks on these humans again I will not hesitate in unleashing the full force of my Amemit attack next time." He threatened.

Dracmon, still trembling a little, leapt to his feet and scurried away past Anubismon. He jumped up into the trees and made his escape hopping from branch to branch.

Tai groaned rubbing his head which felt a little fuzzy as he slowly came back to his senses. As his vision focused, he slowly looked up in time to see Dracmon leaping through the trees. Suddenly remembering everything up until he was placed under Dracmon's spell, he jumped to his feet. "Hey! Come back here!" he tried to give chase but he collapsed back onto the ground after one step, and that's when he realised his left calf was throbbing. "Ow…" he said under his breath a little confused, completely unaware that Dawn had kicked him earlier.

"I wouldn't waste your time on him," Anubismon spoke up. "I can assure you he won't bother you anymore."

Tai and WarGreymon both looked over their shoulders to see Anubismon standing at the opposite side of the clearing. Tai got back to his feet, limping back a little as WarGreymon stepped up beside him out of caution. "Who are you?" he asked a little nervously. He then realised their surroundings were completely different to where they had been before. "Wait a second-where are we? We weren't in this part of the forest…"

WarGreymon looked around the clearing, realising his partner was right. He turned to look at Anubismon. "What's going on here?" he demanded.

"You were under Dracmon's spell," Anubismon began to explain. "Luckily I had been watching you and was able to intercept him before his prank went too far."

"Why have you been watching us?" WarGreymon asked curiously.

"After Azulongmon alerted me that humans would be entering the Dark Area in search of Grandracmon's castle I thought it best I keep a watchful eye over you. I was hoping I wouldn't have to leave my post at the barrier of the Dark Area but that little prankster gave me no choice."

"…Are you Anubismon?" Tai asked, to which the mega Digimon nodded in response.

"Azulongmon told us about you," WarGreymon added. "That you survey Digimon's data at the end of their life span and decide whether they are reborn or imprisoned here."

"That's correct," Anubismon replied. "Any data that passes through the Dark Area's barrier is supervised by me. Perhaps that is the reason why Azulongmon forewarned me of your arrival."

Tai closed his eyes for a moment, placing a hand on his head which still felt a little achy. "I can't remember anything… well except up until the point we ran into Dracmon…"

"That's probably for the best," Anubismon said, to which Tai opened his eyes and looked at him confused. "Now you must continue your quest to the castle before it's too late." He added, pointing in the direction beyond Tai and WarGreymon.

"No," Tai responded. "I need to find my daughter first. We got separated… somewhere in the forest." He hesitated, realising he had no idea where they were now. "If you've been watching us then you must know where she is."

Anubismon paused for a moment. "…Your daughter and her Digimon are on their way to Grandracmon's castle."

"What?" Tai and WarGreymon both said in unison. "On their own?" Tai added. "No, that's not right. We need to find them. It's too dangerous for them to be wandering through this place on their own."

"They will be fine," Anubismon tried to reassure. "Now you two must make your own way to Grandracmon's castle."

"Why can't you tell me where she is?" Tai demanded. "Once we find her, then we'll make our way to Grandracmon's castle; together."

"Trust me; you will be reunited with your daughter at the right time. That's all I can say. Don't worry; I will still be keeping watch over both of you. But I won't be able to help at every moment you run into any danger."

Tai tried to keep his frustration at bay. After just helping them why was Anubismon now being difficult in not telling them simply where his daughter was. He then sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Anubismon then raised his hand again, pointing in the same direction as he did before. "Now go, you haven't much time."

WarGreymon glanced over his shoulder to where they were being directed to. "C'mon Tai, let's go. If we're heading in the same direction as Dawn then we should be able to catch up with her. She can't be that far ahead."

Tai turned to leave with his partner, but he paused and looked back over to Anubismon who was turning to leave himself. "Wait-at least answer us this," he called over, causing the wizard Digimon to stop. "If you supervise all the data that passes through the Dark Area… well, a while ago we had a friend Centarumon… long story short we had to destroy him as he had been turned into an X Digimon… was he sent to the graveyard or back to Primary Village?"

Still with his back to them, Anubismon smiled slightly to himself. "I guess when you get back home you'll have to go to Primary Village to find out, won't you?" he teased, before he disappeared in a flash of light; returning to his post.

WarGreymon watched as his partner turned and walked towards him, still with a slight limp. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Tai replied a little bluntly. He then sighed. "Why would Dawn even decide to go off on her own anyway? It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe she didn't have a choice?" WarGreymon suggested as they both made their way away from the clearing. "And don't forget, she's not on her own. She has VictoryGreymon with her. He'll keep her safe."

"I know… it's just… Something just doesn't seem right… I have this feeling something has happened but I don't know what, especially when Anubismon said it was probably for the best that we couldn't remember anything."

"All I remember is Dracmon playing tricks on us and then the next thing Anubismon was here."

As they continued on, Tai tried his best to try and remember anything from after they had run into Dracmon; but it was all a blur. Why couldn't they remember anything? And why did Dracmon put them under his spell in the first place? It was driving him crazy that he couldn't remember, which only added to his anxiety over the fact he had no idea where his daughter was right now, or what had happened to her whilst they were under Dracmon's spell. As he replayed the moments they had encountered Dracmon over in his mind, Tai then froze, stopping in his tracks as he suddenly remembered the last words Dracmon had spoke before everything went blank…

"It'll be far more entertaining watching her fight you…"

"Oh no…"


Deeper in the forest, Dawn and Agumon were continuing to make their way south. After trying once more, and successfully, climbing to the top of one of the trees earlier Dawn had located the misty mountains in the distance, and after checking the built in compass in her digivice the mountains were in the southern part of the Dark Area. The forest was getting darker, and a little scarier. The trees were all dead, with the branches all intertwined with each other. Some of the tree trunks were even drooping over in an arched shape. Most of the way was overgrown with dead thorn bushes, which at times made it difficult to pass through.

As Dawn ducked under a low branch, she glanced down at her wrist. There was still a faint red mark from where her father had grabbed hold of her earlier. She knew it had been because of Dracmon's spell, as he had never once grabbed her like that before… But it had still been quite scary at how strong his grip had been, and the way he had been looking at her… and it was even scarier to think what else he might have been capable of doing under Dracmon's control if given the chance. She then began to wonder if he would remember any of it all... "Don't worry Dad… once we've taken care of Grandracmon's soul we'll come back and find you... And I'll make sure that ugly little imp lets you go…"

"Quick, in here!"

Dawn was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts as Agumon grabbed her arm and dragged her to a nearby tree hollow at the bottom of the tree trunk. "What is it?" she asked, kneeling down on the ground.

Agumon slowly peered out from inside the hollow, where they were hidden in the darkness. He waited for a moment, listening out for any sort of sound. "… I thought I heard something…" he said quietly.

Dawn also peered out, scanning the area. There was no sign of movement, and no sound of anything moving either. "Again? There's nothing there, Agumon." She said with a sigh. "We can't keep ducking and hiding every time you think you hear something. Otherwise we'll never reach Grandracmon's castle." She complained as she climbed out from under the tree.

Agumon followed her. "But if we run into anyone we won't be able to fight back whilst I'm still at the rookie level." He explained.

"Are you sure you can't digivolve back to VictoryGreymon?" Dawn asked.

Her partner shook his head. "No, at least not yet anyway." He replied. "WarGreymon drained quite a bit of my energy. I just need to wait until my energy levels have recovered that's all."

"Well I hope you don't need any food to boost your energy levels, because I wouldn't want to even think about trying anything down here that looks even remotely edible."

"I'll be okay. I just need a little time to recover. I'll be able to digivolve again before we reach the castle." Agumon reassured. "But until then, we need to be careful and not run into any unnecessary trouble."

As Agumon had been speaking, a shadowy figure had been watching them for the last few minutes from afar in the darkness of the thorn bushes. His yellow eyes moved as he watched them continue on their journey, before he grinned, showing off a long toothy smile…


Dracmon muttered under his breath as he continued to jump from tree to tree. "Anubismon…" he cursed to himself. "I had those humans in the palm of my hands and he had to show up and ruin everything." He landed on another branch, before sinking down into a sitting position, letting his legs dangle freely. "Now what am I going to do?" he continued to sulk. "If Wisemon's finds out I've failed he'll send Grandracmon after me…"

Just then, the sound of some trees falling over not too far away caused Dracmon to jump to his feet. He listened, hearing the sound of someone else grumbling and complaining quite loudly. The sound of more destruction soon followed, and Dracmon slowly manoeuvred himself towards the tree trunk, sneaking around it to hide himself from full view. As the sounds grew louder, he watched as a huge bone sword sliced through three tree trunks with ease. The trees tumbled to the ground, and Dracmon noticed a large Digimon emerge from the dust cloud it had created. "Titamon…" he whispered under his breath.

Titamon roared in frustration as he sliced his sword through the fallen trees, chopping them up into small pieces. "Where are you dragon warriors?" he growled to himself as he swung his sword once more. "You can't outrun me."

Dracmon continued to watch him from the safety of behind the tree trunk as he carried on his destructive path. "Dragon warriors hmm?" Dracmon thought to himself. His face then lit up for a second. "Could it be…?" he whispered quietly, before he slowly grinned mischievously. He took another peek at Titamon before returning behind the tree trunk. Still grinning, he pulled out his two spray cans holding them in each hand. "Anubismon said I wasn't to play tricks on those humans again… but he didn't say anything about someone else interfering with their plans…" he sniggered.

Down on the ground, Titamon paused for a moment as he surveyed his surroundings in case there was any sign of movement. After detecting none, he continued on his way slashing his giant sword. "I know you're here somewhere, and I will find you and get my revenge. No one can escape me-" he was about to slice down another tree, when he stopped lowering his sword.

On the tree he was about to hack down, there was a sketch on the trunk. It was a sketch of WarGreymon and VictoryGreymon with a red arrow underneath pointing to the right. Titamon smiled to himself, before it turned into a menacing chuckle as he began to head in the direction of the arrow.

Dracmon peered out from behind one of the trees, grinning deviously as he watched Titamon continue to hack his way through the forest. "Have fun dealing with him humans." He sniggered to himself.


Agumon kept glancing over his shoulder. For a while now he had a suspicious feeling that they were being followed… but there was no sight or sound to back up his suspicions, which made him begin to believe that maybe he was just being paranoid. Even with the power from the Digital Ring he knew it wouldn't be enough to reach the mega level just yet. The chances of running into a mega level Digimon were highly likely too; which probably explained his paranoia…

"This forest seems to go on forever and ever…" Dawn complained as she glanced down at her digivice to check the dial on the compass was still pointing south. She climbed over a large tree root that was protruding out from the ground before she looked down to see her sneakers were barely visible through the low lying mist. "The mist seems to be getting thicker… perhaps that's a sign we're getting closer?" After not receiving an answer from her partner, she looked back to see Agumon had come to a stop as he climbed over the large root. He was looking back in the direction they had come from. "Now what is it?"

Agumon stared for a few more seconds before jumping down from the root. "I have a feeling we're being followed…" he admitted.

"You sure?" Dawn asked, casting a glance over her partner's shoulder.

"That's the problem – no, I'm not sure. I just have this feeling, but whenever I look back there's nothing there."

"Maybe it's just you being paranoid Agumon. I mean, the way some of these trees are it does look like they're watching us." Dawn said before she continued on her way.

Agumon slowly looked around as he followed her. Dawn did have a point; some of the trees did look a little menacing the way they were arched over, and some of the hollows in the trunks looked a little like faces… "Maybe you're right…" he said as he gazed up at the trees. But as he did he had failed to notice Dawn had suddenly stopped in front of him, and he ended up bumping into her. "Hey-" he looked up to see his partner was completely still, looking straight ahead. He peered out from behind her to see what she was staring at.

Just up ahead there was a Digimon sleeping at the foot of one of the trees. It was black Digimon, with blades sticking out from its body. It looked almost mechanical with two wolf like faces protruding out from the tops of its shoulders, and large long white claws on each of its feet. Its long tail, which was equipped with two blades at the end, laid spread out and just barely visible through the mist.

"That is one ugly looking dog…" Dawn commented, barely above a whisper. Still holding her digivice, she brought up the Digimon's data. It was Cerberumon X. "C'mon," she whispered.

There was just enough room to pass, so the two friends began to sneak along without waking the beast Digimon up. They slowly tiptoed being careful not to make any noise. But as they were almost safely past; Agumon accidently stepped on a twig snapping it under the weight of his foot. Dawn and Agumon flinched, as due to the quietness of the forest the sound seemed louder than expected.

Cerberumon X's eyes immediately opened, and Dawn and Agumon quickly darted behind the nearest tree out of sight. The beast Digimon grunted before getting to his feet. He looked around, growling as he sensed someone had disturbed his slumber.

Dawn and Agumon slowly peered out from behind the tree and watched him. He was suspiciously still and seemed to be sniffing the air. After a couple more sniffs, he seemed to perk up before lowering his head, sniffing the ground.

"I think he's picking up our scent…" Dawn whispered as she continued to watch him as he wandered over to the large tree root they had climbed over.

Agumon nodded. "We better move," he advised.

The two of them slowly backed away from the tree as quietly as they could; keeping their eyes on Cerberumon X who was still sniffing around the tree root. They were heading towards the thick thorn bushes for cover in the hope they could sneak far enough away so their scent wouldn't be tracked, but as they backed up, they had failed to notice a large plant like figure had begun to move amongst the thorns. The figure straightened its stance, looking down at the two friends who were slowly approaching it. The plant like figure, Oleamon, slowly arched its body over so its head was closer to the ground before opening the petals a little which concealed its face. Oleamon then slowly released its long pink tongue that began to slither down onto the ground like a snake towards Dawn's ankle…

Dawn was suddenly knocked down to the ground flat on her stomach as the tongue wrapped itself around her ankle and pulled her back. She screamed as she struggled helplessly to grab onto something. She looked behind, and her eyes widened as she saw the face of Oleamon emerge from behind its petals. Its face had no eyes or nose; just a mouth, which opened up wide with a wicked grin as Dawn was pulled closer and closer. "Agumon!" she screamed as she tried to kick Oleamon's tongue off her ankle with her other foot.

Agumon dashed forward. "Pepper Breath!" he fired his fireball, which struck Oleamon's tongue causing the plant Digimon to release it from Dawn's ankle and retract it after suffering the painful burn.

Dawn scrambled back, getting back to her feet and breathing a little heavily as Agumon held her protectively. They watched as Oleamon hissed and straightened its body once more, making itself bigger and more threatening. More Oleamon then emerged from amongst the thorns, mimicking the movement of the first one. As well as the hissing from the group of Oleamon, the two friends also heard a ruff growl from behind them. They turned to see Cerberumon X had now appeared from behind the tree, having obviously heard Dawn's scream. "What do we do now?" Agumon gulped nervously.

Cerberumon X snarled as he began to slowly approach Dawn and Agumon recognising their scent as the one he had picked up before, but he paused and seemed to take caution once he had spotted the group of Oleamon amongst the thorns.

Dawn watched as Cerberumon X briefly shifted his attention to the Oleamon. "This way!" she quickly bolted off to the side, dragging Agumon with her just at the right time as the Oleamon who had tried to grab her fired its Leaf Shredder attack.

Cerberumon X was about to lunge after the two friends, but the leaf blades from Oleamon's attack cut him off, with one slicing the side of his cheek. That was enough to shift his attention completely to the plant Digimon allowing Dawn and Agumon to escape. "Mad Dog Fire!" he spewed out a red hot jet of flames in anger, which instantly vaporized Oleamon leaving a smouldering hole in the thorns.

Just as Dawn and Agumon were making their way through a small gap in the thorns, Dawn briefly looked behind to see the rest of the Oleamon had become enraged and were beginning their assault on Cerberumon X.

Not too far away hidden in the darkness, the same shadowy figure from earlier had been watching them again. As the figure watched Dawn and Agumon disappear into the thickness of the thorns, it too moved heading in the same direction and leaving Cerberumon X to fight off the Oleamon…


Now safely away from the danger of the Oleamon, Dawn and Agumon scrambled out from amongst the thorn bushes and out into a more open space. Still breathing a little heavily, Dawn leaned against a nearby tree trunk, resting her head on her arm. She now had a couple of scraps on her arms and face from the sharp thorns. As the reality of what had just happened caught up with her, she closed her eyes tightly as she felt them get a little teary.

"Are you okay?" Agumon asked unaware of the pair of yellow eyes watching them from afar.

Dawn nodded, wiping her eyes a little. "This place is like something out of a nightmare…" she said, her voice cracking a little as she tried to calm her breathing down. This was stupid she then thought; she had faced more dangerous situations than that and yet she had been almost reduced to tears by a plant? "It's okay, I'm fine." She finally reassured, standing up straight and wiping her eyes dry. She knew it was okay to feel scared, especially when she had almost been eaten by a carnivorous plant, but she needed to remain strong. Everyone was counting on her and Agumon now and she couldn't let fear get the better of her. Looking down at her digivice, she checked the compass dial. "Let's go, we need to keep moving."

Agumon quickened his pace a little to keep up with his partner. "It's okay if you need to take a break. That was pretty scary back there and-"

"We haven't got time Agumon," Dawn said firmly. "I'm fine, really."

As they turned to head on south down the trail, they didn't get far before their attention was caught by the sound of a branch snapping under someone's foot. Dawn and Agumon both spun round in the direction the sound had come from. "Who's there?" Dawn demanded, but there was no one there. As an eerie silence loomed, Dawn soon spotted a shadow in the darkness, a somewhat familiar shadow… the shadow then began to move, briefly emerging from the dark for a second as it moved through a gap between two trees. Dawn's eyes widen in surprise. "… D-Dad?" she said, a little in disbelief.

The figure then disappeared briefly into the dark, but then reappeared from behind one of the trees and stepped out into full view.

Dawn gasped under her breath, taking a step back.

"Hi Dawn," her father spoke.

Dawn was about to run to him, but she only took one step before she stopped cautiously, suddenly remembering he could still be under Dracmon's spell. Although he hadn't spoken a word earlier… "… Wait, is it really you?" she asked.

Her father smiled, as Agumon eyed him cautiously. "Of course it is."

Dawn still remained sceptical at first. "I mean… I know it's you but… is it really you? You're not still being controlled by Dracmon are you?"

"Everything's okay now." Her father assured.

Dawn and Agumon both glanced at each other before they slowly walked closer to him. Still a little cautious, especially knowing what Dracmon could be capable of; Dawn kept a safe distance as she studied him. The red glint in his eyes wasn't there anymore. His eyes looked normal… but there was still something slightly off… her father seemed to be acting a little…differently. "… Are you sure? What happened to Dracmon?" she asked.

"You don't need to worry about him anymore." Her father said softly. "Now c'mon, this way. WarGreymon's waiting for us." He added before he turned to leave.

"Wait, Dad we need to go this way," Dawn said, turning and pointing in the direction they had been walking. "The mountains are in the southern part of the-" she was forced to stop what she was saying as when she turned to look back at her father he had disappeared. "Dad?" she called. She then saw him moving in the darkness. "Dad!" she exclaimed, running after him.

"Dawn, wait!" Agumon shouted as he chased after her. "Not so fast!"

Dawn ran through the gap in the trees where she had seen her father go. It was a little darker, and the space was a bit more confined. She looked to her left and spotted him heading further away. "Dad, wait!" she called out as she continued to follow him, but he didn't stop or turn to look back. After ducking under low branches and dodging sharp thorns she briefly lost sight of him as she approached a fallen tree and after scrambling underneath it, she arrived at a more open space, but it was still quite dark. She looked around for any sign of him as Agumon caught up with her. "Dad?" she called out again.

"Where did he go?" Agumon asked, a little out of breath as he looked around their surroundings.

"I don't know…" Dawn replied a little disheartened as she continued to look around. Up ahead, she noticed an extremely large tree. It towered above the rest and there was an enormous hollow at the foot of the trunk that almost resembled an entrance to a cave. Dawn was about to inspect the hollow a little more closely, when she sensed someone was behind them. She turned around to see her father had reappeared and was now standing there in front of the fallen tree. "Dad… listen, we need to go back that way." She said pointing behind him. She then paused, looking around. "… Where's WarGreymon?"

"He's right here," her father replied. He was then joined by WarGreymon who emerged from the darkness just to the side of the fallen tree.

Something still didn't seem right, but Dawn slowly approached her father. "… Are you sure you're okay? Where's Dracmon?"

"Like I said sweetie, everything's okay now. There's no need to be afraid."

For a second, Dawn almost let her guard down. But what her father had just said caused her to freeze with suspicion. She slowly began to back off, stretching her arm out to push Agumon back too.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Agumon asked, looking back and forth between them.

Dawn continued to back up as her father and WarGreymon then began to walk towards them slowly. "… Dad never calls me that…" she said, her eyes fixed on them.

Her father and WarGreymon both smiled again. Their eyes then turned yellow, and their bodies began to glow a dark red before they started to transform. Both Dawn and Agumon cried out in horror and grabbed hold of each other as they watched them transform into two wolves. The two Digimon were covered in red and white fur, with long mouths that showed off large white teeth.

"What big teeth they have…" Agumon gulped as he and Dawn continued to back away still holding each other.

Both Digimon, who were Fangmon, chuckled as they closed in on the two friends. "All the better for eating little lost prey like yourselves..." one of them grinned widely.

More chuckles could be heard coming from inside the large tree hollow behind them. Dawn glanced over her shoulder to see two pairs of yellow eyes in the darkness before two more Fangmon emerged stepping out of their den and surrounding them.

One of them grinned, a little drool escaping from his mouth. "Look what's stumbled into our den…"


Tai and WarGreymon had now entered the deeper part of the forest. WarGreymon was one step ahead of his partner, slicing his claws through low hanging branches and overgrown dead bushes that restricted their path.

Since leaving the clearing, Tai's mind had been racing with all sorts of thoughts about what might have happened whilst they had been under Dracmon's spell. That feeling he'd had that something had happened after they had been freed from the spell had only gotten worse when he remembered the last thing Dracmon had said to them. Had Dracmon actually made them fight each other? And if he had – what happened? Did they hurt them? He couldn't bear to think at what they might have done, and how terrified Dawn must have been, especially now that she and VictoryGreymon had been forced to carry on their journey alone…

WarGreymon hacked away at some vines hanging down in front of him. He then paused, kneeling down on one knee as something on the ground had caught his attention; just visible through the mist. "Tai, look." He spoke up, getting his attention. "It looks like they've gone this way," he said pointing as his partner looked down to see there were faint footprints in the dirt.

Crouching down for a closer inspection, Tai noticed the footprints next to the ones left by his daughter's sneakers weren't as big as they should have been. "It's Agumon…" he sighed, before standing back up. Something must have happened if VictoryGreymon had digivolved back into Agumon… "…What did we do?"

"We don't know that we did anything Tai." WarGreymon tried to reassure him. "Dracmon could have been bluffing."

"Even if we didn't; Agumon's not at the mega level anymore, which means they're more vulnerable if they get attacked. We need to find them now."

WarGreymon glanced down at the footprints. "At least we know as long as there are footprints to follow; they're okay. We must be getting closer."

Tai looked down the trail where the footprints were leading into the increasing darkness. "C'mon, we need to keep moving. We can't waste anymore time." he said, going on ahead in the direction of the tracks.


Inside the Fangmon's den, Dawn and Agumon had been thrown into a cage that rested on top of a rock slab in the middle of the den. The cage was constructed from the bones of a SkullGreymon, with the main structure made from its rib cage. The den was underground, as after entering through the large tree hollow, the trail descended slightly before opening up into a more spacious cavern. Above, the roots from the tree were protruding out from the soil, with some hanging down.

One of the Fangmon approached the cage, and he gave an unimpressed snort upon inspecting their prey a little more closely. "These two are rather small morsels..." he grumbled. "I was expecting a meal; not scraps."

The Fangmon that had disguised himself as WarGreymon growled. "You've always been a picky eater. If they're not good enough for you I say we should get to eat them. After all we caught them."

The Fangmon who had transformed into Tai nodded in agreement. "Although I did most of the work; so I think I should get first pick." He added, licking his lips at Agumon.

Dawn glared at them. "You know, if we're too small to feed all your big mouths then maybe you should let us go and try and capture someone a little bigger."

The fourth Fangmon snarled. "You don't look like the usual prey we catch… perhaps we should taste you first…" he teased, before he suddenly lunged at the cage. The cage shook as he pounced on it, and Dawn and Agumon both scrambled to the back as he snapped his teeth threateningly close against the bone bars.

"And who says you get the first bite!" One of the Fangmon snapped, shoving the one that had lunged at the cage out of the way.

Dawn and Agumon watched on as the four Fangmon began to argue. "Can't you digivolve and break us outta here?" Dawn whispered to her partner.

"And then what?" Agumon whispered back. "I probably have enough energy to digivolve to Greymon right now but I'd still be outnumbered."

Dawn sighed, slumping down into a seated position against the back of the cage. "This is my fault…" she muttered.

"Huh? No it isn't." Agumon said quietly.

"I should have known that wasn't really Dad… If I hadn't of followed him we wouldn't be trapped in here right now about to be devoured by four greedy wolves."

Agumon glanced over to the four Fangmon who were still shoving and arguing with each other. "Well if they carry on like this I don't think we'll be getting eaten anytime soon." He humoured.

Dawn also watched them for a moment, thinking what her father would do in this situation… She wished he was here right now, and WarGreymon. WarGreymon would wipe all four out with a single blow... Dawn then sat up straight as an idea suddenly popped into her head… she just hoped these Fangmon weren't as crafty as the wolves in the stories her parents used to read to her… Slowly getting to her feet, Dawn made her way to the front of the cage. "Hey!" she shouted out, causing the Fangmon to stop and stare at her. "You don't want to settle for just the two of us… Like you said, we won't be much to go around all four of you… why not go for the full feast?"

One of the Fangmon approached the cage, eyeing her curiously. "What do you mean?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"There's another human like me… but bigger. Same with Agumon. They're out there in the forest right now. We're just appetizers, but they're the main course."

"Is this true?" the forth Fangmon asked as he also approached the cage.

"It could be," The Fangmon that had disguised himself as Tai spoke. "It could be the one I disguised myself as to lure her into our den… She did give the impression he was here somewhere."

The Fangmon that had portrayed WarGreymon nodded in agreement. "They were talking about something that had happened with Dracmon. Maybe that's when they became lost?"

Agumon watched as the Fangmon continued to talk amongst themselves before he glanced at his partner. "What are you doing?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

"Buying us some time," Dawn whispered back.

"If it is true, then those two could be close by looking for them." One of the other Fangmon suggested.

"Or it could be a trick…" another Fangmon added. He turned and eyed Dawn cautiously, approaching the cage. "You don't seem all that scared of us… usually Digimon we capture are quivering in fear… you better not be tricking us!"

Dawn stared back at Fangmon. She tried to remain calm and confident, but the sheer size of Fangmon's mouth and teeth were making her feel a little uneasy inside. "… It'll take more than four big bad wolves to scare me…" she replied boldly, causing Fangmon to snarl.

"What about five big bad wolves?" a voice suddenly spoke from the back of the cavern.

The four Fangmon seemed to back off a little, and Dawn and Agumon both turned to look behind them. In the darkness, they could just make out a figure perched on top of a large rock at the back of the cave. The figure jumped down and walked towards them, stepping into the very little light and revealing himself to be the fifth, and the leader of the Fangmon pack. He slowly circled the cage, studying the occupants; particularly Dawn. "An interesting catch…" he observed, speaking to his pack. "Where did you find them?"

"I first saw them on the outskirts of our territory," the Fangmon that had been Tai replied. "I followed them for a while, and it was all too easy once they wandered closer to our den."

"According to them there are more out there, and bigger." Another Fangmon spoke.

The leader grinned, before he turned and began to walk back to the two friends in the cage. He studied them closely again. "You don't look like you're from here… what are you doing in the Dark Area? And especially in our part of the forest?"

"… If we tell you will you let us go?" Dawn asked.

The leader laughed, as did the rest of the pack. "Nice try… sorry kid, but once we set our sights on our prey they never escape." he chuckled. "But this is the first time we have had prey so willing to help us… usually they are begging for their lives…"

Dawn remained silent, a little worried they might not buy into her scheme.

The leader then again began to slowly circle the rock slab they were sitting on. "But we'd be fools to turn down more prey when it's being offered to us so generously." He said with a grin. "And if you are trying to trick us – either way; your fate will be the same. I guess we have nothing to lose." He then turned to his pack, looking at the two that had captured Dawn and Agumon. "Go and find them and lure them back here. No one eats until they are captured." He added, glancing deviously at the two friends.

Dawn quietly breathed a sigh of relief as she slouched back against the bones of the cage, watching as the Fangmon pack left the cave.

Agumon glanced at his partner. "I hope this plan of yours works." He said quietly.

"It will… hopefully Dad and WarGreymon are nowhere near here and I've just sent them on a wild goose chase… but as soon as you're strong enough to digivolve we're busting out of here."


The two Fangmon that had been ordered to hunt down Tai and WarGreymon were making their way through the depths of the forest, heading for the outskirts of their territory. They were retracing the route that Dawn and Agumon had taken in the hope that Tai and WarGreymon would be moving along the same trail, passing by the area where they had first lured Dawn with the disguise of her father and heading towards the Oleamon territory.

One of the Fangmon paused, sniffing the air for any sign of a human scent. "… Nothing yet," he grunted before they continued on.

"Let's hope that puny joker Dracmon is with them as well. I wouldn't like anything more than to sink my teeth into him after he pulled that little prank on us."

"If he is he'll be served up for dessert," The Fangmon that had been disguised as WarGreymon chuckled. As they continued on, he then suddenly stopped, sniffing the air as he caught the smell of something different. "Wait…" he spoke, causing the other Fangmon to halt. He sniffed the air again, this time a little stronger. He then grinned. "I'm picking up a scent similar to the human girl…"

The other Fangmon also grinned his toothy smile. "Perfect, let's move."


It had been some time since the Fangmon had left the cave. Dawn made her way to the front of the cage and tried her best to see as far as she could up the incline to the entrance of the cave. Although she couldn't see openly out of the cave, she could just make out two shadows against the wall that seemed to be moving back and forth. "I think there are two outside keeping guard…" she said, looking over her shoulder at her partner. "Think you can take on two?"

Agumon sighed a little. He knew he definitely could not take on all five Fangmon. But with two gone and three at the most still possibly outside the den it was now or never if they wanted to escape. "I guess I have no choice… okay, let's do it." He said, getting to his feet.

Dawn grinned, pulling her goggles up onto her head…

Outside the other two Fangmon had been keeping guard of the den, casually strolling back and forth across the entrance. The leader of the pack had briefly left the clearing, having picked up a scent of possible lost prey nearby. "There's something about those two…" the suspicious Fangmon growled thinking aloud, casting a glance into the entrance of their den.

"And? They'll taste the same regardless," the other Fangmon said.

"But they could be up to something…"

"Like what? No prey has ever escaped from us. What could they possibly gain from serving up their friends on a silver platter for us?"

"AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TO… GREYMON!"

The two Fangmon jumped a little in surprise as Greymon's voice boomed from within the den, and a soft light shone out of the entrance. "What's going on?" They ran into the cave to investigate. Upon reaching the bottom of the cavern, they skidded to a halt in astonishment to see the bones of the cage shattered everywhere and Greymon standing over the rock slab with Dawn standing beside him, clutching her digivice.

The suspicious Fangmon snarled. "Argh…. I was right! They were up to something!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon unleashed his fireball attack directly down upon the two Fangmon, but the two champions easily dodged it by jumping out of the way. The attack exploded into the ground, leaving a large crater and filling the cave with smoke.

One of the Fangmon leapt up against the wall of the cave, using it as a way to elevate himself up as he lunged through the smoke preparing to sink his teeth into Greymon.

Greymon swung his tail, swiping Fangmon away and slamming him against the opposite side of the cave. The other Fangmon jumped up onto his back, but Greymon managed to grab hold of him and throw him off. Greymon then raised his right foot, preparing to stomp on the Fangmon that was momentarily motionless on the ground in front of him.

Fangmon managed to scurry away, just missing being squashed. He skidded to a stop next to his pack member. "I say we eat them now… now there's plenty to go around."

"I second that," Both of them then continued their assault, but Greymon kept fighting and throwing them off as they tried to bite and slash their claws at him.

"Blast Coffin!" One of the Fangmon fired a blast of energy, but Greymon easily dodged it and the attack exploded at the top of the cave, showering a little debris over Dawn.

"Chew on this… Nova Blast!" as quick as a flash, Greymon fired his attack aiming it at one of the Fangmon.

The wolf Digimon wasn't quick enough, and the fireball engulfed him; vaporizing him in an instant.

The suspicious Fangmon was left stunned, taking a step back with a shocked expression. Some of the flames from the blast had caught the roots hanging down from the top of the cave and were now starting to burn… "…Y-you'll pay for that!" he barked. "Blast Coffin!" he opened his mouth and fired three energy blasts. They hit Greymon, and he was knocked back onto the ground, crushing the broken bones of the cage even more. Fangmon then leapt up, aiming his bite directly for Greymon's throat as he lay on his back.

But Greymon managed to grab hold of him with both his hands just before Fangmon's teeth could sink into him. He struggled as Fangmon fought against him, trying to still bite him. As Greymon tried with all his might to keep the chomping jaws from reaching him, he then opened his mouth firing a single fire ball with all his strength. "Nova Blast!"

The point blank range attack incinerated Fangmon into an explosion of data as his scream echoed through the cave…


The leader of the Fangmon crouched down amongst the dead bushes, keeping himself hidden in the shadows. Up ahead there was a lone Phascomon wandering around, seemingly lost. Phascomon usually keep to the treetops in groups, and Fangmon smiled to himself as he knew transforming himself into a Phascomon would be the trick to lure this one back to his den. He quietly raised his body up preparing to transform when something caught his attention.

There was a distinct faint scent of smoke in the air…

Fangmon turned to look behind him, sniffing the air again. The smell seemed to be coming from the direction of the Fangmon den… Suspecting something was not quite right, he growled under his breath as he was forced to abandon his pursuit of Phascomon. Turning to leave, he jumped up into a nearby tree, climbing the branches to get a better look. Upon reaching the top, he looked to see smoke was floating up into the sky from amongst the large tree his den was located under. "What's going on?" he snarled before he jumped down from the treetop, heading back to his den that was only a short distance away…


Dawn and Greymon emerged from inside the cave where the smoke was still escaping from the burning roots inside. "Quick, let's go before the others return." The former said.

Greymon nodded, but he then suddenly wailed in agony, and Dawn looked up to see the leader of the Fangmon pack had unexpectedly reappeared and had his teeth in Greymon's shoulder having jumped him from behind. "Greymon!" she exclaimed.

Fangmon jumped off and immediately went for Greymon's ankle biting him again, reducing him to standing on one knee. He then jumped back skidding across the dirt. "Blast Coffin!" he fired two blasts, the first one striking Greymon in the chest before the second hit him in the face causing him to collapse on the ground. "So you were trying to trick us… very foolish, especially when you've transformed into a much bigger meal for us…" It was then that Fangmon noticed the absence of the two pack members that had been guarding the cave… He looked around in hope, but he soon released what had happened. His expression turned even darker as he glared at Greymon who was still lying on the ground. "You'll suffer for what you have done to my pack…" he then roared and jumped up onto Greymon's back and prepared to sink his teeth into him once more, but he was suddenly hit in the side of the face by a small rock. Snarling he swiftly turned in the direction of where the rock had come from to see Dawn standing at the edge of the clearing. He growled before he jumped down off Greymon's back. He then slowly began to approach Dawn. "You know what… I'm a little hungry… I think I'll have my appetizer now…" he taunted sinisterly, licking his lips. In a flash he then pounced, pinning Dawn to the ground with his right paw.

Dawn cried out in surprise as she fell onto her back, stuck under the weight of the force he was pressing down on her. She grabbed his claws, trying to free herself but it was no use. She looked up to see Fangmon's long snout looming over her, with a little drool escaping from his mouth. As he opened his jaws moving in closer, Dawn flinched closing her eyes.

Fangmon chuckled as he could feel her body trembling a little under his paw. "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf now?" he teased before he went to take a bite.

"Great Horns Attack!"

Fangmon suddenly froze, his mouth inches from Dawn, as his body suddenly became paralyzed.

Dawn slowly opened her eyes as she felt the weight of Fangmon's paw decrease a little. She looked up to see Greymon's horn was impaled through Fangmon's back and out through his chest.

"And you've bitten off more than you can chew…" Greymon growled before he lifted Fangmon off his partner. He spun himself around, allowing the momentum to release Fangmon from his horn and throw him up into the air. "Nova Blast!" he then released a powerful blast of fire at the motionless wolf Digimon in the air. The attack hit, exploding and filling the area with a thick cloud of smoke.

As it began to clear, Dawn now in a seated position looked over to see Agumon standing in the middle of the clearing with Fangmon nowhere to be seen. "Agumon!" she scrambled to her feet and ran up to him, giving him a hug. As she did she felt him flinch a little. "Are you okay?"

Agumon nodded, rubbing his shoulder where Fangmon had bitten him earlier. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Dawn smiled before she unclipped her digivice, bringing up the compass to find south again. Once the compass dial had settled, she turned in the direction they needed to go. "Hurry, let's get out of here before the last two show up."

The two friends ran off back into the depths of the forest, leaving the smouldering Fangmon den behind…


Tai and WarGreymon were still following the footprints along the trail, but they were getting a little harder to track. Some of the ground wasn't as soft in parts that left footprints, and the low lying mist that was gradually getting thicker was making it difficult as well. They were now approaching the spot where Cerberumon X had been sleeping earlier. Unknown to them, two pairs of yellow eyes had also been watching them from afar for the last ten minutes or so…

As Tai walked ahead and climbed over the large tree root, he soon lost sight of the footprints. "Oh no...I can't see any more tracks WarGreymon."

The yellow eyes looked at each other before disappearing into the darkness…

WarGreymon looked around. The trail was narrow with the path still leading straight on. The ground was still soft, as they were leaving their own footprints. "They must have continued on this way following the trial… there's nowhere else they could go…"

Tai checked his digivice which was displaying the compass. "It looks like they've been heading south all this time… that must be where the mountains are."

"See? She's a smart kid Tai," WarGreymon said.

Tai smiled a little to himself. He continued to look around for any clues as to which way his daughter might have gone now that they had lost track of their footprints. Despite the tracks having led them south all this time he didn't want to take any chances in case Dawn and Agumon had to take a sudden detour for whatever reason. He approached the tree that Dawn and Agumon had ran behind when they had awoken Cerberumon X. "Huh?" Something caught his eye. A bit of the mud was smooth, as if someone had stepped there and their foot had slipped back a little. Tai stepped closer to the tree, about to look around to the other side to where Oleamon's territory was located…

"Dad!"

Tai stopped, turning around and moving his focus away from the tree. "Wait… did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" WarGreymon asked, turning to face his partner.

Tai continued to listen, hoping his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. "…It sounded like…"

"Dad, help me!"

"It's Dawn!" Tai exclaimed before he took off in the direction of Dawn's voice cutting across the trail and into the overgrowth.

"Tai, wait!" WarGreymon called after him.

Tai hurried as fast as he could, ducking under a low tree branch. He squeezed his way through the overgrowth, moving branches and vines out of his way. He heard Dawn's voice again, this time a little louder. "Dawn, wait there I'm coming!" As he got closer he could see through the gaps in the branches another small clearing up ahead, and what looked like glimpses of Dawn and VictoryGreymon standing on the opposite side. He reached the clearing, and pushed a large half dead leaf out of his way; revealing his daughter and her partner on the other side. "Dawn…" he sighed in relief. He stepped out of the overgrowth and was about to run up to her…

"Soul Core Attack!"

Out of nowhere, Titamon's sword suddenly appeared and embedded itself straight through Dawn and VictoryGreymon's bodies at the same time, aiming for their cores. A shockwave of energy immediately followed engulfing the small clearing and throwing Tai back onto the ground before he had chance to realise what had even happened. Tai cringed as he recovered, slowly sitting up. He looked over to where his daughter had been standing, and he immediately froze in disbelief at the sight of Titamon's sword embedded through her. "N- No!" he exclaimed in horror helplessly reaching his arm out to her.

Dawn and VictoryGreymon's bodies then began to flicker, as if their data was malfunctioning or something. Tai watched, as his shock soon turned to confusion as their bodies began to glow a dark red and transformed into the two Fangmon. Titamon's sword had disabled their disguise, and the two wolf Digimon wailed out in agony as their bodies were consumed by the black mist emitting from the sword. They were then sucked into the end of the sword as Titamon consumed their energy, and the black mist surrounded his body; his energy increasing.

Tai, still somewhat stunned as his mind tried to catch up with what had happened so quickly, breathed out a little in relief as he soon began to realise that hadn't actually been his daughter… but he didn't have time to think who those two wolf Digimon had been, or what they were doing disguised as Dawn and VictoryGreymon, as now they faced a more bigger problem…

WarGreymon had arrived at this point, slicing his way through the overgrowth and stepping out into the clearing as Tai slowly got to his feet. "Titamon?!" he gasped in surprise.

As Titamon's body grew a little bigger, he frowned unsatisfied as the black mist around him faded. During his arrogance at thinking he had caught one of the dragon warriors; he had failed to notice it was in fact two Fangmon… "That was a little underwhelming…" he grunted, having not felt the power surge he had been expecting from devouring a mega Digmon's DigiCore. Titamon then immediately turned in Tai and WarGreymon's direction, having caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye. "… So there you are..." he said darkly.

Tai stepped back behind the safety of his partner, as WarGreymon glared across at the shaman Digimon.

"That wasn't the core of a mega Digimon… those were imposters…" Titamon growled his anger increasing. "Were you trying to trick me?!"

"What's he talking about?" WarGreymon asked a little confused.

"It's time I finally got my revenge on you…" Titamon roared as he grasped his sword with both hands and lunged towards Tai and WarGreymon…

To be continued…